HC Deb 25 November 2002 vol 395 cc145-6W
Mr. Letwin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trained nurses there were in(a) 2000 and (b) 2001 in England and Wales. [82578]

Mr. Hutton

As at March 2000, there were 634,529 nurses registered with the UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (now the Nursing and Midwifery Council). This is the number of nurses registered to practice throughout the United Kingdom. It fell to 632,050 in 2001 and rose to 644,024 in 2002.

Between September 2000 and September 2001, the number of qualified nurses employed in the national health service in England increased by 4 per cent, from 335,950 to 350,380. This marked the early achievement of the NHS Plan target for 20,000 extra nurses by 2004 over a 1999 baseline.

Information on Wales is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Mr. Letwin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Government spent on fees in respect of training nurses in the last year for which figures are available. [82577]

Mr. Hutton

Work force development confederations contract directly with local universities for nurse training and spent £342 million on tuition costs in 2001–02, the latest year for which information is available.