§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by the NHS on agency nurses in(a) England and (b) each region, broken down by NHS trust, in 2001–02; and what proportion of the nursing wage bill this represented in each case. [95866]
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each hospital trust spent on agency recruited(a) nurses and (b) doctors, in the last 12 months; and how many posts this represents expressed as a percentage of total salary budgets. [100548]
§ Mr. HuttonThe latest information that is available is for 2001–02, and has been placed in the Library.
National health service trusts, which host NHS Professionals, the organisation that provides temporary staff for the NHS, include the expenditure for agency staff in their accounts and financial returns. The trusts are St. Mary's NHS Trust Paddington, Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, West Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, John Radcliffe NHS Trust, East and North Herts NHS Trust and North Bristol NHS Trust. NHS trusts that use the services of NHS Professionals are recharged for these services and will also include these payments in their own accounts and financial returns. This results in the expenditure being double counted in the annual financial returns of NHS trusts and accounts for higher than average returns for trusts hosting NHS Professionals.