§ Mr. MacGregorasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many vacancies in consultants' posts in hospitals in England and Wales there were, on the same basis as in the answer to the hon. Member for Norfolk, South on 27th July, in each six-monthly period in the years 1970 to September 1975.
§ Dr. OwenInformation about vacant consultant posts is only collected annually and data broken down as before is not available prior to 1973. On 30th September 1974 there were 107 consultant posts without a permanent holder where the appointment procedure had been completed without an appointment being made. There were a further 468 posts without a permanent holder where the appointments procedure was still in progress or where the health authority had not tried to fill the post. The corresponding figures for 1973 were 172 and 758 respectively but were collected on a somewhat different basis and are not strictly comparable with those for later years.