§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of vacant consultant posts for each regional health authority at the latest date for which figures are available and on 1 May 1979.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI regret that information is not available for 1 May 1979 but the attached table lists, for each regional health authority in England, the number of posts without a permanent holder, which had been advertised during the previous 12 months, at 30 September 1978, at 30 September 1979 and at 30 September 1982.
264W
Consultant posts without a permanent holder at 30 September which had been advertised in the previous 12 months. Health authority All hospital medical and dental specialties at 30 September 1978 1979 1982 Northern 52 56 36 Yorkshire 34 38 26 Trent 51 61 33 East Anglia 12 15 17 North West Thames 24 16 15 North East Thames 56 35 30 South East Thames 16 35 18 South West Thames 24 31 29 Wessex 9 8 22 Oxford 13 20 18 South Western 17 28 10 West Midlands 53 40 48 Mersey 41 35 28 North Western 61 54 53 London Postgraduate Teaching Hospitals 8 13 5 Total 471 510 423