§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state the number of part and full-time employees in the National Health Service in the United Kingdom in (a) 1979, (b) 1980, (c) 1981, (d) 1982 and (e) now, showing the increase in each year; and what is the expected increase in 1983 and 1984.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information is set out in the following table. The total of full-time plus part-time staff is considerably higher than the figures of whole-time equivalent staff normally used for NHS management purposes.
NHS Directly employed staff Full-time Part-time Total (Thousands) (Thousands) (Thousands) June 1979 744 453 1,197 June 1980 756 468 1,123 June 1981 786 474 1,260 June 1982 800 483 1,283 March 1983 797 487 1,284 Notes:
(1) figures have been independently rounded to the nearest thousand.
(2) These figures are compiled by the Central Statistical Office, and have been partially revised recently as a result of more accurate information being included for Scotland. They therefore differ from figures previously quoted for the United Kingdom.
Manpower targets for March 1984 are expressed in whole-time equivalent terms. In England the target is a reduction of 4,837 WTE in the period March 1983 to March 1984, from 817,633 to 812,796. Arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the total number of staff employed in the National Health Service each year since 1960; what has been the number of (i) administrative staff, (ii) hospital (medical) specialists, (iii) general practitioners, (iv) nursing staff, and (v) ancillary workers employed each year since 1960; and what has been the percentage change in the numbers of each category of staff each year since 1960.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.