§ Mr. Fallonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the annual cost to the National Health Service of advertising nursing and similar vacancies in commercial newspapers and magazines; and if he will take steps to reduce this sum.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeA Rayner scrutiny of National Health Service recruitment advertising, which has recently been completed, suggests that national advertising of posts costs the NHS some £8 million a year, of which about half is on advertisements for nurses and midwives. Local NHS recruitment is estimated to cost a further £1.75 million, but it is not possible to break this figure down into individual staff groups.
We are currently considering the various options for reducing these costs which are identified in the report.