HC Deb 02 February 1984 vol 53 cc340-1W
Mr. Marlow

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information is available on the numbers of male and female doctors still practising at varying intervals after qualification.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

No information is available in the form requested. However, in taking a view on the future likely supply of doctors, the Department does look at evidence on the rates at which male and female doctors leave the medical work force for various reasons, and the extent of active working, both as a function of age. The discussion document published in 1978 by a previous Administration, "Medical Manpower — the next 20 years", gives the evidence then available.