HC Deb 27 March 1985 vol 76 cc247-8W
Mr. Ashdown

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will describe the content, timing and frequency of reports of manpower information from health authorities to his Department.

3. Mr. John Patten

The principal manpower information relating to directly-employed staff in the National Health Service in England which this Department receives from health authorities is as follows:

Non-medical manpower Information is collected quarterly about staff in post at 31 December, 31 March, 30 June and 30 September, in almost all cases as extracts from Regions' payroll computers. Included are contractual data (payscale, type of occupation, place of employment, hours worked etc.) and non-contractual information (sex, marital status, date of birth etc.) together with a record identifier (payroll number or National Insurance number) needed by health authorities to trace records rejected by validation checks. Much of the information is presented under standard codes. The same information is collected each quarter to simplify the collection arrangements but certain data items (eg occupation codes) are subjected to more detailed checking in the September returns, and as a result information for this quarter can be made available in greater detail than for other quarters.

Medical and dental staff

  1. (a) Information is collected each year on medical and dental staff employed in the hospital and community services, the returns relate to staff in post at 30 September; included are contractual data (grade, specialty, type of contract, number of sessions or hours worked etc.) and other information (name, sex, General Medical Council number, date of birth etc.).
  2. (b) Details of vacant consultant and senior registrar posts are collected in respect of 30 September.
  3. (c) An aggregated return giving whole-time equivalents of staff in post is collected in respect of 31 March each year.

Other returns and reports These include:

  1. (a) Information on medical and non-medical staff working in mental illness and mental handicap hospitals and units is collected annually at 31 December as part of a general return on these facilities; the manpower data relate to staff in post at the previous 30 September and include details of numbers and whole-time equivalents by occupational category.
  2. (b) Information on pathologists and technicians working in cervical cytology is collected annually at 31 December as part of a more general return on cervical cytology facilities. The manpower details include numbers, whole-time equivalents and type of contract.
  3. (c) This Department receives information supplied by health authorities to the Department of Employment on time lost through industrial action.
  4. (d) Health authorities include some manpower information in the planning documents they present to the Department in accordance with circular HC(84)2. This information generally relates only to staff in post by broad staff group for the periods relevant to the particular document.