§ Mr. O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified social workers are required to meet the demand for community care; how many qualified social workers there are; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorInformation is collected centrally only on the number of social workers employed by local authorities. At September 1987 the number in post in England was 24,300. We do not have information available on the number who held a professional qualification. Nor does the information held centrally enable us to identify the number of social workers currently engaged, or likely to be required, on community care work.