§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the total number of persons on in patient waiting lists for NHS hospitals in Scotland in each year since 1970 at(a) 30 September and (b) 30 March each year.
§ Mr. LangThe information requested is set out in the table.
NHS hospitals—inpatient waiting lists1; Scotland; as at 31 March and 30 September Year 31 March 30 September 1970 53,305 51,482 1971 51,675 48,066 1972 1— 52,468 1973 1— 61,079 1974 1— 56,182 1975 1— 53,770 1976 54,442 52,765 1977 53,974 54,715 1978 56,987 61,481 1979 76,968 71,247 1980 70,195 67,387 1981 67,908 65,228 1982 66,880 86,365 1983 96,933 88,338 1984 85,543 83,077 1985 79,262 77,677 1986 81,249 80,732 1987 81,324 77,772 1988 67,226 63,569 1989 61,011 58,189 1990 58,287 59,483 1991 60,693 1— 1 Not available. From 1988 figures relate to inpatient true waiting lists. These figures are therefore not fully comparable with the old basis waiting list figures. It is estimated that between 31 March 1987 and 31 March 1988 the waiting list fell by around 5 per cent.