§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses are currently employed by the national health service; how many there were five years previously; and how many in 1979.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe whole-time equivalent number of nursing and midwifery staff, including agency staff, employed by the NHS in England was 402,100 at September 1990, 401,200 at September 1985 and 358,400 at September 1979. These figures are derived from the Department's annual census of non-medical manpower. They have not been adjusted for the reduction in nurses' working hours during 1980–81 from 40 to 37.5 hours per week.