§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what considerations underlie the classification of Doncaster as a rural area for ambulance purposes.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe formula for classification of national health service ambulance services as urban or rural was introduced following the acceptance of a recommendation made in an independent consultant's report in 1990. Those ambulance services serving an area with an overall population density of greater than 2.5 people per acre were classified as urban. Others were classified as rural. The population density formula458W acknowledges the higher number of longer distance journeys travelled by ambulance services in less densely populated rural areas.
Doncaster falls within the overall area served by the South Yorkshire Metropolitan ambulance and paramedic service. That area is classified as urban.