§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total number of(a) NHS clerical, administrative and management staff, (b) NHS hospital doctors and general practitioners and (c) NHS nurses and midwives in each year since 1995. [53292]
§ Mr. Ron DaviesThe information is given in the table:
Thousands Staff in post at 30 September (whole-time equivalent): 1995 1996 1997 Administration and clerical1 — 9.7 9.7 Hospital doctors 3.0 3.1 3.2 Nursing, midwifery and health visiting1 23.3 23.5 23.4 Staff in post at 1 October (Numbers): General Medical Practitioners2 1,719 1,736 1,753 1 The system used to classify directly employed non-medical NHS staff changed during 1995, moving from groups which were based on payscales to groups which are based on new occupation codes. Data for 1996 onwards are for the new occupation groups and are from NHS personnel systems. Data prior to 1996 are based on numbers from the NHS payroll system; the allocation of these to the new occupation groups have been estimated. As the data shown for administration and clerical are a sub set of the full group, "Administration and estates staff, a reliable figure cannot be given for 1995 2 Unrestricted principals