§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many general practitioners were registered in Wales in May 1997; and how many are currently registered in Wales. [68456]
Mr. Jon Owen JonesData on numbers of general medical practitioners were collected on a six monthly basis (as at 1 April and 1 October) until 1 October 1997 after which only annual data (at 1 October) are being collected.
At 1 April 1997 there were 1,840 general medical practitioners in Wales, of which 1,740 were unrestricted principals. By 1 October 1997 the figures had risen to 1,874 and 1,753 respectively.
In future this will become the responsibility of the National Assembly.