§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by the NHS on advertising employment opportunities in each of the last five years. [122401]
§ Mr. HuttonThe last time that national information on national health service recruitment advertising costs was collected was in 1998, when expenditure was estimated to be £30 million. However, this is likely to have risen over the last five years in line with the major expansion of staff numbers in the NHS.
The Department of Health is currently commissioning a national electronic recruitment service for the NHS. It will link with NHS Careers to provide a web-based service advertising posts, providing information about careers, jobs and NHS employers, and an electronic application process, supported by a call centre service to provide flexible, interactive access to information and job and training opportunities. The new service will enable the NHS to reduce its recruitment and advertising costs.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of applications per job advertisement in the NHS was in each of the last five years. [122402]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Department of Health does not hold this information centrally, although it may be available from individual national health service employing organisations.