§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications to train as(a) general practitioners, (b) social workers and (c) physiotherapists have been received in each of the last six years. [144290]
§ Mr. HuttonThe national recruitment office for general practitioner training collects data on the number of applications and applicants to train as a GP. It has been in existence for 12 months and holds data for recruitment to GP training posts to commence August 2003 and February 2004. These are shown in table 1.
Prior to March 2003, information on the number of applications and applicants to train as a GP was not collected centrally. Information on the number of applicants for February 2004 is not yet available.
715W
1. Applications and applicants to train as a GP August 2003 and February 2004 August 2003 posts
February 2004 posts Number of applications 4,339 4,602 Number of applicants 2,373 — Notes:
1. August 2003 figures include English deaneries only. Northwestern deanery does not recruit to February posts.
2. For February 2004, some deaneries re-advertised unfilled posts. This data is not available yet.
Information on the total number of applications and applicants to train as social workers in England is not available centrally. However, the General Social Care Council collects information on applications made via the social work admissions system (SWAS) and this is shown in table 2. Only about 50 per cent. of all applications were made through SWAS, with the remainder made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions System (UCAS), or directly to colleges and universities. Comparable UCAS data is not available. Until 1998, data on applications was only collected on a United Kingdom-wide basis.
2. Applications through the Social Work Admissions System in England 1997–2002 for the Diploma in Social Work (DipSW) Number of applications 1997 n/a 1998 4,800 1999 4,049 2000 3,667 2001 3,678 2002 3,880 The number of applications and applicants to physiotherapy courses through UCAS by year of entry is shown in table 3.
3. Applications and applicants through UCAS in England 1997–2002 to train in physiotherapy Main scheme applications
Main scheme applicants
1997 28,428 7,057 1998 27,829 6,589 1999 26,162 6,184 2000 24,849 6,077 2001 21,535 5,383 2002 22,629 5,683 Note:
Each applicant can make up to six choices on the UCAS form for physiotherapy courses at different higher education institutions.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of staff have left NHS Estates (Inventures) in each of the last three years. [145021]
§ Mr. HuttonThe number of Inventures permanent civil servants leaving central Government for 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 was 28,53 and 34 respectively.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-clinical staff are employed in each primary care trust in England, broken down by grade. [145937]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 5 January 2003]: The information requested has been placed in the Library.