Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have required surgery for the treatment of(a) gall-stones and (b) kidney-stones in each of the past five years. [152923]Mr. Hutton: The table shows data relating to the number of operations carried out for the treatment of gall-stones and kidney-stonesfrom 1998-99 to 2002-03.Operations for treatment of gall-stones and kidney-stones in NHS trusts in England_________________________________________________________________________________________________.ProcedureGall-stones Kidney-stones1998-99 35,754 21,3231999-2000 36,457 21,2902000-01 39,090 21,4452001-02 40,127 20,7252002-03 43,679 21,293_________________________________________________________________________________________________.Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.