asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many doctors are in full-time general medical practice in England; what is the ratio of doctors to patients; and how this has changed over the last five years.

The numbers of doctors providing the full range of general medical services in England and the average numbers of patients on the lists of these doctors are given below.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many fully qualified doctors are either in full-time or part-time service in hospitals in England at the present time; and how many of these doctors are foreign citizens.

Figures for 1974 are not yet available. At 30th September 1973 there were 25,289 doctors holding permanent paid appointments and 1,463 holding honorary appointments in hospitals in England. Of these, 9,277 were born outside the United Kingdom or the Irish Republic. In addition, 6,120 part-time medical officers, mostly general practitioners, were engaged in hospital work.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many fully qualified doctors are employed on full-time administrative work, either in the Department of Health and Social Security or under the various area health authorities in England.

There are 53 community physicians employed at regional health authorities and 475 at area health authorities. The medical administrative staff of the Department of Health and Social Security in England includes 314 qualified doctors, a number of whom devote a proportion of their time to duties of a clinical nature.