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Mr. Ralph Howell
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is (a) the number of nurses employed in the national health service in each year since 1979 and (b) the average number of NHS occupied hospital beds in each year since 1979 for which figures are available; and if lie will show, in both cases, the percentage change in each year.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
The available information is given in the table.
| NHS nursing and midwifery staff and average number of available and occupied beds England 1979–1989 | ||
| Year | Nursing and Midwifery staff at 30 September1 Whole-time equivalents2 | Percentage change on previous year |
| 1979 | 3 358,400 | — |
| 1980 | 3370,100 | 3·3 |
| 1981 | 391,800 | 5·9 |
| 1982 | 397,100 | 1·4 |
| 1983 | 397,100 | 0·0 |
| 1984 | 397,500 | 0·1 |
| 1985 | 401,200 | 0·9 |
| 1986 | 402,700 | 0·4 |
| 1987 | 404,000 | 0·3 |
| 1988 | 403,900 | -0·0 |
| 1989 | 405,300 | 0·3 |
| Average number of occupied beds (thousands) | ||
| 1979 | 293 | — |
| 1980 | 289 | -1·4 |
| 1981 | 285 | -1·4 |
| 1982 | 279 | -2·1 |
| 1983 | 276 | -1·1 |
| 1984 | 269 | -2·5 |
| 1985 | 263 | —2·2 |
| 1986 | 254 | —3·4 |
| 1987-1988 | 4— | — |
| 1988-1989 | 4— | — |
| 1989–1990 | 4— | — |
| Sources: | ||
| Manpower: | ||
| Department of Health (SM 13) annual census of NHS non-medical manpower | ||
| Beds: | ||
| Department of Health (SM 12) returns | ||
| SH3. return 1979–1986 | ||
| KHO3. return 1987–88—1898–90 | ||
| 1 All figures are independently rounded to the nearest hundred (100). Percentages calculated on unrounded figures. | ||
| 2 Includes agency staff and all qualified nurse and midwives, learners and unqualified nursing staff. | ||
| 3 The WTE figures prior to 1981 have not been adjusted to reflect the reduction in the standard weekly hours for nurses, from 40 to 37·5 hours per week, which occurred during 1980–81. | ||
| 4 Information not available centrally beyond 1986. | ||