To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state for each regional health authority (a) the number of scheduled operations cancelled and (b) the average number of operations per session held for each quarter since 31 March 1991.

Information on the number of operations cancelled is not collected centrally. Statistics on the number of cases operated on in each region per scheduled session held are collected annually. Data for 1990–91 will be published in the near future in "NHS Operating Theatres Availability and Use, England, Financial year 1990–91", a copy of which will be placed in the Library.