To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give figures for the number of patients in the Southern Derbyshire health authority area who have been waiting for more than two years for an operation; and if he will give equivalent figures for a year ago.

The latest provisional figures show that at December 1991 there were 29 patients waiting over two years for treatment in the Southern Derbyshire health authority area. The equivalent figure in December 1990 was 108. The authority expects to have no patient waiting over two years by 31 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give figures for the number of health care staff working for Southern Derbyshire health authority in 1982 and the latest year for which figures are available.

The whole-time equivalent number of health care staff working for Southern Derbyshire health authority in 1982 and 1990 were 4,740 and 4,960 respectively. These are direct care staff, which includes nursing and midwifery (including agency), medical and dental (including permanent paid, honorary and locum staff, but excluding consultants and senior registrars whose contracts are held by the region) and professional and technical staff. The sources of the data are the Department of Health's annual censuses of national health service medical and non-medical manpower.