To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were recruited through NHS Professionals in each of the last five years for which information is available. (103952)

NHS Professionals did not exist in its current form as a special health authority until April 2004.

NHS Professionals recruited 13,000 people in 2004-05 and 15,000 in 2005-06.

For the first six months of this year, over 6,600 hospital doctors and nursing staff have been recruited to the NHS Professionals bank.