To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints were made against the national health service in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. (142142)

The following table gives numbers of written complaints made between April 1997 and the end of March 2006, and these are the latest available audited data.

The data reflect complaints made through the national health service complaints procedure and do not include complaints made to the General Medical Council or other professional bodies.