To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has issued guidance to primary care trusts on the number of health visitors each should employ at each grade per head of the population in urban areas. (181901)

No guidance has been issued. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, and to commission services accordingly. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of health visiting services.