To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) violent incidents against NHS staff, (b) physical assaults against NHS staff and (c) criminal sanctions against individuals who had assaulted NHS staff there were in each of the last five financial years in (i) each NHS hospital trust, (ii) each strategic health authority area and (iii) England. (203450)

Since 2004-05 the NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS) has collected information on the number of physical assaults reported against National Health Service staff in England and on the numbers of criminal sanctions following assaults.

Information is not available by the category of violent incidents or on reported physical assaults by strategic health authority area. The numbers of reported physical assaults in England are shown in the following table

Tables showing the number physical assaults reported by each health body have been placed in the Library.

Information on criminal sanctions following assaults is not available for each NHS hospital trust or strategic health authority area. The numbers of criminal sanctions following assaults against NHS staff in England are shown in the following table.

Criminal sanctions include:

cautions and conditional cautions;

community rehabilitation or punishment orders;

imprisonment (including suspended sentences);

conditional discharges; and

fines.