asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many civilian locums were deployed in the ongoing operational theatres in Afghanistan and Iraq by the Defence Medical Services in 2006–07; and what was the cost of employing them. [HL362]

During the financial year 2006-07, at any one time up to four intensive treatment unit nurses and four emergency medicine nurses were deployed as civilian locums in Afghanistan and Iraq by the Defence Medical Services. A civilian neurosurgeon was also deployed for a period of three months.

A total of 54 individual civilian medical locums were deployed on this basis to operational theatres in the financial year 2006-07. The total spend for this period was £1.155 million. This figure includes agency fees, salaries and pre-deployment training costs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many civilian locums were employed to make up the shortfall of (a) civilian medical practitioners, and (b) uniformed general practitioners during 2006–07; and what was the cost of employing them. [HL363]

The MoD employs locum GPs to provide cover for manning shortfalls in filling civilian and military posts on a permanent basis and to cover for periods when permanent staff are absent on duty (including periods when uniformed personnel are on operational deployments), or on leave, sick leave, maternity leave or taking further education.

Across the MoD, some areas will have contracts with local surgeries where they pay a monthly fee in return for medical cover. Other areas use locum agencies to supply individuals to fill empty posts; one or more individuals might be engaged over a period to cover a single vacancy.

Officials are collating the available data on how much was spent in the year 2006-07 on employing locum general practitioners and the number of days’ cover that was provided for this amount. Once this is complete I will write to the noble Lord and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.