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15 Oct 2009 : Column 1084W—continued
Midwives
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent midwives were in post in (a) the NHS, (b) each primary care trust and (c) each acute trust in each of the last five years. [292686]
Ann Keen: A table outlining the numbers has been placed in the Library.
Midwives: Finance
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has allocated to increase numbers of NHS midwives in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12. [292679]
Ann Keen: On 25 February 2008 the then Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, West and Hessle (Alan Johnson) announced a package of measures to improve maternity services with an additional £330 million over three years going out to primary care trusts (PCTs). This funding is available to expand the maternity work force.
In addition we have provided a total of £1.5 million to strategic health authorities for 2009-10 and 2010-11 to support midwifery, recruitment, return and retention.
It is for individual PCTs to determine how to use the funding allocated to commission services to meet the healthcare needs of their local population. The funding figures for 2012 are not available.
Midwives: Manpower
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the 4,000 extra midwives to be provided by 2012 have already been provided in each strategic health authority area; and how many he expects will be provided in each such area in each year to 2012. [291935]
Ann Keen: A table outlining the number of midwives in each strategic health authority area since 2006 is shown as follows.
| National health service hospital and community health services: Qualified midwives in England by strategic health authority area as at 30 September each specified year | |||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
We do not hold current information on predicted annual midwife numbers by SHA. Local NHS organisations are best placed to plan and recruit the right people with the right skills to best meet the needs of the local population.
We continue to work with local NHS organisations and monitor increasing midwife numbers.
The latest NHS workforce census as at 30 September 2008 shows we have over 25,600 midwives employed in the NHS, the highest level since 1997. Primary Care Trusts have met our commitment to recruit an additional 1,000 midwives and the NHS is making good progress with its recruitment plans.
Midwives: Training
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have enrolled on the Midwifery Return to Practice course in each of the last two years. [292672]
Ann Keen: The data we have received from strategic health authorities (SHAs) show 93 midwives enrolled on the scheme for 2008-09. Data are not available for 2009-10 as several courses will not commence until 2010.
The Department has recently provided a total of £1.5 million to SHAs for 2009-10 to support midwifery recruitment, return and retention. Return to practice is only one way to increase midwifery numbers. Other local initiatives include leadership development in maternity services to support succession planning, retention plans and individualised plans for midwives due to retire to support them to remain in practice, maternity support worker development and midwifery project facilitators and mentors to support midwives on Return to Practice programmes to ensure newly qualified and recently returned midwives can integrate fully into the national health service.
There are expectations that similar funding will be available to SHAs leading up to 2012.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training places were available for midwifery in each of the last five years. [292673]
Ann Keen: The number of midwifery training places which were available in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
| Midwifery | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
| Source: Quarterly Monitoring Returns. | |||||
There has been a 38 per cent. increase in the number of students entering training to become a midwife since 1996-97 to 2,272 in 2008-09.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the attrition rate from (a) three-year and (b) 18-month midwifery courses in each strategic health authority was in each of the last five years. [292677]
Ann Keen: Information on attrition rates from 18-month midwifery courses is not held centrally.
Attrition rates from three-year midwifery courses in each strategic health authority (SHA) from 2003-04, the earliest year available, are shown in the following table. Students from later cohorts have yet to graduate.
| Midwifery attrition rates | ||||||
| Percentage | ||||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | ||||
| SHA | Diploma | Degree | Diploma | Degree | Diploma | Degree |
| Notes: 1. Some SHAs could not provide data for 2003-04 and 2004-05. 2. 2005-06 cohorts still have large numbers of students yet to graduate so figures should be treated as provisional. | ||||||
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwifery training places were commissioned by his Department for the 2008-09 academic year. [293216]
Ann Keen: The national health service strategic health authorities commissioned 1,944 midwifery degree training places and 328 18 month diploma training places for the 2008-09 academic year.
There has been a 38 per cent. increase in the number of students entering training to become a midwife since 1996-97 to 2,272 in 2008-09.
Midwives: Vacancies
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwifery vacancies in the NHS there are; and what the (a) three-month vacancy rate and (b) total vacancy rate for NHS midwives was in each of the last five years. [292680]
Ann Keen: The latest NHS Vacancy Survey shows that there were 191 midwifery three month vacancies (1 per cent. of the midwifery work force) in the national health service in England on 31 March 2009.
The three month vacancy rate and total vacancy rate for NHS midwives in each of the last five years is shown in the following table:
| The NHS Information Centre for health and social care vacancies surveys March each year vacancies in England for qualified midwifery staff | ||
| Percentage | ||
| Three month vacancy rate | All vacancies rate | |
| Notes: 1. Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post from the previous September non-medical workforce census (full-time equivalent). 2. Three month vacancies are vacancies as at 31 March which trusts are actively trying to fill which had lasted for three months or more. 3. Total vacancy rates are vacancies expressed as a percentage of total vacancies plus staff in post from the previous September non-medical workforce census (full-time equivalent). 4. A vacancy is defined as one which employers are actively trying to fill as at 31 March. 5. Not available. Total vacancies were collected for the first time in 2008. Sources: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Vacancies Survey. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census | ||
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