Written question asked by Mark Francois (Conservative) on Friday, 14 November 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 18 November 2003. It was answered by Stephen Ladyman (Labour) on Tuesday, 18 November 2003 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the vacancy figure for ambulance paramedics in the Essex ambulance service was on 1st September. - Inc table.

Answer: Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the vacancy figure for ambulance paramedics in the Essex ambulance service was on 1 September. [139522] Dr. Ladyman: The total number of vacancies is not held centrally. However, I am advised that information for three month vacancies is collected and the data currently available is as at 31 March 2003. Vacancies for all ambulance staff in the Essex Strategic Health Authority area and three month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post are shown in the table. All Ambulance Staff _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Three Month vacancy rate-- Three month vacancy number Staff in post (whole-time Staff in post (headcount) percentage equivalent) March 2003 September 2002 0.0 -- 566 623 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Source: Department of Health Vacancies Survey, March 2003.

Secondary information