Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent by Southend University Hospital on employing locums, in which (a) ward and (b) positions, in each year since 2011.

Information is not available in the format requested.

Information on total annual earnings for locum doctors, by grade, at Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust as at 31 October for 2011 to 2014, is shown in the following table.

Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), Provisional NHS Staff Earnings Estimates.

Notes:

1. '-‘ denotes ‘Not applicable’.

2. The HSCIC does not hold data on the wards that staff work in or their specific positions

3. These figures relate to earnings of staff rather than the total cost of them, as HSCIC does not hold data on the total cost of staff.

4. As expected with provisional data, some figures may be revised prior to the next publication as issues are uncovered and resolved.

5. Figures are rounded to the nearest pound.

6. These figures represent payments made using the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system to NHS Staff who are employed and directly paid by NHS organisations.

7. Figures based on data from all English NHS organisations who are using ESR (two foundation trusts do not use ESR).

8. Figures are based on staff with contracted hours more than zero.

9. These statistics include "negative" payments - for example instances where a payment field has had money subtracted to correct an overpayment.

10. The HSCIC seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.

11. As from 21 July 2010, the HSCIC has published provisional monthly NHS workforce data. As expected with provisional statistics, some figures may be revised from month to month as issues are uncovered and resolved. The monthly workforce data is not directly comparable with the annual workforce census; it only includes those staff on the ESR (i.e. it does not include Primary care staff or Bank staff); it also includes locum doctors (not counted in the annual census). There are also new methods of presenting data (headcount methodology is different and there is now a role count). This information is available from September 2009 onwards at the following website: www.hscic.gov.uk