Department of Health

> Data on health expenditure is not available at constituency level – expenditure per head across the Cheshire and Merseyside SHA has increased from £596.24 in 1997-98 to £1,103.34 in 2002-03

> There is mixed data regarding staffing levels –

• The number of doctors and nurses have risen slightly in Wirral Hospital NHS Trust – the number of doctors has increased from 282 in 1997 to 354 in 2003; the nurse population has risen from 1,584 in 1997 to 1,799 in 2003
  
• Data on the Therapist and Scientist populations is only provided since 2002, which does not allow meaningful assessment of change over time. However, the number of Therapists fell significantly at Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT since this time, from 69 in 2002 to 38 in 2003, whilst the number of Scientists fell from 3 to 0 over the same period

> Treatment for suspected cancer sufferers has become more rapid –

• There has been a substantial increase in the proportion of women with suspected breast cancer that are seen by a specialist within 2 weeks in Birkenhead – from 42% at the start of 1999-00, this has maintained a 100% record since the last quarter of year 2000-01
  
• The proportion of suspected cancer patients seen within 2 weeks has generally increased since 2000-01, and now stands at 99.6%

> Regarding treatment for heart disease, waiting times at the cardiothoracic centre at Liverpool Trust have fallen since 1997 – whilst 138 people waited 9 months and 40 people waited over 1 year in 1997, in February 2004 there were no people waiting 9 months or more for surgery

> In 2000-01, there were 2,269 people receiving drug treatment in Wirral – the absence of any further data makes comparison with previous or subsequent periods difficult

> Waiting list times for outpatients in Wirral have generally increased since 1997-98, but have fallen quite dramatically since 2002-03 – 1202 patients were not seen with 13-25 weeks in 1997-98, with 558 not seen in over 26 weeks. This peaked in 1999-00, at 3853 and 3025 respectively, but in the latest period has fallen to 370 and 0 in terms of the respective waiting periods

Department for Work and Pensions

> There have been year on year increases in the number of senior citizens that have benefited from the Winter Fuel Allowance, from 12,610 in 1999-00 to 14,375 in 2003-04

> The number of Sure Start maternity grants awarded across Wirral has increased since 2000-01, but then again so has the number of applications – however, this represents a gradual fall in the % of awards made against the of applications, from 85.8% in 2000-01 to 80.6% in 2003-04

> Unemployment levels have fallen significantly in Birkenhead since 1997 – total claimant unemployment has dropped from 5,227 in 1997 to 2,540 in 2004 (which as a proportion of the working age population represents a fall from 11.4% to 5.6%)

> 1,310 lone parents in Birkenhead have participated in the New Deal for Lone parents since 1997, which has helped 740 of this group secure employment

> There has been a general increase in the amount invested into each New Deal variant since 1997-98 – the Young People variant has received most investment, totalling £2.1 billion