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Single-sex Wards
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts do not currently admit patients to single-sex wards if that is their wish.
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally.
Hepatitis C
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answers of 21 November to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshaw (Mr. Morris), Official Report, column 29 , and of 11 January to the hon. Member for Windsor and Maidenhead (Mr. Trend), Official Report , column 145, how haemophiliacs who may have received blood contaminated with hepatitis C will be traced for counselling and treatment if information is not centrally available to identify them; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: Blood products used in the treatment of haemophilia patients have been virally inactivated since 1985. Doctors treating these patients are aware that prior to this date blood products carried the risk of transmission of hepatitis C. We understand that the majority of haemophilia patients have been counselled and tested as part of the management of their condition.
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Nurses
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of whether a sufficient number of people are qualifying as nurses and of the Royal College of Nursing report "Opening the Door".
Mr. Sackville: The number of training commissions required to supply an adequate number of newly qualified staff is determined by local employers, to ensure a good balance between demand and supply of highly qualified trained nurses. Regional plans to commission training places are monitored and overseen by the national health service executive.
We welcome the publication of the Royal College of Nursing report "Opening the Door" as it shows a healthy majority of both newly qualified and experienced nurses gain considerable job satisfaction from their posts and do not wish to work outside nursing.
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses were trained in 1994; how many are expected to be trained in (a) 1995, (b) 1996 and (c) 1997; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: In 1993 94 22,829 students started courses of nurse education. Confirmed figures are not yet available for 1994 95, 1995 96 and 1996 97. Final figures for these years will be provided in due course in the annual reports of the English National Board of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting.
Cot Deaths
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the total number of recorded cot deaths in England and Wales for each of the past five years.
Mr. Sackville: The information is shown in the table:
Cot deaths to infants and children aged under 5, England and
Wales 1989-3<3>
Year |SIDS<1> |Sudden infant
|deaths<2>
-------------------------------------------------------------
1989 |1,261 |1,367
1990 |1,156 |1,246
1991 |935 |1,051
1992 |515 |579
1993 (provisional) |422 |457
<1> Deaths where sudden infant death syndrome-International
classification of Diseases 9th Revision 798.0-is the only
cause mentioned on the death certificate.
<2> Deaths where "SIDS", "Cot Death", or similar terms, was
mentioned with other causes on the certificate.
<3> The figures for 1989-92 are based on annual
registrations. The figures for 1993 are based on
occurrences.
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of all recorded cot deaths in England and Wales in the last five years were attributable to (a) colds and bronchial conditions, (b) emissions from plastic bedding and (c) urine and its reaction with bedding.
Mr. Sackville: The causes of sudden infant death syndrome remain unknown and substantial Government-funded and voluntary sector research continues in this area. It is not possible to attribute incidence by the categories mentioned.
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Camden and Islington Health Authority
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she is taking to reduce waiting lists for elective surgery in Camden and Islington health authority.
Mr. Malone: It is for Camden and Islington health authority to ensure that the shortest possible waiting times are available to its resident population from the hospitals with which it has contracts, and to ensure that at the very least the maximum waits guaranteed under the patients charter are not exceeded.
Under the new patients charter which comes into effect in April we have reduced the maximum time patients will have to wait for elective surgery from two years to 18 months from the date of their going on to a waiting list.
Cannabis
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what conclusions she has reached on the use of cannabis under the Medicines Acts for the relief of pain for sufferers of multiple sclerosis or glaucoma.
Mr. Bowis: None, but I have seen and heard representations on this issue.
N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd.
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide estimates for the total amount that has been paid to N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd. with respect to any work undertaken by it on privatisation programmes in which her Department has engaged since 1979 after taking account of inflation.
Mr. Sackville: There are no such sums to report.
Royal Northern Hospital
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what future plans her Department has for the Royal Northern hospital, Holloway road, N7; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Malone: None. The hon. Member may wish to approach Sir William Staveley, chairman of North Thames regional health authority, for information about the future of this site.
Reversal of Status Forms
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in each regional health authority in each of the past three years are recorded as having signed reversal of status forms from (a) private to NHS and (b) NHS to private.
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally.
Capital Allocations
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 23 January, Official Report , column 14 , on capital allocations, if she will set out the undershoot on external financing limits at November 1994 by region.
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Mr. Sackville: The external financing limits set for each trust are annual targets. Performance against them is measured at the year end and reported in trust annual accounts. External financing limits are equivalent to a cash limit on both revenue and capital expenditure by trusts. There is therefore no direct relationship between under or overshooting the limit and capital expenditure.
Young Carers
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her estimate of the number of children and young persons who are currently providing a substantial amount of remedial care to a sick, elderly or disabled relative.
Mr. Bowis: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mrs. Golding) on 17 January Official Report , column 387 .
Patient Anonymity
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for health (1) what arrangements she has made to protect patient anonymity in the collection of medical records for statistical purposes in the area of (a) mental health, (b) cancer and (c) other categories; (2) what consultations she has had with the Data Protection Registrar concerning the future protection of patient anonymity in the collection of data from medical records for statistical purposes in the area of (a) mental health, (b) cancer and (c) other categories.
Mr. Sackville: Patient information is confidential.
Information given by patients concerning their health and treatment is protected by the common law, the Data Protection Act 1984 and the ethical responsibilities of health professionals. This applies even when the information is anonymised and aggregated.
We have recently consulted on draft guidance for the national health service on "Confidentiality, Use and Disclosure of Personal Health Information" which includes advice on the use of anonymised/aggregated information. Prior to the consultation we had a number of meetings and discussions with the Data Protection Registrar.
We have since received comments from the Data Protection Registrar on the use and disclosure of personal health information, which are being considered.
Ian Greer Associates
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions departmental officials met representatives of Ian Greer Associates (a) formally and (b) Informally on 26 January to discuss matters relating to their clients' interests.
Mr. Sackville: Officials receive representations about a wide range of matters. Central records are not kept of meetings with external organisations, and to the best of our knowledge no such meetings have taken place.
Waterborne Viruses
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been carried out by her Department into the health impacts of viruses in sea and river water.
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Mr Sackville: The Government funded an extensive four-year research programme into the health effects of sea-bathing, which was published in January 1994.
The study concluded that bathing in water that met the current bathing water directive standards was not associated with overt infection or serious illness.
Capital Schemes
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date each individual capital scheme received external financing limit approval; on what date it received final approval after being tested for private finance initiative funding; and what was its value for each region since April 1994.
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally.
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide a list of capital schemes that received initial external financing limit approval but were rejected for final approval after failing to achieve private funding under the private finance initiative in each region since April 1994, indicating the value of each scheme.
Mr. Sackville: No capital schemes have been rejected for failing to secure funding under the private finance initiative.
Long-term Care
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response she has received to the draft guidance on long-term care; when she expects to issue new guidance; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis: I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 10 January, Official Report, column 118, and to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 26 January, Official Report, column 343.
Children (Residential Care)
Mr. Sykes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made by the support force for children's residential care since September 1993; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis: The support force for children's residential care has recently reported on its progress in its first year. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.
This report demonstrates the significant progress made by the support force in its first year. It has worked in partnership with over 50 authorities and independent sector providers to help bring about improvements in residential care for children and young people.
Private Dental and Medical Insurance
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's estimate of the number of people with the cover of private dental insurance, and of private medical insurance.
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Mr. Sackville [pursuant to his reply, 20 January 1995, c. 765]: I regret that my previous reply is incorrect. It should read: "Information on the number of people with private dental insurance and medical insurance is not collected by the Department."
Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema
Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the length of time allowed for general practitioners to obtain adequate training to judge on applications under the chronic bronchitis and emphysema regulations, and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Hague: I have been asked to reply.
This Department has no responsibility for the training of general practitioners.
Assessments of disablement for prescribed disease D12--chronic bronchitis and emphysema--are made by independent adjudicating medical practitioners, all of whom are fully registered medical practitioners.
Prior to the introduction of PD D12 on 13 September 1993, the AMPs were given a training package approved by the DSS's senior medical advisers.
The training package consisted of:
(1) an introductory course of one day given by an expert in respiratory medicine;
(2) half-day refresher training in spirometry--FEV1 test; (3) training in reading X-rays over a four-month period; (4) training manuals taking six hours to assimilate the information.
The AMPs who assess PD D12 all have considerable prior experience in the examination and assessment procedures for industrial injuries and prescribed diseases.
EDUCATION
Public Bodies
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 20 January, Official Report , column 722 , if she will list the 28 boards, authorities, committees and other public bodies and the total amount of public spending relevant to each body.
Mr. Boswell: The information given is the latest available.
Grant allocations to public bodies in FY 1994-95
|(£ million)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit |4.699
Centre for Information on Language Teaching<1> |0.832
Education Assets Board |0.118
Fulbright Commission |0.389
Funding Agency for Schools |237.026 (net)
Further Education Unit<2> |-
Further Education Staff College<2> |-
Further Education Development Association<3> |-
Further Education Funding Council
(including 9 regional committees) |2,847.058
Higher Education Funding Council in England |3,436.079
National Council for Education Technology |5.391
National Youth Agency |1.394
Royal Ballet School |2.200
School Curriculum Assessment Authority |34.000
Special Educational Needs Tribunal |0.220
Student Loans Company |16.638
Teacher Training Agency<4> |2.000
University Commissioners<5> |-
Yehudi Menuhin School |0.450
<1> In addition to the DFE grant, CILT will receive grant of over
£100,000 from other government departments.
<2> The further education unit and the Further Education staff college
ceased to be supported by the Department for Education after the end of
the 1992-93 financial year, Government funding
now falls under the FEFC budget.
<3> Government funding for the Further Education Development
Association falls under the FEFC budget.
<4> The expenditure total of £2 million includes a small amount-
£68,000-of preparatory expenditure prior to the establishment
of the agency.
<5> The university commissioners ceased to be supported by the
Department for Education after the end of the 1993-94
financial year. In the 1994-95 financial year provision of
£25,000 was made in the Department's running costs for the
residual work of the commissioners.
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 20 January, Official Report, column 722, if she will list the appointees of each of the 28 boards, authorities, committees and other public bodies, and what the remuneration was of the appointees.
Mr. Boswell: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd.
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will provide estimates for the total amount that has been paid to N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd. with respect to any work undertaken by it on privatisation programmes in which her Department has been engaged since 1979 after taking account of inflation.
Mr. Boswell: The Department has not commissioned N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd. to undertake any work on privatisation.
Postgraduate Support Scheme
Mr. Bryan Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which institutions or students are to lose funding as a consequence of the reduction in the postgraduate support scheme funding; what the level of the reduction is in total; and how much will be lost by each institution or student affected.
Mr. Boswell: Provision for the Department's postgraduate awards scheme will be reduced by 10 per cent. from 1995 96 to a total of £4.3 million.
From the academic year 1995 96, bursary support will be withdrawn from postgraduate courses as follows:
Journalism
University College, Cardiff
City University
Tourism
University of Surrey
Language studies
University of Bath
University of Bradford
University of Kent
University of Westminster
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Art gallery and museum studiesUniversity of Manchester
University of Leicester
The number of bursaries for postgraduate studies in librarianship and information studies in the academic year 1995 96 will be reduced by 10 per cent. at the following institutions:
University College Wales Aberystwyth
University of Central England
Thames Valley University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Liverpool John Moores University
Loughborough University
Manchester Metropolitan University
University College London
University of Northumbria
University of North London.
Students already on courses will not be affected.
It is not possible to give figures in respect of the financial effect on individual institutions or students since bursaries are means-tested and the circumstances of individuals vary significantly.
Lay School Inspectors
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what vocational training grants are available to individuals following lay school inspector courses;
(2) what expenses may be claimed by individuals training to be lay school inspectors.
(3) how many individuals have undertaken training to be lay school inspectors in England and Wales.
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