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HEALTH
After-school Clubs
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he proposes for vetting staff in after-school clubs and play schemes after their deregulation. [18039]
Mr. Bowis: We are currently considering this.
Childless Couples
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which health authorities provide NHS treatment for (a) assisted and (b) surrogate pregnancy for childless couples; and if he will make a statement; [17965]
- (2) what plans he has to designate (a) assisted and (b) surrogate pregnancies for childless couples on the NHS as clinically essential; and if he will make a statement. [17964]
Mr. Horam: Information on which health authorities provide national health service treatment for assisted and surrogate pregnancies is not available centrally.
The Department of Health does not designate which services are clinically essential. This is a matter for clinicians. Decisions about the availability of infertility services are for clinicians and individual health authorities to determine, as they are in the best position to decide priorities in the light of local needs and circumstances.
GP Fundholders
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what rights community health councils have to make representations on the medical care decisions taken by general practitioners involved in total fundholding; [17958]
- (2) what obligations are placed on general practitioners involved in total fundholding to consult with representatives of patients to identify community needs for medical care. [17957]
Mr. Malone: Total purchasing pilot projects operate under devolved purchasing arrangements from health authorities. In the same way as health authorities, they are required to consult community health councils about significant service changes. Similarly, in accordance with the priorities and planning guidance for the NHS and the accountability framework for general practitioner fundholding, total purchasing projects are expected to involve patients in the planning and development of services. Copies of the guidance are available in the Library.
Tameside Acute Care Trust
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the cost of severance payments made by Tameside Acute Care trust to achieve its proposed reduction in the number of managers; [17933]
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- (2) if he will publish a complete schedule of the severance costs of health authorities and trusts incurred to meet the management reduction targets for 1996-97. [17944]
Mr. Malone: These are local matters and this information is not available centrally.
Mrs. Maggie Aikman
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to recover a proportion of the severance payment made to Mrs. Maggie Aikman by the Burnley Health Care trust following her appointment as finance director to Gwent health authority. [18036]
Mr. Malone: I am taking no such action.
Population Statistics
Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current Office of Population Censuses and Surveys estimate of the population of England and Wales. [18330]
Mr. Horam: The mid-1994 estimate of the resident population for England and Wales is 51,620,500. This is the latest available.
Vacant General Practitioner Posts
Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received criticising the Medical Practices Committee's power to decide whether vacant general practitioner posts should be abolished or advertised. [18348]
Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions in each of the last five years the Medical Practices Committee has decided to disperse the patient list of a vacant general practitioner post following a recommendation by a health authority that the post be advertised. [18457]
Mr. Malone: The information is not available centrally.
Medical Practices Committee
Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the preparation of the day-to-day casework of the Medical Practices Committee is done manually. [18437]
Mr. Malone: The preparation of day-to-day casework of the Medical Practices Committee is a matter for the chairman and members of the Medical Practices Committee.
Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made as to whether it is appropriate that the Medical Practices Committee may disperse a patient list regardless of a family health services authority recommendation to the contrary. [18331]
Mr. Malone: Decisions on whether patient lists should be advertised or dispersed are made by the Medical Practices Committee in pursuit of its statutory function to maintain an even distribution of general medical
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practitioners throughout England and Wales. The committee should take the views of health authorities into account.
Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the overall computerisation of the Medical Practices Committee has taken place. [18473]
Mr. Malone: The committee's secretariat has access to the Department's computerised office information system. Further computerisation will be subject to the committee submitting a full business case.
Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost to his Department of financing the Medical Practices Committee in each of the last five years. [18332]
Mr. Malone: The available information is shown in the table.
| Year | Budget |
|---|---|
| £ | |
| 1991-92 | 408,000 |
| 1992-93 | 358,000 |
| 1993-94 | 357,000 |
| 1994-95 | 394,000 |
| 1995-96 | 383,000 |
The budgets for 1991-92 and 1994-95 included money for one-off requirements.
Mr. Pearson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health within what time scale a health authority must present its recommendations to the Medical Practices Committee when a general practitioner post falls vacant. [18349]
Mr. Malone:
Regulation 11(5) of the General Medical Services Regulations 1992, as amended, requires family health services authorities to consult with the local medical committee before submitting any recommendation to the Medical Practices Committee on the need to fill vacant posts. No formal time scale is laid down.
Mr. Chris Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of (a) the Delta trial in the United Kingdom and (b) the protease inhibitor trials in the USA; and what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with HIV have ready access to combination therapies of dual or triple anti-viral medicines. [18489]
Mr. Horam:
Preliminary results from the recent Delta trial on combination therapy were very encouraging for patients who have not taken AZT previously and publication of the full results is expected this summer. The American trials on protease inhibitors are showing promising results. The Government have made substantial sums of money available for HIV and AIDS services. Where different drug regimes are available, it is a matter for individual clinicians to discuss with patients and decide on the best form of treatment.
Mr. Hall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has recently changed the guidelines relating to the issue of crown cars to chairpersons of NHS trusts. [18345]
5 Mar 1996 : Column: 185
Mr. Malone:
There have not been any recent changes to the guidelines on the issue of crown cars to chairmen of national health service trusts. The crown car scheme relates only to those staff employed by NHS bodies and there are no comparable provisions for chairmen and non-executive directors of NHS trusts.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list in rank order the amount spent on administration in each NHS trust in England. [18288]
Mr. Malone:
The information is not available centrally.
Miss Lestor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many successful applications for section 64 grant aid funding for 1996-97 went to (a) non-London organisations and (b) new applicants. [18340]
Mr. Bowis:
Ministers are currently in the process of considering applications for grants under the section 64 general scheme in 1996-97. Individual organisations will be notified of the outcome as soon as consideration of their application is complete.
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