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Doncaster Health Authorities

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the running costs of (a) Doncaster health authority and (b) Doncaster family health services authority in each year since 1988. [29735]

Mr. Malone: The information is shown in the table.

Headquarter revenue expenditure£ thousand

Year	Doncaster family health services authority	Doncaster district health authority
1988-89	338	1,843
1989-90	427	1,883
1990-91	719	2,082
1991-92	1,169	1,226
1992-93	1,153	1,476
1993-94	1,289	1,827
1994-95	1,376	1,996

Source:

Annual accounts of the district health authority and the family health services authority.

Notes:

1. Changes over the years in the roles and responsibilities of family practitioner committees, family health services authorities and district health authorities mean that the figures are not strictly comparable.

2. The health authority costs are those reported in the accounts as "Authority administration and purchasing expenses". This includes capital charges after 1991-92. The family practitioner committee/family health services authority administration costs are those reported in the annual accounts as revenue administration costs and represent that part of total expenditure which is not medical, dental, ophthalmic or pharmaceutical.

AIDS and HIV

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) men and (b) women were registered suffering from (i) AIDS and (ii) HIV, in each London borough council in December 1995. [29994]

Mr Horam: The number of men and women with AIDS reported voluntarily by clinicians to the communicable disease surveillance centre as resident in London boroughs to December 1995 is shown in the table. Similar information for diagnosed HIV infection is not available.

For reasons of confidentiality the figures are not shown separately by sex.

AIDS cases reported to PHLS AIDS centre by 31 December 1995 by local authority of residence at time of report

Authority	Total cases	Known to have died
Barnet	142	63
Hillingdon	53	36
Brent	175	99
Harrow	41	24
Ealing	232	160
Hammersmith and Fulham	523	351
Hounslow	149	109
Kensington and Chelsea	600	394
Westminster	498	316
Barking and Dagenham	14	10
Havering	17	10
Redbridge	53	36
Waltham Forest	96	58
City of London	8	7
Hackney	209	121
Newham	170	100
Tower Hamlets	197	114
Enfield	66	45
Haringey	228	137
Camden	403	220
Richmond	103	77
Islington	284	176
Bromley	47	37
Bexley	27	14
Greenwich	85	63
Lambeth	636	440
Lewisham	180	120
Southwark	311	212
Croydon	125	89
Merton	105	72
Sutton	19	18
Wandsworth	445	317
Kingston	41	26

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Crohn's Disease

Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current level of public funding into research for Crohn's disease; if he will increase this figure over the planning period; and if he will make it his policy to amend the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 to allow Crohn's sufferers to make claims for compensation. [3065]

Mr. Horam: The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant in aid from my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. The council is an independent body, deciding what research to support on its own expert judgment. Although it supports a significant portfolio of research related to intestinal diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases, it does not currently fund any research specifically on Crohn's disease.

Responsibility for the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security.

Yorkshire Regional Health Authority

Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates Yorkshire regional health authority bought its premises at Park parade, Harrogate; how much was paid for the premises; and from whom they were bought. [30687]

Mr. Malone: The Yorkshire regional health authority bought its premises at Park parade, Harrogate from County Hotels (Harrogate) Limited on 31 March 1981 for a sum of £300,000.

4 Jun 1996 : Column: 379

Administration Costs

Mr. McAvoy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the proportion of the budget spent on administration for (a) health authorities, (b) NHS trusts, (c) directly managed units, (d) fundholding general practitioner practices, (e) non-fundholding general practitioner practices and (f) the NHS as a whole. [30735]

Mr. Malone: The latest available information is for 1994-95 when spending on administration by regional health authorities, district health authorities, family health services authorities and special health authorities accounted for 3.5 per cent. of the national health service total gross spending. This figure includes the total revenue expenditure on pay and accommodation costs of staff at headquarter level in RHAs, DHAs and SHAs as identified in their annual accounts and the administration expenditure identified in the FHSAs' accounts.

The costs of administrative support in trusts are not separately identifiable from the 1994-95 accounts, as these were regarded as part of operational expenditure.

The costs of administrative support in directly managed units are included in the costs of the parent health authority.

All general practitioners are independent contractors supported through the general medical services system of payments and allowances. There is no facility within this system to separate out administrative costs. Fundholding practices receive a management allowance to meet the additional costs incurred in managing a fund. In 1994-95 these allowances accounted for 0.2 per cent. of NHS total gross spending.

Across the health service as a whole, 4.4 per cent. of total gross spending was committed to administration. This total includes the elements identified above as well as the gross running costs of the NHS executive and NHS-related functions of the Department of Health and the costs of the Prescription Pricing Authority and the Dental Practice Board.

Charities (NHS Budget)

Mr. McAvoy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the total NHS budget came from charities in each of the past five years. [30736]

Mr. Horam: This information is not available centrally.

Prostate Cancer

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve prostate cancer screening; and if he will make a statement. [30800]

Mr. Horam: We have no plans to introduce a national NHS screening programme for prostate cancer. The key aim of any screening programme must be to secure a demonstrable improvement in health by increasing length of life and enhancing quality of life. There is, as yet, no evidence that this would be achieved in relation to prostate cancer. The Department is aware of the need to

4 Jun 1996 : Column: 380

assess the value of available techniques for the early detection of prostate cancer. Several research projects are currently being undertaken.

Although there is no national screening programme for prostate cancer, individual patients can be tested on request. This may be necessary where there is a family history of the disease. Some general practitioners offer patients testing as part of a general health check.

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of prostate cancer have been identified in the United Kingdom in each of the past five years; what analysis he has made of these figures; and if he will make a statement. [31146]

Mr. Horam: The number of cases of prostate cancer registered in England and Wales were published in "Cancer Statistics Registrations", series MBI Nos. 19-1986, 20-1987, 21-1988 and 22-1989, and in the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys "Monitor" MBI 95/1-1990. Copies of all five publications are available in the Library.

Questions relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of NHS patients suffering from prostate cancer who have been treated with brachytherapy combined with external beam radiation; and if he will make a statement. [31147]

Mr. Horam: This information is not available centrally.

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his policy with regard to making a prostate specific antigen test generally available at an early date to people suspected of suffering from prostate problems; and what plans he has to introduce a regular screening test for all men of vulnerable age groups. [31149]

Mr. Horam: The Department is aware of the need to assess the value of available techniques for the early detection of prostate cancer, including the prostatic specific antigen test. The Department of Health's standing group on health technology assessment has identified prostate cancer as one of the priority areas for health technology assessment and has commissioned work to assess the cost-effectiveness, clinical benefit and comparative value of measurement of PSA in serum and transrectal ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of prostatic cancer. The results of this work should be available shortly.

Although there is no national screening programme for prostate cancer available to national health service patients, individual patients can be tested on request. This may be necessary where there is a family history of the disease. Where appropriate, general practitioners can offer some patients testing as part of a general health check.

We have no plans currently to introduce a national NHS screening programme for prostate cancer. The key aim of any screening programme must be to secure a demonstrable improvement in health by increasing length of life and enhancing quality of life. There is, as yet, no evidence that this would be achieved in relation to prostate cancer.

4 Jun 1996 : Column: 381

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