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Airborne Particulates
Sir Graham Bright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the link between airborne particulates and premature death; [39553]
- (2) what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the potential beneficial effects of reducing airborne particulate levels in urban areas; [39554]
(3) what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the link between airborne particulate levels and asthma. [39556]
Mr. Horam: In November 1995 the Department of Health published a report of the expert advisory Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, "Non-Biological Particles and Health", copies of which are in the Library.
Further research has been commissioned under the joint Department of Health, Department of the Environment and Medical Research Council research strategy on air pollution and respiratory disease.
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 511
Sir Graham Bright:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of airborne particulates his Department currently assesses to be safe. [39555]
Mr. Horam:
The Department of the Environment's expert panel on air quality standards, to which this Department contributes, has made a recommendation for an air quality standard for particulates (PM10) in the United Kingdom of 50 g/m 3 , measured as a 24-hour running average. The panel considered that very few individuals in the population will react adversely to this concentration of particles.
Ms Harman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average number of invoices sent out by health authorities in the last year. [39747]
Mr. Horam:
This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many dental practices in each South Yorkshire metropolitan borough council accepted NHS patients in 1995; [39791]
(3) how many dental practices in each Humberside borough council accepted NHS patients in 1995; [39792]
(4) how many dental practices in each West Yorkshire borough council accepted NHS patients in 1995. [39794]
Ms Harman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists claimed NHS fees in each of the last five years nationally and by region. [39826]
Mr. Malone:
I will write to the hon. Members.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new NHS registrations with a dental practitioner occurred in each six-monthly period between January 1990 and January 1994 and in each month since January 1994; and how many of these are estimated to have been duplicate registrations. [38848]
Mr. Malone:
The information available is shown in the table. It is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of how many of the additions to dentists' registers were duplicate registrations.
(2) how many dental practices in each North Yorkshire borough council accepted NHS patients in 1995; [39793]
| Adults | Children | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July-December 1990 | 6,465,031 | 2,263,895 | 8,728,926 |
| January-June 1991 | 7,831,462 | 3,241,789 | 11,073,251 |
| July-December 1991 | 5,183,990 | 1,746,359 | 6,930,349 |
| January-June 1992 | 5,237,498 | 2,074,727 | 7,312,225 |
| July-December 1992 | 4,440,845 | 1,465,821 | 5,906,666 |
| January-June 1993 | 4,522,199 | 1,795,765 | 6,317,964 |
| July-December 1993 | 4,111,603 | 1,344,462 | 5,456,065 |
| 1994 | |||
| January | 870,893 | 383,089 | 1,253,982 |
| February | 801,985 | 352,813 | 1,154,798 |
| March | 733,962 | 295,643 | 1,029,605 |
| April | 794,696 | 305,957 | 1,100,653 |
| May | 789,391 | 288,878 | 1,078,269 |
| June | 706,418 | 255,740 | 962,158 |
| July | 713,735 | 239,208 | 952,943 |
| August | 743,716 | 269,302 | 1,013,018 |
| September | 799,398 | 265,990 | 1,065,388 |
| October | 781,429 | 268,198 | 1,049,627 |
| November | 667,813 | 223,276 | 891,089 |
| December | 620,948 | 169,663 | 790,611 |
| 1995 | |||
| January | 877,115 | 384,094 | 1,261,209 |
| February | 760,316 | 335,200 | 1,095,516 |
| March | 726,532 | 311,851 | 1,038,383 |
| April | 712,238 | 279,152 | 991,390 |
| May | 757,928 | 286,419 | 1,044,347 |
| June | 679,884 | 249,911 | 929,795 |
| July | 703,433 | 248,729 | 952,162 |
| August | 738,928 | 272,790 | 1,011,718 |
| September | 749,902 | 256,289 | 1,006,191 |
| October | 712,630 | 248,142 | 960,772 |
| November | 620,966 | 221,928 | 842,894 |
| December | 693,125 | 197,632 | 890,757 |
| 1996 | |||
| January | 786,674 | 357,550 | 1,144,224 |
| February | 661,091 | 328,154 | 989,245 |
| March | 702,332 | 308,334 | 1,010,666 |
| April | 674,820 | 285,726 | 960,546 |
| May | 696,760 | 271,527 | 968,287 |
Formal registration system came into operation in October 1990 with the beginning of the new dental contract.
Additions to registers include registration of patients after a break in attendance and reinstatement of registrations that have been cancelled in error. Additions also include transfers from one dentists to another, changes of surname, and patients being transferred from capitation to continuing care arrangements.
The date refers to the month in which the addition would have first appeared in the registration statistics. Payment is made a month in arrears.
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 512
Mr. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients were registered with a dental practitioner in (a) April 1994, (b) April 1995 and (c) April 1996. [38847]
Mr. Malone: The information is set out in the table.
| Number of patients registered | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults | Children | Total | |
| April 1994 | 21,447,217 | 6,916,912 | 28,364,129 |
| April 1995 | 20,463,447 | 6,746,544 | 27,209,991 |
| April 1996 | 19,782,487 | 6,786,617 | 26,569,104 |
1. Excludes patients registered with salaried dentists.
2. Since May 1994 the Dental Practice Board has improved procedures for eliminating duplicate registrations. This has produced downward pressure on the levels of registrations over this period.
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of dentists in (a) Wiltshire and (b) Salisbury parliamentary constituency, in each of the last five years, who will treat (i) NHS patients only, (ii) NHS and private patients and (ii) private patients only; and if he will make a statement. [38984]
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 513
Mr. Malone: The information available in set out in the table.
| Number of dentists at 30 September | |
|---|---|
| 1991 | 158 |
| 1992 | 173 |
| 1993 | 170 |
| 1994 | 175 |
| 1995 | 178 |
Includes principals on the Family Health Services Authority list for Wiltshire together with assistants and vocational trainees. Some principals may be on more than one Family Health Services Authority list; these dentists have been included where Wiltshire was the FHSA in which the dentist's fee income was greatest. Salaried dentists are excluded.
Single Tender Contracts
Ms Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is issued to civil servants regarding (a) their dealings with applicants for single tender contracts and (b) the provision of written advice to such applicants. [39815]
Mr. Horam: Guidance on single tender action is contained in two internal Department of Health publications, "Purchasing and Supply Manual" and "Guidance Notes on the use of Management Consultants".
The Department's policy is generally to avoid single tender action, but accepts that it may be justifiable in very limited circumstances, for example, where the work is an extension of a recently completed contract and it can be clearly demonstrated that this achieves better value for money or where the expertise required is available only from one source. Applicants are not advised that they are providing the sole tender.
NHS Number Programme
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the initial cost of the new NHS number programme; and what is the estimated cost to date and his latest estimated full outturn cost. [39771]
Mr. Horam: I will write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements were made to advertise the new NHS number programme in the contract supplement of the Official Journal of the EU. [39769]
Mr. Horam: The new national health service number programme has complied with the European Union regulations on procurement where these were applicable. The following contracts were advertised in the contract supplement of the Official Journal of the EU: The contract for development of a new NHS central register
The contract for provision of a service to trace new NHS numbers
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 514
Mr. Horam: The business case for the new NHS number was submitted for Treasury approval in March 1994. Approval was granted in April 1994, and the terms of reference for the programme were agreed by the new NHS number programme board in August 1994.
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