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HEALTH
Publicity
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what promotional and public information campaigns his Department is (a) currently running and (b) planning to run during the next six months; and for each campaign
9 Dec 1996 : Column: 74
(i) how much it will cost, (1) in total and (2) to his Department, (ii) what agencies or bodies are undertaking the work and (iii) what is its planned duration. [7406]
Mr. Horam: Promotional and public information campaigns run by the Department are described as multi-media campaigns containing national and/or regional advertising. The total estimated cost of these campaigns is £3,488,000 in 1996-97, of which £1,335,000 is for advertising. In addition, the Department runs a number of other publicity campaigns, for example health of the nation, overseas travel and help with health costs. These use a wide range of different media, including publications, videos, teleresponse lines and exhibitions. Decisions have not been made on the use of national and/or regional advertising for 1997-98. Other information requested for the current year is in the table.
| Campaign | Advertising Agency | Planned duration |
|---|---|---|
| Maternity | Ogilvy and Mather | 2 weeks |
| Health services | Media System Ltd. | All year |
| Professional recruitment | Saatchi and Saatchi | 2 weeks |
| National Blood publicity | Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper | 2 x 3 weeks |
| Mustoe Merrimann | 2 weeks |
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on promotional or public information campaigns in each of the last five years; and how much he estimates will be spent on these campaigns during the (i) current and (ii) next financial years. [7534]
Mr. Horam: Promotional and public information campaigns run by the Department are described as multi-media campaigns containing national and/or regional advertising. In addition, the Department runs a number of other publicity campaigns, for example, keep warm keep well, overseas travel and help with health costs. These use a wide range of different media including publications, videos, teleresponse lines and exhibitions. Decisions have not been made on the 1997-98 publicity programme. Other information for campaigns which include national and/or regional advertising is in the table.
9 Dec 1996 : Column: 73
| £ million | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campaign description | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | (30)1996-97 |
| AIDS Travel Safe | -- | -- | 0.64 | 0.27 | -- | -- |
| Blood Donor Recruitment | 1.03 | 0.98 | 1.58 | 1.15 | 1.33 | 1.29 |
| Children's Act | 0.73 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Community Care | -- | 1.29 | 0.54 | -- | -- | -- |
| Cot Deaths | 1.61 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Drug and Solvent Abuse | 3.92 | 4.97 | 5.38 | 4.44 | -- | -- |
| Elderly Health | 0.53 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Food Hygiene/Safety | 0.34 | 0.43 | 0.35 | -- | -- | -- |
| GP Out of Hours | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0.86 | -- |
| Health of the Nation | 1.01 | 2.66 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| HOTN Mental Illness | -- | -- | -- | 0.60 | -- | -- |
| HOTN Unwanted Pregnancy | -- | -- | 0.41 | -- | 0.67 | -- |
| Health Service Professions | 3.91 | 0.96 | 0.95 | 1.32 | 0.98 | 1.95 |
| Immunisation | -- | -- | 0.22 | -- | -- | -- |
| Maternity | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0.25 |
| Organ Donation | -- | 1.99 | 1.31 | 1.58 | 1.68 | -- |
| Patient's Charter | 3.11 | 0.81 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Women's Health | 0.51 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Unification of Prescription Charges | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0.30 | -- |
| Patients not Paper | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0.08 | 0.08 |
(30) Estimated expenditure.
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Polio Vaccinations
Sir Julian Critchley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the number of children presently being vaccinated against polio. [7492]
Mr. Horam: Approximately 600,000 children under the age of two in England are immunised against polio each year. Provisional figures for 1995-96 show that 96 per cent. of children in England were immunised against polio by their second birthday. The World Health Organisation has recognised the United Kingdom as one of the countries which have eliminated indigenous polio due to wild virus. The Government are now working to assemble the necessary data to earn a WHO certificate of eradication as part of the programme for the global eradication of polio by 2000.
Personal Social Services
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) the amounts (i) in cash term and (ii) in real terms and (b) the percentage changes in the funding for personal social services for each of the last five years and the projected figures for the next three years. [7478]
Mr. Burns: The information requested is set out:
| Cash (£ million) | Annual percentage change | Real terms (£ million at 1996-97 prices) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-93 | 4,850 | -- | 5,320 |
| 1993-94 | 5,585 | +15.2 | 5,954 |
| 1994-95 | 6,403 | +14.6 | 6,706 |
| 1995-96 | 6,966 | +8.8 | 7,123 |
| 1996-97 | 7,536 | +8.2 | 7,536 |
| 1997-98 | 7,846 | +4.1 | 7,692 |
There are no projected figures for 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
General Medical Services Practice Nurses
Sir Irvine Patnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general medical services practice nurses there were in (a) 1990 and (b) 1995 in (i) Sheffield, (ii) Barnsley, (iii) Doncaster and (iv) Rotherham. [8102]
Mr. Malone: The answer is shown in the table.
| FHSA(31) | 1990 | 1995 |
|---|---|---|
| Barnsley | 26 | 40 |
| Doncaster | 53 | 60 |
| Rotherham | 34 | 48 |
| Sheffield | 107 | 117 |
Source:
GMS census.
Notes:
(31) Practice nurse data are only available on a family health services authority basis.
Latex Allergy
Sir Cranley Onslow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what investigations his Department is making into the incidence of latex allergy. [6629]
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Mr. Horam: The Medical Devices Agency--MDA--has a system for investigating adverse incidents associated with all medical devices, including those manufactured from natural rubber latex. In April 1996, the MDA published a device bulletin entitled "Latex Sensitisation in the Health Care Setting (Use of Latex Gloves)", copies of which are available in the Library.
Peanut Allergy
Sir Cranley Onslow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has prepared for environmental health officers on promoting awareness of the dangers of peanut allergy. [6632]
Mr. Horam: The Department is currently reconsidering its advice on peanut allergy, particularly in respect of consumption of peanuts or products containing peanuts by young children. To that end, we are commissioning work by an expert group who will convene in January 1997 and should be in a position to report by mid-1997.
Paracetamol
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to publicise the inquiry into the labelling, prescribing and sale of products containing paracetamol; and if he will make a statement. [7501]
Mr. Malone: There has been wide publicity. On 22 November 1996, a press release was issued to announce the commencement of a public consultation exercise, seeking views on label warnings and pack sizes of paracetamol available without prescription. The announcement received prominent media coverage. The consultation letter giving details of proposals has been sent to 245 professional bodies, consumer organisations and marketing authorisation holders. Articles and commentaries have been carried by medical and pharmaceutical journals and the trades press as well as national newspapers.
Anti-drugs Policies
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of anti-drugs policies in reducing the consumption of (a) alcohol, (b) tobacco, (c) medicinal drugs, (d) ecstasy, (e) ketamine, (f) heroin and (g) cannabis. [7502]
Mr. Malone: Concerning illegal drug misuse, I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council gave my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Mr. Rathbone) on 13 May, Official Report, columns 341-42.
The Government's policies to prevent the misuse of alcohol and reduce the consumption of tobacco are subject to continuing evaluation.
The misuse of ketamine, which is not currently a controlled drug, is kept under review.
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