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Prescription Charges
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost of maintaining prescription charges at present levels in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000. [12785]
Mr. Malone: We estimate the loss of income from maintaining prescription charges at their present level of £5.50 rather than raising them to £5.65 from 1 April 1997 would be approximately £9 million per annum for the next three financial years.
Service Provision
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he intends to take to keep pace with extra demands on the national health service from (a) demographic trends and (b) health-specific cost pressures; and if he will make a statement on the impact of such extra demands on health service provision. [12788]
Mr. Horam: The Government's commitment on funding for the national health service is set out in the White Paper "The National Health Service: A Service with Ambitions", presented to Parliament in November 1996. The White Paper discusses fully the implications of demographic change, the public's expectations of the NHS and of medical and technical advances. The Government keep the totality of cost pressures on the NHS, and the scope to deliver improved value for money, under review in reaching their decisions on public expenditure, year by year.
Dental Checks
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the annual cost of abolishing all charges for dental checks; and what estimate he has made of the number of people who presently make some payment for such checks. [12786]
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Mr. Malone: The annual cost of abolishing charges for dental examinations in England, based on 1995-96 prices and charges, is estimated to be about £60 million, at current levels of demand. The number of courses of treatment where patients pay some charge for dental examinations is estimated to have been approximately 14.5 million in 1995-96.
Nurse Education
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the pre-registration nurse education intake in each year from 1987-88 to 1995-96. [12688]
Mr. Horam: The information requested is published English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting annual reports 1991-92 and 1995-96, copies of which are available in the Library.
Departmental Publications
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) White Papers, (b) Green Papers, (c) consultation papers, (d) draft regulations and (e) circulars, for which his Department has been responsible issued in 1996 which his Department assesses could give rise, (i) directly and (ii) indirectly, to significant environmental effects. [12710]
Mr. Horam: The Department's major areas of policy responsibility do not have a significant environmental impact and we are not aware of any documents, issued in 1996, which have given rise to either direct or indirect environmental effect. However, the Department has worked in collaboration with the Department of the Environment to produce the United Kingdom national environmental health action plan and a consultative document on the inclusion of the environment as a key area in "The Health of the Nation" strategy, both of which would lead to improvements in environmental quality with parallel benefits to health.
Care Leavers
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department has undertaken to ensure local authorities provide adequate support for young people leaving care; and if he will make a statement. [12811]
Mr. Burns: The Department of Health issued comprehensive guidance to local authorities on after care to accompany the Children Act 1989. It has further reinforced messages about the need for social services to work collaboratively with other agencies in guidance on children's services planning. The Government have commissioned, and continue to fund, research on leaving care and provides funding to a number of voluntary organisations to promote developments in services. The social services inspectorate will be disseminating widely the findings of its recent inspection of leaving care services.
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health according to what criteria young people leaving care are identified as vulnerable; and if he will make a statement. [12810]
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Mr. Burns: The assessment of the individual needs of young people about to leave care is the responsibility of local authority social services departments on a case-by-case basis. Social services departments have a duty to draw up a care plan for each young person they are looking after. Comprehensive guidance on planning and reviewing children's cases and on the after care responsibilities of local authorities was issued to accompany the Children Act.
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of young people leaving care are identified as vulnerable; and if he will make a statement. [12808]
Mr. Burns: The information requested is not held centrally.
Children's Rights (UN Report)
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the UN committee report on the rights of the child. [12813]
Mr. Burns: We received the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on 27 January 1995. The UN convention on the rights of the child does not require us to publicise the report or to respond.
Meningitis
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the conditions that have to be met before a decision is taken to vaccinate (a) children in a primary school and (b) students living in halls of residence against the C strain of meningitis. [13014]
Mr. Horam: Guidelines on the control of meningococcal infection, including the use of antibiotics and vaccine, have been issued by the public health Laboratory Service since 1989. These are regularly updated and published and copies are sent to all directors of public health and consultants in communicable disease control. The most recent guidelines on the control of meningococcal disease were issued on 8 December 1995 in the PHLS's "Communicable Disease Report Review"; additional guidance on the management of clusters of meningococcal disease was included in a letter sent to all doctors from the Chief Medical Officer on 3 January and published in the CDR on 10 January, which was also sent to directors of public health and consultants in communicable disease control. These publications have been placed in the Library. Those with local expertise must make decisions about the detailed arrangements for the handling of outbreaks of meningococcal infection within these guidelines.
Mr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of vaccination programmes to protect against type C meningitis that were conducted in (i) 1976, (ii) 1977, (iii) 1978, (iv) 1979, (v) 1994 (vi) 1995 and (vii) 1996. [13016]
Mr. Horam: These data been collected for the period since April 1995 only. We are aware of three community and 10 schools meningococcal immunisation programmes in the period 1 April 1995 to 31 March 1996. Data are collected each March for the preceding full year.
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Pharmaceuticals
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) quantity and (b) percentage of pharmaceuticals for (i) human and (ii) animal use produced in the United Kingdom were donated overseas; and if he will make a statement. [12717]
Mr. Malone: This information is not available.
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment his Department has made of the safety implications of companies donating pharmaceuticals for (a) human and (b) animal use; and if he will make a statement; [12719]
- (2) what regulations his Department has set for the (a) quantities, (b) content, (c) labelling and (d) life span of pharmaceuticals for donation overseas; and if he will make a statement. [12718]
Mr. Malone: Medicines licensed for human and animal use within the European Community are assessed against criteria of safety, quality and efficacy. Countries outside the EC may have particular requirements for the import of pharmaceuticals for human or animal use. The World Health Organisation has issued detailed guidelines for donors and recipients relating to drug donations for international humanitarian relief. The code of ethics of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain provides guidance for pharmacists on the redirection of unwanted medicines to developing countries.
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial incentives his Department gives to companies to donate pharmaceuticals overseas; and if he will make a statement. [12716]
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