---

Drug Services (Funding)

Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy in regard to the ring fencing of funding provision to health boards for drug services.[20198]

Lord James Douglas Hamilton: In order to ensure that sufficient priority is given to tackling the problem of drug misuse in Scotland, the Government's policy is that the ring fencing of funding provision to health boards for drug services is essential and should continue.

Radioactive Materials

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the civil police provide escorts for type B containers of civil radioactive materials transported by road at the request of the material's owners; and if he will make a statement. [19932]

Mr. Page: I have been asked to reply.

The civil police do not escort type B containers of radioactive materials transported by road. The UK Atomic Energy Authority constabulary escorts these containers when necessary.

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the owners of radioactive materials in transit are responsible for the cost of civil police escorts; and if he will make a statement. [19933]

Mr. Page: I have been asked to reply.

The civil police are not involved in the escort of radioactive materials and therefore no costs are incurred.

HEALTH

Disability Living Allowance

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with disabilities, living in NHS hospitals or residential accommodation, currently receive the mobility component of the disability living allowance.[20130]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: I have been asked to reply.

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.

People with entitlement to disability living allowance mobility component at 21 January 1997 who were in hospital for over 28 days (84 days for children)

	Number
Rate of mobility entitlement
Higher	10,480
Lower	13,951
Total	24,431

Source:

Analytical Services Division 100 per cent. data.

17 Mar 1997 : Column: 464

Community Care

Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library the responses to his Department's draft guidance for local authorities on the implementation of the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996; and if he will make a statement. [19205]

Mr. Burns: Copies of all responses have been placed in the Library, except where respondents have indicated that they wish their reply to be excluded from this arrangement. In those cases, confidentiality has been respected.

We have received 206 replies to the consultation throughout the United Kingdom. These comprise 86 replies from local authorities, 70 from voluntary organisations, and 50 from independent providers, health bodies, statutory bodies and individuals.

Pepper Gas

Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 13 February, Official Report, column 287, for what reasons his Department compiled the report on pepper spray; and if his Department has prepared other reports on this subject since 1991. [19088]

Mr. Horam: The report to which the hon. Member refers was prepared by officials at the Department of Health at the request of the Home Office. No further scientific reports on this subject have been produced by officials.

Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the hospitals which have facilities to provide extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation for children aged (a) up to six months and (b) six months and over; and how many paediatric intensive care beds there are in each of the units with extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation facilities. [19497]

Mr. Horam: On the basis of recently published evidence of the effectiveness of extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation in neonates, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 8 January that, from 1 April this year, an ECMO service for neonates and premature babies up to six months suffering from respiratory syncytial virus will be purchased centrally from Great Ormond Street hospital for sick children, London; Glenfield hospital, Leicester; and the Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne. All three have the necessary neonatal and paediatric facilities to support ECMO treatment for this group of babies.

The information requested on the number of paediatric intensive care beds with ECMO facilities is not held centrally.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Mr. Brian David Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the hospitals in the west midlands that have had recorded incidents of MRSA since 1992; [19721]

(2) how many (a) cases of and (b) deaths from MRSA have been recorded in (i) the west midlands and (ii) west midlands hospitals in each year since 1992; [19719]

17 Mar 1997 : Column: 465

(3) how many cases of MRSA have been recorded in Walsgrave hospital, Coventry in each of the last five years, broken down by age bands of 10 years; [19720]

(4) what has been the percentage change in the annual incidence of MRSA in west midlands hospitals from 1990-91 to 1995-96. [19722]

Mr. Horam: Information on the total number of cases of infection or colonisation with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus is not collected centrally. Some health authorities monitor the occurrence of MRSA, but these are likely to be subject to local variations in the type of data collected and the methods of collection used.

Data on the occurrence of MRSA compiled by the public health laboratory service are derived from isolates submitted voluntarily by hospitals in England and Wales for typing.

The data held by PHLS of the number of hospitals in the West Midlands health region reporting incidents of MRSA from 1992 to 1996, the number of patients affected and the year-on-year percentage change of number of patients affected are shown in the table. The names of individual hospitals are not available. An incident is defined as three or more patients with the same strain of MRSA in a month from the same hospital. It is not known in how many of these cases MRSA contributed to or caused death.

Incidents of MRSA: West midlands health region 1992 to 1996

Year	Number of hospitals reporting incidents	Number of patients affected	Year-on-year percentage change of patients affected
1992	11	200	--
1993	17	677	+239
1994	21	2,180	+222
1995	22	1,448	-34
1996	17	1,293	-11

Source:

PHLS.

NHS Trusts

Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts (a) have had their establishment orders altered, and when, and (b) are currently being considered for alterations to their establishment orders. [19824]

Mr. Horam: Copies of establishment orders for national health service trusts are available in the Library.

Establishment orders for the following trusts are being considered for alteration:

Black Country Mental Health trust
Bromley Hospitals NHS trust
Chichester Priority Services NHS trust
Leeds Community and Mental Health Services Teaching NHS trust
Leicester Ambulance and Paramedic Services NHS trust
Lifecare NHS trust
Riverside Mental Health NHS trust
South Lincolnshire Community and Mental Health Services NHS trust.

17 Mar 1997 : Column: 466

Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has to alter the establishment orders of NHS trusts involved in negotiating private finance initiative projects. [19823]

Mr. Horam: A decision will be taken following consultation with the local community health council in respect of trusts which require changes to their establishment order as a result of a private finance initiative project.

Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) negotiations he is undertaking with and (b) representations he has received from, (i) NHS trusts, (ii) community health councils, (iii) health authorities, and (iv) private sector private finance initiative partners concerning alterations to NHS trust establishment orders. [19825]

Mr. Horam: Alterations to trust establishment orders are generally requested by the trusts concerned. A decision is made on amendment following consultation where that is applicable. The consultation process where an alteration to an establishment order is due to a change in service provision is carried out by the Department involving the trust and the local community health council. Health authorities and the private sector are not directly involved.

Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 4 March, Official Report, column 569, concerning NHS trusts' funding, if the establishment order for each NHS trust named permits it to sign a contract for the private finance initiative project it is currently negotiating; and if he will make a statement.[20070]

Mr. Horam: The position is set out in the table.

Trust	Establishment order compliant with PFI
Bishop Auckland NHS trust	Yes
Bromley Hospitals NHS trust	Consultation in progress
Calderdale Healthcare NHS trust	Amending order made 13 March 1997
Carlisle Hospitals NHS trust	Amending order made 13 March 1997
Dartford and Gravesham NHS trust	Yes
Greenwich Healthcare NHS trust	Consultation required
Hereford Hospitals NHS trust	Yes
North Durham Acute Hospitals NHS trust	Yes
Oxleas NHS trust	Yes
St. James and Seacroft University Hospitals NHS trust	Yes
Swindon and Marlborough NHS trust	Yes
Walsgrave Hospitals NHS trust	Consultation required
Wellhouse NHS trust	Amending order made 13 March 1997
Worcester Royal Infirmary NHS trust	Yes

---