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Asylum Seekers
Mr. Soley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which is the responsible purchasing authority in a case where an asylum seeker who has been residing in the UK is admitted to a psychiatric hospital before a decision is made about his status. [21588]
Mr. Burns: The health authority of the patient's district of residence.
Faithfull Foundation Treatment Centre
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he is having with other Government departments concerning future accommodation for the Faithfull Foundation treatment centre at the Wolvercote clinic in Epsom; and if he will make a statement. [21636]
Mr. Horam: None. The Department of Health is represented on the Faithfull Foundation monitoring group chaired by the Home Office, at a recent meeting of which the future accommodation requirements of the Wolvercote clinic were considered.
NHS Estates Agency
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the key tasks and targets for 1997-98 for the NHS Estates Agency. [21817]
Mr. Horam: I have agreed the agency's key tasks and targets for 1997-98 and have placed copies in the Library.
NHS Pensions Agency
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the key targets for 1997-98 for the NHS Pensions Agency. [21809]
Mr. Horam:
I have agreed the agency's key tasks and targets for 1997-98, and have placed copies in the Library.
21 Mar 1997 : Column: 1038
Mr Robathan :
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the key targets for 1997-98 for the Medical Devices Agency. [21818]
Mr. Horam:
I have agreed the agency's key targets for 1997-98, and have placed copies in the Library.
Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has appointed a chairman and members to the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting. [21808]
Mr. Dorrell:
Professor Ron de Witt has been appointed as chairman and Mrs. Patricia Oakley has been appointed as a non-executive member for the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting from 1 April 1997 for a four-year term. In addition, Miss Pam Charlwood and Professor Jeff Thompson have been re-appointed for a further four-year term.
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support his Department gives to (a) voluntary and (b) self-help groups relating to irritable bowel syndrome. [21557]
Mr. Horam:
The Department of Health awarded the British Digestive Association, which provides advice and information on a number of gastroenterological conditions, a grant of £18,000 for 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into irritable bowel syndrome. [21556]
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on current NHS funding for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.[21555]
Mr. Horam:
It is for local health authorities to decide how best to allocate the resources available to them, taking into consideration the needs of the population served.
Sir John Stanley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the percentage increase in patient activity in the NHS between 1974 and 1979; and what has been the increase since 1979. [21502]
Mr. Horam:
The number of in-patients and day cases increased by an average 1.2 per cent. per annum between 1974 and 1979 and an average of 3.4 per cent. per annum between 1979 and 1995-96.
Mr. Ben Chapman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times he visited the Wirral, South constituency during (a) 1995, (b) 1996 and (c) 1997.[21430]
21 Mar 1997 : Column: 1039
Mr. Horam:
No visits were made in a ministerial capacity.
Mr. Dobson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the non-elected bodies responsible to his Department which are responsible for providing advice or services in London, indicating in each case the (i) overall budget and (ii) estimated running costs for each year from 1996-97 to 1999-2000. [21380]
Mr. Horam:
The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Sir John Stanley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients there were per GP practice in 1979; and how many there are currently. [21503]
Mr. Malone:
The average number of patients per general practitioner partnership as at 29 March 1996 was 5,593 1 . The figure for 1979 is not available centrally.
Mr. David Nicholson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data he has collated concerning the increase in the number of posts of (a) matron and (b) director of nursing services in NHS hospitals; what supervising duties such posts carry; and what guidance his Department has given regarding numbers, duties, or good practice as regards such posts. [18461]
Mr. Horam
[pursuant to his reply 10 March, column 97]: I am now able to provide additional information. The full reply is as follows:
21 Mar 1997 : Column: 1040
National health service hospital and community health service--HCHS--staff are not classified by job title, but by the job they do. At September 1995 there were 4,280 whole-time equivalent nurse managers employed by the NHS HCHS in England. These are staff who are required to hold a statutory nursing, midwifery or health visiting qualification to do their job, but who have management responsibilities and have little or no direct clinical involvement. Consequently, staff holding the job titles "Matron" and "Director of Nursing" may be included in these figures, along with other staff with different job titles but whose jobs meet the same criteria.
1 Source: General Medical Services Census.