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Millennium Commission
Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the names, designations and salaries of the Members of the Board of the Millennium Commission. [6127]
Mr. Chris Smith:
The names of the Millennium Commissioners, who are unpaid, are as follows:
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| Role | Name | Start date of present term | Expiry date of present term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Rt. hon. Chris Smith MP | 19 May 1997 | 31 December 2000 |
| Member | Rt. hon. Michael Heseltine MP | 17 February 1994 | 31 December 2000 |
| Member | Rt. hon David Clark MP | 19 May 1997 | 31 December 2000 |
| Member | Dr. Heather Couper | 17 February 1994 | 31 December 2000 |
| Member | Earl of Dalkeith, DL | 17 February 1994 | 31 December 2000 |
| Member | Sir John Hall, Bt | 17 February 1994 | 31 December 2000 |
| Member | Mr. Simon Jenkins | 17 February 1994 | 31 December 2000 |
| Member | Ms Patricia Scotland | 17 February 1994 | 31 December 2000 |
| Member | The Lord (Robin) Glentoran, CBE DL | 17 February 1994 | 31 December 2000 |
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HEALTH
Haemophiliacs
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to promote greater use of recombinant Factor 8 clotting products for haemophiliacs. [5124]
Mr. Boateng: We have no plans to recommend the greater use of recombinant Factor 8. The Department of Health has advised health authorities that they should weigh the claimed benefits of recombinant Factor 8 against the high costs, bearing in mind the good safety record of the plasma-derived product since the introduction of viral inactivation processes in 1985.
We have made clear our policy that treatment decisions should focus on high quality research evidence about clinical effectiveness, safety and long-term patient outcomes.
GPs (Home Visits)
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many home visits were made by general practitioners during each of the last three years in the United Kingdom. [5478]
Mr. Milburn:
The information requested is not available on a United Kingdom basis. However, sample information is available within the General Household Survey (conducted by the Office for National Statistics), which gives the proportion of National Health Service general practitioner consultations within Great Britain. In the last three years for which information is available--1993, 1994, and 1995--the proportion of NHS GP consultations at patients' homes as a percentage of total NHS GP consultations was 9 per cent., 10 per cent. and 9 per cent. respectively. Copies of the report on the 1995 General Household Survey--entitled "Living in Britain"--are available in the Library.
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Ms Beverley Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the reform of adoption law to address (a) the problem of drift for children in care and (b) issues arising from inter-country adoption and the United Kingdom's responsibilities under The Hague convention. [5940]
Mr. Boateng:
Preparation has already begun to mount a series of national seminars towards the end of the year which will focus on improving the quality of management within the adoption service; the seminars will address important issues such as delay in placing children and preventing children from drifting within the care system. We are currently considering a number of possible options which will enable the Government to ratify the 1993 Hague Convention and address issues arising from intercountry adoption.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of bed blocking in hospitals. [5976]
Mr. Boateng:
We shall explore proposals to address the difficulties around hospital discharge procedures and the problems which are caused by ensuing delays. We acknowledge that there are concerns about the current level of delayed discharges in some areas. Responsibility for hospital discharge delays rests with one agency but sometimes delays occur through the local authority or the health authority and sometimes in meeting the particular needs of the individual patient and their family.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to assess the cost to the economy of a period of serious ill health of men and women (a) in full-time employment and (b) not in paid employment. [6079]
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Ms Jowell:
No such assessment has been made by the Department of Health. The Health and Safety Executive estimate that the total cost to the economy of work- related ill health was between £2 billion and £2.5 billion in 1990. The next updating of these costs by the Health and Safety Executive will be in 1998. The updating will cover costs for 1995-96, using the necessary data from the Labour Force Survey.
Mr. Dafis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make representations to the Independent Television Commission urging it to give prominence to public health considerations in its code of programme sponsorship. [5853]
Ms Jowell:
The Independent Television Commission's code of programme sponsorship already takes account of health considerations and the Commission keep the code under regular review. For instance, companies are prohibited from sponsorship if their name is known to the public chiefly through their tobacco business, even if they also market other non-tobacco goods and services. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for National Heritage, whose Department has policy responsibility for broadcasting, has noted the hon. Member's suggestion on public health considerations for programme sponsorship.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the material used in the workshop on sexuality supported by the European Commission, as detained in COM(96)720; and what funds were used to support the project. [6095]
Ms Jowell:
We understand that the workshop on sexuality was a project submitted in 1993 to the European Commission by a Spanish non-governmental organisation, and that it received funding in 1994 of 61,301 ECU (£43,830 at current exchange rates). From the information available, the purpose of the project was to train instructors in providing sex education for 13 to 21 years olds with the aim of preventing HIV/AIDS and of enabling young people to discover values to assist them in their personal sexual development. The materials used included three videos about love and sexuality and a guidebook for trainers. We are informed that 56 people were trained under the project in Spain, and 10 in the United Kingdom.
As we have not been able to obtain much information about the project in the time available, I will write to the hon. Member shortly with further details.
Dr. Brand:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies his Department has undertaken on the outcome of the contracting out of NHS trust non-clinical services to private sector providers; and what assessment he has made of (a) those studies and (b) the experience of contracting out for the PFI programme. [6162]
Mr. Milburn:
National Health Service trusts have supplied the NHS Executive with information on the outcome of market tests. In the areas covered by compulsory market testing (cleaning, catering and laundry services) about 30 per cent. of contracts by value have
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been awarded to commercial contractors. Overall some 86 services have been market tested and about half by value have been awarded to commercial contractors. A review of the operation of the market testing policy is currently being undertaken by Departmental officials. In drawing up our programme for the review of Private Finance Initiative we have taken into account the experience of market testing in the NHS.
Mr. Olner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 10 June, Official Report, columns 427-28, if he will make a statement about the PFI in the NHS. [7128]
Mr. Milburn:
In my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggant) I announced my intention to review the 43 major acute sector Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes in the National Health Service. I have today arranged for copies of the full results of the review to be placed in the Library. I have also written to all Members and stakeholders in health PFI, enclosing copies of the results. Fourteen major acute schemes have been selected, representing almost £1.3 billion of new capital investment in NHS hospitals.
The review was undertaken by officials and all schemes were graded according to three criteria: (i) their service need; (ii) status--how far and well negotiations have progressed and (iii) "PFI ability"--how well the scheme fits with the PFI process and hence its likelihood of delivering a successful outcome.
This process was both fair and open. Officials from the Department shared with the trusts the criteria against which the projects were judged and their relative markings. I, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health as far as the schemes in the Northern and Yorkshire region are concerned, examined the gradings and the reasons why officials recommended schemes either be included or excluded. We also received representations from many Members.
The 14 schemes which most successfully met the three criteria will be asked to continue with their PFI proposal, with the objective of reaching an early and acceptable financial close over the next 18 months. A complete table listing all the scores, along with a note explaining the criteria, has been placed in the Library. We have instructed officials to prepare programmes and milestones for every successful scheme. The schemes will be subject to the normal rigorous approval processes and any of these 14 schemes that subsequently fail to deliver to time or price will be cancelled.
Those schemes not selected will be asked to cease any further action on their contract. They should stand down their partners if they have selected one and cancel all tendering procedures.
Any trust or consortium whose scheme has to met the three criteria and which wishes to make representations to the Secretary of State should do so within the next 10 days. Otherwise such trusts should now take steps to stand down their partners or cancel the tendering procedure.
Those schemes not selected will be eligible for consideration as part of a national capital prioritisation exercise by the NHS Executive's Capital Prioritisation
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Advisory Group. This group will review major acute schemes for health service need and will recommend those which should go forward either as part of the next tranche of PFI schemes which we plan to announce in spring 1998, or for funding from the public sector capital that is available.
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