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BSE
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of BSE were confirmed in each local authority area in Scotland in each of the first six months of 1997. [6829]
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Mr. Chisholm
[holding answer 7 July 1997]: Information is set out in the table. This shows animals confirmed as having BSE between 1 January and 27 June
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1997. Fifty-three of these animals were first identified as BSE suspects in 1996 but not confirmed by laboratory analysis until 1997.
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| Former Scottish regional councils, and Islands councils areas | January | February | March | April | May | (11)June | 1997 total to date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borders | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Central | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Dumfries | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 28 |
| Fife | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Grampian | 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 24 |
| Highland | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Lothian | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Orkney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Shetland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Strathclyde | 9 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 20 |
| Tayside | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 15 |
| Western Isles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scotland | |||||||
| Total | 28 | 14 | 14 | 25 | 18 | 11 | 110 |
(11) As at 27 June 1997. The statistics are not collected by the State Veterinary Service on the basis of the new local authority areas.
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HEALTH
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what restrictions will be placed on consortiums involved in NHS PFI schemes in respect of selling or permitting the takeover of their PFI contracts with NHS bodies. [6553]
Mr. Milburn: We are currently considering the future shape of Private Finance Initiative in the National Health Service. Current guidance published jointly by the Private Finance Panel and Her Majesty's Treasury ("Transferability of Equity" (1996)) advises that the public sector should not seek to restrict the private sector's freedom to transfer its investments unless there are exceptional reasons arising from the special nature of a project.
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those hospital projects currently under consideration as PFI projects and what stage in the PFI process each had reached at 1 May. [6792]
Mr. Milburn: Information on the stages reached in Private Finance Initiative projects is held centrally only for new hospital schemes which have reached preferred bidder stage, and for all PFI schemes with a capital value of £1 million or over which have had their Full Business Case approved. Information on the status of these schemes as of 1 May 1997 have been placed in the Library.
Top Quality Care
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what are his definitions of (a) top quality primary care, (b) top quality continuing care, (c) top quality mental health and (d) an excellent information system; and if he will list examples of (a), (b) and (c). [6742]
- (2) pursuant to his oral statement of 20 June, Official Report, column 544-45, if he will define in (a) quantitative and (b) qualitative terms (i) top quality primary care, (ii) top quality continuing care and (iii) top quality mental health services. [6806]
Mr. Milburn:
The Government believe that top quality health care is characterised by: fairness--with access to services based on need rather than ability to pay,
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geographical location or registration with a particular general practitioner; efficiency--health care that makes the best use of tax payers money; effectiveness--health care that focuses on quality of treatment rather than quantity alone; and responsiveness--health care that is sensitive and understanding of patients needs and concerns.
Information systems should provide the information that the health service needs to plan and deliver appropriate services and that patients and the public need to be assured that they are receiving good quality cost effective care.
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral statement of 20 June, Official Report, columns 544-45, what methods of measurement his inquiry panel will use to determine if a medical service is top quality. [6807]
Mr. Milburn:
The Independent Advisory Panel will decide the method it will use to assess services, within the terms of reference it has been given.
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors underlie the reduction in spending by the London Implementation Group between 1996-97 and 1997-98. [6801]
Mr. Milburn:
The London Implementation Group (LIG) was disbanded on 1 April 1996.
(12) The above figures relate to centrally provided LIZ funds only. Total LIZ spending also includes Regional capital allocations and local funds.
The above are all funds made available to London from central budgets and are in addition to London health authorities' integrated allocations which increased in real terms by £72 million in 1997-98.
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Financial Deficit (Northern Region)
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 30 June to the hon. Member for Middlesborough, South and Cleveland East (Dr. Kumar), Official Report, column 29, on what date he plans to publish the information on trusts in deficit for 1997-98. [6805]
Mr. Milburn: The information requested from the revised plans of trusts will be placed in the Library in due course.
Back Pain (School Children)
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into back pain in school children; [6818]
- (2) what (a) discussion and (b) joint actions his Department has initiated with the Department for Education and Employment in respect of (a) research and (b) solutions for back problems in school children. [6834]
Mr. Boateng: The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council. The Council is not currently funding any research into back pain in school children. Nevertheless, it always welcomes high-quality applications and these are judged in open competition with other demands for funding, and awarded according to their scientific quality.
Both the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Employment are aware of the research which the National Back Pain Association is currently conducting into factors which might cause back pain in school children. Once the results of that research are available, we will be better able to judge what joint initiatives might be appropriate.
Waiting Lists
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the time required to reduce
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waiting lists to meet patients charter targets (a) nationally and (b) in each (i) health authority region and (ii) NHS trust. [6832]
Mr. Milburn:
There are no Patient's Charter targets for reducing the number of patients on waiting lists. The Charter does, however, guarantee that all patients will be treated within 18 months of being placed on a waiting list and sets a target of a 12 month maximum wait for heart bypass surgery and some associated procedures.
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the medical conditions which are his current priorities for treatment in the NHS. [6744]
Mr. Milburn:
The Priorities and Planning Guidance for the National Health Service, published annually by the NHS Executive, indicates the Department's priority areas for the development of services nationally. The needs of populations are assessed locally and services and treatments are matched to those needs. Individual clinicians decide the most clinically appropriate treatment and clinical priority for each patient based on their assessment of that patient's need.
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