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Computers (Century Date Change)
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if she will make a statement on what funding provision has been made to accommodate the expenditure needed to resolve the computer millennium problem; and if she expects to have sufficient funding to pay for the work necessary to achieve complete millennium compliance by 1 January 2000; [13619]
- (2) what is her latest estimate of the total cost of resolving the computer millennium problem in (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) other public bodies for which she is responsible; if she will state in each case (i) expenditure incurred to date, (ii) expenditure planned for 1997-98, (iii) expenditure planned for 1998-99 and (iv) expenditure planned for 1999-00; and if she will make a statement; [13618]
(3) when her Department, its agencies and other public bodies for which she is responsible completed the millennium computer compliance audits of systems; and if she will make a statement; [13620]
(4) if she will publish the action plan, due by 1 October 1997, for resolving the computer millennium problem in
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- her Department, its agencies and other public bodies for which she is responsible; if such was fully completed on time; and if she will make a statement; [13617]
(5) which (a) Minister and (b) civil servant has overall responsibility for ensuring millennium computer compliance in her Department and its associated public bodies. [13621]
Mr. Murphy: The cost of preventative and remedial action on Year 2000 will be met from existing PES provision. Action is planned to be completed before the year 2000.
The Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Departments had completed their system audits by early summer 1997 and are working to a local target date for submission of detail costed plans to the department of finance and personnel of 1 December 1997. Until these plans have been completed and collated it will not be possible to provide estimates of the costs likely to be involved.
Following analysis of the plans, Parliament will be informed of the outcome. The plans will be exempted from disclosure under the open government code of practice on access to Government information, which permits non-disclosure prior to an announcement. However, once the announcement has been made the plans will be available to the public.
The Northern Ireland Office, Northern Ireland Departments, their agencies and other public bodies are responsible for ensuring millennium compliance for their own systems. The role of the department of finance and personnel is to provide advice and guidance under my direction. In this I am supported by the head of central IT unit within my Department.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of prescribing beta interferon in each year since 1995 for each health authority. [13475]
Mr. Milburn:
The available information is shown in the table. Comparable information for the complete 1997 year is not yet available. In order not to disclose information that may relate to an individual patient, information is only provided where 50 items or more have been dispensed. In no health authority in 1995 were 50 or more items dispensed.
The cost of prescribing beta interferon in hospitals is not available.
| £000 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1996 | |
| Berkshire | -- | 80 |
| West Surrey | -- | 113 |
| East Surrey | -- | 52 |
| Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow | -- | 69 |
| England | 132 | 681 |
4 Nov 1997 : Column: 179
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints his Department has received concerning the prescribing of beta interferon in each year since 1995. [13473]
Mr. Milburn: The Department of Health has received a number of representations about the prescribing of beta interferon, by letter and telephone. However, a central record of all such representations is not available.
Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of beta interferon to the NHS in (a) 1995, (b) 1996 and (c) 1997. [13808]
Mr. Milburn: The available information is shown in the table. Comparable information for the complete 1997 year is not yet available.
| 1995 | 1996 | |
|---|---|---|
| England | 132 | 681 |
The cost of prescribing beta interferon in hospitals is not available.
Roads (A12-A134 Junction)
Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost, including consultancy fees, of preparing plans for a proposed junction between the A12 and A134. [13306]
Mr. Milburn: The junction onto the A12 is part of a phased development for a new major road in North Colchester. Costs for producing the master plan for the road have been borne by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and the local authority for the area. Generally the costs of preparing the design for the junction itself has been the responsibility of the local authority. Information relating to the precise costs should be sought from the local authority.
Health Service Management Savings
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of additional patients the NHS will be able to treat due to management savings between 1 October 1997 and 31 March 1998. [13323]
Mr. Milburn: We set targets to reduce National Health Service management costs in 1997-98 by £100 million. Many of the savings achieved will already have been re-invested locally in direct patient care services. In addition, we have directly invested £10 million of the savings from deferring the 8th wave of general practitioner fundholders in improving breast cancer services, so that all women have speedy access to high quality diagnosis and treatment. We have also invested a further £5 million in strengthening paediatric intensive care services in readiness for the winter. It is estimated that at the start of this financial year health authorities were planning to purchase an additional 66,000 elective episodes--cases treated from waiting lists--in 1997-98 when compared with 1996-97.
Public Health Laboratory Service, Colindale
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement consequent on the recent visit of the Minister for Public Health to the public health laboratory service, Colindale. [13121]
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Ms Jowell:
I am pleased to note that my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) also visited the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) at their headquarters in Colindale, and trust that he was as impressed as I was by my visit in June. The PHLS has provided microbiological and epidemiological services for fifty years and plays a key role in protecting the population from communicable disease threats. We expect this key role to continue to be central to the Government's emphasis on public health.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) emergency patients the NHS plans to receive and (b) elective finished consultant episodes the NHS plans to complete between October 1997 and 31 March 1998. [13321]
Mr. Milburn:
Plans are only collected on an annual basis. The table gives the 1997-98 plans for elective finished consultant episodes (FCEs) and non-elective finished consultant episodes and first consultant episodes. Non-elective first finished consultant episodes have been collected for the first time this year as a measure of the number of non-elective hospital spells.
| Regional office | Elective plan-FCEs | Non-elective plan-FCEs | Non-elective plan-first FCEs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern and Yorkshire | 735 | 629 | 533 |
| Trent | 507 | 521 | 455 |
| Anglia and Oxford | 481 | 422 | 346 |
| North Thames | 648 | 540 | 469 |
| South Thames | 582 | 527 | 455 |
| South and West | 733 | 562 | 485 |
| West Midlands | 499 | 469 | 432 |
| North West | 845 | 710 | 589 |
| England | 5,030 | 4,380 | 3,764 |
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency patients the NHS planned to receive between 1 October 1996 and 31 March 1997; and how many were received. [13319]
Mr. Milburn: Plans are only collected on an annual basis. The table gives the non elective activity plans for 1996-97 as a whole. The activity is the total number of finished consultant episodes.
| Regional office | Plan 1996-97 | Activity 1 October 1996 to 31 March 1997 |
|---|---|---|
| Northern and Yorkshire | 597 | 322 |
| Trent | 492 | 263 |
| Anglia and Oxford | 397 | 215 |
| North Thames | 524 | 278 |
| South Thames | 504 | 268 |
| South and West | 540 | 284 |
| West Midlands | 449 | 238 |
| North West | 665 | 353 |
| England | 4,168 | 2,221 |
4 Nov 1997 : Column: 181
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many elective finished consultant episodes the NHS planned for between 1 October 1996 and 31 March 1997; and how many took place. [13320]
Mr. Milburn: Plans are only collected on an annual basis. The table gives the elective activity plans for 1996-97 as a whole and the elective activity that took place during the period October 1996 to March 1997. The activity is the total number of elective finished consultant episodes and is expressed in thousands.
| Regional office | Plan 1996-97 | Activity, 1 October 1996 to 31 March 1997 |
|---|---|---|
| Northern and Yorkshire | 734 | 356 |
| Trent | 498 | 249 |
| Anglia and Oxford | 474 | 243 |
| North Thames | 631 | 324 |
| South Thames | 633 | 295 |
| South and West | 707 | 350 |
| West Midlands | 503 | 251 |
| North West | 819 | 412 |
| England | 4,999 | 2,480 |
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