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Dental Services
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Government propose to alter the process of (a) approving new NHS dentists and (b) allocating the relevant funds to health authorities. [64541]
Mr. Milburn:
Dentists are registered by the General Dental Council, and are then free to work for the National Health Service if they wish, anywhere in the country. Funds are not allocated to health authorities for the general dental services where the vast majority of dentists work, instead dentists claim fees from a nationally set fee
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scale. Health authorities do commission community dental services and it is up to each health authority to decide how much funding to put towards these. There are some categories of dental service--personal dental services and salaried dentists--where health authorities must apply to the Department.
Mr. Prior:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on population screening of men for prostate cancer. [64339]
Ms Jowell:
In response to advice from the National Screening Committee (NSC), we advised the National Health Service in Executive Letter (97)12 that screening for prostate cancer should not be offered routinely, based on the existing evidence available. This remains the current policy. The NSC is actively keeping this question under review in the light of emerging evidence.
Mr. Prior:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will estimate the annual cost to the National Health Service of screening all men above the age of 30 years for prostate cancer; [64341]
(3) what is the annual cost to the National Health Service of screening women for (a) cervical cancer and (b) breast cancer. [64342]
Mr. Hutton:
There is currently no reliable information available to make an estimate of costs for a prostate cancer screening programme.
It is estimated that the annual cost of the National Health Service breast screening programme is approximately £38 million. In 1996-97, 1.1 million women were screened, giving an approximate cost of £34.50 per woman screened.
The National Audit Office has estimated the total annual cost of the NHS cervical screening programme to be £132 million. This includes payments to general practitioners for achieving target coverage levels. In 1996-97, 3.8 million women were screened giving an approximate cost of £34 per woman screened.
Mr. Prior:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the use of national guidelines to protect patients' pocket money from unscrupulous nursing home owners. [64301]
Mr. Hutton:
Guidance issued by the National Association of Health Authorities (now the Health Service Confederation) in 1988 advises health authorities responsible for regulating nursing homes that residents in nursing homes should, wherever possible, manage their own financial affairs.
"Home Life: a code of practice for residential care" further advises that, should residents be incapable of looking after their own finances, arrangements should be
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made for a friend or relative to act as an agent or appointee for the resident. A homeowner or manager of a home should not undertake this responsibility unless there is no alternative.
Any suspicion that a homeowner is misappropriating a resident's money or valuables should be referred to the police.
Mr. Rendel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish his response to the seventh report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology of Session 1997-98, "Resistance to Antibiotics and their Antimicrobial Agents (HL81)". [64407]
Ms Jowell:
The Government's response to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology report on Resistance to Antibiotics has been laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library.
Mr. Tyler:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cause of the delay in publishing the Department's report on farming stress and suicide, prepared by the University of London Department of Psychiatry; and if he will make a statement. [64304]
Mr. Hutton:
The report commissioned by the Department on "Suicide and Stress in Farmers" was a study undertaken by Professor Keith Hawton and his team at the University of Oxford. Publication has not been delayed. The final version was received on 4 December 1998 and was published on 7 December 1998.
Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current waiting time for fitting hearing aids at Medway NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement. [64511]
Mr. Milburn:
The current waiting time for fitting hearing aids at Medway National Health Service Trust is 1 month for clinically urgent cases and 6 months for routine cases.
Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the two vacant posts for audiology technicians at Medway NHS Trust are expected to be filled; and if he will make a statement. [64512]
Mr. Milburn:
Medway National Health Service Trust recently advertised for two audiology technicians but did not receive any applications. They are re-appraising the posts in terms of grade and job content and will be re-advertising in the new year.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had on the provision of social services in the London Borough of Wandsworth; and if he will make a statement. [64520]
Mr. Hutton:
The Department, through the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI), monitors the performance of all local social services authorities. The report of a joint SSI/Audit Commission review of social services in the
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London Borough of Wandsworth was published in June 1997, and the report of an SSI inspection of the safety of children looked after was published in June 1998. Copies of both reports are available in the Library. The SSI is closely monitoring progress against the action plans drawn up following both these reports.
Mr. Sayeed:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate the amount of extra taxation which will be received from motorists in the next three years as a result of the increases in fuel duties and the new taxes proposed in the White Paper, "A New Deal for Transport". [63473]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The Chancellor announced in the July 1997 Budget a commitment to annual increases in road fuel duties averaging at least 6 per cent. in real terms. HM Customs and Excise estimates that this will raise an additional £4.4 billion over the three financial years 1998-99 to 2000-01 compared with increasing fuel duties only in line with inflation. The White Paper announced our intention to legislate to enable local authorities to introduce road user charges and workplace parking levies in their areas, and to enable the Secretary of State to introduce charges on trunk roads and motorways. The revenue raised once the legislation is in place will depend on decisions by the authorities concerned as to whether or not to introduce the new charges, and if they do, at what level to do so.
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Mr. Blunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate the level of duty required on landing fees at (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick to balance the supply and demand for slots. [63459]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The UK is subject to a number of international obligations and conventions in respect of airport charges which embody the principle that charges are based on the cost of providing facilities and services, even if there is excess demand to use these. Landing fees account for only a small proportion of airline costs. Given the extent to which demand for slots exceeds supply at Heathrow and (to a lesser degree) Gatwick, it is logical to expect that a several fold increase would be necessary to reach the market clearing level. But the Government have not undertaken precise calculations.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many near misses were reported in each quarter of 1997-98 and 1998-99 to date in (a) United Kingdom air space, (b) Greater London and (c) the home counties; what type of aircraft were involved in each case; and from which airport they were flying. [63362]
Ms Glenda Jackson
[holding answer 14 December 1998]: Information on airproxes ("near misses") is not available in the form requested. The table provides a quarterly breakdown of airproxes in UK airspace for the period requested. Details of airproxes reported by pilots are published by the Joint Airprox Working Group and controller-reported airproxes are published by the Joint Airprox Assessment Panel. When it is able to do so, the newly constituted UK Airprox Board will combine these publications into a single series covering both pilot and controller-reported incidents.
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(2) if he will list the cost to the National Health Service of (a) a PSA blood test, (b) screening for cervical cancer and (c) screening for breast cancer; [64337]
| Period | Total of all reported UK airproxes involving all aircraft types (civil and military) | UK risk-bearing airproxes involving all aircraft types (civil and military) | UK risk-bearing airproxes involving Commercial Air Transport |
|---|---|---|---|
| January-March 1997 | 40 | 17 | 5 |
| April-June 1997 | 68 | 38 | 13 |
| July-September 1997 | 67 | 31 | 9 |
| October-December 1997 | 33 | 14 | 4 |
| January-March 1998(4) | 46 | 16 | 3 |
| April-June 1998(4) | 47 | 16 | 4 |
(4) The 1998 figures are subject to review
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