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Kidderminster District General Hospital
Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has received from the West Midlands NHS Executive regarding the future of Kidderminster district general hospital. [79579]
Mr. Denham: It is established practice under successive Administrations not to disclose details of confidential advice received by Ministers from civil servants.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Mrs. McKenna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the seventh annual report of the national Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit. [79895]
Mr. Dobson: The National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit's seventh annual report has been published today. Copies have been placed in the Library. The report documents the Unit's findings in relation to sporadic, familial, iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD) up to 31 December 1998.
Medicines Control Agency
Mr. Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the future of the Medicines Control Agency and the Medical Devices Agency. [80064]
Mr. Denham:
Quinquennial reviews of both Agencies are now due. They will address the performance of each Agency and will re-examine the options ("Prior Options") which were considered before each Agency was established. They will look at all options, although they will be informed by the study which we announced on 9 December 1998 to investigate the longer-term
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organisational arrangements--including merger--which would best support the effective regulation of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. This study has just been completed and has recommended that the Agencies should not be merged at this time. The report of the study has been placed in the Library.
Charlotte Atkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues to health authorities regarding (a) the level of fat, (b) the proportion of sugar, (c) the amount of fibre, (d) the amount of fresh fruit and (e) the amount of fresh vegetables in the diet of schoolchildren. [79324]
Ms Jowell:
The Department has not issued any guidelines to health authorities regarding schoolchildren's dietary needs. However, the Department offers general advice on healthy eating which applies to everyone over the age of 5 years. This is contained in "The Balance of Good Health" which shows the different types and proportion of five categories of foods, including fruits and vegetables, which make up a well-balanced and healthy diet. "Eight Guidelines for a Healthy Diet" extends this advice to cover the important dietary changes needed to eat healthily.
Fieldwork for the joint Department of Health/ Department for Education and Employment National Diet and Nutritional Survey of young people aged 4 to 18 years has been completed and the results are being analysed. A report is expected at the end of this year. We hope the report will help inform the way forward for health promotion initiatives and public health strategies to improve the diet of schoolchildren.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 23 March 1999, Official Report, columns 185-86, if he will place in the Library the documents disseminated through the NHS Executive's regional offices for those private finance initiative schemes which have reached financial close. [78986]
Mr. Denham:
The National Health Service Executive does not prepare a formal written report on the lessons learned from each private finance initiative scheme. Any lessons that are to be learned are disseminated through training events, networking days or through ad-hoc guidance. All of the existing PFI guidance will be replaced shortly by codified advice, which will be disseminated to the whole of the NHS and will be available from the Stationery Office and on the Internet. Copies of the guidance will also be placed in the Library.
National Insurance Contributions
Dr. Stoate:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the effects of the transfer of the Contributions Agency to the Inland Revenue. [80073]
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Mr. Timms:
I can confirm that from 1 April responsibility for National Insurance contributions (NICs) operations and policy will pass from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security to the Board of the Inland Revenue and the Chancellor of the Exchequer respectively. A new Executive Office of the Inland Revenue to be called the National Insurance Contributions Office (NICO) will be formed from those Contributions Agency (CA) units based in Newcastle, amounting to about 4,500 staff in all. Some 3,500 CA staff working in field offices in locations around Great Britain will be integrated into Inland Revenue regions.
This change is important in two ways. It marks a step towards more modern and effective Government and also towards improved service to the public. Our aims for this transfer are to reduce burdens on business; give better customer service; strengthen compliance; and over time promote greater alignment of the rules for income tax and National Insurance.
For instance from 6 April, through the New Enterprise Support Initiative based in the Inland Revenue, new employers will have access to a telephone helpline which will provide help and guidance on both NICs and tax. Other early benefits of the transfer include a new route for appeals against contributions decisions to the Tax Commissioners alongside tax appeals.
As a result of the transfer of responsibility for NICs policy to Treasury Ministers correspondence and parliamentary questions on NICs policy issues should in future be addressed to them. Parliamentary questions on NICs operational issues will also be for reply by Treasury Ministers. The Board of Inland Revenue will be responsible for NICs operations and, where appropriate, replies to correspondence on operational issues will be provided by Inland Revenue officials.
The Inland Revenue and Treasury Ministers will respond to correspondence and parliamentary questions on NICs in just the same way as they deal with their other responsibilities.
The Social Security Benefits Agency will continue to be responsible for contributory benefits and State Retirement Pension matters as now. Social Security Ministers retain responsibility for policy on the contributory principle and policy on non-State pensions.
The respective responsibilities of the two Department and their working relationship are set out in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Principal Accounting Officers. The Memorandum reflects share commitment to modern Government and improved public service across a wide range of complex arrangements. Copies have been placed in the Libraries and it is also available at the Internet sites of the DSS and the Inland Revenue.
Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement about the outcome of the consultation exercise on the future funding arrangements for supported accommodation. [80071]
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Mr. Darling:
On 10 December we published the consultation paper "Supporting People: A new policy and funding framework for support services". This proposed replacing the current complicated funding arrangements with one single budget targeted specifically at support services for vulnerable people, which would be administered by Local Authorities. The new arrangements will encourage coherent planning at a local level to deliver more cost effective and high quality services to many thousands of vulnerable people.
Consultation ended on 5 February, and we received a substantial number of responses which have helped inform our decisions on the way forward.
We are pleased to announce that the consultation shows that there is strong support for the principles underlying the Supporting People proposals, and the fact that, for the first time, the provision of support services for vulnerable people is being given the priority it deserves. We have therefore decided to proceed with implementing the long-term proposals from April 2003.
Some respondents had concerns about whether the new arrangements were suitable for sheltered housing. We have looked carefully at these concerns and concluded that including sheltered housing in the new single budget will enable greater flexibility in service models, and bring the benefits of a joint commissioning approach.
In taking work forward, we will work closely with interested parties to develop the detail of the new arrangements to ensure that the long-term objectives become a workable and effective reality.
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