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HEALTH
Passported Benefits
Ms Buck:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what would be the cost of designating recipients of tax credits
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and their families as people entitled to passported benefits under the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 1988. [69748]
Mr. Denham:
The additional costs (compared with the current passporting of Family Credit and Disability Working Allowance) are (for England) estimated to be £48 million in 1999-2000, £113 million in 2000-01 and £125 million in 2001-02 in total in respect of National Health Service prescriptions, NHS dental treatment, NHS sight tests and optical vouchers. Costs in respect of wigs and fabric supports and patients' travel hospital expenses would also be incurred by NHS trusts.
Mr. Lock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 30 March 1999, Official Report, columns 656-57, on Lamotrigine, if he will list for each of the 35 inquiries referred to (a) the incident or event which gave rise to the inquiry, (b) the name and address of the person who generated the inquiry, (c) details of the nature of the inquiry and (d) the steps which (i) his Department and (ii) the Medicines Control Agency have taken in response to the inquiry. [80231]
Mr. Denham
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: Details of the 35 inquiries received by the Medicines Control Agency relating to lamotrigine from health professionals and members of the public since the marketing authorisation was granted are shown in the table. In many cases, the incident or event which gave rise to the inquiry is not known. Under the Data Protection Act the names and addresses of the inquirers have been withheld and cannot be provided without the written permission of the individuals concerned. In most cases, the nature of the inquiries was to seek information on adverse drug reactions to lamotrigine, which is routinely provided on request to health professionals and members of the public by the Medicines Control Agency.
(1) A Drug Analysis Print (DAP) gives a complete list of all suspected adverse reactions reported through the Yellow Card Scheme to the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM)/Medicines Control Agency (MCA) in association with the named drug substance.
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NHS Pay
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the Gloucestershire Health Authority of the pay award to all NHS employees for 1999-2000. [80401]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 13 April 1999]: Gloucestershire Health Authority, working closely with local National Health Service trusts, estimate that £6.6 million will be required to meet the costs of the pay award for NHS employees for 1999-2000. Pay awards for certain staff groups have yet to be announced.
Biggleswade and Steppingley Hospitals
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the patient base at Biggleswade and Steppingley hospitals is comprised of people originating outside Mid-Bedfordshire. [80476]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is not normally available centrally; however, I am informed by the health authority that at Biggleswade Hospital, of the 20 admissions over the past two months 10 have been for patients outside the Mid-Bedfordshire area. At Steppingley Hospital, 8 out of the 27 patients admitted within the last two months were from out of the Mid-Bedfordshire area.
Speech Therapists
Mr. Cotter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the salary increase for speech therapists in the NHS in each of the last five years (a) in real terms and (b) as a percentage. [81065]
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Mr. Denham
[holding answer 16 April 1999]: The information requested is in the table.
| Year | Total increase per cent. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 -95 | 2.4 | Paid in full from 1 April: 0.1 per cent. in real terms. |
| 1995 -96 | 3.0 | Paid as 1 per cent. national from 1 April 1995. Further 2 per cent. paid as local settlement: 0.4 per cent. in real terms. |
| 1996 -97 | 2.8 | Paid as 2 per cent. national from 1 April 1996 and further 0.8 per cent. as average local pay settlement:--0.1 per cent. in real terms. |
| 1997 -98 | 3.3 | Paid as 2 per cent. from 1 April 1997 and further 1.3 per cent. from 1 December: 0.8 per cent. in real terms. |
| 1998 -99 | 3.8 | Paid as 2 per cent. from 1 April 1998 and further 1.8 per cent. from 1 December: 0.8 per cent. in real terms. |
Source:
Pay Increase:--Advance Letters (increase to basic salary for all grades). RPI(X): Office for National Statistics (rate, excluding mortgage rates, in April each year, starting in April 1994 and ending in April 1998).
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