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Flu
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact on hospital waiting list targets of the recent influenza outbreak. [104898]
Mr. Denham: During the winter, and particularly over the extended Millennium holiday, the National Health Service has quite rightly focused its attention on the high numbers of emergency cases, including those resulting from the current influenza outbreak. At this time of year, the NHS plans to treat fewer waiting list cases because of expected pressures, and the waiting list normally increases slightly. A seasonal rise in waiting lists is expected over the next couple of months, reflecting the planned priority the NHS has given to winter emergency admissions. This will not affect the achievement of the waiting list target.
Dyspraxia
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have been diagnosed as dyspraxic since May 1997. [104860]
Mr. Denham: There were 62 admissions for dyspraxia by age (0-16 years) in National Health Service hospitals in England for the financial year 1997-98.
Primary Care Groups
Mr. Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care groups have applied to become primary care trusts. [105506]
Mr. Denham: Primary care trust applications are locally driven. We have received 63 applications (covering 68 primary care groups) to move to PCT status in April and October 2000. A further 140 PCGs have expressed interest in moving to PCT status from April.
Correspondence
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton), will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Harborough of 22 November 1999, on behalf of Mr. L. W. Bennett of Oadby, Leicestershire. [105789]
Mr. Hutton: I replied to the hon. Member on 17 January.
Dentistry (Waiting Times)
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average and (b) maximum waiting times have been for treatment for patients using each of the first two dental access centres. [104776]
Mr. Denham
[holding answer 17 January 2000]: The information is not available in the form requested. However, at the Cornwall dentist access centre, protocol is that people presenting with a dental emergency are seen on the same day or the following day. At the Shropshire dental access centre, protocol in both cases is that a patient with a swollen face will be seen the same day and that patients presenting with pains, considering themselves to be in need of urgent treatment, are seen within 24 hours. Patients with minor ailments and suffering no pain will be seen within a week.
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Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those properties held by his Department and agencies responsible to him which are (a) wholly and (b) mainly unoccupied at present, giving locations and when they became so unoccupied in each case. [105313]
Ms Stuart:
The Department, including its agencies, has no properties which are wholly or mainly unoccupied.
Departmental Properties
Mr. Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those properties held by his Department and agencies responsible to him which are (a) wholly and (b) mainly unoccupied at present, giving locations and when they became so unoccupied in each case. [105309]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information is given in the table.
| Location | Date unoccupied |
|---|---|
| Buildings wholly unoccupied: | |
| Inland Revenue | |
| Bradford | 7 July 1997 |
| Glasgow | 1 June 1999 |
| Southampton | 29 September 1999 |
| HM Customs and Excise | |
| Hull | 1 August 1996 |
| Lisburn | 28 February 1997 |
| Newcastle | 14 August 1998 |
| St. Albans | 31 August 1996 |
| Southend-on-Sea | 4 October 1999 |
| Weymouth | 1 March 1997 |
| Valuation Office Agency | |
| Eastbourne | May 1999 |
| Office for National Statistics | |
| Fareham | August 1999 |
| Building mainly unoccupied: | |
| Inland Revenue | |
| Poole | 1 April 1996 |
| Valuation Office Agency | |
| Doncaster | November 1998 |
| Leamington Spa | April 1999 |
Company Voluntary Arrangement
Mr. Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the implications of a company becoming the subject of a company voluntary arrangement under the Insolvency Act for that company's ability to compete for public contracts. [105296]
Mr. Timms:
Companies which become the subject of a company voluntary arrangement under the Insolvency Act 1986 would not automatically be barred from bidding for public contracts. The objective in public procurement is to secure value for money, having due regard to propriety and regularity. To achieve this, purchasers need to assess the financial and economic standing of potential bidders and to satisfy themselves that they meet the
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requirements for the particular contract. Where the EC rules apply there is specific provision which allows purchasers to exclude potential bidders who have an arrangement of this type. It is for the purchasing authority to decide whether to rely upon this provision in any competition.
Ms Kelly:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of (a) the uptake of the child care tax credit by parents with children below the age of one year in a steady state and (b) the cost of providing that credit. [104864]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
It is estimated that in 2000-01, the first full year of the Working Families Tax Credit, about 11,000 families with children aged under one will have eligible child care costs for at least one child and will hence be in receipt of the child care tax credit. It is not possible to identify the cost of child care for children aged under one but, if these families no longer received the child care tax credit for any of their children, the cost of the Working Families Tax Credit would reduce by about £35 million.
Mr. Martlew:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list by constituency the (a) number and (b) proportion of households with at least one member in work and qualifying for Working Families Tax Credit which are receiving Working Families Tax Credit in the UK, ranked in descending order of the proportion of households. [104917]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
I regret that the information requested is not available.
Mr. Sanders:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been raised annually from stamp duty on large-scale voluntary transfers in each of the last five years. [104795]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
Transfers of properties to charities are exempt from stamp duty. About three- quarters of registered social landlords are charities, but figures are not readily available on the amount of stamp duty paid on large-scale voluntary transfers from local authorities to non-charitable registered social landlords.
Mrs. Ann Cryer:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) men and (b) women in each of the standard age groups were employed in his Department in (i) 1979 and (ii) 1999. [104017]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
Details of staff in post in the Treasury on 1 April 1999, broken down by gender and standard age group, are provided in the table. Information on this basis for 1979 is not available. The annual publication "Civil Service Statistics" provides a departmental breakdown of staff by gender for the year in question and service-wide information by age.
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Information on average age by responsibility level and gender is also provided in the "Equal Opportunities Data Summary 1998".
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 15-19 | 2 | 1 |
| 20-24 | 45 | 28 |
| 25-29 | 95 | 77 |
| 30-34 | 119 | 64 |
| 35-39 | 85 | 52 |
| 40-44 | 77 | 50 |
| 45-49 | 63 | 34 |
| 50+ | 84 | 69 |
| Total | 570 | 375 |
EU Fraud
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of fraud and irregularities reported by the United Kingdom in 1998 under Regulations 1681/94 and 1831/94, set out in Official Journal C350, 3 December 1999, page 97, with reference to the increase in sums involved. [105670]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The increase in the level of Structural Funds fraud and irregularities reported by the United Kingdom in 1998 is primarily the result of specific efforts to improve detection and reporting systems during this period, and the detection of two substantial fraud cases.
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