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HEALTH

Croydon Health Authority

Mr. Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the financial impact on Croydon Health Authority of (a) the Working Time Directive, (b) the introduction of the minimum wage, and (c) the abolition of dividend tax credit on pension funds announced in the 1997 Budget. [106773]

Mr. Denham: The National Health Service Executive recognises the important of the Working Time Directive. NHS employers, like all other employers in the United Kingdom are required to meet the obligations put on them by the Working Time Regulations. The impact of the Working Time Directive has varied over the NHS trusts which provide services to Croydon Health Authority

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residents. Croydon Health Authority has included a provision for the reasonable costs of the European Union Directive in its financial agreement with trusts.

It is not possible to identify accurately the costs associated with the National Minimum Wage separately for Croydon.

The withdrawal of Advance Corporation Tax credits has no effect on National Health Services expenditure.

Departmental Staff

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in each of the last five years, what proportion of women employees in (i) his Department and (ii) executive agencies under the control of his Department (a) returned to work after childbirth, (b) returned to work after childbirth before the end of maternity leave, indicating the (1) time-range and (2) mean time, (c) returned to work after childbirth on reduced working hours, indicating the average hours worked and (d) returned to work after childbirth full-time and subsequently reduced their hours. [108969]

Yvette Cooper: The Department and its executive agencies (the Medicines Control Agency, the Medical Devices Agency, National Health Service Pensions Agency and NHS Estates) all provide the same terms and conditions of employment. The table covers the Department as a whole and shows the proportion of women employees returning to work after childbirth in each of the last five years against the number of women employees going on maternity leave.

Year	Numbers on maternity leave	Percentage of returnees
1995	67	93
1996	110	89
1997	130	78
1998	109	77
1999	90	97

Data relating to the other information required could be established only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Contracts

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for the financial year 1998-99 the number and total value of contracts let by his Department with external consultants and advisers that have (a) been put out to competitive tender, (b) not been put out to competitive tender and (c) been let on a non-commercial basis, stating in each case the names of the individuals or organisations that have carried out the work. [109066]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 8 February 2000]: The information requested is not held centrally. However, the Department's procurement policy is that services and goods should be acquired by competition unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary.

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the (a) number and (b) value of contracts let by his Department since May 1997 to external consultants and advisers for the management of competitive tendering processes. [109303]

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Yvette Cooper: No contracts to manage competitive tendering processes have been let by the Department since 1997.

Grants

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the initiatives launched by his Department since May 1997 under which specific grants are allocated, indicating in each case and for each financial year the funding provided by central Government. [109314]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 10 February 2000]: The Department launched the Social Services Modernisation Fund in November 1998. It makes new funding available to local authorities through special and specific grants. Details of the Fund are shown in the table.

£ million

Social Services Modernising Fund	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03
Promoting independence: Partnership grant	253.0	216.0	178.0	647.0
Promoting independence: Prevention grant	20.0	30.0	50.0	100.0
Children's services grant(33)	75.0	120.0	180.0	375.0
Mental health grant(34)	46.4	59.4	79.4	185.2
Training support grant(34)(1)	3.5	7.0	9.0	21.0
Total Modernisation Fund	397.9	432.4	496.4	1,328.2

(33) £5 million was also made available to authorities in 1998-99 to help them prepare for the requirements of the Quality Protects programme.

(34) This represents the extra money in these areas and is in addition to the existing grant levels.

(35) The residential child care award element of this new initiative was launched in 1998-99 with £2 million being made available.

In addition, the carers' special grant was announced in February 1999 and it makes available to local authorities £20 million in 1999-2000, £50 million in 2000-01 and £70 million in 2001-02. Extra funding of £3 million in 1999-2000, £5 million in 2000-01 and £12.5 million in 2001-02 has also been made available through the drugs and alcohol grant to help local authorities develop new approaches in commissioning drug services.

As part of the Government-wide initiative to promote the welfare of families with children under five, the Department is funding 30 Home Start schemes in areas of social deprivation, providing £0.333 million in 1998-99 and £0.366 million in 1999-2000.

Two award schemes were launched in 1999 to recognise excellence in social care generally and in the provision of support for carers specifically. In 1999-2000 the Social Care Awards' scheme has been allocated £150,000 and £80,000 has been allocated for the Caring for Carers Awards scheme.

The Child Migrants Fund with an allocation of £250,000 in 1999-2000, £450,000 in 2000-01 and £300,000 in 2001-02 was created to assist former child migrants with the costs of visiting relatives in the United Kingdom. In addition a central index of historical data and sources of existing information is being created with funding of £128,000 in 1999-2000 and £90,000 in 2000-01 and 2001-02.

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Correspondence

Ms Jenny Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-West of 26 October 1999 regarding the development of the former Royal Hospital, Wolverhampton. [109559]

Yvette Cooper: I replied to my hon. Friend on 11 February.

Waiting Times

Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish figures showing the percentage of patients admitted within three months of the decision to admit in (a) 1997-98 and (b) 1998-99 for (i) England, (ii) East and North Hertfordshire, (iii) West Hertfordshire and (iv) the health authority in the prospering growth area with the (1) lowest figure and (2) highest figure. [109682]

Mr. Denham: The figures requested are shown in the table:

Percentage of patients admitted within three months of the decision to admit

	1997-98	1998-99
England	71	68
East and North Hertfordshire Health Authority	71	65
West Hertfordshire Health Authority	71	64
Health Authority with lowest percentage in prospering growth area	(36)57	(37)57
Health Authority with highest percentage in prospering growth area	(38)77	(39)73

(36) Southampton and South West Hampshire

(37) North Essex

(38) Stockport

(39) Hillingdon

Note:

This table is derived from ungrossed HES data.

Waiting Lists

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting lists were for (a) in-patient and (b) out-patient treatment in North Essex on the most recent date for which information is available. [110992]

Mr. Denham: The information requested is given in the tables:

Number of patients waiting for elective admission inNorth Essex Health Authority in December 1999

Month	Total waiting
December 1999	24,161

Source:

QF01 return

Number of patients not yet seen waiting over 13 weeks for an outpatient appointment following GP written referral in North Essex Health Authority (quarter ending 30 September 1999)

Quarter	Patients waiting over 13 weeks
Quarter 2 1999-2000	10,542

Source:

QM08R return

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