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NHS Funding
Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the expected funding of the NHS in England per head of population in 1999-2000; and what are the comparable figures in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland. [110476]
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Mr. Denham [holding answer 17 February 2000]: The information is contained in the table:
| Country | £ |
|---|---|
| England | 868 |
| Scotland | 1,056 |
| Wales | 927 |
| Northern Ireland | 875 |
(40) Exchequer or net expenditure plus income from receipts and charges
NHS Staff
Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on (a) the amount allocated and (b) the amount spent on training of NHS staff, broken down by (i) occupational grade, (ii) type of employment and (iii) gender, in each of the last five years. [109605]
Mr. Denham: Information is not held centrally on the total amount spent on the training of National Health Service staff by gender or occupational grade. The tables show the allocations and expenditure for each of the three service specific education and training levies since their creation in 1996-97. Information on the amount spent on the training of other staff groups outside the scope of the levies and on continuing professional development training by local employers (trusts and health authorities) is also not held centrally.
| Allocation | Expenditure | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 458 | 458 |
| 1997-98 | 458 | 458 |
| 1998-99 | 478 | 478 |
| 1999-2000 | 494 | Not yet available |
| Allocation | Expenditure | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 533 | 521 |
| 1997-98 | 592 | 587 |
| 1998-99 | 621 | 619 |
| 1999-2000 | 660 | Not yet available |
| Allocation | Expenditure | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 793 | 751 |
| 1997-98 | 766 | 751 |
| 1998-99 | 802 | 792 |
| 1999-2000 | 900 | Not yet available |
Note:
Any underspends on the three levies are not lost but are used elsewhere in-year for NHS activity and some virement between budgets is a necessary part of vote management on a Hospital and Community Health services budget of over £40 billion
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Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) men and (b) women were employed by the NHS in each occupational grade for each of the last five years. [109606]
Mr. Denham: Information about the number of men and women directly employed by the National Health Service in each of the main occupational groups is published in the Statistical Bulletins from the Department of Health's annual medical and dental, and non-medical workforce censuses. The information available centrally for individual non-medical pay grades by gender will be place in the Library shortly.
Carers
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to give local authorities powers to provide direct payments for carers over the age of 16 years. [110667]
Mr. Hutton: On 4 February, the Government were pleased to support at Second Reading the Bill promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Mr. Pendry), the Carers and Disabled Children Bill. The Bill empowers local authorities in England and Wales to make direct payments to carers over the age of 16 years for the services that meet their own assessed needs.
Hospital Beds
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the number of acute care beds in the NHS. [110669]
Ms Stuart: We published the National Beds Inquiry for three month's consultation on 10 February. This set out that under any future scenario the overall number of acute, residential and intermediate care beds are likely to rise. The consultation will focus on the balance of acute and other beds in the whole system. Our plans for acute care beds will be announced once the consultation is complete.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the report of his Department's inquiry into bed numbers. [111325]
Ms Stuart: The National Beds Inquiry report was published on 10 February. Copies have been placed in the Library.
Dental Services
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase access to NHS Dentistry. [110668]
Mr. Hutton: We recognise the problems of access to National Health Service dentistry which exist in parts of the country and which it inherited it 1997. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made it clear that, by the end of 2001, NHS dentistry will be a truly national service again. The Government have already addressed the problem with the Investing in Dentistry initiative, under which dentists were offered grants of £10 million in return for some 900,000 patient registrations, and the Personal Dental Service projects which include "phone and go" dental access centres. By the end of the year there will be about 40 access centres in the areas which need them
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most, providing the full range of high quality NHS dentistry to patients who are not registered with a dentist. Further measures will be set out in the forthcoming strategy for NHS dentistry in England.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria those firms certificated to remove used mercury-based amalgams from dentists' surgeries have to meet. [110483]
Mr. Hutton: Any person transporting waste, including amalgam, from dentists' surgeries in the course of their business is required, under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989, to be registered with the Environment Agency as a "waste carrier".
Waste carriers are also subject to the "Duty of Care" under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This requires that all reasonable steps should be taken to keep waste safe.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many firms have current contracts to collect and dispose of used mercury-based dentists' amalgams; and if he will make a statement. [110480]
Mr. Hutton: Contracts to collect wastes are a matter between the parties concerned and information on them is not held centrally. Businesses transporting wastes are required to be registered with the Environment Agency, but the register does not identify the types of waste transported.
Departmental Targets
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many targets have been set for his Department since May 1997; and how many have not been reached and for what reason. [111028]
Ms Stuart: The Department's Public Service Agreement includes 36 targets, all of which are on course to be reached. Progress on each of the targets will be published in the 2000 Departmental Report due to be published in April.
Tobacco Advertising
Mr. Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Government plan to implement a ban on tobacco advertising. [111315]
Yvette Cooper: As part of our comprehensive programme against tobacco, the Government will implement a ban on tobacco advertising in line with Directive 98/43/EC as soon as practicable and will monitor its implementation closely.
Hip Replacements (North-west)
Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average waiting time for hip replacement operations in hospitals in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) the North-west Region. [110850]
Mr. Denham: The information concerning hip replacement operations is not collected centrally. However, information is available for the total specialty of orthopaedics. During the period, October 1999 to
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December 1999, the proportion of patients awaiting orthopaedic operations at National Health Service Trusts across Greater Manchester was as follows:
- Percentage waiting under six months: 57 per cent. (3,519 cases)
- Percentage waiting under 12 months: 88 per cent. (5,403 cases)
- Percentage waiting over 12 months: 12 per cent. (775 cases).
- Percentage waiting under six months: 58 per cent. (11,508 cases)
- Percentage waiting under 12 months: 89 per cent. (17,732 cases)
- Percentage waiting over 12 months: 11 per cent. (2,188 cases).
- Note:
- The information relates to those recorded as waiting during the quarter rather than those admitted from the waiting list for treatment.
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