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Doctors (Criminal Records)
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if the General Medical Council is required to notify doctors' criminal records to him; [109943]
- (2) how many doctors currently registered to practise have criminal records. [109942]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is not available centrally. The General Medical Council is not able to provide this information as not all convictions are reported to them, for example minor driving offences. However, doctors working in the National Health Service are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and when applying for National Health Service posts are expected to declare all previous or pending prosecutions or convictions, including those considered "spent" under the Act.
We are taking action to strengthen existing recruitment and selection procedures. In guidance to be issued shortly, NHS employers will be required to include on the application form a declaration by the applicant of any disciplinary or other action taken against them or anticipated by the police, or by any overseas licensing or regulatory body.
Changes to the regulations governing general practice will require doctors working in general practice, including doctors who work as locums or assistants, to make similar declarations.
Once the General Medical Council has been made aware of a conviction, normally by the police, the case is considered through the conduct procedures, which may result in sanctions that affect the doctor's registration.
Influenza Immunisation
Mr. Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 3 February 2000, Official Report, column 710W, on influenza immunisation for healthcare workers, which National Health Service trusts included immunising healthcare staff as part of their planning for this winter; and what proportion of healthcare staff in each trust were immunised against influenza. [110183]
Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not available centrally.
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Advertising Budget
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his Department's advertising budget for (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01. [110256]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 16 February 2000]: The Department's budget for communications--including campaigns such as the tobacco education strategy--in 1999-2000 is £31 million. There is no separate budget for advertising. No information is available at present on the budget for the year 2000-01.
Post-natal Clinics
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve access to post-natal clinics for people in rural areas. [110778]
Yvette Cooper: The Government's strategy for National Health Service maternity services, of which post-natal care is an integral part, is the provision of accessible, responsive user-focused services that offer greater choice, continuity of care and control to women.
It is, however, for local health authorities and NHS trusts to develop post-natal service provision that best meets the needs of local people in light of competing priorities, available resources and evidence of effectiveness.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many senior civil servants from an ethnic minority background are employed in his Department; and how many of them are (a) men and (b) women. [110685]
Yvette Cooper: As at 1 April 1999, 14 members of the senior civil service in the Department were from an ethnic minority background (3.8 per cent. of staff with ethnicity recorded). Of these, there were five women and nine men.
Plants (Wellington and Skipton Houses)
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the contract for the provision of plants in Wellington House and Skipton House is managed; and what plans he has to change the contractual arrangement. [110947]
Yvette Cooper: The provision and maintenance of plants forms part of the Cleaning Contract for all of the Department's central London buildings, which is managed on behalf of the Department by a Facilities Management Company. There are no plans to change this arrangement.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of the provision of plants in Wellington House and Skipton House was in 1999; and what the budgeted cost for 2000 is. [110948]
Yvette Cooper: The cost of the provision and maintenance of internal and external plants is included as part of the overall contract cost for the provision of cleaning services to the Department's central London buildings. It is not budgeted for separately. However, our best estimate is an annual cost to the Department of about £4,000 for Wellington House and £2,000 for Skipton House.
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Peat Compost
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to phase out the use of peat compost in gardens (a) owned and (b) tended by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [110724]
Yvette Cooper: There is no record of the Department having purchased peat. However, should the need arise the Department would propose to substitute the use of all slow renewables with organic wastes such as coir, manure, leaf mould or bark chippings.
Departmental Energy Use
Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the electricity used by his Department is generated from renewable sources; and if he will make a statement. [111038]
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Yvette Cooper: Buildings occupied by the Department and its agencies currently purchase energy from utility companies via contracts let by the buying agency. The Department has no information about the proportion of energy supplied by the utility companies that comes from renewable resources.
Research and Development
Audrey Wise: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the programmes of research funded under his Department's policy research programme, indicating (i) the organisation holding the research contract, (ii) the research unit undertaking the research, (iii) the start date of the contract, (iv) the end date of the contract, (v) the date of the most recent review of the programme, and (vi) whether negotiations are under way for a new contract and the stage reached in these. [110946]
Yvette Cooper: The information is given in the table. Following independent review of the Unit's programmes of research, the Department is currently considering new unit contracts.
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| Contractor | Name of research unit | Current contract start and end dates | Date of most recent review |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Kent | Personal Social Services Research Unit | April 1996-March 2001 | February 1999 |
| London School of Economics and Political Science | Personal Social Services Research Unit | January 1996-December 2000 | February 1999 |
| University of Manchester | Personal Social Services Research Unit | April 1996-March 2001 | February 1999 |
| Research Unit | National Institute for Social Work Research Unit | January 1996-December 2000 | October 1998 |
| University of York | Social Policy Research Unit | January 1996-December 2000 | May 1999 |
| University of Bristol | Dartington Social Research Unit | January 1996-December 2000 | September 1998 |
| University of London | Thomas Coram Research Unit | January 1996-December 2000 | February 1999 |
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Audrey Wise: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list, in cash terms and at constant prices, his Department's total spending on research and development in each of the last five years and the projected expenditure in each of the next five years; [110944]
- (2) if he will list in cash terms and at constant prices, the spending on his Department's policy research programme in each of the last five years and the projected expenditure in each of the next five years. [110945]
Yvette Cooper: The expenditure in cash terms at constant prices (1999-2000) for the policy research programme and National Health Service research and development levy over the last five years are shown in the table. Expenditure in the next five years is expected to continue at a similar level.
| Policy Research Programme | NHS R&D Levy | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 21.16 | (24)-- | (24)-- |
| 1995-96 | 21.86 | (24)-- | (24)-- |
| 1996-97 | 26.25 | 398 | 424.25 |
| 1997-98 | 24.81 | 403.5 | 428.31 |
| 1998-99 | 26.70 | 417.6 | 444.3 |
| 1999-2000 | (25)30.90 | (25)433.6 | (25)464.5 |
(24) The NHS research and development levy was first created in April 1996 and figures for NHS research and development prior to this are not available on the same basis.
(25) Estimate.
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