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Biomedical Scientists (Trainees)
Mr. Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trainee biomedical scientists there are in the NHS. [118588]
Mr. Denham: Trainee biomedical scientists are graduates. The length of their vocational training varies depending on the entry route and the ability of the individual. Accurate figures for the number of trainee biomedical scientists employed by the National Health Service are not available as the information is not collected centrally.
Health Authority Budgets
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each health authority in England and Wales, (a) its total allocation for 2000-01, including its share of the expenditure announced on 28 March, (b) its total allocation if the allocations for 2000-01 had been made on the basis of full weighted capitation and (c) the amount by which its total allocation differs from weighted capitation. [118932]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 13 April 2000]: On 28 March my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced details of extra allocations to health authorities for 2000-01. This additional £660 million has brought health authority average increases to 8.9 per cent. in cash terms (6.2 per cent. in real terms). The information is given in the table.
Information on allocations for Welsh health authorities is available from the National Assembly for Wales.
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Day Centres
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many local authorities levy a charge for day centres. [119482]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the number of local authorities levying a charge for day centres in England is not collected centrally. However information on the recoupment of fees and charges by each local authority is available at the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/public/pss--stat.htm.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations his Department has received on the introduction of charges by social services departments for the use of day centres. [119481]
Mr. Hutton: During the six-month period to April 2000 the Department received an average of two representations per month on the introduction of charges by social services departments for the use of day centres.
Glenthorne Youth Treatment Centre
Mr. Corbett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has reached a decision on the future of Glenthorne Youth Treatment Centre; and if he will make a statement. [119424]
Mr. Hutton: In my reply to my hon. Friend on 15 December 1999, Official Report, column 223W, I announced that I would be consulting on the future of Glenthorne Youth Treatment Centre, including its possible closure.
That consultation has now been completed and I have considered the representations made to me by the staff of the Centre and their representatives, by Members of Parliament; by local authorities; and by others, especially those representing young people accommodated in the Centre. The Centre has made a valuable and important contribution to the treatment and care of some of the most difficult and disturbed young people in the past, and these representations have paid fitting tribute to that contribution.
When the Youth Treatment Centres were first developed over 20 years ago, there were no comparable facilities for accommodating and treating such difficult and disturbed young people. Things have moved on considerably since then. Local councils have developed their own secure accommodation and have become skilled and experienced at dealing with young people requiring secure care, including young people like those accommodated in Glenthorne. In recent years, the Department of Health has undertaken a major expansion of local authority secure accommodation by providing an additional 170 places for young people. Providers in the voluntary and private sectors have also established their worth. In these circumstances, I have concluded that it is no longer appropriate for the Department to run such a child care facility and that we should therefore withdraw from providing such a service.
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We have looked carefully at the option of someone taking over the Centre as a going concern, but, unfortunately, no suitable proposals have been put forward, and 18 of the 30 young people who were in the Centre at the time of my announcement in December have been moved by their placing authorities to alternative facilities. The whole question of the financial viability of the Centre is affecting the morale and welfare of both the staff and the children. It is, therefore, time to bring to an end the uncertainty which has inevitably existed over recent months.
However, the welfare of the children currently placed in Glenthorne is of paramount importance and no decision will be taken on when the Centre will finally close until suitable alternative placements have been found for them. The Department will be working closely with the local authorities and the Prison Service to identify the most appropriate places. Once that transition has been achieved, the Centre will close.
The Department will also be working closely with the Department Trade Union Side to identify posts elsewhere in the civil service to which some of the staff of the Centre could be re-deployed. However, given the specialist nature of some of the posts in the Centre, re-deployment may not be possible in all cases. In those instances, redundancy terms will apply.
This has been a difficult time for the staff of the Centre and I am grateful for the professional manner in which they have continued to conduct themselves.
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