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Shadow Strategic Rail Authority
Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects the shadow Strategic Rail Authority to reach a decision on the plans sent to them by Railtrack. [118691]
Mr. Hill: The shadow Strategic Rail Authority is consulted frequently about Railtrack's plans. Regulation of Railtrack is, however, the responsibility of the Rail Regulator.
Climate Change Levy
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects the European Commission to approve the UK's state aid notification in respect of proposed reductions to the climate change levy for companies which agree with energy efficiency arrangements. [119156]
Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.
18 Apr 2000 : Column: 458W
Officials have had helpful discussions with the Commission about the UK's state aids notification. We expect further useful progress to be made over the summer.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the proposed climate change levy rebates and exclusions for a 10-year period with the latest draft of the European Commission's guidelines on state aid. [119154]
Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.
The UK regards the revised draft Community guidelines on state aid for environmental protection as a helpful step forward. However, the UK and other member states have made suggestions for improvement. As such, any assessment of their application in particular instances would be premature.
HEALTH
Dental Services
Mr. Beard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children (a) under five and (b) under 10 years old have been treated for dental decay in the NHS in each of the last 10 years. [117946]
Mr. Hutton: Information is available for the number of fillings and extractions for which General Dental Service dentists make a payment claim. This is shown in the table for the age groups 0 to four years and five to nine years for England and Wales in 1998-99.
Data on the number of children receiving treatment for fillings and extractions are not available. Some children may have more than one treatment within the year.
| Thousand | ||
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0-4 years | Aged 5-9 years | |
| Fillings | 104 | 1,059 |
| Extractions | 27 | 225 |
Comparable figures for earlier years are not available.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the relative cost of the use in dentistry of (a) mercury-based amalgams and (b) non-metal-based amalgams; and if he will make a statement. [118403]
Mr. Hutton: The table provides the number and cost of general dental services treatments using different restorative materials in England in 1998-99. Dental amalgam is more durable and easier to insert than the other materials.
| Treatment | Number (Million) | Cost (£ million) |
|---|---|---|
| Amalgam fillings | 8.3 | 91.6 |
| Composite resin fillings | 4.9 | 52.2 |
| Glass ionomer fillings | 1.9 | 20.0 |
| Total | 15.0 | 163.8 |
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Modernisation Action Teams
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of the NHS Modernisation Action Teams are (a) Ministers, (b) civil servants, (c) representatives of professional or staff bodies, (d) front-line NHS staff and (e) representatives of patients' organisations. [118694]
Mr. Hutton: We set out full membership details in press notice 2000/208 on 4 April. This indicated that the National Health Service Modernisation Action teams have 134 members. The membership was chosen to ensure wide representation from interested parties and individuals have been selected from a variety of backgrounds. There are five Ministers; 19 civil servants; 15 representatives of professional or staff bodies; thirty nine front-line NHS staff; and 16 representatives of patients' organisations. Additionally there are 40 members who, while not fitting into these precise categories, include leading commentators and senior managers.
Vulnerable Adults
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to institute police checks on employees in the National Health Service working with vulnerable adults. [118740]
Mr. Hutton: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Minister of State, Home Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke) on 17 April 2000, Official Report, column 377W, and his response in relation to police checks.
The Care Standards Bill will establish a new scheme to identify health and care workers who have harmed vulnerable adults and ban them from such work in the future.
Under the Protection of Vulnerable Adults scheme, providers of prescribed services within the National Health Service and in independent healthcare settings will be required to refer individuals for inclusion in the list. There will be a duty of providers of these services to check that prospective employees are not on the list and to refuse employment in that field to any person found to be on the list.
Initially the list will be operated by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. Once the Criminal Records Bureau is established, the Bureau will be able to supply an individual with a criminal record certificate or enhanced criminal record certificate which would indicate whether they were included in the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list.
While police checks can identify individuals who have come to the attention of the police, clearly there is no substitute for employers undertaking thorough checks into the background and employment history of applicants for all vacancies.
Treatment Out of Area
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the percentage of treatments carried out in hospitals in (a) health authority areas and (b) health regions other than that in which the patient was resident in each year from 1980 to date. [118829]
18 Apr 2000 : Column: 460W
Ms Stuart: The information requested is shown in the table for the years 1990-91 to 1998-99. Data for previous years are unavailable centrally.
| Health authority | NHS region | |
|---|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 25.4 | 9.0 |
| 1991-92 | 24.7 | 7.9 |
| 1992-93 | 23.3 | 7.4 |
| 1993-94 | 22.1 | 7.7 |
| 1994-95 | 21.5 | 7.1 |
| 1995-96 | 21.6 | 7.4 |
| 1996-97 | 22.7 | 6.4 |
| 1997-98 | 24.7 | 8.9 |
| 1998-99 | 22.6 | 6.8 |
(15) Includes overseas residents
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his Department's energy efficiency performance target, expressed as a percentage change in comparison to 1990-91, for each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [118995]
Ms Stuart: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment on 22 March 2000, Official Report, columns 548-49W. It was explained then that a new target had been set across the Government estate to apply from 2000-01, of a 1 per cent. per annum reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The Department will aim to meet this target which represents a change against the previous cross- Government target to 31 March 2000, which was expressed in terms of reductions in energy expenditure. Measurement in greenhouse gas emissions provides a much better fit with the current climate change programme and the United Kingdom's Kyoto targets. The base year will be 1999-2000 as it was the final year to which the previous target applied. Figures will be released when they are available on performance in 1999-2000 against the target to 31 March 2000 with 1990-91 as the base year.
Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the percentage change compared to 1990-91 in his Department's energy efficiency in each year since 1990-91; and if he will make a statement. [118994]
Ms Stuart: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Mr. Meale) on 22 July 1999, Official Report, column 582W, which reported progress for all central government departments by 31 March 1988. It is hoped that results for the period up to March 1999 will be published shortly.
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