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Mortgages

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to draw up regulations to disregard the value of ISA funds backing a mortgage, where someone with an ISA mortgage has to claim (a) Income Support and (b) income-based Jobseeker's Allowance in the same way the value of an endowment policy backing a mortgage is exempted. [120227]

Mr. Rooker: We have no plans to do so.

Domestic Violence

Ms Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what statistics are collected by his Department on evidence of domestic violence in reports prepared by social workers for courts considering issuing child contact orders. [119576]

Mr. Hutton: I have been asked to reply.

Reports on evidence of domestic violence would be prepared by court welfare officers, social workers and other relevant staff at the direction of the judge considering applications for child contact orders. As such, the reports would be documents of the court, and therefore not routinely available (unless at the judge's discretion) for wider circulation or statistical analysis.

2 May 2000 : Column: 42W

HEALTH

Patient Representation

18. Mrs. Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to strengthen the system of representation of patients' views in the NHS. [119071]

Ms Stuart: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, North (Mr. Rapson), Official Report, column 8.

Hospital Hygiene

19. Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Government's plans for improving standards of hygiene in hospitals. [119072]

Mr. Denham: Trust Chief Executives are responsible for ensuring that there are high standards of cleanliness and hygiene in hospitals. The infection Control Nurses Association and the Association of Domestic Mangers have recently produced new "Standards for Environmental Cleanliness in Hospitals", which National Health Service Estates will be publishing shortly and sending to all NHS trusts. The controls assurance framework, published on 22 November 1999 has a section relating to infection control, including special reference to cleanliness.

Commission for Health Improvement

20. Mr. Casale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the role of the Commission for Health Improvement. [119073]

Mr. Denham: The Commission will provide independent scrutiny of local National Health Service systems to assure and improve clinical quality; provide an expert resource to ensure rapid action is taken to address serious or persistent problems that have not responded to local efforts, and monitor NHS progress in tackling variations in standards of services.

Health Spending

21. Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is in respect of the proportion of gross domestic product that should be spent on health. [119075]

Mr. Denham: In his recent Budget statement, the Chancellor announced the largest ever increase in funding for the National Health Service in England. Over this year and the next three, NHS Expenditure will grow on average by 6.3 per cent. a year over and above inflation. This is nearly twice the historic rate of growth.

Based on our latest projections total United Kingdom healthcare expenditure will reach around 7.6 per cent. of Gross Domestic Product by 2003-04.

Harefield Hospital, Middlesex

23. Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many letters his Department has received about the proposed closure of Harefield hospital, Middlesex. [119077]

Mr. Denham: Between 14 February and 18 April 2000 the Department of Health received a total of 54 letters about the proposals for the future of Harefield hospital.

2 May 2000 : Column: 43W

Community Hospitals

25. Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which community hospitals have closed since May 1996, and how many beds have been lost as a result; and if he will make a statement. [119079]

Mr. Denham: The information requested is not available centrally.

Assertive Outreach Teams

26. Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many assertive outreach teams have been established since May 1997. [119080]

Mr. Hutton: Information about assertive outreach teams was first collected in 1998-99. Sixty-six teams were in existence by March 1999. Data for the year ending March 2000 have not yet been finalised but health authority plans indicated that a further 57 teams were to be established in 1999-2000.

In the National Priorities guidance for 2000-01 we have set a target for a further 50 teams to be established bringing the total to over 170 teams.

Local Authority Adoption Services

28. Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce variations in the performance of local authorities in providing adoption services. [119082]

30. Mrs. Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce variations in the performance of local authorities in providing adoption services. [119084]

Mr. Hutton: We have already put in place the Quality Protects programme to transform the performance of local authority children's services. This includes investing in improved adoption services, in support of our aim of making maximum use of adoption with minimum delay. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is, with ministerial colleagues, conducting a review of adoption policy, looking at how to improve all aspects of the service.

NHS Trusts (Board Appointments)

29. Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for reviewing the way in which board members of NHS trusts are appointed. [119083]

Ms Stuart: I am looking carefully at the best way to implement the new procedures and I hope to have a more detailed timetable in the next few months.

Waiting Lists (Northamptonshire)

31. Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on current hospital waiting lists in Northamptonshire. [119085]

Mr. Denham: At the end of February 2000, the total number of patients on hospital waiting lists in Northamptonshire (inpatient and day case admissions) was 13,503--a 20 per cent. reduction from the total in April 1998.

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Hospital Beds (Worcestershire)

32. Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many hospital beds will be available in Worcestershire after the current hospital reorganisation; [119086]

(2) how many hospital beds he estimates will be available in Worcestershire following hospital reorganisation there. [109844]

Yvette Cooper: The important issue for the health service in Worcestershire is the number of patients who need to be treated and the appropriateness of their care. In line with this, the current estimate is that following hospital reorganisation there will be approximately 1,400 acute and community based beds available across Worcestershire. In addition, there will be more High Dependency Unit and Intensive Care Unit beds in the new acute hospital for Worcester owing to the investment the Government has made to modernise services in Worcestershire.

The report of the Government's National Beds Inquiry, set up to review assumptions about the demand for inpatient care and the implications for hospital bed numbers, was published for consultation on 10 February 2000. Consultation will focus on how health services, and specifically hospital beds, should be developed over the next 10- 20 years.

The National Beds Inquiry consultation will enable the Government to get the right number of the right sort of beds in the right places.

Community Health Provision

33. Mr. Pond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he proposes to improve community health provision. [119087]

Mr. Hutton: We have already introduced primary care groups and primary care trusts to provide more integrated services and to ensure local decisions about community healthcare services are led by local clinicians. We have introduced new flexibilities through the Health Act 1999 to enable better partnership working between the National Health Service and local councils. And we are developing a new tier of intermediate care services to build effective bridges between home and hospital.

Primary Care

34. Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to deliver more services in primary care settings. [119088]

39. Ms Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to deliver more services in primary care settings. [119093]

Mr. Denham: Our aim is that, in time, all patients will be able to access expanded primary care services. Primary care groups and, particularly, primary care trusts have a key role in developing such services and making them more convenient, faster and responsive. The additional health resources, which the Chancellor announced in the Budget Statement, offer the opportunity to begin to deliver this aim sooner. We intend to work with the professions and others to grasp that opportunity. Accordingly, improved access to services is one of the

2 May 2000 : Column: 45W

main themes of the work of the modernisation action Teams, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched on 12 April.

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