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Mileage Rates (Nurses)
Dr. Brand: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the new mileage payment rates for nurses working in the community. [125282]
Mr. Denham: Mileage and travelling entitlements for National Health Service staff on national contracts are determined by an agreement of the General Whitley Council. A working group of the Council which includes representatives from trades unions and employers is reviewing existing provisions with the aim of recommending new arrangements which are fair to staff, meets service needs and reflects our wider environmental policies. We are aiming to complete these negotiations shortly.
Mortality Statistics
Mr. Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients (a) of Weston General Hospital, (b) of Avon Health Authority and (c) nationally have died of an illness for which they were awaiting treatment in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [125366]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Etanercept
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current prescribing status is of Etanercept as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. [125137]
Ms Stuart: Etanercept's marketing authorisation is for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis where other drug treatments have proved inadequate. Etanercept may be prescribed on the National Health Service.
Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals NHS Trust
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the appointment of Mrs. Jenny Upshall as a
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non-executive director of Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals NHS Trust, taking account of the operation of Integrate Services; and if he will make a statement. [124876]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 12 June 2000]: My right hon. Friend will keep Mrs. Upshall's appointment under review.
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of (a) shortlisted applicants for and (b) those appointed as (i) chairman and (ii) non-executive director of primary care trusts have declared political activity for (A) the Labour Party, (B) the Conservative Party and (C) the Liberal Democrat Party. [125899]
Ms Stuart: The information requested is given in the table.
| Party | Shortlisted candidates | Appointed candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Non-executives | ||
| Labour | 28.9 | 17.3 |
| Conservative | 4.6 | 13.5 |
| Liberal Democrat | 3.1 | 3.8 |
| Ind./no political activity | 63.4 | 65.4 |
| Chairs | ||
| Labour | 30.6 | 23.5 |
| Conservative | 13.9 | 11.8 |
| Liberal Democrat | 5.6 | 11.8 |
| Ind./no political party | 59.9 | 52.9 |
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) Labour, (b) Conservative and (c) Liberal Democrat councillors have been (i) shortlisted and (ii) appointed (1) to the chairmanship of and (2) as non-executive directors of primary care trusts. [125900]
Ms Stuart: The information requested is given in the table.
| Party | Shortlisted councillors | Appointed councillors |
|---|---|---|
| Non-executives | ||
| Labour | 6 | 2 |
| Conservative | 7 | 5 |
| Liberal Democrat | 2 | 2 |
| Chairs | ||
| Labour | 3 | 2 |
| Conservative | 2 | 2 |
| Liberal Democrat | 1 | 1 |
NHS Patients
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for how many patients NHS trusts have funded treatment in the private sector in each month of the last three years; and what was the total amount spent in each case. [124131]
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Ms Stuart: The total amount of National Health Service funds spent on the provision of hospital and community services for NHS patients treated outside the NHS (in the independent sector comprising of for profit hospitals, not for profit hospitals, voluntary hospitals/ hospices and independent clinics) for the last three years are as follows:
| Billion | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998-99 | 1.25 | 4.8 |
| 1997-98 | 1.08 | 4.6 |
| 1996-97 | 0.87 | 3.8 |
Information on patient activity and annual expenditure in the independent sector, comprising of for profit hospitals, not for profit hospitals, voluntary hospitals/hospices and independent clinics for the last three years available has been placed in the Library.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Higher Education Funding
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will itemise and quantify current public sector funding to higher education institutions which (a) is and (b) is not subject to statutory limitations on control of funding by reference to criteria for the selection and appointment of academic staff and the admission of students. [125401]
Mr. Wicks [holding answer 12 June 2000]: The Secretary of State funds the higher education sector for England via the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Teacher Training Agency. Section 68(3) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 precludes the Secretary of State from putting conditions on the grant to the Funding Council relating to the selection and appointment of academic staff and the admissions of students. He has not done so.
Television Advertisements
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many television advertisements have been commissioned by his Department since 1 May 1997; and, of those, how many were provided with closed caption subtitling. [125609]
Mr. Wills [holding answer 12 June 2000]: The Department for Education and Employment has run five television advertising campaigns since 1 May 1997. In line with the Department's mainstreaming policies, all of these used closed titles, to ensure that viewers with hearing difficulties have access to the advertisements.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what provision he has made for the financial year 2000-01 to meet the costs incurred by Kent County Council Education Authority through the provision of interpreters to assist unaccompanied minors and the children of asylum seekers and economic migrants; [125275]
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- (2) what has been the cost to the schools budget, for the latest year for which figures are available, of the provision of interpreters for unaccompanied minors and the children of asylum seekers and economic migrants; how much of this money has been refunded by central Government to local education authorities; and if he will make a statement. [125277]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 12 June 2000]: The Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Grant is a key element of our strategy for raising standards for minority ethnic pupils, including unaccompanied minors and children of asylum seekers, who are at risk of underachieving, and for meeting the particular needs of pupils for whom English is an Additional Language. The total allocation of the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Grant for Kent in 2000-01 is £2,459,221. The costs of providing interpretation can be met from within this Grant.
The information on the cost to the whole school budget of the provision of interpretation for unaccompanied minors and children of asylum seekers is not kept centrally by the Department, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Initiatives
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 19 May 2000, Official Report, column 292W, on departmental initiatives, if he will list the amount originally budgeted for in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and
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(c) 1999-2000, stating for each year the funds budgeted for which were not spent and if they were carried forward. [124411]
Mr. Wicks [holding answer 5 June 2000]: The following table shows, for each of the initiatives listed in the previous reply, the budget for 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000, along with the outturn figures for 1997-98 and 1998-99. Estimated outturn figures for 1999-2000 are as given in the response to the previous question. Final outturn figures will not be available until the publication of the Appropriation Accounts in October.
Arrangements for carry forward of unspent funds have changed over the period. There was no facility to carry forward within the Department unused recurrent funds from 1997-98 to subsequent years. As announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review White Paper in July 1998, end year flexibility for Departments was introduced in 1998-99.
The New Deal for Schools, funded from the windfall tax, was announced in the Budget in July 1997, and now totals some £1.376 billion over the Parliament, including the extra £250 million announced in the March Budget and the further £43 million announced in the pre-Budget report in November 1999. A total of £452 million from 1999-2000 to 2001-02 was announced in July 1998 for the Sure Start programme. The budgets for both these programmes are ringfenced and any underspends are automatically carried forward.
The footnotes in the table indicate whether the 1998-99 underspends on other programmes were carried forward rather than being allocated to other priority areas.
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| FY 1997-98 Budget | FY 1997-98 Outturn | FY 1998-99 Budget | FY 1998-99 Outturn | FY 1999-2000 Budget | FY 1999-2000 Estimated Outturn | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education Action Zones (Rounds 1 and 2) | 0 | 0 | 10.8 | 10.2 | 30 | 29.2 |
| Employment Zones(14) | 4.0 | 1.0 | 29.0 | 5.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Neighbourhood Support Fund | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 | 20.0 |
| Sure Start(15) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80.8 | 19.0 |
| Excellence in Cities | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.0 | 32.0 |
| Early Excellence Centres(16) | 0 | 0.12 | 9.0 | 1.9 | 10.0 | 4.1 |
| Early Years Nursery Education Grant funding for education places for 3 year olds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38.0 | 38.0 |
| New Start(17) | 1.75 | 0.97 | 4.75 | 3.85 | 5.9 | 5.6 |
| Millennium Volunteers(18) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Community Champions(19) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.46 |
| Adult and Community Learning Fund(20) | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 6.56 | 6.1 |
| New Deal for Schools(21) | 83.0 | 78.0 | 250.0 | 223.0 | 250.0 | 282.35 |
(14) Employment Zones: funding in 1997-98 and 1998-99 was for prototype EZs. The underspends result from the fact that these took longer to set up and develop than anticipated--the first prototype did not start until February 1998. There has been no carry forward of unspent funds within the initiative.
(15) Sure Start is a cross-departmental programme, which is overseen by a steering group involving Ministers from the Departments of Education and Employment, Health, Social Security, Environment, Transport and the Regions, Culture, Media and Sport and the Home Office, the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Treasury. Spending in the first year was lower than originally planned. The budget for Sure Start is ringfenced and any underspends are automatically carried forward.
(16) Early Excellence Centres: the programme was established in year in 1997-98, and no money was budgeted, but £0.12 million was spent from savings from the wind up of the Nursery Voucher Scheme and a small contribution from New Deal for Schools. Build up of the programme was phased, resulting in slower draw on allocation than expected. The Manifesto commitment was 25--there are 29 EECs and they are receiving full funding contribution. There has been no carry forward of unspent funds within the initiative.
(17) New Start: underspends were due to projects taking longer than anticipated to progress. In 1998-99 £0.90 million was carried over to 1999-2000, and is included in the budget figure for that year.
(18) Millennium Volunteers: although no budget/underspend is shown, £0.4 million was spent and met from the Windfall Tax.
(19) Community Champions: underspend due to the development and launch of the initiative in year which meant it was not fully under way until January 1999.
(20) Adult and Community Learning Fund: the budget/outturn figures given for 1998-99 do not include the £3.27 million spent on the Laptop Programme for Adult and Community Learning Tutors, which was not part of the original budget. Programme underspend is due to the fact that the initial application process took longer than expected and projects therefore started later in the year. Money for the Adult and Community Learning Fund has been re-profiled over the lifetime of the initiative so that the £20 million originally announced for the fund remains available.
(21) New Deal for Schools: underspends denote slippage in claiming funds by LEAs. All NDS funds have been allocated to schools. The budget for NDS is ringfenced and any underspends are automatically carried forward.
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