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Single Currency
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the costs to his Department of switching from the pound to the euro. [126399]
Ms Stuart: Should the United Kingdom decide to join the euro, the cost of the changeover would depend on the detailed approach taken to a changeover.
Service Costs
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of the (a) adolescent and
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child psychiatry service, (b) adolescent and child psychology service, (c) community psychiatric nursing service, (d) cervical cytology screening programme and (e) accident and emergency service in (i) 1970, (ii) 1980, (iii) 1990 and (iv) 1999. [126824]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 19 June 2000]: Information on the costs of the community psychiatric nurses is not collected centrally. Information is not collected separately on the child and adolescent psychology service.
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme began in 1988. The National Audit Office estimated in 1998 that the Programme costs around £132 million per year, around £34 per woman screened
- National Audit Office; The Performance of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England; Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General; HC678 Session 1997-98; 22 April 1998.
| Expenditure 1998-99 | |
|---|---|
| Adolescent and child psychiatry | 123,278,175 |
| Purchase of healthcare by HAs (A&E) | 780,245,000 |
The adolescent and child psychiatry figure includes expenditure for in-patients, outpatients, royal college specialities and day care patients.
Coronary Care Services
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the targets he has set health authorities for coronary care services. [126111]
Yvette Cooper: The National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease was published on 6 March. The Framework sets 12 national standards for improved prevention, diagnosis and treatment, and goals to secure fair access to high quality services over the 10-year period. This will include building up capacity, increasing the specialist workforce, improving prevention and creating faster access to services.
Last October we announced a £50 million investment for the expansion of cardiac surgery. Last month we announced a further investment of £50 million, to be used to establish rapid access chest pain clinics, to speed up ambulance response times, to purchase defibrillators and to reduce waiting times for treatment.
Regional offices are working with their health authorities and National Health Service trusts to ensure that these resources are targeted most effectively to increase the use of marginal capacity and to meet the greatest need within their region. A top priority for Dr. Roger Boyle, the National Director for Heart Disease, is to look with regional offices and with cardiac centres at the initial plans to ensure that we make the very best use of all the available skills and capacity.
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Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for West Worcestershire will receive an answer to his letters of 23 March, 5 May and 2 June, relating to the case of his constituent, Ms Wendy Hands of Ashbrooke, Church Walk, Upton-upon-Severn, addressed to the Minister for Public Health. [126982]
Yvette Cooper: I shall let the hon. Member have a reply to his letters as soon as possible.
Adoption
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were adopted in the UK in 1999. [126267]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Tom Cox dated 20 June 2000:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about adoption.
- The final numbers of adoptions recorded during 1999 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are not yet available; the corresponding number in Scotland was 488.
- The number of adoptions recorded in 1998 in the United Kingdom was 4,998.
WALES
Education and Health Funding
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much additional funding will be made available to (a) schools and (b) the Health Service in Wales as a result of specific measures announced in the Budget. [118188]
Mr. Hanson: There will be an increase of £49.6 million in the Welsh Block as a consequence of the increase in education funding for 2000-01 and of £1,299 million as a consequence of the increase in health funding for 2000-01 to 2003-04, £99 million of which will fall in 2000-01. The allocation of these funds is entirely a matter for the Assembly.
The Assembly Finance Secretary has announced allocations of £20.6 million to schools delegated budgets to raise standards of teaching and learning; £26.8 million for capital investments in schools; £2.2 million for teacher recruitment measures; and £40 million for joint working between NHS, Social Services, voluntary organisations and others to deal with all-year emergency pressures on the NHS and for the NHS to reduce waiting times. She has said that the rest of the increase will be allocated to health; discussions are ongoing on how best to allocate it to other identified priority areas.
Drugs
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the
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First Secretary concerning the impact of (a) hard and (b) soft drugs upon Deeside; and if he will make a statement. [126518]
Mr. Hanson: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with the First Secretary and other Assembly Secretaries about a range of topics including drug abuse.
On 25 May, Jane Hutt, the Assembly Secretary for Health and Social Services, launched "Tackling Substance Misuse in Wales: A Partnership Approach", copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House. New developments in North Wales include the appointment by the Community Drug and Alcohol Service of two young people's workers and a specialist midwife.
Rural Bus Services
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary concerning the provision of improved rural bus services; and if he will make a statement. [126973]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I have regular discussions with the First Secretary on a range of topics including rural bus services.
I am pleased that the Assembly has decided to continue the Bus Subsidy Grant scheme in the current financial year. Of the £5 million budget, £3 million is reserved solely for boosting the number and range of services in rural areas. The balance is available for use at local authorities' discretion--which can include yet further support to rural services. These figures are in addition to approximately £10 million a year which authorities already spend on subsidising non-commercial local bus services throughout their areas.
Rural Wales
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary concerning new policies to assist rural Wales; and if he will make a statement. [126972]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I have regular discussions with the First Secretary about a range of matters including the needs of rural Wales.
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The Assembly is addressing the specific needs of rural Wales and its communities in the development of several new policies and programmes. These include the Communities First programme; Local Regeneration Fund; Objective 1 Single Programming Document; Objective 2 and Transitional Funding for many parts of the rural East; and the Rural Development Plan for Wales.
DEFENCE
No-smoking Policy
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on (a) the effectiveness of his Department's no-smoking policy and (b) the proportion of his Department's offices that do not allow smoking. [125158]
Dr. Moonie: My Department's aim, in line with wider Government policy, is to create a non-smoking working environment in so far as this reflects the wishes of staff. Detailed guidance on this policy is promulgated in the "Departmental Health and Safety Handbook, Joint Service Publication 375", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
The implementation of departmental policy on smoking, in common with other health and safety matters, is a local line management responsibility, and consequently, no central record is held on the proportion of the Department's offices that do not allow smoking. This information could, therefore, be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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