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Community Finance Initiatives

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the community finance initiatives operating in England and Wales; what consultation has taken place regarding the Phoenix fund; what criteria must

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be met for CFI's applying to administer the funds that make up the Phoenix fund; and if he will make a statement. [127839]

Ms Hewitt: There is no single definition of CFIs and therefore no comprehensive list of those operating in England and Wales. CFIs can take a variety of forms, including community loan funds, community investment trusts and micro-finance providers. The largest category of CFIs presently operating in the UK is credit unions, of which there are over 450.

The Phoenix Fund addresses certain recommendations of the Policy Action Team Report on Enterprise and Financial Exclusion, which was the subject of widespread consultation. Although no formal consultation has taken place on the Phoenix Fund, officials did hold extensive discussions with interested parties before drawing up the recently published bidding guidance for organisations wishing to apply for Phoenix Fund Support.

Copies of the bidding guidance are held in the Library of the House.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of the written parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April have not received substantive answers, for the reason that the information is (a) not held centrally, (b) not held in the form requested and (c) not available. [127679]

Mr. Caborn: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 June 2000, Official Report, column 313W.

Organisation Internationale de

Metrologie Legale

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what standard for the determination of hydrocarbon oil bulk volume is recommended by the Organisation Internationale de Metrologie Legale; [127363]

Mrs. Liddell: OIML publishes documents which mainly take the form of International Recommendations which cover many aspects of measurement of hydrocarbon oil bulk volume, and in particular Recommendation R117 covers Measuring Systems for Liquids other than Water. They do not lay down requirements for standard temperature measurement. They do (as appropriate to the context) specify provisions for conversion devices for temperature compensation. However, these are for optional application, as OIML member states may decide. They have not been made a requirement of weights and measures legislation in the UK.

Standard temperature accounting is not adopted throughout the marketing chain for sales of petrol and diesel. The National Weights and Measures Laboratory commissioned a study on the Temperature Compensation of Liquid Fuels which produced several recommendations.

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These recommendations have been made the subject of an industry consultation. The responses to this consultation are currently being analysed by NWML.

Assisted Areas Map

Mr. Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been received by the Highlands and Islands as a result of being included on the Assisted Areas Map in each of the last three financial years; and what proportion of this funding has been received by Inverness. [127012]

Dr. Reid: I have been asked to reply.

Responsibility for aid provided to areas as a result of being included on the Assisted Areas Map in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive.

HEALTH

Hospital Cleaning

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that hospital wards are kept clean and tidy at all times and that bed linen is changed frequently and whenever soiled. [124219]

Mr. Denham: National Health Service trust chief executives are responsible for standards of cleanliness in hospitals. All acute trusts have the assistance of an infection control team. The Infection Control Nurses Association and the Association of Domestic Managers have published "Standards for Environmental Cleanliness in Hospitals" which NHS Estates has distributed to NHS trusts.

In wards it is for the qualified nurse responsible for the patient's care to decide when a linen change is necessary, but this should occur whenever it is soiled.

The NHS controls assurance framework published in November 1999 includes a standard on infection control in NHS trusts. A section on cleanliness is being developed.

Both clinical and organisational systems for monitoring and assuring standards of care will be looked at annually as part of NHS performance monitoring arrangements. The standards for hospital cleanliness and infection control will be subject to independent inspections by the Commission for Health Improvement and the Audit Commission.

National Duplicate Registration Initiative

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the work of the National Duplicate Registration Initiative; and what his estimate is of the number of ghost patients in each health authority area removed from local medical lists since its establishment and the consequential saving to the NHS. [125665]

Mr. Denham: The National Duplicate Registration Initiative exercise is being carried out as part of the annual audit of health authorities, under statutory powers available to the Audit Commission. To date some 16,000 duplicate registrations have been identified and removed from general practitioners' lists. There are no consequential savings to the NHS because the payment

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GPs receive per patient (capitation fee) comes from within the profession's total pay entitlement. Removing list inflation means that payments will be redistributed within the profession on a more legitimate basis but there will be no overall saving.

Clinical Waste Disposal

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to implement a London-wide strategy for clinical waste disposal. [126083]

Mr. Denham: There are no plans, at present, for a London-wide strategy for clinical waste disposal. However, I am informed that this will be reviewed by National Health Service Estates, as part of their facilities management agenda.

Meat Inspection

Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to meet Commissioner Byrne regarding the future basis of meat inspection; [R] [126195]

Ms Stuart: My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture met Commissioner Byrne on 6 March and pressed hard for a change in meat inspection arrangements to one based on risk assessment. The Commissioner acknowledged that a review of the legislation was overdue. The subject was also raised last year at a number of European Union Agriculture Councils. Since then this has become a matter for the Food Standards Agency and the chairman of the agency has also had a meeting with Commissioner Byrne.

In line with the recommendations of the Pooley report and the Government's action plan for farming, we are continuing to press the Commission to bring forward proposals for updating Community legislation on meat hygiene to bring in a risk-based system of controls. I understand that the first of these, a new Regulation on hygiene, is expected to be issued later this month. This will set out operator responsibilities, including the implementation of hazard analysis and critical control points in abattoirs.

Percutaneous Vertebroplasty Operation

Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the effectiveness of the percutaneous vertebroplasty operation; and if he will make a statement. [126266]

Mr. Denham: The Department is not funding any research into the effectiveness of the percutaneous vertebroplasty operation. Priorities for departmental research and development support for the development of policy are determined through discussion with policy colleagues, the Departmental Research Committee and Ministers. In the National Health Service research and development programme, priorities take account of

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widespread consultation with those using, delivering and managing services, within a framework overseen by the Central Research and Development Committee for the NHS. In all cases, priorities for our budgets reflect analysis of the burden of disease, potential benefits, our priorities and take account of the responsibilities and work of other funders.

General Medical Council

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce legislation to remove from the General Medical Council its current responsibilities for regulating the conduct and monitoring the competence of members of the medical profession. [126414]

Mr. Denham: We have no plans at present to remove functions from the General Medical Council. Indeed, we have recently consulted on proposals to strengthen its fitness to practise procedures and the Order amending the Medical Act 1983 will be laid before Parliament soon.

The General Medical Council is undertaking a "Structural and Legal Review" of its fitness to practise procedures. The GMC must not delay in publishing its proposals for modernisation. We will need to consider how far they meet the rising expectations of the public and Parliament for fundamental changes to the way the GMC deals with doctors who do not meet the expected standards of conduct and performance set by the profession.

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