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Interactive Voice Response Systems
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many agencies of his Department use interactive voice response systems when dealing with telephone inquiries from the general public; [127114]
- (2) how many of his Department's telephone lines used by the general public are responded to by interactive voice response systems. [127391]
Ms Stuart: The Department and its agencies have only one telephone line for the general public that is responded to by interactive voice response systems. This is the Department's Public Enquiry Office.
Continence Services
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has (a) to monitor implementation of best practice guidance and (b) to conduct further awareness campaigns in connection with the provision of continence services. [127596]
Mr. Hutton: "Good practice in continence services" was issued on 19 April 2000. This guidance suggests targets for primary and community teams, health authorities and National Health Service trusts. It includes appropriate references to the NHS Performance Assessment Framework, which is used to plan and monitor the delivery of services. A National Service Framework for Older People is currently being developed. This will supplement the guidance on continence services by placing it in the wider context of improving NHS services for older people.
The guidance suggests that action to promote continence awareness should be undertaken locally and where appropriate, in consultation with relevant national organisations.
Internet
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the Government's policy on the sale of medicines on the internet. [127882]
Ms Stuart: There are legal controls on the sale of medicines direct to consumers in order to protect public health and these apply whether the medicine is sold face to face or through the internet. The Medicines Control Agency has a special Internet Unit which investigates all alleged breaches of medicines legislation and has successfully taken action against a number of websites where the law has been broken.
Empty Hospitals
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of maintaining redundant empty hospital buildings in each region in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [127692]
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Mr. Denham: The holding costs of maintaining the surplus estate that is not vested in trusts, once it is vacant and available for disposal, include maintenance, security, rates and utilities.
The last year for which figures are available, ie 1999-2000, for each region are as follows:
| Region | |
|---|---|
| Northern and Yorkshire | 1,500,000 |
| Trent | 580,000 |
| Eastern | 415,000 |
| London | 2,543,000 |
| South-East | 2,702,000 |
| South and West | 774,000 |
| West Midlands | 1,194,000 |
| North-West | 598,000 |
| Total | 10,306,000 |
There is a continuing programme of disposals of the surplus estate in the ownership of the Secretary of State, which has realised in excess of £200 million per annum in recent years.
NHS Management
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total remuneration of each NHS health authority's general manager in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [127690]
Mr. Denham: Information on the remuneration of health authority chief executives has been placed in the Library.
Tesco
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action the Food Standards Agency will take regarding the Public Health Laboratory Service testing of Tesco's organic mushrooms; and if the results of the PHLS's inquiry will be made public. [126309]
Ms Stuart: The responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of results from the testing of food lies primarily with the laboratory undertaking the testing. The Food Standards Agency was not involved in the commissioning of the survey in question.
The Public Health Laboratory Service is in the process of completing its inquiry and will make the findings available at the earliest opportunity.
Nursing Care
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the cost of providing free nursing care for elderly people outside hospital. [127495]
Mr. Hutton: National Health Service expenditure on community nursing for people aged 65 and over was £836 million in 1998-99, the latest year for which figures are available. Local council expenditure on nursing home care amounted to £669 million in 1998-99. Extending free nursing care to everyone in nursing homes assessed as needing it would cost an additional sum. The amount would depend on defining the nursing element of nursing home care.
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NHS Dentistry
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on widening access to NHS dentistry. [127498]
Mr. Hutton: We have already made good progress towards improving access to dental services. Initiatives include Investing in Dentistry, in which £10 million in grants have been approved in return for promises of nearly 900,000 new National Health Service registrations. Personal dental services explore new ways of providing dentistry for people who cannot easily or conveniently use existing services. A third wave of 14 pilots will be operational by the end of the year, bringing the total number of pilots to more than 50. Dental access centres are one form of PDS pilot. Access centres provide a full range of dental services, at convenient times and in convenient places, to people who cannot at present easily access NHS dentistry. There will be 33 pilots operating from more than 50 access centres by April 2001.
We have accepted the recommendations of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body for a commitment scheme to reward loyalty to the NHS. The scheme will cost £17 million per annum in England, and is currently being negotiated with the profession.
Further initiatives to improve access to services will form part of our plans for modernising NHS dentistry, which will be published this summer in conjunction with the National Plan for the NHS.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Euro 96
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much financial assistance was made available by (a) the National Lottery, (b) the English Sports Council, (c) the Government, (d) the UK Sports Council and (e) the Football Trust to assist (i) the preparation of the bid to hold the 1996 European football championships, (ii) with the upgrading of stadiums and other facilities for the 1996 European football championships and (iii) with the running costs of the 1996 European football championships. [127698]
Kate Hoey: Funding for the 1996 European championships was made available as follows:
- (a) No Lottery funding was made available, either for the preparation of the bid or for the running of the championships.
- (b) The English and UK Sports Councils were not in existence until 1997, but the then GB Sports Council contributed £80,000 towards the costs of the cultural programme.
- (c) The Government, through the Association for Business Sponsorship for the Arts and the Sportsmatch scheme, made available a total of £400,000 for the cultural programme which ran alongside the championships in the eight host cities. No other direct Government subvention was made. Much of the expenditure incurred during the running of the tournament, including the costs of additional policing, was met by the local authorities of the eight host cities.
- (d) See (b).
- (e) The Football Trust provided £19 million towards stadia improvements in the eight host cities during the period from 1993 to 1996. That sum was the Trust's contribution to the
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- £72 million spent by the eight host clubs in the five years before the 1996 championships on essential ground safety work following the publication of the Taylor Report. Taking all professional clubs in England into account, the Trust made available £136 million for Taylor-related work over that five-year period. The Trust also contributed a further £500,000 towards the general running costs of the championships.
Annual Reports
Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of producing the annual report of (a) his Department and (b) English Heritage was in each of the two most recent years in which they were published. [127845]
Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 26 June 2000]: (a) The costs incurred producing the Annual Report in each of the last two years were:
| £000 | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 64.6 |
| 2000 | 66.2 |
This includes the cost of buying back copies for free distribution from The Stationery Office, who are responsible for printing the reports and putting them on sale around the country.
(b) The cost incurred by English Heritage producing their 1999 Annual Report was £85,000.
I will publish the results of their 1998 Annual Report as soon as they have provided it to me.
Mr. Sedgemore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the review of the transparency of the BBC's financial reporting will commence; and if he will make a statement. [128140]
Mr. Chris Smith: In their response to the Davies panel's report on the future funding of the BBC, the Government announced that they would appoint independent consultants to examine the transparency of the BBC's financial reporting culminating in the publication of the Corporation's Annual Report and Accounts. The BBC's Annual Report and Accounts was published on 21 June and I have today appointed Pannell Kerr Forster to carry out a detailed review of:
- the level of information provided in the BBC's "Annual Report and Accounts";
- how far the reporting meets the requirements of the Royal Charter and the Government's conclusions on the outcome of the Davies review;
- the process that leads up to the disclosure of information in the "Annual Report and Accounts", including the extent to which the Governors are made aware of the issues;
- existing correspondence from stakeholders to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the BBC about the financial information produced; and
- existing mechanisms employed by the BBC to ensure transparency, including use of focus groups.
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