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Visudyne

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that Visudyne is made available to NHS patients. [140575]

Ms Stuart: Visudyne (Verteporfin) received its marketing authorisation from the European Commission on 27 July. It may be prescribed for National Health Service patients when it is clinically appropriate to do so.

Child Abuse

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research has been commissioned and evaluated into the extent of child abuse and its causes; and if he will make a statement. [140002]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 27 November 2000]: The Government are committed to researching into the nature and extent of child abuse and its causes. In 1995, they published key findings from a programme of 20 pieces of research, undertaken at the time of the implementation of the Children Act 1989, which came into force in October 1991. "Child Protection: Messages from Research" is available from The Stationery Office; it served to make the lessons of research accessible to professionals working with children and to demonstrate their relevance for policy and practice.

The Government acknowledge the value of the study published this week by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, "Child Maltreatment in the United Kingdom", as an authoritative contemporary prevalence study of abuse and neglect.

This latest research follows the important work of the NSPCC-supported independent National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention of Child Abuse, chaired by Lord Williams of Mostyn, published as "Childhood Matters" in 1996, and available from The Stationery Office.

We continue regularly to commission research into the needs of children and the impact of services which aim to promote and safeguard the welfare of children. Projects considering the causes, directly or in part of child abuse include; a study aimed at advancing knowledge about the psychological maltreatment of a specific group of children and the comparative costs and outcomes of different interventions for sexually abused children.

Nursing Care

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 22 November 2000, Official Report, column 209W, concerning nursing care, if he will

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make available in the Library the methodology and data used to calculate the differences in the average costs of residential and nursing care. [140488]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 28 November 2000]: The "Care of Elderly People, Market Survey 2000", published by Laing and Buisson (available in the Library), found that in March 2000 the average difference in fees for elderly people in private nursing homes and private residential homes was just over £100 a week. This formed the basis of the estimation of the costs of nursing care.

Learning Disabilities

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish a strategy document on people with learning disabilities. [140394]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 29 November 2000]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in October 1999 that work was to start on developing a new national learning disability strategy. Work has been taken forward in six working groups--children, family carers, supporting independence, health, partnerships, workforce planning and training--whose membership included representatives of central and local government, the health service, academic interests, voluntary organisations, service users, their families and carers. Seven regional seminars held between March and May provided occasions for local organisations--local authorities, health authorities, service providers, service users, and carers--to hear about and contribute to the strategy.

I announced in October that the strategy is to be published as a White Paper in the early months of next year.

Nursing Home Care

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances NHS trusts will top up the fees of a social services department-funded nursing home placement; how many NHS trusts are topping-up; and how much trusts have spent on topping-up in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [140793]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 29 November 2000]: The National Health Service cannot top up the fees for a basic package of nursing home care funded by social services. However, the NHS will provide services which are additional to the basic package of nursing home care, such as continence advice or chiropody. Information is not collected centrally on the separate costs of these services, which form part of normal community health service and other NHS provision.

War Pensioners

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his policy towards the access to treatment by the NHS for war pensioners. [141010]

Mr. Hutton: We have made it clear that National Health Service hospitals should give war pensioners priority treatment for those conditions for which they receive a pension or have received a gratuity. In the past three years we have reminded NHS trusts of the arrangements for priority treatment of war pensioners (Health Service Guidance 97/31). I have placed copies of these documents in the Library.

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Community Health Councils

Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral answer of the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) of 15 November 2000, Official Report, column 937, what action he has taken to ensure full consultation with the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales as regards the future role of community health councils in respect of the National Plan. [R] [140945]

Ms Stuart: Over the past few months we have held a series of stakeholder seminars both nationally and locally involving key patient, user and voluntary sector organisations to develop the detail of the new arrangements for public and patient involvement. The Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales (ACHCEW) has been a key player in the national seminars and has separately met health Ministers and officials. ACHCEW have also undertaken to conduct their own exercise to take the views of community health councils locally, and a major national event for these purposes will be held on 4 December.

The output from the seminars, and from the event to be hosted by ACHCEW will be taken into account when developing the guidance for the new arrangements, which will be launched at a national event in the New Year.

MRSA Infection

Ms Jenny Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the public health implications of the use of antibiotic growth promoters in farm animal feed in relation to the efficacy of the treatment of MRSA infections. [140897]

Mr. Denham: An in-depth review of microbial antibiotic resistance in relation to food safety was undertaken by the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) and published in September 1999. The Government's response to the ACMSF's recommendations was published on 24 March 2000. Copies of the report and our response are available in the Library.

We are committed to a co-ordinated research programme to investigate problems associated with resistance to antimicrobials in the context of public health. This programme is being co-ordinated by an inter- departmental steering group on resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents. The steering group carries out this work as part of the implementation of the Government strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance which was published in June. Infection control, including MRSA, is one of the key parts of this strategy. Copies are available in the Library.

Antimicrobial growth promoters are authorised as feed additives throughout the European Union under procedures set out in Council Directive 70-524 EC as amended. None of these antimicrobial compounds is authorised or is in a class of antibiotics authorised for the treatment of humans or animals, and as such would not directly affect the treatment of MRSA infections.

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Infertility Treatment

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for tackling variations in access to treatment for infertility; and if he will make a statement. [141284]

Yvette Cooper: The provision of infertility services causes concern to many couples.

We have listened carefully to the representations we have received from couples seeking infertility treatment, and from their Members of Parliament and interested bodies working in the field. And we have been considering how we can best respond to these very genuine concerns about variations in provision. We are placing in the Library a report on a baseline survey of infertility services in the National Health Service in 1997 conducted by the Department.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has produced three sets of guidelines for the management of infertility treatment. We are therefore asking the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to consider and update these documents to ensure that clinical guidelines, based on the latest knowledge and best practice are available for use throughout the NHS.

We want to see an improved service and greater efficiency for the benefit of patients. We see the referral of these guidelines to NICE as a major step forward in infertility treatment by which we can act positively to improve services and reduce the postcode lottery in this area of health care.

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