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Personal Pension Schemes
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to allow unmarried members of personal pension schemes to buy annuities where the rate is determined on the member's life only. [99891]
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Mr. Rooker:
All members of personal pension schemes are already able to choose to purchase a single life annuity with their entire fund, provided that the pension contains no element of protected rights.
Members of appropriate personal pension schemes, which consist wholly or partly of protected rights, are required to purchase a joint life annuity with the protected rights element of the accumulated fund which accrued before 6 April 1997. Unmarried members may use all of the rights accrued from 6 April 1997 to purchase a single life annuity.
We are considering whether a further change should be made to the legislation in respect of the requirement to purchase a joint life annuity for pre-6 April 1997 protected rights.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have called the National Benefit Fraud Hotline in each of the 12 weeks for which he has the most recent data. [100694]
| Week commencing | Calls answered |
|---|---|
| 30 August | 2,311 |
| 6 September | 2,902 |
| 13 September | 2,669 |
| 20 September | 2,619 |
| 27 September | 2,470 |
| 4 October | 2,371 |
| 11 October | 2,445 |
| 18 October | 2,336 |
| 25 October | 2,139 |
| 1 November | 2,749 |
| 8 November | 3,060 |
| 15 November | 4,367 |
| Total | 32,438 |
Note:
On occasion people call the hotline but ring off before the call has been answered. Over the 12 week period, 1,109 calls were lost in this way (3.3 per cent. of all calls made).
Child Support White Paper
Gillian Merron: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he intends to respond to the report of the Social Security Select Committee, the 1999 Child Support White Paper [HC 798]. [101124]
Angela Eagle: The Government's response to the Committee's report has been laid before Parliament today, Cm 4536.
WALES
Birth Certificates
Mr. Livsey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales for what purposes his Department and its executive agencies require a birth certificate to be provided by (a) employees, (b) contractors and those applying for employment and contracts and (c) other persons. [99332]
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Mr. Paul Murphy:
My Department requires those applying for employment to provide either a birth certificate, passport, or driving licence in order to prove identify. Contractors, potential contractors, and other persons are not required to provide their birth certificates.
Gender Reassignment Surgery
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department issues to health authorities who have a blanket policy not to offer gender reassignment surgery on the National Health Service. [98632]
Mr. Denham: Our advice is that each case should be considered on its individual merits.
Alder Hey Hospital
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Chief Medical Officer's investigation into the post-mortem removal and retention of organs at children's hospitals, with particular reference to Alder Hey, will be completed; and if it will be made public. [98625]
Mr. Denham: The Chief Medical Officer's investigation will look at what has happened not only at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital (Alder Hey) but in the country generally and at the implications for the National Health Service. He hopes to complete his investigation by summer 2000 and will publish the results.
Nurses National Register
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a minimum time ban for registered nurses struck off the national register held by the UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting. [98471]
Mr. Hutton: Decisions on the length of time before which a practitioner who has been removed from the register may reapply are a matter for the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting.
Emergency Services (Millennium Celebrations)
Mr. Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the plans being made to cope with the expected extra demand placed on emergency services during the millennium celebrations. [99560]
Ms Stuart: Preparations for the millennium began well in advance. All National Health Service organisations, including Ambulance Trusts, were assessed as presenting no risk of material disruption to services due to the millennium bug. Ambulance services have detailed plans and robust contingency arrangements in place to cope with expected extra demand over this period.
Transplants (Waiting List)
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in each health authority are awaiting (a) heart transplants and (b) other organ transplants; and if he will make a statement. [99763]
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Mr. Denham:
Copies of the information requested have been placed in the Library.
We are concerned about the shortage of organs for transplantation and that was why we launched the organ donor publicity campaign in October 1998, reinforced in February by a campaign targeting the south Asian community. We shall continue to build on these campaigns to encourage people to join the National Health Service organ donor register, to carry the donor card at all times and most importantly make their wishes known to their family and friends.
We shall be developing a further campaign to inform the medical profession about best practice in requesting organ donation.
Additionally, in line with the drive to improve the quality of care for all users of the NHS, we shall seek to ensure that best practice is adopted in all units involved in donation and transplantation. We shall also support best practice in live donation, which has increased significantly over the last few years.
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are in place in each health authority area to provide a specialised service to patients with epilepsy. [99759]
Mr. Hutton:
The information is not available in the format requested. Regional specialised commissioning groups are accountable for ensuring that effective arrangements for commissioning specialised services are in place in each region, including those specialised services required for the treatment of complex epilepsy.
Under the present system it is, of course, for health authorities and primary care groups to plan and arrange the services available to people in their care. They are closest to the patients and best placed to respond sensitively to their needs.
The Clinical Standards Advisory Group (Epilepsy Committee) has undertaken a study to investigate standards of clinical care for, and access and availability of services to, patients with epilepsy. The aim of this research is to review the services that are currently available. We have recently received this report and are currently considering its conclusions and recommendations and the implications they have for epilepsy services and for the National Health Service as a whole. We hope to publish the report within the prescribed 90 days, together with the Government's response.
Mr. Blizzard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the research on which the consultation document, "Fit for the Future?", was based. [99850]
Mr. Hutton:
Details of the reference material used by the Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA) and the Advisory Group in formulating their proposals for national standards are set out in the consultation document, "Fit for the Future?", along with details of the CPA's consultation process and the membership of the Advisory Group.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the standard spending assessment for social services in each health authority area in (a) the last year for which figures are available and (b) 1997. [99913]
Mr. Hutton:
Information on standard spending assessments by health authority area are not available. Details of the standard spending assessment for social services in each local authority in 2000-01, the latest year for which figures are available, and 1997-98, are given in the table.
(1) These shire counties were reorganised on 1 April 1998 and therefore figures for the two years are not comparable
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