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Licensing Hours
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made towards preparing legislation to reform licensing hours in England and Wales. [142652]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: When we bring forward a Bill to reform licensing law, which will be as soon as parliamentary time permits, it will include provision for more flexible licensing hours. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary intends to make an early announcement about the licensing reform package as a whole, in the light of all the responses we have received to our White Paper proposals.
Young Offenders (Shropshire)
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders in each year since 1 May 1997 for (a) Shropshire and (b) Shrewsbury and Atcham; and if he will make a statement. [144158]
Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
The average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders sentenced at magistrates courts or the Crown court in Shropshire for 1998 was 177 days. The equivalent figure for 1999 was 92 days.
Data for the year 2000 are not yet available. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of arrest to sentence times by constituency.
HEALTH
Departmental Advertising
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1998-99, (d) 1999-2000 and (e) 2000-01, (i) his Department's total spending on advertising campaigns, (ii) the cost of each individual advertising campaign and (iii) the criteria that were established to gauge the effectiveness of each campaign; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of each campaign based on these criteria. [142716]
Ms Stuart: The Department uses advertising on television and in various other media to inform the wider public about how they are affected by departmental legislation, about the availability of NHS services and also to effect attitudinal change in such fields as smoking and teenage pregnancies. Advertising is also used to support the National Health Service recruitment and retention programme.
Each major campaign is rigorously evaluated to ensure maximum effectiveness and value for money. Evaluation criteria are set according to the individual objectives of each campaign (for example awareness of the dangers of smoking and the availability of advice and support to help smokers give up are tracked along with changes in public
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attitude and behaviour towards smoking), and the results of each evaluation exercise are used to inform further campaign development.
Historical data on the individual objectives and evaluation criteria for each campaign can be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
The figures for the total spend on advertising for the Department for the financial years 1996-97 to 2000-01 are shown in the table.
| Financial year | Advertising expenditure |
|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 2.50 |
| 1997-98 | 2.27 |
| 1998-99 | 8.63 |
| 1999-2000 | 14.83 |
| 2000-01(45) | 6.81 |
(45) Spend to date
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Major advertising spend on individual campaigns is shown in the table.
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| 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | (46)2000-01 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambulance services | 0.40 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Antibiotics | -- | -- | -- | 0.17 | -- |
| Blood donation | 0.38 | 0.60 | 1.70 | (47)0.22 | -- |
| Drugs | -- | -- | -- | 0.34 | -- |
| Maternity | 0.10 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| NHS including nurse recruitment | 1.43 | 1.30 | 4.90 | 4.21 | 0.84 |
| NHS Direct | -- | 0.12 | 0.78 | 1.20 | -- |
| Organ donation | -- | -- | 0.77 | 0.47 | 0.04 |
| Prescription fraud | -- | -- | 0.38 | -- | -- |
| Sexwise | -- | -- | -- | 0.39 | -- |
| Smoking | -- | -- | -- | (48)6.18 | 3.53 |
| Teenage pregnancy | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0.48 |
| Travel safe | 0.85 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Walk-in centres | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0.17 |
| Winter | -- | -- | -- | 1.07 | 1.75 |
(46) Spend to date.
(47) The Department's spend on blood donation advertising reduced in 1999-2000 because most of this activity was funded directly by the National Blood Authority (NBA), who took over full responsibility for this expenditure on 1 April 2000.
(48) Prior to 1999-2000 advertising on smoking was undertaken by the Health Education Authority.
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The Department's spend on blood donation advertising reduced in 1999-2000 because most of this activity was funded directly by the National Blood Authority (NBA), who took over full responsibility for this expenditure on 1 April 2000.
National Alcohol Strategy
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the National Alcohol Strategy. [142995]
Ms Stuart: We remain committed to the publication of a cross-Government strategy to tackle alcohol misuse, and we are working with key stakeholders across Government, the alcohol field and the alcohol industry to ensure that this commitment is delivered.
We expect to publish a consultation paper on the strategy in the New Year.
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will announce the outcome of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital's bid for funding an emergency assessment unit; and if he will make a statement. [144064]
Ms Stuart: Following the first tranche of accident and emergency modernisation moneys in June 1999, bids were invited in June 2000 for allocations from the accident and emergency modernisation--additional moneys for 2000-01 fund. The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital National Health Service Trust has applied for funding for an Emergency Assessment Unit, which incorporates a medical assessment unit.
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A decision on the outcome of those bids will be made in due course.
Cancer Care Services (Shrewsbury)
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients have benefited in Shrewsbury and Atcham from the new national standards for access to cancer care services; and if he will make a statement; [143375]
- (2) what percentage of oral cancer patients at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital were given an outpatient appointment within 14 days of their GP making an urgent referral in (a) 1997 and (b) 2000; and if he will make a statement. [143373]
Yvette Cooper: In April 1999, we introduced the standard that patients with suspected breast cancer referred urgently by their general practitioner within 24 hours of deciding that an urgent assessment is required should be offered an appointment with a specialist within two weeks. The table gives the number of urgent breast cancer referrals seen by the Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals National Health Service Trust since April 1999.
(49) 1999-2000
(50) 2000-01
(51) not applicable
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During 2000, we have put arrangements in place through a phased roll out to extend this high-quality service to all urgent suspected cancer referrals. Head and neck cancers were included in the fourth tranche of the roll out which was introduced on 1 December 2000. Data on the number of oral cancer patients seen within two weeks of referral were not collected centrally in 1997, but arrangements are being put in place to monitor performance of the all cancer two week standard, including head and neck cancers, from 1 January 2001.
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