| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Social Services (East Sussex)
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in East Sussex are not in receipt of care from social services following assessment, despite being entitled to such care; and if he will make a statement. [151785]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is not available centrally.
5 Mar 2001 : Column: 118W
NHS Care (Private Hospitals)
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the volume of health care being purchased by the NHS from private hospitals broken down by health district and health specialism. [151875]
Ms Stuart: The concordat signed between the National Health Service and the Independent Healthcare Association sets out a framework by which the NHS is best able to utilise the resources of the private, independent and voluntary healthcare sector locally to deliver better services for patients. That framework provides for local agreement in planning how and when to make use of these independent sector facilities and for monitoring the arrangements.
Any patient treated making use of the private or voluntary sector under the terms of the concordat remains an NHS patient and their treatment remains NHS treatment. Such patients remain the responsibility of the NHS.
Organisation-specific and condition-specific data are not collected centrally. However, the total amount of NHS funds spent on the provision of hospital and community services for NHS patients treated outside the NHS for the years 1996-97 to 1998-99 are as follows:
| Year | Total (£ billion) | Percentage of NHS expenditure on hospital and community services |
|---|---|---|
| 1998-99 | 1.25 | 4.8 |
| 1997-98 | 1.08 | 4.6 |
| 1996-97 | 0.87 | 3.8 |
Source:
Common Information Core, Outturn 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99
Teenage Pregnancies
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the top decile of wards by rate of teenage pregnancy, giving the rate in each case. [151920]
Yvette Cooper: Information is collected nationally about numbers of teenage pregnancies by ward. However, it is not possible to calculate ward rates as denominators for the relevant population are not available
Pressure Sores
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment the National Institute for Clinical Excellence have made of the savings that could be made by more effective management of pressure sores; [152310R]
- (2) if he has asked NICE to consider targets for reducing pressure sores as part of its current study. [152311R]
Mr. Denham: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has not yet published a guideline on pressure ulcers, but it is intending to do so. We have not asked NICE to set targets for the national health service, but it will develop methods of clinical audit for the review of patient care.
5 Mar 2001 : Column: 119W
Intercountry Adoption
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to introduce regulations under the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999. [152312]
Mr. Hutton: Section 13 of the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999, in so far as it inserts a new subsection (3A) after subsection (3) of section 72 of the Adoption Act 1976, came into force on 31 January 2000. This makes it clear that only local authorities and voluntary adoption agencies approved by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State may carry out an assessment of the suitability of an individual to be an adoptive parent.
Section 14 of the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 makes it a criminal offence for a person habitually resident in the British Islands to bring to the United Kingdom for the purpose of adoption a child who is habitually resident outside those islands, unless they comply with requirements to be prescribed by regulations. We intend to implement section 14 in April, and will be laying regulations before the House shortly.
We are continuing to develop regulations under the rest of the Act and will be consulting on these as soon as possible. We will lay the regulations in time to meet our commitment to ratify the 1993 Hague convention on the protection of children and co-operation in respect of intercountry adoption by 1 January 2002.
Drug Tariff
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what target times have been set for (a) new and (b) similar products to be given approval for placement on the drug tariff; [152308R]
- (2) what the waiting time is for (a) new and (b) similar products to be given approval for placement on the drug tariff. [152309R]
Ms Stuart: Applications for listing of appliances in part IX of the drug tariff take different lengths of time to consider depending on the complexity of any issues raised. Processing times are around a month in very simple cases but can be over a year in the more difficult cases. Types of product which are new to part IX tend to raise more complex issues and hence do take longer, but this is not invariably the case. Target times have not been set, but our constant aim is to deal with applications in the minimum time consistent with full consideration.
5 Mar 2001 : Column: 120W
Food Labelling
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which imported products are required to be labelled with the country of origin; and if he will make a statement. [152329]
Ms Stuart: United Kingdom and European Union law requires country of origin labelling on certain specified foods and on all foods in cases where its omission might mislead consumers as to the true origin of the food. We are actively pressing for these rules to be amended to require compulsory origin labelling on a wider range of foods, particularly meat products.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that food imported into the United Kingdom is labelled so as to indicate the country of origin. [151690]
Ms Stuart: Origin labelling rules are harmonised at European level. We are actively pressing for these rules to be amended to require compulsory origin labelling on a wider range of foods, particularly meat products, and for clear rules on the use of terms like "produce of".
Visually Impaired People (Eastbourne)
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the Government's additional funding allocated for community equipment services will be available for low vision equipment in Eastbourne; and what plans he has to appoint a visually impaired representative on the advisory group that will issue guidance to the NHS and Social Services. [152165]
Mr. Hutton: Additional funding for community equipment services has been included in allocations to health authorities 2001-02, with provision also made in the personal social services settlement. It is for health authorities and local councils to determine local funding priorities. The Royal National Institute for the Blind has a representative on the community equipment services external reference group, which has been advising on the planned guidance.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to answer the question of 15 January, [Ref. 146107] tabled by the hon. Member for Northavon on TB in Avon. [151924]
Yvette Cooper: The hon. Member's question was answered today, Official Report, column 107-08W.