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Team Bonuses Projects
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which trusts are operating pilot team bonuses projects. [15056]
Mr. Hutton: The following national health service trusts have been selected to take part in the first wave of NHS team bonus pilots, which was launched in October.
- Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Ambulance Trust
Bradford City Primary Care Trust
Bradford Hospitals and Bradford South and West PCT
Calderstones Learning Disabilities Trust
Lincolnshire Ambulance Trust
Newham Primary Care Trust
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust
Norfolk and Norwich Health Care NHS Trust
South Devon Health Care NHS Trust.
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Private Hospitals
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) in each of the last five years, what has been the cost of publicly funded treatments for patients in (a) United Kingdom private hospitals and (b) overseas hospitals; [7220]
- (2) how many patients have been treated in private hospitals, funded by the NHS, in each of the last five years. [7219]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 15 October 2001]: The table sets out the total amount of national health service funds spent by health authorities in England outside the NHS. These figures include expenditure on treatment for NHS patients in private hospitals, local authorities and the voluntary sector.
| Year | Spend |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 0.87 |
| 1997–98 | 1.08 |
| 1998–99 | 1.25 |
| 1999–2000 | 1.41 |
| 2000–01 | 1.47 |
Source:
Department of Health Common Information Core, Out-turn
United Kingdom residents are personally liable for costs of hospital and other medical treatment overseas unless there are reciprocal health agreements under which the costs are assumed by Governments. Since many of these agreements are on a cost-waiver basis, information on the cost of patients treated in overseas hospitals is not available.
A meaningful time series of data on the number of NHS patients treated in private hospitals is not available.
Press Release
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which Minister (a) considered and (b) approved the press release, reference 2001/0530. [15198]
Mr. Hutton: Ministers do not approve statistical press releases issued by the Government Statistical Service. They are issued on the authority of the Director of Statistics. As soon as the error was identified, a corrected version was issued by the Government Statistical Service.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Skills and IT Training
Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information her Department has evaluated regarding age discrimination in the provision of skills and IT training. [13170]
John Healey: The Government support a wide-ranging research programme to inform the development of their education and training policies, including those relating to participation in learning by older people. In addition to survey data and academic and action research, we consult with the providers of education and training, employers, trade unions and, of course, older learners themselves.
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Following the launch of the Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment, the Government undertook a comprehensive evaluation programme. This involved an evaluation of the "employment cycle" including training and development within work; and a qualitative study into the effectiveness of three Government training programmes to help unemployed older people into work. The results from this research have been used to develop policy on combating age discrimination. For example, the evaluation of the Age Diversity Code led to an enhancement of the "Age Positive" campaign, which promotes the benefits of an age diverse workforce to employers; and it also helped to target the campaign effectively on small and medium sized employers.
School Buildings
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the impact of devolving financing of school buildings on head teachers' ability to carry out their core educational work. [13251]
Mr. Timms: School buildings that are well maintained and are suitable for delivering the curriculum are a key element supporting improvement in educational standards in schools. In January this year the Department published findings from an initial evaluation study, which supported this view.
Since school buildings are key to raising standards, we believe that head teachers and their governing bodies should be able to play a decisive role in the management of their school buildings. To help schools do this, consistent delegation of all revenue funded repairs to school buildings was introduced for all schools from April 1999, and each school has been allocated a devolved capital budget since April 2000. Most capital funding, for major work to repair, improve or expand school buildings is still managed by local authorities. But we believe giving schools their own capital budgets as well means that decisions about smaller works are improved, since they are taken by those who best know where their impact can increase standards. They also enable schools to influence local authority decisions about major capital investment.
Modern Apprenticeships
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the cost of (a) advanced modern apprenticeships and (b) foundation modern apprenticeships in the last 12 months. [14221]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available. Training and Enterprise Councils were not required to supply such breakdowns. However, the total amount spent by TECs in the 12 months ending 31 March 2001 on work based training for young people, which included advanced modern apprenticeships, foundation modern apprenticeships, lifeskills training and other training, was £811 million.
Skills Shortages
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on skills shortages in the Buckingham constituency. [14208]
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Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on skills shortages in the Wycombe constituency. [14874]
John Healey: Data on skills shortages are not collected on a constituency basis by the Department. However, the Employers Skill Survey 2001, which was funded by the Department, provides estimates within Local Learning and Skills Council boundaries. In this survey, skill shortage vacancies were reported by five per cent. of employers in the Oxfordshire, Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire Local Learning and Skills Council area. This compares to a national average of four per cent. and a high of eight per cent.
Pre-school Education
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost is of the effective provision of pre-school education project. [14098]
Mr. Timms: The total cost of the effective provision of pre-school education research project, as agreed in the project's contract, for the period 1 September 1996 to 31 August 2003 is £1,858,419.
Public Service Agreements
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the public service agreement target for costs of contracted inspections in (a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2000–01. [14102]
Mr. Timms: These are matters for HM Chief Inspector of Schools and I have therefore asked Mike Tomlinson to write to the hon. Member and to place a copy of his letter in the Library.
Mentors/Support Units
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost is in 2001–02 of the learning mentors and learning support units. [14105]
Mr. Timms: We have allocated just over £100 million to support learning mentors and learning support units in Excellence in Cities and Excellence Clusters this financial year. An additional £21 million has been allocated for learning support units outside the areas covered by Excellence in Cities and Excellence Clusters. Schools are free to use their other sources of funding to pay for additional learning mentors and learning support units.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost is in 2001–02 of her Department's support for the national mentoring network. [14084]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My Department's general financial support to the national mentoring network in 2001–02 is £600,000. This funding is used to promote and develop high quality volunteer mentoring programmes to help young people. In addition the Department is providing the national mentoring network with £30,000 a year for two years specifically to co-ordinate the membership of Excellence in Cities Learning Mentors and to develop relevant networks and activities for them.
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