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Hydrofluorocarbons
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Prime Minister what percentage of plant and equipment installed in 10 Downing Street in the past 12 months contains HFCs. [15526]
The Prime Minister [holding answer 16 November 2001]: In accordance with the UK Climate Change Programme, Government policy is that wherever possible HFCs are only used where other safe, technically feasible, cost effective and more environmentally acceptable alternatives do not exist.
During the last 12 months 27 cooling units have been installed which contain HFCs. The manufacturer does not offer the option of non-HFC refrigerant because the available non-HFC refrigerants are not safe to use either in occupied enclosed spaces or enclosed spaces containing electrical equipment. All these systems comply with all relevant European Standards on the use of HFCs and safety in the workplace.
Ministerial Meeting (Indian Prime Minister)
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his discussions with the Prime Minister of India in London on 12 November. [15748]
The Prime Minister: I met the Indian Prime Minister, Sri A B Vajpayee, in London for talks on 12 November. These talks followed on from discussions we had held when I visited New Delhi on 6 October. The 12 November talks focused largely on the coalition campaign against terrorism which India strongly supports, and the future of Afghanistan. The talks were timely and productive, and demonstrated the strength of the bilateral relationship.
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Forward Strategy Unit
Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the methods by which public accountability of the Forward Strategy Unit is achieved. [15880]
The Prime Minister: The unit reports direct to me and is headed by Geoff Mulgan, who is also Director of the Performance and Innovation Unit in the Cabinet Office.
Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what the purpose of the Forward Strategy Unit is; and what its aims, objectives and workplan are for (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; [15884]
- (2) what mechanism exist to prevent the use of the Forward Strategy Unit for party political purposes; and what independent checks exist to ensure such mechanisms are effective. [15886]
The Prime Minister: The Forward Strategy Unit's role is to provide long-term internal strategic analysis and policy thinking for me and other Cabinet Ministers.
The work of the Forward Strategy Unit is undertaken in line with the requirements of the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code.
Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister in respect of the Forward Strategy Unit, what the budget is for (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; and how many (i) officials and (ii) special advisers are presently deployed to this unit. [15883]
The Prime Minister: The budget for the Forward Strategy Unit is still being finalised.
At 1 September 2001, there were 15 civil servants in the unit, and no special advisers.
Official Visits
Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister which constituencies he has visited on official duties since 1 May 1997; and on how many occasions in each case. [15879]
The Prime Minister: I undertake visits to all parts of the country, but records of official visits are not held on a constituency basis and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Shipping Services (Scotland)
Mr. Alan Reid: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on departmental responsibility for financial assistance to shipping services between a port within Scotland and one outside Scotland. [15694]
The Prime Minister: This is a reserved matter for the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions.
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HEALTH
Special Schools
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if residential special schools have to be registered with his Department. [10707]
Jacqui Smith: Currently residential special schools are required to register with the Department for Education and Skills, and the responsibility for welfare inspections lies with the local authority.
In April 2002 residential special schools will be required to register with the National Care Standards Commission when it takes on responsibility for the welfare inspections of boarding schools. Residential special schools will still be required to register with the DfES, which is responsible for educational inspections.
NHS Underspend
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how will the underspend in the NHS this year be allocated in the next financial year. [11069]
Mr. Hutton: Any underspends by health authorities, primary care trusts and national health service trusts in 2001–02 will be added to their resource budgets in 2002–03.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the level of underspending by the NHS in the last financial year. [11070]
Mr. Hutton: The provisional underspend for health and personal social services in 2000–01 is £692 million. This includes health authorities, primary care trusts and national health service trusts. Final figures for 2000–01 will not be available until the annual accounts have been completed.
Over one third of this sum was a planned contingency to meet costs falling in the current financial year. The total underspend has been carried forward and is being used on provision of health care in this financial year.
NHS Specialists
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the national shortage of (a) psychiatrists, (b) occupational therapists, (c) speech and language therapists, (d) GPs and (e) healthcare professionals engaged in palliative care in the national health service. [11086]
Mr. Hutton: The NHS Plan recognises that the national health service needs more staff and commits the Government to increasing the size of the NHS work force. By 2004 there will be 7,500 more consultants, 1,000 more specialist registrars, 2,000 more general practitioners,
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20,000 extra nurses and over 6,500 extra therapists and other health professionals over a 1999 baseline. We have since rolled these targets forward and by 2005 there will be at least 10,000 more doctors and 20,000 more nurses over a 2000 baseline.
We are also increasing training numbers. Numbers of psychiatric specialist registrars (SpRs) are planned to increase by over 130 and palliative medicine SpRs by 15 during the period 2001 to 2004. There will be an additional 4,500 therapists and other health professionals (including occupational therapists and speech and language therapists) in the next three years as a result of the NHS Plan. We are also increasing general practitioner retainer numbers by 550 and nurse training commissions by 5,500 over the next three years.
The increases in all staff groups are essential for delivering the service improvements set out in the NHS Plan and improving access and delivering quality services at the right time in the right place.
Health Spending
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the level of spending on health per weighted head of population was in each English health authority area in 2000–01; [11308]
- (2) what the levels of spending on health per head of population were in each English health authority area for the year 2000–01. [11472]
Mr. Hutton: The spending on health per head of population and the spending per weighted head of population for each English health authority is given in the table.
1. Expenditure is taken from health authority and primary care trust summarisation forms which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. The expenditure is the total spent on the purchase of health care by the health authority and by the primary care trusts within the health authority area. The majority of General Dental Services expenditure is not included in the health authority or primary care trust accounts and is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice Board.
2. Some health authorities act as lead commissioners for particular specialities which inflates their figures when compared with others and also causes differences between years. Other factors may also distort the figures so the results are therefore not all directly comparable with each other and with answers to similar questions for previous years.
Sources:
1. Health authority audited summarisation forms 2000–01
2. Primary care trust audited summarisation schedules 2000–01
3. Mid year population estimates and weighted population estimates for 2000–01
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Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each health authority area in England, the expenditure on health, by weighted head of population, expressed in real terms for each of the last two years for which figures are available. [13619]
Mr. Hutton: The expenditure on health by weighted head of population in real terms for each health authority area in England for the two latest years is shown in the table.
Notes:
1. Expenditure is taken from health authority and primary care trust summarisation forms which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. The expenditure is the total spent on the purchase of health care by the health authority and by the primary care trusts within the health authority area. The majority of general dental services expenditure is not included in the health authority or primary care trust accounts and is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice Board.
2. Some health authorities act as lead commissioners for particular specialties which inflates their figures when compared with others and also causes differences between years. Other factors may also distort the figures so the results are therefore not all directly comparable with each other and with answers to similar questions for previous years.
Source:
Health authority audited summarisation forms 1999–2000 and 2000–01. Primary care trust audited summarisation schedules 2000–01. Weighted population estimates for 1999–2000 and 2000–01. GDP deflator at market prices with 2000–01 as the base year.
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