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British Overseas Territories

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on responsibility for health in British Overseas Territories. [24439]

Mr. Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.

Health services are the responsibility of all the locally elected Governments in the territories. Some have entered into reciprocal Health Agreements with the United Kingdom for referrals of serious cases where inadequate facilities exist. These are: Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat and St. Helena.

International Recruitment

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who has (a) ministerial and (b) operational responsibility for ensuring the implementation of the Code of Practice for Employers involved in the international recruitment of healthcare professionals; how implementation of the Code is being monitored; who is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Code by NHS trusts; and if he will publish details of (a) NHS trusts and (b) nursing agencies which do not confirm to the Code. [24033]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 19 December 2001]: I have responsibility for international recruitment. I expect all national health service employers to adhere to the code of practice. A director of international recruitment and regional international recruitment co-ordinators have been appointed to work closely with the employers in their area to ensure that they are recruiting within the principles of the code, including how they are working with commercial recruitment agencies.

Nutrition

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations (a) by region and (b) by health

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authority were (i) cancelled and (ii) re-scheduled due to poor nutritional status of patients in the age ranges (a) 0–15 years, (b) 16–59 years, (c) 60–75 years and (d) 75 years over in each quarter of the last five years for which figures are available. [24035]

Mr. Hutton: Data on the number of operations cancelled at the last minute and on the number of patients not admitted within one month of their cancellation, by region and health authority, for the time periods requested, are available in the Library.

Data are not collected on the reasons for last minute cancellations, or on the age range of patients cancelled.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2001, Official Report, columns 682–83W, on nutrition, what (a) targets, (b) guidelines and (c) financial assistance he will provide to ensure health authorities address issues of malnutrition under the single assessment process. [24041]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 19 December 2001]: Guidance on the single assessment process sets targets for implementation which will raise the standard of assessment for all older people. Nutrition and diet are specified as one of the domains of need that are covered in the overview type of assessment, and which may go on to be explored in more detail in a specialist assessment. It is anticipated that resources for the implementation of the single assessment process will be found within existing budgets.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department has given to the Department for Education and Skills regarding promoting nutrition in schools. [24671]

Yvette Cooper: The Department works closely with the Department for Education and Skills on promoting nutrition in schools, principally through the Food in Schools programme. This aims to bring together all food

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related initiatives in schools and after-school clubs to improve both health and learning, and ensure consistent messages are being given about health and nutrition.

In addition, the Healthy Schools Programme is a joint initiative between the Department and the Department for Education and Skills. This includes healthy eating as part of the National Healthy School Standard. To meet the standard schools need to present consistent messages about healthy eating, promote the consumption of healthier foods at lunch and breaktimes and include education on healthy eating in the taught curriculum.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have to increase the number of nutritionists in the NHS. [24303]

Mr. Hutton: The Department does not collect data on the number of nutritionists employed in the national health service and has not set a target for increasing the number to be employed.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2001, Official Report, columns 682–83W, on nutrition, (a) how many and (b) which of the six key targets under the Better Hospital Food Programme by (i) region and (ii) health authority will be fully delivered by the end of December. [24040]

Ms Blears [holding answer 19 December 2001]: The information available, though not in the precise format requested, is shown in the table.

The better hospital food programme forms part of the NHS Plan, and is a long-term programme designed to raise standards across the national health service, backed by the provision of an additional £38.5 million over four years. Much has been achieved since the publication of the programme in May 2001. Since hospitals started from different points, some have made faster progress than others, but the NHS has responded positively and will continue to work to implement the better hospital food programme for the benefit of all patients.

Numbers of hospitals in the acute and non-acute sectors, by region where the six elements of the Better Hospital Food programme will be in place by 31 December 2001

	Region
Element	South West	London	Eastern	South East	Northern and Yorkshire	Northwestern	Trent	West Midlands
Acute
Number of acute hospitals/region	41	46	35	63	52	46	26	36
Snack boxes	20	25	15	33	28	28	20	20
Ward kitchens	22	24	14	38	31	26	22	24
Move main meal	16	34	7	31	34	24	17	21
Menu format	11	19	5	10	22	16	6	19
Leading chef	16	27	16	21	29	26	18	17
Additional snacks	15	29	19	37	23	26	21	25
Non-acute and PCT
Number of non-acute hospitals/region	117	69	62	105	67	56	62	63
Snack boxes	71	16	31	33	28	27	11	20
Ward kitchens	100	50	53	73	40	38	30	51
Move main meal	51	34	23	23	35	18	22	29
Menu format	56	18	15	45	28	4	20	38
Leading chef	71	35	35	55	45	27	37	33
Additional snacks	89	56	42	70	42	14	55	58

Note:

Certain non-acute hospitals have been given flexibility to vary the requirements of the programme to reflect the specific needs of elderly mentally ill, adult mental health and learning disabilities clients.

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GPs

Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the NHS (General Medical Services) Amendment (No. 4) Regulations (SI No. 3742) and the NHS (General Medical Services Supplementary List) Regulations 2001 (SI No. 3740), whether it is his policy that there should be a requirement on health authorities to provide information to general practitioners to support the allegations being made against them. [23821]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 19 December 2001]: Before a health authority decides to remove a doctor from either the medical or supplementary list under discretionary powers the regulations require it to:

(i) give the doctor notice in writing of any allegation against him;

(ii) give the doctor notice of what action the health authority is considering and on what grounds;

(iii) give him the opportunity to make written representations to the health authority;

(iv) give him the opportunity to put his case at an oral hearing before the health authority.

These matters are addressed more fully in advice, prepared in consultation with key stakeholders, including the British Medical Association. This advice was made available to health authorities on 30 November 2001 and explains that the doctor should be sent full details, including any written evidence, of the case against him no less than 14 calendar days prior to the date set for the panel.

This advice is available on the Department's website.

Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to Regulation 6(2)(a) of the NHS (General Medical Services Supplementary List) Regulations 2001 (SI No. 3740), whether it is his policy to require a general practitioner, in order to gain access to a health authority's supplementary list, to provide evidence that he or she has performed general medical services for three out of the last six months; and what assessment he has made of whether this would disadvantage doctors who have not worked for three out of six months previously owing to (a) ill health, (b) maternity or paternity leave and (c) other valid reasons. [23823]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 19 December 2001]: The regulations are intended to ensure that general practitioners who work as non-principals (for example, locums, assistants and salaried general practitioners) are picked up by a supplementary list based in the area in which they intend to work. They get onto that list, in part, by either demonstrating that they have worked in the area or by showing that they intend to work in that area. These arrangements are therefore not discriminatory.

These matters are addressed more fully in advice to the national health service, prepared in consultation with key stakeholders, including the British Medical Association. This advice was made available to health authorities on 30 November 2001 and explains that satisfactory evidence of an intention to work in a particular area could include membership of the local medical committee or a written commitment from the practitioner that he or she intends to work locally coupled with any other matter which links them with the area such as a home within the health authority's area.

This advice is available on the Department's website.

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Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs he estimates will be 60 or above in each of the next five years. [24429]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.

Headcount

	Number
All Practitioners(22)	31,369
of which aged:
54	822
55	716
56	764
57	606
58	532
59	449
Total aged 54 to 59	3,889
Total aged 60 and over	1,938
All UPEs(23)	27,704
of which aged:
54	802
55	696
56	741
57	585
58	514
59	435
Total aged 54 to 59	3,773
Total aged 60 and over	1,764

⁽²²⁾ Practitioners include UPEs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other and GP Retainers.

⁽²³⁾ Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs) includes GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs and PMS Salaried GPs.

Source:

Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham will receive a reply to his letter of 15 November, to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, the hon. Member for Salford (Ms Blears), regarding the exclusion of Worthing from his scheme to incentivise general practitioner recruitment. [24678]

Mr. Hutton: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 19 December 2001.

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