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HIV/AIDS

Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how mainstreaming of HIV prevention and HIV treatment

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and care allocations into primary care trust budgets will take account of different levels of need in each PCT area. [38475]

Yvette Cooper: Health authority and primary care trust allocations are informed by weighted capitation targets. From 2002–03, targets are adjusted for HIV treatment and care and prevention using the latest epidemiology. This will ensure the uniquely skewed distribution of HIV infection in England is reflected in targets for future years.

Home Births

Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times in the most recent year for which data are available home births have been refused, broken down by health authorities or trusts. [38777]

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Abortion

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people seeking termination of pregnancy at NHS clinics in the UK in the last 12 months were foreign nationals visiting the UK; and if such requests are met free of charge. [38431]

Yvette Cooper: In 2000, 73 terminations of pregnancy were performed on non-UK residents in NHS hospitals in England and Wales. 2001 abortion data for England and Wales are not available until later in the year. Abortions performed in Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Executive.

No data are held centrally on nationality or whether the treatment was free.

Myopia

Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health where laser eye treatment for correction of myopia is available through the NHS; and what criteria are used to decide whether it should be provided. [38635]

Ms Blears: Laser surgery for the correction of myopia is not available under the national health service. Refractive errors can be successfully corrected by spectacles and contact lenses and optical vouchers are available to children and people on low incomes to help with the costs of these appliances.

NHS Scrutiny

Mr. Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what formal means councillors and committees of shire district councils will be involved in the scrutiny of bodies within the health service after 1 April. [38786]

Jacqui Smith: The Health and Social Care Act 2001 gives new powers to local government overview and scrutiny committees to scrutinise the national health service. Local authorities with these new powers will be those with social services responsibilities: specifically county councils, unitary authorities and London borough councils.

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We recognise the important role that district councils will play in ensuring effective scrutiny of local health services and will be encouraging through guidance the full involvement of district councils in the scrutiny process.

A consultation on the proposed arrangements is currently under way and we would encourage all local authorities to feed their views into this process.

Health Authority Expenditure

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for (a) England and (b) each health authority area the expenditure on health by weighted head of population in 2001–02. [40069]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested will not become available until the 2001–02 national health service accounts have been completed, submitted to the Department, and subjected to audit. They are expected to be available in late autumn 2002.

Genetics

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish a green paper on genetics; and if he will make a statement. [39317]

Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in his speech at the conference "Genetics and Health—A Decade of Opportunity", reaffirmed his commitment to the Green Paper on genetics being published later this year. No formal publication date has been announced, but good progress is being made with six meetings of the advisory panel and a successful conference to inform the Green Paper having taken place.

Sexual Health

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will implement his sexual health strategy; and if he will make a statement. [39314]

Yvette Cooper: An action plan outlining implementation of the sexual health and HIV strategy will be published in the spring. In addition, we have started to prepare for implementation by asking health authorities to undertake a baseline review and by seeking expressions of interest in chlamydia screening. Bids for chlamydia screening have now been received and are being considered. The Health Development Agency review of what works for local HIV/STI prevention will be available later this year and a new campaign to increase awareness of sexually transmitted infections (including HIV) and how to prevent them is planned for the autumn.

Correspondence

Mrs. Roe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for Broxbourne will receive a reply to her letters of 30 November, 2 January, 29 January and 26 February relating to correspondence from her constituent Mr. Charles Williams of Hoddesdon. [39559]

Mr. Hutton: A reply was sent on 1 March.

Mr. Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will respond to the letter of 8 February from the hon. member for Bexhill and Battle, regarding a constituent requiring radiotherapy for cancer. [37391]

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Ms Blears: A letter from the hon. Member, dated 7 February, was received in my Department on 11 February 2002. A reply was sent to him on 4 March.

Malnutrition

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 7 February 2002, Official Report, column 1155W, on nutrition, how many episodes of hospital inpatients with a primary diagnosis relating to malnutrition there were, broken down by (a) age, (b) health authority and (c) region, in the last five years. [37763]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 27 February 2002]: The tables show a count of episodes of care where the main diagnosis was malnutrition by age (Table 1) and regional office area of residence (Table 2). Figures for health authority of residence have not been given as the numbers are very small and subject to variation.

Table 1—Finished consultant episodes for main diagnosis of malnutrition by age. National health service hospitals, England 1996–97 to 2000–01

Age	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01
0–4	13	13	6	11	17
5–14	14	13	15	6	6
15–44	78	62	86	68	47
45–64	62	82	82	87	73
65–74	34	39	59	46	53
75–84	62	55	50	67	65
85 and Over	34	36	38	34	45
Total	297	300	336	319	306

Table 2—Finished consultant episodes for main diagnosis of malnutrition by regional office area of residence. NHS hospitals, England 1996–97 to 2000–01

	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99
Northern and Yorkshire	32	55	43
Trent	28	17	40
Anglia and Oxford	27	10	29
North Thames	28	53	53
South Thames	31	30	29
South and West	62	43	69
West Midlands	50	45	36
North West	37	40	33
Wales	0	0	1
Foreign	0	1	1
Not known	2	6	2
Total	297	300	336

	1999–2000	2000–01
Northern and Yorkshire	31	28
Trent	49	27
West Midlands	30	30
North West	42	47
Eastern	41	42
London	47	50
South East	43	39
South West	33	40
Wales	0	0
Foreign	2	2
Not known	1	1
Total	319	306

Notes:

1. A finished consultant episode (FCE) is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several episodes within the year.

2. The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.

3. Data for 1996–97 and 1997–98 are adjusted for both coverage and unknown/invalid clinical data; 1998–99 to 2000–01 are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.

Source:

Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health

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Patient Numbers

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients there were in hospital (a) in total, (b) aged 65 and under, (c) aged between 65 and 75 and (d) aged over 75 by (i) region and (ii) health authority in the second quarter of 2001–02; and what the delayed discharge rate for each age group was as a percentage of the number of patients in hospital in each health authority and region. [38701]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 28 February 2002]: Information is not collected centrally in the form requested.

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