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Departmental Staff
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many overseas visits have been undertaken by parliamentary private
8 Mar 2002 : Column 607W
secretaries in his Department at departmental expense in each of the last four years; and at what cost to public funds. [36814]
Mr. MacShane [holding answer 25 February 2002]: Seven overseas visits by FCO parliamentary private secretaries travelling specifically on Government business took place in the period concerned. The total cost of these visits was approximately £15,600.
Details of other visits by parliamentary private secretaries made in their capacity as MPs, are normally recorded in the Register of Members' interests as appropriate.
Capita
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many contracts the Department has with Capita; and how much they are worth. [38379]
Mr. MacShane: The FCO has three contracts with Capita. Two cover staff recruitment services and the other relates to flexible working policies. Over their lifetime the total value of these contracts will be in the region of £1.96 million.
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the contracts that have been awarded to the Capita Group by the Department. [39349]
Mr. MacShane: The FCO has three contracts with Capita. Two cover staff recruitment services and the other relates to flexible working policies. Over their lifetime the total value of these contracts will be in the region of £1.96 million.
Job No: 715993 Folios: 000-000Operator: Operator No 3. Date: 08/03/02
Colombia
Mr. Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government have had with the Government of Colombia during 2002 about the peace process there.[38491]
Mr. MacShane: We have continuing dialogue with the Colombian Government about the peace process. I have written to the Colombian Ambassador about President Pastrana's recent decision to terminate the demilitarised zone in Colombia and spoken to Vice President Gustavo Bell expressing HMG's support for action taken to combat violence against civilians by guerillas and paramilitary groups.
We have invited Colombian presidential candidates to the UK to exchange views on the situation in Colombia. Dr. Horacio Serpa has already visited.
Accommodation Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of hotel accommodation for departmental staff working away from home in each of the last four years. [41066]
Mr. MacShane: Information is not held in the format required and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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Special urgency provisions
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how often the Department has applied the special urgency provisions in paragraph 22 of Circular 18/84 (Development by Government Departments) to a development by the Department; and if he will make a statement. [38709]
Mr. MacShane: In the last three years during which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has had the direct responsibility for the management of its properties there has been no application of the special urgency provisions.
Information beyond this period is not available without incurring disproportionate cost.
Job No: 715993 Folios: 000-000Operator: Operator No 3. Date: 08/03/02
HEALTH
Asbestos (Welsh Hospitals)
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which north Wales hospital faces a bill of £40 million for the replacement of asbestos under the proposed new Health and Safety Executive regulations. [39296]
Mr. Paul Murphy [holding answer 1 March 2002]: I have been asked to reply. This is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales, though I am assured that no hospital in Wales faces a bill of this size for asbestos removal.
Cancer and Heart Disease Spending
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the NHS budget was spent on (a) cancer and (b) heart disease in (i) 1997–98, (ii) 1998–99, (iii) 1999–2000, (v) 2000–01 and (v) in the current year to date. [16461]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 20 November 2001]: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 202, Official Report, column 192W.
The Department of Health does not collect figures on the cost of NHS services in a way that enables an accurate figure to be calculated for the total cost of a particular disease.
Correspondence
John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to answer the letters of 19 and 28 December from the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead regarding smoking, medical research and the Guildford Depository. [26299]
Yvette Cooper: I apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in responding to this question. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
Job No: 715993 Folios: 000-000Operator: Operator No 3. Date: 08/03/02
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Care Homes
Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the impact on the care of elderly people in Lancashire of the proposed closure of care homes by Lancashire County Council. [35013]
Jacqui Smith: I apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in responding to this question. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Gordon Prentice) on 4 March 2002, Official Report, at column 121W.
Alzheimer's Disease
Mr. Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been made available by his Department for research into Alzheimer's disease for each year since 1997; how many people were diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer's for each of those years; and if he will make a statement. [37906]
Jacqui Smith: The main Government agency for research into the causes of and treatment for diseases is the Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives its funding via the Department of Trade and Industry.
The Department of Health (DH) is supporting research into Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, but does not separately identify expenditure for Alzheimer's disease only. Management of much of the research supported by the NHS is devolved and expenditure at project level is not held centrally by the Department.
The available figures for DH and MRC expenditure on research on dementia are as follows:
| DH | MRC* | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 149 | 4,780 |
| 1997–98 | 198 | 5,549 |
| 1998–99 | 287 | 6,050 |
| 1999–2000 | 245 | 7,200 |
| 2000–01 | 220 | 8,200 |
*These figures include Alzheimer's disease, general dementia, AIDS related dementia, Pick's disease and Huntington's disease.
The Department of Health does not routinely collect data on the numbers of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Social Work Training
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the last five years have (a) applied for and (b) completed their social work training; and what the attrition rate was for social work courses.[37695]
Jacqui Smith: Information on the number of applicants for social work training is not held centrally as not all students apply through the Social Work Admissions Service.
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Cancer Research Treatment
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what (a) Government and (b) private funds are available in this financial year for research into cancer (i) care and (ii) treatment, broken down by types of cancer; [38240]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the percentage of (a) Government and (b) private research funding available for cancer (i) research and (ii) treatment in the last year for which figures are available; [38236]
(3) how many (a) organisations and (b) facilities receive Government funding for cancer research; and how they are distributed (i) in the UK and (ii) by region;[38238]
(4) what criteria are used to determine the percentage of research funding allocated to different types of cancer by Government; [38234]
(5) how much was spent in the last year for which figures are available by (a) Government and (b) private organisations on cancer (i) treatment and (ii) research. [38237]
Job No: 715993 Folios: 000-000Operator: Operator No 3. Date: 08/03/02
Yvette Cooper: The Government support health-related research, including for cancer, through three main routes. The Medical Research Council (MRC, which is funded via the Department of Trade and Industry) is the main agency through which the Government supports research on the causes and treatment of disease including cancer. Other research councils also contribute e.g. the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
The Department of Health meets the National Health Service (NHS) costs of MRC charity funded research. The Department of Health also directly funds research to support policy development in health and social care, and to support effective practice in the NHS.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE, funded via the Department of Education and Skills) funds the university academic base. In addition, the health and education departments of the devolved administrations make corresponding contributions.
The Department has estimated that the total Government expenditure on cancer research in 2000–01 was in the region of £190 million. The Department has estimated that expenditure on cancer research by charities in 2000–01 was approximately £180 million. Thus the amounts that the Government and the charities spent on cancer research were roughly equal. Some £500 million a year is spent by industry in the pharmaceutical and other sectors.
The Department's funding for cancer research is not provided by specific allocations. The amount that is eventually spent on cancer research in any one year is influenced by a number of factors including the scientific quality of proposals received and the relevance to NHS priorities and needs. It is therefore not possible to give a figure for Department of Health spend on cancer research in the current financial year. But in 2000–01, the Department's expenditure on cancer research was £83.8 million.
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The Department, its equivalents in the devolved administrations, and the MRC are members of the new National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI), which is a partnership between government, charities and industry. The purpose of the NCRI is to streamline and accelerate the advancement of cancer research in the UK. The NCRI aims to do this by developing an overall strategy for cancer research in the UK and co-ordinating activities between member organisations.
Many hundreds of organisations and facilities, including NHS Trusts and universities receive Government funding for cancer research. Details of all research funded by the Department are available on the National Research Register (www.doh.gov.uk/research).
The NHS Cancer Plan also said that we will be investing an additional £20 million each year in the infrastructure for cancer research and an extra £4 million on prostate cancer research.
In 2000–01, resources for treatment included in general allocations to the NHS. The Department does not collect information that enables a figure to be calculated on the cost of services relating to the treatment of a particular disease.
Job No: 715993 Folios: 000-000Operator: Operator No 3. Date: 08/03/02
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