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Diseases (Ships)

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) gastrointestinal disease and (b) Legionnaire's disease in passengers or crew members of ships have been notified to the UK in each of the last 10 years. [45366]

Yvette Cooper: The Public Health laboratory Service (PHLS) does not collect data on the number of cases of gastroenteritis in passengers and crew on ships.

Legionnaire's disease is not statutorily notifiable. Laboratory reports of Legionnaire's disease associated with ships, England and Wales from 1992 to 2001 are as follows:

Year	Cases of Legionnaire's disease
1992	0
1993	0
1994	2
1995	2
1996	3
1997	6
1998	3
1999	2
2000	0
2001*	0
Total	18

* provisional data

10 Apr 2002 : Column 476W

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he proposes to take in respect of the World Health Organisation guide to ship sanitation. [45365]

Yvette Cooper: The UK Government are participating in the revision of the World Health Organisation Guide to Ship Sanitation, which is due to be published in 2003.

Pneumococcal Disease

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the impact of the introduction of the conjugate pneumococcal vaccine in (a) the USA and (b) other European countries on the incidence of pneumococcal disease in those aged under two. [45455]

Yvette Cooper: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has been introduced into the routine programme in the US and since the vaccine was licensed there has been little information on its national impact, other than in the population that took part in the clinical trials. Nevertheless, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has been made aware of these results. Similarly, reviews of the epidemiology of pneumococcal disease in England and Wales have been presented to the JCVI, along with progress reports on UK studies to evaluate the suitability of this vaccine for this country. There are only limited data available on pneumococcal disease in those under two years from other European countries.

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine will be made available to all children aged under two. [45454]

Yvette Cooper: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has only recently been licensed for use in European Union countries. The Chief Medical Officer has already sent advice to doctors on the use of this vaccine in children less than two years, with risk factors for pneumococcal disease. Its use in all children will be dependent on the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the results of trials on the vaccine's suitability for inclusion in the national immunisation programme and considerations of costs and benefits.

Eye Tests

Mr. Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many old age pensioners in the Harwich constituency have benefited from the introduction of free eye tests. [45118]

Ms Blears: Figures for the number of sight tests by constituency are not collected centrally.

The table shows the number of national health service (NHS) sight tests in North Essex Health Authority for the years 1998–99 to 2000–01. Eligibility to NHS sight tests was extended to those aged 60 and over from 1 April 1999. Some of those benefiting from this extension may also have qualified for free sight tests on other grounds.

General Ophthalmic Services: Number of sight tests paid for in North Essex HA for the years 1998–99 to 2000/01.

10 Apr 2002 : Column 477W

General ophthalmic services: number of sight tests paid for in north Essex HA for the years 1998–99 to 2000–01

	Total number of sight tests	Sight tests for 60 and over age group
1998–99	128,200	(147)n/a
1999–2000	176,200	73,000
2000–01	181,800	90,606

⁽¹⁴⁷⁾ Not applicable

Dentistry

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of those aged under 18 were registered with a general dental service dentist in (a) each health authority and (b) England in each year since 1997. [44273]

Ms Blears: Arrangements are now in place to ensure that patients can gain access to NHS services by calling NHS Direct. This means that even if a patient chooses not to register with a dentist it will still be possible for that patient to access all forms of dentistry that are provided by the NHS.

The percentage of children registered with a General Dental Service (GDS) dentist per head of population for each health authority and England is shown in the table at 30 September 1997 to 2001.

From September 1996, the registration period was changed to 15 months; previously child registrations expired at the end of the following calendar year. As a result, data held on registration numbers after 1997 are not comparable to earlier years.

General Dental Service: Children registered by health authority at30 September 1997 to 2001

	Percentage of children registered(148),(149)
Health authority	1997(150)	1998	1999	2000	2001
England	65	60	60	61	60
Avon	75	70	70	71	71
Barking and Havering	56	49	50	51	52
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey	59	52	52	53	53
Barnsley	67	61	62	62	62
Bedfordshire	49	46	46	47	47
Berkshire	63	57	59	58	56
Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich	63	58	58	58	58
Birmingham	58	52	52	51	50
Bradford	55	50	49	50	50
Brent and Harrow	60	52	54	54	55
Buckinghamshire	66	61	60	60	59
Bury and Rochdale	69	63	61	62	62
Calderdale and Kirklees	66	61	61	63	62
Cambridge and Huntingdon(151)	61	56	—	—	—
Cambridgeshire(151)	—	—	58	59	59
Camden and Islington	45	40	40	41	40
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	71	65	65	64	65
County Durham	64	60	59	60	59
Coventry	61	56	57	56	57
Croydon	65	57	55	56	54
Doncaster	73	68	65	67	67
Dorset	77	72	73	73	72
Dudley	55	52	52	51	51
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	56	50	48	49	51
East Kent	66	61	59	61	60
East Lancashire	65	60	59	58	56
East London and The City	38	32	33	33	33
East Norfolk(151)	72	68	—	—	—
East Riding	65	60	61	62	63
East Surrey	67	62	57	61	60
East Sussex, Brighton and Hove	67	62	62	62	61
Gateshead and South Tyneside	69	64	66	65	65
Gloucestershire	68	65	65	65	63
Herefordshire	74	65	68	67	64
Hertfordshire	73	68	68	69	69
Hillingdon	62	56	56	57	57
Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and SE Hampshire	62	59	60	61	60
Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster	38	34	32	32	31
Kingston and Richmond	66	59	59	59	55
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham	49	43	40	40	41
Leeds	68	64	65	64	63
Leicestershire	66	62	62	61	63
Lincolnshire	65	61	62	63	63
Liverpool	66	60	60	60	59
Manchester	61	52	54	53	51
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	56	50	50	52	52
Morecambe Bay	64	61	61	61	61
Newcastle and North Tyneside	65	59	61	61	61
Norfolk(151)	—	—	64	64	63
North and East Devon	70	65	68	71	69
North and Mid Hampshire	64	60	59	60	61
North Cheshire	68	61	61	61	61
North Cumbria	66	64	67	68	69
North Derbyshire	67	62	62	61	61
North Essex	66	62	62	63	61
North Nottinghamshire	72	67	68	70	69
North Staffordshire	64	58	59	59	59
North West Anglia(151)	61	56	—	—	—
North West Lancashire	72	67	69	67	66
North Yorkshire	72	67	68	68	68
Northamptonshire	64	54	59	59	58
Northumberland	68	64	64	65	65
Nottingham	67	62	64	64	63
Oxfordshire	61	57	57	60	60
Redbridge and Waltham Forest	63	56	55	57	57
Rotherham	66	60	61	62	62
Salford and Trafford	77	68	67	66	63
Sandwell	50	48	50	51	51
Sefton	74	69	69	65	63
Sheffield	73	66	67	67	66
Shropshire	73	68	68	68	66
Solihull	62	55	58	58	59
Somerset	74	69	67	70	66
South and West Devon	70	65	66	67	67
South Cheshire	74	62	64	64	65
Southern Derbyshire	64	60	60	61	59
South Essex	60	57	62	64	62
South Humber	69	64	65	65	66
South Lancashire	65	60	60	60	60
South Staffordshire	71	66	66	65	64
Southampton and South West Hampshire	71	67	67	65	65
St. Helens and Knowsley	68	61	61	56	56
Stockport	75	70	71	71	70
Suffolk	68	63	63	64	63
Sunderland	68	63	64	64	64
Tees	75	68	68	68	68
Wakefield	71	65	65	65	65
Walsall	56	50	51	51	49
Warwickshire	67	62	63	62	65
West Kent	64	61	62	62	63
West Pennine	72	65	66	65	64
West Surrey	69	63	63	63	63
West Sussex	75	70	71	70	70
Wigan and Bolton	70	67	66	65	65
Wiltshire	67	63	66	67	66
Wirral	72	69	69	66	65
Wolverhampton	54	54	55	55	54
Worcestershire	69	64	64	62	62

⁽¹⁴⁸⁾ Based on the number of registrations at 30 September each year.

⁽¹⁴⁹⁾ ONS 1997 to 2000 mid year population estimates based on the 1991 census are used to calculate the percentage of children registered.

⁽¹⁵⁰⁾ Registration rate is not comparable to later figures because of the change in the registration period to 15 months.

⁽¹⁵¹⁾ Three HAs: Cambridge and Huntingdon, East Norfolk and North West Anglia were replaced by two HAs: Cambridge and Norfolk in April 1999.

10 Apr 2002 : Column 479W

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of those aged 18 years and over were registered with a general dental service dentist in (a) each health authority and (b) England in each year from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. [44272]

Ms Blears: Arrangements are now in place to ensure that patients can gain access to NHS services by calling NHS Direct. This means that even if a patient chooses not to register with a dentist it will still be possible for that patient to access all forms of dentistry that are provided by the NHS.

The percentage of adults registered with a general dental service (GDS) dentist per head of population for each Family Health Service Authority and for England is shown in table 1 at 30 September 1992 to 1995.

The percentage of adults registered with a GDS dentist per head of population for each health authority and for England is shown in table 2 at 30 September for each year since 1996.

Comparable data for 1990 and 1991 are not available as registrations were only introduced in October 1990 and registration numbers had not yet had time to reach consistent levels.

From September 1996, the registration period for adults was shortened from 24 to 15 months. This affected registration numbers. As a result, registration numbers after 1997 are not comparable to the numbers for earlier years. The data is also affected by gradual improvements in the methods used for the removal of duplicate registration records, which were first employed by the Dental Practice Board in 1993.

Table 1: General Dental Service:Adults registered by Family Health Service Authority at 30 September 1992 to 1995

	Percentage of adults registered (152),(153),(154)
Family Health Service Authority	1992	1993	1994	1995
England	58	57	56	53
Avon	64	63	61	56
Barking and Havering	50	52	51	47
Barnet	39	39	40	37
Barnsley	51	56	56	54
Bedfordshire	50	52	52	49
Berkshire	53	51	48	41
Birmingham	61	60	60	58
Bolton	56	58	61	58
Bradford	61	62	61	59
Brent and Harrow	56	57	58	56
Bromley	37	34	33	31
Buckinghamshire	55	50	46	41
Bury	57	57	55	53
Calderdale	66	68	65	63
Cambridgeshire	58	56	55	52
Camden and Islington	62	62	64	59
Cheshire	63	63	62	60
City and East London	51	53	51	47
Cleveland	62	66	64	63
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	63	58	56	53
Coventry	65	61	63	59
Croydon	60	58	55	51
Cumbria	59	56	53	50
Derbyshire	54	53	52	50
Devon	64	61	58	54
Doncaster	60	64	63	62
Dorset	65	63	61	58
Dudley	55	56	57	54
Durham	56	56	54	53
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	55	56	56	52
East Sussex	62	60	58	56
Enfield and Haringey	50	52	52	49
Essex	53	53	53	50
Gateshead	53	58	58	57
Gloucestershire	65	53	47	40
Greenwich and Bexley	54	53	52	47
Hampshire	62	61	58	55
Hereford and Worcester	59	60	59	58
Hertfordshire	60	61	60	57
Hillingdon	58	60	58	56
Humberside	55	55	51	48
Isle of Wight	62	56	51	47
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster	47	47	47	44
Kent	54	48	45	41
Kingston and Richmond	40	42	41	41
Kirklees	60	63	63	60
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham	60	61	60	56
Lancashire	58	56	55	52
Leeds	62	61	58	56
Leicestershire	59	58	57	55
Lincolnshire	60	60	58	55
Liverpool	58	60	61	58
Manchester	67	69	69	65
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	52	51	50	49
Newcastle-upon-Tyne	55	57	56	57
Norfolk	60	59	57	52
North Tyneside	60	60	60	60
North Yorkshire	62	61	59	56
Northamptonshire	55	56	56	56
Northumberland	51	54	56	52
Nottinghamshire	59	60	60	57
Oldham	56	58	60	57
Oxfordshire	52	48	40	34
Redbridge and Waltham Forest	53	55	56	52
Rochdale	59	58	58	58
Rotherham	51	55	52	52
Salford	59	60	60	55
Sandwell	58	58	59	58
Sefton	62	64	64	63
Sheffield	59	61	61	59
Shropshire	64	63	60	50
Solihull	51	50	49	48
Somerset	66	69	66	60
South Tyneside	55	56	57	57
St. Helens and Knowsley	59	61	61	59
Staffordshire	54	53	51	48
Stockport	67	66	66	65
Suffolk	65	66	65	62
Sunderland	55	57	57	57
Surrey	56	54	52	48
Tameside	55	55	53	53
Trafford	71	68	67	68
Wakefield	58	71	67	63
Walsall	49	51	53	51
Warwickshire	57	57	55	52
West Sussex	62	59	56	54
Wigan	59	59	62	59
Wiltshire	55	55	54	51
Wirral	64	65	65	63
Wolverhampton	57	58	60	58

⁽¹⁵²⁾ Based on the number of registrations at 30 September each year

⁽¹⁵³⁾ ONS 1992 to 1995 mid year population estimates based on the 1991 census are used to calculate the percentage of adults registered

⁽¹⁵⁴⁾ Registration rates are based on a 24 month registration period

10 Apr 2002 : Column 480W

Table 2: General Dental Service:Adults registered by health authority at 30 September 1996 to 1999

	Percentage of adults registered(155),(156)
Health Authority	1996(157)	1997(157)	1998	1999
England	52	51	44	43
Avon	55	54	47	45
Barking and Havering	48	48	39	38
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey	44	43	35	34
Barnsley	55	55	50	49
Bedfordshire	47	44	36	38
Berkshire	39	39	32	33
Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich	39	40	33	33
Birmingham	57	57	49	48
Bradford	57	56	49	48
Brent and Harrow	56	56	43	43
Buckinghamshire	39	36	31	30
Bury and Rochdale	54	54	46	45
Calderdale and Kirklees	60	60	54	52
Cambridge and Huntingdon(158)	48	46	39	—
Cambridgeshire(158)	—	—	—	40
Camden and Islington	59	61	48	46
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	50	48	39	37
County Durham	53	53	47	47
Coventry	56	57	47	47
Croydon	50	50	40	39
Doncaster	62	62	56	54
Dorset	55	55	49	49
Dudley	52	51	45	46
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	51	52	41	38
East Kent	43	43	38	37
East Lancashire	53	54	47	47
East London and The City	46	46	34	33
East Norfolk(158)	54	53	48	—
East Riding	46	46	41	42
East Surrey	44	44	38	34
East Sussex, Brighton and Hove	55	53	45	43
Gateshead and South Tyneside	58	57	50	51
Gloucestershire	38	37	31	31
Herefordshire	63	61	50	51
Hertfordshire	55	54	46	46
Hillingdon	54	55	46	44
Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and SE Hampshire	50	48	42	41
Kensington and Chelsea Westminster	42	41	31	30
Kingston and Richmond	39	37	30	29
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham	55	55	44	40
Leeds	55	54	49	48
Leicestershire	54	53	46	46
Lincolnshire	55	54	49	49
Liverpool	58	58	48	47
Manchester	63	63	51	51
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	48	48	38	37
Morecambe Bay	53	52	46	46
Newcastle and North Tyneside	57	57	49	50
Norfolk(158)	—	—	—	45
North and East Devon	52	50	43	45
North and Mid Hampshire	49	49	41	38
North Cheshire	56	57	48	48
North Cumbria	48	48	43	45
North Derbyshire	47	45	40	40
North Essex	52	51	44	46
North Nottinghamshire	54	57	53	54
North Staffordshire	42	42	36	37
North West Anglia(158)	43	42	38	—
North West Lancashire	53	56	50	51
North Yorkshire	55	54	49	48
Northamptonshire	55	56	47	50
Northumberland	53	53	47	47
Nottingham	59	60	54	52
Oxfordshire	33	32	28	27
Redbridge and Waltham Forest	51	52	43	41
Rotherham	52	52	46	46
Salford and Trafford	60	59	50	49
Sandwell	56	55	49	50
Sefton	63	63	57	56
Sheffield	59	59	54	53
Shropshire	51	45	38	36
Solihull	42	41	31	34
Somerset	56	56	48	46
South and West Devon	52	51	43	41
South Cheshire	57	56	44	45
South Derbyshire	49	48	44	44
South Essex	45	44	39	40
South Humber	52	52	47	48
South Lancashire	43	43	38	39
South Staffordshire	50	49	42	41
Southampton and South West Hampshire	56	55	48	47
St. Helens and Knowsley	58	58	49	49
Stockport	64	63	56	57
Suffolk	59	58	51	52
Sunderland	57	55	46	47
Tees	63	64	56	56
Wakefield	62	61	53	52
Walsall	49	47	42	42
Warwickshire	50	49	41	37
West Kent	40	39	35	35
West Pennine	55	56	48	49
West Surrey	47	44	38	37
West Sussex	51	49	42	42
Wigan and Bolton	58	58	53	52
Wiltshire	48	42	34	37
Wirral	62	62	56	57
Wolverhampton	57	55	47	47
Worcestershire	55	52	45	45

⁽¹⁵⁵⁾ Based on the number of registrations at 30 September each year

⁽¹⁵⁶⁾ ONS 1996 to 1999 mid year population estimates based on the 1991 census are used to calculate the percentage of adults registered

⁽¹⁵⁷⁾ Registration rate is not comparable to later figures because of the change in the registration period to 15 months

⁽¹⁵⁸⁾ Three HAs: Cambridge and Huntingdon, East Norfolk and North West Anglia were replaced by two HAs: Cambridge and Norfolk in April 1999

10 Apr 2002 : Column 482W

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