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Child Care

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what child care provisions or schemes are made available to NHS staff. [64932]

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Mr. Hutton: A national survey of national health service child care provision, undertaken early in 2001, found that 114 NHS trusts provided nursery facilities for their staff. The NHS child care strategy aims to develop a further 150 on-site nursery schemes by 2004, and over £70 million has been made available for this. 60 new nursery schemes were funded last year and a further 30 have had funding allocated already this year. In addition, we expect all new build hospitals to include an on-site nursery in its plans.

We are expanding the NHS child care strategy to cover other forms of child care and to ensure that all staff groups are included. We have pledged additional funding for NHS child care, building up to £100 million, to do this. Many NHS trusts already provide holiday play schemes and other forms of child care support, and we want to ensure that all NHS organisations help meet their staff's child care needs. In addition, all staff will have access to an NHS child care co-ordinator by April 2003, and we are providing funding to pump-prime these posts. Over 70 child care co-ordinators are already working in the NHS, developing local child care strategies, and providing advice and support to parents working in the NHS. A number of NHS trusts also provide child care vouchers to their staff.

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals within England provide creche facilities for their staff. [64929]

Mr. Hutton: A national survey of national health service child care provision, undertaken early in 2001, found that 114 NHS trusts provided nursery facilities for their staff. The NHS child care strategy aims to develop a further 150 on-site nursery schemes by 2004, and over £70 million has been made available for this. 60 new nursery schemes were funded last year and a further 30 have had funding allocated already this year. In addition, we expect all new build hospitals to include an on-site nursery in its plans.

Variant CJD

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the Portsmouth, South constituency have been diagnosed with a probable variant CJD; what treatment they are receiving; and if he will make a statement. [64727]

Ms Blears: Information is not collected at constituency level. The National CJD Surveillance Unit has advised me that there have been two cases of definite or probable vCJD where patient was resident in Hampshire at death and five cases of definite/probable vCJD resident in Hampshire at onset of symptoms. Currently there are no patients diagnosed with definite/probable vCJD in the county. Information is not held centrally on the care individual patients received.

Drug Rehabilitation Programmes

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been given to drug rehabilitation programmes in the Portsmouth, South constituency in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [64590]

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Ms Blears: The information requested on funding given to drug rehabilitation programmes in the Portsmouth, South constituency is not held centrally. More information on local drug rehabilitation services will be available from the Drug Treatment and Advice Service.

Orphan Drug Law

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the effect has been of the Orphan Drug law on (a) hospitals and (b) patients in the Portsmouth, South constituency; and if he will make a statement. [64726]

Ms Blears: No assessment has been made centrally of the effect of the European Union Orphan Drug regulations on the Portsmouth, South constituency.

The Orphan Drug regulations are vital to encourage drug companies to produce clinically tested medicines for disorders that affect a very small number of people. Without the regulations these drugs would not be available.

Cardiac Care

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the impact of prescribing practice relating to statins on the risk of a second heart attack to people aged 60 years and over; and if he will make a statement. [65074]

Ms Blears: We have not made a recent assessment of the impact of statin prescribing practice on the risk of second heart attack in people aged over 60.

There is a well established evidence base drawn from several trials for the benefit of statin therapy in preventing further events in patients with established coronary heart disease (CHD). This evidence underpins the guidance on prescribing of statins contained in the national service framework (NSF) for CHD, as amended by the Chief Medical Officer's Update 29 (February 2001). It recommends that people with clinical evidence of CHD should be prescribed statins to lower their cholesterol level to below 5.0mmol/l or reduce total serum cholesterol by about 20–25 per cent., whichever would result in the lowest level. Equivalent figures for LDL cholesterol would be 3.0 mmol/l or by 30 per cent. reduction, whichever results in the lowest level.

An underlying principle of the NSF that services and treatments should be accessible to everyone on the basis of need, irrespective of age, gender, race, culture, religion, disability, sexual orientation or where people happen to live.

Health Professionals

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications there were to train as a (a) general practitioner, (b) social worker, (c) physiotherapist and (d) special therapist in (i) London and (ii) England and Wales in each of the last five years, broken down by (A) health authority and (B) region. [65060]

Mr. Hutton: This information is not held centrally.

Irradiated Goods

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the safeguards in

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place to prevent the sale of irradiated goods in the United Kingdom; and what regular monitoring takes place in this regard. [65107]

Ms Blears: The sale of irradiated foods in England are strictly controlled by the Food (Control of Irradiation) Regulations 1990, as amended by the Food Irradiation Provision (England) Regulations 2000. Similar legislation applies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The enforcement of these is the responsibility of local authorities. Periodic checks are carried out to ensure that irradiated foods are not being incorrectly marketed and action taken where necessary.

For example, in a recent survey by the Food Standards Agency a number of dietary supplements were found to contain non-approved irradiated ingredients and the companies concerned were told to withdraw the affected products. A copy of the survey report has been placed in the Library.

Food Labelling

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce measures to require the labelling of all food sold for human consumption in the United Kingdom to contain clear details of genetically modified contents. [65108]

Ms Blears: The Genetically Modified and Novel Foods (Labelling) (England) Regulations 2000 require foods containing genetically modified material, such as DNA or protein, to be labelled. Equivalent provisions apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to require labels to identify food substances, colourings and additives which could result in hyperactive behaviour among children and young people. [63031]

Ms Blears [holding answer 27 June 2002]: European Union rules already require the labels of pre-packed foods to declare their ingredients, including additives such as colourings, although some exemptions do apply. Amendments currently under discussion would remove a number of these exemptions, including the 'compound ingredient rule' which exempts ingredients of ingredients making up less than 25 per cent. of the food. The Food Standards Agency is supporting plans for early discussions aimed at removing the ingredient listing exemption for alcoholic drinks. It is also pressing for an early review of the justification for the remaining exemptions, especially those which apply to additives used as processing aids or which do not have a technological function in the final food.

General Practitioners

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will issue detailed guidance notes on financial support towards costs GPs incur as owner-occupiers or leaseholders of premises used to provide NHS general practice services. [65378]

Mr. Hutton: For general practitioners (GPs) who work under the national framework for general medical services (GMS), detailed guidance on funding premises is contained in the statement of fees and allowances. Guidance for GPs who work under locally agreed contracts for personal medical services is included in

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"Personal Medical Services: Comprehensive Guidance". Guidance on the new flexibilities announced on 19 April 2002, will be issued soon. Further guidance will be issued in due course on any further changes to premises arrangements which may be proposed as part of the new GMS contract currently being developed by the national health service confederation and the British Medical Association.

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