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19 Sept 2002 : Column 339W—continued
Growth Hormones
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the prescribing of growth hormones for adults on the NHS. [73111]
Ms Blears: Human growth hormone treatment for adults is currently available on the National Health Service subject to a patient's clinician deciding there is a need for such treatment.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently appraising the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of human growth hormone in adults. We expect that they will announce their decision in October.
Departmental Vehicles
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vehicles he and his Ministers have access to, broken down by vehicle type; what the annual operating costs were in each of the last three financial years; how much it costs to convert a car so it is suitable for a Government Minister; and if he will make a statement. [72497]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 23 July 2002]: The Department's Ministers currently have access to six cars:
The total operating costs for Ministerial cars in the last three financial years were:
To make cars suitable for Government Ministers, the only modification required is to fit additional reading lights at a cost of £245 per vehicle.
Commission for Health Improvement
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he anticipates the Commission for Health Improvement being incorporated into the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection. [72480]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 23 July 2002]: Legislation to establish the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Substance Abuse
Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding is available through the NHS for education and prevention of volatile substance abuse. [73373]
Ms Blears: The Department has issued drug education and prevention funding, £5 million in 2001–02 and £9 million in 2002–03, to primary care trusts (PCTs). This money is for PCTs, along with local agencies, to support the requirement to reduce the proportion of people under the age of 25 reporting the use of class A drugs by 25 per
19 Sept 2002 : Column 340W
cent. by 2005. All PCTs and social services departments, in partnership with their local drug action team, will use this funding to commission, primary prevention activity for the general population and primary and secondary prevention activity for all young people identified as at risk, in accordance with the Department's guidelines. This includes education and prevention on solvents and volatile substances.
Heroin Addicts
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many known heroin addicts there are in (a) Britain, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) Bassetlaw. [71392]
Ms Blears [holding answer 23 July 2002]: This information is not available centrally.
The estimate of the number of drug misusers in the United Kingdom is between 200,000 and 220,000. The figure for Nottinghamshire and Bassetlaw is not calculated either centrally or locally at present.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what range of treatments are available for heroin addicts in (a) England and (b) Bassetlaw. [71393]
Ms Blears [holding answer 23 July 2002]: The types of structured treatment available in England are inpatient detoxification, specialist prescribing, general practitioner prescribing, counselling, day care and residential rehabilitation.
All of these are available to the residents of Bassetlaw, and are delivered by the local community drug team, the young peoples criminal justice team, FaceIT, SORTED, the needle and syringe exchange, Hettys (Families and Carers group) and WAM, as well as out of area residential providers.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many heroin addicts are undergoing treatment in (a) England, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) Bassetlaw. [71390]
Ms Blears [holding answer 23 July 2002]: This information is not available in the form requested.
We can provide data on the number of users presenting to drug misuse agencies (including both doctors and other agencies), with heroin as their main drug of misuse during the six month period ending 31 March 2001. These figures are shown in the table.
| Area | Number |
|---|---|
| England | 22,431 |
| North Nottinghamshire HA | 190 |
| Nottingham HA | 109 |
This data is derived from the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin "Statistics from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases for six months ending March 2001".
The Office of National Statistics published the results of a special exercise that was carried out to estimate the number of drug users in treatment in England in 2000–01 ("Statistics from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases on drug misusers in treatment in England, 2000–2001" (2001). These are summarised in the table below.
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| Area | Number |
|---|---|
| England | 118,522 |
| North Nottinghamshire HA | 398 |
| Nottingham HA | 900 |
Note:
These figures are derived from the ONS analysis of data from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases for the six months ending March 2001 together with a census for April to September 2000.
The majority of misusers above were attending community drug services. Sixty-seven per cent. of those drug misusers entering treatment in England for the six months ending March 2001 reported heroin as the main drug of misuse. The percentage of those "in treatment" with heroin as the main drug of misuse is not available
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what method his Department uses to quantify the proportion of young people using heroin in Nottinghamshire. [71394]
Ms Blears [holding answer 23 July 2002]: The local regional centre for the national drug treatment monitoring system collects information on people presenting for treatment and the drugs misused. Information is also collected at 31 March each year for clients in contact during the year (starting at 31 March 2002); this includes whether they are still in treatment.
The national treatment agency for substance misuse (NTA) report that there is an estimate of the number of known young individuals with heroin addiction produced by the local drug action team (DAT). In 2001–02, the local DAT were aware of about 200 under 19s with a heroin addiction through reporting to them from the young peoples services in Mansfield and from COMPASS.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for treatment for heroin addiction was in the last 12 months. [71391]
Ms Blears [holding answer 23 July 2002]: Information provided to the national treatment agency (NTA) for substance misuse on waiting times (the number of weeks from when a drug user presents for treatment, to when appropriate services commence) in December 2001 is broken down by type of treatment rather than main drug of misuse. However the majority of all individuals entering treatment report heroin as their main drug of misuse. The waiting time information from the drug action team templates is shown in the table below.
Notes:
From drug action team template returns based on a "snapshot" taken in December 2001.
19 Sept 2002 : Column 342W
Drug Action Teams
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis funds are distributed between the drug action teams in England. [71396]
Ms Blears [holding answer 23 July 2002]: £191.2 million for drugs misuse treatment services has been allocated to health authorities (HAs) in 2002–03, this represents an increase of £51.5 million or 36.9 per cent. over 2001–02, through the pooled treatment budget.
Allocations to HAs in 2002–03 for drugs misuse treatment services through the pooled treatment budget were informed by a new weighted capitation formula. This formula weights populations of 15–44 year olds for utilisation rates by age and sex, additional need and the market forces factor. All HAs received an increase of at least 30 per cent. over their allocation for 2001–02. The Department provided indicative allocations to drug action team level, but the final decision on allocations lies with the HA.
It should also be noted that additional funding from mainstream health budgets, social services community care budgets and the treatment element of the arrest referral scheme budget are allocated for drug treatment services at local level.
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