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28 Oct 2002 : Column 659W—continued

Cardiac Surgery

Dr. Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has given to primary care trusts to allow patients waiting for cardiac surgery to be treated out of their area in (a) the UK and (b) abroad. [76244]

Ms Blears: The following guidance on domestic and overseas treatment has been issued to primary care trusts:

Extending Choice for Patients—Establishing the Heart Surgery Scheme (March 2002)

Further Advice and Guidance (April 2002)

Additional Revenue Allocations (April 2002)

Update and Next Steps (June 2002)

Copies of the guidance have been placed in the Library.

Departmental Websites

Dr. Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the web site links associated with his

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Department, including sites now dormant or closed, and indicating whether they are live, dormant or closed; what the start up costs were for each site listed; what the operating costs were in each year since start up for each site; which company hosted each site; what assessment takes place for each site; which company does the assessment; if he will place the assessment reports in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [75584]

Ms Blears : A list of websites associated with the Department has been placed in the Library.

There would be a disproportionate cost associated with identifying the start up costs, the hosting arrangements and what assessment takes place for each site listed. However,we are able to provide the operating costs for all the websites hosted by the Department. These are shown in the table:

Financial Year	Hosting and maintenance (#k)	Estimated staff costs (#k)	(#k)
1998–99	20.9	178.9	199.8
1999–00	54.3	229.4	283.7
2000–01	49.3	277.1	326.4
2001–02	73.3	339.7	400.8
2002–03 (to 30.09.02)	57.5	169.8	227.3

The current hosting supplier is EDS Ltd. The Office of Government Commerce provided hosting until the end of June 2002. EDS provide a monthly service report which includes a web performance return.

Domiciliary Oxygen Service

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he intends to publish the review of the Domiciliary Oxygen Service; [75943]

(2) whether he intends to accept the recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians made in their 1999 guidance Domiciliary Oxygen Therapy Services; [75944]

(3) what analysis has been undertaken of the benefits of liquid oxygen to those with respiratory problems; and if he will introduce a three modality system of oxygen supply for such patients. [75945]

Mr. Lammy: The review of the domiciliary oxygen service has not yet been concluded. There are no plans at present to change the arrangements under which oxygen is provided for patients who need it. The therapeutic benefits of oxygen do not depend on the modality of oxygen supply.

Waiting Lists

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people died in 2001 while on the waiting list for heart surgery; and if he will make a statement. [75944]

Ms Blears [holding answer 24 October 2002]: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Drug Misuse

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out for each of the last five years the amount of expenditure on preventative measures to tackle the

28 Oct 2002 : Column 661W

misuse of (a) alcohol, (b) tobacco, (c) cannabis, (d) ecstasy, (e) amphetamines, (f) LSD, (g) heroin, (h) cocaine and (i) crack cocaine. [75736]

Ms Blears [holding answer 23 October 2002]: Most of the work on the prevention of alcohol misuse is undertaken at local level by National Health Service (NHS) health promotion units and primary health care professionals such as general practitioners and practice nurses. It is not possible to separately identify the funds devoted to this alcohol misuse prevention work. Over the period 1999–2003 a total of #76 million will have been invested in the NHS smoking cessation services. Actual spending on the public education campaign is #46 million with #13 million committed for 2002–03.

It should be noted that figures listed below for the years after 1998 when the Government's drug strategy was launched are a Department of Health contribution to overall prevention funding. Other Government Departments, in particular the Home Office and the Department for Education and Skills, also provide substantial funding.

	#
1998/99	Around 1 .5m made available for national campaigns
1 999/00	Around 1 .5m made available for national campaigns
2000/01	Around 1 .5m made available for national campaigns
2001/02	Around 1 .5m made available for national campaigns. In addition 11 .164m ring fenced money for drug prevention spent.
2002/03	Around 1 .5m made available for national campaigns. In addition 15. 75m ring fenced money for drug prevention allocated.

Prior to 2001–02, drug prevention funding was not ring fenced. However health and local authorities could use mainstreamed funds to finance drug prevention.

GP Czar

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many visits the GP Czar has made to Portsmouth South; and if he will make a statement. [76505]

Mr. Hutton: Professor David Colin-Thome is the national clinical director of primary care for England as well as a practising general practitioner.

He has not visited Portsmouth South during his time in office, nor been invited to do so.

Haemophilia

Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends to make a decision before the end of 2002 on whether to make recombinant available to all people with haemophilia. [75866]

Ms Blears: We hope to announce our decision on the availability of recombinant before the end of 2002.

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent further consideration he has given to making recombinant clotting factors available to all haemophilia patients in England. [76827]

Ms Blears: The Government is still considering whether to make recombinant clotting factors available to all haemophiliacs in England taking full account of representations made by the All Party Parliamentary

28 Oct 2002 : Column 662W

Group on haemophilia, the haemophilia society, the United Kingdom haemophilia centre doctors organisation and others. We hope to announce our decision before the end of 2002.

Health Care (Portsmouth)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when the 2002–03 budget was (a) finalised and (b) published for the (i) Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust and (ii) Portsmouth City Primary Care Trust; and if he will make a statement; [76504]

(2) what plans he has to bring an end to the Portsmouth Hospitals NHS trust deficit; and if he will make a statement. [76497]

Ms Blears: The management of the trust is a matter for the local health community managing within the context of XShifting the Balance of Power", local partnership and agreement. Work is under way across the whole health economy to identify recurrent solutions to address the deficit.

I am advised by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority that the Portsmouth Hospitals National Health Service Trust board approved initial budgets for 2002–03 at its meeting on 25 April 2002. There were a number of areas of service development that required additional investment, which have been agreed in the last two months. In the case of Portsmouth City Primary Care Trust, the outline budget was presented to its board at a public meeting in June.

The public release of details of the proposed budget and the subsequent publication of audited accounts are matters for each individual organisation to determine.

Meat and Poultry

Mr. David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Government's planned expenditure is on training in the meat and poultry sectors in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04 and (c) 2004–05; and if he will make a statement. [74734]

Margaret Beckett [holding answer 15 October 2002]: I have been asked to reply.

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funds generic training leading to a national qualification. While there is a small volume of LSC-supported vocational training for new entrants to the meat and poultry sector, it is likely that the bulk of training in this sector will be in-service and not supported by the LSC.

Sector Skills Councils, which are replacing National Training Organisations, have a responsibility to work with employers to identify training needs and ways of meeting them. Lantra has been designated as a trailblazer sector skills council covering environmental and land-based industries, including agricultural production. Lantra receives some financial support from Defra and DfES, though it will principally be for industry sectors to generate funds for training. The meat and poultry sectors will also benefit from publicly-funded services, such as Defra's Farm Business Advice Service.

28 Oct 2002 : Column 663W

The Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) a Defra non-departmental public body (NDPB), funded by statutory levy, has the general duty of promoting greater efficiency in the livestock industry and the livestock products industry, and other functions which include:

1. In sections of the livestock industry or livestock products industry for which no industrial training board has been established, encouraging and promoting the training of employees

2. Co-operating with the industrial training board for any other sector of either industry in the improvement of the training of employees in that section of the industry. (Agriculture Act 1967, Schedule 1, paragraph 17)

The MLC therefore fund training in the red meat sector, both directly and through support to the Meat Training Council (formerly a national training organisation), discussions are under way regarding its possible inclusion in a larger food and drink SSC). The MLC planned expenditure on training during the periods in question is:

	#
2002–03	160,000 (forecast)
2003–04	175,000 (indicative)
2004–05	200,000 (indicative)

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