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5 Feb 2003 : Column 318W—continued
PPP/PFI Projects
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total value of all NHS PPP and PFI projects has been since 1997. [93637]
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Mr. Hutton: Data are not held centrally on the value of all service contracts held by national health service bodies with private sector organisations and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
Information is held centrally on the value of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes with a capital value over £1 million. 103 NHS PR schemes, with a total capital value of £3.096 billion, have reached financial close since May 1997. This total includes major hospital rebuilding or reprovision projects as well as a range of smaller projects, e.g. for equipment.
Primary Care Trusts
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the £15 million annual investment in consultant sabbaticals starting in 2005–06 will come from the funds allocated to primary care trusts announced on 11 December 2002. [94142]
Mr. Hutton: The resources in primary care trust allocations, announced on 11 December, did not include the £15 million annual investment in consultant sabbaticals that is to be made available by 2005–06 under the plans announced by the Department on 23 January. The additional resources will be made available separately.
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the allocations improving rewards for NHS consultants were included in the original allocations to primary care trusts announced on 11 December 2002. [94143]
Mr. Hutton: Resources for implementing the proposed new framework of incentives and rewards for National Health Service consultants have been included in the allocations to primary care trusts for 2003–04 to 2005–06, announced on 11 December 2002.
Additional funding will be made available to introduce a new system of consultant sabbaticals. Some additional funding may also be made available to NHS employing organisations that choose to implement the new consultant contract.
Professional Practitioners
Barbara Follett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Health Professions Council will assess whether a health professional practitioner has practiced lawfully, safely and effectively; and if he will make a statement. [93914]
Mr. Hutton: This is a matter for the Health Professions Council, who will be coming forward with their assessment proposals shortly.
Severance Agreements
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees of NHS acute hospital trusts have been given severance agreements in excess of £100,000 in each of the past three years. [93641]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is not held centrally.
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Specialised Service Consultation
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to make public the forthcoming report on commissioning arrangements for specialised service consultation. [94602]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 21 January 2003]: We plan to publish the results of the consultation shortly.
Waiting Lists
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients waited more than one year for in-patient treatment in the last period for which figures are available. [92040]
Mr. Hutton: At the end of November 2002 there were 12,500 people who had been waiting more than 12 months for admission to hospital.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been on waiting lists in England and Wales for (a) more than 12 months and (b) more than 18 months; and if he will make a statement. [93921]
Mr. Hutton: At the end of November 2002, there were 12,515 patients on waiting lists for admission to hospital who were the responsibility of English primary care trusts (PCTs) and who had been waiting for more than 12 months. There are no patients, for whom English PCTs are responsible, who have been waiting 18 months or more.
Women Doctors
Keith Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of doctors employed by the NHS are women. [93951]
Mr. Hutton: The table shows the percentage of National Health Service female doctors in England as at 30 September 2001.
| Numbers (head count) | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| All NHS doctors(18) | 100,319 | 100 |
| Of which female | 36,562 | 36 |
(18) Excludes hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are also GPs working part-time in hospitals.
Notes:
Data as at 30 September 2001.
Sources:
Department of Health general and personal medical services statistics.
Department of Health medical workforce census.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK is implementing its responsibilities under the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention. [94585]
Mr. Denham: The Government are fully committed to meeting our obligations under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, which was implemented under the Biological Weapons Act 1974. More recently, we
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took new powers to deal with noxious substances. Sections 54 and 55 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (as amended in Section 120 of the Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001) make it an offence to provide, receive or invite another to receive instruction or training in the making or use of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. In addition, section 113 of the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 makes it an offence to use any noxious substance or thing with the intention of causing serious harm to public or property, and section 114 creates an offence of hoaxing using alleged noxious substances. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has taken forward initiatives—including the Green Paper laid before the House in April 2002—intended to strengthen international efforts, and mechanisms, to counter proliferation.
Crown Prosecution Service
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place the technical note underlying the Crown Prosecution Service Public Service Agreement in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [94882]
The Solicitor-General: I have been asked to reply.
The Crown Prosecution Service's Public Service Agreement targets are cross-cutting criminal justice system targets. The Home Office Public Service Agreement technical note, which covers the Crown Prosecution Service's Public Service Agreement targets, will be published shortly, and a copy will be placed in the Library,
Accommodation Centres
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight will receive a reply to his question of 22 January about searches for accommodation centres and induction centres. [95351]
Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 30 January 2003.
Algerian Asylum Seekers
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Algerian nationals have sought asylum in each of the last four years; and how many cases are awaiting determination from each year. [94443]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 30 January 2003]: The table shows the number of Algerian nationals applying for asylum in each of the last four years for which figures are available, and the number of initial decisions made in these periods. The number of Algerian asylum applicants awaiting an initial decision for each of these years are not available, and could be obtained at disproportionate cost only by examination of individual case records.
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| Year | Applications(20) | Initial decisions(21),(22) |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 1,260 | 500 |
| 1999 | 1,385 | 905 |
| 2000 | 1,635 | 1,935 |
| 2001(23) | 1,145 | 2,665 |
(19) Figures rounded to nearest five '*' = 1 or 2
(20) May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January 1999 and March 2000
(21) Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions
(22) Decision figures do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period
(23) Provisional
Information on the number of asylum applications is published quarterly on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. The next publication will be available from 28 February and will cover the final quarter of 2002.
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