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Bushmeat

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action the Food Standards Agency is taking on the risks posed by toxins in illegally imported bushmeat. [97708]

Ms Blears: The Food Standards Agency has advised local authorities that all illegally imported food products, including bush meat, should be removed from sale. This is because these products have evaded official controls designed to verify compliance with food safety standards and could pose a danger to human health. The Agency is also working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to inform the targeting of enforcement work to detect illegal imports.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the potential health risks from toxins in illegally imported bushmeat. [97709]

Ms Blears: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency, which has responsibility for food safety matters, that it has received representations about potential public health risks from illegally imported meat, including bush meat. Illegally imported food has evaded official controls designed to verify compliance with food safety standards and therefore poses a potential danger to human health. Such food is destroyed without undue delay and without the requirement for laboratory examination to identify toxins, micro-organisms or other contamination dangerous to human health.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has made to other Government Departments about the level of policing at ports of entry relating to the smuggling of bushmeat. [97755]

Ms Blears: The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has responsibility for food safety matters, is in frequent contact with other Government Departments, in particular the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, about controls on the illegal import of meat.

Further to a study by the Cabinet Office last year, co-ordination arrangements between the FSA, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and DEFRA are being strengthened to achieve a step-change improvement in controls on the illegal import of meat. DEFRA is running a six month pilot study into the use of dogs for detecting illegally imported foodstuffs, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise is taking the lead responsibility for detection of smuggled imports of meat, and the FSA is putting in place arrangements with port health and local authorities to improve inspection arrangements for legitimate imports.

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The Organisation of the Government's Controls of Imports of Animals, Fish, Plants and their Products' is published on the Cabinet Office website at http://www.cabinet-office.qov.uk/reports/pdf/Illegal%20 Imports%20paper.pdf

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the level of toxins in illegally imported bushmeat. [97756]

Ms Blears: The Food Standards Agency, which has responsibility for food safety matters, has advised that information is not available on the level of toxins in illegally imported bush meat. All illegally imported food has evaded official controls designed to verify compliance with food safety standards and could pose a danger to human health. Such food may therefore be destroyed by local authorities without the need for sampling to detect micro-organisms, toxins or other contamination.

Cancer Treatment

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many young people under the age of 25 were (a) diagnosed with cancer and (b) died of cancer last year; and if he will make a statement. [98472]

Ms Blears: There were 2,453 new cases of cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) diagnosed in people under the age of 25 in 1999 in England (latest year for which we have data). 527 people under the age of 25 died from cancer in England in 2001.

Charge Income

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what he estimates his Department's total income from charges will be in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06. [92789]

Mr. Hutton: Total income to the Department from charges in 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06 is estimated to be around £944 million, £967 million and £992 million respectively.

Choice Programme Pilot Scheme

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the choice programme pilot scheme announced on 11 February. [99065]

Mr. Milburn: On the 11 February I announced a major set of initiatives to introduce more choice for patients into the National Health Service. I gave my hon. Friend an outline of the benefits for patients in Greater Manchester on 11 February, Official Report, column 752–753.

In Greater Manchester patients waiting six months for orthopaedic; ear, nose and throat; or general surgery will be able to choose to have their treatment in an alternative hospital. Around 3,400 patients are expected to be offered this choice.

Delayed Discharges

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place a copy of the most recent Quarter 3 delayed discharge and emergency readmission figures in the Library; what assessment he has made of the

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information collected; and how many times the way the information is collated has been altered in the last five years. [97079]

Jacqui Smith: The information on Quarter 3, 2002–03, delayed discharge and emergency readmission figures has been placed in the Library. Between September 2001 and December 2002, more than 2,000 fewer people were waiting to be discharged from hospital on any single day. The rate of 28-day emergency readmission for patients of all ages has increased very slightly over last quarter from 5.35 to 5.4 per cent. In the last five years, the basis of the information collection has changed to patients of all ages, rather than only patients over 75 years, and from April 2002, the data have been collected by primary care trust area instead of the former health authorities.

Digital Hearing Aids

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when patients of the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust will have access to digital hearing aids. [97706]

Ms Blears: Funding has been made available for the years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to ensure that a modernised service, providing digital hearing aids, will be available from all National Health Service hearing aids services in England by April 2005.

Epsom and St Helier Hospitals NHS Trust is discussing with their respective primary care trusts whether they wish to modernise in 2003–04 or 2004–05.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects patients will be able to receive digital hearing aids at the Worthing and Southlands NHS Hospitals Trust. [97879]

Ms Blears: Funding has been made available for the years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to ensure that a modernised service, providing digital hearing aids, will be available from all National Health Service hearing aids services in England by April 2005.

NHS hospital trusts not yet involved in the modernisation project will now need to discuss with their respective primary care trusts whether they wish to modernise in 2003–04 or 2004–05.

DIY Genetic Tests

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the availability of DIY genetic tests. [97516]

Ms Blears: In February 2002, Health and Science Ministers asked the Human Genetics Commission to review the matter of genetic testing services supplied direct to the public.

The Commission has publicly stated that they will make their formal recommendations to Ministers in the early spring.

Drug Dependency (Treatment)

Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the recommendation in the 2002 Drug Strategy for an increase in the availability of heroin

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prescription to all those who have a clinical need is intended as guidance that heroin is preferable to other maintenance treatments for opiate addiction. [97646]

Ms Blears: The Updated Drug Strategy 2002 recommendation, that heroin should be available on prescription to all those who have a clinical need for it, does emphatically not mean that heroin is preferable to other treatments. Heroin prescribing may be a valuable supplement to other treatment but only in a limited number of cases, usually where oral methadone has not proved successful. It is for individual clinicians to make a decision about this on a patient by patient basis.

Prescribing oral methadone as a substitute for illicit opiates has proven benefits for both the individual and for society, particularly in terms of reducing injecting behaviour and criminal activity. Methadone can be prescribed for a range of treatments including detoxification, stabilisation and longer-term therapies. Additional guidance for practitioners on the use of heroin as a treatment option is due to be published shortly by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse.

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