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6 Mar 2003 : Column 1205W—continued

Overview and Scrutiny Committees

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Overview and Scrutiny Committees have been set up since 1 January. [96720]

Mr. Lammy: This information is not available. The Department will be monitoring the implementation of the powers to scrutinise health services as it rolls out across England.

Parliamentary Questions

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will answer the parliamentary questions numbered (a) 79796, (b) 79800, (c) 79804, (d) 79805 and (e) 79806 tabled by the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon. [98989]

Mr. Lammy: These questions were tabled towards the end of the last parliamentary Session. As the Session ended before the questions received replies, responses were sent to the hon. Member by letter, copies of which were also placed in the Library.

Prescription Charges

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent assessment he has made of the help available to medical students for meeting NHS prescription charges; and if he will make a statement; [99918]

(2) what plans he has to increase the support that the NHS Low Income Scheme gives to medical students; and if he will make a statement. [99923]

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Mr. Lammy: Young people under 16 and those under 19 who are in full time education are entitled to full help with health costs, including National Health Service prescription charges. Those aged 19 and over, including medical students, can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS low income scheme. The extent of any help is based on a comparison between the student's weekly income and requirements at the date the claim is received. We have no plans to change the current arrangements.

Patients who need frequent prescriptions may benefit from purchasing a prescription prepayment certificate.

Primary Care Trusts (Directors)

Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of applicants for the post of non-executive director of primary care trusts have declared themselves, on the application form, to be active in the (a) Conservative Party, (b) Liberal Democrat Party and (c) Labour Party; and what percentage of applicants were successful in each case. [100252]

Mr. Lammy: Reliable information about applications made for non-executive posts to primary care trusts is not currently available. Application data held by the NHS Appointments Commission are currently being validated, and it is expected that they will be published in early April 2003.

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the reasons for the Board of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital not approving a new diabetes centre. [100084]

Mr. Lammy: I understand that this matter, which is properly a matter for the Board of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital National Health Service Trust, will be considered again at its next public meeting on 25 March 2003. Departmental officials have, however, brought this matter to the attention of the Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority, which will consider whether any further action should be taken after the Trust has deliberated.

Tobacco Products

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to make public information on the ingredients and additives in tobacco products, their purpose and their effects gathered under the Manufacture, Presentation and Sale of Tobacco Products Directive (2001/37/EC). [99282]

Ms Blears: Regulations to transpose the Directive on the Manufacture, Presentation and Sale of Tobacco Products (2001/37/EC) require manufacturers and importers of tobacco products to submit a list of ingredients contained in their products to the Secretary of State by 28 February 2003. The Department is continuing to analyse this information before making it available to the public later this year.

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Transplants

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) kidney, (b) liver, (c) heart and (d) lung transplants have taken place in each of the last 10 years. [97882]

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Mr. Lammy: The table shows data on kidney, liver, heart and lung transplants which have taken place in each of the last 10 years.

Solid organ transplants in the United Kingdom, 1993–2002, by organ transplanted

Organ	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	Total
Kidney	1,714	1,746	1,801	1,716	1,699	1,621	1,624	1,709	1,743	1,719	17,092
Liver	534	620	669	639	671	667	692	671	684	712	6,559
Heart	302	314	319	279	266	264	230	204	171	159	2,508
Lung	95	116	112	116	103	88	110	98	93	112	1,043
H/L	36	52	58	53	44	52	50	33	33	16	427
Total	2,681	2,848	2,959	2,803	2,783	2,692	2,706	2,715	2,724	2,718	27,629

Notes:

1. Includes cadaveric and living donor transplants.

2. Multi-organ transplants are counted for each organ type, e.g. a heart, lung and kidney transplant is counted as a kidney transplant and a heart/lung transplant.

Unnecessary Prescriptions

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the extent to which general practitioners accept financial inducements from pharmaceutical companies to prescribe unnecessary drugs to patients without their consent; and what plans he has to introduce measures to prevent this practice. [99489]

Mr. Lammy: Measures to prohibit the offer by pharmaceutical companies to general practitioners of financial or other inducements to prescribe medicines are contained in the Medicines (Advertising) Regulations 1994. Where medicines are being promoted, the Regulations prohibit the offer of any gift, pecuniary advantage or benefit in kind unless it is inexpensive and relevant to the practice of medicine. It is also an offence for a prescriber to solicit any prohibited inducement.

Any complaint concerning the offer by pharmaceutical companies of an inducement to prescribe medicines is investigated by the Medicines Control Agency and as appropriate, the industry self-regulatory body, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority. Allegations of the acceptance of an inducement may also be referred to the General Medical Council.

Welfare Food Scheme

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from the dairy industry about the proposed changes to the welfare food scheme. [101127]

Ms Blears: A public consultation on the proposed reform of the Welfare Food Scheme was held between October and December 2002. Dairy industry interests accounted for 15 per cent, of the total 500 written responses. The Department of Health also held five meetings with dairy industry representatives during the consultation period.

A report on the outcome of the consultation will be published later in March 2003.

TREASURY

Departmental Preferred Suppliers

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will allow Government Departments to place orders with preferred suppliers. [100608]

Mr. Boateng: Each Department is responsible for its own procurements, within the framework of the Government's procurement policy and the EC procurement rules. This policy and EC framework requires procurements to be conducted in a transparent, non-discriminatory and competitive way, with each contract awarded to the tenderer offering best value for money for the particular requirement.

Government Procurement Policy

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on Government procurement policy. [100606]

Mr. Boateng: The Government's procurement policy is that all public procurement of goods, works and services is to be based on value for money, having due regard to propriety and regularity. Value for money is the optimum combination of whole life cost and quality (or fitness for purpose) to meet the user's requirement.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of weighting value for money against ethical and socially constructive approaches to business in the selection of suppliers for Government Departments. [100607]

Mr. Boateng: Within the Government's procurement policy and the EC procurement rules, it is possible to take account of environmental, social and ethical factors where they are relevant to the subject of the contract and do not undermine value for money for the taxpayer. Relevant factors can be reflected in appropriate, non-discriminatory specifications and can feature, where appropriate, in whole life cost and quality award criteria.

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