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19 Mar 2003 : Column 836W—continued
Special Branch
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 12 February, Official Report, column 780W, whether the figure for Special Branch officers includes the Metropolitan Police Special Branch. [103833]
Weapons
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many weapons were seized by authorities as they entered the UK in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002. [96905]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The requested information is not collected centrally by the Home Office. For the number of firearms seized by Customs and Excise in the last two financial years, I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury gave my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Kilfoyle) on 30 January 2003, Official Report, column 1002W.
Women Prisoners
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have taken place in the (a) numbers and (b) percentages of women sentenced to prison in each of the last 10 years. [102856]
Hilary Benn: The information requested is contained in the table.
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| Females aged 10–20 sentenced to immediate custody | Females aged 21+ sentenced to immediate custody | Total females sentenced to immediate custody | Total females sentenced | Proportion sentenced to custody (Percentage) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 363 | 1,974 | 2,337 | 258,977 | 0.9 |
| 1993 | 459 | 2,079 | 2,538 | 251,014 | 1.0 |
| 1994 | 531 | 2,637 | 3,168 | 250,976 | 1.3 |
| 1995 | 643 | 3,149 | 3,792 | 217,953 | 1.7 |
| 1996 | 769 | 3,634 | 4,403 | 260,960 | 1.7 |
| 1997 | 950 | 4,556 | 5,506 | 216,986 | 2.5 |
| 1998 | 1,187 | 5,380 | 6,567 | 235,494 | 2.8 |
| 1999 | 1,372 | 6,132 | 7,504 | 220,007 | 3.4 |
| 2000 | 1,563 | 6,337 | 7,900 | 256,090 | 3.1 |
| 2001 | 1,515 | 6,546 | 8,061 | 237,497 | 3.4 |
Figures for 2002 are not yet available.
Work Permits
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 March, Official Report, column 309W, on work permits, what discussions Work Permits (UK) had with the Department of Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland on the application for a group work permit for lap dancers for the Movie Star Café in summer 2002; and if he will make a statement. [103641]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 18 March 2003]: Work Permits (UK) did not have any discussions with the Department of Education and Learning and were not consulted by the Department on the applications for a group work permit for lap dancers for the Movie Star Café.
HEALTH
NHS Foundation Trusts
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts will be able to guarantee the borrowing of NHS foundation trusts. [102581]
Mr. Hutton: The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill makes no provision requiring the Secretary of State, strategic health authorities or primary care trusts to guarantee the borrowing of National Health Service foundation trusts. The regime we intend to put in place for managing financial failure will ensure that NHS patients continue to have access to the healthcare they need, free at the point of delivery. The regime will not underwrite institutions that have failed to deliver under the terms of their service agreements and/or licence.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS foundation trusts will be able to use (a) regulated assets and (b) unregulated assets as security for their borrowing. [102582]
Mr. Hutton: Provisions in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill will prevent National Health Service foundation trusts from using assets protected under the Bill as security for borrowing.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the prudential code setting out the basis for determining the serviceability of the debt levels
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requested by NHS foundation trusts will be placed in the public domain; and when the prudential code will be issued. [102583]
Mr. Hutton: Provision for making and issuing the prudential code is set out in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill. Subject to parliamentary approval, the code will be published by the independent regulator and laid before Parliament during the application period for first wave National Health Service foundation trusts.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what limits the independent regulator may place on the borrowing of NHS foundation trusts. [102589]
Mr. Hutton: National Health Service foundation trusts will have complete freedom to access capital, subject to two principal constraints imposed on them by the independent regulator:
- their prudential borrowing limit agreed with the independent regulator
prohibition on use of protected assets as security for borrowing
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to relax the borrowing limits placed on NHS foundation trusts as the number of NHS foundation trusts increases. [102585]
Mr. Hutton: The Secretary of State will not have the power to set or relax the prudential borrowing limits. The regulator will set the prudential code in consultation with Secretary of State, every national health service trust making an application for NHS foundation trust status and other persons that the regulator deems appropriate. In making the code the regulator is to have regard, among other things, to any generally accepted principles used by financial institutions to determine the amounts of loans to non-profit making organisations.
The NHS foundation trust will submit an application for a prudential borrowing limit to the independent regulator, consistent with the prudential code. The regulator will then confirm that the limit applied for is consistent with the guidelines set out in the code.
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Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the launch of NHS initiatives since May 1997 and the cost of each launch. [102088]
Mr. Lammy: The Department makes announcements on a regular basis about the development of Government policy. We do not cost each announcement separately because they are part of the Department's mainstream communications activity.
Age-related Macular Degeneration
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the cost of providing photodynamic therapy to (a) all patients for whom it is considered clinically appropriate who are suffering from classic wet age-related macular degeneration and (b) all patients for whom it is considered clinically appropriate who are suffering from either classic wet age-related macular degeneration or predominantly classic wet age-related macular degeneration; [103188]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the time taken by NICE to carry out an appraisal of photodynamic therapy as a treatment for age-related macular degeneration; [103189]
(3) pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton), of 27 February 2003, Official Report, columns 698–9W, on age-related macular degeneration, when his Department first asked NICE to carry out an appraisal of photodynamic therapy; and when he expects NICE to publish its final guidance. [103191]
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Mr. Lammy [holding answer 18 March 2003]: Photodynamic therapy was referred to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) on 12 March 2001. NICE has not yet published any guidance to the national health service on this topic. Appeals were lodged, in response to the final appraisal determination issued on 16 January, which were considered at an appeal hearing on 17 March. The final date of publication will depend on the outcome of the appeal hearing.
NICE is best placed to give authoritative guidance to the NHS, including guidance on the patients for whom the treatment may be appropriate. Until this guidance is available it is not possible to estimate what the cost of providing this treatment for clinically appropriate patients will be.
Once guidance has been published, NHS bodies are obliged to make the necessary funding available so that patients can receive treatments recommended by NICE, if recommended by the clinician.
Award Schemes
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the award schemes in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 promoted by the Department; what their scope was; when the relevant participating organisations are scheduled to be sent results; and whether other parties will be given notification of the results at the same time. [102053]
Mr. Lammy: The awards schemes promoted by the Department in 2001–02 are shown in the table. Results of each of these schemes have been announced and are in the public domain.
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