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21 Mar 2003 : Column 962W—continued

Transportable Surgical Facilities

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many modularised transportable surgical facilities have been procured for the Armed Forces. [103978]

Dr. Moonie: A total of four Modular Transportable Surgical Facility systems have been purchased.

HEALTH

Child Trafficking

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding is in place for specialist agencies to provide assistance and support to child victims of trafficking. [103405]

Jacqui Smith: We expect that the provision of assistance and support to child victims of trafficking will be secured by local statutory services in response to identified needs, whether provided directly or through specialist agencies. The relevant statutory agencies include the immigration service, the police, social services and health, which have a responsibility to safeguard vulnerable children and to prevent and detect crimes against them.

Child victims of trafficking are likely to be in need of welfare services and in many cases, protection under the Children Act 1989. Social services have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of these children following an assessment of their circumstances.

Care Homes

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much funding has been made available in 2002–03 for care homes in (a) the London Borough of Havering, (b) each of the other London boroughs and (c) each administrative area for health care in the United Kingdom; [101976]

Jacqui Smith: In 2002–03, the Revenue Support Grant for the London Borough of Havering made provision for an increase in funding for social services of 5.2 per cent., compared with a national average increase of 4.9 per cent. This represented an increase from £38,514,000 in 2001–02 to £39,890,000 in 2002–03. Councils have discretion to decide their spending priorities and are not required to spend exactly these amounts on social care. It is therefore for each council to decide how much to spend on care homes. In addition, in 2002–03 Havering received a Building Capacity Grant of £1,173,000 which is more than double the amount they received in the previous year.

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Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2003, Official Report, column 232W, on care homes, how many letters he has sent to care homes regarding the failure to pass on the free nursing care contribution. [103513]

Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave the hon. Member on 26 March 2002, Official Report, columns 935–36W, in which I made it clear that four providers had been written to about this. Health authorities and primary care trusts will also have written to providers on this subject

Hearing Aids

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) hearing aid users and (b) digital hearing aid users there were in (i) the Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) Tyne and Wear and (iv) the UK on 1 February. [99929]

Jacqui Smith: The Royal National Institute for the Deaf estimates that there are 1.8 million people currently using hearing aids in England. Information is not collected centrally on numbers of people using analogue or digital hearing aids in England or in the localised areas specified. Information related to Wales and Scotland is a matter for the devolved administrations. Whilst the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved, responsibility rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office.

Lymphoedema

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to promote therapies for people with lymphoedema. [104154]

Jacqui Smith: There is currently no cure but, with appropriate treatment, lymphoedema can be very well managed in the national health service. These treatments consist of a combination of skin care, exercise, massage and compression garments or bandaging. In a few cases it is possible to help surgically, for example by transplanting lymph vessels.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has recently updated the Improving Outcomes in Breast Cancer Guidance, and that guidance made some recommendations about lymphoedema. The guidance recommends that cancer networks should agree guidelines for identification and management of lymphoedema and that a lymphoedema service, staffed by nurses and physiotherapists who have experience in dealing with this problem, should be available for all patients who experience arm swelling or discomfort.

Mencap

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet MENCAP to discuss progress in implementation of the White Paper, "Valuing People", through Local Learning Disability Partnership Boards. [103474]

Jacqui Smith: I have met representatives of MENCAP on several occasions since the publication of the White Paper "Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century" (Cm 5086) in March 2001 and have discussed a range of issues.

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I welcome MENCAP's very positive contribution to the implementation of the White Paper, for example through the current chief executive's membership of the Learning Disability Task Force and their management of the learning disability telephone Helpline. I look forward to meeting MENCAP's new chief executive when she has taken up her post and to working with her as we continue to implement "Valuing People". I should be happy to include the role of Learning Disability Partnership Boards in our discussions.

Mental Health (Salisbury)

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when mental health service improvements announced in the national service framework for mental health and the NHS plan in respect of (a) crisis teams, (b) assertive outreach programmes, (c) home treatment, (d) early intervention in psychosis and (e) primary care mental health teams will be launched in Salisbury. [103080]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 18 March 2003]: A mental health national service framework (NSF) was published in September 1999 which spells out national standards for mental health, what they aim to achieve, how they should be developed and delivered and how to measure performance in every part of the country. It concentrates on the mental health needs of working age adults, and covers health promotion, assessment and diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and care, encompassing primary and secondary care and the roles of partner agencies.

Work to develop mental health services is ongoing. In order to improve local services the local primary care trust has committed, in its three year local delivery plan, to increased investment in mental health, including investment in services for older people and dementia provision.

The Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership National Health Service Trust has advised of specific mental health services in place as follows:


Across the whole Avon, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority area there have been substantial service improvements in line with NSF Guidance including:


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There have also been substantial improvements in the integrated care programme approach, mental health commissioning, and information sharing.

North Cumbria Acute Trust

Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial package the former chief executive of North Cumbria Acute Trust received following his resignation. [103054]

Jacqui Smith: The former chief executive of the North Cumbria Acute National Health Service Trust has received no financial package following his resignation.

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