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25 Mar 2003 : Column 198W—continued
Haemophilia
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 6 March 2003, Official Report, column 1209W, on haemophilia, when the strategy will be put in place to roll out access to recombinant clotting factors. [103528]
Ms Blears: The strategy will be put in place as early as possible in the 2003–04 financial year once key stakeholders, including patient representatives, have been fully consulted. As this process has recently started, it is too soon to give a precise date.
Health Services (Children)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many on-site nurseries are operating in NHS establishments; how many have closed since the scheme started; and how many are expected to open this year as part of the NHS child care strategy. [100501]
Mr. Hutton: A national baseline survey of national health service child care provision, undertaken early in 2001, found that 114 NHS trusts provided some form of nursery facilities for their staff. The NHS child care strategy has provided central funding over three years to develop up to 150 on-site nursery facilities by 2004. In the first two years of the strategy, 120 nursery schemes, including both new and extensions to existing nurseries have been funded. Of these, we estimate that around 30 have already opened and that a further 40 will be open by December 2003. The rest will open from January 2004 onwards. We intend to do a further survey of NHS child care provision in 2004.
HIV/AIDS
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS is of the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of HIV and AIDS in the latest year for which figures are available. [103547]
Ms Blears [holding answer 19 March 2003]: The cost to the national health service of the diagnosis of HIV and AIDS is not separately identified. For 2001–02, the NHS received a separate allocation totalling £279 million for HIV prevention and treatment and
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care. From 2002–03 funding for HIV/AIDS was included as part of NHS main allocation and is not separately identifiable.
Home Care
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average and (b) maximum home care charges made by each local authority in the Eastern region are. [104827]
Jacqui Smith: Information on home care charges levied by local authorities is not held centrally.
Hospital Food
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the implementation of the Better Hospital Food Programme in NHS hospitals; when he last met the
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chairman of the programme; and how much funding he has allocated to the programme for (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06. [96117]
Mr. Lammy: Details of the numbers of hospitals meeting the key targets of the Better Hospital Food initiative by June 2002 are shown in the table.
To date £28.5 million has been allocated in support of this programme. Final decisions regarding funding for 2003–06 have not yet been made.
The Chairman of the Better Hospital Food panel, Mr. Loyd Grossman, meets regularly with Ministers to discuss the Better Hospital Food programme. The most recent meeting took place on 5 December 2002 with my noble Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath. Both my noble Friend and Mr. Grossman also participated in the Better Hospital Food conference on 21 January 2003.
| All acute hospitals(360) | London region(54) | Midlands Easternregion (90) | Northern(121) | Southern(95) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Ward kitchen services | 256 | 71.5 | 38 | 70.4 | 65 | 72.2 | 85 | 70.2 | 68 | 71.6 |
| Snack box service | 210 | 58.7 | 32 | 59.3 | 44 | 48.9 | 71 | 58.7 | 63 | 66.3 |
| Additional snacks | 183 | 51.1 | 31 | 57.4 | 37 | 41.1 | 59 | 48.8 | 56 | 58.9 |
| Main meal evening | 280 | 78.2 | 46 | 85.2 | 70 | 77.8 | 96 | 79.3 | 68 | 71.6 |
| Leading chef dishes | 142 | 40 | 21 | 38.9 | 22 | 24.4 | 52 | 43 | 47 | 49.5 |
Note:
The table shows the number of hospitals meeting the key targets of the Better Hospital Food initiative by June 2002.
Human Cloning
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made towards developing an international consensus on the issue of human cloning. [103970]
Ms Blears: The United Kingdom already has a legal ban, the Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001 that prevents any attempts to carry out reproductive cloning.
The United Nations is working towards a convention to ban reproductive cloning. The UK is very much in favour of this initiative but does not agree with those who wish to see an extension of any ban to cover therapeutic cloning.
The UK Government agrees with the House of Lords Select Committee report on stem cell research in 2002 that there is a powerful case for the use of therapeutic cloning, under strict regulation, as a research tool. Such research is permitted under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations 2001.
International Nurse Recruitment
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 5 February 2003, Official Report, column 225W, on international nurse recruitment, how many overseas nurse recruitment agencies have been invited to sign the international nurse code of conduct. [97271]
Mr. Hutton: The Department has invited 115 commercial agencies who internationally recruit healthcare professionals to sign up to the code of practice for national health service employers who are involved in the international recruitment of healthcare professionals.
Midwifery
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2003, Official Report, columns 103–05W, on midwifery, (1) what the attrition rate was for midwifery students in each year since direct entry to midwifery was introduced; and what proportion of midwives who completed their training and became eligible to register as midwives (a) registered and (b) practised in each of those years; [104055]
- (2) how many individuals are (a) eligible to register as midwives, (b) registered as midwives and (c) practising as midwives. [104056]
Mr. Hutton: The Department holds information for attrition from direct entry midwifery courses from the 1994–95 cohort onwards. A table showing information on students' progress for each complete cohort from 1994–95 is shown as follows:
| Year | Eligible to register(23) | Discontinued (attrition)(24) | Interrupted(25) | Active(26) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 | 81.2 | 17.2 | 0.1 | 1.5 |
| 1995–96 | 76.9 | 17.9 | 0.5 | 4.7 |
| 1996–97 | 73.0 | 21.8 | 1.5 | 3.7 |
| 1997–98 | 76.3 | 17.1 | 0.9 | 5.7 |
(23) Those midwives who have completed their training and are eligible to register with the English National Board and therefore apply to join the NHS.
(24) Students who have left the course (attrition).
(25) Students whose training has been interrupted (for individual reasons)
and may continue at a later date.
(26) Students who are still in training
Source:
English National Board for Nursing and Midwifery
Information from the Nursing and Midwifery Council on midwives on the register and intending to practise is available from the website at www.nmc-uk.org.uk. Information on midwives going on to practise in the National Health Service after completing training is not collected centrally.
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Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the rights, acquired during accession negotiations, of Polish midwives to practise in the UK and elsewhere in the European Union; what consultation took place (a) with relevant UK bodies, including the Royal College of Midwives and (b) within and between government departments; what representations he has received regarding this; what assessment he has made of its impact on public health; and if he will renegotiate what freedom there is to this matter during the remaining stages of the accession process. [104057]
Mr. Hutton: The agreement on Polish midwifery qualifications was reached at the Copenhagen European Council in December, as part of an overall package that came within the budgetary ceiling for enlargement agreed at Berlin in 1999. Negotiations on the Treaty are now closed. Once ratified, the Accession Treaty, which will be signed by Heads of State and Government in Athens on 16 April, will provide for the recognition of Polish midwifery qualifications on the same basis as for those awarded by other member states.
Qualifications awarded following training begun after accession will comply with minimum community requirements and be automatically recognised. In other cases, evidence of recent and substantial professional experience in Poland may be required.
The Department has neither consulted United Kingdom bodies nor received representations from them on this matter. I very much welcome the contribution to public health made by overseas-qualified staff. Once registered in the UK, all midwives are subject to equally demanding standards of conduct, practice and local statutory supervision.
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