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27 Mar 2003 : Column 395W—continued
Food Standards Agency
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) action the Food Standards Agency is taking and (b) advice the Food Standards Agency have issued to counter the threat from terrorism to food safety in the United Kingdom. [104908]
Ms Blears [holding answer 25 March 2003]: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) will take the lead role in managing the consequences of any actual incident of food contamination. The FSA already undertakes such work in respect of the several hundred relatively minor accidental and adventitious environmental food contamination incidents that occur each year, ensuring that contaminated food does not reach the public. The FSA regularly exercises its response to major incidents.
With the agreement of other Departments, the FSA reminded the food industry in November 2002 of the importance of maintaining vigilance against potential malicious attacks on the food supply. This was a general reminder rather than a response to any new intelligence suggesting a specific threat. This advice remains current.
Foodstuffs
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on which foodstuffs of non-animal origin should be tested on (a) all occasions and (b) a 'spot-check' basis under the proposals in the EU document of 10 February (EC Draft 6090/03). [102848]
Ms Blears: The Food Standards Agency has lead responsibility for this proposal on official feed and food controls. I am advised by the FSA that the negotiations on it are due to begin shortly. The FSA will press for provisions that ensure the frequency of testing of foods of non-animal origin is risk-based and proportionate. In effect, this would mean spot checks and random analytical testing for 'low risk' products but increased checks and analytical testing, up to a level of 100 per cent. (depending on the nature of the risk), for foods included in the list of 'high risk' products that is envisaged under the proposal. The commodities included in this list and the required level of testing will not be static over time but rather will vary depending on identification of new risks and the control of others. Currently, the European Commission publish decisions regarding those commodities from specified countries that should be subject to 100 per cent. documentary and analytical checks. This includes aflatoxins in various nuts and dried fruits from certain countries. It is understood that such products would be included in the 'high risk' list under the proposal and would require 100 per cent. testing.
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Fund Disbursement
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which funds centrally administered by his Department are only disbursed on evidence of minimum levels of spending on information technology; and if he will make a statement. [104428]
Ms Blears: For 2003–04, strategic health authorities have been tasked with planning their new information management and technology (IMandT) investment against an indicative budget, which represents a weighted share of £200 million. This new investment will be released when local communities have demonstrated that they are maintaining their historic levels of IMandT investment from baseline allocations.
GP Contracts
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of the income guarantee proposals for GPs; and if he will make a statement. [105043]
Mr. Hutton: The General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association is discussing with the National Health Service Confederation and the Department of Health proposals for ensuring that practices are not financially destabilised from the introduction of the new general medical services contract. Further information will become available once proposals have been agreed.
GP Vacancies
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner vacancies there are in the Bury St. Edmunds constituency. [104819]
Mr. Lammy: General practitioner vacancy rates by constituency are not available. The General Practitioner Recruitment Retention and Vacancy Survey for 2002 only provides vacancy rates to Directorate of Health and Social Care level.
Hospital Costs
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average cost per bed per week for a patient in a NHS (a) acute hospital and (b) non-acute hospital in (i) Suffolk, (ii) Cambridgeshire and (iii) Essex. [104805]
Mr. Lammy: Figures for the average cost per bed per week for patients in national health service acute and non-acute hospitals are not held centrally.
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Meat Unfit for Human Consumption
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much meat, broken down by type, has been identified as unfit for human consumption by Government Departments and Government agencies in (a) farms, (b) abattoirs and (c) retailers in each of the last 10 years; and how many (i) prosecutions and (ii) convictions have resulted. [102864]
Ms Blears: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that the information requested is not collected centrally.
However, the FSA does collect certain information from local food authorities as required under EC Directive 89/397/EEC on official controls and under the FSA's framework agreement on local authority food law enforcement. The information is published in the annual return to the European Commission under the official controls directive, copies of which are in the Library. The information collected does not provide a breakdown of information in the way requested. Details of results of samples taken, and of consequent prosecutions, are recorded for meat, game and poultry, but are not divided by type or species nor record if the meat was found unfit for human consumption.
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The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) collects information on the quantity of meat surrendered by the operators of licensed slaughterhouses and cutting plants as unfit for human consumption following MHS inspection. The information collected records the species, number of carcasses or weight of meat rejected, and the reason for rejection. The MHS keeps these receipts for a year but the information is not collated centrally.
Information about meat intended for human consumption that is condemned on farm is not collected. Under the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 (as amended) the slaughter and dressing of animals intended for sale for human consumption must take place in a licensed slaughterhouse.
Medical Staff (West Suffolk Hospital)
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) other staff were employed at West Suffolk Hospital in each of the last five years. [104810]
Mr. Lammy: The information is shown in the table.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All HCHS staff within West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust | 2,084 | 1,996 | 2,237 | 2,310 | 2,479 |
| Of which | |||||
| All medical and dental staff | 173 | 183 | 177 | 206 | 208 |
| All non-medical staff | 1,911 | 1,813 | 2,060 | 2,104 | 2,271 |
| Of which | |||||
| All qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff | 688 | 612 | 719 | 728 | 832 |
| All other non-medical staff | 1,223 | 1,201 | 1,341 | 1,376 | 1,439 |
Source:
Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
MRI Scanner Appointments
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the average waiting time for MRI scanner appointments was on the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by hospital; [104900]
- (2) what plans he has to reduce waiting time for MRI scanner appointments. [104901]
Ms Blears [holding answers 25 March 2003]: Data are not collected centrally on waiting times for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The length of time that a patient may have to wait for any scan is dependent on their clinical condition. Emergency cases need to be seen immediately. Other cases will be carried out as quickly as possible, dependent on the clinical priority of all patients waiting to be scanned.
Where an MRI scan forms part of the diagnostic process for a patient urgently referred with suspected cancer, this will be covered by the target of a maximum two months wait from urgent referral to first treatment, which will be in place for all cancers by the end of 2005.
To increase the capacity of diagnostic services, funding has been made available for the provision of new and replacement scanners. The New Opportunities Fund has provided funding for 57 MRI scanners and the NHS Cancer Plan has provided funding for a further 50 MRI and 50 computed tomography (CT) scanners through central purchasing programmes by 2004.
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