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Private Health Firms

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals in the UK have management franchised out to private firms; whether management can be returned to the public sector at any time; and if he will make a statement. [105948]

Mr. Hutton: Following the publication of the 2001 Performance Ratings, six National Health Service Trusts in England had their management franchised to experienced managers from within the NHS. Management of hospitals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are matters for the devolved Administrations.

No NHS trusts have had their management franchised to a private sector organisation.

Radiotherapy (Havering)

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on radiotherapy services at Oldchurch hospital in the London borough of Havering; [109502]

(2) if he will make a statement on the availability of radiotherapy to patients living in the London borough of Havering; [109501]

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(3) if he will make a statement on the waiting times for radiotherapy in (a) Oldchurch hospital, Havering and (b) St. Bartholomew's hospital, City of London. [109504]

Mr. Hutton: Waiting times for radiotherapy are not collected centrally.

The national health service is making an unprecedented investment in new radiotherapy facilities, streamlining care processes through the cancer services collaborative and working to best utilise the current work force and to increase the number of staff in post and in training.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge National Health Service Trust, with the support of local primary care trusts, has taken a number of steps to improve access to radiotherapy services, including:

a refurbished linear accelerator at Oldchurch hospital;


developing and implementing a recruitment and retention strategy for therapy radiographers;


achieving accreditation from the Society of Radiographers to become a training centre for student radiographers; and


invested in new equipment to provide superficial radiotherapy treatment allowing patients to have the option of being treated locally rather than in Central London.

Sarah Lawson

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when the report into the death of Miss Sarah Lawson in Worthing undertaken by the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority will be published; [109896]

(2) whether the report and findings of the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority report into the death of Miss Sarah Lawson in Worthing will be published in full; and if he will make a statement on the policy of his Department on such inquiries. [109897]

Ms Blears [holding answers 28 April 2003]: The independent panel is currently completing its work and preparing the final report. We are unable to provide an exact date as to when the report will be published, or whether it will be published in full. However, Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority is committed to publishing the findings and recommendations of the independent panel's inquiry.

When a serious incident occurs, leading to serious harm or death, the requirements of those affected should be a primary concern to the trust involved, the strategic health authority and the agency undertaking the investigation. Any contact should be undertaken in a respectful, dignified and compassionate manner.

"Building a Safer NHS for Patients", published in 2001, sets out the development of a new national system for learning from adverse events. It describes how an improved system for handling investigations and inquiries across the national health service will be developed in future.

Working Time Directive

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the minimum number

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of specialist registrars necessary to provide 24-hour resident cover in acute hospitals in compliance with the Working Time Directive. [109137]

Mr. Hutton: While the number of doctors on an individual rota will generally have to increase, the intention of the Department's guidance—HSC 2003/001 "Protecting Staff, Delivering Services—Implementing the European Working Time Directive for Doctors in Training"—is that trusts should find ways to reduce the number of resident rotas. Thus, the total staffing requirement does not increase substantially as a result of the Working Time Directive.

Stroke Treatment

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received concerning the treatment of stroke victims at Eastbourne District General Hospital since 1992. [108431]

Ms Blears: The Department has not received any representations concerning the treatment of stroke victims at Eastbourne District General Hospital since 1997.

Information about representations that may have been received before 1997 can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Waiting Times Initiative

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been allocated to the waiting times initiative in each of the past three years. [108478]

Mr. Hutton: This information is not centrally available as allocations for waiting time reductions are not hypothecated. It is for local National Health Service organisations to decide how best to use the available resources made through general and capital allocations to meet the national priorities.

Funding to support the delivery of these priorities will grow over the next three years, from £61.3 billion in 2003–04 to £67.4 billion in 2004–05 and £74.4 billion in 2005–06.

HOME OFFICE

Command Paper 5778

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which parts of the Children Act 1989 are failing to be implemented effectively as set out in paragraph 2.22 of Command Paper 5778; [106788]

(2) what parts of the Children Act 1989 which fall under his responsibility are failing to be implemented effectively as set out in paragraph 2.22 of Command Paper 5778. [108602]

Hilary Benn: The White paper "Respect and Responsibility—Taking a Stand Against Anti-social Behaviour" encourages the development of an increased range of specialised, intensive support schemes to help parents and children. These schemes aim to support families where a lack of parental capacity or ability contributes significantly to the child's behavioural problems.

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The Children Act is a shared responsibility across Government, which involves departments working in partnership to ensure delivery for families and children. Our aim is to increase the range of ways in which the family support provisions of the Children Act can be realised.

Antisocial Behaviour

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what public opinion research was commissioned by his Department in the preparation of the Anti-social Behaviour Bill; and if he will make a statement. [109602]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: We did not commission any public opinion research in preparation of the Anti-social Behaviour Bill. However, the British Crime Survey 2001–02 reported that one in three people perceived Anti-social behaviour to be a problem in their area.

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial assistance is available from his Department for initiatives to divert young people from Anti-social behaviour. [109102]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Home Office contributes to various diversionary schemes for young people. The results have been encouraging and evidence from them suggests strong arguments for the potentially positive contribution that diversionary activities can make in helping and preventing young people who are involved, or are at risk of becoming involved in crime and Anti-social behaviour.

Positive Activities for Young People fund is to be launched in May 2003. This pulls together under one initiative, a range of funding to provide year round activities for young people. £25 million is available for 2003, which comprises contributions from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) (New Opportunities Fund), the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (Connexions) and Home Office (Community Cohesion and Splash), and will be distributed by the Government Offices.

The Home Office also funds a scheme called Positive Futures, which promotes the use of sport to reduce Anti-social behaviour, crime and drug misuse among 10 to 16-year-olds from selected/disadvantaged neighbourhoods. In 2002–03 the budget for Positive Futures was £4 million, of which £2.6 million was from the Home Office. In the 2002 Comprehensive Spending Review, the Positive Futures programme received an additional £15 million over the next three years. This will be spent on developing existing projects, of which there are currently 67, and on creating a third phase of projects.

Civil Emergencies

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned into the preparedness of (a) the emergency services, (b) the NHS, (c) central government and (d) local authorities in the event of a civil emergency. [109588]

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Mr. Alexander: I have been asked to reply.

Levels of preparedness in the event of a civil emergency are primarily determined through testing and exercising. Government Departments, the emergency services and local authorities have all exercised their contingency plans for many years. Earlier this year a cross-governmental working party was established to provide a formal mechanism for reviewing Departmental exercise plans covering a comprehensive range of domestic challenges and counter terrorist areas of activity. The aim of this group is to create a prioritised programme of exercises that will reflect and test effectively the range of lead Government Department responsibilities and the involvement of the devolved administrations, regional and local authorities and interdependent communities of interest. Local authorities are encouraged to prepare flexible plans for responding to a wide variety of peacetime hazards, and these plans are also regularly tested, reviewed and updated as circumstances change.

Exercises at local, regional and national levels involve a wide range of participants including the emergency services, and local authorities and the NHS. Such exercises are used to monitor current levels of preparedness, to identify best practice and to identify areas for further improvement.

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