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6 May 2003 : Column 654W—continued

Disabled Children

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance his Department gives to local authorities about charging for domiciliary care services to disabled children; [111125]

(2) how many local authorities are charging for services to disabled children; and what criteria they are using for doing so. [111049]

Jacqui Smith: The legal position, as set out at section 29 of the Children Act 1989, is that where a local authority provides services, with the exception of advice, guidance or counselling, they may make such charges for that service as they consider reasonable.

The Government recognise that this may put undue pressure on low income families and this is why the Act provides that no one receiving income support, any element of child tax credit other than the family element, working tax credit or an income-based jobseeker's allowance is liable to pay a charge. The local authority will take into account the means of the family in each case. Local authorities may not require parents to pay more than is reasonable.

It is a matter for local authorities as to whether or not a charge is made and, if so, how much any charge might be. We have not issued new guidance to local authorities since 1991 (paragraph 238 of the Children Act Guidance, Volume 2). This guidance covers services provided under Part III of the Children Act 1989 which includes domiciliary care.

The Department of Health does not collect data about the number of local authorities charging for these services and therefore has no central information about the criteria used by local authorities to make such charges.

Eligibility Criteria

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many authorities have (a) reviewed their eligibility criteria and (b) altered their eligibility criteria following the Health Service Ombudsman report HC399; and what assessment he has made of the number of people who are entitled to receive compensation following local authority reviews of continuing care criteria; [111127]

(2) what estimates his Department has made of the amount owed to individuals following continuing care eligibility criteria reviews. [111048]

Jacqui Smith: All Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) have considered whether continuing care criteria in use in their area since 1996 were consistent with the Coughlan Judgment. Since August 2002 they have also been aligning criteria across each SHA, a process which should be complete by this summer.

It is not as yet possible to give an estimate of the number of people entitled to receive compensation or the estimated cost.

Entertainment Costs

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he has entertained Labour hon.Members at public expense in the last 12 months; and at what cost. [106390]

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Mr. Lammy: No meetings have taken place at public expense.

Ethnic Monitoring

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of (a) setting up and (b) maintaining the ethnic monitoring programme required by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000; [108845]

(2) what estimate he has made of the percentage of those registered with general practitioners who have (a) not responded to questionnaires for ethnic monitoring and (b) responded to ethnic monitoring questionnaires but declined to give details of ethnic or religious groups. [108843]

Mr. Hutton: The Department of Health does not collect this information centrally.

The collection of ethnic monitoring information is incorporated as an additional data item in existing national health service information systems, hence the cost of collecting this information cannot be disaggregated out from the total cost of NHS information.

The Department does not currently require general practitioners to collect ethnic monitoring information.

GP Contracts

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the average change in income received by a GP's surgery as a result of the proposed GP contract; and if he will make a statement. [109962]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 28 April 2003]: The new contract for general medical services negotiated between the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association and the NHS Confederation provides for an unprecedented level of additional investment in primary care services. If the contract is accepted, overall investment in England would rise by 33 per cent. The proposed Minimum Practice Income Guarantee will also mean that no practice loses out, provided it is achieving 100 quality points in 2004–05 and 150 in 2005–06. Most practices will see a substantial rise in gross income. The average increase will depend on what services general practitioner practices provide and the level of quality they achieve.

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on the impact the Carr Hill Resource Allocation formula will have on the budgets of GP practices; [110001]

(2) if he will make a statement on the progress made with the implementation of the new contract for GPs; [109999]

(3) if he will make a statement on the use of nominal lists rather than actual lists for the determination of resources allocated to GP practices. [110000]

Mr. Hutton [holding answers 28 April 2003]: The new contract for general medical services, negotiated between the NHS Confederation and the general practitioners committee (GPC) of the British Medical Association, was published on 26 February. Following

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the distribution, by the BMA in mid-March, of details of individual practice weighted populations, the GPC announced that it was postponing the ballot of its members on the contract so that concerns being raised about funding arrangements could be addressed.

The new allocation formula, adopted by the negotiators, will distribute resources according to patient needs. It takes account of six determinants of practice workload and circumstances:

Patient gender and age for frequency and length of surgery and home visit contacts


Patient gender and age for nursing and residential home consultations


Morbidity and mortality


Newly registered patients


Unavoidable costs of rurality, to take account of population density and dispersion


Unavoidable higher costs of living through a market forces factor applied to all practice staff.

The negotiators have confirmed, in a letter issued on 17 April, that they remain committed to the principle of redistributing resources according to patient needs as will happen with the new formula. They have also reconsidered how income protection can best be delivered, through a minimum practice income guarantee.

The negotiators have also considered using census-based lists rather than registered lists. They have concluded that an immediate move to registered lists would relatively disadvantage those with accurate patient lists but that a move to using registered lists is their ultimate aim.

A copy of the letter of 17 April has been placed in the Library. The negotiators are committed to sending clear guidance to all general practitioners on calculating potential income under the new contract. Implementation of the contract would follow the results of a ballot of the profession.

Health Visitors

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase health visitor numbers; what role the primary care trusts will have in this; and if they will receive extra funding to assist them. [109123]

Jacqui Smith: We have been successful in increasing the number of nurses working in the national health service with 39,500 more than in 1997, increasing the pool from which health visitors can be drawn.

Figures from workforce development confederations (WDCs) show they are planning to increase the number of health visitor training places they commission over the next two years.

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A number of initiatives are being taken forward to support primary care trusts with the recruitment, retention and return to practice of health visitors and other primary care practitioners. These include:

Establishment of a primary care nursing recruitment, retention and return practice project to support PCTs who have difficulties with the recruitment and retention of primary care nurses and health visitors.


Launch of a dedicated primary care recruitment advert and flyer to promote return to health visiting practice.


Commissioning of a primary care nursing workforce planning toolkit to support PCTs and WDCs.


Funding of a project to support PCTs in developing more flexible entry routes into primary care for nurses.

It is for PCTs and WDCs to determine the health visiting workforce required to tackle local and national health priorities and inequalities. 75 per cent. of the total NHS budget has now been allocated to PCTs and there will be sustained growth with an average 28 per cent. growth per PCT over the next three years.

Hospital Wards (Definition)

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 14 April 2003, Official Report, column 626W, on Ward (Definition), if he will place a copy of the data dictionary in the Library. [110891]

Mr. Hutton: The national health service data dictionary is maintained by the NHS Information Authority. To facilitate its updating and use, the dictionary is now available in an electronic form only. It is no longer produced in the form of a document which could be placed in the Library.

Access to the NHS data dictionary can now be made instead through the NHS Information Authority website at www.nhsia.nhs.uk/datastandards/pages/ddm/index.htm

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