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Thrombolytic Treatment

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set for the NHS on the wait for eligible patients between their call for professional help and receiving thrombolytic treatment. [111397]

Ms Blears: The national service framework for coronary heart disease and the NHS Plan, both published in 2000, set a service standard of 60 minutes from the time of calling for professional help for the administration of thrombolytic treatment to clinically eligible heart attack patients. This standard is reflected in the Priorities and Planning Framework 2003–2006, published in October 2002, which required the national health service to deliver a 10 percentage point increase per year over the national figure for 2002 of 38 per cent. of patients treated within the 60 minute target period.

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of eligible patients waited less than 60 minutes between their call for professional help and receiving thrombolytic treatment, (a) for the latest day for which figures are available and (b) for previous recent periods in the last 12 months for which data was collected. [111398]

Ms Blears: National data show that for the first quarter of 2003, 43 per cent., of clinically eligible heart attack patients were treated with thrombolytic drugs within 60 minutes of calling for professional help. The overall figure for 2002 was 37 per cent., rising from 32 per cent., in the first quarter to 38 per cent., 39 per cent., and 40 per cent., respectively in the subsequent quarters.

12 May 2003 : Column 113W

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence he has collated on the number of lives that could be saved by reducing the time between (a) the onset of symptoms and (b) arrival in hospital and the start of thrombolytic treatment. [111399]

Ms Blears: Studies involving more than 150,000 patients have demonstrated the overwhelming benefit of treating heart attack patients with thrombolytic drugs within 12 hours of developing symptoms. Early treatment results in 65 lives per 1,000 saved if patients are treated within the first hour and 37 lives per 1,000 if treated within the first two hours.

EU Committees

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU committee on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products, (b) the number of times, and the dates, on which it has met since January 2002, (c) the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, (d) the decisions it has made since January 2002 and (e) the means used to communicate the decisions to the House. [110279]

Ms Blears: The Tobacco Policy Team leader, Grade 6, sits on the committee established under article 10 of Directive 2001/37/EC. The committee has met twice since January 2002, on 23 September 2002 and 10 February 2003. The first meeting was inquorate. The second adopted its rules of procedure and primarily discussed the European Commission's draft decision on the use of photographic warnings on tobacco packaging. No decisions were taken on the use of photographic warnings, as the Commission is due to circulate a further draft, on which the committee will be invited to submit an opinion. There was also a general discussion at this second meeting on the implementation of the Directive in member states.

Tuberculosis

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the incidence of tuberculosis in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years. [110319]

Ms Blears: The incidences of tuberculosis for England and Wales reported to the Health Protection Agency and formerly the Public Health Laboratory Service are shown in the table.

Year	Incidence rates per 100,000 of the population
1992	11.31
1993	11.51
1994	10.83
1995	10.82
1996	10.87
1997	11.22
1998	11.61
1999	11.66
2000	12.41
2001	12.90

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Weil's Disease

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of Weil's disease there were in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [110150]

Ms Blears: The numbers of cases of human leptospirosis (Well's Disease) in England and Wales reported to the Health Protection Agency's Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre over the last five years are shown in the table.

	Number
1998	30
1999	41
2000	54
2001	27
2002	48
Total	200

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Millennium Dome

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement about the future of the Millennium Dome; and when he expects to be able to stop putting public money into the project. [112120]

Mr. McNulty: English Partnerships (EP) took over full responsibility for the Dome in July 2001. It will remain responsible for the Dome, and will continue to pay for its upkeep, until the commercial deal between EP and Meridian Delta Ltd (MDL) becomes unconditional. EP and MDL signed contracts on 29 May 2002, to develop much of the Greenwich Peninsula, including a new use for the Dome. The deal is conditional primarily on securing a planning permission satisfactory to the contracting parties.

On 23 December 2002, MDL, EP, Anschutz Entertainment Group and Quintain Estates and Development submitted a planning application to the London Borough of Greenwich (LBG), for a 26,000 capacity arena inside the Dome, with associated facilities, and a new masterplan covering 190 acres of the Greenwich Peninsula.

LBG's Planning Committee considered the planning application on 16 April 2003 and resolved unanimously that it is minded to grant permission subject to a number of conditions and resolution of section 106 negotiations. The next stage, as part of the normal planning process, will be for LBG to refer the application to the Mayor and First Secretary of State.

As the application is going through the statutory planning process it is not possible to say when the Dome will be handed over to the private sector. While EP is responsible for meeting the costs of maintaining the Dome, it continues to seek short-term and one-off events to keep the Dome in use and help defray costs.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the costs of maintaining the Millennium Dome have been each month; and from which departmental budget this money has come. [112127]

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Mr. McNulty: English Partnerships (EP) took over full responsibility for the Dome in July 2001, and will continue to fund its management and maintenance until the commercial deal between EP and Meridian Delta Ltd (MDL) becomes unconditional.

EP meets the costs associated with the Dome from resources made available to it by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The average monthly cost incurred by EP for management, maintenance and security, including associated staff costs, for the period July 2001 to February 2003, was around £250,000, or £5 million for the whole period.

In addition to the management, maintenance and security of the Dome, EP has also incurred Dome-related costs, up until the end of February 2003, comprising: £6.5 million for decommissioning the contents of the Dome and its site in preparation for the future long-term use; £6.3 million in connection with the current sale process; and £6.7 million for the previous competition to find a long-term use for the Dome.

All of the above costs amount to a total figure of £24.5 million, to the end of February 2003. These costs will be recovered from sale proceeds.

Mr. Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total cost has been to public funds of the millennium Dome project. [107951]

Mr. McNulty [pursuant to the answer, 10 April 2003, Official Report, c. 357W]: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), was responsible for building the Dome and running the Millennium Experience. NMEC was allocated £628 million of National Lottery funds from the Millennium Commission for the Millennium Experience, which included the associated national programme of events across the United Kingdom as well as the Dome at Greenwich. NMEC is currently in solvent liquidation and it is expected that some £25 million of this grant facility will not be required.

Up to the end of December 2002, English Partnerships (EP) had incurred a total cost of £23.5 million. This includes, from 1 July 2001—when EP took over the ownership of the Dome—£4.6 million for the management, maintenance and security of the Dome; £6.5 million for decommissioning the contents of the Dome and its site in preparation for the future long-term use; and £5.7 million in connection with the sale process. It also includes £6.7 million for the previous competition to find a long-term use for the Dome. All of these costs incurred by EP in relation to the Dome will be recovered from sale proceeds.

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