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Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether all social services departments have received the new, shorter guidance on aspects of child protection. [114725]

Jacqui Smith: "What To Do If You're Worried A Child Is Being Abused" was published on 19 May 2003. It is available on the Department of Health's website at: www.doh.gov.uk/safeguardingchildren/ and distribution of hard copies has now begun, including to local authority chief executives, and directors of social services to pass on to their staff. Copies are available in the Library.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in ensuring that children in custody are protected by the Children Act 1989. [114734]

Jacqui Smith: The duties of councils with social services responsibilities towards children, including those in prisons, are set out in the Children Act 1989 and its associated regulations and guidance.

The Department of Health is working with the Home Office, the Youth Justice Board and the Prison Service to consider the implications of Mr. Justice Munby's judgment in the recent judicial review case brought by the Howard League, together with Recommendation 2.8 of the Joint Chief Inspectors' report, "Safeguarding Children" (October 2002), which states that:

"The Home Office and Youth Justice Board should:


Issue revised guidance to the prison service and the ACPC member organisations on the requirements and arrangements to safeguard children in prisons and Young Offender Institutions."


Note:

ACPC—Area Child Protection Committee.

Children's National Service Framework

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether targets to improve the treatment of specific common conditions will be included in the Children's National Service Framework. [114765]

Jacqui Smith: The Children's National Service Framework will set out standards for a wide range of children's and young people's services. Rather than

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address specific conditions and related targets, the standards are likely to outline what support should be available to children and their parents in managing a range of conditions and problems. This will emphasise the promotion of evidence-based clinical guidelines and will provide examples of good practice.

Continuing Care

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 8 May 2003, Official Report, column 867W, on continuing care funding, what the procedure is for estimating the numbers of people who may have been wrongly denied continuing care; what the estimates are for each area; and what estimate he has made of the cost of the care which was wrongly denied. [113352]

Jacqui Smith: The procedure is based on local information about the nursing home population. The estimate of numbers and costs have not yet been completed.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 8 May 2003, Official Report, column 867W, on continuing care funding, how many strategic health authorities were contacted by his Department to seek out further information regarding their continuing care guidance; and if he will make a statement. [113414]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 15 May 2003]: The Department contacted all strategic health authorities.

Criminal Offences

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new criminal offences have been created in legislation drawn up by his Department since 1997. [109537]

Mr. Hutton: The Department of Health has created 74 criminal offences in legislation passed since 1997, of which 26 criminal offences replace those contained in earlier legislation. A list of the legislation and the offences has been placed in the Library.

Departmental Underspending

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce his Department's underspend in 2003–04 from that of 2002–03. [112772]

Mr. Hutton: The 2003 Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses, published on Tuesday 6 May, shows a current estimated underspend of £227 million in 2002–03, this is less than 0.4 per cent, of total provision. Planned spending for 2003–04 will be published in the departmental report.

Enuresis

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which standards in the Children's National Service Framework will cover improving the treatment of enuresis and paediatric continence. [114766]

Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) on 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 87W.

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European Working Groups

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on progress with achieving transparency in respect of the European working groups for which his Department is responsible. [105741]

Mr. Hutton: The Government have long been committed to greater openness in European Union institutions. This was a key theme of the United Kingdom's presidencies in 1992 and 1998. Making it easier to gain access to non-sensitive documents is crucial to this. The Government welcomed Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. As a result, more documents are released to the public, while genuinely sensitive documents are given the protection they need.

Accountability and transparency of council business to Parliament are ensured by the scrutiny process, to which the Government are also firmly committed.

We strongly supported the measures agreed at the Seville European Council to make the Council more open when in legislating mode. We remain committed to increasing transparency. The Future of Europe Convention is also looking at ways to make the EU more open.

Foundation Hospitals

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether foundation hospitals will provide services unavailable in normally-funded hospitals. [114005]

Mr. Hutton: National Health Service foundation trusts will be established with the principal purpose of providing NHS services to NHS patients. Services in NHS foundation trusts will, as now, be commissioned by primary care trusts.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals he estimates will have Foundation Status by April 2004. [114869]

Mr. Hutton: Subject to legislation, the first wave of national health service foundation trusts will be established in April 2004. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced in his written statement on 14 May 2003, Official Report, columns 9–10WS, 29 NHS trusts are entering the preparatory stage for NHS foundation trust status. Each application for NHS foundation trust status will need the support of the Secretary of State. The applications will be submitted by autumn 2003.

Framework Convention for Tobacco Control

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the state of negotiations over the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, and his policy on it. [112841]

Ms Blears: Negotiations first began on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2000 and the final negotiating round concluded on 1 March 2003 with the production of a draft text for transmission to the World Health Assembly. The text is due to be agreed by consensus at the World Health Assembly. The Government indicated its support for this World Health

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Organisation initiative in the 1998 White Paper, Smoking Kills. Since then, the Government has been firmly committed to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the Government intends to support its adoption.

Fresh Air Charter

Mr. Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet the British Asthma Society to discuss the Breath of Fresh Air Charter; and if he will make a statement. [111112]

Mr. Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has responded to the National Asthma Campaign's Ten Point Charter for asthma sufferers. [110659]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 6 May 2003]: The charter was launched by the National Asthma Campaign on 6 May and sets out ten rights that a person with asthma might expect from the National Health Service. During an adjournment debate on the same day I welcomed the publication of the charter and outlined progress on developing asthma care.

Health Indicators

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to address the impact of health indicators on differences in life expectancy between different London boroughs. [113910]

Mr. Hutton: The Government has a Public Service Agreement target to reduce inequalities in health outcomes by 10 per cent., as measured by infant mortality and life expectancy at birth. In order to track progress towards this high level target, local indicators can be used to assess the effect of action on geographical health inequalities. The process of developing the London Health Strategy included identifying a set of 10 such indicators that would be used to measure changes over time and to monitor progress towards reducing health inequalities. This includes an indicator on life expectancy at birth.

The indicators can be used to contribute to a picture of inequalities in health across London's population, including variations between London boroughs and to establish whether action taken is having the desired effect.

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