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4 Jun 2003 : Column 504W—continued
Secondments
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 28th April, Official Report, column 293W, on secondments, if he will list the organisations to which civil servants in his Department have been seconded since 2001 in (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, stating in each case the number of civil servants seconded to that organisation and their grade. [114142]
Mr. Lammy: The organisations to which civil servants in the Department of Health have been seconded since 2001 are shown in the following table.
| Organisation | Number of civil servants | Grade of civil servant |
|---|---|---|
| Local Councils | 11/1/6 | IP4 (Grade 6/70 IP3 (HEO/SEO) IP2 (EO) |
| National Health Service | 7/54/20/9 | Senior Civil Servant IP4 (Grade 6/7) IP3 (HEO/SEO) IP2 (EO) |
| Other Government Departments | 9/3/3/2 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) IP3 (HEO/SEO) IP2 (EO) IPI (AA/AO) |
| Non-Departmental public bodies | 8/2 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) IP2 (EO) |
| European Departmental public bodies | 8/2 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| Ministere des Affaires Sociales—Paris | 1 | IP4 (grade 6/7) |
| National Radiological Protection Board | 1 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| Skills for Health (Health for Works UK) | 2 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| Learning Skills Council | 1 | IP3 (HEO/SEO) |
| Ministry of Health (Greece) | 1 | IP2 (EO) |
| Big Brothers and Sisters | 1 | IP3 (HEO/SEO |
| NHS Confederation | 2 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| Healthwork UK | 1 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| Barclays Bank | 1 | IP2 (EO) |
| University College | 1 | IP2 (EO/) |
| University of Leeds | 1 | IP3 (HEO/SEO) |
| Public Guardianship Office | 1 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| British Red Cross Society | 1 | Senior Civil Servant |
| World Health Organisation | 1 | Senior Civil Servant |
| St. Michael's Hospice, Hastings | 1 | IP2 (EO) |
| Association for Residential Care | 1 | IP3 (HEO/SEO) |
| MORI | 1 | IP2 (EO) |
| Golden Lane Housing | 1 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| Skills for People | 1 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE) | 1 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority | 1 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| Trust for the Study of Adolescence | 1 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
| Drugscope | 1 | IP3 (HEO/SEO) |
| National Children's Bureau | 1 | IP3 (HEO/SEO) |
| Health Advisory Service | 1 | IP3 (HEO/SEO) |
| Sport England | 1 | IP4 (Grade 6/7) |
Security Incidents
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 6 May, Official Report, column 665W, on security incidents, what definition of security incident is used in the figures provided; what the changes to the reporting procedures were; and where the acknowledgement was made that the level of recorded incidents was likely to rise in the short term. [114883]
Mr. Hutton: Up until March 2003 security incidents were reported to NHS Estates and the definition of a security incident used in the figures referred to was as follows:
- "the total number of security and deliberate violent incidents recorded by the organisation site for the reporting period. These include assaults on staff and client to client, and any incident requiring intervention by security personnel or police attendance".
On 1 April 2003, the National Health Service Counter Fraud and Security Management Service was launched with the responsibility of, in respect of security management, protecting the NHS—by delivering an environment for those who use or work in the NHS which is properly secure so that the highest possible standard of clinical care can be made available.
Sexual Health
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. [115075]
Ms Blears: We are taking a number of steps to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The Department has:
- Developed the first ever Sexual Health and HIV Strategy, which was published in July 2001. An implementation action plan was published in June 2002.
4 Jun 2003 : Column 505W
Launched a £4 million public information campaign, the "sex lottery", in December 2002. This promotes messages around safer sex and the use of condoms in a relevant and realistic way.
Invested £5 million last year and £10 million this year to improve access to genito-urinary medicine services and reduce waiting times.
Selected 10 areas to take forward the first phase of a national chlamydia screening programme. We will be calling for bids for inclusion in the second phase of the programme shortly.
Established an independent advisory group on sexual health, which met for the first time in May. The group will provide advice to the Government and monitor progress on the implementation of the Sexual Health and HIV Strategy including any further action necessary to achieve the strategy's aims. These include reducing the transmission of HIV and STIs and reducing the prevalence of undiagnosed HIV and STIs.
Biodefence
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding is available within his Department for (a) routine testing for (i) anthrax, (ii) botulism, (iii) staphylococcus enterotoxin B, (iv) ricin, (v) plague and (vi) smallpox and (b) research into biodefence. [109288]
Mr. Hutton: Funding for all routine testing for anthrax, botulism, staphylococcus enterotoxin B and plague is covered within the overall funding of diagnostic testing services across the National Health Service and is not separately identified. Routine testing for smallpox is not undertaken as this disease has been eradicated. Testing for Ricin is not undertaken within the NHS and is only undertaken at DSTL Porton Down.
Research into biodefence is co-ordinated across Government by the Home Office as part of its overall chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear programme. The Department of Health has funded a number of research projects from within its existing overall research programme to help plan the responses required in the event of a bioterrorist incident. The Department also provided funding of £2.4 million revenue and £8 million capital in 2002–03 for a strategic response capability at the Health Protection Agency Porton Down, formerly the Centre for Applied Microbiological Research. This response capability includes biodefence research.
Urban Animals
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact on public health of the change in numbers of (a) pigeons, (b) rats and (c) urban foxes in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [110151]
Ms Blears: The data on the species identified are not available. The abundance of pigeons, rats and urban foxes has not been brought to the attention of the UK Zoonoses Group or the previous Zoonoses Group for England as a national public health issue.
4 Jun 2003 : Column 506W
Waiting Times
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients admitted to accident and emergency departments waited more than 12 hours before being treated in each of the last two quarters for which figures are available; and what the average waiting time for patients waiting more than 12 hours is. [116735]
Mr. Lammy: Information is not collected on how long patients wait in Accident and Emergency before being treated or the average waiting time for patients in A&E.
Information is collected and published on total time spent in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge and on waiting times in A&E following a decision to admit patients to a hospital ward. The available information for the last two quarters is shown in the table.
| Percentage of patients who spent less than four hours in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge | Number of patients not placed in a bed in a ward within four hours of a decision to admit | |
|---|---|---|
| July to September 2002 | 77 | 56,581 |
| October to December 2003 | 78 | 67,231 |
Source:
Department of Health form QMAE
World Summit on Sustainable Development
Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which United Kingdom commitments arising from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (a) have been incorporated into the Department's existing delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements and (b) will be incorporated in its delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements in advance of the 2004 Spending Review. [113942]
Ms Blears [holding answer 22 May 2003]: The Government has made clear its commitment to implementing what was agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg. Details of those Departments with lead responsibility for taking this forward is available in the Library.
The Department of Health does not have a lead responsibility in relation to WSSD. Although there is no major direct health interest, poor water quality and sanitation, for example, are recognised causes of ill health and disease. Therefore, we are continuing to work with other Government Departments to ensure that, where appropriate, health and health care issues are included in the effective delivery of the UK commitments made in Johannesburg.
The Department is represented on the Government's new Sustainable Development Task Force announced by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in February 2003. The task force will play an important part in the review of the Government's Sustainable Development Strategy, which will take into account World Summit outcomes.