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Accident Statistics

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the finding of the recent NAO report "A Safer Place to Work" that there is a significant disparity between the number of accidents logged in NHS trust accident and emergency reporting systems and the figures provided by trusts to the Department of Health. [120633]

Mr. Hutton: The National Audit Office (NAO) reported a 36 per cent. difference between data provided to the Department of Health by national health service trusts human resources departments and that from the health and safety leads.

NHS trusts accident and reporting systems are generally managed by human resources departments and are primarily concerned with data collection on accidents in relation to sickness absence. Trusts' health and safety leads collect data that are reportable under the "Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations" (RIDDOR) and "The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health" (COSHH) which require accidents to be reported only if they result in three days or more absence from work. The Department believes that this accounts for much of the difference in figures reported to the NAO.

Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals (Maternity Unit)

Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date the Directorate of Health and Social Care South was first informed that a locum consultant at the maternity unit of the Ashford and St. Peter's hospitals NHS Trust was the subject of a police investigation; and by whom. [120045]

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Ms Rosie Winterton: The Directorate of Health and Social Care South was first informed by the Ashford and St. Peter's hospitals national health service trust that the police were investigating the circumstances around an incident at the maternity unit on 27 May 2002.

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to local authorities about the use of section 20 of the Children Act 1989 in relation to unaccompanied children seeking asylum. [116758]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 9 June 2003]: I have been asked to reply.

Local Authority Circular (2003)13 was issued to authorities at the end of May. This circular sets out the position on the use of section 17 of the Children Act in relation to the provision of accommodation. The circular reminds authorities of the assessment process they should use for all children in need, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, to determine whether they should be accommodated under section 20 of the Children Act, and therefore become "looked after" children, or whether support under section 17 is more appropriate for their needs.

Buprenorphine

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will undertake a study in other European countries of the outcomes of drug treatment regimes which rely mainly upon opioid substitution treatment with buprenorphine. [121230]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The National Treatment Agency (NTA) has no plans to undertake such a study in other European countries. The NTA has a responsibility to review research and disseminate findings to enhance quality of drug treatment in this country.

The current evidence does not suggest that buprenorphine should replace methadone as a substitution treatment, but rather that burprenorphine should now be considered an addition to the range of pharmacological maintenance treatments. Information from specialists indicates that there has already been an increase in the use of buprenorphine (or Subutex) in the United Kingdom as an alternative to methadone.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what requests for information, advice or assistance he has made to countries where best practice for the treatment of opioid dependency relies on buprenorphine rather than heroin or methadone. [121231]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department has made no specific requests for information, advice or assistance around buprenorphine from other countries. The National Treatment Agency has a responsibility to review research and disseminate findings to enhance quality of drug treatment in this country.

The current evidence does not suggest that buprenorphine should replace methadone as a

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substitution treatment, but rather that burprenorphine should now be considered an addition to the range of pharmacological maintenance treatments. Information from specialists indicates that there has already been an increase in the use of buprenorphine (or Subutex) in the United Kingdom as an alternative to methadone.

Cancer Plan

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will provide a breakdown of the amount received by different services of the funding under the Cancer Plan; [120611]

(2) how much money each individual cancer network was given, (a) excluding and (b) including funding from central budgets, in financial years (i) 2001–02 and (ii) 2002–03; [120613]

(3) how each cancer network spent the extra money set aside under the Cancer Plan; [120614]

(4) whether cancer networks who invested less than 60 per cent. of the extra money for cancer services set aside under the Cancer Plan will receive extra funds from central government to increase their investment in cancer services; [120615]

(5) if he will provide a breakdown by capital project of the Cancer Plan money and how these projects affected service delivery. [120616]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Resources for funding cancer services have been included in general primary care trust (PCT) allocations for 2003–04 and in the general allocations to health authorities in previous years.

The Department published a report on 22 May from the national clinical director for cancer services, Professor Mike Richards, detailing investment in cancer services locally and from central budgets over the past two years. Copies are available in the Library. Further details are available at www.doh.gov.uk/cancer.

Investment in new cancer drugs has been the single largest element of expenditure. However, there has also been significant investment in other key areas, such as expanding the cancer workforce to improve access to diagnostic capacity and to help build specialist teams to deliver high quality treatment and care. Some networks have invested to extend services such as radiotherapy and strengthen existing services, such as screening.

The national report includes figures on spending on cancer drugs and new service developments in each network. Beyond this, strategic health authorities and cancer networks collected more detailed information, where possible, in the ways that were most appropriate to local circumstances. Networks specified their new service developments in a variety of formats and so it is not possible to give a national picture of how the money was spent, but networks have made further information available locally.

The report included a broad assessment of whether networks' spending had been in line with their expected share of the national totals. Some local variations were expected given that networks had differing starting

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points and differing local priorities, but investment in a few networks did fall short of the expected totals. However, PCTs are receiving an additional £12.7 billion over the three years 2003–04 to 2005–06. It is for PCTs in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national priorities, including the targets set for cancer in the three year priorities and planning framework.

In the financial year 2001–02, 71 computed tomography (CT) scanners (four additional and 67 replacement), 18 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners (13 additional and five replacement) and 33 linear accelerators (12 additional and 21 replacement) were delivered to the national health service from central budgets. The figures for 2002–03 were 40 CT scanners (17 additional and 23 replacement), 11 MRI scanners (seven additional and four replacement) and 17 linear accelerators (four additional and 13 replacement). The aim of this investment is to increase capacity in diagnostic services and begin to tackle inequalities in access to radiotherapy services. Each scanner will provide improved access to diagnostic imaging services to all patients, though the impact of the extra capacity in terms of waiting times will depend on local circumstances. The investment in linear accelerators will make available to patients the latest treatment technology.

Cardiac Surgeons

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to amend the system of star rating for cardiac surgeons to reflect risk-adjusted mortality rates. [120376]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Star ratings for unadjusted mortality for first time coronary artery bypass grafts by individual consultant cardiothoracic surgeons in England will be published in 2004. The Department of Health is working with the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons and the Nuffield Institute to develop a means of reflecting case mix in future publications in a way that is meaningful to both patients and clinicians. To support this work, the National Health Service Information Authority is working with individual trusts to ensure that the necessary information systems are in place.

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