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9 Jul 2003 : Column 857W—continued
Road Obstructions
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times roads in the vicinity of Cluan Place/Short Strand have been obstructed by persons without lawful authority over the past 12 months; and how many persons have been summoned to appear in court charged with obstruction contrary to Article 88 of the Roads (Northern Ireland) Order 1993. [R] [118246]
Jane Kennedy: In the past 12 months, roads in the vicinity of Cluan Place/Short Strand have been obstructed without lawful authority 52 times. During this same period six persons have been recommended for prosecution.
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The above is the figure currently recorded. It may be subject to revision.
Victim Groups
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding bodies have responsibility for allocating funds to groups and organisations dealing with victims issues; how much each such body has allocated to victims groups in the last financial year; and how much each of the victims groups which were allocated funding received in the last financial year. [120361]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to Question reference 106241 in respect of the first two parts of this Question. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman once the information relating to the remaining part of this Question has been collated.
HEALTH
Caesarean Deliveries
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the percentage was of Caesarean deliveries in each NHS maternity unit in 2001. [123477]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on the percentage of caesarean deliveries in each NHS maternity unit in 2001–02 has been placed in the Library. The information is taken from the data published in National Health Service Maternity Statistics, England 2001/2002. The bulletin, number 2003/09, was published on 16 May 2003. A copy has been placed in the Library and is also available on the Department of Health's website at www.doh.uk/public/sb0309.htm
Care Homes
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were available in care homes in (a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire in each year since 1st January 1996. [123907]
Dr. Ladyman: The latest available information on the number of residential and nursing care home places in Buckinghamshire since 1996 is shown in the table. Information on the number of carehome places in Chesham and Amersham is not centrally available.
| Total number of care home places(15) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As at 31 March | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
| Buckinghamshire Area(16) | 4,710 | 4,140 | 5,310 | 5,350 | 5,300 | 5,380 |
(15) Total includes places in residential LA staffed, independent and dual registered homes, and beds in general and mental nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics.
(16) Nursing home data refers to Buckinghamshire Health Authority. For comparative purposes, residential data refers to Buckinghamshire Shire County for the years 1996 and 1997 and Buckinghamshire Shire County and Milton Keynes Unitary Authority for 1998 onwards (Milton Keynes Unitary Authority did not exist prior to 1998).
Source:
RA Form A and KO36, RH(N) forms, Department of Health
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Commission forPublic Patient Involvement in Health
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department has made to ensure that the Commission for Public Patient Involvement in Health will evaluate and learn from the trial Independent Complaints and Advocacy Service. [124403]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department of Health has commissioned a final evaluation exercise of the independent complaints advocacy service (ICAS) pilots that have been running since 1 September 2002.
A report will be published at the beginning of October 2003 and presented to the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) that has the function (under the NHS Reform and Healthcare Professions Act 2002) to consult on ICASstandards and monitor provision.
Feedback from the ICAS pilots has informed the ICAS service that the Department of Health will commission for provision from 1 September 2003.
Community Health Councils
Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Government's proposals for the future of community health councils and the prospects of the people who serve them. [123424]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my hon. Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mr. Lammy) on Wednesday 4 June, Official Report, columns 22–23WS. The Department of Health continues to work with trades unions to provide support to community health council staff to find alternative employment in the National Health Service. The Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, through the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales, has invited community health council members to express an interest in serving on the new patients' forums.
Dentistry
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the results of the Dental Workforce Review. [123611]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We aim to publish the results of the National Workforce Review, including workforce planning assumptions for the National Health Service and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, later this year.
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what preparations he is making for the commissioning of dental services by primary care trusts, with particular reference to the support and training to be provided to primary cary trusts; and what estimate he has made of the levels of funding that primary care trusts will receive to fund local NHS dentistry services. [123612]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Workshops for primary care trusts (PCTs) and for dentists have been run by the NHS Modernisation Agency with the support of the NHS Confederation and the involvement of the Department of Health to consider these matters. Following appraisal
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of these events, discussions are taking place with strategic health authorities about what form of support would best ensure a successful transition.
Subject to Parliament, funding for primary dental services will be allocated to PCTs. These funds, hitherto held centrally and administered by the Dental Practice Board, will then be part of PCTs' general allocation. Current spending will be protected and in the longer term, allocations will need to take health needs into account, as general allocationscurrently do. In some areas that may mean making additional funding for dentistry available to PCTs so that they can begin to address the long-term oral health inequalities that many of them face. That would be taken into account in future allocations within the framework of the funding formula.
Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research he has commissioned on (a) the financial advantages for dentists who move to private practice from the national health service and (b) the reasons why dentists choose to move to private practice. [124046]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department has not commissioned research on the financial advantages for dentists who move to private practice from the national health service or the reasons why dentists choose to move to private practice.
It is widely recognised that some dentists initially chose to increase their proportion of private practice as a consequence of the new contract introduced in 1990. The contract was implemented without fully piloting many of the changes it contained. As a result of problems with the new arrangements, there was a reduction in dentists' fees in 1992 to stabilise the system.
It has been identified in successive reports from Bloomfield's "Fundamental Review of Remuneration" in 1992 to the Health Select Committee in 2001 that dentists' current main cause of disaffection with the NHS is the way in which they are paid. The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill puts in place a framework by which it will be possible to pay dentists differently and reward them for different types of work. This will mark a move away from the current item of service system, which many dentists complain of.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) published a report in March into the private dentistry market in the UK. The government welcomed the report and share the OFT's concerns about the market. One of the broad conclusions of the OFT's survey research was that dentists face very little competitive pressure. It is therefore relatively easy for dentists to enter the private market and retain their patients, who may "lack the information necessary to make informed choices", according to the report.
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