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10 Jul 2003 : Column 1001W—continued

Communicable Diseases

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are suffering from (a) tuberculosis and (b) pulmonary tuberculosis in each primary care trust; and how many staff each trust employs to oversee their treatment in the community. [120432]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Health Protection Agency are responsible for collecting data on tuberculosis notifications. Information can be found at http://www. phls.co.uk/topics az/tb.

Data cannot yet be provided by primary care trust.

The number of staff employed is not held centrally.

Contingency Plans

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts have not conducted a practical exercise to test their major incident plan. [121345]

Mr. Hutton: Every national health service trust is required to test its contingency plans and satisfy its health authority (HA) that they are effective. Earlier this year all HAs reported that they were satisfied with the plans of NHS trusts. The health emergency planning advisers of the Health Protection Agency (HPA) facilitate exercises for the NHS. Details of these exercises are being collated by the HPA. Summaries of the outcomes of the exercises will be disseminated across the NHS to share good practice.

Doctors (Home Visits)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the minimum standards are for out of hours on call doctors (a) to speak by telephone to a patient and (b) to visit a patient at home. [121071]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 23 June 2003]: Following the Carson Review in 2000, standards for out-of-hours primary medical services are set by regulations. These require patients to be clinically assessed within 30 minutes of their telephone call. If that assessment

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determines that a doctor needs to visit a patient at home, emergencies must be visited within an hour, urgent cases within two hours and less urgent cases within six hours.

Drug/Alcohol Dependency

Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people who presented to treatment services for drugs and alcohol problems in the last 12 months had mental health problems. [123935]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not available centrally. However, the importance of providing services for drug and alcohol misusers is well recognised. Research suggests that there is extensive co-occurrence of other psychiatric disorders and substance misuse problems.

Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are (a) in place and (b) planned to identify the extent to which those with drugs or alcohol problems also suffer mental health problems. [123936]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health publication, "Dual Diagnosis Good Practice Guide" (2002), sets out policy and good practice in the provision of mental health services for people with severe mental health problems who are also experiencing difficulties with any drug, including alcohol.

The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA), in partnership with the Department, has published "Models of Care", which sets out a national framework for the commissioning of an integrated drug treatment system for adult drug misusers in England. "Models of Care" provides detailed guidance on the provision of services for psychiatric co-morbidity (dual diagnosis).

A national programme, entitled Opening Doors to Drug Treatment, is also being delivered in partnership by the NTA and the National Institute for Mental Health in England.

Dysphasia

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to support self-help groups for people with aphasia; [123392]

(2) what plans he has to increase funding for services used by people with dysphasia; [123397]

(3) what steps the Government have taken to support Connect centres for those suffering with dysphasia; and if he plans to extend them to (a) other parts of the country and (b) Oxfordshire. [123398]

Mr. Hutton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) now have the responsibility of improving the health of the community, securing the provision of high quality services and integrating health and social care locally. They have the resources to commission services and to identify the number of professional staff that they need to deliver those services.

In making their commissioning decisions, PCTs will need to consider how best to use a range of providers for the benefit of national health service patients. PCTs may fund local support groups for a range of conditions

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including aphasia and dysphasia, if they have identified this as a need when assessing the health needs of the local community. They will need also to consider how best to use voluntary sector providers.

"Connect" is a voluntary sector organisation, which is free to apply for Section 64 grant scheme funding at national or local level. The development of their centres is primarily a matter for them.

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Department has to provide funding for computer-based therapy programmes for people with dysphasia. [123396]

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Mr. Hutton: It is for local clinicians and primary care trusts to consider the use of particular clinical approaches, and their funding, in the provision of local services.

Emergency Planning

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) mobile decontamination units and (b) personal protective equipment suits have been given to each Ambulance Service NHS Trust; and what representations he has received on the condition of this equipment. [122104]

Mr. Hutton: The table shows the provision of mobile decontamination units and personal protective suits (PPE) to each national health service ambulance trust in England from the overall allocation to the NHS of £5 million in 2002–03.

Ambulance Service NHS trusts	Mobile decontamination units	PPE suits
Avon Ambulance Service	4	100
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Ambulance and Paramedic Service	4	100
Cumbria Ambulance Service	6	150
Dorset Ambulance Service	4	100
East Anglian Ambulance Service	8	200
East Midlands Ambulance Service	6	150
Essex Ambulance Service	4	100
Gloucestershire Ambulance Service	4	100
Greater Manchester Ambulance Service	6	150
Hampshire Ambulance Service	6	150
Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service	4	50
Isle of Wight Healthcare	4	100
Kent Ambulance Service	6	150
Lancashire Ambulance Service	6	150
Lincolnshire Ambulance Service	4	100
London Ambulance Service	14	350
Mersey Regional Ambulance Service	8	200
North East Ambulance Service	8	200
Oxfordshire Ambulance Service	4	100
Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service	4	100
South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service	4	100
Staffordshire Ambulance Service	0	0
Surrey Ambulance Service	6	150
Sussex Ambulance Service	4	100
Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service	6	150
Two Shires Ambulance Service	4	100
Warwickshire Ambulance Service	1	70
West Midlands Ambulance Service	3	75
West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service	4	100
West Country Ambulance Services	16	400
Wiltshire Ambulance Service	4	100
Total	166	4,145

Note:

Staffordshire Ambulance Service has not been issued with new PPE equipment, as it has shown it can operate effectively with adapted military techniques with its existing equipment.

The Department was informed of some early operational problems, which have been rectified.

Food Additives

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process is in place to enable the assessment of interactions between food additives individually approved for use in food products. [123831]

Miss Melanie Johnson: All food additives undergo a rigorous safety assessment by European Union and United Kingdom scientific committees prior to approval. As part of the approval process, a maximum permitted level of use is set to ensure that intakes do not exceed the acceptable daily intake (ADI). An ADI is the amount of an additive that can be consumed on a daily basis over a lifetime without causing any adverse health effects. For groups of additives having a similar biological mode of action, the ADI is set for the group as a whole, thereby taking account of possible interactions.

Food Supplements

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) his Department and (b) the Food Standards Agency is seeking to permit for sale products which are not included in the Food Supplements Directive list of permitted ingredients, but are recognised as safe and appropriately labelled. [123050]

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Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government have already secured provisions which enable member states to allow the continued sale of products which do not comply with the Directive's compositional requirements up to 31 December 2009 provided certain criteria are met. The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003, which implement the Directive in England, make full use of this flexibility.

In addition, the Food Standards Agency is urgently seeking a meeting with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and relevant interest groups to discuss the content of safety dossiers for those vitamins and minerals and their sources currently excluded from the permitted lists. The EFSA has responded positively and we expect a meeting to be arranged within the next couple of months.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assurances he has received that the assessment being compiled by the EU Scientific Committee for Foods about the Upper Safe Limit intake of vitamins and minerals is based on scientific evidence; and if he will make a statement. [123155]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The European Community Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) established a task force of independent experts with expertise in medicine, nutrition, toxicology, biology, chemistry and related disciplines. The approach taken by the SCF task force in reviewing the upper levels of daily intakes of individual vitamins and minerals is based on an internationally agreed risk assessment model. This process takes into account all relevant scientific evidence. Following the formation of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), this work will be completed by the new EFSA expert panel on dietetic products, nutrition and allergies, which will be advised by the former SCF task force. The report of the United Kingdom expert group on vitamins and minerals on safe upper levels for vitamins and minerals has been sent to EFSA to be considered by the EFSA panel.

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why (a) sodium and calcium ascorbate, and (b) sodium, potassium and calcium hydroxide have been included on the positive list in Annex II of the EU Food Supplements Directive; and why magnesium ascorbate has not been included. [123562]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The list of permitted nutrients in Schedule 2 to the Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 is drawn directly from the list of permitted vitamins and minerals in Annex II to the Food Supplements Directive. This list was drawn directly from established lists in existing Community food legislation.

The annexes to the Food Supplements Directive remain open, pending safety assessment of additional substances on the basis of dossiers submitted in support of the safe use of substances currently omitted from the annexes.

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 720W, on food supplements, what representations he has received from BioCare since 1 January 2003. [123622]

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Miss Melanie Johnson: No such representations have been received from BioCare. However, since 1 January 2003, correspondence has been received from an hon. Member and from a Member of the European Parliament referring to representations from BioCare. My hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State (Ms Blears) responded on 1 April and 1 March respectively, explaining the rationale for establishment of the list in Annex II to the Directive, indicating that the Government are doing what they can to facilitate submission of dossiers supporting additions to the list and committing the Government to continuing to press for a safety-based approach to setting of European Union maximum limits in order to prevent unnecessary restrictions to consumer choice.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the conclusions were of the Regulatory Impact Assessment undertaken by the Food Standards Agency in relation to the Food Supplements (England) Regulations; and what steps he intends to take to address the issues of those missing nutrients which pose a threat to the UK food supplements industry. [120437]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The United Kingdom is obliged to implement the provisions of Directive 2002/46/EC into national legislation. The conclusions of the regulatory impact assessment undertaken in relation to the Food Supplement (England) Regulations 2003 were that making the current Regulations was the best option available. It maintains the widest possible consumer choice of safe and properly labelled food supplements consistent with the Directive, and imposes the minimum burden on industry.

The lists of permitted vitamins/minerals and their sources in the Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 can be extended if additions are made to the permitted lists in the annexes to the Food Supplements Directive 2002/46/EC on which the Regulations are based. These annexes remain open pending safety assessment of additional vitamins and minerals and their sources. Industry is currently working to compile safety dossiers for some of the vitamins and minerals and their sources currently omitted from the Annexes.

The Food Standards Agency, in recognition of the difficulties associated with dossier production, and the timescale for dossier submission, is pressing the European Food Safety Authority for an urgent, substantive meeting with relevant parties to discuss dossier requirements.

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