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17 Jul 2003 : Column 638W—continued
Departmental Staff
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for redeployment of members of his Department out of London and the South East. [125388]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The scope for relocating Government activity is being considered by Sir Michael Lyons. His independent review was announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Budget Statement on 9 April.
Details of the review, including the consultation launched on 19 June, can be found on the Her Majesty's Treasury's website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.
Sir Michael will report his findings on the scope for relocating Departments and other public sector bodies before the end of the year.
Drug Treatment
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were referred by their GP for drug addiction treatment in the last two years. [121839]
Miss Melanie Johnson: 24,605 patients were recorded as being referred for drug treatment by general practitioners or psychiatrists in the last two years, to 31 March 2001, for which figures are available. However the actual number may be higher because over the same period the source of referral was not recorded in a further 19,223 cases.
Jane Griffiths:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the waiting time targets for (a) in-patient detoxification, (b) community prescribing by specialist,
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(c) community prescribing by GP, (d) structured counselling, (e) structured day care and (f) residential rehabilitation have been met. [124076]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The National Treatment Agency (NTA)'s April 2003 target of four or six weeks wait, depending on the type of treatment, has been achieved in most areas of the country and for most types of treatment. We are also on target to achieve the April 2004 target of a two or three week wait, again depending on the kind of treatment. However, average waits for in-patient detoxification and residential rehabilitation are both exceeding the national target by one week. Areas which exceed these averages are being targeted by the NTA.
Drug Reactions
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the nurse reporting figures for adverse drug reactions were for each month since the scheme started, broken down by those under the (a) e-yellow card and (b) paper based yellow card scheme. [124563]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to medicines are collated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Committee on Safetyof Medicines (CSM) through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme.
The table shows the number of suspected adverse drug reaction reports which the CSM/MHRA have received each month from nurses since the scheme was launched on 31October 2002, broken down by:
The table shows figures related to the number of reports received. Some reports may contain more than one suspected ADR.
Eating Disorders
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum travelling distance is for patients with anorexia to travel to specialist health care services. [125097]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on Wednesday 16 July. Information is not collected centrally about the travelling distances that may be involved when patients are referred for treatment for this severe condition. However, Professor Louis Appleby, national director for mental health, is
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leading a new programme of work to review provision of specialised services in a number of areas. Specialised services for people with anorexia are being considered first. Alongside the guideline being developed by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, this will be of great benefit to those with responsibility for developing services for this severe condition.
Entitlement Card Scheme
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with the Home Office about the (a) possible introduction of an entitlement card scheme, (b) the use to which such a card would be put on the matters for which he is responsible and (c) the costs and funding of the scheme; and if he will make a statement. [124941]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer Friday 11 July]: There have been discussions between the Department of Health and the Home Office about a number of issues since the publication of the Government's consultation paper on entitlement cards and identity fraud. These have included circumstances where National Health Service staff need to check the identity of patients, strategies for reducing fraud, the current use of the NHS number for NHS purposes, the importance of protecting confidentiality of health information and various technical issues.
EU Directives
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the EU directives implemented by the Department since 8 June 2001. [126598]
Mr. Hutton: The Department of Health has led on the implementation of nine Directives and two Regulations since 8 June 2001. The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which deals with issues of food safety, has led with the implementation of 11 Directives since 8 June 2001. The number of Regulations, which FSA are responsible for, and have direct effect in UK law is 19. A full list of these have been placed in the Library.
EU Medical Research
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what level of priority is given to rheumatoid arthritis under EU Framework Programme 6; [125261]
(2) if he will list the funding areas for medical research under EU Framework Programme 6, and those proposed for Framework Programme 7; [125262]
(3) what levels of funding are allocated for research into (a) autoimmune diseases and (b) rheumatoid arthritis under EU Framework Programme 6; and what sums are expected under Framework Programme 7; [125263]
(4) if he will make it his policy to press for (a) autoimmune disease to be a specific funding area under EU Framework Programme 7, and (b) rheumatoid arthritis to be included as one of the key autoimmune disease. [125264]
Dr. Ladyman:
The broad priority areas for medical research funded under Framework Programme 6 are described in Specific Programme 1: "Integrating and strengthening the European Research Area" (2002–06).
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This document is available on the website of the Community Research & Development Information Service at www.cordis.lu. Also available are the work programmes for the first two calls for proposals issued under Thematic Priority 1 (Life Sciences, Genomics and Biotechnology for Health) within Specific Programme 1. Chronic inflammation and autoimmunity are identified as important areas in these work programmes and a number of related topics are listed. The budgets allocated to each work programme are not broken down to the level of individual topics.
The European Commission is not expected to announce its proposals for Framework Programme 7 (FP7) until 2005. The Government plans to carry out a public consultation on the United Kingdom policy lines for FP7 by early 2004. The Department of Health will seek to ensure that the content of FP7 reflects the research priorities and clinical needs of the UK.
European Constitution
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) colleagues in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and (b) counterparts in the European Union about the legislative competencies covered by the draft European constitution. [124779]
Mr. Hutton: Department of Health officials and I have had regular correspondence and meetings with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss all aspects of the Convention on the Future of Europe, including legislative competencies. We have also been in regular contact with colleagues in member and accession states. Contact is expected to be maintained throughout the forthcoming Inter-Governmental Conference, expected to begin in October, to ensure that the United Kingdom's key objectives are met.
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