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Rough Sleepers

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of health and improvement modernisation plans set out a policy on rough sleepers. [125850]

Mr. Hutton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are now the lead organisation responsible for planning health care services that better meet local needs. PCTs have the key role, through local delivery plans (LDPs), in representing the national health service in broader local planning arrangements around health improvement and partnerships with key local agencies. PCTs have the freedom to determine locally how they best address issues such as rough sleeping through their LDPs. As it is a matter for local decision making, the Department would not prescribe or monitor centrally how PCTs have locally addressed this particular issue.

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Smallpox and TB Vaccines

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with companies involved in the bidding process for contracts to supply (a) smallpox vaccines and (b) TB vaccines; and whether Dr. Paul Drayson was referred to. [109092]

Mr. Hutton: The Department awarded a contract for the supply of smallpox vaccine on 11 April 2002. Prior to this, officials from the Department met with Powderject on 22 January 2002 as part of confidential discussions held with the five major pharmaceutical companies known to have smallpox vaccine manufacturing capability.

The meeting was to inform the companies of our requirements for smallpox vaccine and to find out whether the company was in a position to meet our requirements and if so, to invite them to submit their written proposals for vaccine supply. Since the award of the contract to Powderject, there were regular ad hoc meetings between officials from the Department and the Ministry of Defence with Powderject to resolve matters of detail concerning labelling and packaging and delivery of the vaccine. As all discussions with the company were confidential, the names of those present can not be revealed in accordance with normal policy.

The Department will shortly be completing a second tranche of smallpox procurement. On 10 January 2003, officials from the Department met with representatives of all companies who had expressed an interest in bidding for the contract. An adjudication meeting was held on 12 May 2003 with representatives of two companies whose bids met the criteria for supply. On 30 July, the Government announced its intention to award the contract to Aventis Pasteur MSD. It is regarded as best practice, for reasons of commercial confidentiality, that the names of those unsuccessful companies who submitted bids are not revealed.

The Department has had no discussions with companies involved in the bidding process for BCG and Tuberculin PPD. These contract negotiations are dealt with by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency on behalf of the Department.

Waiting Times

Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were waiting (a) 0–4 weeks, (b) 4–13 weeks, (c) 13–17 weeks, (d) 17–21 weeks, (e) 21–26 weeks and (f) more than 26 weeks from the receipt of a GP written referral request to a first specialty outpatient attendance in (i) pain management and (ii) ophthalmology in each quarter since Quarter 1 of 1996–97 for each NHS trust and primary care trust and for England as a whole. [127025]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested is being held in the Library. Patients still waiting over 26 weeks for first consultant outpatient appointment following general practitioner written referral have reduced from end of quarter 1 1996–97 for the ophthalmology specialty from 4,845 to 3 in quarter 4 2002–03. Prior to quarter 1 1997–98 the pain management specialty was a sub-set of the anaesthetic specialty. For the pain management specialty, the reduction in patients still waiting over 26 weeks was 479 in quarter 1 1997–98 to 0 in quarter 4 2002–03.

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Monday 8 September 2003

CABINET OFFICE

Government E-services

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his additional duties as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster encompass the Government's UK online agenda responsibilities. [127080]

Mr. Alexander: As Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster I am responsible to the Sovereign for the administration of the Duchy.

Among other wider Cabinet Office responsibilities, I am responsible for leading and supporting the e-transformation in government of which UK online is part. This falls to me in my role as Minister for the Cabinet Office with oversight of the Office of the e-Envoy and not in my role as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what action he is taking to make more on-line Government services available to people over 65. [128200]

Mr. Alexander: Ensuring high levels of take-up of online services by all users is an essential part of the e-government strategy. The Government is acting upon the recommendations of the National Audit Office report, "Progress in making e-services accessible to all—access and use by older people" to ensure that people over 65 are encouraged to take advantage of online services.

This report highlights that older people are more likely to use online services when they can access them in places they would normally visit, such as libraries and community centres. The Government has established over 6,000 UK online centres in these locations where people can access the internet for free or at low cost with support to help them do so.

The report also mentions that one factor preventing older people from using the internet, especially among those who have never used computers, is the feeling that it is of no relevance to them. One of the challenges for government is to demonstrate the benefits of the internet to older people. This we have done during the "Get Started" campaign which ran throughout May and June. The retirement pension is just one of the government services regularly used by older people that we are prioritising as part of our e-government programme.

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the recommendations made by the Comptroller and Auditor General in the February report on offering Government services electronically to older people. [128195]

Mr. Alexander: The National Audit Office report provided a valuable means of focusing attention on

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what needs to be done to increase the numbers of older people in the UK accessing and benefiting from the internet and electronic services. My officials in the Office of the e-Envoy are working closely with colleagues at the Department for Education and Skills to look at implementing the report's recommendations.

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on progress made in ensuring that all Government services are available on-line by 2005. [128197]

Mr. Alexander: We are committed to ensuring that central government services are made available electronically by 2005 and that key services achieve high levels of use. The latest Electronic Service Delivery survey shows that 63 per cent. of services were e-enabled at the end of 2002 and departments have forecast that they are on track for the 2005 target.

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the number of users in (a) the UK and (b) other countries who access Government services through the internet. [128198]

Mr. Alexander: The Office for National Statistics publishes survey results on a quarterly basis of e-government use within the UK. The Office of the e-Envoy published an analysis of international comparisons of e-government use in the 2002 benchmarking study The World's Most Effective Policies for the e-Economy, a copy of which is held in the House Library.

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what action he is taking to encourage more people to access Government services through the internet. [128199]

Mr. Alexander: The Government's target of getting all e-Government services online by 2005 has been enhanced to include the commitment "with key services achieving high levels of use". In order to achieve this, the Office of the e-Envoy is currently developing a methodology, definitions and targets for each of the key services. In order to encourage further take-up, the Office of the e-Envoy is working with Departments to develop strategies for ensuring maximum use of key services.

Levels of internet access continue to rise, with 54 per cent. of adults now regular internet users. 47 per cent. of adults using internet in the last 12 months had accessed a government or public authority website (ONS, July 2003). In May we launched the "Get Started" campaign to promote the benefits of the internet to key groups such as the elderly, those with disabilities and the unemployed.

It is vital that government websites are as accessible and as easy to use as possible. A report, the "Quality Framework for UK Government Website Design", was published on 24 July; it sets out clear guidance for government web managers to ensure they incorporate users' needs in their web design process. The report is available on the Office of the e-Envoy's website (http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/Resources/WebGuidelines/fs/en).

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