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6 Oct 2003 : Column 1294W—continued
Food Standards Agency
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the committee members for the Food Standards Agency's Consumer Committee are; and how they were chosen. [130095]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: The twelve members of the consumer committee are chosen in two ways, six through open competition and six nominated by the main consumer organisations. The current membership is as follows:
Appointees from Open Competition
- Nancy Robson (Chair)
- Alison Childs (Deputy Chair)
- Marvelle Brown
- John Godfrey
- Appointees nominated by Consumer Organisations
- Sue Dibb (National Consumer Council)
- Emma Copeland (Consumers' Association)
- Sinead Furey (General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland)
- Lucy Gillie (Scottish Consumer Council)
- Jeanette Longfield (Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming)
- Claire Whyley (Welsh Consumer Council)
The two vacancies are currently being filled though open competition.
Foundation Hospitals
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what method each candidate trust for Foundation Hospital status has adopted to carry out public consultation about their plans; when those consultations will be completed; and what the total cost is to each trust of the consultation exercises. [129748]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 16 September 2003]: Individual applicants are developing their own plans for consultation to reflect how best to engage with key stakeholders locally. These consultations may involve a balance of staff and public meetings, written documents and presentations to key stakeholders depending on what fits best locally to allow the public, staff and other stakeholders to provide their views. Evidence of consultation and a summary of comments received is a requirement for the material submitted for consideration by the Secretary of State on 12 December as part of the next stage of the applications process. Consultation will need to conclude therefore in time to allow this. Costs will differ depending on the exact method of consultation chosen; we do not hold centrally information on these individual costs.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the auditor for a foundation hospital will be appointed. [130105]
Mr. Hutton: It will be up to the board of governors of each national health service foundation trust to appoint the auditor, subject to provisions in Schedule 1, paragraph 21, of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on plans to develop a bond market to allow foundation trusts to raise capital. [130394]
Mr. Hutton: Initial consultations with financial institutions support the Government's view that bond finance may offer medium term opportunities for national health service foundation trusts to raise capital
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under certain circumstances. In the near term, bonds are not the preferred source of finance for NHS foundation trusts.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with financial institutions to develop a bond market to allow foundation trusts to raise capital. [130398]
Mr. Hutton: The Department has undertaken wide ranging consultations with financial institutions in order to establish a sustainable financial regime for national health service foundation trusts. A variety of bonds were part of a range of financial instruments discussed during this consultation process.
Free NHS Care
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice his Department gives to those embarking on gap years abroad on the effect that their absence from the UK will have on their entitlement to claim free NHS care on return to the UK; [130187]
- (2) what discussions his Department has had with (a) student organisations and (b) representatives of the travel industry about advice offered to gap year students on the availability of free NHS provision when students return from an extended trip outside the UK. [130188]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 16 September 2003]: Students who choose to spend some time abroad before starting a university degree course remain fully entitled to free National Health Service treatment as soon as they return to take up permanent residence in the United Kingdom. This advice is given to anyone who enquires on the subject, but there have been no specific discussions with the bodies mentioned.
Gateway Controls
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many departmentally-approved targets have been introduced since the introduction of Gateway controls. [129587]
Mr. Hutton: The NHS Plan set out a 10-year programme of reform. The targets that the national health service is required to deliver over the next three years as part of the programme were set out in "Improvement, Expansion and Reform: The next 3 years, Priorities & Planning Framework 2003–2006", published on 1 April 2003. No other targets have been created for the NHS.
Genito-urinary Medicine
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on genito-urinary medicine services in (a) each of the past three financial years and (b) 1997–98. [131019]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Hospital and community health services expenditure on genito-urinary medicine services for each of the past three financial years and 1997–98 are shown in the table 1 .
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£ million
| Expenditure | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 182.13 |
| 2000–01(83) | 157.138 |
| 1999–2000 | 171.593 |
| 1997–98 | 137.367 |
(82) In 1999–2000, one NHS trust recorded expenditure on HIV/ AIDS within the speciality genito-urinary medicine. However, in 2000–01 the trust reclassified this expenditure and recorded it within the speciality infectious diseases.
(83) Following further validation of the data, this is a revised figure for 2000–01.
Sources:
Annual financial returns of NHS trusts, 1997–98 and 1999–2000 to 2001–02.
Annual financial returns of primary care trusts, 2000–01 to 2001–02.
GM Foods
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department (a) has undertaken and (b) plans to undertake in 2003–04 into the health risks of GM foods. [130152]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) funds two extensive research programmes on the safety of genetically modified food. The first underpins the current safety assessment to ensure the most up to date knowledge is used. The second is a three-year programme that started in 2001. This investigates new and emerging scientific techniques (such as gene arrays, metabolomics and proteomics) and explores how they might be used to refine the current safety assessment.
This research is undertaken by independent research scientists and is peer reviewed before final reports are made publicly available through the FSA's library. Details of the research programme are published in the FSA's research and surveys programmes annual report and are available on the FSA website at www.foodstandards.gov.uk.
General Practitioners
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the GPs' contract includes recognition of the number of drug addicts treated beyond capitation alone. [129136]
Mr. Hutton: Under the new general medical service contract, most patient services will be funded by weighted capitation.
With effect from 1 April 2004, there will be a national enhanced service for the treatment of patients with specialised drug and alcohol misuse problems. This will be based on national specifications and there will be additional funding.
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what constitutes an improvement to a GP's premises, as referred to in the Department of Health Public Service Agreements from 1998. [128908]
Mr. Hutton: Improvements are building works that lead to a substantive change to the premises from which a primary care team provides services, which in the view of the primary care trust, or its predecessor health authority, improve patient access to services or enhance the working environment for the primary care team.
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Green Transport Policies
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the NHS hospital trusts which have implemented green transport policies at the request of their local planning authorities. [129642]
Mr. Hutton: Data on national health service trust transport plans implemented at the request of local authorities are not collected centrally.
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