| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
6 Oct 2003 : Column 1309W—continued
Illegal Meat
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the cost of the specialist training in illegal meat for local authority enforcement officers; whether the 30 candidates being appointed as regional advisers following the specialist training will be in addition to the current levels of local authority enforcement officers; who has been appointed to run the training and under what procedure they were chosen; and whether the funding for the training is to be taken from (a) the Food Standards Agency funding and (b) his Department's central funding. [130085]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The cost of the specialist training in illegal meat for 26 United Kingdom local authority officers and four officers from the Republic of Ireland, including accommodation, venue hire and travel and subsistence, was £40,000. The training of the UK officers was funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and provided by Mallard Consultancy Ltd., following a competitive tendering process. The 26 candidates appointed as regional advisers in the UK will act in this capacity for 10 working days per year for the FSA. They will continue to be employed by their local authorities and, when not working on behalf of the FSA, will continue their normal work for their authorities. They are not additional staff for the local authorities. The FSA will reimburse the authorities for the cost of their time in carrying out work for the FSA.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the candidates undertaking specialist training in illegal meat for local authority enforcement officers completed their training. [130087]
6 Oct 2003 : Column 1310W
Miss Melanie Johnson: All 30 candidates who undertook the specialist training in illegal meat investigation and enforcement arranged by the Food Standards Agency completed their training.
Immigration
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the Department of Health's contribution to the Cabinet Office's review of immigration and infectious diseases. [131016]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Cabinet Office review of imported infections and immigration, which involves the Department and other Government Departments, is on-going and no decisions have been taken.
Immunisation
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of children were immunised by their 2nd birthday in England in 2001–02 for (a) diphtheria, (b) tetanus, (c) polio, (d) pertussis, (e) Hib and (f) MMR. [127523]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Information about uptake rates for routine childhood immunisations by their second birthday for diphtheria, tetanus, polio, tetanus, Hib and measles/mumps/rubella are shown in the following table:
| Diptheria | Polio | Tetanus | Whooping cough | Hib | Measles/mumps/rubella |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93.8 | 93.7 | 93.8 | 93 | 93.3 | 84.1 |
Infectious Patients
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 721W, on infectious patients, what information was collected centrally from the local risk assessments; and if he will publish such information. [129123]
Miss Melanie Johnson: These risk assessments were not collected centrally.
Information Management
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts are experiencing problems with the compatibility of the computer systems used to record data. [130156]
Mr. Hutton: Problems with compatibility are the responsibility of local trusts to resolve with their suppliers. No data are currently collected and no reports are routinely made to the Department on any such problems. The collection of such data is not a part of core reporting requirements for the National Health Service and it would not be economically viable or appropriate on business grounds to add this requirement.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to improve standards of information management in the NHS. [130157]
6 Oct 2003 : Column 1311W
Mr. Hutton: Two key initiatives which aim to improve the standards of information management in the national health service focus on the better recording and exchange of information to national standards and the development of health informatics skills.
All national standards for the recording and transfer of information across the NHS now have to be approved by the independent NHS information standards board. This ensures that data are collected using agreed common standards so that NHS information can be used consistently across the NHS. When approved, these standards are included within the NHS data dictionary which provides the core reference manual on information standards for the NHS. Part of the approval process of the information standards board is to ensure compatibility with the design authority of the national programme for information technology. This Design Authority is responsible for the design of the future NHS IT infrastructure through which much patient-related information will be collected in future.
The management of information to support the delivery of patient care and healthcare service planning and performance is undertaken by a range of people within the NHS. This includes clinicians, managers and specialist information analysts working in a range of local and national NHS organisations. For effective use of information, skills in health informatics are vital to ensure that information is not misinterpreted or misunderstood. The National Health Informatics Development Programme run by the NHS Information Authority is developing a range of products and services which aim to improve these across the NHS, so that the analysis and interpretation of information is undertaken to clear professional standards.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department gives to health authorities to ensure they comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [130158]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department set up a high level steering group in 2001 to oversee implementation of the Freedom of Information Act in the Department itself and in the National Health Service.
In line with the Government's policy of empowering front-line staff, the steering group commissioned a project, led by South East London Strategic Health Authority, to develop an implementation plan and provide guidance on Freedom of Information for the NHS. NHS staff from trusts and strategic health authorities have collaborated to develop the plan and guidance.
Working closely with the Information Commissioner's office, the project has produced model publication schemes, which have been adopted by trusts, strategic health authorities and independent practitioners. Guidance on other aspects of Freedom of Information has been made available by the project through a national awareness programme.
6 Oct 2003 : Column 1312W
Within the Department, a Freedom of Information Unit (also set up in 2001), supports the steering group and provides support as needed by the NHS project team. This unit has prepared a departmental implementation plan and begun conducting awareness events for all staff.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of the NHS national information technology programme. [130395]
Mr. Hutton: The national programme for information technology in the national health service is continuing to make good progress on schedule. The previously published milestones have all been met, in particular for:
- E-booking—three bidders were shortlisted on time, best and final offer proposals were received at the end of August 2003 and the project received a successful gateway 3 review.
The new NHS network—six responses to the preliminary invitation to negotiate were received on time, three bidders were shortlisted on schedule and we are looking to an accelerated procurement timetable to select a winner by the end of 2003.
Electronic transfer of prescriptions—the target remains as 50 per cent. of transactions by the end of 2005 and 100 per cent. by the end of 2007. Scope and objectives have been agreed by the programme board.
Integrated care records service (National Patient Record Spine)— four bidders' proposals received on time on 30 June 2003. Two shortlisted companies are bidding. Contract award planned for 31 October 2003.
Integrated care records service (local service providers)—10 shortlisted bidders against five clusters of NHS strategic health authorities are continuing in the procurement competition.
Intermediate Care Beds
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many new intermediate care beds there have been in the last two years; [127565]
- (2) where new NHS intermediate care bed capacity has been introduced in the last two years. [127566]
Dr. Ladyman: Data are not available to assess the growth of intermediate care (IC) beds in the last two years. Between the 1999–2000 baseline for growth in IC beds and the end of June 2003, 3,600 additional beds have been established. New capacity has been established in all strategic health authorities but, because of restructuring within the national health service, precise data for each authority are not available.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |