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Fylingdales

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make it his policy to order a full environmental impact study prior to the Fylingdales base accepting United States missile defence technology; and if he will make a statement; [137899]

(2) what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effects of the base at Fylingdales on the environment of the local area; and if he will make a statement. [137916]

Mr. Ingram: It is already the Ministry of Defence policy to carry out environmental impact assessments of all new projects and training activities. To this end, the MOD commissioned some time ago from independent consultants an Environmental and Land Use Report on the planned upgrade of the RAF Fylingdales radar for missile defence purposes. This report was passed to the local planning authorities in June 2003 and can be accessed on the MOD website. It confirms our view that nothing in the package of work involves an environmental impact or change of use, and that radar emissions are well within health guidelines. Nevertheless, in order to reassure the public, monitoring of the radar emissions will continue and the data made available publicly. Separately, an epidemiological study is being undertaken by the local NHS Primary Care Trust to determine if there is any evidence of increased rates of disease in the area which might warrant further investigation.

Procurement Budget (Wales)

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total expenditure was on procurement by each of the services in the last year for which figures are available; and how much of the procurement budget for each was spent in Wales. [137308]

Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Under-Secretary of State on 17 December 2002, Official Report, column 715W, to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson). The latest

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figures for spend on procurement in terms of Service or environment remain those for 1998–99, and were published by the Defence Analytical Services Agency in the United Kingdom "Defence Statistics" for 2000 available in the Library of the House.

The Ministry of Defence systems changed following the introduction of Smart Acquisition and the move from cash accounting to resource accounting and budgeting. Consideration moved from recording and analysing inputs to the armed forces to providing capability.

The latest figures regarding expenditure by the Defence Procurement Agency, broken down by capability, are expected to be published later this month and copies will be placed in the Library of the House. The figures are not broken down into spend in regional areas.

Territorial Army

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total strength is of the Territorial Army; how many members of the Territorial Army (a) collected their bounty and (b) voluntarily left the service in each month since April; and if he will make a statement. [136597]

Mr. Caplin: The total strength of the Territorial Army as at September 2003 is 36,900. This includes 4,160 mobilised reservists. Information on those who have voluntarily left since April 2003 is shown in the table:

	Voluntarily left the TA
April	100
May	90
June	120
July	80
August	80
September	80

Note:

Data have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Information on the number of TA personnel who have collected their bounty is not yet available. I will write to the hon. Member once the data has been collated and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

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HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of patients have been treated within the four-hour accident and emergency waiting time target in each of the past 12 months (a) in England and (b) broken down by strategic health authority. [135418]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on the total time patients spend in accident and emergency departments from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge is collected each quarter from national health service trusts and is routinely published on the Department's website at: http://www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/ Copies of the information for England and for each NHS trust and strategic health authority are available in the Library.

Age-related Macular Degeneration

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to implement National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance on photodynamic therapy for age-related macular degeneration. [136158]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 3 November 2003]: Implementation of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance has already begun. Patients are already receiving photodynamic therapy (PDT) treatment on the national health service and we expect the implementation of the NICE guidance to have been fully implemented by the middle of 2004. We will be working with the NHS to facilitate the implementation to give patients increased access to PDT during this time.

It was the Department's assessment, informed by advice from NICE, that the NHS would be unable to implement the guidance in full within the usual three-month period. We have previously varied the direction on five occasions when it was required to implement effectively the guidance to provide the service to patients.

The extension was given because of concerns about the lack of capacity, for example, in reading centres, to implement the recommendations. Within the nine months allowed for full implementation, commissioners are expected to expand the service in a planned way to ensure there is sufficient capacity which is appropriately located to meet patient need, a fully trained workforce

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and access to expert diagnostic services. This will include the creation of new, and the expansion of existing, PDT centres and expert reading centres.

The guidance issued to primary care trusts (PCTs) on PDT asks that PCTs should make funds available within nine months. We expect implementation to have been fully achieved within this timeframe, with all eligible patients having access to available treatment. PCTs may complete implementation earlier should their service planning enable them to do so.

Ambulance Services

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on consultancy fees by Mersey Regional Ambulance NHS Trust in each of the past five years; if he will list each consultant employed by the Trust; and on what matters they were requested to advise. [137779]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 11 November 2003]: The financial returns submitted by Mersey Regional Ambulance National Health Service Trust for the years 1998–99 to 2002–03 indicated that there was no expenditure on external contract staffing and consultancy.

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been claimed in expenses by the Chief Executive of Mersey Regional Ambulance Trust since his appointment; and what his salary was in the past two years, including bonuses, where payable. [137781]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 11 November 2003]: The current salary for Chief Executive of Mersey Regional Ambulance Service, Ms Janet Davies, is £88,060. The expenses claimed for the period November 2001 to October 2003 was £69.50.

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on travel by directors of the Mersey Regional Ambulance Trust in each of the past five years. [137782]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 11 November 2003]: Information on expenditure on travel by directors of the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust in each of the past five years, is shown in the table.

Year	Amount
2003–04	2,479.00
2002–03	3,793.00
2001–02	6,433.00
2000–01	4,050.00
1999–2000	4,309.00

Ambulances

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the recent sector report from the Commission for Health Improvement; and what the CHI found in ambulance trusts. [138070]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department welcomed the report by the Commission for Health Improvement, which brought together information from the previously published clinical governance reviews of ambulance trusts.

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The report recognised the value both patients and the general public place in the ambulance service, together with how services are meeting the challenge of dealing with increased emergency calls.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations his Department has received from (a) patient and consumer organisations and (b) professional and trade asscociations in relation to the Ambulance Service. [138072]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department receives regular representations from patient and consumer organisations together with professional and trade associations in relation to the Ambulance Service.

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