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12 Nov 2003 : Column 331W—continued
Asbestos
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people contracted (a) mesothelioma and (b) other asbestos-related diseases in the last five years for which figures are available; where this information is publicly available; and from what year his Department's records began. [136762]
Mr. Browne: I have been asked to reply.
No source of information provides a complete count of the number of people contracting mesothelioma but one indication is the number of people who have died as a result of contracting mesothelioma.
| Mesothelioma deaths | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 1,367 |
| 1998 | 1,541 |
| 1999 | 1,615 |
| 2000 | (11)1,631 |
| 2001 | (11)1,848 |
(11) Provisional
Source:
Mesothelioma register.
The annual number of mesothelioma deaths continues to increase. Because there is typically a long period between asbestos exposure and the onset of disease, many of the deaths occurring now are a result of exposures during the 1970s and earlier decades when work with asbestos was less tightly controlled.
The HSE mesothelioma register began keeping records of mesothelioma deaths in 1967.
No source of information provides a complete count of the number of people contracting asbestosis or diffuse pleural thickening. However, one indicator used is the annual number of awards of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Scheme.
| Asbestosis (pneumoconiosis caused by asbestos) | Diffuse pleural thickening | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 316 | 227 |
| 1999 | 407 | 242 |
| 2000 | 447 | 273 |
| 2001 | 461 | 291 |
| 2002 | 563 | 379 |
Department of Work and Pensions Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Scheme.
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Data are available from 1948 from the Industrial Disablement Scheme (pneumoconiosis caused by asbestos) and from 1985 for diffuse pleural thickening.
Statistics on the annual number of asbestos related lung cancer cases are not available. Deaths from asbestos related lung cancer cannot be individually distinguished from lung cancers due to other causes such as smoking. However, it is estimated that there were between approximately 1,750 and 3,500 deaths in 2001.
Asbestos related disease statistics are published on the statistics pages of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Website.
Care Homes
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with representatives of the Leonard Cheshire Organisation regarding capital costs associated with improving their properties to meet national care standards. [137923]
Dr. Ladyman: I am meeting with representatives from Leonard Cheshire on the 20 November and they will be able to raise this issue on that occasion.
Cervical Cancer
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of deaths from cervical cancer occurred in women (a) over the age of 60 and (b) under the age of 30 in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2002; and if he will make a statement. [136879]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Vincent Cable, dated 12 November 2003:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what proportion of deaths from cervical cancer occurred in women (a) over the age of 60 and (b) under the age of 30 in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2002; and if he will make a statement. (136879)
- The figures requested are given in the table.
| 2001 | 2002 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age group | Numberof deaths | Percentage of total deaths | Numberof deaths | Percentage of total deaths |
| Under 30 | 22 | 2 | 15 | 1 |
| 30–59 | 407 | 39 | 391 | 39 |
| 60 and over | 610 | 59 | 595 | 59 |
| All ages | 1,039 | 100 | 1,001 | 100 |
(12) Selected using code C53 from the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision.
(13) Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.
12 Nov 2003 : Column 333W
Commission for Patient andPublic Involvement in Health
Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the budget of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05 is allocated to the running costs of its nine regional offices. [136773]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) has an annual allocation of £34.5 million. This financial year, 2003–04, the Department has made additional funding available for staff training, taking the total up to £35.4 million. It is for the CPPIH to determine how best to meet its business needs within this budget.
The Department's role in the CPPIH's finances is to monitor for propriety, regularity and value for money through the annual report and end of year accounts.
Dentistry
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish an order under section 60 of the Health Act 1999 to amend the Dentists Act 1984 to introduce Clinical Dental Technicians and other Professions Complementary to Dentistry; what consultation period will be specified for the order; and if he will make a statement. [138045]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 11 November 2003]: I expect to publish the Order in the spring. Consultation on the draft Order will run for three months, as required by the Health Act, 1999.
Dr. Jack Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of (a) the availability of and (b) access to national health dental services in Copeland and West Cumbria. [137092]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 10 November 2003]: At the end of June, in the West Cumbria primary care trust area, there were 43 dentists who provided national health service dentistry in the general dental service (GDS). In addition, 70,000 patients were registered with a GDS dentist. This represents 54 per cent. of its resident population and 51 per cent. of adults and 67 per cent. of children.
Registrations cover patients seen within the last 15 months.
A dental access centre in Egremont, West Cumbria also provides routine and emergency NHS treatment to patients.
Departmental Energy Use
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) electricity and (b) other energy his Department has used in each year since 1997 (i) in total and (ii) per square metre; what the projected use is for each of the following years for which forecasts are made; what plans he has to reduce usage; and if he will make a statement. [135054]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the response given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and
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Rural Affairs on 3 November 2003, Official Report, column 404W, setting out detail of energy used from 1997.
The Department does not forecast usage of energy for its administrative estate. However, it has adopted the target published in the "Sustainable Development in Government First Annual Report" to reduce greenhouse emissions to air by one per cent. per annum.
Diabetes
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in each of the last 10 years have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. [134834]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not available in the form requested. However, based on information from the Health Survey for England, the following figures may be estimated.
| Number of people with diabetes in the UK | |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 1,378,707 |
| 1998 | 1,684,111 |
Data are not routinely collected on the number of people being diagnosed with diabetes. Local health care providers will, however, increasingly gather information as they build registers of people with diabetes as they begin to implement the national service framework.
Diagnostic and Treatment Centres
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the diagnostic services provided by the diagnostic and treatment centres announced so far. [129597]
Mr. Hutton: Treatment centres will provide safe, fast, pre-booked surgery and diagnostic tests for patients, by separating scheduled treatment from emergency pressures, in some of the specialties with the highest waiting times. These will cover mixed surgical procedures, and in particular, patients waiting for treatment in orthopaedics and ophthalmology.
The diagnostic services provided in both the national health service and independent sector treatment centres will include endoscopy, radiology and pathology.
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