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20 Nov 2003 : Column 1374W—continued
Diabetes
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to ensure that better information is provided to (a) general practitioners and (b) diabetic patients about (i) the effects of diabetes on safety when driving and (ii) the control of such effects. [139824]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport publishes a booklet called the "At a Glance Guide to Medical Standards of Fitness to Drive", which gives details of all the United Kingdom medical standards, including diabetes. This guide is now available for general consumption on the internet and is updated every six months following advice from the Secretary of State's honorary medical advisory panels.
Amendments to the "At a Glance" guide are distributed to medical practitioners in hard copy form and can also be obtained on EMIS Knowledge-Based Systems (Egton Medical Information Systems), which is available in all general practitioners' surgeries.
The document provides the basis on which members of the medical profession advise individuals on whether any particular condition could affect their driving entitlement.
Diet and Nutrition
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will break down by sex the percentages of children who were found by the most recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey to be consuming less than the lower reference nutrient intake for (a) calcium, (b) magnesium and (c) vitamin A. [137057]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Age | Boys | Girls | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calcium | 4–6 years | 3 | 2 |
| 7–10 years | 2 | 5 | |
| 11–14 years | 12 | 24 | |
| 15–18 | 9 | 19 | |
| Magnesium | 4–6 years | 3 | 1 |
| 7–10 years | 2 | 5 | |
| 11–14 years | 28 | 51 | |
| 15–18 years | 18 | 53 | |
| Vitamin A | 4–6 years | 8 | 6 |
| 7–10 years | 9 | 10 | |
| 11–14 years | 13 | 20 | |
| 15–18 years | 12 | 12 |
Source:
NDNS young people 4–18 years (1997).
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Doctors' Conference
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of the recent Doctors' Forum event held at the Novotel Hotel in Hammersmith; and what the (a) objectives and (b) programme for the event were. [138934]
Mr. Hutton: The cost of the 2003 Improving Working Lives for Doctors' Conference was £125,000. The event was open to all doctors and to those working in national health service human resource departments as an opportunity to network and share good practice on progress towards our aim of improving the working lives of medical staff. The principal objective was to support our commitment to the development of well-managed, supportive and flexible working environments by showcasing achievements and providing an opportunity to discuss areas where more work is needed. The conference was also a platform to support and promote the work of the doctors' forum, which was established following the first IWL for doctors' conference in 2002. Those who were unable to attend the event can find out more from the summary information on the Department's website at: http://www.doh.gov.uk/conferences/improvingoct03.htm
Domiciliary Care
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the standards governing the delivery of domiciliary care for the elderly and the arrangements for monitoring compliance with them. [140107]
Dr. Ladyman: Regulations and National Minimum Standards governing domiciliary care were published in January 2003, to come into force from 1 April 2003. Their content followed wide consultation with groups representing service users, care providers, and local authorities. I am satisfied that they support good, professional practice.
The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) is an independent inspection body. Its role is to ensure compliance with the regulations as part of the conditions for registration of domiciliary care agencies. From 1 April 2004, the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) will take over this role. I am satisfied that the NCSC currently, and the CSCI from April 2004, have the powers they need to monitor compliance and to raise standards.
Drug Budgets
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the change in cost to the national health service drug budget resulting from the focus on priority therapeutic areas, as outlined in the new general practitioner contract. [137361]
Mr. Hutton: The Quality and Outcomes Framework which is part of the new General Medical Services Contract is just one of a variety of related policy initiatives that will impact on the national health service drug budget in the future. The publication of national services frameworks and determinations by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence are other examples. The NHS will take these and other factors into account when modelling future resource provision.
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1376W
Drug Research
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the impact of implementing EU Directive 2001/20/EC on non-commercial drug research in the United Kingdom. [138989]
Miss Melanie Johnson: As part of the consultations on the UK regulations, a partial regulatory impact assessment (RIA) was provided revealing potential increased costs. Universities, national health service trusts and charities were invited to submit estimates on recurring and non-recurring compliance costs for non-commercial trials. The comments received revealed the difficulty of estimating costs with so much uncertainty surrounding the Commission Directives.
The Government have taken further steps to attempt to influence the Commission in its consideration of a Commission Directive on Good Clinical Practice and also in reviewing guidance that the Commission published earlier this year with a view to avoiding any unnecessary costs. This work is continuing.
In another initiative designed to reduce the cost impact, the Department and the Medical Research Council are working with experts to find practical solutions to the issues identified in the partial impact assessment. Details of the project can be found at www.ncchta.org/eudirective/index.asp.
Further information on the partial regulatory impact assessment and the proposed United Kingdom implementing regulations is available on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) website at www.mhra.gov.uk and in the MHRA Consultative Documents: MLXs issued in 2003, MLX 287.
Drug/Alcohol Misuse
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the amount of Government funding for (a) drug misuse treatment and (b) alcohol misuse treatment in (i) England and (ii) each strategic health authority in each of the last six years. [138755]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The pooled drug treatment budget was £195.7 million in 2002–03 and this increased to £243.6 million in 2003–04. It is estimated that the pooled treatment budget is matched with an additional 200 million of mainstream funding. Figures are not available prior to 2002–03 when the majority of drug treatment was funded through mainstreamed health monies.
Figures are not available for each strategic health authority. However, the table shows pooled treatment budget allocations for each National Treatment Agency region.
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1377W
Responsibility for funding alcohol treatment services lies with primary care trusts, who commission these services in line with local needs. The Department does not hold centrally collected information on expenditure on alcohol treatment services, but we estimate that around £95 million is spent annually on these services, with the bulk of this funding being drawn from Government sources.
Fluoridation
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much has been spent in each of the last five years for which figures are available on research (a) directly funded by the Department of Health and (b) funded through the Medical Research Council into the effects of fluoridation on people suffering from kidney disease; [139744]
- (2) how much has been spent in each of the last five years for which figures are available on research (a) directly funded by the Department of Health and (b) funded through the Medical Research Council into the effects of fluoridation on people suffering from thyroid disease. [139745]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The research we have commissioned has been on the general effects of fluoridation on health. "A Systematic Review of Fluoridation", carried out by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination of the University of York in the year 2000, cost £79,648.00 and the study of the bio-availability of fluoride, which has just been completed by the University of Newcastle, cost £47,934. In addition, the Medical Research Council (MRC) undertook the study "Water Fluoridation and Health", which was published in 2002, under concordat arrangements with the Department. York identified three studies of goitre and two of cancer of the thyroid gland, none of which showed a statistically significant association with fluoridation. The MRC also noted that attention has been given to cancers of the stomach, kidney and thyroid, because fluoride is usually absorbed in the stomach and can be concentrated in the kidneys and thyroid, but concluded that,
- "the evidence available does not suggest that fluoridation of water increases the risk for cancer in general or for any particular type of cancer."
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