| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1395W—continued
Minor Operations
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to set up units to carry out minor operations in Buckinghamshire. [140003]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I have no plans to set up units to carry out minor operations in Buckinghamshire. It is our policy, within the framework set out in the NHS
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1396W
Plan and the 'Shifting the Balance of Power' initiative, to devolve funding decisions to the front line. It is now for primary care trusts, in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders, to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services. They are in the best position to do this because of the specialist knowledge they have of the local community.
I am informed by Thames Valley SHA that the development of out of hours arrangements in Buckinghamshire will include emergency minor injury work across the area. Current development of general practitioners with special interests in ear, nose and throat, orthopaedics and plastics will work in the community undertaking minor operations/injuries.
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many units to carry out minor operations have been set up in Buckinghamshire since 1997. [140004]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
Mothers' Milk
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department collects on trends in respect of the presence of (a) brominated flame retardants and (b) phthalates in mothers' milk; and if he will make a statement. [139213]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that the Government has no current representative data on the levels of brominated flame retardants or phthalates in human breast milk.
MRSA
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA in hospitals have been reported in each of the last five years; in which areas; and if he will make a statement on action his Department is taking to address MRSA. [139401]
Miss Melanie Johnson: These data are not collected centrally. The national mandatory surveillance system for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections (bacteraemias), started in April 2001. Information from this is published in the Communicable Disease Report Weekly and is available at http://www.hpa.org.uk/cdr/PDFfiles/2002/cdr2502.pdf and http://www.hpa.org.uk/cdr/PDFfiles/2003/cdr2503.pdf
The Chief Medical Officer's long-term strategy to prevent and reduce healthcare associated infections in the national health service, announced earlier this year, will set out actions to control all health care associated infections, including MRSA. This builds on our current programme of work and will be published shortly.
National Adoption Register
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what performance target was set for placements resulting from the National Adoption Register; [117271]
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1397W
- (2) how many children have been placed with new families as a result of the introduction of the National Adoption Register; [117272]
(3) what has been the total expenditure by his Department on the National Adoption Register since August 2001. [117273]
Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
No performance targets were set for the Adoption Register for England and Wales. It is expected that the Register will help us achieve our target to increase the number of adoptions from care by 50 per cent. by 2006. We have already increased adoptions by 25 per cent. and are on course to meet our target. Given the complexities governing the placement of children with adoptive families, we did not feel it would be appropriate to set a target for the Register. Our aim of course is to provide children with placements that meet their assessed needs. The needs of the children must be paramount in the process and it is vital that the Register provides viable links for suitable families who may be able to deal with the children's often very complex needs.
In just one year the Register has become an established part of the adoption process with a national co-ordinating role. The register has generated 1,250 viable links across England and Wales that were agreed as worth exploring in detail by adoption agencies. At the end of October there had been 48 matches made between children and families. This means that there are 48 children who have found families as a result of links generated by the Register.
The Register is being operated by Norwood under a three year contract with the Department of Health and National Assembly for Wales at a total cost of £633,333 plus VAT per annum. The current contract is due to end in August 2004. We will be reviewing the impact of the Register on the delivery of adoption services over the coming months.
NHS Catering Services
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the central contracts to provide catering services for the NHS. [138184]
Mr. Hutton: There is no central contract for the national health service for catering services, due to the diversity of requirements throughout the NHS. In December 2003, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is due to release a procurement guide for catering services that will include information on the catering services market and suppliers, and will give advice on the different types of service available to
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1398W
national health service trusts. This guide will be available from Corporate Affairs, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, 80 Lightfoot Street, Chester CH2 3AD.
NHS Estate
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 3 November 2003, Official Report, column 520W, on the NHS Estate, what information he collates on the definition of patient-occupied floor space. [138193]
Mr. Hutton: Information is collected from national health service trusts on the gross internal floor area of all hospital departments which provide patient care and where patients are exposed to risk and the percentage of it (if any) that is not compliant with statutory health and safety and fire safety requirements.
NHS Expenditure
Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much capital expenditure there has been in the NHS in England in each of the last five years; and how much of that spending was attributable to private finance initiative projects. [137091]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 10 November 2003]: The information requested is shown in the table.
| 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 (estimated) | 2003–04 (planned) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net NHS capital expenditure | 908 | 1,246 | 1,778 | (74)2,083 | |
| (75),(76)2,221 | 2,821 | ||||
| PFI investment | 362 | 598 | 548 | 479 | 624 |
| Total | 1,270 | 1,844 | 2,326 | 4,783 | 3,445 |
| PFI as percentage of total | 28.5 | 32.4 | 23.6 | 10.0 | 18.1 |
(74) Expenditure figures from 1999–2000 to 2002–03 are on a Stage 1 Resource Budgeting basis (and consistent with figures in table 3.3a of Departmental Report 2003).
(75) Expenditure figures from 2002–03 to 2007–08 are on a Stage 2 Resource Budgeting basis.
(76) The Resource Budgeting Stage 2 expenditure figures shown for 2002–03 to 2003–04 are the spending plans announced by the Chancellor in his 2002 Budget. They exclude subsequent additions in 2003–04 from the Treasury Capital Modernisation Fund (TCMF).
Dr. Jack Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what per capita expenditure was on the NHS in (a) England and (b) Cumbria in (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 2002–03; what projections he has made for future years; and if he will make a statement. [138469]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 17 November 2003]: The information requested is shown in the tables.
| 1997–98 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Expenditure per head | 710 | 1,130 | 1,240 | 1,360 | 1,490 | 1,640 | 1,800 |
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1399W
1. For 1997–98 figures are on a cash basis, whereas figures for the period 2002–03 to 2007–08 are on a stage 2 Resource Budgeting basis. As a result, figures are not
comparable across the period.
2. Figures are calculated using the latest population projections provided by ONS.
3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
| 1997–98 | 2002–03 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cumbria (1–2)> | £ | £ |
| Expenditure per head | 600 (3–5) | 1,170 (4,6.7) |
Sources:
1. Assumed to be the area covered by East Lancashire, Morecambe Bay, North Cumbria,
North West Lancashire, and South Lancashire Health Authorities in 1997–1998.
2. Assumed to be the area covered Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority 2002–2003.
3. Source: Audited annual accounts of the East Lancashire, Morecambe Bay, North Cumbria, North West Lancashire, and South Lancashire Health Authorities for 1997-1998.
4. Source: Audited summarisation forms of the Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority and Audited summarisation schedules of the Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Burnley Pendle and Rossendale, Carlisle and District, Chorley and South Ribble, Eden Valley, Fylde, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley, Morecambe Bay, Preston, West Cumbria, West Lancashire, and Wyre Primary Care Trusts for 2002–2003.
5. Health authority weighted population figures for 1997–1998.
6. Strategic health authority weighted population figures for 2002–2003.
7. 2002–2003 data remains provisional
8. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
9. Expenditure figures for the period 2003–04 to 2007–08 are not yet available. The England expenditure per head of population figures are not directly comparable with the figures for Cumbria as they include different elements of expenditure.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |