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14 Jan 2004 : Column 801W—continued
Domiciliary Care
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what date applications for registration with the National Care Standards Commission are required to be determined. [147310]
Dr. Ladyman: There is no time limit for applications for registration with the National Care Standards Commission to be determined.
Drugs Treatment
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which constituencies in the UK do not have a needle exchange. [147763]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 13 January 2004]: We do not measure needle exchange coverage by parliamentary consituency. However, we do record it on a primary care trust (PCT) basis. Every PCT in England has access to a needle exchange service, distributing approximately 27 million needles annually.
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Influenza Vaccination
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has given to local primary care trusts on the provision of influenza jabs to carers. [146453]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Guidance has been issued on the immunisation of health and social care staffs who are recommended to receive flu vaccine. Carers are not routinely offered flu vaccination but general practitioners retain the discretion to give the vaccine to their patients based on an individual assessment of need.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged 65 years and over have received the influenza vaccine (a) in England and (b) broken down by (i) primary care trust and (ii) strategic health authority in each year since 2001. [147183]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The total number of people aged 65 and over who received flu immunisation in England in 2001 was 5,113,036 and in 2002 was 5,487,645. The data for 2003 is not yet available.
Information on the number of people aged 65 and over receiving flu immunisation by primary care trust and strategic health authority since 2001 has been placed in the Library.
Leak Inquiries
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list occasions on which his Department has conducted an inquiry into alleged leaks from members of staff since 1997; and if he will list the occasions on which the names of those persons accused of leaking information from his Department have been made public (a) by the Government and (b) by way of another source. [146942]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 12 January 2004]: Since 1997 the department has investigated 37 suspected leaks. In line with exemptions 1(a) and 7(b) set out in Part II of the "Code of Practice" on access to "Government Information", it has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on the outcome of such inquiries in order to safeguard security and investigative arrangements. Other than cases where legal action has been taken we are not aware of any cases where names have been made public.
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Ministerial Visits
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many visits have been made by his Department's officials or ministers to look at drugs treatment in (a) Sweden, (b) France, (c) Australia, (d) the Netherlands and (e) USA in the last six years. [147764]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 13 January 2004]: Departmental officials have had occasion to visit Sweden, Australia and the Netherlands to look at their drug treatment systems within the last six years. Most regular contact is maintained through the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in Lisbon, Portugal, where Departmental officials meet with colleagues from other countries two to three times a year.
Myoclonic Epilepsy
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the funding of equipment and clothing for children with myoclonic epilepsy and cerebal palsy; and if he will make a statement. [147244]
Dr. Ladyman: The needs of individual disabled children are assessed by councils with social services responsibilities, principally under provisions of the Children Act 1989. Councils then have a responsibility to provide appropriate services.
14 Jan 2004 : Column 804W
NHS Charges
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the responses he received to proposed amendments to the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989: A Consultation. [146353]
Mr. Hutton: 124 specific responses to the consultation exercise were received. Two of the respondents have exercised their right to have their responses kept confidential. The remaining 122 are available in the Library.
Obesity
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of women were classed as obese in each year since 1990 in (a) England and (b) each region, broken down by social/economic status. [146332]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Information is not available in exactly the form requested. Figures available from the Health Survey for England are shown in the tables. The tables give, for England, the percentage of women who are obese (with a body mass index over 30) from 1991, when the Health Survey began, to 2002 by social class and for the period 1998 to 2002 by Government Office Region. Figures prior to 1998 are not available by Government Office Region. The samples sizes available in the Health Survey do not allow robust estimates to be calculated for each region broken down by social/economic status.
| Social class of head of household(27) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | II | IIIN | IIIM | IV | V | Total | |
| Women | |||||||
| 1991–92(28) | 11 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 16 |
| 1993 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 16 |
| 1994 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 17 |
| 1995 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 20 | 24 | 22 | 17 |
| 1996 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 21 | 22 | 27 | 18 |
| 1997 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 20 |
| 1998 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 24 | 25 | 28 | 21 |
| 1999 | 21 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 24 | 31 | 21 |
| 2000 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 26 | 26 | 32 | 21 |
| 2001 | 14 | 20 | 21 | 27 | 31 | 28 | 23 |
| 2002 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 29 | 35 | 23 |
| Bases | |||||||
| 1991–92(28) | 1,219 | 493 | 912 | 681 | 3,430 | ||
| 1993 | 579 | 2,210 | 1,239 | 2,149 | 1,106 | 440 | 8,037 |
| 1994 | 433 | 2,000 | 1,184 | 2,016 | 1,168 | 458 | 7,884 |
| 1995 | 465 | 2,112 | 1,147 | 1,979 | 1,056 | 453 | 7,729 |
| 1996 | 461 | 2,255 | 1,230 | 2,043 | 1,135 | 424 | 8,064 |
| 1997(29) | 261 | 1,160 | 671 | 1,100 | 655 | 230 | 4,254 |
| 1998 | 471 | 2,231 | 1,193 | 1,983 | 1,201 | 429 | 7,730 |
| 1999(29) | 248 | 1,049 | 585 | 1,000 | 557 | 157 | 3,699 |
| 2000(29) | 198 | 1,193 | 654 | 806 | 496 | 189 | 3,703 |
| 2001 | 412 | 2,278 | 1,304 | 1,710 | 1,078 | 386 | 7,414 |
| 2002(29) | 244 | 1,077 | 614 | 775 | 516 | 178 | 3,509 |
(27) I—Professional, II—Managerial technical, IIIN—Skilled non-manual, IIIM—Skilled manual, IV—Semi-skilled manual, V—Unskilled manual.
(28) The sample sizes in 1991 and 1992 were smaller than in subsequent years and for reporting purposes the estimates from both years were combined. In addition, the figures for social classes I and II, and IV and V were combined.
(29) In these years the focus was on special groups such as children, ethnic minorities and older people. The sample for the special groups was boosted and the sample for the general population correspondingly halved to about 8,000 adults. The figures above are based on the general population sample.
Source:
Health Survey for England, Department of Health
14 Jan 2004 : Column 805W
| Government Office Regions(30) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMI (kg/m(31)) | East of England | London | South East | South West | England |
| Women | |||||
| 1998 | 21.6 | 19.5 | 19.3 | 19.4 | 21.2 |
| 1999 | 20.1 | 20.3 | 17.8 | 23.1 | 21.1 |
| 2000 | 19.3 | 21.8 | 19.4 | 17.4 | 21.4 |
| 2001 | 23.8 | 19.9 | 21.8 | 24.1 | 23.5 |
| 2002 | 22.1 | 25.5 | 19.3 | 16.6 | 22.8 |
| Bases | |||||
| 1998 | 862 | 960 | 1,216 | 526 | 7,730 |
| 1999 | 433 | 395 | 551 | 381 | 3,699 |
| 2000 | 414 | 440 | 536 | 368 | 3,703 |
| 2001 | 865 | 800 | 1,132 | 814 | 7,414 |
| 2002 | 390 | 411 | 564 | 331 | 3,509 |
(30) Figures prior to 1998 not available by Government Office Region.
Source:
Health Survey for England, Department of Health
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