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15 Mar 2004 : Column 108W—continued
Windfall Profits (Banks)
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to tax the windfall profits of the main clearing banks. [161042]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 12 March 2004]: Tax policy is reviewed as part of the annual Budget process. There are no current plans to introduce a windfall tax on banks.
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HEALTH
Alcohol Advertising
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2004, Official Report, column 1061W, on alcohol advertising, what judgement the Chief Medical Officer has formed on the studies. [159153]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Chief Medical Officer has read and considered evidence in the interim analytical report produced by Prime Minister's Strategy Unit and awaits the publication of the Government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England. The strategy is due to be published shortly in accordance with the timetable set out in the NHS Plan.
The public health white paper, "Choosing Health?", was launched at the beginning of March, with a consultation on improving people's health to run for 12 weeks. This offers the opportunity to have a wide-ranging national debate about improving the health of the whole population, including issues associated with alcohol misuse. We will ensure that the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England feeds into this consultation.
Allergies
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent medical breakthroughs he has assessed in the (a) identification and (b) treatment of allergies. [159935]
Dr. Ladyman: We are not aware of any specific recent medical breakthroughs.
Amantadine
Mr. Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the (a) use and (b) effectiveness of amantadine in the treatment of multiple sclerosis in the national health service. [161125]
Dr. Ladyman: Products containing amantadine are not currently licensed for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United Kingdom. In order to determine whether amantadine is safe and effective in the treating multiple sclerosis, the product would need to be assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the new indication approved by the Committee on Safety of Medicines. To date, no such application has been made.
A Cochrane Review to determine the effectiveness and safety of amantadine in reducing fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis was published in The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2004. The reviewers concluded that the efficacy of amantadine treatment in reducing fatigue in people with MS is poorly documented and that there is insufficient evidence to make recommendations to guide prescribing.
Continence Services
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment has been made of the facilities available in schools to manage children who have (a) bladder and (b) bowel conditions; [159837]
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- (2) what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of dedicated specialist paediatric continence services; [159838]
(3) what assessment has been made of the services available to children with continence problems since February 2000; [159839]
(4) how many paediatric specialist continence nurses are practising; and what plans he has to increase their number. [159841]
Dr. Ladyman: The effects of bladder and bowel conditions and other causes of continence problems in children can be of serious concern in schools. All schools in England were made aware of the Department's "Good Practice in Continence Services" guidance (2000), which addresses measures for effective management. I understand the Department for Education and Skills requires schools to have toilet and medical facilities in accordance with the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999. It is for local assessment of need, on a case by case basis, to determine what additional facilities may be needed in schools. Individual provision in schools is not assessed centrally.
"Good Practice in Continence Services" indicates cost-effectiveness associated with specialist continence services and advises that each national health service primary care trust (PCT) should have specialist continence services in place which provide an individual assessment of needs. PCTs are also encouraged to use the Modernisation Agency's publication, "Good practice in paediatric continence services—benchmarking in action", when ensuring levels of quality and provision.
PCTs are responsible for assessing and providing continence services in accordance with need, and for determining the number of nurses necessary for this activity. An assessment of services and the number of paediatric specialist continence nurses practising, is not undertaken centrally.
NHS Dentists
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists are accepting new NHS patients; and if he will make a statement. [157830]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on dental practices which are accepting new National Health Service patients can be found on the www.nhs.uk website.
Under current arrangements, dentists are able to vary their NHS commitment and so the number of practices accepting patients is subject to change in the light of such decisions by dentists to vary their NHS commitment.
On the basis of the most recent information, out of the total number of 8,587 practices in England, on 2 March there were:
- 4,022 practices accepting children;
- 2,817 practices accepting charge paying adults;
- 3,164 practices accepting charge exempt adults;
- 1,545 practices that carry out occasional NHS treatment to non-registered patients.
Overall, 93 per cent. of callers to NHS Direct are being directed to dentists within locally agreed distance standards who are accepting NHS patients.
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Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population was registered with an NHS dentist in each primary care trust in each year since PCTs were established. [156648]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information available is for general dental service (GDS) dentist registration rates for adults and children in England at 30 September 2002 and 2003. The registration rates for each primary care trust area has been placed in the Library.
Registrations lapse if patients do not return to their dentists within 15 months. Registration rates therefore exclude patients who have not been to their GDS dentist within the past 15 months. They also exclude patients who receive dental treatment from other National Health Service dental services such as personal dental services (PDS) and community dental services (CDS) as patients do not need to be registered to access these services.
Registrations are included in the area of the dentist. The registration rates for some areas may be affected by some patients receiving their dental treatment in a different area from the one in which they live.
Patients wishing to see a GDS dentist can obtain details of dentists accepting patients in their area by contacting NHS Direct. 93 per cent. of callers to NHS Direct in the first 10 months of 2003 were given details of dentists accepting new NHS patients within local distance standards.
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Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of (a) adults and (b) children in the West Chelmsford parliamentary constituency were registered with an NHS dentist in 1997; and how many were registered with an NHS dentist at the most recent date for which figures are available. [160274]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 11 March 2004]: The information available is for general dental service (GDS) dentist registration rates for adults and children in North Essex health authority at 30 September 1997 and at 30 September 2002 and for Chelmsford Primary Care Trust for 30 September 2002 and 30 September 2003, and is shown in the table.
Registration will lapse if a patient does not return to their dentist within 15 months. Registration rates represent the proportion of the population who have attended a dentist under GDS arrangements in the previous 15 months. The registration period was changed for new registrations and registration renewals from September 1996. Previously the period for adults was 24 months and for children registration lapsed at the end of the following calendar year. The change caused registration numbers to fall between November 1997 and August 1998.
Registrations are included in the area of the dentist. The registration rates for some areas may be affected by some patients receiving their dental treatment in a different area from the one in which they live.
National health service dental services are also provided by the community dental service, personal dental service, salaried service of the GDS and hospital dental service. These services do not require the patient to be registered with a dentist before treatment.
| 30 September 1997 | 30 September 2002 | 30 September 2003 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Authority/Primary Care Trust | Child | Adult | Child | Adult | Child | Adult |
| North Essex Health authority | 0.66 | 0.51 | 0.64 | 0.46 | — | — |
| Chelmsford PCT | 0.64 | 0.50 | 0.64 | 0.51 | ||
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