| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
18 Mar 2004 : Column 447W—continued
Direct Payments
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) elderly people and (b) disabled people in each local authority have been offered a direct payment in the latest year for which figures are available. [161915]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on the estimated number of elderly and disabled people receiving direct payments for each council in England for 2002–03 has been placed in the Library.
Information on the number of direct payments offered is not available.
Domiciliary Care
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been receiving publicly funded intensive home care or home help in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [161925]
Dr. Ladyman: The table shows the number of households receiving publicly funded intensive home care in England for the years 1997 to 2002.
Information on the number of people receiving intensive home care and home help is not centrally available.
| Rounded numbers | |
|---|---|
| Households receiving intensive(10) , (11) home care | |
| 1997(12) | — |
| 1998(13) | 60,670 |
| 1999(13) | 68,675 |
| 2000 | 72,290 |
| 2001 | 77,410 |
| 2002 | 81,440 |
Notes:
(10) Intensive home care is defined as more than 10 contact hours and 6 or more visits.
(11) Households receiving intensive home care purchased with a direct payment are excluded.
(12) Comparable data not available in 1997
(13) Excludes households receiving home care from more than one sector, which in total is an intensive package.
Source:
KS1
18 Mar 2004 : Column 448W
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of local authority-funded home care and home help hours in England were contracted out to independent sector providers (a) in total and (b) broken down by local authority, in each year since 1993; and if he will make a statement. [161932]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on the percentage of contact hours provided by the independent sector in England by council with social service responsibilities in a survey week in September, for 1993 to 2002, has been placed in the Library.
Emergency Services
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) ambulances and (b) emergency vehicles used by paramedics and doctors there are in England. [159898]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not held by the Department of Health in the format requested.
The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (an executive agency of the Department of Health) estimates that the national health service has an ambulance fleet of approximately 5,500 vehicles; this is made up of approximately 46 per cent. patient transport service and 54 per cent. accident and emergency ambulances. This excludes cars, rapid response vehicles and smaller patient transport service vehicles. Information is not collected centrally on the number of these vehicles.
NHS Treatment (Age Limits)
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list treatments available on the NHS for which there is an upper age limit; if he will specify the upper age limit for each treatment to which this is applicable; and if he will make a statement. [161926]
Dr. Ladyman: Standard One of the older people's national service framework sets out the general commitment to address age discrimination in access to health and social care. It requires that access to treatment and care should be made on the basis of individual needs not age, and that national health service services should be provided, regardless of age, on the basis of clinical need alone. This will require specific clinical assessment and judgement, taking account of the individual patient's needs and wishes, and the up-to-date evidence on effectiveness of specific treatments available.
Osteoporosis
Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts in England have osteoporosis managed strategies as recommended in the National Service Framework for Older People. [158866]
Dr. Ladyman: Osteoporosis is one of a number of important aspects within the development of the national service framework's (NSF) integrated falls service.
18 Mar 2004 : Column 449W
The NSF for older people requires integrated falls services to be in place locally by April 2005. The Department will be monitoring formally the 2005 milestone at strategic health authority (SHA) level as this is included as one of the key targets in Improvement, Expansion and Reform, the priorities and planning framework for 2003—06. All SHAs except one currently report that the April 2005 target will be achieved in their areas. The Department has offered support to the SHA that may have difficulty meeting the target across the whole of its area.
Parkinson's Disease
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants in each strategic health authority are trained in the care and complex management of Parkinson's disease. [162230]
Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will support the extension of specialist nurses in the management of Parkinson's disease to all NHS trusts in England. [162232]
Dr. Ladyman: It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders to make decisions about the staff and services required to meet the health care needs of their local populations, including those with Parkinson's disease.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Council Housing
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the local authorities whose tenants have rejected transfer of council housing stock, broken down by (a) year of rejection and (b) option rejected. [162176]
Keith Hill: Details as requested for local authorities that have had negative ballot results for housing transfer are tabled as follows:
(14) Denotes partial stock.
18 Mar 2004 : Column 450W
Disabled Facilities Grant
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many parents of disabled children in England applied for the disabled facilities grant in 2003; and how many of them had their application means-tested; [162284]
- (2) how many parents of disabled children in England who had their application for the disabled facilities grant means-tested in 2003 withdrew from the application process; [162285]
(3) how many parents of disabled children received the full amount applied for in the disabled facilities grant in England in 2003; [162286]
(4) what the total amount paid in disabled facilities grant in England was in 2003; and how much of this was paid to those whose applications had been means-tested; [162287]
(5) what plans he has to abolish the means testing of the disabled facilities grant for the parents of disabled children in England. [162288]
Keith Hill: The total amount of disabled facilities grant (DFG) awarded by local authorities in England in 2002–03 was £173.8 million. All applicants for DFG are subject to a means test.
Information is not held centrally on the number and value of DFGs awarded to parents of disabled children in England and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The latest information available on the type of DFGs awarded and the characteristics of DFG recipients is from the 1996 report into the
18 Mar 2004 : Column 451W
Evaluation of the DFG system published by the Department of the Environment. This showed that 5 per cent. of all successful DFG applicants were parents with a disabled child. The report also showed that 35 per cent. of those who initially enquired about a grant withdrew from the process either because they were ineligible for a grant, the council offered them some other form of assistance or because they would not qualify for a grant because of the means test. Of those who withdrew 8 per cent. were parents with a disabled child.
Since 1996 the DFG means test has been amended and a special housing allowance for a family with a disabled child was introduced in 2000. This extra allowance is offset against that family's income.
The Government announced a review the operation of the DFG programme on 5 January 2004. In answer to a parliamentary question from Baroness Wilkins, my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Rooker in the other place said that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, jointly with the Department of Health will be reviewing the disabled facilities grant programme, including the operation of the means test, in the context of the Spending Review 2004. The conclusions of this review will be announced later in the year.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |