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31 Mar 2004 : Column 1521W—continued
Opinion Sampling
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of total expenditure by his Department on (a) focus groups and (b) opinion polls in each year from 1995–96 to 2003–04; and if he will make a statement. [162757]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A list of the Department's expenditure incurred on focus groups and opinion polls in each year from 1995–96 to 2003–04 can only be provided at disproportionate costs.
Over-prescription
Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to reduce the waste arising from the over-prescribing of medicines. [163734]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department is concerned about wastage from over-prescribing of medicines and has introduced a number of initiatives to address this. These include; the medicines management collaborative schemes, that demonstrate innovation and good practice in medicines management and the joint medicines partnership task force, that encourages the involvement of patients in their treatment decisions and repeat dispensing which enables the pharmacist to check whether patients still need the medicines prescribed for them. Improved prescribing and medicines management is also being encouraged through the quality and outcomes framework, within the new general practitioner contracts. In hospitals, too, action has been taken to reduce waste, including through the re-use of patients' own medicines and dispensing for discharge.
For the future, the new community pharmacy contractual framework is expected to incorporate services, such as medicines use review, which will support quality prescribing and reduce waste.
Sex Education
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis is for the statement by the Chief Medical Officer that there is strong evidence for the effectiveness of sex and relationships education. [162493]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Effective sex and relationships education (SRE) is essential if young people are to make responsible and well informed decisions about their lives. It should teach young people to understand
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human sexuality and to respect themselves and others. It enables young people to mature, to build up confidence and self-esteem and understand the reasons for delaying sexual activity.
The position with regard to SRE in the Chief Medical Officer's Update is informed by high quality reviews of the international evidence. The most recent of these (Swann, C., Bowe, K., McCormick, G., and Kosmin, M. (2003) Evidence-Based briefing paper on teenage pregnancy and parenthood. Health Development Agency) considered the evidence from all high quality systematic and other reviews and meta-analyses published since 1996. They concluded that 'good' evidence (for example, drawn from high quality reviews) exists for the effectiveness of 'school-based sex education', particularly linked to contraceptive services (measured against knowledge, attitudes, delaying sexual activity and/or reducing pregnancy rates). In contrast, there was no good evidence for the effectiveness of abstinence based education (which focuses only on promoting sexual abstinence).
The Health Development Agency was asked by the Department to undertake a review of the research evidence underpinning the teenage pregnancy strategy. They reviewed systematic reviews, meta-analyses and literature reviews of what works to prevent teenage pregnancy, which have been published since 1996. To be included reviews needed to meet strict quality criteria. This document was endorsed by an expert reference group and was subject to external peer review.
Sunbeds
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the (a) benefits and (b) risks to health of the use of sunbeds. [163892]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department has not made an assessment of whether there are any benefits to health from the use of sunbeds. Reports on the effects of ultra-violet radiation (UVR) from the National Radiological Protection Board, the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection and the British Medical Association conclude that there is no direct evidence that sunbed exposure causes skin cancer.
By far the greatest source of UVR exposure is the sun. That is why we have taken measures to encourage the public to protect themselves and their children from the risks of unsafe exposure to the sun.
The Health and Safety Executive has published guidance for operators and customers of all solaria, including sunbeds. The advice is that people under 16 years old should not use sunbeds and that a limit of 20 sessions per year should be observed. This advice was developed after consultation with leading experts.
Teenage Cancer
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS hospital beds are allocated for the treatment of teenage and young adult patients with cancer. [163889]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Information is not collected on the number of beds designated for cancer patients. These beds will be included in the overall total of general
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and acute beds. Information on the average daily number of beds for each national health service trust is published annually on the Department's website at http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/index.htm.
vCJD
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the impact of changes to the levels of funding for vCJD surveillance in 2004–05. [163895]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department will be providing funding of £2,005,594 for 2004–05. This represents an increase of 6.5 per cent. over the funding for 2003–04.
Waiting Times (Crosby)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on NHS waiting times for heart surgery in Crosby. [160431]
Miss Melanie Johnson: In March 1997 there were 138 people waiting nine months and 40 people waiting over 12 months for heart surgery at the Cardiothoracic Centre—Liverpool national health service trust. The latest available figures show that in January 2004 there were no people waiting nine months and over for surgery.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Careers Service
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received about the future of the careers service in Essex; and if he will make a statement. [163650]
Margaret Hodge: My Department has received four representations about the future of the careers service in Essex—part of Essex Careers Business Partnership (ECBP). Concerns were raised regarding a short fall in the ECBP pension fund and how the future service provided to young people in that locality would be affected.
Pension liabilities, how they are funded and what pension entitlements staff are legally entitled to, are matters for the directors of ECBP and the trustees of the pension scheme. The Department cannot take on the liabilities of private organisations. The Department's primary concern is to maintain continuity of service to young people in England.
Devon LEA
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money was given to schools in the Devon local education authority area from the Capital Modernisation Fund in each of the last seven years. [164785]
Mr. Miliband: The Department for Education and Skills does not hold this information centrally. Capital Modernisation Fund is allocated by projects and not by area.
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Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students living in the Devon local education authority area have benefited from New Opportunities bursaries since the scheme was set up. [164789]
Alan Johnson: Information about Opportunity Bursaries is held at the level of institutions that provide higher education provision. Apart from that, it is not possible to extract from the data the number of awards for students in any given area.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what investment there has been in (a) sport and (b) music in schools in Devon Local Education Authority in each of the last seven years. [164794]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information is not held centrally. Within the context of the statutory National Curriculum, where music is compulsory for pupils aged 5–14, and Physical Education (PE) is compulsory for pupils aged 5–16, it is for individual schools to use their budgets as they judge appropriate.
The Government are investing more than £1 billion in England to transform PE, school sport and club links. The funding will help deliver an ambitious Public Service Agreement target, shared with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to increase the percentage of 5–16 year olds who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75 per cent. by 2006.
The Department is providing £1,746,299 to support the delivery of three School Sport Partnerships in the Devon LEA area. The partnerships include 18 secondary and 114 primary schools and provide enhanced sports opportunities for all young people and ensure that their pupils spend a minimum of two hours a week on high quality PE and School Sport.
Furthermore, £3,953,000 is also being provided to to schools in the Devon LEA area specifically to enhance PE and school sport facilities through the New Opportunities Fund.
The Music Standards Fund (MSF) supports Local Education Authority Music Services, which provide activities including workshops, festivals, small group and ensemble tuition and curriculum support. Since 1999, the following MSF payments have been made to Devon LEA Music Service:
in 2000–01: £203,000 plus £121,050
in 1999–00: £124,000 plus £5,047
A total of £646,400 has been allocated for 2004–05.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teaching assistants, (b) teachers and (c) teaching vacancies there were in schools in Devon Local Education Authority in each of the last seven years. [164796]
Mr. Miliband: The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants, regular teachers and full-time teacher vacancies in maintained schools in the former Devon Local Education Authority area in each January between 1997 and 2003.
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| Teaching assistants | Teachers | Teacher vacancies | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 810 | 7,700 | 26 |
| 1998 | 960 | 7,800 | 24 |
| 1999 | 1,090 | 7,890 | 16 |
| 2000 | 1,250 | 8,060 | 59 |
| 2001 | 1,930 | 8,210 | 57 |
| 2002 | 2,220 | 8,430 | 25 |
| 2003 | 2,670 | 8,450 | 6 |
Sources:
Annual School Census and the annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies (618G).
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the level of local education authority funding is per pupil in Devon for 2004–05; and what the amount spent was in 1996–97. [164798]
Mr. Miliband: The estimated total level of revenue funding per pupil (age 3 to 19) for Devon for 2004–05 is £3,630. Devon's Net Current Expenditure on pre-primary, primary, special and secondary pupils in
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1996–97 was £2,220, as recorded by the authority on its RO1 form. The figures are not directly comparable since the former reflects the total provision made available to the authority whereas the latter reflects what the authority actually spent within schools. 2004–05 funding figures are based on pupil numbers used in the Education Formula Spending Share calculation. Expenditure figures are calculated using pupil numbers from the annual school census adjusted to the appropriate financial year.
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