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19 Apr 2004 : Column 200W—continued
Ministerial Accommodation Costs
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's allowance is for the cost of a night's accommodation in a hotel for a Minister. [163602]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Accommodation arrangements for Department of Health Ministers when travelling on official business are in line with the Ministerial Code, paragraph 84 and are borne by the Department.
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Nanotechnology
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evaluation his Department has made of the safety of injectable quantum dots. [165026]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Quantum dots are understood to be another manifestation within the field of nanotechnology and the Department and its agencies are monitoring developments in this field closely. As the technology develops we expect it will be used in healthcare to produce new products and to improve the way that existing products work. Products developed using this technology may be classified either as medicines or as medical devices, according to the standard definitions and assessed to ensure the safety of any product.
Nappies
Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to promote awareness of the benefits of reusable nappies. [164113]
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to promote the use of real nappies once mothers and babies are discharged from hospital. [165321]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 29 March 2004]: The Government firmly believes that women and their families should be given information on the use of both reusable nappies to make an informed choice. The Pregnancy Book and Birth to Five are two comprehensive information booklets produced by the Department which are given free to all first time mothers.
Both publications give detailed information on both reusable and disposable nappies including information about nappy laundering services.
It is for individual units and trusts to decide on the practicalities of promoting the use of terry nappies in their own maternity units.
National Programme for Information Technology
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 24 March 2004, Official Report, column 922W, on the national programme for information technology (NPfIT), what the total projected cost was for the NPfIT when it was announced in June 2002 (a) up to March 2006 and (b) up to and beyond March 2006. [165302]
Mr. Hutton: When the national programme for information technology in the national health service (NPfIT) was announced in June 2002 the costs were still being assessed and work was ongoing as part of the Spending Review (SR) 2002. The first projected cost for the NPfIT announced in January 2003 as part of SR2002 was £2.3 billion to cover the period April 2004 to March 2006.
We are not considering budgetary requirements as part of SR2004 and the key indicator of the projected cost for the NPfIT following award of the eight contracts is £6.2 billion to cover the period from April
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2004 to beyond March 2006. The initial £2.3 billion was allocated as follows: £370 million for 2003–04, £730 million for 2004–05 and £1.2 billion for 2005–06.
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much has been spent by (a) primary care trusts and (b) NHS trusts on the National Programme for IT since 2001; and what spending is projected for the next three years; [159140]
(2) what assessment has been made of the cost to each (a) primary care trust and (b) NHS trust for training users of the new IT systems under the National Programme for IT; and what allocation of funding has been made to each for that purpose. [159142]
Mr. Hutton: There was no spending on the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) in 2001 nor 2002. The three year expenditure programme started in April 2003 but there has been no local expenditure on the National Programme by primary care trusts and national health service trusts in the last year. The expenditure projection over the three years from April 2003 is shown in the following table and is centrally funded.
In addition to this central funding, the NHS spends its own resources on information technology, mainly for existing IT systems. In 2003–04, it is estimated that the NHS will spend around £880 million. About 70 per cent. of this amount will be spent by NHS trusts with the remainder spent by primary care trusts and strategic health authorities.
As the NPfIT is implemented over the years ahead, an increasing proportion of the existing NHS IT spend will become available to be spent on additional services under the national programme contracts as trusts make local choices. However, it is too soon to accurately predict the proportion.
| Current estimate | |
|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 330 |
| 2004–05 | 956 |
| 2005–06 | 1,352 |
| Total | 2,638 |
Training requirements for users are being developed as part of the detailed plans for each geographical cluster. This will enable the programme to consider the most appropriate ways of providing training and development and produce firmer costs.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the EMIS IT system is one of the accredited systems for the National Programme for IT. [160663]
Mr. Hutton: EMIS systems have been accredited for use in national health service primary care under the terms of the former "Requirements for Accreditation" process and the new General Medical Services contract.
The National Programme for Information Technology has awarded a number of contracts to local service providers (LSPs) who act as prime contractors to deliver the elements of the NPfIT in a geographical area. It is the primary responsibility of the LSPs to work with a range of other suppliers to deliver the solutions that
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the NHS needs. This will include working with EMIS and other primary care system providers to ensure that the systems in use across the NHS conform to the national standards required and can be upgraded to integrate with new national applications as they come on line.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 5 January 2004, Official Report, column 201W, on NHS contracts, what (a) total value and (b) duration was originally set for the contract; and what the total expected (i) value and (ii) duration is. [156351]
Mr. Hutton: The value and duration set for the contracts awarded by national programme for information technology in the national health service are as shown in the table.
Company | Value £ million | Expiry | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| BT | 620 | 2013 | National data spine |
| BT | 530 | 2011 | National NHS network |
| SchlumbergerSema | 64.5 | (74)2008 | National e-booking service |
| Accenture | 1,099 | 2013 | North East local service provider (LSP) |
| Accenture | 934 | 2013 | Eastern LSP |
| BT | 996 | 2013 | London LSP |
| CSC | 973 | 2013 | North West and West Midlands LSP |
| Fujitsu | 986 | 2013 | Southern LSP |
(74) With an option for renewal.
National Service Framework (Older People)
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates his Department has made of the costs of implementing Standard 1 of the National Service Framework for Older People. [164765]
Dr. Ladyman: There is little research or firm evidence available to allow us to quantify the extent of age discrimination and therefore the cost associated with eliminating it. Eliminating age discrimination, promoting person-centred care, ensuring evidence-based practice and access to specialist care and treatment are inter-linked aspects of the national service framework for older people that are centred around giving older people fair access to the national health service based on priority of clinical need.
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