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20 Apr 2004 : Column 419W—continued

Recycled Paper

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list his Department's main suppliers of (a)   copier paper, (b) stationery, (c) envelopes and (d) paper for reports; and if he will state (i) the name of each paper used and (ii) the recycled, and post-consumer recycled, content of each paper. [165445]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department's contracted supplier of copier paper, bulk stationery and envelopes is Guilbert UK. The vast majority of white paper purchased is Niceday 3500, which is 80gsm, 100 per cent. recycled, using 80 per cent. post consumer waste.

Bulk paper copying is carried out on Xeros "x3" brand paper. This is 100 per cent. post consumer waste recycled.

NHS Dentistry

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many dentists have been recruited to the NHS in each year since 1997 in the Cumbria and Lancashire Health Authority. [165542]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Information on the number of dentists joining the general dental service (GDS) or personal dental service (PDS) in the Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority area in each year since 1997 is shown in the table.
Number of entrants to the GDS and PDS

Year	Cumbria and Lancashire SHA
1998 from 1997	58
1999 from 1998	72
2000 from 1999	67
2001 from 2000	79
2002 from 2001	60
2003 from 2002	75

Notes:
1.   Dentists include principals, their assistants and trainees. Entrants will include some dentists who left dentistry temporarily in previous years.
2.   These figures do not cover other National Health Service dental services, for example, community dental service and hospital dental service.
Source:
Dental Practice Board statistics.

Contraception

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence he has collated on the percentage of girls who take the contraceptive pill who suffer from (a) weight gain, (b) acne or other skin conditions and (c) mood swings. [165491]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Clinical trials for combined oral contraceptives have suggested that mood disturbances occur in around one per cent. of users, while acne, other skin conditions (such as eczema and itching) and weight changes occur in between 0.1 per cent. and 1 per cent. of users.
 
20 Apr 2004 : Column 420W
 

Statins

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people being prescribed statins in each year to 2010. [165794]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Winning the War on Heart Disease, the 2004 progress report on the national service framework (NSF) for coronary heart disease, reports that statin prescribing continues to rise by around 30 per cent. a year. Nationally, about 1.8 million people are currently receiving statins.

The Government has made no estimate of numbers of people likely to be prescribed statins in 2010. However, in his 2002 Report Securing Our Future Health: Taking a Long-Term View, Derek Wanless suggested that statins should be prescribed for patients with lower levels of coronary heart disease risk than in the NSF, a 15 per cent. risk over 10 years, as opposed to 30 per cent. in the NSF, and that this would lead to an estimated prescribing cost of £2.1 billion by 2010. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence has been commissioned to produce a technological appraisal of statins and effective prescribing.

Hypertension

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department are taking to encourage self monitoring of hypertension. [165802]

Miss Melanie Johnson: It is essential that individuals across the population be made aware of the risks associated with high blood pressure and the importance of knowing their blood pressure. For the last two years, the Department has contributed to the funding of The Blood Pressure Association's national blood pressure testing week, which is the annual event highlighting their ongoing Know Your Numbers campaign.

Genetically Modified Food

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what restrictions are in place to prevent the impact of genetically modified meat and fish and what discussions he has had with retailers on their policy towards these products. [165451]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Before any genetically modified food (including GM animals and fish) can be marketed in or imported into the European Union, approval is required under the relevant European Commission legislation. This would include a rigorous safety assessment of the GM food, which is carried out on a case by case basis.

The Food Standards Agency has had no discussions with retailers on their policy towards such products.
 
20 Apr 2004 : Column 421W
 

Public Health

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2004, Official Report, column 396W, which posts are filled by (a) acting staff, (b) temporary staff and (c) staff who fill other posts as directors of public health. [159105]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested has been placed in the Library and the previous information has been updated.

Food Advertising

Mr. Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the evidence received by his Department on the impact of the advertising of food to children. [159774]

Miss Melanie Johnson: In September 2003, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) published the results of a review that it had commissioned on the effects of food promotion on children's food related behaviour. The review is available on the FSA's website.

In August 2003, the food advertising unit of the Advertising Association provided the FSA with the report, Advertising and Food Choice in Children: a Review of the Literature, by Dr Brian Young of Exeter University. This report is available on the food advertising unit's website.

In December 2003, the FSA received from Dr Jason Halford of Liverpool University a pre-publication copy of his paper, The effect of Television Food Advertisments/Commercials on Food Consumption in Children. Dr Halford's paper has since been published in the Journal Appetite.
 
20 Apr 2004 : Column 422W
 

Health Services (Crosby)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes there have been to NHS waiting list time in the last seven years for residents of Crosby. [160392]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Information most closely associated with place of residency is not collected on a constituency level, but at a health services commissioner level. Data is shown in the tables for Sefton Health Authority for the period 1997 to 2002 and South Sefton Primary Care Trust for 2003.
GP Referral to Consultant Waiting List in weeks

Year	Name	Not seen 13 to 25	Not seen 26 plus
1997–98	Sefton HA	1,936	243
1998–99	Sefton HA	2,153	911
1999–2000	Sefton HA	2,241	883
2000–01	Sefton HA	1,358	779
2001–02	Sefton HA	1,141	0

GP Referral to Consultant Waiting List in weeks

Month/year	Name	13-17 Not seen	17-21 Not seen	21-26 Not seen	26 plus
March 2003	South Sefton PCT	218	85	0	0
September 2003	South Sefton PCT	441	102	0	0

Source:
Department of Health QM08R





Inpatient Waiting Lists by Commissioner for Crosby residents—Waiting list in months

Year	Quarter	Name	TWL	0-2 Not seen	3-5 Not seen	6-8 Not seen	9-11 Not seen	12-14 Not seen	15-17 Not seen
1996–97	4	Sefton HA	9,239	4,046	2,247	1,531	1,166	246	3
1997–98	4	Sefton HA	8,915	4,204	1,952	1,328	984	367	80
1998–99	4	Sefton HA	7,967	4,031	1,634	1,142	745	325	90
1999–2000	4	Sefton HA	7,531	3,603	1,773	1,158	644	237	116
2000–01	4	Sefton HA	7,436	3,987	1,638	971	455	278	107
2001–02	4	Sefton HA	7,155	3,837	1,753	1,002	464	99	0

Waiting List in months

Year	Month	Name	TWL	0-2 Not seen	3-5 Not seen	6-8 Not seen	9-11 Not seen	12-14 Not seen	15-17 Not seen
2002–03	March 2003	South Sefton PCT	3,917	2,581	841	369	126	0	0
2003–04	December 2003	South Sefton PCT	3,689	2,744	689	230	26	0	0

Source:
Department of Health QF01.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residents in Crosby awaiting heart surgery have had the option of choosing an alternative hospital for quicker treatment in the last 12 months. [160432]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not held centrally.

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