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22 Apr 2004 : Column 617W—continued

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the IT industry about the recommendations of the industry forum for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access; and if she will make a statement. [166883]

Mr. Timms: Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, commonly referred to as Wi-Max, is a North American based industry initiative to promote open interoperability between products designed for broadband wireless access. We welcome efforts to improve standards of interoperability between vendor products through industry initiatives. The Department participates in several fora where these standards are generated and used. My officials have discussed the initiative in regular meetings with companies concerned in this sector. Use of wireless relies on availability of essential spectrum, which in the UK is now the responsibility of the new independent regulator for communications—Ofcom. Accordingly, my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond to my hon. Friend. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

HEALTH

Allergies

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the extent of Government research and development programmes on allergies. [165062]

Dr. Ladyman: Details of research projects relating to allergies funded by, or of interest to, the national health service are recorded on the National Research Register (NRR) at www.update-software.com/national. The NRR currently contains details of over 100 on-going projects in this area, as well as a larger number of completed projects. Much of this work is funded through allocations made annually to NHS providers for research and development to meet the priorities and needs of the NHS and to meet the costs to the NHS of hosting research supported by external funders. The total amount allocated to NHS providers in 2003–04
 
22 Apr 2004 : Column 618W
 
for   research and development was £442 million. In addition, the Department is funding research on air pollution and asthma under its policy research programme.

In 2001–02, expenditure by the Medical Research Council on its respiratory disorders portfolio was an estimated £11.9 million, which included work on allergies and asthma.

The Food Standards Agency funds research on food allergy and intolerance, with particular emphasis on severe allergies, how they occur and what causes them. A large programme of research on food intolerance and allergy, costing around £1 million a year is ongoing.

Consultants

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital consultants retired in the last quarter of (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04. [165886]

Mr. Hutton: Retirement data in the format requested and figures for 2003–04 are not available. The number of consultants in England and Wales, who received a pension from the National Health Service Pension Scheme in the year to 31 March 2003, is shown as follows:

1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003

Consultant Pension Awards: 451

Pension scheme records are continually, and retrospectively, being updated to reflect further membership activity and revised data. This data extract therefore represents a snapshot in time as at August 2003.

Dementia

Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what data collection systems are in place to record the (a) number and (b) costs of drugs for dementia supplied to acute and mental health trusts; [166549]

(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that accurate out-turn figures are available for the (a) number and (b) costs of drugs for dementia supplied to acute and mental health trusts; [166550]

(3) if he will discuss with acute and mental health trusts the provision of systems to ensure accurate out-turn figures for the (a) number and (b) costs of drugs for dementia supplied to acute and mental health trusts. [166551]

Dr. Ladyman: In 2002–03 national health service trusts in England spent £1,942.8 million on the purchase of medicines, including medical gases. Detail of the break down of this figure into different therapeutic classes of medicines is not available.

The national programme for information technology is charged with delivering the IT strategy for the NHS. Details were set out in "Delivering 21st Century IT Support for the NHS". The implementation of this national IT strategy will enable the collection and analysis of more detailed information on the use of medicines by the NHS.
 
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Foundation Trusts

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what statistics will be available centrally from his Department on NHS foundation trusts. [166438]

Mr. Hutton: The Department will continue to publish statistics on the performance of the national health service as a whole. This will include information on services commissioned by primary care trusts and provided by NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts, diagnosis and treatment centres and independent sector providers.
 
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General Practitioners

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners there were per head of population in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in each year since 1997. [166653]

Mr. Hutton: Information on the number of general practitioners (excluding retainers) per 100,000 population in England and in each strategic health authority (SHA) since 1997 is shown in the table.

The Office for National Statistics has not yet published 2003 population data by SHA. Therefore, information for 2003 has only been provided on a national level.
All General Medical Practitioners⁽⁴⁾ (excluding GP Retainers) per 100,000 of the population by Strategic Health Authority: 1997–2003, England Number (headcount)

	1997		1998		1999
	All practitioners (excl. Ret)	All practitioners (excl. Ret) per 100,000 population	All practitioners (excl. Ret)	All practitioners (excl. Ret) per 100,000 population	All practitioners (excl. Ret)	All practitioners (excl. Ret) per 100,000 population
England total	29,389	60	29,697	61	29,987	61
North East total	1,485	58	1,506	59	1,520	60
County Durham and Tees Valley	649	57	650	57	656	58
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	836	59	856	61	864	62
North West total	4,040	59	4,044	60	4,124	61
Cheshire and Merseyside	1,421	60	1,413	60	1,456	62
Cumbria and Lancashire	1,134	60	1,147	60	1,158	61
Greater Manchester	1,485	59	1,484	59	1,510	60
Yorkshire and the Humber total	3,021	61	3,028	61	3,092	63
North and East Yorkshire and       Northern Lincolnshire	999	62	991	62	1,011	63
South Yorkshire	758	59	758	59	772	61
West Yorkshire	1,264	61	1,279	62	1,309	63
East Midlands total	2,338	57	2,361	58	2,369	58
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire       and Rutland	908	60	902	59	898	58
Trent	1,430	56	1,459	57	1,471	57
West Midlands total	3,026	58	3,057	58	3,093	59
Birmingham and The Black       Country	1,327	58	1,343	59	1,357	60
Shropshire and Staffordshire	792	54	813	55	830	56
West Midlands South	907	60	901	60	906	60
East of England total	3,080	58	3,141	59	3,156	59
Bedford and Hertfordshire	915	59	944	60	948	60
Essex	849	54	862	54	860	54
Norfolk, Suffolk and       Cambridgeshire	1,316	62	1,335	62	1,348	62
London total	4,532	65	4,515	65	4,496	64
North Central London	788	69	802	70	786	68
North East London	888	62	896	62	894	61
North West London	1,209	73	1,188	71	1.134	67
South East London	868	60	862	59	901	61
South West London	779	62	767	61	781	62
South East total	4,682	60	4,788	61	4,830	61
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	1,060	61	1,070	61	1,089	62
Kent and Medway	904	58	916	59	918	59
Surrey and Sussex	1,486	59	1,518	60	1,522	60
Thames Valley	1,232	60	1,284	62	1,301	63
South West total	3,185	66	3,257	67	3,307	68
Avon, Gloucestershire and       Wiltshire	1,325	63	1,374	65	1,404	65
Somerset and Dorset	794	68	820	70	843	72
South West Peninsula	1,066	69	1,063	69	1,060	68

 
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Number (headcount)

	2000		2001
	All practitioners (excl. Ret)	All practitioners (excl. Ret) per 100,000 population	All practitioners (excl. Ret)	All practitioners (excl. Ret) per 100,000 population
England total	30,252	62	30,685	62
North East total	1,536	61	1,603	64
County Durham and Tees Valley	661	58	696	61
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	875	63	907	65
North West total	4,134	61	4,174	62
Cheshire and Merseyside	1,459	62	1,481	63
Cumbria and Lancashire	1,152	61	1,174	62
Greater Manchester	1,523	60	1,519	60
Yorkshire and the Humber total	3,123	63	3,192	64
North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	1,021	63	1,039	64
South Yorkshire	778	61	794	63
West Yorkshire	1,324	64	1.359	65
East Midlands total	2,384	58	2,437	58
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland	877	57	894	57
Trent	1,507	58	1,543	59
West Midlands total	3,142	60	3,157	60
Birmingham and The Black Country	1,380	61	1,391	61
Shropshire and Staffordshire	838	56	825	55
West Midlands South	924	61	941	62
East of England total	3,183	59	3,204	59
Bedford and Hertfordshire	955	60	965	60
Essex	857	53	851	53
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire	1,371	63	1,388	64
London total	4,548	64	4,545	62
North Central London	819	70	804	67
North East London	925	62	899	59
North West London	1,125	66	1,150	65
South East London	886	60	904	60
South West London	793	62	788	61
South East total	4,839	61	4,943	62
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	1,099	62	1,122	63
Kent and Medway	901	57	915	58
Surrey and Sussex	1,531	60	1,571	61
Thames Valley	1,308	63	1,335	64
South West total	3,363	69	3,430	69
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire	1,424	66	1,442	67
Somerset and Dorset	846	71	867	73
South West Peninsula	1,093	70	1,121	71

Number (headcount)

	2002		2003
	All practitioners (excl. Ret)	All practitioners (excl. Ret) per 100,000 population	All practitioners (excl. Ret)	All practitioners (excl. Ret) per 100,000 population
England total	31,182	63	32,593	66
North East total	1,645	65	n/a	n/a
County Durham and Tees Valley	701	62	n/a	n/a
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	944	68	n/a	n/a
North West total	4,247	63	n/a	n/a
Cheshire and Merseyside	1,536	65	n/a	n/a
Cumbria and Lancashire	1,200	63	n/a	n/a
Greater Manchester	1,511	60	n/a	n/a
Yorkshire and the Number total	3,253	65	n/a	n/a
North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	1,065	65	n/a	n/a
South Yorkshire	808	64	n/a	n/a
West Yorkshire	1,380	66	n/a	n/a
East Midlands total	2,466	58	n/a	n/a
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland	910	58	n/a	n/a
Trent	1,556	59	n/a	n/a
West Midlands total	3,255	61	n/a	n/a
Birmingham and The Black Country	1,428	63	n/a	n/a
Shropshire and Staffordshire	861	58	n/a	n/a
West Midlands South	966	63	n/a	n/a
East of England total	3,223	59	n/a	n/a
Bedford and Hertfordshire	976	61	n/a	n/a
Essex	846	52	n/a	n/a
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire	1,401	64	n/a	n/a
London total	4,609	63	n/a	n/a
North Central London	806	66	n/a	n/a
North East London	945	61	n/a	n/a
North West London	1,139	64	n/a	n/a
South East London	902	60	n/a	n/a
South West London	817	63	n/a	n/a
South East total	5,017	62	n/a	n/a
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	1,112	62	n/a	n/a
Kent and Medway	911	57	n/a	n/a
Surrey and Sussex	1,587	62	n/a	n/a
Thames Valley	1,407	67	n/a	n/a
South West total	3,467	70	n/a	n/a
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire	1,460	67	n/a	n/a
Somerset and Dorset	895	75	n/a	n/a
South West Peninsula	1,112	70	n/a	n/a

n/a = Not available
⁽⁴⁾ All Practitioners (excluding GP Retainers) includes GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other, Flexible Career Schemes and GP Returners.
SHA population figures are derived from the 1992–2000 first revised sub national population estimates published by ONS 27 February 2003 and so are not consistent with the interim revised national population estimates for 1992 2002 published by ONS 23 October 2003.
Data have been converted to match Strategic Health Authority structures for 2002.
Data as at 1 October 1997–99,30 September 2000–03.
Sources:
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics
2001 ONS Population Census.





 
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Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many whole time equivalent general practitioners there were in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in each year from September 1997 to September 2003. [166654]

 
22 Apr 2004 : Column 624W
 

Mr. Hutton: Information on the number of whole time equivalent (wte) general practitioners (GPs) (excluding retainers) in England and in each strategic health authority in each year since 1997 is shown in the table.
All practitioners (excluding GP retainers)⁽⁵⁾ by strategic health authority boundaries: 1997 to 2003 estimated whole time equivalents

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	March 2002	2002	March 2003	2003
England	27,660	27,848	28,033	28,154	28,439	28,540	28,740	29,180	29,777
North East	1,402	1,418	1,426	1,434	1,488	1,494	1,523	1,542	1,602
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	782	802	807	812	836	852	866	855	890
County Durham and Tees Valley	620	617	619	622	652	642	657	688	712
North West	3,834	3,822	3,880	3,874	3,903	3,923	3,943	4,002	4,058
Cumbria and Lancashire	1,079	1,083	1,090	1,079	1,093	1,107	1,103	1,116	1,128
Greater Manchester	1,409	1,404	1,420	1,424	1,422	1,422	1,409	1,444	1,459
Cheshire and Merseyside	1,346	1,335	1,370	1,371	1,388	1,395	1,430	1,442	1,471
Yorkshire and the Humber	2,848	2,843	2,892	2,911	2,950	2,979	2,988	3,037	3,131
North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	944	934	951	959	968	985	989	998	1,037
West Yorkshire	1,188	1,198	1,221	1,227	1.248	1,266	1,257	1,298	1,327
South Yorkshire	716	711	720	725	734	728	742	741	767
East Midlands	2,220	2,233	2,227	2,225	2,261	2,236	2,275	2,311	2,357
Trent	1,363	1,382	1,386	1,408	1,434	1,405	1,439	1,462	1,472
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland	857	851	841	817	827	831	836	849	886
West Midlands	2,877	2,901	2,920	2,959	2,962	3,001	3,034	3,051	3,122
Shropshire and Staffordshire	757	776	787	792	779	781	806	818	833
Birmingham and The Black Country	1,261	1,272	1,279	1,299	1,305	1,317	1,330	1,323	1,371
West Midlands South	859	853	853	869	878	903	898	910	918
East of England	2,901	2,955	2,963	2,979	2,987	2,997	2,991	3,040	3,134
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire	1,227	1,243	1,250	1,268	1,276	1,276	1,277	1,297	1,346
Bedford and Hertfordshire	869	892	894	897	906	906	914	918	938
Essex	805	819	819	814	805	814	800	826	849
London	4,225	4,212	4,198	4,217	4,212	4,229	4,288	4,398	4,490
North West London	1,107	1,097	1,055	1,044	1,064	1,043	1,056	1,085	1,087
North Central London	738	741	727	748	746	755	759	760	797
North East London	835	845	844	866	841	859	888	919	913
South East London	814	810	840	825	833	820	830	872	893
South West London	731	720	732	735	727	752	755	762	799
South East	4,410	4,482	4,512	4.507	4,579	4,602	4,608	4,670	4,711
Thames Valley	1,145	1,186	1,198	1,202	1,218	1,236	1,268	1,273	1,279
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	996	999	1,014	1,017	1,037	1,041	1,022	1,047	1,080
Kent and Medway	860	867	868	853	860	855	854	863	868
Surrey and Sussex	1,410	1,430	1,432	1,435	1,464	1,469	1,464	1,487	1,485
South West	2,942	2,981	3,014	3,048	3,097	3,079	3,091	3,128	3,172
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire	1,225	1,257	1,281	1,289	1,301	1,300	1,302	1,316	1,338
South West Peninsula	990	981	972	1,000	1,025	1,012	1,006	1,039	1,040
Somerset and Dorset	727	744	761	759	771	768	783	773	794

⁽⁵⁾ All practitioners (excluding GP retainers) includes GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, GP registrars, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
Notes:
1. Data as at 1 October 1997–99, 30 September 2000–03, 31 March 2002–03.
2. WTE data has been estimated using the results from the 1992–93 GMP Workload Survey; Full time—1.00 wte; three quarter time—0.69 wte; job share—0.65 wte; half time—0.60 wte.
Source:
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics





 
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