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13 May 2004 : Column 576W—continued

Bounty Packs

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Bounty packs were distributed to new mothers within maternity units in Britain in each year since 1995. [171042]

Dr. Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally. Bounty is an independent commercial organisation that distributes free product samples and packs containing information to expectant and new mothers.

Care Homes

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many anonymous complaints about care homes have been received since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [171607]


 
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Dr. Ladyman: The Department does not collect information on complaints about care homes. Since April 2002, all care homes in England have been regulated by the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC), which was replaced by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) in April 2004. The NCSC and CSCI collects information about complaints.

I understand from the Chairman of CSCI that the number of anonymous complaints about care homes recorded on the Registration and Inspection database are as shown in the following table.
Number
2002–20031596
2003–20041914

Departmental Staff (Drugs)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of his Department's employees received counselling for drug use in 2003. [171626]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department has a contract with Corecare to provide a counselling service for its employees. Corecare received no requests from the Department's employees requesting counselling for drug use in 2003.

Emergency Services

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many administrators are involved, and at what annual cost in each trust, in dealing with the resulting paperwork from emergency service staff captured on speed cameras contravening speed limits; [170729]

(2) on how many occasions in each of the last 12 months ambulances on emergency calls in each health trust area have been captured on speed cameras contravening speed limits. [170731]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available centrally.

However, the Department is aware that speeding tickets issued to ambulances on emergency journeys are creating extra administration costs in some areas. Officials have already had useful discussions with the Home Office and are working closely with them to provide a workable solution.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Home Affairs on the annual cost to health trusts of dealing with the paperwork generated by ambulances on emergency calls captured on speed cameras contravening speed limits. [170730]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department is aware that speeding tickets issued to ambulances on emergency journeys are creating extra administration costs in some areas. Officials have already had useful discussions with the Home Office and are working closely with them to provide a workable solution.
 
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Gender Pay Gap

Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the pay gap between men and women employed by his Department and its    agencies in (a) Southampton, (b) Eastleigh, (c) Winchester and (d) Romsey. [171620]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department, and its agencies do not employ any staff in Southampton, Eastleigh, Winchester or Romsey, except for the NHS Estates agency which employs 15 staff in Winchester.

It conducts an equal pay assessment each time a new employee is appointed or when an existing employee is promoted and the proposed salary has to be agreed by    the chief operating officer who conducts a "benchmarking" exercise via the human resources department.

Gloucestershire Tri-Service Centre

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money was spent on setting up the Gloucestershire Tri-Service Centre at Quedgley; when it became fully operational; and if he will make a statement. [172364]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 11 May 2004]: The Gloucestershire Tri-Service Centre has been fully operational since April 2003. It was set up with £2.6 million of funding from the Government's Invest to Save budget. The local fire, police and ambulance services jointly contributed a further £1.9 million.

Health Development Agency

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the effect on   residents of Manchester, Gorton of the Health Development Agency; [167377]

Jim Dobbin: if he will make a statement on the effect on residents of Heywood and Middleton of the Health Development Agency; [168494]

Mr. Benton: if he will make a statement on the benefits for   residents of Bootle of the Health Development Agency; [170537]

Tony Cunningham: if he will make a statement on the effect on residents of Workington constituency of the Health Development Agency; [170715]

Mr. Neil Turner: if he will make a statement on the effect on residents of Wigan of the Health Development Agency; [169351]

Mr. Hendrick: if he will make a statement on the effect on residents of Preston of the Health Development Agency; [168105]

Mr. Pike: what assessment he has made of the effects on residents of Burnley of the Health Development Agency; [167955]

Mr. Meacher: if he will make a statement on the benefits for residents of Oldham, West and Royton of the Health Development Agency; [170894]

Mr. Burrow: if he will make a statement on the benefits for residents of South Ribble of the Health Development Agency. [171670]


 
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Miss Melanie Johnson: The work of the Health Development Agency (HDA) is focused on service delivery that supports the whole of the region's public health development.

The HDA manages the national healthy school standard, which is part of the Government's national strategy to reduce health inequalities for children.

The North West HDA organised the largest ever regional public health conference in March 2004 to address the problem of obesity. Over 300 regional public health professionals, including representatives from health services responsible for Gorton, will have learned of the latest obesity data for the region and will collaboratively plan a regional obesity action plan. The workshop will draw together best practice from across the region and in addition to the HDA guidance on obesity, this will provide the basis for local and regional work to tackle obesity in the coming years.

The North West HDA is currently working with the North West public health observatory and the regional cancer registries to review the main causes of cancer related deaths across the region.

The HDA, in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University and the North West Public Health Observatory, is currently completing a regional report Alcohol: A Situational Analysis for the North West.

Health Funding (Manchester)

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much public funding has been spent on health in Manchester, Gorton in each of the last seven years. [167380]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information is not available in the format requested. Expenditure per weighted head in the Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area, which includes the constituency of Gorton, has increased from £582.33 in   1997–98 to £992.61 in 2002–03 (the latest year
 
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available). This does not represent the total expenditure per head as an element of health expenditure cannot be identified by SHA area.


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