---

22 Jun 2004 : Column 1338W—continued

Cannabis

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist drug treatment places in respect of the misuse of cannabis are available. [179253]

Miss Melanie Johnson: This information is not collected centrally.

Community Care (Delayed Discharge) Act

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of the Community Care (Delayed Discharge) Act 2003 with regard to changes in (a) re-admission levels and (b) mortality levels since the Act was enacted. [177675]

Dr. Ladyman: No change in readmission levels or mortality levels, which could be considered a direct result of the reduction in delayed discharges, has been noted since October 2003. Furthermore, the available data shows no link between the level of delayed discharges and the rate of readmission. However, there is a need to look at these, and a range of other potential impacts of the policy, in more detail and the Department will therefore be advertising shortly to commission an independent evaluation of the effects of the policy.

Correspondence

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter dated 2 April concerning the late Ms R. Forber of Warrington. [179263]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 17 June 2004]: I replied to the hon. Member on 17 June.

Delayed Discharges Reimbursement Scheme

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments the NHS received from local authority social services departments under the delayed discharges reimbursement scheme for each month for which figures are available. [178213]

Dr. Ladyman: Figures for payments made by individual councils will be collected centrally at the end of the first six months of the scheme. The majority of
 
22 Jun 2004 : Column 1339W
 
councils have arranged local investment agreements with the national health service and will only pay actual charges for delays falling outside this agreement.

Dentistry

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral statement by the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton), of 11 May 2004, Official Report, column 22WH, on dentists, if he will list the primary care trusts assessed as having the most acute dental access problems. [178271]

Ms Rosie Winterton: We have established a central national health service dentistry support team to assist primary care trusts (PCTs) having the most acute access problems. The 16 PCTs they are currently working with are listed. We are now considering with strategic health authorities, which PCTs will need similar assistance in phase 2 of the team's work.

Fareham and Gosport PCT

Isle of Wight PCT

New Forest PCT

West Gloucestershire PCT

North East Lincolnshire PCT

Scarborough, Whitby and Rydedale PCT

Craven, Harrogate and Rural District PCT

Northumbria Care Trust

Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale PCT

Hyndeburn and Ribble PCT

Blackburn with Darwen PCT

Morecambe Bay PCT

Shropshire County PCT

Telford and Wrekin PCT

South West Staffordshire PCT

Central Cheshire PCT

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he or ministerial colleagues are planning to meet the British Dental Association to discuss the results of its consultation with the dental profession on the new NHS dental contract. [178276]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Ministers meet the British Dental Association (BDA) and other representative bodies of the dental profession on a regular basis, as do senior departmental officials. I have already met the BDA to discuss interim responses to its consultation on our "Framework proposals for Primary Care Dental Services in England", which concluded on 30 April.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the amount of money which the Adur, Arun and Worthing Primary Care Trust has saved in each of the last seven years from dental patients being treated privately. [178308]

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

Eating Disorders

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people with eating disorders have been treated in private facilities in each of the last five years; [179239]
 
22 Jun 2004 : Column 1340W
 

(2) what percentage of people that are diagnosed with an eating disorder received treatment from a private facility in the last five years. [179240]

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

Excessive Drinking

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost to the NHS of (a) alcohol-related illness and (b) accidents caused by excessive drinking was in the last year for which figures are available. [179648]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Prime Minster's strategy unit estimated that the national health service in England incurred an annual cost of up to £1.7 billion as a result of alcohol misuse. This estimate did not include a breakdown of the estimated costs of alcohol-related illnesses or accidents.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce charges for those who attend hospital as a result of excessive drinking. [179649]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government do not intend to do so.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to reduce the impact on the NHS of binge drinking. [179749]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government's alcohol harm reduction strategy for England contains a number of measures to tackle the harm caused by binge drinking and the impact this harm has on individuals, communities and public services.

These measures include:

The revision of the sensible drinking message.

The development of new health promotion messages for binge drinkers.

Pilots of targeted screening and brief interventions, which will help to identify people with alcohol problems, including binge drinkers, and offer them help and advice to cut their alcohol consumption.

Improvements in tackling alcohol-related crime and disorder, which can often be associated with binge drinking.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were hospitalised as a result of accidents caused by excessive drinking in each of the last 10 years. [179750]

Miss Melanie Johnson: This information is not collected centrally.

Foundation Trusts

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether, in order to achieve foundation status, hospital trusts will be required (a) to be fully compliant with the (i) European Working Time Directive and (ii) New Deal for Junior Doctors and (b) to allocate protected time and funding for junior doctors' training on the same basis as non-foundation trusts. [179118]

Mr. Hutton: As part of the national health service foundation trust application process, applicants are required to demonstrate that the organisation will continue to meet prevailing employment law, including
 
22 Jun 2004 : Column 1341W
 
the European Working Time Directive, and relevant legislation enacted in the future. Applicants must also retain three star performance ratings throughout the application process. The percentage of junior doctors complying in full with the new deal on junior doctors' hours is an indicator used as part of the performance ratings. The approval arrangements for junior doctors' training posts will be the same in both NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts.

---