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NORTHERN IRELAND

Bail

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many defendants were granted bail in Northern Ireland in each year since 1999 where they were charged with (a) attempted murder, (b) armed robbery, (c) assault occasioning grievous bodily harm and (d) manslaughter. [169929]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

The information sought is not readily available, but is currently being collated, and will be provided as soon as possible.
 
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HEALTH

Adverse Drug Reactions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the future development of direct patient reporting of adverse drug reactions. [178659]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The yellow card scheme is the United Kingdom system for collecting and monitoring information on suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The scheme is run by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on behalf of the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and currently depends on voluntary reporting of suspected ADRs by health professionals. The purpose of the scheme is to provide an early warning that the safety of a product may require further investigation.

Following an independent review of access to the yellow card scheme, it was announced on 4 May 2004 that the recommendation that patients should be able to report suspected adverse drug reactions directly to the CSM/MHRA had been accepted in principle.

The MHRA is currently developing proposals to pilot different arrangements for patient reporting to gauge effectiveness. The Licensing Authority will reach a decision on the proposals, taking into account the advice of the CSM.

Insulin

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will instruct the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to investigate and compare the clinical effectiveness of beef, pork and synthetic insulins. [179548R]

Ms Rosie Winterton: We have no plans to refer this topic to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
 
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Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of insulin dependent diabetics prescribed (a) beef, (b) pork and (c) other insulins in each of the past 10 years for which figures are available. [179549R]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not hold this data.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with insulin manufacturers about the continuity of future supply to patients. [179551R]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department is in regular contact with the companies who manufacture insulin. None of them currently has any plans to withdraw from the United Kingdom market.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has responsibility for the continuity of supply for (a) all insulins, (b) specific insulins and (c) an insulin; and if he will make a statement. [179552R]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department is in regular contact with the companies which supply insulins to the United Kingdom market and makes every effort to ensure that patients continue to receive the treatment they require. However the Department has no powers to force a company to continue to market a product if, for any reason, it is unable to do so.

NHS Waste Disposal

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS of waste disposal by (a) landfill and (b) incineration, in England was in each year since 1996, broken down by (i) NHS region and (ii) strategic health authority. [178247]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The table shows the cost to the national health service of waste disposal in each year since 1999–2000. This information was not collected prior to that date and is therefore shown by strategic health authority (SHA) area only. Information on the breakdown of this cost by disposal method is not collected centrally.
Total waste disposal costs by year

£ million
SHA	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire	1.54	2.28	2.19	1.97
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire	0.86	1.27	1.55	1.65
Birmingham and the Black Country	1.84	1.61	1.94	2.13
Cheshire and Merseyside	1.37	1.81	1.84	2.40
County Durham and Tees Valley	0.75	0.84	0.90	1.07
Cumbria and Lancashire	1.40	1.43	1.46	1.65
Dorset and Somerset	0.75	1.45	0.84	0.95
Essex	1.12	0.60	1.10	1.52
Greater Manchester	2.55	2.39	2.55	3.16
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	1.23	1.39	1.49	1.98
Kent and Medway	1.04	0.99	1.13	1.25
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland	1.14	1.28	2.17	164
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire	1.58	1.43	1.52	2.01
North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	1.36	1.45	1.62	1.61
North Central London	1.90	1.83	1.92	2.73
North East London	1.63	1.69	2.09	2.37
North West London	2.52	2.53	3.40	2.44
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	1.27	1.21	1.54	1.73
Shropshire and Staffordshire	1.02	1.25	1.36	1.50
South East London	1.29	1.55	1.99	2.21
South West London	1.37	1.39	1.61	1.97
South West Peninsula	0.99	0.69	1.24	1.20
South Yorkshire	1.95	1.23	1.63	1.67
Surrey and Sussex	2.04	2.22	2.30	2.55
Thames Valley	1.90	1.57	1.75	2.00
Trent	1.72	2.02	1.76	2.15
West Midlands South	0.67	0.74	0.98	1.20
West Yorkshire	2.10	2.01	2.57	2.43
National total	40.91	42.14	48.43	53.14

 
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NICE Guidance

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether all strategic health authorities have robust processes in place to ensure that National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance is (a) planned for and (b) followed through; and if he will make a statement. [179453]

Ms Rosie Winterton: A number of recent studies, including that undertaken by the national cancer director, have showed some variations in the effectiveness of local planning and implementation mechanisms for National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance. We have recently announced a programme of action to help the national health service respond positively to NICE guidance, including action by strategic health authorities.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Anti-social Behaviour Orders

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs in how many anti-social behaviour order cases magistrates' clerks have advised that hearsay evidence is inadmissible. [180107]

Mr. Leslie: The information requested is not collected and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of the speed of anti-social behaviour order convictions in (a) West Lancashire, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England. [180108]

Mr. Leslie: I am not aware of delays in dealing with breaches of ASBOs in the geographical areas mentioned or within England and Wales. Detailed information is not collected by my Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Election Turnout

Mr. Hammond: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the turnout was as a percentage of eligible voters at the European parliamentary elections (a) this year and (b) in 1999, broken down by region. [179695]

Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made in the House on 21 June 2004, column 72Ws, comparing the turnout for the European
 
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parliamentary elections for 1999 and for this year. The following table states the turnout, region by region, for the respective years.
Percentage

Region	1999	2004
East Midlands	22.6	44.6
North East	19.6	41.5
North West	19.4	41.5
Yorkshire and Number	19.6	42.9
East of England	24.5	36.6
London	23.0	37.7
South East	24.7	36.5
South West	27.6	37.8
West Midlands	21.0	36.6
Scotland	24.7	30.9
Northern Ireland	57.8	51.7
Wales	29.0	41.9

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