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Miners (Co-morbid Conditions)

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many miners found to have a co-morbid condition other than chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were (a) informed to seek further medical advice and (b) told of the impact that the co-morbid condition would have on their compensation payment; how many of the cohort with a co-morbid condition received a reduction in their damages; why co-morbid conditions are not recorded; whether there will be further medical investigation into the issue; whether medical experts representing both sides will be asked for their opinion. [181408]

Nigel Griffiths: It is in accordance with the High Court Judgment that claims are accurately and fairly calculated and therefore any co-morbid conditions for which the Department is not liable for must be taken into account when calculating compensation.

Where the examination by the respiratory specialist of live claimants during the full Medical Assessment Process (MAP) reveals previously undiagnosed conditions for which further investigation or treatment
 
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may be appropriate cases are required to be handled sensitively with the claimant's GP being informed and the claimant advised to visit his GP.

Instances of co-morbid conditions are only required to be reported on in the MAP report. IRISC, the Department's claim handlers, are not required to record on their management information systems the number of instances a co-morbid condition was diagnosed and the impact that had on individual claims, as these conditions are not compensatable under the British Coal scheme.

The entire MAP process and the Claims Handling Agreement (CHA) have been soundly endorsed by the Judge, Sir Michael Turner, and found to be equipped to deal with cases involving co-morbid conditions. Where any doubts in an individual case are identified by either side the Medical Reference Panel (MRP), put in place jointly by the Department and the claimants' solicitors, can be consulted.

Pirate Broadcasters

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many active pirate broadcasting stations the Radiocommunications Agency has identified as operating in the UK in each year since 1997; how many (a) operations and (b) prosecutions the Agency has carried out against pirate broadcasters; what the conviction rate was; what the average custodial sentence was; what the average fine to (i) convicted pirates and (ii) businesses supporting and promoting pirate radio stations was; and if she will make a statement. [181626]

Mr. Timms: The Office of Communications (Ofcom) became the independent regulator responsible for all functions previously undertaken by the Radiocommunications Agency on 29 December 2003. Enforcement of the regulations and control of pirate radio stations is a matter for Ofcom and accordingly my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Retirement

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from (a) employers' organisations, (b) pensioners' organisations and (c) unions on the retirement age. [181046]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Government sought views on options for retirement ages in the Age Matters consultation document published in summer 2003 and received over 400 responses, including responses from a wide range of employers' organisations, pensioners' organisations and unions. Government has most recently received representations on retirement ages from Help the Aged, The Pensions Commission, Engineering Employers Federation, Employers Forum on Age.
 
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Royal Mail

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been saved by Royal Mail Group plc as a result of the decision to abolish the second daily postal delivery. [181019]

Mr. Timms: The cost savings to be made from the introduction of the single delivery are a commercial matter for the Royal Mail. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Statutory Paternity Pay

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 7 June 2004, Official Report, column 105W, on Maternity/Paternity Leave, what information she has (a) requested and (b) received from the Inland Revenue on the number of employees who have received statutory paternity pay. [181692]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department asked for figures on the take up of statutory paternity pay since April 2003, however, Inland Revenue will not be able to provide the full figures until February 2005. They have provided some initial information which is currently being considered.

Trade Union Political Funds

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what average amount trade unions have spent through their political funds in each of the last five years. [181016]

Mr. Sutcliffe: Based on figures published in the annual report of the Certification Officer (CO), the average amount trade unions have spent through their political funds, in each of the last five periods for which figures are available, is:
£

Time period	Average spend per trade union with a political fund
1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998	454,652
1 July 1998 to 30 September 1999	328,587
1 October 1999 to 30 September 2000	448,578
1 October 2000 to 30 September 2001	468,667
1 October 2001 to 30 September 2002	586,248

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many UK trade unions have political funds. [181017]

Mr. Sutcliffe: As of 31 March 2004, the number of unions with political fund resolutions in force was 32.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Services

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency matrons (a) are eligible to claim £10,000 from the Accident and Emergency Patient Experience Fund, (b) have claimed £10,000 from the fund and (c) have received £10,000 for their hospital from the fund. [180285]

 
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Ms Rosie Winterton: The Government have made available £2 million in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Patient Experience Fund. Any modern matron with responsibility for a A&E department is entitled to claim and receive £10,000 to improve the experience of patients in that department.

At the beginning of 2004, it was estimated that about 150 A&E departments, or about three-quarters of the total, were the responsibility of a designated matron. Interim monitoring earlier this year has generated information on about 60 departments where the money had been received and used. Matrons who have not yet claimed are still able to and so a final evaluation of the fund has not been completed.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency attendances he estimates there are per month by people of no fixed abode. [181212]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect this information and it is therefore impossible to make an estimate.

Allergies

Mr Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians report, "Allergy: the Unmet Need"; [180570]

(2) how many people have required treatment from specialist allergy doctors in each year since 1997; [180571]

(3) if he will take steps to increase the number of specialist allergy doctors; [180572]

(4) what steps he is taking to ensure that local health authorities and NHS trusts develop and manage allergy services. [180573]

Dr. Ladyman: We welcomed the Royal College of Physicians' report and believe it is a useful contribution to the debate on how to improve National Health Service allergy services. It is the role of primary care trusts, in partnership with local stakeholders, to decide what services to provide for their populations, including those with allergies. They are best placed to understand local health care needs and commission services to meet them.

The information about the number of people requiring treatment from specialist allergy doctors is not held centrally. However the Royal College of Physicians estimated in their 2003 Report, "Allergy—the unmet need: a blueprint for better patient care", that around one in six of the population is affected by allergy.

The Department's September 2003 workforce census records 24 hospital medical staff specialising in allergy, including 20 consultants. The number of hospital medical allergy staff as a whole has doubled since September 2000, the first year allergy was collected as a separate speciality and numbers of consultants specifically increased by 14. The NHS Plan also announced that there would be 1,000 general practitioners with special interests by 2004. Already, there are over 100 GP-led schemes and around 35 nurse-led schemes.
 
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Allergy has been allocated an additional centrally funded specialist registrar post in 2004–05 and a further centrally funded specialist registrar post in 2005–06. This is in recognition of the desire to increase the allergy workforce and trusts will still have the opportunity to locally fund further posts.

Mrs. Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much public money his Department spent on allergy care in the NHS in the last year for which figures are available; [181071]

(2) what plans his Department have to increase spending on allergy care within the NHS. [181072]

Dr. Ladyman: Information on National Health Service funding for the diagnosis and treatment of allergies is not collected centrally. Strategic health authorities and primary care trusts receive unified allocations to cover the costs of hospital and community health services, discretionary funding for general practice staff, premises and computers and primary care prescribing.

The level of funding made available for the drugs, staffing and other costs of providing allergy services are determined locally. It is for health authorities, in partnership with other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to provide health services for their populations including those with allergies.

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