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Tuberculosis and Hepatitis C Action Plans

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he (a) commissioned, (b) received and (c) plans to publish (i) the Tuberculosis Action Plan and (ii) the Hepatitis C Action Plan; and if he will make a statement. [180406]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Action plans for tuberculosis and hepatitis C have been developed in the light of the Chief Medical Officer's infectious disease strategy, "Getting Ahead of the Curve". The Hepatitis C action plan for England implements our consultation document, "Hepatitis C Strategy for England" and was published on 29 June 2004. Copies are available in the Library. It is our intention to publish the tuberculosis action plan when departmental business allows. In the meantime, progress has continued, with a number of actions being taken forward.
 
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Prosthetic Arms

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the estimated cost of a full-length active prosthetic arm is within the NHS; [179077]

(2) if he will make a statement on NHS procedures for fitting individuals without arms with active prosthetic arms; [179078]

(3) if he will make a statement on NHS multidisciplinary teams trained to work with multiple limb disability; [179094]

(4) what active upper limb prosthetics are available through the NHS; and how many users there are. [179097]

Dr. Ladyman: It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community, including the provision of prosthetic services and multidisciplinary teams to work with multiple limb disability.

Patients are encouraged to discuss the prosthetic limb prescription with the prosthetist and the wider healthcare team concerned. Multidisciplinary assessment focuses on the needs of individual patients and enables patients to actively contribute to the decision making process.

The national health service has available to it, via contracts negotiated by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, virtually everything that is available on the international market

The table shows the three general types of full-length active prosthetic arms available within the NHS.

Type	Total cost—components only (£)
Upper extremity prosthesis—full arm—mechanical hand	1,250.00 to 1,500.00
Upper extremity prosthesis—full arm—electric hand	3,600.00 to 4,000.00
Upper extremity prosthesis—full arm—electric hand, wrist and digital elbow system	18,000.00 to 25,000.00

We do not hold figures centrally for the number of users.

DEFENCE

Advertising Costs

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the cost to his Department of advertising in each year since 1997. [181765]

Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 13 January 2004, Official Report, columns 679–80 to the hon. Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth). Figures for financial year 2003–04 are not yet available.
 
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Cadet Forces

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the budget available to each cadet force in each of the last 10 years. [160980]

Mr. Caplin: The budget/expenditures for each of the cadet forces are as follows:
1. Air Cadet Force (including CCF)

	£ million
1991–92	16
1992–93	18
1993–94	19
1994–95	20
1995–96	21
1996–97	19
1997–98	18
1998–99	19
1999–2000	18
2000–01	19
2001–02	20
2002–03	22
2003–04	21

2. Cadets affiliated to the Royal Navy/Royal Marines⁽¹³⁾ Budget records (£000)

	(SCC) Sea Cadet Corps	(CCF) Comb. Cadet Force	(VCC) Volunteer Cadet Corps	(SSA) Sea Scouts Assoc.
1999–2000	6,448	1,518	12	110
2000–01	6,942	1,631	n/a	n/a
2001–02	7,879	1,711	11	94
2002–03	7,852	1,681	11	102
2003–04	7,996	1,746	21	178

⁽¹³⁾ Previous records no longer held

The budget for financial year 2004–05 is likely to exceed the 2003–04 budget, but has not yet been finalised.

3. Cadets affiliated to the Army

Historical figures for ACF/CCF are difficult to provide.

The annual ACF expenditure for 2002–03 was £50 million

The annual CCF (Army) expenditure for 2002–03 was £10 million.

Civilian Internees (Compensation)

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British passport-holders have been excluded from the compensation scheme for civilian internees of the Japanese; and for what reasons. [177802]

Mr. Caplin: Holding a British passport, either at the time of internment or now, has never been a criterion for eligibility under the Ex Gratia Payment Scheme and as this information has not therefore been sought from claimants, it is not possible to say how many British passport holders who were civilian internees are not eligible for the scheme.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why the eligibility for compensation for civilian detainees of the Japanese was changed between the Prime
 
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Minister's account of the scheme and the Department's amplification of its terms; and how many applications had been received by the second date. [177803]

Mr. Caplin: There was no change to the intended scope of the ex gratia payment scheme in relation to civilian internees after the announcement of the scheme on 7 November 2000 but an eligibility criterion was clarified. Letters began to be sent to those claimants who did not meet this criterion in late June 2001. By the end of June 2001, 3,195 claims had been received from former civilian internees. A number of claims had also been received from surviving spouses of former civilian internees who had died, but the figures available for claims from surviving spouses cover the spouses of all eligible groups and not just civilian internees and it is therefore not possible to isolate the requested information.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) who carried out the research on the basis of which people were excluded from the compensation scheme for civilian internees of the Japanese; [177807]

(2) what consultations he has had with (a) representatives of civilian detainees and (b) the Army Historical Branch about the status of British passport-holders who were excluded from the ex gratia compensation scheme for civilian internees of the Japanese. [177801]

Mr. Caplin: Research in relation to the ex gratia payment scheme for those held captive by the Japanese was undertaken in a number of departments represented on the inter-departmental working group chaired by the Cabinet Office. The Army Historical Branch contributed to this research, but in relation to civilian internees, the work was primarily undertaken by the then War Pensions Agency (now the Veterans Agency), the DSS and the FCO. Responsibility for discussions with representatives of the former civilian internees also rested with the War Pensions Agency and the DSS. Since the end of the legal proceedings brought by representatives of the former civilian internees, the Ministry of Defence, now responsible for the Veterans Agency, has of course remained willing to discuss issues not already resolved by the courts.

Commonwealth Personnel

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel are from the Commonwealth in the (a) Royal Air Force, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Army. [180057]

Mr. Caplin: There are currently 375 Naval Service personnel and 5,485 Army personnel with a nationality of a Commonwealth country (excluding United Kingdom) shown on their record of service.

I am unable to provide reliable figures for the RAF due to inconsistencies within the nationality fields on the records of service.
 
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