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15 Jul 2004 : Column 1302W—continued
HEALTH
Meat (Time Between Slaughter and Sale)
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the maximum time period his Department recommends should elapse between the slaughter and sale of meat; and what steps are being taken by his Department to ensure that meat is not sold outside the recommended timeframe; [183948]
(2) how many consignments of slaughtered meat for sale within wholesalers in Britain were identified where the date of slaughter was more than one year previously in each year since 1997. [183950]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 13 July 2004]: There is no provision in current European Union or national meat hygiene legislation that prescribes a maximum time limit between slaughter and sale or consumption of meat.
The Food Standards Agency advise that meat that is frozen and held under appropriate temperatures in cold stores can safely be consumed up to several years after freezing.
This is because there is unlikely to be any increase in risk due to microbiological activity, as long as temperature controls, which are set out in EU legislation, have been properly maintained. Under The Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 (which implements EU legislation in Great Britain), it is an offence to sell for human consumption meat that has been held or transported above the permitted temperature.
In addition, all food businesses have a responsibility under the Food Safety Act 1990 to ensure that food placed on the market is fit for human consumption. It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that all meat sold for human consumption complies with this Act.
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Information on the number of consignments of slaughtered meat for sale within wholesalers in Great Britain where the date of slaughter was more than one year previously is not held centrally.
Abortions
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies have survived abortions since 1991; and if he will make a statement. [181650]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Under the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, any registered medical practitioner who terminates a pregnancy is required to notify the Chief Medical Officer. The abortion notification form does not collect information on whether the foetus survived the abortion.
Ambulance Trusts
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the amalgamation of ambulance trusts. [184229]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Any decisions the configuration of ambulance trusts are a matter for the local health economy to consider, led by the strategic health authority and in consultation with patients and the public.
Childhood Obesity
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of trends in incidence of childhood obesity; and what the evidential basis is of the predicted trends. [183525]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The prevalence of obesity among children aged two to 10 increased between 1995 and 2002 in England and is shown in the table.
| Males | Females | Persons | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 9.3 | 10.0 | 9.6 |
| 1996 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 10.6 |
| 1997 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.8 |
| 1998 | 11.8 | 11.4 | 11.6 |
| 1999–2000 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 13.3 |
| 2001 | 13.5 | 12.2 | 12.8 |
| 2002 | 15.2 | 15.7 | 15.5 |
Source:
NatCen/UCL. Health Survey for England 2002.
The Department has not carried out or commissioned any formal research on predicting future trends in obesity. However, there is concern that childhood obesity has increased since 1995 and that these trends may continue.
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the Government's primary targets are for action against childhood obesity; [183526]
(2) what the Government's assessment is of the primary causes of increasing obesity in children. [183527]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
The primary cause of increasing obesity in children is to do with energy balance: children are eating too much for the amount of
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physical activity they do. A new primary public service agreement target, held jointly between the Department of Health, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, was announced on 12 July 2004. The target aims to halt the year-on-year increase in the prevalence of obesity in children under 11 by 2010, in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole.
Choosing Health Consultation
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the members are of each task group for the Choosing Health consultation; and what the criteria are for membership of each group. [182726]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The membership of each task group brought together a mix of invited stakeholders, covering public/consumer interests, examples of leading edge practice, people representative of the various settings and organisations under consideration in the consultation, and others with relevant expertise. Each task group was also supported by officials from the Department and other relevant Government Departments, and by regional directors of public health. In line with data protection provisions, a copy of the list of all the members who have agreed to their details being disclosed has been placed in the Library.
Commission for Patient Public Involvement
John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on consultation on changes to the role of the Commission for Patient Public Involvement in Health; and if he will make a statement. [183935]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 13 July 2004]: A report on the review of the Department's arm's length bodies will be published in the near future and following this, detailed discussions with interested parties will take place on implementation.
Community Hospitals
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with primary care trusts about the use of community hospitals. [183748]
Mr. Hutton: The Department has not provided any specific direction to primary care trusts (PCTs) about the use of community hospitals.
It is the responsibility of PCTs to commission, develop services in response to local needs, and to ensure that appropriate facilities are provided for the local population. PCTs are free to commission care from wherever they can obtain the best services for patients.
Data Collection
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) total number and (b) frequency of data collections requested by his Department from (i) strategic health authorities, (ii) primary care trusts and (iii) NHS trusts in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [180281]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
The available information is shown in the table. Systems are now in place to prevent the number of collections increasing.
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| Financial year/Organisations | Monthly | Quarterly | Biannual | Annual | Other frequencies(36) | Frequency not known | Total collections(37) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98(38) | |||||||
| Health authorities | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | — | 3 | 13 |
| NHS trusts | — | 6 | 3 | 16 | 8 | 79 | 112 |
| Other NHS bodies(39) | 1 | 1 | 3 | — | 16 | 21 | |
| Total | 1 | 9 | 5 | 25 | 8 | 98 | 146 |
| 1998–996 | |||||||
| Health authorities | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 | — | 5 | 19 |
| NHS trusts | 1 | 10 | 3 | 25 | 8 | 68 | 115 |
| Other NHS bodies | — | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | 14 | 22 |
| Total | 2 | 15 | 6 | 38 | 8 | 87 | 156 |
| 1999–2000(38) | |||||||
| Health authorities | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 | — | 9 | 23 |
| NHS trusts | 1 | 11 | 3 | 27 | 8 | 56 | 106 |
| Other NHS bodies | — | 3 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 18 | 33 |
| Total | 2 | 17 | 7 | 44 | 9 | 83 | 162 |
| 2000–01(38) | |||||||
| Health authorities | 1 | 5 | 1 | 9 | — | 5 | 21 |
| NHS trusts | 1 | 12 | 3 | 41 | 9 | 49 | 115 |
| Other NHS bodies | — | 3 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 31 |
| Total | 2 | 20 | 7 | 59 | 10 | 69 | 167 |
| 2001–02(38) | |||||||
| Health authorities | 1 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 27 |
| NHS trusts | 1 | 12 | 4 | 48 | 12 | 25 | 102 |
| Other NHS bodies | — | 3 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 27 |
| Total | 2 | 20 | 10 | 70 | 15 | 39 | 156 |
| 2002–03 | |||||||
| Strategic health authorities | 1 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 1 | — | 22 |
| Primary care trusts(35) | 4 | 11 | — | 51 | 3 | — | 69 |
| NHS trusts | — | 3 | — | 5 | 6 | — | 14 |
| Other NHS bodies | — | 4 | 4 | 12 | 6 | — | 26 |
| Total | 5 | 20 | 8 | 82 | 16 | 0 | 131 |
| 2003–04 | |||||||
| Strategic health authorities | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | — | — | 13 |
| Primary care trusts | 2 | 12 | 3 | 45 | 4 | — | 66 |
| NHS Trusts | — | 3 | 2 | 6 | 6 | — | 17 |
| Other NHS bodies | 2 | 10 | — | 15 | 4 | — | 31 |
| Total | 5 | 27 | 6 | 75 | 14 | 0 | 127 |
(33) Figures based on collections approved by the Review of Central Returns Committee (ROCR).
(34) Health authorities until March 2002, strategic health authorities from 2002–03 onwards.
(35) Primary care trusts did not come into existence in significant numbers until 2002–03.
(36) All other collection frequencies, e.g. weekly, biennially.
(37) The total number of collections as at 31 March each year.
(38) From 1997–98 to 2001–02 data on collection frequencies is incomplete.
(39) Includes collections from other NHS bodies (e.g. special health authorities, mental health and cancer units).
Note:
This table includes all ongoing returns from NHS organisations to the Department. One-off and ad hoc returns in year are not shown.
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