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19 Jul 2004 : Column 112W—continued
Branded Medicine Prices
Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which country in Europe has the highest prices for branded medicines; and what the range of prices is. [183665]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: Each year, the Department publishes a comparison of branded medicine prices in the United Kingdom with a range of European countries and the United States. The latest published figures for 2002 show that the UK is the highest among these European comparator countries. The range of prices is shown in the table.
| Country | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | Five year(66)average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 85 | 84 | 80 | 81 | 81 | 81 |
| Germany | 108 | 97 | 91 | 94 | 95 | 95 |
| Italy | 81 | 83 | 79 | 82 | 86 | 86 |
| Netherlands | n/a | n/a | 81 | 84 | 88 | 89 |
| Spain | 71 | 67 | 64 | 67 | 75 | 75 |
| UK | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| USA | 174 | 184 | 209 | 217 | 201 | 204 |
| Austria | 81 | 83 | 77 | 81 | 86 | 86 |
| Belgium | 86 | 84 | 78 | 81 | 86 | 86 |
| Finland | 86 | 85 | 83 | 84 | 88 | 89 |
| Ireland | 90 | 88 | 83 | 88 | 93 | 93 |
(66) This is based on bilateral comparisons, i.e. the form and strength matches occurred between the UK and another country, using average annual exchange rates.
Dentistry
Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in Morley and Rothwell constituency have taken commitment payments to devote more time to NHS dentistry. [179682]
Miss Melanie Johnson: 18 general dental service (CDS) dentists in the Morley and Rothwell constituency received commitment payments in April 2004 for the quarter ending March 2004.
Commitment payments are based on dentists' gross fees, together with a patient registration requirement for the higher payments and are based on previous years, so do not require additional time in the future to be devoted to national health service dentistry. Commitment payments will be increased, up to a maximum threshold, if a dentist takes on additional CDS work.
Departmental Accounting Practice
Mr. Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the Finance Director of (a) the Department, (b) the NHS Appointments Commission and (c) the Food Standards Agency is; what accountancy qualifications each Director holds; and on how many occasions there has been a qualified opinion on (i) the resource accounts and (ii) other accounts of each in the last five years. [183424]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The finance directors/managers of the three bodies and their qualifications are:
| Body | Name and position | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health | Mr. Richard Douglas (Finance Director) | CIPFA |
| National Health Service Appointments Commission | Ms Lynn Shadford (Finance Manager) | ICAEW |
| Food Standards Agency | Mr. Allan Hutton (Finance Director) | CIMA, CIPFA |
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In the five year period starting 1999–2000, the Department has prepared resource accounts in each year. The resource accounts were qualified in 1999–2000 arising from limitation in audit scope.
The Food Standards Agency has prepared three sets of resource accounts from 2000–01.
Apart from the above qualified opinion on the Department's resource account, all accounts have been given a true and fair opinion by the comptroller and auditor general.
The first summarised account of the NHS Appointments Commission was qualified in 2001–02 arising from limitation in audit scope. The 2002–03 account was unqualified.
The audit opinions for 2003–04 will be available later in the year.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) number, (b) value and (c) purpose of contracts his Department holds with (i) A. T. Kearney, (ii) PricewaterhouseCoopers and (iii) Atos KPMG. [180440]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 28 June 2004]: The Department does not centrally hold a record of the number or the purpose of individual contracts. Only payments made are recorded.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what departmental expenditure was on (a) mobile telephones, (b) hospitality and (c) taxis in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) the latest accounting period for which figures are available. [184552]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
| 1996–97 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile telephones | (67)33 | 222 |
| Taxis | (68)— | 403 |
| Hospitality | 105 | 109 |
(67) This figure relates to national health service regional offices only. Mobile phone costs were not identified separately from other telecommunications expenditure in the rest of the Department.
(68) Not available—taxi costs were not separately identified in 1996–97.
Departmental Legal Costs
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the Department of external legal advice was in the last 12 months. [180324]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The Department has a service level agreement with the legal division of the Department of Work and Pensions for the provision of legal services, including advice. The value of the agreement was £4.5 million in 2003–04. External legal services are used, often on commercial matters, but the specific costs of this advice cannot be dis-aggregated from the overall cost of consultancy services without incurring disproportionate costs.
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Diabetes
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the numbers of (a) type 1 and (b) type 2 diabetics. [183715R]
Ms Rosie Winterton: An estimated 1.3 million people in England have diabetes. About 15 per cent. of these have type 1 diabetes.
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he expects the UK Scrutiny Committee to report on the future provision of screening for type 2 diabetes; [183717]
(2) what evidence he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the number of individuals suffering from diabetes who have not yet been formally diagnosed. [183718]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The United Kingdom national screening committee (NSC) is undertaking a development project on the feasibility and impact of screening patients at greatest risk of diabetes in disadvantaged areas, reaching high risk groups through primary care. The Department has also commissioned some additional research to look at the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the population.
This work will inform the advice the NSC has been asked to give on the most effective policy for screening for type 2 diabetes. It will report to the Department in 2005.
Environmental Sustainability
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on (i) electricity use and (ii) water and sewerage services in each year since 1997. [181726]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Costs for the principal buildings on the Department's London estate are as follows.
| Year | (£000s) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 615,007 |
| 1998–99 | 614,783 |
| 1999–2000 | 634,859 |
| 2000–01 | 545,079 |
| 2001–02 | 579,102 |
| 2002–03 | 551,938 |
| 2003–04 | 572,782 |
| Year | (£000s) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 36,396 |
| 1998–99 | 33,614 |
| 1999–2000 | 32,607 |
| 2000–01 | 32,224 |
| 2001–02 | 29,009 |
| 2002–03 | 34,684 |
| 2003–04 | 29,372 |
London staff of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) occupy buildings that are rented and most of the utilities are included within the service charge. However, figures for electricity
19 Jul 2004 : Column 116W
costs only are available for Hannibal House, which is shared between MHRA and Departmental staff. Expenditure is as follows.
| Year | (£000s) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 58,654 |
| 1998–99 | 53,124 |
| 1999–2000 | 48,124 |
| 2000–01 | 49,219 |
| 2001–02 | 53,689 |
| 2002–03 | 50,382 |
| 2003–04 | 57,855 |
Expenditure for the wheelchair evaluation centre at Blackpool, part of MHRA, is as follows. Figures are for electricity and gas combined.
| Year | (£000s) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 6,074 |
| 1998–99 | 6,118 |
| 1999–2000 | 4,835 |
| 2000–01 | 5,029 |
| 2001–02 | 6,522 |
| 2002–03 | 5,275 |
| 2003–04 | 6,009 |
| Year | (£000s) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,407 |
| 1998–99 | 1,478 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,527 |
| 2000–01 | 1,754 |
| 2001–02 | 2,013 |
| 2002–03 | 1,922 |
| 2003–04 | 1,466 |
The National Health Service Purchasing and Supplies Agency became an agency of the Department in April 2000. Figures for the years following are as follows.
| Year | (£000s) |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 23,591 |
| 2001–02 | 32,901 |
| 2002–03 | 38,570 |
| 2003–04 | 30,122 |
| Year | (£000s) |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 3,704 |
| 2001–02 | 2,576 |
| 2002–03 | 2,476 |
| 2003–04 | 2,292 |
Figures for the NHS Pensions Agency are as follows.
| Year | (£000s) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 60,554 |
| 1998–99 | 61,333 |
| 1999–2000 | 55,326 |
| 2000–01 | 50,678 |
| 2001–02 | 52,919 |
| 2002–03 | 46,787 |
| 2003–04 | 56,309 |
19 Jul 2004 : Column 117W
| Year | (£000s) |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 26,237 |
| 1998–99 | 27,459 |
| 1999–2000 | 30,675 |
| 2000–01 | 13,542 |
| 2001–02 | 23,026 |
| 2002–03 | 24,218 |
| 2003–04 | 27,003 |
The NHS Estates Agency (NHSE) occupies rented office space in Leeds city centre. NHSE is not billed separately for its energy and water; these are included in its service charge.
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