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22 Jul 2004 : Column 627W—continued
Correspondence
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will respond to the letters written by the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle on (a) 13 May and (b) 24 June to the hon. Member for Doncaster, Central regarding the inquiry into clinical governance at the Conquest hospital, East Sussex before the House rises on 22 July. [185502]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
I responded to the hon. Member on 22 July.
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Dentistry
Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a returners scheme for NHS dental practitioners. [183328]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A scheme for dental returners was launched in June. This provides incentives for dentists to return to practice. It is operated by the recruitment and returning advisers in each strategic health authority who liase with individual dentists and assess the level of support they may need.
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of Government funding for dentistry services was in (a) Wales, (b) England, (c) Herefordshire and (d) Worcestershire in each year since 1997. [183946]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The gross and net fees paid to dentists for the provision of general dental services (GDS) represent the main element of primary dental care costs and are the data most readily available by health authority area. Data since 1997 is shown in the table. These figures exclude some payments to dentists such as commitment payments, maternity and seniority payments as well as superannuation payments made on their behalf. There is a discontinuity in the figures for Hampshire and Worcestershire in the middle of 2002–03 because of the change in health administration areas.
Community, personal and hospital dental services have not been included in this table; these are directly commissioned by individual health authorities from locally managed resources rather than funded from a central national budget as is the case with the GDS.
(77) Exclude patient charge
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Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists left the national health service in each of the last seven years. [185871]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on the total number of dentists leaving the general dental service (GDS) or personal dental service (PDS) is given in the table. Information is not available on the reason for leaving. The leavers include dentists who are retiring or taking a career break.
| Exits | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 1,000 |
| 1999 | 1,066 |
| 2000 | 1,228 |
| 2001 | 1,257 |
| 2002 | 1,374 |
| 2003 | 1,256 |
Source:
Dental Practice Board
Dentists on the GDS and PDS are mainly self-employed and are free to vary the amount of national health service work they do. Information is not collected on private working.
Departmental Annual Report
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many copies of his Department's annual report were printed in each year since 1997; how many were sold in each year; and what the (a) publication costs and (b) sales revenue were. [183887]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table. The Departmental report is also available free of charge via the Department's website.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number printed | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 2,500 | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| Number sold | n/a | 750 | 672 | 605 | 634 | 507 | 463 | (78)342 |
| Publication cost (£)(79) | n/a | n/a | n/a | 37,865 | 42,253 | 31,668 | 18,282 | 27,626 |
Notes:
n/a = Information not available.
(78) The Stationery Office has indicated that it expects further sales of around 100 copies.
(79) The publication costs are those that fall directly to the Department for design, typesetting and artwork. II remaining costs for printing and publication were met centrally by the Stationery Office
Departmental Priorities
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury regarding departmental priorities. [180531]
Mr. Hutton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has been in regular discussions with the Chancellor and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Epilepsy (Dogs)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission research into the use of dogs trained to alert people with epilepsy of an impending fit; and if he will make a statement. [184208]
Dr. Ladyman: No. The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology. In 2001–02 it spent £3.65 million on research into epilepsy. The Department's national health service research and development programme is additionally supporting a £1.35 million trial of longer term clinical outcomes and cost effectiveness of standard and new antiepileptic drugs.
Food Labelling
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what checks his Department makes on the accuracy of food labelling; what amendments to the requirements he has considered; what representations he has received on this issue; and if he will make a statement. [185146]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
Food labelling rules, which are agreed at European Union level, prohibit false or misleading labelling. Local authorities enforce them. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) carries out ad-hoc surveys, in close co-operation with local authorities, to
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check the accuracy of certain aspects of labelling, for example where new methodology is being employed to tackle suspected food problems.
Where ad-hoc surveys identify shortcomings in current legislation, these may be resolved through the establishment of FSA or industry guidance or by working toward changes in EU legislation.
Foundation Trusts
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost has been of conducting elections for the membership of boards on the proposed foundation trusts, broken down by (a) staff costs, (b) costs of payments to the Electoral Reform Society, (c) costs of setting up databases, (d) publicity, (e) recruitment of members and (f) public consultations. [185639]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 21 July 2004]: The cost of conducting elections is a matter for each national health service organisation applying for NHS foundation trust status. These costs will not be entirely additional, as they will replicate some current activity that trusts are already doing around informing the public, patients and staff about issues affecting each trust.
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