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Care Homes

Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds are available for the elderly in care homes in Northampton; and how many were available on average in (a) 2001 and (b) 1997. [186515]

Dr. Ladyman: The table shows the number of places available for people aged 65 and over in residential and nursing homes in Northamptonshire, at 31 March for the years 1997 and 2001.
Number of care home places for people aged 65 and over in Northamptonshire⁽⁵⁰⁾, 1997 and 2001 As at 31 March    Rounded numbers

	Residential	Nursing2,3
1997	2,870	—
2001	2,920	1,640

Notes:
⁽⁵⁰⁾ Figures for residential care are for Northamptonshire local authority and for nursing care they are for Northamptonshire health authority
⁽⁵¹⁾ Nursing home figures include places in general nursing homes, mental nursing homes and private hospitals and clinics.
⁽⁵²⁾ Information is not available by age band at health authority level for 1997.

Data for Northampton are not centrally available.

I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that figures for later years were collected by the National Care Standards Commission, and now CSCI, but comparable details are not available.

Chiropody

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of time patients have to wait between regular chiropody appointments is, broken down by primary care trust. [186454]

Dr. Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally.
 
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (a) in Burnley, (b) within the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust and (c) within the East Lancashire NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement. [186740]

Dr. Ladyman: The Department has no plans to institute special data collection exercises for specific diseases, conditions, syndromes or injuries.

Central monitoring and reporting is limited to that information needed to demonstrate progress against the targets set out in "National Standards, Local Action: Health and Social care Standards and Planning Framework 2005/06–2007/08", published by the Department on 21 July 2004; and for contractual purposes. Additional monitoring is kept to a minimum in favour of local performance management systems, exception reporting and independent inspections.

The report of the independent chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy working group, published in January 2002, estimated a population prevalence of around 0.2 to 0.4 per cent. in adults and around 0.07 per cent. in children. It made no analysis of regional variations.

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health where chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis-diagnosed patients (a) in Burnley, (b) within the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust and (c) within the East Lancashire NHS Trust receive treatment; what the furthest distance an individual in these areas has to travel to access specialist services; and if he will make a statement. [186741]

Dr. Ladyman: We do not hold information centrally on the treatments and rehabilitation services available locally to patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy.

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from (a) chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) sufferers in Burnley, (b) CFS/ME sufferers within the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust and (c) CFS/ME sufferers within the East Lancashire NHS Trust, (d) Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust and (e) the East Lancashire NHS Trust regarding (i) the levels of service provision and (ii) access to services for CFS/ME; and if he will make a statement. [186742]

Dr. Ladyman: We are not aware of formal representations from people in the towns and trusts mentioned. There is regular correspondence to the Secretary of State, Ministers and the Chief Medical Officer around service provision for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy.

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what provision (a) East Lancashire NHS Trust and (b) Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust have for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis services; what specific funding they receive to deliver these services; and if he will make a statement; [186744]
 
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(2) what referral mechanisms are in place for (a) East Lancashire NHS Trust and (b) Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust to access chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis centres and support teams in the region; and if he will make a statement. [186745]

Dr. Ladyman: From April 2005, funding has been granted to create a specialist multidisciplinary team for the geographical area of Lancashire and South Cumbria, which includes East Lancashire and Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale primary care trusts. Children and young people with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy will be managed by local community paediatric services, supported by the two clinical network co-ordinating centres in Manchester and Liverpool. Lancashire and Cumbria have been allocated £115,000 to develop the service.

Continuing Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received fully funded NHS continuing care in each year since 1997, broken down by strategic health authority; and if he will make a statement. [185996]

Dr. Ladyman: The number of people receiving National Health Service continuing care in 2002–03 and 2003–04, broken down by strategic health authority (SHA), is shown in the table. The move to SHA took place in 2002. Therefore, it is not possible to provide data broken down by SHA preceding this date.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the 7.2 per cent. increase in health spending announced by the Chancellor on 12 July his Department expects to deploy to meet the cost of NHS continuing care. [186767]

Dr. Ladyman: The spending review statement by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, confirmed the Government's commitment to high and sustained levels of growth in investment for the national health service. The public service agreement published as part of the spending review and the departmental publication, "Health and Social Care Standards and Planning Guidance 2005–06 to 2007–08", set the priorities for investment during the next planning period. In support of these objectives, we plan to allocate the majority of NHS funding directly to primary care trusts and so maximise local flexibility in meeting these priorities.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assumptions his Department made about the change in the numbers of people needing intensive home care and home care during the Spending Review period announced by the Chancellor on 12 July; and how much of the planned increase in social care spending he expects will be deployed to allow for an expansion in domiciliary services as a result. [186795]

Dr. Ladyman: One of the Department's public service agreement targets states that, by March 2008, the number of people supported intensively to live independently at home, as a proportion of all those supported intensively at home or in residential care,
 
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should increase to 34 per cent.; increasing the proportion of older people being supported to live in their own home by one per cent. annually in 2007 and 2008.

The Spending Review settlement announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 12 July, was based on forecast increases in pay and prices, and increases in demand from demographic changes. It is for local authorities to decide how best to deploy the services available.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 15 June 2004, Official Report, column 901W, on NHS Continuing Care (Recompense), when the review of those wrongly denied NHS continuing care was commissioned; when it was submitted to Ministers; when it is expected to report back; and what the remit of the review was. [187067]

Dr. Ladyman: As I stated in my answer of 15 June, strategic health authorities (SHAs) are completing their reviews of cases where individuals may have been wrongly denied national health service continuing care and I will make a statement on the number of retrospective reviews completed and the number of individuals eligible for recompense as soon as that information is available. The independent review of the provision and understanding of NHS-funded continuing care within nine SHAs is a separate matter. The report has been completed and the Department is currently considering its conclusions.

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