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16 Sept 2004 : Column 1750W—continued
Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health has; and when their contracts will end. [188108]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) has a full staffing complement of 197 whole-time equivalent (wte) posts. At present, the CPPIH has 141.5 wte posts and 40.5 posts filled by temporary staff, including individuals on fixed term contracts and agency staff.
The impact of the abolition of the CPPIH on staff contracts will be assessed on an individual basis with staff, as the details of the new arrangements are developed.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on offices for the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (a) in total and (b) broken down by region. [188109]
Ms Rosie Winterton: During the 2003–04 financial year, the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health spent £1.1 million on accommodation.
The following table shows a breakdown of costs by region.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| National centre | 338,779 |
| North East regional office | 71,302 |
| North West regional office | 70,999 |
| Yorkshire regional office | 80,579 |
| East Midland regional office | 61,025 |
| London regional office | 125,282 |
| South East regional office | 126,562 |
| South West regional office | 53,928 |
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Community Health Councils
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who devised the community health councils' replacement systems. [188238]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The arrangements that have replaced community health councils were developed by the Government in consultation with the public, parliamentarians, the national health service, the voluntary sector and many more interested stakeholders.
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish an assessment of the benefits of replacing community health councils. [188239]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
There are no plans to publish an assessment of the benefits of replacing community health councils.
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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 [pursuant to his reply, 7 September 2004, Official Report, c. 1072W]: I regret that my previous reply was incorrect. It should read as follows:
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 following table. The move to SHA took place in 2002. Therefore, it is not possible to provide data broken down by SHA preceding this date.
| Number of people receiving continuing NHS healthcare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Health Authority: | 2002–03 | 2003–04 |
| Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority | 927 | 741 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority | 700 | 830 |
| Birmingham and the Black Country Strategic Health Authority | 1,165 | 1,107 |
| Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority | 1,084 | 1,074 |
| County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority | 904 | 1,374 |
| Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Strategic Health Authority | 561 | 690 |
| Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority | 343 | 376 |
| Essex Strategic Health Authority | 834 | 698 |
| Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority | 1,039 | 984 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority | 673 | 530 |
| Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority | 770 | 770 |
| Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Strategic Health Authority | 137 | 215 |
| Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority | 127 | 435 |
| North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority | 410 | 705 |
| North Central London Strategic Health Authority | 294 | 320 |
| North East London Strategic Health Authority | 812 | 733 |
| North West London Strategic Health Authority | 500 | 1,468 |
| Northumberland, Tyne and W ear Strategic Health Authority | 461 | 1,081 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority | 673 | 663 |
| Somerset and Dorset Strategic Health Authority | 94 | 241 |
| South East London Strategic Health Authority | 635 | 580 |
| South West London Strategic Health Authority | 232 | 433 |
| South West Peninsula Strategic Health Authority | 239 | 516 |
| South Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority | 216 | 192 |
| Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority | 1,047 | 719 |
| Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority | 259 | 632 |
| Trent Strategic Health Authority | 509 | 928 |
| West Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority | 1,374 | 688 |
| England | 17,019 | 19,723 |
Source:
Service and Financial Framework Return, Local Delivery Plan Return.
Dentistry
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices in East Lancashire have (a) wholly private, (b) wholly NHS and (c) mixed lists. [188568]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department does not collect information on dentists with wholly private lists, nor on the private work of dental practices doing national health service work.
The number of general dental services (CDS) and personal dental service (PDS) practices in the East Lancashire area is shown in the table.
| Primary care trust | Number of CDS and PDS dental practices |
|---|---|
| Blackburn with Darwen | 25 |
| Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale | 44 |
| Hyndburn and Ribble Valley | 22 |
Source:
Department of Health statistics.
Digital Hearing Aids
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in providing the latest digital hearing aids in Essex; and if he will make a statement. [189071]
Dr. Ladyman:
Since September 2000, the modernising hearing aid services project has been retaining audiologists and generally modernising services in a
16 Sept 2004 : Column 1753W
phased way to enable them to offer digital hearing aids to people who would benefit from them. The roll-out will be complete by April 2005.
Digital hearing aids require different service delivery models as they incorporate information technology-based assessment and fitting procedures. A total of £30.75 million was made available from 2000 to 2003 for this project and a further £94 million will be available from 2003 to 2005.
I am informed that the audiology department at Southend Hospital National Health Service Trust is now fully funded and up and running. All new patients are fitted with digital hearing aids. There is a programme in place for patients who have an analogue hearing aid to have appointments to have the digital aid fitted if they want one.
Food Labelling
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ask the Food Standards Agency to publish good practice guidelines for the use of the term, suitable for vegetarians, on food labels and menus. [188055]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 15 September 2004, Official Report, columns 1643–44W.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he intends to take to prevent the inclusion in foods labelled as vegetarian of processing agents derived from animals. [188056]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
On 24 September, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) plans to hold a stakeholder meeting to discuss the labelling of vegetarian products.
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The meeting will consider whether establishment of FSA advice for industry and enforcement authorities on use of the terms 'vegetarian' and 'vegan' would be helpful.
The Food Safety Act 1990 and the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 already contain provisions outlawing false or misleading labelling. The FSA considers that the presence of processing agents derived from animals in a food labelled as 'suitable for vegetarians' would contravene this legislation, which is enforced by local authorities.
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