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4 Oct 2004 : Column 1944W—continued
Western Waters (EU Regulation)
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will make a statement on the status of Council Regulation (EC) No 1954/2003 Western Waters; [187424]
(2) what access will be available to Spanish boats to fish for crab stocks in the Western Waters; [187427]
(3) what measures she is taking to improve monitoring of UK fisheries to prevent incursion from foreign fishing boats in the Western Waters. [187428]
Mr. Bradshaw: Council Regulation (EC) No 1954/2003 establishes an effort management regime for EU vessels over 15 metres overall length fishing for demersal species, scallops and edible and spider crabs in ICES Divisions V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X and certain parts of the waters controlled by the Fisheries Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) waters and for vessels over 10 metres overall length fishing for these species in the biologically sensitive area in that part of Area VII off the south and west coast of Ireland. The Regulation prohibits directed fishing for these species in Western Waters without a permit and provides for the setting of annual fishing effort allocations for each member state for each area and fishery described above. Those effort allocations are contained in Annex I of Council Regulation 1415/2004. This provides effort allocations for Spain for crabs in ICES Areas VIM, IX and CECAF but not in ICES Areas V, VI, VII or X. Member states are responsible for ensuring that the total effort of vessels flying their flag does not exceed the limits set down in Council Regulation 1415/2004. British Sea Fishery Officers, when boarding foreign fishing vessels in Western Waters, will carry out checks to ensure that the vessels have the necessary permits and are properly recording in their logbooks the time spent in each Western Waters area.
Woodland Grant Scheme
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reasons are for the deferral of the start of the woodland creation grants scheme until 2006–07. [187153]
Mr. Bradshaw:
The Forestry Commission announced in March 2003 that as a result of ongoing reviews, the need to properly consult on their proposals and to gain the necessary EU clearance the new grant scheme, which includes woodland creation grants, would not be introduced before 2005.
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Subject to EU approval of the new English Woodland Grant Scheme it is expected that applications for grant woodland creation grants will be accepted by the Forestry Commission from mid 2005. This will be in time for planting to take place in the 2005/06 planting season, with grant payments being made from April 2006.
HEALTH
Abortions
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are issued to doctors about informing the parents of girls who are 16 years or under who wish to have an abortion; and if he will make a statement. [189039]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 14 September 2004]: Guidance for health professionals on this issue is provided by the Department in "Best practice guidance for doctors and other health professionals on the provision of advice and treatment to young people under 16 on contraception, sexual and reproductive health (updated July 2004)", available from the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk . A copy of the guidance has been placed in the Library.
Air Ambulances
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding the funding of Essex Air Ambulance. [187966]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Ministers received one letter from the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) in September 2004, one letter from my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Angela Smith) in September 2004, one letter from the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) in August 2004 and one letter from the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron) in September 2002, all regarding the funding of Essex Air Ambulance.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has given regarding the funding of air ambulances; and if he will make a statement. [187967]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Previous research in the early 1990s did not demonstrate that the benefits of helicopter ambulances in terms of outcomes for patients were sufficient to justify investment in these services by the national health service. The Department has since commissioned primary research to examine the role and effectiveness of air ambulance services in the modern NHS. The conclusions from the first stage can be found at www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/mcru/reports/HEASrev.pdf. In light of the findings, the Department is currently considering further research.
The Department has advised that the NHS should meet the cost of clinical staff on air ambulances.
Arm's Length Bodies
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the planned timetable is for the abolition of arm's
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length bodies, with particular reference to the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health. [188394]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Further details about the timetable for implementation of all the recommendations in "Reconfiguring the Department of Health's Arms Length Bodies" will be published later in the year.
Breast Cancer
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations for breast cancer were carried out by the NHS in each of the last five years. [189552]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the following table. Figures are given to include and exclude chemotherapy.
| Chemotherapy (X352) included | Chemotherapy (X352) excluded | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–1999 | 87,141 | 37,687 |
| 1999–2000 | 95,237 | 45,036 |
| 2000–2001 | 100,150 | 50,718 |
| 2001–2002 | 97,139 | 50,471 |
| 2002–2003 | 95,898 | 50,768 |
Notes:
1. A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of inpatients.
2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–3) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
3. Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2002–03, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
Source:
Hospital Episodes (HES), Department of Health.
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to reduce the numbers of patients waiting for more than nine months for treatment at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust. [189434]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The local national health service is working to make full use of both NHS and independent sector capacity to ensure that no patients are waiting longer than nine months for inpatient treatment at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority expects that, from the end of September all patients will be offered treatment dates within the nine month maximum waiting time target. However, for personal reasons, some patients may opt for a later treatment date which may result in a waiting time of over nine months.
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Cancer
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much the NHS spent on cancer treatment in each year from 2000; and what its planned level of expenditure for 2005 is; [188382]
(2) what the average level of expenditure for each patient diagnosed as suffering from cancer was in the last year for which figures are available. [188386]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Figures on the amount of money spent on an individual disease are not collectedcentrally. It is very difficult to track spending on a particular programme such as cancer, as patients undergo a number of different diagnostic and treatment episodes during their illness.
However, "Securing our Future Health: Taking a Long Term View" published in April 2002 detailed that the National Health Service spends around £2.5 billion a year on cancer services.
The national cancer director published a report in May 2003, detailing that, of the funding committed to the NHS cancer plan, an additional £199 million was spent in 2001–02 and 406 million was spent in 2002–03. We will shortly be repeating this tracking investment exercise to check whether spending on cancer services in 2003–04 reached the additional £570 million committed to in the NHS cancer plan.
Funding for cancer services in 2005 will be included in baseline money sent to primary care trusts (PCTs). It is for PCTs to decide how to spend that money, based on local circumstances and priorities. From next year, PCTs and strategic health authorities will report within their annual accounts the totality of their expenditure on a programme basis each year. This will include cancer as one of the categories of spend.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on research into environmental and occupational exposures in relation to cancer in each of the last three years. [188383]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not available. However, the National Health Service reported spending £104 million in 2001–02 and £103 million in 2002–03 on research relating to cancer from research and development support funding allocations. 2003–04 returns are currently being processed.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the NHS, working through its National Cancer Research Institute, has set up a strategic planning group to investigate research into exogenous causes of cancer. [188384]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) is a partnership of the major funders of cancer research including Government, the voluntary sector and industry, together with patient representatives. Its purpose is to ensure a national strategic approach on cancer research. The NCRI has undertaken a strategic analysis of cancer research in the United Kingdom and has established strategic planning groups in areas where there appears to be under-investment. One such area is prevention and risk. This
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encompasses interventions to prevent cancer caused by known exogenous factors. This group is due to report soon.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many research programmes the NHS is undertaking into the exogenous causes of cancer. [188385]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry and works closely with the Health Departments, other Government agencies, the National Health Service and industry.
The majority of funds for research and development in the NHS are allocated to and managed by, NHS organisations. Details of individual projects, including many concerned with the exogenous causes of cancer, can be found on the National Research Register website at www.dh.gov.uk/research.
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