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12 Oct 2004 : Column 244W—continued

WORK AND PENSIONS

Pension Credit Entitlement

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what decisions he has reached on extending the period for which pension credit customers are allowed to go abroad without it affecting their entitlement. [189698]

Malcolm Wicks: No decision has yet been made. Officials are researching a range of options for potentially extending the period for which pension credit can continue to be paid for customers who go abroad for less than 52 weeks.

Pensioners (Mitcham and Morden)

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Mitcham and Morden constituency, the effects of changes in departmental policy since 1997 on the income of pensioners in the constituency. [189339]

Malcolm Wicks: The available information is set out as follows:

Nationally, the average pensioner household will be £1,350 per year, or £26 per week, better off in 2004–05 because of measures the Government have introduced, including pension credit, than they would have been under the 1997 system. The poorest third of pensioner
 
12 Oct 2004 : Column 245W
 
households will be £1,750 per year, or £33 per week, better off. Figures for the average gains in Mitcham and Morden are not available. Figures available for the Mitcham and Morden constituency are as follows:

As at 30 September 2003 there were 12,700 pensioners in the Mitcham and Morden constituency in receipt of basic state pension ¹ . These pensioners have benefited from the 7 per cent. above inflation increase that has been made to the basic state pension since 1997.

As at 31 August 2004 there were 3,365 pensioner households in receipt of pension credit in the parliamentary constituency of Mitcham and Morden. The average weekly pension credit payment was £51.86 ² .

In October 2002, the upper age limit on claims for carer's allowance was abolished. This change means that carers aged 65 and over can now claim and gain entitlement to the allowance and to carer's additional amount in pension credit. As at May 2004, there were 140 people aged 65 and over entitled to carer's allowance in the parliamentary constituency of Mitcham and Morden ² .

The winter fuel payment and 80+ annual payment also make a positive contribution to the incomes of pensioners in the constituency. The one-off 70+ payment for households including someone aged 70 or over will help pensioners with their living expenses, including council tax bills. For data on these payments, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to her on 16 September 2004, Official Report, column 1747W.

Sources:

¹ DWP administrative data, 5 per cent. sample. Figures rounded to nearest 100.

² DWP administrative data, 100 per cent. sample. Figures rounded to nearest 5.

HEALTH

Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent to date on setting up the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health. [189668]

Ms Rosie Winterton: By the end of 2004–05, the total running and set up costs of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) to date will be £66.76 million. This includes all costs associated with patients' forums. It also includes CPPIH set up costs in 2002–03 of around £2.5 million.
 
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Colorectal Cancer

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffering from colorectal cancer are receiving treatment. [189667]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department does not hold the information requested. However, data on finished admission episodes for of cancers of the colon and/or rectum is collected. This is shown in the table. These figures relate to 2002–03.

Primary diagnosis code	Total episodes
C18 (malignant neoplasm of colon)	87,884
C19 (malignant neoplasm of rectosigmoid junction)	14,840
C20 (malignant neoplasm of rectum)	46,759
C21 (malignant neoplasm of anus and anal canal)	2,521

Notes:
1. A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within a year.
2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
3. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
Source:
HES—Department of Health

Continuing Care

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the consultancy work he has commissioned in the last 12 months concerning NHS continuing care; what the remit of the work was; when it was completed; and when he plans to publish it. [187860]

Dr. Ladyman: The only consultancy work commissioned centrally in the last 12 months has been the independent review of continuing care in nine strategic health authorities. The remit was to examine the review of criteria, progress with restitution and current processes. The work was commissioned in autumn 2003 and reported in June 2004. We will publish it in due course.

Dentistry

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were registered with a NHS dentist in each primary care trust of the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority in each year since 1997. [188173]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The general dental service dental registration numbers for June each year since 1997 for primary care trusts (PCTs) in the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority are shown in the following table:

Primary care trust	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Bexhill and Rother	47,408	42,418	39,153	39,514	38,000	35,639	36,974	37,689
Brighton and Hove City	145,078	129,598	122,853	123,499	124,841	121,730	126,566	134,371
Crawley	41,770	42,236	44,827	47,250	43,746	40,264	38,127	36,941
Eastbourne Downs	87,307	65,421	81,918	83,559	83,238	81,021	79,117	76,504
Sussex Downs and Weald	81,774	77,645	73,975	77,679	76,169	77,444	80,304	78,589
North Surrey	99,302	69,949	88,437	87,201	88,423	88,265	87,311	83,797
Woking	105,698	99,312	93,386	94,920	93,786	91,592	89,833	79,144
Adur, Arun and Worthing	126,674	113,321	108,242	107,023	106,832	105,724	103,331	105,900
Western Sussex	106,370	98,357	97,461	103,154	100,105	97,960	97,592	98,183
Guildford and Waverley	111,896	102,347	98,949	98,910	94,894	101,361	96,344	94,402
East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey	120,955	112,567	110,221	107,777	104,635	100,445	97,838	98,483
East Surrey	84,202	78,077	73,414	72,512	73,010	72,776	74,741	74,070
Hastings and St Leonards	53,885	48,672	47,856	49,059	51,939	49,821	50,589	51,173
Horsham and Chanctonbury	55,384	43,870	48,642	46,942	48,671	49,261	50,631	50,405
Mid-Sussex	79,010	73,469	70,629	69,585	71,042	68,999	71,800	73,300

Notes:
1. Changes in the registration periods for registrations starting after 31 August 1996 means that registration numbers for June 1997 and June 1998 are not on the same basis as later figures. Before that date, the registration period for adults was 24 months whilst children's registrations lasted until the end of the following calendar year. From 1 September 1996, registrations have lasted for 15 months from the end of the month of registration. The figures for some PCT areas will also be affected by the introduction in October 1998 and subsequent growth of the personal dental service.
2. Patients may access national health service dental treatment without being registered with a general dental service dentist, for example as a patient of a dental access centre.



 
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General Practitioners

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many general practitioners there are per head of population in each of the primary care trusts within the Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority. [163032]

Dr. Ladyman [pursuant to his reply, 24 March 2004, c. 918W]: I regret that the figures provide in my previous response were incorrect, dut to an error in the published figures. The correct figures are shown in the table.
Unrestricted Principals are Equivalents⁽¹⁸⁾ (UPEs) per 100,000 patients for Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority by Primary Care Trust as at 30 September 2003 Number (headcount)

		UPEs	UPE Patients	UPEs per 100,000 patients
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire	—	1,341	2,253,423	60
Of which	Bradland	73	118,958	61
	Cambridge City	87	145,033	60
	Central Suffolk	63	100,162	63
	East Cambridgeshire and Fenland	81	146,197	55
	Great Yarmouth	47	95,988	49
	Huntingdonshire	94	150,093	63
	Ipswich	88	148,987	59
	North Norfolk	60	100,943	59
	North Peterborough	58	113,661	51
	Norwich	91	136,799	67
	South Cambridgeshire	64	103,357	62
	South Peterborough	58	95,172	59
	South Norfolk	114	202,729	56
	Souffolk Coastal	63	99,524	63
	Souffolk West	137	225,026	61
	Waveney	76	125,969	60
	West Norfolk	89	144,824	61

⁽¹⁸⁾ UPEs include GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS contracted GPs and PMS Salaried GPs. Patient data has been revised from previously published figures.
Sources:
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics



 
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Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many general practitioners there were per head of population in (a) England and (b) each Strategic Health Authority in each year since 1997. [166653]

Mr. Hutton [pursuant to his reply, 22 April 2004, Official Report, c. 620W]: I regret my previous response was incorrect, due to an error in the published figures. The correct figures are shown in the table.
All General Medical Practitioners⁽¹⁹⁾ (excluding GP retainers) per 100,000 of the population by Strategic Health Authority: 1997–2003 Number (headcount)

		1997		1998		1999
		All practitioners (excl. Ret)	All practitioners (excl. Ret) per 1000,000 population	All Practitioners (excl. Ret)	All Practitioners (excl. Ret) per 100,000 population	All Practitioners (excl. Ret)	All Practitioners (excl. Ret) per 1000,000 population
England Total		29,389	60	29,697	61	29,987	61
North East Total		1,485	58	1,506	59	1,520	60
County Durham and Tees Valley	010	649	57	650	57	656	58
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	009	836	59	856	61	864	62
North West Total		4,040	59	4.044	60	4,124	61
Cheshire and Merseyside	015	1,421	60	1,413	60	1,456	62
Cumbria and Lancashire	013	1,134	60	1,147	60	1,158	61
Greater Manchester	014	1,485	59	1,484	59	1,510	60
Yorkshire and the Humber Total		3,021	61	3,028	61	3,092	63
North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	011	999	62	991	62	1,011	63
South Yorkshire	Q23	758	59	758	59	772	61
West Yorkshire	Q12	1,264	61	1,279	62	1,309	63
East Midlands Total		2,338	57	2,361	58	2,369	58
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland	Q25	908	60	902	59	898	58
Trent	Q24	1,430	56	1,459	57	1,471	57
West Midlands Total		3,026	58	3,057	58	3,093	59
Birmingham and the Black Country	027	1,327	58	1,343	59	1,357	60
Shropshire and Staffordshire	026	792	54	813	55	830	56
West Midlands South	028	907	60	901	60	906	60
East of England Total		3,080	58	3,141	59	3,156	59
Bedford and Hertfordshire	002	915	59	944	60	948	60
Essex	003	849	54	862	54	860	54
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire	001	1,316	62	1,335	62	1,348	62
London Total		4,532	65	4,515	65	4,496	64
North Central London	005	788	69	802	70	786	68
North East London	006	888	62	896	62	894	61
North West London	004	1,209	73	1,188	71	1,134	67
South East London	Q07	868	60	862	59	901	61
South West London	008	779	62	767	61	781	62
South East Total		4,682	60	4,788	61	4,830	61
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	017	1,060	61	1,070	61	1,089	62
Kent and Medway	018	904	58	916	59	918	59
Surrey and Sussex	Q19	1,486	59	1,518	60	1,522	60
Thames Valley	016	1,232	60	1,284	62	1,301	63
South West Total		3,185	66	3,257	67	3,307	68
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire	020	1,325	63	1,374	65	1,404	65
Somerset and Dorset	022	794	68	820	70	843	72
South West Peninsula	Q21	1,066	69	1,063	69	1,060	68

 
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Number (headcount)

		2000	2001	2002
		All practitioners (excl. Ret)	All practitioners (excl. Ret) per 1000,000 population	All Practitioners (excl. Ret)	All Practitioners (excl. Ret) per 100,000 population	All Practitioners (excl. Ret)	All Practitioners (excl. Ret) per 1000,000 population
England Total		30,252	62	30,685	62	31,182	63
North East Total		1,536	61	1,603	64	1,645	65
County Durham and Tees Valley	010	661	58	696	61	701	62
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	009	875	63	907	65	944	68
North West Total		4,134	61	4,174	62	4,247	63
Cheshire and Merseyside	015	1,459	62	1,481	63	1,536	65
Cumbria and Lancashire	013	1,152	61	1,174	62	1,200	63
Greater Manchester	014	1,523	60	1,519	60	1,511	60
Yorkshire and the Humber Total		3,123	63	3,192	64	3,253	65
North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	011	1,021	63	1,039	64	1,065	65
South Yorkshire	Q23	778	61	794	63	808	64
West Yorkshire	Q12	1,324	64	1,359	65	1,380	66
East Midlands Total		2,384	58	2,437	58	2,466	58
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland	Q25	877	57	894	57	910	58
Trent	Q24	1,507	58	1,543	59	1,556	59
West Midlands Total		3,142	60	3,157	60	3,255	61
Birmingham and the Black Country	027	1,380	61	1,391	61	1,428	63
Shropshire and Staffordshire	026	838	56	825	55	861	58
West Midlands South	028	924	61	941	62	966	63
East of England Total		3,183	59	3,204	59	3,223	59
Bedford and Hertfordshire	002	955	60	965	60	976	61
Essex	003	857	53	851	53	846	52
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire	001	1,371	63	1,388	64	1,401	64
London Total		4,548	64	4,545	62	4,609	63
North Central London	005	819	70	804	67	806	66
North East London	006	925	62	899	59	945	61
North West London	004	1,125	66	1,150	65	1,139	64
South East London	Q07	886	60	904	60	902	60
South West London	008	793	62	788	61	817	63
South East Total		4,839	61	4,943	62	5,017	62
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	017	1,099	62	1,122	63	1,112	62
Kent and Medway	018	901	57	915	58	911	57
Surrey and Sussex	Q19	1,531	60	1,571	61	1,587	62
Thames Valley	016	1,308	63	1,335	64	1,407	67
South West Total		3,363	69	3,430	69	3,467	70
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire	020	1,424	66	1,442	67	1,460	67
Somerset and Dorset	022	846	71	867	73	895	75
South West Peninsula	Q21	1,093	70	1,121	71	1,112	70

 
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Number (headcount)

		2003
		All Practitioners (excl. Ret)	All Practitioners (excl. Ret) per 1000,000 population
England Total		32,593	66
North East Total		1741	n/a
County Durham and Tees Valley	010	758	n/a
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	009	983	n/a
North West Total		4,400	n/a
Cheshire and Merseyside	015	1,593	n/a
Cumbria and Lancashire	013	1,226	n/a
Greater Manchester	014	1,581	n/a
Yorkshire and the Humber Total		3,424	n/a
North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	011	1,115	n/a
South Yorkshire	Q23	847	n/a
West Yorkshire	Q12	1,462	n/a
East Midlands Total		2,598	n/a
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland	Q25	974	n/a
Trent	Q24	1,624	n/a
West Midlands Total		3,391	n/a
Birmingham and the Black Country	027	1,491	n/a
Shropshire and Staffordshire	026	897	n/a
West Midlands South	028	1,003	n/a
East of England Total		3,398	n/a
Bedford and Hertfordshire	002	1,014	n/a
Essex	003	907	n/a
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire	001	1,477	n/a
London Total		4,879	n/a
North Central London	005	850	n/a
North East London	006	986	n/a
North West London	004	1,176	n/a
South East London	Q07	979	n/a
South West London	008	888	n/a
South East Total		5,175	n/a
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	017	1,187	n/a
Kent and Medway	018	931	n/a
Surrey and Sussex	Q19	1,631	n/a
Thames Valley	016	1,426	n/a
South West Total		3,587	n/a
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire	020	1,524	n/a
Somerset and Dorset	022	913	n/a
South West Peninsula	Q21	1,150	n/a

n/a = Not available.
⁽¹⁹⁾ All Practitioners (excluding GP Retainers) includes GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other, Flexible Career Schemes and GP Returners.
Notes:
1. Strategic Health Authority population figures are derived from the 1992–2000 first revised sub-national population estimates published by ONS 27 February 2003 and so are not consistent with the interim revised national population estimates for 1992–2002 published by ONS 23 October 2003.
2. Data has been converted to match Strategic Health Authority structures for 2002.
3. Data as at 1 October 1997–1999, 30 September 2000–2003.
Sources:
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.
2001 ONS Population Census.



 
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