| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
9 Nov 2004 : Column 653W—continued
Tobacco Advertising
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received in the last 12 months supporting a ban on tobacco advertising; and if he will make a statement. [195896]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 came into force on 14 February 2003. The Act bans press, billboard and magazine advertising of tobacco products and the promotion of smoking through free distribution of tobacco products, coupons and mailshots in the United Kingdom.
A public consultation on the Act was held between August and October 2002.
Trainee Midwives
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trainee midwives there are in the NHS. [195902]
Mr. Hutton: National health service funded training is provided by higher education institutions, trainee midwives are therefore not employed directly by the NHS.
In 2003–04, 2,226 students entered training to become a midwife, which is an increase of 35 per cent. since 1996–97.
Waiting Times
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients admitted to Accident and Emergency in Hull and the East Riding in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004 waited for more than 12 hours before being treated or transferred to a ward. [194958]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The NHS Plan set a target to reduce the maximum wait in accident and emergency (A&E) from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge to four hours by 2004. The Department collects data against this target. This information is shown in the table.
Source:
Hospital Activity Statistics, Department of Health
9 Nov 2004 : Column 654W
Walk-in Centres
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding Southport Primary Care Trust and Halton Primary Care Trust will receive to establish new walk-in centres. [195489]
Mr. Hutton: A total of £1.6 million is being allocated by the Department in 2004–05 and 2005–06 to Southport and Formby Primary Care Trust and Halton Primary Care Trust towards the costs of establishing two new national health service walk-in centres.
TREASURY
Accountancy Standards
David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with representatives of (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) KPMG, (c) Ernst and Young and (d) Deloitte regarding compliance with the international accountancy guidelines contained within the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. [196422]
Mr. Timms: None, so far as I am aware.
Bowel Cancer
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths due to bowel cancer have occurred in England in the last five years. [196444]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 9 November 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many deaths due to bowel cancer have occurred in England in the last five years. I am replying in his absence. (196444)
The most recent available figures are for the year 2003. The number of deaths from bowel cancer (colorectal cancer) that occurred in the years 1999 to 2003 are given in the table.
| Number of deaths | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 13,613 |
| 2000 | 13,223 |
| 2001 | 13,182 |
| 2002 | 13,387 |
| 2003 | 13,079 |
(30) For deaths between 1999 and 2000, bowel cancer was identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 153–154. For deaths between 2001 and 2003, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C18-C21 were used.
(31) The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in 2001 resulted in the number of deaths coded as cancer at all ages increasing by 2.5 per cent. for males and 2.2 per cent. for females. For this reason, figures are not completely comparable with those for years before this date and should therefore be interpreted with caution. A description of the effects of the change in classification in 2001 on deaths from cancer was published in Health Statistics Quarterly in May 2002.*
* Office for National Statistics. Results of the ICD-10 bridge coding study, England and Wales, 1999. Health Statistics Quarterly 14 (2002), 75–83.
Source:
Office for National Statistics
9 Nov 2004 : Column 655W
Child Benefits
Mr. Best: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what timetable he has set for the extension of (a) child benefit and (b) child tax credit to the parents of children aged 16 to 19 years undertaking unwaged training. [196849]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to ensuring that all young people reach the age of 19 ready for higher education or skilled employment. In "Supporting young people to achieve", published alongside Budget 2004, we consulted on proposals for the reform of financial support for 16 to 19-year-olds, including the extension of child benefit and child tax credit to the parents and carers of unwaged trainees, in order to support young people's choices between education and unwaged training.
Correspondence
David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2004, Official Report, column 153W, on correspondence, if he will instruct the director, Inland Revenue, Tax Credit Office to reply personally to letters from hon. Members on behalf of constituents; and what percentage of substantive replies sent to hon. Members in the last 12 months were sent within 14 days. [196527]
9 Nov 2004 : Column 656W
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 8 November 2004]: It would not be practical for the director of the Tax Credit Office (TCO) to reply personally to all of the correspondence he receives. The director remains responsible for each reply concerning his department.
The TCO aim to reply to 80 per cent. of letters from hon. Members within 15 working days. In the seven months from 1 April 2004 to 31 October 2004, TCO replied to around 85 per cent. of letters from hon. Members within 15 working days.
Departmental Properties
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list the properties occupied by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2004, stating (A) for each and (B) in aggregate, the area; and what the aggregate rental value was in each year; [195127]
(2) if he will list the properties occupied by (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) their agencies in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2004, showing (A) for each and (B) in aggregate the area; and what in aggregate the annual rental value was. [196370]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 1 November 2004]: The following table setting out, by Department and Agency, the information available.
(32) This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
(33) Inland Revenue/Valuation Office/HM Customs and Excise have not been able to provide areas or rental values for individual properties as the information is not held centrally and would be available only at disproportionate cost. Lists of locations of properties have been provided in attached annexes 1–5.
9 Nov 2004 : Column 657W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |