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18 Nov 2004 : Column 1962W—continued

Departmental Advertising Costs

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of (a) creative work, (b) media spend and (c) administration for his Department's advertising activity has been in each financial year since 1997–98, broken down by contractor. [197295]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department's advertising is commissioned through the Central Office of Information. Expenditure for 2002–04 and 2003–04 is shown in the table. Figures for previous years can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Creative Agency	Strategic Media Agency	Campaign Description	Amount Billed (ex VAT) £million	Media (ex VAT) £million	Production and Fees only £million
B Hodes	n/a	Dept of Health Directories Advertising 2003–04	123,609	123,505	104
Mother	PHD	Drugs Advertising Campaign 2003–04	1,936,457	1,276,009	660,448
DLKW	Naked	Teenage Pregnancy 2003–04	1,484,533	1,347,107	137,426
AMV	PHD	Tobacco Information Campaign 2003–04	14,349,980	14,027,512	322,468
Leo Burnett	Mediavest	Social Care Recruitment 2003–04	973,014	799,971	173,043
EURO	Naked	NHS Direct 2003–04	480,533	423,407	57,126
Leo Burnett	Mediavest	NHS Professionals 2003–04	389,396	368,799	20,597
Barkers	n/a	Global Recruitment 2003–04	127,648	123,211	4,437
BMP	n/a	HIB Vaccination Campaign 2003–04	369,699	379,135	17,564
Barkers	n/a	NHS Modernisation Agency Recruitment 2003–04	66,728	60,555	6,173
Leo Burnett	Mediavest	NHS Careers 2003–04	4,244,604	3,490,075	754,529
EURO	Naked	Wider Access 2003–04	1,704,765	1,538,140	166,625
EURO	Naked	Get the Right Treatment 2003–04	435	—	435
n/a	n/a	Asian Tobacco Campaign 2003–04	42,582	—	42,582
EURO	Optimedia	Flu Jabs 2003–04	1,525,345	1,398,639	126,706
DLKW	Naked	Adult Sexual Health 2003–04	1,200,741	1,040,435	160,306
BMP	n/a	Child Immunisation 2003–04	1,576,434	1,472,563	103,871
n/a	n/a	Local Job Shop Avon, Glocs and Wilts 2003–04	804	768	36
n/a	n/a	Local Job Shop—Trent 2003–04	3,585	3,428	157
BMP	n/a	MMR Campaign 2003–04	139,526	129,638	9,888
Leo Burnett	n/a	GP's & Consultants Recruitment 2003–04	240,577	234,594	5,983
n/a	n/a	Thames Valley WDC Job Shop 2003–04	424	405	19
n/a	n/a	Birmingham WDC—GP Returners 2003–04	2,982	2,853	129
n/a	n/a	West Midlands WDC—GP Returners 2003–04	15,934	15,244	690
n/a	n/a	Staffs and Shropshire WDC—GP Returner's 2003–04	16,256	15,546	710
Leo Burnett	Mediavest	NHS Careers Job Shops 2003–04	252,981	209,350	43,631
O and M	n/a	Antibiotics Campaign 2003–04	542,645	517,843	24,802
Leo Burnett	Mediavest	Social Care Recruitment Campaign 2003–04	3,485,084	2,813,766	671,318
Barkers	n/a	London Patient Choice Programme 2003–04	78,243	76,897	1,346
n/a	n/a	East Midlands—Anti Smoking 2003–04	15,705	15,297	408
Total			35,418,249	31,904,692	3,513,557

 
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Departmental Events (Funding)

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) publications, (c) initiatives, (d) projects and (e) receptions organised by his Department which have received funding from outside commercial bodies, since May 1997, broken down by (i) funding body and (ii) amount paid. [196593]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Details of individual amounts of sponsorship valued at more than £5,000 are published in the Department's annual report. The 2004 annual report was published on 29 April 2004. Copies are available in the Library.

Departmental Research

Mr. Kevin Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on research into (a) Alzheimer's disease, (b) Parkinson's disease, (c) Huntingdon's disease, (d) multiple sclerosis and (e) motor neurone disease in the last three years. [198224]

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 via the Office of Science and Technology.

The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality
 
18 Nov 2004 : Column 1964W
 
improvement and service development in the national health service. Spend by the Department's national research programmes in the three years to 2003–04 on projects related to the diseases listed was as follows:

	£ million
2001–02	1.4
2002–03	1.6
2003–04	2.3

Over 75 per cent., of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. From this funding, the NHS reported spending in support of research related to older people and on neurological conditions as follows:
£ million

	Older people	Neurological conditions
2001–02	37	not available
2002–03	34	28
2003–04	39	30

Details of individual projects can be found on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research

Mr. Kevin Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research his Department has commissioned on degenerative neurological disorders. [198225]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Projects commissioned in the national research programmes over the last three years cover a wide variety of neurological disorders and include:
 
18 Nov 2004 : Column 1965W
 

investigation of the characteristics of certain conditions and of those experiencing them, for example:

monitoring the rates and characteristics of children with cerebral palsy;

describing the neuropathological features of CJD and other atypical dementias;

exploring the natural history and epidemiology of multiple sclerosis

research on the efficacy of various treatments, for example:

the effectiveness of treatment for motor neurone disease;

the cost-effectiveness of new drugs for epilepsy and Alzheimer's;

the value of education in promoting health and independence for people with a range of progressive neurological diseases

studies of the quality and accessibility of health and social care, for example:

the access to care of people with dementia from minority communities and their carers;

community care for older people with dementia;

improving the training of GPs in recognising dementia.

In addition the Department has funded a major new research initiative costing approximately £2 million long-term neurological conditions. This will underpin and assess the implementation of the national service framework on long-term conditions.

Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total research and development expenditure is devolved to and managed locally by national health service organisations.

Dermatology

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the percentage of general practitioner consultations which concerned skin diseases in each year since 1997. [196190]

Dr. Ladyman: Detailed data on consultations with general practitioners are not collected.

Data from the general household survey suggest that there were approximately 241 million consultations in 2002–03, and the British Association of Dermatologists estimate that about 15 per cent. of all patients who see a general practitioner are seeking help with a skin problem.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many dermatology referrals there were to secondary care in each year since 1997; [196191]

(2) how many dermatology outpatient appointments there were in each year since 1997; [196192]

(3) how many finished consultant episodes dermatology has accounted for in each year since 1997. [196238]

Dr. Ladyman: No separate count of referrals is available, but the information available on finished consultant episodes and numbers of in-year admissions, is in the table. Information on outpatient appointments is not available.
 
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Primary Diagnosis (ICD-10 L00-L99) Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue: counts of finished consultant episodes (FCEs), finished in-year admission episodes and all elective (waiting list, booked and planned) finished in-year admission episodes—NHS hospitals, England 1997–98 to 2002–03

	FCEs	Finished in-year admissions	of which: elective
1997–98	239,174	222,625	138,835
1998–99	257,265	242,590	152,906
1999–2000	266,193	248,550	152,922
2000–01	279,458	258,213	155,302
2001–02	277,832	254,556	151,489
2002–03	284,366	259,143	154,062

Notes:
1. Finished Consultant Episode (FCE)
An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
2. Finished in-year admissions
A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the datayear. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
3. Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis)
The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven 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.
4. Grossing
Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2002–03, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population are affected by skin diseases; and if he will make a statement. [196196]

Dr. Ladyman: This information is not held centrally. The Skin Care Campaign, which is the umbrella organisation representing the interests of all people with skin diseases in the UK estimates that up to 25 per cent. of the population will have a skin disease that warrants medical attention at some point in their life.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average and (b) maximum time was that a patient waited for a first dermatology out-patient appointment in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [196232]

Dr. Ladyman: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

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