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13 Dec 2004 : Column 914W—continued
Record Office
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the private and personal records of (a) Flight Lieutenant Jonathan Tapper and (b) Flight Lieutenant Richard Cook have been included in the transfer of records to Bourne Avenue, Hayes following the privatisation of the Ministry of Defence Records Office. [203885]
Mr. Caplin: The personal files of Flight Lieutenant Jonathan Tapper and Flight Lieutenant Richard Cook have not been transferred to the TNT managed archives at Hayes. They are held by the RAF Personnel Management Agency.
Scottish Infantry Regiments
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of each Scottish infantry regiment are (a) Scottish, (b) from elsewhere in the United Kingdom and (c) from overseas. [202572]
Mr. Caplin:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 1 November 2004, Official Report, column 107W, to my right hon. Friend for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes).
13 Dec 2004 : Column 915W
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether he has been informed of breaches of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers in his Department since its implementation; [201302]
(2) how many appeals were made by civil servants to the Civil Service Commissioners regarding special advisers in his Department between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004; and when each appeal was lodged. [201365]
Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Ruth Kelly) on 8 December 2004, Official Report, column 578W.
Thales/BAe Systems
Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's assessment is of the joint working between Thales and BAE Systems in Ministry of Defence contracts. [200123]
Mr. Ingram: BAE Systems and Thales work together on many Ministry of Defence contracts, including CVF. The Department's overall assessment is that their joint working on those contracts is constructive and professional.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Acute Hospital Beds
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he is taking to ensure that acute hospital beds are not used for patients who are ready to be discharged from hospital. [204104]
Angela Smith: I have set a number of targets this year to reduce the number of delayed discharges from hospital of patients who are medically fit, in particular that the number of delayed discharge days is reduced by 10 per cent. compared to 2003–04 levels.
My Department is taking forward a Regional Emergency Pressures Programme during 2004–05 which aims to streamline the processes relating to emergency patient flows in all hospitals by taking action under three broad headings: alternatives to hospital admission; streamlining in-hospital processes; and discharge issues.
As part of this Programme, a number of compulsory actions have been identified for all Trusts to take forward, including a requirement to plan for the discharge of patients much earlier in the process and to ensure, other than in exceptional circumstances, the decision to discharge is taken by 2pm.
An additional £6million non-recurrent funding was allocated to Boards this year to implement their winter plans which include a number of measures to improve the discharge of patients from acute hospitals. My Department has also made an additional £4 million available in 2004–05 for community care. With that investment, HSS Boards and Trusts have been required to provide services to support an additional 400 people in community settings by 31 March 2005.
13 Dec 2004 : Column 916W
Chemotherapy
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the cost of chemotherapy drugs in the Province. [202596]
Angela Smith: Approximately £7.9 million was spent on chemotherapy drugs in 2003–04. Approximately £13.8 million of chemotherapy drugs demand is currently anticipated for 2004–05.
Patients are being diagnosed earlier and are living longer and are therefore being given more courses of chemotherapy. The development of new, more effective but more expensive drugs is also driving up the cost.
Child Fostering
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to encourage the fostering of children in the Province. [202582]
Angela Smith: The Department is committed to improving the lives of looked after children and has promoted a number of initiatives to improve recruitment and retention of foster carers.
In 2002–03, to promote and improve fostering services, the Department made the full implementation of three key National UK National Minimum Standards a Priority for Action for HSS Trusts.
Resources of £14.8 million were spent on foster care in 2002–03.
New Quality Standards for Fostering Agencies are currently being consulted upon by the Department with the aim of improving the quality of services to health and social services users.
As proposed in the Draft Priorities and Budget 2005–08 document, the Department intends to provide an increase in foster care allowances and the introduction of a salaried foster care scheme, thereby enabling people to become foster carers who are reliant on paid employment, and the set up of a 24 hour/seven days a week support service for foster carers.
Community Care
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funds are available for the provision of community care packages during the remainder of financial year 2004–05, broken down by health board area. [204103]
Angela Smith: The information requested is not available.
Delayed Discharges
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many delayed discharge patients there are in Northern Ireland, broken down by health board area. [204102]
Angela Smith:
The number of delayed discharge patients at 31 August 2004, broken down by health board area, is detailed in the following table.
13 Dec 2004 : Column 917W
Health board area | Number of delayed discharge patients (August 2004) |
|---|---|
| EHSSB | 201 |
| NHSSB | 141 |
| SHSSB | 49 |
| WHSSB | 23 |
| Northern Ireland | 414 |
Notes:
1. Delayed discharges are recorded as a snapshot of the position at the end of each month. The latest available validated information is in respect of the position at 31 August 2004.
2. Figures for health board area were calculated by totalling the number of patients delayed in each provider (hospital) trust within the appropriate health board area.
Departmental Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on energy costs incurred by his Department in each of the last two years. [200881]
Mr. Pearson: The total expenditure on energy for the past two years was:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 491,164 |
| 2003–04 | 763,857 |
This answer relates only to the Northern Ireland Office and does not include information in respect of the 11 Departments of the Northern Ireland Administration.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost has been of criminal damage to his Department's buildings in each of the last two years. [200882]
Mr. Pearson: We have had no expenditure on criminal damage during the last years.
This answer relates only to the Northern Ireland Office and does not include information in respect of the 11 Departments of the Northern Ireland Administration.
Departmental Events
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by his Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in each of the last two years, giving the (i) title, (ii) purpose, (iii) date and (iv) cost of each. [202408]
Mr. Paul Murphy: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
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