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21 Dec 2004 : Column 1663W—continued
Bedford Primary Care Trust
Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether capitation allocations to the Bedford Primary Care Trust will be based upon (a) forecast population growth and (b) past census records from April 2005. [205490]
Mr. Hutton: The Department allocates revenue funding directly to primary care trusts (PCTs) using a weighted capitation formula.
Revenue allocations to all PCTs, including Bedford PCT, will use the latest available population data, at the time the allocations are announced.
The allocations will be based on the 2001 census and will take account of changes in PCT population figures, since the last allocations round.
Care Homes (Cleanliness)
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to improve the training of care home staff in regard to tackling MRSA. [204610]
Dr. Ladyman: Under the Care Homes Regulations, care home providers are required to ensure that at all times suitably qualified, competent and experienced staff are working in the care home. These persons should receive training appropriate to their work and that is why infection control is detailed in the induction standards set by Topss England and should be used by all new staff and those taking national vocational qualifications.
The Commission for Social Care Inspection inspects care homes at least twice a year to ensure they conform to the regulations and further advice on infection control training is available from specialists in primary care trusts and local health protection units.
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Confidentiality
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department will take to ensure that NHS organisations conform to the Code of Practice on confidentiality. [205504]
Mr. Hutton: The national health service code of practice on confidentiality encapsulates guidance on the legal and ethical responsibilities of NHS organisations with respect to the confidentiality of patient identifiable information. Subject to oversight by the Healthcare Commission it is for local NHS organisations to ensure they fulfil their own obligations. The Department has put in place an information governance toolkit which supports the NHS in this by enabling it to monitor and measure its own progress.
Consultants Contract (Dorset)
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to NHS trusts in Dorset of implementing the new consultants' contract. [205417]
Mr. Hutton: We do not collect this information centrally and therefore do not have information regarding the cost to national health service trusts in Dorset of implementing the new consultant contract.
Funding for the consultant contract, agreed with the British Medical Association during negotiations, was allocated to primary care trusts (PCTs) in December 2002 as part of main allocations. The amount that went to main allocations was 0.3 per cent. (£129 million) in 2003–04, 0.4 per cent. (£178 million) in 2004–05 and 0.5 per cent. (£224 million) in 2005–06.
Consultants Contract (North Surrey)
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost in 2004–05 to the Ashford and St. Peter's hospitals NHS trust has been of implementing the new consultants' contracts; and how much additional funding has been provided by the North Surrey primary care trust to meet this additional expenditure. [203142]
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Mr. Hutton [holding answer 7 December 2004]: We do not have information regarding the cost to national health service trusts in the North Surrey primary care trust (PCT) of implementing the new consultant contract.
Funding for the consultant contract, agreed with the British Medical Association during negotiations, was allocated to PCTs in December 2002 as part of main allocations. The amount that went to main allocations was 0.3 per cent., or £129 million, for 2003–04, 0.4 per cent., or £178 million, in 2004–05 and 0.5 per cent., or £224 million, in 2005–06.
Contract Cleaners
Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many contract cleaners were employed in the health service in England in 2004; [204010]
(2) how many cleaners were employed in the health service in England in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004. [204011]
Mr. Hutton: The latest available figure for staff who undertaking cleaning in the national health service is 55,000 for 2003–04. This figure represents the headcount of both directly employed and contracted out staff as separate figures are not available. It excludes managers, administrative and supervisory staff who do not physically carry out cleaning functions.
No equivalent figure is available for 1997.
Crohn's Disease
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Government has spent on research into Crohn's disease in each of the last 10 years; what plans there are for future funding in this area; and if he will make a statement. [205237]
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. MRC expenditure in the 10 years from 1994–95 on research into Crohn's disease is shown in the table.
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| 1994–95(37) | 0.240 |
| 1995–96(37) | 0.830 |
| 1996–97(37) | 0.740 |
| 1997–98(37) | 0.800 |
| 1998–99(37) | 0.760 |
| 1999–2000(37) | 1.1 |
| 2000–01 | 2.4 |
| 2001–02 | 2.2 |
| 2002–03 | 2.4 |
| 2003–04 | 2 |
(37) The data collection method used prior to 2000–01 means that the figures for the years 1994–95 to1999–2000 do not includes spend on fellowships in this disease area.
(38) Information not yet available.
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The MRC does not normally allocate funds to particular topics. Research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. When appropriate, high quality research in particular areas of strategic importance may be given priority in competition for funds, but research excellence and importance to health continues to be the primary considerations in funding decisions. The MRC always welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding.
The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the NHS. The Department's national research programme spend on projects related to Crohn's disease in the period from 1994 to 2004 was £234,000.
Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of completed and on-going projects, including a number concerned with Crohn's disease, can be found on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.
Data Protection
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has conducted into proposals for subject access within the National Programme for IT under the Data Protection Act 1998. [205488]
Mr. Hutton: This is not an area where research is required. The requirements for subject access under the Data Protection Act 1998 are clearly set out within that Act and within its subsidiary regulations. The contracts administered by the national programme for information technology clearly specify the requirement for systems to have the functionality needed to satisfy subject access requests.
Dentistry
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with which countries his Department is in discussion regarding the recruitment of overseas dentists to work in the UK; and how advanced these discussions are in each case. [202277]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Discussions are ongoing with Greece, Portugal, Germany, Spain, India and Poland.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people in each region who have one or more teeth missing; and if he will make a statement. [205064]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The most relevant information available is contained in the last Adult Dental Health Survey, carried out in 1998, on the percentages of adults with 21 or more natural teeth. This is shown in the table.
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| English region | Adults 21 or more natural teeth (percentage) |
|---|---|
| North | 71 |
| Midlands | 68 |
| South | 77 |
| England | 73 |
Source:
Adult Dental Health Survey 1998 table 2.2.23
The percentage of adults with no teeth has fallen from 37 per cent., in 1968 to 12 per cent., in 1998.
21 Dec 2004 : Column 1668W
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were registered with a NHS dentist in each primary care trust in the north-west. [205074]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The numbers of registrations in the general and personal dental services for the north-west area by primary care trust (PCT) are shown in the following table. Registrations are given at 30 September 2004 for adults and children, and cover the PCT areas defined by the strategic health authorities of Cheshire and Merseyside, Cumbria and Lancashire, and Greater Manchester. The figures include patients seen in the past 15 months in personal dental service schemes where registration arrangements do not apply.
Source:
Dental Practice Board.
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Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the availability of dental treatment on the NHS in England. [205440]
Ms Rosie Winterton: NHS Direct receives some 20,000 calls per month related to dentistry. 91 per cent. of callers are being advised of available sources of national health service dentistry within locally agreed standards.
However, we acknowledge that, in some parts of the country, people who wish to register with a dentist face difficulties. To improve access to NHS dentistry we are undertaking the most far reaching reforms since 1948, supported by major additional investment in core funding and the training and recruitment of dentists.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population has been registered with an NHS dentist in (a) England and (b) each primary care trust in each year since 1997. [203055]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The table shows the percentages of the population registered with a general dental service (GDS) dentist in England at 30 September in each of the years 1997 to 2004. For the years 2003 and 2004, estimates of activity in the personal dental service (PDS) have been included, these include patients seen in the past 15 months for PDS schemes without registration arrangements. Information showing a breakdown by primary care trust has been placed in the Library.
The changes in the registration periods from 1 September 1996 affected the registration numbers from December 1997 onwards, so the 1997 figures are not comparable with the later figures. The registration figures for the later years are affected by dentists switching from the GDS to the PDS. Patients may access national health service dental services without being registered.
The population figures for England and the strategic health authorities were issued on 7 October. For the year 2004, population figures for 2003 have been used. Population figures by primary care trust are available only for the years 2001 and 2002. The 2001 population figures have been used to calculate the registration rates for the years 1997 to 2001. The 2002 figures have been used to calculate the registration rates for the years 2002–04.
| Total (percentage) | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 55.0 |
| 1998 | 48.1 |
| 1999 | 47.9 |
| 2000 | 48.1 |
| 2001 | 47.7 |
| 2002 | 47.3 |
| 2003 | 47.8 |
| 2004 | 46.3 |
We are to introduce new contractual arrangements for NHS dentistry from October 2005, which are intended to make NHS dentistry more attractive to dentists. One of the main changes is the replacement of the treatment-based, item-of-service method of paying dentists with a remuneration package derived from an
21 Dec 2004 : Column 1670W
evidence-based assessment of patients' overall oral health care needs. This will enable dentists to spend more time with their patients and reward them for giving oral health promotion advice.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department makes available to encourage dentists to join the NHS; and whether there are conditions attached to the funding to encourage dentists to remain within the NHS. [203059]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Keeping in Touch scheme (KTTs) offers support, up to £4,000, for dentists looking to return to national health service practice. Any other support, such as help with repayment of tuition fees or student loans, will be agreed locally by primary care trusts on their own initiative from their general allocations. We do not collect this information centrally. However, we understand that they are generally supported by agreements whereby the dentist commits to working in the NHS for a minimum period.
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