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8 Feb 2005 : Column 1476W—continued
Tricyclics
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's review of tricyclic drugs; and what methodology the agency will use for the review. [213152]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The committee on safety of medicines' expert working group on the safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors recommended that a systematic review of published and unpublished placebo controlled randomised clinical trials involving tricyclic antidepressants was required to assess whether they are associated with an increased risk of suicidal thoughts, self-harm and suicide. The timetable and methodology for this review are under consideration but yet to be finalised.
Waiting Times
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list health authorities where radiotherapy waiting times do not comply with the clinical guidelines on the maximum acceptable delays before the start of treatment; [212212]
(2) what plans he has to reduce radiotherapy waiting times for (a) cancer and (b) brain cancer; [212215]
(3) what assessment he has made of trends in radiotherapy waiting times. [212216]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
Data on waiting times for radiotherapy are not collected centrally. From information provided by the Royal College of Radiologists, we understand that waiting times for radiotherapy in some parts of the country are unacceptably long.
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The NHS Cancer Plan sets out maximum waiting time targets for cancer treatment which may include radiotherapy where this is given as a first definitive treatment. From December 2001, there is a one month maximum wait from diagnosis to first treatment for breast cancer and a one month wait from urgent general practitioner referral to first treatment for children's cancers, testicular cancer and acute leukaemia. From 2002, there is a maximum two-month wait from urgent referral to treatment for breast cancer. From 2005, there will be a maximum two-month wait from urgent referral to treatment and a maximum one-month wait from diagnosis to first treatment for all cancers.
To tackle radiotherapy waiting times, we are increasing the numbers of therapy radiographers in post and in training, making better use of existing staff, making unprecedented investment in new radiotherapy equipment, and streamlining the patient journey.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to reduce waiting times for treatment for patients with (a) cancer and (b) brain cancer who are initially referred non-urgently but are identified as suffering from cancer. [212213]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The NHS Cancer Plan sets out our strategy to reduce waiting times for cancer patients. A target of one month from diagnosis with breast cancer to first treatment was introduced in December 2002. 98 per cent. of patients with breast cancer were treated within this standard in the last quarter (July to September 2004). From 2005, there will be a maximum wait of one month from diagnosis to first treatment for all cancer patients, including brain cancer, which will ensure that those patients who were non-urgently referred but subsequently diagnosed with cancer receive prompt treatment. Progress towards this target is being achieved through increased investment, additional staffing levels, installing new and replacement radiotherapy and diagnostic facilities and streamlining care processes through the Cancer Services Collaborative—Improvement Partnership.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Council Tax Benefit
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Great Britain entitled to council tax benefit in each year from 1997–98 to 2004–05. [210607]
Mr. Pond: The information is not available in the format requested.
Estimates of the number of pensioners in receipt of council tax benefit, averaged over each year, and the number of entitled non-recipients are available for Great Britain only. These are published in the Department's annual statistical series: Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up".
Statistics for 2002–03 have been published today and placed in the Library alongside existing publications.
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Direct Benefit Payments
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with organisations that represent blind and partially-sighted people on problems they may encounter in accessing payments of benefits and pensions through direct payment methods. [214077]
Mr. Pond: Several meetings have been held with customer representative organisations, including the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), Age Concern, Help the Aged, and Citizens Advice. Discussions at these meetings helped to ensure that there was a shared understanding of the detailed implications of the move from paper-based methods of payment to the various direct payment options, and a common appreciation of the type of issues that needed to be considered for blind and partially sighted customers as well as other customer groups.
These meetings also had a key role in shaping the detailed design of the cheque payment for the small minority of customers who cannot manage direct payment.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what access arrangements are in place at Post Offices for benefit and pension recipients who are unable, due to age or disability, to access their benefits via (a) banking methods and (b) giro cheques. [214078]
Mr. Pond: Most banks, building societies and basic bank accounts accessible at the Post Office have arrangements that will allow someone, including a person who holds Power of Attorney, to access the customer's account with their permission. The precise arrangement would depend on which type of account they have and with which account provider.
Customers who have a Post Office card account can arrange to have a Permanent Agent to collect their monies on their behalf. A Permanent Agent is issued with a second card and their own PIN. The Post Office card account does not support Power of Attorney.
Customers in receipt of a cheque payment may instruct an agent to collect their money from the Post Office using the declaration on the reverse of the cheque.
If a customer is unable to manage their own affairs, the Secretary of State can appoint an appropriate person to receive pensions, benefits and allowances of the person for whom they are appointed. The appointee can use an existing account or open an ordinary or basic account that gives access at the Post Office or can have a Post Office card account to receive pensions, benefits and allowances.
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received (a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance in (i) the City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and (ii) the constituency of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central in each year since 1996. [215057]
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Maria Eagle: The administration of attendance allowance and disability living allowance are a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Terry Moran to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 8 February 2005:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Disability and Carers Service, the Minister for Disabled People, Maria Eagle MP, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received (a) disability living allowance and (b)attendance allowance in (i) the City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and (ii) the constituency of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central in each year since 1996.
n/a=Not available.
Notes:
1.Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and quoted in thousands.
2.Number is based on a 5 per cent. sample and therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
3.Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
4.From November 2002, the methodology for producing these figures was changed to allow statistics to be published much sooner. This has resulted in a small increase in the reported caseload. This is because some cases which have actually terminated but have not yet been updated on the computer system are now included.
Source:
IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample
Mr. Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each electoral ward in Stoke-on-Trent claimed disability living allowance in each of the past seven years. [211712]
Maria Eagle:
The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
8 Feb 2005 : Column 1480W
Letter from Terry Moran to Mr. Mark Fisher, dated 27 January 2005:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Disability and Carers Service, the Minister for Disabled People, Maria Eagle MP, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each electoral ward in Stoke-on-Trent claimed Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in each of the past seven years.
The number of people in each electoral ward of Stoke-on-Trent, in receipt of Disability Living Allowance, is as follows:
Notes:
1.Information is only available for six years (1998–2003).
2.1998 to 2000 figures are based on 1998 ward boundaries.
3.2001 to 2003 figures are based on April 2003 ward boundaries.
4.In 2001–03, Berryhill and Hanley East; Burslem South, Fenton, Hanley West and Shelton; North and Birches Head; Stoke and Trent Vale wards are included as they are partially in the Stoke-on-Trent Central Parliamentary Constituency.
5.DLA figures include all claimants including children, working age and pensioners claiming DLA.
6.All benefit counts at ward level are rounded to a multiple of 5 to protect the confidentiality of individual claimants.
Source:
Information Directorate, Information Centre, Department for Work and Pensions.
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