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Sun

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Government have spent on advising the public that vitamin D obtained from sunlight is essential for health. [212311]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government provide advice on vitamin D and sunlight as part of the SunSmart" campaign, which is run by Cancer Research UK on behalf of United Kingdom health departments. The Government give advice to the public on the benefits for health of obtaining vitamin D from gentle sunlight in all relevant publications. There is no separately identified budget.

Killer Disease Targets

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards achieving the public service agreement target to reduce substantially mortality rates from the major killer diseases by 2010. [219231]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The latest information on cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality shows a 27.1 per cent. and 12.2 per cent. reduction respectively, compared with the baseline period of 1995–97. We are ahead of where we planned to be at this stage and are on track to deliver both a 40 per cent. reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality and a 20 per cent. reduction in cancer mortality by 2010.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to reduce mortality rates from heart disease by at least 40 per cent. in people under 75 years by 2010 will be met; [219232]

(2) what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to reduce the inequality in mortality rates from heart disease and stroke between the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators and the population as a whole by at least 40 per cent. by 2010 will be met. [219245]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department regularly assesses the likelihood of delivery of these targets and continues to be confident they will be met or exceeded. In 2004, a major risk assessment was conducted on the
 
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cardiovascular mortality target and this concluded that the Department and the national health service are on track to meet or exceed these commitments.

Tuberculosis

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed in each of the last five years; and how many sufferers were born abroad. [217979]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Health Protection Agency publishes this data on its website at:

www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/tb/epidemiology/table14.htm.

Variant CJD

Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission a research project into the effectiveness of pentosan in the treatment of variant CJD. [213864]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Following advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, the Department commissioned two research programmes in 1999 to study the therapeutic benefit of pentosan polysulphate (PPS). The first study, lead by Dr. Christine Farquhar of the Institute for Animal Health's Neuropathogenesis Unit in Edinburgh, showed that PPS was effective in preventing the development of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in mice, but only if given at the time of infection or shortly after. It was not effective if given after clinical disease had developed. The second study, lead by Dr. Harbans Sharma from Manchester University, studied the pharmacokinetics (uptake) of PPS in mice and in human volunteers. These studies showed that PPS was very poorly absorbed by the body when taken orally and did not enter the brain.

The Department is currently considering proposals for further research by Dr. Farquhar and Dr. Sharma.

Vitamins

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Government has spent on free vitamins for mothers and babies in each of the last 10 years. [212310]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Government spending on vitamins since 1995–96, the last year for which figures are available, is shown in the table.

Financial year	Amount (£)
1995–96	22,000
1996–97	31,000
1997–98	22,000
1998–99	21,000
1999–2000	17,000
2000–01	13,000
2001–02	13,500
2002–03	13,000
2003–04	12,500

Waiting Times

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2005, Official Report, column 564W, on waiting times, when he
 
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intends to begin (a) monitoring and (b) publishing waiting times from general practitioner referral to start of treatment. [218344]

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what procedures will be counted under the 18-week waiting time target for hospital treatment; [218193]

(2) what statistics he plans to collect on waiting times for diagnosis; what procedures will be covered; whether (a) average and (b) maximum waits will be collected; and what the timetable will be for publication of these statistics. [218702]

Mr. Hutton: [holding answers 28 February 2005 and 1 March 2005]: The 18-week target applies to waiting times for all patients referred by a general practitioner (GP) to a consultant and includes waits for any necessary diagnosis.

By the end of 2008, waiting times will be measured from GP referral to start of treatment. The Department is currently working with the national health service to develop proposals for monitoring diagnostic waiting times and delivery of the 18-week target. The further detailed information requested is therefore not yet available.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Atomic Test Veterans

Llew Smith: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent assessment the Legal Services Commission has made of the application by British atomic test veterans for legal aid. [220643]

Mr. Lammy: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) granted limited funding in June 2002 to two firms of solicitors to undertake preliminary investigations.

The LSC made an assessment of the atomic veterans' Multi Party Action (MPA) in October 2004. This action includes British veterans among other nationalities. The LSC is currently awaiting further information from the solicitors to enable a decision to be made about whether further funding should be provided. Once the information is available the LSC will first consider the merits and then whether the action is affordable from the cash limited budget, having compared it with other major group actions that are being proposed. This is the standard procedure that the LSC currently applies to any major MPA.

Data Protection Act

Mr. Evans: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what provisions (a) within and (b) under the Data Protection Act 1998 are designed to ensure that designated data controllers dispose of information in an appropriate manner. [220209]

Mr. Leslie: There are no specific provisions in or under the Data Protection Act 1998 that identify approved methods for data controllers to carry out the deletion, erasure or destruction of personal data, or to effect the physical disposal or destruction of the dataprocessing medium. However, under the terms of
 
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the 7th Data Protection Principle, data controllers are required to take appropriate technical measures against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss of personal data.

Design

Alan Howarth: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs who the ministerial design champion for his Department is. [215654]

Mr. Leslie: I am the Ministerial Design Champion for the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Land Search Charges

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans the Government has to vary land search charges. [219916]

Mr. Lammy: I should first explain that in relation to land search charges the Department for Constitutional Affairs only has responsibility for local land charge fees, which include the fees for official and personal searches of the local land charges register, in England. However, I also have Ministerial responsibility for the fees payable to Land Registry under the Land Registration Act 2002, the Land Charges Act 1972 and the Agricultural Credits Act 1928. There are no plans to change the fees payable to Land Registry for searches of the land register, the land charges register or the register of agricultural charges.

Under the Local Land Charges Act 1975, the Lord Chancellor has responsibility, with the concurrence of HM Treasury, for setting local land charge fees in England.

On 1 March the Government successfully introduced an amendment to the Constitutional Reform Bill that will alter the Local Land Charges Act 1975 to give local authorities in England the power to set fees for local land charge services, with the exception of personal search fees, 1 March 2005, Official Report, column 849. If the amendment is enacted the new power will come into force on a date to be fixed.

The amendment will allow local authorities to set fees, which, taking one year with another, will enable them to recover an amount up to, but not in excess of, the costs they incur in providing local land charge services. In setting fees, local authorities will have to have regard to guidance issued by the Lord Chancellor. An illustrative version of the type of guidance the Lord Chancellor may issue has been placed in the House Library. Further consultation will be undertaken before any guidance is issued.

The amendment does not change the position in Wales, where the National Assembly for Wales has, since 31 December 2004, had responsibility for setting local land charge fees. Nor does it change the position in relation to fees for personal searches of the local land charges register, where a review is to be undertaken before any decision on changing the arrangements for setting these fees is made.

It is expected that the study into the market for property search information being conducted by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will include consideration of the issues relating to personal searches. The OFT aim
 
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to complete the study this summer. I will consider in the light of the OFT report whether any further work is necessary to complete the review before making any decisions on the way forward.

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