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10 Mar 2005 : Column 1965W—continued
Retirement Awards
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) award schemes and (b) other forms of official recognition are available in respect of retiring teachers who have completed exceptionally long periods of service to the teaching profession; and if she will make a statement. [220879]
Mr. Stephen Twigg
[holding answer 9 March 2005]: There are no specific award schemes for retiring teachers who have completed exceptionally long periods of
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service. However, all teachers are sent a letter of thanks and recognition from the Secretary of State at the time of their retirement.
In addition, the televised Teaching Awards ceremony, which celebrates excellence in teaching, and the Honours system provide opportunities for individual achievement to receive formal recognition. At a local level, employers and school communities do regularly recognise long and dedicated service of teachers at retirement functions.
Teachers (Student Loans)
Mr. Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to continue the pilot scheme to repay the students loans for teachers under the Secondary Shortage Subject Scheme. [221197]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: We are currently considering whether or not to extend the pilot Repayment of Teachers' Loans Scheme and expect to announce a decision in the coming weeks. The Secondary Shortage Subject Scheme is an entirely separate scheme which is essentially a hardship fund for undergraduate trainee teachers.
Teaching and Administrative Staff
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will estimate how many full-time equivalent staff are employed in (a) schools and other institutions of non-advanced further education and (b) the administration of education by local authorities and further education colleges; and if she will make a statement. [220878]
Mr. Stephen Twigg [holding answer 9 March 2005]: In January 2004, the latest information available, there were 670,800 full-time equivalent staff employed in maintained schools in England consisting of 427,700 full-time equivalent regular teachers and 243,100 teaching assistants and other support staff. In 2002/03 there were 74,500 full-time equivalent teaching staff employed in further education sector colleges. In the same year there were 56,400 full time equivalent support staff employed by further education sector colleges. This figure includes administrative staff as well those involved in other non-teaching roles such as building maintenance, cleaning and security. It is not possible to separate the administration staff from the overall total.
Information on the number of non-school based administration staff employed by local education authorities is not collected centrally.
Tuition Fees
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her latest estimate is of the total amount that has been paid by students in tuition fees since their introduction. [220810]
Dr. Howells:
Students on full-time undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their tuition only if they can afford to do so.
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The amount of private contributions to tuition fees by students from England, Wales, and the European Union from 1999/2000 to 2004/05 is given in the table.
(13) Tuition fees were introduced in academic year 1998/99, however as that year was treated as a transitional year, data are not available on the same basis as subsequent years.
(14) Provisional (as at 7 March 2005).
Source:
Student Loans Company
HEALTH
Alcohol-related Deaths
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action the Government are taking to reduce the number of deaths for which alcohol is the primary cause. [221246]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The policies set out in the alcohol harm reduction strategy for England seek to reduce harm caused by alcohol, thus, contributing to a reduction in the number of deaths for which alcohol is the primary cause.
In addition, the White Paper, Choosing Health", published on 16 November 2004 highlighted that the Government will build on commitments within the alcohol harm reduction strategy for England through:
Guidance and training to ensure all health professionals are able to identify alcohol problems early.
Piloting approaches to targeted screening and brief interventions in both primary care and hospital settings, including accident and emergency departments.
Developing a programme for improvement for alcohol treatment services based on the findings of an audit of demand for and provision of alcohol treatment in England and the models of care framework for alcohol treatment.
Avian Influenza
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the World Health Organisation's estimates of numbers of people likely to be affected by an avian influenza pandemic. [220286]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
We are aware of the assessments made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and others, of the estimates of the number of people likely to be affected by an influenza pandemic whatever the origins may be of a novel influenza virus. Until a pandemic arrives, we will not know how many people will be affected, but have used WHO's estimate as a working assumption for planning purposes. We will continue to update our assumptions as more information becomes available.
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Bone Marrow Donors
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what funding was made available to (a) the NHS and (b) charitable bodies to recruit bone marrow donors in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 2003–04; [216286]
(2) what action the Government have taken to encourage the staff of Government Departments and public sector bodies to join bone marrow registers by arranging clinics and circulating literature. [216294]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department provided the National Blood Service (NBS) with £3.3 million in 2002–03 and £3.3 million 2003–04 to recruit additional bone marrow donors.
The NBS recruits potential bone marrow donors at blood donation sessions using a range of methods. These include approaching potential donors on session, making available bone marrow literature on session and sending out bone marrow literature with blood donor session invitations.
Government and other public service employees can find out about bone marrow donation and are recruited as potential bone marrow donors through invitation to or attendance at public blood donation sessions. The NBS organises blood donation sessions within Government Departments and other public sector bodies primarily aimed at staff within these bodies. Information on bone marrow donation is available at these sessions.
Breast Cancer
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of women aged (a) 50 to 64 and (b) 65 to 70 have been screened for breast cancer by the NHS in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority area and (iii) each primary care trust area in each year since 1997. [219400]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 4 March 2005]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) on 8 March 2005, Official Report, column 1727W.
Dentistry
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what tendering process was completed by Methods Consulting prior to the award of the contract for the recruitment of dentists from Poland; and what expertise they have in this field. [218299]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 25 February 2005]: Methods Consulting was awarded the contract to manage International Recruitment Services for the national health service in England as the result of a competitive tendering process, in accordance with the Department's procurement policy and takes into account expertise gained through previous recruitment services to the NHS.
Methods Consulting have extensive experience of working with the NHS, Modernisation Agency and the Department, including management of NHS Jobs electronic recruitment service.
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Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2005, Official Report, column 1616W, on dentistry, if he will list in value order the number of bursaries awarded to dentists as a result of the Returning to Dentistry scheme. [219381]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 1 March 2005]: The total number of bursaries awarded so far in 2004–05 from the Returning to Dentistry scheme is 137, at a combined total of £113,178. The number of bursaries awarded, by cohorts of value, is:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| £0-£500 | 31 |
| £501-£999 | 70 |
| £1,000-£1,999 | 23 |
| £2,000-£3,000 | 0 |
| £3,000-£4,000 | 13 |
| Total | 137 |
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answers to questions of 23 February 2005, Official Report, column 682W, how many dentists in Kent have closed their lists to NHS patients during the last 12 months; and how many dentists have opened their lists to NHS patients during the same period. [219384]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 1 March 2005]: The great majority of dental practices treat both private and national health service patients. The Office of Fair Trading report, The private dentistry market in the UK", published in March 2003, estimated that out of 11,000 dental practices about 210 are totally private, treating no NHS patients. The information available relates to the general dental service practices in Kent that, at 15 February, were accepting at least one category of NHS patient for registration:
In addition, in the last 12 months, eight practices in Kent have moved to the personal dental services scheme, whereby they contract with their primary care trusts to undertake a specific amount of NHS treatment.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost of providing free annual dental checks for adults. [217493]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The cost of providing free annual dental checks for adults depends on the number of checks carried out and the payment to the dentist for each check. Patient charges for dental examinations are about £90 million a year. Some patients have more than one examination each year.
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