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28 Jun 2005 : Column 1505W—continued

GM Food

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of the implications for human health of the consumption of GM foods containing antibiotic resistance marker genes. [5884]

Caroline Flint: In the European Union, all genetically modified (GM) foods are subject to a mandatory pre-market safety assessment before they can be permitted to enter the food chain. This assessment is the responsibility of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and is based on a wide body of scientific evidence submitted in support of each application, including data on the presence of antibiotic resistance marker genes (ARMs). The significance of the presence of these genes is assessed on a case by case basis.

In April 2004, the EFSA scientific panel on genetically modified organisms published an opinion on the use of ARMs in GM plants. The UK advisory committee on novel foods and processes (ACNFP) considered this opinion at its meeting in May 2004. The Committee agreed with EFSA's conclusion that the safety of ARMS should take into account both the prevalence of resistance to the antibiotic among bacteria, in the intestine or in the environment, and the extent of use of the antibiotic and its importance for clinical human or animal therapy.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account has been taken of Food Standards Agency research in formulating the Government's policy on genetically modified food; and if she will make a statement. [6811]

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) were set up as a non-ministerial Government Department in April 2000 and has the objective of protecting public health from risks associated with consumption of food, and otherwise protecting the interests of consumers in relation to food. Government policy on genetically modified food is formulated through discussion among all the relevant Government Departments, including the FSA.

Health Authority for London

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to create a Health Authority for London; and if she will make a statement. [5829]

Jane Kennedy: There are currently five strategic health authorities (SHAs) in London. As stated in Creating a Patient-Led NHS" (March 2005), the Department expects a reduction in the number of SHAs as more national health service trusts move to NHS
 
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foundation trust status. However, no decisions about the future of London SHAs, including whether there should be a single health authority, have been taken.

Health Care Demand (London)

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of (a) the current and (b) the expected growth in demand for maternity services in London; and if she will make a statement. [7067]

Jane Kennedy: In line with the Department's Shifting the Balance of Power" policy, any assessment on current and expected demand for local maternity services would be for strategic health authorities and primary care trusts to consider.

Health Development Agency

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what budget was allocated to the Health Development Agency in each year since its inception. [5687]

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is shown in the following table.
Health Development Agency Allocations⁽⁴⁶⁾:information taken from HDA published accounts £ thousand

	Total allocations from Government sources
2000–01	11,288
2001–02	12,261
2002–03	11,015
2003–04	11,992
2004–05(47)	12,943

⁽⁴⁶⁾The Health Development Agency was abolished on 31 March 2005 and its functions transferred to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on 1 April 2005.
⁽⁴⁷⁾The final accounts for the HDA's last year of operation have not yet been completed. The figure quoted is from the Department of Health's cash limit allocation letter to the HDA.

Health Finance (Oxfordshire)

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much and what percentage of the Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare Trust budget she expects to come from (a) primary care trusts and (b) other sources; and from which other sources she expects such funds to come; [6799]

(2) how much and what percentage of the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust budget for 2005–06 she expects to come from (a) primary care trusts, (b) reserve funding, (c) funding on a consequence of the John Radcliffe being a teaching hospital and (d) other sources; and from which other sources she expects such funding to come. [6800]

Caroline Flint: The table shows data for 2003–04, which is the latest year for which figures are available.

The Department has no information relating to reserve funding or to funding on a consequence of the John Radcliffe being a teaching hospital.
 
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Income of the Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare National Health Service Trust and the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust, 2003–04 £000

	Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare NHS Trust	Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust
Income from activities—income received from:
Strategic health authorities	0	1,841
NHS trusts	307	31
Primary care trusts	55,184	318,297
Local authorities	47	0
Non NHS: private patients	47	12,140
Non-NHS: overseas patients (non-reciprocal)	0	102
Road Traffic Act	3	1,165
Non NHS: other	0	2
Total income from activities	55,588	333,578
Other operating income—income received from:
Education, training and research	6,400	40,514
Charitable and other contributions to expenditure	0	2,449
Transfers from the donated asset reserve in respect of depreciation, impairment and disposal of donated assets	22	1,938
Other income, for example, charges to staff, income from the Department for non-patient care services	19,975	45,462
Total other operating income	26,397	90,363
Total income	81,985	423,941

Source:
Audited summarisation schedules of the Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare NHS Trust and the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust, 2003–04.

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the formula is on which funding is allocated to the (a) Cherwell Vale Primary Care Trust, (b) North East Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust and (c) Oxford City Primary Care Trust. [6801]

Caroline Flint: A weighted capitation formula is used to determine each primary care trust's (PCTs) target share of available resources, to enable them to commission similar levels of health services for populations in similar need.

The components of the formula are used to weight each PCTs crude" population according to their relative need (age and additional need) for healthcare and the unavoidable geographical differences in the cost of providing healthcare (the market forces factor).

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by how much she expects (a) Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust, (b) Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare NHS Trust and (c) primary care trusts in Oxfordshire to overspend in the 2005–06 financial year. [6803]

Caroline Flint: The financial plans for 2005–06 have not yet been finalised, but national health service organisations are expected to plan to live within their revenue resource, capital resource and cash limits each and every year.
 
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Hepatitis C

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been diagnosed with hepatitis C in England in each of the last seven years. [7276]

Caroline Flint: The information requested is available on the Health Protection Agency's website at: www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hepatitis_c/data.htm

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many fibre scan machines used to diagnose hepatitis C there are in England. [7277]

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not held centrally. FibroScan(r) is used to measure the degree of liver fibrosis (scarring) from any cause. It is not used to diagnose hepatitis C.

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the establishment of managed clinical networks to provide accessible specialist assessment and treatment for people with hepatitis C infection since the publication of the National Hepatitis C Strategy for England. [6139]

Caroline Flint: In line with Shifting the Balance of Power", decisions about networks and their funding are for local determination. We understand that managed clinical networks have so far either been established or are being considered in London, South West peninsula, East Anglia, West Midlands, Trent, Liverpool and North East England.

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role she plans for screening in the process of controlling the spread and progression of hepatitis C infections. [6140]

Caroline Flint: Testing of those at current or past risk of hepatitis C infection by the national health service and other key stakeholders is one of the key areas for action set out in the Department's Hepatitis C Action Plan for England", which is available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/47/13/04084713.pdf.

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to improve data collection relating to the spread of hepatitis C in England. [6141]

Caroline Flint: Actions to improve the epidemiological surveillance of hepatitis C are set out in the Department's Hepatitis C Action Plan for England", which is available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/47/13/04084713.pdf.

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the level of monitoring of disease progression of hepatitis C among sufferers with mild liver disease. [6142]

 
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Caroline Flint: The Department has not made such an assessment. The monitoring of individual patients with hepatitis C who have mild disease is a matter for clinical judgement.

In 2001, The Royal College of Physicians of London and the British Society of Gastroenterology published Clinical guidelines on the management of hepatitis C". This is available on the Gut website at http://gut.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/49/suppl_1/I1

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