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5 Oct 2005 : Column 2853W—continued
Green/White Papers
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) Green and (b) White Papers her Department has produced since 1997; and if she will list these in date order. [10590]
Jane Kennedy: A list of all Command Papers produced by the Department from 10 May 2001 to the end of June 2005, prepared by the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI), is available in the Library. This list by Department details the Command Paper number, title and date of publication.
It is not possible to separately identify the number of Green and White Papers. Information is not available prior to 10 May 2001 and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
A list of Command Papers from 2001 onwards is also available on the OPSI website at www.opsi.gov.uk. The list can be viewed alphabetically by Department as well as numerically.
Health Care Inspectorates
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inspectorates with a remit that covers (a) social services and long-term care for the elderly and (b) health care, in whole or in part, have been in operation in each year since 1997. [14457]
Mr. Byrne:
Until April 2002, local councils regulated independent sector care homes and health authorities regulated nursing homes. Each council regulated the care homes in its area, based on national regulations using locally developed standards. This system led to inconsistencies between different areas and some services, like domiciliary care, were not regulated at all. The Government addressed this by introducing new regulatory arrangements to ensure consistency and improve the quality of life and level of protection for vulnerable people receiving social and health care.
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From April 2002 to April 2004, the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) registered and inspected all care homes and independent hospitals in England and started to extend regulation to other social care services. The Commission for Health Improvement was responsible for assessing the performance of national health service organisations.
Since April 2004, the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) has been responsible for inspecting all registered social care and the Healthcare Commission (HC) has been responsible for inspecting all NHS organisations and independent healthcare.
In addition, the Mental Health Act Commission is responsible for keeping under review the implementation of the Mental Health Act 1983 as it relates to patients who are detained or are liable to be detained in long-term care settings.
In light of the Government's continuing commitment to lightening the burden of regulation, from 2008, there are plans to make further improvements through the merger of CSCI and the HC and to have just one inspectorate for all these services.
Like other businesses outside the health and social care sectors, providers are also subject to other regulators, such as the Health and Safety Executive and the fire service.
Health Scheme Funding
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been spent on or committed to health schemes within each growth area. [13789]
Mr. Byrne: The most recent round of revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs), covering the period 2006–07 and 2007–08, was announced in February 2005. The Department, in conjunction with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, was able to include an adjustment for the growth area initiative in this round of allocations. The growth area adjustment informs the target position of PCTs within the growth areas. It is the PCTs' target positions that determine their fair shares of the revenue allocations. The table shows the 2006–07 and 2007–08 revenue allocations to those PCTs covered by the growth area initiative.
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Health Service Bodies (Appointments)
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what appointments were made to lead bodies providing services within the national health service for which she is responsible in each year since 1997; and what their (a) role, (b) pay, (c) length of tenure at appointment and (d) previous experience within the (i) public sector and (ii) private sector was in each case. [14372]
Mr. Byrne: This information is not available centrally.
However, the Department produced public appointments annual reports up to 2000 and these are available in the Library. These were discontinued from 2001, when the Cabinet Office published reports on public bodies. From February 2005, an on-line public bodies database was launched. This replaces the annual public bodies publication.
Details of public appointments can be accessed at:
http://www.publicappointments.gov.uk.
Health Service Expenditure
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of total health service expenditure in each of the last 10 years was spent directly on (a) healthcare, (b) administration and (c) prescriptions, broken down by NHS trust; and if she will make a statement. [14985]
Mr. Byrne: Information is not collected centrally in the format requested. Expenditure on administration and prescriptions within national health service trusts is not recorded separately.
Total NHS trust expenditure is provided as a proxy for healthcare and has been placed in the Library.
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Data are only available by individual trust for the period 1996–97 to 2003–04.
Hospital Mortality Rates
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the mortality rates in patients in hospitals admitted (a) at the weekend and (b) at other times of the week. [9276]
Mr. Byrne: No specific assessment has been made. However, data show that deaths as a percentage of all discharges increase from around 2 per cent, on weekdays to around 3.5 per cent. on weekends. This may well be because at weekends there are significantly fewer elective admissions, which proportionately account for a lower number of deaths than emergency admissions.
Independent Sector Treatment Centres
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the same level of training is required for doctors working in independent sector treatment centres as in NHS units. [13565]
Mr. Byrne: As for all doctors working in the national health service, surgeons working in independent sector treatment centres must be registered with the General Medical Council and, therefore, meet United Kingdom standards.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department issues on circumstances in which (a) conditions and (b) cases should be treated at independent sector treatment centres. [14219]
Mr. Byrne: The Department commissioned independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) to provide a wide range of locally identified routine elective procedures in order to reduce waiting and extend patient choice. From December this year, patients will be offered a choice of at least four providers at the point of referral from their general practitioner. Where appropriate these choices will include ISTCs.
Guidance sent to national health service chief executives on delivering choice and "Choose and Book" is available on the Department's website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/LettersAnd Circulars/DearColleagueLetters/DearColleagueLetters Article/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4114963&chk= qG8q3P.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors and (b) nurses employed by private diagnostic and independent sector treatment centres with contracts with the NHS have been found to have worked in the NHS during the preceding six month period. [13219]
Mr. Byrne
[holding answer 18 July 2005]: Providers of independent sector treatment centres are contractually obliged not to employ or engage health care professionals who have been employed in a clinical capacity in the national health service within the preceding six-month period.
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A process is in place by which an independent sector provider or an individual health care professional may apply for a waiver of the restriction in relation to a specified person. For further information regarding such waivers, I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Frank Dobson) Official Report, 21 July 2005, column 2177W.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effects of the development and use of independent treatment centres on waiting lists. [13220]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 18 July 2005]: Independent sector treatment centres are a fundamental part of our strategy to increase the amount of capacity available to treat national health service patients and have made a significant contribution to reducing waiting lists to the lowest level since records began. Over 55,000 patients have been seen to date, helping for example, waiting times for cataract surgery to fall from nine months to no more than 12 weeks.
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