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20 Oct 2005 : Column 1168W—continued
Stroke
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methods her Department is using to increase awareness and understanding of stroke. [17296]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 17 October 2005]: The Department highlighted stroke as one of eight standards in the older people's national service framework (2001). In recognition of the need to increase understanding of stroke prevention, care and treatment, the Department is investing £20 million over five years in a new United Kingdom stroke research network.
The Department's public health campaigns make a significant contribution to preventing strokes. These include campaigns on smoking and healthy eating, and the Food Standards Agency campaign on reducing salt consumption.
Targets
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the targets that (a) her Department and (b) each executive agency her Department is responsible for has set during the next 12 months. [12774]
Jane Kennedy: The Department's forward plan sets out its objectives. This is available on the Department's website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/71/22/04117122.pdf. Copies are available in the Library.
The Secretary of State must approve targets set by executive agencies.
The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency's (NHS PASA) targets are published in its business plan. This is available on the NHS PASA website at http://www.pasa.nhs.uk/publications/2005–06 Business Plan. pdf. Copies are available in the Library.
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The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) targets are published in its business plan. This is available on the MHRA website at http://www.mhra.gov.uk/home/groups/comms-sp/documents/publication/cond018034.pdf. Copies are available in the Library.
Thyroid Patients
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many thyroid patients have been wrongly diagnosed as having chronic fatigue syndrome in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [16959]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not collected by the Department.
Your Health, Your Care, Your Say
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will set out the (a) purpose, (b) programme and (c) costs of the consultation Your Health, Your Care, Your Say. [17215]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 14 October 2005]: The Your Health, Your Care, Your Say consultation is a deliberative process designed to find out what the public wants from community health and social care services to meet its everyday needs. The programme includes four regional public engagement events, held in Gateshead, Leicester, London and Plymouth and a national event in Birmingham. Local health and social care communities, as well as stakeholder and voluntary organisations, are being encouraged to facilitate local public engagement events. People can also take part in the consultation by completing an on-line questionnaire at www.nhs.uk/yoursay. The estimated eventual cost of the nationally organised elements of the consultation is expected to be about £1.2 million, funded from the Department's running costs budget.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how members of the public are selected to attend events organised as part of the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say consultation. [17216]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 14 October 2005]: Members of the public are selected randomly from electoral registers. They are invited to express an interest in attending an event and to provide details about themselves. The final selection is designed to be broadly representative of the public and health and social care service users in the regional or national populations, taking account factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, health and personal circumstances.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many strategic health authorities held local consultations on your health, your care, your say, broken down by (a) location and (b) number of people who attended. [17412]
Mr. Byrne:
We have encouraged strategic health authorities and local authorities, as well as professional and voluntary organisations, to facilitate local engagement events, but details about where these are taking place and the number of people attending is not collected centrally.
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Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations have been invited to complete the questionnaire on Your Health, Your Care, Your Say. [17421]
Mr. Byrne: The on-line questionnaire is for people to complete as individuals and more than 9,000 questionnaires have been completed so far.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the results of the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say questionnaire to be published. [17443]
Mr. Byrne: We will publish the results from the Department's website questionnaire around the time we publish our White Paper on improving community health and care.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance was given to Opinion Leaders Research by her Department on the organisations to which invitations to regional consultations on Your Health, Your Care, Your Say should be issued. [17480]
Mr. Byrne: None. Invitations to take part in regional consultations are issued to individuals not to organisations.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people attended the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say regional meetings at (a) Gateshead, (b) Leicester, (c) London and (d) Plymouth; [17529]
(2) when (a) the minutes and (b) the attendee lists of the regional consultations on Your Health, Your Care, Your Say will be published; [17531]
(3) what the agenda items were at the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say regional consultations (a) in England and (b) in London on 29 September. [17562]
Mr. Byrne: Information about the numbers of attenders, the agendas and the outcomes of the regional Your Health, Your Care, Your Say consultation events in Gateshead, Leicester, London and Plymouth are set out in the reports of those events, copies of which have been placed in the Library. The names of members of the public who attended these events is not held by the Department. The national consultation will take place in Birmingham on Saturday, 29 October 2005.
TREASURY
Child Benefit
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the purposes of child benefit. [20163]
Dawn Primarolo: Child benefit recognises the costs of children for all families by directing weekly support for each child to the main carer irrespective of income. The rate of child benefit for the first child has risen by 25 per cent. in real terms since 1997.
The Government have recently taken powers to extend child benefit to young people over the age of 16 in unwaged training and to 19-year-olds who are finishing a course of education or unwaged training they started before they turned 19. This extension will be implemented from April 2006.
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Child Trust Fund
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are employed in the administration of the Child Trust Fund; and if he will make a statement. [20008]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The number of people employed in the administration of the Child Trust Fund is currently 79.
European Court of Justice (UK Tax Revenue)
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the cases pending before the European Court of Justice in which UK tax revenue is at stake. [17088]
Dawn Primarolo: There are a number of cases pending before the European Court of Justice challenging UK tax law and the legislation of other member states.
The UK direct and indirect tax cases pending before the ECJ are set out as follows:
UK direct tax cases pending before the ECJ:
UK indirect tax cases pending before the ECJ:
It would not, however, be sensible for me to speculate as to whether or not UK tax revenue is at stake in advance of decisions to be taken by the ECJ.
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