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1 Nov 2005 : Column 956W—continued
Asthma
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that every person with asthma has a personal asthma plan. [19646]
Mr. Byrne: We have no plans to ensure that every person with asthma has a personal asthma plan. However, we have a public service agreement target to improve health outcomes for people with long-term conditions by offering a personalised care plan for vulnerable people most at risk—this would include some asthma sufferers.
Avian Influenza
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2005, Official Report, column 2146W, on avian influenza, if she will provide a breakdown of the £200 million allocation by major cost area. [20465]
Caroline Flint: The majority of our money has been spent on purchasing antivirals. The remaining expenditure includes the cost of our communication strategy and the tender for H5N1 vaccine.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to prevent the possible transfer of avian influenza to humans from the spreading of chicken manure as fertiliser. [22600]
Mr. Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
As laid out in the Diseases of Poultry (England) Order of 2003, if there is an outbreak of avian influenza, then controls would be put in place around the infected premises. In the Protection Zone, which extends for a minimum of 3 km around the premises, no used litter or poultry manure may be removed from or spread on any premises. In the Surveillance Zone, which extends for a
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minimum of 10 km around the infected premises, used litter and poultry manure are not to be moved outside the Zone. Manure and litter considered to be a risk from the infected premises will be treated or disposed of safely.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice she has issued on the vaccination of poultry workers against influenza. [22616]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 28 October 2005]: This has been considered by the joint committee for vaccination and immunisation at their most recent meeting in October. It was agreed that poultry workers should be added to the seasonal influenza list if avian influenza was present in the United Kingdom. Arrangements have been made for poultry workers involved in culling to receive priority for antivirals if required.
Bathing Adaptations/Equipment
Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on the provision of bathing adaptations and equipment; and what criteria are applied to decide an individual's medical need to bath. [20018]
Mr. Byrne: The integrated community equipment services (ICES) team produced guidance to local authorities on the provision of bathing adaptations and equipment. The guidance can be found on the ICES website at http://www.icesdoh.org/article.asp?Topic=82.
An individual's medical need to bathe is a matter for the local health and social care providers to determine.
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Cancer Treatment
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding the Government have allocated to research into the mental health problems suffered by cancer patients as a result of cancer treatments in each of the last five years. [17781]
Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.
The main part of the Department's expenditure on health research is allocated to and managed by national health service organisations. These organisations account for their use of the allocations they receive from the Department in an annual research and development report. The reports identify total, aggregated expenditure on national priority areas, including cancer. Details of individual projects supported in the NHS can be found on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.
The Department has funded a number of cancer research studies in which a quality of life assessment forms an integral part. These include a current, £180,000 project entitled, Mental health needs in patients with advanced cancer—implications for primary health care Teams". Details of the other projects can be found on the international cancer research portfolio database on www.cancerportfolio.org.
Care Homes
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes for older people (a) exceeded, (b) met, (c) almost met and (d) failed to meet (i) standard 12 and (ii) standard 15 of the national minimum standards for each year for which figures are available. [20714]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
Source:
Commission for Social Care Inspection.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 12 September 2005, Official Report, column 2655W, on care homes, what criteria were used in setting 31 December as the compliance date. [20669]
Mr. Byrne: I understand from the Chief Inspector of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), that, due to the uncertainty among providers over which date in 2005 the requirement relating to national vocational qualification level two target should be met, CSCI believed it would be fairest to give providers the maximum time possible, by setting 31 December 2005 as the compliance date.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many (a) unitary and (b) metropolitan local authorities have received claims for compensation for (i) sexual and (ii) physical abuse arising out of residence in care homes and residential schools; [19946]
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(2) which local authorities have received claims for compensation for (a) sexual and (b) physical abuse arising out of residence in (i) care homes and (ii) residential schools; and what the total value of such claims is in respect of each authority; [19947]
(3) how much has been paid to claimants by local authorities for (a) sexual and (b) physical abuse arising out of residence in (i) care homes and (ii) residential schools since 1992. [19948]
Mr. Byrne: This information is not held centrally.
Information on residential schools is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for the Department for Education and Skills.
Carers
Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment is made of the performance of local authorities in meeting the needs of carers; and if she will make a statement. [19660]
Mr. Byrne: The Department's current performance assessment framework (PAF) includes an indicator—AO/D42—reflecting the number of assessments and reviews of carers' needs undertaken by each council. Information showing the results for 2003–04 has been placed in the Library.
However, we recognise that these figures do not give us the full picture of how carers' needs may be met. We have therefore developed a new PAF indicator with the Commission for Social Care Inspection, which will record the number of carers who receive services as a result of a carer's assessment. The first set of data will be available in December 2005.
Cataract Operations
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting time for cataract operations is in each primary care trust. [19018]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available centrally. However, the maximum wait for cataract operations is now three months.
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