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3 Nov 2005 : Column 1342W—continued
Medical Staff (Numbers)
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors and (b) nurses there were per head of population in (i) England and (ii) each strategic health authority in each year since 1995. [20704]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mental Health
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) objectives, (b) budget, (c) locations and (d) evaluation methodology are for the independent mental capacity advocate pilots. [22374]
Mr. Byrne: The objectives of the Independent Mental Capacity Act (IMCA) pilots are to test how this new service will work, in advance of it becoming a national requirement in April 2007. The pilot will test different ways of setting up this service—for example with full time IMCA advocates and with sessional advocates. It will test referral systems, systems for recording and systems for monitoring. The outcome will be good practice guidance which will be useful both for the commissioners of this service when it becomes a national requirement and also for the future IMCA advocacy providers, many of whom may be small and will benefit from the good practice guide.
The budget for the pilots is £500,000. Pilots will take place in Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Croydon, Dorset, Hertfordshire, Merseyside, Newcastle, and Southwark. An evaluation will be by an external researcher who will work with the advocacy organisations to develop protocols such as monitoring systems and reflective diaries.
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National School Fruit Scheme
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of fruit supplied to schools under the National School Fruit Scheme was sourced from (a) suppliers within 25 miles of the school supplied, (b) national suppliers and (c) overseas suppliers in the period September 2004 to September 2005. [21878]
Caroline Flint: There are currently 15 United Kingdom based suppliers that supply eight different types of fruit and vegetables across the country. No overseas suppliers are participating in the school fruit and vegetable scheme.
We do not collect information about the distance of suppliers in relation to the schools they supply.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many schools are participating in the National School Fruit Scheme; and how many deliveries are made per week to these schools. [21881]
Caroline Flint: As at 14 October 2005, 16,413 schools across England were participating in the school fruit and vegetable scheme.
Although some distributors involved in the scheme make a delivery three times a week, the most common arrangement is a delivery every other school day, which equates to five deliveries per fortnight.
NHS Employees
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees aged over 70 years are working in the national health service. [19990]
Mr. Byrne: At 30 September 2004, 834 national health service staff working in England were aged 70 and over.
NHS Finance
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the financial position of NHS trusts in Brighton and West Sussex. [21831]
Caroline Flint: The latest available data on the financial position of national health service trusts are for 2004–05. The table shows the 2004–05 financial position reported by NHS trusts in Brighton and West Sussex.
Source:
2004–05 summarisation schedules.
The strategic health authority continues to work closely with NHS organisations in Brighton and West Sussex to achieve the year-end position agreed with the Department.
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Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the latest aggregate (a) year-to-date and (b) forecast year-end financial positions are of all NHS organisations in England which have been received from strategic health authorities by her Department. [21413]
Mr. Byrne: The latest year for which audited financial information is available is 2004–05. The information requested has been placed in the Library. It is also available on the Department's website.
The Department does not publish unaudited information on the financial position of national health service organisations.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her latest estimate is of the outturn against planned expenditure for 2005–06 of (a) the Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust and (b) Northamptonshire Heartlands Primary Care Trust. [21419]
Mr. Byrne: The latest data available on the financial position of national health service organisations (strategic health authority, primary care trust and NHS trusts) are for 2004–05.
The 2004–05 financial position for Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust showed they had a deficit of £1.7 million and the 2004–05 financial position for Northamptonshire Heartlands Primary Care Trust showed they had a surplus of £183,000.
NHS Pension Scheme
Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women doctors contributed to the NHS pension scheme between 1972 and 1988; and what contributions were made by (a) men and (b) women to the scheme between those dates, expressed as a percentage of salary. [21256]
Mr. Byrne: Data on women doctors who contributed to the national health service pension scheme between 1972 and 1988 are not held in the format requested.
The contribution rate for all doctors, male and female is the same at 6 per cent. of NHS pensionable pay.
Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the spouses of male and female members of the NHS pension scheme, both contributing the same amounts to the scheme between 1972 and 1988, are entitled to the same pension following the death of their spouse. [21257]
Mr. Byrne: The spouses of male and female members of the national health service pension scheme are entitled to the same initial pension for three months and up to six months following the death of their spouse. Thereafter a widow is entitled to a pension equal to one half of her husband's pension based on his total scheme membership; a widower is entitled to a pension equal to one half of his wife's scheme membership from 6 April 1988.
NHS Professionals
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of NHS Professionals; and if she will make a statement. [21796]
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Mr. Byrne: NHS Professionals is playing a useful part in securing the appropriate and effective use of temporary staff and reducing national health service expenditure on private agency staff. A recent independent report recorded that agency spending fell for the first time in recent memory" in 2003–04.
Obesity
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish proposals submitted for new obesity indicators by her Department to the quality and outcomes framework review. [21095]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Charlotte Atkins) today.
Pressure Sores
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the NHS of pressure sores. [22317]
Mr. Byrne: From the information held centrally, it is not possible to separately identify the costs, in hospitals and all other settings where the national health service cares for patients, of treating pressure sores.
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