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Physiotherapy

Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many physiotherapy training places have been commissioned over each of the last four years, broken down by strategic health authority. [23068]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 28 October]: The information requested is shown in the tables.

Numbers of physiotherapy training commissions broken down by strategic health authority (SHA) have been collected since 2002–03. Training commissions in 2001–02 are shown by regional office area.
 
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Table 1: Physiotherapy pre-registration training commissions in 2001–02 by regional office area

	Headcount
England	1,780
Northern and Yorkshire	309
Trent	157
East	151
London	302
South East	219
South West	156
West Midlands	262
North West	224

Source:
Quarterly monitoring returns.




Table 2: Physiotherapy pre-registration training commissions by SHA area

	2003–03	2003–04	2004–05
England	2,157	2,343	2,391
Avon, Gloucester and Wiltshire	135	135	130
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire	35	38	75
Birmingham and Black Country	92	100	122
Cheshire and Merseyside	—	—	—
Cumbria and Lancashire	253	324	314
County Durham and Tees Valley	57	71	72
Devon and Cornwall	159	158	65
Essex	82	82	96
Greater Manchester	—	—	—
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	36	67	68
Kent, Surrey and Sussex	121	—	—
Kent and Medway	—	2	3
Leicester, Northamptonshire and Rutland —		—	3
North Central London	—	—	—
North East London	—	—	—
North East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	62	51	55
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge	58	78	76
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	67	76	85
North West London	0	0	—
Dorset and Somerset	—	23	23
Shropshire and Staffordshire	90	90	94
South East London	377	393	414
South West London	—	—	—
South Yorkshire	—	—	—
Surrey and Sussex	—	132	116
Thames Valley	77	76	76
Trent	193	190	225
West Midlands South	108	103	104
West Yorkshire	155	154	175

Source:
Quartlery monitoring returns.

Pressure Ulcers

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the effectiveness of vacuum-assisted closure machines for the treatment of pressure ulcers; whether she plans to instruct the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to examine the effectiveness of such machines; what other steps she is taking to prevent the development of pressure ulcers in patients in hospitals; and if she will make a statement. [23109]

Mr. Byrne: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published new clinical guidance on pressure ulcer management in September 2005. This comprehensive guidance includes appraisals on the effectiveness of a wide range of options for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers, including vacuum-assisted closure methods.
 
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Reducing the incidence of pressure sores in hospitals is tackled locally through the development and implementation of individualised plans for prevention and treatment agreed and delivered by a multidisciplinary team working with patients and their carers.

Primary Care Trusts

Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of redundancies which may arise from the reorganisation of primary care trusts (a) in Durham and (b) in England. [17476]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 13 October 2005]: The Department has received proposals on primary care trust configurations from County Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority and these will be considered by an independent external panel to see whether the proposals meet the criteria identified in the document, Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS", published on 28 July. Before any changes are made, proposals will be subject to a full three-month public consultation, beginning in December.

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department has issued to primary care trusts on compliance with the Secretary of State's directive of 27 February 2004. [23181]

Mr. Byrne: Related directions on continuing care and delayed discharges came into force from 27 February 2004. They, and all other published guidance, are available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/OrganisationPolicy/IntegratedCare/ContinuingCarePolicy/fs/en.

Private Finance Initiative

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps she is taking to ensure that private finance initiative projects for which her Department is responsible create the minimum of environmental damage; [22109]

(2) what assessment her Department has made of (a) the (i) sustainability and (ii) environmental impacts of private finance initiative projects for which her Department is responsible and (b) what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the private finance initiative process to deliver environmentally sustainable projects for her Department; [22110]

(3) what role her Department (a) has and (b) plans to take to make the private finance initiative process more accountable and transparent in terms of environmental sustainability; [22111]

(4) what steps she is taking to make private finance initiative contracts for which her Department is responsible more accountable and transparent in terms of environmental sustainability. [22112]

Mr. Byrne: The national health service environmental assessment tool kit (NEAT) is the NHS response to the Government's objective of a sustainable construction programme.

All capital development schemes, whether private finance initiative (PFI) or publicly funded, must submit a NEAT as part of their full business case. The business
 
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case must demonstrate a commitment to meeting the NEAT score rating of excellent" for a new build or very good" for a refurbishment scheme.

By integrating the design, build and operational aspects into a single financial package, PFI helps to encourage greater efficiency, including energy efficiency, over the whole life of the contract.

Radiographers

Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many radiographers have been employed in the NHS in each year since 1997. [23196]

Mr. Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
National health service hospital and community health services: qualified radiography staff in England as at 30 September for each specified year

	Qualified	of which:
	radiography staff	Diagnostic radiography	Therapeutic radiography
1997	11,771	10,364	1,407
1998	12,118	10,645	1,473
1999	12,330	10,839	1,491
2000	12,489	11,036	1,453
2001	12,706	11,163	1,543
2002	13,031	11,489	1,542
2003	13,344	11,687	1,657
2004	13,900	12,147	1,753

Note:
New occupation codes for healthcare scientists were introduced in 2003. As a result, a small number of staff previously included under diagnostic radiography are now classified within medical physics
Source:
Health and Social Care Information Centre non-medical workforce census.

Residential Care

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) in what circumstances a local authority can set limits on what it will pay to meet the assessed needs of a person requiring care in a residential setting; [22263]

(2) when she will next review the capital limits for state support for costs of care in residential settings. [22264]

Mr. Byrne: The National Assistance Act 1948 sets out the framework within which local authorities decide what people can afford to contribute to the cost of their residential care. Local authorities (LAs) are responsible for assessing the care needs of any person seeking public financial support in order to enter a care home.

LAs assess a person's ability to pay charges using the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 and the Charges for Residential Accommodation Guide (CRAG). The CRAG provides guidance to local authorities to help them understand the charging regulations and helps to ensure a consistent approach to charging.

The capital limits set the amount below which people can receive LA help with the cost of their care. People with less than £20,500 are entitled to apply for financial
 
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help from social services and local authorities are required to disregard savings of £12,500 or less when assessing residents ability to pay for their care.

The capital limits are reviewed annually. The review of the Assessment of Regulations, including the capital limits and the CRAG will begin shortly and are intended to be implemented from April 2006.

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