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24 Nov 2005 : Column 2292W—continued
Parliamentary Questions
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to Question 24618, tabled on 31 October; what the reason is for the delay in replying; and if she will make a statement. [27856]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 11 November 2005]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on Monday 21 November, Official Report, column 1723W.
Primary Care Trusts
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used by each strategic health authority for allocating funds to primary care trusts. [24827]
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Mr. Byrne: Revenue allocations are made directly to primary care trusts (PCTs), not by strategic health authorities. These allocations are made on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. A weighted capitation formula is used to determine each PCTs target share of available resources.
The components of the formula are used to weight each PCTs crude population according to their relative need (age, and additional need) for health care and the unavoidable geographical differences in the cost of providing health care (market forces factor).
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact the reform of primary care trusts will have on community hospitals. [26386]
Mr. Byrne: It is too early to make an assessment of the impact that changes to primary care trusts will have on community hospitals. Policy work is in progress on the range of services that a modern community hospital could offer and the outcomes of the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say" consultation will influence this.
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list strategic health authorities which are proposing the outsourcing of the management and delivery of the commissioning function of primary care trusts. [19489]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 19 October 2005]: As part of the proposals for primary care trust (PCT) reconfiguration, one strategic health authority (SHA) has proposed to procure an external management team to run one of their newly proposed PCTs. However, this proposal will not be considered during the forthcoming public consultation as we believe it is the new PCTs, not the current SHAs, who should decide how best to manage their responsibilities after reconfiguration.
Radiographers
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason Agenda for Change arrangements place both junior radiographers and senior II radiographers in the same salary band; and what assessment she has made of the implications of this policy on recruitment and retention in the profession. [25535]
Mr. Byrne: Under Agenda for Change, the basic pay that staff receives reflects the knowledge, responsibility, skills and effort required for their job as measured by the new national health service job evaluation scheme, rather than their previous job title. Agenda for Change also has generally fewer pay bands than the Whitley system it replaces. For these reasons, there is no guarantee that staff in different Whitley grades in the past will be in different pay bands under Agenda for Change.
In the case of radiography, there have been concerns about the wording in some national job profiles which assist trusts in assimilating radiographers to the new pay system. The job evaluation group, a sub-group of the NHS Staff Council, is currently working with the Society of Radiographers to revise the band five and band six national profiles.
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This work cannot guarantee that senior II radiographers will be in a higher pay band than basic grade radiographers. It will however help ensure that assimilation decisions are appropriate. In addition, where trusts consider that pay levels are insufficient to recruit or retain staff, they are allowed to pay recruitment and retention premia of up to 30 per cent. of basic pay. For these reasons, it is not anticipated that the move to the new system will result in recruitment problems in the profession.
Ambulance Service
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people involved in road accidents have died before the arrival of an ambulance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 1997. [26570]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not centrally collected.
Sexual Health
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people under 16 years attended a sexual health clinic in (a) Ribble Valley and (b) Lancashire in the last year for which figures are available. [29042]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 16 November 2005]: Sexual health services are provided at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics and community contraception clinics. For community contraception clinics data is not collected by primary care trusts but is available for first contacts at clinics. The data shows that there were 5,000 first contacts by young people aged under 16 within the Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) in 2004–05.
For GUM clinics the number of attendances are not available by age group, but age group data are collected for a selection of diagnoses and a total of 85 diagnoses 1 were made in young people aged under 16 in 2004. The data is for diagnoses made at GUM clinics within the Cumbria and Lancashire SHA and not by the patients' area of residence. For confidentiality reasons, this data is only routinely published at SHA level.
Smoking
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence plans to publish its public health programme guidance on smoking cessation. [23961]
Jane Kennedy:
This is a matter for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Information about the current work programme of NICE is available on its website at www.nice.org.uk. I understand that NICE's public health intervention guidance on smoking cessation is scheduled to be issued for publication in March 2006 and that its broader public health programme guidance on smoking cessation is scheduled for publication in July 2007.
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Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the financial impact of a smoking ban in public places on bingo clubs. [28287]
Caroline Flint: A regulatory impact assessment (RIA) has been published alongside the Health Bill. The RIA contains estimates of cost and benefits of legislation to end smoking in enclosed public places and work places. Economic analyses of every sub-sector of the economy that might be affected were not undertaken.
A copy is available in the Library.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis the regulatory impact assessment accompanying the Health Bill has calculated that a ban on smoking in public places will have no disproportionate impact on (a) smokers with mental illness, (b) black and ethnic minority smokers and (c) single mothers in deprived areas. [28288]
Caroline Flint: Calculations of impact in the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) are made on the basis of the best evidence available.
A partial RIA on smoke free proposals in the Choosing Health White paper was published in November 2004. This was updated and published as part of the consultation run by the Department in June 2005. A final version was published alongside the Health Bill in October 2005.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the smoking prevalence for (a) adults and (b) minors in England has been in each of the last 10years, broken down by sex. [28446]
Caroline Flint: The prevalence of cigarette smoking amongst adults and minors are shown in the tables. Until 2000, questions on smoking were asked biannually in the general household survey.
For minors, we have provided data for persons aged 11 to 15, referred to as pupils in the relevant publication.
Source:
ONS Living in Britain: Results from the 1998 and 2003 General Household Surveys.
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Source:
NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre: Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2004.
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