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14 Dec 2005 : Column 2167W—continued

Public Engagement Contracts

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2005, Official Report, column 991W, on public engagement contracts, which other companies were asked to tender for the contract to run the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say consultation. [31896]

Mr. Byrne: The tender for the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say, consultation was issued to four agencies, three of which responded; ICM Research, Market and Opinion Research International (MORI) and Opinion Leader Research (OLR).

Public Service Agreements

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how she will measure progress towards meeting her Department's Public Service Agreement target to offer a personalised care plan for vulnerable people most at risk. [35196]

Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) on Monday 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1705–6W.

Racial Equality

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many race equality impact assessments her Department had completed in the period (a) April 2004
 
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to March 2005 and (b) April 2005 to November 2005; and how many assessments in each period resulted in a change of policy. [32840]

Ms Rosie Winterton: In the period April 2004 to March 2005, 29 policies were assessed as part of the regulatory impact assessment process for race equality impact. None of these revealed the need for full race equality impact assessment. No race equality impact assessments have been completed since April 2005.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance the Commission for Racial Equality has given to the Department on the time within which a race equality impact assessment should be carried out in relation to published legislative proposals. [33280]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Commission for Racial Equality has issued guidance to public bodies on producing and publishing race equality impact assessments, but this does not prescribe specific timescales. The Department arrangements for publishing such assessments are set out in its race equality scheme for 2005 to 2008.

Radiotherapy

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made of the average waiting times for (a) radical and (b) palliative radiotherapy in the area covered by Lancashire NHS Teaching Trust. [33518]

Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) of 8 November 2005, Official Report, column 407W, on radiotherapy, if she will make a statement on her plans for an 18-week waiting time target. [34735]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The 18 week pathway for December 2008 will measure from general practitioner referral to the start of hospital treatment including, where appropriate, radiotherapy. As is the case now, where the clinician decides that the patient requires urgent treatment waiting times will be much shorter. The national health service cancer plan targets will remain in place.

Rapid Review Panel

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the letter sent to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire by the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Jane Kennedy), on the Rapid Review Panel, dated 25 October, of the 118 products which have been reviewed by the Rapid Review Panel, if she will list the products which are in widespread use; and what estimate she has made of the time saved in introducing these products into widespread NHS use by the rapid review panel's proceedings. [32071]

 
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Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not collected centrally but to 29 November 2005, 134 products have been reviewed by the Rapid Review Panel (RRP) and reported on the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) website.

Of these products, Bardex 1C silver alloy hydrocel catheter, Dermamed skin protectant and Chloraprep topical antiseptic were given a recommendation 1, which means a clear benefit has been shown.

Bardex 1C was introduced into national health service logistics stock in September 2005 and 15 trusts have so far begun to draw stock from this supply but others may be purchasing direct from the supplier. Chloraprep topical antiseptic is currently subject to consultation regarding its licence status and further information on Dermamed is being sought by the Purchasing and Supply Agency.
 
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Respiratory Diseases

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) Rainham and Wennington and South Hornchurch wards and (b) the remaining wards of the London borough of Havering were diagnosed with (i) lung cancer, (ii) asthma, (iii)pneumonia and (iv) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in each of the last five years; and what the national average number of cases of each disease was in each year. [34515]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Information is not collected centrally for all the conditions that are being requested. However the information in the table shows the number of newly diagnosed cases of lung cancer in South Hornchurch, Rainham and Wennington ward and the London borough of Havering and England for the period covering 1999 to 2003.
Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of lung cancer by selected areas and England, 1999–2003

Area	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	Total
South Hornchurch ward	11	14	8	7	15	55
Rainham and Wennington ward	9	9	8	7	8	41
Total for the remaining wards of Havering London borough	128	155	159	107	154	703
England	31,778	31,439	31,131	30,322	29,889	154,559

Source:
Office for National Statistics

School Food

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to source a greater proportion of the produce used in the school fruit and vegetables scheme from the UK. [35053]

Caroline Flint: We are obliged to tender competitively for the school fruit and vegetable scheme supply contracts and cannot, under current European Union competition law, favour United Kingdom growers in our tendering process.

We are keen to explore ways of maximising locally grown produce and have designed the consumption calendar to reflect any seasonality for produce on a national and international level. Some products cannot be grown in the UK.

Secondments

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 285W, on secondments, whether pension contributions for those NHS staff who are seconded to her Department are paid by her Department; and how many staff are on secondment or loan (a) into and (b) out of her Department expressed as a headcount. [36606]

Jane Kennedy: Staff seconded into the Department from the national health service will normally remain on their own organisation's payroll and the Department will reimburse their salary and pension contribution.

There are currently 49 staff on secondment or loan into the Department.

There are currently 180 staff recorded on the human resource systems as being on secondment or loan out of the Department.

Selby and York NHS Primary Care Trust

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the financial situation is of the Selby and York NHS primary care trust. [34718]

Mr. Byrne: Selby and York primary care trust (PCT) recorded a deficit of £6.6 million in 2004–05 and is projecting a deficit of £9.968 million in the current financial year. The PCT is working with its national health service partner organisations to put in place a financial recovery plan.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment she has made of the likely impact of the decision of York and Selby Primary Care Trust to delay referrals of all non-urgent cases for up to six months or more; and if she will make a statement; [34517]

(2) what representations she has received on the decision of Selby and York NHS Primary Care Trust to delay the treatment of non-urgent cases; [34716]

(3) what assessment she has made of the impact on the York Hospital NHS Trust of the cancellation of non-urgent operations; and if she will make a statement. [34717]

Mr. Byrne: From December all patients will receive inpatient treatment within six months of the decision being made to treat. Patients residing within the Selby and York Primary Care Trust area will receive treatment within this timeframe. The Department has received no representations on this issue.

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