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19 Dec 2005 : Column 2636W—continued
Obesity
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Obesity Care Pathway being produced by her Department will include appropriate references to slimming on referral programmes. [36991]
Caroline Flint: The draft Obesity Care Pathway is currently out for consultation until 3 January 2006. Consultation responses, including those on slimming on referral programmes, will be evaluated in the light of the evidence before a final text is produced.
Julia Goldsworthy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on (a) progress made to date and (b) the timetable for future action in relation to obesity initiatives in the Implementation Programme of the White Paper on Public Health, with particular reference to (i) the Weight Loss Guide, (ii) the Obesity Care Pathway and the Obesity Tool Kit, (iii) the National Partnership for Obesity, (iv) establishment of the Obesity Programme Board, (v) the development of a job description and management structure for health
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trainers and (vi) the work of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in assessing weight loss options. [36993]
Caroline Flint: The Obesity Care Pathway and the Weight Loss Guide are currently out for consultation until 3 January 2006. They will be published in the new year.
The Obesity Tool Kit has been circulated in draft to consultees, and is expected to be published in the new year by the National Heart Forum and Faculty for Public Health.
The National Partnership for Obesity will no longer be established. However, relevant groups will be included in the stakeholder consultation list for the delivery of the Obesity PSA Target.
The Obesity Programme Board had its first meeting on 27 August 2005.
A draft job description for health trainers has been sent to all the partnerships involved in the early adopter phase for review, to be agreed by the end of March 2006. Management structures for health trainers will be agreed and implemented at a local level.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's draft guidance on assessing weight loss options will be going out for full consultation next year with publication expected in early 2007.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were suffering with obesity in (a) Southend, (b) Essex, (c) Hertfordshire, (d) Greater London and (e) England in (i) 1994 and (ii) 2004. [35970]
Caroline Flint: The data are not available in the exact format requested. We are unable to supply the data for Southend, Essex, Hertfordshire and Greater London. Data is available by Government office region (GOR) for 2001–02 and we have provided the areas that most closely match those requested; London GOR (for Greater London) and the East of England GOR (for Southend, Essex and Hertfordshire).
The 2003 data are the most recent available. Comparable data for 1994 are not available; therefore, we have provided 1995 data. The information requested is in the following table, using the estimated obesity prevalence results of the Health Survey for England (HSE) for 2002 and 2003.
Notes:
Figures from Obesity among children under 11, 2005 for children aged 2 to 10 based on the UK National BMI percentile classification
Source:
Obesity among children under 11, 2005. Department of Health and the Health and Social Care Information Centre
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Operation Costs
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost was of (a) sex change, (b) bunion and (c) cosmetic surgery operations for the last year for which figures are available; how many of each category of operation took place; and if she will make a statement. [32187]
Mr. Byrne: The cost information requested is not collected centrally.
The table on activity shows the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) where the main operation was one of the operative procedures requested.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care information centre
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost is of (a) each operation provided at independent treatment centres and (b) the same operation undertaken by an NHS trust. [35649]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 8 December 2005]: The average cost of operations provided at independent sector treatment centres is commercially confidential.
National health service (NHS) tariff data has been placed in the Library and is also available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/09/15/31/04091531.pdf.
These data are not comparable with independent sector contracts as they have to cover a range of costs, which are not applicable to the NHS but we know that overall costs in the independent sector contracts in 2004–05 was estimated to be less than the NHS equivalent.
Ophthalmic Services
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure on general ophthalmic services has been in each year since 1997–98. [34224]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: Total expenditure on general ophthalmic services in England from 1997–98 to 2004–05 is shown in the table.
(132)Expenditure is on an accruals basis.
(133)The consistency of data may have been affected by the changeover in accounting responsibilities from strategic health authorities to primary care trusts from 1 October 2002.
Palliative Care (Children)
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what weighting is applied to palliative care for children in the primary care trust capitation formula. [36735]
Mr. Byrne: There is no specific weighting in the weighted-capitation formula, used to inform revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs), but the formula is the best available measure of need for all aspects of health care.
The components of the weighted-capitation formula are used to weight each PCTs population according to their relative need (i.e. age, and additional need) for health care and geographical differences in the cost of providing health care (i.e. market forces factor).
Parliamentary Questions
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to answer the Question on the emergency bed service (18771) tabled by the hon. Member for Romsey on 12 October. [30998]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1709W.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will answer question reference 30777 tabled by the hon. Member for Pendle on 16 November 2005, on primary care trusts. [35208]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 6 December 2005]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on Monday 12 December, Official Report, column 1816W.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to reply to the questions tabled by the hon. Member for Billericay relating to overseas nurses for answer on (a) 24 October, references 21223 and 21224 and (b) 17 November, reference 29318. [36234]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 12 December 2005]: I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave him on Monday 12 December 2005.
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