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Health and Social Care Act

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department has issued to (a) primary care trusts, (b) strategic health authorities and (c) other NHS organisations on their obligations under Section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001
 
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in relation to (i) primary care trust mergers and (ii)strategic health authority reconfigurations; and if she will make a statement. [24396]

Mr. Byrne: There is no duty to consult under section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 (the 2001 Act) because the strategic health authority (SHA), primary care trust (PCT) and ambulance trust reconfiguration proposals amount to managerial and administrative changes only. However, if there are any proposals to make changes to service provision put forward in the future by the newly reconfigured organisations, there will be a duty on those organisations to involve and consult patients and the public on those proposals under section 11 of the 2001 Act.

The following regulations apply to the present consultation:

National Health Service Trusts (Consultation on Establishment and Dissolution) Regulations 1996 (Statutory Instrument (SI) 1996/657) (the 1996 Regulations)

Primary Care Trusts (Consultation on Establishment, Dissolution and Transfer of Staff) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/2337) (the 1999 Regulations)

Strategic Health Authorities (Consultation on Changes) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/1617) (the 2003 Regulations).

Consultation guidance has been issued to all SHAs. Further to this, we are making it clear to SHAs that when preparing their summaries of the consultation responses, all views generated as a result of the consultation must be taken into account, even where these views vary from the options set out in their consultation document.

Health Care Vacancies

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) three month vacancy rate percentage, (b) three month vacancy number and (c) number of staff in post full-time equivalent was for (i) occupational therapy staff, (ii) speech and language staff, (iii)physiotherapists, (iv) district nurses and (v) health visitors in each strategic health authority in England in (A) 1997, (B) 2001, (C) 2004 and (D) 2005. [30742]

Mr. Byrne: The information requested for 2001, 2004 and 2005 has been placed in the Library.

The first national health service vacancy survey was undertaken in 1999 therefore information for 1997 is not available centrally.

Health Protection Agency (Review Panel)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role the Rapid Review Panel of the Health Protection Agency undertakes; and if she will make a statement. [36702]

Jane Kennedy: The rapid review panel (RRP) has been convened by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) at the request of the Department. The RRP provides a prompt assessment of new and novel equipment, materials, and other products or protocols that may be of value to the national health service in improving hospital infection control and reducing hospital acquired infections. The RRP meets every three months
 
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and their recommendations are published on the HPA's website at www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/rapid_review/default.htm.

Health Services

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by the Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust on treating NHS medical patients in the private health sector in each year since 1997. [38095]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally by the Department.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children from the West Lancashire constituency have (a) attended accident and emergency, (b) had an emergency operation, (c) had an elective operation and (d) attended outpatients at Alder Hey NHS trust in each year between 2000 and 2004. [37320]

Mr. Byrne: The Health and Social Care Information Centre provides data on hospital episode statistics on its website at www.hesonline.org.uk.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) land and (b) properties belonging to the NHS in West Lancashire has (i) been sold in each year since 2000 and (ii) planned to be sold in (A) 2005–06 and (B)2006–07. [37322]

Mr. Byrne: Information on land and property sold or planned to be sold by the national health service is not held centrally.

Health Spending

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what projected per capita Government spending on health in Wiltshire for 2005–06 is; [36879]

(2) what projected per capita Government spending on health in County Durham for 2005–06 is. [36880]

Mr. Byrne: The total spend by national health service organisations in Wiltshire and County Durham for 2005–06 will be reported in the 2005–06 final accounts, which will be published in autumn 2006.

The forecasts for 2005–06 recently published on the Department's publications website are based on un-audited data. The forecasts are available at: www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/FreedomOflnformation/ClassesOflnformation/fs/en

The latest year for which audited financial data are available is 2004–05. The table shows the spend per head for primary care trusts (PCTs) in Wiltshire and County Durham for 2004–05.
£

PCT	2004–05 spend per head
Kennet and North Wiltshire	917
South Wiltshire	1,045
West Wiltshire	940
Derwentside	1,263
Durham and Chester-le-Street	1,142
Durham Dales	1,251
Easington	1,320
Sedgefield	1,236

Sources:
2003 based 2004 Office for National Statistics projections
2004–05 audited summarisation schedules for PCTs




 
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Health Staffing Costs

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average cost and (b) total cost was of employing (i) consultants, (ii) registrars, (iii) other doctors in training, (iv) general medical practitioners excluding registrars, (v) general medical practitioner registrars, (vi)general practitioner retainers, (vii) qualified nurses, (viii) qualified allied health professionals, (ix) qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff, (x) qualified ambulance staff and (xi) all other professionally qualifiedclinical staff in England in (A) 2000 and (B) 2004; and how many full-time equivalent posts there were in each category in each year. [31005]

Mr. Byrne: The information available has been placed in the Library.

Information on average cost and total cost of employing general medical practitioners excluding registrars, general medical practitioner registrars and general practitioner retainers is not held centrally. This is a matter for individual trusts.

Hepatitis C

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the more robust estimates for the prevalence of hepatitis C in England mentioned in the recent Health Protection Agency report will be available. [38491]

Caroline Flint: The Health Protection Agency is currently developing an epidemiological model to provide more robust estimates of the prevalence of hepatitis C in England. It is anticipated that the work will be completed in mid-2006. The results will be written up and submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff hours per month the Health Protection Agency spent on the surveillance of (a) hepatitis C and (b) HIV/AIDS in 2004–05. [38492]

Caroline Flint: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) records its staffing data as whole-time equivalents (wte) rather than man hours per month.

The HPA have 5.5 wte working on the surveillance of hepatitis C. The Department is also providing short-term funding for 3 wte to support hepatitis C surveillance.

The HPA have 18.7 wte working on the surveillance of HIV/AIDS.

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