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10 Jan 2006 : Column 590W—continued
Mental Health Bill
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many meetings officials in her Department have held with representatives from black and minority ethnic mental health groups as part of the consultation on the race equality impact assessment of the Mental Health Bill; [33319]
(2) when details of the consultation on the race equality impact assessment of the Mental Health Bill were first posted on the Department's website; and what the deadline is for submissions. [33320]
Ms Rosie Winterton
[holding answer 1 December 2005]: We have been undertaking a range of consultation activities as part of the process of Race Equality Impact Assessment on the draft Bill. This has included;
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establishing an advisory group of stakeholders and experts in the field, which has provided its own recommendations, based on existing consultation material on the draft Bill, and on the basis of a workshop with stakeholders that was held in July. In addition, the assessment proformas used by the advisory group were made widely available and we received some direct submissions based on these documents;
interviews and focus groups with detained patients conducted on behalf of the Department by the Mental Health Act Commission in 12 provider units;
web-based opportunity for people to submit their own comments and views on the issues that have arisen out of earlier consultation. This was posted on the Department's website on 14 November, with a deadline for 25 November.
Officials have been in close consultation with black and minority ethnic stakeholder groups, primarily through the black and minority ethnic (BME) mental health network, throughout the race impact assessment on the draft Bill. For example, we had jointly planned with the BME mental health network a series of consultation events, which were to be held in the spring. Regrettably, these events were cancelled when the general election was called, due to the rules about communication on government policy in the period leading up to a general election.
The responsible Minister has also recently met with the Advisory Group and with the BME mental health network. The network was consulted about the consultation activities listed above and asked for more time for further dialogue to take place. We have agreed to extend the opportunity for dialogue and we are currently discussing with stakeholders what further consultation might be carried out before the Bill is introduced in Parliament.
Mental Health Services
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on psychological therapies in the NHS in 2004–05. [38878]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The 2004–05 National Survey of Investment in Mental Health Services" reported that in 2004–05, planned spend on psychological therapy services was £141,378,000.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many graduate primary care mental health workers were in post in (a) December 2004 and (b) December 2005. [38879]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available. However, the most recent data identified 353 graduate workers in September 2004 and 648 in March 2005.
Mesothelioma
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died from mesothelioma in each of the last five years; how many people she estimates will die from mesothelioma in 2005; what estimate she has made of the number of likely deaths from mesothelioma over the next five years; and if she will make a statement. [39191]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: The table shows the number of people who have died from mesothelioma since 2001. Comparable data are not available for years prior to 2001 due to the use of the international classification of diseases ninth revision (ICD-9) between 1979 and 2000, which did not contain a disease category for mesothelioma.
| Number of deaths | |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 1,510 |
| 2002 | 1,499 |
| 2003 | 1,534 |
| 2004 | 1,597 |
The Department has not made an estimate of the number of likely deaths from mesothelioma over the next five years.
The Department recognises that in the past lung cancer has not received the attention it requires and has set up the lung cancer and mesothelioma advisory group to facilitate collaboration and to promote mutual understanding between the Department, the voluntary sector, patient and professional groups and to advise Ministers, the National Cancer Director and the Department on the development and delivery of high quality services for lung cancer patients. A mesothelioma sub-group has been set up to advise on the provision of high quality services for mesothelioma patients.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on services for sufferers of myalgic encephalomyelitis in Lancashire. [37798]
Mr. Byrne: The Chorley and South Ribble primary care trust is the lead commissioning organisation for a new chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) service for Lancashire and South Cumbria. This has been recently launched and is expected to be fully operational by January 2006.
A specialist multi-disciplinary team, comprising consultant, physiotherapist, nurse and technical instructor, is providing a service for people with CFS or myalgic encephalomyelitis across the geographical area of Lancashire and South Cumbria.
National Service Framework for Long-Term Conditions
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on progress on adoption by NHS Trusts of the provisions of the national service framework for long-term conditions, with particular reference to neurological disorders. [38854]
Mr. Byrne: There is a 10 year implementation period for the national service framework (NSF) for long-term conditions, with pace of delivery determined by local priorities.
Over the course of the three-year planning period 2005–08 health bodies will be expected to demonstrate that they are making progress in planning and developing the levels of service quality described in the NSF. Both the Healthcare Commission and the
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Commission for Social Care Inspection may carry out improvement reviews to assess progress, jointly where appropriate.
NHS Central Registration System
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are registered on the NHS central registration system. [38506]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 10 January 2006:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many people are registered on the NHS central registration system. (38506)
NHS Commissioning
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2005, Official Report, column 971W, on primary care trusts (Oxfordshire), whether all proposals to put NHS commissioning out to private tender require public consultation prior to decision. [38779]
Caroline Flint: There are no proposals to put the delivery of the commissioning function of PCTs in any area out to private tender.
As part of the proposals for primary care trust (PCT) reconfiguration, one strategic health authority (SHA) 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 local consultation as it is for the new PCTs, not the current SHAs, to decide how best to manage their responsibilities after reconfiguration.
If the new PCTs do decide to pursue this option in the future, decisions will of course be subject to public consultation.
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