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6 Feb 2006 : Column 972W—continued
Departmental Finance
John Penrose:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much the Department expects to be rolled
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forward into the next financial year as a result of delayed payment of pay as you earn tax and national insurance contributions by each strategic health authority and primary care trust in the 2005–06 financial year; [41640]
(2) what advice the Department has issued to strategic health authorities on the use of delayed payment of pay as you earn tax and national insurance contributions as a form of cash management; and if she will make a statement; [41641]
(3) which (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts have discussed the use of delayed payment of pay as you earn tax and national insurance contributions as a form of cash management for the current financial year with the Department. [41652]
Mr. Byrne: The Department's policy is that all national health service organisations should ensure that payments of pay as you earn tax and National Insurance contributions are made when they are due, unless there is a specific agreement not to do so with the Inland Revenue. The issue has been discussed with all strategic health authorities and they have been reminded of the Department's policy. Where it has come to our attention that organisations are making specific proposals to delay payment we have reminded them of the policy.
Drug Treatment
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on training of general practitioners in dealing with substance misuse in each of the last five years. [44640]
Mr. Byrne: It is not possible to identify the amount of mainstream funding or local pooled treatment budget money used specifically for the support and training of general practitioners in dealing with substance misuse. However, since 2001 the Department has funded a national primary care certificate course for substance misuse, which is delivered by the Royal College of General Practitioners. This funding has amounted to as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 1.8 |
| 2002–03 | 1.2 |
| 2003–05 | 0.7 |
| 2005–06 | 1.5 |
European Medicines Evaluation Agency
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the consultation process on the mechanisms of the European Medicines Evaluation Agency to report. [19928]
Jane Kennedy: The European Medicines Evaluation Agency's consultation into the mechanisms for dealing with applications submitted under the accelerated assessment procedure (Ref. EMEA/419127/2005) ends on 10 February 2006.
Finnamore Consultants
Dr. Richard Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts have employed
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Finnamore Consultants to advise them on measures to address potential financial deficits in 2005–06; what assessment she has made of the (a) practicality and (b) relevance of their recommendations; and what the cost was in each case. [44405]
Mr. Byrne: It is the responsibility of strategic health authorities (SHAs) to deliver overall financial balance for their local health communities, and to ensure each and every body achieves financial balance. SHAs determine the support needed for their organisations to achieve this objective.
We do not hold records of the number of national health service trusts that have employed Finnamore Consultants.
Folic Acid
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment her Department has made of the effects on women of child bearing age of folic acid supplementation in protecting against babies being born with neural tube defects. [37655]
Caroline Flint: The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition is currently considering the scientific evidence of folate and disease prevention. A full report is expected to be published in the spring of 2006.
Government Shift Programme
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding she has allocated to the Government Shift programme for 2006–07; and how much money has been allocated to this programme since 2004. [46266]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 30 January 2006]: The service increment for teaching supports the cost to health care providers of providing a clinical setting for medical and dental undergraduate training. Budgets for 2006–07 have not been set yet. Funding for 2004–05 and 2005–06 is shown in the following table.
| Funding | |
|---|---|
| 2004–05 | 733,196,000 |
| 2005–06 | 803,654,000 |
Haemodynamic Optimisation
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals in England use haemodynamic optimisation. [47390]
Mr. Byrne: We do not collect this information centrally.
All hospitals will have a variety of haemodynamic monitoring equipment available, invasive or non-invasive, to monitor haemodynamic status of the patients. This will in turn provide the information clinicians require to optimize medical treatment for a variety of medical conditions.
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Head Lice
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment she has made of the incidence of head lice in schools in each local authority area in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement; [45963]
(2) what resources she has made available to each local education authority area in 2005–06 to reduce the incidence of head lice; and if she will make a statement; [45965]
(3) what mechanisms exist to monitor the incidence of head lice in schools; and if she will make a statement. [45966]
Mr. Byrne:
Information on the incidence of head lice infestation is not collected centrally. Head lice infestations depend upon head-to-head contact, which is relatively common among younger school-age children while working together, or playing at school. Our policy, which is shared by the Department for Education and Skills, is to encourage a whole school approach". This entails encouraging parents to check their children and other family members for head lice as the need arises, and arranging treatment where necessary, with advice and support from the local primary health care team (general practitioner, health visitor, school nurse or local pharmacist).
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If this exercise is undertaken at the same time by families with children attending a school, then the spread of head lice will be arrested. Primary health care teams are resourced to support this activity. The Department has provided a leaflet containing guidance on the prevention and treatment of head lice. This promotes the benefits of identifying and arranging treatment, where needed, on a day which schools may determine. The leaflet is available in hard copy and on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/ll/63/47/04116347.pdf.
Health Expenditure
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of expenditure will be committed to support (a) the improvements to alcohol treatment provision announced on 1 November and (b) the provision of health trainers announced on 11 August by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health; how much expenditure there has been on each programme; and whether the expenditure is financed from the Centrally Funded Initiatives and Services and Special Allocations budget of her Department in each case. [39286]
Caroline Flint: We now have 78 partnerships in the early adopter phase of health trainers, prison sites in each region, the army and Initial cleaning company.
A breakdown of where the money has been spent and cost centres is shown in the table.
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