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8 Feb 2006 : Column 1303W—continued
Secondments
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people from science and technology backgrounds have been seconded into the civil service in her Department in each of the last three years. [48411]
Mr. Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is fully committed to interchange and working in partnership with other organisations. In the last three years, 23 people have been seconded into the Department but information on their academic or professional backgrounds is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Television Licences
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what process her Department is following to set the future level of the BBC licence fee; and when a decision is expected to be reached. [47779]
Tessa Jowell: The Government are currently conducting a funding review in line with the commitment in the Green Paper on BBC Charter Review. An announcement on the level of the television licence fee to apply from April 2007 will be made in due course.
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what external advice and analysis has been sought by her Department during the process to set the future level of the licence; and whether that advice will be published. [47781]
Tessa Jowell: In line with the commitment in the Green Paper to take independent advice, PKF were appointed in July 2005 to provide the Government with expert financial advice on a range of issues including the value for money of the BBC. Subject to proper consideration of confidentiality, we intend to make PKF's findings public in due course.
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps will be taken to ensure that the future level of BBC licence fee funding will take account of the BBC's wider impact on (a) the market and (b) public service broadcasting on commercial channels. [47782]
Tessa Jowell: The Government are currently conducting a funding review to determine the level of the licence fee to apply from April 2007, and will consider all relevant issues in doing so.
VisitBritain
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to name a new Chairman for VisitBritain. [49360]
Tessa Jowell:
My Department will shortly begin the process of appointing a new Chairman of VisitBritain to succeed Lord Marshall who leaves an excellent legacy following his time in the post. The post will be advertised widely as part of an open process, and the aim throughout will be to identify the best qualified person for this key post in tourism. It is expected that the successful candidate will be appointed in the summer.
8 Feb 2006 : Column 1304W
HEALTH
Abortion
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were performed on inmates in each prison in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [37535]
Caroline Flint: The information available is shown in the following table.
(25) Suppressed values where totals are between zero and nine. For confidentiality reasons totals less than 10 are not released.
Accident and Emergency Departments
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her opinion piece in The Independent on 19 January, on what data her statement that there were 0.75 million more attendances at accident and emergency departments this year than in 1996–97 was based. [45513]
Mr. Byrne: In the opinion piece referred to, the figures quoted for accident and emergency activity (A and E) should have read
This represents a rise of 1.7 million. The source of 1996–97 attendance data is KH09, Consultant Outpatient Attendance Activity and Accident and Emergency Services Activity and QMAE, Quarterly Monitoring of Key Standards and Targets: Accident and Emergency, England for 2004–05. Attendances at walk in centres have been excluded from this comparison, as they did not exist in 1996–97. Including walk in centres, the 2004–05 figure rises to 17.8 million.
Agenda for Change
David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what she expects the cost of implementing agenda for change to be. [40346]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) on 2 February 2006, Official Report, column 724W.
Ambulance Service Trusts
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 8 November 2005, Official Report, column 387W, on ambulance services trusts (West Midland), why her Department does not maintain ambulance trust population figures. [45902]
8 Feb 2006 : Column 1305W
Mr. Byrne: The Department does not directly maintain population figures for ambulance service trusts as the boundaries of the catchment areas for these trusts are not in all cases coterminous with those of the primary care trusts, care trusts or local authorities they serve. From time-to-time approximate populations are calculated and published, most recently in the statistical bulletin, 'Ambulance Services, England: 2001–02', which is available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/02/28/82/04022882.pdf
Benzodiazepine
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the provision of dedicated NHS benzodiazepine withdrawal clinics. [47364]
Caroline Flint: People with dependence on benzodiazepines can access services in primary and secondary care. In primary care, counselling, advice and/or psychological therapy is available, and secondary care services are also available, including specialised mental health services and specialised drug services. While there are some specialist clinics in parts of England, NHS services are commonly provided on the basis of clinical need rather than the causes of need per se. Support for benzodiazepine withdrawal can be provided in a range of settings.
In 2005, responding to advice from professionals in the substance misuse field, and consistent with recommendations made in Drug misuse and dependence—guidelines on clinical management" (1999), 1 the Department amended prescribing regulation to allow diazepam to be dispensed in instalments for the treatment of drug addiction—to assist doctors in prescribing benzodiazepines more safely.
1 Guidelines on Clinical Management—Department of Health, The Scottish Office Department of Health, Welsh Office Department of Health and Social Services, Northern Ireland (1999) The Stationery Office.
Breast Cancer
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets she has to reduce rates of breast cancer over the next (a) five and (b) 10 years. [47987]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 2 February 2006]: There are no specific targets for reducing breast cancer rates. It is important to note that a key Government target is to reduce mortality rates for all cancers in people under 75 by 2010 and we are well on the way to achieving this.
Our strategy for improving the general health of the population leading to the prevention of a number of diseases, including cancer, was set out in the Choosing Health White Paper, published in 2004.
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