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Analogue Hearing Aids

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pensioners use analogue hearing aids. [49242]

Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally.

Brazilian Beef

Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the amount of Brazilian beef procured for NHS establishments in the last year for which figures are available. [47472]

Jane Kennedy: The expenditure through framework agreements established by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency for Brazilian beef have led to purchases by the national health service from November 2004 through to October 2005 of £7,700.
 
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Capio Healthcare UK

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2006, Official Report, column 1293W, on Capio Healthcare UK, whether Dr. Thomas Mann was involved in the evaluation of bids for contracts for the provision of treatment centres or other surgical activity; whether Dr. Mann has been employed by her Department in any capacity since leaving the civil service; and in what capacity Dr. Mann was employed between the time he left the post of director of the national implementation team and the time he left the civil service. [47287]

Mr. Byrne: As director of the national implementation team, Dr. Mann was responsible for the oversight of the evaluation of bids for independent sector treatment centres by subject-matter specialists. Dr. Mann left this post in October 2003 and was thereafter strategic lead on clinical service issues for the implementation team until he left the employment of the civil service in February 2004. From 31 March 2004 until 27 May 2005, Dr. Mann worked on a consultancy basis for the Department's commercial directorate and was not responsible for the evaluation of bids for the provision of independent section treatment centres.

Care Homes

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care home beds in (a) Greater London, (b) the London borough of Hillingdon and (c) Uxbridge are operated (i) privately and (ii) by local authorities. [46544]

Jane Kennedy: I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that the number of care home beds in Greater London and the London borough of Hillingdon, which includes Uxbridge, is as shown in the tables.
Care homes in Greater London by capacity and ownership type at 1 January 2006

Owner type	Number of homes	Number of beds
Independent (private)	1,163	25,698
Local authority	113	2,652
NHS	24	234
Voluntary	694	10,841
Other	19	369

Care homes in Hillingdon borough (including Uxbridge) by capacity and ownership type at 1 January 2006

Owner type	Number of homes	Number of beds
Independent (private)	30	1,008
Local authority	6	82
Voluntary	15	109

Note:
Data from CSCI registration and inspection database at 30 January 2006

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health is she will establish a central record of mortality in respect of care homes residents, with particular reference to those residents who are moved consequent on closure of a care home; and if she will make a statement. [29711]

 
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Mr. Byrne: Under the Care Home Regulation 2001, care homes have a duty to notify the Commission for Social Care Inspection of deaths, illness and other events that occur to residents.

I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspections (CSCI), that CSCI has a central database that records the death of residents in care homes and can track the number of deaths at a specific care home, but is unable to identify mortality rates in relation to the closure of a care home.

The Government have already announced a review of the national minimum standards and accompanying regulations and a full consultation exercise will be conducted.

Carers

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance and advice her Department provides for carers of elderly people in their own homes; where carers can obtain such guidance; and if she will place copies in the Library. [48351]

Mr. Byrne: The Department published a book entitled 'Who cares? Information and support for the carers of people with dementia' as well as a leaflet entitled 'How to get help in looking after someone'. Both publications are available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/36/29/04123629.pdf and www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/02/37/04080237.pdf or ordered from the Department's orderline at P.O. Box 777, London SE1 6XH telephone: [phone]. Copies of both publications are available in the Library.

In addition, the Department provides information and useful links for carers and those working with them on their website at www.carers.gov.uk

Chiropody

Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress her Department is making towards establishing high-street drop-in centres for chiropody. [49561]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 7 February 2006]: The White Paper, Our health, our care, our say", sets out the future direction for healthcare, including access to allied health professions (AHPs). The implementation will address additional access for AHP services including chiropody.

Choose and Book System

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of the infrastructure of choose and book in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 to date. [41961]

Mr. Byrne: The cost of the central infrastructure of choose and book was £12.7 million in 2004–05 and £5.4 million in 2005–06 to date.

Citizens Juries

Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions her Department consulted citizens' juries on departmental policies in the last five years; in how many of those consultations the recommendations of the citizens' jury differed from existing departmental
 
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policy; and on how many occasions departmental policy was changed to reflect the recommendations of the citizens' jury. [46231]

Mr. Byrne: Officials have not reported using citizen juries during the period specified. However, the Department does use a wide range of consultation methods to inform policy-making. For example, the recent consultation exercise leading up to the publication of the White Paper Our health, our care, our say" involved a number of deliberative events which brought together ordinary members of the public to debate policy options. The outputs of these discussions strongly influenced the policy choices put forward in the final document.

Civil Servants (Overseas Visits)

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what costs were incurred by her Department as a result of sending civil servants on overseas visits in each of the last 10 years. [46283]

Mr. Byrne: The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Civil Service Relocation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many departmental civil service jobs have been relocated to Scotland in each year since 2001. [47326]

Jane Kennedy [holding answer 1 February 2006]: No departmental civil service jobs from the Department have been relocated to Scotland in the period since 2001.
 
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Clinical Guidelines

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if her Department will issue the NHS with a statutory direction to fund clinical guidelines. [47234]

Jane Kennedy: I have no plans to issue such a direction.

Communication Aid Equipment

Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to provide statutory funding for the provision of communication aid equipment. [49084]

Mr. Byrne: Primary care trusts (PCTs) and local councils receive substantial funding from Government each year. Within those allocations, it is for local PCTs and councils to fund and provide appropriate communication aids for their population through their integrated community equipment services in the light of local needs and priorities.

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