| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 Mar 2006 : Column 1050W—continued
NHS Finance
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by the NHS per head in each local government area in the last year for which information is available; and if she will make a statement. [41713]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 12 January 2006]: Information is not available in the format requested.
2004–05 expenditure per head of resident population by primary care trusts in England is shown in a table which has been placed in the Library.
I regret the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) on 29 November 2005, Official Report, column 460W was incorrect.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2006, Official Report, column 469W, on NHS finance, for what reasons it is not appropriate to publish in-year monitoring data on an ongoing basis; and what assessment she has made of how publication of data would impact on the operational management of the NHS. [51872]
Jane Kennedy: In-year financial monitoring data is not audited, and is subject to change. It could give a misleading view of the financial position of national health service bodies.
In addition, in-year monitoring data is used for the operational management of the NHS. It is used by strategic health authorities (SHAs) to inform their performance management discussions with NHS trusts and primary care trusts and by the Department in performance discussions with SHAs. Routine publication of the data by the Department during the financial year may adversely affect the nature of these discussions, and the ability of the Department and SHAs to discharge their performance management function.
Nurses (South West London)
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses per 100 beds there have been in each hospital in South West London in each year since 1997. [53010]
Jane Kennedy:
The information requested is shown in the table.
3 Mar 2006 : Column 1051W
n/a=not applicable
Notes:
1. Beds numbers are based on an average of those hospital beds that are available overnight over a 12 month period between 1 April and 31 May of the following year
2. Nurses do not include community nursing staff
Source:
KH03 annual beds census
NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census
Nursing Agencies
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 September 2005, Official Report, column 284W, on agency nurses, what estimate she has made of the total number of nursing agencies not registered with the Commission for Social Care Inspection. [35422]
Mr. Byrne: I am informed by the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that under Section 4 (5) of the Care Standards Act 2000, a nurses agency means
"an employment agency or employment business, being (in either case) a business which consists of or includes supplying, or providing services for the purposes of supplying, registered nurses, registered midwives or registered health visitors".
If a nurses agency is operating as described and is not registered with CSCI, then it is operating illegally. No estimate has been made of the total number of agencies operating illegally.
Outsourcing
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the business case for the outsourcing of (a) the NHS Pensions Agency, (b) the NHS Logistics Authority, (c) the Dental Practice Board and (d) the Prescription Pricing Authority; and what alternatives were considered in each case. [51855]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 16 February 2006]: No decisions have been made to further outsource either the NHS Pensions Agency, NHS Logistics Authority or the Prescription Pricing Authority. The Department is in the process of considering options for these organisations that meet the Government's objectives as set out in the report, "Reconfiguring the Department of Health's Arms Length Bodies" (July 2004) which is available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/32/50/4123250.pdf.
In the case of the Dental Practice Board, a decision has been made to expand the current outsourcing
3 Mar 2006 : Column 1052W
contract with Astron for the remainder of its term. The assessment of this option considered the alternatives of:
In future, the Business Service Authority will follow standard national health service practice and make available business cases for all major investment and operational decisions.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why the contract for provision of services supplied by the NHS Pensions Agency is not going out to competitive tender. [51858]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 16 February 2006]: In January 2002, the NHS Pensions Agency entered into a partial outsourcing of its services with Paymaster (1836) Ltd. The tendering process was fully competitive and conformed to European Union procurement procedures.
Within the contract is a provision to move at some point in the future to full outsourcing. The terms of the contract agreed with Paymaster (1836) Ltd. require that the NHS Pensions Agency must first allow them to bid for the full outsourcing. Only if this bid is not value for money can the agency tender for the services on a competitive basis. At present, the bid from Paymaster (1836) Ltd. is still being prepared.
Paediatric Continence Services
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the likely impact of practice-based commissioning will have on the availability of integrated paediatric continence services in England. [43573]
Mr. Byrne:
There has not been an assessment of the effect of practice based commissioning on the availability of integrated paediatric continence services.
3 Mar 2006 : Column 1053W
Under practice based commissioning, practices have to work with their primary care trusts (PCTs) in the commissioning of services. All new services proposed by practices are expected to fit with local strategic priorities and have to be considered and approved by their respective PCTs.
For children this will also link into the children and young people's plan and children's trust identified priorities.
Paediatric Intensive Care Beds
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether she plans to increase the number of paediatric intensive care beds available in hospitals in England; [43800]
(2) how many paediatric intensive care beds have been available in hospitals in (a) England, (b) the Tees Valley and (c) hospitals serving the Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since 1997. [43801]
Mr. Byrne: No. The number of paediatric intensive care beds available is a matter for local decision, taking account of demand. This is variable, with more beds provided over the winter months when the incidence of severe respiratory conditions in young children increases. The majority of paediatric intensive care episodes are non-elective. Units, therefore allow for some 20 per cent. spare capacity to be available to respond to anticipated but unpredictable emergency demand. The average number of paediatric intensive care beds available is shown in the table.
Source:
Department of Health form KH03.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |