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8 Mar 2006 : Column 1611W—continued

Choose and Book System

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will hold an inquiry into the Choose and Book computer system; and if she will make a statement. [54274]

Mr. Byrne: There are no plans to do so. The National Audit Office's (NAO) report on its current value for money study of procurement, implementation and the general progress of the national programme for information technology in the national health service will include all aspects of the choose and book electronic booking service.
 
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Chronic Fatigue Services

Dr. Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the economic effects of the early diagnosis and treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis. [53674]

Mr. Byrne: We have made no assessments of the economic effects of early diagnosis and treatment for those with myalgic encephalomyelitis.

All health professionals recognise the importance of early diagnosis and treatment, indeed this is a key feature of the national service framework for long-term conditions. However, some neurological conditions, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis, can present a particular challenge for early identification as they lack clear, simple diagnostic features. Such conditions will require further investigations and clinical tests before a final diagnosis is made.

Dentistry

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the (a) adult and (b) child population of (i) York and Selby Primary Care Trust area, (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (iii) England was registered with an NHS general dental practitioner in (A) 1997 and (B) each year since then. [53677]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The table provides information on the estimated percentage of the populations of Selby and York Primary Care Trust (PCT), North and East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Health Authority (HA) and England registered with general dental services and personal dental services dentists as at 30 September each year since 1997.
Percentage

	Under 18	18 plus
Selby and York PCT
1997	77	51
1998	72	47
1999	71	47
2000	76	50
2001	74	51
2002	73	51
2003	80	58
2004	64	42
2005	72	48
North and East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire HA
1997	70	52
1998	66	47
1999	67	48
2000	69	49
2001	68	48
2002	67	47
2003	67	48
2004	63	44
2005	65	45
England
1997	66	53
1998	61	45
1999	62	45
2000	63	46
2001	63	45
2002	63	45
2003	63	45
2004	61	43
2005	62	44

Notes:
1. The drop in registrations between September 1997 and September 1998 is mostly attributable to the reduction in re-registration period from two years to 15 months.
2. The percentages of the population registered with a dentist (or registration rate) have been estimated by including patient registrations in the area of the dentist, that is according to the postcode of the dental surgery and not the patient's address. Therefore, the registration rates for some areas may be affected by some patients receiving dental treatment in a different area from the one in which they live.
Source:
National Health Service Health and Social Care Information Centre




 
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Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent NHS general dental practitioners there were in the York and Selby Primary Care Trust area in each year since 1997. [53679]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on a full-time equivalent basis is not available. Dentists are able to vary the amount of hours they work and to vary their national health service commitment. Many dentists do some private work.

Numbers of dentists with a general dental services (GDS) or personal dental services (PDS) contract are shown in the table.
General Dental Services (CDS) and Personal Dental Services (PDS) Numbers of dentists within Selby and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) as at 30 September each year

	Selby and York PCT
1997	105
1998	113
1999	117
2000	117
2001	128
2002	131
2003	136
2004	136
2005	148

Notes:
1. Data includes all notifications of dentists joining or leaving the CDS or PDS, received by the Dental Practice Board, up to 19 October 2005. Figures for the numbers of dentists at specified dates may vary depending upon the notification period, for example data with a later notification period will include more recent notifications of dentists joining or leaving the GDS or PDS.
2. Dentists include principals, assistants and trainees. Prison contracts have been excluded from the data.
3. The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. PCT areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics All Fields Postcode Directory.
Source:
Dental Practice Board

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effectiveness with which (a) Eastleigh and Test Valley South primary care trust and (b) Hampshire and Isle of Wight strategic health authority has spent funding for improving access, choice and quality in NHS dentistry. [54166]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department has not made an assessment of the effectiveness with which Eastleigh and Test Valley South primary care trust and Hampshire and Isle of Wight strategic health authority has spent funding for improving access, choice and quality in national health service dentistry. It is the
 
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responsibility of local NHS organisations to determine how best to use their resources to meet the needs of their local community.

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on IT for NHS dental services over the last three years in support of (a) Connecting for Health and (b) the National Programme for IT in the NHS; and what future spending is planned over the next three years. [54499]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Expenditure for the first three years of the dental component of the national programme for information technology in the national health service, which is being delivered by NHS Connecting for Health, an agency of the Department, is expected to have totalled around £500,000 by the end of March 2006. Future spending plans are currently under review.

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts are inviting dentists to sign memoranda of agreement instead of contracts. [54504]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Departmental guidance to primary care trusts (PCTs) makes clear that contracts need to be signed by 31 March 2006 to enable dentists to continue providing services from 1 April 2006.

The Department has not received any information from PCTs to indicate that they are seeking to use memoranda of agreement in place of contracts.

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a forecast of the cost to patients of one standard NHS dental filling (a) before and (b) after 1 April 2006. [54506]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Under the existing regulations and statement of dental remuneration, the cost varies between £6.20 and £22.24 for restorative work on a single tooth. This is dependent on the number of surfaces of the tooth involved and the type of material used to restore the tooth.

It is not possible to draw direct comparisons between current national health service dental charges and the new system that is being introduced from 1 April 2006. Current charges are for individual items of treatment, whereas the new charges will be for overall courses of treatment. A course of treatment that includes the restoration of any tooth or number of teeth, irrespective of the number of surfaces, complexity of the filling or the material used, will carry a charge of £42.40. This charge will cover not just the filling but any other treatment provided, together with an examination, diagnosis, for example x-ray, scale and polish, if appropriate, and any oral health advice.

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts are not offering children only NHS contracts to general dental service dentists under the post 1 April 2006 contract. [56613]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 7 March 2006]: The information requested is not held centrally.

Under The National Health Service (General Dental Services Contracts) Regulations 2005 and The National Health Service (Personal Dental Services Agreements) Regulations 2005, dentists will no longer be able to accept children as national health service patients on
 
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condition that their parent or parents agree to private treatment. Where a dentist is currently treating children only under the NHS, it will be for the primary care trust (PCT) to decide whether to allow this to continue.

Where a PCT wishes to commission services from dentists that offer NHS services to both children and adults, and a current dentist is unwilling to provide services on this basis, the PCT will use the funding for that dentist to commission services from other dentists.

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