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9 Mar 2006 : Column 1773W—continued
Psychiatric Secure Accommodation
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients detained under the Mental Health and Criminal Justice Acts have absconded from psychiatric secure units over the past 10 years; and how many such absconsions there have been from the Butler Clinic, Langdon hospital, Dawlish. [54838]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not routinely collect information about absconsions from secure psychiatric units. Information has, however, been obtained in respect of the Butler Clinic, which shows that over the last three years, the period for which accurate information is readily available, 13 patients who were detained under mental health legislation, including those detained under mental health legislation following contact with the Criminal Justice System, were absent from the clinic without agreement. Only one of these patients breached the security of the clinic. The other patient absences related to service users failing to return at the agreed time or failing to return from agreed leave.
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the classifications are of psychiatric secure units within the national health service; and what the classification is of the Butler Clinic, Langdon hospital, Dawlish, South Devon. [54839]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Secure psychiatric units within the national health service are commonly classified as being high secure, medium secure or low secure. NHS trusts providing high secure psychiatric services have to be approved for that purpose by the Secretary of State. In security terms, high secure psychiatric facilities are expected to equate to category B prison standards. The Butler Clinic is classified as a medium secure psychiatric unit. A Design Guide for medium secure psychiatric units was published in 1993.
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Raw Milk Products
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the Government's policy is on the labelling of raw milk products at retail level; [56072]
(2) what the outcome was of the Government's consultation on the consolidation of EU food hygiene legislation in respect of the labelling of raw milk cheese. [56158]
Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency takes the view that raw milk products, including raw milk cheese, should be labelled in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 853/2004. The European Commission has issued guidance about this new hygiene legislation, which explains that raw milk products should be labelled made with raw milk at the point of retail sale in order that consumers can make informed choices.
When stakeholders were asked whether the regulation requires raw milk products to be labelled made with raw milk at retail level, there was no consensus. There was, however, a body of opinion that expressed the view that raw milk products should be so labelled to allow consumers to choose.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment her Department has made of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's latest recommendations on the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus for premature babies; and if she will publish those recommendations; [54811]
(2) whether she has concluded her review of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's latest estimate of the number of babies that should receive preventative treatment for respiratory syncytial virus; and if she will publish that estimate. [54812]
Caroline Flint: A summary of the evidence reviewed by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and estimates of the number of babies that this treatment would be recommended for will be made available on the JCVI website shortly.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that primary care trusts take a pro-active approach in preventing respiratory syncytial virus from infecting premature babies. [55267]
Caroline Flint: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for the management of services and for specifying the level and quality of services provided. PCTs will in turn be held to account for their performance by the strategic health authority.
Sexual Health
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the provision of sexual health services in Hampshire. [54218]
Caroline Flint:
It is for strategic health authorities and primary care trusts to determine how services are provided within their area.
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Data for 2004 for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, contraception and abortion are available from the following websites.
www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/contraceng2005/sb0506.pdf/file (NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre) www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/ll/75/74/04117574.pdf (Department of Health)
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if the £300 million made available for improving sexual health services in 2006–07 and 2007–08 through the Choosing Health White Paper will be ring-fenced; how the spending will be tracked; and if she will make a statement; [54220]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2005, Official Report, column 263W, on genito-urinary clinics, what steps she is taking to ensure that the additional investment of £130 million goes directly towards improving genito-urinary services and infrastructure in 2006–07 and 2007–08. [54497]
Caroline Flint: It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations. PCTs and strategic health authorities (SHAs) will receive funding for implementing the targets in the White Paper Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier" in their mainstream allocations and we will be monitoring the outcomes through the local delivery plan data lines from this investment. The revenue allocations separately identify funding to support the implementation of Choosing Health. This funding is not ring-fenced. A copy of the White Paper is available in the Library.
Sexual health is one of the top six priorities for the national health service in 2006–07. In particular, by 2008 everyone should be offered an appointment within 48 hours of contacting a genito-urinary medicine clinic. SHAs have submitted plans to meet this target. This increased priority for sexual health should significantly strengthen the incentive for local investment and service modernisation.
In addition, a letter has been sent to SHA chief executives highlighting that when considering any savings from implementing Commissioning a patient led NHS" savings should not be identified from those posts working on implementation of choosing health. This includes posts in frontline services.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when her Department expects to publish its planned magazine for young people addressing sexual health issues. [55466]
Caroline Flint:
We regularly convey our messages to young people on the issue of sexual health via a broad range of publications. Through Dr. Foster Publishing we regularly publish titles such as Your Life! and FIT, which target younger men and women with a host of messages, across a range of health issues including sexual health. These free publications, available from general practitioner surgeries, genitor-urinary medicine clinics and other national health service access points, enable us to deliver key messages in an engaging and relevant way.
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In addition, ongoing public relations activity on both sexual health and teenage pregnancy targets publications aimed at young people from 13 to 30 with information to help them to make healthier sexual health choices. However, there are no plans to publish a magazine specifically addressing sexual health.
Smoking
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice the Government received from the Better Regulation Task Force on restriction of smoking in workplaces. [27343]
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library a copy of (a) the Better Regulation Task Force's (BRTF) response to theproposed regulations and exemptions relating to the smoking ban set out in the Health Bill and (b) other written comments made by the BRTF on the Bill. [32160]
Caroline Flint: The Government took into account advice from the better regulation task force (BRTF) in deciding on the smokefree provisions of the Health Bill.
The BRTF is an independent body, set up to advise Government on action to ensure that regulation and its enforcement comply with the five principles of good regulation. The Government, through the Cabinet Office, sponsors the BRTF but does not speak for it.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths have been caused by smoking-related illnesses in each of the last five years. [53878]
Caroline Flint: These figures are not collected annually.
For the latest available data, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 14 February 2006, Official Report, column 2028W.
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