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13 Mar 2006 : Column 2018W—continued

Herceptin

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the annual cost of providing Herceptin on the NHS to women whose consultants recommend it; and if she will make a statement. [55800]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The cost of treating a patient with the drug Herceptin is expected to be in the region of £20,000 a year.

It is estimated that it would cost the NHS around £100 million a year if everyone who could benefit from it received a one-year course of Herceptin.

Hospices (Peterborough)

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what public funding has been provided to hospices in the Greater Peterborough area in each year since 1997; [54826]

(2) what the total funding for children's hospices and children's palliative care was in (a) the Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire strategic health authority area and (b) the Greater Peterborough area in each of the last five years. [54908]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for ensuring that services are provided to meet the needs of their local populations, including palliative care and hospice services. In the current financial year, PCTs in the Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire strategic health authority area have received revenue allocations totalling £2.2 billion. By 2007–08, this will have increased to £2.9 billion.

Hospital Closures

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals in England closed in (a) 2001, (b) 2003 and (c) 2005. [50097]

Jane Kennedy: Information on the number of hospital site closures is not held centrally.

Hospital Treatment

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients who attended hospitals in the Liverpool area in 2004–05 visited the hospital for treatment more than three times in that year. [56978]

Mr. Byrne: In 2004–05, 7,086 patients who attended hospitals in the Liverpool area had more than three finished admission episodes.
 
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Influenza

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has taken a decision on stockpiling (a) gloves and (b) face masks for use in the event of an influenza pandemic. [57659]

Ms Rosie Winterton: We have recommended the use of face masks for healthcare professionals who would be working closely with infected patients. Stock levels of masks and protective clothing, such as gloves, normally available in the NHS and its supply chain are also being reviewed. Supplies of essential material will be increased if mathematical modelling indicates that this is necessary.

The Chief Medical Officer commissioned the Health Protection Agency to review the scientific evidence for the use of facemasks by the public during an influenza pandemic. This review did not find any clear evidence that such a policy would be of benefit. However, as with all policies relating to pandemic influenza, the evidence is regularly reviewed.

Local Authority Social Services Departments

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had in the past six months with the Deputy Prime Minister on (a) the financial position of local authority social services departments and (b) their relationship with NHS organisations. [52490]

Mr. Byrne: In preparing for the local government finance settlement in December 2005, the Department worked closely with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to agree the final level of adults' social care grants that will be allocated to councils during 2006–08. Prior to this settlement, the two departments collaborated to develop new allocation formulae for both the younger adults' and older people's client groups. These will be used by ODPM to allocate the overall formula grant, and by the Department to allocate the majority of its adults' social care grants.

The Department sets the overall policy for adults' social care. Councils have the flexibility to manage their resources according to local priorities. This will include local decisions about joint working with health partners. The announcement of a two-year financial settlement for local government, with a commitment to allocate resources on a three-year basis from 2008–09, will align local authority and national health service budget cycles.

The two departments will work to establish priorities for improved ways of working at the health and social care interface as part of the preparations for the 2007 comprehensive spending review.

Media Training

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by her Department on media training in each year since 1997–98. [55209]

Mr. Byrne: To date in the 2005–06 financial year, the Department's communications directorate has spent £14,458.96 on media training.
 
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Training is provided to senior officials on an ad hoc basis. No central records of media training has been kept for this or previous years.

Mental Health

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on the future role for the independent sector in the provision of mental health facilities. [55363]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The NHS receives vital support from the independent sector in delivering mental health services, improving access to these and in reducing waiting times, for example, in providing medium secure facilities and in specialist eating disorder services, and we have no plans to change this.

The independent sector, through the private finance initiative scheme (PFI), is helping to deliver the biggest hospital building programme, including mental health facilities, in the history of the NHS, replacing old and outmoded buildings with ones fit for the 21st Century. New or improved mental health facilities are among the 140 new hospital schemes worth £19.1 billion, which are in progress and are counting towards the NHS Plan target of having 100 new hospital schemes open by 2010.

The responsibility for planning and developing NHS health services which meet the needs of local communities, including mental health services, rests with primary care trusts and their strategic health authorities. We will continue to support the commissioning of independent sector services by the NHS where this delivers clear benefits for NHS patients and where it represents value for money for the taxpayer.

MHRA

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the performance of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. [57644]

Jane Kennedy: I am aware that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) performance regarding licence and variation approval times during the last nine months has been affected by a combination of adverse factors including increases in workload, difficulties in recruiting professional assessment staff, especially medically-qualified staff, and transitional implementation problems during the introduction of a new information management system. Though statistics for the full year 2005–06 are not yet available, it is likely that some of the target assessment times given in the published performance targets will not be met.

The MHRA is taking a number of steps to improve service levels. These include organisational restructuring, additional recruitment, re-training of staff, voluntary schemes for extended working hours, and information system performance enhancements. The MHRA is working closely with the industry to improve its performance and I will be asking for regular updates on progress.
 
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Mr. John Jesky

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will investigate (a) the appointment by the north-west strategic health authority (SHA) of Mr. John Jesky as interim chairman of the Pennine Acute Trust and (b) the role in this appointment of the chairman of the SHA. [57257]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 9 March 2006]: Since 1 April 2001, the Secretary of State has delegated appointments functions relating to the appointment of chairs and non-executive members of national health service trusts, health authorities and primary care trusts to the NHS Appointments Commission. All non-executive appointments to the boards of these bodies are now made by the commission rather than by the Secretary of State.

John Jesky was appointed by the NHS Appointments Commission on 1 March 2006 as chair of the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust for a period of up to six months, pending the successful completion of the current open competition to recruit a substantive chair.
 
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The appointment was made following consultation between the Chairman of the Greater Manchester strategic health authority, and the NHS Appointments Commission's regional commissioner for the north west.

This kind of short-term appointment is common practice following the resignation of a chair, to allow time for an open competition and a substantive appointment to be made.

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