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22 May 2006 : Column 1580W—continued
Nursing
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on agency nurses by (a) the Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust and (b) St. Helier Hospital in each year since 1997. [71325]
Caroline Flint: The data requested are collected at trust level. Details on agency nursing spend figures for the Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals National Health Service Trust is shown in the table.
| Agency nurse spends | ||
| £ | ||
| Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust | Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust | |
Obesity
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the levels of obesity in (a) children and (b) adults were in each year since 1997. [71383]
Caroline Flint: The main source of data on the prevalence of obesity is the Health Survey for England (HSE). Table one and two present the most recent available data on the prevalence of obesity in children and adults, between 1997 and 2004.
Table one refers to the obesity prevalence among children aged two to 15 and table two reports the obesity prevalence among adults aged 16 and over.
| Table 1: Prevalence of obesity among children( 1) , by gender, England 1997 to 2004( 2) | |||||
| Percentage | |||||
| Survey Years | |||||
| Body mass index status | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
| Survey Year | |||||
| Body mass index status | 2002 | 2003 (unweighted) | 2004 unweighted) | 2003 (weighted) | 2004 (weighted) |
| Notes: 1. Children aged 2 to 15 2. From 2003 data is weighted for non response. Data weighted for child selection only are provided for consistency with previous years Source: Health Survey for England 2004. Updating of trend tables to include 2004 data. The Information Centre for health and social care. |
| Table 2: Prevalence of obesity among adults( 1) , by gender, England 1997 to 2004( 2) | |||||
| Percentage | |||||
| Survey year | |||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
| 2002 | 2003 (unweighted) | 2004 (unweighted) | 2003 (weighted) | 2004 (weighted) | |
| Notes: 1. Adults aged 16 and over 2. From 2003 data is weighted. Unweighted data for 2003 and 2004 are provided to show the effect of weighting Source: Health Survey for England 2003. The Department of Health Health Survey for England 2004. The Information Centre for health and social care |
Older People's Care
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the degree of independence older people have living (a) in a care home and (b) in their own home. [70131]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information needed to make this assessment is not held centrally. The Government's policy is to support people to live in their own homes, as long as it is safe to do so and accords with their wishes and assessed needs.
The White Paper, ‘Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services’, was published on Monday 30 January 2006. The White Paper sets out a new direction for improving the health and well-being of the population and focuses on a strategic shift to locate more services in local communities that are closer to people's homes. It is the product of two consultations; the adult social care Green Paper, ‘Independence, Well-being and Choice’, published in March 2005 and the listening exercise, ‘Your health, your care, your say’, which took place between September and November 2005.
The Green Paper, which is available in the Library, sets out our vision for the future of social care. It was followed by a wide-ranging consultation, involving people who use services, carers, stakeholders and the general public. The total number of people directly involved in the consultation is estimated to have been 100,000. The results, published in October 2005, are available in the Library and show that over three quarters of people wish to live in their own homes, with help, such as adaptations to properties, assistive technology and domiciliary care services being provided if necessary.
Packaged Food
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress she has made in reducing the (a) salt, (b) fat and (c) sugar content of packaged foods. [71440]
Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Department, working with the food industry, have made significant progress towards reducing the salt content of foods. Voluntary targets for salt reduction were published in March 2006 which will achieve real reductions in consumers intakes, while also being challenging for the industry. Scope for further reductions will be considered in 2008 to ensure continued progress towards the Government's target of a maximum population average intake of six grams of salt a day.
The FSA and the Department are currently in discussion with stakeholders to develop a strategy for reducing levels of saturated fat in packaged foods, and to help consumers maintain energy balance.
Patient/Public Involvement
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of patients forums have resigned since 1 December 2003; and what percentage turnover in membership this represents. [71544]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 17 May 2006]: The commission for patient and public involvement in health has only collected figures since November 2004. From November 2004 to date, 2,710 patient forum members have resigned and have subsequently been replaced. At May 2006, there are currently 4,353 forum members. This represents a 62 per cent. turnover.
Perfluorooctane Sulphonate
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance (a) her Department and (b) the Health Protection Agency has issued on the use of perfluorooctane sulphonate to tackle fires. [70731]
Caroline Flint: Neither the Department nor the Health Protection Agency has issued advice on the use of perfluorooctane sulphonate in tackling fires.
PFOS was used as an ingredient in two particular fire fighting foam concentrate ranges up until 2003 when production by the main manufacturer ceased following the evidence to suggest that it is harmful to both the environment and humans. I understand from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that the stocks of foams based on PFOS are diminishing but it is likely that some fire and rescue services do still hold some stocks. NCI Director's Consumer Liaison Group, jointly with the Environment Agency, will shortly be issuing guidance to the fire and rescue services requesting them to no longer use PFOS based foams and instead to consider the use of alternatives once they are satisfied the performance of these alternatives meets their needs.
Physiotherapy
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of places on physiotherapy courses in universities to meet the number of vacancies within the profession;
and what recent discussions she has had on filling such vacancies with (a) careers advisers and (b) educational establishments. [68292]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department collects information on the number of university places commissioned by the national health service for physiotherapy students. This is used by the NHS work force review team as part of their analysis of and recommendations on future work force requirements. The commissioning for these programmes is the responsibility of local NHS organisations, who consider a range of local factors including vacancies, resources and the NHS work force review team’s recommendations.
Discussions with careers advisers and educational establishments are held at local level between NHS organisations, their physiotherapy service managers and higher education institution representatives.
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