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4 July 2006 : Column 988W—continued
NHS IT Programme
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 16 May 2006, on the NHS IT programme, what estimate she has made of total expenditure by NHS trusts on the programme to date. [75251]
Caroline Flint: Total information management and technology (IM&T) expenditure reported by the national health service in the last year for which figures are available (2004-05) amounted to about £1.2 billion. As well as supporting local implementation of the national programme for information technology (IT), NHS spending covers IT requirements such as staff management and finance systems. However, figures for expenditure on implementing the national programme, separate from the totality of NHS spending on IM&T, are not collected centrally.
NHS Staff
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS staff have been made redundant in 2006-07 to date, broken down by category of staff. [78356]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
Patient Transport
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cancer patients received (a) full and (b) partial help with travel and parking costs through the hospital travel costs scheme during the last year for which figures are available. [80502]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect figures on the numbers of any type of patient who receive help through the hospital travel costs scheme. It is for primary care trusts, as local commissioners of services, to make provisions so that patients with either a financial or medical need for transport can travel to and from their treatment or care.
Referrals
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many referrals were made by general practitioners through (a) the directly bookable service, (b) the indirectly bookable service and (c) all means in each month since December 2005. [74068]
Caroline Flint: The data requested are shown in the table.
| Directly bookable | Indirectly bookable | Total bookings | |
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her oral statement of 7 June 2006, Official Report, column 264, on NHS performance, what assessment she has made of where responsibility lies for the deficit of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust. [82533]
Caroline Flint: It is for the NHS South West to make any such assessment, and take the necessary action in co-operation with the local national health service. The Secretary of State for Health was advised by KPMG as part of the initial assessment for turnaround in February 2006 that Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust was a category one organisation and would thus require immediate support to deliver a turnaround.
School Meals
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent assessment she has made of the amount of transfatty acids in school meals; and what steps she is taking to reduce it; [81157]
(2) what the recommended maximum level is of trans fatty acids in the national school meal guidelines. [81158]
Mr. Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
The School Meals Review Panel considered the need for a specific standard for trans fatty acids to be included within their proposals, and concluded against imposing a specific standard for the following reasons:
Evidence shows that adult intakes of trans fatty acids are well below the maximum threshold level for health;
Adopting a standard to limit the fat content of school meals would contribute towards controlling levels of trans fatty acids; and
Food-based standards would include restrictions on foods which tend to be higher in trans fatty acids (for example savoury snacks and confectionery).
The School Food Trust supported the panel's view that their proposals would sufficiently control trans fatty acids, and that there was no need to develop a specific standard for trans fatty acids which had the potential to complicate the new standards unnecessarily, making it more difficult for schools and local authorities to implement.
Seat Belts
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the (a) annual savings and (b) total saving to date to the national health service by (i) front and (ii) rear seat belt wearing being made compulsory; and if she will make a statement. [81281]
Caroline Flint: The Government do not have estimates on the savings to the national health service due to wearing of front and rear seat belts. Over 2,000 road fatalities are, however, estimated to be prevented every year by the use of seat belts.
Short Break Provision (Surrey)
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much was spent on short break provision in Surrey in the last year for which figures are available; and how many hours break this provided; [82446]
(2) how many hours’ short break service, on average, were provided in respect of people with a learning disability in Surrey who received the care component of disability living allowance at the (a) highest, (b) middle and (c) lowest rate in the last period for which figures are available; [82447]
(3) how many (a) carers of people with a learning disability, (b) children with a learning disability and (c) adults with a learning disability in Surrey receive a short break service. [82448]
Caroline Flint: This information is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of local commissioners to ensure appropriate provision of services to meet their community’s needs.
Teenage Pregnancy
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate of teenage pregnancy was in Lancashire in each year since 1997. [81766]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 4 July 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the rate of teenage pregnancy was in Lancashire in each year since 1997. (81766)
Available figures are estimates of the number of pregnancies that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or termination.
Teenage conception numbers and rates in Lancashire County from 1991 to 2004 (the most recent year for which figures are available) are given in the table below. Figures for 2004 are provisional.
| Teenage conceptions: numbers and rates for Lancashire county, 1997-2004 | ||
| Number | Rate( 1) | |
| (1) Rate per 1,000 women aged 15 to 17. (2) Provisional. | ||
Tetanus
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the supply of human tetanus immunoglobulin for prophylactic use. [80302]
Caroline Flint: Reserve supplies of human tetanus immunoglobulin are available for the treatment of those people with tetanus.
Manufacturers have confirmed that sufficient supplies to treat tetanus-prone wounds, where clinically indicated, will be available by mid-July 2006. We have provided clinical advice on the management of tetanus-prone wounds if hospitals do not have adequate supplies of human tetanus immunoglobulin.
Water
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been conducted into the health effects of (a) tap water and (b) bottled mineral water. [75549]
Caroline Flint: The Government are responsible for implementing and enforcing safety limits for tap water and all types of bottled water.
The safety of drinking water is of such importance to public health that the underpinning science is kept under continuous review. The World Health Organisation (WHO) manages a global process of rolling revision of drinking water guidelines on behalf of the water and health regulators in all countries. All countries contribute knowledge based on published peer reviewed studies and on data from their national research programmes.
On behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the drinking water inspectorate manages the national drinking water quality and health research programme. Executive summaries of all research reports since 1997 are published on the Foundation for Water Research's website at: www.fwr.org, where details can be found of how to obtain copies of the full reports. This website also provides access to other relevant research reports being undertaken in Europe.
The safety standards for natural mineral water and other bottled waters are laid down in European directives. These standards are set taking account of studies reviewed by WHO and the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority.
Wound Care
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much was spent by the NHS on branded wound care products in 2005; and what research her Department has undertaken into the purchase of non-branded products; [71586]
(2) if she will introduce a centralised procurement policy for wound care products. [72761]
Andy Burnham: The national health service spend on branded wound care products through NHS Logistics and prescriptions sent to the Prescription Pricing Authority was £171,132,847 for 2005.
Branded has been interpreted to mean as where product descriptions clearly identify a specific manufacturer and brand of product.
No research has taken place within the Department into the procurement of non-branded products. As part of the procurement process for procurement of products through NHS Logistics, use of clinical staff and product testing is incorporated to ensure that, where appropriate, rationalised product ranges on agreements provide the NHS with value for money.
The Department's policy on the procurement of goods and services in or on behalf of the NHS is based on value for money with due regard to propriety and regularity and ensuring full compliance with the European Union procurement directive and other regularity requirements.
All wound care products spend through NHS Logistics are purchased via national framework agreements where detailed product specification has been placed following discussions with clinical staff.
Treasury
Causes of Death
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) males and (b) females aged (i) 14 to 16, (ii) 17 to 21, (iii) 22 to 24, (iv) 25 to 30, (v) 31 to 35 and (vi) 36 to 40 years died as a result of (A) road traffic accidents, (B) suicide, (C) sexually transmitted diseases, (D) drug misuse, (E) alcohol misuse and (F) murder/manslaughter in (1) Southend-on-Sea, (2) Essex, (3) Hertfordshire, (4) the Metropolitan police area of London, (5) the City of London police area and (6) England and Wales in each year since 1986. [81241]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 4 July 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) males and (b) females aged (i) 14 to 16, (ii) 17 to 21, (iii) 22 to 24, (iv) 25 to 30, (v) 31 to 35 and (vi) 36 to 40 years died as a result of (A) road traffic accidents, (B) suicide, (C) sexually transmitted diseases, (D) drug misuse, (E) alcohol misuse and (F) murder/manslaughter in (1) Southend-on-Sea, (2) Essex, (3) Hertfordshire, (4) the Metropolitan Police area of London, (5) the City of London Police area and (6) England and Wales in each year since 1986.
ONS routinely publishes numbers of deaths for causes which may be sexually transmitted, such as HIV or Hepatitis B infection. Information is not however normally available from the death certificate on the actual method of transmission for deaths from these causes and so figures for sexually transmitted diseases cannot be provided. Mortality data are not available for Police Areas, therefore we have provided figures for the London borough of City of London and for London Government Office Region.
The most recently available information is for deaths registered in 2005. Figures for deaths in males and females aged 14 to 40 years for land transport accidents, suicide or injury/poisoning of undetermined intent, alcohol-related causes, and assault are shown in the attached tables for each year from 1988 to 2005. I am placing copies of these tables in the House of Commons Library. Data for 1986 and 1987 are not available for area boundaries that are consistent with subsequent years and have not therefore been provided. Figures for drug misuse are only available from a special database containing deaths occurring from 1993-2004.
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