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5 July 2006 : Column 1230W—continued
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) timetable is and (b) arrangements are for the (i) submission of applications and (ii) consideration of the appointment of the (A) chairperson and (B) members of the board of the new primary care trust covering Thurrock. [79295]
Andy Burnham: The NHS Appointments Commission is the body responsible for the appointment of chairs and non executives (NEDs) to all new primary care trusts—both non-reconfiguring primary care trusts (PCTs) and reconfiguring PCTs.
The final candidate who is being considered for the post of Chair of South West Essex Teaching PCT, which will be the new PCT covering the Thurrock area, will be interviewed on 24 July and the Appointments Commission anticipate that the chair-designate will be appointed at the end of July at a special board meeting of the Commission.
The non-executive director posts have been advertised and applications received. Once the chair-designate is known, the dates for shortlisting and interviewing these candidates can be arranged. The Appointments Commission aim to make the first NED appointments in September.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 May 2006, Official Report, columns 1782-83W, on primary care trusts, what the figures for revenue allocation for primary care trusts in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 represent per head of population across each (i) strategic health authority and (ii) Government region. [80254]
Andy Burnham: Revenue allocations for primary care trusts (PCTs) in 2006-07 and 2007-08 aggregated to strategic health authorities (SHAs) and Government regions and presented per person are shown in the tables.
| Table 1: PCT revenue allocations aggregated to SHAs and presented per person | ||
| £ | ||
| SHA | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| Table 2: PCT revenue allocations per person aggregated to Government regions and presented per person | ||
| £ | ||
| Government region | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
Public Consultations
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which public consultation exercises have resulted in the closure of (a) beds, (b) services and (c) other NHS facilities in each of the last three years; [80729]
(2) how many public consultations the NHS carried out in each of the last 3 years; and what the outcome was in each case. [80730]
Andy Burnham: The information requested is not held centrally.
National health service organisations have a duty to involve and consult patients, the public and their representatives in the planning and development of, and any changes to, the operation of services. NHS bodies are also under a duty to consult overview and scrutiny committees on any plans to make substantial variation to NHS services. Those committees have the powers to refer any proposal to the Secretary of State if they believe the plans are not in the interests of the health service. Currently there are four referrals being considered by the Secretary of State.
Redundancy Arrangements
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether redundancy arrangements for chief executives of primary care NHS trusts and strategic health authorities are published. [79680]
Andy Burnham: There are two documents covering these arrangements:
“Strategic health authority reorganisation: chief executive transitions, ensuring good human resource practice and value for money” is specifically aimed at strategic health authority (SHA) chief executives affected by “Commissioning A Patient-Led NHS” changes and was circulated by the Department to SHAs on 8 May 2006; and
“Standards for implementing good human resource practice and value for money when staff are affected by organisational change” covers all other staff including primary care trust chief executives. This guidance was published on the NHS Employers website on 15 June 2006.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) primary care trusts, (b) NHS trusts and (c) strategic health authorities which make senior managers redundant are able to reclaim some of this cost from central resources. [79681]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There is no central fund to finance the cost of redundancy. National health service organisations have been asked to minimise the cost of severance, and where possible these should be financed from in-year management cost savings. The recurring savings will exceed one-off redundancy costs.
Reproductive Health
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many morning-after pills were sold over the counter in pharmacies in each primary care trust area in each year since 2001, broken down by age of user. [81278]
Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Brent East (Sarah Teather) by the then Minister of State, Department of Health, the right hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Jane Kennedy) on 11 January 2006, Official Report, column 731W.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on how she is carrying out her duty under section 5 of the National Health Service Act 1977 with regard to family planning services. [81283]
Caroline Flint: It is a matter for local primary care trusts (PCTs) to determine what level of contraceptive service it provides, and whom it commissions the services from, in order to meet the needs of its local population.
Improving access to, and persuading people of the benefits of using contraceptive methods to avoid the risk of unplanned pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections is one of the key aims of the Government’s White Paper, “Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier”.
Earlier this year, all PCT sexual health leads were asked to complete a baseline review of contraceptive services to inform locally and nationally gaps in service provision. The Department has so far received responses covering 245 PCTs.
Departmental officials are currently collating these data and will publish best practice guidance for reproductive health services later this year. This will link into the White Paper and highlight findings from the review, share good practice and draw out guidance to support at local and national level the provision of contraceptive services.
To support modernisation of contraceptive services we are investing £40 million (£20 million in each 2006-07 and 2007-08). We have also reduced the rate of value added tax on condoms and emergency hormonal contraception from 1 July to the lowest level of 5 per cent., making the costs of these items more affordable and are working with the industry to increase the supply of free condoms to high-risk groups.
Seasonal Influenza Vaccine
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure sufficient supply of seasonal influenza vaccine for the 2006-07 winter. [80787]
Caroline Flint: Departmental officials meet with the United Kingdom (UK) vaccine industry group each year to discuss flu vaccine requirements for the UK. Information on the supply of vaccine for the forthcoming flu season is detailed in the letter from the Chief Medical Officer to the profession dated 29 June, a copy of which is available on the Department's website at: www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/embroadcast.nsf/vwDiscussionAII/1268E83B317864A28025719C002 E5973.
Copies have been placed in the Library.
Sir David Henshaw
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints the NHS Appointments Commission has received about the appointment of Sir David Henshaw as chair of the North West strategic health authority; and whether they have been forwarded to the Commissioner of Public Appointments. [79007]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The NHS Appointments Commission received four complaints regarding the
appointment of Sir David Henshaw, chair of the North West strategic health authority.
The NHS Appointments Commission is not required to refer complaints to the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Smoking
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of women aged under 30 years who are smokers; what the figure was (a) five years and (b) 10 years ago; and if she will make a statement. [80196]
Caroline Flint: The information is not available in the format requested. However, data on the most recently available estimates of the prevalence of smoking among women in 2004, 1998 and 1994 in each of the age groups 16 to 19, 20 to 24 and 25 to 34 is shown in the table. The figures demonstrate the success of the tobacco control policies the Department has introduced since the White Paper “Smoking Kills” was published in 1998.
| Prevalence of smoking among women by selected age group, Great Britain 1994, 1998 and 2004 | |||||
| Percentage | |||||
| Unweighted | Weighted | Weighted based | Unweighted | ||
| Age | 1994 | 1998 | 2004 | 2004 (thousand) | Sample 2004 |
| Note: 1998 weighted equivalents are: 16 to 19 (32 per cent.); 20 to 24 (39 per cent.); 25 to 34 (33 per cent.) Source: General Household Survey 2004, Office for National Statistics. | |||||
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