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20 July 2006 : Column 660W—continued
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many foreign nationals married to an EEA or Swiss national have applied for full registration as dentists in the UK since 2004. [87046]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not held by the Department. The General Dental Council is responsible for the registration of dentists who wish to practice in the United Kingdom.
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why different rules apply to the spouses of EEA/Swiss nationals applying for full registration as dentists in the UK from those that apply to spouses of UK citizens. [87048]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The General Dental Council, which is responsible for the registration of dentists practising in the United Kingdom, is bound by the provisions of European Union (EU) sectoral directive on dentistry, which governs recognition of dental qualifications. As with the directives relating to other professions, the intention is to facilitate the movement of professionals within Europe. Where an EU national and his or her spouse (who is not originally from the EEA) move between member states, the directive provides for an assessment as to whether the spouse’s professional qualifications can be considered equivalent to a European qualification. EU law does not, however, allow such an assessment if they remain in the country in which they normally reside. A non-EEA national can still obtain full registration in the UK through the General Dental Council’s international qualifying examination.
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of (a) children and (b) adults are registered with an NHS dentist in (i) Kingston and Surbiton, (ii) South West London and (iii) London. [85411]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The table shows the estimated percentage of children and adults registered with a national health service dentist in the specified areas as at 31 March 2006.
| Percentage | |||
| Adults | Child | Total | |
Patient registration was part of the remuneration arrangements under the former system of general dental services up to 31 March 2006. Under the new system, the concept of registration no longer forms part of the remuneration system. The Department is therefore introducing a comparable means of monitoring the number of patients covered by NHS dental services, but the transition to the new arrangements has meant that it will be some months before the new measure is available.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has (a) initiated and (b) evaluated on the reasons for the change in the level of (i) NHS denture work, (ii) NHS chrome work, (iii) NHS bonded chrome work, (iv) NHS veneer work and (v) NHS non-precious metal crown work since the implementation of the new dental contracts; and if she will make a statement. [85973]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect routine information on the quantity or type of dental appliances supplied but will be assessing, in conjunction with the implementation review group, the impact of the new contractual arrangements on this and other aspects of the services provided to national health service patients. It is for individual dentists working under general dental services contracts or personal dental services agreements to use their clinical judgement to determine the type and quality of any dental appliance required.
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists have had their superannuation contributions (a) discontinued and (b) curtailed by their primary care trust in (i) England and (ii) Enfield since 31 March 2006. [85888]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are not involved in calculating the superannuation contributions of dentists. Dental providers give details of superannuable pay for each of their dental performers to PCTs and the PCT then enters the relevant details onto the NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) payment systems. The BSA then deducts the superannuation amounts from the monthly payments to dental providers.
DXA Scanners
John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps her Department is taking to provide revenue support for the introduction of new DXA scanning machines purchased with the fund allocated from the centrally held revenue budget; [85585]
(2) whether the budget allocated for the purchase of new DXA scanners is (a) available for capital expenditure only and (b) a ring-fenced fund; [85586]
(3) which strategic health authorities (a) have received and (b) will receive funding from the fund allocated from the centrally held revenue budget for the purchase of new DXA scanners; [85587]
(4) what proportion of the budget allocated for the purchase of new DXA scanners in 2006-07 and 2007-08 has been spent. [85588]
Andy Burnham: The Department allocated £3 million revenue (£214,000 each), on a non-recurrent basis in 2005-06, to 14 strategic health authorities (SHAs). Analyses by the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) in 2005 identified these SHAs, as listed as follows, as having the least available dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanning capacity. The funding was allocated for the purchase of DXA scans, rather than DXA scanning equipment. Scans were mainly to be purchased from independent sector (IS) providers, but also from national health service providers where this represented better value for money. Expenditure against these allocations has not been monitored centrally, but it will be subject to audit.
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
Birmingham and the Black Country
Cheshire and Merseyside
Cumbria and Lancashire
Greater Manchester
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire
South West Peninsula
Surrey and Sussex
Thames Valley
West Midlands South
West Yorkshire
Capital funding of £17 million has been made available in 2006-07 and 2007-08 to improve NHS capacity through investment in new DXA scanning equipment. This additional funding was mainly included in the overall strategic capital allocation to SHAs and is not ring-fenced. The Department does not monitor how SHAs’ strategic capital is spent.
Primary care trusts (PCTs) were informed of their revenue allocations up to 2007-08 on 9 February 2005. The 2006-07 and 2007-08 revenue allocations represent a £135 billion investment in the NHS, £64 billion to PCTs in 2006-07 and £70 billion in 2007-08. The Department has no plans to make additional recurrent funding available to PCTs to cover the running costs of DXA scanners.
Gender Dysphoria
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2006, Official Report, column 1220W, on gender dysphoria, what the locations are of centres providing gender reassignment surgery that have treated NHS patients. [85227]
Ms Rosie Winterton: In survey of specialised services commissioners conducted in October 2004, the following national health service trusts and private units provided gender dysphoria surgery:
Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust (Charing Cross Hospital);
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust;
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust;
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh NHS Trust;
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (Leicester General Infirmary);
The Hove Nuffield; and
The Sussex Nuffield;
University College London Hospitals NHS Trust; and
The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth.
Health Expenditure
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the amount spent on the NHS (a) in the UK and (b) in Gloucestershire was in each year since 1978. [74166]
Andy Burnham: The table shows total England net expenditure over the time frame requested and also a shorter time series of information for Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire strategic health authority (SHA) area, now part of the South West SHA. Data for 1998-99 to 2004-05, are the earliest and latest years for which information is available.
Information for other countries in the United Kingdom can be obtained from the relevant devolved administrations.
It is not possible to provide data for Gloucestershire as this does not correspond to any current specific health body area. Information in the table relates to revenue expenditure by all relevant health authorities, SHAs and primary care trusts (PCTs) within the current Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA area.
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