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18 Sep 2006 : Column 2493W—continued
| 2003-04 | ||
| Campaign | Date | Advertising cost (£ million) |
Ambulance Services
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulances are employed by the Sussex Ambulance Service; and what projections she has made about the number of ambulances which will be required if Worthing hospital accident and emergency department were to close. [91169]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Care Homes
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes (a) exceeded, (b) met, (c) almost met and (d) failed to meet (i) the national minimum standard for complaints procedures and (ii) Regulation (A) 5 and (B) 6 of the Care Homes Regulations 2001 in 2005-06. [88511]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I am informed by the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that data are collected on how care homes are meeting national minimum standards (NMS). CSCI inspects homes against the NMS to determine compliance with the Care Homes Regulations. Where the NMS are not met, this could indicate a breach of regulations and trigger a proportionate response from CSCI to ensure compliance.
CSCI has a range of enforcement powers it can use against homes that fail to meet the regulations. Ultimately, it can bring about the closure of homes that continually provide poor care.
Care Homes Regulations 5 and 6 set out requirements on information to be provided to people who use care homes. Regulation 22 sets out the requirements for complaints procedures. Compliance with these regulations is enforceable, subject to the following NMS being taken into account.
NMS—Care homes for Older People
Standard 1 (Information)
Standard 2 (Contracts)
Standard 16 (Complaints)
NMS—Care homes for Younger Adults (18-65)
Standard l (Information)
Standard 5 (Contracts)
Standard 22 (Concerns and Complaints)
The following table shows the performance of care homes against the relevant standards in 2005-06.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2006, Official Report, column 1210W, on care homes, where the work of the organisations mentioned overlaps. [88543]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) inspects services against the national minimum standards (NMS) and regulations under the Care Standards Act 2000 and the Care Homes Regulations 2001. There is no overlap of CSCI inspections against these regulations with any other organisation.
However, the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 allows for joint working between CSCI and the Audit Commission and requires that CSCI co-operates and consults with the Healthcare Commission.
The Care Homes Regulations and NMS include requirements relating to the health and safety of residents, staff and visitors. Some of these requirements may complement those in other regulations, for example, those governing fire safety and environmental health inspections. These requirements are clearly set out in guidance under each respective organisation responsible for making inspections.
If there is concern over a particular service, CSCI may plan a joint inspection with another agency. However, inspection against and enforcement of other regulations is the statutory duty of the organisations responsible for them, not CSCI.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes for older people (a) exceeded, (b) met, (c) almost met and (d) failed to meet (i) Standard 12 and (ii) Standard 15 of the National Minimum Standards in 2005-06. [88836]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I understand from the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection that the number of care homes for older people that exceeded, met, almost met and failed to meet Standard 12 and Standard 15 of the National Minimum Standards—Care Homes for Older People in 2005-06, is as shown in the following table.
| 2005-06 | Standard 12—contact and activities | Standard 15—meals and mealtimes |
| Note: The information in the table does not cover all care homes for older people, as not all care homes are inspected against every standard in a given year. | ||
Child Behavioural Problems (Treatment)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the early intervention procedures for children with challenging behavioural problems at Bedfordshire and Luton Community NHS Trust learning disability service. [88024]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: It is for primary care trusts to assess and commission services to meet the needs of the population that they serve.
Choose and Book
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2006, Official Report, column 935W, on the Choose and Book system, what budget has been set to cover the administrative costs of the (a) Choose and Book, (b) Choice and (c) whole direct enhanced service system for (i) its introduction and (ii) each projected year it is planned to operate; [75198]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2006, Official Report, column 634W, on the Choose and Book system, what central departmental budget has been set for the (a) Choice and (b) Choose and Book expected costs (i) for administrative and other staff, (ii) incurred
by consultants and acute trusts, (iii) for other computer software and hardware not directly associated with the NHS Connecting for Health Agency and (iv) for other administrative infrastructure for each year the programme is budgeted to operate. [85217]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: No such budgets have been set by the Department. The setting of local budgets for the administration of Choose and Book, Choice and the direct enhanced service system is a matter for local decision making.
Colchester General Hospital
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to fund the planned expansion of Colchester general hospital; and if she will make a statement. [90996]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 13 September 2006]: Essex Rivers Hospital NHS Trust Board considered revised proposals for the development of the Colchester general hospital site when it met on 11 September. The Department has not yet been approached by the Trust with any revised plans.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hon. Members have made representations to her about the decision not to proceed with the proposed private finance initiative expansion of Colchester general hospital. [90997]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 13 September 2006]: Representations have been received from the hon. Member for Colchester in the form of parliamentary questions.
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