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1 Nov 2006 : Column 491W—continued
Evaluation of the impact of the national service framework.
The policy research programme is also putting about £1.7 million into funding a number of other related research projects on telecare systems for managing long-term conditions.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a guideline on the diagnosis and management of Parkinson’s disease in primary and secondary care in June 2006. NICE estimated that there are between four and 20 new cases each year for every 100,000 of the general population, and that between 100 and 180 people in every 100,000 are affected. According to the Parkinson’s Disease Society, men are statistically slightly more likely to develop the disease than women.
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library the detailed assumptions and calculations for the 2005-06 recurrent revenue allocations for primary care trusts in (a) Northumberland Tyne and Wear and (b) Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority. [96463]
Andy Burnham: Detailed information about 2005-06 primary care trust (PCT) allocations is provided in the 2003-04 to 2005-06 PCT revenue resource limits exposition book, which is available in the Library and at www.dh.gov.uk/allocations.
Physiotherapy
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many physiotherapist posts within the NHS have been withdrawn in the last two years. [98797]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
Sleep Apnoea
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice she has issued to NHS trusts on the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea, with particular reference to the provision of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure equipment; [96944]
(2) which NHS trusts do not provide the equipment needed to treat patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea; and if she will make a statement; [96943]
(3) what assistance is available to NHS patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea whose local NHS trust does not provide Continuous Positive Airway Pressure equipment for treatment. [96945]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The national health service funds the clinical knowledge summaries (CKS) service, an up-to-date source of clinical knowledge that can help healthcare professionals—and patients—in managing the common conditions generally seen in primary and first-contact care.
Guidance includes suggested alternative diagnoses, where appropriate, and the guideline on insomnia therefore recommends that sleep apnoea is considered as a possible cause of poor or disturbed sleep.
On 24 November 2005 my right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Jane Kennedy) announced to the House that she had asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to consult on the remit and scope of a technology appraisal for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for sleep apnoea.
It is for health professionals to commission services from suitable providers of health care for their local population, taking account of current and forecast needs of their populations and in consultation with stakeholders.
People with obstructive sleep apnoea can benefit from a range of services and clinical advice on, for example, weight loss and the use of tobacco and alcohol, as well as CPAP where necessary.
Surrey Primary Care Trust
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received on (a) current and (b) future funding levels for Surrey Primary Care Trust; and if she will make a statement. [94997]
Andy Burnham: Due to the way data are collected, the Department is unable to provide the number of letters received in relation to current and future funding levels for Surrey Primary Care Trust (PCT)
Revenue allocations are made to PCTs on the basis of a fair funding formula that directs funding to those areas of greatest need. To ensure equity in resource allocation, the development of the formula is kept under continuous review by the advisory committee on resource allocation (ACRA).
Tuberculosis
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans are in place for rapid and accurate diagnosis and contact tracing for cases of extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis in the UK; [96093]
(2) if she will issue new guidance to the NHS on diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in response to the emergence of extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis. [96094]
Caroline Flint: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published its clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of tuberculosis, and measures for its prevention and control, in March 2006.
The guideline includes specific recommendations on the treatment of all forms of drug resistant tuberculosis, recommendations on diagnosis for cases of suspected tuberculosis infection, and contact tracing for all diagnosed cases of tuberculosis. The NICE guideline also recommends that if a risk assessment suggests a patient has multiple drug resistant (MDR) TB, rapid diagnostic tests should be conducted for antibiotic resistance.
The NICE clinical guideline is available at:
http://www.nice.org.uk/paqe.aspx?o=297929
Worthing Hospital
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were admitted to Worthing hospital paediatric department in each of the last three years. [93351]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is only held at Trust level. The following table shows the count of finished admission episodes of paediatric cases for Worthing and Southlands Hospitals National Health Service Trust for 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05
| Finished admission episodes | |
| Notes: Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. Specialty Care is needed when analysing hospital episode statistics (HES) data by specialty, or by groups of specialties, such as acute. Trusts have different ways of managing specialties and attributing codes so it is better to analyse by specific diagnoses, operations or other recorded information. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, i.e. the data are ungrossed. Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. Whilst this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: HES, The Information Centre for health and social care. | |
Home Department
Prisons
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of measures to prevent prisoners from absconding from open prisons. [95433]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Public safety is paramount, and despite the current population pressures I can provide assurance it will not be compromised. The requirement for prisoners to pass a robust and rigorous risk assessment to qualify for open conditions is the most effective way of ensuring this.
Animal Experiments
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with scientific bodies on alterative methods of research to bring about a reduction in the number of primates used in experiments; and if he will make a statement. [97508]
Joan Ryan:
Non-human primates are afforded special protection under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and there are stringent requirements regarding their use for experimental and other scientific purposes. The Act provides that
non-human primates can only be used when animals of no other species are suitable for the purposes of the programme specified in the licence, or that it is not practicable to obtain animals of any other species that are suitable for those purposes.
In addition to discussions with individual users and consideration of advice arising from the broadly-based independent Animal Procedures Committee, within the UK we have an ongoing dialogue with professional bodies, funding bodies, regulators, animal welfare groups, the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) and others to discuss all aspects of replacement, reduction and refinement.
Internationally we are represented on the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) Scientific Advisory Board; we have co-sponsored the 4th and 5th World Congress on Alternatives, and are involved in the organisation of the 6th World Congress; and we are represented on the European Standards Organisation (CEN) and the International Standards Organisation (ISO) technical committees concerned with setting the animal welfare standards to be implemented within ISO testing programmes.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the objectives of his Department will be during the review of European Directive 86/609 on animal experimentation. [98337]
Joan Ryan [holding answer 30 October 2006]: Our principal objective during the review of European Directive 86/609/EEC on the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes will be to ensure that any revised directive provides for the efficient and effective regulation of animal experimentation that properly balances the protection of animals and the legitimate needs of science and industry.
More specifically, we will aim to support improvements to the regulation of animal use which focus on key areas where regulation and harmonisation would improve animal welfare; improve scientific outputs; provide a more level playing field within the European Union; and improve the European Union's competitiveness with other economic regions without compromising science and welfare.
We do not believe that wholesale changes to the directive are necessary to achieve the main benefits sought of harmonisation and animal welfare. In general, we believe that the directive has stood the test of time well and still provides a sound framework for regulation. It has proved flexible enough to adapt to change in many areas and to incorporate technical progress.
Asylum/Immigration
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets there are for dealing with applications for a variation of leave to remain in the UK; and what performance against such targets has been in each quarter since 2004. [98117]
Mr. Byrne: The requested information on targets and performance against them is shown on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website at:
www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/11464/servicestandardsjuly.xls
Mr. Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken was to decide on claims for extension of discretionary leave to remain (a) within the time limit and (b) outside the time limit in each of the last five years. [98533]
Mr. Byrne: The requested information is not available and could be obtained only by examination of individual records at a disproportionate cost.
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate measure progress against their published service standards and these are shown on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website at:
www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/11464/servicestandardsjuly.xls
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants of Middle-Eastern origin arrived in the UK in each year since 2000. [97806]
Mr. Byrne: Statistics on passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom by purpose of journey, geographical region and nationality are published annually in command papers entitled “Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom”. Editions for each year from 2000 to 2005 are available from the Library and via the Home Office website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will provide a substantive answer to question 88572 tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 20 July 2006, on immigrants from EU accession countries. [90747]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 11 September 2006]: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given on 17 October 2006, Official Report, column 1156W.
Chaplain General (Prison Service)
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often his Department's (a) Ministers and (b) officials met the Chaplain General to the Prison Service in each of the last two years; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting. [98534]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 31 October 2006]: Ministers have met with the Chaplain General on two occasions in 2006 and on one occasion in 2005. The Chaplain General is an official within the Home Office and as such meets with other officials on a daily basis. Formal minutes are not necessarily taken at internal meetings and we would not normally make public correspondence flowing from them.
Criminal Justice Act
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many indeterminate sentences have been imposed pursuant to Section 225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 since the Act was implemented. [97252]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Statistics on court sentencing are due to be published in ‘Sentencing Statistics 2005’, a Home Office statistical bulletin, early in the new year.
However, data on persons received into custody for indeterminate sentences under section 225 or 226 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 during the period April 2005 to March 2006 will be contained in Home Office statistical bulletin ‘Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005’ due for publication in December.
Departmental Expenditure
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies in respect of hotel and other similar privately-provided accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad for (A) Ministers, (B) staff and (C) other persons in each year since 2001-02. [91885]
Mr. Byrne: To obtain the information requested could only be done at disproportionate cost. However the accommodation and travel costs are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the ministerial code, Travel by Ministers and the civil service management code.
Information relating to overseas travel by Ministers is published on an annual basis. Information for the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 2006 is available in the Library. Information for the financial year 2006-07 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the current financial year.
Deportation
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted offenders were recommended for deportation after sentence in each of the last five years; and how many have subsequently been deported. [97239]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 26 October 2006]: The Department does not collate information in the format requested and it could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
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