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8 Nov 2006 : Column 1836W—continued
KPMG Limited
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what projects were undertaken by KPMG for her Department in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06; what projects have been undertaken in 2006 to date; and what the cost of such projects was in each year. [98315]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The term project is not clearly defined so we have therefore included in the following table both one-off pieces of work and ongoing services procured from KPMG Limited Liability Partnership.
The total cost of these projects are shown in the table.
| Financial year | Expenditure (£) |
Detailed costs of individual projects are commercially sensitive and are therefore unavailable.
Light Bulbs
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of light bulbs purchased by her Department in 2005 were of the compact fluorescent type. [98255]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The proportion of light bulbs purchased by the Department of Health in the past year that were of the compact fluorescent type was 70 per cent.
Local Formularies
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued to primary care trusts on (a) the production of local formularies and (b) the account to be taken of product availability when producing local formularies. [99665]
Andy Burnham: We have issued no such guidance.
Local Involvement Networks
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to recruit volunteers to local involvement networks. [100071]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The recruitment of volunteers to Local Involvement Networks (LINks) will be determined locally. Local authorities with social services responsibilities will be given money to contract with a local organisation such as a voluntary and community group to identify the most appropriate arrangements for hosting the LINk. Such arrangements also include recruiting members from these sectors who have the relevant expertise and experience required to carry out such a role. We are also encouraging current patient forum members to join a LINk to continue with the good work they are already doing.
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she plans to put in place to ensure the independence of local involvement networks. [100072]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The role of local authorities will be to tender a contract for a host organisation to support the local involvement network (LINk). Local authorities have considerable expertise and experience of holding contracts with local voluntary and community sector organisations. Their knowledge of the local circumstances means that they will be well placed to award and manage these contracts.
This will not mean that a local authority will have control of the LINk. Local authorities will manage their contract with the host to ensure its contractual obligations are met. It will not have any power in determining the LINk’s actions, or the way in which it spends its money.
The LINk will operate independently of the local authority, within its own constitution, governance structure and decision-making processes.
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanism she plans to put in place to enable local involvement networks to interact directly with the boards of trust hospitals. [100073]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Local Involvement Networks (LINks) will be able to request information from the boards of hospital trusts and they will be obliged to provide it. LINks will also have the right to make reports and recommendations to boards of trusts which will be obliged to respond within a set time scale.
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to ensure that (a) mental health trusts, (b) learning disabilities trusts, (c) ambulance trusts and (d) other smaller NHS trusts will be represented by local involvement networks. [100074]
Ms Rosie Winterton: NHS trusts will not be represented by Local Involvement Networks (LINks).
The primary function of Local Involvement Networks (LINks) is to gather the views and experiences of people in their area regarding the health and social care services that they use. They are designed to cover all the services in their area, and in this way they will scrutinise the entire patient journey, rather than just looking at individual trusts or services. We intend LINks to be flexible, and able to be adapted to best fit local circumstances.
While we are not prescribing the structure or make- up of LINks, we envisage that a LINk may well wish to set up specialist groups, for example, one that considers each specialist area such as mental health services, learning disabilities services and ambulance services.
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who will undertake inspections and monitoring of hospitals under the Government’s plans to replace patient and public involvement forums. [100075]
Ms Rosie Winterton: One of the pivotal roles of Local Involvement Networks (LINks) will be to monitor and assess the commissioning and provision of health and social care services. We are currently considering what powers LINks will need to enable them to fulfil this role.
Macular Degeneration
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration in the Greater Peterborough Primary Care Trust area in each year since 2001; and if she will make a statement. [100461]
Andy Burnham: Information is not available in the format requested.
Maternity Units
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the Wyre Forest maternity unit closed; and if she will make a statement. [83261]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Worcestershire acute hospitals national health service trust closed the Wyre Forest birthing centre in September 2003 because of concerns for patient safety. A review of the unit, subsequently carried out by West Midlands South strategic health authority (SHA), found that there were failings in the standard of care provided in the cases investigated.
The report of this review was published by the SHA on 11 November 2004.
The future of the birthing centre is subject to the outcome of the current review of clinical services and finances across Worcestershire.
Maternity/Paediatric Services (Teesside)
John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received on her decision to refer maternity and paediatric services in Teesside to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel; from whom such representations were received; and if she will make a statement. [94202]
Andy Burnham: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health received referrals affecting maternity and paediatric services in Teesside from the Joint Overview Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) chaired by Middlesbrough borough council covering the local authorities of Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton, Hartlepool, North Yorkshire and Durham on 7 July 2006, and the Stockton Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) on 3 July 2006. In addition, Hartlepool borough council's Adult and Community Services and Health Scrutiny Forum also wrote to her on the same subject on 31 July.
Meat Processing
Mr. Roger Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many slaughter facilities in England have closed due to (a)
internal financial difficulties or of their own accord and (b) lack of compliance with public or animal health regulations in the last five years. [96698]
Caroline Flint: The following table shows the number of red meat and poultry meat slaughterhouses in England for the years 2001 to 2005 which:
(a) surrendered their licences to operate under the Meat Hygiene Regulations or had them revoked because they had ceased operating of their own accord;
(b) had their licences revoked due to lack of compliance with the regulations.
From 1 January 2006 to date: the EU Food Hygiene Regulations, which came into effect on 1 January, require all previously licensed slaughterhouses to be re-approved. To date, around a third of slaughterhouses have been assessed for re-approval and seven have been refused approval due to lack of compliance with the regulations. Of these, two subsequently upgraded their standards, enabling them to gain conditional approval; three have appeals pending; one is expected to appeal and one has closed.
Where an appeal is lodged, the plant may continue operating until the appeal is determined, subject to any conditions imposed by the agency for the protection of public health.
Since 1 January 2006, 16 slaughterhouses have not sought re-approval and closed of their own accord.
During the same 2001-06 period, 18 red meat slaughterhouses and 20 poultry meat slaughterhouses gained a licence/approval.
| (a) | (b) | |
| (1) One was subsequently re-licensed after correcting deficiencies (2) One was subsequently re-licensed after correcting deficiencies | ||
Medical Careers
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to implement Modernising Medical Careers. [99124]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) is a major initiative aimed to improve both patient care and doctors’ training. For this reason it is subject to significant governance processes involving both the Department and the national health service.
The first stage of MMC, the foundation programme, was successfully introduced in August 2005. The second phase, new specialty training programmes, will be introduced in August 2007. Recruitment will begin in January 2007.
There is currently much work under way to manage the transition to the new system for specialty training, including ensuring fair and effective arrangements for trainees already in the system and the development of new and improved recruitment and selection procedures.
Mental Health
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated to mental health provision in (a) Suffolk, (b) Cambridgeshire, (c) Essex and (d) Norfolk in each year since 1997. [95470]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Allocations are made to primary care trusts and it is for them to commission services, including mental health services, to meet the needs of the populations they serve. Information on mental health spending is available from the following independent reports from 2001 onwards.
The 2005-06 National Survey of Investment in Mental Health Services at:
www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/50/11/04135011.pdf
The 2004-05 National Survey of Investment in Mental Health Services at:
www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/52/96/04115296.pdf
The 2003-04 National Survey of Investment in Mental Health Services at:
www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/33/88/04123388.pdf
The 2002-03 National Survey of Investment in Mental Health Services at
www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/33/96/04123396.pdf
The 2001-02 National Survey of Investment in Mental Health Services at:
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