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8 Nov 2006 : Column 1865W—continued
Departmental officials are working closely with colleagues in the ONS and the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) to ensure that the death
certification process helps to safeguard patients and provides the important information needed for public health and clinical governance purposes. In particular, we will be working with colleagues in the DCA to see how the proposal for a Chief Medical Adviser to the coroner service, set out in the foreword to the draft Coroners Bill published in June 2006, will contribute to raising standards.
Powered Wheelchairs
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued to primary care trusts on eligibility for access to powered wheelchairs for the severely disabled; and if she will make a statement. [99943]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The NHS Modernisation Agency published the national wheelchair service good practice guide in 2004. Eligibility, however, is based on locally determined criteria which should include clinical and lifestyle needs and the ability of the client to use the specified chair safely.
Practice Based Commissioning
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of general practitioners have signed up to practice based commissioning in each primary care trust. [94596]
Caroline Flint: Latest available data for September show that 81 per cent. of practices are engaged with practice based commissioning (PBC). 82 per cent. of the old primary care trusts (PCTs) have put in place arrangements to support PBC.
New PCTs came into existence on 1 October 2006 and the Department expects data on practice uptake of PBC in the new PCTs to be collected in early November. We will then publish these analysed data, along with those at SHA level that we currently publish, later in the year.
Pregnancy
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies her Department has carried out into the health effects of caffeine on the development of unborn babies; what advice her Department has issued to pregnant women about avoiding caffeine during pregnancy; and if she will make a statement. [97935]
Caroline Flint: In 2001 the Food Standards Agency asked the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) to review the effects of caffeine on the development of unborn babies. Based on the Committee’s opinion the Food Standards Agency advises that pregnant women should limit their caffeine intake to the equivalent of no more than four average cups of coffee a day (a total of 300 mg caffeine a day from all sources).
The Food Standards Agency has also commissioned further research addressing the health effects of caffeine during pregnancy. This project is due to report in summer 2007.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if her Department will provide a grant to the housing programme for homeless pregnant women organised by the LIFE organisation; what recent representations she has received about funding such programmes; and if she will make a statement. [99272]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Secretary of State for Health, through the Section 64 General Scheme of Grants (S64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968), has power to make grants to voluntary organisations in England whose activities support the Department of Health policy priorities.
Department of Health records show that LIFE have not registered for any information on grants and are therefore not currently in receipt of funding.
Premature Births
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received on the guidelines produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on birth certificates for babies born alive before 22 weeks since January 2006; how many (a) supported and (b) opposed this proposal; how many and what percentage were written by (i) hon. Members, (ii) organisations and (iii) members of the public; and if she will make a statement. [99274]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has produced a number of pieces of guidance relating to foetal viability and registration of births and deaths since 1996. The RCOG is currently working on further guidance in this area, the publication date of which is not yet available.
Due to the way we record correspondence topics we cannot supply information about representations received without disproportionate cost.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies were born below 22 weeks gestation in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [99275]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is set out in the following table:
| NHS hospital total deliveries below 22 gestation weeks, 2000-05 | |||||
| Gestational weeks | 2004-05 | 2003-04 | 2002-03 | 2001-02 | 2000-01 |
| Source: NHS Maternity Statistics, England 2000-05. | |||||
While there continue to be medical advances in caring for premature babies, only a very small proportion of babies born at under 22 weeks gestation survive. Of these, there are high risks of death due to immaturity and also, significant concerns about their quality of life—most have severe problems. In contrast, the situation markedly improves at 24 to 25 weeks. There is evidence that chances of survival at 22 weeks gestation are approximately only 1 per cent., whereas this increases to 26 per cent. at 24 weeks.
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much primary care trusts are required to pay back annually following receipt of money from the Community Hospital Fund; and if she will make a statement. [94151]
Andy Burnham: The terms under which funds will be allocated to support the community hospital programme have not yet been determined. It is a five-year programme with the funds being made available for a very wide range of purposes. Accordingly, the conditions attached to any funding will depend on the circumstances of the local national health service and the purpose for which the funding is being made available.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated to the Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust under the capitation formula in each of the last 10 years; how much was made available to the Trust in each year; and what the equivalent figures are estimated to be for 2006-07. [96887]
Andy Burnham: The information requested is not available in the format required. Revenue allocations were first made to primary care trusts (PCTs) in 2003-04. Prior to this, allocations were made directly to health authorities on an annual basis. It is therefore not possible to show allocations at PCT level before 2003-04.
Table 1 shows the 2003-04 to 2005-06 revenue allocations to Central Lancashire PCT.
| Table 1: 2003-04 to 2005-06 PCT revenue allocations | |
| Central Lancashire PCT | £000 |
Table 2 shows the 2006-07 and 2007-08 revenue allocations to Central Lancashire PCT.
| Table 2: 2006-07 and 2007-08 PCT revenue allocations | |
| Central Lancashire PCT | £000 |
| Note: It is not possible to compare allocations rounds for the following reasons: changes are made to the weighted capitation formula for each allocations round, therefore comparisons would not be on a like-for-like basis; and 2006-08 is the first year that primary medical services were incorporated into the revenue allocations. | |
The amount made available through Parliamentary funding, which represents the cash received for the year from the Parliamentary vote, to the three predecessor PCTs to the Central Lancashire PCT each year from 2002-03 to 2004-05, which is the latest year currently available, are as follows:
| Parliamentary funding amount( 1) (£000) | |
| (1 )These figures are from the audited summarisation schedules. | |
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applicants there were for the chair of Bassetlaw primary care trust; and how many applicants were shortlisted. [98871]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Six applications were received, of which two were interviewed.
Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has published a formal response to the study entitled “Characteristics of primary care trusts in financial deficit and surplus—a corporate study in the English NHS”, dated 1 June 2006; and if she will make a statement. [98649]
Andy Burnham: The Department has noted this report with interest.
Independent Government auditors agree with the Department’s assessment that there is no single, simple cause of deficits, just as there are no single, simple solutions for eradicating them. More specifically, our analysis of the provisional outturn figures for 2005-06 shows that there is very little correlation between the size of deficits and any of the factors relating to funding, including allocations per head and allocation growth. The Department’s chief economic adviser is currently undertaking a detailed analysis of the potential causes of deficits. He will report later in the year.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust on salaries for (a) general and senior managers, (b) nurses and midwives and (c) administrative and clerical staff in each of the last five financial years. [96346]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the requested format.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from (a) NHS organisations and (b) others on the methodology used to calculate revenue allocations to primary care trusts in the last 12 months; what the content of these representations was; and if she will make a statement. [97921]
Andy Burnham: Since October 2005, a variety of representations have been made to the Department on the weighted-capitation formula and revenue allocations to primary care trusts. These include representations on funding, the weighted capitation formula, pace of change policy, rurality, mental health and populations.
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the new primary care trusts will take on the agreements reached by their predecessor bodies with local provider trusts on the quantity of services commissioned for a local health community. [98873]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: All liabilities to which the old primary care trust was subject immediately before 1 October 2006 were on 1 October 2006 transferred to the new primary care trust.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust area are not registered with a general practitioner; and how many vacancies there are on general practitioner lists in this area. [98111]
Caroline Flint: The information requested is not held centrally.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which (a) posts and (b) services in Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust (PCT) are under review as a result of the requirement on the PCT to find savings in the 2006-07 financial year. [100334]
Andy Burnham: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local national health service trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust expects its negotiations with Milton Keynes Hospital on the 2006-07 budget to conclude. [100335]
Andy Burnham: It is for the local primary care trust to reach a mutually acceptable agreement with the hospital and the timing of this is in their hands.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust expects to announce what measures it plans to take in order to meet its revised budget. [100336]
Andy Burnham: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local national health service trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the most recent estimate is of the outturn against planned expenditure of Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust in 2006-07. [100337]
Andy Burnham: For 2005-06, the final outturn position reported by Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust (PCT) shows a deficit of £2.3 million. At quarter one of 2006-07, Milton Keynes PCPs forecast outturn position shows a £4.2 million deficit.
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