Previous Section Index Home Page

20 Nov 2006 : Column 19W—continued

Health

Branded Generic Drugs

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when the 2005 consultation on the reimbursement of branded generic drugs is expected to be published; [101667]

(2) what assessment her Department has made of the beneficial effect on National Health Service finances of introducing the proposals for the reimbursement of generic medicine proposed in its recent consultation paper. [101668]


20 Nov 2006 : Column 20W

Andy Burnham: Responses to the proposals in this consultation raised a number of complex issues which could not be easily resolved. A decision has therefore been taken to defer any final conclusion until the Department receives the Office of Fair Trading report on the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) which is expected in the first quarter of 2007.

The Department will not be able to determine what savings may be made by the national health service until such time as the these issues have been resolved.

NHS Trusts

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the maximum amount each NHS trust may spend on marketing their services to general practitioners under patient choice and payment by results is; and what definition of marketing she uses; [100763]

(2) what the maximum amount each NHS trust may spend on marketing their services to patients and members of the public under patient choice and payment by results is; [100764]

(3) how much each NHS trust has budgeted for marketing their services to (a) patients and (b) general practitioners under patient choice and payment by results. [100765]

Andy Burnham: Information on NHS trust budgets for marketing is not held centrally.

In the “Operating Framework for 2006-07” the Department set out its expectation that providers would not want to spend excessively, on advertising and marketing and its preference for a self-regulatory approach. The Department will launch a “Code of Practice for Advertising and Promotion of National Health Services” for consultation shortly.

NICE

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will permit the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to negotiate on price with pharmaceutical companies the indicative prices they are given for the purposes of assessing the cost-effectiveness of treatments being subjected to a technology appraisal. [101686]

Andy Burnham: The Department has no plans to give the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence a role in drug price negotiation. The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) is the means by which the Government seek to achieve a balance between reasonable prices for the national health service and a fair return for the pharmaceutical industry.

Prescription Charges

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether Asthma UK will be consulted during her review of prescription charges; [101329]

(2) what plans she has to consult with patient groups about prescription charges. [101331]


20 Nov 2006 : Column 21W

Andy Burnham: We have already been approached by Asthma UK and some other organisations that wish to make representations as part of the review of prescription charges. We would welcome comments on possible options for changing the current prescription charge arrangements that are cost-neutral for the national health service from all organisations that wish to make representations.

Respiratory Conditions

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much she spent on research into (a) respiratory conditions and (b) asthma in each of the last five years. [101330]

Andy Burnham: The main agency through which the Government support biomedical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Innovation. MRC expenditure since 2001-02 on respiratory disorders, and the element of that portfolio related to asthma, has been:

£ million
Respiratory disease, including asthma Asthma

2001-02

11.4

3

2002-03

13.2

2.8

2003-04

12.1

2.8

2004-05

10.3

2.6

2005-06

(1)

(1)

(1) Not yet available

The main part of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by national health service (NHS) organisations. The Department additionally funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the NHS. Total reported expenditure by research active NHS organisations, and expenditure by the Department's national research programmes on the disease areas in question, is shown in the table.

£ million
Respiratory disease, including asthma( 1, 2) Asthma( 3)

2001-02

n/a

0.6

2002-03

24.5

0.6

2003-04

30.7

0.8

2004-05

31.2

0.7

2005-06

32.0

0.4

n/a = Not available.
(1 )Expenditure data were not collected centrally from NHS research active organisations prior to 2002.
(2 )The national research programme activity in this area includes a research initiative on air pollution. Part of the focus of this initiative was to investigate the impact of air pollutants on lung function and another part on studies of the effect of living near roads on respiratory symptoms; others are in part relevant to improving our understanding of the factors that cause or exacerbate asthma. It is not possible separately to identify the asthma related costs included in the latter.
(3 )Research active NHS organisations' annual research and development reports identify expenditure in some 16 national priority areas, including respiratory disease. Those reports do not include separate details of expenditure on asthma research. The figures shown here relate only to expenditure by the Department's national R and D programmes.

20 Nov 2006 : Column 22W

Welfare Food Scheme

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many families registered on the welfare food scheme have children aged (a) three, (b) two, (c) one and (d) less than one-year-old. [101197]

Ms Rosie Winterton: At present, the token distribution unit is fully committed to the implementation of healthy start across Great Britain from 27 November 2006. As a result, welfare food scheme milk token data cannot be interrogated this week, due to a major system upgrade. It will be available from 27 November 2006.

As at May 2006, there were approximately 550,000 households in Great Britain receiving welfare food scheme milk tokens. This represents on average 700,000 children under the age of five.

Work and Pensions

Jobcentre Plus

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date he was informed of the business case for the closure of Christchurch Jobcentre Plus; when he expects to respond to it; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the business case. [100807]

Mr. Jim Murphy: No business case for the closure of Christchurch Jobcentre Plus office has been referred to Ministers.

Pension Schemes

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to allow companies to reduce benefits already earned in defined benefit pension schemes. [100812]

James Purnell: The Government have no plans to reduce benefits already earned in defined benefit pension schemes.

The White Paper “Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system” the Government announced a deregulatory review of occupational pensions with the aim of reducing the regulatory burden on those who offer good quality pension schemes. The review will look at a broad range of proposals that have been raised by stakeholders and will need to strike a balance between protecting members’ benefits and encouraging employer provision by lightening regulation.


    Index Home Page