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27 Nov 2006 : Column 436W—continued
The figures include schools that opened as a result of the amalgamation or merger of two or more schools; schools that have closed but re-opened as voluntary schools with a religious character; and schools that have opened in local authorities that have moved from a three-tier to a two-tier system.
Independent special schools are comprised of independent special schools and non-maintained special schools (those which, while independent are solely used by local authorities and are therefore not the purview of the general public).
Teacher Shortages
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in Bournemouth have teacher shortages. [100925]
Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested but the number of teacher vacancies is collected.
In January 2006, the latest information available, there was one vacancy in Bournemouth local authority
giving a vacancy rate of 0.1 per cent. The vacancy was in a primary school and was for a classroom grade teacher. The vacancy rate for England was 0.6 per cent.
The information is from the DfES annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies, 618g. Vacancies counted are those advertised for full-time permanent appointments, or appointments of at least one term’s duration, and include those being filled by a teacher on a temporary contract of less than one term’s duration.
Teacher Training
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what training qualified teachers from overseas must complete in order to teach in schools in England. [103082]
Jim Knight: Teachers who are nationals of the European Economic Area countries and are trained and qualified in those countries are entitled under a European Union directive to be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) without further training.
Other overseas trained teachers are allowed to work as teachers in maintained schools and non-maintained
special schools in England (other than pupil referral units) for a period of up to four years if they have successfully completed a programme of professional training for teachers in any country outside the UK which is recognised by the competent authority in that country.
In order to continue teaching beyond four years, the teacher will need to obtain QTS either through an employment-based route (such as the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme) or a conventional Initial Teacher Training Programme.
Teachers' Pay and Conditions
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether teachers working in academies will retain their national negotiating rights on pay and conditions. [102443]
Jim Knight: Academies are not bound by the Teachers Pay and Conditions of Service. They and their staff are able to negotiate pay and conditions arrangements to meet the particular needs of the Academy and its pupils.
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 27 November 2006
Health
Brachytherapy
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations she has received about extending availability of brachytherapy to men with prostate cancer; [101333]
(2) what assessment she has made of the availability of brachytherapy; [101334]
(3) what the total spending was on brachytherapy treatments for men with prostate cancer in the last year for which figures are available; [101335]
(4) what steps she is taking to widen access to brachytherapy for men with prostate cancer. [101336]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Since September 2005 the Department has received 13 letters and three parliamentary questions on brachytherapy.
On 22 November the Department issued advice to the national health service on the development of low dose rate prostate brachytherapy services in England. Copies have been placed in the Library.
This advice includes details of where prostate brachytherapy is known to be provided. It does not include information about total spend on prostate brachytherapy as this information is not collected centrally. However, it does include information about the potential costs of introducing and running a prostate brachytherapy service.
The document is aimed at strategic health authorities, cancer networks, primary care trusts and NHS trusts in England and recommends that each cancer network should be able to refer appropriate patients to facilities offering prostate brachytherapy. It also provides advice on what a prostate brachytherapy service should look like. Although the advice is not mandatory, the NHS is encouraged to take the advice into account as it develops, provides or commissions brachytherapy services.
Cancer/Heart Disease (Mortality Rates)
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her Department’s press release of 27 September, entitled Mortality Rates from Cancer and Heart Disease Improve ref. 2006/0317, how her Department reached the figures of (a) 50,000 lives saved from the reduction in cancer mortality rates since 1996 and (b) 150,000 lives saved from the reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality rate since 1996; and if she will estimate how many lives were saved from the reduction in (i) cancer and (ii) cardiovascular disease mortality rates between (A) 1973 to 1978 and (B) 1978 to 1996. [101687]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Lives saved is an assessment of the cumulative effect of year-on-year reductions to the numbers of deaths in a specific age group and from a specific cause of death. In this case, it relates to deaths from circulatory disease and cancer at ages under 75.
It is calculated by subtracting from the number of deaths that occurred in the first year of the period, the number of deaths registered in each subsequent year, and then totalling the differences.
An estimate of the lives saved over the other time periods requested is as follows:
| Lives saved at ages under 75 | ||
| Persons aged under 75 | ||
| Lives saved | Circulatory disease (100-199) | Neoplasms (C00-C97) |
| Note: Due to the different length of the time periods involved, the figures are not comparable with each other, or with the estimates for the period 1996 to 2005. | ||
Carruthers Review
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the terms of reference are for the Carruthers Review. [100846]
Andy Burnham: Sir Ian Carruthers has been asked by the national health service chief executive, David Nicholson, to lead a piece of work to review all existing planned reconfiguration proposals. The review will look to support strategic health authorities and the national health service locally in ensuring that the changes being proposed are fit for purpose and well-managed at a local level.
Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will urge the managing director of the West Midlands South Strategic Health Authority to reply to the letters of (a) 22 August and (b) 17 October 2006 from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire on changes in Worcestershire health service provision. [103689]
Caroline Flint: This matter has now been brought to the attention of the chief executive of the NHS West Midlands.
Dentistry
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients received dental treatment at an NHS walk-in centre in each month since 1 April 2005. [103804]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Following the introduction of the dental reforms, regular information will be made available on the number of patients who receive care or treatment from national health service primary care dentists on one or more occasions within a rolling 24-month period.
The Information Centre for health and social care expect to publish the first information from the new measure at the end of this month. This is expected to give information on the 24-month periods ending respectively 31 March, 30 June and 30 September 2006.
The information on patients seen in the last 24 months will include patients receiving care or treatment in all dental primary care settings including dental access centres. It is not currently held in form that can be broken down into individual months or by type of service.
NHS walk-in centres are nurse led and do not normally provide dental treatment.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients visited an NHS dentist in each month since 1 April 2006. [103805]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Following the introduction of the dental reforms, regular information will be made available on the number of patients who receive care or treatment from national health service primary care dentists on one or more occasions within a rolling 24-month period.
The Information Centre for health and social care expects to publish the first information from the new measure at the end of this month. This is expected to give information on the 24-month periods ending respectively 31 March, 30 June and 30 September 2006.
The information on patients seen in the last 24 months is not currently held in a form that can be broken down into individual months.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what method her Department is using to measure patient access to NHS dental care following the end of patient registration upon the implementation of the new general dental services contract. [103806]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department will measure the number of patients who receive care or treatment from national health service primary care dentists on one or more occasions within a rolling 24-month period.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines recommend recall intervals of up to 24 months based on individual oral health. The old registration system required dentists to maintain their registration income and to recall all registered patients at least once every 15 months regardless of their oral health. The new system allows dentists to recall patients at intervals based on their individual oral health needs and the 24-month period chosen to measure access reflects this.
The Information Centre for health and social care expects to publish the first information from the new measure at the end of this month. This is expected to give information on the 24-month periods ending respectively 31 March, 30 June and 30 September 2006.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is given by her Department to primary care trusts regarding the administration of patient charges for NHS dental services. [103807]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Guidance for primary care trusts on the administration of patient charges was included in one of a series of factsheets (factsheet 4—PCT allocations for primary care dentistry 2006-07 and patient charge income) which were issued on 8 December 2005 and placed on both the Department's and the national health service primary care contracting’s websites, and copies have been placed in the Library.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the projected shortfall is in patient charge revenue from NHS dental services. [103823]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We are not able to estimate with certainty the full levels of income likely to be raised this year from patient charges. It takes time for clear patterns to emerge, given the time-lags between dentists completing courses of treatment, dentists submitting data to the National Health Service Business Services Authority who are processing the data.
Deprived Wards
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-executive directors of (a) primary care trusts, (b) acute trusts and (c) mental health trusts live in wards categorised as being in the most deprived 20 per cent. of wards as measured by the normal index of deprivation. [103266]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
Drug Analysis
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will direct the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to publish on its website drug analysis prints containing details of yellow card reports submitted after 25 May; and if she will make a statement. [103135]
Andy Burnham: The Medicines and Health Regulations Agency (MHRA) are committed to making drug safety information derived from the yellow card scheme as accessible as possible. To this end, in January 2005 the MHRA published aggregated, anonymised data summarising the suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported for all medicines on its website. The information has been updated to include ADR data up to 26 May 2006. This information is available at:
www.mhra.gov.uk/mhra/DrugAnalysisPrints.
The MHRA is currently implementing a major upgrade of the drug safety monitoring database and data reporting systems. This upgrade includes a review of the presentation of aggregated drug safety information with a view to making the information easier to interpret. Subsequent to this redesign, the MHRA will update the adverse drug reaction data on its website on a three-monthly cycle.
EEA Nationals (Health Care)
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether EEA nationals who obtain the right to reside in the UK under the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006 are entitled to free (a) hospital treatment and (b) general practitioner services. [100750]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Entitlement to access free national health service hospital treatment is based on whether someone is ordinarily resident in this country. Anyone who is not ordinarily resident is subject to the “National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989”, as amended. These regulations place a responsibility on NHS hospitals to establish whether a person is ordinarily resident, or exempt from charges under one of a number of exemption categories, or liable for charges.
Those European Economic Area nationals who move to the United Kingdom to take up lawful residence will be eligible for free treatment either by being considered ordinarily resident here or by being exempt from charges under the taking up permanent residence exemption category within the charging regulations.
Any person who is living in the country on a lawful and settled basis may approach a general practitioner practice near to where they are living and apply to join its list of NHS patients in the same way as anyone else in the UK.
Hospital at Night Practitioners
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what risk assessment has been made in respect of replacing doctors with Hospital at Night practitioners in NHS hospitals. [102624]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 23 November 206]: ‘The implementation and impact of hospital at night pilot projects: An evaluation report’ found that making use of the combined elements of the Hospital at Night model—multi-disciplinary handovers, bleep filtering and extended roles, and working as a multi-professional team—improved patient safety and led to better continuity of care.
While risk assessment is the responsibility of local national health service trusts, the Department commissioned the National Patient Safety Agency to develop a ‘Hospital at Night—Patient Safety Risk Assessment Guide’. This document provides an approach to risk assessment for hospital at night solutions to ensure that their design and implementation leads to safer patient care.
Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library.
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