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23 Jan 2007 : Column 1758W—continued

We are continuing to roll out the national chlamydia screening programme. Findings for the first three years
23 Jan 2007 : Column 1759W
show that screening volumes are increasing over time from just over 18,000 in year one to over 63,000 in year two and over 104,000 in year three.

We have completed a national baseline review of contraceptive services in England to enable PCTs to identify gaps in service provision at local level and we will be publishing the national findings soon.

The new adult sexual health campaign, “Condom Essential Wear”, launched in November 2006 targets hard to reach 18 to 24-year-old men and woman who engage in sexually risky behaviour and are therefore at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The campaign promotes condom use and raises awareness about the prevalence and invisibility of STIs. It includes television, radio, press and digital advertising, a consumer and stakeholder website and significant PR and partnership activity. £4 million has been spent on the campaign so far this year, an funding for the next financial year is currently under consideration.

“Condom Essential Wear” is one of three current Government campaigns working to improve sexual health and reduce teenage pregnancy, complimenting the Department for Education and Skills teenage pregnancy campaigns “R U Thinking” aimed at 13 to 16-year-olds and “Want Respect? Use a Condom” aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds. In 2006-07 the Department contributed £1.61 million to the Department for Education and Skills for these campaigns.

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people visited each sexual health clinic for testing for sexually transmitted infection in Hertfordshire in each year since 1997; and what percentage of patients were seen within 24 hours. [115818]

Caroline Flint: The number of first attendances at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in east and north Hertfordshire primary care trust (PCT) and west Hertfordshire PCT, 1997 to 2005 is given in the table.

Clinic level data are not released to the public by the Health Protection Agency without prior consent of the clinics concerned. The table therefore presents data for all clinics within the two PCTs.

First attendances are attendances for a new episode of a sexually transmitted infection (STI). All patients attending the GUM clinic for a new STI episode are offered a full sexual health screen. The patient may be a new or an existing patient. First attendances do not include attendances for follow-up consultations.

The number of attendances may be slightly underreported in the KC60 surveillance.

Number of first attendances

1997

9,585

1998

10,911

1999

11,815

2000

12,555

2001

13,496

2002

13,888

2003

13,528

2004

11,471

2005

10,992

Source:
STI KC60 statutory returns from 1997 to 2005, Health Protection Agency.

23 Jan 2007 : Column 1760W

The percentage of people seen within 24 hours at GUM clinics is not collected centrally. The November 2006 summary data on the percentage of patients seen with 48 hours can be found in “Waiting times for Genito-urinary Medicine clinics: Results from the November 2006 audit”, copies of which are available in the Library and is available at:

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Advisory Group

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to her Department was of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Advisory Group in 2005-06; and what programmes it has funded with public money since its launch. [115725]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department provided £102,000 for the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Advisory Group for the financial year 2005-06. The Department is also committed to spending £100,000 for the financial year 2006-07. The funding covers a range of programmes to promote equality and eliminate discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in health and social care, as both service users and employees.

Simvastatin

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the effects on costs to the public purse of prescribing Simvastatin instead of Atorvastatin or other branded statins; and what the timetable is for Simvastatin to be prescribed instead of branded statins. [115563]

Caroline Flint: The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement recently published the “Better Care, Better Value” indicators for the second quarter of this financial year. The statins indicator shows that if every primary care trust (PCT) achieved levels of prescribing of lower cost statins similar to the top quarter of PCTs then £84.7 million could be released for patient care. There are no targets, but we expect PCTs and clinicians to be aware that they can help treat more patients by prescribing one of the lower cost statins where it is clinically appropriate.

Skin Cancer

Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking (a) to improve data on cancer and (b) to monitor the quality of service given to skin cancer patients. [113863]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Data collected on cancer incidence, survival and mortality is provided by nine cancer registries, which cover all of England, and the Office for National Statistics uses data from registries to summarise and analyse cancer data at the national level. The cancer registries provide a comprehensive population based count of all cancers, which is recognised as one of the best in the world. The registries have provided full coverage of England since the 1960s and since the cancer plan the Department
23 Jan 2007 : Column 1761W
has invested over £6 million in cancer registry modernisation to help them work more efficiently. We are also introducing a national cancer registry dataset, which will standardise cancer data collection. This will provide for more consistent quality and analytical interpretation of data for monitoring cancer services and trends within the population. It will also help reduce duplication and help facilitate linkage to the new electronic patient record.

In February 2006, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published improving outcomes guidance for people with skin tumours including melanoma. The guidance is now being translated into a series of measures for inclusion in the manual for cancer services. The manual supports quality assurance of cancer services and enables quality improvement. The manual is aimed at all commissioners and providers of national health service cancer services and progress against the measures can be used for self-assessment or peer review.

Social Care Recruitment

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has spent on social care recruitment campaigns in each year since 1997-98. [114990]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department began the social care campaign in 2003-04 so we only have figures for the three most recent financial years.

The table sets out the cost of social care recruitment campaigns for years 2003 to 2006.

Social care recruitment campaigns
£ million

2003-04

2.81

2004-05

1.28

2005-06

1.82


Statistics

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the process is for deciding the date of publication of statistics prepared by or relating to the Department; and who is involved in that process. [113091]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The National Statistics Code of Practice (2002), which serves as a model for all public sector statistical work, established the principle that final responsibility for the content, format and timing of release of National Statistics rests with the head of profession for statistics in each Department. In reaching their decisions, the statistics heads of profession in the Department and the Information Centre (IC) for health and social care take into consideration the detailed procedural guidance given in the “National Statistics Protocol on Release Practices”

Copies of the code of practice and its 12 supporting protocols are available in the Library and are also available from:

The Department compliance statement with the code of practice (which currently covers the IC) can be is available from:


23 Jan 2007 : Column 1762W

Trade Union Funding

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding her Department has given to individual trade unions in the last three years. [113989]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department does not fund trade unions. Our staff are encouraged to consider joining a trade union and we therefore have a facilities agreement, which allows for some staff salary and subsistence costs to be met by the Department in keeping with good employer practice. These costs are to support civil servants undertaking trade union activities.

Trans Fats

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research her Department has undertaken into the level of trans fats in products provided by fast food and drink outlets; and if she will make a statement; [115634]

(2) what steps she is taking to encourage fast food and drink outlets to reduce the level of trans fats in their food products. [115635]

Caroline Flint: Limited information on the levels of trans fats present in the types of food products available in fast food outlets is published in McCance and Widdowson’s ‘The Composition of Foods’.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has no plans to carry out further analyses. Results from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2000-01) which looks at dietary intakes shows that intakes of trans fats are within maximum recommended intakes, whereas saturated fat intakes currently exceed public health recommendations. Consequently saturated fat intakes represent the greater heart health risk and remain the priority for Government.

The FSA welcomes and encourages the voluntary initiatives some businesses, including the fast food sector and the catering sector more widely, have undertaken to reduce the trans fats levels in their food products. However, any product reformulation to reduce the levels of trans fats, generally through the removal of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, should not result in increases in the saturated fat levels in foods.

Waiting Times

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer by the Prime Minister of 13 December 2006, Official Report, column 865, on engagements, if she will publish the data from which the Prime Minister's statement derived that hundreds of thousands of people used to wait for 12 months for an NHS operation when she came to office. [113017]

Andy Burnham: The data requested, covering the period 1992-93 to 1996-97, are shown in the following table.


23 Jan 2007 : Column 1763W
Number of people waiting for in-patient treatment who had been waiting longer than 12 months since the decision to admit

1992-93

June

84,916

1992-93

September

80,581

1992-93

December

72,869

1992-93

March

56,877

1993-94

June

65,832

1993-94

September

71,022

1993-94

December

75,107

1993-94

March

64,508

1994-95

June

65,480

1994-95

September

62,341

1994-95

December

54,834

1994-95

March

32,194

1995-96

June

32,759

1995-96

September

27,938

1995-96

December

20,488

1995-96

March

4,576

1996-97

June

10,399

1996-97

September

14,993

1996-97

December

22,161

1996-97

March

31,208

Source:
KH07 return (provider based)

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