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19 Feb 2007 : Column 393W—continued
Autism: Social Services
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will amend the guidelines issued to social workers to have regard to (a) autism, (b) Asperger’s syndrome, (c) special needs and (d) other recognised conditions when visiting and assessing a child with a view to making a placement. [120939]
Mr. Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
Under section 322 of the Education Act 1996 children’s social care advice is provided in respect of statutory assessments of children’s special educational needs, including children with Asperger’s Syndrome and other Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Guidance on this is given in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001) and the SEN Toolkit (2001), section 8 of which contains guidelines for those writing social services advice.
Under section 28 of the Children Act 1989, where a child is looked after, and the children’s services authority propose to place a child in an educational setting they must, as far as is reasonably practicable, consult the appropriate local education authority
before doing so. This is to ensure that the child’s special educational needs are taken into account.
We are committed to updating and consolidating the nine volumes of Children Act 1989 statutory guidance to take account of subsequent legislation and this work is in progress. Responses to the Care Matters Green Paper are currently being analysed and the outcome will be reflected in the updated guidance.
Birth Rate
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the birthrate was in the UK in each of the last 10 years. [121532]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 February 2007:
As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about the birth rate in the UK in each of the last 10 years. (121532)
The latest year for which figures are available is 2005; the table below shows the birth rate for each year between 1996 and 2005 and also the total period fertility rate, which takes into account the age structure of the population.
| Birth rate and total period fertility rate, United Kingdom, 1996 to 2005 | ||
| Birth rate | Total period fertility rate | |
| Notes: 1. The crude birth rate is the number of live births per thousand population. 2. The total period fertility rate is the average number of children that a woman would have if she experienced the age-specific fertility rates for a particular year throughout her childbearing life. 3. In calculating these rates, figures for live births in England and Wales relate to numbers occurring in each calendar year, while for Scotland and Northern Ireland figures relate to numbers of live births registered in each calendar year. | ||
Breast Cancer: Hertfordshire
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to ensure that women living in Hertfordshire with a high familial risk of breast cancer have access to specialist screening services in line with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance; and if she will make a statement. [120931]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) produced a clinical guideline for familial breast cancer in May
2004, which was updated in October 2006. As with previous guidelines, it brings clarity to the complex areas of diagnosis and care of women at risk of familial breast cancer, by providing recommendations for good practice that are based on the best available evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness.
The guideline recommended that women at moderate risk or greater should receive annual mammography. The October 2006 update added that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) be used in addition to, or as an alternative to, mammography. Additionally, the update recommended that all women should be offered standard written information about MRI examination consistent with the recommendations in the original guideline. If a woman is concerned that she may have a familial risk of breast cancer, she should discuss her concerns with her general practitioner in the first instance.
Clostridium Difficile
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of Clostridium difficile were reported in each NHS hospital trust in the Eastern Region in each year since 2001; and if she will make a statement. [111637]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) receives reports from microbiology laboratories of cases of Clostridium difficile associated disease (CDAD) under the mandatory surveillance scheme. All acute NHS trusts in England are obliged to report all cases of CDAD in patients aged 65 years and over.
Mandatory surveillance began in January 2004 and the figures for 2004 and 2005 are available on the HPA’s website at:
www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hai/mandatory_report_2006.htm.
Copies are available in the Library.
Quarterly publication of mandatory surveillance data for CDAD started on 30 January 2007 and data for January-September 2006 are available on the HPA website at:
www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/news/articles/press_releases/2007/070130_mrsa.htm
Copies have been placed in the Library.
Community Hospitals: Finance
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total sum was of the bid made for capital expenditure on community hospitals for which she has allocated £150 million in 2007-08 for which bids were required by 31 December 2006. [121648]
Andy Burnham: 25 bids have been received and the total value of these bids is £254.1 million. Decisions about whether to fund these schemes have not yet been made.
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total sum was of the bids made for capital expenditure on community hospitals for which she has allocated £150 million in 2006-07 for which bids were required by 30 September 2006. [121649]
Andy Burnham: 10 bids were received for funding in wave one and the total amount bid for was £83 million. Two of the schemes have since been withdrawn by the strategic health authorities, one did not meet the criteria, decisions on three are still outstanding and we announced on 21 December that we would be allocating £44.5 million to four of the schemes that were submitted.
Dental Services
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new patients have been taken on by dentists under the NHS since the introduction of the new contract. [121473]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the form requested.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were served by dentists who have ceased providing NHS dental care since the introduction of the new contract; and what percentage has found alternative NHS provision. [121474]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information in this form is not available centrally. Data collected from primary care trusts (PCTs) show that, as of 30 November 2006, the overall additional dental services commissioned by PCTs using resources from closed national health service contracts exceeded the overall level of services that would have been provided under those closed contracts.
Departments: Assets
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2007, Official Report, columns 801-4W, on departmental fixed assets, which fixed assets her Department has sold so far for more than £10,000 in 2006-07; and what the (a) sale value, (b) purchaser and (c) date of sale was of each asset. [121378]
Andy Burnham: The information is shown in the following table.
| Land sales from the Department’s retained estate in 2006-07 (to 31 January 2007) | |||
| Property | Sale value (£000) | Purchaser | Date of sale |
Portfolio transfer to English Partnerships as part of a further payment of £40 million: St. Margaret’s Hospital, Epping.
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