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26 Feb 2007 : Column 1103Wcontinued
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date the report commissioned by her Department to investigate international experiences of implementing community treatment orders completed its peer review. [123443]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A revised report in response to the peer review was received on 1 February. Following this the Department has had to go back to the researchers several times to seek clarification on key areas. The Department plans to disseminate the report as soon as it has had an opportunity to consider the findings.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has to require practising midwives to have professional indemnity cover; what assessment she has made of the impact of such a policy on the viability of independent midwifery services; what steps she has taken to explore the possibility of arranging or facilitating the provision of professional indemnity cover to independent midwives; and if she will make a statement. [122282]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 22 February 2007]: All registered healthcare professionals will be required to have professional indemnity insurance to protect the public in the event of a claim for negligence. The implementation of this policy under section 60 of the Health Act 1999 is through legislative opportunity as it arises.
All national health service employed practitioners will have indemnity as part of their contracts. Options for independent midwives include developing contracts with NHS employers such as the Albany model in
south London, pursuing a social enterprise model, and setting up individual contracts with an NHS trust.
While it is important to consider independent midwives, especially in relation to extended choice and diversity of provision, it cannot be at the cost of safety to the woman.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the employee contribution rate is to the NHS pension scheme; and if she will make a statement. [111513]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Employee contributions to the national health service pension scheme are set at 6 per cent. of pensionable pay. However, manual workers are required to contribute at 5 per cent.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average salary was of a general practitioner in (a) 1997, (b) 2001 and (c) 2006; and what the average salary was of a primary care trust chief executive in England in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2006. [111778]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 26 January 2007]: Information on the average salary of general practitioners in England is not collected centrally. Figures based on information for Great Britain are shown in the following table.
£ | |
Estimated average general practitioner net income (all sources), United Kingdom | |
The concept of intended average net remuneration disappeared with the introduction of the new general medical services contract in 2003-04. Information on general practitioner income is now derived from the HM Revenue and Customs tax self-assessment database which relates to income from all sources, national health service and private. Information for 2006-07 will not be available for some time.
The Department does not collect details on the pay of individuals in primary care trusts (PCTs). We therefore cannot provide the hon. Gentleman with the average salary of their chief executives.
NHS organisations are public bodies and as such, the pay of their senior executive teams is a matter of public record, published in their annual accounts.
Following the reconfigurations proposed by Commissioning A Patient-led NHS, the Department in July 2006 published a new Pay Framework for very senior managers in strategic and special health authorities, primary care trusts and ambulance trusts. PCT chief executives are paid a spot rate salary which is determined (within a range) by the size of the population the PCT serves. These spot rate salaries are
shown as follows reflecting the staged pay award for 2006-07 announced on 30 March 2006. The framework also provides for the payment of recruitment and retention premia (of up to 30 per cent. of the spot rate salary) and payments for additional duties (up to 10 per cent. of the spot rate salary) where appropriate.
Spot rates for PCT chief executives | ||
Weighted population | Salary from 1 November 2006 (£) | |
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage change in the NHS workforce she expects to occur in 2006-07; and what size of work force change of size is implied by this percentage in (a) headcount and (b) full-time equivalent terms. [115005]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Following a period of rapid expansion in the national health service work force, the NHS is now moving towards a steady state where there is a closer match between affordable demand and supply.
The assumptions underpinning departmental analysis about likely changes in the NHS work force are being tested with the service. Data on the change in the size and composition of the NHS work force will be published in the 2006 work force census in spring 2007.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2007, Official Report, column 1600W, on NHS workforce, whether she has made any assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of offering guarantees of employment in the NHS to students leaving training. [112553]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department of Health has consulted with NHS employers, strategic health authorities and the social partnership forum on maximising employment opportunities for newly qualified healthcare graduates. The consistent message from these consultations is that solutions need to be flexible, locally driven and founded on partnerships between employers, staff side and the higher education sector. Any new initiatives also need to be appropriately tested first.
Accordingly, East of England Strategic Health Authority have offered to undertake a feasibility study into establishing a local voluntary guaranteed employment scheme. This will enable the Department and employers to assess the viability of such schemes. An initial scoping exercise is under way, the findings of which will be shared with the social partnership forum.
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has made an assessment of changes to (a) provider and (b) commissioner behaviour arising from
the implementation of payment by results; and what plans she has to assess such behaviour. [118150]
Andy Burnham: Information about the programme of evaluation on the implementation of payment by results is available on the Department website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/OrganisationPolicy/FinanceAndPlanning/NHSFinancialReforms
The programme includes work done by national health service organisations in South Yorkshire, where most trusts were early implementers of payment by results, as well as independent research being undertaken by the University of Aberdeen, together with the University of Dundee and the Office of Health Economics in London. Both of these programmes have looked, or will look at, aspects of provider and commissioner behaviour when implementing payment by results.
Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of transitional levy proposed by each strategic health authority in England is for 2007-08; what the purpose of the levy is; and if she will make a statement. [121224]
Andy Burnham: The Department aims to agree the 2007-08 financial and delivery plans with individual national health service organisations by the end of March 2007.
As we have made clear in the 2007-08 NHS Operating Framework, strategic health authorities (SHAs) will not generally require the scale of contribution to SHA reserves seen in 2006-07, because of the return of the NHS to overall financial balance. Where continuing contributions are required, they must be subject to transparent rules clearly covering the purpose of the reserves and the timescale over which each organisation will recover its contribution. SHAs have been asked to ensure financial plans for 2007-08 for individual organisations are prepared on this basis.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) original and (b) revised targets were for Choose and Book for (i) March and (ii) the rest of 2007. [121950]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 22 February 2007]: The NHS Operating Framework for 2006-07 set a target that 90 per cent. of general practitioner referrals to first consultant-led outpatient services should be made through the Choose and Book system by March 2007.
The Operating Framework for 2007-08 sets out that primary care trusts need to ensure that they continue to meet existing Government commitments. Progress against national commitments will continue to be monitored by the Department.
The Department has not revised this target.
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations she has received on the Choose and Book system in the London borough of Bexley. [120234]
Andy Burnham: We are not aware of any recent representations on the Choose and Book system fromthe London borough of Bexley.
Mr. Bone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were employed by the NHS in each
year since 1990; and how many were (a) medical and (b) administrative staff. [119189]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the following table, comparable data prior to 1995 is not available.
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