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6 Mar 2007 : Column 1931W—continued
Theft: Northampton
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported cases of theft there were in Northampton North in each year from 1997 to 2007. [124886]
Mr. McNulty: The area for Northampton North comes within the Northampton Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP).
CDRPs were set up under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and available figures for the numbers of recorded offences of total ‘theft and handling’ are given in the following table.
| Table A: Number of offences recorded for Northampton CDRP, 2000-01 to 2001-02 | |
| Total theft and handling stolen goods offences | |
| Note: An expanded offence coverage and revised set of counting rules were introduced in April 1998. Figures recorded before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable. | |
| Table B: Number of offences recorded for Northampton CDRP, 2002-03 to 2005-06 | |
| Total theft and handling stolen goods offences | |
| Note: Numbers of recorded crime were affected by changes in reporting and recording following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in April 2002. These data are not comparable with earlier years. | |
Wandsworth Prison
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the conclusions of the Schito report into allegations of management failure and dysfunction at HM Prison Wandsworth; [124385]
(2) what steps were taken as a consequence of the Schito report to prevent repetition of the failings identified; and if he will make a statement. [124389]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The report the hon. Member refers to was not into allegations of management failure and dysfunction at HM Prison Wandsworth. It was a simple inquiry commissioned into a grievance by a member of staff. This simple inquiry was one of the factors that led to the commissioning of the Tasker report.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which key performance areas of the service level agreement for HM Prison Wandsworth targets have been (a) reduced and (b) replaced; and if he will make a statement. [124867]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There have been no reductions or replacements in the service level agreement for Wandsworth prison. There has however, been the addition of a target to deliver 24 completions of a short duration drug programme in the period December 2006 to March 2007.
Young People: Crime
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded incidents of each type of crime committed by youths between 16 and 21 years there were in Lancashire in each of the last five years. [124954]
Mr. McNulty: The requested information is not available centrally.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how her Department defines binge drinking; what assessment she has made of the impact of binge drinking on the NHS; and if she will make a statement. [124264]
Caroline Flint: The best available measure of levels of binge drinking, as used by the Office for National Statistics’ Information Centre for health and social care is the number of people who drank more than twice the recommended daily benchmark on at least one day in the previous week.
Using this measure, 23 per cent. of men reported drinking more than eight units on at least one day in the week prior to interview. The proportion ranged from 33 per cent. of men aged 16 to 24 to 6 per cent. of those aged 65 and over. Among women, 9 per cent. reported drinking more than six units on at least one day during the previous week; 24 per cent. of those aged 16 to 24, and 1 per cent. of those aged 65 and over.
The Government are determined to reduce the harms caused by alcohol misuse, both to people’s health and to the community through antisocial behaviour. Alcohol misuse is estimated to cost the NHS £1.7 billion per annum, with up to 35 per cent. of all accident and emergency attendance and ambulance costs, around £0.5 billion, estimated to be alcohol-related.
Sources:
1. Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2006
2. Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England, 2004
Ambulance Services: Sunderland
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulances were in use in the Sunderland city council area in each of the last 10 years. [122804]
Andy Burnham: The information requested is not held centrally.
Autism
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) males and (b) females diagnosed as autistic; [124696]
(2) what steps her Department is taking jointly with local authorities to support people with autism. [124697]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect data on the number of people diagnosed as autistic.
Data from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) for 2005-06 identified 10,355 finished consultant episodes with a diagnosis of pervasive development disorder (autistic spectrum disorder). Of these 7,575 were male and 2,780 were female. It is important to note that HES data represent patients admitted to national health service hospitals only and that figures are for episodes of care rather than the number of patients.
“Better Services for People with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder: A Note Clarifying Current Government Policy and Describing Good Practice” was published on 16 November 2006. A copy has been placed in the Library. This document clarifies the nature and intent of existing Government policy as it relates to adults with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). It is intended to encourage people in the social care and health field to develop local agendas for action. It does not develop new policy but explains what existing policy means for local commissioners and providers in terms of Government expectations for the delivery of public services for people with an ASD.
Breast Cancer: Screening
Mr. Stewart Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women aged 50 to 70 years participated in a breast screening programme in the
Peterborough and Stamford hospitals NHS Foundation Trust area in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [119175]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information is not available in the format requested due to various mergers of national health service organisations between 1999 and 2001.
However, the following table shows the number of women screened in North and South Peterborough from 2001-02 to 2004-05. It should be noted that women are invited once every three years for screening. The programme invites them on a general practitioner practice basis, so there will inevitably be variations year on year as women in different parts of the locality are invited for screening.
| Breast screening programme: number of women screened by North Peterborough and South Peterborough primary care organisations (PCO) as at 31 March each specified year | ||||
| Primary care organisation | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| Note: Data prior to 2004-05 re-used with the permission of the Department of Health Source: KC63 The Information Centre | ||||
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2006, Official Report, column 538-9W, on breast cancer screening, whether the Department plans to issue guidance to primary care trusts and cancer networks on how to increase the provision of breast cancer screening services to meet the expected increase in the number of women aged 50 to 70 years between 2005 and 2025. [120997]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We take the challenge of the impact of demographic change on the national health service breast screening programme very seriously. That is why Professor Mike Richards, the National Cancer Director, wrote to the chief executives of all 10 strategic health authorities (SHAs) in England on 9 February 2007 highlighting the rise in the number of women eligible for screening in their local areas over the coming years.
The letters, sent on behalf of the Department's cancer programme board, also congratulated the service on achieving the expansion of the breast screening programme, as set out in the NHS cancer plan, and reminded SHAs of the importance of maintaining a three-year recall rate within their local breast screening programmes.
The breast screening programme is funded through primary care trust resource allocations and therefore the level of expenditure is determined locally based on local priorities and population needs.
Breast Cancer: Waiting lists
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for breast cancer treatment at Maidstone oncology department. [119809]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect data centrally on the average wait for breast cancer treatment. We do measure the percentage of breast cancer patients treated within 31 days of diagnosis and within 62 days of urgent general practitioner (GP) referral for suspected cancer. The table shows the latest figures for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells national health service trust:
Cancelled Operations
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the main reasons were for hospitals cancelling heart operations in the latest period for which figures are available. [118571]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Specific data are not available, but the main reason is likely to be the need to prioritise emergency admissions over elective admissions. Clinical need takes priority. Cancellations are at their lowest level for five years. Cancellations cause anxiety which can be reduced by good communication between hospital and patient.
Capture, Assess, Treat and Support Services
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2007, Official Report, column 1583W, on the Capture, Assess, Treat and Support Services, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that the process to determine how such services will be provided entails (a) fair and open competition and (b) value for money in the provision of the service; and when she expects (i) the ongoing commercial negotiations to be completed and (ii) to be able to provide the (A) set-up and (B) total first year costs of the service. [120539]
Andy Burnham: The procurement process is being conducted in strict compliance with European Union procurement law.
Value for money has been ensured by running a robust and competitive procurement process. Bidders
for the Cumbria and Lancashire clinical assessment, treatment and support (CATS) scheme have been required to negotiate and meet specific criteria across a range of specifications including clinical services, finance, workforce, information management and technology, and contract management. The process is in accordance with the Office of Government Commerce best practice.
Netcare was selected as preferred bidder for the Cumbria and Lancashire CATS scheme in August 2006 as they were considered to exceed the performance criteria and provide the best value for money, within the affordability threshold.
The CATS scheme aims to deliver best value to the local health economy by procuring cost effective triaging of general practitioner referrals and a range of diagnostics capacity. All phase two independent sector treatment centre electives schemes will, as part of their final approvals process, need to demonstrate to HM Treasury that they offer value for money when compared to equivalent costs in the national health service.
No contract has yet been signed and the commercial terms are still under negotiation. The scheme is the subject of a public consultation exercise due to conclude in March 2007. The commercial terms between the Department and Netcare, and the cost of the procurement, are commercially sensitive.
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