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15 Mar 2007 : Column 501W—continued
This breakdown correlates to the total efficiency gain calculated in July 2006 for the period to year ending March 2006. The gain for process improvement was subsequently revised to £777 million following identification of a calculation error. Procurement and PFR savings were revised by a net positive £22 million following receipt and validation of full year end data. The revised total reported saving up to March 2006 is £2,576 million.
Savings for social care are provided by local authorities in their annual efficiency statement. These statements provide a split of cashable and non cashable savings but are not required to provide a more detailed breakdown by project. This level of information is retained locally.
General Practitioners
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on training for general practitioners to become GPs with a specialist interest in each year since 1997, broken down by primary care trust; and if she will make a statement. [122816]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
General Practitioners: Greater London
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs there are in the (a) Greater London area and (b) London borough of Havering. [122502]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There are currently 4,896 general practitioners (GPs) in London, of which 122 are in the borough of Havering.
Note:
All practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes contracted GPs, general medical services others and personal medical services others.
Source:
The Information Centre for health and social care general and personal medical services statistics.
Health Services: Regulation
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will commission research into public participation in healthcare regulation, including (a) selection and recruitment processes, (b) the framework for training, mentoring and supporting members, (c) organisation structures and processes designed to facilitate dialogue with the public and (d) closer working across and between regulatory bodies. [122127]
Andy Burnham: The Government has recently published a White Paper entitled “Trust, Assurance and Safety, The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21(st) Century” which outlines the way forward on health professional regulation. This White Paper follows an extensive public consultation exercise involving over 2,700 responses, including petitions, on the findings of the reviews of medical and non-medical regulation of health care in the United Kingdom.
These reviews also involved consultation with both advisory groups and a call for ideas which resulted in over 250 responses. In addition, three pieces of research were commissioned for these reviews that focused on improving the impact on professionals and improving public safety. Research conducted for us by MORI considered public attitudes to medical regulation and revalidation.
Hospital Emergency Readmissions
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency readmissions there have been to hospitals for those aged (a) 50 to 64, (b) 65 to 74 and (c) 75 years and over in each quarter of each of the last three years, broken down by primary care trust; and if she will make a statement. [116245]
Andy Burnham: Currently the best computations of readmission rates are those released by the National Centre for Health Outcomes Development. They publish their data on their website at:
Presently there are three years’ data from 2001-02 to 2003-04 at primary care trust (PCT) level, for the age groups 0-15, 16-74 and 75 and over. There are plans to produce by March 2007 an eight-year series up to 2005-06 at PCT and trust level.
Other analyses from this source could only be produced at disproportionate cost.
Midwives
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on the Birthrate Plus work force planning tool. [122636]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Birthrate Plus is one of a number of useful work force planning tools that are available to local planners in the national health service.
Midwives: Manpower
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives there were in the NHS in England in each year since 1997, expressed in terms of (a) headcount and (b) whole-time equivalent, broken down by region. [122643]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information has been placed in the Library.
Midwives: Students
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student midwife training places were commissioned in each academic year since 1997; how many student midwives (a) entered training, (b) were in training and (c) qualified as midwives in each of those years; what the total cost to the public purse was of (i) all aspects of that training and (ii) the financial support paid to individual student midwives (1) in total and (2) on average per student midwife for each year; and what the attrition rate for student midwives was in each year. [122639]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Table 1 shows the number of midwife training places which were commissioned and the number of student midwives in training in each academic year since 1997.
The Department does not collect centrally the number of students who qualified as midwives in each of these years.
The total cost of training student midwives for each year since 1997 is set out in table 2.
The financial support paid to individual student midwives in total and on average per student midwife for each year since 1997 has been placed in the Library.
Information for England on the percentage of pre-registration midwifery students who have left their university course is given in table 3. Each year represents an intake year. A complete measure of attrition for a cohort of students will include withdrawal figures for each year of their programme. No data are available for 2001-02. The attrition data for the 2002-03 academic year onwards administered by
the higher education statistics agency are in the process of being analysed by the health services information centre.
| Table 1: midwifery pre-registration training commissions/student midwives in training | ||||
| Degree | Diploma | Other | Total | |
| Source: Quarterly monitoring return | ||||
| Table 2: the total cost of training student midwives for each year since 1997 | |
| Financial year | Total cost (£ million) |
| Notes: 1. 1997-1998, 2004-2005 and 2005-06 are forecasts (actual outturn was only collected from 1999 onwards). No data are available for 2006-07. 2. Data in the above time series are not strictly comparable due to changes in the way data were collected. 3. Average bursary costs for nurses and midwives added to tuition costs from 2000-01 onwards. | |
| Table 3: attrition rates of student midwives since 1997 | |
| Percentage of midwives failing to complete courses | |
| (1) These data are not complete as they do not include withdrawal rates for each year of the course for the intake year specified. | |
NHS Finance
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which (a) hospitals, (b) care trusts and (c) foundation trusts in London are in budget deficit. [116840]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Based on the information in our quarter 3 2006-07 national health service finance report, we expect the NHS as a whole to achieve net financial balance by the end of March 2007.
The following table shows NHS trusts in London strategic health authority forecasting a year end deficit at quarter 3 2006-07. There were no care trusts in London forecasting a deficit at quarter 3. The Department does not collect financial information from hospitals.
| NHS trust | 2006-07 month nine forecast outturn (deficit) (£000) |
| Source: Departmental quarter three NHS financial report 2006-07 | |
The following table shows NHS foundation trusts in the London area recording a year to date deficit at the end of the quarter 2, 2006-07. This information has been provided by Monitor. Monitor publishes different quarterly financial information to the Department. Monitor publishes year to date data, the Department publishes forecast outturn and therefore, this information is not comparable. Monitor will publish its quarter 3 2006-07 financial data shortly.
| NHS foundation trust | 2006-07 month six year to date (Deficit) (£000) |
| Source: Monitor, NHS Foundation Trusts: Report for six-month period to 30 September 2006. | |
NHS: Maternity Leave
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what her Department’s policy is on primary care trusts planning for maternity leave staffing cover; [122521]
(2) if she will place in the Library her Department’s policy on primary care trusts providing staffing cover for front-line staff on maternity leave. [122536]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There is no specific policy governing maternity leave staffing cover. This is a matter for local employers. For those staff on Agenda for Change terms and conditions of service it is possible to move staff into a higher pay band to fill a position on a temporary basis as per paragraph 6.30 of the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook. The hand book published by NHS Employers, can be found on their website at:
The “NHS Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook” is available in the Library.
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