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16 Apr 2007 : Column 346W—continued
Health Services: Internet
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the decision was taken not to continue to fund the Best Treatments website; and if she will make a statement. [123567]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 27 February 2007]: Financial resources and new policy developments were deciding factors regarding the contract for Best Treatments. The Department remains committed to providing patients and the public with the information they need to make informed decisions about their healthcare and social care, but needs to target resources where they will be most effective.
The Department will help people to find the excellent information that is already available rather than duplicate production. That is why we are developing information prescriptions and an information accreditation scheme. In this way, we will drive up quality of information and assure people that the information they access is reliable and relevant to them.
Health Services: North West Region
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any of the bidders for the (a) Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services and (b) Clinical Assessment Treatment Services centres in the North West are also (i) health care providers in the North West and (ii) owned, wholly or in part, by health care providers in the North West. [131762]
Andy Burnham: Netcare, who are the preferred bidder for the Cumbria and Lancashire Clinical Assessment, Treatment and Support (CATS) electives scheme and one of the two Greater Manchester CATS schemes, provides national health service services in the North West through the Greater Manchester Surgical Centre, part of Wave 1 of the Independent Sector Treatment Centre programme.
Health Services: Overseas Residence
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate she has made of the cost of providing free NHS treatment to UK citizens who are resident abroad in each of the last five years; [130392]
(2) what the estimated revenue from UK citizens resident abroad in NHS fees was in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [130393]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
In general, any United Kingdom citizen who resides abroad is treated as an overseas visitor and may be required to pay for national health service treatment under the provisions
of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended. Successive Governments have not required the NHS to provide statistics on the number of overseas visitors seen, treated or charged under these provisions, nor any costs involved. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.
Health: Irish Community
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to target the Irish community with culturally appropriate health promotion strategies in the areas of (a) smoking cessation, (b) healthy diet and (c) exercise. [128175]
Caroline Flint: Smoking cessation campaigns are predominantly targeted at the general population of smokers, and the highest prevalence group of 25-44 year olds in lower socio-economic groups (C2DE). We develop our campaigns with appropriate messaging for this group based on insights into their smoking behaviour, with additional campaign materials developed for communities where cultural factors affect the accessibility of these messages. There has been no evidence yet suggested by research that members of the Irish community in our target audience will be less receptive to the core national campaign messages, or experience accessibility issues. Individual PCTs that have substantial Irish communities within their catchment area may run targeted public health campaigns for this group.
On healthy diet and exercise, we will be rolling out a series of initiatives linking in with partner organisations across the public sector, the food manufacturing and retail sector and with voluntary organisations to support families to live a healthy life based on a healthy diet and increased physical activity. The Healthy Living strategy is about providing support when and where it is required and in a way that people will respond to.
The most extensive survey on behaviours of minority ethnic groups ever carried out in England was published in April 2006. The Health Survey for England 2004 interviewed over 6,000 adults from black and minority ethnic communities including Irish communities. The proportion of Irish adults who met the five-a-day recommendation was 26 per cent. of Irish men and 32 per cent. of Irish women compared with 23 per cent. and 27 per cent. of the general population.
On exercise the proportion of Irish adults who reported physical activity rates at the chief medical officer's recommended level of at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week was 39 per cent. for men and 29 per cent. for women compared with the figures for the general population of 37 per cent. for men and 25 per cent. for women.
A copy of the survey is available in the Library.
Health: Regulatory Impact Assessment
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1005-06W, on Health: Regulatory Impact Assessment, on which items of legislation for which (a) her Department and (b) other Government
Departments are responsible health impact assessments have been incorporated into the regulatory impact assessment process. [130414]
Andy Burnham: The specific information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) for legislation made since health impact assessments were incorporated into the RIA framework are available in the Library and on Government Departments' websites.
Hearing Aids: Gloucestershire
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were provided with a digital hearing aid in each month by Gloucestershire Hospitals Trust since the current programme began. [130256]
Caroline Flint: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Heart Diseases: Bolton
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Bolton have participated in the Coronary Disease Programme. [130390]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally.
Hepatitis
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) Hepatitis A, (b) Chronic Hepatitis B, (c) Hepatitis C, (d) Hepatitis D, (e) Hepatitis E, (f) Hepatitis F, (g) Hepatitis G and (h) Hepatitis H were reported in each year since 1997. [129015]
Caroline Flint: The information requested is provided in the following tables.
| Number of reports | |
| Note: 2006 data are provisional, and numbers are likely to increase. Source: Health Protection Agency (HPA) | |
Data on chronic hepatitis B are not collected.
Data are collected on laboratory reports of acute Hepatitis B. Surveillance of the incidence of acute infection is used to monitor trends, to evaluate the Hepatitis B immunisation programme and to inform the development of national and local control policies.
| Hepatitis C laboratory reports, England 1997 to 2006 | |
| Number of reports | |
| Note: 2006 data are provision, and numbers are likely to increase Source: Health Protection Agency | |
Data on Hepatitis D are not collected. Hepatitis D is a defective virus that replicates only in the presence of the Hepatitis B virus.
Information is available from 2003 to 2006
| Laboratory reports of Hepatitis E, England and Wales 2003 to 2006 | |
| Number of reports | |
| Source: Health Protection Agency | |
Hepatitis F is a hypothetical hepatitis virus. Several hepatitis F virus candidates emerged in the 1990s. Further investigations failed to confirm the existence of the virus, and it was delisted as a cause of infectious hepatitis.
Data are not routinely collected on hepatitis G. Extensive worldwide investigation has failed to identify any association between the hepatitis G virus and hepatitis, and its clinical significance is unknown.
There is currently no virus designated as hepatitis H.
Home Births
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of deliveries were home births in each year since 1995. [126162]
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 16 April 2007:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the number and proportion of deliveries that were home births in each year since 1995. (126162)
The latest year for which we have data is 2005. The attached table shows the number and percentage of maternities that took place at home in England and Wales in each year between 1995 and 2005.
| Number and percentage of maternities taking place at home, England and Wales, 1995 to 2005 | |||
| Number of maternities | |||
| at home | total | Percentage of maternities taking place at home | |
| Source: Birth Statistics, Series FM1 no. 24 to 34. | |||
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