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1 May 2007 : Column 1593W—continued


1 May 2007 : Column 1594W
Date 18-24 not in employment, education or training( 1)

Spring 1996

860,000

Summer 1996

956,000

Autumn 1996

863,000

Winter 1996

805,000

Spring 1997

759,000

Summer 1997

871,000

Autumn 1997

706,000

Winter 1997

709,000

Spring 1998

699,000

Summer 1998

795,000

Autumn 1998

710,000

Winter 1998

705,000

Spring 1999

667,000

Summer 1999

781,000

Autumn 1999

678,000

Winter 1999

692,000

Spring 2000

665,000

Summer 2000

746,000

Autumn 2000

673,000

Winter 2000

681,000

Spring 2001

655,000

Summer 2001

740,000

Autumn 2001

708,000

Winter 2001

701,000

Spring 2002

685,000

Summer 2002

787,000

Autumn 2002

699,000

Winter 2002

710,000

Spring 2003

703,000

Summer 2003

803,000

Autumn 2003

702,000

Winter 2003

672,000

Spring 2004

682,000

Summer 2004

805,000

Autumn 2004

749,000

Winter 2004

736,000

Spring 2005

752,000

Summer 2005

831,000

Autumn 2005

801,000

Winter 2005

792,000

Spring 2006

780,000

(1) Rounded to the nearest thousand.
Note:
NEET numbers are calculated using the DFES statistical definition. These data are seasonally unadjusted and so any comparisons should be made on a year to year basis.

Health

Accident and Emergency Departments

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2007, Official Report, column 114W, on accident and emergency (A and E) departments, what assessment she has made of the reasons behind the increase in the number of admissions via type 1 A and E departments referred to. [131887]

Andy Burnham: Demand management, including the number of patients admitted as an emergency via accident and emergency departments, is something that we would expect the local national health service to look at and monitor.

Data trends do suggest that there has been a particular increase recently in the number of very short stay admissions nationally. This is good patient care. Patients requiring more than four hours of care are entitled to the same levels of comfort and care as any other hospital patient. Patients may be admitted to assessment units or sometimes specialist wards where the next stages of investigation and care can take place in appropriate surroundings.

Cancer

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were referred for the urgent treatment of cancer in each quarter since the quarter beginning January 2005. [131946]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The NHS Cancer Plan contained the target that from the end of 2005 all cancer patients would wait a maximum of two months (62 days) from urgent general practitioner referral to first cancer treatment. Not all cancer patients are referred urgently by their general practitioner (GP), so the NHS Cancer Plan also contained the target that all cancer patients would be treated a maximum of one month (31 days) from diagnosis of cancer. The number of patients treated against these targets is shown in the following table.


1 May 2007 : Column 1595W
Quarter Total number of patients referred for urgent cancer treatment within 62 days by their GP Total number treated within of cancer of patients to be 31 days of diagnosis

2004-05

4

9,114

37,122

2005-06

1

11,021

42,576

2

12,908

45,532

3

14,371

47,872

4

16,755

49,746

2006-07

1

17,884

50,167

2

19,147

51,582

3

19,605

51,268


Further information on cancer waiting times performance is published at:

Cancer: Drugs

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was to the NHS of drugs used in the treatment of cancer in each of the last 15 years. [133667]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not routinely collect figures on the cost to the national health service of cancer treatment drugs.

In 2005, the Department completed a tracking investment exercise which showed that between 2000-01 and 2003-04 spending on drugs for cancer treatment increased by £192 million, but we do not know the baseline figure.

Total NHS expenditure on cancer services, which includes drugs, was £4.3 billion in 2005-06, which equates to 5.4 per cent. of all NHS spending.

Coeliac Disease

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support her Department has provided for research into coeliac disease in each of the last three years. [134394]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department’s total expenditure on health research has been devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual NHS supported research projects including a substantial number concerned with coeliac disease are available on the national research register at:

The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the NHS and through its Health Technology Assessment Programme has funded research into coeliac disease as part of a study concerned primarily with the use of cognitive behavioural therapy in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.


1 May 2007 : Column 1596W

The Hammersmith and St. Mary’s and Imperial College Biomedical Research Centre formed as part of the implementation of the Government’s research strategy “Best Research for Best Health” proposes to undertake research on the prevalence of coeliac disease and its histological definition as part of its hepatology and gastroenterology research theme.

In addition, the Food Standards Authority has commissioned a systematic review of the literature on thresholds for reactivity to gluten that will lead to benefits for people who need to follow a gluten free diet.

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress has been made in improving the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of coeliac disease. [134395]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Diagnosis of coeliac disease can be difficult for general practitioners as the symptoms are common to many other conditions. Improvements in diagnosis have therefore concentrated on raising awareness of this condition among health professionals and the general public. The PRODIGY website www.prodigy.nhs.uk contains specific information useful for health professionals and people who have been newly diagnosed with the disease.

There is no specific treatment for those living with coeliac disease. However, symptoms can be kept under control with a strict gluten-free diet. Most people with coeliac disease receive advice from their general practitioner (GP) on self-management of their condition, and specifically on the exclusion of foods containing gluten from their diet. A wide range of gluten-free foods are available on national health service prescription and these may be prescribed where a GP considers it necessary to ensure effective self-management of the condition.

Dental Health: Children

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number and percentage of children under the age of five with tooth decay in (a) Shropshire, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England. [133320]

Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not available centrally, but data from a survey conducted in 2005-06 by the British Association for Study of Community Dentistry of children who were five years old are as follows.

Five-year-old children with tooth decay
Total number Percentage

Shropshire

891

31.0

West Midlands

15,866

26.9

England

170,032

33.3


Dental Services

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much patient charge income for delivering NHS dentistry (a) her Department and (b) the NHS Business Services Authority estimates each primary care trust received in 2006-07. [131882]


1 May 2007 : Column 1597W

Ms Rosie Winterton: Neither the Department nor the NHS Business Services Authority is in a position to make a reliable estimate of patient charge revenue ahead of receiving final outturn data for the full financial year. Dentists have up to two months after the end of the financial year to submit final details of charges collected.

Dental Services: Contracts

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) general dental services contracts and (b) personal dental services contracts signed by, or on, 1 April 2006 on an in dispute basis remain in dispute, broken down by strategic health authority (SHA) area; and what proportion of contracts signed in each SHA area this represents. [131936]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The most recent available information on dental contracts that were in dispute (as at 31 January 2007) is set out in the following table. This information is not collected in a form that can be broken down into general dental services and personal dental services contracts.

New SHA Total number of dental contracts signed in April 2006 Number of dental contracts in dispute as at 31 January 2007 Percentage of dental contracts signed in April 2006 that remained in dispute as at 31 January 2007

East Midlands

595

88

14.8

East of England

925

64

6.9

London

1,380

133

9.6

North East

355

6

1.7

North West

1,171

54

4.6

South Central

639

45

7.0

South East Coast

756

56

7.4

South West

832

58

7.0

West Midlands

1,020

98

9.6

Yorkshire and the Humber

704

108

15.3

England

8,377

710

8.5


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