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16 May 2007 : Column 788W—continued
Mr. Sutcliffe: The total expenditure claimed by Independent Monitoring Board members in the last four years is:
| £ | |
The request to provide the total cost for allowances and expenses for each of the establishments for the last four years cannot be answered on the grounds of disproportionate cost.
Prisons: Swimming Pools
Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many prisons have swimming pools for use by inmates; and if she will make a statement. [136724]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Five prisons have swimming pools which are used by prisoners. They are at Holloway, Portland, Aylesbury, Standford Hill and Blantyre House. Where operational circumstances permit, these pools are made available to local groups.
Health
Acute Beds
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staffed inpatient and day case beds there were in each major acute hospital in England in the latest period for which figures are available. [135883]
Andy Burnham: Data on beds are collected at trust, rather than hospital level.
A table which shows the average daily number of available beds in (i) wards open overnight and (ii) wards open day only for national health service organisations in England in 2005-06 (the latest year’s data) has been placed in the Library.
Arun Community Hospital
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 April 2007, Official Report, column 1263W, on Arun Community hospital, to whom NHS South East Coast is accountable. [135824]
Andy Burnham: South East Coast strategic health authority (SHA) is a statutory organisation and has a board made up of both executive and non-executive directors. SHAs operate under powers delegated to them by the Secretary of State, and function as the local headquarters of the national health service.
SHAs are subject to direction by the Secretary of State about their exercise of functions. In practice, SHAs are held to account via their chief executives by the NHS Chief Executive, on behalf of the Secretary of State, for ensuring their local health systems operate effectively and in line with Government policies.
Departments: Arms Length Management Organisations
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by each of her Department's arm's length bodies on (a) public relations companies and (b) other consultants in each of the last three years. [137560]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department does not hold this information centrally.
Departments: Publications
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department commissioned new research to support the clinical case for change reports published by (a) the national adviser for surgery on 17 April 2007, (b) the national director for primary care on 5 February 2007, (c) the national director for emergency access on 5 December 2006, (d) the national director for heart disease and stroke on 5th December 2006, (e) the national clinical director for children, young people and maternity services on 6 February 2007 and (f) the national director for older people on 29 January 2007; and what the total cost to the public purse of producing each of these reports has been, inclusive of development and publication costs. [135866]
Andy Burnham: Further to the answer given on 13 March 2007, Official Report, column 316W, these are personal reports written by the national clinical directors. They use the most up to date evidence available in each of their specialities. No new research has been commissioned specifically for these documents. Further to the answer given on 22 March 2007, Official Report, column 948W, the printing and publication costs of the seven reports is an average of £2,762 each making a total cost of £19,334.
GPs
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner consultations took place in each year since 1997-98. [123136]
Andy Burnham: The number of general practitioner consultations carried out each year is not routinely collected centrally.
Health Professions: Finance
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what ongoing funding is provided by her Department to the Health Professions Council. [133576]
Andy Burnham: According to our records no funding has been paid to the Health Professions Council (HPC) by the Department since April 2004. The HPC is an autonomous organisation funded by registration fees and does not receive funding from the Department.
Health Services: Public Participation
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why the consultation on the 10 core principles for those providing care to patients which her Department launched on 11 December 2006 differ from those on the NHS website at http://www.nhs.uk/England/AboutTheNhs/CorePrinciples.cmsx. [123151]
Andy Burnham: The principles on the national health service website referred to are those published in the NHS Plan 2000. On 11 December 2006, the Department published a new set of draft principles for consultation, which will be incorporated into the new NHS contract for hospital services.
The NHS is changing from a top-down, centrally led service to a more flexible and responsive patient-led service where the needs of individuals are at the centre of health care. The updating of the core principles will reflect the changes in the provision of health services, and ensure that they are applicable to all providers of hospital care to NHS patients.
Hospitals: Private Sector
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines she has issued to hospital trusts on (a) the provision by private companies of non-medical services for patients and (b) the level of charges imposed. [120032]
Andy Burnham: The Department has issued guidance to the national health service on charging patients for bedside telephone and television services. In order to make these services available, a tender exercise was undertaken and a number of companies were licensed to provide these services to the NHS. The licence documentation contains guidance on acceptable charging strategies within the NHS.
The procurement of other non-medical services is the responsibility of the local NHS, and it is for them to manage these contracts and ensure they offer value for money.
James Paget NHS Foundation Hospital
Mr. Anthony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget was for the James Paget NHS Foundation Hospital in each year for which figures are available. [135217]
Andy Burnham: This is a matter for the chair of James Paget University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust. We have written to John Hemming informing him of my hon. Friend's inquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
Morbidity and Mortality Statistics
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) morbidity and (b) infant mortality rates for (i) Gypsy, (ii) Traveller and (iii) white British populations were in (A) 1987, (B) 1997 and (C) 2007. [111803]
Andy Burnham: The information requested is not collected centrally.
NHS: Databases
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) code and (b) title is of all data returns required by her Department from (i) NHS trusts, (ii) primary care trusts and (iii) strategic health authorities; how frequently each is required; and how many items need to be recorded for each data return. [135892]
Andy Burnham: The information has been placed in the Library.
Although exact information on the number of items that need to be recorded on each data return is not collated centrally, information on some returns is in the NHS data dictionary, available at:
NHS: Standards
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of removing targets from the NHS; and if she will make a statement. [134486]
Andy Burnham: “Our health, our care, our say” and the Local Government White Paper Strong and prosperous communities, set out the strategic direction for delivering the next phase of reform, where the system is more flexible and responsive to patient and user needs, which means greater local control and ownership of service improvements and less direction from the centre.
We have already shifted the focus of national health service targets to make sure that they underpin improvements in health outcomes and patient experience, and reduced the numbers of new national requirements agreed through previous spending reviews, to support devolution.
The NHS is now entering a new phase, where reforms are embedded to enable lasting transformation of the whole system of care delivery, and support a more locally driven, innovative and patient-led NHS no longer reliant on top down performance management as we know it.
Primary Health Care
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the isolated contractual difficulties were with primary care services in some parts of the country referred to in paragraph 1.5.2 of her Department's Winter Report 2006-07, published 3 April; in which primary care trusts the isolated contractual difficulties arose; and if she will make a statement. [135865]
Andy Burnham: Primary care trusts now have a legal responsibility to make sure patients are well cared for during the out-of-hours period and are responsible for performance managing their providers in the delivery of out-of-hours services.
The Department does not routinely collect performance information on out of hours services. However, concerns about the out-of-hours service in Cornwall have been
raised in the House on 20 February 2007, Official Report, column 1WH, by the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor).
Since then, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust has worked with the provider, Serco, to put in place an improvement plan including an increase in staffing and capacity. South West Strategic Health Authority reports that the service is improving and it is now hitting 100 per cent. on many targets.
In addition, in response to an issue raised by the coroner for inner north London, the Department issued Directions to primary care trusts in December 2006 requiring them to review arrangements locally to ensure adequate systems are in place to support continuity of care and ensure patient safety is safeguarded.
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2006, Official Report, columns 1325-27W, on the private finance initiative, what the reasons are for the differences between the capital values listed in the answer and those in her Department’s press release of 27 February entitled Mapping the Success of NHS Building schemes Since 1997 for the schemes proposed by (a) the Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, (b) the Peterborough Hospitals NHS Trust, (c) Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, (d) Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, (e) Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust and (f) the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust. [131859]
Andy Burnham: The principal reason for any change to the capital values of the schemes at the Tees Esk and Wear Valley National Health Service Trust, the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust, Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust and the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust was that the review of private finance initiative schemes led the trusts concerned to reconsider how their schemes could best be structured in order to deliver services, in the most cost effective way and ensure their long-term viability. A key part of this work was an assessment of the capacity assumptions to ascertain if these were realistic and properly suited to the needs of the local health economy; and a review of the estate in terms of current and planned building stock to ensure optimal use.
In consequence all the schemes, with the exception of that at the Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, underwent structural changes, details of which have been published and are available locally.
In addition, the prices given in February 2006 did not reflect the fact that the schemes at both Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust and the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust were still pursuing a number of options. This meant that by the time the review came to consider these schemes their capital values had increased.
The figures given in the 27 of February press notice for Mid Yorkshire included £37 million of public capital that was not included in the figure given in February 2006.
Royal London Homeopathic Hospital
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to prevent the closure of the Royal London Homeopathic hospital. [135189]
Andy Burnham: This is a matter for the Chair of University College London Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust. We have written to Peter Dixon informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
West Hertfordshire NHS Trust
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library the minutes of the meeting between her Department’s officials and West Hertfordshire NHS Trust on 31 July 2006. [112328]
Andy Burnham: Departmental officials met with representatives of the Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust on 31 July 2006 primarily to discuss mental health policy. No formal notes were taken. Neither the Secretary of State, nor her Ministers nor officials have had representations made to them by West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. I regret that my written answer on 23 January 2007, Official Report, column 1762W, mistakenly said that the meeting had taken place with West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
Duchy of Lancaster
Gift Aid
5. Anne Milton: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on changes in the level of gift aid relief to charities. [137266]
7. Mr. Dunne: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on changes in the level of gift aid relief to charities. [137268]
Edward Miliband: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I have discussed the increase that we have seen in the resources going to charities through gift aid from £134 million to £750 million since 1997 and the need to build on this. We will be consulting the charitable sector in the coming months on measures to increase take-up of gift aid, improve the use of payroll giving and ensure greater awareness of how to give in a tax-effective way.
10. Mr. Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the levels of gift aid to charities over the last two years. [137271]
Edward Miliband: In the last two years for which figures are available, the amount of money going to charities through gift aid has risen by £164 million from £586 million in 2003-04 to £750 million in 2005-06. This increase is higher than the total amount being paid under gift aid in 1996-97, which was just £134 million.
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