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21 Jun 2007 : Column 2140W—continued
intensive support for up to 30,000 parents who most need parenting support, focusing in particular on fathers; and
a commitment from the Department of Health to examine how health services can best support parents and families in the early years of children’s lives, by expanding the scope and duration of the current health-led parenting pilots, subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review.
“Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families” acknowledged that despite an improvement in the outcomes for disabled children, they are less likely to achieve as much in a range of areas as their non-disabled peers. This report sets out policy proposals to encourage more responsive services and early interventions for disabled children and their families, across social services and health to enhance equality and opportunity for disabled children and their families. Improving their educational, social emotional development, and their opportunities for independent living, choice and control, is a key part of this process.
This report announced the following provision:
£280 million over the next three years to fund short breaks for disabled children, meaning an extra 40,000 fortnightly short breaks for severely disabled children and their families to help prevent family breakdown;
£35 million to fund a pilot project to provide accessible child care, promote training, and tackle other barriers to accessing child care;
£19 million for a Transition Support Programme to promote wrap around support, and consolidate person-centred planning at the critical transition to adulthood. This builds on the Government’s commitment to roll-out the successful Early
Support Programme which provides intensive, co-ordinated support early in a disabled child’s life;
radical reform in the co-ordination and provision of community equipment and wheelchairs to maximise disabled children’s mobility;
development of a national indicator as part of the suite of public service agreement targets, underpinned by a ‘core offer’ to help disabled young people and their parents understand what support they can get and how to access it across local services; and
specific resources for evaluation and benchmarking good practice on early intervention for disabled children and their families as part of the work of the new Centre for Excellence for Children and Family Services.
Immigration: Greater London
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in funding for (a) London and (b) Wimbledon as a result of the change from International Passenger Survey to Labour Force Survey. [143013]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
The Office for National Statistics published indicative figures for mid-2002 to mid-2005 to show the effect of a number of improvements to the methodology to estimate the international migration component of the population estimates. These improvements include the use of the Labour Force Survey in combination with the International Passenger Survey to distribute in-flows of international migrants to a regional level.
No estimates have been made of the distribution of formula grant to any authority based on these indicative figures.
Landfill Tax
Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the forecast revenue is from landfill tax in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) each year onwards for which estimates are available in (i) England and (ii) the United Kingdom. [143654]
John Healey: UK landfill tax receipts for 2005-06 and a provisional figure for 2006-07 are published by HM Revenue and Customs at http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=Bulletins in the landfill tax bulletin. A projection for 2007-08 receipts is published in Table C8 of the March 2007 Financial Statement and Budget Report.
Outturn or projected landfill tax receipts for England are not available separately.
Public Sector: Manpower
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what his latest estimate is of the (a) total population and (b) number of public sector workers for the period from 2007 to 2057; and if he will make a statement; [144074]
(2) what changes to Government assumptions about (a) public sector staff turnover and (b) the total number of public sector employees in relation to the total population underlie the new estimates of the future costs of public sector pensions in (i) the 2006 long-term public finance report and (ii) the 2004
long-term public finance report ; and if he will make a statement. [144076]
Mr. Timms: The staff turnover assumptions used in the long-term public finance report are provided by the Government Actuary's Department to reflect the actual experience of the schemes. The 2005 staff turnover assumptions were based on the assumptions adopted for principal civil service pension scheme (PCSPS) based on scheme experience while the 2006 assumptions are a weighted average of PCSPS, NHS pension scheme (NHSPS) and the teachers pension scheme (TPS) experience and assumptions. A technical note detailing staff turnover assumptions for the 2005 cash flow projections for unfunded public service pension schemes was also placed in the House of Commons Library in June 2006 and a note detailing the 2006 projections is published on the Government Actuary's Department website.
Data used in the LTPFR assumptions is based on scheme membership and not on the total number of public sector employees. HM Treasury does not produce population estimates or projections. The last official population projections were produced by the Government Actuary's Department in 2005 and are publicly available on their website. The Office for National Statistics will be responsible for producing the next set of projections and these will be published on 23 October.
Sequestration of Assets
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total value of assets the Asset Freezing Unit is likely to freeze in each of the first three years of its operation on an annual budget. [144568]
Ed Balls: Decisions by the Treasury to freeze the assets of suspected terrorists are at all times taken in response to advice from law enforcement and security agencies. It is not possible to estimate the value of assets likely to be frozen in a given year.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Asset Freezing Unit will become operational; how many full time equivalent staff members it will employ; what its annual budget will be; and what the set up costs will be. [144569]
Ed Balls: The Treasury intends to establish a dedicated Asset Freezing Unit by the end of the summer. The unit will be funded from within the Treasury’s departmental expenditure limit.
Stamp Duties: Repayments
Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people received refunds on stamp duty in 2006-07; and how many received such refunds erroneously. [143726]
Ed Balls: From 1 December 2003, stamp duty land tax replaced stamp duty for property transactions. During 2006-07 Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs issued 7,442 repayments of stamp duty land tax.
Stamp duty land tax is a self-assessed tax. It is not possible to estimate the number of repayments which
should not have been made because a purchaser has incorrectly completed his or her return.
Tax Credit: Pension Funds
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the evidential basis is which supports the statement that the abolition of dividend tax credits in his July 1997 Budget was the right decision for the future of the UK’s pension system. [143546]
Ed Balls: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement the Chancellor of the Exchequer made to the House and subsequent exchanges on occupational pensions on 17 April 2007, Official Report, columns 175-79.
Health
Blood Donors
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations she received in each year since 2002 on the National Blood Service’s policy that prohibits gay and bisexual men from donating blood. [144179]
Caroline Flint: The Department is able to provide information for the last three years. This is provided in the following table.
| Correspondence( 1) | |
| (1 )letters that have been identified that are on the issue of gay men excluded from donating blood | |
Cancer
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the (a) epidemiological and (b) statistical correlation between incidences of cancer and (i) mining communities and (ii) iron and steel industry communities. [141049]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We are not aware of any departmental assessment looking at the epidemiological and statistical correlation between incidences of cancer in either mining communities or the iron and steel industry communities.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who will be diagnosed with lymphoma in the next five years. [143739]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We estimate that 57,698 people will be diagnosed with a type of lymphoma between 2008 and 2013.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of lymphoma patients who are able to choose whether to receive their care at home or in a community setting. [143742]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published “Improving Outcomes” guidance for patients with haematological
cancers, including lymphoma, in October 2003. This guidance covers all aspects of a lymphoma patient pathway, including providing supportive care in both a home and community setting. It is based on the best available evidence and has been put together after wide consultation, drawing on the views of patients and carers as well as the experts in the field.
The national health service has been required to set out action plans to achieve compliance with the NICE recommendations and has set key milestones for the delivery of the guidance. Implementation will be incremental and will be supported through the increased general funding being provided to the NHS. Implementation is being monitored by strategic health authorities and through peer review.
We have also provided £6 million of funding for the Integrated Cancer Care programme, which explored models of delivery to help all cancer patients get the best quality of care possible, and to find out the most effective ways to use resources.
This programme also supported patient choice by engaging patients more actively in decisions about their care. A final report, detailing the development of the programme and the key recommendations, was submitted to Ministers in spring 2007 and has been published on the Department of Health’s website at:
Additionally, as part of the development of the cancer reform strategy announced last November, we will be considering the most appropriate setting for the delivery of care for cancer patients.
Cancer: Sunitinib
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance her Department gives to primary care trusts for the provision of the drug sunitinib (Sutent) to cancer patients on the NHS; [144632]
(2) if she will ensure that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence makes an early assessment of the effectiveness of sunitinib (Sutent) for the treatment of cancer patients; [144633]
(3) what assessment her Department has made of the efficacy of the drug sunitinib (Sutent) for treating cancer patients. [144634]
Caroline Flint: Guidance issued by the Department makes it clear that it is not acceptable for national health service organisations to refuse to fund a treatment simply because it has not been appraised by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Pending final guidance, NHS bodies should continue to make local decisions on the use of sunitinib (Sutent), taking account of the available evidence.
The Department referred sunitinib to NICE on 19 June 2007 for appraisal as part of its 14th work programme.
The safety, quality and efficacy of a drug is assessed as part of the process for granting a marketing authorisation. Sunitinib has been approved by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency, with contributions from the United Kingdom via membership of its scientific advisory committee, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human use, for use in the European Union to treat
patients with renal cell carcinoma and gastrointestinal stomal tumour. The Department has undertaken no separate assessment of the efficacy of sunitinib.
Cancer: Medical Treatments
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support is available for lymphoma patients to help them comply with their treatments. [142980]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published ‘Improving outcomes in haemato-oncology cancer’ for patients with haematological cancers, including lymphoma, in October 2003. This guidance covers all aspects of a lymphoma patient pathway, including supportive care, and is based on the best available evidence and have been put together after wide consultation, drawing on the views of patients and carers as well as the experts in the field.
The national health service has been required to set out action plans to achieve compliance with the NICE recommendations and has set key milestones for the delivery of the guidance. Implementation will be incremental and will be supported through the increased general funding being provided to the NHS. Implementation is being monitored by strategic health authorities and through peer review.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of payment by results on the provision of social and psychological support to lymphoma patients. [143305]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There has been no formal assessment of the impact of payment by results on the provision of social and psychological support to lymphoma patients.
Social care is outside the scope of payment by results. Psychology services are excluded from payment by results, except psychological support provided during a patient's stay in hospital. Funding for services that are excluded from payment by results is agreed locally between commissioners and providers.
Cancer: Research
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has to review the implementation of the Human Tissue Act 2004 in order to safeguard tissue-banks which may be needed for research into lymphatic cancers and other conditions. [142956]
Ms Rosie Winterton: None. The Human Tissue Act 2004 was passed following a considerable amount of parliamentary debate as well as extensive consultation and discussion with a wide range of stakeholders including healthcare professionals, academics and researchers, families affected by organ retention, members of the general public as well as other Departments and the devolved Administrations. It provides a sound regulatory framework that supports research activities, including tissue banking, while maintaining the confidence of both professionals and the public.
Cancer: Tomography
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment has been made of the impact of lymphoma services of the £20 million extra capital investment to build new PET-CT facilities announced on 12 October 2005; [142977]
(2) how many PET-CT scanning facilities were available for lymphoma patients in each year since 2004; and where they were located. [142979]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not routinely collect data on the, number, location and clinical use of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning and therefore cannot make an assessment of the additional funding made available for lymphoma patients.
However, ‘The National Framework for the Development of PET-CT Services in England’ published in 2005 estimated that 15,000 scans were needed for diagnosis and treatment of patients with lymphoma. A National Audit database is currently being developed by the United Kingdom PET-CT Advisory Board. In the future, this database will help to monitor the number of scans recommended against estimates of needs for conditions such as lymphoma.
Annex C (pages 24-27) of the national framework identifies the PET-CT facilities in England in 2005. A copy of the national framework is available in the Library. In addition, the National Clinical Research Institute (NCRI) also published A ‘Framework for PET Research in the UK’ in March 2007 and Appendix IX of this report identified the location of current facilities for PET scanning within the national health service only. This report can be found on NCRI’s website at www.ncri.org.uk.
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