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23 Oct 2007 : Column 272W—continued
NHS: Finance
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the Programme Budgeting Atlases, referred to at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policy andguidance/Organisationpolicy/Financeandplanning/Programmebudgeting/DH_075743 are available only to NHSnet users; and if he will place the atlases on a publicly accessible website. [156807]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Programme Budgeting Atlases are only available to NHSnet users to ensure compliance with the National Statistics Code of Practice and the Protocol on Data Access and Confidentiality. This is to ensure that information that could potentially identify an individual is not disclosed to the general public.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the long-term plans for the 17 NHS trusts referred to in his Department's report NHS financial performance quarter four, published on 6 June 2007, as unable to service and repay loans over an acceptable period. [159944]
Mr. Bradshaw: Departmental officials have worked in partnership with strategic health authorities (SHAs) on a review process to identify long-term solutions for these 17 trusts. The results of this recently completed review process are now being discussed with the SHAs and solutions are being prepared in the context of the Operating Framework for 2008-09.
NHS: Manpower
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to record the number of bank and agency staff employed by the NHS and publish data on an annual basis. [158537]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Information Centre collects and publishes census data annually. The number of bank staff employed in the national health service is drawn from this data using the Non-Medical Workforce Census.
The Department does not record the number of agency staff the NHS employs, but does record how much it spends. This data is collected annually via the trusts financial returns. The National Audit Office report “Improving the use of temporary nursing staff in NHS acute and foundation trusts” published in June 2006 acknowledged that year-on-year the NHS is getting better value for money and improving quality.
NHS: Per Capita Costs
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the per capita Government funding provision was for health services in (a) Cornwall, (b) the South West and (c) England in each year since 1979. [156314]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not hold information centrally, either in total or per head of population, on funding across the whole of Government for health services. However, the following table shows the revenue resource limits (RRLs), expressed on a per capita basis, allocated by the Department for: Cornwall, the South West strategic health authority area and England. RRLs are limits set by the Department to control revenue expenditure in strategic health authorities (SHAs) and primary care trusts (PCTs). This information is given for the years 2000-01 to 2006-07, which are the only years for which these data are available by individual health body. The RRLs used are those for all relevant health authorities, SHAs, and PCTs; they take account of any adjustments made to the initial allocations to PCTs, including topslice and clawback, throughout each year.
| £ per head | |||
| Cornwall | South West | England | |
| Notes: 1. Figures for Cornwall 2000-01 to 2001-02. Data are shown for the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority and for PCTs in existence in those years. 2. Figures for Cornwall 2002-03 to 2006-07. Data shown include that for the PCTs in Cornwall. It is not possible to calculate SHA expenditure for Cornwall specifically as the amount of expenditure directly applicable cannot be identified, so an estimate (based on the RRLs and population of the SHAs in the South West) is also included to make up the expenditure shown. 3. Figures for the 'South West' are for the area covered by the current South West SHA. They include, as applicable, all information for primary care trusts, predecessor strategic health authorities and predecessor health authorities within this area. 4. The figures represent expenditure by the particular commissioners within the areas specified. This does not include all health related expenditure as pharmaceutical services and most general dental services expenditure is not accounted for by commissioners. Sources: 1. Audited health authority summarisation forms 2000-01 to 2001-02. 2. Audited SHA summarisation forms 2002-03 to 2006-07. 3. Audited PCT summarisation schedules 2000-01 to 2006-07. 4. Unweighted population figures. | |||
NHS: Private Sector
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS bodies have been unable to reach local resolutions between themselves and independent providers of NHS services, as referred to on page 5 of his Department's report Who Pays? Establishing the Responsible Commissioner published on 18th September 2007. [159942]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department has not received any notification of instances where an national health service body has been unable to reach a local resolution between itself and an independent provider of NHS services, as referred to on page 5 of the Department's report ‘Who Pays? Establishing the Responsible Commissioner’ published on 18 September 2007.
Nurses: Manpower
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses per 100 beds there were in (a) England, (b) the West Suffolk hospital and (c) Ipswich hospital in each year since 1997. [159223]
Mr. Bradshaw: This information is shown in the following table.
Nurses: Schools
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what records his Department holds on the number of practising school nurses employed in England in each year since 1997. [159724]
Mr. Bradshaw: The annual national health service workforce census collected accurate information on the number of school nurses for the first time in 2004. The number of school nurses from 2004-06 is shown in the table.
The 2006 census showed there were 2,968 qualified nurses in the school nursing area of work, an increase of 559 or 23.2 per cent. since 2004. Of these there were 1,129 school nurses with a post registration school nurse qualification. This is an increase of 273 or 31.89 per cent. since 2004.
Palm Oil
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions he has had on the substituting of trans-fats with sustainable palm oil; and if he will make a statement; [159352]
(2) what discussions he has had on the use of sustainable palm oil in UK food products; and if he will make a statement; [159353]
(3) what measures he plans to take to encourage the use of palm oil derived from sustainable sources in food products; and if he will make a statement. [159354]
Dawn Primarolo: The Secretary of State (Alan Johnson) has asked the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to conduct an immediate investigation into the use of trans-fats, to examine whether there is more we should ask the food industry to do in this area.
The FSA is in discussion with food businesses about the reformulation of their products to improve the nutrition content. As part of these discussions, the potential role of palm oil as a substitute for hydrogenated vegetable oils in some foods has been highlighted.
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make it his policy to grant free prescriptions for (a) all people with long-term illnesses and (b) those with asthma; and if he will make a statement; [159895]
(2) for which long-term illnesses people are entitled to free prescriptions; and what criteria are used to determine to which illnesses the provision applies; [159896]
Dawn Primarolo: The medical conditions for which people are entitled to free prescriptions if they hold a valid medical exemption certificate are:
permanent fistula (including caecostomy, colostomy, laryngostomy, or ileostomy) which requires continuous surgical dressing or requires an appliance;
forms of hypoadrenalism (including Addison's disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential;
diabetes insipidus or other forms of hypopituitarism;
diabetes mellitus (except where treatment of the diabetes is by diet alone);
hypoparathyroidism;
myasthenia gravis;
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