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29 Oct 2007 : Column 1022W—continued
| 2005-06 | ||||
| Organisation code | Organisation name | NHS salaries and wages (£) | Non-NHS salaries and wages—Agency (£) | Agency spend (percentage) |
| Notes: 1. Data are not available prior to 1997-98. 2. 2006-07 financial returns are not yet available. 3. In 1999, trusts RA1 and RAZ merged to form RVR. 4. Data for Sutton and Merton PCT are not available prior to 2002-03. 5. Sutton and Merton PCT was created in 2002-03. Due to boundary changes it is not possible to identify the predecessor data for this trust. Source: Trust and PCT financial returns 1997-98 to 2005-06. | ||||
General Social Care Council: Information Officers
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many press officers are employed by the General Social Care Council. [154437]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I understand, after making inquiries of the General Social Care Council, that they do not employ press officers. However, they do currently employ three communications executives, who deal with the press office on a rota basis.
Their responsibilities include:
responding to telephone and e-mail inquires;
dealing with ad hoc requests;
press inquiries;
research for debates; and
liaising with the press.
Genetically Modified Organisms: EU Law
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which genetically modified products have been approved by the EU for sale in the UK. [161252]
Dawn Primarolo: EC Regulation 1829/2003 on genetically modified (GM) food and feed controls the marketing of GM products across the EU. Authorisations under this Regulation currently cover food and animal feed obtained from 12 types of GM maize, five types of GM cotton, three types of GM oilseed rape, one type of GM sugarbeet and one type of GM soya. Animal feed ingredients from two types of GM yeast are also authorised.
Genito-Urinary Medicine: Standards
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to introduce indicators of sexual health in the clinical domain of the quality and outcomes framework of the general medical services contract. [160272]
Mr. Bradshaw: NHS employers are responsible for negotiating changes to the General Medical Services contract with the British Medical Association's General Practitioners Committee, and they will be considering potential changes to the contract for 2008-09. It would be inappropriate for the Department to pre-empt the outcome of those confidential contract discussions.
Health Professions: Insurance
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to health trusts on arrangements to be made between trusts on individual healthcare practitioners’ insurance liability when working on collaborative projects. [161262]
Ann Keen: The Department has not issued specific guidance to national health service trusts on arrangements to be made between trusts on individual healthcare practitioners’ insurance liability when working on collaborative projects.
NHS bodies are vicariously liable for the negligent acts (and omissions) of their employees made during the course of their employment. An individual practitioner operating under a contract of employment with an NHS trust is covered by the indemnity of that trust. The NHS Litigation Authority provides indemnity to trusts through the schemes that it administers on behalf of the Secretary of State. These schemes pool the costs of any loss of or damage to property and liabilities to third parties for loss, damage or injury arising out of the carrying out of an NHS body’s functions.
Health Professions: Personation
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many legal actions took place against people improperly using protected titles of health professions in the last 12 months. [159429]
Ann Keen: The NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service investigate cases of improper use of titles of health professions. Where appropriate, legal action may follow these investigations but no such actions have been concluded in the last 12 months.
Health Services
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the establishment of polyclinics on access to care in areas of greatest need. [158750]
Mr. Bradshaw: Polyclinics were advocated in the “Healthcare for London” report. This was an independent piece of work carried out by Lord Darzi before he became a Government Minister. These proposals are now being consulted on within London prior to implementation. It would be good practice for any polyclinic developments to be accompanied by a detailed local assessment of how they will improve access and meet the population’s needs.
Health Services: Fraud
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will ensure that no healthcare organisations indicted for fraud against the federal or state governments in the US are given contracts to provide services for the NHS or NHS patients; [159277]
(2) if he will ensure that no healthcare organisations found by US federal audits to have practised deceptive sales tactics on Medicare or Medicaid recipients will be given contracts to provide services for the NHS or NHS patients. [159278]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 22 October 2007]: In purchasing goods and services for the national health service, the Department is subject to all European Union (EU) public procurement regulations. The rules compel the Department to advertise, negotiate and award any proposed contract in accordance with the legal procedure set out in the regulations. This ensures that the process is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. The regulations require that as part of due diligence all participating organisations must complete a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) to ensure that they are suitable to play a role in the NHS.
In the case of our central procurements, the Department of Health’s Commercial Directorate has always contracted with United Kingdom corporate bodies. These UK entities undergo financial due diligence to assess their financial standing and their ability and technical capacity to provide the services. We also ask the bidders as part of the PQQ to confirm whether there are any factors which would exclude them under the EU criteria (grave misconduct, criminal offences etc.).
Under EU procurement guidelines, bodies are permitted to exclude a company that has been convicted of a criminal offence or grave professional misconduct in relation to the conduct of their business.
Health Services: Pharmacy
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the establishment of polyclinics on the existing pharmacy network. [158740]
Mr. Bradshaw: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for providing, or securing the provision of primary medical services within their area, to the extent they consider necessary to meet all reasonable requirements. In exercising these duties, PCTs will need to consider both the location and capacity of local primary medical services. They are also responsible for ensuring the adequate provision of national health service pharmaceutical services. The Government are committed to publishing a White Paper on pharmacy services, which may consider these issues further. The Government have also indicated that, as part of the NHS Next Stage Review, the Department will work with public and professional stakeholders to develop a wider strategy for primary care and community services.
Health Services: Private Sector
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts there are for primary care trusts (PCTs) to purchase elective procedures from independent sector treatment providers in Cornwall; for how long each contract lasts; and how much each contract will cost the local PCT for (a) each year and (b) over the full length of the contract. [160425]
Mr. Bradshaw: There is one contract for a treatment centre to provide services for patients referred by Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust under the nationally procured Independent Sector Treatment Centre programme. The centre is the Bodmin National Health Service Treatment Centre. The contract will last for just over four years.
Financial information relating to contracts is currently commercially confidential. The Department is currently reviewing its policy on the information it releases in relation to phase one contracts.
Health Services: Rehabilitation
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the additional funding for therapies announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review is planned to be allocated to the rehabilitation treatments provided by the NHS for patients with alcohol and drug dependencies. [159695]
Dawn Primarolo: The Comprehensive Spending Review, announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Darling) on 9 October 2007, included an additional £170 million to be spent on psychological therapies by 2010-11. This is in addition to more than £140 million already spent on psychological therapies around the country, including on patients with depression and anxiety disorders who also suffer from drug and alcohol dependencies. Final decisions have yet to be taken on the allocation of this money.
Health: Disadvantaged
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to tackle health inequalities in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [161141]
Dawn Primarolo: Health services in Scotland and Wales are a devolved matter. The following information refers only to England.
Health inequalities are unacceptable; that is why the Government have introduced the most comprehensive programme ever seen in this country to address health them.
A cross-government national health inequalities strategy, Tackling Health Inequalities: A Programme for Action, is in place to deliver the 2010 health inequalities target to narrow the gap in infant mortality, by social class, and life expectancy at birth, by geographical area. This is complemented by innovative programmes such as National Health Service Health Trainers, NHS Life Check, and Communities for Health that will examine new approaches, and are being implemented first in Spearhead areas—the local authority areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators, and the primary care trusts (PCTs) mapping to them.
The Secretary of State announced last month that the Department will publish a comprehensive strategy in 2008 for reducing health inequalities, which will address unjustified gaps in health status, fair access to NHS services for everyone and good outcomes of care for all.
The NHS in England Operating Framework 2007-08 identified tackling health inequalities as a key priority for the NHS. Incentives for the NHS and local authorities have also been aligned to encourage partnership working to deliver the 2010 target, with health inequalities a mandatory target for Spearhead PCT local delivery plans for 2007-08, and for local authority local area agreements from 2007.
The Department and the Association of Public Health Observatories have developed an interactive
“Health Inequalities Intervention Tool”. Launched in August 2007, and available from the London Health Observatory website, the Tool translates national modelling on what is driving the life expectancy gap into local area analysis.
The “Review of the Health Inequalities Infant Mortality PSA Target, 2007”, published earlier this year, will help improve further delivery of local services to vulnerable populations by working in partnership with local government and others. An implementation plan is on schedule for publication in autumn 2007.
We have established national support teams on health inequalities and on tobacco control and smoking cessation that will disseminate best practice across Spearhead areas, and areas with high infant mortality rates, providing tailored, intensive, assistance to areas that face the biggest challenges in delivering the 2010 target.
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