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30 Oct 2007 : Column 1204W—continued
Police: Devolved Matters
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he is making towards the devolution of policing and criminal justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. [160622]
Mr. Woodward: The Government have made a firm commitment to be ready to devolve policing and justice in May 2008 as envisaged in the St. Andrews Agreement, should the Assembly so request. An extensive programme of work is in place to ensure that this can be delivered.
Police: Pay
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much overtime was paid to Police Service of Northern Ireland (a) regular officers, (b) full-time reserve officers and (c) civilian support staff in each financial year since 2004-05. [161693]
Paul Goggins: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Police overtime costs | |||
| £ million | |||
| Regular Officers | Full-time reserve | Civilian support staff | |
Police: Sick Leave
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many Police Service of Northern Ireland (a) regular and (b) full-time reserve officers are on paid sick leave; [161694]
(2) how much was spent on mandatory leadership training in his Department in each financial year since 2003-04. [161695]
Paul Goggins: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Sexual Offences: Northern Ireland
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on the establishment of a sexual assault referral centre in Northern Ireland. [161692]
Paul Goggins: Responsibility for the establishment of a Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Northern Ireland is shared between the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Northern Ireland Office. PSNI and NIO officials are working closely with colleagues from the DHSSPS to develop such a facility. A number of options have been developed and these are currently under consideration.
Health
Academic Health Sciences Centre
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition his Department uses of an academic health sciences centre; and if he will make a statement. [161575]
Mr. Bradshaw: The national health service Next Stage Review Interim Report set out proposals to bring together world class research, teaching and patient care to encourage innovation and deliver exemplary care for patients. It also set out proposals to roll-out Academic Health Science Centres, which do just this, in major teaching centres across the country. This work—including definitions—will be taken forward as part of the next stage of the review.
Accident and Emergency Departments: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished admission episodes for patients admitted via accident and emergency under the responsibility of Bexley Primary Care Trust there were in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the average age was of those patients. [160468]
Mr. Bradshaw: The following table shows a count of finished admission episodes (FAE) and mean age for patients admitted via Accident and Emergency (A and E) to national health service hospitals under the responsibility of Bexley Care Trust for 2005-06.
| Count of FAE | Mean age (years) |
| Notes: Emergency admission defined as admission methods 21 and 28: 21 = Emergency: via A and E services, including the casualty department of the provider 28 = Emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the A and E department of another healthcare provider FAE A FAE is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. Ungrossed Data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). Data Quality Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: HES, The Information Centre for health and social care. | |
Accident and Emergency Departments: Drugs
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency in-patient admissions there were in 2006 for drugs overdoses in England. [161223]
Mr. Bradshaw: The number of finished admissions admitted via accident and emergency (A and E) with a primary diagnosis of drugs overdose in England for 2005-06, is shown in the following table. Data for drug overdoses are not defined within one specific hospital diagnosis code. These diagnoses include cases where a drug or substance may have been taken in error, as well as for cases where the patient has taken an overdose of a drug. The data is collected for each financial year, not calendar years.
| Count of finished admission episodes via Accident and Emergency for selected primary diagnoses( 1) : National Health Service Hospitals, England, 2005-06 | |
| ICD-10 Primary diagnosis | Count of finished admission episodes |
| (1) Primary Diagnoses International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes: | |
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action has been taken since 1997 to reduce levels of alcohol misuse. [158301]
Dawn Primarolo: The “Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England” was published in March 2004. It was the first cross Government strategy seeking to reduce harms caused by alcohol. Progress has been made, for example through;
better education and communication through the ‘Know Your Limits’ binge drinking campaign;
improving health and treatment services through the first national assessment of the need for and availability of alcohol treatment and trailblazer projects involving 57 health and criminal justice sites identifying and advising people whose drinking habits are likely to lead to ill health in the future;
combating alcohol-related crime and disorder through the use of new enforcement powers in the Licensing Act 2003 and Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006; and
work with the alcohol industry to include health information on alcohol labels, set up local partnership schemes such as ‘Best Bar None’ to promote responsible management of licensed premises, and to set up a new independent charity, the Drinkaware Trust, to promote sensible drinking.
It also contained a commitment to take stock of progress during 2007. This has taken place and next steps to further our objectives are set out in a renewed Strategy which was published in June 2007, titled “Safe, Sensible, Social—Next Steps in the National Alcohol Strategy”. Its aim is to focus future action on reducing the types of harm that are of most concern to the public, by reducing crime and ill health caused by alcohol. It aims to increase the public's awareness of the risks associated with excessive consumption and how to get help. “Safe. Sensible. Social”, sets out the Government’s ambition to achieve significant reductions in the harms and cost of alcohol misuse in England over the next 10 years.
Ambulance Services: Protective Clothing
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2007, Official Report, column 905W to the hon. Member for the Wrekin, what criteria are used to determine necessity for stab proof vests (a) in his Department and (b) in ambulance trusts. [161751]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not have criteria to determine necessity for stab vests as the decision to provide these is a local matter.
Each NHS ambulance trust will make their own decision, which we expect will be informed by local risk assessments.
Ambulance Services: Standards
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2007, Official Report, column 1950W, on ambulance services: standards, what percentage of ambulance trusts achieved the target response times for category (a) A and (b) B of emergency ambulance dispatches; and if he will place in the Library the performance data for each ambulance trust in each category. [159713]
Mr. Bradshaw: The percentage of ambulance trusts that achieved the target response times for category A and B is shown in the following table. This information has been calculated using the data recorded in tables 5a and 5b of the “Ambulance Services, England 2006-07 Bulletin” which is available in the Library and on the Information Centre website at:
The new ambulance trusts which formed as a result of mergers in 2006 inherited varied positions in terms of operational performance and are taking forward service improvements to ensure that performance is brought up to required standards.
National performance in 2006-07 was as follows:
74.6 per cent. of category A calls received a response within eight minutes.
97.0 per cent, of category A calls received a response within 19 minutes of a request being made for transport.
90.5 per cent, of category B calls received a response within 19 minutes.
| Emergency incidents: ambulance services achieving targets( 1) by response times and category of call, 2006-07, England | |||
| Category A calls | Category B calls | ||
| Response within eight minutes | Response within 19 minutes | Response within 19 minutes | |
| (1) Targets: Category A emergencies which are immediately life threatening. Ambulance services are expected to reach 75 per cent. of category A calls within eight minutes and have a vehicle capable of transporting the patient arrive on scene within 19 minutes of a request for transport being made, 95 per cent. of the time. Category B emergencies which are serious but not immediately life threatening. For category B calls, services should respond to 95 per cent. of incidents, with a vehicle capable of transporting the patient, within 19 minutes. Source: Form KA34. | |||
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