| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Nov 2007 : Column 836W—continued
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by central Government on the NHS in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2007-08; and what the figure for 1996-97 is when adjusted for inflation. [166315]
Mr. Bradshaw: National health service expenditure in 1996-97 was £33 billion, and the current forecast outturn position for 2007-08 is £90.4 billion. The £33 billion spend in 1996-97 is equivalent to £42.2 billion in current monetary values (uplift using gross domestic product deflators).
NHS: Telephone Services
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from patient groups on the use of 0844 revenue-sharing telephone numbers; and if he will make a statement. [162853]
Mr. Bradshaw: We do not keep records on the number of inquiries about 0844 numbers we receive from patient groups. Since January 2007, we have received 100 letters on the subject of 0844 telephone numbers.
Organs: Donors
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the report of the Government's task force on encouraging organ donations; and if he will make a statement. [164479]
Ann Keen: The Organ Donation Taskforce report is being considered by United Kingdom Health Ministers. A response will be published in due course. Currently between 7,000 and 8,000 people in the UK are waiting for a transplant. It is vital that we identify the barriers to organ donation, and identify what steps we can take to increase donor rates.
Prescriptions
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were not used to collect medicines in each of the last five years for which records are available. [166084]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not hold information on prescriptions issued, only on prescription items that are dispensed.
Primary Care Trusts: Security
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to ensure that primary care trust staff have the experience and capabilities to ensure appropriate security for patients when they take over responsibility for health care escorts and bedwatches in April 2008. [165703]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
Commissioning responsibility and funding for prison health care escorts and bedwatches activity is scheduled to transfer to the national health
service from April 2008. Responsibility for managing and providing security escorts will, however, remain with Her Majesty's Prison Service.
Prison governing governors will continue to be responsible for conducting individual risk assessments and determining the level of security required for each escort event. This will include any additional security needs identified beyond the standard assignment of two prison officers per escort.
Ritalin: Children
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were prescribed Ritalin in each quarter since January 1980; and if he will make a statement. [163186]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information is not available to cover the timescale requested, or by each quarter. The following table shows an estimate of the number of prescription items of Ritalin (Methylphenidate Hydrochloride) prescribed to children for each year since 1999. This includes children aged 16 and under and those aged 17 and 18 in full-time education.
| Number of items | |||||||||
| BNF chemical name | Name | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Notes: Prescription cost analysis data Prescription information is taken from the PCA system, supplied by the Prescription Pricing Division of the Business Services Authority (PPDBSA), and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions. Prescription items Prescriptions are written on a prescription form. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item. Exemption category estimates The exemption data is identified from the box ticked on the back of the prescription form and relies on the form being completed correctly which may not always be the case. Information for categories that are not required to pay a charge (e.g. children) is based on a one in 20 sample of all exempt prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists, appliance contractors and dispensing doctors. The information we have is therefore an estimate and subject to sampling errors. Children are defined as 0 -15 year olds, and as 16 -18 year olds in full time education. Dispensing doctors Data up to 2000 is not strictly comparable with data from later years. Up until September 2000 only patients having their prescriptions dispensed by the community pharmacists and appliance contractors were required to complete the back of the prescription form, but from October 2000 this requirement was extended to patients of dispensing doctors. Therefore data prior to October 2000 does not include prescriptions dispensed by dispensing doctors. | |||||||||
Smoking
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff have been disciplined for breaking the public smoking ban inside the premises of his Department or its agencies. [164856]
Mr. Bradshaw: No members of staff have been disciplined for breaking the public smoking ban inside the premises of the Department or its agencies.
Social Services: Finance
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) personnel and (b) staff hours his Department allocated to supporting the Review of Social Care Funding; and what the cost of such allocation was. [164570]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department has not quantified the work of the Review of Social Care Funding. The allocation of personnel and staff hours varied according to the task at hand.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times the Review of Social Care Funding Group met in the period between its inception and the announcement of the comprehensive spending review; on what dates it met; what the cost of its operations were in this period; if he will publish the minutes of those meetings; what meetings the group has scheduled for the future; and how much he has allocated to the group for its further activities. [164571]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
In the run-up to the comprehensive spending review the officials steering group responsible for planning the announcement of the Government's intention to publish a Green Paper on reform options
for the long-term sustainable funding for people in need of care and support met on 17 May 2006, 28 July 2006, 12 October 2006, 10 January 2007, 7 March 2007, 17 April 2007, 18 June 2007 and 12 September 2007.
The Department did not incur any costs associated with the steering group during this period, other than the time invested by its officials in attending the steering group itself as the secretariat for the officials steering group was based at HM Treasury.
Ministers and officials have discussions on a range of issues with their counterparts in other Departments and with other organisations as part of the process of policy analysis, development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.
The officials steering group will continue to meet in the future to support the work of the Department around the Green Paper. Meetings will be arranged and resources allocated to support the group as necessary.
Spinal Injuries
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account his Department's health map takes of the special needs of spinal cord injured people. [165439]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department's health map does not specifically take account of the special needs of spinal cord injured people.
Telecare Initiatives
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been allocated to the development of telecare initiatives in each of the past three years. [164058]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Through preventative technology grant the Department has allocated £80 million to local authorities over two years to support 160,000 older people stay in their own homes. This was allocated by a share of £30 million in 2006-07 and £50 million in 2007-08.
In addition £12 million has been made available in 2007-08 to support the whole system demonstrator (WSD) sites. Funding for the future years of the WSD sites is being agreed following the recent announcement of the Comprehensive Spending Review settlement for health.
The Department does not collect information on the level of local allocations for telecare initiatives. It is for local health and social services to establish their own priorities and allocate resources according to local need.
West Hertfordshire Acute Trust: Physiotherapy
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for physiotherapy treatment in West Hertfordshire Acute Trust in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [164106]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not collected centrally.
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Finance
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the financial position of West Hertfordshire NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement. [164568]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The table following shows the financial position of West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust the financial years 2005-06, 2006-07 and quarter one of the current financial year 2007-08.
| West Hertfordshire hospitals NHS trust financial position | |
| £000 | |
| (1) Under/over spend. (2) Under/(over) spend. (3) Q1 forecast outturn surplus/(deficit). | |
The trust was in the national turnaround programme in 2006-07. There is no central turnaround programme in 2007-08.
Leader of the House
Departmental Manpower
Danny Alexander: To ask the Leader of the House how many people aged (a) 30 to 39, (b) 40 to 49, (c) 50 to 59 and (d) 60 to 69 years have (i) applied for jobs, (ii) received interviews and (iii) gained (A) temporary and (B) permanent jobs in her Office in 2007. [165116]
Helen Goodman: The information is as follows:
| Successful candidate | ||||
| Age category | Applied | Interviewed | Permanent | Temporary/FTA |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |