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4 Feb 2008 : Column 887W—continued
Organs: Donors
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set for organ donation; and what performance has been against those targets in the last period for which figures are available. [181834]
Ann Keen: The Government have not set any formal performance targets in relation to organ donation.
The Government have, however, recently accepted a number of recommendations from the Organ Donation Taskforce, which the Taskforce believe will see organ donation rates rise by 50 per cent. within five years.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase the supply of donated organs; whether any discussions have taken place on creating a system of presumed consent; and if he will make a statement. [182744]
Ann Keen:
In 2006, the Organ Donation Taskforce was convened to identify barriers to organ donation, analyse factors militating against organ donation and make recommendations for increasing donation rates
within existing legal frameworks. The Taskforce’s report “Organs for Transplants: A report from the Organ Donation Taskforce” was published on 16 January 2008 and contains a number of major recommendations designed to strengthen the infrastructure for organ donation and transplantation. The Government have accepted the recommendations, in full, and implementation is already under way. Copies of the Taskforce’s report are available in the Library.
The Taskforce has now been asked to consider the implications of changing to a system of presumed consent for organ donation in the United Kingdom, including the practical, clinical, ethical, legal and societal issues. The Taskforce has established expert working groups to advise on these issues and will report initial findings to Ministers in the summer.
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what changes have been made to the list of medical exemptions which allow patients fee free prescriptions after his Department's recent review; [183784]
(2) when the last time was that his Department made changes to the list of medical exemptions which allow patients free prescriptions. [183785]
Dawn Primarolo: The medical conditions which grant entitlement to free prescriptions, in England, through medical exemption certificates have not changed since their introduction in 1968.
The Government's review of prescription charges will be inviting views shortly on options for changes to prescription charges that are cost neutral to the national health service.
Radiotherapy: Waiting Lists
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which areas will not be able to meet the December 2008 deadline for extending the 31-day standard to radiotherapy treatment as described in paragraph 4.8 of his Department's Cancer Reform Strategy. [175128]
Ann Keen: The Cancer Reform Strategy (paragraph 4.8) set a deadline for extension of the 31-day standard of December 2008 for chemotherapy and surgery. The deadline for extension of the 31-day standard for radiotherapy is December 2010. This is in recognition of the length of time needed to increase radiotherapy capacity, for example building bunkers and purchasing and installing machinery. At present, we have monitoring systems only to capture achievement against the 31-day standard for first treatments, as this is the current standard. We do not currently have data for second and subsequent treatments but we are developing systems which will allow the capture of information on achievement of the standard for radiotherapy by area before the achievement deadline.
Transplant Surgery: Death
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many letters his Department received concerning mortality rates for patients following (a) lung transplant, (b) heart transplant and (c) heart and lung
transplant in 2006; and how many it has received in 2007 in each case. [172448]
Ann Keen: The Department has received two letters in 2006 and one letter in 2007 concerning mortality rates for patients following heart and lung transplants.
Transplant Surgery: Kidneys
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for liver transplant operations in (a) Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust and (b) London NHS trusts. [167292]
Ann Keen: The average waiting time for a liver transplant is shown in the following table:
| Primary care trust | Number in analysis | Median waiting time (days) |
| Note: These figures are based on actual liver only transplants, multi-organ transplants e.g. liver/kidney, are not included. They are all first graft, elective transplants, super-urgent cases are not included. | ||
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Grants
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many grants have been awarded under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme for each month since April 2007; and what has been the total value of grants awarded in each month. [181127]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 22 January 2008]: There have been 2,289 grant awards totalling £16,422,135 since April 2007, with the breakdown by phase and funding stream as shown in the following tables:
| Phase 1 | ||
| Householders | ||
| 2007 | Number | Amount (£) |
| Communities | ||
| 2007 | Number | Amount (£) |
| Stream 2A | ||
| 2007 | Number | Amount (£) |
| Stream 2B | ||
| 2007 | Number | Amount (£) |
| Phase 2 | ||
| Public sector and charity organisations | ||
| 2007 | Number | Amount (£) |
Aerials: Planning Permission
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of current planning procedures in ensuring mobile telephone operators demonstrate that they have fully considered all options for a proposed new base station. [183076]
Mr. Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
Planning Policy Guidance Note 8: Telecommunications makes clear that applicants for new masts should provide evidence that they have explored the possibility of erecting antennas on an existing building, mast or other structure and that such evidence should accompany any prior approval or planning application made to the local planning authority.
The Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development sets out the supplementary information that the operators provide to accompany applications for planning permission and prior approval under part 24 of schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (as amended). The supplementary information that is routinely submitted with applications includes a list of the alternative sites considered during the site selection process and the reasons for not choosing them. Local planning authorities can assess the adequacy of this information when determining the relevant application.
We are currently reviewing the planning procedures relating to applications for new base stations and are considering the effectiveness of the processes set out above as part of the review.
Biofuels
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the (a) location and (b) production volume is of each biodiesel (i) production and (ii) storage plant in England. [179240]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not hold precise information on the location and volume of biodiesel production and storage facilities in England. In 2006, it has been estimated there were around 1,400 facilities in operation in the UK, but most of these were relatively small in scale, producing less than 5,000 litres each per year.
Further information on the UK road transport biofuels market was published in the BERR Energy Trends publication for December 2007 (see pages 45-48):
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimates his Department has made of (a) actual and (b) required UK capacity for the production of biodiesel in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement. [179243]
Malcolm Wicks: The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), due to be introduced in April 2008, will significantly increase demand for biofuels in the UK. A number of planned new biodiesel production facilities have been announced and, when on stream, will provide a significant increase in UK production capacity.
The Department does not have precise information on actual and required capacity for the production of biodiesel in each of the next three years. UK biofuel producers will continue to compete with overseas producers to supply the UK market.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the UK production capacity for biodiesel was in each of the last five years. [179244]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not hold precise information on biodiesel production capacity in the UK.
A feature on the UK road transport biofuels market was published in the BERR Energy Trends publication for December 2007 (see pages 45-48):
Citizens Advice Bureaux
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many citizens advice bureaux have closed permanently in each of the last 10 years. [180389]
Mr. Thomas: This information is not available in the exact format requested. However, Citizens Advice have provided the following information.
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