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6 Feb 2008 : Column 1261W—continued
Also, the exact cost for annually assessing the progress of policies to reduce obesity has yet to be determined. It will, however, be met from within the overall £372 million we have made available for the programme.
Obesity: Children
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of (a) four to five and (b) 10 to 11-year-olds were (i) overweight and (ii) obese in each year since 2005, broken down by sex, as measured by the National Child Measurement Programme. [184284]
Dawn Primarolo: No data for 2006-07 are available until the latest National Child Measurement Programme report is published at the end of February 2008.
The results for 2005-06 are shown in the following tables.
| Table 1: Prevalence of obesity and overweight among children in Year R, by sex, England, 2005-06 | |||||||
| Overweight | Obese | Overweight and obese combined | |||||
| Total number of children measured | Number | Percentage( 1) | Number | Percentage( 1) | Number | Percentage( 1) | |
| (1) 95 per cent. confidence intervals are shown in brackets | |||||||
| Table 2: Prevalence of obesity and overweight among children in Year 6, by sex, England, 2005-06 | |||||||
| Overweight | Obese | Overweight and obese combined | |||||
| Total number of children measured | Number | Percentage( 1) | Number | Percentage( 1) | Number | Percentage( 1) | |
| (1) 95 per cent. confidence intervals are shown in brackets | |||||||
Due to poor participation in 2005-06, the validity of these results is limited and they should be interpreted with caution. The best available information we have at the moment is from the Health Survey for England 2006, which showed the following for children aged 5 and 10 years.
| Health survey for England 2006; Boys/girls aged 5/10, prevalence of overweight and obesity | |
| Percentage | |
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) income threshold and (b) capital allowance is above which people are requested to pay prescription charges. [184543]
Dawn Primarolo: Anyone who is required to pay national health service prescription charges, in England, may make a claim for entitlement to free prescriptions under the NHS low income scheme.
Anyone who has capital of more than £16,000 (or £21,500 if they live permanently in a care home) will not be eligible for free prescriptions under this scheme.
The income threshold for entitlement to free prescriptions under this scheme will vary according to personal circumstances. Anyone whose capital is below
the amounts set out may have their eligibility for free prescriptions calculated on the basis of a comparison between their income and their requirements. This calculation is based on income support provisions as set out in the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (as amended) and the National Health Service (Travel Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 2003 (as amended).
Some people on a low income will be eligible for free prescriptions without having to make a separate claim under the NHS low income scheme. People receiving working tax credit, with a disability or severe disability element or with child tax credit, whose gross annual taxable income is £15,050 or less are not required to pay prescription charges. There is no upper capital threshold in this case. People receiving income support, income based jobseeker’s allowance or pension credit guarantee credit (in respect of partners under 60) are also entitled to free prescriptions. The income and capital thresholds will be those appropriate to those benefits.
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of the total prescription charge income came from pre-payment certificates in each of the last three financial years; and what the projected income is from that source in each of the next three financial years; [184546]
(2) how many people applied for a pre-payment certificate for a prescription in each of the last three financial years; and how many he expects to do so in the next three financial years. [184548]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is given in the following table. Projections for the next three financial years are not available.
| Pre-payment certificates (PPCs) for England | |||
| Prescription charge income from PPC sales (£000) | PPC income as a percentage of the total prescription charge income | PPC applications received ( T housand)( 1) | |
| (1) Information on the number of people applying for a PPC is not recorded. Individuals may apply for more than one PPC within a yearly period. Applications not resulting in the issue of a PPC are also included. Source: Prescription Pricing Division of the Business Services Authority | |||
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's definitions are of (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) tertiary health care; and what services are provided within each category of care. [177190]
Mr. Bradshaw:
There is no legal definition of ‘primary care’, ‘secondary care’ and ‘tertiary care’. In general terms, ‘primary care’ describes community based health services that are usually the first, and often the only, point of contact that patients make with the health service. It covers services provided by family doctors (general practitioners), community pharmacists,
optometrists, dentists, community and practice nurses, community therapists (such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists) and midwives. NHS Direct and NHS walk-in centres are also primary care services, as are paramedical services provided by ambulance trusts. ‘Secondary care’ refers to the range of outpatient and inpatient services provided through acute and mental health hospitals, and ‘tertiary care’ covers more specialised hospital-based services that are provided in a limited number of centres across the country. These tertiary services are usually accessed by referral from secondary care.
Public Participation
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people responded to each consultation conducted by his Department in the last five years. [180904]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Rickets
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diagnoses of rickets there were in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority area in each year between 1997-98 and 2006-07. [184509]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not held centrally.
Sexual Dysfunction: Drugs
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for men (a) under and (b) over 60 years of age were issued for anti-impotence preparations in each of the last five years; and at what cost. [183764]
Dawn Primarolo: We have no information which links prescription items dispensed with either the sex or the age of the patient receiving them. However, in the case of anti-impotence preparations we can assume that all prescriptions issued are for males. Information gathered through the analysis of prescriptions issued free of charge allows some estimates to be made of prescriptions received by persons aged 60 and over.
The main anti-impotence preparations are listed at paragraphs 7.4.5 (Drugs for erectile dysfunction) of the British National Formulary (BNF). Some of these drugs may have been prescribed for other conditions but it is not possible to determine how large a proportion. Similarly, drugs from other parts of the BNF or drugs not licensed for this condition, may have been prescribed. Again, it is not possible to determine the proportion of the use of these drugs.
Estimates of the number of prescription items issued to all males, males aged 60 and over and those issued to males under 60 for each year between 2002 and 2006 are set out in the following table.
| BNF 7.4.5 drugs for erectile dysfunction, dispensed in the community, in England: source Prescription Cost Analysis data | ||||||
| Males under 60 | Males 60 and over | All males | ||||
| Number of items ( T housand)( 1) | Net ingredient cost (£000)( 1) | Number of items ( T housand)( 1) | Net ingredient cost (£000)( 1) | Number of items ( T housand)( 1) | Net ingredient cost (£000)( 1) | |
| (1) Estimated. | ||||||
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