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27 Mar 2008 : Column 418W—continued
Prescriptions: Information and Communications Technology
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of primary care settings where prescribing and dispensing take place which are not GP practices, community pharmacies or dispensing appliance contractors were (a) technically live on and (b) using the Electronic Prescriptions Service system in each month since the system’s inception. [195403]
Mr. Bradshaw: The initial scope for the electronic prescription service includes general practitioner (GP) practices, including dispensing GP practices, community pharmacies and dispensing appliance contractors. Therefore, no electronic prescription messages have been generated or received in alternative locations where prescribing and dispensing takes place.
Social Services
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people have taken up the option of direct payments for social care in each local authority area in England. [188179]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The percentage of people who have taken up the option of direct payments is not available centrally.
Data is collected on the number of clients receiving direct payments and is available via the Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care report which is published by the Information Centre for Health and Social Care. The most recently available data is for 2005-06 a copy of which has been placed in the Library. This data shows there has been an increase of over 50 per cent. in the uptake of direct payments since 2004-05.
Tranquillisers: Misuse
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what statistics are recorded on the incidence of addiction to prescribed tranquillisers; [195565]
(2) what steps were taken to address tranquilliser addiction in England in each year from 1999 to 2006. [195567]
Dawn Primarolo: Information about the incidence of addiction to prescribed tranquilisers is not collected centrally. Decisions about which tranquiliser addiction treatments have been provided between 1999 and 2006 have been made locally by each primary care trust, not by the Department, which does not hold this information.
Prevention, effective treatment and legal controls are all important in reducing the number of people who become addicted to prescribed tranquilisers like benzodiazepine. The main focus of the Department’s
action has been to warn general practitioners, other prescribers and users of the potential side-effects and dangers of benzodiazepines and to try and prevent addiction/dependence occurring in the first place.
Transsexuality: Surgery
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many gender reassignment operations were carried out by NHS trusts between January 2007 and January 2008; and at what cost. [196798]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not yet held by the Department.
However, the amount of transgender procedures carried out in the national health service in previous years, from 2002 to 2006, are shown in the following table.
| Male to Female | Female to Male | |
| Note: Data for 2006-07 and 2007-08 is not yet available. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics data. | ||
Vegetarianism: Research
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has evaluated on the effect of vegetarianism on well-being. [195620]
Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency has not conducted any research on the link between vegetarianism and well-being.
West Midlands NHS Diagnostic Service
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients were seen by the West Midlands NHS Diagnostic Service during the period of its contract with Care UK; [196088]
(2) how much (a) has been and (b) will be paid to Care UK by his Department in relation to terminating its contract with Care UK for the the West Midlands NHS Diagnostic Service; [196089]
(3) how much has been spent under the West Midlands NHS Diagnostic Service contract with Care UK since June 2007; [196091]
(4) for what reasons the West Midlands NHS Diagnostic Service contract with Care UK was terminated in November 2007. [196118]
Mr. Bradshaw: Up to 31 January 2008, 8,100 diagnostic procedures were delivered to national health service patients by the West Midlands NHS Diagnostics Service.
Costs incurred as a result of the termination of the scheme are yet to be determined but any payment made by the Department will be governed by the contract with Care UK. The Department is currently in the process of verifying the claim made by Care UK.
From June 2007 until 31 January 2008, £13.3 million has been paid to the provider.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State outlined in the written ministerial statement on 15 November 2007, Official Report, columns 78-81WS, that the provision of diagnostic services in the West Midlands should be terminated because of an unacceptably low rate of use, and a very low prospect of the utilisation increasing which represents poor value for money to the taxpayer. In short, a significant increase in productivity by local NHS providers has substantially reduced the need for the capacity provided by this scheme with waiting times for most diagnostics reduced from more than one year to currently three weeks on average.
Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Crime
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with police forces on alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour; and if she will make a statement. [183492]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 31 January 2008]: The Home Secretary has not had any recent meetings specifically on antisocial behaviour and alcohol-related crime, but the Home Secretary and myself regularly have discussions with Police on all aspects of crime, which include antisocial behaviour and alcohol-related crime.
As announced in the recent written ministerial statement on the evaluation of the impact of the Licensing Act 2003, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Andy Burnham) together with the Home Secretary, will convene a summit of police and local authorities to explore how we can take proposals forward to further tackle alcohol-related harms.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government plans to take to reduce underage drinking. [186848]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 18 February 2008]: The Government take underage drinking very seriously. The National Alcohol Strategy ‘Safe.Sensible.Social’ published in June 2007, focuses action on three groups most at risk which are 18 to 24-year-old binge drinkers, young people under 18 who drink alcohol, and harmful drinkers whose drinking is damaging their health, often without them realising it.
In the Home Secretary’s speech on 6 February 2008, she said that a number of new measures and possible steps would be taken to crack down on crime and antisocial behaviour which is fuelled by alcohol. This includes highlighting the message that it is not acceptable for young people to drink in public places. The Home Secretary also said that she is considering a number of options including making the possession of alcohol by a young person an offence, or possibly involving the parents if alcohol is confiscated from a child. We are currently considering the effectiveness of the current powers and what can be done to help the police use them more effectively.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families will also be publishing an action plan later in the year on young people and alcohol which will contain further proposals for reducing drinking by young people. Additionally, two confiscation campaigns have taken place recently; one in October 2007 and one in February 2008. The results of the October campaign showed that nearly 3,700 litres of alcohol were confiscated from young people during the four week period.
The Government also support schemes that make it easier for retailers to verify, and young people to prove, their age. That is why we are working with the British Retail Consortium’s Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) which validates the variety of proof of age card schemes available. This allows card schemes to apply for accreditation under PASS and entitles them to issue cards displaying the PASS holographic logo. This is easily recognisable both to retailers and young people and helps them know that they have a proof of age document which should be accepted.
Alcoholic Drinks: Enforcement
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to work with licence holders to reduce levels of antisocial behaviour as a result of drinking on their premises. [193343]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 12 March 2008]: The Government continue to prioritise reductions in levels of alcohol-related disorder and antisocial behaviour. Through schemes such as Pubwatch and Best Bar None, we are continuing to support responsible management of licensed premises that results in reductions in alcohol-related crime and disorder. We have also held a series of enforcement campaigns that have targeted irresponsible premises and individuals that contribute to, or partake in alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour. This has involved meeting with retailers in local areas to raise awareness in respect of their responsibilities.
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government has taken to work with supermarkets to reduce underage drinking. [190536]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 29 February 2008]: Through ‘Safe. Sensible. Social. The next steps in the National Alcohol Strategy’, the Government are committed to carrying out an independent review of the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm, and following public consultation, will consider the need for regulatory change in the future, if necessary. This review is being led by the Department of Health and has gone out to tender. We anticipate publishing the review’s findings in the summer of 2008.
In addition, the Government are also committed to carrying out a review and consultation on the effectiveness of the alcohol industry’s Social Responsibility Standards document in contributing to a reduction in alcohol harm, and following public consultation, will consider
the need for regulatory change in the future, if necessary. We anticipate launching the public consultation in November 2008.
Successive Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaigns (AMECs 2004-06) and Tackling Underage Sales of Alcohol Campaigns (TUSACs 2006-07) have been designed to address the problem of underage drinking through the use of test-purchase campaigns focused on all retailers (including but not limited to supermarkets). In 2004, the overall repeated test purchase failure rate was approximately 50 per cent. In 2006, it had dropped to approximately 20 per cent. In this latest and more targeted campaign it now stands at approximately 15 per cent. overall.
The Prime Minister held an alcohol summit with key alcohol stakeholders in November 2007 a second alcohol summit is planned for spring 2008.
Animal Experiments
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the ministerial letter of 31 January 2006 responding to the recommendations of the Animal Procedures Committee’s 2005 report on the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, if she will make a statement on her considerations of recommendation 18 on improvement of the techniques listed in Table 9 the better to represent procedures in current use that may cause substantial suffering. [191994]
Meg Hillier: We will shortly be reviewing our response to all of the recommendations in this Animal Procedures Committee report, including recommendation 18, and will aim to publish our further conclusions when we publish the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals 2007.
Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Drugs
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of post conviction antisocial behaviour orders contained conditions relating to drug offending, in the latest period for which figures are available; and what percentage of those antisocial behaviour orders were breached. [196532]
Mr. Coaker: Information on the conditions attached to antisocial behaviour orders on conviction is not collected centrally.
Asylum
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of unsuccessful asylum cases considered by the Case Resolution Directorate that did not include a questionnaire and are entitled to an appeal have been subject to an appeal; and if she will make a statement. [196073]
Mr. Byrne: The requested information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of unsuccessful asylum cases considered by the Case Resolution Directorate that included a questionnaire and are entitled to an appeal have been subject to an appeal; and if she will make a statement. [196074]
Mr. Byrne: The requested information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2008, Official Report, column 2055-6W, on asylum, whether her Department has re-evaluated its expected completion date for considering and issuing a decision on all asylum cases that fall under the remit of the Case Resolution Directorate; and if she will make a statement. [196077]
Mr. Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency remains committed to, and on track to achieve, the clearance of the older unresolved asylum cases by summer 2011.
Lin Homer will provide updates to the Home Affairs Select Committee on a six monthly basis.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of asylum applicants with cases considered by the Case Resolution Directorate without a questionnaire have been informed when consideration began either directly or through their legal representative; and if she will make a statement. [196099]
Mr. Byrne: The requested information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of unsuccessful asylum applicants considered by the Case Resolution Directorate without a questionnaire, and who were subsequently removed, were informed of the outcome of the final decision either directly or through their legal representative prior to removal; and if she will make a statement. [196100]
Mr. Byrne: The requested information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time was between the final decision being taken and removal for unsuccessful asylum cases considered by the Case Resolution Directorate; and if she will make a statement. [196101]
Mr. Byrne: The requested information is not collated and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library copies of information provided to staff on the Border and Immigration Agency hon. Members hotline on the Case Resolution Directorate; and if she will make a statement. [196102]
Mr. Byrne: No specific guidance has been issued to workers on the hon. Members hotline. Information on the Case Resolution Directorate can be found on the Border and Immigration Agency website.
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