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9 May 2008 : Column 1256W—continued
Care Homes: Fees and Charges
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people receiving domiciliary care were (a) funded by the local authority, (b) privately funded and (c) paying an additional amount to meet the full cost of their fees in each year since 1996; [204614]
(2) how many people receiving residential care were (a) funded by the local authority, (b) privately funded and (c) relied on a relative or other third party to pay an additional amount to meet the full cost of their fees in each year since 1996; [204615]
(3) how many older people received (a) residential and (b) domiciliary care in each year since 1996. [204616]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are informed by the Information Centre for health and social care that information is not held centrally on the numbers of people receiving domiciliary care or residential care that is privately funded or involves the payment of an additional sum in order to meet the full cost.
The available information is shown in the following table. It shows the number of people who received domiciliary care or residential care, funded wholly or in part by councils with adult social services responsibilities as at 31 March of each year in total and for those aged 65 years or more. Information on domiciliary care services is only available from 2001. It is not possible to separate the figures into the numbers of people who received full or partial funding from the local authority for either domiciliary or residential care.
| Number of people receiving care funded wholly or in part by councils with adult social services responsibilities at 31 March, England | ||||
| Thousand | ||||
| Domiciliary Care( 1) | Residential Care( 1,4) | |||
| All ages( 2) | 65 and over | All ages( 2) | 65 and over | |
| (1) Data from 2003 onwards include clients formerly in receipt of preserved rights. (2 )Aged 18 and over. (3) The ‘all ages’ totals for domiciliary care in 2001 include the number of clients whose age was not known. (4) Data from 2004 onwards include Boyd loophole residents. (5) Data from 1996 and 1997 exclude supported residents in un-staffed or other non-registered accommodation. Source: Referral Assessments and Packages of care form P2s and SRI form Table 1 | ||||
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that recommendations on research into myalgic
encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome, such as those outlined in the guidelines recently issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, are met, with particular regard to (a) the cause of the illness, (b) the effectiveness of current intervention strategies and (c) identification of efficient ways to deliver domiciliary care for those who are severely affected. [203520]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) on 29 April 2008, Official Report, column 252W.
Codex Alimentarius
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what status the Codex Alimentarius has in the regulatory regime for medicines; and what assessment the Government have made of the effects of full introduction of the Codex on the regulation of natural, herbal and homeopathic medicines. [203513]
Dawn Primarolo: The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The Codex Alimentarius standards are used as a reference point for consumers, food producers and processors, national food control agencies and the international food trade.
The Codex Alimentarius is not part of the regulatory framework for medicinal products and has not therefore been taken into consideration when regulating natural, herbal and homeopathic medicinal products. However, certain excipients in medicines, such as colourings, are covered by food standards which are taken into account by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency before allowing their use in medicinal products in the United Kingdom.
Construction
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many construction projects his Department undertook in each of the last three years for which the capital cost was greater than £1.5 million; and what the combined value was of these projects; [202538]
(2) how many construction projects his Department undertook in each of the last three years for which the capital cost was less than £1.5 million; and what the combined value of these projects was. [202540]
Mr. Bradshaw: The construction of most new health facilities by national health service bodies is undertaken by means of three particular procurement methods. These are the private finance initiative (PFI) for hospital facilities, ProCure 21 to deliver public capital funded hospital facilities and local improvement finance trust developments in respect of primary care facilities that are commissioned by primary care trusts (PCTs).
Information on the number and capital value of projects and the date that construction began for these
three programmes is held centrally and is given in aggregated form in the table.
Details are not held centrally on construction projects undertaken by the NHS by means other than the three procurement methods identified. These are predominantly the smaller public capital funded schemes commissioned locally by NHS trusts and PCTs and which are below departmental delegated approval limits.
| Construction projects above £1.5 million | Construction projects below £1.5 million | |||
| Number | Value (£ million) | Number | Value (£ million) | |
Doctors: Working Hours
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in (a) negotiating the retention of the European Working Time Directive individual opt-out and (b) addressing the other issues raised by the SiMAP/Jaeger judgments. [204539]
Ann Keen: The European Working Time is a key dossier for the United Kingdom Government. The Government remain committed to the retention of the individual opt-out and a solution to the issues from the SiMAP/Jaeger judgments.
We are disappointed not to have reached an agreement in the European Union on this dossier but are hopeful that one can be found soon.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the implementation of the European Working Time Directive on (a) medical training and (b) training for surgeons; and what research his Department has considered as part of its policy formulation in this area. [204540]
Ann Keen: The Government have commissioned Sheffield University to undertake independent research on the impact of the European Working Time Directive on medical training, including a joint project with the Royal College of Surgeons to identify practical solutions for surgical training.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether negotiations are under way on an extension of the timetable for the implementation of the European Working Time Directive as it relates to NHS doctors beyond 2012. [204542]
Ann Keen: No. National health service services are planning to implement the European Working Time Directive by August 2009.
Health Services: Contracts
Mike Penning:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he issues to primary care trusts on procedures to be followed when letting alternative
provider medical service (APMS) contracts, with particular reference to (a) tendering processes, (b) timescales, (c) criteria used to select the successful bidder, (d) per patient cost estimates and (e) bid scoring; what reports he has received of the tendering process conducted by Camden Primary Care Trust to run the Camden Road, Kings Cross and Brunswick Centre general practitioner practices; and if he will make a statement. [202124]
Mr. Bradshaw: In December 2007 the Department published the PCT Procurement Framework—Equitable Access to Primary Medical Care—Local Procurement of GP Practices and Health Centres, to support primary care trusts (PCTs) in procuring the new general practitioner (GP) practices and health centre services. This framework is based on existing guidance from the Office of Government Commerce and contains a set of procurement tools and template documentation, including a number of suggested evaluation criteria. The precise mix of these criteria and their associated weightings will be determined locally by primary care trusts based on local circumstances. Copies of the framework and evaluation plan have been placed in the Library.
Additionally, the Department wrote to strategic health authority chief executives in December to confirm the core criteria and proposed time scales that will underpin the development of new GP practices and health centres. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.
The Department has not received any reports on the procurement conducted by Camden Primary Care Trust for three new GP practices. This was a locally managed process outwith the current procurements of new practices and health centres.
Health Services: Greater London
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports he has received on the outcomes of London Strategic Health Authority’s review of the property assets held by London’s healthcare trusts. [202144]
Mr. Bradshaw: No formal review of the London Strategic Health Authority’s (SHA) property assets has been commissioned. However, the SHA does regularly monitor the NHS’s usage of its estate, and whether this is delivering best value for money.
NHS: Drugs
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the savings to the NHS that could be achieved by extending the prescription of generic drugs. [203105]
Dawn Primarolo: Using the quarterly potential generic savings report produced by the prescription pricing division of the NHS Business Services Authority, it is possible to determine that for the latest period available, October 2007 to December 2007, the potential savings, in England, that may be achieved by prescribing generically rather than by brand is £8.6 million.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made an estimate of the extra costs incurred by the NHS in treating patients whose conditions have worsened as a result of them not being able to afford their prescribed medication. [203106]
Dawn Primarolo: We have made no such estimate.
We agree it is vitally important that people get the medicines they need. There are already extensive arrangements in place for exemption from prescription charges, particularly for those on a low income. People who do pay for their prescriptions can manage the cost by purchasing a prescription prepayment certificate, which allows them to get all the prescription items they need for £27.85 for three months and £102.50 for a year.
NHS: Information and Communications Technology
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has had negotiations with Fujitsu on that company (a) exiting and (b) changing their contracts with Connecting for Health; and what minimum number of suppliers to the central Connecting for Health contracts is allowed under the terms of the NHS IT programme. [202329]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department continues to negotiate constructively with Fujitsu on the company's proposals to reset its supplier contract under the national programme for information technology. Reset is a normal, repeatable, process, for contracts with a long lifetime to ensure that their ongoing delivery reflects progress to date, current priorities, and deployment plans for the future, and that they continue to support the evolving needs of the national health service. Reset also allows for the option of agreeing enhancements to existing services or functionality that does not effect a change in contract scope or risk allocation.
The original procurement strategy for the national programme was to avoid reliance on a single supplier to deliver the programme, and recognised that some suppliers might fail and need to be replaced, but without reference to a maximum or minimum number of suppliers.
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