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9 Jun 2008 : Column 59W—continued
Nurses: Lymphoedema
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the numbers of dedicated lymphoedema practitioner nurses. [208356]
Ann Keen: The Government have supported the development of a range of specialist roles within nursing. However it is for local national health service organisations to commission training places and to deploy specialist nurses in accordance with their local needs.
Nurses: Travel
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many miles travel expenditure NHS community nurses claimed on average in each year since 2000. [208722]
Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the effect of rising fuel prices on NHS community service staff. [208723]
Ann Keen: The NHS Staff Council is keeping this under review. A joint sub group of the NHS Staff Council is currently working towards agreement. Guidance was issued in December as an interim measure until agreement can be reached.
Salt: Health Education
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on public awareness campaigns on the health implications of excessive salt consumption in each of last 10 years. [207029]
Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency’s public awareness campaigns on salt began in January 2004, and the total cost of the three phases of the campaign, which were undertaken between January 2004 and March 2008 was £15,227,000. This includes all campaign costs such as advertising, production, research, marketing, public relations, web and partner grants.
West Hertfordshire Acute Hospital Trust
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the salary of the temporary Chief Executive Officer of West Herts Acute Hospital Trust is; and if he will make a statement. [208622]
Ann Keen: The requested information is not held centrally. East of England Strategic Health Authority (SHA) has advised that details of the Chief Executive's salary would be included in the annual report for West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust which is due to be published in July 2008. However, the hon. Member may wish to raise this matter directly with the Chief Executive or Chair of the Trust.
More generally, national health service trusts may pay their staff remuneration and allowances, and employ them on such terms and conditions, as they consider appropriate. The Department introduced the pay framework for very senior managers in strategic and special health authorities, primary care trusts and ambulance trusts in 2006 and updated it in 2007. Both documents are available in the Library. Although the framework does not apply to NHS trusts, they are free to adopt its principles.
Defence
Afghanistan: Overseas Aid
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer from the Minister of State for International Development of 2 June 2008, Official Report, column 655W, on Afghanistan: overseas aid, what International Security Assistance Force funds have been made available for the building of a new mosque in Musa Qala; who is leading the project; and when the project will be completed. [209529]
Des Browne:
The cost of the new Hanifi mosque being built just to the west of the centre of Musa Qala in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, has not yet been finalised, but it is estimated it will be between $70,000
and $150,000, funding for which will be provided by the International Security Assistance Force. This will be project managed by the Royal Engineers on behalf of the Provincial Reconstruction Team based at Lashkar Gah and the Afghan Ministry for Rehabilitation and Rural Development. It is expected to be completed in around six months.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British and Commonwealth service personnel have been killed in blue on blue friendly fire incidents in Afghanistan since 2001. [209586]
Des Browne: We believe five members of the UK armed forces have been killed as a result of blue-on-blue incidents in Afghanistan.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2008, Official Report, column 661W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, what infrastructure development and reconstruction the Royal Engineers have carried out in the last 24 months; and how many Afghan National Army engineers have been trained to operate independently. [209680]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Between June 2006 and June 2008, the Royal Engineers in Afghanistan have been involved with a total of 216 reconstruction and development projects. These have been built by local Afghan companies, providing employment and livelihoods to the local population, but managed by the Royal Engineers on behalf of the provincial reconstruction team based at Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province. The following table lists the number, type, location and status of these projects.
| Location | |||||
| Type of p roject | Status | Lashkar Gar | Gereshk | Sangin | Musa Qal'eh |
Training of Afghan National Army (ANA) military engineers is continuing, although mentoring support from coalition forces is still provided to enable their operations.
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2008, Official Report, column 344W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, when he expects the investigation to conclude. [209886]
Des Browne: The investigation will be completed as rapidly as possible. However, a number of witnesses have yet to be interviewed and other aspects of the investigation by the Royal Military Police Special Investigations Branch are continuing. I cannot therefore be more precise about when the investigation will be concluded.
Armed Forces: EU Nationals
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the nationality rules are for members of other European Union countries serving in the UK armed forces. [209143]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The nationality eligibility rules for employment in the UK armed forces state that to be accepted, an applicant must have been at all times since birth a British or Commonwealth citizen, or a Republic of Ireland national. A waiver of these requirements may be granted, in exceptional circumstances, to applicants who were not British or Commonwealth citizens or Republic of Ireland nationals at birth, but had become so at the time of their application.
The last comprehensive review of nationality eligibility criteria examined the position with regard to EU citizens. Because of the specific nature of armed forces employment, it was decided not to allow EU citizens to become members of our armed forces.
Armed Forces: Housing
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will publish the monthly housing reports produced by the Defence Estates Housing Directorate in each of the last 12 months; [204005]
(2) if he will publish the results of the latest customer satisfaction survey carried out by Modern Housing Solutions. [204006]
Derek Twigg: The Defence Estates housing report for March 2008 (the latest available) together with the latest occupant satisfaction survey are published on the Modern Housing Solution website at
under the heading ‘Progress Information for Occupants’.
Armed Forces: Influenza
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Westbury (Dr. Murrison) of 2 April 2008, Official Report, column 937W, on armed forces: influenza, when the Pandemic Influenza Guide was published; which (a) Government Departments and (b) other interested parties he consulted in producing the guide; to whom the guide has been distributed; if he will place a copy in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [209294]
Derek Twigg: The development of the MOD Pandemic Flu Guide (renamed the Framework in 2008) has been an ongoing activity since November 2005, and was first issued in May 2006. The requirement is to ensure that the MOD has a robust approach to its contingency planning to deal with the general pandemic risk and to reinforce this with selective measures to protect critical activities or those judged to be especially at risk. As the Guide/Framework is a live document, it has been subject to continuous updates and revisions, with the latest version issued in February 2008. Updated versions of the Framework (together with supporting leaflets) are distributed to top level budget holders (TLBs) and trading funds as and when these become available. A “work in progress” copy of the Framework (and some supporting leaflets) has recently been placed in the Library.
Development of the MOD Pandemic Flu Guide/Framework has been undertaken by the Flu Sub-Group (composed of expertise drawn from different organisations across the Central TLB and wider Defence community) and the participation of MOD personnel (civilian and military) in activities, work streams and exercises co-ordinated by the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS). MOD personnel also support the Department of Health (DH) and Health Protection Agency (HPA) Programme Board in creating the national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic. Taken together this involvement ensures MOD influenza pandemic planning accords with cross-Government influenza contingency preparations.
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