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12 Jun 2008 : Column 515W—continued
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department (a) has commissioned, (b) plans to commission and (c) has evaluated on the number of children who were born alive following an attempted abortion; when his Department last undertook a review of the number of children who were born alive following an attempted abortion that took into account (i) UK and (ii) international research; and if he will make a statement. [209117]
Dawn Primarolo: The Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) collects data on all perinatal deaths (which includes the extremely small number of cases following abortion) and conducts confidential inquiries and other in-depth analyses of defined subsets. From this, CEMACH identifies key findings and makes recommendations as appropriate. As there is ongoing monitoring in this area, the Department has no plans to commission any further work.
The British Medical Association, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) have all issued guidance to clinicians on this sensitive issue. Ultimately, the management of these cases rests with the clinical team involved, taking into account all the relevant factors and circumstances. BAPM is currently updating its guidance on this issue.
Avian Influenza
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the likelihood of a global pandemic of avian influenza; and if he will make a statement; [209171]
(2) what contingency plans his Department has to deal with a pandemic of avian influenza; [209172]
(3) what work his Department is undertaking (a) with EU partners and (b) through the World Health Organisation to tackle the problem of avian influenza and H5N1. [209173]
Dawn Primarolo: There were three influenza pandemics in the last century. It is highly likely that another influenza pandemic will occur at some time, although it is impossible to forecast its exact timing or the precise nature of its impact.
In order to ensure the United Kingdom is as prepared as possible, a number of exercises have been run to test our level of preparedness and last November we published the “National framework for responding to an influenza pandemic”. This sets out the Governments overall strategy in preparing for, and responding to, an influenza pandemic. Copies of this publication are available in the Library.
The Department regularly attends international conferences, meetings and workshops, hosted by the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) aimed at sharing information and exchanging ideas about pandemic influenza preparedness planning.
The UK is a member of the EU Health Security Committee which has a programme of work on pandemic influenza; we are also actively involved in the review of the WHO pandemic planning guidance and indicator work. Departmental officials are working with countries and the WHO to establish a more transparent WHO system for sharing influenza viruses and helping ensure more equitable access to benefits. We are also working
with the upcoming French presidency to help plan a technical meeting on pandemic influenza and an informal ministerial meeting on health security threats, and are working with the G7 countries and Mexico on border and associated issues.
Biological Weapons
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contingency plans his Department has to deal with a (a) chemical and (b) biological attack on the UK; what stockpiles of vaccines there are to protect people against each chemical or biological agent; and if he will make a statement. [209292]
Dawn Primarolo: All national health service organisations, classed as Category 1 and 2 responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA 2004), have contingency plans in place to meet their responsibilities to ensure the continued delivery of healthcare services when faced with a wide range of disruptive challenges, including incidents involving the use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) agents.
The Department supports all health service organisations in their contingency planning through the provision of extensive specialist and generic guidance and a national programme of training and exercises designed to test plans and familiarise health service staff with their respective roles and responsibilities during an incident.
The United Kingdom Health Departments have established an extensive stockpile of medical countermeasures and specialist equipment to be used to protect and treat the public in the event of a wide range of possible incidents or attacks. For obvious reasons of security, it would be inappropriate to specify what particular countermeasures are held and where they are located.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of carbon monoxide poisoning were treated by the NHS in the last five years for which figures are available. [208569]
Dawn Primarolo: The Information Centre for health and social care does not hold complete data on the number of cases of carbon monoxide poisoning that were treated by the national health service in the last five years for which figures are available.
It does hold data on the number of finished admission episodes (FAEs), which indicate the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. These admissions do not represent the number of in-patients as a person may have more than one admission within the same year.
The total number of FAEs for the last five years relating to NHS hospitals in England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by English NHS, in which the patient had a primary diagnosis of ‘T58 Toxic effect of carbon monoxide’ at the start of his or her stay are provided in the following table.
| 1 April to 31 March each year | Number of FAEs |
Care Homes: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nursing and (b) residential care homes there were in (i) the Dacorum borough council area and (ii) Hemel Hempstead constituency in each year since 1997. [210159]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 10 June 2008]: Information on the numbers of residential and nursing care homes in the Dacorum borough council and Hemel Hempstead constituency areas is not held separately. Information is only available for the Hertfordshire council area.
Until 2001, information on the numbers of care and nursing homes was collected by the Department. From 2002, the information was collected by the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) and later by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), which took over responsibility for regulating care services from NCSC in April 2004.
Table 1 shows the number of residential and nursing care homes in the Hertfordshire council area from 1997 to 2001.
| Table 1: Number of care homes in Hertfordshire Council area from 1997 to 2001 by type of accommodation | |||||
| Year( 1) | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
| (1) As at 31 March for each year. (2) Figures for nursing homes are aggregated from East and North Hertfordshire and West Hertfordshire Health Authorities. (3) Data not supplied by Hertfordshire Council for 2001. Source: Department of Health | |||||
Table 2 shows the numbers of services registered with NCSC and CSCI in the Hertfordshire council area from 2003 to 2008. The NCSC began work on 1 April 2002. During the first months of NCSC's existence, there was a delay in registering some care homes, so complete information is not held for 2002.
| Care homes registered in Hertfordshire council area from 2003 to 2008( 1) | |
| Number | |
| (1) As at 31 March for each year. Source: Department of Health | |
Carers
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the number of people cared for at home by relatives; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse if those people were being cared for entirely by the NHS and local authorities. [208428]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The 2001 Census was the first time information on the numbers of carers was available on the basis of a detailed count. The 2001 Census indicates that there are some 6 million people providing unpaid care in the United Kingdom. However, this figure does not necessarily reflect the number of individuals being cared for, as there is not a one to one ratio of carers to care-recipients.
The Department has made no estimate of the cost to the public purse if those people being cared for by relatives were cared for by the NHS and local authorities.
The contribution carers make is recognised in law and the policies of local and central Government.
Chicken: Chlorine
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had at an EU level on the sale of chlorine-treated chicken for human consumption. [208916]
Dawn Primarolo: Although this issue falls within the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) area of responsibility, the FSA has made no representations to the European Union (EU) on the sale of chicken treated with chlorine intended for human consumption. Such processing aid treatments are not permitted in the EU or on chicken exported to the EU market.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to page 148 of his Department's Annual Report 2008, if he will provide a breakdown of the £800 million to be spent on arm's length bodies in 2008-09, broken down by body. [209137]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is shown in the following table:
| Disposition of national health services resources 2008-09 | |||
| £ million | |||
| Arm’s length bodies | Near cash | Non cash | Total |
| Notes: 1. Non cash relates to capital charges, depreciation and other non cash items. 2. These figures are indicative and may change during 2008-09. 3. NHS Litigation Authority clinical negligence resources of £1.2 billion excluded from this table and are shown separately on page 148 of the Department’s Annual Report. 4. In 2008-09 General Social Care Council funding, in the report, is shown as being funded from the social services budget rather than from central health budgets, so no funding is shown against central health budgets for that year. 5. In 2008-09 the majority of National Treatment Authority's funding, in the report, is being shown as coming from the drug misuse budget with only a small element shown against 2008-09 central health budgets. In 2007-08 the total funding is shown against the central health budgets. | |||
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