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14 July 2008 : Column 174W—continued
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel have received basic trade training at RAF Halton for (a) supply roles, (b) catering and (c) administration roles in each year since 1998. [217584]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The following table gives the number of armed forces personnel who have received basic trade training for supply, catering and administration roles at RAF Halton. Information is only available from financial year 2003-04.
| Trade | |||
| Catering | Administration | Supply | |
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much income was received by his Department from RAF Halton selling (a) spare capacity training and (b) spare capacity resources in each year since 1998. [217586]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The income received by the MOD from RAF Halton selling spare training capacity and spare resource capacity, is given in the following table. Spare training capacity figures are approximate and have been provided by HORIZON who have a contract with the RAF to market this training. Exact figures relating to spare training capacity are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information given in the table has been rounded to the nearest £l,000. Information is not available for the years prior to those included in the table.
| £ | ||
| Income received from spare training capacity at RAF Halton | Income received from spare resource capacity at RAF Halton | |
| n/a = Not available. | ||
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which customers purchased (a) spare capacity training and (b) spare capacity resources from RAF Halton in each year since 1998. [217587]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The RAF has had a contract with HORIZON to market spare training capacity at RAF Halton since 2001. I am withholding the list of HORIZON'S customers as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests. Details of customers for spare capacity at RAF Halton prior to 2001 are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Since financial year 2004-05, approximately 1,500 customers have purchased spare resource capacity from RAF Halton. I will write to the hon. Member with the names of these customers.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian staff vacancies have been advertised at RAF Halton in each year since 1998. [217593]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The following table gives the number of civilian staff vacancies advertised internally and externally at RAF Halton. Information is only available from calendar year 2003. Earlier information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Vacancies | |
| Number | |
South Korea: Defence
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has held with his South Korean counterpart on strengthening the defence procurement relationship between the UK and the government of South Korea. [217503]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: My right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary met his South Korean counterpart Minister, Lee Sang Hee in Singapore on 1 June in the margins of the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Asia Security Summit. Strengthening the defence procurement relationship between the UK and the government of South Korea was not discussed.
Trident Missiles
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any Trident warheads have experienced specified abnormal or severely abnormal environments, as defined by JSP 538 in the last 30 years. [218408]
Des Browne: No Trident warhead has experienced either a specified or severe abnormal environment. The Trident nuclear warhead system was designed against robust environmental standards that are now captured in JSP 538. In achieving approval for in-service use for Trident, trials and assessments of components and special build warheads against those standards were undertaken and passed.
Unmanned Air Vehicles: Procurement
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to purchasing MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from overseas rather than UK-assembled UAVs. [216229]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: In order to meet an Urgent Operational Requirement an assessment was made of all known developmental and off-the-shelf strategic level unmanned air vehicles, including those available from within the UK. This assessment concluded that the MQ-9 Reaper was the only UAV which provided the required capability in the necessary time scale. The MQ-9 Reaper has been procured complete from a US company, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc, which is the sole source for the system. Watchkeeper, which is expected to enter service in 2010 to meet the long-term requirement for a formation higher tactical level UAV, will be assembled in the UK and work is under way to decide how best to meet our future strategic level UAV requirements.
Health
Abortion: Statistics
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many times the 2007 Abortion Statistics have been downloaded from his Department’s website. [216353]
(2) how many hard copies of the 2007 Abortion Statistics have been provided by his Department free of charge; to whom; at what cost to the public purse; and if he will make a statement. [216354]
Dawn Primarolo: Between 19 and 30 June there have been 783 downloads of the PDF of “Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2007” and 764 downloads of the tables in Excel format.
Further to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 12 June 2008, Official Report, column 515W, paper copies of the statistical bulletin were made available in the Vote Office as he requested. Fifty copies were provided and no estimate has been made of the cost of doing so. No other hard copies of the bulletin have been distributed.
Ambulance Services
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulances have been decommissioned by the NHS in each of the last five years for which records are available. [215766]
Mr. Bradshaw: This information is not collected centrally. It is for trusts to ensure at local level that the ambulance vehicles they are using are fit for purpose.
Ambulance Services: Fuels
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent representations he has received from the East of England Ambulance Service on the effect of increases in the cost of fuel on ambulance services; [217234]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of recent increases in the cost of fuel on ambulance services in (a) Hertfordshire and (b) England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [217235]
Mr. Bradshaw: No recent representations have been received from the East of England Ambulance Service on the effect of increases in the cost of fuel on ambulance services.
Arrangements for accessing fuel for ambulances are the responsibility of local ambulance trusts, and we have made no assessment of the effect of increases in the cost of fuel on ambulance services in either Hertfordshire or England. The health service in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.
Ambulance Services: Vehicles
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provides to ambulance authorities on procurement of vehicles; and what makes of ambulance are recommended for purchase by ambulance authorities. [215317]
Mr. Bradshaw: There are two types of ambulance procured by ambulance trusts: patient transport service ambulances and accident and emergency (A and E) ambulances.
Both types of vehicles can be procured either by outright purchase or by leasing, depending on the individual trusts preference.
For the outright purchase of either type the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) has two national frameworks in place. These contracts provide ambulances which comply with the standard adopted by the British Standards Institute for those vehicles which carry a stretcher.
The specification for A and E ambulances for the new framework was decided by the National Strategic Ambulance Group. The new national specification for front line accident and emergency ambulances is box body only and because of the equipment it carries Mercedes, Iveco and Volkswagon are specified as suitable providers.
These frameworks are not mandatory and trusts can tender on their own behalf for both patient transport service and A and E ambulances. However, trusts may make use of NHS PASA advice and assistance.
Autism: Drugs
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure that there is no gap in the provision of prescribed drugs to a person suffering from autism on reaching the age of 18 years; and if he will make a statement. [218605]
Dawn Primarolo: Transition planning is important for young people moving from child to adult services. This process should involve an integrated multidisciplinary team (including the general practitioner) to enable co-ordinated care, including medical management and medication. The Department would expect the continued prescribing of medicines to form part of this planning.
Cancer: Mortality
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the average numbers of years of life lost for (a) all cancers, (b) brain tumours, (c) prostate cancer and (d) breast cancer in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [216616]
Ann Keen [holding answer 9 July 2008]: The following table shows the numbers of years of life lost for all cancers, cancer of the brain, prostate cancer and breast cancer in England. The figures are for the period 2004-06.
| Summary of years of life lost statistics for selected causes of death, England, 2004-06 (pooled) | |||||
| Number of deaths aged under 75 years | Number of years of life lost up to age 75 years | ||||
| Cause of death | Gender | Three year total | Annual average | Three year total | Annual average |
| (1) Source: Clinical and Health Outcomes Knowledge Base: The Information Centre for health and social care/National Centre for Health Outcomes Development, 2008. (2) Source: Cancer of brain—a bespoke analysis by National Centre for Health Outcomes Development, July 2008. Notes: 1. Data are based on the original underlying cause of death. 2. Data are based on the latest revisions of Office for National statistics population estimates for the respective years, current as at 23 October 2007. 3. Data exclude deaths under one year of age. 4. Figures have been taken from the Compendium of Clinical and Health Indicators on the National Centre for Health Outcomes Development website—specifically from the spreadsheets showing the crude rate per 10,000 population and number of years of life lost for each of the conditions requested. | |||||
Breast Cancer: Genetics
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of women in England considered to have an increased risk of breast cancer as a result of a genetic defect. [218252]
Ann Keen: The Department does not have estimates of how many women are at risk of breast cancer due to a genetic defect. The 2004 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guideline on the classification and care of women at risk of familial breast cancer estimates that three to 5 per cent. of women have inherited faults that can lead to a high risk of developing breast cancer. Up to 27 per cent. of women may have an inherited predisposition to breast cancer.
Recent research has identified other genes, which are associated with a small increased risk of developing breast cancer. Further work is needed but these discoveries offer the possibility that we will be able to identify more women at increased risk.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS healthcare trusts offer double screening of mammograms and MRI mammograms to women at increased risk of breast cancer as a result of family history and genetic defect. [218253]
Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.
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