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22 July 2008 : Column 1080W—continued
Children: Wheelchairs
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he intends to take to improve the wheelchair service for children and young people as part of the forthcoming Child Health Strategy; and if he will make a statement. [220222]
Ann Keen: We plan to publish the Child Health Strategy in September, and will set out our further plans then.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in improving the provision of wheelchair services for children and young people since the publication of Aiming High for Disabled Children in May 2007. [220223]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Transforming Community Equipment and Wheelchair Services Programme (TCEWS) was set up on 2006 to design a radical new model for delivery of both community equipment and wheelchairs in England. The remit of the programme was to place service users and carers at the heart of any new service model and build on the strengths of the third and private sector. The overall aim was to develop a new high quality system for delivering equipment which would give those supported by the state the sort of choice and control they have not previously enjoyed. Responsibility for assessment if need remains with local health and social care commissioners.
The programme has developed a business case for a new model of delivery of wheelchair services which is currently being considered.
Cholesterol: Screening
Mrs. Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to encourage people to have regular cholesterol and blood pressure tests. [220012]
Ann Keen: The Quality and Outcomes Framework of the GP Contract includes quality indicators that provide incentives for practices to measure and control cholesterol in people with vascular disease and diabetes; and to measure and control blood pressure in people with a vascular condition, including hypertension and diabetes. In addition, one quality indicator encourages practices to check routinely the blood pressure of patients aged 45 and over.
Putting Prevention First, published at the beginning of April this year, outlines the Department’s plans to introduce vascular checks, which will include blood pressure and cholesterol tests for all adults aged between 40 and 74.
In the Next Stage Review, we outlined our plans for a new ‘Reduce Your Risk’ campaign intended to raise awareness of vascular checks and help people to stay healthy and to know when they need to get help. It will explain the importance of each of the modifiable risk factors for vascular disease, including blood pressure and diet. It will also explain the need for a risk assessment and how to access it.
Cord Blood
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which stakeholders he has consulted in the course of his Department's review of UK practice in the collection and use of umbilical cord blood; and if he will make a statement. [219909]
Dawn Primarolo: Organisations and individuals consulted during the review of cord blood collection and use have included:
transplant clinicians;
maternity unit nurses;
researchers;
private cord blood banks (Virgin, Future Health);
NHS Cord Blood Bank;
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists;
Royal College of Midwives;
The Anthony Nolan Trust;
Scottish Government;
Government Departments and agencies;
Research Councils; and
Human Tissue Authority.
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received on extending the (a) collection and (b) use of umbilical cord blood in the UK for clinical and research purposes. [221496]
Dawn Primarolo: I have met one organisation to hear a proposal on extending the collection and use of umbilical cord blood in the United Kingdom for clinical and research purposes. The same proposal has generated 13 pieces of correspondence. In total, two parliamentary questions have been laid on extending the current services.
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many units of cord blood have been imported for use in the NHS since 2005; what proportion of these units were sourced and identified by the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [221497]
Dawn Primarolo: 26 cord blood units have been imported for use in the national health service since 2005. All were sourced by the NHS.
Deca-BDE: Health Hazards
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on human health of the use in industry of the flame retardant deca-BDE; and if he will make a statement. [220677]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
Decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) is a flame retardant used primarily in plastics and textiles applications. Over an extended period it has been subject to risk assessment action under the EU Existing Substances Regulation (EC no. 793/93); the UK (the Environment Agency) was the Rapporteur for the environmental elements of the risk assessment and France was the Rapporteur for the human health aspects.
The conclusion of the risk assessment is that while decaBDE is very persistent in the environment, it is not on present evidence bioaccumulative, and it is not toxic. As a result it does not meet the criteria for formal risk reduction activity under the existing substances regulation.
Dementia
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's strategy for medical research into dementia is; and if he will make a statement. [221043]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department invests significant sums in dementia research. As implementation of the Government's health research strategy ‘Best Research for Best Health’ continues that investment is increasingly directed through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR has established the Dementias and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network (the network provides a world-class health service infrastructure to support clinical trials and other well designed studies funded by both commercial and non-commercial organisations); and is supporting translational and applied research in dementia through the work of its biomedical research centres and through awards made under its programme grant scheme.
The Department published a consultation on a national dementia strategy on 19 June. It includes a recommendation and plans for building on the UK research base in dementia.
Dental Services
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists are working on primary care lists in England; how many people were on waiting lists for NHS dental treatment at the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [219232]
Ann Keen: The number of dentists on open national health service contracts in England as at 30 June 2006, 30 September 2006, 31 December 2006, and 31 March 2007 are available in Table El of Annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07 report”. This information is based on the new contractual arrangements introduced on 1 April 2006. Information is available by strategic health authority and by primary care trust (PCT).
Copies of this publication have already been placed in the Library and are on the Information Centre for health and social care's website at:
The numbers quoted are headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists,
nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
Information on the number of people on waiting lists for NHS dental treatment is not collected centrally. It is for PCTs to make local arrangements to support patients in accessing NHS dental services.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many treatments in each treatment band were carried out by NHS dentists in (a) St. Ives constituency, (b) Cornwall and (c) England in each year since 2000. [219906]
Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested for the period requested. Under the new contractual arrangements, dentists no longer report individual items of service delivered but receive an annual agreed sum, paid in twelve equal instalments in return for delivering an agreed level of dental service. The service delivered is measured in weighted courses of treatment (CoTs) made up of units of dental activity.
Some sample information is available at national level on dental treatments delivered within courses of treatment. On 4 October 2007 the Information Centre for health and social care published a report: “Dental Treatment Band Analysis, England 2007: Preliminary Results” which considered activity within a sample of CoTs from the first four months of 2007-08 and made comparisons with equivalent information for 2003-04. On 21 August 2008, the NHS Information Centre is due to publish a further report covering the whole of 2007-08: “Dental Treatment Band Analysis, England and Wales: 2007-08 report”.
Under the old dental contractual arrangements, in place up to and including 31 March 2006, information on the number of claims by treatment type was collected centrally for those dentists working in general dental services. Information for 2005 and 2006 by SHA is available in Annex D of “NHS Dental and Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006”.
This report has already been placed in the Library and is available at:
Information below SHA level or for the years prior to 2005 and 2006 could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts for NHS dentists there were in (a) St. Ives constituency, (b) Cornwall and (c) England in each year since 2000. [219907]
Ann Keen: The information is not available in the form requested for the period requested.
The new system of local contracting has been in place only since April 2006. Under the old dental system, in place up to and including 31 March 2006, dentists worked either in general dental services (GDS) or in personal dental service pilots (PDS). PDS pilots, unlike GDS, operated under a system of local contracts but information on the individual contracts agreed under those arrangements is not held centrally.
The available information for the period since April 2006 is set out in the following tables. This is the latest information available.
| Contracts agreed in April 2006( 1) | |
| Level | Number |
| Source:(1) Department of Health. Note: Information available only by the then primary care trust and strategic health authority. | |
| Contracts which ran for the whole of 2006-07 | |
| Level | Number |
| Source: NHS Business Services Authority Dental Services Division. Note: Information available only at England level and by current strategic health authority. | |
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the effects of the new dentists' contract on numbers of (a) patient registrations and (b) dentists. [221206]
Ann Keen: The Department assessed the impact of the first eighteen months of the dental reforms in its written evidence to the Health Select Committee. This evidence was submitted in December 2007 and published by the committee on 4 February 2008 at:
The written evidence set out how the reforms have helped lay a solid foundation for locally commissioned dental services. It covered among other areas access, quality and workforce and how the Department is working, with the national health service and stakeholders, to improve services further.
In addition, in order to identify and spread good practice, the Department announced in March that there will be an evaluation of how local commissioning is working in terms of the patient experience. This will look at both access and quality of services, and the incentives it offers to increase access and encourage prevention and health promotion, as well as treatment. It will also set out a vision for NHS dentistry in five years time. The evaluation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget is for each (a) non-departmental public body and (b) agency for which his Department is responsible for 2008-09. [220100]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Arms length body | Type of arms length body | Total (£000) |
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