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22 Oct 2008 : Column 371W—continued
These figures reflect media spend invoiced to the Department only. Some campaigns, (e.g. Frank and Alcohol) are paid for jointly by the Department and other Government Departments.
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mobile telephones have been bought by his Department in each of the last five years. [227827]
Mr. Bradshaw: Vodafone are the supplier of all mobile devices to the Department and the figures in the table are supplied by that organisation. Their records start in 2005 and there is no information source that could specifically identify mobile telephones before that date. The information for 2008 is the figure as at the end of September.
| Total number of mobile telephones | Of which: Blackberries | |
Departmental NDPBs
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been agreed with each of his Department's non-departmental public bodies for the period 2008 to 2011. [229136]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested is only available for the financial year 2008-09 and is shown in the following table. Figures for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not been agreed yet.
| Non-departmental public body | Total (£000) |
Departmental Older Workers
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged over (a) 55 and (b) 60 years were recruited by his Department in 2007-08; and what percentage in each case this was of the number of new recruits. [228754]
Mr. Bradshaw: Seven people aged over 55 and one person aged over 60 were recruited by the Department in 2007-08. These represented, respectively, 3.7 per cent. and 0.5 per cent. of new recruits.
Departmental Recruitment
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies spent on (i) recruitment consultants and (ii) external recruitment advertising to recruit staff in each of the last five financial years; which recruitment consultants were employed for those purposes in each of those years; and if he will make a statement. [226800]
Mr. Bradshaw: Information on the costs of recruitment consultants and external recruitment advertising, and the names of recruitment consultants employed, are provided in the following tables.
| Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency | ||
| £ | ||
| Recruitment consultants | Recruitment advertising | |
| Note: Recruitment consultants employed were Accounting Additions, Armstrong Craven, Blackbridge, Brook Street, Crone Corkill, Crystal, Eames Jones and Judge Hawkings, Elite Associates, Ellwood and Atfield, Euromedia, Fusion IT, Hays, Hudson, Interim Performers, Kelly Services, Michael Page, Odgers Ray and Berndtson, Office Angels, Real IT Resourcing, Resource Innovations, Robert Half International, RSA, SynerGem, and Talentmark. | ||
| NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency | ||
| £ | ||
| Recruitment consultants | Recruitment advertising | |
| Notes: Recruitment consultants employed were Capita, Hudson Global, RS Locums and tmp.worldwide. | ||
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many civil servants in his Department were recruited through the fast stream; and what the average salary of those officials is. [229183]
Mr. Bradshaw: In the year from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008, 18 civil servants in the Department were recruited through the fast stream. Their average salary is £26,870.
Departmental Visits Abroad
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many visits he has made abroad since taking up his position; and at what cost. [227765]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Cabinet Office collates returns for ministerial travel over the value of £500. Alan Johnson joined the Department of Health as Secretary of State in June 2007. The following table shows Cabinet Office data for the Secretary of State's overseas travel for the financial year 2007-08. Collections for the current financial year will be available at its close.
| Dates | Minister | Destination | Purpose of Trip | Total cost including travel and accommodation (£) |
Health Services: Lancashire
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will visit Chorley and Preston hospitals and the new clinical access treatment centre in Chorley. [227031]
Ann Keen: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has no current plans to visit.
Health: Greater London
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on developing the Picture of Health for South East London; and if he will make a statement. [228238]
Ann Keen: A Picture of Health considers options for the reconfiguration of four acute sites in South East London (Princess Royal University Hospitals Bromley, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, Queen Mary’s, Sidcup and University Hospitals, Lewisham).
As a result, the local Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) comprising six interested borough councils and Kent county council has indicated its intention to formally refer at least some of the proposals to the Secretary of State.
A formal referral from Bexley council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee (a contingent of the JOSC) made a formal referral in its own right on 28 August 2008 to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. In the event the JOSC does not make a formal referral, the Bexley referral will still be considered by the Independent Review Panel.
Inspections
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inspectors were employed by his Department in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 1997-98. [228093]
Mr. Bradshaw: In 2007-08, the Department employed no inspectors with statutory powers. Details of the number of inspectors employed by the Department in 1997-98 would be available only at disproportionate cost.
Liver Diseases
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of liver disease caused by excessive consumption of alcohol in the UK. [227780]
Dawn Primarolo: In June 2007, Safe.Sensible.Social.—The next steps in the National Alcohol Strategy (which has already been placed in the Library) updated the 2004 National Alcohol Strategy and has a main aim to reduce drinking that is harmful to health.
The Department has put in place a new NHS vital signs indicator from April 2008 to measure change in the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol related conditions. Included within this, alcoholic liver disease was responsible for 14,668 hospital admissions in 2006-07. The number of admissions with a primary diagnosis of liver disease more than doubled between 1995-06 and 2006-07.
We expect that this vital signs indicator will encourage the national health service to identify those drinking above lower risk levels earlier. This approach, linked with advice and support from general practitioners or other healthcare staff, has been shown to be the best way of reducing the kind of ‘everyday' harmful drinking that leads to health harm, including liver disease.
This NHS vital signs indicator is included in the Home Office Public Service agreement to reduce drug and alcohol harm and in the Department of Communities and Local Government list of indicators for local authorities and their partners.
Since the introduction of this indicator, this year more than 90 primary care trusts have developed plans to reduce alcohol-related admissions.
In May 2008, the Department launched a campaign on alcohol units and health, with a second burst of adverts running later this year. This campaign highlights how regularly exceeding daily guidelines on drinking increases the risk of liver disease.
We recognise that there is strong support for developing a national plan for liver disease and we are considering what the national health service needs to do over the next few years in order to address these pressures, and how this should be monitored. We shall announce next steps in due course.
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