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30 Oct 2008 : Column 1229W—continued
Kenley Airfield
Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 17 September 2007, Official Report, column 2174W, on Kenley airfield, where the fence is stored; what condition it is in; and whether it is compatible with the proposed new planning application. [231029]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The fence purchased by the MOD is stored in the No 615 Volunteer Gliding Squadron compound at Kenley Airfield and is in good condition. The revised fence design developed in consultation with local authorities and included in the new planning application will use a small proportion of the fence already procured.
Navy: Reserve Forces
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the availability of suitable Royal Navy Reserve candidates for the post of Commander Maritime Reserves; [231003]
(2) what consultations he has had with Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists on the possibility of replacing Commander Maritime Reserves with a regular Royal Navy officer. [231004]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth:
In November 2006, the then Commander Maritime Reserves informed the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Marine Reserve that a future incumbent of his post could either be a regular or reservist officer. It was also informed that the basis for this selection would be completely on merit. A
number of candidates were considered for the post of Commander Maritime Reserves at a board convened in September 2008. The candidates were either members of the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Marine Reserve, the Royal Fleet Reserve or the Active List of regular servicemen and women. The appointment of a regular officer as Commander Maritime Reserves is entirely consistent with the Royal Navy's policy of achieving full professional integration of its maritime reserves. All candidates were both reported on and considered for promotion under the common Royal Navy system of career management and promotion appropriate to the post. A number of regular senior posts within the Royal Navy remain open for competition from officers of the Royal Naval Reserve who are suitably qualified and can offer appropriate availability.
Satellites
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what use his Department makes of data obtained from earth observation satellites; and what payment is made for such data, where applicable. [230463]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: MOD uses data from earth observation satellites principally to deepen its understanding of meteorological, geographical and hydrographical situations. This data provide important background and context for military commanders in the planning of exercises and operations. In addition, the Met Office uses data from earth observation satellites for weather prediction and climate monitoring purposes.
We use data from a global network of meteorological and climate monitoring satellites and contribute financially to the European component of this network through our contribution to EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites). Subscription levels are on average approximately £33 million per year.
Outside of EUMETSAT, departmental expenditure for the acquisition of data in 2007-08 was just over £434,000.
Trident Missiles
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for measures (a) to further reduce the operational status of the UK's Trident system and (b) increase transparency with regard to the capabilities of the UK's Trident system as agreed in the plan for action at the 2000 review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty. [231402]
Mr. Hutton: Our plans for the deterrent are set out in the White Paper “The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent” (Cm 6994), which was published on 4 December 2006. This White Paper also provides a clear and transparent statement of the capabilities of the UK's Trident system.
USA: Armed Forces
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many private prosecutions have been brought against members of the United States visiting forces in each year since 2000; and how many were successful in each year. [231890]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence holds no records regarding private prosecutions of US visiting forces personnel.
World War II: Anniversaries
Mr. Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a representative of his Department will attend the 65th D-Day Anniversary Parade in Normandy. [230487]
Mr. Kevan Jones: So far as I am aware, no invitation has been received from the French Government for ministerial or other senior representation at a 65th D-day Anniversary Parade in Normandy next June; should an invitation be received nearer the date of the anniversary, it will be considered carefully. An Army band participates annually in the Normandy commemorations and one is scheduled to participate in 2009.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what consideration he gave to including cost projections in relation to (a) police enforcement and (b) changes in trading standards arrangements in his Department’s impact assessment relating to the Government’s alcohol strategy; what estimate he has made of these costs; and if he will make a statement; [228590]
(2) what estimate he has made of changes in the level of licensing fees payable by alcohol vendors in respect of each of the policy options set out in his Department’s further consultation on its alcohol strategy in July 2008. [228631]
Dawn Primarolo: If the Government decide to take regulatory action, the Department and the Home Office will draw up final impact assessments, taking account of evidence submitted during the consultation period.
Breast Feeding: Telephone Services
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) on what date the national breastfeeding helpline went live; how many calls it has received in each month since that date; and what steps have been taken by his Department to promote awareness of it; [229829]
(2) how much it costs a member of the public to call the national breastfeeding helpline; and if he will make calls to it free of charge; [229830]
(3) how much his Department has spent on the national breastfeeding helpline in each month since its inception. [229832]
Dawn Primarolo: The National Breastfeeding helpline was launched in February 2008 linking up with two of the existing helplines run by the voluntary organisations. The combined line enables callers local access to advice and support from trained breastfeeding counsellors.
The helpline has received in total 23,728 calls to date. The number of calls received since February 2008 is shown in the following table.
| Number | |
The helpline has been promoted during this year’s National Breastfeeding Awareness Week in May 2008. It is also promoted via the NHS breastfeeding website and included in all relevant departmental publications.
The calls are charged at a local rate 8p for the first minute and 5p per minute thereafter. The Department at present has no plans to provide free access to the helpline.
The Department has allocated £150,000 to fund the helpline in the year 2008-09 and has also contributed £20,555 towards set-up costs.
Contraceptives: Depression
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many females were diagnosed with depression triggered by an oral contraceptive in each of the last five years, broken down by oral contraceptive. [229565]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not collected centrally.
Dementia: Stroud
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people with (a) Alzheimer's disease and (b) other forms of dementia in the Stroud constituency. [231164]
Phil Hope: The national Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) records the number of people recorded on practice disease registers with a diagnosis of dementia but this does not distinguish between Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. The publication “Revisions to the GMS Contract 2006/07” states that Alzheimer's disease accounts for 50-75 per cent. of cases of dementia. This register count is available for the two latest releases of QOF, covering 2006-07 and 2007-08.
We are unable to supply this information for parliamentary constituencies as the data are only available for general practices (GPs) and can be aggregated to primary care trust (PCT) level. We have supplied information for the smallest health area that covers Stroud, namely Gloucestershire PCT.
These QOF figures are given in the following table. They are the totals for patients with dementia.
| Q O F data—Number of patients on the dementia disease registers | ||
| Financial year | ||
| 2007-08 | 2006-07 | |
| Notes: 1. QOF is the national Quality and Outcomes Framework, introduced as part of the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract on 1 April 2004. 2. Participation by practices in the QOF is voluntary, though participation rates are very high, with most Personal Medical Services (PMS) practices also taking part. 3. The published QOF information was derived from the Quality Management Analysis System (QMAS), a national system developed by NHS Connecting for Health. 4. QMAS uses data from general practices to calculate individual practices' QOF achievement. QMAS is a national IT system developed by NHS Connecting for Health to support the QOF. 5. The system calculates practice achievement against national targets. It gives general practices, primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs) objective evidence and feedback on the quality of care delivered to patients. 6. The Quality Management Analysis System captures the number of patients on the various disease registers for each practice. The number of patients on the clinical registers can be used to calculate measures of disease prevalence, expressing the number of patients on each register as a percentage of the number of patients on practices' lists. 7. Figures presented here are just the number of patients on the disease register for dementia. Source: The data supplied in Table 1 are published on the website of the Information Centre for health and social care. (a) For 2007-08 see the Quality and Outcomes Framework 2007-08 publication data tables at the following link (published 30 September 2008): http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/supporting-information/audits-and-performance/the-quality-and-outcomes-framework/qof-2007/08/data-tables. The table for PCT level QOF for 2007-08 can be found at this link: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/QOF/2007-08/NewFilesGS/QOF0708_PCTs_Prevalence.xls This publication has been placed in the library. (b) For 2006-07 see Quality and Outcomes Framework 2006-07 publication data tables at the following link (published 28 September 2007): http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/supporting-information/audits-and-performance/the-quality-and-outcomes-framework/qof-2006/07/qof-2006-07-data-tables. The table for PCT level QOF for 2006-07 can be found at this link: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/QOF/2006-07/QOF0607_PCTs_ Prevalence.xls. This publication has been placed in the library. | ||
Departmental NDPBs
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to review the efficacy of the (a) Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and Environment Committee, (b) Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment Committee, (c) Independent Reconfiguration Panel and (d) National Joint Registry Steering Committee. [231567]
Dawn Primarolo: The Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment is reviewed periodically by the Department and was last reviewed in 2007. The Department concluded that the committee was a cost effective way for Government Departments and Agencies to obtain independent advice from leading UK experts in the field.
The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment is reviewed periodically by the Government and was last reviewed in 2003. The Department concluded that the committee was a cost effective way for Government Departments and Agencies to obtain independent advice from leading UK experts in the field.
The Independent Reconfiguration Panel is subject to annual review by the Department. Further information can be found on the Panel's website at:
The last review of the National Joint Registry Steering Committee (NJRSC) was carried out in January 2005, and resulted in establishment of the NJRSC as an advisory non-departmental public body. In April 2008, the National Joint Registry was incorporated into the National Clinical Audit and Patient's Outcomes programme. The Department of Health is currently considering what consequential changes to the accountability arrangements for the NJRSC are necessary to ensure it continues to discharge its functions in an efficient and effective manner.
Departmental Pay
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many post holders in his Department receive a London living allowance of £8,400 per month. [230647]
Mr. Bradshaw: No post holders receive a London living allowance of £8,400 a month.
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the highest bonus was paid to any post holder in his Department in 2007-08. [230650]
Mr. Bradshaw: The highest bonus paid to a post holder in the Department in 2007-08 was £27,500.
Departmental Standards
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the terms are of the individual performance agreement of the Commercial Director of his Department. [230649]
Mr. Bradshaw: The individual performance agreement for 2007-08 with the Commercial Director of the Department included objectives to do with supporting the NHS Reform Agenda, reviewing the activities and building the capacity of the Commercial Directorate to improve engagement with the national health service, reviewing and developing procurement models for health, putting in place programmes to deliver comprehensive spending review savings, contributing to the Department’s implementation of its Capability Review findings, developing commercial skills and a set of values within the Commercial Directorate, and demonstrating corporate leadership.
Elderly: Health Services
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reform care provided by the NHS for the elderly. [231226]
Phil Hope: Lord Darzi's recent review, “High Quality Care For All”, published on 4 July 2007 sets out a framework for improving the quality of care for everybody that uses the NHS including older people. A copy of this review has already been placed in the Library.
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