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4 Nov 2008 : Column 386W—continued
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of people with hepatitis C infections. [232142]
Dawn Primarolo: In 2007, there were 7,540 laboratory reports of hepatitis C virus infection from laboratories in England received by the Health Protection Agency(1).
(1) This is a provisional total. Laboratory reports of hepatitis C are newly diagnosed cases of both current and past infections. This is because present serological tests are not able to differentiate between current acute and chronic hepatitis C infections, or between current and past hepatitis C infections.
Incontinence: Medical Equipment
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely level of take-up of prescription home delivery services by (a) large dispensing appliance contractors and (b) all dispensing appliance contractors under his proposals for changes to the Part IX remuneration regime; and if he will make a statement. [232087]
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the prospects for patient choice for patients using home delivery services for intermittent catheters under Part IX of the Drug Tariff. [232385]
Phil Hope: In the June consultation relating to the review of Part IX of the Drug Tariff, it was proposed that that every dispensing appliance contractor and pharmacy contractor in England should be required to provide home delivery for all items in Part IXA (catheter, laryngectomy and tracheostomy), Part IXB and Part IXC of the Drug Tariff—if so requested by the user—as part of essential services for items that they supply in the normal course of their business.
The proposals set out in the consultation document reflect underlying assumption that 95 per cent. of these items require home delivery.
As it is proposed that every dispensing appliance contractor and pharmacy contractor in England should be required to provide home delivery—if so requested by the user—as part of essential services for items that they supply in the normal course of their business, patient choice would be maintained.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he expects the full summary of responses to the consultation on the provision of stoma and incontinence appliances under Part IX of the Drug Tariff to be published; and if he will make a statement; [232227]
(2) if he will respond to the contributions made by representative bodies to his Department's consultation on the provision of stoma and incontinence appliances under Part IX of the Drug Tariff. [232228]
Phil Hope: A summary of responses to the consultation entitled Proposed new arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and urology appliances—and related services—in Primary Care. June 2008 will be placed on the Department's website no later than three months after the consultation closed. As the consultation closed on 9 Septembers 2008, the summary will be published in week commencing 8 December 2008.
Responses to the June consultation will help to inform policy decision. Once these are announced, the Department will be seen to have responded to respondents' contributions.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will report the outcomes of the most recent consultation on stoma and incontinence products. [233212]
Phil Hope: A summary of responses to the consultation entitled ‘Proposed New Arrangements Under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the Provision of Stoma and Urology Appliances—and Related Services—in Primary Care. June 2008’ will be placed on the Department's website no later than three months after the consultation closed. As the consultation closed on 9 September 2008, the summary will be published in week commencing 8 December 2008.
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 27 October 2008, Official Report, column 657W on incontinence: medical equipment, how many (a) letters and (b) other informal responses his Department received from (i) healthcare professionals, (ii) primary care trust representatives, (iii) strategic health authority representatives, (iv) patients and (v) others on the June 2008 consultation on changes to Part IX of the Drug Tariff; and if he will make a statement. [233268]
Phil Hope: It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested. Such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
During the consultation period of 9 June to 9 September 2008, the Department received 604 pieces of correspondence, letters and emails regarding the consultation on proposed new arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and urology items—and related services—in Primary Care.
Learning Disability
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what requirements there are upon local authorities to (a) hold and (b) maintain adult learning disability registers; and if he will make a statement; [231546]
(2) which local authorities have an up-to-date adult learning disability register; [231547]
(3) how many adult learning disability registers capture whether the person has a profound learning disability; [231660]
(4) what guidance he has issued to local councils on how to use school data on young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities in order to plan for their needs as they move into adult services; and if he will make a statement. [231661]
Phil Hope: There are no requirements upon local authorities (LAs) to hold and maintain adult learning disability registers. It is for LAs to work with local partners to determine the numbers and needs of their population through the joint strategic needs assessment. Las will also hold details of adults known to services and their level of need.
The information on which LAs have an up-to-date adult learning disability register is not held centrally, nor is information on how registers capture individuals level of need.
There has been no guidance issued by the department to local councils in relation to school data. However, guidance by the Director of Adult Social Services (DASS) 2006, sets out the responsibility of the DASS for arrangements to support the transition of service users between children's and adult's services. A copy of this guidance has been placed in the Library.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) total annual expenditure on support packages for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (b) the maximum care package awarded for someone with a profound and multiple learning disability was in each local authority in each of the last five years. [231662]
Phil Hope: Expenditure data on people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and on the level of individual care packages are not collected centrally.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities are living in out-of-borough placements. [231663]
Phil Hope: The Department does not hold data on the percentage of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities living in out-of-borough placements. However, it does hold information on the percentage of all adults with learning disabilities in residential care and nursing care placements, placed outside local authority areas: 32 per cent. of supported residents in this group are placed outside local authority areas.
Mental Health Services: Closures
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS mental health units in England have closed since 1997. [231865]
Phil Hope: This information is not collected centrally.
Mental Health Services: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residents in Hemel Hempstead have received NHS assistance for mental illness in each year since 1998; how many of those received (a) general practitioner counselling, (b) specialist counselling, (c) residence in specialist hostels and (d) hospital accommodation in each year; and what estimate he has made of the volume of such assistance which will be required in 2008-09. [231907]
Phil Hope: Information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the number of finished mental health consultant episodes for patients at the Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust from 2001-02 to 2006-07 which are the latest data available.
| Finished consultant episodes | |
| Notes: Finished Consultant Episode (FCE): A finished consultant episode (FCE) is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which the FCE finishes. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year. Consultant Main Specialty: This defines the specialty under which the consultant responsible for care of the patient is contracted. Care is needed when analysing HES data by specialty, or by groups of specialties (such as acute). Trusts have different ways of managing specialties and attributing codes so it is better to analyse by specific diagnoses, operations or other recorded information. Consultant main specialties included: 710 = Mental illness 711 = Child and adolescent psychiatry 712 = Forensic psychiatry 713 = Psychotherapy 715 = Old age psychiatry (available from 1990-91) Data Quality: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected by the NHS there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care | |
Nurses: Manpower
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many practice nurses there were in (a) West Chelmsford constituency and (b) the Chelmsford local authority area in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2007. [232773]
Ann Keen: Data are not collected in the format requested. Data are available for the primary care trusts (PCTs) that serve the constituency and local authority areas for 2002 and 2007 and is shown in the following table.
Nutrition
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2008, Official Report, columns 366-67W, on nutrition, when he plans to publish the interim progress report of the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board. [231963]
Dawn Primarolo: The Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board interim progress report will be published on the Department’s website in winter.
Pharmacy
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to reduce the time taken to reimburse pharmacists for dispensing prescription items. [232498]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department is committed to ensuring that the reimbursement arrangements for pharmacists provide for a suitable payment timetable. However, this particular issue needs to be considered in the wider context of other measures to support community pharmacy.
Sex
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the proportion of (a) girls and (b) boys reporting having (i) their first sexual experience and (ii) sexual intercourse for the first time at (A) 11 years of age or under, (B) 12 years of age, (C) 13 years of age, (D) 14 years of age, (E) 15 years of age and (F) 16 years of age and older. [231577]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the format requested.
I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Strangford (Mrs. Robinson) on 18 March 2008, Official Report, column 1012W.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
British Energy: EDF
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on which occasions Ministers in his Department have met senior executives of (a) British Energy and (b) EDF in each of the last 12 months. [231792]
Huw Irranca-Davies: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met with EDF twice at DEFRA in the last 12 months but not with British Energy. Other Ministers did not meet with EDF or British Energy.
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