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24 Nov 2008 : Column 908W—continued
Asperger’s Syndrome: Health Services
Dr. Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support his Department makes available to adults who have Asperger's syndrome. [236780]
Phil Hope: “Better Services for people with an autistic spectrum disorder”, published on 16 November 2006, clarified the nature and intent of Government policy as it relates to adults with an autistic spectrum condition (ASC) including Asperger's syndrome. It encourages people in the social care and health field to develop local agendas for action. A copy of the document has been placed in the Library.
As part of our commitment to meeting the needs of people with ASCs, we announced, in May 2008, a programme of work which will lead to a strategy for adults with autism, including Asperger's syndrome, that we will consult on next year.
Carers: Tamworth
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people over the age of 60 were registered as carers in Tamworth constituency in each year since 1997. [237327]
Phil Hope: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave on 12 November 2008, Official Report, column 1190W, to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning) and the hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Mr. Evennett).
Christmas
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have spent on Christmas (a) cards, (b) parties and (c) decorations in the last 12 months. [237486]
Mr. Bradshaw: The amount the Department spent on purchasing Christmas cards for 2007 (inclusive of VAT) was £4,478.27. This does not include postage costs which are not available due to some cards being included with other correspondence or being hand delivered.
All expenditure incurred in the purchase and postage of Christmas cards is made in accordance with the Department’s guidance on financial propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.
In respect of the cost of Christmas parties in the last 12 months, I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 22 October 2008, Official Report, column 367W, to the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk).
In December 2007, the Department spent £2,755.65 on Christmas trees and decorations. This year’s Christmas trees and decorations, paid for in October 2008, cost £2,966.68. These figures are inclusive of VAT.
Information on what agencies spend on these items is not held centrally.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the effect on NHS costs of achieving full compliance by primary care trusts with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence appraisal TA97 on computerised cognitive behavioural therapy for depression and anxiety; [237029]
(2) what discussions officials from his Department have had with the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency on establishing a national contract for the purchase of treatments for the depression treatment beating the blues; and what estimate his Department has made of the potential change in cost to the NHS of this method of purchase compared with individual primary care trust commissioning. [237259]
Phil Hope: Departmental officials have recently met with the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, who are currently reviewing the National Framework Agreement which assists primary care trusts in their local commissioning decisions about purchasing licences for Beating the Blues. As these decisions are taken locally the Department does not determine the cost and volume of licences to be provided. In these circumstances, no national estimate can be made.
However, there will be significant cost savings to the national health service by implementing Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services by reducing pressure on specialist psychology services in mental health trusts and reducing inappropriate referrals made to acute hospital trusts for people with medically unexplained symptoms.
We also expect to see savings to the economy as a whole by these new services making a contribution to helping people with these conditions retain or return to employment, thus reducing the burden on the Exchequer for the cost of statutory sick pay and incapacity benefit.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many treatments of (a) Beating the Blues and (b) Fear Fighter primary care trusts have commissioned through the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency using the National Framework Agreement; and if he will make a statement. [237178]
Phil Hope: Since the introduction of National Framework Agreement in 2007, 55 primary care trusts have commissioned licences for 30,458 treatments for Beating the Blues.
Due to the different pricing structure, it is not possible to provide the number of commissioned treatments for Fear Fighter. The licences sold under this arrangement are unlimited per primary care trust and are based on head of population. The product has currently been taken up by 38 primary care trusts providing the availability to the local population depending on need.
Dementia
Norman Lamb: 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 each (i) strategic health authority area and (ii) primary care trust area. [237078]
Phil Hope: The Department does not collect this information. However, the Dementia UK report, published in 2007 by the Alzheimer's Society, estimated that there were 683,997 people in the United Kingdom with dementia. The report also estimated that approximately 62 per cent. of people with dementia have Alzheimer's disease and that those with vascular dementia and mixed dementia account for 27 per cent.
Dental Services: Contracts
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of time was between the issue of invitations to tender and the initiation of work for NHS dental contracts in the last period for which figures are available. [237708]
Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally. Primary care trusts are responsible for commissioning dental services to meet the needs of their local populations and manage any tender exercises required locally.
Dental Services: Tamworth
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists there are per 1,000 people in Tamworth borough. [237330]
Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested.
The number of dentists with national health service activity, during the years ending 31 March, 2007 and 2008 per 100,000 population is available in table G1 of annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007/08 report”. Information is available by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT). This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006.
Following a recent consultation exercise, this measure is based on a revised methodology and therefore supersedes previously published work force figures relating to the new dental contractual arrangements. It is not comparable to the information collected under the old contractual arrangements. The revised methodology counts the number of dental performers with NHS activity recorded via FP17 claim forms in each year ending 31 March. This report, published on 21 August 2008, has already been placed in the Library and is on the website of the Information Centre for health and social care at:
Figures relate to 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.
Departmental ICT
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) memory sticks, (b) laptop computers, (c) desktop computers, (d) hard drives and (e) mobile telephones were (i) lost by and (ii) stolen from his Department in each year since 1997. [234086]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not differentiate between stolen, missing or lost equipment, or between memory sticks and other portable storage devices. The portable equipment lost or stolen for the period April 1997 to March 2008 is as follows:
| Financial year | Laptops lost/stolen | Mobile phones lost/stolen | Other IT equipment/peripherals lost/stolen | Total items lost/stolen |
The Department takes the security and protection of its assets very seriously. Its policy and procedures are constantly reviewed and cases of losses or thefts are investigated. As a further deterrent, the Department marks its portable equipment with an invisible forensic dye called Smartwater. The Department's Security Unit continues to raise security awareness and physical protection of information technology equipment among its staff.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent press officers (a) work and (b) provide assistance for his Department. [233526]
Mr. Bradshaw: As at April 2008 the Department's Media Centre employed 28 full-time press officers and no part-time press officers.
In addition, as at April 2008 there were five full-time press officers and no part-time press officers working in the Department that are employed by the NHS Business Services Authority on behalf of NHS Connecting for Health.
Departmental Land
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much surplus land (a) his Department and (b) its agencies own; and what the (i) area and (ii) estimated monetary value of each site is. [236423]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department owns approximately 80 hectares of land and buildings that has been identified as currently surplus to requirements. A disposal strategy is in place for each. The following is a list of the more substantial properties with their estimated land area. Their estimated value is commercially confidential. The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency do not have any surplus land.
The information relating to the Department is in the following table:
| Property | Estimated area (hectares) |
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