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24 Nov 2008 : Column 932W—continued
Nurses: Manpower
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses per 100 beds there were in (a) England and (b) the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust in each year since 1967. [237171]
Ann Keen: The number of qualified nurses per 100 beds in England and the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table.
The data were collected for the first time in 1997 and figures prior to this year are unavailable.
| NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff per 100 beds in England and each specified organisation, as at 30 September each year | |||||||||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| n/a = not available Notes: 1. Figures are based on headcount nursing figures. Beds data are for beds open overnight and day only. Figures exclude GP practice nurses. 2. In October 2006 Craven, Harrogate and Rural District PCT, Hambleton and Richmondshire PCT, Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale PCT and Selby and York PCT merged to form North Yorkshire and York PCT. Figures prior to 2006 are an aggregate of these predecessor organisations. Sources: The NHS Information Centre non-medical workforce census Department of Health | |||||||||||
Patient Choice Schemes
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals are not connected to the choose and book system. [237079]
Mr. Bradshaw: All national health service hospital trusts use the choose and book system. Of these, 145 currently receive direct electronic bookings, and 24 are not electronically connected to the system but receive ‘indirect’ bookings. In this case, booking information is transferred manually on to the choose and book system from hospital systems by trust staff.
Patient Information Advisory Group
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many full-time equivalent staff are employed by the Patient Information Advisory Group; [235184]
(2) what (a) capital, (b) revenue and (c) other funding his Department has given to the Patient Information Advisory Group in each of the last three financial years. [235256]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Patient Information Advisory Group (PIAG) does not directly employ staff. PIAG is staffed by NHS employees, hosted by the NHS Business Services Authority. At present, there are five whole-time equivalent posts supporting PIAG, one of which is currently vacant.
Expenditure incurred by PIAG and funded by the Department in each of the last three financial years, which was for revenue purposes only, was as follows:
| £ | |
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of exemption prescription items were dispensed to people aged 60 years or over in (a) Vale of York constituency and (b) England in the last 10 years; and what percentage of prescription items were dispensed free to patients in (i) Vale of York constituency and (ii) England in the last 10 years; [237170]
(2) how many prescription items were dispensed to people aged 60 years or over in (a) Vale of York constituency and (b) England in the last 10 years; and how many prescription items were dispensed free to patients in (i) Vale of York constituency and (ii) England in the last 10 years. [237172]
Dawn Primarolo: We do not hold this information at constituency level. Based on a one in 20 sample of prescriptions dispensed in the community, the information requested for North Yorkshire and York primary care trust (PCT) and its predecessor bodies and England is shown in the following table.
| North Yorkshire and York PCT and predecessor bodies | England | |||||||
| Estimated prescription items dispensed to over 60s (million) | Estimated exempt prescription items dispensed to over 60s (percentage) | Estimated prescription items dispensed free (million) | Estimated prescription items dispensed free (percentage) | Estimated prescription items dispensed to over 60s (million) | Estimated exempt prescription items dispensed to over 60s (percentage) | Estimated prescription items dispensed free (million) | Estimated prescription items dispensed free (percentage) | |
| (1) North Yorkshire and York PCT. (2) Selby and York PCT, Hambleton and Richmondshire PCT, Craven, Harrogate and Rural District PCT and Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale PCT until l October 2006. North Yorkshire and York PCT thereafter. 3 Selby and York PCT, Hambleton and Richmondshire PCT, Craven, Harrogate and Rural District PCT and Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale PCT. (4) North Yorkshire Health Authority. Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system—Exemption Category Estimates | ||||||||
Psychiatry: Recruitment
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether there are enough prospective psychiatrists in training to meet future recruitment needs; and if he will make a statement. [237732]
Ann Keen: Local national health service organisations, supported by strategic health authorities and the Workforce Review Team, are best placed to determine the levels of service and resources required to meet the health needs of the local population.
The number of doctors training in psychiatry in 2007 is 3,479, an increase of 31 per cent. since 1997.
Smoking: Young People
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of raising the legal age at which tobacco can be purchased on rates of smoking among young people. [237227]
Dawn Primarolo: Reducing the number of young people who smoke is a top priority for the Government. We raised the age of sale to 18 on 1 October 2007. It is still too early to assess the impact of the change on smoking rates of young people.
However, data collected in the winter of 2007 following the introduction of the ban showed smoking levels fell from 9 per cent. in 2006 to 6 per cent. in 2007. However, we cannot be sure what proportion of this was due to the additional restrictions on age of sale.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to prevent the purchase of tobacco on behalf of those under 18 years old. [237228]
Dawn Primarolo: Preventing the purchase of tobacco by young people under 18 is one of the Government’s top priorities. We recently consulted on the issues in a major public consultation on the Future of Tobacco Control, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library. The issue of purchasing tobacco on behalf of under-18s was raised in the consultation.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the police are able to take to prevent the purchase of tobacco on behalf of those under 18 years of age. [237229]
Dawn Primarolo: From 1 October, 2007, it has been illegal to sell tobacco to young people under 18. This was an increase from the age of 16. Trading Standards Officers rather than the police have responsibility for enforcing the law on age of sale of tobacco.
Social Services
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what statistical items are centrally collected from local authorities on social care in their area. [235610]
Phil Hope: Statistical returns are collected from local authorities by a number of different organisations as relate to the provision of children's and adults’ social care services:
The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care (NHS IC) collects information on adult social care for the Department of Health;
The Department for Children, Schools and Families collects information on the provision of children's social care services;
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