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17 Dec 2008 : Column 889W—continued
Dental Services
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) dental surgeries and (b) dental surgeries per head of population in England in (i) hamlets and isolated dwellings, (ii) villages, (iii) towns and fringe settlements and (iv) settlements of more than 10,000 inhabitants in each year since 1997. [243174]
Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested.
The number of NHS dental practices in England as at 31 March, 1997 to 2006 is available in Table 7 of the “NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006” report. This information is based on the old contractual arrangements which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006.
This report, published on 23 August 2006, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
To provide validated information on dental practices under the new contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Information on the number of dental surgeries per population is not available. However, information is available on the number of persons per NHS dentist (as multiple dentists may work in the same practice).
The number of persons per NHS dentist in England as at 31 March, 1997 to 2006 is available in Annex F of the above publication. Information is available by strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust (PCT).
This measure, based on the old contractual arrangements, relates to the number of NHS dentists recorded on PCT lists as at 31 March each year.
Information on population per NHS dentist and NHS dentists per 100,000 population, during the years ending 31 March, 2007 and 2008 is available in Table G1 of Annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007-08” report. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements. This report, published on 21 August 2008, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
Following a recent consultation exercise, the count of dentists is based on a revised methodology and therefore supersedes previously published workforce 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.
Further work is planned over the next few months to determine whether the new definition used under the new dental contractual arrangements can be applied to the years under the old contractual arrangements to produce a consistent time series.
Dental Services: Yorkshire and the Humber
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the financial allocation for dentistry is in financial year 2008-09 in each primary care trust area in Yorkshire and the Humber; and if he will make a statement. [244123]
Ann Keen: The primary dental service funding allocations for 2008-09 made to each primary care trust (PCT) in the area of the Yorkshire and the Humber strategic health authority are set out in the following table. These are net of income from dental charges paid by patients, which are retained locally to supplement the resources available for dentistry. Actual expenditure levels are determined by the pattern and type of services commissioned by each PCT. PCTs may also dedicate some of their other national health service resources to dentistry if they consider this an appropriate local priority.
| 2008-09 primary dental service net allocations to PCTs within the Yorkshire and the Humber SHA area | |
| PCT | Net allocation (£000) |
| Note: PCTs are awarded separate funding allocations to meet the cost of any dental vocational trainees who may be placed with dental practices in their area. | |
Departmental Advisory Bodies
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library the latest minutes for each of his Department’s advisory bodies. [241425]
Mr. Bradshaw: Advisory non-departmental public bodies (ANDPBs) are established to provide specialist professional advice to the Secretary of State and the Department of Health.
Independent members are appointed on behalf of the Secretary of State by the Appointments Commission under the Office of the Commissioner of Public Appointments rules.
As part of the Department’s commitment to openness and accountability the minutes of the ANDPBs should always be publicly available unless there is a compelling need for confidentiality, such as commercially sensitive information.
The following ANDPBs publish their minutes on their websites:
Advisory Board on Registration of Homoeopathic Medicines
http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Committees/Medicines advisorybodies/AdvisoryBoardontheRegistrationof HomoeopathicProducts/Minutes/index.htm
Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection
Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs
British Pharmacopoeia Commission
Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment
Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment
Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants
Committee on the Safety of Devices
Gene Therapy Advisory Committee
Genetics and Insurance Committee
Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee
Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation
National Clinical Audit Advisory Group
National Joint Registry Steering Committee
Patient Information Advisory Group
Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition
The latest available version of their minutes of the following ANDPBs have been placed in the Library. The Department will seek to have such minutes published in future on the ANDPBs website:
Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV
This advisory group publishes annual reports and newsletters on its website which give details of its activities:
Independent Reconfiguration Panel
This advisory group publishes reports to Secretary of State and an annual review of business. However, they have recently refreshed their website and minutes of meetings will be published on the site from 2009:
The following ANDPBs do not make their minutes available:
Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee
The Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee (ARSAC) was set up to advise Ministers with respect to the grant, renewal, suspension, revocation and variation of certificates and generally in connection with the system of prior authorisation required by Article 5(a) of Council Directive 76/579/Euratom.
Applicants for certificates supply information in confidence to the ARSAC in order that they can be assessed for their suitability to hold a certificate. Applicants are normally of consultant status and supply information on their training and experience as well as on the services (such as radiopharmacies and medical physics departments) that support them.
The Committee comments on such applications in confidence. The information accumulated on individual applications is considered by a Department of Health official and if the application is successful the certificate is authorised on behalf of Secretary of State by that official.
Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances
The minutes of ACBS are not published because the Committee deals primarily with applications from manufacturers to have their products listed and as such the Committee’s discussions are held in-confidence.
We would not release information under FOI as release of such information is exempt from the right of access under section 43 of the Act, which provides that information is exempt if its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).
Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards
The Advisory Committee recommends the names of Consultants for Clinical Excellence Awards to Secretary of State for Health.
The minutes of this advisory body contain person details relating to the persons under discussion and the minutes are therefore confidential.
Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens
ACDP publishes public summaries, the latest of which is the summary of the June 2008 meeting, available here:
The minutes are not currently publicly available, but this may change next year.
Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment
COMARE minutes are not published. This is because they often contain confidential information relating to individuals or unpublished research material. This process has been cleared with the Freedom of Information Commissioner.
Independent Review Panel for the Classification of Borderline Products
The full minutes of the meetings contain commercially sensitive information supplied by companies which cannot be released until the application is approved. The approval process may take several years if, for example, companies conduct further trials as a result of questions from the advisory bodies.
The panel performs the function of the person appointed in the Medicines Act 1968 and subsidiary legislation. The function is to consider appeals against decisions of a licensing authority and the minutes are therefore confidential.
Review Body on Doctors and Dentists Remuneration
The Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) along with the other Pay Review Bodies, does not disclose copies of minutes of meetings as to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs and inhibit the free and frank provision of advice or the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of the Review Bodies’ deliberations.
The NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB), along with the other Pay Review Bodies, does not disclose copies of minutes of meetings as to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs and inhibit the free and frank provision of advice or the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of the Review Bodies’ deliberations.
The following ANDPB has not held a meeting and there are therefore no minutes available.
Independent Review Panel for Advertising
The ANDPB considers written representations from pharmaceutical companies as to the conformity of their advertising and promotional material with the regulations.
No such representations have yet been made so the ANDPB has not yet held a meeting.
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