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12 Jan 2009 : Column 134W—continued
Carers
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what support the NHS national operating framework gives to carers with respite care and funding for short breaks; [246408]
(2) what assistance is provided by his Department for carers' training; and if he will make a statement; [246409]
(3) how the NHS national operating framework is intended to assist carers; and if he will make a statement. [246410]
Phil Hope: The operating framework for the national health service, which sets out the specific business and financial arrangements for the NHS in any given year, first made specific references to supporting carers in the 2008-09 report. The recently published operating framework for 2009-10 goes further. It requires primary care trusts (PCTs) to work with their local authority partners and publish joint plans on how their combined funding will support breaks for carers, including short breaks, in a personalised way.
£150 million will be included in PCT allocations over the next two years. £50 million will be provided in 2009-10 and £100 million in 2010-11. This money will support all carers.
The 2006 White Paper ‘Our health, our care, our say’ announced the New Deal for Carers. It included Caring with Confidence (CwC)—a training programme for carers. The first training commenced in August 2008 and distance-training modules will be available from January 2009. It is being run by a consortium led by the Expert Patients Programme and includes the three main carers’ organisations (Carers UK, Crossroads and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers) and Partners in Policymaking. £4.4 million per year has been allocated to fund this programme.
The delivery of CwC will be through existing local providers of services—whether from the third or statutory sectors. Local providers have been invited to become part of this delivery process, through a nationally advertised tendering process; from this work CwC will put in place a national network of local providers.
Carers: Advisory Services
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department's carers’ information service and helpline have been established. [245731]
Phil Hope: The website will go live toward the end of January 2009, with some 200 pages of information and another 600 pages will be added by the end of March 2009.
The Department has awarded a contract to bss (a charity that specialises in not-for-profit helplines) to provide the helpline (available by phone, e-mail and post). It is anticipated that the helpline will be in place in April 2009.
Child Health Promotion Programme
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date the schedule to and guidance on the most recent update of the Child Health Promotion Programme was published. [245755]
Ann Keen: The updated Child Health Promotion Programme Guide, for children up to five years of age, was published and launched on 17 March 2008.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research his Department has conducted or evaluated on the relationship between myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome and mitochondrial damage. [244739]
Ann Keen: Neither the Department nor the Medical Research Council is funding research on the relationship between chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy and mitochondrial damage.
Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health, Research and Care
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the work of Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health, Research and Care; and if he will make a statement. [245767]
Dawn Primarolo: Nine of the national health service and university partnerships that earlier this year bid for collaboration for leadership in applied health research and care (CLAHRC) status were successful. Their National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funding began on 1 October 2008 and is for a period of five years.
An evaluation of the CLAHRC initiative is being commissioned via the NIHR service delivery and organisation programme. Details are available at:
Community Care: Finance
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which local councils received a preventative technology grant in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [245732]
Phil Hope: All councils in England with social service responsibilities received a preventative technology grant in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Full details are in Local Authority Circular LAC (2006)5 which has been placed in the Library.
Connecting For Health
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008, on connecting for health, what the maximum potential sum for each contract is. [246029]
Mr. Bradshaw: The maximum potential sum for each of the national programme for information technology core contracts is the total sum payable to the supplier over the lifetime of the contract. This figure for each contract is in the table.
| Core contracts | |
| £ million | |
| Note: 2004-05 prices: reported in The National Programme for IT in the NHS: Project Progress Report (National Audit Office 16 May 2008) | |
Contraceptives: Young People
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the use of the contraception pill by female teenagers. [245846]
Dawn Primarolo: One of the aims of the Government's Sexual Health and HIV Strategy and Teenage Pregnancy Strategy is to reduce teenage pregnancies. It is therefore vital that sexually active young people have access to the full range of methods of contraception, including the contraceptive pill. It is, however, for the health care professional, in conjunction with the young woman, to decide the most suitable method of contraception for her.
Cooperation and Competition Panel
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date the Cooperation and Competition Panel was launched; and if he will make a statement. [246054]
Mr. Bradshaw: Lord Carter of Coles, Chair of the Cooperation and Competition Panel (The Panel) has publicly stated that the Panel would open for referrals in January 2009.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports he has received of the prevalence of new variant CJD in the population carrying the MV gene; and what steps he is taking in response to such reports. [246359]
Dawn Primarolo: There have been a total of 167 cases of clinical vCJD in the United Kingdom. All of these patients have been of MM genotype. There has been one reported case of sub-clinical vCJD in a person of MV genotype, who died of an unrelated cause without having developed clinical symptoms of vCJD.
In December 2008, BBC Newsnight reported a case of CJD in a patient of MV genotype. As part of a well established system, all known suspect cases of CJD are reviewed and followed up by the National CJD Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh and the National Prion Unit in London. To date, the National CJD Surveillance Unit has not identified a definite or probable case of vCJD in a non-MM genotype individual.
The measures that have been put in place to minimise the risk of person to person transmission of vCJD are appropriate for the whole population, irrespective of the genotype of the patient.
Dementia
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the role of the NHS national operating framework is with regard to supporting a national dementia strategy. [246407]
Phil Hope: The National Dementia Strategy has been identified as a priority in the National Operating Framework for primary care trusts (PCTs) for both this year and next. Early intervention in cases of dementia by PCTs is cost-effective and can improve quality of life for people with dementia and their families.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of contractors and suppliers to (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have reported that they are compliant with the Government’s security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008. [245324]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department’s Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) wrote to all Directors in November 2008 requiring them to seek assurance from contractors and suppliers within their area of responsibility that they are aware of, and comply with, the Government’s security standards set out in the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action. The response to this exercise will be recorded in end of year assurance statements in March 2009.
Security and information assurance conditions are available for use by NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) and the wider NHS in relevant tendering exercises, i.e. where personal or other confidential information will be used, disseminated or handled by the relevant public body or any third party associated with the contract (including but not limited to ICT contracts). These conditions fully comply with the latest data handling procurement policy guidance published by OGC in November 2008. NHS PASA is in the process of contacting its own suppliers to ensure they are compliant with the Government security standards.
The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory products Agency (MHRA) and all its suppliers are compliant with the Government’s security standards and the Data Handling Procedures.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract are held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract. [245345]
Mr. Bradshaw: Neither the Department nor its agencies, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, have any contracts allowing contractors to store personal data of United Kingdom citizens overseas.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department appointed a senior information risk owner in accordance with the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government and the accompanying document Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action; when the appointment was made; and what grade the person holds within the Department. [245363]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department appointed a senior information risk owner (SIRO) on 15 March 2004 in response to a letter from Cabinet Office in February 2004, and consequently before the requirements for such an appointment in the report, “Data Handling Procedures in Government” and the accompanying document “Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action”.
The SIRO is a director general.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the IT systems in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies are fully accredited to the Government's security standards. [245387]
Mr. Bradshaw: All the Department's information technology (IT) systems meet the requirements set out in the Security Policy Framework (SPF), the “Data Handling Report” (DHR) and related “Cross Government Actions: Minimum Mandatory Measures”. They also comply with ISO27001, the standard for Information Security Management.
Of its agencies, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency's IT systems are fully certified to ISO27001 and they are required to comply with the requirements of the SPF and the DHR.
The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory products Agency and all its suppliers are compliant with the Government's security standards and the data handling procedures.
Departmental Deposits
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what deposits (a) his Department and (b) the NHS has overseas. [246566]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department of Health has no deposits overseas.
The Department does not hold any information on the individual deposits held by national health service trusts, primary care trusts or strategic health authorities.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) sterling and (b) foreign exchange deposits (i) his Department and (ii) the NHS has abroad. [246567]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department has no sterling or foreign exchange deposits abroad.
The Department does not hold any information on the individual sterling or foreign exchange deposits held by national health service trusts, primary care trusts or strategic health authorities.
Departmental Equality
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the (a) sex, (b) ethnicity, (c) age, (d) disability, (e) sexual orientation and (f) religion or belief of its staff; and what assessment he has made of his Department's performance against its targets relating to diversity in its workforce. [246021]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department holds workforce data on sex, ethnicity, age and disability and will be collecting data on sexual orientation and religion or belief, which will be available in 2009. These data are used to track progress, on a quarterly and annual basis, against its diversity targets.
This year the Department has exceeded the Cabinet Office targets for women, black and minority ethnic staff and disabled staff in the senior civil service, apart from those for women in top management posts.
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