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12 Jan 2009 : Column 144W—continued
Electromagnetic Fields: Health Hazards
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish a response to the Stakeholder Advisory Group on Electro-Magnetic Radiation report on high voltage power lines and health; and if he will make a statement. [244745]
Dawn Primarolo: A Government response to the First Interim Assessment published by the Stakeholder Advisory Group on Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields is likely to be published early in 2009.
Food: Safety
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2008, Official Report, column 450W, on food: safety, where the 21 public analyst laboratories are located. [245679]
Dawn Primarolo: The laboratories are located in Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Dundee, Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London (Acton), Morley (Leeds), Llanelli, Manchester, Norwich, Preston, Southsea, Stafford, Stourport, Taunton, West Malling, Wigston (Leicestershire) and Wolverhampton.
General Practitioners: Finance
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which GP practices depend on the minimum practice income guarantee to continue in operation. [246856]
Mr. Bradshaw: At present around 91 per cent. of general medical services (GMS) general practitioner practices receive the minimum practice income guarantee. In the vast majority of practices these protection payments make up only a small proportion of their total national health service income. However we estimate that in just over 1 per cent. of GMS practices the minimum practice income guarantee comprises more than 25 per cent. of their total NHS income.
Health Services: Elderly
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provisions have been made to enable older people with debilitating health conditions to travel to treatment centres outside their locality from April 2008. [246224]
Mr. Bradshaw: Regardless of their age, national health service patients with a medical need for transport (as determined by a healthcare professional) are entitled to free transport to and from their treatment as part of non-emergency Patient Transport Services (PTS). Primary care trusts are responsible for securing the provision of PTS for the population it covers to such an extent, as they consider necessary to meet all reasonable requirements. This includes paying for transport to or from out of area healthcare providers, and transport between healthcare providers.
Health Services: Finance
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether local authorities are required to set a financial limit on the amount awarded to an individual for social care under an Individual Budget. [246001]
Phil Hope: Local authorities are not required to place a financial limit on an individual budget when undertaking personal assessment of a person’s social care needs.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in developing his better-targeted approach to payment for specialised services; and if he will make a statement. [246057]
Mr. Bradshaw: Health Resource Group version 4 (HRG4) has been designed over a number of years specifically for Payment by Results (PbR), with substantial clinical involvement. The Department is planning for HRG4 to be introduced for payment of tariff from April 2009. The changes underpinning the new tariff have already been extensively discussed and tested with a wide range of stakeholder groups.
The new tariff is currently being ‘road tested’ by the NHS, the purpose of which is to support early service and financial planning and invite comments on the clarity and comprehensiveness of guidance. The Department is also using the exercise to identify whether the new tariff has any unintended consequences. Following the road testing exercise, the final tariff is expected to be confirmed in January.
The Department has already determined though, that in order to help trusts adjust to the new tariff, the full range of potential changes will not be introduced in 2009-10. Tariffs for accident and emergency services
will remain based on the current tariff structure, and although HRG4 has the capability to generate HRGs for procedures in outpatients clinics, there will not be a mandatory tariff for these procedures next year. The full benefits of the new design will be realised gradually, as the quality of underlying activity and cost data improves.
The Department has undertaken an analysis which shows that because funds are directed more accurately to specialised services under HRG4, the number of services requiring specialised service ‘top-ups’ is reduced from nine to two. The only two services requiring top-ups in 2009-10 are orthopaedics and specialised services for children, and in both cases the level of top-ups is lower than in 2008-09.
Health Services: Foreigners
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals with an NHS number were foreign nationals in each year since 1997. [246871]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not hold this information centrally.
Health Services: Greater London
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest assessment is of the financial position of (a) Havering Primary Care Trust and (b) Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement. [246821]
Mr. Bradshaw: At quarter 2 of 2008-09 Havering Primary Care Trust is forecasting a year end outturn surplus of £695,000. Barking Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust is forecasting a year end outturn deficit of £23.3 million.
Barking Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust continues to be designated as a Financially Challenged Trust and as such continues to work with the Department through its Strategic Health Authority (NHS London) to develop sustainable operating and financial solutions going forward.
Health Services: Recruitment
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the results of the national social care recruitment campaign; and if he will make a statement. [245762]
Phil Hope: The latest social care recruitment campaign took place during March 2008. The campaign generated more than twice the level of contacts to the call centre than the previous campaign and increased the number of unique web visitors by a factor of three. In total during the campaign period there were just under 180,000 contacts and unique web visitors. The campaign research also indicated a significant increase in awareness of the advertising among the general adult population compared to the previous campaign.
Health Services: Research
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the result of the independent research programme commissioned by his Department to evaluate the impact of health sector reform is; and if he will make a statement. [246056]
Mr. Bradshaw: The independent Health Reform Evaluation Programme consists of interconnected research projects looking at the impact of key health reforms. The projects were commissioned during 2007 and 2008 and have three years to run. They are expected to report during 2010 and early 2011.
Health Services: Standards
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the support and development framework for commissioners developed by strategic health authorities. [245742]
Mr. Bradshaw: Strategic health authorities (SHAs) are leading on the support and development of World Class Commissioning locally. Programmes and frameworks will be determined locally by an assessment of needs in their primary care trusts. The Department does not hold the details of SHA frameworks.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on modernising the regulation of healthcare workers; and if he will make a statement. [245764]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Extending Professional Regulation Working Group is developing criteria to assess whether new groups of health care professionals should be brought into a system of regulation. Following a successful event in November 2008 with a wide variety of stakeholders, a report on next steps is currently being drafted for consideration by Ministers. This report is due for completion shortly.
Health Services: Training
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in developing a National Skills Academy for Social Care; and if he will make a statement. [245763]
Phil Hope: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills announced in October that the expression of interest in developing a national skills academy for social care had been approved by the Learning and Skills Council to go into business planning. Work is proceeding to develop a business plan that meets the requirements of the Learning and Skills Council to be submitted in spring 2009 together with some programmes.
Health: Young People
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to encourage a healthy lifestyle amongst teenagers in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Tees Valley district and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency. [245019]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department is working closely with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills across England to address healthy lifestyles for children and young people on a variety of key health issues, including sexual health, tobacco and alcohol.
Holistic health initiatives include the Healthy Schools Programme, the developing Healthy Further Education Programme and the development of a new Child Health Promotion Programme for five to 19-year-olds, as well as the availability of the NHS Teen LifeCheck (a quick quiz-style online questionnaire for 12 to 15-year-olds).
There is also specific action on alcohol as set out in “The Youth Alcohol Action Plan” (CM7387) (DCSF) published in June 2008 and media campaigns such as the RU Thinking campaign and the Want Respect: Use a Condom campaign which address sexual health. A copy of “The Youth Alcohol Action Plan” is available in the Library.
All these activities are aimed at supporting young people throughout England. Each Government office, primary care trust and local authority receives support and guidance from the Department to ensure optimum implementation across their local area. In addition, the Department funded the two-year Teenage Health Demonstration Sites pilot to examine ways of delivering better health information, advice and guidance to young people. Northumberland was one of the four demonstration sites. The evaluation report will be available in the new year, and early results look promising.
Hearing Aids
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations govern private companies selling hearing aids to people with hearing impairments; and if he will make a statement. [240806]
Mr. Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
Private companies selling hearing aids to people with hearing impediments are regulated by the Hearing Aid Council Act 1968, as modified in 1989. The Act makes it a statutory requirement that hearing aids may only be sold by a dispenser who is suitably qualified and who is registered with the Hearing Aid Council (HAC)—which was established by the Act to set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for individuals and companies involved in the assessment of hearing loss and subsequent sale of hearing aids in the private sector.
Following the Hampton Review of Regulators, the Hearing Aid Council is due to be abolished and its regulatory functions transferred to the Health Professions Council (HPC). This is currently due to occur by March 2010.
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for action on the regulation of hearing aid dispensers; and if he will make a statement. [246216]
Mr. Bradshaw: We are working towards the required legislation to enable the transfer of the Hearing Aid Council’s register of dispensers to the Health Professions Council by March 2010.
Hepatitis
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Eddisbury of 6 October 2008, Official Report, columns 424-25W, on hepatitis, how many drugs were dispensed
for the treatment of hepatitis B in each year since 1997 (a) for England in total, (b) in each strategic health authority area and (c) broken down by type of drug. [245646]
Dawn Primarolo:
The following three tables show the number of prescription items dispensed in the community for the treatment of hepatitis B. The information is provided according to the individual British National Formulary (BNF) categories hepatitis B drugs fall within.
Figures are split by strategic health authority (SHA) and presented in thousands. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions.
Due to the disclosive nature of the data, it was not possible to present the data by type of drug. As such, data were aggregated to BNF category to maintain some measure of difference between drug type. The SHA totals may not match the England total due to rounding.
| BNF paragraph 8.2.4—Other immunomodulating drugs | ||||||
| Thousand | ||||||
| Number of prescription items used in the treatment of hepatitis B from BNF section 8.2.4, which were dispensed in the community in England from July 2003 to June 2008( 1) | ||||||
| SHA( 2,3) | 2003 Jul-Dec | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 Jan-S ep |
| (1) Information at SHA level is only available for the past 60 months. (2) The data have been structured in line with current SHA arrangements. The structure changed during 2006 where the number of SHAs reduced. (3) The tables show drugs which may be used to treat hepatitis B, by SHA. (4) Indicates 50 or fewer items were dispensed during the period. Source: The Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA (PPD)) | ||||||
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