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5 Feb 2009 : Column 1511W—continued
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to take responsibility for developing clinical strategies; and if he will make a statement. [253710]
Dawn Primarolo: As set out in High Quality Care for All, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) will be expanded to set and approve quality standards. A new National Quality Board will offer transparent advice to Ministers on clinical priorities, including the setting of quality standards.
NICE will not be responsible for developing clinical strategies. Any future strategies produced by the Department will be aligned where appropriate with the work of NICE on quality standards.
National Quality Board
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the first meeting of the new National Quality Board to take place; and whether the terms of reference and membership for the group have been (a) agreed and (b) published. [253708]
Mr. Bradshaw: The first meeting of the National Quality Board (NQB) is planned for the 30 of March 2009.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Darzi) announced in early December the appointment of the chief executive of the NHS (Mr. David Nicholson) as chair of the NQB and the following ex-officio members representing the Department and the health care system:
NHS Medical Director, Department of Health (Sir Bruce Keogh);
Chief Nursing Officer, Department of Health (Dame Christine Beasley);
Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health (Sir Liam Donaldson);
Director General for Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnerships, Department of Health (Mr. David Behan);
Chair of the Care Quality Commission (Baroness Barbara Young);
Chair of Monitor. (Dr. William Moyes);
Chair of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Sir Michael Rawlins).
The Appointments Commission is in the process of recruiting a further four expert representatives and four lay representatives to the board.
We are continuing to work with stakeholders to develop the NQB terms of reference.
NHS: Drugs
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Government’s policy is on implementation of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations that are not being met routinely; and if he will make a statement. [253416]
Dawn Primarolo: National health service (NHS) bodies (including primary care trusts) are required by a statutory direction to fund health care interventions recommended in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals within three months of publication of final appraisal guidance. The Department has made it clear that if a particular NHS body is failing to comply with a statutory funding direction it will expect the relevant strategic health authority to ensure that action is taken to address the situation.
Clinical guidelines and public health guidance published by NICE are not covered by the statutory direction but NHS organisations should be working towards their implementation over time.
NHS: ICT
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which trusts have chosen to procure and implement an IT system different from the one selected for them by their local service provider; and what costs each has incurred in that process, broken down by cost category; [254157]
(2) what his Department’s policy is on trusts which choose to implement IT systems not provided by the local service provider for their region. [254158]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department’s Health Informatics Review report, published in July 2008 was in support of the Next Stage Review. A copy has been placed in the Library. It confirmed the national health service’s continuing commitment to, and belief in, the strategic information services being developed and provided by local service providers. However, it recognised and supported the wish on the part of certain trusts to realise benefits earlier by implementing interim initiatives where there is a business case to do so. Such initiatives should support the aim of enabling patient information to be available across different IT systems, different care providers and different care settings ahead of the delivery of strategic systems.
Agreement on software requirements and system deployment plans became a responsibility of local NHS trusts from April 2007 to provide greater local ownership of the planning and deployment process. Comprehensive information of the kind requested is therefore not collected centrally.
NHS: Management
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of management in the NHS. [253102]
Ann Keen: The steps that my Department is taking to improve the quality of leadership and management in the national health service are set out in chapter five of High Quality Care for All, the final report of the Next Stage Review (a copy of which has already been placed in the Library). This report sets out a number of commitments which start early and continue throughout the career path. A new National Leadership Council, chaired by the NHS chief executive, is being established to oversee the implementation of the commitments.
NHS: Translation Services
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much NHS interpreters in Waltham Forest primary care trust cost for (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008. [253753]
Ann Keen: The data requested are not collected centrally. National health service bodies are not required to report their planned or actual spending on interpretation and translation services to the Department. When planning such services, NHS bodies should take account of their legal duties, the composition of the communities they serve, and the needs and circumstances of their patients, service users and local populations.
Nurses
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what conditions each type of specialist nurse is trained to deal with; [253573]
(2) how many specialist nurses there were in each specialty in each year between 2001 and 2008. [253574]
Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally. national health service organisations are responsible for the skill mix of their work force. They are best placed to assess the health needs of their local community and must have the freedom to train and deploy staff in ways appropriate for local conditions.
Thalidomide
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has discussed with his German counterpart the matter of culpability on the part of the manufacturers in relation to the impairments caused by thalidomide in the last five years. [254622]
Dawn Primarolo: We have had no such discussions in the last five years.
A private compensation settlement was agreed with Distillers, now part of Diageo plc, the company that marketed the drug in the United Kingdom, and the Thalidomide Trust, the charitable trust established to administer annual payments to victims.
Home Department
Animal Experiments
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the number of animals bred for use in animal scientific procedures but not used for such purposes and put down in 2008. [253996]
Meg Hillier: We do not record the number of animals bred for use in procedures regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act but not used for such purposes and then put down. We have made no estimate of numbers for 2008. Other statistical data on animal use in 2008 under the 1986 Act are currently being collected and, when completed, will be laid before Parliament.
Animal Experiments: Primates
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-human primates from each overseas country were imported into the United Kingdom for use in research and testing in 2008. [253995]
Meg Hillier: The number of non-human primates acquired during 2008 from each overseas country for use in scientific procedures or breeding under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is as follows:
| Number | |
Anti-Semitism
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will commission a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis on the number and location of anti-Semitic incidents in London since December 2008; and if she will make a statement. [252975]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The police are keeping a close eye on anti-Semitic incidents. However, the Home Secretary has not commissioned a specific report on this issue.
The Minister for policing and tackling violent crime (Vernon Coaker) has discussed this issue with the Community Security Trust (CST) and chief police officers. The CST have confirmed they are satisfied with the level of police co-operation and response to the matter.
Antisocial Behaviour
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the economic effects of anti-social behaviour in each of the last five years. [253124]
Mr. Alan Campbell: An assessment of the economic effects of antisocial behaviour over the past five years has not been made. However, a one-day count undertaken by the Home Office to understand the effect of antisocial behaviour on key service providers estimated that the cost to government agencies of responding to reports of antisocial behaviour in England and Wales was approximately £3.4 billion per year. The costs related only to the financial costs to agencies of dealing with antisocial behaviour and did not include indirect costs to local communities and businesses, as well as emotional costs to victims and witnesses.
The cost of not taking action against antisocial behaviour is much higher.
The National Audit Office report in 2006 found that nine out of 10 people stop behaving antisocially after three interventions. Many of these were warning letters and antisocial behaviour contracts which are voluntary measures. The success of these interventions would have prevented escalation of behaviour and the possibility of consequential court costs.
Arrests: Lancashire
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made in (a) Chorley, (b) West Lancashire and (c) South Ribble in each quarter of the last three years. [253729]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 2 February 2009]: The data requested are not collected centrally. The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) recorded by the police forces in England and Wales. Data are not available below the police force area level.
Burglary: Yorkshire and the Humber
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of (a) theft and (b) burglary have been reported in each constituency in Yorkshire and the Humber in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [251843]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The available information on the number of offences recorded by the police is given in the following table. Recorded crime statistics are not collected at constituency level, therefore figures have been provided at crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) level.
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