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13 Mar 2009 : Column 781W—continued
Tibet: Politics and Government
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the implementation by the Chinese Government of security measures in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising. [263621]
Bill Rammell: We have received several reports of increased security measures in Tibet, including significant increases in numbers of People’s Armed Police and People’s Liberation Army forces into Tibetan areas, severely restricting Tibetans’ right of freedom of expression.
We have also received claims from several sources that the so-called ‘Strike Hard’ campaign launched in January 2009 has in fact been used for political purposes, rather than its stated aim of cracking down on criminal activity. We are concerned at such reports, and continue to urge the Chinese authorities to respect the right of peaceful expression and assembly in Tibet.
Health
Cannabis: Research
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has conducted recent research into the addictive properties of cannabis; and if he will make a statement. [263489]
Dawn Primarolo: At the request of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, the Government’s advisory committee on drugs, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) carried out a substantial review last year of the harms associated with cannabis use, including the physical and psychological effects of cannabis. The report, “Cannabis: Classification and Public Health (2008)”, was published in May 2008 and copies have already been placed in the Library.
Christmas
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is his Department’s policy to offer staff (a) additional leave entitlement for Christmas shopping and (b) Christmas bonus payments. [262812]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not offer its staff either additional leave entitlement for Christmas shopping or Christmas bonus payments.
Staff can request an advance on December salary—up to £500 for full-time staff (pro-rated for part-time staff)—to help them budget over the Christmas period. This advance is paid with November salary and recovered in full from December salary.
Cord Blood
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the report on cord blood banking in the UK—an international comparison of policy and practice; [262773]
(2) what plans he has for the involvement of (a) Government bodies, (b) the third sector and (c) the private sector in his Department’s consideration of the collection and use of cord blood. [262776]
Dawn Primarolo: Following the publication of the international comparison report on cord blood banking policy and practice, the Department is assessing the need to enhance national health service cord blood collection services to ensure the United Kingdom remains at the forefront of this work and able to meet its international obligations in matching stem cell donations to patients in need of a transplant.
The two largest UK bodies providing stem cells for unrelated transplant, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and the Anthony Nolan Trust, have been asked to report back to us by the end of March 2009. There are no plans to involve other organisations at this time.
Departmental Car Allowances
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues on the mileage allowance payable to (a) district nurses and (b) other NHS staff. [263559]
Ann Keen: Guidance on mileage allowances for Agenda for Change Staff, which includes district nurses, is set out at Section 17 of the Agenda for Change terms and conditions of service handbook. The mileage allowances are set out at Annex L of this handbook. These allowances were last increased on 1 July 2008 in Pay Circular (A for C) 4/2008 issued on 7 July 2008. A copy of the Pay Circular has been placed in the Library.
Unless specified in individual terms and conditions, very senior managers follow this Agenda for Change guidance
Guidance for hospital medical and dental staff and doctors and dentists in public health, the community health service and salaried primary dental care (England) is set out in Pay Circular (M and D) 5/2008 issued on 4 August 2008. A copy of the Pay Circular has been placed in the Library.
Changes to all these national allowances are published in pay circulars issued by NHS employers and are available, along with the Agenda for Change terms and conditions of service handbook, at:
Departmental Internet
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) of 4 February 2009, Official Report, columns 1353-56W, on the departmental internet, how many hits each of his Department’s websites received in each of the last 12 months. [262837]
Mr. Bradshaw: Page hits for the main departmental websites are detailed as follows.
Page hits for the Department’s website:
March 2008 to February 2009—64,678,663
| Number of visits | Page impressions | |
March 2008 to February 2009—1,756,641
| Number of visits | Page impressions | |
March 2008 to February 2009—199,738,205
| Number of visits | Page impressions | |
| Notes: Explanation of terms Visits: the number of times a visitor has entered a website within a given timescale. Thus, multiple visits are recorded. Page impressions: also known as ‘hits’, this is when a website page is displayed on a visitor’s browser. To provide page hits for the other websites listed in the 4 February answer would incur disproportionate cost. | ||
Departmental Lost Property
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what property has been lost or stolen from his Department in the last 12 months; and what the estimated cost was of replacement of such property. [263110]
Mr. Bradshaw: From 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008, the following items of departmental property were reported as lost or stolen with an estimated total replacement cost of £40,000.
| Number | |
There are strict rules on data security that the Department is required to adhere to. Safeguards include the encryption of all electronic equipment including memory sticks and PDAs and the Department is confident that no personal data have been compromised.
Drugs
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department’s definition of addiction is. [263490]
Dawn Primarolo: In relation to substance misuse, following World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, the term ‘addiction’ has been replaced by ‘dependence’.
The WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 clinical defines ‘dependence’ as:
“A cluster of physiological, behavioural, and cognitive phenomena in which the use of a substance or a class of substances takes on a much higher priority for a given individual than other behaviours that once had greater value. A central descriptive characteristic of the dependence syndrome is the desire (often strong, sometimes overpowering) to take psychoactive drugs (which may or may not have been medically prescribed), alcohol, or tobacco. There may be evidence that return to substance use after a period of abstinence leads to a more rapid reappearance of other features of the syndrome than occurs with nondependent individuals.”
‘Addiction’ can also be understood to refer to some patterns of compulsive behaviour not involving substance misuse, but there is no ICD-10 definition encompassing this meaning.
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