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20 Mar 2009 : Column 1361W—continued
Dentistry: Registration
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what meetings Ministers in his Department have had with the General Dental Council on the annual registration fee for dental care professionals in the last 12 months; [264394]
(2) what evidence his Department evaluated prior to its endorsement of the General Dental Council's annual fee registration requirement. [264396]
Ann Keen: The General Dental Council is responsible for setting its fees and the Department has no role in the approval or endorsement of these fees.
There have been no meetings about registration fees for dental care professionals in the past 12 months between the Department's Ministers and the General Dental Council.
Dentistry: Training
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the efficacy of the requirement on (i) dentists and (ii) other dental care professionals to undertake continuing professional development; and if he will make a statement. [264393]
Ann Keen: The General Dental Council (GDC) has introduced a requirement for dentists and dental care professionals to undertake regular continuing professional development (CPD) to maintain their registration. We have not commissioned research in respect of CPD, but we expect the GDC's requirement to develop into a revalidation scheme where by health professionals would be required to keep up to date with advances in medical and dental science. The White Paper Trust Assurance and Safety—The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century stated:
"In the traditional system for regulating health professionals, once people had qualified and demonstrated that they were fit to practise with patients, their names were placed on the relevant professional register and remained there unless a definite reason came to light for their removal. Public and professional opinion has moved on in the course of this debate, from a position where trust alone was sufficient guarantee of fitness to practise, to one where that trust needs to be underpinned by objective assurance. Public opinion surveys suggest that people expect health professionals to participate in the revalidation of their registration and that many believe this takes place every year."
Departmental Publications
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many articles appearing in healthcare publications and journals in the last five years have been funded in whole or in part by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies. [264447]
Mr. Bradshaw: To identify the number of articles appearing in healthcare publications and journals in the last five years that have been funded in whole or in part by the Department and its agencies would incur a disproportionate cost.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have spent on articles appearing in healthcare publications in the last five years. [264449]
Mr. Bradshaw: To identify the amount of expenditure by the Department and its agencies on articles appearing in healthcare publications and journals in the last five years would incur a disproportionate cost.
Food: Contamination
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contaminated food incidents have been reported in each year since 1997. [265059]
Dawn Primarolo: The number of reported food-borne outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease in England and Wales (1997 to 2007) is provided in the following table.
| Number of food-borne outbreaks( 1) | |
| (1 )Data include food-borne outbreaks caused by Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli 0157, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Cryptosporidum, Bacillus spp., Giardia lamblia, norovirus, astrovirus and scrombrotoxin. Data include all settings, including all restaurant premises, hotels, shops, residential, schools, hospitals and private establishments. Source: Health Protection Agency (Centre for Infections). | |
Human Papilloma Virus
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will commission research into the effectiveness of implementing human papilloma virus testing as a follow-up test for women with borderline and abnormal smear test results and following treatment for cervical abnormalities; and if he will make a statement; [263847]
(2) if he will increase (a) the amount of funding available for the human papilloma virus sentinel sites implementation project and (b) the number of areas in which triage testing will be made available. [263848]
Ann Keen: Work on the implementation phase of human papilloma virus (HPV) triage for women with borderline and low-grade abnormalities using HPV testing has begun in six sentinel sites. Decisions on expenditure, further roll-out and evaluation will be made once the results from these sites are known at the end of December 2009.
Influenza: Vaccination
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of people over 60 years who received a vaccination against influenza in 2007-08. [265327]
Dawn Primarolo: Uptake of the influenza vaccine is collected for those aged 65 and over and those aged under 65 in a clinical at risk group. The Department is unable to provide a figure for the proportion of people aged over 60 years who received the vaccine.
In 2007-08, 73.5 per cent. of people aged 65 and over received the influenza vaccine.
These figures only cover those who received the vaccine as part of the national health service influenza programme. It does not cover those who receive the vaccine privately.
Khat
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) evaluated, (b) commissioned and (c) undertaken on the effects on health of the regular use of khat. [264904]
Dawn Primarolo: In March 2005 the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) was asked by the then Home Office Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) to assess the extent of the harm posed by khat use in the United Kingdom, to the individual, their communities and to society as a whole.
The ACMD reported in January 2006 and continues to monitor the situation in relation to khat through its Technical Committee.
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust
Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the findings of the report of the Healthcare Commission on the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust; and if he will make a statement. [264838]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the oral statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health on 18 March 2008, Official Report, columns 909-11.
Multiple Sclerosis: Research
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on research into multiple sclerosis in each of the last 10 years. [264403]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Expenditure on multiple sclerosis research | ||
| £ million | ||
| Department of Health | Medical Research Council | |
| n/a = Not available | ||
The departmental figures relate to national research programme and, from 2007-08, National Institute for Health Research expenditure. They do not include expenditure in the areas of human health concerned from the research and development allocations made annually over the last 10 years to national health service providers. That information is not held centrally.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support biomedical research. The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
NHS: Finance
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the National Programme Budgeting Data for 2007-08. [264367]
Mr. Bradshaw: The 2007-08 programme budgeting data are being checked prior to their publication shortly on the Department’s website.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to ensure that trusts which are receiving funding at a level (a) 1 to 5 per cent. and (b) more than 5 per cent. (i) above and (ii) below target funding are (A) appropriately supported and (B) where underfunded, compensated for being underfunded; [265433]
(2) at what rate trusts which have NHS funding (a) 1 to 5 per cent. and (b) over 5 per cent. (i) above and (ii) below target funding will be brought towards target funding over the next five financial years; and if he will make a statement. [265434]
Mr. Bradshaw: Primary care trusts' (PCTs) target revenue allocations are made on the basis of a fair funding formula, recommended by the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, that directs funding towards areas of greatest need.
We are committed to moving all PCTs towards their target allocations as quickly as possible, but this must be balanced with the need to ensure that all PCTs are appropriately supported with stable funding that both supports existing commitments and allows long-term planning, as well as recognising the unavoidable cost pressures that all PCTs face.
The allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11 achieve this by ensuring that:
average PCT growth is 5.5 per cent. each year;
minimum growth is 5.2 per cent. in 2009-10 and 5.1 per cent. in 2010-11;
no PCT will be more than 6.2 per cent. under target by the end of 2010-11; and
no PCT will move further under target as a result of above average population growth in 2010-11.
Further, we have ensured that the most under-target PCTs will benefit from the highest increases in funding. At the start of 2009-10, the most under-target PCT will be 10.6 per cent. below its target allocation. Over the next two years, that PCTs' allocation will grow by more than 17 per cent. and it will end 2010-11 only 6.2 per cent. below target. This is a significant achievement by historic standards: in 2003-04, the most under-target PCT was 22 per cent. below target.
The rate at which PCTs will move towards their target allocation in future years will need to be considered in light of a number of factors including population changes, cost pressures and the resources available to the national health service.
Compensation for PCTs that have received under-target allocations in the past would be difficult to determine as targets vary over time. It would effectively mean re-opening those allocation rounds, which would undermine stability of NHS funding and so long-term planning. Further, it could be funded only by reducing resources for other PCTs, which may result in painful cuts to services.
Smoking: Yorkshire and the Humber
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of treating smoking-related diseases in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster in each of the last five years. [264547]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available centrally.
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster have received assistance from the NHS to stop smoking in each of the last five years. [264548]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the format requested. However, data on the number of people setting a quit date and successfully quitting through the National Health Service Stop Smoking Services are available for Barnsley primary care trust (PCT) and Doncaster PCT in 2006-07 and 2007-08 and for Barnsley PCT, Doncaster Central PCT, Doncaster East PCT and Doncaster West PCT for 2004-05 to 2006-07.
Information for 2007-08 is available from the annual Statistics on “NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2007 to March 2008”. This information can be found in table 3.5 on page 28.
Information for 2006-07 is available for both the old and new strategic health authority (SHA) and PCT from the annual Statistics on “NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2006 to March 2007”. This information can be found in table 2.12 (old SHA and PCT configuration) and table 5.4 (new SHA and PCT configuration) on pages 19 and 65 respectively.
Information for 2005-06 is available for both the old SHA and PCTs from the annual Statistics on “NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2005 to March 2006”. This information can be found in table 4.12 on page 38.
Information for 2004-05 is available for both the old SHA and PCTs from the annual “Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2004 to March 2005”. This information can be found in table 19 on page 54.
All of the publications have already been placed in the Library.
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