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26 Mar 2009 : Column 671W—continued
Departmental Visits Abroad
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much expenditure was incurred in respect of overseas visits which (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) his Department’s senior officials undertook in 2008. [262180]
Mr. Bradshaw: Since 1999, the Government have published a list of all overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing over £500. Information for the financial year 2007-08 was published on 22 July 2008, Official Report, column 102WS, and for the first time, included details of overseas visits undertaken by all Ministers. All travel by Ministers is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
In respect of senior officials (taken to mean all members of the senior civil service), this information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. All travel by officials in the Department is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code, which requires:
‘staff use the most efficient and economic means of travel in the circumstances.’
Enfield Primary Care Trust: Health Visitors
Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors were employed in Enfield Primary Care Trust in each of the last 11 years. [263914]
Ann Keen:
The information on the number of health visitors in the Enfield primary care trust (PCT) for each of the last 11 years is provided in the following table. The number of health visitors has reduced from 2005 onwards. However there are more people working in children’s services in the community. The way services are organised now means that health visitors are more
likely to be working in teams in which support for families is available in more innovative ways, such as in children’s centres.
| NHS hospital and community health services: Health visitors in the Enfield PCT( 1) as at 30 September each specified year | |
| Health visitors (headcount) | |
| (1) In 2002 Enfield Community Healthcare NHS Trust and Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust merged to form Enfield PCT. Figures prior to 2002 are an aggregate of these predecessor organisations. Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care. | |
Food: Hygiene
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) Ministerial colleagues, (b) non-departmental bodies, (c) local authorities and (d) representatives of the food industry on (i) mandatory food hygiene training, (ii) other initiatives to improve food hygiene standards and (iii) penalties for performance below specified food hygiene standards; and if he will make a statement. [266449]
Dawn Primarolo: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State meets with his ministerial colleagues and other authorities on a regular basis to discuss a variety of issues.
The Food Standards Agency regularly meets with a range of Government and industry organisations to discuss food hygiene, training and standards.
Health Care Scientists: Manpower
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health care scientists are employed in the NHS. [266381]
Ann Keen: The total number of qualified health care scientists employed by the national health service in England is 31,028 headcount and 28,543 full-time equivalent.
Health Services
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with patient and support groups on (i) cardiovascular disease, (ii) stroke and (iii) diabetes in the last 12 months; and what plans he has further to involve such groups in strategic policy development in relevant areas. [266326]
Ann Keen:
Over the last 12 months, Ministers in the Department have had eight meetings with patient and support groups on cardiovascular disease (which includes
stroke) and we have had two meetings with Diabetes UK on a range of issues around diabetes. The meetings include incidences when the Ministers have spoken at conferences.
Officials have regular meetings with patient and support groups on cardiovascular disease and diabetes. We fully intend that groups representing patients' interests should continue to be involved in the development and refinement of our policies and recognise their valuable input.
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients on average (a) an urban and (b) a rural (i) NHS dentist, (ii) NHS GP and (iii) NHS community nurse treated in each region in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [266452]
Mr. Bradshaw: Information is not available in the format requested.
You may wish to approach local national health service organisations for more information.
Health Services: Elderly
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what longitudinal studies his Department has commissioned on preventative measures in the care of older people; and if he will make a statement. [267228]
Phil Hope: The Department has collaborated with other Government Departments to fund the UK leg of the English Longitudinal study of Ageing with the US Institute of Aging providing matching funding to enable international comparison.
Health Services: Prisons
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many healthcare beds in each prison in England were being used by prisoners with no clinical need for in-patient care on the latest date for which figures are available. [265889]
Phil Hope: This information is not collected or available centrally.
Hospitals: Disinfectants
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which products based on the generation of peracetic acid are used by NHS organisations; and if he will make a statement. [266796]
Ann Keen: The Department does not have the information requested as infection control products do not have to be purchased through NHS Supply Chain. National health service trusts are free to choose which products to purchase and will maintain their own records.
Human Papilloma Virus: Vaccination
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people eligible for the Cervarix vaccine over the lifetime of the contract. [266221]
Dawn Primarolo: The current contract for human papilloma virus vaccine is for a period of three years, and covers provision of the vaccine to girls in England, the devolved Administrations, United Kingdom territories and children of the armed forces covered by the Ministry of Defence health provision.
Approximately 2.4 million girls and young women in England will be eligible for the vaccine during this period.
Infant Foods
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the NHS Healthy Start scheme includes entitlement to free infant formula; and under what circumstances free infant formula is provided. [266402]
Dawn Primarolo: Healthy Start provides a nutritional safety net for pregnant women and children under four years old in low income and disadvantaged families. The scheme provides vouchers that can be put towards the cost of cow's milk, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and infant formula milk at participating retailers. We recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, and the scheme encourages this. However, if mothers choose not to breastfeed, formula is the only safe alternative for children under one year of age, as the use of cow's milk is not recommended. This is why infant formula is included in the scheme. However, follow-on formula is not included because scientific advice is that follow-on formula has no additional nutritional benefits for healthy babies over six months old.
Learning Disability: Parents
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his Department’s consultation on Valuing People Now, how many children live with a parent with one or more learning disability; how many and what proportion of parents with a learning disability (a) live with their children and (b) are in stable partnerships; what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of supporting a parent with one or more learning disability who live with their children; how many and what proportion of such parents receive support at (i) critical, (ii) substantial, (iii) moderate and (iv) mild levels; what estimate he has made of the number of such families in 2015; and what assessment he has made of the effect of a parent’s learning disability on their children. [266217]
Phil Hope: The Department does not hold data on the number of children living with parents with learning disabilities, nor do we hold data on how many and what proportion of parents with a learning disability live with their children or are in stable partnerships, nor on the number and proportion of such families who receive support at different levels.
Research cited by the Joint Committee on Human Rights report “A Life Like Any Other” (2008) suggests that approximately 50 per cent. of parents with learning disabilities do not live with their children.
On 19 January 2009, the Secretary of State for Health published Valuing People Now, which set out the need to do more to make sure that adults’ and children’s services work more effectively together. This includes
improving identification of families that need extra support and carrying out more effective assessments of their needs, to ensure that families with complex needs, including parents with learning disabilities, receive the right level of support at an earlier stage.
As part of Valuing People Now, we emphasised the need to improve information on the numbers and needs of people with learning disabilities; this includes parents with learning disabilities. This will enable better understanding of current and projected demands and to help inform local needs assessments.
It is for local authorities to work with local partners to assess the needs of parents with learning disabilities and their children. Local authorities should hold information about families who are known to services and their level of need.
Leukaemia: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people diagnosed with leukaemia there were in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire on the latest date for which figures are available. [265794]
Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009 :
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people diagnosed with leukaemia there are in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire [265794].
We do not have an estimate of how many people there are at any one time. Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of leukaemia in 2006, the latest year for which figures are available, in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire are in Table 1.
| Table 1: Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of leukaemia( 1) , persons: Hemel Hempstead parliamentary constituency( 2) and Hertfordshire county, 2006 | |
| Number | |
| (1) Leukaemia is coded to C91-C95 in the International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10). (2) Based on boundaries as of 2007. Source: Office for National Statistics | |
Magnetic Resonance Imagers
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made an assessment of the effects of the EU Physical Agents Directive on the use of magnetic resonance imaging technology in England; and if he will make a statement. [265548]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
The adopted directive has been amended to provide for a later implementation date of April 2012 so that the EU can reassess its potential impact. HSE continues to engage with a wide range of stakeholders on this matter.
Mental Health Services: Women
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on implementing the Women’s Mental Health strategy since it was published. [266437]
Phil Hope: Significant progress has been made since the publication of the Women’s Mental Health strategy “Into the Mainstream” in 2002 (a copy has been placed in the Library) and the implementation guidance “Mainstreaming Gender Equality and Women’s Mental Health” in 2003 (a copy has already been placed in the Library).
The Gender Equality and Women’s Mental Health programme was established by the National Institute of Mental Health in England (NIMHE) in 2004, to progress the implementation of “Into the Mainstream”. It carried out a benchmarking of mental health trusts in 2007, to assess progress made since the publication of “Into the Mainstream”.
Many mental health trusts now have a champion for women’s mental health within the organisation; a number of trusts have developed a women’s mental health strategy, with approximately half of trusts describing specific initiatives for women; and 92 per cent. of responding trusts reported developments in psychological therapies from which women have benefited.
We expect that a more detailed progress report will be published later this year. The Gender Equality and Women’s Mental Health programme continues to be a key national programme and will move into the new national mental health delivery unit in April 2009.
NHS Bank
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many NHS trusts are borrowing money from the NHS Bank; how much each trust has paid in interest on such loans since they were taken out; and what rate of interest each is paying; [265648]
(2) how many NHS trusts are lenders to the NHS Bank; and how much each has received in interest on such loans since they were taken out; [265649]
(3) how much profit the NHS Bank made in each of the last three years; [265650]
(4) what the interest rate for (a) borrowers and (b) lenders to the NHS Bank was in each month since such interest charges were introduced. [265769]
Mr. Bradshaw: The NHS bank function no longer operates.
The Department makes loans for capital investment to national health service trusts and NHS foundation trusts and to NHS trusts for working capital. Details of interest rates and interest paid to date on current loans by trust are given in the table. Interest payments are made to the Department and are available for spending elsewhere in the NHS.
The Department does not take deposits from NHS trusts or foundation trusts.
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