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27 Mar 2009 : Column 752W—continued
Health
Care Homes: Standards
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provides to private nursing home providers on their statutory obligations towards nursing home residents in their care. [267363]
Phil Hope: All care and nursing homes, whether in the private, public or voluntary sectors, are required to comply with the Care Homes Regulations 2001 and to register with the regulator, the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).
CSCI regulates care homes in accordance with statutory regulations and national minimum standards, which govern the quality and safety of care and level of protection for residents. CSCI publishes a comprehensive range of guidance for providers of care on its website at:
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure extra resources are made available to publicly owned nursing homes and local primary care trusts where private nursing home providers withdraw their provision. [267364]
Phil Hope: It is for local authorities and the national health service to decide how to provide care in their areas, either through direct provision or by contracting with independent sector providers. Local authorities should ensure they have procedures in place to arrange care for residents if they have to move care homes for whatever reason and that capacity exists to deal with such eventualities.
Councils have received record increases in funding—39 per cent. in real terms—since 1997. The increases, which will rise to 45 per cent. by 2010-11, mean local authorities have the resources they need to arrange care to meet the needs of their local communities.
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has compiled a list of approved private nursing care home providers. [267365]
Phil Hope: No. All care homes are required to register with the regulator, the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). Registration by CSCI signifies that a home meets statutory requirements governing quality and safety and is permitted to operate.
CJD: Screening
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will consider the introduction of a blood screening test for blood donors in place of blood filtering; and if he will make a statement; [266420]
(2) whether family members of those who have died of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) are encouraged to take a blood screening test for vCJD; and if he will make a statement; [266421]
(3) if he will commission a prevalence study of EP-vCJD tests in the UK; and if he will make a statement; [266516]
(4) if he will consider the introduction of EP-vCJD tests in routine blood donations; and if he will make a statement. [266517]
Dawn Primarolo:
At present, there is no validated test for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) on the market although the technology is under development.
The expert Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs will assess options for further vCJD risk reduction measures, including prion filtration technology and screening tests, as further information becomes available, and will advise on their use. If a suitable vCJD blood screening test becomes available, the offer of such a test to individuals will be for agreement between the individual and their clinician.
The Department will consider the use of validated tests for ascertaining the population prevalence of vCJD as they become available.
Dental Services
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts have (a) no, (b) fewer than five, (c) between five and 10 and (d) 10 or more dentists accepting NHS patients. [267746]
Ann Keen: The information requested is not held centrally. All primary care trusts (PCTs) run dental help lines. Patients who need help in finding a national health service dentist taking on new patients should contact their local PCT.
Departmental Empty Property
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the change in the annual cost to his Department of maintaining the empty public buildings owned by his Department as a result of the April 2008 changes to empty property rate relief. [267133]
Mr. Bradshaw: The change in the annual cost to the Department of maintaining empty buildings as a result of the April 2008 changes to empty property rate relief for 2008-09 is £45,000.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) capital funds and (b) resource funds his Department has brought forward from its (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11 budgets for use in (A) 2008-09 and (B) 2009-10; and what schemes this funding is being used to support. [267398]
Mr. Bradshaw: In agreement with Her Majesty’s Treasury, £100 million of the Department’s Capital Expenditure Limit has been brought forward from 2010-11 for use in 2009-10. This is being used to upgrade up to 600 general practitioner surgeries to support training in practices.
The Capital Expenditure Limit for 2008-09, and the Revenue Expenditure Limits for 2009-10 and 2010-11 are unchanged by any bring forward from later years.
Departmental Standards
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of measuring compliance with its targets under its public service agreements in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [266565]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Glaucoma: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people diagnosed with glaucoma there are in (a) Castle Point and (b) Essex. [266593]
Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested.
The number of national health service sight tests, by patient eligibility, including ‘Diabetics/Glaucoma sufferer’' is available in Table B3 of Annex C of the “General Ophthalmic Services: Activity Statistics for England and Wales—year ending 31 March 2008 report”.
Information is provided by primary care trust (PCT) and by strategic health authority (SHA) but is not available by parliamentary constituency.
This report, published on 20 November 2008, has been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
The figures in the above table are not the number of people diagnosed as ‘Diabetics/Glaucoma sufferer’ but the number of NHS sight tests performed where the patient eligibility is recorded as ‘Diabetes/Glaucoma sufferer’ on the form.
Patients may qualify for an NHS sight test on more than one criterion. However, they would only be recorded against one criterion on the form. Patients are more likely to be recorded according to their clinical need rather than their age. For example, a patient aged over 60, with glaucoma, is likely to be recorded in the glaucoma category only. The count by eligibility is therefore approximate.
Source:
NHS Information Centre
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on (a) treatment of and (b) support for people diagnosed with glaucoma in (i) Castle Point and (ii) Essex county in the last 12 months. [266594]
Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.
It is the responsibility of primary care trusts to ensure that the services they commission meet the needs of the communities that they serve. This includes the commissioning of services for those people with glaucoma.
Health Services
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of changes to demand for NHS services as a result of the economic downturn. [265721]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Henley (John Howell) on 24 March 2009, Official Report, column 150.
Hospital Beds
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are in place to alleviate pressure on beds in the NHS caused by private nursing care home providers ending provision of services. [267366]
Phil Hope: It is for primary care trusts to work with local social services departments to arrange adequate services to provide for the needs of local people.
Incontinence: Medical Equipment
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next expects to report on Part IX of the Drug Tariff. [267463]
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable he has set for the introduction of the new arrangements for stoma and incontinence products under Part IX of the Drug Tariff; and if he will make a statement. [267465]
Phil Hope: The new arrangements for the provision of stoma and incontinence products and the timetable for their introduction will be announced in due course.
Peracetic Acid
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated research on the effectiveness of anti-microbial infection control products which generate peracetic acid; and if he will make a statement; [266772]
(2) what proportion of primary care trusts use products which generate peracetic acid to control healthcare-acquired infections. [266773]
Ann Keen: The Department has not commissioned research on the effectiveness of anti-microbial infection control products that generate peracetic acid.
The Department’s Rapid Review Panel has reviewed a peracetic acid generating wipe and awarded it a recommendation 3. This means that the product is a potentially useful new concept but insufficiently validated; more research and development is required before it is ready for evaluation in practice.
The Department does not collect the information requested centrally. National health service bodies are free to choose which products to purchase and will maintain their own records.
vCJD
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of those who participated in routine blood donations have died of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease since 1997. [266419]
Dawn Primarolo: The Transfusion Medicine Epidemiology Review, a collaborative project between the United Kingdom National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit and the United Kingdom Blood Services, records that since 1997 blood components have been issued from 17 blood donors who subsequently died of vCJD.
Wheelchairs
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable he has set for (a) responding to the consultation on wheelchair services undertaken as part of the review of the care services efficiency delivery retail model and (b) establishing the new procurement strategy for children’s equipment. [267464]
Phil Hope: Discussions are ongoing within the Department to agree the most appropriate way forward for wheelchair services. We expect these discussions to be concluded by the summer.
The Department of Health, jointly with Department of Children Schools and Families, has commissioned work to develop a procurement strategy for children’s equipment, which will report in the summer.
Leader of the House
Private Members’ Bills
Mr. Amess: To ask the Leader of the House what her policy is on the circumstances under which the Government will provide time to debate private Members' Bills in Government time; and if she will make a statement. [266974]
Chris Bryant: Precedence in Government time is given to private Members' bills only very rarely. The last occasion recorded in the Sessional Returns was the Census (Amendment) Bill [ Lords] in 1999-2000.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Leader of the House which private Members' Bills were taken up by a member of the Government when the Bills reached the second House in which they were to be considered in each session since 1997-98. [266975]
Chris Bryant: An exhaustive list of private Members' and Peers' bills which were taken up by the Government in the second House is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
I am aware of only one example of such a bill—the Forced Marriages (Civil Protection) Bill [ Lords], in Session 2006-07.
In addition, the Census (Amendment) Bill [ Lords], though it was taken up by a private Member, was given precedence in Government time in Session 1999-2000.
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Departmental Training
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many (a) staff and (b) ministerial away days have been organised by his Department since its inception; and what the cost was of such events. [266209]
Mr. Simon: The Department was created on 28 June 2007. Information on away days for employees is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the organisation of meetings outside the Department’s buildings will be based on sound planning and, where accommodation costs and other charges are involved, our policies on appropriateness and value for money.
There have been no ministerial away days since the inception of the Department.
Treasury
Government Departments: Internet
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Government departments use the Government Secure Intranet; and what the cost of maintaining the service was in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available. [266305]
Ian Pearson: The Government secure intranet (GSi) forms part of critical national infrastructure and as such detailed customer information is not made publicly available.
There is no cost to OGCbuying.solutions for maintaining the site.
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