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31 Mar 2009 : Column 1099W—continued
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) initial budget and (b) outturn was in respect of (i) revenue and (ii) capital expenditure for (A) the national programme for IT and (B) each element of the national programme for IT in each year since the inception of the programme; and how much (1) capital and (2) revenue funding has been allocated for each remaining year of the programme. [267386]
Mr. Bradshaw: Comprehensive information in the form requested is not available. This is because the overall cost of the national programme for information technology (NPfTT) includes both central costs, and the costs managed by local national health service bodies incurred in implementing the systems, for example in training staff and upgrading computer hardware. Local information is not routinely collected in a way that differentiates expenditure on the information technology (IT) programme from other local IT-related expenditure.
Within the Department, NHS Connecting for Health, which came into being in April 2005, is responsible both for central expenditure necessary for ensuring delivery of the IT systems under the national programme, and for maintaining the critical business systems previously provided to the national health service by the former NHS Information Authority. NHS Connecting for Health does not prepare annual whole-programme budgets for NPfTT activity separate from those for its wider responsibilities as this would involve the unnecessary apportionment of common management, administrative and support costs.
For the same reason, separate outturn figures are not routinely reported for management information purposes.
Information covering all NHS Connecting for Health's responsibilities is shown in the following tables.
| £ million | |||||
| Initial budget | Planned expenditure | ||||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| £ million | |||||
| Actual expenditure | Forecast outturn | ||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Notes: 1. All sums exclude capital charges. 2. The amounts include the original costs of NPflT contracts, which have not changed, but also include new and additional requirements that have been added, supported by separate business cases and funding, as reported by the National Audit Office. 3. Planned expenditure figures for years beyond 2009-10 are subject to revision in light of the evolving IT needs of the NHS and to the outcome of future spending reviews. | |||||
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has received on the extent to which contracts under the NHS IT programme may bind subsequent administrations. [267879]
Mr. Bradshaw:
National programme for information technology contracts are signed in the name of the Secretary of State for Health, and their terms will therefore be binding for the lifetime of the contract on the holder of that position, irrespective of the administration
in office. It would be open to a new administration to consider the acceptability of any contract. Should changes be required there may be an opportunity to amend the contract depending on the scope and type of these changes. Voluntary termination clauses may be used to terminate a contract under the terms set out.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to reach a settlement with Fujitsu over its withdrawal from the NHS IT programme. [267882]
Mr. Bradshaw: Fujitsu did not withdraw from the national programme for information technology. The contract with Fujitsu was terminated by the Department on 28 May 2008 because of failure to meet key contractual milestones and to provide an acceptable remediation plan.
The formal dispute process is continuing. It is not possible at this time to estimate when these matters will be resolved.
NHS: Manpower
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were working in (a) patient-facing and (b) non patient-facing roles in the NHS on the latest date for which figures are available. [267694]
Ann Keen: The following table gives the total number of people employed in the national health service in patient facing services.
| 2008 | |
| Number | |
|
Hospital practitioners and clinical assistants (non-dental specialties)(2) | |
|
Total qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff(7) | |
The following table gives the total number of people employed by the national health service in non-patient facing roles.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent (a) doctors and (b) nurses worked in accident and emergency departments in England in each year since 1997; and how many such staff worked in each NHS organisation in the most recent period for which figures are available. [267701]
Ann Keen: The number of qualified nurses working in accident and emergency departments in England are not identified separately in the NHS Workforce Census. A table giving the numbers of all Hospital and Community Health Service medical staff within the accident and emergency speciality group, has been placed in the Library.
NHS: Measurement
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures are in place to ensure the accuracy of weighing scales in the NHS. [267377]
Ann Keen: Responsibility for maintenance, calibration and replacement of weighing equipment, along with the provision of suitable and sufficient training in the correct use of the equipment is the responsibility of each national health service organisation.
In autumn 2007, the Department’s Estates and Facilities Division published an article in Quarterly Briefing—a magazine produced by the Department aimed at local health care estates managers—raising awareness of a survey being undertaken by local authorities coordinators of regulatory services (LACORS) on weigh scales in acute healthcare premises.
In May 2008, the Department issued an Estates and Facilities Safety Alert to NHS chief executives and board members with responsibility for health and safety in England, to further raise awareness of the LACORS survey and the potential for medication errors to occur through the use of uncalibrated weigh scales.
The guidance in the Alert advised the NHS that where dual readings are possible (i.e. imperial and metric), all readings should be taken in metric to avoid confusion.
Additional advice has since been drafted jointly by the Department and the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) for the NHS, following the publication of an interim report by LACORS, and is due to be published by the NPSA in the near future.
NHS: Pensions
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of (a) the number of NHS employees and former employees who will have their NHS occupational pension entitlement amended in the next 12 months and (b) the greatest reduction in entitlement which will be made for such a person; and what proportion of such adjustments he expects will have been determined by the commencement of the 2009-10 tax year. [267885]
Ann Keen: For active members of the NHS Pension Scheme, their pension on retirement is based on their final salary at retirement and their accrued pensionable service. Service cannot be reduced. For deferred members of the NHS Pension Scheme (former employees), who have not yet taken their pension, their pension entitlement is based on their final salary linked to the retail prices index and pensionable service at the time of leaving. Their pension entitlements will not reduce. For NHS pensioners, latest figures are that 54,079 have been told their pensions will be adjusted in April as a result of the double payment of the uplift of the guaranteed minimum pension element of the NHS pension. Of these the greatest reduction in pension is £3,070.34, a reduction of 9 per cent., and we expect around 91 per cent. of adjustments to have been determined by the start of the 2009-10 tax year. Of the remaining cases requiring adjustment we do not expect all to result in a reduction in pension.
NHS: Temporary Employment
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the cost to NHS organisations of the change in treatment of value added tax for agency staff; and if he will make a statement. [267231]
Ann Keen: The latest estimate of the potential cost to the national health service is £26 million per year, revised from an earlier estimate of £30 million when VAT stood at 17.5 per cent.
Patient Advice and Liaison Services: Manpower
Dr. Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent staff are employed in the patient advice and liaison services of each NHS (a) hospital trust and (b) foundation hospital trust. [267946]
Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.
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