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2 Apr 2009 : Column 1491W—continued
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of progress on prevention of tuberculosis in the last 12 months; [268169]
(2) what his Department's priority milestones are for reducing the incidence of tuberculosis in England in the next 12 months. [268170]
Dawn Primarolo: The Chief Medical Officer's Action Plan “Stopping Tuberculosis in England”, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, sets out our aim of reducing the risk of people being newly infected with tuberculosis (TB) in England. Early detection of cases and completion of treatment are both necessary to reduce the number of new cases. In order to achieve this, the Department has provided guidance and tools to help the national health service commission TB services best suited to local needs, and deliver services according to best practice.
The Department is funding complementary work to raise awareness of TB among health care professionals and groups within the population at increased risk of TB. In addition, the Department continues to fund specific interventions aimed at improving TB control, such as the Find and Treat programme in London, which helps local TB services improve active case finding and completion of treatment, and will make the evaluations available to the NHS.
The number of cases of TB, and the rates of TB per 100,000 population for England are shown in the following table:
| TB cases | TB rates | |
Vaccination
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to monitor the incidence of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis after vaccination. [268385]
Dawn Primarolo: Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an extremely rare neurological condition thought to be caused by a range of viral infections. Although ADEM has been reported in temporal association with several vaccines, there is a lack of good scientific evidence to show that routine vaccination is causally-associated with ADEM.
As with all pharmaceutical products used in the United Kingdom, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) keeps the safety of vaccines under close review. This includes monitoring reports of suspected adverse reactions (ADRs), spontaneously provided by health professionals and patients through the ‘Yellow Card Scheme’. Since 1968, the MHRA has received 10 Yellow Card reports of suspected ADEM in association with vaccinations given in the UK (see following table). Many millions of people have been exposed to these vaccines over this time period and the benefits far outweigh the risks.
It is important to bear in mind that reports submitted via the ‘Yellow Card Scheme’ relate only to suspicions that a vaccine or medicine may have caused a medical
condition. Reports may also relate to coincidental events due to underlying or undiagnosed illness. Such reports are therefore not proof of a causal association. It is also not possible to ascertain the number of people who may have suffered an adverse event following vaccination using data from the Yellow Card Scheme. This is because reporting is voluntary and the level of under-reporting is unknown. For these reasons, it is not possible to assess the number of cases of ADEM following vaccination using the Yellow Card Scheme.
| Reports of ADEM in association with vaccines | |
| Vaccine | Number of Yellow Card reports |
Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements have been made for the employment, pay and conditions of community health workers employed by Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust following its conversion to a purely commissioning organisation. [268394]
Ann Keen: On 1 April 2009, Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust (PCT) became one of the first PCTs in England to take the step to become a solely commissioning organisation. The Waltham Forest community services have transferred to Outer North East London Community Services which has been formed by bringing together the provider arms of Waltham Forest, Redbridge and Havering PCTs. We are advised by London Strategic Health Authority that all staff have been transferred into Outer North East London Community Services on their existing terms and conditions of service.
Communities and Local Government
Community Relations: Greater London
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was provided to each London local authority for community cohesion projects in the last period for which figures are available. [266904]
Mr. Khan: From April 2008 cohesion funding forms part of an authority’s Area Based Grant, and was allocated directly to those authorities in greatest need. Authorities have the flexibility to use this funding as they see fit enabling them to decide where best to invest their resources in the most effective and efficient routes to delivering local priorities.
| Allocations for London local authorities in 2008-09 | |
| Funding (£ ) | |
Council Housing: Rents
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1171-72W, on council housing: rents, if she will make it her policy to fund fully the cost of halving the guideline rent increase for local authority tenants for each participating local authority; and if she will make a statement. [267232]
Mr. Iain Wright: We would expect those councils that decide to reduce their rents would pass in full the impact of halving of the guideline rent increase, with the compensating subsidy adjustment, to council tenants. The Department has written to local authorities outlining the next steps in the process. We would expect councils to be able to cover their costs from their housing revenue account allowances.
Departmental Conferences
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to its Arms-Length Bodies in Finance Network event on 4 December 2008; [267941]
(2) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to the meeting of the Regional Ministers Economic Delivery Group on 8 December 2008; [267942]
(3) the cost of her Department's Housing and Planning Expert Panels Seminar held on 26 September 2008 was, broken down by category of expenditure; [267981]
(4) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to its Regional Ministers Economic Delivery Group held on 17 November 2008; and if she will provide a breakdown of the costs; [267982]
(5) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to its Housing Roundtable seminar held on 26 and 27 February 2009; [267988]
(6) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to its Regeneration in Recession seminar held on 18 February 2009; [267989]
(7) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to its Regional Minister Economic Delivery Group meeting on 9 February 2009; [267990]
(8) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to its Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme development workshop held on 5 February 2009; [267991]
(9) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to its Planning and the Economy workshop held on 28 January 2009; [267992]
(10) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to its
Migration and Economic Downturn seminar held on 23 January 2009; [267993]
(11) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to its Home Builders Federation seminar held on 7 January 2009; [267994]
(12) what expenditure under what budgetary headings her Department incurred in relation to its regional improvement efficiency partnerships worklessness event held on 24 November 2008. [267995]
Mr. Khan: The total expenditure for these 12 events is listed in the following table. These cover refreshments on the day of the event, travel for some of the invitees or speakers and room hire where events were hosted externally.
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