| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
27 Apr 2009 : Column 1072W—continued
The BNF does not categorise gluten-free products in a specific section. The figures listed relate to all BNF items with ‘G/F’ (gluten-free) within their name. Gluten-free products are covered predominantly in section 9.4.1—“Foods for Special Diets” of the BNF but items are also included in other sections including prescriptions relating to enteral nutrition and laxatives.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of locally enhanced service arrangements related to coeliac disease. [271496]
Ann Keen: No such assessment has been undertaken. As this is a locally commissioned service, individual primary care trusts are expected to monitor effectiveness.
Contraceptives: Finance
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the funding for contraception announced by his Department on 26 February 2009 has been allocated to each strategic health authority. [269991]
Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the sums which will be allocated to strategic health authorities (SHAs) in 2009-10 to assist with improving access to contraceptive services, particularly for young people. The announcement on 26 February 2009 stated that £1 million would be allocated in respect of further education (FE) colleges.
The Department found, subsequent to the announcement, that SHAs had received a large number of bids and were keen to respond to these and to receive more than £1 million to expand contraceptive services in FE colleges. We therefore increased this allocation to £1.6 million.
| £ | |||
| SHA | Contraception | FE colleges | Total |
In addition to the funding announced on 26 February, each SHA will also receive an additional £250,000 to pump-prime the provision of information technology in community contraception services.
SHAs have been advised of these allocations.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to repeat for 2009-10 the allocation of additional funding under general allocations to primary care trusts for contraception services made for 2008-09. [269992]
Dawn Primarolo: Primary care trust (PCT) allocations are being increased by 5.5 per cent. in both 2009-10 and 2010-11—a total cash increase of £8.6 billion. PCT allocations are not broken down into funding for individual policy streams such as contraception services. Rather it is for the national health service locally to decide how much resource to invest in order to meet national and local priorities as set out in the NHS Operating Framework, which mentions tackling teenage pregnancy as a key priority for local action.
Dental Services
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of dentistry was carried out by (a) NHS and (b) private dentists in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent period for which figures are available. [271180]
Ann Keen: The information requested is not held centrally.
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the level of dental health inequalities in England; and what steps he is taking to tackle such inequalities. [271181]
Ann Keen: Despite major improvements in oral health during the last 30 years, there remains a strong association between oral health and social disadvantage. The 2003 National Survey of Child Dental Health showed that the probability of five-year old children having decayed primary teeth was about 50 per cent. higher in the poorest social groups than the wealthiest group. Among 15-year-olds from managerial and professional backgrounds, 47 per cent. had obvious decay experience compared with 65 per cent. from routine and manual socio-economic backgrounds.
The fluoridation of water offers the best prospect of reducing these inequalities. The Water Act 2003 gives strategic health authorities (SHAs) the power to instruct water companies to fluoridate supplies. Last autumn, South Central strategic health authority consulted the public on fluoridating Southampton and parts of south west Hampshire and, on 26 February, decided to proceed with fluoridation. A number of other SHAs are now actively considering the possibility of new water fluoridation schemes.
Recognising that it may not be feasible to fluoridate all high need areas, the Government have developed the ‘Brushing for Life' programme. ‘Brushing for Life' involves health visitors giving families with young children in high need areas advice on preventing dental decay, and a free pack containing a tube of fluoridated toothpaste, a toothbrush and a leaflet on oral hygiene. In many areas, the programme is delivered in Sure Start Children's Centres. Some 18,000 packs were issued in 2008.
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will survey attitudes among the public and dentists to the new dental contract introduced in 2006. [271182]
Ann Keen: In December, the Department asked Professor Jimmy Steele to lead an independent review of national health service dentistry and his remit includes looking at current contractual arrangements, as well as specific issues raised in last summer's Health Select Committee report on dental services. Professor Steele is engaging widely with the public, the dental professions and the NHS, including on attitudes towards the dental contract. He is due to report his findings in the summer.
Dental Services: Surrey
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the percentage of people in (a) Guildford constituency, (b) Waverley district and (c) Surrey who do not see a dentist regularly; and if he will make a statement. [270355]
Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally. However, the number of patients seen by a national health service dentist in the previous 24-month period as a percentage of the population is available in Table D4 of Annex 3 of the report “NHS Dental Statistics for England, Quarter 2: 30 September 2008”. Information is provided by primary care trust (PCT) and by strategic health authority and is available for each quarter from 31 March 2006 to 30 September 2008.
This report, published on 26 February 2009, has already been placed in the Library and is available on the website of the Information Centre for health and social care at:
Patients not recorded as having seen an NHS dentist may have chosen to receive regular dental care from a private dentist.
The dental reforms implemented in 2006 gave primary care trusts (PCTs), for the first time, the responsibility for providing or commissioning dental services in their area. It is for PCTs to assess local needs, review current service provision and develop services to meet local needs. The Department has recently established an expanded national dental access programme to help managers and clinicians rapidly to expand services where needed and to provide support to those who need it.
Departmental Assets
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department last reviewed its assets and land and property holdings with a view to identifying and disposing of surpluses. [269862]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department is constantly reviewing its land and property holdings held in the name of the Secretary of State for Health to identify those which are surplus. It currently holds approximately 80 hectares of land and buildings which are surplus to requirements and is actively pursuing a disposal programme.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in his Department are suspended; how many are suspended on full pay; for how long each has been suspended; and what the reasons are for each such suspension. [270520]
Mr. Bradshaw: Currently there are no civil servants suspended across the Department.
Depressive Illnesses
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the likely effects of proposed National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on depression, with particular reference to the role of counselling for depression, on the treatment of people with depression. [270273]
Phil Hope: No assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has yet to publish its updated clinical guideline on the treatment and management of depression in adults. It expects to publish this in September 2009.
Further information can be found on the NICE website:
Epilepsy
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the merits of appointing a national clinical director for epilepsy. [270888]
Ann Keen: We have no plans to appoint a national director for epilepsy. National directors oversee the implementation of specific National Service Frameworks or major clinical or service strategies. In line with devolving responsibility to local organisations, we believe that it is more appropriate for local health and social care communities and the third sector to take responsibility for driving forward the service changes and improvements envisaged by the National Service Framework for Long-term Conditions.
Epilepsy: Health Services
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures are in place to provide for accurate monitoring of the prevalence of epilepsy in (a) adults and (b) children on the part of primary care trusts. [270408]
Ann Keen: The national health service does not monitor the prevalence of specific medical conditions, including epilepsy.
Fertility: Medical Treatments
Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what counselling services are available on the NHS for couples seeking NHS-funded infertility treatment. [270648]
Dawn Primarolo: All clinics providing infertility treatment such as in vitro fertilisation are required in law to offer counselling about the treatment to be provided. If the treatment involves the use of donated gametes or embryos, patients must be given a suitable opportunity to receive counselling about the implications. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's code of practice for licensed clinics requires counselling to be provided only by licensed counsellors.
Food Poisoning
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people diagnosed as having food poisoning have been admitted to hospital in England in each year since 2000. [270915]
Dawn Primarolo: The estimated number of hospital admissions in England and Wales due to foodborne disease in the years 2000-07 are shown in the following table. Separate figures for England only are not available.
Figures provided are for estimated cases of foodborne disease which are United Kingdom-acquired. Cases associated with foreign travel are excluded. Data for 2007 are the most recent that are currently available.
| Hospital admissions, England and Wales | |
| (1) Estimates were not calculated for these years. Note: Estimates have been rounded to the nearest 100. Source: Health Protection Agency. | |
Food: Hygiene
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to require local authorities to operate a national Scores on the Doors scheme for rating hygiene standards in food businesses. [270867]
Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency is establishing the national scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for rating hygiene standards in food businesses.
It will not be mandatory for local authorities to adopt the national scheme. This would require new legislation and the Agency has no plans at the current time to introduce this.
The Agency is, however, conscious that local authority support for the scheme is critical to its success and is committed to working with them on developing a robust and effective support package (including guidance, training and information technology assistance). The Agency will also be working with the Local Government Association, the Local Authorities Co-ordinators for Regulatory Services, and with the Local Better Regulation Office, to encourage local authorities to recognise the benefits to consumers of having a single national scheme and to adopt the new scheme in their area.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |