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5 May 2009 : Column 105W—continued


Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many businesses selling food have been closed after visits from environmental health inspectors in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Tees Valley and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 10 years. [271346]

Dawn Primarolo: Local authority environmental health officers have powers under food safety regulations to close food establishments, through either an emergency prohibition notice/order or a voluntary closure, because of their imminent risk to food safety. Establishments may subsequently re-open if brought back to compliance with food safety regulations. In a small number of cases, an emergency notice may be served prohibiting the use of a specified piece of equipment; however, the food business may continue to operate.

The figures in the following table show the number of food establishments subject to an emergency prohibition notice/order, or a voluntary closure:


5 May 2009 : Column 106W
England North East England( 1) Tees Valley( 1) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland( 2)

2006-07

739

30

12

12

2005-06

609

14

2

0

2004-05

629

22

2

2

2003

518

16

2

2

2002

413

7

3

2

2001

350

6

4

3

2000

313

n/a

n/a

n/a

1999

386

n/a

n/a

n/a

1998

410

n/a

n/a

n/a

1997

393

n/a

n/a

n/a

(1). The local authorities comprising these regions are shown at:
www.direct.gov.uk/en/DIl/Directories/Localcouncils/DG_4003598
(2). Combined data for (a) Middlesbrough council and (b) Redcar and Cleveland borough council
Notes:
1. Data were collected on a financial year basis from 2004-05 but on a calendar year basis prior to this.
2. The last year for which full year data are available is 2006-07
3. A regional breakdown of data is not available prior to 2001

Health Visitors: Children

Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts in England provide for health visitors to carry out routine development checks upon children at (a) eight months and (b) two years old. [271746]

Ann Keen: The Healthy Child programme (formerly the Child Health Promotion programme) is the early intervention and prevention public health programme beginning in pregnancy through to the first five years of life. It sets out a schedule of the core universal services, providing families with a programme of screening, immunisation, health and development reviews, health promotion and parenting guidance, at various stages, including at six months to a year and between one to three years. The Healthy Child programme sets out the core universal programme to be commissioned by local primary care trusts and provided for all families as well as identifying additional preventive elements that may improve the outcomes for children with medium and high risk factors.

Hospital Wards

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2009, Official Report, columns 510-11W, on hospital wards, how many staff at each grade are working in the operations team; and what programme governance infrastructure has been established; [271164]

(2) pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2009, Official Report, columns 510-11W, on hospital wards, which NHS trusts were identified in March 2009 as requiring support from the improvement team; [271168]

(3) pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2009, Official Report, column 874W, on hospital wards: gender, how many improvement teams there will be; what the size of each team will be; how much funding will be allocated to each team; and what qualifications members of teams will be required to have. [271202]

Ann Keen: There are currently three permanent civil servants working within the core eliminating mixed sex accommodation programme team. These are graded; one grade 6, one senior executive officer and one higher executive officer. Additionally, the programme lead is a hosted NHS(1) member of staff working at the equivalent of a senior civil servant grade 1. Each of these members of staff also participate in other areas of departmental work.


5 May 2009 : Column 107W

Working alongside the core team is a group of six hosted national health service staff, two secondees and six contractors. As the programme progresses, it will continue to draw on input from a range of expertise sourced from both the Department and from external organisations, (including the NHS), as determined by the emerging requirements.

An internal assurance governance group is in place which includes the programme's Director and policy lead who report directly to the Department's two lead Director Generals; i.e. the Chief Nursing Officer and the Director General, NHS Finance, Performance and Operation.

An improvement programme has been developed through a series of initial fact-finding visits to trusts. The sites selected are experiencing a range of problems and volunteered for the visits.

Full improvement team support will commence in May this year, beginning with those trusts perceived by the public as having shared accommodation and wash facilities and those who have reported having problems.

The total number of trusts with which improvement teams will engage has not been decided, as such the number of teams cannot yet be specified. The size of any one improvement team will vary, as it will be determined by the nature and complexities of an individual trust's requirements. Likewise, the resources allocated to each team will vary in accordance with the objectives of each improvement visit.

There are no pre-determined qualification requirements for improvement team members. It is envisaged that teams comprise expertise relating to; nursing, admissions and bed management, estates/hospital design and communications. The main criteria is that members' expertise contributes to delivering the improvement objectives of a particular visit.

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2009, Official Report, columns 510-11W, on hospital wards, (1) what funding was released to each strategic health authority on 1 April 2009; and how much has been allocated to each project; [271165]

(2) if he will place in the Library copies of each of the two-weekly update reports which have been received from strategic health authorities; [271166]

(3) if he will place in the Library a copy of each strategic health authority plan which were to be submitted to his Department by 9 March 2009. [271167]

Ann Keen: Funding has been confirmed with each strategic health authority (SHA) as follows:


5 May 2009 : Column 108W
SHA Allocation (£ million)

North West

14.8

North East

5.7

East of England

10.3

East Midlands

8.4

West Midlands

10.8

South West

9.6

South Central

6.8

South East Coast

7.8

London

15.3

Yorkshire and Humber

10.5

Total

100


Information is not available to confirm the funding for each individual project. Copies of the SHA plans will be placed in the Library. The two-weekly monitoring reports are subject to revision and may provide an incomplete or misleading assessment of progress against the SHA plans. Each SHA will be required to submit a report in early July confirming delivery of their plans. These will be made available in the Library.

Hyperactivity

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged (a) under 10 years and (b) under 16 years were diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (i) in each year since 1997 and (ii) in each primary care trust area in the last year for which figures are available. [272782]

Ann Keen: Information is not collected on the number of people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In 2006, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidance on the use of drugs to treat ADHD. NICE has estimated that around 5 per cent. of school-aged children meet the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, equivalent to 366,000 children and adolescents in England and Wales, but not all these children will require medication.

Influenza

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which voluntary organisations have been involved in developing his Department’s plans for responding to an influenza pandemic; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that such organisations assist the implementation of those plans. [272499]

Dawn Primarolo: The following organisations have been involved in developing the Department’s plans for responding to an influenza pandemic: the British Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, Women’s Royal Voluntary Society Disaster Action, the Samaritans, Salvation Army and other smaller organisations who are members of the Voluntary Sector Civil Protection Forum.

In the draft “Pandemic Influenza: Guidance on planning for vulnerable groups”, published on the Department’s website last year, primary care trusts and Local Resilience Forums have also been encouraged to involve third sector (voluntary) organisations in their planning for an influenza pandemic. A copy of the draft has been placed in the Library.

Specific advice and information leaflets for third sector organisations have been developed for the Department of Health. Drafts of the leaflets were presented to the Voluntary Sector Civil Protection Forum last November 2008. We will be seeking to publish them in May 2009.


5 May 2009 : Column 109W

NHS: Accidents

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of (a) the number of staff hours lost and (b) other costs to the NHS arising from workplace accidents in each of the last three years. [272064]

Ann Keen: Data relating to the number of staff hours lost due to accidents in the workplace are not collected centrally. National health service trusts and foundation trusts, as employers in their own right, may collect this information for their own purposes.

The National Health Service Litigation Authority has supplied the following figures covering claims already paid to staff and outstanding costs to staff for each of the last three years in respect of the employers liability cover that they provide for NHS organisations. Costs include legal costs for both claimant and defence parties, and costs for damages. Employees have up to three years in which to register a claim.

Incident year
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

Number of claims

2,366

2,090

1,011

Outstanding estimate

25,392,037

23,079,422

13,178,698

Already paid

9,401,526

3,420,344

210,794

Total

34,793,563

26,499,766

13,389,492


NHS: Accountancy

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2009, Official Report, columns 1934-5W, on NHS: accountancy, what recent assessment he has made of the likely effects on the revenue of NHS organisations of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards from April 2009. [271288]

Mr. Bradshaw: National health service organisations have submitted their 2009-10 International Financial Reporting Standards compliant financial plans and we are now undertaking detailed reviews with strategic health authorities to agree these plans.

Once this agreement process has been completed, the detailed financial impact of the transition will be established.

NHS: Pay

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the Chief Executive of Monitor to discuss salary levels of senior management of NHS foundation trusts. [268873]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Secretary of State for Health and the Chairman of Monitor have regular meetings to discuss various issues. The most recent of these was on 28 April 2009.


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