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20 May 2009 : Column 1428W—continued
Dental Services: Hertfordshire
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the ratio of NHS dentists to residents in (a) St. Albans and (b) Hertfordshire; and if he will make a statement. [276361]
Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested.
Information on national health service dentists per 100,000 of the population is available in Table G1 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007-08 report. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements and is provided by primary care trust and strategic health authority covering the years ending 31 March, 2007 and 2008. This information is not available at constituency level.
This report, published on 21 August 2008, has already been placed in the Library. It is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
Dental Services: South Yorkshire
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of (a) adults and (b) children are registered with an NHS dentist in (i) Barnsley, (ii) Rotherham, (iii) Doncaster, (iv) South Yorkshire and (v) England. [276420]
Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested.
Under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a national health service dentist to receive
NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to ‘registration’ is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services (‘patients seen’) over a 24-month period.
Information on patients seen as a percentage of the population, in England, is available in table D6 and D8 of annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics, Quarter 2: 30 September 2008” report. Information is split for adults and children and is available at quarterly intervals, from 31 March 2006 to 30 September 2008. This is split by primary care trust and strategic health authority.
This report has already been placed in the Library. It is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated for dentistry in (a) Barnsley, (b) Rotherham and (c) Doncaster in each of the last three years. [276421]
Ann Keen: The primary dental service funding allocations made to the Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) for the three years 2006-07 to 2008-09 are shown in the following table. These are net of income from dental charges paid by patients, which are retained locally to supplement the resources available for dentistry. Actual expenditure levels are determined by the pattern and type of services commissioned by each PCT. PCTs may also dedicate some of their other national health service resources to dentistry if they consider this an appropriate local priority.
| Primary dental service net funding allocations for Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster PCTs | |||
| £000 | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Notes: 1. The allocation figure for 2006-07 for Doncaster is the aggregate of the allocations made initially to Doncaster Central, Doncaster East, and Doncaster West PCTs before they merged to form the Doncaster PCT, with effect from 1 October 2006. 2. PCTs are awarded separate funding allocations to meet the cost of any dental vocational trainees who may be placed with dental practices in their area. | |||
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what allocation of orthodontic units of activity has been awarded to practitioners in (a) Barnsley, (b) Rotherham and (c) Doncaster in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [276422]
Ann Keen: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Health Education: Influenza
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many households he expects to receive informational material on swine influenza. [273842]
Dawn Primarolo: Distribution of the swine flu information leaflet to a total of 28,098,871 addresses in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland began on 5 May 2009.
Health Services: Coventry
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps have been taken to improve (a) heart healthcare, (b) cancer healthcare, (c) influenza prevention and (d) mental healthcare for pensioners in Coventry. [276322]
Ann Keen: It is for primary care trusts (PCTs), in partnership with strategic health authorities and other stakeholders to commission health services for their local population, including vascular, cancer, influenza prevention, and mental health services.
The Department recommends that all people aged 65 and over, and those under 65 years who are in specific clinical at-risk groups, receive the seasonal influenza vaccine. Carers who are in receipt of a carer's allowance or are the main carer for an elderly person are also recommended influenza vaccine. The uptake information for Coventry is shown in the following table.
| Influenza vaccine uptake 2008-09, Coventry Teaching PCT | |
| Percentage uptake | |
Information for each PCT is contained in ‘Influenza vaccine uptake among the 65 years and over and under 65 years at risk in England, Winter season 2008-09’ which has been placed in the Library. This information covers those who received the vaccine as part of the national health service influenza programme.
Human Papilloma Virus: Vaccination
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the human papilloma virus vaccination campaign cut-off date was set in order to target those born before September 1990. [275849]
Dawn Primarolo: The ages of girls and young women eligible for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in the national health service vaccination programme are in accordance with the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI recommended a routine HPV vaccination programme for girls aged 12 to 13 years and a time-limited ‘catch up’ vaccination of girls aged 13 to under 18 years. The programme started in September 2008. The NHS is providing HPV vaccination to the first ‘catch-up’ cohort of young women aged 17 to 18, with birth dates between 1 September 1990 and 31 August 1991.
The JCVI statement on ‘Human papillomavirus vaccines to protect against cervical cancer’ is published at
A copy has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on (a) vaccinating students from overseas in all schools in England against the human papilloma virus and (b) requiring contributions from such students towards the cost of such vaccinations. [275850]
Dawn Primarolo: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are obliged by directions to offer the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine free of charge to all girls aged 12 to 13 years who are registered with a general practitioner (GP) or resident in their area, including any such girls from overseas. Girls and young women of other eligible ages up to 18 years old, including female students from overseas, who are registered patients of a GP are also entitled to receive HPV vaccine free of charge. PCTs are responsible for delivering the HPV programme in their area.
Influenza
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to assist (a) hospitals, (b) GP practices and (c) chemists in the event of a swine influenza pandemic. [273307]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department has already provided a great deal of support to hospitals, practices and chemists in the form of guidance and on-going workshops to ensure that contingency and business continuity issues had been thought through in advance of a pandemic and addressed.
Copies of the relevant guidance have been placed in the Library. Guidance for pharmacists is in the process of being finalised and will be placed in the Library as soon as it is published.
We also supported the British Medical Association (BMA) and Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in producing guidance for general practitioner practices which is available on the BMA and RCGP website at:
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to implement its national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic. [276392]
Dawn Primarolo: Since November 2007 (when the National Framework was published) the following key milestones have been delivered:
stockpiles of antivirals to cover 50 per cent. of the population have been ordered and are now in place. Contracts have been signed for the development of the ‘Flu Line’ which will ensure rapid deployment of antivirals to patients. Orders have been placed to increase the United Kingdom antiviral stockpile from 33.5 million to about 50 million, which would be enough to cover 80 per cent. of the population;
on 14 May the Government announced the signing of agreements with vaccine manufacturers for up to 90 million doses of a pre-pandemic vaccine based on the current H1N1 strain. The agreements could provide enough vaccine to protect the most vulnerable groups in our population before a pandemic is likely to arrive;
we are on course to have sufficient antibiotic stocks to cover 31 per cent. of the United Kingdom population (19.6 million courses) by the end of September 2009, with the stockpile reaching over 10 per cent. (6.3 million courses) by the end of May 2009;
we have placed orders for 226 million additional facemasks and 34 million additional respirators, to be delivered over time, for the use of frontline health and social care staff;
significantly, enhanced local planning is in place. Every NHS trust and Local Resilience Forum in England has validated
pandemic specific plans in place. All LRF plans are available in the public domain, and can be accessed on the internet at:
a suite of guidance documents have been published to aid planners in their preparations for an influenza pandemic. Most notably guidance has been published on the management of excess deaths, school closures, the local response, the health response, infection control, the judicial system and a checklist to aid businesses in pandemic planning. These are available on the UK resilience website at:
the Government launched its pandemic preparedness international strategy in November 2008. This strategy is the first of its kind and sets priorities for the UK Government's work with international organisations over the next three to five years. A copy has already been placed in the Library.
Mental Health Services
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2009, Official Report, column 467W, on health services, in respect of which elective mental health services patients have the right to choose the organisation that provides their treatment; and what account will be taken of advance statements in the provision of care for those detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. [276018]
Phil Hope: The majority of patients, including those with mental health problems, are entitled to choose their provider when they are referred for their first consultant-led out-patient appointment. The right to choice does not extend beyond first out-patient appointment. Those detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 are excluded from the right to choice, but the code of practice to the Act specifies that
“[Decision-makers] must consider the patient's views, wishes and feelings (whether expressed at the time or in advance), so far as they are reasonably ascertainable, and follow those wishes wherever practicable and consistent with the purpose of the decision.”
Mentally Ill: Prisoners
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners diagnosed with a mental illness in (a) Leeds and (b) England in each of the last three years. [276556]
Phil Hope: This information is not collected centrally.
Nutrition: EU Action
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has put forward at EU level to minimise the cost to UK industry of implementation of the EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation. [276129]
Dawn Primarolo:
The Food Standards Agency (FSA), speaking on behalf of the United Kingdom, has made a number of proposals in relation to the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation aiming to achieve consumer protection through proportionate controls and help minimise the cost to UK industry. Highlights of these proposals include better definition of the scope of the
regulation, focusing only on beneficial claims in a commercial context; a solution to dealing with trade marks that are also claims with effective transitional arrangements; elimination of disproportionate prohibitions of claims about general well-being, references to psychological and behavioural functions, slimming and weight control, recommendations by health charities and claims aimed at children.
The UK argued for a process to reduce the burden of authorisation of health claims already on the market, and for new claims pushed the European Commission to meet its duty to make available technical guidance and tools to assist small and medium sized businesses in the preparation and presentation of applications for assessment of health claims by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). More recently, the UK proposed better transparency of EFSA's scientific assessment of health claims and secured a commitment from the Commission to improve access to the procedure.
Guidance to interpretation of the regulation from the Commission has helped industry understand how to apply some of the more ambiguous areas of the regulation and this grew from the FSA's own detailed guidance to compliance, which is used widely across the European Union.
We have also been successful in achieving appropriate transition periods to allow industry to adapt to the new regulations and we continue to champion better regulation as unforeseen issues arise during the implementation of this complex measure.
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Mr. Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the savings which have accrued from the implementation of the new capacity improvement programme prescribing system since its introduction. [274735]
Dawn Primarolo: Current planning indicates that the National Health Service Business Services Authority’s (NHSBSA) prescription processing service will deliver savings in financial year 2009-10 of £16 million compared with the cost of processing prescriptions using the previous system. Over the three financial years 2007-08 to 2009-10 the NHSBSA will accrue aggregate savings in operating costs of £25.8 million as a result of implementing the capacity improvement programme, based on 2006-07 operational cost.
Mr. Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were employed by the Prescription Pricing Division in (a) 2005 and (b) 2008. [274736]
Dawn Primarolo: The total number of people employed by the former Prescription Pricing Authority on 1 April 2005 was 2,782 and by the National Health Service Business Services Authority’s Prescription Pricing Division on 31 March 2008 was 2,492. This decrease partly reflects the incorporation of the former Prescription Pricing Authority into the NHS Business Services Authority during this period.
Mr. Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many compulsory redundancies have been made within the Prescription Pricing Division consequent upon the implementation of the new capacity improvement programme prescribing system. [274737]
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