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23 Jun 2009 : Column 845W—continued
Physical Activity: Young People
22. Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to promote physical activity to maintain health among young people; and if he will make a statement. [281556]
Gillian Merron: The Department’s £75 million Change4Life campaign will help every family in England do more physical activity. We are also contributing to a series of cross-government initiatives to promote physical activity in children and young people, including “Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives”, Healthy Schools, the Travelling to School Initiative, Healthy Further Education and Free Swimming.
Working Time Directive
23. Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the effects of the European working time directive on junior doctors; and if he will make a statement. [281557]
Ann Keen: The Secretary of State has had representations from Clinicians, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, individual Royal Colleges and the British Medical Association about the directive. We are working in partnership with these organisations to support the national health service implement the directive.
Nurses’ Pay
24. Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of pay for nursing staff in the NHS. [281558]
Ann Keen: The pay of nursing staff in the national health service is covered by the independent NHS Pay Review Body. The review body takes evidence from the Government, trade unions and NHS Employers before making their recommendations about pay awards. Last year, the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendation of a 2.75 per cent. pay award for 2008-09 was accepted in full by the Government as part of a three-year pay deal which included headline awards of 2.4 per cent. for 2009-10 and 2.25 per cent. for 2010-11. In December 2008, the NHS Pay Review Body decided not to seek a remit to review this year’s 2.4 per cent. headline pay uplift for nursing staff and others on the same NHS pay system.
Dementia Care
25. Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent assessment is of the performance of dementia care services in (a) East Devon constituency and (b) England. [281559]
Phil Hope: The Department has made no specific assessment of the performance of dementia care services in East Devon constituency.
However, the National Dementia Strategy for England was published on 3 February to improve services for people with dementia and their carers. The strategy is backed by £150 million funding and will focus on three key areas in relation to dementia services: improved awareness, earlier diagnosis and intervention, and a higher quality of care.
Abortion
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in (a) the Essex Strategic Health Authority area and (b) England who had had (i) one, (ii), two, (iii) three, (iv) four, (v) five, (vi) six, (vii) seven, (viii) eight, (ix) nine and (x) 10 or more previous abortions had an abortion in 2008. [280977]
Gillian Merron: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
| Number of previous abortions for E ssex primary care trusts (PCTs)( 1) and for England, residents, 2008 | ||||||
| Number of previous abortions | ||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 or more | Total | |
| (1) Totals shown relate to PCTs for Mid Essex, North East Essex, South East Essex, South West Essex and West Essex. | ||||||
| Number of previous abortions | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 or more | Total | |
| Note: Totals are grouped where there are less than 10 (0 to 9) cases and where a presented total would reveal a suppressed value when used with previously published data. | |||||
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women aged (a) under 16, (b) 16 to 18, (c) 19 to 24, (d) 25 to 29, (e) 30 to 34, (f) 35 to 39 and (g) over 40 years of age in (i) Essex Strategic Health Authority and (ii) England who had (A) no children, (B) one child, (C) two children, (D) three children, (E) four children and (F) five or more children had an abortion in 2008. [280978]
Gillian Merron: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
| Number of abortions by parity and age for Essex PCTs( 1) and for England, residents, 2008 | |||||||
| Number of previous live or stillborn pregnancies | |||||||
| Essex PCTs( 1) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 or more | Total |
| Number of previous live or stillborn pregnancies | |||||||||
| England | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 or more | Total |
| (1) Totals shown relate to PCTs for Mid Essex, North East Essex, South East Essex, South West Essex and West Essex. (2) Suppressed total less than 10 (0 to 9) or where a presented total would reveal a suppressed value. | |||||||||
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department (a) has commissioned, (b) plans to commission and (c) has evaluated on the reasons for trends in the abortion rate in England in 2007 and 2008; and if he will make a statement. [281099]
Gillian Merron: No research has been commissioned or is planned in this specific area and no future forecast of abortion rates has been made.
The reasons women seek an abortion are complex and may be subject to a number of different factors. It is difficult to attribute any changes to one intervention or event.
Contraception plays a vital role in preventing unintended pregnancy. Last year, the Government invested £26.8 million and has made a further £20.5 million available this year to improve women’s access to contraception and help reduce the number of abortions, repeat abortions and teenage pregnancies. In addition, from 1 April 2009, contracts for national health service funded abortions include a requirement for providers to discuss and provide contraception for their clients.
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