| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
21 July 2009 : Column 1589W—continued
Hospitals: Working Hours
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken into levels of availability of medical services in hospitals at weekends. [288760]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department has not funded any research into the levels of availability of medical services in hospitals at weekends.
Human-Animal Hybrid Embryos
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what legislative provisions govern the examination of human admixed embryos which have been stored in licensed premises for the purposes of investigating an offence under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. [288617]
Gillian Merron: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, provides that no one shall bring about the creation of an human admixed embryo or keep or use such an embryo except in pursuit of a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. This includes where human admixed embryos are being kept, examined or stored in connection with the investigation of, or proceedings for, an offence under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008). Therefore, examination, keeping or use of such an embryo must take place at licensed premises.
Independent Reconfiguration Panel
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many staff the Independent Reconfiguration Panel employs; and how many (a) full-time equivalent and (b) part-time staff there are; [288968]
(2) how much the Independent Reconfiguration Panel spent on external consultancy in each of the last five years; [288969]
(3) how much the Independent Reconfiguration Panel spent on staffing in each of the last five years; [288970]
(4) what the salary of each member of the board of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel was in each of the last five years; [288971]
(5) what the cost of office premises occupied by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel was in each of the last five years; [288972]
(6) what the budget of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel was in each of the last five years. [288973]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) is an advisory non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health and does not employ any staff directly. The Panel has a part-time chair who is a public appointment, a full-time chief executive employed by the NHS Business Services Authority, a full-time secretary to the panel employed by the Department, and one agency administrative staff.
As stated in previous responses to the hon. Member 3 November 2008, Official Report, column 79W and 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 2062W; all expenditure associated with the running of the IRP is met by the Department. Expenditure on IRP functions is not separately identified or reported on within Departmental costs. The Department does not set an annual budget with the IRP. Since its inception in 2003, IRP expenditure has been authorised by the Department for annual costs to reflect expenditure reasonably incurred to address ad hoc and irregular requests from the Secretary of State for Health to the Panel for authoritative advice on contested service changes, referred to him by local Overview and Scrutiny Committees in line with the Panel's terms of reference.
An exercise was undertaken recently to look at the detail of expenditure associated with the IRP's activity in 2008-09, some of the results of which are summarised in response to your questions.
The total expenditure, including employment costs, of the IRP in 2008-09 was approximately £930,000.
For the staff listed, the approximate total cost of salaries in 2008-09 was £250,000. The IRP has a number of members, details of whom can be found on the IRP's website:
These members do not receive a salary but are entitled to claim a fee of £140 per day and normal expenses in line with Civil Service rates when they are engaged on IRP activity. The approximate total cost of members' fees was £22,000 in 2008-09. The Panel appoints external contractors to support specific reviews at an approximate cost of £312,000 in 2008-09.
The approximate total of all costs associated with the IRP offices, including rates and utilities, was £130,000 in 2008-09. The approximate total of all costs relating to the provision of media and communications services was £80,000 in 2008-09.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Ministers in his Department last met staff of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel. [288974]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Alan Johnson, as Secretary of State for Health, met Dr. Peter Barrett, chair, and Richard Jeavons, chief executive, of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) on 1 June 2009.
An introductory meeting between Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Health, Dr. Peter Barrett and Richard Jeavons is planned shortly.
Influenza: Health Services
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what public awareness campaigns his Department has undertaken in respect of the (a) interim and (b) full National Pandemic Flu Service; what steps he has taken to measure public awareness; how much each campaign has cost; and what estimate he has made of levels of public awareness of each service. [282161]
Gillian Merron: The Department of Health is carrying out an awareness campaign to publicise the interim National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS) which it is anticipated will be launched in late July in England. As the differences between the interim and full service are technical and will not significantly affect the public's experience of the service, the publicity will not refer to these differences.
The campaign, which it is anticipated will start in late July, includes national press and radio advertising and digital search activity.
The cost of the campaign is around £2.4 million.
Levels of awareness of the service are being measured by tracking research which is being carried out to check awareness, knowledge and understanding of swine flu by the public.
Kidneys: Health Education
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 July 2009, Official Report, column 868W, on kidneys: health education, what plans he has to promote the Knowing the symptoms of Kidney disease self assessment tool on the NHS Choices website; and what plans he has to link it to other relevant websites offering information on kidney disease. [288464]
Ann Keen: The kidney disease self assessment tool on the NHS Choices website is being promoted via editorial features, clinical information articles, blogs, news stories and links across the national health service website and partner websites including primary care trusts. The self-assessment tool can be found at:
It is also included within the NHS Health Check area of the website and has been the lead story on the NHS home page on two occasions-at launch in January and in March to support World Kidney Day.
The tool is published via a syndication programme on a growing number of partner websites including popular lifestyle websites such as iVillage, and AOL.
KPMG
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department paid to KPMG in each month of the last five years. [286699]
Phil Hope: The following table specifies the total payments from the Department to KPMG by month and year. The table will include all services provided by KPMG including management consultancy as well as finance, tax and audit services.
| £ | ||||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
Meat Hygiene Service: Redundancy
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were made redundant from the Meat Hygiene Service in the last 12 months. [287389]
Gillian Merron: In the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009, 124 people left the Meat Hygiene Service on redundancy or early retirement terms. Of these, 85 left voluntarily and 39 left on a compulsory basis.
Methadone: Admissions
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions for methanol poisoning were recorded in each region in each of the last five years. [285447]
Gillian Merron: Data have been given by year, and not by region, to prevent any identification of individuals.
| Number of hospital admissions where there was a primary diagnosis of methanol poisoning( 1) , in England, from 2003-04 to 2007-08 | |
| Number | |
| Notes: ( 1) Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. The data above is where the primary diagnosis is of T51.1 Toxic effect of alcohol - methanol Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 national health service trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time. Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care. | |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |