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14 Sep 2009 : Column 2166W—continued
Mental Health: Employment
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of adults receiving secondary mental health services were in employment (a) in total and (b) in each of the smallest geographical areas for which figures are available in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement. [291188]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The data requested for previous years were not collected, however information for 2008-09 is due to be published later this year.
Motor Neurone Disease: Wheelchairs
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when officials from his Department last met representatives of the Motor Neurone Disease Association to discuss wheelchair services; and if he will make a statement. [290965]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Departmental officials last met representatives of the Motor Neurone Disease Association to discuss wheelchair services on 23 April 2009.
The provision of wheelchair services is the responsibility of primary care trusts. However, we recognise the importance of people-including those with Motor Neurone Disease and other rapidly progressing conditions-receiving the services and support they need, which is why we commissioned the Care Services Efficiency Programme in June 2006 to develop a new model for the delivery of community equipment and wheelchair services.
NHS: Manpower
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the recent report on NHS staffing by McKinsey and Company was commissioned by his Department; and at what cost. [291121]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The report on achieving world class productivity was commissioned in February 2009. Publishing the cost would raise issues of commercial confidentiality.
Olympic Games 2012: Manpower
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent members of staff of (a) his Department and (b) its associated public bodies are working on projects relating to legacy planning for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games; and what plans he has for such staffing levels in 2010-11 and 2011-12. [291154]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are a key priority across Government. An Olympic and Paralympic Health Programme has been established in the Department to support delivery of all health related bid commitments. In particular, the Department recognises the unique potential of the Games to inspire individuals to make a commitment to be more physically active and leave a lasting health legacy for the nation. The Department will contribute to the cross-Government delivery of the Legacy Action Plan (LAP), "Before, During and After: Making the most of the 2012 Games", target to make two million more adults active by 2012 and ensure a health legacy for the Games.
There are nine full-time equivalents working on the programme within the Department.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of staff who are exclusively working on legacy planning roles as every project in the programme in the Department has been asked to consider legacy issues to ensure that there is a lasting benefit to the nation. Information on staff working on legacy planning in associated public bodies is not held centrally.
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will exempt from the payment of prescription charges those with coeliac disease. [290992]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have asked the President of the Royal College of Physicians (Professor Ian Gilmore) to carry out a review of prescription charges that will consider how to implement the commitment to exempt patients with long-term conditions from prescription charges. Professor Gilmore is due to report on his review of prescription charges to departmental Ministers in the autumn.
Smoking: Motor Vehicles
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department takes to enforce legislation on smoking in vehicles used for business purposes; and if he will make a statement. [291130]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The enforcement of these regulations is the responsibility of local authorities. Prior to the law coming into effect in July 2007 the Department and local authorities went to great lengths to inform all those responsible that vehicles used for business purposes by more than one person should be smokefree at all times. These efforts have successfully resulted in very high compliance rates. Across England in the first two years since July 2007, the overall compliance rates for vehicles were 93.3 per cent. (signage) and 98.2 per cent. (vehicles smokefree).
The Department has supported the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) in their work to provide enforcement advice and support to local authorities.
A copy of the latest data, "Smokefree Legislation Compliance Data January to June 2009" will be placed in the Library. These data are also available on the Smokefree England website:
Smoking: Public Places
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) fines, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions there have been against managers or occupants of smoke-free premises for (i) failure to display no-smoking signs and (ii) failure to prevent smoking in a smoke-free place; and if he will make a statement. [291063]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: These data are not collected in the form requested. The Department does however publish regular summaries of Smokefree Legislation Compliance Data. These are available on the website:
A copy of the last data," Smokefree Legislation Compliance Data January to June 2009" has been placed in the Library.
The Smokefree Law in England has been a success since it began on 1 July 2007 requiring only a relatively small number of fines or court cases. The law has had very widespread support from the public and has greatly improved the working conditions of those who were formerly exposed to the dangers of secondhand smoke.
In the first two years across the whole of England overall compliance rates have been very high, with the numbers of premises recorded as being no-smoking above 98 per cent.
In the first two years across the whole of England only 73 court hearings have been necessary.
Swimming
Mr. Cawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the health benefits of the free swimming initiative for children and pensioners. [291120]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Swimming exercises most of the main muscle groups, strengthens the lungs and is suitable for those requiring low impact exercise, for example, women during pregnancy, people who have mobility problems or those who need to protect their joints.
These considerations informed several bi-lateral conversations between the then Secretary of State for Culture and the former Secretary of State for Health on the scope of the overall free swimming programme, and ongoing discussions between policy officials at the quarterly free swimming programme board.
Swine Flu: Cambridgeshire
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to assist Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust to cope with increases in cases of swine flu; and if he will make a statement. [291026]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The national health service has been preparing for a pandemic for several years. In 2007 we published "Pandemic flu: a national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic", which set out the Government's strategic approach for responding to an influenza pandemic and gave guidance to public and private organisations developing response plans. A copy has already been placed in the Library. The national framework was supported by a range of guidance for healthcare and social care organisations.
The NHS operating framework for 2008 required all NHS organisations to have robust plans in place to respond to a pandemic by the end of 2008. Ian Dalton, National Director of NHS Flu Resilience wrote to NHS Chief Executives on 2 July 2009 setting out resilience actions for NHS Boards to test their plans.
During 2009, the Department of Health has continued to support NHS organisations. In July the National Pandemic Flu Service was launched which has been successful in reducing the pressure on general practitioners and primary care services and enabling patients to access anti-virals rapidly according to local needs.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doses of (a) Tamiflu and (b) Relenza (i) have been and (ii) are planned to be made available to Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust; how many doses of swine flu vaccine are planned to be made available to the Trust; and if he will make a statement. [291027]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: As of 9 September 2009 just over 100,000 packs of Tamiflu capsules, around 800 bottles of solution/suspension for use by children under one and nearly 3,500 courses of Relenza have been issued to Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust (PCT). The PCTs future requirements will depend on the take up of the antiviral stocks as the pandemic progresses.
Once the swine flu vaccine has been licensed, the intention is that initial supplies will be sent out to all PCTs. They will then be able to place regular orders for the amount of vaccine they need to vaccinate their clinical at risk groups, taking account of local storage capacity and implementation arrangements.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many cases of swine flu were registered by Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust in each week of the last six months; and if he will make a statement; [291028]
(2) how many people in the Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust area contacted their GP with symptoms of swine flu in each week of the last six months; and if he will make a statement. [291029]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information on the number of people who contact their general practitioner (GP) each week is not collected. At the start of the outbreak, cases of swine flu were confirmed by laboratory testing and recorded by region not primary care trust (PCT). This information is available until 2 July 2009 and is given in the following table.
On 2 July we moved to the treatment phase of the response to swine flu and we are now using clinical diagnosis instead of laboratory confirmation to identify cases of swine flu. This means we can no longer give detailed data about the precise number of cases. However, we have well-established seasonal influenza surveillance systems to monitor the spread, activity and impact of swine flu.
3,300 GP surgeries provide reports on symptoms of flu in patients as part of the Q-Surveillance scheme and a further 100 surgeries across the country collect information on flu symptoms as part of the Royal College of General Practitioners surveillance scheme. This information is used to calculate the levels of influenza-like illness in England. This information is published on a weekly basis by PCT on the Health Protection Agency website at:
| East of England Strategic Health Authority Pandemic H1N1 Influenza A cases, by week to 2 July 2009 | |
| Date | Number of cases |
Tobacco: Regulation
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effect of the prohibition of tobacco point of sale displays on public health. [291143]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department has not commissioned specific academic research on the removal of tobacco displays, but has considered a wide range of published evidence and information from stakeholders received through the 2008 "Consultation on the future of tobacco control".
The impact assessment that accompanies the Health Bill 2009, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, and the report on the 2008 "Consultation on the future of tobacco control", a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, provides an overview of the range of evidence that has been considered by the Department. Both documents are available on the Department's website at:
West Sussex Primary Care Trust: Management Consultants:
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much West Sussex Primary Care Trust estimates it will spend on management consultancy in 2009-10. [291072]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: This information is not collected centrally. Primary care trusts are responsible for using their resources to plan, commission and develop services to meet the health needs of their local community.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Arctic Sea
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he received on the seizure through piracy of the vessel Arctic Sea and its passage through the English Channel; what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on piracy in UK waters; and if he will make a statement. [290837]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Following the disappearance of the Arctic Sea, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Transport (DFT) and other Government Departments kept a close watching brief, focusing on any issues that may affect the UK. The DFT ensured the police were also kept involved. Our embassy in Moscow reported after the ship was located and seized on the actions taken by the Russian authorities.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no recent discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on maritime security specifically in UK waters.
Eritrea: British Nationality
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens have been held for questioning in Eritrea by the Eritrean secret police in each of the last five years; what support his Department provides to such citizens; and if he will make a statement. [291142]
Chris Bryant: From our consular records we are aware of four British nationals who have been arrested or detained in Eritrea since 2004, but we do not have sufficient information as to which Eritrean Government agency detained or questioned these four individuals.
In one case we were informed of the detention only after the individual had been released. In the other three cases we contacted the authorities to clarify the situation and requested consular access.
Of those three cases, two were subsequently released. We have been unable to confirm the release of the other individual, as the Eritrean authorities do not acknowledge the UK's interest in the person concerned (a dual British-Eritrean national resident in Eritrea) as a British national, and will not discuss the case with consular staff, despite representations.
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