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16 Oct 2009 : Column 1162W—continued
South Africa: Politics and Government
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) South Africa and (b) the South African Development Community to seek to ensure President Mugabe complies with the terms of the power-sharing agreement with Morgan Tsvangirai. [293121]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are in regular touch with both South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a part of our contact with international partners on Zimbabwe. The SADC, as sponsor and guarantor of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), has a key role to play in supporting reform in Zimbabwe. South Africa, although no longer in the SADC chair, remains closely involved in the organisation's discussions. It is a member of the new SADC Troika on Zimbabwe. President Zuma visited Harare in August 2009 and called for the full and timely implementation of the GPA. He reiterated this jointly with the EU at the EU-Africa summit on 11 September 2009.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister discussed Zimbabwe with President Zuma when they met at the G8 in June 2009, as did my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in his telephone call with the South African Foreign Minister in July 2009.
My noble Friend, the then Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown, regularly encouraged SADC Ministers to support implementation of the GPA, most recently in the margins of the World Economic Forum meeting in Cape Town in June 2009. We will continue to make working with the region to promote reform in Zimbabwe a priority.
USA
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent requests his Department has made to the US administration for talks between the President of the United States of America and Government representatives. [293827]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made no recent requests for discussions between President Obama and representatives of the Government.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and US President Barack Obama have regular Video Teleconference discussions on key issues. They most recently spoke on 8 October 2009.
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency and effectiveness of those accident and emergency departments in England whose annual volume of attendances is below 55,000; and if he will make a statement. [293195]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: It is for primary care trusts to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the accident and emergency (A&E) services they commission. The Department has set an operational standard that 98 per cent of patients should not spend more than four hours. in A and E departments. National annual performance against the standard was 98.1 per cent. in 2008-09. Performance of individual trusts is published on the Department's website, but performance of individual A and E departments is not collected centrally. As seen in the 2008 Healthcare Commission survey of A and E, nationally patient ratings of care are continue to be positive-patient satisfaction with the overall quality of care is high: 88 per cent., rate it as "excellent", "very good" or "good".
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS hospital trusts in England have (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four or more accident and emergency departments. [293196]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: A list of national health service hospital trusts sorted according to whether they have one, two, three, four or more type 1 or type 2 accident and emergency departments has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services must be provided in a designated (a) accident and emergency department and (b) Urgent Care Centre. [293197]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Configuration of services is a matter for local decision-making by primary care trusts. For the purposes of performance data collection, the Department uses the following definitions:
Type 1 Accident and Emergency (A&E) department: A consultant led 24 hour service with full resuscitation facilities and designated accommodation for the reception of accident and emergency patients;
Type 2 A&E department: A consultant led single specialty accident and emergency service (eg ophthalmology, dental) with designated accommodation for the reception of patients; and
Type 3 A&E department: Other type of A&E/minor injury units (MIUs)/Walk-in Centres with designated accommodation for the reception of accident and emergency patients. A type 3 department may be doctor led or nurse led. It may be co-located with a major A&E or sited in the community. A defining characteristic of a service qualifying as a type 3 department is that it treats at least minor injuries and illnesses (sprains for example) and can be routinely accessed without appointment. A service mainly or entirely appointment based (for example a general practitioner practice or outpatient clinic) or one mainly or entirely accessed via telephone or other referral (for example most out of hours and primary care services)is not a type 3 A&E service even though it may treat a number of patients with minor illness or injury.
The Department has not set a definition for 'urgent care centre'.
Ambulance Services: Lancashire
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) number and (b) percentage of ambulances attending 999 calls in East Lancashire in each year since 2004 had a trained paramedic on board. [293199]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information about paramedics on board ambulances responding to 999 calls is not collected centrally.
Charities
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what grants his Department made to charitable organisations in each of the last five years. [292660]
Ann Keen: Information on all Department grant funding to charitable organisations is not available in the format requested from central records and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Tables showing grant awards from the funding years 2004-05 up to the current funding year 2009-10 with the identifiable data available including Social Enterprise Pathfinders, Social Enterprise Investment Fund, Children's Hospice and Hospice at Home, Dignity in Care (one year capital awards), Tobacco policy programme, Section 64 General Scheme of Grants, Innovation, Excellence and Service Development Fund, Strategic Partner Programme and the Opportunities for Volunteering grant scheme, have been placed in the Library.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many management consultants were employed on short- and long-term contracts in his Department in the last 12 month period for which figures are available. [293629]
Ann Keen: The Department does not collect the information requested. It is preferred practice to award consultancy contracts based on outcomes for a fixed fee. As a result it is at the discretion of the management consultancies to manage the number of staff allocated to projects at any one time to most effectively deliver the required outcomes.
The Department publishes its overall expenditure on management consultancy, which is available on the Department's website:
Endometriosis
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to raise awareness amongst employers of the needs of people with endometriosis. [292562]
Gillian Merron: There is no specific Government advice for employers in relation to endometriosis in the workplace.
The Government's response 'Improving Health and Work: changing lives' in November 2008 to Dame Carol Black's review of the health of Britain's working age population, 'Working for a Healthier Tomorrow', published in March 2008, is putting in place support for individuals, health care professionals and employers to enable individuals to return to work at the earliest opportunity and to remain in work. This includes widespread reforms to occupational health services through NHS Plus, the development of a 'Fit for Work Service', and the
development of the 'Fit note', which will give employers more information about what steps they can take to help people to return to work.
Copies of these documents have been placed in the Library.
General Practitioners: Rural Areas
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of rural parishes without a GP in each year since 1997. [293202]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information requested is not held centrally.
Health Services: Christchurch
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the sale of the vacant premises of the former health centre at Saxon Square, Christchurch to be completed. [293753]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Following the decision of the local national health service trust not to utilise the property and the landlord's decision not to accept a surrender of the lease, agreement is being finalised with the landlord on the extent of repair works to be undertaken in compliance with a previously served Repairs Notice. Once agreement is reached, the works will be undertaken and the property formally marketed. The availability of the property has for some time been included on the Electronic Property Information Mapping Service (e-PIMS)-the central database of Government civil estate managed by the Office of Government Commerce.
Midwives: Training
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student midwives were in receipt of a bursary in each of the last five years; what the average bursary paid to a student midwife was in each such year in (a) cash and (b) real terms; how much was paid out to student midwives in bursaries in each such year, expressed in (i) cash and (ii) real terms; what the cost was of all bursaries paid to student midwives; and by how much in real terms the bursary changed in each of those years. [292666]
Ann Keen: The number of midwifery students who held a bursary and the average bursary paid to those students can be found in the following table.
The average bursary awarded to students reflects the change in the proportion of diploma to degree students because bursary awards to degree students are means-tested. Degree students are also eligible for a student loan. Since 2004, the number of midwifery degree programmes commissioned by the national health service has increased and the number of diploma programmes reduced significantly.
The total cost of the bursaries can be found in the following table.
| Academic year | Total spend (exc. allowances) in cash terms (£) | Total spend (exc. allowances) at 2009 prices( 1) (£) | Total spend (inc. allowances) in cash terms (£) | Total spend (inc. allowances) at 2009 prices( 1) (£) |
| (1) Based on CPI at April in the middle of the academic year i.e. CPI for 2004-05 taken at April 2005. Sources: Office for National Statistics NHS Business Services Authority | ||||
The rates for the basic NHS bursary, at 2009 prices, are set out in the following table. In addition to the NHS bursary, degree students are eligible for a non-means tested student loan.
| Diploma | Degree | ||||
| London( 1)( ) (£) | Elsewhere( 1)( ) (£) | London( 1)( ) (£) | Elsewhere( 1)( ) (£) | Parental home( 1)( ) (£) | |
| (1) Based on CPI at the April in the middle of the academic year i.e. CPI for 2004-05 taken at April 2005. (2) In 2007 certain allowances were removed from the scheme to make it compliant with age discrimination legislation. Existing students remained on the previous rules and new rates introduced for new entrants. Source: Office for National Statistics | |||||
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