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19 Oct 2009 : Column 1257W—continued
ITV: Finance
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what response he has made to ITV regarding the proposal on its entitlement to a portion of the revenue from the television licence fee; and if he will make a statement. [293890]
Mr. Simon: The Government are not aware that ITV has made a proposal on its entitlement to a portion of the revenue from the television licence fee.
The Government have consulted on the sustainability of plurality of news in the Nations, locally and in the regions, and on the idea of using a small portion of the television licence fee, on a competitive basis, to support plurality of multi-media news provision. The consultation closed on 22 September; Government received 89 responses.
The Government are considering those responses and will set out their views in due course.
Monuments: Preservation
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the state of preservation of war memorials. [292380]
Margaret Hodge: English Heritage advises Ministers on matters relating to England's historic built environment. Statutory protection is given to those war memorials which are, or form part of, a listed building or scheduled ancient monument. There are approximately 1,200 purpose built war memorials that are listed buildings.
English Heritage's Heritage at Risk Register contains only four designated war memorials considered to be at risk. In three cases, English Heritage is taking action in conjunction with the owners or the local authority to secure the preservation of the memorial in question and in the fourth case, the memorial is in local authority care.
Of the four memorials, one has received grant aid from English Heritage and a second has been offered such assistance.
English Heritage's Heritage at Risk Register contains four designated war memorials at risk; three are listed buildings and the fourth is a Scheduled Monument.
Of the three listed buildings, one is in local authority care (action under consideration), another is in private ownership (action in hand in association with local authority) and the third is in the care of a charitable trust (action in hand with grant-aid from English Heritage).
The joint owners of the scheduled war memorial have been offered a grant for repair under the English Heritage/Wolf son Foundation grant scheme.
1. In local authority care (action under consideration)-War memorial, Saltburn by Sea, Tees Valley. Grade 11*. Arts and Crafts style memorial to the dead of the Great War 1914-18 with bronze sculpture by Sir Willam Reynolds-Stephens. A community-based group is promoting a scheme for the restoration of the memorial and it's setting, in conjunction with the local authority. EH is to liaise with local authority over repairs proposals.
2. In private ownership (action in hand in association with local authority)-Islington War Memorial Arch, Manor Gardens, London. Grade 11. Listed War memorial designed by Percy Adams, formally part of the Royal Northern Hospital. Repairs being carried out in discussion with local authority.
3. In the care of a charitable trust (action in hand with grant-aid from English Heritage)-Thanksgiving Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool. Grade 11*. 20th century war memorial chapel. £70,560 offered in 2006 towards urgent repairs. Further work is envisaged. In the care of the Historic Chapels Trust (ongoing EH grant-aid).
The joint owners of the scheduled war memorial have been offered a grant for repair under the English Heritage/Wolfson Foundation grant scheme-Montreal Park Obelisk, Riverhead, Kent. 18th century monument to the Canadian wars. £1,130 offered in 2007 towards repairs under the War Memorials Grant Scheme. This has not yet been taken up.
Tourism: Costs
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the travel and tourism industry on the effects of single person supplements on tourism. [293633]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 16 October 2009]: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Office of Fair Trading have previously examined the question of single person supplements and concluded that wherever there was a reasonable economic case for such charges decisions on the charging of supplements are primarily matters for the industry.
Tourism: Marketing
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Government spent on (a) marketing Britain overseas and (b) marketing England in the UK in (i) 1997, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2007 and (iv) 2008. [292363]
Margaret Hodge: DCMS provides public funding to VisitBritain for promoting Britain as a tourist destination to overseas markets. VisitEngland receives public funding from within VisitBritain's allocation for promoting England as a tourist destination to the domestic market.
The following table outlines the information requested:
| £000 | |||
| Net expenditure on marketing | Domestic expenditure | Overseas e xpenditure | |
| Source: VisitBritain | |||
VisitBritain was created in 2003. It was formed out of a merger between the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourist Board. I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested for 1997 as soon as possible.
Health
Arthritis
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of average waiting times for rheumatoid arthritis patients for follow-up consultations with a rheumatology specialist in (a) Nottingham North constituency and (b) England in the latest period for which figures are available. [292773]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department does not collect waiting times data for follow-up consultations at specialty level.
Data published by the Department looking on an all speciality basis show that the ratio of subsequent attendance (follow-up) to first out-patient appointment has remained broadly stable over the last three years at around two (subsequent attendances) to one (first out-patient appointment).
Source:
Department of Health Monthly Activity Return (MAR) and Quarterly Activity Return (QAR)
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of regional variations in the availability of treatments for rheumatoid arthritis approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; [292774]
(2) what assessment he has made of the implementation of clinical guideline 79 issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for rheumatoid arthritis in each (a) strategic health authority and (b) primary care trust. [292775]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department has not made any specific assessment of regional variations in the availability of treatments for rheumatoid arthritis approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) or on the implementation of clinical guideline 79 issued by NICE for rheumatoid arthritis in each strategic health authority and primary care trust. It is the responsibility of national health service bodies to implement NICE guidance and NICE publishes a number of implementation tools alongside its guidance to help facilitate this.
Blood: Contamination
Jenny Willott:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable has been set for increasing the level of payments made to haemophiliacs infected with
HIV through contaminated blood products, as referred to in his Department's response to Lord Archer's report on Contaminated Blood and Blood Products; and if he will make a statement. [294048]
Gillian Merron: The starting date for the increased level of payments has been set at 20 May 2009, the date on which the Government's response to Lord Archer's report was published. All payments will be backdated to that date.
We are anxious that the new arrangements for the beneficiaries of the Macfarlane and Eileen trusts are carefully worked out in discussion with the trustees. Departmental officials are working with the trusts to that end.
Cancer: Tamworth
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many free prescriptions for patients diagnosed with cancer in Tamworth constituency have been dispensed since the inception of the scheme; and at what cost. [293776]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: This information is not held centrally.
Dementia: Drugs
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for the publication of the report by Professor Sube Banerjee on the use of anti-psychotic drugs; and if he will make a statement. [293100]
Phil Hope: The review by Professor Sube Banerjee on the prescribing of anti-psychotic drugs for people with dementia will be published in November.
Dental Services: Waiting Lists
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what waiting time target his Department has set for a person to obtain an appointment at a dental practice which holds a contract to deliver NHS services. [293393]
Ann Keen: Managing appointments appropriately, and in a timely manner, is a matter for dental providers and primary care trusts.
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of procurement contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies awarded to small businesses in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09 and (iv) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [293241]
Phil Hope: The Department does not currently collect data centrally on the number of contracts awarded to small businesses.
However, following the publication of the Glover report in November 2008, the Office of Government Commerce established its 'Access For All' programme in April 2009. This was developed to coordinate the implementation of the Glover Committee recommendations across Government and the public sector. One of the
recommendations is that all Government Departments report annually on their contract spend with small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Department is fully committed to supporting this work.
The Department is responsible for two agencies:
NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA)-a snapshot of current contracts on 14 October 2009, shows that the ratio of SME awarded contracts against all NHS PASA awarded contracts is currently 31 per cent. Data for the years 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 are not available broken down on an annual basis.
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)-MHRA does not currently collect data centrally on the number of contracts awarded to small businesses.
Departmental Rail Travel
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on first-class rail travel for officials in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [293333] [Official Report, 22 October 2009, Vol. 497, c. 7-8MC]
Phil Hope: The Department has spent the following on first-class travel.
| £ | |
It should be noted that the above figures represent travel booked through the central booking system which constitutes the vast majority of how travel is booked and paid for.
Depressive Illnesses
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the NHS is taking to improve clinical outcomes from treatment provided to patients diagnosed with (a) major depression, (b) atypical depression, (c) psychotic depression, (d) dysthymia and (e) manic depression. [293602]
Phil Hope: Since 2001-02, total planned investment in adult mental health services has increased by 50 per cent. (£2.0 billion), putting in place the extra services and staff needed to transform mental health services. Nine consecutive years of increased spending by the national health service on mental health services has provided more staff, and increasing numbers of people with a severe mental illness are receiving treatment from community teams outside of hospital settings.
Our significant investment in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT), will see annual funding rising to £173 million, 3,600 extra therapists trained and 900,000 more people treated by 2011. This investment in IAPT will help to add to the existing provision of psychological therapies, increase capacity, reduce waiting times and drive up quality standards.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) expects to issue revised guidance on treating depression later this year. NICE issued guidance on treating bipolar disorder in 2006, which indicates evidence-based approaches to treatment and covers psychological as well as drug treatments for these conditions. General
practitioners and consultant psychiatrists are expected to take NICE guidance fully into account when deciding on the most appropriate treatment for their patients.
Doctors: Training
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of (a) medical trainees expected to achieve Certificate of Completion of Training status in each of the next five years and (b) consultant posts likely to be available in each such year. [293340]
Ann Keen: The Workforce Review Team (WRT) prediction of the number of medical trainees expected to achieve Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) status in each of the next five years is shown in the following table:
| Projected graduates 2008 | |
| Notes: 1. The data are for junior doctors expecting to reach their CCT (secondary and general practitioner) in the coming years. This will not be pure growth in the number of trained doctors in the national health service since many will be recruited to replace retirements etc. of existing work force. 2. These are expected CCT dates and are subject to variation due to failure for doctors to progress through training as expected which can be for many reasons for example maternity leave, educational issues, illness, undertaking research. 3. Also to clarify these will be graduates of higher specialty post graduate training and not medical school graduates. | |
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