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21 Oct 2009 : Column 1489W—continued
Dental Services: Standards
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been recovered by the NHS as a consequence of targets for level of units of dental activity not being met in each year since 2006. [294572]
Ann Keen: Providers of national health service dental services have contracts with primary care trusts (PCTs) that set out the agreed annual contract sum and the corresponding level of services to be provided over the course of the year. These annual service levels are expressed mainly in terms of 'units of dental activity', which measure courses of treatment according to their relative complexity. Dental providers who under-deliver by up to 4 per cent. may carry this forward and make up the activity in the following year. Where a provider has delivered less than 96 per cent. of the agreed annual service level, it is at the PCTs discretion whether the undelivered activity is carried forward to the following year or an appropriate proportion of the annual contract sum is refunded to the PCT. This is a matter for PCTs to decide locally in the light of individual circumstances, and their decisions are not collected or held centrally.
Dental Services: Working Hours
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 18 of his Department's evidence to the 2010 review of doctors' and dentists' remuneration, how many hours of NHS work dentists conducted in England in total in (a) each calendar year since 1997 for which figures are available and (b) each financial year since 1997-98 for which figures are available. [294356]
Ann Keen: Information for the annual hours of national health service dental work is not available.
Information on the normal weekly hours of dentists in the period since 1997 is set out in Table 19 of the NHS Information Centre (IC) for health and social care publication entitled "Dental Working Hours England and Wales 2006-07 and 2007-08". The publication has been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
The IC's report records that a study in 2000 found that dentists worked an average of 39.4 hours; the IC's Dental Working Hours Analysis recorded averages of 36.6 hours in 2006-07 and 37.0 hours in 2007-08. There were differences in the coverage of the surveys.
The 2000 survey does not give a complete split of weekly hours into NHS and private dental work and so a weekly NHS hours estimate is not available for the year 2000.
For 2006-07 and 2007-08 dentists provided estimates of the percentage of time spent on NHS work: 71.4 per cent. in 2006-07 and 70.8 per cent. in 2007-08 so that weekly NHS hours were 26.1 hours and 26.2 hours respectively.
The IC in its publication "NHS Dental Statistics for England", a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, report that 20,815 dentists performed some NHS dental activity in 2006-07 in England and
21,343 dentists some dental activity in 2007-08. However, some of these dentists did not work for the whole year. So these figures cannot be used to produce estimates of total annual hours worked.
In researching the information requested we have, however, noticed a small error in paragraph 18 of the Department's evidence to the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body (DDRB) for the 2010 review. As noted, the survey which collected data for 2006-07 and 2007-08 (a single questionnaire for the two years) in fact showed a small increase in the average hours worked for the NHS by dentists doing some NHS work from 26.1 hours in 2006-07 to 26.2 hours in 2007-08. We shall be writing to the DDRB to correct this error.
Mental Health Services: Leeds
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the amount spent on transferring patients with mental health problems from Leeds to treatment centres outside the Leeds area during the period April 2007 to March 2009. [294730]
Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally. This information may be obtainable direct from the Leeds Primary Care Trust.
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve standards of mental health care in Leeds. [294731]
Phil Hope: The responsibility for providing healthcare, including specialist mental health care services, rests with primary care trusts (PCTs). The Department provides funding for PCTs to commission, or provide healthcare for their local populations from national health service or independent sector providers. We are not prescriptive about how individual PCTs spend their budgets and each PCT decides its own spending levels for specific healthcare treatments and services.
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 NHS 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.
Social Services: Disabled
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to reform the care and support system for disabled people of working age; and if he will make a statement. [294740]
Phil Hope:
The Care and Support Green Paper "Shaping the Future of Care Together", published on 14 July 2009, set out the Government's vision for a National
Care Service that is universal, fair, affordable, clear and helps people to live their lives the way they want to. The Green Paper applies to all adults in England.
It is vital that everybody gets involved in the Big Care Debate to have their say on the future direction of the new care and support system. The consultation closes on 13 November 2009.
International Development
Copenhagen Summit
10. Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the international development aspects of the forthcoming Copenhagen climate change summit. [294279]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The General Affairs and External Relations Council has two sessions each year on development issues. Climate change was a focus of the May meeting and we will again be looking at climate change at the November meeting, as well as ensuring that we are represented at these meetings. I take numerous opportunities to discuss the road to Copenhagen with my EU counterparts.
Maternal and Child Mortality
11. Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department gives in (a) drafting and (b) implementing national plans for the reduction of maternal, newborn and child mortality in countries in receipt of aid from his Department. [294280]
Mr. Michael Foster: Maternal and child health is a priority for the Department for International Development (DFID). In Africa and Asia we work closely with partner governments in developing national health plans to tackle maternal and child health and deliver better services for the poorest.
At the UN General Assembly, we pledged £100 million to assist Nepal, Malawi, Ghana, Liberia, Burundi and Sierra Leone to expand access to free health care. This will save millions of women and children's lives.
Food Security: Africa
12. Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure security in the supply of food for people in developing countries in Africa. [294281]
Mr. Thomas: The UK supports agriculture, rural development and food security programmes in 18 countries across Africa, contributing £73 million last year including £20 million on food security in Ethiopia. We are providing additional assistance this year for the Horn of Africa. We provide support through multilateral institutions. We support Africa's vision for a doubling of agricultural production over the next 20 years to secure food supplies over the longer term.
Millennium Development Goals
13. Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the Government's contribution to the achievement of the millennium development goals. [294282]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The UK Government are committed to delivery of the millennium development goals through its public service agreement on international poverty reduction. Our July White Paper set out how we will respond to new challenges building a platform for further action on poverty beyond 2015. The latest assessment of the Government's contribution to the achievement of the millennium development goals is contained in DFID's 2009 annual report, also published in July and available in the Library of the House and on the DFID website:
Aid Target
14. Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made towards the achievement of the UK's target of spending 0.7 per cent. of gross domestic product on overseas aid. [294283]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Government remain committed to delivering 0.7 per cent. of GNI as official development assistance by 2013. We have recently announced plans to introduce legislation to ensure the commitment is met. In 2008 UK official development assistance stood at 0.43 per cent. of GNI in line with the trajectory set out in the 2007 comprehensive spending review and will reach at least 0.56 per cent. by 2010-11.
Afghanistan: Infant Mortality
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department has given to the Government of Afghanistan to help in reducing levels of infant mortality. [293682]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) supports the Afghan Government in reducing levels of infant mortality through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Fund (ARTF). DFID has provided £360 million to the ARTF since 2002, and is planning a further £165 million to 2013. This will cover around 14 per cent. of the total operating costs of the Afghan health sector.
In Helmand, the UK is supporting the Afghan Government's efforts to improve health care through the cross-departmental conflict fund and the provincial reconstruction team.
Government of Afghanistan programmes in the health sector have achieved the following results:
Full immunisation of children has risen from 15 per cent. in 2003 to 27 per cent. in 2006
The number of Afghan midwives has increased from 467 in 2002 to 2,167 in 2008;
82 per cent. of the population now live in a district with access to basic healthcare across the country, compared with 9 per cent. in 2003. As a result, an estimated 40,000 more Afghan children will see their fifth birthdays this year compared to 2002.
Departmental Rail Travel
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 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. [293335]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The requested information could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Eritrea
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the Government's policy is on the provisions of the development agreement reached between the European Commission and Eritrea in September 2009; and if he will make a statement. [293770]
Mr. Thomas: The UK Government welcome the new European Commission Country Strategy for Eritrea that it signed with the Government of Eritrea in September 2009. This will provide €122 million between 2009 and 2013 to help the Eritrean people improve governance and reduce poverty and food insecurity. Over half of the population live below the national poverty line.
The development co-operation is part of the broader partnership between the European Union and Eritrea based on the Cotonou Agreement of June 2000. As part of Article 8 of this agreement, there will be political dialogue between the parties on political and human rights issues.
Eritrea: International Broadcasting
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2009, Official Report, column 496, on Eritrea: international broadcasting, what requests for funding to support Radio Erena his Department has received in the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [293766]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not received any requests for funding to support Radio Erena in the last three years.
Eritrea: Overseas Aid
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the freedom of access for non-government organisations and aid agencies to assist people in Eritrea; and if he will make a statement. [293769]
Mr. Thomas:
Freedom for non-government organisations and aid agencies to operate within Eritrea is limited due to constraints put in place by the Government of Eritrea. The Government of Eritrea does not consider these organisations to have a significant role to play in either the development of the country or in addressing relief needs. After agreeing a limited travel itinerary with the
Eritrean authorities, Department for International Development (DFID) officials were able to visit partner agencies in Eritrea in August of this year.
Georgia: Armed Conflict
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to assist those displaced as a result of the conflict in Georgia in August 2008. [293123]
Mr. Michael Foster: In response to the conflict in August 2008 the Department for International Development (DFID) initially committed £2 million to humanitarian agencies providing assistance to affected civilians in Georgia and the Russian Federation (RF). Of this £1 million was allocated to the International Committee of the Red Cross for their operations in Georgia and North Ossetia in the RF. £550,000 was allocated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), £250,000 was given to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and £200,000 to the Hazardous Areas Life-Support Organisation (HALO).
In December 2008, DFID provided a further £2 million humanitarian aid to be channelled through UNHCR. This provided Internally Displaced People (both pre and post 2008 conflict) with "winterised" shelter and continued access to basic provisions.
Iraq Committee of Inquiry
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) whether he has received a request to give evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry; [293559]
(2) how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have received requests to give evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry; and if he will make a statement. [293564]
Mr. Michael Foster: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer that will be given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister today.
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