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29 Oct 2009 : Column 582W—continued
Hospitals: Parking
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) of 14 October 2009, Official Report, column 901W, on hospitals: parking, which back-office costs will be reduced; what benefits to outpatients will result from the improved concession guidance; and how such benefits will be funded; [295752]
(2) what calculations underlie his estimate of the cost per annum of phasing out car parking for in-patients and their visitors at hospitals; and what his estimate is of the annual cost of each element of the scheme; [295771]
(3) what estimate he has made of the proportion of his proposals which can be afforded (a) in 2009-10 and (b) in 2010-11. [295772]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: National health service organisations provide car parking to patients and visitors based on their local plans, needs and circumstances. Therefore, the details of implementing free car parking for in-patients will vary between different NHS organisations including the proportion that can be afforded in each year and which back-office costs will be reduced. However, all NHS organisations are expected to have fully implemented the change within three years. The improved concession guidance will benefit out-patients by stressing the importance of tangible concessions for regular users, particularly out-patients, and by ensuring that all eligible patients are made fully aware of them.
The estimate of annual cost per annum for phasing out in-patient car parking of £141 million was based on two figures. The direct cost of in-patient parking was based on the number of bed days recorded for elective, emergency and maternity care with each of the bed days resulting in two hours parking at the national average cost of visitor car parking per hour of £1.00 giving a total of £93 million. In addition, the impact of the NHS paying for private finance initiative and other commercial agreements was estimated at an additional £48 million.
Hypergonadism
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance the NHS issues to clinicians treating men with hypergonadism; [296246]
(2) whether the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence plans to produce guidance on the treatment of hypergonadism. [296247]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are not aware of any national guidance issued by the national health service on the treatment of hypergonadism. There are no plans for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to produce guidance on this subject.
NHS: Information and Communications Technology
Mr. Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what his latest estimate is of the number of users of the Lorenzo software system at (a) Five Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust, (b) Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, (c) University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, (d) Hereford Hospitals Trust and (e) South Birmingham Primary Care Trust; [295789]
(2) what his latest estimate is of the highest number of live concurrent users of the Lorenzo software system across English NHS trusts (a) at any one time and (b) on any one day. [295790]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The numbers of regular users of Release 1 of the Lorenzo software system in the national health service bodies concerned are as follows:
| Number | |
These figures exclude other registered users who use the system only occasionally.
The highest number of live concurrent users across English NHS trusts at any one time, to date, is 19. This occurred on 6 October 2009. The number of concurrent users of the system is lower than the aggregate number of regular users because clinicians spend the majority of their time working directly with patients. Time spent using the system is relatively short, and in most care settings, users will log in and log out of the system repeatedly throughout the day.
Nutrition: Mothers
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has made of the nutritional value of food served in NHS hospitals to post-natal mothers who are breastfeeding. [295863]
Ann Keen:
An appropriate diet, based on acceptable standards, requires good food with the right nutritional content, properly prepared and available when patients
need it. The NHS Plan stipulated that dieticians should advise and check on nutritional values in hospital food and this role is undertaken locally by staff in national health service trusts. The assessment of the nutritional requirements of post-natal mothers who are breast feeding is a matter for local determination and the Department does not collect any data centrally.
Staff carrying out the assessments are assisted by availability of nutritional information within the 'National Dish Selector'-a resource compiled as part of the Better Hospital Food programme. Although this programme has now closed, its outputs are still available via the Hospital Caterers' Association website:
The National Dish Selector is a database of recipes that can be searched by both recipe and ingredient. It is designed to be used by catering services as a resource from which to develop local menus with nutritional content appropriate to patients' needs.
Palliative Care: Finance
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts have received a portion of the £286 million assigned by the Government for end-of-life care in the End of Life Care Strategy; and how much each has received. [295503]
Phil Hope: An additional £286 million revenue and capital funding is being made available over 2009-10 and 2010-11 to support the implementation of the End of Life Care Strategy. For 2010-11, this includes capital funding of £40 million for hospices. However, the majority of the funding is being allocated to primary care trusts (PCTs) through the 2009-10 and 2010-11 revenue allocations, so all PCTs will receive a portion of this funding.
The Department does not break down PCT allocations by policies at either national or local level. It is for PCTs to decide their priorities for investment locally, taking into account both local priorities and the NHS Operating Framework.
Pharmacy
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2009, Official Report, column 1614W, whether he plans to discuss a replacement of the prescription item threshold with a scale of remuneration for pharmacists with interested groups and representative bodies. [296250]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: There is currently no plan for such a discussion.
Pharmacy: Exports
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the practice of parallel exporting on the availability of pharmaceuticals to NHS patients. [295913]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 12 October 2009, Official Report, column 735W.
Pharmacy: Licensing
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last reviewed licensing arrangements for pharmaceutical wholesalers; and if he will make a statement. [295911]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), an Executive agency of the Department, regulates manufacturers and wholesale dealers of medicinal products for human use in the United Kingdom on behalf of the UK.
The MHRA completed its last review of the licensing arrangements for pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesale distributors of medicines for human use in October 2005.
A further review of the supply chain for medicines in the UK is currently being conducted.
Sedation
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines the NHS issues on the use of continuous deep sedation until death; [296149]
(2) what assessment he has made of the rate of prevalence of continuous deep sedation until death in England; what information he holds for benchmarking purposes on the rates in other EU member states; and if he will make a statement. [296150]
Gillian Merron: No central guidance on the use of sufficient medication to keep a patient sedated until their death, known as continuous deep sedation, has been issued. This is a matter for the relevant clinicians, using their professional judgment and taking into account the circumstances and wishes of the individual patient or, where a patient is considered incapable of decision-making, the views of the patient's family on what he or she would wish. Data on the prevalence of continuous deep sedation in England, or in other European Union member states, are not held centrally.
Social Services: Birmingham
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many elderly people in (a) Birmingham, Northfield constituency and (b) Birmingham pay for social care services at home. [296274]
Phil Hope: This information is not collected centrally.
However, where Birmingham city council has arranged home care for people it should be able to say how many of them it charges.
Children, Schools and Families
Academies: Sponsorship
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many academy funding agreements entered into since 2007 have local authorities, schools, further education colleges or a partnership of such bodies acting as a sponsor or co-sponsor. [296147]
Mr. Coaker: The total number of local authorities, schools, further education colleges or a partnership of such bodies acting as a sponsor or co-sponsor which have entered into a funding agreement since 2007 is 74.
Adoption
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate his Department has made of the number of adopted children under the age of 18 in each local authority area. [295515]
Dawn Primarolo: Information on looked-after children can be found in our publication "Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2008", which is available on the Department's website at:
Table LAE1, which is located within the third set of additional excel tables, gives a breakdown, by local authority, of the number of looked-after children who were adopted during the years ending 31 March 2004 to 2008. Information for the year ending 31 March 2009 will be published in December.
Our publication covers only looked-after children who were adopted. Information for all children that were adopted in England and Wales is published by the Office for National Statistics and is available from their website at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product. asp?vlnk=15049
BECTA: Finance
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department plans to provide to BECTA in each year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [293409]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: I can confirm, in the following table, the details of the funding plans for the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta)/(Technologies Future Unit). The data are drawn from our Departmental Annual Report 2009, Table 8.4 on page 175.
| Departmental allocation (£ million) | |
Children: Day Care
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the number of committees registered with Ofsted for the provision of daycare and early years foundation stage on non-domestic premises which are composed mainly or exclusively of parents. [295564]
Dawn Primarolo: This is a matter for Ofsted. The Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, will write to the hon. Member and copies of her reply will be placed in the Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 23 October 2009:
Your recent parliamentary questions have been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
Although Ofsted does hold data about childcare on non-domestic premises run by a committee, these records do not state whether a committee is mainly or exclusively run by parents. It is, therefore, not possible to provide the requested information.
A copy of this reply has been sent to the Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Children: Human Trafficking
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on their provision of support for vulnerable children suspected of having been trafficked under (a) section 20 and (b) section 17 of the Children Act 1989; and if he will make a statement. [291034]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 14 September 2009]: My noble Friend, Baroness Morgan of Drefelin, met officials from the London borough of Hillingdon in March this year to discuss work they are undertaking on child trafficking at Heathrow airport in partnership with the Metropolitan police. She is also a member of the Inter Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, which meets regularly to discuss such issues. It is for each local authority to shape the services they provide to meet the needs of their local population. Where a local authority identifies a child who requires support, including those that have been trafficked, they are then responsible for identifying appropriate services to meet their needs, including being kept safe from any likely significant harm.
Children: Protection
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether (a) school governors and (b) members of management committees at early years childcare providers are subject to the requirement to register with (i) the Independent Safeguarding Authority and (ii) the vetting and barring scheme. [295557]
Dawn Primarolo: Both school governors and members of management committees at early year's child care providers are covered by the vetting and barring scheme and will have to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority when the requirements for registration are brought into force.
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