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12 Nov 2009 : Column 716W—continued
The information requested on expenditure could be provided only at disproportionate cost. An assessment of the cost of freedom of information within Government can be found in Frontier Economics 2006 report "Independent Review of the Freedom of Information Act". A copy of this report has already been placed in the Library.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers in his Department and its agencies in 2008-09. [299282]
Phil Hope: The Department cannot provide the details requested without the cost involved being at a disproportionate level. Data come from disparate sources and in different formats, which increases the manual effort required to identify the expenses of individuals.
During 2008-09, 41 departmental officers worked as press officers for all or part of the year in question. There is no statutory requirement to report the reimbursable expenses of officials who are not covered by the remuneration report. Departmental officials who claim business expenses do so in line with the published expenses guide. The rates are agreed with the departmental trade unions and are in line with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs's regulations.
Departmental Postal Services
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of postal services for his Department and its agencies were provided by (a) Royal Mail and (b) other postal service providers (i) in 2007, (ii) in 2008, (iii) between 1 January 2009 and 1 July 2009 and (iv) after 1 July 2009. [298796]
Phil Hope: The percentage use of postal services for the Department is as follows:
| Percentage | ||
| Royal Mail | Other postal service providers | |
The percentage use of postal services for Purchasing and Supply Agency is as follows:
| Percentage | ||
| Royal Mail | Other postal service providers | |
The percentage use of postal services for the Medicines and Health Regulatory Authority is as follows:
| Percentage | ||
| Royal Mail | Other postal service providers | |
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with which providers (a) his Department and (b) its agencies had a contract to provide postal services in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008, (iii) between 1 January 2009 and 1 July 2009 and (iv) since 1 July 2009. [299425]
Phil Hope: The Department and the Purchasing and Supply Agency have contracted with Royal Mail for the period 2007 to present for the provision of postal services.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency have contracted for the provision of postal services as follows:
2007-Royal Mail
2008-Royal Mail
2009-Royal Mail, Global Mailing.
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there has been any nugatory cost to his Department and its agencies on procurement under tender because the tender process has been cancelled prior to the award of the contract in the last 12 months. [299351]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Yes, this information is reported in the Department's resource accounts.
Departmental Statistics
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the statistical datasets collected by his Department are published. [299667]
Phil Hope: The Department publishes all of its datasets which meet the definition of 'official statistics' set out in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The statistics are published in accordance with the requirements set out in the 'Code of Practice for Official Statistics' and the 'National Statistician's Guidance on the Presentation and Publication of Official Statistics'.
The Department's official statistics published in the last year can be accessed on the Department's website at:
and in addition can be accessed via the UK Statistics Authority Release Calendar at:
The Department also holds a range of other quantitative information for management and other purposes some of which is made available to the public on request. Following the National Statistician's recent guidance, it will be preparing a "Statement of Administrative Sources" in line with the expectations of the "Code of Practice on Official Statistics".
Disabled: Employment
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the Government's objectives of improving capacity to work amongst those with chronic debilitating conditions. [299194]
Andy Burnham: I met with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions recently and our discussion included what is available to support individuals with disabilities and health conditions, including Pathways to Work and the Condition Management programme. We discussed that good work leads to improved health outcomes and helps disabled people and those with health conditions live fulfilling and independent lives. Further details will be set out in the back to work White Paper. Our Departments are committed to working together to provide the most effective support for people with health conditions.
Drugs: Licensing
Mr. Baron:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what interventions (a) have been assessed and (b) are being assessed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) through its (i) single technology appraisal and (ii) multiple technology
appraisal process; and on what date (A) each such intervention was referred to NICE (B) NICE (1) commenced and (2) completed its appraisal of each intervention and (C) those interventions which received a licence were licensed by NICE. [297319]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information requested has been placed in the Library. The information shows technology appraisals published or referred since the introduction of the single technology appraisal (STA) process at the end of 2005. Prior to this point, the STA and multiple technology appraisal (MTA) distinction did not apply.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence does not license medicines. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the European Medicines Agency are responsible for licensing new drugs and license extensions.
Drugs: Misuse
Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions with a primary diagnosis of poisoning by (a) class A, (b) class B and (c) class C drugs there were to (i) the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and (ii) all hospitals in each year since 1997. [298255]
Gillian Merron: This information is not collected centrally.
Drugs: Rehabilitation
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people under the age of 18 in (a) England, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) Leeds are on waiting lists to receive treatment for drug addiction. [299644]
Gillian Merron: Waiting time figures for young people aged under-18 for England, Yorkshire and The Humber and Leeds are presented in the following table.
Waiting times for first specialist substance misuse treatment interventions(1) for young people 2007-08.
(1) Specialist substance misuse treatment interventions for young people include alcohol interventions.
| Less than 3 weeks (number ) | Less than 3 weeks (percentage) | More than 3 weeks (number ) | More than 3 weeks (percentage) | |
Data are provided for 2007-08. Figures for young people accessing substance misuse services in 2008-09 will be published later in the year.
'First Interventions' are defined as the date that the client was referred into the treatment system requiring a specialist substance misuse treatment intervention.
Young people's drug or alcohol misuse will be part of a wider pattern of problematic behaviour, which specialist services seek to address. Very few of these young people are addicted or receive treatment for drug addiction. Instead, interventions for young people tend to centre
on psychosocial counselling-based therapies, which attempt to address the underlying causes and the behavioural consequences of cannabis and alcohol misuse (the most commonly misused substances among under-18s).
E. Coli
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate of e.coli infection was in each primary care trust area in (a) 2001 and (b) 2008. [299824]
Gillian Merron: This information is not held centrally.
Eating Disorders
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bed days on adult eating disorder units were recorded for patients under the age of 16 years in each quarter of the last three years. [299203]
Phil Hope: The data available centrally are for all bed use in adult mental health units and are not broken down to reflect use of adult eating disorder beds.
Exercise: Health Education
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff within his Department have responsibility in their jobs for the promotion of (a) physical activity and (b) smoking cessation. [297808]
Gillian Merron: There are eight full-time staff in the Physical Activity Programme team and three full-time staff in the Cross Government Obesity team who deal with promotion of physical activity in the central Department.
There are in addition other programmes within the Department, which contribute towards promotion of the physical activity through their own policy areas such as Healthy Schools, Further Education, Children and Young People's Health Programme and Change4Life etc.
The two full-time staff members are smoking cessation delivery managers in the central Department. The programme lead for supporting local tobacco control also contributes time to this work, but her overall responsibilities are for the promotion of local tobacco control.
Genetically Modified Organisms
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of whether the practice of companies (a) routinely refusing to make available to independent scientists the standardised samples that are required to conduct high quality research on genetically modified products on the market and (b) insisting on the right to veto the publication of results, is (i) in line with the Government's Chief Scientist's guidance on sound science and (ii) in the interests of public confidence in the Chief Scientist's public statement that genetically modified food is safe to eat because there is no research which shows it to be harmful. [299812]
Gillian Merron:
Genetically modified (GM) foods may not be marketed in the European Union unless they have been rigorously assessed for safety. These
assessments are carried out by the European Food Safety Authority and products are authorised only if they are found not to present a risk to the consumer.
There is a strong public interest in the publication of high quality research into GM food safety and the availability of authentic test materials and corresponding control materials are among the pre-requisites for such research to take place. Companies may choose to impose conditions on purchasers of their products and, in the case of some GM materials, certain limitations may be necessary to ensure compliance with the regulations that govern their use. Generally, however, it is in the best interests of the manufacturers if the scientific community is able to conduct independent research into these products.
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