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25 Nov 2009 : Column 187W—continued
Information is not centrally held on the number of cancers diagnosed following an appointment at an NHS breast screening service on a primary care trust or network basis.
However, these statistics are available on a breast screening unit basis; a copy of these statistics has been placed in the Library.
The NHS Cancer Plan (2000) introduced commitments for waiting times for cancer treatment between referral and first treatment and diagnosis and first treatment, for breast cancer. The statistics used to monitor these commitments indicate the number of patients who were urgently referred for suspected cancer by their general practitioner (GP), and those who entered secondary care from another referral source or with a different priority. Only patients who receive first definitive treatment within English NHS providers are included within these statistics.
For the years 2004-05 to 2008-09 the following table indicates the proportion of patients who received first definitive treatment for breast cancer following an urgent referral for suspected cancer from their GP.
| Treated following two week wait | Treated following other referral (including NHS screening programmes) | Total treated | Percentage following two week wait | |
| Source: Department of Health, Cancer Waiting Times Database | ||||
The quarterly statistics for this area do not identify individual primary care trusts due to small cell counts. However a table showing equivalent data by NHS provider, with accompanying details of data sources, definitions and calculations, has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the percentage of bed occupancy was for patients with breast cancer was in (a) England, (b) each cancer network and (c) each primary care trust area in each of the last five years. [300556]
Ann Keen: The requested information is not centrally held.
Information is collected annually from national health service providers showing the average daily number of available and occupied beds. However, this is not broken down by specialty. The latest data are for 2008-09 and are published on the Department's website at:
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were offered breast prostheses following surgery for breast cancer expressed in each cancer network in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of all patients undergoing breast cancer surgery this represented in each case. [300558]
Ann Keen: The requested information is not held centrally.
Climate Change
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants from his Department will be attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in an official capacity. [300882]
Phil Hope: No Ministers or officials from the Department will be attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in an official capacity.
Dental Services
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how his Department plans to respond to the British Dental Association's proposal for changes to the dental access contract to be introduced on a trial basis. [300355]
Ann Keen: On 17 November 2009, primary care trusts (PCTs) were notified of the availability of a template, which has been developed as part of the Department's Dental Access Programme for use in contracting with dental providers for additional national health service primary care dental services. The final version of the template took account of views expressed by the British Dental Association during consultations on its preparation. It is up to individual dental providers to decide if they wish to tender for services provided in accordance with the template. No changes are being imposed on existing providers.
While the template includes quality standards, in line with the recommendations of the Independent Review of NHS Dental Services in England published in June 2009, we will pilot these recommendations carefully before making any substantive proposals to the general dental services contract and the personal dental service contract used in commissioning primary care dental services generally.
Departmental Cost Effectiveness
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what efficiency savings projects (a) his Department and (b) its agencies put in place under the Operational Efficiency Programme; on what date each such project was initiated; how much each such project was
expected to contribute to departmental savings; how much had been saved through each such project on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [300935]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department is working actively with its arm's-length bodies, national health service organisations and others including HM Treasury and the Shareholder Executive to implement the recommendations of the Operational Efficiency Programme. Rather than initiating new projects, in many areas this builds upon significant progress made by the Department and the NHS in recent years.
For example, NHS Shared Business Services was established in 2005 and is now delivering shared back office services for over 100 NHS organisations.
Through better collaborative procurement, the NHS has recorded billions of pounds of savings in recent years, including through the Gershon efficiency programme. To ensure continued progress on procurement, a new Department of Health and NHS Commercial Operating Model was launched earlier this year.
Savings from the areas covered by the Operational Efficiency Programme will contribute to our existing value for money target for the current comprehensive spending review period. The Department's 2009 autumn performance report will be published in December and will include an update on progress towards this target.
Departmental Disclosure of Information
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many allegations of victimisation for whistleblowing have been made to his Department by its staff since 6 June 2006. [301507]
Phil Hope: No allegations of victimisation for whilstleblowing have been made to the Department by its staff.
The Department revised its whilstleblowing policy in May 2009 to tighten internal processes for handling concerns raised by staff against any breach of the civil service code. It now also includes a process for handling concerns raised with the Department about external organisations or individuals involved in the conduct of our business.
Departmental Legal Costs
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what expenditure his Department and its agencies have incurred on external legal advice and representation in each year since 1997; and for what purposes such professional services have been commissioned. [300577]
Phil Hope: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) bonuses and (b) incentives have been paid to (i) consultants and (ii) contractors engaged by executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible in each of the last three years. [300638]
Phil Hope: The Department's two executive agencies and nine of its 10 non-departmental public bodies did not pay any bonuses or incentives to consultants and contractors in the last three years.
A single bonus payment of £1,000 was made to a contractor in the 2006-07 financial year by the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, which is a non-departmental public body.
Departmental Recycling
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what weight of paper his Department recycled in each of the last five years. [300781]
Phil Hope: The tonnage of paper recycled from Department of Health offices is as follows:
| Table 1 | |
| Year (April to March) | Amount (tonnes) |
The data in Table 1 relate only to the Department's core London administrative offices at Richmond House, Wellington House, Skipton House and New Kings Beam House. Figures for our building in Leeds are collected and reported by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Our departmental file store in Nelson, Lancashire, recycled the following amounts:
| Table 2 | |
| Year (April to March) | Amount (tonnes) |
Data for Nelson are not available for earlier years.
Departmental Theft
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of his Department's officials have (a) been reprimanded, (b) had their contract of employment terminated and (c) been prosecuted for theft of departmental property in each of the last three years; and what items were stolen in each case. [300965]
Phil Hope: In the last three years, none of the Department's officials has been reprimanded or had their contracts of employment terminated for theft of departmental property, neither has any departmental official been prosecuted for such a theft or thefts, during that time.
Drugs: Misuse
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated by the National Treatment Agency for substance misuse to each local authority in the last three years; and how much is planned to be spent on such funding for the next three years. [301043]
Gillian Merron: The Department makes allocations of ear-marked funding in the form of the pooled treatment budget (PTB) to primary care trusts to supplement resources identified locally from mainstream budgets for drug treatment. Tables have been placed in the Library showing allocations for each year since 2006-07 and indicative allocations for 2010-11, and in respect only of the young people's PTB indicative allocations for 2011-12 also. Indicative allocations for the adult PTB for next year will be subject to change in the light of 2009-10 performance data submitted to the National Treatment Agency by local drug partnerships. No decision has yet been taken about funding beyond the indicative allocations as noted above.
Eye Tests and Dental Checks
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of providing every person with a free annual (a) eye test and (b) dental check in 2009. [300357]
Ann Keen: We have made no estimate of the cost of providing everyone with a free annual eye test and free annual dental check.
The appropriate frequency for sight tests varies according to an individual's age and clinical requirements. Current guidance indicates that for the majority of people aged between 16 and 70 years, the minimum interval between sight tests could be two years. More frequent tests are appropriate for children or those aged 70 and over, or if an individual is at particular risk of eye disease, is concerned that they may have an eye condition, or an optometrist or ophthalmic medical practitioner judges that more frequent tests are clinically necessary.
The appropriate frequency for dental checks depends upon an individual's oral health status. Guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Dental Recall - recall interval between routine dental examinations, October 2004, available on the NICE website at
recommends that dentists recall patients at any interval between three months and two years, according to each person's oral health needs.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are entitled to a free annual (a) eye test and (b) dental check; how many people received such tests in 2008-09; and what the cost was. [300358]
Ann Keen: It is not possible to identify how many people are currently entitled to free national health service sight tests and dental checks. Those groups who are entitled to NHS sight tests (which are available to all individuals within the eligible groups at no charge) or free dental care are summarised in the following table. Statistics are not available on the number of individuals who fall within all of these categories; nor can we identify how many people might be counted within more than one category.
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