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30 Nov 2009 : Column 525W—continued
Royal Mail: Databases
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much local authorities spent on use of the Royal Mail postcode database and related services in the latest period for which figures are available. [300278]
Mr. McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
Such information is not collected by Government.
Royal Mail owns and manages the Postcode Address File (PAF) and provision exists for the company to recover a reasonable charge for the supply of the data. Access is regulated under a licence condition which ensures that the data is made available to all persons or organisations on reasonable terms.
Travelling People: Grants
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Gypsy and Traveller site grants were made in each of the last three years; and what the average amount of such a grant was in each of those years. [300998] [Official Report, 7 April 2010, Vol. 508, c. 11MC.]
Barbara Follett: Grant for refurbishing existing and building new Gypsy and Traveller sites since 2006-07 has been paid through the Gypsy and Traveller Site Grant.
In rounds one and two of year 2006-07 56 grants were paid at a total cost of £14,265,752 making the average grant £254,745. For rounds one and two of year 2007-08 74 grants were paid at a total cost of £13,436,131 making an average of £181,569 per grant and in 2008-09 56 grants were paid at a total cost of £11,965,079 with the average grant being £213,662.
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specialisms must be available on site before a hospital accident and emergency department can be designated as such. [302656]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Provision of services within a hospital accident and emergency (A&E) department is a matter for local decision-making by primary care trusts. However, for the purposes of performance data collection, the Department uses the following definitions:
Type 1 A&E department: A consultant led 24 hour service with full resuscitation facilities and designated accommodation for the reception of accident and emergency patients;
Type 2 A&E department: A consultant led single specialty accident and emergency service (e.g. ophthalmology, dental) with designated accommodation for the reception of patients; and
Type 3 A&E department: Other type of A&E/minor injury units/Walk-in Centres with designated accommodation for the reception of accident and emergency patients. A type 3 department may be doctor led or nurse led.
Accident and Emergency Departments: South East
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospital trusts in the South East have plans to reduce numbers of emergency attendances at accident and emergency departments by March 2010; and what targets those plans include for the reduction of such attendances. [302797]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is for the local national health service to plan and develop health services to meet the needs of the local population.
However, the Department would expect primary care trusts to ensure that patients can access safe and quick urgent and emergency care services in the most appropriate setting.
Ambulance Services
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues to NHS ambulance trusts on the development of protocols for mutual assistance to cover areas at the border between trusts; and if he will make a statement. [301912]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department has not issued guidance specifically on the development of protocols for mutual assistance to cover areas at the border between trusts. Providing appropriate resources to meet local demand is a matter for the local ambulance trusts, and each trust should plan to provide appropriate cover in line with national response time requirements.
Guidance on the reporting of cross-border calls has, however, been published and is contained within the KA34 statistical bulletin for ambulance services. A copy of the KA34 bulletin is available at the following link:
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for changes to the attendance allowance to take into account the proposals of his Department's Green Paper on Shaping the Future of Care Together; and if he will make a statement. [303057]
Phil Hope: We think there may be a case for bringing some disability benefits and the adult social care system together into a single system, as a better way of providing support to all older and disabled people.
We will only make any changes to disability benefits if we are certain that by doing so we can better support disabled people.
We know that disability benefits are popular because they provide a universal entitlement which does not depend on where a person lives, they provide a cash budget which can be spent on the services people want, and they are often used to support lower-level needs that help people stay well for longer. These three aspects will all be important components of the new care and support system.
Whatever the outcome of these reforms, we want to ensure that people receiving any of the relevant benefits at the time of reform will continue to receive an equivalent level of support and protection, under a new and better care and support system.
We have ruled out bringing disability living allowance for those under the age of 65 into the National Care Service.
Blood: Cancer
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which cancer networks (a) have met and (b) are on target to meet the milestones set out in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidance on improving outcomes in haemato-oncology cancer, published in October 2003. [301459]
Ann Keen: The majority of the key recommendations made by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in its 'Improving Outcomes in Haematological Cancers' guidance have been implemented by all cancer networks. Some networks have successfully implemented all the key recommendations. These are: East Midlands; Kent; Greater Manchester and Cheshire; North Trent; Yorkshire; Humber and Yorkshire Coast; North East England; and South East London.
However, we recognise that the other cancer networks have experienced difficulties in setting up specialist haemato-pathology services. The National Cancer Action Team is working closely with the Royal College of Pathologists to help networks develop plans and to support them in the establishment of these services. We hope that the guidance will be fully implemented across the country by December 2010.
Breast Cancer
Mr. Baron:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions took place in England where a diagnosis of both breast cancer and (a) neutropenic sepsis, (b) febrile neutropenia, (c)
diarrhoea, (d) nausea or intractable vomiting, (e) anaemia and (f) pain was recorded in the Hospital Episodes Statistics database, (i) in total and (ii) broken down by (A) primary care trust area of responsibility and (B) cancer network area of responsibility, as recorded in the Hospital Episodes Statistics database in each of the last five years. [300550]
Ann Keen: Statistics showing the number of admissions where there was a primary or secondary diagnosis of breast cancer and; diarrhoea; nausea or intractable vomiting; anaemia; and pain have been placed in the Library. Data for neutropenic sepsis and febrile neutropenia are not available as there are no specific codes for these diagnoses in the international classification of diseases 10(th) revision, which is used within hospital episode statistics.
The information has been provided for England and for strategic health authorities (SHAs), from 2004-05 to 2008-09. On 1 July 2006 the number of SHAs reduced from 28 to 10. Information is not held on a cancer network basis. Information has not been provided for primary care trusts as the figures included small cell counts, which would have created a risk to patient confidentiality.
Caffeine: Young People
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission research on the possible effects on the behaviour of children and young people of high caffeine intake. [301214]
Ann Keen: The Food Standards Agency advises that children and other persons sensitive to caffeine should consume products with significant amounts of caffeine (such as coffee and energy drinks) in moderation.
The Food Standards Agency advise us that they have no current plans to investigate the possible behavioural effects of caffeine in children, in part due to the ethical concerns around this type of research in children.
Cancer: Clinical Trials
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase the level of access to clinical trials for patients with (a) lung and (b) other types of cancer; and if he will make a statement. [301628]
Gillian Merron: The National Institute for Health Research Cancer Research Network (NCRN) was set up by the Department in 2001 and has dramatically increased our ability to do clinical trials, including trials relating to lung cancer. Some 12 per cent. of cancer patients in England currently enter NCRN clinical trials every year. This is the highest national per capita rate of cancer trial participation in the world.
The Department, in partnership with Cancer Research UK, also funds 15 experimental cancer medicine centres across England focusing on early phase cancer trials. These centres investigate whether and how the latest discoveries and cancer treatments work when tested with patients so they can be developed for use in the national health service as quickly as possible.
Care Standards Act 2000
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prosecutions under the Care Standards Act 2000 have not resulted in a conviction since 2004. [302523]
Phil Hope: We are informed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that, since 2004, CQC and its predecessor bodies, the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection, has completed 40 prosecutions under the Care Standards Act 2000. 38 of these prosecutions resulted in a conviction. In the remaining two cases, a conditional discharge was issued.
CQC, as did its predecessors, also has the option to issue cautions as an alternative to prosecution, where this is considered the most appropriate course of action. A number of cautions have been issued over the same period.
It should be noted that these figures relate to prosecutions of adult social care and health care providers regulated by CQC and its predecessors. They also include prosecutions of children's social care providers up until 2007, which were regulated by CSCI until then. They do not include prosecutions which may have been brought by other bodies. This information is not held by the Department.
Contraception
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and at what net ingredient cost prescription items for (a) contraception and (b) emergency contraception were dispensed in the community in (i) England and (ii) each primary care trust area in (A) absolute terns and (b) as a rate per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 years old. [301359]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: This information has been placed in the Library.
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust: Finance
Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Primary Care Trust to achieve the target funding identified for it under the new NHS funding formula. [302470]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are committed to moving all primary care trusts (PCTs) towards their target allocations as quickly as possible. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, we have ensured that the most under-target PCTs benefit from the highest increases in funding. Over those two years, the allocation to Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT will grow by £94.2 million or 12.1 per cent., compared with the national average of 11.3 per cent.
No decisions have yet been taken on the future rate of progress towards target allocations. The rate at which PCTs will move towards their target allocation in future years will need to be considered in light of a number of factors including population changes, cost pressures and the overall resources available to the national health service.
Departmental Assets
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assets of his Department are planned to be sold in each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14; what the (a) description and (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if he will make a statement. [300202]
Phil Hope: The Government have stated their intention to realise £16 billion in asset disposals over the period 2011-14 and will publish further details of opportunities to commercialise business assets in the coming weeks.
Consideration is being given to further commercialising certain arm's length bodies and special health authorities that already operate on a trading basis. As yet, no decisions have been made regarding their sale.
The following list of major property assets in the ownership of the Secretary of State for Health are planned to be sold during 2009-10 and are aggregated for the period 2010 to 2014 as sales dates cannot be confirmed.
The sale price is given where a property has been sold. Where a property remains to be sold, the anticipated receipt is commercially confidential and therefore has not been provided.
| 2009-10 | |||
| Property | Description | Sale price (£000) | Asset v alue (£000) |
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