| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 Dec 2009 : Column 928W—continued
Sellafield
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent evaluation has been made of the adequacy of the emergency evacuation plan for the Sellafield nuclear site; and what use the components in that plan make of the road bridges in West Cumbria which have been (a) destroyed and (b) damaged. [302238]
Mr. Kidney: Evacuation plans were tested at Sellafield on 24 September 2009 as part of the annual national nuclear exercise. The only area of concern in the Sellafield area is the closure of the A595 bridge at Holmrook which would present some difficulties should an evacuation to the south of the site be necessary. A diversion is in place and Cumbria Constabulary and Sellafield are fully aware of the situation.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Children
Ms Angela C. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors. [302665]
Mr. Alan Campbell: I have been asked to reply.
The sale of alcohol to children is an offence under section 146 of the Licensing Act 2003 and carries a maximum fine of £5,000. Section 149 states that a person commits an offence if he buys or attempts to buy alcohol on behalf of an individual aged under 18. This offence is also known as proxy purchase and carries a maximum fine of £5,000.
In order to ensure that police are aware of these offences and the powers they have at their disposal, the Home Office is holding a series of 42 day Alcohol Enforcement Skills Development seminars. The seminars compliment and build on the success of last year's Home Office seminars at which 1,300 licensing professionals received high quality and comprehensive training in the effective use of alcohol-related tools and powers.
The current round of seminars are being held in the Home Office's priority areas and are focused more directly at operational police officers and those that are involved in the legal issues concerning the Licensing Act 2003 and other alcohol-related enforcement legislation.
The Policing and Crime Act will bring in the following measures to deal with under-age alcohol issues:
Change the offence of persistently selling alcohol to children from three strikes within three months, to two strikes within three months.
Amend the police's power to confiscate alcohol from young people in a public place so that they no longer need to prove that the individual 'intended' to consume the alcohol.
Extend the police's powers to issue Directions to Leave so that they can be issued to persons aged 10-15.
Introduce a new offence of persistently possessing alcohol in a public place.
Young people under 18 can be prosecuted for this offence if they are caught with alcohol in a public place three times within a 12-month period.
We have also brought in an enabling power for a Mandatory Code of Practice for Alcohol retailers as part of the Policing and Crime Act. This code aims to crack down on irresponsible promotions and practices that fuel alcohol-related disorder and will include a small number of mandatory licensing conditions (up to nine) which could be applicable to all licensed premises.
To ensure that people aged under 18 are unable to purchase alcohol from legitimate retailers, the Home Office endorses schemes such as Challenge 25. This is a scheme run by retailers themselves, where the basic premise is that all individuals who look as though they are under the age of 25 are asked to prove their age when purchasing any age-restricted products, thereby preventing an offence being committed.
An alcohol confiscation campaign took place in February 2008 following a pilot in October 2007. 23 out of the 227 basic command units (BCUs) took part in the campaign and the result was that over 3,700 litres of alcohol were confiscated from children under 18 who were found drinking alcohol in public places.
A larger campaign involving 165 BCUs took place during February 2008 when 21,000 litres of alcohol (70 per cent. beer) was confiscated in over 5,000 separate seizures from individuals and groups of more than 23,000 young people. Activity in both campaigns focused on school holidays and weekends when young people were most likely to be engaged in this activity.
The Government launched a nationwide crackdown on teenage binge drinking during the summer holidays, with up to £1.4 million of new cash for 69 youth crime priority areas. This is in addition to the £350,000 that each area is receiving this year to tackle antisocial behaviour and youth crime.
The campaign was based on the following three-point plan:
Tough enforcement: confiscating alcohol; using dispersal powers to break up groups of young people getting drunk and causing trouble, and behaviour contracts to hold them to account;
Early intervention and support: giving young people one-to-one support, and youth services working with families to address underlying reasons for young people's behaviour, using parenting contracts and orders to support parents;
Communicating to the local community: making it clear to the public what is being done to tackle drunk and disorderly behaviour by young people.
Aortic Aneurysm: Screening
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 3 November 2009, Official Report, column 909W, on aortic aneurysm, (1) what the precise locations are of the early implementation sites of ultrasound screening facilities for aortic aneurysm at (a) West Sussex, (b) Leicester, (c) Gloucester, (d) South Manchester, (e) South Devon and Exeter and (f) South West London; and how many patients have been screened at each such location to date; [302396]
(2) for what reasons the number of hospital sites with abdominal aortic aneurysm ultra sound screening facilities has not been increased since the initial six early implementation sites announced in January 2008; and if he will make a statement; [302399]
(3) what criteria will apply to the next provision and allocation of ultra sound screening facilities for aortic aneurysms; and if he will make a statement. [302400]
Ann Keen: Following the ministerial announcement in January 2008, six early implementation sites commenced screening from April 2009 onwards. There are four more programmes scheduled to start screening early in the new year.
All ultrasound screening is carried out in the community at general practitioner (GP) practices and community hospitals within the early implementation sites geographical location.
Currently the precise location of each ultrasound screening site is not held centrally. An information technology (IT) screening management system is in development and will roll out in the next week. It is expected that during early 2010 when the IT system is fully operational this information will be available.
To date the numbers of men screened are:
| Screening programme | Numbers screened |
The NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening programme (NAAASP) is being introduced gradually to make sure it works as effectively as possible. It is important that in the early stages of roll out processes and procedures are assessed and evaluated to ensure that the programme is providing the best possible service.
In order to be considered as a screening site local hospitals with their primary care trusts are required to submit an application to the NAAASP to show that they can deliver a quality service that meets the standards set out by the national programme.
Business cases for the next phase of roll out are due for submission at the end of November and following a review, more programmes will be announced in the new year.
Criteria that have been endorsed by the UK National Screening Committee, the Department's Vascular Board and the NAAASP and developed to ensure that men referred for treatment as a result of screening have the best possible outcomes can be found at:
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) provision and installation of the technology for ultrasound screening in respect of aortic aneurysms and (b) staffing at the level required for optimal use of such technology at each location; and if he will make a statement. [303078]
Ann Keen: A total of £662,180 was allocated to early implementer sites for the purchase of ultrasound equipment.
Information about the cost to the public purse of the staffing levels required for optimal use of ultrasound technology is not held centrally.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he expects Basildon and Thurrock to be included in the next round of provision of funding for ultrasound screening for aortic aneurysms; and if he will make a statement. [303079]
Ann Keen: It is not expected that Basildon and Thurrock will be included in the next round of provision of funding for ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm screening.
To be considered as a screening site, local hospitals along with their primary care trusts are required to submit an application to the NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening programme (NAAASP) to show that they can deliver a quality service that meets the standards set out by the national programme.
To date Basildon and Thurrock have not submitted a bid to the NAAASP for consideration.
Arthritis: Medical Treatments
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) funded and (b) supported in other ways on the use of jellyfish mucin in the treatment of arthritis. [302954]
Gillian Merron: Neither the Department nor the Medical Research Council is currently supporting such research.
Blood: Diseases
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve knowledge of sickle cell disease and thalassaemia amongst primary care nurses and GPs. [301065]
Ann Keen: The Department supports the work of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia in raising awareness of these conditions. I provided a statement for the APPG publication "Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassaemia: A Health Check" earlier in the year and also met with the UK Thalassaemia Society to discuss care of thalassaemia patients.
The responsibility for setting education standards for primary care nurses and general practitioners (GPs), and designing training curricula to meet these standards, rests with the professional standard setters and regulators. For medicine, this is the statutory responsibility of the medical Royal colleges and the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board. For nursing this is the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
The Department recognises the importance of improving knowledge of sickle cell disease and thalassaemia among all health care professionals and especially primary care nurses and GPs and will liaise with the relevant organisations to facilitate discussions about this issue.
Capita
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any contracts between Capita Group plc and his Department have been cancelled before completion since 1997; and whether Capita Group plc has been liable for any penalties arising from failings in the administration of contracts since 1997. [303094]
Phil Hope: This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Until July 2008, when a new business management system was introduced for the Department, such information was not held centrally.
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let by his Department in each of the last five years; how many such tenders were successful; how much his Department paid to Capita Group plc for the execution of contracts in each such year; how many contracts which terminate after 2010 Capita Group plc hold with his Department; and what the monetary value is of all outstanding contracts between his Department and Capita Group plc. [303157]
Phil Hope: This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Until July 2008, when a new business management system was introduced for the Department, such information was not held centrally.
However, we have identified two major contracts with Capita Group plc. They are:
1. Public and Patient Experience and Engagement-this is held with Capita Business Services Ltd. The contract started in March 2009 and will run until March 2012. The contract value is £5.25 million over three years (from the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) contract award notice), with the annual value for 2009-10 being forecast at approximately £1.75 million.
2. NHS Choices Health Information Service-this is held with Capita Business Services Ltd. The contract started in November 2008 and ends in November 2011. The contract value is £60 million (from the OJEU contract award notice) with approximately £26.8 million paid to date.
Chlamydia: Screening
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to encourage the provision of Chlamydia screening in settings other than (a) GP surgeries and (b) genito-urinary clinics. [302677]
Gillian Merron: To increase Chlamydia testing opportunities, and to maximise existing capacity the National Chlamydia Screening programme (NCSP) recommends that primary care trusts (PCTS) aim to achieve most of the tests through community and primary care core services. These comprise general practitioners, sexual and reproductive health, community pharmacies and abortion services. The NCSP has issued specific guidance on maximising testing through these community and primary care core services, and uptake is monitored on a quarterly basis.
PCTs may also extend access by offering screens through a range of other testing venues including remote testing via websites/postal kits, educational establishments and targeted outreach events. The NCSP has issued specific guidance on maximising testing through remote testing.
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the rate of uptake of Chlamydia screening in primary care trusts; and if he will make a statement. [302678]
Gillian Merron: The National Chlamydia Screening programme routinely monitors the uptake of screening in primary care trusts and publishes data on the uptake on a quarterly basis.
Data tables for primary care trusts in England are available at:
Chlamydia: West Midlands
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people of each sex between the ages of 15 and 24 years were screened for Chlamydia in the West Midlands in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [301883]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |