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15 Dec 2009 : Column 1045W—continued
All of the trees purchased in 2009 came from a sustainable source. The costs include the delivery, installation and collection and sustainable disposal for each tree. For all trees purchased in 2009 new trees are planted. The costs in 2009 represent the purchase of three small trees for Richmond House to replace artificial trees that were broken and one large tree in Skipton House at a cost of £2,485. The cost of the large tree is broken down as follows:
| £ | |
We purchased a smaller tree in Skipton House in 2009 saving £418 on the costs incurred in 2008
The following table summarises the number and cost of all the Christmas trees purchased by the Department and its agencies in each of the last five years.
| Trees purchased | Total cost (£) | |
Medicines and Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA)
MHRA does not hold records of any purchases before 2006. Details of Christmas trees purchased since 2007 are as follows:
| Trees purchased | Total cost (£) | |
The tree purchased in 2007 was provided as part of the landlord service charge and we have no records of the source of this tree. The tree purchased in 2008 came from a sustainable forest and a tree was replanted. When finished with use the tree was collected, shredded and turned into compost.
The Purchasing and Supply Agency has not purchased any trees.
Chronically Sick
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the scheduled dates are for (a) commencement and (b) completion of the mid-term review for the National Service Framework for Long-Term Conditions. [306528]
Ann Keen: The mid-term review is scheduled to commence early next year, and be completed by late spring 2010.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months. [305682]
Phil Hope: The Department of Health has spent £4,890 on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in the last 12 months.
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which conferences held overseas have been attended by officials of his Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference. [305863]
Phil Hope: Information about attendance at individual conferences and the costs of such attendance is not collected centrally.
Departmental Training
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many overseas training courses were attended by officials of his Department in the latest period for which figures are available; how many such officials attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course. [305894]
Phil Hope: Training provided to departmental staff is delivered primarily through short (half-day or one-day) training courses, taking place on departmental premises whenever possible. Data held centrally show that only in exceptional cases do staff participate in training outside the United Kingdom. In the past year there has been one centrally recorded case of overseas training, at a total cost of £18,000.
Any training organised locally by teams is not recorded centrally and would incur disproportionate cost to collect.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of Parliamentary Questions tabled for written Answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day. [307543]
Phil Hope: 840 questions were tabled for answer on a named day, of which 789 (94 per cent.) were answered on the day specified.
Dietary Supplements: Health Hazards
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many illnesses attributable to the use of food supplements were recorded in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [307121]
Gillian Merron: There is no mandatory adverse event reporting system for food supplements, therefore there are no central records held of the number of illnesses attributable to the use of food supplements.
Drugs: Prisons
Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what interventions are used to meet the needs of (a) low, (b) moderate and (c) severe drug misusers in prisons; and if he will make a statement; [307376]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Drug Interventions Programme in prisons; and if he will make a statement. [307377]
Phil Hope: The interventions used to meet the range of needs of drug misusers in prisons are clearly outlined in "Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management (Department of Health (England), the Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland Executive, 2007)", a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
The 2007 clinical guidelines provide guidance on the treatment of drug misuse in the United Kingdom. They are based on current evidence and professional consensus on how to provide drug treatment for the majority of patients, including within prisons.
The 2007 clinical guidelines do not provide rigid protocols on how clinicians must provide drug treatment for all drug misusers (all drug misusers includes those with low, moderate and severe misuse). Neither does this guidance override the individual responsibility of clinicians to make appropriate decisions in the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient (and guardians and carers if appropriate). In instances where clinicians operate outside the framework of this guidance, they should be able to demonstrate the rationale for their decisions.
An Independent evaluation of the Integrated Drug Treatment System in prisons has been commissioned by the Department. The independent evaluation began in 2008 and is timetabled to be completed in 2011.
Drugs: Rehabilitation
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) adults and (b) children under 18 years old received opiate substitutes or methadone prescriptions in each year since 2000. [305757]
Gillian Merron: The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) records the number of people in specialist drug treatment who are reported as receiving a prescribing intervention. The vast majority of such adults are receiving methadone or buprenorphine. Of the remainder, some receive other substitute medication and some receive symptomatic treatment in conjunction with psychosocial treatment. NDTMS has recorded data since 2004-05. NDTMS does not record activity by general practitioners who are not specialists in drug treatment who may also prescribe substitute opioids for drug misusers.
Data from 2004-05 are presented in the following table. Data for 2008-09 have been calculated using a new, more accurate methodology. Revised data for previous years, recalculated to be consistent with the improved methodology, will be published early next year.
| Individuals( 1) in drug treatment in England receiving a prescribing intervention (usually alongside other interventions) | |
| Number | |
| (1) From 2004-05 to 2007-08, data included adults and young people. For 2008-09 the figure includes only adults. (2) Methodology changed to count adults only and improve accuracy. Figures for this year are therefore not directly comparable with previous years. | |
In 2007-08, 253 young people in specialist treatment in England were recorded in the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA)'s published figures ('Getting to Grips, 2009') as receiving a pharmacological intervention, of which 77 were receiving only this intervention (the remainder received other interventions in addition). A pharmacological intervention in the case of a young person will normally be symptomatic treatment, rather than substitute prescribing.
Prior to 2007-08, young people were included in the general data above. Young people's data for 2008-09 will be published later this month.
Food Standards Agency: Hotels
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Food Standards Agency has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years. [306035]
Gillian Merron: The Food Standards Agency does not separately record expenses on hotel accommodation. The cost of separating hotel expense claims from others would be at disproportionate cost.
Food Standards Agency: Internet
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what redesigns of websites operated by the Food Standards Agency have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) date of completion of each such redesign was. [306200]
Gillian Merron: There have been no redesigns of websites operated by the Food Standards Agency since 27 June 2007.
Health Education: Sex
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sexual health campaigns (a) directed at students and (b) in the Greater Manchester area his Department is undertaking. [305698]
Gillian Merron: The Department is currently undertaking sexual health campaign activity for young people, including students, in Greater Manchester.
The 'Any Plans Tonight' campaign will run on billboards in Manchester city centre and on selected bus shelters in wards with high rates of under-18 conceptions for two weeks starting on 29 December 2009. The campaign is aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds and aims to remind young people of the need to use condoms and contraception and promotes local contraception and sexual health services. In addition, the Manchester Metropolitan University branch of the National Union of Students plans to distribute materials for use at their local club nights and on the 'Show a Condom Grab a Gift' event.
At national level the Department works with the National Union of Students in England on an ongoing basis. The Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families are currently running an England-wide joint campaign aimed at young people including students. The first part of this campaign, which covers contraception choices and is called 'Contraception. Worth Talking About', was launched on 30 November 2009.
Health Services: Isle of Man
Andrew Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library details of (a) arrangements, (b) contracts and (c) tariffs relating to the commissioning by the Isle of Man Government of
elective health service treatments handled by North West Specialist Commissioning team of the NHS that have been in operation over the past decade; and if he will make a statement. [300313]
Gillian Merron [holding answer 25 November 2009]: A copy of an agreement between NHS North West Specialist Commissioning team and the Isle of Man Government has been placed in the Library. Tariffs used are in line with national policy with regard to payment by result.
Health Services: Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in the financial position of (a) primary care trusts and (b) hospital trusts in Leeds in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [306590]
Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the following table:
| £000 | |||
| 2007-08 Annual Accounts Surplus/(Deficit) | 2008-09 Annual Accounts Surplus/(Deficit) | 2009-10 Q2 Forecast Outturn Surplus/(Deficit) | |
| Notes: The financial positions of all national health service organisations that report to the Department are published quarterly on the Department's website. These publications also include an assessment of the NHS organisations' performance against the NHS performance framework. This information can be accessed via the following link: www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_087335 Source: The Department of Health. | |||
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