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8 Feb 2010 : Column 714W—continued
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of school nurses in England without a post-registration qualification in each of the last five years. [315754]
Ann Keen: Information on the numbers of school nurses without post registration qualifications is not held centrally.
Prescriptions
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of prescriptions issued by the NHS in England and Wales were for generic drugs in each of the last five years. [316238]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Figures for the percentage of items prescribed and dispensed generically were published by the NHS Information Centre on 29 July 2009 in Prescriptions Dispensed in the Community, Statistics for 1998 to 2008: England and are shown in the following table. Information concerning Wales is a devolved matter for the Welsh Assembly.
| Generic prescribing and dispensing in England by calendar year | ||
| Percentage prescribed generically( 1) | Percentage prescribed and dispensed generically( 2) | |
| (1) "Prescribed generically" indicates that the prescriber used the generic name on the prescription whether or not such a generic formulation exists. (2 )"Prescribed and dispensed generically" indicates that the prescriber used the generic name and the item was dispensed as a generic product. Notes: 1. Items prescribed generically may not be available generically and are therefore dispensed as a proprietary product. 2. Items classed as dressings and appliances are not included in these figures. | ||
Public Holidays
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has of the cost to his Department of the introduction of an additional public holiday; and if he will make a statement. [315117]
Phil Hope: No estimate has been made of the cost to the Department of introducing an additional public holiday. There would be no change in the overall pay bill for the Department because any public holiday would be paid leave.
It is not possible to make an estimate of the impact of an extra public holiday on work load over the course of a year.
Sunbeds: Young People
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the tanning industry on the regulation of sun-bed usage by those under the age of 18 years. [315618]
Gillian Merron: The Department has engaged in discussions with stakeholders, including representatives from the tanning industry, over the last year, in taking forward the Cancer Reform Strategy commitment to review options for the regulation of the sunbed industry, particularly in relation to the use of sunbeds by minors.
Thanet
Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information related as directly as possible to South Thanet constituency, the effects on South Thanet of his Department's policies and actions since 2000. [315631]
Gillian Merron: The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. 93 per cent. of people nationally now rate the NHS as good or excellent. The NHS Constitution contains 25 rights and 14 pledges for patients and the public including new rights to be treated within 18 weeks, or be seen by a cancer specialist within two weeks, and an NHS health check every five years for those aged 40-74 years.
There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the South Thanet constituency. For example:
Figures for November 2009 show that in Eastern and Coastal Kent primary care trust (PCT):
93 per cent. of patients whose treatment involved admission to hospital started their treatment within 18 weeks.
97 per cent. of patients whose treatment did not involve admission to hospital started their treatment within 18 weeks.
In September 2009, at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, 99.2 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.
Between September 2002 and September 2008, the number of consultants at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has increased from 237 to 281. Between September 2002 and September 2008 the estimated number of nurses has increased from 2,209 to 2,361.
Between September 2001 and September 2008, the number of general practitioners (GPs) per 100,000 within Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT has increased from 53.8 to 63.3.
92.6 per cent. of urgent GP referrals to East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust with suspected cancer are seen by a specialist within two weeks of the referral.
Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT opened its GP-led health centre in early 2009 at Sheppey Community Hospital in Sheerness. The Sheppey NHS Healthcare Centre is open between 8 am and 8 pm, seven days a week, and additional services include minor surgery, podiatry and ultrasound scanning.
There is one private finance initiative (PFI) scheme in the area that serves this constituency: a £14 million PFI scheme from Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT that opened in October 2002.
Although statistical information is not available at a local level, South Thanet will have also benefitted from national policies in other areas. For example:
Since 1997, gross current expenditure on personal social services has increased by around 70 per cent. in real terms, with around 105,000 households now receiving intensive home care and 3,076 new extra care housing units-exceeding the original target of 1,500 new extra care units.
Other strategies currently being implemented are:
Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Personal Care at Home Bill will guarantee free personal care for 280,000 people with the highest needs and help around 130,000 people who need home care for the first time to regain their independence.
"Shaping the Future of Care Together Green Paper", published in July 2009, sets out a vision of a National Care Service for all adults in England that is fair, simple and affordable. The Department has consulted widely on this reform and is currently analysing the responses, which will feed into a White Paper later this year.
The National Carer's Strategy-Carers at the heart of 21st century families and communities-launched in 2008.
The first National Dementia Strategy was published in February 2009.
"Valuing People Now"-a three-year strategy for people with learning disabilities-was published in January 2009.
"New Horizons: A Shared Vision for Mental Health" was launched in December 2009 to maintain improvements in mental health services, combined with a new cross-Government approach to promoting public mental health.
Since 1998, there are 2.4 million fewer smokers in England as a result of the Government's comprehensive tobacco control strategy, which has a measurable impact on reducing smoking prevalence.
Child obesity levels are reducing due to the efforts of families across England, supported by the Government's obesity strategy. In 2008, 13.9 per cent. of children (aged 2 to 10) in England were classified as obese, compared with 17.3 per cent. in 2005.
Overall, life expectancy at birth for men has increased from 74.5 years (1995-1997 data) to 77.7 years (2006-08 data) while for women, life expectancy at birth has increased from 79.6 years (1995-97 data) to 81.9 years (2006-08 data).
Thrombosis
John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when NHS Connecting for Heath plans to make an electronic version of the National Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Risk Assessment model available to NHS acute trusts for the purposes of recording the proportion of hospital patients risk assessed for VTE; and whether a specific hospital acquired VTE code will be made available. [315481] [Official Report, 8 March 2010, Vol. 507, c. 1MC.]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: A venous thromboembolism (VTE) electronic risk assessment tool, fully compliant with the recently-published National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on reducing the risk of VTE in patients admitted to hospital, should be available for use by acute and primary care providers in England by the end of June 2010.
There is currently no individual standard clinical terminology (SNOMED CT) code for the representation of 'hospital-acquired' VTE. A number of codes were added to SNOMED CT during 2009 to support the introduction of electronic VTE risk assessment. There are also pre-existing codes that can be used for recording incidence of the condition, as distinct from risk. There are formal mechanisms for the introduction of new SNOMED CT codes should this prove to be necessary.
Weather: Death
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the likely number of excess deaths resulting from the current cold weather; and whether he has estimated the number of excess deaths attributable to non-delivery of heating fuels because of climatic conditions. [315751]
Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 28 January 2010, Official Report, column 1084W.
With current data sources, it is not possible to estimate the number of excess deaths attributable to non-delivery of heating fuels because of climatic conditions.
Women and Equality
Equality: Economic Situation
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if she will make printed copies of "An Anatomy of Economic Inequality in the UK" available to hon. Members in the Vote Office. [315948]
Michael Jabez Foster:
My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Women and Equality set out a written ministerial statement on 27 January 2010, Official Report, column 60WS, on the report of the National Equality Panel, "An Anatomy of Economic Inequality in the UK". The statement offered Members three ways to
obtain the report, making clear that: a copy had been placed in the House Library; that the report could be downloaded at:
and; that it could be obtained on request from the Government Equalities Office.
House officials advised that as an independent publication, the Government would not normally place copies of the National Equality Panel's report in the Vote Office.
However, I have instructed my officials to work with the Vote Office to meet the demand from Members.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Antisocial Behaviour: Crime Prevention
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has received recent representations on the regulation of the sale of ultrasonic Mosquito devices; and if he will make a statement. [316229]
Kevin Brennan: The Department has received no representations about the sale of these devices.
Higher Education: Student Numbers
Paul Holmes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students withdrew from higher education between September and December in each of the last five years. [316529]
Mr. Lammy: Information on the numbers of students who withdrew from higher education between September and December in each of the last five years is not available.
The numbers and proportions of all UK-domiciled full-time first degree entrants who were no longer in education after their first year (non-continuation rate) are provided as an alternative in the table.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes the 'Performance Indicators in Higher Education' which cover non-continuation rates of UK-domiciled full-time first-degree entrants. The non-continuation rate lags behind some other widening participation indicators by one year due to the need for an extra year's data to determine which students are no longer in higher education. Figures are provided for the five years to 2006/07, the most recent academic year for which information is available. Figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available from HESA on 15 April.
| Full-time first degree entrants no longer in higher education after their first year-UK higher education institutions, academic years 2002/03 to 2006/07 | ||
| Year of entry | Number no longer in HE | Percentage no longer in HE |
| Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded up or down to the nearest five. 2. Percentages are given to one decimal place. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Performance Indicators, Table 3a | ||
International Development
Charter Cities
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations he has received on proposals on UN assistance for the establishment of charter cities; and if he will make a statement. [315666]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not received any formal representations on proposals on UN assistance for the establishment of charter cities.
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