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16 Mar 2010 : Column 768W—continued
Care Homes: Inspections
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the policy is of the Care Quality Commission on assessment of a care home after a change in its rating. [322234]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The following information has been supplied by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
A rating is only awarded, or can only be changed, following a 'key inspection'.
The CQC takes a proportionate approach to the frequency of its key inspections. A change to a lower rating, will result in an increase in the frequency of key inspections, and conversely a change to a higher rating will result in a decrease.
Carers: Birmingham
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been received in Birmingham (a) to enable breaks for carers and (b) from the New Deal for Carers programme in each year since 1997. [321570]
Phil Hope: The Government introduced the Carers' Grant in 1999 in recognition of the support carers need for breaks and other services.
The amount of funding that Birmingham has received from the Carers' Grant to support carers, including breaks, is in the following table.
| Financial year | Amount of grant (£ million ) |
"Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services", published in January 2006 (a copy of which has been placed in the Library), offered a new deal for carers through a range of measures, including a commitment to update the 1999 Carers' Strategy.
The revised strategy, published in 2008, commits £255 million over the current spending review period, 2008-11, to improve support for carers. This includes £50 million in 2009-10 and £100 million in 2010-11 which is being given to primary care trusts (PCTs) within their baseline allocations to provide breaks for carers. It is for PCTs to decide their priorities for investment locally, taking into account their local circumstances and priorities set out in the NHS Operating Framework.
The new deal for carers also included a commitment to provide training for carers. Through the Caring with Confidence programme, £150,000 will have been spent on training carers in Birmingham by 31 March 2010.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Research
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated any research on a relationship between myalgic encephalomyelitis and blood-related disorders. [322011]
Gillian Merron: The Department has, to date, not commissioned or evaluated any research. However, others, such as the Medical Research Council, the Health Protection Agency and the UK Blood Services, are currently considering these issues. I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 27 January 2010, Official Report, column 942W.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Staffordshire
Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he has taken to ensure that Staffordshire has adequate specialist clinics for the treatment of myelgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome; [321937]
(2) what funding he plans to provide to specialist clinics in Staffordshire for the treatment of myelgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome. [321938]
Ann Keen: This information is not available. It is for local primary care trusts (PCTs) to decide what treatments to fund, and the Department does not dictate centrally how PCTs spend their budgets. We believe it is right that PCTs should decide how to spend their budgets based on the specific health care needs of their local populations.
Dementia: Health Services
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2010, Official Report, columns 224-25W, on dementia: drugs, what the salary is for the post of National Clinical Director for Dementia. [322271]
Phil Hope: The application pack for the post, which is a secondment, made clear that the salary for 2.5 days a week would be between £75,383 and £95,333 (or equivalent to Agenda for Change band 9), and that secondees who fell outside this pay range would be expected to come across on their current salary.
It is not the practice of the Department to reveal personal salary details for its staff unless they are covered in the remuneration report of the annual resource accounts which covers staff at board level. In common with other Departments and agencies, the Department will shortly publish details on its website of staff earning over £150,000. In this case, the National Clinical Director for Dementia does not take up post until 1 April 2010 and his salary is yet to be determined.
Dementia: Research
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2010, Official Report, column 225W, on dementia: drugs, if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the first meeting of the ministerial group on dementia research held on 24 February 2010; what the outcomes were of that meeting; and if he will make a statement. [322270]
Phil Hope: A copy of the minutes of the meeting of the ministerial advisory group on dementia research held on 24 February 2010 has been placed in the Library.
The group has identified five broad workstreams. These will be taken forward by designated sub-groups led by one or more members of the group, drawing in additional advice and expertise as necessary.
agreeing priority topics for dementia research, in each of the three main areas of cause, cure and care;
finding ways of raising public awareness of, and support for, dementia research and increasing public engagement in dementia research;
increasing the success of dementia research in securing available funding and support and identifying ways to improve the capacity and capability of the dementia research workforce;
developing better ways of working between researchers and between public and private sectors;
identifying further ways to 'bust bureaucracy' where there are issues specific to dementia research; and
improving the 'translation' of research into better treatment and care.
Each workstream sub-group will examine its specific area in detail, identifying the major issues and suggesting practical ways to address them.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2010, Official Report, column 866W, on departmental internet, what the cost was of the website redesign. [321929]
Phil Hope: The Department relaunched its corporate website:
on 10 February 2008 following a project to redesign the site and restructure the content. The total cost of the redesign and implementation project was £513,000. This includes user research, visual and template design, content review and restructure, technical build, test and deployment, and testing.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many designs for its (a) internal website and (b) intranet his Department has commissioned since 2005; and what the cost was of each such design. [321987]
Phil Hope: The Department has an intranet site. Since 2005 there have been two redesigns commissioned.
In 2006 the design costs were £43,000.
In 2008-2009 the design costs were £26,576.
Departmental Lost Property
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what property has been recorded as (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in the last 12 months; and what estimate has been made of the cost of the replacement of that property. [322077]
Phil Hope: The Department does not distinguish between the two categories 'lost' and 'stolen' as these categories are not, and have not historically been, recorded separately.
From 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 the following items of departmental property were reported lost or stolen with an estimated replacement cost of £38,610.
| Number | |
Electromagnetic Fields: Health Hazards
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of illness or other ailments in children attributable to the operation of electromagnetic fields have been reported since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [322015]
Gillian Merron: The Department does not hold this information centrally.
The Department has supported research over the last decade in relation to concerns that there might be adverse effects from low levels of exposure to electromagnetic fields from power lines, mobile phones and telecommunications masts. In the course of this work, the scientific and medical communities have become aware of people who report an unusual sensitivity to electric or magnetic fields. A range of symptoms was noted by the Health Protection Agency's (HPA's) Radiation Protection Division in its publication, 'Mobile Phone and Health 2004', which is available on the HPA website at:
www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&;HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1254510624582?p=1219908766891
The HPA also published a study entitled 'Definition, Epidemiology and Management of Electrical Sensitivity', which is also available on the HPA website at:
www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&;HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1247816558210?p=1197637096018
The HPA is undertaking a programme of research on wireless local area networks, including wi-fi use in schools. Information about these studies is available on the HPA website at:
The Health Protection Agency and the World Health Organisation keep scientific reports on health effects from electromagnetic fields under review.
Eyesight: Testing
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to retain the age of eligibility for free NHS sight tests for women at 60 or over when the female state pension age rises above 60. [322000]
Ann Keen: The 2009 pre-Budget report announced that the age at which pensioner benefits can be received will increase in line with the female state pension age. The Government are working to give effect to these proposals. Changes to eligibility for national health service-funded sight tests for people aged 60 or over would require primary legislation.
Fertility
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) classifies (a) unfertilised eggs and (b) immature human eggs that have not been used to create an embryo as eggs that have failed to fertilise; and what guidance has been issued to the HFEA on the application of the provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Acts 1990 and 2008 to the classification of eggs that have failed to fertilise. [322329]
Gillian Merron: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that eggs which are classified as failed to fertilise are those eggs which have had sperm applied to them but subsequently did not fertilise. The Government have not given any guidance to the HFEA on how it should classify any egg that does not fertilise.
Health Services: Isle of Man
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2010, Official Report, column 350W, on health services: reciprocal arrangements, by what means his Department made the Isle of Man Government aware of its position on 9 March 2010. [322667]
Gillian Merron: Officials at the Department contacted, by phone, officials from the Isle of Man Government. Further e-mail advice was sent on 15 March 2010.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will meet the co-chair of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, the right hon. Member for Torfaen (Mr. Murphy), to discuss the contents of his recent letter setting out the terms of the unanimous resolution passed by the Assembly requesting deferment of the decision to revoke the reciprocal health agreement between the UK and the Isle of Man; and if he will make a statement; [322680]
(2) on what date his officials informed him of the letter from the co-chair of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, the right hon. Member for Torfaen, setting out the terms of the unanimous resolution passed by the Assembly requesting deferment of the decision to revoke the reciprocal health agreement between the UK and the Isle of Man; and if he will make a statement. [322681]
Gillian Merron: The Department received the letter on 3 March 2010 and will reply in due course.
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