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30 Jun 2010 : Column 566W—continued
Dementia: Health Services
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in recruiting dementia champions in each primary care trust. [4739]
Mr Burstow: The National Dementia Strategy calls for the appointment of dementia leads in general hospitals and in care homes. The National Audit of dementia services, due to report in October, will demonstrate progress on the appointment of leads in general hospitals. The Government have also appointed national dementia champions for the national health service (Sir Ian Carruthers) the independent sector (Martin Green) and for social care (Jenny Owen). Together with the National Clinical Director for Dementia, Professor Alistair Burns, they will be conducting regional roadshows throughout the summer of 2010 to encourage implementation of the strategy.
Departmental Legislation
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has created new files on (a) the Abortion Act 1967, (b) the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and (c) the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 since July 2009; and if he will make a statement. [4304]
Anne Milton: The Department has created new files on the Abortion Act 1967, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 as the need has arisen.
Departmental Pay
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department in 2009-10. [2190]
Mr Simon Burns: Non-consolidated performance payments are an integral part of the Department's reward strategy for all its staff. They have to be re-earned each year and do not add to future pay bill costs. These payments are used to reward outstanding performance and behaviours in delivering the Department's agenda.
£2,499,004 was paid in non-consolidated performance payments to civil servants in the Department in the financial year 2009-10.
Departmental VAT
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the change in the level of value added tax his Department will be required to pay in the financial year (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12. [4570]
Mr Simon Burns: Departmental budgets are set on a tax inclusive basis and allow for the recovery of value added tax on certain contracted out services.
In support of the Government's plans to save £6.2 billion in 2010-11, the Department is planning for a reduction in expenditure with third parties in 2010-11 compared to 2009-10 levels. Therefore, at this stage in the year we are unable to provide a reliable estimate of the change in the level of value added tax payments for the last quarter of 2010-11.
Budgets for the financial year 2011-12 have not yet been set and as such it is not possible to estimate the impact of tax changes.
Drugs: Finance
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to implement any of the recommendations in respect of the pharmacy sector and pharmaceutical wholesalers in the McKinsey Report on NHS efficiency savings. [4613]
Mr Simon Burns: We have no plans to make changes affecting the pharmacy and pharmaceutical wholesaler sectors based on the recommendations in the McKinsey report. We intend to build on the current contractual arrangements for community pharmacy, incentivising and supporting high quality and efficient services and optimising patients' use of their medicines to gain better value.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the effect on the NHS budget of changes in discounts to pharmacists, hospitals and dispensing doctors by pharmaceutical wholesalers since 1996; and if he will make a statement. [4701]
Mr Simon Burns: The amount of retained medicine margin generated by community pharmacy contractors through discounts and identified through medicine margin surveys is shown in the following table. Medicine margin surveys were introduced as part of the community pharmacy contractual framework in April 2005. Information relating to hospital pharmacies and dispensing doctors is not collected.
| Retained medicine margin (£ million) | |
| Source: Department of Health Medicine Margin Survey | |
Homeopathy
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to respond to the Fourth Report of the Science and Technology Committee of Session 2009-10, HC 45, on Evidence check 2: Homeopathy. [4185]
Anne Milton: Following the general election, it is important that new ministers give careful consideration to the report and its recommendations. I have therefore written to the chair of the new Science and Technology Committee requesting an extension until the summer recess.
Hospital Beds
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to ensure that elderly people are moved from hospitals to residential care in a timely fashion in order to avoid delayed discharges in the NHS. [4200]
Mr Burstow: Councils and their national health service partners have already made significant progress in reducing delays in discharge from acute hospital beds, including where patients are being discharged to residential care. We are committed to making the NHS work better by extending best practice on improving discharge from hospital.
In the Revision to the Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2010-11 we have signalled that, for 2011-12, we are planning changes to the tariff to cover reablement and post-discharge support, including social care.
Hospitals: Greater London
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of average waiting times from referral for elective surgery at (a) the Royal Free hospital, (b) Whittington hospital, (c) University College London hospital and (d) St Mary's hospital, Paddington in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement [4809]
Mr Simon Burns: Information is not collected in the format requested.
Information is held at the level of trusts and information is not available for specific hospital sites. The following table sets out the median waiting times for Referral to Treatment (in weeks) for Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in 2008-09 (latest data available).
| Admitted patients | Non-admitted patients | |
| Notes: 1. Figures reflect average waiting times for patients treated during the month. 2. Waiting time is from referral to first definitive treatment. 3. Admitted figures are on an adjusted basis, i.e. excluding periods of delay introduced as a result of patients turning down offers of admissions made with reasonable notice. 4. The latest published Referral to Treatment data are for April 2010. Source: Department Monthly Referral to Treatment Return | ||
Macular Degeneration: Health Services
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the (a) incidence of and (b) cost to the public purse of treating age-related macular degeneration in the latest period for which figures are available. [4263]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not collect data on the number of people with age-related macular degeneration. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence estimated in August 2008 as part of their appraisal of ranibizumab and pegaptanib that there are about 26,000 new cases of wet age-related macular degeneration in the United Kingdom each year. The Hospital Episode Statistics produced by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care shows that there were 34,203 finished admission episodes in 2008-09 where the primary diagnosis was "degeneration of macula and posterior pole". Counts of finished admission episodes are not the same as counts of patients, as a single patient may be admitted more than once in a single year.
Financial data on the costs of treatment of age-related macular degeneration are not collected centrally.
Muscular Dystrophy
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if his Department will seek to meet the recently published international standards of care for Duchenne muscular dystrophy; [4317]
(2) if his Department will publish a national strategy for the care of Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients; [4319]
(3) what services are available for young people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy during their transition from paediatric to adult services. [4320]
Mr Burstow: It is the responsibility of health and care professionals, working in conjunction with patients and their families, to arrange the most appropriate health and social care for those living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The National Service Framework for long-term conditions (the NSF) provides an overview of how this care should be provided. The eleven quality requirements of the NSF are compatible with more condition specific standards of care, such as the international TREAT-NMD recommendations for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
We have no plans to publish a national strategy for the care of people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The NSF's quality requirements apply equally to Duchenne muscular dystrophy as they do for any other neuromuscular condition. The NSF covers all aspects of care from assessment, through diagnosis, information/education, treatment and support, to end of life decisions and palliative care.
Those living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy should continue to be able to access the full range of health and social care services during the transition from paediatric to adulthood. It is the responsibility of local health bodies and health professionals to ensure transition to adult services does not result in a deterioration in available services.
NHS
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable he has set for (a) the publication of the Health White Paper and the related introduction of associated legislative proposals and (b) the introduction of the proposed independent NHS Board. [4866]
Mr Simon Burns: The "Coalition: our programme for government" document confirms this Government's intention to establish an independent NHS Board to allocate resources and provide commissioning guidelines. The Queen's Speech also confirmed that there would be a Health Bill in this parliamentary Session. We will bring forward more detailed proposals in due course.
NHS: ICT
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on information technology in 2009. [4412]
Mr Simon Burns: Information technology (IT) expenditure reported by the national health service in the 2008-09 financial year amounted to £1,624 million, broken down as follows:
| £ million | |
These figures comprise revenue expenditure (£1,363 million) reported through an annual national survey of IT investment, and capital expenditure (£261 million), including software licences, identified in NHS Accounts and reported by foundation trusts. They do not include expenditure by special health authorities or central expenditure funded by the Department.
The National programme for IT expenditure on behalf of the NHS for the 2008-09 financial year amounted to £1,063 million comprising revenue expenditure (£528 million) and capital expenditure (£535 million) of which includes non information management and technology associated costs.
Note:
Figures rounded to the nearest whole £ million
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on NHS IT projects undertaken by companies with headquarters outside the UK in 2009. [4792]
Mr Simon Burns: Comprehensive information about information technology (IT) procurements by national health service organisations is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The spend by the Department for the National programme for IT in the 2009-10 financial year is given in the following table.
| Table: Spend on projects undertaken by companies with headquarters outside the UK | |
| £ | |
| Note: These figures are inclusive of VAT and rounded to the nearest £ million. | |
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