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26 Oct 2010 : Column 298W—continued
Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent assessment is of the performance of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment. [19159]
Anne Milton: The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) was reviewed in 2005 by a panel of assessors drawn from Government Departments, the devolved Administrations and other agencies with an interest in its work.
The assessors concluded that COMARE was good value and a well run committee that more than met the needs of advice to Government.
As part of the implementation of the changes to the Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies (ANDPBs), we will be implementing a periodic review process (three yearly), of all our significant advisory committees and ANDPBs which will incorporate an assessment of performance and effectiveness. Wherever possible this will be conducted by an independent expert.
Dementia
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence review of dementia treatment takes account of the management of behaviour and symptoms with a view to reducing the prescription of anti-psychotics. [19294]
Paul Burstow: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns) on 14 October 2010, Official Report, column 395W.
Dental Services
Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made an assessment of the financial implications for small NHS dental practices of Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 on decontamination in primary care dental practices. [19003]
Mr Simon Burns: We are only requiring compliance with the essential quality requirements (EQR) within Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 01-05, which add very little to the standards set in the 'A 12' guide on decontamination in dental practice, issued by the British Dental Association in 2002, with the support of the Department. Practices that were complying with this earlier guidance should therefore incur few additional costs in complying with the EQR. We have not set a date for compliance with the higher 'best practice' standards set in the HTM.
Departmental Expenditure Limit
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the planned NHS surplus for 2010-11 has been included into the baseline figure for his Department's departmental expenditure limit. [19617]
Mr Simon Burns: Forecast underspends or overspends do not form part of the baseline in this or any other Spending Review.
The national health service will continue to be allowed to access their accumulated surpluses as part of their agreed financial plans over the next Spending Review, in line with the requirements outlined in the Operating Framework.
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the real terms percentage change from year to year in his departmental expenditure limit for the years 2010-11 to 2014-15. [19600]
Mr Simon Burns: The real terms percentage changes in the departmental expenditure limit (DEL) are shown in the following table. These figures have been constructed from figures published by HM Treasury as part of the 2010 Spending Review: Resource DEL-Table A10, Capital DEL-Table A6, Total DEL-Table A9.
| Average growth for the national health service in Spending Review 2010 | ||||
| Average growth as a percentage | ||||
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
| Note: Calculations use the gross domestic product deflator from Budget 2010 as 1.95% for 2011-12, 2.27% for 2012-13, 2.62% for 2013-14 and 2.65% for 2014-15. | ||||
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason there is a difference between the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) of £101.5 billion for his Department for 2010-11 referred to in the June 2010 Budget Red Book and the Resource DEL for 2010-11 of £98.7 billion referred to in Spending Review 2010. [19610]
Mr Simon Burns: The figures are not comparable and are in a different financial currency. The £98.7 billion referred to in Spending Review Table A5 covers national health service expenditure in England excluding depreciation. The £101.5 billion referred to in the June 2010 Budget Red Book, is on a resource base that includes depreciation, and covers in addition to NHS England funding: expenditure on Personal Social Services and on the Food Standards Agency.
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to Spending Review 2010, page 43, Table 2.2, for what reason depreciation is excluded from the resource departmental expenditure limit for 2010-11 for his Department. [19611]
Mr Simon Burns: The normal protocol used by Department to report total National Health Service Expenditure is to report Revenue Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) including depreciation (RDEL).
This has caused confusion in the past when RDEL is reported alongside capital (CDEL), and overall expenditure (TDEL). This is because TDEL is sum of RDEL and CDEL net of depreciation; to include depreciation would double count funding in both revenue and capital.
The revised presentation adopted in Spending Review 2010 allows total expenditure to be calculated as a simple sum of revenue and capital.
The alternative presentation of revenue resource DEL that includes depreciation is given in Table A10 of the statistical annex to the Spending Review.
Diabetes: Ealing
Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of type (a) 1 and (b) 2 diabetes were confirmed in Ealing, Southall constituency in each year since 2007. [19076]
Paul Burstow: Information is not collected in the format requested. The National Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) records the number of people on practice disease registers. A register exists for diabetes, but it does not include patients below the age of 17 and does not distinguish between the two types of diabetes. Data are collected by primary care trust (PCT), not by constituency.
The following table shows the number of patients on the diabetes disease register in Ealing PCT by financial year. Patients are aged 17 and over, and figures include both types of diabetes.
| Number of patients on the diabetes disease register in Ealing PCT from 2006-07 | |
| Financial year | Number of patients |
| Notes: 1. The QOF was introduced as part of the new General Medical Services contract on 1 April 2004. 2. Participation by practices in the QOF is voluntary, though participation rates are very high, with most Personal Medical Services practices also taking part. 3. The published QOF information was derived from the Quality Management Analysis System (QMAS), a national information technology system that uses data from general practices to calculate individual practices' QOF achievement. Source: The Information Centre for health and social care | |
Gene Therapy Advisory Committee
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent assessment is of the performance of the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee. [19173]
Anne Milton:
The Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC) operates in accordance with its standard operating procedures as laid down in the Clinical Trials Directive (2001/20/EC) which were transposed into United Kingdom law by the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004. In addition to legislation, GTAC adheres to international standards on the ethics of clinical research, and ensures that the applications it receives conform to the standards established by the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki as well as the International Conference on Harmonisation - Good Clinical Practice Guidelines for Clinical Trials (ICH-GCP). The performance of the Committee's Chair
and individual members is assessed by the Department and the Appointments Commission, and is taken into account in the reappointment process.
Health Protection Agency
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from what sources he plans to seek independent advice on the effects of radiation following the abolition of the (a) Health Protection Agency and (b) Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment; and if he will make a statement. [19802]
Anne Milton: The Health Protection Agency will only cease to be a statutory body. Its functions will be transferred into the new Public Health Service within the Department. The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment will not be abolished, but will continue as an advisory committee to the Department, other Government departments and to the Devolved Administrations. In all cases, we shall ensure that the scientists involved continue to provide independent scientific advice on the effects of radiation.
Health: VAT
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the increase in the rate of VAT in the next spending review period. [19615]
Anne Milton: We are working through the detail of the impact of the VAT increase on those national health service services which are affected in conjunction with NHS organisations. The results of this work will feed into NHS financial planning in the new year.
HIV Infection: Older People
Gavin Barwell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has plans to improve the treatment of older people who are living with HIV/AIDS. [18617]
Anne Milton: Older people with HIV receive treatment in line with guidelines produced by the British HIV Association. In 2009 almost one in five adults with HIV were aged 50 years or older compared to one in seven adults in 2005 and one in ten in 2000. Earlier this year the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) and Joseph Rowntree Foundation published the "50 Plus" report on ageing and HIV which provides useful insights for planners and commissioners of HIV services for older people.
The Department has funded the THT to develop a national HIV Long Term Condition Management Programme, including tackling HIV-related health inequalities, stigma and discrimination.
Hospitals: Bury
Mr Nuttall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital-related infections were recorded in
hospitals in Bury North constituency in (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) 2009; and how many such infections resulted in the death of a patient. [19254]
Mr Simon Burns: Information on all healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) is not collected centrally. The mandatory surveillance system collects data on the following from acute trusts only: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemias; Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs); glycopeptide-resistant enterococci bacteraemias (GREs); and selected orthopaedic surgical site infections (SSIs).
Data for calendar years 2007, 2008 and 2009 for Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust are shown in the following tables.
Information on deaths associated with HCAIs is not collected routinely.
| Table 1 | ||||
| Number of total MRSA bacteraemia reports by calendar year | ||||
| MRSA bacteraemia reports | ||||
| National health service trust | January to December 2007 | January to December 2008 | January to December 2009 | Total |
| Number of trust apportioned MRSA bacteraemia reports by calendar year (available from April 2008 only) | |||
| MRSA bacteraemia reports | |||
| National health service trust | April to December 2008 | January to December 2009 | Total |
| Table 2 | ||||
| Number of total CDI reports by calendar year for patients aged 65+ | ||||
| CDI reports | ||||
| National health service trust | January to December 2007 | January to December 2008 | January to December 2009 | Total |
| Number of total apportioned CDI reports by calendar year for patients aged 2+ (available from April 2007 only) | ||||
| Trust appointed CDI reports | ||||
| National health service trust | April to December 2007 | January to December 2008 | January to December 2009 | Total |
| Table 3 | ||||
| Annual counts of GRE bacteraemia by reporting year | ||||
| GRE bacteraemia reports | ||||
| National health service trust | 1 October 2006 to 30 September 2007 | 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008 | 1 October 2008 to 30 September 2009 | Total |
| Table 4 | |||||
| Surveillance of SSIs in orthopaedic categories-number of operations, infections and rates by category | |||||
| SSIs : In-patient or readmission SSI | |||||
| Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust | Number of quarters in which trust participated | Category | Number of operations | Number | Percentage |
| Notes: (a) It is not easy to ascertain where an infection has been acquired and these datasets include both infections acquired in hospital and in other settings. However, the MRSA and CDI system now allow for indirect identification of cases that may have been acquired within the reporting trust by calculating the elapsed time between a patient's admission date and specimen date. (b) While MRSA bacteraemias and CDI present on admission can be identified, a proportion of these are likely associated with a previous hospital admission. Table 1: Data are as extracted from the HCAI Data Capture System on 19 April 2010, except for the total number of MRSA bacteraemia reports for 2007 which was extracted on 16 July 2009. Table 2: Data are as extracted from the HCAI data capture system on 19 April 2010, except for the total number of CDI reports for patients aged 65+ in 2007 which was extracted on 16 July 2009. Table 3: Data are as extracted from the HCAI data capture system on 7 June 2010. Table 4: (1) Hip Hemiarthroplasty April-June 2008 (2) Repair of neck of femur July 2008-March 2009 Notes: 1. NHS trusts are required to undertake surveillance in at least one quarter per year in one surgical category for the mandatory surveillance on SSI in orthopaedic categories. The minimum requirement allows trusts to balance their resources. 2. Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was able to undertake continuous surveillance since mandatory surveillance of SSI in orthopaedic categories began in 2004. Trusts are encouraged to undertake continuous surveillance to allow more precise rates to be estimated from a larger set of cumulative data. 3. Post-discharge surveillance was introduced in July 2008 across all hospitals. As a result, the main outcome measure now used for performance purposes is based on inpatient SSIs combined with readmission SSIs. 4. The repair of neck femur category replaced hip hemiarthroplasty from July 2008. Source: Health Protection Agency | |||||
Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations in carrying out its functions. [19202]
Anne Milton: No recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) as a whole. The JCVI chair undertakes annual appraisals of members' performance and the Department carries out an annual appraisal of the JCVI chair's performance. Regular meetings held between the chair of JCVI and staff of the Department contribute to the effective performance of the JCVI's functions.
The Department's review of Advisory Non-Departmental Public Bodies (ANDPBs), announced 14 October 2010, considered the JCVI and recommended it be reconstituted as a Department of Health/Public Health Service committee of experts.
As part of the implementation of the changes to the ANDPBs we will be implementing a periodic review process (three yearly) of all our significant advisory committees and ANDPBs which will incorporate an assessment of performance and effectiveness. Wherever possible this will be conducted by an independent expert.
Medical Treatments
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many procedures using drug eluting balloons (a) above and (b) below the knee have taken place in each NHS trust in the latest year for which figures are available. [19357]
Mr Simon Burns: This information is not collected centrally.
Members: Correspondence
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Food Standards Agency (FSA) plans to reply to the e-mail from the hon. Member for Leeds Central, acknowledged by the FSA on 8 June 2010, on the labelling of alcoholic drinks. [19516]
Anne Milton: The chair of the Food Standards Agency, Lord Jeff Rooker, replied to the right hon. Member on 20 October 2010 with his apologies.
Mental Health Services: Prisons
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on the future of mental health provision in prisons. [19700]
Paul Burstow: Department of Health and Ministry of Justice Ministers and senior officials have had discussions about the provision of mental health services in prisons as part of the development of the forthcoming Ministry of Justice sentencing and rehabilitation Green Paper and the cross-Government mental health strategy.
National Information Governance Board for Health and Social Care
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the National Information Governance Board for Health and Social Care in carrying out its functions. [19201]
Mr Simon Burns: In accordance with the Department's normal practice in relation to its arm's length bodies, the National Information Governance Board for Health and Social Care (NIGB) is subject to regular reviews of its activities and performance. The overall performance of NIGB is deemed to be satisfactory.
NHS: Advertising
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of NHS expenditure on radio advertising; and if he will make a statement. [19431]
Anne Milton:
No central assessment has been conducted by the Department of cost-effectiveness of national health service expenditure on radio advertising by the NHS. Since local NHS organisations are responsible for
the mix of channels which are selected for any advertising they deem necessary some NHS organisations may have carried out such research. However any such assessments are not held centrally by the Department and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. We do nevertheless expect NHS organisations to seek the best value for money from their advertising and to evaluate the effectiveness of any campaigns as a whole.
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department expects to have spent on (a) radio advertising by the NHS and (b) other advertising not related to job vacancies in 2010-11. [19507]
Anne Milton: The Department does not hold records of national health service spending on radio or other advertising centrally and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The Department does however expect NHS organisations to seek the best value for money from any advertising they deem necessary.
NHS: Finance
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the (a) absolute cash, (b) percentage cash, (c) real terms percentage and (d) real terms absolute reduction to the NHS capital budget in respect of the next spending review period. [19598]
Mr Simon Burns: The following table shows the requested information.
| The Department of Health control total capital departmental expenditure level (CDEL) | ||||||
| Departmental spending review CDEL (£ million) | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | Total change 2010-11 to 2014-15 |
| (1) Calculated using Gross Domestic Product forecasts from June 2010 Budget | ||||||
The cash reduction in departmental capital budget from the 2010-11 baseline is £474 million. The percentage cash reduction is 9.3%. The real terms reduction is 17.4%. The real terms absolute reduction in 2010-11 prices is £890 million.
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the cost to its Department of (a) departmental reorganisation and (b) the abolition of (i) primary care trusts and (ii) strategic health authorities proposed in the Health White Paper. [19599]
Mr Simon Burns: The White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS' laid out proposals for fundamental changes to the ways that the national health service is structured and run, including for the structures of primary care trusts, strategic health authorities and the Department. The precise costs of the transition to the new system will not be known until the new organisations that will underpin the new system have been designed in more detail.
Four consultations relating to how the new organisations should be designed- specifically covering 'transparency on outcomes', 'liberating the NHS: local democratic legitimacy in health' and 'commissioning for patients and regulating healthcare providers'-have recently closed and once the results of these have been analysed we will publish the costs of the new system in an impact assessment.
A further two consultations on other aspects of reform set out in the White Paper-specifically 'an information revolution' and 'greater choice and control' have recently been launched and will close in January.
NHS: Sick Leave
John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many days were lost through sickness absence in the NHS in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009. [19354]
Mr Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested. The data collected are the sickness absence rate, i.e. the percentage of available working time lost to sickness absence.
The sickness absence rate in the national health service was 4.4%, in the 12 months April 2008 to March 2009 and 4.4% in the 12 months April 2009 to March 2010.
NHS: Spending Review
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health excluding the allocation for social care services from the budget for NHS health care, what estimate he has made of the real terms percentage change (a) in the next spending review period and (b) from year to year in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15 in respect of his Department's Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit. [19616]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department has identified funding of £0.8 billion/£0.9 billion/£1.1 billion/£1.0 billion of health capital funding that has been transferred into health revenue. This health revenue will be spent on measures that support social care and benefit health. For example, the funding includes up to £300 million for reablement.
Funding that is spent on social care also has a health benefit: if the social care system fails, the national health service will face costs from increased hospital admissions and bed blocking. For this reason, the support being given to the NHS is not a case of funding being "taken out" of health care, but of it being used to support health care.
Therefore, it is not appropriate to recalculate growths in the NHS health care budget net of funding earmarked to support social care and benefit health.
Offences Against Children: Suffolk
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services funded by his Department are available to support adults resident in Suffolk who were subjected to sexual abuse in childhood. [19198]
Paul Burstow: Local primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for assessing and commissioning health services to meet the needs of the local population and that includes support for adults who were subject to sexual abuse in childhood.
The Department is providing up to £1.6 million in 2010-11 to improve access to and the quality of sexual assault referral centres (SARCs). SARCs provide a one stop location where victims of sexual assault can receive forensic medical examinations, access to crisis workers and follow up support counselling. Survivors of historic abuse will be able to access follow up counselling through some SARCs.
East of England Strategic Health Authority has advised that Suffolk PCT and Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT have been able to secure a capital grant to develop
a SARC in Ipswich, which will be opening by the end of 2010. The Ipswich SARC will be able to receive referrals or self-referrals to help victims of historic sexual abuse.
Parkinson's Disease
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure that people with Parkinson's disease continue to receive care of at least the same standard in subsequent years as has been provided in the last 12 months. [19308]
Paul Burstow: Primary care trust commissioners continue to have responsibility for commissioning services, using the National Service Framework for long-term neurological services, that reflect the needs of their patients living with Parkinson's disease.
In future, outcomes, which the national health service will be expected to achieve, will be set via the NHS Outcomes Framework, and the NHS Commissioning Board will hold general practitioner commissioners to account for delivery through the framework.
Respite Care: Finance
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means he plans to ring-fence the newly allocated budget for respite care; and what mechanisms will be in place for (a) application for and (b) allocation of funds from that budget. [19040]
Paul Burstow: We have not announced a budget for respite care. We will set out the detail of our plans to support carers in our update of the Carers' Strategy later this year.
Sexual Health and HIV Independent Advisory Group
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV. [19151]
Anne Milton: The Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV was set up in 2003 to provide advice and monitor progress on the implementation of "The National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV (2001)". A formal review of the membership of the advisory group took place in January 2007 renewing some members, including the chair and vice chairs and terminating others. The Department also continuously monitored the performance of the advisory group through attendance at the group's quarterly meetings and through regular contact with the chair.
Following the Department's review of advisory non-departmental public bodies (ANDPBs), this group is to be abolished and replaced by a stakeholder advisory group on sexual health. This group will provide advice to departmental officials rather than direct to Ministers. Terms of reference for the group have yet to be agreed.
As part of the implementation of the changes to the Department's ANDPBs, we will be implementing a periodic review process (three yearly), of all our significant advisory committees and ANDPBs which will incorporate an assessment of performance and effectiveness. Wherever possible this will be conducted by an independent expert.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Ealing
Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new cases of each type of sexually transmitted infection there were in Ealing Southall constituency in each year since 2007. [19061]
Anne Milton: Data are not collected on a constituency basis and it is therefore not possible to provide data for the Ealing Southall constituency. The data available are presented in the following tables. The number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in London strategic health authority (SHA) and Ealing primary care trust (PCT) from genitourinary medicine clinics (GUM) are presented in Table 1. The number of Chlamydia diagnoses made in community-based settings (non-GUM sites) are presented in Table 2.
| Table 2: Number of Chlamydia diagnoses in 15 to 24-year-olds resident within Ealing PCT, made in community-based settings, 2007-09 | |||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
| (1) Collection of non-NCSP, non-GUM data commenced from April 2008. Notes: 1. The NCSP has been phased in since 1 April 2003 with all 152 PCTs reporting data to the programme since March 2008. Therefore numbers of diagnoses have risen substantially as the proportion of sexually active under 25-year-olds who have been tested has increased. 2. The data from the NCSP Core Dataset and the Non NCSP Non GUM are for positive Chlamydia screens made outside of GUM clinics. 3. The NCSP data are for positive Chlamydia screens conducted outside of GUM clinics. 4. The data available from the NCSP are the number of diagnoses made and not the number of patients diagnosed. 5. NSCP data exclude those resident outside of England. Source: Health Protection Agency, National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP), NCSP returns and Non NCSP Non GUM data. Date of data-NCSP Data: 16 August 2010; Non NCSP Non GUM Data: 5 August 2010. | |||
Surgery: North West
Mr Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled in hospitals in the North West in 2009; what the cost was of such cancelled operations in that year; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of cancelled operations. [19252]
Mr Simon Burns: In 2009, there were a total of 8,689 cancelled operations in the north-west and 63,135 in England. The quarterly breakdown is shown in the following table.
| Number of last minute cancelled operations for non-clinical reasons | ||||
| Quarter | Period | England | North-west | |
| Source: Department of Health dataset quarterly monitoring cancelled operations | ||||
Information on the cost of cancelled elective operations is not collected centrally. It is the responsibility of individual national health service trusts to manage the day-to-day running of their organisations. As part of this, they have a responsibility to ensure that they have the necessary staff, theatre space and beds available to keep cancellations to an absolute minimum.
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