General Practitioners
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether he plans to put in place a mechanism to inform patients automatically when their GP refers them for treatment by a provider in which the GP has a commercial interest under his proposals for NHS reform; [51149]
(2) what mechanism he plans to put in place to ensure that GPs do not inappropriately refer patients for treatment to companies in which they are shareholders under his proposals for NHS reform; [51150]
(3) whether GPs will be required to register any interests they have in companies to which they can refer patients for treatment. [51258]
Mr Simon Burns: As now, general practitioners (GPs) following our reforms may hold financial interests in organisations to which they refer patients or contract services. However, the Health and Social Care Bill proposes clear statutory duties on commissioners in relation to procurement and in relation to anti-competitive behaviours. A clear set of underpinning rules and guidance will be developed to apply to GP consortia, so that they have the necessary support to make decisions that are fair and transparent and avoid any perceived conflicts of interest.
In addition, the Bill also includes a requirement that each consortium's constitution sets out arrangements for decision-making and managing potential conflicts of interest.
Our proposed approach is that GP consortia should be able to proceed on the basis of 'assumed responsibility' rather than 'earned autonomy'. This will mean that consortia are free, within the legislative framework, to make the decisions that they judge are right for patients and value for money. However, there will be a clear duty on the NHS Commissioning Board, or if necessary, the economic regulator, to intervene if there are concerns that a consortium has not met its duties in relation to fairness and choice or has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.
In addition, GPs have to follow ethical guidance published by the General Medical Council, ‘Good Medical Practice’ This sets out that any commercial interests GPs have in organisations related to health care must not affect the way they prescribe, treat or refer patients. GPs must also inform the patient if they are referring them to an organisation in which they have a commercial interest.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new GP consortia follow national health and clinical excellence commissioning guidelines. [51660]
Mr Simon Burns:
Drawing on National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) quality standards, and other sources of evidence, including NICE’S clinical
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guidelines, the NHS Commissioning Board will develop high-level commissioning guidance for general practitioner (GP) consortia. This will contain evidence and good practice on pathways, standards, outcome measures, currencies and contracting to help consortia commission the best outcomes for the patients they serve. Under the provisions in the Health and Social Care Bill, GP consortia will be required to have regard to the commissioning guidance.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether the funding formula for central Government funding of GP commissioning consortia will take account of the cost of reducing health inequalities between consortia; [52086]
(2) what formula he plans to use to determine the distribution of funds between GP commissioning consortia. [52087]
Mr Simon Burns: It is intended that the National Health Service Commissioning Board will take over responsibility for commissioning guidelines and the allocation of resources for NHS services from the Department. It would be for the Board to decide how best to allocate resources in a way that supports the principle of securing equivalent access to NHS services relative to the prospective burden of disease and disability. The Health and Social Care Bill also includes a duty for the Board to narrow inequalities in access to healthcare, and the outcomes delivered by that healthcare.
During the transition to the Board, the Secretary of State for Health has asked the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), an independent committee comprising general practitioner (GP), academics and NHS managers, to continue to oversee the formulae for the distribution of NHS resources. ACRA's work programme will include consideration of the allocation of funds to GP consortia, and will examine the issue of unmet need. However, this work programme does not pre-empt any decisions to be made by the NHS Commissioning Board.
In addition, from 2013-14, the Department will allocate a ring-fenced public health grant to local authorities, based on relative population health. A new health premium will reward communities for the improvements in health outcomes they achieve, and incentivise action to reduce health inequalities. Disadvantaged areas will see a greater premium if they make progress, recognising that they face the greatest challenges.
Further detail on the allocations and processes will be announced in due course.
Public Health
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on measures to ensure any (a) closures, (b) changes in entry prices and (c) changes in opening hours of local sport and leisure facilities do not adversely affect public health outcomes. [51213]
Anne Milton:
No ministerial level discussions have taken place with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on these specific issues. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
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is represented on the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Public Health which has been established to consider cross-Government issues affecting public health.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the potential effects on public health outcomes of the (a) closure, (b) reduced opening hours and (c) increase in entry price of local sport and leisure facilities. [51214]
Anne Milton: Our records show that since May 2010, the Department has received approximately 13 correspondence cases relating to sport and leisure facilities. Of those, three cases are related to potential effects on public health outcomes of the closure, reduced opening hours or increase in entry price of local sport and leisure facilities. We are aware of no other representations in this area.
The consultation on the public health White Paper closed on 31 March, however we have yet to complete a full analysis of responses, including any representations on these issues.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on the role of grassroots sport in achieving public health objectives. [51215]
Anne Milton: The Secretary of State for Health meets regularly with Cabinet colleagues to discuss areas of mutual interest. Grassroots community sport makes an important contribution to physical activity and therefore to public health.
The Minister of State, Department of Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns) and I met with the Minister for Sport and the Olympics, my hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Hugh Robertson) and Jennie Price, Chief Executive for Sport England on 21 March to discuss how Sport England might contribute to the Responsibility Deal Physical Activity Network.
Health Research Regulatory Agency
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for establishing the Health Research Regulatory Agency. [52487]
Mr Simon Burns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 5 April 2011, Official Report, columns 832-33W.
Health Services: Freedom of Information
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 187W, on health services: freedom of information, what steps he is taking to prevent any potential misuse by private and voluntary providers of health-care of information secured from public sector competitors under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [51573]
Mr Simon Burns:
The Freedom of Information Act provides a statutory right of access to information held by public authorities, including those within the health
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sector. The FOI Act already includes provision for information to be exempt from disclosure if its release would, for example, be harmful or prejudicial, subject to a public interest test in some instances.
Information that is not exempt from the requirement to disclose it under the FOI Act is assumed to be released to the public at large as well as the requester.
Health Visitors
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors (a) were in post in each region in May 2010 and (b) are in post in each region at the latest date for which figures are available. [50987]
Anne Milton: The following table shows the number of health visitors in each strategic health authority (SHA) in May 2010 and December 2010, which is the latest date for which figures are available.
| Health visitors by SHA (full-time equivalent) | ||
| SHA | May 2010 | December 2010 |
| Source: The Information Centre for health and social care. | ||
Health Visitors: Training
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors (a) were in training in each region in May 2010 and (b) are in training in each region at the latest date for which figures are available. [50988]
Anne Milton: Figures for May 2010 are not available. Training numbers are collected annually in August. The following table shows the student population in August 2010, which are the latest available data.
| 2010-11 health visitors in training at August 2010 | |
| Strategic health authority | Health visitors 2010-11 student population |
| Source: 2010-11 Q1 Financial Information Monitoring System. | |
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Hospitals: Alcoholic Drinks
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is held centrally on the number of hospitals with multi-disciplinary alcohol care teams. [50866]
Anne Milton: Information on the number of hospitals with multi-disciplinary alcohol care teams is not available centrally.
Hospitals: Nurses
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of hospitals with a nurse-led alcohol liaison service. [50998]
Anne Milton: Information on the number of hospitals with nurse-led alcohol liaison services is not available centrally.
Human Rights
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the legal advice to Ministers on the compatibility of the investigatory and adjudications processes of the General Medical Council with the European Convention of Human Rights. [51451]
Anne Milton: Legal advice to Ministers is subject to legal professional privilege. However, I am able to refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 11.1 - 11.5 of the Government's response of 15 March 2011 to enquiries made by the Joint Committee on Human Rights in relation to the Health and Social Care Bill. This provides a detailed explanation in reply to the Joint Committee's enquiry concerning this issue. This is available on the Joint Committee on Human Rights' website:
www.parliament.uk/documents/joint-committees/human-rights/Letter_from_Andrew_Lansley_15_March.pdf
Incontinence: Children
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that paediatric continence services are fully integrated with other paediatric services. [51659]
Anne Milton: The Department has worked closely with the Department for Education on the Green Paper ‘Support and Aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability—a Consultation’, which sets out proposals to improve outcomes for all ill children with disabilities and special educational needs (SEN) including those who need continence services. As part of this Green Paper, we will be working with general practitioner consortia pathfinders and others to explore the best ways of providing support for the commissioning of integrated pathways of care for children and young people with SEN or disabilities.
The Department reminded primary care trusts (through the August bulletin of The Week to NHS managers) of best practice guidance ‘Good Practice in Continence Services’, issued by the Department of Health in 2000, which recommends assessments by suitably trained individuals for incontinent patients and makes it clear
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the supply of continence products should be provided in quantities appropriate to the individual. In addition, the Department issued as part of the ‘National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services’ best practice guidance on continence issues for children with learning difficulties was published in September of 2010.
In 2007, the Department also published an exemplar pathway (patient journey) on paediatric incontinence, in conjunction with ERIC (Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence).
Insulin
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the working group chaired by Dr Rowan Hillson on the uptake of insulin pumps within the NHS has to produce a progress report. [51669]
Paul Burstow: The working group chaired by Dr Rowan Hillson on the uptake of insulin pumps within the national health service has met once and is due to meet again in the early summer. It will consider the options and timing for reporting on its findings.
Learning Disability
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2011, Official Report, column 1199W, on epilepsy: deaths, if he will sponsor research into the level of access for people with learning disabilities to epilepsy specialists; and if he will bring forward proposals to reduce avoidable deaths amongst people with learning disabilities. [52054]
Paul Burstow: The Department's National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including health care for people with learning disabilities. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.
The Government remain committed to providing access to high quality health care for people with learning disabilities as set out in “Valuing People Now (2009)”.
Health services for people with learning disabilities is identified as an improvement area in “NHS Operating Framework 2011-12”, which further demonstrates this Government's commitment to improving health outcomes for all people with learning disabilities.
Learning Disability: Health Services
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of Professor Mansell's report, “Raising Our Sights”; and if he will make a statement; [51277]
(2) what representations he has received on Professor Mansell's report, “Raising Our Sights”; and if he will make a statement; [51278]
(3) what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Department for Education, (b) the Department for Communities and Local Government and (c) others on Professor Mansell's report, “Raising Our Sights”; and if he will make a statement; [51279]
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(4) what steps he is taking to (a) assess and (b) implement the recommendations of Professor Mansell's report, “Raising Our Sights”; and if he will make a statement; [51280]
(5) what steps he is taking in response to recommendation 26 of the report by Professor Mansell, “Raising Our Sights”, on the importance of local authorities providing a base from which adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities can attend activities during the day; and if he will make a statement. [51362]
Paul Burstow: A written ministerial statement was delivered on the 10 February 2011 launching our formal response to Professor Mansell’s report, “Raising our Sights: Services for Adults with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities”. We accept and support the conclusions of the report. Copies of the report and our response have been placed in the Library.
Following the publication of Professor Mansell’s report, departmental officials have had discussions with key partners, including the Department for Education and the Department for Communities and Local Government regarding the report’s recommendations. The Green Paper on special educational needs and disabilities addressed improving transitions, including for those with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. The Green Paper was informed by learning from the cross-government Getting A Life programme. The Getting A Life sites have produced, and are now implementing, a pathway into paid employment and full lives for young people with severe learning disabilities. The Getting A Life cohort included individuals with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities.
The elements of good service and good practice examples included in this report sits very clearly within the programme of work which the Government are leading to support independent living for people with learning disabilities and to support local service planning and commissioning to meet identified needs in their locality.
National health service bodies should be ensuring services meet the needs of all patients, including those with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. The Health and Social Care Bill will translate duty onto local authorities and general practitioner (GP) consortia and place them under a new duty to agree a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This is a new requirement through which the partners at the Health and Wellbeing Board have to agree a shared strategy for commissioning, which will have regard to their Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.
Local authorities with their partner third sector organisations have responsibilities to offer services where there are assessed needs. Person centred approaches are the most positive way to ensure that individual needs are met in and across settings that are fully accessible to the individuals.
Annual GP health checks for people with learning disabilities are also a local way of ensuring all individuals with learning disabilities can access the right interventions for their health and well being.
Departmental records show that we have about 120 items of correspondence about “Raising Our Sights” report.
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Learning Disability: Social Services
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations his Department has received on improvements to the (a) quality and (b) effectiveness of adult social care staff working with people with profound and multiple learning difficulties; [51973]
(2) what recent representations his Department has received on the feasibility of establishing personal budgets for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and provision for the training of (a) personal assistants and (b) adult social care; and if he will make a statement. [52042]
Paul Burstow: The Department does not index correspondence at that level. However, departmental records show that, since May 2010, the correspondence unit, which processes ministerial correspondence, has received 123 items of correspondence that urge the Department to accept the recommendations made in the March 2010 report ‘Raising our Sights: Services for Adults with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities’. The report, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, includes discussions around the issues raised in this PQ.
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to work with local authorities in England to increase the (a) quality and (b) effectiveness of adult social care staff working with people with profound and multiple learning difficulties; [51975]
(2) what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the feasibility of personal budgets for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, including provisions for the training of (a) personal assistants and (b) adult social care staff; and if he will make a statement; [52016]
(3) what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) assess the quality and effectiveness of adult social care staff working with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement; [52041]
(4) what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of establishing personal budgets for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and provision for the training of (a) personal assistants and (b) adult care staff; and if he will make a statement; [52043]
(5) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that adult social care staff receive the training required to support people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement; [52044]
(6) what his policy is on steps to ensure that (a) people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and (b) local families play a prominent role in developing the skills and training of adult social care staff working with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [52045]
Paul Burstow:
The Department is not directly involved in monitoring or assessing adult social care staff. It is the responsibility of local social care employers to
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monitor and assess the quality and effectiveness of staff they employ, including those who support people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
The Department is not directly involved in the training of adult social care staff. It is the responsibility of local social care employers to ensure their staff receive the appropriate training required to undertake their job. It is for individuals receiving personal budgets to determine how best to use the funding, including the training of their care staff.
The Care Quality Commission has a responsibility to make sure better care is provided for everyone. They focus on quality and act swiftly to eliminate poor quality care and ensure care is centred on people’s needs and protects their rights.
The “Vision for Adult Social Care”, published in 2010, challenged councils to provide a personal budget to all eligible people, including some of those with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as a way of giving people choice and control about their care.
The “Vision for Adult Social Care” made it clear that the reform of health and social care should have patients in the driving seat. We also provide funding to the General Social Care Council to ensure that patient representatives are involved in the design of social work degrees.
Learning Disability: Swimming
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to improve access to public swimming pools for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement; [51270]
(2) if he will take steps to ensure public swimming pools play a role in the delivery of place-shaping for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [51272]
Paul Burstow: The United Kingdom Government ratified the UN convention on the rights of disabled people ("the convention") on 8 June 2009. The convention makes it explicit that disabled people have and should enjoy the same human rights as everyone else. It applies to all disabled people and covers all areas of life including education, employment, health, culture, liberty and accessibility. However, decisions about how best to improve access to public swimming pools for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities are a matter for local authorities and their elected members.
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Local Government Association and (b) other organisations on the dissemination of good practice in the provision of access to public swimming pools for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [51271]
Paul Burstow: The Department has not had any discussion with the Local Government Association or other organisations on this issue. This is a matter for local determination.
The United Kingdom Government ratified the UN convention on the rights of disabled people (“the convention”) on 8 June 2009. The convention makes it
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explicit that disabled people have and should enjoy the same human rights as everyone else. It applies to all disabled people and covers all areas of life including education, employment, health, culture, liberty and accessibility.
Leprosy
George Hollingbery: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the most recent advice he has received on the merits of including leprosy in the list of notifiable diseases. [50751]
Anne Milton: The Health Protection Agency has advised the Department that leprosy should remain a notifiable disease so that appropriate public health action can be taken where appropriate, such as in cases where infectious leprosy is diagnosed. Leprosy is subject to a global eradication programme and so knowledge of imported cases in the United Kingdom is important. The list of notifiable diseases was subject to public consultation in 2009. No comments were received about leprosy.
Maternity Services: Finance
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on maternity services in 2009-10; and what proportion of total NHS spending this represented. [51228]
Anne Milton: In 2009-10, primary care trusts spent £2.407 billion on secondary health care relating to maternity services. This represents approximately 2.5% of the total national health service revenue expenditure in 2009-10 of £95.587 billion.
Maternity Services: Manpower
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many maternity support workers there were in each NHS trust on the most recent date for which figures are available. [51433]
Anne Milton: The information is shown in the following table.
| NHS hospital and community health services: Maternity Services support staff in England by strategic health authority area and by organisation as at 30 December 2010 | |
|
|
Headcount |
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|
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
|
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|
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust |
|
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Maternity Services: Negligence
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid out in respect of (a) settled claims and (b) settled claims arising from maternity care under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts since 31 August 2010. [51435]
Mr Simon Burns: The data requested were supplied by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) in the following table and include payments made from 1 September 2010 under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts as at 31 March 2011.
| Specialty | Payments made (£) |
The NHSLA does not reference claims to maternity care on its database. Obstetrics specialty claims have been supplied as an alternative. The data include payments made for claims settled prior to 1 September 2010 but where a payment was made for those claims from that date.
Medical Treatments: Costs
Chris Skidmore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS was of treatment
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carried out by
(a)
the private sector,
(b)
independent sector treatment centres,
(c)
the voluntary sector and
(d)
other sectors including local authorities on behalf of the NHS in each financial year since 1997; and what proportion of NHS expenditure payments to each sector represented in each year. [51646]
Mr Simon Burns:
The following table shows expenditure by national health service commissioners (primary care
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trusts) in England on the purchase of NHS treatment from non-NHS providers for financial years 2006-07 to 2009-10, broken down by the provider categories requested. For each year expenditure on each provider category is expressed as a proportion (%) of total NHS revenue expenditure, with totals in the final row.
Data were not collected on expenditure as between different non-NHS providers prior to 2006-07.
| Expenditure by primary care trusts on the purchase of healthcare from non-NHS bodies 2006-07 to 2009-10 | ||||||||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |||||
|
|
£ million | % | £ million | % | £ million | % | £ million | % |
| Source: Audited PCT summarisation schedules 2006-07 to 2009-10 | ||||||||
Midwives
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of midwives working in the NHS in England worked (a) part-time and (b) full-time in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what definition of (i) part-time and (ii) full-time were used for these purposes. [51224]
Anne Milton: The following table shows the working patterns for midwives over the last 10 years.
| NHS hospital and community health services: qualified midwifery staff in England by nature of contract as at 30 September each year | ||||||
| Headcount and percentage headcount | ||||||
|
|
Full time | Part time | Bank/unknown | All staff | Full- time (%) | Part- time (%) |
| (1) Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. Further information on the headcount methodology is available at: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/workforce/nhs-staff-numbers/monthly-nhs-hospital-and-community-health-service-hchs-workforce-statistics-in-england--january-2011-provisional-experimental-statistics Notes: 1. Percentages are based on the number of staff whose contracts are known. 2. ‘Part-time’ is defined in the non-medical workforce census as anything less than the standard contracted full-time hours of 37.5 hours a week. Source: The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care non-medical workforce census. | ||||||
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the age profile is of the midwives employed by the NHS. [51225]
Anne Milton: The age profile of midwives employed in the national health service in England is as follows:
| Midwives by age as at 30 September 2010 | |
| Age | Headcount |
| Note: Data on the age of bank staff is not available. Source: The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care 2010 non-medical workforce census. | |
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) stand-alone midwife-led maternity units and (b) midwife-led maternity units situated alongside consultant-led maternity units there are in each strategic health authority area; and what the location of each such unit is. [51226]
Anne Milton: The number of midwife-led maternity units in each of the strategic health authorities (SHA) is provided in the following table. Information to distinguish stand-alone midwife-led maternity units and midwife-led maternity units situated alongside consultant-led maternity units is not held centrally.
|
|
Units |
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The addresses of each of these midwife-led units has been placed in the Library.
Midwives: Training
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many places for student midwives will be commissioned in each region in the 2011-12 academic year. [51410]
Anne Milton: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Planned Midwifery Training Commissions 2011-12 | |
|
|
Number |
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student midwives were in receipt of a bursary in the 2009-10 academic year; what the average bursary paid to a student midwife was in that year; and what the cost to his Department was of bursaries paid to student midwives in that year. [51434]
Anne Milton: The number of midwifery students who held a bursary, the average bursary paid to those students and the total cost of all bursaries paid to student midwives in academic year 2009-10 can be found in the following table.
| 2009-10 | |
| (1 )Includes nil award holders (European Union fees only students and students whose living allowance element of the bursary has been reduced to nil after income assessment). (2) Includes the basic award, all supplementary allowances and one off payments. Note: All figures are round to the nearest pound. Source: NHS Student Bursaries Services Authority | |
Healthcare Providers
Mr Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the application of EU competition law to NHS organisations which wish to merge. [50944]
Mr Simon Burns:
Clause 65 of the Health and Social Care Bill makes provision for mergers involving national health service foundation trusts to be considered by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) under the Enterprise Act 2002. This ensures that there is a fair playing field for all providers of health care services. This replaces the current system whereby the Co-operation and Competition Panel advises Monitor on the impact of such mergers between NHS foundation trusts and Monitor takes the
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decisions as to whether the merger can go ahead, whether remedies are required or whether the merger cannot go ahead. The OFT currently considers mergers between NHS foundation trusts and private providers.
For a merger to be under European merger law a number of conditions need to be met, including requiring a proportion of turnover to be in other member states. As NHS providers are unlikely to have any significant turnover in other member states, we think that European merger law is unlikely to apply.
Mr Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of EU competition law on the ability of NHS organisations to provide an integrated care service in cases where the co-operation of two or more NHS organisations is required. [50945]
Mr Simon Burns: Co-operation and competition are not mutually exclusive. Co-operation remains a crucial part of the delivery of national health service-funded services where it delivers improvements in quality, innovation and productivity for the benefit of patients. To this end, section 72 of the NHS Act 2006 places NHS providers under a duty to co-operate.
One of the key aims of the reforms, as set out in existing departmental procurement guidance, is to promote greater collaboration and dialogue between general practice clinicians and clinicians in provider organisations. This will ensure that commissioned pathways across provider boundaries are clear and safe and that patients receive seamless provision that is responsive to their needs.
However, agreements between providers and commissioners that preclude competition and are likely to have an adverse effect on patients and taxpayers are not permitted. Such anti-competitive behaviour may include agreements between competing service providers to share geographic areas or customers, to co-ordinate their bids or to limit output and innovation. Where services are commissioned on an Any Qualified Provider basis, commissioners will need to ensure that those services (and the associated patient outcomes) are specified in a way that does not give an unfair advantage to established providers. The Competition Act offers protection against this sort of behaviour by giving a general prohibition on agreements that prevent, restrict or distort competition.
NHS: Drugs
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residential drug and alcohol treatment places are available in NHS facilities; and what estimate he has made of the change in the number of such places during the comprehensive spending review period. [50919]
Anne Milton: This information is not collected centrally.
However, each local drug partnership in England will have information on the level of local provision for drug dependency and up to date contact details for each partnership can be found via the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse website. The regional teams section of the site provides links to the details of each local partnership. This is available at:
www.nta.nhs.uk/regional.aspx
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Commissioning of alcohol residential rehabilitation services is the responsibility of local adult social services departments. Adult social services are active partners in drug partnerships and often co-ordinate their activity for alcohol clients with the partnership.
NHS: Negligence
Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the basis was for each of the 100 largest
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settled claims awarded under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts; how much was paid in each case; and which of these claims arose from maternity care. [51229]
Mr Simon Burns: The data requested were supplied by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) in the following table. The NHSLA does not record maternity as a separate specialty, although we would expect the majority of maternity claims to fall under obstetrics.
| The 100 largest settlements under Clinical Negligence Schemes Trusts as at 31 March 2011 | ||||
| Total damages agreed | Total damages paid (£) as at 31 March 2011 | Estimate of amount (£) yet to be paid | Basis for award | Speciality |
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