Police: Manpower
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers of each rank were in post in England and Wales on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of each such rank were identified as (a) black and (b) Asian. [52384]
Nick Herbert: The requested information is given in the table.
| Asian and black police officer strength (1) by rank as at 31 March 2010 | ||
| Police ranks | Asian or Asian British | Black or Black British |
| (1) This table contains full time equivalent figures which have been rounded to the nearest whole number. | ||
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Police: Pensions
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether her Department has carried out an impact assessment of the proposed changes to the Police Forces Pension Scheme; and what estimate she has made of the change in the opt-out rate resulting from implementation of those changes; [52279]
(2) what arrangements are in place to ensure that the proposed changes to the Police Forces Pension Scheme are sustainable and progressive; [52280]
(3) what assessment she has made of the effects of the proposed changes to the Police Forces Pension Scheme on part-time members of staff who are members of the scheme. [52281]
Nick Herbert: The Government have accepted Lord Hutton’s recommendations as a basis for consultation, recognising that the position of the uniformed services will require particularly careful consideration. The Government have committed to ensuring that any proposed changes to public service pension schemes, including the police schemes, as a result of Lord Hutton’s recommendations are affordable, sustainable, and fair to both the public sector workforce and the taxpayer.
Any proposed changes to the police pension schemes would be subject to the normal consultation process with the Police Negotiating Board in line with statutory obligations. Where appropriate, an equality impact assessment would be conducted to accompany proposed changes.
Police: Polling Stations
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers are available to police attending polling stations on election days. [52302]
Mr Harper: I have been asked to respond as the Minister with responsibility for electoral policy.
The law places limits on attendance at polling stations. Rule 32 of the Parliamentary Elections Rules at Schedule 1 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 sets out a list of people who are allowed to attend a polling station, which includes police constables on duty. Police officers at polling stations have their normal policing powers. Within polling stations, it is the Presiding Officer's duty to maintain order. Rule 33 of Schedule 1 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 provides that the Presiding Officer may direct police constables to remove persons who have either misconducted themselves in a polling station or have failed to obey a lawful order of the Presiding Officer.
Police: Recruitment
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance she has issued to police forces on the treatment of candidates who have passed a final panel interview assessment for appointment as a constable but have not yet been accepted into service. [52025]
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Nick Herbert: This is a matter for individual police forces.
Police: Training
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers (a) are trained to handle digital evidence, (b) are serving with computer crime units and (c) have higher level forensic skills. [52385]
Nick Herbert: This information is not collected centrally.
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Racially Aggravated Offences
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racially-motivated crimes were recorded in each police force area in each of the last five years. [52386]
Nick Herbert: The available statistics relate to racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by the police for some specific crime categories and are given in the table.
It is not possible to separately identify those of a racial nature from those of a religious nature.
| Numbers of racially or religiously aggravated offences (1) recorded by the police in England and Wales, 2005-06 to 2009-10 | |||||
| Police force area | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
| (1) Includes the following racially or religiously aggravated offences: GBH without intent, ABH or other injury, harassment, public fear, alarm or distress, assault without injury and criminal damage. | |||||
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Sexual Offences
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered (a) sex offenders and (b) sex offenders convicted of offences involving minors were resident in each police authority area in each of the last five years. [53507]
James Brokenshire: The total number of registered sex offenders residing within each of the 42 police authority areas in England and Wales is detailed within the published annual MAPPA (Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements) Reports. The report for 2009-10 is available online via the following link:
28 Apr 2011 : Column 592W
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.justice.gov.uk/publications/mappa.htm
The remaining data required to answer this question is not collected in the format requested and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
Smuggling: Tobacco
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have had tobacco seized from them at UK ports of entry in the last 12 months. [52913]
Damian Green: The following tables show the number and quantity of cigarette and hand rolling tobacco (HRT) seizures for the 2010-11 financial year.
| Number and quantity of cigarette seizures: 2010-11 | ||||
| UKBA |
|
Number of seizures | Quantity seized | Average per seizure |
| Number and quantity of hand rolling tobacco (HRT) seizures: 2010-11 | ||||
| UKBA |
|
Number of seizures | Quantity seized | Average per seizure |
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| (1) The ‘Other UKBA’ seizures are mostly seizures at Inland Fast Parcel clearing locations and should be included within the Border total. (2 )Due to the practice of bulk recording, i.e. recording multiple packages as a single seizure, the number of postal seizures is not reported. Note: The data provided in the tables relate to all seizures made by UKBA at British ports of entry. Our records do not link the number of seizures directly to individuals as some seizures are not accompanied by a person, e.g. unaccompanied freight and in the postal environments, and also some seizures are made from repeat offenders. | ||||
Terrorism: Olympic Games 2012
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to protect the 2012 London Olympics from terrorist threat. [52180]
Nick Herbert: The Home Office’s Olympic and Paralympic safety and security strategy, run by the police, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the Olympic Delivery Authority and other partners, provides a framework for projects to safeguard and secure London 2012.
The police and security services already invest significant resource into planning for terrorist and other major risks to the UK, and have considerable expertise in dealing with both threats and incidents. Our approach to the games is intelligence-led and risk-based, giving us the flexibility to respond to any changes between now and 2012. Regular threat assessments inform our risk management process. Threat levels may change rapidly, and by basing the plans against a SEVERE threat level we maximise our flexibility.
Last year the Minister for Security and Counter-Terrorism conducted an audit and review of Olympic security planning, and that concluded that that work is well placed. There is of course more work to be done, but an effective foundation has already been established. We have protected the Olympic security budget, which is in addition to core funding for the police and counter-terrorism.
UK Border Agency: Firearms
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many UK Border Agency enforcement team staff held a valid firearms licence in the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement; [53096]
(2) how many firearms were purchased by the UK Border Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement. [53097]
Damian Green: There are no UKBA staff licensed to carry firearms on duty and no firearms have been purchased in the previous 10 years.
Vetting
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of staff recruited to (a) her Department and (b) its agencies were required to have a Criminal Records Bureau check before an offer of employment was made in each year since 2008-09. [53371]
Damian Green: Home Office HQ, UK Border Agency (UKBA), Identity and Passport Service (IPS) and the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) do not currently require staff to undertake CRB checks prior to being offered employment and have not undertaken any such checks on new recruits prior to an offer of employment in any year since 2008-09.
UKBA only carry out checks after an offer of employment has been made when a role consists of dealing with children or vulnerable adults.
Work Permits
Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the evidential basis was for the removal of the senior care worker category from the tier 2 shortage occupation list. [52784]
Damian Green: Senior care workers were removed from the Government’s shortage occupation list following advice and analysis conducted by the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). The MAC found that the occupation is not skilled to NVQ4 level, a key requirement in tier 2 of the Points Based System. The MAC report can be found on their website at:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/workingwithus/indbodies/mac/
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Rehabilitation
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people being treated for alcohol addiction in each primary care trust are being prescribed (a) acamprosate and (b) disulfiram. [52445]
Mr Simon Burns: Information on the number of patients prescribed a medicine and the condition for which that medicine is prescribed is not collected centrally. However, a table has been placed in the Library containing information on the number of dispensed prescription items that were prescribed within each primary care trust for acamprosate calcium and disulfiram, for the latest available 12 month period, October 2009 to September 2010.
Autism: Health Services
Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of provision of health care services for people with autism. [52099]
Paul Burstow: It is the responsibility of national health service organisations to ensure they commission appropriate health care services for people with autism.
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Statutory guidance for health and social care bodies to support delivery of the Government’s autism strategy for England—“Implementing Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives”—was published on 17 December 2010. This sets out in particular that NHS bodies should develop (with local authorities) local commissioning plans for services for adults with autism, basing these in good information and effective needs analysis with the aim of improving the health outcomes of people with autism.
Blood: Contamination
Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Colne Valley of 30 March 2011, Official Report, columns 399-400W, on blood: contamination, what criteria he used to determine the 31 March 2011 deadline; and for what reasons no consultation was held before the deadline was determined; [52283]
(2) if he will review the need for any deadline date to be set for surviving spouses to register an interest in compensation schemes for those infected with hepatitis C as a result of NHS treatment. [52338]
Anne Milton: The deadline was set at 31 March 2011 because we considered that the 12-week window of opportunity this offered to register an intention to make a claim was reasonable. Consultation on the deadline was not considered necessary.
As I stated in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) on 30 March 2011, Official Report, columns 399-400W, the Skipton Fund will consider registrations that are made after 31 March 2011, on a case by case basis, where there is a valid reason for the applicant to have missed the registration deadline.
Blood: Donors
Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the exclusion from blood
28 Apr 2011 : Column 596W
donations of men who have sex with men, if he will make it his policy only to exclude blood donors
(a)
who have engaged in risky sexual behaviour and
(b)
whose HIV status cannot be accurately determined because of the delay between the date of infection and the date when the HIV virus and HIV antibodies manifest and become detectable in an infected person’s blood; and if he will make a statement. [53287]
Mr Simon Burns: The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) is currently reviewing the evidence base for donor exclusion and deferral in the United Kingdom, including criteria which relate to sexual behaviour.
Once the review is complete, SaBTO will make recommendations to UK Health Departments as to whether any changes to the current policy are warranted.
Brighton and Hove: Funding
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many ring-fenced grants provided by his Department were available for Brighton and Hove city council to claim in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10 and (d) 2010-11; how much was available in such grants; how many such grants were made; and how much was awarded in such grants; [51842]
(2) how many ring-fenced grants provided by his Department were available for Brighton and Hove city council to claim in 2011-12; how much is available in such grants; how many such grants have been made; and how much is to be awarded in such grants in the next 12 months. [51851]
Paul Burstow: The following tables show the ring-fenced grants provided by the Department that were available to Brighton and Hove city council from 2007-08 to 2010-11. Table 1 shows the total funding that was available at national level for each grant, and Table 2 sets out the amount that was allocated to Brighton and Hove city council.
| Table 1: Grant totals (national level) | ||||||
| £000 | ||||||
| Grant | Revenue/ Capital | Bid-Based? | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
|
Mental Capacity Act and Independent Mental Capacity Advocate Service |
||||||
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Bristol Homeopathic Hospital
David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet the representatives of United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust to discuss the future of the Bristol Homeopathic hospital; and if he will make a statement. [53286]
Mr Simon Burns: Responsibility for decisions on what types of treatments are most suitable for patients and where they should be provided lies with treating clinicians and commissioners within the national health service. University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is a foundation trust, and so is regulated by Monitor. My hon. Friend may wish to contact Monitor or University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust about this issue.
CJD
Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died as a result of infection with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the last 20 years. [52334]
Anne Milton: The National Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Surveillance Unit publishes figures each month for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease on their website at:
www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/figures.htm
These record that between 1995 and 4 April 2011, 171 people died of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Continuing Care
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2011, Official Report, column 76W, on epilepsy: Brighton, for what reasons (a) he has made no assessment of the progress being made towards implementation of the National Service Framework for long-term conditions (NSF) and (b) no mid-term review of the NSF has been undertaken; what responsibility his Department has to ensure effective implementation of the NSF for long-term conditions; by what mechanism the progress made by local health bodies within the 10- year timescale from publication will be assessed; and if he will make a statement. [52497]
Paul Burstow: The White Paper “Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS” places outcomes at the heart of health policy and this fits well with the aspirations of the National Service Framework for Long Term Conditions (the ‘NSF’). The NSF focused on achieving a better experience and better outcomes for those with a long term condition but did not prescribe the processes by which this should be achieved. Delivery was left by the last Government to the national health service to resolve.
Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill through Parliament, general practitioner (GP) led commissioning consortia will be responsible for commissioning the great majority of NHS services. GPs, in partnership with other local healthcare professionals such as therapists and community nurses, are best placed to understand the health needs of local populations and how to work with their local populations—including patient-led organisations such as the Neurological Alliance, and other service users—to design services that meet those needs.
The NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for assessment of the performance of GP consortia. The board will draw on the national outcome goals in the NHS Outcomes Framework to develop a new Commissioning Outcomes Framework. Measures from the Commissioning Outcomes Framework will be used by the Board to hold GP consortia to account for the quality of services they commission and the health outcomes they achieve for patients.
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Fluoride
Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is his policy that future decisions about the fluoridation of water supplies shall be taken by elected local authorities following the abolition of strategic health authorities. [52429]
Anne Milton: Yes. We propose that local authorities should conduct consultations and ascertain public opinion on proposals for new fluoridation schemes, while contracts for existing (and any new) schemes will become the responsibility of the Secretary of State.
Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the outcome of fluoridation exercises in countries where health authorities (i) continue to and (ii) have ceased administration of fluoride to water supplies; and if he will make a statement. [52432]
Anne Milton: A Systematic Review of Water Fluoridation, which was commissioned by the Department from the university of York in 1999 and published in 2000, showed that, on the best available evidence, fluoridation increased the proportion of children without tooth decay by 15% and that children in fluoridated areas had, on average, 2.25 fewer teeth affected by decay than children in non-fluoridated areas.
Evidence from epidemiological surveys of child dental health, which are carried out at regular intervals, confirms that these benefits continue. An example of the effects of cessation is provided by a study of Anglesey(1) where fluoridation commenced in 1955, became intermittent from 1987 and ceased in 1991. In 1987-88, the last year of optimal fluoridation, the mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) of five-year-old children was 0.80. By 1993 average dmft had increased to 2.01 with a dmft of 1.81 among those who had experienced fluoridation during approximately 35 % of their lives and one of 2.28 for those who had experienced fluoridation for less than 10% of their lives.
(1) Fluoridation in Anglesey 1993: a clinical study of dental caries in five-year-old children who had experienced sub-optimal fluoridation F. D. Thomas/J. Y. Kassab and B. M. Jones British Dental Journal 178, 55-59 (1995)
Fluoride: Southampton
Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the proceedings of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Hampshire county council of 14 March 2011, what reports he has received on the plans of South Central Strategic Health Authority to proceed with fluoridation of drinking water supplies in and near Southampton; and if he will call in these plans for review. [52431]
Anne Milton: We understand that on 31 March, South Central Strategic Health Authority (SHA) asked Southern Water to proceed with the fluoridation of drinking water in Southampton and part of South West Hampshire following the outcome of the judicial review, which upheld the SHA’s decision. The relevant legislation provides for these decisions to be taken locally.
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Health Services
Mr Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanism has been put in place to ensure that local capacity to deliver (a) weight management services and (b) other public health services is maintained during the transfer of responsibility for public health from primary care trusts to local authorities. [52504]
Anne Milton: The detailed arrangements for public health staff are for local determination between primary care trusts (PCTs) and local authorities.
The NHS Operating Framework states that during the transition year (2011-12) the national health service must continue to lead on improvements to public health, ensuring that public health services are in the strongest possible position when responsibilities are devolved to local authorities. As PCTs and local authorities begin to deliver significant cost savings, it is important to recognise the need to retain specialist public health skills. Sir David Nicholson reaffirmed this in his most recent transition letter to the NHS of 17 February 2011.
Influenza: Vaccination
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will reconsider his policy on offering H1N1 vaccines to children between the age of six months and five years. [52382]
Anne Milton: The Government's policy on influenza vaccination is informed by the expert advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Current vaccination policy is to offer seasonal influenza vaccine to all people aged 65 years and over, and to individuals from six months of age who have a clinical condition which puts them more at risk of the effects of influenza. JCVI does not recommend that healthy children outside the risk groups should be vaccinated.
At its meeting on 2 February 2011, JCVI reviewed the available evidence, and advised that the groups of patients recommended for influenza vaccination in the 2011-12 influenza season remain unchanged. The Health Protection Agency is currently undertaking a study on the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of seasonal flu vaccines. This paper will be peer-reviewed and will be considered at the October 2011 JCVI meeting. It will inform the Committee’s advice about the groups that should be offered seasonal influenza vaccine in the future.
Liver Diseases: Screening
Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of a fibroscan in determining the level of liver damage in each case of hepatitis C caused by infection as a result of NHS treatment; [52335]
(2) what arrangement he has made to ensure that those infected with hepatitis C as a result of their NHS treatment are able to undergo a fibroscan. [52336]
Anne Milton:
The Department received expert advice, during the review of the support available to individuals infected with hepatitis C and/or HIV by national health
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service supplied blood transfusions or blood products and their dependants, that measurement of liver elastography, such as by fibroscan, could provide additional but non-obligatory information to support a diagnosis of cirrhosis in those infected with hepatitis C, alongside other relevant clinical information. It is for clinicians to decide what tests to offer their patients.
Medical Records: British Nationals Abroad
Mr Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements there are to enable British citizens resident overseas to gain access to their NHS medical records. [53167]
Mr Simon Burns: Under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), all patients have the right to apply for access to copies of their national health service health records. Requests are made in writing to the record holder, and a fee is payable, set at a maximum of £50.
Former patients living outside of the United Kingdom who have received treatment in the UK have the same rights under the DPA to apply for access to their NHS health records as someone making an access request from within the UK, and NHS organisations will treat these requests the same.
Myasthenia Gravis: Drugs
Mr Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effect of EU orphan drugs legislation on the cost of provision of medical treatments for rare forms of myasthenia gravis. [53169]
Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider the merits of establishing a review of drugs legislation to ensure that patients with rare neuromuscular conditions such as myasthenia gravis have adequate access to treatments and that the treatments provide best value for money. [53066]
Mr Simon Burns: A range of treatments is available to national health service patients for myasthenia gravis. It is for the local NHS to decide what treatment is clinically appropriate for patients.
We are working to introduce a new system of pricing for medicines, where the price of a drug will be linked to its assessed value. We have consulted on our proposals to ensure that clinicians and patients will have better access to licensed and effective drugs when the current Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme expires at the end of 2013 and we are now considering the responses received.
Rewards to companies under the European Union orphan medicines scheme should be proportionate to the effort and cost incurred. If there is evidence of systematic use of the orphan drug legislation in circumstances where companies are not incurring substantial research and development costs, then we would consider pressing for a change in the European legislation.
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National Institute of Health Research: Finance
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has set benchmarks for the performance of the National Institute of Health Research as conditions for securing public funding. [52488]
Mr Simon Burns: From autumn 2011, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funding will become conditional on organisations playing their part in the national research governance system. The Government will launch a framework of standard procedures and good practice for local health research management—the NIHR Research Support Services framework—by May 2011. Recipients of NIHR funding will regularly publish metrics on their performance in initiating and delivering health research. When deciding on funding, the NIHR will take account of performance against public NIHR benchmarks, including an initial benchmark of 70 days from receipt of a valid research protocol to recruitment of the first participant in a study.
NHS
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will reverse his decision not to publish the legal advice he has received relating to EU competition law as it will affect the NHS under the provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill; and for what reason he reached this decision. [53064]
Mr Simon Burns: Legal advice was integral to the Department's advice to Ministers on the introduction of the Health and Social Care Bill. However, no separate legal advice was commissioned by officials on the impact of the Bill on the application of European Union competition law to the national health service; this is because the Health and Social Care Bill does not change current United Kingdom or EU competition legislation.
The Government do not routinely publish official advice from Departments to Ministers.
NHS: Finance
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to page 98 of The Plan for Growth, what proportion of the actions on health care and life sciences are to be funded by his Department. [52485]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department has lead responsibility for 12 of the 16 actions listed on page 98 of the Plan for Growth document (actions numbered one to seven and 12 to 16). Provision has been made in the Department's spending review settlement to take forward these actions. Action 14 is jointly being taken forward with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the Technology Strategy Board is providing £18 million for an assisted living technology investment programme.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has lead responsibility for the remaining four actions (actions numbered eight to 11). Provision will be made, where appropriate, within BIS's existing budget to take forward these actions.
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NHS: Private Finance Initiative
Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much debt each NHS trust has accrued directly as a result of private finance initiative contracts; [53045]
(2) what each NHS trust's annual repayment figure is for private finance initiative contracts; [53046]
(3) what the annual interest for repayment of private finance initiative contracts is for each NHS trust. [53047]
Mr Simon Burns: Information on the estimated revenue payments for the lifetime of each health sector private finance initiative contract can be found on the Treasury’s website at:
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pfi_signed_projects_list_march2011.xls
These are the latest estimates collected from each Department for the March 2011 Budget Report; the health sector schemes are clearly marked “DH-Acute (i.e. Hospitals)”. The table includes information on payments already made (i.e. for financial years preceding 2011-12) and estimated for the remaining contract period. The payment figures include not just the financing costs for initial construction but also all the other services such as building maintenance and support services (cleaning, catering, portering etc.) provided over the lifetime of the contract. The figures also include an annual uprate assumption for inflation of 2.5%.
Information on the interest rates incurred on the principal debt finance and any equity finance (i.e. the financing costs referred to above) can be found in the Business Cases for each scheme, which NHS trusts are required to make publicly available. The information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
NHS: Reorganisation
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing his proposed NHS reforms (a) nationally and (b) in the Bassetlaw Primary Care Trust area. [51835]
Mr Simon Burns: The costs were published in the impact assessment for the Health and Social Care Bill. The estimated national cost is £1.4 billion.
The Department has not estimated a regional breakdown of this figure, as this will depend on local decisions.
The impact assessment is available at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsLegislation/DH_123583
A copy has already been placed in the Library.
Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a representative of public health will be included on the NHS Future Forum; and if he will make a statement. [53054]
Mr Simon Burns: Dr Frank Atherton, President of the Association of Directors of Public Health, is a member of the NHS Future Forum, and has been included to represent public health.
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Obesity
Mr Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many primary care trusts do not have an obesity lead staff member in post owing to a staff member leaving or having been made redundant in the last six months; [52505]
(2) how many strategic health authorities do not have an obesity lead staff member in post owing to a staff member leaving or having been made redundant in the last six months. [52506]
Anne Milton: This information is not collected by the Department.
Staffing arrangements are a matter for primary care trusts and strategic health authorities. The NHS Operating Framework states that during the transition year (2011-12) the national health service must continue to lead on improvements to public health ensuring that public health services are in the strongest possible position when responsibilities are devolved to local authorities.
Skin Piercing: Children
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to issue new guidance to local authorities on the regulation of ear and body piercing of minors. [52127]
Anne Milton: We have no current plans to issue new guidance to local authorities on the regulation of cosmetic ear or body piercing of minors.
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of minors affected by medical complications associated with ear and body piercing. [52128]
Anne Milton: The Department does not hold information on the number of minors affected by medical complications associated with ear and body piercing.
Skipton Fund
Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he took to ensure that widows and trustees of those who were infected with hepatitis C as a result of NHS treatment and subsequently died were aware of the 31 March deadline for registering their interest in making a posthumous claim to the Skipton Fund. [52322]
Anne Milton: Since the announcement on 10 January 2011, these new payments have been publicised in a variety of ways such as by a press release, by relevant internet sites, by campaign groups such as the Hepatitis C Trust, and by Twitter. A full list of the electronic communications that have been utilised has been placed in the Library.
Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health following an award of Stage 2 payment from the Skipton Fund to an individual, what additional payment is to be made to the (a) surviving spouse and (b) dependants of the individual following his or her death; and for what period surviving spouses and dependants will continue to receive the annual payment of £12,800. [52337]
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Anne Milton: The annual payments of £12,800 are made to infected individuals only, so will cease on their death. Widows and dependants of infected individuals will be eligible to apply for discretionary payments from the Caxton Foundation on the basis of need. It will be for the trustees of the charity to determine to whom the beneficiaries payment is made, and how much.
Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what organisations hold the records of the surviving spouses and trustees of those who were infected with hepatitis C as a result of NHS treatment and subsequently died. [52339]
Anne Milton: No organisation holds all the records of the widows, trustees or other representatives of patients who were infected with hepatitis C as a result of treatment with national health service blood and blood products and subsequently died.
The Skipton Fund deals only with infected individuals or their trustees, although it has previously dealt with a very small number of estates of individuals who died in the period between the announcement of the scheme on 29 August 2003, and 5 July 2004, when it was launched and began processing applications. It has never held any records of individuals who died prior to 29 August 2003.
Haemophilia centres are also checking their records, as far as it is possible to do so, to identify any families of infected patients who may have recently died. However, many records will have been destroyed if the individual died some time ago. There is also no guarantee that widows or former dependants would still be at the address shown in the records, or that they will necessarily be the beneficiaries of the estate.
Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many surviving spouses of those infected with hepatitis C as a result of NHS treatment, who have subsequently died, (a) were contacted before the 31 March deadline for applications to the Skipton Fund and (b) registered their interest in making a posthumous claim with the Skipton Fund by the deadline. [52340]
Anne Milton:
There are two potential claims that can be made to the Skipton Fund by the estate of an individual infected with hepatitis C as a result of national health service treatment who has subsequently died.
28 Apr 2011 : Column 606W
The first is the additional £25,000 for those who had already received a Stage 2 payment, some of whom will have died since receiving their initial payment, but before the 10 January 2011 announcement. The second is posthumous claims in respect of those who died before the Skipton Fund was announced on 29 August 2003, and who were previously ineligible to apply.
As at 31 March 2011, 140 estates in England had applied to the Skipton Fund for the additional Stage 2 payment of £25,000, and 472 estates in England had registered an intention to claim in respect of the pre-2003 deceased. Prior to 31 March 2011, the Skipton Fund pro-actively contacted all existing Stage 2 recipients in England on their database who had not otherwise come forward, at their last known telephone number. Of the 140 eligible claims, 34 were identified by the ring-round. It is not known who the estates are in respect of the pre-2003 deceased, so it was not possible to make pro-active contact.
For both types of claim, we do not know how many of those making the application are widows of the deceased as opposed to other representatives of the individual's estate such as widowers, children, or other beneficiaries.
South Central Strategic Health Authority
Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date he expects (a) the South Central Strategic Health Authority to be abolished and (b) its functions to be assumed by local authorities in Hampshire. [52430]
Mr Simon Burns: The Government announced on 4 April that they would take advantage of a natural break in the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill to pause, listen, reflect and improve the plans for modernising the national health service. As a result, subject to the listening exercise and the passage of the Bill, all of the statutory changes which were due to take place in April 2012 will now take place no earlier than July 2012. This revised time scale applies to the abolition of strategic health authorities such as South Central Strategic Health Authority.
Strategic health authorities’ functions will transfer to a range of organisations, including the NHS Commissioning Board, Health Education England and local authorities. We intend that functions will be transferred at the point that strategic health authorities are abolished.