Cancer: Health Education
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that his proposed public health reforms include (a) a long-term commitment to cancer awareness campaigns and (b) measures to increase awareness of screening among black, Asian and minority ethnic people. [65937]
Anne Milton:
Alongside publication of the Public Health White Paper, ‘Healthy People, Healthy Lives’, the Department published two related consultation documents. One of these, the ‘Consultation on Funding and Commissioning Routes for Public Health’, set out
18 July 2011 : Column 631W
proposals for future public health commissioning responsibilities. We proposed that local authorities would lead on behavioural and lifestyle campaigns to help prevent cancer and other conditions and campaigns to prompt early diagnosis via awareness of symptoms. ‘Improving Outcomes—a Strategy for Cancer’, published in January 2011, committed to continuing work to promote earlier diagnosis, including, subject to successful evaluation of pilots, further campaigns.
It was also proposed in the consultation that Public Health England would be responsible for funding all national screening programmes. The design and quality assurance of screening programmes would be a direct responsibility of Public Health England, as would funding and managing the piloting and rolling out of new programmes and extending current ones. The NHS Commissioning Board would commission established programmes on behalf of Public Health England, as specified and with funding transferred for that purpose. It will be vital to ensure as many people as possible are aware of screening programmes including black, Asian and minority ethnic people and there will need to be work to tackle inequalities in the uptake of screening.
We will be responding to the consultations in due course.
Cancer: Medical Treatments
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress he has made in ensuring equality in cancer treatment across England and Wales. [66982]
Paul Burstow: “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer” (January 2011) sets out a goal to save at least an additional 5,000 lives every year by 2014-15, aiming to narrow the inequalities gap at the same time. The strategy makes clear that tackling health inequalities is essential to improving outcomes and achieving cancer survival rates that match the best performing countries in the world.
Since its establishment in 2008, the National Cancer Equality Initiative (NCEI) has undertaken a range of activities to reduce inequalities, including the publication of the major report “Reducing cancer inequality: evidence, progress and making it happen” (March 2010). This set out a series of recommended national and local actions to reduce inequalities in cancer care around: data collection; analysis and publication; targeted interventions; training, development and research; evaluation and monitoring; and embedding equality.
The NCEI is working with Macmillan Cancer Support and Age UK on a £1 million programme to improve cancer care and outcomes for older people. The programme consists of 13 pilot sites across the country to improve intervention rates for people over 70 who have a cancer diagnosis. Pilots will introduce new ways of assessing older people for cancer treatment, offer short-term practical support for older people undergoing cancer treatment and will address any age discrimination in cancer services by identifying and addressing the training needs of all professionals working with older people.
In addition, the NCEI work programme for 2011-12 includes: enabling multi-disciplinary teams to undertake annual patient level equality audits to reflect on treatment, experience and practice issues for their local patients; working with the National Cancer Intelligence Network
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to produce local profiles for emerging national health service organisations, including equality characteristics where appropriate; and examining the 2010 Cancer Patient Experience Survey results by equality group.
Colorectal Cancer: East Midlands
Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the East Midlands Cancer Drugs Fund provides funding for Avastin for (a) first-line treatment for bowel cancer and (b) second-line treatment. [66204]
Paul Burstow: Under the Cancer Drugs Fund, NHS East Midlands routinely funds bevacizumab (Avastin) for first line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer and first line treatment of renal cell cancer if intolerant to pazopanib and sunitinib.
We understand that applications for bevacizumab for other indications are considered by the NHS East Midlands clinical panel on a case by case basis.
Details of the drugs and indications routinely funded by NHS East Midlands under the Cancer Drugs Fund are updated periodically and made available on its website at:
http://www.eastmidlands.nhs.uk/EasySiteWeb/getresource. axd?AssetID=40204&type=full&servicetype=Attachment
Contraception: Young People
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons public health guidance on contraceptive services for socially-disadvantaged young people has been suspended; and when such guidance will be published. [66111]
Anne Milton: The publication of this guidance was postponed while the new commissioning arrangements for sexual health services outlined in “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Update and Way Forward”, published 14 July 2011, were developed. A copy of this is available in the Library. The Department and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will now review the role and purpose of this guidance.
Cord Blood
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much funding his Department has provided for the collection and storage of umbilical cord blood in each year since 2007-08; and if he will make a statement; [65867]
(2) what recent progress he has made in implementing the recommendations of the Stem Cell Strategic Forum; [65876]
(3) what recent assessment he has made of the provision of umbilical cord blood for transplant; and if he will make a statement; [65877]
(4) what recent assessment has been made of the clinical benefits of umbilical cord blood transplant; and if he will make a statement. [65880]
Anne Milton: Funding for the collection and storage of umbilical cord blood is part of the Department's grant in aid to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). Departmental figures show that funding allocated for the collection and storage of cord blood was as follows:
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| Funding | |
| £ | |
The most recent assessment of the provision of umbilical cord blood for transplant and its clinical benefits was made as part of work carried out by the UK Stem Cell Strategic Forum. The Department published the report called ‘The Future of Unrelated Donor Stem Cell Transplantation in the UK’ on 1 December 2010. A copy has already been placed in the Library and is available online at:
www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/pdf/uk_stem_cell_strategic_forum_report.pdf
The Department has committed an additional £4 million in this financial year to implement the first tranche of the recommendations from the report.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many umbilical cord blood donations were collected in England in each year since 2007-08; and how many such donations contained a cell volume sufficient for clinical use; [65869]
(2) how many umbilical cord blood transplants were carried out in England in each year since 2007-08; [65870]
(3) how many women were asked to donate umbilical cord blood in England in each year since 2007-08; [65871]
(4) what plans he has to increase the number of NHS trusts that are able to collect umbilical cord blood for transplant. [65875]
Anne Milton: The following data refers to the donations collected by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) in England. They exclude any collections undertaken by private cord blood banks. The stem cell dose required for clinical use depends on many factors including the weight of the recipient. To maximise the utilisation of the cord blood bank, NHSBT preferentially bag high dose units as these are more clinically useful. The information is provided in the following table.
| NHSBT cord blood collections and stem cell dose | ||
| Donations collected | High dose units banked (1) | |
| (1) Cord blood units that meet specification for banking, i.e. total nucleated cell count exceeds 90xl0(7) (for Black and minority ethnic donors) and 120xl0(7) (for European Caucasian donors), negative for infectious disease markers, sterile and otherwise safe for use. Source: NHS Blood and Transplant | ||
Information on umbilical cord blood transplants in England since 2007 is provided in the following table.
| Umbilical cord blood transplants in England | |
| Transplants | |
| Note: Data compiled with Anthony Nolan for calendar years. | |
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The Department does not hold any information on how many women are asked to donate umbilical cord blood in England every year.
It is a decision for each individual NHS trust if it wishes to facilitate the collection of umbilical cord blood. Umbilical cord blood collected for the NHS Cord Blood Bank is part of a strategically agreed programme to increase the number of stem cell units available to transplant centres. It complements the work on adult donation carried out through the United Kingdom bone marrow registries. An important aim of the NHS Cord Blood Bank is to help redress the current inequality experienced by sections of the population, mainly from black or mixed parentage backgrounds, when looking for a suitable adult donor on bone marrow registries. For this reason, collection sites are located in areas with high ethnic diversity and high delivery rates. As a consequence, approximately 40% of donations in the NHS Cord Blood Bank derive from ethnic minority mothers. All the cord blood units stored in the NHS Cord Blood Bank are available to national health service patients across the country.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of umbilical cord blood transplant; [65872]
(2) what assessment he has made of the cost per quality-adjusted life year associated with (a) autologous stem cell transplants, (b) allogeneic stem cell transplants from an adult donor and (c) umbilical cord blood transplants in the latest period for which figures are available; [65873]
(3) what the average cost to the public purse was of performing an umbilical cord blood transplant on (a) a child and (b) an adult in the latest period for which figures are available. [65874]
Anne Milton: The Department of Health published the UK Stem Cell Strategic Forum report entitled “The Future of Unrelated Donor Stem Cell Transplantation in the UK” on 1 December 2010. A copy has already been placed in the Library and is also available at:
www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/pdf/uk_stem_cell_strategic_forum_report.pdf
The approximate costs of transplantation, including stem cell procurement and post-haemopoietic stem cell transplantation care appear on page 48 of the report.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding (a) the National Institute for Health Research and (b) the Medical Research Council has allocated for research into the collection, storage and use of umbilical cord blood and its clinical applications in each year since 2007-08. [65881]
Mr Simon Burns: Government investment in health research in England is made principally by the Department of Health, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, through the Medical Research Council (MRC).
Expenditure by the NIHR on research relating to the collection, storage and use of umbilical cord blood is shown in the following table:
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| £ million | |
The MRC does not routinely record expenditure on research relating to umbilical cord blood research as a separate category. Projects involving research on umbilical cord blood cells are primarily categorised as adult stem cell research. The MRC's expenditure in all areas of stem cell research is detailed in the following table, and umbilical cord research will be a subset of the adult stem cell expenditure. In its records, the MRC classifies stem cell research as either adult or embryonic. This is because stem cells derived from an embryo are truly pluripotent, which means that each cell has the potential to become any type of cell that makes up the whole organism. Stem cells from other sources, including the umbilical cord, are multipotent so they have the potential to become a range of other cell types but not necessarily all cell types found in the adult.
| £ million | |||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
Data for 2010-11 are not available.
Departmental Domestic Visits
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times he has visited (a) Buckinghamshire, (b) Surrey, (c) Liverpool and (d) Dorset in an official capacity since May 2010. [65933]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested is provided in the following table.
| Place | Number of visits since May 2010 |
Departmental Manpower
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been (a) recruited and (b) made redundant from (i) his Department and (ii) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible since May 2010. [66320]
Mr Simon Burns: There has been one permanent appointment to the Department of Health since the introduction of a recruitment freeze as part of the coalition Government’s efficiency measures on 24 May 2010. In addition, there have been 54 temporary appointments. These were 24 secondments and 30 fixed term appointments.
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18 fast streamers have been recruited by the Cabinet Office and been deployed to the Department since 24 May 2010.
The Department has not made any civil servant redundant since May 2010. However, we ran a voluntary exit scheme in January 2011 where 263 staff were offered early exit terms and have also released 16 staff on pre-2010 terms under the principal civil service compensation scheme.
The Department has 18 arm’s length bodies (ALBs) that are subject to the Government’s external recruitment freeze. The following table contains the figures for all ALBs.
| ALB | Number of people recruited since 24 May 2010 | Number of people made redundant since 24 May 2010 |
| (1)Non-Departmental Public Body (2) Special Health Authority (3) Executive Agency | ||
Departmental Redundancy
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) his Department and (b) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible has spent on redundancies since May 2010. [66341]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department has not made any civil servant redundant since May 2010. However, we ran a voluntary exit scheme in January 2011, and have also released a small number of staff on pre-2010 terms under the principal civil service compensation scheme.
The total cost of these pre-2010 terms exits between May 2010 and the end of the 2010-11 financial year was £492,039 for initial (year 1) costs and £790,627 set aside to cover future years’ annual compensation payments.
The costs of the January 2011 exit scheme totalled £19,373,071, all accounted for in the 2010-11 financial year.
There has been no central departmental spend so far on exits in 2011-12.
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The Department has 18 arm’s length bodies (ALBs), of which some are not non- departmental public bodies. The following table contains information about the cost of redundancies for all ALBs.
| ALB | Cost of Redundancies since 24 May 2010 (£) |
| (1 )Non-departmental public bodies (2 )Special health authorities (3 )Executive agency | |
Drugs: Older People
Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people over the age of 60 were prescribed anti-psychotic drugs treatments on the NHS in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in each year since 1997. [66941]
Mr Simon Burns: The age of the patient is not collected when a prescription is processed by the NHS Prescriptions Service and therefore the information requested is not available.
Health and Social Care: Voluntary Organisations
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the provision of guidance and support to voluntary organisations to assist them to present their services in a tender suitable for the GP commissioning process. [66658]
Paul Burstow: Voluntary sector organisations already make a valuable contribution across health and social care.
The Government are committed to ensuring that the best providers flourish, whichever sector they are in. We will make sure that what matters is the quality of care provided, not who owns the organisation providing it. All providers, including charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises should have the same opportunities to offer services, provided they can meet the NHS service quality requirements and prices.
To support this, guidance on the phased extension of choice of provider in community and mental health services is forthcoming.
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The Department will continue to work closely with its Voluntary Sector Strategic Partners to support voluntary sector capability to engage with primary care trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups as they develop and to ensure that understanding of commissioning processes and tendering is cascaded to the wider sector. The Department is already working with the sector in the design of the new system and arrangements and will continue to do so during this transition period.
Genito-urinary Medicine: Consultants
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many genito-urinary medicine consultants there are in each NHS hospital trust. [65926]
Anne Milton: The number of genito-urinary medicine consultants by NHS trust as of 30 September 2010 is contained in the following table.
| Hospital and community health services: medical consultants in the genito-urinary medicine specialty by national health service trust, as at 30 September 2010 | ||
| Number (headcount) | ||
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|
Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust |
||
|
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
||
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| Notes: 1. The new headcount methodology for 2010 data is not fully comparable with previous years data due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. Further information on the headcount methodology is available in the Census publication. Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. 2. Data quality. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes impact on figures already published, this is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census | ||
Genito-urinary Medicine: Lancashire
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what action his Department is taking to increase access to (a) HIV testing services, (b) sexually transmitted infection testing services and (c) contraception services in (i) East Lancashire and (ii) Pendle; [65924]
(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that people in (a) East Lancashire and (b) Pendle are able to access information from accurate sources about HIV, sexually transmitted infections and contraception. [65925]
Anne Milton: Our new sexual health policy document to be published later this year will set out our vision for improving sexual health across England, including East Lancashire and Pendle.
We are shortly due to publish our response to the consultation exercise ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Update and Way Forward’, a copy of which will be made available in the Library. Subject to Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill allows the Secretary of State to delegate some of his functions to other bodies, and to require local authorities to take certain steps. These steps include a plan to mandate appropriate access to sexual health services.
Health Protection Agency
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to decide on the reconfiguration of Health Protection Agency sites. [66245]
Anne Milton: The Health Protection Agency has put forward a business case for the replacement of its microbiology laboratories at Porton Down. The Department is assessing this business case, and a decision on the way forward will be taken when the assessment is completed.
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether Health Protection Agency Staff will be transferred to Public Health England organisations on their existing employment terms and conditions. [66244]
Anne Milton: Staff who transfer from the Health Protection Agency into Public Health England will do so on their existing terms and conditions of employment.
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Health Services
Mr Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many proposed reconfigurations of local health services he has approved on the basis of (a) quality and (b) safety since May 2010; and if he will make a statement; [66188]
(2) in respect of which hospitals he has agreed to the reconfiguration of local acute health services since May 2010; and which services have been (a) discontinued, (b) downgraded and (c) reconfigured at each such hospital. [66189]
Mr Simon Burns: Reconfiguration of local health services is a matter for the local national health service.
Since May 2010, the Secretary of State for Health, has asked the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) to review 10 referrals to him from local overview and scrutiny committees who have contested changes to local health services. Of those 10 referrals, the Secretary of State for Health has accepted IRP advice on eight. He has yet to make a decision on the two remaining referrals.
Full details of local proposals for change, individual referrals from those overview and scrutiny committees, together with the panel's advice to the Secretary of State for Health can be found at:
www.irpanel.org.uk/view.asp?id=56
Any changes to NHS services must be to ensure patients get the best care possible, delivered to the highest standards.
Health Services: Greater London
Mr Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish the report and recommendations of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel into the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey proposals for health services; and if he will make a statement. [66190]
Mr Simon Burns: The Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) has now submitted its report on the proposals set down in the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy to the Secretary of State for Health.
The IRP will publish its report on its website once my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, has, in due course, fully considered the report’s recommendations and made his final decision public.
Health Services: Negligence
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to address clinical negligence by health professionals in the UK who are not British nationals. [65828]
Anne Milton: All statutorily regulated health professionals, regardless of their nationality or country of origin, are subject to the standards of performance and conduct set by their regulatory body. Where individuals fall short of these standards the regulatory bodies can investigate and consider whether fitness to practise action is required.
In addition, employers and organisations that contract with health professionals also have a key role in making
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sure that those they engage have suitable skills to carry out the duties expected of them safely. Should the performance of such professionals, regardless of their nationality or country of origin, not meet acceptable standards then they have a duty to take appropriate action.
The role of the Responsible Officer, introduced by Parliament in January 2011, is an important statutory role in evaluating the fitness to practise of individual doctors. They will play a key role in supporting all doctors to improve the quality of care they provide and in ensuring that prompt action is taken in the small number of cases where concerns arise about the practice of individual doctors.
Medical Revalidation, which the General Medical Council is planning to introduce in late 2012, subject to a test of readiness, will provide a mechanism to re-affirm that doctors are up to date and fit to practise. Structured annual appraisals will underpin the revalidation process and these appraisals will be based on evidence from the doctor, colleagues, patients and local clinical governance systems.
Health Visitors: Training
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure health visitors have training in the identification of autism as part of his proposed health and development review. [66173]
Anne Milton: The content and standard of healthcare training is the responsibility of the independent regulatory bodies.
Through their role as the custodians of quality standards in education and practice, these organisations are committed to ensuring high quality patient care delivered by high quality health professionals and that healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to deal with the problems and conditions they will encounter in practice.
In order to achieve the best possible outcomes for training in the identification of autism for both staff and patients alike, we are working closely with the Nursing Midwifery Council, the independent regulatory body responsible for quality assuring health visitor education and the further and higher education sectors to review the training requirements of educational programmes.
The “Health Visitor Implementation Plan 2011-15, A Call to Action” sets out our intention to improve the quality of health visiting services for children and families. A copy has already been placed in the Library.
HIV Infection
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) England and (b) East Lancashire have HIV. [65826]
Anne Milton: In 2009, the latest year for which estimates are currently available, the Health Protection Agency has estimated that 81,500 people were living with HIV in England, of whom 26% (22,200) were unaware of their infection.
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There were 126 diagnosed HIV-infected individuals living in East Lancashire Primary Care Trust in 2009. The overall number of people living with HIV (including those with undiagnosed infection) cannot be estimated at primary care trust or local authority levels.
HIV Infection: East Lancashire
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to reduce the number of late diagnoses of HIV in (a) East Lancashire and (b) Pendle. [65927]
Anne Milton: We understand that NHS East Lancashire has taken steps to improve early diagnosis of HIV, with a training scheme in general practice to raise awareness of HIV symptoms. This has lead to an increase in HIV testing.
The Department has also been taking action to reduce undiagnosed and late diagnosis of HIV. We invested £750,000 in eight pilot projects in high prevalence areas looking at new approaches to HIV testing in primary care, non-specialist hospital settings and community social settings.
On 1 December, the Health Protection Agency published an interim report, ‘Time to test for HIV: Expanded healthcare and community HIV testing in England’, on its review of these pilots. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.
In 2011 the Department has also funded the Medical Foundation for AIDS and Sexual Health to produce an innovative web-based resource pack, for use in educating and supporting primary care professionals to increase rates of HIV testing.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people in East Lancashire who are HIV positive but are not aware of their infection. [65936]
Anne Milton: The Health Protection Agency has advised that estimates of the number of people living with HIV, who are unaware of their status, cannot be made at primary care trust level.
HIV Infection: Pendle
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Pendle were diagnosed with HIV in each of the last five years. [65827]
Anne Milton: The information is not available in the format requested. The available information is shown in the following table.
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| Individuals newly diagnosed with HIV in East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust: New HIV diagnoses by year of diagnosis, 2006-2010. | |||||
| Year of diagnosis | |||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| Notes: 1. These data represent new HIV diagnoses made in East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust which includes but is not limited to the borough of Pendle. It is not possible to present new HIV diagnosis data at local authority level. The geographical region presented relates to area of diagnosis and does not necessarily reflect patient residence. 2. Patients may live with HIV for many years before they are diagnosed. Therefore new diagnosis data do not necessarily reflect recently acquired infections. Diagnoses are from reports received to end December 2010. Numbers will rise as further reports are received. | |||||
Infant Mortality: Disadvantaged
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons public health guidance on reducing infant mortality among those living in disadvantaged circumstances has been suspended; and when he expects such guidance to be re-issued. [66107]
Anne Milton: The development of this guidance was suspended because of the overlap with National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance on Pregnancy and Complex Social Factors (CG110) issued in September 2010. This guidance addressed the additional antenatal needs of women in vulnerable groups, including young women under 20, with a view to improving outcomes and reducing mortality. This group of young women under 20 was the proposed focus of the suspended guidance. We will review the need for additional NICE guidance in the context of “Healthy Lives, Healthy People” (Cm 7985) and further policy development around infant, maternal and child health.
Learning Disability
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take in relation to the recommendations of the report by Professor Jim Mansell entitled “Raising our Sights”. [66294]
Paul Burstow: The written ministerial statement on 10 February 2011, Official Report, columns 15-16WS, announced the Government's 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, which was commissioned by the Department.
The elements of good service and good practice examples included in this report sit 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.
I announced on 7 June 2011, Official Report, columns 13-15WS, that I have asked officials to draw together the key lessons from the reviews being undertaken by the Care Quality Commission, the national health service and safeguarding boards into the events at Winterbourne View hospital. The recommendations of the Mansell report will be addressed within that work and Professor Mansell is assisting the Department in the examination of the issues.
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On 4 March 2011, Official Report, column 49WS, a written ministerial statement announced continued Government support to help improve the health and lives of people with learning disabilities:
Extending the Department's contract with the Norah Fry Research Centre for a further two years to March 2013 to run a confidential inquiry into the premature and avoidable deaths of people with learning disabilities.
Continued support by the Department for a further two years to March 2013 of a public health observatory service in relation to people with learning disabilities, currently hosted by North East Public Health Observatory.
Continued funding by the Department in 2011-12 of up to £200,000 to support the work of the National Forum for People with Learning Difficulties and the National Valuing Families Forum. The Fora have a key role in helping Government understand the issues and challenges that people with learning disabilities and their families and carers face.
Leukaemia
Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia who are expected to require second-line therapy in the next 12 months. [65839]
Paul Burstow: No estimate has been made of the number of patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) who are expected to require second-line therapy in the next 12 months. CML is very rare and it is estimated that about 560 people are diagnosed with CML in the United Kingdom each year.
Leukaemia: Drugs
Mr Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the preliminary decision of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence not to recommend dasatinib, nilotinib and high dose imatinib for the treatment of imatinib-resistant chronic myeloid leukaemia. [66112]
Paul Burstow: We have made no such assessment. Ministers are clear that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is an independent body and must be free to develop its technology appraisal guidance based on the best available evidence.
Medical Treatments
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost per quality-adjusted life year of each treatment recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence as a result of a technology appraisal in each year since 2007-08. [65868]
Mr Simon Burns: This is a matter for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as an independent body. I have asked the chief executive of NICE to write to the hon. Member with this information. A copy will be placed in the Library.
NHS Commissioning Board
Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that (a) midwives and (b) pharmacists are represented in commissioning consortia. [66081]
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Mr Simon Burns: Aside from the inclusion alongside general practitioners of at least one registered nurse and a doctor who is a secondary care specialist, we do not intend to prescribe in detail the wider clinical professional membership of commissioning groups' governing bodies. We agree with the NHS Future Forum's report that it would be unhelpful for clinical commissioning groups' governing bodies to be representative of every professional clinical group. The prime purpose of a governing body should be to take key decisions and make sure that clinical commissioning groups have the right systems in place to do their job well. These systems will ensure they involve the full range of health and care professionals in commissioning.
In addition, the Government are proposing a number of changes in the light of the Future Forum report to provide greater assurance that commissioning will involve a wide range of doctors, nurses and other health and care professionals. For example, we will strengthen existing duties on clinical commissioning groups to secure professional advice and ensure this advice is from a full range of health professionals where relevant. Clinical commissioning groups will also receive expert support and advice from clinical networks and senates on the design and delivery of services.
These systems will ensure they involve the full range of health and care professionals in commissioning.
NHS: Debts
Ian Swales:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS organisations were in deficit in each
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year since 1997; and what the level of deficit was in each case. [67359]
Mr Simon Burns: The requested information has been placed in the Library.
NHS: Manpower
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of future workforce requirements in the NHS in each strategic health authority. [66967]
Mr Simon Burns: As part of the 2011-12 integrated planning process, strategic health authorities are preparing plans and projections on the workforce requirements in each region up to March 2015. These will be published in the summer in strategic health authority board papers.
NHS: Pensions
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received an annual payment under the NHS pension scheme in each financial year since 1997-98; how many are forecast to receive an annual payment under that scheme in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16; and what the average annual payment in each year was or is forecast to be for each financial year from 1997-98 to 2015-16. [65832]
Mr Simon Burns: The number of people who received annual payments under the NHS pension scheme and the average annual payments from 1997-98 to 2010-11 are included in the following table:
| Number of people who received annual payment under the NHS pension scheme | Average annual payments under the NHS pension scheme (£) | |
Information forecasting the number of people who will receive an annual payment from 2010-11 to 2015-16 is not available to the NHS Pensions Agency but the forecast total annual payments from 2011-12 are as follows:
| £ million | |
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the expenditure of his Department on (a) employer contributions to NHS pensions and (b) outlays on NHS pension scheme (i) if there were no changes to levels of contributions, (ii) if there were no changes to final salary pension schemes, (iii) if there were no changes to the retirement age and (iv) if pensions were linked to the retail prices index in each year from 2010-11 to 2015-16. [65833]
Mr Simon Burns: The following table sets out actual and estimated employer contributions to the NHS Pensions Agency for the period 2010-11 to 2015-16 based on information presented in the Office for Budgetary Responsibility's Spring Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2011. These figures assume there were no changes to levels of contributions, no changes to final salary pension schemes and no changes to retirement age.
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| Actual (£000) | Forecast (£ billion) | |||||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | |
These figures include the effects of indexation based on consumer prices index (CPI) as the measure of inflation for forecast expenditure. The use of the retail prices index (RPI) would increase expenditure in these years as currently the RPI is higher than that of the CPI and therefore using RPI for indexation purposes would increase the level of expenditure forecast for these years.
Discussions of other changes to public service pensions with trades unions are ongoing and as such, changes to the employer contribution rate, proposed changes to final salary pensions and proposed changes to the retirement age have not been incorporated into the forecast.
Nutrition: Health Education
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons public health guidance on using the media to promote healthy eating has been suspended; and when he expects such guidance to be re-issued. [66108]
Anne Milton: The Department asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to place a small number of public health topics on hold while we determine the most effective ways of approaching major public health issues, taking into account developments in these areas. In relation to guidance on healthy eating, we are currently considering whether there is sufficient new evidence to inform guidance development. We currently have no timescale for a decision on this topic.
School Milk
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to (a) mark World School Milk Day 2011 and (b) promote the uptake of free nursery and subsidised school milk. [65964]
Anne Milton: The Department has no plans to mark World School Milk Day on 28 September 2011.
The Nursery Milk Scheme has been running for many years and we believe that awareness of the scheme is high, with over 50,000 child care providers currently registered with the Nursery Milk Reimbursement Unit. The Nursery Milk Scheme is the only milk scheme run by the Department.
Sexual Health Services
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department plans to put in place for provision of contraceptive and sexual health services during the change in NHS commissioning arrangements. [66109]
Anne Milton: “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Update and Way Forward” published on 14 July 2011, a copy of which is available in the Library, states that local authorities will assume responsibility for commissioning most contraception and other sexual health services from 1 April 2013. The national health service will remain responsible for commissioning these services up to that date. As with other elements of public health commissioning, the Department, the NHS and the new public health structures will work together to ensure the continued provision of high quality services during the transition period and transfer of commissioning responsibilities.
Telemedicine
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2011, Official Report, column 651W, on telemedicine, what the timetable is for publication of the (a) analysis and (b) findings of the Whole System Demonstrator programme; [65878]
(2) what the reasons are for the time taken to publish the findings of the Whole System Demonstrator programme; and if he will make a statement; [65879]
(3) when he plans to publish the reports on the outcomes of the Whole System Demonstrator programme; and if he will make a statement. [66004]
Paul Burstow: Recruiting over 6,000 people to the Whole System Demonstrator programme took considerable time and effort. The study itself is focused on five detailed themes, making it what we believe to be the largest randomised control trial of telehealth and telecare in the world. The result has been considerable amounts of data that are currently undergoing detailed analysis, to be followed by peer review.
As soon as that analysis and review is completed, the results will be made public and the Department can assess what further action is appropriate.
Home Department
Animal Experiments
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what standards the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate sets in respect of the provision of housing and care by designated establishments under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. [66116]
Lynne Featherstone: Standards for the housing and care of laboratory animals are set out in separate codes of practice for scientific procedure establishments and breeding and supplying establishments designated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. These codes of practice can be accessed through the Home Office website.
Animal Experiments: Dogs
Henry Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to require companies building new facilities for breeding dogs for use in scientific procedures to comply with
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(a)
UK Codes of Practice for housing and care and
(b)
standards set out in European Directive 2010/63/EU. [65369]
Lynne Featherstone: Under standard condition 2 applicable to certificates of designation granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, designated breeding and supplying establishments must ensure that the areas of the establishment approved for the housing of protected animals are maintained to at least the standards set out in the Home Office Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals in Designated Breeding and Supplying Establishments except where variations are authorised by the Secretary of State.
Standard condition 9 requires that in accordance with the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals used in Scientific Procedures, all protected animals must at all times be provided with adequate care and accommodation appropriate to their type or species. Any restrictions on the extent to which such an animal can satisfy its physiological and ethological needs shall be kept to the absolute minimum; and the health and well-being of protected animals, and the environmental conditions in all parts of the establishment where protected animals are kept, shall be checked at least once daily by competent persons. Arrangements shall be made to ensure that any suffering or defect discovered is remedied as quickly as possible.
The mandatory standards of housing and care of animals set out in Annex III to European Directive 2010/63/EU must be implemented from 1 January 2013. Standard conditions will be reviewed to take account of these requirements when the new Directive is transposed into United Kingdom legislation.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many exceptions have been granted for dogs by her Department under section 10, subsection (3), of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010 and (d) 2011 to date; what the grounds were for each exception granted; what the purpose was of the project licence under which each such exception was granted; what the country of origin was in each case; and where each such dog was obtained from. [65590]
Lynne Featherstone: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Animal Experiments: EU Law
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2011 by Baroness Neville-Jones, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA1, on animal experimentation, when she will report on the outcome of her Department's public consultation on European Union Directive 2010/63/EU; and if she will make a statement. [67007]
Lynne Featherstone: The closing date for the public consultation on the transposition of European Union Directive 2010/63/EU is 5 September 2011. We aim to report on the outcome within three months of the closing date.
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Animal Experiments: Scotland
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of project licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Scotland was in the (a) mild, (b) moderate, (c) substantial and (d) unclassified severity banding at the end of 2010. [67048]
Lynne Featherstone: During 2010, in Scotland, 37% of the project licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 that were in force at the end of 2010 were in a mild severity banding, 58% in moderate, 2% in substantial and 3% were in an unclassified severity banding.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many infringements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were recorded in Scotland in 2010; and how many such infringements led to a prosecution. [67052]
Lynne Featherstone: Four infringements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were reported at designated establishments in Scotland during 2010. No prosecutions resulted.
Bail
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people were released on pre-charge police bail for each type of offence in each of the last three years; [64747]
(2) how many people failed to return to a police station after being released on police bail in each of the last three years. [64748]
James Brokenshire: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Data on suspects detained by the police, held by the Home Office, cannot separately identify persons released on pre-charge bail, or those failing to return to a police station.
Chief Coroner
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence her Department holds on the financial effects on her Department over each of the next five years of appointing a chief coroner with the functions provided for by the Coroner and Justice Act 2009. [65187]
Damian Green [holding answer 11 July 2011]:The Department holds no evidence of the financial effects of the chief coroner on the Home Office. The cost of appointing a chief coroner would fall to the Ministry of Justice.
Closed Circuit Television
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many CCTV cameras there were per head of population in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire and (c) England in each month since January 2010; [65948]
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(2) how many CCTV cameras per square mile there were in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire and (c) England in each month since January 2010. [65949]
James Brokenshire: The information is not held centrally
Control Orders
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been subjected to control orders that included relocation orders; and how many such individuals have subsequently absconded. [61907]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 27 June 2011]: Of the 52 individuals ever subject to control orders, 22 individuals have been required to relocate under the obligations of their control order. Of these, one individual subsequently absconded in 2007.
Other individuals subject to a control order have relocated for voluntary reasons.
Crime: Victims
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of families of a victim of murder or manslaughter outside of the UK were allocated a family liaison officer by their local police force in the last 12 months. [64938]
James Brokenshire: Family liaison officers may be appointed by the police service to assist the families of those murdered or missing in suspicious circumstances overseas when there is an investigative role for them to undertake. Early contact with the family by a family liaison officer is thought to be of great benefit to both the affected family and the investigation team.
Information on the proportion of families of a victim of murder or manslaughter outside of the UK that were allocated a family liaison officer is not held centrally.
Death: British Nationals Abroad
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department issues to police forces on liaison with foreign police forces in investigating the death of a British national when that death occurred overseas; and if she will make a statement. [65282]
James Brokenshire: Guidance on this subject is issued to police forces by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) within appendix 3 of the Family Liaison Officer Guidance 2008. Appendix 3 deals solely with ‘Deaths Abroad’ and contains ‘Foreign and Commonwealth Office Guidance on British Nationals Murdered or Missing in Suspicious Circumstance Abroad’. A copy of the guidance will be placed in the House Library.
This appendix is to be replaced by a memorandum of understanding (MOU) drawn up between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, ACPO and the Coroners Society of England and Wales which will ensure a joined up approach by all parties when the death of a British national occurs abroad. The MOU is currently in draft form pending sign off by the relevant parties.
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Defence and Security Equipment International: Police
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of policing the Defence and Security Equipment International Exhibition between 13 and 16 September 2011. [65588]
Nick Herbert: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department has not made an estimate of the cost of policing this event, as this is a matter for the Metropolitan police. Forces are able to apply for a special grant from the Home Office for policing operations in cases where the event is exceptional and unforeseen, subject to the costs meeting certain criteria. No special grant application has been received in relation to this exhibition.
Departmental Manpower
Mr Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many serving officers in the Metropolitan Police Force were authorised to accept outside sources of remuneration, employment or consultancy in the latest period for which figures are available. [66218]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 14 July 2011]: This information is not collected centrally by the Home Office.
DNA: Databases
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what categorisation her Department assigns to the police work undertaken by (a) missing persons units and (b) the National DNA Database. [54715]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 9 May 2011]: In their recent report ‘Demanding Times’, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) defined and categorised police roles. The report can be found at:
www.hmic.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Thematics/THM_20110330.pdf
Work on the national DNA database is outside of the scope of the HMIC definition.
Domestic Violence
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases by domestic abuse incidents were reported in each constituency in each of the last four years. [66085]
Lynne Featherstone [ h olding answer 14 July 2011]: The number of reported domestic violence incidents is not collected by constituency. However, the available information is shown in the following table which shows the number of reported domestic violence incidents by police force area, 2006-07 to 2009-10.
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| Number of reported domestic violence incidents by police force area, 2006-07 to 2009-10 (1) | ||||
| Police force a rea | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
| (1) All data are provisional and unverified with forces. (2) Data are estimated for non-response, based on ratios in other forces (e.g. domestic violence incidents; total violence against the person offences). | ||||