Metastatic Melanoma
Pauline Latham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people died from metastatic melanoma by each (a) cancer network and (b) primary care trust in each year since 1997. [82638]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people died from metastatic melanoma by each (a) cancer network and (b) primary care trust in each year since 1997 (82638)
It is not possible to identify the stage of a tumour (whether it was localised or had spread to other parts of the body) from the information collected at death registration. However, it is likely that almost all deaths from malignant melanoma are due to metastatic disease.
Tables 1 and 2 provide the number of deaths where malignant melanoma of skin was the underlying cause of death for (a) cancer networks (Table 1) and (b) primary care organisations (Table 2) in England, for 1997 to 2010 (the latest year available).
23 Nov 2011 : Column 456W
Deaths from melanomas of the skin of genital organs and melanomas of sites other than the skin cannot be identified separately in mortality data and are therefore excluded from the figures in Tables 1 and 2. However, the number of such deaths is likely to be relatively small.
Copies of Tables 1 and 2 have been placed in the House of Commons library.
Young People: Voluntary Work
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many of those starting National Citizen Service did not complete their full course; and if he will make a statement. [81925]
Mr Hurd: An independent evaluation of the National Citizen Service pilot programme is currently collecting and analysing data on participation rates across the twelve pilot schemes in 2011.
This work will conclude shortly. I will then be able to provide the House with a full update.
Health
Drug and Alcohol: Dependent Mothers
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were born to (a) drug- and (b) alcohol-dependent mothers by region in each of the last 10 years. [81621]
Anne Milton: The following tables provide data on delivery episodes for children born to (a) drug- and (b) alcohol-dependent mother, by strategic health authority of residence for the years 2000-01 to 2009-10.
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23 Nov 2011 : Column 458W
| Count of deliveries by drug dependent mothers (excluding alcohol and tobacco) by strategic health authority of residence, 2009-10 to 2006-07 | |||||
| Code | Strategic health authority | 2009-10 | 2008-09 | 2007-08 | 2006-07 |
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23 Nov 2011 : Column 460W
| Count of deliveries by alcohol dependent mothers strategic health authority of residence, 2009-10 to 2006-07 | |||||
| Code | Strategic health authority | 2009-10 | 2008-09 | 2007-08 | 2006-07 |
| Notes: 1. Finished Consultant Episode (FCE) A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Type of episode used: 2 = Delivery episode 5 = Other delivery event 2. Secondary diagnosis As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care. 3. All Diagnoses count of episodes ICD-10 code used: Z37. Outcome of delivery (must always been found in the first secondary position) F10.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol, dependence syndrome F11.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of opioids, dependence syndrome F12.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids, dependence syndrome F13.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of sedatives or hypnotics, dependence syndrome F14.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to. use of cocaine, dependence syndrome F15.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of other stimulants, including caffeine, dependence syndrome F16.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of hallucinogens, dependence syndrome F18.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of volatile solvents, dependence syndrome F19.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to multiple drug use and use of other psychoactive substances, dependence syndrome The above codes indicate addiction to all types of drugs. For example F11.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of opioids, would include addiction to Heroin and also Opioids found in prescription drugs. Code F19.2 Mental and behavioural disorders due to multiple drug use and use of other psychoactive substances is only used when patterns of psychoactive substance-taking are chaotic and indiscriminate or when the contributions of different psychoactive substances are inextricably mixed. 4. SHA/PCT of residence The strategic health authority (SHA) or primary care trust (PCX) containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another SHA/PCT for treatment. 5. Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. 6. Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and PCTs in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 7. Activity included Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. 8.For all years the total number of cases is higher when looking at the total broken down by drug use compared to the drug grouping figures. This is because there will be several cases where the mother has been diagnosed as using more than one type of drug and those drugs have been recognised. It should be noted that count of deliveries will not give a full count of births, as twins would count as only one delivery. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care | |||||
Dental Services: Finance
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding was allocated to NHS dental services in each of the last five years. [81921]
Mr Simon Burns: The primary care dental allocations for the last five years, plus the current year, are as set out in the following table. These are net of income from dental charges paid by patients, which are retained locally by primary care trusts (PCTs) to supplement the resources available for dentistry. PCTs may also dedicate some of their other national health service resources to dentistry if they consider this an appropriate local priority. Actual expenditure levels are determined by the pattern and type of services commissioned by each PCT and are recorded in the notes to PCT accounts.
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| Primary dental service net funding allocations | |
|
|
Net allocations (£ million) |
| Note: For the years up until 2011-12 the dental primary care allocation included funding for dental vocational trainees. For 2011-12 this funding element, some £81 million net of patient charges, was separately allocated as part of a larger regional workforce funding stream. To allow comparisons, this has been included in the national figures above. | |
Private Finance Initiative
Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) cost, (b) date of commencement and (c) duration is of each private finance initiative contract managed by his Department. [82209]
Mr Simon Burns: Information on signed private finance initiative (PFI) projects that were signed prior to 16 March 2011 is available on the Treasury's website at:
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_pfi_stats.htm
No national health service PFI projects have been signed since 16 March 2011.
In addition to listing the project name and responsible department the information available includes the capital value of the asset and associated unitary charge payments, the date the contract was signed and the operational period of the contract.
Diabetes
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to support the establishment of citizen commissions to advise, report and make decisions on issues affecting people with diabetes as part of his proposed health and wellbeing boards; and if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that there is adequate youth representation on such commissions and boards. [R] [82020]
Paul Burstow: Health and wellbeing boards will promote joined-up commissioning that will support integrated provision of services across health, public health and social care. This should mean that groups such as diabetes service users should experience health and care services that are better joined up and better meet their needs as individuals.
Health and wellbeing boards will have a legal duty to involve users and the public when developing the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and joint health and wellbeing strategy and to pay due regard to the public sector Equality Duty. We also expect local HealthWatch organisations to use their membership on health and wellbeing boards to play a role in ensuring the voices of the whole community including young people are heard and fed into the work of the boards. We are exploring with early implementer health and wellbeing boards how they can embed public engagement in their work, including with young people, and with some HealthWatch pathfinders who are focusing on how local HealthWatch
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can be most effective in understanding and representing the voice of the whole community including young people.
Diabetes: Health Services
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure sufficient numbers of paediatric diabetes specialist nurses and diabetes nurses to meet the needs of people with diabetes. [R] [82021]
Mr Simon Burns: Workforce planning is a matter for local national health service organisations. They are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and will commission the required number of training places to develop the workforce to meet those needs.
A safety and quality assurance process has been developed to ensure that any significant change proposed in the clinical workforce has involved clinicians at all levels, maximising on their engagement, leadership and sign off.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training his Department provides to (a) diabetes specialist nurses, (b) doctors and (c) other healthcare professionals on provision of support and medical assistance to adolescents and young adults with diabetes. [R] [82022]
Anne Milton: The content and standard of health care training is the responsibility of the independent regulatory bodies for the professions concerned. Through their role as the custodians of standards in education and practice, these organisations are committed to ensuring high quality patient care is delivered by health professionals and that health care professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to deal with the problems and conditions they will encounter in practice, including diabetes.
Diabetes: Nurses
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to develop and implement a standardised national competency framework for diabetes specialist nurses. [R] [81535]
Anne Milton: It is the role of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to set standards of education, training, conduct and performance so that nurses and midwives can deliver high quality healthcare consistently throughout their careers. Higher Educational Institutes are responsible for running educational programmes which are approved by the NMC. Within this framework employers can expand nursing practice.
In addition to the responsibilities of the NMC, from 1 April 2013, subject to parliamentary approval, Health Education England will bring together all the relevant parties, particularly employers, to oversee and shape the development of the health and care workforce and to promote high quality education and training which is responsive to the changing needs of patients and local communities.
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The Government consider that diabetes specialist nurses are an essential part of the diabetes specialist team and have a valuable part to play in supporting people with diabetes. It is local healthcare organisations, with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local populations, that are best placed to determine the work force required to deliver safe patient care within their available resources.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce a separate tariff for (a) initiation of patients onto insulin pumps and insulin therapy, (b) commencing blood glucose monitoring and (c) other procedures carried out by diabetes specialist nurses and not currently recognised in existing payment mechanisms. [R] [81558]
Mr Simon Burns: There is currently a non-mandatory best practice tariff for paediatric diabetes. Details can be found in the “Payment by Results Guidance for 2011-12”, a copy of which has been placed in the Library. This is being further developed for 2012-13. It has been designed to support access to consistent high quality care.
A range of other activities relating to the provision of care for diabetes patients are covered by the national mandatory tariff. Activity that is outside the scope of the tariff, such as services provided in a community setting, are reimbursed through prices that are agreed locally.
Insulin pumps are currently excluded from tariff and paid for at locally negotiated prices to ensure that providers are adequately reimbursed.
We are considering the development of a best practice tariff for pump therapy.
Dialysis Machines
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has for the long-term provision of dialysis facilities. [81922]
Mr Simon Burns: Ensuring that there is sufficient capacity to meet demand for dialysis is the responsibility of specialised national health service commissioners who commission these services.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has any plans to increase the provision and availability of home dialysis equipment. [81923]
Mr Simon Burns: Home therapies (peritoneal dialysis and home haemodialysis) offer huge benefits for kidney patients and are more cost-effective treatments than haemodialysis in a hospital or satellite unit. However, they are not suited to everybody. We are working to develop a tariff to incentivise offering patients the choice of home haemodialysis where appropriate and we expect that the tariff price will include an element for capital costs such as the cost of home dialysis machines.
Food: Taxation
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the merits of applying additional taxation to foods which are high in saturated fats. [82393]
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Anne Milton: We are keeping the international evidence on the impact of fiscal measures under review.
General Practitioners
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that his Department's guidance on removing patients from GP lists is followed by GPs. [81363]
Mr Simon Burns: The procedures which general practitioner (GP) contractors must follow when considering removal of a patient from their list are set out in regulations and are included in their national health service contract with their primary care trust. It is the responsibility of the primary care trust to take any resulting action should a contractor not follow these procedures.
Under the terms of its contract, a GP practice may remove any patient from its list of NHS patients if it believes that it has reasonable grounds for doing so, for example, if a patient has moved out of the practice area or has been violent.
No one should be left without access to a GP practice. If anyone who has been removed from a practice list has difficulty in finding another practice, the primary care trust may assign them to another GP contractor's list.
Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were registered with GPs in (a) NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent, (b) NHS Medway, (c) NHS West Kent and (d) England in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11. [81551]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested is set out in the following table, which has been supplied by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care:
| GP registered patients in selected primary care trusts (PCTs) in England as at 2008-10 | |||
|
|
2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
Health and Social Care Bill 2010-12
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Information Commissioner's recent ruling on his Department's strategic risk register for the Health and Social Care Bill, if he will publish the register (a) immediately or (b) before the deadline for any related amendments to be tabled for the Lords Report Stage of the Bill; and if he will make a statement. [82212]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department is considering its response to the Information Commissioner's decision of 2 November 2011 to require the release of the register, and expects to respond by early December.
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Health Professions: Pay
Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid to suspended medical staff in each of the last five years. [81905]
Mr Simon Burns:
Information is not available in the form requested. According to data held by the National
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Clinical Assessment Service, the number of doctors who were excluded or suspended at the end of each of the last five financial years, together with estimates of the number of working weeks lost as a result, were as follows:
|
|
2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008- 09 | 2009- 10 | 2010- 11 |
| (1) Doctors in the hospital and community health service (exclusions) and in general practice (suspensions) in England | |||||
Injuries: Dogs
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether data on the cost to the public purse of treating dog attacks is held by individual health trusts; [81848]
(2) what assessment he has made of long-term trends in the cost to the public purse of treating injuries caused by dog attacks. [81849]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not require individual national health service trusts to report on costs associated with treating patients admitted to hospital as a result of a dog attack. However, the hon. Member may wish to contact trusts directly to confirm whether they hold this information.
The Department has not made an assessment of trends in respect of the costs of treating these injuries. However, Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have been working closely with Government and non-Government organisations to prepare a package of measures to encourage more responsible dog ownership and reduce dog attacks. This work is nearing completion and an announcement will be made by that Department shortly.
Mercury: Health Hazards
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of any ban on the use of dental amalgam; and if he will make a statement. [R] [81724]
Mr Simon Burns: A ban would be detrimental to the delivery of high-quality dental services particularly where patients required replacement of existing amalgam fillings. In February 2009, the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment programme agreed on the need to develop a global legally binding instrument that
“protects human health and the global environment from the release of mercury and its compounds by minimising and, where feasible, ultimately eliminating global anthropogenic release to air water and land”.
The work to prepare this instrument is being undertaken by an intergovernmental negotiating committee. We are seeking to reach an agreement by which dental amalgam will continue to be available within any additional measures to control the disposal of waste and emissions.
Muscular Dystrophy
Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on progress in setting up a managed clinical network for neuromuscular conditions in each NHS region; and if he will make a statement. [82066]
Paul Burstow: During 2010-11, the 10 regional Specialised Commissioning Groups (SCGs) and National Specialised Commissioning team (NSCT) collaborated to produce a detailed work plan for neuromuscular services.
This neuromuscular workstream is led by East of England SCG working with the individual SCG/NSCT neuromuscular leads. In July, a more formal group was established and the existing work plan was enlarged to include communications and engagement.
A workshop to which patients, carers and support organisations have been invited is scheduled for later this year.
NHS: Disclosure of Information
Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to respond to concerns about adverse experiences of individual NHS staff and instances where an NHS trust has followed discipline or dismissal of a staff member by secret settlements with compromise agreement gagging provision; and if he will make a statement. [81626]
Mr Simon Burns: All non-contractual 'special' severance payments for employees or ex employees, who may have been dismissed following disciplinary action, must be approved by HM Treasury. NHS trusts are required to ensure that any proposals to make such payments are sent to the Department of Health initially for scrutiny.
The use of a confidentiality clause within a compromise agreement or a contract of employment is void insofar as it purports to preclude the employee from making a protected disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) i.e. the protection of 'whistle blowers'. Therefore, payments made to employees under a compromise agreement with a confidentiality clause that seeks to prevent an employee or an ex employee from making a disclosure under PIDA would be void.
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Before an employee considers signing a compromise agreement, which may or may not contain a confidentiality clause, the employer is required to pay for the employee to have independent legal advice on the terms of the agreement.
NHS: Pay
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS employees of each sex had an annual salary (a) below £15,000 per year and (b) between £15,000 and £21,000 per year in the latest period for which figures are available. [82227]
Mr Simon Burns: Validated information to this level of detail is not held centrally. However, it is possible to make the following estimates using the information available.
The number of employees with a salary below £15,000 per year is estimated at around 95,000. Of which, around 72,000 are female and around 23,000 are male.
The number of employees with salary between £15,000 and £21,000 per year is estimated at around 320,000. Of which, around 260,000 are female and around 60,000 are male.
Notes:
1. Figures are as of June 2011.
2. Estimates relate to headcount NHS Hospital and Community Health Services staff. Bank staff are not considered.
3. ‘Salary’ is taken to be full-time equivalent basic pay per year. This is consistent with the criteria used to identify lower earners eligible for the minimum £250 pay awards.
4. Numbers in each salary band are estimated using unvalidated data on the distribution of staff across agenda for change payscale points from the electronic staff record (ESR) data warehouse.
5. The ESR data warehouse is a monthly snapshot of the live ESR system, which is a payroll and human resources system containing staff records for NHS employed staff in England.
It contains records on all NHS staff except for those in the following groups:
General practitioners (GPs), GP practice staff and other primary care providers e.g. dentists;
Foundation Trusts (Moorfields Eye hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust);
and those staff groups affected by Transforming Community Services where the service is now provided by a non-NHS organisation.
NHS: Pensions
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS employees have received more than £30,800 in employer pension contributions in each financial year since 1997. [82229]
Mr Simon Burns: Reliable information, is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
NHS: Publications
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that information for patients is provided in accessible formats for (a) non-English speakers, (b) partially-sighted people and (c) those with learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [81364]
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Mr Simon Burns: The Department recognises the benefits of good quality accessible information for patients. The national health service, third parties performing public functions on its behalf and the Department are already subject to the public sector equality duty in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 which requires public authorities to pay due regard to eliminating discrimination and advancing equality of opportunity. In practice this means that the Department and NHS organisations provide information to patients in alternative formats and languages where appropriate.
As part of the Department's wider ambition to give people more information and control over their care, our consultation document “Liberating the NHS: An Information Revolution”, published in October 2010, sought views on how to improve the accessibility of information to patients, including those requiring information in languages other than English and those using learning disabilities services. A copy has already been placed in the Library. The Department's Information Strategy will respond to that consultation and is planned to be published in the winter.
NHS: Reorganisation
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his Department's risk assessment of the reforms proposed in the Health and Social Care Bill. [81500]
Mr Simon Burns: Following a Freedom of Information request to release the Transition risk register and a decision by the Department to withhold it, the Department is considering its response to the Information Commissioner's decision of 2 November 2011 to require its release, and expects to respond by early December.
The Department published Impact Assessments accompanying the Health and Social Care Bill in January 2011, which were revised in September 2011 ('Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, Health and Social Care Bill 2011 Impact Assessments'). These included an assessment of risk.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the Information Commissioner's decision on the disclosure of his Department's risk assessment of the reforms proposed in the Health and Social Care Bill; [81501]
(2) whether he plans to comply with the Information Commissioner's decision on the disclosure of risk assessments relating to the Health and Social Care Bill. [81505]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department is considering its response to the Information Commissioner's decision of 2 November to require its release, and expects to respond by early December.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what risk assessments (a) his Department and (b) independent consultants contracted by his Department have undertaken on the potential effects of the Health and Social Care Bill. [81502]
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Mr Simon Burns: The Department published Impact Assessments accompanying the Health and Social Care Bill in January 2011, which were revised in September 2011 ('Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, Health and Social Care Bill 2011 Impact Assessments'). These included an assessment of risk. It also maintains a register of transition risks associated with the Health and Care reforms that is updated regularly. In addition, in common with other Government Departments, the Department has commissioned a number of Office of Government Commerce Gateway reviews to provide additional assurance external to the Department in specific areas of the reform programme. More reviews are planned for the new year.
Nurses: Workplace Assault
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms his Department has put in place to provide support for nurses who have been assaulted in the workplace. [81919]
Mr Simon Burns: Each national health service body has a duty to address the risks of violence to their staff and to support staff who are assaulted.
Many NHS bodies provide employee assistance programmes for their staff, through which employees who have been assaulted can access confidential counselling.
NHS Protect is the body responsible for leading work to tackle violence against NHS staff. The published agreement between NHS Protect, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service outlines how the parties should work together to provide support for the victims of assault. This includes keeping victims updated on the progress police investigation, decisions on charging or prosecution, consideration of out of court disposals, such as conditional cautions and penalty notices for disorder and the provision of personal impact statements from victims of assault prior to sentencing.
Each NHS body must nominate a local specialist to manage security locally. This role includes identifying the level of support required by victims of assault and working with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to support them. NHS Protect supports the NHS locally by providing training on all aspects of security management, including support for victims of assault.
Nutrition: Children
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce the exposure of children to marketing of unhealthy food and drink. [82394]
Anne Milton: The United Kingdom already has an extensive system of controls on marketing of foods that are high in salt, fat or sugar to children. A recent review by Ofcom indicates that children's exposure to television advertising for these foods has fallen by 37% since the introduction of controls and that advertising of unhealthy foods has been eliminated during children's airtime.
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The Department will continue to keep this area under review, including through discussion in the Food Network of the Public Health Responsibility Deal in the coming year.
Obesity: Health Services
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned on (a) the effect of obesity on the NHS and (b) how effective care can be given to patients suffering from obesity-related health problems. [81598]
Mr Simon Burns: Excess weight is a major cause of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer and is estimated to cost the national health service over £5 billion a year.
The care and treatment of patients who are suffering from conditions as a result of being overweight or obese is a matter for their clinical team.
The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Policy Research Programme (PRP) fund a wide range of research relating to the effect of obesity on the NHS and care for patients with diseases and conditions for which obesity is a risk factor.
Details of projects funded through programmes managed by the NIHR Central Commissioning Facility (CCF) can be found on the CCF website at:
www.ccf.nihr.ac.uk/Pages/FundedProgrammes.aspx
Details of projects funded through programmes managed by the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Centre (NETSCC) can be found on the NETSCC website at;
www.netscc.ac.uk/
Details of studies hosted by the NIHR Clinical Research Network can be found on the UK Clinical Research Network portfolio database at:
http://public.ukcrn.org.uk/search
Details of research awards managed by the NIHR Trainees Coordinating Centre (TCC) can be found on the TCC website at:
www.nihrtcc.nhs.uk/
Details of research funded by the PRP are available on the Department's website at:
http://prp.dh.gov.uk/category/funded-research/
Obesity: Surgery
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the public purse was of (a) gastric bands, (b) each public health campaign relating to obesity and (c) other NHS weight loss services in each financial year since 1997. [82070]
Anne Milton: The Department does not hold information on the cost to primary care trusts of providing patients with a gastric band or of providing weight management services.
The Change4Life campaign was launched in January 2009 to raise awareness of diet and physical activity, and to create a mass movement to reduce obesity levels. Approximately £50 million was spent on the Change4Life campaign in 2008-09 and 2009-10, and around £10 million was spent in 2010-11. The budget for 2011-12 is £8.5 million.
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Prior to 2009, the Government have a range of initiatives to provide individuals with information on diet, and physical activity to prevent obesity.
Patients: Per Capita Costs
Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expenditure per capita was in NHS Medway in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [81525]
Mr Simon Burns: The information is shown in the following table.
| Amount spent per head of population in 2008-09 to 2010-11 by Medway primary care trust (PCT) | |
|
|
£ |
| Notes: 1. Expenditure per capita is interpreted to mean the total revenue expenditure of the PCT (the net operating costs). 2. The net operating cost is taken from the audited summarisation schedules of Medway PCT for 2008-09 to 2010-11. This figure is divided by the PCT's resident population to derive the spend-per-head figures provided above. Source: Audited Summarisation Schedules | |
Physiotherapy: Eastern Region
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for a referral for physiotherapy is (a) in Bedford, (b) in the East of England and (c) nationally. [81888]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested is currently not collected centrally. The allied health professional (AHP) Referral to Treatment (RTT) Guide, published in 2010, sets out a framework of rules for clock starts and clock stops to measure waiting times for patients when accessing national health service AHP services including physiotherapy.
Nationally, AHP RTT data collection and reporting was due to be mandated from April 2011, however, as part of the public health spending reviews, the implementation date for collecting data is being reviewed. In the meantime, it is expected that local NHS organisations will collect this data locally to help them identify where service improvement is most needed.
Work between the Department and the NHS Information Centre is in place to ensure the development and mandate of data sets by which the AHP RTT data collected locally can be flowed to a central source for national reporting.
The Allied Health Professional Referral to Treatment Guide can be found at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_115297.pdf
Postnatal Depression
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of support offered to women with postnatal health problems. [81920]
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Anne Milton: It is for the national health service locally to ensure appropriate facilities, services and networks are in place to meet the needs of their local population.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published clinical guidelines on postnatal care in 2006 which set out the core care that women and babies should be offered during the first six to eight weeks after the birth. Every mother and baby will have an individual plan of care which may include additional care to that in the core guidance.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Standards for Maternity Care (published in 2008) state that all health professionals involved in the care of women following childbirth should refer women for support according to their needs.
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to review the prescription charges system in the next 12 months; whether any such review will involve consultation with (a) patients' groups and (b) charities; and if he will make a statement. [81411]
Mr Simon Burns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) on 4 May 2011, Official Report, columns 856-57W.
Energy and Climate Change
Carbon Emissions
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the additional carbon emissions which would be generated by an additional 10 million people projected to reside in the UK by 2033; and if he will estimate the additional renewable energy capacity which would be needed to abate the emissions arising from such a rise in population and maintain emissions at their current level. [81275]
Gregory Barker: The latest official Government projections by DECC for greenhouse gas emissions including carbon dioxide were published in October 2011:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/ec_social_res/analytic_projs/en_emis_projs/en_emis_projs.aspx
These provide projections for the period up to 2030. Projections beyond 2030 are not available. The projections assume that the UK population increases by 6.8 million between 2010 and 2030. This is the ONS principal 2008 based population projection, low migration variant. The 2008 based population projections were used because these were the latest available at the time of publication. The low migration variant assumption is used because this is the population assumption used by the Office for Budget Responsibility for GDP growth projections which also feed into the emissions projections. Projections under a scenario in which the UK population increased by 10 million are not available.
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Over the period 2010 to 2030 emissions are projected to fall by 168 MtCO2e from 586 MtCO2e to 418 MtCO2e. Carbon dioxide emissions are projected to fall by 146 MtCO2 from 496 MtCO2 to 350 MtCO2 over the same period. The projected fall is attributable to a range of factors including policy impacts on energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy. Under the central scenario assumptions in the emissions projections, renewable energy demand is projected to increase by 23 Mega tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) from 8.2 Mtoe to 30.9 Mtoe between 2010 and 2030. Renewables electricity generation capacity is projected to increase by 33 GW from 9 GW to 42 GW over the same period. As explained in the report, the generation and capacity mix is dependent on a number of assumptions. Other assumptions would lead to projected electricity demand being met by different capacity and generation mixes.
The projections show that, under central assumptions, existing policies, including those that support increased use of renewable energy, are sufficient to ensure emissions continue to fall up until 2030 despite the projected increase in population of 6.8 million.
Energy: Business
Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what assessment he has made of the potential effects of planned mitigation measures for energy-intensive industries facing increased energy prices as a result of the introduction of the carbon floor price; [81904]
(2) what lessons his Department has learnt from Germany on ensuring that energy-intensive industries can operate competitively in the UK; and if he will make a statement; [81906]
(3) which energy-intensive industries will receive mitigation to counteract the effect of the carbon floor price on their production costs; and what plans there are to extend measures to gas-intensive industries in the future. [81908]
Gregory Barker: I am working closely with Government colleagues to deliver the commitment the Government gave earlier this year to create a package of measures to support those energy-intensive industries whose international competitiveness is most affected by our energy and climate change policies. We will announce details before the end of the year.
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what plans he has to make the UK a more competitive environment for energy-intensive industries following the Minister for Climate Change's recent visit to Germany; [82061]
(2) whether mitigation measures will enable the UK's energy-intensive industries to compete on a level playing field internationally following the introduction of the carbon price floor; and what plans there are to extend such measures to the UK's gas-intensive industries in the future. [82062]
Gregory Barker:
I am working closely with Government colleagues to deliver the commitment the Government gave earlier this year to create a package of measures to support those energy-intensive industries whose
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international competitiveness is most affected by our energy and climate change policies. We will announce details before the end of the year.
Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average cost per household was of the feed-in tariff scheme between April 2010 and October 2011. [81078]
Gregory Barker: Ofgem estimates that the cost of the FITs scheme for 2010-11 was £14.4 million. Based on 26.3 million domestic customers, and domestic supply representing 38% of total electricity supply this would have added approximately 21p to a domestic consumer's annual electricity bill for 2010-11.
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of how much the feed-in tariff added to energy prices in percentage terms in each of the last three years. [81384]
Gregory Barker: Ofgem estimates feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme costs for financial year 2010-11 (the first year of the FITs scheme) were £14.4 million. Based on 26.3 million domestic customers, and domestic supply representing 38% of total electricity supply this would have added approximately 21p (less than 1%) to a domestic consumer's annual electricity bill for 2010-11.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much was paid to generators of renewable energy under his Department's feed-in tariff scheme in quarter (a) one and (b) two of 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [82187]
Gregory Barker: Ofgem estimates generation and export tariff payments (deemed and metered) for installations under the FIT scheme in Q1 of FIT Year 2 (April-June 2011) to be £10,101,593.26.
The corresponding data for Q2 of FITs Year 2 have not been published yet.
It should be noted that this estimate is based on payments data which were provided by FIT suppliers as part of the levelisation process. The periodic levelisation process uses payments claimed rather than payments made.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what workings and assumptions were used as the basis of the calculations included in paragraph 10 of his Department's press notice 11/091 of 31 October 2011 on the cost to consumers' annual domestic electricity bills in 2020 of supporting feed-in tariffs for solar photovoltaic at the current rate. [82211]
Gregory Barker: The DECC press notice stated that supporting solar photovoltaic (PV) at the current rate would add £26 to the average domestic electricity bill in 2020.
This is based on our estimates that at current FITs tariff levels, £9.1/MWh would be added to the electricity price in 2020, and that average annual domestic electricity
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consumption, accounting for energy efficiency savings as a result of energy and climate change policies
(1), will be 2.9 MWh in 2020, Multiplying these together gives £26.
(1) Energy efficiency savings as a result of policies reducing electricity consumption in 2020 include Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), CERT Extension, Community Energy Saving Programme, Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation, Products Policy and Smart Meters.
Solar Power
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what meetings (a) he and (b) his officials have had with representatives of the UK (i) solar and (ii) nuclear industry in the last 12 months. [82188]
Gregory Barker: Ministers and officials meet regularly with a range of stakeholders from both the solar photovoltaic and nuclear industry.
Details of meetings between DECC Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the DECC website.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of electricity demand could be met by solar PV. [82237]
Gregory Barker: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham), on 21 November 2011, Official Report, column 43W.
In addition a report by Arup, published by DECC alongside the recent renewables obligation consultation(1), suggests that solar PV could generate up to 5.4 TWh by 2020 (and 19.2 TWh by 2030) in financially unconstrained scenarios. These would represent extremely ambitious level of deployment given the current costs and conversion efficiencies of solar PV, the land required and UK levels of insulation.
(1) ( )http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/conient/cms/consultations/cons_ro_ review/cons_ro_review.aspx
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many representations
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he has received from those
(a)
supporting and
(b)
opposing the development of solar photovoltaic (i) sites and (ii) feed-in tariffs. [82251]
Gregory Barker: During the development of the consultation ministers and officials met with a range of stakeholders.
Details of meetings between DECC Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the DECC website.
Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on (a) rates paid, (b) how long schemes have operated, (c) installed capacity and (d) how much average domestic power bills have increased in other EU member states with solar photovoltaic feed-in tariff schemes in the last five years. [82239]
Gregory Barker: The Department has met with and discussed as well as researched a range of other feed-in tariff schemes which are available in other countries. Every scheme is different and the amount of information available to us varies. We have rate information, length of operation and some data on installed capacity for a good number of schemes; all this information is publicly available. We do not hold any information on how much average domestic power bills have increased in other EU member states with solar photovoltaic feed-in tariff schemes in the last five years.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which representatives from the solar photovoltaic industry were consulted when drawing up the timetable for (a) the implementation of and (b) consultation on the new rates for solar photovoltaic tariffs. [82242]
Gregory Barker: During the development of the consultation ministers and officials met with a range of stakeholders from the solar photovoltaic industry.
Details of meetings between DECC Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the DECC website.