Nurses: Recruitment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training posts for nurses were commissioned in England in each of the last five years. [197593][Official Report, 14 October 2014, Vol. 586, c. 1-2MC.]

Dr Poulter: The following table shows the number of new pre-registration nursing places that were filled in the last five years. The table includes the students enrolled on the degree and diploma courses.

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Obesity: Children

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children in (a) Chatham and Aylesford constituency, (b) Kent and (c) England were diagnosed as overweight in each year since 2005. [196895]

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Jane Ellison: Data on childhood obesity are not collected at constituency level but at local authority level. Chatham falls within the unitary authority boundary of Medway and Aylesford falls within the district authority boundary of Tonbridge and Malling. The data have been presented for these local authority organisations as an approximate for the levels of childhood obesity in the Chatham and Aylesford constituency.

The proportion of children classified as overweight in Chatham and Aylesford constituency (represented by Medway and Tonbridge and Malling respectively), Kent and England as measured by the National Child Measurement Programme 2006-07 to 2012/-13 is shown in the following table:

Palliative Care

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the palliative care service ratings for England were in the most recent period for which information is available. [197032]

Norman Lamb: There is no national rating system for palliative care services in England. However, The National End of Life Care Intelligence network (NEoLCIN), part of Public Health England, works with partner organisations including NHS England to collect, analyse and present end-of-life care intelligence, drawing together data and information from a range of sources.

The NEoLCIN has published end-of-life care profiles at local authority and by clinical commissioning group level. These help commissioners and providers understand the end-of-life care needs of their populations. More information can be found at the following link:

www.endoflifecare-intelligence.org.uk/home

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the level of support available for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder. [196991]

Norman Lamb: No recent central assessment has been made of the level of support available for people with post-traumatic stress disorder. Such assessments are conducted at a local level as part of any local area’s joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA). JSNAs are the means by which local leaders work together to understand and agree the needs of all local people, with the joint health and wellbeing strategy setting the priorities for collective action. Clinical commissioning groups are then responsible for commissioning services to meet the assessed needs of the local population they serve.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the case for abolishing prescription charges in England. [197041]

Norman Lamb: The Department does not intend to abolish prescription charges in England, which raise in the region of £450 million each year. This is valuable income, which helps the national health service to maintain services for patients.

An extensive system of exemption arrangements are in place which mean that around 90% of all prescription items are already dispensed free of charge.

Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs) are also available for those who have to pay NHS prescription charges and need multiple prescriptions. The cost of the annual and three-month certificates have been frozen for the fifth and third years running, at £104 and £29.10 respectively, and will also remain frozen next year. There is no limit to the number of items that can be obtained through a PPC. The annual certificate benefits anyone needing more than 12 items a year, and the three-month certificate anyone needing more than three items in that three-month period.

Procurement

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account his Department takes of previous performance on Government contracts when assessing bids for new contracts. [196803]

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Dr Poulter: The Department has implemented the Government’s best practice for assessing past performance in its contracts and takes past performance into account as part of a legal and commercial compliance test for any contracts which are greater than £20 million in value. This is in line with the Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note, Action Note 09/12, issued on 8 November 2012.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to section 3 of the guidance issued by Monitor on the Commissioning of Radiosurgery Services on 4 April 2014, (1) if he will require NHS England to publish the objective evidence on which it based its decision not to allow patients to be treated with the Gamma Knife at University College London Hospital; [197023]

(2) if he will require NHS England to publish the names of all referring consultants, patients groups, charities and any other service providers it consulted prior to making its decision not to allow patients to be treated with the Gamma Knife at University College London Hospital; [197024]

(3) if NHS England will publish the details of all contracts it has signed with providers of radiosurgery services in England. [197025]

Jane Ellison: Section 3 of Monitor’s substantive guidance on ‘The National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013’ provides guidance to commissioners on publishing new contract opportunities for NHS health care services.

On page 42 of the guidance, it states that:

"a commissioner may decide to carry out a detailed review of the provision of particular services (for example, A&E services) in its local area in order to understand how those services can be improved in the interests of patients. The review may involve extensive public consultation and engagement with existing and potential providers and other stakeholders. Reviewing available services and providers in this way is good commissioning practice and something that commissioners should consider doing as a matter of course.”

NHS England is currently undertaking such a review of stereotactic radiosurgery services. This will inform procurement decisions for these services.

University College London Hospitals is not contracted by NHS England, nor was it contracted by former primary care trusts, to provide Gamma Knife services. It is for this reason that NHS patients cannot normally be treated at this facility. Instead, NHS patients requiring Gamma Knife treatment should be treated by the Gamma Knife services commissioned by the NHS, that have been shown to meet NHS England service specifications. These can be accessed by patients in London without a waiting time, fully maintaining the continuity of their care and normally with the same consultant and clinical team.

NHS England inherited the range of stereotactic surgery providers currently in place, of which University College Hospital London was not one. NHS England is currently undertaking a review of stereotactic radiosurgery provision and will consult widely with stakeholders and providers prior to making changes to service provision.

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Finally, NHS England will publish information relating to its contracted spend in due course, in line with Regulation 9 of ‘The National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013’.

Social Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a maximum charge for homecare and other non-residential social services. [197039]

Norman Lamb: Through the Care Bill we are making the biggest change to the care and support system in more than 65 years. The Bill reforms what people pay for care and support and how they pay to create a system that is a fair partnership between people needing care, their families and tax-payers.

The reforms will place a cap on lifetime care costs. This means that people will no longer face the possibility of catastrophic care costs, providing peace of mind and enabling them to plan for their future. New regulations and guidance on how to financially assess people will ensure that, while they are contributing towards the cost of their care, they will only pay what they can afford.

Staff

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are working on the transition to a new system following the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012; and what the cost was of employing such officials in the latest period for which figures are available. [197471]

Jane Ellison: The Health and Social Care Transition programme (HSCTP) was set up to implement the changes introduced under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The programme was led by the Department and closed on 31 March 2013. All of the organisations in the new health and care system assumed full responsibilities and powers as set out in the Act from 1 April 2013.

Any enduring responsibilities that transferred to the Secretary of State for Health, or NHS England from 1 April 2013 are being discharged as part of business as usual arrangements in each organisation. As the HSCTP has closed and the new organisations are in place, there are no longer any officials working on the transition to a new system.

Further information on the overall cost of transition is available in the National Audit Office report ‘Managing the transition to the reformed health system’ available at the following link:

www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/10175-001-Managing-the-transition-to-the-reformed-health-system.pdf

Surgery

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on making the term surgeon a protected title. [197513]

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Dr Poulter: There is currently already provision in the Medical Act 1983 (s.49) which makes it an offence for a person to pretend to be or use the title “surgeon” which implies registration with the General Medical Council.

However, as part of a longer title, the title “surgeon” has not been restricted and is widely used for other specialist employment roles e.g. tree surgeon, veterinary surgeon etc.

The Law Commission has recommended in its report on the regulation of health care professionals and social care professionals in England, published April 2014, that the Government should consider undertaking a full review of existing protected titles and functions, and related offences. We will consider the Law Commission's proposals and produce a formal response in due course.

Tobacco: Retail Trade

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products on the work of Trading Standards' officers in combating the trade in illicit tobacco. [196879]

Jane Ellison: In the Department’s 2012 Consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products, consultation questions were asked about illicit tobacco. A consultation-stage impact assessment was also published with the consultation.

Sir Cyril Chantler included a chapter on illicit tobacco in his report on standardised packaging of tobacco and concluded that:

‘I am not convinced by the tobacco industry’s argument that standardised packaging would increase the illicit market, especially in counterfeit cigarettes.’

The Government will be holding a final, short consultation in which Ministers will ask, in particular,

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for views on anything new since the last full public consultation that is relevant to the development of this policy, including in relation to illicit tobacco. A further consultation stage impact assessment will be published alongside this.

Transvaginal Mesh Implants

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to address patient concerns regarding the use of transvaginal mesh implants. [196957]

Norman Lamb: Work to improve outcomes for women undergoing procedures involving urethral tape and vaginal mesh is currently under way and is being led by NHS England. The Department is involved in this work alongside the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the specialist societies (The British Society of Urogynaecology (BSUG) and The British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

In addition, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, Medical Director, NHS England has written to the national health service to highlight the need to ensure that:

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance for these procedures is followed;

consent procedures are standardised so that they comply with up-to-date evidence and follow BSUG and BAUS guidance;

all pelvic organ prolapse procedures and all incontinence operations, but particularly those involving mesh, are recorded on a recognised database e.g. the BSUG or BAUS surgical databases;

all adverse events are reported to MHRA; and

surgery for removal of tapes or prolapse mesh or repeat surgery for incontinence or prolapse is performed in units which can demonstrate relevant specialist care.