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Adoption Support
The Earl of Listowel asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the range of annual expenditure incurred on post-adoption support by those local authorities which provide a full post-adoption service; and[HL4573]
What is the most a local authority has spent on post-adoption over the course of one year; and[HL4574]
What is the average cost of supporting the family of an adoptive child over a period of 10 years for local authorities in which a full range of post adoption support is provided; and [HL4576]
What level of post-adoption support will be necessary to attract sufficient adopters for the Government to attain their target for increased adoptions.[HL4577]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Information on expenditure specifically for adoption support is not collected centrally. However, in 1999–2000 local authorities' gross expenditure on adoption including financial support was £56 million. This figure rose to £82 million for adoption services in 2000–01.
We are committed to making adoption work more clearly, more consistently and more fairly. We recognise that better, more comprehensive, adoption support, including financial support, delivered when it is needed will help to improve the success of adoptive placements. We know that the existing provision of adoption support is inconsistent.
That is why in our White Paper Adoption: a new approach we undertook to develop a framework for adoption support services aimed at developing a more consistent service for everyone affected by adoption. A consultation document setting out our proposals for the provision of adoption support services, including financial support, will be published shortly for full public consultation. A copy of the White Paper is available in the Library.
The Adoption and Children Bill, which has completed its parliamentary stages in another place, was introduced in this House on 21 May. The Bill places a new clear duty on local authorities to make and participate in arrangements to provide adoption support services. This new duty will tackle the current inconsistency in the availability of adoption support services across the country. The Bill provides that the local authority's adoption service must be designed to meet the needs of children who may be adopted, their parents and guardians, prospective adopters and adopted people, their adoptive parents, birth parents and former guardians. Local authorities will also be required to carry out an assessment of need for adoption support where such an assessment is requested by a person affected by adoption.
Foster Care
The Earl of Listowel asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the average cost of providing foster care for a child over a period of 10 years.[HL4575]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Information on the costs over a 10-year period is not available. On current prices, the average cost to a local authority in England of providing foster care was £281 per child per week in 2000–01.
Source: PSS PAF Indicator B10 collected on PSS EX1 return.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are listed as diseases in the United Kingdom, as they are in the United States.[HL4578]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: In the United Kingdom, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is included within the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) classification for hyperkinetic disorders. These are:
- F90.0 Disturbance of activity and attention (this includes ADHD);
- F90.1 Hyperkinetic conduct disorder;
- F90.8 Other hyperkinetic disorders; and
- F90.9 Hyperkinetic disorder, unspecified.
Mineral Content of Food
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 16 May (WA 67), what was the evidence which the Food Standards Agency studied which led it to the conclusion that the Medicines Now research published in the April edition is not valid.[HL4584]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: I assume that the noble Baroness refers to an article in the April edition of Medicine Today which quoted government data gathered from a number of studies over a 50-year period. The data are valid for the purpose for which they were collected but they cannot be used to compare the mineral content of fruits and vegetables grown by traditional organic methods and those using artificial fertilisers. Further, for any such comparison to be valid, a number of confounding factors need to be taken into account, as indicated in my reply of 16 May (col. WA 67).
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the promotion of vitamin enhanced bread, as recently supported by the Food Standards Agency, should be regarded by parents as a substitute in the diet of their children for fruit and vegetables containing those vitamins; and, if so, how this affects their Five-A-Day programme.[HL4586]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Food Standards Agency supports statutory fortification of bread and flour involving calcium, and iron, thiamin and niacin at restorative levels. It would not encourage fortification with additional minerals and vitamins as a substitute for a balanced diet containing fruit and vegetables.
Heart Operations
Lord Colwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many coronary artery bypass grafts were carried out in successive years from 1990 within the National Health Service; and what was the average cost, including hospitalisation, of each operation in these years.[HL4633]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The number of coronary artery bypass grafts carried out in the National Health Service in England from 1990 is as follows:
- 1990–91: 14,070
- 1991–92: 16,046
- 1992–93: 18,352
- 1993–94: 20,394
- 1994–95: 23,533
- 1995–96: 22,922
- 1996–97: 22,694
- 1997–98: 22,181
- 1998–99: 23,663
- 1999–2000: 23,398
- 2000–01: 24,387
| Elective inpatient | Non-elective inpatient | Day case | |
| 1997–98 | £5,673 | £6,105 | n/a |
| 1998–99 | £4,764 | £5,044 | n/a |
| 1999–2000 | £4,956 | £5,206 | n/a |
| 2000–01 | £5,483 | £5,558 | n/a |
Lord Colwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many precutaneous coronary interventions involving stents were carried out in successive years from 1990 within the National Health Service; and what was the average cost, including hospitalisation, of these interventions.[HL4634]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The number of percutaneous coronary interventions involving stents and information on their cost is not collected centrally.
The number of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplastics (PTCAs) carried out in the National Health Service in England since 1990 is as follows:
- 1990–91: 5,754
- 1991–92: 7,891
- 1992–93: 10,184
- 1993–94: 11,660
- 1994–95: 13,454
- 1995–96: 14,911
- 1996–97: 17,043
- 1997–98: 17,291
- 1998–99: 19,028
- 1999–2000: 21,968
- 2000–01: 25,698
| Elective inpatient | Non-elective inpatient | Day case | |
| 1997–98 | £2,820 | £2,673 | £2,437 |
| 1998–99 | £2,553 | £2,679 | £1,213 |
| 1999–2000 | £2,369 | £2,478 | £1,267 |
| 2000–01 | £2,428 | £2,689 | £1,341 |
Lord Colwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the average life expectancy following coronary artery bypass surgery; and what is the failure rate of bare stents used in angioplasty.[HL4635]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath : This information is not collected centrally.
Lord Colwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Why there is an under-provision of revascularisation procedures in the United Kingdom compared to (a) France; (b) Germany; (c) Belgium; and (d) the Netherlands; and how they plan to increase the number of these procedures undertaken in the United Kingdom.[HL4636]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath : We have put in place a number of steps to increase the number of revascularisation procedures in England. These include extra funding to increase the number of operations—the NHS Plan target 6,000 extra operations by April 2003 should be met ahead of time. We are also increasing the number of facilities. In November 2001, we announced £170 million to rebuild or expand surgical facilities at eight centres across the country, creating 12 extra operating theatres and 380 extra beds: £65 million from the New Opportunities Fund, together with £15 million NHS capital, has been made available to expand catheter laboratories (used to carry out angiograms and angioplasties); the first wave will see 29 new and eight replacement laboratories.
The Extending Patient Choice pilot scheme will also come into operation in July. Under this initiative, patients who wait longer than six months for their heart operation will be offered the choice of having their operation elsewhere, which should mean a shorter wait.barry c
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