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Lord Colwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The following table shows the number of telephone calls to NHS Direct from patients seeking dental treatment from November 2001 to April 2002. The percentage of calls meeting local distance standards for referral to dental services is also included.
No information is available about the dental services which these callers subsequently received.
Month | Number of Calls(3) | Percentage within distance standards |
November-01 | 10,900 | 94 |
December-01 | 10,000 | 95 |
January-02 | 13,100 | 94 |
February-02 | 10,300 | 93 |
March-02 | 12,900 | 92 |
April-02 | 15,500 | 93 |
(6) Information from some call centres is not available in some months due to data-processing problems.
Lord Colwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The average cost per course of dental treatment in the general dental service (GDS) for adult patients exempt from paying dental charges for England was £53.17 in 200102. This exludes patients who are partially exempt from paying dental charges. Including the partly exempt patients, the average cost was £53.45 for 200102.
The average cost per course of dental treatment in the GDS for children in 200102 was £34.53 for England. Remuneration for courses of treatment involving an examination only are covered by the registration payment so are excluded from this average cost.
Lord Colwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The average charge-payers contribution rate per course of treatment in the general dental service was £23.28 in 200202 in England. This figure includes patients with an HC3 certificate for partial remission from dental charges.
People who fall into the following categories are exempt from charges.
Receiving income support or income-based jobseekers allowance.
Pregnant or has borne a child within the last 12 calendar months.
Receiving working families tax credits or disabled person's tax credits, which are not reduced by more than £72.20 per week.
Hold a current HC2 exemption certificate.
Those people who do not fall into these categories may be able to receive partial help through the low income scheme.
Lord Colwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: We intend to publish the Options for Change report on NHS dentistry shortly.
Options for Change will propose that new approaches are tested, assessed and fine tuned at a local level through demonstration sites to provide a better deal for patients, dentists and the NHS before any national decisions are made. Demonstration sites will be run through the Modernisation Agency, which will be inviting formal expressions of interests following the publication of the Options for Change report.
Lord Dubs asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: As at 30 September 2001, there were 16,210 physiotherapists employed in the National Health Service in England. Neuro-physiotherapists are not identified separately in the Non-medical Workforce Census.
Our latest workforce projections estimate that there will be around 8,000 more physiotherapists in 2009 than there were in 2001.
Baroness Noakes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The table shows the underlying changes in activity levels and hospital and community health service expenditure over last 10 years for which data is available.
Baroness Noakes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: No estimates have been made of the differences between changes in activity levels and in hospital and community health services expenditure expressed in volume terms for the year 200102.
Baroness Noakes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Department of Health expects to publish the hospital episode statistics for the year 200102 in the autumn. Figures will be available on the DH website at www.doh.gov.uk/hes/
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Williams of Mostyn): The Government are pleased that the House of Lord's ruling has confirmed that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission may apply to the courts to intervene in legal proceedings when there is an issue about human rights.
We were interested to read Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough's comments.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the average cost of a course of dental treatment within the general dental services for (a) adults; and (b) children exempt from payment.[HL5452]
What is the average adult patient contribution towards the cost of dental treatment within the general dental services.[HL5453]
Aged under 18.
Aged under 19 and in full-time education.
When they expect to publish the Department of Health's report Options for Change; and whether they have decided the locations of the 10 demonstration sites.[HL5454]
How many (a) physiotherapists and (b) neuro-physiotherapists are currently employed in the National Health Service; and what are their plans to increase the numbers.[HL5505]
Whether they will publish the underlying data for changes in activity levels and hospital and community health services expenditure expressed in volume form which are shown in graphical form in Figure 7.7 of the Department of Health's departmental report (Cm 5403) so that the efficiency increase of 3 per cent over the 10 years to 19992000 referred to on page 71 of the report can be analysed for each of those years. [HL5524]
CWAI Volume Growth Real Terms
HCHS cost weighted activity index Expenditure adjusted for changes in input unit costs Expenditure in real terms
Index 198889 = 100 Index 198889 = 100 Index 198889 = 100
198990 100.0 100.0 100.0
199091 101.3 100.9 101.8
199192 106.6 103.6 108.4
199293 109.9 106.8 115.7
199394 114.3 108.5 118.6
199495 119.1 110.0 121.7
199596 123.8 111.9 125.0
199697 125.8 113.6 126.3
199798 128.1 116.1 127.4
199899 130.7 119.5 132.6
199900 132.1 127.7 144.6
What estimates they have made of the difference between changes in activity levels in hospital and community health services expenditure expressed in volume terms for the year 200102.[HL5525]
When they expect to publish final figures for general and acute activity, analysed into elective and non-elective activity, for the year ended 31 March.[HL5526]
What is their response to the judgment of the House of Lords of 20 June concerning the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, in particular the comments of Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough in paragraph 72 on amici curiae.[HL4912]
What is their response to the request of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to have a say in the allocation of public finance in Northern Ireland.[HL5045]
29 Jul 2002 : Column WA157
Lord Williams of Mostyn: Paragraph 2.1.1 of the minutes of the commission meeting held on 14 January 2002 states that the chief commissioner will write to the Northern Ireland Executive with regard to the commission monitoring the allocation of public funds in Northern Ireland. As this is a matter between the commission and the devolved administration in Northern Ireland, it is not for Her Majesty's Government to comment.
A copy of the minutes of the meeting will be placed in the Library.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission wrote to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 14 February 2002 requesting that the Government intervene in the commission's appeal to the House of Lords on 11 March. The Government, who had always understood the commission to have the power to intervene as a third party, was happy to intervene on behalf of the commission.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Williams of Mostyn: This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission as the commission directly employes its own staff.
The chief commissioner has been asked to write to the noble Lord and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library.
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