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Genetically Modified Organisms
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times officials from his Department have met officials from the US Government to discuss genetically modified organisms and the biotechnology industry since 1 June 1998; if he will list the dates and locations of each meeting; and with which US Government department his officials had meetings. [81077]
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Ms Jowell:
Officials from the Department have regular contact with officials from other countries, including the United States of America, for example by joint attendance at conferences. However, no meetings have taken place with officials from the United States of America Government to specifically discuss genetically modified organisms and the biotechnology industry.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons his Department withdrew its proposed stand from the Conference of the Royal College of Midwives in Glasgow; and if he will make a statement. [81416]
Ms Jowell:
Since the conference was planned to take place shortly before the elections to the Scottish Parliament, it was not thought appropriate for the Government to take a publicity stand.
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Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met representatives of the black and ethnic minority communities to discuss mental health treatment. [81411]
Mr. Hutton:
I held a meeting with representatives of black and minority ethnic interests on 31 March 1999 to discuss the development of the Mental Health National Service Framework.
Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the NHS budget was allocated to mental health services for each of the last three years. [81412]
Mr. Hutton:
A national weighted capitation formula is used as the basis for allocating hospital and community health services revenue to health authorities. The purpose of the formula is to set targets to enable the equitable distribution of resources based on the health care requirements of different resident populations. This cannot be broken down into a mental health component.
The proportion of total health authority expenditure spent on mental illness was 9.24 per cent. for 1997-98, 8.38 per cent. for 1996-97 and 11.44 per cent. for 1995-96.
Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has given to health authorities regarding mental health treatment for members of the black and ethnic minority communities. [81410]
Mr. Hutton:
Advice sent to health authorities on mental health treatment applies equally to all users of mental health services, whatever their ethnic origin.
The Government's strategy document "Modernising Mental Health Services: safe, sound and supportive" makes clear the Government's commitment to ensuring that everyone with mental health problems is treated fairly, on the basis of need, in a manner which preserves their autonomy and which promotes opportunity for choice. This document was distributed to every health authority in December 1998.
Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the principal advances in treatment which have been implemented in mental health since 1995. [81413]
Mr. Hutton:
Information about the advances in treatments for those with mental health problems is available in the academic literature. An example of this is the collation of the latest research by the Cochrane Group, copies of which are available in the Library.
The Cochrane Library is a regularly updated library designed to give the evidence needed for informed health care decision making. Launched in 1995 under the name of The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, it has been renamed to reflect the inclusion of further important databases.
The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register is a bibliography of over 150,000 controlled trials identified by contributors to the Cochrane Collaboration and others including many trials not currently listed on Medline or other bibliographical databases.
Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mental health patients were treated on the NHS over the last five years. [81414]
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Mr. Hutton:
The table shows the estimated number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) under a mental health 1 specialty in National Health Service trusts in England, 1993-94 to 1997-98.
1 Mental Health specialties are as follows: mental handicap; mental illness; child and adolescent psychiatry; forensic psychiatry; psychotherapy; old age psychiatry.
| Year | Estimated number of FCEs under a mental health specialty |
|---|---|
| 1993-94 | 293,720 |
| 1994-95 | 295,470 |
| 1995-96 | 297,510 |
| 1996-97(1) | 263,550 |
| 1997-98(1) | 244,090 |
(1) Data for these years are provisional; final figures are likely to be higher due to adjustments for shortfalls in data.
National Institute for Clinical Excellence
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends the composition of the appraisal groups established by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to be in accordance with the proposals made in the document, Faster Access to Modern Treatment. [81230]
Mr. Denham: Ministers are considering the response to the discussion document "Faster Access to Modern Treatment: how NICE appraisal will work" and further announcements will be made shortly.
Medicines Control Agency
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the high level targets for the Medicines Control Agency for 1999-2000. [81848]
Ms Jowell: The high level targets for the Medicines Control Agency are included in its Annual Business Plan, copies of which have been placed in the Library today.
ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS
Bypasses
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what non-road solutions county councils should demonstrate they have considered when putting forward a request for funding for a village bypass designed to reduce the volume of traffic passing through that village. [80581]
Ms Glenda Jackson: The allocation of central government funding for local transport projects will in future be based on 5-year local transport plans. Revised guidance for local authorities on preparation of their provisional local transport plans was published on 12 April. Where a major road scheme forms part of a plan we will expect it to have been assessed using the New Approach to Appraisal (NATA) developed during the 1997/98 review of the trunk road programme.
NATA requires the identification of alternative options capable of addressing the transport problem. Possible options will depend on the nature of the problem. In the case of heavy traffic flows through a village they might
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include alternative traffic management strategies; seeking to reduce traffic flows by encouraging a shift to alternative forms of transport; or introduction of traffic calming measures to reduce the adverse impacts of the traffic. This process should also include assessment of different routes and standards for any bypass.
Mr. Whittingdale:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate the cost of reducing vehicle excise duty on gas-fuelled vehicles to £20. [80013]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
At 31 December 1998, DVLA records showed a total of 2,669 licensed gas vehicles in Great Britain. Of these, 420 were licensed in exempt classes and the large majority of the remainder were licensed either as Private or Light Goods vehicles or as agricultural vehicles. We therefore estimate that the revenue cost of reducing vehicle excise duty to £20 on these vehicles would be substantially less than £1 million. However, the Government are encouraging the switch to gas and other low pollutant fuels and we would expect the number of gas-powered vehicles to increase significantly in the future.
Mr. Watts:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what resources have been allocated to regional development agencies for 1999-2000. [81847]
| Development Agency | £ million |
|---|---|
| North East | 121.198 |
| North West | 176.104 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 136.633 |
| West Midlands | 114.111 |
| East Midlands | 59.184 |
| East of England | 31.397 |
| South West | 60.138 |
| South East England | 73.410 |
| Total | 772.175 |
These are substantial allocations and reflect the fact that Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) will play a major part in implementing the strategies that they will be developing for their regions as a whole.
RDAs' budgets are made up from the DETR-funded regeneration programmes which they have inherited from English Partnerships (EP), the Government Offices for the Regions and the Rural Development Commission, together with money from the Department of Trade and Industry for inward investment and competitiveness, and from the Department for Education and Employment for skills development. They also include RDAs' own running costs. Regeneration programmes make up 87 per cent. of the total budget and variations in allocations reflect the regions' different regeneration needs. In addition, RDAs will receive funding from EP to carry out the Coalfields Programme, totalling some £50 million in 1999-2000.
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The allocations exclude EP's Partnership Investment Programme (PIP), totalling £145 million in 1999-2000 which will remain with EP pending the resolution of issues which the Government is currently discussing with the European Commission. However, the RDAs and EP will be co-operating closely on PIP projects.
Mrs. Ellman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the value is of the commitments that have been entered into which are (a) legally binding and (b) agreed in principle by Government Departments in the regions, English Partnership and other public bodies in relation to economic development in the (i) North West, (ii) North East and (iii) Yorkshire and Humberside regions for the years (1) 1999-2000, (2) 2000-01 and (3) 2001-02. [81088]
Mr. Caborn:
Information is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mrs. Ellman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what resources are being made available from public funds in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01, and (iii) 2001-02 for economic development in the (a) North West, (b) North East and (c) Yorkshire and Humberside regions through (1) their regional development agencies and (2) other sources. [81089]
Mr. Caborn:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Watts). Information about funding through regional development agencies is also contained in the Department's 1999 Annual Report (Cm 4204), copies of which are available in the Library of the House. The other information is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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