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22 July 2008 : Column WA227
Written Answers
Tuesday 22 July 2008
Abortion
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 3 July (WA 49), what was the total cost to taxpayers for provision of in vitro fertilisation by primary care trusts following publication of the February 2004 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines; and what was the total monetary cost of abortions funded by the National Health Service over each successive year from 2004 to 2007, together with the proportion of the latter annual sum that was required to cover the cost of abortions taking place in the independent sector under NHS contract in each year. [HL4925]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): Information on the total cost of the provision of in vitro fertilisation treatment by primary care trusts (PCTs) following the publication of the guideline by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in 2004 is not collected centrally.
Costs to the National Health Service for abortions performed in NHS hospitals are set out in the following table. The department does not hold complete data on the cost to the NHS for abortions performed in the independent sector under NHS contract.
| Year | National total cost of medical and surgical terminations undertaken by NHS organisations (Schedule 4 of national reference costs) |
- Source: Schedule 4 (NHS trusts and PCTs combined) of the national schedule of reference costs notes:
- 1. The figures in the table above represent the number of finished consultant episodes multiplied by the national average unit cost.
- 3. Schedule 4 2006-07 data are not directly comparable to 2005-06 and 2004-05 due to a change in the data collection.
Afghanistan: EU Police Mission
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any British police officers are serving with the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan; and, if so, how many. [HL4770]
22 July 2008 : Column WA228
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Currently, one serving UK civilian police officer and nine retired officers are seconded to the EU Police Mission in Afghanistan. An additional four officers, three serving and one retired, will take up posts in the mission later this month.
Afghanistan: Refugees
Baroness Northover asked Her Majesty’s Government:
What is their reaction to the recent closure of the Afghan Jalozai refugee camp in Pakistan’s north-west province, and the return of 53,000 of its residents to Afghanistan. [HL4441]
Lord Tunnicliffe: The policy of refugee camp closure in Pakistan is endorsed by the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Residents of the Jalozai camp who chose to return to Afghanistan will have had the opportunity to do so under the auspices of the UNHCR voluntary repatriation programme. This programme provides an assisted repatriation package of $100 to all returnees. DfID and the British High Commission in Islamabad maintain close contact with UNHCR.
Africa: Agricultural Input Subsidies
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the light of the Agricultural Input Subsidy Programme in Malawi, they will consider offering assistance for similar initiatives in other sub-Saharan African states. [HL3092]
Lord Tunnicliffe: The Department for International Development (DfID) supports a programme with the World Bank under the African Union's (AU) Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) that is looking at ways to get both fertilizer and maize markets in Africa working more efficiently. The programme will promote the lessons in one country, such as Malawi's experience with support to its fertilizer markets, more widely in the region. DfID also provides core-funding support to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). AGRA's programme includes a $160 million soils health initiative.
DfID support to the agricultural sector in Malawi was agreed within the context of the country programme, managed by our office in Lilongwe and agreed with the Government of Malawi. Whether this experience is replicated in other country programmes would depend on the strategic priorities of the Government and the DfID programme in question.
Airports: Public Transport
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many and what proportion of air passengers travelled to (a) Heathrow Airport, (b) Gatwick Airport, and (c) Luton Airport by public transport in each of the past 10 years. [HL5073]
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Lord Bassam of Brighton: The tables below show the number and proportion of air passengers who travelled to or from Heathrow Airport, Gatwick Airport and Luton Airport by public transport in each of the past 10 years. Figures for Luton Airport are for 1996 and 2000 to 2007 as no survey was conducted 1997 to 1999.
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