§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review his decision not to place Waltham Forest in category A or B with respect to funding for AIDS treatment as set out in circular LAC (89) 1; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorNo. Our main aim in distributing the support grant for social services for people with AIDS is to help those local authorities that face the most immediate pressures in 1989–90. Category A authorities are those that are estimated to have by far the greatest concentration of people with AIDS and people at risk of infection. Category B includes those authorities which have smaller numbers and those which have fewer cases but which have located in their areas major regional treatment centres associated with which is an additional workload for local authority social services. The London borough of Waltham Forest does not meet these criteria, but, along with all other social services authorities in England, is eligible to bid for funds to assist the planning of services for the future. The Department will continue monitoring the distribution of cases nationally and keep the situation of all authorities under review.
§ Sir Michael McNair-WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial contribution is being made to his AIDS campaign by organisations other than his Department.
§ Mr. MellorHealth Departments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have provided £495,000 for specific work to be conducted by their respective health education agencies and as a contribution to the National AIDS Helpline which provides a service to the whole United Kingdom.
Other Government Departments have financed specific initiatives related to their fields of responsibility. These include the provision by the Department of Education and Science of educational material for teachers and for use with secondary school pupils; development by the Home Office of educational material for use in prisons; and provision by the Department of Employment and the Health and Safety Executive of an information booklet for the workplace.
§ Mr. MarlowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many AIDS patients are currently being treated in each London hospital where AIDS is treated; and if he will give his best estimate in each case of the number of foreign nationals involved.
§ Mr. MellorWe do not hold this information centrally.
§ Mr. MarlowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated average annual treatment cost and total eventual treatment cost of(a) each AIDS patient from the time of being identified as HIV positive and (b) each drug addict seeking treatment.
§ Mr. MellorOn current evidence, our best estimate is that the average cost of treating a person with AIDS from diagnosis to death is between £20,000 and £30,000. 41W Because of the wide variety in the amounts and types of treatment given to drug misusers, it is not possible to estimate average treatment costs.