HC Deb 14 March 2003 vol 401 cc453-4W
Mr. Peter Duncan

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the extent of parental responsibility to register children with(a) local GPs and (b) other health professionals. [98342]

Mr. Hutton

[holding answer 24 February 2003]: At present patients register with a general practitioner to receive general medical services or with a personal medical services (PMS) pilot provider to receive PMS. In either case the service is provided by a GP or by another health care professional as appropriate. Patients do not, however, register separately with such other health care professionals.

A registration application may be made on behalf of a child by either parent, or in the absence of parents, the guardian or other adult person who has the care of the child. Registration is not compulsory but the Government encourage everyone to do so for the benefit of the child, the family and the wider community.

Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the provision of sustainable funding for children's hospices. [102544]

Ms Blears

The funding of hospices is a matter for local discussion and agreement and must be based on local health needs assessment. It is therefore important that hospices engage as much as possible with the health service. The package of care provided should be discussed with the local primary care trust, which is responsible for deciding which health services the local population requires, and ensuring the provision of these services.

Mr. Gardiner

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account the: Children's National Services Framework is taking of multi-disciplinary, multi-agency working. [102103]

Jacqui Smith

Developing work from the external working groups working on the national service framework for children, young people and maternity services has emphasised the need for multi-disciplinary multi-agency working. This is likely to be reflected in the final document.

Mr. Norman

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many children under six have been removed from(a) GP lists and (b) primary care trusts in each year since 1998; and what the reasons were for the removal; [99182]

(2) how many children under six are receiving only immediate and necessary treatment from GPs or primary care trusts. [99181]

Mr. Hutton

A patient may register with a general practitioner to receive general medical services (CMS) or with a personal medical services (PMS) pilot provider to receive PMS. Patients do not register with a primary care trust (PCT) to receive National Health Service treatment unless that PCT is itself a PMS pilot provider.

Registration is not compulsory but the Government encourages everyone to do so for their own benefit and for that of the wider community. No data are, however, held on the number of people who are not registered with a GP or PMS pilot provider. It is not necessary to register with a GP to receive emergency or immediately necessary treatment and GPs are required to provide this to anyone who needs it at the time they need it.

Although the Department collects information on the number of patients removed from lists, data are not collected or held on the ages of the patients concerned nor on the reasons for their removal, other than whether there was an act or threat of violence.