§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made since July 1981 in identifying survey capability in the private sector which is as effective and also cheaper than the public sector.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergInformation already exists about the capability of private sector firms awarded survey contracts by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. There are no plans to collect further information, other than in the context of selecting contractors for future surveys, should the need for this arise.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what changes have taken place since July 1981 in the general household survey or the international passenger survey; and what effect these changes will have on the range of statistics available from these surveys and on the variety of sub-groups for which separate analyses are done.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergFollowing the publication in April 1981 of the White Paper on Government statistical services—Cmnd. 8236—arrangements were made to reduce the cost of both the general household survey and the international passenger survey by approximately 28 per cent. The annual sample size of the GHS was reduced by about 15 per cent. as from January 1982 and the achieved annual sample will in future consist of about 10,000 households in Great Britain. The balance of the economies has been achieved by marginal changes in field work procedures, a reduction in the amount of face-to-face interviewer briefing and a reduction in the amount of manual coding and checking of data, balanced by an increase in computer editing.
From April 1982 the IPS sample size will be reduced at the main airports—other than terminal 3 at Heathrow—by halving the number of interviews with 348W arriving passengers and halving the number of interviews carried out at weekends. However, in order to maintain acceptable accuracy in migration statistics, information will be collected from an additional sample of passengers passing through Heathrow terminal 3. Other savings will be made by reducing the amount of face-to-face training and briefing of interviewers, reductions in manual coding and reductions in staffing levels linked to the reduction in sample size.
Although these changes may reduce the quality of the statistics derived from these two important surveys for some uses, they have been carefully considered in the light of the Government's needs. I am assured that their main objectives will continue to be met. It is not expected that the range or variety of the analyses will be significantly affected.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made in commissioning the ad hoc surveys for the Government referred to in the speech of the Under-Secretary of State on 2 July, Official Report, c. 1132–6; and which organisations or individuals have been consulted.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergI understand that a report on the commissioning of ad hoc surveys has been sent to the following organisations and individuals to obtain their comments before the recommendations in the report are considered:
- Arbitration Conciliation and Advisory Service
- Association of Market Survey Organisations
- Association of Metropolitan Authorities
- Association of Scientific, Technical and Management Staffs
- Child Poverty Action Group
- Civil Aviation Authority
- Commission for Racial Equality
- Countryside Commission
- Dental School, University of London
- Department of Community Dental Health, London Hospital Medical College
- Department of Community Medicine, Guy's hospital
- Department of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science
- Department of Population Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science
- Department of Social Administration and Social Work, University of York
- Department of Social Policy, University of Kent at Canterbury
- Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield Department of Sociology, Bedford College, University of London
- Department of Sociology, University of Surrey
- Equal Opportunities Commission
- Family Planning Association
- Gemma Group (self-help group for the disabled)
- Institute of Psychiatry
- Institute of Statisticians
- Market Research Society
- Medical Research Council
- Medical Sociology Group, University College, Cardiff Mr. L. Moss
- National Economic Development Council
- Nature Conservancy Council
- Policy Studies Institute
- Royal Statistical Society
- Social and Community Planning Research
- Social and Political Sciences Committee, University of Cambridge
- Social Research Association
- Social Science Research Council
- Society for Social Medicine, University of Kent
- Sports Council
- Mr. C. G. Thomas
349 - Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education,
- University of London
- University of Stirling
Regional Health Authority Haemodialysis Home Hospital Peritoneal Dialysis With functioning Transplant *Total Northern 83 161 82 220 556 Yorkshire 107 113 21 138 384 Trent 297 93 48 168 614 East Anglia 56 102 5 193 357 North-East Thames 275 97 91 309 779 North-West Thames 150 78 15 289 564 South-East Thames 196 183 46 494 926 South-West Thames 40 21 19 30 113 Wessex 77 17 12 95 204 Oxford 111 28 29 165 336 South Western 174 71 29 124 406 West Midlands 143 159 29 271 613 Mersey 87 99 43 121 356 North Western 118 75 26 184 412 * The total may he greater than the sum of the previous columns as it includes patients with incomplete data who are not shown in those columns.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the latest available figures on the annual cost of treating a kidney patient by (a) transplant and one year's follow-up, (b) hospital haemodialysis, (c) home haemodialysis and (d) continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergPreliminary findings from a study currently being conducted by the Department suggest average annual costs at 1981 prices, excluding drugs and investigations, of £8,600 for hospital haemodialysis, £5,700 for home haemodialysis and £5,100 for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. The cost of a kidney transplant and subsequent treatment during the first year varies greatly according to the type of treatment and the success of the operation, but for an uncomplicated operation and one year's follow-up it is estimated at about £5,000.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the latest available estimates for (a) a four-station minimum care kidney dialysis unit and (b) a 10-station main hospital dialysis unit.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergThere is no standard dialysis unit, and the cost will vary according to the size and type of facilities provided and whether the unit is in a purpose-built prefabricated or adapted building. Costs for providing a four-station minimal care dialysis unit have ranged from £40,800 in an adapted building to £82,960 for a prefabricated unit and £190,400 for a larger purpose-built unit. The cost of a 10-station main hospital dialysis unit brought into use in 1970 was £476,000. The above figures have been revalued to 1981 prices.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many kidney patients are receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis; and of these how many have been receiving this treatment for (a) over five years, (b) four to five years, (c) three to four years,
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