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18 Dec 2002 : Column 870W—continued
Local Sport
Mr. Greenway: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to ensure that sport is provided for within local authority community plans; and if he will make a statement. [87650]
Mr. Leslie: The content of each local authority's community strategy will vary from one area to another, depending on local priorities as established in consultation with the local community and other partner organisations. The recent announcement concerning freedoms and flexibilities for local authorities recommended that local cultural strategies should be subsumed within community strategies. Where this happens, the profile of sport will be raised in forming part of the strategic vision for the area. In addition, the role of all cultural and leisure services within community strategies will be included in the forthcoming evaluation which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will commission early in 2003.
New Deal for Communities
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much money has been distributed through the New Deal for Communities to fund programmes aimed at increasing benefit take-up. [86739]
Mrs. Roche: New Deal for Communities is a key programme in the Government's national strategy to renew the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. It tests out the new approaches in the strategy, in 39 neighbourhoods across England.
The Government have provided the following funding to enable Benefits Agency—and latterly, Jobcentre Plus staff—to work with New Deal for Communities partnerships on issues relating to benefits and helping people to find jobs.
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1999–2000—#1.3 million
2000–01—#1.6 million
2001–02—#1.7 million
The NRU pays for additional DWP/Jobcentre Plus staff to work in each NDC area. This equates to an extra #50,000 per year for each neighbourhood. Typically, it enables DWP to provide 1–2 dedicated members of staff to work in support of the partnership.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold information centrally about the amount of funding allocated by individual partnerships to programmes to increase benefits take-up.
Rough Sleepers
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list (a) the number of staff in and (b) the cost of the (i) Rough Sleepers Unit and (ii) Homelessness Directorate in each year since each was established. [87434]
Mrs. Roche: The information is in the table.
| Year | Number of staff | Administration budget cost (# million) |
|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 19 | 0.73 |
| 2000–01 | 36 | 1.34 |
| 2001–02(13) | 30 | 1.3 |
(13) Homelessness Directorate which incorporated the Rough Sleepers Unit was announced by Lord Falconer on 3 December 2001 and came into being on 1 April 2002.
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Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 10 December 2002, Official Report, column 267W, if he will require the Rough Sleepers Unit to record rough sleepers who are also asylum seekers separately from other rough sleepers for the purposes of the street count. [87932]
Mrs. Roche: Information from counts undertaken by local authorities does not identify rough sleepers who are asylum seekers. As rough sleepers are not woken, it is not possible to obtain information on their personal status. However outreach teams are encouraged to get as much information about people sleeping rough in their areas as possible so that individual solutions can be found to their rough sleeping where it is possible.
Rural Services
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures he is taking to ensure the delivery of services to sparsely populated rural areas; and what resources he is making available. [87707]
Mr. Leslie: Service provision in rural areas is a matter for the delivery bodies in the first instance. For local authorities, the recent provisional local government finance settlement gave every authority a grant increase of at least 3.0 per cent., with education authorities receiving at least 3.5 per cent., Rural shire districts did particularly well, their grant increasing by an average of 7.6 per cent.
Standards Board
Andrew Selous: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was of distributing the Standards Board leaflets to hon. Members' offices (a) in their constituency and (b) in the House in December. [87834]
Mr. Leslie: Information about how to make a complaint about breaches of the Local Authorities Codes of Conduct was distributed by the Standards Board for England to hon. Members (a) in their constituencies at a total cost of #5,019 and (b) in the House at a total cost of #622.
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HEALTH
XValuing People"
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding is being provided to each local authority to meet the requirements of XValuing People". [85501]
Jacqui Smith: Our policies for improving services for people with learning disabilities, their families and carers are set out in the White Paper XValuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century" (Cm 5086), published in March 2001.
Some #3 billion a year is already spent on health and social care provision for people with learning disabilities. The proposals in XValuing People" will help to ensure that this money is spent effectively and efficiently. People with learning disabilities will also benefit from the general growth in total health and social services spending and from specific initiatives.
The White Paper announced the creation of two new funds, the implementation support fund and the learning disability development fund. The support fund, #2.3 million a year for three years from April 2001, is being used to support a range of initiatives connected with the White Paper's programme of action. These include developing and expanding advocacy services across the country.
The development fund has both revenue (#22.6 million) and capital (#20 million) elements. #2 million of the revenue element is being used to fund the XValuing People" support team and its related activities, with the remainder being distributed to health authorities. It was distributed to the then health authorities (HAs) in March 2002 to support priorities for service change as outlined in joint investment plans they drew up with their partner local authorities. The distribution was based on the NHS general allocation formula except that five authorities received additional money to help them meet the needs of their old long stay population. Where a health authority related to more than one local authority, the allocation was to be divided according to the size of their respective resident populations unless all the parties agreed to an alternative distribution.
The distribution by HA has been placed in the Library.
Learning Disability Partnership Boards were invited to bid for funding from the capital element of the Development Fund. A list of the successful boards has been placed in the Library, but the money will not all be spent in this first financial year.
Child Care
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) the number of children in residential care
18 Dec 2002 : Column 874W
and (b) the total number of staff in residential care establishments for children on 1 June in each of the years since 1997 [80474]
Jacqui Smith: Information about the numbers of looked after children placed in residential placements is shown in the table. This includes children looked after in local authority children's homes and in residential accommodation provided by voluntary and private sector organisations.
| Number of looked after children in residential placements | Total looked after children | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 6,600 | 51,200 |
| 1998 | 6,700 | 53,300 |
| 1999 | 6,600 | 55,500 |
| 2000 | 7,000 | 58,100 |
| 2001 | 6,800 | 58,900 |
Notes:
1. Data exclude children being looked after under any agreed series of short-term placements.
2. Residential placements include children's homes and hostels and secure units.
3. It excludes residential schools.
Source:
Department of Health Form—CLA 100.
Information about the numbers of staff employed in residential care establishments for children is not available as at 1 June. The table shows the whole time equivalent (wte) number of staff employed by local authorities in England in residential care establishments for children as at 30 September, for each year from 1997 to 2001 (the latest year for which data are available). Similar information is not available about the numbers of staff employed by the independent sector.
| Number employed (wte) | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 13,300 |
| 1998 | 12,900 |
| 1999 | 12,400 |
| 2000 | 12,100 |
| 2001 | 11,900 |
Source:
Form SSDS001.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs retired (a) early and (b) due to ill-health in each year since 1977; and how many left the profession in each year. [84495]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 2 December 2002]: Data in the format requested is not readily available. The number of principal and assistant general medical and ophthalmic practitioners in England and Wales who have received a retirement pension before age 60 and on the grounds of ill-health in each of the financial years 1985 to 2002 is shown in the table.
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The number of unrestricted principals and equivalents (UPEs) who left English Health Authorities from October 1996 to March 2002 is shown in the table.
| October | October | October | October | September | September | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999 | 2000–01 | 2001 | |
| September 2000 | March 2002 | |||||
| 1,058 | 1,040 | 1,030 | 1,090 | 1,313 | 687 | 6,218 |
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