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PRIVY COUNCIL
Members' Expenses
David Winnick: To ask the President of the Council above what amount claimed by an hon. Member for expenses, receipts and documentation is required; and if it is the policy to adopt best practice in this matter. [90421]
Mr. Robin Cook: The threshold at which documentation is required for Members' claims varies according to the allowance concerned. I am told that requirements for the main allowances are as follows:
- Incidental expenses provision: receipts or invoices required for each item costing #250 or more;
- Additional costs allowance: documentation required for large items of expenditure;
- Members' travel: the Department of Finance and Administration generally pays the costs of rail and air tickets direct to the supplier, and Members who use their cars receive a mileage allowance. Members normally have to supply documentation if they buy a travel ticket from their own resources and then seek reimbursement, and must provide a detailed account if they claim for constituency mileage in excess of 350 miles per month.
In addition, the Department of Finance and Administration may ask for additional information in individual cases if it is needed.
State Opening
David Winnick: To ask the President of the Council what plans he has to modernise the Commons procedure relating to the state opening of Parliament. [89760]
Mr. Robin Cook: I have no such plans at present.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Children and Family Court (Support Service)
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans the Lord Chancellor has to allow staff working for the children
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and family court advisory and support service to be paid to work at weekends and to be given travel allowance. [89685]
Ms Rosie Winterton: None. The chief executive of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) is responsible for the day to day operation of the service.
Under their contractual terms, CAFCASS staff are expected to tailor their work to the needs of each individual case. This may involve working some unsocial hours including weekends, for which staff are able to claim appropriate expenses, including travel allowances; and are either paid for planned overtime agreed with their manager, or are granted time off in lieu to cover working additional hours.
Legal Services Commission
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list the regional offices of the Legal Services Commission, stating for each (a) the complement of staff and (b) the number of vacancies at the most recent date for which information is available. [89561]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The regional offices of the Legal Services Commission are located as follows, covering the regions denoted in brackets: London (London), Brighton and Reading (south-east), Bristol (south western), Cardiff (Wales), Birmingham (west midlands), Manchester (north western), Newcastle (north-east), Leeds (Yorkshire and Humberside), Nottingham (east midlands), Cambridge (eastern) and Liverpool (Merseyside).
The complement of permanent staff for each regional office, as of November 2002 and number of vacancies as of 12 December 2002 were as follows:
| Office | Staff | Vacancies |
|---|---|---|
| London | 201 | 6 |
| Brighton and Reading | 115 | 13 |
| Bristol | 76 | 5 |
| Cardiff | 68 | 6 |
| Birmingham | 87 | 0 |
| Manchester | 98 | 0 |
| Newcastle | 85 | 7 |
| Leeds | 83 | 0 |
| Nottingham | 115 | 0 |
| Cambridge | 75 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 68 | 0 |
The commission also has a processing centre in Chester, which employed 47 permanent staff as of November 2002.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on what basis decisions were made on the location of Legal Services Commission offices; and what population number is served by each office. [89562]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The locations of the individual offices of the Legal Services Commission are for the commission to determine. Offices are, in general, located in either the major town or city in each region as
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detailed in the table. The number, location and size of the regional offices have been reviewed on several occasions, most recently in August 1998.
With the exception of the head office buildings in London, each of the commission's offices is sited within a region (locations denoted in brackets next to the regions in the table). In England, the commission's regional boundaries match those of the Government Offices for the English Regions, with the exception of Merseyside for which there is no separate Government Office. The commission also has an office covering Wales.
Based on figures from the 2001 census, the population numbers served by each region and Wales, are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| East Midlands (Nottingham) | 4,172,179 |
| Eastern (Cambridge) | 5,388,154 |
| London (London) | 7,172,036 |
| Merseyside (Liverpool) | 1,362,034 |
| North East (Newcastle) | 2,515,479 |
| North Western (Manchester) | 5,367,766 |
| South East (Brighton and Reading) | 8,000,550 |
| South Western (Bristol) | 4,928,458 |
| West Midlands (Birmingham) | 5,267,337 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside (Leeds) | 4,964,838 |
| Wales (Cardiff) | 2,903,085 |
HEALTH
Waiting Times
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients waited (a) over four hours, (b) between two and four hours and (c) under two hours in accident and emergency departments in (i) England and (ii) each NHS region in each quarter since the first quarter of 1996–97. [84970]
Mr. Lammy: The Department collects data on total time in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. This information has been collected since August 2001 and the first full set of data was published in Quarter 2, 2002–03. It is available on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity.
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In Quarter 2, 2002–03, 23 per cent. of patients waited over four hours in accident and emergency departments in England.
The Department does not collect information on between two and four hour and under two hour waits for total time in accident and emergency.
Response Times
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the response times against target for category A, B, and C calls in each ambulance trust in the last reporting period. [86025]
Mr. Lammy: The latest information available about the proportion of Category A, B and C emergency calls resulting in an ambulance arriving at the scene of the reported incident within the Government's target response times for all ambulance trusts is contained in the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin, Ambulance Services, England 2001–02. A copy of the bulletin is available in the Library and also at www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0213.htm.
A and E Transport
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hours of accident and emergency transport were provided by each NHS ambulance trust in each (a) region and (b) health authority in each year since 1997. [89787]
Mr. Lammy: This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hours of accident and emergency transport were provided by S. John Ambulance in each (a) region and (b) NHS ambulance trust in each year since 1997. [89788]
Mr. Lammy: This information is not collected centrally.
Abortions
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS funded abortions there were in each health authority in England and Wales in each of the last five years. [89121]
Ms Blears: The information requested is shown in the table by health authority.
(38) A time series is not possible for these health authorities as there were boundary changes between 1997 and 2001.
Note:
Prepared by Statistics Division 3G, Department of Health.
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