---

27 Jan 2003 : Column 662W—continued

Standard Housing Allowance Pilot

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of his standard housing allowance pilot in each of the next five financial years, identifying separately the cost of the evaluation of the pilots; and if he will estimate the eventual cost of the scheme if it were to apply to (a) all private rented accommodation nationwide and (b) all private or social rented accommodation nationwide. [93631]

Malcolm Wicks: Ten local authorities have been invited to be pathfinders for the standard local housing allowance pilot. We estimate that the pilot will cost around £20 million per year in additional benefit spending. Evaluation will cost around £2 million over the course of the project. We will be in a position to quantify the cost of supporting the pathfinder authorities in setting up and administering the scheme once all of the details of the pilot are worked out.

The cost of a nationwide scheme for the private rented sector would depend on the design of the scheme, which will be informed by the results from the pathfinders. We cannot, therefore, estimate the potential cost at this time.

It is not possible to estimate the cost of a housing allowance for social rented accommodation, which would have to be designed along different lines from the private rented sector pilot.

Targeting Fraud Campaign

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what means he assesses the effectiveness of the Targeting Fraud advertising campaign; and what his assessment is of its effectiveness. [92499]

Malcolm Wicks: The effectiveness of the Targeting Fraud advertising campaign is subject to a full evaluation after each major phase. In October 2001, a copy of the summary of the evaluation of the March 2001 burst of the Targeting Fraud campaign was placed in the Library. Evaluation shows that public attitudes are moving in a positive direction as a result of the campaign.

Tenancies

Ms Buck : To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in (a) private

27 Jan 2003 : Column 663W

regulated tenancies and (b) private deregulated tenancies there were in each English region in each year since 1996. [91690]

Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.

The private rented sector is now only some 10 per cent. of the whole housing market, and regulated tenancies have become only a small part of the private rented sector. This means that even though the Survey of English Housing is a large survey, the sample of regulated private tenancies is not large enough to allow reliable figures to be produced for individual regions and for individual years. Tabled is the estimated annual average number of regulated and deregulated tenancies for the period 1998–99 to 2001–02 for London, and for broad regional groupings. Annual estimates of regulated and deregulated tenancies in England are also shown from 1996–97 to 2001–02. There is no reason to expect that the trends in individual regions have been significantly different from those for England as a whole.

Regulated and deregulated⁽³⁰⁾ private tenanciesThousands

	Regulated	Deregulated
	Regional grouping: annual average (1998–99 to 2001–02)
North(31)	39	402
Midlands(32)	22	222
South(33) except London	50	546
London	34	330
England	145	1,499
England: annual series
1996–97	242	1,406
1997–98	205	1,486
1998–99	189	1,477
1999–2000	154	1,517
2001–01	122	1,434
2001–02	120	1,511

⁽³⁰⁾ Assured and assured short hold tenancies.

⁽³¹⁾ North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber.

⁽³²⁾ East Midlands, West Midlands.

⁽³³⁾ East, South East, South West.

Source:

Survey of English Housing, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Winter Fuel Allowance

David Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people over 60 qualify for the £200 Winter Fuel Allowance in Telford. [93282]

Mr. McCartney: The information is not available in the format requested. Most, but not all, people aged 60 and over are eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment. The vast majority of those eligible receive their payment automatically, without the need to claim. Of those who need to claim, it is up to the individual to choose whether to do so.

However, for winter 2001–02, payments of £200 were made to some 6,500 people living in Telford.

Note:

Figure is rounded to the nearest hundred.

Source:

Matching Intelligence Data Analysis Service Winter Fuels Payment 2001–02.

27 Jan 2003 : Column 664W

HEALTH

ACT

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research regarding changes to corporate investment behaviour consequential to the changes to ACT announced in the 1997 Budget has been (a) carried out and (b) commissioned by his Department. [92316]

Dawn Primarolo : I have been asked to reply.

The abolition of ACT was part of a package of measures introduced over the period 1997 to 1999 aimed at creating an improved climate for long term investment. Subsequent tax changes have also been designed to promote enterprise and encourage economic growth. There are practical difficulties in assessing the impact of these changes, and in any case, it does not make sense to evaluate the impact of one part of this series of measures in isolation.

Acute Beds

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of occupancy of (a) general and (b) acute beds in the NHS is. [91596]

Mr. Hutton: The average occupancy of beds in general and acute wards in 2001–02 was 86 per cent. This information is published annually on the Department's website at http://www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity.

Acute Hospital Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the strategic reviews into the provision of acute hospital services that are taking place in the NHS in England; and when those reviews are due for completion. [91479]

Mr. Hutton: All strategic health authorities are in the process of developing local delivery plans for the next three years. These will show systematically how improvements will be made locally to deliver the increases in capacity and quality set out in the priorities and planning framework 2003–06 and will include acute hospital services.

Plans are due to be submitted to the Department by the end of March 2003.

Acute Hospitals

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the changes to working patterns resulting from the Agenda for Change settlement will take effect in acute hospitals. [87535]

Mr. Hutton: Subject to the outcome of staff side consultation, the new national health service pay system is expected to be introduced in 'early implementer' sites, including some acute hospitals, in June 2003 and will be implemented across the rest of the NHS from October 2004. The new pay system will give NHS organisations much greater flexibility to design jobs and working practices around the needs of NHS patients both in the short term following implementation and on an ongoing basis in the future.

27 Jan 2003 : Column 665W

Ambulance Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the diversion policies operated by ambulance services. [88162]

Mr. Lammy: National health service ambulance services will decide to which accident and emergency department they will take a patient depending on the local circumstances prevailing at the time. They will use local information to make that decision.

Anit-smoking Campaigns

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that forthcoming public information anti-smoking campaigns will raise awareness of the link between smoking and stroke; and what targets have been set to reduce the number of stroke deaths caused by smoking. [90553]

Ms Blears: The Department's current television advertising campaign is based on testimonials in which real people describe the effects of their illnesses and their feelings about having smoked.

Since January 2002, one of the testimonials we are showing has featured a 38-year-old man who describes how his life has been devastated by a series of smoking related strokes.

One of the warnings required to appear on cigarette packets in accordance with the Tobacco Products (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale) (Safety) Regulations 2002 warns that, "Smoking clogs the arteries and causes heart attacks and strokes".

Although no specific targets have been set for stroke deaths, we have a series of smoking prevalence targets. By reducing the overall level of smoking we will tackle all smoking related illness, including strokes. My officials have recently met with the Stroke Association to examine what more can be done to raise awareness of the risks of smoking related strokes.

---