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28 Oct 2003 : Column 219W—continued
Pulling Together
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much money has been spent on the Pulling Together programme within the Department, broken down by region; and if he will make a statement. [133498]
Mr. Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
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Letter from David Anderson to Paul Holmes, dated 28 October 2003:
- As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the amount of money spent on the Pulling Together programme. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
- The Pulling Together programme is a highly successful initiative, unique to Jobcentre Plus within the Department. It was launched in April 2002 with the formation of Jobcentre Plus which combined two distinct businesses; the Employment Service and the working age parts of the Benefits Agency. This involved bringing together around 80,000 staff, almost 1,000 Jobcentres, over 400 social security offices and many different jobs and roles whilst simultaneously introducing an entirely new way of doing business.
- We introduced Pulling Together to support all our staff through this period of great business change, cementing the new organisation together through harnessing the ideas and energy of our staff. The response was enthusiastic and activities spanned a broad range from estates work to improve offices for both customers and staff, to putting active labour market information points in social security offices, to instigating a new recognition award and many, many more.
- The amount spent on the Pulling Together programme, broken down by region, including the amount allocated for this year is shown in the table:
| Region/country | Total |
|---|---|
| North West | 2,240,000 |
| North East | 1,040,000 |
| Yorkshire & Humberside | 1,540,000 |
| East Midlands | 1,040,000 |
| East of England | 1,040,000 |
| West Midlands | 1,390,000 |
| South East | 1,240,000 |
| South West | 1,090,000 |
| London | 2,290,000 |
| Wales | 1,140,000 |
| Scotland | 1,890,000 |
| PullingTogether central team | 860,000 |
| Total | 16,800,000 |
Source:
Jobcentre Plus Financial Management and Control Division
The largest portion of this spend was incurred last year in the setting up of new processes and different ways of working that had to happen in order for us to deliver our new business in the most customer focused and joined-up way possible.
I hope this is helpful.
HEALTH
Audiology
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action the Government is taking to ensure that deaf people are not discriminated against in accessing mainstream primary and secondary health care. [134940]
Dr. Ladyman: Action the Government are taking to help eliminate discrimination in all its forms from health services, which includes discrimination against deaf people, includes:
- The NHS Plan, which commits the Department to ensuring that public services are equitable and accessible for disabled people.
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The Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions are co-operating on the draft Disability Bill, which will mean a significant extension of rights for disabled people in the United Kingdom.
The Department is working on a partnership framework for action on disability with the Disability Rights Commission. This will help ensure that the national health service and social care are ready to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act physical access duties from 2004.
Dr. Ladyman: Health trusts are expected to make suitable provision to ensure that all patients who cannot easily access spoken English, including those who are deaf, are enabled to make informed consent to treatment and to make meaningful choices.
It is not considered that trusts need incentives to do this but, to encourage services to become more equitable and responsive, the Department is currently undertaking a national consultation, called 'Choice, Responsiveness and Equity', which will improve patient and user experience and build new partnerships between those who use health and social care and those who work in them.
Children's Trusts
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those authorities taking part in pilot schemes for children's trusts; when the pilots (a) start and (b) finish; and what the procedure for (i) reporting on the pilots and (ii) influencing future legislation is. [134778]
Dr. Ladyman: The following authorities are children's trust pathfinders: Barnsley, Bexley, Blackburn with Darwen, Bolton, Brighton and Hove, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire, City of York, Croydon, Darlington, Devon, Ealing, East Yorkshire, Essex, Gateshead, Greenwich, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Leicester, Newcastle, North Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Portsmouth, Redbridge, Sandwell, Sheffield, Solihull, South Tyneside, Sutton, Telford and Wrekin, Tower Hamlets, Trafford, West Sussex and Wokingham.
The children's trust pathfinders were announced on 10 July 2003 and will run for three years as pathfinders. They will be independently evaluated over the three years and reports will be made during that period. Information from the pathfinders, including evaluation reports and the work of the national network will identify issues for any future legislation.
General Practitioners
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of GP practices in the United Kingdom that have registered children as temporary rather than permanent patients to avoid losing funding if they have a certain percentage of children registered who are not immunised. [134853]
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Mr. Hutton: Everyone, including children, has the right to be registered with a general practitioner for free national health service treatment. We have no estimate of the numbers of GPs who de-register children from their patient lists in order to exclude them from the calculation of target payments for childhood immunisations. The General Medical Council and the profession itself opposes such actions and the Government expects primary care trusts to investigate any such cases.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 20 October 2003, Official Report, column 463W, on housing benefit, whether (a) his Department has responsibility for the implementation of the Care Standards Act 2000, (b) his Department has responsibility for the National Care Standards Commission that inspects and registers accommodation under the Care Standards Act 2000, (c) the form of registration applied under the Act has a direct bearing on whether residents are eligible for housing benefit and (d) his Department will liaise with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that people with learning disabilities capable of holding individual tenancies do not lose their entitlement to housing benefit as a result of the registration process. [135098]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department has responsibility for the implementation of the Care Standards Act 2000.
There was no intention through the Care Standards Act 2000 to widen the scope of regulation to new types of accommodation that had not previously been required to register as care homes under the Registered Homes Act 1984. Supported housing type establishments which did not need to register as care homes under the previous regulatory arrangements should not, therefore, need to register now.
The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) was established under the Act as part of the Government's reforms to modernise the regulatory system for care services and independent healthcare. The NCSC is an independent, non-departmental public body, acting at arm's length from the Department. It regulates statutory and independent sector care services in accordance with the regulations and national minimum standards that flow from the Care Standards Act, to ensure consistency and improve the quality of life and level of protection of some of the most vulnerable people in society.
The interpretation and implementation of the regulations and standards is a matter for the NCSC, as the independent regulator, based on appropriate legal advice. It is for the NCSC, as the regulator, to satisfy itself that care home providers have complied with the regulations to ensure that care home residents' health, welfare and well-being are being protected. Providers have a right of appeal to the independent Care Standards Tribunal against the decisions of the regulator.
It is, therefore, for the NCSC to decide whether a particular establishment needs to register as a care home. Statutory guidance was issued to the NCSC in
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August 2002, explaining in broad terms where registration as a care home is required and how to distinguish care homes from supported housing of various kinds. Providers have a right of appeal to the Care Standards Tribunal against the decisions of the NCSC.
The Department of Work and Pensions has overall responsibility for the scope and structure of the housing benefit scheme. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Pond), gave to him on 21 October 2003, Official Report, column 512W. We are aware that, in some cases, problems have arisen at a local level. The Department is liaising with the Department of Work and Pensions about these cases.
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