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12 Dec 2007 : Column 629W—continued
Summertime: Energy
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) what assessment he has made of the effect on carbon dioxide emissions of introducing British Summer Time in winter and double British Summer Time in summer; [172337]
(2) when he last assessed the potential effects on UK energy consumption of introducing British Summer Time in winter and double British Summer Time in summer; [172338]
(3) if he will assess the effects on (a) domestic and (b) commercial fuel bills of introducing British Summer Time in winter and double British Summer Time in summer; [172339]
(4) what his Department’s assessment is of the potential effects on energy consumption of introducing British Summer Time in winter and double British Summer Time in summer. [172341]
Mr. McFadden: Research undertaken by the Building Research Establishment for DEFRA in 2005 indicates that putting clocks forward an additional one hour in winter and summer would lead to a net increase in carbon dioxide emissions corresponding to around 1 per cent. of total UK emissions of carbon dioxide, as a result of increased energy consumption in UK buildings for lighting, space heating and cooling. The study also shows that a switch to British Summer Time all the year round would increase emissions by just under 0.5 per cent. The study was based on modelling patterns of energy use in the UK building stock.
We are not convinced that a change to current arrangements would be in the best interests of the UK and so there are no plans to change the summer time arrangements at this time.
Trade Agreements: India
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the timeline is for the EU/India Free Trade Agreement under negotiation; and what commitments the Agreements on Labour Liberalisation make as currently drafted. [172598]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 10 December 2007]: Spring 2009 is the proposed deadline for the completion of the EU/India Free Trade Agreement but this will require concerted effort from both sides as negotiations are still at an early stage.
The inclusion of international labour standards in this Free Trade Agreement, in line with International Labour Organisation guidelines, is of importance in these negotiations.
VAT: North West Region
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many businesses have (a) registered and (b) deregistered for VAT in (i) Lancashire and (ii) the North West in each of the last five years. [173398]
Mr. Timms: The number of new VAT registrations and de-registrations in the Lancashire county and the North West are shown for 2002 to 2006, alongside the total number of VAT registered businesses at the start of each year.
| VAT registrations, de-registrations and stock of VAT registered businesses in Lancashire county( 1) | ||||||
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| (1) Lancashire county does not include Blackpool UA or Blackburn with Darwen UA. Source: Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2006 Available at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/vat | ||||||
| VAT registrations, de-registrations and stock of VAT registered businesses in the North West | ||||||
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Source: Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2006. Available at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/vat | ||||||
Although the number of registrations and de-registrations has fluctuated over the period, the total number of VAT registered businesses in Lancashire county has increased from 31,575 at the start of 2002 to 34,565 in 2007, an increase of 2,990 (9 per cent.). Over the same period the number of VAT registered businesses in the North West increased from 168,415 to 186,045, an increase of 17,630 (10 per cent.).
VAT registrations do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which was £60,000 at the start of 2006. Similarly, businesses that de-register may not have closed. Only 1.9 million out of 4.5 million UK enterprises (43 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2006.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many staff aged between 16 and 18 were employed by his Department and its predecessor (a) directly and (b) through an employment agency in each of the last 10 years; what proportion of these were given time off work to undertake some form of training; and what proportion were provided with some form of training (i) wholly and (ii) partially funded by his Department. [171276]
Mr. Thomas: The information requested is not centrally held by the Department and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Health
Aortic Aneurysm: Screening
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider the merits of a mass screening programme for aneurysm of the abdominal aorta in males over the age of 50 years; what estimate he has made of the number of deaths per year in the UK caused by this condition; and if he will estimate what the cost of such a screening programme would be. [170204]
Ann Keen: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (NSC) has advised that screening men at age 65 for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) can be recommended in principle.
The number of deaths in 2005 in England and Wales (for both men and women of all age groups) from abdominal aortic aneurysms was approximately 7,000. An exact figure cannot be identified because of the amalgamation of thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms in some sub-codes of the International Classification of Disease.
Work is currently in progress to assess the implications of implementing abdominal aortic aneurysm screening in England. This assessment has to take account of the likely impact of a screening programme on existing healthcare services and the infrastructure and staffing requirements in order for a programme to be safely introduced, and will include costings. Such assessments are normally undertaken before major screening policy decisions are made.
Asylum: Health Services
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the cost of providing NHS health care to asylum seekers in England and Wales was in each of the last five years; [173579]
(2) what criteria he uses to determine the Government’s policy on whether the UK’s terms of provision of health care to asylum seekers comply with (a) the European Convention on Human Rights and (b) other international obligations; [173580]
(3) what consultations he has had with the medical profession on proposals to withdraw free health care from asylum seekers; [173581]
(4) what steps he plans to take in relation to health care practitioners who provide medical treatment to asylum seekers without charge. [173594]
Dawn Primarolo:
The United Kingdom has international obligations which mean that anyone who has made a formal application for asylum in the UK under the 1951 United Nations Convention and its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees is entitled to free national health service health care for as long as that application, including appeals, is under consideration. The Government’s approach is also in accordance with our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights on which there is extensive case law both domestic and from the European Court of Human Rights. The UK has also transposed into national legislation European
Community Directive 2003/9/EC of 27 January 2003, which lays down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers.
Our aim is also that asylum seekers who spend time in Border and Immigration Agency initial accommodation in England prior to dispersal should be offered Departmental funded health assessments and tuberculosis screening. This assists in identifying and addressing immediate health care needs through the use of trained health care staff and interpreters, and avoids duplication of questions and checks later by recording medical histories in a patient hand help record that the asylum seeker can keep with them.
There are no plans to withdraw free health care from asylum seekers. Consequently, no such consultations on withdrawing treatment have taken place, nor will steps be taken in relation to health care practitioners correctly providing asylum seekers with free medical treatment.
The cost of providing NHS health care to asylum seekers is not recorded. Therefore, it is not possible to provide that information.
Breast Cancer
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of a woman's risk of contracting breast cancer across her lifetime; and if he will make a statement. [172169]
Ann Keen [holding answer 10 December 2007]: One in nine women will develop breast cancer at some time in their life. The estimated risk of developing it for each of the other age groups has been calculated as:
up to age 25, one in 15,000;
up to age 30, one in 1,900;
up to age 40, one in 200;
up to age 50, one in 50;
up to age 60, one in 23;
up to age 70, one in 15;
up to age 80, one in 11;
up to age 85, one in 10.
Source:
Cancer Trends in England and Wales 1950-1999, National Statistics Studies on Medical and Population Subjects, no 66, 2001, Quinn et al
Breast Feeding: Publicity
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department plans to provide in support of Breastfeeding Awareness Week 2008. [172288]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department plans to spend £275,000 on the national Breastfeeding Awareness Week, which will be held from 11 to 17 May 2008. In addition, the Department plans to continue and sustain the promotion of breastfeeding throughout the year.
Cancer: Health Services
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce the cancer reform strategy. [169821]
Ann Keen: The cancer reform strategy was published on 3 December 2007, and copies are available in the Vote Office.
Care Homes
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he took to reduce the number of standards against which care homes were inspected between 2001-02 and 2006-07; and what the reasons were for those actions. [172611]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 11 December 2007]: The number of National Minimum Standards (NMS) has not changed since their introduction in 2002. The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) is required to take account of the NMS in assessing providers’ compliance with regulations. It is for CSCI to determine its methodology for doing so.
Care Homes: Closures
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used to judge the performance of care homes; and how many (a) care homes, (b) residential homes and (c) nursing homes were ordered to close in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area. [172925]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 10 December 2007]: The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) is responsible, under the Care Standards Act 2000 and associated Regulations, including the Care Homes Regulations 2001, for the inspection and regulation of care and nursing homes. When inspecting care homes, CSCI must have regard to the national minimum standards, which were introduced in 2002.
Data on care home closures prior to the establishment of CSCI in 2004 are not held centrally.
All care and nursing homes are residential. We are informed by CSCI that homes are registered to provide personal care only or care with nursing. The numbers of homes that were ordered to close under Section 20 of the Care Standards Act 2000 in each of the last four inspection years, since the inception of CSCI, are shown in the following table.
| Homes ordered to close under Section 20 of the Care Standards Act 2000 | ||
| Period | Homes providing personal care | Homes providing care with nursing |
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