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30 Jan 2008 : Column 450W—continued
Sheltered Housing: Birmingham
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received from the housing department of Birmingham city council on the impact of national rules governing the Supporting People programme on local decision-making in respect of sheltered accommodation schemes. [182413]
Mr. Iain Wright: There is no record of any representation having been made to Communities and Local Government from the Housing Department of Birmingham city council about the impact of national rules governing the Supporting People programme on local decision-making in respect of sheltered accommodation schemes.
Sheltered Housing: Finance
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what funding was made available to local authorities for sheltered accommodation with a residential warden in each of the last five years; [172020]
(2) what the Government's policy is on (a) the removal of residential wardens and (b) replacement of residential wardens by mobile wardens in relation to sheltered accommodation. [172021]
Mr. Iain Wright: Local authorities provide funding for housing-related support services such as those included in sheltered housing accommodation through the Supporting People programme grants allocated to them by the Government. Supporting People is a grant programme administered through top-tier authorities which enables over 1 million vulnerable people each year to live independently in their homes and communities.
However, decisions about how support services for sheltered housing are provided and how the allocated grant funding is used are made by each local authority, in accordance with their local needs and priorities and as identified in their Supporting People five-year strategies.
The Supporting People funding allocated to local authorities relates to the total Supporting People grant covering all types of housing by related support, not just sheltered housing with a residential warden. Therefore, figures are not collected which would show funding for sheltered accommodation with a residential warden in each of the last five years.
As mentioned decisions on how much of the total allocation is spent on sheltered housing with a residential warden or any other kind of support services are for local authorities to make.
As part of its national affordable housing programme, the Housing Corporation has funded through social housing grant accommodation designated or designed for older people, but, as with Supporting People grant, does not specify how support services should be delivered within specially designated or designed housing for older people, and is therefore unable to identify how many of these will have a residential warden.
Supporting People Programme
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been given to local authorities on the extent of the financial assessment which should be undertaken when considering whether individuals receiving long-term support under the Supporting People programme are eligible to pay charges; and whether individuals' debts and monthly outgoings should be taken into account. [182185]
Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 25 January 2008]: The Department has issued guidance (“Supporting People (England) Directions 2007/08”) which states that each administrating authority is required to set out in its Supporting People strategy the rules for charging of service recipients, which must include:
(i) the circumstances in which there is to be relief from charges;
(ii) the process for making an application for relief
(iii) the rules for determining the relevant date of application; and
(iv) details of the review mechanism which is to apply where a service recipient disputes any decision under the charging rules.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many court cases there have been since April 2007, where private tenants have been seeking to enforce their right to have their tenancy deposit protected under the provisions in the Housing Act 2004. [182575]
Mr. Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Unitary Councils
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department’s policy is on the minimum size of a new unitary council, in terms of (a) resident population and (b) number of households, under her plans for local government restructuring. [182592]
John Healey: The criteria against which we judge unitary proposals do not involve any criterion about the size of a council’s population or the number of households in its area.
Unitary Councils: Elections
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the dates will be for the next set of elections for each of the new unitary councils. [182577]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) today (PQ182081).
Vacant Land
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much land was designated as green space in new housing development plans (a) between 1996 and 2006, (b) between 1986 and 1996 and (c) in each of the last five years. [182611]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information on how much land has been planted as green space is not held centrally.
Wardens
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2007, Official Report, column 685W, on wardens, what central funding has been provided to fund neighbourhood warden schemes, further to the pledge in the Respect Action Plan. [183158]
John Healey: For 2006-07 and 2007-08 £92.9 million of the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund was paid through the local area agreement (LAA) grant. Under LAAs local authorities and their partners have flexibility to decide how they spend their funds to deliver agreed LAA outcomes.
From 2008-09 onwards £67.1 million of the Safer Stronger Communities Fund will be paid as a contribution to the new area-based grant, a non ring-fenced general grant for local authorities. This will provide local authorities with even greater flexibility over how they spend their funding. The fund has been allocated to authorities in recognition of their need to improve public satisfaction with local areas which could include promoting warden schemes. However, it will be up to individual authorities to decide how they spend their area-based grant allocations.
Working Neighbourhoods Fund
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities in receipt of working neighbourhood funding previously did not receive neighbourhood renewal funding. [182566]
John Healey: There are five local authorities which previously did not qualify for neighbourhood renewal funding but which have qualified for allocations under the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF). These are as follows:
Blyth Valley;
Chesterfield;
Copeland;
Thanet; and
West Somerset.
Health
Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust: Crimes of Violence
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of assault there were against members of staff from the Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust in 2007; and what the prosecution rates were in these cases. [179626]
Ann Keen: Data on reported physical assaults are collected each year for the period 1 April to 31 March.
The number of reported physical assaults against staff at Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS trust for the period 2006-07 was 137.
Information on prosecution rates in these cases is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Abortion: Freedom of Information
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008, Official Report, column 984W, on the Abortion (Amendment) Bill of Session 1979-80, for what reasons two files were destroyed; what the (a) prefix and (b) title of these files was; what criteria are used by his Department on reviewing files; and if he will make a statement. [182666]
Dawn Primarolo: File E/A0223/251/vB—“Draft and Notes and clauses—Abortion Amendment Bill” was destroyed in 2005. File E/A0223/191—“Abortion Act 1967 John Corrie’s Abortion Amendment Bill” was destroyed in 2004. Both files were destroyed following a second review of the contents, 25 years after the files were started.
The criteria used in respect of these files were set out in the Manual of Records Administration published by the then Public Record Office.
Ambulance Services: Devon
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to improve emergency ambulance services in North Devon. [183084]
Mr. Bradshaw: It is for strategic health authorities (SHAs), as the local headquarters of the national health service, and primary care trusts, as commissioners, to ensure that strategies for improving performance are delivered by ambulance trusts.
The Department, via the Recovery and Support Unit discusses performance at trust level with SHAs to ensure that SHAs work with local organisations to address performance issues, and if appropriate with
support from the National Ambulance Performance Implementation Lead. However, performance is measured across the trust as a whole.
Ambulance Services: Standards
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what national targets exist for the handover times from ambulances to accident and emergency departments. [181073]
Mr. Bradshaw: Departmental guidance makes clear that in normal operational circumstances handovers should take no longer than 15 minutes. This is guidance, not a target or a standard. While the Department recognises there may be periods when operational pressures mean this is not always possible, trusts should ensure their escalation plans include robust action to manage their handovers.
Anaesthetics: Training
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many anaesthetic training posts in categories (a) ST1, (b) ST2, (c) ST3 and (d) SPR will be vacant on the first Wednesday of February 2008 in (i) England, (ii) London and (iii) Kent, Surrey and Sussex. [181171]
Ann Keen: This information is not collated centrally.
Postgraduate deaneries are now recruiting doctors to take up specialty training programmes from August 2008. Information regarding the numbers of posts being appointed to can be found on the Modernising Medical Careers website at
Bournemouth and Christchurch Primary Care Trust: Finance
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008, Official Report, column 986W, on Bournemouth and Christchurch primary care trust: finance to my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth, East, for which other trusts specialist top-up payments have been discontinued in 2008-09; and how much each trust received in such payments in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2006-07. [180837]
Mr. Bradshaw: Specialist top-ups are payable across nine areas of treatment. In 2007-08, all hospitals were eligible for specialist top-ups when they had provided these services. In 2008-09, all providers are still eligible for specialist top-ups for non-specialised child-related, colorectal and orthopaedic activity. The list of providers eligible for all other specialist top-ups was published within the national tariff on 13 December 2007. Copies of the list have been placed in the Library.
In addition, strategic health authorities have the flexibility to agree the payment of specialist top-ups to a wider range of providers than those on the list, when a commissioner can make a compelling case for inclusion.
Data are not collected centrally on how much each trust received in specialist top-ups.
Breast Cancer: Screening
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008, Official Report, columns 988-89W, on breast cancer screening, which primary care trust has responsibility for each breast cancer unit. [180836]
Ann Keen: The Department does not collect data on how breast cancer units correspond to primary care trusts.
Cancer: Health Education
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the use and development by the NHS of the tool initiated by Cancer Research UK to assess the level of patient awareness of cancer symptoms will cost the public purse. [181192]
Ann Keen: Cancer Research UK is funding the development of the modular tool to assess levels of awareness of cancer risk factors and symptoms. The tool is expected to be available in the autumn 2008.
Cancer: Health Services
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008, Official Report, columns 997-98W, on cancer: health services, if he will break down the missed diagnoses of cancer incidents by reason, including delay, failure to diagnose and problems with tests or scans. [180838]
Ann Keen: The breakdown of reports of patient safety incidents on the National Reporting and Learning System of England and Wales is shown in the following table.
| Incident category—level 1 | Incident category—level 2 | October 2005 to September 2006 | October 2006 to September 2007 |
|
Clinical assessment (including diagnosis, scans, tests, assessments) | |||
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