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21 Apr 2008 : Column 1814W—continued
Streptococcus: Screening
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2008, Official Report, column 1328W, on Streptococcus screening, when he expects to receive a response from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. [199381]
Dawn Primarolo: NICE has not been asked to appraise the enriched culture method (ECM) test for Group B Streptococcus (GBS). NICE is currently revising the approach it takes in considering proposals for appraisals of diagnostics, including the proposal to appraise the ECM test for GBS. NICE’s future approach for considering proposals for appraisals of diagnostics is expected to be considered by NICE’s Board and the Department this year. NICE will consider the suitability of the proposed appraisal of the ECM test for GBS for referral to its work programme following the agreement of a new approach.
Surgery: Private Sector
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many surgical procedures have been carried out in non-NHS hospitals per annum at a cost to the public purse since 2000; and of these, how many resulted in episodes of (a) MRSA, (b) Clostridium difficile and (c) norovirus. [198622]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Finance, Performance and Operations (FPO) Directorate collects data on the independent sector (IS) programme and the IS extended choice network (IS ECN). We are unable to comment on other non-NHS hospitals.
Since the first IS treatment centres opened in 2003 a total of 250,345 elective procedures have been carried out through Wave 1 and Phase 2. In addition to this, 8,086 elective procedures have been carried out in the IS ECN programme to date, which started in January 2007.
For Wave 1, the FPO does not collect infection data through key performance indicators (KPIs).
Since August 2007 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rates for Phase 2 have been collected through three KPIs for MRSA (within 48 hours), MRSA (after 48 hours) and MRSA (repeat cultures). From August 2007 to February 2008 a rate of 0 per cent. for all MRSA KPIs is recorded.
Translation Services
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Dudley, North of 28 February 2007, Official Report, column 1435W, on translation services, how much was spent on translation services into (a) Welsh and (b) other languages in 2005 and 2006. [197546]
Mr. Bradshaw: It is not possible to provide the breakdown of expenditure requested as we do not keep specific records of translation costs by language. Total expenditure on translation services was:
2005: £154,720; and
2006: £180,319
This covered the translation of publications relative to England and Wales plus translations of correspondence in languages other than English.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2008, Official Report, column 2530W, on translation services, how much was spent on translation services into (a) Welsh and (b) other languages in 2007. [197547]
Mr. Bradshaw: It is not possible to provide the breakdown of expenditure requested as we do not keep specific records of translation costs by language. Total expenditure by the Department for the 2007 was £141,352.
This covered the translation of publications relative to England and Wales plus translations of correspondence in languages other than English.
Trauma
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he issued to trusts on the provision of appropriately trained doctors to treat cases of severe trauma at the scene of the incident. [199337]
Mr. Bradshaw: The appropriate response to cases of severe trauma is a matter for the national health service to manage locally.
As part of the NHS Next Stage Review, however, clinicians in nine strategic health authorities are discussing the best models of care, including acute care, which should lead to improved trauma services.
The NHS Emergency Planning Guidance 2005 describes the arrangements for the organisation of immediate medical care at the scene of a major incident.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of pre-hospital care in trauma patients, with particular reference to airway management. [199406]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department expects the local national health service to have robust arrangements in place for managing the appropriate response to cases of severe trauma.
Ambulance staff are trained to provide airway care and are expected to act in line with specific clinical guidelines on airway care, as set out in the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee’s clinical practice guidelines; which are available at:
www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/med/research/hsri/emergencycare/jrcalc_2006/guidelines/trauma_emergencies_in_ adults_overview_2006.pdf
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 21 April 2008
Work and Pensions
Annuities
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will increase the age at which people are required to buy annuities from their pension funds; and if he will make a statement. [196726]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 27 March 2008]: I have been asked to reply.
The Government have no current plans to increase the age limit for compulsory annuitisation.
The Government set out their approach to annuities in their December 2006 publication: “The Annuities Market”.
The age of earliest possible annuitisation will rise from 50 to 55 in 2010, in line with Government policy to encourage greater participation in the labour market by older workers. The latest available evidence suggests that the upper age limit (age 75) is not currently a significant constraint on retirement planning as only one in 20 people annuitise between ages 70 and 74. The limit therefore reflects current retirement patterns.
Evidence suggests that age 75 strikes a balance between flexibility in securing an income and ensuring that tax incentives are used for their intended purpose of providing a pension income.
The latest evidence from the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) also shows that increasingly during an individual’s early 70s—and certainly by around 75—the rates of return required from alternative assets become unrealistically high for any individual in retirement to justify further delaying annuitisation.
Carter & Carter Group
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact on the persons undertaking training provided by Carter and Carter Group plc of the entry into administration of that company. [197240]
Mr. Timms: Carter and Carter continued to deliver all contracted services for my Department during its period in administration. The responsibility for these has now been transferred to the new owner, Newcastle College. There has been no impact on any services delivered for my Department by Carter and Carter from this change of ownership.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision he has made to ensure the continuous provision of places on employment training programmes following the entry into administration of Carter and Carter Group plc. [197263]
Mr. Timms: The administrator has sold most of the Carter and Carter group to Newcastle College, including the part of the group that delivers the contracts with my Department. Services have been provided as normal since entry into administration.
Child Support Agency
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a quarterly return showing the (a) average length of time taken to clear old scheme Child Support Agency cases and (b) the average age of uncleared cases under the old scheme. [184849]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 21 April 2008:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a quarterly return showing the (a) average length of time taken to clear old scheme Child Support Agency cases and (b) the average age of uncleared cases under the old scheme. [184849]
The Agency begins to process new applications as soon as they are received and continues until they have been cleared. Any old scheme applications that have not been recorded on our computer question systems as cleared have been regarded as outstanding in the answer to this question. The Agency has significantly reduced the number of old scheme cases recorded as uncleared from 66,900 in March 2006 to 30,200 in December 2007. This is a 55 per cent decrease since the introduction of the Operational Improvement Plan.
Additional information on uncleared old scheme cases can be found in table 2.1 of the December 2007 CSA Quarterly summary of statistics (QSS), available in the House of Commons Library on online at; http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/csa.asp.
Old scheme cases shown as uncleared are by definition a number of years old, and will include a significant number of cases which are suspended as the non-resident par4ent remains untraced, or cases which have been maintained clerically or have in fact been closed but remain stuck on the computer system and therefore recorded as outstaying. The average length of time taken to clear old scheme cases and the average age of uncleared old scheme cases therefore increasingly becomes less meaningful.
As we move towards the launch of the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission the measures needed to improve transparency across the whole range of information available on child support will need to be carefully considered.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Child Support Agency: Debts
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Child Support Agency’s total gross debt outstanding was for the year April 2006 to March 2007; how much of this debt was accrued under the (a) old and (b) new system; and if he will make a statement. [193938]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 21 April 2008:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Child Support Agency's total gross debt outstanding was for the year April 2006 to March 2007; how much of this debt was accrued under the (a) old and (b) new system; and if he will make a statement. [193938]
In answering this question, we have understood the old and new systems to refer to the old and new child support schemes and not the old and new child support computer systems. We are unable to classify the debt accrued in the year to March 2007 as
you have requested and have therefore classified the total debt outstanding as at March 2007 in the attached table.
This debt has accrued over the 14 years of the Agency’s operation and represents money owed by non-resident parents who have failed to meet their financial responsibilities towards their children.
The Agency’s efforts are currently aimed at slowing the rate of growth and we have significantly slowed the rate at which debt accrues from around £20 million a month in 2005/2006 to around £16 million a month in 2006/2007. In total the Agency has collected over £181m in maintenance arrears since April 2006 and continues to make good progress towards meeting the Operational Improvement Plan commitment of collecting an additional £200m in arrears by March 2009 in addition to the £80m it was collecting each year at the inception of the plan.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
| Breakdown of debt: March 2007 | |
| Outstanding gross debt | Total (£ billion) |
| (1) Includes debt accrued on cases assessed under old scheme assessment rules which are maintained on either the old and current computer systems (CSCS and CS2). (2) Includes debt accrued on cases assessed under the new scheme only and assessed on the new computer system (CS2). (3) Cases currently maintained on the current computer system (CS2) but where it is not possible to identify under which assessment scheme the debt accrued. | |
Child Support Agency: Manpower
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the staffing costs of (a) the Child Support Agency in each year until it is wound up and (b) the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission in each of the first five years of operation. [193719]
Mr. Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 6 March 2008, Official Report, column 2803W.
Information on staffing costs for the current financial year will be published in the Agency's 2007-08 Annual Report and Accounts.
All people who carry out functions of the Child Support Agency in Great Britain will move to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, at the same time as the functions are transferred.
Future staffing levels and costs will be for the Commission to decide.
Children: Maintenance
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what proportion of child support cases had maintenance outstanding for periods of (a) zero to six weeks, (b) six to 12 weeks, (c) 12 weeks to six months, (d) six to nine months, (d ) nine to 12 months and (e ) over 12 months in each of the last 10 years; and how many and what proportion of these received payments from the Child Support Agency outside normal maintenance payments, broken down by type of payment; [185119]
(2) how much was paid by the Child Support Agency to families outside maintenance payments in each of the last 10 years, broken down by type of payment. [185125]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 21 April 2008:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of child support cases had maintenance outstanding for periods of (a) zero to six weeks (b) six to 12 weeks (c) 12 weeks to six months (d) six to nine months (d) nine to 12 months and (e) over 12 months in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of these received payments from the Child Support Agency outside normal maintenance payments broken down by type of payment [185119]; and
You also asked how much was paid by the Child Support Agency to families outside maintenance payments in each of the last 10 years broken down by type of payment [185125].
In order to answer this question we have interpreted the proportion of cases with maintenance outstanding as the proportion of current cases with debt.
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