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30 Apr 2008 : Column 449W—continued
NHS: Circulars
Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Health Service Circular/Local Authority Circular HSC 2001/016:LAC(2001)23, which was due for review in 2004, (a) is still in force and (b) has been amended. [202688]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This health service circular was cancelled in 2004, but we expect councils to continue to apply the principles of good practice that were enshrined in the guidance. Copies of the health service circular have been placed in the Library.
“Valuing People Now: From Progress to Transformation” (published in December 2007) sets out the delivery priorities for people with learning disabilities for the next three years. These are about people having control over their lives and services, including what they do during the day, how they can be supported to access jobs, housing, and better health care and of course making sure that this change happens. Copies of this publication have also been placed in the Library. The consultation is now closed and the responses are being analysed.
NHS: Hearing Impaired
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients waited more than six weeks for (a) an initial NHS hearing assessment and (b) a follow-up NHS hearing aid assessment in the latest period for which figures are available. [201798]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Latest available data for February 2008 show there were 8,295 patients waiting longer than six weeks for all audiology assessments, including initial and follow-up hearing assessments. This represents a reduction of some 92 per cent. (from 101,335) since April 2006.
NHS: Telephone Services
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provides to (a) primary care trusts and (b) service providers on their use of numbers with the prefix (i) 0845 and (ii) 087. [201794]
Mr. Bradshaw: General medical services (CMS) contractors were banned from using premium rate numbers (09 or 087) via The National Health Service (Primary Medical Services) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations SI 2005 No. 893. The ban came into force in April 2005 but did not include 084 numbers.
On 19 December 2006 the Department wrote to primary care trust chief executives advising them that the Department was reviewing the use of non-geographical telephone numbers in light of the consultation carried out by Ofcom; and re-iterating the Government's position that
“patients should not be expected to pay more than the equivalent of a local call”.
The Department is currently gathering evidence on the use of 0844 numbers in general practice and will consider what further action is necessary in light of that evidence.
NHS: Vaccination
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to extend uptake data collection methods to all treatments recommended for use on the NHS by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. [201843]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department provides support for centrally collected vaccine uptake data collections, and this is extended as new vaccines are added to the routine childhood vaccination programme.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has carried out into variations in the levels of uptake of therapies recommended for use on the NHS by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.[201844]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department commissions a regular face-to-face survey conducted among parents to gauge current attitudes and perceptions of disease, immunisations and sources of information. The findings are used to help shape and inform future policy and communications with parents.
We also conduct a regular survey among general practitioners, practice nurses and health visitors on child immunisation. This research aims to gauge their information and training needs, what advice is given to parents and any personal concerns they may have. Feedback from these surveys helps us to better understand and respond to issues on the immunisation programme that health professionals may have.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on improving healthcare providers’ levels of compliance with JCVI guidance. [201845]
Dawn Primarolo: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation discuss data on the uptake of vaccines in the routine national programme at every meeting. This data is published by PCT in the annual national statistics “NHS Immunisation Statistics England”.
Olympics
Ipsos MORI
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what payments her Office made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes. [194317]
Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport on 14 March 2008, Official Report, column 650W.
Olympic Games 2012
Harry Cohen: To ask the Minister for the Olympics which stakeholders were consulted prior to the publication of the Olympic Legacy Action Plan. [202684]
Tessa Jowell: The Legacy Action Plan has been developed in close consultation with a side range of stakeholders including:
Arts Council England
British Council
British Olympic Association
British Paralympics Association
Construction Skills
Commission for a Sustainable London 2012
Design for London
Greater London Authority
5 London 2012 Host Boroughs (Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest)
Job Centre Plus
Learning and Skills Council
London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
London Development Agency
London Thames Gateway Development Corporation
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
Olympic Delivery Authority
Overseas Development Institute
People 1st
PODIUM
The Royal Parks
Sector Skills Development Agency
Skills Active
Skills Set
Sport England
UK Film Council
UK School Games
UK Sport
UK Trade and Investment
Visit Britain
Youth Sport Trust
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Department for Communities and Local Government
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Foreign and Commonwealth
Department for Health
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Department for International Development
Department for Transport
Department for Work and Pensions
HM Treasury
Home Office
Office for the Third Sector
We also conducted quantitative and qualitative research, including the consultation of a UK-wide sample of 2,315 adults.
Olympic Games 2012: Ceremonies
Lyn Brown: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what role she plans for local community dance groups in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. [203111]
Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) will be developing its plans for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in due course. It is too early to say which organisations will take part in these events in four years’ time. However, the Cultural Olympiad provides opportunities for local community dance groups to take part in and enjoy the London games in the run up to and including 2012. Information and opportunities for involvement will be highlighted on the London 2012 website:
Olympic Games 2012: Education
Harry Cohen: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will consider the merits of creating an out-of-classroom education facility as part of the 2012 Olympic legacy programme. [202686]
Tessa Jowell: Education provision will be considered as part of the Legacy Masterplan Framework (LMF) work programme, and the Government continue to consider a range of possibilities for an educational legacy, including an out-of-classroom education facility.
The sustainable legacy for the Olympic Park site and surrounding communities will include new housing; sporting, retail and entertainment facilities; and supporting social infrastructure, including educational facilities. The London Development Agency (as interim legacy client) and Olympic Delivery Authority are working with partners including Government, the host boroughs and local communities to produce the LMF by early 2009, which will set out a vision for the Olympic Park, and the broad provision of facilities and infrastructure within it.
Olympic Games: China
Harry Cohen: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what recent representations the Government has made to the International Olympic Committee on China’s commitments relating to improvements in human rights and democracy with regard to the hosting of the Olympic Games in Beijing. [201899]
Tessa Jowell: The Government’s priority is to raise human rights concerns directly with the Chinese Government, both bilaterally and through the European Union, not through the IOC. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary discussed human rights during their respective visits to China in January and February. I raised human rights, and, in particular, media freedom during my visit to China in November 2007, and during Chinese Vice Minister Cai Mingzhao’s visit to the UK in March 2008.
When I visited China in September 2006, I strongly encouraged the Chinese Government to consider a liberalisation of media regulations. On 1 January 2007 the Chinese Government temporarily lifted restrictions on travel and the requirement to seek official permission for interviews for foreign journalists, up to and during the 2008 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. We hope these regulations will be fully implemented in all regions and that they will remain in place after the games and be extended to China’s domestic journalists. We have urged China to consider this.
Duchy of Lancaster
Cycling
Rob Marris: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s non-departmental public bodies provide (i) tax-free benefits and (ii) other allowances for their staff to purchase bicycles under the Cycle to Work scheme; and if he will make a statement. [197629]
Mr. Watson: Cabinet Office supports the use of green transport and offers an interest free advance of salary to purchase bicycles and accessories to its staff.
National Archives: Consolidated Communications
Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what payments National Archives made to Consolidated Communications in each of the last five years; and on what date and for what purpose in each case. [202288]
Mr. Wills: I have been asked to reply.
Consolidated Communications has undertaken work for The National Archives on one occasion over the last five years. A total of £13,672.20 (excluding VAT) was paid for work between July and December 2006 undertaken to support the launch of “Living Information: A New Vision for The National Archives” in July 2007. They were paid in three instalments between November 2006 and May 2007.
Voluntary Work
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will hold discussions with Volunteering England over the proposal in the Goldsmith Report on Citizenship: Our Common Bond to offer council tax rebates for volunteering activities; [202500]
(2) if he will hold discussions with the National Union of Students on the proposal in the Goldsmith Report on Citizenship: Our Common Bond to reduce university fees for students who volunteer. [202501]
Phil Hope: The Government welcome the recommendations made by Lord Goldsmith in Citizenship: Our Common Bond. We are interested in his proposals to encourage and support volunteering. Officials within the Cabinet Office will consider the recommendations, consulting with other Government Departments and stakeholders, such as Volunteering England and the National Union of Students, as appropriate.
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Cycling
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s non-departmental public bodies provide (i) tax-free benefits and (ii) other allowances for their staff to purchase bicycles under the Cycle to Work scheme; and if he will make a statement. [198770]
Mr. Lammy: Although the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills does not offer the Cycle to Work scheme it does offer an alternative scheme to its employees. This scheme also supports employees in taking greener journeys, by enabling employees to purchase a bike. This arrangement does not extend to the Department’s non-departmental public bodies.
Neither the Department nor its non-departmental public bodies offer any other tax free benefits in kind to employees. The same tax rules apply to benefits in kind provided to employees of Government Departments as to any other employee.
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