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19 Nov 2008 : Column 510W—continued
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith) of 4 November 2008, Official Report, column 343W, on local authorities: bank services, if she will place in the Library the advice to local authorities from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance. [235865]
John Healey: I will arrange for a copy of the advice to local authorities from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy to be placed in the Library.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department's predecessor made of the amount of unrecovered deposits by local authorities in the former Bank of Credit and Commerce International, expressed as a proportion of all local authority deposits in 1991-92. [236129]
John Healey: According to the liquidators' website at:
admitted creditors of BCCI will have received 86.5 per cent. of their claims by December 2008.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the level of exposure of each local authority to Icelandic banks is. [236219]
John Healey: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) on 6 November, 2008 Official Report, column 724W.
Local Government: Elections
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the likely effect on voter turnout of the decision to hold the forthcoming English local elections and elections to the European Parliament on the same date. [235802]
John Healey: When taking the decisions, approved by Parliament, to hold the 2009 English local elections and European Parliament elections on the same date, we had regard to the evidence which showed that the turnout for the combined local and European elections in 2004, was significantly higher than the turnout for the previous equivalent elections which were not combined. For the European elections in 2004, the voter turnout was 38.5 per cent. compared to 24 per cent. in the previous European elections in 1999. For the 2004 district council elections, turnout was 41 per cent. compared to 30 per cent. for the previous equivalent district elections held in 2000.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the likely effect on public expenditure of the decision to hold the forthcoming English local elections and elections to the European Parliament on the same date; and what plans have been made on the use of any savings accruing from that decision. [235803]
John Healey: While it is difficult to provide an accurate estimate of such savings, the indications are that savings in the region of £10 million could result from holding the English local elections and elections to the European Parliament on the same day. To the extent that the costs of the European elections are reduced, this will be reflected in a lower call on the Consolidated Fund, while any reduction in the costs of local elections will reduce the call on councils' own resources.
Local Government: Reorganisation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department takes to consult representatives of the historic counties when taking decisions on unitary authorities. [235800]
John Healey: The Association of British Counties, which promotes the historic counties, have made representations to us during our consideration of councils’ unitary proposals and the current implementation of the nine new unitary councils approved by Parliament.
Non-Domestic Rates: Ports
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her assessment is of the impact of retrospective changes to business rates on the port of Liverpool on employment and economic activity in Merseyside; and if she will make a statement. [237303]
John Healey: There is a concern for businesses in the current economic climate receiving large backdated rated liabilities that have to be paid immediately, as the position for a number of port occupiers has demonstrated. We are looking urgently at options for mitigating the financial impact on businesses facing immediate payment of such significant backdated liabilities.
Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 30 October 2008, Official Report, column 1284W, on non-domestic rates: valuation, how many sub-locations there are in each billing authority area in England. [236033]
John Healey: The information requested cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.
Racial Harassment
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints of racial abuse relating to staff for which her Department is responsible have been (a) investigated and (b) upheld in the last 12 months. [236890]
Mr. Khan: There been no formal complaints of racial abuse relating to staff in the Department in the last 12 months.
Robert Tym Partnership
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the Robert Tym Partnership to present its report on council tax and empty properties to her Department. [236190]
John Healey: I expect this in due course.
Severn Barrage
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she has held discussions with the insurance industry on the effects on levels of home insurance of the potential flooding arising from the construction of a Severn Barrage. [235335]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
Assessment of impacts on flood risk is an integral part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) commissioned by the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study. Should this Study proceed following internal review, further work will be undertaken to better understand the impacts on flood risk, land drainage and ground water levels arising from the construction of the short listed tidal power options for the Severn Estuary.
Small Businesses: Tax Allowances
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of (a) the number of firms that have taken up small business rate relief and (b) the reduction in business rate revenue attributable to the relief in the latest period for which figures are available. [235970]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 11 December 2007, Official Report, column 559W, and on 3 November 2008, Official Report, column 132W.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate she has made of the take-up rate of small business rate relief. [235971]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 13 December 2007, Official Report, column 901W.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 30 October 2008, Official Report, column 1284W, on small business rates: tax allowances, if she will place in the Library a copy of the business rates information letter dated 19th September 2008. [236026]
John Healey: All business rates information letters are available on the Department's website at the following internet address:
The letter in question can be found at the following address:
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what procedure small firms will have to follow to claim the proposed exemption from supplementary business rates. [236092]
John Healey: The Government are consulting on technical issues before finalising detailed arrangements.
Travelling People
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many cases there have been of Green Belt land being released in order to build publicly-owned Gypsy and Traveller sites in the last 10 years. [237750]
Mr. Iain Wright: We do not hold information on the release through the development plan process of Green Belt land for Gypsy and Traveller sites.
Valuation Office: Databases
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 6 November 2008, Official Report, column 684W, on Valuation Office: databases, what the 2008-09 budget for the database alignment exercise is; and whether the budget includes payments to Ordnance Survey. [236022]
John Healey: The database alignment exercise is being undertaken by Ordnance Survey. No payments are being made to Ordinance Survey for the alignment work.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Learning Disability
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with a learning disability received NHS treatment for (a) alcohol and (b) drug abuse in the last five years. [236826]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not collected centrally.
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of children and young people who have parents with alcohol use problems. [237041]
Dawn Primarolo: The Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England, published in March 2004, estimated 1.3 million children were living with at least one parent who misused alcohol. A copy of the strategy has already been placed in the Library.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the level of primary care trust spending on services to reduce alcohol harm. [237160]
Dawn Primarolo: Data on national health service spend on alcohol interventions are not collected, however, in 2005 the Alcohol Needs Assessment Research Project reported that the NHS in England, in 2003-04, spent an estimated £217 million on alcohol interventions. An extra £15 million in additional funding has been included within primary care trusts (PCTs) general allocations from 2007-08 to improve alcohol interventions.
Additionally, the National Audit Office have carried out an audit of NHS spend on alcohol interventions. Their report, “Reducing Alcohol Harm: health services in England for alcohol misuse”, was published in November 2008 and found, that where primary care trust expenditure on alcohol services was known, an average of £600,000 was spent on commissioning alcohol services in 2006-07. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.
Care Homes: Injuries
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance his Department provides on manual handling in order to minimise the risk of bruising to care home residents or persons in other care settings; [234839]
(2) what research his Department has commissioned on and what assessment it has made of the reasons for bruising of residents of care homes and persons in other care settings; [234840]
(3) what standards his Department has set for the (a) monitoring and (b) reporting of bruising caused to care home residents. [234841]
Phil Hope: All health and care providers must ensure compliance with the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.
The Care Homes Regulations 2001 and the Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations 2002 require care providers to make suitable arrangements to provide a safe system for moving and handling service users.
The National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Younger Adults, Older People and Domiciliary Care Agencies require care managers to ensure safe working practices, including moving and handling and use of techniques for moving people and objects that avoid injury to services users or staff.
The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), as the regulator, will require registered care providers to adhere to the relevant regulations on lifting and handling and to ensure that staff are trained and updated in appropriate techniques and on how to use equipment by an accredited trainer, and for equipment to be maintained at intervals recommended by the manufacturer.
The Department has not commissioned research into bruising of residents in care settings and does not specifically require bruising to be monitored or reported. However, Regulation 37 of the Care Homes Regulations requires care homes to keep records of and notify CSCI without delay of the death of, serious injury to and any event in the care home which adversely affects the well-being or safety of any service user. CSCI inspectors assess and view these records.
CSCI issues guidance logs to care providers on the CSCI Professionals website at:
These include guidance as to procedures CSCI would advise or expect to see in terms of manual handling in a care home.
Guidance on lifting and handling is also available on the Social Care Institute for Excellence website at:
Through the National Carers Strategy, launched in June 2008, the “Caring with Confidence” programme has been established as a training programme for carers, with the first training delivered in August 2008 and distance-training modules available from January 2009. It is being run by a consortium, led by the Expert Patients Programme, and also includes the three main carers organisations—Carers UK, Crossroads and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers—and Partners in Policymaking. There is £4.4 million a year to fund the training programme, which will cover a range of issues, including lifting and handling.
Care Homes: Inspections
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures relating to infection control form part of the Commission for Social Care Inspection’s care home inspection programme; and if he will make a statement. [237040]
Phil Hope: Providers of registered care services are responsible of the health and welfare of people using their services. The Care Homes Regulations 2001 require care homes to make suitable arrangements to prevent infection, toxic conditions and the spread of infection, and to maintain standards of hygiene. The national minimum standards (NMS) for care homes reinforce these requirements. The NMS relating to infection control are key standards; the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) will always refer to them during a key inspection.
CSCI requires providers to report on the performance of their service annually. This includes specific questions about infection control. If the previous performance of the home gives rise to concerns, or CSCI has received information which raises particular issues, then it will focus on these areas during an inspection.
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