| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Apr 2009 : Column 438W—continued
Regional Government: Finance
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 6 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1885-86W, on joint economic commission, what funding has been given to each regional economic commission; what the remit of each is; who the members of each are; and how each was appointed. [268730]
Mr. Khan:
As part of the Government’s response to the economic downturn, the Ministers for each English
region have established regional economic fora, which they co-chair with the chair of the regional development agenda. These short-term, ad hoc advisory groups, whose members are unpaid, have no dedicated budgets and are supported by secretariats provided by their Government offices. The members come from a variety of bodies with an interest in the regional economy, including public sector bodies, local authorities, business organisations, unions and the third sector and were invited to take part in the meetings by the co-chairs of the fora.
Details of the remits and members of each forum have been placed in the Library.
Sheltered Housing
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in each (a) region and (b) local authority area (i) live in and (ii) are on a waiting list for sheltered accommodation. [268472]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information is collected on sheltered housing schemes for older people that are in receipt of Supporting People funding. The information collected does not include a count of people but shows the number of household units that can be accommodated in the sheltered housing. A household unit can be one or more persons. A table has been placed in the Library which includes the number of household units that can be accommodated in such sheltered housing services, by region and administering authority area as at 31 December 2008.
No information is collected centrally on waiting lists for sheltered accommodation.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many sheltered accommodation (a) units and (b) schemes there are in each (i) region and (ii) local authority area. [268473]
Mr. Iain Wright: Information is collected on sheltered housing schemes for older people that are in receipt of Supporting People funding. The information collected includes the number of household units that can be accommodated in the sheltered housing. A household unit can be one or more persons.
A table has been placed in the Library showing (a) the number of household units that can be accommodated and (b) the number of sheltered housing services for older people in receipt of Supporting People funding as at 31st December 2008, by region and administering authority area.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department issues to local authorities on the employment of wardens and care workers in sheltered accommodation schemes. [268474]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not issue any guidance on the employment of wardens and care workers in sheltered accommodation.
However Communities and Local Government has recently refreshed the Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) which is a voluntary scheme that sets out the standards expected in the delivery of housing-related support services, including staff quality and competence—although not mandatory, the majority of administering authorities continue to use the QAF to continue to drive up the quality standards of service providers and to ensure that services adapt to meet the changing needs of clients.
Social Rented Housing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many social homes there are expected to be in (a) London, (b) Birmingham, (c) Liverpool, (d) Leeds, (e) Sheffield, (f) Bristol, (g) Manchester, (h) Leicester, (i) Coventry, (j) Kingston upon Hull, (k) Bradford, (l ) Stoke-on-Trent, (m) Wolverhampton, (n) Nottingham, (o) Plymouth, (p) Southampton, (q) Reading, (r) Derby, (s) Dudley and (t) Newcastle upon Tyne in 2010; [268570]
(2) how many social homes there were in (a) London, (b) Birmingham, (c) Liverpool, (d) Leeds, (e) Sheffield, (f) Bristol, (g) Manchester, (h) Leicester, (i) Coventry, (j) Kingston upon Hull, (k) Bradford, (l ) Stoke-on-Trent, (m) Wolverhampton, (n) Nottingham, (o) Plymouth, (p) Southampton, (q) Reading, (r) Derby, (s) Dudley and (t) Newcastle upon Tyne in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008; and how many there were on 1 March 2009. [268572]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather) on 2 April 2009, Official Report, column 1510W. A table has already been placed in the Library to provide the number of social homes owned by local authorities and registered social landlords in 2008, for every local authority area.
A new table showing the number of social homes owned by local authority and registered social landlords in 2007, for every local authority area has been deposited in the Library.
Information on local authority (LA) owned housing stock is collected from local authorities on the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) return. This information is recorded as at 1 April and is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 116 at:
Information on Registered Social Landlords’ (RSL) stock is collected through the Tenant Services Authority’s Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR) and is recorded as at 31 March.
Figures for RSLs are for social housing stock owned in England only and include general needs, supported housing and housing for older people accommodation. Both self-contained units and bed spaces are included because a split for local authority areas is not available.
Information is not available for the expected number of social homes in 2010 or for the number of social homes on 1 March 2009.
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance the Tenant Services Authority gives to housing associations in respect of the affordability to tenants of rent increases. [269061]
Mr. Iain Wright: On 29 January 2009, the Tenant Services Authority issued a guidance note to housing associations entitled “Guideline limit for rent increases”—it can be found on their website at:
The guidance note refers to a circular (04/08) from the former Housing Corporation entitled “Rent, Rent Differentials and Service Charges”. This is available to download at:
Travelling People: Caravan Sites
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many responses to its consultation on Traveller sites the South East England regional assembly has rejected because the views in the response are considered by the Assembly to be discriminatory. [268153]
Mr. Iain Wright: The regional assembly held this consultation and took decisions on how to treat responses. It has not yet submitted the outcome to the Secretary of State.
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking on the provision of sites for Travellers in those districts adjoining Sevenoaks district council. [269751]
Mr. Khan: The provision of pitches for the Gypsy and Traveller community throughout the south-east of England is currently being reviewed as part of the region’s spatial strategy. The review is being undertaken by the South East England regional assembly, as the regional planning body. The next stage in the Gypsy and Travellers regional spatial strategy review will be a public consultation, followed some months later by an examination in public.
Health
Abortion
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of abortions which will take place in each year to 2015; and if he will make a statement. [268524]
Dawn Primarolo: No assessment has been made of the number of abortions which will take place in each year to 2015. The reasons women seek an abortion are complex and may be subject to a number of different factors, and this means that it is very difficult to formulate robust estimates.
Abortion: Costs
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost to the NHS was of providing abortions up to nine weeks of pregnancy in the latest period for which figures are available. [268588]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost to the NHS was of providing morning-after pills in the latest period for which figures are available. [268589]
Dawn Primarolo: The cost of emergency contraception (morning after pills) for the latest period for which figures are available is given in the following table. The cost is for drugs listed in the British National Formulary (BNF) under paragraph 7.3.5, emergency contraception.
This figure is taken from the prescription cost analysis system, supplied by the prescription pricing division of the Business Services Authority, and covers prescriptions dispensed in England. It is based on an analysis of prescriptions dispensed in the community i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospitals (including mental health trusts), private prescriptions, or community contraceptive services.
| £000 | |
Cost is the net ingredient cost and is given in thousands.
Accident and Emergency Departments: Death
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the causes of death at accident and emergency departments in (a) England and (b) the North East in each of the last 10 years. [268362]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested is not collected centrally. The hon. Member may wish to approach local national health service organisations for further information.
Alcoholic Drinks: Health Education
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to inform people of the effects on health of excessive alcohol consumption in (a) England, (b) the North East and (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency. [268356]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department has invested £6 million per year in a national communications campaign, launched in May 2008, to improve the public's understanding of units of alcohol and alcohol related health harm. The campaign's purpose is to give clear information about how many units are in alcoholic drinks and to raise awareness of the risks to health of regularly drinking too much. Its messages are being released across television, press, outdoor, radio and on-line channels.
We intend that this campaign should be sustained over a number of years. The key tasks in 2009-10 will be to optimise the unit messaging, by continuing to focus on the recommended unit guidelines and to communicate the health risks associated with drinking regularly in excess of these guidelines through media channels such as television and print.
We also provide web-based support and advice and an enhanced helpline available nationally.
We have recently completed an innovative pilot to target information to neighbourhoods, individuals and their families and encourage those most affected to seek advice and support, including help from health professionals locally. Initial results are promising and development work will continue in 2009. The aim is to develop an evidence base for effective local action by national health service bodies.
The north-east has launched a regional alcohol office, which is committed to changing the drinking culture in the north-east by informing, influencing and educating people about the health and other dangers caused by alcohol misuse, both to themselves as individuals and to the wider community and by encouraging evidence-based NHS interventions.
Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust has received £150,000 in additional funding in 2008-09, as an Early Implementer of the Alcohol Improvement Programme, to implement high impact changes and other measures, which will address health problems caused by alcohol misuse. This includes providing £32,000 funding for extra identification and brief advice sessions in hospitals, accident and emergency departments, and primary care.
Ambulance Services: Airwave Service
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish each document concerning Airwave which he has sent to ambulance trusts since November 2008. [267881]
Mr. Bradshaw: No formal documentation has been issued to ambulance trusts with regards to Airwave although regular communication takes place between the Department and ambulance trusts; this includes planning documentation related to the implementation of the radio project and regular reports to ambulance chief executives on progress to date.
Antidepressants
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many prescriptions for each selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor were dispensed in each of the last five years; and how many were dispensed to persons aged over 65 years; [269729]
(2) how many prescriptions for each selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor were dispensed to persons aged (a) under 10, (b) 10 to 15 and (c) 16 to 25 years in each of the last five years. [269731]
Phil Hope: The number of items of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) dispensed in England is available by calendar year from the Prescribing Cost Analysis database.
The number of items dispensed for each formulation is given in the following table.
| Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) prescription items dispensed in the community in England, 2003 to 2007 | |||||
| Thousand | |||||
| Drug name | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| (1) Totals may not match individually aggregated figures due to rounding. Notes: 1. SSRI drugs listed are those classified within the British National Formulary paragraph 4.3.3. 2. Information is not available on the age of a person receiving a particular drug or group of drugs. Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system | |||||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |