| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
15 July 2009 : Column 511W—continued
Information on machines held in our overseas offices is not held centrally, and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
The number of fax machines has declined in recent years, as we increasingly rely on e-mail. Scanners are mainly used in relation to our electronic document management system.
Departmental Information Officers
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost to his Department of (a) press officers and (b) other press office staff has been in each year since 1997. [283062]
Mr. Michael Foster: The cost of press office staff salaries in 2008-09 was £940,154 and for 2007-08 was £648,516; this includes permanent and agency staff. The other requested information was provided in the answer on 21 April 2008, Official Report , column 1426W.
Departmental Procurement
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what changes have been made to his Department's (a) office equipment and (b) stationery purchasing policy in the last six months. [285315]
Mr. Michael Foster: There have been no changes to the Department for International Development's office equipment or stationery purchasing policy in the last six months.
Developing Countries
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the terms of recruitment and retention for the cadre of 1,000 civilians that his Department is proposing to utilise in unstable environments will be. [285400]
Mr. Michael Foster: The cadre will comprise 200 civil servants, forming the Civil Service Stabilisation Cadre (CSSC), and 800 deployable civilian experts (DCEs) from outside the civil service.
The CSSC members will remain as part of their home departments when they are on the cadre. If they are selected for a deployment overseas they will seconded to the stabilisation unit for the duration of the deployment, after which they will return to their home department.
DCEs will be recruited and remain on the database on a voluntary basis. No financial retainers will be paid. Regular communication with them will establish their continued availability and willingness to deploy.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development under what process individuals may volunteer to work for the Globalisation Unit which will undertake work in unstable environments. [285401]
Mr. Michael Foster: Individuals can apply to be part of the Stabilisation Unit's civilian capability by making an application via the Stabilisation Unit website at
The cadre is made up of civil servants who can apply to the Civil Service Stabilisation Cadre (CSSC) and those from outside the civil service who can apply to be a deployable civilian expert (DCE). If accepted onto the roster, candidates will be considered for specific deployments.
Overseas Aid
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the oral statement of 6 June 2009, Official Report, columns 701-04, on his Department's White Paper, what percentage of his Department's budget will be allocated to (a) budget aid, (b) project aid and (c) funding multilateral institutions in each year covered by the White Paper. [285395]
Mr. Michael Foster: Details on the Department for International Development's (DFID) spending plans to 2010-11 will be included its annual report due to be published before the summer recess. This will be made available in the Library of the House and on the DFID website:
Palestinians: Overseas Aid
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department has (a) committed to and (b) spent in Gaza in 2009-10. [286687]
Mr. Michael Foster: The total budget currently allocated for the Occupied Palestinian Territories for this financial year is £67 million.
In the first three months of 2009-10, the Department for International Development (DFID) has spent approximately £6 million in Gaza on support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other organisations providing humanitarian assistance.
A further £5.5 million is in the pipeline for Gaza, including a payment that we will soon make to the Palestinian Authority (PA) through the World Bank Trust Fund. This will help pay teachers, doctors and engineers, and keep basic services running. In addition, this financial year we expect to spend a further £7.6 million on early recovery assistance in Gaza.
We have earmarked the remaining £20 million for reconstruction when access restrictions are eased and it is possible for projects to start.
Since the political situation in Gaza remains fluid, we cannot give exact figures on how much will be spent this year. However, we aim to maintain flexibility so that we can respond at short notice if possible. The amount of further support to the PA for this financial year, which would also benefit Gaza, is still to be decided.
Remittances
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the cost of foreign nationals sending home remittances; and if he will make a statement. [285396]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID) White Paper published on 6 July 2009 and available in the Library of the House and on the DFID website
outlines our new commitments on remittances.
DFID will work with the World Bank co-ordinated Global Remittances Working Group, set up by the G8 this year. We also have a number of country partnerships focused on reducing costs and developing new products for remittances.
Zimbabwe: Overseas Aid
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department plans to take to monitor whether aid recently allocated by his Department to Zimbabwe reaches its intended recipients. [285369]
Mr. Thomas: All UK bilateral assistance to Zimbabwe is provided through trusted partners, mainly the United Nations and non-governmental organisations who have robust monitoring and financial accounting systems to ensure aid reaches its intended recipients. In addition, we review all our contributions regularly to ensure our funds meet the objectives for which they were intended. This is done through quarterly reporting and annual reviews in addition to field visits.
We do not pass funds directly to the Government of Zimbabwe or through the government financial management system, nor do we make payments to partners through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments: Alcohol
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) people, (b) under 18 year olds, (c) under 16 year olds and (d) under 12 year olds (i) attended and (ii) were admitted via accident and emergency departments for excessive consumption of alcohol in each primary care trust area in England in each year since 1997-98. [285525]
Gillian Merron: The information for alcohol-related attendances at accident and emergency departments is not collected centrally. Information on alcohol-related hospital admissions is collected centrally. Tables which show the number of alcohol-related hospital admissions via accident and emergency departments has been placed in the Library. These relate to numbers of admissions rather than individuals.
A small proportion of alcohol-related hospital admissions relate to chronic conditions which, based on research evidence, are attributed to alcohol consumption within the Government's lower risk guidelines for regular consumption.
It should be noted that information on alcohol-related hospital admissions is only available for the years 2002-03 to 2007-08 and that because of patient confidentiality data for under 18s have not been broken down into the age groups requested. Additionally, primary care trust boundaries changed between 2005-06 and 2006-07, so separate tables have been provided for the two periods.
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many minors received treatment for alcohol addiction in each primary care trust area within the ceremonial county of Hampshire in each of the last five years; and what estimate his Department has made of the average cost per patient of treatment for alcohol addiction in each such year. [286279]
Gillian Merron: Information about the number of minors receiving treatment for alcohol addiction is not collected centrally. Therefore, the Department is unable to estimate the average cost per patient of treatment for alcohol addiction.
Carers
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State, Department of Health on 11 June 2009, Official Report, column 976, on carers, what the basis is of his Department's estimate of the number of carers in England. [285939]
Phil Hope: The main source of information that the Department uses for the number of carers is the 2001 Census.
Nomis, a web-based database, run by the university of Durham on behalf of the Office for National Statistics, shows that there were 4.85 million carers in England.
We recognise the importance of having up-to-date information on carers. That is why we have recommended to Parliament that a question on carers is included in the 2011 Census. This will provide a 10-year comparison with 2001 for the number of carers in each local area and the number of hours of care they provide.
Dental Services: Waiting Lists
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for (a) initial orthodontic assessment and (b) subsequent orthodontic treatment was in the North East region in each of the last five years. [286247]
Ann Keen: The following tables show the median in-patient waiting time for elective admission in weeks for oral surgery, orthodontics between the time periods shown (table 1) and the median out-patient waiting time for a first out-patient appointment in weeks for the time periods shown (table 2).
| Table 1: In-patient commissioner hospital-based waiting list statistics: specialties-oral surgery, orthodontics | |||||||
| Weeks | |||||||
| Month ending | |||||||
| Area | Specialty | March 2003 | March 2004 | March 2005 | March 2006 | March 2007 | September 2007 |
| n/a = No orthodontic waiters were declared for the time periods specified. Notes: 1. Figures are shown for organisations that existed at the time. 2. In-patient waiting times are measured from decision to admit by the consultant to admission to hospital. 3. The last time this data was collected was for period ending September 2007. 4. Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits. 5. In particular, specialties with low numbers waiting are prone to fluctuations in the median. This should be taken into account when interpreting the data. Source: Department of Health Waiting List Collections QF01 and MMRCOM. | |||||||
| Table 2: Median out-patient waiting time for first out-patient appointment not seen, 2005-07 (commissioner-based), out-patient commissioner hospital-based waiting list statistics: specialties-oral surgery, orthodontics | |||||
| Weeks | |||||
| Month ending | |||||
| Area | Specialty | March 2005 | March 2006 | March 2007 | September 2007 |
| n/a = No orthodontic waiters were declared for the time periods specified or there were very low numbers. Notes: 1. Figures are shown for organisations that existed at the time. 2. Out-patient waiting times are measured from referral by the general practitioner (GP) to first out-patient appointment to the consultant. 3. From 2004-05 all timebands for out-patients not seen were first collected so only average waiting first out-patient times can be made from this point in time. 4. The last time this data was collected was for period ending September 2007. 5. Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits. In particular, specialties with low numbers waiting are prone to fluctuations in the median. This should be taken into account when interpreting the data. Source: Department of Health Waiting List Collections QM08R and MMRCOM. | |||||
From 1 January 2009, no one should wait more than 18 weeks from the time they are referred by their GP or dentist to start of their consultant-led treatment unless it is clinically appropriate to do so or they choose to
wait longer. The 18-week commitment covers pathways that involve or might involve consultant-led care, including orthodontics, which is now recorded under the oral surgery speciality.
Latest data show that since January 2009, the national health service has been delivering the operating standards for 18 weeks to ensure that no one should wait more than 18 weeks from the time they are referred to the start of their consultant-led treatment, unless it is clinically appropriate to do so or they choose to wait longer.
Departmental Contracts
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the standard of service provided to his Department and its agencies by contractors appointed by reverse auction. [285219]
Phil Hope: The Department and its two executive agencies, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, do not use reverse auctions as part of procurements within their own budgets.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |