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2 Dec 2009 : Column 746W—continued
Nurses: Women's Prisons
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses at each grade are employed in female prisons. [302329]
Ann Keen: This category of nursing is not identified separately in the National Health Service Workforce Census. The National Offenders Management Service, part of the Ministry of Justice, would hold such information.
Nursing: Training
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent discussions he has had with the National Union of Students on nursing degrees; and if he will make a statement; [302896]
(2) what recent discussions he has had with student bodies other than the National Union of Students on nursing degrees. [302912]
Ann Keen: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with the National Union of Students on nursing degrees.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council, following wide consultation, announced in September 2008 the principle that there would be a future requirement that the minimum academic level to register as a nurse, for those who train in the United Kingdom, would be a nursing degree.
We strongly support this principle. Following a period of stakeholder engagement, including with the Royal College of Nursing and Unison who both have student nurse membership, we announced on 12 November 2009 that all new nurse pre-registration education programmes in England will become degree-level by 2013.
Organs: Donors
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his Department's press release of 31 July 2009, on the rules on organ transplants to NHS patients and non-UK EU residents, what his most recent assessment is of progress in the banning of private clinical practices in the UK from using solid organs from live donors (a) within and (b) outside the NHS. [302526]
Ann Keen: The Buggins report on the allocation of organs to non UK residents deals only with donations from deceased donors.
We continue to consider the implications for each of the recommendations in the report and have established an implementation group consisting of representatives from the transplant community, NHS blood and transplant, commissioners and others to consider each recommendation and to advise on implementation. The group has met on three occasions, most recently on 23 November. Good progress has been made in this complex area and officials hope to put implementation proposals to their respective Ministers shortly.
Sickle Cell Diseases
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance his Department provides to schools in respect of education on sickle cell anaemia. [302904]
Ann Keen: The main health contact for schools is likely to be a school nurse. The school health service can provide guidance on medical conditions, including sickle cell anaemia; help schools draw up individual health care plans for pupils with medical needs; supplement and augment information provided by parents and the child's general practitioner; and advise on training for school staff in administering medicines and in taking responsibility for other aspects of support.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on raising the level of public awareness of sickle cell disorders in each year since 1997. [302906]
Ann Keen: The Department has funded the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening programme to develop materials for public information (including information on screening, carrier status and a parents' handbook on children with sickle cell disease) and to undertake a number of public outreach projects in areas where there is a high proportion of black and minority ethnic populations who may have difficulties accessing health care services. For the four years, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09, the programme spent a total of more than £2 million. No figures before this are available.
In addition, the Department awarded the Sickle Cell Society a Section 64 grant of £20,000 over two years (2003-04 and 2004-05) for health education. A Third Sector Investment programme project grant of some £258,000 has recently been awarded to the Sickle Cell Society for three years (2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12) for a named National Support Care Advisor for sickle cell disorders.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on services for those with sickle cell anaemia in each year since 1997. [302907]
Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of sickle cell anaemia have been diagnosed in each year since 1997. [302910]
Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.
Skin Piercing: Young People
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which London boroughs have implemented rules prohibiting ear and body piercing for those under the age of 18 years without parental consent; [303052]
(2) what powers local authorities have in respect of the regulation of ear and body piercing for those under the age of 18 years without parental consent; and if he will make a statement. [303053]
Gillian Merron: Local authorities have no specific powers to regulate ear or body piercing of those under the age of 18 years. Ear and body piercing for cosmetic purposes are lawful and there is no statutory minimum age of consent. Minors are able to give valid consent if they are capable of understanding the nature of the act to be done.
Local authorities have powers, under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, to require that businesses offering ear or body piercing are registered with their local authority and observe local byelaws relating to the hygiene of premises, operators and equipment. Local authorities are also responsible for enforcing health and safety at work legislation for such businesses.
The Department does not hold the information requested on the implementation of the London Local Authorities Act 1991 by London local authorities.
South London Healthcare NHS Trust: Standards
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the performance of South London Healthcare NHS Trust. [302593]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
Under the NHS Performance Framework there are four domains against which trusts are assessed; National Standards and Targets, Finance, Quality and Safety and User Experience. Overall, South London Healthcare NHS Trust has been assessed as 'Underperforming' for Quarter 1 of 2009-10. However,
for the category National Standards and Targets, which covers key areas of service performance, it is assessed as 'Performing'.
Stress: Children
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged (a) between five and seven, (b) between seven and 11, (c) between 11 and 14 years old have been seen by a medical professional owing to stress-related conditions in each month of the last three years. [303035]
Ann Keen: That information is not available.
Strokes: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future of stroke services for residents in the London Borough of Bexley; and if he will make a statement. [302591]
Ann Keen: Information on local plans for stroke services is not collected centrally.
Surgery: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future of elective surgery for residents in the London Borough of Bexley; and if he will make a statement. [302590]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: This is a matter for the local national health service.
Home Department
Animal Experiments
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many breaches in (a) project and (b) personal licences occurred at Wickham Laboratories between 2003 and 2008; and if he will provide details in each case. [302812]
Meg Hillier: For security reasons it is not Home Office policy to disclose the compliance record of individual establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Arrest Warrants
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many European arrest warrants have been issued for arresting and bringing to the UK a suspect from each other EU country in each of the last five years. [301813]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 26 November 2009]: The figures for the number of EAWs issued by UK prosecuting authorities and transmitted by the Serious Organised Crime Agency is as follows:
| EAWs Issued | Persons extradited to the UK under the EAW | |
It is not possible from current systems to provide data broken down into the number of EAWs issued by the UK to each member state. This would require a manual examination of all files and incur disproportionate cost.
Asylum
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on allowing asylum seekers to work if they have been waiting longer than six months for a full resolution of an asylum claim. [302157]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 30 November 2009]: It is not the Government's policy to allow asylum seekers to work. The only exception is asylum seekers who have been waiting 12 months for a decision where this delay cannot be attributed to them. Allowing asylum seekers to work in these circumstances is in accordance with the EC Directive on the reception of asylum seekers.
Crimes of Violence: Females
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation was undertaken in Wales as part of his Department's consultation on violence against women. [303260]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The cross-Government consultation Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls was co-ordinated by the Home Office. Officials at the Home Office liaised with key stakeholders from Wales including officials from the Welsh Assembly Government. Wales has its own domestic abuse strategy and will consider the way it responds to all forms of violence against women.
Criminal Records Bureau: Contracts
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the processing of Criminal Records Bureau checks was tendered to the private sector; when the contract with Capita for processing Criminal Records Bureau checks will next be reviewed; and what arrangements have been put in place to ensure that Capita processes such checks in a timely manner. [303637]
Meg Hillier: The Disclosure Service operates as a contract between the Criminal Records Bureau and Capita Business Services based upon a public-private partnership agreement. Under this agreement, Capita is required to perform contractually specified services and to develop, deliver and maintain the technical infrastructure of the Disclosure Service. A contract schedule sets out the service levels for Capita to meet. The current contract expires in 2012.
The decision to tender to the private sector was made following a detailed options analysis. Five options were initially assessed and these were then reduced to two-Contract Crown/private entity for design, build and operation of CRB against a traditional Crown agency. Assessments based on investment appraisal, financial risk, technical/operational risk, performance management, skills and capability and implementation time concluded that a public-private partnership (PPP) approach was the most beneficial option against these criteria.
Drugs
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many farms are licensed to grow opium; how many hectares each licence covers; and how many companies are licensed to harvest the crop. [303032]
Mr. Alan Campbell: A Home Office licence is not required to grow or harvest opium poppy (papaver somniferum). A licence is only required when the opium poppy is processed in any way.
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) acquisitive and (b) sex work-related crime committed which was motivated by the need to raise money to purchase illegal drugs in the latest period for which figures are available. [303033]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Home Office does not routinely estimate the proportion of acquisitive crime or sex work committed which was motivated by the need to raise money for illegal drugs. Drug use, offending, and sex work are often covert activities and the relationship between them can be complex, thus such estimates are likely to be subject to large uncertainties.
The Department has previously commissioned research that shows proportions of drug treatment seekers and police arrestees who have reportedly committed acquisitive crime in order to buy drugs:
Nearly a quarter (22 per cent.) of a nationally representative sample of drug treatment seekers reported offending in order to buy drugs in the four weeks before interview.
Source:
Home Office Research Report 3
12 per cent. of a sample of arrestees said that they had committed crime in order to buy or get hold of drugs. This was much more likely among those who took heroin or crack cocaine once a week, 50 per cent. of whom had committed crime to get drugs compared to 4 per cent. of those who did not take heroin/crack weekly
Source:
Home Office Statistical Bulletin 12/07
There are a number of research studies that have shown that prostitution, especially street based prostitution, is linked to illegal drug misuse. A Home Office evaluation of five projects that aimed to provide support to help women involved in street prostitution to exit, indicated that around nine out of 10 women involved in street based prostitution used drugs, although the findings do not indicate whether the sex work was motivated by the desire to buy drugs
Source:
Home Office Research Study 290
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