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29 Jan 2010 : Column 1145W—continued
Government Departments: Hotels
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 21 July 2009, Official Report, column 1353W, on public sector: hospitality, if he will place in the Library a full copy of the summary data on bookings made under the contract Buying Solutions has with Expotel. [312458]
Ian Pearson: It is for the relevant public sector body to account for their use of the Expotel contract.
Government Departments: Procurement
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much and what proportion of Government expenditure on goods and services was directed through framework agreements drawn up with the assistance of the Office of Government Commerce in the last 12 months; and what requirements there are on (a) Departments, (b) executive agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies to procure goods and services through such framework agreements. [312164]
Mr. Byrne: The Operational Efficiency Programme published at Budget 2009 required Departments, their executive agencies and NDPBs to comply with the requirements of category strategies ratified by the collaborative procurement programme for 80 per cent. of available expenditure. In the year to December 2009, £17.9 billion of Government expenditure complied with such strategies. This included a large element of spend channelled through framework agreements drawn up by professional buying organisations (PBOs), the largest of which is Buying Solutions, an executive agency of OGC. In the same period Buying Solutions reported £5.9 billion of spend through its frameworks.
Local Government: Pay
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government's policy that public sector posts over £150,000 will require his Department's explicit approval will apply to local government chief executives. [311659]
Mr. Byrne: The 2009 pre-Budget report announced a set of fundamental reforms to pay-setting for senior staff, including:
"New scrutiny of pay levels above £150,000: the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will approve pay levels in excess of £150,000 for all civil service appointments and appointments to public sector bodies which are subject to Ministerial approval. This will also apply to all bonus payments of over £50,000 where Ministerial sign-off is needed. For public sector bodies where Ministerial approval is not required, the Government expects all organisations making senior managerial appointments in excess of £150,000 to publicly justify this level, and any bonus in excess of £50,000, to the relevant Secretary of State."
For local government chief executives, the Government expect that any senior appointment in excess of £150,000 will have to be publicly justified to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
Non-domestic Rates: Aerials
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 7 July 2009, Official Report, column 779W, on non-domestic rates, how many mobile telephone masts in each local authority area are on the 2010 Rating List. [311825]
Ian Pearson: Mobile telephone masts are recorded for statistical purposes as in the category of 'communication stations', SCAT Code 066. This category includes other communication masts as well as mobile telephone masts. Data relating to mobile telephone masts only are not held and a further breakdown of these statistics is not therefore possible.
Smuggling: Northern Ireland
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what quantity of illegal (a) cigarettes, (b) spirits, (c) diesel, (d) petrol and (e) counterfeit goods was recovered in Northern Ireland in each of the last two years. [313678]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The figures for the last two years are shown in the following table. HMRC record diesel and petrol together, so the oils figure covers both.
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
The pressure we maintain to disrupt illicit supply chains means that fraudsters continually respond by changing their modus operandi and supply routes. That leads to fluctuations in the level seizures we make region by region year and on year.
In relation to the difference between the numbers of counterfeit units seized, the 2007-08 figures include a single exceptional seizure of 21,000 units.
Valuation Office: Freedom of Information
Mr. Stewart Jackson:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time was for the Valuation Office Agency to (a) respond substantively to a Freedom of Information Act 2000 request and (b) complete an
internal review related to such a request in the last 12 months; and whether any (i) requests and (ii) reviews currently being considered have taken longer than six months since they began. [308347]
Ian Pearson: The average time the Valuation Office Agency took to respond to a Freedom of Information Act 2000 request was (a) 15 working days and (b) 47 days to complete an internal review related to such a request in the latest 12 months that statistics have been published on the Ministry of Justice's website (between 1 June 2008 and 30 May 2009); (i) one of the requests has taken longer than six months to respond to; (ii) none of the Internal Reviews took more than six months.
Health
Abortion
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2009, Official Report, column 577W, on abortion, how many abortions there were in women aged (a) under 20, (b) between 20 and 24, (c) between 25 and 29, (d) between 30 and 34 and (e) 35 years old and above in each of the last 10 years (i) for England and (ii) broken down by primary care trust area of residence. [313634]
Gillian Merron: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for people with an alcohol addiction for an appointment with a psychiatric nurse (a) nationally and (b) in each region in the most recent period for which figures are available. [313676]
Gillian Merron: We do not hold this information centrally.
Brain Aneurysms
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment the NHS has made of the effectiveness of coiling treatments for brain aneurysms. [313644]
Ann Keen: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence made an assessment of the effectiveness of coil embolisation in their Interventional Procedure Guidance 106 "Coil Embolisation of Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysms" published in January 2005. This guidance is available at:
Cancer: Health Services
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS of treating non-UK residents for cancer was in (a) the latest period for which figures are available and (b) each of the last five years. [314168]
Gillian Merron: These data are not collected centrally, as due to the nature of the claims system between the United Kingdom and other countries, it is not possible to disaggregate the data by either type of claim or type of treatment. Further, it is not possible to disaggregate centrally held data on cancer treatment provided by the national health service by visitor type.
Chlamydia: Screening
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets were set by his Department for testing under 25 year-olds for chlamydia under the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (a) nationally, (b) in each region and (c) in each primary care trust within London in each of the last five years; what testing levels were achieved; and how much has been spent on the programme to date. [313690]
Gillian Merron: To date there have been four annual indicators set with regards to chlamydia screening/testing. The first related to the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008; the following three indicators were set for each consecutive fiscal year 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2011.
In April 2007, we introduced a national health service local delivery plan data monitoring line (LDP PSA11d). The LDP line measured the proportion of the population aged 15 to 24 years screened for chlamydia through the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP). The expectation set for the LDP was for 15 per cent. of the 15 to 24-year-old resident population in each primary care trust (PCT) to be screened for chlamydia between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008.
In 2008-09 chlamydia was included as a tier two vital signs indicator. This measures the proportion of the 15 to 24-year-old total population tested for chlamydia outside of genito-urinary medicine clinics. In 2008-09 the expectation was for 17 per cent. of the target population to be tested for chlamydia, 25 per cent. in 2009-10 and 35 per cent. in 2010- 11.
Data on the numbers tested in the NCSP, nationally, in each region, in each PCT within London and the testing levels achieved, have been placed in the Library.
The Department does not break down PCT allocations by individual policy areas, at either the national or local level, or monitor how PCTs spend their allocations. It is for PCTs to decide their priorities for investment locally taking in to account both priorities and the national health service operating framework. However, a National Audit office report 'Young people's sexual health: the National Chlamydia Screening Programme', published on 12 November 2009, estimated that between 2003 and 2009, £100 million had been spent on delivering the programme.
Contraceptives: Health Education
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2010, Official Report, column 471W, on contraceptives: health education, what the main areas of estimated advertising expenditure were; how much was spent on each; what the overall non-advertising costs of developing the campaign were; and if he will make a statement. [313631]
Gillian Merron: The answer of 6 January 2010, Official Report, column 471W noted that, estimated advertising expenditure for the November/December burst of activity on the 'Contraception. Worth Talking About' campaign is £1,218,000. Estimated advertising costs for a further burst of activity planned for February 2010 are approximately £1,513,000.
These costs break down as follows
| £ | |
It is not possible to isolate the overall non-advertising costs of developing the contraception. Worth talking about campaign as these costs cover all strands of the Sexual Health and Teenage Pregnancy campaign.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons he commissioned the production of polling data on people's attitudes to pornography to inform his Department's campaign on contraception, as referred to in the papers deposited in the Library pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2010, Official Report, column 472W, on contraception: health education; in what ways these data have been used to inform his Department's campaign; and if he will make a statement. [313633]
Gillian Merron: The development of the 'Sex. Worth Talking' campaign was based on a range of evidence and research. The Department conducted research on current attitudes to sex, relationships and sexual health, to inform the campaign, but the campaign was not informed specifically by research on attitudes to pornography.
Departmental Written Questions
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average time his Department took to answer questions for (a) ordinary written answer and (b) written answer on a named day in the last 12 months. [313668]
Phil Hope: The average time to answer ordinary written questions in 2009 was 7.93 working days and the average time to answer named day questions was 4.64 working days. Average times include days during parliamentary recesses when questions cannot be answered.
With effect from the current session of Parliament, each Department will provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics on the time taken to answer written questions. This implements recommendation 24 of the third report from the Procedure Committee, session 2008-09.
Note:
Working days are days Monday to Friday, including bank holidays.
Diabetes
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people had been diagnosed with diabetes (a) nationally, (b) in each region and (c) in each primary care trust in London in each of the last five years. [313686]
Ann Keen: The national Quality and Outcomes Framework records the number of people recorded on certain practice disease registers in England. A register exists for diabetes and counts are available for the financial years from 2004-05 to 2008-09. The figures are available nationally, by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust.
The number of SHAs changed between 2005-06 and 2006-07. Information for these is given in two separate tables, for the authorities in existence at the time.
The diabetes register will include patients aged 17 years and over with diabetes mellitus. (As the care of children with diabetes mellitus is generally under the control of specialists, the register excludes those patients age 16 and under).
All tables providing this information have been placed in the Library.
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