| (ii) Per mile of road | ||||||
| £000 | ||||||
| Financial year | Suffolk | Bedfordshire | Cambridgeshire | Essex | Hertfordshire | Norfolk |
| (iii) Per head of population | ||||||
| £ | ||||||
| Financial year | Suffolk | Bedfordshire | Cambridgeshire | Essex | Hertfordshire | Norfolk |
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) agencies and (b) non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible sell information on a commercial basis to (i) companies or individuals in the private sector and (ii) other organisations. [313227]
Meg Hillier: The agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which the Home Office is responsible make most of their general information available free, via publications or their websites (subject to relevant copyright provisions). Where applicable, most Crown copyright information is available for free re-use under the PSI Click-Use Licence. In common with Government policy, some information is sold as priced publications.
Of the agencies for which the Home Office is responsible, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) provides criminal record information to private companies and other organisations for the purposes of pre-employment checks under Part V of the Police Act 1997. A fee is payable to cover the cost of this service, as provided for in the Act.
In addition, the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) provides a call centre service to accredited private sector organisations to check the validity of passports presented to their business as evidence of identity. IPS does not sell personal data to the organisations; it merely confirms the validity of passport information provided by the
organisation. The IPS also provides access to passport records to accredited public sector organisations for the purposes of confirming identity, nationality and/or the validation of a British passport. IPS charges organisations in order to recover the costs incurred in providing these services.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) benchmarking and (b) auditing will be undertaken by his Department to ensure that ex-service personnel amputees receive the same follow-up management of their prostheses in the NHS as they did in the armed forces. [309989]
Mr. Kevan Jones: My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Health informed the House on 11 January 2010, Official Report, column 15WS, that:
“a package of measures will be put in place across the NHS to support the increased number of service personnel who have received serious injuries such as loss of limb or brain injuries whilst on active service. This will include new arrangements with the MOD for life care planning together with a guarantee that those seriously injured and needing continuing health care will receive ongoing high quality care for life based on an early and comprehensive assessment and regular review of their needs overseen by an NHS case manager”.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects his Department's pilot housing purchase scheme announced on 26 January 2010 to be (a) completed and (b) evaluated. [314893]
Mr. Kevan Jones [holding answer 2 February 2010]: The Armed Forces Home Ownership Scheme (pilot) will run until spring 2013. However, long-term arrangements will be put in place to administer and look after those who have participated in the scheme over the 25-year maximum term of the equity loan they have received.
The MOD in conjunction with the Homes and Communities Agency will be monitoring and evaluating the scheme closely throughout the pilot period, including looking at factors such as take-up rates, feedback as to whether the scheme meets all the requirements of service personnel, value for money and affordability.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the £20 million allocation announced on 26 January 2010 for a housing purchase pilot he expects to be spent on administrative overhead costs. [314894]
Mr. Kevan Jones [holding answer 2 February 2010]: The MOD has agreed to share fixed costs with the Homes and Communities Agency to manage and deliver the Armed Forces Home Ownership Scheme (pilot). The Swaythling Housing Society (the appointed agent) costs were determined through open competition in line with European Union procurement rules, and total around £100,000 up to spring 2013. In line with other Government schemes, a £1,500 fee is paid from the MOD allocation of funds for each completed house purchase. The total will vary according to the number of homes delivered.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons he decided to restrict eligibility for loans under his Department's housing initiative announced on 26 January 2010 to those who have served between four and six years. [314895]
Mr. Kevan Jones [holding answer 2 February 2010]: The Armed Forces Home Ownership Scheme (pilot) is seeking to encourage retention. The criterion of no less than four and no more than six years’ service was chosen after consultation with the three services. It is a critical period for retention and this approach will also help to target those service personnel on lower incomes who traditionally need the most help to get on the housing ladder.
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many units of service family accommodation which did not meet move-in standards were occupied following the signing of a waiver by the tenants in 2009. [315004]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The only circumstance in which occupants of service family accommodation are asked to sign a waiver is when they are occupying a property outside of the normal preparation timescales for reasons of personal choice; this does not necessarily mean the property was not at move-in standard.
However the information on the number of occasions in 2009 when this has occurred is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the mental health pilot scheme for armed forces personnel; and if he will make a statement; [313868]
(2) how many armed forces personnel have taken part in his Department's mental health pilots since their inception; [313869]
(3) which psychological therapies are being offered as part of his Department's six mental health pilots; [313873]
(4) what plans his Department has to implement its mental health pilot schemes on a national basis. [313874]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Six NHS mental health pilot schemes for former armed forces personnel are operational across the UK. Their aim is to assess, treat or signpost veterans to appropriate services. Initial results from the pilots are encouraging with evidence that veterans feel able to access and use the service with confidence. Around 600 veterans have been referred to the pilots so far. The mental health problems seen in ex-service personnel and the appropriate interventions are similar to those in the general population.
Data collected from the pilots will help shape the design of a best practice NHS-led community mental health service for veterans. The evaluation of these pilots will complete during 2010, with a view to all NHS mental health services rolling out special provision for veterans during 2011-12.