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23 Mar 2010 : Column 234W—continued
UK Statistics Authority: Finance
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 23 February 2010, Offic ial Report, column 16WS, on the UK Statistics Authority (DEL), what the new priorities and in-year pressures were for the UK Statistics Authority that required the £6 million take-up of departmental unallocated provision. [322879]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated March 2010:
As Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I have been asked to respond to your question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the new priorities and in-year pressures were for the UK Statistical Authority that required the £6 million take up of the departmental unallocated provision. (322879)
In 2006/07 the Office for National Statistics announced that staff numbers in London would reduce to about 90 by the end of 2009/10, and a provision has been made for early retirement of those staff allowing for those who leave by other means, such as transfer, relocation or resignation.
As part of the decision to relocate all remaining London staff to Myddelton Street, Drummond Gate was vacated in June 2008. The property is being actively marketed and discussions are taking place with a number of potential tenants, and so far three tenants have signed leases for three out of six floors. We have also made provisions in respect of this property.
The £6 million pounds is required to fund the cash to meet the 2009-10 element of property provisions.
UK Youth Parliament
Laura Moffatt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will bring forward proposals to include UK Youth Parliament members in decision-making in Government. [322714]
Ms Butler: The Government's ambition is to ensure that young people have more opportunities to engage with the issues they are passionate about, because we firmly believe they should be empowered as citizens, connected to the political process and offered a meaningful say in the decisions that affect them. The Government have already made substantial steps towards this goal. In line with recommendation 12 of the Youth Citizenship Commission's report published June 2009, the Government have established a series of youth panels across Government which help to provide advice to Ministers on specific issues.
Unemployment: Rural Areas
Mr. Paice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the rate of (a) unemployment and (b) youth unemployment was in rural areas in (i) England and (ii) Wales in each of the last 10 years. [323315]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the level of (a) unemployment and (b) youth unemployment was in rural areas in (i) England and (ii) Wales in each of the last 10 years. (323315)
The available information is provided in the attached table. The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). A breakdown between rural and urban areas is not available from the LFS prior to 2005.
As with any sample survey, the estimates provided are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
| Number of people unemployed in rural( 1) areas by country: Three month period ending December, 2005 to 2009, not seasonally adjusted | ||||
| Thousand | ||||
| All aged 16 and over | All aged 16 to 24 | |||
| England | Wales | England | Wales | |
| (1) For England and Wales rural areas comprise villages, hamlets and isolated dwellings. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV-for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220 Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness * 0 = CV<5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes Source: Labour Force Survey | ||||
It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels mobile home sites etc.)
Health
Arthritis
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people (a) living with and (b) diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in England in the latest period for which figures are available. [323220]
Ann Keen: The Department has not made a specific estimate of the number of people living with and diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
However, there are various estimates of the number of people living with rheumatoid arthritis and those diagnosed with the disease. These estimates suggest that the number of people ranges between 400,000 and 580,000, and between 12,000 and 26,000 being diagnosed each year. For example, the National Audit Office report 'Services for People with Rheumatoid Arthritis' estimates that 580,000 adults have rheumatoid arthritis, with approximately 26,000 new diagnoses each year. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guidance on the management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults, published in February 2009, estimates prevalence of 400,000 and annual incidence of 12,000.
The variation in estimates reflect the different data sources used to calculate incidence and prevalence.
Cancer: Drugs
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 10 November 2009, Official Report, column 242W, on cancer drugs, how many primary care trusts have made available each of the drugs listed as recommended for NHS use by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence under the patient access scheme. [323056]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: This information is not collected centrally.
Cancer: Nurses
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist cancer nurses for children and young people are employed by the NHS in each region. [322532]
Ann Keen: Specialist cancer nurses are not identified separately in the NHS Workforce Census.
Contraceptives: Health Education
Mr. Stephen O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Guildford of 6 January 2010, Official Report, column 471W, on contraceptives: health education, what consideration was given to including advertising of the benefits of the oral contraceptive pill in his Department's campaign on contraception: "Worth
talking about"; what assessment he has made of the effect of his Department's campaign on usage of the oral contraceptive pill; and if he will make a statement. [323572]
Gillian Merron: The "Sex. Worth talking about" campaign highlights that there are 15 contraceptive options available, including two types of contraceptive pill. It aims to raise awareness of the longer acting methods which are more effective in typical use and are less well known among the public. The campaign is designed to encourage people to investigate all their options and to consider which method might best fit their lifestyle. It advises a discussion with a health-care professional in order to clarify these options, as medical considerations may impact an individual's final choice. It is too early to know if there has been an effect on usage of the oral contraceptive pill but the annual NHS Contraception Services Report, due October 2010, will be the first indication of any changes in the profile of contraceptive methods chosen by women.
Dementia
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on dementia research in each of the last five years. [323900]
Gillian Merron: Both the Department and the Medical Research Council support research into dementia. Annual expenditure figures are shown in the following table.
| Expenditure on dementia research | |||
| £ million | |||
| Department | Medical Research Council | Total | |
Departmental Consultants
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which outside consultancies undertook work commissioned by his Department in each year from 1997 to 2004; and what the (a) purpose of and (b) amount paid in relation to each commission was. [323028]
Phil Hope: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methodology his Department used to determine whether answers to Questions in the formulation if he will set out with statistical information related as directly as possible to the tabling hon. Member's constituency the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies since 1997 could be provided without incurring disproportionate cost; and if he will make a statement. [323865]
Phil Hope: The statistical information requested in this formulation is already collected and held centrally by the Department and therefore does not incur disproportionate cost.
Direct Payments
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people are receiving direct payments for carers in each local authority area; [323375]
(2) how much funding has been allocated in each local authority area to administer personalised budgets in the next 12 months; and what estimate he has made of the number of (a) existing and (b) new recipients that will receive personalised budgets in each such area in the next 12 months; [323376]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of local authorities which will reach the 30 per cent. target for the number of people able to access personalised budgets for social care; and what steps he plans to take in relation to those authorities which do not reach that target; [323476]
(4) what guidance his Department is providing to local authorities on turning personalised budgets into direct payments; and what programmes have been established to assist this process. [323477]
Phil Hope: Data on the number of carers (aged 16 and over who are caring for adults aged 18 and over) in receipt of direct payments from councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs) are collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. Provisional data on the total numbers of carers in receipt of direct payments during the year 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, by CASSR are available and a copy has been placed in the Library. Final data for 2008-09 are expected to be published on 28 April 2010.
The Department has given councils an Adult Social Care Reform Grant of £520 million to spend over three years from April 2008. This will enable them to make their social care services more personalised. It is a local decision about how much the local authority chooses to spend to administer personal budgets, which is only one part of the transformation programme. The Department does not collect prospective information. However, the Association for Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has estimated that 200,000 people are likely to have a personal budget by April 2010.
Although the Department collects information retrospectively on the number of people who receive personal budgets, no official estimate has been made of the number of councils that will have provided personal budgets to 30 per cent, of people eligible to receive community care services by April 2011. ADASS are currently undertaking a survey to identify council's progress and this report will be published in the summer.
Councils which do not meet the target will be identified by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as part of their monitoring role. The Department has been working closely with CQC to ensure that a consistent message is delivered to councils.
The following guidance and programmes have been provided to councils to help them operate and use direct payments and personal budgets:
Personal budgets for older people-making it happen (January 2010). This guide focuses on how councils can make personal budgets work well for older people and their families. It looks at how to ensure personal budgets are accessible, simple to use, flexible and help to achieve the things that matter most to the people using them. A copy has been placed in the Library.
Personal Budgets: Council Commissioned Services (January 2010). ADASS produced further advice on how personal budgets can work well for people who use council-commissioned services rather than a direct payment.
ADASS and the Department published a set of materials which aim to help councils make progress with implementing 'Putting People First (2007) (PPF)' a copy of which has already been placed in the Library. These bring together the latest learning from councils and are linked to the PPF milestones agreed between ADASS, the Local Government Association and the Department in September 2009. These materials include:
PPF operating models: early learning (October 2009). This resource was published by ADASS which provides advice and examples showing how innovative councils are approaching the transformation of their systems and the lessons they are learning.
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