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15 Sep 2010 : Column 1090W—continued
Army: Horses
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse was of maintaining horses in the Army in 2009-10. [15113]
Mr Robathan: This information is not held in the format requested, and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Commonwealth: Armed Forces
Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many servicemen from other Commonwealth countries (a) are serving in the UK armed forces and (b) have served in the UK armed forces in (i) the last 10 years and (ii) the last five years; and what estimate he has made of likely future trends in these numbers. [15047]
Mr Robathan: As at 1 July 2010, there were 8,470 service personnel who are citizens of Commonwealth countries. It is not possible to ascertain without disproportionate cost the numbers of Commonwealth service personnel who have served in the last five or in the last 10 years. However, as at 1 April 2000 and 1 April 2005, there were 820 and 6,040 Commonwealth personnel respectively in the Army. Figures for the Naval Service and RAF are not available as their legacy database systems do not enable the distinction to be made between Commonwealth citizens and other non-British nationals. There has been no estimate of future trends in the recruitment of Commonwealth citizens.
Cyprus
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether all the land occupied by his Department's facilities in Cyprus is classed as sovereign British territory. [14905]
Mr Robathan: No, not all the land occupied by the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) facilities in Cyprus is classed as sovereign British territory. Under the 1960 Treaty of Establishment (ToE) the United Kingdom retained British sovereignty over two areas, one in the south (Akrotiri) and the other in the east (Dhekelia), which are known collectively as the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs). In addition, the MOD has facilities on several 'retained sites'. The ToE gives the UK rights on these sites, although the Republic of Cyprus has sovereignty over the territory on which the retained sites are located.
Departmental Television and Film
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) television programmes and (b) feature films were filmed at locations owned by his Department in 2009. [14741]
Mr Robathan: Film and television programme makers regularly use Ministry of Defence (MOD) locations, personnel and equipment in their productions.
Using MOD assets is of benefit to the MOD by providing positive public relations and income.
A list of locations used in 2009 for non-news programmes and films that have involved the central RN, Army and RAF Public Relations branches is shown in the following table. Records of requests to film for news purposes are not held centrally.
In addition, programme makers can approach individual establishments for commercial filming using www. fllmlocations.mod.uk. The MOD does not hold a central record of all such activity and the information required could be provided at only disproportionate cost.
Elizabeth Cross
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Elizabeth Crosses have been presented to date; and how many were in respect of (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan. [14706]
Mr Robathan: As at 10 September 2010, 1,862 Elizabeth Crosses have been issued to the eligible next of kin of deceased service personnel who have died on operations, or as a result of an act of terrorism. 155 were issued in respect of Iraq and 299 in respect of Afghanistan.
Germany
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people employed by his Department in Germany are (a) UK citizens and ( b) non-UK citizens. [14628]
Mr Robathan: The numbers of UK citizens and non-UK citizens employed in Germany by the Ministry of Defence are shown in the following table. These are civilian employees only.
| Number | |
Germany: Armed Forces
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many children of British military personnel who are (a) under 10 years old and (b) between 10 and 18-years-old are being educated in Germany. [14627]
Mr Robathan:
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is currently educating 5,052 children under 10-years-old and 2,313 children between the ages of 10 and 18 in its schools in Germany. It is not possible to split these
numbers between children of military personnel and those of UK-based civilians. Not all parents choose to educate their children within the MOD school system.
The schools also educate the children of MOD contractors and some local community children on a fee-paying basis. In addition to the numbers above there are currently 61 children under 10 years old, and 38 children aged between 10 and 18 being educated on this basis.
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy personnel are based in Germany. [14630]
Nick Harvey: The number of military personnel based in Germany is shown in the following table broken down by service.
| Number | |
Gibraltar
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people employed by his Department in Gibraltar are (a) UK citizens and (b) non-UK citizens. [14580]
Nick Harvey: The information is not held in the format requested.
The numbers of civilian staff employed by British Forces Gibraltar on 3 September 2010 were as follows:
| Civilian staff type | Number |
There are also a number of civilians employed through Defence contracts, the numbers and nationalities of whom are not held centrally.
Inside Right Programme
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of progress of the Inside Right programme; and if he will make a statement. [14703]
Mr Robathan: The Ministry of Defence welcomes the Inside Right programme run by the Football Foundation, and has offered financial support over a three year period. An initial progress report is expected in March 2011 at the end of the first year of the scheme.
Military Covenant
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to bring forward legislation to enshrine the military covenant in law. [14695]
Mr Robathan: Rebuilding the Military Covenant is one of the most important objectives of this Government. We are currently considering how best to fulfil the Covenant in terms of resource allocation, policies and legislation.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultation his Department has undertaken on re-writing the military covenant; and if he will make a statement. [14696]
Mr Robathan: As part of its commitment to rebuild the Military Covenant, we are planning to refresh and rewrite the Covenant itself. Consultation is now getting under way and will include both internal and external representatives of the armed forces community.
Military Exercises
Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions military personnel undertook training exercises at each site outside the UK between 2008 and 2010. [14655]
Nick Harvey: From 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2010, United Kingdom armed forces personnel conducted, or contributed to, some 480 training exercises of varying size and scale, and covering a range of military activities, at overseas locations.
Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the average annual cost to the public purse of sending military personnel to train at his Department's bases and affiliated sites in Scotland. [14656]
Nick Harvey: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the average annual cost to the public purse of sending military personnel to sites outside the UK to undertake training exercises. [14657]
Nick Harvey: The total costs of exercises and training conducted outside the UK are known, but the specific costs of sending military personnel participating in these activities are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Roads: Accidents
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces were (a) killed, (b) seriously injured and (c) slightly injured in road accidents when (i) on duty and (ii) off duty in each of the last five years. [14813]
Mr Robathan: The following tables provide information on the numbers of armed forces personnel killed (Table 1), seriously injured (Table 2) and slightly injured (Table 3) both on and off duty.
| Table 1: Road accident deaths in the UK regular armed forces, by duty status and year | ||||
| Number | ||||
| All | On duty | Off duty | Under investigation | |
| Table 2: Road accident serious injuries in the UK regular armed forces, by duty status and year | ||||
| Number | ||||
| All | On duty | Off duty | Duty status unknown | |
| Table 3: Road accident slight injuries in the UK regular armed forces, by duty status and year | ||||
| Number | ||||
| All | On duty | Off duty | Duty status unknown | |
| Note: All numbers fewer than five have been suppressed. Where there is only one cell in a row or column that is fewer than five, the next smallest number has also been suppressed so that numbers cannot be derived from totals. | ||||
Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage people to take up his Department's funding for additional apprenticeship places in 2010-11. [15578]
Mr Hayes: We know that the demand from young people and adults for good quality employer-owned apprenticeships is high and the Government are committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships, in particular, advanced apprenticeships that confer technician status. The Government's decision to redeploy £150 million of our savings for 2010-11, creating an additional 50,000 adult apprenticeship places, demonstrates our commitment to high-quality skills. The National Apprenticeships Service and the Skills Funding Agency are working with training providers which will be encouraging employers to make these additional places available. This investment in our future will help train the next generation, as well as developing the existing work force, which is vital to build a modern advanced economy.
Broadband: Kent
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans his Department has to roll out superfast broadband to the rural and hot-spot areas in Chatham and Aylesford constituency, with particular reference to Wouldham and Larkfield. [15093]
Mr Vaizey: The Government have stated that they want to see superfast broadband rolled out in rural areas of the UK at the same time as more heavily populated areas. The market is already rolling out superfast broadband to around two-thirds of the population. We intend to support this through a combination of regulatory and public policy measures, and Government financial support, beginning with three pilot projects which we hope to announce soon.
Cabinet Committees: Trade
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who will chair the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Trade. [15289]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 September 2010]: The coalition Government reviewed the Cabinet committee system on entering office to make it more efficient. Where individual trade policy issues arise, they are considered by the relevant committee, such as Economic Affairs, European Affairs or the National Security Council.
Construction: Industry
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints from the public his Department has received about building firms in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [15278]
Mr Davey: The Department does not hold centrally the information in the format requested and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies have received from the public about (i) Strategy Insurance Limited, (ii) the Federation of Master Builders and (iii) Homeland Construction in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [15279]
Mr Davey: A search of the records database indicated that the Department has in the last five years received two complaints in respect of the Federation of Master Builders and none in respect of either Strategy Insurance Ltd. or Homeland Construction.
In respect of the Department's non-departmental public bodies: the Department does not hold centrally the information in the format requested and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Debts: Advisory Services
Tristram Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of debt advice in
respect of the most vulnerable people funded from (a) the Financial Inclusion Fund and (b) legal aid funds; [15421]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of government-funded debt advice; and if he will make a statement. [15423]
Mr Davey: The majority of research into the effectiveness of debt advice has focused on free debt advice. The results show a very positive picture.
The National Audit Office research, carried out over 18 months from the summer of 2008 showed that nearly everyone (95%) given advice under the Face-to-Face Debt Advice project run by BIS had acted on it and that the great majority (81%) had assessed it as improving their situation. We were pleased to note that their February report for this year concluded that the project was "delivering good value for money".
In respect of legal aid funds, that is the responsibility for the Ministry of Justice to assess the effectiveness of their programmes.
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the number of Citizens Advice Bureau caseworkers provided for from the Financial Inclusion Fund. [15422]
Mr Davey: It is difficult to provide a precise estimate.
Most of the 16 projects that make up the BIS Face-to-Face Debt Advice project include a mix of caseworkers from Citizens Advice Bureaux and from other debt advice agencies.
The total number of caseworkers employed across the advice community is around 500.
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people received debt advice provided for from the Financial Inclusion Fund in each of the last five years. [15465]
Mr Davey: In each of the last five years, the number of individuals receiving debt advice from the Face-to-Face Debt Advice project funded via the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) is as follows.
| Financial years | Number |
The Debt Advice in Prisons project run by the Legal Service Commission is also funded from FIF, but we do not have total figures for the number of clients advised under that project.
Employment Tribunals Service
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to streamline the employment tribunal system. [15737]
Mr Davey: As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Universities and Science told the House on 3 June 2010, Official Report, column 564, my officials are considering calls from interested parties for changes to be made to the employment tribunal system so as to streamline the process. I will make an announcement on what action I propose to take to address these issues in due course.
Further Education: England
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from England began attending further education colleges in Wales in each of the last five years. [15336]
Mr Hayes: Data for students attending further education in colleges in Wales are not collected by this Department.
Information on FE colleges is published by the National Assembly for Wales in the Further Education, Work-based Learning and Community Learning in Wales Statistics, 2007/08 publication:
Further Education: Wales
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from Wales began attending further education colleges in England in each of the last five years. [15366]
Mr Hayes: Table 1 shows FE participation of learners, whose home address is in Wales, studying in General Further Education Colleges and all Government funded learners in Further Education in England, 2004/05 to 2008/09, the latest year for which full year data is available. These data exclude learners who have moved from Wales in order to attend a Government funded FE provider in England.
| Table 1: FE participation of learners from Wales in General Further Education Colleges and all FE provision in England from 2004/05 to 2008/09 | ||
| General FE College | All FE provision | |
| Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Figures for 2008/09 are not directly comparable with earlier years due to a change in funding methodology. 3. Geographic information is based upon the home postcode of the learner. 4. Further Education Provision includes General Further Education Colleges including Tertiary, Sixth Form Colleges, Special College-Agricultural and Horticultural Colleges and Art and Design Colleges, Specialist Colleges and External Institutions. Source: Individualised Learner Record | ||
Further Education: Wrexham
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from Wrexham began attending further education colleges in England in each of the last five years. [15367]
Mr Hayes: Table 1 shows FE participation of learners, whose home address is in Wrexham, studying in General Further Education Colleges and all Government funded learners in FE in England from 2004/05 to 2008/09, the latest year for which full year data are available. These data exclude learners who have moved from Wrexham in order to attend a Government funded FE provider in England.
Data for 2005/06 onwards are based on geographic boundaries as of May 2010. The figure for 2004/05 is based on an earlier geographic boundary therefore the figure for 2004/05 is not directly comparable to later years.
| Table 1: FE participation of learners from Wrexham local authority in General Further Education Colleges and all FE provision in England from 2004/05 to 2008/09 | ||
| General FE College | All FE provision | |
| Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. The figure for 2004/05 is not directly comparable to later years as it is based on a different geographic boundary. 3. Figures for 2008/09 are not directly comparable with earlier years due to a change in funding methodology. 4. Local authority data is based upon the home postcode of the learner. 5. Further Education Provision includes General Further Education Colleges including Tertiary, Sixth Form Colleges, Special College-Agricultural and Horticultural Colleges and Art and Design Colleges, Specialist Colleges and External Institutions. Source: Individualised Learner Record | ||
Regional Development Agencies
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which bodies will take over from regional development agencies' responsibility for administering European regional development funds; and if he will make a statement. [15276]
Robert Neill: I have been asked to reply.
We are currently considering the future arrangements for running European regional development fund programmes in the regions, after the abolition of the regional development agencies, and we will make an announcement when the decision has been reached.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to reply to the letter of 1 June 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Eleanor Massey, transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions. [15191]
Mr Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills responded to this letter 14 September 2010.
Regional Development Agencies: Local Enterprise Partnerships
Karl Turner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the (a) capital and (b) annual running costs of
(i) regional development agencies and (ii) local economic partnerships. [15249]
Mr Davey: The information is as follows:
(i) The programme budgets given to the regional development agencies (RDAs) for 2010-11 are as follows:
| £ million | ||
| RDA | Budget (a) | Of which: administration costs (b) |
(ii) No estimate has been made yet of the capital and annual running costs of the local economic partnerships (LEPs).
Unemployment: Young People
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people aged (a) between 16 and 24 and (b) between 18 and 24 years resident in Milton Keynes are not in education, employment or training. [15443]
Mr Hayes: The following table shows the number and proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds(1)( )Milton Keynes local authority in 2009 not in education, employment or training.
(1) Age used is respondents academic age, which is defined as their age at the preceding 31 August.
| Milton Keynes | Number/proportion |
This information is from the Annual Population Survey, which covers the period January to December of each year, with 2009 being the most recent estimate available. The Annual Population Survey is the only available source of data with a sample large enough to provide local authority estimates of the number of young people up to the age of 24 who are NEET. However, the sample is not large enough to provide estimates for smaller geographies, such as parliamentary constituencies, or to provide local authority estimates for age ranges narrower than 16 to 24.
It is important to note that these estimates are subject to large sampling variability and should therefore be treated with caution and viewed in conjunction with their confidence intervals, which indicate how accurate an estimate is. In this example, a confidence interval of +/-7 percentage points means that the true estimate is between 10% and 24% in 95% of instances.
Quarterly estimates of the number of people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) derived from the Labour Force Survey are published by the Department for Education. The latest publication can be found online at
This includes supplementary tables giving breakdowns of 18 to 24-year-olds NEET for each region.
International Development
Africa: Overseas Aid
Richard Fuller:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department
spent on (a) administration, (b) logistics and transport, (c) food items, (d) non-food items and (e) other items in respect of the provision of immediate assistance in humanitarian situations in Africa in each of the last three years. [15137]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) spent the following amounts on logistics (including transport), food items, non-food items and other items for humanitarian assistance in Africa in the last three financial years for which figures are available. Aggregated administration costs for implementing partners are not available, but are typically between 7% and 13% of the total costs of delivery of assistance.
| £ | |||||
| Food | Logistics | Non-food items | Other | Total DFID humanitarian funding | |
| Source: DFID Africa Humanitarian Spend Analyses 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. | |||||
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on immediate assistance in respect of humanitarian situations in Africa in each of the last three years; and how much such funding was disbursed (a) as part of a programme directly delivered by his Department, (b) by multilateral organisations, (c) by non-governmental organisations and (d) through budgetary support given to host governments in each such year. [15138]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) provided the following amounts in respect of humanitarian situations in Africa through multilateral organisations, the Red Cross, non-government organisations (NGOs) and bilateral aid to country governments, for the last three financial years for which figures are available. Immediate assistance is not provided through budgetary support to governments.
| £ | |||||
| Multilateral organisations | Red Cross | NGOs | Bilateral aid to country governments | Total DFID humanitarian funding | |
| Source: DFID Africa Humanitarian Spend Analyses 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. | |||||
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on (a) tarpaulins and tents, (b) mosquito nets, (c) blankets, (d) kitchen sets, (e) hygiene/first aid kits, (f) water purification products, (g) buckets and other water carriers and (h) stoves for immediate use in humanitarian situations in Africa in each of the last three years. [15139]
Mr Duncan: The requested information cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the annual monetary value is of the contract held by his Department with Crown Agents in respect of the delivery of emergency and humanitarian relief services; and what proportion of that amount was spent on projects in Africa in each of the last three years. [15225]
Mr Duncan: The annual monetary value of the contract held by the Department for International Development (DFID) with Crown Agents for emergency and humanitarian relief services is £1,855,200. None of this amount has been spent on projects in Africa in the last three years, The contracted services have been used extensively during the last three years in DFID responses to disasters in Myanmar, Indonesia, Haiti, Pakistan and elsewhere.
Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions each Minister in his Department has met his Department's Chief Scientific Officer since 6 May 2010. [15353]
Mr O'Brien: The Department for International Development's (DFID's) chief scientific adviser has met with the Secretary of State seven times, the Minister of State once and has had nine meetings with myself, since the 6 May 2010.
Departmental Empty Property
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on vacant properties in each year since 1997. [13022]
Mr O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not spent anything on vacant properties in the UK from 1997 to the present date. DFID has had no vacant properties in the UK during this period.
The requested information cannot be provided for DFID's overseas properties without incurring disproportionate cost. DFID has not hitherto held central records of our overseas estates. We are currently in the process of developing a central information management system that will capture this information.
Developing Countries: Poverty
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to assist developing country authorities in the collection of poverty data classified by indigenous and other ethnic groups. [15004]
Mr O'Brien: The collection of poverty data plays an important role in efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The Department for International Development (DFID) already provides considerable support to developing countries in this area, and is the largest bilateral donor to statistical capacity building. The Department works directly with national authorities in country, and through international agencies (including the World Bank, and United Nations) to support the collection of reliable and relevant data, including poverty data disaggregated by indigenous and other ethnics groups.
Overseas Aid: Pneumonia
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department has allocated to tackling pneumonia in each of the last five years. [15000]
Mr O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not provide targeted funds for tackling pneumonia to developing countries. DFID supports work on tackling pneumonia through our support to the health sector, but we do not monitor the proportion of this support used specifically for this purpose. UK aid is increasing the capacity of health systems to diagnose and treat all major causes of illness, including pneumonia, through our support to national health systems, international partnerships and organisations and research.
World Health Assembly: Pneumonia
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to implement the World Health Assembly resolution on pneumonia; and if he will make a statement. [14999]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) aims to ensure sustainable control and management of pneumonia, and other infectious diseases, by strengthening country's health services and their capacity to deliver interventions such as prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In addition to increasing the quality and supply of services, DFID works closely with governments and other partners to make sure that these services reach the poor and vulnerable. We provide support for this through our country programmes, and through our funding to multilateral organisations and global funding instruments such as the World Bank, and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
DFID supports the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) to deliver vaccination programmes and the pneumococcal Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which provides an incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop and manufacture a pneumococcal vaccine that is highly effective in developing countries. As with all multilateral aid, this commitment is being assessed under the Multilateral Aid Review.
DFID is also developing a business plan to accelerate its work on maternal and newborn health, including exclusive breast feeding, maternal nutrition and the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission.
Culture, Media and Sport
Broadband
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what targets he has for rollout of superfast broadband; and if he will make a statement; [14240]
(2) how much funding for superfast broadband he estimates will be provided from (a) the television licence fee and (b) the landline levy; [14241]
(3) what plans he has for a review of business rates for telecommunications networks; and if he will make a statement; [14265]
(4) in which year he expects 90 per cent. of UK households to be within reach of next generation broadband; [14266]
(5) how much funding he plans to allocate to support universal access to basic broadband in each financial year from 2012-13 to 2014-15; [14267]
(6) how much funding he has allocated to each of the three pilots of superfast broadband to take place in the next three years; [14268]
(7) in which financial year he expects funding from the television licence fee to be first available for provision of superfast broadband. [14269]
Mr Vaizey: The Government have set a clear target that the UK should have the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015. We intend to achieve this first through public policy and regulatory interventions and then if needed public spending. We have made no specific estimate of when 90% coverage will be reached.
Business rates for telecommunications networks are set by the independent Valuation Office Agency (VOA). I welcome the recent publication by the VOA of new guidance on the rating of telecommunications networks, which should make the rating system more transparent.
£200 million from the Digital Switchover help scheme underspend will be set aside to deliver the USC and superfast pilots. The locations and exact allocation to each area will be announced in due course. A guideline would be an average public sector subsidy of £5-10 million per project.
We have made clear that we will consider use of a proportion of the TV licence fee in the next settlement period (2013-18) to fund investment in superfast broadband. The amount dedicated to superfast broadband, if any, will be decided in the overall consideration of the licence fee and informed by the condition of the market.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) how much he estimates the previous Government's policy of providing universal access to basic broadband by 2012 was underfunded; [14890]
(2) what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of mobile services to delivering universal 1 Mbps broadband. [15201]
Mr Vaizey: We estimate the cost of meeting the Universal Service Commitment would be at least double the funds identified by the previous administration and discussions with industry indicate that the shortfall may be even greater.
Broadband Delivery UK continues to assess the role of mobile services in meeting the Universal Service Commitment, but has yet to draw conclusions. We expect that a range of solutions-fixed and wireless (including satellite)-will be required to meet broadband objectives.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in his Department in July 2010. [15146]
John Penrose: All expenditure on hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance, based on the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
Hospitality was provided for one event in July. The breakdown of this event is as shown in the following table:
| Minister | Event | Cost (£) |
Film: Finance
Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will take steps to encourage the production of films by British producers funded from sources based in Britain; and if he will make a statement. [15321]
Mr Vaizey:
The Government are committed to supporting the UK film industry and the two key mechanisms that currently support the film industry-the film tax relief and the dedicated pot of Lottery funding-are
here to stay. Due to the changes we are making to the National Lottery, funding for film will increase in 2011, and again in 2012.
We are currently reassessing how the Government can best support the UK film industry because important challenges are yet to be addressed. We need a stronger, more sustainable film industry, where better capitalised production companies can build on their successes rather than remain partly reliant on public subsidy. We need a coherent strategy to ensure that talent can emerge from across the UK. And we need a more transparent framework that avoids duplication, delivers targeted funding, and reduces regulatory burdens and administrative costs.
We are engaging with the industry to discuss how best we can achieve these objectives, where public funding could best make a difference, and where private funding could contribute.
Newspaper Press
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will bring forward proposals to require UK-based newspapers owned by people not resident in the UK to display on each issue the name of the country of residence of the newspaper owner. [14806]
Mr Davey: I have been asked to reply.
No. It is entirely reasonable for people of any nationality, and based anywhere in the world, to invest in UK newspapers just as it is reasonable for UK nationals and those resident in the UK to invest in newspaper and other businesses abroad. A discriminatory measure of the sort proposed would in any case raise issues of compatibility with EU law.
Sports
James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the total cost to the public purse is of the Talent Identification Programme operated by UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport. [14325]
Hugh Robertson: The Talent Identification Programme delivered by UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport (EIS) in partnership with National Governing Bodies was established in 2007, and the first UK Talent Strategy was produced in 2009 following a series of trial talent campaigns.
The strategy will be implemented over the London cycle, 2009-13, and talent campaigns are now deemed a core element of the World Class Performance Programme.
The total exchequer costs incurred by UK Sport in respect of the UK Talent Programme are £835,737 as detailed in the following table:
| £ | ||
| Programme spend on UK Talent Programme | Staff costs for UK Talent Programme | |
| Source: UK Sport | ||
As a full partner in the UK Talent Programme, EIS allocated part of its core funding received from UK Sport to deliver programme activity.
Since 2007 the number of specialists in the field of talent identification has had to increase to match the scope of, and demand for the programme.
The total exchequer costs incurred by EIS in respect of the UK Talent Programme are £770,978 as detailed in the following table:
| £ | ||
| Programme spend on UK Talent Programme | Staff costs for UK Talent Programme | |
| Source: EIS | ||
The total cost to the public purse of the UK Talent Programme is £1,606,715.
Swimming: Concessions
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department estimates will be saved by ending the free swimming scheme for children under 16-years-old; what the marginal cost to the public purse was of operating the scheme; and if he will make a statement. [15380]
Hugh Robertson: A total of £25,951,788 from the £40 million resource funding allocated for 2010-11 has been saved by ending the Free Swimming Programme for the under 16s and over 60s.
An additional £25 million of capital funding allocated for the programme in 2010-11 has also been saved.
Prime Minister
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Prime Minister what declarations of (a) interests, (b) gifts and (c) hospitality were made by special advisers based in No. 10 Downing street in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10. [15056]
The Prime Minister: This Government are committed to publishing on a quarterly basis details of gifts and hospitality received by special advisers. Information for the period 13 May to 31 July 2010 will be published as soon as it is ready.
Information for previous years was not routinely published.
Departmental Offices
Bob Russell: To ask the Prime Minister what percentage of his Office's office accommodation he has offered to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport as office accommodation for staff of that Department; and when he expects such office accommodation to become available. [14692]
John Penrose: I have been asked to reply.
No space has been offered by the Prime Minister to the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport as office accommodation for DCMS staff.
Deputy Prime Minister
Polling Station: Fraud
Graham Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government has to introduce a requirement to provide proof of identification at polling stations to help eliminate voter fraud. [14555]
Mr Harper: The Government are committed to ensuring the integrity of the electoral process and tackling fraud wherever it arises. We are considering how best to do that and our approach will take into account wider reforms to registration and voting processes. In particular, the Government's plan to accelerate the introduction of individual voter registration will help protect against fraud by improving the accuracy of the electoral register.
Voting Methods
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will bring forward proposals to restrict voting in the House of Commons on matters exclusively relating to England to hon. Members who represent constituencies in England. [14892]
Mr Harper: The Coalition programme for government includes a specific commitment to establish a Commission to consider the issues raised by the present ability of MPs from the devolved territories to vote on matters for which the devolved Parliament and Assemblies have responsibility.
Health
Abortion: Health Education
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues on the presentation of information about abortion services in GP clinics. [15483]
Anne Milton: The Department has not issued any guidance on the presentation of information about abortion services in general practitioner (GP) practices.
Providing high-quality information and advice, including written information, is an important aspect of care received by women considering an abortion. GPs should ensure that women considering a termination are equipped with appropriate information, as well as talking through all available options.
Abortion: Human Rights
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the General Medical Council on guidance to medical practitioners on conscientious objection to abortion and the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998. [14742]
Anne Milton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with the General Medical Council (GMC) on conscientious objection to abortion.
The Abortion Act 1967 (as amended) makes provision for conscientious objection, allowing medical practitioners to make a decision not to participate in treatment authorised by the Abortion Act.
Medical practitioners that are ethically opposed to abortion should follow relevant professional guidance. The GMC's current guidance is clear that medical practitioners must not allow any personal views to prejudice their assessment of clinical need, or restrict patient access to care.
The Government consider the Abortion Act to be compatible with the Human Rights Act 1998.
Cancer: Drugs
Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the interim regional panels for cancer treatment will be able to take decisions on the provision of drugs relating to exceptional case requests. [14616]
Mr Simon Burns: We have made it clear in guidance issued to strategic health authorities by the National Health Service Medical Director that existing primary care trust funding routes should be adequately explored before a call is made on strategic health authority funds. A copy of this guidance is available at:
Cancer: Hertfordshire
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of patients in Hertfordshire likely to be prescribed with innovative cancer drugs in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12 following the establishment of the interim Cancer Drug Fund. [14991]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department has no plans to make such estimates. We will consult shortly on plans for the establishment of the cancer drugs fund from April 2011 so that patients, clinicians and the wider national health service can input into its design.
Colic: Osteopathy
Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the use of osteopathy to treat infant colic. [15291]
Anne Milton: The Department received two letters from a member of public in August 2010 and we replied with the following:
Some health professionals apply chiropractic spinal manipulation for treating infant colic. However, a recent review of chiropractic spinal manipulation for infantile colic by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination accessible through NHS Evidence states the available evidence failed to demonstrate the effectiveness of spinal manipulation in infantile colic.
Community Hospitals: Finance
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the Community Hospital Fund was unspent at the time of the 2010 General Election; whether that money has been carried forward; by what means community hospitals can obtain funding for new build projects; and if he will make a statement. [14584]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department earmarked approximately £250 million over five years through the Community Hospitals Programme Fund. We expect the national health service will use around £225 million of this across 27 schemes. Some of the primary care trusts (PCTs) that were allocated funding were unable to spend it, either because there were unforeseen delays to developing the project, or in one case because the PCT decided that their original plans were no longer the best solution for the local community.
The final schemes are due to complete in 2011-12 and the Department is taking these into account as part of the work to inform the current spending review.
For new community hospitals, arrangements for capital funding will be informed by the responses to the White Paper consultation.
General Practitioners
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to place restrictions on the nature of contracts into which primary care trusts may enter in the interim period prior to the implementation of GP commissioning. [14803]
Mr Simon Burns: Primary care trusts (PCTs) use national health service standard contracts when commissioning services from most providers. The Department is developing proposals to ensure the smooth transition of contracts from PCTs to general practitioner (GP) commissioning consortia.
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures will be used to transfer assets of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to GP consortia. [15387]
Mr Simon Burns: The White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', which was published on 12 July 2010, announced that strategic health authorities will be abolished and primary care trusts and practice-based commissioners will be replaced by general practitioner consortia.
Arrangements for the future ownership and management of their operational and administrative estates will be announced in due course.
General Practitioners: Finance
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanism he plans to introduce for the allocation of funds by NHS commissioning boards to GP consortia. [14611]
Mr Simon Burns: The White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', sets out the Government's intention that the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for allocating national health service revenue resources to general practitioner (GP) consortiums on the basis of seeking to secure equivalent access to NHS services relative to the burden of disease and disability and managing an overall NHS commissioner revenue limit.
The Government intend to use the forthcoming Health Bill to enact the statutory provisions required to achieve these objectives.
General Practitioners: Rural Areas
Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether GP commissioners in rural areas will be able to form clusters with other GP commissioners across county boundaries. [14618]
Mr Simon Burns: General practitioner (GP) consortia will be statutory public bodies with powers and responsibilities set out through primary and secondary legislation.
The NHS Commissioning Board will have a duty to ensure comprehensive coverage of GP consortia across the country and will only authorise consortia once it is satisfied that they have the necessary arrangements and capacity to fulfil their statutory duties and accountabilities and that there is clarity about the geographical areas that they cover.
GP consortia will need to have boundaries that interlock so that taken together they cover the entire country. We propose that they have the flexibility within the legislative framework, subject to having sufficient geographic focus, to form consortia in ways that they think will secure the best health care and health outcomes for their patients and locality.
Consortia are likely to carry out a number of commissioning activities themselves. In other cases they may choose to act collectively, for instance by adopting a lead commissioner model to negotiate and monitor contracts with large hospital trusts or with urgent care providers.
General Practitioners: Training
Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure all GPs have access to adequate (a) information and (b) training on care for patients with eating disorders. [14685]
Mr Burstow: General practitioners have access to a number of sources of information about the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders. These include the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on Eating Disorders, published in 2004 at:
NHS Choices
which offers extensive information on eating disorders including diagnosis, treatment and local services;
NHS Evidence which offers both search facilities
and the Mental Health Specialist Collection
with the most up-to-date, quality-assured evidence about the conditions.
With regard to training, the content of curriculum and quality and standard of training for medical professions is the responsibility of the appropriate professional regulatory body. The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), which is the competent authority for medical training in the United Kingdom. The GMC is an independent professional body.
The content and standard of postgraduate medical training is also the responsibility of the GMC since the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board merged with the GMC on 1 April 2010. Curricula are developed by the medical royal colleges.
Continuing professional development needs of doctors are determined by regulatory requirements and local national health service priorities, through appraisal processes and training needs analyses informed by local delivery plans and the needs of the service.
However, whilst it is not practicable or desirable for the Government to prescribe the exact training that any individual doctor will receive we are aware of the need to ensure perceived areas of weakness in training curricula are addressed. For that reason, we are liaising with the Regulators and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges about how best to ensure curricula do meet requirements.
Genetically Modified Organisms: Crops
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent surveys the Food Standards Agency has commissioned or conducted on public views on genetically-modified crops; what the cost to the public purse was of each such survey; and if he will make a statement. [14431]
Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency funded a series of questions on food technologies, including genetically modified foods, as part of the 2008 British Social Attitudes (BSA) Survey. The total cost of this work, of which genetic modification was only a part, was £89.590. Following from this survey, the agency commissioned qualitative research into public attitudes among groups of people who had expressed differing views on genetically modified food in the BSA Survey. The cost of this work was £73,654.50. The results of these projects are available from the Agency's website.
Since 2001, the Agency has conducted quarterly "tracker" surveys that monitor changes in consumer attitudes towards a range of issues. These include questions about the level of public concern about a wide range of food issues, including genetic modification. However, genetic modification is only a minor component of these surveys, details of which are available at:
The last tracker survey, published in March 2010, has been placed in the Library.
Health Centres
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the future of existing polyclinics; and if he will make a statement. [15280]
Mr Simon Burns: Our overarching principle is that commissioning decisions should, wherever possible, reflect the views of local clinicians and the local public. Under the proposals set out in our NHS White Paper: "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS", an NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning primary care services for registered patients, while general practitioner (GP) consortia will be responsible for commissioning urgent care.
The responses to the consultation on "Commissioning for Patients", as part of the wider proposed changes in the White Paper, will enable us to proceed to set out the full details of how GP-led commissioning will work. We urge anyone who has any concerns to respond to the consultation by 11 October.
Health Services
Dr Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to publish the content of feedback forms submitted during consultation workshops on the NHS White Paper. [14750]
Mr Simon Burns: A Government response to the feedback received on the White Paper and associated consultation documents will be published in due course, in accordance with the Government's Code of Practice on Consultation. This response will set out what decisions have been taken in light of the views that have been received through feedback forms and other channels. There is no requirement for respondents to use a specific feedback form and comments are being submitted in a variety of formats.
Health Services: Children
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the proposed changes to the healthcare commissioning process on those with the most complex health needs, with particular reference to children with (a) autism and (b) mental health problems. [14821]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department published "Liberating the NHS: Commissioning for patients" on 22 July 2010 which set out the intended arrangements for general practitioner Commissioning and the NHS Commissioning Board. A copy has already been placed in the Library. We are engaging on these proposals and consulting on specific questions highlighted in the document, including child and adolescent mental health services.
Primary care professionals coordinate all the services that patients receive, helping them to navigate the system and ensure that they get the best care. For this reason they are best placed to coordinate the commissioning of care for their patients while involving all other clinical professionals who are also part of any pathway to achieve more integrated delivery of care, higher quality, better patient experience and more efficient use of national health service resources.
Health Services: Voluntary Organisations
Dr Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department has made to record responses to the recent NHS White Paper from health charities. [14745]
Mr Simon Burns: A Government response to the feedback received on the White Paper and associated consultation documents will be published in due course, in accordance with the Government's Code of Practice on Consultation. This response will set out what decisions have been taken in light of the responses that have been submitted to the consultation.
Health Visitors: Recruitment
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what date he expects to have completed the recruitment of the additional 4,200 Sure Start health visitors foreseen in the Coalition Agreement. [13869]
Anne Milton [holding answer 8 September 2010]: The Coalition Agreement pledges to increase the number of Sure Start health visitors by 4,200. We have begun an extensive programme of work to enable us to increase capacity as quickly as possible. This will be in parallel with work to develop outcome measures in line with government policy for improving and demonstrating improvements in health.
Lister Hospital
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) procedures and (b) timetable he intends to adopt for his Department's decision on Stage 4 of the redevelopment of the Lister Hospital, Stevenage, relating to accident and emergency services; and if he will make a statement. [14990]
Mr Simon Burns: This is a local issue.
Discussions are ongoing between NHS East of England, East and North Hertfordshire NHS trust, Hertfordshire primary care trust and local general practitioners in determining the next steps for stage four of the redevelopment of the Lister hospital.
We expect all reconfiguration schemes to be informed by local decisions, driven by clinical professionals, and grounded in firm clinical evidence, recognising the views of the community as laid down in the guidance from Sir David Nicholson, the chief executive of the national health service on 29 July 2010.
Mental Health Services
Dr Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates Ministers in his Department have met (a) mental health charities and (b) other health charities to discuss the NHS White Paper. [14746]
Mr Burstow: Since the publication of the White Paper, Ministers have met with mental and other health charities on the following dates. Ministers have also been to various events and visits and spoken to charities about the White Paper on an informal basis.
New Cross Hospital Wolverhampton: Nurses
Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses there were at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton (a) in 1997 and (b) on the latest date for which information is available. [13376]
Anne Milton: This information is only collected at NHS trust level. New Cross Hospital is the only hospital managed by The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust. Information on the number of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff at The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust is shown in the following table:
| Number | |||
| As at 30 September 1997( 1) | As at 30 September 2009( 1) | As at 31 May 2010( 2) | |
| (1) The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census. (2) Provisional Monthly NHS Hospital and Community Health Service Workforce Statistics. | |||
NHS
Dr Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department has made to log local authority responses to the NHS White Paper. [15216]
Mr Simon Burns: A Government response to the feedback received on the White Paper and associated consultation documents will be published in due course, in accordance with the Government's Code of Practice on Consultation. This response will set out what decisions have been taken in light of the responses that have been submitted to the consultation.
NHS 111
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training and qualifications NHS 111 staff will be required to have. [15122]
Mr Simon Burns:
NHS 111 is staffed by non-clinical call advisers, trained to the same standards as 999 operators, and nurse advisers. All staff attend an initial
two week full-time course which includes mandatory written and practical assessments. Clinical staff also complete a four day clinical module, which comprises further written and practical assessment. After the initial training, call advisers and clinicians begin taking calls, under supervision. Approximately six weeks after the initial training, staff undertake a further one day course, during which their competence is assessed.
NHS Direct
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) England, (b) West Midlands, (c) Dudley borough and (d) Dudley North constituency used the NHS Direct service in each year since 2000. [15118]
Mr Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following tables.
| Number of c alls to NHS Direct 0845 46 47 | |
| National | |
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
| Source: NHS Direct | |||
The data include calls to NHS Directs 0845 46 47 line. They do not include other calls to services provided to national and local commissioners, including calls to the appointments line and locally commissioned services such as dental and out-of-hours services.
No data are available for 2000 and 2001. Data for West Midlands SHA and Dudley PCT are available from 2007 onwards. Data are not collected at borough and constituency level.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation his Department held with (a) medical professionals, (b) trade unions and (c) the public on the decision to replace the NHS Direct service with the 111 service. [15119]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department conducted research with the public on the concept of 111 in November 2008, as well as separate research on the most appropriate number to use, and the cost of calling 111 in April 2009, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
Ofcom also consulted on the use of 111 for the purpose of non-emergency health access in summer 2009, which received over 200 responses from a number
of medical professionals and Royal Colleges, as well as members of the public. A copy of Ofcom's final response has been placed in the Library.
The Department is piloting the 111 service in the North East now and further pilots are planned for later this year. The evaluation of 111 will include a survey looking at people's experience of using the service.
Ministers and departmental officials regularly meet with stakeholders to discuss plans to implement 111.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of (a) current NHS Direct staff are trained nurses and (b) NHS staff will be trained nurses. [15120]
Mr Simon Burns: Of NHS Direct's frontline staff, 48% are trained nurses.
In the current 111 pilot site in County Durham and Darlington, 38% of staff are trained nurses, although the appropriate skill-mix of the 111 service will be determined, in due course, by the formal evaluation we have commissioned.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training and qualifications NHS Direct staff are required to have. [15121]
Mr Simon Burns: Call handlers at NHS Direct are either non-clinical health advisers or nurse advisers. Health advisers undergo two weeks of classroom-based training and a further two weeks of taking calls under management supervision. Nurse advisers complete a four week classroom-based training period, followed by a four week period during which they take calls under clinical supervision. All nurse advisers must be Registered Nurses (Nursing and Midwifery Council) with post registration experience.
NHS: Lobbying
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is provided to NHS bodies on subscribing to lobbying organisations. [15314]
Mr Simon Burns: Guidance on subscribing to lobbying organisations is not provided to national health service bodies.
NHS: Social Enterprises
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether private sector organisations will receive payment from NHS funds for providing mentoring assistance to social enterprise and public service mutuals undertaking national health service work. [14815]
Mr Burstow: There is no specific policy to support public sector organisations in this way. However organisations setting up social enterprises or existing social enterprises may apply for funding through the Social Enterprise Investment Fund and if eligible this may include funds for mentoring services.
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