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23 Nov 2010 : Column 242W—continued
Trading Standards
Ms Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of local authorities provided returns to Trading Standards in accordance with the Hallmarking Act 1973 in each of the last five years. [25317]
Mr Davey: There is no requirement under the Hallmarking Act 1973 for local authority trading standards departments to submit a return on their enforcement activities under the Act. However, local authorities voluntarily submit an annual return on such activities to the Trading Standards Institute (TSI). TSI provide a summary of these to the British Hallmarking Council who publish this in their annual report. Using these figures, the proportion of local authorities providing returns to the TSI are as follows:
| Percentage | |
Culture, Media and Sport
BBC: Directors
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent meetings special advisers in his Department have had with the director-general of the BBC; and whether pensions were discussed at those meetings. [25012]
Mr Vaizey: There have been no meetings between special advisers in the Department and the director-general of the BBC, Mark Thompson, since the terms of the licence fee agreement were settled on 18 and 19 October. The cost of BBC pensions was referred to in discussing the settlement.
British Film Institute: Finance
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what conditions are attached to the annual grant in aid funding awarded to the British Film Institute (BFI) to support British film makers and the British film industry; and if he will take steps to ensure that the activities of the BFI which are funded by this grant in aid positively discriminate in favour of promoting, exhibiting and supporting British contemporary film and British film makers. [25212]
Mr Vaizey: The BFI currently has a funding agreement with the UK Film Council, but this will change when the UKFC is abolished as DCMS is currently progressing plans to set up a more direct relationship with BFI. BFI's current strategic objectives are:
(i) to secure the National Film Archive to ensure that the Collections are safe for future generations;
(ii) to evolve a digital hub for access to its collections by the public;
(iii) to sustain an international focus for film exhibition, through the BFI Southbank, the London Film Festival and through mediatheques and other exhibition partnerships across the UK; and
(iv) to ensure the widest diversity of film and knowledge about film is available to everyone in the UK.
The remit to support British film makers and the British film industry currently sits with the UK Film Council through the film lottery fund. The responsibility for the distribution of these funds, following the abolition of the UKFC, will be transferred to an existing body. Details of who the new distributor will be are to be announced later this month.
Departmental Postal Services
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what the monetary value was of contracts between his Department and (a) Post Office Ltd and (b) Royal Mail in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) each year since 2004-05; [24911]
(2) what services provided by his Department were the subject of a contract with Post Office Ltd in 1997-98 and have subsequently become the subject of a contract with another supplier; and what the monetary value was of each such contract in (a) 1997-98 and (b) the latest period for which figures are available in each case; [24912]
(3) which services of his Department have been the subject of a contract awarded in a tender process in which Post Office Ltd submitted a bid since 1997-98; [24913]
(4) what steps his Department has taken to identify those of its services that could be provided through the Post Office network. [24914]
Mr Vaizey: Since 1997-98, the Department has had no formal contracts with the Post Office or Royal Mail, and no contracts have been let in which Post Office Ltd submitted a bid.
English Heritage
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) how many submissions each regional office of English Heritage has made to local planning authorities at the planning application stage in each of the last five years; [26036]
(2) how much English Heritage spent on preparing its report on the economic impact of heritage in Yorkshire and the Humber; [26037]
(3) how much English Heritage spent on research into the thermal performance of traditional sash windows for the purposes of its report on Sash Windows: Why They Are Worth Keeping; [26038]
(4) how much English Heritage spent on (a) press, (b) publicity, (c) marketing and (d) communications in each of the last five years; [26039]
(5) how much English Heritage spent on (a) entertainment, (b) accommodation and (c) subsistence in each of the last five years. [26040]
John Penrose: The information requested is not held by the Department and relates to matters that are the responsibility of English Heritage.
Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of English Heritage to write direct to the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood.
Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Music: Copyright
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on extending copyright for musicians' works from 50 to 75 years. [25784]
Mr Davey: I have been asked to reply.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 18 November 2010, Official Report, column 889W. No discussions of the kind referred to have taken place.
Ofcom: Scotland
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence he had with the Secretary of State for Scotland prior to the Government's decision not to accept the recommendation by Ofcom that Scottish Television should be classified as a qualified independent producer. [25058]
Mr Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport is in regular contact with the Secretary of State for Scotland on a range of matters important to Scotland.
Television: East Sussex
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to improve the quality of television reception in East Sussex. [25422]
Mr Vaizey: As the independent regulator for the communications industry, Ofcom is responsible for ensuring broadcasters comply with their licence conditions in areas such as transmission coverage and reception.
I have therefore asked Ofcom's chief executive to consider the question raised by the hon. Member for Brighton, Kemptown and to write to him direct.
Television: Scotland
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what consultation his Department had with (a) Scottish Television, (b) Scottish Enterprise, (c) trade unions in Scotland and (d) the broadcasting industry in Scotland prior to the Government's decision not to accept the recommendation by Ofcom that Scottish Television should be classified as a qualified independent producer. [25043]
Mr Vaizey: The Department held a public consultation from 4 November 2009 to 2 February 2010 on the potential reclassification of production companies owned by Channel 3 licence holders. Responses were received from these organisations:
Bees Nees
Caledonia TV
Channel 4
Comedy Unit
Eyeline Media
Finestripe Productions
ITV
IWC Media
La Belle Allee Productions Ltd
Lion Television
Mac TV
Mallinson Sadler Productions
Matchlight Limited
Michael Darlow
Mike Bolland
Ofcom
PACT
Scottish Screen
Scottish Government
Skyline Productions Ltd
STV
Tattiemoon
Tern TV
True TV and Film Ltd
Turmeric Media
UKTV
Ulan Productions
UTV
Visible Ink Television
Health
Air Pollution: Biomass
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the effects on (a) mortality and (b) morbidity of air quality pollutants emitted by biomass plants in the UK. [25377]
Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply.
Biomass plants emit, in particular, fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides. No estimates of current mortality, or morbidity, specifically resulting from emissions from these plants in the UK, have been made.
A general assessment of the health impacts of PM2.5, based on 2008 air quality data, estimated that man made emissions of PM2.5 reduced the average life expectancy of people living in the UK by six months at an annual cost of £15 billion within the range of £8 billion to £17 billion. Biomass combustion in 2008 was estimated to emit 7.6% of the UK total PM2.5 emissions.
Autism: Health Services
Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanism he plans to put in place to ensure adequate healthcare support for people with autism when they enter adulthood. [25644]
Paul Burstow: Effective transition planning that supports young people with autism into adulthood is one of the key aims of the autism strategy, 'Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives', and is also addressed in the draft statutory guidance recently consulted on.
Currently, those who do not have a statement of special educational needs have access to a health action plan that covers medical management of their condition and strategies to enable self-care and independent living.
The Department has also invested £500,000 to develop materials and resources to improve awareness and training on autism for health and social care professionals to enable front-line staff to better provide services for people with autism, including those in transition.
Benzodiazepines and Tranquillisers
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) in-patients and (b) prisoners received prescriptions for (i) benzodiazepine and (ii) Z drug tranquilisers in each of the last three years. [25189]
Mr Simon Burns: Information on the number of in-patients or prisoners prescribed a particular medicine or class of medicine is not collected centrally, nor are data held relating to the number of prescription items dispensed in hospitals or prisons.
Care Homes: Fees and Charges
Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he issues guidance to NHS organisations on requests made by (a) care homes and (b) primary care trusts to the relatives of patients on top-up financing. [25999]
Paul Burstow: The Department does not issue such guidance to national health service organisations.
The Department issues guidance to local authorities on top-up fees for local-authority-supported residential care in Local Authority Circular (2004) 20. A copy has been placed in the Library.
Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost per resident per week of residential care in local authority-owned care homes in (a) Hampshire and (b) Southampton in the latest period for which figures are available. [26001]
Paul Burstow: Data on local authority expenditure and unit costs on state-funded social care for 2008-09 were collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
We are informed by the Information Centre that, in 2008-09, the average cost per resident per week of residential care in local authority-owned residential care homes was £894 in Hampshire and £928 in Southampton.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of regional variations in the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. [26126]
Mr Simon Burns:
General practitioners (GPs) gather data on the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through the Quality and Outcomes Framework. This means that data on recorded COPD prevalence are available for each GP practice, as well as
for larger geographic areas such as primary care trust and strategic health authority (SHA) areas. The raw data for 2008-09 are publicly available at:
The Consultation document on a Strategy for Services for COPD in England contains an estimate of all COPD prevalence (including unrecorded prevalence), but this estimate has not currently been disaggregated by region.
The Department has appointed respiratory clinical leads in each of the 10 SHAs in England and they have been provided with some benchmarking data. Part of the responsibility of these posts is to champion the reduction of any regional variation through local action, leading to improved patient outcomes at reduced cost to the national health service.
The Department has also funded a programme of work with NHS Improvement and with each SHA aimed at improving patient outcomes at reduced cost to the NHS, which should also reduce regional variation in the provision of services for COPD.
Cumberland Infirmary: Costs
John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the capital cost of the Cumberland Infirmary, Cumbria. [24303]
Mr Simon Burns: In 1997, approval was given to a scheme involving the development of the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle through the private finance initiative (PFI). At financial close on 3 November 1997 this PFI scheme was approved at £67 million.
Departmental Food
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has guidelines on ensuring that food used for his Department's official functions is of domestic origin. [25548]
Mr Simon Burns: The legal framework governing public procurement is designed to ensure that public procurement is fair, transparent and not used to discriminate by setting up barriers to free trade.
This means that public sector buyers cannot restrict their purchases to specific locations or suppliers, as this would discriminate against producers from further away and, also, reduce competition contrary to United Kingdom public procurement policy that is designed to achieve better value for money for the taxpayer.
Quadrant Catering provides the staff restaurant and hospitality catering at the Department of Health sites in London and Eurest Services provides the same services to Department of Work and Pensions, which includes the Quarry House site in Leeds where some Department of Health employees are based. Both Quadrant Catering and Eurest Services are part of Compass Group UK and Ireland, one of the UK's largest contract caterers.
The current catering and hospitality offer to the Department is based around healthier eating choices, although Compass Group UK and Ireland has a strong commitment to sourcing British produce as part of their corporate responsibility framework.
Departmental Press: Subscriptions
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible usbspent on press cuttings services in each of the last 12 months. [25488]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department sources its national press cuttings service via a framework agreement used by various Government Departments. Daily cuttings from the national press have been provided by Precise Media since 1 July 2007.
Prior to April 2010, regional press cuttings were sourced from Kantar Media Intelligence (formally known as TNS Media Intelligence) via a rolling agreement. Since April 2010, the regional press cuttings service has been provided by Precise Media.
The amount the Department has spent on both national and regional cuttings for each of the 12 months is provided in the following table:
| Department of Health | Monthly expenditure on press cuttings Services( 1 ) (£) |
| n/a = not available (1) All figures provided are exclusive of valued added tax (VAT) and are based on invoice date rather than payment date. | |
Information on the amount spent on press cuttings services incurred by non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally.
Drugs: Misuse
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the delivery of drug treatment services under his proposals for a public health service. [25446]
Anne Milton: We will publish proposals for helping people to recover from drug dependence and reducing the harms that drugs cause in our forthcoming Public Health White Paper, and Drugs strategy.
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local investment in drug treatment services is maintained. [25447]
Anne Milton: Drug treatment services are commissioned by local partnerships of health, criminal justice and social care services, they fund drug treatment services from the centrally allocated Pooled Treatment Budget and their own funding sources. In 2010-11 around £200 million was allocated for drug treatment from local mainstream resources.
Oversight of the adequacy of spending to meet locally identified need is part of the role of the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse.
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding was allocated to the pooled treatment budget for the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse in (a) each of the last five years and (b) each year of the comprehensive spending review period. [25448]
Anne Milton: Direct central Government funding for community drug treatment is allocated through the pooled treatment budget (PTB).
For the past five years funding was allocated as follows:
| Adult | Young people (£ million) | Total (£ million) | |
Central Government funding allocations for drug treatment in the next five years are yet to be agreed.
Food Standards Agency: Local Government
Ms Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of local authorities provided data to the Food Standards Agency for its survey on (a) imported foods return and (b) melamine testing results. [25313]
Anne Milton: Imported foods are checked by local authorities at the point of entry (sea and air ports) to the United Kingdom. Twenty-six ports made an imported food return to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) through the Local Authority Enforcement Monitoring System. These ports received a total of 417,867 consignments of both animal and non-animal origin food.
Reports have been provided by local authorities at four ports on melamine testing at point of entry. The FSA has received a further nine returns from in-land local authorities sampling for melamine. No results gave rise to any cause for concern.
General Practitioners: Lancashire
Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were seen by out-of-hours services in (a) Lancashire and (b) Rossendale and Darwen constituency in each of the last five years. [25364]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested is not collected centrally. However, my hon. Friend may wish to contact each primary care trust direct for more information.
Health: Males
Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to assist GP consortia in commissioning health services to address poor health among men. [25248]
Mr Simon Burns: Consortia of general practitioner (GP) practices working with other health and care professionals will commission the great majority of national health service services for their patients. To support GP consortia in their commissioning decisions, we will create an independent NHS Commissioning Board. The board will provide leadership for quality improvement through commissioning. This will include setting commissioning guidelines on the basis of clinically approved quality standards developed with advice from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, in a way that promotes joint working across health, public health and social care.
Consortia will not be responsible for commissioning primary medical services, which will be the responsibility of the NHS Commissioning Board, but consortia will become increasingly influential in driving up the quality of general practice. The NHS Commissioning Board will also commission the other family health services of dentistry, community pharmacy and primary ophthalmic services, as well as national and regional specialised services and prison health services, but with the influence and involvement of consortia.
The NHS Commissioning Board, supported by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, will develop a commissioning outcomes framework so that there is clear, publicly available information on the quality of healthcare services commissioned by consortia, including patient experience, and their management of NHS resources. It would include measures to reflect the consortium's duties to promote equality and to assess progress in reducing health inequalities.
Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps on public health he plans to take to reduce the mortality rate among men. [25250]
Anne Milton: We will publish a White Paper on public health later this year. This will set out the Government's plans for establishing a public health service and will also map a cross-Government strategy on public health that will be taken forward in the future.
Hemofil T: Clinical Trials
Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients on the Hemofil T trial was classified as (a) mild, (b) moderate and (c) severe haemophiliac. [26073]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not hold this information. Hemofil T was a commercial product, so the clinical trials would have been conducted by the manufacturer Hyland-Travenol (now Baxter Healthcare).
HIV Infection: Health Services
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has for HIV and sexual health services under his proposals for a public health service; [25782]
(2) what assessment he has made of the likely effects of proposed reforms to the NHS on the commissioning of HIV services; [25785]
(3) with reference to the White Paper, Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, whether HIV services will be commissioned by the National Commissioning Board or by GP consortia from 2013; [25787]
(4) whether the public health White Paper will include proposals to reduce the incidence of HIV. [25789]
Anne Milton: Later this year we will publish the public health White Paper which will set out the design of the new public health service for England. Consultation documents accompanying the White Paper will set out the proposed funding and commissioning routes for public health services, including proposals about how sexual health services might best be commissioned. The Department is also considering options for commissioning HIV treatment and care services including through the National Commissioning Board.
Medical Treatments
Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what processes will be put in place to ensure the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services will take account of new innovations in medical technology. [25554]
Mr Simon Burns: The Advisory Group for National Specialised Services uses a decision making framework when considering applications for designation of services and treatments as part of the arrangements for the national commissioning of highly specialised services. Stimulating research and innovation is included in the decision making framework. A copy of the decision making framework is available at:
Mental Health Services
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that mental health trusts are subject to the same financial penalties and governance measures for emergency readmissions as other NHS trusts. [25253]
Paul Burstow: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 6 September 2010, Official Report, column 264W, to the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch).
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of mental health in-patients (a) are in single-sex wards and (b) have access to segregated toilet or bathing facilities. [25255]
Paul Burstow: The information requested is not collected centrally. However, every patient has the right to receive high quality care that is safe, effective and respects their privacy and dignity. This means providing a same-sex sleeping area, bathroom and toilet facilities. In a mental health environment, accommodation should always be same sex.
The only acceptable justification for admitting a mental health patient to mixed-sex accommodation is in the event of a clinical emergency and this must be to an
en-suite room. In such cases, a full risk-assessment must be carried out and complete safety, privacy and dignity maintained.
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the availability of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme to people with severe depression or anxiety; and if he will make a statement. [25256]
Paul Burstow: The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme is three years into a six-year nationwide roll-out. IAPT services are expected to be available to approximately 60% of the population by the end of March 2011. The services have already brought well over 77,000 people to recovery and 13,000 people treated have come off sick pay and benefits.
The spending review settlement is expected to complete the roll-out, with special emphasis on ensuring more older people get access to therapy and broadening the benefits to children and young people, and individuals with long-term physical health conditions and those with severe and enduring mental illness.
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to enable people using mental health services to choose their provider; and if he will make a statement. [25257]
Paul Burstow: To fulfil a commitment in the White Paper, "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS", we published a consultation document on Choice in the NHS on 18 October 2010. The document is called "Liberating the NHS: Greater choice and control. A consultation on proposals", a copy of which has been placed in the Library, and instructions on how to submit responses can be found at:
There will be a presumption that everyone will have choice and control over their care and treatment, and choice of any willing provider, wherever relevant. The commitment for mental health is that the introduction of choice of treatment and provider in some mental health services will begin from April 2011, and that this be extended wherever practicable.
Midwives: Recruitment
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce his Department's plans to increase midwife recruitment and retention. [25349]
Anne Milton: We will continue to train midwives at current rates and we are considering ways of helping improve midwife recruitment and retention. By 2013 (subject to levels of attrition), we expect up to 400 additional midwives per annum to be completing training and available to enter the work force.
Multiple Sclerosis
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment his Department has made of the merits of making available treatment for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency throughout the NHS; [25151]
(2) whether he plans to respond to the on-line petition on the Downing Street website on the lack of awareness of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency; and if he will make a statement; [25152]
(3) if he will publish his Department's assessment of the merits of making available treatment for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in NHS facilities. [25157]
Paul Burstow: There are various theories of causation of multiple sclerosis (MS), one of which is the chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCVSI) theory proposed by Dr Paolo Zamboni, a vascular surgeon in Bologna, Italy. He has suggested that MS is due to a narrowing or blockage of the veins that drain blood from the brain. The narrowing restricts the normal outflow of blood from the brain, causing alterations in the blood flow patterns within the brain that eventually causes injury to brain tissue and degeneration of neurons. Dr Zamboni believes that endovascular surgery can restore blood flow in these vessels, which lessens the symptoms of MS.
Dr Zamboni's first study in a group of 65 MS patients and 235 controls used ultrasound to investigate a possible association between CCSVI and MS. The study showed that while non-MS patients had normal circulation in their veins, all of the MS patients had blockages. This led to a second phase of research, which looked at whether balloon angioplasty treatment, or stent placement, would improve the symptoms of MS in the group of 65 MS patients. Dr Zamboni reported various degrees of improvement in the group, mostly among patients with the relapsing-remitting form of MS who experienced fewer flare-ups of symptoms and some improvements in quality of life. The more pronounced secondary and primary progressive patients had limited improvement after six months, and none at 18 months.
Neurologists have outlined a number of limitations to Dr Zamboni's studies. The ultrasound phase of the study did not have its findings confirmed by another lab. Also, Zamboni theorised that narrowing veins caused increased deposition of iron in the brain. Iron deposition occurs in different neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease but CCSVI was not seen in the control group with neurological problems. In the second phase of the study, there was no control group who did not get the surgery and whose outcomes could be compared to the patients that did. It was not a "blinded" trial so the patients, and their doctors, all knew they had received the procedure, opening up the possibility of placebo effect. All the patients continued to take disease-modifying drugs, making it difficult to separate out what, if anything, improved their condition.
A larger, more recent, study at the University of Buffalo's Neuroimaging Analysis Centre looked at how often CCSVI occurs in people with MS and in people without MS. The study of 500 subjects showed that 56.4% of people with MS showed signs of CCSVI, while 26.4% of healthy test subjects also exhibited signs of CCSVI. The centre is in the process of recruiting for a placebo-controlled trial of intravascular treatment with angioplasty in 30 relapsing- remitting MS patients.
Venous stenosis due to developmental abnormalities was established as the primary cause of CCSVI by the International Union of Phlebology in its consensus document (published 2009), which provided guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of venous malformations.
MS campaigners have suggested that this means that CCSVI is almost certainly one of the causal factors of MS.
Dr Zamboni's hypothesis has generated considerable optimism among people with MS for more effective treatment options. However, it has been received with caution by many experts, who find it relies on limited data to support claims that the syndrome actually exists; that it could be causative of (or a co-factor in) multiple sclerosis and that vascular treatments for the syndrome would prevent or reduce the incidence of multiple sclerosis. Larger clinical trials will be required before the theory is more widely accepted by the medical community (the Buffalo study organisers have said that CCSVI requires further investigation).
In the meantime, the neurology community and MS organisations across the world are recommending that MS patients do not use the proposed treatment, until its effectiveness is confirmed by controlled studies.
The overall future of all e-petitions is bound into the Martha Lane Fox review, which will be announced imminently. We continue to issue responses to petitions that had exceeded the 500 signature threshold as of 6 April 2010, when the e-petitions system was suspended ahead of the 2010 general election.
The Department has made no assessment of the merits of making treatment for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCVSI) throughout the national health service.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of treatment for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency for patients with multiple sclerosis; and if he will make a statement; [25153]
(2) how much was spent on (a) facilities, (b) equipment and (c) research relating to the treatment of multiple sclerosis in each of the last five years. [25159]
Paul Burstow: Information on the expenditure on facilities and equipment for multiple sclerosis is not collected. Expenditure on research for multiple sclerosis is given in the following table:
| £ million | |
We have made no assessment of the effectiveness of treatment for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency for patients with multiple sclerosis.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which drugs were available in NHS facilities for the treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis in each of the last 10 years; and how much was spent on each type of drug in each such year. [25160]
Mr Simon Burns:
Drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis are classified in the British National Formulary (BNF), section 8.2.4 "Other immunomodulating drugs" and include interferon beta (1a and 1b), glatiramer acetate and natalizumab. The Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) also licensed a herbal cannabis extract for the treatment of severe spasticity in multiple sclerosis in June 2010. Information on the use of these drugs in the community and in hospitals is in the following tables.
| Table 1: Community -N et ingredient cost (NIC) of prescription items written in the United Kingdom or the Isle of Man and dispensed in the community, in England( 1, 2) | |||||
| £000 | |||||
| Herbal cannabis extract | Glatiramer acetate | Interferon beta (1a and 1 b) | Natalizumab | Total | |
| (1) '-' Indicates there were no prescriptions dispensed in the community. (2) 0.0 indicates a NIC of less than £50. Source: Prescription Cost Analysis system. | |||||
| Table 2: Hospital - Estimated cost of hospital usage in England( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) | |||
| £000 | |||
| Natalizumab | Other drugs | Total | |
| (1 )Data on hospital use is not collected centrally by the national health service. However, the commercial company IMS Health collect data from a large sample of trusts and project these figures to give a national estimate. (2 )Figures are based on a sample and costed using standard price lists, either the Drug Tariff or, if the drug is not listed, the drug manufacturer's price list. The figures therefore do not necessarily represent the actual amounts paid by the hospitals. (3) Data includes all drugs dispensed in NHS hospital regardless of patient, so will include drugs dispensed to private patients in private wards within NHS hospitals as long as they have been dispensed via the hospital pharmacy. The extent of this varies from hospital to hospital. (4) Data are only held for complete years from 2001. (5) The agreement with IMS Health under which the Department receives the data requires that it is not released for individual drugs unless they have been positively appraised by the National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence. Only natalizumab has been positively appraised, therefore combined figures for all the other drugs have been provided. (6) May exclude medicines supplied as part of homecare arrangements. Source: IMS HEALTH: Hospital Pricing Audit Index database. | |||
NHS Trusts: Private Finance Initiative
Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many rebates were granted to each NHS trust by Private Finance Initiative contractors under the terms of their contracts in each of the last five years; what the monetary value of the rebate was in each case; and what loss of service gave rise to each rebate. [25761]
Mr Simon Burns:
The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The National Audit Office (NAO) published a report in
June 2010 entitled "The Performance and management of hospital PFI contracts" which includes information on payment deductions for failure to meet contractual standards. This can be found at:
NHS: Negligence
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many compensation payments for clinical malpractice in each specialism including general practice were made by each primary care trust in each year since 2000; [25366]
(2) how much his Department has paid out in compensation payments for clinical malpractice in each specialism including general practice in respect of each primary care trust area in each year since 2000. [25369]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested was supplied by the NHS Litigation Authority and is in the document "Table of numbers of values of clinical negligence payments by primary care trusts from 2000 to 2010". A copy has been placed in the Library.
Nurses: Manpower
Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to maintain the number of nursing staff. [25799]
Anne Milton: The precise numbers of national health service nurses required over the next five years will not be known until the new organisations that will underpin the new system have been designed in more detail.
The Department has consulted on how the new organisations should be designed and is analysing responses. Information on how the new organisations should be designed will be announced in due course.
The Government have fulfilled their commitment to give the NHS a real terms increase in funding each year. The demands on the service are rising and to meet these the NHS must make up to £20 billion of efficiency savings by 2014, by reducing bureaucracy and doing things differently. Every penny saved will be reinvested to support the delivery of quality healthcare.
The NHS will release up to £20 billion of efficiency savings by 2014, which will be reinvested to support improvements in quality and outcomes. In addition, the Government will reduce NHS management costs by more than 45%, over the next four years, freeing up further resources for front-line care.
Prescription Drugs
Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's cost per Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY) threshold is when appraising drugs likely to be prescribed to fewer than 500 NHS patients; and what methodology was used to adjust the standard cost per QALY threshold to take account of the unique costs associated with the development of drugs for such patient numbers. [25553]
Mr Simon Burns:
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) does not operate a fixed cost per Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY) threshold
in developing its guidance. NICE's 'Guide to the methods of technology appraisal' explains how the cost per QALY is used by appraisal committees in the development of technology appraisal guidance and is available on the NICE website at:
www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/howwework/devnicetech/technologyappraisalprocessguides/guidetothemethods oftechnologyappraisal.jsp?domedia=l&mid=B52851A3-19B9-E0B5-D48284D172BD8459
NICE also issued supplementary advice to its appraisal committees in 2009 to clarify the circumstances in which it might be appropriate to recommend potentially life-extending treatments licensed for terminal illnesses affecting small numbers of patients that would not normally be recommended through the application of NICE's standard technology appraisal methods. The supplementary advice is available on NICE'S website at:
www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/howwework/devnicetech/technologyappraisalprocessguides/guidetothemethods oftechnologyappraisal.jsp?domedia=l&mid=88ACDAE5-19B9-E0B5-D422589714A8EC6D
Radiotherapy
Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he expects the National Radiotherapy Implementation Group to publish its report on Radiosurgery; [25406]
(2) when he expects the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence to review the use of cyberknife robotic technology. [25407]
Paul Burstow: It is anticipated that the National Radiotherapy Implementation Group (NRIG) will publish its report into radiosurgery early next year.
As part of the report, NRIG has been tasked with reviewing the use of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). NRIG has examined the SBRT technologies on the market, including Cyberknife, and the evidence base for clinical indications in order to produce guidance for the role of SBRT in cancer treatment. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) plans to use the work of NRIG to identify whether there are any indications that would be appropriate for them to evaluate further via the Medical Technologies Advisory Committee or other programmes at NICE.
Social Services
Claire Perry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to assess the effectiveness of local arrangements to promote joint working between health and social care arising from the funding provided in the comprehensive spending review. [25632]
Paul Burstow: In recognition of the pressures on the social care system in a challenging local government settlement, the coalition Government have allocated an additional £2 billion by 2014-15 to support the delivery of social care. As part of this, the national health service will transfer some funding from the health capital budget to health revenue, to be spent on measures that support social care, which also benefits health. This funding will rise to £1 billion in 2014-15, and will promote improved joint working between the health and social care systems.
Further details will be set out in the NHS Operating Framework 2011-12. £150 million in 2011-12 and £300 million in 2012-13 has been set aside for spending on re-ablement, which helps people to regain their independence after a crisis. For the remaining funding, we will set out specific allocations that they will transfer to local authorities for spending on social care services to benefit health, and to improve overall health gain. Primary care trusts and local authorities will need to work together to agree jointly appropriate areas for social care investment, with a shared analysis of need and a common agreement on the outcomes to be met. We will also expect them to monitor how this funding has been used, and report back to the Department.
Sodium Thiopental: Exports
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the reasons are for the difference between the requirements of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in respect of the proposed export of sodium thiopental to (a) Europe and (b) the US. [24302]
Anne Milton: The Treaty establishing the European Community prohibits import and export restrictions between all member states. Controls on the movement of goods within the internal market have been abolished since 1993 and the European Community is now a single territory without internal frontiers.
Medicines for human use are subject to an extensive European regulatory regime. Provided that a medicinal product complies with this regulatory regime for common standards and it has been authorised by a national medicines regulatory body like the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the United Kingdom or, the European Medicines Agency that can permit the simultaneous marketing of medicines across the whole of the European Community, the medicinal product may move freely around the European Community.
Medicines for human use that are marketed in the European Community can also be exported to a country outside of the European Community, provided that the export does not breach any European regulations prohibiting such an activity. It is considered that under these circumstances it is the responsibility of the non European Community country to control the legality of the medicinal product when imported into their country.
Spinal Injuries: Surgery
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many spinal procedures involving (a) discetomy, (b) decompression, (c) fusion, (d) total disc replacement, (e) endoscopic transforaminal surgery and (f) each other category of procedure for which information is available were carried out in NHS facilities in each of the last five years; what the (i) clinical outcomes, (ii) cost to the public purse of performing, (iii) cost of complications arising from and (iv) cost of litigation in connection with such procedures was in each such year; and what the cost to the public purse was of (A) chronic pain management and (B) cognitive behavioural therapy for patients who underwent such procedures in each such year. [25394]
Mr Simon Burns: The available information has been placed in the Library. Information on the cost of litigation by procedure is only available at disproportionate cost. Other information on outcomes and costs by procedure is not collected centrally.
Surgery
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of those operations cancelled for elective admissions since 1 April 2010 had been carried out on the latest date for which figures are available. [25350]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not collect data on the total number of cancelled operations, or the date on which all patients whose operation had been cancelled, were treated.
The Department collects and publishes information on the number of elective operations that were cancelled at the last minute (on the day of admission or of operation), for non-clinical reasons. The Department also publishes information on the number of patients treated within 28 days of their operation being cancelled.
The latest data, published on 12 November 2010, show:
that from April to September 2010 (quarters 1 and 2 2010-11), 26,236 elective operations were cancelled, compared to 27,505 in the same period in 2009-10.
of the 26,236 cancellations, 97.1% of patients were treated within 28 days, compared to 96.8% in the same period in 2009-10.
operations cancelled at the last minute represented 0.8% of all elective activity in quarters 1 and 2. This compares to 1.1% cancelled operations in the previous quarter (January to March 2010) and 0.8% in quarters 1 and 2 2009-10.
Cancellations at any stage can be inconvenient and stressful for patients. Focusing on operations cancelled at the last minute addresses cancellations that cause most distress to patients. It is the responsibility of individual hospitals to ensure that they have the necessary staff, theatre space and beds available to keep cancellations to an absolute minimum.
Tobacco: Crime
Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated of the effects of the availability of illicit tobacco products on the incidence of (i) under age smoking and (ii) health conditions caused by contaminated illicit tobacco products; and if he will make a statement. [25221]
Anne Milton: No research has been commissioned by the Department into these specific questions. Officials monitor and utilise all available relevant research in their work to tackle the dangers to health from all forms of tobacco product.
The Department works closely with HM Revenue and Customs at all levels (international, national and local) in countering the availability of illicit tobacco.
Deputy Prime Minister
Alternative Vote: Referendums
Chris Bryant: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of members of the peerage who would be eligible to vote in a referendum on the voting system solely by virtue of a business interest in the City of London under the proposal in clause 2(2) of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill. [25598]
Mr Harper: The Government have made no such estimate. The franchise for municipal elections in the City of London is a matter for the City of London Corporation.
Co-operative Bank
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what dates he has met the Co-operative Bank in November 2010. [25689]
The Deputy Prime Minister: The Deputy Prime Minister publishes details of all official external meetings on a quarterly basis.
Electoral Register
Chris Bryant: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much each local authority in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England has spent on the annual canvass for the electoral register in each of the last three years. [25419]
Mr Harper: The Government do not hold this information; however, the Electoral Administration Act 2006 provided powers for the Electoral Commission to request financial information from Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers across Great Britain. In June 2010, the Electoral Commission published a report, The Cost of Electoral Administration in Great Britain which provides details of data collected by the Commission. This can be accessed on the Electoral Commission's website at:
It provides details of the spend by local authorities in (a) Scotland (b) Wales and (c) England on the annual canvass (where information has been provided) for 2007-8 and 2008-9.
Information on the 2009-10 financial year is not yet available, and was not collected in 2006-7.
Northern Ireland has had a system of individual electoral registration in place since 2002, and in 2006 the annual canvass was replaced with a system of 'continuous registration' based on data matching the electoral register against other public databases.
Fixed-term Parliaments
Mr Bain: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish each representation he has received on the length of fixed-term Parliaments. [25866]
Mr Harper: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) on 6 September 2010, Official Report, column 306W on the matter of the length of fixed-term Parliaments. I also received several representations from those Members who took part in proceedings in Committee of the Whole House on the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill on 16 November. The hon. Member will appreciate it is not standard practice to publish correspondence from members of the public.
Mr Bain: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the length of fixed-term Parliaments. [25867]
Mr Harper: The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister meet regularly to discuss the current programme for Government, part of which is our programme of constitutional and political reform.
House of Lords: Reform
Mr Bain: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what his policy is on the body which should have responsibility for drawing up constituencies for elections to a reformed second chamber; [25864]
(2) what proposals he has for the electoral system to be used for elections to a reformed second chamber. [25869]
Mr Harper: The cross-party Committee on House of Lords reform, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, is considering all issues pertinent to reform of the House of Lords including the electoral system and constituencies to be used in elections to a reformed second chamber.
Mr Bain: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on the establishment of a wholly-elected second chamber. [25868]
Mr Harper: The cross-party Committee on House of Lords reform, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, will bring forward proposals for a wholly or mainly directly elected second chamber on the basis of proportional representation. The final composition of the reformed second chamber, and whether it is to be wholly or mainly elected, is yet to be determined.
Mr Bain: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received on the electoral system to be used in elections to a reformed second chamber. [25870]
Mr Harper: To date, the Deputy Prime Minister has received a number of representations from MPs, peers, members of the public and those with a professional or academic interest on the issue of House of Lords reform. Some representations have discussed the type of electoral system to be used in elections to a reformed second chamber.
Mr Bain: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the (a) electoral system for and (b) number of members of a reformed second chamber; [25871]
(2) what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the body which will have responsibility for drawing up constituencies or regional areas for elections to any reformed second chamber. [25872]
Mr Harper: The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister meet regularly to discuss the current programme for Government, part of which is our programme of constitutional and political reform.
Treasury
Arch Cru
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions has he had with the Financial Services Authority on the collapse of Arch Cru funds. [25461]
Mr Hoban: Treasury Ministers and officials meet members of the FSA on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of economic and financial issues. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of such meetings.
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the collapse of Arch Cru funds. [25462]
Mr Hoban: The Government have received correspondence regarding Arch Cru funds, but this is a matter for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), as the independent regulator, and Capita as the Authorised Corporate Director to pursue.
Bank Levy
Mr Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the (i) British Bankers Association and (ii) Investment Management Association to discuss (A) the proposed bank levy and (B) taxation of the financial services sector since May 2010; when each such meeting took place; and who was present at each such meeting; [25009]
(2) what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the (i) Hedge Fund Association and (ii) Alternative Investment Management Association since his appointment to discuss the taxation of the financial services sector; when each such meeting took place; and who was present at each such meeting; [25051]
(3) what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the banks which will be affected by the proposed bank levy since his appointment; when each such meeting took place; and who was present at each such meeting; [25054]
(4) what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the Robin Hood Tax campaign to discuss (i) the proposed bank levy and (ii) taxation of the financial services sector since his appointment; when each such meeting took place; and who was present at each such meeting. [25057]
Mr Hoban: Treasury Ministers have met with a wide range of interested parties to discuss various aspects of financial sector taxation since the formation of the Government.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from the banking sector on the bank balance sheet levy; and if he will make a statement. [25227]
Mr Hoban: The Government published Bank Levy: A Consultation on 13 July 2010, and invited the views of business, as well as the views of representative bodies and tax advisers on the design and implementation of the levy. The Government received a total of 48 responses on a wide range of issues. Details of the responses received, and a full list of respondents, were set out in Bank Levy: Consultation Response, published on 21 October, available at:
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the amount of revenue accruing to the public purse from the bank levy in each of the next four financial years; [25229]
(2) what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the banking sector of the proposed changes to corporation tax in each of the next four financial years; [25230]
(3) what revenue he expects to accrue to the Exchequer from the bank levy in each of the next four financial years. [25237]
Mr Hoban: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for St. Ives (Andrew George) on 26 July 2010, Official Report, column 722W.
Banks: Finance
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish his Department's assessment of the effects on growth, output and inflation of the Bank of England's asset purchase facility to date; [25231]
(2) what assessment his Department has made on the effects on growth, output and inflation of the Bank of England's asset purchase facility being extended by £50 billion. [25232]
Mr Hoban: Assessments of the asset purchase facility can be found in the Bank of England quarterly inflation reports. In particular, the May 2009 inflation report explains how quantitative easing works to impact the economy through various channels including higher money supply, lower long-term interest rates and rising asset prices. An assessment of the impact on asset prices, in particular on the gilt market, is made in the May 2010 inflation report which says:
"asset purchases appear to be having a sizeable downward effect on gilt yields...equity and corporate bond prices have increased significantly since early 2009. That is likely, in part, to reflect the exceptional monetary stimulus".
The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England has operational responsibility for monetary policy. It is the MPC which assesses and decides on the appropriate monetary policy stance in order to target 2% inflation, as measured by the 12-month
change in the consumer prices index (CPI). This includes decisions on the use of the asset purchase facility (APF) and any further extensions.
Child Benefit
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of households with a combined income of more than £44,000 per annum in which (a) one person and (b) no-one earns £44,000 or more per annum. [16769]
Mr Gauke: In 2010-11, the estimated numbers of households with a combined income of more than £44,000 per annum in which:
(a) at least one person has income of £44,000 or more per annum is 2.9 million (with median incomes of around £75,000).
(b) no one has income of £44,000 or more per annum is 2.5 million (with median incomes of around £50,000).
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of (a) single and (b) multiple income households which will be affected by his proposed change to child benefit arrangements. [16771]
Mr Gauke: The proposed changes to child benefit arrangements in 2013 will affect around 200,000 single income households and 1.3 million multiple income households.
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects on single parents of his Department's proposed changes to child benefit. [16929]
Mr Gauke: Before making the decision to withdraw child benefit from households with a higher rate taxpayer, the Chancellor considered an equalities screening assessment for this measure, which included an estimate of the number of lone parent households affected by this measure.
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing his Department's proposed changes to child benefit. [16930]
Mr Gauke: The preliminary indicative estimate for delivering the change to child benefit announced by the Chancellor on 4 October 2010 is £130 million over the four year spending review period.
Liz Kendall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of couples in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) region in respect of which one adult earns £44,000 or more and the other is not in paid employment. [16969]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 13 October 2010]: There are an estimated 560,000 couples in the United Kingdom in 2010-11 where one adult earns £44,000 or more and the other has no earnings.
This estimate is based on Family Resources Survey data projected to 2010-11. Earnings denotes income from employment including self-employment income.
Reliable estimates are not available at parliamentary constituency or regional level due to small survey sample sizes at this level of geography.
Liz Kendall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of single parents in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) region who earn £44,000 or more a year and who are in receipt of child benefit. [16970]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 13 October 2010]: Information on household income for child benefit claimants is not available at parliamentary constituency level.
Information on the number of single parents with incomes of £44,000 or more a year and are in receipt of child benefit is not available at regional level as it is potentially disclosive.
Liz Kendall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of people in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) region who earn £44,000 or more a year and who are in receipt of child benefit. [16971]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 13 October 2010]: Information on household income for child benefit claimants is not available at parliamentary constituency level.
The numbers of families in each region where one member has income of £44,000 or more a year and where the family is in receipt of child benefit in 2010-11 is presented in the following table:
| Families in each region where one member has income of £44,000 or more a year and where the family is in receipt of child benefit, 2010-11 | |
| Government office region | Number |
Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many dual income families with a household income between £43,875 and £87,750 are in receipt of child benefit. [17921]
Mr Gauke: There are estimated to be around 1.6 million dual income families with a household income of between £43,875 and £87,750 and in receipt of child benefit in 2010-11. Within these 1.6 million dual income families it is estimated that 640,000 have a higher rate taxpayer.
Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he estimates the Government will save as a result of (a) non-indexation of and (b) changes to entitlement to child benefit in each year of the 2010 spending review period. [20809]
Mr Gauke: The amount that will be saved from freezing child benefit for three years and removing it from higher rate taxpayers is shown in the following table:
| £ million | ||||
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
|
Removing child benefit from households with a higher rate taxpayer | ||||
Pat Glass: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) the North East and (b) the UK which will be affected by the withdrawal of child benefit from families with a higher rate tax payer. [20842]
Mr Gauke: The number of households affected by the withdrawal of child benefit from families with a higher rate tax payer in 2013:
(a) in the north-east is estimated to be around 50,000
(b) in the UK is estimated to be around 1.5 million.
Miss Begg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women who are (a) basic rate taxpayers and (b) non-earners will no longer receive child benefit as a result of proposed changes to the eligibility criteria. [20857]
Mr Gauke: Women will only stop receiving child benefit if another member of their household is a higher rate taxpayer and the family chooses to cease their child benefit claim. All other mothers in such households will continue to receive child benefit with the relevant monies recovered via the income tax system.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the principle of independent taxation will apply to his proposed changes to child benefit arrangements. [21395]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 2 November 2010]: The withdrawal of child benefit from families containing a higher rate taxpayer will not affect the principle of independent taxation.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make an estimate of the monetary value of a child benefit payment to a household of a couple who live together with two children in which the mother pays income tax at the basic rate and the father pays income tax at the higher rate under the reforms proposed in the spending review; [21396]
(2) if he will make an estimate of the monetary value of a child benefit payment to a household of two children with parents who are a couple who live apart
in respect of which the mother pays income tax at the basic rate and the father pays income tax at the higher rate under the reforms proposed in the spending review; [21397]
(3) if he will make an estimate of the monetary value of a child benefit payment to a mother who pays income tax at the basic rate who has two children whose father pays income tax at the higher rate and is no longer part of a couple with their mother under the reforms proposed in the spending review; [21398]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 2 November 2010]: From January 2013, child benefit will be withdrawn from families with a higher rate taxpayer so that people on lower incomes are not subsidising those who are better off. It is not fair to expect those earning £15,000 or £30,000 to go on paying the child benefit of those earning £50,000 or £100,000.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what plans he has to implement his proposal to withdraw eligibility for child benefit for households which include a higher rate taxpayer; [21568]
(2) what timetable he has set for the introduction of restrictions on the payment of child benefit to households with one or more higher rate taxpayers; [21569]
(3) by what mechanism he plans to enforce the ending of child benefit payments to households with one or more higher rate taxpayers; [21570]
(4) whether he plans to identify those households with one or more higher rate taxpayers which are in receipt of child benefit by requiring them to self-certify. [21571]
Mr Gauke: The policy to withdraw child benefit from families containing a higher rate taxpayer will be introduced from January 2013 and will be administered through the tax system using existing systems and processes.
It will be the responsibility of the higher rate taxpayer to inform HMRC whether their household is in receipt of child benefit. In line with the normal administration of tax, HMRC has enforcement powers in the case of non-disclosure of information relevant to a person's tax affairs, including penalties.
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the average change in household income of a family with children as a result of (a) maintaining child benefit at the current level and (b) withdrawal of the Child Trust Fund scheme. [23680]
Mr Gauke: In 2011-12 average household income of a family with children will fall by approximately £47 per year as a result of the freeze in the level of child benefit.
The Child Trust Fund (CTF) scheme is not being withdrawn. While eligibility for CTFs will cease from January 2011, existing CTF accounts will continue to benefit from tax-free investment growth and any contributions from the child's family and friends. No withdrawals will be possible until the child reaches age 18. As the first CTF child will not reach age 18 until 2020 the changes to the CTF scheme will have no impact on the average household income of a family with children.
Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many single income families with an annual household income between (a) £50,000 and £87,749, (b) £87,750 and £249,999, (c) £250,000 and £499,999 and (d) £500,000 and £1,000,000 are in receipt of child benefit. [25420]
Mr Gauke: There are estimated to be around 80,000 single income households with a household income between £50,000 and £87,749 and around 30,000 with incomes between £87,750 and £249,999.
Estimates for single income households with incomes in the remaining groups are not available due to small sample sizes.
Child Benefit: Chester
Stephen Mosley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in City of Chester constituency claim child benefit; and how many such households include a higher rate taxpayer. [17320]
Mr Gauke: The information requested on the number of households in City of Chester constituency can be found at:
This information is based on a snapshot as at August 2009 of all child benefit claims.
The information on how many of these households contain a higher rate taxpayer is not available.
Child Benefit: Databases
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of (a) creating and (b) maintaining a new child benefit database to match data on mothers with data of their partner's income. [22660]
Mr Gauke: From January 2013, child benefit will be withdrawn by HMRC from the higher rate taxpayer using existing PAYE and SA systems, which avoids additional systems being developed. The implementation of this policy requires only modest changes to existing IT systems. We do not envisage the need for any significant additional IT to support this policy.
Child Benefit: Females
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of those in receipt of child benefit in (a) Newcastle Upon Tyne North constituency, (b) the North East and (c) England are female. [24470]
Mr Gauke: The following table shows the estimated percentage of child benefit recipients who were female as at August 2009.
| Female child benefit recipients (%) | |
Child Benefit: Scotland
Miss Begg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of households in (a) Aberdeen South constituency, (b) Aberdeen local authority and (c) Scotland which will be affected by the withdrawal of child benefit from families with a higher rate tax payer. [19451]
Mr Gauke: Information on household income for child benefit claimants is not available at parliamentary constituency level or local authority level.
The number of families in Scotland that will be affected by the withdrawal of child benefit from higher-rate taxpayers from January 2013 is estimated to be around 120,000.
Child Poverty: Comprehensive Spending Review
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the evidential basis is for his assessment of the effect of the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review on child poverty. [21614]
Mr Gauke: There is no measurable impact on child poverty from all modelled spending review changes up to 2012-13. Not all measures could be reliably modelled due to data constraints. Details of the measures considered in Treasury analysis on child poverty were published in "Spending Review 2010: Distributional Impact Analysis-Data Sources".
Corporation Tax: Third Sector
Paul Maynard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was collected in corporation tax from (a) social enterprises and (b) community interest companies in 2009-10. [20459]
Mr Gauke: Information on the amount of revenue which was collected from corporation tax paid by (a) social enterprises and (b) community interest companies in 2009-10 is not available.
Departmental Food
Julian Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has guidelines on ensuring that food used for his Department's official functions is of domestic origin. [25534]
Justine Greening: Meat, dairy and other food products are provided to HM Treasury staff under a facilities management contract. There is no specific policy or guideline on food procurement in general or for specific functions. However, HM Treasury encourages the facilities management provider to support UK produce wherever commercially viable and when available.
Departmental Manpower
Jesse Norman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) mean and (b) median age of staff in his Department was on the latest date for which figures are available. [25745]
Justine Greening: The mean and the median ages of staff who work in HM Treasury are 35.8 and 32 respectively.
The latest date for the information used to calculate this information is 1 October 2010.
Jesse Norman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff of his Department are aged between (a) 21 and 30, (b) 31 and 40, (c) 41 and 50 and (d) 51 and 60. [25750]
Justine Greening: The number of staff within HM Treasury aged (a) 20 to 29, (b) 30 to 39, (c) 40 to 49, (d) 50 to 59 and (e) 60+ are listed in the following table.
| Age band of staff | Total |
Jesse Norman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annual turnover of staff in his Department was in each of the last five years. [25753]
Justine Greening: HM Treasury staff turnover for each of the five years is as follows:
| Percentage | |
Departmental Motor Vehicles
Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annual expenditure on vehicles of (a) his Department and (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible in each region of England was in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is in each case for 2010-11. [12451]
Justine Greening: No vehicles have been purchased in the past three years by the Treasury or any of its agencies or non-departmental bodies. There are no plans for spending on vehicles in 2010-11.
Departmental Postal Services
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to identify those of its services that could be provided through the Post Office network. [25025]
Justine Greening:
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has lead responsibility for the Post Office and takes a proactive approach alongside Post Office Ltd in seeking commercial opportunities with Government Departments. As part of the spending review HM Treasury published proposals emerging from
joint work with the Cabinet Office's Efficiency and Reform Group which, alongside digital means, proposed using the Post Office increasingly as a front office for Government.
Excise Duties: Tobacco
Julie Hilling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the EU Cooperation Agreement (EUCA) signed by British American Tobacco to reduce the illicit trade in tobacco; what steps the Government is taking to support the EUCA; and if he will make a statement. [25222]
Justine Greening: The UK became signatories to the co-operation agreement with British American Tobacco (BAT) in July.
The agreement is one of a series of agreements between the EU and multi-national tobacco companies which the UK has also signed. The agreements complement existing legislation that requires all tobacco manufacturers to prevent smuggling through careful control of their supply chains. Responsibility for implementing the agreements rests with HMRC who are in regular contact with the European Commission.
The agreements will facilitate better control over tobacco smuggling with enhanced co-operation from other member states as a result of better working relationships with EU partners. They will also hold the tobacco manufacturers accountable for their actions and encourage responsible trade by requiring the manufacturers to make substantial annual payments to the EU and participating member states over a period of years and to put in place measures to control the supply and distribution of their products.
The BAT agreement sets out the steps that the company are required to take in order to control the supply chain for their products. It also requires them to make supplemental payments to member states if their product is found smuggled to have been smuggled in significant volumes. Seizures made in the UK which qualify are notified to the European Commission by HMRC for this purpose.
These agreements are an important step forward in the fight against tobacco smuggling. Signing them sends a clear and consistent signal that we are working in step with the EU, other member states and tobacco manufacturers to tackle the illicit trade in tobacco products.
Housing Benefit
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of using the consumer price index rather than the retail price index for calculation of local housing allowance for two years only from 2013-14. [23102]
Mr Gauke
[holding answer 9 November 2010]: The June 2010 Budget announced that the consumer prices index will be used to uprate local housing allowance rates from 2013-14. This replaces the existing system where rent officers determine the LHA rates on a monthly basis using a list of rents created for each category of property within every broad rental market area (BRMA).
Our policy is designed to ensure that increases in housing benefit are more in line with the rent increases that would be affordable to families who do not claim benefits.
CPI indexation of LHA rates has been estimated to save £390 million per annum by 2014-15 relative to the current system. No separate estimate has been made of the cost of uprating LHA rates by CPI compared to using the retail prices index (RPI) as the measure of inflation because it is not Government policy to uprate LHA rates by RPI.
Housing: Floods
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the revenue which will accrue to the Exchequer as a result of the proposed levy on home owners in areas of significant risk of flood in each of the next four financial years; and if he will make a statement; [25245]
(2) what plans he has for a levy on homeowners in areas of significant risk of flood; and if he will make a statement. [25246]
Justine Greening: HM Treasury has no plans to introduce a levy on home owners in areas at risk of flooding and therefore has no estimates of the revenue that would accrue to the Exchequer from such a levy.
Import Duties: Agriculture
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects on economic growth in the UK of a reduction in agricultural tariffs as a result of the World Trade Organisation's Doha round negotiations. [25247]
Mr Davey: I have been asked to reply.
The agricultural element of the Doha Development Agenda cannot be seen in isolation of the other areas under negotiation in the Doha round. A Doha deal would include new agricultural and industrial market access, increased transparency and security in services, and an improvement of the global trade rule book. It would increase UK prosperity, give the global economy a boost, and lift millions of people around the world out of poverty. To UK businesses in agriculture, like in other sectors, it would offer new export opportunities, provide cheaper inputs, reduce non-tariff barriers, and simplify bureaucratic trade procedures making it easier to do business around the world. To consumers, it would provide lower prices (especially of food), greater variety of products, and increased competition in the supply of goods and services. Globally, the benefits are estimated at £110 billion annually, with the UK gaining in the range of £3 billion every year in additional national income.
Incentives
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs plans to pay in staff bonuses and other awards in addition to salary in 2010-11; and to how many staff in each role it expects to make such payment. [18266]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 19 October 2010]: In line with the pay award agreed with HM Treasury and the departmental trade unions, HMRC made performance award payments to staff in June 2010 relating to performance in the appraisal year 2009-10. HMRC also makes in-year payments under its recognition bonus scheme.
HMRC expects the amounts paid out and the number of staff in receipt of these awards in 2010-11 to be of similar magnitude to 2009-10. These bonuses are dependent on staff performance.
HMRC does not hold any bonus data by role.
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs spent on (a) hospitality, (b) entertainment, (c) promotional materials, (d) sponsorships and (e) advertising in each media outlet in each of the last three years. [18267]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 19 October 2010]: The spend by HM Revenue and Customs is provided as follows. All figures exclude VAT.
| £ | |||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| (1) The majority of spend on hospitality and entertainment relates to the provision of beverages at meetings and for visitors. We have provided the total spend for hospitality and entertainment for each of the last three years. (2) Figures do not include production, miscellaneous or Central Office for Information fee costs. | |||
The total spend on promotional materials is not available. No central record is held and it cannot be disaggregated from other spend, except at disproportionate cost.
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