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11 Jan 2011 : Column 280W—continued
Prison Sentences: Reoffenders
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of the prisoners serving a custodial sentence of less than four years for each category of offence are repeat offenders. [32841]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows figures for the population in prison establishments at 30 June 2009 serving an immediate custodial sentence of less than four years, by offence category and criminal history. These figures are a further breakdown of table 7.32 in 'Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2009' which was published on 22 July 2010.
| Population in prison establishments serving an immediate custodial sentence of less than four years at 30 June 2009, by offence category and criminal history-England and Wales | |||
| Number of offenders | |||
| Offence category | All offenders | First time offenders | One or more previous convictions/cautions |
These criminal history figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording
system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
Prisoners' Release: Reoffenders
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effects on the Social Impact Bond scheme in HM Prison Peterborough of the (a) current economic situation and (b) implementation of the Government's proposed reform of housing benefit. [32414]
Mr Blunt: The Social Impact Bond pilot scheme has generated significant new resource to rehabilitate offenders, through social investors paying upfront for intensive services and mentoring to reduce reconvictions in 3,000 short-sentence (less than 12 months) prisoners released from HMP Peterborough.
The Government will pay only on the results the scheme delivers. The effect of the Social Impact Bond in reducing reconvictions will be determined by an independent assessor against a matched control group of 30,000 offenders with similar characteristics released from other prisons. This approach will minimise the possibility that those in the scheme will be particularly sensitive to external factors such as prevailing economic conditions or changes in Government policy.
Prisoners: Deaths
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse was of (a) the investigation into a death in custody by the Prison and Probations Ombudsman and (b) the inquest and any other associated action in each financial year since 2007-08. [32898]
Mr Blunt: The information in the following table shows the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman's average cost of an investigation into a death for each financial year since 2007-08. Also shown is the number of death in prison custody investigations for each financial year since 2007-08.
| Data on PPO death investigations | ||
| Average cost of a death investigation (£) | Number of death in prison custody investigations | |
Inquests into deaths in prison custody are an inquisitorial fact-finding process heard by a coroner with a jury. Information on the legal costs incurred by NOMS for deaths in custody on such inquests since 2007 is as follows. They include the costs of the Treasury Solicitor, Counsel's fees and other disbursements.
| £ million | |
Information about the costs incurred on such inquests by local authorities, who are responsible for funding the coroner system, is not held centrally.
The costs for any other associated action related to deaths in prison custody in each financial year since 2007-08 are unknown and can be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
Prisoners: Per Capita Costs
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost of a prison place in (a) England and (b) Wales was in the latest period for which figures are available. [32311]
Mr Blunt: For 2008-09 (latest period available), the overall average cost per place in England was £45,000 and, in Wales was £53,000 (figures to nearest 1,000).
The overall average cost for 2008-09 comprises the expenditure on public and private prisons (as recorded in the NOMS agency annual report and accounts), increased by an apportionment of relevant costs borne centrally and in the regions by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). This involves some estimation. The figures do not include the cost of prisoners held in police or court cells under Operation Safeguard, nor expenditure met by other Government Departments (e.g. Health and Education). The prisoner escort service costs are included. Expenditure recharged to the Youth Justice Board in respect of young people is included.
Cost per prison place is expressed in terms of the certified normal accommodation number of places; this gives a higher unit cost than the cost per prisoner.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2010, Official Report, column 1115W, on the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, how many of the complaints to the ombudsman were upheld. [32784]
Mr Blunt: The information in the following table shows the numbers of complaints upheld by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman in the last three years. Also shown is the number of complaints deemed eligible for investigation.
| Number of complaints upheld | |||
| Eligible complaints received: | |||
| Year( 1) | Prisoners and probation | Immigration detention | Number of complaints upheld |
| (1) Years are April to March. (2) The system for recording the number of complaints changed in this year. | |||
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman: Operating Costs
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2010, Official Report, columns 1115-6W, on the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, what estimate he has made of the likely cost of that office in 2010-11. [32783]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has delegated a budget of £5.98 million for the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman in 2010-11. In addition funding of £65,000 is expected from other Departments.
Prisons: Construction
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the (a) direct and (b) indirect costs to the public purse to date of the commissioning process for the four 1,500 bed prisons to be built under the private finance initiative; and if he will make a statement. [32909]
Mr Blunt: Plans for a new 1,500 place prison have been deferred for the remainder of the current spending review period. Following the comprehensive spending review announcement on 20 October and the publication of the consultation Green Paper on sentencing and rehabilitation, we will now look in detail at the sentencing frameworks for adults and young offenders, and the full range of penalties currently available to sentencers.
Approximately £0.6 million has been spent on financial and legal advice for the establishment of a PFI framework for potential 1,500 place new prisons (direct costs).
Indirect costs include those related to the search for suitable sites and planning for potential projects at Beam Park West in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham and Runwell in Essex. These are estimated to be around £2.7 million.
Prisons: Fires
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fires have there been in prisons in each of the last three years. [32786]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the total number of 'fire incidents' reported in the incident report system for prisons in England and Wales in each of the last three years. Fire incidents may be actual fires but could also include, for example, mischievous activation of fire alarms. To ascertain whether the incident was an actual fire would require the analysis of each individual incident report, which could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
| Total number of fire incidents for the last three years | |||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11( 1) | |
| (1) Up to and including November 2010, therefore not including the incident at HMP Ford on new year's day. Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. | |||
Prisons: Visits
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which prisons have visitor centres; and what the cost of (a) establishing the centre and (b) running the centre in 2009-10 was in each case. [32785]
Mr Blunt:
Details on the provision of dedicated visitors' centres are not held centrally. Prisons vary greatly in the availability of facilities from which services to visitors
are provided. From April 2011 the provision of services will be set out in a NOMS specification to ensure a minimum level of service delivery to visitors in England and Wales. This policy will apply whether or not a prison has a dedicated visitor centre. Funding for the provision of services to visitors is part of prison baseline funding and the costs cannot be disaggregated.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effects on re-offending rates of prison visitor centres. [32792]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has not assessed specifically the effects on reoffending rates of the prison visitor centres. However, the Ministry of Justice Resettlement Survey 2008 showed that offenders could be 39% less likely to reoffend if they had received family visits while in custody.
Reoffenders: Young People
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the performance of Project Heron against its objectives; and if he will make a statement. [32564]
Mr Blunt: The formal evaluation of the Heron Project is due in March 2012.
However, initial findings about the project are promising and have shown that young people involved in the scheme are having positive experiences.
Restraint Techniques: Children
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether any restraint techniques that have been banned in secure training centres are permitted for use with children in (a) children's homes, (b) residential schools, (c) immigration removal centres and (d) NHS hospitals; [32281]
(2) what reports he has received of the (a) suspension and (b) ban of restraint techniques in secure training centres that have been used with children in (i) children's homes, (ii) residential schools, (iii) immigration removal centres and (iv) NHS hospitals. [32282]
Mr Blunt: The three restraint techniques which are no longer used in secure training centres are the 'nose distraction technique', the 'double basket hold' and the 'double seated embrace'.
Children's homes and residential schools are overseen by the Department for Education. Regulation 17(1) of the Children's Homes Regulations 2001 provides that no measure of control, discipline or restraint which is excessive or unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (5) (which lists prohibited disciplinary measures) may be used at any time on a child accommodated in a children's home. Any use of the restraint techniques which have been banned in secure training centres are likely to be in breach of regulation 17(1).
In August 2009, the Director General for Children and Families in the (then) Department for Children, Schools and Families wrote to all providers of secure children's homes to inform them of the recommendations of the Independent Review of Restraint in Juvenile
Secure Settings 2008. In particular, strongly recommending that neither of the restraint techniques known as "nose distraction" and "double basket hold" should be used.
All school staff members have a legal power to use reasonable force to prevent pupils committing a criminal offence; injuring themselves or others, or damaging property; and to maintain good order and discipline among pupils(1). "The use of force to control or restrain pupils-Guidance for schools in England" was issued by the (then) Department for Children, Schools and Families in April 2010 to help school staff feel more confident about using force when it is right and necessary to do so. The guidance points out that a panel of experts identified that certain restraint techniques presented an unacceptable risk when used on children and young people. These techniques are the 'double seated embrace', 'the double basket hold' and the 'nose distraction technique'.
I have been informed by the Department of Health that there is no national list of either permitted or banned restraint techniques for use in NHS hospitals in England. But it is a requirement of regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 that, where any form of control or restraint is used, the hospital provider must have suitable arrangements in place to protect service users against the risk of such control or restraint being unlawful or otherwise excessive.
I have also been informed by the Home Office that the 'nose distraction', 'double basket hold' and 'double seated embrace' techniques are not used in immigration removal centres.
(1) Section 93 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
Supreme Court: Costs
Mr Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of the establishment of the Supreme Court. [32629]
Mr Djanogly: There has been no change to the figure of £57.6 million announced to this House on 11 March 2010.
Supreme Court: Operating Costs
Mr Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the estimated running costs of the Supreme Court are for (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12. [32640]
Mr Djanogly: The estimated net running costs for the UK Supreme Court for 2010-11 are £6.305 million and for 2011-12 £6.036 million.
Trials and Sentencing
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what research he is conducting into the operation of the principle of joint enterprise in criminal trials and sentencing policy; and if he will make a statement. [32896]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice is not conducting research into the operation of the principle of joint enterprise in criminal trials and sentencing policy. The Law Commission published a report on Participating in Crime which examines the law in this area and this is being considered by officials together with a number of other reports.
Education
Children in Care
Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were in care in each year since 2007. [27984]
Tim Loughton: The requested information is included in the following table.
| Children looked after at 31 March( 1, 2, 3) Yea rs ending 31 March 2007 to 2010 Coverage: England | ||||
| Number | ||||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (3) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. | ||||
This information is also available as part of the Statistical First Release, Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)-year ending 31 March 2010. This can be found at:
Information on the number of children who were in care at 31 March in each year since 2007 can be found in table A1. This table can be found in the excel link titled "England Summary tables".
Children's Centres: Day Care
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of Sure Start children's centres which will offer full day care in deprived areas following the phasing out of the requirement to do so. [31013]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 16 December 2010]: We have not made an estimate.
The Government are committed to increasing the focus of children's centres on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged families in their communities. Local areas are best placed to assess their communities' needs and local demand for early education and care.
We have removed the overly prescriptive requirement for all children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas to provide full day care where there is no demand. However, local authorities remain responsible for ensuring that there is sufficient high-quality early education and care across the whole of their community, and many children's centres will continue to provide full day care depending on levels of demand.
We expect children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas to continue to provide high quality early education and care as part of their integrated support for families, including free nursery education for two, three, and four-year-olds and additional hours where there is demand. Centres should make sure that disadvantaged families get priority when these places are allocated.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the amount that it will save by phasing out the requirement for Sure Start children's centres to offer full day care in deprived areas. [31014]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 16 December 2010]: The Department has not made an estimate of the total amount of money which could be saved by phasing out the requirement for Sure Start Children's Centres to offer full day care in deprived areas. Early education and care services in children's centres are intended to be self-sustaining from parental fees, Government funding for free nursery education for two, three and four-year-olds, and other local authority sources.
In the past, children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas were required to provide full day care, i.e. 10 hours a day, five hours a week, for 48 weeks a year. However, the National Audit Office Memorandum for the Children's Schools and Families Committee, December 2009, suggested that in some areas, when demand for full day care is low, money intended for other Sure Start services-like family support and outreach to vulnerable families-is subsidising the provision of early education and care. By removing the requirement for children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas to provide full day care where there is no demand, we are enabling local authorities and children's centres to use their money more flexibly to intervene early and reach the most vulnerable families more effectively.
Departmental Publications
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the expenditure of his Department and its predecessors on printing (a) Command Papers, (b) papers laid before Parliament by Act, (c) consultation documents and (d) other papers in each of the last 10 years. [28384]
Tim Loughton: The Department does not hold a central record of its expenditure on the requested items and cannot obtain the information without incurring disproportionate cost.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate he has made of the number of questions to his Department tabled in the (a) House of Commons and (b) House of Lords that remained unanswered after 10 working days as a result of observation of guidance on the timing of answers to similar questions tabled to more than one Department in the latest period for which figures are available. [28491]
Tim Loughton: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude) on 1 December 2010, Official R eport, column 885W.
In the case of questions that are deemed to be "round robin", The Guide to Parliamentary Work, published by the Leader of the House of Commons:
states that Departments should not delay preparing an answer until 'round robin' advice is provided, and should not miss the target deadlines for this reason.
Education Maintenance Allowance: Darlington
Mrs Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many young people in Darlington participated in further education in each of the last three years prior to the introduction of education maintenance allowance; [30074]
(2) how many young people in Darlington participated in further education in academic year 2009-10. [30075]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 20 December 2010]: Estimates of participation in education and training for young people in each local authority (LA) in England are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June. The full SFR can be found on the Department's website:
The latest figures, for end 2008, show that an estimated 91% of young people of academic age 16 (usually those in their first year after compulsory education) in Darlington LA were in some form of education or work based learning (WBL) at the end of 2008. Education maintenance allowance (EMA) was introduced nationally from September 2004. The following time-series shows numbers in education in Darlington for the three years prior to its introduction, and for every year subsequently for which data are available.
| Participation in education and work based learning (WBL) of academic age 16-year-olds | ||
| Darlington LA | Number | Percentage |
Education: Assessments
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future of the Assessing Pupils Progress scheme. [30458]
Mr Gibb: Skilled and precise assessment of pupils' work is an essential part of good teaching, but we do not intend to prescribe national requirements as to how this should be done.
Assessing Pupils' Progress (APP) is a voluntary approach to tracking pupils' progress and it is for schools to decide if they want to use it or not. We will continue to make APP resources available to schools to access should they wish to, but we will consolidate them to significantly reduce the amount of information schools have to navigate.
Education: Newham
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people resident in (a) West Ham constituency and (b) the London borough of Newham were not in education, employment or training (i) in 2008, (ii) in 2009 and (iii) on the latest date for which figures are available. [31684]
Mr Gibb: Official estimates of the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June and can be found on the Department's website.
These estimates cannot be broken down below national level. However, Connexions Services collect information on the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET in each local authority area, which are published annually of the DFE website.
Connexions figures for the London borough of Newham at the end of 2008 and 2009 are shown as follows. As the number of young people NEET varies widely throughout the academic year, comparisons can only be made with the same period each year and figures for the end of 2010 are not due to be published in April 2011. The Department for Education does not collect Connexions data at parliamentary constituency level.
| 16 to 18-year-olds NEET | ||
| Number | Proportion (percentage) | |
Financial Services: Education
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will discuss with Teach First the teaching of financial capability as part of teacher training. [29613]
Mr Gibb: The recently published schools White Paper 'The Importance of Teaching' sets out how schools will be freed from the constraints of central Government direction, including trusting the professional judgment of teachers to support all children to progress. Teachers, rather than Government, have the expertise to identify the resources that meet the needs of their pupils.
We have also announced our intention to hold an internal review of Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education, which includes finance education. More details will be announced in the new year.
Any conclusions from this review that might lead to changes in teacher training will be notified to all teacher training providers, including Teach First.
Free School Meals: Costs
Mr Laws:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of providing free school meals to all children in
primary schools in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement. [30041]
Mr Gibb: The estimated annual cost of offering universal free school meals (FSM) provision for children from Nursery to Year 6, would have been £1.8 billion per annum in 2010, rising to £2 billion in 2014. There is also an additional one-off cost of just under £80 million in capital spending that would be required to provide the additional meals in 2010.
This estimate is based on cost per child estimates produced by HM Treasury and Child Poverty Unit (adjusted for inflation), and DfE estimates on the number of additional children who would take FSM if there is universal provision instead of the current FSM entitlement criteria.
Free Schools
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the (a) purpose and (b) objectives are of his Department's Free Schools Group. [29398]
Mr Gibb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 21 December 2010, Official Report, column 1242W. The purpose and objectives of the Free Schools Group are to develop policy and provide support to groups and individuals who are interested in establishing a new school.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many enquiries his Department has received from parties interested in setting up free schools to date. [29788]
Mr Gibb: As referred to in the recent White Paper 'The Importance of Teaching', the Department has received over 180 proposals from groups and individuals interested in establishing a free school.
Languages: Finance
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department expects to provide for the Language Assistants programme after the 2011-12 academic year. [31533]
Mr Gibb: The Department has allocated around £700,000 a year in each of the next four years to the Language Assistants programme. The exact amount will be discussed and agreed with the delivery organisation prior to the start of each financial year, as is usual practice.
New Schools Network
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2010, Official Report, column 274W, on the New Schools Network, how many items of feedback his Department has received on the quality and timeliness of the service provided by that organisation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such item. [26398]
Mr Gibb: The Department for Education does not systematically collect details of feedback received on the New Schools Network. Verbal feedback on the New Schools Network from proposers has been positive.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2010, Official Report, column 920W, on the Children, Schools and Families Act 2010, if he will place in the Library a copy of each document on each file on Clauses 11 to 14 of the Children, Schools and Families Bill of Session 2009-10 that relates to (a) sex education and (b) general PSHE policy; and if he will make a statement. [29841]
Mr Gibb: Clauses 11-14 of the Children, Schools and Families Bill 2009-10 that relate to sex education and general PSHE policy are:
a. education about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs
b. education about emotional health and well-being
c. sex and relationships education
d. education about nutrition and physical activity
e. education about personal finance
f. education about individual safety, and
g. careers, business and economic education
The Department holds many documents relating to the above subjects and to place a copy of all such documents in the House of Commons Library would take a disproportionate amount of time and exceed the acceptable cost threshold for answering PQs.
Religion: English Baccalaureate
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to include religious studies as a humanities subject in the English Baccalaureate. [30486]
Mr Gibb: For the purposes of the 2010 Performance Tables, history or geography will count towards the humanities element of the English Baccalaureate. We will review the precise definition of the English Baccalaureate for the 2011 Tables, but would not expect to remove any of the qualifications identified for the 2010 Tables.
The English Baccalaureate will give pupils the opportunity to study a core of academic subjects. This does not mean that we wish to restrict choices or opportunities for wider study, and the core of subjects in the English Baccalaureate is small enough to allow for that. Study in other subjects will also be valuable to pupils and we will encourage all pupils to study others subjects alongside the core English Baccalaureate, in order to get a well rounded education.
We recognise, as many schools do, the benefits that religious studies can bring to pupils. This is why the teaching of religious studies remains compulsory throughout a pupil's time at school. Success in all subjects studied at GCSE, including religious studies, will also continue to be recognised by other performance table measures, as it has in the past.
Schools: Admissions
Mr Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the number of surplus places available at schools in (a) Reading East constituency and (b) England in each of the last five years. [30015]
Mr Gibb: The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of surplus school places in maintained schools (except special schools) through an annual survey. The numbers of surplus places are reported at local authority level and not broken down by constituency. Information on surplus school capacity is not collected from independent schools. However, the Department is able to establish where there is spare capacity in academies as they return data on the number of agreed pupil places as set out in their funding agreements.
As at May 2010, there were 212 surplus places in John Madejski Academy in Reading. In maintained primary schools there were 1,596 surplus places and in maintained secondary schools there were 977 surplus places.
Copies have been placed in the House Libraries of the most recent data available relating to the position in maintained schools and academies at May 2010 and surplus places information from previous years' survey results. Information on school capacity within academies is available since 2008.
Schools: Languages
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the proportion of children at key stage 2 in maintained schools who are studying at least one modern foreign language. [31153]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 16 December 2010]: Research published by the Department in July 2009 showed that 92% of primary schools were teaching languages to at least some of their year groups at key stage 2. 69% of primary schools were teaching it to all four year groups. In most cases, this included all pupils within key stage 2.
Social Services: Children
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many serious incident notifications subsequent to the death of a child under one year of age were received by Ofsted in each quarter since April 2007. [25634]
Tim Loughton: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 8 December 2010:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
All the available Ofsted data have been checked and the information on serious incident notifications subsequent to the death of a child under one year of age is presented in the table at the end of this letter. The table shows the quarter in which the incident occurred, rather than that in which Ofsted was notified, because a record of when each notification was received is available for most, but not all of the earlier data.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Tim Loughton MP, Minister for Children and Families, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
| Notifications of child deaths aged under one year | |
| Quarter period | Number |
Vocational Education
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on the future of vocational learning in schools; and if he will make a statement. [30612]
Mr Gibb: I have asked Professor Alison Wolf to carry out a review of vocational education for 14 to 19-year-olds. Her review will consider the organisation, funding, and target audience for vocational education, and the principles that should underpin the content, structure and teaching methods. As part of the review, Professor Wolf has carried out a public call for evidence, which promoted a large number of responses which she is taking into consideration as her review progresses. Professor Wolf will report in spring 2011, and her findings will inform any future development of vocational education in schools.
Young People: Drugs
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future funding of training for school drugs advisers. [32060]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 20 December 2010]: Funding to support vulnerable young people and to intervene early to prevent problems such as drug and alcohol misuse is available through the Early Intervention Grant. The grant allows local areas the freedom and flexibility to invest in early intervention according to their local priorities and the needs of local children, families and young people. Substance misuse will also be a priority for Public Health England with directors of Public Health and of Children's Services expected to develop a joint local approach to preventing and tackling drug and alcohol misuse.
As set out in the Government's new Drug Strategy published earlier this month drug education should be part of a broader approach developed at the local level and covering prevention, early intervention and specialist support for those young people who need it.
Treasury
BBC
John McDonnell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby of 30 November 2010, Official Report, column 677W, if he will place in the Library a
copy of the minutes of the meeting between Treasury officials and the Director-General of the BBC on 15 April 2010. [32584]
Danny Alexander: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide specific details of all such discussions.
Civil Servants: Pensions
Mr Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account he took of the (a) funding components for, (b) net income of, (c) cash flow surplus of and (d) market value of the local government pension scheme in determining whether to include it in his proposals for changes to employee contribution rates to public sector pensions. [31500]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 20 December 2010]: The Government announced changes to employee pension contribution rates for public servants, including local government workers, at the spending review based on the rationale set out in the interim report of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission led by Lord Hutton of Furness.
The report shows that public service pensions have become more valuable, for example the value of a public service pension in 2003-04 is expected to be around a third higher than it would have been if life expectancy assumptions were the same as in 1955. The significant majority of the cost of these increases in value has fallen to local and national taxpayers.
The report goes on to say that there is a clear rationale for increasing member contributions to ensure a fairer distribution of costs between taxpayers and members.
While this policy will contribute to the sustainability of the LGPS it does not directly affect the long-term funding of the LGPS, which is dependent on the level of total contributions that is determined at triennial valuations. Factors such as those you have listed would be considered at these valuations.
Government Departments: Cost-effectiveness
Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on the implementation of efficiency savings in the comprehensive spending review period. [30562]
Danny Alexander: The spending review set firm and fixed spending budgets for all Government Departments for the rest of this Parliament. Departments will need to make efficiency savings to ensure that they live within their budgets. This is an ongoing process to which the Government are fully committed. Specific measures being taken to encourage and support efficient use of budgets include:
A reduction in administration budgets of 34% across the whole of Whitehall and its arm's length bodies over the next spending period saving £5.9 billion a year by 2014-15; and radically reducing the number of arm's length bodies across Government.
Subjecting central Government functions to a tough new efficiency regime, monitored and supported by the new Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG) which is chaired by me as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr Maude). This includes driving savings in areas such as procurement, property and major contracts.
Greater transparency across Government's operations to enable the public to hold public bodies and politicians to account. This includes publication of individual items of spending over £25,000, all new contracts, tenders over £10,000, and the pay of senior civil servants.
Leader of the House
Orders and Regulations: Parliamentary Scrutiny
Mr Offord: To ask the Leader of the House if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Standing Orders of the House to allow further time to debate statutory instruments. [32744]
Sir George Young: I have no current plans to do so.
International Development
Overseas Aid
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the change in real terms in the UK's Official Development Assistance will be in each year between 2010-11 and 2013-14. [32435]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The spending review settlement provided resources to maintain the UK's ratio of Official Development Assistance to gross national income at 0.56% for 2011 and 2012 and to achieve a ratio of 0.7% from 2013. The settlement set out projections of total UK ODA for each calendar year. Total UK ODA is projected to increase in real terms by 2% in 2011, 4% in 2012 and 31% in 2013. This settlement makes the UK the first G8 country to set out concrete spending plans to meet the 0.7% target.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Rehabilitation
Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to involve treatment providers in the design of specifications for (a) alcohol and (b) drug addiction treatment services; and to what extent such specifications will be devolved to a local level; [32808]
(2) what steps he plans to take to simplify the tendering process for (a) alcohol and (b) drug addiction treatment services; [32809]
(3) if he will bring forward proposals to require GPs to establish partnerships with local providers of (a) alcohol and (b) drug treatment services. [32811]
Anne Milton: 'Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Consultation on the funding and commissioning routes for public health' sets out our vision for the future of drug and alcohol services which we propose will be funded from the new public health budget and commissioned by local authorities as part of their new public health role.
In addition, the 'Drug Strategy 2010. Reducing Demand, Restricting Supply, Building Recovery: Supporting People to live a drug free life' sets out how treatment services will be commissioned locally to take account the needs of communities. This would include local engagement with general practitioner consortiums and treatment providers.
Copies of both documents have already been placed in the Library.
Arthritis
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to establish a National Quality Standard for rheumatoid arthritis. [32561]
Paul Burstow: The case for developing a quality standard on rheumatoid arthritis will be considered as part of work to commission a comprehensive library of such standards from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, in line with plans set out in the White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS'.
Bone Diseases: Health Services
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the quality of ankylosing spondylitis services in England. [32507]
Paul Burstow: Health care providers must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in order to provide health care services. Providers need to meet the CQC's essential requirements for quality and safety of services in order to be registered and to continue to be registered.
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether an estimate has been made of the cost of ankylosing spondylitis to the (a) NHS and (b) economy in each of the last five years. [32508]
Paul Burstow: The information is not available because the Department does not collect the cost to the national health service of treating individual diagnoses.
General Practitioners: North East
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether his Department has received a business plan from the (a) Newcastle Bridges, (b) Langbaurgh and (c) County Durham and Darlington GP commissioning consortium; [32171]
(2) whether the (a) Newcastle Bridges, (b) Langbaurgh and (c) County Durham and Darlington GP commissioning consortium holds a contract with Egton Medical Information Systems Ltd; [32172]
(3) what the membership is of the managing group of the (a) Newcastle Bridges, (b) Langbaurgh and (c) County Durham and Darlington GP commissioning consortium; and which members are (i) registered doctors, (ii) registered nurses and (iii) others. [32185]
Mr Simon Burns:
On 8 December 2010, the first groups of general practitioners (GPs) who will take the lead in the Government's plans for commissioning health
services were announced. 52 groups of GP practices from across England have been selected to be the first to take on commissioning responsibilities as part of the Government's plans set out in the NHS White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS'.
The Department does not hold the specific information requested. The information may be best obtained through strategic health authorities, who are responsible for managing the selection process for the GP pathfinders.
Health Centres
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to provide information to the public on GP-led commissioning. [32467]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department published the White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS' on 12 July 2010, setting out plans to transfer the commissioning of the majority of NHS services to general practitioner (GP) consortium supported by the NHS Commissioning Board. 'Liberating the NHS: Legislative framework and next steps', published on 15 December 2010, confirms the Department's intention to carry these reforms through and sets out in more detail how we propose that consortium will operate. Both of these documents are publicly available on the Department of Health website.
The Department will be introducing the Health and Social Care Bill shortly, which will include details on GP-led commissioning. The Department will be communicating to the public, patients and staff about the content of the Bill.
In addition, the Department announced the first group of GP consortium to join a national pathfinder programme in December as part of a series of rolling admissions onto the programme over the coming months. Communications around this programme are likely to include public facing elements with communications through the media, as well as staff and public facing stakeholder groups.
As the Department develops its proposals for GP-led commissioning, it will continue to engage with clinicians, professional organisations and the public in order to inform them of their plans and utilise their expertise in implementing the reforms.
Going forward, one of the principal aims of GP commissioning is to make decisions more sensitive and responsive to the needs and wishes of patients and the public. Good communication and engagement with the public will be vital. The forthcoming Bill will place a duty on GP consortium and the NHS Commissioning Board to ensure that people who may receive a service are involved in its planning and development, and to promote and extend public and patient involvement and choice.
Health Visitors: Greater London
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the planned new health visitor posts will (a) be full-time and (b) be located in Greater London. [32552]
Anne Milton:
The Department will publish 'Health Visiting Implementation plan-A Call to Action', early in the new year, which will set out the Government's
commitment to a larger, re-energised health visiting service. This will deliver a new model of support to families, building on the Healthy Child Programme, and will provide further clarification to how this increase will be achieved and what the expectations of strategic health authorities and service providers will be.
The plan supports the 'Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2011/12', which identified health visiting provision as a key service priority for the national health service over the next year.
HIV Infection
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many HIV diagnoses there were (a) in each ethnic minority group and (b) in total in each year from 2005-06 to 2009-10. [32449]
Anne Milton: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Number of new HIV diagnoses made in England, by ethnic group, 2005-09 | |||||
| Year of diagnosis | |||||
| Ethnic group | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Notes: 1. Data are presented as first HIV diagnosis in England in each calendar year. 2. Diagnoses are from reports received to end June 2010. Numbers will rise as further reports are received. 3. The number of new diagnoses where ethnicity is "not reported" will decrease as routine follow-up is conducted. Source: Health Protection Agency | |||||
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost per patient was of antiretroviral therapy for HIV in the latest year for which figures are available. [32450]
Anne Milton: The estimated annual cost of HIV antiretroviral therapy per patient is £7,000 to £10,000 per year. Costs will vary depending on commissioning arrangements and an individual's clinical stage of HIV. For patients with complex treatment needs, antiretroviral drug costs will exceed £10,000 a year.
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much his Department spent on HIV prevention in each year from 2005-06 to 2009-10; [32452]
(2) how much of his Department's expenditure on HIV prevention was targeted at people of African origin in each year from 2005-06 to 2009-10; [32453]
(3) which organisations received funding from his Department for HIV prevention for people of African origin between 2005-06 to 2009-10; and how much funding was allocated to each organisation in each year; [32454]
(4) how much funding from his Department each (a) Department of central Government, (b) local authority and (c) primary care trust spent on HIV prevention in each year since 2005-06. [32455]
Anne Milton: The Department has contracts with the Terrence Higgins Trust and the African Health Policy Network (AHPN) for national programmes of HIV prevention for men-who-have-sex-with-men and African communities respectively. The total amount spent by the Department in each year from 2005-06 to 2009-10 on HIV prevention is shown in the following table.
| Amount (£) | |
The Department funds the AHPN specifically for HIV prevention. The AHPN is an umbrella organisation for African communities in England. The AHPN commissions a programme of African HIV prevention interventions with community based organisations across England. The amount allocated to the AHPN for HIV prevention work is shown in the following table.
| Amount (£) | |
The Department does not fund other central Government Departments, local authorities or primary care trusts (PCTs) for HIV prevention work. PCTs fund NHS HIV prevention taking account of local needs and priorities.
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people of each (a) gender and (b) ethnicity were recorded as having HIV in each year from 2005-06 to 2009-10. [32456]
Anne Milton: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
| Number of people (all ages) living with diagnosed HIV infection in England, by gender: 2005-09 | |||||
| Gender | 2005( 1) | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| (1) In 2005, five people were reported with gender data unavailable. Source: Health Protection Agency | |||||
John Radcliffe Hospital: Heart Diseases
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the costs of implementing the organisational recommendations of the NHS Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital cardiac services; [32516]
(2) what assessment he has made of the findings of the July 2010 review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit; [32517]
(3) what representations he has received from (a) families of former patients and (b) others on the conduct of the review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit; [32518]
(4) for what reasons the option of keeping open the John Radcliffe Hospital's Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit was not considered in the NHS Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital cardiac services in England; [32519]
(5) what account the NHS Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital cardiac services in England has taken of the findings of the July 2010 review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit; [32520]
(6) whether the consultation document prepared as part of the NHS Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital cardiac services in England will consult on the option of keeping Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit open; [32521]
(7) when the consultation document prepared as part of the NHS Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital cardiac services in England will be published; [32522]
Mr Simon Burns: A robust financial analysis, including the estimated costs relating to implementation, is being undertaken as part of the option appraisal process. The Joint Committee of primary care trusts (JCPCT)(1), the main decision-making body for the review, will take into consideration financial appraisal of the options when making its final decision on future options of configuration.
The Secretary of State is aware of the findings of the review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit.
The independent review was commissioned by the South Central strategic health authority and has concluded that the four child deaths which led to the review being undertaken were not attributable to poor surgical practice. The children who died had complex conditions and were at a high risk for surgery. However, the findings raised a number of procedural and governance issues, which need to be addressed by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. It recommended the continued suspension of the service pending a decision on its future place within the national service by the NHS Safe and Sustainable review.
The Department has received seven representations on the conduct of the review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit, including three pieces of correspondence from families of former patients.
On the basis of information currently available, the Safe and Sustainable review team is likely to recommend to the JCPCT that the eventual options for reconfiguration that are put out for public consultation in 2011 do not include the paediatric cardiac surgery service at the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital. The review team have considered the outcome of an independent assessment of all paediatric cardiac surgery services in England in May and June 2010 by an expert panel chaired by Professor Sir Ian Kennedy.
The purpose of the Safe and Sustainable assessment process was to assess the ability of the current paediatric cardiac surgery services to meet new standards in the future. The outcome of this assessment was that that service at the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital received the lowest ranking assessment of the current 11 centres, by a significant margin.
The Safe and Sustainable review team undertook further work to determine whether the location of the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital could justify its inclusion in potential options on the grounds that this would improve overall access for children and families. This showed that, in the national context of a reduction in number of units, the inclusion of the John Radcliffe hospital unit in the potential options would not improve overall access for children and families.
Not being included in options for consultation does not mean that the JCPCT has made any decision about the future of the service at the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital.
The review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe paediatric cardiac surgery unit was conducted separately from the NHS Safe and Sustainable review, and did not form part of the Safe and Sustainable Review assessment process. The purpose of the Safe and Sustainable assessment process was to assess the ability of paediatric cardiac surgery services to meet new service standards in the future.
The JCPCT aims to agree recommendations for reconfiguration at a public meeting in the next few months. These recommendations will be published for a full public consultation in 2011. A final decision about the future of the service at the Oxford John Radcliffe
hospital and the other current services will not be made until the outcome of the public consultation has been considered. Parents, national health service staff and the public will have the opportunity to make their views known during the consultation process, including on the future of the service at the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital.
It is currently planned that the consultation document will be published in February 2011, subject to the decision by the JCPCT.
(1) The JCPCT was established as part of the NHS Safe and Sustainable programme to develop the consultation document on behalf of PCTs and take decisions on issues, which are the subject of consultation
Organs: Donors
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish guidelines for the harvesting of non-heart beating organs from accident and emergency units; and if he will make a statement. [32743]
Anne Milton: The Department recently organised a workshop in association with the College of Emergency Medicine and NHS Blood and Transplant. The aims of the workshop were to explore the key issues surrounding the role of Emergency Medicine in organ donation, including non-heart beating donation, and through discussion to gain as much consensus as possible.
The Department is currently preparing a consensus document based on an analysis of the workshop, that could be helpful in optimising the potential for donation from Emergency Medicine, including obtaining consent from relatives and increasing donor rates.
Orphan Drugs
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether his Department plans to provide guidance to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on developing a separate appraisal procedure for ultra-orphan drugs; [32619]
(2) whether his Department plans to issue guidance to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the development of a separate appraisal procedure for ultra-orphan drugs. [32831]
Mr Simon Burns: We have no such plans. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is an independent body and is responsible for developing its own appraisal processes and methods, in consultation with stakeholders.
Pain
Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with chronic pain in each year since 2000. [32372]
Paul Burstow: The information is not available centrally. Information is available on the number of episodes of care in specialist settings for patients with chronic pain, but this would not give information on new diagnoses-many patients may be coming back for further treatment after an initial assessment, the majority of patients with chronic pain are managed in primary care and information is not routinely available.
Pain: NHS
Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on chronic pain in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement. [32373]
Paul Burstow: Estimated expenditure on chronic pain in England for financial years 2006-07 to 2008-09 is given in the following table. Estimates are not available before this date.
| Estimated expenditure on chronic pain in England, 2006-07 to 2008-09 | |
| Financial year | Gross expenditure (£000) |
| Notes: 1. Expenditure figures are from estimated England level programme budgeting data, which are calculated using primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority programme budgeting returns and Department of Health Resource Accounts data. Figures will include an estimation of special health authority expenditure. 2. In order to improve data quality, continual refinements have been made to the programme budgeting data calculation methodology since the first collection in 2003-04. The underlying data which support programme budgeting data are also subject to yearly changes. Caution is therefore advised when using programme budgeting data to draw conclusions on changes in PCT spending patterns between years. 3. Figures include expenditure across all sectors. Disease specific expenditures do not include expenditure on prevention, or costs associated with the time of general practitioners or other primary care professionals, but do include prescribing expenditure. 4. Data for subcategories such as chronic pain are expected to be less robust than data on main categories such as neurological conditions. | |
Social Services: Inspections
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum length of time between site visits to social care providers will be under the new inspection methodology and staffing complement proposed for the Care Quality Commission. [32551]
Paul Burstow: The new registration system for private and voluntary health care and adult social care providers was set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the 2008 Act). It came into effect from 1 October 2010.
The 2008 Act does not set minimum inspection frequencies for services. Instead it allows the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to adopt a risk-based approach and discussions about when to inspect are based on intelligence and an assessment of risk.
In terms of staffing, CQC is an independent body and it is therefore for CQC to determine the appropriate staffing complement in order to carry out its functions efficiently and effectively.
The following information has been provided by CQC:
Under CQC's new inspection methodology, every Adult Social Care provider is due to get a planned review every two years. As the new methodology only came into force on 1 October 2010 it is too early to give a clear estimate of how many site visits will be made, or the length of time between visits. CQC is not planning any further changes to the methodology in the next 12 months.
The methodology does not prescribe a set frequency or duration for visits. In line with the principles of risk-based regulation, CQC carries out visits in line with its judgement of risk when these are the most effective way of gathering information about compliance. This means CQC targets its resources on providers where the risk is highest, while reducing the regulatory burden on providers where the risk is low.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average number of site visits to be made to social care providers each year under the new inspection methodology and staffing complement proposed for the Care Quality Commission. [32565]
Paul Burstow: The new registration system for private and voluntary health care and adult social care providers was set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the 2008 Act). It came into effect from 1 October 2010.
The 2008 Act does not set minimum inspection frequencies for services. Instead it allows the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to adopt a risk-based approach and discussions about when to inspect are based on intelligence and an assessment of risk. Given that decisions are based on risk, and the new methodology has only been in place since October, we have no estimate of the average number of visits.
In terms of staffing, CQC is an independent body and it is therefore for CQC to determine the appropriate staffing complement in order to carry out its functions efficiently and effectively.
The following information has been provided by CQC:
Under CQCs new inspection methodology, every Adult Social Care provider is due to get a planned review every two years. As the new methodology only came into force on 1 October 2010 it is too early to give a clear estimate of how many site visits will be made.
CQC anticipate that 55% of its reviews will be responsive and 45% planned. A planned or responsive review will not necessarily involve a site visit if there are no known risk factors to trigger one. This is in line with the principles of better regulation. CQC has emphasised in it's methodology that it expects a larger number of shorter, focused inspections to look at particular outcomes.
Cabinet Office
Advisory Bodies: Publications
Dr Huppert: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance his Department issues to Government departments on the publication of the minutes and agenda items of statutory advisory committees. [32613]
Mr Maude [holding answer 10 January 2011]: Guidance on the publication of proceedings of meetings by public bodies is set out in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies: A Guide for Departments". A copy of the Cabinet Office "Guide" can be downloaded from:
A copy is also available from the Libraries of the House.
Business: Closures
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many businesses have ceased trading in the (a) Richmond-upon-Thames and (b) Kingston-upon-Thames local authority area in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [33128]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many businesses have ceased trading in the (a) Richmond-upon-Thames and (b) Kingston-upon-Thames local authority area in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [33128]
Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births, deaths and survivals are available from the ONS release on Business Demography at:
The table below contains the latest statistics available, which show enterprise deaths for Richmond-upon-Thames and Kingston-upon-Thames in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
| Enterprise deaths for Richmond-upon- Thames and Kingston -upon- Thames in 2007, 2008 and 2009 | |||
| Number | |||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
Employment: Disability
Mr Evennett:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people identifying themselves as disabled were in employment in (a) the London
borough of Bexley and (b) Greater London in each of the last three years. [32460]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people identifying themselves as disabled were in employment in (a) the London Borough of Bexley and (b) Greater London in each of the last three years. (32460)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
Table 1 shows the number of people identifying themselves as disabled who were in employment in Greater London and the London Borough of Bexley, for the 12 month periods ending in December from 2007 to 2009 from the APS, along with the latest estimate for the 12 months ending June 2010.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
| Table 1: Number of disabled( 1) people in employment | ||
| Thousands | ||
| 12 month ending | Greater London | Bexley |
| (1) People who are DDA disabled or have a work limiting disability. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV-for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey | ||
Employment: Harlow
Robert Halfon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were in employment in Harlow constituency in each year since 2000. [32289]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people were employed in Harlow constituency in each year from 2000 to 2010. (032289)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
The Harlow parliamentary constituency changed to new boundaries at the 2010 general election. Figures for the current Harlow parliamentary constituency are only available from 2004.
Table 1 shows the number of persons in employment resident in Harlow parliamentary constituency for the 12 month periods ending in December from 2004 to 2009 from the APS, along with the latest estimate for the period ending June 2010.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
Legal Services Commission: Procurement
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what work has been undertaken by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) under the Supplier Feedback Service in respect of the complaint against the Legal Services Commission (LSC) in 2010; when he expects that work to be concluded; and what mechanisms are in place for the OGC to take steps together with (a) the LSC and (b) Ministers in response to that work. [32092]
Mr Maude: OGC is now part of the Cabinet Office. The Supplier Feedback Service wrote to the LSC in November asking them to provide a response, by 22 December, to the concerns raised by a supplier. The SFS has received the response and requested further clarification from LSC by 14 January. The SFS will decide upon the next steps once this clarification has been provided, and expects to be able to respond to the complainant by 31 January.
Unemployment: Richmond upon Thames
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in Richmond Park constituency were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in the latest period for which figures are available. [32968]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in Richmond Park constituency were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in the latest period for which figures are available. (32968)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
The number of claimants of JSA in the Richmond Park constituency in November 2010 was 1,168.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
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