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4 Feb 2011 : Column 1005W—continued
Health
Health Services: Standards
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis is for the effectiveness in improving health outcomes of his policy on reforming health care commissioning. [37779]
Paul Burstow: The White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS' was published in July 2010 and set out our long-term vision for the national health service. Shortly after, we set out further details of our proposals to devolve power and responsibility for commissioning services to local consortiums of general practitioner practices in 'Liberating the NHS: Commissioning for Patients', with the consultation on these proposals running from July to October.
In December, we published our response to the consultation in 'Liberating the NHS: Legislative framework and next steps' setting out our plans in further detail. This document set out a full analysis of the responses to the consultation and how our proposals were modified in light of the consultation.
On 19 January 2011 the Health and Social Care Bill was published. Alongside the Bill, we published an impact assessment that set out further detail on the evidence base for the policies.
All of these documents have already been placed in the Library.
Myasthenia Gravis: Medical Treatments
Mr Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) cost of provision of orphan treatments for myasthenia gravis on the NHS. [37755]
Paul Burstow: No drugs licensed for use in the treatment of myasthenia gravis are classified as orphan medicines by the European Medicines Agency.
Information on drugs included in section 10.2.1 of the British National Formulary (BNF), 'Drugs that enhance neuromuscular transmission', and dispensed in the community in England in 2009 (the most recent full year for which information is available) is given in the following table:
| BNF chemical name( 1,2) | Prescription items (thousand)( 3) | Net ingredient cost (NIC)(£000)( 4) |
| (1) Neostigmine and edrophonium are also used for other purposes (neuromuscular blockade) and distigmine is primarily used for urinary retention. (2) Immunosuppressant therapy is also used in the treatment of myasthenia gravis. Information on immunosuppressant drugs is not included as these are prescribed for a wide range of conditions. (3) A figure of 0.0 indicates less than 50 prescription items. (4) NIC is the basic cost of a drug. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income. Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system | ||
NHS: Finance
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the efficiency of (a) public investment and (b) private borrowing in terms of the cost to the taxpayer of providing NHS services; and if he will make a statement. [38480]
Mr Simon Burns: Capital investment proposals in the national health service are considered on a case by case basis and assessed against key approval criteria set down by the Department and Treasury. Each proposal is subject to a value for money test which compares the risk adjusted, whole life costs and benefits of a public capital funded option (known as the Public Sector Comparator) with one provided under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). This involves a private sector consortium raising finance either through a loan from a bank or from the capital markets (bonds).
Under the PFI option project risks (costs overruns, design faults etc) are transferred from the public sector authority to the PFI consortium for which the public sector pays a premium in the form of the private sector's higher overall borrowing charges (they include a margin for project risk). So in general terms, if the cost of this premium is lower to the public sector than the quantified value of the risk retained under the Public Sector Comparator, this, combined with any efficiency gains achieved in the PFI option, will determine if the PFI proposal represents better value for money and can be approved to go ahead.
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the reasons for the difference in the cost of providing healthcare services by (a) a private sector acute healthcare provider and (b) an NHS acute healthcare provider; and if he will make a statement; [38481]
(2) with reference to clause 61 of the Health and Social Care Bill, what assessment he has made of the effects of corporation tax for (a) private health providers and (b) NHS providers on competition in the market; and whether he has assessed the effects that corporation tax may have on the prices charged by such providers. [38491]
Paul Burstow: The impact assessment for the Health and Social Care Bill (published on 19 January 2011) includes a partial assessment of factors affecting the costs incurred by national health service bodies and private providers, respectively, in delivering health services for NHS patients. The key conclusion is that some of these factors appear to increase costs for NHS bodies relative to private providers, whilst other factors appear to increase costs for private providers relative to NHS bodies. However, based on the information held centrally, it has not been possible to determine, on balance, whether NHS bodies or private providers of NHS services are systematically advantaged or disadvantaged relative to the other.
Additional data collection and analysis would be needed to quantify some of the key factors, for example, to reflect the fact that private providers tend to treat less complex cases. With regard to corporation tax, however, this would not affect the accounting cost of providing NHS services, because it is a tax on profit, and would not affect the prices paid for NHS services under the national tariff.
The impact assessment is published on the Department's website at:
Psychiatry
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many psychiatrists specialising in the treatment of children the NHS employed in each of the last 10 years. [38494]
Paul Burstow: The following table gives the number of psychiatrists specialising in the treatment of children in the years requested. This information has been provided by the NHS Information Centre and is taken from their annual NHS Workforce Census which is published in March each year.
| Hospital and Community Health Services: medical staff specialising in child and adolescent psychiatry, England as at 30 September each year | ||
| Number (headcount) | ||
| All staff | Of which: Consultants | |
| Notes: Data quality: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes impact on figures already published, this is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census | ||
Home Department
Breathalysers: Roads
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on type approval for evidential roadside breath testing devices; and by what date she expects such devices to be in use by police forces. [37833]
James Brokenshire: Type approval depends on compliance of the approved device with a Home Office specification. Our technical advisers are currently finalising the specifications for both an evidential roadside breath test device for use in suspected drink driving cases and a roadside drug screening device. We expect work on both to be completed by the end of April 2011. Once a specification has been issued, future progress depends on manufacturers putting devices forward for approval and the performance of such devices in the necessary tests.
Purchase of devices once approved is a matter for individual chief officers of police.
Control Orders: Railways
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people (a) entered and (b) departed from the UK at (i) Ebbsfleet station and (ii) Ashford International station in the latest year for which figures are available. [37741]
Damian Green:
While the UK Border Agency holds information on passengers entering the UK at Ebbsfleet and Ashford International stations, these figures are supplied and owned by Eurostar. Information on passengers departing the UK from these stations is requested
occasionally by UK Border Agency. All information supplied by Eurostar to the UK Border Agency is held commercial in confidence.
Crime: Warwickshire
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) vehicle crimes, (b) robberies, (c) violent crimes and (d) drug-related crimes were recorded in Warwickshire in each year since 2005. [38928]
James Brokenshire: The available information is given in the following table.
The term "violent crime" is no longer used in relation to the police recorded crime statistics and figures for offences of violence against the person have been provided.
Data collected centrally on recorded crime do not identify whether offences are drug related. The recorded crime statistics do include the number of specific drug offences recorded by the police and the available information is given in the table.
| Selected offences recorded by the police in Warwickshire | ||||
| Number of offences | ||||
| Vehicle crime( 1) | Robbery | Violence against the person | Drug offences | |
| (1) Includes theft of and from a vehicle and interfering with a motor vehicle. | ||||
DNA: Databases
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons a DNA record may be deleted from the National DNA Database. [38478]
James Brokenshire: At present, the retention and destruction of police records, including DNA profiles held on the National DNA Database, is an operational issue for chief officers to consider. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has issued guidance to chief officers on the consideration of applications from individuals for the removal from police records of personal information, including DNA records.
The guidance, known as the Exceptional Case Procedure, is incorporated within the 'ACPO Retention Guidelines for Nominal Records on the Police National Computer' and has been published on the ACPO website at:
Theft: Dogs
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of dog theft have been recorded in each of the last five years. [38866]
James Brokenshire: The information requested is not available centrally. It is not possible to identify offences of dog thefts from the police recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office.
Theft: Oil
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many thefts of domestic oil were reported in each police authority area in each of the last five years. [38069]
James Brokenshire: The information requested is not available centrally. It is not possible to identify offences of theft of domestic oil from the police recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office.
International Development
Afghanistan
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials of his Department allocated to work on Afghanistan were based in (a) the UK, (b) Kabul and (c) Helmand province in the latest period for which figures are available. [38562]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: There are 216 Department for International Development (DFID) staff in Western Asia and Stabilisation Division. In the region of one third work solely on or in Afghanistan, alongside Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) colleagues, based in the UK, Kabul and Lashkar Gah. There are other DFID staff who cover Afghanistan as part of their wider responsibilities. We do not provide more detailed information for security and operational reasons.
Justice
Chief Coroner
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what legal advice he received before drafting legislation on the abolition of the post of Chief Coroner. [38295]
Mr Djanogly: The Public Bodies Bill is the responsibility of the Cabinet Office. The decision to include the office of Chief Coroner in the Bill for abolition was a policy decision, and was reached in the normal way with policy and legal advice from departmental officials.
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the cost to the public purse was of the post of Chief Coroner for each category of costs in the last year in which figures are available; [38489]
(2) if he will publish a timetable for the implementation of outstanding provisions of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. [38490]
Mr Djanogly:
The office of Chief Coroner has not incurred any cost over the last year as the office has not been created. I made a statement to the House on 14
October 2010, Official Report, columns 37-38WS, outlining the Government's plans to abolish the office through the Public Bodies Bill and transfer certain functions to other appropriate bodies. Discussions with the senior judiciary about which functions most appropriately sit with the judiciary are ongoing and it would, therefore, be inappropriate to publish any form of timetable until those discussions are concluded. The Government are keen to progress as quickly as possible.
I am pleased, though, that we will shortly be consulting on a Charter which will set out the standards to be expected by all those who come into contact with the coroners system.
Community Orders
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many instances of (a) threats and (b) violence against staff by offenders were recorded during unpaid work placements in 2009-10. [38080]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the number of threatening and violent incidents against probation staff recorded during unpaid work placements in 2009-10.
| Category | Number of incidents |
Exports: Afghanistan and Iraq
Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people have been (a) charged with and (b) convicted of exporting ADE-651 bomb detectors and similar devices to Afghanistan since January 2010; [38347]
(2) how many people have been (a) charged with and (b) convicted of exporting ADE-651 bomb detectors and similar devices to Iraq since January 2010. [38348]
Mr Blunt: As information collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice does not include the circumstances of offences other than those specified in a statute, it is not possible to identify specific offences relating to exporting ADE-651 bomb detectors and similar devices to Afghanistan or Iraq.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has banned the export of the ADE 651 and similar devices to those two countries under the Export Control Act 2002, with effect from 27 January 2010.
Firearms: Community Orders
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many instances of firearms being discharged when offenders were leaving unpaid work placements were recorded in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10. [38082]
Mr Blunt: Information is not collected from the Probation Trusts in sufficient detail to answer this question. However, data are available on the number of incidents related to both the discovery of firearms and threats with intent to kill (firearm related) that took place during unpaid work placements. Figures on these two categories are therefore provided in the following table for 2008-09 and 2009-10.
| Category | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
Offensive Weapons: Prosecutions and Convictions
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many (a) prosecutions were brought and (b) convictions there were for an offence of having an article with a blade or a point (i) in a public place and (ii) on school premises in each region in (A) 2008-09 and (B) 2009-10; [38010]
(2) how many (a) prosecutions were brought and (b) convictions there were for an offence of possession of an offensive weapon without lawful authority or reasonable excuse (i) in a public place and (ii) on school premises in each region in (A) 2008-09 and (B) 2009-10. [38011]
Mr Blunt: The table shows the number of defendants proceeded against at the magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for selected knife offences and offensive weapons in all regions, England and Wales for 2008 to 2009 (latest available).
Data for 2010 are planned for publication in the spring of 2011.
Prisoners: Mental Health
Philip Davies:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2011, Official Report, column 650W, on prisoners: mental health,
what information his Department holds on re-offending rates for people with personality disorders, broken down by length of sentence served. [38152]
Mr Blunt: There is no centrally held list of offenders diagnosed with personality disorders which we can match with re-offending data. Therefore re-offending rates cannot be calculated for these offenders.
Further information on adult re-offending is available at:
Prisons: Public Expenditure
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of a place in a (a) high security, (b) Category B, (c) Category C and (d) open prison in 2009-10. [38081]
Mr Blunt: The 2009-10 overall average cost per place and per prisoner in the above mentioned category establishments is as follows:
| £ | ||
| Category | Overall average cost per place | Overall average cost per prisoner |
| Note: Rounded to nearest £1,000 | ||
The costs represent the total cost per place/prisoner at each prison where the majority use at the end of each year was for the category that represents the primary or dominant function of the prison. There is no adjustment for prisons holding prisoners of more than one category.
The overall cost for 2009-10 within each category comprises the direct expenditure on public and private prisons, increased by an apportionment of relevant costs borne centrally and in the Regions by 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 baseline certified normal accommodation number of places.
Terrorism: Convictions
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many persons convicted for offences relating to terrorism since 1 January 2001 have subsequently been released; [38121]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of persons convicted for offences relating to terrorism since 1 January 2001 who will be released by 31 March 2012. [38122]
Mr Blunt: Data relating to releases of offenders convicted of offences relating to terrorism before 2007-08 are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
For the period 2007-08 - 2009-10, 52 offenders convicted of offences relating to terrorism since January 2001 have subsequently been released from prison. Of these, 36 are currently subject to licence conditions as part of statutory supervision by the probation service until the conclusion of their sentence. The remaining 16 have concluded their supervision and their sentence without any further offending.
This figure is a breakdown of data previously published in the Home Office's statistical bulletin on Terrorist Arrests and Outcomes. This bulletin may be found in the House of Commons Libraries and at the following web link:
Between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2012, I estimate a further 31 prisoners convicted of offences relating to terrorism may be released. However, the actual number of prisoners released is dependent on any future appeals, parole hearings, deportation proceedings and new cases and sentences.
Theft: Oil
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were convicted of offences involving the theft of oil from domestic premises in each of the last five years. [38070]
Mr Blunt: As information collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice does not include the circumstances of offences other than those specified in a statute, it is not possible to identify from proceedings for theft offences those which were for the theft of oil from domestic premises.
Scotland
Charities: Finance
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions he has met representatives of charitable organisations in Scotland to discuss the effect of both the Comprehensive Spending Review and the rise in the level of value added tax on their (a) activities and (b) funding. [38343]
Michael Moore: I have been in contact with a number of charitable organisations in Scotland on a range of issues, including the comprehensive spending review and the rise in the level of value added tax.
Disability: Children
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will hold discussions with the Scottish Government on the conclusions and recommendations of the report, Setting the Scene for Scotland's Disabled Children. [37756]
David Mundell: I welcome this report, which I am sure will provide valuable background information for the future design and development of policies and services for disabled children in Scotland. I would be happy to discuss its conclusions and recommendations with the Scottish Government.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the conclusions and recommendations of the report, Setting the Scene for Scotland's Disabled Children. [37768]
David Mundell: I welcome this report, which I am sure will provide valuable background information for the future design and development of policies and services for disabled children in Scotland. I would be happy to discuss its conclusions and recommendations with the relevant minister from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Scottish Parliament: Elections
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Interim Electoral Management Board for Scotland on the effect of holding an overnight count in respect of elections to the Scottish Parliament. [38341]
Michael Moore: The timing of the count for the Scottish Parliament elections is a matter for individual returning officers and they are confident that the overall result will be known on 6 May. The Interim Electoral Management Board for Scotland (IEMB) published a statement on the timing of the count on 2 February and I will place a copy of this in the Library of the House.
In recent weeks, the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), has discussed a range of matters related to the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections with Mary Pitcaithly, the Convener of the IEMB and Regional Counting Officer for Scotland.
Transport
Electric Vehicles
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on the likely (a) cost to the public purse and (b) operational performance of public service all-electric vehicles in (i) 2013, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2017. [37595]
Norman Baker [holding answer 1 February 2011]: Under the £45 million Green Bus Fund the Department for Transport is supporting the purchase of around 500 new low carbon emission buses. Some of these buses will be all-electric buses. All buses supported by the Green Bus Fund have to be ordered by the end of March 2011 and must be in service by the end of March 2012.
Operators of buses part-funded by the Green Bus Fund are required to provide data to the Department on the performance of those buses in operation. These data will be collated into reports which the Department will publish.
High Speed 2: Staffordshire
Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the High Speed 2 exceptional hardship scheme (a) for Staffordshire and (b) in total. [37561]
Mr Philip Hammond: The cost of the Exceptional Hardship Scheme is estimated at £50 million over the life of the scheme from launch on 20 August 2010 to its assumed end date around the end of 2011 or early 2012. As applications can come from anywhere along the line of route, this estimate has not been broken down by county.
Industrial Health and Safety
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made on reviewing the health and safety regulations for which it is responsible since his appointment. [36977]
Norman Baker: A significant proportion of health and safety regulation within the transport sector has come about following incidents, accidents and the resulting investigations into causal factors. Department for Transport officials are working with colleagues in the Health and Safety Executive to review options for possible consolidation of existing regulation. We are keen to remove unnecessary and restrictive requirements, subject to safety not being compromised.
Salt
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many tonnes of salt comprise the strategic salt stockpile; at which locations the strategic salt stockpile is stored; and how many tonnes of salt are held at each such location; [32846]
(2) what arrangements are in place for the distribution of salt from the strategic salt stockpile to (a) local authorities and (b) other agencies; [32847]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of tonnes of salt supplies that were available at the end of (a) September 2010, (b) October 2010, (c) November 2010 and (d) the latest period for which figures are available; [32848]
(4) what discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the gritting of roads in Wales; and what recent assistance his Department has offered to local authorities in Wales on this matter; [32849]
(5) what estimate his Department has made of the (a) quantity of salt required in the first four months of 2011 and (b) cost to the public purse of procuring such quantities. [32850]
Norman Baker:
As a result of the challenges faced during the 2009-10 winter season, particularly those related to salt supplies, an independent winter resilience review, led by David Quarmby CBE was carried out.
Among the many review recommendations was one to establish a strategic stockpile of up to 250,000 tonnes, managed by the Highways Agency, to provide a strategic reserve of salt for England through the 2010-11 winter season.
The strategic salt is held at a number of ports across England including-Ellesmere Port, Birkenhead, Southampton, Strood, Immingham and Teesport. With salt currently both arriving and being distributed from the strategic stockpile the amounts held at each site vary.
As a result of the early onset and severity of the weather experienced already this winter season, the Secretary of State for Transport requested the Highways Agency to facilitate the import of a further volume of salt of up to 250,000 tonnes. Orders have been placed for this further amount which has started to arrive, with the majority expected between the end of January and mid-February. Storage locations are currently being arranged for the additional strategic salt.
In September 2010, the total volume of salt available across England, Scotland and Wales was estimated to be over 1,400,000 tonnes. No surveys were carried out in October or November 2010. For this winter season, the Department has introduced an electronic stock monitoring system to monitor salt stock holdings on a weekly basis. From the most recent audit undertaken on 17 January 2010, the total salt stock available in Great Britain is estimated to be over 912,000 tonnes (including the strategic stockpile in England) which compares to just over 243,600 tonnes at the same time last year.
Following each audit, a winter network group meeting is held at official level. The group brings together the Department for Transport (chair), the devolved Administrations (both Scotland and Wales), the Highways Agency, Transport for London, the Local Government Association (LGA), ADEPT (previously the County Surveyors Society), the Met Office, and the Cabinet Office.
The purpose of these meetings are to give advice, not direction, to salt suppliers based upon information provided by the Highways Agency and local highway authorities on salt stocks, estimates of future usage derived from Met Office weather forecasts, and an assessment of the available market supply. In addition to this the Group also considers whether any authorities require access to the strategic stock pile.
Officials from the Welsh Assembly Government are represented at the winter network group and issues of mutual interest regarding salt are discussed. In addition, the Secretary of State also discussed with the Deputy First Minister for Wales on 23 December 2010 the severe weather and salt stocks.
The quantity of salt required in the first four months of 2011 will depend on a number of factors including the weather. On this basis we have not estimated the cost to the public purse of processing such quantities.
Treasury
Carbon Reduction Commitment
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the additional costs to business resulting from the changes to the Carbon Reduction Commitment announced in the comprehensive spending review. [38476]
Gregory Barker: I have been asked to reply.
The Government decided not to proceed with the recycling of CRC revenues proposed by the previous Administration in order to support the public finances and contribute to the spending plans set out in the spending review. The decision has the additional benefit of creating a clearer price signal in the scheme which participants have asked for.
The clearer and stronger price signal provided by this change should reduce uncertainty and administrative costs while maintaining energy efficiency measures among participants and the commensurate savings in energy bills.
The cost impact will depend on the size and type of the participant organisation and how hard they drive energy efficiency within their organisation to reduce their energy bills but typically we expect this to be under 7% for CRC participants.
The impact on business of our initial changes to the CRC will depend on the extent to which participants reduce their energy consumption before they are required to purchase and surrender allowances in 2012. As previously announced it is our intention deliver further simplification of the CRC and detailed options are being discussed with CRC participants.
Insurance: Motor Vehicles
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what regulations govern the rights of those not at fault in road accidents to choose legal representation to pursue a compensation claim; and whether an insurer to one of the parties may impose a legal representative on any party to the claim; [38571]
(2) if he will consider the merits of introducing proposals to prohibit motor vehicle insurers from giving favourable (a) instruction and (b) payment to legal practitioners with whom they have a pre-existing commercial relationship; [38578]
(3) what regulations govern the free choice of legal representation by persons making claims under motor insurance policies or legal expenses cover policies. [38579]
Mr Hoban: A consumer's right to choose legal representation is set out in the Insurance Companies (Legal Expenses Insurance) Regulations 1990 ("the regulations"). The regulations apply to both specific policies for legal expenses cover and, for example, motor insurance policies that include legal expenses cover. In the absence of any legal expenses insurance policy, or where the consumer is not seeking to recover his legal costs from his insurer, there are no restrictions on a consumer choosing his own legal representative to pursue a claim. However, where a consumer has a legal expenses insurance policy to indemnify his legal costs, the insurer may require the use of one of its panel solicitors to pursue the consumer's claim for compensation.
The regulations are enforced by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), who are obliged to ensure that they are applied effectively and that customers are treated fairly. The FSA sets standards that financial services firms have to meet and takes action if they do not. To support this, there are specific rules for how insurance
firms should treat their customers and these rules can be found in their Insurance Conduct of Business Sourcebook (ICOBS).
The FSA does not have any specific rules relating to insurers' use of legal practitioners with whom they have a pre-existing commercial relationship; however solicitors appointed by an insurer have a duty to their client (the policyholder). Solicitor panels, which are used by the industry, help keep legal costs down (e.g. through pre-agreed fee structures)-and this reduction in costs is fed through to premiums.
A policyholder who feels he has been treated unfairly by a firm, in this or any other respect, can initiate a formal complaints process by first contacting the firm and, if no satisfactory resolution is found, then referring his complaint to the independent Financial Ombudsman Service ("the FOS"). The FOS is an independent service for settling disputes between businesses providing financial services and their customers. The service is free of charge to consumers.
Members: Correspondence
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Financial Secretary to the Treasury expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Newcastle Upon Tyne North of 10 December 2010, regarding the Lloyds Action Now campaign. [38564]
Mr Hoban: I have replied to the hon. Member.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Newcastle Upon Tyne North of 10 December 2010, regarding food price speculation. [38565]
Mr Hoban: I wrote to all hon. Members on 1 December for use in responding to constituency correspondence on this issue. I am forwarding a copy of my letter.
Work and Pensions
Centenarian
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people currently aged (a) 56 and (b) 57 years old are expected to live to 100 years old. [38345]
Steve Webb: The 2008-based ONS cohort life expectancy projections suggest that approximately up to 91,000 people currently aged 56 and up to 89,000 people currently aged 57 are expected to live to 100 years old.
Life Expectancy: Females
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the life expectancy is of women currently aged (a) 55, (b) 56 and (c) 57 years old. [38344]
Steve Webb: The requested information is presented in the following table.
| Cohort life expectancy-women | |
| Age in 2011 | Years |
Pathways to Work
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of those who started on the Jobcentre Plus Pathways to Work programme in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09 entered employment within (i) six months, (ii) 12 months, (iii) 18 months, (iv) two years and (v) three years. [36799]
Chris Grayling: Information on jobs achieved through Pathways to Work come from the Department's Pathways to Work database. Within this database, jobs are counted only where they start within 91 days of a customer's last contact with JCP. Jobs occurring after this period are not counted. This is in order to reasonably attribute the job to the activity which takes place through Pathways. The mandatory activity takes on average around nine months from Pathways start. This means that the majority of jobs recorded within this data are obtained within one year and therefore the average time it takes a Pathways customer to find work may appear lower than would otherwise be expected.
Jobs information is drawn from tax records from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. The data does not include people who are self-employed, and some people earning below the tax threshold. These figures are therefore likely to be an underestimate of the proportions finding work.
The table shows of the annual number of JCP Pathways starts between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2009, the proportion who find employment within (i) six months (ii) 12 months (iii) 18 months (iv) two years and (v) three years(1,2):
(1) n/a-not available, job entry data not complete. Job entry data are only available up to 31 July 2010. Therefore for those who start JCP Pathways in the 2008-09 financial year, there is insufficient data to obtain the proportions who find employment after 12 months. This also applies to those who start JCP Pathways in the 2007-08 financial year, for the proportion who find employment within three years.
(2) Source:
DWP JCP Pathways to Work database. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
| Percentage | ||||
| Financial year of JCP Pathways start | ||||
| Proportion who find employment within: | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
Figures on the number of annual JCP Pathways starts between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2009, and of those the number and proportion who find employment within one year are published at:
Official statistics are routinely published for employment programmes such as Pathways to Work. Official statistics on Pathways to Work starts and job entries are available up to July 2010, and are published at:
Pensions: Personal Savings
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the level of (a) pensions savings and (b) other savings for 56 year old (i) men and (ii) women. [38425]
Steve Webb: The information requested is as follows:
(a) Estimates of pension wealth held by individuals in private pensions aged 56 in
2006-08, by gender are shown in the table:
| £ | ||
| Median( 1) | Mean( 1) | |
| (1) Includes those with zero pension wealth Source: Wealth and Assets Survey 2006-08 | ||
(b) The Wealth and Assets Survey is our main source of data for estimates on financial wealth. However, unlike pension wealth, the estimates for financial wealth are provided at household level and are not available by age and gender at the individual level.
Extensive analysis of financial wealth at household level using the Wealth and Assets data is available in 'Wealth in Great Britain 2006/08' at the following web link:
Notes:
1. We interpreted the question's mention of pensions savings to mean wealth held in private pensions and therefore provided figures in that context. Private pensions are all pensions that are not state basic retirement or state earnings related. There are nine categories included in the estimates of private pension wealth: defined benefit (DB) pensions, defined contribution (DC) pensions and personal pensions to which the individual was contributing at the time of survey, additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) made to current pensions, retained rights in DB and DC schemes, pension funds from which the individual was drawing an income through income drawdown, pensions in payment and pensions expected in the future based on the contributions of a former spouse. The estimates quoted include those individuals with zero pension wealth. The private pension wealth figures provided here were not immediately available from the Wealth and Assets Survey report, and were obtained by carrying out in house analysis of the data.
2. We provide figures for both mean and median private pension wealth. The median may provide a better measure compared to the mean since the distribution of private pension wealth can be skewed by a small number of very large amounts of wealth at the top of the distribution.
3. We interpreted the question's mention of other savings to mean wealth held in financial assets. A general complexity with measuring individual level financial wealth in surveys is that many assets are held jointly by more than one person, particularly within couples. It is for this reason that the 'Wealth in Great Britain 2006/08'
report based on the data collected by the Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS) presents financial assets held by households collectively rather than by each individual.
4. The Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS) is a large scale nationally representative longitudinal survey of over 30,000 private households in Great Britain that provides comprehensive information on people's assets and net wealth. The first wave was conducted from July 2006 to June 2008. It collected detailed information on financial and non-financial assets, and wealth components such as savings, pensions, property, mortgages and debt as well as people's attitudes and savings behaviour over time.
Unemployment
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) adults and (b) young people in each constituency have been unemployed for over 12 months. [22386]
Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) adults and (b) young people in each constituency have been unemployed for over 12 months. (22386)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. Estimates of the number of people unemployed by parliamentary constituency and age band are not available due to small sample sizes.
As an alternative, in Table 1, which will be placed in the Library, we have provided the number of people aged 16 to 24 and people aged 25 and over, claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for over 12 months in each UK parliamentary constituency in October 2010.
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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