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Departmental Research
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on research and policy reports commissioned before May 2010 and which have not published. [41222]
Robert Neill: The last Administration has spent £25.6 million on research projects that were commissioned but not published before May 2010. As at 14 February 2011, the Department has published reports relating to research projects totalling £6.1 million. We plan to publish the remaining reports relating to research projects totalling £19.5 million over the next few months.
As Ministers have outlined in the written statements of 1 February 2011, Official Report, column 39WS, and 9 February 2011, Official Report, column 10WS, the new Government intend to ensure their research delivers best possible value for money for the taxpayer and that sums expended are reasonable in relation to the public policy benefits obtained. DCLG has put in place scrutiny and challenge processes for future research. All new projects will be scrutinised to ensure the methodology is sound and that all options for funding are explored at an early stage. This includes using existing work from other organisations, joint funding projects with other Departments or organisations and taking work forward in-house.
Fire Services: Procurement
John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what contingency plans are in place for private companies that enter administration whilst under contract to lease fire engines to (a) the London Fire Brigade and (b) fire brigades in England; and if he will make a statement. [41860]
Robert Neill: Fire and rescue authorities are responsible for ensuring that appropriate arrangements are in place to enable them to continue to fulfil their statutory duties. This responsibility holds even in the event that private companies enter administration while under contract to lease fire engines.
Gardens: Property Development
Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many appeals against refusals of consent for construction developments in gardens were allowed in the last 12 months for which figures are available; in how many such cases the Planning Inspectorate has awarded costs against the local authority; whether he has provided guidance to the Planning Inspectorate on its handling of appeals against refusals of consent for developments in gardens; and if he will make a statement. [37480]
Greg Clark: My statement of 9 June 2010, Official Report, column 9WS, announced that private residential gardens would no longer be included in the definition of previously-developed land and the national indicative minimum density of 30 dwellings per hectare had been removed. Planning inspectors undertaking housing casework involving proposed garden land development have been made fully aware of the revised policy context:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/newsroom/1610193
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/lettergardengrabbing
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The effect of these very positive changes is to strengthen councils' powers in dealing with applications to develop garden land in built up areas, by removing it from the “brownfield” (or previously developed) land category on which national planning policy sets a target for at least 60% of new housing to be provided on such land every year, and removing the minimum density requirement which previously applied to such proposals. Each planning application and appeal will need to be considered on its individual merits, such as how a proposed development fits into the character and appearance of the locality.
Of a total of 932 appeals involving development in back gardens determined from the date of my statement on 9 June 2010 up to the end of December 2010, 201 appeals were allowed. This equates to an allowed rate of 22%. By comparison, for the same period 31% of planning appeals as a whole were allowed.
Of the 201 allowed appeals, records show that, to date, an award of costs against the local authority was made in 35 cases.
These figures do not take into account the number of planning applications for inappropriate garden development which are refused by the local authority but not appealed; nor do these figures quantify the number of potential planning applications for inappropriate development which have been discouraged as a result of the new guidance.
Housing
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) homes and (b) households. [41693]
Andrew Stunell: There were an estimated 22.7 million homes in England in March 2010.
The most recent estimate currently available for the number of households is for 2009-10, based on data from the English Housing Survey: there were an estimated 21.6 million households in England in 2009-10.
Housing Revenue Accounts
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to ensure that Housing Revenue Account receipts are ring-fenced following the introduction of self-financing. [42560]
Grant Shapps: The rules governing the use by local authorities of housing receipts are to remain substantially unchanged after the introduction of self-financing in April 2012: 25% of receipts arising from Right to Buy (and similar) sales may be invested by local authorities in any capital project; receipts from all other Housing Revenue Account sales (including vacant land) may be used for affordable housing or regeneration projects, or used to pay off associated debt.
Last year, the Department consulted on reforms to the Housing Revenue Account, and the paper discussed the proposal that local authorities should also retain the remaining 75% of housing receipts provided they were used for affordable housing or regeneration projects. 37 authorities are recorded as supporting it. As part of the spending review, it was decided that this option
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would not be pursued at this time. Instead we have added new compensation in the self-financing valuation to cover the loss of income from those homes. This has reduced the amount of debt councils will take on under self-financing by £862 million, which compares with total pooled receipts last year of £133 million.
No decision has been made on whether to change the proportion of housing receipts local authorities may retain after 2015.
Local Government Finance: Milton Keynes
Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much financial support was given to Milton Keynes council by the Government in each year since 1996-97. [42439]
Robert Neill: The total amount of financial support given to Milton Keynes council since 1996-97 by central Government to finance their revenue and capital expenditure is provided in the following table:
| Financial year | Central Government grants (1) for funding revenue expenditure | Capital expenditure funded by central Government grants (2) |
| (1 )Central Government grants includes Area Based Grant, Specific Grants inside Aggregate External Finance, Revenue Support Grant and Redistributed Non-Domestic Rates. (2 )Capital figures relate to the period when the expenditure took place, rather than the period when the grant was received. (3) Prior to 1997-98 Milton Keynes was part of the two-tier structure, with some of its services such as education and social care financed and managed by Buckinghamshire county council. From 1997-98 Milton Keynes became a unitary authority, taking over all responsibilities that were previously managed and financed by Buckinghamshire. (4) These figures are budget estimates of the position in the 2010-11 financial year. Source: Department for Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO), Revenue Accounts (RA) Budget, Capital Outturn (COR) and Capital Estimates (CER) forms. | ||
Local Government Finance: Peterborough
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the monetary value of proceeds from sales, fees and charges received by Peterborough City Council in 2009-10 was; what such receipts constituted as a proportion of total service expenditure; what his estimate is of the equivalent figures for 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [41699]
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Robert Neill: In the financial year 2009-10, the total amount of income from sales, fees and charges received by Peterborough city council was £23.4 million. This represents 5.8% of their gross total service expenditure of £404 million.
No estimate for sales, fees and charges or total service expenditure has yet been made for the financial year 2011-12.
The Government do not expect councils to address their financial challenges in 2011-12 simply by increasing fees and charges. We have given councils much greater financial autonomy and flexibility to manage their budgets. If they share back office services, join forces to get better value from their buying power, cut out excessive chief executive pay and root out overspending and waste, then they can protect key frontline services.
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his estimate is of the monetary value of financial reserves held by Peterborough City Council in 2010-11; and if he will make a statement. [41700]
Robert Neill: The budgeted figures for 2010-11 financial reserves levels for Peterborough city council are in the following table:
| At 31 March 2011 | |
|
|
£ million |
| Source: Department for Communities and Local Government Revenue Account (RA) budget returns for 2010-11 | |
Schools reserves are defined as those balances made under section 48 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and are used for the purpose of schools.
Non-schools reserves are defined as the sums held to finance future spending for purposes falling outside the definition of a provision. Reserves held for stated purposes are known as earmarked reserves. The remainder are unallocated reserves.
Local Government: Pensions
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account was taken of the planned increase in employees contributions in the local government pension scheme in the local authority grant settlement for 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [42265]
Robert Neill: No account of future increases in employment contributions was taken in the local government finance settlement for 2011-12.
Local Government: Voluntary Work
Chris Ruane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of (a) people who volunteered
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and
(b)
hours given by volunteers in local authorities in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [41973]
Greg Clark: We do not hold centrally any data sources to establish volunteering rates at local authority level and so this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
National Identity
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanism his Department has put in place to measure perceptions of British values and identity. [42113]
Andrew Stunell: The Department is working with the Home Office and others to develop the Government’s Integration Strategy. This will include consideration of the characteristics of a well integrated society and of the perceptions of British values and identifies.
Nature Conservation
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers are available to local authorities who wish to revoke the conservation area status granted to particular areas. [42549]
Robert Neill: Local planning authorities have powers under section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 to designate conservation areas and to vary or cancel any such designation, subject to giving notice to the Secretary of State and English Heritage.
Non-domestic Rates
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assistance his Department plans to provide to small businesses to assist them with payment of their business rates. [41697]
Robert Neill: We have already doubled small business rate relief for one year. In the Localism Bill, we are also taking powers to simplify the process for claiming this relief, stop unfair, retrospective business rates being imposed on local firms, and allow local authorities to respond to local circumstances by reducing business rates bills.
Parking: Fees and Charges
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effects of his decision to remove guidance to local authorities on the setting of parking charges to encourage the use of alternative forms of transport on (a) congestion, (b) pollution arising from traffic and (c) the use of alternative forms of transport. [42150]
Robert Neill: The coalition Government's changes to parking planning rules have:
(a) removed Whitehall restrictions which imposed maximum numbers of parking spaces in new residential developments;
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(b) changed a policy which inhibited competition between council areas to one that said parking charges should not undermine the vitality of town centres;
(c) introduced a policy that parking enforcement should be proportionate;
(d) removed the policy that encouraged councils to set car parking charges to discourage the use of cars; and
(e) signalled support for increased electric car infrastructure.
This Government's assessment is that there would be little impact to (a) congestion, (b) pollution arising from traffic and (c) the use of alternative forms or transport. This is because the choice of transport mode is affected by more than just parking policies. The promotion of electric cars will reduce pollution.
The last Government's parking rules have led to more parking problems on local roads, clogging up residential roads with parked cars and making drivers cruise the streets hunting for a precious parking space. Parking problems on new developments can cause knock-on effects to surrounding neighbourhoods. Such spill-over creates street congestion that can cause blind spots for pedestrians, hinder emergency vehicles and lead to 'fly parking'. In this context, the new Government's more sensible parking policies will reduce the scope for congestion.
Schools: Planning
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the potential effects on road safety of removing the requirement for school travel plans from planning regulations for free schools as proposed in his Department's consultation on planning for schools development. [42913]
Robert Neill: The consultation on planning for schools development invited views on the possible transport impacts of the proposals. We are considering the responses received.
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Social Rented Housing
Mr Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social rented tenancies were available for reletting as social rented tenancies in each year since 2005; and what his Department’s estimate is of the supply of such relets in each year from 2011 to 2015. [41730]
Grant Shapps: The number of new social rent general needs lettings of existing properties previously let by local authorities and housing associations that have become vacant relets, are given in the following table:
|
|
Number of housing association relets | Number of local authority relets | Total relets |
| Source: CORE lettings returns (weighted) | |||
Information is available for general needs lettings only.
Figures are only available for local authority lettings on a comparable basis from 2007-08.
The Department does not produce forecasts of numbers of relets of local authority and housing association properties in future years.
Mr Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average weekly rent was in each region for new lettings of (a) council tenancies and (b) housing association assured tenancies in each year since 2001; and what his estimate is of the likely rent level for such lettings in each region in each year from 2011 to 2015. [41732]
Grant Shapps: Reliable information on local authority lettings is not available.
The following table gives the average weekly rent in each region for new lettings of housing association assured tenancies in each year since 2001-02:
| Average weekly rent of new housing association lettings, assured tenancies, by region, 2001-02 to 2009-10 | |||||||||
|
|
2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
| Notes: 1. Figures relate to basic rents only and exclude additional charges 2. Figures include general needs and supported housing lettings Source: CORE lettings returns | |||||||||
From 2011, affordable rent homes will be made available at a rent level of up to 80% of the market rent (inclusive of service charges) and will rise at retail price index + 0.5% for the duration of the tenancy. Existing social tenants will retain their current tenancy and rent arrangements. Social rent increases remain subject to the rent restructuring formula with rents increasing by the retail price index + 0.5% limit.
Mr Raynsford:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department’s estimate is of the average weekly rent for a (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four or more
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bedroom property for (i) secure local authority tenancies, (ii) assured housing association tenancies and (iii) using 80 per cent. of open market rent levels in each local authority in the latest period for which figures are available. [41733]
Grant Shapps: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 3 November 2010, Official Report, column 817W, given to the hon. Member for Westminster North (Ms Buck) which gives local authority level information on local authority and registered social landlord average (mean) weekly rents by bedroom size.
I also refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 13 January 2011, Official Report, column 437W, given to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Alison Seabeck), on median weekly rents. Updated figures are available on the Valuation Office Agency’s website. I would draw to the right hon. Member’s attention my comments on the risk of making potentially misleading assumptions about this data. Data is not held at local authority level.
Supermarkets: Planning Permission
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the effects of successful planning approvals for large out-of-town shopping centres on small businesses. [41696]
Robert Neill: Planning decisions are rightly the responsibility of local planning authorities, taking into account national planning policy.
Planning Policy Statement 4 (PPS4): “Planning for Sustainable Economic Growth” sets out current national planning policy on economic development, including retail development. PPS4 asks local planning authorities to assess the impact of new unplanned out-of-town retail development on the vitality and viability of centres in the catchment area of the proposal. PPS4 gives local authorities powers to refuse planning permission where there is clear evidence that the proposal is likely to lead to significant adverse impacts.
We are committed to reforming the planning system and returning power to local communities to shape the development in their areas. To this end, we announced on 21 December 2010 that we will publish and present to Parliament a simple and streamlined National Planning Policy Framework covering all forms of development, including retail development, by April 2012. We are currently inviting individuals and organisations to submit their suggestions to the Department on what priorities and policies we might set out in the framework.
Supporting People Programme
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes were made to the allocation of the Supporting People Grant to local authorities between 2009-10 and 2010-11. [42899]
Grant Shapps: In 2009-10 the Supporting People Programme Grant was paid to the 152 "top-tier" local authorities under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, as an un-ring-fenced named grant. The national budget in that year was £1.666 billion.
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In addition, those local authorities also received a separate Supporting People Administration Grant, which was paid as a contribution towards the cost of administering the Supporting People programme. The national budget was £3.5 million.
In 2010-11 the Supporting People Programme Grant has been paid as part of the Area Based Grant and the national budget is £1.636 billion. The £30 million Supporting People Administration Grant for 2010-11 was removed as part of the savings set out in the Secretary of State’s written ministerial statement of 10 June 2010, Official Report, column 15-17WS.
Sustainable Development
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition of presumption in sustainable development his Department uses. [41853]
Greg Clark: Planning Policy Statement 1: ‘Delivering Sustainable Development’ contains national policy on the sustainable development principles to be pursued through the planning system.
Vacant Land
Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will consider the merits of reinstating the sequential approach to planning in order to protect greenfield sites. [42032]
Robert Neill: The sequential approach set out in Planning Policy Guidance note 3, published in 2000, put a strong emphasis on the allocation and use of brownfield sites before any other land. However, it also recognised that in some circumstances such sites may not be ready for development, and so the policy set out criteria against which other housing sites should be considered. It did not rule out the use of greenfield sites. The current policy, in Planning Policy Statement 3, published in 2006, whilst not retaining the sequential approach, continues to prioritise previously developed land for development.
We have announced our intention to streamline all national planning policy, including housing policy, into one document—the National Planning Policy Framework—to ensure it is fit for purpose. My Department has invited individuals and organisations to put forward their ideas on the priorities and policies we might adopt to produce a shorter, more decentralised and less bureaucratic national policy.
Health
Ambulances: Testing
Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of ambulances which failed MOT tests in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [42545]
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Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not collect centrally information on the number of ambulances that have failed MOTs.
It is for national health service ambulance services locally to ensure that all their operational vehicles adhere to safe road usage conditions and legislation, which would include the compulsory MOT test of motor vehicles.
Blood Diseases: Health Services
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the ability of people diagnosed with (a) sickle cell anaemia and (b) thalassaemia to access the welfare system, including cold weather payments and free prescriptions; if he will assess the merits of increasing the assistance available to such people to access the welfare system; and if he will make a statement. [34880]
Maria Miller: I have been asked to reply.
The Department is clear that the most vulnerable, including those with health conditions and disabilities, should be protected. Benefit entitlement is not based on an individual's diagnosis or the nature of their particular disabling condition, but whether a person meets the entitlement conditions set down in the legislation.
From October 2008 the current range of incapacity benefits (incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance and income support where paid on the grounds of incapacity/disability), was replaced for new claimants with the employment and support allowance (ESA). The approach is based on the principle that a health condition or disability should not automatically be regarded as a barrier to work. We know that people with the same diagnosis can have very different effects in terms of their ability to work; therefore entitlement to ESA is based on the functional effects of an individual's condition rather than the condition itself.
Jobcentre Plus offers support, including assistance in making benefit claims, to customers across all working age benefits before they are referred to the Work programme. From 4 April, the support that Jobcentre Plus delivers to customers will be more flexible. Jobcentre Plus managers and advisers will be able to judge which interventions will help individual customers most cost effectively whilst meeting local need.
Additionally in October 2010 we launched Work Choice, a new pan-disability supported employment programme for disabled people. Accessed primarily through Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisers, Work Choice provides an improved customer experience through tailored support. It targets those customers who face the most complex barriers in reaching or retaining employment, including self-employment.
Cold weather payments are targeted at those most vulnerable to the cold: older people in receipt of pension credit, disabled adults and children and families with children under five who are in receipt of an income-related benefit. These are individuals who spend more time indoors and often have restricted mobility because of age or disability. We do not record the type of illness or disability a disabled adult or child has for the purposes of cold weather payments.
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As part of the spending review the cold weather payment was permanently increased from £8.50 a week to £25 a week. During the recent extreme cold spell over 17 million cold weather payments were made at an estimated cost of £428 million.
The extensive exemption arrangements we have in England currently mean that around 90% of all prescription items (in 2009) are already dispensed free of charge and around 60% of the English population do not pay prescription charges due to:
age (under 16 or 60 or over)
receipt of a qualifying income-related benefit (e.g. income support)
qualifying under the NHS Low Income Scheme (provides help with health costs, including free prescriptions, based on a means tested assessment. The NHS Low Income Scheme is available to anyone who has capital below the specified limits).
having a specified medical condition, and holding a medical exemption certificate (the list of specified medical conditions is very limited. It does not include sickle cell anaemia or thalassaemia).
The current prescription charge is £7.20. Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs) offer savings to those who must pay for their prescriptions and need them frequently. A three-monthly prescription pre-payment certificate (PPC) is £28.25. A 12-month PPC is £104.00 and saves money if more than 14 items are needed in 12 months. PPCs can be purchased by 10 monthly direct debit instalment payments. PPCs allow anyone to obtain all the prescriptions they need for £2 per week.
When taking PPCs into consideration, 94% of all prescription items dispensed are not charged for at the point of dispensing.
Blood: CJD
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to bring into use the blood test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease developed by the Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London; [41556]
(2) if he will put in place a timetable to bring into use the blood test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease developed by the Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London. [41557]
Anne Milton: The potential for future use of the prototype diagnostic blood test for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) described in the paper published in The Lancet on 3 February 2011 for blood screening purposes will be considered by the United Kingdom Blood Services Prion Working Group (PWG). Professor John Collinge and colleagues from the Medical Research Council Prion Unit met with members of the PWG on 14 February 2011 and discussed the test. It was agreed that the assay would require further development to make it suitable for large throughput blood donor screening. An important next step is to establish how specific the assay is, and blood samples from non-UK sources are being organised to facilitate this assessment.
Consideration of the potential use of the test for diagnostic purposes, as described in the paper, is ongoing.
There is no fixed timetable to bring the blood test into use as it is dependent on the outcomes of further test development and evaluation by the research team.
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Cancer Drugs Fund
Mr Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which non-drug technologies will be recognised in the Cancer Drugs Fund. [41569]
Paul Burstow: We have consulted on our plans for the design of the Cancer Drugs Fund and our consultation closed on 19 January.
The consultation made clear that the fund is to be focused on access to cancer drugs. The consultation asked for views on whether the national health service should have some flexibility in application of the Fund to cover the funding of other treatments that may not be considered conventional drugs, for example radiopharmaceuticals for cancer.
Decisions on the implementation of the Cancer Drugs Fund will be taken once the responses to the consultation have been fully considered.
Mr Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in each strategic health authority area have applied for funds from the interim Cancer Drugs Fund (a) in total and (b) for selective internal radiation therapy; and how many applicants have been (i) granted and (ii) denied funding. [41571]
Mr Simon Burns: As at 10 January 2011, the most recent date for which figures are available, strategic health authorities (SHAs) had received around 1,000 applications for funding under the arrangements for the additional £50 million made available to the national health service for additional cancer drugs on an interim basis in this financial year. Of these, applications for over 750 patients had been agreed with most of the remaining applications under consideration.
We do not hold a breakdown of these applications by SHA, or the number of applications made for funding of selective internal radiation therapy.
Cancer: Drugs
Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has received any evidence that the cancer drugs fund has been used to fund anything other than cancer drugs; and if he will make a statement. [42069]
Paul Burstow: We are not aware of the interim cancer drugs funding for this financial year being used to fund anything other than cancer drugs, including radiopharmaceuticals.
Arrangements for the cancer drugs fund that will operate from April 2011 will be set out shortly.
Care Homes: Standards
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of care homes in each region which do not meet the national minimum standards of care. [41424]
Paul Burstow:
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England and is responsible for assuring that providers of health and adult social care meet
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essential levels of safety and quality. Until 30 September 2010, CQC inspected and regulated care homes according to the Care Homes Regulations 2001 and associated national minimum standards (NMS).
The care homes regulations and NMS were revoked when the new registration system for private and voluntary health care and adult social care providers, under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, came into effect on 1 October 2010.
Under the new registration system, all providers of regulated activities must be registered with CQC and meet on an ongoing basis a set of registration requirements that set out essential levels of safety and quality.
Carers
Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the effectiveness of the coordination of the systems which carers use to look after the finances and wellbeing of the disabled people they care for in order to establish the feasibility of introducing a simplified single system. [41728]
Paul Burstow: The feasibility of introducing a simplified single system which carers use to look after the finances and wellbeing of the disabled people they care for, is under consideration by the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) through their Right to Control pilot scheme.
Enshrined in the Welfare Reform Act 2009, Right to Control aims to provide disabled people, entitled to eligible services, with greater choice and control over how public money is spent to meet their individual needs and ambitions.
Since December 2010, the pilot scheme is being tested in five trailblazing local authority areas, with two more sites to come on stream in the spring. During the trail blazers, disabled people accessing the Right to Control will be informed how much money they are eligible to receive for their support. They will be able to choose, in consultation with the public authority delivering a particular funding stream, how that money will be used to meet agreed outcomes.
The pilots are due to run until December 2012. They will be fully evaluated with a view to making a decision on whether and how the Right to Control should be rolled out nationally. A final report is expected in the spring of 2013.
Blood: CJD
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the RelyOn prion inactivator has been tested and cleared for use as an adjunct to disinfection; whether his Department has recommended RelyOn use in sterilisation units; and if he will make a statement. [42681]
Mr Simon Burns: Representations on technologies to improve hospital infection control and reduce hospital acquired infections such as the RelyOn prion inactivator product are submitted to the Department’s Rapid Review Panel (RRP) for consideration.
The product was first submitted to the RRP in 2007 and in 2008, based on initial detailed RRP feedback, the product was re-submitted where it was awarded a Recommendation 2, indicating the product had potential, but that more work was needed.
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In April 2010 the product manufacturer accepted an offer from the RRP to work with an infection control specialist to provide advice on improving the manufacturer’s submission so that the product might potentially achieve an RRP Recommendation 1, which would enable the product to be considered for use in the national health service.
This work concluded with a report establishing the gaps within the company’s RRP application, together with advice on improving the application, in September 2010. It is now for the manufacturer to address the issues raised in the report and consider whether they wish to resubmit the product to the RRP for further consideration. No such further application has been received to date.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which official committees are to advise the Government directly or indirectly on variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease following the dissolution of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee; and what the membership is of each. [42682]
Anne Milton: Following the dissolution of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, its role in providing risk assessment advice on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (including variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) will pass to the existing Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP).
An appointments exercise is currently in progress to appoint additional ACDP members with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies expertise. The current ACDP membership is as follows:
Professor George E. Griffin
Dr Judith Hilton
Professor Colin Howard
Professor William Irving
Ms Karen Jones
Mr John Keddie
Professor Dominic Mellor
Dr Philip Minor
Professor Armine Sefton
Mr Gordon Sutehall
Professor the hon. Richard Tedder.
Clinical Physiologists: Regulation
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effect which the statutory regulation of clinical physiologists would have on safe and effective practice. [42031]
Anne Milton: The Command Paper “Enabling Excellence” laid before Parliament on 16 February 2011 sets out the Government’s overall strategy for the regulation of health care workers in the United Kingdom and social workers and social care workers in England. It makes clear that the extension of statutory regulation to currently unregulated professional or occupational groups, such as the health care science workforce, will only be considered where there is a compelling case on the basis of a public safety risk and where assured voluntary registers are not considered sufficient to manage this risk.
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A robust evidence-based cost-benefit risk analysis will be undertaken to inform the appropriate model of regulation for the health care science workforce, including clinical physiologists which will take into account safe and effective practice and public protection.
Diabetes: Brighton and Hove
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) adults and (b) children in the Brighton and Hove primary care trust use an insulin pump. [42004]
Paul Burstow: The Department does not collect information on the uptake of insulin pumps at a local level. However, NHS Diabetes and the NHS Information Centre for health and social care recently published the findings of an audit to assess the provision of insulin pump services across England. The insulin pump audit is available via the National Diabetes Information Service.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the Brighton and Hove primary care trust area have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. [42005]
Paul Burstow: Data on numbers of people diagnosed with diabetes is collected as part of the National Diabetes Audit (NDA).
Participation in the NDA is not mandatory and Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust (PCT) area had only partial participation in the 2008-09 NDA, which is the last year for which figures are available. The NDA collated data on 6,658 persons with diabetes in Brighton and Hove PCT. Of these, 911 had Type 1 diabetes. It is estimated that there are approximately 13,000 people with diabetes in Brighton and Hove PCT. This estimate uses the PBS Diabetes Population Prevalence Model Phase 3 (PBS3 model), developed by the Yorkshire and Humber Public Health Observatory.
Dichloromethane
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of (a) injuries and (b) fatalities attributed to the use of products containing dichloromethane in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [40218]
Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply.
Dichloromethane is a widely-used solvent, which can have narcotic effects at high concentrations.
A research report prepared for the European Commission identified 18 deaths and 56 non-fatal injuries relating to use of paint strippers containing this solvent across Europe between 1989 and 2007. These included, in the UK, one incident in 1999 which resulted in two deaths in a paint stripping facility, a death in 2002 involving a professional decorator and another fatality in 2006 of a self-employed furniture restorer. In the latter two incidents an additional 16 people were hospitalised.
Separate Health and Safety Executive statistics show five non-fatal injuries to employees and two non-fatal injuries to members of the public reported between 2001-02 and 2009-10.
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Donors: Bexleyheath
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of (a) blood and (b) organ donors registered in the London Borough of Bexley. [41401]
Anne Milton: The available information is as follows:
Within Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency, there are 1,912(1) individual blood donors, who made a donation in 2010, and 22,596(2) people who are registered on the organ donor register.
(1) Individual donors are recorded as those that donated blood at least once in the 12-month period.
(2) As at 16 February 2011.
Source:
NHS Blood and Transplant.
Drugs: Rehabilitation
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 February 2011, Official Report, column 612W, on NHS rehabilitation, what the equivalent figures are for (a) 2004-05 and (b) 1999-2000. [42268]
Anne Milton: Data in the form requested are not available prior to 2008-09.
The total number of people receiving drug treatment was estimated to be 118,500 in 2000-01. National Drug Treatment Monitoring System figures show the numbers in treatment in 2004-05 to be 160,453 and 206,889 in 2009-10.
Drugs: Safety
Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what his Department's policy is on the use of unlicensed medicines that do not demonstrate any additional clinical benefits for patients in a disease area where a licensed medicine exists and has been approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; [41678]
(2) what procedures are in place to ensure the safety of medicines provided on the NHS; [41789]
(3) what medicine safety requirements apply to pharmaceutical companies seeking to secure a licence for a medicine. [41990]
Mr Simon Burns: Unlicensed medicines are used within a professional and medicines legislative framework. Unlike licensed medicines, unlicensed medicines are not required to be assessed for safety, quality and efficacy. Therefore, for public health reasons their supply is limited by law to where there is a special need of an individual patient. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) interprets special need to be the clinical need of the individual patient that cannot be met by an available equivalent licensed product; cost and convenience are not considerations. Current General Medical Council ethical guidance on the use of unlicensed medicines states a doctor should always consider using a licensed medicinal product in the first instance. Such decisions need to be made in discussion with the patient concerned. Most, if not all, national health service trusts have established policies controlling the use of unlicensed medicines as it is considered that prescriber liability is significantly increased in such situations.
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Medicinal products are regulated by a system of licensing defined in European Union legislation. Before approval of a licence, new medicines are required to demonstrate acceptable standards of safety, quality and efficacy such that the benefit/risk consideration for use of the product in the claimed indication is positive. The MHRA acts on behalf of the UK Licensing Authority to approve new national marketing authorisations in the United Kingdom.
Prior to licensing, new medicines undergo clinical trials to determine their efficacy and safety profile. These trials are in a carefully controlled sample of the intended treatment population. Because there is a gap between what is known at the time of licensing from clinical trials and what will happen in the ‘real world’ once larger numbers of patients in the target population start using the medicine, the safety of all medicines after licensing is monitored.
It is a legal requirement for pharmaceutical companies to develop risk management plans for all newly licensed medicines. This uses all available data at the time of licensing to identify what is and is not known about the safety of the medicine, to plan what may need to be done to extend safety knowledge and to propose measures to minimise any known risks to patients.
Once a medicine is marketed, the MHRA keeps all medicines authorised in the UK under close and continuous scrutiny using a number of robust procedures and a wide variety of data sources. These include spontaneous adverse drug data received from health care professionals and patients through the UK's Yellow Card Scheme, from clinical trials and epidemiological studies, worldwide published medical literature, data from the manufacturer and information from worldwide regulatory authorities. If a new safety issue is identified action is taken where appropriate to minimise risk to patients, optimise safe use and issue updated prescribing advice.
Drugs: Waste Disposal
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the quantity of pharmaceutical products disposed of unused by the NHS as a result of them reaching their expiry date in the latest period for which figures are available. [41514]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department commissioned research from the York Health Economics Consortium and the School of Pharmacy at the university of London, the findings from which were published in the report, ‘Evaluation of the Scale, Causes and Costs of Waste Medicines’ on 23 November 2010. That research did not specifically assess the quantity of pharmaceutical products disposed of unused by the national health service in primary and community care as a result of them reaching their expiry date, separate to other causes.
General Practitioners
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the attendance list was for his Department’s event for GP pathfinders held on 26 January 2011; and with which organisation each attendee is affiliated. [41441]
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Mr Simon Burns: The Department is unable to release the attendance list as it is deemed personal information and doing so would breach the first data protection principle of the Data Protection Act 1998. However, the following organisations and pathfinders were represented at the Pathfinder Learning Network Event on 26 January 2011:
Basingstoke Consortia
Bassetlaw Commissioning Organisation
Baywide GPCC Ltd
Bracknell Health Commissioning
Bucks PCT/BCC
Bucks Primary Care Collaborative
Cambridge Association to Commission Health
Coastal West Sussex Federation
County Durham and Darlington Consortium
Cumbria Senate
Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Pathfinder GPCC
Department of Health
Doncaster GP Commissioning
Dudley GP Commissioning Consortium
Ealing Commissioning Consortium (ECC)
East Suffolk Federation
Eastern Cheshire Commissioning Consortium
Fleetwood Community Commissioning Group
Fortis GPCC
Great West Commissioning Consortium
Guildford and Waverley Consortia
HealthEast
Herefordshire GP Commissioning Consortium
Hundreds Health—Salford
Hunts Health
Ipscom
Kingston Consortium
Langbaurgh
Manchester (North, Central and South)
NAPC
National Clinical Network
Nene Commissioning
Newcastle Bridges
Newham Health Partnership
NHS Alliance
NHS Cambridge
NHS East Midlands
NHS East of England
NHS London
NHS North East
NHS North West
NHS Nottinghamshire City
NHS South Central
NHS South East Coast
NHS South West
NHS Trafford
NHS West Midlands
NHS Yorkshire and Humber
North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus
North East Lincolnshire Commissioning Consortium
North West Sussex Association of Commissioning Consortia
Oxfordshire Consortium
Principia
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Redbridge Consortia
SE Hampshire Pathfinder Project
Sentinel CIC
South Birmingham Integrated Commissioning Consortium
South Gloucestershire Consortium Ltd
South Reading Consortia
Southwark Health Commissioning Consortium
Stockport Managed Care Pathfinder
Surrey Heath Commissioning Group
Sutton Consortium
Thames Medical
The Practice plc
The Red House Group of Practices
Trafford Consortia
United Commissioning
West Cheshire Health Consortium
Wirral GP Commissioning Consortium
Wirral NHS Alliance
WyvernHealth.Com
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many newly-established GP commissioning consortia are commissioning health care; and how many he expects to be doing so by (a) April 2011 and (b) April 2012. [42338]
Mr Simon Burns: Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, general practitioner (GP) commissioning consortia will be authorised from April 2012 and will take on full responsibility for commissioning health care from April 2013.
The Department has established a rolling programme of GP consortia pathfinders. These are groups of GP practices who want to move more quickly to take on additional duties under existing arrangements but in line with the greater responsibilities outlined in ‘Liberating the NHS: Legislative framework and next steps’. There are currently 141 pathfinder consortia in place covering around 28.6 million people across the country.
Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department has (a) sought and (b) received on the effects of GP commissioning on hospitals. [42546]
Mr Simon Burns: 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 consortia of general practitioner practices in “Liberating the NHS: Commissioning for Patients”, with the consultation on these proposals running from July to October last year.
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.
All of these documents have already been placed in the Library.
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General Practitioners: Finance
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what timetable funds will be allocated to GP commissioning fund holders by the NHS Commissioning Board. [42101]
Mr Simon Burns: The NHS Commissioning Board will take over responsibility for commissioning guidelines and the allocation of resources from the Department from 2013-14.
Shadow allocations for general practitioner (GP) consortia will be published late 2011 for 2012-13. Actual allocations for GP consortia will be made late 2012 for 2013-14.
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements he plans to put in place for GP commissioning fund holders to carry over financial surpluses (a) in each financial period and (b) at each year end. [42102]
Mr Simon Burns: The financial regime for general practitioner consortia is still under development. The issue of carrying forward financial surpluses will be determined as part of the design of the financial regime.
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what level of autonomy over what time period GP commissioning fund holders will have over investment decisions; [42103]
(2) what his policy is on the regulation of financial returns arising from investments made by GP commissioning fund holders; and if he will make a statement. [42104]
Mr Simon Burns: General practice (GP) commissioning consortia will receive annual funding allocations from the National Health Service Commissioning Board. Under the legislation proposed in the Health and Social Care Bill, commissioning consortia will not have powers to invest. GP consortia will have no additional powers, beyond those currently held by primary care trusts (PCTs), to raise additional income. PCTs currently have powers as conferred by section 7(2)(a), (b) and (e) to (h) of the Health and Medicines Act 1988, which include the ability to develop and exploit ideas and exploit intellectual property, to provide instruction and to acquire land by agreement.
Consortia may only use these income-generating powers to the extent that it does not significantly interfere with the performance of their functions and any income generated may only be used to improve the health service.
General Practitioners: Freedom of Information
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether GP commissioning consortia will be defined as public authorities for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [41490]
Mr Simon Burns: Commissioning consortia established in accordance with the provisions proposed by the Health and Social Care Bill would be statutory public bodies. The Bill amends the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to incorporate commissioning consortia.
28 Feb 2011 : Column 130W
Health Professions: Regulation
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to consult on the regulation of healthcare professionals. [42030]
Anne Milton: The Government’s strategy on professional regulation in health and social care is set out in the command paper “Enabling Excellence: Autonomy and Accountability for Health and Social Care Staff which was laid before the House on 16 February 2011.
A detailed analytical strategy paper was published alongside the command paper which sets out details of the proposed approach to public engagement. The analytical strategy is available on the Department’s website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_124359
Health Services: Closures
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel in advising on the proposed closure of local health services. [41495]
Mr Simon Burns: As an advisory non-departmental public body, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) is required to produce an annual business review of its activities and interactions with its sponsor, the Department of Health, including an assessment of achievements against objective and performance targets. Copies of the IRP's business reviews can be found on its website at:
www.irpanel.org.uk/view.asp?id=91
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has for consultations on decisions to close local health services. [41528]
Mr Simon Burns: The Government's policy is that any significant changes proposed by national health service bodies to the operation or delivery of services, such as the proposal to close a service, must first undergo rigorous patient and public engagement. Evidence of strengthened local patient and public engagement is one of the Secretary of State's four tests for service reconfiguration. Commissioners should ensure that patients, the public, local authorities and other relevant groups, such as Local Involvement Networks (or HealthWatch subject to legislation from April 2012), are involved in the development and consideration of proposals for significant service change.
Health Services: Freedom of Information
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which bodies that will provide NHS services under his proposals for NHS reform will be covered by the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [41496]
Mr Simon Burns: As now, all public bodies in the national health service will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The Act does not apply to private or voluntary sector providers.
28 Feb 2011 : Column 131W
HealthWatch England
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been allocated to the Care Quality Commission to fund HealthWatch England in each of the next four years. [42339]
Mr Simon Burns: Subject to parliamentary approval, HealthWatch England will be established as a statutory committee of the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We are discussing with the CQC future funding for HealthWatch England.
Heart Diseases: Health Services
Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what systems he plans to put in place to ensure that consistency of specialist care for heart patients is maintained. [41526]
Mr Simon Burns: Subject to the Health and Social Care Bill successfully completing its passage through Parliament, the NHS Commissioning Board will be established from April 2012 and responsible for commissioning certain services that cannot solely be commissioned by general practitioner consortia including national specialised services and regional specialised services set out in the Specialised Services National Definitions Set. Some heart services are included within this definitions set such as heart transplants and congenital heart disease services.
The Specialised Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery Services Definition set can be found at:
www.specialisedservices.nhs.uk/library/26/Specialised_Cardiology_and_Cardiac_Surgery_Services_adult.pdf
Services commissioned by the NHS Commissioning Board will be commissioned on the basis of national standards.
Herbal Medicine: Regulation
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken on the regulation of herbal practitioners; and if he will make a statement. [41527]
Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement issued on 16 February 2011, Official Report, columns 83-85WS.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has asked the Health Professions Council to establish a statutory register for practitioners supplying unlicensed herbal medicines.
Hospices: Children
Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider reallocating to children's hospices the remaining £11 million of the £30 million fund made available in 2010-11 for children’s palliative care projects. [42027]
Anne Milton:
The £19 million of the £30 million allocated to children’s palliative care projects will directly benefit children and their families, improve services and make them more nationally equitable and accessible.
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All applicants were rigorously assessed by an Independent Advisory Panel and over 95% of applicants were successful in receiving funding. The £11 million that was unallocated has been returned to central finance and will be with ministerial approval, used to resources other priorities.
Since 2006, the Department has allocated £47 million to the sector through the children's hospice and hospice at home service. A review of palliative care funding, to promote choice, sustainability and improved outcomes in the sector is also being undertaken. It will report in the summer. The Department has committed to providing £10 million a year beyond 2011 to support children’s hospices during the transition to the new funding scheme.
Hospital Beds
Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of patients admitted to hospital in (a) Devon and (b) England who are medically fit for discharge that spend an additional (i) day, (ii) two days, (iii) three days, (iv) four days, (v) five days, (vi) six days or (vii) a week or longer in hospital in the latest period for which figures are available. [41088]
Paul Burstow: Information on the number of people who are medically fit to be discharged but are delayed in hospital has never been collected because the essential business needs of the Department cannot justify the additional administrative burden on the bodies that would have to provide the data.
The Department collects and routinely publishes information on delayed transfers of care. These data include people medically fit to return to the community as well as people awaiting transfer to other health facilities for further treatment, but do not separately identify them. The most recent data are for December 2010, and that for Devon (people normally resident in Devon who experience a delayed transfer of care in any national health service hospital), and for England are shown in the following tables.
| Delayed transfers of care, local authorities, England: Number of patients with a delayed transfer of care at midnight on the last Thursday of the reporting period | |||
|
|
Acute | Non-acute | Total |
| Delayed transfers of care, local authorities, England: Number of delayed days during the reporting period | |||
|
|
Acute | Non-acute | Total |
| Note: Information on the numbers of people delayed on the last Thursday of the reporting period and the total number of delayed days are not directly comparable because the first is a ‘snapshot’ and the second a cumulative total. Source: Acute and Non-Acute Delayed Transfers of Care: Monthly situation Report on Acute and Non-Acute Delayed Transfers of Care by NHS Provider and Local Authority: www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics | |||
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Hospitals: Consultants
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will take steps to prevent NHS employers from reducing the standard amount of protected time hospital consultants have per week for supporting professional activities; and if he will make a statement; [41725]
(2) if he will take steps to ensure that hospital consultants have at least 10 hours of protected time a week for supporting professional activities; and if he will make a statement. [41726]
Mr Simon Burns: The consultants' contract ensures that senior doctors' time is used in the best interests of patients, by providing flexibility in job planning agreements between individual doctors and trusts. Job plans are agreed in partnership between individual consultants and their employers, and should be consistent with organisation objectives and patient and service needs. Individual job plans should set out the consultant's duties and include the agreed split of time between direct clinical care, supporting professional activities and other activities. They should be reviewed annually.
There is no set allocation for supporting professional activities in the contract, but a guide toward a "typical average" of 2.5 programmed activities (or 10 hours) for a full-time consultant. Some consultants may have more; others, including newly qualified consultants, may require and receive less. This flexibility is intentional and the precise number and ratio is a matter for local determination as part of the consultant job planning process.
The consultants' contract ensures that senior doctors' time is used in the best interests of patients, by providing flexibility in job planning agreements between individual doctors and trusts. The contract fully recognises the value of wider work in the interests of the national health service.
Hospitals: Voluntary Work
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of (a) people who volunteered and (b) hours given by volunteers in NHS hospitals in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [41971]
Paul Burstow: This information is not collected or held centrally. Individual national health service trusts hold the information.
Human Papilloma Virus: Vaccination
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to publicise the opportunity to receive the HPV vaccination during the catch-up programme. [42938]
Anne Milton: The Department provides information resources for primary care trusts (PCTs) and health care professionals to use in the routine human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for girls aged 12 to 13-years-old. These are available at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_114301
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Information for the public is also available on the NHS Choices website at:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/HPV-vaccination/Pages/Introduction.aspx
When the HPV vaccination programme against cervical cancer was launched in September 2008 it included a catch-up campaign for girls and young women aged up to 18-years-old. The Department provided information suitable for all relevant age groups, including television and radio advertising, posters and leaflets, some of which was aimed specifically at 17 to 18-year-olds.
Almost all PCTs completed the catch-up campaign by September 2010 although five PCTs will be completing it in the current school year. No additional material has been centrally produced for these PCTs.
Incontinence: Disabled People
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued on the provision of incontinence pads to disabled people with incontinence. [41845]
Paul Burstow: There has been no recent guidance on the provision of incontinence pads to disabled people with incontinence.
Good practice in continence services guidance, published on 19 April 2000, included model principles for continence supplies. A copy has been placed in the Library.
Mental Health Services: Offenders
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds he plans to allocate to fund mental health assessments at courts and police stations as part of the planned National Diversion Service. [41884]
Paul Burstow: Ministers will consider the full assessment of the potential costs, benefits and impact of national health service-led commissioning on existing diversion services which has now been made, and funding decisions will follow.
Mental Health Services: South West England
Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to introduce a mental health strategy for the south-west. [41474]
Paul Burstow: There is no intention to publish a south-west mental health strategy. We published ‘No Health Without Mental Health’ on 2 February. It has the twin aims of promoting and sustaining good mental health and well-being in the wider population, and improving the quality of existing services for people across the full range of mental health problems. It looks at prevalence of problems and effective approaches at different stages in life, stressing the importance of prevention and early intervention.
Although a national outcomes strategy it illustrates how local health organisations could make real improvements in quality of life for people with mental health problems.
Our work with partners, including the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, has made it clear that the context for
28 Feb 2011 : Column 135W
this strategy is one of great financial pressure; so we have focused on priority areas of improvement while leaving plans and actions to local decision making. So this strategy should inform local planning and local strategies, but not constrain it.
Midwives: Staff Numbers
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions officials in his Department have had with strategic health authorities on the number of student midwife places in the 2011-12 academic year. [41392]
Anne Milton: The Department has regular contact with colleagues in strategic health authorities. The number of training places commissioned is one of the many subjects that are discussed.
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2011, Official Report, column 759W, on midwives: manpower, if he will publish the Strategic Health Authority reports referred to after they have been signed off. [41419]
Anne Milton: It is for each strategic health authority to determine its publication policy for its operating plan once they are signed off at the end of May 2011.
Midwives: Training
Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives in each region (a) were in training in 2010-11 and (b) he expects to be in training in 2011-12. [41617]
Anne Milton: The number of midwives in training varies throughout the academic year as new recruits enter training programmes and others complete their training or leave for other reasons.
The planned number of midwives entering training in 2010-11 is 2,492—a record level. Plans for 2011-12 training commissions are expected to be finalised by the end of March.
MRSA: Screening
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methods of screening against the MRSA bacterium hospitals use; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of such methods; and if he will make a statement. [43012]
Mr Simon Burns: There are four types of suitable Meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) screening methods. These are:
1. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR test) of nucleic acids (rapid testing);
2. Rapid enrichment and immunomagnetic/bioluminescent detection;
3. Chromogenic Agar plating (direct culture); and
4. Broth enrichment culture followed by agar subculture.
Decisions regarding what type of test to use either in isolation or combination are made locally based on clinical protocols. The Department has not conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of the different screening methods.
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Diagnostic MRSA screening tests for any of these types should be CE marked by the manufacturer according to the safety, quality and performance requirements of the EC in vitro diagnostic devices directive (transposed in to United Kingdom law by the Medical Devices Regulations 2002) before they are placed on the UK market.
National Innovation Centre: Finance
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future funding of the NHS National Innovation Centre. [42109]
Mr Simon Burns: The role of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (of which the National Innovation Centre is a part) was considered as part of the Department's review of its arm’s-length bodies. The report of the review “Liberating the NHS: report of the arm’s-length bodies review”, published in July 2010, concluded that the Institute did not satisfy the criteria for continuing as an arm’s-length body. It recommended that the Institute’s functions relating to quality improvement and building capacity should move to the new NHS Commissioning Board.
Recognising that the Institute is currently funded largely through grant in aid from the Department, the review also recommended that its other functions should be reviewed to see if they could be delivered by alternative models.
As a result, clause 262 of the Health and Social Care Bill provides for the abolition of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement.
The Department is currently engaging with the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (including the National Innovation Centre) to review and evaluate its functions, with a view to determining whether opportunities exist for alternative commercial delivery models, and whether or not to stop providing for certain functions altogether.
National Lung Cancer Audit
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether he has made an assessment of the preliminary findings of the National Lung Cancer Audit; and if he will make a statement; [41427]
(2) when he plans to publish the National Lung Cancer Audit; and if he will make a statement. [41611]
Paul Burstow: The National Lung Cancer Audit is an independent national clinical audit supported financially by the Department, and as such does not share its findings with us before publication. Its next report is due to be published at the end of May 2011. We expect local provider organisations to account publicly for what the audit data show about the quality and outcomes of their lung cancer services and seek to improve local services where this is appropriate.
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contribution he expects the National Lung Cancer Audit to make to the NHS Outcomes Framework; and if he will make a statement. [41610]
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Paul Burstow: On 20 December 2010, we published ‘The NHS Outcomes Framework 2011/12’, which will measure the overall progress of the national health service in delivering better health outcomes for patients. The first NHS Outcomes Framework contains outcomes for cancer including ‘one-year and five-year survival rates for lung cancer’.
We expect the proposed NHS Commissioning Board will want to draw on the National Lung Cancer Audit as it begins the process of translating the national outcome goals into outcomes and indicators that are meaningful at a local level, and as it develops other tools to support general practitioner commissioning consortia in delivering improved outcomes for patients.
NHS Commissioning Board: Voluntary Organisations
Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the NHS Commissioning Board to engage with (a) the British Heart Foundation and (b) other voluntary sector organisations. [41521]
Mr Simon Burns: The NHS Commissioning Board will develop effective ways to harness the public and patient voice including from voluntary organisations. When the NHS Commissioning Board is established, it will agree the detail of these arrangements.
NHS Outcomes Framework
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next plans to review the NHS Outcomes Framework. [41279]
Mr Simon Burns: On 20 December, we published ‘The NHS Outcomes Framework 2011/12’, which set out the outcomes and corresponding indicators that will be used to hold the NHS Commissioning Board to account for delivering better outcomes for patients.
It also set out our commitment to updating the NHS Outcomes Framework annually to ensure that it focuses on the outcomes that matter most to patients, so that it can accommodate new and better indicators as they become available.
However, in order to measure progress over time, it will be important to maintain the continuity of the indicators in the framework, so we envisage that only a small number of indicators will change or be refined in any one year.
Every five years, the Secretary of State will commission an external review of the NHS Outcomes Framework to assess the extent to which the framework is meeting its objectives.
NHS Trusts
Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral evidence given by the chief executive of the NHS to the Public Accounts Committee on 25 January 2011, Q88, if he will publish the list of NHS trusts which are unlikely to become foundation trusts. [43005]
Mr Simon Burns:
Work is currently under way to support delivery of the Government's expectation that
28 Feb 2011 : Column 138W
all national health service trusts achieve NHS foundation trust status by April 2014. Until the work is finalised, the list of NHS trusts who may be unable to achieve NHS foundation trust status cannot be confirmed.
NHS: Drugs
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency intends to publish its final report on its review of regulatory arrangements for unlicensed medicines established under Article 5.1 of European Union Directive 2001/83/EC; and if he will make a statement. [42241]
Mr Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is planning a public consultation exercise to take place later in 2011 on formal proposals for reform of the United Kingdom’s national arrangements established under Article 5.1 of Directive 2001/83/EC. The consultation will build on the informal consultation which has taken place with interested parties under the review.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency intends to publish its response to public consultation (MLX 365) on measures to strengthen the medicines’ supply chain and reduce the risk from counterfeit medicines; and if he will make a statement. [42242]
Mr Simon Burns: Following the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA’s) consultation (MLX 365) on measures to strengthen the medicines’ supply chain and reduce the risk from counterfeit medicines, we are considering how to take these policies forward in the context of the Falsified Medicines Directive, the Government’s wider regulation agenda, and the MHRA’s continuing commitment to ensuring that the United Kingdom remains a hostile environment for counterfeit medicines. A response will be published in due course.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the report by the Ministerial Industry Strategy Group on earlier access to medicines, when he intends to make a decision on whether the scheme will go ahead; and if he will make a statement. [42341]
Mr Simon Burns: The Government are currently considering proposals on earlier access to medicines. It is expected that we will be able to publish our determination shortly.
NHS: Legal Costs
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on litigation proceedings in each year between 1997 and 2006. [41793]
Mr Simon Burns: The data to answer this question was supplied by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA). Information on how much the national health service spent on litigation proceedings in each year between 1997 and 2006 is shown in the following table. Data only covers proceedings against members of the NHSLA's schemes.
28 Feb 2011 : Column 139W
28 Feb 2011 : Column 140W
| Payments made by the NHSLA in respect of negligence claims | ||||
| £000 | ||||
| Clinical claims | Non-clinical claims | |||
|
|
Damages | Legal c osts | Damages | Legal c osts |
| (1 )The NHSLA took over the financial and claims handling responsibility for all clinical negligence claims from April 2002. Prior to April 2002, the NHSLA operated excess levels and only handled those cases valued at above excess. (2 )The NHSLA ran its schemes on a reimbursement basis during these years, so the amount recorded reflects the total amount reimbursed in that year to scheme members on claims payments that may have been made in earlier years. The figures do not separate out damages and legal costs so represent the total reimbursed. Source: NHSLA | ||||
NHS: Private Sector
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of treatment carried out by the private sector on behalf of the NHS in the latest period for which figures are available. [41425]
Mr Simon Burns: The following table shows expenditure by national health service commissioners (primary care trusts) in England on the purchase of NHS treatment from non-NHS bodies for 2009-10, broken down by sector. The total figure in this table is included in NHS (England) Summarised Accounts, which is available on the Department's website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_119210
| Category | £000 |
| Source: Audited summarisation schedules of primary care trusts 2009-10. | |
NHS: Productivity
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the change in measurable productivity in the national health service was in each year between 1997-98 and 2009-10. [41090]
Mr Simon Burns: United Kingdom national health service productivity, as measured by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is given in the following table.
| Growth in UK NHS productivity 1998-2008 | |
|
|
Percentage |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to one decimal place. 2. Productivity estimates for 2009 are not yet available. 3. ONS estimates productivity on a calendar year, rather than financial year basis. Source: Penaloza M., Wild R., Hardie M. and Mills K. (2010) Public Service Output, Input and Productivity: Healthcare, Office for National Statistics. | |