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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 1 April 2011
Health
Barnes Hospital
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has for the future of Barnes hospital. [50028]
Mr Simon Burns: The Government have pledged that, in future, all service changes must be led by clinicians and patients, not be driven from the top down. The Secretary of State for Health has outlined new, strengthened criteria that he expects decisions on NHS service changes to meet.
We are advised that there have been discussions between local NHS organisations who are considering how best to provide older people’s services in the boroughs of Richmond and Wandsworth, and that they are committed to keeping all local Members of Parliament informed.
Dementia: Alcoholic Drinks
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with alcohol-related dementia in each primary care trust area in each of the last five years. [50051]
Anne Milton: This information is not collected by the Department.
General Practitioners: Fees and Charges
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department provides national guidelines to GPs on the fees they may charge to patients for signing certificates and completing medical forms. [50530]
Mr Simon Burns: Under the terms of their contract with the national health service, general practitioners (GPs) are required to provide certain, prescribed, medical certificates free of charge—such as those to prove incapacity to work. Outside of these arrangements, GPs also provide a variety of other services which successive governments have regarded as private matters between the patient and the doctor providing the service. The doctor is free to make a charge for these non-NHS services if he or she wishes.
The fees for the provision of services by GPs outside those contracted for under GP contractual arrangements are not set by the Department nor are they a matter for Government. As independent contractors, this is something for the individual practice to determine. The Professional Fees Committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) suggests fees for such services to help doctors set their own professional fees. However, these fees are guidelines only, not recommendations, and a doctor is
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not obliged to charge the rates suggested. Where doctors intend to charge for services to patients, the BMA advises them to forewarn patients, at the earliest opportunity, of the likely level of fees.
Hepatitis
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has undertaken an audit of or research on the health of hepatitis C patients after they have been classed as natural clearers. [50565]
Anne Milton: As part of the recent ‘Review of the support available to individuals infected with hepatitis C and/or HIV by NHS supplied blood transfusions or blood products and their dependants’, an expert scientific review of the evidence base on the spectrum and impact of disease associated with hepatitis C infection was undertaken. The issue of patients who clear the virus, either naturally or following treatment, was carefully considered. The group's report is in annex 4 of the review report. A copy of the review report has already been placed in the Library, and a copy of the minutes of the group's meeting has been placed in the Library. The Department has not commissioned any research on this issue.
National Commissioning Board: Research
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what duties the National Commissioning Board has in respect of medical research. [50735]
Mr Simon Burns: Clause 19 of the Health and Social Care Bill outlines further provisions for the NHS Commissioning Board including a duty that the Board must, in the exercise of its functions, have regard to the need to promote research on matters relevant to the health service, and the use in the health service of evidence obtained from research.
Sleep: Health Services
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many sleep clinics there are in each primary care trust. [50023]
Paul Burstow: The information requested is not held centrally.
Strategic Health Authorities: Consultants
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) management and (b) consultancy costs were incurred by each (i) strategic health authority and (ii) primary care trust in (A) 2006-07, (B) 2007-08, (C) 2008-09 and (D) 2009-10. [50563]
Mr Simon Burns: Information on expenditure on managers and senior managers for 2006-07 to 2009-10 and consultancy services for 2007-08 to 2009-10 for each strategic health authority and primary care trust has been placed in the Library.
Expenditure on consultancy services was separately identified in the audited summarisation schedules for the first time in 2007-08.
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Scotland
Members
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 31W, on Members, what criteria his Department used to identify hon. Members who have intimated an issue in Scottish affairs; and which hon. Members have been so identified. [50384]
David Mundell: There is no formal method for intimating an interest in Scottish affairs. The Scotland Office encourages all hon. and right hon. Members to take an interest in Scottish affairs and will copy generic correspondence to all Scottish MPs (as defined in the answer of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 31W, on Members) and to any MP who has such an interest.
Northern Ireland
Official Engagements
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in how many weeks he has spent more than three consecutive days on official business in Northern Ireland since May 2010. [50398]
Mr Paterson: Since May 2010, there have been five weeks that I have spent more than three consecutive days in Northern Ireland. Further to this there have been 16 weeks where I have spent three or more days in Northern Ireland.
Church Commissioners
Employees: Travel
Mr Godsiff: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, how many and what proportion of employees of the Church Commissioners are entitled to travel by first class rail services at the expense of the Church Commissioners within the UK. [50567]
Tony Baldry: Employees of the seven Church of England National Church Institutions (NCIs) include all staff working at Lambeth Palace, Lambeth Palace Library, Bishopthorpe Palace in York, the Archbishops Council, the Pensions Board, the National Society for Promoting Religious Education and the Church Commissioners must comply with the NCI’s expenses policy.
The NCI’s expenses policy states that:
“Where possible travel should be undertaken outside peak times during periods when the cost of travel is normally cheaper. Advantage should be taken of discounted rail tickets, where available, by early booking of Advance or other types of Saver fares.
Class of travel is determined as follows:
Standard class should be used for all journeys other than where:
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The facilities provided in Standard class do not meet your needs because you are suffering from a temporary or permanent disability
There are no seats available in standard class
If you need to travel overnight and use a sleeping berth.”
Priests
Miss McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what the average stipend for rural priests was in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [50243]
Tony Baldry: The Church Commissioners do not differentiate between which benefices are rural and which are urban. The Church of England is keen for stipends to be adequate to enable clergy to perform their ministries without undue financial anxiety, flexible enough to aid clergy deployment and consistent enough to avoid impeding their mobility. In 2010 the national average stipend for incumbents and incumbent status parochial clergy was £22,570. The projected figure for 2011 is £23,050 (based on responses from 36 dioceses).
Each diocese sets stipends taking into account local circumstances. Dioceses set a diocesan basic stipend for incumbents and incumbent status parochial clergy and most clergy receive stipend at this level. The diocesan basic stipends for 2010 are listed in Annex 2 to the 38(th) Central Stipends Authority Report (GS Misc 977), which is on the Church of England website, and a copy of which should be in the House of Commons Library.
From April the compulsory national minimum stipend, below which no full-time clergy should be paid, will be £21,370.
Work and Pensions
Departmental Expenditure
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what expenditure (a) his Department and (b) each public body sponsored by his Department incurred on engaging external audit services in each of the last three years; and to which service providers such payments were made in each year. [43754]
Chris Grayling: DWP and each public body it sponsors incurred the following expenditure on engaging external audit services in the last three years as follows:
| Entity | Auditor | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
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| (1) Fees charged to DWP by NAO are made on a notional basis, i.e. they are recorded as expenditure and a cost to the Department but no physical cash payments are made to NAO. (2) Prior to the establishment of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, audit fees for the former Child Support Agency were included within the audit fees for the Department. Figures stated represent audit costs for both the Administration and Client Funds Accounts. (3) Includes £5,000 in relation to 2008-09. (4) PADA achieved grant in aid status from March 2008. The audit fee quoted for 2007-08 therefore includes fees for March 2008 only. Audit services carried out in 2008-09 and 2009-10 included additional work to provide assurance in respect of the transition and implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Notes: 1. Both CMEC and HSE are Crown NDPBs and are therefore deemed to be part of the Department for accounting purposes. 2. PPF is a public corporation. 3. Remploy has status as both an NDPB and public corporation. 4. All other sponsored bodies are classified as NDPBs. 5. NAO fees have been included on the basis that, although classed as a part of the public sector, they are external to the body in question. | ||||
Regulation
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions his Department has consulted representatives of small businesses on the effects of proposed new regulations since 6 May 2010. [46147]
Chris Grayling: There is a significant amount of formal and informal consultation and engagement between the Department for Work and Pensions and small business representatives. Information on specific contacts is not co-ordinated centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, but I can confirm that we have regular dialogue at ministerial and senior official level with individuals, businesses and umbrella organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses, as well as larger organisations including the CBI and BCC.
During any consultation, we encourage all relevant groups and individuals to participate. During the period in question, the Department has launched the following formal consultation exercises on proposed new legislation that we would expect to be of relevance to small businesses:
The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2011
The consultation on the impact of using CPI for private sector occupational pension schemes
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The Draft Pension Protection Fund (Pension Compensation Sharing on Divorce etc.) Regulations 2010
The Draft Pension Protection Fund (Pensions on Divorce etc.: Charges) Regulations 2010
The Draft Financial Assistance Scheme and Pension Protection Fund (Valuation, Revaluation and Indexation Amendments) Regulations 2011
The Pension Protection Fund (Prescribed Payments and Investment Costs) Regulations 2011
Phasing out the default retirement age in 2010 (joint consultation between the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Department for Work and Pensions)
Abolition of contracting out on a defined contribution basis
The Application of Pension Legislation to the National Employment Savings Trust Corporation Regulations 2011
In addition, we have informally consulted representatives of small businesses on a range of measures addressed in the Making Automatic Enrolment Work review—‘Regulatory differences between occupational and workplace personal pensions’.
Higher Marginal Deduction Rates
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households liable for higher marginal deduction rates he estimates will fall into each £10,000 income band. [45139]
Chris Grayling: Universal credit will improve the incentives to increase hours of work. At present some 0.7 million households in low paid work lose 80% or more of any increase in earnings. Under universal credit, virtually no households will have deduction rates above 76%.
However, there will be individuals with higher marginal deduction rates under universal credit compared to the current system. In some cases this will be a result of higher entitlements under universal credit than under the current system.
The following table shows the numbers who see a higher and lower marginal deduction rate under universal credit compared to the current system, and the median change, split by income bands above £10,000.
| Estimated number of households with higher or lower marginal deduction rates under universal credit compared to the current system | ||||
| Income band | Higher MDR (million) | Median increase ( percentage points) | Lower MDR (million) | Median decrease ( percentage points) |
| (1) Rounds to less than 50,000. Notes: 1. Case loads rounded to the nearest 100,000. 2. Figures may not sum due to rounding. Source: DWP Policy Simulation Model (based on 2008-09 Family Resources Survey). | ||||
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In all bands, the median decrease is larger than the median increase, reflecting the impact that universal credit has on the highest marginal deduction rates.
Social Security Benefits
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department’s impact assessment on the proposed benefit cap, what assessment he has made of the effect of his proposed policy on levels of child poverty. [46403]
Maria Miller: The benefit cap will restrict the total amount of welfare a household can receive to broadly the level of the average earned income after tax for working households. By doing this the policy will deliver fiscal savings, improve work incentives for those on benefits and sit alongside the other measures announced in the spending review to make the system fair and affordable.
Any measurement of the effect on child poverty is limited by the variable of individual behavioural response to the policy. Impact on child poverty will be mitigated if adults in the families affected move into work. We are putting in place the Work programme, the biggest single welfare-to-work programme this country has ever seen, which will give unemployed people unprecedented levels of personal support to get them into the workplace. The benefit cap supports our plans to make work pay as when someone in a household enters work and begins to receive working tax credit they will be exempt from the new measure.
We are looking at ways of easing the transition for families and providing assistance for vulnerable families.
Welfare State: Reform
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department’s impact assessment on conditionality measures in the Welfare Reform Bill, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of lone parents who will enter work in each year to 2015-16 and (b) the average number of hours a lone parent will work in each such year. [46383]
Maria Miller: The information is as follows:
(a) The June 2010 Budget announced the requirement for lone parents to prepare for and seek work as a condition of receiving benefits would be extended from those with a youngest child aged seven or over, to those with a youngest child aged five or over. We estimated in the recent impact assessment, “Conditionality Measures in the 2011 Welfare Reform Bill”, that the change will help 20,000 to 25,000 extra lone parents into work in steady state—with around an extra 10,000 lone parents in work after the first full year; around an extra 20,000 after the second year; and up to 25,000 in steady state.
(b) There are a number of flexibilities for lone parents regarding job search requirements that can reflect different personal circumstances affecting availability for work. For example, lone parents may limit the hours they are available for work to a minimum of 16 hours a week subject to their childcare arrangements. They may also restrict their availability for work to their children’s normal school hours if any of their children are aged 12 or under.
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We expect that lone parents will base their working pattern around their personal circumstances and child care arrangements. For this impact assessment, we assumed that the majority of lone parents entering work as a result of the policy change will enter work at part-time around an average of 18 hours a week, with less than a third of lone parents entering work at full-time around an average of 38 hours a week. This assumption was made based on evidence from the Household Annual Population Survey.
Universal credit from 2013-14 will carry forward the same conditionality arrangements for lone parents. The above does not take account of behavioural effects arising from other aspects of universal credit, for example from the operation of the disregard and taper.
Winter Fuel Payments
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of implementing a change to winter fuel allowances to cease making payments to British citizens living abroad. [50424]
Steve Webb: European Union law means that some benefits acquired in one member state must be paid to people when they move to another country within the European economic area.
Winter fuel payments are only paid to former UK residents living in the European economic area or Switzerland if they qualified for a payment before leaving the UK.
In winter 2009-10 we made around 70,000 payments at a cost of around £15 million to people living outside the UK and in the EEA. This is less than 1% of the total annual expenditure on winter fuel payments.
Deputy Prime Minister
Members: Correspondence
Mr Sanders: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Torbay of 6 December 2010 on work placement pay; [49685]
(2) when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Torbay of 18 August 2010 on behalf of his constituent Mr Russell James on reform of the public sector; [49686]
(3) when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Torbay of 22 July 2010 on behalf of his constituent Mr Keith Richardson on intrusive and unnecessary laws; [49687]
(4) when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Torbay of 15 June 2010 on behalf of his constituent Mr Christopher Bunker on intrusive and unnecessary laws; [49691]
(5) when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Torbay of 15 June 2010 on behalf of his constituent Jenny Hall on the Protection of Freedoms Bill; [49692]
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(6) when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Torbay of 16 July 2010 on behalf of his constituent Mr David Love on the statutory requirement for schools to hold acts of daily collective worship. [49693]
The Deputy Prime Minister: I answered my hon. Friend’s correspondence today.
Transport
Shipping: Oil
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made on its consultation on ship-to-ship oil transfers. [49963]
Mike Penning: I am considering the representations which have been made and shall take a decision at the earliest opportunity.
Energy and Climate Change
Devolution: Northern Ireland
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2011, Official Report, column 111W, on devolution: Northern Ireland, for what reason no meetings have taken place. [50249]
Gregory Barker [holding answer 31 March 2011]:Meetings have not taken place between the special advisers of the Secretary of State and representatives of the Northern Ireland Executive and other organisations in Northern Ireland as there have been no meeting requests. Officials of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have regular dialogue with the Northern Ireland Executive and other Northern Irish bodies, including meetings that were attended by DECC’s board-level devolution champion in Belfast on 10 and 11 March 2011 on a wide range of energy and climate change matters. Northern Ireland Executive officials also sit on several DECC steering groups.
Energy: Housing
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department had had with energy companies on their role in informing consumers about the Green Deal. [50555]
Gregory Barker: The Department has been working closely with energy companies, developing their role to collect Green Deal payments from customers and exploring the potential opportunities for them as Green Deal providers. We are also working on an agreement with the larger energy companies for them to provide promotional material about the Green Deal to their customers at key trigger points, for example when moving into a new property or switching energy supplier.
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Nuclear Power Stations
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on the number of third generation nuclear reactors that are in operation around the world. [50258]
Charles Hendry: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not hold specific information on the number of third generation nuclear plants in operation around the world.
A number of other organisations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Nuclear Association maintain lists of such information that is easily accessed on the internet:
www.iaea.org
www.world-nuclear.org
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has assessed the suitability of boiling water nuclear reactors for deployment in the UK. [50259]
Charles Hendry: The safety, security and environmental aspects of nuclear reactor designs proposed for deployment in the UK are assessed by the UK's nuclear regulators as part of their site licensing and permitting processes.
Regulators have recently assessed a number of reactor designs as part of their generic design assessment (GDA) process. One design, the GE-Hitachi ESBWR is an evolution of earlier boiling water reactors. Assessment of the economic simplified boiling water reactor (ESBWR) within the GDA process ceased in September 2008 when GE-Hitachi requested a temporary suspension of work.
No boiling water reactor designs are currently being assessed for the UK.
Information on the regulators’ assessment findings, including interim technical reports and quarterly updates can be found on their website:
www.hse.gov.uk/newreactors
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has asked UK Chief Nuclear Inspector, Dr Mike Weightman, to provide an independent report to the Government on the implications of the unprecedented events in Japan and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry.
He has asked for an interim report by mid-May 2011 and a final report within six months. The reports will be published in the public domain.
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of boiling water nuclear reactor designs. [50260]
Charles Hendry: The safety, security and environmental aspects of nuclear reactor designs proposed for deployment in the UK are assessed by the UK's nuclear regulators as part of their site licensing and permitting processes.
Regulators have recently assessed a number of reactor designs as part of their generic design assessment process (GDA). One design, the GE-Hitachi economic simplified boiling water reactor (ESBWR) is an evolution of earlier
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boiling water reactors. Assessment of the ESBWR within the GDA ceased in September 2008 when GE-Hitachi requested a temporary suspension of work.
Information on the regulators assessment findings, including interim technical reports and quarterly updates can be found on their website:
www.hse.gov.uk/newreactors
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has asked UK Chief Nuclear Inspector, Dr Mike Weightman, to provide an independent report to the Government on the implications of the unprecedented events in Japan and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry.
He has asked for an interim report by mid-May 2011 and a final report within six months. The reports will be published in the public domain.
Nuclear Power Stations: Safety
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the implications of the situation in Japan for his energy policy. [49930]
Charles Hendry: The International Atomic Energy Agency integrated regulatory review service—IRRS—recently noted that the UK has a mature and transparent regulatory system, an advanced review process, and highly trained, expert and experienced nuclear inspectors. Nevertheless, we take the recent unprecedented events in Japan extremely seriously, and the Secretary of State has asked the chief nuclear inspector, Dr Mike Weightman, to provide a report to the Government on the implications and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry.
The coalition Government’s plans clearly envisage an important role for nuclear and unless Dr Weightman’s report gives us any particular reason to reassess that, I see no reason why that should not remain our view. We aim to bring the first new nuclear on stream for 2018. When people visit the departmental website, they can access a pathways model called “My2050”, which allows them to see the effort that would have to be made if we did not have nuclear. We would have to make enormously greater efforts on both renewables and carbon capture and storage. That is physically possible, but the costs would be very substantial.
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of inherent passive safety systems in nuclear reactor design. [50117]
Charles Hendry: The safety, security and environmental aspects of nuclear reactor designs proposed for deployment in the UK are assessed by the UK’s nuclear regulators as part of their site licensing and permitting processes.
Regulators have recently assessed a number of reactor designs as part of their Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process. A number of these designs incorporate either full or partial passive safety systems. Which are assessed against publicised safety principles within the GDA process.
Information on the regulators assessment findings, including interim technical reports and quarterly updates can be found on their website
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www.hse.gov.uk/newreactors
The Secretary of State has asked UK Chief Nuclear Inspector Dr Mike Weightman to provide an independent report to the Government on the implications of the unprecedented events in Japan and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry.
He has asked for an interim report by mid-May 2011 and a final report within six months. The reports will be published in the public domain.
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of core damage frequency for the (a) GE Hitachi (i) Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor and (ii) Advanced Boiling Water Reactor, (b) Westinghouse AP1000 and (c) Areva European Pressurised Reactor; and what assessment he has made of the implications of those figures for reactor safety. [50261]
Charles Hendry: The safety, security and environmental aspects of nuclear reactor designs proposed for deployment in the UK are assessed by the UK's nuclear regulators as part of their site licensing and permitting processes.
Regulators have recently assessed a number of reactor designs as part of their generic design assessment (GDA) process. This assessment has included an appraisal of the calculated core damage frequencies on the Westinghouse API000 and AREVA EPR. The GE-Hitachi ESBWR voluntarily suspended assessment in September 2008 and the ABWR was not put forward to the GDA process, as such no core damage frequency assessment has been undertaken by regulators on these two reactors.
Information on the regulators assessment findings, including interim technical reports and quarterly updates can be found on their website:
www.hse.gov.uk/newreactors
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has asked UK Chief Nuclear Inspector, Dr Mike Weightman, to provide an independent report to the Government on the implications of the unprecedented events in Japan and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry.
He has asked for an interim report by mid-May 2011 and a final report within six months. The reports will be published in the public domain.
Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department published the trigger for the fast-track solar photovoltaic feed-in tariff review; and if he will make a statement. [46442]
Gregory Barker: At the time of the spending review in 2010 we said that the first review of the feed-in tariffs (FITs) scheme would take place as planned in 2012, taking effect in April 2013, unless higher than expected deployment triggered an early review. Since then feedback from industry has indicated that solar PV system costs are now 30% lower than assumed in the original modelling undertaken before the start of the scheme and that there would be higher than expected deployment of larger scale solar PV. This has resulted in the risk that the FITs budget would be exceeded and triggers an early review.
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The decision to begin a comprehensive review early allows us to deal with issues such as the fast falling cost of solar PV, enabling us to safeguard FITs funding for small scale installations for domestic customers, schools, community groups and small businesses.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Politics and Government
Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the political situation in Bosnia and Hercegovina. [49135]
Mr Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has raised his concerns about the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in several recent bilateral meetings with European counterparts, and at both the February and March Foreign Affairs Councils.
The Secretary of State has made clear his strong concerns about the current negative political atmosphere and has highlighted the need for rapid progress on government formation and on implementation of key EU-related reforms.
European Court of Human Rights
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2011, Official Report, column 367W, on the European Court of Human Rights, whether the UK’s representative at the High Level Conference will address the conference; and if he will place in the Library a copy of representations the Government has made to the Council of Europe on reform of the European Court of Human Rights since May 2010. [50273]
Mr Lidington: The UK will be represented by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), who will address the meeting. The Government have participated actively in a number of discussions within the Council of Europe on the reform of the European Court of Human Rights since May 2010. This has not involved the submission of formal written representations on this issue.
Latvia: Anti-Semitism
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on levels of anti-Semitism in Latvia since July 2010; what discussions he has had with the government of Latvia about anti-Semitism in Latvia since that date; and if he will make a statement. [50301]
Mr Lidington: We have not received any reports of anti-Semitism in Latvia since July 2010, nor have we engaged the Latvian Government on the issue during this period.
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Libya: Aviation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department’s policy is on charging (a) British and (b) non-British nationals who used recent flights chartered by his Department from Libya. [48963]
Alistair Burt: The Department’s policy is not to charge either British or non-British nationals using flights chartered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from Libya. In an evacuation, the Government cover the cost of transport out of the affected country if there are no commercial means available.
Security: EU Action
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution he plans to make to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ informal meeting of the Drafting Group of the Istanbul Declaration on 7 April 2011; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the representations the Government has made on this declaration. [50272]
Mr Lidington: The UK will contribute fully to ensure that the draft declaration reflects our vision of the Council of Europe as an organisation focussed on the protection and promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
I will place in the Library a copy of the UK’s statement in Istanbul when it is available.
USA: Cotton
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2011, Official Report, column 694W, on the USA: cotton, what the US ambassador’s response was to Lord Brittan’s representations; what steps he plans to take in respect of US cotton subsidies as a result of that response; and if he will make a statement. [49698]
Mr O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
The US ambassador responded that there were opponents to cotton reform in the Senate and that what could be agreed would depend on the overall Doha Development Agenda (DDA). We will continue to press the US bilaterally on this issue. It remains clear that a successful conclusion of the DDA will be the best route for reform of cotton subsidies.
Culture, Media and Sport
Public Bodies Reform Programme
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what (a) costs and (b) savings he expects to result from the abolition of the (i) UK Film Council and (ii) Museum, Libraries and Archives Council. [48795]
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Mr Jeremy Hunt [holding answer 24 March 2011]:The costs and benefits arising from the reforms to the UK Film Council and Museums, Libraries and Archives Council are subject to ongoing analysis and while we expect they will generate administrative savings, no figures can be provided at this stage.
International Development
Sudan: Overseas Aid
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the £140 million bilateral aid allocated for Sudan in the Bilateral Aid review will be apportioned between north and south Sudan. [50732]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The focus of the Bilateral Aid Review is on achieving results to transform the lives of poor people. As poverty indicators are generally worse in the south of Sudan, approximately 65% of our funding (around £90 million) will be focused there. Over the next four years key results we intend to achieve include 240,000 more children completing primary school (20% more than today), 1 million more people achieving food security, and over 750,000 people benefiting from treatment or prevention of malaria.
Approximately 35% of our funding (around £50 million) will be focused on the north of Sudan. Results we aim to deliver there include clean drinking water or sanitation for 800,000 people, access to justice for 250,000 people, and life-saving health and nutrition support to up to 4 million people in areas of humanitarian need, notably in Darfur.
Treasury
EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council Meeting
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what agreements were made on climate finance at the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting on 15 March 2011. [50029]
Justine Greening: The EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council of 14-15 March 2011 adopted Council Conclusions on climate finance.
The conclusions welcomed the outcome of the international negotiations in Cancun, including the decision to establish a Green Climate Fund; reaffirmed climate finance commitments made by EU member states to provide €7.2 billion cumulatively over the period 2010-12 to fast start finance and to report on its climate finance contributions.
The full text of the conclusions can be found at:
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ecofin/119891_pdf
Fuel Duty: Public Expenditure
Matthew Hancock:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to Table 2.1 on page 42 of Budget 2011, what the estimated cost to the Exchequer
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is of
(a)
the reduction of fuel duty by one penny per litre from 23 March 2011,
(b)
the removal of previously announced above retail prices index increases in fuel duty and
(c)
the delay of retail prices index increases in each year between 2011-12 and 2015-16. [50368]
Justine Greening: The 1p per litre fuel duty reduction, the removal of the previous Administration’s fuel duty escalator and the delay of RPI increases are costed in table 2.1 of Budget 2011 at: -£1,900 million in 2011-12; -£1,600 million in 2012-13; -£1,700 million in 2013-14; -£2,100 million in 2014-15.
Oil: Prices
John Thurso: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on requirements for oil, gas and mining companies based in the UK to disclose payments made in other countries in which they operate. [49971]
Justine Greening [holding answer 31 March 2011]: As the Chancellor made clear at the G20 Finance Minister’s meeting in February 2011, the Government support the development of new international rules to require oil, gas and mining companies to report the payments they make to Governments. The UK will be seeking to make progress on this issue both in the G20 and at the EU.
Taxation
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what recent representations he has received on proposals for (a) a financial activities tax and (b) a financial transactions tax; [50524]
(2) what discussions he has had with his (a) French and (b) German counterpart on the prospects for (i) a financial activities tax and (ii) a financial transactions tax; [50525]
(3) whether he has tasked a team in his Department with investigating the feasibility of a financial activities tax. [50526]
Justine Greening: As set out in the June 2010 Budget, the Government are exploring the costs and benefits of a financial activities tax with international partners and are continuing to monitor developments in this area. There have been discussions at ECOFIN about financial activities taxes and financial transactions taxes. The European Commission issued a communication on taxation of the financial sector in October 2010, and is currently running a consultation exercise as part of its impact assessment work, which it is due to publish later this year. In addition, the Government of France holds the presidency of the G20 for 2011, and has stated that it will bring forward discussions on financial transactions taxes.
The Government have received representations on various aspects of financial sector taxation from a wide range of interested parties. In August 2010, the Government issued a statement on financial taxation, available at:
http://hm-treasury.gov.uk/robin_hood_tax.htm
1 Apr 2011 : Column 529W
Telephone Services
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the opening hours of the Debt Management Telephone Centre unit of HM Revenue and Customs will be on (a) Friday 22 April, (b) Sunday 24 April and (c) Monday 25 April 2011; [50450]
(2) whether staff of the Debt Management Telephone Centre unit of HM Revenue and Customs will be (a) making outbound calls to collect debts and (b) taking incoming calls during its hours of operation on (i) Friday 22 April, (ii) Sunday 24 April and (iii) Monday 25 April 2011. [50451]
Justine Greening: HMRC’s Debt Management and Telephone Centre will be closed on Friday 22 April, open on Sunday 24 April from 8 am to 4 pm and closed on Monday 25 April 2011.
Staff contracted to work on Sunday 24 April will be handling inbound calls as a priority, with some opportunity for outbound calls to those who have failed to respond to HMRC’s written demands for payment.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Business: Regulation
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills from which domestic regulations he proposes to exempt micro-businesses and start-ups in the next three years as a result of the moratorium introduced in the 2011 Budget. [49419]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 28 March 2011]: All micro and start-up businesses will be exempted from new domestic regulation in the three-year moratorium from 1 April 2011, apart from in exceptional instances where there is a compelling argument against exemption. A decision has been made that the abolition of default retirement age will continue as planned for all businesses. Any breach of the moratorium will require the consent of both the Reducing Regulation Cabinet Committee, chaired by the Secretary of State, and the Economic Affairs Committee, chaired by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Enterprise Zones
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date his Department informed (a) local authorities and (b) local enterprise partnerships of the criteria for the establishment of enterprise zones. [50580]
Mr Prisk: The Secretaries of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and for Communities and Local Government wrote to local enterprise partnerships on 24 March 2011 with regard to the Budget announcement on enterprise zones. The prospectus that accompanied their letter and which is available on the DCLG website at:
www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/enterprisezone
explained the bidding process that will be put in place to identify a second wave of enterprise zones.
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Local enterprise partnerships interested in bidding for an enterprise zone are being asked to submit short expressions of interest during April. Once those expressions of interest have been received, the Government will write to all interested local enterprise partnerships with the criteria against which detailed bids will be assessed. Final bids will be expected by the end of June. Those local authorities and businesses not currently covered by a local enterprise partnership will be able to bid to host an enterprise zone if their proposals to form a local enterprise partnership are approved before the deadline for bids. The prospectus already provides partnerships with an indication of the sorts of issues that they will want to consider in compiling a bid.
Enterprise Zones: Finance
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding he plans to allocate to enterprise zones in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15. [50582]
Mr Prisk: At the Budget, the Government announced that businesses in enterprise zones would receive business rate discounts of up to 100% for five years. These discounts are subject to European Union state aid rules and are worth up to £275,000 over a five-year period for each business. The Government estimate the overall cost of this tax support to be approximately £125 million over the spending review period.
Regional Growth Fund
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the monetary value was of bids submitted to the first round of the Regional Growth Fund in each (a) Government office region and (b) local enterprise partnership. [50647]
Mr Prisk: 464 bids to the value of £2.78 billion have been received in round 1 of regional growth fund (RGF). The following tables gives details on the monetary value of bids submitted by each Government region and Local Enterprise Partnership area.
| Region | £ million |
| LEP area | £ mi llion |
|
Birmingham and Solihull with East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth LEP |
|
|
Brighton and Hove, Croydon, the Gatwick Diamond and West Sussex—Coast to Capital LEP |
|
1 Apr 2011 : Column 531W
Communities and Local Government
Children in Care: Missing Persons
Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the number of children (a) in total and (b) who had been trafficked who went missing from local government care in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [50469]
Andrew Stunell: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from the Home Office and Department for Education to discuss a range of matters. Policies on trafficking, children who go missing and children in care mainly fall under the responsibility of the Home Office and Department for Education.
We are working closely with them on related policies such as the young runaways project and homelessness. For example, the Home Office and Department for Education are represented on the cross-Government Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness. In addition, the Department for Communities and Local Government is represented on the senior officials group overseeing cross-government work on missing persons.
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Fire Services
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) whole-time firefighter, (b) retained firefighter, (c) fire control room and (d) total posts there were in each Fire and Rescue Service in England on 1 April 2010; and how many posts in each category there were on 1 April 2011. [50257]
Robert Neill: The numbers of posts on 31 March 2010 in each Fire and Rescue Service in England are shown in the following table. Figures for 31 March 2011 are due to be submitted over the coming months and to be published in August.
| Fire and rescue service posts in England at 31 March 2010 (1) | ||||
| Fire and rescue authorities | Whole - time | Retained duty system (2,3) | Fire control | Total (including support staff) |
1 Apr 2011 : Column 533W
| (1) In full-time equivalents (FTEs) except retained duty system firefighters in 24 hour units of cover. (2) In 24-hour units of cover. (3) No retained duty system firefighters are recruited in London and West Midlands. (4) Estimates. Source: Annual Returns to DCLG | ||||
Local Government Finance
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect on formula grant funding to each local authority of allowing such authorities to retain the receipts from business rates. [49794]
Robert Neill: As part of the Local Government Resource Review's consideration of options for allowing local authorities to retain business rates, we will be assessing the impact of a range of issues, including the potential impact on local authorities' funding. In due course, we will publish the conclusions of the review. The terms of the review are clear that any change must protect the interests of local taxpayers and the vulnerable, be fair for all councils, and encourage growth. Councils which are more deprived will continue to receive central Government support.
Defence
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether bullet-proof vests are available to all UK combat troops in Afghanistan. [50382]
Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence issues troops with personal protective equipment which provides degrees of ballistic protection against a range of threats. All UK troops deploying to Afghanistan are issued with enhanced combat body armour as a minimum. Mk 4 Osprey body armour is available to all troops whose role requires it.
1 Apr 2011 : Column 534W
Air Force: Redundancy
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the likely number of Royal Air Force personnel to be made redundant at Royal Air Force Valley as part of the programme announced on 1 March 2011. [49932]
Mr Robathan: Between 1 March and 14 April 2011 RAF personnel within certain trades and branches are invited to apply for redundancy following the announcement of the RAF Redundancy Programme Tranche One. All personnel selected for redundancy will be informed of the decision on 1 September 2011.
Consequently, it is too soon to make an assessment on the number of likely redundancies at a particular location within the RAF.
Defence: International Co-operation
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether training for the France-UK bi-national rapid reaction force has begun; and if he will make a statement. [49906]
Mr Gerald Howarth: We confirmed at last year’s bilateral summit that we would develop a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force with France. It will foster closer links between our armed forces, and improve their ability to deploy together on operations in the future. It will not involve standing forces.
There are a number of bilateral exercises scheduled to take place with French armed forces this year, aimed at increasing the levels of interoperability between our armed forces.
Departmental Theft
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2011, Official Report, column 1227W, on departmental theft, what the policy of his Department is on monitoring (a) (i) eBay, (ii) Amazon and (iii) other online trading sites and (b) (i) Loot and (ii) other classified advertising publications in order to recover stolen property. [50527]
Mr Gerald Howarth: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) police uses proactive intelligence-led initiatives to identify and detect thefts of MOD property, and those involved in the unlawful disposal of stolen Defence property, by monitoring internet trading sites and other markets, and then taking appropriate law enforcement action. This approach has proved successful in tracking potential stolen MOD property and those who seek to dispose of it, with arrests, convictions and property recovery.
European Defence Agency
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) his officials have had with their French counterparts on the future of the European Defence Agency since May 2010. [49907]
1 Apr 2011 : Column 535W
Mr Gerald Howarth: Defence Ministers and officials routinely discuss matters concerning the future of the European Defence Agency both multilaterally and bilaterally with our French counterparts.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Government’s policy is on the European Defence Agency; and if he will make a statement. [49909]
Mr Gerald Howarth: I refer the right hon. Member to the answers I gave on 11 February 2011, Official Report, column 453W, to the hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay (Stephen Gilbert) and on 13 December 2010, Official Report, column 659, to the Second Church Estates Commissioner, the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry).
Foreign Relations
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what dates (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) his officials have met their French counterparts since May 2010. [49908]
Mr Gerald Howarth: The information is as follows:
The Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Fox) met the French Defence Minister on: 10 June 2010; 18 June 2010; 3 September 2010; 14 October 2010; 2 November 2010; 20 November 2010; 12 January 2011; and 10 March 2011.
The Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology (Peter Luff) met his French counterpart on: 17 June 2010; 19 July 2010; 18 October 2010 and 16 March 2010.
The Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Mr Robathan) met his French counterpart on 18 June 2010.
I met the French Defence Minister at the EU Defence Ministers’ meetings on 9 December 2010 and 24 February 2011.
Other members of the Ministry of Defence routinely meet with representatives of the French Ministry of Defence. This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Cabinet Office
Average Earnings: Statistics
Mr Tyrie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) if he will request the Office for National Statistics to facilitate public access to the underlying data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings provided to the Department for Communities and Local Government as the basis for the area cost adjustment calculations in West Sussex, redacting personal data where necessary to assist disclosure; [50645]
(2) by what procedure an individual may become an approved researcher to access the data underlying the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings prepared by the Office for National Statistics; and how many applications for such status have been (a) approved and (b) rejected in the last 24 months. [50646]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
1 Apr 2011 : Column 536W
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking:
1: to facilitate public access to the underlying data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings provided to the Department for Communities and Local Government as the basis for the area cost adjustment calculations in West Sussex redacting personal data where necessary to assist disclosure (50645) and
2: by what procedure an individual may become an approved researcher to access the data underlying the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings prepared by the Office for National Statistics; and how many applications for such statistics have been (a) approved and (b) rejected in the last 24 months. (50646)
Answer to question one
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data are collected under the Statistics of Trade Act, 1947. Section 9 of this Act states that unless consent has been obtained, data collected under the Act that may identify an individual unit may only be made available to Government Departments in possession of a ‘direction from the Minister’. The legislation states that the data may be released to the Government Department for the performance of any of its functions. Under this Act, those Government Departments without a ‘ministerial direction’ are not allowed access.
The Statistics and Registration Service Act, 2007, allows for increased sharing of data between ONS and other Government Departments, subject to agreement by Parliament on a case by case basis. The Act ensures that ONS can still use the existing gateways for access to ASHE microdata. It also promotes further statistical research by the addition of an additional gateway - Approved Researcher.
The Approved Researcher is the only gateway available for those without a ministerial direction to access ASHE microdata. Approved Researcher status is for named individuals only and applies to a specific project. It does not open a gateway to all data for any purpose. Currently Approved Researchers can only gain access to ASHE data at ONS sites. This is likely to be extended in the near future so that Approved Researchers can access ASHE from a Secure Data Centre, at university buildings via secure computer terminals.
The production of a redacted version of the data would render them unsuitable for the purposes stated. Given the nature of the information provided under trust to ONS, it would be necessary to use a coarse recoding methodology to prevent the identification, or self-identification, of an individual from a public use data set. The methodology employed in the area cost adjustment calculations requires detailed individual record information that would be lost as a consequence of the recoding required to prevent disclosure.
Answer to question two
The Statistics and Registration Service Act requires that the criteria for becoming an Approved Researcher are published. The criteria and assessment procedure can be found on the ‘Access to Data’ pages of the Office for National Statistics website:
www.ons.gov.uk/about/who-we-are/our-services/unpublished-data/access-to-ons-data-service/index.html
Only the information in the application is used for the decision to make an applicant an Approved Researcher, although for less experienced applicants a reference may be sought from their PhD supervisor. Any individual can become an Approved Researcher provided they meet both the criteria for personal competence to use confidential data securely, and the criteria for statistical research purposes.
In the last 24 months 32 statistical researchers have met the criteria and have been made Approved Researchers for access to the confidential Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings dataset. The researchers are working on 19 statistical research inquiries. All of these statistical researchers have used the ASHE dataset within a statistical research laboratory facility on an ONS site. No statistical researcher that has submitted an application has been rejected.
1 Apr 2011 : Column 537W
Cancer: Death
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many patients died from cancer in (a) Bolton South East constituency and (b) Bolton borough in the last five years. [50550]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many patients died from cancer in (a) Bolton South East constituency and (b) Bolton borough in the last five years. (50550)
The following tables provide the number of deaths where the underlying cause was cancer in (a) Bolton South East parliamentary constituency (Table 1) and (b) Bolton metropolitan district (Table 2), for the years 2005 to 2009 (the latest year available).
It is not possible from the information given at death registration to state whether the deceased was a patient at the time of death.
| Table 1. Number of deaths where the underlying cause was cancer, Bolton South East parliamentary constituency, 2005-09 (1, 2, 3) | |
|
|
Deaths (persons) |
| (1 )Cause of death was defined using the international Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97. (2) Based on boundaries as of 2011. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. | |
| Table 2. Number of deaths where the underlying cause was cancer, Bolton metropolitan district, 2005-09 (1, 2, 3) | |
|
|
Deaths (persons) |
| (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97. (2) Based on boundaries as of 2011. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. | |
Deaths: Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths in the Pendle area were (a) alcohol and (b) drug-related in each of the last five years; and how many of those who died were aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 24, (iii) 25 to 40 and (iv) over 40 years. [50964]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2001:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking how many deaths in the Pendle area were (a) alcohol and (b) drug
1 Apr 2011 : Column 538W
related in each of the last five years; and how many of those who died were aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 24, (iii) 25 to 40 and (iv) over 40 years. (50964)
The following tables provide the number of deaths where the underlying cause was (a) alcohol-related (Table 1) and (b) drug poisoning (Table 2), for persons aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 24, (iii) 25 to 40 and (iv) over 40 years, in Pendle local authority, for the years 2005 to 2009 (the latest year available).
Figures for alcohol-related deaths in the UK, England and Wales, and government office regions are published annually on the National Statistics website at:
www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=14496
Figures for deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales by sex, age, cause and substance involved are published annually on the National Statistics website at:
www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=11695
| Table 1. Number of deaths where the underlying cause of death was alcohol-related, Pendle local authority, 2005 to 2009 (1, 2, 3) | |||||
| Persons | |||||
| Age group | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). The specific conditions which are included in the National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths, and their corresponding ICD-10 codes, are shown in Box 1 as follows. (2) Based on boundaries as of 2011. (3 )Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. | |||||
| Box 1. National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths | |
| Cause of death | ICD-10 codes |
| Table 2. Number of deaths where drug poisoning was the underlying cause of death, Pendle local authority, 2005 to 2009 (1, 2, 3) | |||||
| Persons | |||||
| Age group | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
1 Apr 2011 : Column 539W
| (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). The ICD-10 codes for drug poisoning are shown in Box 2 as follows. (2) Based on boundaries as of 2011. (3)Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. | |||||
Departmental Public Transport
Maria Eagle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish central government guidance issued to Ministers on modes of transport to use whilst on government business. [50093]
Mr Maude: All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code. Section 10 of the Ministerial Code provides guidance to Ministers on travel. A copy of the Ministerial Code is available in the Library of the House.
Government Departments: Procurement
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what training is offered by the National School of Government for senior responsible owners; and how many senior responsible owners have completed such training in each of the last three years. [45664]
Mr Maude: During the last three years, the National School of Government has not offered an open programme of training for senior responsible owners.
The school has delivered the senior responsible owner masterclass as a single client product to various departments and organisations. In the last three years, the following numbers have attended this masterclass:
2010-11: 20
2009-10: 88
2008-09: 149
The National School also offers courses on programme and project management which cover SRO responsibilities.
1 Apr 2011 : Column 540W
Following the Review of Public Bodies, I confirmed in a written statement to the House that the National School of Government would no longer be a non-ministerial department. The functions of the School will transfer into the Cabinet Office from 1 April. Further decisions about the school, its staff and sites are expected in due course.
From April, training and development across Government Departments in leadership, management and the core skills expected of every civil servant should have will be sourced through Civil Service Learning.
New Businesses: Middlesbrough
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many business start-ups there were in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year of the last Parliament; and how many such start-ups there have been since the May 2010 general election. [50982]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many business start-ups there were in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year of the last parliament; and how many such start-ups there have been since the May 2010 General Election. [50982]
Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from 2002 onwards in the ONS release on Business Demography at:
www.statistics.gov.uk
The table below contains the latest statistics available, which give the number of enterprise births from 2005 to 2009 in the constituency of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland. Information relating to 2010 will be available following release of the latest Business Demography publication in December 2011.
| Table showing enterprises births in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland 2005-09 | |
|
|
Births |