Social Security Benefits
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how his Department reached the calculation that 70 per cent. of households affected by the proposed overall cap on benefit entitlement will be in social housing. [49483]
Steve Webb: The costing model used to estimate the effects of the benefit cap uses DWP's Policy Simulation Model (PSM), which is a static microsimulation model based on data from the 2008-09 Family Resources Survey, uprated to the relevant year's prices, benefit rates and earnings levels.
Household total benefit income is calculated, and where applicable capped at the appropriate level. Whether a household lives in social housing can then be identified based on the underlying Family Resources Survey data.
Universal Credit
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the level at which maximum allowable child care costs would need to be set in universal credit in order to cover up to (a) 80 per cent., (b) 70 per cent. and (c) 60 per cent. of child care costs assuming overall spending remains the same as in the present system. [52509]
Maria Miller: We have announced that support for child care costs will be provided in universal credit by an additional element, and that we aim to extend support to those working fewer than 16 hours. We have also announced during the Commons Committee stage of the Welfare Reform Bill that we intend to discuss with stakeholders the options for delivering this within the existing financial envelope for child care costs in the current tax credit and benefit system. The maximum allowable child care costs under different options will be a key factor in those discussions, which will take place over the coming weeks.
Work Capability Assessment
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the Harrington review into work capability assessments; what plans he has for the implementation of such recommendations in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement. [52983]
Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to reply to your question asking what recent progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the Harrington review into work capability assessments and what plans he has for the implementation of such recommendations in the West Midlands. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Following his review of the work capability assessment in 2010 Professor Harrington made 14 recommendations to be implemented by Jobcentre Plus, by Atos Healthcare or jointly by both organisations.
9 May 2011 : Column 1023W
Considerable progress has been made in implementing these recommendations. Many are now incorporated into the processes to support the reassessment of Incapacity Benefit cases nationally. Plans are in place to extend this to include Employment and Support Allowance cases. Details of progress in all 14 recommendations have been placed in the Library.
Treasury
Banking
Sajid Javid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the net liabilities of British banks to public and private sector entities in (a) Greece, (b) Portugal, (c) Ireland and (d) Spain on the most recent date for which information is available. [54214]
Mr Hoban: Data on external assets and liabilities of all monetary financial institutions operating in the UK are available on the Bank of England website at:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/bankstats/current/tabc3.2.xls
In its latest Financial Stability Report (December 2010), the Bank of England published UK banking sector claims on public and private sector entities in Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain. This information can be found one the following website:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/fsr/2010/fsr28.htm
Debts: Developing Countries
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has had discussions with his (a) EU and (b) UN counterparts on multilateral agreements to prevent funds which invest in debt from pursuing excessive claims against developing countries. [54556]
Mr Hoban: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
The Government have decided to make the Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Act 2010 permanent. The draft Order was laid before Parliament on 28 March 2011.
Departmental Buildings
Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) name and (b) address is of each building owned by his Department; and what the estimated monetary value is of each such building. [53806]
Justine Greening: The Treasury owns a single building at 1 Horse Guards Road. The net book value of the building was £74,438,000 at 31 March 2010 as shown in Note 11 to the Department’s Resource Accounts available from:
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in his Department are provided with mobile communication devices; and how much his Department spent on mobile telephones and related data services in the last year for which figures are available. [51420]
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Justine Greening: Currently there are 477 active mobile devices provided to the HM Treasury officials, in line with the Department's published Mobile Communications Policy.
Costs for mobile devices for financial year 2010-11 were £135,743.79.
Economic Forecasting
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in the Office of Budget Responsibility are employed to undertake economic forecasting; and how many of them previously worked in his Department. [50100]
Justine Greening: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), and I have asked the OBR to reply.
Letter from Robert Chote, dated 31 March 2001:
As Chair of the Budget Responsibility Committee of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) I have been asked to reply to your recent question.
At the establishment of the permanent OBR, four members of HM Treasury staff were transferred to the OBR to undertake economic forecasting. The transfer was conducted under the processes governing machinery of government changes.
We have also recruited a further member of staff to conduct economic forecasting via an external competition process. That staff member has not previously worked at HM Treasury.
Insolvency
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with RBS and Lloyds TSB on their use of insolvency practitioners in the last 12 months. [54113]
Mr Hoban: The Chancellor has discussions with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, as he does with other organisations. As was the case with previous Administrations, the Government do not disclose details of all such meetings and discussions.
Nuclear Power Stations: Environment Protection
Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate has been made of the additional revenue that will accrue to existing nuclear power station operators as a result of the carbon price support proposals announced in the 2011 Budget. [52152]
Justine Greening: The carbon price floor announced in the Budget is intended to create economic incentives toward low-carbon electricity generation and away from high-carbon generation. All types of low-carbon technologies will be incentivised by the price floor. The impact on utility companies' profitability will depend on the overall composition of their generation portfolios and future investment decisions.
The existing nuclear sector is likely to benefit by an average of £50 million per annum to 2030 due to higher wholesale electricity prices. Similarly, the renewable energy sector is expected to benefit by an average of at least £25 million a year to 2030.
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Pensions: Public Sector
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely changes in opt-out rates for public sector pension schemes as a result of an increase in the contribution rate. [53070]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 28 April 2011 ]: The spending review 2010 announced that the Government will implement progressive changes to the level of employee contributions equivalent to an average of three percentage points, to be phased in from April 2012.
The costing for this measure was scrutinised by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, and assumed an increase in the opt-out rate equal to 1% of total pay bill.
Social Enterprises
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will exempt social enterprises from the exclusion of feed-in tariffs businesses from the Enterprise Investment Scheme and venture capital trusts. [54274]
Mr Gauke: Legislation will be introduced in the Finance Bill 2012 providing that companies whose trade consists wholly or substantially in the receipt of feed-in tariffs will only be eligible for the Enterprise Investment Scheme or Venture Capital Trusts where commercial electricity generation commences before 6 April 2012. The change will not apply to any shares issued before 23 March 2011.
This change is designed to improve the focus of the schemes on smaller, higher risk companies. Draft legislation will be published for consultation before it is implemented.
Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals
Martin Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the amount transferred in social security payment transfers under the provisions of EU Regulation No 1408/71 in each of the last 10 years. [54867]
Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply.
I will let my hon. Friend have such information as is available as soon as possible.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Ben Gummer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has considered the merits of transferring the duty to pay house sale stamp duty tax from the purchaser to the vendor. [53283]
Justine Greening: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a transaction tax payable by the purchaser on the acquisition of an interest in land or property in the UK.
Stamp Duty Land Tax policy, like that of all taxes, is kept under review through the normal Budget process.
Taxation: Offshore Industry
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in levels of employment resulting from the proposals in the 2011 Budget relating to the taxation of North Sea oil and gas companies. [53150]
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Justine Greening: As set out in the relevant Tax Information and Impact Note, available online at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6133.htm
the Government do not expect a significant impact on investment or production in the forecast period as a consequence of this measure, and therefore the impact on employment levels should not be significant.
Taxation: Tourists
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the potential effects on tourism in seaside towns of proposed changes in the taxation arrangements for seaside arcades from amusement machine licence duty to machine games duty; and if he will make a statement. [54662]
Justine Greening: The Government are seeking further input from industry on machine games duty, and a formal consultation will be issued soon.
Cabinet Office
Charities: Finance
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Charity Commission on the likely effect of the establishment of the Big Society Bank on the funding of charities. [54096]
Mr Hurd: The Minister meets regularly with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues, including the Big Society Bank. The Big Society Bank will help to grow the social investment market and so make it easier for social entrepreneurs to access capital, helping them raise more money for onward investment.
Civil Service: Redundancy
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) compulsory and (b) voluntary redundancies there have been in the civil service since May 2010. [54097]
Mr Maude: Individual Departments and agencies are responsible for offering staff compulsory and voluntary redundancy, and this information is not recorded centrally.
The civil service has a corporate approach to minimising compulsory redundancies. Over the last five years, the issue of compulsory redundancy notices to those who wanted to continue their civil service career has been limited to less than 400.
Community Development
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Cabinet Ministers are participating in volunteering activities as part of his Department's Big Society initiative. [42149]
Mr Hurd: Big Society is a cross-Government initiative and each Cabinet Minister will be responsible for their decisions on what voluntary activities they decide to undertake.
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Government Departments: Cost-effectiveness
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to reduce (a) costs and (b) inefficiency through collaboration between Government Departments. [52845]
Mr Maude: Significant steps have been taken in reducing costs and improving efficiency between Departments since the coalition Government came to office just under a year ago. The Emergency Budget set immediate cost reductions of £6.2 billion across Departments, which has been achieved with close to £3 billion directly attributed to Cabinet Office initiatives through reducing spend on consultants, re-negotiating contracts with major suppliers, the ICT and Estates Moratoriums and review and in some cases stopping of major programmes. New strategies have recently been approved on ICT, centralised procurement and major programmes which will see greater efficiency and collaboration across Departments to help support the £83 billion cost reductions required over the CSR period.
Public Expenditure
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what analysis his Department has commissioned on the effect of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review on applications to the Targeted Support Fund; and what related research he has received from (a) the Community Development Foundation and (b) other organisations on the effect on the delivery of the fund of the outcome of the review; [54529]
(2) what analysis his Department has commissioned on the effect of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review on applications to the Modernisation Fund; and what related research he has received from (a) the Social Investment Business, (b) Capacitybuilders and (c) other organisations on the effect on the delivery of the fund of the outcome of the review; [54530]
(3) what analysis his Department has commissioned on the effect of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review on applications to the Hardship Fund; and what related research he has received from (a) the Community Development Foundation and (b) other organisations on the effect on the delivery of the fund of the outcome of the review. [54531]
Mr Hurd: The Targeted Support Fund, Modernisation Fund and Hardship Fund were all one-year-only funds, available in 2009-10 only. All were closed by the time of the spending review 2010 announcement. The lessons and knowledge learnt from all three were fed into the negotiations over the Cabinet Office's spending review bid, and were of particular benefit in the design and roll out of the Transition Fund.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what analysis his Department has commissioned on the effect of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review on applications to the Transition Fund; and what related research he has received from (a) the Big Lottery Fund, (b) Capacitybuilders, (c) the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations and (d) other organisations on the effect on the delivery of the fund of the outcome of the review. [54532]
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Mr Hurd: The Transition Fund was launched as part of the spending review 2010 and will be subject to an internal evaluation by Big Fund, which is delivering the fund on behalf of the Cabinet Office. We took evidence from a variety of previous funds and stakeholders to feed into the negotiations for the spending review settlement.
Third Sector
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) civil servants and (b) other Government staff of (A) his Department and (B) the Department for Communities and Local Government have been engaged in the piloting of each of the Big Society vanguard areas (i) through secondment and (ii) in addition to their usual duties. [46540]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office has not engaged any staff in the formulation of the Big Society vanguards. Work on vanguards is being taken forward by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Voluntary Organisations: Finance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what estimate his Department has (a) made and (b) received from (i) strategic partners of the Office for Civil Society and (ii) other external organisations of the likely reductions in the voluntary sector attributable to reductions in public expenditure (A) in 2011-12 and (B) over the course of the comprehensive spending review period; [54694]
(2) what estimate his Department has (a) made and (b) received from (i) strategic partners of the Office for Civil Society and (ii) other external organisations of likely redundancies in the voluntary sector attributable to reductions in public expenditure (A) in 2011-12 and (B) over the course of the comprehensive spending review period; [54871]
(3) what estimate his Department has (a) made and (b) received from (i) strategic partners of the Office for Civil Society and (ii) other external organisations of likely closures of voluntary organisations attributable to reductions in public expenditure (A) in 2011-12 and (B) over the course of the comprehensive spending review period. [54882]
Mr Hurd: There are no robust figures available from the sector or within Government on the impact of public spending reductions. Officials are currently looking at the best way for central Government Departments to regularly report publicly on spending on the voluntary sector, both in terms of baseline levels and how these levels change over the course of the spending period.
The Government are committed to supporting the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector to move forward at this difficult time, and continue to work closely with partners in the sector to understand and mitigate the impacts of any spending reductions.
The Government's programme of reform will create significant new opportunities for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector as we open up public service markets and make these markets more accessible to the sector.
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Deputy Prime Minister
Elections: Fraud
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to minimise potential levels of electoral fraud in the (a) local elections and (b) London mayoral election in 2012. [54405]
Mr Harper: The Electoral Commission has led work with police forces, political parties and returning officers to raise awareness of integrity issues and strengthen systems to ensure that fraud is detected and prosecuted, and to draw attention to existing good practice. There is evidence of effective working between returning officers and local police at recent elections with the police engaged on election issues and committed to the detection of electoral fraud, which is reflected in the findings of the joint report by the Association of Chief Police Officers and Electoral Commission on the May 2010 elections, ‘Analysis of cases of alleged electoral malpractice in 2010’. This approach was continued for the polls that took place on 5 May 2011. The Government will wish to consider carefully the planned reports by the Electoral Commission on those polls, and any recommendations made by the Electoral Commission, and will continue to keep procedures under review to ensure that the electoral process is secure for the elections in 2012.
Electoral Register
Tessa Munt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether electoral services in each local authority are part of the Tell Us Once service. [53915]
Mr Harper: The Tell Us Once programme is aimed at ensuring that people only have to inform the public sector once of a change in personal circumstances, so that this may be shared with other public authorities, rather than the individual having to inform each public authority that needs to know separately. (Currently this service is restricted to the notification of births and deaths.)
The Government do not collect information on whether local authority electoral services departments make use of information provided by the Tell Us Once service. I am informed that this service is currently available in 42 local authority areas, and that up to 90% of local authorities in Great Britain are committed to become part of this service by November.
Where that information is provided to a local authority, it is for the electoral registration officer to make use of it to update the electoral register.
Communities and Local Government
Community Development
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to The Plan for Growth, March 2011, paragraph 2.17, what requirements he plans to put in place on the number of businesses that will need to work together in order to bring forward a neighbourhood plan. [52090]
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Greg Clark: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 April 2011, Official Report, columns 188-89W.
Council Tax
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department is providing to local authorities on the start date for port companies to pay newly-assessed council taxes; and what steps he plans to take to ensure consistency of practice in this matter by local authorities. [54298]
Robert Neill: Businesses, such as the port companies, are liable for ongoing non-domestic rates bills that accrue from the date the property was initially put on the rating list. The Government, through the Localism Bill, will cancel the backdated non-domestic rates bills up to that date, where the criteria for the schedule of payment policy are met and also where they were split from a predecessor hereditament. The Department published a Business Rates Information Letter (8/2010) in May 2010 as guidance, available at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localgovernmentfinance/businessrates/busratesinformationletters/ratesletters2010/
District Heating
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers his Department plans to give to local authorities to incentivise the establishment of district heating systems. [54267]
Gregory Barker: I have been asked to reply.
Local authorities are already able to drive development of district heating systems in their areas, for example by setting out their support for district heating in local plans. The planning system is an important means of creating conditions able to supporting district heating networks, including by requiring that new buildings connect to existing networks and co-locating heat supply with heat demand.
We recognise that there remain barriers to development of district heating, particularly in relation to the lack of evidence and understanding about the existence and availability of heat demand. We are therefore developing a National Heat Map for England. The map will be available online as a tool to help local authorities identify, to street and building level, what heat demand exists and where best to locate heat networks or heat technologies.
Energy Performance Certificates
Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for requirements for Energy Performance Certificates for properties used as holiday lets. [54381]
Andrew Stunell: An Energy Performance Certificate will be needed from 30 June 2011 for properties which are used as holiday lets for a combined period of more than four months in any 12 month period.
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The Department consulted last year on extending Energy Performance Certificates to holiday lets. We published details of the outcome of the consultation on 30 November 2010.
Enterprise Zones
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his plans for enterprise zones will include incentives for investment in intangible assets in addition to capital allowance-based incentives. [52727]
Robert Neill: The Government have put forward a range of measures to develop enterprise zones and make them attractive places to do business. These include:
A business rate discount of 100%, up to £275,000 over a five year period;
All business rate growth generated by the zone for a period of at least 25 years will be keep by that area.
The new enterprise zones policy recognises that there may be a case for offering capital allowances to businesses in enterprise zones which are based in EU-assisted areas and have a strong focus on heavy industry and manufacturing.
The Government are willing to hold discussions with local enterprise partnerships if they feel that additional incentives are required to overcome local barriers to economic growth.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that economic incentives available within enterprise zones are not misused by the tax avoidance industry. [52734]
Robert Neill: Business rate discounts are limited by EU state aid law, up to a de minimis threshold of €200,000 over a rolling three-year period, the equivalent of approximately £55,000 per year. The relevant local authority will ensure that businesses do not receive greater levels of support.
EU Grants and Loans: North East England
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2010, Official Report, column 54W, on EU grants and loans: North East, what progress he has made on implementing the mitigating measures required to ensure that the European Regional Development Fund programmes in England are in compliance with European Commission regulations. [53729]
Robert Neill: A written ministerial statement on the future arrangements for the operation of European Regional Development Funding in England, including maintaining compliance, was made on 3 February 2011, Official Report, columns 48-49WS.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2010, Official Report, column 381W, on EU grants and loans: North East, what arrangements are in place to ensure that match-funding is available for the North East England 2007-13 European Regional Development Fund Competitiveness Programme. [53730]
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Robert Neill: We expect that match funding will be available from a range of public sources such as the Regional Growth Fund. We have made arrangements to align the bidding process for Round Two of the Regional Growth Fund with the bidding rounds for the ERDF programmes to maximise the opportunity for organisations to receive support from both funds. We are also expecting some match funding to be provided from the private sector.
Fire Services: Private Sector
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department has issued to Chief Fire Officers wishing to transfer to the private sector in the last 12 months. [54087]
Robert Neill [holding answer 4 May 2011]: No guidance for Chief Fire Officers wishing to transfer to the private sector has been issued by the Department in the last 12 months. Fire and Rescue Authorities are the employers and any such guidance would be for them, and not the Department, to issue.
Historic Buildings: Sales
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to prevent the sale of historic buildings by local authorities. [54116]
Robert Neill: None of the disposal regimes for local authority land contains special provisions for the disposal of historic buildings. The only special provisions for particular types of land is for open space, where prospective disposals have to be advertised in advance and the local authority must take any representations received into account.
There are three regimes for the disposal of local authority land. The general one is under section 123 Local Government Act 1972, which says that local authorities may dispose of land in any manner they wish. The Secretary of State's only role is to give or withhold consent if the disposal is at less than the best consideration reasonably obtainable. There is a general disposal consent if the undervalue of the disposal is less than £2 million.
The disposal power for land held for planning purposes is section 233 Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This is similar to the Local Government Act regime except that there is no power to issue a general consent. This means that all disposals at less than best consideration must receive a specific consent.
The disposal of land and buildings held by local authorities for housing purposes is governed by consents issued by the Secretary of State under section 32 of the Housing Act 1985 and section 25 of the Local Government Act 1988. A general consent issued under section 32 allows (among other things) local authorities to dispose of properties to individuals at market value. A general consent issued under section 25 allows for disposal at undervalue to registered providers of social housing. For disposals that fall outside these general consents, local authorities currently need to approach the Secretary of State for a specific consent and each application is judged on its merit. Usually a special consent will be
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provided if it is considered that the application is in line with the local authority's strategic plans for the provision of social and affordable housing, the regeneration of the local area and we are satisfied that any tenants involved have been fully consulted and do not oppose the proposals.
Housing: Construction
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the potential benefits for Portsmouth of the New Homes Bonus. [54497]
Grant Shapps: The New Homes Bonus provides a powerful incentive for local authorities to increase their housing supply, It will be paid for six years and is based on the council tax available from increase in local housing supply—either through new homes or by better use of existing stock.
Final allocations for 2011-12 were announced on 4 April and reward housing delivered between October 2009 and October 2010. Portsmouth has received £333,899 for 2011-12. Based on year one delivery alone, over the six years this amounts to £2,003,394. From April 2012 Portsmouth can also benefit from a bonus based on homes being delivered now and future homes will deliver further rewards.
Full details of the calculation for the bonus can be found in the final scheme design document, available at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/finalschemedesign
Housing: Sexuality
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what his policy is on steps to ensure that mainstream housing providers are aware of the (a) needs and (b) rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people who are homeless; [54235]
(2) with which organisations his Department is working to develop best practice guidance for protecting tenants subject to homophobic and transphobic harassment; [54263]
(3) what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people. [54264]
Grant Shapps: Social housing providers have a legal requirement to ensure that they comply with the Equality Act 2010, including in relation to sexual orientation. In addition, all social housing providers who are registered with the social housing regulator are compelled through its standards framework to respond to and demonstrate that they understand the different and diverse needs of their tenants.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has contact with organisations such as Stonewall and the Albert Kennedy Trust that provide advice and guidance on meeting the housing needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Guidance produced by both organisations on working with homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people is available on the Department's National Youth Homelessness Scheme website. The Chartered Institute
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of Housing has also recently published advice for housing associations on how to provide services to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender tenants. The Department is working with the Chartered Institute of Housing to develop new best practice guidance for social landlords on preventing and tackling antisocial behaviour, including protecting tenants who are subject to homophobic harassment and hate crime.
Local Enterprise Partnerships
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many times he has met representatives of the (a) Federation of Small Businesses, (b) Institute of Directors and (c) Forum of Private Business to discuss the establishment of a co-ordinating and representative body for local enterprise partnerships. [54217]
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions he has met (a) the Federation of Small Businesses, (b) the Institute of Directors and (c) the Forum of Private Business to discuss the national representative body for local enterprise partnerships to be led by the British Chambers of Commerce. [54591]
Robert Neill: The Department meets regularly with business representative bodies on a range of policy issues including local enterprise partnerships.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which organisations his Department consulted on proposals to fund an external organisation to co-ordinate a representative forum for local enterprise partnerships. [54218]
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which organisations were consulted on his Department's decision to select the British Chambers of Commerce to lead a national representative body for local enterprise partnerships. [54593]
Robert Neill: The Government have chosen the British Chamber of Commerce as the preferred option to run a network of local enterprise partnerships, following the initial proposal that they submitted to the Department. We feel that with its existing extensive network and capability across the country, the British Chamber of Commerce is ideally placed to provide the capability and support that partnerships need to achieve their economic ambitions.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on proposals to set up a national representative body for local enterprise partnerships. [54219]
Robert Neill: The Department meets regularly with Department for Business, Innovation and Skills bodies on a range of policy issues. Local enterprise partnerships is a joint policy between these two Departments and Ministers have discussed and agreed the way forward on the proposed network.
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Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what aims and objectives he has set for the new national representative body for local enterprise partnerships; and if he will make a statement. [54220]
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the aims and objectives are of the new national representative body for local enterprise partnerships; and if he will make a statement. [54590]
Robert Neill: The network will provide a forum for local leaders to share ideas, solve problems and get the latest data they need to promote economic growth across the country.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what procurement process was used to award the contract for a national representative body for local enterprise partnerships; and if he will make a statement. [54221]
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what procurement process his Department used to select the British Chambers of Commerce to lead a national representative body for local enterprise partnerships; and if he will make a statement. [54592]
Robert Neill: The British Chamber of Commerce offered to run a network of local enterprise partnerships and submitted a proposal to support this offer. The decision to engage with a British Chamber of Commerce-led network has been made on the basis of their good fit, national reach and ambition to deliver this work across the country for local enterprise partnerships. The Department is not procuring this service but will support this activity led by British Chamber of Commerce.
No grant agreement is yet in place and any funding awarded will be subject to a satisfactory funding agreement which will be dependent on the quality of their final business case.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by what process the contract to run the representative body for local enterprise partnerships was awarded; and what consultation he undertook with business organisations before the award was made. [54024]
Robert Neill: The Government have chosen the British Chamber of Commerce as the preferred option to run a network of local enterprise partnerships following their initial proposal submitted to the Department. We hope other business organisations will engage constructively in this work going forward.
However, no grant agreement is yet in place and any funding awarded will be subject to a satisfactory funding agreement which will be dependent on the quality of British Chamber of Commerce final business case.
Local Government: Redundancy Pay
Amber Rudd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2011, Official Report, column 638W,
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on local government: redundancy pay, whether his Department provides any separate funds to contribute to the costs of redundancies deemed necessary under spending adjustments. [54022]
Robert Neill: It is for individual councils to make decisions about how their workforces are organised and managed to deliver efficient services for local taxpayers, including managing redundancy costs. The Government do not provide any separate funding for these costs.
Councils may apply to DCLG to capitalise redundancy costs. £300 million of capitalisation is available in 2011-12 to help councils who wish to deliver efficiency savings early through organisational restructuring.
Ports
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria are used to determine whether a berth is included in the rating assessment for port companies; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that such criteria are applied consistently. [54299]
Robert Neill: The Valuation Office Agency is responsible for the assessment of properties for business rates in accordance with the rating legislation and established legal precedent. The approach to the separate assessment of berths follows the principles of “exclusive occupation” and “paramount control” which are long established.
While the agency applies the law consistently, decisions on whether to assess a particular property will ultimately rest on the facts in each individual case. Decisions will take into account, but will not be limited to, such factors as the use of the berth, physical location, degree of control being exercised and other factors that may vary from property to property.
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the loss of income to local authorities as a result of the decision to cancel retrospective rate demands made on port businesses; whether he plans to bring forward proposals to compensate local authorities for any loss; and if he will make a statement. [54302]
Robert Neill: The cost of cancelling the backdated rates bills, as set out in the impact assessment for the Localism Bill, is estimated at £177 million. This cost will be met by central Government and will not impact upon revenues for local authorities allocated to them as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Regional Planning and Development
Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on taking account of the potential abolition of regional targets for renewable energy when determining planning applications. [53625]
Robert Neill: The Chief Planner's letter to local planning authorities of 10 November advised that the Secretary of State expected them to have regard to the Government's intention to abolish regional strategies as a material consideration in planning decisions.
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Sheltered Housing Wardens
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has plans to encourage greater provision of sheltered housing wardens as part of the big society initiative; and if he will make a statement. [53878]
Greg Clark: My Department is giving communities more control over how public money is spent and local services are delivered, including sheltered housing wardens, for instance through the Community Right to Challenge.
Tenancy Deposit Schemes
Mr Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department plans to review the Deposit Protection Service. [54830]
Grant Shapps: My Department will be looking carefully at the operation of tenancy deposit protection schemes as part of future exercises to put in place schemes once the current service provision agreements come to an end. In the meantime, my officials will continue to assess monthly reports of performance against key performance indicators and discuss any issues at quarterly monitoring meetings with each of the schemes.
Third Sector
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what incentives his Department is providing to local authorities to increase the delivery of services by the charitable and voluntary sector. [54232]
Andrew Stunell: Spending decisions are, and will continue to be, a matter for local authorities. We have given local authorities more freedoms and flexibilities so that they can apportion their resources where they are most needed. The charitable and voluntary sector is vital to delivery of public services and the big society and DCLG is making it easier for councils to engage the sector in the commissioning and procurement of services.
We are supporting the Local Government Group’s Productivity Programme, which will work with councils to identify and disseminate good practice around working with the voluntary and community sector for all authorities to learn from. We are revising Best Value guidance to set out clearer expectations around the relationship between authorities and the sector when facing difficult funding decisions, and to be more explicit about the
9 May 2011 : Column 1038W
scope for authorities to consider social value in their functions. The Community Right to Challenge in the Localism Bill will ensure that local authorities consider and respond to expressions of interest from voluntary and community bodies in running local services.
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments: South East England
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of accident and emergency waiting times at (a) Queen Elizabeth hospital, Woolwich, (b) Princess Royal hospital, Farnborough and (c) Darent Valley hospital, Dartford. [54025]
Mr Simon Burns: Information is not collected in the format requested.
Information is held at the level of trusts and information is not published for specific hospital sites.
The following table shows the proportion of patients who spent less than four hours in accident and emergency (A and E), minor injury units (MIU) and walk-in centres (WIC) from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge in quarter 3 of 2010-11.
| All A and E/MIU/WIC (type 1, 2, 3) | ||
|
|
Total attendances | Percentage who spent less than four hours in A and E |
| Source: Unify2 data collection: Quarterly Monitoring Accident and Emergency Services (QMAE). | ||
This is available from the Department’s website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics/AccidentandEmergency/DH_079085
More recent data on the proportion of patients who spent less than four hours in A and E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge for quarter 4 (Q4) of 2009-10 and year to date (YTD) 2011-12 are presented in the following table. However, these data are unvalidated management information that do not undergo the same quality checks as the QMAE figures provided above.
| Total attendances and performance, YTD 2011-12 ( week ending 10, 17 and 24 April 2011) and Q4 2010-11 (week ending 9 January 2011 to week ending 3 April 2011, 13 weeks) | ||||
| Hospital provider |
|
Period | Total attendances | Percentage who spent less than four hours in A and E |
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Data on average waiting times in A and E are available from the A and E Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set. The following table sets out the mean and median time spent between arrival and departure in A and E departments in 2009-10 (latest published data).
| Minutes | ||
| Hospital provider | Mean duration to departure | Median duration to departure |
| Notes: 1. Duration to Departure: The time (expressed as a whole number of minutes) between the patients arrival and the time the A and E attendance has concluded and the department is no longer responsible for the care of the patient. 2. A and E Data Quality: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by a number of NHS providers across England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seek to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. The A and E HES publications addresses some of the key data quality and coverage issues. These are available on HESonline at: www.hesonline.nhs.uk/Ease/servlet/ContentServer?siteID=1937&categoryID=1271 Source: A and E HES, the NHS Information Centre for health and social care | ||
Bassetlaw Hospital: Standards
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effects of implementing his proposed NHS reforms on (a) patient care and (b) resources at Bassetlaw Hospital. [54115]
Mr Simon Burns: The effects of the proposed national health service reforms on patient care and resources are discussed within the impact assessment, published alongside the Health and Social Care Bill. It is available on the Department's website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsLegislation/DH_123583
and a copy has already been placed in the Library.
Paragraph 19 of the impact assessment says,
“The policies proposed in the White Paper and the Bill will put patients at the heart of the NHS, giving patients, carers and the public a stronger collective voice, greater choice and control, and more involvement in decisions about their care, supported by an information revolution that aims to transform how information is provided. They will bring about a greater focus on improving outcomes, so that the NHS focus on what matters most to patients: high quality care. They will also empower clinicians, free providers and professionals from bureaucracy and central control and make NHS services more accountable to patients and communities. Removing unnecessary layers of bureaucracy will simplify the existing structure of the NHS, driving efficiency in the short-term and helping to ensure that the NHS is both sustainable and self-improving in the longer-term.”
The proposed NHS reforms are subject to the outcome of the NHS Listening Exercise. We are taking advantage of the natural break in the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill to pause, listen, reflect and improve the
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legislation. By June 2011, we will have decided how to take forward the Bill in a way that reflects what we have heard.
Blood: Donors
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to prohibit financial incentives for those giving blood following the proposed changes to NHS Blood and Transplant. [54200]
Anne Milton: In the United Kingdom, blood donation is based on the principle of altruism, where donors give blood for no reward other than to help patients. Indeed, the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005, as amended, require the UK blood services, which includes NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), to encourage voluntary and unpaid blood donations. There are no plans to change this.
Long-serving donors receive milestone awards such as a badge and certificate, and those giving the greatest number of donations are invited to an awards dinner. Due to the length of time it takes to donate platelets, NHSBT does reimburse some platelet donors for parking when they are donating at city centre sites.
CJD: Disease Control
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department (a) has carried out and (b) is undertaking on cold sterilisation products for the prevention of cross infection of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease prion from surgical instruments; what estimate has been made of the cost of such research in the last 12 months; when the results of the ongoing research are expected; who is carrying out the ongoing research; and where the results and conclusions of such research (i) are to be and (ii) have been published. [54483]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department has previously funded research on cold sterilisation products for the prevention of cross infection of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The projects funded include research on enzymatic detergents, protein detection assays, physico-chemical technologies, and barrier and surface coatings. Findings have been published in peer-reviewed journals. The Department is not currently funding any projects in this area, and there was no expenditure in 2010-11.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent from the public purse on research studies on tonsils and the appendix to detect variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; and when the results of such studies are expected. [54484]
Mr Simon Burns: To obtain an estimate of the prevalence of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in the population, the Department funds studies to detect vCJD in tonsils and appendices. From 1999-2000 to 2010-11, the Department spent £10.9 million on such studies from central research and development budgets.
Results have been published in peer-reviewed journals. Further publication is expected at the end of the current projects.
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Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse of importing blood products from non-UK sources for the purposes of prevention of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in each year since its commencement. [54485]
Anne Milton: Since 1998 a number of measures have been introduced by the UK Blood Services to reduce the risk of transfusion transmitted variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The cost of the importation of fresh frozen plasma for therapeutic use is shown in the following table:
| Fresh frozen plasma: Cost of importation, 2004-11 | |
|
|
£ million |
| Source: NHS Blood and Transplant. | |
NHS Blood and Transplant report that the increased costs shown from 2008-09 are in part a result of less favourable exchange rates.
Since 1999, plasma for the manufacture of fractionated plasma products, such as immunoglobulins and clotting factors, has been obtained from non-United Kingdom sources. There is a global market for the main plasma products and most companies were largely unaffected by the changes resulting from vCJD as they source plasma from non-UK donors.
Bio Products Laboratory Ltd (BPL) is the Department-owned fractionator which supplies part of the national health service demand but only a very small proportion of global product (2% to 4%). BPL historically used plasma from the UK blood services and was therefore directly affected by the change in policy. BPL's fractionated products are used in the UK, and are also sold abroad. A cost estimate for importing the plasma that is used to manufacture BPL products that are used in the UK is not readily available, but I will place an estimate in the Library by the end of June 2011.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State of 28 April 2011, Official Report, column 426, on variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, announcing funding for the development of cold plasma decontamination technology, whether this research will examine the removal or de-activation of vCJD prions. [54553]
Mr Simon Burns: The cold plasma decontamination project will use scrapie infected mouse brain homogenates, not variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease infected tissues and homogenates. Removal of the prion will be examined.
Sir Paul Beresford:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State of 28 April 2011, Official Report, column 425W, and the answer of 12 July 2010, Official Report, column 475W on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, how many
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transmissions of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease have been presumed to be associated with blood since 1999. [54597]
Anne Milton: There have been three cases of clinical variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and one case of infection (without development of clinical disease) presumed to be associated with blood transfusion. These have occurred in people who have received blood transfusions from donors who themselves went on to develop clinical vCJD after they had made the blood donation. None of these patients were transfused since 1999. The vCJD infection in these four recipients only came to light in 2003 and later because of the incubation period of vCJD.
The Transfusion Medicine Epidemiology Review (TMER), a collaborative project between the United Kingdom National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU) and the United Kingdom blood services, investigates evidence that CJD or vCJD may have been transmitted via the blood supply. Details are on the TMER website at:
www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/TMER/TMER.htm
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has conducted a cost analysis to compare the proposed use of prion filters and existing costs of risk reduction measures against the introduction of a variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease blood screening test which may replace or remove the need for these measures. [54816]
Anne Milton: There is currently no blood screening test that is proven to identify asymptomatic variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease infection. For this reason it is not possible to carry out a cost analysis to compare these measures.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State for Health of 28 April 2011, Official Report, column 430 on variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), what pathway his Department proposes to use to develop a prototype vCJD blood test in the event that no commercial company believes there is a business case to develop such a test. [54896]
Anne Milton: The Department is aware of a number of commercial organisations and academic institutions currently developing prototype blood tests for the abnormal prion protein associated with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
Dietary Supplements: EU Law
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he last informed the European Commission of his position on the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements; what plans he has to achieve his objectives in relation to the formulation of legislation; and if he will make a statement; [54078]
(2) what steps he plans to take to ensure that consumers continue to have access to higher potency vitamin and mineral supplements when Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive is implemented; [54079]
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(3) what steps he is taking to ensure that the provisions of the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation do not restrict the provision to consumers of information about the intended purpose and appropriate use of natural health products. [54081]
Anne Milton: I last met with European Commissioner for Health, John Dalli, on 19 November 2010, to discuss United Kingdom concerns about setting maximum limits for food supplements. I pressed for any changes to the legislation to be based on scientific evidence of risk and not to be unduly restrictive, so that the impact on UK industry is minimised while maintaining consumer choice. Commissioner Dalli has confirmed that he recognises the UK's concerns and will take this into account in developing proposals.
Departmental officials are actively involved in European discussions as part of the health claims authorisation process. The Government's objective is to ensure that health claims are assessed and authorised appropriately so that consumers can have confidence in claims made about foods, including food supplements. Officials have met with members of food supplement trade associations to discuss the impact of the legislation, and will continue to keep interested parties informed of progress in Brussels.
Diseases: Conferences
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the appointment of a UK delegation to the forthcoming UN summit on non-communicable diseases to be announced; and if he will make a statement. [54019]
Anne Milton: A decision on the United Kingdom delegation to the forthcoming United Nations High Level meeting on non-communicable diseases in September 2011 will be made nearer the time. The decision will take into account how best to represent UK interests, given the domestic and global priority attached to tackling non-communicable diseases, as well as the need for efficient use of taxpayers' money in funding overseas trips.
Drugs: Side Effects
Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died as a result of an adverse reaction to a licensed drug in each of the last 10 years. [53981]
Mr Simon Burns: Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines (CHM) through the spontaneous reporting scheme—the Yellow Card Scheme. The scheme collects ADR reports from across the whole United Kingdom and includes all medicines, including those from prescriptions, over-the-counter or general retail sales. Reports are also received for herbal medicines and other unlicensed medicines.
The following table provides a breakdown of the total number of UK spontaneous suspected ADR reports received by the MHRA during the last 10 years with a fatal outcome.
9 May 2011 : Column 1044W
|
|
Number of reports |
It should be noted that these data represent all UK spontaneous suspected ADR reports with a fatal outcome received through the Yellow Card Scheme. The data cannot be stratified according to licensed or unlicensed medicines.
Fertility: Medical Treatments
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health authorities have fertility treatment policies which exclude from NHS-funded fertility treatment couples with any living children from the current relationship or any past relationships of either partner. [54315]
Anne Milton: Information about whether primary care trusts (PCTs) fund in vitro fertilisation treatment for couples that have living children from their current or past relationships is not collected by the Department.
It is for PCTs to make commissioning decisions based on clinical evidence and discussions with local general practitioner commissioners, secondary care clinicians and providers, in order to meet their statutory responsibilities.
General Practitioners: North Yorkshire
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential implications for North Yorkshire of the introduction of GP commissioning; and if he will make a statement. [53928]
Mr Simon Burns: “Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS” described plans to establish a comprehensive system of general practitioner (GP) consortia to commission most national health service services, supported by and accountable to a new independent NHS Commissioning Board. The impact assessment that was published alongside the Health and Social Care Bill in January outlined further the implications of introducing commissioning consortia.
In addition, NHS Yorkshire and the Humber has commissioned a review into how GP commissioners can best use resources for improved health services in the North Yorkshire area. This review is due to conclude in the summer.
General Practitioners: Telephone Services
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of compliance by GPs with his Department’s guidance on the use of premium line telephone numbers for GP surgeries; and if he will make a statement. [54870]
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Mr Simon Burns: Information on the level of compliance by general practitioners with the Department’s guidance on the use of premium line telephone numbers is not collected centrally.
It is the responsibility of primary care trusts to ensure that local practices are compliant with the guidance and directions issued on 21 December 2009.
Health Services: Private Sector
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the private health care market in England of removing the private patient income cap; [54047]
(2) what assessment he has made of the potential effects on patients in NHS foundation trusts of removing the cap on private patient income. [54048]
Mr Simon Burns: The Command Paper, “Liberating the NHS: Legislative framework and next steps”, and the impact assessments for the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 consider the effect of removing the private patient cap for national health service foundation trusts.
Herbal Medicine: EU Law
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many products have been issued with formal registration approvals under the terms of the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive; and how many applications for such registration have been received but not yet granted. [54080]
Mr Simon Burns: As at 28 April 2011 the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency had received 211 applications to register products under the traditional herbal registration scheme. Of these, 105 had so far been granted a registration and the remainder were under assessment.
Hospital: Waiting Lists
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients waiting longer than 18 weeks have been offered redress under the NHS constitution in the latest period for which figures are available. [54858]
Mr Simon Burns: The NHS constitution right is for patients
“to access services within maximum waiting times, or for the NHS to take all reasonable steps to offer you a range of alternative providers if this is not possible”.
The Department does not collect information centrally on patients who wait longer than 18 weeks who have asked to exercise their right to redress under the NHS constitution. Average waiting times from general practitioner (GP) referral to start of consultant-led treatment are broadly stable. In February 2011, the median time waited from GP referral to start of consultant-led treatment for patients admitted to hospital was 9.0 weeks, and for patients whose treatment did not require an admission, it was 3.5 weeks.
Influenza: Vaccination
Stephen Mosley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of NHS healthcare
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workers received an influenza vaccination in the last 12 months; and what steps he is taking to increase the number that have had a vaccination. [53980]
Anne Milton: Provisional data covering the period from September 2010 to February 2011 indicate that 359,080 frontline healthcare workers were vaccinated against influenza in England. This represents an uptake rate of 34.7%.
The chief medical officer wrote to the national health service on 14 March seeking assurance that plans are in place to significantly improve vaccine uptake among this group next winter. Later this month the Department will publish the Seasonal Flu Plan which will state that NHS organisations should ensure that appropriate measures are in place to offer flu vaccination to their frontline health and social care workers.
The Department will run an NHS staff vaccination communications campaign in partnership with external stakeholders in 2011-12. The campaign will be designed to support local teams, ensure consistency of message, share best practice and harness clinical and professional leadership at both national and local levels.
Malnutrition
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department has taken to reduce the effects of malnutrition since May 2010; and if he will make a statement; [53933]
(2) with reference to the quality standards in the NHS Operating Framework 2011-12, what steps his Department is taking to develop standards for (a) nutrition in hospitals for young people, (b) intravenous fluid therapy in hospitalised adult patients and (c) pressure ulcers; [53946]
(3) if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of treating malnutrition in England in each year since 2000; and what his most recent estimate is of the cost per hospital episode of treating preventable malnutrition; [53948]
(4) how many people resident in a care home were (a) admitted to and (b) discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of malnutrition in England in each year since 2000; [53949]
(5) whether he plans to introduce indicators in the national component of the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme to encourage a reduction in levels of malnutrition; and if he will make a statement; [53950]
(6) what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of malnutrition in (a) the community, (b) acute healthcare settings and (c) care homes; [53951]
(7) what steps he is taking to improve the quality of data collected on malnutrition; [53952]
(8) what assessment he has made of the (a) prevalence and (b) costs of malnutrition in England; [53953]
(9) what reasons the failure to prevent a patient becoming malnourished is not considered a never event by the NHS; [53954]
(10) what arrangements are in place to carry out nutritional screening of patients on admission to (a) NHS hospitals and (b) care homes; [53955]
(11) what steps he plans to take to improve nutritional standards in care homes; [53956]
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(12) what proportion of older people in NHS hospitals were malnourished (a) on admission and (b) at discharge in the latest period for which figures are available; [53957]
(13) what steps his Department is taking to prevent (a) older people becoming malnourished in hospital and (b) their condition worsening during their stay in hospital; [53958]
(14) how many primary care trusts had implemented the guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on nutritional support in adults in the latest period for which information is available; [53960]
(15) what assessment he has made of the effects of (a) the work of the Better Hospital Food Panel and (b) the disbanding of that Panel on the level of malnutrition among patients in hospitals. [54049]
Paul Burstow: The majority of Commissioning Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) goals are locally agreed and commissioners can already choose to use the CQUIN framework to reward providers for ambitious improvements in nutritional care. Examples of locally agreed CQUIN schemes as well as a list of exemplar CQUIN goals are available on the NHS Institute’s website.
Despite a number of initiatives by the last Government there is a lack of data against which progress can be measured. No routine collections were commissioned to provide:
Data on the number of people resident in a care home who were admitted to and discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of malnutrition in England;
Specific data on the prevalence and costs of malnutrition or the local arrangements that are in place to carry out nutritional screening in England; and
Information on the number of primary care trusts (PCTs) that have implemented the guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on nutritional support in adults.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre is able to extract some information pertaining to nutrition from Hospital Episode Statistics data. Annual inspections of food quality and service are undertaken by Patient Environment Action Teams.
“Never events” are defined as serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if the available preventative measures have been implemented by health care providers. The last Government identified eight “never events”. The coalition Government undertook to extend the list and following an engagement exercise with NHS organisations, patients, the public, clinical bodies, clinicians and others with an interest, expanded it to 25. Failure to prevent a patient from becoming malnourished was not included in the expanded list published in February. The list will be kept under review.
The decision to close the Better Hospital Food Programme (BHF) was taken by the last Government in April 2006, and formal monitoring of the programme ceased in 2004. Funding previously allocated centrally was passed directly to the NHS to allow it to develop local services.
The BHF legacy includes a series of resources which are available on the Hospital Caterers Association website.
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The Government set out their ambitions for developing a library of quality standards in their White Paper, “Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS” published in July 2010. The NHS Operating Framework 2011-12 published in December 2010 set out the Government’s plans to commission the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop quality standards on nutrition in hospital, intravenous fluid therapy and pressure ulcers. A full list can be found on the NICE website. NICE has not yet published a timetable for the development of these quality standards; however, we understand that it intends to prepare them over the next two years.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were recorded as being malnourished (a) on admission and (b) at discharge (i) in England and (ii) in each strategic health authority in each year since 1997-98. [53947]
Paul Burstow: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the report “Care and Compassion” by the Health Service Ombudsman for England, what progress his Department is making in supporting the Care Quality Commission in establishing a national roll-out of spot inspections to check specifically for malnutrition. [53959]
Paul Burstow: The Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), has asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to carry out a series of inspections of the care provided to elderly patients in national health service hospitals. CQC will inspect around 100 hospital sites and is due to complete its programme of dignity and nutrition inspections by the end of May. CQC will publish a report of each inspection as well as a report setting out the overall findings of the programme of inspections in due course.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training is provided to nurses to identify malnutrition, including in vulnerable groups such as older people. [53961]
Anne Milton: The content and standard of healthcare education is the responsibility of the independent regulatory bodies. Their role is that of custodian of quality standards in education and practice. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which is the regulatory body with responsibility for nursing, sets standards for nursing and midwifery education programmes.
All nursing students undertaking pre-registration nursing programmes will learn about nutritional care, including the assessment and monitoring of nutritional status. The NMC has worked closely with organisations such as MENCAP, Age UK, Rethink, and the Alzheimer's Society in the development of new (2010) standards, guidance and advice. The 2010 standards are available at:
http://standards.nmc-uk.org/Pages/Welcome.aspx
The new standards will be introduced from September 2011.
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As part of these new standards the NMC has developed guidance on nutrition and fluid management within the essential skills clusters. The NMC essential skills clusters are available at:
http://standards.nmc-uk.org/Documents/Annexe3 _%20ESCs_16092010.pdf
Similar arrangements are in place to ensure that adequate nutritional status is maintained in those pre-registration nursing programmes approved under previous (2004) standards.
The NMC also published in March 2009 guidance for the care of older people, which applies to all registered nurses not just nursing students. This guidance is available at:
www.nmc-uk.org/General-public/Older-people-and-their-carers/
Medical Equipment: Hygiene
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State for Health of 28 April 2011, Official Report, column 429, if he will provide details of the research on which his Department is awaiting results before it can make progress on prion decontamination of surgical and medical instruments. [54897]
Mr Simon Burns: Through its Policy Research Programme, the Department is commissioning a new programme of research relating to prion decontamination of surgical and medical instruments. Results when available will inform policy on decontamination.
Medical Equipment: Scotland
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department (a) has undertaken and (b) plans to undertake an evaluation of the practice in Scotland of using single-use tonsillectomy tools compared to the practice in England of no longer so doing. [54814]
Anne Milton: The Department has not undertaken and currently has no plans to undertake such an evaluation.
To date there have been no variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease cases associated with any surgical procedure including tonsillectomy.
Medical Treatments Abroad
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by the NHS on follow-up care for British citizens who had undergone (a) cosmetic surgery and (b) all types of surgery abroad in 2009-10. [54082]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested is not held centrally.
Monitor
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that Monitor places a higher priority on safeguarding NHS providers than promoting competition. [54046]
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Mr Simon Burns: The Government are taking the opportunity of a natural break in the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill to pause, listen, reflect and improve the legislation. Choice and Competition is one of four areas of focus. Under the proposals currently set out in the Health and Social Care Bill, Monitor’s overriding duty is to protect and promote the interests of people who use health care services.
NHS Foundation Trusts
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 February 2011, Official Report, column 720W, on NHS: legislative framework, when he expects the work programme for the foundation trust pipeline to be published. [54864]
Mr Simon Burns: Work is continuing at national, local and regional level to determine the actions that will be required to support all national health service trusts to achieve foundation trust status by April 2014. Agreements with NHS trusts are being finalised and will be published once this process is complete. The agreements will set out the actions required by each NHS trust to meet the April 2014 deadline.
NHS Future Forum
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of the NHS Future Forum are from the private sector. [54760]
Mr Simon Burns: There are no members of the NHS Future Forum from the private sector. However, the Forum is engaging with the private sector along with all other interested groups.
Details of the members of the NHS Future Forum are available on the Modernisation of Health and Care website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/healthandcare
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer to the right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark of 26 April 2011, Official Report, columns 3-4, on NHS reform, how many of the 119 events organised centrally had been organised prior to the announcement of the NHS Future Forum. [54868]
Mr Simon Burns: NHS Future Forum members and Ministers are participating in a number of meetings and events across the country to ensure as many voices are heard as possible during the natural break in the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill through Parliament.
To minimise disruption to practising clinicians and to other stakeholders, the Government and NHS Future Forum have been invited by a range of organisations to use a number of prescheduled meeting times. These include meetings and events with national stakeholders, front-line national health service staff and patients. Where necessary, the proposed agendas for these meetings have been altered to reflect the listening exercise to ensure there is opportunity for explicit discussion around the key themes.
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Where suitable events do not already exist, supplementary meetings including a series of regional events for patient representatives and the voluntary sector have been arranged.
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer to the right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark of 26 April 2011, Official Report, columns 3-4, on NHS reform, what the (a) date, (b) location and (c) attendance list was of each of the 119 events. [54869]
Mr Simon Burns: The NHS Future Forum is participating in a number of meetings and events throughout the listening period. There will be in excess of 150 events over the eight week period, involving a wide range of participants from across the national health service, local government, third sector and beyond. The location of these events will largely be determined by the host organisation and as such, they will be held all over the country.
We will publish a weekly update on the activity of Forum members, including who they have heard from, which will be available through the Modernisation of Health and Care website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/healthandcare
Details of all the listening events held, including dates, location and audience, will be released alongside the NHS Future Forum’s report.
NHS: Finance
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition his Department uses of the term “equity” with regard to health care provision in its Public Health White Paper; and how this definition was determined. [53945]
Mr Simon Burns: The public health White Paper, “Healthy Lives, Healthy People”, set out that “Directors of Public Health will work with NHS colleagues locally in advising on how to ensure equal access and equity of outcome across the population”. One of the three domains of public health is improving services, which the Faculty of Public Health defines as including equity. Directors of Public Health will advise national health service commissioners to assist them in commissioning services in such a way as to promote equal access for all and so that the design of services acts to improve outcomes, aiming to ensure that outcomes are just, fair and ultimately equally good for the whole population. This will act to reduce health inequalities, which is a key aim of the Government's proposals.
In line with the requirements of the public sector Equality Duty we would expect commissioners and providers to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, victimisation and harassment; advance equality of opportunity; and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date Monitor issued its most recent indication to hospitals and hospital trusts of the savings required in the current financial year to meet their targets and to fulfil the requirements placed on them; and if he will make a statement. [54492]
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Mr Simon Burns: We are informed by the chairman of Monitor (the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts) that it wrote to national health service trusts, foundation trusts and strategic health authorities to set out its revised financial assumptions on 27 April 2011.
Monitor periodically reviews its financial assumptions based on fiscal, economic and policy announcements—usually after the publication of the Operating Framework for the NHS in England, at the beginning of the new financial year.
NHS: Negligence
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which successor entities will be responsible for funding the costs of claims for medical or clinical negligence that are current but not yet settled following the abolition of primary care trusts. [54813]
Mr Simon Burns: The allocation of the liabilities of primary care trusts will be dealt with using the powers in the Health and Social Care Bill 2011, which is subject to passage through Parliament.
NHS: Private Sector
Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the financial benefits to the NHS in England of buying in care and health provision from private hospitals in 2010-11; [54275]
(2) what arrangements exist for the purchase of private health care by the NHS. [54276]
Mr Simon Burns: The purchase of health care by the national health service from independent sector providers takes place as a result of:
patient choice, where patients choose the provider that best meets their needs. In these circumstances commissioners reimburse providers at the appropriate national tariff irrespective of organisational type;
procurement by NHS commissioners where they take decisions on the best provider or providers of services for patients and the taxpayer; and
existing providers of services subcontracting to other providers, including those from the independent sector.
Information is not collected centrally on the financial benefit of these local decisions.
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the potential effect on existing NHS service providers of allowing any qualified provider to provide NHS services; [54292]
(2) what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the potential effects of discontinuing the policy that the NHS is the preferred provider for NHS services in England. [54293]
Mr Simon Burns: A detailed assessment and evaluation of greater choice and competition are set out in the impact assessment published alongside the Health and Social Care Bill 2011. Based on current evidence, the Government would expect Any Qualified Provider to incentivise all providers to improve and tailor their services to meet the needs of patients.
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As set out in the Bill impact assessment, a recent large scale qualitative study of the impact of the choice reforms in the national health service suggests that the potential benefits of competition are not being realised to anywhere near the extent possible because of a number of barriers and institutional rigidities: (Brereton and Gubb) “Refusing Treatment: The NHS and market-based reform”. Civitas, October 2010). This can found at:
www.civitas.org.uk/nhs/refusingtreatment_commentary.php
In addition, two recent quantitative studies on the impact of the introduction of choice and competition into the NHS from 2006 indicate that competition impacts positively on quality. The July 2010 study by health economists Martin Gaynor, Rodrigo Moreno-Serra and Carol Propper can be found at:
www.bristol.ac.uk/cmpo/publications/papers/2010/wp242.pdf
The January 2010 study: “Does Hospital Competition Save Lives? Evidence from the NHS Patient Choice Reforms”, by Cooper, Gibbons, Jones and McGuire, London School of Economics, Working Paper 16/2010 can be found at:
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/28584/1/WP16.pdf
As part of the current listening exercise, we are focusing on patient choice and competition to understand better how they can drive improvements in the NHS.
A copy of the Health and Social Care Bill impact assessment has already been placed in the Library.
NHS: Reorganisation
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his Department's proposals for NHS reform, if he will make an assessment for benchmarking purposes of the effects of GP budgetholding in the US on (a) access to and (b) quality of health care provision. [53990]
Mr Simon Burns: We have no plans to carry out such an assessment. The impact assessment that accompanies the Health and Social Care Bill sets out the Government's assessment of the available evidence on general practitioner-led commissioning. We propose to place a duty on consortia of continuous quality improvement in terms of health outcomes. The NHS Commissioning Board, supported by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, will develop a Commissioning Outcomes Framework so that there is clear, publicly available information on the quality of health care services commissioned by consortia. Measures from the Commissioning Outcomes Framework will be used by the board to hold commissioning consortia to account for the quality of services they commission and the health outcomes they achieve for patients.
Nutrition
Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve standards of nutrition of residents of (a) care homes and (b) hospitals. [54417]
Paul Burstow:
The coalition Government recognise the importance of good nutrition and hydration for wellbeing, health maintenance and recovery for people
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of all ages in any care setting. The Department is currently supporting a number of programmes aimed at improving standards of nutrition and hydration including the:
Development of a national clinical audit of food and nutrition that will span both health and social care and provide a measure of compliance with NICE guidance. This work is being taken forward by a collaboration of Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Department and national Nursing Research Unit at King's College London and King's Health Partners;
Essence of Care benchmarking system which covers all aspects of fundamental care including food and drink;
Productive Ward Series which enables nurses to spend more time engaged in direct patient care;
Confidence in Caring Programme, which helps front-line nurses improve their interaction with patients;
'Red tray' scheme, which ensures that patients at risk of poor nutrition are identified for special attention;
Introduction in October 2010 of new essential standards of safety and quality in service provision that all health and social care providers registered with the CQC must comply with, which includes requirements in respect of food and hydration;
High Impact Action (HIA) work, "Keeping Patients Nourished" led by the chief nurses from the 10 strategic health authorities has identified older people as a priority area of care upon which nurses could facilitate progress, making support materials available to help nurses deliver; and
During their training, all student nurses learn about nutritional care, including the assessment and monitoring of nutritional status.
The Health Service Ombudsman's Report, “Care and Compassion?”, published in February highlighted concerns about nutrition arising from complaints from the public. In response the Department commissioned a series of unannounced inspections by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to shed light on the level of care provided to older patients. The CQC will publish a report at the end of these inspections.
In “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: consultation on the funding and commissioning routes of public health”, the coalition Government proposed that under the new arrangements for public health, Public Health England, within the Department of Health, would take responsibility for running national nutrition programmes, whilst local authorities would take on responsibility for locally-led programmes. The results of the consultation will be published later this year.
Plastic Surgery
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the quality of information given to cosmetic surgery patients prior to surgery. [54065]
Mr Simon Burns:
Guidance from the General Medical Council (GMC) makes clear that all doctors are responsible for ensuring that patients have sufficient information to make an informed decision about the treatments offered to them. This is particularly important in the case of treatments carried out for purely cosmetic reasons, that is to say where there is no underlying health need. The GMC's guidance is supplemented by the publication “Good medical practice in cosmetic surgery” which was developed by the Independent Healthcare Advisory Service in collaboration with the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, the British Association of
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Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, and others leading organisations in this field.
Information for patients about cosmetic surgery in general and about the most common cosmetic procedures is available from NHS Choices, from the website “Patient UK”, from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, and from other readily available sources.
Plastic Surgery: Regulation
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department is taking steps to improve the regulation of cosmetic surgery. [54023]
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the regulation of the cosmetic surgery industry following the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death review of the organisational structures surrounding cosmetic surgery. [54067]
Mr Simon Burns: The regulation of cosmetic surgery has already been tightened up since the fieldwork carried out by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death. Since October 2011 all cosmetic surgery providers, whether in the national health service or in the independent sector, have been subject to regulation by the Care Quality Commission against requirements set out in regulations. The Commission has tough enforcement powers and can take prompt actions where providers fail to comply with the safety and quality requirements.
In addition, individual doctors are now subject to the oversight of a “responsible officer” in respect to all aspects of their clinical practice, including any cosmetic procedures carried out in the private sector. When medical revalidation is introduced, all doctors will be periodically assessed for their competence across the whole area of their clinical practice.
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Sex: Health Education
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to raise sexual health awareness following the expiration of the National Health Strategy and the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy. [54034]
Anne Milton: The Public Health White Paper highlighted the development of a suite of documents which would set out in more detail the Government’s approach to tackling key determinants of poor health and health inequalities, one of which would cover sexual health.
The Department is currently working closely with stakeholders and experts in the field in developing a new sexual health policy document. This document will look at holistic sexual health needs across the population while still allowing a focus in on specific issues relating to those who are at higher risk of poor sexual health. We expect to publish the document later this year.
Tobacco: Retail Trade
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2011, Official Report, column 774W, on tobacco: sales, what the arrangements are that will comply with the Government's one-in, one-out policy on regulation; and which regulations have been identified to be removed. [53944]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department scrutinises all measures, as part of the flow of regulation, to identify outs, for the one-in, one-out regulatory management system. This is a continuous process. The Department is leading the “Healthy living and social care” theme of the Red Tape Challenge, launched by the Prime Minister on 7 April 2011 and is actively reviewing its stock of regulation, impacting business and civil society organisations. This theme goes live on the Red Tape Challenge website on 23 June.