| Male YOI young people (age 15 to 17) | ||||||
| Establishment name | Direct resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner | Overall resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner |
| Male local | ||||||
| Establishment name | Direct resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner | Overall resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner |
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12 Sep 2011 : Column 1028W
| Male open | ||||||
| Establishment name | Direct resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner | Overall resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner |
| Male open YOI | ||||||
| Establishment name | Direct resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner | Overall resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner |
| Semi open | ||||||
| Establishment name | Direct resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner | Overall resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner |
| Cluster | ||||||
| Establishment name | Direct resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner | Overall resource expenditure | Cost per place | Cost per prisoner |
| Notes: 1. Displayed figures are subject to rounding. 2. Establishments are categorised in these tables by their main role as at the end of 2009-10. Establishments that have more than one role have been placed in the category that represents the primary or dominant function of the prison. For this reason, performance of prisons within a category cannot necessarily be compared on a like for like basis. 3. There are two unit cost measurements. The ‘direct resource expenditure’ includes costs met locally by the establishments. The ‘overall cost’ includes prison-related overheads met centrally by NOMS, for example, property costs (including depreciation and cost of capital), major maintenance, prisoner escort and custody service (relates to transporting prisoners) and central HQ overheads. 4. YOI refers to young offender institutions. 5. Data for Elmley, Standford Hill and Swaleside are reported under the Sheppey cluster. Similarly, data for Blakenhurst, Brockhill and Hewell Grange are reported together as a cluster. Data for Parkhurst, Camp Hill and Albany are reported under the Isle of Wight cluster. 6. Cookham Wood changed from a female closed prison to a male juvenile prison in October 2007. Data for 2009-10 are shown under the category male juvenile. 7. Dover and Haslar are not included as they are immigration removal centres operating under Detention Centre Rules 2001. 8. Lindholme includes Lindholme IDC. It is a split site, part category C training prison and part immigration detention centre. 9. The following expenditure is not included: A one-off impairment charge of £525.05 million as a result of the revaluation of land and buildings. Operation Safeguard (use of police cells). Cost of capital on assets in the course of construction (£22.47 million). Project, operating and commissioning costs totalling £2.71 million at HMPYOI Isis, as the establishment was not opened during the course of year. 10. Private prisons and public prisons are included. The unit costs are not directly comparable because of different methods of financing. 11. For certain prisons the unit cost is not typical, because they are in the process of change (e.g. Bure was building up capacity during the year). | ||||||
Prisoner Escapes
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which prisoners have absconded from HMP Sudbury since it opened. [71365]
Mr Blunt: HMP Sudbury, originally built as a hospital for the US air force for the D-day landings, was converted to a prison in 1948. Table 1 shows the annual abscond figures, which are available only from 1997.
The annual number of absconds has reduced significantly over the past 14 years. Of those prisoners that abscond, the majority are quickly recaptured, returned to closed conditions and referred to the police for prosecution.
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| Table 1: Breakdown of total absconds from HMP Sudbury since 1997-98 by financial year | |
|
|
Number of absconds |
| Note: These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. | |
Business, Innovation and Skills
Citizens Advice Bureaux
Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to support citizens advice bureaux. [68780]
Mr Davey: The Government recognise the important work done by citizens advice bureaux. That is why BIS is continuing to provide core funding for Citizens Advice, the national umbrella organisation for the Citizens Advice Service. Indeed, we are proposing increasing our support of it to help it reinforce its role at the heart of the consumer landscape.
The Department has also agreed to continue funding of the debt advice programme this year until responsibility for this is taken on by the Money Advice Service in April 2012. We have committed another £27 million to this and much of this is delivered by bureaux.
However, I also recognise that many bureaux are facing a challenging time at the moment and BIS is currently considering this issue with other interested departments, working with the voluntary advice sector.
Departmental Written Questions
Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of written questions tabled to him for answer on a named day did not receive a substantive answer on the day named for answer between (a) 27 May 2010 and 19 July 2011 and (b) 9 March 2011 and 19 July 2011. [71123]
Mr Davey:
The Department aims to answer named day questions on the date specified by the Member. Where it is not possible to provide a full answer within the usual deadline, the Department believes it will usually be preferable to provide an answer a few days late than to provide an incomplete answer. Figures are recorded by the Department on a monthly basis and from the
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total number of 1,339 named day parliamentary questions answered between May 2010 and July 2011, 454 did not receive a substantive reply on the date stipulated by the Member. The figures for March to July 2011 are 553 total answers of which 250 did not receive a substantive reply on the date specified.
The figures have been drawn from the Department's database which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the session. Statistics relating to Government Departments' performance for the 2009/10 parliamentary session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.
Employers' Liability
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to improve the employability skills of the UK labour market. [71009]
Mr Hayes: Employability skills are essential to ensure that employers can recruit the talent they need to enable sustainable economic growth, social mobility and to help build the big society. Employability skills vary by the age of a person, the point at which they leave the education system and the requirements of employers in different sectors. There are a number of Government programmes to support employability. As part of our skills strategy, aimed mainly at those aged 19 and over, the Government are funding literacy and numeracy courses for those adults who lack these basic skills. We plan to maximise the economic and personal returns of this training following a review of basic skills provision currently under way, and we will be taking the necessary steps to make it more effective. Functional skills qualifications in English, mathematics and information and communications technology will become mandatory components of all apprenticeships frameworks by September 2012 replacing key skills as part of the programme. Unemployed people on active benefits can access skills training fully funded by the Skills Funding Agency to improve relevant labour market skills, including their employability skills, where this is appropriate to help them get sustainable employment.
The recent Higher Education White Paper outlined proposals that will deliver a new focus on graduate employability. All universities have now set out in employability statements the range of support they provide to help students prepare for employment. We are also considering how wider employability skills can be further addressed through the Education and Skills Growth Review.
Higher Education: Finance
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding each higher education institution received from endowments, including alumni giving, in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [69051]
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Mr Willetts: The data we hold centrally show the total amount of income each HEI receives each year in new endowments given in that year, and income received on existing endowments already invested. It also shows the total value of endowments held by each HEI each academic year to 31 July 2008, 2009 and 2010. The table showing these data for the three most recent years available will be placed in the Libraries of the House. These figures are consistent with the published accounts for all HEIs. It should be noted that these published accounts do not include donations received by university colleges (e.g. Oxford and Cambridge colleges).
Further detail on the income HEIs receive from alumni can be found in the annual Ross-CASE survey, available online at:
http://www.rosscasesurvey.org.uk/
These figures do include donations given to university colleges.
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The Government's matched funding for voluntary giving scheme uses £200 million of Government funding as a lever to generate £400 million of additional donations, including from alumni, to universities over three academic years from 2008-09 to 2010-11. The scheme is on track to achieve the target of an additional £400 million in private donations by the end of academic year 2010-11.
Higher Education: York
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UK (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate students there were at the (i) university of York and (ii) university of York St John in each year since 1996-97. [71436]
Mr Willetts: The latest available data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) are shown in the table. Figures for the 2010/11 academic year will be available in January 2012.
| UK-domiciled enrolments (1) ( ) at the university of York and York St John university by level of study, academic years 1996/97 to 2009/10 | ||||
| Academic year | University of York | York St John university | ||
|
|
Postgraduate | Undergraduate | Postgraduate | Undergraduate |
| (1) Enrolments are the total number of students regardless of their year of study. Note: Figures are based on a snapshot at 1 December and have been rounded to the nearest five. Figures cover enrolments on both full-time and part-time courses. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | ||||
Land Registry: Applications
Mr Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications for adverse possession of plots of land were made to the Land Registry in each of the last 10 years; and how many such applications were successful. [70891]
Mr Davey: Applications for registration as the owner of land on the basis of adverse possession can be divided into two types. First, there are those where the land concerned is unregistered and the application is to register the squatter as the first “registered proprietor” (in other words, the first registered owner). Secondly, those where the land has already been registered and the application is to register the squatter as the new registered proprietor.
Land Registry does not have reliable statistics for the first type of application. One of the main reasons for this is that it is not unusual for these “first registration applications” to be made on more than one basis. For example, the title deeds may not be entirely clear, and so, while Land Registry is satisfied that the applicant can properly be registered as proprietor and completes the application, it might not be clear whether he or she has a “documentary title” (the land involved falling within the extent covered by the title deeds) or a “possessory title” (the land falling outside the title deeds but the applicant having acquired title by virtue of adverse possession). Such an application may well not be recorded as being an adverse possession application.
Land Registry does have statistics for the second type of application for the financial years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11: these show that the number of successful applications of this type in these years were 1,111, 1,059 and 868 respectively.
Mr Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications for adverse possession of plots of land made to the Land Registry in each of the last 10 years were found to be fraudulent. [70892]
Mr Davey:
All applications for adverse possession made to Land Registry are considered on their merits. Applications either succeed or fail. There are no figures
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kept on why applications fail and we are therefore unable to provide the figures requested.
Mr Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many prosecutions under the Fraud Act 2006 were brought by the Land Registry as a result of dishonest statements being made by applicants for adverse possession in each of the last 10 years. [70893]
Mr Davey: There have been no prosecutions under the Fraud Act made by Land Registry as a result of dishonest statements made by applicants for adverse possession in the last 10 years.
Post Offices: Bank Services
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on increasing (a) account access through post offices and (b) awareness of account access through post offices. [70776]
Mr Davey: The Government have been clear that we wish to see a situation where all UK current accounts are accessible through the post office network. However, it is ultimately a commercial decision for those banks that do not currently extend this service to their customers as to whether they put these arrangements in place with Post Office Ltd (POL).
The promotion of products and services is an operational matter, and is therefore the responsibility of senior management at Post Office Ltd.
Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to increase public awareness of access to bank accounts at post offices. [71158]
Mr Davey: This Government have been clear that we wish to see a situation where all UK current accounts are accessible through the post office network, providing a convenient place for people to access their cash, particularly where a bank branch is not available.
The promotion of products and services that are provided at post offices is an operational matter and is therefore the responsibility of senior management at Post Office Ltd.
Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with representatives of (a) Santander and (b) HSBC on customer access to bank accounts at post offices. [71159]
Mr Davey: This Government have been clear that we wish to see a situation where all UK current accounts are accessible through the post office network. Ministers and officials have been in regular contact with HSBC and Santander on this subject.
Rural Communities Policy Unit
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether officials of his Department have had recent discussions with the Rural Communities Policy Unit in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. [67149]
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Mr Davey: Officials from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills have regular discussion with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Rural Communities Policy Unit, the most recent of which were on 11 and 12 July 2011.
Union Modernisation Fund
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether funding provided by the Union Modernisation Fund has been used in projects to purchase services from the Campaign Company. [71039]
Mr Davey: Yes. The Campaign Company area communications consultancy who specialise in engagement with individuals and groups who are often less heard of or are seen as hard to reach.
The company have worked with several of the trade unions who have undertaken Union Modernisation Fund (UMF) projects and they are currently working with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), GMB and Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) to design communications and training and development solutions targeted at vulnerable workers, which is the focus of the UMF round three projects.
Waste Disposal: VAT
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on allowing local authorities to undertake commercial waste collections free of VAT; and what account he took of the potential effects on private small and medium-sized enterprises dealing with commercial waste collection during the decision-making process. [71064]
Mr Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
The issue is not one of competition law, but instead one of VAT law. As such, this was an operational matter and the decision was made by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs officials in response to a legal challenge against the taxation of local authority commercial waste collection services. Because of this, it was not possible to consult more widely.
The Environmental Services Association have made representations to HMRC and there is ongoing dialogue about the VAT treatment of commercial waste collection.
Cabinet Office
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Richard Graham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many non-departmental public bodies have been (a) closed or disbanded and (b) established since June 2010; and if he will make a statement. [70395]
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his most recent estimate is of the number of arm’s length bodies operating in Government; and if he will make a statement. [70865]
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Mr Maude: Following the Public Bodies Review, 49 arm's length bodies have been abolished. The Government's reforms are expected to bring about an overall decrease of approximately 250 arm's length bodies. The Cabinet Office publishes a list of non-departmental public bodies, and their parent Departments, in its publication ‘Public Bodies’. The latest report provides this information up to 31 March 2009. More recent data will be published in due course, and will take into account changes that have occurred due to the Public Bodies Review, and proposed legislation.
SMEs
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) when the last SME Product Surgery took place; [70066]
(2) when he expects the next SME Product Surgery to be held. [70067]
Mr Maude: The most recent Product Surgery took place on 19 July 2011 as the final stage of the Innovation Launch Pad process. The Home Office is planning an SME Product Surgery on 24 October 2011.
Treasury
Tax Avoidance
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) of 29 July 2011, Official Report, columns 819-820W, on tax avoidance, if he will require HM Revenue and Customs to outline its budget for tax compliance in each year of the spending review period. [70911]
Mr Gauke: We do not plan to require HMRC to break down their funding in this way as overall funding for HMRC’s compliance activity is not broken down or allocated in this way. Many aspects of its activity—from policy making, through support and education, to audits and investigations—contribute to delivering increased compliance from error through to evasion as well as countering criminal attacks and avoidance.
Sky TV
Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has spent on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010. [67563]
Justine Greening: The Department has spent £20,450 on subscriptions on Sky TV since May 2010.
Child Benefit
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will allow child benefit payments to be made to both parents where parental responsibility is shared after separation; and if he will make a statement. [70729]
Justine Greening:
Child benefit provides an element of support to the vast majority of families for their children. Where more than one person is responsible for
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a child and each satisfies the entitlement conditions, the law allows only one of them to receive the payment. The Government's view is that financial support should be paid to the person with the main responsibility for the child.
Child Tax Credit
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many recipients of the child care element of the child tax credit in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area have had their level of credits reduced in the 2011-12 financial year. [71022]
Mr Gauke: The requested information is not available.
Coastal Communities Fund
Mr Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the effect on the Coastal Communities Fund of his proposals for machine games duty. [71118]
Justine Greening: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.
Corporation Tax
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to deal with any future failures in the online system for filing corporation tax returns. [70323]
Mr Gauke: There have been no recent failures in the HM Revenue and Customs online service for filing Company Tax Returns. There is, however, a live issue in that the service will not be updated until October 2011 to take account of the rate reductions that took effect when the Finance Act received Royal Assent on 19 July 2011. This is to avoid the risk of service disruption from implementing a large number of changes to HM Revenue and Customs' online systems at the same time. The Department is working, as a matter of high priority, to reduce the level of risk so that any future changes can be implemented without unnecessary delay for companies that want to file their Company Tax Returns early.
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the financial effects on HM Revenue and Customs of the inability of businesses to submit their corporation tax returns online due to systems failures. [70324]
Mr Gauke:
HM Revenue and Customs' online service for filing Company Tax Returns will not be updated until October 2011 to take account of the rate reductions that took effect when the Finance Act received Royal Assent on 19 July 2011. This only affects filing by companies with accounting periods that end after 31 March 2011, which have a tax liability or are expecting a repayment, and which wish to file even though they are not required to do so until after 31 March 2012. Payments can be made by such companies at any time and are not
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affected. If such a company has an urgent need to file for a repayment, it can, as advertised on HM Revenue and Customs' website, contact its Corporation Tax Office for further advice.
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanisms have been established between the central office and local offices of HM Revenue and Customs to (a) share information on complaints and (b) avoid inconsistencies in information provided to local businesses on corporation tax returns. [70325]
Mr Gauke: Since 2007, HM Revenue and Customs has had a national complaints database used by all business areas to log complaints received. It is used to gather management information and provide a strategic view of complaints performance at both business area and departmental level. It also enables HM Revenue and Customs to identify poor customer service and processes that need to be improved. Feedback is also provided by the Adjudicator and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Information for companies about Company Tax Returns is on HM Revenue and Customs' website. To avoid inconsistencies, central guidance is issued to staff in local offices as necessary about how to respond to common queries.
Credit Cards: Fees and Charges
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make an assessment of the effects of debit card surcharges on consumer spending; and if he will make a statement; [71292]
(2) if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Payment Services Regulations 2009 to ban debit card surcharges; and if he will make a statement; [71295]
(3) what representations he has received from consumer organisations on the practice of travel companies charging consumers for using debit cards online; and if he will make a statement. [71296]
Mr Hoban: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) published a report on 28 June 2011 on card surcharges following a super-complaint from Which?. The Government have received representations from Which? asking them to implement the OFT's recommendations quickly. The Government are considering the OFT's recommendations and will respond in due course.
Arch Cru Investment
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from those who invested in Arch Cru funds on the compensation package which is being made available; and if he will make a statement. [70726]
Mr Hoban: The Treasury has received representations on this issue from a range of stakeholders, but it is not the Government's practice to disclose details of all such representations.
In relation to Arch Cru funds, Capita Financial Managers Ltd (CFM) announced that
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“The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will, in due course, be publishing a statement of its findings in relation to CFM's role regarding the Arch Cru funds”.
The FSA is continuing to look at the issues surrounding the Arch Cru funds, and it would not be appropriate to comment before this work is completed.
The FSA is responsible for the regulation of financial services firms and operates independently from Government under the powers given to it in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. HM Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, but does not have investigative or prosecuting powers of its own.
Air Travel
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what occasions he has flown on official business (a) by budget airline and (b) in economy class in the last 12 months. [67910]
Justine Greening: Details of ministerial travel are published quarterly on the Treasury website:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm
All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
Environment Protection: Taxation
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely level of revenue which will arise from the introduction of a carbon floor price up to 2020. [70314]
Justine Greening [holding answer 7 September 2011]:Budget 2011 set out the estimated revenue from the carbon price floor up to 2015-16.
Revenues are dependent on the traded price of carbon in the EU Emissions Trading System.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has recently made an assessment of long-term revenue sustainability. This includes combined revenues from the carbon price floor and the EU Emissions Trading System. This is available on page 99 in its “Fiscal sustainability report”, July 2011, available online at:
http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/pubs/FSR2011.pdf
Equitable Life Payment Scheme
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received in support of the payment of compensation to Equitable Life policyholders who took out policies before 1992; and if he will make a statement. [71294]
Mr Hoban: In her report, the parliamentary ombudsman recommended that the aim of the scheme should be
“to put those people who suffered a relative loss back into the position that they would have been in had maladministration not occurred”.
The first returns that would have been different if maladministration had not occurred were those of 1991, which would not have influenced policyholders’ decisions until September 1992. Therefore, with profits annuitants
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who bought their policies before September 1992 did so before maladministration could have affected their investment decision.
The Government listened to a range of representation from interested parties on this and other issues in advance of announcing details of the scheme. We are now in the delivery stage of the scheme and the focus is upon making payments to the defined eligible population.
Financial Services: USA
Richard Fuller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department expects to provide assistance to the US Department of Justice in its criminal investigation of the actions of investment banking firms. [71072]
Mr Hoban: The setting of LIBOR by the British Banking Association (BBA) and the contributions made by banks to that process are not regulated activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The mechanisms used by the BBA to detect manipulation of LIBOR are a matter for the BBA.
Any assistance that might be given to the US Department of Justice is a matter for the relevant investigatory authorities in the UK, which include the Financial Services Authority with respect to the conduct of regulated firms.
As part of its role in helping establish the LIBOR rate, the BBA may also provide information to the Department of Justice, if requested.
Freedom of Information
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many requests made to his Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 since 25 May 2010 have been subject to an extension beyond the statutory 20 working days (a) where a public interest balance assessment was carried out that exceeded an additional 30 working days before a decision was taken and (b) where a public balance assessment was carried out which had exceeded an additional 30 working days and where no decision had been reached by 1 September 2011; [70512]
(2) how many requests made to his Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 since 25 May 2010 have been subject to an extension beyond the statutory 20 working days for a response while a public interest balance assessment was made; and what the average time to elapse between the date of extension and the date of the decision on the request has been and the average time of this time extension before a decision was reached; [70513]
(3) how many and what proportion of requests made to his Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 since 25 May 2010 have not been answered within 20 working days. [70514]
Justine Greening [holding answer 7 September 2011]: Statistics on the Treasury’s performance under the Freedom of Information Act are available from the House Library and published by the Ministry of Justice. The most recent publication is available at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/foi/implementation.htm
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The data published comply with the agreed reporting requirements for central Government Departments. The most recent published information shows that HMT responded to 98% of requests within the statutory deadline. Of these, 87% of cases were replied to within 20 working days and in 11% of cases the time to reply was extended.
Official Hospitality
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse was of (a) four star, (b) five star and (c) other hotel accommodation for (i) staff, (ii) Ministers and (iii) special advisers in his Department between (A) November 1999 and June 2001, (B) May 2002 and June 2007 and (C) June 2007 and January 2008. [68374]
Justine Greening: HM Treasury does not limit bookings by star rating but rather by a cap on cost per night. Accordingly, no records of star ratings is kept. It has not been possible to obtain the information for past bookings as the Department's travel supplier during these periods is no longer trading.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 13 July 2011 with regard to Mrs Rahman. [70812]
Justine Greening: HM Revenue and Customs' Chief Executive's Office wrote to the right hon. Member on 7 September 2011 on my behalf.
National Insurance Contributions: New Businesses
Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to extend the national insurance contributions holiday. [69614]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 7 September 2011]:The policy is designed to support new businesses in parts of the country that are most reliant on the public sector, assisting them in their first year by reducing the costs of hiring staff and improving the likelihood of business survival.
The Government have considered the case for extending the NICs holiday but believe the best use of public funds at this time is to keep the NICs holiday as a targeted scheme for those areas in most need of employment support.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Scunthorpe constituency have benefited from the national insurance contribution holiday since its introduction. [69615]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 7 September 2011]:As of 15 August, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has received five successful applications from businesses in Scunthorpe constituency.
Pensions: Public Sector
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the opt out rates for public sector pensions were in each year from 2006 to 2010. [71149]
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Danny Alexander: This information is not held centrally. Departments responsible for the pension schemes hold data on scheme membership.
Personal Financial Information
Mr Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what sanctions apply to UK clearing banks which seek to elicit and archive inappropriate personal financial information unrelated to an adult with incapacity from guardians and deputies when registering the relevant court's order of appointment; [71250]
(2) if he will instruct the Financial Services Authority to review the level and extent of personal financial information unrelated to an adult with incapacity requested by UK clearing banks from guardians and deputies when seeking to register the relevant court's order of appointment. [71249]
Mr Hoban: It is important that banks have procedures in place to verify both the identity of their customers, and the identity of people acting as guardians and deputies on behalf of their customers. Identity checks make it more difficult for fraud to occur, and so help to protect consumers. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) does not have specific rules on the procedures banks should take to verify identity, though the Government recognise that measures taken need to be proportionate to the risks posed, as well as being effective.
If a guardian or deputy believes a bank has asked them to provide personal financial information that they consider to be inappropriate, they should consider complaining to the bank. If they complain and are unhappy with the outcome, they can refer their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Taxation
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many changes to taxation policy he has made since the 2011 Budget; and whether a tax information and impact note was published for each change. [71021]
Mr Gauke: Tax information and impact notes (TIINs) relating to changes announced at Budget 2011 were published in the ‘Overview of tax legislation and rates’ document, available on the HM Treasury website.
As set out in ‘The new approach to tax policy making: a response to the Consultation’, the Government will publish a TIIN at the point at which detailed policy design is settled. In most cases, this will be the point at which draft legislation is published for scrutiny by interested parties.
TIINs to accompany the three changes that have been announced since the Budget are published in line with this approach.
Taxation: Aviation
Mr Gyimah:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the combined effects on Exchequer revenue in a full year of taxing aviation fuel at the same rate as petrol for cars, imposing a 20% tax on air fares for aircraft departing UK airports and abolishing air passenger duty, assuming no change
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in demand for air travel; and what the effects of such measures would be using the same assumptions, but without abolition of air passenger duty. [68155]
Justine Greening: Under the terms of the Chicago convention, it is illegal to tax fuel for international flights. Accordingly the Government have not made an estimate of the revenue that would result from taxation of fuel in the manner suggested.
The UK already imposes air passenger duty on airlines for passengers that they carry and therefore no estimate of imposing a 20% tax on airfares has been made.
Taxation: Business
Jesse Norman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions (a) he and (b) the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury has had with the Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs on the appropriateness of discussion and negotiation in the settlement of tax liabilities. [62333]
Mr Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials have frequent discussions with the chief executive of HM Revenue and Customs as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.
Taxation: Gambling
Mr Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his proposals for taxation of offshore gambling companies will ensure (a) that such companies pay an equivalent rate of tax to land-based companies offering gambling services to customers in the UK and (b) that collection of such taxes is fully enforceable. [71236]
Justine Greening: On 18 July 2011, Official Report, column 62WS, the Government announced their intention to review the taxation regime for remote gambling, looking at the case for taxing operators on the basis of customer location.
As part of the review, the Government are identifying options for reform and are seeking further input from stakeholders regarding the proposals. No decisions have been taken.
Taxation: Gaming Machines
Mr Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which organisations officials of his Department have met as part of the consultation on reform of the taxation of gaming machines through the introduction of machine games duty. [71119]
Justine Greening: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions. A summary of responses to the consultation will be published in the autumn.
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Mr Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many requests his Department has received for meetings in relation to the proposals for machine games duty; and how many meetings have taken place. [71122]
Justine Greening: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the public consultation period for the introduction of machine games duty was less than 12 weeks. [71186]
Justine Greening: The response time was shorter than 12 weeks to allow for proper consideration of all consultation responses ahead of the publication of a second draft of the legislation in the autumn.
To ensure that stakeholders were able to contribute as fully as possible to the consultation, Her Majesty’s Treasury and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs held meetings with industry groups and individual companies.
Taxation: Isle of Man
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated value was of the Isle of Man's share of joint indirect tax revenues in each year until 2015 (a) when the 2009 formula was agreed between the Isle of Man and HM Treasury, (b) after the Isle of Man changed the way that it measured its national income in 2010 and (c) under the revised formula announced on 18 July 2011. [69524]
Mr Gauke: When the revenue sharing formula was revised in 2009, the UK's estimate of the Isle of Man's share of joint indirect tax revenues was £230 million for 2011-12 and £245 million for 2012-13. Estimates were not made for subsequent years.
After the 2010 change to the methodology for measuring the Isle of Man's national income the estimate of its share for 2011-12 was £334 million and for 2012-13 £365 million. Estimates were not made for subsequent years.
Under the agreement announced on 18 July 2011 the Isle of Man will receive £272 million for 2011-12 and £252 million for 2012-13 (including transitional payments of £45 million and a further £25 million respectively). The current estimate for the Isle of Man's share of joint revenues for 2013-14 is £270 million. We do not have an estimate for the year 2014-15.
VAT
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the rate of VAT on households in each parliamentary constituency. [70740]
Mr Gauke: Data to make an assessment of the effect of the increase in the rate of VAT on households in each parliamentary constituency are not available.
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Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the (a) annual cost to the Exchequer (i) before and (ii) after taking account of consequent changes in other tax receipts and (b) effects on employment of reducing value added tax from 20 per cent. to five per cent. on the repair, maintenance and improvement of residential property. [70788]
Mr Gauke: The cost of reducing VAT from 20% to 5% on repair, maintenance and improvement of residential property, in the absence of behavioural change, is tentatively estimated to be in the region of £2.2 billion.
No estimate has been made on the effect on employment from reducing value added tax on the repair, maintenance and improvement of residential property.
VAT: Channel Islands
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the provision of low value consignment relief on entertainment products sold by mail order from the Channel Islands on independent high street entertainment stores. [70987]
Mr Gauke: We have not performed an assessment but we are aware of the impact on high street stores, and the Exchequer. The Treasury is currently considering further measures to stem the impact of LVCR.
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to remove low value consignment relief for (a) music and (b) other entertainment products sold by mail order from the Channel Islands. [70989]
Mr Gauke: The Government have not finalised their plans for changes to the low value consignment relief for goods imported from the Channel Islands at this time but are reviewing options.
VAT: Entertainments
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with (a) the European Commission, (b) multiple retailers and (c) independent stores on the effects of low value consignment relief on (i) music and (ii) the general entertainment industry. [70988]
Mr Gauke: The Government have been in contact with the European Commission to discuss their options to restrict the low value consignment relief and have received representations from a number of trade sectors affected by LVCR. Ministers are now reviewing what options are open to the Government to make further changes to LVCR.
VAT: Imports
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue forgone by the Exchequer due to the provision of low value consignment relief in each of the last five years. [70990]
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Mr Gauke: The estimate of the revenue forgone by the Exchequer due to the provision of low value consignment relief in each of the last five calendar years is as follows:
|
|
Loss of VAT (£ million) |
For consistency and ease of comparison, the figures in the table assume a constant standard rate of VAT of 17.5%. The actual cost for 2009 is slightly different from these figures reflecting the temporary cut in the standard rate of VAT.
VAT: Waste Disposal
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he consulted specialists in European competition law before taking the decision to allow local authorities to undertake commercial waste collections free of VAT; [71063]
(2) whether his Department consulted representatives of the private management sector before taking the decision to allow local authorities to undertake commercial waste collections free of VAT; [71060]
(3) what consultation his Department undertook before taking the decision to allow local authorities to undertake commercial waste collections free of VAT. [71062]
Mr Gauke: The issue is not one of competition law, but instead one of VAT law. As such, this was an operational matter and the decision was made by HMRC officials in response to a legal challenge against the taxation of local authority commercial waste collection services. Because of this, it was not possible to consult more widely.
The Environmental Services Association have made representations to HMRC and there is ongoing dialogue about the VAT treatment of commercial waste collection.
Health
Abortion
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS was of (a) abortions performed (i) before the 12th week of pregnancy, (ii) between the 12th and 18th weeks of pregnancy, (iii) between the 18th and 24th weeks of pregnancy and (iv) after the 24th week of pregnancy and (b) provision of the morning after pill in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [R] [71017]
Anne Milton: The cost to the national health service of abortions performed before the 12th week of pregnancy, between the 12th and 18th weeks of pregnancy, between the 18th and 24th( )weeks of pregnancy and after the 24th week of pregnancy is not collected by the Department.
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The Department does not collect the cost to the NHS of the provision of the morning after pill. However, the NHS Information Centre is able to provide the net ingredient cost of drugs supplied which is shown in the following table, but does not hold information on the total cost to the NHS.
Figures are taken from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) database which contains information on the number of items dispensed in England. These figures cover emergency contraceptives issued on prescriptions in primary care only. Emergency contraceptives can also be supplied without a prescription either through contraceptive and sexual health clinics, or by pharmacists under a Patient Group Direction. Emergency contraception may also be purchased by patients over the age of 16 in pharmacies.
Emergency contraceptives are listed in the British National Formulary under paragraph 7.3.5. The figures given are for the morning after pill only and do not include prescriptions for intra-uterine contraceptive devices, which can also be used for emergency contraception.
| Financial year | Net ingredient cost (£) |
| Notes: PCA Data 1. Prescription information is taken from the PCA system, supplied by the Prescription Services Division of the NHS Business Services Authority, and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions. 2. Prescribers are general practitioners, hospital doctors, dentists and non-medical prescribers such as nurses and pharmacists. 3. Net ingredient cost (NIC) NIC is the basic cost of a drug. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income. | |
Action on Smoking and Health
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have met representatives of ASH in each of the last three years. [70771]
Anne Milton: Records of ministerial meetings with outside organisations can be found on the Department's website. These records show that, since 1 January 2009, departmental Ministers have met with representatives of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) once and spoken at ASH-arranged events twice.
Ministers have also met once with Smokefree Action Coalition, of which ASH is a member.
The Department does not keep a central diary of the engagements that every departmental official has had with ASH representatives, nor is a central record kept of meetings attended by officials that an ASH representative may also have attended.
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Breast Feeding
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which are the principal research findings underpinning his Department's promotion of breast-feeding over formula. [70756]
Anne Milton: The Department's policy on infant feeding is based on the advice by the United Kingdom's Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition who assessed the scientific evidence and the World Health Organisation's systematic review “The optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding” and concluded that there was sufficient evidence that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant's life is nutritionally adequate.
An extensive body of scientific evidence indicates that breastfed infants are less likely to develop gastrointestinal, respiratory and urinary tract infections. A list of key research references that underpin the Department's policy has been placed in the Library.
Carers
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps the Government are taking to ensure that carers are included in care plans and receive support to help them provide care; [70777]
(2) if he will take steps to improve the provision of training for carers. [70778]
Paul Burstow: The Community Care Assessment Directions 2004 place existing good practice and guidance on conducting care assessments and care planning into a legal framework. These directions are covered by local authority circular, LAC (2004)24.
The directions explicitly state that when carrying out a community care assessment, a local authority must, where appropriate, provide information to carers, consult with them and take reasonable steps to reach agreement with the person and their carer on the community care services they are considering providing to meet assessed needs.
The Law Commission report, published on 10 May 2011, devotes a chapter to considering carers' legislation, and the area is a major theme throughout.
Across the recommendations, the key principle is to try to achieve parity between carers and people who use services. To do so, the report makes specific recommendations in relation to carer assessments, carers services, eligibility criteria and young carers.
In respect of care plans in particular, recommendation 30 says that there should be a duty on local authorities to ensure the production of a care and support plan for people with assessed eligible needs (including carers).
The Government are considering all the recommendations together as part of designing our approach to law reform. We plan to set out our legislative
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approach at the time of the Care and Support White Paper in spring 2012. This will respond to the Law Commission's report.
The training materials, which comprised the former Caring with Confidence training course are available on the Carers Direct website for carers to access. Resources from Caring with Confidence were re-invested across 11 projects, which included:
£1.8 million funding to a range of voluntary sector organisations supporting carers including the Afiya Trust, in recognition of the particular needs and challenges faced by carers from ethnic minority communities;
over £1 million funding for training and carer awareness raising for key health and social professionals, including general practitioners (GPs) and their practice staff; and
£1.35 million funding for a grant scheme aimed at encouraging bids from patient-led and condition related organisations wishing to do more to support carers by reaching out to people who do not necessarily see themselves as carers. We received over 270 bids from a wide range of organisations and plan to fund over 80 organisations who were successful bidders.
In addition, we are investing over £800,000 in 2010-11 in a range of activities to support training and awareness raising for GPs and practice staff on carers issues.
Chlamydia: Testing
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department provides for testing young people for chlamydia; how many young people (a) were tested and (b) tested positive in (i) England and (ii) Gloucestershire in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [70694]
Anne Milton: The National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) which was launched in 2003, provides opportunistic testing for chlamydia for 15 to 24-year-olds. In 2010-11, £1,626,000 was allocated to the Health Protection Agency to run the NCSP.
The Department also makes recurrent revenue allocations direct to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of a national weighted capitation formula which is used to determine each PCT’s target share of available resources. The components of the formula are used to weight each PCT’s population according to their relative need (age and additional need) for health care and the unavoidable geographical differences in the cost of providing health care (the market forces factor).
PCT recurrent revenue allocations are not broken down by policy or service area. Once allocated, it is for PCTs to commission the services they require, including chlamydia testing, to meet the health care needs of their local populations, taking account of both local and national priorities.
Information on the number of chlamydia tests and diagnoses in those 15 to 24 years of age is shown in the following table.
| Community Data (NCSP and Non NCSP Non GUM) April 2010 to March 2011, GUM data January 2010 to December 2010 | ||||||
|
|
Community Chlamydia Testing Data (NCSP + non NCSP, non GUM) | Positive tests reported from the Community Chlamydia Testing Data (NCSP + non NCSP, non GUM) | % of Community tests positive | Chlamydia tests reported to GUM | Positive tests reported from GUM | % of GUM tests positive |
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| Notes: 1. Data presented are the number of chlamydia tests and diagnoses reported and not the number of people tested or diagnosed. 2. Data are presented for Gloucestershire PCT and England only. GUM clinic returns: GUMCAD (Genitourinary Medicine Clinic Activity Dataset): 1. Numbers of tests and diagnoses are adjusted for missing GUM clinic data in 2010. 2. Data are sourced from the GUMCAD report (2010). Due to different data collection and publication dates, GUMCAD data presented is one quarter behind the NCSP data. 3. GUM clinic chlamydia diagnoses include C4A and C4B and C4C (complicated and uncomplicated chlamydia) only. 4. The chlamydia tests reported are from sexual health screens performed at GUM clinics which include testing for Chlamydia, Community Chlamydia Testing Data: 1. The NCSP offers opportunistic chlamydia screening to those aged 15 to 24 years attending a variety of non-GUM clinic settings. NCSP figures therefore include diagnoses among 15 to 24-year-olds only. 2. Data presented are based on all tests with confirmed positive chlamydia test results including partners/contacts as well as index cases. 3. The NCSP also collects data from laboratories on numbers of diagnoses made in those aged 15 to 24 years tested outside registered NCSP settings and GUM clinics. 4. Reporting of “Non-NCSP/Non-GUM” returns began in April 2008. 5. Numbers of tests and diagnoses are not adjusted for missing Non-NCSP/Non-GUM data in 2011. Source: Health Protection Agency, GUMCAD returns, NCSP returns, Non NCSP Non GUM returns Date of data: 8 September 2011 | ||||||
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to support people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis. [70719]
Paul Burstow: Responsibility for meeting the health needs of those living with long-term neurological conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) rests with local health bodies. They are expected to implement the guidance produced by the National Institute for Heath and Clinical Excellence on CFS/ME, as well as the more general guidance on neurological conditions, the National Service Framework for Long-term Neurological Conditions, produced by the Department.
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition of myalgic encephalopathy his Department uses; and how it categorises the condition. [71237]
Paul Burstow: The report of the CFS/ME Working Group to the chief medical officer, in January 2002, suggested that the composite term chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) be used as an umbrella term for this condition, or spectrum of disease.
This term is used by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for their clinical guidelines, which also provide a definition of this condition for health professionals.
The Department classes CFS/ME as a long-term neurological disease of unknown cause.
Health Services: Older People
Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role he proposes for clinical audits in assisting commissioning bodies to (a) identify the reasons for emergency readmissions of patients aged over 65 years of age and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of post-discharge planning. [70319]
Mr Simon Burns: All national health service organisations should use appropriate indicators to monitor and seek to improve the quality of the care which they are commissioning or providing.
Available indicators include various measures of the rates of emergency readmission following specific procedures, and an indicator of the proportion of older people who were still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital into rehabilitation services. Where these high-level indicators show cause for concern, more detailed local clinical audit may be helpful in identifying the possible underlying causes. In line with the Government's commitment to greater transparency in the information available on the outcomes of patient care, providers are encouraged to share appropriate data from clinical audit with their commissioners.
Hepatitis: Ethnic Groups
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the prevalence rate is of Hepatitis C by ethnic origin. [71084]
Anne Milton: The Health Protection Agency estimates that, in 2005, 0.54%, of the adult population in England had antibody to hepatitus C (HCV).
Data on the prevalence of HCV by ethnic origin are limited, however some studies in England have found that individuals who originate from the Indian sub-continent are among those at increased risk of hepatitis C infection. Research jointly funded by the Hepatitis C Trust and the Department, published in 2010, indicated that 1.6% of people of south Asian origin had evidence of hepatitis C infection. The corresponding rate for people born in Pakistan was 2.7%.
HIV Infection: Drugs
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the treatment of HIV-infected patients with the Gc protein-derived macrophage activating factor; and if he will make a statement. [70905]
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Mr Simon Burns: The Department has not commissioned or evaluated research specifically on the treatment of HIV-infected patients with the Gc Protein-Derived Macrophage Activating Factor.
The Department's National Institute for Health Research is currently funding a £2 million randomised controlled trial of a protease inhibitor monotherapy versus continuing combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-1 infected patients previously established on a dual nucleoside and non-nucleoside combination regimen.
Hospices: Finance
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent discussions he has had with primary care trusts on funding for hospices; and if he will make a statement; [70628]
(2) what guidance he has provided to primary care trusts on funding for hospices; and if he will make a statement; [70629]
(3) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that hospices receive adequate funding; what plans he has for the future of hospice funding; and if he will make a statement; [70631]
(4) what assessment his Department has made of the merits of introducing a national tariff for hospice care; and if he will make a statement. [70632]
Paul Burstow: The Department's “End of Life Care Strategy” (2008) makes clear the responsibilities of the national health service to ensure adequate support for hospices, including through stronger commissioning and adhering to the principles of the “Compact Code of Good Practice”. The Department made £286 million additional funding available to help implement the strategy over 2009-10 and 2010-11. Hospices were in a good position to work with the NHS to secure some of this funding to deliver many of the initiatives recommended in the strategy. As part of this funding, the Department made available a £40 million capital budget for hospices in 2010-11 to support improvements to the care environment.
As part of the development of the strategy, a review was undertaken of specialist palliative care spend by primary care trusts (PCTs). This was published alongside the strategy, and provided useful data for PCTs to benchmark their levels of specialist palliative care provision. This exercise has been repeated for 2010-11, and will be published shortly.
We have made a commitment to review payment systems to support end of life care, including exploring options for per-patient funding to meet the commitment in the coalition agreement. This work has been taken forward by the independent Palliative Care Funding Review, which reported on 1 July. The recommendations of the review will influence decisions on future funding policies for dedicated palliative care services, whoever provides them. We are currently considering these recommendations in detail and expect to engage with stakeholders on this later this year before running pilots.
We have had no recent discussions with, nor provided any guidance to, PCTs specifically on funding for hospices.
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Learning Disability
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to commission organisations with expertise in communication aids and assistive technology to advise families and agencies on the opportunities such services provide for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [70770]
Paul Burstow: There are no plans at present to provide information about communication aids and assistive technology.
Macular Degeneration: Drugs
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will refer the prescribing of Avastin to treat wet age-related macular degeneration to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; and if he will make a statement. [70741]
Mr Simon Burns: Avastin (bevacizumab) is not licensed for use in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has conducted work with stakeholders to explore the feasibility of appraising Avastin for the treatment of eye conditions and submitted a report of its findings to the Department in 2010. The report is available on NICE'S website at:
www.nice.org.uk/ourguidance/niceguidancebytype/technology appraisals/proposedappraisals/bevacizumabineyeconditions.jsp
We have no immediate plans to refer this topic to NICE for appraisal, but will keep this position under review.
NHS
Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role he proposes for befriending services in the NHS. [70320]
Paul Burstow: People supported by community care services can often feel socially isolated and lonely. Befriending services provide people in this situation with opportunities for social interaction and a sense of being part of a community. These services can be particularly helpful for people recovering from a mental illness, older people, people on the autistic spectrum, and those accessing palliative care.
Our goal is to give local communities a much greater say in determining local arrangements for assisting and supporting national health service patients. The new local HealthWatch will make its own decisions about what is needed locally—whether and how to make the best use of local people to respond to the needs of patients both in hospitals and in community settings. This builds on the existing powers of local authorities and local health bodies to commission both advocacy and befriending services.