Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of third sector organisations that had an income of (a) 1 million euros or more, (b) 100,000 euros or more and (c) 10,000 euros or more in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and what estimate he has made of the number of third sector organisations with (A) 25 or more full-time equivalent employees, (B) five or more full-time equivalent employees and (C) one or more full-time equivalent employee in each year; and if he will make a statement. [75106]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office does not produce or collate any statistics on the income of third sector organisations. However, the most recent figures collated by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) estimated that in 2007-08:
(a) Over 4,500 charities had an average income of one million pounds or more.
(b) Over 26,000 charities had an average income of over £100,000 or more.
(c) Over 80,000 Charities had an average income of over £10,000 or more.
Estimated income figures are not currently available for:
(i) 2010-11
(ii) 2011-12.
NCVO's report did not have exact breakdowns of the number of charities and the sizes of their work force. However, voluntary sector organisations were classified into five categories representing the size of the organisations
17 Oct 2011 : Column 735W
and the report provided an estimate of the percentage of voluntary sector organisations that employ staff in 2007-08, these were:
1% of micro organisations employed staff, there were approximately 91,000 in the
UK according in 2007-08;
31% of small organisations, of which there were approximately 54,000 in 2007-08;
73% of medium organisations, of which there were approximately 21,500 in 2007-08;
89% of large organisations, of which there were approximately 4,100 in 2007-08; and
93% of major organisations, of which there were approximately 400 in 2007-08.
Figures are only available for 2007-08.
Third Sector: Employment Schemes
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions about the role of the third sector in the Work programme; and if he will make a statement. [75104]
Mr Hurd: There have been a number of discussions with my right hon. Friend the Minister for Employment, Department for Work and Pensions in regard to the Work programme. At official level the Department for Work and Pensions and the Cabinet Office are working closely together to connect the experience of voluntary organisations on the ground with the policy intentions of the programme.
Third Sector: Finance
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much each beneficiary organisation has received from the Transition Fund since its inception; and if he will make a statement. [74794]
Mr Hurd: All of the awards for the Transition Fund and the amounts awarded are listed on the Big Lottery Fund website which can be found at:
http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/transitionfund
Voluntary Work: Administration
Gordon Henderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to reduce the burden of administration associated with volunteering. [73936]
Mr Hurd: We are determined to reduce the red tape that prevents people from acting to improve their communities.
The Government commissioned an investigation into what stops us all giving more time and money to charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises, and what stops the sector from growing. In May, Lord Hodgson published his taskforce's report, which contained a total of 17 recommendations on these topics. Work is already underway to implement the recommendations and progress will be assessed in May 2012.
17 Oct 2011 : Column 736W
The Government have also set up a broader Red Tape Challenge with the aim of reducing burdens on business and civil society, supporting growth and reducing state intrusion into personal freedoms. It is the result of a commitment to review the entire existing stock of more than 21,000 regulations.
The Home Office has set out proposals to reform the current CRB checks system through the Protection of Freedoms Bill. Many of these reforms, providing the Bill receives Royal Assent, will reduce the bureaucracy facing volunteers and civil society organisations.
Voluntary Work: Young People
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much funding the National Citizen Service was allocated in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how much he has allocated in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement. [74789]
Mr Hurd: National Citizen Service (NCS) is a personal and social development programme that provides 16-year-olds with the opportunity to take on new challenges, meet people from different backgrounds and make a difference in their communities. NCS pilots ran during the summer of 2011 and further pilots are planned in 2012.
£2,562,256 was allocated to National Citizen Service pilot projects in FY2010-11. £12,340,231 was allocated in FY2011-12. These amounts were for the delivery of NCS pilots in summer 2011. Additionally £428,563 was allocated to the external evaluation of NCS in FY2011-12.
The Cabinet Office is currently running a commissioning process for NCS places in 2012, for which part of the funding will be allocated from FY2011-12 budgets and part from FY2012-13 budgets. The Cabinet Office will be in a position to confirm the funding allocated for NCS places in 2012 once the commissioning process has concluded.
Funding for NCS in the years after FY2012-13 will be a matter for the Department for Education.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what funding he allocated to each of the pilots for the National Citizen Service in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much he has allocated for each of the next three years. [74790]
Mr Hurd: The total amounts allocated to each of the 12 National Citizen Service pilots taking place in summer 2011 across the two financial years are shown in the table.
The Cabinet Office is currently running a commissioning process for NCS places in 2012, for which part of the funding will be allocated from FY 2011-12 budgets and part from FY 2012-13 budgets. The Cabinet Office will be in a position to confirm the funding allocated for NCS places in 2012 once the commissioning process has concluded. Funding for NCS in the years after FY 2012-13 will be a matter for the Department for Education.
17 Oct 2011 : Column 737W
| £ | ||
| Financial year | ||
| Pilot lead organisation name | 2010-11 allocation | 2011-12 allocation |
|
V-The National Young Volunteers' Service and Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust consortium |
||
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people started a National Citizen Service project in each month since November 2010; and how many were still involved in those projects (a) one month, (b) three months and (c) six months after starting the project. [74791]
Mr Hurd: National Citizen Service (NCS) pilot projects take place during the summer. The independent evaluation of the first pilots is currently examining the number of participants on this summer's pilots and the numbers retained throughout the projects. The Cabinet Office will be in a position to provide those details once they are available later in the autumn. We estimate that up to 8,500 young people took part in NCS this summer.
NCS pilot projects typically run for four to eight weeks in total. Three weeks require full-time commitment from participants; participants then complete a social action project in their communities on a part-time basis, with a total time commitment of approximately 30 hours.
Energy and Climate Change
British Coal Utilisation Research Association
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the status was of the British Coal Utilisation Research Association as a subsidiary of the British Coal Corporation during the legislative process between 1994 and 1995. [74976]
Charles Hendry: British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA) ceased to be a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Coal Corporation (BCC) sometime in the early 1970’s and acquired a charitable status. At the time of the BCC privatisation, BCURA was not a wholly owned subsidiary of BCC. The Department has no further information about BCURA’s status at that time.
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Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which body is responsible for former British Coal Corporation liabilities to the British Coal Utilisation Research Association which were not transferred to his Department. [74977]
Charles Hendry: The Department's understanding is that the liabilities prior to British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA) joining the British Coal Corporation (BCC) family on 1 April 1969 rest with BCURA. BCURA liabilities were not assumed by BCC. The liabilities arising whilst they were within the BCC family are the responsibility of DECC, while the liabilities post ‘privatisation’ are with BCURA.
Departmental Billing
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in July and August 2010. [74461]
Gregory Barker: Since May 2010 the Department of Energy and Climate change has measured prompt payment performance against the Whitehall prompt payment target of five days. The percentage of invoices paid within five days of receipt for July 2010 was 93.8% and for August 2010 93.2%.
Monthly prompt payment performance is published on the departmental website.
Departmental Buildings
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what (a) building and (b) refurbishment projects his Department plans in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13; and what the cost of each such project will be. [74460]
Gregory Barker: The Department has no plans for any building and refurbishment projects on its estate in either the current or next financial year.
Departmental Re-location
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many civil servants in his Department have been (a) relocated and (b) agreed for relocation in the last 12 months; and to which areas of the UK. [74907]
Gregory Barker: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has not (a) relocated or (b) agreed to relocate any of its civil servants in the last 12 months.
Departmental Pay
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the total monetary value of London weightings and London living allowances for staff in his Department. [74908]
Gregory Barker: The estimated value of the difference between London and national pay scales for my Department is £3.9 million for the financial year 2010-11.
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Procurement
Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost of employing civil servants to undertake procurement for his Department in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11; and what estimate he has made of the cost of (i) employing civil servants and (ii) engaging consultants to undertake procurement for his Department in 2011-12. [73196]
Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change estimates the cost of employing civil servants to undertake procurement for his Department in 2009-10 at £250,000 and 2010-11 at £238,053. Figures for 2008-09 are not available because of the mid-year creation of the Department.
The estimate for the cost of (i) employing civil servants in 2011-12 is £287,509 and (ii) engaging consultants to undertake procurement for his Department in 2011-12 is £56,000.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many contracts his Department has awarded directly to third sector organisations in each month since May 2010; what the value was of such contracts; and if he will make a statement. [75130]
Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has not awarded any contracts directly to third sector organisations since May 2010.
Sick Leave
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for how many days on average his Department's staff in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in 2010-11. [75013]
Gregory Barker: The answer is shown in the following table:
| Pay grade | Average working days lost |
Training
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many external training courses staff of his Department attended in the last 12 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of each course. [74462]
Gregory Barker: The number of events that people attended outside of DECC is not centrally recorded and is approved by individual line managers so the gathering of this information would be a disproportionate cost to DECC.
17 Oct 2011 : Column 740W
The total spend on training for the Department of Energy and Climate change from September 2010 to August 2011 was £833,423.91. This includes all of the courses that DECC paid people to deliver—whether that was for staff attending training at a training providers premises or for a training provider delivering training to DECC staff as part of our internal training programme.
Fuel Poverty
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) written, (b) e-mail and (c) telephone representations he has received in each month since May 2010 about (i) his plans to alleviate fuel poverty in the private rented sector, (ii) the operation of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 and (iii) the disconnection of (A) gas and (B) electricity supplies; how many such representations were from (1) individuals and (2) organisations; if he will place in the Library copies of responses sent to such representations; and if he will make a statement. [R] [74711]
Gregory Barker: The following table provides information as to the volume of correspondence received by DECC regarding fuel poverty in each month since May 2010.
|
|
Correspondence from individuals | Correspondence from organisations (including charities and companies) |
| (1) Up to 13 October 2011. | ||
In addition, during the period requested DECC received:
10 pieces of correspondence regarding gas disconnection,
four pieces of correspondence regarding electricity disconnection, and
two relating to gas and electricity disconnection.
It would not be appropriate to provide the Library with copies of correspondence relating to individuals for data protection reasons.
Green Deal
Mr Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to promote the uptake of the Green Deal; and what information and advice will be provided to customers to encourage them to take up the Green Deal. [75355]
17 Oct 2011 : Column 741W
Gregory Barker: The Green Deal will be market-driven so we expect the private sector to develop innovative approaches to creating demand for their Green Deal offers. Government are collaborating with a number of companies to trial the impact of a range of incentives. The Government are committed to the success of the Green Deal and the 2011 Budget confirmed the Government would act to encourage and incentivise take-up ahead of its launch in 2012. An independent telephone and web advice service will also be commissioned to help support potential Green Deal customers.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what estimate he has made of the likely number of privately-rented properties which will be involved in the Green Deal in year (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) five; [74601]
(2) what estimate he has made of the likely number of social housing properties which will be involved in the Green Deal in the (a) first, (b) second, (c) third, (d) fourth and (e) fifth year of the scheme; [74602]
(3) what estimate he has made of the likely number of privately-owned properties which will be involved in the Green Deal in year (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) five. [74630]
Gregory Barker: Further details on the estimated take up of Green Deal across private rented, social rented and owner occupied sectors will be published in the Green Deal Impact Assessment accompanying our consultation later this year.
Mining: South Wales
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the implications of (a) geology and (b) redundant mine-workings in the South Wales coalfields for potential shale gas exploration and hydraulic fracturing. [74023]
Charles Hendry: The implications of geology and, where appropriate, redundant mine workings are duly considered during the assessment of individual proposals for shale gas exploration and hydraulic fracturing, before the Department gives consent.
Mixed Oxide Fuel: Sellafield
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has any plans for the construction of a new mixed-oxide fuel plant. [75277]
Charles Hendry: In our recent consultation on long-term plutonium management, the Government's preliminary policy view was that plutonium should be reused as MOX fuel. In order to implement this option we recognised that a new mixed oxide fuel plant would be required. The other options considered were continued long-term storage and immobilisation followed by disposal.
Government will shortly publish its response to that consultation which will set out how we intend to take forward plutonium management.
17 Oct 2011 : Column 742W
Nuclear Power Stations: Plutonium
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many tonnes of plutonium he estimates are awaiting disposal at UK nuclear sites. [75278]
Charles Hendry: The Office for Nuclear Regulation publish annually the UK's holdings of civil plutonium. The figures as of December 2010 show the UK is holding 114.8 tonnes of which 28.0 tonnes belong to overseas reprocessing customers.
These figures can be found at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/safeguards/civilplut10.htm
Oil: Imports
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the import into the EU of oil extracted from tar sands. [73132]
Charles Hendry: The European Commission has recently brought forward proposals to reflect the carbon emissions associated with the production of refined oil products under the terms of the Fuel Quality Directive. Discussion of the proposals within the European Parliament and Council has yet to begin. One of our objectives in these negotiations (with DFT being the lead Department) will be to ensure that oil from all sources is treated in proportion to its emissions levels so that the directive is effective in reducing total emissions.
Oil: Israel
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to encourage the sale of (a) oil, (b) petroleum and (c) electricity to Israel; what recent representations he has received in support of such steps; what response he gave in each case; and if he will make a statement. [R] [74709]
Charles Hendry: The Department makes no special provision to encourage such sales, nor has it received any such representations.
Renewables Obligation: Biofuels
Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of grandfathering support for bioliquids made from waste and used cooking oil under the renewables obligation. [73969]
Gregory Barker [holding answer 13 October 2011]: DECC commenced a scheduled banding review of RO support levels in October 2010. Banding reviews ensure that as market conditions and innovation within sectors change and evolve, developers continue to receive the appropriate level of support necessary to maintaining investment in the renewables industry.
We intend to publish a consultation on the proposed new bands shortly. This will include our proposed policy on levels of support and grandfathering for bioliquids.
17 Oct 2011 : Column 743W
Warm Front Scheme
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons the Warm Front scheme is being phased out; and if he will make a statement. [74762]
Gregory Barker: As part of the spending review 2010, the Government announced funding for the Warm Front scheme to deliver heating and insulation measures to vulnerable households until March 2013. In late 2012 the Green Deal, accompanied by an energy company obligation (ECO), will begin. The ECO will provide assistance to low income and vulnerable households, enabling them to access heating and energy efficiency measures to heat their homes more affordably.
Wind Power
Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the average annual load factors achieved by wind power installations derived from Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin data for installations with a capacity of (a) less than and (b) more than 100 kW prior to December 2010. [73024]
Charles Hendry: DECC does not produce annual load factors split by size of installation. However, in 2010, the onshore wind load factor was 21.5% and the offshore wind load factor was 29.6%.
Source:
Table DUKES 7.4—load factors on an unchanged configuration basis, available at:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/source/renewables/renewables.aspx
For (a), most sub-100 kW installations are covered by the Feed in Tariff (FIT) scheme. However, generation data for this are not yet available, so actual load factors cannot be calculated. DECC estimates that load factors will be in the range of 15% to 20% depending on installation size. This assumes an average wind speed of 6.5 m/s, and excludes load factors for sub-1.5 kW installations, on the basis that nearly no projects of this type have thus far been registered under FITs.
Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much public subsidy was paid to onshore wind farm companies for periods when it was too windy for the turbines to produce energy in the last year. [73077]
Charles Hendry: The renewables obligation is a generation-based subsidy meaning support is granted for each MWh of electricity actually generated. Wind farm companies will, therefore, only receive support when they generate.
Payments will also be made by National Grid (in its role as National Electricity Transmission System Operator) to generators of all types to alter their output in order
17 Oct 2011 : Column 744W
to balance energy supply and demand. However, these payments are not a public subsidy. The costs will be recovered by National Grid through charges paid equally by generators and supply companies, based on their energy taken from, or supplied to, the network.
Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on planning regulations for onshore wind turbines. [73255]
Charles Hendry: DECC Ministers and officials regularly discuss issues relating to the construction of wind farms in the UK with counterparts in the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Wind Power: Energy Supply
Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average cost to the public purse in subsidies was of each megawatt of electricity produced by (a) onshore wind generation and (b) each other source of energy for which his Department holds information in each of the last 12 months. [73250]
Charles Hendry: The renewables obligation (RO) is currently the Government’s main mechanism for incentivising the deployment of large-scale renewable electricity deployment. Generators are issued renewables obligation certificates (ROCs) for every megawatt-hour (MWh) of eligible electricity they generate which can then be sold to suppliers, allowing them to receive a premium in addition to the wholesale price of their electricity.
The RO is a market-based support mechanism, rather than a direct public subsidy, and ROCs are trade-able commodities which have no fixed price. The amount a supplier pays for a ROC is dependent on bi-lateral negotiations between supplier and generator. The nominal value of a ROC in any given year is equal to the buy-out price (the amount a supplier must pay for every ROC they do not present to Ofgem in order to comply with their obligation) + recycle value (the amount re-distributed to suppliers from the buy-out fund on a pro-rata basis depending on how many ROCs they presented to Ofgem) for that year. The nominal value represents the maximum worth of a ROC to a generator but is not necessarily the amount paid by a supplier. The nominal value of a ROC in 2009-10 was £52.36.
The following table sets out the number of ROCs issued for each MWh generated under the RO for onshore wind generation and other sources of renewable energy across the UK. Similar support mechanisms are not available to other generators of electricity.
Eligible generators can also claim levy exemption certificates (LECs) which are also trade-able. The levy is currently set at £4.85/MWh.
| RO banding levels | |||||
| ROCs per MWh | |||||
|
|
England and Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | ||
17 Oct 2011 : Column 745W
17 Oct 2011 : Column 746W
Wind Power: Scotland
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the monetary value was of constraint payments paid to onshore wind farm operators in Scotland in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2008-09 and (d) 2007-08. [73406]
Charles Hendry: Constraint payments of £176,788 were made to onshore wind farm operators in Scotland in 2010-11, compared to total constraint payments to generators of all types of £170 million over that period. No payments were made to onshore wind farm operators in Scotland in previous years.
17 Oct 2011 : Column 747W
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 17 October 2011
Business, Innovation and Skills
Business Link
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) face-to-face and (b) telephone business advice services he plans to make available following the closure of Business Link. [73326]
Mr Prisk: We believe the role of Government is to create the conditions for business success and to enable businesses to find the information, guidance and advice that will help them to grow and create jobs. That is why we announced in January a series of significant changes to the way information, guidance and advice to business is provided, with more focus on improving small business performance and growth, and with a greater emphasis on further and better private sector provision.
www.businesslink.gov.uk
is being significantly enhanced and will continue to provide support to businesses to help them start up, improve and grow, providing a one stop shop for much of the advice sought by small businesses. Businesses tell us that they want to take advice from people they know and trust—experienced business people. That is why we have launched:
www.mentorsme.co.uk
a single easy to use search engine to access free and paid for mentoring services, including face-to-face mentoring). In addition, we have announced a new Business Coaching for Growth programme which will target around 10,000 companies with high growth potential, offering specific mentoring support and face to face coaching.
While www.businesslink.gov.uk will be the primary channel for business information and support, we are also providing a telephone helpline to help transition customers from the previous business support framework and to help those who do not have internet access and those who have difficulty finding the information they need on the website.
Business: Civil Disorder
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with businesses concerning lost revenue resulting from public disorder in August 2011. [74479]
Mr Prisk: The issue has not been raised in meetings with business, but has been raised in correspondence and with officials in recent meetings with local authorities and non-Government bodies engaged in post-disorder recovery activity.
17 Oct 2011 : Column 748W
Government support schemes for business cover loss of goods, damage to property and other costs as a result of the disorder but do not extend to loss of trade or earnings. Many businesses will have insurance for “business interruption” that will cover this. In addition, the private High Street Fund and other charitable organisations may make grants to businesses suffering hardship as a result of loss of earnings resulting from the disorder.
Business: Finance
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on fiscal measures to increase the level of (a) employee-owned and (b) family-owned businesses. [74697]
Mr Prisk: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, meets regularly with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss measures to encourage economic growth and enterprise, including employee and family owned businesses.
Business: Snow and Ice
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with small businesses concerning the possible effects of winter weather on those businesses. [74478]
Mr Prisk: I have not had any recent discussions with small businesses concerning the possible effects on winter weather. Government recognise the importance of businesses having the information they need to minimise the impact of winter weather on their operations. There are a wide range of guides and interactive tools available on the Business Link website to assist all businesses in developing business continuity plans and to manage risks to their business.
Capita
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) monetary value and (b) net worth was of each contract. [62732]
Mr Davey: Central records indicate that the Department has made the following total payments by Capita Group company since May 2010;
|
|
£ |
Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
17 Oct 2011 : Column 749W
Clothing: Labelling
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the labelling by country of origin of clothing imported into the EU. [73134]
Mr Davey: HMG support the feasibility study being carried out by the European Commission on country of origin labelling for textile products in the context of the recently agreed EU Textile Fibre Labelling Regulation.
HMG welcome the voluntary practice of many producers and retailers in providing a country of origin mark on their clothing products, which they believe is the right thing to do for themselves and their customers. Any such labelling must be clear and accurate: it is a criminal offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulation 2008 to give consumers misleading information.
Construction: Conditions of Employment
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that newly-qualified workers in the construction sector trained to NVQ level 3 standards are entitled to existing national agreements on pay and conditions; and if he will make a statement. [73051]
Mr Prisk: The Government feel that it is an important principle that agreements of pay rates and conditions of all employees are determined within the sector.
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that employers comply with national agreements on pay and conditions within the construction industry. [73052]
Mr Prisk: This issue is a matter for the industry and it is for the parties concerned to resolve this between themselves through discussion.
Construction: Industry
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the contribution to the economy of the construction industry. [73181]
Mr Prisk: Construction makes a vital contribution to the UK economy. It contributed nearly 7% of the UK economy's gross value-added (GVA) in 2009, it is worth around £86 billion, and it employed around 2 million people.
Consultants
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many senior civil servants in his Department at each grade had worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte or KPMG immediately prior to taking up their appointment in each of the last four years; what consultancy agreements his Department had with those firms in each such year; and how many consultants from those firms have advised his Department in each such year. [68956]
17 Oct 2011 : Column 750W
Mr Davey: Central records indicate that the following amounts have been paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, Deloitte and KPMG in each of the last four complete financial years;
| April 2007-08 | £ |
| April 2008-09 | £ |
| April 2009- 10 | £ |
| April 2010-11 | £ |
Press Releases
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many press releases his Department has issued in the last 12 months. [74489]
Mr Davey: The total number of press releases issued by the Department since 1 October 2010 until 12 October 2011 is 406.
Procurement
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the annual value is of his Department's current contracts in each sector in which contracts are held. [66604]
Mr Davey: Central records indicate that the annual value of the core Department's contracts by sector for financial year 2001-11 is:
|
|
£ |
17 Oct 2011 : Column 751W
Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what contracts of a monetary value of (a) between £100,000 and £500,000, (b) between £500,000 and £1 million, (c) between £1 million and £5 million, (d) between £5 million and £10 million, (e) between £10 million and £50 million, (f) between £50 million and £100 million, (g) between £100 million and £500 million, (h) between £500 million and £1 billion, (i) between £1 billion and £5 billion and (j) over £5 billion his Department and its predecessors have entered into with private suppliers in each year since 1990. [74212]
Mr Davey: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided at only disproportionate cost.
Training
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many external training courses staff of his Department attended in the last 12 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of each course. [74356]
Mr Davey: Decisions on individuals' development needs are made locally, guided by the Department's Learning and Development Strategy and the central guidance from Civil Service Learning. In 2010-11 average spend per head across BIS and all its agencies was £937.
Details of individual attendance on courses is not held centrally. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Economic Growth
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's preferred measure of economic growth at the local authority level is for measuring progress in implementing the Local Growth White Paper proposals. [74702]
Mr Prisk: The Department has not established a preferred measure to establish progress on implementing the Local Growth White Paper proposals.
Local authorities and local enterprise partnerships are free to choose which measures they use to monitor economic growth in their localities, we would expect these measures to be linked to the interventions they are making.
Where Government funding is being used for those interventions such as through the regional growth fund they will be subject to separate assessment by Government of their impact.
17 Oct 2011 : Column 752W
Electronic Equipment: Safety
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what checks his Department requires to be carried out on the safety of electrical goods which are sold by retailers; what his Department's policy is on such goods being sold below cost; and if he will make a statement. [74654]
Mr Davey: The sale of electrical goods is regulated by the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 which require all new electrical goods brought into the supply chain to be safe products to be sold in the market. The Department does not require any specific checks; however responsibility for complying with the regulation is placed on all parties in the supply chain including the manufacturer or the importer into the European economic area. Subject to compliance with competition law, the prices an enterprise charges for its goods and services is a commercial matter for the enterprise concerned.
Energy: Conservation
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on encouraging investment in green industries in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the Black Country. [73156]
Mr Prisk: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has met the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on a number of occasions to discuss the Government's green growth agenda, including investment in green industries across England as a whole. Discussions have included the latest developments on the regional growth fund and the Green Investment Bank, both of which are potential sources of funding for green industries across the UK. The former is already in operation. It is anticipated that the latter will be operational by summer 2013 although the Government will be in a position to begin making early investments in green projects from April 2012.
European Fighter Aircraft
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether (a) he and (b) officials from his Department were represented when the decision was taken to slow down orders for tranche 3A of the Eurofighter. [73860]
Mr Prisk: The decision to slow down orders for Tranche 3A of the Eurofighter Typhoon was taken by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), and the agreement signed on 28 July 2011. Officials from UK Trade & Investment's (UKTI) Defence and Security Organisation provided some input on this issue but were not involved in this decision, as it falls within MOD's delegated authority.
Higher Education
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency started (a) science, (b) technology, (c) engineering and (d) mathematics degrees in each of the last five years. [74304]
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Mr Willetts:
The numbers of entrants from Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency to postgraduate and undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses at UK higher education institutions
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are shown by subject area in the table. Figures are provided for the academic years 2005/06 to 2009/10. Information for the 2010/11 academic year will become available from January 2012.
| Entrants (1) from Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency (2 ) to postgraduate and undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses by subject area UK higher education institutions, academic years 2005/06 to 2009/10 | ||||||||||
| 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | ||||||
| Subject area | PG | UG | PG | UG | PG | UG | PG | UG | PG | UG |
| (1) Covers entrants of all ages to full-time and part-time courses. (2 )The table does not include entrants where the parliamentary constituency of the student cannot be established due to invalid or missing postcode information. Notes: 1. Figures are on a HESA Standard Registration Population basis. 2. In this table 0, 1 and 2 are rounded to 0. All other numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. PG: Postgraduate UG: Undergraduate Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record. | ||||||||||
Higher Education: Mental Health
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what measures are in place to ensure that students with mental health problems in higher education institutions experiencing discrimination as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, are able to seek fair redress; and what his policy is on enforcement of such measures; [74132]
(2) what steps he is taking to address the difference in quality of support available to students with mental health problems at higher education institutions. [74278]
Mr Willetts: Universities have duties under the Equality Act 2010 (which incorporated the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995) to support disabled staff and students in higher education, including those with mental health conditions.
The law establishes a framework of responsibility which higher educations must comply with and also promotes an anticipatory and proactive approach to supporting disabled students, including those suffering from mental illness. This may mean that there will be different approaches taken by different universities on this issue, as they seek to offer provision that anticipates the needs of their students and staff based on the unique circumstances of the institution. Individual institutions will use the law as a baseline standard to establish their own tailored policies, procedures and approaches. The Government have no plans to amend the provisions in the Equality Act 2006 relating to higher education institutions' duties towards disabled students.
There is guidance available to universities on supporting students and staff with mental health conditions from a range of sector and medical bodies, including the Heads of University Counselling Services, the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education (AMOSSHE), the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the former Disability Rights Commission and most recently from the UniversitiesUK/Guild HE Working Group for the Promotion of Mental Well-Being in Higher Education.
Students can use an institution's internal complaints process to raise any concerns about discrimination and pursue their complaint with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) if they have exhausted the internal processes and remain dissatisfied with the outcome. Universities are subject to the courts in the application of these duties. Any student who feels they have been discriminated can seek legal advice about their situation, and the advice of the Equality and Human Rights Commission which provides guidance on discrimination matters and has a statutory enforcement role (established in the Equality Act 2006).
Higher Education: Private Sector
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from private equity firms on his Department's Higher Education White Paper. [73396]
Mr Willetts: The Department does not maintain a list of the corporate status of organisations that have made representations on the Higher Education White Paper.
A quarterly-updated list of all BIS ministerial meetings with external organisations is available at:
http://data.gov.uk/dataset/disclosure-ministerial-hospitality-received-department-for-business
A full list of respondents to the White Paper will be available in due course.
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India: EU Countries
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps he has taken towards establishing a free trade agreement between the EU and India. [73276]
Mr Davey: The UK continues to press the Indian Government, the European Commission and member states to conclude the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA). At the Trade Foreign Affairs Council on 26 September, I called for the EU to make a collective effort to push for an ambitious FTA which delivers on UK and EU priorities, emphasising the game-changing nature of the deal.
Korea: EU Countries
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the proportion of the expected increase in EU-Korea trade resulting from the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement which will be UK-Korea trade. [73299]
Mr Davey: The UK will gain an estimated £500 million a year in gross domestic product (GDP) from the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which represents 12% of the estimated total EU GDP gain.
Land Registry
Joseph Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of property transactions in each price band in (a) London and (b) England that were not recorded by the Land Registry or subject to a property tax. [74309]
Mr Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is not available. HMRC does not have details of land transactions where no land transaction return was required for stamp duty land tax (SDLT) purposes. HM Land Registry does not have details of transactions that are not registered.
HMRC released an estimate of the SDLT tax gap in its Measuring Tax Gaps publication, which can be found in the following link:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/mtg-2011.pdf
Land Rover: Wolverhampton
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support he plans to provide to the proposed Jaguar Land Rover engine plant in Wolverhampton for the manufacture of low-emission engines. [73006]
Mr Prisk: Government have offered regional aid of up to £10 million through the ‘Grant for Business Investment’ scheme to support Jaguar Land Rover's investment in a new engine plant in Wolverhampton.
Minimum Wage
Graeme Morrice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in (a) Livingston constituency, (b) West Lothian local
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authority area and
(c)
Scotland paid no more than the national minimum wage have benefitted from the most recent increase in the national minimum wage. [74108]
Mr Davey: Reliable figures cannot be produced for Livingston or West Lothian due to the small sample size.
BIS estimates that around 71,000 people in Scotland stood to benefit from the October 2011 uprating of all of the national minimum wage rates. BIS has based this estimate on the April 2010 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Multinational Companies: Company Accounts
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to improve transparency in financial reporting by (a) individuals, (b) companies registered in the UK and (c) multinational companies. [73864]
Mr Davey: The Government are currently considering the future framework for financial reporting in the UK. The views of business and the professions are being sought on “The Future of Narrative Reporting” and “Audit Exemptions and Change of Accounting Framework”. The closing dates for responses to these consultation documents are 25 November and 29 December respectively. Further, a discussion document, “Simpler Reporting for the Smallest Businesses”, has been published exploring how the burden of reporting requirements might be eased for this business sector. Responses are requested by 30 October. The Government will consider how financial reporting for UK businesses might be improved in light of the responses received.
Non-domestic Rates
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on proposals to reform business rates. [74700]
Mr Prisk: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has had no recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), about the Government's proposals to allow local retention of business rates. These proposals are the subject of public consultation until 24 October.
Public Houses: Rents
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) if he will consider including permission for tied publicans to opt out of the tie at each rent review in his code of practice for pub companies; [73736]
(2) if he will consider introducing a requirement for rent reviews to be based on capital and rental valuations in his code of practice for pub companies. [73737]
Mr Davey: The Government do not have a code of practice for pub companies. The Government are currently considering the recommendations made in the BIS Committee's most recent 'Pub Companies' report and will be responding in due course.
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Research: Expenditure
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of trends in expenditure on research and development by companies in the last 12 months. [75054]
Mr Willetts: The most recent figures for UK Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) were published in December 2010 and showed:
In 2009, in cash terms and compared with 2008:
Total R&D expenditure decreased by 2.5% to £15.6 billion
In 2009, in real terms (2009 prices) and compared with 2008:
Total expenditure decreased by 4.1% to £15.6 billion
The Office for National Statistics will publish UK BERD 2010 expenditure figures in November 2011.
Small Businesses: Copyright
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department has (a) evaluated and (b) commissioned to quantify the effects of design infringement on small businesses. [73523]
Mr Davey: In September 2011 the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) published the results of independent research into design economics.
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipresearch-right-design
This added to existing evidence about the difficulties faced by small businesses seeking to protect design. Further research is now under consideration, while other work by the IPO—a 'call for evidence' on design IP, together with an online survey—will help identify potential solutions.
Student Finance England: Complaints
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to review the efficiency of Student Finance England; and how many complaints Student Finance England received in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010. [74617]
Mr Willetts: Student Finance England (SFE) is the service for English-domiciled students applying for financial support in higher education and is administered by the Student Loans Company (SLC). The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) reviews the performance and efficiency of the SLC, including its SFE service, on an ongoing basis. This includes through formal reviews assessing performance against targets agreed in SLC's Annual Performance and Resource Agreement (APRA).
SLC records all the complaints it receives and the following table summarises the number of complaints received by SLC in 2008, 2009 and 2010. A breakdown of these figures to show the number of complaints relating to SFE in particular is not readily available.
By way of context, the increase in the number of complaints since 2008 could be seen to be commensurate with the increase in SLC's work. The SLC took over responsibility from English local authorities for student
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finance assessments over a three-year period starting with new applicants for the 2009/10 academic year and ending with all applicants for the 2011/12 academic year. For the 2009/10 academic year SLC received 470,000 applications, for the 2010/11 academic year this figure increased to 800,000.
This year (for the 2011/12 academic year) the SLC has already received over one million applications.
| Complaints received by the SLC | |
| Financial year | Number of cases |
Students Loans Company
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on the number of occasions the Student Loans Company has reassessed a student loan following representations from a university in the academic year 2010-11. [73684]
Mr Willetts: Information on the number of occasions the Student Loans Company (SLC) has reassessed a student loan following representations from a university is not held by the Department or the SLC.
There are many reasons why there may be a reassessment of a student's loan and there could be many re-assessments conducted on an individual account due to a combination of these reasons. These include the annual assessments which take place at the start of each academic year, routine internal audit checks, and notified changes of circumstances such as changes in university course, a drop in family income or a change from living at home to living away from home.
Data are not collated on the total numbers of reassessments or the reasons why they are triggered.
Students Loans Company: Complaints
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints were made against the Student Loans Company in each of the last five years. [73682]
Mr Willetts: Correspondence received by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) in relation to the Student Loans Company (SLC) since 2007 is set out in Table 1 as follows. A breakdown of these figures to show the number of complaints about the company's operations is not readily available and individual correspondence cases would need to be examined to determine this. Doing so would be a disproportionate cost.
The SLC records all the complaints it receives and the figures since 2007 are summarised in Table 2 as follows. By way of context, the progressive increase in the level of complaints could be seen to be commensurate to the progressive increase in SLC's work since 2009 when it took over responsibility from English local authorities for student finance assessments over a three-year period starting with new applicants for the 2009/10 academic year and ending with all applicants
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for the 2011/12 academic year. For the 2009/10 academic year SLC received 470,000 applications, for the 2010/11 academic year this figure increased to 800,000, and this year (for the 2011/12 academic year) the SLC has already received over one million applications.
| Table 1: Correspondence received by BIS and its predecessors in relation to the SLC | |
| Calendar year | Number of cases |
| Table 2: Complaints received by the SLC | |
| Financial year | Number of cases |
Students: Finance
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance his Department issues to the Student Loans Company on determining loan and grant settlements for students who have interrupted their studies due to illness. [73683]
Mr Willetts: The Student Loans Company determines loans and grant settlements for students who have interrupted their studies due to illness in accordance with the Education (Student Support) Regulations, which are laid before Parliament each year.
Student Finance England also issues detailed guidance covering all aspects of student support on their HE Practitioners website, including support for students who have interrupted their studies due to illness. This guidance complies with the Education (Student Support) Regulations.
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what financial support is available to students who suspend their studies due to illness. [73685]
Mr Willetts: The student support system allows a student who is ill to suspend their studies by arrangement with their university or college and resume them at an arranged date.
Full-time students who have suspended their studies will continue to be eligible for grants and loans for living costs if their absence does not exceed 60 days. If the absence exceeds 60 days, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, has discretion to continue paying such grants and loans if he decides it is appropriate to do so.
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Supermarkets: Competition
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent large retailers from selling items below cost price. [74809]
Mr Davey: The Government have no plans to legislate in this area. Competition matters related to the pricing of goods and services fall to the Office of Fair Trading as the responsible independent competition authority.
Technology Strategy Board
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of funding provided from the Technology Strategy Board has gone to companies that are not university spin-offs. [72797]
Mr Willetts: The Technology Strategy Board has supported over 4,000 businesses through a range of programmes and funding opportunities in the last four years and most of its programmes are open to companies of all sizes across the UK. It does not specifically target support at university spin-outs, but programmes such as Grant for Research and Development (R and D) and Eurostars are available only to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Disaggregating the data held on companies benefiting from the range of Technology Strategy Board funding to identify recent spin-outs can only be provided at disproportionate cost, but a recent evaluation of its Collaborative R and D indicated that 4% of the businesses supported were spin-outs from a university or college.
Metals: Theft
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the effects on businesses of levels of metal theft. [73151]
Mr Prisk: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is working with the Home Office who are. leading the discussions with other Government Departments on the impact of metal theft on businesses and seeking to develop a range of potential solutions to this problem.
Trade Promotion: Environment Protection
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has had discussions with UK-registered businesses involved in the Global Green Growth Forum on growth in the low carbon sector. [74655]
Mr Prisk: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, has had discussions with a large number of businesses, both UK-registered as well as those registered overseas, as a normal part of his departmental responsibilities. Many of those businesses are involved in low carbon sectors and may also be involved in the Global Green Growth Forum as well as other organisations.
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Trade Unions: Public Expenditure
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been paid to trade unions from the public purse in each of the last 10 financial years. [74126]
Mr Davey: I am unable to answer my hon. Friend's question in full because the cost incurred by BIS officials retrieving data from all the Whitehall Departments, as well as other public bodies, over such a long period of time would be disproportionate.
However, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State, Business, Innovation and Skills, my noble Friend, Baroness Wilcox, to my noble Friend, Lord Ashcroft on 22 November 2010, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA288. The numbers, placed in the Libraries of the House, give a full breakdown of direct funding from the main central Government sources for the last four years from 2007/08 to 2011/12.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings officials in his Department's alcohol policy team have had with representatives of the (a) drinks industry and (b) drinks marketing industry since the team was established. [74053]
Anne Milton: Officials in the alcohol policy team, which was established in October 2007, meet with drinks industry representatives on a regular basis in the course of their normal activities.
Since May 2010, there have been approximately 84 such meetings with representatives of the drinks industry and one such meeting with marketing industry. This includes meetings with groups of people including non-industry representatives, such as the Responsibility Deal Alcohol Network.
Bone Marrow Register
Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider introducing a scheme to encourage university students to donate a blood sample for inclusion on the bone marrow register. [73018]
Anne Milton: NHS Blood and Transplant, which is funded by the Department to manage the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR) runs promotional campaigns, including attendance of university fresher fairs, to encourage students to register as blood donors. Once people are registered as blood donors, they can join the BBMR when attending a blood donation session if they meet any additional criteria.
Cardiovascular System: Health Services
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent assessment he has made of the uptake of cardiac rehabilitation services in England by patients with acute myocardial infarction; and if he will make a statement; [74078]
(2) what consideration he has given to increasing the collection and publication of data on acute myocardial infarction and cardiac rehabilitation services in England; and if he will make a statement. [74079]
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Mr Simon Burns: The Prime Minister, in his letter of 7 July 2011 to Cabinet Ministers on transparency and open data, committed to publishing key data on the national health service including clinical audit data detailing the performance of publicly funded clinical teams in treating key conditions. This includes clinical audit data from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP), part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme, which is funded by the Department and managed by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership on our behalf.
MINAP collects data on the percentage of people referred for cardiac rehabilitation and this information will be published in future annual reports.
In addition, there is data on uptake of cardiac rehabilitation in the latest National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation (NACR) annual report, which can be found on the NACR's website:
www.cardiacrehabilitation.org.uk/nacr/docs/2010.pdf
This includes information about the number of patients who have had cardiac rehabilitation following a myocardial infarction.
Care Homes: Expenditure
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what comparative assessment he has made of the annual cost to the Exchequer including housing, care, benefits and other costs of adults in (a) residential care, (b) supported living and (c) domiciliary care. [73049]
Paul Burstow: Data on local authority expenditure on publicly-funded social care services for adults are collected from councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs) and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. The Information Centre does not collect data for expenditure on “supported living” alone. “Supported living” is included in a wider category of “supported and other accommodation”. The most recently published data relate to 2009-10. Data for 2010-11 are expected to be published on 30 November 2011.
The following table shows gross current expenditure on residential care, supported and other accommodation and domiciliary care by CASSRs in England, 2009-10.
| Gross current expenditure (1) in 2009-10 | Total (£000) |
| Notes: (1) The total expenditure, minus income from joint arrangements, the national health service, other income sources (but not client contributions, which are not netted off) and capital charges. (2) Includes nursing care. (3) Includes hostels, adult placements schemes, group homes, un-staffed homes, partially staffed homes, sheltered housing costs not applicable to the Housing Revenue Account, extra care housing schemes and supported living and community support services. Source: Form PSS EX1, NHS Information Centre | |
Data on benefits and housing costs are not collected by the Information Centre.
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Cataracts: Health Services
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been refused cataract treatment since the changes to eligibility criteria. [73404]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not set eligibility criteria for cataract surgery. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for commissioning services, taking into account the available evidence and the needs of the local population. PCTs are required to make decisions on the funding of drugs and treatments rationally, and following proper consideration of the evidence. If a PCT decides to prioritise funding for alternative drugs or treatments, it should be able to explain its decision and rationale. We have been clear that this should not lead to any blanket bans on procedures, and local processes should ensure eligibility criteria for procedures can take account of individuals' health care circumstances.
Childbirth
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many births per full-time equivalent NHS midwife there were in each region in 2010. [73919]
Anne Milton: The following table contains the birth to national health service midwife (full-time equivalent) ratios by strategic health authority.
| Birth: Midwives (including bank staff) | |
| 2010 | Ratio |
CJD
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking in respect of asymptomatic carriers of vCJD. [73526]
Anne Milton: Because of the scientific uncertainties about the incubation period of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and the potential level of unidentified asymptomatic infection in the population the Department focuses on managing the potential risks of person to person transmission. Given the uncertainties, evidence based and cost effective steps are taken to reduce the potential secondary spread. The following actions are amongst those taken with respect of the risk of anyone potentially carrying the abnormal prion protein associated with human prion diseases such as vCJD.
Since December 1997, blood components, plasma products or tissues obtained from any individual who later develops vCJD, have been withdrawn to prevent their use.
Since October 1999, white blood cells have been reduced in all blood used for transfusion, a process known as leucodepletion or leucoreduction.
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Since April 2004 individuals who had themselves received a transfusion of blood components since January 1980 were excluded from donating blood, and since July 2004, this exclusion criterion was extended to include two new groups, who had received transfusions of blood components since 1980:
Previously transfused platelet donors; and
Donors who were unsure if they had previously had a blood transfusion.
These criteria now apply to donors who have been transfused anywhere in the world.
Since 1999, plasma for the manufacture of fractionated plasma products, such as the clotting factors for treating patients with bleeding disorders, has been obtained from non-United Kingdom sources; and synthetic (recombinant) clotting factors have been provided to those up to the age of 16 since 1998 and for all patients for whom it is suitable since 2005.
Fresh frozen plasma for treating babies and young children born on or after 1 January 1996 has been obtained from the United States, and from July 2005 its use was extended to all children up to the age of 16.
For over ten years the independent scientific Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Risk Management Sub-Group has also issued guidance on managing potential transmission risks. This includes guidance on quarantining surgical instruments, on endoscopy, on management of instruments and tissues from brain biopsy procedures, on assessments carried out before surgery and/or endoscopy, on risk in ophthalmology and on handling of tissues from patients. ACDP's guidance is available at:
www.dh.gov.uk/ab/ACDP/TSEguidance/index.htm
The CJD Incidents Panel has since 2000 provided specific advice and guidance to health services on how to manage incidents involving possible transmission of CJD between patients, including those who may be asymptomatic. The Panel also provides advice on the notification of individuals where it is calculated that they are at potentially higher risk of vCJD than the general population (usually an additional 1% risk). Public information on the Panel's activities can be found at:
http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoListName/Page/1204031511121
The Department funds studies to help ascertain the presence of abnormal prion protein present in the United Kingdom population. These include a study of appendix and tonsil tissue published in 2004, the National Anonymous Tonsil Archive and an ongoing study of appendix tissue.
The independent scientific ACDP Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Risk Assessment Sub-Group keeps the evidence of the asymptomatic presence of abnormal prion protein associated with human prion disease under review, the outputs are used by the groups tasked with advising on risk management, including the ACDP Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Risk Management Sub-Group, the CJD Incidents Panel and the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) at what levels suspected infectivity of vCJD would need to be reached for the Government to implement the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs; [74537]
(2) what levels of suspected infectivity of vCJD would need to be indicated by research for the Government to implement the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs; [74538]
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(3) what discussions his Department has had with Imperial College on the issue of fresh frozen plasma; and with reference to the updated modelling evidence produced by Imperial College, how long he expects the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs to take to review its recommendations. [74541]
Anne Milton: The Government will continue to consider advice and recommendations from independent scientific Advisory Committees, along with impact assessments of those recommendations, related to the scenarios used in assessing the potential risk of person to person transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and the implications of those scenarios. Current scenario modelling considers among other inputs the prevalence of infective individuals, the infectivity level of blood and susceptibility to clinical infection.
Currently the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) and the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) are considering these issues, and the evidence from the Imperial College model is part of those considerations. It is expected that the committees will finalise their assessments in 2012.
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The latest ACDP papers are publicly available at:
www.dh.gov.uk/ab/ACDP/TSEguidance/DH_125868
www.dh.gov.uk/ab/SaBTO/index.htm