Empty Property: Worcestershire
Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on the number of empty homes in (a) Worcester constituency and (b) Worcestershire. [85036]
Robert Neill: Details of the number of empty dwellings in the six local authority areas that comprise Worcestershire, as at the beginning of October 2011, are shown in the following table. Data are not available at constituency level.
| E mpty dwellings | |||
|
|
Long-term | Short-term | Total |
This information was published on 16 November 2011 and is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/counciltaxbase2011
The data are taken from the Council Tax Base form completed annually in the autumn by all billing authorities in England and returned to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
EU Grants and Loans: Yorkshire and the Humber
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure take-up of the European Regional Development Fund available to Yorkshire and the Humber. [84537]
Grant Shapps: The Yorkshire and the Humber European Regional Development Fund Competitiveness programme is worth around £500 million which aims to be fully invested by December 2013 and spent by mid 2015. Over £270 million has already been contracted to over 70 projects supporting innovation, research and development, enterprise, business support and community led regeneration. £100 million more is committed to projects that have not yet been contracted.
Local partners in the Yorkshire and the Humber area are working hard to make sure this Development Fund investment is taken up. Local authorities, Local Enterprise
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Partnerships and Universities are being brought together by the local DCLG European Regional Development Fund Team to develop firm proposals to take up the remaining funding and are being encouraged to take advantage of the Fund Technical Assistance funding to help build local capacity to develop and deliver eligible projects.
Local Enterprise Partnerships have an important role in making sure that the European Regional Development Fund is aligned with local investment priorities. To this end we have revised the governance arrangements of the programme to ensure that these partnerships are represented on the Yorkshire and the Humber European Regional Development Fund Local Management Committee—the body responsible for the strategic management of the programme—and that Local Enterprise Partnerships are directly involved in the selection of projects for these funds.
We are also working closely with other government departments to align the European Regional Development Fund with national investment such as that of the Department of Business Innovation and Skills on the UKTI and Business Coaching For Growth programme that will deliver support to businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber.
We are also exploring how the Growing Places Fund can be used to get local Development Fund projects moving.
I also refer the hon. Member to my Department's press notice of 1 August 2011, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, which outlines how the European Regional Development Fund has previously been plagued by a legacy of poor administration, and how this Government have overhauled the management of these schemes. As a result of these measures, the European Commission lifted an interruption on the programme which it had ordered. These steps will also protect taxpayers from the prospect of “financial corrections” being levied due to poor administration, as happened under the 2000-06 programme.
Green Belt
Mr Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures his Department has put in place to require local authorities to identify brownfield sites for development in preference to Green Belt development. [84373]
Robert Neill: In July 2011, we published a draft new National Planning Policy Framework for consultation. The draft Framework maintains strong protections for the Green Belt, and states that Green Belt boundaries should only be altered in exceptional circumstances. Our proposed abolition of the unpopular Regional Strategies through the Localism Act will also stop the top-down pressure to remove the Green Belt in 30 areas across England.
The draft Framework asks local authorities to prioritise land of least environmental or amenity value for development. The term “of least environmental or amenity value” rather than “brownfield“ was used because in some cases, previously developed land can be rich in wildlife and much valued by local communities.
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The consultation has closed and we are carefully considering all of the submissions that have been made and will then publish the revised text.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 25 October 2011, Official Report, columns 123-24W, where we have also announced a range of measures which will facilitate the use of previously developed sites.
Green Belt: Gravesham
Mr Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he expects the abolition of regional house building targets to result in a reduction in the number of houses likely to be built on land in Gravesham constituency currently designated as green belt. [84374]
Robert Neill: The abolition of regional strategies and top down housing targets will mean that decisions on housing and planning will be for local authorities. As democratically elected representatives, working closely with local communities, they are best placed to decide how much and where housing should be located in their areas. The Localism Act prevents any further regional strategies being created. The existing regional strategies outside London will be abolished as soon as possible subject to the outcome of the current environmental assessment process. The proposed abolition will also remove top-down pressures to remove the green belt in 30 areas across England.
The draft National Planning Policy Framework reiterates long-established policy to protect the green belt. It states that when considering planning applications local planning authorities should ensure that substantial weight is given to any harm to the green belt.
Housing
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the planning implications of potential housing need arising from the upper and lower limits of the Office for National Statistics' projected population range for 2050. [84821]
Andrew Stunell: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 21 November 2011, Official Report, columns 59-60W.
Housing: Capital Investment
Mr Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the total capital provision for housing made by (a) local authorities and (b) the Homes and Communities Agency since 2007-08. [R] [84573]
Andrew Stunell: The following table sets out the total capital provision made available to local authorities for spending on housing for the years since 2007-08. Allocations have been made in consultation with the Homes and Communities Agency, and other agencies of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
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| £ million | ||||
|
|
2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 (1) |
| (1) Most recent whole year for which figures are available. Figures are unaudited. (2 )Allocations made as a component of housing revenue account subsidy administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government (3) Allocations made by former Regional Offices, the Regional Housing Boards, and the Greater London Authority, in agreement with the Department for Communities and Local Government. (4) Allocations made by the Homes and Communities Agency in agreement with the Department for Communities and Local Government | ||||
I would note that the last Administration left an unsustainable budget deficit, with the state forecast to borrow £146 billion a year in 2010-11, or £400 million being borrowed every single day. Left unchecked, that public deficit would have forced up interest rates, meaning more expensive mortgages, more repossessions and even fewer first-time buyers.
This Government are tackling that deficit, whilst putting a series of measures in place to build more affordable homes, to get empty homes back into use, to support the construction and house building industries, and to give a helping hand to first-time buyers.
Housing: Carbon Emissions
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received on the effect on the cost of house construction of the (a) implementation of changes to building regulations in 2013, (b) abolition of the fuel factor and (c) implementation of the zero carbon commitment for all new homes from 2016. [84039]
Andrew Stunell: Industry working groups including, among others, representatives of the housebuilding and construction products sector were convened in spring 2011 to help inform development of proposals and costings for changes to building regulations in 2013. In addition, my Department has received specific representations from Calor Gas Limited on the cost implications of potential adjustments of the fuel factor. Estimates of costs will be included in the impact assessments which will be published with the consultation proposals shortly and we will invite views and further evidence as part of the consultation.
My Department has received representations from house builders and others about the costs of zero carbon homes and has published impact assessments setting out the costs, most recently in May 2011. That assessment has drawn on work undertaken by the independent Zero Carbon Hub, the body established by industry to programme manage the delivery of zero carbon homes.
Housing: Energy
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic properties have an energy efficiency rating of C or above. [84396]
Andrew Stunell: Energy efficiency ratings are only available from Energy Performance Certificates that have been lodged on the Certificates Register covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland for dwellings that have been sold, rented out or constructed since August 2007. Based on information from the total number of certificates that had been lodged on these registers up to and including 29 November 2011, there were 2,501,556 dwellings with a certificate rating of C or above. Separate arrangements apply to energy efficiency ratings for buildings in Scotland.
Housing: Standards
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic properties have a standard assessment procedure rating of 69 or above. [84394]
Andrew Stunell: Energy efficiency ratings are only available from energy performance certificates that have been lodged on the registers of energy performance certificates covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland for dwellings that have been sold, rented out or constructed since August 2007. Based on information from the total number of certificates that had been lodged on these registers up to and including 29 November 2011, there were 2,501,556 dwellings with a certificate rating of C or above—a standard assessment procedure rating of 69 or above is the equivalent to a certificate rating of C or above. Separate arrangements apply to energy efficiency ratings for buildings in Scotland.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to co-ordinate policy on poor housing conditions and fuel poverty. [84648]
Andrew Stunell
[holding answer 5 December 2011]: The Green Deal is an ambitious programme to deliver energy efficiency upgrades at no upfront cost, with repayments made over time from energy savings. This includes a new Energy Company Obligation, worth £1.3 billion per year, providing extra support where it is most needed. Under the Obligation ‘Affordable Warmth obligation', we expect energy suppliers to invest around £350 million per year in providing heating and insulation measures for vulnerable households on low incomes at greatest risk of fuel poverty. The Government anticipate that the rest of the Energy Company Obligation will support energy efficiency improvements in more difficult and expensive to treat properties through a ‘Carbon Reduction
6 Dec 2011 : Column 241W
obligation'. The Department of Energy and Climate Change are consulting specifically on expected models for “roll-out”, to ensure all households stand to benefit, including those in the poorest communities.
Where a property is dangerously cold, local authorities already have powers, under the Housing Act 2004, to require owners to make improvements. If a property is found to contain serious (category 1) hazards, the local authority has a duty to take the most appropriate action. This could range from trying to deal with the problems informally at first to prohibiting the use of the whole or part of the dwelling and ultimately to prosecution.
The Government are also investing £2.1 billion to improve the quality of housing through the decent homes programme and large-scale voluntary transfer gap funding. This will be used to help bring over 200,000 homes up to at least the decent homes standard.
Local Government: Pensions
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what economic impact assessment has been carried out on the effect of proposed changes to the Local Government Pension scheme on residents of Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency; and if he will make a statement. [85201]
Robert Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Members for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) and for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt), on 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 23W.
Local Government: Trade Union Officials
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue a standard facility time agreement to local authorities which sets out (a) duties which can be undertaken, (b) procedures for approval of such facilities time and (c) provision for the publication of (i) each instance of such facilities time and (ii) the cost of such time. [84622]
Robert Neill: At a time when all councils need to make sensible savings to protect front line services, I would urge councillors to review facility time being granted and the merits of using publicly-funded full-time union officials.
The Cabinet Office is currently consulting on a policy paper about how facility time can be reformed and reduced in the civil service. When published, my Department will provide specific guidance for local councils to help inform their own reviews.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will require local authorities to include the (a) cost of facility time and (b) monetary value of resources provided to trades unions in the list published of items of expenditure over £500. [84624]
Robert Neill:
The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency, published in September 2011, will give the public greater insight on how local councils, as employers, organise and structure their work forces. As a minimum, the code requires authorities to publish organisational charts of their
6 Dec 2011 : Column 242W
staff structures including salary bands. In addition, we have asked for all expenditure of £500 and over to be published on a regular and timely basis. This should help reveal the inner workings of local councils and shed light on monies being spent, including on trade union expenditure. Subject to consultation, we are minded to make compliance with the code a legal requirement.
The Cabinet Office is currently consulting on a policy paper about how facility time can be reformed and reduced in the civil service. When published, my Department will provide guidance for local councils to help inform their own reviews.
Ministers are open to representations on ways to increase transparency and accountability in this area.
Rented Housing: Energy
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect of increases in energy prices on provision of communal heating to Housing Revenue Account tenanted properties; and if he will make a statement. [84024]
Andrew Stunell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 907W.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Housing Revenue Account tenanted properties have an energy efficiency rating of C or above. [84395]
Andrew Stunell: Information contained in the Register of Energy Performance Certificates does not differentiate between properties that are housing revenue account tenanted and those that are not. However, certificates that have been lodged on the Energy Performance Certificate Registers for dwellings that have been sold, rented out or constructed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, since 21 September 2008 have been categorised by transaction type. Between then and 29 November 2011, there have been 564,956 certificates for dwellings rated C or above categorised as “Rented (social)”. Separate arrangements apply to energy efficiency ratings for buildings in Scotland.
Rented Housing: Standards
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Housing Revenue Account tenanted properties have a standard assessment procedure rating of 69 or above. [84391]
Andrew Stunell:
Information contained in the register of energy performance certificates does not differentiate between properties that are housing revenue account tenanted and those that are not. However, energy performance certificates that have been lodged on the registers for dwellings that have been sold, rented out or constructed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, since 21 September 2008 have been categorised by transaction type. Between then and 29 November 2011, there have been 564,956 certificates for dwellings rated C or above categorised as “Rented (social)”. On the Scottish register of energy performance certificates,
6 Dec 2011 : Column 243W
of the 130,741 certificates lodged under transaction type “Rented (social)” there were 67,488 dwellings certificates rated C or above.
A standard assessment procedure rating of 69 or above is the equivalent to an energy performance certificate rating of C or above.
Right to Buy Scheme: Worcester
Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes in Worcester constituency have been sold under the right-to-buy scheme in each of the last 20 years. [85038]
Andrew Stunell: Data are not available by constituency but are collected for local authority districts. The number of sales of local authority stock under the Right to Buy scheme are given in Live Table 648 on the Department's website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/socialhousingsales/livetables/
There have been no sales by Worcester city council since they transferred their stock to Worcester Community Housing in March 2004. From 2004-05 there have been around 200 Preserved Right to Buy sales by housing associations in the Worcester city council area, the vast majority by Worcester Community Housing.
Rural Areas: Finance
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what grants are available exclusively to local authorities classified as (a) rural-80, (c) rural-50, (c) significant rural, (d) other urban, (e) major urban and (f) large urban. [84696]
Robert Neill [holding answer 5 December 2011]:There are no specific grants issued by my Department exclusively available to authorities based on their rural classification.
Social Justice Committee
Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many meetings of the Social Justice Committee he has attended since its establishment. [85288]
Robert Neill: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including when and how often they meet and which Ministers have attended, is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Social Rented Housing
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what his policy is on housing associations (a) letting and (b) selling their properties to people living outside the UK in the last year for which figures are available; [79278]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of housing association properties that have been (a) let and (b) sold to people living outside of the UK in the last year for which figures are available. [79279]
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Grant Shapps [holding answer 7 November 2011]: Given the discussion of these issues at October's oral questions, 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 601, I have investigated this matter and would like to use this opportunity to provide a comprehensive reply both to the right hon. Member and to the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr Raynsford).
The following tables provide estimates of the number of social properties that were let or sold by private registered providers, the majority of which are housing associations, to people resident outside the United Kingdom immediately prior to taking up this letting or purchase. I have included some historical information to provide context.
Social housing lettings to households from outside the UK
|
|
Outside UK | Outside UK as percentage of total |
Sales to households from outside the UK
|
|
Outside UK |
These estimates are from the continuous recording (CORE) logs reported by private registered providers to the Tenant Services Authority.
Many of the recorded lettings were to UK nationals. Whilst only a small number of sales to those outside the UK were recorded in 2010-11, all of these were to UK nationals and some were to returning armed forces personnel.
Foreign nationals are only eligible to be allocated social housing by a local authority (including nominations to private registered provider accommodation) if they are covered by the housing eligibility regulations.
Housing eligibility is as follows:
European economic area nationals
Since 2006, European economic area nationals are, broadly speaking, eligible for local authority housing if they are working lawfully, are self-sufficient or have a permanent right of residence (following five years lawful residence). In some circumstances, European economic area nationals may continue to be eligible when unemployed, following a qualifying period of work (e.g. if made involuntarily redundant or unable to work because of accident or illness).
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Nationals of Bulgaria and Romania must be authorised to work by the Home Office (until they have worked in the UK continuously for 12 months). They are eligible for social housing if working as authorised.
European economic area nationals who do not have an EU right to reside because they are not economically active and not self-sufficient are not eligible for social housing. Additionally, those whose only EU right to reside is as a work seeker or the initial three month right to reside derived from the EU Directive on Freedom of Movement of Persons are not eligible.
Non-European e conomic a rea nationals
Non-European economic area nationals (“third country nationals”) are only eligible for local authority housing if they are a person granted:
(i) a form of protection leave, ie refugee status or humanitarian protection or discretionary leave, because it would not be safe for them to return to their country (likely to be former asylum seekers); or
(ii) Indefinite leave to remain (ie settled status, usually granted after working legally in the UK for a number of years).
Generally third country nationals are not eligible for housing because most are given leave to enter the UK for a limited period on condition that they do not have recourse to public funds. Asylum seekers are not eligible for social housing; if they are destitute they can seek asylum support from the Home Office.
Where foreign nationals are eligible, they will have their housing needs considered on the same basis as other applicants in accordance with the local authority's allocation scheme. Some lettings are made directly by private registered providers and these would not be covered by the eligibility regulations.
Sales and lets of open market housing
The tables above do not include sales of open market properties that were specifically developed by the providers for this purpose and have never been social housing. Housing associations are private, independent bodies, and some develop properties through non-charitable subsidiaries for market sale or rent, without any public subsidy. The proceeds from these sales are then used to cross-subsidise the development and maintenance of affordable properties. As with any commercial transaction, the market housing may be purchased by domestic or overseas buyers. I suspect that most foreign purchases from abroad are typically in order to rent the property, thereby increasing the amount of stock in the private rented sector available to UK residents.
Further to the discussion at 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 601, the Notting Hill Housing Trust has subsequently written to the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr Raynsford), and sent a copy to me. The trust has a small portfolio of market rent and private sale properties, using the profits from these developments to support more affordable housing. It does not presently market these properties abroad, but it does not discriminate against any buyer on the basis of their nationality, and nor does it believe it should do so.
As happened under the previous Administration, I believe that there is a public benefit from housing associations undertaking some commercial activities in order to support the provision of more affordable housing.
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Under our social housing reforms, councils will now be able to set their own rules about who qualifies to go on the housing waiting list. At the moment anyone can apply to live in social housing, whether they need to or not. The ‘reasonable preference’ categories for those with the greatest housing needs will be kept, to ensure priority for social housing continues to go to the most vulnerable in society and those who need it most.
We will also be increasing support for our armed forces. Moving from base-to-base, and residing abroad, can often leave our troops without strong local connections—something many councils reasonably look for when allocating social homes. I have pledged to give councils a duty to put our armed forces who want a home in their area at or near the top of the local waiting list where they are in urgent need. In addition to this move to give additional preference (i.e. high priority) to the armed forces, we will also be consulting on regulations which will make sure that service personnel who have to move from base-to-base do not lose their qualification rights to social housing.
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what his policy is on (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations buying properties on the open market; [79643]
(2) how many properties (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations have acquired on the open market in each of the last 10 years. [79644]
Grant Shapps: Local authorities and housing associations are able to buy properties on the open market. This can help to increase the supply of affordable housing to meet local needs. However, the vast majority of new affordable housing supply is new build.
Information on units purchased by private registered providers (most of which are housing associations) is shown in the table.
|
|
Total units purchased (1) (thousand) |
| (1) Units include both self contained homes or hostel/shared housing units and bed spaces. (2) Figures for 2005-06 were rebased to reflect the threshold change in 2007. Notes: 1. Only private registered providers that complete the "long return" were required to complete this information. Before 2006, long returns were completed by private registered providers who own and/or manage 250 units From 2006-07 long returns were completed by private registered providers who own and/or manage 1,000 or more units. 2. Not all of the units purchased will necessarily be used as affordable housing. Source: Tenants Services Authority—Regulatory Statistical Return | |
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The Tenants Services Authority's Regulatory Statistical Return dataset for 2010-11 shows that 16,700 units were purchased by private registered providers. However, 10,259 units appear to have been incorrectly recorded by an individual registered provider as purchased rather than acquired through voluntary transfer from local authorities or housing action trusts. This was identified after submission and confirmation of the individual registered provider's data and the finalisation of the Regulatory Statistical Return dataset, and cannot now be amended.
Information has not been collected on local authority acquisitions.
Voluntary Organisations
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to help maintain the local voluntary sector. [78757]
Andrew Stunell: My Department is undertaking a number of steps to support the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, including:
In September 2011, we issued new Best Value guidance: a ‘fair deal' which cuts back unnecessary red tape on local authorities, while introducing new requirements for councils to consult with local voluntary organisations on changes to funding and service. It will also give the voluntary sector the opportunity to offer options for reshaping and improving local authority services.
We are investing £6.5 billion for Supporting People over the spending review period, to provide frontline housing support to disadvantaged and vulnerable people; the majority of these services are provided by the voluntary sector.
We are providing £20 million of funding for the voluntary sector to help implement “No Second Night Out” rough sleeping strategy. As part of this, Homeless Link will work with other voluntary sector partners to identify and disseminate good practice in helping people off the streets. We are providing £10 million to Crisis in order to support single homeless people, including priority client groups such as recovering drug-users and ex-offenders, to access stable accommodation in the private rented sector.
On 14 November 2011, we launched the Near Neighbours programme. This is a £5 million scheme to bring together people from diverse communities and different faiths to get to know each other better and help them improve their local neighbourhoods. Faith groups play a vital role in our neighbourhoods. Near Neighbours is an investment in the future, supporting grass roots groups and projects to allow communities to get on transforming their neighbourhoods for the better.
The Community Right to Buy, being introduced through the Localism Act, will offer new rights for voluntary groups to protect community resources like leisure centres, village halls and libraries. Groups will have the time they need to develop business plans and raise funds. This crucial breathing space will ensure that they are not squeezed out of open market sales of valuable local assets. We have extended funding for the Asset Transfer Unit by £1 million into 2011-12 enabling the unit to continue to offer practical support to communities who want to take on public assets such as youth centres, museums and former town halls for the benefit of local people.
From September 2011, the new “Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency” requires councils to shine the light on local spending, including details of grants to the voluntary sector, as well as all contracts and tenders over £500. This open data initiative will allow greater public scrutiny of local authority support, and make it easier for the voluntary sector to bid to run contracts and services.
As part of our Housing Strategy announced on 21 November 2011, we outlined how we will be providing funding for voluntary groups to bid for funds to renovate and improve empty homes and other types of empty property and get them back into productive use.
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The Localism Act also introduces a Community Right to Challenge. Voluntary groups that have a track record of working with their community and delivering results will have the chance to show what they can do to run and improve local services. The new right will put them on the front foot when it comes to taking over a local service and has the potential to open up new funding streams.
We have cut Whitehall and local red tape to make it easier to organise street parties and similar community events. This was particularly aimed at supporting local events for the Royal Wedding; we hope to continue with this initiative to support the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee.
My Department's Voluntary and Community Sector Partnership Board is also acting as a forum where the voluntary sector can contribute to the Department's work.
These reforms are in addition to a whole series of other supportive measures to the local voluntary sector being undertaken by other Government Departments, which include:
a £100 million Transition Fund offering financing for the most vulnerable charities.
a £30 million Transforming Local Infrastructure fund to help modernise organisations that supply critical support to frontline charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises.
a £10 million Investment and Contract Readiness Fund being made available to charities and social enterprises to help them develop the skills and infrastructure to win more capital investment and public service.
£600 million capital funding through Big Society Capital, which will offer financing to charities and the voluntary sector.
Simplifying Gift Aid, and encouraging legacy-giving by reducing the rate of inheritance tax for those estates leaving 10% or more to charity.
Metal Theft
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on local authority powers to prevent the disposal of stolen goods, including scrap metal and jewellery; and if he will make a statement. [84778]
Robert Neill [holding answer 5 December 2011]:Local authorities are expected to work with police forces and other law enforcement organisations where possible to tackle the disposal of stolen goods, utilising their existing powers, including trading standards, as appropriate. In relation to scrap metal, local authorities have a duty under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 to register scrap metal dealers in their area and certain powers of entry which may assist in identifying illegal behaviour. The Government are currently reviewing what further steps can be taken to help tackle metal theft.
Leader of the House
Departmental Written Questions
Chris Ruane: To ask the Leader of the House what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months. [85067]
Sir George Young: I have answered all 13 named day questions on the named day during the last six months.
The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis
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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.
Education
Children in Care
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will enhance the specification of the SSDA903 return to identify when a child who has been adopted from care returns to care in a different local authority area. [82416]
Tim Loughton:
The Department does not collect data on the number of adoptions that break down and where the child returns to care. The Department is funding
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Bristol university to conduct research on the rate of and reasons for breakdowns in adoption. Findings from the research will inform decisions on whether we ask for additional data from local authorities.
Children: Day Care
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the average cost of childcare in (a) England and (b) each region of England in each of the last five years. [84708]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 5 December 2011]: The Department’s annual Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on the mean average hourly fees charged by some registered child care providers in England, nationally and by region. The 2009 survey did not collect this data, and the latest available survey is for 2010. The available figures for the five years from 2006 to 2010 are as follows:
| Average hourly fees by child care provider and by Government Office Region | ||||||||||||
| £ | ||||||||||||
| Full day care | Sessional | Childminders | ||||||||||
|
|
2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
| (1) Signifies a cell where data should be treated with caution due to a low base size between 50 and 100. (2) Regional data on fees for full day care and sessional are not available for 2007. (3) Signifies a cell where data have not been included due to a base of less than 50. (4) Indicates a brace. (5) North East and Yorkshire and Humberside were considered as a single region for Childminders, so these figures represent the combined average for those regions. Note: Data on hourly fees were not collected in 2009 due to the reduced nature of the survey. Source: Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 | ||||||||||||
Children: Missing Persons
Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the children in care and adoption performance tables, November 2011, whether he is satisfied that no children went missing in (a) Knowsley, (b) St Helens, (c) Rochdale, (d) Kirklees, (e) South Gloucestershire, (f) Hartlepool, (g) Redcar and Cleveland, (h) Stockton-on-Tees, (i) city of Kingston upon Hull, (j) Bedford borough, (k) central Bedfordshire, (l) Bournemouth, (m) Durham, (n) East Sussex, (o) Rutland, (p) Reading, (q) Blackpool, (r) Hackney, (s) Manchester, (t) Derby, (u) Leicester, (v) Cambridgeshire, (w) Kent, (x) Lancashire, (y) Nottingham, (z) Lincolnshire and (aa) Oxfordshire between 2008 and 2010; and if he will make a statement. [83346]
Tim Loughton: The adoption and performance tables show a three year average of children absent from their agreed placement for more than 24 hours as a percentage of looked after children. The figures for (a) Knowsley, (b) St Helens, (c) Rochdale, (d) Kirklees, (e)South Gloucestershire, (f) Hartlepool, (g) Redcar and Cleveland, (h) Stockton-on-Tees, (i) city of Kingston upon Hull, (j) Bedford borough, (k) central Bedfordshire, (l)Bournemouth, (m) Durham, (n) East Sussex, (o) Rutland, (p) Reading, and (q)Blackpool are zero. For these local authorities no looked after child is recorded as being absent from their agreed placement in each of the years 2008 to 2010.
For the local authorities, (r) Hackney, (s) Manchester, (t) Derby, (u) Leicester, (v)Cambridgeshire, (w) Kent, (x) Lancashire, (y) Nottingham, (z) Lincolnshire and (aa)Oxfordshire the three year average is shown as “-”. This symbol in the tables indicates that the percentage of looked after children recorded as being absent from their agreed placement for more than 24 hours for the years 2008 to 2010 is lower than 0.5%. Therefore for these local authorities, there are some children recorded as being absent from their agreed placement for more than 24 hours at some point during the period 2008 to 2010.
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The information published in the Children in Care and Adoption Performance Tables was sourced from the Department's SSDA903 collection. This collection is returned annually by local authorities. Local authorities are responsible for checking their data and, once they are confident that they are accurate, must sign them off. All local authorities signed off the data for the years in question.
The data go through extensive validation to support local authorities in ensuring that their final data is correct. Once these data have been finalised, statisticians perform extensive quality assurance of the data. I can therefore be satisfied that the data shown in these tables are an accurate reflection of the situation regarding children absent from their agreed placement for each local authority named in the question.
Food Procurement
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that the same standards of animal welfare for whole eggs apply to imported liquefied eggs procured by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible. [83793]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education's and its public bodies' caterers use eggs that are Lion Branded and sourced from enriched cages as a minimum standard. From 1 January 2012 all eggs and egg products will be sourced from enhanced conventional cages.
Official Hospitality
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by a third party. [84195]
Tim Loughton: The information requested is not held centrally and to gather this information would represent disproportionate costs.
Procurement
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of food sourced by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible was procured from UK food producers in the latest period for which figures are available. [83794]
Tim Loughton: The information is as follows.
1. The Department for Education's and its public bodies' caterers are British Farm Assured Accredited for fresh meat and poultry and Marine Stewardship Council accredited for fish. The award of Red Tractor accreditation ensures that all fresh meat and poultry is British produced. The majority of fish used within the contracts area are also sourced from British waters.
2. Wherever practical, and subject to the cost of the supply, bacon used within the catering provision is British sourced.
3. Subject to seasonal availability, fruit and vegetable products conform to Linking Environment and Farming environmental standards and are sourced from British suppliers.
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4. Specific data are not held. The Department has contractual catering arrangements in place to ensure that food procurement complies with the Government Buying Standards for Food and catering in relation to food purchase and provision.
Free Schools
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the potential effects of (a) free schools and (b) academies on educational attainment. [82910]
Mr Gibb: The first free schools opened in September 2011. The high quality of the proposals for these schools, coupled with the fact that they are being run by dedicated individuals, suggests that they will be shown to perform well when performance data are available. Parents clearly agree; over half of these schools are over-subscribed, many with waiting lists to cope with the demand.
On academies, the latest provisional 2011 GCSE results show that results in academies open for two years have improved twice as fast as those in maintained schools. As the number of academies continues to grow, we expect that they will continue to have a positive effect on educational attainment.
Pupils: Disadvantaged
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment has been made of the effect of the pupil premium on the number of children living in poverty up to 2015. [77227]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 31 October 2011]: The pupil premium provides additional funding for the most disadvantaged pupils, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, those whose parents are in the armed forces and children who have been in care for more than six months.
The pupil premium is aimed at narrowing the gap in educational attainment between children from deprived backgrounds and other pupils in a school. It is not intended to impact directly on the number of children living in poverty by 2015 but it is intended to allow schools to provide disadvantaged children with additional support where they need it to help them reach their potential by improving their attainment, aspiration and progression into adulthood. This is a key strand of our approach to improving the life chances of children and preventing them from becoming the next generation of disadvantaged parents.
Schools will be accountable for narrowing the attainment gap for disadvantaged children. We will reform performance tables to include new measures that show the attainment of pupils who receive the pupil premium compared with their peers. We will also ask schools to report to parents on an annual basis how they have used the pupil premium.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people under the age of 18 years have been treated for alcohol-induced illness by NHS hospitals since January 2011. [84865]
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Anne Milton: Provisional figures show that there were an estimated 7,074 admissions of people under the age of 18 years that have been treated for alcohol-induced illness(1) by national health service hospitals since January 2011.
(1) In 2007, the Department commissioned the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO) to undertake a review of the epidemiological literature to identify those conditions where there is significant evidence of a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and the disease or injury, NWPHO's findings were published in “Alcohol-attributable fractions for England, Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions”, June 2008.
This is shown in a table that has been placed in the Library. The data in the table should not be described as a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion.
Some conditions (such as alcoholic liver disease or ethanol poisoning) are wholly attributed to alcohol consumption (that is, alcohol consumption is the sole cause).
Other conditions (cancer of the oesophagus and assaults) are only partially attributed to alcohol consumption (that is, alcohol consumption causes the illness in some cases). For these conditions, estimates of the fraction of cases that can be attributed to alcohol, were produced by combining information from epidemiological studies about the increased risks associated with different levels
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of alcohol consumption with information from population surveys about self-reported consumption.
These "alcohol-attributable fractions" are applied to data on hospital admissions to estimate the number of admissions where the patient has been diagnosed with a condition caused by alcohol consumption. For example, it is estimated that 32% of cancers of the oesophagus among men aged 16 to 24 in England can be attributed to alcohol consumption. The estimate of the number of admissions where men aged 16 to 24 have been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus that can be attributed to alcohol consumption is obtained by multiplying the total number of admissions where men aged 16 to 24 have been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus by 32%.
Cannabis: Children
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) people and (b) people under the age of 18 years were treated for cannabis-induced psychosis in each of the last two years. [84740]
Anne Milton: Data on the number of people treated for cannabis-induced psychosis are not collected centrally. However, data on the number of finished admissions episodes with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids are collected and presented in the following table:
| Count of finished admission episodes (FAE) with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids (ICD10 code F12) | ||||
|
|
Number of people treated | Number of people aged under 18 | Number of people aged 18 and over | Age not known |
| Notes: 1. A FAE is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. ICD10 Code used = F12 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids (including cannabis). 3. Data quality—HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English national health service. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 4. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures, which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. 5. Activity included—activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care | ||||
Contraception
Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his proposed timetable is for development of a Quality Standard for contraceptive services, including emergency contraception; and if he will make a statement. [84601]
Mr Simon Burns: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) jointly with the National Quality Board recently ran an engagement exercise on the development of a library of NICE Quality Standard topics for the national health service. The list of proposed Quality Standard topics published as part of this exercise included contraceptive services (including emergency contraception). The engagement exercise closed on 14 October 2011.
Further information on the engagement exercise can be found at:
www.nice.org.uk/getinvolved/currentniceconsultations/NQBEngagement.jsp
An announcement on next steps will be made once the responses have been analysed.
Departmental Advertising
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advertising campaigns his Department has run in each of the last five years; and what the cost was of each such campaign. [84555]
Mr Simon Burns: The following tables show the Department's advertising expenditure carried out through the Communications Directorate over each of the last five financial years for which full information is available, by campaign.
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Advertising spend is defined as covering only media spend (inclusive of agency commissions but excluding production costs, Central Office of Information (COI) commission and VAT). All figures exclude advertising rebates and audit adjustments and therefore may differ from COI official turnover figures. All figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000. These figures do not include Departmental recruitment/classified advertising costs and ad hoc spend under £10,000. These figures may include occasional minor spend through COI by national health service organisations, to supplement national campaigns in their area. While this expenditure has been excluded as far as possible so that this chart reflects central departmental spend, it would incur disproportionate cost to validate that every item of NHS expenditure has been removed.
A total budget figure for the current financial year cannot be provided at this stage as detailed planning for some campaigns is under way and advertising media allocations have not yet been finalised.
| Department of Health advertising spend | |||||
| £ million | |||||
| Campaign | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
| (1) Departmental contribution to campaign run jointly with Home Office | |||||
Departmental Written Questions
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months. [85048]
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Mr Simon Burns: Between 1 June and 30 November 2011, 635 written questions for answer on a named day were received. 100% received a substantive answer on the date for answer.
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.
Social Care Funding
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the Government’s response to the Dilnot Commission’s report Fairer Funding for All. [84853]
Paul Burstow: On 4 July this year, the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), set out the Government’s initial response to the report of the Commission on Funding of Care and Support.
The Government welcomed this report, which is an immensely valuable contribution to meeting the long-term challenge of an ageing population.
Government have spent the last few months engaging with stakeholders from across the care and support community to ensure that we get funding reform—and social care reform more broadly—right.
As the Secretary of State set out in his July statement, the Government plan to publish a social care White Paper and a progress report on funding reform in the spring. We remain committed to this timetable.
Drugs: Young People
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) people, (b) under 18 year olds, (c) under 16 year olds and (d) under 12 year olds were given drug rehabilitation treatment for each type of drug since January 2011. [84864]
Anne Milton: The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System records information about substance misuse interventions in England. Data on adults (18 and over) in contact with drug treatment agencies and general practitioners in England in 2010-11 were published as “Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011”. A copy has been placed in the Library. The young people's annual statistics for 2010-11 will be published by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse on 8 December and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Food: Labelling
Ms Abbott:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the differences are between the targets put in place by the Food Standards Agency prior to May 2010 and the targets in the responsibility deal in respect of (a) salt reduction, (b) saturated fat reduction and reformulation, (c) front of pack
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nutrition labelling and traffic light colour coding and
(d)
information on healthy choices when eating out; and if he will make a statement. [84475]
Anne Milton: The Responsibility Deal has the same salt reduction targets as those developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), with a modification to the average and maximum targets for breakfast cereals. As a result, the Responsibility Deal targets have the potential to remove more salt from our foods than those set by the FSA.
The FSA published recommendations for saturated fat for a number of food categories in March 2010. There are currently no Responsibility Deal targets for saturated fat and reformulation. Work on saturated fat will be part of the next phase of the Responsibility Deal.
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The FSA had no targets associated with front of pack labelling or the use of traffic light labelling and there are currently no Responsibility Deal pledges in this area.
The FSA had no targets associated with information on healthy eating when eating out. The Responsibility Deal has a pledge for businesses to provide calorie information for food and non-alcoholic drinks in out of home settings from 1 September 2011.
Health Professions: Training
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training posts have been funded for (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) other clinical staff in each of the last 10 years. [83182]
Anne Milton: The following table shows the total population of doctors across all grades of training from 2001 to 2010:
The Department does not collect population data for the number of nurses and other clinical staff in training each year. However, the latest figures available show that, in 2010-11, the population of nurses in training was 53,101 and other non-medical trainees was 36,258, giving a total non-medical trainee population of 89,359. The following table shows the number of new nursing and other non medical staff courses that were commissioned in each financial year since 2001-02.
| Non-medical commissions by strategic health authorities (SHAs) in England 2001-02 to 2010-11 | ||||||||||
|
|
2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
| Source: SHA Multi Professional Education and Training monitoring returns | ||||||||||
Health Services
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been treated by the NHS in the last 12 months. [83183]
Mr Simon Burns: The available information is shown in the following table:
| Out-patient and in-patient hospital activity, England (commissioner based) | ||||||
| Out-patients | In-patients | |||||
| Quarter | First attendances seen | Subsequent attendances seen | Total attendances seen | Elective general and acute FFCEs | Non-elective general and acute FFCEs | Total general and acute FFCEs |
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| Note: The out-patient attendances are for all specialties. The in-patient First Finished Consultant Episodes (FFCEs) are for general and acute specialties only. General and acute does not include maternity, mental illness and learning disability. Source: Department of Health Quarterly Activity Return (QAR) for out-patient attendances and Monthly Activity Return (MAR) for in-patient FFCEs | ||||||
Health Services: Finance
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that the Health Premium does not divert resources from the areas with the highest level of continuing health problems. [84477]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department is developing a health premium that will incentivise local authorities to make improvements in health and reduce health inequalities. Those areas with the worst health problems will see the greatest incentive because they face the greatest challenges.
Detailed work on the health premium can only begin once the baseline spend is known and after the publication of the Public Health Outcomes Framework. More information will be published as soon as possible after that so that local authorities know what is expected of them to receive an incentive payment.
Health: Children
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will prepare and publish a strategy for improving children's health. [84476]
Anne Milton: In the Government's new vision for the national health service and public health we have made explicit our determination to provide high quality services for children and young people as an essential and integral part of delivering better health outcomes.
Since the publication in September 2010 of “Achieving Equity and Excellence for children”, Ministers and officials have worked with the children's sector to develop a focus on improving children's health in the reformed health and public health system. Subject to parliamentary approval, the new framework will enable a more robust, focused and comprehensive approach to child health.
A copy of the publication has been placed in the Library.
Health: Greater London
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with London boroughs on the Government’s public health reforms. [84817]
Anne Milton: A pan-London Delivery board exists to support and co-ordinate public health reforms in London. This board is co-chaired by the regional director of public health and the chief executive of Bromley council on behalf of London boroughs.
Last year, the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), wrote to the Mayor of London inviting further proposals for the optimal public health improvement system for London. Early this year, the Mayor and London councils responded positively with their proposal to set up a London Health Improvement Board. The Department is working with the Greater London authority and London boroughs in considering how best to take the proposals forward.
Hospital Beds
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) acute and (b) critical care beds were reported in situation reports to his Department as being in use in hospitals in each week since 1 April 2011. [84884]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not collect data on bed numbers in weekly situation reports. The information collected by the Department on a monthly and quarterly basis since April 2011 is provided in the following tables.
| England level | |||
| Average number of available general and acute beds under care of a consultant | |||
| Year | Period | Overnight beds | Day only beds |
| Source: KH03 quarterly return | |||
| England l evel | ||||
| Number of beds open at last Thursday in reporting period | ||||
| Year | Period | Number of adult critical care beds | Number of paediatric intensive care beds | Number of neonatal critical care cots (or beds) |
| Source: Unify2 data collection—Monthly situation reports | ||||
Influenza
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to provide information on the steps that the public should take to minimise the risk of transmission and infection in the event of an influenza pandemic. [84473]
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Anne Milton: On 10 November 2011, the Government launched the UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy 2011. The Strategy has already been placed in the Library and is available on the Department's website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_130903
This United Kingdom wide Strategy aims to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the best-prepared countries in the world.
In the event of a pandemic, the Government will use a wide range of media to communicate information effectively to the public. Until the characteristics of any emerging virus are known, plans remain flexible, but are likely to include regular press briefings, via the Chief Medical Officer and other trusted health professionals, key websites and social media as well as paid-for advertising where appropriate.
Information may also be made available directly to the public through telephone help lines and other interactive channels. The Department will also work closely with potential partners from the commercial and voluntary sectors to develop ways for them to disseminate urgent public health messages to their customers and members.
Influenza: Vaccination
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of likely take-up rates of the influenza vaccine in each (a) age group, (b) category of at-risk group and (c) geographical area. [84617]
Anne Milton: The chief medical officer (CMO) wrote to the national health service on 14 March 2011 setting out the planning assumptions for vaccine uptake for the current flu season. The CMO stated that the NHS in England should plan to achieve a vaccine uptake rate of at least 75% among people aged 65 and over, and to vaccinate at least 60% of those aged under 60 in clinical risk groups.
The CMO letter can be viewed at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/DH_125091
A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.
Liver Diseases: Children
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged (a) under 10 years and (b) 10 years and over were admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of (i) non-alcoholic fatty liver and (ii) diabetes since January 2011. [84862]
Anne Milton: Information is not available on the number of patients admitted. The table shows the number of finished admission episodes.
Count of finished admission episodes(1) where primary diagnosis is fatty (change of) liver, not elsewhere classified or diabetes for children aged under 10 years and aged 10-18 since January 2011.
(1) A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission in the year.
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| Activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector | |||
| Primary diagnoses | Age group | January to March 2011 | April to July 2011 ( provisional ) |
| Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care | |||
Maternity Services
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to implement the Maternity Matters policy. [84937]
Anne Milton: “Maternity Matters” (April 2007) was the previous administration's policy for maternity choice. In the White Paper, “Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS” (July 2010) we set out our commitment to extend maternity choice through provider networks.
By focusing on health outcomes and delivering maternity services through provider networks, we will help to make safe, informed choice throughout pregnancy and in childbirth a reality and to facilitate movement between the different services to meet women's needs and choices.
The Department funded the “Birthplace in England” research study, published by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit in November 2011, to compare the outcomes of births planned at home, in different types of midwifery unit and in hospital units with obstetric services. This study will help the national health service in their maternity services, based on what women want and need. It will also help midwives advise women so that they can make the most informed choice about their birth setting.