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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 25 April 2012
Prime Minister
Members: Correspondence
Graham Stringer: To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to reply to the letter of 3 February 2012 from the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton. [105130]
The Prime Minister: A reply has been sent.
Political Parties: Finance
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Prime Minister how many Conservative party donors from Liverpool he has met in an official capacity at 10 Downing street since May 2010. [105035]
The Prime Minister: Details of hospitality I have received and my meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis. Details can be accessed on the Cabinet Office website at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/ministers-transparency-publications
Culture, Media and Sport
Advertising
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what assessment he has made of the effects of advertising on the wellbeing of adults; [104867]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the effects of advertising on the wellbeing of children. [104868]
Mr Vaizey: No recent assessment has been made of the effect of advertising on the wellbeing of adults or children.
However, the independent regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), is responsible for ensuring that the Advertising Codes are adhered to by advertisers in all media. These codes contain wide-ranging rules designed to ensure that advertising does not mislead, harm or offend. In particular, they take into account the need to protect children from harmful or inappropriate content. They state that advertisements must also be socially responsible and prepared in line with the principles of fair competition. The ASA conducts research to ensure that what is allowed in advertisements meets the expectations of the public with respect to taste and decency.
¦In addition, the Government commissioned a report from Reg Bailey, chief executive of the Mother's Union, on the commercialisation and sexualisation of children which was published last year. The review made
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recommendations on advertising which we have accepted. We are monitoring the regulator's and industry's delivery of these recommendations and we expect to take stock of the progress so far later this year at which point we will consider whether further action is necessary.
Broadband: Sign Language Services
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effect of reaching his target of universal broadband coverage by 2015 on the availability of video relay services for British Sign Language users in rural areas. [105290]
Mr Vaizey: One of the key factors that will help to increase access to video relay service is broadband with sufficient bandwidth to handle video streaming. The Government's aim is to have the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015, with 90% of premises having access to superfast broadband and universal access to at least 2Mbps. Whilst no assessment has been made of the number of British Sign Language (BSL) users in rural areas, achieving the above aim will be a significant step forward in helping BSL users gain access to video relay services.
In this respect I also welcome and support Ofcom's proposed consultation on options for improving the availability of video relay services.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of British Sign Language users who are unable to access video relay services due to a lack of high-speed broadband; [105291]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all British Sign Language users have access to broadband of sufficient speed to use video relay services. [105292]
Mr Vaizey: A minimum bandwidth of approximately 2 Mbps is needed for an effective video relay service (VRS) and according to Ofcom's Communications Infrastructure Report 2011, which was published last summer, the percentage of homes across the UK then receiving download speeds of less than 2 Mbps was 14%. No assessment has been made of what proportion of these homes include British Sign Language (BSL) users. However, I continue to press business, tele- communications companies and third sector organisations to improve access to VRS for BSL users.
Broadband Delivery UK
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2011, Official Report, column 187W, on Broadband Delivery UK: manpower, whether he has determined the staff resource for each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15. [105293]
Mr Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) had a total of 10.7 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff during 2011-12. The current projections for staff numbers for the years to 2014-15 are:
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| Number of FTE staff | |
Legal Costs
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on fees for legal work in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [104553]
John Penrose: The following table sets out the Department's expenditure on fees for legal work in financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12, as recorded on the Department's accounting system. Figures include solicitor and counsel fees, plus any associated expenses. The total does not include legal work provided by our in-house Treasury Solicitors legal adviser's team.
Expenditure relating to the sale of the Horserace Totalisator Board (Tote) is shown separately, as it accounts for a high proportion of costs incurred and was a one-off transaction.
| £ | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | Total | |
Museums and Galleries
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much funding from the public purse he has allocated to art galleries in each of the last five years. [105333]
Mr Vaizey: The Arts Council England is the arm's length body responsible for allocating funding for the arts in England. Over the last five years, it has allocated the following funding across its various funding strands to organisations which classify their principal art form as Visual Art. This information is set out in the following table.
| £ million | |||||
| Visual Arts | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
Official Secrets Act
Tom Greatrex:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether any person employed by (a) his Department, (b) the agencies and
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non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible and
(c)
any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act. [104839]
John Penrose: The information is as follows:
(a) Employees of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) are bound by the Official Secrets Act, in adherence with the Civil Service Management Code.
(b) DCMS does not hold this information for its agency or arm’s length bodies (ALBs). Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of the Royal Parks and our ALBs to write directly to the hon. Member with this information.
(c) DCMS includes a clause in its service contracts which state that the contractor shall comply with, and shall ensure that its staff comply with, the provisions of the Officials Secret Act. This forms part of the overall Protection of Information, which would also include the Data Protection Act.
Performing Arts
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the contribution to the UK economy made by (a) classical music and (b) ballet. [105145]
Mr Vaizey: The Department does not hold specific data relating to classical music and ballet. However, in 2009, music and visual performing arts contributed £4.1 billion to the Cross Value Added in Britain.
From data collected by Arts Council England through the annual submission of regularly funded organisations:
(a) In 2010-11 the 23 organisations that wholly or partially classified their artform as classical music or orchestral had an earned income of £33.7 million (which excludes Arts Council investment).
The 23 organisations employed 3765 staff in 2010/11 and 1719 volunteers.
(b) In 2010-11 the seven organisations that wholly or partially classified their artform as ballet had an earned income of £35.8 million (which excludes Arts Council investment).
The seven organisations employed 4554 staff in 2010-11 and 58 volunteers.
Public Consultation
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification. [104064]
John Penrose: Formal verification of compliance with the various obligations set out under the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation is a matter that is normally handled internally, in accordance with the obligation under the Code to monitor the effectiveness of consultation exercises. Some of our consultations may also have been externally verified, but we do not record this centrally and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.
It is normal practice for the Department to publish all non-confidential responses to formal written consultation exercises, consistent with the Code. Publication of consultation responses promotes transparency and provides
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the opportunity for external scrutiny of the consultation process independent of Government. Details of consultations before 2010 can be found on the UK Government web archive at:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100407120701/http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/consultations/default.aspx
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100407120701/http:/www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/consultations/default.aspx
http://www.culture.gov.uk/consultations/default.aspx
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations. [104066]
John Penrose: Yes, the Department does accept anonymous contributions to its consultations.
In accordance with the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation all responses are analysed carefully, using the expertise, experiences and views of respondents to develop a more effective and efficient policy. The Department processes all personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
Retirement
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement. [104551]
John Penrose: The number of staff who retired in the periods requested can be found in the following table.
| Financial year | Number of staff who retired | Number of such staff who took early retirement |
Swimming Pools
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many installations of swimming pools have received change of use consent from English Heritage in each of the last 10 years. [105116]
John Penrose: English Heritage does not issue change of use consent.
Television: Parental Advice
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on developing and promoting advice to parents on the appropriate use of television by their children in each of the last five years. [105299]
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Mr Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not directly funded the development or promotion of advice to parents about the use of television by children in the last five years. However, in that time the Government have continued to provide grant-in-aid to Ofcom in support of its media literacy activities, which have included projects and research to help promote adults' and children's understanding and use of electronic media. The grant-in-aid provided to Ofcom has been as follows:
| Grant in aid support (£) | |
Theatre
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much funding from the public purse he has allocated to London theatres in each of the last five years. [105355]
Mr Vaizey: The Arts Council England is the arm's length body responsible for funding the arts in England. Over the last five years, it has allocated the following funding across its various funding strands to organisations in London which classify their principal art form as theatre. This information is set out in the following table.
| £ million | |||||
| London Theatre funding | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
Vacancies
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many job vacancies there were for (a) staff posts and (b) senior civil service posts in his Department on 31 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement. [104552]
John Penrose: The number of live job vacancies in the Department on the dates requested can be found in the following table.
| Live on 31 March 2010 | Live on 31 March 2011 | Live on 31 March 2012 | |
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Vacancies were resourced across the civil service, not externally.
Video Games
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the proportion of video games sold to children which have violence as a theme. [105300]
Mr Vaizey: No estimates have been made.
We have in place a regulatory system to prevent the sale of such products to children. Under the Video Recordings Act, any video games featuring gross violence are given a “15” or “18” age rating by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). It is then an offence to sell or rent games carrying these BBFC ratings to anyone not old enough.
We are further strengthening the statutory regime. Under changes currently being implemented, we are making the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system the sole method of classifying all video games in the UK and the statutory backing will be extended so that it will be an offence to supply games rated “12”, as well as those with the high ratings to anyone not meeting the specific age requirements.
Attorney-General
Bribery Act 2010
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions the Serious Fraud Office has brought since the Bribery Act 2010 came into force; and how many convictions have been made as a result. [104976]
The Solicitor-General: The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigates the most serious and complex cases of economic crime and investigations can take many months or years to conclude. The SFO has not yet prosecuted an individual or company under the Bribery Act.
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions the Serious Fraud Office has instigated in the last 18 months using sections 397 to 400 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; how many convictions have followed from such prosecutions; and what assessment he has made of the change in number of such actions from the previous 18 months. [104977]
The Solicitor-General: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has instigated three prosecutions using sections 397 to 400 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 since 1 October 2010. These cases are ongoing. The SFO instigated two prosecutions using these provisions in the 18 months prior. Both of those cases resulted in convictions.
In addition, although the prosecution was not instigated using these provisions, one plea to section 397 of the Act was accepted in the last 18 months.
No formal assessment has been made of this change in number.
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Communities and Local Government
Emergency Services: Business
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the cost to business of differing attendance policies operated by the English fire and rescue services in response to automatic fire alarm signals from commercial properties. [104139]
Robert Neill: The Government have made no estimate of the cost to business of differing attendance policies. Subsequent to local consultation it is for each fire and rescue authority in England to consider whether and how they wish to recover the cost of mobilising to persistent false alarms. False alarms (and the resulting evacuation and business continuity losses) cost businesses, as well as fire and rescue authorities, money. It is therefore in their interests to ensure that their systems are appropriate and well maintained to minimise the disruption and losses caused by persistent false alarms.
First Time Buyers: Government Assistance
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what support he is providing to assist first-time buyers who purchase homes that are not new-builds. [105182]
Grant Shapps: The Government are committed to helping first-time buyers to purchase their own homes. The Government's approach to reducing the UK's burden of debt and abolishing the deficit will help to keep interest rates low and improve credit availability for all first-time buyers. The Government also welcome the FSA's review of the mortgage market, the Mortgage Market Review. We are encouraging partners to work with the FSA to ensure that it strikes the right balance between protection for consumers and consumer choice.
I also recently announced a substantial increase to the right to buy discount which will help more people get on to the housing ladder.
In addition, in 2011 I brought industry experts together for two first-time buyer summits to stimulate fresh thinking. As a result NewBuy, a new-build mortgage indemnity scheme open to all buyers was launched in March. The scheme will increase housing supply in England which will help the broader economy, making homes more accessible for all.
Local Government: Pensions
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the eligible workforce for each local authority in England is enrolled in the Local Authority Pension Scheme. [104978]
Robert Neill: This information is not collected centrally. Data about fund membership may be obtained only from the relevant Local Government Pension Scheme administering authority.
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Mortgages: Government Assistance
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has any plans to bring forward proposals to introduce Government-backed 100% mortgages to certain home buyers. [105183]
Grant Shapps: The Government are supporting the industry led NewBuy scheme with a guarantee which will enable buyers to access 95% loan to value mortgages for new build properties.
The Government have no plans to introduce Government-backed 100% mortgages.
Planning Permission: Recreation Spaces
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether the local green space designation measure has been implemented by his Department; and whether local planning authorities are now able to plan its incorporation into local plans and joint core strategies; [105398]
(2) if he will assess whether the local green space designation of 100 hectares in close proximity to an urban area would be considered appropriate in a local plan or joint core strategy subject to proper consultation and examination. [105399]
Robert Neill: The National Planning Policy Framework published in March includes a new designation that can be used by local communities to identify for special protection green areas of particular importance to them. These local green spaces can be designated when plans are prepared or reviewed, including when plans are produced jointly.
The circumstances for using the new designation are set out in the framework, including that the designated area should be in reasonably close proximity to the community served and not an extensive tract of land. These assessments are for plan makers to undertake on a case by case basis, reflecting local circumstances and consistent with the local planning of sustainable development.
Public Consultation
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification. [104046]
Robert Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not had any consultations externally verified since 2007. Formal verification of compliance with the various obligations set out under the HM Government code of practice on consultation is a matter that is normally handled internally, in accordance with the obligation under the code to monitor the effectiveness of consultation exercises.
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations. [104048]
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Robert Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government accepts anonymous and confidential contributions to its consultations. These contributions will not be published unless Freedom of Information obligations determine that they should be. The Department considers who has responded to a consultation, including anonymous contributions, when analysing responses in line with the Consultation Code of Practice.
Public Consultation: Internet
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department collects the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations. [104047]
Robert Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations.
Rented Housing: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has had any recent discussions on steps to ensure that landlords letting private properties are made more responsible for maintaining their property in a decent state of repair. [105357]
Grant Shapps: I recently met a number of local authorities and interested parties to discuss how we can most effectively work together to tackle the small minority of rogue and criminal landlords. We will be issuing further advice to local authorities shortly.
Urban Areas
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to revise boundaries for primary urban areas. [104952]
Robert Neill: The 56 English primary urban areas, first used in 2006, have a minimum population threshold of 125,000 and define major cities by their physical extent rather than administrative boundaries. More recently the Government invited Local Enterprise Partnerships to form around geographies that represent reasonable natural economic geography, supported by business, which are sufficiently strategic. These geographies therefore reflect what businesses and local authorities see as the economic linkages within an area. The Local Economic Partnership geographies are used within Government rather than primary urban areas and the Department has no plans to revise the primary urban areas boundaries.
Urban Areas: Wales
Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on the proposal to extend the Portas pilot scheme to Wales. [104910]
Grant Shapps: High street regeneration is a devolved matter so it is for the Welsh Assembly Government to decide whether they wish to run a programme similar to the Portas pilot scheme in Wales. We are happy to assist the Welsh Assembly Government with information and lessons from initiatives being implemented in England.
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Northern Ireland
National Crime Agency
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department about the establishment of the National Crime Agency. [104932]
Mr Paterson: I am in regular discussion with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), about the National Crime Agency and the implications for Northern Ireland.
My officials are working closely with their counterparts in the Home Office on the current proposals in relation to the National Crime Agency.
Official Secrets Act
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any person employed by (a) his Department, (b) the agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible and (c) any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act. [104833]
Mr Paterson: All Crown Servants and Government contractors (as defined by Sections 12(1) and 12(2) of the Official Secrets Act 1989) are subject to the requirements of the Official Secrets Act. Upon entering the department, all staff are made aware that they are bound by the terms of the Official Secrets Act and that their actions resulting in unauthorised disclosure of official information may result in legal proceedings being taken against them.
Serious Organised Crime Agency
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what dates he has met the Secretary of State for the Home Department to discuss the strategic priorities of the Serious Organised Crime Agency in Northern Ireland. [104931]
Mr Paterson: The Serious Organised Crime Agency's (SOCA) strategic priorities for the UK are set by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), in consultation with Ministers from the devolved Administrations. They require SOCA to take into account differences in crime priorities in those jurisdictions, where appropriate.
Ministers do not set separate strategic priorities for SOCA in Northern Ireland or any of the devolved Administrations.
Scotland
Official Secrets Act
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether any person employed by (a) his Department and (b) any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act. [104848]
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David Mundell: All Crown servants and government contractors (as defined by sections 12(1) and 12(2) of the Official Secrets Act 1989) are subject to the requirements of the Official Secrets Act. Upon entering the Department, all staff are made aware that they are bound by the terms of the Official Secrets Act and that their actions resulting in unauthorised disclosure of official information may result in legal proceedings being taken against them.
Transport
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the case for supporting liquid petroleum gas as an alternative to traditional road fuels. [104985]
Norman Baker: There are some environmental benefits of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles. On a life cycle basis, LPG vehicles produce around 14% less carbon dioxide than petrol. However this is not as good as diesel cars which, for comparable size cars, emit around 20% less carbon dioxide than petrol cars. LPG cars deliver similar air quality emissions performance as petrol cars and better than diesel, although the gap has narrowed substantially with the introduction of Euro 5 and 6 diesel cars.
Cars that have been constructed or modified to run on gas benefit from a £10 reduction in taxation levels for Alternative Fuel Cars under Vehicle Excise Duty. Owners of LPG cars also benefit from paying lower fuel duty on LPG than would be paid on petrol and diesel. LPG road fuel has a duty reduction worth the equivalent of 35.79p per litre compared with petrol.
Ministerial Meetings
Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the policy of her Department is on the entering of meetings held by Ministers in a private capacity in which departmental matters are discussed with interested parties in the register of gifts, hospitality and meetings held by the Department. [104745]
Norman Baker: The Department publishes quarterly information about ministerial meetings with external organisations. The published lists include a footnote explaining the scope of the publication.
Railways: East of England
Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what portion of the revenue from each ticket bought by customers of the Greater Anglia franchise is projected to be used for cross subsidies in each year for which figures are available. [104469]
Norman Baker [holding answer 23 April 2012]: The Department for Transport does not hold this information. This is a commercial matter for Greater Anglia.
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Railways: Electrification
Nigel Mills: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Cambridge of 6 March 2012, Official Report, column 635W, on electrification, how many miles of track were electrified in (a) Wales, (b) the North East, (c) the North West, (d) Yorkshire and the Humber, (e) the West Midlands, (f) the East Midlands, (g) the East of England, (h) the South West, (i) the South East and (j) London between 1997 and May 2010. [102604]
Mrs Villiers: Nine route miles between Stoke-on-Trent (West Midlands) and Crewe (North West) had electrification commissioned between May 1997 and May 2010.
Please note that the earlier answer of 6 March 2012, Official Report, column 635W, to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert), had included in error the electrification of Leeds and Bradford to Skipton and Ilkley which was electrified before May 1997 but did not receive its new trains and full service until after May 1997. I have issued a written ministerial statement to correct the previous information.
Energy and Climate Change
Green Deal Scheme
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his Department's press notice entitled Green Deal Cash Boost, published on 8 March 2012, how much of the £3.5 million fund allocated to help train green deal assessors and installers has been (a) allocated to individual projects and (b) spent. [105627]
Gregory Barker: I can confirm that £1 million has been transferred to Asset Skills for training up to 1,000 assessors, and £2 million to Construction Skills to train up to 1,000 installers (to which they are adding an additional £500,000). Both are currently in the process of allocating the funds and they hope to begin training in May/June. We expect all the funding to be spent by the end of this calendar year.
Members: Correspondence
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects the Minister of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle, to reply to the letter of 24 February 2012 from the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton. [105129]
Gregory Barker: The Minister of State for Energy, my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry), replied to the hon. Member on 17 April 2012, as this matter falls into his portfolio.
He apologised for the delay in doing so, which was due to time spent on the necessary cross-departmental liaison required for an accurate response.
Nuclear Power Stations
Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on subsidies
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for new nuclear power stations; and what information he has on any representations on this issue from
(a)
the Czech Republic,
(b)
France and
(c)
Poland. [105672]
Charles Hendry: In a written ministerial statement made on 18 October 2010, Official Repor t¸ columns 42-6WS(1), the then Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), set out that there will be no subsidy for new nuclear. It set out that this means there will be no levy, direct payment or market support for electricity supplied or capacity provided by a private sector new nuclear operator, unless similar support is also made available more widely to other types of generation. That statement also set out that new nuclear power will benefit from any general measures that are in place or may be introduced as part of wider reform of the electricity market to encourage investment in low-carbon generation. We are considering how the electricity market reforms interact with State Aid rules, and are engaging closely with the European Commission to ensure the policy is consistent with the appropriate rules.
The Department holds discussions with European partners on a range of energy policy issues including nuclear, but we do not hold representations from the Czech Republic, France or Poland on plans for subsidies for new nuclear power stations.
(1) https://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/nuclear/ new/new.aspx
Renewable Energy: Heating
Dr Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make an early announcement on his plans for bioliquids in the renewable heat incentive. [105272]
Gregory Barker: The Government will consult in September 2012 on whether to include bioliquids in the non-domestic RHI and on how we can support renewable heating for households in the longer term.
Women and Equalities
Marriage
Mr Offord: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the implications of Gas and Dubois v France (2012) (application no. 25951/07) at the European Court of Human Rights on the introduction of same-sex marriage. [105201]
Lynne Featherstone: In a recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (Gas and Dubois v. France), the Court reiterated its earlier ruling in Schalk and Kopf v. Austria that member states are under no obligation to allow same-sex couples access to marriage. The Gas and Dubois decision was incorrectly reported in the media as stating that churches will be forced to marry same-sex couples.
The Government will continue to consider any relevant court judgments as they arise in relation to UK Government policy.
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Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the new alcohol strategy, what evidence she has received that a ban on multi-buy alcohol promotions will reduce harmful drinking in England and Wales. [103449]
James Brokenshire: The Government published their alcohol strategy on 23 March 2012 which included a commitment to consult on a ban on multi-buy promotions in shops. The Government will consider evidence on the impact of such a ban as part of the forthcoming consultation. Further information on the timing of this consultation will be set out shortly.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the consultation on a ban on multi-buy promotions of alcohol will be published. [103450]
James Brokenshire: The Government published their alcohol strategy on 23 March 2012 which included a commitment to consult on a ban on multi-buy promotions in shops. Further information on the timing of this consultation will be set out shortly.
Alcoholic Drinks: Prices
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the consultation on a minimum unit price for alcohol to be published. [103435]
James Brokenshire: The Government published their alcohol strategy on 23 March 2012 which included a commitment to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol to ensure that alcohol is sold at a sensible and appropriate price. Further information on the timing of this consultation will be set out shortly.
Licensed Premises: Security
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department provides guidance and training to nightclub security staff on identifying and seizing identification documents; and if she will make a statement. [103901]
James Brokenshire: The Home Office has previously published written guidance on false identification documents aimed at door supervisors (including security staff working within pubs and nightclubs). This document is currently being updated to reflect revised legislation and will be available on the Home Office website in the coming months. The guidance will set out the powers available to those working within and around nightclubs and bars.
Sexual Offences
Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to ensure authorities in the UK are made aware of the details of paedophiles returning to the UK after having been convicted abroad. [104909]
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Lynne Featherstone: Under the terms of EU Council Decision 2005/876/JHA the United Kingdom Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records receives criminal conviction notifications from the majority of EU countries. It also handles conviction notifications received, mostly through Interpol channels, from non-EU countries.
For all countries an offender will be placed on the Violent and Sexual Offenders Register (VISOR) if the offence abroad is one that would have resulted in the offender being placed on VISOR had it occurred in the UK. If there is a known UK address the VISOR record will be managed by the police force in which the person lives, if not it will be managed by the ACPO Criminal Records Office.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to her answers of 12 March 2012, when she plans to answer written questions (a) 99352, (b) 99353 and (c) 99354, all tabled on 7 March 2012 for answer on 12 March 2012; and if she will make a statement. [103675]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 19 April 2012]: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given on 24 April 2012, Official Report, column 777W.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Livestock
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the use of antibiotics on livestock farms. [103994]
Mr Paice: The UK Government recognises that veterinary medicines including antimicrobials are required to ensure the health of food-producing animals in the UK, but believes that their use should not replace good farm management and animal husbandry systems.
The Government takes the issue of antimicrobial resistance very seriously and has developed a comprehensive strategy to address it so that the effectiveness of antibiotics in both humans and animals can be maintained. A key element of this strategy is the collection and publication of information on the quantities of antimicrobial products, in particular antibiotics, sold each year for veterinary use in the UK.
For the past 13 years, in response to recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on the microbiological safety of food (ACMSF), the Veterinary Medicines Directorate has collected, collated and published figures on UK sales volumes of active antimicrobial ingredients in products authorised for use in animals. It is reasonable to assume that there is a close correlation between the reported quantities of products sold and those used in the UK in the species indicated.
From 2005, veterinary pharmaceutical companies have been required by the Veterinary Medicine Regulations 2005 to provide sales data on products for which they have marketing authorisations. The latest report is available at:
http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/fsf/antimicrobial_pubs.aspx
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DEFRA has also funded a number of research and development projects/studies on the use of antibiotics in food producing animals in the UK which provide additional information on/assessment of use.
In addition, Government works with the farming industry to promote the responsible use of antimicrobials in farmed animals. Accordingly, the DERA Antimicrobials Resistance Co-ordination (DARC) Group, the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance and the British Veterinary Association (BVA) all promote the responsible use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine.
Treasury
Child Benefit
Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the likely saving to the Exchequer of the withdrawal of child benefit for single earner families earning between £50,000 and £60,000; [104683]
(2) what the marginal tax rate will be for a co-habiting single earner with (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children and (d) four children and earning between £50,000 and £60,000 per annum. [104756]
Mr Gauke: An estimate of the saving to the Exchequer that accrue from withdrawal of child benefit only from single earning families who earn between £50,000 and £60,000 would be available only at disproportionate cost.
| Effective marginal tax rate (MTR) for an individual in paid employment facing the high income child benefit charge and with income between £50,000 and £60,000 a year (2013-14) (1) | |
| Effective MTR (1) (percentage) | |
| (1) Where, in addition to the child benefit charge, the individual facing the charge pays the higher rate of income tax at 40% and individual Class 1 national insurance contributions at 2% (the figures are rounded to the nearest percentage point). | |
Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the estimated cost to HM Revenue and Customs is of administrating the system to withdraw child benefit from those earning between £50,000 and £60,000 per annum; [104754]
(2) how many additional families will be required to complete a tax return as a result of his decision to withdraw child benefit from those earning between £50,000 and £60,000 per annum. [104755]
Mr Gauke: The estimated administrative cost of recovering through the tax system child benefit paid to families with a person earning over £50,000 a year, along with the estimated number of additional people required to complete a tax return, can be found in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) which was published on HMRC's website:
www.hmrc.gov.uk
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Income Tax: Rates and Bands
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families there are with one higher rate tax payer earning between £50,000 and £55,424. [101137]
Mr Gauke: There are an estimated 560,000 families with at least one higher rate taxpayer with total income between £50,000 and £55,424 in 2011 -12.
Estimates are based on Family Resources Survey data for 2009-10, projected to 2011-12 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's November 2011 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Infrastructure
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of progress in implementing the updated National Infrastructure Plan. [104247]
Danny Alexander: The Government continue to take an active role in ensuring the infrastructure identified in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 is delivered efficiently and on time, with priority given to those projects most critical for economic growth.
An update on this was published alongside the Budget, which sets out progress that has been made on the priority infrastructure investments identified in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 and progress on other infrastructure measures since the autumn statement.
Revenue and Customs
Mr Burley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the availability of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) returns and forms website during the Easter period; for what reasons the HMRC website was upgraded during that period; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision to perform upgrades during that period on businesses seeking to use the website. [104674]
Mr Gauke: HMRC needs to make updates to its IT systems to ensure alignment to legislative changes that take effect at the end of one financial year and the start of another.
HMRC deliberately plans updates at weekends as this is the time when its systems are used least by customers. This year upgrades were planned over the Easter bank holiday weekend as this coincided with the end of the financial year.
The HMRC webpage was maintained throughout the upgrade period. The downtime of transaction online services, through which customers submit returns and forms, was planned to be kept to a minimum taking into account the needs to specific customer groups. In particular, HMRC kept to a minimum the downtime experienced by the customers who use online services to facilitate the movement of goods in and out of the UK.
The Department also aligned its downtime with the planned downtime of the Government Gateway, run by DWP, as many customers use this to access online services.
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The service was back eight hours ahead of schedule making this the shortest period of planned outage that customers have experienced. HMRC worked closely with selected customers whilst making the changes to ensure that when the service was brought back up it worked as expected.
HMRC maintained the VAT returns service up to and including 7 April enabling customers to file their returns as usual. Some 24,000 customers benefited and filed their returns on 6 and 7 April.
Social Security Benefits
Ann Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse per household of the total increase in the tax threshold over the last three budgets for (a) couples with at least one child with gross earnings between £7,000 and £20,000 per annum and (b) single people with gross earnings between £30,000 and £40,000 per annum, taking into account the reduction in tax paid and the savings in housing benefit and council tax expenditure caused by the increased individuals' net income arising from the increase in the tax threshold; [102272]
(2) what estimate he has made of the savings in housing benefit and council tax benefit that have accrued as a result of the measures to increase the tax threshold in each of the last three Budgets. [102276]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 27 March 2012]: The information is not available. The level of savings from housing benefit and council tax benefit resulting from increases to the personal allowance will depend on the level of benefit take-up among the group of households benefiting from these measures.
The main Budget documents for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012, available on the HM Treasury website, contain the Government's assessment of the direct costs of these policy measures, as signed off by the OBR.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Mr Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised from stamp duty land tax paid by first-time buyers on property bought for £250,000 or less in each of the last five years. [105177]
Miss Chloe Smith:
Between 25 March 2010 and 24 March 2012, a stamp duty land tax (SDLT) relief could
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be claimed by first time buyers on residential property bought for between £125,000 and £250,000. The amount of SDLT raised from first time buyers on property bought for £250,000 or less during this period should therefore be zero.
For earlier years, no receipts data are available. HMRC administrative systems did not identify whether a stamp duty land taxpayer was a first-time buyer.
Tax Allowances
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much in current prices was claimed in tax relief on giving in each of the last 10 years; and how much he expects to be claimed in each of the next three years. [104886]
Mr Gauke: Data on amounts of tax relief for those cases where it is possible to make an accurate estimate of the amounts involved are published at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/charities/table10-2.pdf
Forecasts for these figures are not available.
Taxation
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what information HM Revenue and Customs holds on the number of taxpayers with annual incomes of over (a) £150,000, (b) £500,000, (c) £1 million and (d) £2 million who pay an average tax rate on their income of less than (i) 10, (ii) 20, (iii) 30, (iv) 40 and (v) 50 per cent; [97755]
(2) what the average tax rate paid on income and gains combined by those with annual incomes of over (a) £150,000, (b) £500,000, (c) £1 million and (d) £2 million was in the latest period for which figures are available; [97800]
(3) what the average rate of capital gains tax paid by those with annual incomes of (a) £150,000 or more, (b) £500,000 or more, (c) £1 million or more and (d) £2 million or more was in the latest period for which figures are available. [97801]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 5 March 2012]: The information requested is as follows:
(i) The proportion of taxpayers liable to income tax by their total income and average income tax rate are shown in the following table:
| Proportion (%) of individuals reporting various average tax rates by total income category (2010-11) | |||||||
| Income | |||||||
| Average tax rates | £100,000 to £150,000 | £150,000 to £250,000 | £250,000 to £500,000 | £500,000 to £1,000,000 | £1,000,000 to £5,000,000 | £5,000,000 to £10,000,000 | Over £10,000,000 |
Figures are based on an analysis of self-assessment (SA) returns for the 2010-11 tax year, as available at Budget 2012. Income bands include those with average rates at the lower limit (e.g. a tax rate of exactly 30% falls in the “30% to <40%” category).
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(ii), (iii) Rates of capital gains tax range from 10% to 28% in 2011-12.
Taxation: Environmental Protection
Dr Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what timetable his Department has agreed for the determination of the classification of environmental policies that could be described as levy mechanisms referred to the Classification Committee of the Office for National Statistics. [105304]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 24 April 2012]: The timetable for decisions by the National Accounts Classification Committee is a matter for the independent Office for National Statistics.
Dr Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what environmental policies that could be described as levy mechanisms his Department is currently considering for future referral to the Classification Committee of the Office for National Statistics. [105305]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 24 April 2012]: HM Treasury considers referral of policies to the ONS on a case by case basis.
Dr Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the environmental policies that could be described as levy mechanisms that his Department has referred to the Classification Committee of the Office for National Statistics. [105306]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 24 April 2012]: In November 2009 HM Treasury referred a selection of environmental policies to the ONS for classification, of these those that could be described as levy mechanisms were:
Sustainable urban drainage systems;
Carbon emission reduction targets;
Community energy savings programme;
Packaging recovery notes;
Zero carbon buyout fund;
Renewable transport fuel obligation; and
Feed-in-tariffs.
VAT
Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of businesses in Wales that will be affected by planned changes to VAT on caravans. [104682]
Mr Gauke: Annex B—Tables of Impact for Individual Measures in HM Revenue and Customs consultation document "VAT: Addressing Borderline Anomalies", published at Budget 2012, sets out estimates for VAT which will be raised from holiday caravans and a summary of impacts upon which comments are invited.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf
VAT: Channel Islands
Austin Mitchell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent case brought by the governments of the
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Channel Islands in relation to his decision to end low value consignment relief for goods imported from the Channel Islands. [104676]
Mr Gauke: The Judicial Review brought by the Governments of Guernsey and Jersey in respect of the decision to limit Low Value Consignment Relief was decided in the Government's favour on 15 March 2012. The Governments of Guernsey and Jersey subsequently announced that they do not intend to appeal against the judgement and the changes came into effect on 1 April. This outcome will ensure that UK businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, can compete on a level playing field with businesses which are based in the Channel Islands.
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to ensure that companies previously located in the Channel Islands for the purpose of exploiting low value consignment relief do not relocate to other jurisdictions for the purpose of avoiding the impact of his decision to end such relief for goods imported from the Channel Islands. [104677]
Mr Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs will be monitoring the effect of the change to the Low Value Consignment Relief regime, taking particular interest in any relocation of businesses to other non-EU jurisdictions in order to retain the benefits of LVCR. Should HMRC identify evidence that such diversion is occurring, and that it has the potential to distort the market, the Government will consider removing the LVCR from mail order from those jurisdictions.
Working Tax Credit
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Tooting constituency claiming working tax credit will be affected by the increase in the working hours requirement. [104968]
Mr Gauke: I refer the right hon. Member to the parliamentary question answered on the 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 72W.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to answer written question (a) 97800, (b) 97801 and (c) 97755, tabled on 28 February 2012 for answer on 5 March 2012. [103141]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 16 April 2012]: I have done so today.
Wales
First Great Western
14. Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with the First Minister of Wales on the First Great Western franchise. [104197]
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Mr David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), meets the First Minister on a regular basis, the latest meeting having taken place only last week. Their discussions include a range of transport issues affecting Wales.
Rail Transport
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with the First Minister of Wales on developing rail transport in Wales. [104195]
Mr David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), has regular discussions with the First Minister about a range of transport issues that affect Wales, and discussed the importance of rail infrastructure with him last week.
Official Secrets Act
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether any person employed by (a) her Department and (b) any private firms contracted by her Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act. [104850]
Mr David Jones: All civil servants and government contractors are bound by the Official Secrets Act.
Cabinet Office
Government Departments: Private Sector
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 180W, on Government departments: private sector, if he will publish outsourcing deals by each Government department which are cleared by the Cabinet Office; and if he will indicate in detail how he intends to publish that information. [104520]
Mr Maude: The information requested is as follows:
“Under EU procurement rules, public sector organisations must advertise contracts above certain thresholds (currently £113,057 for central Government goods and services) in the Official Journal of the European Union at:
http://www.ojeu.eu/
In addition, in order to increase transparency and open up procurement to SMEs, central Government Departments and their arm’s length bodies are required to advertise all procurements over £10,000 and publish tender documents and contracts for procurements over £10,000 on Contracts Finder:
http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/ ”
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments: Waiting Lists
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent reports he has received on waiting times at accident and emergency departments at (a) Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, (b) Princes Royal Hospital, Orpington and (c) Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford. [104728]
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Mr Simon Burns: Information is held at the level of trusts and is not available for specific hospital sites. The information is published every week and is available on the Department's website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics/WeeklySituationReports/index.htm
Breast Cancer: Screening
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of women who have had mammograms who subsequently have been informed of their breast density; [105254]
(2) what information his Department holds on the correlation between breast density and the five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer; [105255]
(3) if he will consider making it his policy that all GPs should inform women who have undergone breast screening of their breast density. [105258]
Paul Burstow: Breast density information is not routinely collected as part of the NHS Breast Screening Programme. General practitioners (GPs) are notified of the outcome of a patient's breast screening examination but this only covers whether the results were normal or whether the patient has been called back for further investigation. We have made no estimate of the proportion of women who have had mammograms and have subsequently been informed of their breast density.
High breast density is known to increase the risk of a woman developing breast cancer. However, the Department holds no specific information on the correlation between breast density and the five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer.
Cancer
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of (a) low dose aspirin, (b) vitamin D pills, (c) consumption of red meat and (d) consumption of alcohol on the development of cancer. [104888]
Paul Burstow: Over the last decade, the evidence base for using aspirin to prevent cancer has been growing. While its exact role in achieving this is not fully understood, it is thought that aspirin might prevent cancer through its anti-inflammatory effects and that it may also slow the build up of mutations that ultimately lead to the cancer. In addition to this, new research shows that the drug seems to slow the spread of disease by preventing cancer cells from being carried around the body on blood platelets.
The Department, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and stakeholders are working in partnership to consider next steps on aspirin.
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), an advisory committee of independent experts that provides advice to the Department, considered the relationship between meat and bowel cancer as part of a risk assessment on iron and health in 2010. The available scientific evidence supports a probable association
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between red and processed meat consumption and bowel cancer risk. The SACN report Iron and Health can be found at:
www.sacn.gov.uk/pdfs/sacn_iron_and_health_report_web.pdf
SACN was unable to quantify the amount of red and processed meat that may be associated with increased bowel cancer risk due to the limitations and inconsistencies in the data. SACN are advising adults with relatively high intakes of red and processed meat, i.e. over 90g/day, to consider reducing their intakes. A reduction of intake to 70 grams a day, which is the population average, will not increase the proportion of the adult population with low iron intakes.
In its 2007 statement, SACN advised that research into the link between vitamin D status and chronic diseases, including cancer, is inconclusive and further work is needed before any definitive conclusions can be drawn. The statement can be found at:
www.sacn.gov.uk/pdfs/sacn_position_vitamin_d_2007_05_07.pdf
In 2010, the Department asked SACN to undertake a comprehensive review of vitamin D and health and a SACN Working Group was set up to take forward this work. The proceedings of SACN's Vitamin D Working Group and its terms of reference are available at:
www.sacn.gov.uk/meetings/working_groups/vitamin/index.html
The review is not expected to complete until around 2014.
The Department considered the evidence of alcohol on the development of cancer for the Change4Life alcohol health harms campaign that launched in February 2012. The International Agency for Research into Cancer recognises that alcohol is one of the most strongly established preventable causes of cancer, as evidenced through its “Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans”, which can be found at:
http://monographs.iarc.fr/
There is substantial evidence that drinking alcohol is associated with increased risk of seven types of cancer—oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, oesophageal, breast, bowel, and liver cancers. There is also evidence that heavy drinking increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Health Services: Ex-servicemen
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2012, Official Report, column 541W, on armed forces: psychology, if he will publish a list of the key recommendations of the Fighting Fit report by the hon. Member for South West Wiltshire that his Department has (a) taken forward and (b) not taken forward; [104905]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 29 February 2012, Official Report, column 541W, on health services: ex-servicemen, how much of the £22 million budget has been spent to date; and what the (a) name and (b) description is of each project that has been supported by the funding. [104907]
Mr Simon Burns:
The Department has made excellent progress to date, implementing the recommendations of my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire
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(Dr Murrison), in his report “Fighting Fit”. To date, we have taken forward the following relevant projects: pilot of the Big White Wall online early intervention service for the armed forces, their families, and veterans; uplift in the NHS veterans’ mental health capability; e-learning package for general practitioner (GPs) on veteran-specific issues, in conjunction with the Royal College of GPs; and the veterans’ 24-hour helpline. The remaining recommendation contained within “Fighting Fit” was the Veterans’ Information Service, to be deployed 12 months after a person leaves the armed forces. This is currently being developed, and will be launched later in the year.
With regard to the quoted £22 million budget associated with the report, approximately £15 million of this is funding dedicated to the improvement of veterans’ prosthetics services. £7.2 million will be spent over the spending review period on implementing the “Fighting Fit” recommendations. Of this, £1.8 million has already been spent on the projects already mentioned, with the remainder profiled over the rest of the spending review period.
Hospitals: Waiting Lists
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent reports he has received on referral to treatment times in (a) Bexley Care Trust and (b) South London Healthcare NHS Trust areas. [104729]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested is as follows:
The percentage of referral to treatment (RTT) patients that started admitted treatment within 18 weeks (admitted adjusted RTT pathways):
(a) Bexley Care Trust = n/a (this trust does not have in-patient services)
(b) South London Healthcare NHS Trust = 89.9%
The percentage of RTT patients that started non-admitted treatment within 18 weeks (non-admitted RTT pathways):
(a) Bexley Care Trust = 100%
(b) South London Healthcare NHS Trust = 91.8%
The percentage of RTT patients waiting within 18 weeks (incomplete RTT pathways):
(a) Bexley Care Trust = 100%
(b) South London Healthcare NHS Trust = 90.7%
Notes:
1. Admitted RTT waiting times pathways are waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and involved admission to hospital.
2. Non-admitted RTT pathways are waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and did not involve admission to hospital.
3. Incomplete RTT pathways are waiting times for patients still waiting to start treatment at the end of the month.
4. Adjustments are made to admitted RTT pathways for clock pauses, where a patient had declined reasonable offers of admission and chosen to wait longer.
Source:
Department of Health referral to treatment waiting times statistics (Unify2 data collection) for February 2012
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Meat
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) the European Commission, (b) the UK meat-processing industry and (c) the devolved Administrations on the European Commission moratorium on the production of desinewed meat. [105004]
Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, has had the following discussions on desinewed meat:
(a) The FSA held urgent discussions with senior European Commission (EC) officials once the EC made its position known on desinewed meat, securing an extension to the original five-day deadline for action. The FSA continues to pursue this matter vigorously with the EC at all levels.
(b) The FSA has been in regular contact with businesses and industry representatives since the EC set out its position on desinewed meat. The FSA will continue its work on assessing the impact of the EC decision with industry bodies and affected businesses.
(c) The FSA has been in regular contact with the devolved Administrations to assess the impact of the EC decision and develop practical guidance for affected businesses. The FSA has also been working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on this matter.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the European Commission moratorium on the production of desinewed meat on the UK meat processing industry. [105005]
Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Miss McIntosh) on 23 April 2012, Official Report, column 727W.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings he had with European Commission representatives on desinewed meat before the European Commission introduced its moratorium on the production of desinewed meat. [105006]
Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, participated in working groups at the European Commission which discussed guidance on mechanically separated meat (MSM). At these meetings, the FSA supported the United Kingdom position that desinewed meat should not be classed as MSM.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether EU member states other than the UK export desinewed meat. [105007]
Anne Milton:
The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, has been informed by UK producers that desinewed meat is also exported by other member states. The FSA continues to
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work with industry to assemble evidence of this practice in other member states and of intra-community trade in this product.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish any advice he has received on whether the production of desinewed meat complies with EU single market legislation. [105008]
Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, issued guidance in 2010 which reflected the United Kingdom view that desinewed meat (DSM) is distinct from mechanically separated meat (MSM). This is the view the UK has expressed in European Commission (EC) Working Groups.
Following a Food and Veterinary Office mission in March 2012, the UK was informed by the EC that desinewed meat can no longer be produced from ruminant bones and that DSM made from poultry or pork bones should be labelled as MSM. The FSA has explained the EC decision in detail to industry and is working closely with industry representatives to assess the impact of the decision and produce guidance.
Medical Treatments
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 February 2012, Official Report, column 541W, on medical treatments, if his Department will conduct an assessment of studies, interventions and research into any effect of optimism on the ability of patients to fight (a) infectious and (b) cardiovascular disease. [104899]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department has no plans to conduct such an assessment into any effect of optimism on the ability of patients to fight infectious and cardiovascular disease.
Mental Health Services
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on each of the top five drugs to treat depression in each of the last five years. [104878]
Mr Simon Burns: The cost to the national health service for the five antidepressant medicines for which it has incurred most expenditure and their ranking, for each year have been determined by adding the use in the community and in hospitals. However, because of the agreement under which the Health and Social Care Information Centre receive the hospital data, we are unable to give figures for individual medicines unless they have been positively appraised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which is not the case for antidepressants.
The following table shows the order of greatest expenditure for each of the top five medicines, with the net ingredient cost (NIC) for their use in the community and a total for the estimated cost of the use of these five drugs in hospitals. The latest data we can provide for hospitals are for 2010; therefore the latest available five-year period is 2006 to 2010.
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| Community | ||||||||
| Overall rank : | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | ||||
| Drug | NIC (£) | Drug | NIC (£) | Drug | NIC (£) | Drug | NIC (£) | |
| Community | Hospital spend (£) | Total spend (£) | ||
| Overall rank: | 5th | 1-5 | 1-5 | |
| Drug | NIC (£) | Estimated cost | ||
| Notes: 1. The community spend is NIC and is taken from the Prescription Cost Analysis system. 2. The hospital dispensing information is provided by IMS. It is based on information collected by IMS from most hospitals in England. 3. The cost to the NHS is the total of the amount dispensed in the community and the amount used in hospital. There may also be some expenditure by mental health trusts involving direct supply rather than prescriptions and not passing through a hospital pharmacy. This use is not collected centrally. | ||||
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the use of galvanic skin response meters in the treatment of mental health patients. [104890]
Paul Burstow: Our priority is to ensure people have access to a wide range of therapies and treatments, based on evidence assessed by the National institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE has not issued guidance on the use of galvanic skin response meters. However, services are not restricted to offering NICE approved therapies and treatments and there are many other forms of therapy made available through the national health service when clinicians and other professionals deem it appropriate.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to assess the efficacy of mindfulness-based therapy for the conditions of (a) bipolar disorder, (b) social phobia, (c) drug misuse, (d) alcohol misuse, (e) psychological symptoms that accompany cancer, (f) blood pressure, (g) chronic pain and (h) stress; and if he will ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to assess the efficacy of mindfulness-based therapy to reduce the symptoms of (i) fibromyalgia, (ii) psoriasis and (iii) multiple sclerosis. [104896]
Anne Milton: We have no plans to ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop guidance specifically on mindfulness-based therapy.
NICE has developed clinical guidelines on a number of these conditions and is responsible for determining the exact scope of its guidance on individual disease areas, including the specific interventions covered.
NICE'S clinical guidelines on depression in adults, published in October 2009, and on common mental health disorders, published in May 2011, include recommendations on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.
Mental Illnesses
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average relapse rate is for people suffering with depression. [104869]
Anne Milton: Although most patients remit from any episode of depression (when it is not chronic), symptoms often come back at some later time. Depression is now considered to be a largely recurrent disorder and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy prepares people to prevent recurrence. There is no average relapse rate of depression.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the effects of chronic depression on the mortality rates of those affected; [104891]
(2) if he will estimate the proportion of chronically depressed people who (a) smoke, (b) are alcoholics, (c) take illegal drugs, (d) are obese and (e) are physically inactive. [104893]
Anne Milton: No such estimates have been made for chronically depressed people. However, individual studies show people with depression are at a greater risk of early death and that having a mental health problem increases the risk of physical ill health. This is why one of the agreed objectives of the mental health strategy “No Health Without Mental Health” is that more people with mental health problems will have good physical health, and progress will be monitored against this objective in the NHS outcomes framework with indicators on the mortality rate of people with mental illness (domain 5) and under 75 mortality rate in people with serious mental illness (domain 1).
There is a clear association between mental illness and drug and alcohol dependence and we know that people experiencing mental ill health have a higher risk of substance misuse. There is currently no standardised treatment for people with dual diagnosis (co-existing mental health and drug and alcohol problems); largely because the condition covers such a broad range of problems. The Government continue to actively promote and support improvements in commissioning and service provision for this group, their families and carers.
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We recognise that smoking is a significant health challenge for people with mental health problems. “No Health Without Mental Health” makes clear that help to stop smoking can play a very big part in improving the physical health of people with mental health problems.
It is for NHS commissioners to decide how best to allocate and manage their funds to match the needs of their populations. We are currently working on an implementation framework for the mental health strategy which will be published shortly.
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the publication of a Pathway for musculoskeletal diseases; and if he will make a statement. [104681]
Anne Milton: We have had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) uses online Pathways as a way of presenting information from existing NICE guidance on a particular topic. The topics for which a Pathway presentation is developed, and the sequencing of associated development work, are determined by NICE itself.
NHS: Pay
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees in the NHS received incremental pay progression in each of the last three years. [104749]
Mr Simon Burns: No data are readily available in this format. We estimate that in September 2010 around two-thirds of staff under “Agenda for Change” are not yet at the top of their pay band and so would be eligible for further incremental progression.
NHS: Training
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will consider making mindfulness-based techniques a compulsory element for the training of GPs and surgeons; [104870]
(2) if he will estimate the proportion of recently trained GPs who received training in mindfulness-based techniques; [104871]
(3) whether mindfulness-based techniques are offered as an option to all those training to be GPs and surgeons; [104872]
(4) what positive and negative aspects his Department has identified of the use of (a) drug therapy and (b) mindfulness-based therapy for reported bouts of depression; [104874]
(5) what estimate his Department has made of the number of people affected by obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in each of the last five years; and how many people were diagnosed with OCD in each such year; [104875]
(6) what treatments are available on the NHS for obsessive compulsive disorder; and whether any of those treatments include mindfulness-based techniques; [104876]
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(7) what assessment he has made of the use of mindfulness-based techniques to overcome obsessive compulsive disorder. [104877]
Paul Burstow: The prevalence of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in 1993, 2000 and 2007 is available from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007, and shows the following:
| Prevalence of OCD among adults ages 16 to 64 and living in England | |
| Percentage | |
Data on the number of people affected by OCD in each of the last five years and how many people were diagnosed with OCD in each such year are not held centrally.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) approved treatments for OCD that are available through Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) based. These treatments for OCD are taught routinely as part IAPT High Intensity Therapist national training courses. Currently, there is no evidence base established for the use of mindfulness techniques in the treatment of OCD. However, mindfulness is an emerging and growing field with randomised control trials under way on its use in the treatment of a number of long-term conditions. In future, if evidence suggests it is effective in the treatment of OCD, IAPT services will use it for patients with OCD.
It is the job of NICE to carry out such assessments of the evidence base of treatments. The latest guidance produced by NICE on the treatment of anxiety disorders published in January 2011 does not recommend mindfulness techniques in the treatment of OCD. The treatments recommended combine psychological therapies and medication as appropriate to the level of the patient's disorder.
With regards to the content and standard of medical training, this is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), which is the competent authority for medical training in the United Kingdom. The GMC is an independent professional body. Its role is that of custodian of quality standards in medical education and practice.
The GMC is committed to ensuring high quality patient care delivered by high quality doctors and that doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to deal with the problems and conditions they will encounter in practice.
Both drug therapy and mindfulness-based CBT therapy are NICE approved for the treatment of recurrent depression. Randomised controlled trials show that a combination of drug therapy and mindfulness provide the best results in recurrent depression.
Official Secrets Act
Tom Greatrex:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any person employed by (a) his Department, (b) the agencies and non-departmental
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public bodies for which his Department is responsible and
(c)
any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act. [104838]
Anne Milton: All Crown servants and Government contractors (as defined by sections 12(1) and 12(2) of the Official Secrets Act 1989) are subject to the requirements of the Official Secrets Act.
The employment contracts for civil servants in the Department and its agency make explicit reference to being bound by the Official Secrets Act, although they are no longer required to sign the Official Secrets Act. The Department's Code of Business Conduct, published on its intranet, makes explicit reference to the Official Secrets Act, and the duties of civil servants and everyone working for and on behalf of the Department.
Contractors, and their employees, providing goods or services to the Department are subject to the Official Secrets Act in a similar way as civil servants.
The precise legal position of staff working for the Department's non-departmental public bodies is currently being established and I will write to the hon. Member with this information as soon as possible and place a copy in the Library.