Battle of Waterloo: Anniversaries
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what role her Department will have in events to commemorate the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo in 2015. [123381]
Hugh Robertson: Discussions have been taking place within Government to determine how best to formally commemorate, in 2015, the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, although these are at a very early stage. Some planning is already being carried out by Waterloo 200, an umbrella organisation which is overseeing the anniversary, and more information can be found on its website at the following link:
www.waterloo200.org
In addition, initiatives are being organised by a number of national and regional military museums to mark the occasion, including the National Army Museum and relevant regimental museums, which come under the
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remit of the Ministry of Defence. There is also likely to be some commemorative activity at associated heritage sites such as Apsley House, the home of the Duke of Wellington, and Walmer Castle.
Bell Towers
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which bell towers have received grants from public funds in the last 12 months. [122426]
Mr Vaizey: Funds are available from public sources to support repairs to bell towers where they are part of listed places of worship. Such support includes the Listed Places of Worship Scheme and the one-off Department for Culture, Media and Sport capital grant scheme for 2012-13. Funding is also available from English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the £56 million DCMS, HLF and Arts Council England “Catalyst: Endowment” Fund.
Data are not available about the amounts disbursed specifically for works to bell towers or the location of bell towers that have benefited.
British Library
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the total cost was of consultants employed by the British Library in each of the last five years. [122484]
Mr Vaizey: The information requested has been provided in the following table.
| Consultancy expense (£) | |
British Museum
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the Board of Trustees of the British Museum on the future management of its Parthenon marble exhibits. [122460]
Mr Vaizey: I have had no such discussions. Issues relating to the ownership and management of the Parthenon sculptures are matters for the trustees of the British Museum.
Cathedrals
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on the maintenance of the fabric of English cathedrals of the loss of income arising from forced sale to tenants of rented houses in cathedral closes. [122481]
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Mr Vaizey: The sale to tenants of rented houses in cathedral closes is a private matter for each Dean and Chapter.
English Heritage carried out a fabric survey into the condition of cathedrals in 2009. This research demonstrated that the majority of cathedrals are now in better condition than they have been for a century and are in a reasonably good state, given their age and complexity as buildings.
Consultants
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many consultants for which her Department is responsible were employed in (a) museums, (b) historic palaces, (c) parks, (d) galleries and (e) heritage sites and became permanent members of staff following the end of their contract in each of the last two years. [122478]
Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not record this information centrally, and to collate it could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
Cultural Heritage
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what (a) heritage and (b) conservation sites there are in each region. [122425]
Mr Vaizey: Details of all nationally protected historic places in England are now available online at:
http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/
which is searchable by region.
In addition, English Heritage publishes Heritage Counts each year on behalf of the heritage sector, which provides details on the extent and condition of heritage assets in each region. The latest report and statistics are available from:
www.heritagecounts.org.uk
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of conservation of literary landmarks. [122445]
Mr Vaizey: I have made no specific assessment. However, English Heritage is aware of the claims of literary interest and strives to identify such connections with buildings, both through listing and through the Blue Plaques scheme. Many writers' tombs are also listed.
Government guidance in the National Planning Policy Framework and English Heritage's own Conservation Principles stress the need to uphold the significance of such heritage assets. English Heritage has grant-funded urgent repairs to buildings at risk with literary connections, for example, Mrs Gaskell's house in Ardwick, Manchester in 2009 and the repair of the church tower at Grantchester, Cambridgeshire which is the subject of a poem by Rupert Brooke.
Broader landmarks like landscapes can be protected through designation as areas of outstanding natural beauty, for example, the Shropshire Hills; as world heritage sites, for example Bath; and through conservation area status, for example, Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia or Soho in London. There are many writer's house museums,
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opened by independent bodies and the National Trust, which also celebrate these connections. These are almost always listed.
Many literary heritage projects, or places of note from a literary viewpoint, have received support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. These include the birthplace of Burns—now the Burns Museum; Keats House; the Bronte Parsonage; Jane Austen's house in Hampshire; Dove Cottage, the home of Wordsworth; and the Roald Dahl Centre.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much her Department has spent on its aims related to heritage (a) in cash terms, (b) in real terms and (c) as a proportion of its annual expenditure in each year since 1997. [122449]
Mr Vaizey: The following table sets out the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's spend on Heritage from 1997 to 2011-12, both in cash and real terms:
| Cash data | At 2011-12 prices | Percentage of yearly expenditure | |
Direct Selling
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps her Department can take to stop British residents receiving unwanted sales calls from companies based outside the UK. [122421]
Mr Vaizey:
Unwanted sales calls from companies based outside the UK fall outside the jurisdiction of the UK. However, measures are in place for sales and marketing calls that are made on behalf of UK companies, through the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003. Callers are legally required not to call a number that is registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), or if they have previously notified the caller that they do not wish to receive such calls. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) considers complaints about the TPS and can issue a fine of up to £500,000 for the most serious breaches. Residents can also further protect themselves, as most service providers offer a range of services that can help to reduce the need to answer such calls. This includes Calling Line Identification Display, Automatic Call
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Rejection and Choose to Refuse. A range of other devices are also commercially available that can help to block unwanted sales calls.
Dismissal
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many employees have been dismissed by her Department since May 2010. [122473]
Hugh Robertson: One employee has been dismissed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport since May 2010.
HMS Victory
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assurances she has been given that the Maritime Heritage Foundation has the appropriate resources and independent archaeological expertise to manage properly HMS Victory 1774. [122439]
Mr Vaizey: Government consideration of proposals by the Maritime Heritage Foundation for work at the wreck site of the Victory 1744 are informed by an advisory group which has representation from the Ministry of Defence, English Heritage and the National Museum of the Royal Navy. This Department has observer status on this group. No work on the site can be undertaken without the approval of the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond).
Holiday Accommodation
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the level of associated expenditure in local economies from visitors in self-catering accommodation. [122427]
Hugh Robertson: The Department does not record this information. The Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey (IPS) provides the main source of data on accommodation type used by overseas visitors, which can be found at the following link:
http://www.visitbritain.org/insightsandstatistics/inbound visitorstatistics/regions/regionalspread.aspx
The IPS does not have a category specifically for ‘self-catering'; most inbound visitors who are self-catering will fall into the ‘other' category. However, those who selected ‘own home' or ‘camping/mobile home' may also capture ‘self-catering'.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what her latest estimate is of the use by overseas visitors of self-catering holiday accommodation in the UK in each of the last two years; and what her Department's estimate is of such usage for the next three years. [122461]
Hugh Robertson:
The Department does not record this information. The Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey (IPS) provides the main
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source of data on accommodation type used by overseas visitors, which can be found at the following link:
http://www.visitbritain.org/insightsandstatistics/inbound visitorstatistics/regions/regionalspread.aspx
The IPS does not have a category specifically for ‘self-catering’; most inbound visitors who are self-catering will fall into the ‘other’ category. However, those who selected ‘own home’ or ‘camping/mobile home’ may also capture ‘self-catering’.
Internet
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many page hits have been recorded by the (a) Arts Council England and (b) British Film Council websites since May 2010. [122448]
Mr Vaizey: From May 2010 until 15 October 2012, Arts Council England advise that their website received 10,483,550 page views. From May 2010 until 30 September 2012 the total number of page views recorded by the British Film Institute (BFI) was 123,765,038, this figure is the total sum of the page views for BFI.org.uk, Film and TV Database, Screenonline, Filmstore and video views for the YouTube BFI Films channel.
Marketing
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much has been spent on rebranding her Department and its agencies since May 2010. [122423]
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Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not spent any money on rebranding since May 2010. Its agency, The Royal Parks, has since May 2010 spent £11,424.00 on its own rebranding out of its own budget.
Departmental Meetings
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what meetings staff of her Department have had with representatives from (a) the Natural History Museum, (b) the Royal Armouries, (c) the Hepworth Gallery, (d) Sport England, (e) the Tate Gallery, (f) the UK Film Council, (g) the British Library, (h) UK Sport, (i) the Baltic Gateshead, (j) Visit Britain and (k) Derby Quad since May 2010; and what issues were discussed in each meeting. [123180]
Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not collate this information centrally, and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
Museums and Galleries
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many free visits were made to art galleries and museums funded through the public purse in each region of England in each of the last five years. [122457]
Mr Vaizey: The number of free visits to galleries and museums by region for the last five years is set out in the following table:
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | ||
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| (1) Since April 2008, the Museum of London has been sponsored by the GLA. (2) Excludes visits to the gardens. | ||||||
In addition to this, the number of free visits to museums funded through the Renaissance in the Regions programme is as follows. It should be noted that the sample of museums is not constant throughout the years.
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with her Greek counterpart on exchange of museum artefacts since the building of the new Acropolis Museum. [122459]
Mr Vaizey: I have had no such discussions.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of whether visitor numbers for those museums and galleries in London which are funded by grant-in-aid will increase following the London Olympic Games. [122468]
Mr Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport publishes visitor figures for its sponsored museums and galleries in England on the first working day of each month:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/museums_and_galleries/3375.aspx
The figures are published one month in arrears to allow time for the museums and galleries to collect the data. Visitor figures for September will therefore be published on 1 November.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if her Department will take steps to (a) review the Arts Fund Criteria to ensure all forms of art are eligible for funding, (b) help independent and new artists display and sell their work and (c) ensure small to medium-sized galleries are eligible to participate in the Own Art Scheme. [122609]
Mr Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport works to make sure the cultural sector has the framework to grow and have real impact on people's lives. However, it does so in partnership with a wide range of arm's length public bodies, private, charitable and voluntary organisations. It seeks to support these bodies, not intervene in their operations.
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(a) The Arts Fund is an independent charity and Government has neither the locus nor the inclination to intervene in its activities.
(b) Arts Council England's (ACE) ‘Own Art’ scheme makes it easier and more affordable for people to buy and sell contemporary art and craft by offering interest free loans of up to £2,000 for the purchase of work by living artists. During the past year over 3,700 customers used the ‘Own Art’ scheme, generating an estimated £1.8 million worth of income for artists. ACE also supports artist-led galleries that focus on showing emerging, talent and encouraging sales of their work through their investment in their National Portfolio organisations. These include ‘Workplace’ in Newcastle, ‘Matts Gallery’, ‘Chisenhale Gallery’ and ‘Studio Voltaire’ in London which have a strong focus on emerging talent and selling work.
(c) ACE publicises the opportunity for galleries to apply for membership of the ‘Own Art’ scheme on a regular basis, and encourages applications from galleries of all kinds specialising in the sale of high quality contemporary art and craft, from small scale commercial businesses up to larger publicly funded museums and galleries.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many galleries have participated in the Own Art Scheme in the last 12 months. [122610]
Mr Vaizey: The Own Art Scheme is delivered independently of Government by ArtCo Trading Ltd, a trading company of Arts Council England. The Department has no operational involvement. However, the Department has been informed by the Arts Council that there are currently 230 galleries registered as members of the Own Art scheme in England, plus a further 41 located in Scotland and Northern Ireland where the scheme is offered in partnership with Creative Scotland and Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
Olympic Games 2012
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much has been spent in each region on programmes launched as part of the Cultural Olympiad on the latest date for which figures are available. [122463]
Mr Vaizey: The total budget for the Cultural Olympiad, including the London 2012 Festival, was £105 million for the four-year period from 2008-12. This budget was raised from both public and private sector sources including the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Legacy Trust, the Olympic Lottery Distributor, UK Arts Councils, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Greater London Authority and several commercial partners and sponsors. Much of the funding was secured directly by the projects themselves, as opposed to passing through a centralised budget so figures detailing the spending in each region are not available. However, individual regions, such as the West Midlands and East of England, have produced their own analyses of their region's programme.
Further information can be found at the following links:
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http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/doc/Evaluation_of_the_Cultural_Olympiad_East_of_England.pdf
http://visitbirmingham.com/files/2012-09-39/35634Culturalolympics6ppA4proof2LR_tcm33-41273.pdf
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/se_website_ images/SouthEastCulturalOlympiadVolumeTwo.pdf
Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will make it her policy that all businesses which contributed to the London 2012 Olympic Games receive the full commercial benefits of their involvement, notwithstanding no marketing rights clauses remaining in force. [122819]
Hugh Robertson: Suppliers to London 2012 have been paid the full commercial rate for their goods and services, with over £7.5 billion of Games-related contracts being awarded to UK companies. The responsibility to enforce the current marketing restrictions and protect the rights of Games Sponsors within the UK, transfers from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to the British Olympic Association (BOA) and British Paralympic Association, in January 2013. The BOA is continuing to work with the International Olympic Committee to develop a framework that allows suppliers to promote the work they undertook, balanced with the ability for sponsors to protect their rights of association with the Games. I will continue to monitor this to ensure British businesses can benefit as much as possible from their involvement in the Games.
Procurement
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which contractors based in other EU member states are providing services to her Department. [122482]
Hugh Robertson: The suppliers used by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) all have offices in the UK. However, DCMS would be unable to ascertain whether these suppliers are based in other EU countries without incurring disproportionate costs.
Public Libraries
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many public libraries providing internet access to the public there were in each region of England in each of the last 10 years. [122456]
Mr Vaizey: Information on the number of public libraries open for more than 10 hours a week and providing internet access to the public, is available in the annual public library statistics published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) from 2001-02 until 2003-04, and as a percentage of libraries with access from 2004-05 until 2007-08. From 2008-09 onwards, the information is available as the number of terminals with internet access in each authority. From 2010-11, the CIPFA statistics also provide information on the number of library service points that have a public access wi-fi network available.
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Copies of CIPFA statistics are available in the House Library.
Public Relations
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on external media relations in each of the last 12 months. [123110]
Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not spent anything on external media relations in the last 12 months.
Stonehenge
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had on the (a) protection and (b) maintenance of the (i) Avebury and (ii) Stonehenge world heritage site. [122455]
Mr Vaizey: I have had no recent discussions on Avebury and Stonehenge. The Department has regular contact with English Heritage and the National Trust, both at official and ministerial level, on a range of issues. Stonehenge and Avebury have not been raised in particular, as both sites are well maintained.
Tourism
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have had with representatives of the tourism industry in the last six months. [122441]
Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport publishes details of ministerial meetings with outside interest groups on its transparency website. Full details of which can be found at the following link:
http://www.transparency.culture.gov.uk/category/other/meetings/
While officials meetings are not recorded centrally, officials have attended a number of meetings over the last six months where representatives of the tourism trade have been present.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what effect her Department estimates the change to VisitBritain's budget will have on international visitor numbers to the UK in each of the next four years. [122446]
Hugh Robertson: As part of the spending review settlement we agreed that VisitBritain would continue to play a crucial role in promoting tourism, but like all our other major bodies it would have to find administrative savings of 50% and maximise its marketing budget. From 2011-12 through to 2014-15, VisitBritain is, therefore, investing over £125 million in a major international promotional campaign in key overseas markets. This is aiming to deliver 4.6 million extra visitors, £2.27 billion in extra visitor spend and over 50,000 job opportunities. This campaign will take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity afforded by the unique events of 2012 to maximise the industry's potential and ensure that we create a sustainable legacy for tourism.
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Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of inbound tourists to the UK in the latest month for which figures are available. [123113]
Hugh Robertson: This information is not recorded by the Department. Data relating to inbound tourism are recorded via the Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey (IPS). The latest published data can be found at the following link:
http://www.visitbritain.org/Images/August%202012%20IPS %20Memo%20with%20charts_tcm29-35181.pdf
which shows that an estimated 420,000 visits from overseas to the UK took place in July and August 2012.
Tourism: Lancashire
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps (a) Visit Britain and (b) Visit England is taking to promote tourism in (i) Lancashire and (ii) Pendle constituency. [123183]
Hugh Robertson: Lancashire and Pendle are an important part of our tourism offer. Although VisitEngland, our national tourism board, does not promote at the local level, it does engage in national promotions and public relations work which benefits such locations as Lancashire. VisitEngland is currently developing four thematic marketing campaigns based on City, Coast, Countryside and Heritage, and Lancashire and Pendle embodies all four.
A new Destination Management Organisation is currently being set up in Lancashire which will be covering the Pendle constituency, and VisitEngland staff have met with their team to discuss key priorities, and to look further at promotion and development opportunities.
VisitBritain is investing in a major international promotional campaign in key overseas markets. Over the next four years, this is expected to deliver 4.6 million extra visitors, £2.27 billion in extra visitor spend and over 50,000 job opportunities across the whole nation. This campaign will take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity afforded by the unique events of 2012 to maximise the industry's potential and ensure that we create a sustained legacy for tourism. Destinations all over the UK, including those in Lancashire, stand to benefit from these initiatives.
World Heritage Sites
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what visits in an official capacity she has made to each UK world heritage site in the last 12 months. [122447]
Mr Vaizey: In her official capacity since her appointment last month, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), has made frequent visits to the Palace of Westminster. She has not yet visited any other UK World Heritage Site.
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Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on the maintenance of world heritage sites in EU member states. [122450]
Mr Vaizey: I have had no direct discussions regarding World Heritage sites in EU member states to date.
Officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport recently engaged with colleagues from around the globe during the World Heritage Committee meeting in St. Petersburg in June of this year. A range of world heritage issues were discussed including the maintenance of various sites.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many applications for locations in England to become World Heritage Sites are outstanding; and if she will make a statement. [122452]
Mr Vaizey: Individual national governments are responsible for nominating sites in their country from a Tentative List of Future Nominations. After a nomination is presented, there is an 18-month period of evaluation by one of UNESCO's expert advisers before a final decision is made by the World Heritage Committee at its annual meeting.
Following a public consultation, ‘World Heritage for the Nation: Identifying, Protecting and Promoting Our World Heritage’, the UK's Tentative List was reviewed and a new Tentative List was announced in March 2011.
Sites on the Tentative List which wanted to go forward straight away with a nomination to UNESCO were invited to complete a Technical Evaluation by 9 April 2012. The Technical Evaluations which came forward were assessed by an Expert Group. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced which sites have been invited to prepare a full submission to UNESCO: the Forth Bridge near Edinburgh has been invited to prepare a nomination for 2014 and Gorham's Cave Complex in Gibraltar will go forward in 2015.
More detailed information about the nominations processed and sites on the Tentative List, is available on our website:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/historic_environment/4168.aspx
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the proposed (a) closure of accident and emergency services across the country and (b) service changes to the NHS in Worcestershire. [122835]
Anna Soubry:
The Government's policy is that front- line national health service reconfigurations and major service changes should be locally led and clinically driven. The underlying rationale should be that changes deliver an improvement in quality and outcomes for patients. The guiding principles are the Secretary of
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State's four tests, which are that schemes should be able to demonstrate: support from clinical commissioners; clarity on the clinical evidence base; robust patient and public engagement; and support for patient choice. It is for the local NHS, working with their partners, to plan, develop and implement proposals for change and assure these proposals against the four tests.
Apprentices
Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) paid apprentices and (b) paid interns are employed in his Department. [123087]
Dr Poulter: At present, there are no apprentices working in the Department.
The Department does not use the term "intern", but has facilitated a number of paid student placements at administrative officer level in a variety of posts such as economic, financial, statistical and operational research.
The number of paid student placements currently employed by the Department is 13.
Formal “internships”—paid student placements—in the Department have included the Graduate Summer Placement Scheme (for ethnic and disabled undergraduates), the NHS Management Trainee Programme, and analytical and finance university student placements.
Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent progress has been made by the Clinical Reference Group on Blood and Marrow Transplantation on (a) the development of a national tariff for blood and marrow transplantation, (b) CQUINs for blood and marrow transplantation and (c) the quality dashboard for blood and marrow transplantation; [123025]
(2) whether NHS trusts will be mandated to complete the quality dashboard for blood and marrow transplantation; and what arrangements will be in place to ensure organisations are held to account on the outcomes they achieve; [123026]
(3) on what dates the Clinical Reference Group on Blood and Marrow Transplantation has met in 2012; and if he will publish the minutes of each meetings; [123027]
(4) what recent consideration his Department has given to the role of mobilisation in the development of commissioning products by the Clinical Reference Group on Blood and Marrow Transplantation. [123028]
Anna Soubry: This work is led by the NHS Commissioning Board who have provided the following response.
Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs) were set up in 2012 to assist in the transition of “prescribed” specialised services into the NHS Commissioning Board. They provide the clinical leadership and input into the development of commissioning and contracting products for prescribed services. There are over 60 CRGs which report into five national programmes of care.
The outputs of the Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) CRGs are currently being considered and assessed by the Clinical Advisory Group for specialised services. Depending on their recommendations, these products
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will then be used in the 2013-14 contracts. The BMT CRG, while looking to ensure convergence of standards across providers for the service, has not developed a national tariff for BMT. However, the introduction of a single operating model provides an opportunity to address inconsistency in pricing, currencies and contracting mechanisms but we recognise that this will not be in place by April 2013.
Quality dashboards are not specifically about improving services, they are about benchmarking services as a way of aiding improvement. Quality dashboards have been developed during 2012-13 for 20 prescribed service areas, including BMT. Providers will be populating information into these commencing Quarter 3 2012-13. The intention is to carry on using these quality dashboards in 2013-14. These quality dashboards will continue to be refined to provide the right information to support safe and effective services and provide a national perspective of quality standards across the country.
The BMT CRG have met on the following dates:
15 May 2012
6 July 2012
17 October 2012.
Minutes are available on request.
The commissioning policy for 2013-14 for BMT has considered a wide range of issues, including new drugs/devices. These will be regularly revised and updated.
Cancer: Accident and Emergency Departments
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were first diagnosed with cancer whilst admitted to casualty in each of the last five years. [122381]
Anna Soubry: This information is not held centrally.
In November 2010, the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) produced an analysis of cancer diagnosis, including for patients diagnosed as an emergency presentation, for all patients diagnosed with cancer during 2007. A copy of the NCIN report, “Routes to Diagnosis”, has already been placed in the Library.
The findings of the NCIN report were considered in the development of “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, published on 12 January 2011, which set out our intention to develop a routine assessment of the proportion of cancers diagnosed through emergency routes. Work is now under way to examine the feasibility of this.
On 21 September 2012, the NCIN published “Routes to diagnosis for cancer—determining the patient journey using multiple routine data sets” in the British Journal of Cancer. This new study offers an analysis of cancer diagnosis between 2006 and 2008 and also includes those patients diagnosed as an emergency presentation. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.
Contraceptives: Advisory Services
Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent steps he has taken to ensure that women are not refused contraceptive advice by their local GP; [122585]
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(2) if he will estimate the number of GPs in (a) England and Wales, (b) East Midlands Strategic Health Authority, (c) East of England Strategic Health Authority, (d) London Strategic Health Authority, (e) North East Strategic Health Authority, (f) North West Strategic Health Authority, (g) South Central Strategic Health Authority, (h) South East Coast Strategic Health Authority, (i) South West Strategic Health Authority, (j) West Midlands Strategic Health Authority and (k) Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority who do not offer contraceptive services to patients. [122586]
Anna Soubry: There are 8,316 primary medical care contractors in England. Of these, 4,920 provide services under the General Medical Services (GMS) contract arrangements. Of these, only two GMS contractors have opted out of the provision of contraception. The Department does not collect information on the provision of contraception by general practitioners through other contracting routes as these are a matter for local agreement, but we are not aware of any evidence to suggest that contraception is not offered under these contracts.
Diabetes
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency ambulance call-outs were made in (a) Birmingham and (b) England for people with diabetes experiencing a diabetes emergency; and if he will make a statement. [122657]
Anna Soubry: Information pertaining to emergency ambulance call-outs is collected centrally, but specific information about the nature of the call-out is not available.
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to consult industry on the development of the Diabetes Action Plan. [122658]
Anna Soubry: The aim of the Diabetes Action Plan is to set out the actions that the national health service can take to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. The Department is working in consultation with NHS colleagues and leading stakeholders from the voluntary sector, including Diabetes UK, to produce an action plan that will be published later this year. In acknowledgement that the pharmaceutical industry has a major role to play in improving diabetes care, it will be consulted on the action plan via engagement with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.
Domestic Violence
Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training is available to health practitioners to (a) improve their awareness and understanding of domestic violence and (b) help them recognise signs of domestic violence in patients. [122240]
Anna Soubry:
The Department of Health is committed to improving standards of care and support for women and child victims of domestic violence. This commitment is outlined in “Improving services for women and child victims of violence: the Department of Health Action Plan”, published in November 2010, and sets out how
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the Department will work with the national health service and partners to address this issue. Further details of the action plan are available at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_122003
A fundamental part of the action plan includes work to improve awareness and training of professionals. This includes specific bespoke projects, such as the development of an e-learning toolkit by the Royal College of General Practitioners on violence against women and children which was funded by the Department. The e-learning tool enables general practitioners (GPs) to identify and respond to victims more effectively. The Foundation Programme Curriculum 2012 for newly qualified doctors now includes sexual and domestic violence and relevant competencies have been included in the 2012 Foundation Curriculum to supplement those already covering safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
In December 2005, the Department published “Responding to Domestic Abuse: a handbook for health professionals”. The handbook gives practical guidance to health care professionals on working with patients who may have experienced or are experiencing domestic abuse. A copy of the handbook is available at:
www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_4126619.pdf
Copies of both documents have already been placed in the Library.
Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of reported domestic violence cases were referred through general practitioners and health practitioners in the latest period for which figures are available. [122241]
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Anna Soubry: The information requested is not held centrally. Victims of domestic abuse may attend a variety of settings such as general practitioner surgeries, walk-in clinics or hospitals for treatment of an injury but may not disclose that an injury occurred as a result of domestic abuse. The Department has undertaken significant work to promote awareness, understanding and training on domestic violence for health professionals, recognising the key role that health services play in providing opportunities for victims to disclose in a safe environment.
Drugs: Misuse
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made on the number of (a) recreational drug users and (b) drug addicts in (i) Enfield North constituency, (ii) London and (iii) England. [123029]
Anna Soubry: The “National and regional estimates of the prevalence of opiate and/or crack cocaine use 2009-10” report, published by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, summarises the results of work by the University of Glasgow's Centre for Drug Misuse Research and the University of Manchester's National Drug Evidence Centre, to estimate the prevalence of opiate and/or crack use in England at a national, regional, and local level. In 2009-10, there were 306,150 opiate and/or crack users in England, of which 51,445 were in London and 1,594 in Enfield.
As part of the Crime Survey of England and Wales, data on self-reported drug use are collected by the Home Office. The following table shows the proportion of adults (aged 16 to 59 years) in England and Wales who have taken the drugs listed in the last year over the past 10 years. The proportion for Enfield is not separately estimated.
| Proportion of 16 to 59-year-olds reporting use of illicit drugs in the last year by drug, 2002-03 and 2011-12 | ||||||||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
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| Note: ‘n/a’ indicates that the question was not applicable or not asked in that particular year. Source: Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2011/12 Crime Survey for England and Wales (2nd Edition), Office for National Statistics | ||||||||||
| Proportion of 16 to 59-year-olds reporting use of illicit drugs in the last year by English region and Wales, 2002-03 to 2011-12 | ||||||||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
| (1) “Any Class A drug” comprises powder cocaine, crack cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, magic mushrooms, heroin and methadone plus methamphetamine since 2008/09 interviews. (2) “Any drug” comprises powder cocaine, crack cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, magic mushrooms, ketamine, heroin, methadone, amphetamines, methamphetamine, cannabis, tranquillisers, anabolic steroids, amyl nitrite, any other pills/powders/drugs smoked. Source: Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2011/12 Crime Survey for England and Wales (2nd Edition), Office for National Statistics | ||||||||||
Epilepsy
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS was of unplanned hospitalisations as a result of epilepsy in each year since 2009. [122593]
Norman Lamb: This information is not available as it is not possible to estimate the cost to the national health service of unplanned hospitalisations as a result of epilepsy.
The cost data that the Department collect from NHS providers are not collected on the basis of the reason for admission, but are categorised by Healthcare Resource Groups which describe the treatment provided.
General Practitioners
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of patients was per doctor delivering out-of-hours cover between 7.00 pm and 8.00 am in each of the last five years. [122843]
Anna Soubry: This information is not centrally collected.
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Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of NHS-registered patients per general practitioner was in each primary care trust in each of the last five years. [122844]
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Anna Soubry: The information requested is set out in the following table, which has been supplied by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
| Average number of general practitioners (GP) registered patients per GP (excluding retainers and registrars) by primary care trust (PCT) in England, 2007-11 | |||||||
| Registered patients per General Practitioner | |||||||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||
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| n/a = data not available Notes: 1. Data are as at 30 September in each year. 2. PCTs provided are those in existence at the time of the relevant census. East and North Hertfordshire and West Hertfordshire PCTs merged in 2010 to form a single Hertfordshire PCT. Wherever the name of a PCT has changed over the time series but the boundaries remained the same the most recent name as at 30 September 2011 has been used. 3. GP figures are excluding GP Retainers and GP Registrars 4. Registered patient figures used for the calculation in the data were taken from the annual GP Census publication, which is collected directly from the Exeter GP payment system. They are numbers of registrations only and do not represent a precise count of physical people as some people are registered multiple times at different practices and similarly some people are not registered with a GP at all. 5. Headcount Methodology: The new headcount methodology from 2010 onwards means these data are not fully comparable with previous years, due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. Further information on the headcount methodology is available in the census publication: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/workforce/nhs-staff-numbers Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. 6. Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. | |||||||