Travel: Concessions
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the provision of concessionary travel schemes for people aged under 18 years in education or training; and what recent discussions he has had with bus operators on the implications for concessionary fare schemes of the increase in the school leaving age to (a) 17 in 2013 and (b) 18 in 2015. [144861]
Norman Baker: The responsibility for post 16 transport support lies with local authorities. The authorities have a legal duty to set out in a transport statement the arrangements they consider necessary to enable young people to attend post-16 education. The Government recognises that some students find it difficult to pay for education-related costs, and this is one of the reasons why it introduced the 16-19 Bursary Fund. Local authorities and providers are encouraged to work together to ensure that post 16 transport support, and the 16-19 Bursary fund are used effectively together to help meet transport costs.
I hold regular discussions with bus operators—and other stakeholders—and have asked the industry to consider offering travel discounts to all those aged 18 and under, not just to those in education but to youngsters entering the world of work for the first time, for example in an apprenticeship.
Attorney-General
Frances Andrade
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what support and liaison was offered by the Crown Prosecution Service to the late Frances Andrade between complaint and trial and during the trial. [145523]
The Attorney-General: The Director of Public Prosecutions will shortly be conducting a Post-Conviction Case Review to which Mrs Andrade's family have been invited so that he and they can fully understand the handling of the case. The DPP is responding to you separately with the details of the support given to Mrs Andrade. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has also set out that the police will be looking at their involvement in the case.
Serious Fraud Office
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General (1) what (a) bonuses, (b) travel expenses, (c) severance pay and (d) other income in addition to his basic salary the former Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Chief Operating Officer, Chris Bailes, received from the public purse arising from his employment at the SFO; [144952]
1 Mar 2013 : Column 699W
(2) what the salary was of the former Chief Operating Officer of the Serious Fraud Office, Chris Bailes, during the period in which he held that post. [144954]
The Solicitor-General: Christian Bailes was appointed as Chief Operating Office of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on 1 April 2010. The information requested is set out in the following table:
| £ | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | Apr to Dec 2012 | |
| (1) Note that bonuses are paid in the year following the year for which they are awarded. | |||
Christian Bailes left the SFO under voluntary redundancy terms in December 2012. Under the terms agreed, the SFO made a payment of £409,114 to “My Civil Service Pension” to cover all additional pension costs arising from his departure.
An ex gratia payment of £15,000, also part of the agreement, is yet to be paid.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General (1) what (a) bonuses, (b) travel expenses, (c) severance pay and (d) other income in addition to her basic salary the former Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Chief Executive, Phillippa Williamson, received from the public purse arising from her employment at the SFO; [144953]
(2) what the salary was of the former Chief Executive of the Serious Fraud Office, Phillippa Williamson, during the period in which she held that post. [144955]
The Solicitor-General: Phillippa Williamson was appointed as Chief Executive of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on 1 January 2010. The information requested is set out in the following table:
| £ | ||||
| Jan to Apr 2010 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | April 2012 | |
| (1) Note that bonuses are paid in the year following the year for which they were awarded. | ||||
Phillippa Williamson left the SFO under voluntary redundancy terms in April 2012. Under the terms agreed, the SFO made a payment of £407,245 to “My Civil Service Pension” to cover all additional pension costs arising from her departure.
1 Mar 2013 : Column 700W
Energy and Climate Change
Climate Change
Mr Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment his Department has made of the evidence supporting claims of man-made climate change; and if he will make a statement. [145266]
Gregory Barker: The scientific evidence for man-made climate change is considerable and continues to grow. Global near-surface average temperatures have increased by about 0.8°C since 1900. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report in 2007 concluded that it is very likely that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity have caused most of the warming we have experienced since the mid-20th century. Subsequent peer-reviewed studies and assessments have provided further evidence of the growing influence of human activities on climate, including for example, the National Academies of Science 2010 report on Advancing the Science of Climate Change(1), the Stott et al 2010 review of climate change from a regional perspective(2) and the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society's 2012 Special Report on extreme events and their attribution(3).
The global temperature record shows that long-term warming is continuing; the last decade was the warmest in the instrumental record (since 1850) and each of the last three decades have been significantly warmer than the preceding one. The joint warmest individual years in the record were 2005 and 2010. Over the past decade the rate of warming has been less than in the preceding decades. However, such variations are to be expected because of natural fluctuations within the climate system. Over the same period other aspects of the climate system have shown considerable change including for example: a dramatic decline in Arctic sea-ice in summer; continuing global sea-level rise; continuing retreat of most glaciers worldwide; and accumulation of heat in the world's oceans.
There have also been a number of detailed studies which have shown how the likelihood of some extreme weather and climate events has been increased due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, including, for example, the Texas heat wave in 2011, unusual warmth in England in the autumn of 2011, the UK floods in autumn 2000 and the European hot summer in 2003.
In the absence of measures to significantly reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases global temperatures are projected, as best estimates, to increase by 1.8°C (for a low emissions scenario) to 4.0°C (for high emissions) by late 21st century (IPCC, 2007), leading to further ice loss and sea level rise and increasing the frequency and intensity of storms, floods, droughts and heat-waves. The risks of rapid and irreversible changes in parts of the large-scale climate system are also expected to increase.
In view of the growing evidence of climatic changes due to human activities and the projections of future change, the Government are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions domestically in line with their commitments under the Climate Change Act and are working internationally to adopt a legally binding global
1 Mar 2013 : Column 701W
agreement applicable to all parties by 2015, to come into force from 2020 with the long-term aim of avoiding dangerous levels of climate change, by keeping the global temperature rise below 2°C.
(1 )National Academies of Science Report, 2010. America's Climate Choices: Advancing the Science of Climate Change. The National Academies Press, Washington D.C.
https://download.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12782
(2) Stott, P. A., N. P. Gillett, G. C. Hegerl, D. Karoly, D. Stone, X. Zhang, F. Zwiers, 2010. Detection and attribution of climate chanpe: a regional perspective. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change.
(3 )Peterson, Thomas C, Peter A. Stott, Stephanie Herring, 2012: Explaining Extreme Events of 2011 from a Climate Perspective. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 93, 1041-1067. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00021.1
Energy: Billing
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to prevent energy bills from rising in the next decade. [144727]
Gregory Barker: Due to expected rises in fossil fuel prices and the need to replace aging network infrastructure, we expect energy bills to continue rising with or without policies over the next decade. However, the Government are doing everything we can to reduce the impacts of these rising costs, while we maintain secure energy supplies and tackle emissions.
Energy and climate change policies are expected to lead to lower household energy bills by 2020 than if these policies had never been introduced. This is because the costs of policies to support increasing low carbon investment and energy efficiency are expected to be more than offset, on average, by the savings delivered through greater efficiency:
By 2022, around half the UK household population is expected to have had at least one major insulation measure delivered through supplier obligations (such as the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and Energy Company Obligation) since 2002;
Further households could also benefit from efficiency improvements if they choose to take up a Green Deal;
Tighter efficiency standards are now in place for household energy appliances and gas condensing boilers; and
Smart Meters will be rolled out to all households by the end of 2019, helping them make more informed energy decisions.
Beyond energy efficiency policies, eligible households can benefit from the Warm Home Discount through rebates on their electricity bills. In addition, the Government are taking powers through the Energy Bill to ensure that consumers will be on the cheapest tariff for their preferences should Ofgem's retail market reforms be delayed or frustrated.
Our proposals on electricity market reform will ensure low-carbon technologies can compete fairly on cost and deliver secure energy at the lowest possible cost to consumers—maintaining affordable electricity bills for households and businesses while delivering the investment needed.
We recognise, however, that, over the medium term, energy and climate change policies are likely to lead to higher electricity bills for business users. This is why we intend to implement measures to ease the transitional impact of policy on electricity prices for the most
1 Mar 2013 : Column 702W
electricity-intensive industries whose competitiveness is placed most at risk. Subject to state aid, a compensation package for the indirect costs of EU ETS and the carbon price floor will begin in 2013 and be .worth around £250 million over the spending review period.
Government are also seeking to exempt energy-intensive industries from the costs of contracts for difference. This will be subject to consultation and state aid approval.
Energy: Finance
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which (a) local authorities and (b) third sector organisations have (i) applied for and (ii) received funding through the Cheaper Energy Together Fund; and how much funding each such body has received since the fund was established. [145726]
Gregory Barker: The Cheaper Energy Together collective switching fund was open to local authorities and third sector organisations in Great Britain. The Department received 114 applications with funding awarded to 31 projects, covering 94 local authorities and eight third sector organisations. The applicants are listed as follows. Some organisations put in more than one bid.
Cherwell District Council
LB of Havering
South Ayrshire Council
Derby City Council
Derbyshire County Council
Oxfordshire Rural Community Council
North Norfolk District Council
Breckland Council
Tunbridge Borough Council
Nottingham City Council
Nottinghamshire County Council
LB of Barking and Dagenham
Lincolnshire County Council
Northumberland County Council
Newcastle City Council
South Lakeland District Council
Peterborough City Council
Aylesbury Vale District Council
Merthyr Tydfil County Council
Cyngor Gwynedd
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
South Tyneside Council
Ceredigion County Council
Ashfield District Council
Exeter City Council
Birmingham City Council
LB of Islington
Oldham Council
LB of Tower Hamlets
Wiltshire Council
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Council
Rutland County Council
RB of Kingston upon Thames
Monmouthshire County Council
Cardiff Council
1 Mar 2013 : Column 703W
Eastbourne Borough Council
Allerdale Borough Council
Corby Borough Council/Electric Corby
Colchester Borough Council
Dudley Met. Borough Council
Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council
Rotherham Met. Borough Council
Portsmouth City Council
Eastleigh Borough Council
Calderdale Council
Plymouth City Council
Norwich City Council
Sheffield City Council
South Holland District Council
Woking Borough Council
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Suffolk County Council
Hull City Council
Southend on Sea Council
North Warwickshire Council
Broadland District Council
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Isle of Wight Council
Luton Borough Council
Newcastle under Lyme Council
Carlisle City Council
Blackpool Council
Bournemouth Borough Council
Windsor and Maidenhead Council
Stoke on Trent Council
Reading Borough Council
Cornwall Council
East Riding Council
Coventry City Council
Gateshead Council
Cheshire East Council
Southampton City Council
Northampton Borough Council
Dorset County Council
Sunderland City Council
Fownhope Parish Council
Sustainable Home Survey Company
iPower Action
NSA Afan
Gwent Energy
Act on Energy
East Durham Homes
National Energy Action
Centre for Sustainable Energy
Age UK
Community Energy Plus
Brighton and Hove Energy Services
Get Stronger Together
Cottsway Housing Association
Mantell Gwynedd
Rushmoor Healthy Living
Cornwall Rural Community Council
Circle Housing
1 Mar 2013 : Column 704W
Eden Project
EST Wales
Community Enterprise East London
Green Community Buildings Project
Changeworks
TT. Brixton Community
Community Energy Direct
Yorkshire Energy Partnership
SCVO
Wootton Parish Council
People's Power
Locality
Energy Projects Plus
Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands
The Gates Arts and Community Centre
Leicester and Rutland Rural Community
The following table shows the amount of funding applied for by the successful applicants and the amount they have received since the fund was established.
| £ | ||
| Successful applicants | Amount of funding granted | Amount of funding received |
1 Mar 2013 : Column 705W
Energy: Prices
Mr Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average cost was of a typical dual fuel bill in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each of the last five years. [145568]
Gregory Barker: The UK electricity market is divided into regions based on public electricity supply (PES) areas, whilst the gas market is split into regions based on local distribution zones (LDZ). Electricity and gas suppliers vary prices between these regions but not within them, with the same tariffs available to all customers within the area.
Because of this, dual fuel bills in Jarrow, South Tyneside and the North East will all be the same (assuming the same consumption levels), as these areas will pay the same average prices for gas and electricity. These areas are in the Northern LDZ region for gas supply, and the North Eastern PES region for electricity supply.
The following table shows the estimated average annual dual fuel bills for customers in the North East and the UK as a whole in the last five years. These are based on an assumed annual consumption of 18,000kWh of gas and 3,300kWh of electricity per year.
| £ | ||
| The North East (including South Tyneside and Jarrow constituency) | Overall UK average (GB data for gas) | |
These estimates can be found in table 2.2.3 (electricity) and 2.3.3 (gas) of DECC's quarterly energy prices publication:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics
The bills shown are provisional bills for 2012, and actual bills for 2008-11. They are averaged across the different methods by which customers can pay their bills i.e. standard credit, direct debit and pre-payment meter.
Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent research his Department has carried out on the effect of rising energy bills on elderly people. [145751]
Gregory Barker:
The Department of Energy and Climate Change publishes an analytical report looking at the cumulative impact of energy and climate change policies costs on energy prices and bills. This also includes analysis of the impact across different household
1 Mar 2013 : Column 706W
compositions, including those with elderly occupants. The last published report can be found online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/68820/3593-estimated-impacts-of-our-policies-on-energy-prices.pdf
DECC also publishes an annual report on fuel poverty which sets out analysis of the characteristics of those in fuel poverty, including the elderly. This report also looks at the impact of the drivers of fuel poverty, including changes in prices. The latest report is available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/66016/5270-annual-report-fuel-poverty-stats-2012.pdf
The Government are committed to addressing the needs of low income pensioner households, which can receive support under a number of different policies, including direct help with energy bills through the Warm Home Discount scheme. As part of this scheme, this winter over one million of the poorest pensioners automatically received a discount on their electricity bill of £130 before 31 December 2012. We also provide energy efficiency help for low income and vulnerable households through the Energy Company Obligation, to help households reduce their heating costs.
In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions also provide winter fuel payments to all pensioner household and many low income pensioners receive cold weather payments during periods of cold weather.
Nuclear Power Stations
Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent meetings he has had with energy firms on guaranteed strike prices for future nuclear plants. [145741]
Mr Hayes: DECC Ministers and officials meet regularly with potential nuclear developers to discuss a broad range of issues including contracts for difference and the associated market reforms being enacted to provide a stable environment for bringing forward the significant investment in low carbon electricity that is required.
Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost of guaranteeing prices for firms who commit to the new nuclear programme. [145742]
Mr Hayes: Should contracts for difference for new nuclear projects be agreed, the actual costs or benefits to consumers will depend on variations in the wholesale electricity price in relation to the agreed strike price.
Contracts for difference will only be agreed if they are fair, affordable and value for money for consumers. We are committed to being transparent about the terms on which any deal is agreed.
Plutonium
Dr Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take steps to achieve better value for money in the management of the UK's plutonium stock. [145436]
1 Mar 2013 : Column 707W
Mr Hayes: The Government published their preferred policy for the management of the plutonium stock in December 2011, which is reused as mixed oxide fuel (MOX). Implementation of this policy is subject to being confident that this option could be implemented safely and securely, that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money. However we remain open to credible alternatives that may offer better value for money for taxpayers.
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much grant the Government provided to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority in each year of its operation. [144700]
Mr Willetts: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovations and Skills.
From currently available financial records, the Government grant in aid provided to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority in past years is:
| Grant in aid provided to UK Atomic Energy Authority | |
| £000 | |
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold financial records for earlier years.
The Government grant funds residual Government liabilities managed by the Authority relating to restructuring costs, administration of the UKAEA pensions schemes, personal injury claims and property management. These grants do not relate to nuclear decommissioning costs as responsibility transferred to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority which was created in December 2004.
Justice
HM Courts and Tribunals Service
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions HM Courts and Tribunal Service Social Security and Child Support Appeals Centre failed to meet its targets in respect of response letters in the latest period for which figures are available. [142286]
Mrs Grant: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) does not use the term “response letter” anywhere within its appeals process. Therefore, for the purpose of answering this question, it has been interpreted as relating to the number of administrative complaints received by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) Administrative Support Centre (ASC). The ASC is responsible for administering SSCS appeals from people based in the Bassetlaw constituency.
HMCTS operates a published administrative complaints process consisting of three stages, First Contact, Review Stage and Appeal Stage. Under the complaints process the office administering the case is responsible for
1 Mar 2013 : Column 708W
investigating the initial complaint (First Contact) and then carrying out a review (Review Stage) if the customer remains dissatisfied. HMCTS target is to respond to First Contact and Review Stage complaints within 10 working days. Complaints escalated to the Appeal Stage are dealt with by a central team based at HMCTS' headquarters.
The ASC dealt with 85.8% of First Contact complaints within 10 working days for the period April 2012 to January 2013, against the national HMCTS target of 90%. 71 replies were outside of the expected response time. The target achieved for Review Stage complaints was 66.7% within 10 working days, against the same target, resulting in 13 responses failing to meet the expected response time.
Home Department
Arrest Warrants
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many arrest warrants remain outstanding in each police authority area; [145610]
(2) how many arrest warrants following a recall to custody remain outstanding in each police authority area; [145611]
(3) how many arrest warrants where the expectation is that the offender will be remanded in custody remain outstanding in each police authority area. [145612]
Damian Green [holding answer 28 February 2013]: The information requested is not held centrally.
Firearms: Licensing
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many semi-automatic weapons are under licence. [144980]
Damian Green: Semi-automatic weapons can be held on licence from the police or, if they are prohibited under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 (as amended), they can be held on an authority issued by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May).
There are 162,159 semi-automatic weapons listed on the national firearms licensing management system as held on licence from the police in England and Wales.
The number of semi-automatic weapons held on an authority issued by the Secretary of State under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968, for England and Wales, is not held centrally. Authorities are issued on the basis of the maximum number of weapons that may be held.
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licences have been issued for semi-automatic .22 firearms in each of the last five years. [145206]
Damian Green: The number of certificates listed on the national firearms licensing management system for England and Wales, issued for semi-automatic .22 firearms in each of the last five years, is:
4,820 certificates were issued for .22 semi-automatic firearms issued in 2008.
5,297 certificates were issued for .22 semi-automatic firearms issued in 2009.
1 Mar 2013 : Column 709W
13,487 certificates were issued for .22 semi-automatic firearms issued in 2010.
13,523 certificates were issued for .22 semi-automatic firearms issued in 2011.
13,238 certificates were issued for .22 semi-automatic firearms issued in 2012.
These figures include pump-action firearms, and the certificates may relate to multiple weapon ownership.
Police Patrolling: Birmingham
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on the average amount of time police officers in Birmingham spent on street patrols in the latest periods for which figures are available. [144855]
Damian Green: Based on an examination of time spent on patrol over the course of a two-week period, officers in the West Midlands spent 16% of their time on patrol in 2007-08 (the last year for which data are available). The measure of patrol refers only to time when an officer is patrolling but engaged in no other duty. Activity, such as giving advice to a member of the public, carried out whilst on patrol is recorded separately. Therefore, it can be misleading to look at this element in isolation from other activities. Equivalent figures at individual town or city level are not held centrally by the Department.
Police: Dogs and Horses
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many Alsatian breed police dogs have been injured whilst on duty in each of the last five years; [145769]
(2) how many police sniffer dogs have been injured whilst on duty in the last three years; [145770]
(3) how many police horses have been put down in each of the last five years; [145786]
(4) how many police horses are currently on active duty; [145787]
(5) how many police horses have died whilst on duty in each of the last 10 years; [145788]
(6) how many police horses have died of unnatural causes in each of the last 10 years; [145789]
(7) how many police officers have received injuries whilst on duty from (a) police and (b) non-police dogs in the last three years. [145790]
Damian Green: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Social Networking: Arrests
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested in relation to comments posted on social networking websites since 2011. [145784]
Damian Green: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Data on arrests are reported to the Home Office on the basis of aggregated offence groupings, for example violence against the person. From these centrally reported groupings, it is not possible to separately identify arrests for specific offences.
1 Mar 2013 : Column 710W
Culture, Media and Sport
Broadband
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions (a) she and (b) officials from her Department have had with Ofcom on making 700MHz spectrum available for mobile communications. [143130]
Mr Vaizey: Following the publication by Ofcom of its “Securing long term benefits from scarce low frequency spectrum: UHF strategy” statement on 16 November 2012, I have received informal briefings from Ofcom. My officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss progress, in particular towards developing the UK's position in the preparations for the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015.
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions (a) she and (b) officials from her Department have had with Ofcom on the introduction of annual fees for 700MHz spectrum from the end of 2014. [143131]
Mr Vaizey: I have had no discussions with Ofcom about the introduction of annual licence fees for 700MHz spectrum from the end of 2014. The Government's position remains that all spectrum users should pay the appropriate fee to incentivise them to use spectrum efficiently, and this means that administered incentive pricing should be applied to spectrum used for broadcasting.
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions (a) she and (b) officials from her Department have had with Ofcom on revising the annual fees for 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum. [143134]
Mr Vaizey: Neither I nor my officials have had any recent discussions with Ofcom on revising fees for 900MHz or 1800MHz spectrum. I expect Ofcom to comply with the Direction made in December 2010 to revise the fees after the 4G auction has completed. An exchange of letters between Vodafone and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on this subject is available on the DCMS website.
Broadcasting
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure that equality is promoted in the broadcasting industry. [145592]
Mr Vaizey: I refer the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) to the answer I gave her on 27 February 2013, Official Report, column 545W.
Cycling
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) whether her Department is signed up to the Government's Cycle to Work scheme; [144389]
(2) who her Department's cycling champion is; [144433]
(3) what progress her Department has made on implementing the Cycle to Work guarantee. [144451]
1 Mar 2013 : Column 711W
Hugh Robertson: My Department has a Cycle to Work scheme in place. The scheme enables employees to hire out cycles and cyclists' equipment as a tax free benefit. My Department also has a Cycling Buddy scheme which is an informal network of staff who promotes the scheme, promote and help new and returning cyclists to get cycling, gain confidence and get support.
Women and Equalities
Discrimination
Ms Harman: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she plans to take to tackle discrimination on the grounds of age and sex. [145593]
Mrs Grant: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer I gave her on 27 February 2013, Official Report, column 528W.
Cabinet Office
Antibiotics
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for what reason antibiotic resistance has been added to the National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies; and if he will make a statement. [144949]
Miss Chloe Smith: The National Risk Register (NRR) is an annual assessment which informs decisions on how to prepare for civil emergencies. Antibiotic resistance does not fall into the definition of a civil emergency as defined by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, and is not included in the NRR.
Longer term risks and trends (for the next five to 20 years) which seriously threaten our National Security Interests are assessed by the National Security Risk
1 Mar 2013 : Column 712W
Assessment (NSRA). This includes civil emergencies but also persistent disturbances, events and trends that threaten the UK and its strategic assets abroad. Work is under way to update the NSRA and this will include analysing the extent to which antibiotic and antibacterial drug resistance will have an impact on UK national security interests.
Business: East of England
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of (a) small and (b) medium-sized businesses operating in (i) central Bedfordshire, (ii) Bedfordshire and (iii) the Eastern region in each of the last five years. [145534]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) small and (b) medium-sized businesses were operating in (i) Central Bedfordshire (ii) Bedfordshire (iii) the Eastern Region in each of the last five years. [145534]
Annual statistics on the number of businesses (enterprises) are available from the ONS release – UK Business: Activity, Size and Location at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bus-register/uk-business/index.html
Data on the number of enterprises broken down by districts, counties and unitary authorities within region and country by employment size band can be found in table B1.2 of the publication.
The following table contains the count of small and medium-sized businesses that were operating in Central Bedfordshire, Bedfordshire County and the Eastern region from 2008 to 2012. Small businesses have been defined as those with an employment between 0 and 49 and medium-sized businesses as those with an employment between 50 and 249.
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | ||||||
| Small | Medium | Small | Medium | Small | Medium | Small | Medium | Small | Medium | |
| Notes: 1. The above table has been produced using annual extracts form the Inter Departmental Business register taken during March of each year. 2. Bedfordshire County ceased to exist from April 2009. The figures shown above from 2010 to 2012 are the sum of the districts that formerly made up the county i.e. Bedford and Central Bedfordshire. 3. Central Bedfordshire was created in April 2009. The data in the table above for 2008 and 2009 are the sum of the former districts of Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire. 4. Figures have been rounded to protect confidentiality. 5. These numbers do not include very small businesses, typically those below the threshold for VAT and PAYE. | ||||||||||
Government Departments: ICT
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of new Government IT expenditure that will be spent on cloud computing services in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015; [145704]
(2) what his policy is on the expansion of G-Cloud services. [145705]
Mr Hurd: The Government's ICT strategy strategic implementation plan (SIP) anticipated that by 2015, 50% of new central Government IT spend will be procured through the CloudStore.
We will seek to deliver this by embarking on a “Public Cloud First” policy. This will apply first within central Government and then across the wider Public Sector, coupled with a progressive propagation strategy aimed at developing the capability of IT procurement professionals.
Honours
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people who received an honour in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date are (i) black or minority ethnic, (ii) Chinese or British Chinese, (iii) Hindu and (iv) Muslim; and if he will make a statement. [144069]
1 Mar 2013 : Column 713W
Mr Maude [holding answer 25 February 2013]: The following table shows the information held on the numbers and proportion of honours awarded to people who declared their minority ethic origin between 2010 and 2012.
| Successful BEM candidates | Percentage of honours awarded to BEM candidates | |
We do not hold statistics on the religious belief of honours recipients. Statistics are not yet available for the new year's Honours List 2013.
Personal Income: Suffolk
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average (a) personal and (b) household (i) gross and (ii) net income is in (A) Suffolk and (B) Suffolk Coastal constituency. [145652]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average (a) personal and (b) household (i) gross and (ii) net income is in (A) Suffolk and (B) Suffolk Coastal constituency (145652).
Table 1 shows the average gross and net weekly household income for Suffolk and Suffolk Coastal constituency, for 2007/08, the latest year for which data is available at this geographic level. These figures are based on small area income estimates published by the ONS. The next set of estimates, for 2010/11 and reflecting data from the 2011 census will be published later this year.
Personal gross and net incomes are unavailable from the small area income estimates.
These estimates, as with any involving sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
1 Mar 2013 : Column 714W
| Table 1: Average gross and net weekly household income in Suffolk and Suffolk Central parliamentary constituency, 2007/08(1,2) | ||
| £ per week | ||
| Mean gross(3 )household income (unequivalised) | Mean net(4) household income (unequivalised) | |
| (1) Incomes are presented unequivalised for household size and before housing costs. (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. (3) Gross income is the sum of the gross income of every member of the household plus any income from taxes and benefits. (4) Net income is gross income minus income tax payments, national insurance contributions, council tax, contributions to occupational pension schemes and some inter-household payments. Source: Office for National Statistics | ||
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average income per head was in (a) Suffolk and (b) Suffolk Coastal constituency in each month since May 2010. [145653]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average income per head was in (a) Suffolk and (b) Suffolk Coastal constituency in each month since May 2010. (145653).
Estimates of average income per head are not available, but estimates of average earnings for employee jobs are. Average levels of weekly earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for all employees on adult rates of pay whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. The ASHE, earned out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Estimates are not available on a monthly basis.
The following table shows the median and mean gross weekly earnings for employee jobs in (a) Suffolk and (b) Suffolk Coastal constituency for April in each year from 2010 to 2012.
| Median and mean gross weekly earnings (£)—for all employee jobs(1) in (a) Suffolk local authority and (b) Suffolk Coastal constituency for April in each year from 2010 to 2012 | ||||||||
| 2010(2) | 2011(2) | 2011(3) | 2012(3) | |||||
| Median | Mean | Median | Mean | Median | Mean | Median | Mean | |
| (1) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. (2) Results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2000. (3) Results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2010. (4) Local authority. (5) Parliamentary constituency. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: CV =5% * CV >5% and =10% CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics. | ||||||||
Unemployment
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of (a) the number of unemployed young people and (b) the number of people working beyond pensionable age. [144978]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking
1 Mar 2013 : Column 715W
what estimate has been made of (a) the number of unemployed young people and (b) the number of people working beyond pensionable age. 144978
Estimates of employment and unemployment are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). For the three-month period October to December 2012 there were an estimated 974,000 people aged 16 to 24 in the UK who were unemployed. This estimate is seasonally adjusted and is published in the monthly Labour Market Statistical Bulletin. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis the estimate is 969,000.
For the same period, there were an estimated 1,398,000 people in the UK who were in employment beyond pensionable age. This estimate is not available on a seasonally adjusted basis. It is derived using the estimated number of people in employment below the state pension age as published in a supplementary table to the Bulletin (Table A04), available via the following link:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/february-2013/table-a04.xls
The state pension age is the age at which people become eligible to claim the state pension in the UK. For women the state pension age is currently being increased incrementally to 65 in order to be equalised with that for men in 2018. On the LFS the identification of respondents' eligibility for the state pension is based on their age at the time of interview. During the survey period for October to December 2012 the state pension age for women varied between 61 and 3 months and 61 and 4 months.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. For the young people unemployed figure it is estimated that the true value is likely to lie within plus or minus 80,000. For the number of people working beyond state pension age it is estimated that the true value is likely to lie within plus or minus 90,000.
Wealth
Mr Sanders: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will assess the merits of using the Inclusive Wealth Index produced by the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change in place of gross domestic product to measure prosperity. [145178]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013:
As Director-General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer will assess the merits of using the Inclusive Wealth Index produced by the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change in place of gross domestic product to measure prosperity [145178]
The Inclusive Wealth Index (IWI) looks beyond the traditional economic and development estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to include a full range of assets such as manufactured, human and natural capital, in an attempt to show the true state of a nation's wealth and the sustainability of its growth. The IWI captures the value of natural resources, which are being depleted by human activities such as deforestation, in evaluations of economic growth.
GDP has been the main tool for many years for measuring a country's economic performance. However, it is often criticised that it is not a good measure of welfare and has limitations regarding what is included and excluded in its measurement. For example, many environmentalists argue that GDP is a poor measure of social progress because it does not take into account harm to the environment. However GDP is produced using an internationally agreed framework and standards.
Two years ago, the ONS launched the Measuring National Well-being (MNW) programme. The aim is to ‘develop and publish an accepted and trusted set of National Statistics which help people understand and monitor well-being’. It recognises
1 Mar 2013 : Column 716W
that traditional measures of progress such as GDP have long been an incomplete picture of the state of the nation and that other economic, social and environmental measures are needed alongside GDP to provide a complete picture of how society is doing.
ONS has developed a framework for measuring national well-being following a six-month national debate. The framework consists of 10 areas or 'domains', including areas such as Health, Education and What we do; and 40 headline indicators of well-being, for example, the unemployment rate, satisfaction with our health, or levels of crime. These indicators and others have been used to describe life in the UK, under the headings, the Economy, People and the Environment.
The MNW programme is a long term development programme. The development of the above framework and related indicators is aimed to supplement, not supplant, GDP. These developments are not proposing to replace GDP but to provide additional information to improve design, evaluation and monitoring of policies, through the use of well-being data. The programme promotes the use of both subjective and objective data and there are no current plans to produce a single, composite index.
Additional information regarding the MNW programme, including details of the measures, a series of domain articles, interactive maps and charts, can be found at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/well-being
Defence
Armed Forces: Redundancy
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimate his Department has made of the number of service personnel in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force who will be made redundant within one year of their independent pension point in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15; [134661]
(2) what the average compensation arrangement has been for armed forces personnel made redundant within one year of their independent pension point since May 2010. [134662]
Mr Francois [holding answer 20 December 2012]: The estimated numbers, as of 19 December 2012, of each service who will leave, under tranches 1 and 2, within one year of their immediate pension point in financial years (FY) 2012-13 and 2013-14, are detailed in the following table:
| Service | Applicant | Non applicant |
Only around 1% of individuals who have been selected for redundancy are non-applicants who are within one year of qualifying for immediate pension. It is not yet possible to estimate how many, if any, of those selected for redundancy in tranche 3 will fall into this category, and the figures for FY 2013-14 may increase. No estimate can be given for FY 2014-15.
As of 19 December 2012, the average tax free Compensation Lump Sum or Special Capital Payment
1 Mar 2013 : Column 717W
paid for service personnel terminating from service with less than one year to serve to their immediate pension point is £73,383.
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to ensure that no individual loses out as a consequence of (a) departing post-immediate pension point (IPP) by using the terminal grant, maximum commutation and the redundancy special capital payment and (b) the sum obtained for service personnel departing prior to the IPP through their redundancy special capital payment and resettlement grant. [137870]
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of armed forces personnel being made redundant who will be worse off owing to ineligibility for the terminal grant, the resettlement commutation lump sum and the resettlement commutation annual abatement. [139885]
Mr Francois: The differing personal circumstances applicable to each individual leaving the armed forces, and the level of resettlement commutation that they apply for, have a significant bearing on the terms of that individual's redundancy.
Individuals leaving before the immediate pension point (IPP) will receive a tax free redundancy special capital payment (SCP) equal to an eighth of annual pay for each year of completed service up to a maximum of 18 years, which equates to 27 months salary. An individual leaving on redundancy after the IPP will receive a tax free SCP equal to quarter of annual pay for each year of uncompleted service up to a maximum of three years; this equates to nine months salary.
An individual leaving before the IPP will also be eligible for a resettlement grant provided they had served nine years or more, if an officer. If the individual leaves after the IPP they will receive a terminal grant of three times the annual rate of pension and in addition can choose to commute part of their pension to provide a further tax free lump sum.
It is this combination of factors and the individual's decision regarding resettlement commutation that will determine whether the pre or post-IPP combination will produce a greater total lump sum. It is, therefore, impossible to make direct comparisons between those leaving pre- and post-IPP.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 226W, on armed forces: redundancy, if he will consider compensating army personnel who were close to the immediate pension point when they were made redundant for the loss of the pension they had been expecting to receive; [138577]
(2) what steps his Department has taken to assess the effect of compulsory redundancy on officers made redundant close to their immediate pension point; [138578]
(3) for what reasons proximity to pension point was not considered along with proximity to end of engagement date when armed forces personnel were selected for compulsory redundancy. [138579]
1 Mar 2013 : Column 718W
Mr Francois [holding answer 23 January 2013]: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has aimed to ensure that the redundancy programme is as fair as possible to all involved, including commissioned ranks, as we move to reshape the armed forces. It is unfortunately inevitable that wherever a line is drawn, there will always be individuals who narrowly miss out.
The decision to select individuals for redundancy is based upon an assessment against their performance, potential and wider employability in the future structure. The selection board do not know the exact length of service of an individual, nor the pension scheme to which they belong, hence it is not part of the criteria. Selection based on proximity to pension point, or end of engagement, would stand to compromise the future structure of the armed forces and it would lead to a less fair selection process.
However, those personnel leaving before qualifying for their immediate pension will normally receive a larger redundancy compensation lump sum to reflect the loss of future annual income and will still receive a deferred pension at age 60 or 65, depending on the pension scheme to which they belong.
HMS Tireless
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the cause was of the reactor coolant leak on board HMS Tireless; what the expected duration and cost are of repairs to that submarine; what steps have been taken to establish whether similar faults may occur on other Royal Navy submarines; what effect the loss of HMS Tireless from service will have on the UK's Tomahawk Land Attack Missile launch capability; and if he will make a statement; [145149]
(2) what investigations the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator has made into the reactor coolant leak on board HMS Tireless; and if he will place a copy of the Regulator's report in the Library. [145150]
Mr Dunne [holding answer 28 February 2013]: The recent coolant leak onboard HMS Tireless was a very small quantity and was caused by a very small defect in a system within the sealed reactor compartment of the submarine. There was no risk to the public, environment or the crew. As repair plans are currently being developed, it is too early to confirm the duration or cost of such repairs. The impact of this defect on other submarines has been fully considered and, accordingly, it is not deemed necessary to carry out additional maintenance or inspections as a result.
The Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) requires the Naval Reactor Plant Authorisee to investigate thoroughly incidents of this nature. Given this investigation, a further investigation by the DNSR is considered unnecessary in this instance.
I cannot comment on Tomahawk Land Attack Missile launch capability as the disclosure of this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.
Nuclear Submarines
Jeremy Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much of the £35.8 billion announced on investment in submarines and nuclear deterrent
1 Mar 2013 : Column 719W
programmes in the Defence Equipment Plan 2012 will be spent on
(a)
Astute class submarines,
(b)
design, development and production of replacement of Vanguard class submarines and
(c)
ongoing costs of managing and maintaining the strategic weapon system; [144525]
(2) how much of the £35.8 billion announced investment for replacement of Vanguard class submarines in the Defence Equipment Plan 2012 will be spent on (a) design, (b) development and (c) production; [144526]
(3) what the planned annual expenditure is on the design, development and production of the replacement for the Vanguard class for the next 10 years, assuming Main Gate approval; [144527]
(4) what proportion of funds allocated to (a) Support to New Equipment, (b) Support to In-Service Equipment, (c) Equipment Procurement (Core)—Uncommitted and (d) Equipment Procurement (Core)—Committed in the Defence Equipment Plan 2012 is allocated to any replacement for Vanguard submarines. [144528]
Mr Dunne: The breakdown of how much of the £35.8 billion announced in the Defence Equipment Plan 2012 is forecast to be spent on specific capabilities is as follows:
The Astute class submarine programme: £5.4 billion
Maintaining the Trident strategic weapons system: £12.7 billion
The figures above are planning figures and cover the 10-year period from financial year 2012-13 to financial year 2021-22. The figures include spending allocated to the individual programmes. They do not include expenditure that is related to multiple programmes or forecast savings under the Submarine Enterprise Performance Programme).
The Successor Submarine Programme has allocated a total of around £2.8 billion in the Defence Equipment Plan 2012 in the period up to Main Gate in 2016. This funding is held within the Core Equipment Procurement Programme from financial years 2012-13 to 2016-17, and represents around 9% of the total funding in those years, excluding centrally held contingency, within that programme. For forecast annual expenditure on the Successor Programme up to Main Gate in 2016, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Coventry North East (Mr Ainsworth) on 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 409W. I am withholding information on spending after Main Gate, as it would be likely to prejudice commercial interests and the development of Government policy.
Health
Antibiotics
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Food Standards Agency has any plans to collect centrally the poultry food chain information for the purpose of monitoring the level of farm antibiotic use. [144826]
Anna Soubry:
We understand from the Food Standards Agency that it has no plans for the central collection of poultry food chain information (FCI) for the purpose of monitoring antibiotic use. FCI must accompany
1 Mar 2013 : Column 720W
poultry when consigned to slaughterhouses as it is intended for the use of the food business operator at the slaughterhouse.
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2013, Official Report, column 374W, on antibiotics, what his policy is on the phasing out of the routine use of antibiotics on intensive farms; and for what reason this was not referred to in the answer. [144945]
Dr Poulter: The Department is not in favour of the routine use of antibiotics in intensive farms and the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), has written to the Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath), to reinforce this point.
The answer of 7 February 2013, Official Report, column 374W, gave examples from the human health sector and the question referred to the national health service. However, the principles of sound infection prevention and control and of responsible prescribing apply equally to the veterinary sector. Routine use of antibiotics for preventative purposes in veterinary or human medicine is poor practice and contrary to Government policy, though ultimately, in all sectors, prescribing is a clinical decision.
Cancer
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that cancer patients are able to access (a) written information about their illness and (b) a written assessment and care plan; [144509]
(2) what recent steps he has taken to ensure that NHS trusts improve the experience of cancer patients; [144510]
(3) what work his Department has done with stakeholders in the third sector to use the results of the 2011-12 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey to identify and share best practice in patient care and support service improvement activity. [144511]
Anna Soubry: We ran the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) in 2010 and 2011-12, and the 2012-13 survey is currently in the fieldwork phase. The national report and 160 bespoke trust level reports from the 2011-12 survey were published in August 2012. These have been made widely available to drive and inform local service improvement. The trust level reports provide benchmarked data nationally and between teams so that priority improvement areas can be identified. We are aware that a number of trusts have produced action plans based on the results of the surveys.
In addition, all the quantitative data from the survey have been sent to the National Data Archive at Essex university and are freely available for access by researchers to undertake a series of analyses under the rules of the archive.
We have encouraged stakeholders in the third sector to use the survey results to identify and share best practice in patient care and services to support service improvement activity. For example, Macmillan Cancer Support was given pre-publication access to analyse the
1 Mar 2013 : Column 721W
2011-12 survey data and published the 10 best and worst performing trusts in England in August 2012. Macmillan also produced “Improving Cancer Patient Experience—A top tips guide”, which can be found on the Macmillan website:
www.macmillan.org.uk
by typing “top tips guide” into the search bar.
Quality Health, the survey provider, has also undertaken further analysis of the 2011-12 survey data on: gynaecological cancers for Ovacome, Target Ovarian Cancer and Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust; pancreatic cancer for Pancreatic Cancer UK; and patients aged 16 to 24 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The Department has also funded the National Cancer Action Team (NCAT) to undertake a series of actions to improve the experience of cancer patients. This has included: developing a national advanced communication skills training programme; developing an assessment and feedback tool to promote better working between cancer teams in trusts; a quality improvement toolkit for nurses; and organising the national Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Cancer Voice. The BME Voice aims to bring together black and minority ethnic cancer patients to share their experiences and identify where the national health service can deliver more culturally appropriate cancer services.
Providing accurate, tailored, timely and accessible information is key to improving patient experience. To ensure that all cancer patients are able to access written information about their illness, NCAT has been working in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancer Research UK to support the use of information prescriptions (IPs). IPs can: help patients to understand their diagnosis and treatment; provide signposts to further sources of advice and support, such as local patient groups and self-management programmes; and provide information on access benefits and social care services. Since 2010, the team has offered support to 1,500 multi-disciplinary cancer teams in 110 acute trusts across England.
Through the National Cancer Survivorship Initiative (NCSI) we are working to ensure that all cancer patients can access a written assessment and care plan. The NCSI Assessment and Care Planning workstream has looked at how best to ensure that survivors' needs are identified and plans put in place to meet them from an early stage. Having a needs assessment during and at the end of treatment helps to identify issues and allows a personalised care plan to be developed in partnership with the cancer survivor.
The care plan is “owned” by the cancer survivor and can cover a range of topics such as planned surveillance and follow-up care; the symptoms of possible recurrence and consequences of treatment; signposting to support groups and local services; lifestyle advice around diet and exercise; psychological support; and work and finance concerns.
Over the past two years, the NSCI and NHS Improvement have been piloting the Assessment and Care Planning process, as well as other survivorship models of care, across a number of sites in England. The evidence gathered has informed the NCSI's recommendations for commissioning cancer services to support the care, advice and information needs of people living with and beyond cancer. These recommendations
1 Mar 2013 : Column 722W
will be set out in the NCSI publication, “Living with and beyond cancer: Taking action to improve outcomes”, which will be published shortly.
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve recording of ethnicity in NHS data collection on cancer. [144963]
Anna Soubry: Good progress has been made in improving the coding and recording of ethnicity within the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). The National Cancer Equality Initiative (NCEI) report “Reducing cancer inequality: evidence/ progress and making it happen” stated that as at 2010, 88% of in-patients whose records had been linked to cancer registration data had at least one record of their ethnicity in HES. Working with the NCEI, the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NC1N) now routinely links ethnicity data to the national cancer data and has used this information in a range of analyses and reports including “Mortality from Prostate Cancer” and “Treatment Routes in Prostate cancer”. These reports were published in 2012 and can be found alongside other publications on the NCIN website at:
www.ncin.org.uk
Disability: Children
Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent per patient on (a) direct healthcare and (b) associated needs including special facilities and carer's costs for disabled children in (i) Trafford and (ii) England in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [144741]
Dr Poulter: Information on the costs of health and associated care for disabled children in England is not collected centrally.
However, the care and outcomes of disabled children are a priority for this Government.
The commissioning of services for children with special educational needs, which will cover many children with a disability, will be greatly enhanced by the proposals in the Children and Families Bill, introduced this month. The Bill places a duty on local authorities and clinical commissioning groups from 2014 to commission services jointly, to meet the needs of young people with special educational needs, through a single assessment process. This will bring together professionals and commissioners to identify education, health and care needs for the child or young person (up to age 25) and inform an individual Education, Health and Care Plan focusing on the outcomes and the integrated services to deliver them.
The Children and Young People's Health Outcomes Forum of experts and stakeholders is considering the indicators and intelligence needed to support children with long-term conditions and disability, to inform effective commissioning, and monitor children as they move through the system and life.
Doctors: Foreign Workers
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many foreign doctors were employed by the NHS in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [145522]
1 Mar 2013 : Column 723W
Dr Poulter: The number of foreign doctors employed by the national health service in each of the last three years is not collected centrally.
The annual work force census published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIS) collects the number of doctors by country of qualification, broken down as those who qualified within the United Kingdom, within the remainder of the European economic
1 Mar 2013 : Column 724W
area and outside the European economic area. The next annual census will be published on 21 March 2013 and provides data as at 30 September 2012.
The number of doctors who qualified within the remainder of the European economic area and outside the European economic area in each of the last three years is shown in the following table:
| All doctors(1) working in England who qualified outside the UK, 2009-11 | ||||||
| Number(2) (headcount) and full-time equivalents | ||||||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | ||||
| England at 30 September each year | HC | FTE | HC | FTE | HC | FTE |
| ‘ —’ denotes zero Nationality is not available on the work force census. The figures here show doctors who received their primary medical qualification outside the UK, but this does not necessarily denote nationality. (1) Excludes medical Hospital Practitioners and medical Clinical Assistants, most of whom are GPs working part-time in hospitals (2) The new headcount methodology is not fully comparable with data for years prior to 2010, 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. Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. www.ic.nhs.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=4876&topics=3%2fWorkforce%2fStaff+numbers%2fMedical+and+dental+staff&sort=Relevance&size=10&page=1#top (3) Country of qualification is not known for these doctors. Country of qualification information is derived by linking census data to General Medical Council (GMC) information using the doctors’ GMC numbers. Where this linkage cannot be fulfilled we state country of qualification as unknown. Note: Data exclude all dental staff. Information about country of qualification is derived from the GMC. For staff in dental specialties, holding only a General Dental Council registration, the country of qualification is therefore not known. GP data include GP Providers, GP Others, GP Registrars and GP Retainers 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. Source: HSCIC Medical and Dental Workforce Census and HSCIC GP Workforce Census | ||||||
Fertility
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many fertility treatments for foreign students on the NHS were registered in each of the last five years [144531]
Anna Soubry: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) advises that it collects data such as the country of birth of patients receiving fertility treatment, but not their occupation. Therefore, this would not enable the HFEA to identify a patient as a foreign student.
Food: Fraud
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the capacity and resourcing of the Food Standards Agency to deal with food fraud. [145435]
Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has dedicated resources to tackle food fraud. It gathers and exchanges intelligence, working collaboratively with other Government Departments, police forces (including internationally), local authorities and research bodies.
A range of anti-fraud support measures have been established by the FSA to co-ordinate and support the front-line food fraud investigation and enforcement activities carried out by local authority Trading Standards and Environmental Health services, including a central database of fraud-related intelligence.
The FSA Food Fraud Advisory Unit and a team of legal investigators are available to advise enforcement
1 Mar 2013 : Column 725W
officers carrying out investigations into fraud or any illegal activity relating to food or animal feed. A Food Fraud Fighting Fund provides financial support to local authorities engaged in resource-intensive fraud cases, particularly those of national or international importance. The FSA also assists in the training of fraud investigation officers by running a cost-free Evidence Gathering and Investigation Skills Training course.
General Practitioners: Cambridge
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate of the population of Cambridge was used to calculate the 2013-14 revenue budget for the clinical commissioning group; and how it compares to the 2011 census figure for the population of Cambridge. [145598]
Dr Poulter: On 17 December 2012 the NHS Commissioning Board announced a uniform 2.3% uplift would be applied to the resource allocations of all clinical commissioning groups from the 2012-13 baseline. This does not rely on any particular estimate of the population.
Health Services: Greater London
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2013, Official Report, column 377W, on NHS Trusts, what assessment his Department has made of lessons to be learned from the application of the trust special administrator regime in South London; and what changes to the trust special administrator process his Department plans to make as a result. [144950]
Anna Soubry: Discussions are ongoing about how lessons to be learned from the first application of the trust special administrator's (TSA) regime can be used to support any further use of the regime for an NHS trust. However, the timeframe for this regime and its specified stages, and also specified requirements for a TSA and the Secretary of State for Health, remain underpinned by primary legislation.
Heart Diseases: Babies
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what tests are carried out by the NHS to detect congenital heart conditions in babies. [145727]
Dr Poulter: As part of the national health service Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme all pregnant women in England are offered a minimum of two ultrasound scans. The first is an early scan, undertaken after eight weeks gestation, the second ultrasound scan is undertaken between 18 weeks + 0 days to 20 weeks + six days of pregnancy. The main purpose of this scan is to look for abnormalities in the unborn baby, including serious cardiac abnormalities.
The national health service Newborn and Infant Physical Examination Screening Programme offers parents the opportunity to have their child examined shortly after birth. The examination includes a general physical check as well as examination of the baby's eyes, heart, hips and testes. As some conditions can develop later, the examination is repeated at six to eight weeks of age usually by a general practitioner.
1 Mar 2013 : Column 726W
Horsemeat
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which catering companies and meat processors have told NHS Supply Chain they are concerned about horsemeat in their products. [145743]
Dr Poulter: NHS Supply Chain has undertaken a review of the traceability; and DNA testing of its supply of meat and meat products to the national health service. All suppliers have been able to provide test evidence in support of assurances that their products are free from horsemeat.
NHS Supply Chain has been working closely with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in correlating their responses and test results.
One of NHS Supply Chain's suppliers, Brakes Brothers, has notified NHS Supply Chain of concerns they have over bespoke products they have supplied to other customers. However they have provided full details and assurances that these products have not been supplied to NHS Supply Chain customers.
Sodexho has reported, via the FSA, a positive result for horse meat. Tillery Valley Foods who are a subsidiary of Sodexho and are on the NHS Supply Chain framework have provided the necessary assurances and test results to demonstrate that their supply chain has tested negative for horse meat.
In Vitro Fertilisation
Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that health commissioners are aware of the benefits of providing up to three full cycles of IVF treatment to eligible couples; [144835]
(2) what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of introducing a national set of eligibility criteria for IVF treatment. [144836]
Anna Soubry: The level of provision of health services, including infertility treatment, is a matter for the local commissioners and will be determined by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the future when considering the needs of all their population. They will be held to account by the NHS Commissioning Board, who have issued a factsheet to CCGs setting out the expectations around implementing the revised National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Guidelines.
We have also funded Infertility Network UK, the leading infertility patient support group, to produce a tool for commissioners in England aimed at standardising eligibility criteria and work with primary care trusts to promote greater understanding of the effect that infertility can have on people's lives and the impact that treatment can have.
Baby Food
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the sourcing of meat by manufacturers of baby food; and if he will make a statement. [144276]
Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is carrying out a co-ordinated plan for sampling and testing the authenticity of meat products labelled as containing beef, across a range of food products on the market, including baby foods. The FSA is not aware of any baby foods having tested positive for horse meat.