NHS: Redundancy
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the people who have been made redundant in the NHS since May 2010 have since been re-employed by that body. [146536]
Dr Poulter: The number of people made redundant in the national health service since 1 May 2010 and since re-employed in the NHS is estimated to be 2,200.
This estimate is based on staff recorded on the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse as having a reason for leaving as either voluntary or compulsory redundancy between 1 May 2010 and 30 September 2012, and who have a subsequent record on the ESR Data Warehouse up to 30 November 2012.
The ESR Data Warehouse is a monthly snap shot of the live ESR system. This is the human resource and payroll system that covers all NHS employees other than those working in general practice, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and some NHS staff who have transferred to local authorities and social enterprises.
Obesity
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the role and performance of weight management centres in England; and what plans he has to introduce more such centres. [145927]
Anna Soubry: No assessment has been made centrally.
Primary care trusts are currently responsible for commissioning weight management services to meet the needs of their population. From 1 April, this commissioning responsibility will move to local authorities. We are setting up a new body for public health, Public Health England, to support local authorities over their public health responsibilities, including the identification and spread of good practice.
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many NHS trusts (a) have designated and (b) plan to designate in the next 12 months obesity champions; [145928]
(2) what steps he is taking to promote the establishment of obesity champions in each NHS trust as recommended in the Royal College of Physicians' report Action on Obesity: Comprehensive care for all, published in January 2013. [146036]
Anna Soubry: Local health and care organisations are responsible for developing their own strategies to meet local and national priorities for improving health. They are free to create posts to oversee this process, including establishing obesity champions.
Information about which trusts are developing obesity champion roles is not collected centrally.
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he intends to work with the devolved Administrations to tackle obesity. [145931]
Anna Soubry: Departmental officials meet regularly with the devolved Administrations to discuss public health issues including obesity.
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) the NHS Commissioning Board, (b) relevant national clinical directors and (c) health care stakeholders about implementation of the recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians' report Action on Obesity: Comprehensive care for all, published in January 2013. [145984]
Anna Soubry: I met with the President and the Academic Vice President of the Royal College of Physicians to discuss the report ‘Action on Obesity: Comprehensive care for all’ on 6 February.
Obesity and Diabetes
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the new national clinical director for obesity and diabetes will be in place; and if he will make a statement. [145970]
Anna Soubry: From April, National Clinical Directors are not ministerial or departmental appointments. We understand that a number of successful applicants across a wide range of specialties have been identified by the NHS Commissioning Board, including a new National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes. We expect the Board to make an announcement shortly. These posts are offered part time as secondments and start dates will depend on discussions with substantive employers.
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Official Cars
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of Government cars provided to special advisers in his Department was in each of the last three years. [146217]
Dr Poulter: The cost of Government cars provided to special advisers in each of the last three years was nil.
Parasitic Diseases
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures are collected on how many cases of liver fluke come from eating of wild and untreated watercress. [145909]
Anna Soubry: The following information on numbers of cases has been provided by the Health Protection Agency (England and Wales), Health Protection Scotland and the Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland).
In England and Wales there have been 33 laboratory reports of human liver fluke infestation (Fasciola hepatica) between 1999 and 2011 and in Scotland there have been three reports every year since 2010.
There are no data for Northern Ireland because no information is held on cases of liver fluke by the Public Health Agency.
Laboratory reports are based on serological evidence of infection which does not necessarily indicate current infection and may represent past exposure. Most of the cases reported in Scotland appear to be associated with foreign travel but for England and Wales cases it is not possible to comment on the association with foreign travel, as this information has not been recorded. No information is available to identify whether any of the cases were attributed to the consumption of wild or untreated watercress.
Prostate Cancer
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward prostate cancer screening amongst high risk groups. [146075]
Anna Soubry: The Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme (PCRMP) Scientific Reference Group keeps the evidence on prostate cancer screening under review, and has not yet seen compelling evidence that screening should be offered to high risk groups. The PCRMP is in place to ensure that men over 50 without symptoms of prostate cancer can have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test free on the national health service after careful consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the test and after a discussion with a general practitioner. The patient information sheets on PSA testing make it clear that the risk of prostate cancer is greater for men with a familial history of prostate cancer and black-African and black-Caribbean men:
The National Cancer Action Team (NCAT) has highlighted the increased risk of prostate cancer in black men through the ‘Cancer Does Not Discriminate’ campaign, including distributing over 200,000 health supplements and an editorial in The Voice newspaper.
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In 2011, the Department, NCAT and Prostate Cancer UK worked with NHS Newham and Barts Health Care Trust to pilot the Newham Prostate Health Drop-in Clinic at the Newham African-Caribbean Resource Centre. 322 men had a consultation at the clinic, 59 were referred to secondary care and nine new diagnoses of early stage prostate cancer were made. The learning gained from a formal evaluation of the pilot is being shared widely with stakeholders within London and across England, including the NHS Commissioning Board.
School Milk
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much his Department has refunded to the European Commission following failed claims under the European Milk Scheme in each of the last 10 years; [146208]
(2) for what reasons his Department ceased claiming the European School Milk Scheme subsidy for the Nursery Milk Scheme. [146230]
Dr Poulter: In 2008 when the European Union rules were extended to cover early years settings, the Department submitted EU milk subsidy claims on behalf of child care providers claiming under the Nursery Milk Scheme. The Department claimed a total of £2,641,271.08 (from October 2008 to April 2010) on behalf of the child care settings but because the child care settings were found to be non-complaint to the EU requirements, the Department was asked to return this amount to the European Commission in 2010.
The Department did not make any further claims because the EU raised concerns that as the Department cannot guarantee that the child care settings will be complying with the EU milk subsidy claim requirements, it should not make claims on their behalf.
Strokes
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to improve patient access to thrombolysis and interventional radiology services for the treatment of ischaemic stroke; [145828]
(2) what proportion of patients receiving treatment do so in a hyper-acute stroke unit; [145829]
(3) whether he plans to produce a progress report on the implementation of the National Stroke Strategy five years after its publication; and if he will make a statement; [145830]
(4) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients have access to the most appropriate technology for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke; and if he will make a statement. [145831]
Anna Soubry: Across England, over 85% of stroke patients are spending 90% or more of their hospital stay in a stroke unit.
The Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy, published on 5 March 2013, sets out actions to ensure all CVD patients, including stroke patients, have access to what is recognised as the right treatment and services. A copy of the outcomes strategy has already been placed in the Library.
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The Department has no plans to produce a progress report on the implementation of the National Stroke Strategy.
Women and Equalities
Staff
Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many staff the Government Equalities Office employed in each of the past five years; how many such staff were employed in London; how many such staff were employed in other regions of England; how many posts moved from London to these regions; and what steps she is taking to move her staff to regional offices. [145694]
Mrs Grant: The Government Equalities Office (GEO) had the following number of staff in each of the last five years.
| Staff | |
The change in staff from 2008-11 reflects the integration of GEO into the Home Office after being a stand-alone Department. Members of GEO work extensively with staff in other Departments across Whitehall and the numbers of staff outlined should not be seen as a reflection of the number that are involved in policy with an equality element.
All staff worked in London. In a written ministerial statement of 18 December 2012, Official Report, column 96WS, the Prime Minister announced the transfer of GEO from the Home Office to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). DCMS does not have any regional offices.
International Development
Developing Countries: Tax Avoidance
Sir Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people in her Department are working on the issue of tax avoidance in developing countries. [146333]
Mr Duncan: The Government are committed to helping developing countries tackle tax avoidance and evasion. DFID is currently involved in more than 40 technical assistance and capacity building projects in 20 countries on the issue of tax, details of which can be found in the Government submission to the recent International Development Committee inquiry on taxation and development. Many of these projects include elements related to tackling tax avoidance.
In addition, officials from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) carry out technical assistance missions to developing countries related to action on
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tax avoidance. DFID, HMRC and Treasury staff are also regularly involved in discussions on tax avoidance in developing countries in international forums such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Tax and Development Task Force, the G20 and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. The wide range of assistance and variety of ways in which it is provided mean that exact staff numbers cannot readily be obtained.
India
Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the aid delivered to India under the Global Poverty Action Fund. [146523]
Mr Duncan: The Global Poverty Action Fund currently supports 12 projects in India. All projects are assessed through annual progress reports, a project completion report and an independent evaluation conducted at the close of a project.
To date only one project in India has been operating for longer than a year. The annual progress report, assessed by sector experts, found that that project was meeting the targets agreed with DFID at the start of this work.
Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of India's status on the Impact Window—Organisation and Project Countries list of the Global Poverty Action Fund. [146531]
Mr Duncan: The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), has ensured that DFID's work through the Global Poverty Action Fund (GPAF) is aligned with the UK's new development relationship with India following her announcement in November 2012.
In future funding rounds the GPAF will support projects in India that bring unique knowledge, skills and expertise to Indian organisations or which involve work with the private sector to help the poor. As such, Indian organisations will continue to be eligible to apply for funding through the GPAF Impact Window for work in, as well as outside India.
Defence
Armed Forces: Recruitment
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many people resident in each (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency were recruited to the armed forces in each year since 2009-10; [145619]
(2) what the average age of recruits to the armed forces in each (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency was in each year since 2009-10; [145620]
(3) what the average age of recruits to the armed forces in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) England and (d) Northern Ireland was in each year since 2009-10; [145621]
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(4) how many people resident in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) England and (d) Northern Ireland were recruited to the armed forces in each year since 2009-10. [145623]
Mr Robathan:
This information is not held centrally. The following table, however, provides the numbers of entrants from recruitment centres around the UK. This will give an indication of the geographical spread of recruitment but does not provide a comprehensive picture
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of where these individuals may reside as they may not always apply to join the services through their nearest Career Office, and may choose other means by which to apply.
The following abbreviations are used within the tables:
AFCO: Armed Forces Careers Office
ACIO: Army Career Information Office
ACA: Army Careers Adviser
OR: Other Rank.
| Service recruiting statistics by AFCO/ACIO (ACA for army officers) | |||||||||||||
| 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | |||||||||||
| Offrs | Av. age | ORs | Av. age | Offrs | Av. age | ORs | Av. age | Offrs | Av. age | ORs | Av. age | ||
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