Work Programme: Cumbria
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid to Work Programme contractors working in Cumbria since the commencement of that programme. [166600]
Mr Hoban: The total paid to Work Programme Providers in the UK is £736 million from the start of the programme through to 31 March 2013, the period covered by the 27 June 2013 Statistical Release. Due to commercial in confidence considerations we are not able to release financial data below the national level at this time.
Written Questions
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many questions answered by his Department included fewer than four pages of statistics in the Official Report for the last month. [166717]
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Mr Hoban: The Department answered 380 ordinary written and named day questions between 19 June and 18 July 2013. As departmental IT systems do not collate whether or not the answers include fewer than four pages of statistics, the information could be provided only by examining each question clerically, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to ensure that all answers provided by his Department containing tables of statistical data which would not require more than four pages in the Official Report are published in full rather than by reference to a hyperlink. [166742]
Mr Hoban: The Department follows procedures that were agreed with the ministerial team in 2012 on how to provide statistics when answering parliamentary questions.
DWP makes a wide range of official statistics readily available via online software. This is an efficient way of answering a wide range of parliamentary questions and freedom of information requests.
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time to be seen by a doctor in accident and emergency for (a) walk-in patients and (b) those arriving by ambulance are (i) for each hospital in South Yorkshire and (ii) nationally. [167014]
Anna Soubry: Information showing the average waiting time to be seen by a doctor in accident and emergency (A&E) is not collected centrally. However, data on the average (median) waiting time in (A&E) from arrival to assessment, to treatment and to discharge is available. These data separately identify patients who arrive by ambulance and all other arrivals. Average waiting times by these categories for each hospital in South Yorkshire and for England are set out as follows.
| Average (median) waiting times in minutes from arrival to assessment, treatment and departure at A&E by arrival mode for 2011-121—Activity in English NHS hospitals | |||
| Minutes | |||
| Arrival by ambulance/helicopter | |||
| Provider name | Median wait to assessment | Median wait to treatment | Median wait to departure |
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| Minutes | |||
| Arrival other than by ambulance/helicopter3 | |||
| Provider name | Median wait to assessment | Median wait to treatment | Median wait to departure |
| 1 The last full year for which data is available. 2 Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has a large number of assessment times recorded as exactly midnight. 3 Data on walk-in patients is not collected separately, these patients are included within 'arrival other than by ambulance/helicopter', this includes patients arriving by any other means than ambulance, for example, patients who arrive on foot or who arrive by prison/police escort. | |||
Apprentices
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many apprentices are currently employed by his Department; and how many such apprentices are aged (a) under 19, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30, (d) 31 to 59 and (e) 60 years and over. [167020]
Dr Poulter: The Department currently has no apprentices. The Department runs and actively encourages teams to offer, work experience and other opportunities to candidates from Government schemes. These initiatives include the Civil Service Whitehall Internship programme, the Summer Development and Placement scheme, plus the Department's own Building Bridges programme, the NHS Management trainee programme, and placements for finance and analytical students. Since 2012 the Department has increased its allocation on the Building Bridges programme to eight places, due to the high demand.
Care Homes
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to begin an information campaign to explain the details of the care cap to the public. [166420]
Norman Lamb: We published a public consultation document, ‘Caring for our future: Consultation on reforming what and how people pay for their care and support’, on 18 July, setting out the details of our reforms to social care funding, including the introduction of a cap on charges to individuals.
The consultation includes a call for evidence on how best to raise awareness of the capped cost system.
A copy of the document has already been placed in the Library and is available at:
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223915/CONSULTATION_Caring_For_Our_Future_FINAL.pdf
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of people who will have their personal care costs capped at £72,000 who will pay an additional amount for care for low and moderate needs and non-eligible substantial care; [166503]
(2) what estimate he has made of the average amount that will be paid by individuals under plans to cap personal care costs at £72,000 to meet (a) moderate or low needs and (b) substantial needs which are not deemed eligible under the scheme. [166504]
Norman Lamb: No estimate has been made because the Care Bill does not define care needs in this way. From April 2015, subject to the passage of the Care Bill, there will be a single set of criteria to describe a minimum threshold of eligible needs for adults needing care in England. On 28 June, we published a discussion, document, ‘Draft national minimum eligibility threshold for adult care and support’, to allow consideration of the draft regulations and the implications for implementing the new national eligibility criteria. The £72,000 cap would apply to charges for care and support to meet those eligible needs.
A copy of the publication has already been placed in the Library.
General Practitioners
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs who have been elected to the boards of clinical commissioning groups hold directorships or have shares held in private health care companies. [166815]
Dr Poulter: The National Health Service Act 2006, as amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012, sets out the clear requirements on clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in relation to registers of interests and managing conflicts of interest.
Under section 140 CCGs are responsible for maintaining registers of interests of the members of its boards. However, information contained on registers of interest is not collected centrally. CCGs should also make arrangements for managing conflicts of interest and potential conflicts of interest, to ensure they do not affect or appear to affect the integrity of their decision-making process.
NHS England is responsible for supporting CCGs to manage conflicts of interest, and has produced guidance
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setting out the statutory requirements and principles for managing conflicts of interest. The guidance is available at:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ccg-conflict-int-guide.pdf
Health Services
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the revision of the Quality and Outcomes Framework. [166551]
Anna Soubry: Since 1 January 2013, Ministers have had not had any meetings to specifically discuss revisions to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF). However QOF may have been raised as part of wider discussions at ministerial meetings. Ministers have responded to 20 parliamentary questions regarding QOF, and one oral question.
A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has identified 89 items of correspondence about the revision of QOF. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department's ministerial correspondence unit only.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence encourages anyone with an interest in health to comment on their proposals and the current indicators in QOF and other frameworks.
Health Services: British Nationals Abroad
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the number of British pensioners who permanently live abroad but returned to the UK to access health treatment via the NHS in the latest period for which figures are available; [166606]
(2) if he will undertake a review of (a) who is and (b) who is not entitled to NHS care. [166619]
Anna Soubry: The Department has concluded a comprehensive review of the rules of entitlement to free national health service care of visitors and migrants. Following that review, the Department has since published a consultation entitled “Sustaining services, ensuring fairness: A consultation on migrant access and their financial contribution to NHS provision in England” on proposals to make the charging system fairer including seeking views on who should be entitled to free NHS care.
A copy of the consultation and the summary report “2012 review of overseas visitors charging policy” have already been placed in the Library.
The Department is currently not able to make a reliable estimate of the number of British pensioners who permanently live abroad but return to the United Kingdom to access NHS treatment. To support the development of the proposals within the consultation, the Department has commissioned independent professional research to better understand the extent of the use of the NHS of migrants and visitors, including British pensioners.
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Health Services: Wales
Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what health protocols have been entered into by English NHS trusts with neighbouring Welsh health boards. [166563]
Anna Soubry: From 1 April 2013, NHS England took over responsibility from the Department for the detail and implementation of cross-border health policy. The protocol for cross-border health care services has been renewed and developed between the national health service in England and Wales to secure cross-border health care provision in a way that supports improved patient outcomes and avoids the fragmentation of care. The protocol is available on the NHS England website at:
www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/part-rel/
NHS England is currently discussing the operation of the protocol with the Welsh Assembly Government.
The Department does not manage or review agreements between local NHS organisations, and does not hold any information about specific local arrangements along the border between England and Wales.
Public Health: Restaurants
Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many quick service restaurants have endorsed Public Health Responsibility Deals in the UK; and how many such restaurants have committed to deals that deliver a healthier product to consumers. [166388]
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many quick service restaurants have endorsed public health responsibility deals to date; which of those have committed to deals that aim to deliver a healthier product to consumers; and if he will make a statement. [166580]
Anna Soubry: Eleven quick service restaurants are currently signed up to the Public Health Responsibility Deal through its Food Network and have made commitments to help consumers improve their diet.
We have defined quick service restaurants as outlets which have take away or eat in, or both, and where the customer pays, and generally collects their food up front—before sitting down or leaving with their food.
Heart Diseases
Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to draw upon patient experience when comparing unit with unit in the new congenital cardiac review; [166353]
(2) if he will take steps to ensure that, following the new congenital cardiac review, configuration of children's heart surgery units will not be determined by the location of existing specialist services; [166354]
(3) if he will take steps to ensure that the future of cardiothoracic transplant and respiratory extra corporeal membrane oxygenation will be contingent on the final proposals for congenital heart surgery and that configuration will not be determined by the location of existing specialist services. [166356]
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Anna Soubry: NHS England is taking forward the new national review of congenital heart disease services.
My hon. Friend will be aware that NHS England has published its early thinking on the way forward in improving these services. This paper is available at:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/180713-item13.pdf
We are advised by NHS England that its aim is to develop a process which is robust, transparent and inclusive, particularly in the use of evidence and data. It is too soon to describe the exact process, or what account will be taken of the current location of other specialist services. Information will be gathered from a wide variety of sources as the review seeks to deliver an effective and equitable solution in the interests of securing the best outcomes for all patients.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his Department's Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Strategy, published in March 2013, what progress NHS England has made on working with the Resuscitation Council, the British Heart Foundation and other stakeholders (1) to consider ways of increasing the number of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automated external defibrillators; [166623]
(2) to promote first responder programmes by ambulance services; [166624]
(3) (a) to promote automated external defibrillator (AED) site mapping and registration and (b) the use of the existing national database of AEDs. [166625]
Anna Soubry: NHS England's work on these commitments is in the early stages. It will provide details on how they are being taken forward in due course.
Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether the Scottish congenital cardiac surgery unit will be included in the new review of congenital cardiac care; [166907]
(2) when the new review of congenital cardiac care will commence; [166908]
(3) whether the new review of congenital cardiac care will consider quality of care through the entire process of child heart surgery; [166909]
(4) what role (a) patients, (b) the public and (c) other stakeholders will have in the new review of congenital cardiac care. [166910]
Anna Soubry: NHS England is responsible for conducting the new national review of congenital heart disease services, which is now under way. The process will be discussed with interested parties and confirmed in due course.
We are advised that NHS England is committed to a review that is robust, transparent and inclusive, in the interests of delivering high quality and sustainable services for all patients.
Heart Diseases: Children
Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that all children's cardiac surgery units are as vigorously assessed as the Leeds Children's Cardiac Surgery Unit has recently been. [166355]
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Anna Soubry: There are no current plans to assess the remaining nine children's cardiac surgery units in the same way as the local review currently under way in Leeds. The review at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was specifically commissioned to look at the day to day safety of the unit following the concerns which had been raised.
The safety of all children's cardiac surgery units is paramount. We are advised by NHS England that it is continually working with professional bodies such as the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and independent regulators to ensure that individual units are meeting and operating within the appropriate safety standards.
Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what deficit has been accumulated by Circle Healthcare Ltd in each year since it was awarded the operational franchise of Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement; [166470]
(2) what the ratio of public to private patients is expected to be at Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement; [166471]
(3) what savings are budgeted for under the agreement governing the operational franchise of Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [166527]
Anna Soubry: The following table shows the financial position for Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust in each year to date since the franchise agreement was awarded to Circle Healthcare Ltd.
| £000 | ||
| Trust name | 2011-12 operating surplus | 2012-13 operating surplus |
| Notes: 1. Figures for 2011-12 are published in The Quarter 4 publication for 2011-12 (Department of Health). 2. Figures for 2012-13 are taken from Q4 returns from NHS trusts. | ||
Information on the ratio of public and private patients expected to be treated by the trust is not held centrally.
The budgeted savings under the franchising agreement in each over the next 10 years are published in the National Audit Office report, ‘The Franchising of Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust’ (8 November 2012), at Figure 9. The total projected savings over the 10 years are £311 million. The report is available at:
www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/1213628.pdf
A copy has been placed in the Library.
Hospitals: Buckinghamshire
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what special measures are being applied to Buckinghamshire Health Trust following the Keogh review into hospital mortality rates. [166552]
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Dr Poulter: The NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA) has written to Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust suspending its foundation trust application and asking it to set out its plans for implementing the findings of the Keogh review. The trust will have its action plan rigorously scrutinised and the board leadership will be further assessed by the NHS TDA.
The NHS TDA will work with the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust to support it to improve but will take every necessary action to ensure that the issues raised in the Keogh review are addressed.
Human Papillomavirus
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual cost of the HPV vaccination programme under each cost heading is. [166137]
Anna Soubry: The average annual administration cost of the Human Papillomavirus vaccination programme for the three year period from the start of April 2010 to the end of March 2013 was £8.6 million.
This figure excludes the cost of the vaccine and its storage and distribution as this information is commercially confidential.
In Vitro Fertilisation
Mr Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what his Department's policy is on local assisted conception policies which restrict access to IVF treatment on the grounds that one partner has children from a previous relationship; [166661]
(2) if he will endorse the recommendations contained within the 2013 NICE guideline on fertility which recommends that three full cycles of IVF be provided to eligible couples; [166662]
(3) with reference to the answer of 1 March 2013 to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West, Official Report, column 726W, on IVF, when Infertility Network UK's eligibility criteria commissioning tool was published; and what steps his Department has taken since then to reduce variations in access criteria across the country; [166663]
(4) if he will issue guidance on whether a clinical commissioning group can be deemed to have failed in its duty to discharge its functions if it refuses to
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commission fertility services; and what his policy is on intervention by NHS England in such cases. [166664]
Anna Soubry: Infertility affects thousands of couples so the Department welcomed the National Institute of Care Excellence recommendations in its revised 2013 guideline on fertility. The Department expects local national health service organisations to have regard to this new guidance when making decisions about offering fertility services to their communities.
We recognise that some NHS commissioners have set their own local criteria for access to fertility treatment, including restriction related to existing children. This was identified by the Expert Group on Commissioning NHS Infertility Provision in 2009 and an approach to address these variations was outlined in Infertility Network UK's (INUK) “Standardising Access Criteria to NHS Fertility Treatment” guidance, which was funded by the Department.
The Department has promoted this guidance in letters to the NHS, in replies to correspondence, in funding INUK to engage with NHS commissioners and through links to the Department of Health and NHS England websites.
It is for NHS England to make decisions about issuing guidance to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) about the commissioning of fertility services. In February 2013, it published “Commissioning fertility services factsheet”, which provides guidance to CCGs about commissioning fertility services.
It is for NHS England to assess in individual cases whether a CCG has failed to discharge its functions. It is also for NHS England to provide guidance on the threshold for the use of its formal intervention powers.
Monitor
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the 14 hospitals investigated as part of Sir Bruce Keogh's recent report were regulated by Monitor; and what steps the regulator took to address the problems identified in the Keogh Report at each such hospital during the last five years. [166752]
Dr Poulter: Of the 14 hospitals that were investigated as part of Sir Bruce Keogh's recent report, nine are regulated by Monitor. A summary of the actions taken by Monitor in relation to the nine hospitals is set out as follows.
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NHS: Finance
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts would currently fail the tests for financial viability to convert a NHS trust to a NHS foundation trust; what assessment he has made of the extent to which each such failure could be caused by PFI-related financing arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [166567]
Anna Soubry: There is no single test that assesses long-term financial viability.
The majority of national health service trusts will have the opportunity to achieve foundation trust status. For many this will be through a standalone application process, and for others it may be through a merger or as part of an acquisition. The NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA) is working with the remaining NHS trusts to scrutinise closely the financial and clinical feasibility of each organisation to ensure that each trust is capable of providing high quality, sustainable services to patients.
Before applying for foundation status an NHS trust must first receive approval from the NHS TDA, but it is ultimately Monitor that makes the assessment to ensure the trust is financially viable, legally constituted and well governed before awarding foundation trust status.
The Secretary of State commissioned a review of the private finance initiative (PFI) contracts to determine whether the affordability of PR schemes was a critical factor in the financial viability of certain trusts. The work identified six NHS trusts and one foundation trust as requiring central support for PFI contracts. To access any PFI central support the trust must ensure that four tests laid down by the Secretary of State can be satisfied.
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS Trusts are in debt relating to the accumulation of annual deficits; what the size of each relevant debt is; and if he will make a statement. [166569]
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Dr Poulter: National health service trusts with a breakeven cumulative deficit position in 2012-13 are shown in the following table.
The Department does not collect data from individual NHS foundation trusts. Where an NHS trust obtains
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foundation trust status part way through any year, the data provided are only for the part of the year the organisation operated as an NHS trust.
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts had an annual deficit in the last financial year for which reports are available; what the size of each such annual deficit was; and if he will make a statement. [166575]
Dr Poulter: National health service trusts with an operating deficit in 2012-13 are shown in the following table.
| NHS trust | 2012-13 Operating deficit (£000) |
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS Trusts had an end-of-year deficit between their income and expenditure in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13 by (i) region and (ii) multiples of £500,000; and if he will make a statement. [166916]
Dr Poulter: National health service trusts with an operating deficit in 2011-12 and 2012-13 are shown by region in the following tables.
The Department does not collect data from individual NHS foundation trusts. Where an NHS trust obtains foundation trust status part way through any year, the data provided are only for the part of the year the organisation operated as an NHS trust.
| (i) By region | |
| Trust name | Operating deficit (£000) |
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| (ii) Multiples of £500,000—only categories with entries are shown in the following table | ||
| £000 | ||
NHS: Innovation
Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Commissioning through Evaluation will be introduced by NHS England. [166562]
John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when NHS England will start to fund procedures through the Commissioning through Evaluation criteria; [166548]
(2) how much NHS England has committed to fund technologies to be considered as part of Commissioning through Evaluation. [166549]
Anna Soubry: NHS England has developed a new approach to commissioning called ‘Commissioning through Evaluation’ (CtE). It is currently subject to NHS England Board executive approval. If approved it will be rolled out across England.
CtE is intended to support directly commissioned specialised procedures or services where there is currently insufficient evidence of relative clinical and cost-effectiveness to be routinely commissioned by NHS England, but where there is believed to be genuine ‘promise’ as a potential future treatment option. It is particularly pertinent to specialised services where small patient numbers are less amenable to randomised controlled trials.
Procedures or treatments agreed as part of the CtE programme will be commissioned on a limited basis as part of a formal evaluation project, with patient selection criteria, provider selection criteria and evaluation measures developed with a range of stakeholders including patients and clinical experts. Findings will then be used to inform future substantive commissioning policy decisions.
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NHS England envisage that the initially proposed CtE programme should be open to patients by the autumn.
NHS England is still working up the detailed costings for this programme but, in general, investment for these treatments is expected to be set at the level of historic national health service expenditure (such as equivalent to expenditure during 2012-13), and will vary from treatment to treatment.
NHS: Judicial Review
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications for judicial review have been brought against NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; which NHS Trusts and NHS foundations trusts have been the subject of such applications; whether the decisions challenged in such applications were upheld; and if he will make a statement. [166571]
Anna Soubry: This information is not held centrally.
NHS: Private Sector
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts or NHS foundation trusts have entered into which operational franchises with a private company; and if he will make a statement. [166570]
Anna Soubry: Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust is currently the only trust operating under franchise arrangements. Circle Healthcare Ltd began operating the trust in 2012, under a 10-year contract.
NHS: Staff
Catherine McKinnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the
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number of staff currently working in the NHS in England who had been engaged by NHS bodies
(a)
through personal service companies and
(b)
as permanent members of staff before having their contract of employment terminated and then being re-employed; and if he will make a statement. [166881]
Dr Poulter: The Department does not collect information on staff employed in the national health service through personal services companies and does not have robust data on the number of permanent staff who have had their contracts of employment terminated for all reasons and then been re-employed. However, we do have validated data on those staff who have had their contracts of employment terminated by reason of redundancy and who have subsequently been re-employed.
15,700 NHS employees were made redundant during the period May 2010 to the end of December 2012. The overwhelming majority of the staff made redundant were from the back office and administrative areas. The number of clinical staff increased by 5,522 during the same period, showing that this Government are committed to investing in the NHS frontline. Of those made redundant, 2,400 were subsequently re-employed up to the end of January 2013.
Patients: Greater Manchester
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were registered with NHS trusts in Greater Manchester in each of the last five years. [166464]
Anna Soubry: The information is not held in the format requested. Patients do not register at NHS trusts.
However, numbers of patients registered with general practitioners in Greater Manchester Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) for 2008 to 2012 (as at 30 September) are shown in the following table:
| Greater Manchester PCTs | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Notes: 1. The PCTs used covered the 10 districts that constitute Greater Manchester. It should be noted that Glossop is not in Greater Manchester but is part of Tameside and Glossop PCT and cannot be separated. 2. 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: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care—GP Workforce and Facilities Annual Census | |||||
Regulation
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the title is of each regulation his Department (a) introduced and (b) revoked in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013 to date; and if he will make a statement. [165914]
Dr Poulter: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
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School Milk
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether, as part of its consideration of a contract-based model for the administration of the Nursery Milk Scheme, his Department has assessed the likelihood that a company that wins the contract would be able to put in place an immediate supply chain. [166915]
Dr Poulter: The Department is currently analysing evidence and responses received to the Next Steps for Nursery Milk consultation. A decision about the future operation of the Nursery Milk Scheme will be made after full consideration is given to the evidence, responses and other relevant information.
Strokes
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to improve awareness amongst the public and healthcare professionals of the symptoms of stroke; [166646]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to support healthier lifestyles and reduce cardiovascular and stroke risk; [166657]
(3) what steps he is taking to involve stroke patients in their care planning; [166658]
(4) what steps he is taking to ensure that stroke patients are treated in acute stroke centres that provide 24 hour care; [166659]
(5) what progress he has made on diagnosing and treating transient ischaemic attacks. [166824]
Anna Soubry: One of the objectives in the Government's Mandate to NHS England is for the national health service to give patients more power to manage and make decisions about their own care and treatment. Achieving this objective would mean that by 2015, everyone with a long-term condition will be offered a personalised care plan that reflects their preferences and agreed decisions.
We know that stroke patients do better when admitted to stroke units. The Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcome Strategy, published in March 2013, sets out that all CVD patients should have access to what is recognised as the right treatment; including specialist teams and 24-hour services where appropriate.
In 2008, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produced clinical guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of acute stroke and transient ischaernic attacks. NICE subsequently published a quality standard on stroke which covers care provided to adult stroke patients by healthcare staff during diagnosis and
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initial management, acute-phase care, rehabilitation and long-term management. All hospitals now run specialist transient ischaemic attack clinics.
The CVD Outcomes Strategy reiterates our commitment to the NHS Health Check programme. NHS England will be working with Public Health England (PHE) to make the NHS Health Check programme as effective as possible, helping to reduce people's risk of developing CVDs through advice on lifestyle factors.
The Act FAST (face, arm, speech, time to call 999) stroke awareness campaign has been one of the Government's most successful campaigns. PHE will continue to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of stroke by running campaigns such as Act FAST and trialling new campaigns.
The Tobacco Control Plan, the Call for Action on Obesity, the Change 4 life programme and the Responsibility Deal all aim to support healthier lifestyles and reduce risk factors for stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
Tobacco: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has held with his Scottish counterpart on the use of a Section 104 to assist with the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes. [166425]
Anna Soubry: No such discussions have taken place.
Energy and Climate Change
Air Travel
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many officials of his Department travelled economy class by aeroplane in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the total cost was of such travel in each such year; [165371]
(2) how many officials of his Department travelled first class by aeroplane in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2009-10 and (d) 2008-09; and what the total cost was of such travel in each such year; [165374]
(3) how many officials of his Department travelled business class by aeroplane in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12; and what the total cost was in each year. [165436]
Gregory Barker: DECC was created in October 2008 and full financial data for the period 2008-10 are unavailable. The following table shows the data centrally held:
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |||||
| No. of officials | £000 | No. of officials | £000 | No. of officials | £000 | No. of officials | £000 | |
| 1Class of travel could not be determined from the records held for 2009-10 | ||||||||
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The Department's records include the number of flights taken rather than the number of officials travelling. We have reviewed the data to determine the number of individual officials travelling in non-economy but we are not able to complete the same exercise in respect of economy travel without incurring disproportionate cost. It is possible that some flights may have been booked directly with carriers by staff and the costs reimbursed. We do not hold details of such flights centrally
The nature of DECC's work necessitates international travel. One of DECC's four key priorities is “to drive ambitious action on climate change at home and abroad”. In order to fulfil this objective, officials engaged in the international energy and climate change arena have to undertake overseas travel to engage with international bodies and stakeholders.
Billing
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many creditors to his Department owed more than £10,000 remained unpaid for more than (a) 30 days, (b) 45 days, (c) 60 days, (d) 75 days and (e) more than 90 days in each of the last three years. [166372]
Gregory Barker: For the two financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 there were no creditors owed more than £10,000. The accounting system used by the Department during those years only recorded invoices at the point of payment.
The Department's current accounting system recognizes invoices when they are submitted if they are made out to the Department of Energy and Climate Change and a valid purchase order number is provided. As of 31 March 2013, the following number of invoices over £10,000 remain unpaid:
30 to 45 days: one invoice
45 to 60 days: one invoice
90 + days: four invoices (not being paid until issues raised with the suppliers are properly resolved)
British Gas Trading
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2013, Official Report, column 59W, on energy: finance, what process was followed in the award to British Gas Trading of a capital grant for heat pumps and thermal storage of £2,800,000 in 2012-13. [166225]
Michael Fallon: DECC awarded a grant of up to £2.8 million to the Customer Led Network Revolution (CLNR) programme, of which British Gas is a partner with Northern Powergrid, Durham University and EA Technologies. CLNR was subject to a competitive process under Ofgem's Low Carbon Innovation Fund. DECC was approached by Ofgem and the project consortium to provide support within the CLNR's work programme on heat pumps (to understand the potential benefits to the distribution network of integrating heat pumps with thermal storage). The grant was approved since the objectives of this project aligned closely with the priorities of DECC's innovation programme and at the time there was no other project pursuing similar activities at the scale of CLNR.
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Climate Change
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what estimates his Department were given in 2008 of the expected average global temperature in 2013; [166928]
(2) what estimates his Department has been given by the Met Office of the expected average global temperature in 2018. [167028]
Gregory Barker: The Met Office published its first experimental decadal forecast in 2007 and has issued updates looking five to ten years ahead on its web site since December 2009; no update to the initialised forecast was supplied to DECC in 2008. These forecasts are not intended to predict a particular year's global temperature as year-to-year variations in global temperature are dominated by the effects of the El Nino Southern Oscillation, which is not predictable more than a year ahead. Instead, they aim to forecast slow fluctuations in the climate system over the next few years.
Nevertheless, values for individual years can be extracted and the very first forecast, made in 2007, suggested that 2013 would likely be 0.53 to 0.89 degrees C (90% confidence) warmer than the 1961 to 1990 average. No equivalent estimate is currently available for 2018 as the latest five-year forecast, issued in December 2012, is for the period 2013 to 20171. However, this shows that the Earth is expected to maintain the record warmth that has been observed over the last decade, with the possibility that new record global temperatures may be reached in the next five years.
Met Office five-year forecasts are assessed once the verifying observations are available.
1http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/news/decadal-forecasting
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of whether an increase of 0.8 degrees celsius in average global temperatures is statistically significant. [166941]
Gregory Barker: The world has warmed by about 0.8 degrees Celsius since the 19th century1. This warming was reported to be statistically significant by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in Section 3.2 of its Fourth Assessment Working Group I Report.
1 Met Office (2013). The recent pause in global warming (1); What do observations of the climate system tell us?
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/e/f/Paper1_Observing_changes_in_the_climate_system.PDF
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the UK of complying with the Climate Change Act 2008. [166945]
Gregory Barker: The Climate Change Act 2008 sets in place a legally binding target for the UK to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/27/pdfs/ukpga_20080027_en.pdf
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There are uncertainties around how this 2050 target will be met. However, in the Carbon Plan (December 2011), the Department put forward four plausible example pathways that meet the target:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/47613/3702-the-carbon-plan-delivering-our-low-carbon-future.pdf
Details of the pathways, including associated estimates of full energy system costs, can be examined in the report and using the 2050 Calculator: a tool which allows users to examine the full range of physically possible scenarios for meeting the 2050 target:
http://2050-calculator-tool.decc.gov.uk/
The costs of technologies out to 2050 are uncertain, however the following table shows our best estimates for the four pathways, which vary between £4,735 and £5,329 per person per year on average between 2010 and 2050. These costs include all capital, operating and fuel costs for the whole energy system including cars, trains, planes, power stations, boilers and insulation, but exclude the damage costs of climate change and the costs of changing people's behaviour, such as encouraging them to turn down their thermostat. The table also shows that if climate change wasn't tackled, the cost would be £4,690 per person per year on average between 2010 and 2050; however, if climate change damage costs were also included, the cost would be even higher.
These are just some of the possible scenarios. It might be cheaper to meet the carbon target than not, even if the costs of climate change damage are excluded. This depends on the future cost of fossil fuels, the extent to which technologies such as electric vehicles fall in cost and the extent to which people are willing to change behaviour. Using the tool, members of the public can explore these uncertainties.
| Amortised annual per capita total energy system costs to 2050 | |
| Pathway | Total (£) |
| Note: Based on 2050 Calculator version 3.4.6. | |
E.ON UK
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2013, Official Report, column 59W, on energy: finance; what projects the Research and Development Expenditure (Programme) payments to E.ON of (a) £1,519,351 in 2009-10 and (b) £8,767,856 in 2010-11 were earmarked for. [166152]
Michael Fallon: Payments to E.ON of (a) £1,519,351 in 2009-10 and (b) £8,767,856 in 2010-11 were for two projects. These were:
1. £9,734,083 for the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) studies produced under the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Demonstration Programme for E.ON's proposed Kingsnorth project.
2. £553,124 for the Energy Demand Research Project (EDRP), which was a suite of large scale trials across Great Britain. The aim was to understand how consumers react to improved information
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about their energy consumption over the long term. The EDRP trialled a range of methods of providing customers with improved feedback on their energy consumption, including:
smart electricity and gas meters
real-time display devices, which show energy use in pounds and pence
more accurate and more frequent bills
energy saving information
community engagement.
The trials were made up of different combinations of these actions and explored the responses of over 50,000 different households. The trials began in 2007 and finished at the end of 2010. The EDRP was match-funded by government and industry.
Energy Company Obligation
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills regarding BT Openreach's work to deliver measures under the Energy Company Obligation. [166363]
Gregory Barker: Government policy on telecommunications related issues is a matter for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (not the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills). BT is also regulated by the communications regulator—Ofcom. The Department has raised with both these bodies the issue of work BT may undertake related to the installation of measures under the energy company obligation.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of fees being charged by BT Openreach for eyebolt installations on the cost of delivering the Energy Company Obligation. [166364]
Gregory Barker: We have made no assessment of the costs charged by BT relating to eyebolt installations, which may be required as part of the installation of solid wall insulation.
However, we are aware of concerns raised by some promoters of energy efficiency schemes under ECO about the costs charged by BT for related work and also by BT about alleged damage to, and unlawful interference with, their equipment by those undertaking energy efficiency schemes.
We will encourage energy companies and the supply chain to take the issue of BT equipment into account when planning schemes and will consider any evidence, that we are presented with, that suggests that there is a wider problem related to solid wall insulation measures and the provision of telecommunications infrastructure.
Energy: Finance
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which energy companies have received capital grants from his Department in each of the last five years. [166126]
Gregory Barker: Capital grant payments made by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to identified energy companies is given in the table.
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| £000 | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | Total | |
Energy: Housing
Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his Department's publication entitled Final Project Report: An investigation of the effect of EPC ratings on house prices, what the evidential basis is for his Department's conclusion that the cost of energy is having an affect on house prices. [166640]
Gregory Barker: The report shows there is a link between domestic properties' energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings and the price at which they are sold in the market. This is based on analysing data from the Land Registry and Landmark available for properties sold. In addition to its EPC rating, information is available on: a property's actual sale price; its size; its characteristics (e.g. detached, terraced etc.); its age; and its location.
The study covered property transactions for 325,950 dwellings between 1995 and 2011. It found that, in addition to other factors, EPC ratings were significant in explaining price differentials in most regions and for most property types. It also found that revealing EPC ratings had a positive impact on energy efficient properties. It did this by tracking the same properties that were sold before and after 2007 (when EPCs were mandatory), and compared their price premiums them to those that were less energy efficient, according to their EPC.
DECC has issued a clarification to some of the comments it is aware of since the study's release at:
http://blog.decc.gov.uk/2013/07/24/addressing-criticism-to-deccs-epchouse-price-hedonic-pricing-report/
Green Deal Scheme
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward proposals to allow Green Deal finance to cover the upfront cost of purchasing heat pumps. [166007]
Gregory Barker: A contribution to the costs of installing a purchasing heat pump can already be included in the financing of a Green Deal Plan, up to the limit of the expected savings made as a result of the package of measures. Any future payments under the renewable heat incentives are not currently included in that calculation.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what differences there are in the obligations placed on installers by the codes of practice for the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation. [166992]
Gregory Barker:
Installers operating in the Green Deal are required to comply with the Green Deal framework regulations and relevant parts of the Green Deal code of practice. Installers operating under the energy company
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obligation (ECO) are required to comply with the Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2012, and guidance published by Ofgem entitled ‘Energy Companies Obligation (ECO): Guidance for Suppliers (Version 1.1)’.
Links to these documents, detailing installer requirements for both schemes, can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69090/green_deal_code_practice_version_3.pdf
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2012/9780111525227/contents
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2012/9780111525456/contents
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/energy-companies-obligation-eco-guidance-suppliers-version-1.1-0
Insulation: Woking
Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many homes in Woking constituency have received insulation under his Department's energy efficiency programmes in each of the last three years. [166778]
Gregory Barker: The Energy Savings Trust (EST) publishes reports on cavity wall insulation and professionally installed loft insulation delivered through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) as recorded in the Homes Energy Efficiency Database. The following table shows the number of installations of cavity wall and loft insulation under CERT in each of the last three years for the Woking constituency, as published by EST. The CERT year runs from 1 April to 31 March; the final year of CERT runs from l April 2012 to 31 December 2012.
| Table 1: Cavity wall and loft insulation delivered under CERT, Woking constituency | |||
| 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 | 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 | 1 April 2012 to 31 December 2012 | |
The following table shows the number of installations of insulation measures under Warm Front in the Woking constituency.
| Table 2: Installations of insulation under Warm Front, Woking constituency | |||
| 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 | 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 | 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 | |
| 1 Not shown in order to protect confidentiality. | |||
The number of properties that have installed measures through the Energy company obligation (ECO) or through cashback by local authority and parliamentary constituency, up to 30 June 2013, will be included in the next quarterly Green Deal/ECO statistical release which is planned for publication on 19 September.
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Oil: Prices
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will commission an investigation into the UK's oil price setting process. [166748]
Michael Fallon: Competition decisions are for the independent competition authorities.
The European Commission is investigating concerns regarding the manipulation of the published prices for a number of oil and biofuel products, and has made clear that it would inappropriate to comment further until the facts are known. The UK Government and regulators will provide any assistance necessary to the European investigators, and we expect the companies concerned to fully comply with these investigations.
Earlier this year the Office of Fair Trading published a report into the competitiveness of the fuel market in which they suggested that making more information available about the price of fuel at motorway service areas would be useful to drivers. At that time, the OFT did not receive evidence on the impact on pump prices of potential manipulation of derivatives markets. However, they did set out that they encouraged market participants to approach the OFT and FSA as appropriate if they had evidence of such practices.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received calling for a review of the oil price setting process. [166749]
Michael Fallon:
We have had some representations from interested parties following the announcement of the European Commission investigation into concerns
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regarding the alleged manipulation of the published prices for a number of oil and biofuel products. This is a matter for the appropriate competition authorities.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the (a) US and (b) EU regulation of oil prices. [166750]
Michael Fallon: DECC has not made a recent assessment of the US and EU regulation of oil prices.
Rail Travel
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many officials in his Department travelled business class by train in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the cost was in each such year; [165337]
(2) how many officials in his Department travelled by economy class train in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year; [165343]
(3) how many officials in his Department travelled by first class train in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year. [165345]
Gregory Barker: For the purpose of this question on rail travel, “Economy” has been interpreted as second class and “Business” as first class. DECC was created in October 2008 and full financial data for the period 2008-09 are unavailable. It has not been possible to identify the breakdown by class of travel for the year 2009-10 nor provide the number of all travellers without incurring disproportionate costs. The following table shows the data centrally held:
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |||||
| No. of officials | £000 | No. of officials | £000 | No. of officials | £000 | No. of officials | £000 | |
Renewable Energy
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on what evidential basis he made the decision to set the duration of the proposed Contracts for Differences for renewable energy at 15 years; and if he will publish the analysis produced in support of this decision. [166895]
Michael Fallon: The Contracts for Difference (CfD) draft Operational Framework1 provides the analysis which was conducted to inform the decision on contract length, this considered the appropriate length for different types of renewable generation and focused on two main factors:
the net present value of support provided over the lifetime of the CfD to generators.
Investor financing costs, including the availability of debt financing for project financed independent generation.
A note further summarising details of this analysis was published on the DECC part of the Government website on 7 August 2013:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/227491/CfD_contract_length_note.pdf
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48373/5358-annex-b-feedin-tariff-with-contracts-for-differe.pdf
Solar Power
Mr Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of the UK's total solar energy likely to be provided by individual homes under the Renewable Heat Incentive. [166136]
Gregory Barker: DECC does not hold the relevant figures to provide an estimate.
The domestic Renewable Heat Incentive has been introduced to give households a genuine choice as to
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how they heat their homes. Hot water is an important element in this decision and Solar Thermal can make a significant contribution to the production of hot water not only for homes but businesses too. DECC estimates that there could be 28,000 installations a year in the long term but the size and scale of this deployment is dependent on the market and on home owners choosing solar thermal technology as part of their energy provision.
Wales
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department provides services to people resident in Wales or usually resident in Wales. [166104]
Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change provides a range of services and carries out a number of statutory duties in Wales.
The Department's statutory duties carried out in Wales include; its responsibilities for the nuclear power industry, such as sponsoring the Civil Nuclear Policing Authority; Civil Nuclear Constabulary; and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Furthermore, the Department also sponsors the Coal Authority and oversees the National Fuel Concessionary Scheme, both of which provide services to Wales.
The Department has a wide range of policies which operate in Wales and are administered by Ofgem across Great Britain. Ofgem, as the GB energy regulator, is also responsible for the regulation of gas and electricity in Wales. Finally, the Energy Saving Advice Service (0300 123 1234) offers advice on saving energy and reducing bills for consumers in Wales and England.
Wind Power: Seas and Oceans
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the potential cost of offshore windfarm construction to meet the UK's renewable targets for 2020. [166846]
Michael Fallon: DECC publishes cost estimates of various generation technologies, including offshore wind, on the DECC website.
A summary report of the most recent cost data (“Electricity Generation Costs 2013”) was published in July 2013 and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223940/DECC_Electricity_ Generation_Costs_for_publication_-_24_07_13.pdf
Table 7 on page 25 shows a range of offshore wind cost estimates.
Written Questions
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many questions answered by his Department included fewer than four pages of statistics in the Official Report for the last month; [166702]
(2) if he will make it his policy to ensure that all answers provided by his Department containing tables of statistical data which would not require more than four pages in the Official Report are published in full rather than by reference to a hyperlink. [166727]
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Gregory Barker: The Department answered a total of 257 ordinary written and named day parliamentary questions between 18 June and 18 July 2013.
Of those 257 questions answered in the period given, 132 questions asked for statistical data as part of the answer. Of the answers given to those 132 questions:
90 answers included fewer than four pages of statistics tables in the Official Report;
12 answers only included internet links to statistical information;
30 answers did not provide any statistical information. These included nil responses, or where no assessment had been made, and those where information was not provided because of disproportionate cost. Also included in this category are questions which referred to published information, or where the department deposited the information in the Libraries of the House.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Leader of the House of Commons, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 649W.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Anti-Semitism
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will assess the effectiveness of the UK Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues; and if he will make a statement. [166751]
Mr Lidington: Since his appointment in 2010, Sir Andrew Burns, the Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues, has drawn together activity across Government and, working with academic and non-governmental experts, has provided a clearer British international profile, presence and influence on all Holocaust-related matters. He has especially focused on those relating to education and the opening of archives, and responding to the concerns of Holocaust victims and their families.
As a result, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance requested the UK to take on the Chairmanship of the Alliance for the year 2014-15. The International Tracing Service, which ensures the management of Holocaust era archives, asked Sir Andrew to lead the recruitment process to secure a new Director and establish effective governance arrangements around this appointment.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), renewed Sir Andrew's appointment last year as his personal envoy for as long as he holds office in this Parliament.
Apprentices
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many apprenticeships his Department offered to people aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 21 and (c) 22 to 26 years old in each year since 2010; [165874]
(2) what strategies he has to create apprenticeships in his Department; and what plans he has to promote such strategies. [165892]
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Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) offers a range of internship and work experience schemes which are designed to support the FCO's future work force requirements, but is not currently offering formal apprenticeship schemes. We will keep this under review.
FCO Services, a Trading Fund of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, does offer apprenticeships and will continue to recruit about 10 Technical Engineering apprentices annually to its successful Engineering Apprentice programme run in partnership with Milton Keynes College. Their programme is promoted using local and national media, careers fairs and other events and through the National Apprenticeship Service website. In 2012, FCO Services ran an IT trainee scheme for the first time. They are also developing a Project Management Higher Apprentice programme and plan to recruit to this programme in the next 12 months, advertising the opportunity using a range of communication tools.
The number of apprenticeships offered by FCO Services to people aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 21 and (c) 22 to 26 years old in each year since 2010 are as follows:
| Age Range | ||||
| 16 to 18 | 19 to 21 | 22 to 26 | Over 26 | |
Arms Trade: Human Rights
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made regarding the attendance of foreign delegations from (a) countries of concern and (b) other countries identified by his Department in its annual human rights report at the Defence and Security International Exhibition in London. [167012]
Alistair Burt: The Government undertake a stringent process of scrutiny and approval before inviting foreign Governments to a major UK defence exhibition such as the Defence and Security International Exhibition in London (DSEI). Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are mandatory considerations undertaken in the process, and we also consider how invitations will impact on bilateral engagement, including on issues such as human rights. In addition, we review invitations in cases where the situation in any one country changes significantly prior to an exhibition. Invitations do not imply that Her Majesty's Government would be prepared to issue export licences for the equipment that may be displayed, and any subsequent sales are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated European Union and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.
Bahrain
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Government of Bahrain's implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry's recommendations. [167048]
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Alistair Burt: Our ambassador and his team regularly discuss implementation of the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) and the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review with the Government of Bahrain, including the Minister of Justice, who heads the BICI Follow-up Unit. The unit published two reports last year which detailed progress made since the BICI presented its recommendations to HM King in November 2011. While progress has been made in certain areas, there is still more that needs to be done and we continue to raise this with the Bahraini authorities. We remain supportive of the reforms already underway and will continue to offer technical assistance where appropriate to help bring long-term stability to the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what projects the UK is providing technical assistance to the Government of Bahrain to assist that country's implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry's recommendations. [167049]
Alistair Burt: We are working closely with the Government of Bahrain to provide technical assistance to help the authorities deliver on their commitment of full implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). UK assistance has been designed to support a Bahraini-led reform process. We have provided assistance in torture prevention, the judiciary, community policing and civil service capacity building. We also continue to work closely with the Bahraini Ministry of Human Rights, and the Ministry of Justice in particular. For example in mid-January the Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded a visit to Bahrain by officials from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons to share best practice on National Preventive Mechanisms against torture in detention centres and conducting independent inspections. We remain committed to supporting the authorities to improve the human rights of all its citizens.
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Government of Bahrain's (a) recent human rights reforms and (b) establishment of the National Institution for Human Rights in that country. [167050]
Alistair Burt: We believe the Bahraini Government remain committed to improving their human rights record as recommended by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) and during the Universal Periodic Review process last year. The visit of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights to Bahrain in June was a positive step. We also welcome the establishment of the National Institution for Human Rights in response to the recommendations set out in the BICI, which will spearhead efforts to embed a culture of respect for human rights. While the Government of Bahrain have made progress in addressing the human rights concerns outlined in the BICI, there is still more that needs to be done and we continue to raise this with the Bahraini authorities.
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent efforts made towards national conciliation and power-sharing by the Government of Bahrain. [167051]
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Alistair Burt: We believe the Bahraini Government remain committed to working toward national conciliation. The UK fully supports the National Consensus Dialogue, which resumed on 28 August after a recess on account of the Ramadan and Eid holiday. Our ambassador and his team follow progress on the dialogue closely and continue to encourage all sides to play an inclusive and constructive role in the process. We respect the national ownership of the dialogue and stress the importance of it being a Bahraini-led process and that any solution is agreed by Bahrainis for Bahrainis.
British Council
Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of whether the education provider activities of the British Council constitute unfair competition to British private sector education providers abroad. [166953]
Mr Swire: The British Council has a fair trading policy which ensures that the organisation fully complies with competition and charily law so that its trading activities are at all times conducted fairly and in accordance with relevant legal requirements. They maintain a robust accounting firewall that ensures that use of grant funds does not result in any distortion of competitive markets.
There is a huge unmet demand for English and education services globally, far outstripping anything the British Council and other UK suppliers combined can offer, presenting abundant opportunities for both the British Council and private sector providers to expand their operations.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has approved the British Council's corporate plan, which sets out ambitious targets for growing the Council's self-generated income to reduce its dependence on Government grants. All of the British Council's income generation activities further its charitable objectives with any surpluses generated reinvested in its charitable work around the world.
Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department will examine where it can work with British privatesector education providers to reduce the cost to the public purse of providing services through the British Council. [166954]
Mr Swire: The British Council delivers many of its services in education and English training on a full cost recovery basis which is at no cost to taxpayers. Funding provided by the UK Government grant supports the delivery of certain services in strategically important countries, for example in conflict zones and developing countries where market opportunities for income generation are limited or non-existent.
The strategy on how the British Council fulfils its aims and objectives, as set out in the British Council corporate plan, which is approved by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers, is for the British Council Board of Trustees to determine. The British Council is directly engaged with the Education UK Unit within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and contributes to the delivery of the over-arching UK International Education Strategy.