European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many visits the Permanent Secretary and the four next most senior civil servants in his Department made to the European Commission in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [173775]

Jo Swinson: The Permanent Secretary visited the European Commission once in 2010; three times in 2011 (including BIS Board visit); once in 2012; twice in 2013 (to date).

The Department does not hold centrally the information requested in relation to our individual directors general, and this could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, all the directors general visited the European Commission in Brussels, with the Permanent Secretary, as part of a BIS Board visit in November 2011.

Iron and Steel

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to respond formally to the EU Steel Action Plan. [173816]

Michael Fallon: The EU Steel Action Plan was published on 12 June 2013, and we welcomed it as a proactive, forward-thinking way to tackle issues in the sector. We submitted an Explanatory Memorandum to Parliament on 1 July 2013. HMG will work closely with the EU Commission and other member states as the recommendations are explored further.

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Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase demand in key steel producing sectors including the construction industry. [173819]

Michael Fallon: Many priority areas in the Government's work on Industrial Strategy (including Aerospace, Automotive, Oil and Gas, and Offshore Wind, as well as Construction) are about securing growth in key markets for steel as well as other materials.

We are working with the steel onward supply chain (e.g. fabrication and forging) to explore whether there might be policy levers which Government can use to enable them to be more competitive and therefore stimulate more demand. For example, this Department is organising a round-table with major UK fabricators on 14 November 2013 to explore how the UK can win a bigger share of the offshore wind and oil and gas markets.

HMG have also published a pipeline of public investment in infrastructure worth over £100 billion to 2020 and up to £79 billion of potential procurement opportunities across 18 sectors, so that UK industry can position itself to bid competitively for such projects.

Overseas Trade: India

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the New Zealand Government on trade with India. [173675]

Michael Fallon: There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and the Government of New Zealand on trade with India.

Public Houses

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what assessment he has made of the effect on the rural economy of reforming the leased pub company model; [173976]

(2) what assessment he has made of the effect on the rural economy of the closure of tied pubs. [173977]

Jo Swinson: The purpose of the Government's recent consultation, on establishing a statutory Code of Practice and an independent Adjudicator to govern the relationship between pub companies and their tenants, was to gather additional evidence to help us better assess the likely impact on the pubs industry of our proposals. We have not assessed the effect of the consultation proposals on the rural economy specifically but we received responses from stakeholders in both rural and urban areas of the country and will decide how to proceed following consideration of all the evidence submitted during the consultation. We will also take into account the independent analysis commissioned from London Economics of the impact on pub numbers and employment levels of the proposals in the consultation. Their analysis is based on data provided by pub companies, who were asked to ensure that the data were based on a geographical spread of pubs. The Government have not assessed the effect of tied pub closures on the rural economy but we understand the specific issues that rural economies face and the importance of rural pubs to their communities.

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Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on employment of offering a market rent only option to tied pubs. [174222]

Jo Swinson: The Government commissioned London Economics to provide an independent analysis of the impact on pub numbers and employment levels of the proposals in our consultation on Pub Companies and Tenants, including the mandatory free-of-tie option, which some campaigners refer to as the market rent only option. We intend to publish this analysis later this year.

Trade Missions: China

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many trade missions have been sponsored by his Department to China in the last 12 months; and what funding was allocated to each. [173990]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment has sponsored 12 outward missions to China from September 2012 to September 2013 with a total programme funding of £252,000.

UK Membership of EU

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the costs and benefits of a decision for the UK to leave the EU in his Department's area of responsibility; and if he will make a statement. [173734]

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 709W, to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East (Emma Reynolds). The Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

UK Trade & Investment Defence and Security Organisation

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the priority markets for the UKTI Defence and Security Organisation (DSO) are; and in which other countries UKTI DSO is supporting campaigns in 2013-14. [173719]

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr Prisk), on 14 June 2012, Official Report, column 587W, for UK Trade & Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO)'s list of current Priority Markets.

UKTI DSO is supporting commercial campaigns in 50 countries and can offer assistance in further markets, in accordance with its aim to help UK companies to export.

House of Commons Commission

Consultants

Mr Dodds: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission how much the Commission spent on consultancy fees in each year since 2010. [173429]

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John Thurso: Expenditure on consultancy fees in the last three financial years has been:

The fees in 2012-13 include professional advice on catering procurement (£0.2 million) and the Savings programme (£0.2 million). The Savings programme will deliver savings of some £44 million over five years.

An upgrade of the House Administration's accounting system in 2011-12 involved changes to data classifications so the figures from the earlier years may not be directly comparable.

Health

Accident and Emergency Departments

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time in accident and emergency was in (a) Greater Manchester, (b) the North West and (c) the UK in each of the last four years. [173807]

Jane Ellison: Information on waiting times in accident and emergency departments in Greater Manchester, the North West and England is shown in the following table. Waiting times for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved Administrations.

Autism

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial support his Department makes available to local authorities to develop and share learning from innovative autism services. [173860]

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Norman Lamb: Financial resources are made available to local authorities from a variety of sources within which they are able to prioritise according to local needs. This includes actions to improve local services for people with autism and making improvements in line with the statutory guidance linked to the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy. The National Autistic Society has proposed that there should be an innovation fund and we will consider this during the current review of the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy, which will be completed by the end of March 2014. Local authorities and their partners have recently completed a self-evaluation exercise to identify progress made in implementing the Adult Autism Strategy and highlight examples of good practice. This information is currently being analysed by Public Health England and will be published in due course.

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce outcomes for adults with autism into the health and social care outcomes frameworks. [174005]

Norman Lamb: There is already provision for outcomes for people with long term conditions, including autism, in the NHS Outcomes Framework. We are considering how we can include a new measure on autism in the 2015-16 Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework. There are currently no plans to include any more specific indicators on autism in the NHS Outcomes Framework.

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how his Department is ensuring clinical commissioning groups are aware of their obligations under the statutory guidance that accompanies the adult autism strategy; [174183]

(2) what assessment he has made of the potential effect of local authority funding reductions on the implementation of the adult autism strategy. [174184]

Norman Lamb: As part of the review of the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy, local authorities and their partners including clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), have taken part in a self-evaluation exercise on progress made in implementing the strategy. The responses will be discussed by Health and Well Being Boards, of which CCGs are members, as evidence for local planning and health needs assessment strategy development. The Joint Commissioning Panel, supported by the Department, is due to publish shortly a practical guide for CCG, to support health professionals implementing relevant aspects of the Adult Autism Strategy guidance, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on Diagnostic Services.

Financial resources are made available to local authorities from a variety of sources, within which they are able to prioritise according to local needs. This includes actions to improve local services for people with autism and making improvements in line with the statutory guidance linked to the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy. Local authorities and their partners have recently completed a self-evaluation exercise to identify progress made in implementing the Adult Autism Strategy. This information is currently being analysed by Public Health England and will be published in due course.

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Death: Weather

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to reduce the number of elderly winter deaths in (a) Lancashire and (b) the UK in winter 2013-14. [173572]

Jane Ellison: The 2013 Cold Weather Plan for England was published on 25 October 2013 by Public Health England (PHE), working with the Department and NHS England. The Cold Weather Plan recommends actions to be taken throughout the year to reduce excess winter deaths, with specific actions during winter triggered by Met Office alerts. It is recognised that the elderly, particularly those over 75, are vulnerable to the health impacts of cold weather. The Cold Weather Plan is available at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/cold-weather-plan-for-england-2013

The Cumbria and Lancashire PHE centre is working to support the aims of the Cold Weather Plan, and has systems in place to alert local partners around the levels of action that need to be taken in line with the Cold Weather Alerts.

In addition to work associated with implementing this year's Cold Weather Plan, the Department, working with Public Health England and NHS England, is urging people in vulnerable groups who are offered the flu vaccine, including those over 65, to protect themselves from flu this winter by ensuring they get vaccinated against the flu virus. The Department is also investing £500 million in NHS England over the next two years to make sure that accident and emergency departments are prepared for the inevitable winter pressures.

The Department works with other Government Departments and many other campaign partners, including Age UK, to reduce the health impacts of cold weather, demonstrated in the ‘Get Ready For Winter’ website, hosted by the Met Office, which contains advice on all aspects of winter preparedness.

www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/get-ready-for-winter

Death: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has made of the five principal causes of death in young people. [174318]

Dr Poulter: The principle causes of death in young people up to the age of 19 (not including neonatal deaths), based on the deaths registered in England and Wales in 2012, and coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), are:

(1) External causes of morbidity (which includes accidents) (653 deaths).

(2) Congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (362).

(3) Neoplasms (351).

(4) Diseases of the nervous system (273).

(5) Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (256).

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Dementia: Fylde

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will institute a pilot scheme in Fylde constituency to investigate the best new practices in tackling dementia. [174017]

Norman Lamb: As part of the Prime Minister's Challenge on Dementia, the Department is working with the Alzheimer's Society to create dementia-friendly communities across the country. A national recognition process for dementia-friendly communities was launched in September 2013 with tools and resources for the public and communities to help them become dementia-friendly.

Disability Aids: Children

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS wheelchair services are currently delivering the Child in a Chair in a Day model of wheelchair provision. [173560]

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect this information centrally.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of disabled children in (a) Shipley constituency, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England who have been referred to a non-NHS provider for mobility equipment in each of the last five years. [173562]

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect this information centrally and has not made such an assessment.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meeting requests he has received from charities and organisations working with disabled children; and how many of these he has (a) undertaken himself, (b) passed on to a Minister in his Department, (c) passed on to an official in his Department and (d) not responded to since September 2012. [173564]

Norman Lamb: The Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has received invitations from many organisations working with disabled children—including hospitals, charities, carers representatives and others. There would be a disproportionate cost to provide a full list of every organisation in that large group and what the response was.

Several Health Ministers have met with Whizz Kidz, in the last 12 months—the most recent meeting was with me in September.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many disabled children currently receive mobility equipment from the NHS on the day of assessment in (a) Yorkshire and (b) England. [173566]

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect this information centrally. We understand that in Yorkshire, locally in-stock equipment can be issued on the day. Specialised seating and adaptations are custom made.

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Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on children's health and wellbeing of providing paediatric mobility equipment taking into account their (a) medical and (b) non-medical needs; and what guidance he has issued on this matter. [173568]

Norman Lamb: No central assessment has been undertaken of this, or guidance issued. Clinical commissioning groups will have their own locally agreed criteria for wheelchairs for disabled children and have responsibility for ensuring the local health and wellbeing needs—particularly as identified by joint strategic needs assessments—are considered when drawing up commissioning plans. NHS England has commissioning responsibility for complex disability equipment.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the NHS eligibility criteria for (a) powered wheelchairs, (b) e-motion wheels and (c) lightweight manual wheelchairs for disabled children in England. [173569]

Norman Lamb: No central assessment has been undertaken of this. Clinical commissioning groups will have their own locally agreed criteria for wheelchairs for disabled children and have responsibility for ensuring the local health and wellbeing needs—particularly as identified by joint strategic needs assessments—are considered when drawing up commissioning plans. NHS England has commissioning responsibility for complex disability equipment.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of disabled children in (a) Shipley, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England who received from the NHS (i) powered wheelchairs with a riser, (ii) powered wheelchairs without a riser, (iii) lightweight manual wheelchairs and (iv) other powered mobility equipment in each of the last five years. [173642]

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect information centrally on the number and types of mobility equipment issued by the national health service and has not made such an assessment.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of disabled children in (a) Shipley, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England who have received from a non-NHS provider (i) powered wheelchairs with a riser, (ii) powered wheelchairs without a riser, (iii) lightweight manual wheelchairs and (iv) other powered mobility equipment in each of the last five years. [173643]

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect information centrally on the number and types of mobility equipment issued by non-national health service providers and has not made such an assessment.

Eating Disorders: Lancashire

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) adults and (b) children have been recorded as having eating disorders in (i) Ribble

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Valley constituency and (ii) Lancashire in the last five years. [173929]

Norman Lamb: The information requested is not collected.

EU Institutions

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many visits Ministers from his Department made to either the European Commission or the European Parliament in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [173765]

Jane Ellison: The information requested is as follows:

The then Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Anne Milton), attended the Employment, Social Policy and Health Council meetings in June and December 2010.

The then Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Anne Milton), attended the Employment, Social Policy and Health Council meeting in December 2011. In July 2011, the then Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), attended a meeting with Ministers of European Parliament and Commissioners.

The then Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), attended the Employment, Social Policy and Health Council meetings in June and December 2012. In December 2012, the then Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), attended a meeting with Commissioner Borg.

There have been a number of meetings between Ministers and Commissioner Borg in London and at Health informal meetings.

European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many visits the Permanent Secretary and the four next most senior civil servants in his Department made to the European Commission in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [173785]

Jane Ellison: There were no visits made by the Permanent Secretary or the directors general of the Department to the European Commission in the years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. However, in July 2013, the permanent secretary for health met with the director general of health and consumers at the European Commission. There have been a number of meetings between senior departmental officials and senior Commission officials in London.

Food

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department has allocated to research on the long-term effects of low carbohydrate, high protein diets on cardiovascular disease. [173878]

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Dr Poulter: The usual practice of the Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including diet and nutrition, these applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and the national health service, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

The NIHR is not currently funding research specifically on the long-term effects of low carbohydrate, high protein diets on cardiovascular disease.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2013, Official Report, column 588W, on health: food; which organisations were invited to sign up to the standard fat reduction pledge and declined. [174220]

Jane Ellison: The companies currently signed to the Responsibility Deal saturated fat pledge, represent those able to sign by the date the pledge was announced (26 October). We will continue to encourage sign-up from the widest possible range of companies.

Health: Organised Crime

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the public health impact of gang and youth violence; and what steps the Government are taking to tackle it. [174221]

Jane Ellison: Gang violence has a devastating impact that can be seen in the health and wellbeing of the young people who are involved and the communities that they live in. There is a cross-government programme to tackle gang and youth violence, which includes a focus on the public health impact of violence. As part of this work, Public Health England chairs a ‘Youth Violence and Health' working group, which drives work to improve the local public health and national health service response to gang and youth violence.

Heart Diseases: Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many heart operations have taken place in each of the last five years; [173679]

(2) what change in the number of heart operations there has been in each of the last five years. [173680]

Jane Ellison: Information concerning the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) in England where a heart operation was the main operative procedure in each of the last five years and the change in activity between each year has been placed in the following table.

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Hospital Beds

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of hospital beds not in accident and emergency which were occupied by patients from accident and emergency with minor injuries in (a) Lancashire and (b) England in the last five years. [174218]

Jane Ellison: No estimate has been made.

NHS England collects data from all national health service organisations that operate beds, open overnight or day only. It collects the total number of available bed days and the total number of occupied bed days by consultant main specialty, for general and acute, learning disabilities, maternity and mental illness, but the data does not include information on patient conditions or diagnoses.

Hospitals: Staff

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the Francis Report's recommendations for minimum staffing requirements on hospital wards. [173997]

Dr Poulter: Recommendation 23 of the Francis Report stated that the standard procedures and practice should include evidence-based tools for establishing what each service is likely to require as a minimum in terms of staff numbers and skill mix. This should include nursing staff on wards, as well as clinical staff.

We agree that there is a need for evidence-based guidance and tools to inform appropriate staffing levels. Patient safety is paramount and patient safety experts agree that safe staffing levels should be set locally. It is not for Whitehall to set one size fits all staffing rules; instead we have asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and other nursing experts to review the evidence in order to help hospitals make the right decisions on staff numbers at a local ward level.

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The Chief Nursing Officer, supported by the National Quality Board is developing guidance for the system, including a set of expectations in relation to transparency and publication of information concerning staffing, to support organisations in securing the appropriate nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability.

This guidance will require healthcare providers to publish staffing levels and to use evidence based tools and guidance in assessing safe staffing levels.

Mental Health Services

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the waiting times for accessing mental health services. [173953]

Norman Lamb: We have enshrined in law the equal importance of mental health, alongside physical health. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 sets out the equal status of mental and physical health.

We have made improving mental health, and treating mental illness, a key priority for the new NHS Commissioning Board. One of the Board's 24 objectives is to put mental health on a par with physical health, and close the health gap between people with mental health problems and the population as a whole.

The Mandate to NHS England makes it clear that ‘everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence based services'. We want NHS England to work with clinical commissioning groups to address unacceptable delays and significantly improve access and waiting times to mental health services. NHS England are currently undertaking analysis of waiting times in mental health with a view to setting access standards.

Ministerial Policy Advisors

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials at what grades are employed to provide direct support to special advisers in his Department. [174056]

Dr Poulter: One Executive Officer provides direct support to the special advisers.

Obesity

Mr Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the conclusion by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Quality and Outcomes Framework Advisory Committee at its meeting on 18 September 2013 that indicator OB001 on obesity was a less important indicator to keep in the Quality and Outcomes Framework; [173602]

(2) whether he has any plans to recommend that the obesity indicator should be dropped from the Quality and Outcomes Framework. [173603]

Jane Ellison: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence was asked by NHS England to undertake a piece of work to inform a review of indicators of the clinical and public health domains within the Quality

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and Outcomes Framework. This advice will feed into the ongoing discussions on the General Medical Services (GMS) contract.

The outcome of the GMS contract negotiations will be published in due course.

Mr Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether the indicators currently set out in the Quality and Outcomes Framework are effective in providing incentives to GPs to tackle obesity and overweight. [173604]

Jane Ellison: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 3 July 2013, Official Report, column 707W, by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), to the hon. Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell).

Obesity: Lancashire

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children below the age of 14 have been deemed clinically obese in (a) Ribble Valley constituency and (b) Lancashire in the last five years. [173927]

Jane Ellison: Information is not available in the format requested. Information on the prevalence of obese children is available in the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). This information is only available for children in Reception year (aged four and five) and year 6 (aged 10 to 11). The latest data available are for 2011-12.

Information on the prevalence of obese children by region and local authority (derived from the postcode of the school) for 2011-12 is shown in Table 1.

Information on the prevalence of obese children by region and local authority (derived from the postcode of the child's residence) for 2011-12 is shown in Table 2.

Information on the prevalence of obese children by Government office region, local authority county/unitary authority and local authority district/former district (derived from the postcode of the school) for 2010-11 is shown in Table 3.

Information on the prevalence of obese children by Government office region, local authority county/unitary authority and local authority district/former district (derived from the postcode of the child's residence) for 2010-11 is shown in Table 4.

Information on the prevalence of obese children by Government office region, local authority county/unitary authority and local authority district/former district for 2009-10 is shown in Table 5.

Information on the prevalence of obese children by Government office region, local authority county/unitary authority and local authority district/former district for 2008-09 is shown in Table 6.

Information on the prevalence of obese children by local authority district for 2007-08 is shown in Table 7.

Information on the prevalence of obese children by local authority council for 2007-08 is shown in Table 8.

Information on the prevalence of obese children by local education authority for 2007-08 is shown in Table 9.

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Stress

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has funded on the effect of stress on (a) cancer and (b) heart disease. [173934]

Dr Poulter: The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has not funded research specifically on the effect of stress on cancer.

The NIHR cardiovascular biomedical research unit at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College London has carried out research on whether stress induced ischaemia can result in elevation of cardiac troponin.

UK Membership of EU

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the costs and benefits of a decision for the UK to leave the EU in his Department's area of responsibility; and if he will make a statement. [173744]

Jane Ellison: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East (Emma Reynolds), on 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 709W. The Department has not made any plans for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.

International Development

Developing Countries: Drugs

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the number of people co-infected with HIV and tuberculosis who have access to anti-retroviral drug treatment. [173555]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID's assessments are drawn from the UNAIDS Report on the Global Epidemic and the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2013, both of which confirmed that globally 57% of people diagnosed with HIV and tuberculosis co-infection received anti-retroviral therapy.

Developing Countries: Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the number of people who developed active tuberculosis in 2012 but were not diagnosed or treated. [173556]

Lynne Featherstone: The Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report 2013, which was published by the World Health Organisation last month, estimates that about 3 million people who developed TB in 2012 were either not diagnosed or were diagnosed and not reported as a TB case in national health information systems.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has to support countries with high burdens of tuberculosis who are currently missing targets for mortality, prevalence and incidence as defined by the World Health Organisation. [173557]

Lynne Featherstone: According to the World Health Organisation, 11 of the 22 high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries are not on track to reach one or more of the three targets for reductions of mortality, prevalence and incidence. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is the principal mechanism that the UK Government use to tackle TB in developing countries. In September 2013, the UK Government committed up to £1 billion over the next three years, so long as this is no more than 10% of the total replenishment. This will help provide TB treatment for over a million more people and accelerate progress in off-track high burden countries.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the current global incidence of tuberculosis; and if she will make a statement. [173559]

Lynne Featherstone: The Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report 2013, which was published by the World Health Organisation last month, estimates that 8.6 million people developed TB in 2012. The rate of new cases has been falling worldwide for about a decade and the Millennium Development Goal target has been achieved globally. However, the rate of decline is slow, at just 2% a year, and eleven high burden countries are currently not on track to reduce incidence, prevalence and mortality in line with targets.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the May 2013 report of the UN High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, what assessment she has made of the report's conclusion that investing in tuberculosis case finding and treatment is highly cost-effective. [173594]

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Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government are fully aware that tuberculosis (TB) case finding and treatment is highly cost effective. We welcome the report's note of this.

EU Institutions

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how many visits Ministers from her Department made to either the European Commission or the European Parliament in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement; [173767]

(2) how many visits the Permanent Secretary and the four next most senior civil servants in her Department made to the European Commission in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement. [173787]

Mr Duncan: Details of all overseas visits undertaken by DFID Ministers are published under the transparency section of the DFID website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-secretary-of-state-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

for the Secretary of State;

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

for the PUSS;

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-minister-of-state-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

for the Minister of State.

Details of all overseas visits undertaken by the Permanent Secretary and the four next most senior civil servants are published under the transparency section of the DFID website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfid-senior-executives-business-expenses-gifts-travel-and-meetings

India

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she will take to include an awareness of the risk of trafficking of women and girls in her Department's response to the crisis engendered by Cyclone Phailin. [173948]

Mr Duncan: The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), is very conscious of the elevated risks to girls and women in emergencies. Next week the UK will bring leading humanitarian actors together at a high-level event in order to ensure that these issues are systematically addressed. For its part, DFID has committed to ensuring that it assesses these risks in all humanitarian responses.

In the case of Cyclone Phailin, the UK Government have prioritised the most vulnerable beneficiaries, and is working with partners to ensure protection issues are central to our response.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials at what grades are employed to provide direct support to special advisers in her Department. [174058]

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Mr Duncan: DFID currently employs one official at executive officer grade to provide direct support to the Department's special advisers.

Pitcairn Islands

Sir Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what evaluation she has made of the economic added value to Pitcairn eco-tourism generated by the proposed Marine Conservation Zone; what assessment she has made of the saving in grant-in-aid by her Department that might arise if it were approved; and if she will make a statement. [173827]

Mr Duncan: DFID is aware of the proposal for a Marine Protected Area (MPA) which has been submitted by the Pew Charitable Trust to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for consideration.

Work is currently underway to explore and assess all potential economic opportunities available to the Pitcairn Islanders, and this includes a MPA. The preliminary assessment suggests that there is not likely to be any significant economic benefit to declaring an MPA, whilst the costs of enforcing it may be significant. The UK Government are committed to working with Pitcairn Island Government and with partner organisations to ensure the sustainable management of Pitcaim's marine environment.

UK Membership of EU

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make an assessment of the costs and benefits of a decision for the UK to leave the EU in her Department's area of responsibility; and if she will make a statement. [173746]

Lynne Featherstone: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister for Europe, the right hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East (Emma Reynolds) on 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 709W. The Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Attorney-General

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many hours Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors spent undergoing tablet training in 2012-13; and how much such training cost the CPS. [166217]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) provided prosecutors with basic training on the use of the tablets at the point of issue. Subsequently all prosecutors who had been issued with a tablet completed a ‘Digital Licence Self-Assessment’ which identified any further specific training needs and accessibility requirements. Local managers provided the required training to each prosecutor who, when confident in the use of the tablet, was awarded a Digital Licence. The information on the number of hours and cost involved in providing such training is not held centrally and providing this information would involve checking individual staff records for all prosecutors across the CPS which would incur a disproportionate cost.

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Justice

Attendance Allowance: Appeals

Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for attendance allowance appeals. [173588]

Mr Vara: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits, including attendance allowance (AA).

The total number of appeals received by the SSCS tribunal nationally has risen significantly: from 339,200 in 2009-10 to 507,100 in 2012-13 (an increase of 49%). The number of AA appeals received has risen from 3,874 in 2009-10 to 5,037 in 2012-13 (an increase of 30%). HMCTS has responded strongly at a national level to continue to increase the capacity of the SSCS tribunal and reduce waiting times. Measures in place include ongoing recruitment of additional judges and medically qualified members and the review and continuous improvement of administrative processes both internally and between HMCTS and DWP. This is in addition to local initiatives, such as identifying additional hearing venues across HMCTS estate, and increasing the use of Saturday sessions. All of this is having a positive effect. The total number of disposals (which includes appeals disposed of at a tribunal hearing as well as those struck out, superseded or withdrawn) has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 465,500 in 2012-13 (an increase of 66%). AA disposals have increased from 3,543 in 2009-10 to 5,231 in 2012-13.

In the first quarter of this year, the tribunal disposed of 1,345 AA appeals, compared to 1,237 in the same quarter last year, an increase of 9%. HMCTS does not hold data on average waiting times by benefit type. However, the average waiting time for all benefit types has fallen nationally from 23-weeks in 2011-12 to 18-weeks in 2012-13. This reduction has been sustained in the first quarter of2013-14.

Civil Litigation Costs Review

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) when he plans to review the effects of the reforms to costs in civil litigation proposed by Lord Justice Jackson on access to justice; and how those effects will be measured; [173290]

(2) with reference to his Department's announcement of 23 October 2013, how much of the 12 per cent reduction in motor insurance premiums over the last year is attributable to the reforms to civil litigation funding and costs brought in April 2013. [173345]

Mr Vara: The Government have recently reformed the costs of civil litigation through provisions in part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, following recommendations by Lord Justice Jackson. These reforms and associated changes are intended to have a positive impact in reducing the costs of civil litigation for both claimants and defendants, including insurers.

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The Jackson reforms came into effect in April 2013. As set out in the impact assessment published with the Act, we are committed to carrying out a review within three to five years of implementation.

While it is still too early to assess the full impact of the reforms, the Government welcome the reported fall in insurance premiums which AA Insurance have ascribed to anticipated savings from the Government's reforms.

Community Orders

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2013, Official Report, column 502W, on community orders; what is considered as other in relation to the percentage of terminations of community and suspended sentence orders. [172549]

Jeremy Wright: ‘Other' reasons for the termination of a community or suspended sentence order as reported in the ‘Offender Management Statistics Quarterly—2012 Annual Tables’—Table A4.23 include an order being revoked on application to the court, death of the offender, as well as a miscellaneous group of ‘other' reasons which cannot be separately identified from the central data source. Guidance provided to the Probation Service on how to code terminations of community and suspended sentence orders states that the ‘other' code:

‘is to be used only in exceptional circumstance. The ‘other' code may be applied to a requirement or Licence Condition which has not commenced, or has commenced but not completed and needs to be terminated owing to some other reason—e.g. the offender was removed or deported’.

Courts: Buildings

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the annual cost to the public purse is of maintaining disused court buildings; [174012]

(2) how many disused court buildings are lying empty because they have not been sold. [174087]

Mr Vara: I refer the hon. Member to the information placed in the House of Commons Library, deposit reference DEP2013-1731, on 29 October 2013, Official Report, column 417W.

Criminal Proceedings: Autism

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to ensure that autism awareness training is available to all staff in the criminal justice sector, in line with the Adult Autism Strategy. [173600]

Mr Vara: Disability and diversity guidance and training, including on learning disabilities, is available for staff of the Ministry of Justice.

Autism training, including for criminal justice system staff, is currently being looked at as part of the review of the 2010 Autism strategy “Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives”, being led by the Department of Health, and my Department is contributing to this work.

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EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) which provisions of Council Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA (a) have and (b) have not been implemented by the UK; [172470]

(2) what new laws or practices would be required in the UK if the UK was to implement all the requirements of Council Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA; [172441]

(3) how many new judgments and decisions the UK would be required to implement, and at what cost to UK public funds, if the UK implemented Council Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA and (a) no additional EU member states implemented the Framework Decision and (b) all member states implemented the Framework Decision; [172442]

(4) which EU member states have implemented Council Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA; [172443]

(5) which EU member states which have not yet done so intend to implement Council Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA; [172444]

(6) whether the Government plan to ratify the 1964 Council of Europe Convention on the Supervision of Conditionally Sentenced or Conditionally Released Offenders; and what the reasons are for this position. [172445]

Damian Green: Council Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA is subject to the UK's Justice and Home Affairs block opt-out decision. No provisions of the Framework Decision have been implemented in the UK pending that decision. In July the Government notified the presidency of the council that the UK had exercised the opt-out. Council Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA is not one of the measures that the Government have identified as being in the national interest to rejoin. In order to implement this Framework Decision, the UK would need legislation to empower our authorities to recognise, vary and enforce sentences imposed by other member states, and to be able to transfer sentences out of the UK. I understand that only a limited number of member states have implemented this Framework Decision to date. However, the European Court of Justice will have jurisdiction over the measure from 1 December 2014 and member states may face infraction proceedings if they have not implemented by then.

The European Commission collects and maintains information on member states' implementation of EU measures. To the best of our knowledge this measure has not yet been used and there is a lack of clarity as to how it will work in practice (as I explained in my recent letter to the Justice Select Committee dated 21 October). As such we have not been able to accurately estimate the scale of the potential impact from this Framework Decision. We are clear however that the vague drafting of some aspects of the measure mean it would not be in the UK's national interest to allow ECJ jurisdiction over it. The 1964 Council of Europe Convention on the Supervision of Conditionally Sentenced or Conditionally Released Offenders does not deal with either community sentences or post-custodial licence, but only deferred and suspended sentences, and hence does not replicate the Framework Decision on probation measures. There are no plans to ratify it.

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Offenders: Females

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of female offenders have not reoffended within five years of the completion of their sentence since 2001. [173580]

Jeremy Wright: The following table shows for the proportion of female offenders between 2002 to 2005 who did not reoffend within five years after they either were released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction at court, received a caution, reprimand, warning or tested positive for opiates or cocaine.

Data are not available for 2001 due to a problem with archived data on court orders. Data for 2006 and 2007 could not be provided as they are not available.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) when he proposes to implement the new independent medical panel scheme for whiplash claimants; [173221]

(2) whether the new independent medical panel scheme will apply to all personal injury claims; [173222]

(3) what steps he is taking to ensure that insurers do not make offers to settle whiplash claims without medical evidence; [173223]

(4) how the new independent medical panel scheme for whiplash claimants will be funded; [173224]

(5) with reference to his Department's announcements of 23 October 2013, what further proposals he is considering to reduce fraudulent or exaggerated whiplash claims; [173343]

(6) what steps he is taking to ensure that insurers share more of their data on suspected fraudulent or exaggerated whiplash claims; [173288]

(7) for how long he has deferred any increase in the small claims threshold for personal injury claims. [173289]

Mr Vara: The Government are committed to reducing the number and cost of whiplash claims to help bring down the cost of motor insurance premiums for consumers. Our reforms will create an improved, robust system for medical examinations and reporting to ensure that those who make unnecessary, exaggerated or fraudulent claims are deterred from doing so. There is no set time frame for the full implementation of the Government's reform programme. However, my officials will work at pace with stakeholders and staged implementation will begin next year.

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The Government's response document makes clear that the new scheme will not only apply to whiplash claims. We intend that the same rigorous system will apply to similar road traffic accident soft tissue injury claims such as those to the back and neck. The Government also intend to work with stakeholders to explore options for ensuring that a medical examinations and report are completed before a claim can proceed.

Details of the most appropriate funding scheme are still to be developed, but the Government believe there are areas of common ground with industry in this area. We are keen to talk to stakeholders about funding opportunities which would meet the costs of setting up and running the new system and also deliver the Government's intention that such costs should not fall on the public purse.

There were a number of other ideas and suggestions put forward by stakeholders for addressing the issue of unnecessary, exaggerated and fraudulent claims. The Government may wish to discuss alternative proposals with stakeholders in due course, but its primary focus is on the effective implementation of the measures outlined in the 23 October announcement.

My officials will be engaging directly with representatives from both the insurance industry and from claimant lawyer groups, to ensure there is a speedy resolution to the issue of sharing fraud data. A reduction in the number of fraudulent claims will lower costs for insurers, which will in turn allow them to reduce premiums for their customers.

The Government position on the issue of raising the small claims threshold for personal injury claims is clear. We believe there are strong reasons for raising the small claims limit, but the evidence also shows that the time is not right to do so now. More work to support litigants in person and on how best to regulate the claims management market needs to be pursued. It is also important to assess the impact on the cost of motor insurance of the civil justice reforms implemented on 1 April before returning to this issue.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals who committed a crime in the UK have chosen to serve time in their country of origin since 1 January 2007. [172785]

Jeremy Wright: The number of foreign nationals sentenced to imprisonment in England and Wales who have voluntarily returned to serve their sentence in prisons in their home country since 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2012 is as follows:

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The repatriation of prisoners to and from Scotland, and to and from Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.

Prisons

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which prisons have increased their operational capacity since 4 September 2013; on what date the decision was made to increase the operational capacity of each such prison; on what date each such increase came into effect; what additional resources have been provided at each such prison; and if he will make a statement. [173361]

Jeremy Wright: We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts, but we need to modernise the estate to provide prison capacity at much lower cost and in the right places to deliver our ambition of reducing reoffending. There will be more adult male prison capacity in May 2015 than there was at the start of this Parliament.

Because of the new capacity coming on stream we are now in a position to close a further four prisons, removing 1,400 uneconomic places from the estate. In order to maximise the savings that we can make from these closures we have decided to increase the operational capacity at a number of prisons for a short period.

Since 4 September, HM Prisons Bristol, Nottingham, Portland and Swansea have temporarily increased their operational capacity. These additional places are judged to be safe and decent to operate taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. We will keep the need for these places under review. HM Prison Bure has increased capacity as a result of a long-term planned increase. The increase in capacity at HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Rochester and HM Prison Gartree are a result of revised cell certification. All increases are set out in the following table.

The operational capacity of a prison is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold and is determined by the Deputy Director of Custody on the basis of operational judgment and experience.

No additional funding has been issued to those prisons where the increase in operational capacity is temporary. At these prisons, the funding for these places will be covered from within existing public sector prison budgets. As the increase in operational capacity at HM Prison Bure is part of a longer-term, pre-planned increase, the funding for this extra capacity has already been included in our financial plans.

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Probation

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many different ICT packages are used in the Probation Service; and what assessment he has made of how these will be merged across the service in time to successfully meet his timescale for his Transforming Rehabilitation proposals. [173110]

Jeremy Wright: Currently probation trusts use both national and local ICT applications (ICT packages) to support their offender management work.

The primary national applications are Oasys, which is used for the risk assessment of offenders and National Delius which is used for day-to-day offender case management. Both applications were introduced across all trusts in England and Wales in 2013, and so do not need to be merged. They enable a consistent national approach to the use and recording of offender risk assessment and case management across England and Wales.

Probation trusts maintain, independently, a range of local ICT applications (for example for staff work load management, or victim liaison) to support offender management activities.

The ICT work strand of the Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) programme has audited and analyzed the range of probation trust local ICT applications. While there is no business requirement to merge these, a suite of ‘best of breed’ local applications will be introduced progressively as part of the creation of the National Probation Service (NPS). This is being done to support consistency of practice and to enable rationalisation.

Once established, Community Rehabilitation companies (CRC) will continue to use existing local ICT applications pending those applications development or rationalisation by the new providers.

Serco

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to receive the final report of the audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers of contracts held by Serco in England and Wales. [173359]

Jeremy Wright: We expect to receive a final report of the audit later this year, once the audit work has concluded. The audit work is ongoing and we will update Parliament in due course.

Victim Support

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with G4S on the changing structure of Victim Support. [173621]

Damian Green: There have been no such discussions. The Government have committed that in future, the majority of services for victims of crime will be commissioned locally, by police and crime commissioners, though there will remain some services which will be commissioned nationally. This decision was announced in the Government's response to the consultation, “Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses”.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many volunteers work for Victim Support. [173646]

Damian Green: Victim Support is an independent charity. The Ministry of Justice does not collect information about their employees or volunteers.

Victim Support has confirmed that they had approximately 5,600 volunteers in 2012-13.

Victim Support Schemes

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the EU Directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime and of the extent to which his proposed changes to victim support are compatible with the directive. [173259]

Damian Green: The Government are making a full assessment of the EU Victims' Directive prior to its implementation date in November 2015. The Directive will be transposed in line with domestic policy aims through changes to national law through secondary legislation and statutory codes. This includes transposing part of the Directive in the new Victims’ Code. In commissioning services for victims in future, and in moving to the majority of services for victims being commissioned locally by Police and Crime Commissioners, we will be informed by the requirements of the Directive.

Young Offenders

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average amount of time is that a young offender will spend in a young offender institution. [174149]

Jeremy Wright: The average time served in custody by young offenders (aged under 21) discharged from a determinate sentence in 2012, including young offenders institutions, is published annually in April and can be found in Table A3.1c of the Annual Discharges tables 2012 via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/194275/omsq-annual-tables-2012.zip

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This information does not include young people released from secure training centres and secure children's homes.

These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Young Offenders: Employment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to assist young offenders leaving prison to gain employment. [174146]

Jeremy Wright: We believe that successful resettlement is key to ensuring long-term sustainable outcomes for

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young people leaving custody. We are currently considering a number of options to improve resettlement outcomes for young people leaving custody, including ensuring that resources already in place within Youth Offending Teams, local authorities and wider partners are being used effectively.

Earlier this year we consulted on our vision to place education at the heart of youth custody. This will help equip young offenders with the necessary skills, qualifications and self-discipline that they need to access education, training and employment opportunities upon release. We know that this is an important element in effective resettlement.

We will shortly be announcing our response to the Transforming Youth Custody consultation.