Unmanned Air Vehicles
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what interest the UK has in the X-47B unmanned combat air vehicle; and if he will make a statement. [177770]
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Mr Dunne: The UK has no formal links specifically with the X-47B programme but maintains an interest in developments through an Information Exchange Agreement with the US on unmanned air systems in general.
Health
Emergency Medicine
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency medicine consultants have (a) opted not to practise, (b) retired and (c) left to work overseas in each of the last five years. [179556]
Jane Ellison: This information is not held centrally.
Care Homes
Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the report by the Care Quality Commission, The State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England, on the number of people relying on a top-up to pay for a residential care home places; and how many local authorities build in regular reviews to check whether third parties are able and willing to pay such top-ups for these residents; [179212]
(2) if he will make an assessment of the estimate in the Care of Elderly People UK Market Survey by Laing and Buisson, published in January 2013, that the average amount paid by local authorities for residential care in 2012 was around £50 to £140 per week below a fair market price; if he will issue revised guidance to local authorities to ensure they have regard to the actual cost of providing care locally in care homes; and if he will make a statement. [179271]
Norman Lamb: According to the responses to the survey conducted by the Care Quality Commission for its report ‘The State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England 2012/13’ the proportion of care home places that are local authority funded with a top-up is 10.2% of filled places. This compares with the 44.7% of filled places funded by local authorities without a top-up.
Under ‘The National Assistance Act 1948 (Choice of Accommodation) Directions 1992’, an authority must contract for the full cost of accommodation arranged under the 1948 Act, including any top-up. To safeguard both residents and authorities from entering arrangements which are likely to fail, paragraph 11.3 says that authorities should satisfy themselves that there is every chance that the third party will continue to have the resources to make the required payments. It is for individual local authorities to decide how they do this and the Department does not monitor them.
Contracting arrangements between local authorities and independent sector providers of care are a matter for local negotiation. However, statutory guidance in Local Authority Circular LAC(2004)20, says that in setting their rates authorities should have due regard to the actual cost of providing care and other local factors. The guidance also says that authorities should be able to demonstrate that their rates are sufficient to provide residents with the level of care services they could reasonably expect if the possibility of a top-up did not exist.
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Under the Care Bill we plan to replace the Choice of Accommodation Directions with regulations and issue revised guidance. The new regulations and guidance will be published for consultation.
Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the rise in the number of council-funded residents who live in residential care and now rely on a top-up to cover the full costs of their care home place; and if he will make a statement. [179511]
Norman Lamb: People supported by a local authority have the right to choose which care home they go into, subject to certain conditions. This includes the right to choose to enter a care home that costs more than the amount the local authority would usually pay to meet their needs, provided someone is willing and able to pay the difference between the local authority fee and what the care home charges.
Information about the number of people topping-up their care home fees is not collected centrally. However, as part of the preparation of its report ‘The State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England 2012/13’ the Care Quality Commission (CQC) worked with care home providers, assisted by the Care Provider Alliance, to collect data on how care in care homes is funded.
The CQC received a total of 5,077 valid submissions describing 177,643 registered care home places of which 156,151 were filled. The data showed that the proportion of filled care home places that are local authority funded with a top-up is 10.2%. This compares with the 44.7% of filled places funded by local authorities without a top-up. A further 9.1% of filled places are funded through NHS Continuing Healthcare and 36% by people paying for their own care.
Depression
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment (1) he has made of the efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in reducing the recurrence rate of depression over a 12-month period; [179110]
(2) what comparative assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and (b) anti-depressants in treating repeat episode depression over a long-term period. [179117]
Norman Lamb: The Department has made no such assessment. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has evaluated and recommends the use of mindfulness-based therapies as a psychological intervention for the prevention of relapse within its guideline “Depression: the treatment and management of depression in adults (2009)”
General Practitioners: East Midlands
Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of full-time equivalent GPs per 1,000 patients in (a) Nottingham and (b) the East Midlands in each year since 2009. [179391]
Jane Ellison:
The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) General and Personal Medical Services
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Statistics show the number of general practitioners (GPs) per 1,000 registered patients at 30 September each year. The latest available statistics are as at 30 September 2012. The HSCIC will publish headcount numbers of GPs per 1,000 patients as at 30 September 2013 in the NHS annual workforce census in March 2014 and full-time equivalent (FTE) figures will be available on request after that date.
The number of FTE GPs per 1,000 registered patients in Nottingham and the east midlands in 2009 to 2012 is shown in the following table.
| General practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) FTE per 1,000 registered patients in selected region, 2009-12 | ||||
| As at 30 September | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Source: The Health and Social Care Information Centre General and Personal Medical Services Statistics | ||||
Health Services: Veterans
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will have discussions with medical professionals in Northern Ireland and the other constituent parts of the UK on forming a strategy to promote best practice in the treatment of armed forces veterans. [179155]
Jane Ellison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) and UK departments of Health Partnership Board meets at least three times a year to address health and wellbeing issues relating to serving personnel, reservists, armed forces families and veterans. This Partnership Board is co-chaired by the Surgeon General for MOD and at Director General level for the Department of Health. Senior officials from the devolved Administrations are board members. In addition to Partnership Board meetings, there are regular ongoing discussions between departments and devolved Administrations to ensure the best possible care for veterans. Engagement with medical professionals is an essential part of this process and will continue.
Health Visitors
Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, columns 1003-4W, on health visitors, how many health visiting students are training and expected to join the workforce between September and November 2014. [179567]
Jane Ellison: NHS England advise that detailed monthly projections for the growth of the health visitor workforce between September and November 2014 are not currently available. In the 2014-15 financial year the health visiting workforce is expected to grow by 1,554 full-time equivalents. A monthly breakdown of this annual total will be compiled in due course by NHS England and Health Education England.
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Hospitals: Food
Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the satisfaction of NHS inpatients with hospital meals. [179145]
Jane Ellison: Hospitals have a responsibility to provide high quality food and drink that meets each patient's needs. The Department introduced Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) in April 2013 to assess the quality of the patient environment, including hospital food. PLACE is a voluntary process which takes place annually, and applies to hospitals, hospices and day treatment centres providing national health service funded care.
A total of 10,841 individuals (staff and patients) took part in the first PLACE assessments and around 54% of these (5,869) were patient assessors. The results, published on 18 September 2013, showed that the average score for food and hydration across the 1,200 hospital sites assessed was 85.41%. A copy of this data has been placed in the Library and is also available at the following link:
http://hefs.hscic.gov.uk/PLACE.asp
All NHS hospitals took part in the PLACE assessments and each is required to produce an improvement plan which is posted on the trust website. The Care Quality Commission's annual in-patient surveys also collects feedback on the experiences of people using a range of health services supplied by the NHS, including hospital food. The most recent results (In-patient survey 2012) showed that 57% of patients rated the food as being Very good' or ‘good’, an improvement on the previous year's figures of 55% (In-patient survey 2011).
The Department has recently confirmed the establishment of a Hospital Food Standards Panel, under the chairmanship of Dianne Jeffrey, chairman of Age UK. The Panel will work closely with the Department and NHS England to agree practical actions that can deliver genuine improvement in hospital food.
Hyperactivity
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of attention deficit disorders on (a) mental and (b) physical health. [179106]
Norman Lamb: The Department has made no such assessment. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, “Attention deficit hyperactive disorder: Diagnosis and management of ADHD in children, young people and adults”, published in 2008 state that around 1-2% of children and young people in the United Kingdom meet the criteria for severe ADHD, up to 9% may meet the broader criteria for mild or moderate ADHD and 2% of adults worldwide.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004 (ONS 2005) suggest that around 1.5% of children have Hyperkinetic Disorder, which is a term used by the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) to refer to the more severe form of ADHD.
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Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, 2007, Results of a household survey, found the overall proportion of adults scoring four or more (the threshold at which clinical assessment for ADHD is warranted on the Adult Self-Report Scale-v(ASRS) was 8.2%).
Hyperactivity: Young People
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the long-term trends in incidence of attention deficit disorders among children and young people. [179104]
Jane Ellison: The Department has made no such assessment. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, “Attention deficit hyperactive disorder: Diagnosis and management of ADHD in children, young people and adults”, published in 2008 state that around 1-2% of children and young people in the United Kingdom meet the criteria for severe ADHD, up to 9% may meet the broader criteria for mild or moderate ADHD and 2% of adults worldwide.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004 (ONS 2005) suggests that around 1.5% of children have Hyperkinetic Disorder, which is a term used by the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) to refer to the more severe form of ADHD.
ICT
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are employed within centralised IT departments or teams in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [179169]
Jane Ellison: 135 people are employed within the central estates and information services division of the Department.
Influenza: Vaccination
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that his Department's influenza vaccination targets are met. [179154]
Jane Ellison: A range of measures are being taken to maximise the uptake of influenza (flu) immunisation. These measures include:
publishing a seasonal flu plan and annual flu letter to assist the national health service and local government to plan for flu, including detailed guidance on the flu immunisation programme and a checklist of steps for general practices to achieve high vaccine uptake rates;
NHS England running an assurance process to ensure robust flu vaccination plans are in place to meet the vaccine uptake targets;
issuing a letter encouraging flu vaccine uptake in frontline health and social care workers;
running a targeted national communications campaign to promote improved uptake of flu vaccine in clinical risk groups, pregnant women, and two and three year olds;
letters sent to 35 charities representing groups for whom vaccination is recommended asking them to encourage patients to get vaccinated, and to professional bodies to encourage their members to get vaccinated;
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liaising with flu vaccine manufacturers to help ensure security of supply;
holding a central strategic reserve of flu vaccine to address any serious supply issues;
monitoring levels of flu and vaccine coverage throughout the season; and
I wrote to all hon. Members on 23 October 2013 with details of the seasonal flu strategy and information about eligible groups.
Malnutrition: Young People
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients aged under 18 were admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of malnutrition in (a) England and (b) each London borough in 2011-12. [179179]
Norman Lamb: The following table shows a count of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of malnutrition for patients aged under 18 in England and primary care trusts (PCTs) in the London Strategic Health Authority, 2011-12. This information is only available by PCT and not available by London borough. Four PCTs in London reported episodes with a primary diagnosis of malnutrition for patients aged under 18.
This is not a count of patients as the same patient may be admitted more than once in a financial year.
| Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector-2011-12 | |
| Area | Number |
| Note: To protect patient confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been replaced with “*” (an asterisk). | |
Mental Illness: Young People
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of trends in incidence of anxiety among children and young people over the last 30 years. [179103]
Norman Lamb: The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12), was developed to gauge the existence of anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.
The Health Survey for England uses the GHQ12 since 1991 (except in years 1996, 2007 and 2011) to gauge possible anxiety and depression in the population. The Health Survey for England covers those aged 16 and 17 in years 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, but not those who are younger. From 1995 it covered all ages.
The following table shows the possible anxiety and depression prevalence between 1991 and2010 for those aged 17 or lower:
| Year | GHQ12>3 (Percentage) | Confidence Interval | |
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3 Dec 2013 : Column 648W
A graph showing the possible anxiety and depression prevalence between 1991 and 2010 for those aged 17 or lower has been placed in the Library.
NHS: Awards
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure on the National Clinical Excellence Awards was; and how many awards were made in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011 and (e) 2012. [177845]
Jane Ellison: Total expenditure on National Clinical Excellence Awards and the numbers per year for England from 2008 to 2012 are outlined in the following table:
| National Awards in England | |||||||
| Bronze | Silver | Gold | Platinum | Total | English expenditure on national awards (£ million) | ||
| Notes: 1. The number of new national awards from 2010 onwards was reduced to retain scarce resources and to enable the award scheme to be on a good footing when a new scheme is launched in due course. The decision also took account of general resource constraints. 2. The reduction in expenditure in 2011-12 and 2012-13 has occurred for a number of reasons including taking into account consultants who have retired or left the national health service and a smaller number of new national awards. | |||||||
NHS: Finance
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on NHS England's proposals on the weighting given to deprivation factors in its Health Funding Review of Allocations. [177792]
Jane Ellison: Responsibility for resource allocation is a matter for NHS England as set out in “The Mandate”. NHS England is overseeing the fundamental review of allocation policy and will draw on the expert advice of the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) and involve a range of external partners. NHS England will consider the recommendations and findings of ACRA as part of this.
NHS: Recruitment
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS posts were recruited by Odgers Berndston in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and how much was paid to Odgers Berndston in each such year. [179523]
Jane Ellison: The Department does not hold this information. It is for national health service organisations to decide how best to recruit their staff. Most take advantage of the free to use NHS online recruitment service, “NHS Jobs” for the majority of their appointments.
Secondment
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will collate data on the number of (a) secondees from his Department to the private and voluntary sectors and trades unions and (b) secondees to his Department from the private and voluntary sectors and trades unions. [177821]
Jane Ellison: The Department will consider an appropriate approach to collect and hold information about secondees' employing organisations in the short term.
Plans to replace our current Business Management System are being developed as part of Cabinet Office's wider shared services programme. The detailed scope of the future system has not yet been established.
Staff
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many civil servants were employed by his Department and at what cost on 1 October (a) 2010 and (b) 2013. [179555]
Jane Ellison: The information requested is given in the following table:
| Information sampling date | 30 September 2010 | 30 September 2013 |
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3 Dec 2013 : Column 650W
Figures represent FTE and staff costs as at 30 September for the years in question.
More information on both sets of data requested can be found at the following web address:
http://data.gov.uk/dataset/workforce-management-information-department-of-health
The information given for each year at 30 September is unchanged at 1 October in each year.
Tobacco: Packaging
Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that the terms of reference for the review of plain packaging of tobacco products allow an examination of the incidence of the use of illegal and unbranded cannabis by young people. [179404]
Jane Ellison: Ministers have asked Sir Cyril Chantler to carry out an independent review of the public health evidence on standardised tobacco packaging. This will be a focused review to
'give advice to the Secretary of State for Health, taking into account existing and any fresh evidence, as to whether or not the introduction of standardised packaging is likely to have an effect on public health (and what any effect might be), in particular in relation to the health of children'.
Sir Cyril will decide what evidence he wants to draw on.
Education
Children in Care
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many secure children's homes are run by (a) the private sector, (b) the voluntary sector and (c) local authorities. [179508]
Mr Timpson: There are currently 16 secure children's homes in England. Of those, 15 are run by individual local authorities and one is run by the voluntary sector. There are no secure children's homes currently that are run by the private sector.
Children in Care: Missing Persons
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2013, Official Report, column 406W, on children in care: missing persons, how many children went missing from care in 2011-12; and how many such children were missing for over one month in each London borough. [179193]
Mr Timpson: The Department currently collects information on children looked after by local authorities in England who went missing from their agreed placement for a period of 24 hours or more.
A table showing the number of children who went missing from their agreed placement, and the number who were missing for a period of 30 days or more in each London borough has been placed in the House Libraries. The information shown relates to the year ending 31 March 2012.
It is known that there is some under-reporting of children missing from their agreed placement by local authorities and hence in the statistics we publish. Comparisons with other data sources on missing children indicate that the figures presented are an undercount of the true figure, in part due to definitional issues (e.g. the Department only collects information on children missing for more than 24 hours).
Some work was undertaken in 2012 to improve, the quality of the data returned by local authorities and this is likely to have contributed to the rise in the numbers of missing children reported. This quality improvement work continued in 2013 and will continue in future years.
Since the response to the original question in July, updated figures for 2013 have been published. The Statistical First Release, Children looked after by local authorities in England, was released on 26 September 2013. The information given in this response relates to the year ending 31 March 2012 only; however, it includes updated information for the year ending 31 March 2012 as provided by local authorities through the 2013 data collection. For this reason the totals shown will not match that of the response given in July.
Troubled Families Programme
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what involvement his Department has in the troubled families programme. [179198]
Mr Timpson: The troubled families programme is co-ordinated by a Troubled Families Team based in the Department for Communities and Local Government. Officials from the Department for Education work closely with this team and counterparts across Government to ensure the troubled families programme works effectively and builds in the wider programme of support for the children of these families.
Higher Education: Scholarships
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many applications have been (a) received and (b) granted for bursaries under the National Scholarship Programme in the last three years. [176008]
Mr Willetts: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Institutions involved in the National Scholarship Programme (NSP) use a variety of different approaches to deciding who should receive an award. Independent evaluation of the NSP found that most institutions who responded to an online survey required some or all of their potential recipients to go through an application process. The Department has no information on the number of students who applied to their university or college for an NSP award. In 2012/13, around 35,000 students received an NSP award from their university or college.
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Priority School Building Programme
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department plans to allocate to under three provision in school buildings being built as part of the Priority School Building Programme; and if he will make a statement. [179266][Official Report, 10 December 2013, Vol. 572, c. 3MC.]
Mr Laws: The purpose of the Priority School Building Programme is to rebuild schools in England in the worst condition. There is no provision made within the programme for under three places. However, we have allocated £200 million to local authorities for this specific purpose, and we expect them to contribute a proportion of this funding where they wish to provide under three places.
School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of compliance with the School Information Regulations 2012 by (a) maintained schools and (b) free schools and academies. [177857]
Mr Laws: The amended School Information Regulations 2012 removed the requirement for schools to produce a hard copy prospectus each year and instead require schools to publish certain information online. For secondary schools, this includes performance data on attainment and progress of pupils at the end of KS4 and a link to the school's entry on the performance tables website. Academies (including free schools) are not covered by these regulations but are required by independent school standard regulations to provide similar information.
The Department has notified schools in a number of ways about the changes made to these regulations. This includes notifying schools through several of the termly departmental “Need to Know” emails to all schools (before and after the changes came into force), publishing and updating information on the departmental website and working to communicate the changes through partners like the National Governors Association. Her Majesty's chief inspector has also written to all schools and, in doing so, has reminded schools of their obligation to make key information available online as it is a key part of the evidence Ofsted inspectors use to plan and inform inspections.
Governing bodies and head teachers have clear responsibilities to ensure that their school adheres to the law. If a parent believes that a school is not complying with the requirements they are entitled to raise this with the governing body. If their complaint is not resolved and they believe that the school has failed to discharge its duty or acted unreasonably, they can raise their complaint with the Secretary of State. Any such a complaint would be handled as set out in the Department's published school complaints process.
Schools: Bradford
George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in the Bradford Education Authority area currently teach some of their pupils in portakabins and other temporary accommodation. [179424]
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Mr Laws: As a result of the last Government's decision to stop collecting information on the condition of the school estate since 2005, the Department for Education does not at present hold data on the number of pupils educated in temporary classrooms. We believe this decision was flawed, which is why the Department has been collecting up-to-date information on the school estate via the Property Data Survey programme (PDSP), including the number of temporary classrooms across England.
The survey programme has reached the end of its initial phase; however, as referred to in the written ministerial statement of 8 November 2013, Official Report, column 23WS on Property Data, an additional 8,000 surveys are due to be undertaken. These will be completed by the end of summer 2014.
Science: Education
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on industrial placements to encourage teachers to become more aware of engineering and manufacturing possibilities; and what steps he has taken to encourage such placements. [179290]
Mr Laws: Head teachers and teachers are best placed to make decisions about what professional development they require in order to meet the needs of their pupils and school. The new Teachers' Standards, which came into effect in September last year, make clear that teachers must
“take responsibility for improving teaching through appropriate professional development, responding to advice and feedback from colleagues”.
The Department supports the valuable role played by organisations in the engineering sector such as STEMNET, EngineeringUK, the Royal Academy of Engineering and Bloodhound SSC which link engineering professionals to schools and teachers through their projects. In addition, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) funds STEMNET to deliver the STEM Ambassadors programme, which gives those working in the engineering and manufacturing industries the opportunity to visit schools and explain the careers and opportunities that their industries can provide. We also welcome the work of the Engineering Development Trust which has a particular focus on this area, developing partnerships and building links between education and industry across the UK.
Special Educational Needs
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much local authorities have paid as a result of legal fees incurred by parents appealing decisions made regarding special educational needs children in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [179192]
Mr Timpson: This information is not collected centrally.
Parents have the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Disability) about local authority decisions in relation to statutory SEN assessments and the contents of SEN statements. It is not necessary for parents or local authorities to be legally represented at Tribunal hearings; however in some cases they choose to be legally represented. In
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2009-10, the last year in which the Ministry of Justice published this information, local authorities were legally represented in 15% of hearings and parents in 18% of hearings.
Teachers: Trade Unions
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many meetings his Department's officials have had with teachers' representative organisations on pay, pensions and conditions of service in the last two years. [R] [179395]
Mr Laws: There have been 30 meetings between Department for Education officials working on pay and conditions of service, and teachers’ representative organisations, in the last two years. There have been 42 meetings between Department for Education officials working on pensions, and teachers’ representative organisations, in the last two years. In addition, there have been 74 meetings between senior Department for Education officials and teachers' representative organisations in the last two years at which pay, pensions and conditions of service may have been discussed.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many meetings he or his officials have had with the NASUWT and NUT on their trade dispute since 14 October 2013. [179402]
Mr Laws: There has been one meeting between Department for Education officials and the NASUWT and NUT on their trade disputes since 14 October 2013. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education has invited the General Secretaries of the NUT and the NASUWT to attend a programme of talks about the implementation of education policy, including in those areas covered by their trade disputes. The programme of talks will begin in December.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many meetings he has had with teachers' representatives on pensions, pay and conditions of service in the last two years. [179403]
Mr Laws: There have been 28 meetings between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove) and teachers' representative organisations in the last two years.
Representative organisations are free to propose items for discussion, either in advance or during these meetings. Many of these meetings will have included discussions about pay, pensions or conditions of service.
Teachers: Training
George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many places available for the training of teachers on the School Direct system are unfilled. [179176]
Mr Laws:
In allocating places each year for initial teacher training (ITT) the Department for Education models the likely fill rate. We over-allocate to ensure we train enough teachers, taking account of the likely level of recruitment in each subject. The allocated numbers
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for individual training programmes are not targets and should not be regarded as such.
For 2013/14, we allocated 113% of the overall estimate of required teachers, including 9,586 School Direct (SD) places1. Provisional figures in the ITT census2, published on 26 November 2013, indicated that 6,580 School Direct places had been filled. Overall recruitment as a proportion of the estimated number of teachers required for 2013/14 was 96%.
Allocations for the academic year 2014/15 have just been made. We do not yet hold data on recruitment to these places.
1Note:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229468/SFR_ITT_allocations_August_2013.pdf
2Note:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/260849/Main_Text_-_SFR49-2013.pdf
George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many places are available for training teachers on the School Direct system. [179177]
Mr Laws: We have allocated 15,254 places to School Direct for initial teacher training for 2014/15. Full information is available online1.
1Note:
http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/i/itt%20allocations%20management%20information% 2021%20nov%202013%20-%20fixed.pdf
Young People
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many education, health and care plans for young people have been implemented to date. [179458]
Mr Timpson: As of 31 October 2013, the 31 local authorities taking part in the special educational needs pathfinder programme reported that they had completed 1,336 Education, Health and Care plans.
A number of local authorities outside of the pathfinder programme are also trialling Education, Health and Care plans but the Department does not have any data on the number completed to date.
Cabinet Office
Charitable Donations
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to encourage its employees to make tax-free donations direct from their salaries. [179634]
Mr Maude: My Department operates a Payroll Giving scheme which is promoted through the Cabinet Office intranet and enables individuals to make donations to any charity direct from their salary.
In addition the Cabinet Office funds the Payroll Giving Awards which recognise the best organisations involved in Payroll Giving and promotes the sharing of best practice.
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Employment
Mr David Davis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people employed by (a) small and (b) medium-sized businesses operating in (i) Haltemprice and Howden constituency, (ii) East Riding of Yorkshire and (iii) England in each of the last five years. [179444]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jill Matheson, dated December:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the number of people employed by (a) small and (b) medium-sized businesses operating in (i) Haltemprice and Howden constituency, (ii) East Riding of Yorkshire and (iii) England in each of the last five years (179444).
Annual statistics on the number of employees are available from the ONS' Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). The tables below contain the latest figures, showing the number of estimated employees in micro, small and medium sized enterprises. BRES employee estimates, by employee sizeband, are not available prior to 2009.
| Table 1: Haltemprice and Howden | ||||
| Employee sizeband | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Table 2: East Riding of Yorkshire | ||||
| Employee sizeband | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Table3: England | ||||
| Employee sizeband | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Notes: Micro-sized businesses are those classed as having 0-9 employees. Small-sized businesses are those classed as having 10-49 employees. Medium-sized businesses are those classed as having 50-249 employees. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. | ||||
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
Euthanasia
Mr Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many cases of (a) assisted suicide and (b) euthanasia have been reported in each of the last five years. [179256]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jill Matheson, dated December 2013:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many cases of (a) assisted suicide and (b) euthanasia have been reported in each of the last five years. [179256]
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It is not possible to provide figures for the number of cases of assisted suicide or euthanasia from the routine death registration data held by ONS. Such cases, where known, would be categorised as homicides and would be coded as assault because assisted suicide and euthanasia are illegal in England and Wales.
The mortality data held by the ONS is based on the conditions and circumstances recorded on the medical certificate of cause of death, or the coroner's death certificate, for deaths in England and Wales. The data is coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Residents of England and Wales may travel overseas to a country where assisted suicide or euthanasia is legal, and these deaths would be registered in the country in which they occurred.
Figures for suicides in the United Kingdom, England, Wales and regions of England are published annually on the ONS website and are available from 1981 onwards. The latest statistical bulletin also includes analysis of the impact of registration delays on UK suicide statistics:
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health4/suicides-in-the-united-kingdom/index.html
Unemployment: Young People
Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged 24 and under have been unemployed for over a year (a) at the most recent date for which data is available and (b) in each of the last 20 years. [179527]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2013:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged 24 and under have been unemployed for over a year (a) at the most recent date for which data is available and (b) in each of the last 20 years. 179527
Information regarding youth unemployment is available from the Labour Force Survey. The number of 16 to 24 year olds who have been unemployed for over 12 months are included in the table.
Estimates are for the three month period July to September each year from 1993 to 2013.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. These are indicated in the table provided.
| Long term1 unemployment among people aged 16 to 24, July to September each year, UK, seasonally adjusted | |
| Level(thousand) | |
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| 1 Unemployed for over 12 months. Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS) Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV <5—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes | |
Work and Pensions
Crisis Loans
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what was the rate of (a) repayment and (b) default for crisis loans provided in the financial years (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13. [179467]
Steve Webb: There is no time limit for crisis loans to be repaid. the requirement to repay a crisis loan remains until the full amount has been paid back and, in some cases, the loans take many years to be recovered fully. Consequently, there are no formal figures for defaulted crisis loans in each year, only outstanding expenditure yet to be recovered. Table 1 shows the proportion of crisis loan expenditure that was recovered in the following years up to and including 2012-13.
| Table 1: The proportion of crisis loan expenditure recovered in each year from 2009-10 to 2012-13 | |||||
| Percentage recovered in each following year | |||||
| Year loan paid out | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | Total paid back by 2012-13 |
| Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official / National statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, these amounts do not include recoveries from applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System. 2. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point. | |||||
Employment and Support Allowance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what benefits the Government make available for workers who have paid national insurance contributions but have then been incapacitated and having exhausted their 12 month period on employment and support allowance are still incapacitated. [179341]
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Esther McVey: People whose contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) exhausts because of the time limit may be eligible for income-related ESA instead. Other benefits such as housing benefit may also be available in addition.
Claimants in the support group, who have the most severe health conditions or disabilities, are not affected by the time limiting provision.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have ceased receiving any benefits once their employment and support allowance has ended to date. [179350]
Esther McVey: Information on how many people have ceased receiving benefits once their employment and support allowance has ended is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with Parkinson's disease in receipt of employment and support allowance (ESA) and placed in the work related activity group have subsequently come off ESA after returning to work. [179525]
Esther McVey: This information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the work-related activity group in employment and support allowance; and if he will make a statement. [179528]
Esther McVey: There are no plans to abolish the work-related activity group this Parliament. The Government is committed to ensuring ESA works as well as possible, giving support to those who need it and helping those who are able to move into work. We've already made considerable improvements, such as to the work capability assessment following independent reviews. However, as is only right, we keep the policy under constant review to make sure it is operating as well as possible.
Employment Services
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of introducing a jobseeker classification instrument as in the case in Australia. [179529]
Esther McVey: The Department tested a classification instrument very similar to the Australian model in 2010-11.
A full report describing this work is available from the gov.uk website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210303/WP116.pdf
Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households affected by the under-occupancy penalty include (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children and (d) four or more children. [177532]
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Esther McVey: The following table shows the number of claimants with dependent children receiving reductions in HB due to the removal of the spare room subsidy policy, as of August 2013-.
| Number | |
This information can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
This year the Government have made available £180 million in discretionary housing payment funding.
The 2011 Census reports that there are up to 400,000 households in overcrowded social housing in Great Britain.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children live in households affected by the under-occupancy penalty. [177533]
Esther McVey: There are 235,146 dependent children in households with claimants receiving reductions in HB due to the removal of the spare room subsidy policy, as of August 2013. This information can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
This year the Government have made available £180 million in discretionary housing payment funding.
The 2011 census reports that there are up to 400,000 households in overcrowded social housing in Great Britain.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many houses whose occupants are affected by the under-occupancy penalty have previously had disability-related adaptations made to them. [177535]
Esther McVey: We estimate that around 35,000 claimants affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy live in significantly adapted accommodation.
This year the Government have made available £25 million in discretionary housing payment funding for people with significantly adapted accommodation.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young carers live in households affected by the under-occupancy penalty. [177536]
Esther McVey: We estimate that around 50,000 claimants affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy are in receipt of carer's allowance.
A reliable estimate by age group is not available.
This year the Government have made available £180 million in discretionary housing payment funding.
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Jobcentre Plus
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what performance measures his Department has put in place for Jobcentre Plus offices. [179252]
Esther McVey: All our performance data are published regularly in the DWP business plan which can be found on the gov.uk website.
Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of how often Jobcentre Plus advisers refer Work Programme participants to non-contracted local voluntary sector organisations for additional support. [179509]
Esther McVey: We do not make referrals for claimants who are participating in the Work programme. It is the role of Work programme providers to decide whether claimants need any additional support.
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the (a) average duration of sanctions issued against jobseeker's allowance claimants and (b) number of repeat sanctions issued against jobseeker’s allowance claimants in 2012-13. [179257]
Esther McVey: The information requested for part (a) is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, information for part (b) on the number of times a JSA claimant has received a sanction for each type of sanction for the new regime, from 22 October 2012 to 30 June 2013 is published and can be found in Table 1.7 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255568/sanctions-nov2013-update-2.xls
Pension Funds
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the viability of financing infrastructure through defined ambition pension funds; and if he will make a statement. [177848]
Steve Webb: The potential for defined ambition pension vehicles to invest in infrastructure has been looked at by the Defined Ambition Industry Working Group, and the consultation paper 'Reshaping workplace pensions for future generations' (Cm 8710) published on 7 November 2013, includes models that might be suited to investing for the longer term in illiquid assets such as infrastructure.
However, investment decisions are a matter for pension fund trustees and members and Government would not intend to make specific measures or requirements over and above the work already being conducted on enabling pension investment in infrastructure more generally.
The consultation closes on 19 December.
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Personal Independence Payment
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the booking of personal independence payment appointments on-line. [177777]
Mike Penning: It is for the providers to consider how best to arrange personal independence payment appointments with claimants. There was no requirement for providers to provide an online service for booking appointments. It was for them to design their own appointment booking service although in the service specification issued during the procurement we actively encouraged innovation in many areas of the service.
The Government welcome any method that improves opportunities for claimants to book appointments. We actively encourage innovation around digital access.
Child Poverty
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of UK children were living in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty in each year since May 1983. [179398]
Esther McVey: This information is not available for all periods requested.
Estimates of the number and proportion of children in relative and absolute low income are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living. This information is captured using the Family Resources Survey (FRS).
Estimates of the number and proportion of children in relative and absolute low income in the UK have consistently been reported using the FRS since 1998/99; these estimates are available for each financial year up to 2011/12, the latest period for which estimates are available.
It is not possible to provide fully consistent estimates for earlier periods. Child relative and absolute low income estimates are available from 1994/95 to 1997/98, for Great Britain only and UK-wide estimates are available for earlier periods covering full year 1987, two-year calendar periods from 1988-1989 to 1992-1993 and two-year financial periods from 1993/94-1994/95 to 1995/96-1996/97, based on results from the Family Expenditure Survey.
All of these estimates can be found in the latest HBAI publication, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/households-below-average-income-hbai-199495-to-201112
(ISBN 978-1-78153-531-8).
Relevant estimates can be found in Table 4.1tr - 4.4tr (on pages 102-5).
We want to develop better measures of child poverty, which include, but go beyond income to provide a more accurate picture of the reality of child poverty and drive the right action. Our consultation on how best to measure child poverty closed on 15 February. The complexity of the issue means that we need to take time to ensure we have the best option for measuring child poverty. We will publish our response as soon as we can.
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Social Fund
Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what guidance was provided by his Department to local authorities to assist them in setting up local welfare provision schemes to replace crisis loans and community care grants; [179512]
(2) what steps he has taken to promote awareness of new local authority welfare provisions introduced in the recent Social Fund reform on his Department's website. [179577]
Steve Webb: The new provision is not a replacement for the Social Fund. Some discretionary payments have been abolished from 1 April 2013 and funding has been provided for new, better targeted local provision through arrangements made by upper tier local authorities in England and the Welsh and Scottish Governments.
To help local authorities set up for their new provision we had dedicated web pages providing data on discretionary Social Fund demand and spend. We also held many workshops around the country in 2011 and 2012 with local authorities and the devolved administrations to discuss how the funding could be put to the best use. The settlement letter issued to each local authority with details of their funding provided further clarity on the purpose of the funding.
To promote awareness of the new arrangements we continue to work very closely with English local authorities and the devolved nations to support them in delivering their schemes so that claimants can get timely access to the support available from both the Department and the new provision in their communities. This includes messages on the Department's telephone enquiry lines, scripts for DWP staff to use in Jobcentres and call centres and messages on customer letters, and information on the benefits pages on the www.gov.uk website.
State Retirement Pensions
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of implementing the new single-tier state pension. [179608]
Steve Webb: The estimated costs of implementing single-tier can be found in the impact assessment published in October 2013, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/254151/a-pensions-bill-single-tier-ia-oct-2013.pdf
These are best estimates of implementation costs (including IT expenditure and all running costs) for both the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) until 2022-23. We will refine these figures further as we work through detailed plans for delivery once the Pensions Bill 2013 gets Royal Assent.
Estimates of ongoing administrative costs or savings are not available at this stage. We expect these to reduce in the longer term as a result of the overall simplification the state pension and reduction in dependency on means-tested support. In the short-term, some additional administrative costs may result from operating transitional arrangements.
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Unemployment Benefits
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been in receipt of out-of-work benefits for (a) one year, (b) two years and (c) three years or more in (i) Haltemprice and Howden constituency, (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (iii) England in each of the last three years. [179441]
Esther McVey: The information is shown in the following tables:
| Out-of-work benefit claimants by statistical group and duration of oldest claim in England, Yorkshire and the Humber region and Haltemprice and Howden constituency, May 2013 | |||||
| Duration of oldest claim | |||||
| Total | Up to 1 year | 1 to 2 years | 2 to 3 years | 3 years and over | |
| Out-of-work benefit claimants by statistical group and duration of oldest claim in England, Yorkshire and the Humber region and Haltemprice and Howden constituency, May 2012 | |||||
| Duration of oldest claim | |||||
| Total | Up to 1 year | 1 to 2 years | 2 to 3 years | 3 years and over | |
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| Out-of-work benefit claimants by statistical group and duration of oldest claim in England, Yorkshire and the Humber region and Haltemprice and Howden constituency, May 2011 | |||||
| Duration of oldest claim | |||||
| Total | Up to l year | 1 to 2 years | 2 to 3 years | 3 years and over | |
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| Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest ten and totals may not sum due to rounding. ‘—’ Denotes nil or negligible. 2. Statistical group is a hierarchical variable. A person who fits into more than one category will only appear in the top-most one for which they are eligible. 3. Out-of-work benefits which are included in this analysis are: Jobseeker's allowance (JSA); employment and support allowance (ESA); incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance (IB/SDA); and income support (IS). 4. Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment and support allowance (ESA) for new claims from October 2008. 5. The duration of claim reflects the longest out-of-work benefit claim for each person: For the jobseekers statistical group this will be the length of the JSA claim. For the lone parent, carer, and others on income-related benefit statistical groups this will be the length of the IS claim. For the ESA and incapacity benefits claim this will be the length of the IB/SDA or ESA claim if the person is only claiming that benefit, or the oldest of either the IB/SDA/ESA and IS claim if the person is claiming a combination of these benefits. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. | |||||
Unemployment: Carers
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the number of young adult carers not in education, employment or training; and what steps he is taking to help young adult carers into work. [177842]
Esther McVey: The information requested for the number of young adult carers not in education, employment or training is not readily available in my department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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However the information requested was collected by ONS in the 2011 census and they have provided the following table:
| All usual residents in England and Wales aged 16 to 24 and 18 to 24 who provide unpaid care and who are not in education, employment or training, 27 March 2011 | ||
| Unpaid carers aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training1 | Unpaid carers aged 18 to 24 not in education, employment or training1 | |
| 1 Economic activity: Economically active (excluding full-time students): Unemployed, Economically inactive: Retired, Economically inactive: Looking after home or family, Economically inactive: Long-term sick or disabled, Economically inactive: Other. Notes: 1. For the purpose of this table, all students, whether economically active or economically inactive, have been excluded. 2. In order to protect against disclosure of personal information, records have been swapped between different geographic areas. Some counts will be affected, particularly small counts at the lowest geographies Source: ONS-2011 Census | ||
The support offered by the Department to young adult carers will vary according to the carer's circumstances but can include Jobcentre Plus adviser support, training opportunities and financial assistance. There are Jobcentre Plus advisers trained to understand carers' needs who can give advice on local childcare and replacement care provision to assist a carer when attending appointments with an adviser or an approved provider, or even starting work.