Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of fuel price rises on households using liquefied petroleum gas. [187113]

Gregory Barker: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Despite recent increases in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices, average prices in January 2014 were 72.83p/l, 3% lower than in January 2013, 1% lower than in 2012

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and 3% lower than in 2011. Therefore, while recent increases in LPG prices will have had a negative impact on households using LPG, the long-term assessment indicates that households using LPG were better off in January 2014 than in this same month in the previous three years.

A market study conducted by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in 2011 commented on the generally positive initial impact of the Competition Commission Orders from 2009 to make it easier for domestic bulk LPG consumers to switch supplier.

In April 2012, the OFT secured voluntary agreements from the major LPG suppliers to make changes to their domestic bulk customer contracts and improve transparency around switching and cancellation rights. These changes apply for both individual tank and metered estate customers.

Domestic bulk LPG suppliers remain subject to the Competition Commission Orders and the OFT will continue to undertake its statutory duty to keep under review the effectiveness of and compliance with these orders.

We believe that an open and competitive market in such fuels is the best way to protect the interests of liquefied petroleum gas consumers.

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many public appointments his Department made in the last 12 months; how many such appointments are remunerated posts; what the level of such remuneration is; and how many people so appointed are (a) women and (b) men. [186397]

Dan Rogerson: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 5 February 2014, Official Report, column 301W.

Reservoirs: Maps

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made in providing local resilience forums with inundation maps for both large and small reservoirs for the purpose of (a) assessing risks, (b) contingency planning, (c) warning and evacuation and (d) making outline maps available to the public online since 2008. [186887]

Dan Rogerson: Detailed inundation maps were made available to Local Resilience Forums in December 2009 on the Civil Contingencies Secretariat's National Resilience Extranet, for them to use for contingency planning. Outline inundation maps became publicly available on the Environment Agency's website in December 2010.

The Reservoirs Act 1975 only applies to reservoirs that hold at least 25,000 cubic metres of water above ground level. Smaller reservoirs do not need to be registered under the Act and flood maps have not been prepared for those below the statutory threshold.

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UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the Government's commitment to give due consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) when making new policy and legislation, if he will place in the Library all assessments of how new policy and legislation from his Department since January 2013 has given due consideration to the UNCRC. [186585]

Dan Rogerson: The coalition Government are due to report to the UN Committee responsible for the UN convention on the Rights of the Child shortly. The Department for Education is coordinating the response with contributions from other Government Departments, including the work that DEFRA has undertaken. Once the Government has submitted its response to the UN Committee, a copy will be placed in the House Library.

Waste Disposal: Fires

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fires there have been at waste transfer stations in the last three years. [R] [186949]

Dan Rogerson: There have been a total of 335 fires at waste transfer stations regulated by the Environment Agency in the three years from 2011-13.

The following table also gives the number of fires recorded by the Environment Agency at all types of regulated and unregulated waste management sites over the same period.

The figures for waste transfer stations are a sub-set of ‘All regulated waste sites’ which also include composting sites, anaerobic treatment facilities, metal recycling and vehicle dismantling facilities, other treatment sites and landfills etc. In turn the figures for ‘All regulated waste sites’ are included in the figures for ‘All regulated and unregulated waste sites’ which additionally cover fires at illegal sites and unregulated sites, such as places where the waste is produced.

Justice

Aviation: Lasers

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 223W, on aviation, how many convictions have been made under Article 222 of the Air Navigation Order 2009 since that order came into force. [187159]

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Jeremy Wright: The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences under article 222 of the Air Navigation Order 2009 in England and Wales from 2009 to 2012 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.

Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.

Buildings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of the office space owned or leased by his Department is not in regular use; what the total (a) rental and (b) retail value is of all such unused office space; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his most recent departmental real estate valuation. [186870]

Mr Vara: Details of the Ministry of Justice's vacant properties including the tenure, size and availability, are recorded on the central Government property database, Epims. These records are available via the following link:

www.data.gov.uk/dataset/epims

Information on the retail value of unused office space, including that within surplus court buildings, is not collected centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate costs. The Ministry of Justice is constantly seeking ways of reducing its rental liability. It is currently engaged in an active programme to rationalise its estate including exiting properties on lease expiry or break option if earlier in accordance with Cabinet Office National Property Controls.

The value of the Department's real estate is published in its annual report and accounts.

Offences against Children

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects that his proposed round- table meeting with groups representing survivors of

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childhood sexual abuse will take place; and when he expects that invitations to participate in that meeting will be issued. [186553]

Damian Green: As part of the Department’s engagement with victims’ groups, I will be holding round-table meetings this year on a variety of issues affecting victims of crime. Invitations for a forthcoming round-table will be sent to a wide range of victims’ groups in due course including, but not restricted to, groups representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

The National Group on Sexual Violence Against Children and Vulnerable People brought together its Strategic Stakeholder Group on 6 February 2014 to discuss progress in relation to its published action plan, the outcomes of recent National Group discussions and to identify actions for inclusion in the emerging strategic delivery plan.

Within the context of the National Group’s work, Essex County Council are organising a roundtable event this month to discuss best practice locally. The event will be attended by representatives from a range of local organisations providing support for victims of sexual violence, including child sexual exploitation. Invitations for this event have been sent.

Office of the Public Guardian

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many safeguarding referrals remained unprocessed by the Office of the Public Guardian on the first day of each month from 1 May 2010; [187422]

(2) how many safeguarding referrals were (a) received and (b) processed by the Office of the Public Guardian in each month since May 2010. [187423]

Simon Hughes: The Public Guardian has statutory authority to investigate complaints, or allegations of abuse, made against deputies or attorneys acting under registered powers. The Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) Compliance Unit deals with complex cases and, in particular, investigations into concerns about deputies and attorneys.

Complaints and inquiries forwarded to the Compliance Unit by the wider OPG are recorded as referrals. Investigations are commenced by the Investigations Unit subject to an assessment of the evidence provided. In cases where the OPG has no jurisdiction referrals are signposted to other appropriate agencies. The Compliance Unit aims to risk assess all safeguarding referrals within two working days and signpost referrals when necessary to other agencies within five working days.

The figures for referrals processed can be found in the table. Prior to April 2012 the date of clearance was only recorded for certain outcomes for internal purposes. As such there are a number of referrals for which we cannot establish a processing date. Records of clearance are not complete for December 2013 and January 2014 as cases have not yet been assessed and cleared. Where referrals are not processed in the month they were received they may have been sent to the Compliance Unit at the end of the month and therefore may still be within the Unit’s targets. The rise in outstanding referrals from August 2013 onwards is due to the unusually high number of referrals received in August and the subsequent months.

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Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by the Office of the Public Guardian in each month since May 2010. [187424]

Simon Hughes: The number of full-time equivalent staff employed by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has risen from 477 in May 2011 to 699 as of January 2014.

The rise in staff numbers is in response to an increase in LPA applications and the number of deputies supervised. LPAs registered rose from 49,316 in 2008-09 to 228,744 in 2012-13.The OPG expects 300,000 applications in 2013-14.

The supervision caseload has risen from 32,000 in 2009-10 for 47,000 in Q2 2013-14. The short-term peak in staff in 2011-12 was to cover dual running while the OPG moved its main operations from London to Birmingham.

The figures requested are provided in the following table:

Prisons

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which prisons have gone through his Department's benchmarking process to date; and which prisons are due to be benchmarked under that process during 2014 and 2015. [186639]

Jeremy Wright: All public sector prisons will have been benchmarked by October 2014 and will have implemented their benchmark reports by March 2015.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the name, opening date and operator of each prison in England and Wales are. [186763]

Jeremy Wright: The name, opening dates and operators of each currently operating prison in England and Wales are provided in the following table. Where a prison is the result of a merger or clustering the date that change occurred is given.

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Probation

Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under payment of results schemes for the provision of offenders services, what proportion of the contract will be subjected to this scheme. [186655]

Jeremy Wright: Under our Transforming Rehabilitation proposals, Payment by Results will act as a real incentive for providers to reduce reoffending. In May 2013 we

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published a payment mechanism straw man on which we sought the views of potential providers from across all sectors. We consulted widely and published our response to the market feedback last September. As a result of the consultation exercise we made a number of refinements to the payment mechanism. The revised payment mechanism has now been made available to bidders as part of the competition exercise and we believe that it provides the right incentives for providers to focus on reducing reoffending. The Transforming Rehabilitation contract documentation will shortly be published on the MOJ website and also placed in the parliamentary Library.

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will summarise the research and evidence sources that underpinned his decision to open the supply of probation services to a wider range of potential suppliers. [186748]

Jeremy Wright: Published reoffending statistics show that, in the year to March 2012, 57.7% of prisoners serving sentences of less than 12 months reoffended within 12 months of release from custody, compared to 34.4% for prisoners released from sentences of 12 months or more. Overall, reoffending rates have barely changed over the last decade.

The National Audit Office (2010) report ‘Managing Offenders on Short Custodial Sentences’ estimated that the total cost to the economy of crime committed by short-sentenced offenders during 2007-08 was around £7 billion to £10 billion a year.

These figures make the case for reform very clear. Under our proposals in ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—A strategy for reform’, which we published in May 2013, we are extending supervision to short sentenced offenders and incentivising providers to reduce offending. The pilots in Peterborough and Doncaster have informed the new strategy, particularly in terms of working in partnership with providers from the private and voluntary sectors. According to interim reconviction data, these pilots show a fall in reoffending rates among the cohort of offenders covered by the scheme:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/276105/annex-a-payment-by-results-jan14.pdf)

Final results for the first pilot cohorts will be available later this year.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure women released from prison into a different contract package area under the Transforming Rehabilitation proposals will receive high quality and holistic rehabilitation services and support. [186998]

Jeremy Wright: The proposed resettlement prison model for women prisoners stems from the NOMS review of the women's custodial estate. Part of the outcome of the review was that all women's prisons should be designated resettlement prisons in order to ensure that women prisoners in every establishment have access to resettlement services. Most resettlement prisons for women prisoners will serve more than one contract package area (CPA) so that as many providers of probation services will have access to their area's cohort of prisoners as is operationally viable.

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The model developed for the women's estate, which enables multiple providers access to most establishments, will mean that the majority of women prisoners will be provided resettlement services by the same provider who will provide statutory rehabilitation support upon release. For any women prisoners who are not accommodated in a prison to which their home provider has access, there will be a host lead provider, who will be responsible for preparing resettlement plans, delivering immediate requirements and engaging in pre-release planning with the women's home CRC.

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to prevent those women's centres which do not end up in Transforming Rehabilitation supply chains closing from a lack of funds. [187032]

Jeremy Wright: We invested £5.8 million on specific services for female offenders in the community in 2013-14, through Trust contract and partnership arrangements. This figure includes £3.78 million specifically ring-fenced for this purpose and we are committed to the continued funding of existing women's community services during the transitional period of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme.

The contracts that are in place between Probation Trusts and Women's Community Services in 2014-15 will then transfer to the respective community rehabilitation companies. Potential new providers of probation services will be required to show how they are going to meet the needs of female offenders as they develop their bids and this will be a key evaluation criterion.

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what criteria will be used to award Transforming Rehabilitation contracts in respect of women's services. [187033]

Jeremy Wright: The Offender Rehabilitation Bill, currently before Parliament, proposes that current supervision and activity requirements are both replaced with a single rehabilitation activity requirement to allow probation providers to determine which appointments or activities offender should take part in.

A specific amendment has been made to the Bill in relation to female offenders, requiring the Secretary of State to ensure that, in making arrangements for the supervision and rehabilitation of offenders, he has complied with the public sector duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as it relates to female offenders. Arrangements for the supervision and rehabilitation of offenders must also identify provision required to meet the particular needs of female offenders. The amendment applies both to contracts with Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and services provided by the National Probation Service.

Bidders for the CRC contracts will be expected to demonstrate an effective approach to the identification and recognition of women's needs (as well as protected characteristics), to ensure that individual needs are properly addressed.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse will be of the delays in splitting the Probation Service into the National Probation

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Service and community rehabilitation companies until 1 June 2014. [187035]

Jeremy Wright: We remain on track to deliver much needed reforms which address the glaring gap in our system that currently sees around 50,000 short-term prisoners released on to the streets each year with no support. Our proposals remain affordable within the context of the MOJ commitment to deliver annual savings of over £2 billion by 2014-15.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what timetable is for the remainder of the Transforming Rehabilitation plans including the (a) invitation to tender deadline, (b) awarding of contracts and (c) new providers starting delivery. [187036]

Jeremy Wright: The competition to find the future owners of the 21 community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) who will deliver rehabilitation services in England and Wales as set out in the Government's transforming rehabilitation strategy is now entering the invitation to negotiate stage (ITN). We published ITN documentation to the tier 1 providers on 31 January 2014. Contracts will be awarded and mobilised by 2015.

Reoffenders: Mental Illness

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate her Department has made of the number of repeat offenders with undiagnosed mental health issues. [186777]

Jeremy Wright: Two Ministry of Justice surveys of offenders (Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) and the Offender Management Community Cohort Study (OMCCS)) indicate there are offenders within the system who have unidentified mental health issues that could impact on their offending. However it is not possible to make an assessment of the number as these offenders remain undiagnosed.

To improve the identification of offenders with mental health problems, the Government are developing a Liaison and Diversion Programme at police stations and courts to identify, assess and refer those with a range of vulnerabilities, including mental health issues, into treatment so that health problems can be picked up early on in the criminal justice process. £25 million is being invested in 2014-15 to test and evaluate a standard service specification for Liaison and Diversion in 10 areas in England. If successful, the ambition is to roll out services to every criminal court and police custody suite in England by 2017-18.

SPCR:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220060/gender-substance-misuse-mental-health-prisoners.pdf

OMCCS:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206734/results-omccs.pdf

Young Offender Institutions

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to reduce the cost of youth custody in Young Offender Institutions. [187109]

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Jeremy Wright: The Government have recently set out its plans to transform youth custody and to introduce a pathfinder secure college in 2017. A secure college will put education at the heart of youth custody, contribute to reduced reoffending and reduce the cost of youth custody.

NOMS is committed to delivering a cost-effective service in under-18 young offenders institutions that provides a safe, decent and secure regime to young people in custody. Over the last year, NOMS has introduced a standardised core day in all public sector under-18 YOIs, which ensures that all young people receive an equal level of service regardless of the establishment within which they are located. Following the publication of the plans for transforming youth custody, NOMS is further developing the standardised core day to support planned enhancements to the education provision. Alongside this NOMS has reviewed managerial structures and begun work to benchmark staffing structures, both of which will support education delivery and ensure value for money.

Young Offenders

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what measures are in place to support the resettlement of young offenders back into the community. [187108]

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is committed to reducing reoffending by young people. We believe that successful resettlement is key to achieving long-term sustainable outcomes for young people leaving custody.

Youth offending teams work closely with secure establishments, local authorities, young people and their families and carers, to prepare young people for release and to provide them with support to resettle them back into the community. Youth offending teams (YOTs) deliver a variety of interventions to reduce reoffending, and we recently announced a new system of support and escalation for those YOTs where improvements are required.

The Ministry of Justice and the Youth Justice Board are undertaking a significant programme of work to improve the resettlement process and reduce reoffending rates. This includes the establishment of resettlement consortia and regional employer forums, and improvements to sentence planning for those young people in custody. Our response to the Transforming Youth Custody consultation, which was published in January, sets out our plans, and can be found online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-youth-custody-putting-education-at-the-heart-of-detention

Youth Custody

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many suicide attempts have been reported involving children held in custody. [187360]

Jeremy Wright: We are committed to the safety of offenders and to preventing deaths in custody. Strenuous efforts are made to learn from each death in custody. All establishments who hold young people are required to have procedures in place to identify, manage and support young people who are at risk of harm to themselves.

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The Youth Justice Board does not collect data on attempted suicides, although it does require secure establishments to report instances of self-harm. Whereas attempted suicide involves the intent to die, instances of self-harm may not. Determining the intent of a young person involved in a self-harm incident requires a subjective assessment, by trained a mental health professional, who may not be able to reach a definitive conclusion. Data on self-harm are published in the annual Youth Justice Statistics and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-justice-statistics

(see Supplementary Tables, chapter 8).

Work and Pensions

Attendance Allowance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department notifies claimants of attendance allowance at the start of the application process that they must state in their applications whether they are self-funded or receiving public funds to cover care costs. [187095]

Mike Penning: The attendance allowance claim form asks claimants who are in a hospital or a care home whether any of the costs of their stay are borne out of public funds.

Buildings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of the office space owned or leased by his Department is not in regular use; what the total (a) rental and (b) retail value is of all such unused office space; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his most recent departmental real estate valuation. [186876]

Mike Penning: DWP does not own any buildings. The DWP estate was sold (freehold, feuhold and long leasehold interests) or transferred (short leasehold interests) to Telereal Trillium under a PFI contract known as "PRIME" in 1998 and further in 2003.

The proportion of leasehold space which is not in regular use is 0.7% of the total DWP estate-mainly as a consequence of other Government Departments as 'sub-tenants' vacating space for which DWP has no immediate use. All such space is registered on the Government Property Unit's database e-PIMS.

The Government's top priority for surplus holdings is to reduce property costs by exiting leasehold agreements, selling freeholds or by sub-letting to external tenants.

Criminal Investigation

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which organisation his Department and its subsidiary bodies use to tackle internal instances of crime, including corruption and fraud; and whether he has designated this organisation or any individual within it to grant authorisation for carrying out directed surveillance under section 28 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. [186717]

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Mike Penning: A professional Internal Investigations team is employed directly to provide a staff investigation service for the Department for Work and Pensions and its subsidiary bodies. Some senior members of this team are designated to authorise directed surveillance under Section 28 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The use of surveillance by this team is reviewed annually by The Office of the Surveillance Commissioner.

Disability Living Allowance

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will waive the 104 weeks' residency requirement for disability living allowance claimants who (a) have refugee status, (b) made their claim before this requirement was brought in and (c) are under 18 years old. [187416]

Mike Penning: Most claimants to disability benefits are required to meet the 104 weeks past presence test. There are exceptions for people such as those serving as members of the armed forces and their families, or if European law applies. Ministers have no discretion to waive conditions of entitlement like the past presence test, which are laid down in legislation. People who claimed a disability benefit before 8 April 2013 when the 104 weeks past presence test was introduced would have been expected to meet a 26 weeks past presence test.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department has given to disability employment advisers on referring disabled individuals for training at specialist residential training colleges. [186977]

Mike Penning: We have published updated guidance for disability employment advisers (DEAs) to raise awareness of residential training provision, which clarifies the eligibility and suitability criteria in a bid to increase referrals to maximum capacity. This included a checklist designed and provided by the contracted colleges.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) when he intends to respond to the July 2013 report of the Independent Advisory Panel which reported to Ministers on the future provision of residential training for disabled individuals in July 2013; [186978]

(2) what assessment his Department has made of the effect of reducing support for training disabled people at specialist residential training colleges. [187045]

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress his Department has made in exploring options for residential training for disabled people; and if he will make a statement. [187101]

Mike Penning: We are currently exploring options to improve this provision for our customers and will work closely with the nine Residential Training Colleges who currently deliver this provision. We will publish our response to the Independent Advisory Panel report in due course.

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Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many disabled people were referred by disability employment advisers for training at specialist residential training colleges in each year since 2008; [187044]

(2) how many disabled people referred by disability employment advisers for training at specialist residential training colleges in each year for which data are available were in (a) the employment and support allowance (ESA), work-related activity group and (b) the ESA support group. [187053]

Mike Penning: The Department does not hold accurate figures relating to referrals of disabled people to specialist residential training colleges.

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of residential training colleges in providing access to employment to those with complex disabilities. [187102]

Mike Penning: Liz Sayce's 2011 report “Getting in, staying in and getting on” found that approximately one quarter of residential training places that DWP funded in 2009-10 led to a job outcome, of which two thirds become sustained job outcomes. The report also found that some residential training colleges had impressive links with local employers to help deliver highly work-focused training programmes.

The review also identified residential training as the most expensive specialist disability employment programme and that this large disparity in unit costs across employment programmes could not be ignored.

We recognise the valuable support residential training can provide and want to ensure that this support continues to be available. We are currently exploring options to improve this provision for our customers and are working closely with the nine residential training colleges.

Fracking: Fylde

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what on-the-ground inspections have been planned by the Health and Safety Executive for the two new proposed shale gas drilling sites in Fylde. [187303]

Mike Penning: No operational work has yet taken place at either of the proposed shale gas extraction sites in Fylde.

Once operational work begins HSE and the Environment Agency will conduct a joint inspection of the key operations at the two proposed shale gas extraction sites.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of social housing tenants affected by the implementation of the under-occupancy penalty who have been given exempt status are (a) men and (b) women. [187177]

Esther McVey: This information is not available.

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Older Workers: Women

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of women aged between 50 and 64 leaving employment. [186811]

Steve Webb: A precise estimate is not available, but related research commissioned by DWP has suggested that in 2009 early retirement among men and women cost around £4 billion in lost tax and over £1.5 billion in social transfers (including working-age and pension-age benefits).

Source:

Barrell, R. et al (2011) “The Macroeconomic Impact from Extending Working Lives”, WP95.

Living Wage

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of introducing a mandatory living wage on levels of child poverty. [186824]

Esther McVey: There has been no assessment of the impact of a living wage on child poverty.

Personal Independence Payment

Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time taken to make a decision to award personal independence payments to claimants with terminal cancer is. [187056]

Mike Penning: We intend to publish official statistics on personal independence payment from spring 2014.

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) which paid public appointment contracts he has (a) renewed and (b) not renewed since May 2010; and how many posts were held by (i) women and (ii) men; [187031]

(2) what the titles are of the individual public appointments that have been made by his Department since May 2010; and which of those appointees were women. [187091]

Mike Penning: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 607W.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants have been sanctioned in each (a) jobcentre region and (b) parliamentary constituency in each month in each of the last four years. [187122]

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Esther McVey: The available information on how many benefit claimants have been sanctioned in each (a) jobcentre region and (b) parliamentary constituency in each month in each of the last four years will be placed in the Library.

Statutory Sick Pay: Miscarriage

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what exceptions are in place for those who claim statutory sick pay for a miscarriage at between 20 and 24 weeks who subsequently lose their job before completing the qualifying criterion of two full tax years for claiming jobseeker's allowance. [186983]

Mike Penning: There are no specific exceptions in place for women in this position. During any period that a woman is in receipt of statutory sick pay, for whatever reason, she is entitled to be credited with earnings equal to the lower earnings limit. These credits can be applied where the actual earnings for a particular year are insufficient to satisfy the contribution conditions for jobseeker’s allowance.

Attorney-General

Buildings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of the office space owned or leased by the Law Officers' Departments is not in regular use; what the total (a) rental and (b) retail value is of all such unused office space; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his most recent departmental real estate valuation. [186858]

The Solicitor-General: The proportion of the office space owned or leased by The Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) which is not in regular use comprises 9% of the total estate. The rental value of all unused office space is £248,680.69. The retail value of this unused office space is £12.90 per sq ft. TSol does not own any buildings and therefore has not made any departmental real estate valuation.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has 18.17% of its owned or leased estate that is not currently in regular use. The total rent value (ex VAT) of the unused space is £2,129,974.74 per annum. In respect of the one freehold property which is unused, Cae Banc, Carmarthen, the Current Indexed Carrying Amount (Net Book Value)—Existing Use, is shown as Land £80,681, Buildings £156,169. The valuation on Cae Banc has been calculated by the CPS following HM Treasury rules and guidelines based on a 2009 independent valuation by DTZ. The unused leasehold premises are not considered to hold any retail value. Rent figures have been provided by DTZ who act as managing agent on the CPS estate.

Most vacant space results from operational changes aimed at reducing the estate and will fall rapidly as leases expired.

The remaining Law Officers' Departments do not own or lease any property which is not in regular use.

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Prosecutions

Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney-General what consideration he has given to the observations of His Honour Judge Peter Murphy about the financial implications of prosecution disclosure in the case of R v Renata Andrews and Others. [186749]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service had conducted a preliminary review into this case that has highlighted the need for further investigation as there appear to be failings in relation to decision-making and case progression. Once this has been completed, the Director of Public Prosecutions will conduct a detailed review to ensure lessons can be learnt from this case.

I have asked the DPP to inform me of the outcome of her review, and I will write to the hon. Member when it has been completed.

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Attorney-General (1) which paid public appointment contracts the Law Officers' Departments has (a) renewed and (b) not renewed since May 2010; and how many posts were held by (i) women and (ii) men; [187010]

(2) what the titles are of the individual public appointments that have been made by the Law Officers' Departments since May 2010; and which of those appointees were women. [187071]

The Solicitor-General: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on Tuesday 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 607W.

Health

Accident and Emergency Departments

Mr Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people presented at accident and emergency departments in England in each of the last five years; [186877]

(2) how many people who presented at accident and emergency departments in England were diagnosed as having (a) scurvy and (b) rickets in each of the last five years. [186885]

Jane Ellison: Detailed information about diagnosis conditions including for scurvy and rickets is available for hospital admissions but not specifically for accident and emergency attendances. The number of hospital admissions in England with a primary diagnosis of scurvy or rickets from 2008-09 to 2012-13 is shown in the following table.

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The number of attendances at accident and emergency departments in England in each of the last five years is provided in the following table.

Action on Smoking and Health

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes from each governance meeting between his Department and Action on Smoking and Health in the last year. [186928]

Jane Ellison: The Department holds quarterly meetings with Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) to monitor delivery according to the terms of the grant awarded under section 64 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Copies of the grant reports from ASH which fall within this period and a copy of the end of grant report prepared by the tobacco team have been placed in the Library.

Ambulance Services: Protective Clothing

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations his Department has received from ambulance trusts on the provision of stab vests for ambulance personnel; [187058]

(2) what guidance his Department issues to ambulance trusts on the provision of stab vests for ambulance personnel. [187059]

Dr Poulter: A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has not identified any correspondence received since 1 February 2013 from ambulance trusts on the provision of stab vests for ambulance personnel. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department's ministerial correspondence unit only.

A search of Private Office diary and correspondence records covering the same period also found no relevant meetings or correspondence.

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The Department has not issued any guidance to ambulance trusts on the provision of stab vests for ambulance personnel. Decisions on providing protective equipment for ambulance service staff, whether as standard issue or following risk assessment, are for employing trusts to make.

NHS Protect can assist employers through guidance on assessing risks and acting to protect staff and, where incidents do occur, on taking action against offenders. NHS Protect also works with stakeholders to promote the safety and security of NHS staff.

Buildings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the office space owned or leased by his Department is not in regular use; what the total (a) rental and (b) retail value is of all such unused office space; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his most recent departmental real estate valuation. [186867]

Dr Poulter: The proportion of office space owned or leased by the Department that is not in use is 0.6%. The annual rental value is difficult to calculate. There is no retail value of the unused space.

The Department has not undertaken a recent valuation of its real estate.

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Contribution of the Minister of State for Care and Support of 4 September 2013, Official Report, column 148WH, what assessment he has made of how the work of clinical commissioning groups complies with NHS England guidelines. [186981]

Norman Lamb: NHS England is in the process of developing an assurance framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare with key stakeholders. This will be launched shortly for area teams to use in order to be assured of clinical commissioning group compliance with the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people detained under the Mental Health Act were transferred from Northern Ireland to hospitals in England in 2012-13. [186984]

Norman Lamb: There were four patients detained under the Mental Health (NI) Order 1986 transferred to England during the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013. This figure has been supplied by the Mental Health Unit of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland. The figure does not include restricted patients who are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive, Department of Justice.

Diseases: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on UK-wide strategies for diabetes, obesity, heart and rare diseases. [186783]

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Jane Ellison: There have been no discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on United Kingdom-wide strategies for diabetes, obesity, heart and rare diseases.

Electronic Cigarettes

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he plans to take to ensure e-liquids used in e-cigarettes are diacetyl free; [186972]

(2) whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to require that all batches of e-liquid for consumption in the UK are analysed by a gas chromatography mass spectrometer. [186973]

Jane Ellison: The General Product Safety Directive and associated regulations apply to e-cigarettes. No specific provisions are made in respect of diacetyl or analyses by a gas chromatography mass spectrometer.

The revised European Tobacco Products Directive, currently being considered by the European Parliament, would require electronic cigarettes which are not licensed medicines to be regulated as consumer goods with specific requirements in relation to ingredients, including flavourings, and emissions. The draft directive requires the European Commission to develop a common notification format and technical standard. The United Kingdom Government will work with the Commission on the development of the notification and any associated testing requirements.

Any e-cigarette licensed as a medicine would require the quality of the liquid to be controlled by a specification. The specification would refer to analytical procedures (which may include gas-chromatography mass spectrometry) to ensure that any impurities remain at a safe level throughout the shelf life of a product.

Fertility

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS England plans to update its commissioning fact sheet on fertility services. [186802]

Jane Ellison: NHS England has advised that there are no plans to update the factsheet on fertility services published in February 2013.

The factsheet is based on the revised National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) fertility guideline published also in February 2013 the factsheet will be reviewed in line with developments and updates of the NICE guideline.

Gender Recognition

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2013, Official Report, column 96W, on gender recognition, if he will make it his policy to collect data on the number of cases referred to gender identity clinics that have had funding applications refused. [186747]

Norman Lamb: There are no current plans to collect these data.

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Health Services: Crawley

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the health budget in Crawley constituency was in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13. [186994]

Dr Poulter: Information is not available in the format requested. Information is available on the allocations for West Sussex primary care trust in the years requested and is as follows:

This information is published on the Government National Archives website and can be accessed via the following link:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Managingyourorganisation/Financeandplanning/Allocations/index.htm

Health: Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to monitor the health and wellbeing of people whose households have been flooded. [186943]

Jane Ellison: The responsibility for assessment of the health impacts of the recent flooding in England lies with Public Health England (PHE) and their partners including local government and the national health service.

The Department of Health and PHE worked closely with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs during the re-publication of the National Flood Emergency Framework (NFEF), in collaboration with other agencies including NHS England and the Environment Agency. Published in October 2013, the NFEF describes the role of the Department, PHE and other Government Departments in relation to flooding and includes a section specifically on the health consequences of flooding. The Department, PHE and other agencies continue to work closely in co-ordinating and responding to a flood emergency.

When alerted to the likelihood of imminent severe weather, PHE implemented its severe weather reporting protocols, which include systems for monitoring the health and wellbeing of people in the affected areas.

Local Strategic Command Groups (Gold Command) are being supported, where appropriate, by a PHE-led Science and Technical Advice Cell (STAC) which receives local information and intelligence on potential health and wellbeing problems from a variety of sources, including primary care clinicians. In addition, all PHE Centres liaise routinely with Directors of Public Health and NHS England Area Teams to receive and respond to population health concerns.

Flood water from rivers and land is a known risk for the common bacterial gastro-intestinal infections. Nationally, PHE carries out active surveillance for outbreaks

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of infectious diseases, and related illnesses (gastro-intestinal, skin, and respiratory) and is using this information on a day to day basis to monitor the health of the population in the areas affected by flooding. These data include:

1. The statutory reporting of infectious diseases by all clinicians to PHE;

2. The statutory reporting of all significant infectious organisms detected in laboratories to PHE; and

3. The monitoring by PHE's Real Time Syndromic Surveillance Team (ReSST) of health provider systems, such as the GP In-Hours, Out-of-Hours and Emergency Department Syndromic Surveillance Systems, and calls to NHS Direct/NHS111 services, that detect the appearance of characteristic symptoms in the population to give early warning of potential problems before these statutory disease reporting symptoms confirm the presence of a potential problem.

PHE continues to ensure that clear guidance is being given regularly to the general public about minimising any health risk. This includes avoiding contact with flood water, hand hygiene and sanitation and the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning associated with the use of petrol/diesel or fuel-driven generators indoors. All our experience from previous floods tells us that where people follow such health advice there are no significantly increased rates of illness.

Departmental officials are in close contact with PHE and NHS England colleagues and I met with the chief executive of PHE and discussed this matter last week.

Heart Diseases: Sugar

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effect of sugar consumption on heart disease. [186772]

Jane Ellison: The Government are not currently aware of evidence showing that sugar intake specifically causes heart disease. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), a committee of experts who advise the Government on nutrition .issues, is currently reviewing the evidence on sugar as part of its carbohydrates and health review. This will include evaluating the scientific literature on sugar and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Upon receipt of SACN's recommendations, the Government will consider whether its advice on carbohydrates (including sugar) requires updating.

We continue to advise people to eat a healthy, balanced diet and that sugary foods and drinks should be eaten sparingly in order to reduce the risk of tooth decay and the overconsumption of calories.

From the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS), it is known that people in the United Kingdom are generally eating too much sugar. For some groups, such as adolescents, sugar intakes are particularly high.

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The Government provide tips to the public on reducing sugar intake and healthy eating advice through the Live Well pages on the NHS Choices website. Also we have an on-going “Smart Swaps” campaign through our flagship Change4Life, which encourages people to improve their health and wellbeing by making healthy diet changes, such as swapping sugary cereal for plain cereal or swapping sugary drinks for sugar free drinks, milk or water. We also provide guidance on reading food labels to assist consumers in making healthy choices.

Hospitals: Consultants

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, column 648W, on National Clinical Excellence Awards, what proportion of NHS consultants are women; and what proportion of recipients of the awards are women. [187354]

Dr Poulter: Clinical Excellence Awards recognise and reward national health service consultants and academic general practitioners (GPs) who perform 'over and above' the standard expected of their role. Awards are given for quality and excellence, acknowledging exceptional personal contributions. Clinical Excellence Awards is a self-nominating scheme.

To be considered for an award consultants and academic GPs have to submit an application form in which they demonstrate achievements in developing and delivering high quality patient care, and commitment, to the continuous improvement of the NHS.

There are 38,196 full-time equivalent consultants in the NHS (Health and Social Care Information Centre 2012 data), of which 11,840 (31%) are women. The total number of National Awards is 3,128 and of these 554 (17.7%) are held by women. The percentage of women applying for new awards in the last three years has been between 17-19%.

Hospitals: Greater London

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled on or after the day of admission in each NHS trust in London in the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [187050]

Jane Ellison: The information requested is contained within the following table. Responsibility for publishing this information transferred to NHS England on 1 April 2013.

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