Copyright

Mr Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure full copyright protection for artistic design where copyright is revived by bringing regulation 24 of the Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performances Regulations 1995 in line with section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. [187848]

Mr Willetts: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), currently has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to alter regulation 24 of the Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performances Regulations 1995.

The impact of compulsory licensing in works where copyright is revived is being considered as part of the Government’s consultation process on the timing of the implementation of section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mr Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the criminal proceedings instituted in other EU member states against UK registered companies, following the delay in repealing section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. [187726]

Mr Willetts: The UK Government do not comment on ongoing criminal proceedings. Any company, regardless of where it is registered, should act in accordance with the laws of the relevant EU member state.

The Government will be consulting further on when to implement the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Higher Education: Finance

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) with reference to line (m) of Annex 2 to his Department's grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England dated 10 February 2014, what proportion of the budget increase between 2014-15 and 2013-14 arose from (a) increased numbers of students and (b) higher average fees per student; [187923]

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(2) with reference to line (m) of Annex 2 to his Department's grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England dated 10 February 2014, what assumed number of students in 2014-15 and 2015-16 was used to calculate the budget as published; [187924]

(3) with reference to line (m) of Annex 2 to his Department's grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England dated 10 February 2014, what assumed average student fee in 2014-15 and 2015-16 was used to calculate the budget as published. [187925]

Mr Willetts: The estimates of ‘fee income from students subject to regulated fees' assume that full-time entrants will increase from around 345,000 in 2013/14 to 375,000 in 2014/15 and 390,000 in 2015/16.

The estimates also assume an average fee income per full-time student of £7,900 in 2014/15 and £8,100 in 2015/16. These figures are intended to represent the expected income net of fee waivers and non-completion.

As such, they are based on average fee loan data published by the Student Loans Company in November 2013. For students at public providers this average was £7,690 in 2012/13. The estimates do not assume any increase in the £9,000 fee cap; information from the Office for Fair Access shows that the average fee level increased in 2013 and 2014 despite the fee cap remaining at £9,000.

The following table shows the published estimates of fee income along with (a) what they would have been without the release of the student number controls announced in the autumn statement and (b) what they would have been if, additionally, the average fee income had been assumed to remain at the 2013/14 level:

Higher Education: Special Educational Needs

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if his Department will provide funding for young adults on EHCPs between the ages of 19 to 25 who are able and wish to go on to higher education. [188364]

Mr Willetts: Securing a place at university is a positive outcome for any young person. Where a young person with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) has the talent and ambition, their EHCP should put in place the right level of provision and support to enable them to achieve that goal.

Higher education has its own system of support, and a range of help is available for eligible students. Those with a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty such as

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dyslexia can access disabled students allowances (DSAs), which are non-means tested and can help pay the extra costs a student may incur because of their disability while undertaking a course of higher education.

In academic year 2011-12 around 53,000 full-time students received DSAs totalling £125.1 million. The Higher Education Funding Council for England also provided £13 million in 2012-13 and £15 million in 2014-15 to help institutions widening access and improving provision for disabled students.

Draft regulations and the draft 0-25 SEN Code of Practice, which set out more detail about local authorities' functions under the Children and Families Bill, make clear that they must share a copy of the EHCP with the relevant higher education institution and with the DSA assessor, with a young person's consent; and that local authorities should make young people aware of support available to them in higher education through their local offer, including the disabled students allowance (DSA) and how to make an early claim so that support is in place when they start their course.

ICT: Education

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding or support his Department has provided to the Year of Code. [188533]

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not given any funding to the Year of Code.

New Businesses: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to support start-up businesses in Barnsley. [187429]

Matthew Hancock: Small businesses are vital to the economy and this Government are supporting them in many ways.

Of course, economic stability, lower taxes, deregulation, and a culture of enterprise are vital to business growth.

www.gov.uk is the home for Government services and information online. One of the tools available is the ‘Finance Finder;' a searchable database of publicly-backed sources of finance.

The BIS guide “SME access to finance schemes: measures to support small and medium-sized enterprise growth” is available on the same website by searching for the title and provides details on the main forms of public support available to businesses. The website

www.greatbusiness.gov.uk

also provides support and advice for businesses trying to grow as well as for entrepreneurs starting out.

In addition to on-line support, the Business Support Helpline is available to provide a quick response on queries about starting a business, or a personalised and in-depth advice service for more complex needs.

For those looking for start-up finance and advice there are start-up loans: 20 loans worth £83,700 have been drawn down in Barnsley since the scheme began in 2012.

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For businesses ready to go further there is GrowthAccelerator—a £200 million programme for up to 26,000 high growth potential small and medium-sized enterprises, providing them with expertise and networks to achieve sustainable growth.

Finally, on 7 December 2013 the Government published ‘Small Business: GREAT Ambition' which sets out the Government's commitment to supporting small businesses. It responds to feedback from small businesses about how Government can help at different points in their growth journey by making it easier to:

Finance business growth by creating the right banking and investment environment and the most supportive tax regime in the world;

Hire people by making employment processes more straightforward and promoting a more skilled work force;

Develop new ideas and products by helping businesses get access to the expertise, equipment and funding they need to turn great ideas into reality;

Expand into new markets by removing barriers to certain sectors and providing advice and support for businesses trying to export;

Get the right support at the right time by making support schemes easier to find and more relevant; and

Get on with doing business by making sure regulation and the way it is enforced is proportionate and pro-growth.

Nuclear Power: Training

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the press release from his Department entitled “Nuclear college to harness the power of skills training”, published on 28 January 2014, what recent discussions he has had with training providers about existing capacity in the nuclear skills industry. [187760]

Matthew Hancock: The new college will be established to provide the high quality technical training that will be required for a growing nuclear industry, in line with our policy of establishing elite national centres to lead vocational education in key sectors of the economy. We would expect it to work closely with a network of existing colleges and private training providers to deliver programmes designed specifically for the nuclear industry, and to meet the increased demand for skills that will be generated by the new jobs.

Pay

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will commission research on the potential effects of adoption of a living wage on economic growth; and if he will make a statement. [188243]

Jenny Willott: We have no plans to commission research on the effects of adoption of a living wage on economic growth or make a statement.

Our key policy for supporting the low paid is the National Minimum Wage (NMW) which is carefully set, by the independent Low Pay Commission (LPC), at a level that maximises the wages of the low paid without damaging their employment prospects by setting it too high.

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In addition, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has broadened the LPC's remit this year and asked them to look at the conditions that will allow for faster increases in the minimum wage in the future. The LPC is due to report to Government on this, alongside the 2014 NMW rates, shortly.

Retail Trade

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to promote independent retailers in high streets. [187827]

Michael Fallon: Actions included in the BIS Retail Strategy, published in October 2013, address barriers to growth for all retailers and help them prepare for the future.

The recent autumn statement announced the biggest business rates support package for 20 years, worth over £1 billion in 2014-15.

In the spring Government will also publish a discussion paper on the options for reform of business rates administration.

We have also been working with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the Town Centre Support Package which was launched on Friday 6 December. As well as the announcement on business rates, the package includes:

a number of initiatives on car parking;

a review of Business Improvement Districts;

consultations on new permitted development rights;

making it easier to implement local development orders;

guidance on retail land reviews;

a call for evidence on red tape; and

a competition launched by the Technology Strategy Board in January, worth up to £8 million for new ‘digital high street' initiatives.

This work builds on a range of other measures this Government have taken to help high streets:

£2.3 million to support the 27 Portas Pilots;

£10 million from the High Street Innovation Fund to support 100 towns with high vacancy rates and those affected by the riots;

£500,000 loan fund for new Business Improvement Districts; and

funded 350 Town Teams across the country.

In addition, retailers can benefit from a range of measures Government have taken to support small businesses. ‘Small business: GREAT ambition', published on 7 December 2014, is our commitment to making it easier for ambitious small businesses to grow. It responds to feedback from small businesses about how government can help at different points in their growth journey.

The publication coincided with Small Business Saturday, which Government were pleased to support. Small Business Saturday was an opportunity for everyone to celebrate small local firms. On the day I visited a number of independent shops in my constituency and I am aware that many of my ministerial colleagues did the same.

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Royal Mail

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish anonymised details of valuations of Royal Mail made by those banks that bid to be members of the syndicate selling the company. [187870]

Michael Fallon: The banks who bid to be members of the syndicate selling Royal Mail shares provided the range of valuations set out as follows. These banks only had access to information in the public domain when they were preparing their valuations.

As the banks who appeared at the Select Committee on Business, Innovation and Skills on 20 November 2013 stressed in their evidence, their valuations were primarily desk top valuations based on limited publicly available information and widely varying assumptions. As one of the banks said:

“We did not undertake any due diligence, and we did not have the benefit of any marketing or bookbuilding. It is quite difficult, in the first instance, to compare a bid that was submitted as part of an IPO adviser selection process with the final price at the time of an IPO. They really are incomparable”.

These were, therefore, very much illustrative valuations which the banks produced several months before the IPO was implemented against a completely different backdrop (company, postal market and macro-economic). They, therefore, did not accurately reflect the specific circumstances and market that prevailed immediately prior to the IPO when pricing decisions were being taken.

The range of potential valuations on an equity value basis at the low and high point is shown in the following table.

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Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) median and (b) mean valuation of Royal Mail was provided by the banks that bid to be members of the syndicate selling the company. [187871]

Michael Fallon: The banks’ valuations were primarily illustrative desk top valuations based on limited publicly available information and widely varying assumptions and were made in the context of a selection process. As the banks have said, they were not comparable with the final price at the time of an IPO.

The median valuations were £3,660 million (lower range) and £4,410 (upper range).

The mean valuations were £3,958 million (lower range) and £4,793 (upper range).

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many banks which bid to be members of the syndicate selling Royal Mail provided a valuation to his Department that was higher than the amount the company was eventually valued at. [187872]

Michael Fallon: The banks’ valuations were primarily illustrative desk top valuations based on limited publicly available information and widely varying assumptions; and were made in the context of a selection process. As the banks have said, they were not comparable with the final price at the time of an IPO.

At the lower range 15, and at the upper range 20 bank valuations were higher.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what fees have been paid to the banks advising the Government on the sale of Royal Mail to date. [187873]

Michael Fallon: The Government appointed Lazard to provide independent financial advice on the sale of Royal Mail shares. On the completion of the IPO its fees were £1.5 million. The underwriting banks shared £12.7 million for selling the shares. The underwriters' maximum fee of 1.2% of the institutional proceeds compares with 2.5% for the previous Government's flotation of QinetiQ. The underwriter's fee included a discretionary element of 0.3%. No decision has been made about the payment of this discretionary element.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many Royal Mail shares were awarded to banks advising the Government on the sale of that company; and what the value of those shares (a) was at the time of the initial public offering and (b) now. [187874]

Michael Fallon: The banks advising the Government have not directly benefitted from the shares allocated to them. Separate divisions, in line with regulatory requirements, were allocated 13 million of the 600 million shares allocated in the IPO. The shares were held on behalf of their clients—many of whom are charities, universities and pensioners—and it is these clients who were the beneficiaries.

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The value of the shares at the IPO price was £42.9 million and £77.48 million at the close on 12 February.

Science: Higher Education

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which universities had departments of (a) biology, (b) chemistry, (c) physics, (d) electrical engineering, (e) mechanical engineering, (f) computing and (g) mathematics in (i) 1997, (ii) 2010 and (iii) the latest date for which data are available. [188497]

Mr Willetts: Data on academic departments are not available; the closest approximation is the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) defined cost centres which have been structured to broadly align to an institution’s academic departments.

Data provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) showing the number of students enrolled at English HE institutions by institution of study and cost centre for the academic years 2001/02, 2010/11 and 2011/12 have been provided in the tables which will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Information for earlier years is not available on a comparable basis.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the value of publicly funded bursaries or scholarships available to students wishing to study (a) biology, (b) chemistry, (c) physics, (d) electrical engineering, (e) mechanical engineering, (f) computing and (g) mathematics at an undergraduate level was for the last three years for which figures are available. [188504]

Mr Willetts: There are no publicly funded bursaries or scholarships available to students based on the subject to be studied. Universities and colleges typically provide such bursaries or scholarships to students using their own resources. The Government do not collect data on the type of bursaries available or the eligibility conditions.

In 2012 the Government introduced the National Scholarship Programme (NSP) to promote access to higher education among disadvantaged students. Only students whose family income is no greater than £25,000 per annum are eligible for an award. However, institutions are able to set their own local criteria to further target awards in a way that best meets the needs of their students. There is no requirement for institutions to target their awards by subject. Data collected by the Higher Education Funding Council for England show that 18 institutions have used subject as an eligibility criteria, although no information is available to show which subjects are involved or the value of those awards.

The Government contributed £50 million to the NSP in 2012/13 and £100 million in 2013/14. On 28 November 2013 we announced that we were reducing Government's planned contribution in 2014/15 from £150 million to £50 million. From 2015/16 the NSP will cease as an undergraduate scheme, with £50 million being re-focused to provide support to postgraduate students from less advantaged backgrounds.

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Skills Funding Agency

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the average per head of population budget for the Skills Funding Agency in (a) England and (b) the 10 local authority areas where unemployment is highest. [187662]

Matthew Hancock: The grant funding for adult skills for further education (FE) learners aged 19+ in the 2013-14 financial year is £4.081 billion, which includes elements that do not form part of the Skills Funding Agency budget and is presented in the Skills Funding Statement 2013 to 2016:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-statement-2013-to-2016

The adult (19+) population estimate for England in 2013 is 41 million¹.

FE funding is demand led and participation in local authorities and by benefit learners is presented in the Data Annex of the document provided above.

¹ Source-household population as measured by the Labour Force Survey Q3 2013

Social Services: Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to raise the minimum wage for care workers. [187820]

Jenny Willott: The Government currently have no intention to bring forward legislative proposals to raise the minimum wage for care workers specifically.

The Government always believed that the simplicity of the national minimum wage is an important strength as it is easy for employees to know what they are entitled to and for employers to know what to pay.

Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. The Government are therefore committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and ensuring the effective enforcement of it.

Staff

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of staff recruited to his Department since 5 May 2010 identified their ethnicity as (a) white British and (b) from a minority ethnic background. [188065]

Jenny Willott: Since 2010 there has been an external recruitment freeze into the civil service. There are exemptions for “frontline” and “business critical” posts, consistent with the need to keep external recruitment low to deliver the Government's priorities and achieve cost reductions.

Although we request that all applicants submit diversity declaration data, many choose not to do so. The low numbers of declarations in the categories requested mean we are not able to publish diversity information for these recruitment exercises. We continue to seek further ways to encourage more applicants to submit data.

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Stem Cells: Research

Mrs Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria are employed in the decision on which method of stem cell research to fund; and if he will make a statement. [188147]

Mr Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) receive their grant in aid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The MRC supports the full spectrum of biomedical research, including stem cell science. In order to establish which areas of stem ceil research may deliver the most effective treatments for particular conditions, the MRC's strategy is to support research on all types of stem cells to determine which routes should be pursued in the development of cell-based therapies. BBSRC supports research across the biosciences, including fundamental research that seeks to improve our understanding of the properties and behaviours of all stem cell types.

In keeping with the Haldane principle decisions on research priorities and funding are taken by the Research Councils based on advice from the scientific community through peer review.

The primary considerations in MRC and BBSRC funding decisions are the excellence of the proposal and its potential impact and additionally for the MRC the importance to health. In considering applications in stem cell science the MRC and BBSRC do not apply any additional criteria relating to one approach or methodology versus another.

Students: Loans

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) whether there has been any fall in participation in further education from learners aged 24 and above as a result of 24+ advanced learner loans; [188549]

(2) what change there has been in participation in further education from learners aged 24 and above as a result of 24+ advanced learner loans; and whether any such change was reflected in his Department's impact assessment of that policy. [188553]

Matthew Hancock: When advanced learning loans were introduced, the Department carried out a thorough regulatory impact assessment, and used survey data to understand the likely change in participation as a result of loans. This is published at the following link:

http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/BISCore/further-education-skills/docs/F/12-873-further-education-advanced-learning-loans-regulatory-impact.pdf

Information available for 2013/14 is provisional and as such does not allow us to show changes to the level of participation in further education with certainty.

But the introduction of 24+ loans appears to have been very successful for those studying at level 3 and 4. Latest data available showed that by the end of December 2013 57,181 potential learners had applied for Loans.

Since the 24+ programme was launched, it has become clear that 24+ advanced learning loans are not the preferred funding route for employers or prospective apprentices. In response to this, the skills funding statement,

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published on 10 February 2014, announced that apprenticeships will be removed from 24+ advanced learning loans. Regulations were laid before Parliament on 13 February 2014 to bring this change into force from 7 March 2014.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what the average loan amount given to a learner under the 24+ advanced learner loan model is; [188550]

(2) what estimate he has made of the proportion of each 24+ advanced learner loan which will never be repaid. [188554]

Matthew Hancock: Information on the average amount paid per learner under the 24+ advanced learning loans programme is published online. Only payments made between August 2013 and October 2013 are captured:

http://www.slc.co.uk/media/705979/slcosp012014.pdf

http://www.slc.co.uk/statistics

The Department models the proportion of loans which we expect will not be repaid (the RAB charge). The regulatory impact assessment on the introduction of 24+ advanced learning loans—published in June 2012—stated that we anticipated this RAB charge would be 60% of the total loan amount. This impact assessment can be found at the following link:

http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/BISCore/further-education-skills/docs/F/12-873-further-education-advanced-learning-loans-regulatory-impact.pdf

Now that we are beginning to receive figures on actual learner numbers, we can consider revising the assumptions within the RAB charge model. This 60% figure may therefore be subject to change in the future.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many applications have been received for non-apprenticeship further education loans so far under the 24+ advanced learner loans scheme; [188559]

(2) how many applications are anticipated in 2013-14 for non-apprenticeship further education loans; [188560]

(3) how many of the applications for non-apprenticeship further education loans have been subsequently accepted and paid; [188561]

(4) how many of the applications in total for further education loans have been subsequently accepted and paid. [188562]

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of 24+ advanced learning loan applications received between 8 April 2013 and 31 December 2013 is published online:

http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/fe_data_library/other_statistics_and_research/24advancedlearningloans/

The number of 24+ advanced learning loans paid to further education learning providers on behalf of further education learners is also published online. Only payments made between August 2013 and October 2013 are captured:

http://www.slc.co.uk/media/705979/slcosp012014.pdf

http://www.slc.co.uk/statistics

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The 24+ advanced learning loans programme is demand led and this will be reflected in the number of non-apprenticeship loan applications received over an academic year.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much of the 24+ advanced learner loans budget for 2013-14 has been spent. [188563]

Matthew Hancock: Figures on the 24+ advanced learning loans paid to further education learning providers on behalf of further education learners in August to October 2013/14 (provisional) are published online:

http://www.slc.co.uk/media/705979/slcosp012014.pdf

http://www.slc.co.uk/statistics

Technology

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to improve the ability of UK firms to adopt new technologies. [188505]

Mr Willetts: Through the industrial strategy, the whole of Government is working in partnership with industry to set the long-term direction needed to give businesses the confidence to invest, creating more opportunities, skilled jobs and making the UK more competitive so that British businesses can thrive and compete with rising economies. The industrial strategy has five main strands: technologies, access to finance, skills, procurement and sectors.

We are investing in emerging technologies, where the UK has the depth of research expertise and the business capability to develop and exploit these. This includes £600 million to develop and commercialise eight great technologies and over £500 million for seven Catapult centres to speed up technology commercialisation, getting products to market faster.

The industrial strategy accelerates technology uptake through releasing constraints on the supply side but businesses themselves are best placed to make decisions on technology adoption. There are some exceptions, however, where there are clear market failures, such as CO2 emissions reductions, new energy technologies, improving waste utilisation, and rural broadband where specific policies improve technology uptake.

We also help businesses accelerate the development and commercialisation of new technologies through the programmes delivered by Technology Strategy Board, including Collaborative R and D and Smart schemes, which are focused on supporting research and development projects in businesses, and the Small Business Research Initiative, which aims to provide business opportunities for innovative companies whilst solving the needs of Government Departments. The Technology Strategy Board also supports Knowledge Transfer Networks, which help increase the breadth and depth and rate of knowledge transfer of technology into UK-based businesses, and provides opportunities for innovative businesses through the growing network of Catapult centres.

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Technology: Greater London

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills under what cost headings the £2 million of funding allocated by his Department to Tech City will be spent. [187445]

Mr Willetts: To date, Tech City has been funded by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). Projected UKTI expenditure for the financial year 2013-14 is £1.8 million, which is made up as follows:

In future, Tech City will be funded by BIS: the levels and cost headings are currently under discussion.

Telephone Services

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to his Department's press release entitled Government cuts off costly calls, published on 13 December 2013, for what reasons banks and transport operators were not included in his Department's proposals to require private companies to use geographic rates for telephone enquiries. [188423]

Jenny Willott: The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 implement the consumer rights directive and will come into effect in June 2014. They contain a “basic rate” provision. This means that a consumer telephoning a trader about something they have purchased should not be required to pay more than the basic rate for the call.

This requirement will apply to transport operators. The exception is where travel is sold as part of a package. Package travel is subject to the package travel directive. A new directive is currently being negotiated and the current draft includes extending the “basic rate” provision in the consumer rights directive to package travel contracts.

All financial services were excluded from the scope of the consumer rights directive on the basis that sector specific regulation was the more appropriate vehicle for this sector. There was support for this approach in response to BIS's consultation on the implementation of the directive. The industry regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, already has rules which limit the costs to consumers of making complaints. It is currently reviewing these in the light of the new regulation on basic rate and expects to consult on any resulting proposals for new rules later this year.

Vocational Training

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to release statistics on the progress of his traineeships programme; and if he will make a statement. [187860]

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Matthew Hancock: Traineeships are a new programme and we do not have a reliable estimate of learners on the programme at present. We will publish the first set of data on traineeships when reliable estimates are available.

Women and Equalities

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the (a) total departmental expenditure, (b) number and (c) cost of people employed for the purpose of promoting equality and diversity was for each of the last five years. [187641]

Mrs Grant: DCMS considers equality and the need to draw the best from a diverse work force in its day to day activity. While there are individuals who have particular responsibility for promoting equality and diversity, this is in addition to their other duties. The Department is unable to break down figures to show how much was spent on the equality and diversity aspect of their role. On 1 April 2013, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) joined DCMS under a Machinery of Government transfer. The Government Equalities Office works to take action on the Government's commitment to remove barriers to equality and help to build a fairer society, leading on issues relating to women, sexual orientation and transgender equalities. In this broader sense the whole of the staff of GEO and its programme spend is devoted to promoting equality and diversity.

Human Rights

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she has taken to ensure that her control of funding bids from the Equality and Human Rights Commission complies with the Paris Principles for independent national human rights bodies. [187733]

Mrs Grant: We recognise the importance of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) maintaining its ‘A' status as a UN-accredited National Human Right Institution. The UN's Paris Principles require the EHRC to be adequately funded, and we have ensured that its budget to carry out its core functions is adequate and is not affected by any additional funding bids it makes, or by the Government's decisions on those bids.

Telecommunications: Sign Language

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether her Department operates a video relay telephony service to those for whom British Sign Language is their first language. [187511]

Mrs Grant: DCMS does not have any such systems.

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what guidance her Department has provided to other Departments on the provision of video relay telephony services to those for whom British Sign Language is their first language. [187512]

Mrs Grant: No such guidance has been provided. However, officials have held meetings with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions and the Cabinet Office to consider how the needs of hard of hearing

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customers, including British Sign Language users, can be best met. The Minister with responsibility for culture, communications and creative industries also met with representatives of the UK Council on Deafness in November 2013 to discuss the findings of their report on video relay services (VRS) to consider how provision of VRS can be further encouraged.

Health

Abortion

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when required standard operating procedures for independent sector abortion providers were first released; when updates to those procedures were released; and when the provision that it is good practice that one of the two certifying doctors has seen the woman, though this is not a legal requirement, first appeared in those procedures. [197614]

Jane Ellison [holding answer 13 February 2014]: The required standard operating procedures have been in existence, in different formats and with different titles, for many years.

Two doctors must certify that in their opinion a request for an abortion meets at least one and the same grounds set out in the Act. They must be able to certify that they agree for the abortion to go ahead given the information they have about the woman's circumstances. If there is evidence that the certifying doctor has not formed an opinion in good faith, the doctor performing the termination is not protected by the Act and has potentially committed a criminal offence by terminating the pregnancy. We consider it good practice that one of the two certifying doctors has seen the woman, though this is not a legal requirement.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will discuss with his counterparts in each of the devolved regions steps to take to share best practice to reduce accident and emergency waiting times. [188040]

Jane Ellison: We support the sharing of best practice across the devolved regions to reduce accident and emergency (A and E) waiting times.

NHS England makes a range of information publicly available in order to support improvements in A and E in the national health service in England. This information can be accessed readily throughout the United Kingdom.

For example, NHS England has committed to conducting its review of urgent and emergency care in public, working closely with stakeholders and partners across the system (including the College of Emergency Medicine). The first phase of the review was published in November 2013, following an engagement exercise which took place between June and August 2013. The review is aimed at delivering system-wide change—not just in A and E but across all health and care services in England by:

concentrating specialist expertise, where appropriate; and

ensuring that other services, such as primary and community care, are more responsive and delivered locally.

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NHS England has also committed to transparency about A and E performance data which allow for benchmarking. The Health and Social Care Information Centre publishes weekly performance on the operational standard that 95% of patients should not wait more than four hours in an A and E department from arrival to transfer, discharge or admission.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Dental Services

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2014,

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Official Report,

column 608W, on accident and emergency departments: departmental services, how many patients have presented at accident and emergency departments where the patient's first treatment was dental treatment in each region in each of the last five years. [188248]

Dr Poulter: The number of patients presented at accident and emergency (A and E) departments where the patient's first treatment was dental treatment in each of the last five years by region is shown in the following table.

Anaemia

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will have steps to ensure that vitamin B injections are available to those with pernicious anaemia; and if he will make a statement. [187708]

Norman Lamb: Vitamin B12 injection (also known as hydroxocobalamin) is available from several companies, but we understand that supplies from one company are currently limited as a result of manufacturing difficulties. Departmental officials are working with that supplier to help ensure that normal supplies resume as soon as possible.

Autism

Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to (a) establish an innovation fund to encourage the development of new and innovative models or provision for people with autism, by a local authority, that can be shared with other areas and (b) set up a community-based awareness raising scheme for autism. [187727]

Norman Lamb: As part of the ongoing review of the adult autism strategy, we are actively considering a variety of proposals from the National Autistic Society relating to awareness-raising, how local communities can become more autism-aware, and new models of provision for people with autism.

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to ensure medical and social care professionals are better trained to respond effectively to the needs of autistic individuals; [187928]

(2) what steps he is taking to ensure greater awareness of understanding of autism in (a) social service departments and (b) wider society; [187929]

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(3) what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of early intervention measures in autism cases; and what steps he is taking to increase use of such procedures; [187931]

(4) what assessment he has made of progress in implementing the measures in the Autism Act 2009; [187932]

(5) what steps he is taking to improve support for autistic children in their transition to adulthood; [187946]

(6) what steps his Department is taking to ensure better co-ordination between services that provide support to those suffering from autism; [187947]

(7) what estimate he has made of the annual social care cost of autism spectrum disorders. [187949]

Norman Lamb: As required by the Autism Act 2009, the Department is currently leading a review of the adult autism strategy published in 2010. The issues raised by these linked questions are all being actively considered as part of that review which provides an opportunity for a cross-Government assessment of the objectives of the strategy to determine if they remain the right ones, to assess what progress has been made in implementing the measures in the strategy and to consider what should happen to continue to make progress in improving outcomes for people with autism. The review has included substantial and wide-ranging engagement with people with autism and their families and with those who commission and provide support services.

The National Audit Office (NAO), in a memorandum to the Public Accounts Committee in July 2012, stated that considerable progress had been made across central Government, local authorities and the national health service since the launch of the strategy, but that there is still some way to go. The NAO’s findings have helped inform the current review of the strategy. As part of the review, local authorities and their partners took part in a self-evaluation exercise on progress made in implementing the strategy. We expect local responses to be discussed by health and wellbeing boards as evidence of local planning and health needs assessment strategy development. A full report of information from across the country will be published by Public Health England in due course.

In order to help improve the care and management of autism and to enable health and social care services to support people with autism more effectively, the Department commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to produce guidance on autism. This includes a recent quality standard for autism which can help to inform the commissioning of autism services for children, young people and adults, focusing on the key areas for improving the quality of existing services.

At national level, the key enablers have been put in place. These include publication of statutory guidance for health and local authority bodies, commissioning of guidance and support materials from expert bodies and publication of NICE guidance. The strategy and statutory guidance both promote joint strategic needs assessments as the vehicle for health and social care services to properly plan for the needs of people with autism in their area; action to be expressed through joint commissioning strategies and better local co-ordination of services.

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The Government are committed to achieving the vision, set out in the strategy, of local communities that not only accept and understand autism, but provide real opportunities for adults with autism to live fulfilling and rewarding lives.

Improving training for medical and social care professionals is a key element in delivering improved outcomes for people with autism. The statutory guidance which supports the 2010 strategy states that local authorities and the NHS should seek ways to make autism awareness training available to all staff working in health and social care, and should provide specialist training for those in key roles that have a direct impact on access to services for adults with autism.

Information is not kept centrally of the annual social care cost of autism spectrum disorders.

As regards to the issue of transition from child to adult services, I refer the right hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham), on 3 February 2014, Official Report, column 68W.

Cancer

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Cancer Outcomes and Services dataset is complete; and whether the symptom first noted date section of that dataset is available for use by clinical researchers. [187472]

Jane Ellison: The Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset (COSD), approved by the Information Standards Board, has been mandated for collection across all providers of NHS cancer services since January 2013. The COSD does include the requirement for cancer services providers to supply data relating to date of symptom first noted. This is mandatory for those providing services to children, teenagers and young adults (TYA), but is otherwise optional.

The National Cancer Registration Service (NCRS) would have first received data against this item for January 2013 diagnosed cases in March 2013. It was not at this stage expected that there would be sufficient data to support research or analysis around this item for two main reasons. Firstly, there will be less than a full year of data captured and reported to the NCRS. Secondly, one year on, the implementation phase of COSD is still progressing across the country to ensure that systems and processes are in place in over 160 NHS providers to ensure the capture and reporting of the full dataset.

As part of COSD implementation, the NCRS will be working with all NHS providers and the National Cancer Intelligence Network’s TYA site-specific clinical reference group to feedback comparative performance of completion of this data item to clinical and management teams. In this way, it is expected that the data will be sufficiently complete for analysis and research within the very near future.

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to tackle the projected rise in cancer cases. [187478]

Jane Ellison: The Government’s Mandate to NHS England sets out an ambition to make England one of the most successful countries in Europe at preventing premature deaths from illnesses like cancer.

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In 2011, the Department published ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’, which sets out actions to tackle preventable cancer incidence and to deliver outcomes that are comparable with the best in Europe. Over £750 million has been committed to deliver the strategy, which aims to save an additional 5,000 lives from cancer by 2014-15.

Along with Public Health England, we are taking wide-ranging actions to tackle risk factors for the prevention of diseases, including cancer, and addressing:

tobacco use;

obesity;

unhealthy diets;

physical inactivity; and

harmful consumption of alcohol.

Key elements of the work programme involve action at the national level, including working with industry through the Public Health Responsibility Deal, alongside strengthening local action, promoting healthy choices, and giving appropriate information to support healthier lives through social marketing campaigns such as Change4Life.

In partnership with the Department and NHS England (including NHS Improving Quality), Public Health England has also taken on the running of the Be Clear on Cancer campaigns to highlight the symptoms of a range of cancers and to encourage people with the relevant symptoms to visit their general practitioner.

Finally, there a variety of screening programmes in place, which are an important way to detect cancer early.

Cerebral Palsy

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of selective dorsal rhizotomy; and if he will make a statement. [187398]

Norman Lamb: The Department has made no such assessment.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline in July 2012 on spasticity in children and young people with non-progressive brain disorders which recommends that selective dorsal rhizotomy should be considered as an option for improving the ability to walk in some groups of children and young people with spasticity.

Because the procedure is irreversible and can have serious complications, NICE recommends that it should only be carried out by specialist teams and that the possible complications and uncertainties over long-term outcomes should be discussed with patients and/or their carers.

Continuing Care

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he takes to ensure that health care professionals remain aware of the criteria for access to continuing care from the NHS. [187806]

Norman Lamb: Part 6 of the National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Board (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012

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makes provision about NHS Continuing Healthcare, including duties on the NHS Commissioning Board and clinical commissioning groups in relation to the assessment of need for NHS Continuing Healthcare. The standing rules also mandate the use of the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded nursing care.

NHS England has developed an electronic training tool which is available now for all those involved in assessment and decision making around NHS Continuing Healthcare. The tool is free to use for all staff involved in this process.

Depressive Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the average cost to the public purse of treating repeated episodes of depression by (a) drugs, (b) individual counselling and (c) mindfulness-based therapy in the most recent period for which figures are available. [187485]

Norman Lamb: No such estimate has been made of. the average cost of treating repeated episodes of depression through drugs, individual counselling or mindfulness-based therapies.

Doctors: Armed Forces

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training and support his Department provides to military doctors who subsequently enter civilian service; and whether his Department monitors the performance of such doctors relative to the performance of other doctors. [188194]

Dr Poulter: The Department provides training and support in the national health service to military doctors in those circumstances where the Ministry of Defence does not have the facilities to ensure the doctors' continuing professional development (CPD) needs are met. Upon entering the civilian service, they would receive training and support from their NHS employer, in the same way as any other doctor.

As part of their conditions of registration with the General Medical Council, all doctors must now meet the requirements of medical revalidation, which has a formal annual appraisal at its heart. At these appraisals, doctors are required to show how they keep their skills and knowledge up to date, which will include undertaking relevant CPD.

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) total departmental expenditure, (b) number and (c) cost of people employed for the purpose of promoting equality and diversity was for each of the last five years. [187642]

Dr Poulter: Costs pre 2010-11 are not held centrally. Costs for 2013-14 are not yet available. Costs for years 2010 to 2013 are provided in the following table:

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Female Genital Mutilation

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what use his Department plans to make of information on female genital mutilation reported by acute hospitals after September 2014. [188442]

Jane Ellison: Data collection is the first stage of a wider ranging programme of work in development to improve the way in which the national health service will respond to the health needs of girls and women who have suffered female genital mutilation (FGM) and actively support prevention.

Further announcements on the collection and use of FGM information will be made in due course.

Floods: Health Hazards

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the risk to human health from contaminated water and sewage entering people's homes as a result of flooding; and if he will make a statement. [188372]

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

Floodwater from rivers and land is a known risk for the common bacterial gastrointestinal infections. Nationally, PHE carries out active surveillance for outbreaks of infectious diseases, and related illnesses (gastrointestinal, 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 statutory reporting of notifiable infectious diseases by all clinicians to PHE; statutory reporting of all significant

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infectious organisms detected in laboratories to PHE; and the monitoring by PHE's Real Time Syndromic Surveillance Team.

There are no high-risk enteric infectious diseases naturally endemic in the human population of the United Kingdom (e.g. cholera, typhoid); and the relative risks to people from bacterial contamination of floodwater is, therefore, low, especially if the public health advice being widely distributed is followed. Where there is any raw sewage entering floodwaters, the diluting and dispersing of potential sources of infection further significantly reduces any risk.

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

Departmental officials and Ministers are in regular contact with PHE with regard to the public health aspects of flooding.

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to safeguard the health of people whose homes have been flooded by contaminated water and sewage; and if he will make a statement. [188373]

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) advice is being issued through the Local Resilience Forum (LRF) Strategic Co-ordinating Group in its public communication to local communities, using local media and where appropriate distribution of leaflets house by house and is also used by all LRF partners and is available online.

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 floodwater, hand hygiene and sanitation and the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning associated with the use of petrol/diesel or fuel-driven generators indoors. PHE is continuing to make more detailed guidance available as the floodwater recedes and areas enter the recovery phase. All our experience from previous floods tells us that where people follow such health advice there are no significantly increased rates of illness.

Any other public health issues identified by PHE's ongoing surveillance will be addressed by the local recovery groups with appropriate input from PHE, the local authority director of public health and environmental health, and local national health service colleagues, including plans to manage any long-term health problems that develop in people who have been affected by the flooding.

General Practitioners

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the withdrawal of the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee for GP surgeries does not detrimentally affect (a) all health services and (b) health services in rural areas; [187778]

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(2) what estimate his Department has made of the number of GP surgeries that will lose more than £2 per patient per year over seven years as a result of the withdrawal of the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee. [187782]

Dr Poulter: NHS England undertook provisional analysis at the end of 2013 to identify “outlier” practices, those that will lose £3 or more per weighted patient per year from 2014-15, as a result of the phasing out of the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee (MPIG). This initial modelling identified 98 outliers and, of these, 15 were rural practices.

Details of these practices were sent to NHS England area teams. In the small number of cases where there are exceptional underlying factors that necessitate additional funding, teams were asked to meet with the practices to discuss and agree arrangements to ensure that appropriate services for patients continue to be available.

In addition, the provisional analysis suggested that a further 131 practices might lose between £2 and £3 per weighted patient per year from 2014-15 as a result of phasing out MPIG. Of these 21 were rural practices.

Further analytical work will be undertaken shortly to confirm the final figures.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the (a) costs for and (b) other effects on GP practices of delays in NHS hospital trusts issuing a patient's discharge information promptly; [188117]

(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS hospital trusts improve the time taken to issue a patient's discharge information to their GP; [188119]

(3) what proportion of cases in which GP practices are not notified of a patient's discharge timeframe have not been discharged by the NHS hospital trust within the stated timeframe at (a) Southport and Ormskirk NHS Hospital Trusts (b) all NHS hospital trusts in the North West of England and (c) England; [188120]

(4) whether there is a specified timeframe in which NHS hospital trusts are required to issue a patient's discharge information to their GP; [188183]

(5) what guidance his Department has issued to NHS hospital trusts on the issuing of discharge notes to a patient's GP. [188184]

Jane Ellison: Agreements between general practices and national health service trusts regarding the transfer of patient information upon discharge, and records of the fulfilment of this agreement, are not centrally held.

Through the changes announced as part of the general practitioner (GP) contract negotiations we aim to improve services for patients with complex needs, including asking GPs to work with hospitals to review and improve the hospital discharge process.

General Practitioners: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the national GP training curriculum is dedicated to mental health. [188389]

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Dr Poulter: Information about the proportion of the national general practitioner training curriculum that is dedicated to mental health is not held centrally. Details of the curriculum content are available from the Royal College of General Practitioners at:

www.rcgp.org.uk

Health

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many referrals (a) the Minister with responsibility for public health and (b) his predecessor made to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop guidance on public health. [188221]

Norman Lamb: All referrals of public health topics to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are made under the authority of the Secretary of State for Health. Since May 2010, Ministers have referred 17 new public health topics to the NICE for guidance development. Additionally, Ministers carried out a review of NICE'S public health work programme in 2010 that resulted in the revision of a number of topics that had been referred to NICE by the previous Administration.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on retaining access to free diagnosis and treatment for every resident in England for all the diseases included in Schedule 1 of the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2011. [187447]

Jane Ellison: Diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases will remain free for people who are ordinarily resident in England.

Current exemptions that exist with regard to infectious diseases and sexually transmitted infections are integral to protecting the public's health. Therefore there are no planned changes to the exemptions listed in relation to treatment for the diseases stated in Schedule 1 of the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2011.

We are currently working with NHS England and Public Health England to consider which diagnosis and treatment services (excluding the above) will become chargeable to visitors and migrants. There are no planned changes to individuals who are ordinarily resident in England. The outcome of this work will be published in due course.

Heart Diseases

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS England review of adult congenital heart disease services has spent on external communication consultants from each employed company to date. [188175]

Jane Ellison: NHS England is responsible for conducting the new review of congenital heart disease services. It advises that the review employs a single contractor whose role is to liaise with stakeholders and to organise and facilitate workshops and events. As at 14 February 2014, a total of £10,878 has been paid to this contractor.

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Heart Diseases: Children

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many congenital heart disease procedures have been carried out at each of the children's heart surgery units in the UK in each of the last three years. [188403]

Jane Ellison: The information requested is in the following table:

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he expects that the second stage of the review of the suspension of services at the Leeds children's heart surgery unit will be published; [188420]

(2) what the reason is for the time taken to publish the second stage of the review of the suspension of services at Leeds children's heart surgery unit. [188421]

Jane Ellison: NHS England is responsible for the publication of the reports relating to the review of the children's cardiac surgery unit at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, working together with partner agencies who are co-commissioners of the investigations and reports.

We are advised by NHS England that the reviews have taken longer than originally expected and the reports will be published as soon as possible. There are several elements to the second stage review of children's heart surgery in Leeds. A formal procurement process was undertaken to ensure independent oversight of the investigation process, and this has had an impact on the time scales of the exercise.

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NHS England has been awaiting conclusion of key aspects of the investigations so all relevant findings relating to patient care and patient experience can be fully considered. We are assured by NHS England that its aim is to avoid any further unnecessary delay.

Hospital Beds: North West

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many delayed discharges there were from (a) St Helens and Knowsley NHS Hospitals Trust and (b) Warrington and Halton NHS Foundation Hospital Trust in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available. [187953]

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested.

The number of delayed transfers of care days for each month from January to December 2013 at St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust and Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (FT) are shown in the following table:

Hospitals: Morecambe

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the proposals of the Better Care Together Review, what progress his Department has made in implementing proposals for a super hospital to serve the whole of Morecambe Bay. [188378]

Dr Poulter: I hope my hon. Friend will appreciate that decisions about the configuration of local health services are a matter for the national health service locally.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the number of elective operations cancelled in (a) Merseyside and (b) Halton and Warrington in the three months ended 30 September 2013 was. [187952]

Jane Ellison: Information is not available in the format requested.

The number of last minute cancelled elective operations for non-clinical reasons at Halton and Warrington Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (FT) in Quarter 2 of 2013-14 (July to September 2013) was 110.

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The number of last minute cancelled elective operations for non-clinical reasons at all trusts in Merseyside in Quarter 2 of 2013-14 (July to September 2013), is shown in the following table:

Joint Replacements

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will discuss post-operation joint replacements for elderly people with the BMA and other medical bodies. [187700]

Norman Lamb: The Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) regularly meets with the British Medical Association and other medical bodies to discuss a range of health issues.

The Department's Mandate to NHS England sets an objective for NHS England to make measurable improvement in helping people to recover from episodes of ill-health, including from orthopaedic treatments.

The NHS Outcomes Framework and Clinical Commissioning Group Outcome Indicator Set contain specific improvement indicators for both hip and knee replacements.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of elderly people who have had post-operation problems with joint replacements in each of the last three years. [187701]

Norman Lamb: General figures for post-operative problems following joint replacements are not available. In the following tables, we have provided Patient Reported Outcomes Measure (PROM) data collected for specified problems reported by patients following surgery for total hip or knee replacements (including revisions) for the financial years 2011-12, 2010-11 and 2009-10.

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