Prisons: Feltham

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what preliminary work his Department has undertaken on plans for a new prison at Feltham announced in September 2013. [189216]

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is carrying out an initial feasibility study and preliminary investigative work regarding a potential new prison in Feltham.

Prisons: Mother and Baby Units

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision to close two of the three mother and baby units in prisons on the distance women are held from their families. [187531]

Simon Hughes: The mother and baby unit at HMP/YOI Holloway has been closed in line with the recommendation included in the Women's Custodial Estate Review. The report was published on 25 October and recommended that the women's prison estate be reconfigured to make sure that women are held as close as possible to where

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they are going to live after release with access to the right interventions and with opportunities for meaningful resettlement.

Taking into account the limited physical environment of the mother and baby unit at HMP/YOI Holloway, and the close proximity of HMP Bronzefield (21.5 miles), it was recommended that the 13 places at HMP Holloway should be closed.

The rationale to close HMP/YOI Holloway's mother and baby unit was to reduce excess capacity within the mother and baby unit system without adversely affecting distance from home for imprisoned mothers with babies and their ability to maintain family contact. There are now six mother and baby units nationally, including at Askham Grange.

The intention to close HMP/YOI Askham Grange follows a steady reduction in the female prison population. We will only close the prison once new resettlement facilities are made available across the country, offering better options for the great majority of female offenders.

Prisons: Research

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what levels of regulatory approval are required before academic research can be undertaken within the prison estate; and if he will make a statement. [188144]

Jeremy Wright: All research applications are reviewed via the process described in the Prison Service Instruction 13/2012, as set out on the Ministry of Justice website at:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/research-and-analysis/noms

This process covers research projects commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and NOMS, and all external projects commissioned and funded by other bodies.

Approval must be granted before the research can proceed. In all cases, consideration is given to: (i) the links to NOMS priorities; (ii) the potential demand on resources; (iii) the overlap with other (current/recent) research projects; (iv) the appropriateness/robustness of the proposed methodology; (v) the data protection/security implications; (vi) any relevant ethical dimensions; and (vii) the applicants' research skills and/or experience.

Reoffenders

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which five offences have recorded the highest number of convicted repeat offenders in the last year. [183554]

Jeremy Wright: The following list presents the top five offences of offenders convicted in 2012, who had been convicted of at least one previous offence of any type.

Top five offences of offenders convicted in 2012, who had been convicted of at least one previous offence of any type¹

Offence description:

Theft Act 1968 sec. 1—Stealing from shops and stalls ( shoplifting)

Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec.39—Common assault and battery

Road Traffic Act 1988 sec.5 (1 ) (a)—Driving or attempting to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle while having a breath, blood or urine alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit

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Criminal Damage, £5,000 or less; Criminal Damage Act 1971; Magistrates Courts Act 1980; Allotments Act 1922

Possession of controlled class B drug Cannabis Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, sec 5 (2)

Reoffending levels have been far too high for far too long. The Government's ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’ reforms for England and Wales are designed to change this. As part of these reforms, all adult offenders leaving custody will be subject to statutory supervision and all offenders will be subject to a licence period (or a combination of licence and supervision) of at least 12 months in the community.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many offenders have been reconvicted within 12 months of breaching a suspended sentence order in each year since the introduction of Suspended Sentence Orders; [185507]

(2) how many offenders have been sent to prison after breaching a suspended sentence order in each year since the introduction of Suspended Sentence Orders. [185508]

Jeremy Wright: Since 2010, offenders are more likely to go to prison and they go to prison for longer.

Suspended custodial sentences can be a useful option for the courts in some cases and offenders serving these sentences have a lower reoffending rate than offenders serving immediate, short custodial sentences. It is recorded as a custodial sentence and the threat of a prison sentence can incentivise offenders to reform.

Where an offender breaches a suspended sentence order, either by failing to comply with any community requirement or by committing a farther offence during the period for which the sentence is suspended, there is a presumption that the court will give effect to the custodial sentence unless it considers that it would be unjust to do so in view of all the circumstances.

If the court does not give effect to custodial sentence, it must impose more onerous community requirements, or extend the supervision or operational period of the order, or impose a fine (not exceeding £2,500), as appropriate.

The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the specific circumstances of each case. Statistics are not collated centrally on sentencing outcomes for breaches of suspended sentence orders.

Reoffenders: Females

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many women will be recalled to custody under the Transforming Rehabilitation proposals. [187530]

Simon Hughes: Under our reforms we will expect new providers of probation services to focus relentlessly on making sure that all offenders, including women, do not return to custody and desist completely from reoffending. Providers will need to meet national standards set by the Secretary of State for the management of offenders

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and will have to evidence in their bids how they would deliver gender-specific rehabilitation support specific to the needs of female offenders. Successful bidders will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts.

The impact assessment for the Offender Rehabilitation Bill outlines our analysis of the projected impacts on overall breach rates for licence conditions, and can be found at the following link. This analysis does not specifically project breach or recall rates by gender:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208171/updated-rehabilitation-bill-impact-assessment.pdf

Secure Colleges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of a place in a secure college. [189205]

Jeremy Wright: The Government's vision for secure colleges was set out on 17 January 2014 in its response to the consultation paper, “Transforming Youth Custody”. Secure colleges will place education at the heart of custody and equip young people with the skills they need to turn their lives around.

The current average cost of a place in youth custody is around £100,000 per annum. Secure colleges will achieve ongoing savings by operating at a significantly lower cost per place than the current average, while allowing withdrawal from more expensive and inefficient provision.

The MOJ will not be able to publish estimates of the annual cost per place until the operator competition for the pathfinder secure college has been completed, to avoid prejudicing the effectiveness of the competition.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the Government will publish the draft rules for secure colleges. [189206]

Jeremy Wright: The Government's vision for secure colleges was set out on 17 January 2014 in its response to the consultation paper, ‘Transforming Youth Custody’. Rules establishing the operational framework for secure colleges will be developed to inform the operator procurement process for the pathfinder secure college which will open in 2017.

Serco

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much will Serco have been paid for running community payback in London when the contract ends; [187896]

(2) what the terms of the surrender by Serco of the contract for running community payback in London were; [187897]

(3) what liability his Department has for termination payments to Serco for their surrender of the contract for running community payback in London; [187898]

(4) how much his Department will have to pay to Serco for their surrender of the contract for running community payback in London. [187894]

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Jeremy Wright: Serco's contract to run community payback in London will conclude at the end of this year to ensure a consistent approach as we roll out our vital probation reforms. This contract has and will deliver cashable savings in the region of £11 million to end October 2014.

The expenditure year to date November 2012 to November 2013 = £11,792 million. In respect of the final contract year, taxpayers will not pay for services that are not delivered but the actual cost at the time of contract end is not yet known.

The terms of the contract termination are still subject to negotiation.

While the contract provides for termination events, on this occasion the negotiation is on the basis of a mutual agreement using early termination through a variation which will allow the authority to minimise any costs.

The terms of the contract termination are still subject to negotiation.

Staff

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 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. [188079]

Simon Hughes: Staff within the Ministry of Justice (MOJ HQ), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and Legal Aid Agency (LAA) can, but are not compelled to, declare their ethnicity. We do not hold complete data for staff ethnicity.

The proportion of staff recruited since 5 May 2010 who have declared their ethnicity is set out in the following table. The figures include on and off strength staff and the percentage has been calculated against the number of declarations. This is in line with the Ministry of Justice external diversity publishing rules.

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Travel

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of travel within the UK was for his Department in each year since 2010; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence. [176859]

Mr Vara: Table 1 details the departmental spend on travel and subsistence for the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. This information has been drawn from the audited annual MOJ whole Department accounts. It is possible that some travel outside the UK may be included. Spend on Travel and Subsistence has decreased each year compared with equivalent spend in 2008-09. Spend in this area reduced by 34.30% when 2012-13 is compared with 2008-09.

Table 2, included for information purposes, shows the decreasing spend on subsistence across the Department from 2008-09 to 2013-14 (year to date figures). Departmental spend on hospitality has decreased year on year since 2008-09 with 2012-13 spend reducing by 93.23% from the 2008-09 level.

Data are not available for the current year as they have not yet been audited and so are not comparable.

To break the information down further would incur a disproportionate cost.

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Written Questions

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many parliamentary questions for answer on a named day were answered by his Department (a) on the named day, (b) after the named day with prior notification to the hon. Member concerned and (c) after the named day without prior notification to the hon. Member concerned between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2014; [187474]

(2) how many parliamentary questions for written answer on a named day answered by his Department after the named day without prior notification to the relevant hon. Member concerned between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2014 were answered (a) one, (b) two to five, (c) six to 10, (d) 11 to 20 and (e) 21 with more days after the named day; [187475]

(3) what the average length of time was for his Department to provide an answer to parliamentary questions for answer on a named day that were answered after the named day without prior notification to the hon. Member concerned between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2014; [187476]

(4) how many (a) ordinary written questions and (b) questions for answer on a named day were received by his Department between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2014. [187477]

Mr Vara: Between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2014, 738 parliamentary questions were tabled to the Ministry of Justice, of which 430 were named day questions. Sixty named day questions were answered on time over this period. This is in the context of a significant increase in the number of named day questions tabled to the Department this session, when compared with previous sessions.

The MOJ receives a high volume of parliamentary questions on a wide range of subjects. These can involve compiling detailed statistical information. We are committed to answering PQs in a way that provides the necessary context for Members.

It would incur disproportionate costs to provide a figure for the number of notification letters issued to Members, and a breakdown of when each named day question was answered, since this would require a manual trawl of each individual parliamentary question response.

The Government are committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written PQ performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information relating to the 2013-14 session to the Committee at the end of the current session.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which local enterprise partnerships submitted final European Structural and Investment Fund strategies to his Department by the end of January 2014. [188472]

Michael Fallon: All 39 Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) have submitted their final European Structural and Investment Fund strategies. Two LEPs submitted their plans after January 2014—Lancashire and North East.

Work and Pensions

Access to Work Programme

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received on changes to guidance for the Access to Work scheme on the employment of support workers for disabled people where they are needed on a full-time basis. [188696]

Mike Penning: Access to Work guidance is not specific about the employment of support workers who are needed full-time. It is an employer's responsibility to determine a worker's employment status, depending on the terms and conditions of the working relationship.

Under Access to Work guidance, the expectation is that awards for support workers needed for more than 30 hours per week will be assessed against a reasonable annual salary for that service. This is intended to provide value for money for the taxpayer.

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We have received a variety of correspondence from individuals and organisations about how this guidance is being applied. Officials have responded promptly in writing and through face-to-face meetings to address the issues raised.

Disability Living Allowance

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make the mobility component of the disability living allowance available to children with life-limiting conditions under the age of three years old who are technology or ventilator-dependent. [189775]

Mike Penning: There are no plans to extend payment of the mobility component of disability living allowance to disabled children with life-limiting conditions under the age of three. The care component of disability living allowance (up to £79.15 per week) is available to severely disabled children from the age of three months and additional support for parents of disabled people is available from a range of sources, including the disability premiums and the additional elements in tax credits.

Employment and Support Allowance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department has issued to tribunals on the period of time between a tribunal's decision and the forwarding of their Statement of Reasons to the jobcentre. [188678]

Mr Vara: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

The First-tier Tribunal Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits and credits.

When an SSCS tribunal panel determines the outcome of an appeal, it is known as a tribunal decision. In oral cases the tribunal will generally give its decision at the end of the hearing, both orally and in a typed decision notice. In cases where a party is not present or where the appeal is decided on the papers the tribunal issues the written decision to the appellant, the appellant's representative, if they have one, and to the DWP (or other agency which made the original decision). HMCTS guidance to staff of the tribunal is that the decision notice should be issued within two days of the hearing. In practice it is usually issued on the day of the hearing.

A Statement of Reasons is a record of the full facts and reasons for the tribunal's decision written by the tribunal judge who heard the appeal.

It is a formal document that must be requested by either party to the proceedings before they can apply for permission to appeal against the tribunal's decision on a point of law.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost incurred by his Department was in appeals against benefit sanctions imposed on claimants of employment and support allowance in each year since 2010. [189430]

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Esther McVey: We are unable to show a breakdown of costs specifically for appeals against ESA benefit sanctions.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) referrals, (b) starts and (b) job outcomes have been made for Work Choice programme participants serviced by Remploy through grant-in-aid-funded services in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13. [189373]

Esther McVey: The numbers of Work Choice programme participants supported by Remploy through grant-in- aid-funded services in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 are shown in the following table:

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of Jobcentre Plus offices had a dedicated Disability Employment Adviser in the latest period for which figures are available. [189375]

Esther McVey: All Jobcentres have access to a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA).

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year. [188891]

Mike Penning: The Department is committed to providing equality of opportunity for all staff and the customers we support. We monitor and promote staff equality and diversity to ensure that genuine consideration is given to the likely and actual effects of our policies, processes and services on our employees and customers, and to ensure decisions are made through evidence-based policy making.

Over the last five years we have produced the following publications:

The Department's Equality Scheme progress report in September 2010:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/equality-and-diversity

As part of fulfilling our obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty, equality information reports in:

January 2012:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/141742/equality-info-report-2011.pdf

July 2012:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/140057/equality-info-report-2012.pdf

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July 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/212104/equality-info-report-2013.pdf

departmental objectives in April 2012:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/equality-and-diversity#equality-objectives

Information on the costs of producing these publications is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost is incurred by his Department over an appeal against a decision to sanction a claimant's jobseeker's allowance; and what the total cost to deal with all such appeals has been in each year since 2010. [189442]

Esther McVey: The following table shows the total cost incurred by the Department for all types of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) Appeals since 2010. 2010-11 data are not available in the same format and are not comparable with future years.

The costs are extracted at full cost to DWP, and include apportioned costs for Shared Services and Corporate activities e.g. IT, HR and Finance. They include staff and non-staff costs. The costs exclude any arm’s length bodies or non departmental public bodies.

JSA Appeals are split into JSA Appeals and Labour Market Appeals. JSA Appeals are appeals against the entitlement to JSA. Labour Market Sanction Appeals are appeals against sanctions for not fulfilling Labour Market related conditions e.g. failing to attend training. They also include “leaving job voluntarily” cases.

Minimum Wage

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to undertake an impact assessment on the effects on levels of child poverty of a rise in the national minimum wage to (a) £7.35, (b) £7.85, (c) £8.35 and (d) £8.85 an hour. [189332]

Esther McVey: The Department for Work and Pensions currently has no plans to undertake such an assessment.

This Government have made good progress in tackling the root causes of child poverty. Employment has increased by 1.3 million since 2010 and the number of children under 16 in workless households has fallen by 274,000.

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Pensioners: Social Security Benefits

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to help older people in Chelmsford constituency claim the benefits to which they are entitled. [189434]

Steve Webb: We are committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to. I regularly engage with a wide range of stakeholders and customer representative groups on a range of issues including access to pensioner benefits.

The Department writes to people, at the address held on record, up to four months before they reach state pension age inviting them to claim their state pension. An information leaflet about the state pension is enclosed with that letter; it provides details of how to claim pension credit.

Customers can claim pension credit by telephone, removing the need to complete lengthy application forms; they can also claim housing benefit at the same time, and are advised of pension credit when they claim their state pension.

DWP has also introduced a web-based pension credit toolkit at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit

Its purpose is to provide customer representative organisations with all the information needed in order to talk to pensioners about pension credit. In partnership with Age UK, local authorities and other groups, a structured campaign was undertaken to create awareness of the toolkit amongst those who support our customers.

In the long term, our aim is to reduce complexity in the system. That is why we are reforming the state pension through the current Pensions Bill, setting it above the basic level of means-tested support and giving greater prominence to the contributory pension.

Personal Independence Payment

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of new claims for personal independence payment involve a face-to-face consultation assessment. [188702]

Mike Penning: The information is not available and will not form part of the future published official statistics.

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the mean average time taken to process an application for a personal independence payment from receipt of application to determination is; and what the longest time taken to determine any such application is. [189387]

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many and what proportion of decided personal independence payments claims, which were not made under the special rules for terminally ill people, have been (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful, by claimants resident in (i) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (ii) the North East and (iii) England in each month for which records are available; [188924]

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(2) how many personal independence payments claims, not made under the special rules for terminally ill people, have been made by residents of (a) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (b) the North East and (c) England in each month for which records are available. [188925]

Mike Penning: Personal independence payment (PIP) started from April 2013 and although limited data have started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284330/pip_stats_release_strategy_feb14.pdf

An ad hoc release of PIP information was published on 11 February 2014.

Retirement: Females

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to help women adversely affected by the increase in retirement age to 66 by 2020. [188624]

Steve Webb: The Pensions Act 2011 legislated for the state pension age for men and women to equalise by November 2018, and rise to 66 by October 2020. These changes to state pension age are necessary as people are living longer and healthier lives, on average.

The Government are working with business to encourage employers to adopt good practice that supports the ongoing health and employment of an ageing work force so they can work up to rising pension ages. The Government are achieving this through the Age Positive initiative and, from later in 2014, the Health and Work Service. As part of this scheme, an annual tax exemption of £500 will be introduced for medical treatments recommended by the service. The Government have also announced they are extending the ‘right to request flexible working' to all workers.

For those who are out of work, the Government, through universal credit, the Work programme and Jobcentre Plus flexibilities, are reforming the welfare system to improve incentives and provide more effective support for older people.

Social Security Benefits

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to section 96 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, what information he used to determine estimated average earnings when setting the rates for the Household Benefit Cap for 2014-15. [188860]

Esther McVey: The earnings data used to calculate estimated average earnings for the review of the level of the benefit cap for 2014-15 are the Family Resources Survey (published in June 2013) and the most recent (November 2013) Office for Budget Responsibility economic

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forecast of earnings growth. These are used together to project the level of earnings for 2014-15.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the situation of those women born between 1951 and 1953 who will receive a smaller weekly state pension income than a man with the same date of birth from 2016; if he will make it his policy to guarantee that no women born between 1951 and 1953 with an equivalent number of qualifying years receive a smaller state pension income on a weekly basis than as a man with the same date of birth commencing in 2016; and if he will make a statement. [188898]

Steve Webb: The Department receives correspondence from members of the public on a range of issues, including this one. The Department's analysis shows that 90% of the women in the April 1951 to April 1953 birth cohort will receive more in state pension and other benefits over the course of their life than if they were to draw a single-tier pension at age 65. This is because, due to unequal state pension ages, the women in this cohort can draw a state pension between two and four years before a man born the same day as them.

Qualification for the single-tier pension will be dependent on reaching state pension age after the new system is introduced, on 6 April 2016. Men and women reaching state pension age before the new system is introduced will receive a state pension based on the current system, and in line with the qualifying conditions of the current system.

Telephone Services

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department's announcement on 27 January 2014, that it will introduce alternative 0345 telephone numbers for its major call lines from March 2014 will include such a number for the (a) Child Support Agency and (b) Child Maintenance Service from that date. [188632]

Steve Webb: The announcement made on the 27 January on the GOV.UK website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dwp-helps-cut-telephone-call-costs-from-march-2014

regarding the introduction of alternative 0345 telephone numbers for the Department's major call lines from March 2014 does include the Child Support Agency and Child Maintenance Service.

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in respect of each of the telephone lines run by the Child Support Agency in 2012-13, what the total call minutes (a) connected, (b) speaking to an adviser and (c) on hold awaiting an adviser for each telephone line run by the Child Support Agency was in 2012-13. [188712]

Steve Webb: The total call minutes for each of the telephone lines operated by the Child Support Agency, for December 2012 to December 2013, are provided in the following table:

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Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost per minute is to telephone the Child Support Agency or Child Maintenance Service from a (a) landline and (b) mobile telephone. [188715]

Steve Webb: The cost of calling the Child Support Agency or Child Maintenance Service will depend on the phone service provider, and also whether the call is being made from a landline or mobile. Where charges apply, the approximate cost of a call to any 0845 number can vary from 1p to 10.5p per minute from a landline, and from 12p to 41p per minute from a mobile.

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to introduce an 080 Freephone number for callers to the Child Support Agency and Child Maintenance Service from (a) landlines and (b) mobile telephones. [188719]

Steve Webb: At present, the Child Support Agency and Child Maintenance Service have no plans to introduce 080 numbers for their inquiry lines but will be introducing 0345 telephone numbers from March 2014.

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total call minutes connected to the Child Maintenance Service has been since December 2012; and what the average time (a) speaking to an adviser and (b) waiting before speaking to an adviser has been in that time. [188720]

Steve Webb: Information on the 2012 scheme administered by the Child Maintenance Service is currently available up to the end of September 2013. Experimental Statistics on the 2012 scheme covering the period of August to September 2013 were published on 25 November 2013, and are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ad-hoc-statistical-analysis-2013-quarter-4

From December 2012 to September 2013 the total call minutes connected to the Child Maintenance Service was 254,820.

During the same period, the average time spent speaking to an adviser was 12 minutes and two seconds with an average wait of 18 seconds before speaking to an adviser.

Winter Fuel Payments

Sir Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had on extending the winter fuel payment to people (a) on the higher rate of disability living allowance for care or mobility and (b) the enhanced rate of personal independence payment; and if he will make a statement. [188674]

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Steve Webb: Winter fuel payments are targeted at older people because they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of cold weather—the elderly experience the greatest increase in deaths each winter. They provide an assurance that older people can keep warm during the colder winter months because they know they will receive significant help with their bills.

Although, there are no current plans to extend the coverage of winter fuel payments we do recognise that disabled people of all ages can face extra costs due to their impairment. However, some will face higher heating costs whereas others, for example, will have to spend more on food because of special dietary requirements, or face higher than normal clothing replacement and laundry costs. General financial provision is currently made for people's different extra costs through disability living allowance (DLA) and personal independence payment (PIP).

The contribution that DLA provides can be substantial and it is flexible—recipients can choose to spend it on additional heating. That choice continues with PIP.

Work Programme

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will take steps to ensure that people on the Work programme who miss appointments to attend job interviews are not penalised; [189392]

(2) for what reasons people on the Work programme are recorded as having missed appointment when the reason for missing the appointment is to attend a job interview. [189393]

Esther McVey: If a Work programme participant contacts their provider because they are unable to attend an appointment prior to it taking place—for example, because of a job interview—the provider has flexibility to rearrange that appointment.

When a provider mandates a participant to attend an appointment and they fail to attend without giving reason, the provider must raise a compliance doubt.

Women and Equalities

Gender Recognition

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what (a) legislative and (b) non-legislative measures the Government have introduced to promote equal opportunities for transgender people in the UK since May 2010. [188092]

Mrs Grant: The Government are strongly committed to advancing equality for transgender people. We have one of the world's strongest legislative frameworks to prevent and tackle discrimination on the grounds of gender and gender reassignment, among other protected characteristics.

A number of legislative measures have been introduced since May 2010 which promote equal opportunities for transgender people. These include:

the Equality Act 2010, which provides explicit protection from discrimination for transsexual people; and protection for the wider transgender community where discrimination is based on perception;

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the Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories) Order 2011—the Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows people who have had a legal gender change in certain countries and territories to apply for a UK Gender Recognition Certificate under a simplified process. This order updates and expands the list of countries and territories;

the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 2012, which amended the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to provide for sentences to be aggravated for any offence motivated by hostility towards the victim on the grounds of being transgender, and for a 30-year starting point for murders motivated by hostility towards the victim on the ground of being transgender; and

the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which will enable couples to remain married where one partner seeks a legal gender change where both parties wish to remain married.

“Advancing Transgender Equality: A Plan for Action”, the first action plan for transgender equality, was published in December 2011. It includes a range of largely non-legislative measures to improve the lives of transgender people in a number of areas of public policy, including hate crime, health, education and employment. A report on progress on delivering the commitments in this action plan will be published in due course.

Health

Abortion

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department takes to identify illegal abortion referrals; whether the competence for such scrutiny rests with the Chief Medical Officer alone; and if he will make a statement. [188484]

Jane Ellison: Abortion is only legal if it is carried out within the terms of the Abortion Act 1967. This requires two doctors to form an opinion in good faith that one of the grounds for abortion set out in the Act is met. The Chief Medical Officer has written to doctors involved with abortion procedures to remind them about the need to comply with the Act, and the Department intends to produce further guidance to assist doctors with compliance with the Abortion Act.

Notifications of all abortions performed are submitted to the Chief Medical Officer. Significant discrepancies are pursued with the practitioner who submitted the notification.

Any allegations concerning abortions not performed under the terms of the Act should be referred to the police.

Animal Experiments

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has provided to (a) research councils funding animal research and (b) development of non-animal experimentation methods in each of the last five years. [188642]

Dr Poulter: The Department's National Institute for Health Research focuses on clinical and health services research. It does not therefore fund research using animals, provide funding to research councils for such research, or fund the development of scientific methods to replace the use of animals.

Estimated expenditure by the Health Protection Agency on work to replace, refine or reduce the use of animals in scientific procedures is shown in the following table:

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This expenditure supported intramural work.

Autism

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued on the management of autism spectrum disorders within joint strategic needs assessments. [188660]

Norman Lamb: The 2010 “Adult Autism Strategy for England: Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives” and its subsequent statutory guidance both promote Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs), as the vehicle for health and social care services to plan for the needs of people with autism in their area.

As part of the review of the strategy, last summer all 152 local authority areas took part in the second national self-assessment exercise on progress made in implementing the strategy. This exercise included a question on whether autism was included in the local JSNA. The Public Health England Learning Disabilities Observatory will shortly publish a full report of the information received from across the country. Local responses should be discussed by Health and Wellbeing Boards to support autism work and as evidence for local planning and JSNAs.

Cancer

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued on diagnosis and treatment of patients found to have cancer of unknown primary foundation. [188670]

Jane Ellison: In July 2010, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published the clinical guideline, “Metastatic malignant disease of unknown primary origin: Diagnosis and management of metastatic malignant disease of unknown primary origin”. This sets out best practice for clinicians on the diagnosis, treatment, care and support of patients whose primary site of cancer growth cannot be established.

Cholesterol

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what mechanisms will be in place in primary care to measure and treat high cholesterol in patients at high risk of premature death from heart disease after April 2014; [188657]

(2) whether a NHS Atlas of Variation for Cardiovascular Disease will be published in 2014; [188658]

(3) if he will request that NHS England installs universal systems to measure differences in the management of cholesterol in primary care in different clinical commissioning groups in England in April 2014. [188659]

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Jane Ellison: The Government have an ambitious programme to improve public health through strengthening local action, behavioural changes and promoting healthy choices, and changing the environment to support healthier lives.

The Department's Mandate for NHS England sets out the improvements in cardiovascular health and health care outcomes that the national health service is expected to deliver, and the priorities for improvement are reflected in both the NHS and Public Health Outcomes Frameworks. This includes supporting earlier diagnosis of illness by tackling issues such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which are both risk factors for coronary heart disease.

We and NHS England expect clinicians in primary care to use their professional judgment to treat their patients according to best practice guidelines, including monitoring and treating high cholesterol in patients at high risk of premature death from heart disease.

Public Health England does not intend to publish an Atlas of Variation for Cardiovascular Disease during 2014.

NHS England has no plans to introduce universal systems to measure differences in the management of cholesterol in primary care in different clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England in April 2014.

However, NHS England will use clinical data extracted from general practitioner practice systems to ensure continued transparency about quality and outcomes in relation to the monitoring of cholesterol. This will enable NHS England's commissioning teams, CCGs and the Care Quality Commission to take this information into account in reaching more rounded judgments about the quality of care provided by general practice.

There are no specific indicators in the 2014-15 CCG Outcome Indicator Set (OIS) directly related to cholesterol. However, two wider indicators will include cholesterol checks within them. These are:

people with severe mental illness who have received a set of physical checks; and

people with diabetes who have received nine care processes.

There are also a number of wider coronary heart disease related indicators included in the OIS.

Clinical Priorities Advisory Group

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the minutes all advice given to NHS England by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group on (a) individual funding requests for the treatment of patients with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy and (b) funding requests for the prescription of cancer drugs not approved by the National Institute for Care Excellence. [188511]

Norman Lamb: At its January 2014 meeting, the Directly Commissioned Services Committee (an NHS England Board Committee) agreed the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) agenda and minutes would be published on the NHS England website once the recommendations are made.

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CPAG makes recommendations to the Directly Commissioned Services Committee on the commissioning of services where there could be a substantial change in service provision.

CPAG does not have a role in giving advice for Individual Funding Requests or in relation to the Cancer Drugs Fund. Therefore, the minutes will not contain such information.

Dementia

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which local authorities have made dementia a public health priority. [188397]

Norman Lamb: Information on which local authorities have made dementia a public health priority is not held centrally.

Local authorities are involved in both local Dementia Action Alliances and dementia-friendly communities and we encourage this involvement.

Information about Dementia Action Alliances and those communities working towards becoming dementia-friendly was made available as part of our State of the Nation report published in November 2013. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

Electronic Cigarettes

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with EU institutions on maintaining free consumer access to electronic cigarettes without a prescription. [188862]

Jane Ellison: E-cigarettes that do not make a medical claim will not require a medicines licence and will be available as consumer products without a prescription.

Those that do make a medicinal claim and are licensed under medicines regulation can be sold or supplied to reduce the harm of smoking to smokers and those around them in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year. [188882]

Dr Poulter: The Department publishes an annual Public Sector Equality Duty Workforce Profile report—each January. It is not possible to distinguish costs on the publication of this report, as it is produced in-house by the Human Resources team. The report is published in electronic version with consideration given to accessibility, so no publication costs are involved.

The promotion of equality and diversity within the Department generally uses the Department's intranet to communicate messages and best practice approaches.

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The Department occasionally holds awareness sessions to promote aspects of equality and diversity, which can involve material design and printing. It would incur disproportionate costs to establish the costs of such activities from other duties in the Department's Human Resources team.

Fertility: Males

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has funded on male fertility and sperm counts in the last 10 years; and if he will publish the findings of such research. [188628]

Dr Poulter: In the last 10 years, the Department has funded no specific research on male fertility and sperm counts from central research and development budgets.

The Public Health England (PHE) Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE) does not have any specific research ongoing in respect of male sperm counts affecting fertility. PHE/CRCE does though have a small experimental research programme investigating whether the genetic material carried by sperm can be affected by environmental factors including chemicals. In conjunction with the Medical Research Council, PHE/CRCE has published work in the journal Epigenetics in 2012 showing that smoking can affect the composition of genetic material in sperm. The effect, if any, of this on fertility or the developing embryo was not determined. This work is continuing in PHE/CRCE.

Flour: Folic Acid

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent discussions his Department has had with its international counterparts on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid; [188706]

(2) what recent discussions his Department has had with UK and European food producers and importers on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid; [188708]

(3) when he expects to reach a decision on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid; [188709]

(4) what assessment he has made of the potential health costs and benefits of the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid; [188710]

(5) what recent representations he has received on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid. [188711]

Jane Ellison: The Department has not had any recent discussions with international counterparts or United Kingdom and European food producers and importers on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.

The case for mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid is currently being considered. A decision will be made in the light of the latest evidence and when the most up-to-date data are available.

The health costs and benefits of mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid will be considered in coming to a decision on whether or not to proceed with this policy.

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Over the last 12 months the Department has received representations from two members of the public, Shine, Professor Sir Nicholas Wald, the British Pregnancy Advice Service and the Flour Fortification Initiative calling for mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.

General Practitioners

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP referrals have included a referral to a swimming pool or gym in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [189514]

Dr Poulter: The requested information is not collected centrally.

General Practitioners: Leeds

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for a GP appointment in Leeds. [188699]

Dr Poulter: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Genitourinary Medicine

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the quality and availability of sexual health and HIV testing and prevention services in England; and if he will make a statement. [188463]

Jane Ellison: The Department has set out its ambitions to improve sexual health and wellbeing in “A Framework for Sexual Health Improvement”, which was published in March 2013. The framework highlights the importance of locally commissioned prevention services and the need to increase HIV testing to reduce undiagnosed and late diagnosis of HIV. It is for local authorities to decide on the provision of local sexual health prevention services. There are three sexual health indicators (including chlamydia diagnoses and late diagnosis of HIV) in the Public Health Outcomes Framework to assess outcomes on sexual health. The Department has removed the ban on the sale of HIV self-testing kits with effect from 6 April 2014.

Sexual health and HIV testing services are provided through a variety of settings and by a variety of providers including primary care, community and outreach services, and hospital and specialist genitourinary medicine (GUM) services. Public Health England (PHE) collects data on all sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV diagnoses and services at all GUM clinics in England, and this is published in STI and HIV reports on the PHE website at:

www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/InfectiousDiseases/InfectionsAZ/HiVAndSTIs/

Table 1 provides the number, of sexual health screens provided at GUM clinics in England from 2009-12.

Table 2 provides data on the uptake of HIV testing among all eligible STI episodes in England from 2009-12.

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Gynaecology

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason hospital trusts use a pain score of 1 to 5 for hysteroscopy procedure rather than 1 to 10. [188697]

Norman Lamb: Health professionals are responsible for monitoring pain levels during and after a hysteroscopy procedure.

There is no standard national pain scoring system but there are a number of different pain assessment tools available to health professionals. This means that methodology may vary between providers.

Hepatitis

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process NHS England uses to identify the funds required to treat hepatitis C as set out in the manual for prescribed specialised services in 2013-14. [188689]

Jane Ellison: Allocations for NHS England to commission hepatitis C services were established by estimating the service costs and drug costs of treating patients with hepatitis C at expert centres. NHS England uses a number of processes to continue refining allocations for the commissioning of specialised services such as hepatitis C treatments, and to ensure that it makes the most efficient and effective use of its budget, including the development of national commissioning policies and advice from Clinical Reference Groups supported by health technology appraisals.

HIV Infection

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future funding of the HIV/AIDS support funding line after March 2015; and if he will make a statement. [188462]

Jane Ellison: As a transitional measure, for 2013-14 the Local Government Finance Settlement included additional financial information for local authorities to assist in their provision of HIV social care services. The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2014-15 and 2015-16 has now been published and it does not include information on funding for HIV social care. However, local authorities’ responsibilities for the social care needs of people with HIV are unchanged and they continue to receive funding for this as part of their formula grant.

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to implement a national screening programme for HIV. [188627]

Jane Ellison: Recommendations for HIV screening and testing are made by a number of bodies including Public Health England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officer's Expert Advisory Group on AIDS , the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC), and professional organisations such as the British HIV Association and the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV.

At present there is a national antenatal screening programme which offers screening to all pregnant women. NICE guidelines for most at-risk groups (men who have sex with men and black African communities) recommend large-scale HIV testing in primary and secondary care under certain circumstances, such as in areas of higher prevalence. In addition, HIV testing is offered to all attendees of genitourinary medicine clinics (GUM) clinics.

The current approach is made up of a range of testing strategies combined with promotion through outreach to communities most at-risk of HIV infection. Around 2 million HIV tests are undertaken annually (excluding those on blood donors), most of which are performed in either GUM clinics or antenatal care services¹.

¹ Health Protection Agency. HIV in the UK 2011 report. November 2011:

www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1317131685847

Further improvement of HIV testing provision is a high public health priority. Comprehensive public health surveillance data show that the HIV epidemic is not evenly spread across the UK. Given this situation it is uncertain whether a universal screening programme which would test the whole population would represent an appropriate response. However the UKNSC is commissioning a review of the evidence for a universal

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screening programme in adults. The Committee hopes to be in a position to consult on the review in early 2015.

HIV Infection: Leeds

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the reasons are for differences in the rate of (a) diagnosed HIV and (b) proportion of late diagnosed HIV in Leeds compared to the national average; and what steps he is taking to address such differences. [188629]

Jane Ellison: Sexual health and HIV testing services are provided through a variety of settings and by a variety of providers including primary care, community and outreach services, and hospital and specialist genitourinary medicine (GUM) services.

Table 1 provides late HIV diagnosis rates (CD4<350 cells/mm³ within three months of HIV diagnosis) among

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adults aged 15 years old or above who lived in Leeds local authority and in England using 2010 - 2012 three year combined data. Late HIV diagnosis rate in Leeds was 48% (95% confidence interval (CI): 45-58%), which is similar to 52% (95%CI: 47-49%) in England.

Table 2 provides diagnosed HIV prevalence rate among individuals aged 15 years old or above who lived in Leeds local authority and in England. British HIV Association testing guidelines recommend expansion of HIV testing policies beyond the routine if the diagnosed HIV prevalence is above 2 per 1,000 population¹. This guideline, “British HIV Association UK national guidelines for HIV testing 2008”, is available at:

www.bhiva.org/documents/Guidelines/Testing/GlinesHIVTest08.pdf

Expanded HIV testing is defined as the routine offer and recommendation of HIV testing in general medical services, e.g. general practice, or the establishment of HIV testing in other settings.

Home Care Services

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if his Department will collect statistics on the number of care visits which are shorter than 15 minutes; [188907]

(2) what guidance his Department provides on the length of time of care visits. [188908]

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to count the number of flying care visits. [188608]

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect data on the detail of home care visits; instead, the focus of data collections is on the outcomes of social care so that we can understand more about how services are affecting people's lives.

There may be some circumstances where short visits are appropriate as part of someone's package of care—for example, care workers calling in to make sure someone has taken their medicine. However, the Government's view is that, in most cases, very short visits for intimate care are incompatible with people's well-being, and we are taking action both legislatively and non-legislatively to address the issue. Commissioning practice needs to move away from overly prescriptive processes which focus only on price and time-slots, to consider how to do things differently and deliver better outcomes and quality care.

The Care Bill, currently before Parliament, will send a clear message to local authorities in Clause 5 that commissioning services without properly considering the impact of those services on an individual's well-being is unacceptable. This will be amplified through statutory and other guidance that will describe the sorts of practice that are and are not acceptable. This guidance is being co-produced with a wide range of stakeholders, including local government and the Care and Support Alliance.

In addition, the Department is actively working with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the Local Government Association (LGA) to develop a set of commissioning standards for local authorities. These will enable local authorities to gauge how effectively they are commissioning in comparison to their peers, and support ADASS and the LGA to promote sector-led continuous improvement in commissioning.

Liver Diseases

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Public Health England will publish the modelling work it has undertaken on the effect of increased treatment on averting the future burden of hepatitis C-related end-stage liver disease. [188690]

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Jane Ellison: The paper "Provision of care for patients with hepatitis C in England: future burden of HCV-related liver disease and impact of treatment under different scenarios" has been provisionally accepted for publication in a peer review journal. A final publication date has not yet been given.

Some preliminary findings were published in the “Hepatitis C in the UK 2013 report”, on page 71 (see also Table 24 on page 86):

www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1317139502302

Medical Records: Databases

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what target he has set of the level of public awareness of care.data before GPs can proceed with the upload of patient data; [188586]

(2) what steps he will take to consult patients and doctors during the six-month delay to the start of care.data; [188685]

(3) what steps he will take over the next six months to improve public awareness of care.data; [188688]

(4) what conditions of public awareness and consent must be met before the care.data extraction of patient data begins. [188729]

Dr Poulter: Discussions are currently being undertaken by NHS England in collaboration with a range of stakeholders including the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners to determine the future level of public engagement.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether funding for care.data is in place for 2014-15 and future financial years. [188587]

Dr Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre is in the process of agreeing the scope of the care.data programme and the associated funding required with NHS England and with other members of the Informatics Services Commissioning Group.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patient data extracted as part of the care.data programme will be made available to countries outside the UK. [188605]

Dr Poulter: There are no plans to make identifiable the data extracted as part of care.data available to countries outside the United Kingdom.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the care.data programme with current human rights legislation. [188606]

Dr Poulter: The care.data programme is based on statutory powers set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 which take forward the ambitions set out in the Government's information strategy for health and care in England—“The power of information” published 2012. The 2012 Act was declared to be compatible with the Human Rights Act.

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Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether hospital records will be made available as part of care.data. [188607]

Dr Poulter: Under the care.data programme, the intention is to link primary care data with Hospital Episode Statistics data. As with other data held by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, no information which identifies or could enable identification of an individual can be released without a legal basis to do so.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under which circumstances (a) the police and (b) the security services will be able to access patient data extracted as part of care.data. [188654]

Dr Poulter: The circumstances by which access to patient data by the police and the security services will remain the same as now. A warrant or a court order would be required before the Health and Social Care Information Centre release any confidential information.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many disclosures of NHS Secondary Uses Service data to non-NHS bodies have taken place in the last five years; [188655]

(2) how many audits of the use of NHS Secondary Uses Service data have been carried out in the last five years. [188656]

Dr Poulter: NHS Secondary Uses Service (SUS) data have been disclosed to the Dr. Foster Unit based at Imperial College London, for the purpose of health research. The legal basis for this flow of data was established by the initial approval and subsequent annual renewal of a Section 251 request to the Ethics and Confidentiality Committee of the former National Information Governance Board. The Dr. Foster Unit at Imperial College has received 60 extracts of data from SUS in the last five years.

SUS data have also been provided, in pseudonymised form, to the Department and the Audit Commission.

There have been six audits within the last five years that have included audit of SUS data.

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, column 464W, on medical records: databases, whether care.data will be used in improving the care given to individual patients or in improving the overall provision of care. [188866]

Dr Poulter: The purpose of care.data is to support a range of uses of data beyond direct care. These uses will support the overall provision of care in terms of services and research into treatments and will benefit both the general population as well as the individual patient.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent written communication he has received from clinicians and healthcare professionals on the introduction of a meningitis B vaccine. [188612]

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Jane Ellison: We received two letters from health care professionals, supporting the introduction of the meningitis B vaccine, Bexsero®. The first letter, which was received in January 2014, had 118 signatories. This letter was resent to the Department in February with an additional 167 signatories.

These letters were sent by the Meningitis Research Foundation.

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether he received advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the introduction of a meningitis B vaccination programme on the NHS following the JCVI meeting of 11 February 2014; [188613]

(2) pursuant to the meeting of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on 11 February 2014 and the report from the Chief Medical Officer “Our Children Deserve Better”, if he will ensure that all children in England have access to a meningitis B vaccine. [188824]

Jane Ellison: We are awaiting final advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) about the use of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero®.

The JCVI is due to report back in March 2014, having reviewed additional evidence at its meeting earlier this month.

We will respond to any JCVI recommendation as quickly as possible.

NHS: Innovation

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the advice given to the Clinical Director for Specialised Services of NHS England by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group and the Direct Commissioned Service Committee on the cancellation of the NHS Innovations budget. [188513]

Jane Ellison: NHS England advise that the decision to suspend the Specialised Services Commissioning Innovation Fund (SSCIF) was made by the executive team. The development of the SSCIF is outside the scope of Clinical Priorities Advisory Group. The executive team formed their decision balancing the issues of deliverability of the scheme alongside a significantly overspending financial position for specialised services.

Pain

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has given to clinical commissioning groups on the number of pain management sessions which should be (a) funded and (b) funded for patients with painful progressive conditions. [188622]

Norman Lamb: NHS England allocates funding to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), who commission health services on behalf of their local population.

It is for local CCGs to decide how to best use the funding allocated to them, underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local health care needs.

The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a range of guidance on pain and

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pain management. This guidance represents evidence-based best practice and provides a clear description of what high-quality health and social care services look like, so that organisations can improve quality and achieve excellence.

The Department expects CCGs to take into account any relevant NICE guidance as they design services to meet the needs of patients.