Palliative Care

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance his Department has issued on the circumstances whereby a Do Not Resuscitate notice may be placed in a patient's file; and if he will make a statement; [188591]

(2) what safeguards exist to protect patients from having Do Not Resuscitate notices placed in their file without their meaningful consent. [188623]

Jane Ellison: The Department published a Health Service Circular to national health service trusts in September 2000 which asked NHS trust chief executives to “ensure that appropriate resuscitation policies which respect patients' rights are in place, understood by all relevant staff, and accessible to those who need them, and that such policies are subject to appropriate audit and monitoring arrangements”. The Circular commended as a basis for local policies the Joint Statement, “Decisions relating to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation”, by the British Medical Association, the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the Royal College of Nursing. The Department reminded chief executives of their responsibility in February 2012.

A decision not to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), like other decisions not to attempt a particular form of medical treatment, does not require the patient's consent. However, as with all clinical decisions, healthcare staff are expected to be able to explain and defend their decisions to their employing authorities and their professional regulatory bodies.

Professional guidance to the medical profession in the Joint Statement and in “Treatment and care towards the end of life: good practice in decision making”, by the General Medical Council, is clear that a decision that CPR should not be attempted must always be made on the basis of an individual assessment of each patient's case, and that communication and the provision of information are essential parts of good quality care. Both documents provide detailed guidance on consultation with the patient and those close to the patient.

Shingles: Vaccination

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to make shingles vaccination available to people between the ages of 70 and 79; and what his planned timetable is for achieving that end. [188698]

Jane Ellison: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that everyone aged 70 to 79 should be offered a shingles vaccine. A universal routine herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination programme for adults aged 70 started in September 2013.

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Vaccine supply for the national health service programme is at present limited, there is only enough vaccine to fully vaccinate two birth cohorts—the routine cohort (those aged 70 on 1 September 2013), and one catch-up cohort (those aged 79 on 1 September 2013). It was agreed the most equitable approach is to vaccinate those aged 79 years this year as they will be too old to be eligible for vaccination in 2014-15 (the efficacy of the vaccine declines after age 80).

This is a progressive programme and all those aged between 70 and 79 will receive the vaccine as part of an annual catch-up programme. In 2014-15 it is planned to vaccinate those aged 78 on 1 September 2014 in an additional catch-up programme. However, how quickly the catch-up programme can be achieved is dependent on the availability of shingles vaccine in coming years, a matter which is being pursued actively by the Department and Public Health England officials.

Vitamin B12

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with NICE on developing new guidelines for diagnosing B12 deficiency including (a) an active B12 test, (b) methylmalonic acid tests and (c) assessment of the clinical picture; and if he will make a statement. [188588]

Norman Lamb: No such discussions have taken place.

NHS England now commissions clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). We are not aware of plans to ask NICE to develop guidance specifically on the diagnosis of B12 deficiency.

Cabinet Office

Debts: Chelmsford

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the average change in the level of household (a) borrowing and (b) debt in Chelmsford constituency between 2008 and 2013. [189437]

Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Caron Walker:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the estimated annual change in the level of household (a) borrowing and (b) debt was between 2008 and 2013 in Chelmsford constituency (189437).

The Office for National Statistics publishes details of the financial liabilities of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) combined. These data are only available at the United Kingdom level and hence data are not available for Chelmsford constituency.

The UK data are published in the UK Economic Accounts for Quarter 3 published on 20th December 2013 which is available at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa1-rd/united-kingdom-economic-accounts/q3-2013/index.html

The most recent analyses on debt can be found in table A64 of this publication The most recent analyses on borrowing can be found in Tables A12 and A 55 of this publication.

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Disability

Andy Sawford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of working age adults are currently registered as disabled in (a) Corby and East Northamptonshire, (b) Northamptonshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England. [189424]

Mr Hurd: The information requested is not held by the Cabinet Office.

Driving: Licensing

George Galloway: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will contact Google management to ask them to remove from Google all unofficial websites asking for money for services provided by DVLA. [189559]

Mr Maude: This Government are already taking action to tackle rogue websites which masquerade as legitimate Government services, exaggerate the nature of the services they provide, or deliberately underplay the services that people can get for free or at a lower cost from official sources. We are working, and will continue to work, with organisations such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB), Which? and search engines, including Google, to raise awareness of this issue and to ensure enforcement action is taken where appropriate.

Misleading websites tend to come to the attention of the public as sponsored advertisements on search engine results pages. The Government Digital Service has been working with Google to identify advertisements which mislead consumers and have therefore breached Google's policies. As a result, Google has recently taken down a series of sponsored adverts.

Ministerial colleagues and I have met with Google to discuss the enforcement of its policies for advertising on its search results pages We are providing it with clear information about Government services so that it can identify and take action against websites that add little or no value to existing online Government services. Google will continue to support us by removing those misleading adverts and by closing the accounts of repeat offenders.

Members of the public can report misleading websites at:

www.gov.uk

from where they can make a complaint to Google and other search engines.

Prostate Cancer

Paul Burstow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the trend in prostate cancer (a) one-year, (b) two-year and (c) five-year survival rates over the last 20 years; and if he will make a statement. [189608]

Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2014:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment has been made of the trend in prostate cancer (a) one-year, (b) two-year and (c) five-year survival rates over the last 20 years [189608].

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ONS publishes one and five-year cancer survival estimates for England, for a range of cancers including prostate cancer. Two-year cancer survival estimates are not available.

The latest estimates available are for people diagnosed in 2007-2011 and followed up to 2012, These are provided in Table 1, with figures for each preceding period back to 1998-2001, with follow-up to 2003.

Although prostate cancer survival estimates prior to the period 1998-2001 are available, these are not in a consistent time series so have not been included in Table 1.

The latest published figures on cancer survival in England are available on the National Statistics website at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/cancer-unit/cancer-survival/index.html

The Scottish Cancer Registry produces statistics on cancer in Scotland. Statistics on cancer in Wales are produced by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit. The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry produces statistics on cancer in Northern Ireland.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many deaths from prostate cancer there were in each (a) Government office region and (b) age group in each year since 1997; [189613]

(2) what the standardised mortality rate from prostate cancer was in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) Government office region and (b) parliamentary constituency. [189609]

Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Glen Watson:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office:

1. How many deaths from prostate cancer there were in each (a) Government Office region and (b) age group, in each year since 1997. [189613]

2. What the standardised mortality rate from prostate cancer was in each year from 1997, broken down by (a) Government Office region and (b) parliamentary constituency. [189609]

Table 1 provides the number of deaths where prostate cancer was the underlying cause of death, for each region in England, for deaths registered between 1997 and 2012 (the latest year available).

Table 2 provides the age standardised mortality rate where prostate cancer was the underlying cause of death, for each region in England, for deaths registered between 1997 and 2012 (the latest year available).

Copies of tables 1 and 2 have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Age standardised mortality rates for prostate cancer for each year from 1997 by parliamentary constituency have not been provided. This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

International Development

Developing Countries: Abortion

Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, columns 467-68W, on developing countries: abortion, whether the humanitarian principles observed by UK-funded organisations permit the procurement of abortions which are unlawful in the jurisdiction in which the aid is being

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given; and whether UN Security Council Resolution 2122(2013) imposes additional obligations in any other relevant respect. [188734]

Lynne Featherstone: Humanitarian principals require that organisations provide aid according to need and need alone. Provision of safe abortion services using UK development aid must be in line with the UK's policy position on safe and unsafe abortion. UKAID cannot be used to procure illegal services. UN Security Council Resolution 2122(2013) does not impose any additional obligations in this respect.

Developing Countries: Disability

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what mechanisms her Department has in place to assess and demonstrate the impact of the ENABLE programme on poverty reduction. [189367]

Justine Greening: All DFID programmes include monitoring arrangements to continually assess effectiveness and impact. The Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for a Better Business Environment (ENABLE) programme has been independently reviewed each year since the programme started.

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many publications her 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. [188884]

Mr Duncan: In the last year two publications have been produced. While the cost associated with productions has been recorded for previous years it is not possible to supply the exact number of publications as the staff responsible for their production and delivery are no longer in place.

The costs of doing so are published as follows:

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Palestinians

Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure UK aid to Palestinian social assistance programmes is not used to compensate convicted terrorists. [188635]

Mr Duncan: DFID's financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is subject to rigorous scrutiny. We have a number of safeguards in place to ensure our money is spent as intended and we keep these under constant review. These include extensive precautions to ensure that UK money does not support Hamas or other terrorist organisations either directly or indirectly, in compliance with UK and EU legislation on terrorist financing. UK funding to the Palestinian Authority is only used to pay civil servant salaries, and only named civil servants from a pre-approved list are eligible. The process is independently audited, which ensures we know exactly where and how our money is being spent.

Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the role of UK aid to Palestine in encouraging a climate conducive to achieving a peaceful resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. [188636]

Mr Duncan: UK aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories supports the UK Government's objectives for a successful middle east peace process by helping to build Palestinian institutions and promoting economic growth, so that any future state will be stable, prosperous, well-run, and an effective partner for peace with Israel. Aid to the Palestinian Authority is helping to build credible and viable institutions as the basis of any future state. The Government firmly support the current efforts of US Secretary Kerry and welcome the leadership shown by Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas. We continue to call on both parties to take the bold steps needed to allow US efforts to succeed, with the ongoing support of EU and Arab states, and the wider international community.

Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Government give annually in aid directly to the Palestinian authority; and how her Department audits how such money is spent. [188637]

Mr Duncan: DFID's Operational Plan committed £122 million from 2011 to 2015 in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The UK made an additional contribution of £7.5 million in 2013. Our financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority is provided through the World Bank Palestinian Reform and Development Plan Trust Fund, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure and only transfers UK money to the PA during the year if the agreed reform plan is on track. The PA also publishes information on its expenditure, which we monitor. Independent audits of the use of DFID's funding by the PA are carried out every six months to provide an additional level of verification that the money has been used for the intended purposes.

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what provisions are in place to prevent water contamination and provide access to drinking water in Gaza. [188691]

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Mr Duncan: The UK recently agreed to provide a further £10 million of support to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which includes providing access to clean water for over 60,000 people, including through building wastewater plants in Gaza. We also work closely with the UN, EU and others to monitor and assess humanitarian needs in Gaza, including access to drinking water. Discussions are ongoing regarding the construction of a desalination plant, the viability of which will be determined by the availability of a sustainable power supply.

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the availability of fresh drinking water for Palestinians in Gaza. [188694]

Mr Duncan: The Government are concerned about the availability of fresh drinking water for Palestinians in Gaza. According to the UN, over 90% of the water from the Gaza aquifer is unsafe for human consumption without treatment, and the coastal aquifer is set to become too polluted for use by 2016. Access to water is affected by a lack of rainfall, inadequate infrastructure, movement and access restrictions, and the inequitable distribution of water resources with Israel.

Uganda

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with civil society groups in Uganda on new laws on homosexuality in that country. [189364]

Justine Greening: FCO and DFID Ministers and Officials have had discussion with a wide range of civil society organisations, human rights defenders and LGBT groups, including Sexual Minority Rights Uganda.

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with the Ugandan Government on new laws on homosexuality in that country. [189368]

Justine Greening: Both DFID and FCO Ministers and officials have met regularly with representatives of the Government of Uganda, including the Prime Minister, senior Ugandan Ministers and officials, to raise serious concerns on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Treasury

Equality

Mr Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 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. [188889]

Mr Gauke: No costs have been incurred for publications monitoring or prompting staff equality and diversity in the last five years. The Treasury publishes data on its equality schemes on the Treasury website.

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Excise Duties

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of how much the average UK consumer pays each year in (a) fuel duty, (b) alcohol excise duties and (c) tobacco duties. [188539]

Mr Leech: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the average person pays each year in (a) fuel duty and (b) alcohol excise duty; and if he will make a statement. [188652]

Nicky Morgan: Estimates can be made of the duty paid by the average UK consumer each year by comparing HMRC published tax receipts with ONS published estimates of the adult population. The following table uses this method to estimate the payment of each duty requested per adult in 2012-13:

Financial Services

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the Financial Conduct Authority to publish rules relating to peer-to-peer lending. [189388]

Sajid Javid: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consulted on draft rules for the peer-to-peer lending and crowd-funding sectors in autumn 2013 and will issue a policy statement shortly.

Income Tax

Mr Lammy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax was paid on residential rental income in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 in (i) the UK and (ii) Greater London. [188537]

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Sajid Javid: The information requested is not available. It is not possible to distinguish rental income from residential property from other property income. In addition, both income tax and corporation tax aggregate many types of income and deductions. Consequently this does not generally allow a direct, accurate attribution of any tax arising to specific income sources.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Steve Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will meet with representatives of the Motorcycle Action Group and the British Motorcyclists Federation to consider the potential benefits of re-evaluating vehicle excise duty in the context of the Government's environmental targets. [188406]

Nicky Morgan: Treasury Ministers and officials receive a wide variety of representations from organisations in both the public and private sectors and welcome stakeholders' views as part of the annual Budget representations process. Guidance to submitting Budget representations is available online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-representations-guidance

Taxation: Banks

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a one-off levy on bonuses given to investment bankers in 2014 to help fund measures needed to assist flood victims. [188410]

Sajid Javid: The Government are doing everything they can to support those affected by flooding, and have announced a package of measures to support affected homes and businesses. Further detail of the package of measures can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-floods-2014-government-response

These measures are funded from general taxation, including of financial services activity. A bank levy is already in place, and it is currently forecast to raise £2.7 billion in 2014-15 and £2.9 billion a year thereafter.