4 Mar 2014 : Column 750W

Building Societies

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to creating opportunities for the establishment of new building societies. [189384]

Sajid Javid: There is no legal barrier to the establishment of new building societies, who are free to make an application to the regulatory authorities.

The nature of building societies as member-owned financial institutions means that they require a substantial amount of capital to be formed, but those who provide that capital cannot be given ownership or voting rights. This may have contributed to the fact that there have not been any new building societies established since 1981.

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish proposals for consultation on bail-in orders in relation to building societies. [189389]

Sajid Javid: The Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013 added the bail-in stabilisation option to the Banking Act 2009. Section 17 of the 2013 Act grants the Treasury the power to make an order, making provision to facilitate the exercise of the bail-in powers in relation to a failing building society.

The Government said it would consult on this order, and a consultation will be published in due course.

Employee Benefit Trusts

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what resources HM Revenue and Customs has allocated to the Employee Shareholder Scheme since it was announced. [189347]

Mr Gauke: It is not possible to disaggregate the resource applied to this work from other tax policy or administration work.

Financial Services

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) peer-to-peer lending and (b) crowdfunding platforms on the availability of finance for small to medium-sized enterprises; [189378]

(2) what estimate he has made of the amount of investment in small and medium-sized enterprises which has come from (a) peer-to-peer lending and (b) crowdfunding platforms in each of the last three years. [189381]

Sajid Javid: Crowdfunding and peer to peer lending are innovative new forms of finance that support competition in the business lending sector. The Government has taken a number of steps to support their growth.

The Government has not made any assessment of the amount of investment in SMEs from peer to peer lending and crowdfunding platforms.

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has had with (a) peer-to-peer lenders and (b) crowdfunding platforms on the development of simpler products for potential investors. [189380]

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Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations as part of the usual policy making process.

The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations. This is available online at:

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with representatives of EU institutions on the cross-border implications of peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding platforms. [189383]

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations as part of the usual policy making process.

The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations. This is available online at:

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ensure that legislation is in place to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to attract funding from peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding platforms. [189385]

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

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will propose changes to the taxation regime for individuals who wish to invest in peer-to-peer and crowdfunding schemes; and if he will make a statement. [189390]

Sajid Javid: The Chancellor keeps all decisions relating to taxation under review.

Financial Services: Taxation

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with campaigners for a financial transaction tax; how many times he has met such campaigners since May 2010; and how many times he has met with representatives from the financial sector to discuss this issue in that time. [190016]

Mr Gauke: Treasury Ministers regularly meet with various stakeholders as part of normal Government business. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.

Details of ministerial and Permanent Secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in other European countries on the introduction of a financial transaction tax. [190017]

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Mr Gauke: The Chancellor and other Treasury Ministers have had various conversations about the financial transaction tax with their counterparts in other European countries since the proposal was published.

Fuel: Tax Evasion

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people were (a) arrested, (b) convicted and (c) received custodial sentences in the UK for offences relating to fuel fraud in each of the last 10 years; [183458]

(2) how many people have received custodial sentences for fuel laundering in (a) Great Britain and (b) Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years. [183459]

Nicky Morgan: Figures are available only for years from 2010-11 (arrests) and 2011-12 (convictions and sentencing). The number of people arrested, convicted and sentenced to custodial sentences is as follows:

This data relates to the total number of oils related offences recorded by Criminal Investigation, they are not subdivided into specific regimes.

HMRC fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. HMRC has also recently announced the selection of a new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.

HMRC uses several avenues to tackle fraud: criminal prosecution, civil action (such as seizing fuel or pumps) civil penalties and strong regulatory controls.

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total value of assets seized in Northern Ireland by HM Revenue and Customs as a result of fuel fraud offences in each of the last 10 years is. [183461]

Nicky Morgan: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold or collate this information. They seize a variety of different assets in their disruption of the supply of illicit fuel including plant, equipment and chemicals used to launder marked fuel. It is not possible to put a monetary value on such equipment and, therefore, a figure for the total value of assets seized cannot be provided.

HMRC fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to the raiding of laundering plants. They have also

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recently announced the selection of a new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.

HMRC uses several avenues to tackle fraud: criminal prosecution, civil action (such as seizing fuel or pumps), civil penalties and strong regulatory controls.

Housing: Sales

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what capital receipts have accrued to the Exchequer from the sale of UK housing in each year since 1984. [189551]

Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

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

Letter from Caron Walker, dated March 2014:

In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what capital receipts have accrued to the Exchequer from the sale of UK housing in each year since 1984. (189551)

The table provides the local government receipts from the sales of gross fixed capital related to housing for England, Wales and Scotland. These data are only available from 1997 onwards. Data for housing sales are not available for Northern Ireland.

Income Tax and National Insurance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has any sources other than PAYE RTI data for its estimates of employers' liability to income tax and national insurance. [189432]

Mr Gauke: HMRC uses PAYE payments information from the Enterprise Tax Management Platform (ETMP) to estimate employers' overall liabilities for PAYE income tax and class 1 national insurance contributions. The

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ETMP system was introduced as part of the Department's Real Time Information (RTI) Programme. Apart from ETMP and RTI, the Department has no other ongoing sources of information on PAYE payments or liabilities.

JD Wetherspoon

Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many meetings there have been between (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department and representatives of JD Wetherspoon plc in the last two years. [189777]

Nicky Morgan: Treasury ministers and officials routinely meet with a wide range of stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Details of ministerial and Permanent Secretary meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Legal Costs

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) cost and (b) purpose was of legal (i) representation and (ii) advice sought by his Department and its agencies in each year since May 2010. [187801]

Nicky Morgan: The table details the Department's spend on internal and external legal costs incurred for legal representation and advice provided to HM Treasury for the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013 to 31 January 2014. The Department's financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March.

It is not possible, without separately analysing each invoice, to confirm whether all the Department's legal spend is captured in these figures. To do this would take the cost of responding to the question over the disproportionate cost threshold.

These figures include but are not limited to the case management services provided by the Treasury Solicitor's Department and external legal advice and representation provided by solicitors and barristers. It is not possible to provide a more detailed breakdown of the fees without exceeding the disproportionate cost threshold. The figures represent actual cost to the Department and therefore only include VAT to the extent such VAT is irrecoverable.

The Department's records of legal spend do not separate legal representation and legal advice. Disaggregating the data would take the cost of responding to the question over the disproportionate cost threshold.

Our records of legal spend do not contain details of the purpose of each item of legal spend. Each invoice would have to be separately analysed to establish the matter concerned and then further analysed to establish the purpose. This would take the cost of responding to the question over the disproportionate cost threshold.

The Executive Agencies accounted for within the figures are the Asset Protection Agency for the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 and the Debt Management Office. The Asset Protection Agency ceased to be an. Executive Agency in October 2012.

The Divisions of the Department accounted for within these figures are:

UK Financial Investments (UKFI);

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Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR);

Office of Tax Simplification (OTS);

Infrastructure UK (IUK);

Government Actuaries Department (GAD); and

National Savings and Investments (NS&I).

The following points should be noted:

It is not possible to disaggregate costs further without incurring considerable costs in retrieval and analysis of individual invoices which make up these figures, and which are held in remote storage.

These figures include fees paid to external law firms for the purpose of debt collection. Disaggregating these fees will incur considerable costs.

Legal representation and advice incurred by GAD and NS&I only include costs paid to the Treasury Solicitor's Department. The Department has not been able to obtain any additional information on costs for legal representation and advice incurred by GAD and NS&I at the time of answering this question.

Maternity Pay

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department. [189091]

Nicky Morgan: There are two maternity pay schemes at Treasury, which employees may have an entitlement to depending upon their length of service and whether they intend to return to work. These are:

Treasury maternity pay scheme (known as contractual maternity pay) where the first 26 weeks of maternity leave (OML) is paid at the normal full salary rate (calculated as the average of earnings in the eight weeks leading up to the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth). This is followed by 13 weeks of statutory maternity pay (SMP) and 13 weeks of nil pay.

Statutory maternity pay scheme (SMP) where the first six weeks of maternity leave is paid at 90% of the normal full salary rate (known as higher rate SMP) followed by 33 weeks of a lower rate of statutory maternity pay. The remaining 13 weeks is not paid.

National Insurance

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the costs that would be incurred by renaming national insurance as earnings tax. [189863]

Mr Gauke: The Government does not speculate on tax policy ahead of Budgets, although all taxes are kept under review.

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the total PAYE (income tax and national insurance) receipts were in each of the tax periods (a) November 2012 to January 2013 and (b) November 2013 to January 2014; [189565]

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(2) what total employer liability for PAYE (income tax and national insurance) was reported by HM Revenue and Customs' PAYE RTI system for the three full tax months between November 2013 and January 2014. [189566]

Mr Gauke: Total receipts of PAYE income tax and class 1 national insurance contributions for the periods requested are shown in the following table:

Overall liability estimates for PAYE income tax and class 1 national insurance contributions for the period requested are as follows:

Note that these figures (for liabilities in particular) are provisional and subject to revision.

Procurement

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's 10 largest contracts let since the financial year 2010-11 are; what savings have been made in such contracts; what the level of overspend or underspend was in each such contract; and what steps his Department has taken to monitor the performance of each such contract following the contract award. [183962]

Nicky Morgan: The Government are committed to openness and transparency to enable the public to hold the Government and other public bodies to account. This Government have made more data available than ever before. Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the tenders issued and contracts they award with a value over £10,000 (excluding VAT):

www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

In addition, Departments including HM Treasury routinely publish details of transactions over £25,000.

There is a senior responsible officer for each major contract. They are responsible for monitoring the delivery against the contractual agreement. They are supported by a contract manager, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the contract. Financial support for the contract manager is provided by a representative of the Finance team and expert commercial support is provided by the Crown Commercial Service, and full guidance is available.

Public Finance

Mr Jeremy Browne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government deficit was, expressed in monetary terms including forecast projections into future years, in each year since 1990. [184800]

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Nicky Morgan: According to the latest public sector finances statistical bulletin:

Public sector net borrowing excluding the impact of large one-off transfers for Royal Mail pension assets and the Asset Purchase Facility (PSNBex (ex RM and APF)), was £5.8 billion in 1990-91 but rose to £157.3 billion in 2009-10. As a result of action by this Government net borrowing has fallen in each year since May 2010 and stood at £114.9 billion in 2012-13, the last full year for which information is available.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing the official economic and fiscal forecasts in the UK on which fiscal policy is based. According to OBR's December 2013 Economic and fiscal outlook, PSNBex (ex RM and APF) is forecast to fall in each year of the forecast period reaching a £2.2 billion surplus by 2018-19. The OBR forecasts are available here:

http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/pubs/December-2013-EFO-Charts-and-Tables2.xls

Steve McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in which months the Exchequer (a) was and (b) was not in surplus in each of the last 36 months. [189502]

Nicky Morgan: This answer assumes the hon. Member is asking about Public Finances.

The Public Sector Finances Statistical Bulletin, published monthly by the Office for National Statistics and HM Treasury, provides a detailed statistical view of public sector finances, for example for January 2014 at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/psa/public-sector-finances/january-2014/stb---january-2014.html

Railways: Floods

Mary Creagh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the economy of (a) the UK and (b) the South West of the track disruption caused by flooding in 2014. [188547]

Stephen Hammond: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Transport.

It is too early to assess the impact on either the UK or SW economies. This will be done as part of the post emergency review which government has already announced. Studies being undertaken by Network Rail to consider long term options to ensure rail services to SW England can be sustained will also include an economic assessment.

Rent a Room Scheme

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the likely cost to the public purse of raising the Rent a Room Scheme tax-free threshold from £4,250 a year to £7,500. [189462]

Mr Gauke: The Government have made no such assessment but keeps all tax policies under review.

Self-Employed People

Julie Elliott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average income of self-employed (a) men and (b) women is in each region. [188556]

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Mr Gauke: The information requested is in the following table.

These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2011-12 which is the latest year for which outturn data are available.

Tax Allowances: Video Games

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the potential benefits of providing tax relief to the video games sector. [189890]

Mr Gauke: The Government announced a new tax relief for video games at Budget 2012, subject to state aid approval.

This relief will allow eligible companies to claim a payable tax credit worth 25% of qualifying production costs. As set out in the impact assessment, this relief is expected to cost around £25 million per year and there are approximately 300 video games companies in the UK that may benefit. The impact assessment can be found at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tiin/2012/tiin2060.pdf

There are significant games clusters all around the UK including in Brighton, Guildford, London, Oxford, Cambridge, Leamington Spa, Manchester, Newcastle and Dundee. In addition, many games development studios in the UK are new, micro or SME businesses.

Taxation: Bermuda

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that Bermuda receives public recognition and credit for its open and honest compliance with his Department's request for taxation transparency and reform. [189951]

Mr Gauke: All of the UK's Crown dependencies and overseas territories with financial centres have taken significant steps forward on tax transparency putting them at the forefront of this agenda globally. This has been publicly recognised by the Government. In addition to signing agreements with the UK for the automatic exchange of tax information, they have also agreed to be early adopters of the new global standard for automatic exchange, recently endorsed by the G20 at its meeting of 22 February in Sydney.

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Meeting a commitment made during the UK's G8 presidency all of the Crown dependencies and overseas territories have also had extended, or are in the process of obtaining extension of the UK's signature of the multilateral convention on mutual assistance in tax matters. They have also published action plans on beneficial ownership, setting out the concrete steps they will take to ensure greater clarity about who really owns, controls, and benefits from companies and legal arrangements in their jurisdictions. We will continue to work closely with the Crown dependencies and overseas territories and will continue to press other financial centres to match the steps they have taken.

Taxation: Bingo

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2014, Official Report, column 599W, on taxation: bingo, if he will undertake a specific review of the bingo duty rate. [189973]

Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer he mentions, on 15 January 2014, Official Report, column 599W.

The Government keep all taxes, including bingo duty, under review.

VAT: Sixth Form Colleges

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans his Department has to review the position of sixth form colleges in relation to VAT paid on purchases. [189573]

Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy), on 17 December 2013, Official Report, column 208WH.

Working Tax Credit

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, column 441W, on working tax credit, what estimate he has made of the number of children who were living with couples who worked 16 to 24 hours per week who were eligible for child tax credit but were not eligible for working tax credit on 2 December 2013. [189353]

Nicky Morgan: The number of children in families where a couple are working 16 to 24 hours who are eligible for child tax credit (CTC) but are not eligible for working tax credit (WTC) as at 2 December 2013 is around 80,000. This figure relates to the snapshot position of families at this time.

In addition there are around 20,000 children in families where a couple are working 16 to 24 hours and are eligible for CTC who have lost WTC eligibility but whose income was high enough that the WTC element of their award was fully tapered away, so they were only in receipt of the child tax credit (CTC) element.

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Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what organisations have applied to his Department for funding to improve voter registration. [189460]

Greg Clark: A range of voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations have applied for funding to deliver activities to improve voter registration.

On 5 February 2014, the Government announced that five national organisations and all 363 local authorities and Valuation Joint Boards in Great Britain will be sharing £4.2 million funding aimed at ensuring everyone in the country is signed up to the electoral register and has their chance to vote.

Further details of the successful organisations can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-for-new-ways-to-encourage-voter-registration

Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2013, Official Report, column 971W, on Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, when he intends to lay an Order before Parliament under paragraph 28 of schedule 5 to the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013. [189418]

Greg Clark: It is for the next Government to decide whether to complete the transition to individual electoral registration in December 2015 or December 2016. To conclude the transition in December 2015, the Order must be laid before Parliament between 1 June and 31 August 2015.

Energy and Climate Change

Eggborough Power Station

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will hold a consultation with (a) individuals and (b) groups on the biomass conversion project at Eggborough power station. [189519]

Michael Fallon: Any decisions to convert to biomass are a matter for Eggborough Power Ltd. The Government do not conduct consultations regarding private companies.

Energy: Conservation

Mr Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what sanctions his Department applies to energy companies which fail to comply with their targets for spending on energy conservation schemes. [189822]

Gregory Barker: Energy efficiency targets for companies under the current energy company obligation (ECO), and previous related schemes, are set in terms of carbon reduction outcomes rather than financial expenditure.

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Enforcement of these targets, and any penalties levied in the event of non-compliance, are a matter for the regulator, Ofgem.

Energy: Consumption

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the average consumption of energy for hot water and heating of a (a) two bedroom terrace house, (b) three bedroom semi-detached house and (c) four bedroom detached house. [189653]

Gregory Barker: The average consumption of energy for hot water and space heating in 2012 was 15,377 kWh per household within the UK.

Average consumption figures have been derived from dividing total consumption for hot water and heating figures (from Table 3.05 of Energy Consumption in the UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-consumption-in-the-uk

by the number of estimated households (Table 401:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-household-projections

(Department for Communities and Local Government)).

These figures are not available by type of household.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 575W, on energy: prices, what estimate his Department has made of the average yearly difference in prices between fixed price and standard variable tariffs for domestic consumers. [188843]

Michael Fallon: There are a range of fixed price tariffs on offer to domestic customers. Short term deals tend to be cheaper than current standard variable tariffs, whilst longer term fixed deals tend to be more expensive. This is because supply companies take a view on how much prices will go up by in the future; It is up to individual consumers to decide if a fixed deal is better value for them.

Green Deal Scheme

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Green Deal assessments were carried out through (a) the Carbon Emission Reductions Obligation, (b) the Carbon Savings Community Obligation, (c) the Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation and (d) the Green Deal cashback scheme in 2013. [189924]

Gregory Barker: Provisional figures reported by energy suppliers to Ofgem show that, up to the end of September 2013, there were 13,500 Green Deal Assessments that resulted in the installation of Carbon Emission Reductions Obligation measures and 13,700 Green Deal Assessments that resulted in the installation of Carbon Savings Community Obligation measures. These figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and exclude a small number of properties where it is unknown whether an Assessment

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was used. Green Deal Assessments do not feature in the regulations relating to the Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation.

The number of Cashback vouchers issued and paid is published in Table 4 of the monthly Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) Official Statistics release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-monthly-statistics-february-2014

Virtually all households applying for Cashback vouchers will have had a Green Deal Assessment.

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Green Deal assessments were carried out by local authorities in 2013. [189925]

Gregory Barker: The provisional number of Green Deal Assessments delivered through the Pioneer Places project, a DECC-funded Local Authority scheme, in 2013 was published in Table 1.7 of the latest quarterly Official Statistics release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-energy-company-obligation-eco-and-insulation-levels-in-great-britain-quarterly-report-to-september-2013

These estimates will be revised in the next quarterly release, which is planned for publication on 20 March 2014.

The Department does not hold any further information on the number of Green Deal Assessments carried out through other local authority schemes. However, my Department published information on all assessments that have taken place in each local authority up to the end of September 2013 in Table 1.6a of the latest quarterly Official Statistics release.

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Green Deal assessments were paid for by private individuals in 2013. [189928]

Gregory Barker: DECC collects information on whether households pay for an assessment through research. Findings from the research suggest that 10% of assessments up to the end of September 2013 (the period the research covered) have been paid for in full by households and a further two per cent paying partially.

Members: Correspondence

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he will reply to the letter sent to him in February 2014 by the hon. Member for Broxbourne on behalf of the Procedure Committee on a parliamentary question from the right hon. Member for Don Valley on the introduction of a ring-fence between the generation and retail arms of vertically integrated energy companies. [189887]

Gregory Barker: I would like to apologise on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change for the delay in replying to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has since responded to this letter on 27 February 2014.

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Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he will reply to the letter sent to him on 29 January 2014 by the right hon. Member for Don Valley on the introduction of a ring-fence between generation and retail within vertically integrated energy companies. [189895]

Gregory Barker: I would like to apologise on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change for the delay in replying to the right hon. Member. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has since responded to this letter on 27 February 2014.

Renewable Energy

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he will announce his plans for the introduction of competitive auctions for renewable subsidies. [189689]

Gregory Barker: The Department recently launched a consultation on our approach to competitive allocation under Contracts for Difference. The consultation included a proposal to introduce competition for at least those technologies considered by Government to be more established from the commencement of allocation in October 2014. The consultation closed on 12 February 2014 and we are currently carefully considering the responses before confirming our policy position in early April 2014.

Renewables Obligation

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) when his Department will next review Renewables Obligation scheme banding levels under the Energy Act 2008; and when the outcome of this review will be published; [189624]

(2) whether there will be a reduction for further subsidies for onshore wind. [189814]

Michael Fallon: There is no further comprehensive banding review planned for the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme before it closes to new generation on 31 March 2017. Support for large-scale onshore wind generating stations was reduced by 10% from 1 April 2013 following the last comprehensive review of RO banded support. This review, which reported in July 2012, set support rates for 2013-17. UK onshore wind costs were further examined during the call for evidence on onshore wind. The results were published on 6 June 2013¹ and confirmed that RO support for onshore wind would be maintained at the levels set through the banding review.

Later this year, we will be introducing a new support mechanism—Contracts for Difference (CFD)—designed to support new investment in low carbon energy. Under the CFD, it is our intention that established technologies (such as onshore wind) will have to compete on price in an auction in order to secure a contract for support. This means that only the most cost-effective projects will be built and will represent better value for money

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for bill-payers, while continuing to deliver the investment we need in secure, low-carbon electricity generation.

¹https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/onshore-wind-call-for-evidence

Wind Power

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much carbon dioxide was emitted from backup technologies for wind turbines in the last year for which data are available. [189688]

Michael Fallon: When unexpected events occur such as generator faults or excessive demand, the electricity system operator requires either additional generation to run as back up, or a reduction in electricity demand to ensure the system remains balanced. Such generation is commonly referred to as “reserve”. Electricity generated from wind at a given time is one variable currently managed as part of the demand supply balance among others. The system operator procures reserve services commercially, as part of balancing services. DECC does not hold data on energy produced from reserve services which is part of commercial arrangements the system operator has with providers.

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the net emissions reductions resulting from (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind has been in the last three years; and what such figures are including in the carbon footprint of (i) construction, (ii) backup technologies and (iii) connection to the grid of such turbines. [189691]

Michael Fallon: The following table gives emissions reductions (million tonnes of carbon dioxide avoided) from onshore and offshore wind in 2010 to 2012. Data for 2013 are not yet available—provisional figures for 2013 will be available on 31 July 2014.

This is calculated as generation from onshore and offshore wind, multiplied by carbon dioxide emissions per GWh of electricity supplied from all fossil fuels. As with the data gathered for all power generation technology, it does not include emissions from construction or grid connection.

Onshore wind power has a very small carbon footprint range relative to other energy generation technologies: between 8 and 20g CO2eq/kWh, taking into account emissions incurred during the manufacture, construction and decommissioning phases. The average emissions from fossil-fuelled power generation in the UK is around 700gCO2/kWh.

Back-up generation—including generation from gas, coal or biomass—is sometimes required to balance intermittent renewable generators as well as to cover demand spikes and other station outage. DECC has not estimated the gas turbine energy contribution (and therefore related CO2 emissions) to manage wind variability specifically, due to complex inter-dependencies of the power system operational parameters.¹

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¹ Estimates of wind generation and CCGT emissions are taken from scenarios modelled for the Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan. Please see:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-market-reform-delivery-plan

A range is given based on the range of generation estimates for onshore and offshore wind in the modelled scenarios. Estimates for onshore wind include both large and small scale.

Sources:

1. Onshore and offshore wind generation, from table DUKES 6.4, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-sources-of-energy-chapter-6-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

2. Carbon dioxide emissions (tonnes per GWh) for fossil fuel mix, from table DUKES 5C, at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-chapter-5-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department's calculation that 6.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were avoided in the UK in 2011 by onshore wind alone includes emissions from construction of turbines and backup technologies. [189817]

Michael Fallon: The figures referred to are calculated as generation from onshore wind, multiplied by carbon dioxide emissions per GWh of electricity supplied from all fossil fuels. The quoted 6.3 million tonnes figure in 2011 has been revised to 6.4 million tonnes. As with the data gathered for all power generation technology, it does not include emissions from construction or grid connection.

Onshore wind power has a very small carbon footprint range relative to other energy generation technologies: between 8 and 20g CO2eq/kWh, taking into account

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emissions incurred during the manufacture, construction and decommissioning phases. The average emissions from fossil-fuelled power generation in the UK is around 700gCO2/kWh.

Back-up generation—including generation from gas, coal or biomass—is sometimes required to balance intermittent renewable generators as well as to cover demand spikes and other station outage. DECC has not estimated the gas turbine energy contribution (and therefore related CO2 emissions) to manage wind variability specifically, due to complex inter-dependencies of the power system operational parameters.¹

¹ Estimates of wind generation and CCGT emissions are taken from scenarios modelled for the Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan. Please see:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-market-reform-delivery-plan

A range is given based on the range of generation estimates for onshore and offshore wind in the modelled scenarios. Estimates for onshore wind include both large and small scale.

Health

Abortion

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ground E abortions were diagnosed by (a) amniocentesis, (b) ultrasound, (c) chronic villus sampling and (d) other diagnostic tests in each of the last 10 years; what other methods of diagnosis were listed under other; and how many such diagnoses which did not result in abortion were recorded in the same period. [188483]

Jane Ellison: The information held by the Department is in the table.

Ground E covers a range of conditions, and one or more of the diagnostic methods specified in the question are likely to have been used in all pregnancies involving these conditions over the time period regardless of the outcome of the pregnancy.

Accident and Emergency Departments: West Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the spending on locum doctors was in accident and emergency at the (a) Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath and (b) Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton in each year since 2005; and if he will make a statement. [189894]

Dr Poulter: I hope my right hon. Friend will appreciate that this information is not collected centrally. Both

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hospitals are run by the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and my right hon. Friend may wish to approach the Trust directly for this information.

Autism

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that specialist autism training for community care assessors is addressed in the guidance and regulations arising from the Care Bill. [189327]

Norman Lamb: The Government is committed to ensuring that care and support assessments are carried out by assessors with suitable knowledge and training. The Care Bill will require local authorities to ensure assessments are carried out in an appropriate manner, which will require local authorities to ensure staff are appropriately trained. Regulations will place a duty on local authorities to ensure that any person carrying out an assessment has the skills, knowledge and competence to carry out the assessment in question and that this is maintained. In addition, local authorities will be required to consult an expert in the individual's condition in cases where the assessor lacks experience. These requirements will apply to assessors who carry out assessments for people with autism, and this will be set out in the statutory guidance that will support the implementation of the Bill.

These legal requirements build on the existing guidance around autism, 'Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives' which states that assessments should be carried out by trained practitioners.

Cancer

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specialist services are currently available in hospitals to support patients diagnosed with cancers of unknown origin; and what plans he has to change the mandated minimum provision of such services. [189302]

Jane Ellison: In July 2010, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published the clinical guideline, “Metastatic malignant disease of unknown primary origin: Diagnosis and management of metastatic malignant disease of unknown primary origin”. This guidance set out best practice on care treatment and support of patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP).

On the matter of support provided to patients, the guidance sets out that every hospital with a cancer centre or unit should establish a CUP team, in which a designated CUP specialist nurse or key worker should ensure that the patient and their carers can receive information, advice and support about diagnosis, treatment, palliative care, spiritual and psychosocial concerns

CUP services are subject to assessment and assurance through the National Peer Review programme (NPRP) which provides quality assurance for cancer services. Assessment of compliance is made against clearly defined measures. More information on the NPRP and CUP measures can be found at the following link:

www.cquins.nhs.uk/?menu=resources

Finally, NHS England would expect that the treatment and care for patients with CUP reflects patients' needs and preferences and that services take into account the relevant NICE guidelines.

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Cancer: Drugs

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department has discussed with NHS England the operation of the Cancer Drugs Fund in the last six months; what the content of those discussions was; and if he will make a statement. [189571]

Norman Lamb: Departmental officials have frequent discussions with NHS England on a range of issues relating to the management of the Cancer Drugs Fund, including NHS England's financial projections for expenditure against the Cancer Drugs Fund in 2013-14 and operation of the fund in future years.

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the forecast outturn expenditure on the Cancer Drugs Fund is in 2013-14 across the year as a whole; and if he will make a statement. [189572]

Norman Lamb: NHS England has published on its website a summary financial report for the Cancer Drugs Fund as at the end of December 2013. The report forecasts national end of year spend for 2013-14 of £240 million.

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have gained access to the Cancer Drugs Fund in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14 to date. [189665]

Norman Lamb: The information requested is included in the following table:

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure of the Cancer Drugs Fund was in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13. [189994]

Norman Lamb: Information on spend by strategic health authorities under the interim cancer drugs funding arrangements in 2010-11 (from October 2010 to the end of March 2011) and under the Cancer Drugs Fund (from April 2011 to the end of March 2013) is shown in the following table:

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Clostridium

Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the clostridium-difficile targets for all hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups will be published by the NHS Commissioning Board; and how his Department will enforce such targets. [189306]

Dr Poulter: We understand that NHS England plans to publish Clostridium difficile objectives for national health service acute trusts and clinical commissioning groups, together with guidance for commissioners and providers on the implementation of sanctions, very shortly.

Depressive Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of GPs who regularly prescribe mindfulness-based therapy for the treatment of repeat depression. [189356]

Norman Lamb: Mindfulness Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved treatment of recurrent depression and is available through a number of Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services in England.

No estimate has been made of the proportion of general practitioners in England who regularly prescribe mindfulness-based therapy for the treatment of repeat depression.

Food: Chemicals

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the health risks posed by synthetic chemicals used in the processing, packaging and storing of food. [189361]

Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) leads on the safety of food additives and food contact materials (FCMs).

The use of food additives is subject to harmonised European Union (EU) legislation and a pre-marketing authorisation regime which includes the assessment of possible health risks.

Harmonised EU legislation requires food business operators to ensure FCMs do not endanger human health. Based on toxicological assessments undertaken by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the legislation sets limits for chemical migration into food to ensure consumers are protected. The FSA commissions research and surveillance projects which investigate exposure to chemicals from FCMs, and publishes the results on their website. Details of the FSA's research projects can be found at:

http://food.gov.uk/science/research/chemical-safety-research/fcm-research/

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will institute a population-based assessment and bio-monitoring to establish any potential links between food-contact chemicals and chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes and neurological disorders. [189362]

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Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency leads on the safety of food contact materials (FCMs) including migration of chemicals from them. We are advised it has no plans for a population-based assessment and bio-monitoring.

Harmonised European Union legislation requires food business operators to ensure FCMs do not endanger human health. Based on toxicological assessments undertaken by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the legislation sets limits for chemical migration into food to ensure consumers are protected.

Health Services

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many commissioning access policies are being developed by NHS England; when they will be completed; and what rules apply to patient treatment pending their completion; [189948]

(2) how many NHS staff were assigned to specialised commissioning in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14; and what level of expenditure they were responsible for in each such year; [189949]

(3) by what process and timetable commissioning access policies are developed and agreed when a treatment breaches the current maximum threshold of five individual funding requests in any one NHS England region. [190004]

Jane Ellison: As part of its role as direct commissioner, NHS England moved to a single operating model to support the commissioning of specialised services, which provided an opportunity to develop single national commissioning policies with the involvement of lead clinicians, patient representatives and other key stakeholders.

NHS England has 112 commissioning access policies in the pipeline for development, but this number is constantly changing. Established treatments that were routinely commissioned prior to 1 April 2013 will continue to be routinely commissioned. New treatments, or treatments not routinely commissioned prior to 1 April 2013, will not be routinely commissioned. National health service patients will not be able to receive these treatments, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If the number of patients for whom the treatment is requested per year reaches five or more, the NHS England Area Team will treat this change as a service development requiring a commissioning policy. Guidance is available on the NHS England website at:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cp-03.pdf

In April 2013, NHS England became the direct commissioner for specialised services and for 2013-14 expenditure for specialised commissioning is circa £13 billion.

In 2012-13 the level of expenditure identified as specialised commissioning was circa £7 billion, which was the responsibility of primary care trusts as the statutory responsible organisations.

NHS England advises that it is not possible to provide figures for staff assigned to specialised commissioning because they are not separately identified for- payroll purposes.

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Health Services: Immigrants

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the health needs (a) in relation to infectious diseases and (b) in general of people who have (i) migrated to the UK within the last two years and (ii) resided in the UK on visa for six months or more. [189448]

Jane Ellison: The national health service does not routinely collect information about a person's immigration status or the time a person has been living in the United Kingdom. It is therefore not possible to make an assessment of the health needs in relation either to infectious diseases, or in general, of this group of people.

Public Health England carries out a broad spectrum of work relating to prevention of infectious disease. This work includes infectious disease surveillance, providing specialist and reference microbiology and microbial epidemiology, co-ordinating the investigation and cause of national and uncommon outbreaks, advising Government on the risks of various infections and responding to international health alerts.

Health: Equality

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the British Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences' recent report on local actions to reduce health inequalities, published in January 2014; and if he will make a statement. [189408]

Jane Ellison: The Government welcomes the publication from the British Academy 'If you could do one thing—Nine local actions to reduce health inequalities' as an interesting contribution to the debate on reducing health inequalities at a local level.

The contributors to the report are highly regarded academic social scientists who are demonstrating some practical applications of their research for local authorities.

Local action is critical to reducing health inequalities. We have transferred responsibility for public health to local government to provide a local focus for action, backed it with £5.46 billion over two years, and promoted action on health inequalities through the Public Health Outcomes Framework and the new health inequalities duties on the health system.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how Quality Premium funding agreements and the Outcomes Framework ensure a continued zero tolerance approach to hospital acquired infections. [189303]

Dr Poulter: The current Quality Premium arrangements in relation to health care associated infections cover the incidence of both Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia and Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection. 12.5% of the Quality Premium payment value is available to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) for whom there are no reported cases of MRSA bacteraemia assigned to the CCG and for whom their reported C. difficile cases are at or below the defined thresholds for that CCG. In this way CCGs are:

4 Mar 2014 : Column 772W

currently incentivised to work with their provider organisations to prevent any cases of MRSA bacteraemia and to deliver continued reductions in C difficile cases.

The NHS Outcomes Framework exists to provide a national level overview of how well the national health service is performing, to provide an accountability mechanism between the Secretary of State and NHS England for the effective spend of NHS funds and to act as a catalyst for driving up quality throughout the NHS by encouraging a change in culture and behaviour. Domain 5 of the NHS Outcomes Framework relates to patient safety and includes two indicators in relation to health care associated infections, covering the incidence of MRSA and the incidence of C difficile. This ensures that improvements in relation to health care associated infections are considered a priority for the work of NHS England and the wider NHS.

Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts have failed to reach their targets for reducing hospital acquired infections; and how many such trusts have been fined for such a failure in each of the last three years. [189310]

Dr Poulter: The following tables provide the number of trusts that have breached their Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile objectives over the last three years.

In relation to the number of sanctions applied to those trusts that have breached their objectives, NHS England is unable to provide this information as it is not collected centrally.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to bring the new vaccine for Crohn's disease developed by Professor Hermon-Taylor forward to the human trial stage; and how much funding his Department has allocated to such work. [189893]

Dr Poulter: The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Crohn's disease and vaccines. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and the national health service,

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value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

The NIHR is not currently funding any Crohn's vaccine development work by Professor Hermon-Taylor at St George's, University of London or by researchers at other institutions.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS patients' details and medical records are safeguarded by insurance companies; and if he will make a statement. [189409]

Dr Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre will only share identifiable patient data where there is a legal basis to do so and only for purposes that promote health and adult social care services, and will not release this kind of data for commercial insurance purposes.

Meningitis

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2014, Official Report, columns 840-1W, on meningitis, if he will publish the report to him by the Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation of their two meetings in February. [R] [189892]

Jane Ellison: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will publish the minute of the meeting held on 11 and 12 February 2014 no later than 26 March 2014, in accordance with its commitment to publish a minute of any meeting of the main committee within six weeks. The minute will be accompanied by a statement from the committee outlining their findings regarding the use of meningococcal B vaccine in the United Kingdom.

NHS: Crimes of Violence

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS staff were assaulted in health centres and hospitals in Lancashire in 2013; in which locations each assault occurred; and what the role was of the member of staff assaulted in each case. [189485]

Dr Poulter: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Information on the number of reported physical assaults against NHS staff in 2012-13 is contained in the document; ‘Tables showing the number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff in 2012-13’ has been placed in the Library. The tables cover 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 which is the latest period for which information is available. They show the employing NHS bodies of victims of assault but not the location of assaults or the roles of staff assaulted.

Nurses

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trained nurses were not registered to practice in England in each of the last five years. [190035]

Dr Poulter: The Department does not hold this information.

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The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) holds a register of nearly 467,000 nurses and midwives registered to practise in England. Nurses must be registered with the NMC to work as a nurse. To keep their registration up to date, nurses also need to renew their registration every three years.

More information is available at the NMC website at:

www.nmc-uk.org/

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses there were per 100,000 population in (a) the latest month for which figures are available and (b) the equivalent month in each of the last five years. [190036]

Dr Poulter: The numbers of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff per 100,000 population working in the national health service in England for November 2013, the latest month available, and each November from 2009 are shown in the following table:

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on how many nurses will retire in the next five years. [190040]

Dr Poulter: The Department does not hold information on the number of nurses who will retire in the next five years.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council holds a register of over 670,000 nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, it also holds a range of statistics drawn from the register. These include the numbers of people on the different parts of the register and the age and gender of people on the register.

In relation to nurses working in the national health service, the NHS annual work force census published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows the age profile of nurses working for the NHS in England as at 30 September each year. The age profile of nurses working in the NHS in 2012 is shown in the following table. The next annual work force census will be published on 25 March with data at 30 September 2013.

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For those nurses working in the NHS, the NHS Pension Scheme for England and Wales has a normal pension age of 60 for 1995 section members or 65 for 2008 section members. Some nurses have a reserved right to a normal pension age of 55 upon meeting qualifying criteria. However nurses do not have to retire upon reaching that age and can continue working.

Obesity: Children

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to tackle rising rates of obesity among children in England. [189417]

Jane Ellison: Obesity rates in children are not rising. They fell between 2011 and 2012 to 13.7%, the lowest level since 1998.

However, rates remain too high and we are committed to further progress on child obesity and have a well-developed and wide-ranging programme of actions. These include working with a wide range of partners including Public Health England, NHS England, other Government Departments including the Department for Education and Department for Transport, and industry through the Public Health Responsibility Deal. Key initiatives include Change4Life, the National Child Measurement Programme, Change4Life Sports Clubs and School Sports Funding.

Our national ambition for a downward trend in excess weight in children by 2020 requires collective action by Government, businesses, health and care professionals, and individuals.

Source:

Health Survey for England, 2012. All children aged 2 to 15.

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Smoking

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken to publicise the effects of smoking on health. [189276]

Jane Ellison: The Government have run a number of campaigns in recent years to publicise the effects of smoking on health and encourage people to quit smoking, through the Department of Health and from April 2013, Public Health England (PHE).

From April to June 2012, the Department ran a 'Smokefree homes and cars' campaign, which brought to life the fact that over 80% of smoke is invisible and showed children breathing in the smoke, with the message ‘If you could see the damage you would stop’. PHE re-ran this campaign in June and July 2013.

From December 2012 to March 2013, the Department ran the 'Mutation' campaign, which dramatised the invisible damage caused by cigarettes by showing a tumour growing on a cigarette, with the message that every 15 cigarettes you smoke causes a mutation that can become cancer.

In December 2013, PHE launched a new health harms campaign called ‘Toxic cycle’, showing how smoking makes the blood thick and dirty with toxins, which circulate through the body in seconds increasing the chances of a heart attack or stroke.

Further information on the harms of smoking can be found on the Smokefree website at:

www.nhs.uk/smokefree

and also in the range of Smokefree support products.

Attorney-General

Maternity Leave

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of civil servants in the Law Officers’ Departments who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the civil service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years. [189115]

The Solicitor-General: The following table contains details on the proportion of civil servants still employed within six and 12 months of returning to work after maternity leave.

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Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Attorney-General how many pagers have been provided to staff by the Law Officers' Departments since May 2010; and what the cost to the Law Officers' Departments was of providing those pagers. [190043]

The Attorney-General: The Attorney-General's Office has three pagers which are used by press office staff. Since December 2010 has spent £1,861.34 (ex VAT) on them. No financial data relating to pager usage is held before this date.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) currently has two pagers remaining on a monthly rolling contract and the total cost of providing pagers from May 2010 (when there were three in use) to January 2014 equates to £497.40 (including VAT).

No pagers have been provided to staff of the other Law Officers since May 2010.

Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to provide support to the families of problem and addicted gamblers. [189709]

Mrs Grant: The Government take the issue of problem gambling and its effects on families and communities very seriously. Support to those suffering from gambling addiction and their families is provided through a system of voluntary contributions by the gambling industry to the Responsible Gambling Trust; these contributions then fund or part-fund organisations such as GamCare, the Gordon Moody Association and the NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic. The Responsible Gambling Trust will spend around £5 million on its education and treatment programmes in 2013-14.

Music: Finance

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Arts Council gave to (a) opera and (b) brass bands in each of the last three years. [189014]

Mr Vaizey: The Arts Council makes its funding decisions independently of Government, and DCMS does not therefore hold the information requested. However, the Arts Council has provided the following figures:

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pagers have been provided to staff by her Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers. [190046]

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Mrs Grant: The information is as follows:

As at 28 February 2014 there are 11 pagers all held by the Press Office.

Screen Yorkshire

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Screen Yorkshire since the regional screen agencies were disbanded. [189319]

Mr Vaizey: I congratulate Screen Yorkshire for its track record in raising alternative sources of funding. In 2012 it established the Yorkshire content fund, a £15 million co-investment fund with £7.5 million of European regional development fund (ERDF) investment, which has already been widely recognised by industry for its impact locally and nationally. The fund has invested in over 20 highly successful productions to date, with reports from production to date indicating that the first £4 million of ERDF money invested has so far produced direct spend in the region of over £15 million. In February this year Screen Yorkshire announced it is to receive an additional £7.5 million from the ERDF, raising the total value of the fund to £30 million, which will greatly benefit the film, television and digital content sector across the Yorkshire region in terms of projects and job creation.

Video Games: Tax Allowances

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on providing tax relief to the video games sector. [189889]

Mr Vaizey: In 2012 the Government announced plans for a video games tax relief to support the production of culturally British games and remain fully committed to introducing this measure, subject to EU state aid clearance. DCMS has been working closely with HM Treasury to support them on implementation of the tax relief, including on providing the European Commission with the evidence it needs to conclude its state aid investigation as soon as possible.

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Cabinet Office

Death: Bacterial Diseases

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people have been recorded in the UK from antibiotic-resistant bacterial meningitis infection by age group in each year since 1990; [189930]

(2) how many deaths of infants up to the age of one year have been caused by multi-drug resistant bacterial infection; and from which infections such infants have died in each year since 1990; [189912]

(3) how many deaths of people aged 70 or over were caused by multi-drug resistant bacterial infection; and from which infections such people have died in each year since 1990; [189913]

(4) how many deaths of children aged (a) between one and 10 years and (b) 10 and 16 years were caused by multi-drug resistant bacterial infection; and from which infections each such person died in each year since 1990; [189914]

(5) how many treatment failures due to multi-drug resistant bacterial infection leading to death have occurred in each year since 1990; and from which infections each such person has died; [189915]

(6) how many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from MRSA ST398 there were in the UK in each year since 2000; [189916]

(7) how many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from monophasic salmonella typhimurium there were in the UK in each year since 2000; [189917]

(8) how many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from new type MRSA which has a mecC rather than a mecA gene there were in the UK in each year since 2000; [189918]

(9) how many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from antibiotic-resistant foodborne campylobacter infection there were in the UK in each year since 1990; [189919]

(10) how many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from antibiotic-resistant foodborne salmonella infection there were in the UK in each year since 1990; [189920]

(11) how many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from antibiotic-resistant osteomyelitis infection there were in the UK in each year since 1990; [189921]

(12) how many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from antibiotic-resistant pneumonia infection where bacteria were confirmed as cause there were in the UK in each year since 1990. [189922]

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

Letter from Joe Grice, dated March 2014:

In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent questions to the Secretary of State for Health asking:

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1. How many deaths of infants up to the age of one year have been caused by multi-drug resistant bacterial infection; and from which infections in the UK, in each year, from 1990 [189912].

2. How many deaths in people aged 70 or over were caused by multi-drug resistant bacterial infection; and from which infections, in the UK in each year, from 1990 [189913].

3. How many deaths in children aged (a) between one and 10 years and (b) 10 and 16 years were caused by multi-drug resistant bacterial infection; and from which infections, in the UK in each year, from 1990 [189914].

4. How many treatment failures due to multi-drug resistant bacterial infection leading to death; and from which infections, in the UK in each year, from 1990 [189915].

5. How many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from MRSA ST398 there were in the UK in each year since 2000 [189916].

6. How many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from monophasic salmonella typhimurium there were in the UK in each year since 2000 [189917].

7. How many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from new type MRSA which has a mecC rather than a mecA gene there were in the UK in each year since 2000 [189918].

8. How many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from antibiotic-resistant foodborne Campylobacter infection there were in the UK in each year since 1990 [189919].

9. How many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from antibiotic-resistant foodborne salmonella infection there were in the UK in each year since 1990 [189920].

10. How many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from antibiotic-resistant osteomyelitis infection there were in the UK in each year since 1990 [189921].

11. How many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people from antibiotic-resistant pneumonia infection where bacteria were confirmed as cause there were in the UK in each year since 1990 [189922].

12. How many deaths of (a) infants, (b) children, (c) adults and (d) elderly people have been recorded in the UK from antibiotic-resistant bacterial meningitis infection by age group in each year since 1990. [189930].

The underlying cause of death is coded by ONS using the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). The current version of the ICD does not provide specific codes for gene/strain specific pathogens or drug resistant strains of infections. To find out the gene/strain of an infection an individual died from or whether or not they died from a drug resistant strain, a comprehensive text search of all the information recorded by the medical practitioner or coroner on the death certificate would need to be carried out. This information cannot be provided due to disproportionate cost.

Annual statistical bulletins on deaths involving MRSA and Clostridium difficile are available on the ONS website at the links below. These reports are produced by carrying out text searching of all of the information provided by the medical practitioner or coroner on the death certificate.

MSRA:

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health2/deaths-involving-mrsa/2008-to-2012/index.html

Clostridium difficile:

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health2/deaths-involving-clostridium-difficile/2012/index.html