Internet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what services his Department provides that are (a) available online only and (b) planned to move to online only. [190371]

Stephen Hammond: The information is as follows:

(a) The only Department for Transport services that are exclusively digital are:

Transport Direct, which is an online journey planner;

driver CPC training records upload and inquiry. The Driver Certificate of Professional Competence is a qualification for professional bus, coach and lorry drivers;

delegated examiner practical driving test notification. A delegated examiner is a person appointed to conduct driving tests not employed by DVSA e.g. MOD, emergency services; and

electronic information services for HGV/PSV operators, fleet maintainers, leasing companies and manufacturers.

(b) There are no plans to move any current services to an exclusively online channel.

M1

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) for what reason he did not require the work currently being carried out on the M1 motorway between junctions 28 and 32 to be phased in smaller sections so as to reduce congestion and delays; and if he will make a statement; [190324]

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(2) when he expects junctions 28 to 32 of the M1 motorway in both directions to be devoid of all roadworks and lane closures; and if he will make a statement. [190326]

Mr Goodwill: The work that is currently being carried out on the M1 in this location involves new central reserve drainage and concrete barrier in preparation for the planned smart motorway scheme between M1 J28 to J31.

In planning the works, the option of breaking construction into a number of smaller sequential phases was considered, however this would have the impact of prolonging the overall duration of construction and therefore the length of time over which disruption would be experienced.

The current works are planned to continue into the start of construction for the proposed M1 J28 to J31 smart motorways project and M1 J31 to J32 Pinch Point scheme. Subject to completion of the necessary statutory processes, both schemes are planned to complete by spring 2015.

Motorways: Speed Limits

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider introducing variable temporary speed limits on stretches of motorway where roadworks are taking place so that such temporary speed limits are not artificially low during times of light traffic use. [190325]

Mr Goodwill: The Highways Agency will be considering the impact of introducing variable temporary speed limits on stretches of motorways where road works are taking place as part of an ongoing programme of research and possible trials.

Variable speed limits in road works may be considered appropriate in certain circumstances but we must keep in mind the primary objective of temporary traffic management which is to maximise the safety of road workers as well as the travelling public.

Ports

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the opening of sea routes through the North West Passage on ports in the UK. [190616]

Stephen Hammond: The Arctic is an area of increasing importance for maritime transport. Both the North West Passage and the Northern Sea Route will offer significantly shorter travelling distances between Europe and Asia later in the 21st Century if the Arctic warming trend continues at its current rate.

While the Government have not carried out a dedicated study of the future effect on UK ports, the Government believe that the UK ports and shipping industries, together with the wider maritime cluster, are generally well placed to take advantage of any commercial opportunities that expansion of Arctic shipping may present in the short term.

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The Government intend to keep under review, in the longer term, whether there is anything that they are best placed to do, in order both to facilitate worthwhile trade opportunities and to help ensure that this is done with due regard to the environment.

Railways: Tickets

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the strands of the South East Flexible Ticketing project are; what the budget and relevant train operating company is for each such strand; when he expects the competition for the flexible ticketing trial for part-time workers to commence; when the outcome of that competition will be announced; when he expects that trial to begin; and how long the trial will last. [190284]

Stephen Hammond: The South East Flexible Ticketing programme (SEFT) aims to deliver flexible smart ticketing across London and the South East, working in partnership with TfL and the train operators. In terms of delivery ‘strands', these include station infrastructure, back office systems, testing and integration, core products, and other ‘soft factors' such as training and marketing in order to deliver a consistent passenger proposition.

The geographic scope of the programme is yet to be finalised but will include all of the train operators which run passenger services into London, namely:

c2c

Greater Anglia

East Coast

First Capital Connect

East Midland Trains

London Midland

Virgin West Coast

Chiltern

First Great Western

South West Trains

Southern

Southeastern

The total budget for the programme is £45 million. Until the geographic scope is finalised it is not yet possible to estimate what proportion of that will be spent on each part of the rail network.

The competition for the flexible ticketing trial is currently scheduled to commence later in 2014 by issuing requests for proposal to all train operators that are signatories to the SEFT scheme. We expect to announce a winning bidder in sufficient time to commence the trial in January 2015. The trial is expected to last for a year.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the criteria for success will be of the flexible ticketing trial for part-time workers and how success will be measured; and if he will include a requirement for flexible ticketing for part-time workers in all future franchise agreements in the event that the trial is successful. [190285]

Stephen Hammond: The criteria for success for the flexible ticketing trial will be: a robust trial which obtains quality assured data; analysis built from that data that

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shows what impact the trial has had on passenger behaviour and what wider conclusions may be drawn from this.

Those conclusions will help to inform the future decisions that will need to be made regarding what should be required by way of flexible ticketing in future franchise agreements.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on whether other EU member states have expressed concern about risks to connectivity arising from the financial costs of compliance with the International Maritime Organisation emissions regulations due to come into force on 1 January 2015; and whether the Government have discussed this matter with the Governments of other EU member states. [190875]

Stephen Hammond: We are not aware that other EU member states have identified ‘risks to connectivity’. However, other EU member states have expressed concerns about the high economic cost of compliance with the sulphur limits contained in the International Maritime Organization's MARPOL Annex VI and the EU sulphur content of marine fuels directive (Directive 2012/33/EU). The UK has participated in discussions on the issue which have taken place in EU forums.

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will take steps to mitigate any potential damage to the UK's connectivity arising from the financial costs of compliance with the International Maritime Organisation emissions regulations due to come into force on 1 January 2015, insofar as it is practical to do so; [190876]

(2) what assessment his Department has made of whether ferry services within and to the UK may be at risk of closure as the result of the implementation of the International Maritime Organisation emissions regulations due to come into force on 1 January 2015. [190880]

Stephen Hammond: I have chaired two “round table' meetings for stakeholders from a range of industries—shipping, ports, abatement technology, oil refining, logistics—to discuss the way forward on sulphur. As part of the work to follow up these meetings, the UK Chamber of Shipping commissioned a study by the consultants AMEC entitled ‘Impact on jobs and the economy of meeting the requirements of MARPOL Annex VI’ which the Chamber of Shipping released early in March 2013.

The evidence about potential route closures from this and other relevant studies will be incorporated into the Department's Impact Assessment on the new sulphur requirements, which will be published in the next few weeks. Our assessment will also consider the economic cost to the UK as well as the benefits in terms of improved public health and reduced damage to the environment.

The Government have been looking at ways of helping industries to comply with the new sulphur requirements. We are exploring the scope for securing EU finance, possibly under the Trans-European Network (TEN-T)

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programme and affordable capital from the European Investment Bank, for shipowners and ports who would like to invest in using an abatement technology (exhaust gas cleaning systems) or an alternative fuel—such as liquefied natural gas.

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what progress the UK has made in gaining time-limited exemptions from the International Maritime Organisation emissions regulations due to come into force on 1 January 2015; and if he will make a statement; [190877]

(2) for what reason the UK has decided not to seek to apply time-limited exemptions from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) emissions regulations due to come into force on 1 January 2015 in respect of specific vessels and routes, reporting such exemptions to the IMO for recording. [190881]

Stephen Hammond: The UK is subject to the Sulphur content of marine fuels directive (Directive 2012/33/EU) which substantially aligns European legislation with the International Maritime Organisation's own rules. The directive does not permit such an exemption.

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what response his Department has received from the European Commission to its representations on potential shortage of marine fuel supplies arising from the implementation of the International Maritime Organisation emissions regulations due to come into force on 1 January 2015. [190878]

Stephen Hammond: We are not aware of any problems with the availability of 0.1% sulphur fuel for shipowners. However, the UK is actively working in the International Maritime Organisation to take forward a review of the availability in 2020 of 0.5% sulphur fuel.

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of potential changes to the level of charges to passengers and vehicle owners on ferry services arising from the implementation of the International Maritime Organisation emissions regulations due to come into force on 1 January 2015. [190879]

Stephen Hammond: The Department has developed an impact assessment to accompany the forthcoming public consultation on the emission regulations. As part of this consultation we will be seeking further information about the costs and benefits to the public including the impact on ferry services.

Transport: Per Capita Costs

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the level of funding per head of the population for transport in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber, (c) London and (d) England. [190576]

Stephen Hammond: The most recent data available for total public expenditure on transport are given in HM Treasury's Country and Regional Analysis 2013.

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This is identifiable expenditure on services, including transport, by function, country and region per head. Spend is not broken down below regional level.

In 2012-13, identifiable expenditure on transport was £83 per head in Yorkshire and Humber, £184 per head in London and £90 per head in England.

The Department for Transport is not the only public body responsible for transport and a large proportion of expenditure is covered by local government bodies. Expenditure upon major infrastructure projects is distributed throughout the geographical spread of the UK's supply chain.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Committee

IPSA Contingency Panel

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the membership is of the IPSA Contingency Panel. [190337]

Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.

Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated March 2013:

As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about the IPSA Contingency Panel.

The Panel is chaired by the Director of Policy and Communications. Other members of the panel are the Director of Finance and Operations (or a representative), the Head of Validation and MP Support, the Head of Payroll, the Head of Policy and the Policy Manager. Others will attend according to the topics being discussed.

Matrix Chambers

Mr David Davis: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what procurement process was conducted by IPSA in advance of the decision to engage Matrix Chambers to prepare and advise on High Court action in May 2013 in respect of their case against the hon. Member for Peterborough; and if he will make a statement. [190702]

Mr Charles Walker: The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members' Staff

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many hon. Members have been provided with additional funds by IPSA to cover increased staffing costs as a consequence of dealing with higher demand for assistance from constituents in 2013-14 to date. [190339]

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Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.

Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated March 2013:

As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about increased staffing expenditure budgets.

There have been no MPs who have received higher staffing expenditure budgets as a result of increased demand for assistance from constituents in 2013-14. A small number of MPs have received increased budgets this year as a result of commitments entered into before this financial year.

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what estimate IPSA has made of the amount in staffing budgets for hon. Members which will not be claimed by the end of the current financial year. [190340]

Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.

Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated March 2013:

As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about MPs' staffing budgets.

If all MPs were to spend up to the limit for staffing expenditure in 2013-14 set out in the ‘MPs' Scheme of Business Costs and Expenses’, then the total expenditure by MPs on staffing costs in this financial year would be £89.8 million. Our estimate for 2013-14, however, includes provisions for £78.2 million on MPs' staffing. We expect this to be fully spent by the end of the financial year.

Staff

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what total amount was paid in overtime payments to IPSA staff in the first nine months of 2013-14. [190338]

Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.

Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated March 2013:

As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about overtime paid to IPSA staff.

From April to December 2013, £4,567 was paid in overtime to IPSA staff.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. [190499]

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made in banning the use of wild animals in circuses by 2015. [190747]

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George Eustice: I refer the hon. Members to the answer given on 6 March 2014, Official Report, column 979W.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice he has received on distinguishing between infected and uninfected badgers; and what account his Department took of this advice in conducting the badger cull pilots. [190091]

George Eustice: The aim of the pilot badger culls was to test assumptions on the effectiveness (in terms of badger removal), humaneness and safety of controlled shooting. Therefore no advice was received on distinguishing between infected and uninfected badgers.

Identifying badgers infected with M. bovis was one of the elements investigated during the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, giving us evidence on the typical prevalence of TB in badgers in areas of high TB incidence, and were not repeated during the pilots.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Republic of Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland on the effectiveness of that country's programme of humanely destroying badgers in reducing the incidence of bovine TB. [190375]

George Eustice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), visited the Republic of Ireland in May 2013 to observe the Irish approach to bovine TB eradication. Since then, DEFRA officials have kept up a regular dialogue with their Irish counterparts.

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish figures on the number of badgers culled in total in the Gloucestershire and Somerset pilots. [190116]

George Eustice: I would like to refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statements made by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), on 3 November 2013, Official Report, column 10WS and 2 December 2013, Official Report, column 33WS.

Databases

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency became aware of the failure regarding the SAM IT system. [185664]

George Eustice: I was made aware of the nature of the problems and the implications for our monthly publication of bovine TB statistics on 14 January 2014,

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when the impact on the published bovine TB national statistics became clear. AHVLA first became aware in mid-December 2013 that there were possible discrepancies with the records of herds designated as not officially TB Free—well after the badger cull pilots had concluded. Subsequent investigations by AHVLA led to notification of DEFRA officials on 18 December 2013. The extent of the problems and full impact on the published statistics were not fully understood until mid-January 2014.

Dogs: Diseases

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of how many dogs in the UK have distemper; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of that condition. [190378]

George Eustice: There is no legal obligation for owners of dogs with distemper, nor the veterinary surgeons involved in treating any affected dogs to notify the Government. No statistics are therefore collected on how many dogs have distemper. DEFRA has no plans to intervene in the control of the disease and an effective vaccine is readily available to protect dogs from an early age.

Environment Agency

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Environment Agency’s annual regional revenue budget was in each year for which data are available; and what estimate he has made of such budgets in each of the next three years. [189789]

Dan Rogerson: The following tables show revenue spend across Environment Agency defined regions for 2008-09 to 2012-13.

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The Environment Agency is under consultation to move to a national-area model for allocating budgets, hence a regional split of future revenue budgets is not available.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what projections his Department has made of the number of staff that will be employed by the Environment Agency in each of the next three years. [189840]

Dan Rogerson: The current priority is flood incident response. Beyond this, the Environment Agency will assess its structure to ensure it has an affordable business structure. Initial planning assumptions, that were previously shared with staff, will be reviewed to reflect additional flood risk management funding.

Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when national flooding exercises have taken place in order to test arrangements which Government Departments have put into place to deal with flooding and infrastructure emergencies in the last five years. [190415]

Dan Rogerson: Exercise Watermark was the largest civil flood preparedness exercise ever run in England and Wales, and took place in March 2011. It involved UK Government Departments, the Welsh Government, Government agencies, emergency responders, businesses and communities testing the country's response to groundwater, surface water, reservoir, river and coastal flooding.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Environment Agency has yet provided a specialised site-specific flood warning service for infrastructure operators in order to offer longer lead times and greater levels of detail about the velocity and depth of flooding. [190428]

Dan Rogerson: Following a successful pilot between the Environment Agency and Western Power Distribution in 2009-10, a new web-based flood warning service for Civil Contingency Act Category 1 and 2 responders went live in September 2011.

The service enables responders to match Environment Agency flood warning areas and live warnings with their own asset data that they upload for sites they have identified as vulnerable to flooding.

An asset could be anything they wish, such as a sewage treatment works, telephone exchange, an office or depot.

As of March 2014, over 70 responders have registered for the service.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Environment Agency now works with local responders to raise awareness in flood risk areas and identifies a range of mechanisms to warn the public in response to flooding. [190462]

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Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency works closely with local responders to raise awareness and to warn the public of the risk of flooding.

Examples of this activity include:

A training programme was delivered to ensure all local responders understand and respond appropriately to the flood forecasting and warning services of the Flood Forecasting Centre and the Environment Agency;

A 'Floodwise' campaign was run between April 2009 and September 2012, during which 875,000 people were informed about their flood risk. As a result 75,000 people checked their flood risk; 34,000 people signed up to the flood warning service; 8,500 people completed personal flood plans and 672 communities developed community flood plans (covering over 300,000 people);

Since 2012 locally focused flood awareness campaigns have been run each year. These are co-ordinated through Environment Agency Community Engagement Officers, who consult and work with Local Resilience Forum partners to raise awareness of risk and get communities to prepare for flooding;

Targeted campaigns have also been run with communities living in rapidly responsive catchments and with caravan and campsite owners in high flood risk areas; and

The Floodline telephone service has been improved so that local authorities are able to provide their own standard response information for callers to the Floodline service.

Floods: Insurance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many households were uninsurable against flooding in each of the last 10 years. [189808]

Dan Rogerson: We do not hold figures on the number of properties that were uninsurable against flooding over the past 10 years.

The Government are introducing a flood reinsurance scheme (Flood Re), to ensure the provision of affordable insurance to properties at high risk of flooding.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether the insurance industry has developed and implemented industry guidance for flooding events, covering reasonable expectations of the performance of insurers and reasonable actions by customers; [190426]

(2) what assessment he has made of whether insurance notices now include information on flood risk and the simple steps that can be taken to mitigate the effects in flood risk areas; [190427]

(3) what steps his Department and the insurance industry have taken to deliver a public education programme setting out the benefits of insurance in the context of flooding. [190425]

Dan Rogerson: Action on the issue was completed and reported as such in the Government's Final Progress Report on implementing the recommendations made by the Pitt Review, published in January 2012.

Floods: Property Development

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward building regulations to require that all new or refurbished buildings in high flood-risk areas are flood resistant or resilient. [189792]

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Stephen Williams: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

For new build, national planning policy is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided. Where development is necessary, it should be made safe and resilient—and without increasing flood risk elsewhere. Mitigation measures such as land raising, landscaping, raised thresholds and re-arranging the internal uses of buildings, can sometimes make development acceptable in such areas. Such measures can be made a requirement of any planning consent by the local authority.

The statutory guidance for England contained in “Approved Document C (Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture)” which supports the building regulations also promotes the use of flood resilience and resistance measures in flood prone areas. The document references the guidance produced jointly by the Department for Communities and Local Government, DEFRA and the Environment Agency—“Improving the flood performance of new buildings—Flood resilient construction”. Much of the information is applicable to resilient repair as well as new build. We have no immediate plans to change the guidance, but we will be keeping this under review.

Floods: Staffordshire

Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what flood prevention measures have been undertaken in (a) Cannock Chase constituency and (b) Staffordshire in the last three years; and how many staff of (i) his Department and (ii) the Environment Agency have been employed on those measures. [190083]

Dan Rogerson: In the Cannock Chase constituency, the majority of flood prevention measures have been maintenance works to the Ridings Brook flood defences. These protect 100 properties in Cannock. These works include de-silting culverts, repairing the flood balancing reservoir at Mill Green and installing CCTV cameras to enable the situation on site to be constantly monitored during floods.

In Staffordshire, construction is continuing on the Lower Tame flood defence scheme in Fazeley and Tamworth. The section protecting the Coton area of the town was completed last autumn and protects 297 properties. Construction in the Fazeley area of the town is ongoing, but is programmed for completion this spring. It will protect a further 216 properties. Major improvements to a culvert in Elford were completed last year to further protect 47 properties.

Other smaller flood defence schemes have been undertaken in Forsbrook, Mayfield, Burton on Trent, Tutbury and Newcastle under Lyme and there have been improvements made to pumping stations in Branston, Moreton, Elford and Armitage. The Environment Agency is progressing work on a further six schemes in the county and the Lead Local Flood Authority (Staffs county council) is currently developing 14 schemes.

It is not possible to directly attribute staff numbers to works in Cannock Chase constituency or Staffordshire as work is spread across teams covering a much larger area. However, it is estimated that the Environment Agency has 14 field-based staff maintaining and improving

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defences in Staffordshire supported by four office-based staff planning this work. There are a further five office-based staff involved in developing new schemes or reducing flood risk through their work with developers and planners. Staffordshire county council currently has four full-time staff managing flood risk.

There are no DEFRA staff working on flood risk management who work specifically on flood prevention measures in Cannon Chase constituency or Staffordshire.

Floods: York

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to his Department's announcement of 6 February 2014 on new flood defence schemes, what proportion of that funding will be allocated to (a) the York area and (b) York Outer constituency. [190413]

Dan Rogerson: In 2014-15 £9,000 grant in aid was allocated to the Outgang Lane Culvert Improvement scheme, which is in the York Outer constituency. The details of the allocations are published on the Environment Agency's website.

Food: Crime

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if his Department and the Food Standards Authority will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce greater maximum penalties for those convicted of food crime in the UK. [189965]

George Eustice: Penalties for food crime should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive to help maintain public confidence in the regulatory system that protects consumers and ensures that the food we eat is safe. The penalty for food crime can range from a number of interventions, such as advice or a formal written notice, through to a suspension of operations or criminal prosecutions for the most serious offences such as fraud.

Sentencing is a matter for the courts who determine the sentences to take account of the circumstances of each case. Following an approach from the Food Standards Agency the Sentencing Council is considering whether there may be an opportunity to provide sentencing guidelines for food and feed hygiene offences as part of its future programme of work.

Forests

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to increase commercial coniferous forest planting; and if he will make a statement. [190500]

Dan Rogerson: As forestry is a devolved issue, tree planting and woodland creation plans are a separate matter for each of the devolved Administrations.

In England the Government's Forestry and Woodland Policy Statement, published last year, set out our aspirations to increase woodland cover in England to 12% by 2060, representing an average planting rate of 5,000 ha per year. This will be dependent on landowners choosing to plant trees, including conifers, where it best suits them and their local conditions and priorities. Woodland

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creation is supported by the Rural Development Programme for England and we are looking at how we will continue to support woodland creation in the next programme.

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK forests that are under sustainable management. [190501]

Dan Rogerson: Forestry is a devolved issue. The Forestry Commission publishes a range of forestry statistics for the UK that are available on its website at:

www.forestry.gov.uk/statistics

In England, the Forestry Commission's headline performance indicator for woodland in active management, updated and published in December 2013, was 54%. It is reasonable to assume that woodland in active management is also being managed sustainably. In addition it is known that some sustainably managed woodland is not captured in the recording of woodland in active management so 54% will be an underestimate.

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to protect ancient woods in (a) the UK and (b) South Staffordshire. [190564]

Dan Rogerson: A number of measures are in place to protect woodland in England, including South Staffordshire. The National Planning Policy Framework states that planning permission should be refused for development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats, including ancient woodland and the loss of aged or veteran trees found outside ancient woodland, unless the need for, and benefits of, the development in that location clearly outweigh the loss.

In addition, all tree felling is controlled by the Forestry Commissioners in accordance with the felling regulations under the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended). Additionally, many woods are subject to further controls because they are within designated areas such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest or Special Areas of Conservation.

Other measures to protect woodland, such as Tree Preservation Orders, are available to local authorities in South Staffordshire and throughout England.

I am not aware of any specific measures being taken to preserve ancient woodland in South Staffordshire, other than those previously mentioned.

Incinerators: EU Law

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions have taken place under the Waste Incineration Directive in each year since 2007. [190725]

Dan Rogerson: The figures for prosecutions are for breaches of environmental permit conditions that relate to the requirements of the Waste Incineration Directive under the relevant UK legislation. Prior to April 2008 the Waste Incineration Directive was implemented through the Pollution and Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000. lt is currently implemented through the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

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The figures from 2007—April 2013 are for England and Wales and the figure from April 2013 to date is for England only. These include prosecutions by the Environment Agency and local authorities.

Land Drainage

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sustainable drainage systems in reducing the risk of, and damage caused by, flooding. [190137]

Dan Rogerson: Sir Michael Pitt's review of the 2007 floods contained recommendations to increase the uptake of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) to reduce the risk of flooding.

The impact assessment for the legislation required to implement SuDS measures set out in schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 was recently assessed as fit for purpose by the independent Regulatory Policy Committee. Based on Environment Agency and Foresight research, the assessment assumed SuDS measures reduce flood damages related to new development by 30% as a high-level average.

Rural Areas: Broadband

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many projects have been granted funding under the Rural Community Broadband Fund; how many projects under this fund are under consideration for funding; how many such projects have been declined; and how many homes have been connected under this scheme to date. [190505]

Dan Rogerson: Under the Rural Community Broadband Fund, two projects have been granted funding and are in delivery. Three projects have been given pre-contract approval and a further 16 projects are under consideration for funding. 46 expressions of interest (first stage applications) have been declined. Total premises connected will be reported to DEFRA on completion of the projects.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of the £20 million funding allocation for the Rural Community Broadband Fund will be spent by March 2015; and how much of the fund he estimates will be returned to the European Union fund from which it was granted. [190506]

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Dan Rogerson: It is not possible to specify how much of the funding allocation will be spent by March 2015, but projects under the fund totalling £15.5 million have been granted funding or are under consideration. Where possible, any remaining EU funds will be utilised elsewhere across the Rural Development Programme for England.

Electoral Commission Committee

Absent Voting

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the changes to voter turnout as a result of their proposed changes to the handling of postal ballots. [186091]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not yet made any estimate of possible changes to turnout as a result of its proposal that campaigners at elections and referendums in the UK should not be involved in the process of assisting other people in completing postal or proxy vote applications or handling postal ballot packs.

The commission expects to consider any evidence about possible changes to turnout as part of its discussions on changes to its Code of Conduct for Campaigners with political parties, returning officers and electoral registration officers. This will include discussing additional steps that returning officers and electoral registration officers could take to help electors complete and return application forms and postal ballot packs.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what discussions the Electoral Commission has had with hon. Members about their proposed changes to the handling of postal ballots. [186092]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it intends to discuss changes to its Code of Conduct for Campaigners with political parties and other campaigners including Members of Parliament, as well as Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers. These changes include proposals that campaigners at elections and referendums in the UK should not be involved in the process of assisting other people in completing postal or proxy vote applications or handling postal ballot packs.

The Commission will encourage campaigners to commit to following a revised Code of Conduct for Campaigners for elections after 2014, including the May 2015 UK parliamentary general election. It will make public details of which parties and campaigners have agreed to follow the Code.

Absent Voting: Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many successful convictions for postal ballot fraud there were in each region and constituent part of the UK in each year for which data are held. [186081]

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Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me the Commission has been working with the UK's Association of Chief Police Officers to collect data on electoral fraud since 2007. The Commission is also aware of additional cases of alleged electoral fraud relating to elections since 2002.

The Commission included details about successful convictions for electoral fraud offences in an evidence

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and issues paper published in May 2013, including six cases of postal voting fraud.

The following table shows the year, electoral event, offence and details of the convicted offenders for each of these cases.

Elections

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how much the Electoral Commission has spent on research into (a) voter registration and postal ballot fraud and (b) under registration in each of the last six years; and what future research is planned for each. [185891]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that they have spent the following on research:

The Commission also asks regular questions about the public's perceptions of electoral fraud on its post-election and tracker surveys but the cost of these specific questions cannot be separated.

The Commission intends to conduct an additional research project related to fraud during 2014. This will focus on identifying whether certain demographic or cultural factors mean that specific communities are more vulnerable to electoral fraud.

The Commission also has a stated research programme associated with the introduction of individual electoral registration which will include assessments of under registration. The next of these studies will take place in 2014 with a further study in 2016 or 2017.

Elections: ICT

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the role of new technology in improving voter (a) registration and (b) turnout. [185892]

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Mr Streeter: The Commission informs me that it strongly supports online voter registration, which will be introduced as part of the transition to individual electoral registration in Great Britain from June 2014. The Commission hopes that online voter registration will improve the accessibility of the electoral registration process, including among young people and overseas electors, and will monitor its effectiveness in improving voter registration.

The Commission evaluated a number of electronic voting pilot schemes which took place at English local government elections between 2002 and 2007. The Commission concluded that while remote electronic voting improved convenience for some voters, overall the pilot schemes had a minimal impact on turnout. The majority of those voting electronically indicated that they were likely to have voted in any case by another method.

The Commission has recommended that new electronic voting technologies should not be pursued further until their security, reliability and cost-effectiveness have been fully tested and assessed.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what proportion of the Electoral Commission's (a) budget, (b) personnel and (c) time is allocated to (i) increasing registration of previously unregistered voters and (ii) combating electoral registration fraud. [182313]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not collect its management information in such a way that it can provide exactly the information requested.

However, the Commission can confirm that it does a significant amount of work to raise awareness among voters of the need to register.

For its work in this area, the Commission employs a campaigns team of five staff (4.5 fte), with a budget of £204,000. This team leads on all of the Commission's public awareness campaigns. The additional budget for each specific public awareness campaign varies depending on the poll or the registration event that is taking place. For example, the public awareness campaign to support the introduction of individual electoral registration (IER) costs £8.765 million between 2013-14 and 2015-16 and the campaign for the May 2015 elections is expected to cost £3.09 million.

The Commission has also carried out voter registration research in previous years and has allocated a budget of £85,000 in 2013-14 for this work. The Commission expects this to continue in future years.

The Commission also supports electoral registration officers (EROs) by providing guidance and resources and by targeting its performance standards to help ensure that they understand the particular challenges in their registration area, and are taking steps to address these.

The majority of this work is delivered by the Commission's Guidance and Performance team and staff from its Scotland, Wales and English regional offices. These staff have a range of other responsibilities and their time spent on electoral registration and fraud is estimated to cost £365,000 per year.

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On electoral registration fraud, the Commission also provides guidance to electoral registration officers and police forces, collects and analyses data about allegations of electoral registration fraud, and monitors policy and legislation. The Commission's work in this area is led by its electoral policy team, and the relevant staff cost is estimated at £57,000 per year.

In addition, the Commission carries out research relating to electoral registration fraud, including collecting data from police forces about cases. The overall amount spent on this research is estimated as £10,000 per year.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what progress the Electoral Commission has made in increasing voter registration rates; and if he will make a statement. [182314]

Mr Streeter: Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are responsible for maintaining the electoral register in their local areas. The Electoral Commission supports them in this work in a number of ways, including by targeting its performance standards to help ensure that they understand the particular challenges in their registration area and develop plans to address these and improve registration rates.

The Electoral Commission also runs campaigns to raise public awareness about the need for voters to register in advance of each electoral event. In advance of the elections this May, the Commission will run a campaign encouraging people to register to vote by the deadline of 6 May. This will use media that is targeted at the under-registered groups identified through research, which include young people, recent homemovers, people living in private rented accommodation and prople from BME communities.

The Commission's most recent research into the accuracy and completeness of the April 2011 electoral registers in Great Britain found them to be 85% accurate and 82% complete.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the registration drives organised by (a) Bite the Ballot, (b) Operation Black Vote and (c) other groups in civil society. [185881]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it makes no formal assessments of other groups' registration drives. It does, however, provide support to them through the provision of registration forms, downloadable campaign materials such as posters and banners, and social media promotion for specific campaigns, such as Bite the Ballot's National Register to Vote Day.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what (a) meetings and (b) correspondence the Electoral Commission has had with Experian on voter under registration in each of the last six years. [185888]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that ahead of the 2010 UK parliamentary election, it worked with Experian and the Central Office of

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Information on a public awareness campaign to target people who had recently moved house. The Commission utilised data provided by Experian to contact home movers.

In addition, representatives from the Commission met with Experian in March 2011 to discuss a project undertaken by them to identify gaps and inconsistencies in the electoral register using external datasets.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has had discussions with churches and religious denominations in the UK about the importance of electoral registration. [185898]

Mr Streeter: Electoral registration is delivered by electoral registration officers (EROs). The Electoral Commission’s guidance for EROs encourages them to work closely with groups including churches, religious denominations and other organisations who can have particularly effective reach into groups of under-registered individuals and those who are most likely to be unconfirmed as part of the roll out of individual electoral registration (IER). This guidance includes templates to assist local authorities to contact a wide range of community groups.

The commission’s ongoing programme of engagement to increase voters’ awareness of IER will include communications with faith groups and relevant religious organisations.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what action the Electoral Commission has taken against local authorities which have failed performance standard three for electoral registration officers (house-to-house enquiries). [185971]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that performance standard 3 aims to ensure that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) make the necessary house-to-house inquiries to ensure that all eligible residents are registered, in line with their legal duty to maintain the electoral registers.

The Commission required all EROs to report on their performance prior to the start of the 2013 postponed canvass and to confirm that arrangements were in place for the necessary house to house inquiries to be carried out. As part of this, the Commission required all EROs who were not meeting the standards in 2012, including the 30 EROs who did not meet performance standard 3, to provide supporting evidence to the Commission to demonstrate their performance.

The Commission has been working with individual EROs whose returns and other available information indicated that they may not be meeting one or more performance standards to identify and recommend improvements that could be made, with a view to ensuring that they take the necessary steps to enable them to meet the performance standards. While the Commission cannot direct EROs to take steps to meet the standards, the Secretary of State does hold a power to direct EROs in relation to the discharge of their functions, which can be exercised on a recommendation of the Commission. To date, no such recommendation or direction has been considered appropriate.

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In March 2014, the Commission will make a final assessment of performance for 2013, including an assessment of performance against performance standard 3, and will report on its conclusions.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what discussions the Electoral Commission has had with the Electoral Registration Officer on measures to improve levels of electoral registration. [186093]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it sets standards for and provides guidance and resources to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to support their efforts to increase voter registration.

In September 2013, the commission published new performance standards which are designed to support EROs in preparing for and delivering the transition to individual electoral registration (IER). The standards have been endorsed by the UK Electoral Advisory Board—membership of which includes the regional returning officer for each electoral region in the UK— ensuring that they reflect a shared understanding across the electoral community of what EROs should be doing. The standards help to ensure that EROs understand the particular challenges in their area, and are taking steps to address these.

The commission will keep EROs' plans and strategies to engage with electors under regular review throughout the transition, supplying feedback to all EROs and their teams, and providing additional support for those identified as requiring it.

To support the transition to individual electoral registration (IER), the commission will also be providing EROs with template leaflets, letters, digital advertisements and posters for use as part of their local public engagement work.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the value for money of electoral registration drives carried out by (a) political parties, (b) civic society and (c) the Electoral Commission. [186094]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has made no value for money assessments of electoral registration drives carried out by political parties or civic society organisations. It does, however, have strict financial procedures in place to ensure value for money is gained at each stage of supplier procurement for its own campaigns.

Budgets for its campaigns are all ‘zero-based’, meaning any expenditure must be justified against a specific need. There is also a ceiling on the total budget for any campaign of the nearest previous equivalent campaign delivered by the commission. Tracking research is also undertaken to benchmark against previous campaigns and to ensure future campaigns are based on past learnings.

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Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what contingency plans the Electoral Commission has to cope with a significant drop in voter registration as a result of individual electoral registration. [186099]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it will continue to monitor electoral registration in Great Britain during the transition to individual electoral registration (IER) from 2014 to 2016.

The commission will use data and analysis about any changes to levels of registration to identify new or additional actions that Electoral Registration Officers should take, and to inform the development of the commission's own public awareness activity.

The commission will also report in mid-2015 in order to inform a ministerial decision on whether the end date for the transition to IER should be moved forward from December 2016 to December 2015, taking into account evidence about any changes to registration levels.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how much the Electoral Commission spent on estimating the number of unregistered voters in each of the last five years. [190171]

Mr Streeter: The commission refers the hon. Member to the answer to his previous question (185891) which outlined the amount spent on research focusing on under registration.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission if the Electoral Commission will publish its correspondence with the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd on the increase in the estimated number of unregistered voters. [190172]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that copies of this correspondence will be sent to the hon. Member. The commission does not routinely publish correspondence with hon. Members, as these can often relate to sensitive constituency matters.

Electoral Register: Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the (a) number of successful prosecutions for electoral registration fraud and (b) public perception of electoral registration fraud in each year for which data are available. [182369]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it regularly publishes data reported by UK police forces about cases of alleged electoral fraud. These data are collected from each police force every month and recorded by the Association of Chief Police Officers National Police Coordination Centre.

Data about the outcome of cases of alleged electoral registration fraud since 2010, accurate as at December 2013, are set out in the following table.

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The Commission has also carried out public opinion research on concerns about electoral fraud, and has asked people in its annual winter tracker survey whether they think registering to vote is safe from fraud since 2010. The proportion of people who said that they were concerned about electoral registration fraud each year is set out in the following table:

More generally, the winter tracker survey has found that the percentage that think electoral fraud is a problem has fluctuated at around one-third (36% said it was a problem in December 2012). Data from these surveys are available on the Commission's website at:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/public-opinion-surveys

Electorate

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what research the Electoral Commission has conducted on the potential effect of requirements for proof of identify by voters on (a) electoral registration rates and (b) electoral turnout; and if he will place in the Library copies of that research. [182370]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has carried out research with the public on the potential impact of requiring people to provide information to verify their identity when applying to register to vote. The most recent research carried out in December 2012 found that:

95% of people said it would be easy for them to find their national insurance number if they needed it for official purposes.

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81% of people said that a requirement to provide a national insurance number would either make no difference to their likelihood to register to vote, or that it would make them more likely to do so.

92% of people said that being required to provide their date of birth would either have no impact or increase the likelihood of them registering to vote.

92% of people said that being required to provide their signature would either have no impact or increase the likelihood of them registering to vote.

In Northern Ireland, where voters are required to present photo ID at the polling station, the Commission's 2009 post-poll public opinion survey found that 100% of respondents experienced no difficulty with presenting ID.

The survey also found that the vast majority of non-voters said the requirement to present ID at the polling station would have made no difference to their decision to vote (87%). 7% reported that it would make them less likely to vote and 6% more likely.

Data from these surveys are available on the Commission's website at:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/public-opinion-surveys

The Commission also contracted the agency Define Research and Insight to carry out qualitative research with the public into perceptions of electoral fraud. The research was carried out in two phases between January and May 2013, and included a combination of group discussions and individual depth interviews undertaken in a range of locations across the UK.

The research focused on people's understanding of and concerns about electoral fraud, including exploring the potential impact of requiring electors to show proof of their identity when they vote at polling stations in Great Britain. The research analysis reports are available on the Commission's website at:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/electoral-fraud/electoral-fraud-vulnerabilities-review

Further to the review, the Commission intends to carry out further more detailed research and consultation on the most appropriate forms of identification which could be used to verify the identity of voters at polling stations in Great Britain.

Voting Behaviour

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what research the Electoral Commission has undertaken on voter (a) turnout and (b) disengagement in the last six years. [185893]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that its participation activities focus on registration rather than voter turnout or disengagement. However, the Commission does collect and publish detailed data on turnout at all elections. This information is available on the Commission's website.

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the voter turnout was for (a) postal and (b) non-postal voters in all elections for which the Electoral Commission holds data. [186083]

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Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it holds turnout data for (a) postal and (b) non-postal voters for the following elections:

Health

Abortion

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what proportion of HSA1 did (a) one or (b) both certifying doctors not indicate whether or not they had seen and examined the pregnant woman to whom the certificate related in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012. [190301]

Jane Ellison: HSA1 forms are not submitted to the Department but are held locally with medical records for three years.

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration his Department has given to the withdrawal of support for independent abortion providers in situations where their guidance does not comply with legislation. [190302]

Jane Ellison: The Secretary of State for Health has a power under section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967 to approve independent sector places to perform termination of pregnancy. All providers must undertake to, and continue to comply with:

the Abortion Act 1967 and regulations made under the Act—Abortion Regulations 1991;

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the requirements set out in regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008; and

the Required Standard Operating Procedures currently set out in Interim Procedures for the Approval of Independent Sector Places for the Termination of Pregnancy.

Abortion: Counselling

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department plans to introduce guidance for non-statutory pregnancy counselling services. [190441]

Jane Ellison: The Government's Framework for Sexual Health Improvement, published in March 2013, made clear that abortion counselling should be provided by trained counsellors and that it should be non-judgmental, impartial and put patients' needs first, irrespective of the employer of the counsellor. It is for national health service providers to ensure that the services they recommend meet this need.

All Party Physical Activity Commission

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish his Department's evidence to the All Party Commission on Physical Activity. [190584]

Jane Ellison: ‘Moving More, Living More’—a document setting out the Government's approach to helping the nation to become more active, as the physical activity element of the legacy to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games—was launched on 13 February. A copy of this document has been sent to the All Party Commission on Physical Activity as evidence, and it has also been placed in the Library.

Appendicitis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in how many cases of acute appendicitis (a) the patient’s appendix has burst and (b) the patient has died as a result in each of the last five years. [190377]

Jane Ellison: Information on the number of cases of acute appendicitis where the patient’s appendix has burst and the patient has died as a result is not collected.

Breast Cancer

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions he has had with NHS England on ensuring that future iterations of the Innovation Scorecard are able to record levels of uptake of breast cancer chemoprevention drugs; [190787]

(2) what discussions he has had with NHS England on overcoming barriers to monitoring uptake of breast cancer chemoprevention drugs. [190789]

Norman Lamb: We have had no such discussions. NHS England is committed to developing the Innovation Scorecard further, both to increase the coverage of the health technologies included, and to improve the scorecard's utility as a vehicle to stimulate the monitoring of NHS compliance with National Institute for Health and Care

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Excellence technology appraisals and prompt conversations about variation and the reasons for variation in the system.

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to work with NHS England to ensure that (a) regional and (b) historical comparisons on the uptake of breast cancer drugs can be made using the Innovation Scorecard. [190788]

Norman Lamb: The Innovation Scorecard includes information on a number of drugs recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal guidance for the treatment of breast cancer.

We understand that NHS England is continuing to develop the Innovation Scorecard to increase both the coverage of the medicines and health technologies included and improve the scorecard's utility as a vehicle to stimulate the monitoring of national health service compliance with NICE technology appraisals and prompt conversations about variation and the reasons for variation in the system.

Cancer: Drugs

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the total expenditure from the Cancer Drugs Fund in each of the last three years. [190264]

Norman Lamb: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns) on 4 March 2014, Official Report, column 768W.

In addition, NHS England has published a summary financial report for the Cancer Drugs Fund at end December 2013 on its website at:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cdf-sum-fin-pos.pdf

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence plans to appraise the Abraxane form of protein-bound paclitaxel. [190724]

Norman Lamb: Paclitaxel formulated as albumin-bound nanoparticles (Abraxane), in combination with gemcitabine, for treating previously untreated metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas has been referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's (NICE) technology appraisal programme. We understand that NICE currently expects to issue guidance to the national health service on this topic in January 2015.

Children: Heart Diseases

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he was informed that NHS England would not complete the Congenital Heart Disease Review by June 2014. [190536]

Jane Ellison: The review is being undertaken by NHS England and they advise that all information relating to the review can be found on their website and through a fortnightly blog:

www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/qual-clin-lead/chd/

www.england.nhs.uk/publications/blogs/john-holden/

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We understand that—following engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including clinicians, providers and patient and public representatives—NHS England expect to publish draft service standards for consultation over the summer. Once finalised, these standards will form the basis of NHS England's commissioning of these services in 2015-16.

The new Congenital Heart Disease review team are using the NHS England website and their blog to keep everyone up to date with their estimates on timing. For example, this NHS England Board paper was published on the website ahead of a Board meeting of 24 January 2014:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/item7d-board-0114.pdf

Crime Prevention: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what communications his Department has made to (a) local authorities in England and (b) health and wellbeing boards about the Government's Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme. [190798]

Jane Ellison: I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 10 February 2014, Official Report, columns 448-49W.

“Violence and health and wellbeing boards, A practical guide for health and wellbeing boards”, was published on 27 February 2014. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Depressive Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) anti-depressants and (b) mindfulness-based treatment in (i) curing and (ii) suppressing depression. [190097]

Norman Lamb: The Department has made no such assessment. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made recommendations on the use of antidepressants and mindfulness-based therapies as a psychological intervention for the prevention of relapse in depression within its clinical guideline ‘Depression: the treatment and management of depression in adults’ (CG90), published in 2009. These include the need to review treatment options with patients and discuss treatments with them to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Eating Disorders

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the UK were diagnosed with an eating disorder in each of the last three years. [190381]

Norman Lamb: Information is not held on the number of people diagnosed with an eating disorder. The following table shows the number of admissions in England for the last three years with a primary diagnosis of eating disorder.

We take the issue of eating disorders very seriously, especially among young people, and we note that the overall number of admissions are rising.

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We are working with organisations such as the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to produce an e-portal which will provide information and training about mental health online for people who work with children, which is likely to include material specific to eating disorders.

We are also exploring with internet security companies, charities and other Government Departments how best to protect children and young people from harmful internet content related to eating disorders.

Female Genital Mutilation

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that health workers identify girls at risk of female genital mutilation and refer them to social services for a safeguarding plan to be put in place. [190519]

Jane Ellison: On 6 February, the Department announced that from April 2014, for the first time ever, all national health service acute hospitals must provide information on patients who have undergone female genital mutilation.

The Department is working with NHS England and other partners to develop materials to support NHS staff to better identify girls at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM). The Department is also working with NHS England and the relevant Royal Colleges on training for health professionals about FGM.

The Department is in the early stages of work with the Department for Education with regard to social service referrals on FGM, and will make further announcements on this in due course.

Health Services: Learning Disability

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms his Department has put in place to assess whether health commissioners are paying learning disability services a fee that reflects the cost of the service that they provide. [190341]

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Norman Lamb: Learning disability services are subject to local price setting. When setting local prices commissioners should ensure that health care services provided are in the best interests of patients. They must promote transparency to improve accountability and encourage the sharing of best practice. Providers and commissioners must engage constructively with each other when agreeing local payments and must have regard for the national tariff efficiency and cost uplift factors when agreeing local prices.

The rules on local pricing around local price setting are set out in section 7.4 of the ‘2014/15 National Tariff Payment System’, published on 17 December at:

www.monitor.gov.uk/NT

Heart Diseases

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to make a statement on the outcome of the new congenital heart disease review. [190090]

Jane Ellison: The review is being undertaken by NHS England and they advise that all information relating to the review can be found on their website and through a fortnightly blog:

www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/qual-clin-lead/chd/www.england.nhs.uk/publications/blogs/john-holden/

We understand that—following engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including clinicians, providers and patient and public representatives—NHS England expect to publish draft service standards for consultation over the summer. Once finalised, these standards will form the basis of NHS England's commissioning of these services in 2015-16.

HIV Infection

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from the National Screening Committee on evidence for increased routine HIV testing in high prevalence areas. [190246]

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

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

The current approach is made up of a range of testing strategies combined with promotion through outreach to communities most at-risk of HIV infection. Around two million HIV tests are undertaken annually

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(excluding those on blood donors), most of which are performed in either GUM clinics or antenatal care services

.

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

The Department has asked the UK NSC to review the evidence for a universal HIV screening programme in adults as this has not been carried out before. The UK NSC expects to consult on the review in early 2015.

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

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

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a patient experience survey for people receiving NHS treatment for HIV. [190290]

Dr Poulter: There are no plans at the present time to introduce a patient experience survey specifically for people receiving NHS treatment for HIV. However, there is a wide-ranging programme of patient experience surveys and other feedback mechanisms managed by the Care Quality Commission and NHS England. The experiences of patients, including those receiving treatment for HIV, will be captured by such mechanisms, in particular the Friends and Family Test (FFT). FFT will be rolled out to all NHS services by the end of March 2015.