Cystic Fibrosis

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the quality of psychological support available to individuals with cystic fibrosis who receive a lung transplantation. [193292]

Jane Ellison: NHS Blood and Transplant is continuing to work with transplant centres to consider practical steps within the current system which could improve patient outcomes. It continues to review the current allocation process and works with international organisations to share learning to improve processes.

The Department is aware that the Cystic Fibrosis Trust published a report on 10 March 2014—“Hope for all: Improving lung transplantation for people with cystic fibrosis”—which sets out 13 recommendations around organ donation and transplantations for people living with cystic fibrosis. The report covered pre-and-post lung transplant standards for care, including psychosocial support.

Dementia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of recent progress in the diagnosis of dementia and in the availability to the public of improved methods of diagnosis. [193540]

Norman Lamb: The current dementia diagnosis rate, 2012-13, is 48.7%, an increase from 46% in 2011-12. NHS England has set the first ever national ambition to improve dementia diagnosis rates to two-thirds by March 2015.

A dementia breakthrough challenge to demonstrate a step change in dementia diagnosis, with a prize of £1 million, has been set up by NHS Improving Quality.

Dental Services: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many children (a) are and (b) are not registered with a dentist in (i) Cumbria and (ii) South Lakeland; [194021]

(2) how many people (a) are and (b) are not registered with a dentist in (i) Cumbria and (ii) South Lakeland. [193992]

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Dr Poulter: Information is not available in the format requested.

Under the current dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a national health service dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to “registration” is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services (“patients seen”).

This data are available at Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) level. Cumbria CCG covers Carlisle, Eden, Allerdale, Copeland, Furness and South Lakeland areas.

The number of children seen by an NHS dentist in the 24-month period ending 31 December 2013 is shown in the following table:

The number of patients seen by an NHS dentist in the 24-month period ending 31 December 2013 is shown in the following table:

Drugs

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he plans to take to ensure that clinical data from pharmaceutical companies on drugs over 15 years old are made available to clinical researchers; [193812]

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(2) what steps his Department is taking to advance and promote transparency in the pharmaceutical industry in publishing data on drugs over 15 years old. [193813]

Norman Lamb: The Government encourage the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry to work with its members to share and promote best practice on clinical trial data transparency and data sharing. The new Clinical Trials Regulation that will be formally adopted by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament in April or May this year obliges the European Commission to produce a guideline on the formatting and sharing of raw data on a voluntary basis.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that the Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency does not destroy clinical trial data on drugs licensed over 15 years ago; and if he will make a statement. [193986]

Norman Lamb: Under the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) records management policy, all information is retained for seven years unless there is a legal, regulatory, or business need to keep them for a shorter or longer period, or they are considered to be of lasting historic interest. The MHRA retains key documents relating to the agency's assessment and decision-making processes, such as original assessment reports or papers submitted to advisory committees for advice. Some of these records are in turn filed permanently at the National Archives.

Under clinical trial regulations, the sponsor or other owner of the data must retain all documentation pertaining to the trial as long as the product is authorised. This documentation includes the trial protocol, methodology of the trial, with conditions under which it is performed and managed, details of the investigational product, the reference medicinal product and/or the placebo used, any standard operating procedures used for conducting the trial, all written opinions on the protocol and procedures, the investigator's brochure, case report forms on each trial subject, final report and audit certificate(s), if available, and staff training records. The final trial report is retained by the sponsor or subsequent owner, for five years after the medicinal product is no longer authorised and the MHRA can request this information from the sponsor.

The MHRA's approach to retention and disposal of information is kept under review.

http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/path-qa-review.pdf

Drugs: Misuse

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to ensure that people are fully informed of the health risks of taking legal highs. [193689]

Jane Ellison: Education plays an important role in helping to ensure that young people are equipped with the information they need to make informed, healthy decisions and to keep themselves safe.

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The Talk to FRANK service provides young people in England with friendly, confidential advice and information about drugs, including ‘legal highs'/New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and has tips on how to resist peer pressure to experiment. The service is provided through a range of channels (helpline, website, SMS, email, web chat) to suit a variety of different needs.

Drug education is part of the science national curriculum at key stage 2 and key stage 3 and provision in this area can be built on through Personal, Social, Health and Economic education.

From July to October 2013, the Home Office ran communications activity targeted at young people aged 13-18 to raise awareness of the risks, consequences and harms of NPS amongst those contemplating using these drugs by signposting them to the FRANK website for further information and advice about the effects and risks of NPS.

NPS will continue to remain a key work priority in drug policy and the Minister for Crime Prevention is currently leading a review to look at how the United Kingdom's response to new psychoactive substances can be enhanced beyond the existing measures.

The review is being conducted by an expert panel, which is looking at the potential enhancement of the current legislative framework as well as health and education.

Eyes: Diseases

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research his Department has commissioned into Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy in the last five years; [193777]

(2) what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the drug idebonen in treating Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. [193778]

Dr Poulter: We have made no such assessment and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has not issued any guidance on the use of idebenone for the treatment of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).

Subject to contract, the Department's National Institute for Health Research has approved £0.5 million funding for a trial stratifying patients with LHON for idebenone therapy using mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Foetal Death

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what disciplinary action he plans to take against hospital managers and workers who have incinerated foetal remains against the wishes of the parents. [193307]

Dr Poulter: Responsibility for ensuring that staff comply with their hospital's policy on disposal of fetal remains lies with the relevant national health service trust or NHS foundation trust. Any disciplinary action considered necessary as a result of inappropriate staff practice will be a matter for the trust or foundation trust as the employing authority.

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General Practitioners

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information sourced by GPs is reliable and safe to pass to patients. [193439]

Dr Poulter: It is the responsibility of individual general practitioners (GPs), using their professional clinical judgment, to ensure that the information that they give to patients is reliable and safe.

With regard to clinical information given to patients, medical revalidation, which commenced in December 2012, requires all doctors with a licence to practice medicine in the United Kingdom to provide evidence through their annual appraisals of how they have kept their knowledge and skills up to date, including the latest techniques, technologies and research.

GPs have to demonstrate that they are actively maintaining their skills through continual professional development and are aware of new clinical guidelines which are regularly published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and disseminated to GPs.

Health Education: Food

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to Lord Beecham of 20 March 2014, Official Report, House of Lords, column 269, how much the Government have spent on (a) Healthy Start, (b) Change4Life and (c) the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme in each year since 2010. [193496]

Jane Ellison: Total Government expenditure on these schemes in each of the last three complete financial years is set out in the following table:

Health Services: Greater Manchester

Sir Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the prevalence of gaming of 18 and 52 week waiting list thresholds by NHS secondary care providers in Greater Manchester. [193266]

Jane Ellison: No such assessment has been made.

The Department is not aware of any ‘gaming’ of the 18 and 52 week referral to treatment targets by national health service secondary care providers in Greater Manchester. ‘Gaming' or manipulating NHS performance data is totally unacceptable. Any evidence of such practice would be investigated by the relevant NHS body as a priority and action taken.

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Hospitals: Fairtrade Initiative

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further steps he is taking to encourage the use of Fairtrade goods in catering in hospitals; and if he will make a statement. [193993]

Dr Poulter: Through the NHS Standard Contract, hospitals must have regard to Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (Food GBS) which includes a requirement that at least 50% of tea and coffee is fairly traded. Data collected as part of the 2013 Patient Led Assessment of the Care Environment process indicates 50% of all hospitals report that they are fully compliant with Food GBS, with a further 25% actively working towards compliance.

In addition, financial incentives are now available to providers who adopt food standards. These incentives are part of the exemplar Commissioning for Quality and Innovation process and are negotiated locally.

The Department has established a Hospital Food Standards Panel, under the chairmanship of Dianne Jeffrey, chairman of Age UK. The panel is examining existing food standards including those relating to local and sustainable procurement referencing Fairtrade. The panel will report in autumn 2014.

Learning Disability

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with learning disabilities received annual health checks in each year since 2009. [193343]

Norman Lamb: The numbers of people who received a check under the Clinical Directed Enhanced Services learning disabilities health check scheme are as follows:

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to ensure all people with learning difficulties receive annual health checks; [193354]

(2) what targets his Department has set for the number of people with learning difficulties who will receive annual health checks in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015. [193355]

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Norman Lamb: The learning disabilities health check scheme was introduced into the general practitioner (GP) contract in 2010-11. Take-up of the scheme by GP practices has steadily increased, and 83% of practices now offer this service to people with learning disabilities who are on their registered patient list. We have agreed with the GP Committee of the British Medical Association, to increase the qualifying cohort for health checks to include all patients from the age of 14.

We are very much committed to building on this progress, so that all people with moderate or severe learning disabilities have access to health checks. We consider that this is best done by continuing to extend take-up among the 17% of practices that are not yet providing the service. NHS England will work with system providers to develop a standard template that will address the priorities stated above. This template will enable GP practices to deliver a high standard of care to all patients

As part of the Enhanced Service Specification for those practices signed up to the learning disabilities health check scheme, it is a requirement that all eligible patients will be offered an annual health check. Work will continue with those practices who have not yet signed up to the scheme.

There are no targets set for annual health checks.

Medical Equipment

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP practices in England have access to spirometry equipment; and what proportion of that equipment is quality-assured diagnostic level spirometry. [193222]

Dr Poulter: It is for individual general practitioner practices to determine what equipment is necessary in order to provide national health service primary medical services to their patients to meet the terms of their contract with NHS England.

Medical Records: Databases

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2014, Official Report, columns 724-5W, on medical records: databases, if he will list the holders of a commercial re-use licence granted by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC); and for each such licence for what purpose the use of HSCIC data was approved. [193405]

Dr Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) is committed to openness and transparency around the use of health data. Both the report, covering data approved, and released by HSCIC post 31 March 2013 and the audit, covering other data releases back to 2005 by NHS Information Centre, will include the purpose of the data release. The report will be published on 3 April 2014 and will be maintained thereafter. The audit will be available to report to the HSCIC Board at the end of April 2014. In parallel, the HSCIC is working on identifying which agreements cover reuse.

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Medical Treatments

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which treatments have been appraised through a technology appraisal by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or its predecessor bodies; in which indication each treatment was appraised; on which date each appraisal was (a) initiated and (b) concluded; what the estimated eligible patient population for the treatment in each appraised indication was; whether the end-of-life criteria were applied in each final appraisal determination; whether the additional healthcare costs associated with prolonged survival were captured in each final appraisal determination; what the (i) lowest, (ii) highest and (iii) base case estimate of the cost-per-quality adjusted life year of the treatment in each appraised indication was; and what the recommendation resulting from each appraisal was. [193294]

Norman Lamb: Details of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal decisions published between 2000 to end February 2014 have been placed in the Library.

NICE has advised that information on additional health care costs associated with prolonged survival and the lowest, highest and base case estimates of the cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) of each appraised indication is not held.

NICE does hold the most plausible cost per QALY for each technology appraisal, the estimated eligible patient population for each appraised indication, details of appraisals where end-of-life criteria were applied in each final appraisal determination and the dates each appraisal was initiated and concluded. However, this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Medicine: Research

Rebecca Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the draft European General Data Protection Regulation on medical research. [193436]

Dr Poulter: For medical research the proposed Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) text which the European Parliament has voted to take forward will have a detrimental effect on conducting medical research in the EU including in the United Kingdom.

The overall impact to research of the proposed LIBE proposals would make accessing sensitive personal information difficult, as consent from an individual citizen is required if identifiable, pseudonymised or linked data were needed, noting most research is rarely on one data set. Therefore, conducting research in the EU, using data, would become difficult to conduct.

Department of Health officials are working with Ministry of Justice officials to resist any changes that would have a negative impact on medical research.

Meningitis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the timeframe within which it will be able to negotiate a cost-effective price for the meningitis B vaccine. [193692]

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Jane Ellison: The Department and Public Health England will start negotiations with Novartis, which produces the only licensed meningitis B vaccine, as soon as possible.

The first step in these negotiations will be to determine whether we can get the vaccine at a cost-effective price, as the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is recommending. This will be a matter for negotiation with the manufacturers.

As negotiations are yet to commence, we are at present unable to give a clear time scale within which these will be concluded.

If successful, the programme will be implemented as rapidly as possible while ensuring we can establish a robust vaccination programme with a reliable supply of vaccine.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of local authorities in England which have rescinded agreements made with NHS mental health trusts under section 75 of the National Health Services Act 2006 in each year since 2010. [193631]

Norman Lamb: No such assessment has been made.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the proportion and number of people in England who have been medicated for psychiatric disorders in each of the last five years. [193660]

Norman Lamb: No assessment has been made of the proportion and number of people in England who have been medicated for psychiatric disorders.

Necrotising Fasciitis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of necrotising fasciitis have been recorded in each of the last five years. [193541]

Jane Ellison: Necrotising Fasciitis (NF) is a rare disease caused by a number of different bacteria. We have no dedicated surveillance systems for NF and as such do not have any accurate data on numbers of cases diagnosed each year. Public Health England does have past estimates of numbers of NF cases due to group A streptococci, bacteria associated with particularly severe infection, but not in the last five years.

NHS: Expenditure

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much was spent on nationally commissioned NHS services (a) at each hospital trust and (b) for each medical specialty in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2009-10, (iv) 2008-09, (v) 2007-08, (vi) 2006-07, (vii) 2005-06 and (viii) 2004-05; [193226]

(2) how much has been spent on nationally-commissioned NHS services (a) at each hospital trust and (b) for each medical specialty in 2012-13. [193228]

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Jane Ellison: This information is not collected in the format requested.

HS England advises that it does not currently hold data on spend across the country on specialised services at hospital trust or medical specialty level. NHS England is in the process of developing a single, standard mechanism for counting, coding and analysing specialised services activity and finance data.

NHS: Re-employment

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS staff in (a) Warrington, (b) the North West and (c) England who have been made redundant since 2010 have since been re-employed by the NHS on (i) a permanent basis, (ii) on a fixed-term contract and (iii) as consultants. [193814]

Dr Poulter: In the context of a national health service workforce of almost 1.3 million, the number of NHS staff to have been made redundant since May 2010 and subsequently re-employed by an NHS organisation is relatively small, estimated to be in the specific geographical region as shown in the following table.

NHS: Reorganisation

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 18 July 2013, Official Report, columns 125-6WS, on NHS modernisation (costs and benefits), if he will publish a detailed breakdown of the (a) gross savings over the transition period and (b) long-term annual savings. [193748]

Jane Ellison: Gross reductions in administration costs over the period 2010-11 to 2012-13 are set out as follows. These are calculated on a basis consistent with the impact assessment for the Health and Social Care

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Bill (published in September 2011) ie the figures set aside any administrative spending on implementing the reforms.

Figures for 2013-14 will be available when the Department's annual report and accounts are published. Consistent with the written ministerial statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, on 18 July 2013, Official Report, columns 125-26WS, on the costs and benefits of NHS Modernisation, the cumulative savings arising from the reforms over this Parliament are still expected to be at least £5.5 billion in real terms.

On a basis consistent with the impact assessment, the long term annual savings arising from the reforms are still expected to be £1.5 billion. Because the set of bodies that existed in 2010-11 is different from the set that will exist in 2014-15 it is not possible to set out how the budgets of individual bodies have changed over this period.

NHS: Staff

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many managers and administrators were employed in the NHS in the (a) latest period for which figures are available and (b) 12 months prior to that period. [193509]

Dr Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre Provisional Monthly Workforce Statistics show the number of managers and administrators employed by the national health service in England. The latest available statistics are for December 2013.

The numbers of administrative staff (clerical and administrative staff) and managers as at December 2012 and December 2013 are shown in the following table. Included in these figures are administrative staff who support clinicians, such as medical secretaries, call handlers and receptionists. Such staff have patient contact as part of their duties.

NHS hospital and community health services provisional monthly statistics: Clerical and administrative staff and managers and senior managers in England by main staff group as at 31 December each specified year.

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Obesity: Children

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and Humber and (c) England were classed as overweight in each year since 1997. [193621]

Jane Ellison: The proportion of children overweight in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and Humber and (c) England as measured by the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) 2006-07 to 2012-13 is shown in the following table. There are no local level child obesity data prior to 2006-07 in the NCMP. There are data for England as a whole from the Health Survey for England from 1995.

Organs: Donors

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were added to the organ donor register in Brigg and Goole constituency in each of the last five years. [193907]

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

Pathology

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of trends in the incidence of quality failures in NHS hospital histopathology laboratories over the last five years. [193694]

Dr Poulter: The Department has not made any recent assessment of trends in the incidence of quality failures in national health service hospital histopathology laboratories over the last five years.

NHS England advises it is not aware of any specific work that has been undertaken nationally in this area. However, in late 2012 Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the then NHS Medical Director, and now NHS England's Medical Director, commissioned an independent review into pathology quality assurance. The outcome of the review was published in January 2014¹.

The review proposes ways in which the system could be strengthened, including that NHS England should look at how it might provide regular reports to the NHS on trends and errors in pathology.

¹ http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/path-qa-review.pdf

Psoriasis

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how his Department will incentivise the NHS to meet the National Institute for Care Excellence quality standard on psoriasis; [193431]

(2) what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the implementation of the National Institute for Care Excellence quality standard on psoriasis; [193432]

(3) what assessment he has made of the implementation across the NHS in England of the National Institute for Care Excellence quality standard on psoriasis. [193433]

Norman Lamb: No discussions have taken place between the Department and NHS England regarding the implementation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standard on psoriasis.

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Quality standards are important in setting out to patients, the public, commissioners and providers what a high quality service should look like in a particular area of care. NHS England continues to champion their use with both commissioners and providers.

No assessment has been made of the implementation of the quality standard on psoriasis. While national health service organisations must have regard to NICE quality standards in planning and delivering services, the quality standards do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 718W, what the additional funding for radiotherapy was spent on in each year since April 2011; and if he will publish NHS England's expenditure plans for the additional £42 million allocated for improving radiotherapy services in 2014-15. [193376]

Jane Ellison: “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, published on 12 January 2011, set out our commitment to expand radiotherapy services by investing over £150 million in additional funding up to 2014-15 through recurrent revenue allocations to primary care trusts and was not ring-fenced for specific purposes.

With regard to the additional £42 million allocated for improving radiotherapy services in 2014-15, NHS England will be developing plans for improving radiotherapy, referencing the recently published “Vision for Radiotherapy” document produced in conjunction with Cancer Research UK, and will share these in due course.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccinations were administered in England in the last 12 months; what guidance his Department has issued on whether babies born prematurely or at risk of bronchiolitis should be given the RSV vaccination; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of administering the RSV vaccination to all babies born between November and February. [193698]

Jane Ellison: Data on the number of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisations given in the last 12 months are not available centrally.

Guidance on the RSV immunisation and on its use is detailed in the publication, Immunisation against Infectious Diseases, also referred to as the ‘Green Book'. This is available via the Public Health England area of the Gov.uk website, or

www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book

This guidance is informed by advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, (JCVI), an independent Departmental expert committee and a statutory body constituted for the purpose of advising the Secretary of State on the provision of vaccination and immunisation services.

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RSV is the organism responsible for the majority of cases of bronchiolitis. There is no licensed vaccine available for RSV. However, preventative treatment for RSV is available by passive immunisation with protective antibodies to protect at risk infants over the winter months. Unlike vaccines such as MMR and whooping cough that are routinely given to all children, passive immunity provides only short-term protection and is only appropriate for at-risk pre-term infants for whom RSV infection is likely to cause serious illness or death.

RSV passive immunisation is usually delivered in a secondary care setting during the RSV season. It is only recommended for young infants born prematurely and children under the age of two years who have predisposing conditions such as chronic lung disease, congenital heart disease or children who are immunodeficient, for whom RSV infection is likely to cause serious illness or death.

There is research under way to develop a vaccine for RSV. When a licensed vaccine becomes available, it will be considered by the JCVI.

Skin Cancer

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS England has begun the process of considering the recommendation of the Cancer Drugs Fund Panel's decision in January 2014 that ipilimumab should be commissioned directly by NHS England through baseline commissioning as a first-line treatment for advanced melanoma. [193437]

Norman Lamb: NHS England has advised that the Chemotherapy Clinical Reference Group is in the process of considering the recommendation from the Cancer Drugs Fund panel that ipilimumab (Yervoy) should be considered for baseline commissioning as a first-line treatment for advanced melanoma.

Transplant Surgery: Lung Diseases

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) partial and (b) whole lung transplants have been performed in the last five years; and which conditions patients had that made them eligible for a lung transplant. [193221]

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

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Selection and allocation of organs are based on a balance of equity, need and benefit. At present, NHS Blood and Transplant allocates donated deceased lungs to designated transplant centres on a zonal basis, and the centre is responsible for selecting the patient. The transplant surgeon will assess both the donor lungs and potential recipients to find the best match.

Vaccination

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 202W, on vaccination, which (a) Minister and (b) senior civil servant in his Department is directly responsible for vaccination and vaccination policy. [193637]

Jane Ellison: I am, as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, the Minister with responsibility for vaccination and vaccination policy.

The Director General of Public Health, Doctor Felicity Harvey, is the senior civil servant responsible for vaccination policy in the Department.

Delivery of vaccination programmes is a shared responsibility between Public Health England and NHS England.

Public Health England is responsible for national functions such as procuring, storing and distributing vaccines; developing and providing national implementation and communication strategies; and providing public health advice to NHS England and the Department.

NHS England is accountable for the provision of routine immunisation programmes as part of the agreement with the Secretary of State, under section 7A of the National Health Service Act 2006, about public health functions to be exercised by NHS England on his behalf.

Work and Pensions

EU Migrants: Benefits

18. David Rutley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what changes he plans to make to the ability of EU migrants to access benefits. [903387]

Esther McVey: We have introduced a range of measures to tighten up our EEA migration rules to ensure our welfare system is not taken advantage of.

Since December 2013 migrants have had to take a stronger, more robust habitual residence test if they want to claim income-related benefits.

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From 1 January 2014, EEA job seekers must have been living in the UK for three months before they can claim income-based jobseeker’s allowance.

If they satisfy HRT a new statutory presumption will mean that EEA jobseekers and retained workers will then only be able to claim jobseeker’s allowance for six months. After six months, only those who have compelling evidence that they have a genuine prospect of finding work will be able to continue claiming.

Since 1 March 2014 the minimum earnings threshold is helping to determine whether an EEA national’s previous or current work can be treated as genuine and effective in deciding whether they have a right to reside in the UK as a worker or a self employed person.

From 1 April 2014 new EEA jobseekers will be unable to access housing benefits even if they are in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance.

Personal Independence Payment

19. Mrs Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants have received the personal independence payment since April 2013. [903388]

Mike Penning: PIP is a brand new benefit that is replacing the broken DLA system, we published early management information on 11 February 2014. Between April and December 2013, around 22,000 new claimants had been given an award of PIP.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal independence payment applications have been processed in each month since April 2013. [193589]

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

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

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277986/adHoc-pip-statistics-feb14.pdf

Innovation Fund: Separated Families

20. Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the performance of the innovation fund to support separated families. [903389]

Steve Webb: We are funding 17 projects to help and support separated families in various parts of the country and piloting a range of approaches. The schemes conclude by April 2015 after which we will publish a full, independent evaluation.

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Welfare Payments

21. Mr Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish an assessment of the likely effect of the change to pensions announced in the 2014 Budget on the budget for welfare payments over the next ten years. [903390]

Steve Webb: The impact on welfare spending will depend on how people choose to use their savings; the choices people make may increase or decrease the likelihood of them being eligible for means tested benefits at some point in their retirement. However we are talking about people who have saved for their future and therefore we would expect the numbers choosing to rely solely on welfare benefits to be small.

The introduction of the single-tier pension also means that the majority of people will have a state pension income above the basic means test.

The details of the policy and the guidance offer are being developed and we are consulting on this.

Benefit Assessment Rulings

23. Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what charges are incurred by those appealing against a benefit assessment ruling. [903392]

Mike Penning: This is a matter for the Ministry of Justice.

They have no plans to introduce fees to bring an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (social security and child support).

Annuities

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of the provisions of the Consumer Rights Bill on the affordability of pensions annuities; and if he will make a statement. [193159]

Jenny Willott: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Where financial services, such as pensions' annuities, are provided by a trader to a consumer under a contract then Chapter 4 (the Services Chapter) of the Consumer Rights Bill will apply. However, where there are other enactments which apply, for example those which are specific to financial services, the Chapter makes clear that those take precedence (in clause 53). Consumers will therefore still be protected by such sector specific enactments, as they are now. In the event of a problem, consumers may be entitled to redress through the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The March 2014 Budget set out the Government's commitment to improving the pensions market. The reforms announced to the annuities market will further help to make those products more competitive and improve affordability for consumers.

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Atos Healthcare: Beverley

Mr Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of average waiting times for Atos (a) personal independence payments and (b) work assessments in Beverley and Holderness constituency; and what steps he is taking to achieve a reduction in waiting times for such assessments. [193525]

Mike Penning: It is not possible to provide data on waiting times for personal independence payment and employment and support allowance claimants in the Beverley and Holderness constituency. Information for this specific geographical area is not routinely reported to DWP by Atos Healthcare.

We announced in a written ministerial statement on 27 March our plans to achieve a reduction in waiting times and next steps. Atos Healthcare will be withdrawing from delivery of Work Capability Assessments in Great Britain before the end of the current contract.

Child Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of whether the unavailability of child benefit for 18-year-olds in receipt of jobseeker's allowance is discouraging the take-up of traineeships. [193897]

Esther McVey: Legislation prevents 18-year-olds who claim JSA claiming child benefit (if eligible) and vice versa. 18-year-olds claiming JSA can benefit from a traineeship. We are working to ensure that all young people who could benefit from a traineeship are able to do so.

Children: Maintenance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what powers the Child Support Agency has to investigate the weekly expenses of parents who are paying child maintenance; [193306]

(2) what his Department's policy is on whether receiving parents should be responsible for estimating the weekly expenses of the paying parent in the calculation of child maintenance entitlement. [193357]

Steve Webb: Section 14 of the Child Support Act 1991 and the Child Support Information Regulations 2008 provide the Child Support Agency and Child Maintenance Service with wide powers to obtain information from parents and third parties for the purpose of making decisions relating to child maintenance, including those decisions which relate to establishing the child maintenance of a Paying Parent.

The Receiving Parent is not responsible for estimating the weekly expenses of a Paying Parent. The Child Maintenance Service, which administers the 2012 Scheme, is built to make best use of taxable income information that is regularly and reliably available from HMRC. However, in the 1993 and 2003 schemes, administered by the Child Support Agency, the Receiving Parent can sometimes be asked to provide evidence of expenditure in order to support an application for a variation on the grounds of “lifestyle inconsistent with declared income”.

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Employment Schemes: Learning Disability

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to increase the number of people with learning disabilities in both part-time and full-time employment. [193310]

Mike Penning: We do not target our employment support exclusively at individuals with particular impairments. Instead, through a range of programmes, we aim to identify and meet the needs of the individual, including the needs of people with learning disabilities

The Work programme is the biggest single Welfare to Work programme, which provides personalised back-to-work support for unemployed people, including disabled people. For those that have more complex needs, we have a range of specialist disability employment programmes, including Access to Work, Work Choice and Residential Training Colleges, all of which support people with learning difficulties to take up and remain in employment. In particular, Access to Work can provide funding towards tailored support for people with learning difficulties such as specialist aids, equipment and support workers.

Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisers provide support and advice for disabled people who need help finding and retaining employment and refer individuals to specialist programmes, where appropriate.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to support young people into work. [903384]

Esther McVey: The Government's approach is working. For the 21st consecutive month we have seen the youth claimant count reduce. The Youth Contract is successfully providing young people with the support they require, building on support already available via Jobcentres and the Work Programme. Opportunities available to young people include Work Experience, Sector-based WorkAcademies, traineeships and intensive work searches.

Housing Benefit

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will amend the point at which housing benefit payments are halted or reduced when a claimant finds work to better take account of salaries that are paid in arrears. [193619]

Steve Webb: Provisions dealing with this issue already exist within the housing benefit regulations. A claimant who has been receiving a qualifying benefit¹ for 26 weeks or more will continue to receive housing benefit for four weeks after they start work. Further details can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment _data/file/236973/hbgm-c5-extended-payments.pdf

¹ The qualifying benefits are: Income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance.

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Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many refuges are not classed as supported exempt accommodation for the purposes of housing benefit. [193783]

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available. Designation as supported exempt accomodation is relevant only to claims by individuals for Housing Benefit and is not intrinsic to the definition or purpose of a refuge or other supported housing.

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the number of tenant evictions resulting from the decision to pay housing benefit direct to claimants rather than landlords. [193827]

Steve Webb: The Government do not expect an increase in the number of evictions in relation to the direct payments of housing benefit.

Most tenants in the private rented sector are already used to receiving their housing payments directly, and managing their own finances.

For other tenants, including many in the social rented sector, this will represent more of a change. We are working with the advice sector to ensure that claimants are able to access budgeting support services to help them to manage their money successfully. Money advice will be offered at a national and local level, and include a mix of online, telephone and face to face services.

A minority of claimants may require alternative payment arrangements. This might include paying rent direct to the landlord, making payments more frequently than monthly, or splitting the payment for a couple.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Disqualification

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance were sanctioned for failing to complete their job search evidence form on 25 December 2013. [193590]

Esther McVey: Claimants are expected to do all that is reasonable within full time working hours in any week to look for work and this is not restricted to specific days.

Claimants with sincerely held religious beliefs can restrict their availability during religious festivals and holidays.

Public Expenditure

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what change there has been in his Department's data entry spending in the last year; and what the reasons are for any such change; [193628]

(2) what the cost to his Department was of data entry used under universal credit in each quarter since 2010; [193661]

(3) how many staff his Department has employed in data entry roles relating to universal credit in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Lancashire in each quarter since 2010. [193699]

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Mike Penning: There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the Department can be reliably estimated.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in temporary accommodation were subject to the benefit cap between 1 April 2013 and 31 January 2014. [193731]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in receipt of (a) income support, (b) jobseeker's allowance and (c) employment and support allowance were subject to the benefit cap between 1 April 2013 and 31 January 2014. [193732]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many single parents with a child under the age of five years old were subject to the benefit cap between 1 April 2013 and 31 January 2014. [193733]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who were temporarily exempt from the benefit cap due to their housing benefit being reduced were in temporary accommodation between April 2013 and January 2014. [193740]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available. People whose housing benefit entitlement is reduced such that their overall benefit falls below the cap threshold are not subject to the cap.

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many additional households in temporary accommodation became subject to the benefit cap on flow in each month between May 2013 and January 2014. [193746]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants have been sanctioned for (a) four weeks, (b) three months and (c) three years (i) nationally and (ii) in Oldham in the last year. [193750]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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State Retirement Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the upper limit will be of the amount of state pension top-up people can buy. [193915]

Steve Webb: As announced in the Budget 2014, the maximum amount of additional state pension that individuals can obtain under the state pension top-up scheme (class 3A) will be £25 per week. We intend to make details available shortly of the contribution rates by age for each £1 per week of additional pension.

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the top-up of state pensions for each of the next 20 financial years; [193916]

(2) what assessment he made of the effect of the option for people to top up their state pension on state pensions expenditure. [193926]

Steve Webb: Estimates were made of both the future AME expenditure and the revenue from contributions in 2015-16 and 2016-17 which would determine future state pension expenditure levels. Estimates made by the Department were certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Figures for the medium term impacts in cash terms were published on page 46 in Budget 2014: policy costings available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/295067/PU1638_policy_costings_bud _2014_with_correction_slip.pdf

Further information on the long-term Exchequer impact in 2013-14 price terms is included in the following table. As noted in the policy costings document, there is uncertainty about levels of take-up of this policy. If take-up was higher than assumed both AME and Revenue would increase and if take-up was lower than assumed then both would decrease.

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Trade Unions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision. [194050]

Mike Penning: DWP is undertaking a review of check-off, along with other Departments. We have not reached a conclusion on this matter, but it is under active consideration.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons he has not yet placed the business case for universal credit in the public domain. [193588]

Esther McVey: In line with standard practice, as the universal credit business case includes details of a sensitive nature the Department will not be putting the business case into the public domain.

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the overall cost to his Department of data entry associated with universal credit. [193629]

Mike Penning: There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the Department can be reliably estimated.

Vacancies: Internet

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2014, Official Report, column 233W, on vacancies: internet, what additional checks and safeguards for jobseekers have been introduced in each year since the launch of Universal Jobmatch. [193824]

Esther McVey: Since Universal Jobmatch was launched in November 2012, we have introduced additional checks on all new vacancies placed by new employer accounts.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2014, Official Report, column 547W, on the Work Programme, if he will place in the Library the draft findings of the Work Programme evaluation received by his Department in August 2013. [193596]

Esther McVey: The evaluation of the Work Programme is still on-going, and the Department will publish findings once it is completed.

Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the capability of the Work programme to provide adequate support to jobseekers with long-term medical conditions. [193765]

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Esther McVey: The Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the Work programme, and will publish findings once the evaluation is complete.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he has in place to establish the extent to which work programme providers have assisted participants to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. [193894]

Esther McVey: The Work Programme is designed to be flexible and tailored to each individual, with some participants requiring more support than others which may include assistance in improving their literacy and numeracy skills. The Department has a robust performance management regime which includes assurance of service delivery at individual participant level.

Youth Services

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the work of his Department's youth hubs. [193584]

Esther McVey: Youth hubs have been set up in some locations under our Freedoms and Flexibilities policy where local managers judge they would be an effective way of supporting young people. There has been positive feedback on them but evaluation is a matter for local managers.

Business, Innovation and Skills

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department’s policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups. [193380]

Jenny Willott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Apprentices: Essex

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many workplaces in (a) Harlow constituency and (b) Essex employed an apprentice in each of the last five year. [193751]

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows the number of workplaces (site level) in Harlow parliamentary constituency and Essex local education authority that employed apprentices from 2010/11 to 2012/13. Information for earlier years is not readily available.

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Assets: Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the value of UK non-financial assets held in Russia. [193418]

Michael Fallon: The information is not held in the format requested and I regret that it cannot be provided in the timescale of this answer.

The Office of National Statistics publishes data on Foreign Direct Investment from the UK, including into Russia, broken down by sector but not by asset type. This can be found here:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/fdi/foreign-direct-investment/2012-ma4/stb-fdi-ma4-2012.html

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the value of Russian non-financial assets held in the UK. [193419]

Michael Fallon: The information is not held in the format requested and I regret that it cannot be provided in the timescale of this answer.

The Office of National Statistics publishes data on Foreign Direct Investment in the UK, including from Russia, broken down by sector but not by asset type. This can be found here:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/fdi/foreign-direct-investment/2012-ma4/stb-fdi-ma4-2012.html

Beer: Competition

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he intends to publish a response to the consultation on pub companies and tenants. [193855]

Jenny Willott: The Government received over 1,100 written responses to the consultation on pub companies and their tenants and over 7,000 responses to the online survey conducted in parallel. We are considering the evidence carefully, to ensure that intervention is both proportionate and targeted, and we intend to publish a Government Response to the consultation as soon as we can.

Business Premises: Inspections

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what discussions he has had about the 48-hour notice period that Trading Standards must give when attending retail premises in relation to inspections; and if he will make a statement; [192535]

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(2) what representations he has received about the 48-hour notice period that Trading Standards must give when attending retail premises in relation to inspections; and if he will make a statement. [192536]

Jenny Willott: The Consumer Rights Bill introduces a requirement for consumer law enforcers, such as Trading Standards, to give notice before carrying out routine inspections of private commercial premises without a warrant. This requirement is subject to a number of exemptions, such as where giving notice would defeat the purpose of the visit or where there is a reasonable suspicion of a breach. The Department received a number of representations and had a number of discussions on this issue with businesses, enforcement bodies and consumer groups following the Consultation on Consumer Law Enforcement Powers, also following the Government's response to the consultation and during pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Consumer Rights Bill ahead of the Bill's introduction to Parliament.

The Government have carefully considered the views of all these stakeholders and are confident that the powers and added safeguards, together with the exemptions to giving notice strike the right balance between protecting civil liberties, reducing the burdens on businesses, particularly small businesses, and enabling effective enforcement.

Business: Billing

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the average amount owed to small firms in late payment. [193632]

Matthew Hancock: Research undertaken by Bacs in 2013 put the national level of late payment at £30.2 billion, with small businesses on average owed £31,000.

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) which FTSE350 companies that he wrote to in November 2012 asking them to sign up to the Prompt Payment Code have failed to do so; [193658]

(2) which FTSE350 companies his Department has named and shamed for non-adherence to the Prompt Payment Code; and when each such action was taken. [193659]

Matthew Hancock: A list of the FTSE 350 companies that had not signed up to the Prompt Payment Code was published on the Prompt Payment Code website on 4 March 2013:

http://ppc.promptpaymentcode.org.uk/ppc/news.a4d

Since then, a further 274 businesses have signed up to the Prompt Payment Code including a number of FTSE 350 companies. A full list of signatories to the Prompt Payment Code is publicly available on the Prompt Payment Code website:

http://ppc.promptpaymentcode.org.uk/ppc/signatory_paged. a4d

Business: Government Assistance

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that student entrepreneurs can access support and guidance when setting up their first businesses. [193283]

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Matthew Hancock: The home for Government services and information online is:

www.gov.uk.

One tool widely available is the “Finance Finder”, a searchable database of publicly-backed sources of finance. The website:

www.greatbusiness.gov.uk

not only provides support and advice for businesses trying to grow, but for entrepreneurs just starting out. The National Careers Service can help individuals explore the opportunities for self-employment and direct them to specialist resources such as the Business Support Helpline. The helpline is available to provide a quick response on queries about starting a business, or a personalised and in-depth advice service for more complex needs.

For those looking for initial finance and advice there is the Start-Up Loans Programme which has already committed over £80 million of funding. Enterprise Societies and the Entrepreneurs and Education Programme for further education colleges and universities also provide advice on the skills to start a business and how to secure funding.

Business: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on maintaining the requirement for quoted companies to report on their greenhouse gas emissions. [193215]

Jenny Willott: This requirement was part of the reforms to narrative reporting made by this Government that came into force in October 2013. I have no plans to amend this requirement at this time.

Children: Day Care

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of the provisions of the Consumer Rights Bill on access to, quality of and cost of child care provision; and if he will make a statement; [193158]

Jenny Willott: Where child care services are provided by a trader (eg a nursery school) to a consumer (eg a parent) under a contract, then Chapter 4 (the Services Chapter) of the Consumer Rights Bill will apply.

This chapter requires that these traders provide services with reasonable care and skill and in line with certain information given about the service. If that is not the case, the chapter sets out remedies which the consumer is entitled to, such as a repeat performance or, failing that, a reduction in price. Consumers may also be entitled to damages under the common law and the Bill makes this clear. Where there are other enactments which apply, this chapter makes clear that those take precedence (clause 53), which ensures that current standards still apply where they are set out in existing enactments.

In the case of child care vouchers offered under an employer-supported child care scheme, the contract for provision of child care is between the parent (consumer) and the child care provider (the trader), therefore child care provided using the voucher scheme is covered by this chapter of the Consumer Rights Bill.

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We expect that, overall, consumers will benefit from the proposed reforms to the services regime. We estimate quantified benefits of £33 million per annum, of which £9 million is from the reduced risk of consumer detriment. In addition to these quantified benefits there are a range of economic benefits that have not been quantified. The reforms would deliver market-wide changes through promoting confident consumers, experimenting with new products or services and switching suppliers, which in turn should drive innovation, greater competitiveness and deliver new opportunities for economic growth.

The Government are also committed to improving the accessibility, affordability and quality of child care. To that end we are encouraging schools to offer more nursery provision, making it easier for people to take up childminding by introducing childminder agencies, and have introduced a new entitlement to funded early education for the least advantaged two-year-olds.

Companies: Registration

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress has been made on the public register of beneficial ownership of companies operating in the UK. [193297]

Jenny Willott: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published the “Transparency and Trust” discussion paper in July 2013. In it, we sought views on a range of questions relating to implementation of the central registry of UK company beneficial ownership information, which will be publicly accessible. We are carefully considering the responses received to the discussion paper and continuing to engage with a wide range of interested parties. We will publish a formal Government response shortly. It remains our intention to legislate as soon as parliamentary time permits.

Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to encourage businesses to implement and abide by the code of the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition; and if he will make a statement. [193991]

Michael Fallon: The Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) is a non-profit association incorporated in the United States and enrolment is voluntary. The Government do not have any plans to encourage business to implement and abide by the EICC code.

The UK Government support corporate responsibility, for example encouraging greater levels of employer supported volunteering, promoting well-being within the workplace and promoting human rights due diligence within business. There are also a number of UK-based organisations providing advice on how business can adopt responsible business practices, such as Business in the Community (www.bitc.org.uk), the Institute for Business Ethics (www.ibe.org.uk) and Trading for Good (www.tradingforgood.co.uk) which is aimed at the SME sector. BIS invited views on corporate responsibility during 2013 and the response to this will be published shortly.

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Foreign Investment in UK

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2013, Official Report, column 643W, on foreign investments in UK, what the value of foreign direct investment was in each region of the UK in each year since 1984. [193413]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment has collected data on foreign direct investment (FDI) projects landing in each region of the United Kingdom since 1984. The value of each project is reported in terms of new jobs created or safeguarded, and capital expenditure. This value is estimated by the foreign company.

Tables showing the official record of FDI projects landing in each region of the UK, from the financial years 1984/85 to 2012/13, will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Foreign Investment in UK: North East

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of inward investment initiatives by the seven local authorities in the North East of England; how much has been spent on those initiatives in the last financial year; and what their outcomes have been. [192922]

Michael Fallon: Spending which LEPs or local authorities undertake on foreign direct investment initiatives is independent of Government and is not centrally-funded.

In each LEP area inward investment success is measured according to numbers of projects won and jobs created or safeguarded. In the financial year from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 results were as follows for the North Eastern LEP area:

Higher Education

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the (a) overall resource for undergraduate teaching, (b) Higher Education Funding Council for England grant for teaching and (c) estimated and actual fee income from students was at (i) the University of York, (ii) the University of York St. John and (iii) all universities in England in each year since 2004-05. [192895]

Mr Willetts: Statistics on the resource available for undergraduate teaching at the University of York, York St John University, and all higher education institutions in England between 2004/05 and 2012/13 have been provided by the Higher Education Funding Council and are included in the table which will be placed in the Libraries of the House. Estimates of fee income are not available for individual institutions and, as a result, have been omitted from the answer. The Overall Resource for undergraduate teaching is the sum of undergraduate fee income and undergraduate teaching grant.

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Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will limit the number of (a) alternative learning providers and (b) students studying at alternative learning providers over the next 10 years. [193607]

Mr Willetts: The Government’s policy is to offer students more choice by increasing the range and type of study opportunities that are available to them. Encouraging new alternative providers into the market place is one of the ways that we will achieve that. It is too early to forecast the impact of the higher educations reforms on the overall number of alternative providers. Some may choose to exit the market, others will enter it.

We have already announced that student number controls will apply to alternative providers in 2014/15. We will announce our policy for future years in due course. However, we will retain controls on those providers which we regard as representing the greatest risk to students or the public purse.

Higher Education: Admissions

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to ensure that universities admit more students from disadvantaged backgrounds whose qualifications meet university admissions requirements. [193475]

Mr Willetts: Higher education (HE) institutions are independent, autonomous bodies and they are responsible for all decisions on student admissions. The Government have no legal power to intervene.

The Chancellor's autumn statement in 2013 announced that for 2014/15, we will make an additional 30,000 places available at publicly-funded higher education institutions, and remove student number controls from 2015/16. This will support wider access to higher education, with a clear trend in recent years that overall growth in student numbers has seen an increase in the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

We have established a new framework with increased responsibility placed on universities to widen access. As part of this the independent Office for Fair Access (OFFA) agreed 162 Access Agreements for 2014/15, with plans for universities to spend more than £680 million on outreach and other activities to widen access, rising to over £700 million by 2017/18.

BIS Ministers asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and OFFA to develop a shared strategy for promoting access which maximizes the impact of all the spending by Government, HEFCE and institutions. An interim report was published in March 2013, and we intend to publish the full report shortly.

Higher Education: Islwyn

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in each (a) age group and (b) parental income group resident in Islwyn constituency entered higher education in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [193476]

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Mr Willetts: Higher education in Wales is a devolved matter. This information should be requested from the Welsh Government, or directly from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the body responsible for collecting and publishing data on students at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). Full UK statistics, including data relating to age and disadvantage measures (although not strictly income-based), are available on request from HESA and further information can be found at:

http://www.hesa.ac.uk/