General Practitioners
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports he has received of clinical commissioning groups setting thresholds on the number of referrals by its GP practices; what assessment he has made of the prevalence of such a practice and its effect on early diagnosis of cancers; and if he will make a statement. [R] [196683]
Jane Ellison:
Timeliness of diagnosis and treatment is what patients expect and remains essential to providing high quality care. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning local secondary care services for the population they serve. All practice referrals and prescribing rates are monitored and compared. The data from this exercise generally are used to inform a conversation between the practice and CCG about the issues faced by the practice. It is not possible to say that high referral rates are necessarily good or bad, but NHS England have advised that it is not normal for any CCG to create a ‘quota’ system for general practitioner (GP) referrals and we have no evidence to suggest thresholds are in place on the number of patients GPs can refer. It is important that conversations are held to test out
30 Apr 2014 : Column 749W
whether practices are referring according to local and national guidelines, that they are making effective use of resources, and that they are having appropriate access to diagnostics and in-house advice.
NHS England, through its area teams, uses the CCG assurance framework to assess whether CCGs are meeting their statutory duty to deliver continuous overall improvement in the health outcomes of local populations. Integral to the assurance assessment is consideration of a range of timely indicators, quality metrics and other outcome measures to make an overall assessment of progress towards delivering improved outcomes.
Hereditary Diseases
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on whether the genetic transmission of illness from parent to child can be prevented by medication. [195894]
Jane Ellison: Ministers have had no discussions with the Royal Colleges on whether the genetic transmission of illness from parent to child can be prevented by medication.
The Government support good practice in informed choice for all patients or parents to aid prevention of serious illness or disease.
Jimmy Savile
Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated by the NHS to fund compensation for victims of abuse by Jimmy Savile; and from which NHS budget such funding has been drawn. [196667]
Norman Lamb: No funding from national health service resources has been allocated to fund compensation for victims of abuse by Jimmy Savile. The claims handling co-ordination scheme announced on 22 April 2014, which has been approved by the High Court (claim no: HC13F00335), will, in the first instance, draw on the estate of Jimmy Savile to make payments to victims of abuse.
If, in the future, the estate funds are exhausted, it is only then that claims may be funded from the public purse. The scheme covers claims which may arise in a variety of circumstances and is not restricted to alleged assaults on NHS premises.
Maternity Services
Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the new payment framework for maternity care in England; and what steps he has taken to ensure that this process provides sufficient income to providers to deliver his Department's objectives; [195771]
(2) what steps he has taken to ensure that the tariff setting process for maternity services is sufficient to fund safe staffing levels in maternity units in England. [195772]
30 Apr 2014 : Column 750W
Dr Poulter: The maternity pathway payment system was first mandated for use in 2013-14, and represents a significant change in the way that maternity services are reimbursed. Previously maternity services were paid for on a fee for service basis. Under the new payment system, activity is bundled into three pathways—antenatal, delivery and postnatal—each of which is paid separately.
From 2014-15, national tariffs will be set by Monitor, but flexibility will continue to be allowed by the Department to address financial risks associated with implementing the new system. Provision for local modification to the national price, for example, where a local service is needed to ensure safe care, but would otherwise be non-viable, will also continue. Monitor and NHS England have jointly established a review process and will monitor how the new system is working. Amendments will be considered to address any perverse effects and minimise administrative burdens.
In 2010, a costing exercise was undertaken to inform the tariff setting decisions and to set price levels to fund sufficient staffing levels in maternity units. A formal review of the maternity tariff post implementation is planned to take place later this year and will help to inform the 2016-17 tariff.
Medical Treatments
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review and consult on the methodology the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence uses to appraise medicines which are used in small patient populations; and if he will make a statement. [R] [196688]
Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) may assess medicines licensed for small patient populations through either its technology appraisal or its highly specialised technologies programmes. The size of the patient population is an important consideration in determining which programme a medicine is assessed under.
NICE is responsible for the methods it uses to develop its guidance and periodically reviews its published methods for technology appraisal. NICE most recently reviewed its methods guide in 2012-13 and held a public consultation and a series of workshops with stakeholders as part of the process. NICE is currently holding a further consultation on its proposals for value assessment of health technologies, including new drugs.
NICE is currently following an interim methods guide for its highly specialised technologies programme. We understand that NICE will be reviewing the methods guide later this year. As part of this review, there will be a full consultation.
NHS England
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department gives to chief officers of NHS England local area teams on responding to questions from hon. Members. [196622]
Jane Ellison: The Department and NHS England have an agreed protocol in place to ensure that timely and appropriate responses are provided by NHS England for its public and parliamentary accountabilities.
30 Apr 2014 : Column 751W
The provision of specific guidance to its area teams is an operational matter for NHS England and we are informed that NHS England is committed to openness and transparency in its dealings with all correspondents, including hon. Members.
NHS England is also committed to ensuring compliance with freedom of information, data protection and complaints legislation.
NHS: Public Appointments
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 524W, on NHS: public appointments, where data showing the gender of people appointed the boards of NHS Foundation trusts are held. [195807]
Jane Ellison: This information is not collected centrally. Information on the constitution of individual NHS foundation trust boards is available in the annual report of each foundation trust.
Pancreatic Cancer
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that all patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are assigned a clinical nurse specialist; [196649]
(2) if he will take steps to ensure that dieticians are considered to be compulsory members of pancreatic cancer multidisciplinary teams that review patients. [196650]
Jane Ellison: Since 1 April 2013, NHS England has been responsible for delivering improvements in all cancer services.
NHS England's pancreatic cancer service specification clearly defines what it expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective pancreatic cancer services. This guidance sets out that patients should have access to a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and a dietician as part of their multidisciplinary team to support them through the care pathway.
As set out in the service specification, all patients with upper gastrointestinal disease, such as pancreatic cancer, are at risk of dietary problems and should have access to full dietetic in-patient and out-patient services. Dieticians should be available to see patients during regular out-patient clinics and available for consultation on ward rounds and multidisciplinary team meetings.
While the recruitment of staff is a local matter, NHS England would expect trusts to consider the recruitment of staff such as dieticians and CNSs in developing their policies to improve patient experience.
Scarlet Fever
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of scarlet fever have been recorded in each of the last five years. [195901]
Jane Ellison: Scarlet fever cases in England and Wales are collected as part of the statutory notifications of infectious diseases (NOIDs) and reports are based on a clinical diagnosis reported from a credible source.
30 Apr 2014 : Column 752W
The following table shows the recorded cases of scarlet fever between 2008 and 2013:
| Total scarlet fever notifications | |
| Notes: 1. All figures provided are for England and Wales. 2. Total scarlet fever notifications for each year between 2008 and 2012 in England and Wales are provided from the NOIDs annual report published in January 2014. The scarlet fever notifications for 2013 have not been published as an annual figure and have been derived from the NOIDs weekly reporting. | |
Speech Therapy
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps will be taken against health and wellbeing boards which fail to provide augmentative and alternative communication provision; [196623]
(2) pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Care and Support on 6 June 2013, whether NHS England’s projected spending on augmentative and alternative communication will be based on (a) historic spending levels and (b) identified need within each local area. [196662]
Norman Lamb: The projected activity levels and needs assessment for patients with complex needs requiring access to specialised augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) services has been informed by the audit project undertaken jointly by the Department for Education and Sheffield university looking at provision of AAC services across the United Kingdom and ‘Two Years On’ the final report of the Communication Champion for Children Jean Gross CBE. This will inform NHS England’s agreement of contracts with those specialised providers for 2014-15. This work has been led by the NHS England AAC subgroup of the Complex Disability Equipment Clinical Reference Group.
The commissioning responsibility for the commissioning of non-specialised AAC services remains the responsibility of individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). NHS England has no mandate to direct CCGs or health and wellbeing boards in relation to the provision of those non specialised services.
Transplant Surgery
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many operations for heart transplants have involved the use of genetically modified organs from (a) pigs and (b) cattle in each of the last three years; [195895]
(2) what the average life expectancy is of people into whom genetically modified organs from (a) pigs and (b) cattle are transplanted. [195896]
Jane Ellison: Current United Kingdom organ transplantation programmes only use human organs donated in life or after death.
30 Apr 2014 : Column 753W
Justice
Employment Agencies
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them. [195558]
Mr Vara: Temporary staff can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not available in-house. They are only used for short term appointments where there is a strong business case, such as support for Transforming Rehabilitation and other major reform programmes within the MOJ.
The Ministry of Justice has spent the following on the provision of service with (a) Capita, (b) Brook Street, (c) Hays PLC (d) Groupe Steria and (e) Certes Holdings in the financial year 2013-14. Spend is exclusive of VAT.
| Financial year 2013-14 | |
| Supplier | £ |
The approval process on expenditure has been tightened in recent years. All requirements over £20,000 must have departmental approval from the Director General of Finance.
Employment Tribunals Service
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many days were taken to process and grant each of the applications for remissions of employment tribunal fees that have been (a) granted and (b) partially granted. [196795]
Mr Vara: The guidance document published by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) explains that remission applications will be processed within five working days of the date that they are received, and that appeals will be determined within 10 days. The latest available information collated by HMCTS staff indicates that the applications received in respect of employment tribunal matters are currently determined within three working days. Appeals in respect of employment tribunal remissions decisions are currently determined within nine days.
However, data on the time taken for each one of the remission applications determined so far are not readily available. To obtain that data would require significant work to interrogate the relevant HMCTS case management database. This work, if undertaken for the purposes of answering this question, would incur disproportionate cost.
Offences against Children
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many women have been convicted of child sex offences in each of the last three years. [195892]
30 Apr 2014 : Column 754W
Simon Hughes: The proportion of offenders given custody for sexual offences has increased since 2003.
The number of female defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty or not guilty at all courts for sexual offences against children, in England and Wales from 2008 to 2012 (the latest data available), can be viewed in the following tables.
Court proceedings data for calendar year 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
Charging data are not held by the Ministry of Justice.
| Female defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty and sentenced for sexual offences against children1, England and Wales, 2008-122,3 | |||||
| Outcome | 20084 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| 1 Includes sexual offences against a child where the age of the victim has been recognised: Sexual Offences Act 2003, s1, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, s10, s11, s12, s14, s15, s16, s17, s18, s19, s25, s26, s47, s48, s49, s50; Criminal Justice Act 1988, s160; Protection of Children Act 1978, s1; Indecency with Children Act 1960, s1; Sexual Offences Act 1956, s28. 2 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 4 Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. 5 Conviction ratio is calculated as the number of convictions as a proportion of the number of proceedings. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |||||
| Female defendants found not guilty1 of sexual offences against children2, England and Wales, 2008-123,4 | |
| Number | |
| 1 Includes cases where proceedings discontinued, discharged, withdrawn, dismissed at all courts and, at Crown courts only, defendants not tried and acquitted. The number found guilty and found not guilty in a year can be greater than the number proceeded against in that year if they include cases from previous years. 2 Includes sexual offences against a child where the age of the victim has been recognised: Sexual Offences Act 2003, s1, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, s10, s11, s12, s14, s15, s16, s17, s18, s19, s25, s26, s47, s48, s49, s50; Criminal Justice Act 1988, s160. 3 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 4 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 5 Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |
30 Apr 2014 : Column 755W
Prisoners: Radicalism
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in each prison have refused to take part in the Ibaana programme since it was first introduced. [196681]
Jeremy Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 28 April 2014, Official Report, column 617W.
Prisoners: Solitary Confinement
Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were kept in solitary confinement at (a) HMP Lincoln and (b) nationally in each month of each of the last five years for which figures are available. [196752]
Jeremy Wright: In instances where prisoners are removed from normal location they are not left in isolation for extended periods of time and are never, therefore, held in conditions of solitary confinement.
Prisoners may be held in segregation for reasons of good order and discipline or for their own protection. They may also be segregated to await adjudication or as a punishment of cellular confinement for offences against prison discipline. Prisoners are only segregated where it is proportionate to the risk posed by or to the prisoner in question and where there are no practical alternatives. Segregation is only in circumstances that are lawful, safe and decent.
Figures for the number of prisoners held in segregation during the period specified are not recorded centrally and could be provided only by collating the relevant information from records held at (a) Lincoln prison and (b) all prisons. In either case this could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Prisons: Publications
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many books were bought by prisoners through the earned privileges scheme in each of the last five years. [196680]
Jeremy Wright: Information on the number of books bought by prisoners is not held centrally and would need to be collated through inquiries at each prison in England and Wales. This would incur disproportionate cost.
Probation
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under the Government's Transforming Rehabilitation proposals, what the outcome would be if one of the tier one providers in the Community Rehabilitation Companies under Transforming Rehabilitation was to (a) go into receivership and (b) be taken over by another organisation which failed to meet the Government's suitability criteria. [196687]
Jeremy Wright:
We have a robust and diverse market. During the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) stage of the competition, we tested providers rigorously against a number of criteria, including Economic and Financial
30 Apr 2014 : Column 756W
Standing, to determine Potential Bidders’ ability to fund a proposed contract. In mid December 2013, the bidders who passed this eligibility test were announced. The list includes a mix of private and voluntary sector partnerships with more than 50 organisations represented – from charities experienced in tackling a range of issues affecting offenders, to small and large British businesses and experienced multinationals. All of these Tier One bidders have experience in working with offenders or across the wider Criminal Justice System.
We do not anticipate supplier failure, but contracts will have the full range of remedies in the case of failure; up to and including contract termination in the case of insolvency, default or persistent breach. NOMS will be able to exercise step-in rights, for example in the case of a breach that materially affects the performance or services, and the NPS will ensure we retain this expertise in the public sector. The contract allows for discussions with another CRC provider to be brought in as provider of last resort in the event that the initial provider fails. No change of ownership may occur without the prior written consent of the Authority, and we would exercise those rights to ensure our stringent suitability criteria are met before the initial provider was taken over.
Secure Colleges
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have met (i) G4S, (ii) Serco, (iii) Sodexo and (iv) any other private provider to discuss secure colleges in the last 18 months. [196626]
Jeremy Wright: All meetings with external organisations up until October 2013 are published by the Cabinet Office on the gov.uk website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications
Details of meetings from October 2013 onwards will be published shortly.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times he has discussed secure colleges with the (a) Secretary of State for Health and (b) Secretary of State for Education in the last 18 months. [196627]
Jeremy Wright: My right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and I are in regular contact with our counterparts at the Department for Health and Department of Education. Our officials are also working together closely to develop our plans.
Visits Abroad
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many overseas trips, and at what total cost, his Department made in each year since 2010; and what the costs of (a) flights, (b) internal travel, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence were of each trip. [174860]
Mr Vara: The Ministry of Justice has reduced the overall cost of air travel by almost half since 2009, and our total spend on all travel has fallen by more than 40% in the same period—a saving of more than £9 million.
30 Apr 2014 : Column 757W
Furthermore, this year, the Secretary of State for Justice toughened up the rules to ban first and business class travel for Ministers and officials in the department other than in exceptional circumstances where this is required to meet business need.
Overseas travel makes up a small proportion of the Department's overall travel requirement. Flights and travel by Eurostar are booked through our contracted supplier, and whilst the MOJ records data on transactions, it does not hold details of the cost or destination of individual trips centrally. The cost of breaking down all travel in the ways requested would be disproportionate, as managers across the Department would have to create a breakdown of every trip taken, itemised by the different kinds of expenditure.
Transport
Cycling
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the degree to which his Department has complied with the Public Sector Equality Duty with regard to disabled cyclists. [196625]
30 Apr 2014 : Column 758W
Mr Goodwill: The Department for Transport considers equality issues in exercising its functions, to comply with the equality legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities will affect different people. While there is no requirement under the Equality Act to carry out equality impact assessment on cycling policy, the Department believes disabled cyclists should not be disadvantaged.
To help local authorities develop infrastructure for cyclists, including disabled cyclists, the Department has produced guidance through Cycle Infrastructure Design (Local Transport Note 2/08). LTN 2/08 can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-transport-notes
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) fatal and (b) serious injuries were suffered by (i) male and (ii) female cyclists in each of the last 10 years. [196672]
Mr Goodwill: The numbers of reported (a) fatal and (b) seriously injured male and female cyclist casualties in Great Britain for each of the last 10 years are shown in the following table:
| Reported fatal or seriously injured cyclists by gender, GB: 2003-2012 | |||||||
| Number of casualties | |||||||
| (a) Fatal | (b) Serious | ||||||
| (i)Male | (ii)Female | Total | (i)Male | (ii)Female | Total | ||
Data for 2013 will be available in June 2014.
Cycling: Greater London
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn) of 9 April 2014, Official Report, column 231W, on cycling: Greater London, how many (a) men and (b) women cyclists' in London suffered (i) fatal and (ii) serious injuries in each of the last 10 years. [196692]
Mr Goodwill: The numbers of reported (a) fatal and (b) seriously injured male and female cyclist casualties in Greater London for each of the last 10 years are shown in the table below.
| Reported fatal and seriously injured cyclists by gender, Greater London 2003-2012 | ||||||
| Number of casualties | ||||||
| Fatal | Serious injuries | |||||
| (1)Male | (2)Female | Total | (1)Male | (2)Female | Total | |
30 Apr 2014 : Column 759W
30 Apr 2014 : Column 760W
Data for 2013 will be available in June 2014.
Driving Under Influence: Drugs
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) patients, (b) healthcare professionals and (c) the general public understand the new drug driving offence. [196676]
Mr Goodwill: Paragraphs 10.2 and 10.3 of the summary of the responses to the consultation on the proposed drugs and their limits sets out the steps the Department proposes to take in communicating the new drug driving offence. The summary is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/drug-driving-proposed-regulations
Large Goods Vehicles: Taxation
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the HGV User Levy on UK businesses reliant on foreign hauliers for imports and exports. [196628]
Mr Goodwill: International road haulage is a competitive market, so it is unlikely that there are UK businesses reliant on foreign hauliers for imports and exports. In most cases, UK hauliers can compete for this business.
The levy is paid by both UK and foreign hauliers. However while this means some increase in costs for foreign hauliers, costs for around nine out of 10 UK HGVs have not increased, as vehicle excise duty was reduced when the levy was introduced.
A Tax Information and Impact Note was published on the Department for Transport website in October 2012:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/232294/hgv-charging-tax-information.pdf
Railways: East of England
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the amount of (a) net franchise payment and (b) revenue support is for the extension of the Greater Anglia franchise from July 2014 to October 2016. [196643]
Stephen Hammond: The net franchise premium payment contracted for the Greater Anglia Direct Award from July 2014 to October 2016 is circa £266 million payment to the Department for Transport. Premium is quoted in January 2014 price.
There will be no revenue support for the Greater Anglia Direct Award from July 2014 to October 2016.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what formula is being used to distribute (a) the £185 million fund to help repair local roads damaged by severe weather announced and (b) the £200 million Challenge Fund announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 2014 Budget Statement. [196690]
Mr Goodwill: The information requested is as follows:
(a) The distribution of the £185 million provided to help repair local roads damaged by severe weather is described in the following table:
(b) Funding formula for the £200 million Challenge Fund announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 2014 budget statement:
£32 million is being provided directly to the devolved Administrations as a result of the Barnett formula. It is a matter for the devolved Administrations how their shares of the funds are used.
On 24 April 2014 English local highway authorities were in invited to bid for a share of a £168 million Pothole Fund to repair local roads.
Local authorities wishing to apply for a share of the funding are required to submit an application to the Department for Transport by 22 May 2014. Details of the application are available to view via:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pothole-fund-2014-to-2015-application