Home Department

Abortion

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the results were of the Metropolitan Police investigation into the death of an unnamed woman in Slough on 21 January 2012 following an abortion performed by Marie Stopes International. [197461]

Damian Green: The Government do not comment on the investigation of individual cases as these are the operational responsibility of the respective police force involved.

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Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if she will make it her policy to ensure that pregnant women and nursing mothers in receipt of section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are recognised as a vulnerable group when contracting and allocating placement accommodation; [197402]

(2) if she will place in the Library a copy of all guidance and benchmarking criteria used by her Department, its contractors and agents when assessing the adequacy and suitability of placement accommodation allocated to pregnant women and nursing mothers in receipt of section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. [197401]

James Brokenshire: The guidance and procedures on providing accommodation to pregnant women in the asylum support system is contained in the policy document “Healthcare needs and Pregnancy Dispersal guidance”, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthcare-needs-and-pregnancy-dispersal-instruction

The Home Office is currently considering some changes to the document following consultation with the Refugee Council and Maternity Action.

Pregnant women are already recognised as a vulnerable group in the asylum support system. Regulation 4 of the Asylum Seekers (Reception conditions) Regulations 2005 provides that their special needs must be taken into consideration.

Asylum: North East

Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to ensure the viability of the financial position of the North East Refugee Service; and for what reasons her Department has not yet paid exit costs to that organisation. [197162]

James Brokenshire: Negotiations on the exit claim are under way between the Home Office and the Refugee Council and we hope to conclude these as soon as possible. The North of England Refugee Service was a subcontractor of the Refugee Council, and the Home Office is therefore unable to negotiate directly with the North of England Refugee Service.

Asylum: Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many pregnant women in Scotland were granted section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for reasons including that they were deemed unfit to travel in each of the last five years; [197399]

(2) at what gestation stage each pregnant women in Scotland granted section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 received the decision to grant that support; [197400]

(3) how many pregnant women in Scotland are in receipt of section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; how many such women were moved to different accommodation during pregnancy; how

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many weeks pregnant each such woman was when she was moved; what the reason for each such move was; and if a risk assessment of each such move was undertaken which included input from a treating clinician; [197427]

(4) what the length of time was between the date of application by each pregnant woman in Scotland for section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and the date of receipt by the applicant of that support; [197431]

(5) how many pregnant woman in Scotland were denied section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for reasons that included an assessment that they were fit to travel; and what the gestation stage of each such woman was when that decision was made in each of the five years to 2013-14. [197432]

James Brokenshire: The information requested is not routinely collected and could be provided only by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate cost.

Crime: Rural Areas

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will set targets for the reduction of rural crime. [196872]

Norman Baker: The coalition Government has abolished all central policing targets and mandatory indicators to enable the police to discourage perverse incentives and to allow them to focus on their clear objective, to cut crime. This applies equally to crime in rural areas as it does to crime in our towns and cities and we have no plans to create new central targets for reducing crime in rural areas. It is now the responsibility of directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure the police deal with the issues that really matter to the communities they serve, and the public will hold them to account for this.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the levels of rural crime; and if she will make a statement. [196873]

Norman Baker: Between January and April 2014, the Home Office received five written Parliamentary questions on issues relating to crime in rural areas, not including this question. We also received one letter from a member of the public and a letter from the Member for Thirsk and Malton.

Domestic Violence

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle domestic abuse. [197028]

Norman Baker: The coalition Government’s approach to tackling domestic violence and abuse is set out in its Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan, updated in March 2014. It is a subject we take very seriously.

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In 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with domestic violence and abuse. HMIC’s report exposed significant failings. The Home Secretary is establishing a new national oversight group, which she will chair, and on which I will sit, to ensure HMIC’s recommendations are acted upon. The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it clear that every police force must have an action plan in place by September 2014, to improve their response to domestic violence and abuse.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. The Government accordingly announced the national roll-out of Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme from 8 March 2014.

Entry Clearances: Domestic Service

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) meetings she or Ministers in her Department have had with and (b) representations she has received from Kalayaan on tied domestic workers visas. [197249]

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Cabinet Office website which is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-ministers-gifts-and-hospitality-july-to-september-2013

Kalayaan has sent a number of representations to the Home Office on the subject of overseas domestic workers.

Hillsborough Stadium

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces failed to meet her Department's deadline of 4 April 2014 for handing over to the Independent Police Complaints Commission any evidence relating to the Hillsborough disaster. [196052]

Mrs May: I wrote to all chief constables in England and Wales on 4 March 2014 to request that all police forces search their records to establish whether they possess any material that relates to the Hillsborough tragedy. The purpose of the letter was to assist the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and Operation Resolve in recovering any material which had not already been provided. I understand that all forces have now responded to the IPCC and I am aware that the IPCC is currently assessing these responses. I am expecting a full report from them in due course.

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Human Trafficking

Sir John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that assets of human traffickers are frozen within 48 hours of their arrest; and if he will make a statement. [903856]

Karen Bradley: The Serious and Organised Crime Strategy, published in October 2013, sets out how the Government will make it harder for criminals to use, hide and move the proceeds of crime. The Government will, as soon as parliamentary time allows, seek to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to enable assets to be frozen more quickly and easily.

Section 60B of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 allows for relevant land vehicle, ship or aircraft to be detained where a person has been arrested for a human trafficking offence. These powers will be brought forward and consolidated into the Modern Slavery Bill.

Illegal Immigrants

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-UK citizens attempting to enter the UK illegally or clandestinely were apprehended by UK border control agencies at the ports of (a) Dover and (b) Calais in each year between 1999 and 2014. [196837]

James Brokenshire: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty's Government cannot comment on port specific statistics.

Under Information Commissioner Guidelines statistics for UK port activity may only be released at a regional level.

Illegal Immigrants: France

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants are estimated to have entered the UK from Calais in each year since 1999. [196836]

James Brokenshire: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty's Government cannot comment on port specific statistics.

Immigration

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) amount her Department spent and (b) fee income it has received in connection with (i) the asylum system, (ii) immigration control at home and abroad and (iii) enforcement in each of the last 10 years. [196874]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not have this information broken down on the financial system in line with the question. The published accounts for the former UK Border Agency break down relevant income and expenditure information since 2009 and also in the Home Office report and accounts for 2012-13. These can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications? official_document_status=command_and_act_papers

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Immigration Controls

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many absconders there were at each UK airport in each year since 2010; and how many and what proportion of such absconders were subsequently recovered. [197140]

James Brokenshire: It is Home Office policy not to release operationally sensitive information at port specific level, so as not to expose potential vulnerabilities in border security.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to correspondence from the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed of 2 December 2013 and 27 March 2014 on a constituent's complaint relating to previous employment in her Department. [197437]

Karen Bradley: A reply was sent by the Home Office Shared Services Directorate on 6 May 2014.

Offenders: Deportation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason each foreign national in prison awaiting deportation who is beyond the end of their sentence is yet to be deported. [196095]

James Brokenshire: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Passports

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many travel documents were (a) applied for and (b) issued in each year since 1 January 2009. [196668]

James Brokenshire: The information is set out in the following table:

To provide context to the figures, it should be noted that a policy change was implemented in February 2012 requiring all travel document applicants to have or simultaneously apply for a Biometric Residence Permit to confirm status. This subsequently resulted in a doubling of processing times. However, the backlog of applications was cleared in February this year and the Home Office's Travel Document Section has since returned to agreed service levels.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many travel document applications arising from each country were being processed as of 1 April 2014. [196669]

James Brokenshire: The following table gives a breakdown, by nationality, of outstanding applications for a Home Office Travel Document.

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To align with protocol on publishing statistics, the list represents the position at 31 December 2013. However, most of the cases shown as outstanding have been concluded since that date.

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Teachers: Arrests

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is mandatory for a police force to include details of the last school where a teacher was employed when notifying the National College of Teaching and Leadership of any teacher arrested on allegations of abuse. [196567]

Karen Bradley: The police service may notify arrests to regulators in certain circumstances under the Notifiable Occupations Scheme, which is based on common law powers to provide information which is necessary to prevent or detect crime. The scheme is not based on statute and there is therefore no mandatory requirement. Guidance to police forces has been issued by the Chief Constables Council.

UK Visas and Immigration Directorate

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total yearly salary of each grade of the UK Visa and Immigration Directorate senior staff was on 1 April 2014. [197260]

Karen Bradley: The following table shows the total yearly salary for each senior civil service grade in UK Visa and Immigration Directorate as at 1 April 2014. These are presented in £5,000 bands in line with our commitment to publish departmental salary information.

Verne Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on converting HM Prison The Verne for use as an immigration removal centre to date. [197102]

James Brokenshire: £4 million has been spent to date on the conversion of HM Prison The Verne into an Immigration Removal Centre. The work is about 60% complete and in total is expected to cost approximately £8.5 million in line with the approved budget.

Work and Pensions

Budgeting Loans

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much in budgeting loans was spent in each region of the UK in each of the last six years. [197592]

Steve Webb: Table 1 provides the Budgeting Loan expenditure in each region of Great Britain in the financial years from 2008/09 to 2013/14.

Information regarding annual expenditure for Social Fund schemes in Northern Ireland is a matter for Northern Ireland office and is not included in the figures as follows. Figures are therefore given for Great Britain and not the United Kingdom.

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Conditions of Employment

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received from the (a) Local Government Association, (b) Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and (c) Welsh Local Government Association on issues of staff protection, finance and timing in relation the proposal to establish a single fraud investigation service. [197205]

Esther McVey: DWP has worked very closely with the Local Government Association, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association throughout the life of the Project and continues to do so. All three organisations hold regular meetings with the Project and also have representatives on the key consultative and governance groups, for example the SFIS Project Steering Committee.

The subject of staff terms and conditions has been discussed and we have assured all our stakeholders that terms and conditions of employment will be protected. This protection will be documented in the transfer order and employees transferring will not be subject to less favourable terms and conditions when they join DWP. This is in line with the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice for Staff Transfers in the Public Sector.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the level of TUPE contract protection available to fraud staff currently employed by local authorities who will be transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the single fraud investigation service. [197206]

Esther McVey: DWP has considered whether the creation of SFIS falls within the TUPE definitions. The regulations state “…the transfer of administrative functions between public administrative authorities is not a relevant transfer” (for the purpose of TUPE). After careful consideration, DWP has concluded that benefit fraud investigations fall within this category, and as such, TUPE would not apply.

DWP has however, made clear that the success of SFIS is a priority and we intend to transfer staff currently working on fraud investigations from local authorities. To effect those transfers, DWP will apply the approach set out in the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice for Staff Transfers in the Public Sector (COSOP) and staff will transfer under a Statutory Transfer scheme (STS) as provided for under Section 38 of the Employment Relations Act 1999. In line with COSOP, the terms and conditions for transferring staff will be protected.

Disability

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what average extra costs are incurred by disabled people as a result of their disability. [197251]

Mike Penning: We do not hold current information on the extra costs incurred by disabled people as a result of their disability.

Employment: Disability

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of those classified disabled were seeking work in each of the last four years. [197250]

Mike Penning: The information requested is within the following table.

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Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people classified as disabled left work as a result of their disability; and how many such people entered new work in each of the last four years. [197252]

Mike Penning: The information requested is not available. We do not hold information on the reason for an individual leaving employment, therefore we are unable to ascertain how many disabled people left employment as a result of their disability.

Employment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on (a) press, (b) marketing, (c) advertising and (d) other aspects of communications relating to the Youth Contract in each year since its introduction. [197149]

Esther McVey: As with any new programme it is right and responsible to ensure all who are, or could be, affected are properly informed. Since the Youth Contract was launched in April 2012 it has provided opportunities for over 250,000 people. The spend in each of the categories specified is as follows:

The marketing category relates to spend on local face-to-face activity bringing together jobseekers and employers with opportunities.

In the ‘other communications’ category, we have supplied details of spend on leaflets, posters, exhibition stands and video production.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 318W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, how many housing benefit social sector tenants have been (a) given exempt status because they reached state pension credit age and (b) allowed to keep an extra bedroom because they are (i) registered foster carers who have fostered a child during the last 52 weeks and (ii) parents of armed forces' personnel who have been deployed on operations. [197590]

Esther McVey: In response to the hon. Member’s question please see the following:

(a) The information relating to the numbers reaching state pension credit age who are no longer subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy is not available.

We can say that there are estimated to be 700,000 housing benefit tenants who are state pension credit age and have one or more spare bedrooms.

(b) (i) Information relating to registered foster carers is not available.

(b) (ii) Information relating to parents of armed forces’ personnel is not available.

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Independent Living Fund

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims to the independent living fund of what total value were made in each parliamentary constituency in the last year. [197483]

Mike Penning: There were no claims to the independent living fund in the last year as the fund was closed to new applications in 2010.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of recipients of the independent living fund (a) are in employment and (b) were in employment at the date of application. [197574]

Mike Penning: The information is not available in the format requested as the ILF does not record the employment status of its recipients.

Jobcentre Plus

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many formal client complaints were brought against Jobcentre Plus staff in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) West Lothian local authority area and (d) Livingston constituency in each of the last five years. [196727]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available prior to July 2010, however data are available as follows:

DWP completed the incremental roll-out of a new complaints process in December 2012 which encouraged the recording of complaints. The data provided span both processes.

As complaints are not recorded by local authority area or constituency, this level of data are not available.

National Insurance

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the number of applicants who seek a national insurance number and claim welfare benefits within six months of receipt. [197459]

Esther McVey: The information requested is available up to December 2013 and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

Occupational Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the average UK saver of delaying the pensions charge cap from April 2014 to April 2015. [197020]

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Steve Webb: There has been no delay to the default fund charge cap. The Government have announced that they will put in place a charge cap set at 0.75% of funds under management for the default funds of all schemes used for automatic enrolment from April 2015. This means we will deliver on the timetable in our consultation document to have a full cap for all qualifying schemes in place by April 2015.

Occupational Pensions: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of businesses in Brigg and Goole constituency that will be issued with staging dates for automatic enrolment between 1 April 2014 and 1 April 2015. [197610]

Steve Webb: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith) on 30 April 2014, Official Report, column 729W.

Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people made requests of the pension tracing service to find lost pension pots in each year since May 2010; and how many of these were successful. [197021]

Steve Webb: The table shows the total number of Pension Trace requests and those which were successful. Successful Pension Traces are where we are able to provide a customer with contact details of the pension administrator for the particular company or employer they had worked for.

Social Security Benefits

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) disability living allowance have died during the process of (i) assessment and (ii) appeal in the latest period in which figures are available. [197430]

Mike Penning: Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (with which appeals are lodged) do not have figures relating the number of appellants that have died during the appeals process.

The information requested is not readily available.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the average waiting times for (a) personal independence payments assessments and (b) work capability assessments conducted by Atos in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. [196987]

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Mike Penning: Limited data have started to feed through to the Department from Atos Healthcare about the average waiting times for applicants for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to be seen for a face to face consultation although this is not provided for the specific geographical area of Kilmarnock and Loudoun. When the data are fully collated and meet the quality standards set by the UK Statistics Authority, the Department intends to publish official statistics later in the year.

The most recent data about national average waiting times for work capability assessments (for both employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment), for the period from February 2013 to date are 76 working days.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants were sanctioned in each month since August 2013; and how many such claimants continued to sign on during the period for which they were sanctioned. [197517]

Esther McVey: We have interpreted the question to be for the number of jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) claimants who were sanctioned and this information is published and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance for users is available at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

The information requested on how many JSA claimants continued to sign on during the period for which they were sanctioned is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on the public funds available to local authorities of the creation of a Single Fraud Investigation Service. [197304]

Esther McVey: The Local Authority Administration Grant for 2014-15 will not be reduced due to the implementation of the Single Fraud Investigation Service. The proposals for 2015-16 and 2016-17 onwards are currently out for consultation with our key stakeholders, including Local Government representative groups.

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were sanctioned at the (a) higher level, (b) intermediate level and (c) lower level in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland, (iii) North Lanarkshire and (iv) Airdrie and Shotts constituency in each year since October 2012 up to the most recent period for which figures are available. [196892]

Esther McVey: The information requested is shown in the table:

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This information is published and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance for users is available at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:

http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by the universal credit project on (a) staff travel and (b) overnight accommodation and allowances in each month of 2014 to date. [197591]

Esther McVey: Universal credit is being developed and delivered across the UK. As expected with a programme of this size, some travel is needed to ensure effective delivery of the programme. DWP has clear policies on travel and accommodation expenses to ensure costs are minimised.

It is not possible, on the grounds of disproportionate cost, to separate out this expenditure between DWP staff and contractors working on the universal credit project.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he takes to monitor whether Work Programme prime providers fulfil their minimum service standards; and if he will make a statement. [197589]

Esther McVey: The Department has developed a clearly defined compliance monitoring regime which commits to an appropriate level of checking for each of the 40 Work programme contract package areas.

The compliance management team work closely with Work programme performance managers to ensure clear factual information is available for consideration as part of monthly Contract Performance Reviews with providers.

Health

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he gives on ensuring that all women seeking an abortion are given accurate, complete, balanced and up-to-date information regarding the potential health risks of the procedure. [197120]

Jane Ellison: Clinical guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, ‘The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion (November 2011)’, recommends that services should make sure that:

“written, objective, evidence-guided information is available for women considering abortion to take away before the procedure. Information should be in a variety of languages and formats.”

In addition:

“staff providing abortion services should provide up-to-date evidence-guided information, supported by local data where robust, about complications and sequelae of abortion.”

The Department requires independent sector providers to provide women with impartial evidence-based information (verbal and written) which includes:

“what to expect, during and after the abortion (to include potential side effects, complications and any clinical implications).”

Also the Care Quality Commission’s Essential Standards of Quality and Safety require that:

“the risks, benefits and alternative options are discussed and explained in a way that the person who uses the service is able to understand.”

Abortion: Breast Cancer

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the meta-analysis by Huang Y et al. published in the journal Cancer Causes Control in November 2013, investigating the link between termination of pregnancy and breast cancer. [197022]

Jane Ellison: The Royal College of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (RCOG) reviewed its evidence based guidance on abortion (The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion) in 2011 in which the issue of a link between abortion and breast cancer was given careful consideration.

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When the RCOG carries out the next review of its guidance, consideration will be given to all relevant research and evidence available that has come to light, to help inform the guidance and recommendations.

Accidents

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are employed full-time solely on accident prevention in (a) his Department and (b) Public Health England. [197588]

Jane Ellison: A number of departmental and Public Health England staff work on areas relevant to accident prevention, but they are employed within teams with wider public health and social care interests rather than being solely employed full-time on accident prevention.

Air Pollution: South East

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of deaths in (a) Portsmouth, (b) Hampshire and (c) the South East attributed to air pollution in each of the last 10 years. [196992]

Jane Ellison: Estimates of the fraction of mortality in English local authority areas and regions in 2010 and 2011 attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities are published by Public Health England (PHE) as one of the indicators in the Department of Health’s Public Health Outcomes Framework. For Portsmouth unitary authority this figure was 5.9% in both 2010 and 2011; for Hampshire county council this figure was 5.3% in 2010 and 5.4% in 2011; and for the South East this figure was 5.5% in both 2010 and 2011.

PHE has also published mortality estimates for 2010 as attributable deaths¹ and associated years of life lost. The estimated mortality burdens attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities were: 95 attributable deaths and 1059 associated years of life lost in Portsmouth unitary authority; 601 attributable deaths and 6211 associated years of life lost in Hampshire county council; and 4,034 attributable deaths and 41,729 associated years of life lost in the South East.

¹ The ‘number of deaths’ attributable to a risk factor is a metric which is widely used in communicating about public health risks. Nonetheless, a calculated figure of ‘attributable deaths’ does not represent the number of individuals whose length of life has been shortened by air pollution. Long-term exposure to air pollution is understood to be a contributory factor to deaths from

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respiratory and, particularly, cardiovascular disease, ie unlikely to be the sole cause of deaths of individuals. This means that it is likely that air pollution contributes a smaller amount to the deaths of a larger number of exposed individuals rather than being solely responsible for a number of deaths equivalent to the calculated figure of ‘attributable deaths’. The distribution of the mortality effect within the population is unknown.

Cancer: Drugs

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make representations to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence regarding its technology appraisal of ipilimumab. [197033]

Norman Lamb: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave her on 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 663W.

Children: Screening

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to extend Pulse Oximetry screening for children. [197116]

Dr Poulter: The UK National Screening Committee has recommended that a pilot for pulse oximetry screening for children should be set up to explore the practicalities of implementation. Ministers have accepted this advice and a pilot will commence shortly.

Chiropody

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many whole-time equivalent podiatrists were employed in the NHS in each of the last 10 years. [197207]

Dr Poulter: The annual national health service workforce census, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows the numbers of chiropodists/podiatrists working in the national health service in England as at 30 September each year. The number of full-time equivalent chiropodists/podiatrists employed by the NHS in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table. It is not possible to separate out the podiatrists from the chiropodists/podiatrists figure.

The most recent annual workforce census, which includes data as at 30 September 2013 and was published on 25 March 2014, has been placed in the Library.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department made of the prevalence of grade down-banding of podiatrists employed within the NHS. [197208]

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Dr Poulter: There has been no assessment made by the Secretary of State for Health, of the prevalence of grade down-banding of podiatrists employed within the national health service.

NHS Employers are responsible for their workforce structure. Grade down-banding or changing the pay structure of the role to a lower grade is a measure undertaken by some NHS organisations due to re-organisation and restructure.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on trends over the last five years in the number of employees at (a) bands 5 and 6 and (b) bands 7 and 8 employed as podiatrists in the NHS. [197209]

Dr Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre annual national health service workforce census shows the number of chiropodists/podiatrists by Agenda for Change (AfC) pay band working in the national health service as at 30 September each year from 2010 to 2013. It is not possible to separate podiatrists from the chiropodists/podiatrists figures. An AfC breakdown is not available for 2009 census data but is available in the provisional monthly workforce statistics.

The number of employees at AfC bands 5, 6, 7 and 8 employed as podiatrists in the NHS from 2009 to 2013 is shown in the following table.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what correspondence he has received relating to reductions in the number of podiatrists employed in each of the regions of England in each of the last three years. [197210]

Dr Poulter: A search of the Department’s ministerial correspondence database has identified four items of correspondence about reductions in the number of

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podiatrists employed in England; three were received in 2012 and one was received in 2014. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department’s ministerial correspondence unit only.

Following the Westminster Hall debate on 4 December 2013 about podiatry services, secured by the hon. Member for Corby (Andy Sawford), the Chief Executive of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists wrote to the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Jane Ellison), who responded to the debate, expressing concern about the reduction of podiatrists staffing levels in some areas.

In that debate the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health explained that:

“in situations in which services need to be changed, the NHS commitment is to make sure decisions are made in a clear and transparent way, so that patients and the public can understand how services are planned and delivered. Through the mandate, NHS England is responsible for services and for working with local clinical commissioning groups to ensure that their services are based on the needs of the local population within the resources available and there has to be evidenced-based best practice”.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to promote best practice in NHS podiatry services in (a) NHS England, (b) health and wellbeing boards and (c) clinical commissioning groups. [197211]

Dr Poulter: The Mandate from the Government to NHS England holds NHS England to account for improving patient care. Within NHS England, the National Clinical Director for Rehabilitation and Recovery in the Community and the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer are leading on work to improve adult rehabilitation services including collection and dissemination of best practice, which will serve to enhance the care of those with foot diseases.

NHS England is taking a number of actions to improve footcare services for people with diabetic foot disease. Some of these actions are in line with Diabetes UK’s foot campaign “Putting Feet First” while others go beyond the suggestions included in the campaign.

The actions include the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set which contains an indicator on “Complications associated with diabetes including emergency admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis and lower limb amputation”; the launch of a National Diabetes Footcare Audit scheduled for July of this year; and an NHS Improving Quality pilot project to reduce the premature mortality associated with diabetic foot disease.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the standard of podiatry services in the NHS. [197212]

Dr Poulter: There has been no assessment made by the Secretary of State for Health, on the standard of podiatry services in the national health service. Podiatrists are professionally regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and are accountable for their practice via the fitness to practise

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process. Registered podiatrists are required to maintain ongoing continued professional development to ensure that their clinical skills are maintained. This is a mandatory requirement by the HCPC.

Health organisations are expected to follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard on diabetes requires that people with diabetes that have foot ulcers, or are at risk of developing them, have regular check-ups from a team specialising in foot protection. It also requires that people are seen and treated by a specialist health care team within 24 hours if they have foot problems needing urgent medical attention.

NICE guidelines recommend annual foot checks. This is included in the Quality and Outcomes Framework which incentivises general practitioners to perform and record a foot examination in people with diabetes.

NHS England also plans to launch a National Diabetes Footcare Audit in July 2014, which aims to establish the extent to which national guidelines on the management of diabetic foot disease are being met. This will provide local teams with the evidence needed to tackle any identified differences in practice which will lead in turn to an overall improvement in management and outcomes for patients.

Some elements of podiatry services are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, all providers of regulated activities, including NHS and independent providers, have to register with CQC and meet a set of requirements of safety and quality.

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the relationship between the availability of podiatry services and the rate of lower limb amputations. [197213]

Dr Poulter: The Secretary of State for Health, has not personally received representations on the relationship between the availability of podiatry services and rate of lower limb amputations.

I regularly meet with the Allied Health Professions Federation. At the last meeting held in February 2014, representatives from the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists attended and a wide range of issues were discussed, including prevention of lower limb amputations.

We are not currently able to correlate the relationship between the availability of podiatry services and rate of lower limb amputation in those with diabetes. However, on 14 July 2014, NHS England will be launching the National Diabetes Footcare Audit (a new module to be incorporated into the National Diabetes Audit) which will allow this relationship to be explored.

Dental Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost of seeing a dentist was in England in each year for which data are available. [197042]

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Dr Poulter: Information is available by course of treatment. Information on the average cost of a national health service (NHS) course of treatment for an adult charge payer is set out in the following table. Treatment is free for all children and those adults who are exempt from NHS dental charges on income or other grounds.

Diabetes

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to tackle the increase of type 2 diabetes; and what work is being done to identify best practice and share knowledge throughout the UK. [196845]

Jane Ellison: The NHS Health Check programme is a risk assessment and management programme aimed at preventing a range of illnesses, including diabetes. Economic modelling has shown that potentially it can prevent more than 4,000 people a year from developing diabetes.

Public Health England is supporting local authorities to deliver the NHS Health Check programme. Take up continues to improve with the number of checks being undertaken up by 13% compared to the same period last year.

Strategic Clinical Networks (SCNs) focus on priority service areas to help improve the quality and equity of care and outcomes by bringing together those who use, provide and commission services in the area they serve. There are 12 Cardiovascular Disease Strategic Clinical Networks, 10 of which have dedicated diabetes clinical leads, and they support the prevention of Type 2 diabetes, and identify and share good practice within their areas. Diabetes UK is supporting meetings between the NHS England National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes, and the diabetes clinical leads and associate directors of the SCNs to help ensure that best practice is shared across all 12 regional networks.

Dietary Supplements: EU Law

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps officials of the UK Permanent Representation to the EU are taking to ensure that the Government's objectives are met for the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals under the provisions of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive; [196939]

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(2) what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on the establishment of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements through EU Directive 2002/46/EC on food supplements; [196937]

(3) if he will discuss with the new European Commissioner for Health, at the earliest opportunity after his or her appointment, continued access by British consumers to safe, high potency vitamins and minerals; and if he will make a statement. [196938]

Jane Ellison: I raised the issue of the establishment of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements with Tonio Borg, the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, on 10 December 2013, emphasising the importance that any future proposals should be based on science and safety, to allow for the highest safe maximum levels. The nature of the United Kingdom (UK) market and potential impact on availability of thousands of products was underlined. This will be an important issue to raise with the new European Commissioner when appointed.

Officials at the UK Permanent Representation to the European Union (EU) continue to monitor for any development of proposals from the European Commission for setting maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals under the provisions of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive. Should such a proposal be issued, officials at the UK Representation to the EU will advise and assist the Department in the delivery of the Government’s negotiating objectives.

Domestic Accidents

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of patients presenting at accident and emergency departments because of an accident in the home in each year since 2010. [197594]

Jane Ellison: The information requested is not available centrally.

Health Services

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from what date the statutory duty of candour will be implemented; and if he will make a statement. [196897]

Norman Lamb: We announced, in ‘Hard Truths’ the Government’s response to the Mid Staffordshire public inquiry, that:

“subject to Parliamentary approval from 2014 every organisation registered with the Care Quality Commission will be expected to meet a new duty of candour.”

Hospital Beds

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the percentage change in the number of NHS beds in England was in each year since 2010. [197040]

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

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In Vitro Fertilisation

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 42W, on In vitro fertilisation, (a) what the evidential basis is for his statement that no genomic DNA is found in the mitochondria but only in the cell nucleus, (b) what account he took of the data on the human genome available in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases in preparing that statement and (c) what genetic modifications applied to the eggs or embryos would prevent any nuclear DNA from the eggs or embryo donor being inherited by the resulting child. [197061]

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 42W, on in vitro fertilisation, if he will provide specific references to the available evidence that no genomic DNA is found in the mitochondria but only in the cell nucleus; how their consideration that mitochondrial DNA is not part of the genome relates to the presentation of data on the human genome in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases; what precise genetic modifications are applied to the eggs or embryos that would prevent any nuclear DNA from the egg or embryo donors from being inherited by the resulting child; and if he will make a statement. [197463]

Jane Ellison: We have been advised by the Wellcome Trust that whole mitochondrial DNA genome sequencing has revealed no evidence of nuclear genomic DNA inside mitochondria and data on the human genome available in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases confirms that there is no nuclear genomic DNA in the mitochondria.

Inheritance of nuclear DNA from the donor egg is prevented in the Maternal Spindle Transfer technique through the removal of the spindle from the donor egg. Given that the nuclear DNA in the form of condensed chromosomes is attached to the spindle, nuclear genomic DNA from the donor will be removed and not inherited by the resulting child. Techniques that allow the visualisation of condensed chromosomes in eggs are used to ensure that all the chromosomes are removed.

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For embryos used in the Pronuclear Transfer technique, the nuclear genomic DNA is enclosed within the nuclear membrane of the maternal (egg-derived) and paternal (sperm-derived) pronuclei. The donor nuclear genomic DNA will be removed when the pronuclei are removed.

There is no universally agreed definition of genetic modification in humans. The Government have adopted a working definition for the purpose of taking forward the draft mitochondrial donation regulations, that genetic modification involves the germ-line modification of nuclear DNA that can be passed on to future generations. Therefore, the Government do not accept that mitochondrial donation amounts to genetic modification.

Maternity Services

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines cover preoperative pregnancy checks in (a) the NHS and (b) private medical institutions; [197019]

(2) what assessment he has made of whether current guidelines covering preoperative pregnancy checks are sufficient to prevent risks to the unborn child. [197455]

Dr Poulter: Government guidelines on preoperative pregnancy checks are set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance: ‘Preoperative Tests: The use of routine preoperative tests for elective surgery’:

www.guidance.nice.org.uk/CG3/Guidance

published in June 2003.

This guidance states that:

The need to test for pregnancy depends on the risk presented to the fetus by the anaesthetic and surgery. All women of childbearing age should be asked sensitively whether or not there is any chance that they may be pregnant.

Women must be made aware of the risks of surgery to the fetus.

A pregnancy test should be carried out with the woman’s consent if there is any doubt about whether she may be pregnant.

Before having a chest x-ray, all women of childbearing age should be asked sensitively whether they may be pregnant.

NHS Medical Director Sir Bruce Keogh has recently requested that NICE review its guidelines on preoperative tests in relation to potential pregnancy. This will include an assessment of whether the current guidelines covering preoperative pregnancy checks are sufficient in preventing risks to the unborn child.

Guidance on pregnancy checks has also been produced by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health:

www.rcpch.ac.uk/pregnancychecks

and the Royal College of Surgeons:

www.rcseng.ac.uk/publications/docs/preop_test.html

These guidelines are equally applicable to the NHS and private medical institutions.

Mental Illness

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of mental illness in (a) the West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group area, (b) the Medway Clinical Commissioning Group area, (c) Kent and (d) England in each of the last five years. [196893]

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Norman Lamb: Information on the levels of mental illness in the West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group area, the Medway Clinical Commissioning Group area, Kent and England is not held centrally.

All local authorities are required to develop and publish a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)—an analysis of the current and future health and care needs of the local population—and a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS) to address these needs.

JSNAs and JHWSs form the basis of national health service and local authorities’ own commissioning plans, across health, social care, public health and children’s services. Local health and social care commissioners are expected to develop their commissioning plans in line with any relevant JSNA or JHWS, and must be able to justify any parts of their plans which are not consistent.

The JSNA process therefore offers valuable opportunities to drive improvement in meeting the needs of local people with mental health needs. However, the Department has not highlighted any care group or area of need over another as this would risk undermining the purpose of JSNAs being an objective, comprehensive and most importantly a locally-owned process.

NHS: Competition

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff are employed in (a) his Department, (b) NHS England and (c) Monitor to undertake work on or relating to competition issues; and what the cost of employing such staff was in each of the last five years. [197535]

Dr Poulter: The following table lists the number of staff currently employed to work on competition issues in the Department, NHS England and Monitor.

The level of spend on employing staff to work on competition issues in each of the last five years could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

NHS: Complaints

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been received about the NHS in England and Wales in each of the last three years; and on what grounds such complaints have been made. [196978]

Dr Poulter: There are 17 tables of data published annually in August of each year by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in England. This annual collection is a count of written complaints made by (or on behalf of) patients, received between 1 April and 31 March each year.

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These data sets cover Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) KO41a and General Practice (including Dental) Health Services KO41b.

The total number of complaints received by the NHS in England in the years requested are as follows:

Documents for the years requested have been placed in the Library and show on what grounds a complaint was made.

The Department does not hold data on complaints made to the Welsh NHS this information would need to be supplied by the Welsh NHS.

NHS: Legal Costs

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each NHS trust and foundation trust spent on legal costs on individual employment cases in each of the last 10 years. [197595]

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Dr Poulter: The Department does not collect data about how much each national health service trust and foundation trust spends on legal costs on individual employment cases.

Nurses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing staff were in post in each year since 1999. [197121]

Dr Poulter: The annual national health service workforce census, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows the numbers of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in the NHS in England as at 30 September each year. The Department does not hold information on the number of nursing staff in post in other settings.

The number of qualified nursing staff in each year from 1999 to 2013 is shown in the following table. The latest data in the table relates to September 2013 and is taken from the annual census. The monthly workforce statistics provides more recent data but do not include primary care staff.