Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information later than 2003 his Department has on the relative emissions from motor vehicles powered by road fuel gases. [197297]

Stephen Hammond: The Department commissioned testing of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in 2006 which concluded that the air pollutant emissions performance of LPG vehicles is similar to that of petrol vehicles. The Department is also aware of other studies which showed similar results that engines running on road fuel gases broadly emit less oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) than a comparable diesel engine, while producing CO2 emissions between those of equivalent diesel and petrol engines.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effect of Government policy on the level of car insurance premiums. [903899]

Mr Goodwill: The Government continue to monitor the publically available sources of data on motor insurance premiums. The Government’s reforms to civil litigation

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costs and funding will result in unnecessary and excessive costs being removed from the system. However, the level and timing of any reduction in such premiums is a matter for the insurance industry itself.

We are working with insurers to mitigate fraud, excessive whiplash claims and young drivers risk to reduce premiums further.

Defence

Armed Forces: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the effect of post-traumatic stress disorder on the ability of former services personnel to reintegrate into civilian life. [196990]

Anna Soubry: Although mental health problems, and PTSD in particular, are no more prevalent among service personnel than the broader civilian population, it is recognised that service personnel who do experience mental health problems may find it harder to make the transition to civilian life.

The Government have therefore given priority to ensuring that service leavers and veterans can access timely and appropriate mental health treatment, should it be necessary, both in the NHS and through other programmes delivered across Government and the voluntary sector. All of the recommendations of the ‘Fighting Fit’ report, written by the now Minister for International Security Strategy the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), have been implemented.

Examples of initiatives taken forward under this Government include Structured Mental Health assessment as part of routine and discharge medicals; specialist follow-on treatment after discharge; the introduction of e-learning packages for clinicians, providing information and advice on the health care needs of the armed forces, their families and veterans; funding for the Combat Stress 24 hr Mental Health Helpline; and the introduction of the Big White Wall, providing Mental Health wellbeing services to serving personnel, their families and veterans.

Coleshill Auxilliers

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to recognise the work undertaken by the Coleshill Auxiliaries during the Second World War. [197464]

Anna Soubry: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 10 October 2013, Official Report, columns 414-15W.

There are no plans to institute a specific award for those who were members of the Coleshill Auxilliers. The auxiliary units were listed as Home Guard units, and, as such, members who completed three years service in the United Kingdom qualify for the Defence Medal. In addition, surviving members may apply for the Armed Forces Veterans Badge.

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International Development

Africa

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the potential contribution of sustainable lighting systems to development in Africa; and if her Department will collaborate with Solar Aid to provide such systems to communities in Africa. [197345]

Lynne Featherstone: The UN Sustainable Energy for All initiative estimated that in 2010 only 32% of people in sub-Saharan Africa had access to electricity. There is high potential for household scale systems using sustainable and renewable energy such as solar power to increase access to electricity.

DFID will match funding for Solar Aid’s SunnyMoney appeal in The Guardian newspaper. This will fund the distribution of portable solar lights through Solar Aid’s social enterprise ‘SunnyMoney Way,’ in Zambia, Malawi, Kenya and Uganda. Through this project, Solar Aid expect to distribute some 76,400 solar lights benefiting over 400,000 people.

Bangladesh

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if her Department will provide support to the Bright Green Energy Group for distributing solar energy systems to rural communities in Bangladesh. [197344]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID recognises the important role that the private sector plays in developing and delivering products to increase access to energy in poor countries. DFID makes funding available to energy in Africa. This includes the Renewable Energy and Adaptation to Climate Change (REACT) window of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund.

Developing Countries: Disability

Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department has taken to ensure that the work carried out under the Girls' Education Challenge Fund is fully inclusive of girls with disabilities. [197651]

Lynne Featherstone: The Girls Education Challenge programme has seven projects providing over £9 million to fund disability-focused girls education projects in Uganda, Kenya and Sierra Leone.

Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of the teachers it aims to train by 2015 will be trained in providing inclusive education to children with disabilities. [197657]

Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government have committed to help train 190,000 teachers by 2015, to help improve the quality of education for all children, including those with disabilities. By 2012-13, DFID had trained 99,000 teachers. A major challenge in poor countries is developing the data systems which can capture the needs of children with disabilities. We are therefore supporting UNESCO Institute for Statistics

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(UIS) to regularly publish education indicators which disaggregate people with disabilities, and to develop new standards for school censuses and surveys related to marginalised populations.

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Mr Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 380W, on developing countries: family planning, how much of her Department's budget has been allocated to achieving the outcomes in her Department's policy paper Safe and Unsafe Abortion in each of the last two years; and if she will make a statement. [197698]

Lynne Featherstone: DFID adheres to Development Co-Operation Directorate (OACD-DAC) expenditure coding requirements to allow comparison across donor spending towards attainment of the millennium development goal targets. This measures against coding titles as have been internationally agreed. Only coding titles as have been internationally agreed can be individually disaggregated by DFID systems.

Palestinians

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the additional costs resulting from Israeli border, access and planning controls to UK-funded development projects in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. [197380]

Mr Duncan: No such assessment has been possible. UK aid helps to finance the Palestinian Authority’s fiscal deficit, which would significantly decrease if Israeli movement and access restrictions in the OPTs were lifted. The World Bank estimates that if Israeli restrictions were lifted in ‘Area C’ of the west bank alone, the Palestinian economy would expand by more than a third and potentially would not require international donor assistance.

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with the European Commission and her counterparts in EU member states on compensation requests to Israeli authorities for EU-funded aid projects demolished by the Israeli authorities. [197408]

Mr Duncan: DFID and the EU regularly lobby Israel against the illegal demolition of Palestinian homes and infrastructure, and the forced transfer of people in Area C and East Jerusalem.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 25 March 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr M Woronycz. [197503]

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Mr Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), responded to the right hon. Member on 1 May 2014.

Middle East

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what active steps his (a) Department has taken and plans to take to facilitate the convening of a conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons. [197556]

Hugh Robertson: The UK is fully committed to convening a Conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction as soon as possible, in line with the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference Action Plan. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), Ministers and officials have discussed the Conference with their counterparts from the region, and will continue to do so. Officials have attended, and supported, recent informal consultations between the Facilitator and states of the region at Glion in Switzerland, and will engage in future informal consultations to build agreement. The UK continues to provide financial support for the work of the Facilitator, Finnish Under Secretary of State Jaakko Laajava.

Health

Abortion

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the cases of the 67 doctors who were found to have pre-signed abortion referral forms following investigations by the Care Quality Commission in 2012 are referred to the police. [197311]

Jane Ellison: Allegations referred to the Department were passed on to the relevant police forces for them to investigate. Other allegations of pre-signing were investigated by the General Medical Council. Decisions about whether to prosecute rest with the Crown Prosecution Service.

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the quality and content of advice published by independent abortion providers accords with that of his Department and the Royal colleges. [197323]

Jane Ellison: Medical practitioners carrying out terminations of pregnancy must comply with the Abortion Act 1967. Independent sector providers approved to perform abortions by the Secretary of State for Health must comply with the Required Standard Operating Procedures as a condition of approval.

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many HSA4 forms submitted in each month since 2010 are pending completion. [197391]

Jane Ellison: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

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Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the ability of non-registered medical professionals to gauge mental or physical health risks posed by a pregnancy for the purpose of judging whether or not the criteria of the Abortion Act 1967 are met. [197392]

Jane Ellison: The Abortion Act 1967 sets out that two doctors must certify that in their opinion, which must be formed in good faith, a request for an abortion meets at least one (and the same) of the grounds set out in the Act.

The Department’s view that registered medical practitioners should be able to show how they have considered the particular facts of a case when forming their opinion, for example by making notes in the patient record. They should be able to defend how their decision was reached if asked to justify it at a later date.

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors were referred to the police for investigation for crimes relating to the Abortion Act 1967 in each of the last 10 years; and how many such referrals resulted in (a) charges and (b) convictions. [197394]

Jane Ellison: No registered medical practitioners have been convicted of a breach of abortion law and no prosecutions have been brought in the past 10 years.

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women suffered health complications following abortion procedures in 2012. [197440]

Jane Ellison: Statistics for abortion, including complications arising from abortions, are published annually. A copy of the latest report, ‘Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2012’,has already been placed in the Library.

Mr Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with the General Medical Council about the pre-signing of abortion certificates since January 2012. [197699]

Jane Ellison: Departmental officials have met with the General Medical Council (GMC) on several occasions since February 2012 where abortion issues, including pre-signing of abortion HSA1 certificates, were discussed. In addition, I also met with the GMC recently to discuss abortion issues.

Mr Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the prevalence of the pre-signing of abortion (HSA1) certificates since the conclusion of the Care Quality Commission's 2012 investigations into abortion clinics. [197701]

Jane Ellison: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) previously investigated the prevalence of the pre-signing of abortion (HSA1) certificates due to a specific request in 2012. The CQC has put in place information for its own staff to help identify if pre-signing or other instances of non-compliance are taking place to make sure that such cases would be picked up during inspections. This is in line with how the CQC would handle any information of concern identified during an inspection.

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If a CQC inspection identifies pre-signing or other instances of non-compliance with the Health and Social Care Act and Regulations, then appropriate regulatory action will be taken. This includes reporting any concerns in relation to termination of pregnancy practice to the Department. The Department has not received any notification of pre-signing of abortion certificates from the CQC since these inspections.

Analgesics

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on whether the use of painkillers increases the risk of a stroke. [197403]

Norman Lamb: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) continuously monitors the safety of all medicines on the market in the United Kingdom. The MHRA holds data from clinical trials, published literature and spontaneous reports of suspected adverse drug reactions collected through the Yellow Card Scheme.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used and effective medicines for the treatment of arthritis and other painful conditions. It has been known for many years that NSAIDs are associated with a small increased risk of heart attacks or strokes, particularly when used at a high dose and for a long time.

The MHRA has widely communicated the information and advice for health care professionals on the risk of heart attack and stroke with NSAIDs in letters and bulletins, and other publications through liaison with the British National Formulary and National Prescribing Centre. In addition, product information (including patient information leaflets) has been updated in order to support informed decision-making in relation to the choice of painkiller.

Antidepressants

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) the Royal Colleges and (b) pharmaceutical companies about the efficacy of anti-depressants. [197405]

Norman Lamb: A search of the Department's records and those of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has found no record of any such correspondence or discussions.

Autism: Children

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to families with children with autism. [197412]

Norman Lamb: The Care Bill has simplified the process for adult carers in England to access an assessment of need for social care, based on the appearance of a need for support.

The Children and Families Act has introduced new arrangements for supporting young people with a special educational need, and their families. A single assessment

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involving professionals and commissioners, and the child’s family, will identify the care needs for the child or young person (from ages 0 to 25) to inform an individual Education, Health and Care Plan focusing on outcomes and the integrated services to deliver them.

Brain: Tumours

Mr Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to raise awareness among health professionals of the symptoms of brain tumours and their effects on children; and if he will make a statement. [197264]

Jane Ellison: “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, published in January 2011, committed over £450 million up to 2014-15 to achieve earlier diagnosis of cancer, including improving direct general practitioner (GP) access to key diagnostic tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to support the diagnosis of brain tumours. In 2012, the Department published ‘Direct access to diagnostic tests for cancer: best practice referral pathways for general practitioners’ to provide criteria for accessing key diagnostic tests including MRI brain scans. The guide aims to raise awareness of the symptoms that require urgent referral to specialists and sets out where a direct referral for an MRI brain scan may benefit patients through achieving a faster diagnosis. NHS England monitors the use of these diagnostic tests through the Diagnostic Imaging Dataset.

To increase GP awareness of brain tumours in children, in 2012, the Department funded British Medical Journal Learning to provide an e-learning module for GPs on diagnosing osteosarcoma and brain tumours in children. One part of the module supports GPs to understand the main types of brain tumours in children and young people, their common symptom presentations and to recognise when patients need urgent referral, the other deals with communication barriers, and provides potential ways to address these barriers in GP consultations.

In addition to this, since 2005, the Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has supported GPs to identify patients with the symptoms of suspected cancer, including brain tumours, and urgently refer them as appropriate. NICE is in the process of updating this guidance to ensure that it reflects the latest evidence and the anticipated publication date for the revised guidelines is May 2015.

I have also recently written to all Health and Wellbeing boards to make them aware of the briefing material developed by the “Headsmart” charity, which aims to increase awareness of the symptoms of brain tumours among parents, schools and health professionals.

Breast Cancer

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance NHS England has issued to strategic clinical networks on the role that breast network site-specific groups should play in the current strategic clinical network framework; [197727]

(2) how many strategic clinical networks currently have a breast network site-specific group; and how many times each such group met in 2013-14; [197728]

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(3) how many breast network site-specific groups existed in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many times each such group met in each year; [197729]

(4) what guidance is provided to breast network site-specific groups on (a) the frequency with which they should meet each year, (b) the number of members each group should have and (c) the roles that should be represented in the group's membership. [197730]

Jane Ellison: The requirement for the provision of site-specific groups (SSGs), such as those for breast cancer, is written into national cancer peer review requirements. In consultation with strategic clinical networks (SCNs), NHS England has developed an SCN framework. The framework reiterates the role and importance of clinical networking groups as support for the commissioning process, but allows for local agreement to how those groups are supported.

There are 12 SCNs and we would expect all to have a breast network SSG. This will be evidenced by the annual report published for the SCN and relevant area team. The National Peer Review Programme “Manual for Cancer Services; Breast Cancer Measures” states that network groups should meet regularly.

The Review Programme further states that the network group should produce an annual work programme in discussion with the SCN and agreed with the director of the relevant Area Team. It should include details of any planned service developments and should specify the personnel responsible and the time scales for implantation. The SSGs also develop protocols for the treatment of patients within the SCN and agree audits and research projects that will be supported.

The Review Programme also states that network groups should meet regularly. It gives guidance on the roles that should be represented on the group but not numbers.

We do not hold information on how many breast network SSGs existed and how many times each group met prior to April 2013.

Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement. [197453]

Dr Poulter: The Department has no plans to relocate departmental offices or staff to Brighton.

Children: Protection

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department will provide for NHS staff on whether to share the information on the Child Protection-Information Sharing project with relevant local authorities, police forces or care homes. [197544]

Dr Poulter: The Child Protection-Information Sharing (CP-IS) project will allow the sharing of child protection information between national health service unscheduled care settings and local authority children’s services staff only. The information will not be shared with care homes or the police.

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CP-IS will hold child protection information only for children in England who are subject to a child protection plan or are looked after by a local authority.

When NHS staff submit a query to the CP-IS service, the system will electronically share the following information with the local authority responsible for the child: the time and date of the query, the name of the NHS healthcare worker who made the query, and the NHS organisation from within which the query was made.

CP-IS will not introduce information sharing over and beyond what is currently shared by NHS staff and local authorities.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre has published guidance on its website for NHS and local authority staff on how to use the CP-IS system.

Clinical Trials

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department publishes for pharmaceutical companies to ensure that the clinical trials they conduct are carried out ethically and safely. [197308]

Dr Poulter: The International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) Note for Guidance on Good Clinical Practice (GCP) is an international standard for GCP. It became operational in the European Union in January 1997 and is a set of internationally recognised ethical and scientific quality requirements which must be observed for designing, conducting, recording and reporting clinical trials that involve the participation of human subjects. This guidance is available on the web and is published on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) website. In addition the MHRA published the MHRA Good Clinical Practice Guide in September 2013.

The Health Research Authority (HRA) publishes a range of resources on research ethics that have relevance to clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. These resources are available on the HRA website at:

www.hra.nhs.uk/resources/

Dermatology: General Practitioners

Mrs Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions his Department has had with (a) Health Education England and (b) the Royal College of GPs on compulsory dermatological training for GPs since 4 December 2013; [197303]

(2) what recent steps his Department has taken to address the lack of compulsory dermatological training in the GP educational pathway. [197365]

Dr Poulter: The Government have mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the national health service. This mandate includes a commitment that HEE will ensure that general practitioner (GP) training produces GPs with the required competencies to practise in the new NHS. Consequently HEE will work with stakeholders to influence training curricula as appropriate.

The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council, which is an independent statutory body. It has the general function

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of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice. Within the current GP curriculum, trainees are required to successfully complete training on care of people with skin problems.

Responsibility for the commission of dermatology services sits with NHS England. NHS England commissions specialised dermatology services for those patients requiring care from highly specialist dermatology centres (around 10% of sufferers). The level of provision of non-specialised dermatology services is decided by the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) and it will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local health care needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

The Department has not held any specific discussions on compulsory dermatological training for GPs with HEE or the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) since 4 December 2013, nor have HEE or NHS England held discussions with RCGP on this matter.

Diabetes

Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) elective and (b) emergency admissions with a (i) primary and (ii) secondary diagnosis of diabetes there have been in (A) England and (B) each commissioning area of responsibility; and what proportion of such admissions were of (1) a child under the age of 18 and (2) an adult aged 18 and over in each year since 2005. [197348]

Jane Ellison: Information on the finished admission episodes with a primary and secondary diagnosis of diabetes, by admission type, age and primary care trust for the years 2005-06 to 2012-13 has been placed in the Library.

Dietary Supplements

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on whether the use of shellfish supplements increases life expectancy. [197404]

Jane Ellison: The Department does not hold any information on whether the use of shellfish supplements increases life expectancy.

Doctors: Crime

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on reporting to the police suspected criminal acts committed by doctors that are discovered by his Department and NHS England. [197393]

Jane Ellison: Allegations of breaches in the Abortion Act are taken extremely seriously. They will be referred to the police either as a result of these being brought to the Department’s attention or in the event of investigations by NHS England (under its contractual and general practitioner regulatory frameworks).

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Eating Disorders: Young People

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned on diabulimia in teenagers and young adults. [197377]

Dr Poulter: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for South Yorkshire from 2008 to 2013. The CLAHRC carried out a programme of research on young people with Type 1 diabetes, including research relating to eating disorders in this patient group. Outputs include papers published in the journal Diabetic Medicine.

Exhaust Emissions: Motor Vehicles

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of premature deaths per year attributable to air pollution from diesel-fuelled vehicles; and what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges about ways of reducing such deaths. [197406]

Jane Ellison: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) has had no discussions with the Royal Colleges on actions to reduce the health impacts of air pollution. The actions the Government are taking to reduce the health impacts of air pollution have been given in a previous reply to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger) on 28 April 2014, Official Report, columns 474-75W.

In 2010, the Department’s expert advisory Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants published an estimate of the mortality effect in 2008 of long-term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities. The mortality burden for the United Kingdom was estimated as an effect equivalent to nearly 29,000 deaths. While this includes mortality attributable to particulate matter arising from diesel engines, separate figures for the impact of diesel-fuelled vehicles have not been produced by the Department.

Health Professions: Qualifications

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will take steps to ensure that the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists acts to accommodate doctors and nurses who have a conscientious objection to supplying contraceptive drugs or devices which act after fertilisation receive a diploma in sexual and reproductive health; [197373]

(2) what his policy is on allowing doctors and nurses who have a conscientious objection to supplying contraceptive drugs or devices which act after fertilisation to receive diplomas in sexual and reproductive health. [197301]

Jane Ellison: The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare is responsible for decisions on the syllabus of its diploma, the requirements for entry to the Diploma course and the award of a diploma qualification.

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The Department understands that its guidelines on the syllabus and on possible conscientious objection have not changed.

Local Safeguarding Children Boards

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provides to clinical commissioning groups about engagement with Local Safeguarding Children Boards. [197637]

Dr Poulter: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are statutory members of Local Safeguarding Children Boards under section 13 of the Children Act 2004, as amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The inter-agency statutory guidance, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’, published by the Department for Education in 2013, describes the functions of Local Safeguarding Children Boards and the responsibilities of member organisations.

NHS England published its ‘Safeguarding Vulnerable People in the Reformed NHS: Accountability and Assurance Framework’ in 2013 to complement the statutory guidance and support CCGs and other national health service organisations in fulfilling their safeguarding responsibilities.

Pancreatic Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a dataset for pancreatic cancer NHS waiting times which is distinct from the current upper gastrointestinal cancer waiting times dataset. [197942]

Jane Ellison: National statistics are collected and published on waiting times experienced by patients with suspected and diagnosed cancers in order to improve equity of access to cancer services and to contribute to an improvement in survival rates.

The data are published for major cancer groups. Publishing data at the more detailed cancer site levels would be reliant on detailed clinical coding and would risk disclosing patient identities.

Parkinson’s Disease

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many individual funding requests for the prescription of Duodopa to patients with Parkinson's disease were (a) made, (b) accepted, (c) accepted following an appeal and (d) rejected in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14; [197325]

(2) what the average waiting time is for a decision on an individual funding request for the prescription of Duodopa to a patient with Parkinson's disease. [197326]

Norman Lamb: Prior to April 2013, primary care trusts were responsible for dealing with individual funding requests and information on individual funding request decisions, or on the time taken to consider such requests, was not collected centrally.

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From April 2013, NHS England assumed responsibility for commissioning adult specialist neurosciences services, including the majority of services for patients with Parkinson’s disease, with some being the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups.

NHS England has informed us that information on the number of individual funding requests made to NHS England is not currently available. NHS England is improving its data collection mechanisms and aims to improve availability of such information in the future.

NHS England has advised us it aims to inform the requesting clinician of the outcome of the individual funding request panel decision within 40 working days from the date of receipt of a completed request form. There are no plans to collect information on the average time taken for these decisions to be made.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment his Department has made of potential geographical variations in the handling of individual funding requests for the prescription of Duodopa to patients with Parkinson's disease; [197327]

(2) what assessment his Department has made of time spent by clinicians on producing and administering individual funding requests for the prescription of Duodopa to patients with Parkinson's disease. [197328]

Norman Lamb: We have made no such assessments.

Patients: Females

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential effects of regulatory changes allowing registered medical practitioners to form an opinion about the mental or physical health of a female patient without meeting or examining her; and if he will make a statement. [197310]

Jane Ellison: The approach to abortion in the United Kingdom is set out in the Abortion Act 1967 and this remains unchanged. The Act sets out that two doctors must certify that in their opinion, which must be formed in good faith, a request for an abortion meets at least one (and the same) of the grounds set out in the Act.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when NHS England will publish a tariff for stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. [197266]

Dr Poulter: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I have her on 25 November, 2013, Official Report, column 160W.

Monitor and NHS England published a Methodology Discussion Paper on the 23 April 2014, which is available at:

www.monitor.gov.uk/node/6272

where the sector can provide feedback on the 2015/16 national tariff payment system. A copy has been placed in the Library.

The sector will have further opportunities to comment and provide evidence during the summer of 2014 prior to the final tariff publication. Services which have been subject to local price setting will also be reviewed for the local pricing arrangements as part of the review for 2015-16 and 2016-17.

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Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients have been sent to hospitals in London for stereotactic radiosurgery treatment from (a) Oxfordshire, (b) Berkshire, (c) Buckinghamshire and (d) Wiltshire in each of the last three financial years; [197271]

(2) how many patients have been sent to hospitals in Sheffield for stereotactic radiosurgery treatment from (a) Oxfordshire, (b) Berkshire, (c) Buckinghamshire and (d) Wiltshire in each of the last three financial years. [197263]

Jane Ellison: The requested information is not collected centrally.

We understand Mr James Palmer, Clinical Director of Specialised Services at NHS England will be writing to my hon. Friend to offer a meeting in order that he can address concerns about the provision of stereotactic radiosurgery treatment.

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 132W, on radiotherapy and with reference to section three of the guidance issued by Monitor on the Commissioning of Radiosurgery Services on 4 April 2014, for what reasons NHS England is not funding patients to be treated with the gamma knife at University College London Hospital; [197299]

(2) what progress NHS England is making on improving access to stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for patients suffering with cancer of the prostate, liver, pancreas, spinal tumours and cancer of the head and neck; [197267]

(3) if he will take steps to encourage NHS England to respond to the Oxford Radiosurgery Centre's request that NHS patients in Oxfordshire and surrounding counties who require radiosurgery be treated there; [197268]

(4) pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 132W, on radiotherapy and with reference to section three of the guidance issued by Monitor on the Commissioning of Radiosurgery Services on 4 April 2014, which primary care trusts in the south west of England commissioned treatment with the gamma knife at University College London Hospital for patients before 1 April 2013. [197298]

Jane Ellison: The business case for the gamma-knife centre at Oxford was originally agreed with the primary care trust (PCT) prior to April 2013, with an assumption that the PCT would stop sending patients to other centres elsewhere, and start sending them to the new centre once it was completed.

As of April 2013, commissioning of these services transferred to the specialist commissioning team in NHS England.

NHS England is currently undertaking a review of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) (e.g. gamma knife) and stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR, e.g. cyber knife) for intracranial conditions to establish what the national demand is in line with its national clinical commissioning policies on SRS and SABR, and what the national capacity requirements are for this specialised treatment.

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Until the capacity requirements are clear, NHS England has said that it would be inappropriate to encourage new market entrants to provide this service as it cannot be clear what the potential consequential impacts on service quality, sustainability (financial and clinical) and potential unintended changes to patient pathways will be. Until the review is complete NHS England has said no substantive changes will be made to the current provision.

As part of the transition of this service to NHS England, it developed, consulted upon and published a series of national clinical commissioning policies for intracranial SRS and SRT treatment.

A report setting out the emerging findings of this review has been shared with clinical reference groups to seek their views and help NHS England develop a final draft. Once the views of stakeholders have been gathered, this will then go to the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group (SCOG) to agree a preferred option. Once the SCOG has a preferred option, NHS England will consult with patients and professionals and take account of those views when taking a final decision. If it is concluded that there are to be significant changes in the provision of services, there will be a full public consultation before any changes are made.

NHS England is expecting that the draft report will be ready for consideration at SCOG in June and then it would commence a public consultation on the draft report and preferred option during July to September. The report and recommendations will then be finalised after taking account of the views expressed during the consultation stage and a final decision taken by SCOG in September 2014.

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NHS England inherited the range of gamma knife providers currently in place, of which University College London Hospitals (UCLH) was not one. NHS England is currently undertaking a review of stereotactic radiosurgery provision and will consult widely with stakeholders and providers prior to making changes to service provision. There are two long-established providers of gamma knife surgery commissioned by NHS England located in central London to whom patients from all six London specialist neurosurgical centres have been referred for gamma knife treatment for a number of years, including patients from UCLH.

Finally, there was no contract in place with UCLH to provide gamma knife surgery for any PCT prior to 1 April 2013. Any activity that may have been undertaken there would have been done on an ad-hoc, non-contracted basis and NHS England does not hold this information.

Social Services: Oxfordshire

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications have been made in Oxfordshire under the National Assistance Act 1948 by people without resources to meet their requirements or whose resources must be supplemented in order to meet their requirements in the last five years. [197243]

Norman Lamb: Information on the number of adult social care clients receiving council-funded services, including residential and domiciliary care, is collected by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).

The HSCIC has provided the available information for Oxfordshire county council over the five years 2008-09 to 2012-13. This is shown in the following table:

Home Department

Deportation: Offenders

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost is of keeping a foreign national offender classified by her Department as individual non-compliant in detention for one day. [196827]

James Brokenshire: The estimated average direct daily cost of holding a person in our immigration detention facilities is £100. It should be noted that this is an average and it will vary marginally depending upon the mix of facilities in use at a given point.

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Female Genital Mutilation: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking in Northern Ireland to raise awareness of female genital mutilation. [196578]

Norman Baker: The Coalition Government recognises the importance of raising awareness of female genital mutilation. Following a successful bid to the European Union progress funding stream, the Home Office was awarded approximately €300,000 in November 2013 for work to raise awareness of FGM. This will be used to fund a range of activities across the UK, including in Northern Ireland. For example, we are launching a communications campaign to raise awareness of FGM and we are also developing an e-learning tool so that all frontline practitioners will be able to undertake an introduction to FGM.

The Civil Law Reform Division of the Northern Ireland Executive also consulted on draft multi-agency practice guidelines earlier this year which were based on the Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines issued by the Home Office.

Hillsborough Stadium

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces (a) handed over evidence relating to the Hillsborough disaster and (b) contacted the Independent Police Complaints Commission to inform it that they did not have any evidence relating to the Hillsborough disaster. [196026]

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.

Human Trafficking: Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when her Department's Personal Advocate Pilot for trafficked children will start; how non-governmental organisations will participate in the schemes; and when each pilot scheme in each participating local authority will start and end. [197530]

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Karen Bradley: The Modern Slavery Bill will enable us to strengthen our response to human trafficking and modern slavery for both adults and children. We announced in January our intention to trial specialist independent advocates for victims of child trafficking.

23 local authorities that represent a wide demographic range as well as major transport hubs and asylum screening units have agreed to participate in the trial. These areas also have the highest rates of trafficking referrals to the National Referral Mechanism or are areas where we are aware of a high number of trafficking investigations by law enforcement agencies.

We are currently considering bids from a number of voluntary and community services organisations that were identified as potential providers of the advocacy service because of the particular expertise they hold. When the trial goes live we will invite a number of relevant stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations, to inform the project through a consultative group.

We have to consider this matter following the passing in the Lords of an amendment to the Immigration Bill that has put on hold our proposals for these trials.

National Crime Agency

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her priorities are for extending the scope of the National Crime Agency in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the UK. [197414]

Karen Bradley: The National Crime Agency is committed to assisting the Police Service of Northern Ireland in tackling serious and organised crime as far as the restrictions on its powers permit.

Discussions continue in order to achieve full operating powers for the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland to ensure the response to organised crime in Northern Ireland is more effective. This is a priority.

The National Crime Agency does have full operating powers elsewhere in the UK.

Passports

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the change has been in the number of passports which were (a) issued and (b) reported (i) lost and (ii) stolen between 2008 and 2013, by issuing passport office. [197287]

James Brokenshire: Passport applications are distributed across Her Majesty's Passport Office estate based on capacity and resources in each office. Data for 2008 to 2013 are shown in the following table.

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Lost and stolen data are collated at national level only and not available separated by issuing office. The following table provides a breakdown of how many passports have been reported (i) lost, and (ii) stolen between 2008 and 2013.

The category “other” is used by Her Majesty's Passport Office predominantly when a passport is declared damaged or destroyed.

Telecommunications Act 1984

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many directions under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 have been issued, amended or renewed in this Parliament. [197254]

James Brokenshire: Section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 states that the Secretary of State may issue directions in the interests of national security and, as with the practice of previous Governments, we do not comment on security matters.

UK Visas and Immigration Directorate

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what budget is allocated to the UK Visa and Immigration Directorate. [197262]

James Brokenshire: The information is as follows:

Treasury

Children: Day Care

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of families that will directly benefit from the tax-free childcare scheme that will be (a) couples and (b) lone parents. [193089]

Nicky Morgan: Based on the best available data, we expect Tax-Free Childcare will be open to at least twice as many families as Employer Supported Childcare.

Tax-Free Childcare will be launched in autumn 2015 and rolled out to all eligible families with children under 12 within the first year of the scheme’s operation, instead of just to under-fives in the first year. This will deliver support much more quickly, with around 1.9 million working families now qualifying within the first year.

Working lone parents are more likely to have lower income levels than working couples. More lone parents will therefore receive support for child care through tax credits and then subsequently universal credit, which is generally more generous than Tax-Free Childcare.

It is estimated that, of the families that will directly benefit from the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, around 95% are couples and 5% are lone parents.

The latest 2011-12 Child and Working Tax Credits finalised annual awards publication show that of the families that benefit from the childcare element of tax credits, 39% are couples and 61% are lone parents.

Debts: Advisory Services

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what discussions he has had with (a) representatives or organisations offering free debt advice, (b) representatives of fee-charging debt management organisations, (c) creditors and (d) the Insolvency Service on the potential effect of his Department's withdrawal from the Debt Management Plan Protocol guidance group; [197276]

(2) for what reason his Department will no longer participate in the Debt Management Plan Protocol guidance group; and if he will make a statement; [197277]

(3) what assessment he has made of the future implementation of the Debt Management Plan Protocol; [197278]

(4) what assessment he has made of the effect of his Department's withdrawal from the Debt Management Plan Protocol guidance group on the development of future non-statutory debt solutions. [197279]

Andrea Leadsom: The Government are committed to improving standards in the debt management industry to deliver a better deal for consumers and greater transparency for creditors. The Debt Management Plan Protocol played a crucial role in meeting this objective, working in complement with the OFT regulatory framework, and paved the way for more robust regulation of the sector by the FCA.

From 1 April, responsibility for regulating debt management firms, along with all other consumer credit firms, transferred from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Consumers will be better protected under the new regime. The FCA will:

police the gateway to the market more thoroughly;

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proactively identify risks to consumers;

focus its supervisory resources on areas most likely to cause consumer harm;

approve individuals in influential roles in firms;

operate a flexible and responsive regime;

use its wide enforcement toolkit; and

ensure consumers have access to redress.

The FCA will thoroughly assess every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process–debt management firms will be among the first to require authorisation.

The FCA has also introduced new requirements for debt management firms, including:

Prudential requirements: Debt management firms often hold consumers’ money—the FCA is requiring large debt management firms to hold capital to ensure that consumers don’t risk losing their money if things go wrong.

Guidance added that debt management firms should not allocate more than half the money received from customers in debt management plans to meeting their fees and charges.

With the new FCA regulatory regime in place which will greatly improve consumer protection in the debt management market, the Government decided, following discussions with a range of stakeholders, that it was the right time to step away from an active role in the protocol.

The Government hope that the stakeholders involved in the protocol will continue to work together to help the FCA monitor the market and drive best practice in the sector.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Mr Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many appeals have been made to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme on the level of compensation offered since the scheme began making payments. [194827]

Andrea Leadsom: Of the 495 cases submitted to the Independent Review Panel to date, 145 were classified as being about the level of payment received.

Financial Services

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 13 September 2013, Official Report, column 914W, on financial services, what progress has been made on the continuation of money transfer services by UK banks; what recent discussions he has had with international partners and regulators on this matter; and if he will make a statement. [195376]

Andrea Leadsom: The Government are committed to supporting a healthy and legitimate remittance sector, and ensuring that UK citizens are able to continue to remit funds safely to family abroad. The Action Group on Cross Border Remittances has been established in accordance with the written ministerial statement laid before Parliament on 10 October 2013. The Action Group includes representatives of UK banks, the private sector, anti-money laundering supervisors, civil society and international partners.

Three Action Group meetings have taken place and a number of streams of work are under way; the Action Group is monitoring changes to the market, developing

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guidance for money service businesses (MSBs) and banks, promoting a shared understanding of risk and developing a ‘Safer Corridor’ pilot for Somalia. We are also co-ordinating with international partners through the G20 framework.

You may wish to keep up to date with the work of the Action Group by visiting its web page:

https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/helping-developing-countries-economies-to-grow/supporting-pages/enabling-the-continued-flow-of-remittances

Highways Agency

Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Highways Agency will be able to recover VAT in the same way as it can as an Executive agency of his Department when it is transformed into a Government-owned company. [197666]

Mr Gauke: Special provisions apply to Government Departments and health authorities that enable them to recover VAT incurred on certain of their non-business activities. These are set out in section 41(3) of the VAT Act 1994.

New bodies are not automatically covered by the above provisions, but the Treasury keeps all taxes under review.

VAT

Mr Blunkett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the applicability of VAT to vouchers for spectacles and other prescriptions under the voucher scheme; and if he will make a statement. [197662]

Mr Gauke: The NHS optical voucher scheme provides financial support by way of a voucher to eligible persons to help them buy goods such as spectacles. The vouchers are simply a means of financial support; the VAT consequences result from the goods and services that the voucher is used to buy. Therefore, VAT exemption will apply to the eye test, fitting services and any medical treatment of an eye condition and VAT will apply to the spectacles, irrespective of how payment is made.

Work and Pensions

Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement. [197443]

Mike Penning: At the present time, there are no plans to relocate (a) departmental staff and (b) offices to Brighton.

Children: Maintenance

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what powers the Child Maintenance Service has to address non-compliance by employers with a notice of deduction of earnings; and how many

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cases have there been of such non-compliance in each of the last three years. [197378]

Steve Webb: It is a criminal offence under section 32(8) of the Child Support Act 1991 not to comply with a deduction from earnings order. Failure to comply may result in enforcement action being taken against the employer, which can include a fine of up to £500.

The 2012 child maintenance scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service, was opened to all new applicants on 25 November 2013. We are not yet in a position to release full statistics for this scheme. When 2012 system data become available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

With regard to cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes operated by the Child Support Agency (CSA), it is not possible to specify the exact number of instances of non-compliance with these orders. This is due to the fact that while data are collected on the numbers of deduction from earnings orders not receiving payment, this can be for reasons other than non-compliance, including time delays of the employer implementing the request and the time to action a change in employment circumstances.

However, information on the number of prosecutions under section 32(8) of the Child Support Act 1991 in cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes can be found on page 48 of the CSA Quarterly Summary of Statistics at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics-december-2013

Employment Schemes: Disability

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people on Work Choice are in receipt of (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) employment and support allowance. [197658]

Esther McVey: The requested information is already published and can be found within table 5 on page 16 of the latest publication at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277235/work-choice-statistics-feb-2014.pdf

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people on (a) employment and support allowance and (b) jobseeker's allowance have moved from the Work programme to Work Choice since June 2011. [197659]

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

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New Enterprise Allowance

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of those benefiting from the new enterprise allowance are (a) women and (b) men aged (i) up to 24 and (ii) over 25. [197756]

Esther McVey: The information requested is routinely published and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pre-work-programme-support-new-enterprise-allowance-march-2014

Universal Credit

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many universal credit budgeting advances were made between April 2013 and April 2014. [197646]

Esther McVey: Budgeting support is available at the start of a universal credit claim. The requested information is not currently available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of sanction referrals made by Work programme providers to a decision maker in his Department have led to (a) a sanction being applied and (b) no sanction being applied. [197647]

Esther McVey: Information on the outcomes of decisions resulting from referrals for a sanction for failure to participate in the Work programme 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

Note that the published data are based on decisions and therefore do not show referrals where no decision has been made.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average period is between a sanction referral being made by a Work programme provider and a sanction being applied to the jobseeker. [197648]

Esther McVey: The time taken for a sanction decision to be made following receipt from a Work programme provider can vary depending upon the type of referral and the need to obtain further information from the claimant. We do not measure the time taken to clear these referrals; therefore the information requested is not available.