Dementia

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve standards of NHS care for dementia sufferers. [199335]

Norman Lamb: NHS England has an ambition that two thirds of the estimated number of people with dementia should have a diagnosis and access to post- diagnostic support by March 2015. We are informed by NHS England that there is a tremendous amount of work being undertaken by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across the country to improve diagnosis rates and quality of care for people with dementia. NHS England has found wide variation; with some CCGs having a longer journey to achieve the ambition than

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others. NHS England is providing a package of support to help CCGs to improve timely diagnosis and post-diagnosis support for people with dementia.

In addition, the Government’s refreshed Mandate to Health Education England, published on 1 May 2014, stated that a further 250,000 NHS staff will receive Tier 1 training on dementia by March 2015, in addition to the 100,000 NHS staff who received Tier 1 training in 2013-14.

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds his Department has provided for research into cures for dementia since 2012; and what progress has been made on such cures since the launch of the Dementia Challenge. [199336]

Norman Lamb: At the G8 dementia summit in December 2013, the G8 countries agreed to work together to tackle and defeat dementia. The declaration, built on the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge, announced the G8’s ambition to identify a cure or a disease-modifying therapy by 2025 and to increase collectively and significantly the amount of funding for dementia research.

Investment in dementia research by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research has increased from £12.6 million in 2009-10 to £24.4 million in 2012-13.

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many local authorities have signed up to become dementia friendly since the launch of the Dementia Challenge; and what other progress has been made since that date; [199337]

(2) what steps his Department is taking to help Malpas to develop a dementia friendly community. [199338]

Norman Lamb: The dementia friendly communities recognition process was launched by Alzheimer's Society in September 2013 and 55 communities have already signed up. We have therefore increased our original ambition of 20 communities committed to work to become dementia friendly, as set out in the Prime Minister's Challenge on Dementia, to reach 75 communities by March 2015. In addition, 59 local authorities are members of local Dementia Action Alliances.

The Department has worked with Alzheimer's Society to develop the recognition process for dementia friendly communities. Malpas has signed up to the recognition process and is receiving support in its work to become dementia friendly. The Department is also working with Alzheimer's Society and the British Standards Institute to develop a code of practice for dementia friendly communities, which will help communities to continue in their work to become dementia friendly.

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resources his Department has allocated to help carers of dementia patients. [199341]

Norman Lamb: Carers are central to the Government’s reform of social care and support, with significant improvements in the Care Act which extends carers’ rights to an assessment which will be based on the appearance of a need for support. For the first time, local authorities will be required to meet carers’ eligible needs for support. The Act also creates a new statutory

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principle to promote an individual’s well-being, including health and emotional well-being, which will apply equally to carers.

We have provided £400 million to the national health service over four years from 2011 for carers to have breaks from their caring responsibilities. In the 2013 spending review, we announced the £3.8 billion Better Care Fund, which includes £130 million funding for carers’ breaks for 2015-16.

Food Banks

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he or other Ministers of his Department have visited a foodbank in order to assess the contribution of foodbanks to public health and nutrition. [199814]

Dr Poulter: No departmental Ministers have made a visit to a food bank since May 2010 on official departmental business, but this does not preclude visits in their personal capacities or as constituency MPs.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on devolved NHS services of changes to the way temporary migrants and visitors access the NHS in England. [199632]

Jane Ellison: The intention of the relevant powers in the Immigration Act 2014 is to ensure that temporary migrants and visitors make a fair contribution towards the cost of any national health service healthcare they receive in the United Kingdom. Under the Act, temporary migrants will be required to pay a health surcharge when applying for a visa to reside in the UK for more than six months. The devolved Administrations will receive a proportion of funds received from the surcharge. It will be for the devolved Administrations to decide whether they spend this on health services and whether they amend their health service charging regulations for other visitors to the UK.

If charges for some primary care services in England are introduced to visitors to the UK, those services will continue to be free of charge to people who are ordinarily resident in the UK. Therefore, residents of the devolved Administrations will continue to be treated on the same basis as an English resident if they access primary care services in England.

However, introducing charging for visitors may influence behaviour near the borders if visitors from overseas in England choose to travel to the other countries to access primary care services that they would have to pay for in England.

The proposed new process for registering with the NHS in England is unlikely to affect the healthcare systems in the devolved Administrations but it may mean that residents from the devolved Administrations who access NHS care in England are asked more often to demonstrate that they are ordinarily resident in the UK, or otherwise entitled to free NHS care in England.

We will continue our discussions with colleagues in the devolved Administrations on all of these issues.

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Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the costs of treatment of UK nationals in each other European Economic Area country in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement; [199766]

(2) what estimate he has made of the cost of treating European Economic Area nationals who received NHS treatment in each region of the UK in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement; [199767]

(3) what estimate he has made of the number of European Economic Area nationals who received NHS treatment in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement; [199768]

(4) how much income health trusts in each region or nation of the UK received for the cost of treating European Economic Area nationals in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement; [199769]

(5) how much income each NHS trust in each region of England claimed back for the cost of treating European Economic Area nationals in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement. [199770]

Jane Ellison: The following information is not held by the Department:

income health trusts in each region or nation of the United Kingdom received for the cost of treating European Economic Area (EEA) nationals;

income each NHS trust in each region of England claimed back for the cost of treating EEA nationals;

the number of EEA nationals who received NHS treatment;

the cost of treating EEA nationals who received NHS treatment in each region of the UK.

Claims to and from EEA countries are managed centrally by the Department on behalf of the whole of the UK. Income claimed from EEA countries is based on both data collected from trusts and arrangements in place with other EEA countries under bilateral agreements.

The Department does hold information on claims to the UK from other EEA countries for healthcare costs. However, claims to the UK from other EEA countries are not based on nationality-they are based on whether the UK is judged to be responsible for someone’s healthcare costs, for example due to residency in the UK or, for state pensioners, someone with a UK state pension who has retired to a different EEA country. It is therefore not possible to provide a breakdown of costs based on UK nationality.

Health Services: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether officials from his Department met their Northern Ireland counterparts in preparation for the EU Informal Health Council in Athens from 28 to 29 April 2014. [199633]

Jane Ellison: Regular meetings are arranged between officials from the Department and officials from the devolved Administrations to discuss a range of European health matters. Departmental officials met virtually with their Northern Ireland counterparts in preparation for

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the Informal Health Council in Athens on 28-29 April 2014, and officials from Northern Ireland contributed to the briefing that was prepared for the Informal Health Council.

Health, Work and Wellbeing Co-ordinators

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how members of the public can contact their regional Health, Work and Wellbeing co-ordinator; how much those coordinators are paid; by what body they are paid; and what those co-ordinators' roles entail. [199813]

Jane Ellison: Health, Work and Wellbeing co-ordinators were jointly funded by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health. This funding ceased in 2012.

One of Public Health England’s (PHE) priorities is improving health in the workplace. It has 15 local centres, where responsibility for local co-ordination sits.

Contact details for PHE’s local centres can be found on the web at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/phe-centre-addresses-and-phone-numbers/phe-local-and-regional-contact-details

Health: Screening

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that local authorities in England pursue continuous improvement in the proportion of their eligible population being (a) offered and (b) taking up NHS health checks. [199812]

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) has set out a long-term aspiration of achieving an uptake of 75% and encourages areas to offer the NHS Health Check to 20% of the local population each year. In 2014-15, PHE has seta short term ambition of working towards achieving a 66% uptake and offers to 20% of the eligible population.

PHE is developing an improvement offer, tailored to the needs of local areas, to support local action. PHE will also enable local authorities to overcome common issues that affect offers by actively disseminating learning on information governance and data flows.

To support improvement in uptake PHE will work to inform the public's understanding of the programme. In recent weeks PHE has launched NHS Health Check content on NHS Choices and is planning to extend this by developing a directory of services for England.

Research and evaluation on applying behavioural insights to maximise uptake is also taking place. In the coming months PHE will support a network of local authorities to test and disseminate learning on the approaches that maximise uptake.

The quarterly publication of both offer and uptake data brings transparency to local delivery of the programme. This enables local councillors, Healthwatch and the public to use existing local government mechanisms to scrutinise activity and encourage improvements in both performance and quality.

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Hospital Beds

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital day beds were taken because of delayed discharge relating to inaccessible housing available for disabled outpatients in (a) 2013-14 and (b) May 2014. [199260]

Norman Lamb: These data are not collected centrally.

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department takes to ensure that people do not face delayed discharge from hospital because there is no suitable housing for them to be discharged; and if he will make a statement. [199264]

Norman Lamb: The Government are committed to supporting the availability of suitable accommodation for those who are being discharged from hospital. They have already taken steps to demonstrate this commitment and are in the process of establishing new opportunities and mechanisms by which this can be done. Examples of these include:

The recently passed Care Act consolidates duties on local authorities in relation to wellbeing, which specifically include consideration of “suitable living accommodation” as a component of that duty.

Housing has also been classified as a “health related service” so that housing and suitability of accommodation should be considered in any assessment (including on discharge from hospital).

The Better Care Fund (BCF), which this Government have established with £3.8 billion funding provides a vehicle to enhance and increase the pace of effective integration between health and social care. Clearly where suitable housing is identified as a barrier to the achievement of key measures within the BCF localities can choose to use funding within the BCF to address this. The opportunity to do this is the inclusion within the BCF of the Disabled Facilities Grant with £220 million being made available within 2015-16.

The Disabled Facilities Grant is for the provision of adaptations to the homes of disabled people to help them to live independently. Disabled Facilities Grant adaptations include things like stair-lifts, level access showers, winches and ramps. Many people apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant upon exit from hospital because their home is no longer suitable to meet their needs.

In terms of the Disabled Facilities Grant and the period of the last spending review, £785 million was made available by the Department for Communities and Local Government. They funded an organisation called Foundations, which is the national body for Home Improvement Agencies (HIAs) which help older, disabled and vulnerable people to live independently in their own homes for longer. HIAs deliver around 50% of all Disabled Facilities Grants in England.

HIAs also provide additional services for older and vulnerable people such as handyperson services, to carry out small jobs around the home also known as minor adaptations, which are things like grab rails, ramps and moving furniture e.g. moving a bed downstairs. Many HIAs provide a bespoke service called “home from hospital” or “hospital discharge” services which adapt people’s homes allowing them to be discharged from hospital more quickly and freeing up hospital beds. £50 million was also made available for handyperson services during the period 2011 to 2015.

Under the homelessness legislation a household will be considered homeless if a local housing authority determines that it would no longer be reasonable for them to continue to occupy their accommodation. This can clearly apply to an individual's change in circumstances following a stay in hospital. If a local housing authority has reason to believe that an applicant may be homeless or threatened with homelessness then they must make inquiries in order to establish if they are owed a duty.

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If a person is homeless through no fault of their own, eligible for assistance and in priority need then the local housing authority will have a duty to secure suitable accommodation for the household’s occupation. Priority need is defined in legislation to include applicants with children and households that include someone who is vulnerable, for example because of old age, or physical or mental disability, have a priority need for accommodation.

The Department of Health has supported the resource “Hospital to Home” pathway which we know many areas consider in terms of supporting an individual’s recovery and preventing readmission. The resource contains information, suggestions for action, case studies and checklists for considering older patients’ housing situations in hospital discharge and transfer of care.

The Shared Commitment for integrated care and support, published in May 2013 and which the Department of Health, the

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NHS, local government and the voluntary sector were involved in signing up to specifically highlighted the importance of suitable housing being available as part of safe and effective discharge from hospitals.

Hospitals: Bolton

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the five most common causes of admission to hospital have been for (a) children and (b) adults in Bolton since 2010. [199210]

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

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations have been cancelled because of scheduling error in (a) St Albans, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England since 2005. [199361]

Jane Ellison: Information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is shown in the following table.

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Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current average waiting time is for elective surgery in (a) St Albans constituency, (b) Hertfordshire, (c) the East of England and (d) England. [199445]

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

Human Embryo Experiments

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many human embryos have been (a) created for the purposes of experimentation and (b) created for the purposes of extermination and subsequently destroyed in each year since 1991. [199195]

Jane Ellison: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it does not have a central repository of data on the number of embryos experimented on, nor the number of embryos created for research. However, it does hold data on the number of embryos stored for research, and the total number from 1 August 1991 to 30 June 2012 is 6,149.

Embryos used in a research project must be allowed to perish as it is unlawful to use them in treatment services.

Medical Treatments: Side Effects

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department takes to record and identify instances where non-pharmacological treatments have caused adverse reactions in patients. [199201]

Norman Lamb: Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines through the spontaneous reporting scheme; the Yellow Card Scheme, The scheme has been in place since 1964 and collects ADR reports from across the whole United Kingdom and includes all medicines, including non-pharmacological treatments such as herbal and homeopathic medicines.

Reports are received from healthcare professionals and members of the public on a voluntary basis. However there is a legal requirement for pharmaceutical companies to report suspected ADRs to their products. The MHRA receives approximately 30,000 ADR reports per year. All reports received are rapidly entered onto the MHRA's ADR database for assessment by a team of medical, pharmaceutical and scientific assessors. The purpose of the scheme is to provide an early warning that the safety of a product may require further investigation and the scheme has a proven track record of identifying safety issues.

National health service organisations will also record details of adverse incidents in local risk management systems and other datasets such as the Hospital Episodes Statistics datasets. Many of these systems rely on accurate coding to enable data extract and analysis, and codes specific to non-pharmacological treatments may not always be available.

Mental Health

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress he has made on ensuring that mental health has equal standing with physical health. [199224]

Norman Lamb: Mental health has been a priority for this Government for several years now. We made this commitment explicit in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 which, for the first time, creates equal status for mental and physical health across Government and for the NHS and social care.

The Ministerial Advisory Group brings together individuals and organisations with a specific interest in the cross government mental health strategy “No Health Without Mental Health” and how it is delivered.

The Mandate to NHS England 2014-15 makes clear that 'everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence-based services', this will involve extending and ensuring more open access to programmes, in particular for children and young people, and for those out of work.

“Closing the Gap”, our new mental health action plan, which has attracted widespread, cross-sector support, sets out our priorities for essential change in mental health, 25 areas where people can expect to see and

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experience the fastest changes. The document challenges the health and social care community to move further and faster to transform care and support; the public health community, alongside local government, to give health and wellbeing promotion and prevention the long-overdue attention it needs and deserves; and individuals and communities to shift attitudes in mental health.

The Department of Health is leading an information revolution around mental health. The new national Mental Health Intelligence Network will draw together comprehensive information about mental health and wellbeing.

The new Crisis Care Concordat, signed by more than 20 national organisations, is a commitment for all agencies involved in supporting someone in a crisis to work together to improve the system of care and support so people in crisis are kept safe and helped to find the support they need. All the signatories have pledged to work together and our expectation is that, in every locality in England, local partnerships of health, criminal justice and local authority agencies will agree and commit to local Mental Health Crisis Declarations.

System partners are also taking responsibility for the drive for parity. Public Health England (PHE) has made a commitment to addressing parity of esteem through prioritising mental health and working to embed it throughout all PHE programmes. Greater attention is needed to mental health throughout the public health system and PHE seeks to enable and support this through its leadership and delivery of a Wellbeing and Mental Health programme. It is supporting local authorities and other partners to give greater attention to mental health within the public health system.

PHE was established on 1 April 2013 with the mission to protect and improve the nation's health and to address inequalities through working with national and local government, the NHS, industry and the voluntary and community sector. PHE is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health.

PHE has made a commitment to addressing parity of esteem through prioritising mental health and working to embed it throughout all its programmes. Greater attention is needed to mental health throughout the public health system and PHE seeks to enable and support this through its leadership and delivery of a Wellbeing and Mental Health programme. It is supporting local authorities and other partners to give greater attention to mental health within the public health system.

Their approach centres on the following five main objectives:

1. Promoting good mental health and improving population wellbeing;

2. Preventing mental health problems and preventing suicide and self-harm;

3. Supporting people living with and recovering from mental illness;

4. Tackling inequalities and improving the wider determinants of wellbeing and mental health; and

5. Enabling and embedding wellbeing and mental health across the public health system.

PHE has embraced the principles of Parity of Esteem and from the outset and all through transition, there has been a commitment by PHE to ensure mental health is a core part of the new public health system

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and PHE's work. Even though there was no central national resource attached to mental health to be transferred into PHE, they have invested in establishing a presence for mental health across their work and they continue to embed population mental health and wellbeing across public health.

Health Education England is developing training programmes that will enable all healthcare employers to ensure that their staff have a greater awareness of mental health problems and how they may affect their patients. This will include understanding the links between patient's physical and mental health, so that staff know what actions they can take to ensure that patients receive appropriate support for both their mental and physical health care needs.

Mental Health Services

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 12 May 2014, Official Report, column 401W, on mental health services, whether the Mental Health Intelligence Network has been established. [199324]

Norman Lamb: The Mental Health Intelligence Network has been established and is due to launch its web resource and a supporting suite of indicator tools and supporting resources on 18 June 2014.

The key aim is to provide intelligence to enable better service commissioning and to support service improvement to facilitate the delivery of consistent country-wide best practice care.

NHS: Fees and Charges

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average charge levied by health care professionals for written reports requested by patients who require them for (a) setting up power of attorney and (b) other purposes is in each commissioning area. [199246]

Dr Poulter: The information is not held centrally on charges by health professionals, other than general practitioners (GPs).

As regards GPs, they are required under terms of contracts for the provision of national health services primary medical services to provide certain medical reports free of charge to their registered patients.

GPs may also provide other services outside of their contract. Regulations prevent a GP from charging a registered patient a fee for treatment under the contract or otherwise, except in certain prescribed circumstances. However, the provision of reports is not classed as treatment. Consequently, GPs are able to charge for those reports which are not deemed free.

The Professional Fees Committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) suggests fees for such services to help doctors set their own professional fees. However, these fees are guidelines only, and a doctor is not obliged to charge the rates suggested. Where doctors intend to charge for services to patients, the BMA advises them to forewarn patients, at the earliest opportunity, of the likely level of fees.

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Nutrition: Homelessness

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to co-ordinate healthy eating initiatives among the homeless. [199209]

Jane Ellison: The Department supports the Inclusion Health programme which champions the health and health care of vulnerable groups, including homeless people. The programme seeks to improve the health data for these groups, and set out practical steps for assessing needs (for example, through Joint Strategic Needs Assessments) and commissioning services. We are also involved in funding work in this area through the Homeless Hospital Discharge Fund to improve hospital discharge arrangements for people who are homeless (£10 million in 2013-14) and £40 million capital fund for hostel refurbishment with a focus on improving health outcomes (2014-15).

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will abolish prescription charges for asthma medication; [199363]

(2) on what basis the conditions exempt from prescription charges are decided. [199364]

Norman Lamb: The list of medical conditions conferring exemption from prescription charges in England was agreed with the medical profession in 1968. The only addition to the list was the introduction of cancer in 2009. Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, then President of the Royal College of Physicians, was asked in 2008 to consider how this might be extended to cover all those with a long-term condition. The Department published his report in May 2010.

In the light of the challenging financial context, the Government made clear in the Spending Review, published in October 2010, that no changes would be made to the current list of medical exemptions. Prescription charges in England raise valuable income, in the region of £450 million each year, which helps the national health service to maintain vital services for patients.

An extensive system of exemption arrangements, including for those on low incomes who may struggle to pay for their prescriptions, is in place which means that around 90% of all prescription items are already dispensed free of charge. Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs) are also available for those who have to pay NHS prescription charges and need multiple prescriptions. This is the fifth year the cost of an annual certificate, and the third year the cost of a three-month certificate, have been frozen. Both certificates will also remain at £104 and £29.10 respectively next year. There is no limit to the number of items that can be obtained through a PPC. The annual certificate benefits anyone needing more than 12 items a year, and the three-month certificate anyone needing more than three items in that three-month period.

Secure Accommodation: South West

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many secure places there are in the South West region for children with mental health conditions involving violent behaviour. [199412]

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Norman Lamb: We are advised that there are no secure services for children commissioned by NHS England in the South West. There are services commissioned in other areas used by children from the South West area.

We understand that NHS England has identified a number of actions needed to reduce the number of long distance transfers within the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and is currently considering how to take this forward, including any necessary tendering for services in due course.

Sleep Apnoea

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department has taken to ensure that commissioning of service provision for obstructive sleep apnoea is appropriate to the predicted prevalence in local areas in England; [199266]

(2) what plans he has to introduce a quality standard for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disordered breathing covering the range of conditions from simple snoring to obstructive sleep apnoea; [199286]

(3) what body has responsibility for the implementation of recommendations made by his Department's former obstructive sleep apnoea working group; [199267]

(4) what plans he has to introduce clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and management of obstructive sleep apnoea; and if he will make a statement. [199292]

Jane Ellison: NHS England is committed to working with partners across the health system to reduce mortality and improve outcomes for people with respiratory disease.

NHS England is now responsible for commissioning National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines relating to national health service services and is responsible for liaising with NICE about the prioritisation of NHS quality standards in development. We understand that NICE has not been asked to develop a clinical guideline specifically on obstructive sleep apnoea.

NICE has been commissioned to develop a quality standard on sleep disordered breathing and will in due course consider which conditions will be covered under the scope of the quality standard and the need for associated clinical guidance. Local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for assessing the needs of their local populations and for commissioning services to meet those needs. For patients with obstructive sleep apnoea, NHS England expects CCGs to take into account the NICE guidelines when deciding what services should be made available.

NHS England currently has no plans to continue the work of the obstructive sleep apnoea working group. However, the National Clinical Director for Respiratory Disease, Professor Mike Morgan, will continue to consider whether any additional specific initiatives or commissioning protocols are needed to promote best practice and treatment for people with obstructive sleep apnoea and to provide advice on this.

Sleeping Rough

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made towards meeting the health goals in the Government's No Second Night Out Strategy. [199811]

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Jane Ellison: We have met the health goals set out in the No Second Night Out Strategy. Action has included setting up the Homeless Hospital Hospitals Discharge Fund to improve hospital discharge arrangements and provide new post-discharge respite care facilities for homeless people, and publishing guidance (‘Commissioning Inclusive Services’) for local Health and Wellbeing Boards.

Work continues on improving the physical and mental health outcomes of rough sleepers and we are investing £40 million in 2015-16 to refurbish existing hostels to support health improvement and reduce the demand on health services through a new Homelessness Change programme. This sits alongside Platform for Life, a new programme providing shared accommodation for young people at risk of homelessness, so they have a stable platform for work and study.

Sugar

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will revise the Government's Responsibility Deal to include sugar in the list of ingredients that companies should work with caterers to reformulate in meals as part of the H4 pledge on Healthier Staff Restaurants. [199686]

Jane Ellison: There are 169 organisations currently signed up to the H4 pledge which includes a requirement for employers to work with caterers to reformulate recipes to ensure staff meals are lower in fat, salt and energy and do not contain artificial trans fats. There are currently no plans to include sugar in this list of ingredients. However, as part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal, 11 catering companies have signed up to take a range of actions to help people consume fewer calories, including through reformulation to reduce sugar content.

Transport

Air Traffic Control: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he consulted his Northern Ireland counterpart on his Department's publication Guidance to the Civil Aviation Authority on Environmental Objectives Relating to the Exercise of its Air Navigation Functions. [199639]

Mr Goodwill: There was no specific consultation with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on this publication.

Aviation: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which Scottish airports will benefit from the Regional Air Connectivity Fund. [198920]

Mr Goodwill: The Government announced on 6 June that a Public Service Obligation will be established on the air route between Dundee airport and London Stansted airport from 1 July 2014 for a two-year period, with support from the Regional Air Connectivity Fund announced in last year’s Spending Round.

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The Scottish devolved Administration or regional body may apply for access to this fund to maintain an air link from other Scottish airports to London, where there is a risk that an existing link may be lost, and where the case for a Public Service Obligation has been made.

The Chancellor announced in this year’s Budget that the funding would be doubled to £20 million per year, and also extended to allow for the support for start-up aid for new air routes from UK regional airports. European Union aviation State aid guidelines allow for provision of start-up aid to facilitate start-up of new routes from airports which handle fewer than 5 million passengers per annum. This will therefore cover all Scotland’s airports apart from Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The Department for Transport is working with the Treasury to develop guidance that will clarify how the Government will ordinarily expect to interpret the European Union guidelines, and explain how the funding process will work.

Bus Services: Visual Impairment

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to help blind and partially sighted passengers travel on buses. [199038]

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport is committed to ensuring that all disabled people have the same access to transport services and opportunities to travel as other members of society. The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR) outline specific requirements for the bus industry to ensure that buses are as accessible as possible for disabled passengers. Latest statistics (September 2013) show that 78% of buses in England now meet PSVAR accessibility requirements, while 92% operate with a low floor facility and these figures continue to grow steadily.

The Department also recognises that blind and partially sighted passengers find audio and visual announcements particularly useful when travelling on buses. We will therefore continue to encourage bus operators and local authorities to invest in audio/visual announcement systems for their buses where possible. However, we also understand that this technology comes at a considerable cost.

With this in mind, my noble colleague, Baroness Kramer wrote to bus operators on 4 February 2014 to encourage the development of simpler, more affordable audio/visual announcement systems for buses that can provide benefits to as many passengers as possible. Alongside this, the Department for Transport is also looking into the possibility of establishing a research initiative involving small businesses and academic institutions through the “Transport Systems Catapult” to encourage further innovation.

Carers: Travel

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government Minister for Transport and Veterans on the possibility of providing free or discounted travel for carers in Scotland. [199235]

Stephen Hammond: Concessionary Travel is a devolved policy area and the Secretary of State has not discussed carer discounts with Keith Brown MSP, the Scottish Minister for Transport and Veterans.

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Cycling

Mr Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department allocated to projects relating to cycling between (a) 2005 and 2010 and (b) 2010 to 2014. [199232]

Mr Goodwill: During the five financial years 2005-06 to 2009-10, the Department for Transport (DFT) provided funding for cycling through Cycling England, an arm’s length organisation set up in 2005; in that period, Cycling England received £105 million from the DFT.

During the five financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15, the DFT allocated a final £63 million to Cycling England, and has allocated direct funding of £224 million for cycling projects, comprising: the £94 million Cycling Cities and National Parks fund, £28.5 million for Links to Schools/Linking Communities, the £35 million cycle safety fund, £14.5 million for Cycle Rail, £4.8 million to the Highways Agency and £46.8 million for Bikeability. In addition, the DFT’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund is providing £540 million for local authorities to prioritise sustainable transport projects, of which 28% or £151 million is being allocated to cycling projects. So total investment by this Government in cycling in the five financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15 is £438 million.

DFT funding for the LSTF and its Cycling Ambition, Cycle-Rail, and Linking Communities funds is often used to lever matching local contributions. When these other sources are included, spend on cycling in England is equal to £5 per person a year, while spend in the eight cycling ambition cities is around £10 per person a year. From 2015-16, the LSTF forms part of the Local Growth Fund, a long-term funding commitment of £2 billion a year.

Cycling: Children

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will issue guidance on the safe use of bicycle trailers to provide a minimum level of safety for children being towed by bicycles on the roads. [199623]

Mr Goodwill: The Department has no current plans to issue guidance on the safe use of trailers on bicycles. However children should be transported safely and securely and trailers should be in a roadworthy condition before being used on the highway.

Driving

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of mandatory display of passed plates by all novice drivers for a minimum period. [199782]

Mr Goodwill: None. There is no probationary period for new drivers and no requirement to display a ‘P’ plate. However, the Transport Research Laboratory Report on "Novice Drivers: Evidence review and Evaluation Pre-Driver Training, Graduated Driver Licensing" made a number of recommendations on novice driver safety. One recommendation was that on successful completion of the driving test a driver would be permitted to progress to a probationary licence from age 18. During the 12 month (minimum) probationary licence the driver

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would be required to display a green ‘P’ plate to identify their licence status and aid enforcement of other recommended restrictions.

Driving Instruction: Warrington

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many approved driving instructors were registered in the Borough of Warrington in each year since 2007. [198608]

Stephen Hammond: There are currently 362 approved driving instructors (ADI) with a WA postcode. Please note Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) systems do not hold specific data for the ‘Borough of Warrington’.

DVSA’s training and registration system is a live database and does not hold historical data; therefore it can provide only the current number of ADIs with a WA postcode.

Driving Tests: Warrington

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of applicants from the Borough of Warrington passed their driving test in each year since 2007. [198615]

Stephen Hammond: The information requested is in the following table.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency systems do not hold specific data for the ‘Borough of Warrington’. The data in the table reflect the number of practical test candidates who registered a WA postcode at the time of booking the test.

Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what use his Department has made of the National Wellbeing Index introduced by the Office for National Statistics in formulating policy since the introduction of that Index in 2011; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national well-being as defined in that Index since 2010. [198872]

Stephen Hammond: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is measuring National Well-being, not as an index but through a framework of 41 indicators which capture social progress around important aspects of life for individuals, communities and the nation. The statistics are experimental and we would not expect to have examples of major policies that have been heavily influenced by the well-being data at this stage.

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Evidence provided to the Environmental Audit Committee for its Inquiry into Well-being can be found at:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/inquiries/parliament-2010/well-being/

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) with reference to the answer of 31 March 2014, Official Report, column 408W, on High Speed 2 Railway Line, what the evidential basis is for the expense and disruption caused by double-decker carriages being greater than that caused by High Speed 2; [199296]

(2) with reference to the answer of 31 March 2014, Official Report, columns 408-9W, on High Speed 2 railway line, whether his Department has subsequently compared double-decking with revised estimates of the costs and effects of High Speed 2; [199261]

(3) with reference to the answer of 31 March 2014, Official Report, column 408W, on High Speed 2 Railway Line, what the evidential basis for double-decker carriages not releasing sufficient capacity for commuter services is. [199298]

Mr Goodwill: As per the answer of 31 March 2014, since 2009 we have considered a wide range of alternative options to a high-speed railway, including the use of alternative modes, a conventional speed line and upgrades to the existing rail network, including double decking.

Specifically, the March 2010 High Speed 2 Strategic Alternatives Study considered the potential for using double deck trains on WCML as one means of enhancing capacity on conventional rail routes between London and the West Midlands/North West. Details of this study, including evidence of expense, disruption and capacity, can be found at:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/alternativestudy/pdf/railintervention.pdf

This work found that while double deck carriages could increase the number of passengers per train there is a practical limit to the expansion of capacity in this manner and it offers limited potential to lead to journey time savings.

This option is also likely to lead to significant disruption and expense. Before such trains could be used on the West Coast Mainline, the route (including diversionary routes) would need to be gauge cleared to allow sufficient space for the trains to operate. This would involve raising all overhead wires, raising bridges, modifying platforms on the route, modifying station canopies, moving or raising all signal gantries and other signage on the route, and lowering track in the tunnels. Work would need to be carried out to modify existing depots or to provide new ones. Additional works would also be required to enable line speeds to be maintained on the route.

For these reasons it was concluded that there was a strong case for not considering this option further. No subsequent work has therefore been done to compare it to the case for HS2.

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Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 31 March 2014, Official Report, column 408W, on High Speed 2 Railway Line, what the evidential basis is for the practical limit to the expansion of capacity on the West Coast Mainline being lower than predicted growth for that line. [199297]

Mr Goodwill: Evidence set out in the Strategic Case for HS2:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-strategic-case

demonstrates that parts of the West Coast Main Line are effectively full in terms of the number of trains; many of which are already full to overflowing at certain times of day and demand is expected to grow.

Rail demand has grown by 54% over the last decade, which is the equivalent of annual growth rate of 4.4%. Chapter 3 of the Strategic case sets out that even with more modest growth of 2.5%, all of the additional peak seats provided by enhancing the line will be used up during the 2020s.

The Department has considered a wide range of alternatives including upgrades to the existing West Coast Main Line. The most recent report, commissioned from Atkins can be found here:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/253456/hs2-strategic-alternatives.pdf

This provides evidence that expanding capacity on the West Coast Main line would not be a robust long term solution to the capacity, connectivity and reliability challenges on the line. Not only would it not provide sufficient additional capacity to meet long-term demand, but it would not offer a robust solution to the problem of poor service performance and would significantly disrupt services for many years during construction work.

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he expects High Speed 2 to reduce overcrowding at London Waterloo. [199332]

Mr Goodwill: High Speed 2 is not intended to reduce overcrowding at London Waterloo, as it has been designed as a link between London Euston, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.

The 2012 Rail Investment Strategy (HLOS) has asked the industry to provide additional peak capacity for 9,700 extra passengers into Waterloo by 2019 and has provided funding for Network Rail to expand Waterloo and other stations. Network Rail and South West Trains have set out plans to lengthen peak trains and South West Trains is now in discussions with the Department for Transport.

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the excess capacity on peak High Speed 2 services. [199333]

Mr Goodwill: The HS2 Economic Case published in October 2013 indicates that the average all-day load factor for HS2 services in 2036 for the full network is expected to be 41%. Peak period load factors are expected to be significantly higher.

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish an updated cost-benefit

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analysis for High Speed 2 in light of the decision not to link High Speed 2 with High Speed 1 and Eurostar services. [199334]

Mr Goodwill: We will continue to revise and update the economic case for HS2 as new project milestones are reached, such as decisions on the preferred route for Phase 2, to ensure it is based on the best available evidence and latest understanding of the project, including taking account of the decision to remove the existing proposals for the HS1-HS2 link from the scheme.

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how High Speed 2 will improve reliability and reduce overcrowding on regional links between towns and cities in the North West. [199339]

Mr Goodwill: By moving long distance passengers off the existing network, HS2 will release capacity for more regional services, reducing overcrowding and improving reliability, as well as improving connectivity. Nationally, the Economic Case for HS2 found that HS2 will deliver reliability benefits worth £5.5 billion, and reduced crowding benefits of £7.5 billion, which includes benefits to regional services in the North West.

In response to recommendations made by Sir David Higgins, HS2 Ltd and Network Rail have been commissioned to consider what further improvements can be made to centre to city centre connectivity, east-west links and local connectivity in the Midlands and the North, with a final report on options in 2015.

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of people who will move home as a result of the construction of High Speed 2 because of (a) demolition for construction of the line and (b) blight. [199340]

Stephen Hammond: There are 464 dwellings within the area currently subject to surface-level safeguarding for the London to West Midlands section of HS2, of which 339 are to be demolished. Given recent Census data showing an average 2.3 occupants per property in the UK, we expect around 1,000 people will move from those homes.

We have not estimated numbers of people who may move for reasons of generalised property blight, but there are approximately 220 dwellings within the Voluntary Purchase Area for the London to West Midlands Route announced on 9 April. Our aim is where possible to avoid serious impacts on local residents and enable people to remain in their homes. We expect to consult shortly on further measures that may make that choice more attractive for homeowners.

Pending future decisions on routes and designs, we have made no similar estimates for other proposed sections of HS2.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a list of properties that have been valued by Carter Jonas under the Exceptional Hardship Scheme for High Speed 2; and whether those valuations have been accepted or queried by the owners of those properties. [199640]

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Mr Goodwill: To provide the full information as requested would risk compromising the privacy of the applicants. The following anonymised summary information may be helpful:

For Phase One:

Carter Jonas has valued a total of 47 properties.

4 of those valuations have been queried by applicants.

Carter Jonas valuations have been used to form the offer price a total of 41 times and 35 of these offers have been accepted.

For Phase Two:

Carter Jonas has valued a total of 22 properties.

None of those valuations have been queried by applicants.

Carter Jonas valuations have been used to form the offer price a total of 20 times and all of these offers have been accepted.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish details of the recruitment of the Independent Residents Commissioner promised by HS2 Ltd in the April 2014 HS2 Residents Charter, including (a) where this position is advertised, (b) the remuneration package offered, (c) the interview process and the interview panel members, (d) the estimated date of any appointments, (e) the Commissioner’s powers and (f) how the Commissioner's independence will be assured. [199643]

Mr Goodwill: Details of the Independent Residents Commissioner and Residents' Charter for HS2 are currently being developed and further information will be published in due course.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have accessed the HS2 Ltd complaints procedure set out in the HS2 Residents' Charter of April 2014; what the details are of each complaint; what the outcome is of each complaint; and what complaints are outstanding. [199644]

Mr Goodwill: The complaints procedure, along with other aspects of the Residents' Charter for HS2, is currently being developed and further information will be published in due course.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average time taken to respond by HS2 Ltd to property-related compensation enquiries is; and what the longest time taken to respond to such an enquiry has been. [199645]

Mr Goodwill: HS2 Ltd aims to respond to all inquiries as soon as possible and within a maximum of 20 working days.

Performance against this standard was 93% for April 2013 to March 2014.

A high proportion of these inquiries relate to property compensation but HS2 Ltd does not compile separate performance data for different inquiry types.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has paid to Carter Jonas for work in connection with High Speed 2 to date; and what those payments were for. [199666]

Mr Goodwill: £86,851.07 (including VAT) has been paid to Carter Jonas by HS2 Ltd, from 2009 to May 2014.

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These payments relate to the following activities:

attending property consultations in the capacity of property experts

providing valuations of properties

attending properties on the day of completion to facilitate handover

acting on behalf of clients in receipt of payments regarding HS2 Ltd access to land and environmental surveys

completing client Land Interest Questionnaires

undertaking Farm Impact Assessments

Large Goods Vehicles: Driving Tests

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what training is given to driving examiners who test students in laden lorries. [198687]

Stephen Hammond: Potential large goods vehicle (LGV) examiners are required to hold the relevant driving licence entitlement for the category of vehicle they will be testing. In the case of laden lorries that is either category C or category CE.

Initial training courses last five weeks with a ratio of two trainees to each trainer. Courses emphasise health and safety issues connected with working practices, test centres and vehicles. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) conducts regular progress checks which culminate in a final test and end-of-course evaluation.

Since early 2010 some of the vehicles used to train examiners to conduct category C and CE practical driving tests have been loaded with independent bulk containers to simulate a lorry carrying a commercial load. Consequently during training all potential LGV examiners are trained and examined using loaded vehicles. Before 2010, some category CE training made use of concrete blocks on the trailer to simulate a load.

DVSA also delivers refresher courses for examiners who have not conducted LGV testing for six months or more which readdress the most important elements of the initial training course.

Large Goods Vehicles: Taxation

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was raised through the implementation of the UK HGV Road User Levy Act 2013 in Northern Ireland in April 2014. [199783]

Mr Goodwill: The HGV Road User Levy applies to the UK. Once a levy is purchased for a foreign registered HGV, it is not possible to assign the levy to the specific country (England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) which the vehicle visits. By the end of April 2014, levy receipts from foreign HGVs visiting the UK were £7.2 million. Cumulative levy receipts from foreign HGVs at the end of May were £10.5 million.

Motor Vehicles

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to promote telematics in cars (a) for young drivers and (b) generally. [199042]

Mr Goodwill: The Department is conducting focus groups with young people, parents and employers to gain a better understanding of their perspective on the safety of young drivers, including the use of telematics.

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During a meeting with the insurance industry, the Department agreed to commission new research into how telematics can change the behaviour and attitudes of learner drivers. We are currently working with insurance companies to encourage participation before tendering the research.

We will publish the findings of both the focus groups and research in due course.

Public Transport

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to ensure that costs of public transport do not increase. [199223]

Stephen Hammond: I recognise concerns passengers have about impacts of fares on household budgets, which is why for the first time in a decade average regulated rail fares have been capped at inflation for 2014.

Outside London, bus services are deregulated and fares are mainly a matter for the commercial judgement of bus operators. However, the Government have made a commitment to retain the current Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) rate for the remainder of this parliament and has frozen the fuel duty rate until May 2015.

Public transport costs in Northern Ireland are a matter for the NI Assembly.

Railways

Mr Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on improvements to the railways in England and Wales in Control Period 4; and what estimate he has made of how much will be spent in Control Period 5. [199233]

Mr Goodwill: Over Control Period 4, the total amount spent on enhancements on the railways in England and Wales, as set out in Network Rail's delivery plan update, was £7.557 billion (2012-13 prices).

Over Control Period 5, it is estimated to be £11.446 billion.

Railways: Overcrowding

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport where the greatest overcrowding on the rail network is; and how High Speed 2 will reduce that overcrowding. [199331]

Mr Goodwill: DfT publishes statistics showing the levels of peak crowding in a number of major cities each year, based on the proportion of passengers in excess of capacity (PiXC) and the proportion of passengers standing at trains’ busiest points. The latest publication from 2012 is published at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rail-passenger-numbers-and-crowding-on-weekdays-in-major-cities-in-england-and-wales-2012

The PiXC statistics show that the highest levels of crowding are generally seen on peak London commuter services. In autumn 2012 the highest PiXC levels across the morning and afternoon peaks were on First Great Western services at Paddington, Chiltern services at Marylebone and London Midland services at Euston.

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The Strategic Case for HS2 (www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-strategic-case) sets out how HS2 has the capacity to triple the number of seats leaving Euston on the west coast main line corridor. By releasing capacity on the classic network, HS2 will ease crowding on crowded commuter routes into Euston, particularly London Midland services and potentially Chiltern services as well.

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that overcrowding on trains is (a) regulated and (b) effectively monitored. [199443]

Stephen Hammond: Capacity provided by franchised rail operators is monitored by the Department through regular passenger counts. The results enable the Department to liaise with operators where capacity problems are identified, and to ensure that potential solutions are investigated.

It is for the rail industry to plan to fully deploy available rolling stock to best meet passenger demand, and take all reasonable steps to minimise any crowding.

Road Signs and Markings: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether officials in his Department consulted their Northern Ireland counterparts before publishing the draft Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2015. [199637]

Mr Goodwill: Department for Transport officials worked closely with Northern Ireland colleagues throughout the Traffic Signs Policy Review. A meeting was held with the devolved Administrations in February 2014, at which the proposed changes to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions were presented.

The Northern Ireland Executive has also been invited to respond to the public consultation on the draft regulations.

Road Traffic

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of traffic jams. [199076]

Mr Goodwill: This Government are investing £24 billion on strategic roads in England across this Parliament and the next six years. This includes £317 million, before April 2015, on Highways Agency pinch point schemes tackling congestion and supporting economic growth. We are also providing, before April 2015, £265 million from the Local Pinch Point Fund for 112 projects across England aimed at relieving congestion and supporting economic growth.

In England, subject to approval, 'Permit Schemes' are available to local authorities in England so that anyone wanting to dig up the road must first apply for a permit to work. This provision gives authorities the power to better challenge how long those works take, to impose conditions, and to co-ordinate works. They can also charge 'over-run' charges to utility companies. The Department is also currently trialling Lane Rental in

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two highway authority areas, which enables them to charge for works taking place on the busiest roads at the busiest times.

Outside of England, measures to reduce the incidence of traffic jams are a matter for the respective devolved Administrations.

Roads: East of England

Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding his Department has allocated to each local authority in the East of England for road improvement in each of the last five years. [198593]

Mr Goodwill: The Department for Transport provides funding to local highway authorities through a number of funding programmes. This funding includes grant through both the Highways Maintenance and Integrated Transport Block grants. This funding can be used to improve local roads that the authorities are responsible for if they so wish.

The following tables provide the funding we have allocated to those authorities that fall within the East of England since 2010-11:

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Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding, allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant, for maintaining their local highways.

The Department has also provided funding to highway authorities for local major road schemes set out as follows:

The Department has also agreed to provide funding to authorities through the Local Pinch Point Fund. The Fund is aimed at removing bottlenecks on the local highway network and supporting growth-enhancing development. The Fund has been allocated to the following authorities in the last five years:

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of administering the Potholes Challenge Fund. [198925]

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Mr Goodwill: In the 2014 Budget, the Government announced a £200 million pothole fund for the financial year 2014-15. Some £168 million is being made available to councils in England, including up to £10 million for London. This is enough to fix over 3 million potholes on the local road network.

The administering of the fund falls under the current operating costs of the Department for Transport and so no additional costs have been incurred.

Roads: Safety

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to research the use of non-slip surfaces for manholes in order to reduce the number of accidents involving motor cycles. [198631]

Mr Goodwill: There are various types of manhole covers on the market that have enhanced skid resistance. In addition, the Institute of Highways Engineers has produced guidance on locating manhole covers to reduce the risk they pose to motorcyclists. As such, the Department currently has no plans to commission research on these issues.

Shipping

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's capacity to discharge its statutory duties to survey and inspect (a) domestic and (b) international shipping. [199365]

Stephen Hammond: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)’s current business plan has an operational priority (OP) entitled: “OP2-Ensuring our ship survey, inspection and certification capability, and the parallel work in relation to seafarers, meets our domestic and international obligations”. Progress against this operational priority is monitored on a monthly basis by the MCA Executive Board using a balanced score card system. By this method the MCA is able to assess its capacity to discharge its statutory Survey and Inspection duties.

The MCA monitors its capacity to discharge its statutory duties to survey and inspect (a) domestic (Flag State responsibility) and (b) international (Port State responsibility) shipping through a system of activity monitoring. Performance against these Survey and Inspection activities feed into the Balanced Score Card for OP2.

Shipping: Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the (a) UK Chamber of Shipping and (b) European Community Shipowners Association on pay rates for seafarers subject to UK National Insurance payments employed on vessels working from UK ports; and if he will request data on pay rates from maritime employers' associations. [199358]

Stephen Hammond: Ministers have not had direct discussions with either body but dialogue at ministerial and official level is continuing with relevant bodies on the wider agenda of seafarer pay.

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The Department is currently reviewing the statistical data it uses and other data sources that may be relevant for future use but this does not include an objective to collect pay rates as this is undertaken by other Departments.

Shipping: Working Hours

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the effect of seafarer fatigue on maritime safety; and what steps his Department is taking to enforce manning levels on vessels. [199411]

Stephen Hammond: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch were active participants in the multi-partner HORIZON research project, an EC-funded study, which used simulators to identify the effect on seafarers of working hours and interrupted rest. The project report demonstrates conclusively the links between certain watchkeeping patterns and the performance of seafarers (looking particularly at “sleepiness”).

The Government are committed to reducing the effects of fatigue on maritime safety and the health of seafarers. The output from HORIZON has been used to provide practical guidance to seafarers. The MCA remains involved with research on seafarer fatigue with other industry stakeholders.

MCA Surveyors routinely inspect UK ships and foreign flag ships in UK waters and verify hours of work records for compliance with the regulations, and check ships are safely manned in accordance the requirements of the International Maritime Organisation convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW).

The UK is leading the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control Concentrated Inspection Campaign to ensure compliance with the hours of rest requirements of watchkeepers under STCW which will run from 1 September 2014 to 30 November 2014.

Speed Limits: Urban Areas

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of changing the national urban default speed limit to 20 mph on (a) air pollution and (b) other environmental conditions; what similar studies in other developed nations his Department has assessed; and if he will make a statement. [198586]

Mr Goodwill: The Department does not have any current plans to introduce a default 20 mph speed limit. Local authorities are best placed to determine the speed limits for their areas, based on local knowledge and the views of the community, and have the powers to do so. We are aware of studies carried out for local authorities, including for the City of London, which showed no overall negative effects on air quality in 20 mph speed restrictions.

However, the Department is about to commission comprehensive research into the effects of 20 mph limits. This will cover many aspects including effects on speed, collisions, casualties and modal shift. The research will also consider air quality, best practice, road users' perceptions and effects on the quality of the environment, as well as relevant research from other countries.

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Travel: South East

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what information his Department holds on how many journeys were made between Portsmouth and Brighton by (a) car, (b) rail and (c) bus in each of the last five years for which figures are available; [199402]

(2) what information his Department holds on how many journeys were made between Southampton and Brighton by (a) car, (b) rail and (c) bus in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [199403]

Mr Goodwill: The National Travel Survey (NTS) has trip data by mode of transport collected via a 7-day travel diary for residents of Great Britain. However, data are not available for specific local areas as the sample is too small at that level of geography to provide reliable results.

Some regional level results are available through combining two survey years of data together. The latest results available are for 2011 and 2012 combined. They cover all domestic journeys by all modes of transport, including car, rail and bus.

Table NTS9903 (at link below) shows the average number of trips per person per year by region of residence.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/259042/nts9903.xls

Table NTS9905 (at link below) shows the percentage of trips within and between regions.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/259032/nts9905.xls

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems into UK civil airspace. [199031]

Mr Goodwill: The Department for Transport leads on policy for the operation of civil remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) in the UK. We are working with international Governments, regulators and the industry,including the European Commission and International Civil Aviation Organization, on the development of regulation for the safe integration of RPAS into UK and European airspace.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Safety Agency have a statutory responsibility to deal with the detailed Regulation.

In addition, the Department for Transport currently chairs the cross-Government Working Group on RPAS and sits on the Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment Steering Board, which both seek to enable the safe and routine use of RPAS in all classes of airspace without the need for restrictive or specialised conditions of operation. This will be achieved through the co-ordinated development and demonstration of key technologies and operating procedures.

West Coast Railway Line

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 28 April 2014, Official Report, columns 517-8W, on railways:

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passengers, what the evidential basis is for the stated forecast of increases in passenger numbers on the west coast main line over the next 10 years. [199294]

Stephen Hammond: Chapter 4 of Network Rail's West Coast Route Utilisation Strategy describes the evidential basis and modelling approach of the anticipated changes in demand to 2024-25 which are contained in the same document. This is now available at:

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/imagelibrary/downloadMedia.ashx?MediaDetailsID=4675

Attorney-General

GlaxoSmithKline

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Attorney-General what the terms of reference are for the investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into GlaxoSmithKline (GSK); whether the SFO will investigate (a) GSK's activities within the UK, (b) allegations of bribery of UK doctors, (c) promotion of Seroxat prescribing for children and (d) the 2002 CSM Expert Working Group on the safety of SSRI antidepressants; and whether there is a point of contact for members of the public who wish to help the SFO investigation. [199631]

The Attorney-General: The Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) recently announced that he has opened a criminal investigation into the commercial practices of GlaxoSmithKline plc and its subsidiaries. The SFO investigation will follow the evidence and it is not appropriate to comment while inquiries are continuing.

A press release regarding GlaxoSmithKline and information on how to contact the SFO can be found on its website at:

www.sfo.gov.uk