Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 24 June 2009
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Consumption
Information about alcohol consumption is collected as part of the General Household Survey (GHS), including average weekly alcohol consumption.
The following table gives the average weekly consumption for the last 15 years, broken down by gender. It should be noted that information on average weekly alcohol consumption is not collected every year.
Men Women Unweighted 1994 15.4 5.4 1996 16.0 6.3 1998 16.4 6.4 Weighted 1998 17.1 6.5 2000 17.4 7.1 2001 17.2 7.5 2002 17.2 7.6 20051 15.8 6.5 20062,3 14.8 6.2 20062,4 18.7 9.0 1 2005 data include last quarter of 2004-05 data due to survey change from financial year to calendar year. 2 Results for 2006 include longitudinal data. 3 Original method. 4 Improved method. Notes: 1. Weighting is a process in which GHS results are adjusted for non-response and to account for differences between the distribution of persons by age and gender; and region in the sample when compared to the population of Great Britain. Weighting is an improvement to the methodology from 1998; however, weighted data are not available before 1998, so cannot be supplied. Source: General Household Survey 2006: Smoking and drinking among adults 2006.
An improved method to calculate alcohol consumption was introduced in 2006, this was done to reflect increases in wine glass size, the increased alcoholic strength of wine and better estimates of the alcoholic strengths of beers, lagers and ciders. This is likely to mean that data for the years before 2006 understate consumption levels.
Audio Equipment: Health Hazards
(2) with reference to the answer of 6 May 2008, Official Report, column 746W, on MP3 players, what his Department’s policy is on the determination of safe levels of noise in relation to the use of personal music players;
(3) if he will take steps to increase levels of public awareness of the potential effects on hearing of listening to personal music players at high noise levels; and if he will make a statement;
(4) if he will take steps to encourage manufacturers of personal MP3 players to provide users of such players with information on levels of noise which may damage hearing; and if he will make a statement;
(5) whether his Department has had discussions with manufacturers of personal music players on the potential effects on hearing of their use; and if he will make a statement.
The safety and regulation of consumer products, such as personal music players is, within Government, primarily a matter for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. The Department welcomes the report of the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks. The Department, advised by the Health Protection Agency, keeps under review the risks to health which may be attributed to various kinds of noise. The Department has no plans at present for an information campaign on the risks to hearing posed by the use of personal music players.
Breast Cancer: Males
(2) what recent representations he has received on breast cancer in men.
No recent representations have been received on male breast cancer.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published “Improving Outcomes in Breast Cancer” guidance in 2002, which addresses services and treatments for breast cancer patients, including men.
In February 2009, NICE also published guidance on the treatment and diagnosis of early and locally advanced breast cancer, and advanced breast cancer, which complement the cancer service guidance.
Cancer: Surgery
I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to the hon. Member for South-West Norfolk (Christopher Fraser) on 20 March 2009, Official Report, column 1361W. A table showing the count of finished consultant episodes for cancer-related prostatectomy, prostatectomy and cystoprosatectomy by trust in 2007-08, the latest year for which this information is available, has already been placed in the Library.
Chiropractic: Complaints
Departmental officials have held discussions with the General Chiropractic Council about their plans for handling the steep recent increase in the number of complaints received.
Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence
Since 1 January 2009, there have been three Council meetings of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence. Over this period, one member of the public, no health professionals, no journalists and two representatives of patient or service user groups have attended Council meetings. Minutes and papers from Council meetings are available on the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence's website:
www.chre.org.uk/council/60/ and www.chre.org.uk/council/59
Dengue Fever
There has been no estimate made of national health service expenditure on the treatment of dengue fever in the past 12 months.
Dengue fever does not naturally occur in the United Kingdom. Cases in the UK are imported and are associated with travel to areas where the disease is endemic, such as, South East Asia and the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean and South and Central America.
The following table shows the number of cases diagnosed in the UK in 2007 and 2008 by the Health Protection Agency’s special pathogens reference unit.
2007 2008 England 137 153 Northern Ireland — 1 Scotland 20 9 Wales 7 4 Grand total 164 167 Source: Data provided by the Health Protection Agency as at 17 June 2009.
Departmental Energy
(2) what estimate he has made of the volume of carbon dioxide emissions from offices in his Department in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 (i) in total and (ii) per full-time equivalent member of staff;
(3) what estimate he has made of the energy consumed per full-time equivalent member of staff in his Department in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08;
(4) what estimate he has made of the percentage of electricity used by his Department which was derived from renewable sources in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08;
(5) what estimate he has made of the amount of waste arising from his Department in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 (i) in total and (ii) per full-time equivalent member of staff;
(6) what estimate he has made of the volume of carbon dioxide emissions arising from road-based transport used for administrative operations by his Department in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 (i) in total and (ii) per full-time equivalent member of staff;
(7) what estimate he has made of the volume of carbon dioxide emissions arising from air travel by staff in his Department in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 (i) in total and (ii) per full-time equivalent member of staff;
The Department and its Executive agencies, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and Medicines (PASA) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) take part in the annual Sustainable Development in Government exercise, which enables Departments to report on their activities against the sustainable operations targets published in June 2006. For 2007-08, NHS Connecting for Health was also included.
The following figures detailed for 2006-07 total and full-time equivalent (FTE) and for 2007-08 totals (with the exception of carbon emissions from air travel) have been published as part of the Sustainable Development in Government Report for 2007 and 2008. Copies of both reports have already been placed in the Library.
Total Per FTE Total Per FTE Water Consumption (m3) 21,746 6.9 17,765 6.74 Carbon Emissions from offices (tonnes CO2) 6,753 1.698 8,635 2.321 Energy consumed (kWh) 18,404,426 4,628 23,099,389 6,201 Percentage of electricity derived from renewable sources 99.9 — 80.8 — Amount of waste arising (tonnes) 574 0.14 743 0.227 Carbon dioxide emissions arising from road based transport (tonnes CO2) 568 0.14 553 0.09 Carbon dioxide emissions arising from air travel (tonnes CO2) 799 0.201 1,136 0.184
For the core Department, the information in this answer (with the exception of carbon dioxide emissions arising from road based transport and air travel) covers the Department’s central administrative estate of Richmond House, Wellington House and Skipton House. The Department is a minor occupier in New Kings Beam House (HM Revenue and Customs) and Quarry House in Leeds (Department of Work and Pensions) and the data for these sites are not available to us.
The carbon dioxide emissions arising from road based transport and air travel cover the whole Department office estate including New Kings Beam House and Quarry House.
For 2007-08, for the first time, NHS Connecting for Health (CfH) submitted data along with the Department and our agencies NHS PASA and MHRA. In practice, however, MHRA and CfH were only able to provide limited information because they occupy rented accommodation for which energy and water consumption data are not available. This means that the 2007-08 FTE figures for water and energy consumption are slightly skewed.
Departmental Internet
The information is as follows:
Page impressions and unique visitors for the last 12 months—The Department’s website at:
www.dh.gov.uk
Unique visitors Page impressions May 2009 957,734 5,479,933 April 2009 969,412 5,753,565 March 2009 1,033,680 6,383,331 February 2009 924,026 5,642,052 January 2009 1,017,122 6,205,364 December 2008 696,636 4,403,460 November 2008 874,024 5,578,886 October 2008 849,325 5,555,268 September 2008 772,629 4,717,921 August 2008 580,293 3,647,145 July 2008 806,832 5,122,615 June 2008 964,577 5,883,074
Page impressions and unique visitors—The Department’s advisory bodies website for the last 12 months at:
www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk
Unique visitors Page impressions May 2009 20,370 130,202 April 2009 20,791 119,795 March 2009 22,928 151,785 February 2009 19,481 133,699 January 2009 20,647 143,423 December 2008 19,872 156,840 November 2008 26,276 181,291 October 2008 26,374 190,170 September 2008 20,636 133,031 August 2008 18,387 126,039 July 2008 22,968 137,455 June 2008 30,723 147,110
Page impressions and unique visitors for the last 12 months—NHS Choices website.
Page impressions from November 2008 onwards differ to those given in the answer of 4 February 2009 as these now include visitors and page impressions at:
www.selfhelpguide.nhs.uk
which is hosted by NHS Direct although branded NHS Choices at:
www.nhs.uk
Unique visitors Page impressions May 2009 5,295,640 32,013,540 April 2009 4,458,415 28,369,471 March 2009 5,189,162 33,998,656 February 2009 4,300,217 29,763,052 January 2009 4,264,746 29,422,915 December 2008 3,125,976 21,123,054 November 2008 3,231,224 22,916,827 October 2008 2,421,293 14,362,161 September 2008 2,068,380 12,982,408 August 2008 2,017,496 13,004,201 July 2008 2,154,660 14,488,807 June 2008 1,933,770 12,837,873 Notes: Unique visitors: the number of unique visitors that have entered a website within a given timescale. Thus, multiple visits within that given timescale are not recorded. Page impressions: also known as ‘hits’, this is when a website page is displayed on a visitor’s browser. To provide the number of unique visitors and page hits for all other websites listed in the answer of 4 February 2009 would incur disproportionate costs.
Departmental Location
For the financial year 2008-09, any relocation costs for new members of staff will be reported in the Department’s remuneration report, which will be published as part of the 2009 resource accounts in July.
For 2007-08, relocation costs of £41,900 were paid on the resettlement of one new member of staff whose overall benefits-in-kind were reported in the 2007-08 remuneration report and can be found on page 25 at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/DH_089421
For 2006-07 no relocation costs were incurred for new members of staff.
Departmental Work Experience
The Department does not hold records centrally of graduate internships, which may be arranged locally and independently by individual managers in its directorates.
Elderly: Social Services
The Department reported slippage in the 2007-08 Department's Resource Accounts for the number of older people helped to live at home. The number of older people as at 31 March per 1,000 had decreased from 81 in 2005-06 to 80 in 2006-07 representing a decrease of 1.3 per cent. However, the data (when it became available in December 2008) showed that by 31 March in 2007-08 the number increased to 81 representing an increase of 1.4 per cent.
There are a range of reasons to account for the change, including the potential impact of increasing the level of local eligibility criteria being met locally; an increased local focus on shorter periods of rehabilitation; the increased use of support provided through the voluntary sector such as grant funded services; and the improved information and signposting to enable people to access appropriate and relevant local support thereby reducing the numbers of older people recorded as receiving “care managed” services.
Fractures
The Department has taken steps to improve the outcomes of patients with fragility fractures with the appointment of a National Clinical Director for Trauma Care, Professor Keith Willett. He will play an important role in the development of clinical policy for trauma care, including the care of older people with fractures.
The Department is also working with stakeholders on a number of initiatives in support of the further development of integrated falls and osteoporosis services including:
working with the Royal College of Physicians and local services to take forward work to improve services for people who fall and are at risk of falling;
additional investment in DXA scanning bringing investment up to £20 million to increase capacity in osteoporosis services, resulting in waits over 13 weeks falling by 90 per cent.; and
working, as part of the wider Prevention Package announced in May 2008, to encourage older people to exercise which helps them to improve bone mass and provide general lifestyle messages, around diet, exercise, reducing smoking and avoiding excessive consumption of alcohol, which are helpful in the prevention of osteoporosis.
In addition, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has produced recent clinical guidelines on the use of drugs to prevent osteoporotic fractures in post-menopausal women.
It is the responsibility of strategic health authorities, working in partnership with local authorities, to commission appropriate standards of care locally for people with, or at risk from, fragility fractures and osteoporosis.
The Quality Care Commission have been given the power to monitor and inspect the provision of local health and social care services, including pathways of care or themes where there are particular concerns about quality.
Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements
(2) how much of the sums paid by the Government to other EU member states under the provisions of the European Health Insurance Card arose from treatment in each NHS trust in each of the last 10 years.
The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) allows the holder to access treatment that becomes necessary during a visit to another European Economic Area member state, not in the home state itself. Therefore the sums paid by the United Kingdom to another member state in respect of the EHIC, relate to treatment provided in that member state, rather than by the national health service.
Hospitals
The Department provides no specific guidance to strategic health authorities on the provision of information to those in the catchment area of hospitals on decisions to reduce levels of services at those hospitals. These are matters for the local primary care trusts who have responsibility for involving service users in the planning of services and development of proposals for change in services.
Hospitals: Admissions
The information has been placed in the Library. The information requested is shown in the tables by strategic health authority (SHA). Were the data presented by primary care trust, the majority of entries would be small numbers and would therefore be suppressed in order to preserve confidentiality.
The available information is given in the following tables. This covers activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.
Measles Sex/age Male Female Unknown 0-9 10-13 14-17 18+ 0-9 10-13 14-17 18+ 18+ 2007-08 147 5 10 37 114 4 12 27 — 2006-07 97 1 8 22 104 8 6 33 — 2005-06 36 7 5 11 38 3 2 7 — 2004-05 29 — — 10 25 — — 7 — 2003-04 42 3 — 10 38 5 3 10 —
Sex/age Male Female Unknown 0-9 10-13 14-17 18+ 0-9 10-13 14-17 18+ 18+ 2007-08 28 7 7 71 22 10 6 46 1 2006-07 36 14 18 136 25 4 6 61 — 2005-06 59 34 155 754 34 20 49 204 — 2004-05 51 15 105 467 21 15 58 189 — 2003-04 15 6 11 51 21 3 13 26 —
Sex/age Male Female Unknown 0-9 10-13 14-17 18+ 0-9 10-13 14-17 18+ 18+ 2007-08 8 — 1 4 8 — — 8 — 2006-07 5 — — 5 6 — — 6 — 2005-06 9 — — 1 4 — 3 3 — 2004-05 14 — 1 1 3 — 2 5 — 2003-04 13 — — 2 7 — 2 5 — Notes: 1. Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. Primary and secondary diagnoses The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care. 3. Codes used to denote measles, mumps or rubella Measles B05.—Measles Mumps B26.—Mumps Rubella B06.—Rubella [German measles], P35.0 Congenital rubella syndrome. If the patient has been admitted for treatment of measles, mumps or rubella, then the code for measles, mumps or rubella would be found in a primary position, except in the following cases: a. Measles, mumps or rubella complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium; in this case, one of the following codes would precede the code for measles, mumps or rubella: O35.3 Maternal care for (suspected) damage to fetus from viral disease in mother; and O98.5 Other viral diseases complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium. b. In the case where a baby is admitted due to measles, mumps or rubella acquired after birth but within 28 days of birth (perinatal period), a code from the following categories would precede the code for measles, mumps or rubella, which would be in a secondary position: P35-P39 Infections specific to the perinatal period. 4. Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 5. Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in national health service practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time. 6. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in the data, i.e. the data are ungrossed. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
Infant Foods
Breast milk is the best nutrition for infants. Exclusively breastfeeding an infant from birth to six months of age involves negligible cost to parents. We have estimated the amount of formula milk required for infants from birth to six months based on energy requirements set by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy.
At the current price the estimated cost for providing formula milk as a sole food for infants from birth to six months would be approximately £180 to £210. This estimate excludes the cost of additional equipment required for formula feeding such as the feeding bottles, teats and sterilisation equipment.
The Department has not yet undertaken an evaluation of the attitudes of Healthy Start beneficiaries towards breastfeeding, or of the extent to which they purchase infant formula milk with their Healthy Start vouchers. We are, however, planning to commission research on the impact of the scheme on beneficiary behaviour during the current financial year.
Healthy Start vouchers can be used to purchase infant formula milk because it is the only safe alternative to breast milk for infants who are not being breastfed. To exclude it from the scheme could put the babies of low income mothers who have chosen not to breastfeed at severe risk. All communication materials for the scheme advise that breast milk is the best food for all infants under six months old. Midwives and health professionals countersigning Healthy Start application forms are asked to provide advice on healthy diet, including the importance of breastfeeding and to signpost relevant services.
Learning Disability
In November 2008, David Nicholson, chief executive of the national health service, wrote to all strategic health authorities (SHAs) to seek assurance that action is being taken across the NHS organisations in their area to promote disability equality and to implement the recommendations in “Healthcare for All”, the report of Sir Jonathan Michael’s independent inquiry on access to healthcare for people with learning disabilities. SHAs have since given a clear commitment to supporting and monitoring implementation of the independent inquiry recommendations in their areas.
The delivery plan for Valuing People Now, the Government’s new three-year strategy for people with learning disabilities, sets out the systems in place to ensure improvements across all services, including better health and healthcare for people with learning, disabilities. The national Learning Disabilities Programme Board has overall responsibility for assuring delivery of Valuing People Now. Each area has a local Learning Disability Partnership Board, which will report annually through their regional board on the action they have taken.
The Valuing People Now healthcare steering group, which includes representation from the Care Quality Commission, has specific responsibility for overseeing delivery of the commitments on better healthcare for people with learning disabilities. It is also working with SHAs to ensure that the ombudsmen’s recommendations are met, including ensuring that all NHS organisations review the systems, capacity and capability they have in place to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities and report on this by March 2010.
Individual cases should be considered at a local level, following the usual routes for redress, where appropriate.
Local Involvement Networks
The allocation for 2008-09 made to the local authority for the Stoke-on-Trent local involvement network (LINk) was £0.61 million.
The legal duty to ensure LINk activities are carried on rests with local authorities. It is their responsibility to make sure that the contract with the host organisation provides that the support given to the LINk ensures the LINk is as effective as possible.
Each year LINks must produce an annual report setting out what they have achieved, the activities they have undertaken, the money they have spent on their activities and the impact they have had. Reports have to be completed by 30 June and must be made publicly available. Copies have to be sent to the Department and these will be analysed to see what, if any, additional national support would be appropriate.
Malnutrition
The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition report launched January 2009 has contributed to the work of the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board; working to improve nutrition and Dignity in Care in adult social care settings and which in turn has underlined the importance in effective delivery of Healthy Start and the Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives programme.
The Department and the Nutrition Summit Stakeholder Group which comprised members from other Government Departments and key agencies collaborated to produce The Nutrition Action Plan 2008. This joint plan collectively addresses nutritional care within hospitals, care homes and the community through the provision of ample and nourishing food, help with eating, modified diets and specialist tube feeding.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued clinical guidelines to national health service bodies on Nutrition Support in Adults in February 2006. This covered the care of patients with malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition, both in hospital or at home. In addition, British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN) has developed guidance to help hospitals and primary care trusts (PCTs) develop their infrastructure to deliver improved food and nutrition support services.
The Malnutrition Advisory Group, a standing committee of BAPEN published its second nutrition screening report on 12 May 2009. MUST is a five-step screening tool to identify adults, who are malnourished, at risk of malnutrition (undernutrition) or obese. It also includes management guidelines which can be used to develop a care plan. It is used in hospitals, community and other care settings and can be used by all care workers.
This information is not held centrally.
Malnutrition: Screening
This information is not held centrally.
A core dataset is available on the Department’s website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_081097
Mental Health Services: Children
This information is not collected centrally.
NHS Connecting for Health: Expenditure
Within the Department, NHS Connecting for Health, which came into being in April 2005, is responsible both for central expenditure necessary for ensuring delivery of the information technology systems under the national programme for information technology, and for maintaining the critical business systems previously provided to the national health service by the former NHS Information Authority.
Relevant information covering all NHS Connecting for Health’s responsibilities is shown in the following table.
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Total (note 1) 971.0 1,119.7 1,195.7 1,094.3 Of which : Staff 139.4 149.5 142.4 129.2 Office 9.4 9.3 8.9 7.9 Notes: 1. Total capital and revenue (excludes capital charges). 2. ‘Staff’ covers the direct employment costs of permanent and temporary NHS personnel employed via the NHS Business Services Authority as host authority, secondees, contractors, and the manpower and non-manpower costs of departmental civil servants. 3. ‘Office’ includes rents/rates, utilities, office equipment, furniture and fittings.
NHS Innovation Expo
The companies directly contracted to provide services for the Expo event, the services they are providing, and the value of each contract awarded are as follows:
MIS—provision of event management services (three individual contracts, with values of £249,204, £231,075 and £350,000—a combined total value of £830,279); and
Central Office of Information—provision of project management and co-ordination (contract value £203,350), and communications and media handling (contract value £100,000).
NHS: Cambridgeshire
This information is not held centrally.
Nurses
We are currently testing the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) in 30 sites across England. Family recruitment is ongoing, and we estimate these sites will work with approximately 3,000 families. “Healthy lives, brighter futures—the strategy for children and young people’s health” (published in February 2009) said the Government wished to expand to 70 pilot sites by April 2011. Overall, this would allow capacity to deliver FNP to around 7,000 families.
Nutrition
National guidance to support local implementation of NHS health check programme does not recommend that a nutritional screening tool is used as part of the risk assessment. However, where an individual's body mass index is considered to be a risk factor in terms of vascular disease it is expected that they will receive advice and support on managing their weight, which would cover both nutrition and physical activity.
The purpose of an NHS health check is to identify an individual's risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease, for this risk to be communicated in a way that the individual understands, and for that risk to be managed by appropriate follow-up. These diseases are all linked by a common set of modifiable risk factors. Obesity, physical inactivity, high blood pressure and raised cholesterol levels all raise the risk of vascular disease. While the NHS health check focuses on reducing these risk factors in order to reduce the risk of vascular disease, health professionals carrying out the checks will of course have the opportunity to identify people who are seriously underweight and will be able to exercise their clinical judgment in referring them for appropriate treatment or intervention.
When the Nutrition Action Plan was published in October 2007, the Department made a public commitment that the final report of the Delivery Board would be published and placed on the Department's website. A copy of the report will also be placed in the Library.
Occupational Health
The Government response to Dame Carol Black’s review of the health of the Britain’s working age population “Working for a Healthier Tomorrow” was published on 25 November 2008 (Cm 7492). “Improving health and work: changing lives” sets out the Government’s approach to working-age health and contains a programme of actions and new initiatives to address the recommendations made by Dame Carol in her review.
Patient Choice Schemes: Expenditure
GP Systems of Choice (GPSoC) was introduced in August 2007. To 31 March 2009, payments made to GPSoC suppliers totalled some £18.959 million. GP systems were in use by practices before GPSoC was introduced. Therefore these costs would have been incurred by the national health service regardless of whether or not GPSoC was introduced.
Sick Leave: Yorkshire
The information requested is not held centrally.
The Department recognises that high quality care needs a high quality workforce, so in November 2008, the then Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, West and Hessle (Alan Johnson), announced a review of the health and wellbeing of the NHS Workforce. The review is currently calling for evidence from employers, staff and key stakeholders.
Social Services: Learning Disability
During the period 1 April to 31 March 2008, 126,000 adults aged 18-64 with learning disabilities and 14,000 adults aged 65 and over with learning disabilities received a social care service funded either partly or wholly by their council with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs) in England following a community care assessment.
Data on the number of people receiving social services funded either fully or partially by CASSR in England are collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care as part of the referrals, assessments and packages of care (RAP) return.
Swine Flu: Medical Treatments
Health Protection Agency records, to date, suggest that 99 per cent. of confirmed H1N1 cases are offered Tamiflu (Oseltamivir), and approximately 1 per cent. are offered Relenza (Zanamivir).
Teenage Pregnancy: Milton Keynes
I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, June 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the rate of (a) conception and (b) pregnancy terminated by abortion was among those under the age of 18 years in Milton Keynes in each of the last five years.(280877)
Figures on conceptions are estimates based on the number of live births, stillbirths or legal abortions. They do not include miscarriages and illegal abortions.
The table below provides the rate of (a) conceptions and (b) conceptions leading to a legal abortion, among girls aged under 18, for Milton Keynes unitary authority for 2003 to 2007 (the most recent year for which figures are available).
(a) Conceptions: Rate per, 10002 (b) Conceptions leading to a legal abortion: Rate per 1,0003 2003 40.4 15.7 2004 41.6 18.6 2005 46.1 23.8 2006 44.5 22.8 20074 39.1 20.7 1 Under 18 years at estimated date of conception 2 Number of conceptions to women under 18 per 1,000 female population aged 15-17 3 Number of conceptions to women under 18 leading to a legal abortion per 1,000 female population aged 15-17 4 Figures for 2007 are provisional
Thrombosis
We expect venous thromboembolism (VTE) will be included in the 2010-11 national health service Operating Framework, which will be published later in the year.
(2) what assessment he made of the merits of including venous thromboembolism risk assessment in the full NHS list of indicators for quality improvement.
The Department has a very comprehensive venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention strategy in place at present. Under the leadership of the Chief Medical Officer, many strands of work are being taken forward across a number of organisations.
Indicators for Quality Improvement was launched in May 2009 as a resource to support understanding and improving the quality of national health service services. The initial list is based largely on existing indicators and will evolve over time to cover a fuller range of NHS services as further indicators are identified and developed.
Work and Pensions
Cabinet: Glasgow
For information relation to the Cabinet and public engagement event held in Glasgow on 16 April, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 3 June 2009, Official Report, column 487W.
Children: Maintenance
[holding answer 11 June 2009]: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many parents have been prosecuted for (a) not providing information and (b) providing false information to the Child Support Agency in each year since 2000. [278965]
There were a total of 1,440 successful prosecutions in 2008/09. Of these, 1,380 parents were prosecuted for failing to provide information, 15 for providing false information and 45 for other offence types.
The total number of successful prosecutions broken down each year from 2004/05 are included in the attached table. There is no further breakdown available by prosecution type prior to 2008/09 as the system used to record this information is no longer in use. No figures are available prior to 2004/05.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Number 2004-05 250 2005-06 400 2006-07 480 2007-08 660 2008-09 1,440 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. No prior figures are available before 2004-05. 3. The figures for 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 are taken from the old compliance access database which is no longer in use, a breakdown of prosecution “type” can therefore not be included. 4. The figure for 2008-09 is taken from the CriMIS small systems database which provides a breakdown of prosecution type.
Council Tax Benefit: Greater Manchester
The information is not available in the format requested.
Departmental Billing
An analysis of our central accounting system for the three years requested has shown the following amounts paid to suppliers by the Department under the account code “Late Payment of Bills—Interest Paid”. The amounts are inclusive of VAT.
£ 2006 26,400 2007 3,473 2008 9,330
The values are annual totals for the Department and its agencies.
Departmental Data Protection
Because the Department handles data relating to millions of individual customers on a daily basis, small localised data incidents are dealt with as they arise. These are not recorded centrally by the Department or its agencies, and consequently the details of such incidents could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
More significant incidents which involve personal data are reported to the Information Commissioner as a matter of course. Under the mandatory requirements of the Data Handling Report published on 25 June 2008, the Department is required to provide a summary of such incidents in its annual resource accounts.
The Department has published details of incidents arising during 2007-08 in the annual resource account which was published on 13 August 2008. We will be publishing information on incidents reported to the Information Commissioner during 2008-09 in the next resource accounts. The information is currently being compiled and verified before it is laid before Parliament.
Departmental Electricity
The following table gives details of the percentage of renewable energy used by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Energy from renewable sources Good quality combined heat and power sources 2006-07 53.5 9 2007-08 34 43
The Department took a deliberate decision to reduce its percentage renewables in 2007-08 to allow an increase in CHP generated supplies and an overall increase from 62.5 per cent. to 77 per cent.
Departmental Internet
[holding answer 18 June 2009]: The following tables outline (a) unique visitors and (b) page views (page impressions for the Jobcentre Plus website) in line with Cabinet Office guidance, for each of the websites maintained by the Department for Work and Pensions as per the answer of 9 February 2009. We cannot produce all the statistics as DWP does not hold some of the figures and due to some technical difficulties we were unable to collect all the figures for each month.
2008 Site April May June July August September October November December DWP 620,492 637,574 760,610 742,472 658,287 748,565 813,280 818,521 645,387 JCP 6,091,767 5,671,110 6,463,155 7,037,643 6,297,163 8,821,813 8,595,983 6,656,645 5,430,710 CSA 93,381 91,371 98,856 100,352 96,790 107,056 109,204 106,554 83,589 AP 15,105 19,863 23,872 16,594 11,405 12,258 8,472 7,929 6,092 ESF 6,590 10,136 11,115 9,453 8,165 9,250 9,674 12,227 8,704 ICE 1,505 1,496 2,026 1,775 1,831 1,550 1,642 1,499 1,265 IIAC 1,631 1,495 1,550 1,506 1,264 1,402 1,404 1,262 1,034 SSCA 1,135 1,510 1,594 1,037 976 979 1,047 1,875 1,044 ODI 6,459 8,126 7,799 9,351 7,031 1— 1— 8,754 9,524 DG-D 1,434,791 1,164,606 1,243,904 315,295 292,014 330,801 350,623 1— 1— DG-C 89,435 76,258 85,006 85,762 79,562 90,908 95,233 91,746 69,544 DG 50+ 162,296 117,783 127,308 132,785 134,161 154,189 155,105 158,924 119,692 TPS 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 304,843 307,620 359,208 244,997 Total 8,524,587 7,801,328 8,826,795 8,454,025 7,588,649 10,583,614 10,449,287 8,225,144 6,621,582
Site January February March DWP 1,112,470 932,498 1,008,693 JCP 10,071,434 8,247,216 1— CSA 132,020 109,267 1— AP 8,414 8,592 1— ESF 10,645 10,145 1— ICE 1,783 1,625 1— IIAC 1,395 1,384 1— SSCA 1,328 1,141 1— ODI 10,450 1— 1— DG-D 1— 384,892 1— DG-C 129,362 110,703 1— DG 50+ 256,358 204,867 227,434 TPS 412,872 337,812 487,977 Total 12,148,531 10,350,142 1,724,104
2008 Site April May June July August September October November December DWP 4,890,895 4,632,534 5,467,135 5,481,316 4,823,111 5,255,207 5,840,085 5,675,631 4,578,694 JCP 279,358,470 250,206,608 290,661,873 302,481,658 271,781,484 308,875,532 302,104,417 266,874,017 179,521,943 CSA 693,879 623,741 710,818 703,331 669,090 753,074 770,977 721,481 550,725 AP 64,450 77,281 85,586 67,995 49,610 47,653 35,517 33,739 28,350 ESF 35,240 58,541 63,781 48,604 51,520 57,699 54,395 62,070 44,399 ICE 24,112 24,328 24,046 25,047 26,334 20,945 20,229 23,312 29,862 IIAC 18,911 19,293 18,202 18,395 18,488 16,534 16,764 18,587 17,903 SSCA 18,403 20,187 18,561 18,166 18,631 17,356 17,036 45,590 18,453 ODI 52,021 57,474 53,154 58,098 48,873 1— 1— 49,760 57,367 DG-D 1— 1— 1— 1,291,101 1,206,271 1,321,886 1,390,235 1— 1— DG-C 327,393 279,429 315,728 321,083 298,200 331,579 357,209 357,971 265,159 DG 50+ 434,884 294,965 321,516 336,221 349,620 389,937 400,452 416,613 304,269 TPS 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 2,815,695 2,954,131 3,155,462 2,159,900 Total 285,918,658 256,294,381 297,740,400 310,851,015 279,341,232 319,903,097 313,961,447 277,434,233 187,577,024
Site January February March DWP 7,693,486 6,311,548 7,648,495 JCP 350,647,463 298,532,534 324,713,314 CSA 901,912 741,673 1— AP 35,569 35,529 1— ESF 53,056 50,377 1— ICE 25,457 23,345 1— IIAC 19,055 17,811 1— SSCA 19,755 17,807 1— ODI 57,772 1— 1— DG-D 1— 1,566,846 1— DG-C 472,298 406,136 1— DG 50+ 678,359 565,034 626,209 TPS 3,820,139 3,137,296 4,724,905 Total 364,424,321 311,405,936 337,712,923 1 Not collected. KEY: DWP Department for Work and Pensions: www.dwp.gov.uk JCP Jobcentre Plus: www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk CSA Child Support Agency: www.csa.gov.uk AP Age Positive: www.agepositive.gov.uk this site closed in February 2009 ESF European Social Fund: www.esf.gov.uk ICE Independent Case Examiner: www.ind-case-exam.org.uk (DWP hosts the website but is not responsible for the content) IIAC Industrial Injuries Advisory Council: www.iiac.org.uk (DWP hosts the website but is not responsible for the content) SSAC Social Security Advisory Committee: www.ssac.org.uk (DWP hosts the website but is not responsible for the content) ODI Office for Disability Issues: www.officefordisability.gov.uk DG-D Directgov Disabled People and Carers Sections: www.direct.gov.uk/disability (Directgov operate the website but DWP is responsible for the content) DG-C Directgov Disabled People and Carers Sections: www.direct.gov.uk/carers (Directgov operate the website but DWP is responsible for the content) DG 50+ Directgov Over 50s Section (now re-titled Pensions and Retirement Planning): www.direct.gov.uk/over50s (Directgov operate the website but DWP is responsible for the content) TPS The Pension Service: www.thepensionservice.gov.uk Notes: 1. Data are not held for the Health and Safety Executive website: www.hse.gov.uk 2. Data are not collected for Now Lets Talk Money website: www.nowletstalkmoney.com or Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force website: www.emetaskforce.gov.uk
Departmental Press: Subscriptions
Annex A (magazines and journals) and annex B (newspapers) listing magazines, journals and newspapers subscribed to by the Department for Work and Pensions has been placed in the Library.
Information on the cost of subscriptions in each of the last three years is set out in the following table.
Financial year Newspaper/magazine spend Periodical spend 2006-07 73,794.25 134,642.74 2007-08 56,364.35 138,063.72 2008-09 42,389.51 167,444.62
Departmental Telephone Services
I have asked the Jobcentre Plus Contact Centre Directorate Acting Operations Director, Stuart Griffiths, to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stuart Griffiths, dated 19 June 2009:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what criteria the Department of Work and Pensions uses to monitor the performance of its callbacks to telephone benefit claimants; and what percentage of customers who request a callback are contacted. [PQ 278377]
I will respond on behalf of Jobcentre Plus (including Benefit and Fraud Directorate) and Pension, Disability and Carers Service.
Jobcentre Plus Contact Centre Directorate
The criteria Jobcentre Plus Contact Centre Directorate use to monitor the performance of pre-booked callbacks is that 90% of callbacks are completed within 36 hours. This includes customers who answer their callback, and also customers who we are unable to contact after two telephone calls. Therefore, we call back 100% of customers who request it. If we are unable to contact a customer due to their unavailability, a letter is sent informing them that Jobcentre Plus has tried to telephone them, and to call us again if they still wish to make a claim.
For 2008/09, 92.6% of callbacks were completed within 36 hours.
For April 2009, 97.6% of callbacks were completed within 36 hours.
Benefit and Fraud Directorate
Benefit and Fraud Directorate telephony teams aim to clear 80% of first time calls from customers, with approximately 20% referred for a potential callback. If a callback is required by the customer, this is emailed to benefit processing teams with an expectation that callbacks will be made within three hours of the initial customer contact. All customers requesting a callback will receive one.
Pension, Disability and Carers Service
The information requested is not available in the Pension, Disability and Carers Service.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Disability Discrimination Act 2005
(2) what mechanisms are in place to ensure that (a) her Department and (b) contractors comply with relevant provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 in respect of those with a mental health condition in (i) allocating and (ii) administering work experience and work trial placements.
All public authorities are subject to the Disability Equality Duty which requires them to pay due regard to promoting disability when carrying out all of their functions. Some public authorities are also required to publish a Disability Equality Scheme setting out how they will meet the Disability Equality Duty.
The Department published Single Equality Schemes, incorporating disability, race and gender, in 2008. These schemes include a three-year action plan setting out how the Department and its agencies intend to meet their three Public Sector Duties and how they will equality impact assess their policies and practices against them.
In respect of the Disability Equality Duty, they also set out how disabled people have been involved in producing the schemes and setting the direction of travel that would best achieve improvements in outcomes for disabled people. The scheme action plans are monitored and formal progress reports are published annually. All schemes and information can be found on the DWP website.
Where the Department is providing services to the public or delivering public functions, it is required by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to make reasonable adjustments to enable disabled people to have access to those services or functions.
There is mandatory training in place for all DWP staff to ensure they have the appropriate cultural and legislative knowledge to understand their responsibilities when developing policies or providing services for disabled customers, including those with a mental health condition.
The provisions in place that ensure a contractor complies with the relevant provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 are contained in our standard terms and conditions. Section 37 “Unlawful Discrimination” states “the Contractor shall not unlawfully discriminate within the meaning and scope of the Race Relations Act 1976, the Sex-Discrimination Act 1975 or the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 or analogous legislation which has been, or may be, enacted from time to time relating to discrimination in employment.”
Contract managers review compliance with disability discrimination legislation periodically as part of their supplier relationship management procedures.
Future Jobs Fund
The future jobs fund is an important new initiative announced in the Budget 2009 worth £1 billion to create 150,000 new jobs both for young people and individuals living in unemployment hotspots. We are inviting bids from a wide range of organisations and partnerships including those from the sport and creative industries to create valuable jobs that bring real benefits to individuals and their communities.
The previous Secretary of State for Work and Pensions met with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to discuss ways to ensure the sport and culture industries are able to put together strong bids to the fund and deliver jobs in these industries as early as October 2009.
Building on this, officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Work and Pensions have been working closely together to ensure the sport and creative industries play a prominent role in the jobs created through the future jobs fund and we expect to receive a number of bids from organisations in these areas when we start assessing bids from July 2009 onwards.
It is important that we engage with individuals who are approaching long-term unemployment to help them move into fulfilling and valuable employment that will help Britain prepare for economic recovery. The future jobs fund will provide organisations with the funding to do this and make a real contribution to the lives of individuals and their communities.
Health and Safety Executive
My officials have been working closely with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Health and Safety Executive to develop proposals to give effect to the Government's decision to restructure the nuclear directorate through legislation. We expect to publish proposals for public consultation in the near future.
Motability
There are currently 431,241 Motability cars being used in England and Wales. Details of funding provided to Motability are in the following table.
£000 Specialised vehicles fund Administration 2004-05 8,375 2,700 2005-06 8,615 2,800 2006-07 9,087 2,800 2007-08 12,700 2,960 2008-09 17,036 2,960 Notes: Motability administers the specialised vehicles fund on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. The Fund provides financial assistance to those disabled drivers or passengers on the scheme who require extensive adaptations to their vehicles. The majority of these adaptations allow the disabled person to travel as a passenger, where necessary entering the vehicle and travelling while remaining seated in a wheelchair. Source: Motability.
Motability is an independent charity and is responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme. We have no reason to believe that this Department would accrue any savings if Motability changed their cars every six years.
New Deal Schemes
[holding answer 19 June 2009]: Figures on new starters on the new deals are shown in the following table. The six-month period used here is up to and including February 2009.
Starters (individuals) in last six months New Deal for Young People 97,880 New Deal 25-plus 51,330 New Deal for Lone Parents 90,040 New Deal for Disabled People 16,190 New Deal for Partners 1,110 Total 256,550 Definitions and conventions: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Notes: 1. Latest data are to February 2009. 2. The total starters exclude those customers on new deal 50-plus as these figures have been withdrawn pending an investigation of the data source. 3. This information is published at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/tabtool_nd.asp Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate.
New Deal Schemes: Hertfordshire
The following table sets out the number of people who started participation in a new deal programme in the East Hertfordshire district in the last three years.
New deal starters 2006 310 2007 350 2008 270 Definitions and conventions: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Time series—year of starting: The calendar year of starting new deal. Latest data are to February 2009. 1. The totals for each year exclude those customers on new deal 50-plus as these figures have been withdrawn pending an investigation of the data source 2. The measure used for new deal for partners is starters (individuals) as spells are not available for this new deal. 3. Since June 2008, new deal for disabled people has ceased to operate as a national programme Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate.
Social Fund
Additional funding for social fund loans was announced in the Chancellor’s Budget report on 22 April 2009, to ensure that support can continue to be provided during the economic downturn. As a result, the previous gross loans budget for Great Britain for 2009-10 was increased. The current discretionary social fund budgets for Great Britain are given in the table.
£ million Gross loans 650 Community care grants 141 Contingency reserve 1
The regulated social fund is demand led, so there are no fixed budgets. All the funds necessary to pay claimants entitled to an award will be made available.
Unemployment: Older Workers
The Government are committed to giving everyone the support they need to find employment as quickly as possible, whatever their age.
A major factor in the employment of older people is employer behaviour. In addition to providing generic good practice guidance to employers, the UK’s Age Positive initiative is working in partnership with business leaders to develop sector-based models of flexible retirement to support the increased employment and retention of older workers and the removal of fixed retirement ages.
Our plans for the future include providing guidance to older workers on their options for working longer, encouraging employers to increase flexible work and phased retirement opportunities, and monitoring the impact of the economic downturn to identify which groups are being most affected and targeting further help where it is most needed.
On 6 April 2009, as part of the Government’s response to the economic downturn, the Department for Work and Pensions put in place extra support for newly unemployed customers, including information and advice about the latest job search techniques and coaching on how to make the most of transferable skills. Extra help for those who have been claiming jobseeker’s allowance for six months was also introduced, including opportunities to volunteer, support to become self-employed, recruitment subsidies and work-focused training.
Since last autumn, the Department has also quadrupled the available funding for the rapid response service, which provides advice and support to customers facing redundancy. It has extended local employment partnerships, the adviser discretion fund and access to work so they are available to customers from the first day of their claim, alongside the support they receive from their Jobcentre Plus personal adviser.
The introduction of the flexible new deal across phase 1 areas from October 2010 will give providers the freedom to offer personalised, tailored support to everyone who has been claiming jobseeker’s allowance for 12 months, helping them overcome their individual barriers to work.
This will be available to jobseeker’s allowance customers of all ages to ensure that everyone has the best possible chance of finding work.
In addition, the budget announced the future jobs fund and young persons guarantee. Future jobs fund places will be available for older people from disadvantaged areas who are facing significant barriers to employment.
Child Benefit: Lancashire
I have been asked to reply.
Estimates of the number of child trust fund accounts opened for children born on or before 5 April 2007, in each parliamentary constituency, are available at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ctf/cons-stats-oct08.pdf
Latest estimates of the average number of families benefiting from tax credits, as well as the average number of in-work families benefiting from the child care element in each Government office region, local authority and parliamentary constituency, based on final family circumstances and incomes, are available in the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publication “Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised annual awards. Geographical analyses 2006-07”. This publication is available at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm
HMRC do not produce these statistics separately for child tax credit and working tax credit. Information is not yet available for 2007-08 at parliamentary constituency level. Further information can be found at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tc-delay-07-08.htm
Latest estimates of the number of families who were claiming child benefit in the areas requested are provided in the HMRC annual publication “Child Benefit geographical statistics. August 2006”, available at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_benefit/geog-aug06.pdf
Figures for August 2007 are not yet available.
Energy and Climate Change
Carbon Emissions
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with his counterparts in the US Administration on US climate and energy policy, including proposals currently before the US Congress to establish a US emissions trading scheme.
Carbon Emissions: Government Departments
I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change is currently leading work to define what is meant by carbon neutrality for the Government and the private sector. Once this work is complete, the Government will review the target for the central Government office estate to be carbon neutral by 2012 and the implications for departmental delivery.
Carbon Emissions: Housing
Mr. Kidney [holding answer 8 June 2009]: The following grant applications were received by the Low Carbon Buildings programme in respect of (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) other public buildings in (i) West Chelmsford constituency, (ii) Essex and (iii) England in each year since the inception of the scheme.
Communities stream Number of applications West Chelmsford Essex England 2006-07 Schools 0 0 22 Other Public Buildings 0 1 5 2007-08 Schools 0 0 2 Other Public Buildings 0 0 5
Number of applications West Chelmsford Essex England 2006-07 Schools 0 0 13 Hospitals 0 0 0 Other Public Buildings 0 0 23 2007-08 Schools 0 1 28 Hospitals 0 0 0 Other Public Buildings 0 1 45
Number of applications West Chelmsford Essex England 2006-07 Schools 0 0 1 Hospitals 0 0 0 Other Public Buildings 0 0 1 2007-08 Schools 0 1 1 Hospitals 0 0 2 Other Public Buildings 0 1 7 Note: Some applications were resubmitted so these are not all unique applications.
Type of organisation For year West Chelmsford Essex England Schools 2006-07 0 0 3 2007-08 0 2 196 2008-09 0 6 475 2009-10 0 1 95 Hospitals 2006-07 0 0 0 2007-08 0 0 0 2008-09 0 0 4 2009-10 0 0 0 Other public buildings 2006-07 0 1 3 2007-08 1 1 140 2008-09 0 6 199 2009-10 1 1 55 Total (phase 2) 2 18 1,167 Note: Number of grant applications received (includes accepted, submitted (currently being processed), withdrawn and rejected).
Carbon Emissions: Research
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has an ongoing programme of work on what a low carbon future for the UK might look like, including strategies for delivering a low carbon economy.
As part of this, DECC has conducted and commissioned a range of research, including to model scenarios for reducing energy system CO2 emissions, and worked with partners on analysis of possible technology options for the future of energy supply and demand.
In addition, research has been carried out in other Departments to support policy development in this area. As part of its work to understand the costs and benefits of the Climate Change Act, DEFRA commissioned analysis of the costs of meeting the UK’s climate change targets; and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills commissioned a report to support the development of the Government’s low carbon industrial strategy, which will be published in the summer.
Government’s analysis of policy options has also taken account of research commissioned and conducted by organisations outside Government, both in the UK and elsewhere.
Community Energy Savings Programme
Proposals for the delivery mechanisms for the community energy saving programme (CESP) and which areas to target were set out in the CESP consultation document published on 12 February. The consultation closed on 8 May.
We are considering the outcomes of this consultation and aim to make announcements shortly.
Departmental Energy
Since DECC’s inception, BERR and DEFRA manage the Department’s estate. Given that, I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Natural and Marine Environment, Wildlife and Rural Affairs on 23 April 2009, Official Report, column 816W, and by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on 31 March 2009, Official Report, column 1180.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
We have not drawn up a shortlist of potential special advisers on the development of national policy statements on (a) wind farms and (b) nuclear power plants and currently have no plans to do so.
Departmental Official Hospitality
£117,600.00.
Departmental Rail Travel
Staff who are not ordinarily entitled to travel by rail in first class are advised that may do so in the following circumstances:
when travelling with a colleague entitled to first class travel
when no standard class seats (except on suburban lines) are available
when there is a genuine business need.
These guidelines are consistent with the practice of other Government Departments.
Energy Supply
We expect the report of my right hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North (Malcolm Wicks) to be published in the summer.
Energy: Billing
DECC firmly believes that consumers should be able to access the information they need to allow them to make the right decisions about energy use, tariffs and suppliers.
It is important to reach the right balance so that consumers have enough information but are not obstructed by too much or poorly presented information. Ofgem has recently held a public consultation on proposals for new obligations on suppliers relating to consumer information, in order to take the various views of interested parties into account. We look forward to seeing results from that process in order to get the best result for consumers.
Energy: Conservation
The scheme in question is not managed, funded or monitored by this Department. The information requested is held by British Gas and their associated local authorities and cannot be provided by DECC.
Energy: Domestic Appliances
I have been asked to reply.
DEFRA’s “Policy Analysis and Projections”, published in July 2008, contains such an assessment. It also sets out how the efficiency of products will need to improve in order to meet the Government’s targets of annual savings of 3.6-11 million tonnes of CO2 from efficient products by 2020, as set out in May 2007’s Energy White Paper.
The analysis was published after a full consultation in spring 2008 and can be found at
www.mtprog.com/whitepaper.
In line with the Government’s commitment to consult annually on these projections, the analysis will be issued for a second consultation in summer 2009. The second consultation will contain updated projections of the CO2 savings resulting from the introduction of energy-efficient products for both the domestic and non-domestic sectors.
EU Emissions Trading Scheme
I welcome the progress being made on the development of the internal energy market, especially the recent agreement of texts for the third liberalisation package. This legislation will come into force early in 2011 and will benefit consumers through the development of more competition, especially between member states, and by enhancing security of supply. In order to improve the operation of the market, the UK is encouraging member states to implement early and on a voluntary basis those elements of the package related to transparency and co-operation between national regulators and system operators.
Fuel Poverty
Tackling fuel poverty is a priority for the Government. Our present policies and programmes, in particular with the changes announced in recent months, underline our commitment to do all that is reasonably practicable to ensure that vulnerable households do not live in fuel poverty.
We have set in place a wide range of measures to tackle fuel poverty and so far have spent more than £20 billion on policies and programmes to alleviate fuel poverty.
Since 2000 we have assisted over 2 million households in England in the private sector through the Warm Front Scheme by fitting insulation and heating improvements for households in receipt of means-tested or disability-related benefits. The scheme now has a budget of over £950 million for the spending years 2008-09 to 2010-11.
The Government's programmes also assist vulnerable households through the provision of income-based policies. We have increased the winter fuel payments, which helped keep 12 million people warm last winter, by an extra £50 for pensioners aged 60-79 and £100 for those over 80, and this will continue next winter. We have also increased cold weather payments from £8.50 to £25 per week and made 8.4 million payments worth £210 million between November 2008 and March 2009.
To ensure as many households as possible are eligible for assistance we have arranged for benefit entitlement checks to be carried out through Warm Front. To date some 48,000 checks have been completed. The average increase in income for applicants identifying new benefits is £30.64 per week or £1,590 per year.
A review of our fuel poverty policies is under way. The review is examining whether existing measures to tackle fuel poverty could be made more effective, and whether new policies should be introduced to help us make further progress towards our goals, particularly in light of market conditions and our aims to reduce carbon emissions.
Hartlepool Power Station
Future plans for power stations are a commercial matter for companies that own and operate them.
Plans for Hartlepool nuclear power station are an operational matter for British Energy, part of EDF Energy.
Longannet Power Station
[holding answer 24 April 2009]: The Department has had no discussions with Longannet power station management about the recruitment of engineering contractors during the recent shutdown for maintenance.
Low Carbon Buildings Programme
[holding answer 16 June 2009]: The Government have committed a further £45 million to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) in the recent Budget. This now brings support for the programme to over £130 million. The new funding will help to support more solar PV installations, alongside other renewable and low carbon technologies. Since December 2008 we re-allocated £9 million funds from within the Low Carbon Buildings Programme to solar photovoltaic and we recently announced that a further £5 million of the £45 million would be transferred to immediately support solar PV applications.
We have put in place plans to extend Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 to support the full range of microgeneration technologies, including solar PV, from 1 July 2009. Further information is available from the Low Carbon Buildings Website:
http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/home/
[holding answer 18 June 2009]: Following the announcement of the £45 million in the Budget 2009 we allocated £5 million to phase 2 of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) to support solar photovoltaic applications.
LCBP phase 2 will be extended and start on 1 July with a budget of £30 million supporting charitable organisations, community groups and the public sector.
We have allocated £10 million to LCBP phase 1 to support household installations.
Natural Gas: Russia
[holding answer 22 June 2009]: The Government are working closely with EU partners to avoid a further interruption to European gas supplies. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister discussed the matter with President Barroso on 4 June 2009 and there has been subsequent discussion at both the Energy Council on 12 June 2009 and the European Council on 18 and 19 June 2009.
While the UK has had bilateral contacts at official level with both Russia and Ukraine, the first priority should be to establish the facts of the situation and the Government strongly supports the recent European Commission mission to Moscow and Kiev for this purpose.
Nuclear Power Stations: Apprentices
New nuclear build in the UK has the potential to require 1,000s of workers, with apprentices in the industry and supply chain being an essential part of this workforce.
The National Skills Academy for Nuclear, launched in January 2008, has the responsibility for co-ordinating existing training provision on a regional and national basis, and aims to deliver 1,200 apprenticeships to the industry by the end of 2011 through a number of initiatives.
In addition Cogent, the sector skills council for the nuclear industry, has commissioned in-depth research on the nuclear labour market. This is scoping the demand for skilled workers, including apprentices, in the supply chain for new build, which includes in manufacturing and construction. This will further assist in identifying the training and skills interventions required to be put in place.
There is close working between the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills on these issues.
Renewable Energy
[holding answer 11 June 2009]: The Department supports the development of the manufacturing of renewable energy generation in the UK. This includes creating a supportive policy framework for the deployment of renewable energy in the UK (including long-term support for deployed renewable energy generation), as well as targeted support for the development of next-generation and lower cost wind energy technology. An example is the recently-launched £10 million scheme to support offshore wind deployment under the Environmental Transformation Fund, which aims to stimulate and encourage the development and demonstration of offshore wind technologies, and components for larger turbines, to enable their deployment within 2020 time scales.
However the Department does not hold information on the level of either wind or renewable manufacturing broken down by local authority area.
Payback periods are generally difficult to estimate accurately, because of the huge amount of variation that can come from system costs, system capacity and energy produced, fuel displaced, size of the house and energy prices from different suppliers. Payback periods will also depend on changes in energy prices in the future and as we cannot predict future trends in energy prices, it is very difficult to give an accurate payback period.
The following table details average costs of systems for each technology type and the annual cost savings on fuel bills relative to each technology type where specific assumptions have been made:
Technology Average total cost ex VAT (£) for LCBP funded installations (to end May 2009) Possible cost savings from annual fuel bill (as published on EST website) Air source heat pump 7,400 £20 to £700 savings on fuel bills per year.1 Ground source heat pump 10,800 £160 to £840 savings on fuel bills per year.2 Solar PV 13,000 Approximately £190 saving on electricity bill per year.3 Solar thermal hot water 4,100 Approx £50 to £85 saving on water heating bill per year.4 Wood fuelled boiler 8,900 £170 to £410 per year if fuel displaced is solid fuel or electricity. 5 1 Savings are approximate and vary depending on the fuel displaced. Assumptions are that the air source heat pump provides 100 per cent. of space heating and up to 50 per cent. of hot water, with the additional 50 per cent. provided by electric heater, in a detached property. 2 Savings are approximate and vary depending on the fuel displaced. Assumptions are that the ground source heat pump is installed in a detached property which provides 100 per cent. of space heating and up to 50 per cent. of domestic hot water, the additional 50 per cent. is met through an electric heater. 3 Assumes a 2kWp system with 50 per cent. on site consumption with excess exported to the grid on a typical export tariff (A 2kWp system could provide over 40 per cent. of a household’s yearly electricity needs). 4 Savings are approximate and vary depending on the fuel displaced. Savings are based on the hot water heating requirements of a three-bed semi-detached home with a 3.5 m squared panel. 5 If you replace a gas or solid fuel system with a wood burning system you may end up paying more for your fuel
Support for householders and communities has been provided through the low carbon buildings programme £131 million grant scheme which has helped with up front costs. The Government are committed to bringing forward feed in tariffs and the renewable heat incentive in April 2010 and April 2011 respectively. These incentives will also play a part in reducing pay back period.
Renewable Energy: Coventry
We published last summer a consultation document on measures to meet our target of 15 per cent. renewable energy by 2020. We will publish our renewable energy strategy this summer, detailing an action plan for promoting further renewable energy deployment throughout the UK.
It is for the market to bring forward proposals for renewable energy projects in specific areas.
Renewable Energy: Pembrokeshire
The Government have recently announced that work was commencing towards a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for English and Welsh waters, which will include the Pembrokeshire coast.
As a first step, we are conducting a screening exercise to understand better the energy generation potential of marine energy devices and the realistic time scales of when multiple devices will be installed and commissioned. The screening exercise will inform planning for the various studies and other activities needed to put in place a strategic environmental assessment for marine energy devices. It will cover wave, tidal stream and tidal range (outside of the Severn estuary) and aims to map environmental sensitivities and constraints and to identify possible strategic level data and information gaps.
The screening exercise will build upon the data already gathered for the Offshore Energy SEA, the Severn Tidal SEA, the Welsh Marine Energy Strategic Plan, the UK Marine Renewable Energy Resources Atlas and other studies.
Renewable Energy: Public Consultation
We published an initial response to the renewable energy strategy consultation on 17 February 2009. This can be viewed on:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/cons_res/cons_res.aspx
The renewable energy strategy will be our formal response to the consultation and will be published this summer.
Solar Power
[holding answer 19 June 2009]: A low carbon economy represents a huge economic opportunity and is at the heart of the Government’s vision for economic recovery. Budget 2009 committed a further £1.4 billion in targeted support for the low carbon economy.
The Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) is the Government’s £131 million grant programme which is supporting the installation of microgeneration technologies including solar photovoltaic. The programme is helping to build the supply chain for these technologies and creating a sustainable market. In addition, solar photovoltaic also receives support through the Renewables Obligation (RO). Since 1 April 2009, all microgenerators (50 kW and under) can apply for the highest level of support under the reformed RO (2 ROCs/MWh).
We are committed to having Feed-In Tariffs in place in April 2010. This will provide longer term support for solar photovoltaic industry giving business the confidence to make investment decisions.
Solar Power: East of England
Between 2001 and 2006 over £41 million was committed to solar PV through grant programmes and field trials. Solar thermal technology, along with other renewable technologies, received support through the £12.5 million Clear Skies programme.
Since 2006, solar PV and solar thermal installations have been supported under the £131 million Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP). Projects supported in Mid Bedfordshire constituency and the East of England region in each year since are as follows:
East of England Mid Bedfordshire Grant offered Paid amount Grant offered Paid amount 2006-07 Solar photovoltaic 367,707.32 228,187.66 0.00 0.00 Solar thermal hot water 99,600.00 78,800.00 1,200.00 1,200.00 2007-08 Solar photovoltaic 68,765.00 172,673.68 0.00 0.00 Solar thermal hot water 52,800.00 62,000.00 800.00 800.00 2008-09 Solar photovoltaic 183,794.80 138,134.80 9,420.00 2,500.00 Solar thermal hot water 102,400.00 96,800.00 3,200.00 2,800.00 2009-10 Solar photovoltaic 37,260.00 19,420.00 0.00 0.00 Solar thermal hot water 17,200.00 14,800.00 800.00 1,200.00
East of England Mid Bedfordshire Grant offered Paid amount Grant offered Paid amount 2006-07 Solar photovoltaic 30,364.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 Solar thermal hot water 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2007-08 Solar photovoltaic 5,173.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Solar thermal hot water 0.00 5,276.50 0.00 0.00 2008-09 Solar photovoltaic n/a 0.00 n/a 0.00 Solar thermal hot water n/a 0.00 n/a 0.00 2009-10 Solar photovoltaic n/a 0.00 n/a 0.00 Solar thermal hot water n/a 5,173.00 n/a 0.00 1 Applications closed for the communities stream in April 2007
East of England Mid Bedfordshire Grant offered Paid amount Grant offered Paid amount 2007-081 Solar photovoltaic 36,353.50 n/a 0.00 0.00 Solar thermal hot water 43,549.90 n/a 0.00 0.00 2008-09 Solar photovoltaic n/a 25,000.00 n/a 0.00 Solar thermal hot water n/a 9,589.20 n/a 0.00 2007-082 Solar photovoltaic 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Solar thermal hot water 26,546.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1 Applications closed for Stream 2A in September 2007 2 Applications closed for Stream 2B in September 2007
Low Carbon Buildings Programme—Phase 2
Projects supported in Mid Bedfordshire constituency and the East of England region in each year since are as follows:
(a) There have been no accepted solar applications in Mid Bedfordshire for the duration of the programme.
(b) The following applications were supported in the East of England area.
Solar PV Solar Thermal £ Number of projects £ Number of projects 2006-07 58,988 1 9,805 1 2007-08 443,206 23 15,502 7 2008-09 847,511 40 137,034 14 2009-10 0 0 0 0
Solar PV also receives support through the Renewables Obligation (RO). Since 1 April 2009, all microgenerators (50 kW and under) can apply for the highest level of support under the reformed RO (2 ROCs/MWh). We do not maintain data on the number of ROCs claimed per constituency or region.
Vestas
The Department and my predecessor have held discussions with Vestas regarding their announcement to consult on the future of their UK manufacturing capacity. No sector is immune from the economic downturn, and we are taking urgent action to ensure manufacturers can invest with confidence to supply the onshore and offshore wind markets, including the announcement in the Budget of up to £4 billion of new capital from the European Investment Bank that could support UK renewable energy projects, which should provide confidence for the onshore wind supply chain, and an intention to consult on a time-limited uplift in the level of support for offshore wind through the Renewables Obligation.
I recognise that commercial decisions on the supply of turbines for renewable generation are a matter for the companies concerned. SEEDA, the local regional development agency, has established a task force to provide a package of co-ordinated support that provides the company and its employees with advice and guidance during the consultation period, including—if Vestas' consultation does lead to redundancies—support on every opportunity for seeking alternative employment, training and re-skilling.
Wind Power: South Downs
The Department does not hold information on the cost of any proposed development in the South Downs National Park. This is a commercial matter for the developer concerned.
Written Questions: Government Responses
[holding answer 12 June 2009]: According to DEFRA's records the question was answered on 18 December 2008 but that answer never appeared in the Official Report. The question has now been answered and I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to question 241930. I apologise for the delay.
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 25 June 2009
Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Retail Trade
The Government have introduced legislation to establish a new code of practice for alcohol retailers. This will ensure that all alcohol retailers sell alcohol responsibly, by banning irresponsible promotions which encourage excessive drinking and can lead to crime and disorder.
The legislation for the new code of practice in the Policing and Crime Bill is an enabling power, which will allow the Home Secretary to set out a small number of national mandatory licensing conditions which could apply to all alcohol retailers. It will also give licensing authorities more power to tackle local problems which occur in many town centres, allowing them to impose a more detailed set of conditions on two or more premises at the same time, in an area experiencing particularly high levels of alcohol-related nuisance and disorder.
Ministers have not yet taken any final decisions on the content of the mandatory code but some of the measures we are consulting on include:
banning offers like “all you can drink for £10”;
outlawing pubs and bars offering promotions to certain groups, such as “women drink free” nights;
banning staff dispensing alcohol directly into customers’ mouths;
requiring that consumers are able to make informed choices when they buy alcohol; and
requiring bars and pubs to offer smaller measures available for customers who want them.
We are holding a series of meetings with key stakeholders, including representatives of local government, enforcement agencies and the general public about the content of the code.
Details of the consultation can be found at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-2009-alcohol/
Antisocial Behaviour Orders
The latest available data on antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) cover the period 1 April 1999 to 31 December 2006. Information on the numbers of ASBOs issued is not available below criminal justice system (CJS) area level. The available information is shown in the table.
The number of acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) is collected by the Home Office through a voluntary survey of crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CDRPs) use of antisocial behaviour tools and powers. The latest data published indicate that over 30,000 ABCs have been made between October 2003 and September 2007, with over 563 issued in the Essex during the same period.
Currently, data on the number of ABCs issued are not available below regional level.
CJS area Number 2002 2 2003 23 2004 79 2005 88 2006 32
Anti-Terrorism Control Orders
The Government keep individual control orders and counter-terrorism legislation under review. We are considering the impact of this judgment and our options carefully. The Government will continue to take all steps we can to manage the threat posed by suspected terrorists.
Community Policing
It is for individual police forces and authorities to ensure the effectiveness of neighbourhood policing in their area. The Government will hold forces to account for progress through the single top-down target we have set them to improve public confidence that crime and anti-social behaviour issues are being tackled locally, and in the light of inspection work by Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary (HMIC).
HMIC has inspected every force in England and Wales to assess their capabilities in delivering neighbourhood policing and developing citizen focus. HMIC’s assessment in September 2008 was that all forces, including Essex police, had met this standard.
Data Protection Act 1998
A certificate is not necessary to claim the exemption under section 28 of the Act. Normally, a certificate will be issued when the use of the exemption has been challenged and the Home Secretary has satisfied himself of the need to certify the exemption.
Fingerprints: Databases
The National Fingerprint Database does not hold criminal conviction data; it stores biometric data and basic identity details which can be used to align identity with records on the Police National Computer (PNC). The PNC is an operational tool and not designed to produce the information requested. To obtain the information would incur disproportionate cost.
Entry Clearances
The EU has concluded visa facilitation agreements with a number of Western Balkans states, as well as Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. The UK does not participate in these EU visa facilitation agreements.
We do not hold statistics on the number of visa applications from Afghanistan or Pakistan which have been referred for decisions to be made by colleagues in the UK in the past five years.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
A total of four foreign students are currently sponsored by colleges who have withdrawn of their own volition from the UK Border Agency register. The students have leave to remain which was granted to them prior to the introduction of new procedures on 31 March 2009. If, when their current leave lapses, these students wish to seek further leave to remain to continue studying here, they will need to qualify under the points-based system.
The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
Police Community Support Officers: Clothing
[holding answer 12 June 2009]: The information requested is contained in the following table. The increase in assaults over the last three years should be considered in the light of larger percentage increases in number of police community support officers in post over the same period.
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Total for all forces providing data 230 141 416 Number of forces providing data 41 28 39 Like-for-like comparison Total for all forces providing data in 2005-06 and 2007-082 208 n/a 396 Number of forces providing data in 2005-06 and 2007-083 37 n/a 37 Number of PCSOs in post in these forces at end of period2 6,130 n/a 13,587 Notes:1 Figures are on a head-count basis. These data are provisional and are unaudited with police forces. Data for 2008-09 will be available later this year. 2 This represents a 90 per cent. like-for-like increase in assaults between 2005-06 and 2007-08, but this should be set against the increases in numbers of PCSOs in post in these 37 forces of 122 per cent. for the same period. 3 The 37 forces exclude Cumbria, Devon and Cornwall, Greater Manchester, South Wales, Thames Valley and Wiltshire. These excluded forces accounted for 14 per cent. of total PCSO officer strength on 31 March 2008.
Police: Plymouth
(2) what percentage of the budget for policing in Plymouth was spent on policing in Plympton and Plymstock in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09.
The Government allocate funding to police authorities as a whole. The allocation of resources to Plymouth is a matter for the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall police and the police authority, who are responsible for assessing local needs.
Devon and Cornwall’s final budget was £256.8 million for 2007-08 and £268.1 million for 2008-09.