Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 22 March 2007
Wales
Departments: Consultants
Defence
Ammunition
[holding answer 19 March 2007]: The quantity and cost of the 105 mm and 155 mm artillery ammunition allocated and fired at the Royal School of Artillery, Larkhill, and the number of personnel trained, in Support of Phase 3 training is as follows:
Year1 Quantity Cost (£ million) 2001-02 35,887 23.2 2002-03 22,266 15.2 2003-04 20,541 16.5 2004-05 19,268 16.5 2005-06 19,169 16.1 2006-072 19,979 14.0 1 The year runs from 1 April to 31 March. 2 The 2006-07 figures include approximately 1,000 rounds remaining this financial year which will be fired before 1 April 2007 and 6,000 marker rounds which were at the end of their shelf life. These marker rounds were fired in lieu of being destroyed and as a result, £3.1 million was saved from the initial budget allocation of £17.1 million.
Armed Forces
A total of 600 (rounded to the nearest 10) retired officers were working for the Department as at 1 January 2007. This figure is the best estimate available from centrally held records, but may not include all ex-service personnel working for the Department.
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme
We are profoundly grateful to the sponsors of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, AugustaWestland and their predecessors). Since 2002 each has contributed an average of £40,500 per year to the scheme. We are also grateful to Sir Neil Thorne for the very considerable moral and financial support he has lent the scheme since its inception in 1989.
Armed Forces: Cadets
The following table provides the number of cadets1 in the Army Cadet Force and Air Training Corps from 1 April 1999 to 1 April 2006.
1 Figures are for Army and Air Cadets only. Figures do not include officers/instructors or single service elements of the Combined Cadet Force.
As at 1 April each year Army Cadet Force Air Training Corps 1999 40,530 33,300 2000 42,760 34,280 2001 40,570 33,180 2002 40,700 34,050 2003 43,550 34,650 2004 44,240 33,190 2005 44,050 31,470 2006 44,390 30,170
Armed Forces: Complaints
The recruitment process for the position of Service Complaints Commissioner will begin shortly.
Armed Forces: Dogs
[holding answer 19 March 2007]: There are currently 998 operational military working dogs in the armed forces and military police, comprising 467 in the Army, 272 in the RAF, none in the Royal Navy, and 259 in the Ministry of Defence Police.
The annual cost of feeding the dogs is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Armed Forces: Fire Services
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 March 2007, Official Report, column 1539W, to the hon. Member for Newark (Patrick Mercer).
Armed Forces: Officers
In each service, all the officers attending the higher command staff course in 2003, 2004 and 2005 remained in service 12 months later, with the exception of army officers attending in 2003, when fewer than five officers left within 12 months.
Of the attendees in 2006, all remain in service nine months later at 1 January 2007.
Armed Forces: South Africa
[holding answer 19 March 2007]: On 6 October 2006 there were 35 UK regular naval service personnel with UK/South African dual nationality.
At 6 March 2006 there were five UK Regular RAF personnel with UK-South African dual nationality.
The number of Army personnel with UK-South African dual nationality is not known.
Armed Forces: Training
Yes. A copy of Joint Service Publication 419 will be placed in the Library of the House. The publication includes the rules and regulations for the safe operation of the joint service adventurous training scheme.
Departments: Postal Services
The MOD dispatches relatively little mail externally. Official mail within the Department is primarily distributed by the internal Defence Mail Service, provided by the British Forces Post Office, while mail for personnel serving overseas is usually distributed by RAF air transport. Most external mail is sent through the Royal Mail Group, or, exceptionally through other approved carriers. The names of these carriers are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ex-servicemen
Health care for service personnel is provided by Defence Medical Services. Treatment aims to assist injured service personnel to recover the best level of fitness and mobility possible. If medical discharge is appropriate, it will only be used as a last resort. Once they leave the armed forces, responsibility for their health care passes to the NHS and there are processes in place to assist the smooth transition from DMS to NHS treatment. If a veteran is also a war pensioner, he or she will be entitled to priority NHS treatment for the accepted condition(s); priority is decided by the clinician in charge and is subject to clinical need.
Those who are medically discharged from the armed forces are entitled to the full resettlement programme (FRP) offered within the MOD's resettlement package, provided by the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), irrespective of their length of service1. The FRP includes briefings, workshops, individual counselling, coaching, CV preparation and analysis of transferable competences, job finding, and conversion and skills enhancement training. All discharged personnel remain on the CTP books for two years after discharge. Thereafter, the Regular Forces Employment Association (RFEA) and the Officers' Association (OA) offer ex-service personnel support for the rest of their working lives. The RFEA and OA are particularly concerned with job-finding activities, and are sub-contractors on the CTP contract.
To help achieve the Department's aim of a successful return to civilian life for ex-service personnel, whether medically discharged or not, the CTP offers at its resettlement training centre (RTC) at Aldershot around 40 job-related courses. Many courses result in recognised qualifications while others can lead to employment with companies which have established close links with the RTC. Such training is not mandatory for service leavers. Service leavers who do not choose the RTC route may make use of the individual resettlement training costs (IRTC) grant, currently a maximum of £534, for training courses not offered by the RTC but available in the wider training market.
1 The FRP is normally only available to those who have served at least five years with the armed forces.
Hilsea
The selection of bids for the sale of the MOD site at Matapan road, Hilsea was made at formal tender held on 2 March 2007. At this formal tender Defence Estates (DE) accepted the highest compliant bid. This bid was received from a national house builder with a proven track record for delivering a wide range of residential development schemes on surplus Government sites.
Formal tender is an Office of Government Commerce recognised method of selling surplus public sector assets. DE and its agent Drivers Jonas are confident that best value was achieved in this sale through formal tender.
Land: Sales
(2) at what level in his Department decisions are made about whether or not to apply the Treasury Guidelines (Green Book) to disposals of contaminated land.
In common with all other Government Departments, the MOD is bound by the Treasury Guidelines as set out in Government Accounting, the Green Book and the accompanying Guide for the Disposal of Surplus Property published by the Office of Government Commerce. These will always be followed unless there are exceptional circumstances, for example, when it has been decided to gift a property, which would require individual approval by an appropriate authority.
The Chief Executive of Defence Estates (DE), the Ministry of Defence (MOD) agency responsible for the defence estate, has full authority to act within the delegated authority from the MOD Accounting Officer in the disposal of land and buildings.
In the case of contaminated land, it is normal, unless the land is remediated by the Ministry of Defence, to sell with the benefit of a Land Quality Assessment (LQA) and therefore transfer the risk to the private sector. The LQA will usually include an evaluation of the potential types and level of contamination, together with a Collateral Warranty, which should allow prospective purchasers to make an informed bid.
Territorial Army: Pay
[holding answer 20 March 2007]: No members of the Territorial Army have been employed under section 29 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996, which can authorise, among other things, the High Readiness Reserve. Were any personnel to be employed in this manner they would be paid according to their rank, seniority and trade group. There are no exemptions for such personnel from existing CSA procedures.
Leader of the House
Members: Age
(2) what the average age of hon. Members was in (a) 1985, (b) 1997 and (c) 2006.
The House of Commons Library Members database indicates the following:
Percentage of hon. Members under 45 years of age Average age of hon. Members (Years) 1985 33.2 50.1 1997 32.6 49.3 2006 23.5 51.8
House of Commons Commission
1 Parliament Street: Lifts
The modernisation of the lifts in 1 Parliament Street has cost £337,000.
The work commenced in August 2006 and is due for completion in September 2007.
The lifts have been upgraded to accommodate an evacuation lift to comply with the Disability Discrimination Acts and refurbished in line with the lift refurbishment programme. This project was planned over two summer recesses to ensure continual availability of lifts during the refurbishment programme.
Energy Usage
The energy consumption of each building on the parliamentary estate in each of the past three years is given in the following table. Please note that 2 Millbank is heated from boilers located in 1 Millbank and its heating energy consumption is not metered separately.
Estimated energy consumptions corrected where possible using actual readings (MWh) 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Building Gas Electricity Total Gas Electricity Total Gas Electricity Total Palace of Westminster 19,526.4 15,182.3 34,708.7 18,040.3 15,440.3 33,480.6 19,482.7 15,440.3 35,043.6 Portcullis House 3,616.7 4,044.5 7,661.2 3,328.8 3,932.3 7,261.1 3,493.9 3,942.2 7,436.1 Norman Shaw North and South 3,117.1 1,880.2 4,997.3 2,692.8 1,867.4 4,560.3 3,112.4 1,945.4 5,057.9 1 Canon Row — 858.3 858.3 — 830.9 830.9 — 819.0 819.0 1 Parliament Street 2,007.8 2,296.6 4,304.4 1,971.7 2,299.7 4,271.4 2,162.6 2,305.4 4,468.0 Parliamentary Bookshop — 29.7 29.7 — 33.4 33.4 — 35.5 35.5 Millbank House — 778.5 778.5 — 778.3 778.3 — 728.4 728.4 7 Millbank 1,924.0 3,171.7 5,095.7 2,018.4 3,295.9 5,314.2 2,082.2 3,475.3 5,557.6 Fielden House — — — — 131.2 131.2 — 383.9 383.9 6 and 7 Old Palace Yard 309.0 202.7 511.8 176.9 217.3 394.2 214.0 231.7 445.7 1 Abbey Gardens 110.6 46.0 156.6 107.7 36.0 143.7 1151.5 39.6 151.1 2 Abbey Gardens 135.2 67.6 202.8 106.8 56.4 163.2 107.1 56.4 163.5 Underground Car Park — 382.4 382.4 — 412.9 421.9 — 361.2 361.2 22 John Islip Street 64.4 68.2 132.7 63.6 24.4 88.0 14.0 48.9 62.9 Total 30,811.3 29,008.6 59,819.9 28,506.9 29,356.5 57,863.4 30,780.6 29,933.8 60,714.4
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Birds: Conservation
It is impossible to state with any accuracy the percentages of individuals and organisations consulted. In accordance with best practice for such public consultations, my officials aimed the distribution at the major organisations which represented all of the groups of bird watching, bird conservation, rescue centres, bird keepers, zoos and enforcement authorities. These in turn were able to use their membership lists to circulate the details of the consultation more widely. The consultation document was also available via the DEFRA website.
The convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES) controls and bird registration controls relate to different activities and species. Where the controls are duplicated, as is the case with many species of diurnal birds of prey, assessing their relative effectiveness in tracing and identifying the provenance of individual birds is very difficult.
In general terms, bird registration achieves nothing in identifying the provenance of individual birds as there are no legal powers to assess the captive bred status under section 7 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It does however give powers to trace where individual birds are kept.
CITES controls provide the powers needed to inquire into breeding status, but do not enable the tracing of individual birds, unless there is a specific conservation reason to do so and an element of commercial activity is involved.
In England, the principal method used to assess wild bird population levels is the analysis of trends for the wild bird indicators compiled for the England biodiversity strategy (EBS) and the farmland bird public service agreement (PSA).
Indices for individual bird species are based on the annual field counts of breeding birds compiled by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). These individual indices are then compiled to show the average population trends with separate indicators compiled for farmland, woodland, wetland and sea birds. The EBS indicator compiles indices for 96 species, 19 of which are used in the farmland bird PSA indicator.
The assessment for the EBS indicator is based on the percentage change in the combined index since 2000 (and is currently assessed as stable). The assessment for the PSA indicator is based on the annual rate of change in the long-term trend—to which is applied a statistical technique that removes short-term peaks and troughs due to weather or gaps in the data. The farmland birds target will be met when the annual percentage change in the 'smoothed' long-term trend is positive. As with the EBS indicator, the trend was assessed as stable in 2006.
Further information on the methodology and criteria used in the assessment for farmland bird PSA targets can be found in the following report: “Freeman, S.F., Baillie, S.R. and Gregory, R.D. 2001. Statistical Analyses of an Indicator of Population Trends in Farmland Birds”.
There are 9,584 registered birds, of which 280 are registered with rings not supplied by my Department. The latter figure includes birds which have had rings fitted in other countries before they were imported into the UK. Under current regulations, only keepers in Wales may supply their own rings. There are approximately 60 birds registered in this way.
Carbon Dioxide: Aviation
Carbon dioxide emissions from UK domestic aviation (which includes emissions from the UK Crown Dependencies, and excludes emissions from the Overseas Territories) were 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2), and for international aviation were 35.0 MtCO2 in 2005. Greenhouse gas emissions from international flights do not currently count in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory because there is no internationally agreed way in which to allocate those emissions. UK CO2 emissions (excluding international aviation and shipping) were 554.2 MtCO2 in 2005.
Emissions from domestic aviation were around 0.4 per cent. of total UK CO2 emissions in 2005. If international aviation CO2 emissions are included, aviation contributed around 6.4 per cent. of total UK CO2 emissions in 2005. The proportion in 2030 and 2050 would be around 15 and 21 per cent. of UK CO2 emissions (including international aviation) respectively. These are based on the assumptions of continued strong growth in aviation using central projections in ‘Aviation and Global Warming’ (2004), and the assumption of attainment of the 60 per cent. CO2 emissions reduction target in the rest of the economy as outlined in the 2003 Energy White Paper.
Common Agricultural Policy
DEFRA Ministers and officials discuss a wide range of issues with their colleagues in the Treasury as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.
Energy: EC Law
DEFRA continues to make progress towards implementing the Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive by 17 May 2008. We have already consulted on aspects of the directive which impact on the wider public. The Department's consultation on billing and metering provisions ended on 6 February.
DEFRA expects to consult stakeholders further on our implementation plans in summer. We will also use the opportunity provided by the forthcoming energy White Paper, and June's energy efficiency action plan—itself a requirement of the directive—to keep stakeholders informed of progress.
Falcons: Conservation
The public consultation exercise on Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 closed on 16 February 2007. Over the coming weeks we will consider the situation of both captive and wild population changes of all species delisted in 1994.
Flood Control
The Environment Agency’s capital programme for flood defence works in 2006-07 and 2007-08, by region, are set out in the following tables.
Region 2006-07 budget (£ million) 2007-08 budget (£) Anglian 53.9 — Midlands 26.5 — North East 21.4 — North West 15.2 — Southern 22.9 — South West 20.9 — Thames 23.6 — Wales 14.8 — Head Office 5.8 — Total 205 1206.1 1 The 2007-08 capital allocation by region is being finalised during the next two weeks. I will arrange for the information requested to be placed in the Library of the House.
Region 2006-07 funding (£ million) 2007-08 funding (£ million) Anglian 9.8 4.7 Midlands 3.2 3.1 North East 2.2 2.5 North West 3.2 3.4 Southern 2.0 5.8 South West 5.5 2.1 Thames 5.3 10.0 Wales 0 0 Head Office 0 0 Total 31.2 31.6
Fuel Poverty
Fuel poverty is a factor of three elements—a home’s energy efficiency, household income and the cost of fuel. As such, fuel poverty is measured by household and not by individual.
Fuel poverty figures were first calculated in 1996 and are based on information provided in the English House Condition Survey (EHCS). Fuel poverty figures in England from 1996 for each year a survey was completed are set out in the following table. The collation of the EHCS has a time lag so the latest available figures are for 2004.
Number of households in fuel poverty in England Number of vulnerable households in fuel poverty in England 1996 5.1 4.0 1998 3.4 2.8 2001 1.7 1.4 2002 1.4 1.2 2003 1.2 1.0 2004 1.2 1.0
A vulnerable fuel-poor household is defined as one containing an elderly person, a family with young children, a disabled person or someone suffering a long term illness.
The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 mandated the Government to produce a strategy and set targets to ensure that no household should live in fuel poverty. The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy, published in November 2001, sets out the Government’s targets for the eradication of fuel poverty in England:
to eradicate fuel poverty, as far as reasonably practicable, in vulnerable households by 2010
that no household will remain in fuel poverty, as far as reasonably practicable, by 2016
Similar targets exist in the devolved administrations.
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Peterborough
In the first phase of the Warm Front Scheme, from June 2000 to June 2005, 2,562 households were assisted in the Peterborough constituency.
In the current phase of Warm Front, for Peterborough, 121 households were assisted between June 2005 and March 2006, and 404 households were assisted between April and December 2006.
Insulation
(2) what the average payment made to householders participating in a British Gas council tax discount scheme for energy-saving measures was in 2005-06; and whether such payments (a) reflect the council tax banding of the property, (b) are one-off or repeated payments and (c) are paid by cheque or by council tax bill credit.
On the basis of the British Gas press release on 12 March, I understand that the average installation charge levied on householders participating in the British Gas council tax discount scheme for insulation measures is £250 for cavity wall insulation and £274 for full loft insulation.
The average payment to householders participating in the scheme for insulation measures across the 44 current participating local authorities in 2005-06 was between £50 and £100, averaging £61.
British Gas or the appropriate local authority can provide further information on the further details of the scheme.
Metals: Recycling
[holding answer 20 March 2007]: The revised EC Waste Shipments Regulation (EC No. 1013/2006) introduces certain requirements for shipments of ‘Green List’ waste for recovery (recycling). These include an obligation on anyone shipping such waste to complete certain information on a form (Annex VII to the Regulation), and to ensure that this information accompanies the waste from the start of the shipment until it reaches its destination. The information on the form includes details of the producer of the waste and the broker or dealer involved in the shipment, when these are involved. This information is passed on to the facility receiving the waste when the waste is delivered.
The UK has raised with the European Commission the issue of the potential commercial confidentiality of some of the information on the form. The Commission is currently working to establish whether it is possible, while ensuring compliance with the legal requirements of the revised EC Waste Shipments Regulation (WSR), for any of the information that should accompany shipments of ‘Green List’ waste to be withheld or partially withheld.
My officials are in contact with representatives of the metal recycling companies in the UK about this issue and will keep them informed of developments.
Pesticides
The objective of this pilot study is to run a small scale trial of a system for public disclosure of farmers’ spray records with a view to:
investigating the practicalities of handling ‘third party’ requests, including locating farms and identifying and contacting the individuals responsible for pesticide spraying in each case;
determining the probable level of public interest and hence establishing whether there is a significant need for Government to act in a ‘third party’ role if it is not feasible for members of the public to get this information directly from farmers;
determining the practical implications and estimating the likely cost of setting up and running a Government scheme on a national basis.
The study is expected to run from 1 March to 31 August 2007. There will then need to be a period of analysis which may include some follow-up survey work involving inquirers and farmers from the study area. Officials aim to report the outcome of the study to Ministers by the end of the year. Once Ministers have considered all the relevant information a decision will be made on the way forward and a public announcement will be made.
Transport
Aviation: Safety
The CAA’s functions in relation to aircraft safety are the registration of aircraft, the safety of air navigation and aircraft (including airworthiness), the certification of operators of aircraft and the licensing of aircrews and aerodromes.
Car Sharing
A total of 4,715 lane kilometres of high occupancy vehicle lanes have been built or designated since 1997.
Departments: Internet
The cost of the design and production of the Department’s Act On CO2 micro-site was £110,270. The site is an integral part of the Act On CO2 campaign and all the advertising directs consumers to the site.
The new DFT website was launched on 26 January this year. A new Content Management System has been implemented and the project costs are £1.5 million.
These costs include accessibility and usability testing; design of a new information architecture based on user feedback and testing; development of a new visual design; the design and build of the system; migration of content; and the purchase of an enterprise software licence. The enterprise software licence allows the Department to migrate other DFT sites to the same Content Management System without incurring further licence costs. This will help to reduce hosting and maintenance costs across the Department.
Departments: Trade Unions
Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and advice. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.
Driving Offences: Cellular Phones
The information requested for 2006 will be available in summer 2007.
Gatwick Airport: Safety
The responsibility for determining any limits on the number of companies permitted to provided ground handling services at a UK airport rests with the Civil Aviation Authority under the Airports (Groundhandling) Regulations 1997. The CAA’s assessment of the impact of revoking the limit on the number of ground handling service providers at Gatwick airport is set out in the CAA Official Record Series 2, number 1786, which was published on 20 February 2007.
In-flight Refuelling: Safety
In-flight refuelling is not undertaken within any UK public transport aircraft operation, and the Civil Aviation Authority is not aware of any such activity within the wider civil aviation community. The authority has not received any proposition for civil aircraft to engage in in-flight refuelling, and no safety assessment has been made.
Public Transport: Rural Areas
Local and central Government support for local bus services is now around £2½ billion a year. This total includes rural bus subsidy grant (RBSG) specifically to support rural bus services. Since RBSG's introduction in 1998, a total of over £440 million has now been allocated to authorities by means of this grant.
In addition, a total of £110 million has been awarded to authorities successful in rural bus challenge (RBC) competitions held from 1998 to 2003 to encourage innovative solutions to meeting rural transport needs. Many of the 300 projects initially supported by RBC funding are now continuing with mainstream funding from local authorities and other sources.
We have also changed the route registration rules to encourage flexibly routed, demand-responsive bus services and made these services eligible for bus service operators grant (BSOG) from the Department.
Our bus policy document ‘Putting Passengers First’, published in December, includes a range of proposals which we are now taking forward to improve bus and community transport services in rural and urban areas.
We have also implemented the community rail policy on many rural routes, particularly branch lines. In recent years, some lines have seen patronage increase by over 150 per cent. as community rail principles are implemented.
Roads: Accidents
Tables showing the number of reported personal injury road accidents resulting in (a) fatalities and (b) serious injury for (i) drivers/riders, (ii) passengers and (iii) pedestrians in Great Britain: 2001-05 (the latest year for which figures are available), broken down by police force, have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Tolls: Greater London
The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) has paid the following fines:
Total parking fines (£) Congestion charge fines (£) 1999-2000 2,610 n/a 2000-01 1,820 n/a 2001-02 2,760 n/a 2002-03 4,900 n/a 2003-04 7,570 n/a 2004-05 5,610 205.00 2005-06 7,470 350.00 n/a = Not applicable.
Figures prior to 1999 could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
The Agency has paid no speeding fines.
Parking restrictions within central London may make it impossible sometimes to deliver secure or sensitive documents to buildings or allow people with a high public profile to attend or leave buildings without putting themselves or secure documents at risk. In these cases, GCDA will pay the fine and recharge these costs to the customer as appropriate.
Tolls: Scotland
Department for Transport officials and I are working very closely with the Scottish Executive as proposals for local road pricing schemes are being developed and as we take forward the debate on national road pricing.
The Secretary of State met the Scottish Minister for Transport in October to discuss road pricing, and they have exchanged correspondence since.
The Scottish Executive have a standing invitation to the Department’s road pricing local liaison group through which we work with local authorities that are considering introducing local road pricing schemes.
Transport: Southern Region
Tables 1 to 6 show the total local transport funding allocated to the aforementioned authorities for each year since 1997 (i) in total, (ii) per mile of road and (iii) per head of population.
Total local transport funding, as included in the tables, comprises
capital for the delivery of local transport plans (and for up to 1999-2000, the Transport Policies and Programmes submissions that preceded them), including for major local authority schemes, (which can vary substantially from year to year and between authorities);
specific grants to local authorities for bus services;
the Community Infrastructure Fund.
1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Total Funding (£000) 3,692 3,513 5,045 4,660 9,229 11,262 10,468 9,918 10,645 10,850 Funds per mile (£000) 2.17 2.07 2.97 2.74 5.43 6.62 6.15 5.83 6.26 6.38 Funds (£ per head) 6.41 6.10 8.76 8.09 16.02 19.55 18.17 17.21 18.47 18.83
1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Total Funding (£000) 8,542 5,113 8,596 8,357 16,076 17,119 20,163 30,377 27,916 27110 Funds per mile (£000) 2.96 1.77 2.97 2.89 5.56 5.92 6.98 10.51 9.66 9.38 Funds (£ per head) 14.76 8.83 14.85 14.44 27.77 29.58 34.84 52.48 48.23 46.84
1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Total Funding (£000) 6,615 6,474 10,116 13,510 35,878 36,674 28,953 29,544 35,685 36,441 Funds per mile (£000) 1.31 1.28 2.00 2.67 7.09 7.25 5.72 5.84 7.05 7.20 Funds (£ per head) 4.97 4.87 7.60 10.15 26.97 27.57 21.76 22.21 26.82 27.39
1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Total Funding (£000) 6,550 5,035 7,382 10,837 23,237 26,705 24,564 41,035 36,120 28133 Funds per mile (£000) 2.16 1.66 2.44 3.58 7.67 8.82 8.11 13.55 11.92 9.29 Funds (£ per head) 6.29 4.84 7.09 10.41 22.32 25.65 23.59 39.41 34.69 27.02
1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Total Funding (£000) 7,713 7,130 9,906 11,128 36,904 33,925 41,211 46,190 32,254 34,267 Funds per mile (£000) 1.24 1.14 1.59 1.79 5.92 5.44 6.61 7.41 5.17 5.50 Funds (£ per head) 9.45 8.73 12.13 13.63 45.20 41.55 50.47 56.57 39.50 41.97
1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Total Funding (£000) 4,939 5,838 6,756 9,914 22,688 21,975 22,760 31,333 34,717 38,261 Funds per mile (£000) 1.16 1.37 1.59 2.33 5.34 5.18 5.36 7.38 8.18 9.01 Funds (£ per head) 7.22 8.54 9.88 14.50 33.18 32.14 33.29 45.83 50.78 55.96
The Government also support local transport authorities through the general revenue support grant, and councils spend some of this support on highways and transport services according to their own priorities.
Transport: Transpennine Corridor
The current levels of road traffic on the Transpennine routes at their busiest sections taken from the 2005 Traffic Monitoring-Data Analysis Report are:
M62 Junction 25 (Huddersfield) and J27 (Leeds)—134,500 Annual Average Daily Traffic flow (17 per cent. of which is heavy goods vehicles)
A66—15,000 AADT (28 per cent. HGV)
A69—47,000 AADT (24 per cent. HGV)
M67/A628/A616 (at M67 Jet 0-1)—52,100 AADT (13 per cent. HGV).
The current level of rail traffic between Manchester and Leeds, using Huddersfield as a central measurement point, is an average of 104 trains in each direction on any weekday. Capacity on the core Leeds-Manchester section of the north Transpennine route was stepped up in December 2004 from three trains per hour to four trains per hour.
The current level of rail traffic between Manchester and Sheffield, using Edale as a central measurement point, is an average of 44 trains in each direction on any weekday.
West Coast Railway Line
Negotiations continue to take place with Virgin Trains and their partners over the provision of additional cars for the Pendolino trains. I cannot give any specific time scales at this stage.
Officials from the Department for Transport are actively working with Virgin Trains and their partners over the commercial and operational issues relating to the provision of additional accommodation on the Pendolino trains.
Solicitor-General
Trooper Williams
The total prosecution costs in this case were £28,195.24. I have been told by the Legal Services Commission that the total Crown court legal aid costs were £151,526. I am not aware of other costs. The costs of the investigation are not kept by my Department.
Culture, Media and Sport
Budget and Revenues Sub-Group
The Budgets and Revenue Sub-Group included representatives from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, HM Treasury, the Greater London Authority (GLA), London 2012 Ltd., Government Office for London, the London Development Agency and the British Olympic Association.
Casino Advisory Panel
[holding answer 19 March 2007]: In its call for proposals published on 31 January 2006, the Casino Advisory Panel asked all local authorities as part of their proposals to explain how and why they expected that the “multiplier effect” of the additional economic activity to be created by the proposal would outweigh the potential leakage of money from the local economy.
When relevant evidence was received it was taken into account by the panel and published on its website. The panel was also able to draw on its own extensive expertise in similar economic impact assessments.
Transcripts of the recordings made of all seven of the Casino Advisory Panel’s examinations in public are currently being prepared, and will be published shortly.
Gambling: Finance
My Department has met representatives of the gambling industry and the Responsibility in Gambling Trust on many occasions, and discussed industry contributions to problem gambling research, education and treatment. If more is needed, and not delivered by the industry, the Act has powers to impose a statutory levy. We will use those powers if necessary.
Gaming Clubs
The following table sets out the scale and nature of the operation of the three new categories of casinos permitted under the Gambling Act 2005.
Small Medium Large Minimum area (sq m) 750 1500 5000 Minimum number of gaming tables 1 1 40 Category of gaming machines permitted Up to B1 Up to B1 Up to A Maximum number of gaming machines 80 150 1250 Machine table ratio 2:1 5:1 25:1 Bingo permitted no yes yes Betting permitted yes yes yes
Gaming Clubs: Licensing
I made clear in my statement to the House on 30 January that I wanted to take time to consider the panel's report carefully. The outcome of this period of consideration is reflected in the draft order which I laid in the House on 1 March. I have concluded that the panel has taken its terms of reference seriously, has applied them in a balanced and consistent way and has tested its results back against the original terms of reference. I am satisfied that the panel has arrived at robust recommendations as a result.
As required by the Gambling Act 2005,1 have consulted Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Assembly on the draft order, and they were content that the draft order should reflect the panel's recommendations in full.
On 20 February I met a delegation of Members and Peers who were sympathetic to Blackpool's proposal to the panel, and have received written representations from members of this group. The Department has also received around 270 letters from members of the public.
Leasehold
Pursuant to my answer to the hon. Member on 26 January 2007, Official Report, column 2057W, on departmental fixed assets, the length of any lease outstanding on those properties at the point of sale was as follows:
Years 30 Park Street 71 31 Park Street 71 32 Park Street 72
National Lottery: Grants
The Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund were administratively merged on 1 June 2004 to create the Big Lottery Fund, which became a legal entity on 1 December 2006. Since 2004-05, the total annual Community Fund budget and approximately 40 per cent. of the New Opportunities Fund budget were allocated to the voluntary and community sector. From 2006-07, the Big Lottery Fund made a new undertaking to allocate 60-70 per cent. of its total budget to the voluntary and community sector. It will be reporting on its performance against this target in its annual report.
The Big Lottery Fund does not expect the balance of funding, on current commitments, between statutory and voluntary and community sector organisations to be affected following the statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 15 March 2007.
We will, subject to parliamentary approval, transfer £1,085 million from non-Olympic lottery proceeds to the Olympic funding package. Of this, approximately £638 million will be transferred from the Big Lottery Fund. The remainder will be shared between 11 of the other 12 non-Olympic lottery distributors in proportion to their fixed shares of income from the lottery. However, no transfer will be made from UK Sport.
The amounts to be transferred from each non-Olympic distributor to make up this amount, rounded to the nearest £0.1 million, are detailed in the following table.
In addition, £750 million will be raised from Olympic lottery products and the five sports lottery distributors will distribute a further £340 million to maximise the benefit to British sport of hosting the games.
£ million Arts Council England 112.5 UK Film Council 21.8 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 4.5 Scottish Arts Council 12.5 Scottish Screen 1.8 Arts Council of Wales 8.1 Big Lottery Fund 638.1 Heritage Lottery Fund 161.2 Sport England 99.9 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 4.1 SportScotland 13.1 Sports Council for Wales 7.3 UK Sport 0 Total 1,085
The Big Lottery Fund will monitor its undertaking that 60-70 per cent. of its funding up to 2009 will go to the Voluntary Sector Scheme (VCS). It will report on progress towards this undertaking in its annual report. Following wide consultation, the Big Lottery Fund uses the HM Treasury definition of the “third sector”, which encompasses voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises, mutuals and co-operatives in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Wales it used the definition adopted by the VCS and the Welsh Assembly Government as part of the Voluntary Sector Scheme.
Olympic Games: Greater London
There is an established framework for internal auditing within the ODA. This covers all aspects of procurement from process to specific contract audits. The National Audit Office is also about to start its review, which will include the procurement process.
The ODA has a thorough internal audit system in place. The internal audit programme is reviewed monthly by the ODA’s Audit Committee. Both the DCMS and the National Audit Office attend the Audit Committee as observers and are able to raise any matters of concern.
[holding answer 9 March 2007]: Ninety-three per cent. of the freehold of land required for the Olympic Park is now in public sector control.
This 93 per cent. represents approximately 290 hectares of the 312 hectares of land required for the development of the Olympic Park. The vast majority of this land is either owned by the LDA or controlled through a series of agreements with other public sector bodies such as the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. The 312 hectares also includes 87 hectares of land comprising the Stratford city development that is controlled by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
The remaining land required for the Olympic Park will be acquired through negotiation or using the LDA’s approved compulsory purchase powers.
Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet committees is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet committees, including when they meet, is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
The Royal Artillery barracks at Woolwich were agreed as the venue for the shooting events after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave feedback to the London bid organisers on the venue portfolio submitted for London as an Applicant City in 2004. The Royal Artillery barracks are, therefore, part of the Host City Contract agreement with the IOC. There are currently no plans to move the Olympic shooting events to an alternative venue.
Before and after submission of the London 2012 bid, there have been various meetings involving representatives of my Department and the Metropolitan Police, both about the security planning and potential costs. Treasury representatives have been invited and involved where appropriate.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 12 March 2007, Official Report, column 62W.
The Government are working hard with the London 2012 Organising Committee and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to ensure a lasting legacy for all Olympic sports, including shooting, for London and the UK as a whole. The ODA and the Organising Committee venues team are looking carefully at the post-games uses of all proposed facilities being developed for the shooting competitions at Woolwich.
The biggest legacy that we aim to achieve for shooting, working with the National Governing Body and International Federation, is for more people to have experienced the sport in person. Hosting the games in the UK gives us a unique opportunity to open up Olympic and Paralympic sports to new audiences and thus increase interest and participation in them.
Public Houses: Music
In 2004, DCMS published a baseline survey of live music staged in England and Wales. This looked at premises, including pubs and clubs, where live music performances typically take place in addition to the main business of the establishment. This research is available in the Library of the House and on the DCMS website:
<http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Publications/archive_2004/livemusic_in_england_wales.htm>.
A follow-up to this survey will take place later this year.
Separate research, focusing on the experience of smaller establishments in applying for live music licences under the new licensing regime, was published in 2006. This is available in the Library of the House and on the DCMS website:
www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Research/research_by_dcms/live_music_exec_summary.htm
In 2006, the DCMS also commissioned a study to look at the feasibility of investigating the economic impact of live music in local areas. The results will be published on the Department's website and will be placed in the Library of the House shortly.
In addition, the independent Live Music Forum has been monitoring the early effects of the Act on the live music sector. I look forward to receiving its report in the spring.
Public Libraries: Standards
The Public Library Service Standards are currently under review. Consideration of the number of indicators in the replacement model, which will have a discretionary base, continues. The new model will be in place by April 2008.
Sports: Schools
The criteria issued by the Millennium Commission for applications from bidders wishing to host the UK School Games in 2007-11 were deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 14 November.
This guidance specified that selection of the successful bids would be made by Ministers on the basis of those criteria and the recommendations of the assessors. Following the winding up of the Millennium Commission on 30 November 2006, its responsibilities were transferred to the Big Lottery Fund.
Television: Telephone Services
Ofcom has a range of statutory sanctions that it may impose on broadcasters found in serious breach of its broadcasting code. Depending on the severity of the breach, these can include a direction to broadcast a summary of Ofcom’s adjudication, a financial penalty and, in the most serious of cases, the shortening or revocation of a licence. ICSTIS also has a range of powers to take action against premium rate service (PRS) providers found in serious breach of the ICSTIS code. These include the power to fine PRS providers up to £250,000, barring access to individual services and banning named individuals from operating services for set periods.
Terrorism: Compensation
Service personnel and their spouses currently receive compensation from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, which offers financial support for personnel who have been killed or injured in the line of duty. Spouses of those who died in service are also entitled to receive payments from the Armed Forces Pension Scheme.
The charitable fund is primarily intended to assist UK residents who are travelling overseas or on holiday. Applications would not normally be accepted from victims who are in an affected area as part of their employment and for whom assistance packages are already in place.
We will be announcing further details of the charitable fund for British victims of overseas terrorism shortly.
Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
Total funding available for allocation to the Tackling Underage Sales of Alcohol Campaign is £1.2 million. Police basic command units that intend to participate (in partnership with Trading Standards) must complete a bid form to be entitled to funding, payable on proof of completion of the operations undertaken.
The Tackling Underage Sales of Alcohol campaign is likely to result in the issuing of penalty notices for disorder and additionally licence reviews and prosecutions for the illegal sale of alcohol to minors. Details of these will be recorded and analysed centrally. Informal qualitative feedback will also be considered. Test purchase failure rates will not be used as an overall generic indicator of performance, as the campaign specifically aims to target problem premises, selected at the discretion of local enforcement agencies. Local police commanders and partnerships will use the results of the activity to focus their efforts and resources on key local hot spots.
Antisocial Behaviour
(2) how much has been allocated to respect zones for 2006-07; and how much each participating Government Department contributed towards such funding.
Respect Areas were confirmed on 22 January 2007. The only additional funding which is currently available in return for securing Respect Area status, is access to up to £125,000 from the Department for Education and Skills to help improve parenting programmes linked to tackling antisocial behaviour. This funding is available for 2007-08 only.
Respect Areas have been identified from a longer list of 77 areas with significant challenges, based on an index of data covering rates of deprivation, public perceptions of antisocial behaviour, teenage pregnancy, truancy and use of antisocial behaviour orders. The 40 Respect Areas have been identified as having a track record in taking action to tackle antisocial behaviour and have demonstrated a commitment and capacity to do more.
Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Custodial Treatment
[holding answer 22 February 2007]: ASBO breach data are currently available up to 31 December 2005 only. Data for 2006 are expected to be available later this year.
Asylum
[holding answer 28 February 2007]: As the Home Secretary set out in his evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 23 May 2006, no Government have been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally, and that remains the case.
Since the abolition of embarkation controls in 1994 we cannot assess with any certainty the numbers of people who remain in the UK. In this context it is very difficult to provide an accurate average time it may take to remove those who have no right to remain here.
The information could be provided only by individual examination of case records and the cost of obtaining it would therefore be disproportionate.
Asylum: Deportation
The following table shows provisional figures rounded to the nearest five of persons who had claimed asylum at some stage who were removed from the United Kingdom in 2006, by destination.
Information on asylum removals, including and excluding dependants, is published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Of whom: Destination4 Total asylum seekers removed Principle asylum applicants Dependants of asylum applicants Albania 1,345 1,250 95 Macedonia 25 20 5 Moldova 55 45 5 Romania 380 245 135 Russia 110 75 35 Serbia and Montenegro 855 770 85 Turkey 1,695 1,590 105 Ukraine 105 90 20 EU Accession States 175 165 10 Other Former USSR 220 175 45 Europe other 2,035 1,885 150 Europe total 7,005 6,310 690 Colombia 210 170 40 Ecuador 100 70 30 Jamaica 430 365 65 Americas other 200 145 55 Americas total 940 750 190 Algeria 300 210 90 Angola 125 95 30 Burundi 10 5 * Cameroon 45 40 * Congo 65 60 10 Democratic Republic of Congo 115 105 10 Eritrea * * . Ethiopia 85 80 5 Gambia 70 70 * Ghana 170 155 15 Ivory Coast 35 30 5 Kenya 135 120 15 Liberia 20 15 5 Nigeria 690 635 55 Rwanda 15 15 * Sierra Leone 90 90 5 Somalia 45 40 5 Sudan 75 75 * Tanzania 60 50 10 Uganda 230 220 15 Zimbabwe 270 220 50 Africa other 325 265 60 Africa total 2,980 2,590 385 Iran 475 420 55 Iraq 1,775 1,725 50 Libya 45 35 15 Syria 55 40 15 Middle East other 330 250 80 Middle East total 2,680 2,470 210 Afghanistan 970 965 5 Bangladesh 250 240 10 China 270 270 5 India 550 510 40 Pakistan 1,190 870 320 Sri Lanka 695 655 40 Vietnam 140 130 10 Asia other 475 410 65 Asia total 4,540 4,045 495 Nationality not known/other 90 80 10 Grand total 18,235 16,250 1,985 1 Includes persons departing ‘voluntarily’ after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme run by the International Organisation for Migration, and those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. 2 Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5 with * = 1 or 2. Data may not sum due to rounding. 3. Provisional figures 4 Destination data as recorded on source database.
Azal Mohammed Ibrahim
I am not able to comment publicly on individual cases within the House.
British Nationality
[holding answer 28 February 2007]: The requested information is not available.
However, the labour force survey has been used to estimate take-up rates of British citizenship and these entail some estimates of the number of non-British citizens in the UK; these are published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin “Persons Granted British Citizenship United Kingdom, 2005”, which may be obtained from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Burglary: Drugs
(2) how many people were convicted of serious violent crime offences in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England and Wales in each year since 1997;
(3) how many people were convicted of violent crime offences in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the north-east and (d) England and Wales in each year since 1997.
Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform for the number of people convicted at all courts of burglary, drug, and violent crime offences in South Tyneside, the north-east and England and Wales, 2001 to 2005 can be found in the table.
From the court proceedings database it is not possible to identify those offenders in the Jarrow constituency, as the data are not collected at this level of detail.
North East Offence type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Violent crime3 2,929 3,145 3,104 2,885 2,993 3,109 2,968 2,908 3,107 Serious violent crime4 830 817 734 562 500 557 534 491 472 Burglary in a dwelling and aggravated burglary in a dwelling5 1,474 1,423 1,307 1,004 1,091 1,206 1,007 790 776 Drug offences 1,526 2,194 2,528 2,773 3,340 3,624 3,816 2,687 2,759 Total 6,759 7,579 7,673 7,224 7,924 8,496 8,325 6,876 7,114 1 These data are on the principal offence basis. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Violent crime includes violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery. 4 Serious violent crime includes: murder, attempted murder, threat or conspiracy to murder, manslaughter, infanticide, causing death by dangerous driving, manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, causing death by dangerous driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, causing death by aggravated vehicle taking, wounding or other act endangering life, and endangering railway passengers. 5 Domestic burglary: burglary in a dwelling and aggravated burglary in a dwelling (including attempts). Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform
England and Wales Offence type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Violent crime4 44,674 47,159 45,630 45,104 46,163 49,803 49,694 51,415 52,820 Serious violent crime5 8771 8271 7729 7138 7178 7566 7013 6911 6510 Burglary in a dwelling and aggravated burglary in a dwelling6 17,870 17,306 16,387 14,471 13,684 14,622 14,540 13,503 12,820 Drug offences 40,666 48,821 48,711 44,621 45,621 49,036 51,162 39,197 39,090 Total 111,981 121,557 118/157 111,334 112,646 121,027 122,409 111,026 111,240 1 These data are on the principal offence basis. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Staffordshire police force were only able to supply a sample of data for magistrates courts proceedings covering one full week in each quarter for 2000. Estimates based on this sample are included in the figures, as they are considered sufficiently robust at this high level of analysis. 4 Violent crime includes violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery. 5 Serious violent crime includes: murder, attempted murder, threat or conspiracy to murder, manslaughter, infanticide, causing death by dangerous driving, manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, causing death by dangerous driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, causing death by aggravated vehicle taking, wounding or other act endangering life, and endangering railway passengers. 6 Domestic burglary: burglary in a dwelling and aggravated burglary in a dwelling (including attempts). Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform
Departments: Appeals
The following independent bodies existed to hear appeals on decisions made by the Home Office or its executive agencies:
(a) in 1997-98, four:
(i) immigration adjudicators under the Immigration Appeals Act 1969
(ii) the Immigration Appeals Tribunal under the Immigration Appeals Act 1969
(iii) the Policy and Advisory Board for Forensic Pathology in relation to disciplinary proceedings against forensic pathologists on the Home Office register
(iv) persons appointed to hear representations against proposed decisions in relation to licences under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986
(b) in 2001-02, eight:
(i)-(iv) the four bodies mentioned above
(v) the Special Immigration Appeals Commission under the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997
(vi) Asylum Support Adjudicators under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
(vii) the Proscribed Organisations Appeals Commission under the Terrorism Act 2000
(viii) the Pathogens Access Appeal Commission, set up under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001
(c) in 2005-06, seven:
(i) the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal under the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act 2004
(ii) the Appeals Panel of the Home Office Forensic Pathology Council
(iii)-(vii) the five bodies mentioned at (iv) to (viii) above
(d) in 2006-07, the seven bodies mentioned under (c) above.
Departments: Pay
The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Deportation
Since the abolition of embarkation controls in 1994 we cannot assess with any certainty the numbers of people who remain in the UK. In this context it is very difficult to provide an accurate average time it may take to remove those who have no right to remain here.
Entry Clearances
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to my hon. Friend on 6 March 2007 with the information requested.
Fraud: Internet
The National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) and Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) govern the recording of crime in England and Wales. These are publicly available documents and can be found at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/countrules.html
The police deal with reports of incidents in accordance with the General Principles of NCRS which state:
“All reports of incidents, whether from victims, witnesses or third parties and whether crime related or not, will result in the registration of an incident report by police”.
Following the initial registration, an incident will be recorded as a crime (Notifiable offence) if, on the balance of probability:
(a) the circumstances as reported amount to a crime defined by law (the police will determine this, based on their knowledge of the law and counting rules), and (b) there is no credible evidence to the contrary.
Once recorded, a crime would remain recorded unless there was additional verifiable information to disprove that a crime had occurred.”
The Counting Rules also include specific instructions that relate to the recording of crime in connection with goods ordered over the internet which are as follows:
Location of crime: Goods ordered over the internet:
If goods ordered over the internet (or by phone, mail etc.) do not arrive due to a fraudulent operation, then the following rules apply in order of priority:
If the location of the suspect(s) is either unknown or outside England and Wales, then the crime should be recorded in the force/BCD in whose area the victim is located when they place the order.
If the location of the suspect(s) becomes known and is within England and Wales, then record in the force/BCU area covering that location.
If payment is made electronically then the venue will be the address of the account holder into which the money is transferred or if no address then the address of the bank, provided this is not at headquarters or the site of a computer server.
With regard to the number of investigations, prosecutions and outcomes of frauds directly relating to the internet, this information is not available centrally.
Immigrants: Somalia
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of Somali nationals in the UK who do not have leave to remain.
No estimate has been made regarding the number of Somali nationals in the UK who have no leave to remain. As the Home Secretary set out in his evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 23 May 2006, no Government have been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally, and that remains the case.
The following table shows the number of Somali nationals removed from the UK in 2004 and 2005, broken down by type of applicant and type of removal.
The information provided comes from published statistics. Information on removals in 2006 will be published in the summer on the Home Office's research development and statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Number of persons 2004 2005 Total Total persons removed1, 2 30 20 55 Of whom: Principal asylum applicants5 25 15 40 Dependants of asylum applicants 5 5 15 Non-asylum cases * — * Persons removed and voluntary departures6, 7 15 5 20 Of whom: Principal asylum applicants5 10 5 15 Dependants of asylum applicants * — * Non-asylum cases * — * Persons leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes8 15 15 35 Of whom: Principal asylum applicants5 10 10 20 Dependants of asylum applicants 5 5 10 Non-asylum cases9 — — — 1 Includes enforced removals, persons departing ‘voluntarily’ after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes run by the International Organization for Migration and in 2005 those who it is established have left the UK without informing authorities. 2 Includes cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls. 3 Figures rounded to the nearest five, with — = 0, * = 1 or 2, and may not sum due to rounding. 4 Provisional figures. 5 Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, excluding dependants. 6 Includes persons departing ‘voluntarily’ after enforcement action had been initiated against them and in 2005 those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. 7 Excludes assisted voluntary returns. 8 Persons leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes run by the International Organization for Migration. May include some cases where enforcement action has been initiated. 9 Persons leaving under the assisted voluntary return for irregular migrants programme run by the International Organisation for Migration. May include some on-entry cases and some cases where enforcement action has been initiated. Removals under this scheme began in December 2004.
Immigration
[holding answer 7 March 2007]: All ferry services to Holyhead are from within the Common Travel Area. Controls are operated on an intelligence-led basis.
Immigration Detention
I am advised that during the period from 10 December 2006 to 10 January 2007, admission has been possible within the London male immigration detention estate. Harmondsworth, Colnbrook and Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centres).
Passports: Interviews
Consultation on the proposed location of passport remote interview facilities in sparsely populated parts of the UK, as defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), was undertaken with local and regional bodies in those areas. Somerset is not defined as a sparsely populated area in this context.
The requirement to attend an interview will be introduced gradually, starting with interviews in a limited number of interview offices in the next few months, with further offices being added progressively through to the end of 2007.
The number of days per week each interview office will open are:
Interview centre Number of days (a) Barnstable 2 (b) Bristol 5 (c) Exeter 3 (d) Yeovil 3
Police: Vetting
The following table illustrates the average number of days taken by the police forces in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk to conduct checks against their local intelligence systems between the launch of the CRB disclosure service on 11 March 2002 and the end of February 2007.
Financial year 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Bedfordshire 2.1 1.9 4.9 2.5 3.7 Cambridgeshire 14.1 13.0 18.9 16.2 18.6 Essex 9.6 12.0 20.4 8.5 14.3 Hertfordshire 5.0 5.2 14.9 13.8 14.4 Norfolk 3.5 7.1 8.0 18.5 29.8 Suffolk 14.8 11.8 12.3 14.4 11.2
A revised service level agreement (SLA) came into effect in April 2006 between the CRB and the 43 police forces of England and Wales. This new agreement, which was agreed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) places an additional focus on delivery and the responsibility of Chief Officers and ACPO to ensure that the obligations within the SLA are met. Monthly performance figures since April 2006 are now published on the CRB website at:
www.crb.gov.uk
Robbery: Cash Dispensing
These statistics are not collected centrally.
The Government recognise the seriousness of Cash and Valuables in Transit (CVIT) robbery and the impact these attacks have on both victims and witnesses. We are therefore working with stakeholders to establish a Government and cross-industry response to the problem.
Sherhan Yildrim
I am not able to comment on individual cases within the House.
Work and Pensions
Businesses: Orders and Regulations
The information is as follows.
(i) The total costs of implementing the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 in the first year were estimated to be between £117.0 million and £202.6 million. Costs were estimated, in present value terms, to be between £477.6 million and £676.3 million over the first 10 years. Costs were estimated to be £1.13 billion to £1.94 billion over 40 years, in present value terms1.
The additional costs to health and safety regulators were not considered to be substantial. There were pre-existing regulations, implemented in 1989, and ensuring compliance with the new requirements would be subsumed into current inspection activities.
(ii) The first year costs of implementing the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 were estimated to be between £201 million and £358 million. Over the first 10 years, total costs were estimated, in present value terms, to be between £2,377 million and £4,300 million.
The initial costs to regulators were estimated to be around £65,000 for training inspectors (mainly HSE) and around £300,000 for conducting research into whole-body vibration exposures to assist industry by producing generic risk assessments for machines expected to cause higher exposures2.
Enforcing the regulations is unlikely to increase costs because enforcement action will be absorbed as part of the full range of inspection duties carried out by inspectors.
The information in this reply was drawn from the final regulatory impact assessment for the legislation that is available in the Library or on the HSE website at
http://www.hse.gov.uk/ria/index.htm.
The Government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are committed to meeting the Better Regulation challenge. The HSE is constantly reviewing what can be done better to ensure that people are protected at work while avoiding unnecessary burdens on business.
1 All costs are calculated in 2000-01 prices.
2 All costs are calculated in 2001-02 prices.
Carers: Learning Disability
Depending on their personal circumstances, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits, including carer’s allowance. To qualify for carer’s allowance, carers must satisfy a number of eligibility conditions, and the person for whom they provide care has to be receiving either the middle or highest rate care component of the disability living allowance, or attendance allowance.
Departmental Websites
Activity throughout the national pension debate site from January 2006 to May 2006 resulted in 56,648 visits and 23,888 unique visitors.
Activity throughout the pension reform site from June to December 2006 resulted in 187,787 visits and 69,215 unique visitors.
The site received the following visits and unique visitors in each month in 2006.
Activity Period Visits Unique visitors www.dwp.gov.uk/pensionsreform/debate/1 January 2006 6,251 3,077 February 2006 7,508 3,658 March 2006 21,632 9,606 April 2006 8,456 3,763 May 2006 12,801 6,903 www.dwp.gov.uk/pensionsreform2 June 2006 22,675 11,017 July 2006 17,104 7,588 August 2006 21,779 9,042 September 2006 29,418 14,528 October 2006 30,516 13,906 November 2006 33,032 14,537 December 2006 33,263 12,906 1 The content of the national pensions debate site was restructured in June 2006. Background information was retained but main information was absorbed into the pension reform site. 2 To reflect change in site structure figures provided from June 2006, show visits to the pensions reform site. Notes: Visits—Number of times a visitor or visitors came to the site. Each visit is recorded separately for every visit more than thirty minutes apart. Unique Visitors—Individuals who visited your site during the report period. If someone visits more than once, they are counted only the first time they visit
Departments: Renewable Energy
The Department for Work and Pensions currently sources 53.5 per cent. of its total electricity from renewable sources. This is in excess of the original Government target to source 10 per cent. of electricity from renewable sources by 31 March 2008, which remains mandated within the new targets for Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate.
The Department’s estate partner Land Securities Trillium is required to source electricity using competitive tender. Bids are sought on the basis of maintaining current supplies for the Department, which ensures that the Department maintains its own performance while not compromising the ability of the market to supply to others.
In order to increase the volume of renewable energy available, the Department in partnership with Land Securities Trillium is exploring the potential for on-site renewable generation. There are a number of projects where this may be feasible and scoping work is under way. The Department’s annual Sustainable Development reports will provide details of progress.
Departments: Trade Unions
Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and advice. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meeting.
Departments: Work Permits
This information is not collated in this Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Disability Living Allowance
The requested information is not available. Entitlement to the mobility component of disability living allowance can only be established when a claim is made and the actual mobility needs of the individual are assessed. There are no reliable data available on which estimates could be made of extending entitlement to the mobility component of disability living allowance beyond the age of 65 if people were to make a claim.
Financial Assistance Scheme: EC Law
We estimate that around 50-55,000 members are more than 15 years from scheme pension age and therefore do not qualify for assistance.
We consider that European Directive 2000/78, which includes non-discrimination on grounds of age, does not apply to FAS.
The Government are carefully studying the ruling by the European Court of Justice of 25 January 2007 relating to Article 8 of the European Directive 80/987/EEC, and in so doing we will have in mind compliance with community law generally.
Full Employment Agency: Costs
The Full Employment Agency is a matter which we are discussing with the Scottish Executive. No estimate has been made by the Department for Work and Pensions of the (a) set-up and (b) annual running costs for the proposed Agency at this stage.
Industrial Health and Safety: Asbestos
The answer is as follows:
(i) The cost to business, in present value terms, of complying with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 was estimated to be some £1.4 billion in the first year. Recurring costs were estimated to be in the region of £13 million a year over 50 years.
These figures should be balanced against the estimated £3 billion benefits of the regulations. These arise from reducing the risks from asbestos and so preventing an estimated 4,700 asbestos related deaths over 50 years.
(ii) Combining the costs to HSE and local authorities of enforcing the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002, the cost in the first year in which the regulations came into force was estimated to be in the region of £8 million in present value terms. Over a 10-year period, enforcement costs were estimated at £34 million. The information in this reply was drawn from the final Regulatory Impact Assessment for the legislation that is available in the Library or on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/ria/index.htm.
The Government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are committed to meeting the Better Regulation challenge. The HSE is constantly reviewing what can be done better to ensure that the right balance is struck between protecting people at work and avoiding unnecessary burdens on business.
Industrial Health and Safety: Hazardous Substances
The cost to business of implementing the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 was estimated to be £350 million over a 10-year period, of which £150 million was initial costs.
Costs, over the same period, to the health and safety regulators were estimated to be in the region of £6.62 million, of which £75,000 were initial costs.
These figures should be considered against the total losses associated with incidents involving dangerous substances.
The Government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are committed to meeting the Better Regulation challenge. The HSE is constantly reviewing what can be done better to ensure that people are protected at work whilst avoiding unnecessary burdens on business.
National Insurance: Jobcentres
(2) what his policy is on the maximum (a) time and (b) distance that applicants for a national insurance number are expected to travel in order to attend an interview at a jobcentre.
Customers wishing to obtain a new national insurance number are required to attend an interview. The jobcentres providing these services were selected on the basis of historical information on where the largest volumes of applications were made, also taking into account the suitability of premises available. Not all jobcentres have suitable premises to conduct these interviews or have had sufficient demand in the past for this specialist service.
Our policy on travelling time and distance is that a customer should be offered an appointment at the nearest location to their requested postcode (place of abode or place of work). In practice Jobcentre Plus specifically advises the customer if the interview is likely to be more than one hour travelling time each way, or if they are likely to be absent from home for over four hours. To assist the customer in these instances, Jobcentre Plus can offer special interview arrangements at a more suitable Jobcentre Plus site. Customers have the option, and some do choose, to travel for longer than one hour to attend an interview. Travelling time rather than distance is the measure on which the suitability of the appointment is determined as this takes into account local transport arrangements. Jobcentre Plus does have a facility to carry out home visits if customers have mobility problems.
New Deal
The information is in the following table.
Totals Percentage of total Participants as at August 2006 97,360 100 Of which: Participating for the first time 62,630 64 Participating for the second time 22,440 23 Participating for the third time 8,770 9 Notes: 1. Latest participant data is to August 2006. 2. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate.
Parliamentary Questions
(2) if he will place in the Library a copy of internal department guidance on the system of colour-coding for management of written parliamentary questions in operation in his Department.
The Department aims to answer parliamentary questions within the timescales set by Parliament. For the early part of the 2006-07 session, the Department trialled an informal system of colour- coding parliamentary questions to help improve internal processes for answering parliamentary questions. No formal guidance was issued on the operation of the system, nor was any information systematically collected on the number of questions colour-coded as a result. The Department has subsequently decided to discontinue the trial.
Pensioners: Social Security Benefits
The information requested is not available. Projections of entitlement for pension credit under the proposed reforms to state pensions are given in the following tables.
The Government have given a commitment to re-link the uprating of the basic state pension to average earnings. Our objective, subject to affordability and the fiscal position, is to do this in 2012, but in any event by the end of the next Parliament at the latest. We will make a statement on the precise date at the beginning of the next Parliament.
The proposed reforms to the state pension system will encourage individual personal responsibility for retirement and provide a solid foundation on which people can save. These reforms will mean that those with a good history of working or caring and saving towards retirement will be taken clear of entitlement to the pension credit standard minimum guarantee, while continuing to provide a safety net for those who have been unable to build up a sufficient state or private pension.
Projections of pension credit entitlement With earnings link restored from 2012 With earnings link restored from 2015 Individuals entitled (Million) Percentage of total Individuals entitled (Million) Percentage of total 2012 5.1 44 5.1 45 2015 5.1 42 5.2 44 2020 4.7 38 4.9 40 2030 4.2 32 4.5 34 2040 3.8 27 4.0 29 2050 3.0 23 3.3 25
With earnings link restored from 2012 With earnings link restored from 2015 Households entitled (Million) Percentage of total Households entitled (Million) Percentage of total 2012 4.5 45 4.5 46 2015 4.5 45 4.6 46 2020 4.1 41 4.3 43 2030 3.9 36 4.1 37 2040 3.7 32 3.9 33 2050 3.0 28 3.3 30 Notes: 1. Projections incorporate the reforms to state pensions included in the Pensions Bill and are consistent with projections included in the Regulatory Impact Assessment to the Bill. 2. The projections do not include the impact of personal accounts. 3. Robust projections of combined entitlement to pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit are not available. 4. Care should be taken when interpreting these projections as they are subject to a margin of uncertainty. The projections are based on long run simulations of the incomes of individuals under a set of assumptions including life expectancy, partnership formation, earnings growth, employment rates, state and private pension accumulation. Source: DWP projections
Pensions
Upon receipt of a notification of the death of a customer, the information is recorded on the relevant computer system, and payments of state pension are stopped with immediate effect.
Notifications are typically provided by next of kin or close relatives, by telephone or post. Checks are made to establish the identity of the deceased customer, and when notification is received by phone, verification of customer's identity is obtained through a series of security questions.
The Office for National Statistics provides us with a weekly summary of notifications of death made direct to the DWP from registrars.
From the autumn of 2007, notifications of death will be received on a daily basis from the Office for National Statistics, as opposed to the current weekly basis. This will assist in enabling a prompt cessation of payment following death.
Pensions Education Fund
(2) how much each of the 26 contracted awards from the Pensions Education Fund has cost;
(3) with whom further Pensions Education Fund contracts have been agreed since the initial 26 were awarded.
The total expected allocation of funds to the 26 organisations that made successful applications to the Pensions Education Fund is £5,137,961.
The value of each of the 26 contracts awarded by the Pensions Education Fund is contained in the following table.
Contracted organisationFund contract value (£)Age Concern Birmingham225,196Age Concern Camden164,439Age Concern Baling248,361Age Concern England250,019British Chambers of Commerce249,981Campaign for Learning244,161Community The Union for Life197,772Council for Voluntary Service (Northampton)201,510GFTU237,900Golden Gates Housing165,525Humber and Wolds Rural Community Council199,350Life Academy56,340NAPF234,640NIACE247,476North Liverpool Citizens Advice Bureaux244,562Pakistan Pendle Welfare Association98,510PRIME250,064QED-UK249,931Royal Bath and West of England Society74,537Royal National Institute of the Blind124,323SAFE-Toynbee Hall245,480Sahara Communities Abroad250,000Scottish Transport Credit Union194,915Trades Union Congress245,116USDAW116,727WEETU (Womens Employment, Education and Training Unit)121,126Total5,137,961.00 Note:Figures have been rounded to the nearest poundNo further contracts have been agreed since the initial award of 26 contracts.
Rented Housing
The information is in the tables.
The following estimates have been published from the Family Resources Survey: United Kingdom 2004-05.
Tenure Households with one or more adults over pension age Households with all adults of working age Rented from: Council 13 10 Housing Association 9 7 Rented privately 5 14 Owner occupiers 74 69 Sample size (=100 per cent.) 9,302 18,739
Tenure Households with one or more adults over pension age Households with all adults of working age Rented from: Council 1,010 1,730 Housing Association 690 1,250 Rented privately 370 2,370 Owner occupiers 5,810 12,050 All 7,880 17,390 Notes: 1. Working age is defined as 16-59 for women and 16-64 for men. 2. ‘Council’ includes local authority, new town and NIHE rented accommodation. 3. ‘Housing Association’ includes co-operative and trust rented accommodation. 4. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the FRS to Government office region populations by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error. 5. Figures for the number of households have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.
Social Security Benefits: Carers
It is estimated that there are approximately 1.08 million informal carers in Great Britain who provide care for more than 35 hours per week.1
Approximately 8 per cent. of the estimated total of 5.7 million informal carers are receiving carer’s allowance, 4 per cent. are receiving the carer premium in income support, and 0.1 per cent. are receiving the carer premium in income-based jobseeker’s allowance.2
1 Source:
Family Resources Survey 2004-05. It should be noted that the Family Resources Survey generates a lower estimate of the total number of carers than the Census, which is used to answer the second part of this Question. In consequence, the answers to the separate parts of the Question are not directly comparable.
2 Source:
Census 2001 and Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, August 2006.
Figures shown are for Great Britain, not the UK, as the benefits discussed are payable in Great Britain. There are overlaps between those in receipt of carer’s allowance and the other premiums.
Social Security Benefits: Disabled
The available information is in the following table.
Benefit combination Permitted work type All IB and IS IB only SDA and IS SDA only Permitted Work Lower Level 19,500 5,700 10,400 2,800 500 Supported Permitted Work 12,800 2,800 5,700 3,300 1,000 Permitted Work Higher Limit 14,100 2,500 11 ,200 200 300 Permitted Work Higher Limit—Supported 400 0 300 0 0 Notes: 1. Figures have been produced using the 5 per cent. data and have been rated up proportionally using the Great Britain WPLS 100 per cent. IB/SDA totals. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Source: DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample.
(2) if he will place in the Library the tax benefit model tables on the marginal rate of deductions for disabled people for the latest period for which figures are available.
[holding answer 19 March 2007]: Data on claimants of disability living allowance and attendance allowance are collected but not used to calculate marginal deduction rates for inclusion in the tax benefit model tables.
Social Security Benefits: Immigrants
I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 28 February 2007, Official Report, column 1413W.
Standard Housing Allowance
Evidence from the pathfinder local housing allowance evaluation to date suggests that claimants who are paid their benefit directly are more likely to report that they are looking for work, and the proportion of claimants paid directly has increased from 50 per cent. to 84 per cent. Increased financial inclusion can improve work readiness and 91 per cent. of tenants have a bank or building society account, with around a quarter of claimants saying that they opened an account because of the local housing allowance. Additionally, the transparency of the local housing allowance is reported to make discussions about work between advisers and claimants easier. Some of these effects of the local housing allowance, such as increased financial inclusion, will take time to impact on claimant behaviour.
The final evaluation reports are scheduled to be published in the summer.
State Retirement Pensions: Greater London
As at March 2006, there were 234,000 state pension claimants in Greater London in receipt of the 25p age addition.
Notes:
1. Data are taken from a 5 per cent. sample and therefore subject to sampling variation.
2. Data have been rated to 100 per cent. WPLS data and rounded to the nearest hundred.
Source:
Information Directorate 5 per cent. Quarterly Statistical Enquiry sample and 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study data.
Trade and Industry
Small Business
DTI Ministers and Ministers from the Treasury meet regularly to discuss a range of issues.
Businesses: Taxation
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones).
Research Councils
There has been no change to the annual budgets of research councils. What my hon. Friend announced on 20 February 2007 were reductions to the stock of accumulated end of year flexibility (EYF).
The research councils are now considering the implications for their planned activities, and are making individual announcements as they make decisions. Four councils have so far made announcements—the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. The others will follow suit over the course of the rest of March and April 2007.
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
The conduct of the liquidation of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA is a matter for the liquidators.
The liquidators will shortly be submitting their annual report to the Secretary of State covering the 12-month period to 15 January 2007.
The liquidators are making every effort to conclude the liquidation and pay final amounts to creditors as soon as possible, however, the English liquidation is one of several worldwide that are closely linked and only when they are all substantially complete will it be possible for a formal conclusion in this country.
From time to time Ministers have met my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) in the company of one or more deposit creditors of BCCI.
The Department has had no discussions with authorities in the Cayman Islands or Luxemburg on this matter; the progress and control of the liquidations are matters for the liquidators, creditors and courts of the various jurisdictions.
The administration of the liquidations is a matter for the liquidators, creditors and courts of the various jurisdictions. The Secretary of State has no role to play in such administration.
The cost of the BCCI liquidation will be entirely borne by the company’s estate.
BCCI’s has been one of the most complex liquidations ever, which has resulted in exceptional returns to creditors, who will have received 84 per cent. of what they are owed by the end of 2007. This case has shown how the liquidation process can benefit from the close involvement of creditors in assisting liquidators to carry out their functions.
Home Renewable Energy Schemes
The Low Carbon Buildings Programme has two phases with the aim of helping to build a sustainable industry for microgeneration technologies.
Phase 1 (£30 million) was launched in April 2006 and provides several streams of funding for householders. Phase 2, with a £50 million budget announced in Budget 2006, was launched in December. It supports projects in the public and not for profit sectors, with the specific aim of driving down the costs of microgeneration technologies. Both phases continue to make good progress.
Under Phase 1 we have so far committed £7.2 million to 4,550 household projects and £1.1 million to 64 community projects, and we expect to commit around £2.3 million to the 26 Stream 2 projects in the first round of grant awards.
The Low Carbon Buildings Programme is a demonstration not a deployment programme, and we believe that the current funding made available to the household stream will allow us to meet the key objectives of the scheme. We aim to continue funding until June 2008, by which time some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold.
UK and EU Trade Balance
The UK deficit on trade in goods and services with the EU25 was £37.9 billion in 2005 (the latest period for which a complete set of figures is available).
The ONS caution that following a change in the pattern of trade associated with MTIC Fraud, interpretation of the breakdown between EU and non-EU trade is more difficult.
Total UK exports (goods + services) were £326 billion in 2005—up 9 per cent. on 2004.
The stock of inward investment in the UK rose to £483 billion at the end of 2005, a rise of £119 billion over the stock at the end of 2004.
Departments: Advertising
Figures for broken-down costs of such spending by the Department through the Central Office of Information are available for 2004-05 and 2005-06 but are not readily available for the preceding years and to provide these would incur disproportionate cost.
The figures for 2004-05 and 2005-06 for the cost of advertising on TV, on radio and in the press (including advertising by the Small Business Service) and excluding production costs and VAT are as follows:
TV Radio Press 2004-05 Consumer Direct — 327,056 170,603 SBS Business Link — — 555,967 Import Licence Announcements — — 74,300 DTI Classified Recruitment Advertising — — 41,007 National Minimum Wage — — 315,754 Renewable Energy — — 15,542 The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise — — 30,494 Firework Safety — 152,680 17,061 Dispute Resolution — — 81,768 Total 0 479,736 1,302,496 2005-06 Consumer Direct — 823,011 366,935 DTI Classified/Recruitment Advertising — — 31,099 SBS Business Link — — 1,502,301 National Minimum Wage — — 328,604 Directgov—DTI Employee Franchise — — 117,690 Total 0 823,011 2,346,629
The total cost of media spend on advertising and promotional campaigns run by the Department through the Central Office of Information (excluding VAT) in 2004-05 was £2,009,800 and for 2005-06 £3,257,543.
Departments: Postal Services
The Department and its agencies have arrangements in place with Royal Mail for the despatch of its standard mail. The DTI follows Office of Government Commerce procurement guidance and seeks to ensure value for money when considering which postal operators to use.
EC Grants and Loans
I refer the hon. Member to parliamentary questions 120025, 120026 and 120029, answered on 20 February 2007, Official Report, columns 654W, 654-55W and 656-67W respectively.
Energy Supply: EC Law
(2) what recent discussions he has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on how smart meters can contribute to the plans for carbon zero houses in 2016.
In addition to considering responses to its consultation on metering and billing, including smart metering, the Department has had extensive exchanges with interested parties within and outside Government. The Government will set out its views on metering and billing, including matters arising from Article 13 of the Energy Services Directive, in the forthcoming Energy White Paper.
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
[holding answer 2 March 2007]: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a non- departmental public body (NDPB). My Department sets its budget, which includes grant in aid, and my officials monitor the NDA in line with parliamentary controls set out in Government Accounting—which includes agreeing limits on the NDA’s delegated authority. In addition, officials have due regard to compliance with Cabinet Office guidance on the management of NDPBs.
Package Holidays: Safety
Since October 2006 I have received no representation from customer groups on the issues listed.
Phoenix Companies: Complaints
Trading standards officers are linked to local authorities and do not report directly to the Department of Trade and Industry. The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Radio Frequencies: Licensing
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State can direct Ofcom’s management of spectrum for security, international relations and public safety reasons under Section 5 of the Communications Act 2003, or more broadly under Section 156 of the Act.
To invoke Section 156, Ofcom must be consulted, and other Departments would be consulted on the merits of any particular case through the Cabinet Office Official Committee on Spectrum Strategy. Any direction would then be laid before Parliament and subject to an affirmative resolution of each House.
Redundancy
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 provide exemptions from age challenge for employers that either follow the statutory redundancy scheme or offer enhanced versions of the statutory scheme. These exemptions were discussed with employer groups including the CBI and EEF. However, the Government do not hold details of employers’ individual schemes.
If staff of the Department of Trade and Industry are made redundant, they receive benefits as set out in the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS). The Cabinet Office is reviewing the terms of the CSCS, taking account of various factors including the provisions of the age legislation, and plans to consult the Council of Civil Service Unions about changes to the scheme in due course.
Small Businesses: Females
Women entrepreneurs make a significant contribution to the UK economy. Women-owned businesses contribute about £60 billion to the UK economy. Developing women’s enterprise is therefore an economic imperative.
That is why I have been working with providers of business support to ensure that women can access the women-friendly advice and help they need. Our key partners in this area are the regional development agencies.
I have set up the Task Force on Women’s Enterprise, which has been tasked with driving forward the development of women’s enterprise.
To supplement the role of the Task Force, I have also established a network of women entrepreneur ambassadors to inspire other women in starting their own businesses.
Telephones: Digital Technology
I understand from BT that this information is not available on a regional basis. The company estimates that the current number of UK telephone lines delivered through a digital access carrier system is 550,000, a reduction of 100,000 lines since February 2006.
Thomas Cook
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not received any representations from tour operators relating to the proposed merger. The regulatory function of investigating mergers is the responsibility of the independent competition authorities.
International Development
Afghanistan: Energy Supply
The latest quarterly progress report issued by the Government of Afghanistan (GoA)states that the Ministry of Energy and Water, in partnership with various donors and governments, has made considerable strides since 2003 to rehabilitate the provision of electricity throughout Afghanistan. It is estimated that 15 per cent. of the population now has access to some electrical power. This includes approximately 378,700 urban and rural households, 33,500 commercial establishments and 5,300 government institutions. However, access remains poor and is often unreliable. Furthermore, figures should be treated with caution as there are serious limitations in ability to measure some of the statistics. DFID is not directly engaged in this sector. Lead donors are the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
In October 2002, USAID committed support for a national irrigation and power rehabilitation programme in conjunction with Afghanistan's Ministry of Energy and Water. The programme is focused on the rehabilitation of the south east power system (SEPS), a 100 MW power generation and transmission network. It aims to provide low cost and reliable power to 1.7 million residents in Helmand and Kandahar provinces by the end of 2009. Central to this initiative is a commitment to rehabilitate the Kajaki multi-purpose dam, built by USAID in 1953 on the Helmand river.
The programme is split into phases and will include rehabilitating and upgrading the dam, its power plant and associated transmission network by 2009. The first phase will increase Kajaki's generation capacity to 51 MW. Funding of $150 million has already been allocated for this work. The UK Government, through DFID, may fund smaller projects in the vicinity of the dam as part of a stabilisation programme.
Afghanistan: Reconstruction
Since 2001, DFID Afghanistan has channelled £335,000 to the Asian Development Bank for reconstruction and development. This support was divided equally between 2005-06 and 2006-07. This funding provides technical assistance to help the Afghan Government address key policy and institutional issues in the areas of land policy and land administration.
Africa: Overseas Aid
Corruption is a serious problem in much of Africa and the poor suffer most. When deciding how to provide assistance to developing country partners, DFID carefully assesses their commitment to improving public financial management, promoting good governance and transparency, and fighting corruption.
In most countries, DFID delivers aid in a range of ways and the choice of aid instruments depends on the circumstances of each country. DFID takes strong measures to protect our aid programmes from corruption. Strong procurement and management systems have been established to prevent corruption in projects and programmes directly administered by DFID. These systems are subject to independent and systematic audit and evaluation that provide high levels of assurance on the adequacy of systems of control and the processes for safeguarding assets. The external audit for DFID projects is carried out by the UK National Audit Office.
When funds are granted directly to a partner government as Poverty Reduction Budget Support (PRBS), direct responsibility for the use and auditing of those funds is passed to that government. Before a decision is made to provide budget support, DFID carries out a detailed Fiduciary Risk Assessment. This includes a specific assessment of the risk of corruption and enables us to decide whether the circumstances are appropriate for providing PRBS. DFID considers the risk of corruption in the formal public financial management systems, taking into account how these systems operate in practice and the wider governance and institutional context of the country.
Where significant corruption or other fiduciary risks are identified, we consider whether the partner government has a credible programme of reform and whether any additional measures are needed to mitigate the risk. We may require additional measures such as independent audits, Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys or the use of donor procurement systems rather than government ones. Progress is monitored. PRBS is usually accompanied by technical assistance to help the government strengthen its systems.
Departments: Paper
DFID employs a number of measures to ensure the economical use of paper. All printers and photocopiers wherever possible are set as a default to double-sided printing, and staff are encouraged not to print out internal correspondence sent via e-mail unless absolutely necessary. Our electronic document records management system means that staff have access to a central electronic repository of documents rather than needing to rely on paper files. All used paper is sent for recycling.
DFID currently meets the Government targets for sustainable operations in respect of the reduction of waste generally.
Developing Countries: Rural Areas
DFID’s budget for 2007-08 does not make a separate allocation for rural livelihoods. However, in its recent study on tackling poverty in rural areas, the National Audit Office noted DFID’s estimate that two-thirds of its bilateral spending directly benefits the rural poor.
DFID does not maintain central records of our interaction with rural communities in developing countries. But we are committed to broad country ownership of national development plans and policy making. This includes poor and excluded communities. In many countries we encourage and support mechanisms that enable poor men and women to have a say in national and local planning and to monitor the services that government are providing.
In Ghana, for example, we are supporting the disability movement so that they can influence national poverty reduction plans and budget decisions. In Uganda, the Kabarole Research Centre, with DFID support, monitors the quality of government service provision in rural areas and feeds that information back to local government.
In Tanzania, in the development of poverty reduction plans for the mainland and Zanzibar, we supported consultations with rural communities, including vulnerable groups such as the elderly, on policies to improve service delivery in rural areas. Now, through a grant-making foundation, we are building the capacity of rural organisations such as ageing and disability groups to monitor the quality of service provision. We are funding a ‘Views of the People’ survey through the Government’s poverty monitoring system that will shed light on rural people’s views of government performance in tackling rural poverty.
In Nepal, the rural roads programme involves structured consultation with communities to ensure that the needs of everyone—rather than just a vocal few—are taken into account. Communities also identify the poorest families amongst them to take part in road construction. Similarly in Ghana, the Department of Feeder Roads uses a road prioritisation methodology that gives rural communities an opportunity to identify and prioritise their need for rural roads. This approach, developed with DFID support, is being adopted in Ghana to prioritise funding from other development agencies.
In Ethiopia, numerous rural communities from 286 districts were consulted on implementation of the productive safety nets programme. Communities helped identify people who would be eligible for assistance as well as public works programmes that they would engage in.
And in India, the design team for phase 2 of the Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project has consulted communities and field staff who work with them about the effectiveness and impact of the first phase.
Inter-American Development Bank
I met President Moreno of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) twice in the last year, in April 2006 at the IADB annual meetings held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and in June 2006 in London. We discussed a range of issues including the use of the fund for special operations (FSO), debt relief for the regional heavily indebted poorer countries (HIPC), the President's “Building Opportunities for the Majority” initiative, and proposed work on climate change. On each occasion I confirmed our support for the President's reorganisation of the Bank, which DFID has been supporting, his work to help borrowing member countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region tackle poverty, inequality and respond to climate change, and work to improve the Bank's performance in making lending available to small enterprises. To date, DFID has approved £18.3 million to support the IADB's work in these areas.
I have also expressed to the President my concern over the details of the current IADB’s debt relief initiative to cancel all the outstanding loans of the five HIPC countries in the region. We are concerned that it will constrain the Bank's ability to provide substantial and concessional financing to the poorer HIPC countries to finance the millennium development goals (MDGs). The UK has strongly supported the IADB providing additional debt relief to these HIPCs, but we are concerned about the way the deal is structured and the lack of additional financing for MDGs.
Lebanon
DFID does not have a bilateral programme in Lebanon. However, the UK responded to the humanitarian crisis last year by contributing £22.3 million at the international donors’ conference in Stockholm in August 2006. This money was allocated to humanitarian relief (logistics, food, water, sanitation) delivered through aid agencies (e.g. Red Cross, United Nations (UN)); munitions clearance; bridging (providing and transporting temporary bridges to Lebanon) and funding that is channelled through multilateral funds, e.g. the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the European Commission (EC).
Over the next four years we will be continuing a further £60 million (approximately) to Lebanon through contributions to the international system. Therefore, a key priority for DFID is to ensure the effective use of funding delivered through multilateral channels.
A difficult problem that we have been addressing in Lebanon is danger to civilians from unexploded bombs. On top of the £1.5 million we had already committed to clearance of unexploded mines, we made available a further £1.2 million to the UN Mines Action Service (UNMAS) and the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) for further munitions clearance work in Lebanon. This means DFID’s total contribution to munitions clearance is now close to £2.8 million. We have also asked the Government of Israel to hand over all relevant maps locating unexploded ordnance.
Improving the plight of Palestinian refugees remains a priority for DFID. At the Paris III conference on reconstruction in Lebanon in January 2007, we committed a further £24.4 million to United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for 2011-12, on top of the £76 million that will be provided to UNRWA over the next four years. Although funds are not ear- marked, UNRWA estimates approximately 20 per cent. of these funds will support Palestinians in Lebanon.
The ripple-effect of conflict and instability in Lebanon holds significant risks for our bilateral programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Iraq. We therefore have an interest in addressing the causes of conflict in Lebanon and seeing a stable and prosperous state. In partnership with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) we work through HMG’s Global Conflict and Prevention Pool (GCPP) to support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and to contribute to peacebuilding.
With the UK embassy in Beirut we are also monitoring initiatives to promote democratic oversight of reconstruction spending and planning. This has the potential to address some of the issues underlying the internal conflict in Lebanon.
Sudan: Armed Conflict
Humanitarian agencies in Darfur are struggling to deliver in an increasingly difficult environment. Part of this is due to the general insecurity and targeted attacks on humanitarian vehicles, staff and assets and it is partly due to the bureaucratic impediments that undermine the ability of agencies to operate effectively.
With the UN and other international actors, we are urging all sides, including both the rebels and the Government of Sudan, to respect the neutrality of humanitarian agencies and cease all harassment and attacks on their staff. We are also lobbying hard for the Government to ease restrictions on humanitarian agencies particularly on accessing those in need, recruitment, importing supplies, visas and permits for staff.
Through the Common Humanitarian Fund (UK contribution £40 million in 2007) we are also strengthening the ability of the UN to monitor, report and respond to security incidents involving humanitarian workers.
UN Commission for Sustainable Development
I have been asked to reply.
The 15th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) takes place in New York from the 30 April to 11 May 2007. The topics under discussion were agreed in the 2003 multi-year programme of work, which operates in two-yearly cycles, with one review year and one policy year. We are currently in the second, policy year, of discussions on the cluster of climate change, industrial development, energy for sustainable development, and air pollution and atmosphere.
The UK will be working, through the EU, to secure action-oriented outcomes in each of the thematic sectors. In particular, the EU is looking to foster a transition to a global low-carbon economy, with diversified energy policies included in national sustainable development strategies and plans by 2010, and with priority to energy efficiency, renewable energies and improved access to sustainable and affordable energy services for all. The EU has also called for a basket of voluntary commitments on access to energy, energy efficiency and renewables, and a review mechanism to assess progress.
We are also working to ensure an integrated approach through including these issues in national sustainable development strategies, poverty reduction strategies and national development plans. We believe that full consideration of the interlinkages and cross-cutting issues is fundamental to good policy-making.
In addition, we want to ensure that the work of the CSD is complementary to and supports, rather than cuts across, the discussions and negotiations under the United Nations Forum Convention on Climate Change and its associated Kyoto protocol.
The 15th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development will take place in New York from 30 April to 11 May 2007. The four main themes this year are Energy for Sustainable Development, Air Pollution/Atmosphere, Industrial Development and Climate Change. We are currently considering ministerial attendance with DEFRA.
Northern Ireland
Baby Care Units
Information on the number of babies transferred to hospitals outside Northern Ireland in 2001 is not available within the timeframe provided. Information on the number of babies transferred to hospitals outside Northern Ireland for the years 2002 to 2006 inclusive are provided in the following table:
Trust 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total Altnagelvin Group 1 0 0 1 0 2 Craigavon Area Hospital Group 0 1 0 1 0 2 Newry and Mourne 0 0 0 1 1 2 Sperrin Lakeland 0 0 0 0 2 2 Royal Group of Hospitals 1 2 4 2 1 10 Ulster Community and Hospitals 0 0 0 0 0 0 United Hospitals 0 0 0 2 0 2 Source: HPSS Trusts
Dogs: Northern Ireland
Local councils provide statistical information to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) with respect to enforcement of the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 (as amended), including the number of prosecutions taken for offences under the legislation. However, prior to 2006 these returns did not specifically distinguish prosecutions for ownership of banned dogs from other prosecutions taken under the legislation.
Since January 2006, figures provided to DARD by local councils show that there have been five successful prosecutions, details of which are set out in the following table. There are also a further 11 prosecutions pending, all of which are with respect to possession of pit bull type dogs. To date, DARD has received statistical information for the final quarter of 2006 from 25 of the 26 local councils.
Type of dog Order Penalty (£) Pit bull type dog Destruction order 50 fine Pit bull type dog No destruction order as dog died 200 fine plus a 2 year disqualification order Pit bull type dog Destruction order 50 fine plus 169 costs Pit bull type dog Destruction order 200 fine plus 94 costs Pit bull type dog Destruction order 100 fine plus 181 costs plus costs for the destruction of the dog 1 To date DARD has received statistical information for the final quarter of 2006 from 25 of the 26 local councils.
English Language
The following table details the number of people participating in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses in the Northern Ireland further education colleges in each of the last five academic years for which data are available.
Academic year ESOL students 2001-02 882 2002-03 1,116 2003-04 1,338 2004-05 3,494 2005-06 6,048 Source: Further Education Statistical Record
Inquiries: Northern Ireland
The costs to the end of January 2007 are set out in the following table. The Patrick Finucane inquiry has not yet been established.
Costs (£ million) Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland 147.2 Bloody Sunday inquiry 176.2 St. Andrews agreement talks 20.39 Rosemary Nelson inquiry 11. 6 1 The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland does not conduct inquiries, her role being one of investigating complaints made against the police. In fulfilling this function, expenditure for the Police Ombudsman over the period 6 November 2000 to 31 March 2007 is detailed in the table. The figure for expenditure for the current financial year is an estimate based on the budget allocated to the Ombudsman for 2006-07. 2 This represents a total figure. Costs of hosting the talks are to be jointly shared with the Irish Government.
Water Charges
When domestic water and sewerage charges are introduced on 1 April 2007 they will be phased in over three years. Consequently, customers will only pay one third of the full charges in 2007-08.
The standing charges for water and sewerage will be the same for all domestic properties and are currently estimated at around £17 each. The variable charges for water and sewerage are expressed as a rate per £1,000 of capital value and are both currently estimated at around 30p per £1,000 of capital value. The average combined charge for water and sewerage is, therefore, estimated at around £100 in 2007-08.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
British Antarctic Territory: Expenditure
Direct staff administration costs for the Government of the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) are met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. There is no capital expenditure. The non-staff administration costs for the BAT are as follows:
Amount (£) 2002-031 33,641.56 2004-051 20,175.27 2005-061 7,562.32 1 The BAT financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June so final figures for 2006-07 are not yet available.
British Council: Expenditure
Since 2005 the British Council has organised its work overseas into 13 regions. We are therefore unable to provide the information in the exact categories requested by my hon. Friend. The total British Council spend in 2001-02 compared with 2005-06 in its 13 regions is shown in the following table. (All figures are at 2005-06 prices).
We have used 2001-02 figures because detailed 2000-01 figures could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
British Council spend 2001-02 2005-06 Central and Southern Asia 10.1 17.1 China and Hong Kong 21.1 24.1 East and West Africa 13.7 21.3 East Asia 36.6 36.8 India and Sri Lanka 11.5 14.5 Latin America and Caribbean 17.3 14.9 Middle East 16.1 20.2 Near East and North Africa 15.1 15.1 North and Central Europe 18.2 18.3 Russia 7.7 9.2 South East Europe 31.9 32.6 Southern Africa 9.4 11.5 West Europe and North America 50.1 55.9 Total 258.8 291.5
Exports: Licensing
Seven export licences were sent to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary for her approval in 2006. Six were for Israel and one for Nigeria. All were approved.
There are three officers within the Human Rights Democracy and Governance Group (HRDGG) who dedicate approximately 40 per cent., 40 per cent. and 15 per cent. respectively of their time ensuring that the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country of final destination is brought into the export licensing process. In doing so, they regularly consult other interested departments and overseas Posts.
HRDGG were consulted on 631 licences in 2006.
Gibraltar: Spain
I have had discussions with Spanish counterparts on a number of issues, including Gibraltar, in 2007. Most recently, issues relating to the Gibraltar Trilateral agreements were raised during conversations with State Secretary Leon in February and March, and EU-related matters were discussed during a meeting with State Secretary Navarro in January.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Gibraltar, among other issues, with the Spanish Foreign Minister on 19 March.
British and Spanish officials also hold regular discussions on a range of issues, including issues related to Gibraltar.
Kashmir
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed India-Pakistan relations, and the situation in Kashmir, with the Government of Pakistan during her visit to Islamabad in February, and with the Government of India during her visit to New Delhi in November 2006.
We welcome India and Pakistan’s continuing commitment to the dialogue process, and hope that this will lead to a lasting resolution of all outstanding issues, including Kashmir.
Namibia
There are currently no plans for the President of Namibia to undertake a state visit to the UK. However, plans are under way to invite His Excellency President Pohamba to the UK as a guest of the Government later this year.
Whales
(2) on whaling, whether she has approached the Government of any foreign country which voted in favour of lifting the moratorium on whaling at the 2006 International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting to lobby them to vote to maintain the international moratorium at the 2007 IWC meeting;
(3) which seven foreign Governments her Department has approached; which two expressed the intention of joining the International Whaling Commission and voting with the UK; what the intentions of the other five countries are; and if she will make a statement.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office posts continue to lobby in the run-up to the next International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in May. 17 countries have now been approached since the last IWC meeting in June 2006: Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Guatemala, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Uruguay.
Croatia and Cyprus have now joined the IWC. Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Romania and Turkey have committed themselves to joining as soon as domestic legislative procedures allow. Guatemala is a member but is undecided whether it will participate this year. Uruguay is a lapsed member and has not made a decision about re-joining. Andorra and Liechtenstein will not join due to lack of administrative capacity. Other countries listed, apart from Mongolia, have yet to make a final decision on joining.
Mongolia is an IWC member which voted to lift the moratorium on commercial whaling at last year’s IWC meeting. The Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not confirmed how it will vote this year, or if it will attend.
Future lobbying plans are under discussion.
Duchy of Lancaster
Departments: Manpower
Numbers of staff employed in the Cabinet Office, by unit, will be included in the Cabinet Office Annual Report, due for publication in mid-May.
Government Departments: Offices
Usage of departmental buildings is a matter for individual Departments.
Smith Institute
Cabinet Office Ministers speak at a wide range of meetings and meet with a large range of organisations and as was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Minister for Women and Equality
Women in Business
We have set up a Task Force for Women’s Enterprise. The Minister for Industry and the regions leads on women’s enterprise issues, and regularly meets the chairs and members of the Task Force. I also regularly meet groups of businesswomen and individual entrepreneurs, as well as those who advise and assist them.
Corston Report
We very much welcome this report which the Home Office commissioned from Baroness Corston.
We will look carefully at all the issues it raises and the recommendations it makes for change. These will be thoroughly explored and we will develop a detailed response which we aim to publish in around three months.
Returning to Work
The Government have commissioned a number of regular surveys which add to the evidence base and help to inform Government policy on women with children returning to work. These include:
Survey Department Frequency The Work Life Balance Employee Survey. DTI Every three years1 The Families and Children Study. DWP Annual2 Survey of Parents Use and Views of Childcare and Early Years Services. DfES Annual3 The Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits Survey of Parents. DWP and DTI Periodic4 1 Subject to the availability of resources. 2 Funded until 2008. 3 Surveys commissioned to 2009. 4 Subject to the availability of resources.
Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations
Since the end of the consultation phase we have received over 4,000 letters, from a wide variety of individuals and organisations, and the Secretary of Sate has continued to hold meetings with representatives from a broad spectrum of stakeholder groups. We have recognised and listened to the strongly held beliefs on this complex issue, and are confident that the Regulations (approved by Parliament) strike a balance which uphold the rights of all.
Crimes against the Person: Females
The Government are committed to tackling violence against women in all its forms.
I have regular discussions with Home Office colleagues on measures to address violence through the domestic violence, sexual offences and trafficking inter-ministerial groups. Recent initiatives have included the development of cross-government action plans.
Communities and Local Government
Community Development: Safety
[holding answer 20 March 2007]: Information on how much each local authority in England spent on community safety in 2005-06 has been made available in a table which has been placed in the Library of the House. The data are as recorded on revenue and capital outturn returns submitted to this Department by each local authority.
Information for Welsh local authorities is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.
[holding answer 20 March 2007]: The information requested for English local authorities is shown in the following table.
Average expenditure (£ million) Proportion of total expenditure (Percentage) London boroughs 5 1 Metropolitan districts 3 0 Unitary authorities 2 1 Shire counties 11 1 Shire districts 0 2 Police authorities 225 78 Fire authorities 46 72 Greater London Authority 3,561 48 Other authorities 0 0 Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn and Capital Outturn Returns
Community safety is defined as the whole of expenditure on police and fire services plus the revenue spending on crime reduction and safety services and capital spending on community safety. These categories capture spending on community safety which authorities cannot clearly or properly allocate to a specific service.
Departments: ICT
Office of Government Commerce (OGC) gateway reviews have been carried out on the following Communities and Local Government projects and programmes since the Department was created on 5 May 2006:
Home Information Packs
Fire Service College E-Learning
Transactional ERDF and State Aid
Pan-Government Agreement on Geographical Information
Government Office IT Outsourcing Project
Open Space Works
Tenancy Deposit Protection
Thames Gateway
Housing Corporation ICT Infrastructure Management
Local Area Agreements
FiReControl
Franchising Sustainable Communities Summit
New Dimension (Long Term Capability Management).
Local Government: Reform
The Local Government Act 2000 provides that all decisions in the authority are the responsibility of the executive unless otherwise provided for in regulations made under that Act. This applies to a directly elected executive as to any other executive. Those regulations provide for the authority to adopt its annual budget based on the executive's proposals, with or without amendment. In the case of a mayoral executive, the council can amend the executive's budget proposals only on a two-thirds majority, and we intend to apply this same provision to elected executives.
Social Services: Grants
[pursuant to the reply, 8 February 2007, Official Report, c. 1162W]: A corrected table has been placed in the Library of the House showing how much formula grant, which comprises revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula police grant, would have been received in 2007-08 (a) if damping had been applied to the Children's Social Care Relative Needs Formula and the Younger Adults' Personal Social Services Relative Needs Formula but floor damping had not been applied and (b) if damping had neither been applied to the Children's Social Care Relative Needs Formula and the Younger Adults' Personal Social Services Relative Needs Formula nor had floor damping been applied.
It is not possible to say how much grant authorities would have received in 2007-08 had damping not been applied to the Children's Social Care Relative Needs Formula and the Younger Adults' Personal Social Services Relative Needs Formula but floor damping had been applied, since we might have taken different decisions on the level of floor damping to ensure that every authority would have received a reasonable increase year-on-year on a like-for-like basis. i.e. after adjusting for changes in funding and function.
Constitutional Affairs
Candidates
The Electoral Administration Act 2006 amended the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 so as to make new provision for political parties to register up to 12 descriptions of no more than six words for use on its nomination papers or ballot papers.
The Government have no plans to amend electoral legislation in the way suggested.
Election Petitions
The following table sets out the election petitions that have been heard in England and Wales since 2000:
Date Location Grounds Result Parliamentary 10 August 2001 Romford Offences contrary to s 113(i)and(2)(b)ofRPA1983(no details given) Lapsed 31 May 2005 Greenwich and Woolwich Unfair treatment of petitioner by the deputy returning officer. Other candidates invalidly completed nomination forms and rules of the Electoral Commission broken by other candidates. Petition struck out on 8 August 2005 31 May 2005 Sparkbrook and Small Heath, Birmingham Authorities failed to comply with ECHR article 3 of first protocol to create and operate a system of postal voting. False statements made to obtain postal votes contrary to s12(3) of the RPA 1983, using undue influence and fraudulent devices to impede or pervert free exercise of franchise by an elector contrary to s115(2)(b), fraudulently putting into any ballot box a paper other than authorised by law to do, contrary to s65(l)(d) of RPA 1983 and attempts to commit offences under s65(1)(d) contrary to s65(1)(a) of RPA 1983. Petition dismissed on 28 October 2005 European 14 June 2004 Eastern England Various Struck out 30 July 2004 Local government 20 April 2000 South East ward of Knighton Town council in Powys Votes incorrectly counted(some not counted). Special case 11 December 2000. Petition allowed. Election valid. First respondent not elected. Petitioner elected. 20 May 2000 Parish of Bracknell ward of Bracknell Town council Votes incorrectly counted. Special case 25 July 2000 Petition allowed. Election valid. First respondent not elected. Petitioner elected. 25 May 2000 Sparkhill ward of Birmingham city council Personation, error, treating, bribery, undue influence, overspending election expenses. 25 July 2000 Application to strike out on grounds of late service of petition. Dismissed. 25 May 2000 Nicholls ward, Birmingham city council Voters abroad shown as having voted. Lapsed. 27 June 2001 South Ribble north-west electoral division of Lancashire county council Ballot papers for another electoral division handed out to some voters in error. Special case 5 October 2001 Petition allowed. Election void. First respondent not duly elected. 27 June 2001 Ellogen north electoral division, Redruth, Cornwall Two votes included wrongly. Special case 18 December 2001 Petition allowed. Election void. First respondent not duly elected. 22 May 2002 Sands End ward of London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Ballot papers rejected for want of official mark affected result. Special case 31 July 2002 Petition allowed. Election void. Second respondent not duly elected. 23 May 2002 Aston ward, city of Birmingham Successful candidate made false statements about petitions for purpose of affecting the result and/or alleged irregularities regarding opening of postal votes. 4 October 2002 petition struck out against second respondent. 11 October 2002 petition struck out against first respondent. 23 May 2002 Little Horton ward of Bradford metropolitan borough council Error in counting votes. 29 November 2002 petition dismissed 23 May 2002 Cheetham ward, city of Manchester Requests for proxy votes ignored. Personation, delay in taking ballot box to council, comments by first respondent during campaign. 11 October 2002 petition struck out. 23 May 2002 Peckham ward, London borough of Southwark Marked register missing, Ballot box late arriving at court, count started before candidates arrived, voters removed from register, confusion over postal votes. 29 November 2002 petition dismissed with consent of first petitioner on behalf of co-petitioners. 21 May 2003 Belle Vale and Hasbury ward, metropolitan borough of Dudley Failure by R/O to ensure issued ballot papers were delivered in accordance with Part V of Rep of People Regulations 2001. 19 December 2003 petition dismissed. 21 May 2003 St. Helens borough council in the Parish of Sereley Green Votes miscounted. Special case 17 October 2003. Election void, Joan Davies not duly elected. 21 May 2003 College ward of Wansbeck district council Votes miscounted, block of votes wrongly allocated to candidates Special case 17 October 2003. Election void, first respondent not duly elected, petitioner duly elected. 21 May 2003 Broughton and Appleby ward, North Lincolnshire district council Ballot papers in respect of postal voter wrongly counted—did not bear signature and authentication of voter. 4. November 2003 petition granted, election void, Ivan Glover not duly elected. 23 May 2003 Hartley parish council False statements against petitioner issued by respondent calculated to affect petitioners prospects of being re-elected. Lapsed. 28 May 2003 Lightwater ward, borough of Surrey-Heath Election circulation delivered by Royal Mail to constituents in contravention of RPA Act 31 July 2003 permission to withdraw granted. 28 May 2003 Windlesham parish council,. Lightwater ward Election circulation delivered by Royal Mail to constituents in contravention of RPA 1983. 31 July 2003 permission to withdraw granted. 29 June 2003 Park ward, Calderdale metropolitan borough All postal ballot pilot failed. Breach of duty. Improper and unfair conduct. 22 March 2005 petition struck out. 23 June 2004 Aston ward, Birmingham city council Various concerning postal voting. 4 April 2005 petition allowed, election void 29 June 2004 Bordesley Green, Birmingham city council Disputing postal ballot papers—tampering and personation. 4 April 2005 petition allowed, election void. 30 June 2004 Derringham ward, Kingston upon Hull Various—postal ballot papers. 24 November .2004 election void. 6 July 2004 Flintshire Candidate disqualified from standing for election. 20 December 2004 petition dismissed 17 August 2005 Aston, Birmingham Disputing postal ballot papers and tampering and impersonation Struck out on 23 February 2006 11 May 2006 Kingstanding, Birmingham city council Votes incorrectly counted Petition allowed on 26 July 2006. First respondent not duly elected. 23 May 2006 Dudden Hill, London borough of Brent Candidate disqualified from standing for election. Petition allowed on 15 March 2007. 23 May 2006 St. Katherine and Wapping, London borough of Tower Hamlets Violation of the requirement in Rule 7(3) of the Local Election (Principle Areas) Rules 1986 to examine nomination papers as soon as practical. Petition dismissed on 10 October 2006. 24 May 2006 Eastbury ward, London borough of Barking and Dagenham Votes incorrectly counted. Petition allowed on 31 July 2006. Respondent not duly elected. Petitioner duly elected. 25 May 2006 Queen's Park, London borough of Brent Votes incorrectly counted. Lapsed. 25 May 2006 Foleshill, Coventry borough council That the election be declared void on the grounds impersonation. Petition struck out on 31 July 2006. 25 May 2006 Bethnal Green South, London borough of Tower Hamlets Disputing postal votes alleging tampering and impersonation. Petition dismissed on 29 January 2007. 25 May 2006 St. Dunstan’s and Stepney Green, London borough of Tower Hamlets Disputing postal votes alleging tampering and impersonation. Petition dismissed on 10 October 2006 25 May 2006 Mile End Globe Town, London borough of Tower Hamlets Disputing postal votes alleging tampering and impersonation. Petition dismissed on 29 January 2007
Education and Skills
Adoption
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole (Annette Brooke) on 6 February 2007, Official Report, column 832W.
Correspondence
For statistical purposes the Department does not differentiate between letters and emails, or whether the correspondence is from an individual or an organisation. For general correspondence (excluding freedom of information requests) our performance for the first three quarters of this operational year (1 April 2006 to 31 December 2006) is as follows:
Directorate Answered within target (Percentage) Children Young People and Families 86 Communications Directorate 49 Corporate Services and Development 97 Finance and Analytical services 92 Higher Education Directorate 90 Lifelong Learning and Skills 82 Private Office 90 Schools Directorate 94 Chief Information Officer Group 93 Emails not assigned to a Directorate 100 Overall 93
Freedom of information (FOI) requests are not available by directorate. The total FOI inquiries answered within the deadline for the period 1 April 2006 to 30 September 2006 is 89 per cent. The figures for the following quarter 1 October 2006 to 31 December 2006 are not yet available as the 20-day deadline for reporting did not end until 26 January 2007.
Curriculum: Expenditure
The information available on expenditure for three and four year olds is shown in table 8.3 in the Departmental Report 2006. The estimated outturn for 2005-06 is £3.443 billion. This includes expenditure on under fives in nursery schools, in primary schools and in the private, voluntary and independent sectors. For the outturn figures for the previous five years, I refer the hon. Member to row (c) of the answer I gave on 28 February 2007, Official Report, column 1396W.
The Childcare Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 11 July 2006 and, therefore, none of the duties contained in it were in force in 2005-06.
Departmental Office Space
The Department for Education and Skills used 36,840.20 sq m of leased office space in central London in 2004 and 35,663.20 sq m in 2006. The Department used no freehold office space in central London in 2004 or 2006, and had no agencies in central London in those years.
The Department aims to further reduce its central London office space by over 13,000 sq m by the end of 2008.
Departmental Staff
People employed through employment agencies and on a consultancy basis are not included in the numbers of full-time equivalent staff mentioned in the Department’s annual report. Office for National Statistics guidance to Departments provides that self-employed contract workers and agency workers not paid directly from the payroll should be excluded from counts measuring the number of employees in the public sector and that only employees with an employment contract who are being paid by the organisation should be included.
Departments: Work Permits
The Department has not applied for any work permits during the last five years and has not had any agencies since 2001.
Entry to Employment Programme: Gloucestershire
Entry to Employment (E2E) is the main programme for young people not yet ready for an apprenticeship, a job or further learning. The number of young people joining E2E since it began for each funding year (August to July) in Gloucestershire is as follows:
Number 2003/04 1,051 2004/05 741 2005/06 597 2006/07 (First six months) 309
Since 2005/06, additional pre-level 2 provision has been available locally through European social funds. Take-up of such programmes continues to rise in 2006/07. To date, 367 young people have started on this type of provision in Gloucestershire. This is aimed at young people who are not immediately ready to undertake E2E or the minimum attendance of 16 hours per week that E2E demands so offering a wider choice of provision at this level.
E2E has been successful. We will be looking to absorb its good practice into the new system we will be introducing in the next couple of years.
Nurseries: Qualifications
In our 10-year strategy for childcare, ‘Choice for parents, the best start for children’ published in December 2004 and in our response to the Children’s Workforce Strategy consultation published in February 2006, we set out our commitment to establishing a better qualified and more professional early years workforce. To help achieve this, we have introduced a £250 million Transformation Fund aimed at improving the quality of early-years provision without the cost of doing so being passed on to parents.
Between 2006 and 2008, a significant part of this Transformation Fund is being spent on increasing the number of early-years workers with at least a level three qualification. This fund adds to existing funding to local authorities and the Learning and Skills Council being used to increase the number of those with level 2 qualifications and to develop the early-years workforce more generally.
It is for the appropriate Sector Skills Council to specify the content of training courses. However, I can give an assurance that most of the courses available to those working in playgroups do involve work-based training.
Overseas Students: English Language
The number of enrolments to ESOL courses in each year between 2000 and 2005 is as follows:
Number 2000/01 159,000 2001/02 302,000 2002/03 413,000 2003/04 488,000 2004/05 484,000 2005/06 1504,000 1 Based on data up to October 2006, both confirmed and estimated.
Data on learners is gathered through the individualised learner record (ILR). Its primary function is to capture learner suitability to a learning aim and ensure correct payment to the provider of learning, and as such, there is no field on the ILR designed to capture a learner’s nationality.
Runaway Children
[holding answer 20 March 2007]: Government issued “Children Missing from Care and Home—a guide to good practice” in tandem with the social exclusion unit’s report “Young Runaways” in 2002. This includes information for local authorities and their partner agencies on responding to children in care who go missing from their placements and to children who go missing from their homes.
Sections 1 to 7 of this guidance from pages 5 to 19 set out the issues to be considered and the processes to be followed so that local authorities respond effectively to children who go missing from their care placement. Sections 8 to 10 from pages 23 to 29 set out the issues and processes to be followed for those who run away from home.
This guidance and its related circular, LAC(2002)17, were issued under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 which means that, except in exceptional circumstances, councils must follow its advice.
We are currently working with the Children’s Society to review how local authorities are meeting the needs of runaways under the Every Child Matters framework, and will consider the case for fresh guidance on runaways when that work is completed.
Schools: Coventry
[holding answer 7 February 2007]: There are currently over 3,800 extended schools in England. This includes 18 extended schools in the Coventry local authority area (15 primary and three secondary).
All these schools are providing a core offer of extended services. This is comprised of a varied menu of study support activities and high quality child care 8 am to 6 pm all year round in primary schools. These services will be provided on the school site or in partnership with local private, voluntary and independent providers. They will also offer parenting support; swift and easy referral to a wide range of specialist support services such as health and social care; and wider community access to ICT, sports and arts facilities, on the school site including adult learning.
Special Educational Needs: East Yorkshire
The available information is shown in the tables.
Maintained mainstream schools1 Maintained special schools2 Pupils with statements of SEN Pupils with SEN without statements3 Pupils with statements of SEN Pupils with SEN without statements3 Number of pupils4 Number Percentage5 Number Percentage6 Number of pupils4 Number Percentage5 Number Percentage6 2000 13,733 263 1.9 1,816 13.2 63 49 77.8 n/a n/a 2001 13,968 343 2.5 1,874 13.4 63 55 87.3 n/a n/a 2002 14,168 273 1.9 1,902 13.4 72 55 76.4 n/a n/a 2003 14,246 320 2.2 1,556 10.9 71 55 77.5 0 0.0 2004 14,245 339 2.4 1,938 13.6 75 59 78.7 16 21.3 2005 14,156 325 2.3 1,977 14.0 79 64 81.0 15 19.0 2006 14,075 329 2.3 2,092 14.9 85 70 82.4 15 17.6
Pupils with statements of SEN Pupils with SEN without statements3 Pupils with statements of SEN Pupils with SEN without statements3 Number of pupils4 Number Percentage5 Number Percentage6 Number of pupils4 Number Percentage5 Number Percentage6 2000 957 0 0.0 25 2.6 14,750 310 2.1 1,840 12.5 2001 956 0 0.0 9— 9— 14,990 400 2.7 1,880 12.5 2002 852 0 0.0 20 2.3 15,090 330 2.2 1,920 12.7 2003 892 0 0.0 50 5.6 15,210 380 2.5 1,610 10.6 2004 886 0 0.0 42 4.7 15,210 400 2.6 2,000 13.1 2005 891 0 0.0 49 5.5 15,130 390 2.6 2,040 13.5 2006 886 0 0.0 51 5.8 15,050 400 2.7 2,160 14.3 n/a = not available 1 Includes maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools. 2 Maintained special schools only. There are no non-maintained special schools in East Yorkshire parliamentary constituency. 3 A change to the Code of Practice in January 2002 means that the numbers of pupils with SEN without statements in 2003 and later are not directly comparable with earlier years. 4 Headcount of pupils. Excludes dually registered pupils. 5 The number of pupils with statements of SEN expressed as a percentage of the school population. 6 The number of pupils with SEN without statements expressed as a percentage of the school population. 7 Independent schools only. There are no direct grant nursery schools, city technology colleges or academies in East Yorkshire parliamentary constituency. 8 Totals across all schools have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown. 9 1 or 2 pupils, or a rate based on 1 or 2 pupils Source: School Census
Training: Parents
The National Academy for Parenting Practitioners (NAPP) is the working title for what was previously termed the National Parenting Academy. This change of name recognises that the Academy is to be established to support the development and training of all who deliver services to parents.
The process to select the preferred supplier for the Academy is under way. We intend to confirm the supplier and award the grant to deliver the NAPP by the end of April 2007. The official launch for the NAPP is planned for Parents’ Week which starts on 15 October 2007.
Youth Opportunity Funds
The Youth Opportunity Fund (YOF) and the Youth Capital Fund (YCF) were announced in the Green Paper Youth Matters and have been available to local authorities from April 2006. A total of £115 million is available for both funds over the period 2006-08, £61.5 million of which is for YOF, half in each year.
The following table sets out yearly allocations for YOF and YCF to local authorities.
£ Local authority YOF allocation per year YCF allocation per year YOF and YCF per year Barking and Dagenham 126,439 109,359.60 235,799 Barnet 199,556 172,599.98 372,156 Barnsley 139,977 121,069.25 261,046 Bath and North East Somerset 93,837 81,161.17 174,998 Bedfordshire 227,316 196,610.00 423,926 Bexley 132,918 114,963.26 247,881 Birmingham 785,126 679,070.94 1,464,197 Blackburn with Darwen 102,521 88,672.31 191,193 Blackpool 93,703 81,045.49 174,748 Bolton 186,811 161,576.36 348,387 Bournemouth 90,000 72,404.36 162,404 Bracknell Forest 90,000 65,000.00 155,000 Bradford 362,009 313,109.07 675,118 Brent 178,245 154,167.39 332,412 Brighton and Hove 140,880 121,849.96 262,730 Bromley 166,709 144,189.89 310,899 Buckinghamshire 232,207 200,840.57 433,048 Bury 99,979 86,473.92 186,453 Calderdale 121,967 105,492.00 227,459 Cambridgeshire 286,903 248,148.19 535,051 Camden 129,061 111,627.75 240,689 Cheshire 343,328 296,951.10 640,279 City of Bristol 259,783 224,691.09 484,474 City of Derby 150,403 130,086.52 280,490 City of Hull 223,091 192,955.90 416,047 City of Leicester 241,378 208,772.63 450,151 City of London 50,000 50,000.00 100,000 City of Nottingham 231,358 200,105.99 431,464 City of Peterborough 123,981 107,233.79 231,215 City of Plymouth 159,348 137,823.25 297,171 City of Westminster 157,158 135,929.34 293,087 City of York 90,000 69,912.57 159,913 Cornwall 256,115 221,519.03 477,634 Coventry 214,196 185,262.75 399,459 Croydon 207,844 179,768.19 387,612 Cumbria 271,355 234,700.23 506,055 Darlington 90,000 65,000.00 155,000 Derbyshire 391,437 338,561.54 729,999 Devon 341,318 295,212.79 636,531 Doncaster 209,390 181,105.21 390,495 Dorset 186,054 160,922.10 346,976 Dudley 189,404 163,818.91 353,223 Durham 310,020 268,142.35 578,162 Ealing 176,409 152,579.60 328,989 East Riding of Yorks 158,565 137,146.11 295,711 East Sussex 273,003 236,125.45 509,128 Enfield 195,755 169,312.60 365,068 Essex 709,672 613,809.46 1,323,481 Gateshead 107,193 92,713.20 199,906 Gloucestershire 291,418 252,053.51 543,472 Greenwich 208,487 180,324.59 388,812 Hackney 160,908 139,172.64 300,081 Halton 94,864 82,049.90 176,914 Hammersmith and Fulham 101,406 87,707.95 189,114 Hampshire 594,273 513,998.20 1,108,271 Haringey 185,315 160,282.90 345,598 Harrow 115,622 100,003.62 215,626 Hartlepool 90,000 65,000.00 155,000 Havering 122,809 106,219.53 229,029 Herefordshire 90,000 75,973.45 165,973 Hertfordshire 596,706 516,103.02 1,112,809 Hillingdon 192,877 166,822.83 359,700 Hounslow 145,726 126,041.38 271,767 Isle of Wight 90,000 72,266.94 162,267 Isles of Scilly 50,000 50,000.00 100,000 Islington 136,353 117,934.56 254,288 Kensington and Chelsea 131,229 113,502.35 244,731 Kent 734,395 635,192.89. 1,369,588 Kingston Upon Thames 90,000 72,201.15 162,201 Kirklees 229,587 198,574.50 428,162 Knowsley 138,142 119,481.66 257,624 Lambeth 164,633 142,394.14 307,027 Lancashire 657,899 569,030.20 1,226,929 Leeds 495,926 428,936.52 924,863 Leicestershire 325,861 281,843.75 607,705 Lewisham 197,690 170,985.75 368,676 Lincolnshire 339,879 293,968.32 633,847 Liverpool 431,696 373,382.85 805,079 Luton 130,397 112,783.10 243,180 Manchester 344,728 298,162.26 642,890 Medway 150,215 129,923.79 280,139 Merton 114,423 98,966.96 213,390 Middlesbrough 133,666 115,610.61 249,277 Milton Keynes 131,247 113,518.43 244,765 Newcastle upon Tyne 179,521 155,270.96 334,792 Newham 200,779 173,657.75 374,437 Norfolk 422,596 365,511.70 788,108 North East Lincolnshire 127,322 110,123.02 237,445 North Lincolnshire 96,206 83,210.41 179,416 North Somerset 97,642 84,452.53 182,095 North Tyneside 111,261 96,232.19 207,493 North Yorkshire 282,922 244,704.76 527,627 Northamptonshire 377,607 326,599.55 704,207 Northumberland 179,810 155,521.36 335,331 Nottinghamshire 457,275 395,506.28 852,781 Oldham 160,431 138,759.77 299,191 Oxfordshire 346,201 299,436.40 645,637 Poole 90,000 65,000.00 155,000 Portsmouth 127,300 110,104.17 237,404 Reading 90,685 78,435.04 169,120 Redbridge 132,434 114,545.16 246,979 Redcar and Cleveland 108,021 93,429.47 201,450 Richmond Upon Thames 90,965 78,677.65 169,643 Rochdale 145,340 125,707.09 271,047 Rotherham 178,187 154,117.84 332,305 Rutland 50,000 50,000.00 100,000 Salford 161,247 139,465.91 300,713 Sandwell 235,109 203,350.34 438,459 Sefton 173,084 149,703.44 322,787 Sheffield 329,686 285,151.79 614,838 Shropshire 143,746 124,328.65 268,075 Slough 90,000 66,359.32 156,359 Solihull 127,951 110,667.38 238,618 Somerset 267,571 231,427.80 498,999 South Gloucestershire 132,957 114,997.05 247,954 South Tyneside 110,581 95,643.58 206,225 Southampton 138,641 119,912.96 258,554 Southend on Sea 94,308 81,568.80 175,877 Southwark 221,756 191,800.96 413,557 St. Helens 118,976 102,905.11 221,881 Staffordshire 451,419 390,441.20 841,860 Stockport 160,023 138,407.29 298,430 Stockton on Tees 130,962 113,271.64 244,234 Stoke on Trent 159,133 137,637.60 296,771 Suffolk 342,823 296,514.58 639,338 Sunderland 200,855 173,723.80 374,579 Surrey 588,104 508,662.65 1,096,767 Sutton 114,350 98,903.71 213,254 Swindon 111,219 96,195.83 207,415 Tameside 150,922 130,535.32 281,457 Telford and Wrekin 103,299 89,345.36 192,644 Thurrock 90,798 78,533.04 169,331 Torbay 90,000 65,000.00 155,000 Tower Hamlets 212,204 183,539.40 395,743 Trafford 107,647 93,105.85 200,753 Wakefield 196,387 169,859.43 366,246 Walsall 209,888 181,536.45 391,424 Waltham Forest 172,766 149,429.16 322,195 Wandsworth 146,446 126,664.20 273,110 Warrington 101,789 88,039.42 189,828 Warwickshire 265,357 229,512.86 494,870 West Berkshire 90,000 75,507.60 165,508 West Sussex 389,043 336,491.09 725,534 Wigan 189,634 164,018.51 353,653 Wiltshire 216,055 186,870.06 402,925 Windsor and Maidenhead 90,000 70,904.61 160,905 Wirral 210,472 182,041.08 392,513 Wokingham 90,000 72,720.63 162,721 Wolverhampton 175,812 152,063.15 327,875 Worcestershire 282,374 244,230.79 526,605 Total 30,750,000 26,500,000 57,250,000 Note: £250,000 for each year for evaluation of YOF and YCF
The Youth Opportunity Fund (YOF) and the Youth Capital Fund (YCF) have only been available to local authorities from April 2006. A total of £115 million is available for both funds over 2006-08.
We do not hold centrally information on the types of schemes the Youth Opportunity Fund is funding. We are currently in the process of collating data on the numbers of projects and the young people involved in the funds for the first year of funding 2006-07. This information will be available after the end of the financial year, when reports have been received from LAs.
A total of £115 million is available through the Youth Opportunity and Youth Capital Funds over the period 2006-08. A total of £57.5 million is available in each of the years 2006-07 and 2007-08. All the funds for 2006-07 and 2007-08 have been allocated to local authorities. In 2006-07, £170,179 was withheld at the request of four authorities who indicated they would not be able to spend their full allocation.
It is not possible for the £170,179 under spend to be reallocated at this stage of the year.
Treasury
Alcoholic Drinks: Death
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 22 March 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking in how many deaths in the East Riding of Yorkshire alcohol was cited as the primary cause in each of the last five years. (129700)
The table below provides the number of deaths with an alcohol-related underlying cause in East Riding of Yorkshire unitary authority from 2001 to 2005 (the latest year available).
Number 2001 24 2002 19 2003 29 2004 24 2005 29 1 Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). The specific causes of death categorised as alcohol-related, and their corresponding ICD-10 codes, are shown in the box below. 2 Based on local authority boundaries as of 2007. 3 Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.
Cause of death ICD-10 code(s) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol F10 Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol G31.2 Alcoholic polyneuropathy G62.1 Alcoholic cardiomyopathy I42.6 Alcoholic gastritis K29.2 Alcoholic liver disease K70 Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified K73 Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver (excl. Biliary cirrhosis) K74 (excl. K74.3-K74.5) Alcohol induced chronic pancreatitis K86.0 Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol X45 Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol X65 Poisoning by and exposure to alcohol, undetermined intent Y15
Business: Migrant Workers
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 22 March 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of businesses that employ migrant workers. (129180)
The information requested is not available.
Child Trust Fund
The following table shows the number of children for whom child benefit was claimed at 30 November 2006, who live in the UK and are not subject to any immigration restrictions, by the quarter and year in which they were born.
Thousand Birth date Number of children September 2002 to March 2005 1,780 April to June 2005 176 July to September 2005 182 October to December 2005 171 January to March 2006 172 April to June 2006 174 July to September 2006 175
Departments: Manpower
(2) why his Department’s Budget, Tax and Welfare Comprehensive Spending Review co-ordination team does not appear on the latest Treasury Organisation chart;
(3) on what date he established his Department’s Budget, Tax and Welfare CSR co-ordination team.
This temporary team existed from March 2006 to February 2007, when it had one member.
Departments: Recruitment
(2) what the process is for (a) advertising and recruiting and (b) selecting and interviewing candidates for his Council of Economic Advisers.
The appointment of special advisers is conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
Gila Sacks
Gila Sacks did not replace another member of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Insurance Companies: Ethics
The Treasury receives correspondence relating to a wide range of issues. I am not aware of any recent letters to the Treasury on the ethical standards of the insurance industry.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is responsible for regulating the insurance industry. The FSA’s Principles for Business place high-level responsibilities on regulated firms to, among other things, act with integrity and to treat their customers fairly. Additionally, the FSA’s Threshold Conditions set down the minimum standards for becoming and remaining authorised, including that the firm is ‘fit and proper’ to conduct authorised business.
Planning Gain Supplement
Budget 2007 announced that the Government propose that either the Mayor of London or one of his functional bodies would directly receive the regional share of PGS revenues for infrastructure to deliver the objectives identified in the London Plan. As in other regions, the expectation is that transport would be the focus of spending in the short term.
Stamp Duties
(2) what proportion of home buyers in the last year for which figures are available paid (a) nought, (b) one, (c) three and (d) 4 per cent. stamp duty.
The following table gives the estimated numbers and percentage of residential property transactions in England and Wales falling into each stamp duty band in 1996-97. Figures for the UK are not available for this year.
Price range (£) Stamp duty rate (percentage) Number of residential property transactions (000) Percentage of residential transactions 0 to 60,000 0 698 59 60,001 + 1 482 41
The following table gives the estimated percentage of residential property transactions in the UK falling into each stamp duty band in 2005-06:
Stamp duty land tax rate (percentage) Number of residential property transactions (000) Percentage of residential transactions paying tax at rate 0 784 48 1 640 39 3 179 11 4 39 2
The 0 per cent. band includes residential transactions involving considerations over £120,000 which were relieved from stamp duty land tax due to disadvantaged area relief.
Treasury Board
(2) on what date his Department’s Director of Operations was appointed to the Treasury Board;
(3) what changes have been made to the Treasury Board since 1 February 2007;
(4) on what date it was decided that all managing directors would become members of the Treasury Board;
(5) on what date his Department first placed a summary of the Treasury Board’s four meetings in 2006-07 on his Department’s website;
(6) if he will publish on his Departmental website minutes from the HM Treasury Executive Committee;
(7) pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2007, Official Report, column 2236W, on the Treasury Board, which Treasury Director sat on the Treasury Board prior to Michael Ellam’s appointment;
(8) pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2007, Official Report, column 2236W, on the Treasury Board, if he will place in the Library full minutes of the four meetings of the Treasury Board that have taken place in 2006-07 and of which summaries have been placed on his Department’s website.
I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Rayleigh on 8 March 2007, Official Report, column 2236W.
No changes have been made to the Treasury Board since 1 February 2007.
Managing Directors attend Treasury Board meetings as a matter of course. Managing Director posts have always been at board level. The post of Director of Operations has attended the Board since its creation. The post of Director of Policy and Planning was created in July 2004 and became a full member of this Board in July 2005.
Details of individual postholders have been provided in the department’s annual reports.
There is no body known as the HM Treasury Executive Committee.
Valuation Office
An automated valuation model is one component of a fully integrated computer-assisted mass appraisal (CAMA) system. The latter would include, for example, a geographic information system, which the Valuation Office Agency does not have.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 23 March 2006, Official Report, column 531W. There has been no update to the document since it was placed in the Library.
Voluntary Work: Young People
The national youth volunteering organisation, v, is funded with up to £100 million, including a fund available to match contributions from business. As part of the match fund, HM Treasury allocated £0.5 million for v for the vcashpoint scheme in 2006-07, matching the equivalent contribution from HSBC.
HM Treasury plays no other role in relation to vcashpoint.
Welfare Tax Credits
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 18 December 2006, Official Report, columns 1559-60W to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes).
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Hilary Armstrong) on Monday 12 March, Official Report, column 97W.
Departments: Publicity
For these purposes my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. McFadden) on Wednesday 21 March, Official Report, column 957W.
Departments: Trade Unions
My officials and I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Iraq: Casualties
I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper) on 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 36W.
In addition, I refer my right hon. Friend to the answers I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) and the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) at Prime Minister's questions on Wednesday 14 March, Official Report, columns 280-81.
Health
Abortion: Peterborough
The available information is set out in the following tables.
under 16 16-17 18-19 2002 North Peterborough PCT 31 27 43 2002 South Peterborough PCT 33 20 29
under 18 18-19 2003 North Peterborough PCT 38 47 2003 South Peterborough PCT 28 22 2004 North Peterborough PCT 30 41 2004 South Peterborough PCT 26 37 2005 North Peterborough PCT 37 41 2005 South Peterborough PCT 27 30 Notes: 1 Data have previously been published in the above format. We are unable break the data down by age under 15 and 15-18 as this, in turn, would reveal small numbers (0-9 cases). This is in line with ONS guidance published in 2005. 2 PCTs for North Peterborough and South Peterborough are the nearest available areas to Peterborough city council area and the Peterborough and Stamford hospitals NHS foundation trust as data are published by PCT of the woman’s residence. Prior to 2002 there were no data published relating specifically to Peterborough. 3 Totals less than 10 are already published.
Aircraft: Air Conditioning
The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment is considering a review of published epidemiological surveys at its meeting on 20 March 2007.
The relevant papers can be found on the internet at:
www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/cotnonfood/index.htm
www.food.gov.uk/science/ouradvisors/toxicity/
Copies have been placed in the Library.
Alcoholic Drinks: Children
The following table shows the number of all diagnosis count of finished in-year admission episodes for children aged 17 and under, admitted via accident and emergency (A&E) departments for an alcohol related illness, by patients, primary care trust (PCT)/strategic health authority (SHA) of residence and West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust covering the period 1997-98 to 2005-06. This is the latest data available.
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA of residence East of England SHA area of residence1 Suffolk PCT area of residence2 West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust 1997-98 208 467 58 17 1998-99 188 410 55 8 1999-2000 212 487 57 16 2000-01 207 432 66 18 2001-02 196 458 83 18 2002-03 196 440 61 15 2003-04 235 498 83 29 2004-05 258 538 85 37 2005-06 242 485 50 22 1 East of England SHA area includes the following: Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA; Essex SHA; and Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA. 2 Suffolk PCT area includes the following: Suffolk Coastal PCT; Ipswich PCT; Central Suffolk PCT; and Suffolk West PCT. Notes: Finished in-year admissions. A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. PCT and SHA data quality PCT and SHA data was added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002-03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment is poor in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of general practitioner (GP) practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997-98 and 1998-99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data. All diagnoses count of episodes These figures represent a count of all finished in year admission episodes where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a HES record. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis) The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Secondary diagnoses As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (6 prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care. Alcohol related diagnoses: ICD-10 codes F10 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol; K70 Alcoholic liver disease; T51 Toxic effect of alcohol Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS PCTs in England. The 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. Source: Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for Health and Social Care.
Blood: Contamination
Heat-treated Factor VIII and Factor IX produced by Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) in the mid 1980s were evaluated in several haemophilia centres in England and Wales. The results from these studies have been published by the investigators in medical journals.
BPL developed 8Y in 1985 and studies on the efficacy of BPL’s heat treatment undertaken after 1986 showed that the process was very efficacious. Clinical trials and laboratory studies reported in 1985 had previously demonstrated the safety and clinical efficacy of the heat-treated product made by the Plasma Fractionation Laboratory of Churchill hospital Oxford, which was destined to become the BPL heat treated factor VIII product (8Y).
The report “Self Sufficiency in Blood Products in England and Wales” provides a section on heat treatment which contains information on trials undertaken by a number of commercial companies. The supporting references are all in the public domain.
(2) by what date she expects her Department to finish its identification and review of all the documents currently held relating to the safety of blood products between 1970 and 1985; and if she will make a statement.
[holding answer 19 March 2007]: The report on the internal review of documents held by the Department relating to the safety of blood products between 1970 and 1985 is being finalised. This report will also take account of missing documents. We expect to complete the report shortly, and a copy will be placed in the Library.
The internal audit report will be referenced in the internal review of documents and we will make all reference documents available.
Alcoholic Drinks: Lancashire
The information requested is shown in the table.
1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Morecambe Bay PCT 859 668 504 664 746 928 1,175 1,364 1,408 1,532 Wyre PCT 128 149 189 201 154 219 214 206 281 319 Blackpool PCT 338 531 563 638 402 608 646 660 707 865 Fylde PCT 97 140 138 112 101 147 167 172 182 187 Preston PCT 752 763 673 859 795 896 800 726 740 889 Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT 217 274 271 274 271 297 254 262 520 462 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale PCT 707 844 942 997 1,065 1,344 1,033 1,212 1,361 1,256 Blackburn with Darwen Teaching PCT 386 491 433 477 390 426 446 468 808 726 Chorley and South Ribble PCT 663 738 679 811 737 806 844 771 710 985 West Lancashire PCT 266 253 266 300 287 297 323 436 375 482 Total 4,413 4,851 4,658 5,333 4,948 5,968 5,902 6,277 7,092 7,703 Notes: 1. Finished in-year admissions A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data-year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. PCT and SHA data were added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002-03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment are poor in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of GP practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997-98 and 1998-99 are also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data. 2. All diagnoses count of episodes These figures represent a count of all finished in year admission episodes where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a HES record. 3. Data quality Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England. The 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. 4. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care
Cervical Cancer: Vaccination
There have been about 25 representations received regarding the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is in the process of thoroughly examining the vaccine safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness evidence concerning HPV vaccines. The work is being taken forward by a sub-group of JCVI, with further work ongoing to evaluate whether the vaccine is considered to be a cost-effective prevention of cervical cancer; and the impact that HPV vaccine may have on genital warts.
The sub group’s advice will be reported to the main JCVI committee for further discussion.
No decisions will be taken on introducing these vaccines into the immunisation programme until JCVI has presented its advice to Ministers for their consideration.
Colorectal Cancer: Screening
(2) how many people in England have been invited to participate in the national bowel cancer screening programme; and how many have been sent a home testing kit by each of the five national bowel cancer screening programme hubs;
(3) how many local bowel cancer screening centres have begun providing endoscopy services for patients who have had a positive faecal occult blood test result;
(4) how many bowel cancers have been diagnosed through the national bowel cancer screening programme;
(5) when each of the five national bowel cancer screening programme hubs began operation;
As at 16 March 2007, the national health service bowel cancer screening programme had sent out 128,993 invitations for screening. Invitations are sent out one week before the testing kits, and people can opt out of receiving a testing kit if they wish.
110,608 faecal occult blood testing kits had been sent out, and 57,280 had been returned and analysed at the five programme hubs. 1,003 positive results had been recorded, and 92 cancers diagnosed. 292 patients were diagnosed with polyps which may have developed into cancer over time. Treating these polyps has reduced their risk of bowel cancer.
The five programme hubs which began operations are shown in the table.
Programme hub Date began operations West Midlands and North West (Rugby) April 2006 Southern (Guildford) September 2006 London (St. Mark's, Harrow) October 2006 North East (Gateshead) February 2007 Eastern (Nottingham) March 2007
15 local screening centres are now operational and are shown in the table.
Local screening centre Date began operations Wolverhampton July 2006 Norwich July 2006 Liverpool September 2006 South Devon September 2006 St. Mark’s, Harrow October 2006 South West London November 2006 Gloucestershire January 2007 Bolton February 2007 South Tyne February 2007 Tees February 2007 Hull February 2007 Heart of England March 2007 Inner North East London March 2007 University college London March 2007 Derbyshire March 2007
It is hoped a sixteenth centre will open before the end of March 2007. This will be confirmed if and when quality and capacity criteria have been satisfied.
Departments: Complaints
The Department established responsibility for the management of complaints about the Department within its customer service centre in September 2004.
Between 1997-98 and 2001-02 there have been no dedicated staff and complaints have been dealt with at local level.
Since February 2005, there have been two members of staff spending some of their time working on complaints.
Complaints about public consultation exercises and Freedom of Information reviews are carried out by specialist units within the Department.
The NHS Purchasing and Supply Unit (PASA) has no dedicated staff or units for complaints and complaints are handled by its corporate affairs unit.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had no staff working in dedicated complaints units in the Department and executive agencies in 1997-98, 2001-02, 2005-06 and 2006-07 to date.
However the MHRA has had an independent complaints adviser for the whole period to date. This person has complaints referred to them where they cannot be resolved internally to the complainant’s satisfaction.
Departments: Energy
The Department’s consumption and cost of energy for each year since 2000 broken down into figures for gas and electricity are shown in the following tables.
Cost (£) Usage (kWh) 1999-2000 57,184 6,411,000 2000-01 78,807 6,180,000 2001-02 67,097 4,237,000 2002-03 86,367 5,268,000 2003-04 78,989 5,208,000 2004-05 115,470 5,604,000 2005-06 157,684 4,636,000
Cost (£) Usage (kWh) 1999-2000 682,983 14,081,000 2000-01 613,563 13,802,000 2001-02 632,791 13,417,000 2002-03 602,320 13,780,000 2003-04 631,337 13,913,000 2004-05 754,096 14,220,000 2005-06 911,063 13,454,000
The Department does not have a vehicle fleet and does not record details of vehicle fuel consumption.
The Government car service provides vehicles for Ministers but the Department has no record of fuel used for these vehicles.
Departments: Retirement
From 1 October 2006, two employees have reached age 65 and elected to retire from the organisation. Before then employees retired at age 60.
Drugs: Prisons
Implementation of the integrated drug treatment system (IDTS) commenced in 2006.
The current year’s investment in IDTS totals £17 million. This comprises £12 million from the Department and £5 million from the Home Office. This will fund IDTS implementation in 45 prisons, allowing some 44,000 prisoners to receive treatment via the programme by March 2008.
Eastbourne Hospital
Funding for alcohol treatment services is not allocated directly to national health service acute trusts.
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Eating Disorders: Research
The Department is considering whether we can undertake further research into eating disorders through the National Institute for Health Research, about which we hope to make an announcement soon.
Exercise
(2) how much public money the Government spent on the encouragement of physical activity among the general population for public health purposes in each of the last five years; and how much is planned to be spent over the next five years.
The Department and the national health service promote the benefits of physical activity in many ways to professionals, the public and other stakeholders.
In particular, primary care trusts are required to have systematic and managed health promotion programmes, including action on exercise, that are responsive to local needs. Spending on the promotion of sport and physical recreation by the NHS is not recorded centrally.
Alongside spending by the NHS to support local delivery of physical activity programmes for adults and children, the Department has funded pilot work to inform interventions. This has included:
the local exercise action pilot scheme (LEAP), which has been jointly funded by the Department, Sport England and the Countryside Agency with an overall cost of £2.5 million between 2003 and 2006. The LEAP pilots included interventions targeted towards children, adults and older people;
a joint Department, Department for Education and Skills, and Youth Sport Trust pilot programme Schools on the Move, which includes resource materials for schools, teachers and young people to help integrate pedometers into the life of the school. The Department has invested £100,000 in the pilot during 2005 and 2006; and
a contribution of £27,000 by the Department in 2003 to a pilot initiative which distributed 10,000 Step-O-Meters to general practitioner practices in areas of high deprivation and high rates of coronary heart disease. Other funding partners were the Countryside Agency and the British Heart Foundation.
National programmes to promote physical activity arising out of this pilot work include:
the National Step-O-Meter Programme, led jointly by the Department of Health and Natural England, is training health professionals across the country in motivational interviewing and the use of pedometers as a motivational tool, and providing free pedometers for loan to their patients. The Department has invested £650,000 in this programme since 2005; and
a £494,000 school pedometer programme, distributing 40,000 pedometers to 250 schools in deprived areas to encourage children to become more active, and enabling all schools to access resources to support increased physical activity.
The Secretary of State for Health, through the section 64 general scheme of grants (s64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968), has power to make grants to voluntary organisations in England whose activities support the Department’s policy priorities.
The Department has provided funding to physical activity based programmes under the section 64 scheme to the following organisations:
Sustrans;
Amateur Swimming Association;
English Federation of Disability Sport;
National Heart Forum; and
British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.
For the coming year, the Department intends to spend £1.6 million on increasing physical activity. Spending allocations for the years after 2007-08 have yet to be finalised.
The inter-ministerial group on physical activity, chaired by Caroline Flint, last met on 5 February 2007. Caroline Flint has also held bilaterals with participating Ministers.
The group has collated information on what each Department has achieved, and reviewed the gaps and obstacles to local delivery.
“Choosing Activity: a physical activity action plan”, published on 9 March 2005, sets out 99 actions across Government to promote physical activity among children, in the community, in workplaces, and in the NHS.
Government implementation of Choosing Activity includes:
In December 2006, the Department, Sport England and Natural England published recommendations to support the local commissioning of physical activity interventions. These were based on the findings of the local exercise action pilots (LEAP), which demonstrated that physical activity interventions are cost-effective and can save the NHS money in the long-term by reducing ill-health. LEAP has also shown that it is possible to engage a broad range of people, and to increase physical activity levels.
The National Step-0-Meter Programme, a joint programme across the Department and Natural England, is training health professionals across the country in motivational interviewing and the use of pedometers as a motivational tool, and providing free pedometers for loan to their patients. To date 4,000 primary care health professionals, across 220 PCTs (pre-reconfiguration) have been trained in motivational behaviour change.
To support the above programmes, the Department has developed a simple tool, the general practice physical activity questionnaire (GPPAQ) for routine use in general practice to help health professionals decide when advice and interventions to increase physical activity might be appropriate to offer a patient.
A school pedometer programme, distributing 40,000 pedometers to 250 schools in deprived areas to encourage children to become more active, and enabling all schools to access resources to support increased physical activity.
It is a requirement since 2005 for all schools participating in the National Healthy Schools programme to meet criteria for physical activity.
The Department for Transport are rolling out the new national standard for cycle training, Bikeability, from spring 2007, with the aim that by 2009 half of all year six pupils in England will be trained through schemes awarding the new standard.
Food: Labelling
Food labelling legislation is already largely harmonised within the European Union. The European Commission is currently conducting a review of this legislation, and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is representing the United Kingdom in preparatory experts’ group meetings in Brussels. UK policy lines are being developed by the FSA through consultation with stakeholders and other Government Departments. The Commission does not expect to submit a draft proposal, to Council and the European Parliament, before the end of 2007.
Health Professions: Training
Information for England on the average cost of training each nurse and doctor for the entire period between entering onto a degree or diploma course until full registration, inclusive of tuition, bursary and salary support costs are given in the following table.
Staff group 2005-06 cost (£) Nurse diploma (bursaried) 40,225 Nurse degree (bursaried) 28,410 Nurse secondee (salaried) 61,255 Doctor 200,000-250,000 Source: Financial and Workforce Information Return (FWIR) November 2004 and NHS Student Grant Unit for nurse bursaries.
In the period between entry to medical school and full registration, it is estimated that training a doctor costs between £200,000 and £250,000. Doctors generally continue training after full registration. As the duration and nature of post-registration training varies greatly, and as service and training costs are closely related, it is not possible to provide a meaningful estimate of the total cost of training.
Health Services: Lancashire
(2) how much money was spent in Lancashire on anti-alcohol initiatives in each of the last 10 years;
(3) how much money was spent in Lancashire on anti-smoking initiatives in each of the last 10 years.
Information on spending by national health service organisations on particular areas is not collected centrally. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for providing health services to meet the needs of their local population, including services to tackle obesity, alcohol misuse and smoking. The 2006-07 and 2007-08 revenue allocations to PCTs separately identify £211 million nationally in 2006-07 and £342 million nationally in 2007-08 to support implementation of the “Choosing Health” White Paper. This funding has been targeted on the most deprived areas to support the delivery of some of the commitments in the “Choosing Health” White Paper. This will enable PCTs to deliver various initiatives including action on diet, activity and obesity, alcohol interventions and NHS stop smoking services. Revenue allocations to commissioning organisations in Lancashire, PCTs and previously health authorities, are shown in the tables.
The tables show the revenue allocations made to PCTs in Lancashire for the two allocations rounds 2006-07 to 2007-08 and 2003-04 to 2005-06.
Organisation name 2006-07 allocation (£ million) 2007-08 allocation (£ million) Two-year increase (£ million) Two-year increase (Percentage) Blackburn with Darwen PCT 207.7 227.2 37.4 19.7 Blackpool PCT 213.8 232.5 36.6 18.7 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale PCT 339.6 371.2 60.9 19.6 Chorley and South Ribble PCT 242.7 266.7 44.3 19.9 Fylde PCT 88.0 95.2 13.9 17.1 Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT 152.3 166.5 27.3 19.6 Morecambe Bay PCT 404.4 438.5 66.2 17.8 Preston PCT 191.7 207.0 30.2 17.1 West Lancashire PCT 136.4 149.4 24.5 19.6 Wyre PCT 159.0 174.8 29.1 20.0
Organisation name 2003-04 allocation (£ million) 2004-05 allocation (£ million) 2005-06 allocation (£ million) Three-year increase (£ million) Three-year increase (Percentage) Blackburn with Darwen PCT 143.9 158.3 175.3 43.7 33.1 Blackpool PCT 151.9 166.7 182.1 42.7 30.7 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale PCT 241.3 265.0 289.6 68.4 30.9 Chorley and South Ribble PCT 171.7 188.2 205.5 47.7 30.3 Fylde PCT 64.0 69.7 75.6 16.6 28.1 Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT 103.9 114.1 124.7 29.5 31.0 Morecambe Bay PCT 289.9 316.3 344.2 76.8 28.7 Preston PCT 142.0 154.7 167.9 36.8 28.1 West Lancashire PCT 97.1 106.4 116.2 27.0 30.3 Wyre PCT 112.8 123.5 134.7 30.9 29.8
Health Authorities
Revenue allocations were made direct to PCTs, for the first time in 2003-04. Prior to this, revenue allocations were made to health authorities (HA). The allocations made to the health authorities in Lancashire for the period 1996-97 to 2002-03 are provided in the following table.
Allocation (£ million) 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 East Lancashire HA 230.8 240.7 253.1 349.9 384.2 416.7 461.1 Morecambe Bay HA 139.7 145.3 151.7 205.7 224.1 243.0 268.4 North West Lancashire HA 214.0 223.1 234.4 321.6 352.1 382.9 424.1 South Lancashire HA 127.0 132.5 138.4 185.8 206.2 223.3 247.2
Health Services: Prisons
Our overall aim is to ensure that national health service professionals working with offenders have access to similar clinical information systems and services as those in the rest of the NHS in order to improve the quality of patient care and support system reform.
The great majority of health professionals working in prisons have no specialist information management and technology support, and the task of developing and providing prison establishments with appropriate clinical information technology (IT) hardware and software has always been recognised as an integral corollary of the transfer of health care responsibility from the Home Office to this Department from April 2006. Within the Department, the provision of strategic IT systems is undertaken by the NHS Connecting for Health (NHS CfH) agency as a part of the wider national programme for IT in the NHS.
Planning is under way to extend compliant primary care systems to support prison healthcare. Mental health and limited secondary care functionality will be added at a later date as applications become available. The first practical step to achieving this goal is in the form of providing the necessary connectivity to the N3 network in the prison estate. This has two aspects: providing broadband connections to prison establishments, and developing a network infrastructure within establishments. In December 2006, £3 million was specifically allocated through strategic health authorities to enhance prison health care IT infrastructure, with the majority of work due to complete this month. NHS CfH is liaising with the prison service and primary care trusts to oversee implementation of this phase of the programme, based on local costed plans.
Health: Finance
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 11 January 2007, Official Report, columns 702-03W.
Hospital Beds: Tamworth
The number of delayed transfers of care from acute beds at the Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals National Health Service Trust within the last 12 months is shown in the following table.
Month Delayed transfers of care 2006 March 2 April 4 May 2 June 5 July 1 August 1 September 9 October 10 November 5 December 9 2007 January 5 February 7 Note: Numbers of delayed transfers of care are collected as a snapshot at midnight Thursday each week. These data are snapshots taken in the final week of each month. Source: Department of Health SitReps
Influenza
The programme to offer seasonal flu vaccine to poultry workers started on 22 January and runs until 31 March.
As of 21 March, preliminary vaccine uptake data indicate 1,000 poultry workers from 42 primary care trusts have been vaccinated.
Final vaccine uptake data will be collected in mid April.
Maternity Services: Manpower
The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent medical staff in the obstetrics and gynaecology specialities and registered midwives in each year since 1995.
Full-time equivalent 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Obstetrics and gynaecology 3,406 3,540 3,608 3,685 3,684 3,677 3,711 3,898 4,069 4,286 4,580 Registered midwives 18,034 18,262 18,053 18,168 17,876 17,662 18,048 18,119 18,444 18,854 18,949 Source: The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census
Medicine: Training
Applicants who are unsuccessful in securing a place on a specialty training programme may apply for a fixed-term specialty training appointment which may also count towards the completion of training. Doctors are also free to apply for non-training posts as career grade or service doctors which are advertised by individual national health service trusts. Those who do not obtain places in specialty training programmes will be able to re-apply for such programmes as vacancies arise in future.
Mental Health Services: Surveys
The Healthcare Commission is responsible for publication of the Count Me In Census.
Mid-Essex Hospital Trust: Hospital Beds
[holding answer 19 March 2007]: The following table shows the number of delayed transfers of care from acute beds at Mid-Essex Hospital Services National Health Service Trust in each month since January 2005.
Month Delayed transfers of care 2005 January 27 February 26 March 18 April 12 May 8 June 8 July 14 August 2 September 17 October 11 November 9 December 11 2006 January 10 February 9 March 6 April 8 May 8 June 10 July 6 August 21 September 7 October 5 November 16 December 14 2007 January 14 February 9 Note: The number of delayed transfers of care are collected as a snapshot at midnight Thursday each week. These data are snapshots taken in the final week of each month. Source: Department of Health Sitreps
Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust: Redundancy
[holding answer 19 March 2007]: There have been 32 compulsory redundancies in the Mid Essex hospital trust up to December 2006; 25 of these posts were non-clinical.
Midwives
(2) what assessment she has made of the appropriateness of the size of the caseload of community midwives; and whether her Department has issued advice on the appropriate (a) average, (b) minimum and (c) maximum caseload for community midwives;
(3) how many (a) full-time equivalent and (b) headcount-registered midwife posts carried the requirement of working in both acute and community settings in each of the last 12 years for which records are available;
(4) in how many (a) acute trusts, (b) primary care trusts and (c) other NHS trusts have (i) acute and (ii) community midwives been required to work in both acute and community settings.
This information is not collected centrally and we have not carried out an assessment of, or provided advice about, the size of case loads. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders to commission midwifery services in order to meet local needs.
Motor Neurone Disease: Research
The Department has received a number of representations on this subject, mostly from or prompted by the Motor Neurone Disease Association. The response to them has described the nature and level of Government investment in research into the disease, and the fact that the Dementias and Neurodegenerative Disease Network will give patients from every motor neurone disease clinic in England the opportunity to take part in national clinical trials.
The reliability and validity of outputs from research funded by the Department, including research designed to support policy development, implementation and evaluation, are subject to independent peer review. The national service framework for long-term neurological conditions was informed by specially commissioned research, and its impact is being assessed via a £1 million research initiative.
Note:
Dementias and Neurodegenerative Disease Network was launched in September 2005 as part of the United Kingdom clinical research network.
NHS: Public Participation
An assessment of the impact of local involvement networks on race equality was published as part of the regulatory impact assessment that accompanied the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill. Copies are available in the Library and on the Department of Communities and Local Government website.
NHS: Working Hours
The vast majority of national health service staff have been covered by the European Working Time Directive since 1998. The Government negotiated a staged implementation timetable for doctors in training and is funding pilot projects across the NHS to help trusts implement the 48-hour week from August 2009. Approximately 40 per cent. of doctors in training already work a 48-hour week.
We are monitoring evidence of NHS readiness for fully implementing the 48-hour week for doctors in training. This will inform our assessment of whether to approach the European Commission to use the 2012 derogation to support particular services or specialties.
Nurses: Gender
The September 2005 national health service workforce census showed 89 per cent. of qualified nurses, midwives and health visiting staff in England were female and 11 per cent. were male.
Nurses: Pay
All nurses employed by the national health service will receive a staged pay award for 2007-08. This will consist of an uplift of 1.5 per cent. from 1 April 2007 and a further 1 per cent. from 1 November 2007. In addition, many nurses will also receive an increase typically between 3 and 4 per cent. during the year as they progress up their pay scales, and others will receive a pay increase on promotion. The 2005 NHS workforce census, published in April 2006, shows that at September 2005 there were 404,161 nursing, midwifery and healthcare visiting staff employed by the NHS in England. The results of the 2006 NHS workforce census will be published shortly.
Nurses: Vacancies
The Department has not made an estimate of the number of nursing vacancies expected in the national health service at the end of August 2007.
The March 2007 vacancy survey due to be carried out at the end of this month will provide us with a snapshot of the current nursing three-month vacancy situation.
Nutrition
(2) how many people are employed by her Department to work on strategies designed to encourage obese people to eat less.
Government advice for maintaining a healthy weight is for people to consume a healthy balanced diet and be physically active. The Department’s nutrition and obesity teams, working with the Food Standards Agency and other Government Departments, has a series of initiatives to encourage and support people to eat a diet that is high in fruit and vegetables and lower in saturated fat, salt and sugar.
Obesity is a complex, multi-factorial problem that cannot be attributed to any single factor; it is the imbalance between calories in and calories out. The obesity public service agreement target is jointly owned by three Government Departments covering health, education and sport in recognition that delivery will depend on a concerted, joined-up effort across Government and other key stakeholders.
Osteoporosis
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has not yet published its final guidance on the use of treatments for primary and secondary prevention of fractures in post-menopausal women with osteoporosis. NICE issued an appraisal consultation document on 5 March 2007 setting out its draft recommendations and inviting comments by 26 March 2007. NICE’s appraisal committee will then meet to consider consultation responses and formulate its final guidance.
NICE is an independent body and I have no plans to discuss this ongoing appraisal with interested parties.
Primary Health Care: Bedfordshire
The information requested is not held centrally. It is for the primary care trusts in discussion with local general practitioners (GPs) to decide how many GPs with a specialist interest are required and how to fund any necessary training.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Tamworth
Data on sexually transmitted diseases in residents in the Tamworth constituency are not available or on the number of people tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
Data on the number of all diagnoses in genito-urinary clinics (GUM) in the South Staffordshire primary care trust (PCT), which is within the Tamworth constituency, is given in the table.
Females Males 2001 2,733 2,101 2002 2,892 2,007 2003 3,508 2,465 2004 3,921 2,930 2005 4,282 3,078 Notes: 1. Data is presented for the South Staffordshire PCT within which Tamworth constituency falls. 2. Aggregated data from five GUM clinics are presented, of which one falls within the Tamworth constituency. 3. Data is only available to December 2005. 4. The data available are from GUM clinics only, as only diagnoses made in this setting are recorded in the KC60 return. Diagnoses made in other clinical settings, such as general practice, are not recorded in the dataset. 5. The data available are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of treatments provided or testing performed, as those are not available. 6. The data available are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of people diagnosed. For example, individuals may be diagnosed with several co-infections and each diagnosis will be counted separately. 7. The PCT referred to is the PCT where the clinic is based. This is not necessarily the PCT where the patient is resident, as GUM clinics are open access services.
Surgical Dressings
The effectiveness of maggot debridement therapy has not been assessed specifically for meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA) or other healthcare associated infections.
However, as the use of this therapy is reasonably well established for the treatment of chronic ulcers there is no reason why it would not be considered for MRSA infected or colonised ulcers.
This therapy cannot be used for all wounds but when it is it must form part of a team response involving the infection control team (including the clinical microbiologist), the tissue viability nurse, possibly input from plastic surgeons and other clinicians with wound healing expertise. Additional treatment, including relevant systemic antibiotics, may also be necessary.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published Guidance on the use of debriding agents and specialist wound care clinics for difficult-to-heal surgical wounds in 2001. NICE has advised the national health service that the choice of debriding agent, which includes the use of maggots for difficult to heal surgical wounds should be based on comfort; odour control; other aspects relevant to patient acceptability; the type and location of wound, and total costs.
Vaccination
On 1 March, the Department had over three months stock of all vaccines used in the routine childhood immunisation programme apart from one vaccine. A delivery of this vaccine was made in the week commencing 5 March, taking its stock holding to over three months.