Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 18 July 2007
Transport
Airports: Security
The national aviation security programme lays down the security measures and standards in the UK. Airports, airlines and others are legally bound to comply with mandated security measures but they are free to sub-contract specific statutory security tasks to third parties. The Department for Transport monitors through its compliance activity the standards of implementation and where performance is below the standards required will take action against the regulated party to ensure that improvements are made.
Humber Bridge
These are all matters for the Humber Bridge Board.
Off-road Vehicles: Leisure
I have been asked to reply.
DEFRA has published two guidance documents on the use of off road vehicles for recreational purposes, “Regulating the use of motor vehicles on public rights of way and off road—A guide for Local Authorities, Police and Community Safety Partnerships” and “Making the Best of Byways”. Together these documents set out the powers available to tackle illegal practices, provide good practice examples, and give advice on both the practical management and maintenance of routes.
Public Transport: Crimes of Violence
This information is not held by the Department for Transport but by the British Transport Police who can be contacted at: British Transport Police, 25 Camden Road, London NW1 9LN, E-mail:
general.enquiries@btp.pnn.police.uk.
Railways: Freight
As detailed in the then Secretary of State's written ministerial statement to Parliament of 18 December 2006, Official Report, columns 134-6WS, the Southampton to west coast mainline rail gauge enhancement scheme is one of the strategic freight schemes being considered for funding from the productivity strand of the Transport Innovation Fund.
Final decisions on each of the schemes under consideration will be taken through the Department's investment appraisal framework on an individual basis, as each business case is completed. I hope to be in a position to make further announcements about the individual schemes in the course of this year.
Railways: Vehicle Access Barriers
The aim of the trial was to test the practicalities of deploying and maintaining portable access control barriers in an operational environment.
The trial proved that such barriers could be deployed while maintaining adequate passenger flow rates and emergency access. It also proved, however, that the deployment of such barriers needs very careful planning due to their weight and the resulting loading on the supporting structure.
Further to this trial the Department for Transport is undertaking survey work at stations, in co-operation with operators and the British Transport Police, to assess options for more permanent vehicle access control measures. We are also working with operators to ensure that vehicle access control issues are taken into account as part of planned station developments.
Railways: Standards
Train cancellation data for the rail network as a whole is collected and processed by Network Rail. For a response, the hon. Member may wish to contact Network Rail's Chief Executive at the following address:
John Armitt,
Chief Executive,
Network Rail,
40 Melton Street,
London NW1 2EE
Roads: Safety Measures (Cornwall)
There have been no recent road safety specific issues discussed between the Department for Transport and Cornwall county council.
In December 2006, the Department notified Cornwall of its assessment of their second local transport plan, covering the period 2006-07 to 2010-11. The road safety element of the plan was assessed as being “Excellent” which meant that the Department considered that Cornwall are on track to achieve beyond the 2010 national road safety targets.
House of Commons Commission
Members: Postal Services
The Post Office has continued to supply limited amounts of stationery including prepaid envelopes, and these are now recorded against Members' names. Savings of around £5,000 have been made in the first quarter of 2007-08 by ending the issue of casual stationery and envelopes in the Members' Post Office.
In its report on the Communications Allowance (First Report 2006-07, HC 319), the Members Estimate Committee directly linked the new allowance to an annual limit of £7,000 per Member on pre-paid stationery. The House approved the report on 28 March 2007.
The operation of the arrangement will be kept under review.
Prime Minister
Ministers
In forming the new Government, I spoke to Ministers and discussed the Government’s priorities, but did not exchange letters of appointment.
Select Committees: Publications
The Government are considering the report of the Public Administration Select Committee, “Whitehall Confidential? The Publication of Political Memoirs” and will respond shortly.
Duchy of Lancaster
Civil Servants: Pay
Since April 1996 all Departments and agencies have had delegated responsibility for the pay and grading of staff, except for those below the senior civil service. Current Cabinet Office salary ranges for each pay band can be found at:
http://careers.civil-service.gov.uk/Index.asp?txtNavID=176&txtOverRideDocID=144&635132=&internal=true
Details on current senior civil service pay bands is available from:
www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/performance/scs.
Departments: Postal Services
Information on the volume of correspondence sent by (a) Royal Mail and (b) by other commercial delivery services can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The vast majority of our mail services are provided by Royal Mail. Commercial delivery services are used when a ‘same day’ service is required within the UK and for time sensitive international deliveries
Departments: Publicity
The Cabinet Office currently only uses advertising for recruitment purposes. Cost effectiveness plays a key part in recruitment advertising, for example all vacancies are advertised on the Civil Service Gateway at no cost. For the graduate fast stream, which the Cabinet Office runs for the whole of the civil service, the Cabinet Office employs a mixed media approach, which a 2007 survey of applicants confirmed as the most cost-effective.
Cost-effectiveness is a key part of the Cabinet Office's best practice guidance for Government communicators when commissioning advertising, this can be seen at:
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/government_communication/engage/planning_process.asp
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
BERR funding for ACAS over the last five years is shown in the following table:
£ million 2003-04 46.0 2004-05 47.3 2005-06 47.3 2006-07 45.2 2007-08 43.0
These figures do not include the following provided by BERR to ACAS:
Investment Funding of £15.2 million to finance efficiency savings for the three years from 2005-06;
Capital Funding of £1.2 million for 2005-06, £1.0 million for 2006-07 and £1.0 million for 2007-08.
Funding for the period covered by the 2007 comprehensive spending review (i.e. 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11) has yet to be agreed with ACAS.
Departments: Ministerial Duties
[holding answer 9 July 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
As the Minister for the South West, I am conducting a series of visits to all counties in the region to seek the views of local political leaders and other interested parties about their priorities. My role will be to champion the region and to represent the region in the formulation of central government policy.
Employment: Disciplinary Proceedings
BERR keeps the employment tribunal rules under constant review, with the objective of improving the delivery of justice for all parties.
Employment: Industrial Disputes
The consultation paper “Resolving disputes in the workplace”, published on 21 March 2007, invited views on whether the fixed terms for conciliation in employment disputes should be repealed. My Department’s plans on the way forward will be set out in our response to that consultation which will be published in due course.
Mediation
Mediation is a confidential process, private to the parties involved. No award is made in relation to cases that are settled through a mediation process prior to a tribunal hearing.
BERR makes information available to the public on employment dispute resolution through the Directgov and Business Link websites. BERR also funds the work of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) including the provision of mediation and conciliation for employment disputes.
Parental Leave: Tamworth
The most recent estimates of take-up of maternity and paternity leave are based on the Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits in Britain: Survey of Parents, conducted in 2005. The survey is based on a random sample of mothers who had a baby in December 2003 and their partners.
Of mothers in paid work, all took at least some of their entitlement to maternity leave. 93 per cent. of fathers took some time off around the time of the birth. Of the 93 per cent. who took some time off, 79 per cent. took paternity leave.
The Department does not collect data on low income families so has not estimated the number of low income families which have taken up paternity or maternity leave. The Department does not collect data on take-up of maternity and paternity leave at constituency level.
Post Office: Land
[holding answer 16 July 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
No. The recent review of surplus land was directed at central Government Departments and their agencies and as Royal Mail Holdings, of which Post Office Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary, is a self-financing public corporation, they were not included in the review.
Regional Development Agencies: Official Hospitality
The following table shows the regional development agencies’ (RDAs) expenditure on hospitality and corporate entertainment since their creation to the last full financial year. There are some variances between RDAs in the way this expenditure is classified and recorded.
RDA 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 AWM 8,500 28,500 1163,500 8,600 8,900 8,000 15,816 43,862 EEDA n/a n/a n/a 5,849 11,608 11,118 12,534 7,153 EMDA 284 17,870 6,510 38,722 48,344 48,301 48,185 20,077 LDA 0 209 31,220 16,801 23,133 19,462 27,341 19,202 NWDA 7,144 16,750 21,556 32,908 38,834 35,639 44,975 45,209 ONE 6,659 2,849 30,853 50,644 40,360 34,600 40,421 38,324 SEEDA 24,304 34,689 47,063 36,089 50,858 50,640 35,995 42,061 SWRDA 8,937 13,045 17,723 25,362 17,065 20,552 21,531 17,785 YF 3,405 20,095 19,616 44,992 64,428 39,276 29,397 42,460 1 Exceptional hospitality costs in respect of the 2002 Ryder Cup. This was one off expenditure giving significant coverage to the West Midlands around the globe.
Regional Planning and Development: South West Region
[holding answer 9 July 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
There are two regional strategies—the regional spatial strategy and the regional economic strategy. As the ‘Governance of Britain’ (Cmd 7170) set out, as the Minister for the South West, along with the other regional Ministers, I will advise the relevant Secretary of State on the approval of regional strategies.
Wales
Departments: Legislation
(2) what legislative provisions introduced by his Department since 1997 have not yet been brought into force.
The information is as follows:
Government of Wales Act 1998
Parts have been repealed by the Government of Wales Act 2006 as set out in schedule 12 of that Act.
Health (Wales) Act 2003
The entire Act was brought into force on 26 November 2003. Parts of schedule 1 and 3 were repealed by the NHS (Consequential Provisions) Act 2007; Part of schedule 2 was repealed by the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2005 and part of schedule 3 by the Government of Wales Act 2006.
Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004
The entire Act has been brought into force. The substantive provisions were brought into force by three commencement orders, with effect from dates between 1 January and 20 July 2005; the rest had come into force on Royal Assent.
Sections 2, 6-11 and 65(2) were repealed by the Government of Wales Act 2006. Parts of schedule 2 (which contains amendments of other enactments) have been repealed by the Government of Wales Act 2006, the Health Act 2006, the NHS (Consequential Provisions) Act 2007, and the Education and Inspections Act 2006. Part of section 54 was repealed by the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 (Relaxation of Restriction on Disclosure) Order 2005.
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Act 2005
The Act has been brought into force on 12 October 2005, except for section 20 and paragraph 15(5) of schedule 1; as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 2006, the following provisions have been repealed with effect from 25 May 2007:
sections 12(9), 16(9), 21(11), 23(6), 24(2)(b) and (3), 44(3) and parts of schedules 1 and 6.
Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Act 2006
The entire Act has been brought into force. The substantive provisions were brought into force with effect from 14 October 2006; the rest had come into force on Royal Assent.
Parts of section 27(1) (definitions) have been repealed as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and changes in NHS legislation. Section 28(6) has been repealed as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 2006. The repeals were made by the Government of Wales Act 2006 (Consequential Modifications and Transitional Provisions) Order 2007 and the NHS (Consequential Provisions) Act 2007.
Transport (Wales) Act 2006
The entire Act has been brought into force. The substantive provisions were brought into force with effect from 26 May 2006; the rest had come into force on Royal Assent.
Sections 2(6) and (7) and 5(9) were repealed as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 2006 by the Government of Wales Act 2006 (Consequential Modifications and Transitional Provisions) Order 2007.
Government of Wales Act 2006
No provisions have been repealed and the Act has now come into force in accordance with section 161 except for sections 107, 108 and 110 to 115 which will only come into force in accordance with section 105.
Ministerial Red Boxes
Ministerial boxes are used by successive Ministers over many years. No new boxes have been ordered in the last five years.
Any new ones would be ordered through contracts put in place by the Ministry of Justice.
Flags
In line with the Government’s decision to relax the rules for flying the Union Flag on Government buildings, while consultation on changing the rules takes place, the flying of the Union Flag on UK Government buildings in Wales is a matter for the individual Departments.
Gender Identity Disorder
The responsibility for health in Wales has been devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government. I have regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of issues including the commissioning of services by the NHS in Wales.
It is a legal requirement for health bodies to ensure that they do not impose a ‘blanket ban’ on particular procedures or diagnoses without taking regard of the individual circumstances in each case. However, it is up to the local health boards in Wales to make decisions on setting local priorities for the commissioning and funding of services.
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiatives are an important part of the Government’s strategy for delivering high quality public services.
In assessing where PFI is appropriate, the Government’s approach is based on its commitment to efficiency, equity and accountability and the principles of public sector reform. PFI is only used where it can meet these requirements and deliver clear value for money without sacrificing the terms and conditions of staff.
Where these conditions are met, PFI delivers a number of important benefits. By requiring the private sector to put its own capital at risk and to deliver clear levels of service to the public over the long-term, PFI helps to deliver high quality public services and ensure that public assets are delivered on time and to budget.
It is a matter for individual Government Departments to decide whether to use PFI in projects in Wales applying normal value for money principles.
Tidal Power: Severn Estuary
The Government’s energy strategy outlined in our Energy White Paper (EWP) demonstrates that we firmly believe it is vital that we keep all our options open, including the various opportunities and technologies that tidal power has to offer us.
Wales is supremely well placed to harness the benefits of tidal and wave power because we have such an extensive coastline. However, we are some way off from drawing final conclusions. That is why the Government are working with the Welsh Assembly Government, the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), the South West Regional Development Agency and other key interested parties to look strategically at the tidal resource in the UK.
As our EWP states, the SDC launched a study, the purpose of which is to consider whether the impact of climate change justifies the potential costs and benefits of all tidal technologies including the barrage and tidal lagoons, and their public acceptability. The SDC aims to publish the report this towards the end of the summer.
The work that the SDC is undertaking will not be the only study on tidal technologies. Further detailed studies will need to be conducted, and that these will also include for example, assessments on the environmental impact and the EU Birds and Habitats Directive. So the SDC study will by no means be the last word, but a progressive next step.
It is vital that we consider all options if we are to respond to the twin challenges of climate change and security of supply. Tidal technology has an important role to play in meeting these challenges.
Culture, Media and Sport
Casinos
When the Casino Advisory Panel submitted its Final Report to the Secretary of State on 30 January 2007 its total costs were approximately £400,000.
A group led by Lancaster university has been commissioned to advise on the methodology for the assessment of the social and economic impact of the new casinos. This work has cost £50,000.
The Gambling (Inviting Competing Applications for Casino Premises Licences) Regulations 2007 and Gambling (Categories of Casinos) Regulations 2006 were prepared by officials and lawyers working for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. No external costs were incurred in the development of these regulations.
Olympic Games: Greater London
I have been asked to reply as Minister for the Olympics.
KPMG were contracted to provide advice to the Department until July 2006. Following that KPMG have been contracted by the Olympic Delivery Authority to provide ongoing assistance in compiling their cost estimates.
Radio: Western Isles
The Government have no role in the building or improvement of local radio infrastructure. Ofcom has responsibility for spectrum planning issues, while broadcasters themselves are responsible for transmission matters, including the building and maintaining of transmitters.
Work and Pensions
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: Powers
As is currently the case with the Child Support Agency, the Commission will need to apply to the court to seek an order disqualifying the non-resident parent for holding or obtaining a driving licence.
The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill does however make provision for the Commission to administratively disqualify the non-resident parent for holding or obtaining travel authorisation. The disqualification would though be suspended, pending a court hearing, in the event that the non-resident parent lodged an appeal against the decision within 28 days of receiving the notification.
The loss of a driving licence has the potential to have an immediate and serious impact on the non-resident parent’s day to day life, as well as implications for others—because people driving while disqualified are also uninsured. We have therefore decided that this decision should remain with the court. By contrast, most people require passports on relatively few occasions during the year, such as when taking foreign holidays.
Departments: European Union
Officials throughout the Department for Work and Pensions are involved in a full range of EU business. Those working specifically on the activities listed total: 16 in the International Employment and Social Policy Division; four in the Private Pensions Policy and Regulation Division; two in the Family, Poverty and Work Division; nine in the Law, Governance and Special Policy Group; eight in European Social Fund Division; and 25 in Jobcentre Plus, supporting EU labour market mobility. The Department has two officials seconded to the European Commission, but a complete breakdown of the figures as requested would incur disproportionate cost.
Communities and Local Government
Beaches: Safety
Information on the national total of deaths and injuries on local authority and privately owned beaches is currently not held centrally.
The provision of information and practical beach safety measures is at the discretion of beach owners, including local authorities. Awareness of these issues is high among coastal authorities and many undertake these activities as part of their strategy to support and encourage tourism.
In February 2007, following discussions between the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Local Government Association Coastal Special Interest Group and the Department, the group wrote to all coastal local authorities in England, recommending to those with specific responsibilities for managing beaches, the offer by the RNLI to provide local authorities with a risk assessment service at no cost.
Community Development: Bedfordshire
At the start of the project the Department agreed outcomes and milestones for the Bedfordshire Citizen Service Partnership with the lead authority, Bedfordshire county council.
Bedfordshire county council was responsible for putting in place arrangements to monitor progress on the project. The Department requested quarterly progress reports and a final implementation report from the lead authority. Progress reports from the Citizen Service Partnership indicate that a Joint Committee was established, made up of one nominated member from Bedfordshire county council, Luton council, Mid-Bedfordshire district council and South Bedfordshire district council. The responsibility of the Joint Committee was to facilitate all the functions in relation to the electronic delivery of services on behalf of the authorities. It met quarterly.
Community Development: South West Region
The Commission on Integration and Cohesion was commissioned to investigate issues relating to Cohesion and Integration in August 2006. A report was published on 14 June. Over the next few months the Government will be engaging widely with partners, and will respond fully in the autumn. This will include taking into account issues affecting black and minority ethnic engagement in rural communities.
The Department for Communities and Local Government funded the Black South West Network to work with the South West ACRE (Action for Communities in Rural England) Network to enhance black and minority ethnic engagement in the region.
In March 2007 a multi-agency group, chaired by the South West Regional Assembly, was established to examine the effects of migrant workers on communities in the region and to identify actions necessary to support both those workers and the communities, both urban and rural, in which they live.
Council Tax
Good progress has been made in delivering value for money for local taxpayers, as shown from information contained in annual efficiency statements since 2004-05. The Local Government White Paper sets out steps to ensure a performance framework remains in place to underpin continual improvement in value for money .
Ethnic Groups: South West Region
The most recent information available was published in the 2001 census.
The headline Census Population by Ethnic Group statistics are contained within Key Statistics table KS06 which can be accessed via the Neighbourhood Statistics website:
http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/Downloadl.do
Housing Associations
Housing associations registered with the Housing Corporation are not defined or categorised as “community controlled”. There are 246 housing co-operatives registered with the Corporation in England of which one operates in Colchester, Essex. In addition five registered social landlords in England have been established on “Community Gateway” principles of community empowerment and devolution of management and ownership. Six others are currently seeking registration with the Corporation on this basis, of which one is based in Braintree in Essex.
Regional Government: East Midlands
(2) if she will consider bringing forward proposals to elect a nine-member all party executive for the East Midlands region.
I refer the hon. Member to the oral statement made to the House on 17 July 2007, announcing the publication of the review of sub-national regeneration and economic development. The review sets out the Government's proposals for the future of regional institutions including regional assemblies.
Regional Government: South West Region
I refer the hon. Member to the oral statement made to the House on 17 July 2007 announcing the publication of the Review of Sub-national Regeneration and Economic Development. The review sets out the Government’s proposals for the future of regional institutions including regional assemblies.
Religious Buildings: Mosques
The information requested is not held centrally.
Shropshire County Council: Unitary Councils
We have received no documentation from political lobbyists in connection with the proposal for a unitary Shropshire.
The Department wrote to all chief executives in areas affected by the 16 unitary proposals under consultation, drawing their attention to the code of recommended practice on local authority publicity. The code makes it clear that local authorities should not at any time use public funds to mount publicity campaigns whose primary purpose is to persuade public to hold a particular view on a question of policy, and that authorities must take particular care when publicity is issued immediately prior to an election.
On 19 June, Ministers met with representatives of a number of Shropshire district councils, including Shrewsbury and Atcham to hear their representations on the proposal from Shropshire county council and Oswestry borough council for a unitary Shropshire. The consultation closed on 22 June and we have no plans for any such further meetings.
World War II: Genocide
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) on 17 July 2007, Official Report, column 217W.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture
The following tables show the average holding size in (i) Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (ii) the South West and (iii) England by predominant activity for 1995 to 2005. Holdings which farm organically are included in the results but cannot be identified separately. Data for 2006 will be available later this month.
Source:
June Agricultural Survey.
Cereals General cropping Horticulture Pigs and poultry Dairy Cattle and sheep (LFA) Cattle and sheep (Lowland) Mixed Other Total 1995 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 66.31 64.32 13.7 11.39 63.49 50.14 33.78 74.06 13.65 41.33 South West Region 118.29 87.93 10.43 16.79 74.48 62.34 35.56 103.78 17.45 51.37 England 119.78 124.53 10.94 16.44 70.32 89.17 35.86 104.35 17.32 63.42 1996 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 67.84 60.27 11.24 10.65 65.35 50.38 33.35 73.87 13.30 40.87 South West Region 119.47 80.35 9.78 16.55 75.53 59.29 35.90 104.74 16.67 50.87 England 120.02 126.25 10.98 16.27 71.35 89.11 35.92 105.58 16.71 63.52 1997 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 67.09 71.84 13.99 10.72 66.16 47.67 34.54 72.05 11.42 40.43 South West Region 119.88 87.34 11.24 16.23 75.61 59.75 36.13 102.95 15.27 50.63 England 122.65 133.25 12.04 15.92 71.48 90.82 36.17 103.55 15.49 63.71 1998 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 67.77 67.41 14.10 10.84 66.55 46.71 34.82 73.77 11.43 40.12 South West Region 119.51 86.95 11.59 15.46 74.43 60.12 35.82 107.36 15.60 50.23 England 121.93 135.31 12.18 15.27 70.85 87.27 35.68 106.10 15.89 63.32 1999 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 73.68 74.00 15.05 10.59 69.38 47.32 33.51 76.25 11.63 40.62 South West Region 124.26 97.34 11.87 15.41 77.03 59.72 34.36 106.87 13.92 48.69 England 123.93 138.57 12.67 15.22 73.36 86.47 34.41 108.16 14.62 62.16 2000 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 66.50 84.39 12.00 5.81 72.36 49.81 33.72 70.79 6.13 33.25 South West Region 128.88 100.81 8.65 10.92 82.19 62.41 34.03 101.80 7.73 41.43 England 127.64 145.50 9.92 12.10 78.19 87.64 33.41 106.57 8.25 53.91
Cereals General cropping Horticulture Specialist pigs Specialist poultry Dairy Grazing livestock LFA Grazing livestock lowland Mixed Other Total 2001 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 78.62 85.03 12.86 8.44 5.38 77.50 56.13 32.11 61.45 5.69 33.36 South West Region 136.50 101.44 9.98 16.61 12.43 87.77 67.16 31.73 80.92 8.58 40.95 England 130.88 146.51 11.71 16.93 14.18 83.52 86.55 29.65 81.78 10.41 52.25 2002 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 67.42 82.54 13.21 6.40 4.22 76.30 53.10 30.48 53.88 5.17 29.95 South West Region 131.02 107.98 9.78 14.01 8.72 87.36 64.56 31.50 71.00 6.26 37.19 England 130.75 151.74 11.48 15.24 9.99 83.60 87.73 28.66 73.21 6.66 48.43 2003 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 66.93 87.90 14.03 6.58 4.29 79.61 58.24 31.09 56.64 5.26 30.47 South West Region 131.97 99.72 10.17 11.84 8.83 91.70 68.91 31.89 74.87 6.37 37.44 England 131.54 150.50 11.86 13.68 10.18 87.24 90.54 29.16 73.78 6.71 48.13 2004 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 65.86 89.15 15.10 6.37 4.70 82.21 52.71 30.15 69.88 6.01 31.28 South West Region 124.10 102.90 10.46 10.68 8.91 91.41 66.38 31.10 91.40 6.46 37.20 England 126.87 153.64 12.18 12.37 9.79 87.21 87.78 27.74 90.09 6.73 47.54 2005 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 76.05 92.60 14.41 6.14 5.19 81.25 52.69 32.29 64.44 6.73 31.31 South West Region 128.73 115.73 10.45 10.24 8.78 92.29 67.34 32.61 82.70 7.36 37.12 England 132.21 153.72 12.20 11.73 8.61 86.93 91.14 28.84 83.57 7.49 47.36 Notes: 1. There have been changes in the farm type classifications therefore comparison over time is not possible for some categories. 2. Prior to 2000 minor holdings are not included in the figures. From 2000 onwards all holdings are included. A minor holding has to meet all the following conditions: (a) have a total area of less than six hectares (b) a labour requirement of less than 100 standard person days (c) no regular full-time farmer or worker (d) a glasshouse area of less than 100 square metres (e) the occupier does not farm another holding 3. The introduction of the Single Payment scheme in 2005 has lead to an increase in the number of registered holdings. Source: June agricultural survey
Please find as follows a table detailing the available data which begins in 1995. Gross value added data for the different sectors of agriculture are not available. Gross output values are therefore provided as an alternative. Data for organic farming are not available.
£ million 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly crop output (inc. potatoes) 73 67 54 55 57 45 53 38 41 46 31 horticulture 44 43 39 41 40 43 32 39 53 52 58 livestock 135 120 114 104 96 88 83 107 111 111 87 poultry 6 8 9 7 7 6 6 3 2 3 3 dairy 136 133 125 103 103 91 115 97 102 103 95 South West crop output (inc. potatoes) 510 519 434 412 409 361 367 321 333 340 219 horticulture 143 149 140 146 154 148 147 167 175 167 188 livestock 756 704 663 595 528 497 454 573 590 589 477 poultry 147 168 166 148 147 139 139 128 139 148 125 dairy 913 891 824 681 675 593 723 620 644 647 598 UK crop output (inc. potatoes) 5,744 5,550 4,512 4,380 4,334 3,814 3,781 3,784 3,996 4,177 2,862 horticulture 1,950 2,045 1,827 1,893 1,931 1,798 1,856 1,847 1,987 1,930 2,063 livestock 5,762 5,784 5,393 4,574 4,236 4,160 3,806 4,431 4,610 4,743 3,646 poultry 1,486 1,662 1,632 1,521 1,403 1,438 1,471 1,390 1,471 1,464 1,428 dairy 3,498 3,495 3,154 2,709 2,654 2,393 2,821 2,466 2,629 2,711 2,592
Note that the fall in output values in 2005 is partly a consequence of the introduction of the Single Payment scheme which is not included in output (as it is decoupled from production).
Table 1 shows average net farm income per farm in Cornwall for those farm types that are sufficiently represented in the Farm Business Survey from 1980. Table 2 shows comparable data for the South West Government Office Region. Data are not available on a comparable basis for 1979. Data on organic enterprises were not collected prior to 1999-2000.
Net farm income is defined as the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and on the tenant type capital of the business. It excludes all income arising from outside the farm business.
Average net farm incomes (£/farm) in Cornwall1 March/February years 2Dairy farms Livestock farms 1980-81 7,500 4,000 1981-82 11,100 8,500 1982-83 11,200 9,400 1983-84 6,500 5,900 1984-85 5,000 4,500 1985-86 13,200 7,500 1986-87 11,900 6,600 1987-88 17,000 14,700 1988-89 23,700 18,200 1989-90 17,200 11,300 1990-91 13,800 9,500 1991-92 16,700 12,200 1992-93 21,500 17,100 1993-94 29,200 21,300 1994-95 19,600 14,300 1995-96 23,900 21,300 1996-97 15,400 8,700 1997-98 10,800 2,700 1998-99 1,100 -500 1999-2000 n/a -200 2000-01 14,300 3,500 2001-02 35,900 18,100 2002-03 25,600 17,100 2003-04 27,000 17,700 2004-05 n/a 12,100 2005-06 n/a 12,800 n/a = data not available, too few farms in sample 1 Minimum size threshold for inclusion in the FBS was as follows: 1980-81 to 1991-92—4 BSU (British Size Units) (1 BSU = 2,000 European Currency Units (now known as euros) of standard gross margin) 1992-93 to 1995-96—8 ESU (European Size Units) (1 ESU = 1,200 European Currency Units (now known as euros) of standard gross margin) 1996-97 onwards—0.5 SLR (Standard Labour Requirement) 2 These farms are a subset of livestock farms Source: Farm Business Survey
Average net farm incomes (£/farm) in South West 1 March/February years 2Dairy farms Cropping farms 3Horticulture farms Livestock farms Organic farms 1980-81 10,400 n/a n/a 8,100 — 1981-82 14,200 21,800 n/a 11,700 — 1982-83 16,400 12,900 4,400 10,000 — 1983-84 8,300 25,100 n/a 6,700 — 1984-85 8,200 24,500 n/a 6,900 — 1985-86 14,500 2,600 3,800 10,400 — 1986-87 13,900 14,100 n/a 9,100 — 1987-88 23,300 10,100 n/a 17,800 — 1988-89 31,200 6,700 13,000 22,500 — 1989-90 26,100 6,200 11,600 17,400 — 1990-91 27,300 24,700 14,900 19,500 — 1991-92 32,400 19,600 13,300 22,300 — 1992-93 29,400 19,100 14,900 19,600 — 1993-94 21,700 15,300 26,600 15,100 — 1994-95 19,300 8,800 16,100 12,600 — 1995-96 33,000 41,400 29,700 26,800 — 1996-97 25,300 28,300 15,900 20,300 — 1997-98 17,800 15,900 18,200 12,000 — 1998-99 10,400 7,500 25,000 7,600 — 1999-2000 7,900 13,800 35,700 5,400 n/a 2000-01 11,300 8,700 27,000 5,100 n/a 2001-02 27,900 11,200 32,800 16,800 n/a 2002-03 19,500 16,500 29,000 14,400 11,400 2003-04 27,100 29,200 37,600 17,700 19,600 2004-05 31,000 17,300 21,700 17,100 19,100 2005-06 30,800 20,900 26,300 17,400 n/a n/a = data not available, too few farms in sample 1 Minimum size threshold for inclusion in the FBS was as follows: 1980-81 to 1991-92—4 BSU (British Size Units) (1 BSU = 2,000 European Currency Units (now known as euros) of standard gross margin) 1992-93 to 1995-96—8 ESU (European Size Units) (1 ESU = 1200 European Currency Units (now known as euros) of standard gross margin) 1996-97 onwards—0.5 SLR (Standard Labour Requirement) 2 These farms are a subset of livestock farms 3 These farms are a subset of cropping farms Source: Farm Business Survey
The total area on registered holdings in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly at June each year from 1981 to 2005 can be found in the following tables. Data for 1979 and 1980 are not available at this level. Figures for 2006 will be available later in the month.
Source:
June Agricultural Census and June Agricultural Survey.
Cropping Horticulture Pigs and poultry Dairy Cattle and sheep (LFA) Cattle and sheep (Lowland) Unclassified Total 1981 48,620 5,932 5,762 107,022 13,979 90,866 7,798 279,979 1982 49,328 5,741 6,815 105,732 13,668 90,524 7,759 279,567 1983 47,444 5,593 6,087 106,623 12,976 92,636 7,551 278,910 1984 44,381 3,497 4,309 107,325 12,631 98,936 8,450 279,529 1985 47,140 3,775 4,408 103,208 12,634 99,521 8,741 279,427 1986 47,432 4,171 4,409 103,311 12,614 97,551 10,046 279,534
Cereals General cropping Horticulture Pigs and poultry Dairy Cattle and sheep (LFA) Cattle and sheep (Lowland) Mixed Other Total 1987 13,808 16,428 4,412 1,555 96,153 29,531 56,918 47,226 12,283 278,314 1988 14,272 16,637 4,718 1,532 92,092 29,238 58,822 47,711 13,458 278,479 1989 13,738 15,607 4,772 1,563 90,426 30,724 63,671 43,294 13,955 277,750 1990 12,239 14,766 4,958 1,458 90,300 29,608 65,541 41,835 15,077 275,783 1991 14,483 15,252 4,717 1,597 88,983 30,383 65,555 40,478 16,732 278,182 1992 13,081 15,955 4,884 1,367 84,921 29,991 66,657 43,135 17,906 277,897 1993 13,578 16,230 4,885 1,236 75,089 32,166 75,926 42,442 18,342 279,894 1994 12,742 17,333 5,335 1,482 86,574 29,383 67,835 38,258 18,587 277,529 1995 16,113 16,145 5,438 1,537 83,678 29,429 64,359 41,915 17,429 276,045 1996 18,792 16,334 4,270 1,523 82,345 27,356 64,738 41,517 17,896 274,771 1997 20,128 16,020 5,636 1,822 78,990 23,930 67,596 42,078 15,995 272,195 1998 21,212 15,705 5,569 1,929 75,602 22,188 67,476 42,563 16,659 268,904 1999 24,166 15,835 5,642 1,842 72,639 22,667 67,196 42,473 16,870 269,331 2000 20,748 14,853 6,062 1,301 74,239 22,815 67,982 41,057 16,481 265,538
Cereals General cropping Horticulture Specialist pigs Specialist poultry Dairy Grazing livestock (LFA) Grazing livestock (Lowland) Mixed Other Total 2001 25,236 16,922 6,700 481 990 77,504 26,439 57,388 51,128 17,175 279,962 2002 20,765 17,086 7,082 384 857 74,084 25,278 55,664 46,064 17,592 264,855 2003 21,619 17,668 7,057 401 896 73,404 26,789 58,906 47,522 18,642 272,905 2004 21,602 20,326 8,018 402 1,011 73,582 26,776 60,212 48,145 21,309 281,381 2005 24,945 20,927 7,837 436 1,442 69,952 26,768 63,119 44,140 24,279 283,845 Notes: 1. There have been changes in the farm type classifications therefore comparison over time is not possible for some categories. 2. In the years 1981 to 1986, some data for the Isles of Scilly was suppressed for confidentiality reasons. These data are not included in the figures. 3. Prior to 2000, minor holdings are not included in the figures. From 2000 onwards, all holdings are included. A minor holding has to meet all the following conditions: (a) have a total area of less than six hectares (b) a labour requirement of less than 100 standard person days (c) no regular full-time farmer or worker. (d) a glasshouse area of less than 100 square metres (e) the occupier does not farm another holding. 4. The introduction of the Single Payment Scheme in 2005 has lead to an increase in the number of registered holdings. Source: June Agricultural Survey and June Agricultural Census.
The number of registered holdings in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly at June each year from 1981 to 2005 can be found in the following table. Data for 1979 and 1980 are not available at this level. Figures for 2006 will be available later in the month.
Cropping Horticulture Pigs and poultry Dairy Cattle and sheep (LFA) Cattle and sheep (Lowland) Unclassified Total 1981 767 559 475 2,148 181 2,538 761 7,429 1982 772 548 543 2,117 176 2,527 803 7,486 1983 722 514 416 2,081 175 2,845 744 7,497 1984 791 400 322 2,068 162 2,637 739 7,119 1985 822 444 344 1,982 170 2,651 830 7,243 1986 801 369 355 1,942 175 2,636 921 7,199
Cereals General cropping Horticulture Pigs and poultry Dairy Cattle and sheep (LFA) Cattle and sheep (Lowland) Mixed Other Total 1987 228 320 462 249 1,782 707 1,746 716 1,116 7,326 1988 226 321 481 235 1,672 720 1,828 700 1,294 7,477 1989 233 306 473 235 1,616 711 1,960 641 1,416 7,591 1990 200 274 460 171 1,567 661 1,908 590 1,260 7,091 1991 225 264 446 173 1,533 651 1,910 580 1,343 7,125 1992 199 268 448 157 1,427 635 1,935 598 1,367 7,034 1993 202 267 437 147 1,280 648 2,087 601 1,413 7,082 1994 199 265 425 144 1,391 609 2,023 535 1,477 7,068 1995 243 251 397 135 1,318 587 1,905 566 1,277 6,679 1996 277 271 380 143 1,260 543 1,941 562 1,346 6,723 1997 300 223 403 170 1,194 502 1,957 584 1,400 6,733 1998 313 233 395 178 1,136 475 1,938 577 1,458 6,703 1999 328 214 375 174 1,047 479 2,005 557 1,451 6,630 2000 312 176 505 224 1,026 458 2,016 580 2,690 7,987
Cereals General cropping Horticulture Specialist pigs Specialist poultry Dairy Grazing livestock LFA Grazing livestock lowland Mixed Other Total 2001 321 199 521 57 184 1,000 471 1,787 832 3,021 8,393 2002 308 207 536 60 203 971 476 1,826 855 3,400 8,842 2003 323 201 503 61 209 922 460 1,895 839 3,543 8,956 2004 328 228 531 63 215 895 508 1,997 689 3,543 8,997 2005 328 226 544 71 278 861 508 1,955 685 3,610 9,066 Notes: 1. There have been changes in the farm type classifications therefore comparison over time is not possible for some categories. 2. In the years 1981 to 1986 some data for the Isles of Scilly were suppressed for confidentiality reasons. These data are not included in the figures. 3. Prior to 2000 minor holdings are not included in the figures. From 2000 onwards all holdings are included. A minor holding has to meet all the following conditions: (a) have a total area of less than six hectares; (b) a labour requirement of less than 100 standard person days; (c) no regular full-time farmer or worker; (d) a glasshouse area of less than 100 square metres; (e) the occupier does not farm another holding. 4. The introduction of the single payment scheme in 2005 has lead to an increase in the number of registered holdings. Source: June agricultural Survey and June Agricultural Census
Animal Welfare: Convictions
There have been no discussions between DEFRA and police forces in England and Wales on this issue. Data about people convicted of cruelty to animals are already stored in centrally held criminal records.
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Badgers (Meles, meles) are listed as a protected species under appendix III of the Berne Convention, but they are not an endangered species. The Berne Convention provides for exceptions to be made so as to allow the use of means and methods of killing prohibited under appendix IV, subject to certain conditions. I am not aware that any country is breaching the Berne Convention with respect to badger control.
We have reviewed the published findings of the Irish Four Areas badger culling trial (which were published in Preventative Veterinary Medicine in January 2005), as well as advice from independent scientists on whether the findings of the Irish research can be applied to the situation in England. The experience in the Republic of Ireland is not directly transferable to England because the badger population, farming practices and general environment are all very different. As a result, while we can learn from the Republic of Ireland’s experiences, directly applying such a policy here is not possible.
The independent advice, together with a statement from DEFRA’s chief scientific adviser, was published on the DEFRA website in March 2005 and can be found in the news archive at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/newsarchive.htm
DEFRA officials have visited Ireland several times to discuss the UK and Irish work programmes and areas of potential future collaboration, particularly regarding the design of badger field studies and licensing requirements for Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The Veterinary Laboratories Agency also has active research links with Irish researchers.
Milk Production
Precise estimates of milk production in these regions are not readily available. However, the following table provides estimates of the volume of milk produced in Cornwall, the South West and England for the years 1979 to 2006 calculated by applying the average UK milk yield to the number of dairy cows in each region.
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly South West region England 1979 509 3,648 10,979 1980 519 3,698 10,970 1981 516 3,683 10,793 1982 557 3,904 11,396 1983 581 4,041 11,765 1984 555 3,813 11,043 1985 545 3,751 10,797 1986 563 3,827 10,983 1987 540 3,665 10,439 1988 524 3,584 10,184 1989 517 3,546 10,038 1990 531 3,630 10,290 1991 517 3,503 9,940 1992 517 3,461 9,800 1993 515 3,474 9,790 1994 531 3,598 10,054 1995 521 3,506 9,766 1996 526 3,515 9,889 1997 530 3,503 9,840 1998 508 3,356 9,484 1999 535 3,516 9,896 2000 513 3,332 9,418 2001 555 3,448 9,457 2002 536 3,424 9,495 2003 539 3,428 9,500 2004 520 3,267 9,055 2005 501 3,196 8,886 2006 503 3,157 8,775
Departments: Racial Harassment
During the last 12 months (for the period July 2006 to July 2007) there have been no complaints of racial abuse relating to staff for which this Department is responsible that have been either investigated or upheld.
The Department has an internal intranet site which details the departmental policy on bullying and harassment. The site also details further information and the procedures for dealing with complaints of bullying and harassment together with details of local contacts and support advisers who can give help and advice to staff.
Departments: Regulation
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost to business of administrative burdens imposed by regulations from his Department in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what progress has been made by his Department towards its target of 25 per cent. reduction in administrative burdens on business by the end of 2009; and if he will make a statement;
(4) what estimate he has made of the cost to business of administrative burdens and regulations from his Department in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.
The total administrative burden from the 362 DEFRA regulations which, as of May 2005 imposed such a burden, was assessed to be £527.8 million per annum. This represents the Department’s administrative burden baseline. In our Simplification Plan “Maximising Outcomes, Minimising Burdens”, which was published in December 2006 and is available from the Library, administrative reductions of around £159 million were identified. This represents a reduction of 30 per cent. on the baseline. Progress since then will be reported in our 2007 plan which is due for publication in the autumn. However, the Department is progressing well toward meeting its net administrative burden reduction target of 25 per cent. by 2010.
The cross-Government administrative burden measurement exercise, which identified the baseline administrative burden, was carried out by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) on behalf of the Cabinet Office. The exercise used an internationally agreed model, recommended to the Government by business. As the first UK Government to take this radical approach to managing the regulatory burden, there are no comparable data before 2005 when the exercise was carried out.
Energy: Radio
The Government’s Market Transformation Programme (MTP) has tested a limited number of digital radios. The average energy needed to operate by those radios tested was around 8.5 watts. A typical traditional analogue radio requires 2 watts.
The Energy Saving Trust (EST) recently tested four televisions to estimate the energy consumed by listening to digital radio via a television and set-top box receiver. These tests indicated that listening to digital radio in this way required between 60 and 183 watts. The actual energy used varied according to the type of television, the screen size and whether the screen was on or the display was black. Black screen display is only available for BBC radio channels.
‘Screen blanking’, which allows the selected radio station to be received in audio only, can reduce the energy consumption to around 25 watts. Although not yet widely available, we expect this technology to become more common in the near future.
Farms: Income
The following tables show average net farm income per farm in (a) Cornwall (b) the South West Government Office Region and (c) in England of farms of size (i) less than 5 ha, (ii) 5 to 20 ha, (iii) 20 to 50 ha, (iv) 50 to 100 ha and (v) more than 100 ha in each year since 1980. Data are not available on a comparable basis for 1979.
Cornwall: average net farm income per farm (£/farm)1 March/February years Less than 5 ha 5 < 20 ha 20 < 50 ha 50 < 100 ha 100 ha and over 1980-81 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1981-82 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1982-83 n/a n/a n/a 11,500 12,900 1983-84 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1984-85 n/a n/a n/a 7,100 n/a 1985-86 n/a n/a n/a 10,400 18,700 1986-87 n/a n/a n/a 5,500 8,100 1987-88 n/a n/a n/a 18,800 12,100 1988-89 n/a n/a n/a 22,900 9,500 1989-90 n/a n/a n/a 11,000 7,000 1990-91 n/a n/a n/a 7,600 5,400 1991-92 n/a n/a n/a 9,100 4,400 1992-93 n/a n/a n/a 15,200 13,900 1993-94 n/a n/a n/a 20,300 27,700 1994-95 n/a n/a n/a 16,100 13,900 1995-96 n/a n/a n/a 19,500 27,200 1996-97 n/a n/a n/a 9,000 16,300 1997-98 n/a n/a n/a -900 n/a 1998-99 n/a n/a n/a 100 -3,100 1999-2000 n/a n/a n/a 200 6,600 2000-01 n/a n/a n/a -100 6,800 2001-02 n/a n/a n/a 9,300 36,000 2002-03 n/a n/a n/a 13,100 22,600 2003-04 n/a n/a n/a 13,300 25,600 2004-05 n/a n/a n/a 13,900 24,100 2005-06 n/a n/a n/a n/a 21,100 n/a = Data not available, too few farms in sample. 1 Minimum size threshold for inclusion in the FBS was as follows: 1980-81 to 1991-92—4 BSU (British Size Units) (1 BSU = 2000 European Currency Units (now known as Euros) of Standard Gross Margin) 1992-93 to 1995-96—8 ESU (European Size Units) (1 ESU = 1200 European Currency Units (now known as Euros) of Standard Gross Margin) 1996-97 onwards—0.5 SLR (Standard Labour Requirement) Source: Farm Business Survey
GOR South West: average net farm income per farm (£/farm)1 March/February years Less than 5 ha 5 < 20 ha 20 < 50 ha 50 < 100 ha 100 ha and over 1980-81 n/a n/a 5,500 8,600 14,000 1981-82 n/a n/a 8,300 13,800 18,200 1982-83 5,400 1,800 6,200 11,800 23,800 1983-84 n/a n/a 4,500 7,500 20,300 1984-85 n/a n/a 4,900 6,900 23,300 1985-86 n/a 7,300 5,800 8,700 14,900 1986-87 n/a n/a 4,800 9,200 15,500 1987-88 n/a n/a 12,100 14,900 21,600 1988-89 11,200 n/a 12,200 20,800 26,400 1989-90 20,300 n/a 9,900 14,000 19,200 1990-91 17,500 n/a 7,500 11,900 16,200 1991-92 31,700 n/a 9,800 11,700 25,300 1992-93 14,200 n/a 12,400 17,000 32,100 1993-94 14,700 n/a 12,900 17,100 38,600 1994-95 17,900 n/a 11,500 17,900 39,300 1995-96 30,900 n/a 14,200 24,300 52,500 1996-97 19,100 n/a 8,200 17,800 40,900 1997-98 18,100 n/a 6,300 7,500 20,200 1998-99 18,400 n/a 5,900 4,600 7,700 1999-2000 31,900 17,100 2,900 5,300 11,900 2000-01 42,300 n/a 800 4,100 9,700 2001-02 34,400 n/a 9,300 10,900 19,900 2002-03 32,800 n/a 8,800 11,800 18,300 2003-04 35,400 n/a 10,000 14,500 30,600 2004-05 22,100 n/a 6,800 15,100 25,300 2005-06 22,600 n/a 5,400 17,600 24,200 n/a = Data not available, too few farms in sample. 1 Minimum size threshold for inclusion in the FBS was as follows: 1980-81 to 1991-92—4 BSU (British Size Units) (1 BSU = 2000 European Currency Units (now known as Euros) of Standard Gross Margin) 1992-93 to 1995-96—8 ESU (European Size Units) (1 ESU = 1200 European Currency Units (now known as Euros) of Standard Gross Margin) 1996-97 onwards—0.5 SLR (Standard Labour Requirement) Source: Farm Business Survey
England: average net farm income per farm (£/farm)1 March/February years Less than 5 ha 5 < 20 ha 20 < 50 ha 50 < 100 ha 100 ha and over 1980-81 n/a n/a 5,700 8,200 15,600 1981-82 n/a 9,200 7,700 12,200 21,900 1982-83 5,200 2,300 6,300 11,800 27,500 1983-84 n/a 2,700 6,300 9,200 25,300 1984-85 n/a 1,500 6,300 9,700 24,600 1985-86 13,600 5,400 4,600 6,800 12,900 1986-87 16,800 4,000 7,200 9,700 20,300 1987-88 22,600 17,100 8,700 10,800 15,100 1988-89 12,800 14,600 9,200 12,500 19,500 1989-90 25,800 12,900 10,700 13,600 28,400 1990-91 26,600 22,900 7,100 10,700 26,900 1991-92 19,600 20,400 8,300 12,400 30,500 1992-93 13,700 8,700 10,300 16,300 39,000 1993-94 14,200 16,800 9,300 17,700 41,900 1994-95 22,300 20,600 11,000 19,900 51,600 1995-96 31,500 22,700 15,700 24,800 70,900 1996-97 28,800 32,500 10,000 19,800 52,200 1997-98 22,800 9,500 6,300 9,800 23,100 1998-99 18,000 4,400 3,900 7,300 18,200 1999-2000 17,400 10,700 3,600 5,800 12,100 2000-01 25,700 28,600 4,400 6,100 13,800 2001-02 27,000 28,800 11,200 10,100 17,400 2002-03 40,500 27,100 10,200 10,200 19,300 2003-04 35,500 40,000 10,700 14,800 46,600 2004-05 42,500 21,200 10,700 12,600 28,900 2005-06 49,900 26,700 10,600 13,400 26,300 n/a = Data not available, too few farms in sample. 1 Minimum size threshold for inclusion in the FBS was as follows: 1980-81 to 1991-92—4 BSU (British Size Units) (1 BSU = 2000 European Currency Units (now known as Euros) of Standard Gross Margin) 1992-93 to 1995-96—8 ESU (European Size Units) (1 ESU = 1200 European Currency Units (now known as Euros) of Standard Gross Margin) 1996-97 onwards—0.5 SLR (Standard Labour Requirement) Source: Farm Business Survey
Net farm income is defined as the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and on the tenant type capital of the business. It excludes all income arising from outside the farm business.
Fisheries
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 19 June 2007, Official Report, columns 1662-63W.
Fisheries: Quotas
By its very nature illegal fishing is clandestine and so it is extremely difficult to make an accurate estimate of the levels of illegal fishing activities. We therefore use the level of prosecutions as a proxy for the level of illegal activity. Data below relates to inland and sea fisheries in England and Wales.
For inland Fisheries, the National Enforcement Database holds information that relates to offences where nets, snares, traps and spears have been used and where unauthorised fishing and failing to return fish has taken place. It predominantly records cases where serious poaching has occurred, which can result in imprisonment.
The following table shows the total number of fisheries convictions per year 2002-06.
Convictions 2002 46 2003 31 2004 25 2005 70 2006 39 Source: National Enforcement Database
The total number of convictions under the Sea Fisheries Regulations Act 1966 are as follows.
Convictions 2002 0 2003 0 2004 4 2005 3 2006 10 Source: National Enforcement Database
The following table shows the total number of convictions where people have been found to be fishing without a rod licence. This type of conviction holds a maximum fine of £2,500. The Fisheries Offence Prosecution System records cases involving salmon, trout, freshwater fish and eels. It does not include convictions for salt water related cases.
Convictions 2003-04 3,651 2004-05 4,099 2005-06 4,939 2006-07 4,209 Source: Fisheries Offence Prosecution System
At sea, the total numbers of sea fisheries offences detected in England and Wales per year resulting in convictions are set out as follows:
Convictions 2000 131 2001 103 2002 84 2003 112 2004 73 2005 69 2006 88 Note: The above table refers to the year in which the offences were detected. Convictions may occur in the same or following years. Source: Marine and Fisheries Agency—UK Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance System.
At the international level, with the caveat that estimates are based on a few case studies, recent UK funded work has reported that fish to the value of $4 billion US to $9 billion US are caught illegally worldwide every year. The UK is one of the countries in the international arena leading the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, following the recommendations of the 2006 High Seas Task Force report, “Closing the Net”. Together with international partners we have made progress on key projects aimed at exposing illegal activities, deterring them and improving enforcement action against those responsible.
Floods: Shropshire
I have been asked to reply.
The package of immediate support for flood hit areas announced by the Prime Minister on 7 July included a fund of £10 million to local authorities to support the work being done to help recovery for those hardest hit. On 13 July I approved a series of initial Flood Recovery Grant payments to 34 flood hit local authorities to help those in greatest and most immediate need get back on their feet.
On the basis of the relative number of households affected (based on the available information at the time) £50,000 was awarded to Bridgnorth district council in Shropshire. It is up to Bridgnorth district council to spend the money how they wish in line with local priorities and to decide what measures should be put in place to assist those affected in places such as Shifnal.
The £10 million is additional money to any resources provided under the Bellwin scheme which Bridgnorth district council may be in a position to apply for.
Paté de Fois Gras
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) on 25 June 2007, Official Report, column 83W.
Pet Shops
DEFRA does not propose to ban the sale of puppies and kittens through pet shops. However, new regulations on pet vending will be introduced under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. We are considering a number of changes to improve the welfare of all animals sold through pet shops. All proposals will be subject to public consultation and parliamentary approval.
Sheep: Electronic Tagging
The Department’s regulatory impact assessment (RIA), produced in 2005 to assess the options available for implementing European Union Council Regulation 21/2004, identified that implementation of the double tagging requirements would actually be cheaper than maintaining the national arrangements in place at the time. A revised RIA is being prepared to assess present day costs, but the 2005 estimates indicated there would be an annual saving to the industry in the order of around £2.8 million a year if double tagging, as provided for by the regulation, was introduced. Double tagging was not introduced at the time because of traceability issues and because it was not supported by industry.
The European Union’s Food and Veterinary Office report on the latest mission was uncompromising. It identified that compliance with the derogated rules on sheep identification and movement reporting by the industry remained inadequate. The European Commission made it very clear that they would not propose an extension to the UK derogation from double tagging. With the agreement of sheep industry stakeholders, the application for the derogation was withdrawn. Not to have done so might have compromised the outcome of forthcoming negotiations on the electronic identification of sheep.
Water Supply
The Environment Agency is the statutory body with the duty for managing water resources in England and Wales. Its aim is to ensure that the management and future development of our water resources is carried out in a sustainable manner.
In 2001, the Environment Agency published “Water Resources for the Future—A Strategy for England and Wales”. This is a key part of the framework for integrated water resources planning carried out by the Environment Agency and water users, particularly the water companies. The publication considers both national and regional water resource strategies. These strategies set out pressures on water resources and how the Environment Agency expects these to be managed over the next 25 years.
In addition, all water companies in England and Wales have water resource management plans that describe how each company aims to secure a sustainable supply-demand balance for the public water supply over the next 25 years. Under the provisions of the Water Act 2003 these plans became mandatory from 1 April 2007 and for the first time they will be subject to public consultation.
Home Department
Biometrics
[holding answer 16 July 2007]: The Biometrics Centre of Expertise (BCE) was created two years ago and is a part of the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB). Its work includes following developments in fingerprint, iris and face recognition technologies. The BCE provide advice to Government Departments (such as UKVisas, Border and Immigration Agency (including eBorders), IPS) running biometric programmes, several of which have included testing as part of the procurement and implementation phases.
The BCE also maintain strong relationships with academia, industry and foreign governments which have conducted biometric testing. The BCE have not specifically commissioned biometric testing in relation to fingerprint, iris or face recognition however, the team has part funded the MTIT (Minutiae Template Interoperability Testing) project—a European project under the Sixth Framework programme (STREP)—which had a substantial testing component.
In policing, the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) took over responsibility from PITO for the IDENT1 national finger and palm print system for the UK police service from 1 April 2007. As part of the supplier selection process for IDENT1 in 2004, PITO undertook extensive operational accuracy benchmarks of the two shortlisted suppliers’ proposals. As a result of those tests, the NPIA is able to give assurance to the police service that IDENT1 search accuracy represents the state of the art for large scale biometric systems, in a law enforcement environment, and that it is fully capable of meeting the police requirements for both forensic identification and for the ongoing identity management of offenders, based on their fingerprints.
The matching performance of IDENT1 is routinely monitored and assessed by Northrop Grumman (the system integrator responsible for delivering the service) to ensure that it continues to meet the operational requirements of the UK police service.
The NPIA has undertaken no tests recently on iris or face, but are evaluating the potential for face recognition technologies for policing and plan to undertake some tests shortly.
Bournemouth
I have no current plans to visit Bournemouth.
Children: Internet
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, which was launched in April 2006, works across the UK and maximises international links to deliver a holistic approach to tackling child sex abuse wherever and whenever it happens, in particular, from those who use the internet and other new technologies in the sexual exploitation of children. It combines police powers with the dedicated expertise of business sectors, government, specialist charities and other interested organisations.
CEOP Centre’s report abuse mechanism allows members of the public to report potentially illegal activity (such as allegations of sexual grooming) direct to law enforcement. To date, over 750,000 children across the UK have been educated on how to use this reporting mechanism. The Home Secretary’s Task Force has set up a working group which includes representatives from social network providers, CEOP and children’s charities, to look at the range of safety issues for children caused by the development and growth of social networking sites and develop good practice guidelines. We hope to publish this soon. One of the key areas under discussion is the means by which the public can make reports about potentially illegal activity to CEOP when they are online. One of the largest providers of Instant Messaging (IM) services in the UK has embedded the report abuse mechanism into its IM.
Electronic Surveillance: Admissibility of Evidence
The statutory prohibition on the use of intercept as evidence applies to all warranted interception undertaken on behalf of any UK intercepting agency, including the security service. However, under the EU Mutual Legal Assistance Convention arrangements, an EU member state can request the UK to undertake interception on behalf of one of its law enforcement agencies. This would be subject to restrictions imposed by the Secretary of State which can stipulate, amongst other things, that the material is not used in evidence.
Entry Clearances
I have been asked to reply.
UKvisas’ detailed responses to the specific recommendations made by the Independent Monitor in her 2006 report can be accessed on the UKvisas website at:
www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1006977150169.
The responses are available under the “Table of Comments by UKvisas in Response to the Independent Monitor’s Report 2006”.
Insurance: Motor Vehicles
[holding answer 17 July 2007]: The police make extensive use of the Motor Insurance Database (MID) to help identify vehicles being driven uninsured and seize around 1,500 vehicles a week. We are aware of very few cases where it has been alleged that inaccurate data have led to an unjustified seizure and the police inform us that such occurrences are very rare.
The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) makes information available to the police via the MID.
The accuracy of the MID is solely the responsibility of the insurance industry. It is for the police to decide in any individual case if they believe the information they obtain from the MID is sufficient to give them reasonable grounds for believing that a vehicle is being driven without appropriate insurance. In cases of doubt the MIB also provides a dedicated police helpline. Any challenge to the police seizure would be a matter for the courts.
[holding answer 17 July 2007]: The police seize vehicles driven by a person without appropriate insurance under section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The addition of this provision to the 1988 Act was one of a number of roads policing measures included in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Information on all these measures and the powers they confer was given to chief officers of police at the time and has been supplemented subsequently by responses to individual inquiries. How the powers are exercised is an operational matter for individual chief officers and any guidance that might be issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Local Authorities: Terrorism
The Home Office has no direct responsibility for local authority emergency planning; however, given their important role in civil contingency planning and preparation at a local level, local authorities are represented throughout the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Resilience Programme governance structure. Home Office officials therefore have regular discussions with local authority representatives on a wide range of issues relating to contingency planning for the possible use by terrorists of CBRN materials.
Mujahedin-e Khalq: Disclosure of Information
The Proscribed Organisation Appeals Committee (POAC) sits in public save when considering material the disclosure of which is contrary to the public interest. The closed session with a special advocate representing the interests of the appellants enables POAC to consider material that would be the subject of public interest immunity in ordinary High Court proceedings. The special advocate sees the sensitive material and can make submissions upon it. In respect of the closed material deployed before it, POAC itself decides, in the light of argument from the special advocate, whether the Secretary of State’s claim to maintain its confidentiality should be accepted. We will not therefore be publishing any of the closed material that will be heard before POAC.
Police: Driving Under Influence
We have no plans to introduce such a central record. Police disciplinary action, whether in relation to drink driving or other misconduct, is a matter for individual chief officers.
Pornography: Children
Government funding for police authorities is chiefly allocated using a funding formula that provides an assessment of the relative need of each police force in England and Wales.
Funding to combat computer-based images of child abuse is not separately identified. Decisions on the distribution of resources are matters for the chief officer and the police authority.
Racial Violence
The information requested is not collected centrally in the recorded crime statistics. The crime statistics have data for racially or religiously aggravated offences as defined by statute but those specifically of a xenophobic nature cannot be separately identified.
Sexual Offences: Internet
Access to information about the personal details and whereabouts of registered sex offenders is restricted to law enforcement agencies. The police do have the power to disclose information about sex offenders to the public in appropriate circumstances. However, we do not intend to make this information routinely available to internet service providers or other persons or organisations not concerned with law enforcement.
The Review of the Protection of Children from Sex Offenders, published on 13 June, indicated that the Government will take steps to enable sex offenders to be required to register their e-mail addresses with the police. This will provide greater assistance to law enforcement agencies in monitoring offenders’ use of information and communication technology.
Sexual Offences: Wales
[holding answer 16 July 2007]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 9 July 2007, Official Report, column 1344W.
[holding answer 16 July 2007]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 9 July 2007, Official Report, column 1344W.
In the event of a registered sex offender being recorded as missing, the police will immediately begin efforts to trace that offender.
Sussex Police: Finance
The budget for Sussex police authority in 2007-08 is £237.1 million, an increase of 4.4 per cent. or £9.9 million over 2006-07.
We will be announcing details of the police funding settlement for 2008-09 later this year. Sussex police authority will then be in a position to consider its final budget for 2008-09.
Sussex Police: Manpower
The available data for full-time equivalent police officers and police staff are given in the table. Headcount figures for police officers exclude those on long term absence, referred to as officers “available for duty”, are available from 2002-03 onwards.
As at 31 March: Full-time equivalent1 Headcount2 1996 3,074 — 1997 3,085 — 1998 2,996 — 1999 2,847 — 2000 2,822 — 2001 2,855 — 2002 2,893 — 2003 2,989 3,003 2004 3,039 3,145 2005 3,044 3,048 2006 3,092 3,086 1 Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. Figures exclude those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 2 Officers available for duty. Excludes those on long term absence. Data available from 2002-03, following police numbers task force recommendations in 2001.
As at March: Full-time equivalent2 Headcount4 1996 1,131 — 1997 1,149 1,250 1998 1,185 1,304 1999 1,393 1,516 2000 1,328 1,430 2001 1,454 1,563 2002 1,507 1,617 20033 1,578 1,706 20043 1,811 1,948 20053 1,950 2,101 20063 1,994 2,157 1 Civilian staff have been referred to as Police staff since March 2003. Figures exclude Traffic Wardens, Police Community Support Officers and Designated Officers (s.38). 2 Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. Figures exclude those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 3 Strength figures as at 31 March 2003 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table. 4 Data not available prior to 1997.
Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre: Complaints
The information requested could only be obtained by the detailed examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
Defence
Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations
All casualties are a source of profound regret and ISAF and coalition forces seek at all times to avoid them. The targeting process, weapons selection, doctrine, training and rules of engagement all recognise this. The Taliban show no such concerns when they target civilians indiscriminately with suicide bombs or improvised explosive devices, nor when they deliberately kill innocent civilians such as teachers and local leaders for opposing their views.
Aircraft Carriers
My right hon. Friend has received no recent representations on the future of the existing aircraft carrier fleet.
Aldershot Barracks: Housing
Discussions are routinely held with Aspire Defence Limited about the provision of hot water to existing buildings, while major rebuilding work takes place.
Known faults relating to the provision of plumbing services to the non-commissioned officers’ living accommodation in Aldershot are being dealt with promptly by Aspire.
Sodexho have been sub-contracted by Aspire Defence Services (a sub-contractor of Aspire Defence Limited) to provide retail, catering and cleaning services and have no responsibility for the provision of ‘hot water’ to non-commissioned officers’ living accommodation at Aldershot barracks.
Armed Forces: Desertion
The following table shows absence without leave statistics by calendar year between 1997 and 2003:
Navy RAF Army 1997 30 15 1,450 1998 30 15 1,850 1999 35 20 2,055 2000 60 25 2,710 2001 95 25 2,650 2002 105 25 2,950 2003 120 35 2,820 Notes: 1 Both the Navy and the Army record AWOL statistics by the number of incidences of AWOL rather than the number of people who have gone AWOL, so there may be a number of people who are represented more than once in these figures. 2 Figures are rounded to the nearest five and are as at 6 July 2007.
Monthly breakdowns of the figures for the Royal Air Force and the Army could be provided only at disproportionate cost. A table showing the number of Royal Navy personnel absent without leave in each month between 1997 and 2003 is as follows:
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 January 2 6 1 5 4 8 8 February 1 5 5 8 15 9 4 March 3 4 1 1 5 7 7 April 1 0 2 4 10 8 12 May 1 0 2 5 9 6 11 June 2 2 4 4 7 10 13 July 2 0 8 5 14 11 17 August 1 2 3 1 6 16 10 September 5 2 3 5 6 13 11 October 5 4 4 7 6 14 4 November 4 3 2 6 7 4 8 December 5 1 0 4 3 5 13
The RN criterion for personnel being reported as AWOL is that Commanding Officers must ensure missing persons/absentees are reported to Naval Provost Marshal (East) within a period of 24 hours. The Army maintains a central record through those incidents reported to the Royal Military Police which occur when an individual has been absent for seven days. Absences for less than seven days are only recorded at unit level and not held centrally. The RAF figures show the records of incidents of AWOL reported regardless of timescale.
Differences in figures for individual years compared to previous answers occur because personnel may have been wrongly reported as AWOL in the first instance, or conversely they may have subsequently been found to have been AWOL and the records rectified later.
Armed Forces: Health Services
The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Selly Oak, Birmingham and the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court are both currently conducting surveys of patient care. Both surveys indicate that the overwhelming majority of patients rate their overall care as good, very good or excellent.
I am currently reviewing the survey data that are collected across all defence medical units, with a view to publication of further details in due course.
Armed Forces: Housing
Aspire Defence Ltd. is contracted to deliver and maintain new and refurbished single living, working, technical and recreational accommodation, including the full range of support services, to Aldershot Garrison and the garrisons located around the Salisbury Plain Training Area.
If an individual wishes to register a complaint about their living accommodation, or any other aspects of Aspire’s service (including that provided by their subcontractors); they can either report it to the Aspire Helpdesk (in person, by telephone or facsimile) or through the chain of command. The Aspire Helpdesk operates on a 24 hour, seven days a week basis, and is available to all personnel. It is performing to an exceptionally high standard, with 97 per cent. of calls being answered within 30 seconds, compared to the contractual specification of 95 per cent.
Sodexho has no responsibilities for the provision or maintenance of accommodation at military establishments. Sodexho, as subcontractors on several PFI contracts, provide Soft Facilities Management services such as cleaning, catering, retail and leisure.
I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 16 January 2007, Official Report, column 1008W, and to my letter of 20 March 2007, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Records going back to 1997 are either no longer available or in a collated form. It will take time to identify what information is available and I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
From the information that is readily available, I can confirm that there have been five suspect cases of carbon monoxide reported since January 2006 in service families accommodation in England and Wales, of which two were substantiated and remedial action taken.
The information requested is not held centrally and it will take time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
The information requested is not held centrally and will take time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Armed Forces: Life Insurance
[holding answer 16 July 2007]: As a matter of policy MOD does not endorse or sponsor any commercial insurance scheme. The MOD, therefore, leaves the decision on whether to take out personal insurance to the individual as individual needs vary and personal insurance is a complex issue which is increasingly regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The MOD does, however, provide significant financial benefits for attributable death and injury during service. These were improved under the 2005 Armed Forces Pension scheme and Compensation scheme introduced on 6 April 2005.
There are two main life insurance schemes available to Service personnel that cover all risks including war and terrorism. Both provide cover to all personnel, regardless of whether they are low or high risk to the insurer. One of these schemes, PAX (which provides personal accident and life cover) is risk blind as the premium is set at a flat rate for all. Whilst premiums under the other scheme, Service Life insurance (SLI), take account of age and smoking history and therefore are not risk blind, they are not loaded for high risk activities and are therefore comparable to those paid by civilians.
Departments: BAE Systems
The MOD does not hold this information.
Departments: Disciplinary Proceedings
Information is not held centrally in respect of MOD civil servants and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The following table shows the figures for the armed forces during the period June 2006 to June 2007.
Royal Navy Army RAF Total Royal Navy Army RAF Total Internet 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 Telephone 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Notes: 1. The same army service person disciplined for inappropriate use of the internet while at work was also disciplined for using a work telephone to access premium rate telephone numbers. 2. These figures show the records of details held centrally, there may also be cases dealt with at unit/station level by disciplinary or administrative action depending on the circumstances. Records of these are not held centrally.
Departments: Land
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) supports the Government’s housing agenda and works closely with English Partnerships, the regional development agencies, local authorities and other key stakeholders when considering its disposal strategy. This will often include an assessment of development and regeneration opportunities, including the need for social housing, through the preparation of a planning briefer outline planning application. This can be taken forward by prospective purchasers but it is not for the MOD to impose any requirements.
The MOD property assets disposed of in Hampshire for the years requested are listed as follows. The list does not include the Service Families Accommodation (SFA) in Hampshire, that was part of the SFA estate in England and Wales sold to Annington Homes Ltd. in 1996.
While every care has been taken in preparing this response in the time available, the accuracy can not be guaranteed prior to 2000 when electronic records were introduced.
Financial year 2006-07
Clayhall Cottage, 51 Clayhall Road, Gosport
Defence Munitions Dean Hill, Main Site and adjacent land
Royal Navy Military Transport Depot, Hilsea
Queensgate site, Farnborough
Community Centre, Guillemont Fields, Cove
Further land at North Lane, Aldershot
Land at 1 Roman Way, Barton Stacey
Civil Enclave, Farnborough
Financial year 2005-06
HMS Daedalus Technical Site and Residual Airfield areas
HMS Daedalus Main Airfield area.
Fleet Photographic Unit, Stamshaw
Footbridge above Nimrod Drive (Rowner Footbridge)
Portsmouth Private Finance Initiative (SFA) Phase 1, Daedalus
Small plot of land adjacent to Eastney Sports Ground
Strip of land at 54 Military Road, Gosport
Small parcel of Land at Oil Fuel Depot Gosport
Pumphouse Site, Church Crookham
Land adjacent King George V cottages, Minley
Land at Lancaster Way, Farnborough
Minley Farm West, Minley
Financial year 2004-05
The Brambles, 44 Marine Parade West, Lee-on-the-Solent
1-46 Rodney Close, Rowner, Gosport
Land at Seafield Park, Stubbington
Land at Manor House Farm, Barton Stacey
Garden Land at Amport House, Andover
Ski-Slope, Aldershot
Burger King/Car wash site, Wellington Ave, Aldershot
Land at Norris Bridge, Aldershot
RAF Officers’ Mess, Farnborough Rd, Farnborough
Land adjacent to Hawley Training Area
Land at North Lane, Aldershot
Financial year 2003-04
Disposal of SCU Leydene, East Meon
Sale of Fort Southwick, Portsdown
2-12 (even) Military Road, Hilsea, Portsmouth
Royal Engineer Lines/St. Lucia Lodge, Bordon
Land at Hospital Road, Aldershot
Land at The Ferns, Aldershot
Vine Cottage Bungalow plot, Aldershot
Financial year 2002-03
Land at United Services Sports Ground, Portsmouth
DERA Alverstoke, Fort Monckton, Fort Road, Gosport
Portsdown Land Based Test Site, Southwick Road, Cosham
DERA Pyestock
DERA Farnborough
Land at St. Christopher’s Road, Cove
Land at Lions Field, Oakhanger
Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Church Crookham
T site, Farnborough Airfield
Financial year 2001-02
Disposal of Searles House, Winchester
Disposal of Industrial land, Frater Gate, Gosport
Frater Metal Tents site, Royal Navy Armament Depot Frater, Gosport
Financial year 2000-01
Cambridge House
Sale of Pewitt Island
Territorial Army Centre Redan Road, Aldershot
Martin Lines, Church Crookham
Woodland/pond, Pumphouse Triangle, Woolmer
Further land at Pumphouse Triangle, Woolmer
Lasham Timber Mill, Lasham
Territorial Army HQ, Carlton Terrace, Southampton
Financial year 1999-2000
Wireless Transmitter Station Stubbington
Beaumont Stables and Riding School, Aldershot
Lasham Airfield, Lasham
Factory site, Farnborough
Land for link road, Woolmer
Area K, Bordon
Financial year 1998-99
Sale of Royal Navy Victualling Depot Botley
Plot 2 Development land, Norway Road (Rugby Camp)
Sale of Boat Compound, Ferry Road
Plot 1 Development land, Norway Road (Rugby Camp)
Eastney Furniture Store
Disposal of land at United Services Sports Ground, Portsmouth
Anglesey Lodge, Aldershot
Land at Coopers Lane, Bramley
Financial year 1997-98
Sale of Fleet Air Arm Memorial
Land at the junction of Manor Way and Newton Place
Bunker Site, Brune Way
HMS Nelson, Gunwharf
Sale of Royal Marines Association Pavilion, Eastney, Portsmouth
Land at Tipner Lane Portsmouth
Land at Stamshaw Promenade
Hilsea Sportsfield
Sale of land at Hilsea Sportsfields
Ordnance Supply Unit Liphook, Liphook
48, Coopers Lane, Bramley
Departments: Official Visits
This information is not held centrally in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departments: Public Appointments
[holding answer 16 July 2007]: The Rules on the Acceptance of Outside Appointments by Crown Servants' are set out in The Civil Service Management Code (Section 4.3 Annex A). Applications from MOD staff at Senior Civil Service Pay Band 2 (SCS PB2) or military equivalent and below will be approved at an appropriate senior level within the MOD, taking into consideration the results of internal consultation and representations from competitor companies, and, in the case of SCS PB2 level applicants, the views of the Head of the Home Civil Service. For more senior applicants, the MOD provides the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments with a recommendation and the final decision is made by the Prime Minister on the advice of the Advisory Committee.
Interviews are not required, but a meeting may be requested by an applicant before a final decision is taken on their application.
Depleted Uranium: Irish Sea
[pursuant to the reply, 5 July 2007, Official Report, c. 1134W]: The final sentence should read:
The reason for the discrepancies cannot be fully determined as original records have been destroyed, but it is known that in some case, preparatory rounds, which did not contain DU, were included in the earlier data.
Ex-servicemen: Disabled
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations
Information on casualties and fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan is published on the MOD website (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/ OperationsFactsheets) two weeks in arrears.
The following table shows the number of fatalities UK forces have suffered while carrying out operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003.
Telic (Iraq) Herrick (Afghanistan) 2003 53 0 2004 22 1 2005 23 1 2006 29 39 1 January 2007-15 July 2007 32 20
Ministry of Defence Police: Colchester Garrison
The current number of Ministry of Defence Police officers employed at Colchester is:
Number Sergeants 2.5 Constables 6.5
Modern Housing Solutions: Engineers
Modern Housing Solutions (MHS) does not directly employ any engineers, although there are 1,861 engineers who are sub-contracted by MHS.
There are no engineers directly employed by Modern Housing Solutions (MHS). All are sub-contracted by MHS and as such their holiday entitlement is at the discretion of their respective employers.
Navy: Military Bases
The naval base review (NBR) is currently considering a number of broad cross-Government issues. As part of this work, we are currently engaged with other Government Departments including HM Treasury, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Communities and Local Government. Working with them, we are assessing the possible cross-Government cost implications for the different NBR options to ensure a clear understanding of the best value for the taxpayer.
While this complex pan-Government work is progressing well, further work is required before final conclusions can be reached. One aspect of this additional work might be the need for public consultation.
No decisions have yet been taken with respect to the naval base review.
Nimrod Aircraft
Five RAF personnel are permanently stationed at the Nimrod MRA4 training facility at RAF Kinloss and their costs are estimated at £400,000 per annum. RAF members of the joint MOD/BAE Systems flight trials team who are stationed at Warton travel to RAF Kinloss to man the simulator as required, to assess the operation of the simulator against the actual aircraft and to confirm its suitability for training. Costs of these personnel are not separately recorded.
RAF Lakenheath: Nuclear Weapons
NATO’s Strategic Concept (paragraph 63) states that
“Nuclear forces based in Europe and committed to NATO provide an essential political and military link between the European and the North American members of the Alliance. The Alliance will therefore maintain adequate nuclear forces in Europe.”
It is NATO and UK policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at a given location.
Territorial Army: Expenditure
The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Torpedoes: Environment Protection
We are not aware of any adverse environmental impact statements in respect of the Royal Navy's heavyweight torpedo guide wire system. No restrictions have therefore been imposed on heavyweight torpedo firings.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference
The Ugandan theme for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting is transforming Commonwealth societies to achieve political, economic and human development. The formal agenda has yet to be confirmed, although there will be reports to Heads of Government from the Commonwealth Secretary-General's Commission on Respect and Understanding and from the Committee on Commonwealth Membership, as well as the selection of a new Commonwealth Secretary-General. My right. hon. Friend the Prime Minister looks forward to taking part in frank and fruitful discussions with his Commonwealth counterparts on these and other key issues at the meeting.
Entry Clearances: Training
Entry clearance officers (ECOs) with no previous entry clearance experience must complete an intensive three-week course before undertaking entry clearance work at our missions overseas. Immigration officers from the Border and Immigration Agency must complete a one-week ‘conversion’ course. Both courses are based on continuous assessment and all ECOs must obtain a “Pass” mark at the end of their training before they can take up their posting.
Entry clearance managers (ECMs) must complete an eight-day course covering all aspects of visa section management. Officers who have had no entry clearance experience within the previous two years must also complete the three-week ECO course before taking up an ECM position.
In addition, the training team delivers regional training workshops in the ten Director of Visa Services global regions between September and April each year.
Iran: Capital Punishment
We are deeply concerned at the increasing use of capital punishment in Iran. Last year Iran executed more people than any other country in the world except China (whose population is over 15 times the size). Many of the most basic standards in the application of capital punishment are absent and executions are often carried out in public. Iran is one of a tiny handful of countries that continues to execute juvenile offenders. This abhorrent practice is a clear breach of Iran’s international human rights commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and runs contrary to the moratorium on juvenile executions that Iran announced in 2005.
We received reports that a man and a woman, Jafar Kiani and Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, were due to be stoned to death for adultery in Qazvin province in June. The EU presidency made representations to the Iranian authorities, and the executions were halted. We were very disturbed to hear confirmation from the Iranian Judiciary, that Mr. Kiani was subsequently executed by stoning on 5 July. The Head of Iran’s Judiciary announced a moratorium on stonings in 2002 and although stoning sentences continue to be handed down by judges, this is the first confirmed report of a sentence being carried out in recent years. The EU presidency issued an immediate statement, on 10 July, condemning the sentence, which is in clear violation of international laws, and called on Iran to stop the execution of Ms Ebrahimi. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also issued a statement of concern on 10 July. We are also concerned by the recent announcement by a Judiciary spokesperson that Iran intends to hang 20 criminals imminently.
We remain strongly opposed to the death penalty in all its forms and consider stoning to be a cruel and inhuman punishment. We will continue to urge Iran to uphold its international human rights obligations, to implement fully the moratoria on stonings and juvenile executions and to introduce them into law, as recommended in the UN General Assembly Resolution on Human Rights in Iran adopted in December 2006, in order to abolish these punishments completely.
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him today (UIN 149983) and the reply my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) also today (UIN 149714).
We received reports in June that Jafar Kiani and his partner Mokarrameh Ebrahimi were due to be executed imminently by stoning for adultery. The EU presidency immediately made representations to the Iranian authorities, on behalf of all EU partners, in Tehran and Berlin on 20 June. The Iranian Foreign Ministry and Judiciary gave assurances that the moratorium on stoning, announced in 2002, was still in place and the executions would be halted.
We were therefore extremely shocked to hear confirmation from the Iranian Judiciary that Jafar Kiani was subsequently stoned to death on 5 July, despite these assurances. Although stoning sentences continue to be handed down by judges, this is the first confirmed report of a sentence being carried out in recent years. Mr. Kiani’s execution violates both Iran’s declared moratorium on stoning and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a party. The ICCPR states that “in countries which have not abolished the death penalty, the sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes” and that “no-one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. The stoning of Mr. Kiani violates both these principles.
The EU presidency issued an immediate statement on 10 July condemning the execution of Mr. Kiani and called on Iran to stop the execution of Mokarrameh Ebrahimi. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also issued a statement of concern on 10 July. I called in the Iranian ambassador on 16 July to protest this execution. I restated our fundamental opposition to the death sentence in all circumstances and urged the authorities to uphold the moratorium and to ensure that it is applied in the case of Ms Ebrahimi.
Iran: Nuclear Power
We have noted the remarks of the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr. El Baradei, about a slowing in the process of commissioning new cascades at Natanz. We await further information from the IAEA before we can make a detailed assessment of this development, but a key point is that the relevant UN Security Council resolutions require Iran to suspend all enrichment-related activities, not merely to slow down the rate of their expansion.
We have serious concerns about Iran's nuclear programme. The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on 23 May that he was still unable to verify certain aspects relevant to the scope and nature of Iran's programme. Therefore, the IAEA was unable to provide assurances about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities, or about the exclusively peaceful nature of the programme. Until the IAEA can provide such assurances, the international community's concerns about Iran's programme will remain.
Middle East: Terrorism
(2) what recent representations he has made to Arab Governments on the production of children’s videos encouraging attacks on Israeli citizens; and if he will make a statement.
Following the broadcast in April of a Palestinian children’s TV programme which sought to incite violence against Israel and the US, the then Palestinian National Unity Government asked the TV station to stop the programme. The then Palestinian Information Minister, Mustafa Barghouti said the programme took a “mistaken approach” to the political situation. The programme was finally pulled on 29 June. We have not made any representations to the Palestinian Authority or Arab Governments on this issue.
The UK continues to condemn any actions which incite hatred and violence.
Moldova: Official Visits
We are looking at future opportunities for inward visits from Moldova from senior figures including the President of Moldova. The timing of the president’s visit, however, has not yet been confirmed.
The UK enjoys a constructive relationship with Moldova and welcomes further co-operation between the UK and Moldova both bilaterally and within the EU. Over the last year, we have welcomed many high profile visitors to the UK, particularly Moldovan Ministers and parliamentarians. The Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Dr. Marian Lupu, visited the UK in February last year for meetings with Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials. Valeriu Ostalep, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration visited the UK in July 2006, while the Minister of Defence, Valeriu Plesca, visited the UK in September 2006, meeting with, among others, my noble Friend the Minister of State for Defence, Lord Drayson. My right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) the then Minister for Europe met President Voronin and other senior figures during his visit to Moldova in February this year, and met the First Deputy Prime Minister, Mrs. Zinaida Grecianîi, on her visit here last November.
Nuclear Disarmament
My right hon. Friend the former Foreign Secretary announced that the UK would act as a “disarmament laboratory” for the thinking and practical work required to move forward global nuclear disarmament.
As the speech made clear, we are supporting an independent International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) in-depth study to help determine the requirements for the eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons. In particular, we are working with IISS on holding a workshop to focus on some of the crucial technical questions in this area.
We have also tasked the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston with some detailed work on key stages in the verification of the reduction and elimination of nuclear weapons. This work is beginning and will produce results over the next few years.
Palestinians: Politics and Government
EU Foreign Ministers agreed at the 18 June General Affairs and External Relations Council to urgent practical and financial assistance including: direct financial support to the new Palestinian Government; support to the Palestinian civilian police; the resumption of the EU border assistance mission at the Rafah (Gaza-Egypt) crossing; and intensive efforts to build the institutions of a future Palestinian state.
On 19 June, my right. hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for International Development announced a £1 million contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross' work in Gaza and the West Bank. We continue to support the temporary international mechanism, which plays a valuable role in providing assistance to the Palestinian people. We are also working with the new emergency Government to help bring stability and security to the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Fatah constitution does call for the “eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence”. But Fatah, as a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), is a signatory to the Oslo Peace Accords, which clearly state that “the PLO recognises the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security”.
The letter of mutual recognition from Yasser Arafat, representing the PLO at the time, to Yitzhak Rabin, the then Israeli Prime Minister, in September 1993 clearly states
“the PLO affirms that those articles of the Palestinian Covenant which deny Israel’s right to exist, and the provisions of the Covenant which are inconsistent with the commitments of this letter are now inoperative and no longer valid. Consequently, the PLO undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes in regard to the Palestinian Covenant.”
We have therefore not made any representations to Palestinian President Abbas on this issue.
Western Sahara: Referendums
My right. hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed the question of western Sahara with the UN Secretary-General, but UK officials in New York are in regular contact with their UN counterparts. We will continue, through my meetings and those of officials, to discuss this issue with all interested parties.
The UK regards the status of western Sahara as undetermined, pending UN efforts to find a solution. To this end, the UK fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his personal envoy to the western Sahara, Peter van Walsum, to assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self determination of the people of western Sahara.
The UN Security Council adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1754 on 30 April, which extended the mandate of the UN mission for the referendum in western Sahara. There are no plans for a referendum to be held in the near future. However, the resolution also called for both sides to enter into negotiations without preconditions. The UK welcomes the first round of these talks between the parties, hosted by the UN in Manhasset, New York, on 18-19 June, and the agreement by all parties to take part in a further round in August.
Children, Schools and Families
Antisocial Behaviour: Torbay
In 2005-06, Torbay council received £216,044 revenue and £46,305 capital Safer Stronger Communities Fund grant from the Home Office. This included £25,000 for a local antisocial behaviour co-ordinator, to prioritise and drive forward action on local issues.
Since 2006-07, Torbay council has received centrally pooled Safer Stronger Communities (SSC) funding from Communities and Local Government. The pooled grant available was £216,044 revenue and £46,305 capital in 2006-07; and £321,848 revenue and £182,475 capital in 2007-08. Although there is no requirement to use this funding for specific antisocial behaviour initiatives, Torbay has agreed through its local area agreement to deliver a range of outcomes using this funding including a reduction in public perceptions of antisocial behaviour.
In 2006-07, Torbay received £14,000 from the Respect Task Force for targeted action against antisocial behaviour, £2,000 for a merchandise procurement and publicity campaign, £5,000 towards project work to scope a single non-emergency number and £7,000 towards a clean up campaign.
As one of the 77 target areas working closely with the Respect Task Force, Torbay has been allocated additional funding in 2007-08 of up to £50,000 for a parenting practitioner to work with parents whose children are involved in or at risk of engaging in antisocial behaviour.
Children: Databases
(2) how many people are expected to be able to access ContactPoint;
(3) what response he has had from local authorities about their preparedness to commence operation of ContactPoint;
(4) how much has been spent on ContactPoint; and how much has been budgeted for completion of the project;
(5) what estimate has been made of the annual running costs of ContactPoint once it has been initiated.
In relation to question 150348, ContactPoint will be available to all local authorities in England by the end of 2008. By that time the system will have also been made available to our National Partners—Barnardo’s, NSPCC, NCH, the Children's Society, KIDS, Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service—who will work with us in implementing the system and who will grant access and manage users in their organisations when it is operational. ContactPoint will be deployed initially in April 2008 to 17 Early Adopter authorities and Barnardo’s, the Early Adopter National Partner.
In relation to question 150349, we estimate that there will be some 330,000 ContactPoint users working in education, health, social care, youth justice and the voluntary sector.
In relation to question 150350, we are working closely with all local authorities and National Partners to ensure their readiness for deployment in 2008. They provide regular reports on their progress to the Department, through an online tool—the local authority readiness assessment (LARA) system. Departmental officials also provide significant support to each authority and National Partner, in particular through a team of 11 regional coordinators who offer one to one support and bi-monthly networking and update opportunities. Local authorities and National Partners have also been provided with a range of tools and other support and guidance materials. Progress towards readiness to receive access to ContactPoint is on track.
In relation to question 150351, we spent £28.4 million in 2006-07 and a further £11.2 million in the first three months of 2007-08. The total costs for implementing the system are estimated at £224 million. This includes the costs of adapting systems that will supply the data to ContactPoint and adapting the day-to-day systems used by practitioners they can access ContactPoint from their own systems. It also includes the costs to ensure security, data accuracy and staff training.
In relation to question 150352, running costs thereafter are estimated to be £41 million per year. Most of this will go directly to local authorities to fund staff to ensure the ongoing security, accuracy and audit of ContactPoint.
Children: Day Care
We consulted widely in the summer and autumn last year on draft statutory guidance to local authorities undertaking child care sufficiency assessments; and between February and May this year on draft statutory guidance to local authorities on securing sufficient child care. Both documents benefited from revisions made in the light of comments from a range of groups, including local authorities themselves, representative organisations and child care providers. Our guidance emphasises the importance of local authorities—whose job it is to facilitate and support child care in their areas—establishing the needs of their different community groups and working to meet them.
Departments: Marketing
There were no costs for relocation or re-branding. Costs for producing branded material in relation to the creation of DCSF were as follows:
£ Relocation No cost Signs 3,750 Stationery (recycling costs of previous stock) 900 Departmental publications No cost
Departments: Policy
As I set out in my statement to the House on 10 July 2007, we are launching a nationwide consultation to draw up a children’s plan for our country. I plan to be able to report the results of that consultation and set out the emerging children’s plan in the autumn setting out the goals and directions for the Department for the next 10 years.
Pupil Exclusions
(2) if he will make a statement on the changes to the collection of data on the reasons for exclusion in maintained primary and special schools.
In the academic year 2005/06 data on the reason for exclusion were collected from maintained secondary schools only.
Prior to 2005/06 data on the reason for exclusion were collected as part of the Termly Exclusions Survey for maintained primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units. However there has been a staggered move to collect exclusions data through the School Census, streamlining data collection and reducing both the number of data collections and the administrative burden on schools.
Secondary schools returned exclusion data via the School Census for the first time in May 2006. Primary and special schools returned fixed period and permanent exclusion data through the census for the first time in May 2007. No data on fixed period or reason for exclusion were collected from primary or special schools for 2005/06. The data collected in May 2007 relate to exclusions occurring in the previous autumn term, therefore data will be available for the 2006/07 academic year.
The available information on fixed term and permanent exclusions is contained in the following tables.
These tables were published as part of the recent Statistical First Release on exclusions which can be found at:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000733/index.shtml.
Fixed period exclusions Boys Girls Total Number of exclusions Age4 4 and under 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 8 # 0 # 9 530 80 610 10 860 90 950 11 31,830 6,690 38,530 12 49,370 16,850 66,230 13 61,000 27,730 88,720 14 64,220 28,390 92,610 15 40,030 14,640 54,670 16 760 200 950 17 300 80 380 18 20 10 30 19 and over 10 # 10 Total5 248,950 94,750 343,840 Percentage of school population6 Age4 4 and under 0.00 0.00 0.00 5 0.00 0.00 0.00 6 0.00 0.00 0.00 7 0.00 0.00 0.00 8 # 0.00 # 9 4.36 0.69 2.57 10 6.16 0.64 3.46 11 11.15 2.43 6.87 12 16.98 5.97 11.56 13 20.26 9.51 14.97 14 21.35 9.67 15.58 15 13.67 5.11 9.44 16 0.84 0.19 0.50 17 0.43 0.09 0.25 18 0.33 0.21 0.27 19 and over 1.98 # 1.00 Total5 14.96 5.77 10.40 # = less than five, or a rate based on less than five. 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2 For the 2005/06 school year, information on fixed period exclusions from secondary schools was collected via the School Census for the first time (the Termly Exclusions Survey has been discontinued). For exclusions during 2006-07, information on fixed period exclusions will also be collected from primary and special schools. 4 Age as at 31 August 2005. 5 There were 140 exclusions for which gender and age were unclassified and three male exclusions for whom age was unclassified. These have been included in the total only. 6 The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils of each age in secondary schools as at January 2006. Note: 1. Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census
Permanent exclusions Boys Girls Total Number of exclusions Age4 4 and under 10 0 10 5 50 0 50 6 70 10 80 7 110 10 120 8 180 10 180 9 260 10 270 10 280 20 290 11 580 60 640 12 1,210 310 1,520 13 1,750 590 2,340 14 1,960 640 2,600 15 780 190 970 16 30 10 30 17 20 10 20 18 # 0 # 19 and over 0 0 0 Total5 7,280 1,860 9,170 Percentage of school population6 Age 4 4 and under 0.00 0.00 0.00 5 0.02 0.00 0.01 6 0.03 0.00 0.01 7 0.04 0.00 0.02 8 0.06 0.00 0.03 9 0.09 0.00 0.05 10 . 0.09 0.01 0.05 11 0.20 0.02 0.11 12 0.41 0.11 0.26 13 0.57 0.20 0.39 14 0.64 0.22 0.43 15 0.26 0.06 0.16 16 0.03 0.01 0.02 17 0.03 0.01 0.02 18 # 0.00 # 19 and over 0.00 0.00 0.00 Total5 0.19 0.05 0.12 # = less than five, or a rate based on less than five. 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2 Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. 3 Figures relating to permanent exclusions are estimates based on incomplete pupil-level data. 4 Age as at 31 August 2005. 5 There were 27 permanent exclusions for which gender and age are unclassified. These have been included in the total. 6 The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils of each age in primary, secondary and special schools (excluding dually registered pupils in special schools) in January 2006. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census
The available information on fixed term and permanent exclusions is contained in the following tables. The breakdown of infant schools and colleges requested is not available.
Information is not available back to 1990-91. Data were collected for earlier years for permanent exclusions but not published as part of the most recent Statistical First Release.
2003/043, 4 2004/054 2005/065 Primary schools Number of fixed period exclusions 41,300 43,720 n/a Percentage of fixed period exclusions6 12 11 n/a Percentage of school population7 0.97 1.04 n/a Secondary schools Number of fixed period exclusions 288,040 329,680 343,840 Percentage of fixed period exclusions6 84 85 n/a Percentage of school population7 8.66 9.94 10.40 Special schools Number of fixed period exclusions 15,170 16,170 n/a Percentage of fixed period exclusions6 4 4 n/a Percentage of school population7 17.45 18.91 n/a All schools Number of fixed period exclusions 344,510 389,560 n/a Percentage of fixed period exclusions6 100 100 n/a Percentage of school population7 4.49 5.12 n/a n/a = Not available 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2 Includes maintained special schools. Excludes non-maintained special schools. 3 In 2003/04, information on fixed period exclusions was collected for the first time. 4 Information on fixed period exclusions has been derived from Termly Exclusion Survey returns. 5 For the 2005/06 school year, information on fixed period exclusions from secondary schools was collected via the School Census for the first time (the Termly Exclusions Survey has been discontinued). For exclusions during 2006/07, information on fixed period exclusions will also be collected from primary and special schools. 6 The number of fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the total number. 7 The number of fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) in January each year. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Termly Exclusions Survey and School Census
1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/013 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 Primary schools Number of permanent exclusions 1,540 1,370 1,230 1,440 1,450 1,300 1,270 1,090 970 Percentage of permanent exclusions4 13 13 15 16 15 14 13 12 11 Percentage of school population5 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 Secondary schools Number of permanent exclusions 10,190 8,640 6,710 7,310 7,740 7,690 8,320 8,070 7,990 Percentage of permanent exclusions4 83 83 81 80 81 83 84 85 87 Percentage of school population5 0.33 0.28 0.21 0.23 0.24 0.23 0.25 0.24 0.24 Special schools Number of permanent exclusions 570 440 380 390 340 300 300 280 210 Percentage of permanent exclusions4 5 4 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 Percentage of school population5 0.58 0.45 0.40 0.41 0.36 0.32 0.33 0.31 0.23 All schools Number of permanent exclusions 12,300 10,440 8,320 9,140 9,540 9,290 9,880 9,440 9,170 Percentage of permanent exclusions4 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Percentage of school population5 0.16 0.14 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.13 0.12 0.12 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2 Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. 3 Permanent exclusions for 2000/01 are estimated as a number of local authorities have not confirmed the data for their schools. 4 The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the total number. 5 The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils in special schools) in January each year. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census
These tables were published as part of the recent Statistical First Release on exclusions which can be found at:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000733/index.shtml.
Pupil Exclusions: Appeals
The available information is contained in the following table. The relevant data has been italicised.
Appeals against exclusion from a school 1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 Number of appeals lodged 1,290 1,220 950 1,100 1,130 1,070 1,130 1,090 1,060 Number of appeals heard 1,010 960 860 980 1,060 990 1,050 1,030 980 Percentage of appeals heard2 78.6 79.3 91.0 89.8 94.2 92.2 92.8 94.8 92.8 Number of appeals determined in favour of the parent/pupil 200 220 320 310 260 210 220 220 240 Percentage of appeals determined in favour of the parent/pupil3 20.2 22.8 36.7 31.9 24.4 21.1 21.2 21.5 24.1 Number of successful appeals where reinstatement was directed n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 150 130 110 130 Percentage of successful appeals where reinstatement was directed4 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 71.3 57.0 49.1 55.5 n/a = Not available. 1 Excludes non-maintained special schools. 2 Shown as a percentage of appeals lodged. 3 Shown as a percentage of appeals heard. 4 Shown as a percentage of appeals determined in favour of the parent/pupil. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Exclusion Appeals Survey.
This table was published as part of the recent Statistical First Release on exclusions which can be found at:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000733/index.shtml
Information is not available back to 1990/91. Data were collected in 1995/96 and 1996/97 but not published as part of the most recent Statistical First Release.
Pupils: Intimidation
The Government plan to provide the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children with a £30 million grant to help the NSPCC update and expand its helpline services, including ChildLine, which support vulnerable children and help keep them safe from abuse. The grant will in fact be spread over the next four years.
School Meals: Take-Up
Information on the quality, availability and uptake of school meals is not held centrally. However, data from the school census show the proportion taking free school meals as at January 2007 was 13.1 per cent. in maintained nursery and primary schools and 9.6 per cent. in maintained secondary schools. This compares with 13.3 per cent. and 9.9 per cent. respectively for January 2006. Figures for earlier years cannot be provided due to time constraints.
Also, figures from the School Food Trust’s 2006 annual survey of school meals take-up in England showed that take-up of school meals in 2005-06 was 42.3 per cent. in primary schools and 42.7 per cent. in secondary schools. Findings from the 2007 survey will be available in August.
Schools: Standards
The numbers in the table represent the schools in special measures at the end of each academic year since 31 August 1997. The figures for 2006/07 show the position at 31 March 2007, using the most recent information published by Ofsted.
Local authority support is expected in every case of special measures. The nature of the support will vary according to the needs of the individual school and will be reflected in the statement of action for the school which the authority is required to prepare. Ofsted assess the quality of the local authority’s support on their monitoring visits to the school.
Local authority 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Barking and Dagenham 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 2 3 2 Barnet 0 3 5 3 2 1 2 8 4 0 2 Barnsley 1 2 3 2 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 Bath and NE Somerset 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 Bedfordshire 5 2 0 2 2 3 3 5 1 1 2 Bexley 0 2 2 1 2 3 2 0 0 0 0 Birmingham 9 10 13 9 6 4 5 5 6 8 4 Blackburn 5 3 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 1 Blackpool 1 1 0 2 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 Bolton 1 1 1 3 5 3 4 3 0 1 1 Bournemouth 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Bracknell Forest 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 Bradford 6 3 1 0 0 7 13 12 7 4 4 Brent 2 4 4 5 5 3 2 2 1 2 2 Brighton and Hove 2 4 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bristol 1 7 6 4 4 4 4 4 3 5 6 Bromley 2 3 3 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 1 Buckinghamshire 1 3 2 5 5 2 0 0 1 1 2 Bury 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 Calderdale 3 4 3 2 1 0 1 3 1 0 2 Cambridgeshire 3 3 3 2 3 5 4 1 3 1 2 Camden 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 Cheshire 0 1 0 2 4 3 2 2 1 1 3 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cornwall 1 2 2 3 2 1 2 4 4 5 4 Coventry 3 4 3 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 Croydon 5 7 2 0 0 0 2 3 3 2 1 Cumbria 4 6 6 4 2 5 4 6 4 3 5 Darlington 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 Derby City 0 1 0 1 1 3 3 4 3 2 3 Derbyshire 5 18 17 10 6 6 7 3 1 2 3 Devon 4 8 8 3 3 1 2 4 1 3 4 Doncaster 0 2 2 1 0 0 5 7 4 2 2 Dorset 2 3 3 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 Dudley 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 3 1 1 3 Durham 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 Ealing 1 2 1 3 4 3 1 0 0 1 1 East Riding 1 1 3 5 2 3 3 4 3 1 0 East Sussex 4 3 1 3 1 1 2 4 1 0 2 Enfield 2 1 1 1 3 3 3 4 2 2 3 Essex 10 18 17 18 18 11 8 11 7 6 7 Gateshead 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 Gloucestershire 2 5 5 5 1 1 3 3 2 3 4 Greenwich 6 8 5 2 3 2 2 2 1 0 0 Hackney 8 5 5 3 3 4 5 4 1 0 1 Halton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Hammersmith and Fulham 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 Hampshire 3 11 8 11 3 3 3 5 2 5 5 Haringey 4 7 5 3 2 0 2 2 1 0 0 Harrow 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Hartlepool 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Havering 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 Herefordshire 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Hertfordshire 6 7 6 4 7 8 8 7 2 0 3 Hillingdon 2 3 2 3 2 1 3 2 3 1 0 Hounslow 2 2 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 Isle of Wight 0 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 2 1 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 Islington 6 8 4 5 5 2 2 1 0 2 1 Kensington and Chelsea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Kent 15 17 13 8 12 12 14 16 10 1 4 Kingston Upon Hull 7 5 2 4 3 1 2 2 1 1 1 Kingston Upon Thames 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kirklees 3 3 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 2 3 Knowsley 0 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 Lambeth 11 6 1 2 2 1 3 3 0 0 0 Lancashire 11 15 8 6 2 5 4 2 2 3 6 Leeds 5 5 5 4 3 2 4 4 1 1 4 Leicester City 7 12 10 4 2 1 3 4 2 1 3 Leicestershire 2 1 1 1 4 5 5 7 5 2 2 Lewisham 5 6 2 5 3 4 1 1 0 1 0 Lincolnshire 6 7 8 9 5 3 3 4 6 3 3 Liverpool 9 15 12 3 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 Luton 2 3 2 1 2 4 3 3 2 1 1 Manchester 6 13 10 7 7 7 5 3 1 2 2 Medway 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 Merton 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 1 Middlesbrough 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 Milton Keynes 3 3 2 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 3 Newcastle 4 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 Newham 6 8 6 6 3 1 1 1 0 0 2 Norfolk 11 9 10 11 9 6 6 5 5 3 9 North East Lincolnshire 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 North Lincolnshire 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 North Somerset 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 North Tyneside 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 North Yorkshire 4 2 0 1 0 1 1 2 0 2 2 Northamptonshire 3 3 6 7 3 4 4 5 6 6 7 Northumberland 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 Nottingham City 4 9 9 7 5 2 5 1 0 3 3 Nottinghamshire 4 9 9 5 5 3 5 5 3 2 3 Oldham 1 2 0 1 2 1 1 3 3 1 0 Oxfordshire 4 8 7 8 6 4 3 5 1 2 2 Peterborough 1 2 2 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 Plymouth 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 1 1 Poole 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Portsmouth 1 1 3 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 Reading 0 3 3 4 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 Redbridge 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 2 0 0 Redcar and Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 Richmond Upon Thames 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Rochdale 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 3 1 0 Rotherham 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 4 3 1 Rutland 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Salford 3 3 1 0 1 1 2 4 6 3 2 Sandwell 7 10 8 6 4 6 6 6 2 2 3 Sefton 0 1 1 1 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 Sheffield 6 9 10 8 8 1 2 2 1 1 2 Shropshire 2 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 Slough 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Solihull 1 3 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 3 3 Somerset 2 3 2 2 1 0 1 1 3 5 5 South Gloucestershire 0 0 2 3 1 0 2 1 1 1 1 South Tyneside 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 Southampton 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Southend 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 Southwark 4 10 10 7 4 5 5 6 4 2 4 St. Helens 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 Staffordshire 6 5 2 5 5 4 2 4 6 7 8 Stockport 2 2 1 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 Stockton on Tees 1 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Stoke on Trent 3 7 5 1 2 3 2 1 2 8 6 Suffolk 1 2 3 3 2 3 4 2 1 2 4 Sunderland 2 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 Surrey 4 9 4 3 4 4 3 6 8 4 6 Sutton 2 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 Swindon 0 1 1 3 4 2 2 3 1 2 0 Tameside 1 4 4 4 3 2 2 3 1 0 1 Telford and Wrekin 1 3 3 2 0 0 2 2 0 2 0 Thurrock 1 3 2 3 4 5 1 1 0 1 0 Torbay 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tower Hamlets 2 6 7 6 4 5 2 0 1 1 1 Trafford 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 2 1 3 Wakefield 0 1 4 3 3 2 0 0 0 1 1 Walsall 4 3 6 7 6 6 3 0 1 1 1 Waltham Forest 5 2 2 5 4 3 1 0 1 0 1 Wandsworth 5 5 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 0 Warrington 0 1 3 2 1 1 1 2 3 1 0 Warwickshire 1 4 6 6 3 1 1 4 5 5 4 West Berkshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 West Sussex 0 1 4 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 5 Westminster 2 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Wigan 1 1 2 1 0 0 1 2 2 1 2 Wiltshire 2 1 3 5 6 3 3 5 4 5 5 Windsor and Maidenhead 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 Wirral 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 4 Wokingham 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Wolverhampton 3 9 7 7 4 4 1 0 0 0 2 Worcestershire 3 2 2 4 8 7 4 6 7 2 3 York 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 362 524 447 394 320 270 282 332 242 208 256
Sure Start Programme: Ethnic Groups
(2) what expenditure there has been on targeting the Sure Start scheme at ethnic minority communities;
(3) what comparative studies his Department has commissioned on the value of the Sure Start scheme to different ethnic minority communities;
(4) what discussions officials in his Department have had with counterparts in the Department for Communities and Local Government on the assistance provided by the Sure Start scheme to ethnic minority communities.
Supporting families from black and minority ethnic families is a key priority for Sure Start local programmes and children's centres. The Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) allocates grant funding to local authorities and decisions on spending this are taken locally. However we encourage them to take positive steps to provide services specially targeted to meet the needs of black and minority ethnic families.
A comprehensive national evaluation of the Sure Start programme is being carried out on behalf of DCSF by the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck, University of London. This looks extensively at the experience of ethnic minority communities in Sure Start local programmes and specifically includes an assessment of the impact of Sure Start local programmes on child, family and parental outcomes from which impacts for children and families from different ethnic minority groups can be identified. The national evaluation uses the 2001 census ethnic group classification with results generally focusing on the following groups: White, Mixed Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, Black African and Other. An early assessment of the impact of Sure Start local programmes on children, families and communities published in November 2005 found no significant differences in outcomes for children and families from different ethnic minority groups. The next phase of the longitudinal study of impacts is due to be published in spring 2008 and will include an assessment of impacts of the Sure Start programme for different ethnic minority groups. In addition, a focused study on how Sure Start Local Programmes worked with black and minority ethnic groups that identifies good practice in working with BME groups has also been carried out as part of the national evaluation and is available on the DCSF website at:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/RRP/u015229/index.shtml.
The revised practice guidance for local authorities and Sure Start children's centres, published last November, took account of the findings in the focused study report and gave advice about how to engage and support families from black and minority ethnic communities. We also issued late last year a performance management framework to help local authorities and children's centres judge how well their services were meeting and improving outcomes for families. This included specific advice about monitoring access and outcomes of black and minority ethnic families. In addition, ‘Together for Children’, the consortium appointed to support local authorities during the children's centre roll-out, have produced a toolkit which features advice and case studies on reaching families at greatest risk of social exclusion, including Black and minority ethnic families.
My officials are in contact with their counterparts at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) about how Sure Start children's centres provide support to minority ethnic communities and DCLG are also represented on the steering group for the national evaluation of Sure Start. My Department has received no representations from ethnic minority groups on the Sure Start scheme.
Sure Start Programme: Standards
There is a comprehensive national level evaluation of Sure Start in place, which began in January 2001 and will run until 2008. To date, 24 reports have been published, including four published at the end of June. These can be found at:
http://www.surestart.gov.uk/research/evaluations/ness/nesspublications/
Each element of the evaluation explores how effective Sure Start local programmes (SSLPs) are and provides examples of good practice and understanding that can feed into the future development of children’s centres. A number of these studies focus on a specific aspect of work, for example, outreach and home visiting or maternity services, others take a more overarching view such as the reports “Understanding Variations in Effectiveness amongst SSLPs” and “Changes in the Characteristics of SSLP Areas between 2000/01 and 2004/05” that were published last month.
These studies found that SSLPs were most effective when they implemented the programme well across all areas and that particularly important factors were having robust structures for governance and leadership, a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere, and empowerment of providers and users of services. They also found that there had been improvements in Sure Start local programme areas between 2001 and 2005, such as a reduction in the number of children living in workless households that was larger than that for England as a whole, though such changes cannot be directly linked to the work of the Sure Start programme.
Early findings from the evaluation’s Impact Study were published in November 2005 and showed that SSLPs had had some positive impacts on parenting and child outcomes, but that more needed to be done to reach the most disadvantaged groups. A fuller assessment of the impact of Sure Start based on a longitudinal study of children at age three years will be published in spring 2008.
International Development
Afghanistan: Overseas Aid
According to the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA)1, the following has been contributed to the humanitarian effort in Afghanistan over the last three years:
US $ 2004 162,366,273 2005 79,906,460 2006 153,181,425
Prior to 2003, the majority of DFID aid to Afghanistan was focused on immediate reconstruction and humanitarian needs. In 2003-04, the focus shifted to long- term developmental programmes in support of the Government of Afghanistan.
DFID still retains some limited capacity to respond to humanitarian crises. For example, in 2006-07 the UK committed the following humanitarian aid to Afghanistan: £1 million for drought mitigation; £1.2 million to support HALO Trust's de-mining programme; and £30,000 to provide food and other essential items like soap and blankets for 3,000 internally displaced families in Helmand.
Security concerns present difficulties for NGOs and development workers wishing to operate in some areas, particularly the south. This is why the presence of NATO forces, and British troops in Helmand, are essential to create the conditions in which humanitarian aid can be delivered more effectively. The vast majority of Afghans want to see a peaceful, prosperous, democratic country. We will continue to support them.
1 OCHA website database at:
www.ocha.unog.ch; appeal and funding
Departments: Freedom of Information
A list of DFID Freedom of Information requests between January and June 2007 has been placed in the Library of the House.
Developing Countries: Water
Climate change will affect the availability of water through levels of rainfall increasing (around the equator and in higher latitudes), decreasing (in mid-latitudes), becoming more variable from year to year and being more extreme (excessive rainfall in wet seasons and longer and more pronounced droughts in dry seasons). This will make provision of water in developing countries, where access to clean water is already extremely low and management of water for agriculture and other activities is weak, even harder.
The UK is already committed to helping developing countries increase access to clean water. We are doubling funding available for water and sanitation in Africa to £91 million by 2007-08 and then doubling it again to £200 million a year by 2010-11. We have issued a Global Call to Action, calling for increased money for water and sanitation, for it to be spent more effectively and for the right structures to be in place to make this happen.
We are also working to help developing countries take account of the impact of climate change on their ability to provide access to water. The new £800 million Environment Transformation Fund, announced in the last budget, will provide funds for developing countries to adapt to the impact of climate change, including on water. As the largest donor to the UN’s Special Adaptation Funds, at £20 million, we are already helping developing countries take account of adaptation in their planning. We are improving access to relevant climate data for developing countries to plan on the basis of likely water availability. We are funding research into the best local responses to climate change, including to water supply problems, through our £24 million support to African research institutions, and will do the same in Asia and Latin America. We are making sure our own investments, including in the water sector, take account of the impact of climate change, as part of our on-going climate risk assessment exercise in Bangladesh, China, India and Kenya. And the impact of climate change will be central to our new water resource management strategy.
In the longer term, the Government are working to minimise the impact of climate change on developing countries by achieving a post-Kyoto deal which stabilises greenhouse gas emissions below a dangerous level.
Provisional estimates of DFID bilateral expenditure show that DFID spent £46.8 million on water and sanitation in financial year 2006-07.
In addition to direct bilateral expenditure on specific water and sanitation projects, spending on a range of other projects and programmes across DFID's portfolio will contribute to improving water supply and sanitation in developing countries. DFID's total support to the water sector—including through the World Bank, the multilateral development banks and the EC—was estimated to be £242 million in 2005-06, the latest year for which figures are available on this basis.
The number of people lacking access to clean drinking water is estimated to be 1.1 billion.
If current trends continue, the number of people without access to clean water will decrease further by 150 million by 2015, leaving over 900 million without access. In sub-Saharan Africa the situation is much worse, with the number of people without access to clean water increasing by 60 million between 1990 and 2004, taking account of the increase in population of 217 million. On current trends, between 2004 and 2015 the number of people lacking access to clean water in sub-Saharan Africa will increase by a further 47 million, taking account of projected population increases of 200 million.
St Helena: Airport
Cost estimates for the St. Helena airport have not been published, as to do so could prejudice the outcome of the current competitive procurement process. DFID continues to update its estimates as additional information becomes available during the development of specifications for the airport and through the tender process.
Western Sahara: Overseas Aid
DFID does not have a bilateral aid programme for western Sahara refugees. However, between September 2006 and January 2008 the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) is providing a €10 million (£6.8 million) package of relief in the sectors of food, water, sanitation, health, education and shelter through various UN agencies and international NGOs. The UK contribution is 17.3 per cent., which is approximately £1.2 million. DFID also contributed $49 million to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in 2006 for its work with refugees across the world, including from western Sahara. DFID's humanitarian aid package for 2008-09 has not yet been agreed.
Justice
Prisoners
Delivering the basic skills of reading and writing is a key priority, bolstering employability and reducing re-offending as is the achievement of work skills qualifications.
Offender education spend has trebled from £57 million in 2001 to £183 million this year. 36 per cent. of prisoners are engaged in education, up from 30 per cent. 94,200 prisoners improved their literacy, language or numeracy skills by at least one level between 2001-04 and gained 249,104 work skills qualifications in total. The introduction of the Offender Learning and Skills Service planned and funded by the LSC should enable us to build on this issue.
Prison population projections have been published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin 11/06 (July 06). Three scenarios (high, medium, low) have been calculated. All figures relate to the last day of the month. The projected prison populations closest to 1 October, 1 January, 1 April and 1 July in each year to April 2012 are shown in the following table.
End of month High Medium Low September 2007 81,600 80,340 79,090 December 2007 80,200 78,710 77,200 March 2008 83,300 81,590 79,840 June 2008 84,670 82,730 80,730 September 2008 85,970 83,740 81,500 December 2008 84,690 82,160 79,670 March 2009 87,920 85,100 82,370 June 2009 89,410 86,290 83,320 September 2009 90,680 87,290 84,030 December 2009 89,370 85,700 82,160 March 2010 92,560 88,620 84,800 June 2010 94,020 89,810 85,700 September 2010 95,210 90,720 86,290 December 2010 93,810 89,040 84,290 March 2011 96,930 91,880 86,810 June 2011 98,310 92,970 87,590 September 2011 99,420 93,760 88,050 December 2011 97,940 91,950 85,930 March 2012 100,980 94,660 88,320
Revised prison population projections will be published in August 2007.
Young Offenders
Young Offender Institutions accommodate sentenced prisoners aged from 15 to 21. At the end of June 1997 there were 7,949 sentenced young offenders including 1,673 aged under 18. At the end of May this year there were 9,137 sentenced young offenders including 1,894 aged under 18.
Queen's Speech
Last Wednesday my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out the details of the content of the provisional list of Bills for the next parliamentary Session. His purpose was such that our Government’s initial thinking, previously private, could be the subject of widespread discussion and public debate. Full information is now available on the Cabinet Office website and in hard copy. We want to hear from all Parliamentarians, members of the public and individual groups their views on what was proposed.
Victims of Crime and Witnesses: Support
The Government have already done much to support victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings. We have:
Introduced special measures such as live links, video-recorded evidence-in-chief and intermediaries. An independent evaluation in 2004 found that one-third of witnesses would not have been willing or able to give evidence without special measures
Given £30 million annually to Victim Support, who provide the Witness Service in every court
Introduced a statutory Code of Practice to give victims legal rights for the first time
Spent £2.75 million on new court live link systems to help witnesses give evidence since 2006
Met the target of having separate waiting facilities in 90 per cent. of magistrates courts ahead of schedule.
Prisoner Rehabilitation Programmes
The main risk entailed by overcrowding is that prisoners do not complete offending behaviour programmes because they are transferred to another establishment before the programme is completed.
The Prison Service monitors the delivery of all offending behaviour programmes closely. Less than 1 per cent. of those who started offending behaviour programmes in 2006-07 failed to complete because of transfer.
Probation Services
If we are to tackle re-offending effectively, we need a flexible approach which brings together all those with a contribution to make. We need to be able to commission services at national, regional and local level according to need. Contestability will enable specialist, low-volume, high-cost services to be commissioned at a national or regional level, where that makes sense.
But it also enables the local lead provider to continue to act as provider and commissioner. Lead providers will concentrate on delivering core offender management, while commissioning much of the interventions work from local providers. Provided their performance meets the requirements, the lead provider in a probation area will be the probation trust.
Early Release Scheme
The end of custody licence was introduced on 29 June as a temporary measure. It is too early to say how long the scheme will be in operation. We will keep under the review the length of time it will remain in use in the light of new prison capacity coming on stream and the review by Lord Carter.
Restraint Methods
The methods used must be approved by the Secretary of State, who receives advice from the Youth Justice Board. The Board periodically appoints a panel of experts, including medical experts, to assess safety. A full review was conducted in 2004-05 and a further review is currently being established.
Magistrates Courts: Cheshire
HMCS is committed to putting the public first in the delivery of justice. There are currently seven magistrates courts in Cheshire. HM Courts Service will continue to manage the court provision in Cheshire to maintain and improve the justice system for the public.
Governance of Britain Green Paper
The Prime Minister and I published the Green Paper, ‘The Governance of Britain’, on 3 July. A range of reforms have already been introduced, including:
appointment of regional Ministers;
publication of the proposed legislative programme, accompanied by the Prime Minister's statement to the House;
revocation of legislation allowing special advisers to give orders to civil servants;
publication of a revised ministerial code;
creation of the National Security Council; and
commitment of the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for Defence to neither add nor subtract names from the final Honours List passed to HM the Queen.
In the coming weeks, we intend to publish a consultation paper on the role of the Attorney-General, to launch the Goldsmith Review of Citizenship, to set up a Youth Citizenship Commission and to finalise arrangements for regional select committees. In the longer term, it is proposed to introduce a Constitutional Reform Bill to Parliament in the next Session, to complete the voting systems review and to begin work on engaging with the British people on a statement of values. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in his statement to the House:
“As we focus on the challenges that we face...our starting point should be to discuss together and then...agree and set down the values, founded in liberty, which define our citizenship and help to define our country.”—[Official Report, 3 July 2007; vol. 462, c. 819.]
Finally, while we do not envisage further devolution of powers from the UK Parliament to national Assemblies, the Green Paper makes it clear that the Government remain committed to enhancing democracy by devolving more power directly to the people. In line with this we are to consult on a range of measures to fully engage local people in local decisions.
Approved Premises
As at 28 February 2007, the number of residents housed in Approved Premises in England and Wales categorised as (a) high risk of serious harm was 1,165, representing 63 per cent. of all residents. The number categorised as (b) very high risk of serious harm was 115, representing 6 per cent. of all residents. These figures do not include the Prospects Approved Premises, which are a specialist resource for offenders with substance misuse problems.
The regional profile of offenders, by risk of harm, was as follows:
Region Number Percentage Number Percentage East 60 49 6 5 East Midlands 102 65 16 10 London 184 74 14 6 North East 83 67 13 10 North West 232 75 16 5 South East 88 48 15 8 South West 82 60 8 6 Wales 68 77 8 9 West of Midlands 120 56 9 4 Yorkshire and Humberside 146 57 10 4 Totals 1,165 63 115 6
In September 2004, the Government published a strategy which directed Approved Premises in England and Wales to be used primarily to supervise certain high risk of serious harm offenders on release from custody into the community. That strategy was reviewed and reaffirmed in the context of the Child Sex Offender Review, the report of which was published in June this year.
Approved Premises provide for enhanced supervision of offenders and are, therefore, a valuable public protection resource. Such supervision would be much more difficult to provide if offenders were dispersed into less suitable accommodation in the community.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has recently initiated an Approved Premises Service Review, to make recommendations as to how the supervision of high risk of serious harm offenders in Approved Premises should be commissioned from April 2008.
Oakhill Secure Training Centre: Inspections
In accordance with the service level agreement between Ofsted, the Youth Justice Board and the Ministry of Justice, papers received following the unannounced inspections at Oakhill secure training centre in January and April 2007 will be included as appendices to the report of the next announced inspection of the centre. The inspection will be conducted by Ofsted and is due to take place in October. The report will be a publicly available document.
Prisons: Construction
As part of the 8,000 capacity programme, the National Offender Management Service is looking to identify potential new prisons sites within areas of greatest need.
These sites should be close to or within large urban conurbations, enabling prisoners to be located close to home for family contact and to assist in finding employment on release; near or within reasonable travelling distance of courts; and to have good access to public transport and major roads.
Treasury
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 18 July 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths of teenagers there were in which alcohol was cited as a cause or contributing factor in (a) 2007 and (b) the last five years. I am replying in her absence. (150412)
The latest year for which figures are available is 2006. The table below shows the number of deaths of teenagers where an alcohol-related cause was the underlying cause of death or was mentioned as a contributory factor on the death certificate. Figures are provided from 2001 to 2006.
Underlying cause of death Mentioned as contributory factor 2001 10 40 2002 1 25 2003 6 35 2004 3 45 2005 9 53 2006 3 42 1 Selected using the National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths. The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes for the definition are listed as follows: F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol G31.2—Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol G62.1—Alcoholic polyneuropathy I42.6—Alcoholic cardiomyopathy K29.2—Alcoholic gastritis K70—Alcoholic liver disease K73—Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified K74—Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver (excluding K74.3-K74.5—billiary cirrhosis) K86.0—Alcohol induced pancreatitis X45—Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol X65—Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol Y15—Poisoning by and exposure to alcohol, undetermined intent 2 The number of deaths—where an alcohol-related cause was mentioned as a contributory factor also includes those deaths where the cause was selected as the underlying cause of death. 3 Data are for deaths registered in each calendar year.
Childbirth
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 18 July 2007:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question on the number of births there has been each month since January 2001. (150955)
The latest available figures on live births by month are for 2005. The table below shows the figures requested for the years 2001 to 2005 and covers live births registered in England and Wales.
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 January 50,591 49,165 50,579 53,028 52,527 February 45,150 45,150 46,017 49,350 48,080 March 49,793 48,972 50,845 52,793 53,671 April 47,805 47,940 50,761 51,383 52,064 May 51,474 50,726 52,910 52,726 53,610 June 49,483 48,539 51,481 53,313 54,078 July 51,328 51,984 55,425 55,619 56,526 August 50,958 51,122 53,311 54,270 57,230 September 50,680 51,933 54,124 55,556 56,396 October 51,364 52,241 54,159 55,368 55,614 November 48,417 48,611 50,599 52,899 52,279 December 47,591 49,739 51,258 53,416 53,760 Annual total 594,634 596,122 621,469 639,721 645,835 Source: Birth Statistics, Series FM1 nos. 30 to 343 Table 2.4
Children's Centres: Finance
Treasury Ministers have discussions on a wide range of issues 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 these discussions.
Death
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 18 July 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the death rate from (a) stroke, (b) heart disease, stroke and related illnesses and (c) all cancers was among (i) people aged 65 years and under, (ii) people aged 75 years and under and (iii) all people, in each year since 1977. I am replying in her absence. (150400)
The latest year for which figures are available is 2005. The table below shows age-standardised mortality rates from 1977 to 2005 for (a) stroke, (b) all circulatory diseases, and (c) cancer, for people aged under 65, under 75, and all ages.
Stroke All circulatory diseases Cancer Under 65 Under 75 All ages Under 65 Under 75 All ages Under 65 Under 75 All ages 1977 212 493 1,206 1,270 2,496 4,873 1,017 1,624 2,151 1978 206 482 1,190 1,294 2,519 4,892 1,022 1,633 2,165 1979 209 480 1,188 1,295 2,500 4,870 1,020 1,631 2,177 1980 192 446 1,118 1,228 2,390 4,653 1,007 1,621 2,170 1981 181 427 1,071 1,179 2,323 4,521 996 1,609 2,164 1982 179 415 1,045 1,139 2,261 4,424 974 1,598 2,151 1983 172 399 1,010 1,127 2,242 4,351 981 1,612 2,175 1984 165 399 1,042 1,070 2,150 4,221 994 1,637 2,240 1985 163 385 1,042 1,058 2,126 4,254 979 1,619 2,235 1986 155 373 999 1,019 2,057 4,078 961 1,598 2,206 1987 149 353 955 979 1,984 3,914 956 1,593 2,213 1988 137 337 927 924 1,914 3,813 952 1,602 2,226 1989 131 322 898 868 1,829 3,701 931 1,583 2,217 1990 125 307 870 837 1,764 3,577 915 1,561 2,190 1991 125 305 879 802 1,715 3,550 899 1,547 2,181 1992 120 288 835 762 1,635 3,406 884 1,530 2,167 1993 114 266 762 756 1,631 3,408 865 1,492 2,107 1994 108 255 726 690 1,510 3,174 839 1,465 2,079 1995 109 253 726 679 1,481 3,133 818 1,439 2,048 1996 108 250 716 654 1,419 3,026 803 1,406 2,008 1997 102 238 686 615 1,337 2,880 770 1,365 1,962 1998 104 233 677 600 1,300 2,828 768 1,354 1,955 1999 98 222 654 565 1,226 2,709 746 1,313 1,909 2000 89 201 603 532 1,138 2,528 731 1,282 1,870 2001 89 206 655 514 1,093 2,527 724 1,265 1,880 2002 90 201 653 497 1,040 2,462 714 1,252 1,871 2003 87 192 635 479 991 2,393 694 1,220 1,836 2004 80 173 575 440 906 2,196 675 1,195 1,803 2005 75 161 539 422 854 2,077 665 1,178 1,783 1 Rate per million population, age-standardised to the European Standard Population. 2 Selected using International Classification of Diseases, Eighth Revision (ICD-8) codes for the years 1977 to 1978, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes for the years 1979 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes for the years 2001 to 2005. The codes selected are listed as follows: Stroke—ICD-8 430-438; ICD-9 430-438; ICD-10 I60-I69 All circulatory diseases—ICD-8 390-444.1, 444.4-458.9, 782; ICD-9 390-459; ICD-10 I00-I99 Cancer (all malignant neoplasms)—ICD-8 140-207; ICD-9 140-208; ICD-10 C00-C97 Between 1984 and 1992, a different interpretation of the World Health Organization selection Rule 3 was used to select the underlying cause of death in England and Wales, to that used internationally. This change means that comparisons between this period, and years before and after, should be interpreted with caution. The impact of the change on mortality statistics was analysed and reported in annual mortality publications for 1984 and 1993-94 (notes 1 and 2) . The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in 2001 also means that figures are not comparable with data for years before this date. Comparisons between the data before and after 2001 should therefore also be interpreted with caution. Articles specifically examining the effects of the change in classification for circulatory disease and cancer trends were published in Health Statistics Quarterly 22 and Health Statistics Quarterly 23 (notes 3 and 4). More information about these changes, as well as the results of the study, can be found on the National Statistics website at www.statistics.gov.uk/icd10mortality. 3 Data are for deaths registered in each calendar year between 1977 and 1992, and occurrences of death in each calendar year from 1993 onwards. Notes: 1. Mortality statistics: Cause 1984. DH2 No. 11, pg viii-ix. 2. Mortality statistics: Cause 1993 (revised) and 1994. DH2 No. 21, pg xxv-xxxiii. 3. Griffiths C, Brock A and Rooney C (2004) The impact of introducing ICD-10 on trends in mortality from circulatory diseases in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 22, 14-20. 4. Brock A, Griffiths C, Rooney C (2004) The effect of the introduction of ICD-10 on cancer mortality trends in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 23, 7-17.
Defence: Expenditure
HM Treasury’s Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2007 details historical and planned defence budget expenditure, excluding the additional costs of military operations. Annual GDP deflators can be found on the Treasury’s website at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/gdp_deflators/data_gdpfig.cfm
Departments: Legislation
60 Acts have received Royal Assent between 1997 and 16 July 2007, all of those have been brought into force in full or in part.
Between 1997 and 16 July 2007 60 Acts have received Royal Assent, of those Acts 28 have been repealed in full. Of the 28 Acts that are no longer in force, 26 were Appropriation or Consolidated Fund Acts and the remaining two were repealed as a result of a consolidation exercise.
Departments: Telephone Services
(2) how customer satisfaction with call centres used by his Department is measured; and what the results were of customer surveys carried out in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
There were no call centres used by HM Treasury in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07.
Government Departments: Buildings
The earlier answer provided figures for central Departments, their agencies and sponsored bodies. Other occupancy details are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Government Departments: ICT
The OGC Gateway™ process is mandatory for all projects and programmes within central civil Government. Gateway reviews are carried out at key decision points in the life of a project or programme.
(2) in what circumstances mission critical information and communications technology projects may proceed despite a red light in the Gateway Review process.
A red Gateway review does not mean that the project or programme must be stopped. A red Gateway means that to achieve success there is at least one issue that requires immediate action.
HM Revenue and Customs: Census
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 18 July 2007:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what access (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) the Valuation Office Agency have to (i) Census data and (ii) Census test data. (150639)
Neither HM Revenue and Customs nor the Valuation Office Agency have any access to personal census data, including Census Test data. Under the provisions of Section 8 of the Census Act 1920 as amended by the Census (Confidentiality) Act 1991, personal census information which relates to an identifiable individual or household, is kept strictly confidential. It would be a criminal offence to disclose personal information from the census without lawful authority. These provisions also apply to Census Test data.
Anonymised and aggregated statistical census data are available free of charge from the National Statistics website—www.statistics.gov.uk.
Immigrants: Employment
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 18 July 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of people who entered the UK in the last ten years and who are in employment. (150245)
For the three month period ending March 2007 there were 1.5 million overseas born people in employment who had entered the UK in the last ten years. This figure includes those who were children when they arrived.
When interpreting this figure, it is important to bear in mind that the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is not designed to cover everyone who is present in the UK. The survey may undercount the numbers of people who were born overseas for the following reasons :-
The LFS sample covers people living in private households, those in National Health Service (NHS) accommodation, and students living in halls of residence who have a UK-resident parent. Students living in halls of residence who do not have a UK-resident parent are not covered by the sample.
The LFS does not cover people living in other types of communal establishment (such as hostels, hotels, boarding houses, or mobile home sites).
Individuals living at sampled addresses are generally included in the survey only if they regard the address as their main residence. Those who have been living at the address for less than six months are not eligible to take part in the survey.
The survey results are weighted to estimates of the ‘usually resident’ UK population living in private households, NHS accommodation and student halls of residence. The population figures cover long-term international migrants (people who change their country of usual residence for 12 months or more). They do not include people moving to the UK for less than 12 months, nor do they exclude from the usually resident population people moving out of the UK for less than 12 months.
The LFS estimates at this detailed level are only consistent with the UK population estimates published in February and March 2003 and they do not incorporate the more recent population estimates that are used in the headline labour market series.
Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
Office of Government Commerce: Reviews
The role of departmental audit committees in scrutinising information about a Department's major projects and programmes, including information from Gateway reports, and regular reporting for Ministers on mission critical projects, has been raised by the Public Accounts Committee in their report, ‘Delivering successful IT-enabled business change’ [HC113 5 June 2007]. The Government will be responding to the PAC's recommendation in a Treasury Minute.
Public Expenditure: Wales
The Government have no plans to review the Barnett formula.
Taxation: Environment Protection
The environmental taxes levied by Government are the climate change levy, landfill tax and aggregates levy.
The climate change levy is estimated to have reduced emissions by a cumulative 16.5 million tonnes of carbon up to 2005 and by 2010 it is estimated to deliver savings of over 3.5 million tonnes of carbon per year.
Landfill tax is expected to save up to 0.2 MtC a year by 2010 and, between 1997-98 and 2005-06 the amount of active waste disposed to landfill fell by 14 per cent.
The aggregates levy is also achieving its environmental objectives; there has been an 8 per cent. reduction in sales of primary aggregates between 2001 and 2005.
The environmental taxes levied by Government are the climate change levy, landfill tax and aggregates levy. The Government recognise that other taxes, such as fuel duty and air passenger duty, have a positive environmental impact and can be used to achieve environmental aims and that other measures such as vehicle excise duty have been reformed to build in environmental incentives.
Unemployment: Young People
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 18 July 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about young people not in employment, education or training.
Table 1 attached, shows the numbers of 16 to 18 year olds not in full-time education, employment or training, resident in Great Britain parliamentary constituencies, in ascending order, for the 12 months ending in December 2006, from the Annual Population Survey. The table shows that for the majority of constituencies the smaple size is too small to provide estimates. For the remaining constituencies the number of persons, aged 16 to 18, not in full-time education, employment or training, is less than 2,500 in all cases.
Estimates for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.
As the information is extensive, a copy of this table has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Visits
I have nothing further to add to my hon. Friend’s previous answer.
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments
In the past a team consisting of people with clinical and national health service management experience provided support to individual NHS trusts, giving them advice and guidance on delivering and sustaining the accident and emergency (A and E) four hour target.
The level of support to organisations varied at different times, including offering a range of advice and support from one-off or occasional telephone advice through to intensive visits. It is therefore not possible to provide a definitive list of every trust that has had some form of contact with the team, nor to provide the cost in each case.
Such a team no longer exists, as the A and E four hour target has been achieved and is now an operational standard for the NHS.
In addition, the former national health service Modernisation Agency’s Emergency Services Collaborative was a national time limited programme that aimed to improve emergency care across the whole system; improve patient, carer and staff experience and reduce total journey times through A and E departments. The Department allocated £30 million to the national health service Modernisation Agency to fund this national service improvement programme.
Information is not available in the format requested. Available information is provided in the following tables.
Attendances Region 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 England 14,364,146 14,280,388 14,629,025 14,293,307 14,044,018 Northern and Yorkshire 1,908,884 1,900,148 1,940,457 1,884,713 1,891,519 Trent 1,344,814 1,324,409 1,329,038 1,303,643 1,335,057 West Midlands 1,690,182 1,689,095 1,740,155 1,682,401 1,609,279 North West 2,248,105 2,184,748 2,233,799 2,181,244 2,130,246 Eastern 1,123,343 1,131,896 1,173,271 1,171,833 1,177,060 London 2,486,731 2,495,141 2,584,316 2,548,166 2,407,563 South East 2,144,443 2,145,683 2,154,529 2,080,948 2,107,992 South West 1,417,644 1,409,268 1,473,460 1,440,359 1,385,302 Notes: 1. From 2003-04 onwards, attendances at NHS Walk-in Centres are included in the collection for A and E attendances. 2. Mid 1999 population estimates have been used for years 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000. 3. Mid 2000 population estimates have been used for years 2000-01 and 2001-02. 4. Mid 2005 population estimates have been used for years 2005-06 and 2006-07. 5. Strategic health authorities (SHAs) were established from 1 April 2002. Prior to this, the national health service in England had regional health authorities. Source: Department of Health datasets QMAE and KH09, Office for National Statistics Mid year population estimates, 1991 Census Based: Office for National Statistics Mid year population estimates, 2001 Census Based: Office for National Statistics
Attendances per 100,000 population Region 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 England 28,703 28,703 29,403 28,588 28,090 Northern and Yorkshire 29,991 29,991 30,627 29,714 29,821 Trent 25,727 25,727 25,817 25,273 25,882 West Midlands 31,657 31,657 32,614 31,533 30,163 North West 33,126 33,126 33,869 32,998 32,227 Eastern 20,888 20,888 21,651 21,464 21,559 London 34,250 34,250 35,474 34,551 32,645 South East 24,667 24,667 24,768 23,807 24,117 South West 28,703 28,703 29,853 28,951 27,845 Notes: 1. From 2003-04 onwards, attendances at NHS Walk-in Centres are included are included in the collection for A and E attendances. 2. Mid 1999 population estimates have been used for years 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000. 3. Mid 2000 population estimates have been used for years 2000-01 and 2001-02. 4. Mid 2005 population estimates have been used for years 2005-06 and 2006-07. 5. Strategic health authorities were established from 1 April 2002. Prior to this, the national health service in England had regional health authorities. Source: Department of Health datasets QMAE and KH09, Office for National Statistics Mid year population estimates, 1991 Census Based: Office for National Statistics Mid year population estimates, 2001 Census Based: Office for National Statistics
Attendances SHA 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 England 14,391,522 16,516,845 17,837,180 18,759,164 18,922,275 North East 798,137 862,871 885,107 986,532 1,038,224 North West 2,241,614 2,748,990 2,949,987 3,133,096 3,222,663 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,569,742 1,800,965 1,800,664 1,805,091 1,791,096 East Midlands 929,554 1,010,549 1,099,010 1,152,131 1,180,075 West Midlands 1,598,354 1,764,923 1,851,038 1,913,232 1,937,396 East of England 1,180,380 1,392,253 1,580,932 1,628,944 1,668,379 London 2,634,278 3,078,876 3,533,903 3,849,121 3,746,972 South East Coast 1,154,415 1,290,821 1,385,852 1,460,227 1,481,493 South Central 829,418 948,750 1,046,384 1,074,212 1,094,942 South West 1,455,630 1,617,847 1,704,303 1,756,578 1,761,035 Notes: 1. From 2003-04 onwards, attendances at NHS Walk-in Centres are included are included in the collection for A and E attendances. 2. Mid 1999 population estimates have been used for years 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 3. Mid 2000 population estimates have been used for years 2000-01 and 2001-02 4. Mid 2005 population estimates have been used for years 2005-06 and 2006-07 5. Strategic health authorities were established from 1 April 2002. Prior to this, the national health service in England had regional health authorities Source: Department of Health datasets QMAE and KH09, Office for National Statistics Mid year population estimates, 1991 Census Based: Office for National Statistics Mid year population estimates, 2001 Census Based: Office for National Statistics
Attendances per 100,000 population SHA 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 England 28,988 33,129 35,608 37,197 37,521 North East 31,447 33,980 34,777 38,562 40,582 North West 33,045 40,399 43,210 45,764 47,072 Yorkshire and The Humber 31,438 35,952 35,736 35,646 35,370 East Midlands 22,012 23,765 25,680 26,754 27,403 West Midlands 30,134 33,176 34,703 35,658 36,109 East of England 21,769 25,486 28,790 29,395 30,106 London 35,737 41,675 47,572 51,201 49,842 South East Coast 27,802 30,950 33,091 34,653 35,157 South Central 21,312 24,267 26,678 27,193 27,718 South West 29,303 32,362 33,828 34,662 34,750 Notes: 1. From 2003-04 onwards, attendances at NHS Walk-in Centres are included are included in the collection for A and E attendances. 2. Mid 1999 population estimates have been used for years 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000. 3. Mid 2000 population estimates have been used for years 2000-01 and 2001-02. 4. Mid 2005 population estimates have been used for years 2005-06 and 2006-07. 5. SHAs were established from 1 April 2002. Prior to this, the NHS in England had regional health authorities. Source: Department of Health datasets QMAE and KH09, Office for National Statistics Mid year population estimates, 1991 Census Based: Office for National Statistics Mid year population estimates, 2001 Census Based: Office for National Statistics
Accident and Emergency Departments: Preston Royal Infirmary
The information requested is not collected centrally. The percentage of people seen within four hours at accident and emergency departments in the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is shown in the following table.
Percentage under four hours 2002-03 93.8 2003-04 99.1 2004-05 99.8 2005-06 99.7 2006-07 99.7 Source: Department of Health dataset QMAE
Ambulance Services: Gloucestershire
This information is not held centrally.
The hon. Member may wish to approach Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust for this information.
Ambulance Services: Rotherham
Responsibility for local health services now lies with the local national health service. It is now for local NHS organisations to plan, develop and improve local health services according to the health needs of their local populations and within the resources allocated to them. In this instance, this is a matter for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
Cardiovascular System: Diseases
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of people diagnosed with peripheral arterial disease in the last (a) 12 months, (b) five years and (c) year for which figures are available.
The Department does not collect this information.
(2) what guidance his Department has issued to primary care trusts on the management of peripheral arterial disease.
Conducting assessments and providing guidance for new and existing therapies within the national health service is handled by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE can be asked to develop guidance from topics suggested by various sources, including the Department’s, health care and public health professionals, patients, carers and the general public.
Chiropody
From the figures that we received from the Health Professions Council (HPC), 288 non-registrants of the HPC were issued with a warning letter on protected titles in 2006-07. 136 concerned registrants who may have been using the title or implying that they were chiropodists/podiatrists.
Community Hospitals: Capital Investments
Each primary care trust makes its own assessment of need and the appropriate pattern of services for its own locality. “Our health, our care, our communities: investing in the future of community hospitals and services” sets out ten design principles for primary care trusts (PCTs) to use as a starting point when considering local service redesign and the role of community hospitals. Strategic health authorities (SHAs) will determine how proposals from PCTs in their area can deliver the strategic needs and priorities across the SHA area.
Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence
[holding answer 17 July 2007]: Officials from both the Department and the devolved Administrations meet the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence on a regular basis and formally each quarter.
[holding answer 17 July 2007]: The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence is required by law to submit its annual accounts to the Secretary of State, devolved administrations, Comptroller and Auditor General, in respect of each year. Its annual report is also laid before Parliament.
There are also non-statutory quarterly meetings where the Department, along with the devolved Administrations meet the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence to discuss performance and finance.
Dental Services
The Department does not monitor the performance of individual providers of national health service orthodontic services. It is for primary care trusts, as the commissioning bodies, to monitor services and, where appropriate, take up any concerns with the provider.
Information is not held in the form requested. Primary care trusts (PCTs) agree local contracts with providers of dental services (who may be individual practitioners or dental practices), setting out the level of services to be provided over the course of each year. The Department does not assess the performance of individual providers. It is for PCTs, as the commissioning bodies, to monitor services and, where appropriate, take up any concerns with the provider.
Dental Services: Children
The optimum timing of orthodontic treatment depends upon the age and development of individual patients. The Department is supporting primary care trusts in developing commissioning strategies for orthodontic treatment that are more closely related to local health needs and support timely access to care.
Dental Services: Kent
Registration data no longer form part of the data available under the new national health service dental contractual arrangements. The new measure is patients seen in the previous 24 months and is not comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
Numbers of patients seen, by adult and child, in the previous 24 months ending 31 March, 30 June, 30 September, 31 December 2006 and 31 March 2007 in West Kent Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Eastern and Coastal Kent Teaching PCT are available in section F1 of annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics for England Q4: 31 March 2007” report. This report is available in the Library.
Information is as at England, strategic health authority and PCT level and the report, published by the Information Centre for health and social care, is also available at:
www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalq4
As at 9 July 2007, there were 103 NHS dental surgeries within West Kent PCT and 97 NHS dental surgeries within Eastern and Coastal Kent Teaching PCT.
The areas have been defined using practice postcodes within the PCT area. The figure provides a snapshot of the number of addresses with a contract at the specified date.
No information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual dentists within practices is available.
The number of dental surgeries that are accepting new NHS patients is not collected centrally.
Sources:
The Information Centre for health and social care
NHS Business Services Authority (BSA).
Doctors: Career Structure
[holding answer 16 July 2007]: The IT supplier of the MTAS system is Methods Consulting Ltd. The contract with Methods Consulting Ltd. is under review.
Doctors: Foreign Workers
There is no requirement that overseas doctors wishing to apply for specialty training in 2007 must successfully apply for leave to remain pursuant to the highly skilled migrant programme.
In order to be considered for posts alongside United Kingdom and European economic area (EEA) applicants overseas doctors must, in addition to meeting all other eligibility criteria, have the right to work in the UK without restriction on 5 February 2007. Applicants not meeting this requirement will be considered only once suitable UK and EEA applicants have been awarded posts.
Doctors: Training
(2) what procedures are in place to prevent junior doctors being informed in error that they have been offered a specialist training post; what estimate he has made of the number of junior doctors so informed; and if he will make a statement.
The information requested is not held centrally.
Deaneries are responsible for making offers to successful applicants. Deaneries are concerned to ensure that any offers made are accurate, and in the small number of incidents where there has been an error have apologised for any inconvenience and distress to individuals.
Due to the way that correspondence is recorded, this information cannot be supplied without incurring disproportionate cost.
Donors
Decisions on capacity planning are for local decision.
Education: Finance
The role of the Department should be to focus on outputs and accountability rather than on ensuring a fixed amount of money is spent for a particular purpose regardless of local priorities.
The service increment for teaching (SIFT) funding was issued as an element of the multi professional education and training budget, which was allocated to strategic health authorities (SHAs) as part of the bundle of central budgets for 2007-08.
In 2007-08 a service level agreement (SLA) and accountability framework has been issued to ensure that SHAs are held to account for the training they support.
With regards to SIFT funding, the SLA requires SHAs to provide sufficient medical and dental placements for local medical and dental students and to ensure both the quality of training and adequate support for the students. SHAs have been asked to submit investment plans showing how they will deliver the requirements of the SLA.
Family Practitioner Services: Working Hours
The funds for providing out-of-hours primary medical care services were included within various funding streams relating to primary medical services, but the total out-of-hours element was not separately identified.
Prior to 2004-05, general practitioners (GPs) were contractually responsible for their registered patients 24 hours a day. GPs covered by the general medical services contract received their funding based on a number of fees and allowances. Only a proportion of these were related to the time of day at which the care was provided. GPs covered by the personal medical services scheme had locally agreed contracts with their primary care trust.
General Practitioners
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 7 June 2007, Official Report, column 651W.
The Department and HM Treasury Ministers and officials regularly meet to discuss a wide range of issues. As was the case with previous Administrations it is not the practice of Government to provide details of all such meetings.
Discussions with the NHS Confederation, now NHS Employers, frequently take place involving officials at all levels and have included the appropriate Ministers in post at the time.
General Practitioners: Gravesham
This information is not held centrally. Local primary care trusts are responsible for ensuring that there is a high quality, sustainable out of hours service for all their local population.
All out of hours services must be delivered to the national quality requirements, ensuring patients have access to consistently high quality responsive care and advice regardless of where they live.
Health Hazards: Lighting
No specific guidance has been issued on the treatment of those with medical conditions which may put them at risk of being adversely affected by energy saving lightbulbs.
Health Professions Council
Chapter 1 of the White Paper ‘Trust, Assurance and Safety’ sets out a series of measures to ensure the independence of the national professional regulators. In order to exercise their functions effectively and command the confidence of patients, the public and the professions, they need to be seen to be independent and impartial in their actions. To ensure that this is the case, the White Paper proposes that:
there will be equal membership between lay and professional members, to ensure that professional concerns do not dominate their work;
all councils will be more accountable to Parliament, presenting annual reports to the United Kingdom Parliament;
to dispel the perception that councils are overly sympathetic to the professionals they regulate, council members will be independently appointed;
for councils to focus on strategy. They will become smaller and more-board like, and independently appointed.
From the figures that we received from the Health Professions Council (HPC), 288 non-registrants of the HPC were issued with a warning letter on protected titles in 2006-07.
Health Services: Greater London
The technical report which details the analytical work undertaken to support ‘Healthcare for London—A Framework for Action’ gives an estimated figure of 150 polyclinics across London. The technical report was published alongside ‘A Framework for Action’ on 11 July 2007.
Hospitals: Infectious Diseases
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes annual reports on statistics of deaths with meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemias or Clostridium difficile infection recorded on the death certificate. The latest reports into deaths involving MRSA and Clostridium difficile infection were published in Health Statistics Quarterly 33 in February 2007. Data on the number of deaths involving Clostridium difficile are not available for the year 2000.
The tables show the total number of deaths with either of these organisms mentioned on the death certificate in children (persons under 16) in England and Wales, by age group, and the number which occurred in national health service hospitals.
It is not possible to assume from this that any infection affecting the deceased was contracted in the hospital where the death occurred. Patients may be transferred between hospitals, nursing homes and other establishments or may have acquired their infections before admission to the hospital in which they died. Data are not provided by individual NHS trust because of the risk of deductive disclosure.
Age 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 All places of death Under one 0 1 0 2 1 6 One to four 0 0 1 0 0 0 Five to 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 Deaths in NHS hospitals3 Under one 0 1 0 1 1 6 One to four 0 0 1 0 0 0 Five to 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Identified using the methodology outlined in annual ONS reports on deaths involving MRSA. 2 Deaths occurring in 2000-05. 3 Place of death records where the death occurred. This information does not imply anything about where any infection was acquired.
Age 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 All places of death Under one 0 0 0 0 0 One to four 0 0 1 0 1 Five to 15 0 0 0 1 0 Deaths in NHS hospitals3 Under one 0 0 0 0 0 One to four 0 0 1 0 0 Five to 15 0 0 0 1 0 1 Identified using the methodology outlined in annual ONS reports on deaths involving Clostridium difficile. 2 Deaths occurring in 2001-05. Data for 2000 is not available as deaths in this year were coded to the Ninth International Classification of Disease (ICD-9) which does not have a specific code for Clostridium difficile. 3 Place of death records where the death occurred. This information does not imply anything about where any infection was acquired.
Hospitals: Locums
The information requested is not held centrally. We are aware that there are locum appointments to training being advertised during the round two period. Although locum appointments to training are Deanery approved training posts, it is for local trusts to determine their duration. They can be for any period but are usually from three to six months.
Hospitals: Ministers of Religion
The Department does not collect data on national health service hospital chaplaincy.
The Department is committed to the principle of ensuring that patients and staff in the NHS have access to spiritual care, whatever faith or belief system they follow.
NHS trusts are responsible for delivering religious and spiritual care in a way that meets the diverse needs of their patients. How they do so is a matter for local determination. Budgetary control has been devolved to NHS trusts to allow them to make decisions about how best to use the resources available locally.
Hospitals: Parking
The Department issued Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 07-01 ‘Transport management and car parking’ in 2006. A copy is available in the Library. Section 8 of the document provides detailed guidance on determining levels of car parking provision at hospital sites. It reflects the differing parking needs of patients attending hospital, such as those who are day patients or have appointments at outpatient clinics.
Hyperactivity: Drugs
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex neuro developmental disorder characterised by core symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that are outside the range of normal for the developmental stage of the person and cause impairment in functioning and was first described in 1902. Diagnosis is based on recognising these behavioural traits and making a judgment as to whether they are outside the range of normal. The traits are present in people without ADHD, and lie along a continuum. There is no diagnostic test as yet.
ADHD is similar to other conditions where there is not yet a biological marker and symptoms are on a continuum, such as blood pressure and height. There is evidence of genetic and environmental components to the aetiology of ADHD and it is highly heritable but the inheritance is complex and likely to be due to a combination of genes acting together. Molecular genetics shows the relationship between various markers of ADHD and neurotransmitter receptor and transporter genes.
Junior Doctors: Location
Relocation assistance to junior doctors is a matter for the local national health service trusts to decide.
Junior Doctors: Training
The Medical Training Application Service project board comprised representatives of the Department, NHS Employers, the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans, the Committee of General Practice Education Directors, National Association of Medical Personnel Specialties, Postgraduate Deanery Business Managers, the devolved Administrations and Methods Consulting.
Kidney Patients: Medical Treatments
This information is not collected centrally.
(2) how many patients received treatment for anaemia prior to undergoing renal replacement therapy in the last period for which figures are available; and what the average duration of treatment was.
This information is not collected centrally.
This information is not collected centrally. Part one of the national service framework for renal services sets standards to be met locally over a ten-year period from 2004. This includes timely and appropriate preparation for renal replacement therapy, preferably a year before dialysis is expected to be needed, and timely and appropriate access to surgery for vascular or peritoneal access (ideally six months before starting haemodialysis, four weeks before starting peritoneal dialysis).
The national service framework (NSF) for renal services makes clear that patients should have access to efficient patient transport services. It is up to local national health service trusts to determine exactly how to implement the NSF by providing efficient transport services to patients based on their individual circumstances.
Maternity Units: Infectious Diseases
The specific information requested concerning prevalence in neonatal and maternity units is not collected. The best available data are given as follows but will include both community and health care acquired infections.
Meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) collects data on the sex and age of cases of MRSA bloodstream infections through its voluntary surveillance scheme. The scheme does not collect data on where infection was acquired (e.g. neonatal unit, or maternity unit).
The youngest of the standard age groups is under one year.
Total 2000 37 2001 44 2002 41 2003 66 2004 47 2005 63 Note: Figures correct at 5 June 2007. Source: HPA voluntary surveillance scheme
Clostridium difficile
The HPA’s voluntary reporting scheme collects data on age and sex of cases. The scheme does not collect data on where infection was acquired (e.g. neonatal unit, or maternity unit). The following table shows the number of cases of Clostridium difficile for children from birth to one in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 2000-06.
Age 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Under one month 36 38 36 35 34 37 One to five months 36 51 49 58 48 42 Six to 11 months 35 40 34 43 44 40
The information is likely to be an underestimate as not all laboratories report. Further, testing of children under two years of age may be limited owing to a general belief that the presence of C. difficile is not usually clinically significant in this age group as asymptomatic carriage, including production of toxins A and B, is common in this age group. No other data on healthcare associated infections are available by age group.
Maternity Services: Expenditure
This information is not available centrally.
Maternity Services: Intensive Care
The information is not collected centrally.
Medicine: Overseas Students
There has been no discussion between the Home Office and the Department on this issue.
We have retained a special provision in the Immigration Rules for non-European Economic Area doctors who have completed their undergraduate medical training in the United Kingdom which will give them the opportunity to complete their basic medical training and, in the process gain registration with the General Medical Council.
Mental Health Services: Greater London
The data requested are not held centrally.
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus: Animals
The scientific evidence does not indicate that Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in live animals or meat is a significant public health risk. However if the Health Protection Agency receives samples from people who have a link with veterinary work the strains are examined closely to assess whether there may be any animal origin. The Department's expert advisory committee on antimicrobial resistance and health care associated infection will keep this area under review.
Following advice on appropriate cleaning and handling, storage and cooking of meat is important in preparing food safely and preventing/minimising the risk of contamination by micro organisms.
Midwives
The Department of Health has consulted with NHS Employers, strategic health authorities and the Social Partnership Forum on maximising employment opportunities for newly qualified health care graduates. The consistent message from these consultations is that solutions need to be flexible, locally driven and founded on partnerships between employers, staff side and the higher education sector. Any new initiatives also need to be appropriately tested first.
Accordingly, East of England strategic health authority (SHA) have offered to undertake a feasibility study into establishing a local voluntary guaranteed employment scheme. The feasibility study will last for one year and was launched on 15 May by East of England SHA. The outcome of the feasibility study will determine whether employment guarantee schemes are a viable option. If so, the nature and length of these schemes will be defined upon relevant factors established through the study.
NHS Next Stage Review
Allocations from the £750 million community hospital and services capital fund will be spread over the five years ending in 2010-11. Fourteen capital schemes have been approved, supporting a range of different types of community facilities:
new primary care centre in Washington in Sunderland;
redevelopment of the Gosport War Memorial hospital;
development of a new community health centre in Yate, Bristol;
establishment of a Healthy Living park in Minehead, West Somerset;
redevelopment of the Barking hospital;
new health and social care centre in Teddington;
new primary care centre in Hastings;
redevelopment of the Royal South Hampshire hospital;
new primary care centre in Ashfield;
redevelopment of the Felixstowe community hospital;
new primary care centre in Rotherham;
new community hospital in Bristol;
new community hospital in Hornsey; and
additional community services in Calderdale and Kirklees.
The total cost of these schemes is £94.56 million. £33.6 million has been allocated to primary care trusts in 2007-08 reflecting spending profiles. We do not monitor actual spend on individual schemes at the centre. That is for primary care trusts and their strategic health authorities.
Proposals are assessed against the ten design principles set out in “Our health, our care, our community: investing in the future of community hospitals and services”.
NHS Treatment Centres: Construction
By the end of 2005 the following phase one national health service treatment centres were delivered.
Contract location name Construction start date Expected completion date1 Status at 31 December 2006 Eccleshill NHS Treatment Centre January 2004 May 2005 Operational Ilkeston (Interim) December 2003 January 2004 Closed Bassetlaw (Interim) February 2004 April 2004 Closed Barlborough NHS Treatment Centre May 2004 June 2005 Operational Daventry Treatment Centre Not applicable October 2003 Operational Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre October 2004 June 2005 Operational Greater Manchester Surgical Centre Not applicable November 2005 Operational Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre June 2004 May 05 Operational Bodmin NHS Treatment Centre February 2005 December 2005 Operational Gainsborough NHS Treatment Centre December 2004 January 2005 Operational Boston NHS Treatment Centre September 2004 April 2005 Operational Clifton Park NHS Treatment Centre December 2004 December 2005 Operational Capio New Hall Hospital NHS Treatment Centre Not applicable September 2004 Operational Kidderminster NHS Treatment Centre Not applicable March 2005 Operational St. Mary's NHS Treatment Centre February 2005 December 2005 Operational Will Adams NHS Treatment Centre January 2005 September 2005 Operational Mid and South Buckinghamshire NHS Diagnostic Centre January 2005 July 2005 Operational 1 Expected completion dates are as at financial close, actual completion dates may vary.
For the phase one independent sector treatment centre schemes that involved the construction of new facilities, forecast costs based on the bidder's financial models were included within the bid price and are commercially sensitive. As the construction cost risk lies with the preferred bidder, the Department are not advised of the actual construction costs.
NHS Treatment Centres: Finance
Four phase 2 diagnostic independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) schemes reached financial close in December 2006 (north-west, south-west, London and west midlands). Two phase 2 elective schemes have to date reached financial close in 2007—Cheshire and Merseyside in May 2007, and Northumberland, Tyne and Wear in June 2007.
Of those phase 2 schemes which have reached financial close, all contracts are for a five-year term except the Cheshire and Merseyside electives scheme, which is for a four-year term.
The following phase 2 schemes are moving through the procurement process and are expected to reach financial close by the end of 2007.
Phase 2 electives:
Avon Gloucestershire and Wiltshire;
Cumbria and Lancashire elective surgery;
London North;
Hampshire Isle of Wight;
Greater Manchester CATS (A);
Greater Manchester CATS (B);
Essex;
North East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire;
Cumbria and Lancashire CATS; and
Renal.
Phase 2 diagnostics
South East;
North East;
PET CT (North); and
PET CT (South).
Financial close dates are based on current planning assumptions and ongoing negotiations and therefore subject to change. On average, phase 2 schemes run to five-year contract terms.
Two further ISTC schemes, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire and Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge are expected to move forward through the procurement process to financial close through 2007-08.
No phase 2 ISTC schemes are currently expected to reach financial close in 2009.
As the procurement of phase 2 is ongoing, it is not possible for commercial reasons to provide information on expected costs relating to individual schemes, including any expected capital costs.
NHS Treatment Centres: Private Sector
[holding answer 2 July 2007]: I understand the Healthcare Commission intends to publish its full report on the Quality of Care in independent sector treatment centres on the 19 July 2007.
The following phase one independent sector treatment centre contracts are in place:
Facility name Lead primary care trust Total activity Eccleshill NHS Treatment Centre Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT 121,455 Midlands NHS Treatment Centre South Staffordshire PCT 150,755 Barlborough NHS Treatment Centre Barnsley PCT 21,449 Daventry (service completed) Closed 4,880 Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre Somerset PCT 111,094 Greater Manchester Surgical Centre Oldham PCT 89,726 Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre Plymouth PCT 49,534 Bodmin NHS Treatment Centre Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 56,194 Boston NHS Treatment Centre Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 14,512 Clifton Park NHS Treatment Centre North Yorkshire and York 24,241 Horton NHS Treatment Centre (Banbury) Oxfordshire PCT 44,759 Cobalt NHS Treatment Centre Newcastle PCT 20,351 Capio New Hall Hospital NHS Treatment Centre Hampshire PCT 15,818 Horton NHS Treatment Centre (Banbury) Milton Keynes PCT 7,248 Blakelands NHS Treatment Centre Milton Keynes PCT 22,551 Capio Reading Hospital NHS Treatment Centre Milton Keynes PCT 12,588 Gainsborough NHS Treatment Centre Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 9,242 Nottingham NHS Treatment Centre Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT 342,113 Kidderminster NHS Treatment Centre Worcestershire PCT 36,000 Cheshire and Merseyside NHS Treatment Centre West Cheshire PCT 99,268 Mid Kent NHS Treatment Centre West Kent PCT 104,110 North East London NHS Treatment Centre Barking and Dagenham PCT 58,345 Mid and South Buckinghamshire Diagnostic Centre Buckinghamshire PCT 74,880 St Mary’s NHS Treatment Centre Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 355,299 Will Adams NHS Treatment Centre Medway Teaching PCT 32,345 Sussex Orthopaedic NHS Treatment Centre Brighton and Hove City PCT 55,547 Havant Hampshire PCT 78,600 Notes: 1. The above excludes pathfinder contract and GSUP1 and GSUP2. 2. The total activity column includes all indicative activity volumes i.e. procedures, diagnostics and outpatients for the duration of the contract. These figures are subject to change and are based on estimates.
Two phase two ISTC schemes have contracts awarded. The Cheshire and Merseyside scheme is contracted to deliver approximately 67,000 procedures and the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear scheme is contracted to deliver approximately 83,300 procedures over the duration of the contracts. These figures are subject to change.
Contract values are not disclosed as they are considered commercially confidential. The Department is currently reviewing what information is provided on phase one contracts, however, no decision has yet been taken.
NHS Trusts: Infectious Diseases
“The Health Act 2006 Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Health Care Associated Infections” which came into force on 1 October 2006 requires all national health service bodies to designate a Director of Infection Prevention and Control (DIPC). The Healthcare Commission (HCC) will be monitoring compliance with the code of practice as part of the annual health check.
The data are not available in the form requested. However, the following table shows the number of DIPCs in position from HCCs 2005-06 assessment as at 31 March 2006.
Total number of DIPCs in position Total number of NHS establishments Ambulance Trusts 31 31 Learning Disability Trusts 3 3 Mental Health Trusts 82 83 Primary Care Trusts 302 303
NHS: Buildings
All national health service trusts are responsible for managing their assets to ensure that they are in good condition and safe for patients and staff. This includes managing investment to undertake any repairs that may be required to secure and maintain compliance with fire and health and safety requirements.
These investment decisions will be prioritised locally and will be based on risk assessment, reconfiguration planning, available resources and the introduction of new facilities to replace those that no longer meet local service needs.
As part of the overall objective to reduce the extent of the Department's central performance management of the NHS, trusts are responsible for satisfying the Healthcare Commission that care and treatment is provided from well designed and well maintained buildings.
NHS: Complaints
As of 10 July 2007, there were 23 referrals from overview and scrutiny committees to the Secretary of State for Health between 1 July 2005 and 10 July 2007. The Secretary of State has sought the advice of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel in relation to eight of the 23 referrals.
NHS: Consultants
We estimated during SR2002 that the costs of introducing the consultant contract would be an additional £565 million over the first three years.
The National Audit Office (NAO) report on the consultant contract, published in April 2007, included two sets of plausible methods for calculating the actual cost of the contract. The NAO estimated that the contract may have cost the national health service, over the first three years between £649 million and £765 million more than if consultants had remained on the old contract, compared to departmental funding of £715 million over that period.
NHS: Crimes of Violence
In April 2003, the national health service security management service (NHS SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for tackling violence against NHS staff. A comprehensive strategy detailing both preventative and re-active measures to reduce the number of attacks against NHS staff working in the community has been implemented and includes the creation of the role of a professionally trained and accredited local security management specialist (LSMS) for each health body.
The LSMS is responsible for the management of issues related to attacks against NHS staff supported by a national structure and guidance such as ‘Tackling Violence Against Staff 2007, Not Alone—a Guide For Lone Workers 2005’, and the ‘Non Physical Assault Explanatory Notes 2004’.
In April 2004, mandatory conflict resolution training for all NHS front line staff was introduced with the aim to equip staff with the skills to deal effectively with potentially violent situations.
The NHS SMS remit includes social care staff where they are employed directly by the NHS or deliver NHS services.
In April 2003, the NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for tackling violence against national health service staff. The NHS SMS remit includes social care staff where they are employed directly by the NHS or deliver NHS services.
The NHS SMS is currently working with the Home Office to introduce new powers to deal with nuisance and disturbance behaviour on NHS premises with a view to minimising the potential for attacks against NHS staff.
NHS: Finance
The statement was based on a combination of available data but also knowledge about the way in which we know national health service organisations have previously been able to mask the existence, or extent, of deficits prior to the transparency we have brought in.
We know, from audited summarised accounts, that in 11 out of the last 20 years the NHS recorded a bottom line net deficit, ending 2005-06 with a net deficit of £547 million.
We also know that, throughout this time, a number of factors may have worked to mask the existence or extent of the deficit. For example, prior to 2001-02, when the NHS operated under a cash financing regime based on annual allocations and in-year cash injections, the payment of bills could be delayed to deliver in-year spending controls and manage the financial outturn. Following the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting rules, the NHS developed the practice of using capital resources to support current revenue expenditure and were allowed to move money round the system by way of brokerage and other forms of support.
On this basis, it is reasonable to conclude that the NHS has been in underlying deficit for the last 20 years.
However, the introduction of a stronger, fairer and more transparent financial regime, coupled with a renewed emphasis on performance management, has enabled the NHS to end 2006-07 in its strongest financial position for many years, to tackle underlying deficits, and to establish a firm and sustainable financial position for 2007-08 and beyond.
The national health service Chief Executive was not referring to individual people. The point he was making was that because the deficits we were facing last year had built up over a number of years, it follows that both the NHS and the Department as a whole had not taken enough action at the appropriate times to stop this build up.
NHS: Flags
Individuals, local authorities and other organisations, including national health service trusts, may fly the Union flag whenever they wish subject to compliance with any local planning requirements. This is considered a matter for local determination and no guidance has been issued to the NHS.
NHS: Land
[holding answer 16 July 2007]: The Department is examining how the review will apply to the NHS foundation trust sector.
NHS: Manpower
This information is shown in the table. The annual national health service workforce census does not separately identify research staff.
Headcount Of which: England Percentage Gloucestershire1 Percentage All NHS staff2 1,338,779 100 16,185 100 Frontline medical staff3 675,260 50.4 8,243 50.9 Of which: HCHS Doctors4 90,243 6.7 819 5.1 GPs5 36,008 2.7 622 3.8 Qualified Nurses (incl Practice Nurses) 398,335 29.8 4,447 27.5 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 134,498 10.0 1,616 10.0 Qualified ambulance staff 16,176 1.2 739 4.6 Clerical and administrative staff 224,302 16.8 2,606 16.1 Managers and senior managers 36,751 2.7 530 3.3 1 The figures for Gloucestershire are based on 2006 primary care trust and trust boundaries and consists of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Gloucestershire PCT, South Gloucestershire PCT and Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust. 2 Total for all NHS staff will not equal the sum of the component parts as only specified staff groups are shown. 3 Front line medical staff has been defined as HCHS doctors, general medical practitioners, qualified nurses (including GP practice nurses), qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff and qualified ambulance staff. It does not include support to clinical staff such as nursing assistants, trainees and helpers. 4 Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are GPs working part-time in hospitals. 5 General medical practitioners includes GP Providers, GP Others, GP Retainers and GP Registrars. Sources: The Information Centre non-medical, medical and dental and general and personal medical services censuses.
NHS: Reviews
[holding answer 17 July 2007]: The terms of reference are available in the Library.
[holding answer 17 July 2007]: I refer the hon. Member to the oral statement given by my right. hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 4 July 2007, Official Report, columns 961-78W.
[holding answer 17 July 2007]: The review will report by June 2008 with an interim report in October 2007.
[holding answer 17 July 2007]: The terms of reference for the review are available in the Library and we will set out more detail on the work of the review in due course.
Nurses: Children
(2) how many full-time equivalent advanced neonatal nurse practitioners were employed by hospital trusts in England in each of the last five years.
The annual national health service work force census does not separately identify the number of neonatal nurses from the rest of the nursing work force.
The number of paediatric nurses in the last five years is shown in the following table.
We do not have collated information on the estimated numbers of retirements, this is a matter for strategic health authorities to build into their local work force plans.
Headcount, England 2002 2003 2004 2005 20061 Paediatrics 18,014 18,437 18,917 19,178 18,634 1 More accurate validation in 2006 has resulted 9,858 duplicate records being identified and removed from the non-medical census. (These 9,858 duplicate records, broken down by main staff group, are: 3,370 qualified nurses; 1,818 qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff; 2,719 support to doctors and nurses; 1,562 NHS infrastructure support; and 389 in other areas.) The impact of duplicates on FTE has been minimal with the removal of 507.
Nurses: Schools
It is for individual primary care trusts to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services to meet the school nursing needs of their local populations. Work force planning is for strategic health authorities to manage locally.
The Department along with the Department for Children, Schools and Families is continuing to ensure that the profile of school nurses remains high nationally. In partnership the Departments have published; “Looking for a school nurse?” and a “School Nurse: Practice Development Resource Pack”, which will support the expansion and development of the school nursing service.
Ministers and the chief nursing officer continue to communicate the importance of school nurses to the national health service, and work with professional bodies to promote their modern role. Managers will need to develop their workforce to support their local school nursing services in ways best suited to meet the needs of their community.
As at September 2006 there were 1,129 school nurses with a school nurse qualification. This is an increase of 35 per cent. since 2004.
The Department along with the Department for Children, Schools and Families is continuing to ensure that the profile of school nurses remains high nationally.
In partnership the Departments have published ‘Looking for a school nurse?’ and a ‘School Nurse: Practice Development Resource Pack’, which will support the expansion and development of the school nursing service.
Ministers and the Chief Nursing Officer continue to communicate the importance of school nurses to the national health service, and work with professional bodies to promote their modern role. Managers will need to develop their work force to support their local school nursing services in ways best suited to meet the needs of their community.
The Department is also ensuring that newly appointed regional directors of public health and strategic health authorities work force directors are focused on this issue.
However, it is for individual primary care trusts to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services to meet the school nursing needs of their local populations.
As at September 2006 there were 1,129 school nurses with a school nurse qualification. This is an increase of 35 per cent. since 2004.
Nurses: Training
Education and training, including continuing professional development, for all nurses is the responsibility of their employers. In addition, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the nurses’ regulatory body, require that they maintain competence in their field of practice, as a condition of their continued registration.
Transplant Surgery: Kidneys
The information is as follows.
Donor type Deceased Living Total 2000 1,361 348 1,709 2001 1,385 358 1,743 2002 1,350 372 1,722 2003 1,297 451 1,748 2004 1,442 463 1,905 2005 1,312 543 1,855 2006 1,396 671 2,067
Status Active Suspended2 Total 2000 4,891 1,235 6,126 2001 4,934 1,289 6,223 2002 5,046 1,373 6,419 2003 5,156 1,402 6,558 2004 5,299 1,666 6,965 2005 5,736 1,520 7,256 2006 6,331 1,827 8,158 1 Including all combinations eg kidney/pancreas. 2 Suspended means the patient has been temporarily removed from the list. This happens for such reasons as being too ill to undergo the operation or being away on holiday.
Age Days Adult 836 Paediatric1 159 1 Under 18 years
Transplant Surgery: Manpower
This information is not collected centrally.
Wheelchairs: Finance
(2) how many electric indoor and outdoor wheelchairs are being funded by (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts;
(3) what total sum of money has been allocated to the NHS in 2007-08 to provide (a) manual wheelchairs, (b) electric indoor and outdoor wheelchairs and (c) other wheelchairs for people with mobility problems;
(4) what advice he gives to primary care trusts on assessments for indoor and outdoor wheelchairs.
The information requested is not held centrally. All national health service wheelchair services are funded out of general allocation funding to primary care trusts. It is up to individual PCTs to determine their allocation of resources to wheelchair services and to set their own eligibility criteria for their service. Decisions about the type of wheelchair provided to an individual will be based on an individual assessment of their needs and the PCTs eligibility criteria.
NHS wheelchairs are supplied and maintained free of charge to people whose need for a wheelchair is permanent. Indoor/outdoor electric chairs can be provided to disabled people who cannot propel a manual chair. Attendant controlled power chairs are also available.