24 Mar 2014 : Column 119W
Funding: Primary Care Trusts
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much funding Lewisham Primary Care Trust received in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013; [192252]
(2) how much funding the Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust received in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013; [192253]
(3) how much funding Sandwell Primary Care Trust received in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013; [192254]
(4) how much funding Dudley Primary Care Trust received in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013; [192255]
(5) how much funding Wolverhampton City Primary Care Trust received in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013; [192268]
(6) how much funding South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust received in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013. [192269]
Dr Poulter: The Department set controls on primary care trust (PCT) resource spending. These controls were called Revenue Resource Limits and PCTs had a statutory duty to contain resource expenditure within approved revenue resource limits.
The following table summarises the final Revenue Resource Limits for 2008-09 to 2012-13.
| £000 | |||||
| Organisation name | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
| Source: Department of Health | |||||
These final limits include both recurrent and non-recurrent in-year adjustments. The non-recurrent adjustments can both increase revenue resource limits, via funding transfers from the Department's central budgets, and decrease revenue resource limits, via funding transfers between PCTs and other adjustments to reflect structural and policy changes. The recurrent element relates to PCT baseline funding and the following table summarises this recurrent element of the final Revenue Resource Limits.
| £000 | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
24 Mar 2014 : Column 120W
| Notes: 1. Allocations are not comparable between years due to changes in the responsibilities of PCTs. In 2009-10 additional responsibilities were devolved to PCTs along with the associated funding of £1.66 billion. At the start of 2011-12 responsibility for the social care of people with, learning disabilities and the associated funding of £1.29 billion was transferred from PCTs to local authorities. 2. The table shows recurrent allocations from the Department announced on 13 December 2007 for 2008-09 allocations, 6 December 2008 for 2009-10 and 2010-11 allocations, 15 December 2010 for 2011-12 allocations, and 14 December 2012 for 2012-13 allocations. 3. PCTs also received a number of small non-recurrent allocations, often during the financial year, for specifically identified purposes. These non-recurrent allocations are included within the final Revenue Resource Limit, a control set by the Department on former PCTs to contain resource expenditure within approved revenue resource limits. Source: Department of Health | |||||
Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome
Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions his Department has had with (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and (b) NHS England on the availability of funding for treatments for atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome since 1 April 2013; [192271]
(2) for what reasons the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is reviewing the availability of eculizumab for the treatment of atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome; [192272]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of people (a) living with atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS) and (b) who are diagnosed each year with aHUS. [192275]
Norman Lamb: We have had no such discussions.
From April 2013 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been responsible for the evaluation of selected highly specialised health technologies.
In December 2012, Ministers accepted the advice of the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services on the clinical effectiveness of eculizumab (Soliris) for atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS). It was felt, however, that further advice was needed on the overall cost implications, benefits and affordability of eculizumab. The Department therefore asked NICE to evaluate eculizumab for aHUS as the first topic to be considered through its highly specialised technologies programme.
While NICE undertakes its evaluation, NHS England has developed an interim commissioning policy to enable patients with aHUS to receive eculizumab. The drug is currently commissioned by NHS England for:
new patients with aHUS (defined to include those with a functioning kidney), and
existing patients who are on dialysis and are suitable for a kidney transplant.
24 Mar 2014 : Column 121W
As set out in NICE'S final scope for its evaluation, it is estimated that there are currently around 140 people with a diagnosis of aHUS in England, and at least 140 more who remain undiagnosed. Based on the worldwide incidence of aHUS, NICE estimates that around 20 new patients are diagnosed in England each year.
Health Education
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps are being taken through the Change4Life initiative to change long-term consumer food habits; [192408]
(2) what assessment he has made of the promotion by Public Health England of ready meals, tinned vegetables and soft drinks as part of the Smart Swaps campaign and Change4Life initiative; and if he will make a statement. [192412]
Jane Ellison: Change4Life is Public Health England's (PHE) flagship social marketing campaign and a key aspect of its obesity prevention work programme. Change4life encourages everyone in England to 'eat well, move more, live longer' with a specific focus on C2DE families with five to 11-year-old children.
Launched in January 2014, Smart Swaps encouraged and supported families to make 'like for like' swaps to their everyday favourite foods and drinks in order to cut significant amounts of fat, sugar and calories from their diet. The swaps were chosen on the basis of a detailed nutritional analysis of children's diets, analysis of purchasing habits and consumer insight research. Families who signed up for the campaign received a campaign pack with healthier meal, snack and drink ideas, money-off healthier options, and a tailored programme of email and text tips, recipes and support to help them stick to their healthier new habits. The campaign was supported by a wide range of local authority, non-governmental organisations and commercial partners (who supplied offers in supermarkets across England on everything from fruit and vegetables to fresh lean meat).
A full campaign evaluation is under way and detailed results will be published as part of the new PHE Change4life Marketing Strategy in spring 2014. Initial results are very promising, with hundreds of thousands of families signing up to make a swap.
Health Services
Mr Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he has taken to ensure that people with (a) myalgic encephalomyelitis, (b) fibromyalgia and (c) dysphagia receive the treatment they need and help with the cost of treatment; [192071]
(2) what guidance his Department has issued on outstanding cases of maladministration surrounding the care of sufferers of myalgic encephalomyelitis, fibromyalgia and dysphagia. [192072]
Norman Lamb: Clinicians or clinical teams, supported by the latest available evidence and drawing on experience and judgment, are responsible for ensuring that the patients in their care get the treatment that is right for them.
There is range of guidance on the NHS Clinical Evidence website to support clinicians in the management
24 Mar 2014 : Column 122W
of patients who have either chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) fibromyalgia, or dysphagia. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has also produced a clinical guideline on CFS/ME that sets out best practice in the diagnosis, treatment care and support of this group of patients. However, there is no known pharmacological treatment or cure for either CFS/ME or fibromyalgia, and approaches to the management of patients with these conditions will vary, depending on the severity and type of symptoms. Regarding dysphagia this is usually a complication or symptom of another condition, rather than one that arises in isolation.
In terms of help with the cost of treatment, an extensive range of exemptions, based on age, income and medical condition are already in place to support those who may struggle to pay for their prescriptions. Around 90% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge. Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs) are also available for those who have to pay national health service prescription charges and need multiple prescriptions. This is the fifth year the annual certificate, and the third year the three-month certificate have been frozen. Both certificates will remain at £104 and £29.10 respectively this year and next. There is no limit to the number of items that can be obtained through a PPC. The annual certificate benefits anyone needing more than 12 items a year, and the three-month certificate anyone needing more than three items in that three-month period. Through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, those in receipt of qualifying benefits may also be eligible to claim assistance with travel to hospital or other NHS premises for NHS-funded treatment or diagnostic tests.
Regarding guidance on outstanding cases of maladministration surrounding the care of patients with CFS/ME, fibromyalgia or dysphagia, if a patient, carer or representative has concerns about the NHS care that they have received, they should first raise the matter with either the NHS organisation concerned or the NHS body that commissioned that care. The NHS Constitution makes it clear that patients have the legal right to:
make a complaint;
have that complaint investigated; and
be given a full and prompt reply.
Hospitals: Infectious Diseases
Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will include e-coli and other gram negative infections in the health care-associated infections targets. [192549]
Dr Poulter: While E. coli and other Gram-negative infections are a significant concern it is too early to comment on this proposal as we are awaiting expert advice on how to broaden our approach to indicators for health care associated infections. We expect to develop plans for implementation of the expert advice later this year.
Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital bed days were attributable to the effects of (a) all health care acquired infections, (b) MRSA and C.diff and (c) Carbapenem resistant organisms in each of the last five years. [192550]
24 Mar 2014 : Column 123W
Dr Poulter: While Public Health England (PHE) does not measure the number of bed days attributable to the effects of each infection, as part of its mandatory surveillance programme, it does provide rates calculated per 100,000 bed days for specific infections.
The data summarised in Table 1 and Table 2, taken from surveillance programmes, represent Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia and Clostridium difficile infection (C difficile) counts and rates (per 100,000 bed days) for Trust apportioned cases over the past five financial years (2008-09 to 2012-13) in England.
In relation to carbapenem resistance, although positive samples are referred to the PHE Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (AMRHAI) Reference Unit on a voluntary basis for confirmation, PHE does not undertake mandatory surveillance of these organisms.
The data summarised in Table 3 represents the number of samples confirmed as producing the enzyme 'carbapenemase' by the PHE AMRHAI Reference Unit over five calendar years to most recent publication (2008 to 2011). Carbapenemases are enzymes that destroy carbapenem antibiotics, resulting in resistance.
Other than those discussed data on all healthcare-associated infections and the number of hospital bed days attributable to effects of healthcare-associated infections are not routinely collected by PHE.
| Table 1: C difficile infection reports for patients aged 2 years and over: Trust apportioned cases and rates | ||
| As at April to March | Trust Apportioned1 C difficile reports | C difficile rate per 100,000 bed-days |
| 1 Relates to the number of positive samples received by AMRHAI for confirmation, NOT unique patient samples. Data are available at: www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1233906819629 | ||
| Table 2: MRSA bacteraemia: Trust apportioned cases and rates | ||
| As at April to March | Trust apportioned1 MRSA bacteraemia reports | MRSA bacteraemia rate per 100,000 bed days |
| 1 Relates to the number of positive samples received by AMRHAI for confirmation, NOT unique patient samples. Data are available at: www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1195733750761 | ||
| Table 3: Numbers of isolates1 of Enterobacteriaceae from UK laboratories confirmed by AMRHAI to have carbapenemases | |
| Numbers of isolates | |
24 Mar 2014 : Column 124W
| 1 Relates to the number of positive samples received by AMRHAI for confirmation, NOT unique patient samples. 2 Data for 2011 are incomplete—these data reflect carbapenemase-producers confirmed up until March 2011. Full year data for 2011, 2012 and 2013 data are currently unpublished. Data is available at: www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/InfectiousDiseases/InfectionsAZ/CarbapenemResistance/EpidemiologicalData/ | |
Malnutrition
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evaluation his Department has made of the first wave of pilots launched by the Malnutrition Taskforce. [192734]
Jane Ellison: In 2013 the Department awarded £207,974 grant funding to Age UK to run stage 1 of a pilot programme to test a framework to reduce malnutrition among older people in a range of health and care settings.
Under the terms and conditions of the Department's grant award, Age UK is required to complete and return a monitoring report for each year of the project. An evaluation report must be submitted at the end of the project. The plans for this will be made available in due course.
The Department is currently considering Age UK's application for grant funding for stage 2 of the Malnutrition Taskforce pilot programme, which would run from April 2014 to March 2015.
Medical Records: Databases
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that patient data does not leave GP surgeries under care.data. [192283]
Dr Poulter: On 18 February, NHS England announced that they will collect data from general practitioner (GP) surgeries in the autumn instead of April, to allow more time to build public awareness of the benefits of using the information, what safeguards are in place, how people can opt out if they choose, and look into further measures that could be taken to build public confidence.
When a patient registers an objection to stop information about them leaving their GP practice for purposes beyond their direct care, a code will be applied to their medical record. This code or note will prevent the patient's confidential information from being used other than in exceptional circumstances required by law, such as a public health emergency.
After listening to key stakeholders and discussions in Parliament, the Government have put in place a number of measures to help provide assurance to the public concerning the care.data programme. This includes a new measure to provide under statute for a requirement that a patient's opt out must be respected. This means that if a patient objects, then no identifiable data about them will flow to the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
24 Mar 2014 : Column 125W
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 13 March 2014, Official Report, column 355W, on medical records: databases, whether Atos has bid for the care.data extraction contract. [192336]
Dr Poulter: There is no ‘care.data extraction contract’.
Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the terms of the existing commercial reuse licences for Hospital Episode Statistics data provide licensees with rights to receive Care Episode Statistics data when they become available. [192756]
Dr Poulter: The terms of the very limited number of existing commercial reuse licences for Hospital Episode Statistics only provide rights to those licensees to receive Hospital Episode Statistics. An organisation wishing to receive data under care.data (when they become available) would be required to complete a separate application process which would include demonstrating how the data would be used for health and care improvements.
NHS England
Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what planned items of expenditure against NHS England's specialised services commissioning budget in 2013-14 have been (a) cancelled and (b) delayed in the 2013-14 financial year; [192273]
(2) what the (a) most recently reported and (b) planned deficit is in NHS England's specialised services commissioning budget. [192274]
Jane Ellison: NHS England advises that no planned items of expenditure against NHS England's specialised services commissioning budget in 2013-14 have been delayed or cancelled.
NHS England advises that it is projecting an overspend on specialised services of £292 million for 2013-14; this represents 2.2% of the total value of the budget. NHS England has some immediate and some longer-term plans to address the overspend. For example, in the short-term, the 10 Area Teams with responsibility for commissioning specialised services are developing financial recovery plans. NHS England has established a Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group to assure the NHS England Board that these plans are robust and minimise the impact on patient care.
In the longer term, NHS England is encouraging innovation through a number of avenues. An example of this is through the development of a procurement framework that will seek proposals from providers to deliver services in a more innovative way; through its Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention agenda; and through an invitation for stakeholders to submit 'A3' proposals, which use a 'lean' methodology to clearly and succinctly describe a change to a service, in line with the emerging Specialised Services Strategy.
NHS: Pay
Robert Halfon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) clinical, (b) management and (c) clerical NHS staff in Essex were paid more than (i)
24 Mar 2014 : Column 126W
£50,000, (ii) £65,738 and (iii) £100,000 in the last year for which figures are available. [192242]
Dr Poulter: The following table shows the requested numbers of staff for the specified national health service organisations based in Essex. Some staff employed by these organisations might be based outside Essex-this cannot be identified from the data.
| NHS hospital and community health service workforce provisional statistics: all professionally qualified clinical staff, managerial staff and administrative staff in NHS organisations in the Essex area with total earnings over specified amounts in the period December 2012 to November 2013 (headcount) | |||
| Total earnings | Professionally qualified clinical staff | Managers and senior managers | Administrative staff |
| Notes: 1. The trusts included in these figures are: Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust NHS North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) NHS West Essex CCG NHS Mid Essex CCG NHS Castle Point and Rochford CCG NHS Southend CCG NHS Basildon and Brentwood CCG NHS Thurrock CCG 2. Total earnings per person are the amount paid to an individual in the specified 12-month period, regardless of the contracted full-time equivalent (FTE) amount. It includes all payments made to the individual, not just basic pay. 3. The most recently published earnings information available is for November 2013, therefore annual average estimates have been provided as at that month. 4. ‘Administrative staff’ includes those staff with occupation code G2A: Infrastructure Support-Central Functions and G2B: Infrastructure Support-Hotel, property and estates. 5. Figures in the table are provisional and experimental NHS staff earnings estimates, and represent those individuals who have met the publication validations. 6. These figures represent staff paid using the Electronic Staff Record system who are employed and directly paid by NHS organisations. 7. Figures are based on staff with contracted hours more than zero. Bank and locum staff who have no contracted hours are not included in these figures. 8. ‘*’ denotes where data is obscured as the group had less than five FTE staff, in line with the Data Protection Act. 9. Data quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data, but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes have an impact on figures already published, this is assessed, but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: HSCIC NHS Staff Earnings Estimates. | |||
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) clinical, (b) managerial and (c) clerical NHS staff in (i) Enfield, (ii) London and (iii) Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital Trust were paid more than (A) £42,000, (B) £69,000 and (C) £100,000 in the last year for which figures are available. [192258]
Dr Poulter: The information requested is not available. However, information on the salaries of national health service staff in London, Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital Trust and Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group is set out in the following tables.
24 Mar 2014 : Column 127W
24 Mar 2014 : Column 128W
| NHS staff in post statistics and NHS staff earnings estimates, provisional, experimental statistics, NHS Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) workforce statistics, provisional statistics: all professionally qualified clinical staff, managerial staff and administrative staff in the London area with total earnings1 over specified amounts, November 20132 | |||
| Headcount of staff in each category | |||
| Total earnings in the period, December 2012 to November 2013 | |||
| London area4 | |||
| Professionally qualified clinical staff | Managers and senior managers | Administrative staff3 | |
| Headcount of staff in each category | |||
| Total earnings in the period, December 2012 to November 2013 | |||
| Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust | |||
| Professionally qualified clinical staff | Managers and senior managers | Administrative staff3 | |
| Headcount of staff in each category | |||
| Total earnings in the period, December 2012 to November 2013 | |||
| Enfield CCG | |||
| Professionally qualified clinical staff | Managers and senior managers | Administrative staff3 | |
| “*” Data is obscured as the group had less five or less full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, in line with the Data Protection Act. 1 Total earnings per person is the amount paid to an individual in the specified 12-month period, regardless of the contracted FTE. It includes all payments made to the individual, not just basic pay. 2 The most recently published earnings information available is for November 2013, therefore annual average estimates have been provided as at this month. 3 Includes those staff with occupation code G2A: Infrastructure Support—Central Functions and G2B: Infrastructure Support—Hotel, property and estates. 4 The trusts included in the London area include the following: Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust Barts Health NHS Trust Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Croydon Health Services NHS Trust Ealing Hospital NHS Trust Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust North West London Hospitals NHS Trust Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust East London NHS Foundation Trust North East London NHS Foundation Trust Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust West London Mental Health NHS Trust London Ambulance Trust | |||
24 Mar 2014 : Column 129W
24 Mar 2014 : Column 130W
| NHS Barking and Dagenham CCG NHS Barnet CCG NHS Bexley CCG NHS Brent CCG NHS Bromley CCG NHS Camden CCG NHS Central London (Westminster) CCG NHS City and Hackney CCG NHS Croydon CCG NHS Ealing CCG NHS Enfield CCG NHS Greenwich CCG NHS Hammersmith and Fulham CCG NHS Haringey CCG NHS Harrow CCG NHS Havering CCG NHS Hillingdon CCG NHS Hounslow CCG NHS Islington CCG NHS Kingston CCG NHS Lambeth CCG NHS Lewisham CCG NHS Merton CCG NHS Newham CCG NHS Redbridge CCG NHS Richmond CCG NHS Southwark CCG NHS Sutton CCG NHS Tower Hamlets CCG NHS Waltham Forest CCG NHS Wandsworth CCG NHS West Essex CCG NHS West London (Kensington and Chelsea, Queen’s Park and Paddington) CCG Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed, but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Notes: 1. Figures in the table are provisional and experimental NHS staff earnings estimates, therefore figures shown are those individuals that have met the publication validations. 2. These figures represent staff paid using the electronic staff record (ESR) system to NHS staff who are employed and directly paid by NHS organisations. 3. Figures are based on staff with contracted hours more than zero. Bank and locum staff that have no contracted hours are not included in these figures. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre NHS Staff Earnings Estimates. |
NHS: Procurement
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to extend freedom of information legislation to private companies bidding for NHS contracts in order to ensure appropriate openness and transparency. [192672]
Jane Ellison: The Government recognises the importance of maintaining transparency in relation to outsourced public services. The NHS Standard Contract already requires private providers to assist and co-operate with Commissioners to enable them to meet their obligations under the Freedom of Information Act (the Act).
In the Government response to the Justice Select Committee's “Post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information Act 2000”, it was also made clear that guidance will be provided in a revised Code of Practice to be issued under section 45 of the Act. This will promote openness by all contractors providing public services, including through the use and enforcement of contractual transparency provisions to encourage still greater openness.
The Code of Practice is due to be published in 2014. Upon its introduction, the Government will closely monitor the impact of the code and will review its success before considering whether further action is needed.
Copies of the response to Post Legislative Scrutiny is available in the Library and at the following web address:
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/217298/gov-resp-justice-comm-foi-act.pdf
Nurseries
Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15. [192446]
Dr Poulter: The Department does not have any workplace nurseries on its own premises. The Department's staff based in Quarry House, Leeds have access to a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) nursery which was operating in 2010 and 2013-14. This nursery provision is currently being reviewed and the Department has not yet been informed of any decision by DWP.
The Department does not hold centrally the information requested in respect of its executive agencies and executive non-departmental public bodies. Information about workplace nurseries provided by these organisations is set out in the following table.
24 Mar 2014 : Column 131W
| Number of workplace nurseries available to staff | |||
| Name of organisation | 2010-11 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
| 1 The answer for the year 2010-11 relates to one of Public Health England's predecessor bodies, the Health Protection Agency, which had two onsite nurseries in 2010, in Porton (Wiltshire) and in Colindale (London). Health Protection Agency became part of Public Health England on 1 April 2013. The only onsite nursery operation for Public Health England staff is now in Porton. | |||
Out of Area Treatment: Wales
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients who reside in Wales have been admitted to English hospitals for (a) cardio-vascular surgery and (b) maternity services in each of the last five years for which are figures are available. [192228]
Jane Ellison: Patients resident in Wales have been admitted to English hospitals in the following numbers during the period referred to:
| Cardio-vascular surgery performed on the heart and great vessels | Other cardiovascular surgery | Maternity services | |
Pregnancy: Cholestasis
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is provided to (a) health professionals and (b) pregnant women on the symptoms of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP); and how ICP is diagnosed. [192522]
Dr Poulter: The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published comprehensive green top guidance for health professionals on the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), which is also known as obstetric cholestasis, in 2011. In addition, the RCOG published information for pregnant women in 2012. Both documents are available on the RCOG’s website at:
www.rcog.org.uk/womens-health/clinical-guidance/obstetric-cholestasis-green-top-43
www.rcog.org.uk/womens-health/clinical-guidance/obstetric-cholestasis-information-you
24 Mar 2014 : Column 132W
respectively. Information on the symptoms and diagnosis of ICP is also available on the NHS Choices website at:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/itching-obstetric-cholestasis-pregnant.aspx
ICP is diagnosed by health professionals who will consider the woman’s medical and family history, and through the results of blood tests that check liver function.
Prisoners
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of (a) the lifespan and (b) health outcomes of prisoners and young offenders. [192613]
Norman Lamb: The information requested is not held centrally.
Radiotherapy
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated with the gamma knife at University College London hospitals between 1 April 2008 and 1 April 2013; from which NHS trusts they were referred; and how payment was made for their treatment. [192332]
Jane Ellison: Information regarding the number of patients who were treated with gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Trust and the NHS trusts from which they were referred between 1 April 2008 and 1 April 2013 cannot be provided in the format requested.
From 29 October 2012 to 1 April 2013, 45 patients received treatment at the Gamma Knife Centre at Queens Square Radiosurgery Centre at UCLH. Payment was made by the then primary care trust responsible for commissioning these patients' care through individual funding requests.
Ritual Slaughter
Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reports of mis-cutting before each method of religiously exempted non-stunning he has received in each year since 2004, broken down by type of animal. [192079]
Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is unable to provide information on incidents of mis-cutting before each method of religiously exempted non-stunning. The FSA only holds details of when mis-cuts have occurred—not whether the associated slaughtering process was carried out using a stun or non-stun process.
Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reports of mis-stunning before slaughter for each method of stunning he has received in each year since 2004, broken down by type of animal. [192080]
Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is unable to provide information before 2008, nor to break down incidents reported according to the different methods of stunning. The FSA is able to report the number of mis-stunning incidents recorded from 2008 and these are detailed as follows by species:
24 Mar 2014 : Column 133W
24 Mar 2014 : Column 134W
| Number of reports of mis-stunning identified during routine inspection of slaughtering in approved meat establishments for different types of animals | |||||||
| Species | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Notes: 1. Data for 2008 covers the period 27 March to 31 December 2014 only. 2. Data for 2014 covers 1 January 2014 to 28 February 2014 only. | |||||||
Self-harm: Staffordshire
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reported incidents of self-harm there were by people under the age of 18 years in South Staffordshire in the most recent period for which figures are available. [192270]
Norman Lamb: Information is not available in the format requested.
Information on the number of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a cause of self-harm and the number of accident and emergency (A&E) attendances with a patient group of deliberate self-harm for people under the age of 18, residing in the former South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) area in 2012-13 is shown in the following table:
| PCT name | FAEs | A&E attendances |
| Notes: 1. A FAE is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 2. Cause code is a supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects. Only the first external cause code which is coded within the episode is counted in Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). 3. A&E Attendance is a count of the number of attendances at A&E. This does not represent the number of patients as an individual may attend on more than one occasion in any given period. 4. Patient Group code indicates the reason for the A&E episode. Group 30 indicates those attending because of deliberate self-harm. 5. The PCT of residence (South Staffordshire) is the former PCT area containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another county for treatment. 6. It is possible that the same person may be counted as an FAE and an A&E Attendance if an attendance at A&E for injury due to self-harm has resulted in the patient being admitted to hospital as an in-patient for further treatment. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre , Hospital Episode Statistics. | ||
Sunbeds
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will bring forward legislative proposals to (a) require the supervision of sunbed use, (b) require the provision and display of prescribed health information on sunbed use, (c) prohibit the provision or display of all other health information on sunbed use and (d) require the provision and use of goggles in sunbed businesses in England; [192699]
(2) what his policy is on permitting all local authorities to license sunbed businesses; [192641]
(3) what assessment he has made of the number of (a) licensed and (b) non-licensed sunbed businesses in England in each of the last five years; [192698]
(4) what steps his Department is taking to prevent children from using unsupervised sunbeds in England; and if he will make a statement. [192700]
Jane Ellison: The licensing arrangements of sunbeds are a matter for local authorities. The Department is reviewing the regulation of sunbed use and is currently awaiting the outcome of a consultation by the all-party parliamentary group on skin.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Adult Education: East of England
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in Harlow constituency were enrolled in adult skills training in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate he has made of the number of adults in (a) Harlow constituency, (b) Essex and (c) East Anglia who were unable to (i) read and (ii) write in that time period. [192245]
Matthew Hancock: Final data for the 2012/13 academic year show that there were 2,240 adult (19+) learners participating in further education and skills in Harlow parliamentary constituency. Information back to the 2005/06 academic year are available in a Supplementary table to a Statistical First Release:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284026/January2013_OverallFEandSkillsParticipation.xls
The 2011 Skills for Life survey Small Area modelled estimates1 provide information on the proportion of adults aged 16-65 with above and below the 'functional literacy' threshold2. The data do not separate reading and writing.
Table 1 shows estimates of the proportion of people with below Level 1 literacy for Harlow parliamentary constituency, the Kent Greater Essex and East Sussex Local Enterprise Partnership3 (based on an aggregation of local authority estimates) and the East of England Region4.
24 Mar 2014 : Column 135W
Data for the East of England Region from the 2003 Skills for Life survey are given as follows. Comparable data are not available by parliamentary constituency or local enterprise partnership (which did not exist at that time).
| Table 2: Mean estimates of the proportion of people by geography breakdown with Below Level 1 Literacy, 2003 | |
| Area | Proportion of people with below Level 1 literacy (percentage) |
| Source: 2003 Skills for Life survey5. | |
1 Available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/2011-skills-for-life-survey-small-area-estimation-data
accessed on 18 March 2014.
2 This is defined in the Leitch review as 'the level needed to get by in life and work (HM Treasury [December 2006] “Leitch Review of Skills. Prosperity for all in the global economy-world class skills. Final Report”, p. 43). Level 1 is equivalent to GCSE grades D-G. Adults with skills below Level 1 can read or write, but their skills may be limited, for example, they may not be able to read bus or train timetables.
3 Gibson, A. and P. Hewson (2012) 2011 Skills for Life Survey: Small Area Estimation Technical Report, BIS research report 81C: available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/36077/12-1318-2011-skills-for-life-small-area-estimation-technical.pdf
page 73
4 The regional estimate is derived from the sample-based 2011 Skills for Life survey, rather than modelled estimates.
5 Available at:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/RR490.pdf
Antibiotics
Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings his Department had with Department of Health colleagues to discuss antimicrobial resistance in each of the last 12 months. [192548]
Mr Willetts: This information is not held centrally and can be collected only at disproportionate cost.
Apprentices
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what timetable he has set for the production of an apprenticeship framework outlined in Annex A of the October 2013 report The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Guidance for Trailblazers. [192740]
24 Mar 2014 : Column 136W
Matthew Hancock: The Phase 1 Trailblazers announced in October 2013 have now produced their first apprenticeship standards. These are available at:
www.apprenticeships.org.uk/standards
We expect the first new apprenticeships will begin to be delivered in 2014/15.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has received and approved any apprenticeship standards and assessment approaches as outlined in the timetable in the October 2013 report The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Guidance for Trailblazers. [192741]
Matthew Hancock: In March 2014, we agreed and published the first 11 apprenticeship standards developed by the Phase 1 Trailblazers. These are available at:
www.apprenticeships.org.uk/standards
Arts: Training
Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department has allocated to support training and skills development for the creative industries in (a) London and (b) Greater Manchester in each year since 2010. [192587]
Matthew Hancock: Following reforms that have given college and skills providers the flexibility to respond to local skill needs, the Government do not allocate training funds to particular skill types. The funding for training and skills development for the creative industries taken from the Adult Skills Budget for the past two academic years for London, Greater Manchester and England is set out in the following table:
| £ million | ||
| 2011/12 AY | 2012/13 AY | |
| Notes: 1. Creative industries is defined as the arts, media and publishing sector subject area. 2. Spend is estimated based on data taken from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). 3. Comparable funding data is not available for years prior to 2011/12. | ||
Business: Brigg
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses were registered in Brigg and Goole constituency in each year since 1995-96. [192282]
Michael Fallon: Companies House is only able to provide figures on the number of new companies it registered in each of these years by postcode area. As postcode areas can cross constituency boundaries, the following figures must be considered approximations.
| Number of companies registered | |
24 Mar 2014 : Column 137W
Business: Young People
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many times he met representatives of Young Enterprise in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13. [192354]
Matthew Hancock: Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations up to 30 September 2013 are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website:
24 Mar 2014 : Column 138W
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills&publication_type=transparency-data
Information for October to December 2013 will be published in due course.
Comet Group
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Government has paid out to date in statutory redundancy and holiday entitlement liabilities arising from the collapse of Comet. [192913]
Mr Willetts: The Insolvency Service's Redundancy Payments Services have paid £12,767,464.67 in respect of statutory redundancy payments, and £356,014.88 in respect of holiday pay entitlements of former employees of Comet Group plc.
Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and Humber and (c) England received Enterprise Finance Guarantee loans between (i) May 2011 and May 2012 and (ii) May 2012 and May 2013; and what the total value of such loans guaranteed was. [192281]
Matthew Hancock: Details are provided in the following table:
| Between May 2011 and May 2012 | Between May 2012 and May 2013 | |||||
| Number of | Number of | |||||
| Area | Loans | Businesses | Value of Loans Guaranteed (£) | Loans | Businesses | Value of Loans Guaranteed (£) |
Exports: Commonwealth
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps UK Trade & Investment has taken to increase the number of businesses exporting to the Commonwealth; and if he will make a statement. [192356]
Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is represented in 22 Commonwealth countries; these include high growth markets such as India, Singapore, South Africa and Malaysia, and others such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where we already have significant and well established trading relations. In other Commonwealth countries, Heads of Mission and the FCO's Prosperity Teams provide on the ground support to help develop trading links to the UK.
UKTI offers a broad range of support to help increase exports to these markets, including advice from International Trade Advisers in the English regions; bespoke advisory services from UKTI teams in British High Commissions; support for small and medium-sized companies to attend trade fairs; and high level support on winning business in high value opportunities in these markets. An important element of this support includes trade missions and other overseas visits, and since May 2013 visits by Ministers to Commonwealth markets have included high level visits to India, Canada, Malaysia, Tanzania, Australia, South Africa and Singapore.
This year UKTI will also be hosting a range of business activities in conjunction with the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
UKTI publishes business opportunities in overseas markets—including the Commonwealth nations—on its website:
www.ukti.gov.uk/businessopportunities
UKTI website users can set up alerts so that they are notified when opportunities are published in countries and sectors of interest to them.
Football: Insolvency
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to abolish the Football League creditors' rule; and if he will make a statement. [192980]
24 Mar 2014 : Column 139W
Jenny Willott: The Government have no plans to legislate specifically on the insolvency of football clubs.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the amount of revenue lost to HM Revenue and Customs as a result of the application of the Football League creditors' rule to clubs which have gone into administration in each of the last 10 years. [192981]
Jenny Willott: The Department does not maintain central records of amounts owed to creditors of insolvent businesses in any industry, including football.
Higher Education
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what deregulatory measures his Department has introduced aimed at alternative learning providers since 2010. [192812]
Mr Willetts: We have strengthened the regulation of Alternative Providers. Alternative providers seeking 'specific course designation' for student support purposes are now required to meet rigorous new standards in relation to three key criteria: quality assurance; financial sustainability, management and governance. This is an important step-and one that delivers a universal quality regime for alternative providers. In addition we are introducing formal student number controls from the 2014/15 academic year.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many for-profit alternative learning providers are educating students supported by his Department; [192813]
(2) how many (a) for profit and (b) not for-profit alternative learning providers are educating students supported by his Department. [192815]
Mr Willetts: In assessing students' eligibility for student loans, the Department does not distinguish between those alternative learning providers that operate on a commercial for-profit basis, and those that do not. The information requested is not available.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the level of profits made by for-profit alternative learning providers running courses for students supported by his Department in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16. [192814]
Mr Willetts: The Department has not made an assessment of the level of profits made by for-profit alternative providers with courses of higher education that are designated for student support for any of the years stated.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to regulate the profitability of alternative learning providers educating students supported by his Department. [192896]
Mr Willetts: The Department has no plans to regulate the profitability of alternative providers with courses of higher education designated for student support.
24 Mar 2014 : Column 140W
National Apprenticeship Service
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the annual usage figures are for the National Apprenticeship Service online search function. [192742]
Matthew Hancock: The National Apprenticeship Service offers a free recruitment service via its online apprenticeship vacancies website and this is used by individuals to enable them to search and apply for apprenticeship vacancies and traineeship opportunities and by employers to enable them to advertise their vacancies and opportunities.
For the period 1 August 2013 to 28 February 2014, there were 341,230 activated candidates on the Apprenticeship Vacancies system. Candidates made over one million applications. During the same period 85,020 apprenticeship vacancies and a further 2,970 traineeship opportunities were advertised through the Apprenticeship Vacancies system.
Data on the number of candidates, applications and vacancies are published online:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many employers have accessed the National Apprenticeship Service online; and how many such employers have entered into contracts with training providers following use of the National Apprenticeship Service. [192743]
Matthew Hancock: Between the period 1 August 2013 and 28 February 2014 there have been 22,050 employers who have advertised vacancies through the apprenticeship vacancies online system. All employers who advertise their apprenticeship vacancies through the National Apprenticeship Service online recruitment service either have a contract directly with the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) or they are linked with a training provider who has a current SFA contract before a vacancy is advertised.
Nurseries
Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s Executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15. [192437]
Jenny Willott: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) did not operate a workplace nursery in 2010 or in 2013-14. The Department has no plans to operate a workplace nursery in 2014-15.
I have approached the chief executives of the Department’s Executive agencies (Insolvency Service, Companies House, National Measurement Office, Intellectual Property Office, UK Space Agency, Ordnance Survey, Met Office, Land Registry and the Skills Funding Agency) and they will respond to the hon. Member directly.
24 Mar 2014 : Column 141W
Information for non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Letter from Ann Lewis, dated 18 March 2014:
I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 17 March 2014, UIN 192437 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Companies House does not have a workplace nursery available to staff.
Letter from John Alty, dated 19 March 2014:
I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 17th March 2014, to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
To as the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15. (192437).
The Intellectual Property Office is an executive agency of BIS. We do not offer a workplace nursery but we share a site with Office of National Statistics and are entitled to 5% of their on-site nursery places, equating to 1.75 full time places.
Letter from Richard Judge, dated 19 March 2014:
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.
My response relates to the Insolvency Service, an Executive Agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Insolvency Service does not have any workplace nurseries available to employees. You may find it helpful to know, however, that we do offer employees the option of purchasing childcare vouchers, which enables parents to off-set some of the costs of childcare provision.
Letter from Vanessa Lawrence, dated 19 March 2014:
As Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, I have been asked to respond to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.
(i) In 2010 one workplace nursery was available to Ordnance Survey staff.
(ii) In 2013-14 one workplace nursery was available to Ordnance Survey staff.
(iii) In 2014-15 one workplace nursery will be available to Ordnance Survey staff.
Should you have any further questions, please let me know.
I hope this information is helpful.
Letter from Peter Mason, dated 19 March 2014:
I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (NMO), an Executive Agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 17 March 2014, asking for estimates of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in the Department and its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.
NMO is located on the Teddington Estate alongside the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and there is a nursery located on the estate which is available to NMO staff, as well as to those of NPL and LGC Ltd which occupies an adjacent site. Under the arrangements which the nursery operates, there is not a specific allocation made for the children of NMO staff and the Agency does not have firm details of the number of staff who use this facility, although we are aware of a number who do. These arrangements have operated for many years and we do not believe that there has been a significant change in the levels of availability since 2010.
24 Mar 2014 : Column 142W
Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, to ask what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.
The UK Space Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and it has not made any estimate of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.
Letter from Ed Lester, dated 19 March 2014:
I write on behalf of Land Registry in response to your parliamentary question numbered 192437 tabled on 17 March 2014 which asked the following:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.
In 2010 Land Registry had eight on-site nurseries. Following a procurement exercise, from 01 September 2011 six of the sites were leased from Land Registry by Busy Bees who run their own business from the sites. The remaining two sites closed. Therefore, in 2013-14 and 2014-15, Land Registry did not run any on-site nurseries.
I hope that you find this information useful.
Letter from Barbara Spicer, dated 19 March 2014:
Thank you for your question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15. (192437)
Please be advised that the Skills Funding Agency does not have any workplace nurseries available to its staff.
I hope this satisfactorily addresses your question. If you have any follow up queries, please let me know.
Letter from John Hirst, dated 19 March 2014:
I am replying on behalf of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 17 March 2014, UIN 192437 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Met Office does not provide a workplace nursery for staff. However, the Met Office operates a childcare voucher scheme to help working parents with their childcare costs. Eligible parents and guardians can choose to receive childcare vouchers, instead of part of their cash salary, to pay for registered or approved childcare and to make savings on tax and national insurance contributions depending on individual circumstances.
I hope this helps.
Post Office Card Account
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the future viability of the Post Office Card Account; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on that issue. [192806]
Jenny Willott:
As I set out in my answer to the previous two questions on this topic, the Post Office Ltd has a contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to provide the Post Office card account (POCA). The current arrangements for collecting pensions and benefits at post offices will remain in place until at least 2015. Any decision about the future of POCA arrangements and related commercial negotiations are a matter for DWP but I can confirm that DWP and the Post Office are in discussions about the future of POCA
24 Mar 2014 : Column 143W
and that all options under consideration conclude that access to pensions and benefits will continue beyond March 2015.
Postal Services
Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effects on the universal postal service of TNT extending end-to-end services. [192383]
Jenny Willott: It is Ofcom's responsibility as the independent regulator for postal services in the UK to monitor any impacts of market competition on the provision of the universal service in the UK. Parliament has given Ofcom the powers to intervene if the provision of the universal service is ever at serious risk from the effects of postal competition.
Ofcom has an effective and ongoing monitoring regime to track the financial sustainability of the universal postal service. In March 2013 Ofcom published guidance on its approach to assessing the impact of end-to-end competition in the postal sector.
Ofcom's “Annual monitoring update on the postal market-FY2012-13”, published in November 2013, found that although there was a significant increase in end-to-end letter volumes delivered by other operators due to the trial of London delivery operations by TNT Post UK, end-to-end competition still only accounts for less than one percent of total market volumes. In this report Ofcom considered
"it is not necessary to impose any additional regulatory conditions on end-to-end operators to secure the ongoing provision of a universal postal service at this point in time".
If Ofcom's ongoing monitoring regime does not prompt the need for any earlier assessment, it will carry out a full review of the impact of market competition towards the end of 2015 as a matter of course. This will ensure that the regulator has made a detailed assessment of the actual and potential impact of emerging end-to-end competition based on a better understanding of how the postal market is developing. More information about Ofcom's regulatory regime can be found on its website
www.ofcom.org.uk
Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what assessment he has made of the extent to which the general public value the universal postal service; [192384]
(2) what assessment he has made of the extent to which small businesses are reliant on the universal postal service. [192387]
Jenny Willott: Under the Postal Services Act 2011, Parliament transferred regulatory authority from Postcomm to Ofcom, as an independent regulator for postal services, with the primary duty to secure the provision of the universal service in the UK. As part of its regulatory role, Ofcom monitors market developments and the evolving needs of postal users in the UK.
Following a review of postal user needs in March 2013, Ofcom concluded that the universal postal service is currently meeting the reasonable needs of users and is highly valued by residential users and businesses across the UK.
24 Mar 2014 : Column 144W
Its research also indicated that while users are generally satisfied with current postal services, different users rely on post to varying degrees and needs and preferences are evolving. More about Ofcom's findings can be found on its website
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/review-of-user-needs/statement/statement1.pdf
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions on universal service provision he has held with (a) the Chief Executive of TNT Post UK and (b) other postal operations. [192807]
Jenny Willott: Ministers and officials in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills meet with representatives from TNT and other postal operators on an intermittent basis to discuss a wide range of postal issues, including market developments and the universal service.
Social Mobility and Pay
Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to (a) increase social mobility and (b) prevent unpaid internships; and what sanctions are in place for employers who breach minimum wage legislation. [192371]
Mr Willetts: This Department plays an important role in delivering the Government's Social Mobility Strategy, through our policies on vocational and higher education and the labour market, and through our work with businesses.
We are implementing the Inspiration Vision, which sets out how employers, schools and colleges will work together to inspire young people about work, and bringing these interests together with the National Careers Service.
We are raising the status of the further education profession, including introducing Chartered Status for high-performing colleges.
We are reforming apprenticeships to make them more rigorous and responsive to employers, which will ensure each apprenticeship has value to individuals as they progress in their career. The changes we have made to higher apprenticeships provide a clear work-based progression pathway into higher education and professional careers.
We are delivering the Traineeships programme, which is aimed at giving young people the skills and experience they need to be able to compete for apprenticeships and other jobs.
Further education and skills also provide second chances to educationally disadvantaged adults, allowing them to improve their employment and earnings prospects through their life course; and improve their capacity and capability to improve the educational outcomes of their children.
The Chancellor's autumn statement of 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 1101-1113, announced that for 2014/15 we will make an additional 30,000 places available at publicly funded higher education institutions, and remove student number controls from 2015/16.
24 Mar 2014 : Column 145W
We have established a new framework with increased responsibility placed on universities to widen access. As part of this the independent Office for Fair Access (OFFA) agreed 162 Access Agreements for 2014/15, with plans for universities to spend more than £680 million on outreach and other activities to widen access, rising to over £700 million by 2017/18.
We asked the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) and OFFA to develop a shared strategy for promoting access which maximises the impact of all the spending by Government, HEFCE and institutions. An interim report was published in March 2013, and we intend to publish the full report shortly.
The Social Mobility Business Compact ensures young people have fair and open access to employment opportunities. It commits its signatories to support communities and schools, provide opportunities for all, and recruit openly and fairly.
The Department funds the Graduate Talent Pool, which provides information and advice on all aspects of internships, and includes a quality assurance process for vacancies. It has encouraged employers to offer graduate internships, and of ensuring that those internship vacancies are available to the widest possible audience of new graduates.
The Government are committed to making sure that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. People who feel they have not been paid what they are entitled to should call the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368.
The Government are taking a tougher approach to NMW enforcement across the board.
On 28 February 2014 the Government named the first five employers under the revised Naming and Shaming scheme. Between them they owe workers a total of over £6,800 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling £3,381.40.
The Government have also increased the financial penalty percentage that employers pay for breaking minimum wage law from 50% to 100% of the unpaid wages owed to workers and the maximum penalty from £5,000 to £20,000.
On interns, the Government have been raising awareness among young people of interns' rights and responsibilities to the National Minimum Wage, directing them to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline for further information and to make a complaint. HM Revenue and Customs
24 Mar 2014 : Column 146W
investigate every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights helpline and calls from interns are prioritised for consideration. Youth-focused channels such as 4Talent and Facebook have been used to target young people interested in entering sectors where internships are prevalent. To date, over 130,000 young people have been reached this way.
Intern-focused enforcement action resulted in a major fashion chain being ordered to pay 90 unpaid interns almost £60,000 in 2012/13.
In November last year, HMRC sent out education letters to 200 employers known to have recently advertised intern opportunities and unpaid work. The 200 letters will be followed up with a programme of targeted, risk-based investigations.
Wind Power: Seas and Oceans
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy, how many finance guarantees for offshore wind supply chain infrastructure projects have been granted through the UK Guarantees Scheme. [192024]
Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.
No guarantees have been issued to offshore wind supply chain infrastructure projects.
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy, what (a) activity and (b) investment has been made in the offshore wind industry through the new Business Bank; and if he will make a statement. [192025]
Matthew Hancock: The Green Investment Bank has a remit to support infrastructure projects across a range of green sectors, including offshore wind which is a priority for the Bank. To date GIB has committed a total of £162 million of finance to three offshore wind projects and expects to make further commitments in this sector in due course.
The British Business Bank's focus is small businesses. Although some of its programmes (such as the Enterprise Capital Funds and Investment programme) have funds which can support a range of investments in most sectors, there have so far been no investments in companies directly within the offshore wind industry.