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Written Answers

Wednesday 20 May 2009

Airports: Heathrow

Question

Asked by Baroness Tonge

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the hours worked by staff of the Health Protection Agency at Heathrow Airport. [HL3663]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The Health Protection Agency is responsible for both health protection and medical inspection services at Heathrow Airport. It is currently reviewing how these are provided, and no decisions have been taken yet.

Alcohol

Questions

Asked by Lord Chadlington

To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have conducted into the correlation between the cost of alcohol and the rate of consumption. [HL3688]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The department commissioned an independent review on the effects of alcohol pricing and promotion from the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield. The phase one systematic review of the evidence and phase two Independent Review of the Effects of Alcohol Pricing and Promotion were published in full in December 2008.

Full details of the review and a copy of the publication are available on the Department's website at www.dh. gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Healthimprovement/Alcoholmisuse/DH_4001740.

A copy has been placed in the Library.

Asked by Lord Chadlington

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there has been an increase in alcohol-related liver problems in people aged 13 to 18 since 1997. [HL3689]

Lord Darzi of Denham: Information on prevalence of alcohol-related liver problems among people aged 13 to 18 is not available. However, information on the number of hospital admissions for alcoholic liver disease for people aged 13 to 18 is available.

The table below provides the number of admissions to hospital of patients aged 13 to 18 with a primary or secondary diagnosis for alcoholic liver disease and uses the ICD-10 codes K70, K73 and K74, which are the codes for liver disease that is wholly or partially attributable to alcohol. Estimates are not available for years prior to 2002-03 and 2007-08 is the latest year

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for which information is available. This table suggests that there has been a rise in alcohol-related liver problems in people aged 13 to 18 during this period.

Year	Number of hospital admissions for alcoholic liver disease, 13 to 18 year-olds
2002-03	45
2003-04	54
2004-05	63
2005-06	59
2006-07	59
2007-08	79

Footnotes:

Data represent activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.

Alcohol-related admissions.

The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) Alcohol attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions. Figures for under-16s only include admissions where one or more alcohol-specific conditions were listed. This is because the research on which the attributable fractions are based does not cover under-16s. Alcohol-specific conditions are those that are wholly attributed to alcohol - that is, those with an attributable fraction of one.

The ICD-10 codes used to answer this PQ are K70, K73 and K74, which are the codes for liver disease that is wholly or partially attributable to alcohol. K70 has an attributable fraction of one, K73 and K74 have an overall attributable fraction of 0.73 for males and 0.50 for females.

Number of patients who had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis.

These figures represent the number of patients where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.

Ungrossed data

Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).

Primary diagnosis

The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 200203) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.

Secondary diagnosis

As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2007-08 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.

Data quality

Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies

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and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.

Assessing growth through time

HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series.

Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity.

Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.

Assignment of Episodes to Years

Years are assigned by the end of the first period of care in a patient's hospital stay.

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for Health & Social Care

Armed Forces: Women Pilots

Question

Asked by Lord Moonie

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many women are qualified to pilot combat jets in the Royal Navy or the Royal Air Force; how many are qualified to pilot other fixed-wing aircraft; how many are qualified to pilot rotary-wing aircraft; and how many are qualified to fly as aircrew in each of those categories. [HL3558]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): The following tables give the number of women who are currently qualified as either pilot or non-pilot aircrew in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.

Qualified Pilots (Female)
Service	Fast Jet	Fixed Wing Aircraft	Rotary Wing
Royal Air Force	12	22	24
Royal Navy	1	1	6

Non-pilot Aircrew (Female)
Service	Fast Jet	Fixed Wing Aircraft	Rotary Wing
Royal Air Force	21	57	12
Royal Navy	0	20

Audit Commission

Question

Asked by Lord Stevens of Ludgate

To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the costs of setting and printing all reports of the Audit Commission in the latest year for which figures are available; how many people are on the commission's distribution list; and how often the list is reviewed. [HL3584]

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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): In 2008-09, publications by the Audit Commission for distribution outside the commission cost £212,570 to design and print (these costs include proofreading, language and Braille translation). The commission has 60,000 entries on its database for the distribution of reports and distribution lists are adjusted and reviewed for each publication. The average distribution for a national report is 2,281.

Autism

Questions

Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether prison programmes or procedures are in place to assess prisoners with communication difficulties; whether there are prison programmes or procedures to identify those who may be on the autism spectrum; and what are the contents of such programmes. [HL3713]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): There are no specific departmental national programmes to assess and identify people in prison with communication difficulties. This is a Prison Service responsibility in line with their Disability Discrimination Act policy.

The National Offender Management Service (NOMs) Prison Service Order (PSO) 3050 looks at managing continuity of healthcare for prisoners and emphasises the importance of continuity in the success of clinical interventions and treatment. PSO 2855 Prisoners with Disabilities gives guidance on the management of prisoners with disabilities of which autism is referenced.

Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass

To ask Her Majesty's Government which prisons have full-time specialists employed to provide services for prisoners on the autism spectrum; and what services are provided by such specialists. [HL3715]

Lord Darzi of Denham: The department does not hold information on the services provided for prisoners on the autism spectrum. This is a Prison Service responsibility in line with their Disability Discrimination Act policy.

Banking

Question

Asked by Baroness Noakes

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they accept the decision by the Office for National Statistics announced on 19 February 2009 to classify the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group as public corporations; and, if so, why Lord Myners said on 20 April that “the UK banks in which the public, through the Government and UKFI, have significant shareholdings remain in the private sector” (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 1259). [HL2963]

The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): Decisions on the statistical classification of organisations are a matter for the independent

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Office for National Statistics (ONS). These decisions are consistent with international guidelines on national accounts and make allowance for control as well as ownership. The Government fully accept the decision on the public finances made by the ONS, but are not thereby bound to treat the organisations as if they were nationalised industries.

The Government own 70 per cent of the voting shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and 43.5 per cent (which may increase to 65 per cent) in Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds), as a consequence of the recapitalisation scheme and the conversion of the preference shares. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made clear that both institutions will remain in the private sector. Pension funds and private investors may continue to invest in RBS and Lloyds. The companies will be run to the benefit of all shareholders and will have independent boards.

The Government will not be a permanent investor in UK financial institutions. It will over time seek to dispose of the investments in an orderly way, through sale, redemption, buy-back or other means, in accordance with UKFI's objectives, which are to protect and create value for the taxpayer as shareholder with due regard to the maintenance of financial stability.

Banking: Loan Guarantee Scheme

Question

Asked by Lord Barnett

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether loans made by banks under the small firms loans guarantee scheme and the recently announced loan scheme must have matching funds provided by the firms. [HL2161]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform & Cabinet Office (Baroness Vadera): Neither the small firms loan guarantee nor the enterprise finance guarantee, which replaced SFLG in January, requires borrowers to provide match funding. These are straightforward loan arrangements between a borrower and a lender. Lenders may require business to offer security in respect of a loan offered.

British Coal Compensation

Question

Asked by Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of the decision by the Legal Complaints Service, the independent complaints handling body of the Law Society of England and Wales, promulgated on 20 April, to again suspend investigation into the complaints of retired miners and widows concerning the handling of their cases under the British Coal Respiratory Disease Litigation and British Coal Vibration White Finger Litigation by Raleys Solicitors; and, if so, whether they have any plans to meet the Board of the Legal Complaints Service to discuss such matters. [HL3346]

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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): We understand from the Legal Complaints Service that a decision was taken that from 1 April 2009 all complaints against Raleys Solicitors, either already in the office or received after that date, would be suspended to await confirmation of the intention of Raleys with regard to any appeal against previous Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal adjudications.

Ministers will be meeting the Legal Complaints Service and the Solicitors Regulation Authority in June to review their progress on this important issue. Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Energy and Climate Change continue to support the Legal Complaints Service in their programme to highlight the issue with coal health compensation claimants.

Connecting Communities Plus

Question

Asked by Baroness Warsi

To ask Her Majesty's Government which organisations were in receipt of funds through the Connecting Communities Plus Programme in each of the last three years; and how much they received. [HL3657]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): From April 2006 to March 2009 a total of 393 organisations were funded through the Connecting Communities Grants programme. Three different types of grants were paid.

Strategic partners: paid to national level voluntary organisations. In all, 11 organisations were funded for three years. A total of £4,306,816.00 was paid to the strategic partners from 2006-2009.

Project grants: paid to voluntary organisations to deliver outcomes set out in the Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society strategy. In all, 68 projects were funded over three years. A total of £10,519,235 was paid to the project partners from 2006-09.

Community grants were flexible grants to voluntary and community organisations. They were one-off grants of up to £12,000. Three rounds of funding were held; one in each year of the programme. The number of organisations funded and the total amount paid in each year were as follows:

year one—£1,313,426.49 paid to 138 organisations;year two—£987,691.04 paid to 108 organisations; andyear three—£663,441.26 paid to 68 organisations.

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