| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Warm Front Scheme
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received on the grant levels available under the Warm Front scheme; and what proposals she has to increase the maximum grants payable. [36400]
Mr. Meacher: The new Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES), marketed as the Warm Front Team, was launched on 1 June 2000. It provides two levels of financial assistance for the installation of insulation and heating measures dependent upon the needs of the householder and property type:
- HEES—£1,500 for low income households with children under 16, disabled persons or suffering long-term sickness on a qualifying benefit; and
HEES Plus—£2,500 for over-60s on an income-related benefit.
The Department recently reviewed the individual grant maximum, taking advice from the scheme managers on expected rates of labour and materials for the coming year and representations from trade associations. As a result of this, from 15 February the grant maximums have been increased from £1,000 to £1,500 and from £2,000 to
25 Feb 2002 : Column 934W
£2,500 respectively. Eligibility has also been extended to include pregnant women on low-incomes in receipt of a maternity certificate.
Radon Gas
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her statement of 30 January 2000, Official Report, columns 123–26WH, on radon gas, what the location is of the area that has over 5,300 Bq/m 3 of radon gas emissions. [36432]
Mr. Meacher: The radon level of 5,300 Bq/m 3 was found in the electoral ward of Cornwood and Sparkwell in South Hams district council's area. I quoted this level to illustrate the highest concentration of radon that has been measured in an area of South Devon. Although radon levels have been found to be significantly above the Action Level (200 Bq/m 3 ) in other parts of South Hams district council and other local authority areas in Devon, the radon concentration measured in Cornwood and Sparkwell is exceptional.
Waste Disposal Incinerators
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take further measures to ensure that emissions from waste disposal incinerators are effectively monitored; and if she will make a statement. [36706]
Mr. Meacher: Emission standards apply throughout the EU to all incineration facilities, applicable to both old and new facilities. Monitoring is carried out to ensure these emission standards are met and to identify breaches of these standards, which may lead to enforcement action.
We are currently transposing the new waste incineration directive, which will further tighten the emissions standards. The older generation of incinerators has now been replaced with newer, cleaner technology, and most municipal waste incinerators in this country already meet the tough standards that will be introduced with the new directive. Incinerator emissions of all air pollutants are now less than 1.5 per cent. of total UK emissions.
Additionally the Environment Agency has recently varied the authorisations for existing Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators to reduce the dioxin emission limit to 0.1 ng/m 3 (ie no more than one part in 10 billion). This is ahead of the timetable required by the recently adopted waste incineration directive. At this stage we do not consider that further measures are required.
Grazing
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the Government intend to change the rules on common grazing rights after the Bettison v. Langton ruling in 1998. [36437]
Alun Michael: Following a judgment delivered in another place in the case of Bettison and Others v. Langton and Others on 17 May 2001, It is conclusive in law that rights of common for grazing, registered for a fixed number as required by the Commons Registration Act 1965, are severable from the land to which they were originally
25 Feb 2002 : Column 935W
attached. In the consultation paper "Greater Protection and Better Management of Common Land in England and Wales" launched in February 2000, the Government included an outline proposal to prevent severance of rights of common grazing. We hope to announce our conclusions on this, and all the other issues raised in the consultation paper, in the spring.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to prevent people using common grazing as a transit stop for sheep and cattle. [36453]
Alun Michael: Powers already exist to control the unlawful turning out of animals on common land. The landowner or the holders of common rights could take action in the courts to prevent this activity. Where the owner of registered common land is not known, any local authority in whose area the common lies has a discretionary power under section 9 of the Commons Registration Act 1965 to act in the capacity of the owner to prevent unlawful interference, and may bring proceedings in respect of any offence concerning the land. Where the common is subject to a scheme of management under the Commons Act 1899, the local authority may make byelaws to prevent any person from turning out animals on to the common without lawful authority.
Rights of Way
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when section 4 of the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000 will be implemented. [36417]
Alun Michael: Section 4 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 came into force on 30 January 2001. It requires the Countryside Agency (in England) and the Countryside Council for Wales to prepare maps of open country and registered common land for the purposes of the statutory right of access under that Act. The Countryside Agency has recently concluded consultation on draft maps for part of the south-east and lower north-west regions. A draft map for southern England is due to be issued in June this year. Further information about the Agency's mapping programme is contained on its website, at: www.countryside.gov.uk/access/mapping/.
25 Feb 2002 : Column 936W
HEALTH
Nutrition
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the (a) number, (b) percentage and (c) age of people (i) admitted to and (ii) discharged from hospital who were malnourished, in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [12918]
Yvette Cooper: The tables show figures on the number of admissions and discharges of people whose main diagnosis was malnutrition from 1995–96 to 1999–2000.
The discharges figures are slightly higher than the admissions figures. This may be that the main diagnosis prior to discharge may be different from the admission diagnosis. For example, a patient could be admitted for treatment of a condition resulting from malnutrition, and moved to another consultant afterwards to be treated for the malnutrition. It is also possible that a patient is admitted for an unrelated condition, but also have malnutrition diagnosed while in hospital and be treated for this before discharge.
| Malnutrition discharges | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 |
| 0–4 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 11 |
| 10–14 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 6 |
| 15–44 | 60 | 71 | 59 | 74 | 54 |
| 45–64 | 57 | 45 | 59 | 61 | 67 |
| 65–74 | 43 | 34 | 36 | 47 | 30 |
| 75–84 | 54 | 47 | 45 | 39 | 45 |
| 85 and over | 37 | 25 | 27 | 30 | 27 |
| Not known | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 270 | 249 | 253 | 272 | 240 |
Note:
The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Data in this table are adjusted for both coverage and unknown/invalid data, except for 1998–99 and 1999–2000 which are not yet adjusted for.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
| All discharges | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 |
| 0–4 | 1,131,637 | 1,111,261 | 1,131,555 | 1,126,564 | 1,107,961 |
| 10–14 | 520,258 | 504,506 | 515,462 | 511,176 | 506,246 |
| 15–44 | 3,611,179 | 3,542,691 | 3,607,351 | 3,670,575 | 3,659,975 |
| 45–64 | 2,093,679 | 2,111,733 | 2,228,626 | 2,366,588 | 2,434,419 |
| 65–74 | 1,377,965 | 1,368,162 | 1,432,555 | 1,489,842 | 1,527,800 |
| 75–84 | 1,151,994 | 1,178,939 | 1,247,991 | 1,309,570 | 1,353,941 |
| 85 and over | 473,121 | 556,468 | 603,873 | 563,039 | 576,802 |
| Not known | 4,445 | 9,080 | 16,209 | 23,156 | 25,285 |
| Total | 10,364,278 | 10,382,840 | 10,783,622 | 11,060,510 | 11,192,429 |
Note:
The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Data in this table are adjusted for both coverage and unknown/invalid data, except for 1998–99 and 1999–2000 which are not yet adjusted for.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
25 Feb 2002 : Column 937W
| Malnutrition discharges per 100,000 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 |
| 0–4 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| 10–14 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 1.2 |
| 15–44 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| 45–64 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| 65–74 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.0 |
| 75–84 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
| 85 and over | 7.8 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 4.7 |
| Not known | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
Note:
The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Data in this table are adjusted for both coverage and unknown/invalid data, except for 1998–99 and 1999–2000 which are not yet adjusted for.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
25 Feb 2002 : Column 938W
| Malnutrition admissions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 |
| 0–4 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 10 |
| 10–14 | 7 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 6 |
| 15–44 | 53 | 65 | 57 | 72 | 54 |
| 45–64 | 56 | 45 | 65 | 63 | 63 |
| 65–74 | 38 | 28 | 30 | 43 | 28 |
| 75–84 | 45 | 43 | 42 | 38 | 41 |
| 85 and over | 35 | 27 | 31 | 22 | 24 |
| Not known | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 245 | 234 | 249 | 258 | 226 |
Note:
The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Data in this table are adjusted for both coverage and unknown/invalid data, except for 1998–99 and 1999–2000 which are not yet adjusted for.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
| All admissions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 |
| 0–4 | 1,132,151 | 1,097,885 | 1,123,059 | 1,124,564 | 1,098,320 |
| 10–14 | 523,318 | 493,916 | 509,949 | 507,001 | 501,534 |
| 15–44 | 3,585,082 | 3,496,224 | 3,547,914 | 3,636,100 | 3,619,428 |
| 45–64 | 2,070,659 | 2,050,262 | 2,180,458 | 2,333,056 | 2,400,880 |
| 65–74 | 1,353,144 | 1,322,310 | 1,390,765 | 1,459,225 | 1,500,357 |
| 75–84 | 1,122,025 | 1,129,724 | 1,196,840 | 1,271,028 | 1,319,641 |
| 85 and over | 456,147 | 530,710 | 574,593 | 539,601 | 556,687 |
| Not known | 4,476 | 7,929 | 13,958 | 18,397 | 29,097 |
| Total | 10,247,002 | 10,128,960 | 10,537,536 | 10,888,972 | 11,025,944 |
Note:
The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Data in this table are adjusted for both coverage and unknown/invalid data, except for 1998–99 and 1999–2000 which are not yet adjusted for.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
| Malnutrition admissions per 100,000 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 |
| 0–4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 |
| 10–14 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 1.2 |
| 15–44 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| 45–64 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
| 65–74 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 1.9 |
| 75–84 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
| 85 and over | 7.7 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
| Not known | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0,0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
Note:
The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Data in this table are adjusted for both coverage and unknown/invalid data, except for 1998–99 and 1999–2000 which are not yet adjusted for.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |