Daily Report Tuesday, 24 March 2015 CONTENTS...2015/03/24 · Daily Report Tuesday, 24 March 2015...

Daily Report Tuesday, 24 March 2015

This report shows written answers and statements provided on 24 March 2015 and the information is correct at the time of publication (06:31 P.M., 24 March 2015). For the latest information on written questions and answers, ministerial corrections, and written statements, please visit: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/

CONTENTS ANSWERS 7

ATTORNEY GENERAL 7

Abortion 7

GlaxoSmithKline 7

Human Rights 7

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS 8

Arms Trade: Export Controls 8

Business: Advisory Services 8

Business: Government Assistance 9

Business: York 9

Counterfeit Manufacturing 10

Easter 10

ICT 10

ICT: EU Action 11

Local Enterprise Partnerships 11

New Businesses 11

New Businesses: Government Assistance 12

Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education 13

Staff 13

Trade Promotion: Turkey 14

CABINET OFFICE 14

Emergencies: Planning 14

ICT 15

Low Pay 15

Pay 16

Third Sector: Finance 16

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 17

Armed Forces Covenant 17

Conditions of Employment 18

Council Housing: Construction 18

Housing: Barnet 19

Leasehold: Tower Hamlets 19

Parking Offences 19

Planning Permission 20

Rented Housing: North Yorkshire 20

Right to Buy Scheme: Greater London 20

Surveys 21

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT 22

Arts: Employment 22

ICT 22

Internet 22

Internet Service Providers 23

Mobile Phones: Torridge 23

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

2 Tuesday, 24 March 2015 Daily Report

Public Lending Right 23

Public Libraries: ICT 24

Staff 25

Wind Power: South West 25

Writers: Income 25

DEFENCE 26

Armed Forces: Recruitment 26

Armed Forces: Young People 26

Army Reserve 27

Health Services: Reserve Forces 28

Legal Costs 28

Military Aid 28

Procurement 32

Research 32

Reserve Forces 33

Territorial Waters 33

Veterans: Training 34

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER 36

Constituencies 36

Devolution: Rural Areas 36

Disadvantaged 36

Politics and Government 37

Regional Planning and Development 37

Regional Planning and Development: Shropshire 38

Voting Methods 38

EDUCATION 38

Children in Care 38

Drugs: Young People 39

Free School Meals 39

GCE A-level 39

ICT 40

Languages: Education 40

Mathematics: GCSE 41

Primary Education: Free School Meals 41

Staff 41

Teachers: Stress 42

Teachers: Training 43

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE 44

Climate Change 44

Electricity Generation 44

Energy 45

Energy: Conservation 45

Fuel Poverty 45

Housing: Energy 46

Longannet Power Station 46

Microgeneration: York 47

Pay 47

Schools: Solar Power 49

Tidal Power 49

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS 50

Bovine Tuberculosis 50

Pay 50

School Milk 51

Waste Disposal: Fires 52

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 52

Bahrain 52

Burma 53

Consultants 54

Cyprus 54

Democratic Republic of Congo 54

European Parliament 55

ICT 55

Israel 56

Tuesday, 24 March 2015 Daily Report 3

Secondment 56

Shaker Aamer 57

South China Sea 57

Travel 57

Yemen 58

HEALTH 59

Accident and Emergency Departments: Blackpool 59

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse 59

Buildings 59

Cancer: Blackpool 60

Cancer: Drugs 60

Care Quality Commission 61

Cataracts 62

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 63

Clinical Commissioning Groups 63

Dementia 66

Drugs: Poisoning 66

Eyes: Health 67

Gastrointestinal Cancer: Drugs 67

General Practitioners 67

General Practitioners: Blackpool 68

General Practitioners: York 68

Health Professions: Blackpool 68

Health Services 69

Health Services: Blackpool 69

Health Services: North Yorkshire 69

Hearing Impairment 70

Hospitals: Food 70

Hospitals: Waiting Lists 71

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination 71

ICT 71

Innovative Medicines and Medical Technology Review 72

Macular Degeneration 72

Meningitis: Vaccination 73

Mental Health Services 74

Mental Health Services: York 78

Neuromuscular Disorders: North East 78

Neuromuscular Disorders: North West 79

NHS England 79

NHS: Finance 80

NHS: Private Patients 81

NHS: Procurement 81

Nurses: Foreign Workers 81

Patients: Travel 82

Pneumococcal Disease 83

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges 86

Prostate Cancer: Drugs 87

Quality of Care and Treatment Provided by 14 Hospital Trusts in England Review 88

Radiotherapy 89

Social Services: Veterans 89

Staff 90

Strokes 90

Tranquillisers 91

York Hospital 91

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 92

HOME OFFICE 94

Asylum 94

Asylum: Bedford 95

Asylum: Females 95

Asylum: Syria 95


Borders: Personal Records 96

Crime 96

Crime: Rural Areas 97

Deportation 97

Detention Centres 97

Detention Centres: Internet 98

Immigrants: Detainees 98

Immigrants: Pregnant Women 98

Marriage Certificates 99

Members: Correspondence 99

Merseyside Police 99

Offenders: Deportation 100

Overseas Students 100

Overseas Students: English Language 101

Passports 102

Police Custody 102

Police: Football 102

Police: Pensions 102

Rape: Democratic Republic of Congo 103

Religiously Aggravated Offences: Lancashire 104

Robert Nairac 104

Stop and Search: Children 105

Tobacco: Smuggling 105

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION 106

ICT 106

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 106

Afghanistan 106

Burma 107

Consultants 107

Developing Countries: Health Professions 107

Nigeria 108

Overseas Aid 108

Palestinians 109

Staff 110

Sudan 111

Thailand Burma Border Consortium 111

Zimbabwe 111

JUSTICE 112

Child Abuse in North Wales Judicial Inquiry Review 112

Cremation 112

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals 113

Evidence 113

ICT 114

Internet Service Providers 114

King Richard III 114

Offences against Children 114

Offences against Children: North West 115

Offenders: EU Action 115

Prison Service 116

Prisoners' Release 116

Prisoners' Release: Birmingham 117

Prisons: Drugs 118

Staff 118

Truancy: North West 119

NORTHERN IRELAND 119

Staff 119

PRIME MINISTER 119

ICT: VAT 119

SCOTLAND 120

Pay 120

Tuesday, 24 March 2015 Daily Report 5

TRANSPORT 120

Driving: Epilepsy 120

ICT 121

London Bridge Station 121

Ports: Freight 122

Severn River Crossing 122

Shared Spaces: Visual Impairment 123

Staff 123

TREASURY 124

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties 124

Car Washes 124

Child Benefit 125

Fiscal Policy 125

Football: Taxation 125

Private Rented Housing: Blackpool 126

Revenue and Customs 126

Severn River Crossing 127

Slavery 127

Taxation: Self-assessment 127

Transport: Freight 127

VAT 128

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES 128

ICT 128

WORK AND PENSIONS 128

Bank Services: Pendle 128

Children: Maintenance 129

Employment and Support Allowance 131

Employment Schemes: Disability 131

Employment Schemes: Pendle 133

Hazel McRae 134

ICT 134

Mesothelioma: Compensation 134

Pay 134

Personal Independence Payment: Halton 136

Reviews 136

Social Security Benefits 136

Social Security Benefits: Databases 139

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification 140

Social Security Benefits: Fraud 140

Social Security Benefits: North West 140

Work Capability Assessment 141

Work Programme 141

Work Programme: North West 141

MINISTERIAL CORRECTIONS 143

JUSTICE 143

Police Cautions 143

TREASURY 144

Welfare Tax Credits 144

Welfare Tax Credits: Self-employed 147

Welfare Tax Credits: York 148

Working Tax Credit: Bolton 148

WRITTEN STATEMENTS 150

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS 150

Companies House Public Targets 2015-16 150

Launch of the Consultation Document-A Dual Mandate for Adult Vocational Education March 2015 150


CABINET OFFICE 152

Report on departmental open data commitments and adherence to public data principles for the period between April and June 2014 152

Security and Intelligence Agencies – Contingencies Fund Advance 152

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 152

Local Audit 152

Local Government Update 154

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT 156

Analogue Commercial Radio Licence Renewals 156

DEFENCE 157

Logistics Commodities and Services Transformation Programme 157

Ofsted Annual Report: Welfare and Duty of Care in Armed Forces Initial Training 158

Service Complaints Commissioner’s 2014 Annual Report 158

Triennial Review of the Independent Medical Expert Group 159

Triennial Review of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees 159

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE 159

International investments 159

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 160

EU Foreign Affairs Council: 16 March 2015 and EU General Affairs Council: 17 March 2015 160

Progress in reviewing policy on resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory 163

HOME OFFICE 164

Her Majesty’s Passport Office Annual Report and Accounts 2014 164

Publication of the 7th annual report of the Ethics Group: The National DNA Database 164

TRANSPORT 164

Crossrail 2 Safeguarding Consultation Response 164

The Budapest Convention on the Contract for the Carriage of Goods by Inland Waterways 165

TREASURY 166

ECOFIN: 10 March 2015 166

Finance Bill 2015 167

WORK AND PENSIONS 168

Employment Support 168

Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) 169

Notes:

Questions marked thus [R] indicate that a relevant interest has been declared. Questions with identification numbers of 900000 or greater indicate that the question was originally tabled as an oral question and has since been unstarred.

Daily Report Tuesday, 24 March 2015 ANSWERS 7

ANSWERS

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Abortion

Liz McInnes: [228357]

To ask the Attorney General, for what reasons the Crown Prosecution Service made the decision that it would not be in the public interest to pursue a private prosecution on gender abortion charges against Dr Prabha Sivaraman and Dr Palaniappan Rajmohan.

Mr Robert Buckland: In accordance with the two stage test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, the CPS carefully considered the evidence submitted by the private prosecutor both on its own and in addition to the material already in its possession from the earlier decision. In both cases the CPS concluded that there was no realistic prospect of conviction for the charge selected by the private prosecutor.

In addition the CPS considered whether both sets evidence taken together might be sufficient to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any abortion offence. It was concluded that there was sufficient evidence to prosecute an offence of using poison, instruments or any other means with intent to procure an abortion but that this was very finely balanced. It further concluded that the public interest considerations in not pursuing a prosecution outweighed those in favour for the same reasons as in 2013, most importantly the lack of professional guidance on how doctors should approach comparative risk assessments.

The full reasons for the decision are available on the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) website: http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/latest_news/cps_decision_to_stop_private_prosecutions_of_doctors_charged_with_abortion_offences/

GlaxoSmithKline

Eric Ollerenshaw: [228186]

To ask the Attorney General, whether there is a point of contact for members of the public who wish to help the Serious Fraud Office investigation into GlaxoSmithKline.

Mr Robert Buckland: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has a secure reporting mechanism, SFO Confidential, which can be accessed through its website.

Human Rights

Mr William Bain: [908282]

To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions he has had with cabinet colleagues on implementation of the UK's domestic and international legal obligations on human rights.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-03-19/228357

http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/latest_news/cps_decision_to_stop_private_prosecutions_of_doctors_charged_with_abortion_offences/

http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/latest_news/cps_decision_to_stop_private_prosecutions_of_doctors_charged_with_abortion_offences/



8 Daily Report Tuesday, 24 March 2015 ANSWERS

Jeremy Wright: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the oral question from the Hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) earlier today.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Caroline Lucas: [228210]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Government's response to the First Joint Report of the Committees on Arms Export Controls, Cm 935, published in October 2014, what progress has been made on the review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Clarion Events and the Export Control Organisation; and if he will publish the (a) findings of that review and (b) revised MoU.

Matthew Hancock: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: Discussions with Clarion Defence and Security Limited on the review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) have commenced. These discussions have not yet been concluded and are unlikely to do so before the early summer of 2015. When complete, the MOU will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Business: Advisory Services

Mr Chuka Umunna: [227104]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which businesses are providing advice and support through the Growth Voucher scheme; and how many businesses have received such assistance from each such business to date.

Matthew Hancock: [Holding answer 16 March 2015]: The support is delivered at two stages within the Growth Vouchers programme.

The first is an assessment, either face to face or online, that helps businesses identify their support needs and decide what advice they need to help them grow. The face to face assessment is delivered by advisers on behalf of the delivery partners Cavendish Consortium, Winning Pitch, and West Midlands Chamber of Commerce.

Since the Growth Vouchers programme began 15 months ago, there have been 31,513 applications of which 20,661 businesses have received the first stage assessment. After this assessment is completed, businesses are randomly selected to receive a voucher.

The second stage of support is in the form of vouchers to help pay for external advice from suppliers in the private sector. Of the 20,661 who undertook the initial business assessment, 15,600 received a voucher. This means that over £31 million worth of Growth Vouchers have been distributed, giving small businesses the opportunity to purchase advice at a subsidised rate. Those businesses that did not receive a voucher




make up the control group of businesses that we will use to assess the impact of the advice being delivered as part of the research we are conducting.

Businesses with a voucher can then go on to select a supplier from the 3,424 Growth Voucher accredited suppliers listed on Enterprise Nation’s online marketplace ( https://marketplace.enterprisenation.com/ ). 844 small business advice suppliers have delivered advice to 2,152 small businesses.

There are 8,103 businesses that have a valid voucher, who will have until the expiry date on the voucher to redeem the subsidy.

Business: Government Assistance


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many valid Growth Vouchers have been issued that have not yet been redeemed.

Matthew Hancock: [Holding answer 16 March 2015]: As at 19 March, 8,103 businesses have a valid voucher and they will have until the expiry date on the voucher to redeem the subsidy.

Business: York

Sir Hugh Bayley: [227314]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which York-based companies received financial support from (a) Yorkshire Forward in each of its last five years of operation, (b) the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Education Partnership and (c) the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership in each year since those bodies were created; and what the financial value of that support was in each such case.

Greg Clark: [Holding answer 16 March 2015]: (a) This Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold details of all individual companies that receive financial support form Yorkshire Forward. Any financial support which Yorkshire Forward provided within the region was in line with the Agency’s Regional Economic Strategy and Corporate Plans and within its delegated financial authority.

(b & c) The Government has provided £4m to the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding (YNER) Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and £25.7m to the Leeds City Region (LCR) LEP to support growing businesses in their area through the Regional Growth Fund programme. Businesses in York are able to apply to access this funding. The YNYER and LCR Growth Deals are also jointly providing £8m to the bio-hub project at the University of York, which will support bio-renewable business and drive growth in the sector. In addition, the Government is providing a total of £925,000 for business support coordination in YNYER and LCR through our Growth Hub Programme.

https://marketplace.enterprisenation.com/




Counterfeit Manufacturing

David Simpson: [228530]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government has taken to tackle the movement of counterfeit clothing into the UK.

Mr Edward Vaizey: This Government takes intellection property (IP) crime very seriously and is working closely with law enforcers and rights holders to tackle criminality, including the sale of counterfeit goods. The Intellectual Property Office continues to support Trading Standards, Police and partners with intelligence in support of enforcement operations. Locally, the National Markets Group is active in tackling IPR trade at our markets. Nationally, the UK Border Force is targeting importers using intelligence to enhance container seizures – these have increased year on year for the last 3 years. In addition, work is ongoing with source countries to tackle production in countries abroad. In particular, work between the UK and Chinese authorities has already resulted in seizures and arrests. All this activity is supported by education programmes and a government/private industry partnership to provide IP training to enforcement officers and brands representatives to help stem the demand for counterfeit products.

Easter

Sir Greg Knight: [227857]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring into force the provision contained in the Easter Act 1928 to fix the date of Easter; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills does not intend to bring the Easter Act 1928 into force in the near future. The Easter Act 1928 would set the date for Easter to fall on a Sunday between 9 and 15 April each year. The Easter Act 1928 remains on the Statute Book, but has not been brought into force. To do so would require an Order in Council, with the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The Act also requires that, before the Order is made, "regard shall be had to any opinion officially expressed by any Church or other Christian Body." There is no indication that the Churches are keen to move to a date for Easter fixed in accordance with the Easter Act 1928.

ICT

Philip Davies: [227816]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which news applications staff in his Department are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.





Jo Swinson: Staff are not prevented from downloading any news applications for use on their work-provided phones and tablets.

ICT: EU Action

Mike Weatherley: [228398]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what contribution his Department plans to make to the EU consultation on the Digital Single Market.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I refer my hon Friend to the reply I gave to Question UIN 227250. The UK Government set out its policy in a paper published in January and is available at http://engage.number10.gov.uk/digital-single-market/.

Local Enterprise Partnerships


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many bids by local enterprise partnerships to (a) the Regional Growth Fund and (b) the Exceptional and Regional Growth Fund have been (i) received, (ii) selected and (iii) not selected in each bidding round in each region since those funds were established.

Greg Clark: [Holding answer 3 March 2015]: The information is not held centrally.

New Businesses

Andrew Stephenson: [228057]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has invested in start-up accelerators and incubators in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: Growth Deals

Several accelerator and incubator projects were proposed under Growth Deals and the details of these and the associated costs are attached in the annex. Note that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have the flexibility to reprioritise projects based on local needs.

At Budget 2015 the government announced an additional £11m investment in new tech entrepreneur hubs in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. They will create thriving local ecosystems by nurturing start-ups, fostering collaboration, and providing mentoring, learning and business support.

University Enterprise Zones

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is investing £15m capital in a three year pilot (14/15 – 16/17) to establish four University Enterprise Zones (UEZs) in Bradford, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham. Led by Universities, the UEZs will provide





physical space/facilities for small, innovative start-up businesses. Businesses will also be able to access wraparound business support packages, specialist facilities and expert knowledge, including support from UKTI to promote inward investment onto their sites. The Government investment of £15m will leverage over £47m from private and public sector sources. The UEZs are focused on sectors of relevance to the areas – digital health, robotics, sensors and advance manufacturing.

Projects commenced in the second half of 2014/15 and the majority of the funding will be pulled down in years 15/16 and 16/17. The first centres will open for business in spring 2016.

Profiled expenditure is in the table below.

YEAR TOTAL

2014/15 £0.848m

2015/16 £7.054m

2016/17 £7.499m

Science Park Business Incubator

The Government is providing £4.8m capital funding in 2015/16 for a new business incubator on Cambridge Science Park (Cambridge Science Park Technology Centre). The incubator will support innovative, early stage companies, primarily in the life sciences sector. This forms part of the Government’s long term economic plan for the East of England to increase the growth rate, building on the world class science and technology base of Cambridge and the surrounding area.

Full details of current Growth Deals projects can be found in the attached document.

Attachments:

1. Growth Deals project details [Growth-Deals-Projects-Details-228057.doc]

New Businesses: Government Assistance

Tom Greatrex: [228490]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many start-up loans have been awarded since the introduction of that scheme in (a) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency, (b) South Lanarkshire, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK; and what the total value is of those loans.

Matthew Hancock: Set out below are the number and value of Start Up Loans awarded for the UK, Scotland, South Lanarkshire and the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency (up to the 28th February 2015).

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-trade-investment



LOANS AWARDED VALUE

Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency

30 £96,365.09

South Lanarkshire 70 £208,891.41

Scotland 1,193 £4,408,809

UK 27,034 £140,814,749

Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education

Hilary Benn: [227410]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many cases were referred to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for each higher education institution by students of each (a) gender and (b) ethnic origin in each of the last five years; and how many of those cases concerned (i) undergraduate and (ii) postgraduate students.

Greg Clark: [Holding answer 17 March 2015]: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold this information. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, which is independent of Government, publishes an annual report which includes a review of complaints handling performance over the year.

Staff

Gloria De Piero: [227951]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many and what proportion of employees in his Department identify as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity.

Jo Swinson: Table 1 gives the proportion of staff in each ethnic group in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. These proportions are statistical estimates derived from the 2014 Civil Service People Survey.

Table 1: Ethnicity of staff in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

ETHNICITY ESTIMATED PROPORTION

White or White British 77%

Asian or Asian British 5%

Black or Black British 5%

Mixed or multiple ethnic group 2%




ETHNICITY ESTIMATED PROPORTION

Any Other Ethnicity 0%

Undeclared Ethnicity 10%

Source: Civil Service People Survey 2014

Trade Promotion: Turkey

Nick de Bois: [228393]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department plans to take to further develop UK trade with Turkey over the next five years.

Matthew Hancock: The Government will continue to develop trade with Turkey through Ministerial and high-level engagement including the UK-Turkey Joint Economic Committee (JETCO); High Value Opportunity (HVO) and other campaigns that position UK companies as partners of choice; partnership with the British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey; and the GREAT campaign.

CABINET OFFICE

Emergencies: Planning

Miss Anne McIntosh: [228353]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress he has made on civil contingencies planning.

Mr Oliver Letwin: The Civil Contingencies Act places the primary responsibility for emergency planning on local responders working together. This activity at local level is constantly developing in the light of testing and exercising and actual events. It is supported at the national level by a range of activities including the production of the National Risk Assessment (NRA), a classified biennial assessment that identifies and prioritises the most significant emergencies the UK could face over the next five years, with the 2014 NRA having recently been made available to local responders; the cross-government National Resilience Capability Programme supported by the 2014 National Capability Survey, a voluntary biennial survey of local responders which provides data to government and enables self-improvement activity at the local tier; and the doctrine and training provided by the Emergency Planning College. In addition, the government’s annual review of UK resilience continues to consider the local, regional, and national level issues that pose the greatest risks to the UK.




ICT


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which news applications staff in his Department are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which news applications staff in his Office are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.

Mr Francis Maude: We provide apps on request for Cabinet Office. News apps currently available to our users are:

BBC News

Sky News

The Daily Mail

The Financial Times

The Guardian

The Independent

The Mirror

The Spectator

The Sun

The Telegraph

The Times

We will add new applications as they are requested by our users. I missed some off the list previously but can confirm they are all now available.

Low Pay


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the workforce was paid at least the living wage in (a) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency, (b) South Lanarkshire, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Attachments:

1. ONS Letter to Member - Living Wage [PQ 228488 ONS 117.pdf]





Pay


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average hourly pay is of employees at each grade in the Prime Minister's Office identified as (a) White or White British and (b) from a black, Asian or other minority ethnic group.


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the median hourly pay is for all employees in each ethnic group in his Department.


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of members of Government Boards identify as from Black, Asian or other minority ethnic groups.


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Government appointments were made to people identified as from Black, Asian or other minority ethnic groups in each year from 2010 to date.


To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average hourly pay is of employees at each grade in his Department identified as (a) White or White British and (b) from a Black, Asian or other minority ethnic group.

Mr Francis Maude: The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

As was the case under the previous administration, officials are not compelled to declare their ethnicity. Statistically valid information about pay broken down by ethnicity is therefore not available

Diversity data on the declared ethnic background of Non-Executive Board Members and Government Board Members appointed since 2010 is not held centrally.

The Cabinet Office will shortly publish the report by Ethnic Dimension Research & Consultancy on "Identifying and Removing Barriers to Talented BAME Staff Progression in the Civil Service" and an updated Talent Action Plan.

Third Sector: Finance

Lisa Nandy: [228372]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made on introducing the £40 million local sustainability fund for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations.








Mr Rob Wilson: The department has made significant progress on the development of this Fund. The design of the Fund is being informed by the excellent feedback we received through the public consultation and wide-ranging sector engagement carried out in 2014.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Armed Forces Covenant

Dan Jarvis: [228485]

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in funding to local authorities on their ability to support Armed Forces Community Covenants.

Kris Hopkins: Local authorities share in our national commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, and have signed Community Covenants committing to support the Armed Forces community in their area and promote understanding amongst local people. Local councils and residents will know the needs of their communities and can decide their spending priorities appropriately.

We have introduced a number of measures over the last few years as contribution towards meeting the objectives of the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure that the Armed Forces Community does not face disadvantage, patricularly in housing. This includes:

Funding for local authorities

We have set aside £200,000 in 2014/15 from the annual Disabled Facilities Grant funding for local authorities to fund home adaptations (eg ramps, walk-in showers, stairlifts) to meet the needs of disabled ex-service personnel who wish to live independently in their homes.

We have provided grants (totalling over £1 million) with MOD, to a small number of local authorities in 2011 and 2012 to support the successful integration of retired Gurkha soldiers who wished to settle in the UK.

Improved access to social housing

We have introduced protection to ensure that former and current Service personnel are not disadvantaged in accessing social housing because of the disadvantages of military life. We have made sure that seriously injured personnel and former members of the Armed Forces with urgent housing needs are always given high priority for social housing, and that serving personnel and those who have recently been discharged do not lose their qualification rights because of the requirement to move from base to base.

We have also encouraged local authorities to, in general, give sympathetic consideration to the housing needs of family members of serving or former Service personnel.

Preventing homelessness



We have introduced measures to provide support for specialist accommodation for veterans, and work with councils to prevent homelessness. We have also introduced initiatives such as Streetlink and No Second Night Out which ensure that when veterans end up sleeping rough they are offered care and support from local services.

Access to home ownership

Members of the Armed Forces have been given priority for Government-funded shared ownership schemes and are able to access Help to Buy: equity loan scheme. The priority status can be transferred to bereaved spouses or civil partners. We have also worked with MOD, credit reference agencies, and Royal Mail to standardise Forces' Post Office addresses so personnel are not disadvantaged when applying for mortgages.

Conditions of Employment

Pamela Nash: [227543]

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many staff in his Department and its executive agencies and associated bodies were engaged off-payroll in each of the last five years up to the most recent period for which figures are available.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government publishes monthly workforce management information on the Department, its executive agencies and its associated bodies. This information includes the number and cost of both payroll and non payroll staff. The monthly returns from March 2011 can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/workforce-management

As far as I am aware, there is no suggestion that there are any inappropriate tax avoidance arrangements by our specialist contractors who are off-payroll.

Council Housing: Construction

Dr Matthew Offord: [227692]

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many council homes have been constructed since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: The number of local authority new homes built in England since April 2010 is 6,340.

In England, council house building starts are now at a 23 year high and twice as many council homes have been built in the last 4 years than from 1997 to 2009. Previously, councils were not encouraged to build new homes from sales receipts and only 1 new council home was built for every 170 Right to Buy sales completed under the last Administration.

Since the Right to Buy was reinvigorated in England, £730 million in sales receipts are being re-invested in affordable house building; levering a further £1.7 billion of investment over the next 2 years. This means that in total, over £2.4 billion will be raised to invest in affordable house building as a result of the as a result of Right to Buy.


https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/workforce-management



Housing: Barnet


To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many new residential properties have been constructed in (a) the London Borough of Barnet and (b) Hendon constituency since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Statistics on house building starts and completions in each local authority district, including the London Borough of Barnet, are published in the Department's live tables 253 (annual) and 253a (quarterly), which are available at the following link:

http://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building

These statistics are not available by parliamentary constituency.

The number of new homes built since April 2010 in the London Borough of Barnet is 6,760.

Leasehold: Tower Hamlets

Robert Neill: [225452]

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the appropriateness of leaseholder repair charges levied by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: My Department has recently received a number of letters from leaseholders complaining about how much they are being charged by Tower Hamlets Homes (an arms length management organisation for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets) in relation to major improvements and repair works to their homes. Examples have been given of service charges of around £35,000. Some of the complaints have also asserted that the commissioning of the works is flawed or even corrupt.

I have asked my officials for advice on whether we can make an assessment of the appropriateness of these charges.

In the meantime, we will be forwarding copies of the correspondence from leaseholders to Mazars, who have been appointed to provide an independent verification for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets of the decent homes funding grant claims.

Notwithstanding my Department’s review, I am disappointed with the aggressive and unsympathetic approach of the council, and this is yet another sign of how the actions of the Tower Hamlets administration have harmed the good reputation of local government.

Parking Offences


To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to prevent illegal parking on private property and land.


http://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building




Penny Mordaunt: On 12 March 2015, the Department for Communities and Local Government took on the policy responsibility for off-street parking, both municipal and on private land. We expect to consult shortly on areas where we can intervene to tackle unfair practices.

Planning Permission


To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many neighbourhood forums have been established under the Localism Act 2011.

Stephen Williams: The Department does not hold official statistics on the number of neighbourhood forums established under the Localism Act. However from our informal monitoring we are aware that of the 1,400 communities who have started the process of neighbourhood planning, around 190 are non-parished areas, and will therefore be led by neighbourhood forums.

Rented Housing: North Yorkshire


To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average housing rent was for (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and larger bedroom homes and (d) all homes in the (i) private and (ii) social sector in (A) City of York council area, (B) elsewhere in the York broad rental market and (C) North Yorkshire in 2010 and each year since.

Brandon Lewis: The most recent snapshot of rents in the private rental sector, in each local authority district, are published by the Valuation Office Agency, and are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/private-rental-market-statistics

Statistics on local authority and Private Registered Provider average weekly rents in each local authority district are published in the Department's live table 702 and 704 respectively. These are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-rents-lettings-and-tenancies

Private rents have fallen in real terms across England over this Parliament.

Right to Buy Scheme: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: [224607]

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much from Right to Buy sales has been returned to the Treasury by each London borough in each of the last five years.





Brandon Lewis: Since the reform of the Housing Revenue Account and the introduction of Self-Financing in April 2012, a proportion of receipts are paid to Treasury in order to (a) reflect the reduction in the amount owed by local authorities to Treasury as part of the Self-Financing Settlement and (b) to tackle the budget deficit left by the last Administration.

The attached table shows those parts of the receipts arising from Right to Buy (or equivalent) sales received in each London borough in the previous five financial years and the first three quarters of the current financial year which have been indicated as payable to the Treasury. Since the reinvigoration of Right to Buy in April 2012, the 29 London stock-holding authorities have retained approximately £406 million for the purposes of providing replacement social housing in their local areas.

Overall, Right to Buy increases housing investment and housing construction. Since the Right to Buy was reinvigorated across England, £730 million in sales receipts are being re-invested in affordable house building; levering a further £1.7 billion of investment over the next 2 years. This means that in total, over £2.4 billion will be raised to invest in affordable house building as a result of Right to Buy.

In England, council house building starts are now at a 23 year high and almost twice as many council homes have been built in the last 4 years than from 1997 to 2009. Previously, councils were not encouraged to build new homes from sales receipts and only 1 new council home was built for every 170 Right to Buy sales completed under the last Administration.

Attachments:

1. Right to Buy Sales Table [224607 Khan.xlsx]

Surveys

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: [227148]

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in his Department reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.

Kris Hopkins: In the 2014 People Survey, 25 staff respondents declaring a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability reported that they had personally experienced bullying or harassment at work in the past 12 months. 62 staff respondents declaring that they did not have a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability reported that they had personally experienced bullying or harassment at work in the past 12 months.

Whilst these figures are below the Civil Service average, the Department does not tolerate any form of bullying and harassment. Clear steps have been taken since the days of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister which was accused of a culture of bullying (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Select Committee, January 2006, HC 559).



We have a clear policy that sets out the behaviours that are expected of all staff, and the behaviours that will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary action. The policy also makes clear how staff should address any concerns they may have. Individual members of staff also have access to that policy and to a confidential employee assistance programme operated by an external provider that offers support, advice and counselling.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Employment


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in the (a) acting and (b) singing professions from lower income families in each year since May 2010.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department has not carried out specific research into people from lower income families employed in the acting or singing professions, however, the Qualification Blueprint research commissioned by Creative and Cultural Skills in 2011 goes into some detail on the educational background of people who work in the industries specified:http://blueprintfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/1319716392-Qualifications-Blueprint.pdf

ICT


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which news applications staff in his Department are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.

Mrs Helen Grant: News applications currently available to DCMS users are BBC News, Sky News, The Daily Mail, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Mirror, The Spectator, The Sun, The Telegraph and The Times.

Internet


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to support internet service providers and ensure they remain a facilitator for the online industry.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government's broadband initiatives to expand broadband coverage in rural areas and improve business connectivity in cities provides opportunities for internet service providers to compete and the market to grow.





Internet Service Providers


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations his Department has received from internet service providers on safe harbour provisions.


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations his Department has received from rights holders on safe harbour provisions.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government has not received any representations from internet service providers on the exemption from liabilities ("safe harbour") provisions contained within the eCommerce Directive. Some rights holders have expressed concern that the exemption from liabilities provisions are no longer necessary in their current form. The UK government recently published its vision for the future of the digital economy in the EU, and we will continue to seek the views of all stakeholders in developing our policy in this area.

Mobile Phones: Torridge

Mr Geoffrey Cox: [227770]

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to address poor mobile network coverage in rural communities in Torridge and West Devon.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The agreement announced on 18 December 2014 will improve coverage throughout the UK, and we expect coverage across Devon to improve dramatically. Under the agreement each mobile network operator (MNO) will provide voice and text coverage to at least 90% of the UK landmass by 2017, and we understand that data coverage will improve in many areas. This will lock in £5bn of investment in UK mobile infrastructure, halving partial not-spots and cutting complete not-spots by two-thirds. The MNOs have now made the agreed coverage obligations legally binding, by requesting that Ofcom vary their spectrum licences on a voluntary basis.

Public Lending Right


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people received the maximum amount under the Public Lending Right scheme in the last 12 months.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Sums payable under the Public Lending Right (PLR) Scheme are paid retrospectively in relation to the PLR loans year, which runs from 1 July to 30 June. The most recent payments were made in February 2015 in relation to the 2013-14 loans year, with 190 authors receiving the maximum payment of £6,600.







To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been distributed through the Public Lending Right scheme in the last 12 months.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Sums payable under the Public Lending Right (PLR) Scheme are paid retrospectively in relation to the PLR loans year, which runs from 1 July to 30 June. The most recent payments were made in February 2015 in relation to the 2013-14 loans year, with the total sum of £6,030,256 being paid to rights holders.


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people have been awarded funds through the Public Lending Right scheme in the last 12 months.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Sums payable under the Public Lending Right (PLR) Scheme are paid retrospectively in relation to the PLR loans year, which runs from 1 July to 30 June. The most recent payments were made in February 2015 in relation to the 2013-14 loans year, with 22,051 people receiving payment. Such recipients included both authors and assignees, in the latter case usually following the death of a registered author.


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the changes to (a) EU and (b) UK copyright law that would be necessary to enable the Public Lending Right to include remote e-loans.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Any extension of the PLR scheme to include remotely downloaded e-books would be incompatible with the Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC). In order for such an extension to be possible, it would first be necessary for an exception to be made to the Communication to the Public Right, as set out in the Directive, and which would be applicable to remote e-lending. Such an extension would subsequently require an amendment to primary legislation. Government continues to monitor discussions on the Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC).

Public Libraries: ICT


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of ensuring that every local authority library in England and Wales can install wifi and provide computer facilities.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The DCMS has not made any assessment of the total financial cost of ensuring that every local authority library in England and Wales can install WiFi and provide computer facilities.






On 18 March we announced, as part of the Budget 2015, that £7.4m is being made available to help all public libraries in England to install and upgrade WiFi. This was a key recommendation from the Independent Library Report for England.

Staff


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of employees in his Department identify as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity.

Mrs Helen Grant: The breakdown of ethnicity within DCMS is:

White: 43%

Black: 3%

Asian: 4%

Not Declared: 48%

Other: 2%

This data is from the HR system, Oracle, and is based on employees self-declaration.

Wind Power: South West

Mr Christopher Chope: [228329]

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his Answer of 17 March 2015 to Question 227432, if he will place in the Library a copy of his letter to the Planning Inspectorate of February 2015.

Mr Edward Vaizey: My Right Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will place a copy of his letter to the Planning Inspectorate of February 2015 in the Library.

Writers: Income


To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the consequences for the Public Lending Right scheme of the conclusion of the report What are words worth now? A survey of authors' earnings, published by the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society, in July 2014, that there has been a 28 per cent reduction in the last decade in the number of professional authors who earned income from writing.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department has considered the findings of the report with interest. The Department continues to work closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to support authors through the different stages of their careers. ACE funding enables a diverse range of individuals to develop as writers, including those less able to access mainstream opportunities, and supports a broad range of free, concessionary and targeted opportunities for writers,





including Arvon’s bursaries, Writing West Midlands ‘Room 204’, Ideas Tap ‘Inspires’, and the Creative Future Literary Awards (promoting marginalised and disabled writers).

ACE also fund individual writers through the Artists' International Development programme, a £750,000 fund which offers early stage development opportunities for individual artists to build links in another country. Around 7 per cent of applications funded to date were from literature individuals. In addition, through ACE’s National Portfolio over 2015-18, print and e-publishing will be supported with a total investment of £1,565,370 to support writers to create new work.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Mr Kevan Jones: [228296]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were recruited to the regular army, navy and air force between 1 January 2015 and 15 March 2015; and what the targets were for such recruitment in each such category.

Mr Julian Brazier: The number of people who joined the UK Regular Forces in the period 1 January - 31 January 2015 (the latest available date) is set out below.

NAVY 310

Army 820

RAF 200

Note: figures show intake to UK Regular Forces, both trained and untrained, which comprises new entrants, re-entrants, direct trained entrants (including professionally qualified Officers) and intake from the reserves. They exclude all movements within the Regular Forces; including flows from untrained to trained strength, transfers between Services and flows from Ranks to Officer due to promotion.

Recruitment targets for each of the Services are calculated on an annual rather than monthly basis and are therefore not included here.

Armed Forces: Young People

Alex Cunningham: [227583]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 223160, how the armed forces communicate the requirements of recruiters in respect of briefing candidates and their parents on the terms and conditions of military service.





To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 223160, by what mechanism the armed forces provide a full explanation of the terms and conditions of military service to army candidates and their parents.

Mr Julian Brazier: As stated in question 223160, it is Ministry of Defence policy that all three Services must obtain the written consent of a parent or guardian for candidates under the age of 18 before an application to join the Armed Forces can be processed.

Each of the single Services has their own recruitment and selection policy document which sets out the responsibility of the recruiters, including the specific duty of care which should be provided to candidates who are under 18 years of age.

In respect of the Royal Navy, this document is the BR3 (part 4 - Recruiting), for the Army it is the Recruiting Orders Group Instructions and for the RAF it is Air Publication 3391 - The Royal Air Force Manual of Recruiting and Selection. Each of these documents is available to recruiting personnel on the Ministry of Defence Intranet or their specific training sites.

In addition to these recruitment policy documents, training for recruiters is undertaken by the respective Service training staff; this also provides specific guidance on the recruitment of candidates under the age of 18.

Through the recruiting and training pipelines, regulations and safeguards are in place to protect candidates under age 18.

In the Army, significant effort is made to ensure that all candidates (pre-enlistment), recruits (post-enlistment) and parents/guardians understand them. Recruiting staff inform candidates and their parents/guardians of the relevant policies and regulations applied throughout the recruiting process.

Parental/guardian consent is also required during the application process for any candidate under age 18; if successful through the recruiting process, parental/guardian consent is also required to process the formal notice that a candidate has been offered a job, which includes an outline of the 'Discharge As Of Right' process and subsequent Terms of Service.

Army Reserve

Derek Twigg: [228492]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the progress on recruitment of Army reservists against his Department's target of 30,000 by 2019.

Mr Julian Brazier: Statistics showing enlistment into the Reserves are published by Defence Statistics in the Quarterly Personnel Report. The latest such report was published in February 2015.




https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-quarterly-personnel-report-2015

For ease of reference I am attaching the relevant page from this report.

The trained strength of the Army Reserve has risen by 560 in the past 12 months to 20,480, this is above our target for the year end of 19, 900.

I am confident that the plans of the Chief of the General Staff will be achieved.

Attachments:

1. Table 9a.xls [Table 9a(1).xls HOC 228492.xls]

Health Services: Reserve Forces


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many NHS staff have joined the reserves in each service in each year since 2010.

Mr Julian Brazier: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Legal Costs

Vernon Coaker: [228426]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies spent on legal fees in each year since 2010; and if he will publish a detailed breakdown of that expenditure.

Anna Soubry: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Military Aid

Ian Lucas: [228365]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish a list of equipment gifted by his Department in each year since 2010.

Michael Fallon: The Ministry of Defence leads on the gifting of strategically controlled equipment overseas.

All proposals to gift are assessed and approved under the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. Agreed proposals are published annually in the Strategic Export Controls Annual Report to Parliament and in the public domain. Links to reports for 2010 to 2013 are below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-export-controls-annual-report-2013





https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-export-controls-annual-report-2012

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-strategic-export-controls-annual-report-2011

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-strategic-export-controls-annual-report-2010

For 2014 onwards, the following list of gifted equipment that is not yet published in an annual report has been assessed and approved under the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria by HMG.

COUNTRY END USER(S) GOODS DESCRIPTION GOODS VALUE

2014

AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan National Directorate of Security

Radio Equipment, Handheld Transceivers and Accessories

£3,175,705.00

AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan National Security Forces

CampStores, Communications and Information Technology Infrastructure, Medical Equipment

£3,812,753.52

ANGUILLA Royal Anguilla Police Force

Protective Clothing £69,878.46

ANGUILLA Royal Anguilla Police Force

Protective Clothing £88,132.08

BELGIUM NATO Communications And Information Agency

Card Encrypting Module, Carts Switch, Circuit Breakers,

£579,169.56

BELIZE Belize Defence Force Small Arms Ammunition and Pyrotechnics

£16,458.00

IRAQ Government of Iraq Vallon Metal Detectors £2,200,000.00

IRAQ Ministry of Peshmerga, Iraq

Heavy Machine Guns Spares, Mortars, Binoculars, Body Armour, Protective Equipment

£2,600,000



JORDAN Jordanian Armed Forces Armoured Utility Vehicles

£386,375.00

LEBANON Lebanese Armed Forces Vehicles and Associated Terrain Equipment, Personal Protective Equipment, including Body Armour, Helmets, Gloves, Belts, First Aid Kits, Camouflage Clothing and Protective Glasses

£3,596,844.00

LEBANON Lebanese Armed Forces Radio Masts, Antennas, and Antenna Mounting Brackets for Vehicles

£531,824.00

LIBYA Tripoli Police, Libya Ultra Lightweight Tactical Body Armour

£127,560.00

OMAN Royal Army of Oman Armour Piercing bullets £22,000.00

PAKISTAN Pakistan, Ministry of Defence

Forensic Camera and Field Equipment, Weapon Mounts, Search Team Kit, Utility Vehicle

£445,000.00

PAKISTAN Pakistan Ministry of Defence and Civil Defence

Firing Cable, Batteries, Medical Bergen Backpack, Binoculars, Hand Torch, Combat Body Armour compatible with Med tactical suits

£3,095,000.00

PAKISTAN Pakistan Ministry of Defence

Counter IED equipment, Vallon Metal Detectors

£3,000,000.00

SOMALIA Rapid Response Team (RRT) of the Somali Police

Sights, Assault Rifles with Sling, Gun Magazines and Cleaning Kit, Ammunition

£46,500.00



TAJIKISTAN Tajikistan Ministry of Defence

Land Rover vehicles £42,000.00

TAJIKISTAN Tajikistan Ministry of Defence

4-Tonne Utility Trucks, 4 wheel drive.

£118,000.00

TUNISIA Ministry of the Interior, Tunisia

Explosive Trace Detection Machines

£89,000.00

UKRAINE Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Ukraine

Comms and radio kit, Armoured utility vehicles and associated Spares kits

£1,188,448.00

UKRAINE Ukraine Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence

Body Armour and Helmets

£408,000.00

UKRAINE Ukraine Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence

Ballistic Helmets, Body Armour.

£75,222.00

2015

Nigeria United Nations Office for the Coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs

Toyota Landcruiser Armoured Vehicles.

£357,600.34

Lebanon The Lebanese Armed Forces

Protected Border Observation Posts and 2 Mobile Observation Platforms, Radio Equipment

£3,056,974.90

Ukraine Ukrainian Ministry of Defence

First Aid Kits, Global Positioning Systems, Night Vision Goggles, Laptops, Mk6 Helmets.

£811,600

Jordan Jordanian Public Security Directorate

Guardian Jump Kit, Seek Avenger Fingerprint Scanner

£220,000

Jordan Jordanian Armed Forces Night Vision Goggles £145,000


Additionally, the Disposal Services Authority occasionally gifts equipment that would otherwise be scrapped to museums or other such bodies where the scrap value is nominal or for the preservation of historical equipment.

Ian Lucas: [228366]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the transportation costs were for equipment gifted by his Department in each year since 2010; and what equipment that has been gifted by his Department remains outstanding for delivery.

Michael Fallon: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Procurement


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what technologies are being developed with support from his Department's Small Business Research Initiative programme; and what assessment he has made of the future potential uses of those technologies.

Mr Philip Dunne: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) uses the Small Business Research Initiative, in conjunction with its own methods, to access innovation from a broad technology supply base. Most of the MOD's Small Business Research Initiative efforts have been with the MOD's Centre of Defence Enterprise as part of the continuing investigation of a full range of technologies relevant to defence.

Since 2008, the Centre of Defence Enterprise has funded over 900 projects covering diverse technologies from cyber to clothing. Over 70% of these have been in conjunction with the Small Business Research Initiative. A full list of all contracts from the Centre of Defence Enterprise since April 2012 is at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cde-funded-contracts

Technologies explored through this route are assessed and evaluated by the MOD's Science and Technology Programme or through development of specific equipment projects.

Research


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what amount his Department and its agencies spent on research and development in each year since 2010-11; and what proportion such spending was of total departmental spending.

Mr Philip Dunne: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes annual outturn figures for research and development expenditure. The most recent publication, which includes expenditure figures to 2012 (financial year (FY) 2012-13) was published on 11 July 2014. Specific figures for the Ministry of Defence (MOD), at





current prices, are available in Table 3 in the document at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/rdit1/science--engineering-and-technology-statistics/2012/stb-set-2012.html#tab-Key-Points

Since (FY) 2010-11, the Department’s expenditure on research and development (R&D), at current prices, and as a proportion of total Departmental spend is as follows:

Expenditure (net) by financial year at Current prices

FINANCIAL YEAR TOTAL MOD RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT (£ MILLION) R&D AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL

DEPARTMENTAL SPEND

2010-11 1,693 5.0%

2011-12 1,306 3.9%

2012-13 1,460 4.6%

2013-14 1,516 4.6%

Reserve Forces


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many companies received financial payments when reserve employees were called up for duty in each year since 2013; and what the total amount was of such payments.

Mr Julian Brazier: Since the start of Financial Year 2013-14, the following amounts have been paid to companies by the three Services when their Reservist employees were called up for duty.

FY 2013-14 FY 2014-15

Amount Companies Amount Companies

Maritime Reserve £19,284.00 9 £1,394.25 8

Army Reserve £296,599.60 48 £509,124.32 29

Royal Aux Air Force

£35,517.75 7 £70,780.70 19

Territorial Waters


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to minimise the risk of a breach of UK territorial waters.





To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what incursions into UK territorial waters by foreign vessels there have been since January 2011.

Andrew Rosindell: [225944]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many incursions into sovereign UK waters took place in the last 12 months; and what the nature of those incursions was.

Mr Mark Francois: [Holding answer 9 March 2015]: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is just one organisation with a role in the security of the United Kingdom's (UK) territorial waters. To reflect this cross-Government responsibility, under the UK National Strategy for Maritime Security, a Ministerial working group, chaired by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has been established to focus on maritime security in its entirety.

Through the coordination of intelligence and information the National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC) provides the UK with a comprehensive picture of potential threats to UK maritime security and unified situational awareness of maritime activity in UK and international waters.

The MOD contributes to HMG's efforts by providing multi-layered capability to deter incursions into territorial waters. This is delivered through a combination of surface ships, submarines and aircraft, alongside close co-ordination and co-operation with other Government Agencies and our allies.

I am not prepared to disclose further details as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Veterans: Training

Ian Lucas: [228363]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have found (a) full-time, (b) part-time and (c) casual employment within six months of leaving service with the help of the Career Transition Partnership in each region and constituent part of the UK since that partnership was established.

Ian Lucas: [228364]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have received assistance from the Career Transition Partnership's (a) employment support and (b) full support programme in each region and constituent part of the UK since that partnership was established.

Anna Soubry: The information is not held in the format requested. However, the table below shows the number of ex-Service personnel judged to have used the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) services and found employment within six months of leaving service in Financial Years 2011-12 and 2012-13.






RESETTLEMENT

CENTRE 2011-12 2012-13

Employed Employed

Number % Number %

All 1,719 85% 2,048 83%

Northern Ireland 42 91% 43 75%

Aldershot 155 81% 217 79%

Catterick 198 86% 263 85%

Cottesmore 251 83% 297 82%

Germany 97 88% 118 83%

Plymouth 162 85% 200 85%

Portsmouth 167 84% 165 80%

Rosyth 142 86% 165 89%

Tidworth 327 88% 369 83%

Uxbridge 143 81% 183 80%

London (Senior Officers)

35 78% 28 82%

Notes

1. Ex-Service personnel are classified as employed if they are in paid employment within six months of leaving the Armed Forces (full-time permanent role; part-time out of choice; contract job for at least six months).

2. Information on employment outcome is based on a 20% sample of ex-Service personnel who have used the Career Transition Partnership service.

The information on the number of Service personnel who have used the Career Transition Partnership service is not held by each region and constituent part of the UK. However, the attached tables provide the number of Service personnel who have received the Employment Support Programme and the Full Support Programme by resettlement centre from calendar year 2005 to 2014.

Attachments:

1. MOD - Employment/Full Support Programme [228363 - Employment Support Programme.doc]


DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Constituencies

Mr Andrew Robathan: [908263]

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the extent of inequalities in the distribution of the electorate between constituencies; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: There is at present a significant difference between the size of many Parliamentary constituencies. The Government has taken action to address this through the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies (PVSC) Act 2011 which provides for more equal sized constituencies, and for the number of constituencies to be reduced from 650 to 600. The first review of Parliamentary constituency boundaries under the PVSC Act must report before 1st October 2018.

Devolution: Rural Areas

Jason McCartney: [908259]

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans he has to devolve further powers to rural areas.

Greg Clark: Devolution to local areas is important to this Government and we have a proud record - the Localism Act, the creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships, the Local Government Finance Act, and the devolution of at least £12bn through Growth Deals which provide all areas the country to build on their economic potential.

The Chancellor also announced further devolution to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which will benefit both rural and urban areas in West Yorkshire including Colne Valley.

Disadvantaged

Kerry McCarthy: [908261]

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what recent reports he has received on levels of inequality in the UK.

Mr Nick Clegg: There have been a number of recent reports on inequality and social mobility in the UK, including the Office for National Statistics’ report on Poverty and Employment Transitions on March 10th; and Oxford University’s report on disadvantaged students on March 17th.

These and other reports underline the importance of the Government’s efforts to improve social mobility, and why we have prioritised the £2.5 billion pupil premium, early years education for the disadvantaged and created the Social Mobility & Child Poverty Commission to hold the Government to account.





Politics and Government

Paul Flynn: [908260]

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, which of the political and constitutional reform proposals in the Coalition Agreement remain unimplemented.

Mr Nick Clegg: This Government has implemented a number of political and constitutional reform proposals. We have established fixed parliamentary terms, successfully implemented individual electoral registration, legislated on MP recall and introduced reforms to lobbying. Changes in the law on succession to the Crown will be commenced across all Realms later this week, and the Bill to fast-track Women Bishops into the House of Lords is expected to receive Royal Assent.

We have also rolled back some of the previous Government’s infringements on civil liberties, including getting rid of ID cards and ending detention without trial.

Sir Alan Beith: [908266]

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the mechanisms for co-ordination of policy in the coalition.

Mr Nick Clegg: This Coalition Government has been very successful in developing policy and managing the business of Government. In a Coalition, policy needs to be agreed across both parties, so decisions are taken collectively through Cabinet and its Committees. This coordinated approach compares well to the more informal mechanisms used in previous governments.

Regional Planning and Development

Mr David Ward: [908258]

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress he has made on implementing local growth deals.

Greg Clark: Local Enterprise Partnerships have made good progress in implementing their Growth Deals, supported by Government.

The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership has a large portfolio of projects ready to start in 2015.

Government has allocated £627million to the Leeds City Region Growth Deal, this will leverage £640m of other funding. Over the lifetime of the Deal the Local Enterprise Partnership estimates that up to 10,000 jobs could be created and 2,000 new homes built.

Government has also agreed longer term funding for the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund. This could deliver 30 transport schemes worth over £1billion.





The Chancellor announced the Devolution Deal with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in last week’s Budget. This will give West Yorkshire new powers over skills, business support and transport.

Regional Planning and Development: Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski: [908262]

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of Shropshire's Growth Deal.

Greg Clark: So far, £7bn has been awarded to Local Enterprise Partnerships through Growth Deals. £83m has been awarded to the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership which includes £11.6m for projects in Shropshire, including £5m for super-fast broadband, £4.2m for the construction of the Oxon Link Road near Shrewsbury, and £2.4m for the Shrewsbury Integrated Transport Package which will upgrade six major junctions to ease congestion in and around the town.

In the recent Marches Growth Deal Expansion the Government also committed to support the development of a new university college at Shrewsbury, an initiative being supported by a £17m loan from the Public Works Loan Board.

Voting Methods

Nic Dakin: [908265]

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the Government's policy is on online voting.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government is open to all ideas to improve our democratic system. However, online voting has been piloted in various countries, including the UK, and concerns have been raised concerning integrity, security and cost. Therefore, whilst online voting may be something for the Government to consider in the future, it has not been a priority in the Government’s programme.

EDUCATION

Children in Care

Steve McCabe: [228387]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2015 to Question 221701, how many teenage mothers became pregnant while in residential care in each year since 2010.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not hold the information requested.

Information on the number of children looked after who are aged 12 years and over, and who are mothers, is published in Table A5 of the statistical first release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption’:





https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2015 to Question 221702, whether local authorities have a statutory obligation to notify her Department when a child in their care becomes pregnant.

Mr Edward Timpson: Local authorities do not have any statutory obligation to notify the Department for Education when a child in the care of a local authority becomes pregnant.

Drugs: Young People


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222185, how many times a court has overruled a young person's decision to refuse treatment for substance abuse.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not collect this information.

Free School Meals

Richard Burden: [228428]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2015 to Question 227136, for what reasons the names of schools which applied for but were not allocated funding will not be published until July 2015.

Mr David Laws: To publish now the names of schools which applied for but were not allocated funding would be unfair to the local authorities and schools which are affected by the announcement. Those organisations will be considering the next steps for resolving their situations; these might involve finding alternative capital funding sources or non-capital solutions. Publishing the details now could lead to unwelcome pressure from potential suppliers whilst they are considering their options. It is reasonable to assume that all authorities and schools will have decided on the approach they will be taking forward by July.

GCE A-level

Nic Dakin: [228127]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2015 to Question 226295, what assessment her Department has made of the appropriateness of decisions taken by individual awarding organisations on the future of particular A levels; and what guidance she provided to those organisations on that issue.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2






Mr Nick Gibb: In June 2014 Ofqual consulted on a set of proposals about how GCSE and A level subject availability should be determined from September 2017. The consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/377804/2014-06-24-completing-gcse-as-and-a-level-reform.pdf

Ofqual’s consultation set out the proposed process for reform and principles it would use to determine if a subject is likely to lead to the development of the GCSE, AS and A level qualifications. Ofqual’s consultation states that exam boards are likely to take the opportunity to review their range of subjects.

Ofqual will announce in due course which A levels can be reformed for introduction in 2017.

ICT


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which news applications staff in her Department are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.

Mr Nick Gibb: Mobile devices available to staff in the Department for Education do not permit the downloading of non-standard applications. No ‘news’ applications are available on mobile devices issued to staff.

Staff can access ‘news’ websites via the internet and are bound by the Department’s ‘Acceptable Use of Information Technology’ policy. There are no current plans to change this policy to allow application downloads.

Languages: Education


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students studied A-level Polish between 2003 and 2013.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils studied GCSE Polish in 2013-14.

Mr Nick Gibb: The number of examination entries for students studying A-level Polish was first published in the 2012/13 A-level statistical first release[1] with 623 students entered for an examination in A-level Polish. In 2013/14[2], 700 students were entered for an A-level examination in Polish.

In 2013/14, the number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 attempting GCSE Polish was 3,321. This information is published in the GCSE statistical first release[3].





[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-england-2012-to-2013-revised (Table 2)

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-2013-to-2014-revised (Table 2)

[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2013-to-2014 (Table 7)

Mathematics: GCSE

Joan Walley: [228183]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by what date she plans for schools to be sent sample assessment materials for the new GCSE mathematics examination; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Primary Education: Free School Meals

Nick de Bois: [228392]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2015 to Question 226581, what support her Department provides to primary schools to ensure that the free school meals offered by those schools are healthy.

Mr David Laws: The new School Food Standards came into force in January 2015 ensuring schools provide heathy meals throughout the week. The Department for Education provides guidance on the standards[1] and funds the implementation support service, including a menu checker service helping schools to provide hot, healthy menu choices for all their pupils. The School Food Plan website also provides a range of support and advice on providing healthy food in schools.[2]

[1] www.gov.uk/school-meals-healthy-eating-standards

[2] http://whatworkswell.schoolfoodplan.com/

Staff


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of employees in her Department identify as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-england-2012-to-2013-revised

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-england-2012-to-2013-revised

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-2013-to-2014-revised

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-2013-to-2014-revised

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2013-to-2014

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2013-to-2014



http://www.gov.uk/school-meals-healthy-eating-standards

http://whatworkswell.schoolfoodplan.com/



Mr Nick Gibb: The number and proportion of employees in the Department for Education who have declared their ethnicity as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity is detailed below.

HEADCOUNT % OF DECLARED

White Asian Black Mixed ethnicity Other ethnicity Not declared

2110 220 110 60 40 950

83% 9% 4% 2% 2% -

Source: Department for Education RM data as at February 2015

Teachers: Stress


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to teaching professionals affected by work-related stress.

Mr David Laws: Supporting the teaching profession and reducing unnecessary workload which can lead to stress is an absolute priority for the Department for Education. Our response to the Workload Challenge[1] set out a comprehensive programme of action to be taken at every level in the school system, and the department will continue to do everything it can to relieve unnecessary burdens on teaching professionals.

School employers are responsible for the health of their workforce. It is vital that they have systems in place that identify and tackle the cause of stress in their staff and provide appropriate support for them. Headteachers also have a duty to promote the safety and wellbeing of staff and to lead and manage staff with a proper regard for their wellbeing. This includes the expectation of a healthy balance between work and other commitments outside the school.

[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/workload-challenge-for-schools-government-response


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of teachers who have taken leave from work because of stress in each year since May 2010.

Mr David Laws: The information requested is not collected centrally.


http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workload-challenge-for-schools-government-response

http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workload-challenge-for-schools-government-response



Teachers: Training

Sir Peter Luff: [227888]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to enable teachers of STEM subjects in secondary schools to participate in continuing professional development to maintain their awareness of the career opportunities relevant to their subjects.

Mr David Laws: It is for school leaders to determine with their teachers what forms of professional development would be most effective in particular circumstances and to fund this from their delegated budgets. However, the government is continuing to improve the capacity of schools to take the lead in training and developing teachers, including teachers of STEM subjects in secondary schools. This includes supporting schools to lead on the creation of high-quality training opportunities for teachers through the national network of teaching schools. The department is providing funding of £7.2 million from April 2014 to support the National Science Learning Network which delivers high-quality science professional development locally through partnerships.

On 11 March 2015 the Prime Minister announced new measures to recruit more maths and physics teachers. This includes making £24 million available to train and upskill 15,000 existing non-specialist mathematics and physics teachers over the next 5 years. This will enable every secondary school in England to up-skill at least 1 of their staff in these subjects each year. The successful Maths and Physics Chairs programme is being expanded to recruit 100 experts with PhDs to teach and support the subject knowledge development of 2,000 physics and maths teachers in the school partnerships where they work. They are especially targeted in disadvantaged areas.

It has also been announced that the government is supporting the establishment of a new, independent professional body – the College of Teaching. This new organisation, which is being set up by teachers for teachers, will play an important part in promoting high professional standards and effective development for its members.

Sir Peter Luff: [227889]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to enable teachers in primary schools to participate in subject-specific continuing professional development to maintain their understanding of basic mathematical and specific concepts.

Mr David Laws: It is the responsibility of individual primary schools to ensure that teachers get appropriate continuing professional development in all relevant subjects, including mathematics. The Department for Education is committed to improving the mathematical ability of primary teachers and we have put in place a number of measures to support schools; in particular with implementing the new mathematics curriculum.

The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) is responsible for coordinating and quality assuring teacher professional development across all phases and works actively to support the underpinning mathematical




knowledge of primary teachers. The NCETM will receive just under £2 million in funding between March 2015 and March 2016.

The department has established a network of 34 new Maths Hubs across England, backed by £11 million of funding. This initiative will enable every primary school in England to access locally tailored, quality support as well as leading on national projects to implement the Asian-style mastery approach to mathematics, which has achieved world-leading levels of success. Central to this is the China-England Mathematics Teacher Exchange Programme, which has so far seen 59 primary mathematics teachers from Shanghai spend three weeks working in primary schools alongside their English colleagues, planning lessons, and leading master classes and training sessions with other schools to allow local teachers to benefit directly from their expertise. The hubs are also leading a project to trial the use of Singapore-style textbooks at the core of a mastery teaching approach in selected primary schools.

For the first time in 2014-15, post-initial teacher training subject knowledge enhancement is available to primary teachers for mathematics. This is part of a school-led test and learn project with 45 Teaching School Alliances designing and delivering this training across the country to meet local need.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change

Mr Nicholas Brown: [228601]

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the Government's objectives are for the December 2015 UN Climate Change Conference.

Amber Rudd: The UK’s objectives for the 21st meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are to secure an ambitious and legally binding agreement that includes mitigation commitments from all countries to help reduce emissions globally, consistent with a path towards the 2°C goal. The UK also wants the Agreement to recognise the importance of, and encourage, support to those who need it, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable, to take climate action and develop climate resilience.

Electricity Generation

Mr Peter Lilley: [227752]

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will make a comparative assessment of the total systems cost of meeting the 2020 target for emissions reduction from electricity generation using (a) conventional fuels and (b) non-conventional fuels.

Amber Rudd: [Holding answer 20 March 2015]: The UK does not have a 2020 target for emissions reduction from electricity generation.




Energy

Mr Philip Hollobone: [227669]

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the domestic retail electricity and gas market was captured by the six largest energy firms in (a) 2000, (b) 2010 and (c) the latest date for which data is available.

Matthew Hancock: The Department does not hold the information requested.

Energy: Conservation


To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the (a) scope and (b) findings were of research commissioned by his Department into unintended consequences of energy efficiency refurbishments; and if he will make a statement.

Amber Rudd: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: In March 2013, research into Solid Wall Insulation was commissioned, including understanding the unintended consequences of its installation. A guidance document is planned that will set out how Solid Wall Insulation should be assessed and monitored. The document is due to be published in Summer 2016 when the research concludes.

Fuel Poverty


To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many households in fuel poverty in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland used prepayment meters to pay for (i) gas and (ii) electricity in each year since May 2010; and what the average monthly bill of such households was.

Amber Rudd: For the first part of this question, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 12th March to Question 226662:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-03-09/226662/

DECC do not have data on average actual bills for the fuel poor, or any particular cut of them, as fuel poverty estimates are produced on a notional basis (what the bill would be for a household if they used sufficient energy to meet the heating requirement for the home they live in). A large volume of data on fuel poverty is available on the DECC web site at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics.






https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics


Housing: Energy

Mr Gregory Campbell: [227865]

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the change in levels of fuel usage in the last 10 years due to greater household energy efficiency.

Amber Rudd: [Holding answer 20 March 2015]: Table 3.03 of the Energy Consumption in the UK publication, shows between 2003 and 2013, gas used by the domestic sector declined by 10.9 per cent whilst electricity declined by 7.8 per cent. These reductions include a range of .

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-consumption-in-the-uk

The National Energy Efficiency framework, published in June 2014 shows the savings experience in gas consumption for properties having cavity wall insulation and loft insulation installed in 2011.The full report can be accessed through this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323939/National_Energy_Efficiency_Data-Framework_2014.pdf.

Savings have been estimated by comparing the gas consumption in properties before and after an energy efficiency measure has been installed with the change in consumption over the same period for similar properties which have not had a measure installed.

Further details on the methodology used to estimate the savings can be found through this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/domestic-national-energy-efficiency-data-framework-need-methodology.

Longannet Power Station


To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the oral Answer of 19 March 2015 from the Minister of State for Energy, when he plans to publish the advice he has received on the effect on security of supply of the potential closure of Longannet.

Matthew Hancock: National Grid expects the market to provide enough generation to meet demand and maintain system stability in Scotland – even if one or more major fossil fuelled plant closes. The system operator and transmission owners in Scotland (National Grid, Scottish Power Transmission and Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission) have stress tested scenarios in which Longannet and other Scottish fossil fuelled generators closed. National Grid has the tools to secure supplies under even the toughest system conditions, and the network is resilient against 1 in 600 year risks.

National Grid has published the advice that it provided to the Secretary of State and the Scottish government on this issue on their website this week. This information contains


https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-consumption-in-the-uk

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323939/National_Energy_Efficiency_Data-Framework_2014.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323939/National_Energy_Efficiency_Data-Framework_2014.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/domestic-national-energy-efficiency-data-framework-need-methodology

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/domestic-national-energy-efficiency-data-framework-need-methodology



a description of the scenarios that have been tested, ‘A day in the life’ which shows that Scottish demand was secure on a low wind, high demand day, even if two large fossil fuelled power stations had not been available and an open letter providing reassurance on the status of electricity supply in Scotland:

http://www2.nationalgrid.com/UK/Services/Balancing-services/System-security/Transmission-Constraint-Management/Transmission-Constraint-Management-Information/.

Microgeneration: York


To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many homes in (a) York Central constituency and (b) City of York local authority area were microgeneration energy producers using solar or wind power in 2010 and in each subsequent year.

Amber Rudd: The number of domestic solar PV and wind turbines installations confirmed on the Central Feed-in Tariff Register in each year since 2010, in York Central parliamentary constituency and in York Unitary Authority was as follows:

YORK CENTRAL PARLIAMENTARY

CONSTITUENCY YORK UNITARY AUTHORITY

Solar PV Wind turbines Solar PV Wind turbines

2010 19 0 58 0

2011 160 0 570 1

2012 675 0 1,493 2

2013 863 0 1,945 2

2014 956 0 2,225 2

The number of microgeneration installations confirmed on the CFR as of the latest quarter are published at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics.

Pay


To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average hourly pay is of employees at each grade within his Department identified as (a) White or White British and (b) from a Black, Asian or other minority ethnic group.

http://www2.nationalgrid.com/UK/Services/Balancing-services/System-security/Transmission-Constraint-Management/Transmission-Constraint-Management-Information/




https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics



Amber Rudd: Civil servants, in the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), are based either in London or Scotland and its annual salary ranges are calculated on that basis. The number of hours worked by civil servants in each location varies as new civil service conditions of service are introduced. Therefore an hourly pay rate is not possible to calculate without incurring disproportionate costs. The annual salary rates for each pay grade in London and Scotland, by ethnic group, is shown in the tables below.

Ethnicity - White

GRADE LONDON SCOTLAND

AO 25,224 19,028

EO 26,465 22,393

HEO 31,621 31,066

FAST STREAM 28,640 -

SEO 37,448 35,806

G7 49,338 49,821

G6 59,777 *

SCS PB1 70,377 *

SCS PB2 95,873 -

SCS PB3 * -

PERM SEC 165,000-170,000 -

Ethnicity – Black, Asian or other minority

GRADE LONDON

AO 23,470

EO 27,971

HEO 31,341

FAST STREAM *

SEO 38,818

G7 47,552

G6 59,772


GRADE LONDON

SCS PB1 *

SCS PB2 -

SCS PB3 -

PERM SEC -

The average annual salaries of (a) Faststreamers and SCS PB1 based in London who have identified their ethnicity as Black, Asian or other minority ethnic group, (b) SCS PB3 based in London who have identified their ethnicity as White or White British and (c) Grade 6 and SCS PB1 based in Scotland who have identified their ethnicity as White or White British, have not been disclosed as the numbers in each grouping is less than 5 and could lead to the identification of individuals (see *).

The annual salary of the Permanent Secretary is shown as a salary band as disclosed in the Annual Resource Account.

A total of 1,133 civil servants working in the department have identified their ethnic status. A further 432 have not identified an ethnicity status. The average salaries shown above are based solely on those who have identified their ethnic group.

Schools: Solar Power


To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on installing solar technology in schools.

Amber Rudd: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with the Secretary of State for Education on a variety of topics.

Tidal Power


To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate has Department has made of the UK's tidal energy resource.

Amber Rudd: We have made a number of studies of UK tidal potential. The 2010’s Severn Tidal Power feasibility study [1] assessed the potential for 5 generic projects.

The 2012’s Crown Estate UK Wave and Tidal Key Resource Areas [2] study assessed the UK’s theoretical resource for tidal stream, barrage and lagoon resource at 95 TWh/year (32 GW), 96 TWh/year (45 GW) and 25 TWh/year (14 GW) respectively.

The Technology Innovation Needs Assessment [3] (TINA) published in 2012 estimated that tidal stream energy could practically deliver 20-30 TWh/year around 2050.




[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/1-severn-tidal-power-feasibility-study-conclusions-and-summary-report

2]http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/5476/uk-wave-and-tidal-key-resource-areas-project.pdf

[3]http://www.lowcarboninnovation.co.uk/working_together/technology_focus_areas/marine/.


To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of what proportion of Europe's tidal energy production is represented by the UK's tidal energy resource production.

Amber Rudd: Since tidal stream technology is still at an early phase of development, devices have only been deployed for testing, and often for limited periods. Examples are, the SeaGen and Minesto turbines in Strangford Lough, N Ireland, the Deltastream device due to be deployed in Wales and the turbines undergoing testing at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. However, this represents almost all the tidal stream energy in Europe.

Only one tidal range generator is operating in the EU, the 240MW La Rance tidal barrage in France.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if it is her policy to begin the badger cull scheduled for 2015 in June; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: No decision has yet been taken on the start dates for culling in 2015. The current four year licences for the two existing cull areas allow culling of badgers from 1 June onwards. It is for the cull companies to decide when they wish to start. Natural England, as the licensing authority, will consider proposed start dates and, providing they are satisfied that all the necessary conditions have been met, will issue an authorisation that allows cull companies to proceed for a 6 week period.

Pay


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average hourly pay is of employees at each grade within her Department identified as (a) White or White British and (b) from a Black, Asian or other minority ethnic group.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/1-severn-tidal-power-feasibility-study-conclusions-and-summary-report

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/1-severn-tidal-power-feasibility-study-conclusions-and-summary-report

http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/5476/uk-wave-and-tidal-key-resource-areas-project.pdf

http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/5476/uk-wave-and-tidal-key-resource-areas-project.pdf

http://www.lowcarboninnovation.co.uk/working_together/technology_focus_areas/marine/

http://www.lowcarboninnovation.co.uk/working_together/technology_focus_areas/marine/





Dan Rogerson: The table below shows the average hourly rate of pay for employees who have declared their ethnicity in core-Defra at each grade identified as (a) white and (b) from a black, Asian, or other minority ethnic group (BAME).

GRADE (A) WHITE (B) BAME

AA - -

AO £11.79 £12.29

EO £13.93 £15.15

HEO £16.90 £17.56

Faststream £15.30 £15.52

SEO £20.48 £20.99

Grade 7 £27.58 £28.14

Grade6 £33.34 -

SCS £41.36 -

Data has not been provided where there are fewer than 5 employees in a group.

This includes employees at AA, where the average hourly rate of pay across all employees is £9.09; Grade 6, where the average hourly rate of pay across all employees is £33.42; and at SCS, where the average hourly rate of pay across all employees is £43.33.

Mr Jim Murphy: [228336]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West to Question 217417, how many of the 215 people paid less than the living wage employed on two major contracts reside in Scotland.

Dan Rogerson: None.

School Milk

Mr Michael McCann: [227778]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effects on school milk provision in the UK of the announcement by the EU Commission in December 2014 that the EU School Milk Scheme will be evaluated as part of CAP simplification.




George Eustice: In principle, I support the reform of the EU scheme which the Commission first proposed in January 2014. However, work on this dossier has become bogged down on a number of important issues, including Member State concerns about the correct legal basis for the proposals, the nature of their objectives and scope, and the main financial provisions. I therefore support the Commission’s decision to review it. Defra will engage constructively with this process. In the meantime, the existing arrangements for school schemes – agreed during CAP reform and set out in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2103 – will continue to apply. Under the EU scheme, UK school children benefit from subsidies worth approximately £3.5 million a year.

In addition to the EU subsidy scheme, all pre-school children in England, Scotland and Wales who are under 5 and in day care are eligible for free milk under our domestic nursery milk scheme. The total cost of the scheme was £61 million in 2012-13.

Waste Disposal: Fires


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many fires were recorded at regulated and unregulated recycling or waste sites in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014.

Dan Rogerson: The table below summarises the number of incidents recorded by the Environment Agency as fires at waste management premises for 2013 and 2014. The figures include all incidents ranging from serious impact to no impact.

TYPE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

SITE 2013 2014

Regulated 225 249

Unregulated 51 62

Total 276 311

The figures differ from those provided in response to a parliamentary question on 12 February last year. The response to that question stated that there were a total of 295 fires at both regulated and unregulated waste management sites in 2013. The difference is due to some duplication of incident reporting in the previous answer.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

Bahrain

Jeremy Corbyn: [228615]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the communication to Bahrain by the UN




Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Special Rapporteur on free assembly and Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders on 14 October 2014, expressing concerns about the trial of Mr Nabeel Rajab in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I am aware that a number of UN rapporteurs wrote to the Government of Bahrain in October 2014 in relation to the arrest of Nabeel Rajab. I have raised Mr. Rajab’s case with senior representatives of the Government of Bahrain, and encouraged the Bahraini authorities to ensure due process is followed and international norms of justice are upheld, including with regards to freedom of expression. British embassy officials have attended Mr Rajab’s court appearances to underline the UK’s interest in his case and the UK Government will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Burma

Yasmin Qureshi: [227886]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken in response to the Burmese government's refusal to investigate possible violations of international law in relation to the Rohingya in Burma.

Mr Hugo Swire: We remain deeply concerned by the situation in Rakhine State. Our approach is to seek an end to all human rights violations by encouraging a resolution of the underlying tensions. We have also made clear to the government of Burma that allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with through a clear, independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards. This call was repeated in a UK co-sponsored Resolution in the UN General Assembly in November 2014. We have also put on record our view that an independent investigation, supported by appropriate technical assistance, would make a significant contribution to accountability and reconciliation.

We worked with international partners to develop a strong country resolution on Burma at the UN Human Rights Council in March last year, which calls on the Burmese government to tackle the situation in Rakhine and renewed the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma. We welcome her recent report and its constructive recommendations on Rakhine.

Sir Bob Russell: [228359]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Burmese counterpart on allowing international observers to monitor a future national ceasefire agreement; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: A national ceasefire agreement in Burma is still being negotiated. Negotiations include discussions on the nature and extent of ceasefire monitoring mechanisms and on the role international observers could play. Our Ambassador in Rangoon has made clear our




strong support for international observers of any future ceasefire. Ultimately this is a matter for the various Burmese parties themselves to decide.

Consultants


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which five political risk consultancies have received the largest total amount from (a) his Department and (b) his Department's executive agencies and associated bodies since 2010.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has only employed companies to provide physical security, not analysis of political risk.


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much has been paid to political risk consultancies by (a) his Department and (b) his Department's executive agencies and associated bodies in each year since 2010.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has only employed companies to provide physical security, not analysis of political risk.

Cyprus

Simon Kirby: [227782]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Cypriot counterpart on military co-operation between Cyprus and Russia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The UK has a strong relationship with the Republic of Cyprus, including a security and defence and we have regular discussions at official level. I met the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides, 2 weeks ago and we discussed the issue of the Republic of Cyprus’ military agreements with Russia, alongside a number of areas of bilateral interest. It is our understanding that the military aspects of those agreements formalise arrangements already in place. We will continue to discuss security and defence matters with the Republic of Cyprus.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Mr Andrew Smith: [228161]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the report Rape as torture in the DRC, published by Freedom from Torture in June 2014.

James Duddridge: As detailed in the FCO official’s 2014 Human Rights and Democracy Report, last year we raised the shocking allegations set out in Freedom from Torture’s report with the






Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government and pushed for an investigation. Whilst the DRC government did not acknowledge that the violations had taken place, it took the initiative to conduct surprise checks on police detention facilities. Those found to have been arbitrarily detained were released, and facilities where human rights violations including torture were found to have taken place were closed.

We continue to work closely with the government of the DRC, non government organisations and civil society to improve the care of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The UK is supporting a range of projects in the DRC focussed on documenting, collecting and preserving evidence and improving victims’ access to justice.

Following the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, at which the DRC Government was represented, President Kabila appointed Jeanine Mabunda as his Personal Representative for Sexual Violence and Child Recruitment. Ms Mabunda visited London in February and met with experts in her field and my noble friend Baroness Anelay of St John's, the FCO Minister of State. She has committed to working with Congolese groups, the international community, and others to address SGBV in the DRC in a comprehensive manner, reflecting the need for services to be delivered across the whole country and not just in areas affected by conflict.

European Parliament


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the cost of the European Parliament having a base in both Strasbourg and Brussels.

Mr David Lidington: The EU Court of Auditors estimates that a move to a “single seat” for the European Parliament would save €113 million a year, while the European Parliament’s own “Single Seat” campaign estimates the saving at about €180 million a year, and a reduction of the EP’s carbon footprint by 40%. The UK welcomes the support from within the European Parliament for the move to a single seat and hopes that Members of the European Parliament push this issue up the political agenda. The UK’s position is well known: we are in favour of a single seat. The current arrangements are expensive, impractical and indefensible on environmental grounds. Moving to a single seat would require Treaty change and the agreement of all Member States.

ICT


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which news applications staff in his Department are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.




Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provides many of its staff with Blackberrys, but for security reasons the ability to download apps has been disabled. Only one FCO-provided smart phone has authorised news apps downloaded to it. These are the Gorkana press-cuttings and BBC news apps. The apps have been downloaded as part of a pilot to test the viability of smart phone devices for work purposes.

Israel

Mr Gareth Thomas: [228397]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions Ministers in his Department have had with their Israeli counterparts since the Israeli elections on 17 March 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: None of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have had any discussions with their Israeli counterparts since the Israeli elections on 17 March. We looked forward to maintaining excellent relations with the new Israeli government, when formed.

Secondment


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff from his Department have been seconded to external organisations in each year since 2010; to which external organisations and for how long such staff were seconded; and what the cost to his Department was of such secondments.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The numbers of staff seconded to other external organisations from 2010-2015 are as follows:

2010 27

2011 23

2012 26

2013 13

2014 16

2015 15

We cannot mention the names of the companies as this would breach commercial and personal confidentiality.

Without identifying individuals it is not possible to indicate how long each member of staff was seconded. However, in the majority of cases it was 1-3 years.




There is no cost to the department when an individual is seconded to an external organisation: either salary costs are reimbursed, or, with the Civil Service secondment scheme, the secondee is replaced by a member of staff from the external organisation.

Shaker Aamer

John Pugh: [228019]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of Shaker Aamer's continued detention in Guantanamo in light of the Government's on going celebration of Magna Carta.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: On June 15 we will celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, which set out that no one should be refused their rights or justice, and became the foundation of the laws on individual liberties that exist today. These freedoms matter to the UK. The UK Government has long held that indefinite detention without review or fair trial is unacceptable. We welcome President Obama's commitment in January of this year to prioritise Mr Aamer's case for review, and his continuing commitment to closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

South China Sea


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on China's artificial island expansion in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Mr Hugo Swire: We continue to monitor developments in the South China Sea closely, not least land reclamation and construction activities in disputed waters. We remain concerned about continuing tensions which have the potential to undermine regional stability. The UK does not take a position on the underlying sovereignty disputes, but we continue to emphasise to all claimants, including China, the need to refrain from any activities that could heighten the risk of escalation and to resolve disputes peacefully in accordance with international law.

Travel


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) cancelled and (b) missed transport in each year since 2010.

Mr David Lidington: This information is not held centrally and it could only be provided at disproportionate cost.





Yemen


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Houthi rebellion in Yemen on stability in the Middle East.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Houthi take-over in Yemen is a violation of the 1994 constitution and the principles of the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative. As a long-standing principle, we do not support military intervention to achieve political aims. If a political settlement to the current crisis is not reached, the likelihood of civil war, economic collapse, and a humanitarian catastrophe will increase, which will in turn threaten stability in the wider region. Further instability could also create space for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and other emergent terrorist groups to mount opportunistic attacks both within Yemen and beyond its borders. Instability, as well as a deterioration in the economic situation, is likely to cause an increase in humanitarian needs. Instability in Yemen could also threaten the wider region.

The UK continues to believe that an inclusive political settlement is the best way to ensure long term stability and avoid civil war, economic collapse, and a humanitarian catastrophe. We continue to support Abu Rabbuh Mansour Hadi as the legitimate President of Yemen, and are working to encourage all parties to engage in good faith in the UN-led talks to establish an inclusive government that that commits to implementing the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, the National Dialogue conference outcomes, and the Peace and National Partnership Agreement.


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the operational capability of Al Qaeda in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Al Qaeda in Yemen or Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been operating in Yemen since 2009 and has murdered hundreds of Yemenis each year, including civilians and members of the police and security forces. AQAP also continues to pose a serious and direct threat to the UK and its interests, and remains intent on, and capable of, conducting external attacks. We currently assess that the gravest threat to the UK from AQAP comes from its ongoing ambition to strike international airliners and cause mass civilian casualties. We also have concerns that AQAP could cooperate and share its technical capability with other Al Qaeda (AQ)-aligned groups. Through their extremist propaganda (e.g. Inspire magazine) AQ and its affiliates also wish to radicalise Muslims and incite extremist violence.

Continued instability in Yemen, longer-term, increases the risk of opportunistic AQAP attacks and may allow AQAP to exploit the power vacuum to project violence beyond




Yemen’s borders. However, we assess that AQAP’s overall strategic aim remains to establish an AQ-ruled Emirate in Yemen.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Blackpool

Mr Gordon Marsden: [228509]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people attended at hospital A&E departments in the Blackpool NHS Trust area in each year from 2010 to 2015.

Jane Ellison: Data from November 2010 onwards is available in the NHS England Weekly A&E Performance Reports, which are published online at:

http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/

Prior to this period, accident and emergency data was collected quarterly from 2001/02, which is available at:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107105354/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics/AccidentandEmergency/index.htm

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the economy of alcohol-related harm in the last year.

Jane Ellison: Alcohol-related harm was estimated to cost the United Kingdom economy £7.3 billion for 2009-10. Work is ongoing to produce estimates for more recent years.

Buildings

Toby Perkins: [228318]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on interior decoration since May 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter:

The Department does not directly pay a specific amount for interior decoration. EMCOR, the Department’s facilities services provider, holds a contract which includes the routine annual interior decoration of Departmental buildings within a larger fixed price cost.

The budget for interior decoration within this contract is £246,000 calculated pro rata for the period 2010 to 2015, within the overall fixed price costs of the EMCOR contract.



http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107105354/http:/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics/AccidentandEmergency/index.htm






This covers the decoration in the six buildings that it has owned or occupied since May 2010.

Cancer: Blackpool


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in Blackpool NHS Trust area had to wait longer than 62 days to start cancer treatment after being referred by their GP in (a) 2010 and (b) 2015.

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table. Data for 2015 is not yet available.

2010

Q4 2009/10 Q1 2010/11 Q2 2010/11 Q3 2010/11

Number of patients waiting longer than 62 days from an urgent GP referral to a first definitive treatment for cancer

25 19.5 31 25.5

Source: NHS England

Notes: non-integer numbers are due to the responsibility for the patient pathway being shared across two providers, each getting 0.5 of a patient record.

Cancer: Drugs

Sir David Amess: [227776]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions NHS England has had with manufacturers on alternative commissioning arrangements for treatments that have been removed from the Cancer Drugs Fund list.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that, since the removal of a number of drugs from the national Cancer Drugs Fund list on 12 March 2015, representatives of NHS England have had preliminary discussions at the request of one manufacturer around maintaining access to one of the drugs removed from the list.

Patients currently receiving drugs removed from the list will remain on that treatment.




Mr Jamie Reed: [228500]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Government has announced that the Cancer Drugs Fund will continue beyond April 2016.

George Freeman: In August 2014, we announced £80 million in additional funding for the Cancer Drugs Fund for 2015-16. We have made no announcements regarding the Fund for beyond April 2016.

NHS England announced in January 2015 that it plans to increase the level of investment for drugs in the Fund to an expected £340 million in 2015-16.

We will carefully consider with NHS England what arrangements should be put in place for the commissioning of cancer drugs in the long term.

Care Quality Commission

Liz Kendall: [228405]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of safeguarding concerns responded to by the Care Quality Commission were responded to within the target time frame in each year since 2010-11.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services.

The CQC has provided the following information:

For the period January 2013 to March 2015 the CQC had target response times for safeguarding information. There were two elements of the response time: alerts and concerns.

A CQC safeguarding alert is where CQC is the first agency receiving the safeguarding information and/or there is a need for CQC to take immediate action. The local authority will be informed within 24 hours.

A CQC safeguarding concern is other safeguarding information, where the CQC is not the first agency to receive the information. The CQC will risk assess the information, to determine whether regulatory action is needed. The information received will be assessed against its regulatory standards within 48 hours.

The attached table shows the recorded performance against these timeframes since 1 January 2013.

From April 2015, CQC will be measuring performance of the time taken to complete a range of different regulatory actions in response to safeguarding information. This will provide better information that CQC is taking appropriate action in response to information of concern.




Attachments:

1. 228405 Table [228405 Table.docx]

Cataracts


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of variation across clinical commissioning groups in visual acuity restrictions for patients requiring cataract surgery.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department has not made a specific assessment of the eligibility criteria for cataract surgery across the country. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for the commissioning of treatment and services for people with cataracts in their local area. Where the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance does not exist, as is currently the case for cataracts, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions based on an assessment of the available evidence.

There is work underway through NHS England and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists to develop guidelines on cataract surgery, with the aim of delivering greater consistency. The guidance is still being developed and is yet to be issued.

NICE is also developing a clinical guideline on cataracts, which NICE currently expects to publish in 2017. The clinical guideline will be followed by a NICE Quality Standard.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many self-funded non-insurance cataract operations were conducted in NHS hospitals in 2013-14.

Jane Ellison: There were 3,6001 finished consultant episodes with a main or secondary procedure of cataract surgery, provided to private patients treated in a National Health Service hospital, in 2013/14. This compares to a total of 365,4701 finished consultant episodes with a main or secondary procedure of cataract surgery. Of those paying privately for treatment it is not possible to identify the source of funding.

This figure does not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.

1 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to decrease waiting times for people requiring cataract surgery.





Jane Ellison: All patients in England have a right to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. This right is enshrined in the NHS Constitution.

Some patients will, however, wait longer than 18 weeks, for example, patients who choose to wait longer for personal and/or social reasons, where this is clinically appropriate and/or where patients fail to attend appointments they have agreed.

Timeliness of diagnosis and treatment is what patients expect and remains essential to providing high quality care. Maintaining low waiting times is an absolute priority for this Government.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many finished hospital admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease there were in each year since 2009-10.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS patients in England with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were subject to a delayed transfer of care from an acute care setting in each year since 2009-10.

Jane Ellison: The attached table gives a count of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for years 2009-10 to 2013-14.

Data on delayed transfer of care is not available in the format requested.

Attachments:

1. 228406_228407 Table [Copy of 9265_PQ228406.xlsx]

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Mr David Anderson: [227801]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, to what extent clinical commissioning groups must comply with (a) the specialised service specifications and (b) the clinical commissioning policies produced by NHS England's clinical reference groups.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has a number of direct commissioning responsibilities, including for a range of prescribed specialised services for which clinical commissioning policies and service specifications are developed and published.

The majority of other NHS services fall within the commissioning responsibilities of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and for these services it is for CCGs to determine commissioning policies and service requirements on a local basis.





It is important that the respective commissioning approaches fit together in a way that provides clinically and cost effective and cohesive care for patients and for that reason NHS England is supporting a range of collaborative commissioning approaches between its specialised commissioning teams, clinical advisors and CCGs.

National service specifications and clinical commissioning policies will still apply for those specialised services that will be collaboratively commissioned with CCGs.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what allocation per capita was made by his Department in respect of clinical commissioning group (CCG) services in (a) each CCG in York and North Yorkshire, (b) each region of England and (c) England in each year since the creation of CCGs (i) in cash terms and (ii) at constant prices.

Dr Daniel Poulter: NHS England has responsibility for clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations.

The funding per capita NHS England has allocated to (a) each CCG in York and North Yorkshire, (b) each region of England and (c) England in each year since the creation of CCGs (i) in cash terms, and (ii) in real terms (constant prices), is shown in the table below.

The final column is by way of context, and shows that NHS England has ensured real terms growth in overall CCG allocations, mirroring the Government’s commitment to protect health spending.

SPENDING PER CAPITA (£)

REAL TERMS

CHANGE IN

OVERALL

ALLOCATION

(%)

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2013-14 to 2015-16

CCG Cash Real* Cash Real* Cash Real* Real*

NHS East Riding of Yorkshire

1,157 1,193 1,173 1,189 1,177 1,177 1.0

NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby

1,189 1,226 1,211 1,228 1,231 1,231 1.0

NHS Harrogate and Rural District

1,078 1,112 1,096 1,111 1,116 1,116 1.0



SPENDING PER CAPITA (£)

REAL TERMS

CHANGE IN

OVERALL

ALLOCATION

(%)

NHS Hull 1,224 1,262 1,244 1,261 1,251 1,251 1.0

NHS North East Lincolnshire

1,222 1,260 1,246 1,263 1,261 1,261 1.0

NHS North Lincolnshire

1,185 1,222 1,202 1,219 1,209 1,209 1.2

NHS Scarborough and Ryedale

1,245 1,284 1,270 1,288 1,279 1,279 1.0

NHS Vale of York

1,049 1,082 1,062 1,077 1,079 1,079 1.0

Region in England

North 1,224 1,262 1,244 1,261 1,271 1,271 1.7

Midlands & East

1,075 1,109 1,093 1,108 1,130 1,130 3.7

London 1,073 1,107 1,090 1,105 1,129 1,129 4.4

South 1,069 1,102 1,086 1,101 1,118 1,118 3.6

England 1,115 1,150 1,133 1,149 1,166 1,166 3.2

* in 2015-16 prices.

The real term equivalents were calculated using the following Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflators –

GDP DEFLATORS MARCH

2015 2013/14 2.12% 100.0

2014/15 1.70% 101.7

2015/16 1.40% 103.1


https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp-march-2015-budget-2015

A copy of the detailed CCG allocations for 2014-15, which includes the per capita information for 2013-14, published by NHS England on 20 December 2013, ccg-allocation-big-table-v2, is attached, and is also available at:

http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ccg-allocation-big-table-v2.pdf

A copy of the CCG allocations for 2015-16, Annex B CCG Allocations 2015/ 16, published by NHS England on 19 December 2014, is attached, and is also available at:

http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/annx-b-ccg-allctns.pdf

Attachments:

1. CCG allocations 2014-15 [CCG allocations 2014-15.pdf] 2. CCG allocations 2015-16 [CCG allocations 2015-16.pdf]

Dementia

Neil Parish: [228483]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the Government has to publish a new dementia strategy.

Norman Lamb: On 21 February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his new Challenge on Dementia 2020, which builds on the achievements of the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2012-2015, the successor to the National Dementia Strategy 2009-2014. It sets out aspirations for dementia care, support, awareness and research to be transformed by 2020.

What happens from 2015/16 to 2020 will be determined by the next Government in the context of the Spending Review, however the expectation, subject to the outcome of the Spending Review, is to work with key stakeholders on the implementation on the vision to ensure that real and sustainable improvements are delivered for people with dementia, their carers and families.

Drugs: Poisoning


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) children were admitted to hospital for drug poisoning, showing ICD10 codes T36-T50 separately, at a four character level in 2014.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is attached. It provides a count of the number of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of T36-T50 for male and female adults and children for the year 2013-14. Explanatory footnotes have also been provided.

It should be noted that this is not a count of patients as the same patient may have been admitted more than once in a year.



http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ccg-allocation-big-table-v2.pdf

http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/annx-b-ccg-allctns.pdf




Attachments:

1. 227803 Table [PQ227803 19_03_2015 Eric Ollerenshaw drug poisoning spreadsheet.xlsx]

Eyes: Health


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a National Clinical Director for eye health.

Dr Daniel Poulter: NHS England has appointed its National Clinical Directors on the basis that they cover a wider handling of all specialties, rather than focusing on very specific areas or parts of the body.

This approach supports the ethos of the NHS Outcomes Framework and will encourage a system-wide focus on how commissioners commission effective services using sound clinical principles and a rigorous evidence base.

Gastrointestinal Cancer: Drugs

Mrs Anne Main: [227939]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) patients of the delisting of the drug regorafenib by the Cancer Drugs Fund; and what steps he is taking to ensure that GIST patients have access to appropriate drugs and treatment.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that the decision to remove regorafenib (Stivarga) for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) from the national Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) list has been subject to a formal appeal and referred back to the CDF clinical panel for reconsideration. Regorafenib will therefore remain available through the Cancer Drugs Fund until this process is completed and subject to the final outcome.

General Practitioners


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of GP surgeries in England offer extended opening hours.

Dr Daniel Poulter: All practices are currently offered the opportunity to provide extended hours access, i.e. appointments outside of 8am-6.30pm weekdays, under a Directed Enhanced Service.

In 2013/14 over 70% of general practitioner (GP) practices were recorded as taking part in the extended hours scheme meaning patients can access a GP outside core hours at a time that is more convenient for them (source: Health and Social Care Information Centre report ‘NHS Payments to General Practice, England, 2013-14’, published February 2015).





As part of a separate scheme, over 1,100 practices are participating in the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund looking at innovative ways of improving access to over 7.5 million patients and stimulating innovative ways of providing primary care services. More pilots will run in 2015/16 benefiting millions more patients.

The pilots are testing a variety of approaches, ranging from opening 8am-8pm on weekdays and weekends; better use of telecare and health apps; more innovative ways to access services by video call, email or telephone, to developing more integrated services with a single point of contact to co-ordinate patient services across health and social care.

General Practitioners: Blackpool


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients in the Blackpool NHS Trust had to wait longer than 48 hours for a GP appointment in (a) 2010 and (b) 2015.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Data on waiting times to see a general practitioner (GP) is not collected.

The mandatory 48 hour waiting time target was removed, based on clinical advice, because it was seen as too inflexible in meeting the needs of patients. GP patient survey data showed that the proportion of people who wanted to get an appointment within two days (and were able to) actually fell between 2008-09 and 2009-10 i.e. when the target was in place.

General Practitioners: York


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average waiting time to see a GP in (a) York Central constituency, (b) City of York Council area and (c) England in 2010 and each subsequent year.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Waiting times for general practitioner appointments are not collected centrally.

Health Professions: Blackpool


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) GPs and (b) nurses were employed in the Blackpool NHS Trust in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2015.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the attached tables.

Attachments:

1. FTE GP & nursing staff for Blackpool NHS Trust [Staff data for 2010, 2013 & 2014.xlsx]





Health Services

Mr Virendra Sharma: [227942]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is his policy to support nationally set standards, policies and specifications for specialised services.

Jane Ellison: My Rt. hon. Friend. the Secretary of State has welcomed NHS England's approach of working with a range of national clinical experts and patient and carer representatives to develop nationally consistent service standards (service specifications) and clinical commissioning policies to support the provision of prescribed specialised services.

Health Services: Blackpool


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were on the waiting list for NHS treatment in Blackpool NHS Trust area on (a) 1 March 2015 and (b) 1 March 2010.

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested.

On 28 February 2010 there were 15,599 patients waiting for treatment at the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust changed its name in 2010.

Data for March 2015 is not yet available.

Health Services: North Yorkshire


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much in total has been spent on NHS services for people living within the Vale of York clinical commissioning group (CCG) area in each year since the creation of that CCG.

Dr Daniel Poulter: This information is not held centrally.

NHS England advises that the NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Annual Report and Accounts for 2013-14 give a breakdown of operating expenses, including services from other National Health Service organisations. The Annual Report and Accounts can be found at the following link:

http://www.valeofyorkccg.nhs.uk/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-for-2013-14/

The relevant extract is also given below.

2013-14 TOTAL £’000 TOTAL ADMIN PROGRAMME

Services from other CCGs and NHS England

5,254 2,159 3,095




http://www.valeofyorkccg.nhs.uk/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-for-2013-14/


2013-14 TOTAL £’000 TOTAL ADMIN PROGRAMME

Services from foundation trusts

239,367 - 239,367

Services from other NHS trusts

26,925 - 26,925

Services from other NHS bodies

529 4 525

272,075 2,163 269,912

Note: For 2014-15 figures, the CCG publishes a detailed finance, activity and QIPP report on its website. Appendix A of the report gives a detailed breakdown of programme costs and is available at:

http://www.valeofyorkccg.nhs.uk/data/uploads/governing-body-papers/5-february-2015/item-7-finance-activity-and-qipp-month-9.pdf

Hearing Impairment


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Answer of 17 March 2015 to Question 227433, for what reasons NICE has scheduled development of the clinical guidelines to begin in 2016 and not earlier; and if he will take steps to expedite that process.

George Freeman: It is for NHS England to agree the prioritisation of the development of clinical guidelines in collaboration with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

NICE was asked to develop a quality standard and clinical guideline on adult hearing loss as part of a library of around 180 topics, all of which address important areas. One topic cannot be brought forward without delaying another and there has to be a process for prioritising topics.

Hospitals: Food


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the spending per in-patient in England on NHS meals was per (a) hospital stay and (b) day in each year since 2009-10.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Information is not collected centrally in relation to the cost of meals per hospital stay.

The information relating to the cost of meals per day is shown in the following table. This information has been collected from National Health Service trusts and relates to the average total daily cost for the provision of all meals and beverages served to one in-






patient per day. The cost is inclusive of all pay and non-pay costs, including provisions, ward issues, disposables, equipment and its maintenance.

PERIOD AVERAGE COST OF FEEDING ONE IN-PATIENT PER DAY (PATIENT MEAL DAY)

2009-10 8.06

2010-11 8.58

2011-12 8.77

2012-13 9.87

2013-14 10.48

The information has not been amended centrally, and its accuracy and completeness is the responsibility of the provider organisation.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Debbie Abrahams: [228337]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the longest wait was on 19 March 2015 for a patient awaiting NHS treatment.

Jane Ellison: The information is not held centrally.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Mr John Baron: [227806]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to undertake an equality impact assessment of the HPV vaccination programme before making a decision on vaccinating adolescent boys.

Jane Ellison: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is currently considering the issue of providing the vaccine to adolescent boys. A full equality impact assessment will be undertaken and will be factored into any considerations.

ICT


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which news applications staff in his Department are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.





Dr Daniel Poulter: Staff in the Department are not allowed to download any news applications onto their work-provided phones.

The relatively small number of mostly senior staff who use tablets provided by the Department can download news applications, subject to conformance with the Department’s Acceptable Use of ICT Policy.

Innovative Medicines and Medical Technology Review

Neil Parish: [228482]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the Government is making in implementing the recommendations in his Department's Innovative Medicines Review.

George Freeman: The Accelerated Access review into innovative medicines and medical technologies was launched on 20 November 2014. On 11 March, the Government published the review’s terms of reference and announced that Sir Hugh Taylor, Chair of Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust, will chair the review. The review will produce an interim report before the autumn.

Work on the review is underway. Background work to map the current development pathways for medicines, devices and diagnostics is ongoing, as is initial work on international comparators. The review has also started to engage with stakeholders from across the landscape, and this dialogue will continue as the review progresses.

Macular Degeneration

John Glen: [227587]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what correspondence his Department has had with NHS England in the last two months on the use of unlicensed treatments for age-related macular degeneration; and if he will place copies of such correspondence in the Library.

John Glen: [227588]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when officials of his Department last discussed unlicensed treatments for age-related macular degeneration with (a) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and (b) the General Medical Council; what the content of those discussions was; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: The use of unlicensed medicines to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has been the subject of discussions between the Department, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and other stakeholders over several years. We can confirm that we have recently received several letters from National Health Service commissioners regarding the unlicensed use of Avastin for the treatment of wet AMD, and a copy of my response is attached. We have also been in contact with the company that manufactures Avastin. We have stressed that clinical commissioning groups’ commissioning policies must respect the European legislation and guidance





from the General Medical Council (GMC) and MHRA that prohibits the supply of an unlicensed medicine where a licensed one is available, unless there is a “special need” which means that the unlicensed treatment is better suited to the clinical need of an individual patient.

Recent discussions and correspondence with the MHRA and NHS England relate to the ongoing development of Government policy in this area. In order to maintain the delivery of effective Government, it would not be appropriate to publish information about the contents of these discussions or to place any related correspondence in the Library. Departmental officials have had no recent discussions on the use of unlicensed treatments for the treatment of AMD with the GMC.

Attachments:

1. NHS Commissioner Letter [NHS Commissioner Letter.pdf]

Meningitis: Vaccination


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2015 to Question 226346, when he expects negotiations with GlaxoSmithKline on the meningitis B vaccine to be concluded.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking with officials of his Department to expedite negotiations with GlaxoSmithKline on the meningitis B vaccine.

Jane Ellison: We are seeking to reach a positive conclusion to the negotiations with GlaxoSmithKline for supply of the meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine, Bexsero® at a cost-effective price, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, as soon as possible.

The Department has had a number of meetings with the manufacturer and is continuing to meet.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the meningitis B vaccine, Bexsero, is included in the 2015 childhood immunisation programme; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: We are seeking to reach a positive conclusion to the negotiations with the manufacturer for supply of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero® at a cost-effective price, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, as soon as possible. The Department has had a number of meetings with the manufacturer and is continuing to meet.





Julie Hilling: [228326]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2015 to the hon. Member for Pudsey to Question 222863, by what date he plans for the negotiations about the supply of meningococcal B vaccine to be concluded.

Jane Ellison: We are continuing to meet with the manufacturer working to reach a positive conclusion to the negotiations for supply of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero® at a cost-effective price, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. We aim to conclude these negotiations as soon as possible.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: [228434]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) child and (b) adult patients with a diagnosis of psychiatric conditions waited longer that four hours in A&E to be seen in (i) each month in 2015 to date and (ii) each year since 2010.

Norman Lamb: This information is not available in the format requested.

The following table provides a count of accident and emergency (A&E) attendances (excluding planned attendances) with a first diagnosis of a psychiatric condition 1 and a duration to departure 2 of more than four hours, by (a) ages 0-17, and (b) over 18, with annual data for 2010-11 to 2013-14, monthly provisional data for 2014-15 3,4 . Data for the period April 2014 to November 2014 is provisional and subject to change.

AGES 0-17 AGES 18 AND OVER

Year Duration to Departure of more than 4 hours

Duration to Departure of more than 4 hours

2010-11 769 11,824

2011-12 803 13,169

2012-13 1,040 14,767

2013-14 1,601 18,272

2014-15 (April) 149 1,630

2014-15 (May) 193 1,813

2014-15 (June) 172 1,794

2014-15 (July) 147 1,760

2014-15 (August) 103 1,877

2014-15 (September) 149 1,887




AGES 0-17 AGES 18 AND OVER

2014-15 (October) 202 1,892

2014-15 (November) 469 1,905

Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector

Notes:

1. A&E Diagnosis

The following code was used to identify psychiatric conditions within the A&E dataset:

35 = Psychiatric conditions.

Please note that the recording of the diagnosis field within the A&E data set is not mandatory. It is not known to what extent changes over time are as a result of improvements in recording practice.

2. Duration to departure

The total amount of time spent in minutes in the A&E department. This is calculated as the difference in time from arrival at A&E to the time when the patient is discharged from A&E care. This includes being admitted to hospital, died in the department, discharged with no follow up or discharged - referred to another specialist department.

3. Assessing growth through time (A&E)

Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) figures are available from 2007-08 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care.

Note that HES include activity ending in the year in question and run from April to March, e.g. 2012-13 includes activity occurring between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013.

4. Provisional data: 2014-15

The data is provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, i.e. November from the (month 9) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected.


5. Official source of A&E activity data

HES is not the official source of total A&E activity, this is the NHS England situation reports collection which is available at:


However, HES permits further analysis of A&E activity as there are a range of data items by which HES can be analysed.

6. Data quality

The recording of duration in HES A&E is not mandatory and this may particularly have affected the quality of recorded durations to assessment and treatment.

Source: HES, the Health and Social Care Information Centre


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the senior national clinical lead for mental health to coordinate education, training and workforce development.

Norman Lamb: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with the national clinical lead for mental health.

The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service in England.

HEE is developing a programme of work to deliver the mental health and learning disability workforce development agenda effectively. A steering group is developing the model for training delivery across the life cycle – from public health, perinatal mental health, through children and young people to mental health in adulthood.

Areas of work covered by this group are dementia, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, learning disabilities and perinatal mental health. Dr Geraldine Strathdee, the National Clinical Lead for mental health at NHS England, co-chairs the Mental Health Steering Group.

In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 14 March 2015, as part of the Budget, that £250 million additional funding would be available each year over the course of the next Parliament, starting in April 2015. This will fund improved access for children and young people with mental health problems - at least 100,000 more children and young people will receive treatment by 2020 and the funding will pay for the introduction of new waiting time standards.





To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of the funding allocated to clinical commissioning group's for expanding the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme has been spent on that programme.

Norman Lamb: We do not centrally hold information on the amount spent by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) on the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.

Over £400 million has been invested in the IAPT programme over the course of this spending review period to make a choice of psychological therapies available for those who need them in all parts of England.

The Department’s 2014-15 Mandate to NHS England makes clear that ‘everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence based services’. The Mandate sets a clear objective for NHS England to deliver the key objectives of the IAPT programme, providing access to therapies to 15% of those eligible, around 900,000 people per year. CCGs are required to fund IAPT services to meet these requirements.

Achieving Better Access to Mental Health Services by 2020, published in October 2014, articulates our ambition and the immediate actions we are taking to achieve better access and waiting times in mental health services. It includes the commitment of treatment from IAPT services within six weeks of referral for 75% of people; with 95% of people being treated within 18 weeks.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 4.6 of the Government's mandate to Health Education England: April 2014 to March 2015, when the e-learning package to support continuing professional development in mental health went live.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Health Education England (HEE) was mandated by the Department to develop a mental health e-learning package by January 2015.

In line with this mandate commitment, HEE e-Learning for Healthcare completed mental health awareness e-learning content at the end of January 2015. The package has been designed for all primary and secondary healthcare staff, including general practitioners.

The mental health e-learning package went live on 9 March and HEE’s communications team issued a message to raise awareness of the new resource during the same week.




Mental Health Services: York


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS (a) beds and (b) full-time equivalent staff there were for mental health services provided within the City of York Council area in 2010 and each subsequent year.

Norman Lamb: The information is not available in the format requested.

Neuromuscular Disorders: North East

Mrs Mary Glindon: [227890]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England plans to publish its audit of unplanned emergency admissions of patients with neuromuscular conditions in the north east of England.

Norman Lamb: The NHS England Cumbria and North East sub regional team is working with the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign to undertake a local audit of unplanned emergency admissions of patients with neuromuscular conditions, to determine which were potentially avoidable. No completion date has been identified.

Mrs Mary Glindon: [227891]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to provide specialist clinical psychology support to patients with neuromuscular conditions attending neuromuscular specialist centres in the north east.

Norman Lamb: NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised services, including neuromuscular services.

The NHS England Cumbria and North East sub regional team regularly meets the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign to discuss service improvements in the North East. This area has the best outcomes for muscular dystrophy patients in England. However, specialist clinical psychology support has not been raised in these meetings. This matter will be discussed with relevant providers in the north east at the next review meeting, the date of which is yet to be confirmed.





Neuromuscular Disorders: North West


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the five neuroscience tertiary centres in the north west of England have committed to funding a neuromuscular clinical network for the region.


NHS England advises that National Health Service providers have not confirmed funding for a neuromuscular clinical network in the North West.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England has taken to meet the Neurosciences: Specialised Neurology (Adult) service specification in Lancashire and Southern Cumbria for providing neuromuscular care co-ordinator support to adults and outreach clinics in that region.


The NHS England North West Specialised Commissioning Team has, as part of a national exercise, assessed all providers of specialised services against standards for service specification. The only provider in the Lancashire and South Cumbria area is the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. NHS England advises that the Trust has indicated it is compliant with the Neurosciences: Specialised Neurology (Adult) service specification.

NHS England


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the progress update to recommendation 97 in the supporting annex to his Department's report, Culture change in the NHS, published in February 2015, which responsibilities of NHS England his Department is considering transferring to a single national body.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Government has agreed to consider with relevant organisations the options for transferring NHS England’s responsibilities for safety to a single national body, and this work is now underway.

Fiona Bruce: [228424]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England will remain the sole budget-holder for prescribed specialised services in 2016-17.






Jane Ellison: NHS England is the accountable commissioner and budget holder for all specialised services as set out in the National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012, with the Manual for prescribed specialised services providing further detail.

NHS England has achieved significant progress in developing a set of nationally consistent service standards and commissioning policies, which ensure equity of access to high quality services across the board. Those standards and policies will continue to apply for those specialised services which are to be collaboratively commissioned by NHS England and clinical commissioning groups.

NHS England has clarified that where there are collaboratively commissioned services, NHS England will retain the full financial risk for these services for 2015/16. NHS England has advised that there will be further work conducted over the next year to advise the range of specialised services for which NHS England should remain the accountable commissioner and budget holder for 2016/17 and future years.

Copies of the National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012 and the Manual for prescribed specialised services are attached.

Attachments:

1. Manual for prescribed special services [NHS commissioning Board - Manual.pdf] 2. NHS Commissioning Board & CCG Regulations 2012 [Resposibilities and Standing Rules Regulations.pdf]

NHS: Finance


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the financial position of the NHS trust and foundation trust sector at the end of the current financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The latest position on National Health Service provider deficits can be found in the related Quarter Three performance reports, published on the websites of the NHS Trusts Development Authority and Monitor. These can be found at:

NHS Trusts

http://www.ntda.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Paper-D-Service-and-Financial-Performance-Report-for-December-2014.pdf

Foundation Trusts

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-foundation-trusts-quarterly-performance-report-quarter-3-201415







NHS: Private Patients


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on NHS patient services of income accrued by foundation trusts from private patients.

Jane Ellison: Income generated from private patients is reinvested in foundation trusts to enable them to improve and expand services, as well as adopt more innovative models for the benefit of National Health Service patients.

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 clarified the existing convention that a foundation trust’s principal purpose meant that the majority of a foundation trust’s income must come from NHS service provision.

Foundation trusts are required to report separately on their NHS and private income and expenditure, and their annual report must explain how non-NHS income is benefiting their NHS services.

Income from private patients has remained steady at around 0.70% of total NHS trusts and foundation trust income in 2013/14, compared to 0.71% in 2010/11.

NHS: Procurement


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much per resident on average was spent by NHS England on centrally-procured NHS services in each clinical commissioning group (CCG) area in England in each year since CCGs were created.

Jane Ellison: Established in April 2013, NHS England directly commissions a number of services including primary care, specialised services, offender health and services for members of the armed forces.

Monies spent on services directly commissioned by NHS England is not broken down to per resident or clinical commissioning group level.

Nurses: Foreign Workers


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of nurses registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council were from overseas in each of the last five years.

Andrew Gwynne: [228394]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of nurses registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in each of the last five years were from overseas.






Dr Daniel Poulter: The table below sets out the total number of nurses and midwives registering to practice in the United Kingdom in each year since 2009 and the proportion from the UK, European Economic Area and overseas.

YEAR TOTAL UNITED KINGDOM

EUROPEAN

ECONOMIC AREA

(EXCLUDING THE UK) OVERSEAS

2009-10 22,094 19,574 (88.59%) 1,970 (8.92%) 550 (2.49%)

2010-11 23,201 19,343 (83.37%) 2,715 (11.70%) 1,143 (4.93%)

2011-12 23,432 19,143 (81.70%) 3,137 (13.39) 1,152 (4.92%)

2012-13 25,209 20,904 (82.92%) 3,436 (13.63%) 869 (3.45%)

2013-14 28,958 22,730 (78.49%) 5,388 (18.61%) 840 (2.90%)

Source: Nursing and Midwifery Council

Notes : For each year data relates to the period of 1 April to 31 March the following year


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has had from his counterpart in (a) Spain, (b) Italy, (c) the Philippines, (d) Italy and (e) the Republic of Ireland on the number of nurses from those countries being recruited to work in the NHS.

Dr Daniel Poulter: We are not aware of any recent representations from Spain, Italy, the Republic of Ireland or the Philippines in relation to nurses being recruited from those countries to the National Health Service.

Recruitment for the NHS is not administered centrally. NHS trusts are responsible for their own recruitment, including international recruitment.

However, the Department is committed to ensuring ethical recruitment practices operate within the NHS through adherence to the UK Code of Practice for International Recruitment. The NHS Employers organisation is responsible for implementing the code of practice in the United Kingdom and advises employers on ethical recruitment.

Patients: Travel


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of patients attending A&E departments arrive by car.

Jane Ellison: The information is not collected centrally.




Pneumococcal Disease

Mr George Howarth: [227931]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of cases of (a) pneumonia and (b) invasive pneumococcal disease there have been in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those he estimates resulted in death.

Jane Ellison: The data requested is provided in the following table.

Count of (a) finished discharge episodes (FDEs) 1 with a primary diagnosis 2 of pneumonia 3 , and the number that died in hospital 4 , 2009-10 to 2013-14 5 and (b) total cases of invasive pneumococcal disease and case fatality ratio, 2009-10 to 2013-14.

PNEUMONIA INVASIVE PNEUMOCOCCAL DISEASE (IPD)

FDEs Deaths Total cases * Case Fatality ratio**(%)

2009-10 163,619 37,580 5,203 13.4

2010-11 189,319 39,933 5,265 13.6

2011-12 193,828 39,703 4,396 13.7

2012-13 220,496 44,334 4,477 13.1

2013-14 221,951 41,621 4,032 11.9

Sources: Pneumonia - Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre. IPD - Public Health England

Notes:

* Total cases of laboratory confirmed IPD, England and Wales (excluding cases only confirmed by DNA detection and bronchiolar alveolar lavage ( BAL) samples).

**Proportion of cases that were found to have died within seven days of IPD onset (excluding BAL) ascertained by tracing general practitioner registration records.

1 A discharge episode is the last episode during a hospital stay (a spell), where the patient is discharged from the hospital or transferred to another hospital. Discharges do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one discharge from hospital within the period.

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

3 10 codes used to identify pneumonia: Pneumonia - B20.6 HIV disease resulting in Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia; J09.X Influenza due to identified avian influenza virus



(J09.X was introduced in the ICD-10th edition); J10.0 Influenza with pneumonia, other influenza virus identified; J11.0 Influenza with pneumonia, virus not identified; J12.- Viral pneumonia, not elsewhere classified; J13.X Pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumonia; J14.X Pneumonia due to Haemophilus influenza; J15.- Bacterial pneumonia, not elsewhere classified; J16.- Pneumonia due to other infectious organisms, not elsewhere classified; J17.-A Pneumonia in diseases classified elsewhere ; J18.- Pneumonia, organism unspecified; J85.1 Abscess of lung with pneumonia P23.- Congenital pneumonia.

4 HES data cannot be used to determine the underlying cause of death of a patient while in hospital. Deaths may be analysed by the main diagnosis for which the patient was being treated but this may not be the underlying cause of death. For example, a patient admitted for a hernia operation (with a primary diagnosis of hernia) may die from an unrelated a heart attack.

5 HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in National Health Service practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information. HES include activity ending in the year in question and run from April to March, e.g. 2012-13 includes activity ending between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) A&E attendances and (b) hospital admissions were related to (i) pneumonia and (ii) pneumococcal disease in the last 12 months.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average (a) length and (b) cost was of a hospital admission owing to a case of pneumococcal disease in the last 12 months.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients were admitted to intensive care units with a diagnosis of (a) pneumonia or (b) pneumococcal disease in the last 12 months.

Jane Ellison: The data requested is provided in the following table.

Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector





DIAGNOSIS MEAN 1 LENGTH

OF STAY 2 MEDIAN 1 LENGTH

OF STAY 2

NUMBER OF

OBSERVATIONS

(DENOMINATOR) 1

FINISHED

ADMISSION

EPISODES CRITICAL CARE

PERIODS

Pneumonia 10.6 6 220,130 192,106 13,776

Pneumococcal Infection

12.4 8 4,379 3,792 986

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Data relating to the cost of a hospital admission due to a case of pneumococcal disease are not available. However, the cost of a hospital admission due to bronchopneumonia is estimated to be £3,293 per hospital spell.

Source: estimates drawn from NHS reference costs:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-reference-costs-2013-to-2014

Notes :

1 Mean, median and denominator The mean (average) and median (middle in ranking when all values are sorted in order) duration in days between the admission and discharge dates. The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has displayed the denominator from which the averages are calculated and note that it is greater than the count of admission episodes. This is because episodes are reported against the year in which they finish, i.e. some discharge episodes relate to admissions prior to 2013-14, and some admission episodes relate to care which continues after 2013-14; and it is also the case that diagnoses are recorded independently on each episode of care.

2 Length of Stay (duration of spell) The difference in days between the admission date and the episode end date (duration of episode) or discharge date (duration of spell), where both dates are given. Length of Stay is based on hospital stays and only applies to ordinary admissions not day cases (unless otherwise stated). Information relating to Length of Stay, including discharge method/destination, diagnoses and any operative procedures, is based only on the final episode of the spell.

A: Primary Diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.

B: ICD10 codes: Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Infection Pneumonia: B20.6 HIV disease resulting in Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, J09.X Influenza due to identified avian influenza virus, J10.0 Influenza with pneumonia, other influenza virus identified, J11.0 Influenza with pneumonia, virus not identified, J12.- Viral pneumonia, not elsewhere classified, J13.X Pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumonia, J14.X Pneumonia due to Haemophilus influenza, J15.- Bacterial pneumonia, not elsewhere classified, J16.- Pneumonia due to other infectious organisms, not elsewhere classified, J17.-A Pneumonia in diseases classified elsewhere, J18.- Pneumonia, organism unspecified,

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-reference-costs-2013-to-2014


J85.1 Abscess of lung with pneumonia P23.- Congenital pneumonia. Pneumococcal Infection: A40.3 Sepsis due to Streptococcus pneumonia, G00.1 Pneumococcal meningitis, J13.X Pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumonia, M00.1 Pneumococcal arthritis and polyarthritis, B95.3 Streptococcus pneumoniae as the cause of diseases classified to other chapters, B95.3 is a supplementary code and would only be found in a secondary position. It indicates Streptococcus pneumoniae as the cause of another disease classified to another chapter within ICD-10. Note that code J13X is included in the definition of both pneumonia and pneumococcal infections.

C: Data are not available to cover accident and emergency (A&E) admission related to (i) pneumonia and (ii) pneumococcal disease in the last 12 months because the HES A&E dataset contains a limited amount of information regarding diagnosis and therefore does not identify pneumonia and pneumococcal infections separately.

D: The answer to PQ227934 is based on the final episode of the spell in order to calculate the length of stay. Therefore the number of observations (denominator) is not comparable to the count of admission episodes in the response to PQ227933 as admissions are based on the first episode of the spell.

In addition, note that the answer to PQ227935 is limited to adult critical care periods, which include periods of care in high dependency and intensive care units.

E: A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider whereas a finished discharge episode (FDE) is the last episode during a hospital stay (a spell), where the patient is discharged from the hospital or transferred to another hospital. FDEs must be used in order to calculate the length of the patient’s stay in hospital. Neither FAEs or FDEs represent a count of patients as a person may have had more than one admission or discharge from hospital within the time period.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the change in prescription charges has been in real terms in each year since 2009-10.

George Freeman: Information is provided in the table.



ANNUAL PRESCRIPTION CHARGE INCREASE PER ITEM DISPENSED, IN ENGLAND, IN REAL TERMS, 2009 TO 2015

2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator: year on year growth (%)

2.6 2.8 1.8 1.7 2.1 1.7 1.4

Prescription charge per item dispensed (£)

7.20 7.20 7.40 7.65 7.85 8.05 8.20

Increase in prescription charge (%)

- 0.0 2.8 3.4 2.6 2.5 1.9

Real increase in prescription charge (%)

- -2.7 1.0 1.7 0.5 0.8 0.5

The GDP deflators for 2014/15 and 2015/16 are based on Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts published in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (March 2015)

The cost of a three-month Prescription Pre-payment Certificate (PPC) has been frozen since 2011/12 and the 12-month PPC has been frozen since 2009/10. 90% of items are dispensed free.

Prostate Cancer: Drugs

Mrs Anne Main: [227938]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the impact on prostate cancer patients of the delisting of the drug cabazitaxel by the Cancer Drugs Fund; what steps NHS England plans to take to maintain access to cabazitaxel for prostate cancer patients until it has been subject to review by NICE; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Individual Funding Request process for cancer drugs.



George Freeman: NHS England has advised that cabazutaxel (Jevtana) was removed from the national Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) list on 12 March 2015 as the CDF clinical panel concluded that the clinical benefits of cabazitaxel in patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, who had received prior treatment with docetaxel, were insufficient for it to merit retention on the national list. The full decision summary is available at:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ncdf-summ-cabaztxl-post-doctxl.pdf

Patients currently receiving cabazitaxel through the Fund will remain on that treatment until such a time when they are no longer receiving benefit from the treatment. Clinicians will still be able to apply for individual patients to receive cabazitaxel on an exceptional basis.

NHS England follows a standard operating procedure when responding to individual requests to fund cancer treatments. This requires a response to the request within 10 working days following a receipt of a complete submission from the clinician. Further details are available at:

www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/

Quality of Care and Treatment Provided by 14 Hospital Trusts in England Review

Mr Andy Slaughter: [228404]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to publish the remaining stages of the Keogh Review into hospital mortality rates.

Jane Ellison: There are no further stages to be published. On July 16 2013 Professor Sir Bruce Keogh published a public report summarising the findings and actions resulting from the 14 investigations.

The individual investigations into the 14 hospital trusts followed a three-stage process:

Stage 1

Gathering and analysing the full range of information and data available within the National Health Service to develop key lines of enquiry. This included, among other things, examining data relating to clinical quality and outcomes as well as patient and staff feedback and views.

Stage 2

Rapid Responsive Review – a team of experienced clinicians, patients, managers and regulators went, after training, into each of the 14 hospitals and observed the hospital in action. This involved walking the wards and interviewing patients, trainees, staff and the senior executive team. The members of the review team then met to discuss and share their opinions before producing a report. If the review team identifed any serious concerns about the quality of care and treatment being provided to patients that it believed required rapid action or intervention, the chief executive of the hospital trust and the relevant regulator(s) were notified immediately.

http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ncdf-summ-cabaztxl-post-doctxl.pdf

http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/



Stage 3

Risk Summit – this combined a separate group of experts from across health organisations, including the regulatory bodies. It considered the report from the Rapid Responsive Review, alongside other hard and soft intelligence, to make judgments about the quality of care being provided. It agreed any necessary actions, including offers of support to the hospitals concerned. A report after each Risk Summit was made publicly available.

Further information is available at:

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/bruce-keogh-review/Pages/published-reports.aspx

Radiotherapy


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of cancer patients in England have received radiotherapy treatment in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Although NHS England does not have direct access to this information, a national review of radiotherapy was conducted recently, which included data for 2010 to 2013 for the England average. The access rates are as follows:

- 2010: 36.2%

- 2011: 37.5%

- 2012: 38%

- 2013: 37.9%

Social Services: Veterans


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made in working with the Royal British Legion to assess how the disregard for payments under the War Pensions Scheme may be applied under the adult social care charging rules in future; and when he plans for that work to be concluded.

Norman Lamb: We are grateful to the Royal British Legion for taking the time to continue to work with Departmental officials to assess this issue. We are committed to continuing those conversations with a view to considering the issue as part of the upcoming Spending Review that will take place post-election.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/bruce-keogh-review/Pages/published-reports.aspx




Staff


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of employees in his Department identify as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The table presented below is a ‘snapshot’ of the requested breakdown by ethnicity for the Civil Servants in the Department as at 28 February 2015.

ETHNIC IDENTITY HEAD COUNT OF EMPLOYEES PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYEES

White or White British 1,520 75.0%

Asian or Asian British 138 6.8%

Black or Black British 128 6.3%

Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Group 43 2.1%

Any other Ethnicity 40 2.0%

Undeclared 158 7.8%

Grand Total 2,027 100.00%

As part of the Department’s Public Sector Equality Duty, the Department reports annually on the composition of our workforce. The full report, which includes more detailed diversity information and comparisons is published and available on the GOV.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-equality-information-2015

Strokes


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have had a stroke or a transient ischemic attack in each clinical commissioning group area since April 2012.

Jane Ellison: The attached table sets out data by clinical commissioning group of residence for 2012-13 to 2013-14 on the number of finished admission episodes where there was a primary diagnosis of either stroke or a transient ischemic attack.

Attachments:

1. Stroke number since 2012 [20150320 PQ228493 Twigg stroke numbers since 2012.xlsx]


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-equality-information-2015



Tranquillisers


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the General Practice Research Database includes data on the prescribing of tranquillisers; and if he will use this database to calculate the number of patients with a long-term dependency on tranquillisers.

George Freeman: The CPRD GOLD primary care database (former GPRD) includes information about all prescriptions issued in primary care for a subset of approximately 8% of the United Kingdom population. This database has previously been used to study prescribing of anxiolytic, hypnotic and psychotropic medication, commonly referred to as tranquilisers.

It would be possible to use the database to estimate the number of patients in the UK with a long-term dependency on prescription tranquilisers. However, as dependence will not be systematically identified by general practitioners, expert clinician advice would also be required to develop a definition. This could be based on frequency of prescribing and medication strength but could also include clinical codes for medical conditions including indications for these products, drug dependency and substance abuse, if recorded.

This work would represent a research project and as such, a scientific protocol would need to be submitted to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s Independent Scientific Advisory Committee for assessment and possible approval.

Even with such an approach, the rate of drug dependency in the population could only be estimated, and in order to assess whether this estimate was a true representation of the actual rate of drug dependency in this population, a validation study would be encouraged.

The Department is looking into the feasibility of commissioning further research on patterns of long-term prescription of dependency-forming medicines, including analyses of relevant prescribing data.

York Hospital


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for treatment in the A&E department at York Hospital was in 2009-10 and each subsequent year.



To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people presenting at the A&E department at York Hospital waited more than four hours from arrival to discharge, admission or transfer in 2009-10 and each subsequent year.






York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust


To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many in-patient discharges from beds in York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were delayed because of the unavailability of step-down care beds or community care services in 2009-10 and each subsequent year; how many days on average those patients' discharges were delayed; and what the cost was to the Trust of delayed discharges in each of those years.

Norman Lamb: Information is not available in the format requested.

The table below shows the total number of days delayed within the month for all patients delayed throughout the month, by reason for delay, at the York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Information on cost is not collected centrally.

REASON 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

A. Awaiting completion of assessment.

30 17 50 752 605 620

B. Awaiting public funding.

0 0 6 617 790 89

C. Awaiting further non-acute (including community and mental health) NHS care (including intermediate care, rehabilitation services etc).

278 189 201 518 461 21

Di. Awaiting residential home placement or availability

1,915 1,520 1,725 1,384 860 1,402



REASON 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

Dii. Awaiting nursing home placement or availability

1,174 1,460 1,012 1,197 1,753 3,237

E. Awaiting care package in own home

2,879 2,734 2,297 4,837 3,741 4,883

F. Awaiting community equipment and adaptations

38 69 161 230 294 343

G. Patient or family choice

1,141 810 1,246 2,180 1,775 1,291

H. Disputes 14 10 7 131 16 21

I. Housing - patients not covered by NHS and Community Care Act

0 0 33 88 286 188

Source: NHS England, http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/delayed-transfers-of-care/

Notes:

1. August 2010 was the first month where data was collected on a monthly basis. Prior to that, data was collected weekly as unpublished and un-validated management data.

2. Data from 2014-15 includes months from April 2014 to January 2015. Data for February 2015 is due to be published on 27 March 2015.

http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/delayed-transfers-of-care/

http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/delayed-transfers-of-care/


HOME OFFICE

Asylum

Andrew Jones: [227470]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made in reducing the number of asylum cases dating to before 2007.

James Brokenshire: At the end of 2012, there were approximately 41,000 ‘legacy’ asylum and migration cases where the original application was submitted before March 2007. The Home Office committed to review and communicate decisions on all of these by the end of 2014. The work to review and communicate decisions was completed by the end of December 2014 aside from a small number of cases where an external impediment, such as an outstanding criminal investigation or ongoing litigation, prevented us completing our review

There are cases where the Home Office has completed a review and decided that it is not appropriate to grant leave but not yet removed the applicant. It is for this reason that we committed to review and communicate decisions on the pre March 2007 cases but did not guarantee that all will be concluded by the end of 2014. Such individuals will remain live whilst removal is progressed.

Link to the related published data:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/407276/asylum_transparency_data-q4_2014.ods

Pete Wishart: [227686]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2015 to Question 225163, on asylum, how many further submissions were made in (a) East Midlands, (b) London, (c) Northern Ireland, (d) North East England, (e) North West England, (f) Scotland, (g) Wales, (h) West Midlands and (i) Yorkshire and the Humber in each year from 2008 to 2014.

James Brokenshire: Regional data is not captured at the point of application.

Pete Wishart: [227687]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2015 to Question 225191, on asylum, how many grants on (a) protection and (b) non-protection grounds her Department made in (i) England, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Wales in each year from 2008 to 2014.

James Brokenshire: Regional data is not captured at the point of application.







Asylum: Bedford

Richard Fuller: [227949]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum legacy cases are outstanding in the MK40, MK41 and MK42 postcode areas.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is shown in the below table:

PC PREFIX NUMBER OF PERSONS

MK40 13

MK42 15

MK41 8

Grand Total 36

Asylum: Females


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that women are informed about all of their specific rights and entitlements within the asylum process.

James Brokenshire: We are currently reviewing the information we provide to women asylum applicants at the point of claim to ensure that they are aware of the external services available to them and of their rights in the asylum process, such as the right to request an interviewer and interpreter of a particular gender. In conjunction with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Refugee Council and the Scottish Refugee Council, we will shortly begin a pilot to signpost women who may have been the victims of sexual violence to existing support services.

Asylum: Syria

Richard Burden: [228475]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have (a) applied and (b) successfully resettled in the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (i) in total and (ii) in each month since September 2014.

James Brokenshire: As at 31 December 2014, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had referred 260 people for consideration under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme. This data is based on management information only, and has not therefore been subject to the detailed checks that apply to National Statistics publications. 143 people were relocated to the UK under the Vulnerable Persons





Relocation (VPR) scheme between the first group of arrivals on 25 March 2014 and the end of December 2014. This is the latest publicly available figure, as numbers are released as part of the Home Office official statistics each quarter.

The table below states the numbers resettled at the end of each quarter.

2014 Q1 – 13 2014 Q2 – 37 2014 Q3 – 40 2014 Q4 – 53

Total – 143

The number of arrivals under the scheme up to March 2015 will be published on 21 May.

Borders: Personal Records

Mr David Blunkett: [228120]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what account her Department took of the effects of and reasons for the removal of embarkation procedures in 1996 when making the decision to re-establish such procedures in the current Parliament.

James Brokenshire: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: Embarkation controls were abolished partially in 1994 and completely in 1998, as the paper-based checks were deemed outdated and checks were not carried outon all modes of transport.

There have been considerable technological advances since the 1990s. Moreover, there are expanding and differing requirements and challenges for border services in the modern world. The Government’s commitment to introduce exit checks takes full account of these developments.

The new approach will make effective use of electronic systems that are able to support technology-based checks on those leaving the UK and produce more accurate and increasingly valuable information for immigration and border security purposes.

Crime


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to identify and address the drivers of crime.

Lynne Featherstone: Crime is down by more than a fifth under this Government, according to the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales.

We are addressing the key drivers of crime by reshaping our approach to alcohol; tackling illicit and harmful drug use; taking action in a number of areas to stop young people getting involved in crime; and closing off opportunities to commit crimes, for example by legislating on metal theft.




Crime: Rural Areas

Miss Anne McIntosh: [228350]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department sets targets for reductions in rural crime; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning: Tackling rural crime is clearly important but it is not for the Home Office to set targets for local policing. We have introduced Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure democratic accountability for local crime and policing matters. They are best placed to set priorities for tackling crime in their local area, including addressing the needs of rural communities.

Local policing priorities are determined by police and crime commissioners, following consultation with the chief constable and the public, and are published in their Police and Crime Plan. We have transferred responsibility for crime statistics to the independent Office for National Statistics, introduced a new Crime Outcomes Framework to provide greater transparency and abolished 'one size fits all' performance targets. Under this Government, the police have just one objective: to cut crime.

Deportation

Dr William McCrea: [227085]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were deported from each constituent part of the UK in 2013 and 2014.

James Brokenshire: We are unable to provide a breakdown of the number of removals for each constituent part of the UK but the total number of removals is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2014-data-tables

Detention Centres

Sarah Teather: [228234]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to expand the size of the immigration detention estate.

James Brokenshire: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: Detaining and removing people with no right to be in the country, with dignity and respect, is an essential part of effective immigration controls.

The future requirements of the detention estate, including its capacity and location, is kept under constant review.







Detention Centres: Internet

Sarah Teather: [228448]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that people held in immigration removal centres have access to the websites of organisations that provide advice and support services for those people.

James Brokenshire: The provision of internet access in immigration removal centres helps detainees to remain in contact with family, friends and legal representatives and to prepare for removal. It is a contractual requirement that all immigration removal centres provide detainees with reasonable and regulated access to the internet and IT facilities. It is important that detainees can access legitimate websites including news, education, employment and legal sites, and we are taking steps to standardise internet access across the detention estate. This includes consultation with the voluntary sector on website access and the development of a new Detention Services Order to set out requirements for access and monitoring.

Immigrants: Detainees

Paul Blomfield: [908247]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the introduction of a 28-day time limit on immigration detention.

James Brokenshire: It is Government policy that there is a presumption in favour of liberty when exercising detention powers under immigration legislation. Parliament voted on introducing a limit on detention of 60 days during the passage of the Immigration Act. This amendment was rejected with a majority of over 300.

Immigrants: Pregnant Women


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to end the immigration detention of pregnant women.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to end the immigration detention of people over the age of 65.

James Brokenshire: It is not normally considered appropriate to detain pregnant women for immigration offences unless there is either a clear prospect of their early removal, and medical advice does not suggest that the baby is duebefore the planned removal date; or as part of the asylum fast-track process in the case of women who are less than 24 weeks pregnant.






Older people are only considered suitable for detention in exceptional circumstances, especially where constant or significant supervision is required which cannot be satisfactorily managed in detention.

Marriage Certificates


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made on bringing forward legislative proposals to allow the mothers of brides and grooms to be recorded on marriage certificates.

James Brokenshire: There is support across Government for marriage registers to be updated and my Rt.Hon. Friend the Prime Minister stated publically in August 2014 that it was “high time” that a change was made. This is a complex task due to the large numbers of registers in use and the associated costs of replacing them. We are, therefore, investigating options on how this can be achieved as soon as possible.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Alan Beith: [227733]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ensure that a full and substantive reply is given to the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed to his letter of 6 January 2015 regarding the Shared Services Directorate and his constituent M.W.

James Brokenshire: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: My Noble Friend Lord Bates wrote to the right hon. Member on 20 March.

Merseyside Police

Mrs Louise Ellman: [228138]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time police officers have been in the employ of Merseyside Police in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: The table provided contains data on the number of full-time police officers (headcount) employed by Merseyside Police as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2014. Over this period, full-time police officers have fallen by 595 police officers or 14%.

Over the same period, police recorded crime (excluding fraud) has fallen by 13%in Merseyside police force area.

NUMBER OF FULL-TIME POLICE OFFICERS (HEADCOUNT 1 ) EMPLOYED BY MERSEYSIDE

POLICE AS AT 31 MARCH 2010 TO 31 MARCH 2014 2





NUMBER OF FULL-TIME POLICE OFFICERS (HEADCOUNT 1 ) EMPLOYED BY MERSEYSIDE

POLICE AS AT 31 MARCH 2010 TO 31 MARCH 2014 2

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Merseyside Police

4,399 4,173 3,962 3,769 3,804

1. These figures are provided on a headcount basis, they represent total officers (headcount) less part-time officers (headcount).

2. Police officer numbers as at 31 March 2014 with full-time/part-time breakdowns, by police force area, are published in the Police Workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2014 statistical publication and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales. Previously only the total number of police officers was published without a full-time/part-time split in the published tables. They have not been verified by police forces and are provisional.

Offenders: Deportation


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of powers under the Immigration Act 2014 to stop criminals using family life arguments to delay deportation.

James Brokenshire: The new Immigration Act 2014 stops criminals from using family life arguments to delay their deportation by making clear that the public interest normally requires the deportation of foreign criminals, notwithstanding their claim to family life.

Since passing this Act, the Government has also removed more than 600 foreign national offenders under the new non suspensive appeals powers, with many more going through the system.

Overseas Students

Mr Barry Sheerman: [227976]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential economic effect of (a) reducing and (b) increasing the number of international students studying at UK universities.

James Brokenshire: There is no limit on the number of genuine international students who can come to study here, and the reforms we have made to tackle abuse have not deterred the brightest and the best from coming to study at our world-class universities.




Figures show that there has been an increase of 18% in visa applications from university students compared to 2010 and increase of 30% for those wishing to attend a Russell Group university compared to 2010.

Higher education statistics for the academic year 2013-14 show that there has been strong growth in countries such as Malaysia (+13%) and Hong Kong (+7%). Chinese new entrants have also more than doubled since 2008-09.

Overseas Students: English Language


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the reduction in the number of English Language Test Centres on international students studying at UK universities.

James Brokenshire: The reduction in the number of test centres offering English language tests for immigration purposes was necessary to ensure control and audit ability following significant abuse identified in early 2014. The Home Office has planned the Secure English Language Test centre network to meet anticipated demand and extensive transitional arrangements have been arranged to coincide with the 2014/15 academic year to minimise the impact on student applications.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the reduction in the number of English Language Test Centres for international students on university finances.

James Brokenshire: The Secure English Language Test centre network has been planned to meet anticipated demand. Overseas, the test centres have been mapped to the Visa Application Centre locations to limit the impact on travel and within the UK, there will be an adequate spread of test centres across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. There are provisions in the contract which allow us to expand the network if there is a capacity or location specific issue.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received from universities on the reduction in the number of English language test centres for international students.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office is currently meeting delegates from across the English language sector to address their members’ questions about the test centre network, and to confirm that there is no change to the ability of higher education institutions to perform their own assessment of English language for those studying degree level courses and above.





Passports


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff were employed by her Department to process passport applications of any kind in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: Numbers of staff in Her Majesty’s Passport Office processing passport applications as opposed to other duties are not classified under a single category. This information is therefore not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Police Custody

Karen Lumley: [908248]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to protect the welfare of vulnerable people in custody.

Mrs Theresa May: Last year, I commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to carry out a review of vulnerable people in custody. Last week’s report was concerning, particularly regarding the use of Taser and restraint.

I have therefore asked HMIC to specifically inspect the use of Taser and restraint. I am also suspending the publication of Taser data after work to review it revealed serious concerns about its accuracy. We need much greater transparency of age, ethnicity and outcome data of Taser incidents

Police: Football

Mark Hendrick: [228373]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much each police force in the North West charged to each football club in their area for policing of football matches in 2014; and how much of those charges are currently outstanding.

Mike Penning: While the Home Office provides the majority of Government funding to the police, decisions on how this is spent are made locally by Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and their chief constables. As such, the allocation of budgets by individual police forces in England and Wales to cover any potential additional costs arising from policing any events is entirely a local decision. This information is not collected centrally.

Police: Pensions

Mr Stewart Jackson: [228167]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding her Department provided in police pension top-up grants to each police force in England and Wales in each year since 2006-07.






Mike Penning: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: Police pensions are funded by each police force paying employer and officer contributions into a separate account. These funds are then used to pay current police pensions.

Where the income into the police force’s pensions account is not sufficient to meet the cash cost of pensions being paid to retired officers, this is topped up by Home Office grant.

A breakdown across all forces is not available immediately. However, in total* the Home Office has provided the following top-up funding as follows:

• 2006/07 - £291million • 2007/08 - £352million • 2008/09 - £630million • 2009/10 - £639 million • 2010/11 - £721 million • 2011/12 - £1,064 million • 2012/13 - £1,218 million • 2013/14 - £1,291million** • 2014/15 - £1,441million***

* The total figure includes funding for all 43 forces in England and Wales as well as other bodies such as Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.

** The figure for 2013/14 is based on police authorities' unaudited data only at this stage, and payment of the balance in respect of 2013/14 is yet to be made; the figure provided is the total expected grant requirement once the balance of payment in arrears has been made.

*** Forecast

Rape: Democratic Republic of Congo


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to implement the recommendations in the report, Rape as torture in the DRC, published by Freedom from Torture in June 2014.

James Brokenshire: Her Majesty's Government issued a Country Policy Bulletin on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in October 2014 which includes guidance and country information for asylum decision-makers on considering the risks faced by womenreturning to the DRC.

The Bulletin is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/democratic-republic-of-congo-country-information-and-guidance

The Bulletin cites the Freedom from Torture (FfT) report of June 2014 and a July 2013 FfT submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the same subject.





Religiously Aggravated Offences: Lancashire


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of anti-Muslim hate crime were reported to the police in (a) Pendle and (b) Lancashire in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013 and (v) 2014.

Lynne Featherstone: All forms of hate crime are deplorable and it’s important that victims are protected and have the confidence to come forward. The Government is driving forward work to tackle hostility and hate crime. We have toughened up sentencing and are working closely with the police and other agencies to increase reporting, improve support and prevent these terrible crimes happening in the first place.

We continue to work with our voluntary sector partners to raise awareness of hate crime at local and national events, and explore opportunities to promote the use of the True Vision web tool further, including through targeted social media advertising with direct messages to specific groups.

The Government’s action plan on hate crime, published in 2012, and progress report, published in May 2014, outline actions currently being taken by the government to tackle hate crime, as well as the many actions which have already been completed.

The Home Office does not hold the requested information. The Home Office receives data on hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales for the five centrally monitored strands (race, religion, sexual orientation, disability and gender identity) but these data cannot be broken down by religion of the victim.

Further information on hate crimes, including force level figures, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crimes-england-and-wales-2013-to-2014

Robert Nairac

Kate Hoey: [228358]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons Terence McCormick and Patrick Maguire have not been extradited from the US to face questioning in relation to the murder of Captain Robert Nairac.

James Brokenshire: As a matter of long-standing policy and practice, the Government will neither confirm nor deny the existence of an extradition request made or received by this country before an arrest is made pursuant to such a request.

This is in order to prevent the subject of a request learning about it in advance, and giving them the opportunity to evade justice by leaving the jurisdiction or otherwise seeking to avoid arrest.

The Home Office does not initiate extradition requests. Extradition requests to countries outside the European Union are prepared by the relevant prosecuting authority and the police. They are then sent to the Home Office to seal and certify, and for transmission to


https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crimes-england-and-wales-2013-to-2014



the relevant State. Extradition may only be requested where a person is accused or convicted of an offence.

Stop and Search: Children


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children under the age of 16 have been stopped and searched by the police in each year since 2010 in each police force.

Mike Penning: Data on the age of persons stopped and searched by police are not held centrally.

Tobacco: Smuggling


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what expenditure UK Border Force has incurred in operating x-ray scanners to tackle tobacco smuggling in each year since 2010-11.

James Brokenshire: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of the salaries of officials working in the Border Force employed in tackling tobacco smuggling in each year since 2010-11.

James Brokenshire: [Holding answer 23 March 2015]: The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time equivalent Border Force staff worked on implementing the Government's Tackling Tobacco Smuggling strategy in each year since 2010-11.

James Brokenshire: Border Force cannot provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate costs. Border Force adopts an intelligence-led approach to all its customs activities so that its multi-functional resources can be deployed as effectively as possible in line with the latest threat assessments. Efforts to tackle tobacco smuggling are one of a number of customs activities undertaken by Border Force officials.






HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

ICT

Chi Onwurah: [228501]

To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2015 to Question 227498, to which budget the mobile charges for hon. Members' iPads fall; what plans the Commission has to offer hon. Members a platform other than iOS; and what provision PICT is making for hon. Members who do not wish to use iPads.

John Thurso: Following the election, each Member will be offered an iPad to facilitate use of online services provided by Parliament. These iPads, and the associated mobile data costs, will be funded from the Administration Estimate.

Members will also be able to order IT equipment from an online catalogue, financed from the Members Estimate. The catalogue will include a range of laptops, desktops, tablets, printers and peripherals to equip their offices. Parliamentary ICT (PICT) intends to offer devices in this catalogue that run the following operating systems, subject to security assurance and testing: Windows, iOS, OS X Yosemite and Android.


To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2015 to Question 227500, what consideration was given to putting the contract for the supply of tablets for hon. Members out to competitive tender; and what the minimum value is for contracts that must be put out to competitive tender.

John Thurso: The minimum value for contracts that must be put out to competitive tender is £50,000. The contract was awarded under a Crown Commercial Service framework. In order to be part of the framework the suppliers have taken part in a competitive tender process.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Dr Julian Lewis: [228515]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take in respect of (i) funding the Plant for Peace pomegranate cultivation programme in Afghanistan and (ii) supporting Afghan nationals to take up educational opportunities in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: DFID does not currently fund the Plant for Peace programme. DFID’s education funding is focused on improving opportunities within Afghanistan itself, in line with the Afghan Government’s own priorities.





Burma


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many ethnic Rohingya in camps in Rakhine State, Burma, have died in the last year; and what the main causes of deaths in those camps are.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The Burmese Ministry of Health and the UN did not collect this data last year.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department provided to support refugees from Burma living in refugee camps in Thailand in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Through The Border Consortium, the Department for International Development has provided the following support to refugees from Burma living in refugee camps in Thailand over the last five years: 2010, £1,085,000; 2011, £1,085,000; 2012, £2,071,250; 2013, £1,800,000; 2014, £1,800,000.

Consultants

Mary Creagh: [228430]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much has been paid to consultancies for (a) programme delivery and (b) monitoring and evaluation by her Department in each year since 2010.

Justine Greening: DFID does not hold this information in the form requested.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which 10 consultancies have received the largest amount from herDepartment since 2010; and how much her Department paid each such consultancy.

Justine Greening: DFID does not hold this information in the form requested.

Developing Countries: Health Professions


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which countries her Department has supported to train, recruit and retain health workers since May 2010.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK supports low-income countries to develop robust healthcare systems, including country efforts to build and maintain health worker capacity through training new health workers, building skills in existing health workers, and supporting government







planning. The UK has provided bilateral health aid to over 30 countries and a number of regional programmes since May 2010, full details of which can be found at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development/about/statistics.

The UK has a number of targeted programmes that address critical health worker issues in Ethiopia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Zambia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, India, South Africa and Nepal. The UK also funds the Health Partnership Scheme (HPS) that supports partnerships between UK and developing country health institutions to strengthen health workforce capacity. The HPS supports activities in 26 countries in Africa and Asia.

Nigeria


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the Nigerian general elections on 28 March 2015.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID is supporting the 2015 Nigerian elections (now scheduled for 28 March and 11 April) through a £35m programme called Deepening Democracy in Nigeria 2 (DDiN2) from 2014 – 2018. It works across the electoral cycle and strengthens broader democratic governance in Nigeria. It is seeking to improve management, security and independent observation of the 2015 Presidential, National Assembly and gubernatorial elections. It also seeks to increase engagement by the electorate in Nigerian political processes, and in particular by women, youth and people with disabilities.

DFID also works closely with the FCO, EU and US in particular to have a joined up approach to elections support.

Overseas Aid


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has lost as a result of the financial collapse of (a) an NGO, (b) a financial lender and (c) other institutions in each year since 2010.

Justine Greening: The table below provides a summary of the losses incurred by DFID by category and by year.

LOSSES DUE TO FINANCIAL COLLAPSE OF (TO NEAREST £0.1M)

NGO Financial Lender Other Institutions

2010/11 - - 0.0m

2011/12 - - 0.0m

2012/13 - - 0.2m




LOSSES DUE TO FINANCIAL COLLAPSE OF (TO NEAREST £0.1M)

2013/14 - - -

2014/15 - - -

Palestinians


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the demolition by Israeli authorities in October 2014 of a latrine unit, constructed using funding from her Department, in Khashem ad Daraj in the occupied Palestinian territory, whether compensation has been requested from the Israeli authorities.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK has not asked the Government of Israel for compensation for the demolition of this project. We continue to raise concerns about demolitions with the Government of Israel at the highest levels.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the demolition by Israeli authorities in October 2014 of a latrine unit, constructed using funding from her Department, in Khashem ad Daraj in the occupied Palestinian territory, what estimate she has made of the cost of replacing that unit.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the demolition by Israeli authorities in October 2014 of a latrine unit, constructed using funding from her Department, in Khashem ad Daraj in the occupied Palestinian territory, what the cost of that construction project was.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The original cost of the two latrines, constructed between 2004 and 2006 and demolished in October 2014, was 3,300 New Israeli Shekels each, which is equivalent to approximately £550. The project was implemented by the non-governmental organisation Environmental Resource Management (ERM) with DFID funding between 2004-2006.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the demolition by Israeli authorities in October 2014 of a latrine unit, constructed using funding from her Department, in Khashem ad Daraj in the occupied Palestinian territory, what discussions she has had with her Israeli counterparts on the reasons for that demolition.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK raises concerns about demolitions and displacement with the Government of Israel on a regular basis and at the highest levels. Demolitions cause unnecessary






suffering to ordinary Palestinians, are harmful to the peace process, and in all but most limited circumstances are contrary to international humanitarian law. The UK also works closely with the UN Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator which raised concerns about this and many other recent demolitions in a letter to the Israeli authorities in November 2014.

Staff


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many and what proportion of employees in her Department identify as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The proportion of DFID staff who have declared their ethnicity is shown in the table below. Numbers below five for any declared ethnicity are not provided as it may identify individuals.

ETHNICITY TOTAL

Any Other Ethnic Group 1.9%

Asian - Any Other Background 0.8%

Asian - Bangladeshi 0.3%

Asian - Indian 1.9%

Asian - Pakistani 0.8%

Black - African 1.2%

Black - Caribbean 1.2%

Mixed - Any Other Background 0.4%

Mixed - White and Asian 0.7%

Mixed - White and Black African 0.5%

Mixed - White and Black Caribbean 0.3%

White - Any Other Background 19.5%

White - English 19.7%

White - Irish 0.7%

White - Northern Irish 0.3%

White - Scottish 17.9%



ETHNICITY TOTAL

White - Welsh 0.7%

Sudan

Mark Durkan: [228072]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of humanitarian conditions in eastern Sudan.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The lack of development in the east of Sudan has driven chronic humanitarian needs which continue to be of concern. According to the latest Ministry of Health national nutrition survey, the east of Sudan has some of the highest rates of malnutrition in the country, in many places exceeding emergency thresholds. High rates of malnutrition are of even greater concern as they increase the vulnerability of children to disease and the likelihood of fatality. The east of Sudan has been particularly affected by the ongoing measles outbreak.

There is also a long term refugee population of some 92,000 people who continue to require the services of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure that they receive protection and their humanitarian needs are met.

Thailand Burma Border Consortium


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of funding to the Thailand Burma Border Consortium was provided by her Department in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The Department for International Development has provided the following proportions of funding to the Border Consortium (formerly called the Thailand Burma Border Consortium) over the last five years: 2010, 5%; 2011, 5%; 2012, 10%; 2013, 10%; 2014, 11%.

Zimbabwe


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding from her Department is currently held by Microking in Zimbabwe; and what steps her Department is taking to recover those funds.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to Microking in Zimbabwe in each year since 2010.






Justine Greening: DFID has not provided any funding directly to Microking in Zimbabwe.

JUSTICE

Child Abuse in North Wales Judicial Inquiry Review

Ann Clwyd: [227740]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on the Macur Review.

Ann Clwyd: [227741]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent updates he has received from Lady Justice Macur about the progress of the Macur Review.

Ann Clwyd: [227742]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the Macur Review to report.

Simon Hughes: Lady Justice Macur’s Review is entirely independent of Government and therefore its timetable is a matter for her. She is on record as saying that her Review would be thorough and that she would not draw any conclusions until she had considered all the evidence. I am, however, aware that the Review is nearing its completion and that the Government will receive Lady Justice Macur’s Report this year.

Cremation


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to appoint a National Crematorium Inspector after the amendment of cremation regulations and death certification reforms.

Simon Hughes: I refer to my answer of 5 March for PQ 225548 which can be found at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-02-26/225548/

When I set out that the Department of Health implements its death certification reforms, the Ministry of Justice will also amend its cremation regulations to reflect the changes to cremation authorisation processes. Planning for these reforms will present an opportunity for consultation and to consider the recommendations both of the Shropshire inquiry and the 2014 Infant Cremation Commission in Scotland, including the appointment of a National Inspector of Crematoria.






Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Mr David Ruffley: [218406]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals by claimants against decisions on non-entitlement to employment and support allowance in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire, (f) Norfolk and (g) England there were in each year since 2010; what the average length of time taken to determine such appeals was in each such year; and what the cost of such appeals was in each such year.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support), administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits, including Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, and Incapacity Benefit.

(1) Appeals against decisions for ESA can be made for various reasons, not just about entitlement. HMCTS is unable to differentiate between appeals relating to matters of entitlement and those relating to other issues about claims for ESA, and therefore does not hold the information requested.

(2) HMCTS does not record data specifically relating to appeals where a medical assessment has been conducted by the DWP and therefore does not hold the information requested.

Evidence


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department publishes on assisting young and vulnerable victims and witnesses to give evidence in court.

Mike Penning: Providing support for young victims and witnesses to help them give their best possible evidence and bring offenders to justice is something the Government takes seriously.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published the Witness Charter which sets out the standard of care all witnesses can expect from the criminal justice system. The Charter complements the revised Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, which came into force in December 2013. This contains a special section for children and tells them what help and services they should receive from the criminal justice system. The MoJ has also produced guidance packs for young and vulnerable witnesses to help them personally with the experience of coming to court.

In addition to these guides, there is a range of ‘special measures’ under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to help support young, vulnerable and intimidated witnesses give their best evidence and reduce the anxiety of attending court.




ICT


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which news applications staff in his Department are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.

Mr Shailesh Vara: MoJ staff can access any news websites via their internet browser. We do block some sites but this does not typically include news sites. In terms of downloadable applications we enable the BBC App and others on demand.

Internet Service Providers


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent representations his Department has received from rights holders on safe harbour provisions.

Simon Hughes: The Safe Harbour negotiations are on-going between the EU and the US. The UK is keen to uphold the Safe Harbour principles and for these negotiations to reach a swift and mutually acceptable conclusion. I am always interested in the views of stakeholder groups on this and other data protection issues.

King Richard III


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who will represent the Government at the service at Leicester Cathedral for the reburial of King Richard III.

Simon Hughes: I can confirm that the Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling, will be attending the reinterment ceremony on 26 March. The day marks a momentous occasion in English history, and I am pleased the ceremony will grant the late monarch a dignified and honourable burial.

Offences against Children

Jeremy Corbyn: [221914]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will review the cross examination of witnesses in child abuse prosecutions.

Mike Penning: The Ministry of Justice conducted a review of ways to reduce distress that some victims suffer from cross-examination in trials of sexual violence. For the purposes of the review, sexual violence was an umbrella term which covered offences charged under sexual offences legislation as well as other legislation that deals with abuse and exploitation of children and vulnerable people. The review included current day and historical offending so that victims of all ages and types were considered.






A report of the review was published in March 2014 on the government website and is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-ways-to-reduce-distress-of-victims-in-trials-of-sexual-violence.

In September last year, we published Our Commitment to Victims which included plans to protect vulnerable victims and witnesses in court. Measures outlined include giving vulnerable witnesses greater opportunity to give evidence from a location away from the courtroom, rolling out pre-trial recorded cross-examination for child victims (subject to the evaluation of pilots) and requiring publicly-funded advocates in cases involving serious sexual offences to undertake specialist training on dealing with vulnerable people. The latter was a recommendation from the review.

Offences against Children: North West


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of cruelty to persons under 16 under the provisions of Section 1(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 at each magistrates' and Crown court in the North West in 2014.

Mike Penning: Protecting children from harm is a Government priority. All children should be able to grow up in a safe, happy environment. The focus must be on early intervention as we know that the earlier that help and support is given to vulnerable children and families, the more chance there is of turning their lives around, protecting children from harm and preventing problems escalating into child cruelty.

However, where that is not possible, tough legislation is in place to punish offenders for this intolerable behaviour. This includes the offence of child cruelty at section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. The Government has recently updated and clarified this offence, in particular to make it absolutely clear that cruelty which causes psychological suffering or injury is covered by it. These changes to section 1 of the 1933 Act are made by section 66 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, which was given Royal Assent on 3 March.

Court proceedings data for the calendar year 2014 are due for publication in May 2015.

Offenders: EU Action


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what best practice his Department has learnt from leading the EU-funded Serious Offending by Mobile European Criminals project.

Andrew Selous: The Serious Offending by Mobile European Criminals (SOMEC) project was primarily a research-based project, focusing on assessing the risk posed by serious European criminals, mapping how they are managed both domestically and externally, reviewing what works with sexual and violent offenders, and producing a set of recommendations

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-ways-to-reduce-distress-of-victims-in-trials-of-sexual-violence

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-ways-to-reduce-distress-of-victims-in-trials-of-sexual-violence




for all EU Member States to consider on how to reduce the risk posed by such offenders crossing borders.

Now that the project has completed, we are considering its recommendations carefully, in order to protect the public from serious criminals within the EU, including by improving the flow of information between Member States.

Prison Service

Mr David Anderson: [227747]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the Government decided to award no salary increase to the majority of prison officers in the 2015-16 pay award.

Andrew Selous: Staff should be in no doubt how highly I value the hard work that they put in every single day. That is why we have introduced major organisational changes that have saved taxpayers money and ultimately ensured key jobs have stayed in the public sector.

Our reforms have helped to save £300m per year from 2015 -16 - protecting existing jobs and creating new ones by ensuring that HMPS will run the new prison in North Wales.

Pay awards for prison officers are determined independently of Government by the Prison Service Pay Review Body having considered evidence from both NOMS and trade unions. The award recommended for 2015/16 does not include a salary increase for most prison officers who remain in the old NOMS grade (although a small number will receive a contractual incremental increase). All officers in the new (Fair and Sustainable) pay structures will receive an increase. The recommended award recognises that significant pay reform is an important part of delivering future savings .

The Government has accepted the recommendations in full. To do otherwise would undermine the independence of the Review Body as a genuine compensatory measure for restrictions placed on prison staff participating in lawful industrial action over pay.

Prisoners' Release


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how frequently prison recall data for the licence period and the new supervision period will be published; and whether such data will be recorded and published separately for Essex.

Andrew Selous: Statistics on offenders recalled and returned to custody are published quarterly in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) bulletin. In accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics dates for future releases of this bulletin have been pre-announced in the Department’s statistical publication schedule. This is available online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/statistics





As part of the latest release of OMSQ, my Department published a consultation document and set of statistical tables proposing how this information on recalls could be presented in the future. These new tables aim to ensure that the changes this Government’s Transforming Rehabilitation programme have made in this area can be monitored. These documents are available online at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2014

The proposed set of statistical tables do not currently include a separate breakdown for Essex. I have asked my officials to consider this request, alongside other consultation responses, as they develop the final tables that will be included with the next edition of Offender Management Statistics Quarterly which is due to be published on 30 April 2015.

Prisoners' Release: Birmingham

John Hemming: [228194]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the number of licence recalls activated during the (a) licence and (b) supervision period for the Community Rehabilitation Company service in Birmingham, Yardley constituency.

Andrew Selous: Statistics on offenders recalled and returned to custody are published quarterly in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) bulletin. In accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics dates for future releases of this bulletin have been pre-announced in the Department’s statistical publication schedule. This is available online at:


As part of the latest release of OMSQ, my Department published a consultation document and set of statistical tables proposing how this information on recalls could be presented in the future. These new tables aim to ensure that the changes this Government’s Transforming Rehabilitation programme have made in this area can be monitored. These documents are available online at the link below:


The proposed set of statistical tables do not currently include a separate breakdown for recalls by Community Rehabilitation Companies activated during the licence period and supervision period. I have asked my officials to consider this request, alongside other consultation responses, as they develop the final tables that will be included with the next edition of Offender Management Statistics Quarterly which is due to be published on 30 April 2015.








Prisons: Drugs


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the first drug scanner will be installed in a prison in England or Wales.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much is being spent on drug scanners for jails in England and Wales.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drug scanners are being purchased for jails in England and Wales.

Andrew Selous: The Government is committed to reducing the supply of drugs into prison. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) already deploys a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. We will continue to explore new methods of preventing drugs coming into prisons and new generation body scanners are seen as a valuable part of this.

The first machine has been purchased and will be installed in a prison during April 2015. There will be a programme of work, led by NOMS, to assess the most effective way to deploy body scanners across the estate, based on experience of their use in an operational setting. NOMS will be supported in this by the Centre for Applied Science and Technology.

The initial assessment will also provide valuable information for the subsequent tendering exercise. The precise costs of the wider programme will depend on the initial assessment and on the procurement exercise which will be undertaken to ensure that best value for money is obtained.

Staff


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of employees in his Department identify as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Diversity data for all staff within the Ministry of Justice including its executive agencies is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-report-2013-to-2014

The next report is due to be published November 2015.






Truancy: North West


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted under the provisions of section (a) 444(1) and (b) 444(1A) of the Education Act 1966 each magistrates' and Crown court in the North West in 2014.

Mike Penning: Court proceedings data for 2014 are planned for publication in May 2015

The Court Proceedings data for calendar year 2013 can be viewed at the following link:-

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2013

NORTHERN IRELAND

Staff


To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of employees in her Department identify as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: As of February 2015, 31 employees in my Department, equal to 29.2% of staff, were recorded as white or white British; 2 employees, equal to 1.9% of staff, were recorded as black, Asian or from other minority ethnic groups. These figures are based on those staff that chose to declare their ethnic origin; we do not hold information on the remaining 73 employees.

PRIME MINISTER

ICT: VAT


To ask the Prime Minister, if, during the discussions of the effect on UK micro-businesses of EU digital VAT legislation since its implementation on 1 January 2015 at the March 2015 European Council meeting in Brussels, he will negotiate for a derogation for micro-businesses; if he will publish details of changes that he plans to call for in those discussions; if he will report to the House before the Dissolution of Parliament on the outcome of those discussions; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Cameron: I updated the House on the March 2015 European Council meeting on 23 March 2015, Official Report, columns 1120-1122.







While the UK supports Directive 2008/8/EC on EU VAT for digital services sold across borders, this Government is making sure that microbusinesses are not disadvantaged. I raised the challenges created by the new directive for UK microbusinesses with the President of the European Commission in Brussels last week. The Commission is looking into this and will publish a report reviewing implementation of the Directive. We will continue to push this to make sure that we get the best deal for British firms.

SCOTLAND

Pay


To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the average hourly pay is for employees at each grade within his Department identified as (a) White or White British and (b) from a Black, Asian or other minority ethnic group.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff. All Scotland Office staff are on loan or secondment from other government bodies. The other government bodies remain the employers of the staff and hold information about pay rates and ethnicity.

TRANSPORT

Driving: Epilepsy


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reduce the length of time a person who has had a seizure while asleep must surrender their driving licence from one year to three months without further seizures.

Claire Perry: There are no plans to reduce the length of time for surrendering a driving licence from one year to three months where a person has had an epileptic seizure whilst asleep.

Drivers who have suffered a sleep seizure over 12 months ago and have only had sleep seizures since (i.e. no awake seizures), may be licensed to drive, if it has been established over the 12 months that the history or pattern of the attacks have only ever occurred while asleep.

Rules around the length of time a driver must surrender their driving licence following a seizure are governed in the UK by European Directives. The minimum standards for the issue of driving licences must be implemented by all member states.




ICT


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which news applications staff in his Department are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.

Claire Perry: Staff in the Department for Transport and its Agencies are not authorised to download any news applications on their work provided phones and tablets. There is an exception for staff in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) where the following official news applications are available in their works app store to download to their work-provided devices:

· Sky News

· GOV.UK news

· Microsoft (Bing) news

Some devices are configured for business and personal use. Application downloads on the business side are prohibited. On the personal side, staff can download applications from the relevant app store at their own expense, but no record is kept.

London Bridge Station

Ms Harriet Harman: [228503]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passengers have been compensated for the recent disruption to rail services at London Bridge; and what the average such payment has been.

Claire Perry: The Department does not hold the information requested. However, we will continue to push operators to ensure passengers are aware of compensation arrangements and claim where entitled to do so under the Delay/Repay scheme, as set out on train operators’ websites:

http://www.thameslinkrailway.com/contact-us/delay-repay/

https://www.southernrailway.com/your-journey/customer-services/delay-repay/delay-repay-form

http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/contact/delay-repay/


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review compensation for passengers affected by the recent disruption to rail services at London Bridge.

Claire Perry: I have previously set out that I am considering the case but I cannot make any guarantees at this point. To provide additional compensation above Passenger’s Charter arrangements to passengers would place a large additional financial burden on this and future major projects which would in turn increase the cost to taxpayers.



http://www.thameslinkrailway.com/contact-us/delay-repay/



http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/contact/delay-repay/




To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for how long he expects the disruption to rail services at London Bridge to continue.

Claire Perry: I have made it clear that the recent disruption is unacceptable. While London Bridge will operate with a reduced capacity for trains until the redevelopment works are complete in early 2018, I expect Network Rail and the operators to deliver a reliable service to passengers. I will be closely monitoring their performance and will not hesitate to call them to account if required.


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he next plans to meet (a) Network Rail and (b) Southern Railway to discuss the recent disruption to rail services at London Bridge station.

Claire Perry: Ministers and senior officials are in regular contact, and have regular meetings with both organisations with regard to the disruption being experienced at London Bridge.

Ports: Freight

Kelvin Hopkins: [R] [228413]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of freight containers that will be moved from (a) Felixstowe and (b) Tilbury port by (i) rail and (ii) road in the next two years.

Mr John Hayes: The department does not hold estimates of future freight container activity for individual ports, nor estimates of the mode used for onward journeys.


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of anticipated levels of rail freight activity at (a) Felixstowe and (b) Tilbury port in the next year will have on (i) rail and (ii) dock workers at those ports.

Claire Perry: This is a commercial matter for the logistics sector. I expect that workers at these private sector ports and in the private rail freight operating companies will deal with rail freight activity as in the normal course of business. I do not intend to undertake any special assessment.

Severn River Crossing

Jessica Morden: [228409]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Severn Bridges cost to run and maintain in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2012-13.







Mr John Hayes: Under the terms of the Concession Agreement, Severn River Crossing Plc (SRC) is required to maintain and repair both Severn Crossings. This includes performing regular maintenance and inspections work and carrying out any necessary repairs. The accounts of Severn River Crossing Plc, show that the operating and maintenance costs were £13.1m in 2012 and £14.4m in 2013. Figures for 2014 are not yet available.

The risks for defects that existed prior to the concession were not transferred to SRC as this would have resulted in significantly higher tolls. This is because at the time of bidding, the risks could not be quantified, therefore, any costs associated with an unknown pre-existing defects fall to the government. The total costs of maintenance and repair work by the Highways Agency/Department of Transport on the two Severn bridge crossings in financial years.

a) 2013-14 £632,369.07

b) 2012-13 £512,172.70

Shared Spaces: Visual Impairment


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on shared space schemes and the difficulties they cause to blind and partially-sighted people.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Ministers have met regularly with groups representing blind and partially sighted people to discuss many issues on transport accessibility, including shared space.

In March 2015, the Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer, wrote to all local authorities in England to remind them of the Department’s advice on designing shared space in Local Transport Note 1/11 ‘Shared Space’, their duties under equalities legislation and the National Federation of the Blind UK guidance note ‘Access for Blind People in Towns’. A copy of that letter was included in the Secretary of State’s response of 18 March 2015 to the Transport Select Committee’s questions on this issue.

Staff


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of employees in his Department identify as (a) white or white British, (b) Asian or Asian British, (c) Black or Black British, (d) mixed or multiple ethnic group and (e) another ethnicity.

Claire Perry: The information has been taken from the Department’s equality monitoring report for year ending 31 March 2014. The report included information from the central department and five executive agencies as follows:

· Highways Agency




· Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency

· Maritime & Coastguard Agency

· Vehicle Certification Agency

· Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

There were 16,373 employees of whom:

(a) 12,353 members of staff (75.44%) identified as white or white British.

(b) 393 members of staff (2.40%) identified as Asian or Asian British.

(c) 142 members of staff (0.86%) identified as Black or Black British.

(d) 164 members of staff (1.00%) identified as mixed or multiple ethnic group.

(e) 48 members of staff (0.29%) identified as other ethnicity.

N.B. the ethnicity of 3273 (19.99%) members of staff was unknown.

TREASURY

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Kelvin Hopkins: [228414]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department had on alcohol duty with representatives of (i) the Wine and Spirits Trade Association, (ii) the Scotch Whisky Association, (iii) the British Beer and Pub Association, (iv) Diageo, (v) SAB Miller and (vi) the Portman Group between 1 November 2014 and 18 March 2015.

Priti Patel: The Treasury Ministers and officials discuss a variety of issues with a range of industry stakeholders throughout the year, including between the dates outlined in the question.


To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings Ministers and officials in his Department had with alcohol companies and their representative organisations on alcohol duty between 1 November 2014 and 18 March 2015.

Priti Patel: The Treasury Ministers and officials discuss a variety of issues with a range of industry stakeholders throughout the year, including between the dates outlined in the question.

Car Washes


To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of car wash businesses in the UK; and what estimate he has made of the tax paid by such businesses in the last year.





Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs has made no estimate of the number of car wash businesses in the UK or the tax paid by such businesses in the last year because information is not available at that level of disaggregation.

Child Benefit

Mr Gregory Campbell: [226429]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the saving to the public purse of restricting child benefit to three children in the next financial year.

Priti Patel: The current number of child benefit recipients, broken down by the number of children, is available in the Child Benefit Geographic Statistics August 2014 statistical release, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/407549/Child_Benefit_Geographical_Statistics_Aug_2014_formatted.xls. This publication provides figures accurate as at August 2014 and are the most recent available.

Child Benefit is set at a fixed rate for all families in receipt of the award. All families will receive £20.50 per week for their eldest eligible child and £13.55 per week for each subsequent child. These rates are fixed until April 2015 and have been in place since April 2014. The subsequent rate of Child Benefit is currently paid to all children other than the first.

Fiscal Policy

Chris Leslie: [228370]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) total and (b) staff cost to his Department was of producing the document, An alternative fiscal path beyond 2016-17, published on 19 March 2015.

Chris Leslie: [228371]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many officials in his Department were involved in producing the document, An alternative fiscal path beyond 2016-17, published on 19 March 2015.

Danny Alexander: In line with the Ministerial Code, as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury I asked Treasury officials to calculate the impact on the fiscal aggregates of a set for alternative assumptions on tax and spend for the years beyond 2016-17. All costs were met from within existing budgets.

Football: Taxation

Mr Mike Hancock: [228454]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs has made special arrangements with English Premier League clubs about their tax affairs.






Mr David Gauke: Where a dispute arises between HMRC and a customer in relation to their tax affairs, HMRC will only resolve the dispute in a way that secures the tax that is due under the current law. HMRC’s Litigation & Settlement Strategy (LSS) – which applies to all tax disputes - sets out its approach to securing the tax due as efficiently as possible and in accordance with the law. The governance procedures for how HMRC settles disputes are set out in the published Code of Governance for resolving tax disputes. Together the LSS and the Code of Governance assure taxpayers that tax rules are applied appropriately and even-handedly by HMRC.

Private Rented Housing: Blackpool


To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the median weekly rent in the private rented sector in Blackpool South constituency was in (a) May 2010 and (b) February 2015.

Mr David Gauke: The table below shows the median weekly rental values in Blackpool South constituency for the 12 months to the end of May 2010 and the 12 months to the end of February 2015. Figures are rounded to the nearest whole pound.

Median Weekly Rents in Blackpool South Constituency

BLACKPOOL SOUTH CONSTITUENCY MEDIAN WEEKLY RENT

Year ending May 2010 £120

Year ending February 2015 £115

Revenue and Customs


To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2015 to Question 223222, how many staff were employed at HM Revenue and Customs offices in (a) Belfast, (b) Edinburgh and (c) Nottingham in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Mr David Gauke: The number of staff, by headcount and full time equivalent (FTE) posts, employed at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offices in Belfast, Edinburgh and Nottingham in each of the last five years is shown in the attached table.

Attachments:

1. Table of staff numbers [The number of staff.docx]




Severn River Crossing

Jessica Morden: [228411]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much additional revenue accrued to the public purse from the Severn Crossings as a result of the abolition of the Industrial Buildings Allowance in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2011-12.

Mr David Gauke: HMRC is not able to give this level of information as it breaches taxpayer confidentiality.

Slavery

Paul Blomfield: [228290]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 221881, whether he expects to publish the Action Plan on Modern Slavery before the Dissolution of Parliament.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has appointed a Modern Slavery Strategic Lead and is fully involved in delivering the cross-Government strategy to tackle Modern Slavery. As part of this, HMRC has developed an internal Action Plan which includes training for visiting officers to improve the coordination of HMRC operations where modern slavery is suspected to be taking place. HMRC will work in collaboration with other government agencies where appropriate. There are no plans to publish the Action Plan.

Taxation: Self-assessment


To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.108 of Budget 2015, whether people will be able to opt out of the digital tax accounts.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs intends to provide all of its customers with their own personalised digital tax account. To what extent a person chooses to use their digital tax account will be an individual choice.

Transport: Freight


To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the effects of changes in oil prices since August 2014 on the cost of moving freight by (a) rail, (b) road and (c) sea.

Priti Patel: HM Treasury has made no detailed estimate of the effect of the change in oil price since August 2014 specifically in relation to the cost of moving freight by rail, road or sea.

However Government have made clear that it expects industry to pass any savings that result from lower oil prices onto their customers.






VAT

David Morris: [221289]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue is protected by applying the EU VAT place of supply rules to micro businesses and sole traders which operate under the UK VAT threshold.

Mr David Gauke: A Tax information and Impact Note was published on 10 December 2013, which included an assessment of the additional revenue raised by the change. It is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/385370/OLD_complete_v3.pdf


To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations his Department has received on the level of VAT applicable to small tourist businesses.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has received a number of representations from the ‘Cut Tourism VAT’ campaign.

I refer the Hon gentleman to my comments during the recent Westminster Hall debate on 17 March 2015.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

ICT


To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, which approved news applications staff in the Government Equalities Office are authorised to download and use on their work-provided phones and tablets.

Jo Swinson: GEO users are not prevented from downloading any news applications for use on their work-provided phones and tablets.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Bank Services: Pendle


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Pendle who do not have a bank account.

Steve Webb: The information is not available in the format requested. However benefit and pension recipients who do not have a bank account are paid by Simple Payment. As of 15th








February 2015, there were 44,000 benefit and pension recipients in Great Britain being paid by Simple Payment.

Children: Maintenance

Helen Goodman: [228425]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many six months' notice warning letters of case closure have been sent to Child Support Agency customers in each month since December 2014.

Steve Webb: The table below shows the number of six months’ notice warning letters of case closure, that have been issued since December 2014:

MONTH NOTIFICATIONS ISSUED IN MONTH

January 2015 59,800

February 2015 50,600

Notes:

Figure rounded to the nearest 100.

The figures are made up from cases proactively selected for case closure, and those where an application has been made to the 2012 scheme and a case exists on the 93/03 scheme which is then reactively closed down.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many reminder letters giving one month's warning of case closure have been sent to Child Support Agency customers in each of the last 12 months.

Steve Webb: The table below shows the number of reminder letters that have been issued giving one months warning of case closure. The case closure process started on the 30 June 2014, with reminder letters being issued from December 2014.

MONTH NOTIFICATIONS ISSUED IN MONTH

December 2014 5,300

January 2015 13,200

February 2015 37,500

Notes:





The figures are made up from cases proactively selected for case closure, and those where an application has been made to the 2012 scheme and a case exists on the 93/03 scheme which is then reactively closed down.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Support Agency (CSA) cases have been closed as part of the phased three-year CSA case closure programme.

Steve Webb: Up to and including 28th February 2015, 5,100 cases have been closed as part of the phased three-year CSA case closure programme.

Notes:


The figure is made up from cases proactively selected for case closure, and those where an application has been made to the 2012 scheme and a case exists on the 93/03 scheme which is then reactively closed down.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Support Agency cases are being dealt with by the legal enforcement section of that Agency.

Steve Webb: As of the end of November 2014 17,100 cases were being dealt with by the legal enforcement section of the Child Support Agency.

Notes:



To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls the Child Maintenance Options Service has received in each month from September 2014 to date.

Steve Webb: The number of inbound calls received by the Child Maintenance Options Service from September 2014 to the end of February 2015 is shown in the table below.

MONTH NUMBER OF CALLS RECEIVED BY THE CHILD

MAINTENANCE OPTIONS SERVICE

Sep-14 31,390

Oct-14 30,460

Nov-14 27,300

Dec-14 20,970

Jan-15 33,010





MONTH NUMBER OF CALLS RECEIVED BY THE CHILD

MAINTENANCE OPTIONS SERVICE

Feb-15 31,020

Notes:

- Data Sourced from CMO Monthly MI Service Pack

- Data rounded to nearest 10

Employment and Support Allowance

Katy Clark: [227879]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receiving employment and support allowance in the support group are aged (a) 50 and over and (b) 55 and over.

Steve Webb:

Statistics on the age of claimant by Phase of the Employment and Support Allowance claim are published and available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool.

Guidance for users is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance.

Employment Schemes: Disability


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the progress and effectiveness of the Disability Confident campaign in Lancashire.

Mr Mark Harper:

Employers and wider society both benefit from recruiting more disabled people. Disability Confident is a campaign to help employers discover for themselves the talents and value that disabled people bring to business.

Launched in July 2013 by the Prime Minister, supported by business leaders and disability employment organisations, Disability Confident sets out the business case for those employers unsure about the benefits of employing disabled people. It overcomes the fear factor for those employers worried about the logistics or afraid of saying the wrong thing, and emphasises the support available for employers. It highlights the great work that employers are already doing and encourages others to join in.


https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance



Disability Confident is a partnership approach – a business-to-business dialogue. Partners learn from each other about how to become disability confident, with support from Government and disability organisations.

In the first year of the Disability Confident campaign we held seven regional events across the UK, reaching more than 1,100 employers, including a well-attended event in Manchester.

In July 2014 we launched a toolkit for MPs – so they can bring together employers and disabled people in their own constituencies.

We look forward to employers throughout Lancashire attending these local events, learning from and supporting each other, and becoming more Disability Confident.

Stephen Timms: [228188]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made in implementing the recommendations of (a) the review to Government by Liz Sayce titled Getting in, staying in and getting on, published in June 2011 and (b) the expert panel chaired by Mike Adams in 2013 on Access to Work.

Mr Mark Harper: The Government confirmed in March 2012 that it accepted the overall recommendation in the Sayce Review to focus resources on tailored personalised support for individuals through services like Access to Work, rather than “one size fits all” institutions and programmes, so that we could significantly increase the number of disabled people who could be supported to access the labour market.

The Written Ministerial Statement on Access to Work published on 12 March 2015 sets out proposals to address two key recommendations of the Sayce Review with respect to developing online functionality and personal budgets.

The Sayce recommendations on Remploy have been implemented.

Esther McVey MP issued two Written Statements on 19 November 2012 and 16 July 2013 setting out changes arising from the work of the expert panel chaired by Mike Adams. I can confirm that all the changes announced in those statements have been implemented so that individuals have the facility to:

· have a fast-track assessment process for individuals who already know their support requirements;

· transfer equipment between employers;

· have a pre-existing disabled students allowance assessment considered in determining support;

· have accesses to travel buddies, travel training, or adaptations to a vehicle to promote independent travel and have this reflected in award letters agreeing travel support;

· receive support via New Enterprise Allowance;



· receive up-front payments where customers need this in some circumstances;

· have some tolerances built into their awards.

We also:

· removed a standard list of equipment that Access to Work would not fund;

· removed cost share for small business;

· provided funding for Disabled People’s user led organisations to promote the service and provide peer support;

· ran a targeted marketing campaign; and

· extended support to traineeships, sector-based work academies, supported internships and self-directed work experience.

Employment Schemes: Pendle


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have found employment through (a) the Work Programme, (b) the Youth Contract and (c) an apprenticeship in Pendle in each year since 2010.

Esther McVey: The Work Programme is moving people off benefit and into work, with the number of people finding lasting work continuing to increase.

Information showing the number of Work Programme Job Outcomes, by various geographies can be found at:

http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/WorkProg/tabtool.html

Guidance for users can be found at:


The youth claimant count is the lowest since June 1970, which is due to the actions that this government has taken. We are on track to deliver the extra 250,00 Work Experience and Sector Based Accademy places committed to under the Youth Contract.

The latest published information on Youth Contract starts and apprenticeship starts can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-contract-starts-and-payments-april-2012-to-november-2014 and

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships




https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-contract-starts-and-payments-april-2012-to-november-2014

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-contract-starts-and-payments-april-2012-to-november-2014

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships


Hazel McRae

Mr Nicholas Brown: [228542]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many items of correspondence his Department or its agencies have sent to Ms Hazel McRae.

Steve Webb: The Department for Work and Pensions and it’s former agencies are unable to quantify how many letters have been issued to this customer as we have several customers with the same name.

ICT


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which approved new applications staff in his Department are authorised to download and use on their phones and tablets.

Esther McVey: All applications on DWP phones and tablets are preloaded and secure.

Mesothelioma: Compensation


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending compensation to children who have been exposed to asbestos as a result of contact with parents who have mesothelioma.

Mr Mark Harper: Children exposed to asbestos from their parents can already receive compensation in their own right if they are suffering from Diffuse Mesothelioma under Part 4: Lump Sum Payments: Mesothelioma etc., of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008.

Pay


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average hourly pay is for employees at each grade within his Department identified as (a) White or White British and (b) from a Black, Asian or other minority ethnic group.

Esther McVey: DWP is committed to equality and valuing diversity within our workforce. Our pay policies are applied equally to all staff regardless of ethnicity and we are compliant with the legislation contained in the Equality Act 2010.

Disclosure of ethnicity, although encouraged, is voluntary within the department. At the end of February 2015 ethnicity data was held for 77% of staff working in the department.






All our employees are salaried and information is therefore provided based on annual salary. The table below shows the department’s average annual salaries as of February 2015 by ethnicity.

WHITE OR WHITE BRITISH BLACK, ASIAN OR OTHER MINORITY

ETHNIC GROUP

AA £15,746 £16,802

AO £18,630 £19,707

EO £24,318 £25,765

HEO £29,299 £31,078

SEO £35,760 £37,311

G7 £49,294 £51,169

G6* £62,355 £60,240

SCS1 £75,898 £78,269

SCS2* £102,976 £90,561

A higher proportion of staff in London are in a minority ethnic group than in the rest of the country. As London pay scales are higher, this locational difference is a factor in the average salaries comparisons.

* Ethnic minority group average salaries for G6 and SCS2 are based on small numbers of staff, some of whom have recently been promoted and are at the lower end of the pay scale.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average hourly pay is of employees in his Department identified as (a) white or white British and (b) from a black, Asian or other minority ethnic group.

Esther McVey: DWP is committed to equality and valuing diversity within our workforce. Our pay policies are applied equally to all staff regardless of ethnicity and we are compliant with the legislation contained in the Equality Act 2010.

Disclosure of ethnicity, although encouraged, is voluntary within the department. At the end of February 2015 ethnicity data was held for 77% of staff working in the department.

All our employees are salaried and information is therefore provided based on annual salary. As of February 2015 the average annual salary of staff identified as:

(a) White or White British was £23,209



(b) From a Black, Asian or other ethnic group was £23,371.

Personal Independence Payment: Halton


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Halton constituency waited more than (a) one month, (b) three and (c) six months for a decision on their personal independence payment claim in the last three years.

Mr Mark Harper: The available information on average (median) waiting times, at a national level, has been published and is available from the Personal Independence Payment statistics home page: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics. The requested level of disaggregation could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Reviews


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2015 to Question 226586, whether his Department's review of complex cases where claimants died has identified cases in which his Department's processes were not followed; and for each such case what recommendations for improvement have been made.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2015 to Question 226706, whether the peer reviews that his Department's (a) processes had been followed and (b) actions were either inappropriate or incorrect; what recommendations for improvement have been made; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: Peer Reviews provide a thorough review of complex cases and any recommendations that arise are referred to the appropriate team. We cannot release the outcomes/information about peer reviews as they contain private information about individuals.

Social Security Benefits


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been claimed in (a) short-term benefit advances and (b) hardship payments in each of the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: The Secretary of State announced on 8 December 2014 that DWP would do more to raise the awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances and as well as more information now on Gov.UK there will be posters and leaflets in all Jobcentres by the end of March.






a) The expenditure for Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs) from April-14 to Feb-15 was £4,081,891. The monthly breakdown is shown below.

APR-14 336,308

May-14 342,712

Jun-14 330,150

July-14 325,489

Aug-14 315,890

Sept-14 333,871

Oct-14 326,289

Nov-14 360,114

Dec-14 460,951

Jan-15 488,975

Feb-15 461,141

Total 4,081,891

b) The DWP intends to publish figures on the number of hardship applications and awards in May 2015. The date of publication will be announced shortly.

Notes

STBA expenditure includes Carer’s Allowance, ESA, IB, JSA, IS, Pension Credit, State Pension.

Source

Benefit Expenditure Business Information (BexBI ).The information in BExBI is sourced from the combined payment and accounting tool, Central Payment System (CPS).


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications have been made for (a) short-term benefit advances and (b) hardship payments in each of the last 12 months.



Esther McVey: a) The number of Short-term benefits advance applications received from April 2014 to February 2015 was 226,126. The Secretary of State announced on 8 December 2014 that DWP would do more to raise the awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances and as well as more information now on Gov.UK there will be posters and leaflets in all Jobcentres by the end of March.

b) The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) intends to publish figures on the number of hardship applications and awards in May 2015. The date of publication will be announced shortly.


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the change has been in the amount of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) other incapacity benefit paid in each month since May 2013.

Mr Mark Harper: The information is in the table.

Monthly incapacity benefits expenditure, May 2013 to January 2015

£ MILLION, NOMINAL

Employment and Support Allowance

Other incapacity benefits

Total

May 2013 794 357 1,151

June 2013 801 317 1,118

July 2013 850 299 1,149

August 2013 872 280 1,152

September 2013 860 251 1,112

October 2013 913 241 1,155

November 2013 904 213 1,116

December 2013 940 200 1,141

January 2014 970 181 1,151

February 2014 897 148 1,045

March 2014 985 156 1,141

April 2014 981 156 1,138

May 2014 1,031 155 1,186



£ MILLION, NOMINAL

June 2014 1,006 142 1,147

July 2014 1,058 128 1,186

August 2014 1,073 122 1,195

September 2014 1,061 112 1,173

October 2014 1,104 112 1,215

November 2014 1,070 103 1,173

December 2014 1,132 102 1,234

January 2015 1,135 97 1,231

Notes

1) Totals may not sum, because of rounding.

2) Other incapacity benefits comprise Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance and Income Support on grounds of incapacity for work.

3) Figures are for total benefit expenditure paid to claimants, and therefore do not include benefit recoveries and accounting adjustments. They are, however, consistent with figures that are net of these adjustments and shown in the tables published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015.

4) Annual uprating of benefits by a mix of 1% and the Consumer Prices Index (2.7%) increases spending from April 2014, though this is masked by the fact that April has fewer days than March, and that increases do not occur at the start of April.

5) The main reason for month-on-month variations is the number of days in the month.

Social Security Benefits: Databases

David T. C. Davies: [228443]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2015 to Question 227137, how many applications have been made by police forces to his Department for information on the addresses of wanted persons in the last year for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015



Social Security Benefits: Disqualification


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Jobcentre Plus staff were put on a performance improvement plan as a result of making (a) too few and (b) too many sanction referrals in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: We do not record information on the reason performance improvement plans are issued to Jobcentre staff.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people who have committed benefit fraud whose cases were not prosecuted in court (a) have repaid, (b) are repaying, (c) are in arrears with repayments of and (d) have been subsequently prosecuted for breaching their agreement to repay those benefits and any financial penalties in each of the last three years.

Mr Mark Harper: This information is not readily accessible within the time available.

Social Security Benefits: North West


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the benefit cap on rates of employment in (a) Pendle, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.

Esther McVey: We know that the benefit cap encourages people to move into work.

The number of households capped in Pendle Parliamentary Constituency from the introduction of the benefit cap to November 2014 (the latest available data) was 31. Of the 10 households who were no longer capped as at November 2014, 6 had an open Working Tax Credit claim. This shows that they have moved into work. The actual number of households who have gone into work is likely to be higher, as some individuals may go into work but not be claiming WTC.

The number of households capped in Lancashire from the introduction of the benefit cap to November 2014 (the latest available data) was 416. Of the 226 households who were no longer capped as at November 2014, 79 had an open Working Tax Credit claim.

The number of households capped in the North West from the introduction of the benefit cap to November 2014 (the latest available data) was 3,868. Of the 2,128 households who were no longer capped as at November 2014, 728 had an open Working Tax Credit claim.





Further information can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-cap-number-of-households-capped-to-november-2014

Work Capability Assessment


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to introduce text or email notifications for claimants of the employment and support allowance required to attend a medical assessment.

Mr Mark Harper: A trial was held during the autumn of 2014 when claimants were sent text reminder messages of their assessment appointments. Following evaluation of that trial discussions were held with the new Health Assessment Advisory Service provider - Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (operated by MAXIMUS) – and the intention is to introduce the service nationally later in the year.

Work Programme


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the support by Work Programme providers for participants seeking to become self-employed.

Esther McVey: Work Programme providers will support participants to explore all employment options. Independent evaluation data published in December 2014 indicated that those receiving advice on self-employment generally found it useful.

Work Programme: North West


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people have entered employment following participation in the Work Programme in (a) Pendle, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West to date.

Esther McVey: The information requested for the number of people placed into employment from the Work Programme, is not available.

The information we do have shows the number of Work Programme Job Outcomes, by various geographies and this can be found at:


Guidance for users can be found at:











To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been assessed by the Work Programme in (a) Pendle, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West to date.

Esther McVey: The information requested for Work Programme referrals and attachments, by various geographies, is published and available at:


Guidance for users is available at:





Daily Report Tuesday, 24 March 2015 MINISTERIAL CORRECTIONS 143

MINISTERIAL CORRECTIONS

JUSTICE

Police Cautions


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what types of indictable-only offence a caution was issued in each year since 2009; and how many cautions were issued for each type of offence in that period.

An error has been identified in the written answer given on 5 September 2014. The correct answer should have been:

Mike Penning:

This Government has taken action to end the cautions culture and to make sure serious offenders do not receive penalties seen as soft options. The use of cautions is at its lowest point for thirty years.

We are changing the law to ban simple cautions for all of the indictable only offences - the most serious criminal offences which must be tried in the Crown Court, including rape, manslaughter and robbery. We are also banning simple cautions for possession of a knife or offensive weapon, supplying Class A drugs and a range of sexual offences against children.

Further, we announced proposals in November 2014 for a new out of court disposal framework that would see an end to cautions and warnings and would require offenders to take actions to comply with their disposals. Elements of this new framework are being piloted in Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and Leicestershire before a decision is taken on whether to implement the new framework across England and Wales.

The Ministry of Justice issues guidance on the process to be followed by the police when they are administering simple cautions for adult offenders. The latest guidance, issued in November 2013 following the Simple Cautions Review, states that the use of a simple caution for indictable-only offences, such as rape, should only be given following authorisation by a senior police officer of at least the rank of Superintendent and the Crown Prosecution Service. These will be cases where there are exceptional circumstances which would mean that it is not in the public interest to prosecute.

Latest information on cautions issued by offence type is publicly available online at the Ministry of Justice’s statistics portal. This data is contained in Q2.3 of the Out of Court Disposals table:


144 Daily Report Tuesday, 24 March 2015 MINISTERIAL CORRECTIONS

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-september-2014

Simple cautions are a non-statutory disposal available to the police to dispose of any offence committed by an adult and designed for dealing with low level, mainly first time offending. The Ministry of Justice issues guidance on the process to be followed by the police and the CPS when they are administering simple cautions for adult offenders. This guidance states that the use of a simple caution for indictable only offences should only be given following authorisation by the CPS. These will be cases where there were exceptional circumstances which would mean that it was not in the public interest to prosecute.

Since 2007 the overall number of simple cautions issued has halved. The cautioning rate, that is, the number of offenders cautioned as a percentage of offenders who were either cautioned or convicted, in 2013 was 20 per cent; which has declined from a peak of 31 per cent in 2007.

Attachments:

1. 206955 - table.xls

TREASURY

Welfare Tax Credits

Rachel Reeves: [198956]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value was of the average claim for tax credit made by people who were (a) out of work, (b) self-employed and (c) employed in each of the last five years.

An error has been identified in the written answer given on 10 June 2014. The correct answer should have been:

Nicky Morgan: The following table is based on finalised tax credits administrative data for each financial year. The latest data available are 2012-13.

TAX YEAR

AVERAGE TAX CREDIT AWARD FOR

HOUSEHOLDS WHO ARE CLASSIFIED AS 'IN

WORK'

Average tax credit award for households who are classified as 'out of work'

Households who are classified as self employed only

Households who are classified as employed only

Households who are classified as both employed and self employed

2008-09 £4,700 £6,500 £3,300 £3,700

2009-10 £5,000 £6,800 £3,700 £4,000



TAX YEAR



WORK'

2010-11 £5,200 £6,900 £3,900 £4,100

2011-12 £5,600 £7,200 £4,500 £4,800

2012-13 £6,000 £ 7,600 7,500 £ 6,300 6,200 £ 6,400 6,000

These figures have been rounded to the nearest £100.

The increase in average tax credit awards in 2012-13 can largely be explained by the removal of the ‘Second Income Threshold’ in April 2012. This policy removed a number of higher income households from the tax credit population. As higher income households generally have lower tax credits awards, the effect of removing these households increases the average award.


To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total value was of tax credits paid to claimants who were (a) out of work, (b) self-employed and (c) employed in each of the last five years.



£MILLION

Tax Year Total entitlement for households who are classified as 'in work'

Total entitlement for households who are classified as 'out of work'




2008-09 £6,811 £2,376 £14,315 £1,615

2009-10 £7,486 £2,780 £15,260 £1,845

2010-11 £7,606 £3,036 £15,908 £1,992

2011-12 £8,138 £3,327 £15,730 £2,009

2012-13 £ 8,936 8,903 £ 3,420 3,361 £ 15,256 14,610 £ 2,007 1,905



£MILLION

Data from ONS Labour Market statistics show that self employment as a proportion of total UK employment has been growing since around 2003 and is part of a long term trend.


To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what average value of tax credits were paid to claimants who were (a) out of work, (b) self-employed and (c) employed in each of the last 10 years.

An error has been identified in the written answer given on 7 July 2014. The correct answer should have been:


TAX YEAR



WORK'

Average tax credit award for households who are classified as 'out of work'




2007-08 £4,300 £5,800 £2,800 £3,300

2008-09 £4,700 £6,500 £3,300 £3,700

2009-10 £5,000 £6,800 £3,700 £4,000

2010-11 £5,200 £6,900 £3,900 £4,100

2011-12 £5,600 £7,200 £4,500 £4,800

2012-13 £6,000 £7,600 £7,500 £6,300 £6,200 £6,400 £6,000

These figures have been rounded to the nearest £100.

Data from earlier years is only available at disproportionate cost.

The increase in average tax credit awards in 2012-13 can largely be explained by the removal of the ‘Second Income Threshold’ in April 2012. This policy removed a number



of higher income households from the tax credit population. As higher income households generally have lower tax credit awards, the effect of removing these households increases the average award.

Welfare Tax Credits: Self-employed


To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many self-employed people claimed (a) child tax credits and (b) working tax credits in each of the last 10 years.


Mr David Gauke: The following table is based on finalised tax credits administrative data for each financial year. The latest data available are 2012-13.

THOUSANDS

Tax Year Number of families in receipt of tax credits containing at least one member identified as self-employed

Families benefitting from both WTC and CTC

Families benefitting from WTC Only

2007-08 740 80

2008-09 760 100

2009-10 780 130

2010-11 800 150

2011-12 750 160

2012-13 600 170 169

Data from earlier years is only available at disproportionate cost.

The decrease in the number of self employed households in 2012-13 can largely be explained by the removal of the ‘Second Income Threshold’ of tax credits in April 2012. This policy change removed a large number of higher income households from the whole tax credits population.

In general, there is and has been a long term trend of growth in the number of self employed people.



Welfare Tax Credits: York

Hugh Bayley: [202934]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families in (a) York Central constituency and (b) York Unitary Authority area received child and working tax credits in 2009 and in each year since.


Nicky Morgan: The finalised annual award Child and Working Tax Credits statistics for 2012-13 are available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics-2012-to-2013

Since the original PQ answer was issued, HM Revenue and Customs have revised figures for finalised Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics for 2012-13. As such, figures in the referenced publication of interest may have been subject to change.

The finalised annual award Child and Working Tax Credits statistics for 2011-12 are available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics

For the years 2009-10 to 2010-11, please refer to the archived publication webpage:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121106034103/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/final-award-geog.htm

Table 2 of these publications provide a breakdown of figures by local authority, including York.

Table 3 of these publications provide a breakdown of figures by parliamentary constituency, including York Central.

Working Tax Credit: Bolton

Mr David Crausby: [199151]

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been paid through working tax credits to people in Bolton North East constituency in each of the last three years.


Mr David Gauke: Table 1: Bolton North East constituency Working Tax Credit entitlement






http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121106034103/http:/www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/final-award-geog.htm

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121106034103/http:/www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/final-award-geog.htm



TAX YEAR TOTAL WTC ENTITLEMENT

2010-11 £19 million

2011-12 £18 million

2012-13 £1 7 6 million

These figures have been rounded to the nearest £ million.

150 Daily Report Tuesday, 24 March 2015 WRITTEN STATEMENTS

WRITTEN STATEMENTS

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Companies House Public Targets 2015-16

Minister of State for Business and Enterprise and Energy (Matthew Hancock): [HCWS453]

I have set Companies House the following targets for the year 2015/16:

PUBLIC TARGETS

Digital

To achieve an average electronic filing target of 85% (received and accepted) by the end of the year

Customer

Achieve an overall satisfaction score of more than 88% in the Companies House satisfaction Survey

Efficiency

To reduce the average cost per company, adjusted for inflation and excluding exceptional items, by 10% in 2015/16.

Compliance

To achieve a monthly compliance rate of 94% for accounts submitted to Companies House

To achieve a monthly compliance rate of 77% for annual returns submitted to Companies House

Service availability

Our online services are available 99.9% of the time

Launch of the Consultation Document-A Dual Mandate for Adult Vocational Education March 2015

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable): [HCWS457]

The Government is today launching the consultation document – A Dual Mandate for Adult Vocational Education. A copy will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2015-03-24/HCWS453/



Daily Report Tuesday, 24 March 2015 WRITTEN STATEMENTS 151

This builds on our reform programme to date and explores some of the key issues that will ensure our vocational education system is able to meet the major skills challenges that will face this country over the next five years and beyond.

The issues raised in the document imply important changes for how we think about further education for adults. The further education sector covers a wider range of learners than either schools or higher education. It ranges from basic literacy, numeracy and elementary social skills at a level that would be taught in a primary reception class or even pre-school through to degree level technical education.

The primary focus of the document is on how we can strengthen higher level vocational education in this country. This is defined as education which goes above what should be achieved in compulsory education, but will often not involve a full-time academic degree. This is an area where England has had a historic weakness and where we continue to lag behind the performance of other developed countries.

The Government has started work to reverse these long-term issues: notably by supporting National Colleges as specialist institutions for areas including digital skills, the nuclear industry, high speed rail, and advanced manufacturing techniques; and by introducing high level apprenticeships as a parallel route to full-time higher education in order to provide more choice for learners and increase business engagement. But there is more to do, and sustained action by Government, businesses, and educational institutions will be necessary if we are to succeed.

This second part of the mandate is also important. Further education provides a vital lifeline to those, often in the most disadvantaged circumstances, who reached adulthood without the basic skills they need for the workplace or for modern life. We have set out how we improved the delivery of basic skills and community learning by allowing greater flexibility for providers to tailor services to the needs of users and to innovate by encouraging the development of a more diverse supplier base.

The final section of the document looks at the implications for providers of adult further education, particularly further education colleges. It sets out two key trends that the Government forecast will continue over the rest of this decade and beyond. First, reductions in public funds for skills are unlikely to be reversed, and resource allocation will increasingly be contestable. Secondly, effective delivery will increasingly require greater specialisation.

The Government has supported a shift to greater influence and control over skills at the local level. The logic for such an approach is strong: adult further education essentially serves local labour market needs. The document therefore explores how greater influence at the local level, as signalled by City Deals and the Devolution Agreements with Manchester and Sheffield may be further strengthened and extended in future years.

The consultation period runs until 16 June 2015.


CABINET OFFICE

Report on departmental open data commitments and adherence to public data principles for the period between April and June 2014

Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Mr Francis Maude): [HCWS454]

I am laying the attached ‘Report on departmental open data commitments and adherence to public data principles for the period between April and June 2014’.

The report is released on a quarterly basis and details progress against our commitment to open up government data.

Attachments:

1. Report on Departmental Open Data Commitments [QWMS Q1 FINAL - clean (1).docx]

Security and Intelligence Agencies – Contingencies Fund Advance

Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Mr Francis Maude): [HCWS455]

My statement of 17 March informed Parliament of the intention to access £66,800,000 from the contingency fund pending Parliamentary approval of the supply estimates 2014-15. Royal Assent of the Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) Bill has been further delayed therefore the Security and Intelligence Agencies are seeking an additional advance of £42,900,000.

As the Security and Intelligence Agencies are non-Ministerial departments, I am making this statement on behalf of their Accounting Officer, to ensure that Parliament is informed of this advance from the Contingencies Fund.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Local Audit

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles): [HCWS451]

Today, the final commencement Order of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 was signed off. This means that the residual Audit Commission will close its doors on 31 March, paving the way for local audit appointment within a new, leaner, framework which, whilst it retains the knowledge and expertise of the Commission where it has value, will create more freedom and flexibility for local public bodies, replacing top-down inspection with local accountability.

Hon. Members will recall that in August 2010, I announced plans to disband the Audit Commission and refocus audit on helping local people hold local public bodies to account for their spending decisions. The new system coming into effect will sweep away the old top-down regime, offering greater responsibility and choice for local councils, replacing








central bureaucracy with local democracy, whilst upholding the same high standards of audit.

Whilst this quango was borne of good intentions, local government has changed since the 1980s. The Commission had become a regulator of local government, micro-managing local services and imposing excessive red tape, from Best Value Performance Indicators, to Comprehensive Performance Assessment to Comprehensive Area Assessment. Such box-ticking exercises did not champion the public’s interests, as evident by the fact the Audit Commission bullied and cajoled councils into axing weekly rubbish collections in order to meet Whitehall targets set by Labour Ministers.

Despite a slogan of ‘protecting the public purse’, it wasted public money on ill-advised spending decisions, such as a luxury London hotel to house its chief executive, a best practice audit conference with a string quartet, drinks receptions for its “alumni”, fine dining at the most expensive restaurants using corporate credit cards, Board dinners in Oysters Bars (losing the receipt in the process), and hiring lobbyists to “combat the activities of Eric Pickles” (arguably, one of the least successful lobbying campaigns in history).

We therefore abolished the Commission’s interfering and ineffective inspection regimes in 2010, and in 2012 the remaining in-house audit contracts were successfully outsourced, saving £250 million over 5 years. The Royal Assent of the Local Audit and Accountability Act in January 2014 put the legal framework in place to finish the job. Our latest estimates for the savings to taxpayers have increased to £1.35 billion over ten years, with councils pocketing the bulk of the savings.

My Department will also this week make the necessary transfer schemes to provide continuity for essential roles in the local audit system. The National Audit Office will set the standards for public audit and take on responsibility for the code of audit practice, with the Financial Reporting Council and professional accountancy bodies monitoring the quality of audit as they already do for the private sector. The recent inspection by PwC into the London Borough of Tower Hamlets illustrates how a private firm can provide robust advice and analysis without fear or favour.

The Cabinet Office will assume responsibility for the National Fraud Initiative, joining up its existing anti-fraud work. Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd is the transitional locally-led body set up to manage the existing audit contracts until they expire ahead of full local appointment of auditors in 2017. This new streamlined regime mirrors the framework already used for the private sector, whilst maintaining the high standards of public audit.

The localisation of audit is complemented by other transparency reforms to increase local accountability and empower an army of armchair auditors. The Local Government Transparency Code requires councils to place online important local information about spending and decisions; we have introduced a lighter-touch transparency code to smaller local bodies like parish councils so people can access key spending, governance and meeting information; we have changed the law to allow filming and reporting of public council meetings by the press and public; a new common period next year will allow local ratepayers to inspect councils’ accounts – a right more powerful than Freedom of Information, and it is


our intention to legislate in the next Parliament to allow those local inspection rights to be exercised by members of the press who may not otherwise live or work in the council area.

I am confident that these reforms will protect taxpayers’ money and ensure high standards in local government.

Local Government Update

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins): [HCWS452]

I would like to update hon. Members with a number of actions by my Department relating to local government.

Updating statutory notices for the 21st Century

Statutory notices are an important way of ensuring that local residents are informed of decisions that affect their property and lives. Public bodies must do more than provide just ‘an obscure notice’ on the depths of a council website, with local newspapers retaining a key role. Last year, my Department invited bids for innovative approaches to be taken to both protect local newspapers and provide essential information to the public in new ways.

We have now announced almost £1 million of funding for 24 local pilot programmes as part of efforts to help councils bring their public information requirements into line with the modern media. We have backed proposals from both councils and local newspaper groups which embrace new technology and innovation to improve the provision of vital information to the public.

The pilots include collaborations between councils and local media organisations, tests of new technology such as mobile phone applications and social media, and consultations with local people over how they want to receive information.

We are committed to supporting an independent free press, and to ensuring that local taxpayers are better informed about council decisions that affect their lives. We look forward to seeing the results. The pilots will run from March 2015 to the end of August 2015.

Calling time on inflated golden goodbyes

My Department has previously sought the views of the local government sector on reforms to the legal minefield that can pressure councils into giving large pay offs to chief executives they want to dismiss.

Slow and costly bureaucracy requires councils to appoint a “designated independent person”, usually a Queen’s Counsel, to review dismissal and disciplinary cases for chief executives. Councils seeking to dismiss a chief executive for misconduct or poor performance have in some cases paid out inflated lump sums to avoid the cost of taking this bureaucratic route. Local government estimates the review process can cost at least £100,000 in legal fees, not counting independent investigation costs and salary for the suspended officer. One previous case cost £420,000 and took 16 months to adjudicate. Ministers believe decisions by full council ensure proper democratic accountability, without the need for a centrally dictated process.



We are laying this week the associated secondary legislation which will reduce the unnecessary and costly bureaucratic process for councils to take decisions about disciplinary matters, including dismissal, of the most senior staff.

They will require such decisions to be taken transparently by Full Council; and when making such a decision, require the council to consider any advice from a panel of independent persons. These are the independent persons appointed for the purposes of the members’ conduct regime under the Localism Act 2011, and, where possible, must be local government electors for the area concerned; there will be restrictions against paying inflated expenses for such advice.

The reforms give councils the power to decide on the best disciplinary process that will deliver value for money for local taxpayers, whilst retaining independent scrutiny and accountability to local people.

My Department will also be shortly be publishing guidance to local government on the use of severance agreements and on ‘off-payroll’ arrangements, reflecting reforms we have introduced at a Civil Service level to protect taxpayers' interests.

Protecting local government against cyber threats

My Department have been working jointly with security experts and local government colleagues to develop guidance for local authority leaders and their teams on cyber resilience. It is very important, as local people increasingly access local service electronically, that they have confidence that their information will be safe and the services they use can be relied upon. We are publishing guidance this week on the steps that local councils should take to build resilience.

Review of Arms Length Bodies

We are announcing the start of the Triennial Review of the Valuation Tribunal Service and the Valuation Tribunal for England. The Valuation Tribunal considers appeals from council taxpayers and business ratepayers about the levels of council tax and non-domestic (business) rates. The Review will examine their role, whether they are operating efficiently, and whether their control and governance arrangements continue to meet the recognised principles of good corporate governance.

Reforming council tax and business valuation practices

Following a statutory consultation, my Department has now published its response and associated secondary legislation on curtailing the powers of entry of the Valuation Office Agency, using powers under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This Government believes that the privacy and rights of homeowners and businesses should be protected and strengthened wherever possible. These reforms include protection from unnecessary and intrusive visits into a taxpayer’s home or business, and introduce a new requirement for consent from a First-Tier Tribunal before any power of entry. It is intended that this will create a considerable road block and check and balance against use of the power.

This action builds on steps we have taken to cancel the last Administration’s plans for a council tax revaluation in England, and terminate the ‘Big Brother’ council tax revaluation database being drawn up by the Valuation Office Agency.


Cutting red tape on councillors

Ministers in my Department have agreed with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice to take forward steps to remove the annual fee that many councillors are required to pay to register as data controllers under the Data Protection Act. Instead, local authorities will undertake the notification process itself as part of their local authority-wide registration, and individual councillors will be exempt from the fee. This will remove an effective ‘tax on volunteering’. Ministers have asked officials to draft the necessary secondary legislation in purdah, with a view to laying the amending legislation early in the next Parliament.

I am placing copies of the associated documents in the Library of the House.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Analogue Commercial Radio Licence Renewals

Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy (Mr Edward Vaizey): [HCWS465]

The UK has a rich and thriving commercial radio sector, providing a wide range of programmes that appeal to a variety of different tastes. Commercial radio plays a key role in the provision of national, international and local news, delivering large amounts of locally produced and relevant content, and providing a dynamic platform for the UK’s world leading music and entertainment industries.

A key part of supporting commercial radio is the need to create and maintain a stable regulatory framework that fully supports continued investment by commercial radio in in the face of increased competition for audiences and changes in patterns of media consumption.

In December 2013, the Government concluded that it was not the right time to commit to a future radio switchover or set a firm or indicative timetable for such a move. This remains the Government’s view. However, the Government fully supports the transition to digital radio and has provided up to £7.75m to fund the expansion of local digital radio coverage to approach commercial FM coverage by September 2016. An effect of the Government’s decision in December 2013 was that the licences which were renewed for seven years under the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (as amended by the Digital Economy Act 2010 Act) will begin to expire from 2017, before a switchover is possible, and leaving around 60 licenses facing expiration.

In November 2014, the Government therefore consulted on whether the current legislation should be amended to allow further renewal of existing analogue commercial radio licences without re-advertising the affected licences. Our consultation found that there is widespread support for renewal of the affected licences. Although some respondents considered that the sector and listeners could potentially benefit from re-advertisement of these licences, Government has concluded that the benefits of allowing further renewals outweigh any potential benefits of stations re-competing for licenses.

For this reason, the Government believes it is appropriate to give Ofcom the ability to further renew national and local analogue commercial radio licences under sections 103B (which




covers national licences) and 104AA (which covers local licences) of the Broadcasting Act 1990 for a further period of five years. We believe a renewal period of this length will drive momentum in the continued transition to digital radio, and provide commercial radio with the stability it needs to support this transition.

The Government therefore intends to lay a Legislative Reform Order in Parliament as soon as possible to bring forward this change.

The Government is also today publishing its response to the consultation, alongside the full Impact Assessment and findings of an independent study carried out by Value Partners into the advantages and disadvantages of the proposals on which we consulted.

We believe this important change will continue to support the whole of commercial radio and provide the necessary stability for the sector as a whole as it moves towards a digital future.

DEFENCE

Logistics Commodities and Services Transformation Programme

Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Mr Philip Dunne): [HCWS473]

On 23 February 2015, in a Ministerial Written Statement, I informed the House that Leidos had been selected as the preferred bidder for a transformation programme within Logistic Commodities and Services (LCS), part of Defence Equipment and Support.

Contractual negotiations have now been completed, and I am pleased to announce that the Ministry of Defence will shortly be signing a 13 year contract with Leidos to run the procurement and inventory management of commodity items and the storage and distribution elements of LCS. The transformation programme is expected to deliver financial savings of around £0.5 billion over the life of the contract and involve the TUPE transfer of some 1250 staff. It will bring Defence logistics up to the standard of industry best practice, deliver more efficient and effective processes across the supply chain and enhance the quality of support provided to our Armed Forces.

LCS staff are based at a number of MOD sites across the United Kingdom, but the bulk of the current LCS storage activity in the UK is located at LCS Bicester in Oxfordshire and LCS Donnington in Shropshire. The majority of procurement and inventory management of commodity items is currently undertaken at Abbey Wood, Bristol. It is of course early days and I cannot be definitive on the impact on jobs; it is a matter for Leidos, ultimately, to determine the number of staff necessary to undertake the work. What I can say is we do not foresee any site closures as a direct result of LCS(T).

Team Leidos is a skilled and experienced team of private sector defence and logistic specialist partners with the global expertise to deliver the transformation required. The programme represents a significant financial investment in new facilities (including the investment of around £90 million in the construction of a new defence fulfilment centre next to the




existing LCS site at Donnington in Shropshire) and a further £40 million investment in new IT systems to provide the modern and efficient services that the UK Armed Forces need.

Ofsted Annual Report: Welfare and Duty of Care in Armed Forces Initial Training

Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Anna Soubry): [HCWS463]

Today Ofsted publish their eighth report on welfare and duty of care in Armed Forces initial training, copies of which I have placed in the Library of the House. Following inspections of eight Armed Forces initial training establishments between September 2014 and January 2015, Ofsted report that recruits and trainees feel safe and that their welfare needs are being broadly met.

The report is, largely, a positive one and emphasises the improvement in many aspects of welfare and duty of care in the establishments inspected; indeed all the locations assessed by Ofsted were judged as ‘good’ or better, and two, in particular, were rated as ‘outstanding’. In a change from previous years Ofsted conducted, for the first time, an ungraded monitoring visit to review the arrangements for welfare and duty of care of phase 1 Reserve recruits. This reflects the growing importance of the Reserves within the armed forces as a whole and paves the way for further Ofsted involvement with Reserve Forces training in future years.

In another development this year, Ofsted conducted visits to each of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force training headquarters. These visits, which did not result in graded judgements, identified strengths in the provision of support and strategic direction for training, as well as identifying specific areas for development and improvement.

Ofsted make a number of recommendations for improvement, particularly in the areas of instructor selection and qualification, site infrastructure and information and data management and analysis.

The Armed Forces remain committed to ensuring that initial training is supportive of the needs of its recruits, cadets and trainees and this year’s Ofsted report provides assurance and recommendations to maintain our commitment to a culture of continuous improvement.

Service Complaints Commissioner’s 2014 Annual Report


I am pleased to lay before Parliament today the Service Complaints Commissioner’s annual report for 2014 on the fairness, effectiveness and efficiency of the Service complaints system.

This is the first report to be published by Nicola Williams as the Service Complaints Commissioner, and covers the work of her office in 2014 under the leadership of her predecessor Dr Susan Atkins. I would like to take this opportunity to echo her praise for the work done by Dr Atkins during her time in post.

The report details those areas where further work is required to make improvements to the way complaints are handled, whilst also recognising the good work that the Services have undertaken during 2014 and the changes that they have made to the way they manage




complaints. The continuous improvement approach that the Services have adopted since the complaints system was introduced in 2008 has, year on year, delivered significant changes to how complaints are managed by all those involved in the process. These changes, and those proposed by the Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill will make the process shorter and quicker, whilst also strengthening oversight and accountability through the powers of the new Service Complaints Ombudsman.

The findings of the report and the recommendations made are now being considered in detail. A formal response to the Commissioner will follow when that work is complete.

Triennial Review of the Independent Medical Expert Group


I am today announcing the start of the Triennial Review of the Independent Medical Expert Group. Triennial reviews are part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring that Non Departmental Public bodies continue to have regular independent challenge.

The Review will examine whether there is a continuing need for the Independent Medical Expert Group’s function and its form, and whether it should continue to exist at arm’s length from Government. Should the review conclude there is a continuing need for the body, it will go on to examine whether the body’s control and governance arrangements continue to meet the recognised principles of good corporate governance.

The House will be informed of the outcome of the review, which is expected to be completed in the summer.

Triennial Review of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees


The Ministry of Defence is required to review their Non Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) at least once every three years to ensure that they have regular independent challenge. I am today announcing the Review to examine whether there is a continuing need for the function provided by the Veterans Advisory & Pensions Committees (VAPCs).

The Review will be conducted in two stages. The first stage will examine the key functions of the VAPCs. If the outcome of this stage is that delivery should continue, the second stage of the Review will ensure that the body is operating in line with the recognised principles of good corporate governance.

I will inform the House of the outcome of the review in the summer when it is completed.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

International investments

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey): [HCWS462]

Further to the statement made on 11 June 2014 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills I would like to inform Parliament that we have






agreed, along with the Secretary of State for International Development, to pursue a new pilot joint venture with the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) to assist in investment of the UK’s International Climate Fund (ICF).

GIB has been very successful in mobilising private sector investment into the UK’s green infrastructure and economy—since its official launch in autumn 2012, GIB has invested in 42 projects and committed £1.8bn of capital, which will deliver £6.6bn of new infrastructure investment. The projects supported by GIB will, when complete, save 3.7m tonnes of CO 2 per year. At the same time, the Government has ambitious targets for providing support to projects in developing countries that will mitigate climate change or enable communities to adapt to its effects. Developed countries have committed to jointly mobilising US$100bn of climate finance a year by 2020 for developing countries, from both public and private sources. The UK is playing its part; we have already allocated £3.87bn to the UK’s ICF to finance such projects. This also contributes to the Government’s 0.7% of GNI aid commitment. Unmitigated climate change will hit the poorest first and hardest.

It is vital that we use public climate finance to catalyse private investment into developing countries. By working with the Green Investment Bank, DECC will be able to draw on its unique mix of investment expertise, commercial discipline and close alignment of green policy objectives to maximise the impact and effectiveness of UK climate finance.

We intend to commit £200m of UK climate finance in the pilot over three years, to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in developing countries; supporting economic growth, job creation, and development of reliable energy infrastructure. In doing so the pilot aims to demonstrate the commercial viability of low carbon investment and crowding-in of private investment in addition to delivering significant emissions reductions. This will complement the existing portfolio of ICF investments, which work through multilateral development partners, such as the World Bank, as well as direct support to programmes developed and delivered in countries.

This new venture will have no impact on the resources or capital of £3.8bn which we have allocated to GIB for investment in the UK. GIB remains fully committed to helping the UK meet its domestic climate change goals. Indeed, this additional activity should benefit GIB’s core UK operations as GIB further builds its global reputation both as an expert in green finance and as a fund manager.

The UK’s financial services industry is world renowned, as is our leadership in tackling climate change, and this vehicle brings together these two strengths in a partnership that will enhance the UK’s reputation globally.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

EU Foreign Affairs Council: 16 March 2015 and EU General Affairs Council: 17 March 2015

Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington): [HCWS460]

My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs attended the Foreign Affairs Council on 16 March in Brussels. The Foreign Affairs Council



was chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.

Dimitris Avromopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, was in attendance for the working lunch at the FAC on migration. The General Affairs Council was chaired by the Latvian Presidency. The meetings were held in Brussels.

Foreign Affairs Council

A provisional report of the meeting and Conclusions adopted can be found at:

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/fac/2015/03/16/

Africa

Ministers held an in-depth strategic discussion on EU relations with Africa, covering peace, prosperity and partnership with regional African organisations. Ms. Mogherini highlighted the opportunities Africa offered to the EU and was keen to emphasise that there was a story of progress, growth, and economic opportunity. The Foreign Secretary highlighted the need to focus on both challenges and opportunities, highlighting the contribution Africa could make to an EU energy strategy. He also highlighted the economic benefits that could flow from reform, with the prospect of greater inward investment for those countries that provided good governance and stability.

The Council adopted Conclusions on Ebola, noting the scope for the EU and its Member States to keep playing a leading role in supporting co-operation in the affected region to end Ebola and ensuring it did not resurge. The Council also adopted Conclusions on the Gulf of Guinea Action Plan, and Mali.

Libya

Ministers discussed the situation in Libya and possibilities for EU support in the event of a positive outcome of the UN-led peace talks. Ms. Mogherini stressed the need for urgent consideration of possible EU support once a National Unity Government was established. The Foreign Secretary agreed that the EU needed to be prepared to respond swiftly to the different scenarios, and set out the importance of focusing on the twin-tracks of the political process and counter-terrorism. He also highlighted the need for the EU to focus on working with international partners to stem the flow of irregular migrants and weapons from Libya, and ensuring that Libya’s financial assets were safeguarded for the benefit of all Libyans. Other Member States emphasised concerns over the humanitarian situation, irregular migration flows, energy instability and the rise of extremists. Ministers called on the High Representative to prepare policy options, including on possible CSDP activities, ahead of the April FAC. The Commission was also invited to develop a comprehensive strategy for Libya, taking into account the regional context.

Migration

Over lunch, ministers explored how EU foreign policy could contribute to comprehensively tackling Europe’s migration challenges. The debate will feed into the preparation of more concrete proposals for decision at one of the next Foreign Affairs Councils.

Eastern Partnership

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/fac/2015/03/16/


The FAC discussed preparations for the 4 th Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga on 21-22 May 2015. The Summit, chaired by European Council President Donald Tusk, will bring EU Heads of State or Government together with those of Eastern partner countries. A meeting between EU Foreign Ministers and their counterparts from the Eastern Partnership countries is scheduled to take place in the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council in April.

Other Business

Hungary raised the situation of Christians in Iraq and passed on a request from the Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil for humanitarian assistance. Luxembourg raised Israel’s withholding of tax receipts from the Palestinian Authority.

Ministers agreed without discussion a number of other measures:

• The Council adopted Conclusions on the EU regional strategy for Syria and Iraq as well as the ISIL/Da’esh threat

• The Council welcomed the political agreement to conclude the Bosnia-Herzegovina SAA

• The Council approved the EU position for the EU-Ukraine Association Council: The EU agreed the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council would adopt the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda

• The Council established the EU position for the first meeting of the EU-Moldova Association Council, to take place on 16 March 2015 in Brussels

• The Council adopted the EU position for the 11 th meeting of the EU-Tunisia Association Council, which will be held on 17 March 2015 in Brussels

• The Council authorised the EU to approve the implementation of the EU-Tunisia Action Plan at the EU-Tunisia Association Council

• The Council extended the mandates of two EU Special Representatives until 31 October 2015:

1. EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, Mr Alexander Rondos. A budget of €1.77million was allocated to him for the period between 1 March 2015 and 31 October 2015.

2. EU Special Representative for the Sahel, Mr Michal Reveyrand-de Menthon. €900.000 has been set aside for his activities during the period between 1 March 2015 and 31 October 2015.

• The Council authorised the opening of negotiations for an agreement on cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union in crisis management operations

• The Council extended the mandate of the EU military mission to contribute to the training of Somali security forces

• The Council launched the EU military advisory mission in the Central African Republic

• The Commission pledged €1m to Vanuatu in the wake of Cyclone Pam.

General Affairs Council


A provisional report of the meeting and Conclusions adopted can be found at:

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/gac/2015/03/17/

The General Affairs Council (GAC) on 17 March focused on: preparation of the European Council on 19 and 20 March 2015; and the European Semester 2015.

Preparation of the March European Council

The GAC prepared the 19 and 20 March European Council, which the Prime Minister attended. The March European Council agenda covered: Energy Union, including energy security, the internal market and climate security; economic issues including the annual European Semester process; and external relations issues, including Ukraine, Libya and the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Latvia in May.

On Energy Union I emphasised the importance of having the right governance system in place. Member States must have flexibility to decarbonise in the most efficient way by choosing their own energy mix and the EU must not impose unnecessary burdens, as was recognised at the 2014 October European Council. I also welcomed the commitment to a technology and innovation strategy, but as set out in the Commission's communication, this should cover the full range of emerging technologies.

On economic issues, I supported the goal of concluding negotiations on an ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial TTIP agreement by the end of the year. I also emphasised the need to pursue the better regulation agenda and reduce regulatory burdens, especially for SMEs.

European Semester 2015

The GAC noted the Presidency Synthesis Report and updated Roadmap for the 2015 European Semester for further discussion at the March European Council.

Any Other Business

Under Any Other Business, the Presidency briefed the Council on a letter it had received from the Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs outlining the intentions of the Government of Iceland in relation to its application to join the EU.

Progress in reviewing policy on resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (James Duddridge): [HCWS461]

My Right Honourable Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Hugo Swire) informed the House on 10 February 2015 of the next steps in the Government’s review of its resettlement policy in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), following completion, on schedule, of an independent feasibility study. The study found there was not a clear indication of likely demand for resettlement, and costs and liabilities to the UK taxpayer were uncertain and potentially significant. Ministers have now agreed that further work should proceed to address these fundamental uncertainties to a point that a decision on the way ahead is possible.

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/gac/2015/03/17/



HOME OFFICE

Her Majesty’s Passport Office Annual Report and Accounts 2014

The Minister of State for Security and Immigration (James Brokenshire): [HCWS470]

The Annual Report and Accounts for Her Majesty’s Passport Office has been laid before the House today.

On 26 September 2014, the Home Secretary announced that Her Majesty’s Passport Office would cease to operate as a separate Agency and would be absorbed into the Home Office on 30 September. These Accounts cover the period from 1 April to 30 September 2014 only.

Copies of the report are available from the Vote Office.

Publication of the 7th annual report of the Ethics Group: The National DNA Database

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Modern Slavery and Organised Crime (Karen Bradley): [HCWS471]

My hon Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Bates) has today made the following written ministerial statement

I am pleased to announce the publication of the 7 th annual report of the National DNA Database Ethics Group on 24 March 2015. The Group was established on 25 July 2007 to provide Ministers with independent ethical advice on the operation and practice of the National DNA Database.

I welcome the recommendations made within the report including the need to ensure rigour across DNA methodologies to minimise the risk of error and contamination and the importance of sharing DNA information internationally in order to assist in the apprehension of those that commit crimes across national borders.

The Ethics Group’s annual report can be viewed on the website of the National DNA Database Ethics Group and I am arranging for a copy to be placed in the Library the House.

TRANSPORT

Crossrail 2 Safeguarding Consultation Response

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Robert Goodwill): [HCWS458]

I am today publishing a response document summarising the views given during the consultation on updating the Safeguarding Direction for the proposed Crossrail 2 rail project, and providing the Government’s response.

The Government has considered the responses to the consultation carefully, and the Secretary of State has decided to issue the safeguarding Direction with changes at







Wimbledon, Wandsworth Common, Angel and Soho Square. The updated Direction will come into effect from today.

Crossrail 2 is a proposed new rail line across Central London, running from New Southgate and Tottenham Hale in the north-east to Wimbledon in the south-west. The route passes through the City of Westminster, the London Boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Merton, and Wandsworth, and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Safeguarding is the first stage in the planning process. It enables the Secretary of State for Transport to issue a Direction to local planning authorities to protect land needed for long-term infrastructure projects. Safeguarding does not necessarily prevent other developments from taking place, but it ensures that when they do take place the design can accommodate the planned infrastructure.

The response document will be made available on the Department for Transport website. Copies of the response document, the Direction, guidance and associated maps have been made available in the libraries of both Houses.

The Budapest Convention on the Contract for the Carriage of Goods by Inland Waterways

Minister of State for Transport (Mr John Hayes): [HCWS459]

The Government has decided to opt in to the proposed Council Decision authorising Austria, Belgium and Poland to ratify, or to accede to, the Budapest Convention on the Contract for the Carriage of Goods by Inland Waterways (CMNI).

The Budapest Convention was adopted by the Diplomatic Conference organized jointly by the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine and the Danube Commission in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. It entered into force on 1 April 2005, and is intended to harmonize contractual and navigational standards on inland waterways in European countries. The UK is not a contracting party to the Budapest Convention.

The Convention is intended to harmonize contractual and navigational standards on inland waterways in European countries. Article 29 of the Budapest Convention contains provisions on the choice of law by the parties to a contract of carriage falling under the Convention. Those provisions affect the rules laid down in the Rome I Regulation, which came into force on 24 July 2008 and applies in situations involving a conflict of laws and to contractual obligations in civil and commercial matters.

Austria and Poland have on several occasions expressed their interest in becoming Parties to the Convention. Although Belgium ratified the Budapest Convention on 5 August 2008, it was after the adoption and entry into force of Regulation (EC) 593/2008 (the Rome I Regulation) on the law applicable to contractual obligations within the EU. Therefore, the Budapest Convention falls partly under exclusive European Union competence, because of its relationship with the EU regulation and any Member State wishing to join the Budapest Convention is first required to obtain Union authorisation to do so. The proposal is therefore



also addressed to Belgium, in order to ensure Union authorisation and to rectify the currently unlawful situation.

The proposal has been published with a legal base falling within Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) – Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) matters. The EU currently has competency in this matter; the Government also maintains that the UK is still entitled to use its opt-in under Protocol 21 of the Treaty and in negotiations the Government will continue to seek amendments to the wording of the relevant Recital of the proposed Decision to reflect this. If the Government is unable to succeed, we will revert to laying a Minute Statement to underline the UK’s position.

The UK is not a party to the Budapest Convention and has no cross-border exchange of goods within EU inland waterways. The UK has previously indicated, as has the Republic of Ireland, that there is no commercial carriage of goods by inland waterways between the two and so there is no impact on the UK. Nonetheless, it is clearly an important legal instrument for those Member States that do have cross-border exchange of goods within EU inland waterways, since it provides a mechanism for resolving conflicts of law in relation to the contracts associated with the carriage of goods.

Since the provisions are not expected to have any impact on UK businesses or operations involving contracts for the carriage of goods by inland waterways, and there are no effects on relations with the three Member States seeking authorisation, the Government has chosen to opt-in.

TREASURY

ECOFIN: 10 March 2015

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr George Osborne): [HCWS466]

A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council was held in Brussels on 10 March 2015. Ministers discussed the following items:

Investment Plan for Europe

The Council agreed a General Approach on the proposal on the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). This will allow the Presidency, on behalf of the Council, to start negotiations with the European Parliament.

Current Legislative Proposals

The Presidency updated delegations on the state of play of legislative proposals in the field of financial services.

Implementation of the Banking Union

The Commission informed delegations on the state of play on Banking Union implementation, providing updates on the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) implementation and the ratification of the Intergovernmental agreement (IGA) on the Single Resolution Fund (SRF).



European Semester: Country reports

The Commission presented the 27 "Country Reports" published in February.

Implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact

The Commission set out the main conclusions of the Country Report and In-depth Review exercise as they related to the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). The Council adopted, through a vote by Eurozone Member States, a recommendation under the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) for France to correct its deficit by 2017.

Other business

ECOFIN had a short exchange of views regarding the fight against tax avoidance, in relation to the Presidency “Road Map” on fighting Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

Finance Bill 2015

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr David Gauke): [HCWS467]

The Government is today publishing Finance Bill 2015.

In December 2014, the Government published over 250 pages of draft Finance Bill 2015 legislation for technical consultation, meeting its commitment to publish the majority of Finance Bill clauses in draft at least three months ahead of introduction. The final legislation reflects comments received during the consultation process.

The Government has subsequently decided to defer a number of measures previously announced for Finance Bill 2015 to a future Finance Bill, in recognition of the accelerated Parliamentary process that the bill will be subject to. At the same time, a number of priority measures announced at Budget 2015 will be included in the bill. The detail of these changes is set out in the Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates, published on 18 March:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/finance-bill-2015-overview-documents-at-budget-2015

In addition, a number of clauses which had been intended for Finance Bill 2015 have been deferred as a result of discussions with the Opposition in the context of the end-of-Parliament wash up process. These clauses concern:

• A new tax exemption for travel expenses of members of local authorities (announced July 2014);

• A new statutory exemption from income tax for trivial benefits in kind, implementing a recommendation of the Office of Tax Simplification’s review of employee benefits and expenses (announced at Budget 2014);

• Simplifying link company requirements for consortium claims under Corporation Tax (announced Autumn Statement 2014);

• Changes to scheme rules for the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts (announced at Budget 2015) - on which draft legislation is being published today and which are subject to EU State aid approval; and

• A separate rate of excise duty for aqua methanol (announced at Budget 2014).





The Government intends that measures deferred to a future bill will be legislated at the earliest opportunity in the new Parliament.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Employment Support

The Minister for Disabled People (Mr Mark Harper): [HCWS464]

Today I am pleased to announce the outcome of the recent commercial procurement exercise to select providers for the new Specialist Employability Support contracts, the new provision which replaces the Residential Training College contracts.

Funding will be maintained at the current level, but will help more than double the current number of disabled people and comprehensively improve the geographic availability and accessibility of intensive support.

Specialist Employability Support is an innovative new programme that will focus on helping those disabled people who need the most support to either enter work or to move closer to the labour market and engage in further employment related courses or activities.

Specialist Employability Support will offer intensive, specialist support to disabled people, provided by a network of more than seventy specialist organisations throughout the country.

This new provision will ensure that high quality, intensive support is accessible to twice as many people than under current contracts, with the annual number of customers helped increasing from around 800 to up to 1,700. In addition, over the two years of the contract we anticipate that the new programme will deliver around 1,250 job outcomes, up to two thirds of which will lead to sustained employment in the open labour market.

The new programme is designed to forge stronger links with a range of other programmes and will bring together a variety of existing Work Choice and Work Programme providers, many different specialist voluntary organisations and a number of condition-specific specialists.

Specialist Employability Support will be provided through six separate contracts, each providing national coverage to ensure that the customer group has the optimum choice of support.

Four will be ‘pan disability’ contracts, meaning that support will be provided for people with a wide range of disabilities. Two will be specialist sensory impairment contracts; one focusing on people whose primary disability is a visual impairment, the other on supporting people whose primary disability is a hearing impairment.

The Specialist Employability Support programme features two main types of support:

Specialist Employability Support, which consists of intensive, employability support provision, and;

Specialist Employability Support Start Back, which is a shorter-term provision that will help to prepare disabled people for other support provided by DWP or other organisations. All six Specialist Employability Support providers will offer both support options.



The six successful bidders were:

Pan disability

Shaw Trust

Remploy

Kennedy Scott

Steps to Employment

Visual impairment

Royal National College for the Blind

Hearing impairment

Doncaster Deaf Trust -

The new provision will go live on 1 September 2015.

There was strong competition for each of the contracts on offer, with bids showing real innovation and flexibility. The majority of the current Residential Training Colleges were involved in successful tenders to continue to provide support under the new provision.

DWP has consistently engaged with the existing contractors to prepare them for the tendering process and has developed a range of potential options to support the two Residential Training Colleges currently offering DWP provision who will not be involved in delivery of the new provision.

Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC)

The Minister for Employment (Esther McVey): [HCWS456]

My Noble Friend The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud) has made the following Written Statement.

Today, I will publish the outcome of the review of the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC). I am pleased to announce that the government supports the continuation of the Committee in its current form. The Department for Work and Pensions has completed a robust examination of the Committee’s functions, delivery arrangements and governance structure. The review was carried out in line with the Cabinet Office’s key principles for reviews of Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPB). The SSAC is a cost effective advisory NDPB whose functions are integral to improving the quality of policy making and of secondary legislation in the Department for Work and Pensions. I attach a copy of the review report to this statement and will place a copy in the House library.

Attachments:

1. SSAC Triennial Review report [2015-03-24 SSAC Triennial Review report FINAL.pdf]


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