Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 10 June 2010
Wales
Departmental Domestic Visits
Mr David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many meetings the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has held in the Wales Office in Cardiff since his appointment. [1994]
Mr David Jones: I have had one meeting so far.
Mr David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many meetings she has had with the Welsh First Minister since her appointment. [1995]
Mrs Gillan: To date I have met the First Minister five times since my appointment and we have had several telephone conversations.
Mr David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times she has visited Wales since her appointment. [2031]
Mrs Gillan: To date I have spent seven days working in Wales.
Mr David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has visited the National Assembly for Wales since his appointment. [2032]
Mr David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what bilateral meetings the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has had with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers since his appointment. [2033]
Mr David Jones: None, although future meetings have been arranged.
Work and Pensions
Future Jobs Fund: North East
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the effect on the level of employment in (a) the north east and (b) England of the ending of the Future Jobs Fund; and if he will make a statement. [1159]
Chris Grayling: At up to £6,500 per placement, the Future Jobs Fund is five times more expensive than other aspects of the Young Persons Guarantee, making it poorer value for money. As we emerge from a recession with a huge budget deficit, it is right that the Government take decisive steps to secure long lasting benefits rather than temporary changes to unemployment. Next year we will introduce our new Work Programme, which will bring better targeted and more effective support to young people and the unemployed.
Future Jobs Fund: West Midlands
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in (a) Dudley North, (b) the borough of Dudley and (c) the west midlands are participating in the Future Jobs Fund. [1508]
Chris Grayling: This information is not available for how many people resident in Dudley North and the borough of Dudley are participating in the Future Jobs Fund.
For the West Midlands, the latest release of official statistics show that 940 people started Future Jobs Fund jobs between October 2009 and January 2010.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent assessment is of the effect on levels of employment of abolishing the Future Jobs Fund in (a) the west midlands and (b) Coventry. [1598]
Chris Grayling: At up to £6,500 per placement, the Future Jobs Fund is five times more expensive than other aspects of the Young Persons Guarantee, making it poorer value for money. As we emerge from a recession with a huge budget deficit, it is right that the Government take decisive steps to secure long lasting benefits rather than temporary changes to unemployment. Next year we will introduce our new Work Programme, which will bring better targeted and more effective support to young people and the unemployed.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of the number of people who have found employment through the Future Jobs Fund in (a) the west midlands and (b) Coventry. [1599]
Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
(a) The latest release of Official Statistics, covering the October 2009 to January 2010 period, shows that 940 people started the Future Jobs Fund in the west midlands.
(b) This information is not available in the format requested.
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department budgeted for advertising tackling benefit fraud in 2010-11. [1034]
Chris Grayling: We are reviewing all advertising expenditure and any requests for funding will be submitted to HM Treasury for approval.
Social Security Benefits: Overpayments
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of gross overpayments of benefit in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what plans he has to reduce overpayments. [962]
Chris Grayling: The latest estimates of overpayments as a result of fraud and error are contained in the Department for Work and Pensions publication "Fraud and Error in the Benefit System: October 2008 to September 2009", copies of which are available in the Library.
We will be looking carefully at the Department's approach to controlling fraud and error to ensure all possible steps are taken to tackle it more effectively.
Defence
Chinook Helicopters
Dr Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many crashes and near misses involving Chinooks owned and operated by the armed forces have been recorded in each of the last 10 years. [422]
Nick Harvey: The number of crashes and near misses for Chinooks are listed in the following table:
| Crashes | Near misses | |
A crash has been defined as a major incident involving irreparable damage to the aircraft. This excludes occasions where Chinooks have incurred damage that can be repaired either in theatre or in the UK. A near miss has been taken to be an air proximity hazard, the formal definition of which is an incident in which, in the opinion of a pilot or controller, the distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speeds have been such that the safety of the aircraft involved was or may have been compromised.
Defence Storage and Distribution Agency
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for future ownership arrangements of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency. [1389]
Peter Luff: The Treasury-led Operational Efficiency Programme made a number of recommendations regarding the future of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency, subject to value for money considerations. The Ministry of Defence is currently considering, in consultation with the trade unions, how these recommendations could be delivered. Once this work is complete, I will make a further announcement.
Departmental Official Cars
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) make, (b) model and (c) place of manufacture is of the car allocated for the use of each Minister in his Department. [1477]
Mr Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 9 June 2010, Official Report, column 180W.
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future ownership arrangements of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. [1464]
Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 June 2010, Official Report, column 11W, to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones).
Unmanned Air Vehicles
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the testing of surveillance drones over the proposed land corridor between Aberporth and Epynt; what account this policy takes of the right to privacy of individuals resident within the corridor; and if he will make a statement. [1529]
Nick Harvey: The approved airspace corridor from Parc Aberporth will be used to enable the Watchkeeper unmanned air system to fly to the Sennybridge Training Area in Mynydd Epynt, mid-Wales, where it will undergo trials. Sensors and surveillance equipment will be switched off during transit through the air corridor; therefore the privacy of residents will be unaffected.
Treasury
Aggregates Levy
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to review the level of aggregates levy tax. [1829]
Justine Greening: Decisions on the rate of aggregates levy are taken by the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.
Departmental Appointments
Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many special advisers (a) he and (b) each named Minister in his Department (i) has appointed to date and (ii) plans to appoint. [320]
Mr Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) political appointments and (b) other personal appointments he has made since his appointment; and at what estimated annual cost to the public purse. [371]
Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Members to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 3 June 2010, Official Report, column 99W.
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mr Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Ministers in his Department have been issued with (a) a BlackBerry, (b) an iPhone, (c) another make of mobile telephone and (d) a personal digital assistant supplied by the Department. [1430]
Justine Greening: All Treasury Ministers have been issued with centrally provided BlackBerry devices for official use.
According to central records no additional mobile phones, iPhones or personal digital assistants have been supplied by the Department to Ministers.
Departmental Official Hospitality
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what budget his Department has allocated for entertainment, including alcohol, in each of the next three years. [1322]
Justine Greening: The Treasury does not currently have a budget for official entertainment for 2010-11 or later years.
In the event that any spending is incurred it will be consistent with the Ministerial and Civil Service Codes and be subject to the limits set out in the expenses manual, a copy of which is available online at:
All expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when and in what form he plans to publish a list of all items of expenditure by his Department over £25,000. [275]
Justine Greening: The Prime Minister has written to Cabinet Ministers(1) reiterating transparency commitments made in the Coalition programme for government, and setting out a timetable for achieving them. In particular, all new items of central Government spending over £25,000 will be published online in an open format from November 2010.
Public Expenditure
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the merits of introducing a needs-based formula for the distribution of central government funding to the regions of England. [1399]
Danny Alexander: It is for Government Departments to decide the allocation of their budgets to regions in England. Departments use a variety of means of allocating spending regionally and locally reflecting their own circumstances.
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