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10 Jun 2010 : Column 227W—continued
Identity Cards
Andrew Stephenson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to offer a reduction in the full passport application fee equivalent to the application fee for an ID card to persons who acted on advice from the Identity and
Passport Service to apply for an ID card for use as a travel document in lieu of a passport. [1634]
Damian Green: The Identity Documents Bill was laid before Parliament on 26 May 2010. The Bill proposes the scrapping of ID Cards and the National Identity Register. Cards will remain valid for one month after Royal Assent. As was made clear in Opposition and as the Home Secretary has reiterated in Government, the Government will not compensate people who bought an ID card.
Police: Finance
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 27 May 2010, Official Report, columns 12-15WS, on police authorities (funding allocations), what plans she has to allow police authorities to revise precepts within the financial year 2010-11; what powers are available to police authorities to undertake a revised precept within the current financial year; and what consultation she undertook with chief constables prior to making the written ministerial statement. [1169]
Nick Herbert: Once a police authority has carried out its statutory responsibility of calculating its budget requirement and its basic amount of council tax for a financial year, legislation allows the authority to make substitute calculations provided that it does not increase the level of its budget requirement or basic amount of council tax. Where substitute calculations are made, the authority may issue a new precept. The relevant provisions are sections 43 to 49 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
Decisions about the level of precept are a matter for individual police authorities. Like every other part of the public sector we believe police authorities can make significant efficiencies and, if necessary, reduce spending or reprioritise with no effect on precepts or frontline services.
Informal discussions were held between the Home Secretary, and myself prior to the written ministerial statement. A consultation period will begin once the Police Grant Report (England and Wales) Amending Report 2010-11 for the revised Police Funding Settlement 2010-11 has been laid in the House.
Police: Manpower
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers at each rank were employed by (a) Greater Manchester police service, (b) Merseyside police service, (c) West Midlands police service and (d) South Wales police on the most recent date for which figures are available. [1832]
Nick Herbert: The available data, as at 30 September 2009, can be seen in the following table:
Police: Unmanned Air Vehicles
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the use of surveillance drones by police forces; and if she will make a statement. [1527]
James Brokenshire: The use by forces of unmanned airborne vehicles is an operational matter for the police in accordance with relevant ACPO guidance and Civil Aviation Authority regulations.
Sexual Offences: Registration
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will consider bringing forward proposals to amend the Sex Offenders Act 1997 to provide that those convicted, cautioned or released from prison for sexual offences before September 1997 be considered for inclusion on the sex offenders register; and if she will make a statement. [1458]
James Brokenshire: The Sex Offenders Act 1997 is no longer in force as it has been repealed and replaced by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Under sections 81(3)(a) to (d) of the 2003 Act, a person convicted before 1 September 1997 of an offence listed in Schedule 3 can already be placed on the sex offenders' register. This applies to offenders in relation to the relevant Schedule 3 offences if they:
had been convicted prior to 1 September 1997, but had not been sentenced until after that date;
were already serving a sentence of imprisonment, a term of service detention or subject to a community order on 1 September 1997;
were subject to supervision on 1 September 1997 after being released from prison having served the whole or part of their sentence of imprisonment;
were detained in a hospital or subject to a guardianship order on 1 September 1997 following their conviction.
Wickham Research Laboratories: Animal Experiments
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to publish the results of the review of animal testing at Wickham Laboratories; and for what reasons the expected publication timetable has not been met. [1532]
Lynne Featherstone: I expect to receive the report of the review shortly and will publish the results when I have considered its findings.
The review timetable has been extended to ensure that input from the independent members of the review team could be taken fully into account.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Adult Education
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take in relation to implementation of the recommendations of the White Paper, "The Learning Revolution". [1670]
Mr Hayes: "The Learning Revolution" White Paper was published by the previous Government. We now have a new Government and a fresh chance to reassess the principles that underpin public policy in order to build a better society founded on social mobility, social justice and social cohesion.
I have long been a believer in the power of adult and community learning and the contribution it makes to the development of stronger, healthier and more confident communities. These views are shared by my Secretary of State and by the Prime Minister. We want everyone to have the chance to be inspired by learning, so that their lives, their families and their communities can benefit.
We want people to rise as high as their talents and ambitions will take them. We will achieve this by reducing bureaucracy, by putting an end to the previous preoccupation with targets and by making adult and community learning universally available, targeting public support for disadvantaged areas and those people who have had least opportunity to learn in the past.
Advantage West Midlands
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent assessment is of the effectiveness of the work of Advantage West Midlands in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry. [1596]
Mr Prisk: An Independent Performance Assessment (IPA) conducted by the National Audit Office in 2006-07 assessed AWM as performing well. The NAO, on behalf of my Department, is currently undertaking an Independent Supplementary Review of RDAs and is due to report shortly.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what timetable he has set for restructuring Advantage West Midlands into a local partnership. [1597]
Mr Prisk: The Government will provide further detail on the future of the Regional Development Agencies and how we propose to take forward our proposals for local enterprise partnerships in due course.
Apprentices
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who will have responsibility for allocating new apprenticeship places which are created in the next 12 months. [1578]
Mr Hayes: This Department is working with the National Apprenticeship Service and the Skills Funding Agency to implement the redeployment of £150 million of Train to Gain funds announced on 24 May 2010.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what mechanism the announced £150 million of funding for adult apprenticeships will be made available to small and medium-sized enterprises. [1642]
Mr Hayes: This Department is working with the National Apprenticeship Service and the Skills Funding Agency to implement the redeployment of £150 million of Train to Gain funds which will support adult Apprenticeship places focused on small and medium-sized enterprise. Further details will be provided shortly.
UKTI DSO
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what amount of arms sale exports has been generated by the Defence and Security Organisation in UK Trade and Investment in the latest period for which figures are available.; [1613]
(2) what criteria are used by the Defence and Security Organisation in deciding on provision of support for arms exports; [1615]
(3) what steps the Defence and Security Organisation takes to ensure that it does not provide support for the export of UK arms to countries where human rights abuses have taken place; [1616]
(4) what the operational cost of the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation was in the latest year for which figures are available. [1614]
Mr Davey: UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) helps UK defence and security companies succeed internationally. In 2008 the value of new orders for the sale of goods and services by UK defence exporters to overseas Governments was £4.3 billion. Security exports were estimated at £1.4 billion in 2008/09.
To qualify for UKTI and UKTI DSO trade services, a business must be able to demonstrate that it has an active UK trading address. There may also be circumstances in which it is judged that there is a benefit to the UK economy in offering UKTI trade services to a foreign owned business overseas. This is most likely to apply in the case of an overseas-based business with concrete plans to establish in the UK. UKTI and UKTI DSO however retain discretion on who can access its services.
UKTI DSO maintains close dialogue with the rest of Government to ensure it is aware of nations of concern, including those where human rights considerations may apply. DSO also keeps informed about changes in export control regulation and reminds companies about the requirement for export licences under the Export Control Act 2002.
All applications for export licences for military equipment are assessed by BIS's Export Control Organisation (ECO) against the Consolidated Criteria, which require the Government to assess the recipient country's attitude towards relevant principles established by international human rights instruments. The Government will not
issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression. The ECO is entirely separate from UKTI DSO, and DSO is not involved in assessing licence applications.
The operational cost for UKTI DSO for financial year 2008/09 was £14.6 million.
Bankruptcy: Bexley
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people have been declared bankrupt in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency in each year since 2000. [1899]
Mr Davey: Figures for bankrupts in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency for each year since 2000 are shown in the following table.
| Bankruptcies in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency( 1) | |
| Bankruptcies | |
| (1) Where bankrupt has provided a valid postcode (from 87.7% in 2000 to 96.9% in 2008). | |
Regional figures for 2009 are not currently available for bankruptcies, as they are compiled on an annual basis. They should be available July 2010.
Business: Regulation
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to The Coalition: Our Programme for Government, if he will set out the business regulations he intends to be implemented; and what estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse in each such case. [1364]
Mr Prisk: In developing policy options, Government Departments are considering a range of options including alternatives to regulation. Where a regulatory option is decided upon, the costs and details of the alternatives considered will be clearly set out in an impact assessment.
The Government are introducing a "one-in, one-out" rule to cap the cost of regulation.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the proposed "one-in, one-out" rule on business regulation will apply to employment law. [1657]
Mr Davey: The "one-in, one-out" rule will change the incentives for policymakers across government, encouraging a focus on identifying regulations to be repealed, simplified or replaced by alternative policy approaches.
Responsible Departments will take forward the identification of regulations that can be removed or simplified. All relevant regulations are within scope.
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