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5 July 2010 : Column 97W—continued
Public Sector: Manpower
Chris Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on the number of public sector jobs of the reductions in departmental spending announced in the budget. [5269]
Danny Alexander: The OBR released further information on its employment forecast on 30 June 2010.
The OBR forecast release can be found on the following webpage:
Research and Development Tax Credit
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2010, Official Report, column 482W, on research and development tax credit: environmental protection, if he will bring forward proposals to amend the UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities to identify clean technology as a separate sector. [4619]
Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated June 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning research and development tax credit: environmental protection, if it will be possible to bring forward proposals to amend the UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities to identify clean technology as a separate sector. (4619)
The United Kingdom Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activity (UK SIC) is the national version of the European system 'Classification of Economic Activities' in the European Community' (NACE), part of the integrated system of statistical classifications. By an international agreement, the highest levels of NACE (the sections and divisions) are identical to those of the United Nations system 'International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities' (ISIC).
The UK is required by European legislation to revise the UK SIC in parallel with NACE, ensuring that both systems remain identical down to and including the 4 digit class level. A further breakdown of the class level can be provided in certain instances by the addition of a 5 digit (country specific) subclass level. The UK SIC (2007) is currently bound by European legislation (Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006) to be identical with NACE Rev 2, down to and including the 4 digit class level. Changes to UKSIC (2007) above the 5(th) digit subclass level are therefore not permissible.
Revisions to statistical classification systems arc motivated by the need to adapt the classifications to changes in the world economy and must meet the methodological criteria associated
with the classification. It is not possible to amend NACE in order to identify 'clean technology' as a separate section as the system classifies economic activities in terms of input-process-output. By applying the criteria described in the NACE methodological guide, the "clean technology" process cannot be distinguished from that of other technology.
The European Community regulation governing NACE is directly applicable to all member states.
The timing of the NACE revision process sits with a committee consisting of delegates form all member states; as yet, no announcement has been made to a possible revision date with regard to NACE Rev2. As a result of the obligations of the NACE Rev2 legislation, is not possible to bring forward a date for the revision of UKSIC (2007).
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Mr Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to close the loopholes used by stamp duty land tax mitigation schemes. [5464]
Justine Greening: The June 2010 Budget announced that the Government will examine whether changes to the rules on stamp duty land tax on high value property transactions are needed to prevent avoidance in this area.
Mr Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the revenue foregone by the Exchequer consequent on stamp duty land tax mitigation schemes in the latest period for which figures are available. [5465]
Justine Greening: A robust estimate of revenue lost because of stamp duty land tax mitigation schemes will depend upon information now starting to become available through the recent extension of the regime requiring disclosure of such schemes to HMRC.
Taxation: Banks
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has (a) conducted and (b) commissioned research on the likely effect on the public purse of (i) the banking levy and (ii) the change to the level of corporation tax announced in the 2010 Budget in the next five years. [5576]
Mr Hoban: The estimated impact on the Exchequer of the bank levy and changes to corporation tax, and the analysis underpinning these estimates, are set out in the Budget 2010 policy costings document:
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely effect on retail banks based in the UK of changes to their taxation arrangements announced in the 2010 Budget in the next five years. [5577]
Mr Hoban: The estimated impacts of the tax changes announced in Budget 2010 are set out in the following Budget 2010 document:
Several measures will affect UK retail banks. Most directly, they will be affected by the bank levy and the reduction in corporation tax rates. Separate figures for
UK retail banks have not been produced, although assessments of the impact of the reduction in the main corporation tax rate for the financial sector as a whole are available. I refer the hon. Lady to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Frank Dobson) on 1 July, Official Report, columns 610-11W.
VAT
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the net effect (a) in cash terms on and (b) as a proportion of the average annual income of (i) the bottom income decile, (ii) the second bottom income decile, (iii) the top income decile, (iv) the second top income decile, (v) pensioner couples, (vi) single pensioners, (vii) couples with children and (viii) single parents with children of an increase of one percentage point in the standard rate of value added tax. [3288]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 21 June 2010]: In the Emergency Budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a 2.5 percentage point increase in the standard rate of value added tax (VAT). Analysis of the impact of indirect taxes, of which VAT is the most significant change, is provided in Annex A of the Red Book on both an income decile and expenditure decile basis. The Office for National Statistics and others have suggested expenditure deciles may better represent a household's expected lifetime income, and therefore better represent the impact of changes in VAT on households. The analysis provided in the Red Book is scalable to give the impact of a one percentage point increase in the main rate of VAT.
For the requested household types, the estimated impact of a one percentage point rise in the standard rate of VAT is:
| Household type | Cash terms (£ per annum) | Percentage of net income |
Chris Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in the number of jobs in the country which will result from his proposal to increase value added tax to 20 per cent. [5271]
Danny Alexander: The OBR forecast that unemployment will come down from 8.1% this year, falling in every year to 6.1% in 2015. In producing its forecasts, the OBR have considered the employment impacts of the announced consolidation as a whole.
VAT: Birmingham
Steve McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department consulted small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency and (b) other parts of Birmingham on his proposal to raise value added tax to 20%. [5475]
Mr Gauke: No. Businesses across the UK will benefit from a reduction in the current high levels of public debt which could lead to a loss of market confidence and higher market interest rates, raising the cost of borrowing for families and businesses and discouraging investment and consumer spending. VAT makes an essential contribution to that reduction. Small and medium-sized businesses will also benefit from other announcements in the Budget, including the reduction in the corporation tax rate for smaller companies to 20%.
Steve McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency and (b) other parts of Birmingham will be affected by the proposed increase in the rate of value added tax. [5476]
Mr Gauke: All businesses in Selly Oak and Birmingham will benefit from a reduction in the current high levels of public debt which could lead to a loss of market confidence and higher market interest rates, raising the cost of borrowing for families and businesses and discouraging investment and consumer spending. VAT makes an essential contribution to that reduction. Small and medium-sized businesses will also benefit from other announcements in the Budget, including the reduction in the corporation tax rate for smaller companies to 20%.
VAT: Charities
Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much value added tax was paid by charities located in (a) Wrexham, (b) Wales and (c) the UK in each of the last three years. [5871]
Mr Gauke: This information is not available.
HM Revenue and Customs cannot accurately pinpoint those VAT registrations belonging to charities and not all charities are registered for VAT. The VAT return does not record input tax incurred by VAT registered charities which they are unable to recover under the normal rules of VAT.
Welfare Tax Credits: Bishop Auckland
Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in receipt of tax credits in (a) Bishop Auckland and (b) Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency have an income of over £30,000. [5094]
Mr Gauke: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Families receiving tax credits with an income over £30,000 | |
| Number | |
The constituency referred to in the question-Blackpool North and Cleveleys-was formed after April 2010 so the previous boundary of Blackpool North and Fleetwood has been used instead. The information for the new constituency would be available at only disproportionate cost.
These estimates are based on provisional information on families receiving Tax Credits as at April 2010. Further details about this data can be found in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits. Geographical Analysis, April 2010". This is available at:
Welfare Tax Credits: Lancashire
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in receipt of tax credits have an income of over £30,000 in West Lancashire constituency. [5647]
Mr Gauke: The number of households receiving tax credits with an income over £30,000 in West Lancashire constituency is 2,600.
These estimates are based on provisional information on families receiving tax credits as at April 2010. Further details about these data can be found in the HMRC snapshot publication 'Child and Working Tax Credits. Geographical Analysis, April 2010', available at:
Welfare Tax Credits: Stirling
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Stirling in the income band (a) £10,000 to £20,000, (b) £21,000 to £30,000, (c) £31,000 to £40,000, (d) £41,000 to £50,000, (e) £51,000 to £60,000 and (f) £60,000 or more are in receipt of tax credits. [5287]
Mr Gauke: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Table 1: Stirling constituency families in receipt of tax credits by income band | |
| Household income | Number |
The income bands over £50,000 have been combined because the numbers in the individual categories would be disclosive.
These estimates are based on provisional information on families receiving tax credits as at April 2010. Further details about these data can be found in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits. Geographical Analysis, April 2010", available at:
Work and Pensions
BP: Gulf of Mexico
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on UK pension funds; and if he will make a statement; [5254]
(2) what his estimate is of the financial loss to UK pension funds resulting from BP's decision to suspend its quarterly dividend; and if he will make a statement. [5255]
Steve Webb: Pension funds are well diversified and invest for the long term in a range of assets. However, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will have had a detrimental impact on pension funds due to the fall in the BP share price, the decision by BP to suspend dividend payments and the falls in share prices of other companies operating in the oil and gas sector.
It is not possible with any degree of certainty to isolate the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on financial markets, and therefore on UK pension funds, due to changes in wider economic conditions.
Traditionally, BP is a major source of dividends for investors. Self-administered pension funds received around £60 billion of income in 2009, of which only 15% came from dividend payments. We estimate around 2% of total annual income was attributable to BP dividend payments. Consequently, the decision not to pay further dividends in 2010 should not have a significant impact on pension funds in the long term.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations his Department has received on the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on UK pension funds; whether he plans to review the regulations governing disclosure of information by pension funds in light of any such representations; and if he will make a statement. [5256]
Steve Webb: There has been a number of representations calling for a review of the disclosure of information requirements in the light of the impact of the Deepwater oil spill on UK pension funds. By way of reply, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) on 22 June 2010, Official Report, column 182W.
Children: Maintenance
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was obtained by (a) the Child Support Agency and (b) the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission from absent parents who were (i) previously paying nothing and (ii) already making payments for their children in the last 12 months. [3493]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to my hon. Friend with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was obtained by (a) the Child Support Agency and (b) the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission from absent parents who were (i) previously paying nothing and (ii) already making payments for their children. [3493]
We contacted your office to clarify your question and following speaking to you we have interpreted your question as: how much was obtained from non-resident parents who (i) paid for the first time within the last 12 months for which data is available, and (ii) paid for the second and subsequent time within the same period.
In the 12 months to March 2010, we collected or arranged £1,141m in child maintenance payments and 769,200 cases paid maintenance at least once during that 12 months.
Of these cases, 113,400 paid maintenance for the first time, 107,800 cases on the CS2 computer system, of which 91,000 cases had outstanding arrears, including 19,900 cases with outstanding arrears of more than 12 months at the time the first payment was secured. Unfortunately, we are not able to link the amount collected to the number of cases that paid maintenance for the first time.
The remaining 655,800 cases which paid in the year had previously made at least one payment for their children, but within this caseload there were 159,100 instances where payments were secured after a break in payment of three months or more. In total 272,500 payments were secured from those who had previously never made payments or had stopped making payments.
Departmental NDPBs
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the address is of the head office of each non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible. [5711]
Chris Grayling: The contact addresses for the non-departmental public bodies are as follows:
| Non-departmental public body | Address |
|
St Dunstan's House, 201-211 Borough High Street, London SE1 1JA | |
|
18c Meridian East, Meridian Business Park, Leicester, LE19 1WZ | |
The following advisory bodies can be contacted via their secretariats:
Employment and Support Allowance
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2010, Official Report, column 72W, on employment and support allowance (ESA), how many of the 425,770 ESA claimants live (a) in the UK, (b) in Thirsk and Malton constituency and (c) abroad. [5685]
Chris Grayling: The information is set out as follows.
| Employment support allowance (ESA) claimants: November 2009 | |
| Total | |
| Notes: 1. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10; some additional disclosure control has also been applied. 2. Employment and support allowance (ESA). ESA replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008. 3. Constituencies used are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010. 4. It is not possible to specify exactly the number of abroad cases. However, the total of both invalid and non-British addresses amounts to 200 cases. Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100% data. | |
Floors: Safety
Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of (a) the number of workplace accidents caused by slipping, (b) the number of days off work, (c) the cost in lost production and (d) the cost to his Department of sickness and other benefits arising from injuries sustained by slipping in the workplace in the most recent period for which figures are available. [5174]
Chris Grayling: The most recent estimates for 2008-09, in the Health and Safety Executive's Field Operations Directorate (FOD) or local authority enforced areas, are as follows:
(a) The number of workplace accidents caused by slipping. There were a total of 33,888 workplace accidents as a result of a slip or trip at work.
(b) The number of days off work. 23,450 workplace accidents resulted in workers taking three days or more off work.
(c) The cost in lost production. The estimated total cost of lost output caused by workplace slips and trips was £233 million. This cost can be disaggregated as follows:
| Numbers of reported injuries/fatalities | |||||
| Employees | Self employed | Total injuries fatalities | Lost output per injury fatality (£) | Total cost of lost output (£) | |
(d) The cost to the Department for Work and Pensions in terms of sickness and other benefit arising from injuries sustained by slipping in the workplace.
This information is not available. Expenditure on sickness and other related benefits is only available broken down by nature of injury or condition, not by cause.
Housing Benefit
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the effect of the measures in the 2010 Budget on those resident in the (a) Metropolitan Borough of Tameside and (b) Metropolitan Borough of Stockport who are in receipt of housing benefit; [5000]
(2) how many housing benefit claimant households are in properties valued at above the (a) 30th percentile and (b) medium local rent in each local market rental area; [5700]
(3) how many (a) households and (b) people it is estimated will be affected by the change in setting levels of local housing allowance to the 30th percentile of local rents. [5701]
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether he has made an estimate of (a) the number of private sector tenants in (i) Bishop Auckland and (ii) Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency whose local housing allowance will be reduced in each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15 and (b) the average loss of allowance per week consequent on that reduction in respect of tenants in each of those constituencies in each of those years; [5178]
(2) if he will estimate the number of social housing tenants in (a) Bishop Auckland and (b) Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency whose entitlement to housing benefit will decline year on year in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13, (iii) 2013-14 and (iv) 2014-15; what the average reduction is likely to be for each such group in each year; and what assessment he has made of the likely effects of such changes in entitlement on (A) local authority housing revenue and (B) the level of new build in the social housing sector; [5294]
(3) what his estimate is of the number of new claimants for housing benefit that will be awarded over (a) £1,100, (b) £1,000, (c) £900, (d) £800 and (e) £700 per week from November 2010 as a result of implementation of the measures announced in the March 2010 Budget. [5679]
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many private rented sector householders whose rent exceeds the 30th percentile and are in receipt of housing benefit rent allowance are (a) above the state retirement age and (b) of working age with dependants in each local authority area in England; [5396]
(2) how many households would experience a reduction in entitlement to housing benefit of (a) £10, (b) more than £20, (c) more than £30, (d) more than £50 and (e) more than £70 a week in each local authority area in England if local housing allowance were set at the 30th percentile of private sector rents; [5398]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of households in receipt of housing benefit whose rent is above the 30th percentile of private sector rents in each local authority area in England. [5399]
Steve Webb: We will publish detail of how the Housing Benefit changes will affect the calculation of Local Housing Allowance rates on 23 July 2010. Impact assessments on the other Housing Benefit changes announced in the Budget will follow in due course.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many householders in the private rented sector (a) of working age, (b) above working age, (c) in each bedroom size property and (d) in total are in receipt of housing benefit in each housing authority area. [5409]
Steve Webb: The available information has been placed in the Library.
Incapacity Benefit
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2010, Official Report, column 282W, on incapacity benefit, in what area he intends to trial the reassessment of incapacity benefit recipients in October 2010. [5235]
Chris Grayling: In accordance with the written statement laid by the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Chris Grayling) on 29 June 2010, the trial for the reassessment of incapacity benefit recipients will take place in Aberdeen and Burnley.
National Employment Savings Trust
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what his policy is on the National Employment Savings Trust; [5245]
(2) what his policy is on the National Employment Savings Trust. [5211]
Steve Webb: The Government are committed to introducing automatic enrolment as an effective means of increasing pension saving.
The Making Automatic Enrolment Work review, announced on 24 June will consider whether the approach inherited from the previous Administration strikes the right balance between cost, benefits and risks for individuals, employers, and the taxpayer. The review will also consider
whether NEST is the right intervention to support pension savings among low to moderate earners.
The terms of reference for the review can be found on the DWP website:
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to review (a) the role of, (b) the structure of and (c) auto-enrolment into the National Employment Savings Trust; and if he will make a statement. [5571]
Steve Webb: The Government are committed to introducing automatic enrolment as an effective means of increasing pension saving.
The Making Automatic Enrolment Work review, announced on 24 June will consider whether the approach inherited from the previous Administration strikes the right balance between cost, benefits and risks for individuals, employers and the taxpayer. The review will also consider whether NEST is the right intervention to support pension savings among low to moderate earners.
The terms of reference for the review can be found on the DWP website:
Oil: Safety
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) safety incidents, (b) injuries and (c) dangerous occurrences at each of the 10 Transocean rigs operating in UK waters have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last 10 years. [4342]
Chris Grayling: The information is not available in the format requested. The available data are in the following tables.
Tables 1, 2 and 3 give accident and incident statistics reported over the past three years under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) for the 10 Transocean drilling rigs currently working in UK waters.
| RIDDOR reportable incidents-2007-08 | |||||||
| Rig | Major | Over three-day injury | Ill-health | D/O( 1) | HCR( 2) | Wells incidents | Total |
| (1) Dangerous occurrence-near miss accident no one injured.( 2) Hydrocarbon release. | |||||||
| RIDDOR reportable incidents-2008-09 | |||||||
| Rig | Major | Over three-day injury | Ill-health | D/O( 1) | HCR( 2) | Wells incidents | Total |
| (1) Dangerous occurrence-near miss accident no one injured.( 2) Hydrocarbon release. | |||||||
| RIDDOR reportable incidents-2009-10 | |||||||
| Rig | Major | Over three-day injury | Ill-health | D/O( 1) | HCR( 2) | Wells incidents | Total |
| (1) Dangerous occurrence-near miss accident no one injured.( 2) Hydrocarbon release. | |||||||
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) fatalities, (b) major injuries, (c) three-day injuries and (d) dangerous occurrences classified as (i) unplanned close, (ii) shallow gas and (iii) unplanned flow at each (A) oil and gas production platform, (B) floating production installation, (C) drilling rig and (D) unattended gas platform have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last 10 years; and what records the Health and Safety Executive holds on the (x) owner and (y) operator of each such installation. [4343]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available as it would incur disproportionate cost.
State Retirement Pensions
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 28 June 2010, Official Report, columns 393-94W, on state retirement pensions, for what reasons the month of September is used as the base for these calculations. [5569]
Steve Webb: The Consumer Prices Index figure for September is the most up to date that can be used which allows time for the necessary activities involved in changing both the legislation and benefit systems in time for the uprating date in April. This was also true of the Retail Prices Index when that index was used as the benchmark for price inflation.
The September figures are published by the Office for National Statistics in mid-October and feed into the forecasts prepared for the pre-Budget report, The Uprating Statement to Parliament is made in November or December followed by the Uprating Order which is laid and debated in the new year.
This timetable is important so that new claims to state pensions and pension credit, which can be made up to four months in advance, can be processed using the correct rates of benefit. It also allows adequate time to notify all 19 million benefit recipients of any changes to their benefit.
Unemployed People: Training
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to expedite the training procurement processes carried out by JobCentre Plus for specialist training for job seekers with specialist skills who require the training in order to move on or back into employment. [2160]
Chris Grayling: We remain committed to offering high quality, responsive training provision for those out of work, to help them get the skills they need to find work, stay in work and progress. The Dept for Work and Pensions and the Dept for Business, Innovation and Skills are working closely together to ensure that the provision is in place to support the new Work Programme.
Alongside the Work Programme, we will introduce Getting Britain Working, which will have a series of support measures, such as Work Clubs which will give unemployed people a place to develop skills and share experiences.
Housing Benefit
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Financial Statement of 22 June 2010, Official Report, column 174, how many families in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales are receiving £104,0000 a year in housing benefit; and if he will make a statement. [5742]
Steve Webb: The latest information the Department holds is for March 2010, when the maximum local housing allowance rate was £1,800, and shows that there were customers who received this rate. All these customers were located in the central London broad rental market area.
In June 2010 the maximum local housing allowance rate rose to £2,000 a week which would be equivalent to receiving £104,000 a year in housing benefit assuming the individual remains in receipt of the same level of benefit for 52 continuous weeks. Information on housing benefit awards in June will be available in September 2010.
Justice
Bill of Rights
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Government's Commission to investigate the creation of a British Bill of Rights will include within its terms of reference (a) the Human Rights Act 1998 and (b) the operation and judicial interpretation of article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. [5062]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 June 2010, Official Report, column 398W.
Civil Servants: Location
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will consider relocating civil servants in his Department who are currently working in central London to Leeds. [5579]
Mr Djanogly: In the March 2010 Budget, the Ministry of Justice was tasked with relocating 1,000 posts out of London with 500 posts expected to move outside the south-east of England.
No final decisions have yet been taken about the destination of any moves or the number of posts to be relocated to specific locations. However, I can advise that Leeds has been chosen for one of the Ministry's shared services locations.
Copyright Tribunal: Public Appointments
Mr Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the criteria are for the appointment of the new chairman of the Copyright Tribunal. [4718]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The statutory requirement is that to be eligible for appointment a person must:
satisfy the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a five-year basis; or
be an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least five years' standing;
be a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland or solicitor of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland of at least five years' standing; or
have held judicial office;
be a citizen of the UK, another commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland.
In addition, it is a non statutory requirement that the Lord Chancellor expects that applicants will normally have expertise in the field of copyright/intellectual property (IP) law or commercial law.
Full details of the criteria for the appointment of the new chairman of the Copyright Tribunal can be found on the Judicial Appointments Commission website at
Court Dispute Resolution
Jessica Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential effects on court dispute resolution of the more effective use of technology. [5204]
Mr Djanogly: In my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor's (Kenneth Clarke) written ministerial statement on HM Courts Service Estates issued on 23 June 2010, Official Report, columns 16-18WS, we proposed to:
"look at what can be done to use technology more effectively so fewer people have physically to attend court for routine purposes."
The potential benefits of using technology more effectively could be realised in various ways.
The Virtual Court pilot focused on testing whether first hearings in the magistrates courts could be undertaken through the use of technology by connecting police stations to magistrates courts via video link. The pilot operated in London and Kent and is currently being independently evaluated. The evaluation will contribute to the Ministry's wider understanding of the potential of video linking to speed up the delivery of justice and reduce cost without compromising the interests of justice.
In the civil courts, Money Claim on-line and Possession Claim on-line (MCOL/PCOL) already allow small claims and housing possession claims to be submitted and processed online. These services reduce the reliance on physical court buildings, reduce the need for the public to visit the court themselves and make access to justice available online 24 hours a day. We will continue to support and develop these systems and actively pursue other ways of providing access to services that provide greater value for money.
We will also consider whether technology can improve the take-up of alternative and innovative routes to justice that do not require court hearings, for example through increasing the availability of the telephone small claims mediation service.
Courts: Access
Jessica Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has in place to improve disability access on court premises. [5205]
Mr Djanogly:
HMCS is presently in the third year of a three-year programme of works, costing £ 14.47 million, to address the access-related shortcomings within the
magistrates courts estate. These works were identified following a comprehensive access audit of all magistrates courts in 2005, at the time of their transfer to and the creation of HMCS in 2005.
A similar programme of works was undertaken in respect of the Crown and county courts between 2001 and 2004 at a cost of £20 million. Accordingly, once the present programme of works is completed on the magistrates courts in March 2011, all of the HMCS courthouses will be physically accessible, so far as is reasonable and practical.
Defamation: Legal Costs
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will introduce measures to reduce success fees in defamation cases. [5074]
Mr Djanogly: The Government are currently considering options for reforming costs in civil litigation, including defamation. In particular, we are urgently assessing the recommendations from Lord Justice Jackson's report, "Review of Civil Litigation Costs", published in January 2010. Among other things, Sir Rupert recommends significant changes to the operation of conditional fee agreements and success fees across the whole of civil litigation. The Government's assessment of Sir Rupert's recommendations will determine the next steps on success fees in defamation proceedings.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Jessica Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of his Department's budget is allocated to its equality, diversity and human rights division. [5203]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: There is no longer an equality, diversity and human rights division within the Ministry of Justice. Details are instead given for the Corporate Equality Division and the Human Rights Division.
The budget of the Corporate Equality Division for 2010-11 is £1.6 million, this equates to 0.018% of the Department's budget. The budget for the Human Rights Division for 2010-11 is £2.2 million, which is another 0.025% of the total budget.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to analyse the distributional effect of the options for reductions in his Department's expenditure. [5243]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The Government set out in their document "Spending Review Framework" that they will:
"look closely at the effects of its decisions on different groups in society, especially the least well off, and on different regions." (2.4, page 7)
Further information will be available at the Spending Review.
Detention and Training Orders
Annette Brooke:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children have died (a) while serving the community part of a detention and training order under the supervision of a youth offending team and
(b) within three months of completing a detention and training order since the inception of such orders; and what the cause of death was of each such child in respect of whose death legal proceedings have been concluded. [4923]
Mr Blunt: The Youth Justice Board does not collect the data requested. Youth offending teams supervise young people serving the second half of their detention and training order sentence in the community but they are not required to collect and keep the data requested.
Diamond Districts
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Diamond Districts programme in tackling crime. [5073]
Nick Herbert:
The Diamond District approach in London is one model of Integrated Offender Management (IOM). IOM is developing in local areas as a partnership approach to the management and rehabilitation of offenders who cause the greatest harm in those areas. Although there is currently limited direct evidence to assess the effectiveness of IOM in reducing levels of re-offending,
it builds on offender-based approaches such as local prolific and other priority offender schemes and the Drug Interventions Programme, for which there is positive indicative evidence of impact. The Metropolitan Police Service Strategic Research and Analysis Unit is conducting a two-year evaluation of the Diamond District approach, which will include evidence of impact on reoffending.
Identity Cards
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been under section (i) 25(1), (ii) 25(2), (iii) 25(3), (iv) 25(4) and (v) 25(5) of the Identity Cards Act 2006 in each year since the inception of the Act. [5376]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences under section 25 of the Identity Cards Act 2006 from commencement (7 June 2006) to 31 December 2008 (latest available) are given in the table as follows.
Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication on 21 October 2010.
Iraq
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the budget is of each current project in Iraq funded by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [4782]
Mr Blunt: There are no current projects in Iraq which are directly funded by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
One member of staff from HM Prison Service (HMPS) is currently on secondment to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office supporting the European Community's Rule of Law Programme in Iraq. MoJ's contribution towards this secondment is £25,000 pa.
National Offender Management Service: Manpower
Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many (a) core and (b) non-core staff are employed by each Director of Offender Management; [5662]
(2) what the annual costs of staff employed by each (a) Director of Offender Management, (b) regional offender manager and (c) prison area manager were in
the latest period for which figures are available in each case; [5663]
(3) what the initial plans were for the number of staff required in each Director of Offender Management's office. [5667]
Mr Blunt: The process of change in the NOMS organisations in the nine English regions and Wales in 2009 covered 576 jobs, and the new structure, which is now in place, reduced this number by 180 to 396. The structures were based on core posts, with other roles excluded, e.g. where prison-based resources have been pooled at regional level. Since the end of the process of change there is no longer any distinction between core and non-core posts. Information is now obtained from Oracle HR and we no longer differentiate between those roles covered by the remit of the restructure and those that were not.
The following table contains information on the number of core posts in the original structure, the number of staff employed on 31 March 2010, including those declared surplus and an estimate of the annual staff costs within each Director of Offender Management office.
Regional offender manager and Prison Service area offices no longer exist.
| Original core structure and latest total staff and estimated staff costs for DOM offices | ||||
| DOM office | Original planned core structure (2009) | Staff in Post( 1 ) 31 March 2010 | Staff declared surplus( 2) | Annual staff costs( 1) (£ million) 31 March 2010 |
| (1 )Director of Offender Management office staffing includes some prison-based resources that have been pooled at regional level. (2) Staff declared surplus are also included in the staff in post column. | ||||
Poppy Project
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Poppy Project bed days were unused in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [4766]
Mr Blunt: Over the last 12 months (1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010) there were a total of 17,430 available bed days with the Poppy Project, of which 1,621 days were vacant-providing an occupancy rate of 91% for the project.
Prison Sentences: Wales
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many men of (a) between 15 and 17, (b) between 18 and 20 and (c) over 20 years were sentenced to custody by courts in North Wales in the last 10 years. [5140]
Mr Blunt: The requested information is shown in the following table.
Prisoners: Foreigners
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners are detained in the prison estate. [5005]
Mr Blunt: The number of foreign national prisoners held in all prison establishments in England and Wales by nationality is published quarterly in the population in custody bulletin, found under the following link:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/population incustody.htm
From the most recent available data, end of March 2010, the foreign national prisoner population in all prison establishments in England and Wales is 11,367.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners of each nationality there were on 6 May 2010. [5136]
Mr Blunt: The number of foreign national prisoners held in all prison establishments in England and Wales by nationality is published quarterly in the population in custody bulletin, found under the following link:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/population incustody.htm
From the most recent available data, end of March 2010, the table shows the number of foreign national prisoners in all prison establishments in England and Wales by nationality.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
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