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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:

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
5 July 2010 : Column 99W
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

Pensioner couple

110

0.4

Pensioner single

50

0.3

Couple with children

180

0.4

One-parent families

90

0.4


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]


5 July 2010 : Column 100W

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

Bishop Auckland

2,300

Blackpool North and Fleetwood

2,100


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.


5 July 2010 : Column 101W

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

£10,000-£20,000

1,380

£20,000-£30,000

900

£30,000-£40,000

1,060

£40,000-£50,000

740

£50,000+

290


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]


5 July 2010 : Column 102W

(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.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:


5 July 2010 : Column 103W

5 July 2010 : Column 104W

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

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission

PO Box 239, Holbeck, LS1 1EB

Health and Safety Executive

Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 7HS

Independent Living Fund

PO Box 7525, Nottingham, NG2 4ZT

Personal Accounts Delivery Authority

St Dunstan's House, 201-211 Borough High Street, London SE1 1JA

Pensions Ombudsman and Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman

11 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB

Pension Protection Fund

Knollys House, 17 Addiscombe Road, Croydon, Surrey, CRO 6SR

Remploy Limited

18c Meridian East, Meridian Business Park, Leicester, LE19 1WZ

The Pensions Advisory Service

11 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB

The Pensions Regulator

Napier House, Trafalgar Place, Brighton, BN1 4DW


The following advisory bodies can be contacted via their secretariats:

Advisory body

Disability Employment Advisory Committee

DEAC Secretariat, Level 3, Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ

Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board

Zone C Floor 1 Caxton House, 6-12 Tothill Street, London SW1H 9NA

Equality 2025

Office for Disability Issues, Ground Floor, Caxton House, 6-12 Tothill Street, London, SW1H9NA

Industrial Injuries Advisory Council

2nd Floor, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London, SW1H9NA

Social Security Advisory Committee

Level 3 North East Spur, Adelphi, John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT


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

Great Britain

425,770

Thirsk and Malton parliamentary constituency

360

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:


5 July 2010 : Column 105W

5 July 2010 : Column 106W
Numbers of reported injuries/fatalities

Employees Self employed Total injuries fatalities Lost output per injury fatality (£) Total cost of lost output (£)

Fatal injuries

4

1

5

520,700

2,603,500

Non-Fatal Major Injuries

10,178

255

10,433

16,200

169,014,600

Over three day injuries

23,234

216

23,450

2,600

60,970,000

Total

-

-

-

-

232,588,100


(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
5 July 2010 : Column 107W
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.


5 July 2010 : Column 108W

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

GSF Galaxy II

-

-

-

-

-

1

1

GSF Galaxy III

-

1

-

1

-

-

2

GSF Labrador

-

-

-

2

1

-

3

J. W. McLean

-

3

-

1

-

-

4

Paul B Loyd Jr

-

3

1

1

-

2

7

Sedco 704

1

1

-

4

-

-

6

Sedco 711

-

-

-

1

-

-

1

Sedco 714

-

3

-

-

-

1

4

Transocean John Shaw

-

3

-

4

-

2

9

Transocean Prospect

1

1

-

3

-

3

8

(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

GSF Galaxy II

-

-

-

-

-

4

4

GSF Galaxy III

-

2

-

1

-

1

4

GSF Labrador

-

-

-

-

-

2

2

J. W. McLean

-

2

-

-

-

-

2

Paul B Loyd Jr

-

3

-

1

-

1

5

Sedco 704

-

1

-

2

-

1

4

Sedco 711

-

-

-

-

-

-

0

Sedco 714

-

-

-

1

-

--

1

Transocean John Shaw

1

2

-

2

-

-

5

Transocean Prospect

-

1

-

1

-

-

2

(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

GSF Galaxy II

1

-

-

-

-

1

2

GSF Galaxy III

-

3

-

2

-

-

5

GSF Labrador

-

-

-

-

-

-

0

J. W. McLean

-

3

1

1

-

-

5

Paul B Loyd Jr

-

2

-

2

-

-

4

Sedco 704

-

-

-

1

-

1

2

Sedco 711

1

2

-

-

-

2

5

Sedco 714

-

-

-

1

-

-

1

Transocean John Shaw

1

1

-

2

-

2

6

Transocean Prospect

-

1

-

2

-

-

3

(1) Dangerous occurrence-near miss accident no one injured.( 2) Hydrocarbon release.

5 July 2010 : Column 109W

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.


5 July 2010 : Column 110W

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:


5 July 2010 : Column 111W

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:

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
5 July 2010 : Column 112W
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:

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
5 July 2010 : Column 113W
(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,
5 July 2010 : Column 114W
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.

Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts under the Identity Cards Act 2006, section 25( 1) , England and Wales, 2006 to 2008( 2, 3, 4)
2006 2007 2008( 5)
Statute Offence description Proceeded against Guilty Proceeded against Guilty Proceeded against Guilty

Identity Cards Act 2006-sections 25(1) and (2)

With intent knowingly possessing false or improperly obtained passport or another ID document

587

437

2,433

2,402

2,864

2,843

Identity Cards Act 2006-sections 25(3) and (4)

With intent making or possessing or having under control apparatus or article or material designed or adapted for making false ID documents

8

7

41

39

42

58

Identity Cards Act 2006-sections 25(5)

Possessing or controlling a false or improperly obtained ID card or which relates to another or apparatus etc for making ID documents

133

81

442

428

476

550

Total

728

525

2,916

2,869

3,382

3,451

(1) The Identity Cards Act 2006 came into force 7 June 2006. Centrally held data do not separately identify offences under each sub-section of the Act. Available data are given in the table. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3 )The number of defendants found guilty in a particular year may exceed the number proceeded against as it may be the case that the proceedings in the magistrates court took place in an earlier year and the defendants were found guilty at the Crown Court in the following year, or the defendants were found guilty of a different offence to the original offence proceeded against. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (5) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April July and August. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

5 July 2010 : Column 115W

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
5 July 2010 : Column 116W
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

East Midlands

39

55

3

3.0

East of England

39

51

3

2.4

London

37

30

2

1.9

North East

32

38

2

2.1

North West

44

77

15

3.6

South East

59

88

7

4.7

South West

39

35

4

2.1

Wales

29

25

0

1.4

West Midlands

39

40

9

2.2

Yorkshire and Humberside

39

37

6

2.0

Total

396

475

51

25.4

(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.


5 July 2010 : Column 117W

5 July 2010 : Column 118W
Males sentenced to a custodial sentence( 1) in North Wales, by age, 1998-2008

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008( 2)

Immediate Custody

Age 15-17

48

66

61

63

64

71

65

62

84

64

69

Age 18-20

159

174

170

154

142

123

188

176

203

195

213

Over 20

871

868

857

771

833

806

820

854

748

738

845

Suspended sentence

Age 15-17

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Age 18-20

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

13

71

79

77

Over 20

33

35

24

29

25

18

29

151

343

407

406

(1) Includes both immediate and suspended custodial sentences
(2) Following the introduction of the Libra case management system during 2008, offenders at magistrates courts can now be recorded as sex 'Not Stated' or 'Other', as well as 'Male', 'Female'. In 2008 1.5% of offenders sentenced were recorded as sex 'Not Stated'. Detailed comparisons by gender may be no longer be valid.
Court Categorisation
Crown Courts: area categorisation based on the prosecuting police force area (which is not necessarily the area of the sentencing court). If another agency has brought the prosecution, area categorisation is based on the criminal justice area of the sentencing court.
Magistrates Courts: As part of the rollout of the Libra case management system in magistrates' courts during 2008, a change was made to the categorisation by area. Sentences given at courts using the Libra system are categorised according to the criminal justice area of the court while others are categorised in the same way as the Crown Court. By the end of 2008, all magistrates' courts were using Libra. Police forces do not prosecute minor offences (those that are sentenced at magistrates' courts) outside their areas. Only around 0.01% of sentences at magistrates courts were affected in 2007 and 2008.
Police force areas correspond to criminal justice areas except for the Metropolitan and City of London Police, which are combined to form the London criminal justice area.
This data have been taken from the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings database. These data are presented on the principal offence basis. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed. Where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.

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:

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:

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.


5 July 2010 : Column 119W

5 July 2010 : Column 120W

5 July 2010 : Column 121W
Table 1: Population in prison by nationality and sex-England and Wales, 31 March 2010
Nationality Male Female Total

All nationalities

80,894

4,290

85,184

British nationals

67,655

3,357

71,012

Foreign nationals

10,556

811

11,367

Nationality not recorded

2,683

122

2,805

Total Africa

2,576

222

2,798

Algeria

172

0

172

Angola

74

5

79

Benin

1

0

1

Botswana

3

1

4

Burundi

9

0

9

Cameroon

32

2

34

Central African Republic

22

1

23

Congo

124

8

132

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

4

0

4

Egypt

13

0

13

Equatorial Guinea

1

0

1

Ethiopia

63

5

68

Gabon

1

0

1

Gambia

65

3

68

Ghana

138

14

152

Guinea

12

0

12

Guinea-Bissau

1

0

1

Ivory Coast

36

0

36

Kenya

56

7

63

Liberia

20

4

24

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

20

0

20

Malawi

14

1

15

Mali

1

0

1

Mauritania

2

1

3

Mauritius

10

0

10

Morocco

48

0

48

Mozambique

3

0

3

Namibia

3

0

3

Niger

11

2

13

Nigeria

645

89

734

Rwanda

16

0

16

Senegal

9

0

9

Sierra Leone

63

5

68

Somalia

442

10

452

South Africa

109

23

132

Sudan

43

2

45

Tanzania

23

2

25

Togo

5

0

5

Tunisia

18

0

18

Uganda

63

10

73

Zambia

14

3

17

Zimbabwe

167

24

191

Total Asia

2,204

147

2,351

Afghanistan

123

1

124

Bangladesh

188

7

195

Cambodia

1

0

1

China

385

42

427

India

328

11

339

Indonesia

1

0

1

Japan

3

0

3

Korea, DPR (North Korea)

1

2

3

Korea, Republic of

5

0

5

Malaysia

37

5

42

Mongolia

3

1

4

Myanmar

3

0

3

Nepal

10

1

11

Pakistan

413

8

421

Philippines

18

8

26

Singapore

2

2

4

Sri Lanka

147

0

147

Taiwan (Nationalist Chinese)

2

1

3

Thailand

2

5

7

Vietnam

532

53

585

Total Central and South America

252

45

297

Argentina

5

3

8

Belize

0

1

1

Bolivia

7

1

8

Brazil

66

14

80

Chile

8

0

8

Colombia

71

5

76

Costa Rica

2

0

2

Ecuador

9

0

9

French Guiana

2

2

4

Guatemala

4

1

5

Guyana

29

4

33

Mexico

20

11

31

Nicaragua

3

0

3

Panama

1

0

1

Paraguay

2

0

2

Peru

3

1

4

Suriname

3

0

3

Uruguay

1

0

1

Venezuela

16

2

18

Total North America

106

22

128

Canada

26

6

32

United States

80

16

96

Total Europe

3,746

252

3,998

Albania

163

4

167

Armenia

9

0

9

Austria

12

2

14

Azerbaijan

3

0

3

Belgium

30

3

33

Bosnia and Herzegovina

10

4

14

Bulgaria

28

24

52

Croatia

9

0

9

Cyprus

30

0

30

Czech Republic

80

12

92

Denmark

16

1

17

Estonia

26

0

26

Finland

4

0

4

France

142

12

154

Georgia

8

0

8

Germany

84

11

95

Gibraltar

4

0

4

Greece

13

0

13

Hungary

26

6

32

Iceland

0

3

3

Irish Republic

657

25

682

Italy

80

2

82

Kazakhstan

2

0

2

Kyrgyzstan

1

1

2

Latvia

140

9

149

Liechtenstein

1

0

1

Lithuania

338

10

348

Macedonia

4

0

4

Malta

3

0

3

Moldova

15

1

16

Netherlands

99

15

114

Norway

7

0

7

Poland

657

13

670

Portugal

212

13

225

Romania

358

47

405

Russian Federation

112

12

124

San Marino

1

0

1

Serbia and Montenegro

38

0

38

Slovakia

54

6

60

Slovenia

3

0

3

Spain

65

10

75

Sweden

17

4

21

Switzerland

6

1

7

Turkey

170

1

171

Turkmenistan

1

0

1

Uzbekistan

8

0

8

Total Middle East

562

12

574

Iran

205

8

213

Iraq

240

1

241

Israel

35

2

37

Jordan

7

0

7

Kuwait

12

1

13

Lebanon

16

0

16

Oman

2

0

2

Qatar

1

0

1

Saudi Arabia

16

0

16

Syrian Arab Republic

12

0

12

United Arab Emirates

4

0

4

Yemen, Republic of

12

0

12

Total Oceania

39

3

42

Australia

24

3

27

Fiji

7

0

7

Kiribati

1

0

1

New Zealand

5

0

5

Papua New Guinea

1

0

1

Samoa

1

0

1

Total West Indies

1,069

108

1,177

Anguilla

1

0

1

Aruba

1

0

1

Bahamas

2

0

2

Barbados

31

8

39

Bermuda

2

1

3

Cuba

3

0

3

Dominica

14

1

15

Dominican Republic

1

0

1

Grenada

18

1

19

Jamaica

895

65

960

Montserrat

13

0

13

Netherlands Antilles

6

3

9

St Kitts and Nevis

5

0

5

St Lucia

20

11

31

St Vincent and the Grenadines

15

2

17

Trinidad and Tobago

41

16

57

Virgin Islands

1

0

1

Total other

2

0

2

Data sources and quality:
Those figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so although shown to the last individual, the figure may not be accurate to that level.

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