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22 July 2010 : Column 512W—continued
Railways: Finance
Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give precedence to railway infrastructure projects where funding was previously agreed by central and regional authorities over those where the project was identified but funding had not been agreed. [6863]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport will only be able to identify those major transport projects that can be supported and funded at the conclusion of the Government's spending review in the autumn. Decisions on the priority of individual projects will be taken at the conclusion of a review of all previously submitted projects at that time.
Railways: Franchises
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to alter the rail franchise bidding process so that the track record of the bidders is taken into account. [9533]
Mrs Villiers: The franchise bidding process takes account of bidders' previous experience and performance of operating passenger transport services and performance of relevant contracts.
Railways: Recycling
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the compliance of train operating companies with the provisions on recycling set out in their franchise agreements. [10282]
Norman Baker: Recycling provisions have only been included in the more recent franchise agreements. Compliance assessment of the Train Operating Companies is part of normal franchise management and monitoring.
Railways: Standards
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on (a) the punctuality and reliability of and (b) passengers travelling in excess numbers on rail services from London via (i) Bexleyheath and (ii) Crayford. [10438]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport does not hold disaggregated performance data for the Bexleyheath or Crayford to London route. However the following table shows the public performance measure (PPM) for all Southeastern services since November 2009. The Period PPM column shows performance in the period itself, while the PPM MAA column shows the moving annual average for the previous 12 months. PPM combines figures for punctuality and reliability into a single performance measure.
| Percentage | ||
| Period | Period PPM | PPM MAA |
Information relating to passengers in excess numbers for rail services on either the Bexleyheath or Crayford to London route is not measured on the basis sought and is not available. The information requested is currently published annually in aggregated form by the Office of Rail Regulation within its "National Rail Trends Yearbook". The latest published data relates to passenger journeys in 2008-09. Chapter 7 of the latest update of "National Rail Trends" contains this data and is available on the Office for Rail Regulation website, at:
Roads: Death
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many deaths there were in work-related road traffic incidents in each year from 1997 to 2009. [10516]
Mike Penning: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 12 July 2010, Official Report, columns 471-2W.
Sea Rescue
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the construction and use requirements are for rescue boats to be classified by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency as approved vessels. [8874]
Mike Penning: Rescue boats that are operated by commercial entities or where the organisation is not wholly voluntary are subject to the requirements of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Workboat Code (or the Police Boat Code if the boat is operated by a Police Authority).
There are no specific requirements relating to the construction or use of rescue boats used by wholly voluntary organisations which are not declared as facilities for Search and Rescue.
Declared facilities are facilities that have been designated as being available for civil maritime SAR according to a specific standard or set criteria as agreed with the MCA. The authority providing this facility is responsible for:
declaring the standard of capability and availability for each facility;
maintaining each facility to the standard and availability declared by the authority;
informing the appropriate Coastguard Rescue Co-ordination Centre when there is any change in the declared standard or availability of each facility;
informing the appropriate Coastguard Rescue Co-ordination Centre of any reason for not making available any facility which has been requested by the Coastguard.
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Maritime and Coastguard Agency issues guidance to operators on the construction and use requirements of their rescue boats. [8901]
Mike Penning: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has produced a Rescue Boat Code which is in circulation in draft form. The draft code covers design, construction, inventory and operation and is considered to represent best practice when advising potential voluntary rescue boat operators and when assessing independent lifeboats that seek declared status as search and rescue (SAR) assets when they are being operated by wholly voluntary organisations.
Until the code is finalised, the MCA is willing to advise prospective operators on the standards it requires to include a rescue boat in the coordination of UKSAR.
Declared facilities are facilities that have been designated as being available for civil maritime SAR according to a specific standard or set criteria as agreed with the MCA. The authority providing this facility is responsible for:
declaring the standard of capability and availability for each facility;
maintaining each facility to the standard and availability declared by the authority;
informing the appropriate Coastguard Rescue Co-ordination Centre when there is any change in the declared standard or availability of each facility;
informing the appropriate Coastguard Rescue Co-ordination Centre of any reason for not making available any facility which has been requested by the Coastguard.
Thameslink Railway Line
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Streatham of 7 July 2010, on the Thameslink railway line, if he will ensure that Network Rail's interactive timetable for Thameslink is made available in the autumn of 2010; and if he will require Network Rail to consult on through services from the Wimbledon loop. [10124]
Mrs Villiers [holding answer 20 July 2010]: I am not aware of any plans by Network Rail to produce an interactive timetable for the Thameslink programme this autumn.
Consultations on changes to train service patterns are undertaken by train operating companies under the terms of their franchise agreements.
Treasury
Accelerated Development Zones
James Wharton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to undertake a trial of an accelerated development zone. [9324]
Danny Alexander: June's emergency Budget announced that the Government will publish a White Paper later in the summer setting out plans for a new approach to sub-national growth. The Accelerated Development Zone pilot scheme will be considered alongside other proposals as part of this process.
Aggregates Levy
Barbara Keeley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend the aggregates levy tax to include peat. [10478]
Justine Greening: There are no current plans to extend the scope of the aggregates levy to include peat.
Allergies: Costs
Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what recent estimates he has made of the cost to the UK economy of (a) absences from work due to allergies and (b) lost production due to allergies; [8766]
(2) what recent estimates he has made as to the cost of allergies to the UK economy. [8767]
Justine Greening [holding answer 15 July 2010]: No such estimates have been made.
Coinage: Forgery
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the face value of counterfeit coins seized was in each year since 1997. [8859]
Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 July 2010, Official Report, column 164W.
The following counterfeit £1 coins have been returned to the Royal Mint:
| Date | Total withdrawals |
The Treasury does not have figures on withdrawals prior to 2003, when the counterfeit rate was estimated to be less than 1%.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the face value of counterfeit coins in circulation. [8860]
Justine Greening: The most recent survey conducted by the Royal Mint found that its sample contained a £1 coin counterfeit rate of 2.81% or approximately £41 million.
The Royal Mint does not currently undertake regular surveys for other denominations. It is widely believed (by the Royal Mint, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and industry partners) that there is not a significant counterfeit issue with any other denominations.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the number of counterfeit (a) £1 and (b) £2 coins in circulation. [8862]
Justine Greening: The most recent survey conducted by the Royal Mint found that its sample contained a £1 coin counterfeit rate of 2.81%, or approximately £41 million.
The Royal Mint does not currently undertake regular surveys for other denominations. It is widely believed (by the Royal Mint, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and industry partners) that there is not a significant counterfeit issue with any other denominations.
Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks
Angela Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the effects on levels of alcohol fraud of implementation of proposals to ban below-cost selling of alcohol. [9914]
Justine Greening: The impact on levels of alcohol fraud of a ban on below-cost selling would depend upon how any ban was introduced. The coalition agreement stated that we will ban the sale of alcohol below cost price, and we are currently developing options for doing this.
Angela Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanisms are in place to track the movement of beer under duty suspense (a) within the UK and (b) to other EU member states. [9915]
Justine Greening: The movement of beer in duty suspension between EU member states is governed by EU Council Directive 2008/118/EC. This states that movements within the UK and EU must take place between approved businesses and must be accompanied by an administrative accompanying document or commercial equivalent document at all times. Once the goods have been received at their destination, the consignee must discharge the movement by returning a report of receipt to the consignor.
This system is in place to monitor and maintain the integrity of the duty suspension system. The UK applies various techniques to ensure that those approved to deal in duty-suspended excise goods comply with their legal obligations. For example, officers of HMRC will select specific consignments for verification and test with officials in the member state of destination whether or not those goods actually arrived in that member state.
Over the past eight years the UK has worked with counterpart revenue authorities on the development of the EU-wide Excise Movement and Control System. This provides an electronic system to replace the existing paper-based system and allows for monitoring the movement of excise goods in duty suspension within the EU. The system will be implemented in the UK and all member states by 1 January 2011.
Angela Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many seizures of alcohol for offences of alcohol fraud took place in each region in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010; [9918]
(2) how many seizures of alcohol for offences of alcohol fraud there were in the first quarter of 2010-11; [9919]
(3) how many seizures of alcohol there were for offences of alcohol fraud in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09; [9920]
(4) whether he plans to adopt the alcohol fraud strategy of the previous administration; what other steps he plans to take to reduce alcohol fraud; and if he will make a statement. [9921]
Justine Greening: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and UK Border Agency data on seizures of alcohol are captured and reported as a national figure, as set out in the following table:
| Financial year | Number of seizures |
Implementation of a comprehensive strategy to tackle alcohol fraud began on 1 April 2010, principally involving HMRC and the UK Border Force. The strategy is already yielding results, and the Government will continue to monitor its effectiveness and consider what, if any, additional steps are required to reduce alcohol fraud further.
Income Tax: Bexley
Mr Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford and (b) the London Borough of Bexley who will pay no income tax as a result of the increase in personal allowance from April 2011; [9940]
(2) how many people resident in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford and (b) the London Borough of Bexley were in employment but below the income tax threshold in each of the last three years. [9941]
Mr Gauke: The personal allowance for under 65s will be increased by £1,000 in April 2011, with the gains limited to basic rate taxpayers. The Government estimate that the 880,000 lowest income taxpayers will be removed from tax altogether.
However, information at parliamentary constituency level is not available due to small survey sample sizes at this level of geography, and because estimates are based on the latest available 2007-08 survey data which would not be reliable for this purpose.
Available published information on income tax by parliamentary constituency based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2007-08 can be found in table 3.15 "Income and tax by Parliamentary Constituency" at:
Estimates of numbers of employed persons earning below the income tax threshold are not available from HM Revenue and Customs data sources as these are fully representative of taxpayers only. Estimates from Office for National Statistics surveys would not be reliable due to small sample sizes associated with the specific information requested.
Available published information on the distribution of earnings by parliamentary constituency is provided in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings at:
Job Creation: Private Sector
Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what methodology was used to estimate the number of private sector jobs forecast to be created in the next five years. [8249]
Danny Alexander: The information requested fails within the responsibility of the Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Sir Alan Budd, dated 20 July 2010:
As Chair of the Budget Responsibility Committee of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) I have been asked to reply to your recent question:
What methodology was used to estimate the number of private sector jobs forecast to be created in the next five years.
The OBR does not forecast private sector employment separately. It forecasts total employment and general government employment. The difference between the two is market sector employment, which includes public sector corporations.
The OBR pre-Budget forecast document published on 14 June which can be found at on the OBR website provides details of OBR forecast methodologies. This document can be found at the follow web address:
The OBR forecasts that as GDP growth picks up above its assumed trend rate, employment rises. The economy forecast models employment on a whole economy basis.
The methodology for projecting general government employment is set out in detail in the OBR note published on 13 July 2010 at the below web link:
Maternity Payments
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Sure Start maternity grants were made to mothers in Stirling constituency for a second or subsequent child in 2009-10. [8203]
Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply.
A total of 274,000 Sure Start maternity grants were awarded in Great Britain in 2009-10. The exact number of awards for a second or subsequent maternity is not available, but is estimated to be 52% of all awards, around 143,000.
The number of awards made in 2009-10 is available by Government office region or Jobcentre Plus Social Fund budget area only, not by constituency.
Note:
Both numbers have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.
Source for total number of awards:
Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System
Maternity Payments: Durham
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Sure Start maternity grants were made in City of Durham constituency to mothers for a second or subsequent child in 2009-10. [10057]
Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply.
A total of 274,000 Sure Start Maternity Grants were awarded in Great Britain in 2009-10. The exact number of awards for a second or subsequent maternity is not available, but is estimated to be 52% of all awards, around 143,000.
The number of awards made in 2009-10 is available by Government Office Region or Jobcentre Plus Social Fund budget area only, not by constituency.
Note:
Both numbers have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.
Source:
For total number of awards: Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System
Personal Taxation
Yvette Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has conducted any analysis of the effect of the direct personal tax and benefit measures in the June 2010 Budget on (a) men and (b) women; and whether he conducted any such analysis in the preparation of the Budget; [7217]
(2) whether his Department undertook an equality impact assessment of the effect on women of the tax and benefit measures in the June 2010 Budget. [7901]
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has made an assessment of the effects on (a) men and (b) women of implementation of the tax and benefit changes announced in the June 2010 Budget; [8102]
(2) whether he has made an assessment of the effects on (a) men and (b) women of the increase in the rate of value added tax. [8104]
Justine Greening: Departments are legally obliged in carrying out their functions to have regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote equality of opportunity. This is currently required in relation to gender, race and disability by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The duty will extend to all forms of prohibited discriminatory conduct when the Equality Act 2010 comes into force. Departments must in their published equality schemes state how they intend to fulfil their duties and how they propose to assess the impact of policies on equality in the relevant areas. Whether or not a full equality impact assessment will be carried out in any case depends on the likely impact of a proposed policy on members of the relevant groups of people and whether it would be proportionate to do so. Such equality impact assessments as are considered to be appropriate and proportionate will be conducted for prospective areas for savings in the Department's budget.
Analysis of the overall Budget impact is undertaken at a household level, as benefits and tax credits are awarded based on family income. How households allocate their resources varies significantly and interactions between the tax and benefit system are complex. For this reason any gender analysis on a single set of assumptions will not be robust.
Pregnant Women: Grants
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Health in Pregnancy grants were made in City of Durham constituency in 2009-10. [10058]
Mr Gauke: This information is available only at disproportionate cost.
Private Sector: Job Creation
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the (a) evidence and (b) analysis underpinning the Office for Budget Responsibility's projections for private sector job creation in the period 2011-2016 published on 30 June 2010. [6671]
Justine Greening: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Sir Alan Budd, dated 20 July 2010:
As Chair of the Budget Responsibility Committee of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) I have been asked to reply to your recent question: For the (a) evidence and (b) analysis underpinning the Office for Budget Responsibility's projections for private sector job creation in the period 2011-2016 published on 30 June 2010.
The OBR does not produce projections for private sector job creation. The document published on 30 June 2010 provided the OBR's projections for whole economy employment and general government employment. The difference between the two (which is known as 'market sector employment') does not correspond precisely to private sector employment since it includes employment in the public corporations, which the OBR does not forecast.
The OBR pre-Budget forecast document published on 14 June provides details of OBR forecast judgements and methodologies. This document can be found on the OBR website at:
The OBR Budget forecast document published on 22 June explains the Budget forecast, including whole economy employment, and can be found at:
The factors which influence the forecast for total employment include the growth of the total economy, labour productivity and labour costs.
The methodology for projecting general government employment is set out in detail in the OBR note published on 13 July 2010 at the below web link:
Public Expenditure
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanisms are in place to ensure the accuracy of the allocation of Barnett consequentials; and if he will make a statement. [10070]
Danny Alexander: Full details of the operation of the Barnett Formula are set out in the Treasury publication Funding the Scottish Parliament, National
Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy. The SFP can be accessed at:
Public Expenditure: Per Capita Costs
David Mowat: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average amount of Government spending per person was in (a) Scotland and (b) Warrington in the latest period for which figures are available. [8701]
Danny Alexander: Information is not gathered at a constituency, city or town level. The annual Country and Regional Analysis exercise identifies expenditure per head by nine regions in England. We can provide data for the North West region.
Total identifiable expenditure per head for Scotland and the North West is as follows:
| £ per head | ||||||
| National Statistics | ||||||
| 2004-05 outturn | 2005-06 outturn | 2006-07 outturn | 2007-08 outturn | 2008-09 outturn | 2009-10 plans | |
Public Expenditure: Wales
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what forecast his Department has made of the effect of (a) the proposals in the 2010 Budget and (b) proposed changes to public expenditure on levels of public sector employment in (i) Wales and (ii) the Bridgend County Borough Council area in each of the next five years. [5941]
Danny Alexander: The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) released further information on its employment forecast on 30 June 2010, which can be found on the following webpage:
The OBR has not published forecasts on a sub-national level.
Public Sector
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce project bank accounts as a standard arrangement for all public sector projects. [8374]
Danny Alexander: The Government have no plans to introduce project bank accounts as a standard arrangement for all public sector projects. It is for Departments to manage expenditure on projects within their departmental expenditure limits (DELs).
Public Sector: Audit
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department holds on which organisations in receipt of Government funding have not had their accounts approved by auditors in each of the last three years. [9322]
Danny Alexander: The Department holds information on the audited resource accounts of central Government Departments and pensions schemes laid by the Treasury before the House of Commons.
The 2009-10 resource accounts for Departments and pension schemes are currently in the process of being laid, due to be completed by the summer parliamentary recess. Of the 19 accounts laid to date, none have received audit qualifications.
For the financial year 2008-09, six resource accounts received audit qualifications. They included, HM Treasury (excess vote), the Home Office (excess vote), the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (disagreement on accounting treatment and a regularity qualification), the Department for Work and Pensions (regularity qualification), the Ministry of Defence (regularity qualification and a limitation in audit scope) and the BERR United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Pension Scheme (excess vote).
For the financial year 2007-08, six resource accounts received audit qualifications. They included, the Department for Transport (excess vote), the Department for Work and Pensions (regularity qualification), the Ministry of Defence (limitation in audit scope), the Office of Fair Trading (excess vote), the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (limitation in audit scope), and the BERR United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Pension Scheme (excess vote).
The Department does not hold systematic information on the accounts of other central Government, NHS, or local government bodies. Information on these bodies should be available through the respective audit agencies, the NAO for central Government, or the Audit Commission for local government, and through the devolved Governments for entities falling within their remit.
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance his Department provides to public bodies on provision of funding to organisations with accounts that have not been approved by auditors. [9323]
Danny Alexander: Guidance on provision of grants is contained in Managing Public Money (the standard guide to use of public funds in public sector organisations) Annex 5.1. The guidance explains that the Accounting Officer of the funder is responsible for ensuring that grant recipients are both eligible and will use the grant in the intended way.
Regional Planning and Development: Finance
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether funds for the Regional Growth Fund have been drawn from the budget allocated to regional development agencies. [9951]
Danny Alexander: The funding arrangements for the Regional Growth Fund will be informed by the forthcoming spending review.
Rent a Room Scheme: Greater London
Jim Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to increase the income threshold of the Rent a Room scheme in London. [9930]
Justine Greening: Rent-a-Room relief was considered in the Treasury consultation on the private rented sector, which closed in April. The Government will be publishing responses and responding shortly.
All taxes are kept under review, with any changes announced by the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.
Taxation: Wimbledon
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the number of people in Wimbledon constituency who will benefit from the increase in the threshold for basic rate income tax; and what his estimate is of the number of businesses which will benefit from the (a) increase in small business rate relief, (b) reduction in mainstream corporation tax rate and (c) reduction in small profits rate of corporation tax. [9953]
Mr Gauke: HMRC estimate that 23 million basic rate taxpayers (19 million from England) benefit from the income tax announcements made by the Government in the June 2010 Budget.
Information at parliamentary constituency level is not available due to small survey sample sizes at this level of geography, and because the information is based on the 2007-08 survey data which would not be reliable for this purpose.
Available information on income tax by parliamentary constituency based on the latest available Survey of Personal Incomes (2007-08) can be found in Table 3.15 'income and tax by Parliamentary Constituency' at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income distribution/menu.htm
The Department for Community and Local Government estimates that approximately 530,000 businesses in England will benefit from the temporary increase in small business rate relief (SBRR). Disaggregated information by region or parliamentary constituency is not available.
It is not possible to provide estimates of the number of businesses to benefit from the reduction in mainstream corporation tax rate and reduction in small profits rate of corporation tax at any regional level, including country.
House of Commons Commission
PIMS: Internet
Mr Amess: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to ensure that web links in PIMS are kept up to date; and if he will make a statement. [10569]
Sir Stuart Bell: Currently, when the answer to a parliamentary question contains a web link the PIMS record includes the text of that link but it is not an active hyperlink. Instead the PIMS record links to the question as it appears in Hansard on the website, where any URLs or web links contained in the answer are enabled.
A programme of work is under way to replace the PIMS system when it reaches the end of its life in 2012. This aims to enhance the search facilities available on the website and intranet while increasing the indexing and metadata contained in the online versions of parliamentary publications. This will remove the need for a separate information retrieval system, such as PIMS, to search for parliamentary content.
Home Department
Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Kent
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many residents of North Kent Criminal Justice System area are subject to antisocial behaviour orders. [9926]
Nick Herbert: The latest available published data on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued covers the period 1 April 1999 to 31 December 2007.
The number of ASBOs issued at all courts in the Kent Criminal Justice System area on application, and the number issued following conviction is 77 and 137 respectively, a total of 214. Data on ASBOs collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice are not available below Criminal Justice System (CJS) area level.
ASBOs can be of a fixed duration (for a minimum of two years) or made until further order. It is therefore not possible to determine from centrally collected data how many ASBOs are in force at a particular point in time except by reference to individual court files which could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
Borders: Personal Records
Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects on the e-borders programme of ending the second generation biometric passport programme; and if she will make a statement. [3818]
Mrs May [holding answer 22 June 2010]: The assessment of the UK Border Agency is that halting work on the next generation of biometric passports will have no impact on the operation of e-Borders as the e-Borders system uses biographic data not biometric data.
Control Orders
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many control orders were (a) issued and (b) breached in each of the last two years. [9766]
Nick Herbert: The Secretary of State reports to Parliament on the exercise of her powers under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 on a quarterly basis, and additionally on an ad hoc basis if required. I refer the hon. Member to the reports covering the last two years, dated 21 June 2010, 16 March 2010, 15 December 2009, 16 September 2009, 15 June 2009, 12 March 2009, 15 December 2008 and 15 September 2008.
As set out in these reports, in the period 11 June 2008 to 10 June 2009, seven new control orders were served of which three were in force for between six months and one year and four remained in force as at 10 June 2010 having been in force for between one and two years. In the period 11 June 2009 to 10 June 2010, four new control orders were served all of which remained in force as at 10 June 2010 with three of those having been in force for less than six months and three having been in force for between six months and one year.
These statements give as much information as we can provide about how many control orders were breached, with regard to national security and the risk of prejudicing any law enforcement interests.
Crime: Statistics
Mr Straw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2010, Official Report, columns 385-86W, what role (a) the National Statistician and (b) the UK Statistics Authority will have in the review of crime statistics. [9280]
Nick Herbert: We are determined to restore trust in crime statistics and are currently considering how they should be collected and published in future.
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has recently met with Sir Michael Scholar, the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, to discuss the recommendations in the authority's recent report on improving trust in crime statistics. In considering what improvements can be made to how crime statistics are collected and published, we will carefully consider the views of both the authority and of the National Statistician.
Departmental Buildings
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much (a) her Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on office refurbishment in each year since 1997. [7360]
Nick Herbert: Information on expenditure on office refurbishments since 1997 is not held centrally and to collate this information the Department would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Civil Servants
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees of her Department attended Civil Service Live in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010; and what estimate she has made of the (i) employee working hours taken up by and (ii) cost to her Department of such attendance in each such year. [9053]
Nick Herbert: Civil Service Live events are owned and managed by the private company Dods (the publishers of Civil Service World), who bear all of the financial risks.
The overall delegate numbers for Civil Service Live in 2008, 2009 and 2010 were approximately 6,000, 8,000 and 7,700 respectively. Delegate registration is managed centrally by Dods. Departments do not keep a detailed record of every member of staff that attends.
Civil servants do not pay to attend Civil Service Live events. There will have been some travel and subsistence costs for delegates, which will be paid for by individual Departments. Civil servants attending the event will have followed the travel and subsistence guidelines set by their Departments.
Departmental Contracts
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has made an estimate of the monetary value of the contracts between her Department and private sector companies which will be cancelled under her Department's planned spending reductions. [10166]
Nick Herbert: Work is currently under way across the Home Department to manage the process of reviewing, amending and where appropriate cancelling contracts. This process is expected to take between four and six months to complete.
The eventual final monetary value of any contracts amended through renegotiation or cancelled between the Department and private sector companies will be reported accordingly.
Departmental Internet
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much (a) her Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on website design in each year since 1997. [7611]
Nick Herbert: The Home Office website:
underwent its first significant design in 2001. Design costs are not separately identifiable from that period. A major redesign was undertaken in 2005 costing £110,000. This subsequently underwent a minor redesign in 2008 costing £50,000.
The UK Border Agency website (www.ukba.home office.gov.uk-previously www.bia.home office.gov.uk and before that www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk) underwent a major redesign in 2007. The cost of the design was £28,000. The home page was redesigned in 2009 which cost £12,000. Costs prior to 2004 are not separately identifiable.
The Identity and Passport service cannot separately identify the costs of design work for their website:
Criminal Records Bureau website:
had design costs of £65,000 in 2005-06 and £7,000 in 2009-10.
The Serious Organised Crime Agency cannot separately identify design cost for its website:
prior to 2009-10 when design costs were £80,000.
The National Police Improvement Agency site:
uses mainly internal resource for website design. In 2009-10 £3,000 was spent on external design costs.
The IPCC's work in support of its external website:
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary redesigned its website:
in 2009/10 at a cost of £92,000
was developed into a separate site in the 2004-05 financial year at a cost of £147,000. In 2005-06 design costs were £24,000, in 2007-08 £21,000, in 2008-09 £4,000, and in 2009-10 £101,000.
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal:
design costs £2,000 in 2007, They are unable to separately identify design costs for its website from other costs before this date.
The independent Chief Inspector UK Border Agency site cannot separately identify the costs of design work for their website:
The Independent Safeguarding Authority cannot separately identify the costs of design work for their website:
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) was created from April 2006. In terms of CEOP's online educational resources delivered under the strapline "ThinkuKnow", CEOP has spent £51,000 in 2007-08, £8,000 in2008-09 and £40,000 in 2009-10 on website design for:
The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner site:
cost £85,000 in 2001-02, £44,000 in 2008-09 and £12,000 in 2009-10.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on maintaining its Twitter feed in the last 12 months. [8825]
Nick Herbert: The Home Office spent approximately £536 maintaining its Twitter feed in the last 12 months.
The estimated staff costs are three hours per week of an Information Officer salary, since early May 2010.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in her Department are engaged in maintaining her Department's social media and networking sites; and what estimate she has made of the cost of employing such people in the last 12 months. [8826]
Nick Herbert: Two members of staff are authorised to manage the Home Office official departmental Twitter and Flickr feeds, which have been in operation since May 2010. One additional member of staff is authorised to manage the YouTube feed.
No other social media or networking sites are currently used. These are not full time jobs. Members of staff from the Home Office press office manage these systems.
The estimated staff costs for Twitter and Flickr are seven hours per week of an information officer salary, a cost of approximately £1,250 since May 2010.
The estimated staff costs for YouTube are approximately £938 over the last 12 months.
Social media has been used in marketing campaigns in the last 12 months but collating this spend would incur disproportionate cost.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on maintaining its Flickr channel in the last 12 months. [8829]
Nick Herbert: The Home Office spent approximately £714 maintaining its Flickr feed in the last 12 months.
The estimated staff costs are four hours per week of an information officer salary, since early May 2010.
Departmental Legal costs
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much (a) her Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on legal advice in each year since 1997. [7573]
Nick Herbert: The requested detail is not available for the years before 2005-06. The Department's and Agencies expenditure on legal advice is set out in the table.
These figures, expressed as thousands of pounds, include the direct cost to the Home Office of internal legal advice, litigation services provided by the Treasury Solicitor and legal services provided outside Government.
| Home Office | Identity and Passport Services | Criminal Record Bureau | |
Departmental Location
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to relocate (a) civil servants and (b) Government bodies for which her Department is responsible (i) out of London and (ii) to the West Midlands; and if she will make a statement. [8296]
Nick Herbert:
The Home Office exceeded the Lyons Review target of relocating 2,200 posts/staff out of London by 2010, two years early. We continue to look for opportunities to relocate staff to reduces costs and improve services. The Serious and Organised Crime
Agency are planning to relocate 180 posts to a new hub in the North of England and 60 posts to its other hubs, including the west midlands.
As part of the spending review, the Home Office is considering future spending and the outcome will be announced in October. The Home Office, the Executive Agencies and NDPBs have no immediate plans to relocate more posts out of London or to the west midlands.
Departmental Manpower
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff her Department employed in each year since 1997. [8831]
Nick Herbert: Table 1 provides information for the Home Office headquarters (excluding it's agencies) on the numbers of employees who are full-time and part-time since 1999.
Table 2 provides the employment figures for 1997 and 1998 as we do not hold a breakdown of full-time and part-time staff for this period.
The Home Office has undergone a number of machinery of government changes over the period concerned. The Home Office headquarters included the Border and Immigration Agency (now the United Kingdom Border Agency) who became a shadow agency in May 2007, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) who moved to the newly-formed Ministry of Justice during 2007.
The information provided is based on data collated annually by the Office of National Statistics.
| Table 1: Breakdown of full-time and part-time staff for 1999 to 2009-Home Office (excluding agencies)( 1) | ||
| Full-time | Part-time | |
| (1) Number are rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Survey reference date 1 April. (3) Survey reference date 30 September. (4) Survey reference date 31 March. Source: Mandate data collection and Annual Civil Service Employment Survey | ||
| Table 2: Headcount FTE for 1997 and 1998 | ||
| HCFTE Permanent | 1997 | 1998 |
| Note: Data are as at 1 April each year Source: Civil Service Statistics Reports on Cabinet Office Website http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/stats-archive/archived-reports.aspx | ||
Departmental Public Expenditure
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to analyse the distributional effect of the options for reductions in her Department's expenditure. [5242]
Nick Herbert: 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.
Departmental Speeches
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which (a) (i) civil servants and (ii) special advisers in her Department and (b) other individuals are employed to write speeches for each Minister in her Department. [7400]
Nick Herbert: One civil servant is employed to write speeches for the Home Secretary. Civil servants from across the Department are also involved as part of their duties in drafting ministerial speeches. Special advisers will also input on occasion.
Departmental Travel
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers in her Department are entitled to the use of (i) a car with a dedicated driver, (ii) a car from the Government car pool and (iii) a taxi ordered through a departmental account. [3201]
Nick Herbert: The nine members of the Home Office Board are entitled to the use of one car with a dedicated driver between them but this arrangement will cease at the end of the year. None of the Department's special advisers are entitled to the use of a car.
As was the case under previous Governments, all civil servants and special advisers may use an official car or taxi in properly defined circumstances.
Domestic Violence: Immigration
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women have been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK under the domestic violence rule (a) since the rule was introduced and (b) in the last 12 months. [10037]
Damian Green: Latest information shows that 2,530 women were granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom under the domestic violence rule since its introduction in 2002. Of these 710 were granted in 2009, the last year for which figures are available. The figure for 2009 is provisional and subject to change.
A range of immigration statistics for 2009 are due to be published in the Home Office bulletin "Control of Immigration Statistics United Kingdom, 2009" on 26 August 2010. Copies will be available in the Library of the House and the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Extradition
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will lead the review of extradition arrangements between the UK and the US administration; and what the terms of reference will be of that review. [8652]
Nick Herbert: In the Coalition's programme for government published on 20 May 2010, the Government stated that they will
"[...] review the operation of the Extradition Act 2003-and the US/UK extradition treaty-to make sure it is even handed".
The Government are currently considering the review's terms of reference and an announcement will be made to Parliament as soon as possible.
Police
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects on the level of service provided by front line policing of the proposed reductions in numbers of police civilian staff. [8847]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 15 July 2010]: Decisions about the number of police officers, police community support officers and other police staff engaged by each force are matters for the relevant chief constable and police authority.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procurement procedures each police force in England and Wales uses. [9271]
Nick Herbert: Police authorities have overall responsibility for the procurement procedures that each police force in England and Wales uses. Along with all public sector bodies in the UK these are subject to and governed by the EU procurement directives and UK procurement regulations that implement the directives.
The National Policing Improvement Agency, working with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities, seeks to harmonise and standardise on best practice in police procurement to demonstrate and achieve value for money for the taxpayer. Best practice policy and templates are available for all forces to utilise on a secure shared facility.
Police Custody: Standards
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued by the National Policing Improvement Agency on standards for custody suites; what assessment she has made of the cost to the public purse of compliance with this guidance; and if she will make a statement. [9929]
Nick Herbert: The Association of Chief Police Officer Guidance on the Safer Detention and Handling of Persons in Police Custody was published in April 2006. A copy of this document has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
There has been no comprehensive assessment of the costs to police forces, associated with this guidance. Implementation of this guidance is a matter for individual chief constables.
Police: Disciplinary Proceedings
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were (a) dismissed and (b) suspended on full pay from each police force in England and Wales in each of the last two years. [9268]
Nick Herbert: The available data are provided in the following table:
Police: Durham
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has held with Durham police authority on changes to the number of police officers in Durham constabulary consequent on the reduction in police grant for 2010-11. [9994]
Nick Herbert: I have had no discussions with Durham police authority or Durham constabulary since the announcement of the police grant reductions.
The reductions should not impact on the frontline. Decisions about the number of police officers, police community support officers and other police staff engaged by the police remain a matter for each chief constable, but we have made it clear that the frontline should remain strong and secure and we expect police authorities to look at how they spend their money and ensure that they are delivering a cost-effective service to achieve this.
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the damping element of police grant will be paid to Durham constabulary for 2010-11. [9995]
Nick Herbert: Yes. Durham constabulary will receive £6.7 million damping support in 2010-11.
Police: Electronic Equipment
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hand-held IT devices are in use in each police force in England and Wales. [9269]
Nick Herbert: The total number of hand held devices in police forces across England and Wales is 44,735 (including the Serious Organised Crime Agency and ACPO Terrorism and Allied Matters). The table shows the total number of mobile devices in each police force in England and Wales.
| Number of hand-held devices in each police force in England and Wales | |
| Police force area | Number of devices |
Police: Employment Tribunals
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were the subject of employment tribunals in 2009. [8886]
Nick Herbert: Forces are responsible for dealing locally with employment tribunals. We do not collect these data centrally.
Police: Finance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance she has provided to police authorities on the likely percentage change in their budgets in the next four years. [8846]
Nick Herbert: Future funding will be addressed in the spending review in October 2010.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average proportion of police force funding spent as (a) capital and (b) revenue in each of the last 10 years. [8848]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 15 July 2010]: The information requested is available in the House of Commons Library, in the Statistics Resource Unit under Police Statistics Actuals.
Police: Grants
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will provide financial support to police authorities which have had their grant for 2010-11 reduced and which have (a) below-average council tax yields and (b) low tax bases. [10148]
Nick Herbert: No. The £125 million core Government reductions have been calculated so that each police authority will face a reduction equivalent to the same percentage (1.5%) of their core Government funding. This means that each police authority will face a fair share of the reduction.
Government funding for the police will still increase by £124 million over last year.
Police: Manpower
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police constables, (b) sergeants, (c) inspectors, (d) police community support officers and (e) support staff there are in each police force in England and Wales. [9266]
Nick Herbert: The available data are provided in the following table:
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