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25 Jan 2011 : Column 156W—continued
Departmental Manpower
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration his Department is giving to merging its security vetting services with those of the Ministry of Defence; and when a decision on this matter will be reached. [35825]
Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been working with the Cabinet Office on the opportunities to streamline and simplify security vetting across Government. Currently vetting is conducted by two organisations, FCO Services and Developed Vetting Agency (DVA). We continue to look closely at what further improvements could be made. No decision has been taken about merging vetting services.
Departmental Pay
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the number of subcontracted staff servicing his Department who were not paid at a rate equivalent to or above the London living wage in the latest period for which figures are available. [34817]
Alistair Burt: We are not aware of any Foreign and Commonwealth Office subcontracted staff in London who are paid below the minimum wage.
European External Action Service
Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff of his Department (a) are on secondment and (b) he plans to second to the EU External Action Service. [34655]
Mr Lidington:
Recruitment for the EU External Action Service (EAS) is in the early stages, with the majority of posts filled by staff transferred from the European Commission or Council Secretariat. Recruitment of secondees from EU member states began in March 2010 and we now have six members of the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office on secondment to the EAS. There are also a number of applicants for EAS positions whose applications are still being processed.
Our long-term aim is for British representation in all EU institutions to be proportionate to the size of our population.
Members: Correspondence
Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay of (a) 29 November and (b) 16 December 2010 concerning Mr W Pidgeon. [36058]
Mr Lidington: The correspondence from my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay was received on 4 January 2011. The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) replied on 21 January 2011 following his return from overseas.
Pakistan: Christianity
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct the British high commissioner in Pakistan to make representations to the government of Pakistan on the treatment of Christians in that country. [35560]
Alistair Burt: Alongside our partners in the European Union, the UK engages regularly and at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan on human rights. This includes calling for the rights and freedoms of all Pakistanis being upheld in accordance with the Pakistani constitution, regardless of faith or ethnicity. Our high commissioner raised the issue of the treatment of minorities in Pakistan with senior interlocutors in the Government of Pakistan.
I have raised the treatment of religious minorities (including Christians) with the Pakistan Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, on many occasions-most recently on 10 January 2011.
Sri Lanka: Human Rights
Mr Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. [35534]
Alistair Burt: The human rights situation in Sri Lanka remains a concern following the end of the military conflict. We continue to raise our concerns both bilaterally with the Government of Sri Lanka and in concert with EU colleagues. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I discussed with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister in October 2010 the importance of improving the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.
Mr Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterparts on the work of the UN Advisory Panel. [35535]
Alistair Burt: We have encouraged the Government of Sri Lanka to engage with the UN Secretary-General's Panel of Experts. I raised this most recently with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister when he visited the UK in October 2010 and our acting high commissioner raised it earlier this month with the Sri Lankan authorities.
Taxis
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on taxis since May 2010. [34673]
Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently uses two contracts with private hire taxi companies: Addison Lee, covering the London area where the FCO spent £70,798 between May and December 2010; and Raffles Taxis, covering the Milton Keynes area with expenditure of £10,385 in the same period. These figures do not include VAT.
FCO staff travel by the most efficient means of transport, bearing in mind the operational requirement and the need to secure value for money for the public purse. Public transport is used whenever possible and staff avoid using taxis on official business unless it is absolutely necessary.
Staff should not normally use a taxi at public expense between home and office-nor between airports and central London-except for journeys during the hours when public transport is not running. If it is absolutely necessary for staff to work after 9 pm or before 7 am, they may consider taking a taxi from their destination station to their home address or vice versa.
Education
CAFCASS: Public Expenditure
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the cost to the public purse was of operating the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service head office in Wales in 2009-10. [34145]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 18 January 2011]: This Department does not hold the information which has been requested; the Welsh Assembly Government is responsible for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in Wales.
Children in Care
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 10 November 2010, Official Report, columns 319-20W, on children in care, how many and what proportion of children who left care through adoption in the year ending on 31 March 2010 were not children looked-after under section 20 of the Children Act 1989. [28417]
Tim Loughton: The number and percentage of children who left care through adoption during the year ending 31 March 2010 who were not looked after under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 is shown in the following table.
| Children adopted during the year ending 31 March who were not looked after under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, year ending 31 March 2010-coverage: England | |
| Number/percentage | |
| Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100 and percentages to the nearest whole number. Source: SSDA903 | |
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children left care, where care is defined as subject to a care order, police protection order, emergency protection order, or placement for adoption, and returned to their parents in each year from 1995 to 2010. [28907]
Tim Loughton: The percentage of children, subject to a care order, police protection order or emergency protection order or placed for adoption who ceased to be looked after and returned to live with their parents in each year ending 31 March 2001 to 2010 is shown in the table.
Information on children who ceased to be looked after and returned home to live with their parents was not collected prior to 2001.
| Percentage of children who ceased to be looked after during the year ending 31 March children subject to a care order, police protection order, emergency protection order or placed for adoption who were returned to their parents( 1,2,3,4) , years ending 31 March 2001 - 10 , coverage: England | |
| Percentage of children who ceased to be looked after | |
| (1) Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Only the last occasion on which a child ceased to be looked after in the year has been counted. (3) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (4) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. (5) Figures are derived from the SSDA903 one third sample survey. (6) Figures are taken from the SSDA903 return which covered all children looked after. Source: SSDA903 | |
Children in Care: Adoption
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 10 November 2010, Official Report, columns 319-20W, on children in care, how many children were adopted from care in each case, excluding those children in care under section 20 of the Children Act 1989. [27686]
Tim Loughton: The number of children adopted from care during the years ending 31 March 2006 to 2010 who were not looked after under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 is shown in the following table.
| Children adopted during the year ending 31 March who were not looked after under section 20 of the Children Act 1989( 1) , Years ending 31 March 2006 - 10 , Coverage: England | |
| Number | |
| (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100. Source: SSDA903 | |
Children in Care: Missing Persons
Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in local government care have gone missing in each of the last three years. [33616]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 17 January 2011]: The following table provides the necessary figures:
| Number of looked after children missing from care | |
The information is available in table LAB1 at:
Departmental Overtime
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on overtime for staff working within his private office in each of the last five years. [28564]
Tim Loughton: The overtime costs for staff working in the Secretary of State's private office in the Department for Children Schools and Families and its predecessor, the Department for Education and Skills in each of the last five years is:
| £ | |
Departmental Press: Subscriptions
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department and its predecessors spent on press cuttings services in each year since 1997. [28155]
Tim Loughton: The Department's spend on press cuttings services for the last three years is contained in the following table. The Department does not hold a central record of its expenditure on the requested items before 2007 and cannot obtain the information without incurring disproportionate cost.
| Spend (£) | |
Departmental Sponsorship
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what expenditure (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies incurred on sponsorship in each year since 1997 for which figures are available. [27512]
Tim Loughton: The Department does not record expenditure separately for sponsorship and therefore the amount spent could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Information for non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and sponsorship is not recorded separately. Provision of the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Any expenditure that is spent on sponsorship must be in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
Education: South Yorkshire
Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the funding of education business partnerships in South Yorkshire. [33283]
Mr Gibb: We are considering the future funding of education business partnership services in the context of the allocations of the spending review 2010 settlement. We plan to announce decisions shortly. I will write to the right hon. Member.
Foster Care: Finance
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average cost to the public purse was of a child placed (a) with a foster carer and (b) in a residential children's home in each of the last five years. [31616]
Tim Loughton: The average unit cost of placing a child with a foster carer or in a residential children's home for years 2005-08 is given in the following table. The Department no longer collects the information from local authorities which would readily permit such figures to be produced.
The University of Kent was however commissioned by the Department of Health and Department for Education to calculate the unit costs of health and social care in 2009/10. They calculated that it cost local authorities £2,494 a week for a placement of a child at a residential children's home and £676 a week for a foster placement. Because a different data source was used the figures are not strictly compatible with those in 2005-08.
| Unit expenditure on children's homes( 1) and fostering care( 2) in England: 2004-05 to 2008-09( 3) | ||
| Financial year | Children looked after in children's homes per child per week (£) | Children looked after in foster care per child per week (£) |
| (1) Children's homes covers expenditure on residential care in voluntary children's and registered children's homes as defined in Children Act 1989. This includes: associated independent visitor costs and relevant contact payments under sections 20/34 of the Children Act 1989; homes where education is provided, but does not attract education; department funds; boarding schools; the social services share of the costs of community homes with education provision and the social services element of accommodating children with special education needs in schools where the education element is met by the education department. (2) Fostering care includes all in-house provision, fostering services purchased externally, fees and allowances paid to foster parents and the costs of social worker and other support staff who support foster carers. For example, mainstay placements; link placements; permanence placements; temporary/respite fostering; placements with relatives, other than a parent, under foster care; arrangements; placed with approved prospective adopters pending the making of an adoption order under the Adoption and Children Act 2002; associated independent visitor costs and relevant contact payments under sections 20/34 of the Children Act 1989. (3) Expenditure data for 2005-06 to 2007-08 are drawn from PSSEX data published on the NHS IC website | ||
Freedom of Information
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what judgments have been made by the Information Commissioner on his Department's responses to freedom of information requests in the last 12 months; and how many of these related to child protection. [34609]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 18 January 2011]: The Information Commissioner has issued nine decision notices on the Department's responses to freedom of information requests within the last 12 months, and details of these are given as follows. Two of these had some connection to child protection, in that one was about an application to join the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, and the other about the ContactPoint Data Security Review. These decisions can be accessed on the website of the Information Commissioner's Office at
| ICO reference number | Subject | |
|
Frontline Technology Ltd. patent for electronic registration system | ||
|
Phorm's application to join the UK Council for Child Internet Safety | ||
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 10 December 2010 in regard to Mrs E Flint. [36051]
Tim Loughton: The Secretary of State for Education replied to the right hon. Member on 21 January.
Runaway Children
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many local authorities provide services to support young people who run away from home or care; [32318]
(2) whether he plans to take steps to ensure that those with parental responsibility for a child make a report when that child goes missing; [32319]
(3) if he will estimate the number of children who ran away from home or care in the latest period for which figures are available. [32320]
Tim Loughton: All local authorities and their partners are required to provide services to safeguard the young and the vulnerable, including those who run away from home or care. Details of these services are not collected centrally.
Procedures are already in place to ensure that children's homes and fostering services make a report when a
young person goes missing. The National Minimum Standards for children's homes and fostering services require that all registered children's homes and fostering services should have explicit procedures to follow when children in their care may be missing or absent without permission. Where a young person is not in the care of children's services, it is the responsibility of the parents/carers to report the young person missing.
Local police forces are currently required to share data from the Police National Computer (PNC) on the numbers of missing young people reported to them with the Missing Persons' Bureau in the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA). Local authorities then determine the best ways to work with the police to collate the data on numbers of runaways in their area, whether from home or from care, but this data are not collected centrally.
Schools: Sports
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has of the average number of sports clubs a secondary school has worked with in each of the last five years. [33297]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 13 January 2011]: The Department does not hold this information centrally; we can only provide information about the average number of sports in respect of which schools have had links with clubs. I include a table for ease of reference.
Young People: Carers
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to require local authorities to collect data on the number of carers under the age of 18 years. [30352]
Tim Loughton: Local and national data on the number of young carers is not held centrally although it is possible to make broad estimates of numbers from data.
The 2001 Census estimates that there are approximately 139,000 children in England aged 17 or under offering some care to a family member, neighbour or friend. The 2011 Census data will provide a more up to date figure later this year.
However it is widely acknowledged that there are a number of hidden young carers.
Helping to care for a family member is something that many young people are happy and proud to do. These young people play an absolutely vital role both for their families and society as a whole and they deserve our recognition and support.
However, I have met many young carers and they have made it clear to me that they want their school, GPs and other services to be more flexible and supportive in helping them and their families' address their needs more effectively.
The Government recently published the updated Carers Strategy entitled "Recognised, valued and supported: next steps for the Carers Strategy". The strategy recognises that there are a number of 'hidden' young carers and sends out a strong signal that effective support for young carers requires adults and children's services and the voluntary sector and others to work together to identify and support young carers and prevent them from taking on harmful caring roles that put their health and/or education at risk.
Local authorities and primary care trusts are best placed to develop services in response to local demand and to assess local data.
Northern Ireland
Bill of Rights
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the responses received to the consultation, A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: Next Steps; and whether he plans to produce a summary report. [35546]
Mr Swire: We have already made available, on 16 December 2010, the responses to the previous Government's consultation on a Bill of Rights. We have no plans to produce a further summary report. In my written ministerial statement to the House of 16 December 2010, Official Report, column 131W, announcing publication of the responses to the consultation exercise, I made clear that, while there was support for a Bill of Rights among human rights groups along the lines recommended by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, there was also opposition to this. The statement noted in particular that there remained a divergence of views among political parties in Northern Ireland on how best to proceed.
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he has made on the development of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland; and what discussions he has had with (a) political parties in Northern Ireland and (b) other stakeholders on that matter. [35547]
Mr Swire: The Government remain committed to fulfilling their commitments under the Belfast agreement. However the lack of consensus in Northern Ireland on the issue of a Bill of Rights remains a considerable barrier to further progress.
Northern Ireland Office Ministers and officials have had discussions on this issue since the election with
political and other interested parties, including human rights NGOs, and will continue to do so in the coming months.
Departmental Communication
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he has undertaken to reduce jargon and promote plain English in Departmental communications. [35781]
Mr Paterson: Staff in the Northern Ireland Office are aware of the need to ensure that all internal and external communications are clearly understandable.
Departmental Public Appointments
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many (a) women and (b) men have been appointed to public duties by his Department since May 2010; [35391]
(2) what public appointments he has made since his appointment; and to what payments each person so appointed is entitled. [35413]
Mr Paterson: Since May 2010 I have made 12 appointments (eight male and four female) to public bodies in Northern Ireland. These are shown in the following table.
| Public body | Male/ Female | Chairman/ Members | Full-time/Part-time | Remuneration |
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Biochar
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether she has made an assessment of the likely requirement for Government incentives in order for the development of biochar to be commercially viable; [34357]
(2) how much funding her Department has allocated to research into the use of biochar as a fuel in each of the last five years; and how much such funding she plans to allocate in each of the next four financial years; [34402]
(3) what assessment she has made of the potential contribution of biochar as a fuel source. [34422]
Mr Paice: DEFRA has not made an assessment of the likely requirement for Government incentives in order for the development of biochar to be commercially viable. However, DEFRA, in collaboration with the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), has undertaken a review of the potential benefits, costs and issues surrounding the addition of biochar to soil. This found that the evidence base supporting the addition of biochar to soil was not particularly developed or robust, particularly under UK conditions, and that the potential for introducing contaminants to the soil from biochar was a particular concern. No further work has been planned. The study is available on the DEFRA website:
Biochar originates from biomass, and its production and combustion is eligible for support under DECC's renewables obligation mechanism. The level of support available will depend on the type of technology used to generate electricity; for example, if advanced pyrolysis or gasification is used, it would be awarded two renewable obligation certificates per megawatt hour.
Biochar produced from virgin biomass will be subject to the sustainability criteria to be introduced in the renewables obligation from April 2011.
Biodiversity
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she next expects to report on progress towards achieving each of the targets for priority species and habitats contained in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. [36246]
Richard Benyon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 January 2011, Official Report, column 692W.
Birds of Prey
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the buzzard population in the UK in each of the last five years. [35453]
Richard Benyon: The most recent published estimate of the size of the Common Buzzard population of the UK was of 44,000-61,000 territorial pairs in 2000. Annual monitoring of trends is undertaken by the British Trust for Ornithology/Royal Society for the Protection of Birds/Joint Nature Conservation Committee Breeding Bird Survey. The UK trend for the most recent five year period for which data is available (2003-08) and calculated across 1,069 survey plots, was a 15% increase in that period.
Cod: Quotas
Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will assess the merits of reallocating cod quotas in Area VIId in the light of the annual under-utilisation by the over 10 metre sector. [35926]
Richard Benyon: The merits of reallocating under-utilised quotas is being considered as part of the work to explore options for reform of fisheries management arrangements.
There are several reasons why the in-year reallocation of underutilised quota is not currently undertaken, e.g. quota holders may be retaining their quota to fish later in the year, or to use as swap currency to acquire different quota. The prospect of such reallocation can encourage a race to fish, which could mean that a fish stock is targeted out of season, thus increasing effort and discards of other stocks. Such reallocation may also impact on prices due to a surplus of fish on the market. Furthermore, there is also a risk of 'ghost' fishing in order to secure ongoing access and prevent reallocation-something that is difficult to enforce against.
I recognise the difficulties currently facing the under-10m fleet. I am committed to reforming the fisheries management arrangements, in order to place the fleet on a more sustainable footing. A consultation is due to be launched in the spring, and in the meantime work continues to consider what support can be offered to the under-10m fleet in the short-term.
Common Agricultural Policy: Reform
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received from farmers' unions on her Department's plans to reform the Common Agricultural Policy. [35156]
Mr Paice [holding answer 21 January 2011]: Specifically regarding farmers' unions, we have received a number of letters on DEFRA's plans to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from the National Farmers' Union (NFU). The NFU's input into the CAP reform debate has provided us with a valuable insight into its stance on the progress of the negotiations.
Discussions between DEFRA and the NFU will be of great value over the coming months. I continue to welcome views from all interested parties over the course of the negotiations and would also encourage them to respond directly to the Commission's current consultation on CAP.
Departmental Public Appointments
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many (a) women and (b) men have been appointed to public duties by her Department since May 2010; [35394]
(2) what public appointments she has made since her appointment; and to what payments each person so appointed is entitled. [35416]
Richard Benyon: There have been no public appointments made since the Secretary of State was appointed.
Any public appointments would be regulated by The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA).
Efficient and Resilient Food Chain
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the expenditure of her Department's Efficient and Resilient Food Chain research and development programme was in each year since 2006; and what its levels of expenditure will be in each of the next four financial years. [34423]
Mr Paice: Table 1 shows DEFRA's expenditure on the Farming and Food Resource Efficient and Resilient Food Chain research and development programme for the past five financial years.
| Table 1: DEFRA research and development funding on resource efficient and resilient food chain | |
| £ | |
| Source: Data taken from the Science and Information System | |
DEFRA has not yet determined the details of research and development spend over the next five years for this programme. However, provisional evidence budgets which include research and development activity on food have been allocated.
Table 2 shows indicative evidence budget allocations for the current and the next four financial years.
| Table 2: Indicative evidence budget allocations | |
| £ | |
| (1) From 2012-13 onwards, a proportion of the evidence budget for this programme is held back in an 'unallocated reserve' which is excluded from the figures in this table. This ring-fenced reserve will be annually reallocated to the programme according to the DEFRA's Chief Scientific Adviser's advice on evidence priorities. | |
Flexibility in the evidence allocation process for 2012-13 onwards is essential so that we can adjust our investment in evidence to respond to developing challenges. For example, significant changes to the direction of DEFRA's investment in evidence could result from the outcomes of White Papers or other major assessments that impact on priorities. At the same time it is recognised that the Department has to meet a number of 'less flexible' statutory monitoring and animal health surveillance requirements, i.e. classed as 'non-discretionary' spend.
To allow DEFRA investment to align to top evidence priorities, an unallocated evidence reserve has been created by 'top-slicing' the discretionary element of the evidence budget. The proportion of the discretionary element contributing to the unallocated reserve will be 10% in 2012-13, 25% in 2013-14 and 50% in 2014-15. This reserve will be reallocated back to individual programmes annually, taking into account overall evidence priorities.
Statutory monitoring and animal health surveillance budgets are not contributing to the unallocated evidence reserve. However, in order to meet the total evidence savings needed across the spending review period, these budgets are generally being reduced by 5% year on year as a minimum. It is anticipated that these savings will be achievable through seeking efficiencies. Where this will not be possible, funds from the unallocated evidence reserve will be accessible.
Farmers: Milk
Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the volume of milk disposed of by farmers as a consequence of a lack of tanker collections during the recent severe weather. [34360]
Mr Paice: We have maintained close contact with farming organisations throughout the recent severe weather conditions. Industry has informed us that the volume of milk disposed of was no more than 0.2% of December's production.
Fisheries: Quotas
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings she has had on ending the practice of discarding fish before landing. [35139]
Richard Benyon: As UK Fisheries Minister, I lead on discussions with our European counterparts on the discarding of fish. At the Fisheries Council in December 2010, I negotiated with the European Commission and member states to agree fishing opportunities for 2011. The need to find solutions to the problem of discarding formed an important part of those negotiations. In addition, I chaired meetings on Fisheries Council priorities, where discards was discussed, in Belfast in October 2010 and Brussels in December 2010, with fishery industry representatives, non-governmental organisations and devolved Administrations.
There will be further discussions this year with member states and the Commission on the topic of minimising discards, and the reform of the Common Fisheries
Policy in 2012. The UK will continue to lead the way within the EU on finding practical solutions to the discard issue.
Flood Control
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria her Department uses in determining flood risks to each geographical area of England. [35544]
Richard Benyon: Flood risk is assessed as a combination of criteria covering probability, based on historical floods and computer modelling of physical characteristics of the landscape, and consequences, based on the impact of flooding on people, properties, infrastructure and the environment. The presence and condition of flood defences is also taken into account. Further information can be found in the Environment Agency's 2008 publication "Flooding in England: A National Assessment of Flood Risk".
Each risk management authority is responsible for managing risk as defined under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for the future provision of flood prevention services previously provided through the Government Office Network; and what estimate she has made of the effects on flood prevention services of the closure of that network. [35751]
Richard Benyon: The contribution of the Government Office Network to flood prevention is focused on resilience. The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) is responsible for developing, implementing and managing a new way of working to deliver sub-national resilience, supporting the delivery of national resilience in England.
The sub-national resilience role is a new one, although it does build on the work and the relationships developed by the current regional resilience teams based in the Government offices. In taking forward the role CLG will be putting in place a new approach, reflecting the shift of priorities brought about by the Government.
Flood Control: Finance
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what geographical circumstances and characteristics of areas at risk of flooding she plans to take into account in determining financial allocations to local authorities for flood prevention and protection; and if she will make a statement. [35750]
Richard Benyon: All local authorities in England receive funding support for flood and coastal erosion risk management through formula grant arrangements. From the 2011-12 financial year, lead local flood authorities (established under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010) will receive additional support as area based grant to meet the costs of their new roles and responsibilities under the Act. Individual allocations are based on property counts taken from the Environment Agency's Flood Maps (which indicate susceptibility to river and sea flooding) and Surface Water Vulnerability Maps.
A minimum amount of funding has been set at £110,000 to ensure that every lead local flood authority receives sufficient funding to meet new burdens, with more funding provided where the risk to people and property is greater. Map-based data on the presence of rivers for which local authorities have responsibility is being used to help determine the funding allocations to authorities under formula grant arrangements. Local authority expenditure on levies (including local levy to the Environment Agency and special levy to Internal Drainage Boards) will continue to be supported through formula grant, with allocations informed by records of past expenditure.
The use of map-based data follows calls made on the Government to improve the basis on which funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management is allocated to local authorities, and followed a process of consulting local authorities. The Government will keep the use of map-based data under review to ensure that we continue to have the fairest possible outcome for local authorities in future spending periods.
Floods
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the number of properties (a) constructed on flood plains and (b) at risk of flooding. [35452]
Richard Benyon: About 5.2 million properties in England, or one in six properties, are in areas at risk of flooding. Of these, 2.4 million properties are at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, 1 million of which are also at risk of surface water flooding. A further 2.8 million properties are susceptible to surface water flooding alone.
The Department for Communities and Local Government publishes statistics on the percentage of new dwellings built in areas of high flood risk for each year since 1989. These can be found at:
Floods: Insurance
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with the insurance industry on the provision of insurance cover to those areas and properties at risk of flooding. [35224]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA had discussions with key representatives from the insurance industry, the National Flood Forum, the Environment Agency and local government at a Flood Insurance summit in September last year. We agreed to continue working in partnership to ensure insurance against flooding remains widely available beyond 2013, when the current Statement of Principles agreement expires.
Food
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding her Department plans to provide for research on food security and sustainable crop yields in each of the next four financial years. [34795]
Mr Paice: DEFRA's Farming and Food Research and Development Programme addresses the challenges of food security and sustainable crop yields. DEFRA has not yet determined the details of its research spend over the next four financial years. However, indicative evidence budgets have been allocated.
Evidence is defined as reliable and accurate information that DEFRA can use to support sound decisions in developing, shaping, and evaluating policy. It includes research and development, monitoring and surveillance, economic and statistical analysis and modelling, secondary analysis and synthesis, and analysis of stakeholder views.
The following table shows minimum indicative evidence budget allocations for the Farming and Food Research and Development Programme for the next four financial years.
| Financial year | Indicative evidence budget allocations for farming and food (£ million) |
| (1) From 2012-13 onwards, a proportion of each evidence budget is held back in an 'unallocated reserve' which is excluded from the figures in this table. This ring-fenced reserve will be annually reallocated to individual programmes according to the DEFRA's Chief Scientific Adviser's advice on evidence priorities. Notes: 1. Flexibility in the evidence allocation process for 2012-13 onwards is essential so that we can adjust our investment in evidence to respond to developing challenges. For example, significant changes to the direction of DEFRA's investment in evidence could result from the outcomes of White Papers or other major assessments that impact on priorities. At the same time it is recognised that DEFRA has to meet a number of 'less flexible' statutory monitoring and animal health surveillance requirements, i.e. classed as 'non-discretionary' spend. 2. To allow DEFRA investment to align to top evidence priorities, an unallocated evidence reserve has been created by 'top-slicing' the discretionary element of the evidence budget. The proportion of the discretionary element contributing to the unallocated reserve will be 10% in 2012-13, 25% in 2013-14 and 50% in 2014-15. This reserve will be reallocated back to individual programmes annually, taking into account overall evidence priorities. 3. Statutory monitoring and animal health surveillance budgets are not contributing to the unallocated evidence reserve. However, in order to meet the total evidence savings needed across the spending review period, these budgets are generally being reduced by 5% year on year as a minimum. It is anticipated that these savings will be achievable through seeking efficiencies. Where this will not be possible, funds from the unallocated evidence reserve will be accessible. | |
The research councils of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will also be contributing to the Global Food Security Programme, which will include sustainable crop yields. The indicative budget allocation for global security in the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council's delivery plan is £104 million a year in the next four financial years. Other research councils will also be contributing towards the Global Food Security Programme. The following table shows the indicative total contributions of these research councils towards the programme over the next four financial years.
| Research council | Indicative contribution towards the Global Food Security Programme in the 2011-12 to 2014-15 period (£ million) |
In addition to this, contributions to the programme will be made by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, largely through its manufacturing portfolio.
Forestry Commission
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of changes in the level of access to rights of way over Forestry Commission land that has been sold by her Department in each of the last four years. [35087]
Mr Paice [holding answer 20 January 2011]: We have not made an assessment on this issue. Local highway authorities are responsible for the management of public rights of way and have a statutory duty to assert and protect the rights of the public as to their use and enjoyment.
Forestry Commission: Land
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the proportion of Forestry Commission land to be sold in each of the next four financial years. [35481]
Mr Paice: The Forestry Commission in England will be selling at least 15% of the public forest estate (40,000 hectares) by the end of this spending review period. The Government will shortly consult on a range of models for the future ownership and management for the other 85% of the public forest estate.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Forestry Commission has paid to the Crown Estate for each parcel of land sold in the last five years which has been transferred to the Forestry Commission under the Forestry (Transfer of Woods) Act 1923. [36143]
Mr Paice: The Forestry Commission has not sold any land in the last five years which has required it to make a payment to the Crown Estates under the Forestry (Transfer of Woods) Act 1923.
Greyhounds: Animal Welfare
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to improve the welfare of racing greyhounds. [35346]
Mr Paice: The Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010, which apply to England only, provides the welfare conditions for greyhounds at racing tracks and the traceability of greyhounds used in the sport. In addition, anyone who owns or keeps a racing greyhound must provide for the welfare needs of their animals, as required by the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
If anyone has any concerns about the way in which a racing greyhound is being kept they should report it to the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, who enforce the 2010 regulations in relation to their tracks, or the relevant local authority who enforce the regulations in respect of independent tracks and who also have powers under the 2006 Act to investigate allegations of cruelty or neglect.
Groceries Code Adjudicator
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the (a) farming industry and (b) food and retail sector on the powers and functions of the Groceries Code Adjudicator; what the (i) dates and (ii) locations of such discussions were; and if she will make a statement. [34446]
Mr Paice: The Secretary of State has met the farming industry and the food and retail sector numerous times since taking office to consider a wide range of issues relevant to the food chain. There have been no meetings specifically or solely about the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), but on occasion there has been an exchange of views on the GCA. The Secretary of State has not discussed the specific powers and functions of the GCA, which were the subject of a Department for Business, Innovation and Skills consultation exercise last year. The Government published its response to the consultation on 3 August 2010, announcing its decision on these powers and functions.
Harlequin Ladybirds
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the number of harlequin ladybirds in the UK. [35322]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA has not commissioned any work to estimate the number of harlequin ladybirds in the UK. However, DEFRA funding supported the highly successful public participation Harlequin Ladybird Survey. Information on the documented spread of the species across the country is available on the Harlequin Ladybird Survey website at:
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to prevent the spread of harlequin ladybirds. [35323]
Richard Benyon: There is no simple means to prevent the harlequin ladybird from spreading. Scientists at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology are undertaking some detailed analysis on the trends of native ladybird species in response to the arrival of the harlequin ladybird, using Biological Records Centre data collected through volunteer recording schemes. This work could help in the consideration of any future actions. They are also studying the adaptation of native parasites to the harlequin ladybird and there is an increase in the prevalence of these attacking harlequins. As with the very successful Harlequin Ladybird Survey itself, members of the public are being asked to help by recording and reporting what they see through the UK Ladybird Parasite Survey which was launched last year:
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the effect on native species of the harlequin ladybird. [35324]
Richard Benyon: UK experts on this species are leading a European group of 120 scientists working in this field. Both laboratory and field studies suggest the impact on other species, particularly those that have a high niche overlap with the harlequin, is high. The Biological Records Centre's UK ladybird survey data are proving vital for this work.
Himalayan Balsam
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to prevent the spread of Himalayan balsam. [35328]
Richard Benyon: Himalayan balsam is widespread in the wild in Britain and it would not be efficient use of Government resources to tackle this plant above other priorities. However, the Administrations in England, Scotland and Wales launched the Invasive Non-native Species Framework Strategy for Great Britain in 2008 as a joint policy framework. Its aim is to minimise the risk posed by invasive non-native species in Great Britain and to reduce the negative impacts which they cause. Through our work on the GB strategy we are helping local action groups who are taking action to manage this plant and others on a local level.
While there is no statutory requirement for landowners to remove the plant from their property, because of its potential harm to habitats and native species it is listed on schedule 9 and subject to section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence to plant, or cause this species to grow, in the wild.
We have supported research into finding a natural biological control agent to help control Himalayan balsam, but to date a suitable agent has not been found.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect on native species of the spread of Himalayan balsam. [35331]
Richard Benyon: We have not undertaken a specific assessment of the effect Himalayan balsam has on native species. However in the extensive areas of infestation particularly in riparian habitats it competes very effectively for space with native plants and its other impacts include impeding access and exacerbating bank erosion when the plant dies back.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the extent of the spread of Himalayan balsam in the last 10 years. [35332]
Richard Benyon: According to the National Biodiversity Network gateway:
since its first recording in the wild in 1855, Himalayan balsam has now been recorded in the vast majority of 10 km squares in Britain. DEFRA has made no specific assessment of its spread over the last 10 years.
Japanese Knotweed
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what requirements her Department places on local authorities to take steps against the spread of Japanese knotweed; and what guidance it issues to local authorities on (a) controlling and (b) eliminating the plant. [35326]
Richard Benyon: There is no statutory requirement for landowners to remove the plant from their property, nor is strategic widespread control the sole responsibility of any particular body. All landowners on whose property Japanese knotweed occurs however should take care to prevent its spread onto neighbouring land or generally into the wild. Local authorities can require landowners to clean up "land adversely affecting the amenity of the neighbourhood" and also have the power to undertake clean-up works and to recover costs from the landowner. If Japanese knotweed is growing on the local authority's own land, it is reasonable to expect that authority to take appropriate action. As public bodies, they are subject to section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006 which requires all public bodies to have regard to the conservation of biodiversity when carrying out their functions and this may be relevant where the weed is affecting biodiversity interests.
The Environment Agency offers guidance and advice on the control and elimination of Japanese knotweed, and has published a code of practice which can be found on its website at:
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which 10 local authority areas in England have the highest incidence of Japanese knotweed. [35327]
Richard Benyon: As can be seen on the National Biodiversity Network gateway at:
Japanese knotweed has been recorded in the vast majority of 10 km squares in Britain. DEFRA does not hold information ranking its incidence according to local authority areas. Japanese knotweed is widespread throughout England and some local authorities particularly badly affected have taken specific action against it, for example the Cornwall Japanese Knotweed Forum.
Lake Windermere: Navigation
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to make a decision on the proposed Windermere navigation byelaws and Windermere registration byelaws. [35925]
Richard Benyon: I am currently considering proposals and I expect to be able to announce a decision shortly.
Livestock: Foot and Mouth Disease
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the threat to livestock from an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. [35312]
Mr Paice: DEFRA's assessment is that there is a continual low risk of the introduction of foot and mouth disease (FMD) into the UK (and the EU) from currently affected regions around the world. Additional measures have been put in place as a result of the ongoing situation in Bulgaria, including alerting industry to the situation. More generally, preliminary outbreak assessments are published regularly on the DEFRA website for FMD and other disease incidents around the world.
National Wildlife Crime Unit: Finance
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding the National Wildlife Crime Unit will receive from her Department in the next four years. [35753]
Richard Benyon: As a result of the spending review all Government Departments are reviewing their spending and virtually all will have reduced budgets in the coming years, as part of the Government's drive to reduce the country's budget deficit.
DEFRA, along with the other bodies that have provided funding for the Unit, is currently determining its spending priorities. Good progress is being made but it is too soon to say what funding can be made available for the National Wildlife Crime Unit.
Plants
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to prevent new alien plant species taking hold in the UK. [35167]
Richard Benyon: Policy on invasive non-native species is a devolved issue. The administrations in England, Scotland and Wales launched the Invasive Non-native Species Framework Strategy for Great Britain in 2008 as a joint policy framework. It is built on a key principle agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity which ranks prevention, early detection and rapid action, and longer term management in that order of priority.
Under the Strategy, the "Be Plantwise" campaign, in partnership with industry and user organisations, aims to raise awareness of the issues and advises users of non-native plants on key behaviours to reduce the risks of introducing invasive plants to the wild. In addition we are considering whether to use legislative powers to prohibit the sale of specified invasive species, and as an example of cost-effective action taken, all known occurrences of the South American creeping water primrose, which is a significant problem on the continent are being eradicated since it was caught early enough.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the number of alien plant species in the UK. [35325]
Richard Benyon:
Under the GB Invasive Non-native Species Framework Strategy we are in the process of developing the GB Non-native Species Information Portal in partnership with key organisations. This will collate information on records of non-native species (invasive and otherwise) and will help to improve reporting and
monitoring of these species. For example, there are approximately 1,800 non-native flowering plants in the database at present but the accuracy of the information has not yet been verified by key partner bodies.
Plants: Nature Conservation
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what statutory agencies are responsible for plant conservation; [35329]
(2) how much funding her Department plans to provide for plant conservation in 2010-11; and to what bodies it plans to make payments for this purpose. [35330]
Richard Benyon: Funding will be provided to the Food and Environment Research Agency, the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Natural England, the Environment Agency, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and the National Forest Company. The Forestry Commission, as a non-ministerial Government Department, will also receive funding some of which may be used for plant conservation.
Information on how much of this funding will be used for plant conservation is not held centrally and could be gathered only at a disproportionate cost.
Poultry: Swine Flu
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken to (a) issue and (b) revise guidance to farmers and individuals who work with poultry since the first case of swine influenza transfer from human to bird occurred in January 2011; and if she will make a statement. [35159]
Mr Paice [holding answer 21 January 2011]: DEFRA has a range of advice on its website for bird keepers to help them protect their birds from all types of disease, including H1N1 influenza. On 12 January, following the finding of a low pathogenic H1N1 influenza virus in turkeys, DEFRA updated its website to remind bird keepers to maintain appropriate biosecurity measures. Guidance on worker protection, provided by the Health and Safety Executive, is also incorporated into DEFRA's website.
Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding her Department plans to provide to the Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund in (a) 2010-11 and (b) each of the next four years. [35758]
Richard Benyon: The value of the Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund, which is administered on DEFRA's behalf by Action with Communities in Rural Areas (ACRE), stands at £700,000. There are currently no plans to change that.
Sewers
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the level of leaks from (a) sewers and (b) water pipes in each region; and if she will make a statement. [35868]
Richard Benyon: Ofwat reports on water company leakage in its annual service and delivery report. A copy of the latest report is available in the Library of the House. Leakage figures for each water company for 2009-10 are given in the following table:
| Leakage performance 2009-10 (total leakage Megalitres/day) | |
| 2009-10 | |
Numbers may not total correctly because of rounding.
Ofwat does not collect information on leakage from sewers.
Energy and Climate Change
Climate Change: International Co-operation
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2011, Official Report, column 311W, on climate change: international co-operation, if he will estimate the direct carbon dioxide emissions arising from the participation of the UK delegation in the Cancún climate change conference; what contribution has been made in respect of such travel through the Government Carbon Offsetting Facility; and what method was used to calculate this offset. [36210]
Gregory Barker: The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published greenhouse gas conversion factors for air passenger transport in October 2010. Using these factors, the total emissions from the UK delegation to Cancun is 233t.
The calculation methodology is based on the distance travelled per delegate, measured in kilometres on a geodesic basis, and the class of travel. The distance in kilometres is increased by 9%, in line with the DEFRA
guidance, and a conversion factor specific to the class of travel applied. The total is then multiplied by a radiative forcing factor of 1.9.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change will purchase offsets in spring 2011 to offset the emissions from all air travel undertaken in the 2010-11 financial year, including travel to and from Cancun by DECC Ministers and officials. The Department will make use of the Government Carbon Offsetting Facility, with full details placed on the Department's website.
Departmental Communication
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what measures he has undertaken to reduce jargon and promote plain English in departmental communications. [35787]
Gregory Barker: DECC is committed to being an open and transparent Government Department. Staff understand the need to minimise the use of jargon and promote plain English in departmental communications. DECC's communications strategy underlines DECC's commitment to increase transparency and openness in departmental communications.
It is an aim of the Department to ensure that content on the DECC website and e-communication channels is straightforward, engaging and delivered in plain English. A recent review of the Department's website:
carried out by an independent research company, found that this was the case with content described as "very good and useful to increase knowledge", as well as "easy to read and comprehend".
The Department is currently working on a project to improve the navigation and structure of the DECC site to make content easier to find. On consultations, DECC is committed to ensuring that consultation documents are self-contained and as clear as possible-in particular, aiming to make all information published clear in terms of the language used, avoiding jargon, abbreviations and acronyms where possible (where they are unavoidable, including them in a glossary of terms).
Finally, written correspondence to Members of Parliament and members of the public is drafted with the help of a Formatting Guide, one clear requirement of which is for all acronyms to be spelled out in full the first time they are used.
Energy: Meters
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average difference was between the average annual cost of electricity to low-income families paying for electricity through (a) pre-payment meters and (b) direct debit in each of the last four years; and what estimate he has made of the likely average differences in each of the next four financial years. [35736]
Charles Hendry:
DECC does not hold information on average annual electricity bills specifically for low-income households. However, average annual electricity bills for all UK customers (regardless of income) are available by payment type in DECC's publication 'Quarterly Energy Prices'. The following table shows the average
standard electricity bill(1) for direct debit customers and for pre-payment meter customers and their difference for each year between 2007 and 2010.
(1) Based on an average annual consumption of 3,300 kWh
| Average bills for standard electricity by payment type | |||
| £ | |||
| Direct Debit | Pre-payment | Difference | |
DECC's estimates of future energy prices relate to the average prices paid by the domestic sector. DECC does not make different estimates of future energy prices based on method of payment.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of progress by energy companies on eliminating additional charges and costs on those paying for electricity through pre-payment meters. [35738]
Charles Hendry: Ofgem has put in place rules to protect consumers, which include licence conditions to ensure any difference in the prices charged between different payment methods are cost reflective.
Ofgem has found that the charges for customers paying by pre-payment meter are, on average, below the equivalent standard credit tariffs and less than the indicative cost difference identified during their 2008 Energy Supply Probe between a prepayment meter customer and a customer paying by direct debit. The full Ofgem report is available online at:
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/ensuppro/Documents1/Update%20on%20Probe%20Monitoring _FINAL.pdf
We support Ofgem's actions in tackling unjustified tariff premiums to ensure consumers do not lose out.
Energy: Prices
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with energy supply companies on the inclusion of families with children in the eligibility criteria for social tariffs. [35565]
Gregory Barker: Social tariffs are part of the current voluntary agreement between Government and energy suppliers. This agreement comes to an end in March 2011 and will be replaced by Warm Home Discount.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the number of children living in households with inadequate heating. [35684]
Gregory Barker: The data requested is not available.
However, data from the 2008 English Housing Survey suggest that around 785,000 households in England contain children under the age of 16 and live in the lowest two (F or G) energy efficiency rated homes.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department plans to take to raise awareness of social tariffs among low-income households in each of the next four financial years. [35686]
Gregory Barker: Social tariffs are part of the current voluntary agreement between Government and energy suppliers. This agreement comes to an end in March 2011 and will be replaced by Warm Home Discount.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the systems for data matching between energy supply companies and the Government on those eligible for the warm home discount. [35687]
Gregory Barker: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has had discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on various topics.
Officials in both Departments have worked very closely together on the development and operation of the data matching system for the successful Energy Rebate scheme. This scheme delivered rebates of £80 on electricity bills to over 200,000 older poorer pensioners in 2010.
Subject to the outcome of the Government Consultation on the Warm Home Discount scheme which closed on 14 January 2011, and parliamentary agreement to regulations, officials from both Departments are expected to continue to work closely to deliver the data matching system, and other elements, of the proposed Warm Home Discount scheme.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of elderly people eligible for the warm home discount in (a) Glasgow North East constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland, (d) England, (e) Northern Ireland and (f) Wales in each of the next four financial years. [35688]
Gregory Barker: A consultation on the Government's proposals for the Warm Home Discount, which included proposed eligibility arrangements, closed on 14 January. The responses to consultation are currently being considered and the Government will publish a response in due course.
In this initial proposal, the focus of the scheme would be on providing support to older poorer pensioners through the Core Group, with support also available for other groups through the Broader Group and Legacy Spending. The consultation estimated that under this proposed structure, about two million households per year would be assisted.
In the consultation, Government have proposed eligibility criteria for the Core Group of poorer pensioners:
The latest published records from the Department for Work and Pensions, available via the DWP website at:
indicate the following numbers of current claimants of pension credit guarantee only or pension credit guarantee and savings credit in:
(a) Glasgow North East: 6,940
(b) Glasgow city council: 37,950
(c) Scotland: 216,000
(d) England: 1.8 million
(e) Northern Ireland: the scheme will be GB only
(f) Wales: 132,000.
As set out in the consultation, we estimate that the vast majority of pensioners eligible for the qualifying benefits for the Warm Home Discount Core Group would be in the lowest three income deciles. As set out in the consultation, all those benefiting under the Core Group would receive a rebate of £130 in years one and two, £135 in year three and £140 in year four.
For each of the next four years numbers of eligible households, as broken down in (a) to (f) above, may change due to factors such as rising state pension age. Due to future uncertainty and currently available information, at present we are unable to estimate a geographical breakdown for the next four financial years.
Additional households will receive support through the Broader and Legacy groups of the Warm Home Discount over the four years of the scheme. These households will be found by energy suppliers, subject to their eligibility being approved by Ofgem.
As eligibility criteria for these groups is yet to be defined, we are unable to estimate the number of elderly people that will receive support over these years.
(1) The minimum qualifying age for pension credit is based on, and will be rising in line with, women's state pension age. Under the legislation as it presently stands, women's state pension age is gradually increasing from 60 to 65 between April 2010 and April 2020.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of elderly people who will not be eligible for the warm home discount in (a) Glasgow North East constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland, (d) England, (e) Northern Ireland and (f) Wales in each of the next four financial years. [35689]
Gregory Barker:
A consultation on the Government's proposals for the Warm Home Discount, which included proposed eligibility arrangements, closed on 14 January.
The responses to consultation are currently being considered and the Government will publish a response in due course.
In this initial proposal, the focus of the scheme would be on providing support to older poorer pensioners through the Core Group, with support also available for other groups through the Broader Group and Legacy Spending.
Additional households will receive support through the Broader and Legacy groups of the Warm Home Discount over the four years of the scheme. These households will be found by energy suppliers, subject to their eligibility being approved by Ofgem. As eligibility criteria for these groups is yet to be defined, we are unable to estimate the number of elderly people who will not be eligible for Warm Home Discount.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to require energy supply companies to include low-income families with children within the warm home discount. [35690]
Gregory Barker: A consultation on the Government's proposals for the Warm Home Discount, which included proposed eligibility arrangements, closed on 14 January. The responses to consultation are currently being considered and the Government will publish a response in due course.
In this initial proposal, the focus of the scheme would be on providing support to older poorer pensioners through the Core Group, with support also available for other groups through the Broader Group and Legacy Spending.
Additional households will receive support through the Broader and Legacy groups of the Warm Home Discount over the four years of the scheme. These households will be found by energy suppliers, subject to their eligibility being approved by Ofgem.
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many submissions were received during his Department's warm home discount consultation; how many of those submissions called for terminally ill people to be included in the core group to receive the warm home discount automatically; and when his Department plans to publish its response to the warm home discount consultation. [35691]
Gregory Barker: A response to the warm home discount consultation will be published in due course.
1,800 responses were received which call for terminally ill people to be included in the core group. 47 responses were received to the consultation as a whole.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people in fuel poverty are eligible for social tariffs provided by energy supply companies. [35737]
Gregory Barker: Under the terms of the voluntary agreement, suppliers undertook to assist their vulnerable and fuel poor customers. Each supplier has discretion as to who they target assistance to, the eligibility criteria applied and the level of support given.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of people in fuel poverty who will be eligible for his Department's warm home discount in each of the next four financial years. [35845]
Gregory Barker: A consultation on the Government's proposals for the Warm Home Discount, which included proposed eligibility arrangements, closed on 14 January. The responses to consultation are currently being considered and the Government will publish a response in due course.
As estimate of the number of households which would be lifted out of fuel poverty by Warm Home Discount is included in the Impact Assessment accompanying the consultation. This can be found at:
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of families with children aged under 16 years in fuel poverty which will be eligible for his Department's warm home discount in each of the next four financial years. [35847]
Gregory Barker: A consultation on the Government's proposals for the warm home discount, which included proposed eligibility arrangements, closed on 14 January. The responses to consultation are currently being considered and the Government will publish a response in due course.
In this initial proposal, the focus of the scheme would be on providing support to older poorer pensioners through the core group, with support also available for other groups through the Broader Group and Legacy Spending
Additional households will receive support through the Broader and Legacy groups of the warm home discount over the four years of the scheme. These households will be found by energy suppliers, subject to their eligibility being approved by Ofgem. As eligibility criteria for these groups is yet to be defined, we are unable to estimate the number of families with children under 16 years who will be eligible for warm home discount.
Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions his Department has had with the six largest energy companies on levels of domestic energy bills. [36098]
Charles Hendry: DECC Ministers and officials meet with suppliers on a regular basis to discuss market issues. It is important that consumers have the lowest possible energy bills, consistent with the need to invest to reduce carbon emissions from energy and ensure security of supply.
Ofgem therefore, monitors the market closely and reports quarterly on retail prices. Their latest report shows large increases in estimated supplier margins for the year ahead, largely due to recent price increases. We are disappointed on behalf of consumers by this
development and welcome the announcement of Ofgem's review of the retail market. Ofgem will report on this review in March of this year. This announcement is available online at:
Fuel Poverty: Bexleyheath
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency who are living in fuel poverty. [36203]
Gregory Barker: In 2006, the latest year for which this information is available, there were around 3,200 fuel poor households in the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency. This is equivalent to approximately 9% of all households in the constituency.
Solar Power
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2010, Official Report, column 981W, on solar power, what possible approaches to setting the trigger for an early review of feed-in tariffs were considered. [35005]
Charles Hendry: At the stakeholder event referred to in my answer of 20 December 2010, consideration was given to a range of approaches to setting the trigger for an early review of the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme. Discussion centred around possible metrics for defining deployment, including spend, electricity generation and installed capacity, as well as the level of deployment to use. The starting point was the projections of FITs uptake that informed the impact assessment published prior to the start of the scheme.
A range of views were also expressed about the concept of a trigger-based approach to reviewing FITs. Some participants suggested that, in the light of the spending review, there might be a case for starting the review rather than waiting for it to be triggered.
Warm Front Scheme
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will assess the merits of including within the warm home discount a compulsory rebate by energy providers to families with children on household incomes below £16,190 per annum. [35971]
Gregory Barker: A consultation on the Government's proposals for the warm home discount, which included proposed eligibility arrangements, closed on 14 January. The responses to consultation are currently being considered and the Government will publish a response in due course.
In this initial proposal, the focus of the scheme would be on providing support to older poorer pensioners through the core group, with support also available for other groups through the Broader Group and Legacy Spending.
Additional households will receive support through the Broader and Legacy groups of the warm home discount over the four years of the scheme. These households will be found by energy suppliers, subject to their eligibility being approved by Ofgem.
Wind Power: Carbon Emissions
Mr Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his answer of 17 January 2011, Official Report, column 482W, on wind power: carbon emissions, what the size was of the adjustment made to take account of intermittency on the efficiency of plant used for back-up during times that wind power was not available. [36153]
Charles Hendry: The Department's adjustment was one hundred thousand tonnes of C02, based on an initial analysis of the efficiencies of thermal power plant. This is less than 2% of the overall emissions saved in 2009.
Wind Power: Finance
Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of subsidies for (a) on-shore and (b) off-shore wind energy providers in the latest period for which figures are available. [36104]
Charles Hendry: We are currently reviewing the level of support for all renewabies technologies, and will consult on any changes to renewabies obligation (RO) bands this summer. As part of that process, we have asked our consultants Arup and Ernst and Young to provide updated assumptions on potential deployment and costs for each renewable electricity technology.
DECC calculations suggest the levels of wind needed to meet our 2020 renewable energy target imply a subsidy cost of around £5 billion in 2020 through the renewabies obligation and around £360 million through the climate change levy exemption (both figures in 2010 prices, undiscounted). Note that these figures represent the total spending. Analysis published in 2009 published lower subsidy cost figures based on the additional level of spending resulting from the increase in renewabies ambition, on a different price basis.
Treasury
Bank Services
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of persons in (a) Glasgow North East constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland, (d) England, (e) Wales, (f) Northern Ireland, and (g) the UK who did not have a basic bank account in each of the last four years. [35898]
Mr Hoban: On 10 December 2010 the Government released the latest figures on the 'unbanked' drawn from the Family Resources Survey. The figures show that in 2008-09 1.54 million adults in the UK did not have access to a current or basic bank account. The Government have not broken these figures down by region.
Building and Mutual Societies
John Stevenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to support building societies and mutuals. [33647]
Mr Hoban: The Government are committed to promoting building societies and other financial mutuals, to help further their aim of increasing diversity in the provision of financial services. They are considering how to modify building society legislation to provide more flexibility in structure, and to support the position of societies' members in insolvency. The Government are also planning to update legislation in a number of other areas, including bringing Northern Ireland credit unions under the Financial Services Authority regulation, and introducing important deregulatory measures for industrial and provident societies and credit unions, through a legislative reform order.
Child Benefit
Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanism he plans to put in place to identify households which will no longer be eligible for child benefit payments under his proposals for welfare reform where the claimant is not a higher rate taxpayer and their partner's income is unknown. [34848]
Mr Gauke: The change to child benefit announced at the spending review does not change the eligibility criteria for child benefit payments. Where a person is currently entitled to receive child benefit they will continue to be entitled to receive payments regardless of whether they or their partner is a higher rate taxpayer. In these circumstances, it is the responsibility of the higher rate taxpayer to notify HM Revenue and Customs that their household is in receipt of child benefit, which will then be recovered through the tax system.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a single parent living in a household with (a) a parent and (b) a child who is a higher rate taxpayer will be eligible for child benefit payments under his proposals for welfare reform. [34849]
Mr Gauke: Child benefit will be withdrawn from families where the claimant, or their partner (with whom they are living) is a higher rate taxpayer. As such, the income of any other child of the claimant or any other member of the household who is not the claimant or their partner would be irrelevant.
Child Care Tax Credit
Mr Marcus Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the process for the distribution of the childcare element of tax credit to ensure that direct payment may be made to carers on whose behalf the element is claimed. [34793]
Mr Gauke: The purpose of the child care element of the working tax credit is to facilitate parental employment. Cash payments direct to parents provide them with the choice and flexibility that they need in order to work. The provision of child care is a commercial arrangement between a parent and the provider and the child care element is not claimed on behalf of child care providers.
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