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South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spends per head of population in the South Staffordshire primary care trust area. [42825]
Mr Simon Burns: In 2009-10 South Staffordshire primary care trust (PCT) spent £1,500 per head of population. 2009-10 is the most recent financial year for which figures are available.
Notes:
1. “How much his Department spends” has been interpreted as meaning the total revenue expenditure of the PCT (the net operating costs).
2. The net operating cost is taken from the audited summarisation schedules of South Staffordshire PCT for 2009-10. This figure is divided by the PCT’s resident population to derive the spend per head figure.
Sunscreens
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take in respect of the draft recommendation from the national Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence that sun protection factor 15 is adequate protection against skin cancer; and if he will make a statement. [44168]
Anne Milton: On 26 January 2010, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published its guidance “Skin cancer: prevention using public information, sun protection resources and changes to the environment”. It is now for commissioners and clinicians to take account of the guidance.
The guidance recommends that sunscreens worn should be ‘broad spectrum’ and have a minimum sun protection factor 15. ‘Broad spectrum’ sunscreens offer both UVA and UVB protection.
Third Sector
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to support the big society initiative. [42640]
Paul Burstow: The Department has the coalition vision for a big society at the heart of its work. In health care, public health and social care, the big society vision has driven our work to help people take control over their lives, the services they use and communities they live in.
The vision set out for the national health service, social care and public health puts patients, service users and carers at the heart of services they use and in control of what they access—‘no decision about me without me’. We are shifting power to professionals at the front line, through the development of general practitioner commissioning consortia. We are giving patients access to the information they need to take control of their own care.
We are also continuing to support the voluntary sector to be well placed to contribute to big society. Our Financial Assistance Fund, announced on 28 February 2011 is providing an additional £3.6 million this year to organisations who are experiencing difficulties due the
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current economic situation. We will maintain investment in voluntary and social enterprise organisations through our Social Enterprise Investment Fund and other Department funding programmes to build the capacity and capability of the sector. These are critical organisations in achieving the largest, most vibrant social enterprise sector in the world.
Voluntary Work and Charitable Donations
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has a policy to encourage its employees to (a) volunteer and (b) donate via payroll giving. [43240]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department’s volunteering policy supports its commitment to promoting employee involvement within the community it serves. The policy supports the equality and diversity agenda by providing opportunities for employees to increase their awareness of equality issues and work directly with disadvantaged groups in the local community. It also supports the Government’s volunteering agenda in public services, particularly health and social care.
The Department views volunteering as a developmental activity, which contributes to employees’ life-long learning, by helping to enhance core skills such as leadership, team building, project management and problem-solving.
The Department’s policy on payroll giving is to encourage employees to consider payroll giving and to promote it as an easy and tax-efficient way to make donations to the charity of their choice.
Cabinet Office
Charitable Donations
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what the five most popular mechanisms of charitable giving were in each year for which figures are available; [42115]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effects of charitable giving on individual levels of happiness and well-being; [42129]
(3) what progress he is making in establishing social norms in charitable giving; [42132]
(4) what steps his Department is taking to encourage charitable giving by young children; and if he will make a statement; [42133]
(5) if he will establish a mechanism to monitor the proportion of legacies which go to (a) charities and (b) families and friends; [42140]
(6) what assessment he has made of the principal reasons for people not making charitable donations; [42141]
(7) what assessment he has made of the influence on giving of examples set by older members within families; [42144]
(8) if he will estimate the proportion of corporate giving arising from the (a) pharmaceuticals, (b) food retail and wholesale, (c) investment services, (d) banking and (e) furnishing sector; and whether he has made an assessment of long-term trends in the proportion donated by each sector; [42146]
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(9) whether he has made an assessment of the effect of corporate giving on company reputation; [42147]
(10) what information his Department holds on the international ranking of the UK in respect of (a) corporate giving as share of GDP, (b) individual giving as a share of GDP and (c) assistance to strangers; [42148]
(11) if he will introduce measures to facilitate an increase in charitable giving through payroll arrangements in the (a) public and (b) private sector; [42202]
Mr Hurd: The giving Green Paper, published by the Government in December 2010, contains references to, and sets out, evidence that the Government currently has on giving levels. It opened a consultation on how to make giving more accessible using a variety of platforms and tools. This consultation will close on 9 March and the Government will publish a White Paper on giving after this.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information his Department holds on the number of individual charitable donors who have given more that £1 million in each year for which figures are available; and for how long his Department has collected information on levels of charitable donation by individuals. [42142]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office does not hold that information and does not collect information on charitable donation by individuals. The Citizenship Survey, run quarterly by the Department for Communities and Local Government from 2001 does contain information on the numbers of people who give money.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he plans to take to encourage business to promote charitable giving. [42143]
Mr Hurd: In “Every Business Commits”, the Government set out some of the ways business can promote and support giving. The giving Green Paper opened a consultation on how to make giving more accessible and have an impact. This consultation will close on 9 March 2011 and the Government will publish a White Paper on giving after this.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what definition his Department uses of a corporate citizen in its giving Green Paper. [42138]
Mr Hurd: The reference to “good ‘corporate citizen’” was in the context of Department of Health initiatives. DH defines good corporate citizenship as:
“social, economic and environmental considerations inform your decisions”;
“your day to day activities contribute to sustainable development”.
Charities: Internet
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the scope for greater use of websites across Government to raise the profile of charities which are working with the Government as part of the big society initiative. [42134]
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Mr Hurd: The giving Green Paper, published by the Government in December 2010, contains references to, and sets out, the Government’s assessment of giving. It opened a consultation on how to make giving more accessible using a variety of platforms and tools noting that Government are keen to use all their resources, including websites, to encourage giving. This consultation will close on 9 March and the Government will publish a White Paper on giving after this.
Charities: Regulation
Mr Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Government is taking to reduce the burden of regulation on charities. [44331]
Mr Hurd: Voluntary work is hampered by a thicket of bureaucracy that uses up time and money and causes frustration that can discourage volunteering.
The Government are determined to cut this bureaucracy, which is why we have set up a Civil Society Red Tape Taskforce chaired by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts. The taskforce is addressing the question “what can we do to cut red tape for small organisations?” The taskforce is looking at a range of issues that we know cause difficulties for charities including funding, licensing, employment law, and insurance and will report in the spring.
The Government will also be carrying out a review of the Charities Act 2006 later this year that will assess how the provisions of that Act are working and consider whether any changes are needed.
Civil Service
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what progress has been made on developing a civic service within the civil service; what role this will play in the big society initiative; and if he will make a statement; [41828]
(2) how many civil servants in each Government Department have enrolled in the civic service programme as part of the big society initiative. [41829]
Mr Hurd: In May 2010, the coalition Government's programme for government stated that we will take a range of measures to encourage volunteering and involvement in social action. This included turning the civil service into a civic service, by making regular community service an element of civil service staff appraisals.
On 17 February 2011 the Government announced that as part of the civic service initiative each civil servant will be encouraged to do at least one day of volunteering each year using special leave. Additional we announced that the civil service will aim to give 30,000 volunteering days per year. The civic service will begin from April 2011, from which point civil servants will be able to take part and enrol.
The civic service will play a key role in creating the big society, by encouraging social action among civil servants and enabling them to use their skills to support voluntary, community and social enterprise sector organisations.
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Civil Service: Females
Mrs Grant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of members of the senior civil service in each Government Department are women. [42711]
Mr Maude: The number of women in the senior civil service (SCS) in each Government Department and the percentage of the total number of each Department’s SCS who are women (as at March 2010) are set out in the following table:
| Civil service Department/agency | Number of women in the senior civil service | Percentage of senior civil service |
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Community Development
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what plans he has to recognise the efforts of civil servants who enrol in civic service schemes; [41830]
(2) which other Government Departments are participating in his Department’s civic service scheme; [42130]
(3) if he will invite the House of Commons Commission to participate in his Department’s civic service scheme; [42135]
(4) if he will invite hon. Members to participate in his Department’s civic service scheme. [42136]
Mr Hurd: On 17 February 2011 the Government announced that as part of the civic service initiative each civil servant will be encouraged to do at least one day of volunteering each year using special leave. In addition, the Government announced that the civil service will aim to give 30, 000 volunteering days per year.
The civic service will begin from April 2011 and officials in the Office for Civil Society are exploring ways of recognising the efforts of civil servants that volunteer their time. The volunteering opportunities created through the civic service will be available to all civil servants, apart from those in the devolved administrations who will have different arrangements. The civic service is wholly focused on encouraging civil servants to volunteer and will therefore not be extended to hon. Members.
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Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department’s giving Green Paper, what the location is of each (a) community foundation and (b) volunteer centre sponsored by his Department; and what their role is in the big society initiative. [42139]
Mr Hurd: We provide funding to community foundations through the Grassroots Grants programme, more details of this can found here: www.cdf.org.uk We provide funding to volunteer centres via:
V—the National Young Volunteers Service:
www.vinspired.com
National Support Service—modernising volunteering strand:
www.capacitybuilders.org.uk
Volunteer Managers:
www.capacitybuilders.org.uk
Access to Volunteering Fund:
www.accesstovolunteering.org
All of these initiatives help make it easier for people to give their time to volunteer by giving better opportunities to potential volunteers and improving the quality of support available to charities, social enterprises and the voluntary sector to deliver great experiences. This is by making great opportunities more visible and supported. The big society is about supporting a culture where more people get involved.
Departmental Conditions of Employment
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of his Department’s adherence to each of the principles of good employment practice set out in the Cabinet Office publication “Principles of Good Employment Practice”. [42631]
Mr Maude: Government recognise the importance and value of good employment practices in delivering public services. The “Principles of Good Employment Practice” in contracted out services are a flexible guide giving employers of contracted out public services the power to build a motivated workforce.
The principles were published to share, encourage and safeguard good practice and they were developed from discussions with trade unions and suppliers. They set clear standards and give employers the freedom to provide terms for staff which are motivating and affordable and through this, better delivery of public services.
Cabinet Office circulated the principles to all central Government Departments, via procurement and HR networks and asked Departments to disseminate the principles through their own networks and promote them where relevant in discussion with stakeholders.
There will be a review of the application of the new principles through the Public Services Forum (PSF), a national forum chaired by me. The PSF brings together Government, public, private and voluntary sector employers and trade unions. The review will take place during 2011.
The package of documents can also be accessed on the Cabinet Office website:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/principles-good-employment-practice
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Departmental Policy
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what account he has taken of the compact between the Government and civil society in policy development; [42614]
(2) with reference to the compact, what meaningful engagement and partnership he has developed with the voluntary sector since the implementation of the big society initiative. [42686]
Mr Hurd: The Compact agreed between the coalition Government and civil society organisations in December 2010, aims to ensure that the Government and civil society organisations work effectively in partnership to achieve common goals and outcomes for the benefit of communities and citizens in England.
Since May 2010, the Cabinet Office has published a number of consultations, formally seeking the views of civil society organisations in the development of policy, and also held informal events. These include: “Supporting a Stronger Civil Society”; the Giving Green Paper; the modernising commissioning Green Paper; and three summits at No. 10 on mutuals, the impact of the cuts, and public service reform.
The Office for Civil Society is in the process of selecting strategic partners for 2011-14, ensuring that the sector's voice is represented in the development of government policy and programmes.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department’s document on the compact, what specific improvements he has made under commitment 1.4 to ensure greater transparency by making data and information more accessible; and if he will make a statement. [42788]
Mr Hurd: The ambition of this Government is to make the UK the most transparent and accountable Government in the world. This will enable the public to hold Government to account for their performance, create better value for money, stimulate growth, and improve public services.
Since May 2010 a number of steps have been taken towards achieving this aim. Some of the new information made available includes: ‘street-level’ crime data and details of spending transactions over £25,000 for Government Departments and over £500 for local authorities. These and many other datasets are available on Department’s individual websites and at:
www.data.gov.uk
A new website has been launched which details all central Government contracts and tenders worth over £10,000 and in April 2011 Departments will publish information strategies in their business plans, outlining what further information they will make available to the public, and by when. The opening public services White Paper, due to be published in March, will set out further details on opening up new markets and challenging existing provision.
Chris Ruane:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department's document, the compact, what progress has been made on commitment 1.2 to ensure CSOs are supported and resourced in a
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reasonable and fair manner where they are helping the Government fulfil its aims; how much funding has been allocated to achieve this aim; and if he will make a statement. [42789]
Mr Hurd: The new Strategic Partners Transition programme will start in April 2011 and run for three years. The programme will fund key national representative civil society organisations (CSOs) to ensure that they can efficiently and effectively act as a conduit between government and wider frontline CSOs, communicating and helping to support and deliver the strategic policy of the Office for Civil Society. These organisations will support CSOs to contribute to the development of the big society.
Other Departments—such as the Department for Education, the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice similarly have funded strategic partners programmes, enabling CSOs to input into the development of policy and provide representative voice.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department's document on the compact, what progress his Department has made on commitment 1.3 to ensure that the Government collectively, through the Cabinet Office, recognises the need to resource national and local support and development organisations in order to assist CSOs with their capacity and capability to deliver positive outcomes; how much funding has been allocated to achieve this aim; and if he will make a statement. [42790]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office will support voluntary and community organisations through the modernisation of sector development infrastructure so that it can provide appropriate support and advice for frontline organisations, increasing their effectiveness and helping them to achieve greater impact.
The Cabinet Office is also supporting the development of an effective social investment market, including the creation of the big society bank, to unlock new finance for social enterprises, charities and voluntary organisations.
We are working with Big Lottery Fund on arrangements for making early investments with dormant accounts funds from mid-2011. We will provide more details about this in April 2011.
Employment: Glasgow
Mr Bain: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate has been made of the number of couple households of one full-time worker and two children in (a) Glasgow North East constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK. [43682]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate has been made of the number of couple households of one full-time worker and two children in (a) Glasgow North East constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK. (43682).
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The figures requested come from the Labour Force Survey household datasets, the most recent period available covers April to June 2010. Due to the specific nature of your request it is not possible to provide reliable estimates for Glasgow North East constituency or Glasgow local authority because of small sample sizes. However, the attached table shows estimates for Scotland and the UK.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty as different samples give different results. These estimates are such that there is 95 per cent certainty that from all samples possible they will lie within the lower and upper bounds.
| Couple households (1) containing one person in full-time employment (2) and two children (3) in Scotland and the UK, April to June 2010 | |||
| Thousand | |||
|
|
Estimate | Lower bound (4) | Upper bound (4) |
| (1) Households including at least one person aged 16-64. (2) Dependent children aged 0-18. (3) There are a small number of households where the full-time worker is a non-dependent child over the age of 16. (4) 95% confidence interval which means that from all samples possible there would be 95% certainty that the true estimate would lie within the lower and upper bounds. Source: LFS household dataset | |||
Financial Services: Halifax
Mrs Riordan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate has been made of the proportion of people in Halifax employed in the banking and finance sector. [44551]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the proportion of people in Halifax employed in the banking and finance sector. (44551)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
The proportion of people employed in the banking and finance sector for the 12 month period ending in June 2010 in Halifax was 9.4%.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
Government Departments
Claire Perry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what targets he has set in respect of the outsourcing of functions by Government Departments, non-departmental public bodies and agencies in each year of the spending review period; and what mechanism he will use to measure performance against these targets. [41836]
Mr Maude: The Government support greater diversity of provision in public services and want to see non-state providers from the private, independent and voluntary and community sectors play a bigger part in service provision. The Government believe that the talents and imaginations of providers in these sectors can stimulate innovation and improve results.
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Currently the Government are looking at how best to achieve greater diversity of provision in developing their Open Public Service White Paper. They will set out their approaches to specific challenges when that Paper is published later this year.
Mass Media
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has made an assessment of the potential effects of (a) reading newspapers and (b) watching television news on levels of civic engagement and participation. [40629]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office has not made an assessment of the potential effects of newspapers or watching television on levels of civic engagement. In December 2010 the Government published the giving Green Paper, which sought to start a debate on how we can encourage more people to give their time. This consultation will close on 9 March and the Government will publish a White Paper on giving after this.
New Businesses: Blackpool
Paul Maynard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new businesses were started in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009 and (d) 2010. [43157]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many new businesses were started in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009 and (d) 2010 (43157).
Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from 2002 onwards in the ONS release on Business Demography at
www.statistics.gov.uk
The table below contains the latest statistics available, which give the number of enterprise births for the ward areas that cover the new constituency of Blackpool North and Cleveleys for 2007, 2008 and 2009. Information relating to 2010 will be available following release of the latest Business Demography publication in November 2011.
| Enterprise births in Blackpool and Cleveleys 2007-09 | |
| Blackpool North and Cleveleys | Number |
New Businesses: Dartford
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new businesses were started in Dartford constituency in each of the last five years. [44106]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
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Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many new businesses were started in Dartford constituency in each of the last five years. [44106]
Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from the ONS release on Business Demography at:
www.statistics.gov.uk
The table below gives the number of enterprise births for the constituency of Dartford in the last five years that data are available for.
| Enterprise births in Dartford constituency 2005-09 | |
|
|
Number |
Office for Civil Society
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the (a) budget and (b) staffing levels are of the Office for Civil Society in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) each of the next four years. [42552]
Mr Hurd: Expenditure by the Office for Civil Society in 2010-11 is reported in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts. Note 11 of the accounts breaks down this expenditure by programme.
The overall budget for the Office for Civil Society from 2011-12 to 2014-15 is £470 million. Expenditure over the next four years will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.
Staffing levels for each unit of the Cabinet Office are published on a regular basis on the Cabinet Office website:
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Population: Yemen
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate has been made of the size of the Yemeni population in the UK. [44258]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to respond to your question asking what recent estimate has been made of the size of the Yemeni population in the UK (44258).
The Office for National Statistics collects data on country of birth and nationality on the Annual Population Survey (APS) which is a household survey of residents of the UK. The latest estimates available are for the 12 month period July 2009 to June 2010. These data show there are 15,000 Yemeni nationals and 20,000 Yemeni born residents in the UK. The margins of error surrounding these estimates are +/- 5,000 and +/- 6,000 respectively.
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Television: Voluntary Work
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the average amount of time a UK citizen spent (a) watching television and (b) volunteering in each year for which figures are available. [41822]
Mr Hurd: The giving Green Paper published in December 2010 included assessments from secondary sources on the amount of time spent on volunteering and watching television each week. Data from the 2005 Time Use survey suggest that the average person spends nearly 17 hours watching television each week. Data from the 2008-09 Citizenship Survey, conducted by the Department for Communities and Local Government, suggest that people in England spend an average of one hour a week on voluntary work.
Third Sector
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times the Informal Ministerial Group on the Big Society and Localism has met; who attended each meeting; how long each meeting lasted; and what the outcomes were. [42556]
Mr Hurd: The group has met twice on 21 July 2010 and 28 October 2010.
The 21 July meeting lasted for 1 hour and the attendees were:
Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Francis Maude MP (Chair)
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Eric Pickles MP
Minister of State for Decentralisation, CLG, the right hon. Greg Clark MP
Minister for Civil Society, Cabinet Office, Nick Hurd MP
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Justine Greening MP
Minister of State for Disabled People, DWP, Maria Miller MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office, Crispin Blunt MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, MOD (Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Andrew Robathan MP
Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs, BIS, Edward Davey MP
Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, DECC, Greg Barker MP
Minister of State for Care Services, DH, Paul Burstow MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Fisheries, DEFRA, Richard Benyon MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, DFT, Norman Baker, MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Wales Office, David Jones MP
Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Office, Hugo Swire MP
Government Adviser on Big Society, Lord Wei
Director General, Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office, Rolande Anderson
The 28 October meeting lasted for 1.5 hours and the attendees were:
Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Francis Maude MP (Chair)
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Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Eric Pickles MP
Minister of State for Decentralisation, CLG, the right hon. Greg Clark MP
Minister for Civil Society, Cabinet Office, Nick Hurd MP
Minister of State for Care Services, DH, Paul Burstow MP
Minister of State for Children and Families, DFE, Sarah Teather MP
Minister for Tourism and Heritage, DCMS, John Penrose MP
Minister of State, DECC, Charles Hendry MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Fisheries, DEFRA, Richard Benyon MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, MoJ, Crispin Blunt MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Equalities and Criminal Information, GEO, Lynne Featherstone MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, DFID, Stephen O’Brien MP
Government Adviser on Big Society, Lord Wei
Lord Victor Adebowale, CEO, Turning Point (LIS item only)
Liz Meek, Director, Government Office for the North West (LIS item only)
Commodore Bob Mansergh, MOD
Director General, Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office, Rolande Anderson
Jane Bateman, BIS
The outcomes of these meetings have been to share ideas and support progress on cross cutting-issues such as the role of the voluntary sector in service delivery, the progress of the big society in vanguard areas, and the compact between the voluntary sector and the state.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what papers on (a) civic society, (b) the big society and (c) related issues his Department has issued since his appointment. [44302]
Mr Hurd: All papers published are within the public domain and can be accessed through the Cabinet Office web pages at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/topic/165
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made on refreshing and renewing the commitments in the compact document. [44303]
Mr Hurd: The coalition Government and Compact Voice launched the renewed compact in December last year. At present, there are no further plans to refresh this agreement. However, as policy development and legislation progresses, the compact will be monitored to ensure it is up to date and meaningful.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what resource his Department has allocated to support services provided to people specifically protected by legislation and other under-represented and disadvantaged groups under section 5.1 of the compact document in the latest period for which figures are available; [44317]
(2) what progress his Department has made towards establishing an equal and fair society as set out in the compact between the Government and civil society organisations. [44455]
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Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office has not allocated any specific resource for supporting services provided to people specifically protected by legislation and other under-represented and disadvantaged groups. However, the Office for Civil Society works closely with the Government Equalities Office who are also represented on the Informal Ministerial Group on the Big Society and Localism.
Assessing impact and accessibility to groups working with people specifically protected by legislation is considered at the design stage of all Office for Civil Society policy and programmes to advance equality and ensure a voice for under-represented groups.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which organisations his Department consulted in developing its policy on future funding to voluntary organisations in accordance with paragraph 2.4 of the compact between Government and civil society organisations; what feedback his Department has given to the consultees in accordance with paragraph 2.5 of the compact; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that policy on local efforts to inspire and encourage social action and to empower communities in accordance with paragraph 2.2 of the compact. [44446]
Mr Hurd: In July last year, civil society organisations were invited to contribute ideas on how savings could best be made as part of the sector challenge announced by the Minister for Civil Society. In November, 20 sector organisations were invited to a summit at Number 11 on the back of this exercise to discuss input into policy development.
The strategy for building a stronger civil society was published in October last year. This strategy set out key objectives including getting more resources into the sector through initiatives such as big society bank.
A number of consultations that have an impact on the future funding landscape for the sector, have been published including: “Supporting a Stronger Civil Society; Modernising Commissioning; a Giving green paper”, as well as “Growing the Social Investment Market—a vision and strategy”. Responses to these consultations are still being considered.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what progress his Department has made towards establishing clear arrangements for managing changes to programmes and services as set out in the compact between the Government and civil society organisations; [44456]
(2) what progress his Department has made towards establishing responsive and high-quality programmes and services as set out in the compact between the Government and civil society organisations; [44457]
(3) what progress his Department has made towards establishing effective and transparent design and development of policies, programmes and public services as set out in the compact between the Government and civil society organisations. [44458]
Mr Hurd: The renewed compact between the coalition Government and civil society organisations sets out shared principles and commitments for mutually beneficial partnership working. The outcomes in the compact are joint outcomes that the coalition government will work in partnership with civil society organisations to achieve.
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Beyond this, the compact sets a framework for what is expected of Government Departments, but it does not prescribe how individual Departments should be achieving the objectives. No one size fits all and Departments will work with civil society organisations to achieve their strategic objectives in a way that is consistent with the compact.
The compact is not a bureaucratic or regulatory device that is monitored. However, for the first time, an accountability framework has been published alongside the renewed compact and this can be found on the Cabinet Office website. This includes an inquiry into the implementation of the compact by the National Audit Office. This report will be presented to Parliament.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department has made towards establishing a strong, diverse and independent civil society as set out in the compact between the Government and civil society organisations. [44459]
Mr Hurd: The vision of this coalition Government is for civil society organisations to be independent, resilient and more influential in shaping a stronger sense of society and improving people’s lives.
A consultation on supporting a stronger civil society ended in January this year and responses are currently being considered. Through the modernisation of sector development infrastructure, appropriate support and advice for frontline organisations can be provided, increasing their effectiveness and helping them to achieve greater impact. Through “Growing the Social Investment Market—a vision and strategy”, published in February 2011, new finance for social enterprises, charities and voluntary organisations is being unlocked for greater independence and sustainability.
Transition Fund
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to his Department’s press release of 15 February 2011, on the Transition Fund, what the evidential basis is for the statement that 75 per cent. of charities receive no funding from the state. [43525]
Mr Hurd: The evidential basis of the statement that 75% of charities receive no funding from the state is the NCVO Civil Society Almanac 2010, which estimates that 78% of general charities do not receive any income from statutory sources.
Voluntary Organisations
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made on the (a) membership and (b) establishment of the philanthropy ambassador programme in relation to the big society initiative. [41813]
Mr Hurd: We are consulting on a possible philanthropy ambassadors programme as part of the Green Paper process. More information will be available when we publish the giving White Paper in the spring.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what long-term trends in levels of donations to charitable trusts and foundations his Department has identified; [41821]
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(2) what assessment he has made of the extent of spare capacity within the Government estate that could be used for voluntary and community groups as part of developing the big society initiative; [41825]
(3) what assessment he has made of the role of (a) social and (b) traditional media in promoting (i) giving and (ii) volunteering as part of his Department's work in developing the big society initiative; [41832]
(4) what assessment he has made of the potential role of (a) time banking and (b) complementary currencies in promoting the big society; [41880]
(5) what assessment he has made of the role of peer-to-peer lending in developing the big society; and if he will make a statement; [41881]
(6) what information his Department holds on the proportion of charitable giving which was directed to (a) medical research, (b) children and young people, (c) overseas aid, (d) hospitals and hospices, (e) animal welfare, (f) religious organisations, (g) disabled people, (h) homeless people, (i) health, (j) education, (k) environment, (l) sports and (m) arts purposes in the last 10 years. [41980]
Mr Hurd: The giving Green Paper, published by the Government in December 2010, contains references to, and sets out, the Government's assessment of giving levels. It opened a consultation on how to make giving more accessible using a variety of platforms and tools. This consultation will close on 9 March and the Government will publish a White Paper on giving after this.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) public and (b) private sector workers who (i) donated money to charity and (ii) gave time volunteering in the latest period for which figures are available. [41827]
Mr Hurd: The Government do not collect data on the proportion of public and/or private sectors workers that have donated to charity or given time. The nearest available data are from the 2007 Cabinet Office funded report ‘Helping Out, the national survey of volunteering and charitable giving.’ The report can be found at:
www.ivr.org.uk/evidence-bank/evidence-pages/Helping+Out+-+A+national+survey+of+volunteering +and+charitable+giving
The information is contained in Chapter 9—Employee volunteering.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the median amount given in charitable donations by UK adults was in each of the last 10 years. [41981]
Mr Hurd: The Government do not hold this information.
Voluntary Organisations: Finance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions his Department has had with Compact Voice on the (a) past, (b) current and (c) future levels of Government funding for the voluntary sector. [42787]
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Mr Hurd: The compact outlines undertakings for Government and Civil Society organisations on partnership working—effective and transparent development and management of policy, programmes and funding. Details of Government spending on the voluntary and community sector as a whole is a matter for individual departments and not subject to agreement with Compact Voice.
However, Cabinet Office officials have met with Compact Voice to discuss their funding settlement over the next spending review period 2011-2015 which includes a significant increase in funding on the previous spending review period.
Furthermore, by making details of public spending more transparent, in particular spending on the voluntary and community sector, the coalition Government are making it easier for citizens and community organisations to challenge and hold Government to account.
Voluntary Organisations: Training
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department has taken together with Compact Voice to provide training and advice for the voluntary sector on using the compact. [42554]
Mr Hurd: The Office for Civil Society (OCS), based within the Cabinet Office, represents the Government in the compact agreement. Civil society organisations are represented by Compact Voice. OCS funds Compact Voice to promote, educate and increase awareness and use of the compact within the sector.
Since the launch of the renewed compact in December 2010, Compact Voice has emailed the document to over 44,000 charities and sector organisations. They have engagement officers who are responsible for providing training and advice on the compact to the sector. They support key local compact champions in raising awareness of the compact and produce a number of briefings for the sector. In addition, they are hosting three conferences in March 2011, bringing together local and national players to explore better partnership working between government and civil society organisations.
Voluntary Work
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what factors his Department has identified as barriers to people giving more time to volunteering; [41882]
(2) what information his Department holds on participation rates in volunteering in the area of (a) education, (b) religion, (c) sports and exercise, (d) health and disabilities, (e) children and young people, (f) animal welfare, (g) local community neighbourhood or citizen groups, (h) hobbies, recreation and social groups, (i) overseas aid disaster relief, (j) elderly people, (k) conservation and environment, (l) arts and museums and (m) social welfare in the last 10 years. [41979]
Mr Hurd: The Government’s Citizenship Survey provides data on barriers to formal volunteering and data on the levels of volunteering by type of organisation helped.
www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/researchandstatistics/statistics/subject/cohesionstatistics
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Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many UK citizens have received big society awards to date. [41889]
Mr Hurd: The big society awards were set up by the Prime Minister in November 2010. The aim is to acknowledge individuals and organisations across the UK that demonstrate the big society in their work or activities. In so doing, the aim is also to galvanise others to follow.
11 awards have now been made to date—details of these awards can all be found on the No. 10 website at:
www.number10.gov.uk/bigsocietyawards
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of long-term trends in the motivating factors for people volunteering in (a) formal and (b) informal settings. [42119]
Mr Hurd: The information being sought is in the public domain and can be found in the Government’s Citizenship Survey. The Citizenship Survey provides historical data on trends in formal and informal volunteering. The survey includes data on motivations for formal volunteering, but not for informal volunteering.
www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/researchandstatistics/statistics/subject/cohesionstatistics
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
BBC World Service: Finance
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the likely savings to accrue from changes to the Grant-in-Aid funding to the BBC World Service resulting in the closure of the (a) Albanian, (b) Macedonian, (c) Portuguese for Africa, (d) Serbian and (e) English for the Caribbean services. [41672]
Mr Jeremy Browne: According to the figures provided by the British Broadcasting Corporation World Service, the costs of the five language services are:
|
|
£ |
The savings made from the closure of these services will contribute to the overall savings the Word Service will make under the terms of the spending review.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the likely savings to accrue from the BBC World Service ceasing short wave radio distribution (a) in Hindi, (b) in Indonesian, (c) in Kyrgyz, (d) in Nepali, (e) in Swahili and (f) to the Great Lakes. [41675]
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Mr Jeremy Browne: These decisions were made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service as part of their managerial independence, as set out in the Broadcasting Agreement between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the BBC World Service. Therefore, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold the figures for the likely savings from the ceasing of these short-wave services.
Christchurch: Earthquake
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response his Department made to the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch; and what assistance it has given to the Government of New Zealand since the event. [43822]
Mr Jeremy Browne: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to New Zealand Foreign Minister McCully on 22 February 2011 to convey his sincere condolences for all those who have lost their lives, and for the terrible damage caused by the earthquake.
Staff from our High Commission in Wellington, led by our High Commissioner, deployed to Christchurch within 12 hours of the earthquake to liaise with the New Zealand authorities and provide consular assistance to British nationals. In response to a request from the New Zealand Government, the UK immediately sent a fully self sufficient search and rescue team of 63 experts drawn from the British emergency fire and rescue services.
In addition, the New Zealand Government have accepted the UK offer of support in the process of Disaster Victim Identification. A ten man team specially tailored to support the New Zealand authorities, has flown out and will provide essential support and expertise in helping to identify any potential British victims and bolster the New Zealand authorities in their wider identification process.
Departmental Manpower
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) actual and (b) full-time equivalent staff have left his Department’s employ since May 2010. [42301]
Alistair Burt: Approximately 170 UK-based employees have left the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) since May 2010. This excludes staff coming to the FCO on loan from other Government Departments and returning to their parent Departments at the end of these loans.
We do not hold data centrally on the number of locally engaged staff leaving and this could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people were employed in his Department on (a) 1 January 2005 and (b) 1 January 2011. [42420]
Alistair Burt: The number of staff in 2005 was roughly the same as now: approximately 5,000 UK-based employees and approximately 10,000 locally engaged staff. For operational and security reasons we cannot provide a more detailed breakdown.
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Departmental Pay
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that his published departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum in his Department and in the non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which he is responsible [43536]
Alistair Burt: The level of salary disclosure in organisational structure charts already helps enable the public to hold departments to account for their use of public funds. There are no current plans to extend the scope of salary disclosure when structure charts are updated.
Hezbollah
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his Syrian counterpart on weapons transferred to Hezbollah. [43170]
Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, during his visit to Damascus in January 2011, raised the issue of Hezbollah's weapons with both President Assad and Foreign Minister Muallem, where he highlighted the dangers to stability in the region in allowing weapons smuggling to Hizballah.
We continue to press for the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR), most notably UNSCR 1701, which calls upon Hezbollah to disarm, and our ambassador in Damascus regularly raises the issue of Hezbollah's weapons with the Syrian Government.
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the quantity of weapons smuggled from Iran to (a) Hezbollah and (b) Hamas since 2006. [43194]
Alistair Burt: We continue to monitor closely Iranian support to Hezbollah and Hamas, including supply of weapons. We have consistently stressed the negative impact this has on stability in the Middle East and condemn it in all its forms.
We assess that since the 2006 conflict with Israel, Hezbollah has now been rearmed to the extent that its capabilities exceed those in 2006. We assess that Iran is the most significant provider of weapons, training and funding to Hezbollah.
We assess that Hamas has rebuilt at least some of the capabilities it lost in the 2008-09 Gaza conflict. Since then, Hamas may have acquired from Iran both a number of longer range rockets with the potential to reach Tel Aviv and some advanced anti-tank guided weapons. We assess that Iran is a significant provider of weapons and funds to the group.
We regularly raise this issue with senior political leaders in the region. Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised arms transfers to Hezbollah with President Assad when he visited Syria on 27 January 2011.
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We will continue to push for full implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions which call for the disarmament of these armed groups and prohibit weapons transfers and support the UN sanctions committees pursuing and investigating sanctions violations.
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on Hezbollah’s military capability in southern Lebanon. [43197]
Alistair Burt: We remain concerned by reports of weapons transfers to Hezbollah, including Hezbollah’s own claims that it possesses significant military capabilities.
The 31 January 2011 EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted Conclusions recalling its commitment to the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, which call for the disarmament of Hezbollah and other militia.
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to seek the disarmament of Hezbollah in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701. [43199]
Alistair Burt: We continue to press for the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR), most notably UNSCR 1701, which calls upon Hezbollah to disarm.
During his visit to Damascus in January the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons with both President Assad and Foreign Minister Muallem, where he highlighted the dangers to stability in the region in allowing weapons smuggling to Hezbollah.
The Prime Minister discussed UNSCR 1701 with Prime Minister Hariri during his visit to the UK in November 2010, underlining the need for Hezbollah to disarm to ensure the stability of Lebanon.
Our embassies in Damascus and Beirut continue to press these points.
Iran
Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department have met officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2009. [43279]
Alistair Burt: We have had various contacts with Iran since 2009 in London, Tehran and in the course of international business, including negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. Principal contacts at official level have been through our ambassador and his staff at our embassy in Tehran and between Foreign and Commonwealth Office senior officials and the Iranian ambassador and chargé d’affaires in London. At ministerial level, successive Foreign Secretaries and Ministers of State for the Middle East have met with Iranian Ministers and senior officials. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), met former Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, at the UN General Assembly in September 2010.
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Iran: Nuclear Power
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) his Israeli counterpart and (b) his EU counterparts on (i) Iran's nuclear capabilities and (ii) the effectiveness of existing sanctions on Iran. [43195]
Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), regularly discusses Iran's nuclear programme and the effectiveness of sanctions against Iran with his Israeli and EU counterparts. Officials also have regular discussions with Israeli and EU counterparts on Iran's armed forces.
These discussions are informed by the regular reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which continue to highlight continued Iranian non-compliance with its obligations. International sanctions, including those adopted by the UN and the EU, show the strength of international concern about Iran's nuclear programme. It is clear that these sanctions are having an impact. Iran is finding it increasingly difficult to acquire goods of proliferation concern and is also finding it harder to access international finance. But, following Iranian behaviour at the latest round of EU3+3 talks in Istanbul, it is also clear that the pressure on Iran needs to increase.
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his (a) Israeli, (b) Egyptian, (c) Jordanian and (d) Saudi Arabian counterpart on the Iranian Government's refusal to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect non-declared nuclear facilities. [43399]
Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had a number of conversations with his Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian and Saudi counterparts—including during his recent visit to the region—about Iran's continued non-compliance with its obligations towards the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As numerous reports from the IAEA Director General have shown, Iran is failing to co-operate fully with the Agency on a range of issues, including denying full access to sites and personnel related to the nuclear programme.
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the Iranian Government's refusal to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect non-declared nuclear facilities. [43400]
Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had a number of conversations with his EU counterparts about Iran's continued non-compliance with its obligations towards the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As numerous reports from the IAEA Director General have shown, Iran is failing to co-operate fully with the IAEA on a range of issues, including denying full access to sites and personnel related to the nuclear programme. Consequently, the UK agreed with EU colleagues to implement a range of further sanctions against Iran adopted following UN Security Council Resolution 1929.
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David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for UK policy on Iran of the recent statement by the Iranian President that the country's right to nuclear capabilities is non-negotiable. [43401]
Alistair Burt: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has said, we do not challenge Iran's right to a peaceful nuclear programme. However with this right comes responsibilities. Successive reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) highlight the areas where Iran continues to refuse to co-operate with the UN, the IAEA or comply with its safeguards obligations. Alongside our international partners, we remain committed to seeking a diplomatic solution to this issue. However, until Iran chooses to engage seriously and take steps to resolve the concerns of the international community, the pressure on it will only increase.
Iran: Sanctions
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) his Israeli counterpart and (b) his EU counterparts on (i) Iran's conventional military capabilities and (ii) the effectiveness of the sanctions regime against Iran. [43398]
Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary regularly discusses Iran's nuclear programme and the effectiveness of sanctions against Iran with his Israeli and EU counterparts. Our officials also have regular discussions with Israeli and EU counterparts on Iran's armed forces.
These discussions are informed by the regular reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which continue to highlight continued Iranian non-compliance with its obligations. International sanctions, including those adopted by the UN and the EU, show the strength of international concern about Iran's nuclear programme. It is clear that these sanctions are having an impact. Iran is finding it increasingly difficult to acquire goods of proliferation concern and is also finding it harder to access international finance. But, following Iranian behaviour at the latest round of EU3+3 talks in Istanbul, it is also clear that the pressure on Iran needs to increase.
Libya: British Nationals Abroad
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the number of British citizens remaining in Libya. [44141]
Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 3 March 2011, Official Report, columns 35-36WS, on Libya: Consular Response in which I updated the House on the efforts the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made to help British nationals depart Libya.
Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many aircraft his Department has chartered for the purposes of evacuating UK nationals from Tripoli since 15 February 2011. [44431]
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Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 3 March 2011, Official Report, column 35-36WS on Libya: Consular Response in which I updated the House on the efforts the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made to help British nationals depart Libya.
Libya: Politics and Government
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the political situation in Libya; and if he will make a statement. [44143]
Alistair Burt: As the Prime Minister said in the House on 28 February 2011, Official Report, columns 23-26, Britain has taken on a leading role in co-ordinating international pressure to isolate the Qadhafi regime and ensure that anyone responsible for abuses in Libya will be held to account. On 24 February 2011, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), spoke to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss measures such as the now agreed UN Security Resolution which condemned Colonel Qadhafi’s actions and demanded an immediate end to the violence and killing of protestors. The Secretary of State met Secretary of State Clinton at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 28 February 2011, during which both the Secretary of State and Secretary Clinton called for Libya’s suspension from the Council.
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to prevent the use of foreign mercenaries against Libyan civilians. [44144]
Alistair Burt: As the Prime Minister said in his statement to the House on 28 February 2011, Official Report, columns 23-26, the UK is taking a lead on co-ordinating international pressure to isolate the Qadhafi regime, deprive it of money, shrink its power and ensure that anyone responsible for abuses in Libya will be held to account. For example, the UK instigated a strong UN Security Resolution which was passed unanimously on 26 February and called on the Libyan Government to meet its responsibility to protect its population and imposed a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo. On 28 February, the EU agreed a Council decision imposing a travel ban and asset freeze on the Libyan regime which came into force on 3 March.
We will continue to work with the international community to put pressure on Colonel Qadhafi to stop the violence and to step down. As the Prime Minister has said we should also prepare for all eventualities, particularly if Colonel Qadhafi strikes out against the Libyan people. We are therefore doing contingency planning and preparation so that we are ready to respond very quickly to the situation on the ground as required.
Middle East: Peace Negotiations
David Cairns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answers of 10 February 2011, Official Report, columns 434-5W, on the Middle East: peace negotiations, what assessment
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he has made of the progress made by
(a)
Lebanon,
(b)
Tunisia,
(c)
Morocco and
(d)
Algeria in advancing (i) regional cooperation and (ii) their relations with Israel. [43394]
Alistair Burt: The European External Action Service and European Commission publish annual European Neighbourhood Policy reports covering all partner countries, including Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. While we do not have a fixed date for publication in 2011, last year's reports were published in May 2010.
The latest assessments by country are at:
http://eeas.europa.eu/countries/index_en.htm
Until annual European Neighbourhood Policy report is published we are unable to make an assessment on the progress made.
North Africa: Foreign Relations
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the state of the UK’s relations with countries in North Africa. [42814]
Alistair Burt [holding answer 28 February 2011]:The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has followed recent events in North Africa very closely. Relations between the UK and countries in North Africa need to be examined again in the light of these events. The Government believe that the long-term stability of the region is in the UK’s national interest.
Reform is a home-grown process and leadership must come from within countries. We cannot and should not dictate who is in power in the region. However, as the Prime Minister said in his statement on 28 February 2011, Official Report, columns 23-26, we must not remain silent in our belief that freedom and the rule of law are what best guarantee human progress and economic success. We can play a positive role in supporting countries taking forward economic, social and political reforms which can meet the legitimate needs and aspirations of North Africa’s people, and helping to put in place the building blocks for more open societies. The Prime Minister also made clear that we need to link our development assistance to real progress in promoting more open societies.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date the first follow-up meeting of the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council will take place; and what the Government's objectives are for this meeting. [43350]
Alistair Burt:
France announced last year that it would host the next meeting of the five nuclear weapon states as a follow-up to the P5 conference on confidence building measures towards nuclear disarmament hosted by the UK in September 2009. The Paris Conference will take place in summer 2011; the date for the meeting has not yet been announced. The Government are committed to building on the progress made in building
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confidence between the five nuclear weapon states at the 2009 London Conference, and look forward to further engaging with our P5 partners in implementing the forward-looking Action Plan on disarmament agreed at the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May 2010.
Syria: Human Rights
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to his Syrian counterpart on Syria's human rights record. [43171]
Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised Syria's human rights record with both President Assad and Foreign Minister Muallem during his visit to Damascus in January 2011.
We also continue to raise human rights issues at every available opportunity, at both ministerial and official level, with the Syrian authorities as demonstrated by my recent public statement on the imprisonment of the 19 year old Syrian blogger, Tal al-Mallouhi. We also look to increase the impact of our statements by working closely with EU partners in securing EU statements on human rights such as recent statements on Tal al-Mallouhi and human rights defender, Muhannad al-Hassani.
Deputy Prime Minister
Departmental Official Residences
Jon Trickett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the official residence at his disposal in the latest period for which figures are available. [43216]
The Deputy Prime Minister: Chevening House is owned and administered by a private trust. Some residual costs are met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Treasury
Aggregates Levy
Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider including high quality granite aggregate as an exempt product in respect of the aggregates levy. [44395]
Justine Greening: The aggregates levy was introduced in 2002 to internalise the environmental costs of aggregate extraction and to encourage the use of recycled aggregate and alternative materials rather than virgin extracted aggregate. All decisions on tax are a matter for the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.
Banks: EU Action
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects negotiations on EU banking liquidity rules under Basel III provisions to be concluded; and if he will make a statement. [44340]
Mr Hoban:
The European Commission has announced that it expects to adopt a proposal to amend the Capital Requirements Directive by early summer 2011 and we expect this to include the introduction of an EU banking liquidity framework. We expect the negotiation to be
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concluded in time to meet the G20 endorsed timeline of implementation into our national laws and regulations starting on 1 January 2013 and being fully phased in by 1 January 2019.
During this transitional period the Basel Committee has agreed that both the liquidity coverage ratio and the net stable funding ratio will be subject to an observation period and will include a review clause to address any unintended consequences. After an observation period beginning in 2011, the liquidity coverage ratio, including any revisions, will be introduced on 1 January 2015. The net stable funding ratio, including any revisions, will move to a minimum standard by 1 January 2018. We expect the European Commission to conduct its own reviews appropriate to this time scale.
Banks: Regulation
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with representatives of the banking sector on the offsetting of losses incurred since autumn 2008 against banks’ tax liabilities. [43067]
Mr Hoban: Treasury Ministers have met with a wide range of interested parties to discuss various aspects of financial sector taxation since the formation of the Government.
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Sir John Vickers was consulted during negotiations on Project Merlin; and whether any correspondence was exchanged between him and HM Treasury. [44339]
Mr Hoban: From the start of the Merlin discussions the Government was clear with all the parties that nothing, including references to a level playing, pre-judges the outcomes of the Independent Commission on Banking. The Independent Commission on Banking was informed of the reference to the Commission in the Government’s response to the agreement undertaken by the banks in Project Merlin.
Business: Government Assistance
Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps he is taking to address the finance gap for small and medium-sized enterprises; and whether the Venture Capital Trusts scheme is included in these plans; [44437]
(2) what his Department’s estimate is of the change to the size of the finance gap facing small and medium-sized enterprises since the start of the economic downturn; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the finance gap on the UK economy. [44438]
Mr Gauke: The Government are committed to ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can access a diverse range of sources of finance, including equity finance, to invest and grow.
We are aware that there continues to be an ‘equity gap’ ranging up to £2 million for SMEs seeking early-stage finance and up to £10 million for those seeking growth capital. This financing gap has deepened over the past two years, with early-stage investment, in particular, decreasing by 32% in 2009.
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Improving the supply of growth capital would allow funds to be released for capital investment as well as for investment in IP, software and skills.
To address this, we announced in the “Financing Business Growth” paper last November, an additional £200 million of funding for the Enterprise Capital Funds programme for equity finance of up to £2 million to small innovative companies with high growth potential. We have also worked with the UK banks to set up a £2.5 billion bank-led Business Growth Fund for growth capital between £2 million and £10 million for established businesses.
In addition, the Government have in place two tax schemes to incentivise equity investment into small companies, namely the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) scheme. Since their introduction, the schemes have incentivised an estimated £11 billion of investment in over 17,000 companies.
Children: Day Care
Ms Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the monetary value of funds provided for assistance with child care costs through the tax credit system in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [44399]
Mr Gauke: The cost to the public purse of child care provision provided through the child care element of working tax credits is around £1.75 billion in 2009-10. For 2010-11 the figure is also around £1.75 billion.
Departmental Pay
Caroline Flint: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that his published departmental organisational chart includes the names and responsibilities of all staff paid over £58,200 per annum in his Department and in the non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which he is responsible. [43534]
Justine Greening: The level of salary disclosure in organisational structure charts for HM Treasury and its agencies already helps enable the public to hold Departments to account for their use of public funds. There are no current plans to extend the scope of salary disclosure when structure charts are updated.
Departmental Security
Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons persons not employed by Government Departments or agencies are issued with passes entitling them to enter his Department's premises. [43208]
Justine Greening: It is sometimes necessary for a Government Department to make use of the knowledge or skills of external specialists or contractors. These specialists or contractors may have to spend considerable amounts of time at government premises such that continual escorting and supervision becomes impractical. In such circumstances, consideration may be given to building passes being issued to them, subject to their having an appropriate level of security clearance.
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Devolution: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much end year flexibility remained unspent by the Scottish Government in the latest period for which figures are available. [43492]
Danny Alexander: HM Treasury published data for all UK Government Departments including the devolved Administrations in the 2009/10 Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 7911).
Details of EYF draw downs were included in written ministerial statements made at times during supplementary estimate rounds. Information on Scottish Executive EYF draw-down for 2010-11 was detailed in a written ministerial statement made on 14 February 2011, Official Report, columns 63-64WS.
Following the drawdown of EYF in 2010/11 spring supplementary estimate, SE have a balance of undrawn EYF of £26,214,000 resource cash and £8,000,000 resource depreciation.
Hedge Funds
John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Exchequer has put to hedge funds in the latest period for which figures are available; to how many hedge funds it makes payments; and how much it received from hedge funds in each year since the first such payment was made. [43203]
Mr Hoban: The Treasury operates four Exchequer Funds: the Consolidated Fund, National Loans Fund, the Contingencies Fund and the Exchange Equalisation Account. The Debt Management Office operate a further Exchequer Fund—the Debt Management Account. These Funds do not and have not transacted with any hedge funds.
Income Tax: Scotland
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the preparedness of HM Revenue and Customs to implement the proposed Scottish rate of income tax. [43065]
Mr Gauke: HMRC is confident that it can deliver a Scottish rate of income tax. The facility to do this is already largely built into employers and HMRC’s IT systems for the Scottish Variable Rate. The Scottish rate of income tax is planned to take effect from 2016-17 which gives five years for HMRC to discuss the detailed implementation with the representative bodies, and complete the design work and the remaining development.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with representatives of business groups in Scotland on the operation of the proposed Scottish rate of income tax. [43066]
Mr Gauke: The Secretary of State for Scotland and I jointly chair a High Level Group on the implementation of the Scotland Bill. Membership includes representatives from CBI Scotland, the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, and the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
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The group also brings in expertise from bodies such as Chartered Institute of Taxation, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland, the Law Society Scotland and the payroll profession. The High Level Group has met three times since July 2010.
Revenue and Customs: Advisory Services
Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanism he has put in place to ensure that staff who advise the public on child tax credits are in possession of regularly updated information on changes to the administration of such credits. [43151]
Mr Gauke: Advisers working on the Tax Credits Helpline have access to on-line support and advice tools to help them in answering customers' questions. This is kept up to date and advisers are informed when changes are made to the tax credit system or when this guidance is amended.
Revenue and Customs: Correspondence
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when HM Revenue and Customs plans to reply to the letters from John Brace, a constituent of the hon. Member for Birkenhead. [44147]
Mr Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs replied to Mr Brace on 16 November 2010 and on the 11 January 2011. A further response was sent to the right hon. Member about this constituent, on 25 February 2011.
Royal Bank of Scotland
Mr Darling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the Financial Services Authority to publish its report on the conduct of Royal Bank of Scotland prior to its failure in October 2008. [42558]
Mr Hoban
[holding answer 28 February 2011]: In his letter to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee of 15 December 2010, Lord Turner, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), proposed producing a publishable report on lessons to be learned both from the decisions made by the Board and Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and from any failings of the supervisory approach in place at that time. In order to publish such a report, the FSA consider they would need permission from RBS and other individuals to use
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confidential information provided by them in the course of the supervisory investigations now concluded, as well as those to whom the information relates.
Lord Turner suggested delivering the report to the Government and the Treasury Select Committee by the end of March. The Government welcome this proposal and look forward to the FSA’s publication in the spring.
Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue to the Exchequer from (a) tax and (b) national insurance contributions attributable to the solar photovoltaic industry since the date of implementation of the feed-in tariff scheme. [43348]
Mr Gauke: The information required to answer this question is not available.
Taxation
Mr Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the proportion of revenue raised from (a) direct, (b) indirect and (c) all taxation upon (i) non-retired and (ii) retired households in each income decile in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [43084]
Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his estimate is of the proportion of revenue raised from (a) direct, (b) indirect and (c) all taxes for (i) non-retired and (ii) retired households in each income decile in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (43084).
The ONS does not publish data on the proportion of revenue raised from taxes by income decile but does estimate the average amount of direct and indirect taxes paid per household, per year. These estimates, for both retired and non-retired households, are based on data from the Living Costs and Food Survey and are reported in the ONS article “The effects of taxes and benefits on household income”. The latest data for 2008/09 are in the attached table.
| Table 1: Average direct (1) and indirect (2) taxes by decile groups of non-retired and retired (3) households, 2008-09, United Kingdom | |||||||||||
| Average per household (£ per year) | |||||||||||
| Decile groups ranked by equivalised disposable income (4) | |||||||||||
|
|
Bottom | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | Top | All households |
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| (1) Includes income tax less tax credits, employees’ National Insurance contributions, council tax and Northern Ireland rates less council tax benefit/rates rebates. (2) Includes duties on alcoholic drinks, tobacco, petrol, oil, betting; VAT; customs (import) duties; motor vehicle duties; air passenger duties; insurance premium tax; driving licenses; television licenses; stamp duties; Camelot—payments to National Lottery Distribution Fund, and estimated Intermediate taxes. (3) Retired households are those where the combined income of retired members amounts to at least half the total gross income of the household, where a retired person is defined as anyone who describes themselves as 'retired' or anyone over minimum national Insurance pension age describing themselves as 'unoccupied' or 'sick or injured but not intending to seek work'. (4) The income decile groups are constructed using disposable household income, adjusted (or “equalised") for household size and composition, as a proxy for standard of living. The decile groups are constructed separately for non-retired and retired households using the McClements equalisation scale. Source: Living Costs and Food survey, Office for National Statistics | |||||||||||