Child Maintenance
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to publish a consultation on the proposed regulations to implement sections 27 and 28 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 on administrative disqualification for holding or obtaining travel authorisation and curfew orders. [44241]
Maria Miller: No date has yet been confirmed, however, I do not expect this to be prior to the introduction of the new statutory child maintenance scheme.
Social Security Benefits: Public Expenditure
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assumptions his Department made in its projections for the number of people claiming benefits over the comprehensive spending review period. [44994]
Chris Grayling: Numbers of people receiving benefits over the comprehensive spending review period, consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's ‘Economic and Fiscal Outlook’, published on 29 November 2010, are given the following table.
Key assumptions underpinning these forecasts are provided in the OBR ‘Economic and Fiscal Outlook’, and the associated OBR ‘Briefing Paper No 1: Forecasting the Public Finances’.
| Forecasts of numbers of people receiving benefits, Great Britain, 2010-11 to 2015-16 | ||||||
| Thousand | ||||||
|
|
2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
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| Note: Figures for Over 75 TV Licences include Northern Ireland. Figures for all other benefits also include recipients who are resident outside the United Kingdom. Source: DWP forecasts underlying the OBR ‘Economic and Fiscal Outlook’ and published at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure | ||||||
Universal Credit
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with what frequency universal credit will be paid to claimants. [44824]
Chris Grayling: Universal credit will offer a substantially better service to our customers, with regular payments that will help them to budget. In line with this and the need for consistency with the real-time earnings approach that we propose, we are considering whether the frequency of payments should be monthly.
We recognise that many people on low incomes will be used to managing with fortnightly payments of benefits and will ensure that, whatever the period of payment we put in place, there will be appropriate budgeting support for claimants. We want people to be able to manage their financial affairs in a manner that best reflects the demands of modern life, whether in or out of work.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to paragraph 59 of his Department's impact assessment on universal credit, how many second earners he expects to reduce the number of hours worked as a consequence of higher participation rates. [45180]
Chris Grayling: We are not able to provide an estimate of the number of second earners who will reduce their hours worked as a consequence of higher participation rates. We are currently considering whether there is a way of robustly estimating these effects.
Overall we expect the number of workless households to fall as a result of improved incentives to work under universal credit.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to paragraph 44 of his Department's impact assessment on universal credit, for how long he plans to provide transitional protection to households whose entitlement will be reduced following the introduction of universal credit. [45182]
Chris Grayling: We have given a commitment that no one will experience a reduction in the amount of benefit they receive as a direct result of the introduction of universal credit.
In most cases, we expect that universal credit will provide a level of support that is the same as, or higher than, the current system. Transitional protection will be awarded if the entitlement is lower and the circumstances have not changed.
Any cash protection awarded will be fixed at the point of claim and will remain in place until claimants' circumstances change or the universal credit entitlement exceeds the protected amount.
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Universal Credit: Public Expenditure
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cumulative savings to his Department's annually managed expenditure which are attributable to policy decisions confirmed in (a) Budget 2010 and (b) the comprehensive spending review and which will be achieved prior to the implementation of universal credit. [45137]
Chris Grayling: The annually managed expenditure savings were set out in the June Budget and the Office of Budget Responsibility's autumn forecast, and will be updated as part of the forthcoming Budget.
Warm Home Discount Scheme
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 26 July 2010, Official Report, column 778W, on energy, when his Department expects to begin data-sharing with energy suppliers as part of the Warm Home discount scheme. [45746]
Steve Webb: We are currently working closely with DECC and energy suppliers to agree the detail of data sharing under the Warm Home discount scheme. We expect to have the necessary regulations in place by summer 2011, subject to the parliamentary process. The first data matching exercise under the scheme is planned for winter 2011-12.
Winter Fuel Payments: British Nationals Abroad
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to apply a means test to winter fuel payments to UK citizens living outside the UK. [46046]
Steve Webb: Winter fuel payments are paid to former UK residents living in the European economic area only if they qualified for a payment before leaving the UK.
European Union law means that some benefits acquired in one member state must be paid to people when they move to another country within the European economic area. The same eligibility rules for winter fuel payments must apply to people who have moved to the EEA as in the UK.
Justice
Animal Welfare: Convictions
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons were convicted of offences related to animal trafficking in each of the last four years. [45415]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants convicted at all courts for offences under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997, England and Wales, 2006 to 2009 (latest available) is given in the following table.
Court proceedings data for 2010 are planned to be published in spring, 2011.
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Bail Hostels
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much was paid by his Department to ClearSprings for the provision of bail beds between 2007 and the termination of the contract; [45817]
(2) whether ClearSprings was required to make any payments to his Department for breach of contract in the period from 2007 to 2010. [45818]
Mr Blunt: ClearSprings completed a full three year contract for the provision of the Bail Accommodation and Support Service from 18 June 2007 to 17 June 2010. The company was paid £18.4 million over the life span of contract.
ClearSprings was issued with a Rectification Notice in November 2009 for failure to comply with the terms of the contract for the Bail Accommodation and Support Service. The company addressed all the issues raised in the notice within prescribed time frames and no payment was required.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many complaints were received by his Department about the conduct of the ClearSprings bail bed contract in the period from 2007 to 2010; [45819]
(2) how many complaints received by his Department about the ClearSprings bail bed contract related to (a) the behaviour of residents and (b) lack of supervision in the period from 2007 to 2010. [45820]
Mr Blunt: I am unable to provide information about the number of complaints about ClearSprings as this could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Ministry of Justice has received a substantial volume of correspondence about the Bail Accommodation and Support Service and it would require checking each item of correspondence separately to determine whether it was a complaint or not.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons who were resident in ClearSprings properties during its contract to supply bail beds to the Ministry of Justice were arrested between 2007 and 2010. [45821]
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Mr Blunt: Information on how many arrests were made of defendants and offenders on home detention curfew while accommodated by ClearSprings cannot be obtained except at disproportionate cost. To answer this question would require us, the police and courts to conduct a manual search of the 5,846 cases that were referred to ClearSprings during the term of the contract.
Civil Proceedings: Legal Costs
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what assessment he has made of the effects on access to justice for lower income groups of his Department's proposed changes to the civil litigation costs regime; [45266]
(2) what research his Department has undertaken on the effects of its proposed civil litigation costs regime on the propensity of individuals to make a legitimate claim for compensation in personal injury cases. [45267]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice has not commissioned any specific research on the effect of the civil litigation proposals on the propensity of individuals to make legitimate claims for compensation in personal injury cases. It is not possible to make detailed estimates in this area, as this will depend, in part, on the individual decisions of claimants, defendants, lawyers and insurers on a case by case basis.
Preliminary impact assessments were published alongside the consultation, ‘Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales—Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's Proposals’, available at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/jackson-review-151110.htm
The consultation closed on 14 February 2011. We are now considering the responses and data received. A final impact assessment will be published alongside the Government response later this spring.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) with reference to paragraph 46 of his Department’s Green Paper on Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales, over what time period the calculations made on the effect of a 10% increase of general damages were based; [45679]
(2) with reference to paragraph 96 of his Department’s Green Paper on Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales, whether the estimate of a 10% uplift in general damages is based exclusively on applying 10% to those damages representing only pain suffering and loss of amenity. [45683]
Mr Djanogly: The increase was proposed by Lord Justice Jackson, as part of his package of reforms. The calculations on the effect of this proposal, by his economist assessor Professor Fenn, were based on data relating to general damages for claims settled between 2006 and 2009. It is intended that the proposed 10% increase would apply to non-pecuniary general damages such as in personal injury claims pain, suffering and loss of amenity.
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Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had on his Department's Green Paper on Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales since the end of the consultation period. [45681]
Mr Djanogly: The Secretary of State for Justice has not held any meetings with external interested parties specifically to discuss the Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales since the end of the consultation period. I met with the Access to Justice Action Group (AJAG) on 17 February, to discuss their response to the consultation.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many responses have been received to the Green Paper consultation on Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales; [45682]
(2) when he expects to respond to the consultation on the Green Paper proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales. [45684]
Mr Djanogly: The consultation Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales—Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson’s Proposals closed on 14 February 2011. Over 800 responses to the consultation were received; this includes responses via the online questionnaire, e-mail and hard copy responses, and 255 campaign e-mails. We are now considering all responses, and will publish the Government response, setting out the way forward, later this spring.
Community Orders
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were sentenced to unpaid work as a condition of a supervision order in England and Wales in 2009-10; how many such sentences involved individual placements; and how many such sentences involved additional conditions. [45964]
Mr Blunt: The number of all unpaid work community order requirements which commenced under probation service supervision in the year 2009 (latest available) is 76,699.
The figures can be found in the published “Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2009”—table 3.9, a copy of which can be found in the Libraries of both Houses and which can be found at the following website:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
Statistics on individual placements sought for 2009-10 are not yet available as recordings for central statistical purposes were only introduced in April 2010.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Crimes of Violence: Victims
Mrs Moon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the merits of informing victims of (a) domestic and (b) other violent attacks
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where the perpetrator has received a custodial sentence of less than one year of the date and location of the perpetrator's release. [45316]
Mr Blunt: Under the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004, victims of certain serious violent and sexual offences, where the offender receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, may elect to receive information about key developments in the offender's sentence through the Victim Contact Scheme operated by probation trusts. Such key information will include where offenders are moved to open conditions, where they are granted a work placement in the community for rehabilitation and the month of release from prison.
Eligible victims are able to make representations about conditions which may be attached to the offender's licence on release and under probation supervision. They can, for example, request that the offender is excluded from a particular area, such as where they (the victims) live.
The scheme is flexible enough to allow probation trusts, in exceptional circumstances, to provide key information to victims who do not meet the statutory criteria. Such circumstances might include, for example, domestic violence cases where the offender was given a sentence of less than 12 months, but where the victim wishes to opt in, even though such an offender would not be subject to licensed supervision.
The statutory scheme provides for the available resources to be directed primarily towards the victims of the most serious violent or sexual offences, where the offender is to be on licensed supervision following release and where victims might make representations about licence conditions.
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However, there are other sources of support and advice for victims where the offender receives a short sentence. The police are notified of all prisoner releases by the National Offender Management Service and are, therefore, in a position to take appropriate action to protect victims who may be at risk and to support those who express concern about their personal safety. This could include notifying victims of an offender's release.
For victims of domestic violence in particular, the police may arrange to manage the case through the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) process. It would be open to the MARAC to put in place measures to protect a victim or potential victim, including providing information about an offender's release.
Departmental Procurement
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many procurement projects with a monetary value greater than (a) £10 million, (b) £50 million and (c) £100 million (i) his Department and (ii) each non-departmental public body and agency for which he is responsible was engaged upon in the latest period for which figures are available; [45571]
(2) which procurement projects engaged upon by (a) his Department and (b) each non-departmental public body and agency for which he is responsible had a designated senior responsible owner in the latest period for which figures are available; and on what date each officer was appointed in each such case. [45572]
Mr Blunt: The number of procurement projects in 2009-10 and 2010-11 to date are:
| Department name | Monetary value greater than: | Number of projects |
The following table is a list of procurement projects where an SRO has been appointed and includes date of appointment (approximate in some cases):
| Department name | Project name | Date SRO appointed |
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Knives: Crime
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many and what proportion of people convicted of encouraging violent behaviour involving the use of a knife under the Knives Act 1997 received (a) a fine and (b) a custodial sentence of (i) less than six months, (ii) between six and 12 months, (iii) between 12 and 18 months and (iv) between 18 and 24 months in (A) Suffolk, (B) Bedfordshire, (C) Cambridgeshire, (D) Essex, (E) Hertfordshire and (F) Norfolk in each year since the relevant provisions of the Act entered into force; [45843]
(2) how many people were found guilty of offences relating to the illegal sale and marketing of knives in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk in each year since 1997. [45844]
Mr Blunt: There are no convictions for offences of encouraging violent behaviour involving the use of a knife or the illegal sale and marketing of knives under sections 1 and 2 of the Knives Act 1997 from data collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice for Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Norfolk police force areas.
Court proceedings data for 2010 will be available in the spring of 2011.
Legal Aid Scheme: Judicial Reviews
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2011, Official Report, column 942W, on legal aid: prisoners, if he will direct the Legal Services Commission to break down expenditure on judicial reviews between practice areas. [45772]
Mr Djanogly: The Legal Services Commission's (LSC) costs for defending judicial reviews in the last financial year (2009-10) were £224,119. This represents the total costs of external legal advice for public law judicial reviews. The LSC does not hold a more detailed breakdown showing individual categories of law in an easily accessible format and therefore such a breakdown could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The costs to the legal aid fund of judicial review certificates in 2009-10, broken down by category of law for closed cases, are shown in the following table.
| Case category | Total (£) (1) |
| (1) ( )As is standard with closed case reporting, the following types of cases have been excluded: Cases where full or part of the cost is paid by the opponent. Cost of these cases would be at market rate and not the legal aid rate. Cases that are discharged or revoked, as they shouldn't have been issued in the first place. Cases with zero bills (where cost is equal to Auto POA or less than £10.) Dormant cases. | |
Legal Aid: Negligence Cases
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how disbursements in clinical negligence cases will be funded when such cases are withdrawn from the scope of legal aid; and if he will make a statement. [45680]
Mr Djanogly: The consultation documents “Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales” and “Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales” were published in November 2010. It is proposed that clinical negligence cases be removed from the scope of legal aid because alternative forms of funding are available in the form of conditional fee agreements (CFAs).
We have consulted on how the proposals should be implemented to ensure that meritorious cases are still able to be brought. The consultations closed on 14 February and we are carefully considering the responses including as to how disbursements should be funded.
Legal Aid: Rochdale
Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) if he will undertake a cost-benefit analysis of his Department's funding for legal aid in Rochdale in the latest period for which figures are available; [45332]
(2) if he will assess the capacity of the voluntary sector to undertake legal aid work following implementation of his Department's proposed reductions in the legal aid budget in Rochdale. [45333]
Mr Djanogly: The consultation in respect of ‘Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales’ closed on 14 February 2011 and the responses to the consultation are currently being considered. The Government's response to consultation is expected to be published in the spring.
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Draft impact assessments and equality impact assessments were published alongside the consultation paper, which also asked specific questions on the impacts identified therein. We are currently considering the responses to these questions and will use these to inform final impact assessments (IA) and equality impact assessments (EIA) which will be published alongside the response to consultation.
The IA and EIA assess the impact of the proposals on the voluntary sector but do not present detail at regional or local levels.
There are no current plans to undertake a cost-benefit analysis or an assessment of the capacity of the voluntary sector in the hon. Member's constituency.
Civil Litigation: Costs
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with (i) insurers and (ii) claimant solicitors and their representative bodies to discuss proposed changes to the civil litigation costs regime since May 2010. [45256]
Mr Djanogly: I met with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on 29 July. During the consultation period for Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales—Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson’s Recommendations, I hosted three roundtable discussions with interested parties. The first, on 2 December 2010 aimed to include parties on all sides of the debate; claimant and defendant solicitors, insurers, after the event (ATE) insurers and other interested parties. I then held meetings with a group of claimant practitioners on 18 January 2011, and defendant practitioners, including insurers and the ABI on 19 January 2011.
The Secretary of State and I have regular meetings with representative bodies, covering a range of issues. The Secretary of State has not held any meetings with insurers or claimant solicitors specifically to discuss the proposed changes to civil litigation funding and costs.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 25 January 2011 with regard to Caroline Woods. [45233]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: I will reply to the right hon. Member shortly. I apologise for the delay.
Offenders: Berkshire
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reoffending rate was for offenders resident in (a) Reading West constituency, (b) Reading and (c) Berkshire in each of the last 10 years. [46596]
Mr Blunt: Reoffending rates are not available by constituency boundaries. Reoffending rates for adult offenders by local authority are available. The following table shows these reoffending rates for the local authorities within Berkshire county, including Reading.
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| Three month re-offending rates for local authorities within Berkshire county, 2008, 2009 | |
| Local authority/re-offending period(calendar year) | Actual rate of reoffending (percentage) |
Comparing changes in the actual rates of reoffending between areas does not ensure a like for like comparison as the mix of offenders being dealt with may vary across areas and over time.
Local adult reoffending rates by probation area or local authority are not available for periods prior to 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008.
Further details on local adult reoffending is available at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/local-adult-reoffending.htm
Offenders: Employment Schemes
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to encourage (a) businesses and (b) local authorities to offer work placements, training and jobs to offenders (i) before and (ii) after their release. [45218]
Mr Blunt: In ‘Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders’, published on 7 December 2010, we set out our intention to engage business to help us make prisons places of work and industry, to help shape and deliver skills training to offenders, and to offer apprenticeships and permanent employment to offenders as part of their rehabilitation.
There are already examples of successful partnerships with business in these areas, which take place both before and after release from prison. We plan to encourage more with the help of senior business leaders who are prepared to champion what they do. There are also many examples of public sector organisations, including local authorities, offering training and employment opportunities to offenders and we will continue to encourage them to do so.
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Personal Injury
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2010, Official Report, column 294W, on personal injury, (1) how many claims brought against his Department and its agencies were (a) settled (i) before proceedings and (ii) after proceedings, (b) lost at trial by his Department and (c) lost at trial by the claimant; [45383]
(2) how much his Department has paid in damages in respect of personal injury claims in each year since 2007-08. [45385]
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Mr Djanogly: The information requested is not held centrally for all the relevant business areas for the years specified. Collating that information would involve manually sifting through all the health and safety files that have been placed in storage which would incur disproportionate cost.
The following table does however provide totals in relation to personal injury claims against the Prison Service and MoJ staff stress related claims. Central records do not distinguish between which ones were settled before proceedings and which ones were settled after proceedings were commenced.
Prison Service: Market Testing
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what involvement the former Director of the National Offender Management Service has had in the market testing process currently undertaken by HM Prison Service; and if he will make a statement. [45263]
Mr Blunt: In his former role as Director General of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Philip Wheatley chaired the NOMS board. The NOMS board delegated responsibility for overseeing, directing and monitoring all competition within NOMS Agency to the Offender Services Competition Board (known as the Commissioning and Competitions Board from March 2010). Mr Wheatley did not deal with the receipt of tenders for the current round of prisons competitions, and has not been involved in the contract awarding process.
Mr Wheatley left Crown employment in June 2010. Following his departure, Mr Wheatley requested permission from NOMS/Ministry of Justice to undertake work for G4S. Under the business appointment rules (see Annex A, section 4.3 of the Civil Service Management Code), particular attention was given to whether Mr Wheatley would give G4S an improper advantage in the current round of prisons competitions. His work for G4S was approved, as there was no evidence that the work he was employed to do would compromise confidentiality or give an advantage.
Prison Service: Training
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what training is provided to staff employed on the new prison officer contract; [46913]
(2) how many days of training is provided to staff employed on the new prison officer contract. [46914]
Mr Blunt: All newly recruited prison officers within public sector prisons are required to complete a one year foundation training programme, leading to a level 3 National Vocational Qualification Diploma in Custodial Care (CCNVQ). Training begins with an eight week (40 working days) Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT) course, which is mainly college- based. This provides staff all the underpinning knowledge and understanding in core skills required to successfully complete their CCNVQ in the workplace within 12 months of joining the National Offender Management Service.
Prosecutions: Brighton
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions there were in Brighton and Hove under section 12a of the Criminal Law Act 1977 in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010. [45394]
Mr Blunt: Offences under Section 12a of the Criminal Law Act 1977 cannot be separately identified from court proceedings data collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice as they form part of a miscellaneous group of offences which cannot be separately analysed.
Reoffenders: Greater London
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the likely effect of reductions in probation service budgets on reoffending rates in Lewisham and Croydon during the payment-by-results pilots. [46014]
Mr Blunt:
The budget for probation trusts is planned to reduce by 10% over the comprehensive spending review period. The National Offender Management Service does not expect that this budget reduction will have an impact on reoffending rates. The Ministry of
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Justice is clear that probation trusts must deliver savings by streamlining administration and delivering services more effectively. Funding must be focused on maintaining front-line services, to protect the public and reduce reoffending.
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the likely effect of reductions in probation, police and court budgets in Lewisham and Croydon on rates of (a) arrest and (b) conviction over the next two years. [46015]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice and the Home Office have not made a specific assessment of the impact of reductions in probation, police and court budgets in Lewisham and Croydon on rates of arrest and conviction over the next two years.
The Ministry of Justice has been clear that a large part of the savings required by the spending review settlement will be achieved through improvements in efficiency and cutting administration, while maintaining current performance. In terms of police funding, the Government allocate funding to police authorities as a whole but it is only right that decisions about the use of resources are made locally. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the Police Authority are better placed to judge local need and prioritise resources accordingly.
The Ministry of Justice will be monitoring a number of trends and impacts in Lewisham and Croydon over the next two years, as part of the evaluation of a project to test a local approach to payment-by-results. The approach will be tested from April 2011 across a number of London boroughs, including Lewisham and Croydon, and in Manchester city region, as announced in the Ministry of Justice Green Paper, “Breaking the Cycle”. The approach aims to share the savings if a local area is able to reduce demand on criminal justice services. The savings could then be reinvested in further reoffending prevention activity at the local level.
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) if he will monitor trends in the issue of fixed penalty notices during the duration of the payment-by-results pilots in Lewisham and Croydon; [46011]
(2) if she will assess trends in the number of cautions issued by police officers in Lewisham and Croydon during the payment-by-results pilots in those boroughs undertaken by the Ministry of Justice; [46012]
(3) if he will assess the potential effect of reductions in rates of benefit on re-offending and conviction rates during the payment-by-results pilots in Lewisham and Croydon; [46013]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice announced in the Green Paper, “Breaking the Cycle”, published in December 2010 that it is developing a model to share the savings if a local area is able to reduce demand on criminal justice services. The savings could then be reinvested in further reoffending prevention activity at the local level.
To test the local area approach, the Ministry of Justice will run two projects from April 2011 for two years in Manchester city region and across a number of London boroughs, including Croydon and Lewisham.
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The Ministry of Justice will evaluate the projects to understand the impact of the projects on demand on the criminal justice system, and other factors that may affect demand in the project areas. This will include monitoring reoffending and crime rates over the course of the two-year project. We will also monitor a wider range of trends and impacts, and this will be finalised as part of the evaluation approach for the project.
Repossession Orders: Brighton and Hove
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many interim possession orders were implemented in Brighton and Hove in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010; [45396]
(2) on how many occasions a magistrate in a court in Brighton and Hove was asked to hear a sworn statement that a defendant was the rightful occupier of an address given in court in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010. [45419]
Mr Djanogly: There was one interim possession order made in Brighton county court in 2008, none in 2009, and none in the first three quarters (January to September) of 2010, the latest period for which data are available.
The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, county courts jurisdictions are not coterminous with the boundaries for other geographical areas. The above figures do not therefore necessarily relate to properties located in Brighton and Hove.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold figures centrally which specifically relate to magistrates being asked to hear a sworn statement that defendants are the rightful occupiers of the address given in court. This is because the incidence of such events is not recorded onto the main administrative system in the magistrates courts.
Repossession Orders: Suffolk
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court orders were issued for the repossession of homes in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency and (b) Suffolk County Council area in each year since 1997. [45846]
Mr Djanogly: The table shows the numbers of claims leading to orders being made for the repossession of property in the Bury St. Edmunds constituency and Suffolk county by mortgage lenders in each year since 2000 and landlords in each year since 2003. Data for previous years are not available due to the lack of valid postcodes.
These figures represent the numbers of claims leading to orders being made. This is more accurate than the number of orders, removing the double-counting of instances where a single claim leads to more than one order. It is also a more meaningful measure of the number of homeowners who are subject to court repossession actions.
These figures do not indicate how many properties have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order, such as where borrowers hand the keys back to the lender. Also, not all possession orders result in repossession. Many orders are suspended
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and if the borrower complies with the repayment arrangements set out in the suspended order the property will not be repossessed.
| Number of mortgage (1) and landlord (2,3) possession claims leading to orders made (4,5,6) relating to Bury St. Edmunds constituency (7) and Suffolk county, 2000-2010 (8,9,10) | ||||
| Mortgage claims leading to orders made | Landlord claims leading to orders made | |||
|
|
Bury St Edmunds constituency | Suffolk county | Bury St Edmunds c onstituency | Suffolk county |
| (1) Includes all types of mortgage lenders. (2) Includes all types of landlords whether social or private. (3) Landlord actions include those made under both standard and accelerated procedures. Landlord actions via the accelerated procedure enables the orders to be made solely on the basis of written evidence for shorthold tenancies, when the fixed period of tenancy has come to an end. (4) The number of claims that lead to an order includes all claims in which the first order, whether outright or suspended, is made during the period. (5) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (6) Includes outright and suspended orders, the latter being where the court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually require the defendant to pay the current mortgage or rent instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (7) Due to constituency boundary changes which occurred at the recent general election on 6 May 2010, the constituency figures are based on boundaries defined prior to the election from 2000 up to and including the first quarter of 2010 (January-March) and on boundaries after the election for the remaining three quarters of 2010. (8) Due to the lack of valid postcode data, counts for landlord possession cases are only available from 2003 onwards. (9) All figures are rounded to the nearest 5. (10) Figures for 2010 are provisional. Source: Ministry of Justice | ||||
Sentencing
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has plans to increase the maximum sentencing powers of magistrates. [44943]
Mr Blunt: The Government are currently considering changes to sentencing policy in the light of the responses to the recent Green Paper on rehabilitation and sentencing, though the Green Paper did not propose plans to increase magistrates' sentencing powers.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has plans to bring forward proposals to enable magistrates to sentence offenders to six month consecutive sentences for more than one summary-only offence. [44945]
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Mr Blunt: The Government are currently considering changes to sentencing policy in the light of the responses to the recent Green Paper on rehabilitation and sentencing. However, we have no current plans to increase magistrates' sentencing powers.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to answer question 40185, tabled on 8 February 2011 for named day answer on 11 February 2011. [46932]
Mr Harper [holding answer 11 February 2011]: I have been asked to reply.
The Government do not disclose their legal advice. Disclosure of legal advice has a high potential to prejudice the Government’s ability to defend their legal interests—both directly, by unfairly exposing their legal position to challenge, and indirectly by diminishing the reliance they can place on the advice having been fully considered and presented without fear or favour. Neither of these is in the public interest.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Middle East and North Africa
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has reviewed its policy on the licensed sale of defence equipment as a result of recent unrest in the middle east and North Africa. [45613]
Mr Prisk: We have reviewed all existing licences for military and security equipment for countries in the region and a number of these licences have been revoked. The situation remains under review and all future applications for export of equipment to this region will continue to be carefully considered against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking into account how the situation develops.
Arms Brokers
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will assess the merits of requiring arms brokers to register under a code of conduct and of revoking the licences of those who do not comply with the code. [45629]
Mr Prisk: As things stand, I am not convinced that a register of arms brokers would justify the extra bureaucracy it would cause; however, I continue to keep this issue under review.
Arms Export Licences
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions the Government have revoked arms export licences over the last 12 months; and for what reasons in each case. [45611]
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Mr Prisk: Consolidated information on revoked licences is published in the course of regular reporting through the Government's Annual and Quarterly reports on Strategic Export Controls. These reports contain information about the number of licences revoked, by destination, and a summary of the items covered by these licences. Detailed reasons are not included, but in most cases licences will have been revoked because circumstances have changed which has led us to have concerns about the proposed export that we did not have at the time of application.
The reports are available to view on the Strategic Export Controls: Reports and Statistics website at:
https://www.exportcontroldb.berr.gov.uk/eng/fox
Currently this includes information up to 30 September 2010. Information covering 1 October to 31 December 2010 will be published in April and information covering 1 January to 31 March will be published in July this year.
Arms Supply
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanisms his Department has in place to ensure that arms supplied by UK manufacturers are not sold to other countries for the purpose of use for internal repression; and what recent assessment he has made of their effectiveness. [45628]
Mr Prisk: An export licence is required to export arms and other military equipment from the United Kingdom. All export licence applications are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria taking account of all prevailing circumstances at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued where to do so would be inconsistent with the criteria or other relevant announced commitments. In particular criterion two concerns the ‘respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country of final destination’, and states that the Government will not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression. If a re-export of concern comes to light we can and do factor that into our assessment of subsequent licence applications for similar goods to that destination.
Arms Export Licensing
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria his Department applies to the licensing for export of weapons for (a) offensive and (b) defensive purposes. [46203]
Mr Prisk: The Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.
Business: Regulation
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department's one-in, one-out policy applies to EU regulations. [44285]
Mr Prisk:
At present EU measures will not be counted as INs unless a Department exceptionally imposes a measure that goes beyond the minimum requirements (i.e. if it is gold-plated, in which case the gold-plated
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element will be cost as an IN). Existing EU legislation can be counted as an OUT if it is repealed or revoked, or if gold-plating is removed or if a derogation that imposed costs to business is voluntarily curtailed ahead of its maximum term expiring.
Companies: Exports
Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department takes to encourage companies to export manufactured products. [43284]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 9 March 2011]: The Trade and Investment for Growth White Paper, published on 9 February, set out the Government's framework for encouraging trade and investment in the UK and internationally. Linked to this, UKTI is developing a new strategy as part of the Government's growth review. This will set out new priorities for trade promotion. It is through these activities this Department encourages businesses new to exporting to discover and seize international opportunities, and more experienced exporters to improve their exporting capability.
UKTI services are delivered through a network of international trade advisers in England, partner organisations in the devolved Administrations, sector specialists in the UK and staff in 96 overseas markets. In 2009/10, UKTI provided significant help to some 23,600 exporters generating over £5 billion of added value to the UK economy. UKTI has an ongoing and active programme of support for the UK manufacturing sector, in partnership with numerous stakeholders, including organising UK groups at overseas trade shows, leading targeted trade missions and bringing potential buyers and decision-makers to the UK to see our manufacturing capability first-hand.
The Government are also launching four new products to support exporters that will be offered by the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) alongside its existing facilities and services. The new products are: a bond support scheme; a more simple credit insurance product; an export working capital scheme; and a foreign exchange credit support product. With the launch of these new products, ECGD is widening the range of eligible exports it will support, which was previously confined to capital and semi-capital goods and services.
Companies: Overseas Subsidiaries
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many successful actions the Companies Investigation Branch brought against firms for failure to fully declare overseas subsidiaries under the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011 to date; [45942]
(2) how many investigations the Companies Investigation Branch conducted into firms suspected of failure to fully declare overseas subsidiaries under the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011 to date. [45943]
Mr Davey: The information requested is not separately recorded and as a consequence is not available.
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Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what steps his Department and its agencies are taking to enforce the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 in respect of declaration of overseas subsidiaries; [45944]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms for the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 on the declaration of overseas subsidiaries; [45945]
(3) whether his Department is taking steps to increase transparency in the declaration of overseas subsidiaries by UK businesses. [45946]
Mr Davey: Under the Companies Act 2006 companies must disclose in their accounts certain information about any subsidiary undertakings including the location of any overseas. Alternatively, where that requirement would result in excessively lengthy notes to the accounts, provide the detail in an appendix to the company’s annual return.
Companies House has delegated authority to give notice to companies whose accounts appear to be defective. Companies House will pursue those companies that fail to comply with the notice or provide a satisfactory explanation.
If necessary, the Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP)—part of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC)—has delegated authority to apply for a court order requiring the directors of the company to prepare revised accounts or a revised report. If the company continues to contravene and is found guilty, the court could impose a fine.
Each case is dealt with on its merits and prosecution would only be used is cases of persistent and wilful failure to comply with the legislation. To date the FRRP has never had to apply to court for an order requiring revision of accounts or reports.
Construction: Standards
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with interested parties on publicly-available specification (PAS91); when he expects PAS91 next to be reviewed; and if he will make a statement. [45863]
Mr Prisk: Standardisation of the prequalification process features frequently in my discussions with the construction industry, particularly with those bodies representing small firms in the sector. The National Specialist Contractors' Council estimate that completing multiple prequalification questionnaires costs the industry £250 million a year, much of which could be saved. The industry is very supportive of the PAS91 approach and is working with Government to ensure the standard is widely adopted. We would expect to review the standard early next year in the light of a year's experience of its use in the public sector and more widely.
Departmental Billing
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in January and February 2011. [45077]
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Mr Davey: Since May 2010 and in line with other Government Departments, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has recorded and published the proportion of invoices paid within five working days of receipt. BIS publishes this information at:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/about/procurement/prompt-payment/bis-payment-performance
However, during January and February 2011, this Department paid 98.8% and 99.7% of invoices within 10 working days of receipt respectively. In the same period, this Department paid 95% and 96.5% of invoices within five working days.
Departmental Buildings
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to reduce the size of his Department’s estate; and if he will make a statement. [45891]
Mr Davey: The Government announced in spending review 2010 that as a first step to introducing a more co-ordinated approach to property management in the central civil office estate they would set up, through the Government Property Unit, Property Vehicles for the Central London and Bristol office estate from 2011/12.
Property Vehicles will be responsible for managing a more co-ordinated Government-wide approach to property. They will manage the estate strategically, achieving more efficient use of the property assets, as well as work with Departments to reduce their estates and maximise the commercial potential of their property portfolios.
Furthermore the Government announced this month a new system of National Property Controls across the central civil estate. These controls require Departments to adopt a common, disciplined commercial approach to the use of the estate. These build on the success of the Lease Moratorium introduced in May 2010, which to-date has reduced property costs by around £50 million.
Departmental Offices
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 February 2011, Official Report, columns 736-37W, on departmental offices, if he will provide examples of (a) hard and (b) soft intelligence. [43384]
Mr Prisk: The Department’s local offices will provide hard evidence such as analysis of external business surveys, public and official data. The soft evidence will be anecdotal information and feedback on business intentions and risks. This will be obtained through the teams’ relationships with local stakeholders.
Departmental Written Questions
Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of written questions tabled to him for answer on a named day between 27 May 2010 and 9 March 2011 did not receive a substantive answer on the day named for answer. [46561]
Mr Davey:
During the period 27 May 2010 to 9 March 2011, the Department received a total of 833 named day parliamentary questions.(1) Of these, 610 (73%) received
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a substantive reply on the date stipulated. BIS Ministers and officials attach high importance to answering named day PQs on the date specified, while noting the Government response to the then Procedure Committee's Report on Parliamentary Questions: Session 2008/09 [HC859] “The Government agrees that, where it is not possible to provide a full answer within the usual deadline, it will usually be preferable to provide the answer a few days late than to provide an incomplete answer”.
(1 )Including a few questions transferred to BIS from other Government Departments.
Export Licences
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many strategic export licences have been granted in respect of exports to countries in the Middle East and North Africa since October 2010; and what the monetary value was of proposed exports under such licences. [45630]
Mr Prisk: This information will be published shortly as part of the Government's Annual and Quarterly reports on Strategic Export Controls. These reports contain detailed information on export licences issued, refused or revoked, by destination, including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. They are available to view on the Strategic Export Controls: Reports and Statistics website at:
https://www.exportcontroldb.berr.gov.uk/eng/fox
Currently this includes information up to 30 September 2010. Information covering 1 October to 31 December 2010 will be published in April and information covering 1 January to 31 March will be published in July this year.
Higher Education: Admissions
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether universities will be required to produce a separate access agreement with the Office for Fair Access for part-time students; and if he will make a statement. [46077]
Mr Willetts: Subject to parliamentary approval, we intend to regulate fees for students studying at least 25% of a full-time course. Once the legislation and regulations are in place, institutions wishing to charge fees for part-time courses above the basic level will require an access agreement—or a variation of an existing access agreement—approved by the Director of Fair Access covering those courses.
Higher Education: Finance
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department provided funding for the 2010 survey of universities by Universities UK; and if he will make a statement. [R] [43883]
Mr Willetts: No funding was provided by this Department to Universities UK to undertake the survey of universities in 2010.
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Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings (a) the Minister with responsibility for and (b) officials working on higher education had with representatives of the Libyan Government between 2005 and 2010. [45769]
Mr Willetts: The former Member of Parliament for Harlow, the then Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education (Bill Rammell), met Dr Abd al-Salam al-Qallal, the Libyan Minister for Higher Education in Tripoli on 23 February 2006 to discuss UK-Libya education issues. He also met with Dr al-Rishi, the Libyan Minister for Expatriates, Migration and Refugee Affairs on 26 April 2007 about UK resident Libyan academics.
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to remove public funding for teaching and research from universities which accept donations from individuals and organisations associated with undemocratic regimes with poor records on human rights. [46052]
Mr Willetts: Universities are autonomous institutions and each will set its own standards for the acceptance of donations. As charities, all English universities should follow guidance on the receipt of donations from the Charity Commission and any additional guidance from the Higher Education Funding Council for England in its role as principal regulator under the Charities Act 2006.
The allocation of public funding for teaching and research is separate from the regulation of universities as donation-accepting charities and the Department has no plans to combine these functions.
Higher Education: Part-Time Education
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to regulate the number of part-time students studying degrees at each higher education institution; and if he will make a statement. [45995]
Mr Willetts: I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 8 March 2010, Official Report, column 1000W.
Higher Education: Research
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what payments were made to each university by each research council in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [45996]
Mr Willetts: Between 2004/05 and 2008/09 the research councils provided £4,955,295,000 to higher education institutions (HEIs). A full breakdown by HEI, research council and year will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Higher Education: South East
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of school leavers resident in (a) Reading West constituency, (b) Berkshire and (c) South East England entered university in each of the last 10 years. [46597]
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Mr Willetts: The Department does not hold information on the proportion of school leavers resident in Reading West constituency, Berkshire and South East England who entered university in each of the last 10 years. The numbers of 18-year-old undergraduate entrants to UK higher education institutions are shown in the table as an alternative, for the academic years 2000/01 to 2009/10. Information for the 2010/11 academic year will become available from January 2012.
Equivalent figures for entrants to higher education courses at further education colleges are not available.
| 18-year-old undergraduate entrants (1) from Reading West constituency, the county of Berkshire (2) and south-east England Government office region UK higher education institutions (3) . Academic years 2000/01 to 2009/10 | |||
| Academic year | Reading West | Berkshire | South-e ast |
| (1) Covers entrants to full-time and part-time courses. (2) Covers Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Wokingham local authorities. (3 )Excludes the Open University due to inconsistencies in their coding of entrants across the time series. Notes: 1. Figures in the table are on a HESA standard registration population basis and are rounded up or down to the nearest five. 2. Figures do not include entrants where the constituency, local authority and Government office region of the student cannot be established due to missing or invalid postcode information. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record | |||
Arms Export Licensing
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what end-user guarantees are sought to ensure that arms manufactured in the UK are not used for internal repression in other countries. [45623]
Mr Prisk: All applications will continue to be carefully assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking into account the prevailing circumstances at the time of application and proposed end use. Furthermore, Standard Individual Export Licence Applications are supported by an end user undertaking that requires the end user to sign that the goods will be used for the purpose stated. In line with the criteria, export licences will not be issued where there is a clear risk that the export will be used for internal repression.
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what definition his Department uses of Advanced Manufacturing. [45803]
Mr Prisk:
The UK manufacturing sector comprises a wide range of different industries, technologies and activities. Increasingly, to be a successful manufacturer
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in the UK, businesses must compete in high value or value added markets and use advanced processes and machinery.
New Businesses: Montgomeryshire
Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the availability of credit to new businesses in Montgomeryshire; and what steps he is taking to increase this availability. [45962]
Mr Prisk: Data on bank lending to all companies, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and large companies, are collected and analysed by the Bank of England. Quarterly updates are made available through the Bank of England’s “Trends in Lending” publication.
Current data shows that in Q4 of 2010, £28.5 billion gross were lent to UK businesses (including both SMEs and large companies). More information is available at:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/other/monetary/trendsinlending.htm
The Government continue to monitor credit availability closely, and have conversations with both small business representatives and banks on this issue—through channels such as the Small Business Economic Forum.
Recently, as a result of talks with Government, the UK’s five major banks have stated a capacity and willingness to lend £190 billion of new credit to business in 2011, including new businesses. This includes £76 billion of new lending to SMEs, which is a 15% increase on the amount lent in 2010. This is to ensure that UK businesses can access the finance they need to start and grow.
In addition, the Government continue to offer support via the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme to viable SMEs looking for bank finance but lacking track record or collateral to secure a normal commercial loan. To date, over £1.39 billion of loans have been offered to SMEs through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, which has been extended to 2014-15, with £700 million available this year. This includes 12 loans with a total value of £1.44 million to businesses in the Montgomeryshire constituency.
North West Regional Development Agency: Assets
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons his Department has not permitted the North West Regional Development Agency to publish its recommendations for the future ownership of its assets. [46307]
Mr Prisk: The Department has not instructed the North West Regional Development Agency, nor any other regional development agency (RDA), not to publish their recommendations for the future ownership of their assets or liabilities. All RDAs have prepared draft plans for disposals and transfers: the plans have been developed by the RDAs, approved by their boards, and are subject to Government approval. It is for RDAs to decide when and how to release the plans as they know which aspects of the plans are commercially sensitive, we support them in being as transparent as possible while protecting commercially sensitive material.
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Overseas Students: Fees and Charges
Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of the fee income paid by non-UK students attending UK universities will be spent on promoting access under the proposals outlined by the Director General of the Office for Fair Access. [46667]
Mr Willetts: The Director of Fair Access has set out the details of his approach to monitoring and approving institutions’ access agreements. He has given examples of the proportions of income from tuition charges that he may expect to see devoted to access measures, dependent on the circumstances of each institution. The access agreements that the Director may approve do not relate to tuition charge income derived from non-home and non-EU students.
Arms Exports Licensing
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will consider the merits of introducing in the UK a system for parliamentary prior scrutiny of arms sales. [45512]
Mr Prisk: The overall framework of the UK export licensing system is closely scrutinised by the Committees on Arms Export Controls and detailed information about export licensing decisions is published in the Government’s annual and quarterly reports on Strategic Export Controls. Given the volume of licences issued each year and the need for exporters to respond promptly to business opportunities, I do not think it would be practicable to have prior parliamentary scrutiny for arms export licensing decisions.
Research: Finance
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has received any representations on the funding of research centres in British universities by individuals and organisations associated with undemocratic regimes in the middle east with poor records on human rights; and what assessment he has made of the effect on extremism on university campuses. [46070]
Mr Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has not received any representations on the funding of research centres in British universities by individuals and organisations associated with undemocratic regimes in the middle east with poor records on human rights
Information on extremist activity on campuses where it is reported is not centrally collected by BIS. No assessment has been undertaken by BIS on any links between funding of research centres and the effect on extremism on campus.
Research: Middle East
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many research centres in British universities with links to the middle east his predecessors (a) opened and (b) visited between 2005 and 2010. [46069]
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Mr Willetts: The Department does not systematically collect information on the links to the middle east of research centres in British universities and so does not always know whether a research centre has any such links. Consequentially it does not know how many of the research centres opened or visited by Ministers had such links.
Solar Power
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with their counterparts in the Department of Energy and Climate Change on (i) economic and (ii) employment opportunities in the solar photovoltaic sector; and if he will make a statement. [46357]
Mr Prisk: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Ministers and I have not met with ministerial counterparts in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to discuss economic and employment opportunities in the photovoltaic sector in particular. However, Ministers and I have regular meetings with counterparts in the DECC and other Departments to discuss the move to a low carbon economy.
Students: Fees and Charges
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to monitor the numbers of people undertaking medical degrees following the increase in the upper limit on tuition fees; and if he will make a statement. [46510]
Mr Willetts: Currently the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service produces a regular summary of the trends in applications and acceptances for full-time undergraduate courses, including medicine. The Department plans to continue to monitor this information.
Students: Finance
Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) levels of family income and (b) other criteria will determine whether students are eligible for bursaries or other financial assistance under the plans set out by the Director General of the Office for Fair Access. [46668]
Mr Willetts: It is for institutions themselves to determine the criteria they will use in making bursaries and other financial assistance available to their students. The Director of Fair Access has made clear in his guidance to institutions that he will normally expect such support to be targeted at the most disadvantaged students and that he will only take account in his assessment of access agreements of financial support directed at those entitled to state maintenance grants. In regard specifically to the new National Scholarship Programme, we have announced that only those with low family income below £25,000 a year should be considered, but institutions will decide who to help from this broad group according to their priorities for widening participation and access.
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Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the advice given by the Office for Fair Access to universities on the provision of bursaries or other financial assistance to students from lower income families. [46670]
Mr Willetts: The guidance to institutions published on 8 March by the Director of Fair Access on the provision of bursaries and other financial assistance to students is consistent with that sent to the Director by Government Ministers on 10 February.
Students: Loans
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many disputes between the Student Loans Company and individuals in (a) Bedford constituency, (b) the East of England and (c) England were pending a resolution in the latest period for which figures are available. [45392]
Mr Willetts: Disputes raised with the Student Loans Company (SLC) are dealt with under the SLC's complaints handling procedures. The SLC does not organise complaints figures by constituency or by region, but is able to identify complaints raised by individual Members of Parliament.
SLC records show my hon. Friend raised one complaint on behalf of his constituents in Bedford. This was dealt with in September 2010 and there are currently no cases known to be pending a resolution.
As of Wednesday 9 March, the latest date for which figures are available, a total of 156 complaints were awaiting a response from the SLC. The SLC is not readily able to say how many of these are in relation to English domiciled students.
Supermarkets
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has assessed the effects on the independent retail sector of recent trends in the number of supermarket outlets in town and city centres. [45442]
Mr Prisk: The Department has made no such assessment. However research published by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) on 8 December 2010 stated that the UK grocery market was worth £150.8 billion for the calendar year 2010, an increase of 3.1% on 2009, and that 21p in every £1 spent on food and grocery is spent in convenience stores. The IGD also found that in 2009 there were 7,970 hypermarkets, supermarkets and superstores compared with 73,539 traditional retailers and convenience stores. Of the hypermarkets, supermarkets and superstores, 104 were independents. At the end of April 2010 there were 48,410 convenience stores in the UK, representing a year-on-year decrease of 0.5% over the latest 12 month period.
Trade: Asia
Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of trends in trade with (a) India and (b) China; and if he will make a statement. [44897]
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Mr Prisk: The following tables show recent trends in trade for India and China.
| India | |||
| Goods | 2000 (£ billion) | 2010 (£ billion) | Percentage change |
| Services | 2000 (£ billion) | 2009 (£ billion) | Percentage change |
| China | |||
| Goods | 2000 (£ billion) | 2010 (£ billion) | Percentage change |
| Services | 2000 (£ billion) | 2009 (£ billion) | Percentage change |