Arts: Finance

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much Arts Council England spent on grants to projects in 2009-10. [45805]

Mr Vaizey: Arts Council England has supplied 2009-10 grant spend, which includes both grants to projects and to regularly funded organisations, as follows:

Projects £000

Net grant in aid commitments (including regular funding to organisations)

417,555

Net lottery grant commitments

143,203

Total

560,758

Broadband: Contracts

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many local authorities have issued tender documents for contracts to provide high-speed broadband services to date. [46791]

Mr Vaizey [holding answer 15 March 2011]: In recent years a number of local authorities have issued tenders for contracts to provide high-speed broadband, which vary in scale and in some instances the procurement was for an exclusive public sector network (PSNs) and in others there was provision for wider use. Since responsibility lies with the local procuring authority there was no requirement to notify individual procurements and while Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) are aware of the major PSNs and public initiatives by local authorities there is no central record of every small scale local procurement.

17 Mar 2011 : Column 523W

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many local authorities in England have issued tenders for contracts for the provision of high-speed broadband. [47362]

Mr Vaizey: In recent years a number of local authorities have issued tenders for contracts to provide high-speed broadband, which vary in scale and in some instances the procurement was for an exclusive public sector network (PSNs) and in others there was provision for wider use. Since responsibility lies with the local procuring authority there was no requirement to notify individual procurements and while Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) are aware of the major PSNs and public initiatives by local authorities there is no central record of every local procurement.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has for local authorities to issue tenders for contracts for the provision of high-speed broadband in England. [47363]

Mr Vaizey: Responsibility for contract tenders lies with the local procuring authorities. Guidance on the content of local broadband plans which are to form the basis of a submission to Broadband Delivery UK was issued on 7 March 2011.

Broadband: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2011, Official Report, column 611W, on broadband: public expenditure, what assessment he has made of the effects on the pilot project in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland of restrictions on the use of BT's ducts and poles. [45951]

Mr Vaizey [holding answer 14 March 2011]: No such assessment has been made. The Highlands and Islands project will be subject to open procurement procedures which have to be technology neutral. British Telecom's (BT) ducts and poles are being made available for use by competitors. Reference offers were submitted by BT in January and these are the subject of industry consultation at the moment

Departmental Assets

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether receipts from the sale of assets owned by regional development agencies are reflected in the spending plans of his Department for (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14. [47417]

John Penrose: The Department does not benefit from any sale of assets by regional development agencies and has not made any assumption of receipts from them in its spending plans.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on (a) salaries and (b) pension entitlements for special advisers in the financial year 2010-11 to date. [46582]

17 Mar 2011 : Column 524W

John Penrose: Special advisers’ pay bands and actual salary, where this is £58,200 or higher, are published by the Cabinet Office in accordance with the Government's transparency agenda and can be found at the following link:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/special-adviser-data-releases

Special advisers’ salaries are pensionable under the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Departmental Procurement

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (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; [45553]

(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. [45554]

John Penrose: The Department has not engaged upon any procurement projects with a monetary value greater than £10 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11 (to date).

The Department does not collate this information for its agency or non-departmental public bodies. Accordingly, I have asked their chief executives to write to my hon. Friend.

Copies of the replies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Departmental Public Consultation

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many public consultations his Department has conducted in each of the last 10 years; for how long each consultation was open; how many responses were received to each consultation; and what the cost to the public purse of conducting each consultation was. [46592]

John Penrose: There have been 185 Department consultations since 2000, information can be accessed on our current website and UK Government web archive:

http://www.culture.gov.uk/consultations/default.aspx

The number of responses from May 2010 are available at:

http://www.culture.gov.uk/consultations/6566.aspx

Responses before May 2010 and all costs are not held centrally and it would be at disproportionate cost to collate this information for the last 10 years.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what regulations his Department (a) introduced between 4 February and 28 February 2011 and (b) repealed between 2 February and 28 February 2011. [45978]

17 Mar 2011 : Column 525W

John Penrose: The following instruments sponsored by the Department have been made between 2 February and 28 February 2011:

1. The Films Co-Production Agreements (Amendment) Order 2011 (SI 2011/236); and

2. The Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act 2004 (Commencement No.4) Order 2011 (SI 2011/462 (C.17)).

During the same period the following instrument was revoked:

1. The Films Co-Production Agreements (Amendment) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/3009).

Departmental Written Questions

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of written questions tabled to him for answer on a named day did not receive a substantive answer on the day named for answer between 27 May 2010 and 9 March 2011. [46555]

John Penrose: The Department received 271 named day questions for answer during the period between 27 May 2010 and 9 March 2011. Of these 56 (20.66%) did not receive a substantive answer on the named day. The Department is very aware of the importance of answering parliamentary questions on time and we endeavour to answer all named day parliamentary questions on the day specified but if this is not possible then we aim to send out a substantive reply as soon as is practicable.

"The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to Written Parliamentary Question performance on a sessional basis. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2009/10 session were recently provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website."

Gambling

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he plans to respond to his Department's consultation on remote gambling; and if he will make a statement. [47280]

John Penrose: I continue to speak to key stakeholders about the issues raised in the Department's consultation and hope to make an announcement in due course.

Holiday Accommodation: Standards

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) with reference to the Government Tourism Policy of March 2011, what assessment he has made of the likely future availability across the UK of accurate information relating to the facilities and performance of self-catering holiday properties under his proposals for accommodation quality rating schemes; [46657]

(2) with reference to the Government Tourism Policy of March 2011, what assessment he has made of the (a) market penetration, (b) accuracy and (c) reliability of information relating to self-catering accommodation posted on visitor accommodation websites with user-generated content; [46658]

(3) with reference to the Government Tourism Policy of March 2011, whether he has assessed the potential vulnerability to malware of hotel review websites with user-generated content; [46659]

17 Mar 2011 : Column 526W

(4) with reference to the Government Tourism Policy of March 2011, what mechanisms he plans to use to set benchmarks for (a) improvements in standards of visitor accommodation and (b) quality comparisons between the UK and its constituent parts and overseas; [46660]

(5) with reference to the Government Tourism Policy of March 2011, what assessment he has made of the contribution of Hospitality Assured accreditation to the objectives of National Tourist Boards in respect of the visitor economy; [46662]

(6) with reference to the Government Tourism Policy of March 2011, what the quantitative evidential basis is for the assessment that consumer-led websites offer significant potential to drive up standards; and what measures he plans to use to measure consequent trends in hotel standards. [46665]

John Penrose: Pursuant to my answer of 2 February 2011, Official Report, column 819W, and the Westminster Hall debate on 15 February 2011, tourism is a devolved matter and the operation of the quality schemes in each of the home countries is a matter for their respective Governments. As made clear in the Government’s Tourism Policy published on 4 March, we do not intend to abolish the rating schemes in England, but given the number of participants in the schemes in recent years, particularly in the guest accommodation sector, the Government believe a different approach needs to be considered in order to help drive up quality. We strongly believe that both the tourism industry and consumers should take more responsibility for quality assessment. This includes tracking changes in trends in quality, if the information is commercially useful to them or to their customers; if it isn't then there's no point in Government doing it instead.

The wide and growing popularity of websites offering feedback from customers is clear from industry figures on their usage. Their content is not regulated any more closely than any other part of the web, and we have no plans to do so. Web users make their own judgments about the quality and accuracy of any information they find, and rapidly switch to alternative sites if they offer something better.

The Government will continue to give encouragement to any rating schemes or customer websites which improve the quality of information which visitors can use.

Irish Language

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what progress he has made in his Department’s responsibilities for language maintenance and development under the European Charter for Minority or Indigenous Languages in respect of the Irish language. [47174]

Mr Vaizey [holding answer 16 March 2011]: The Communications Act (2003) and the BBC’s Charter and Agreement contain requirements to cater for cultural interests throughout the UK.

The 1998 Belfast/Good Friday agreement contained the obligation to extend the Irish language channel TG4 to audiences in Northern Ireland. In February 2010, the UK and Irish Government signed a memorandum of understanding designed to ensure co-operation over

17 Mar 2011 : Column 527W

digital switchover and the provision of Irish language services in Northern Ireland in a digital form. Since then considerable progress has been made in making arrangements with the Irish authorities for the broadcasting of TG4, an Irish language television service, in digital form in Northern Ireland to coincide with digital switchover in the latter part of 2012.

Members: Correspondence

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Bridgend of 23 November 2010, reference MM/JH/22/11/2010. [46275]

John Penrose: The Department has conducted a thorough check and has no record of receiving this letter. If the hon. Member could submit a copy of her letter I will ensure a timely response is sent.

Ofcom: Legal Costs

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport with reference to Ofcom’s supplementary written evidence to the Public Accounts Committee on expenditure 2009-10, with which companies the (a) £0.8 million expenditure on legal non-policy and (b) £0.6 million on legal policy was spent; and what services were provided to Ofcom as a result of such expenditure. [45773]

Mr Vaizey [holding answer 14 March 2011]:Ofcom have advised that the companies involved in expenditure of this nature are set out in the table:

Supplier Total (£) Note

ABV Solicitors

16,595

The legal policy(1)

Allen & Overy

197,416

Employment law

Allen Hirson

1,035

The legal policy(1)

Blackstone Chambers

345

The legal policy(1)

Bristows

83,769

The legal policy(1)

Burges Salmon LLP

66,388

The legal policy(1)

Chambers of Michael Hubbard

17,300

The legal policy(1)

Clarke Willmot

(2,874)

Property law

Collyer Bristow LLP Solicitors

56,805

Property law

Denton Wilde Sapte

5,499

Property law

E Rex Makin & Co.

667

The legal policy(1)

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

55,219

Employment law

Her Majesty’s Courts Service

2,090

The legal policy(1)

John McCormack

5,151

The legal policy(1)

Johnson & Gaunt Solicitors

403

Employment law

Lane Clark & Peacock LLP

8,775

Pension advice

Lester Maddrell

7,171

The legal policy(1)

MacRoberts LLP

(38)

Property law

McGrigors Belfast LLP

155,729

Commercial and Procurement advice

Monckton Chambers

426

The legal policy(1)

Nabarro LLP

22,152

Commercial and Procurement advice

Norrie Waite and Slater Solicitors

1,202

The legal policy(1)

Russell Jones & Walker

2,875

Employment law

SNR Denton UK LLP

(975)

Property law

Spence & Home Solicitors

403

Employment law

17 Mar 2011 : Column 528W

Sweet & Maxwell Ltd.

600

Employment law

Towers Watson

40,989

Pension advice

Underwood & Co.

(6,165)

Property law

Accounting adjustments

32,815

Accruals and adjustments

Total legal (non policy)

771,765

 
Supplier Total (£) Note

Allen & Overy

(28,920)

Employment law

Arnold & Porter UK LLP

9,083

The legal policy(1)

Blackstone Chambers

209,206

The legal policy(1)

Brick Court Chambers

25,034

The legal policy(1)

Denton Wilde Sapte

881

Debt collection advice

Cough Square Chambers

23,407

The legal policy(1)

Grant Dawe LLP

7,203

The legal policy(1)

Julian Franks

13,294

The legal policy(1)

Keltie

1,436

The legal policy(1)

Ken Baublys

525

The legal policy(1)

LS Telcom

(2,013)

IS services

Maples and Calder

174

The legal policy(1)

Merrill Legal Solutions

557

The legal policy(1)

Michael Simkins LLP

14,722

The legal policy(1)

Monckton Chambers

544,667

The legal policy(1)

Nabarro LLP

42,433

Commercial and Procurement advice

Prodigy internet Ltd

(1,639)

The legal policy(1)

Simmons & Simmons

4,593

The legal policy(1)

Taylor Wessing LLP.

1,438

The legal policy(1)

Underwood & Co

1,880

Property law

Accounting adjustments

(139,348)

Accruals adjustments

Net costs awarded in favour of Ofcom

(122,822)

Net costs awarded to Ofcom

One Brick Court

8,049

The legal policy(1)

Total legal (policy)

613,841

The legal policy(1)

     

Total legal

1,385,606

 
(1) The legal policy expenditure comprises: External counsel to assist Ofcom’s internal legal team in preparing for and defending appeals against Ofcom’s public policy decisions and to appear as representatives for Ofcom in courts; A lesser amount is spend on securing a second opinion to that of Ofcom’s internal legal team and general counsel on particularly complex questions of statutory interpretation.

Ofcom: Official Hospitality

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport with reference to Ofcom's supplementary written evidence to the Public Accounts Committee on expenditure 2009-10, with which companies the £1.8 million expenditure on outsourcing special events was spent; and what services were provided to Ofcom as a result of such expenditure. [45770]

Mr Vaizey [holding answer 14 March 2011]: Under the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994, Ofcom has put in place an agreement with JFMG Ltd for the provision of spectrum licensing services in respect of Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE). The Contracting Out (Functions relating to Wireless Telegraphy) Order 1996 (SI 1996 no. 2290) enables this arrangement. License fees collected by JFMG Ltd under the Wireless Telegraphy Act are passed to the Consolidated Fund. Ofcom are invoiced by JFMC Ltd for this activity in line with the terms of the agreement. Ofcom paid £1.8 million (including VAT) to JFMC Ltd during the course of 2009-10 under this agreement.

17 Mar 2011 : Column 529W

Sports: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department is taking steps to support grassroots and community sport in Dartford constituency. [46419]

Hugh Robertson: Sport England is the arm’s length body with responsibility for community sport. Its aim is to increase and sustain levels of participation in sport.

National Governing Bodies of sport are responsible for the strategy, delivering through their networks of community clubs, coaches and volunteers, across all parts of the country. Sport England is investing £480 million through 46 governing bodies over the next four years and has agreed ‘grow’ and ‘sustain’ targets with each one. Each sport has developed a whole sport plan to achieve these targets.

Additionally, the £135 million Mass Participation Olympic Legacy—Places People Play—was launched in November 2010 and will benefit residents of Dartford and the country more widely. This programme will be funded by lottery money and has been developed in partnership with Sport England, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the British Olympic Association, and the British Paralympic Association.

As part of their Iconic Facilities programme, Sport England has invested £1 million towards the development of a 43 hectare sports park to offer a comprehensive range of cycle sport disciplines and other related sports. The Kent county council led project will be of direct benefit to the Dartford constituents, located close to the A2 to the south of Gravesend.

In addition, since 2001, the Dartford constituency has seen a total of £861,370 of Exchequer funding and £102,503 of lottery funding invested through Sport England.

Tourism: Public Holidays

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) with reference to the Government Tourism Policy of March 2011, whether he has undertaken an assessment of the potential asymmetrical effects on tourism businesses in different parts of the UK of moving the May day bank holiday to October; [46663]

(2) what steps he plans to take to measure the (a) visitor preference and (b) projected revenue for the visitor economy associated with the proposed move of the May day bank holiday to October; and whether he plans to market-test the popularity of the proposal and the proposed designations for the October holiday in (i) Scotland, (ii) England, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland; [46664]

(3) whether he plans to take account of the traditional pattern of school holidays in the autumn in Scotland when assessing the (a) merits and (b) likely effect on tourism businesses of moving the May day bank holiday to October. [46666]

17 Mar 2011 : Column 530W

John Penrose: The Government recognise that the May day bank holiday is important to many, which is why we are planning to consult with all sectors of industry as well as with voluntary and community sector organisations, to assess any potential benefits of moving it. The Government also understand the need to ensure that public holiday dates reflect the priorities and preferences of the whole of the UK. Consequently, we will consult with the devolved Administrations to ensure that changes to public holidays are made only if they are likely to enjoy widespread public support.

Tourism: Publications

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport for what reason the Government Tourism Policy published on 4 March 2011 was unavailable on his Department's website on the day of launch; and for what reason his Department has not supplied copies to the Vote Office for distribution to hon. Members. [46661]

John Penrose: Private sector publishing software failed outside the hours of technical support and nothing could be published to the website for a period of time. The problem could not be fixed by the Information and Communications Technology service managers and had to be referred to the software supplier. The strategy was published and available on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's website from approximately 11am on 4 March 2011, which was as soon as the fix had been applied for the problem diagnosed.

For reasons of cost savings and efficiency, the document was produced solely in digital form and no copies of the Government's Tourism Policy were therefore supplied to the Vote Office. The document may now be downloaded from the departmental website.

Home Department

Counter-terrorism

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects her Department’s review of the Contest programme indicated in its business plan to begin. [45461]

Mrs May [holding answer 10 March 2011]:Work to revise the Contest counter-terrorism strategy (action 6.4 of the Home Office business plan) started in November 2010.

Departmental Assets

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether receipts from the sale of assets owned by regional development agencies are reflected in the spending plans of her Department for (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14. [47408]

Damian Green: The Home Office does not have any sales of assets owned by regional development agencies factored into its spending plans.

17 Mar 2011 : Column 531W

Departmental Public Consultation

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many public consultations her Department has conducted in each of the last 10 years; for how long each consultation was open; how many responses were received to each consultation; and what the cost to the public purse was of conducting each consultation. [46591]

Damian Green: According to the Home Office website:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100418065544/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/haveyoursay/index.html

the following number of Home Office consultation papers have been selected for preservation by the National Archives:


Number

2009

16

2008

20

2007

20

2006

23

2005

25

2004

26

2003

26

2002

18

2001

18

2000

11

The website shows a snapshot of records taken on 5 March 2010 and in each case the consultation is listed according the calendar year in which the consultation closed rather than its date of publication. Figures for 2010 and 2011 are not centrally available.

The Department does not keep a central record of how long each consultation was open, how many responses were received and the cost to the public purse. To attempt to calculate these for each of the 203 documents listed above would entail disproportionate costs.

Domestic Violence

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to support victims of domestic violence. [47430]

Lynne Featherstone: The Government are committed to tackling domestic violence. On 8 March 2011 we published a detailed action plan supporting our “Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls” narrative published on 25 November 2010.

Some of the key actions we are taking forward in relation to domestic violence include:

Providing over £28 million of stable Home Office funding for specialist services to support victims of domestic and sexual abuse over the next four years. This includes areas to support independent domestic violence adviser (IDVA) posts, and the role of multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC) co-ordinators.

We will make over £900,000 available per year over the next four years to support national helplines including the National Domestic Violence Helpline, the Men’s Advice Line and Broken Rainbow.

A 12-month pilot of Domestic Violence Protection Notices (DVPNs) and Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs).

17 Mar 2011 : Column 532W

Support for victims of domestic violence who are on migrant spouse’s visas and are forced to flee their home while their immigration claims are dealt with.

Full details of the action plan can be found at:

www.homeoffice.gov.uk/vawg

Firearms

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department between what dates the sodium rhodizonate test was used by the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory to detect firearms discharge residue. [46963]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 15 March 2011]:Sodium rhodizonate testing remains in use as a forensic technique. The Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory merged with the Forensic Science Service in 1996 and would have been using this test until that point. Information on the date that this test was introduced is not held by the Home Office. I have asked the Forensic Science Service to check their historical records and write to my hon. Friend with the date when this test was introduced.

Human Trafficking

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to implement Article 6 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in relation to the incorporation of study of human trafficking in statutory schooling. [47130]

Damian Green: The UK has an obligation under the Council of Europe Convention to provide educational programmes for young people during their schooling, emphasising the unacceptable nature of discrimination based on gender, the consequences thereof, gender equality and the dignity and integrity of every human being.

The non-statutory framework for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) at Key Stages 3 and 4 provide opportunities for young people to explore such issues as:

the similarities, differences and diversity among people of different race, culture, ability, disability, gender, age and sexual orientation;

the impact of prejudice, bullying discrimination and racism on individuals and communities;

characteristics of positive relationships, and awareness of exploitation in relationships and of statutory and voluntary organisations that support relationships in crisis; and,

the need to take the initiative in challenging this and other offensive behaviours and in giving support to victims of abuse.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to take steps in accordance with the requirements of Article 5 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in the next 12 months. [47131]

Damian Green: We keep our compliance with the Council of Europe convention under review.

Prevention of human trafficking will be a central part of the new strategy which will be published in the spring.

17 Mar 2011 : Column 533W

Imitation Firearms

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations her Department has received from (a) police organisations, (b) medical professionals and (c) others on legislation on the sale, ownership and use of BB guns. [45940]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 14 March 2011]:The term ‘BB gun’ is commonly used to refer to airsoft guns. The Home Office has received no recent formal representations on their sale, ownership and use. They are subject to the provisions of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 to the extent they are imitation firearms.

Northumbria Police: Overtime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overtime hours were paid to (a) warranted officers and (b) civilian staff of Northumbria Police Force in each of the last three years; and what the total cost to the public purse was of such overtime in each such year. [46537]

Nick Herbert: The Home Office does not hold information about the number of overtime hours worked by police officers and police staff. Data on the total amount of overtime paid to police officers and staff are published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). The data for Northumbria police in each of the three most recent financial years are shown in the following table:

£000
Financial year Officer overtime spend Staff overtime spend

2007-08

7,878

(1)1,318

2008-09

7,424

1,178

2009-10

8,138

1,159

(1) Checked with Northumbria police. Source: CIPFA Actuals

Passport Office: Closures

Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the compliance of her Department’s consultation on the closure of Newport Passport Office with the Government’s code of practice on consultation. [47400]

Damian Green: The Identity and Passport Service is conducting a collective consultation with staff and trade unions on the proposed closure of the application processing centre at Newport. The consultation period ends on 18 March 2011 and has been carried out under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, as amended by the Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 1995. The consultation has followed the guidance issued by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) on conducting a collective consultation.

17 Mar 2011 : Column 534W

Police

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is her policy that after May 2012 chief constables should be able to enter into significant contracts without the prior authority of police commissioners. [40245]

Nick Herbert [holding answer 11 February2011]:This is not the Government’s intention. We are considering further the proposed arrangements for chief constables’ ability to enter into contracts, in the light of debate on the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, and representations on the issue.

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish each response to her Department’s consultation on Policing in the 21(st) Century. [46790]

Nick Herbert [holding answer 15 Mach 2011]: The Home Office has an obligation to those who responded to the consultation to review all responses and ensure any disclosure of information protects individuals’ interests under the Data Protection Act 1998. As nearly 900 responses were received, it was estimated that the cost of analysing them in line with these obligations would be prohibitive. The Government published a consultation response, which summarised the responses and the Government’s position on them. This is available on the Home Office website.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in each police force hold the rank of sergeant. [46795]

Nick Herbert [holding answer 15 March 2011]: The latest available data are provided in the table which shows the number of police officers in each police force who hold the rank of sergeant as at 30 September 2010 (full-time equivalents).

The number of police officers in each police force who hold the rank of sergeant as at 30 September 2010 (full-time equivalents)

Sergeant

Avon and Somerset

484

Bedfordshire

194

Cambridgeshire

252

Cheshire

353

Cleveland

241

Cumbria

187

Derbyshire

316

Devon and Cornwall

603

Dorset

234

Durham

225

Dyfed-Powys

195

Essex

540

Gloucestershire

320

Greater Manchester

1,160

Gwent

234

Hampshire

620

Hertfordshire

318

Humberside

306

Kent

527

Lancashire

594

Leicestershire

358

17 Mar 2011 : Column 535W

Lincolnshire

185

London, City of

139

Merseyside

665

Metropolitan Police

5,558

Norfolk

283

Northamptonshire

225

Northumbria

603

North Wales

275

North Yorkshire

207

Nottinghamshire

408

South Wales

516

South Yorkshire

446

Staffordshire

362

Suffolk

206

Surrey

293

Sussex

542

Thames Valley

690

Warwickshire

130

West Mercia

398

West Midlands

1,206

West Yorkshire

807

Wiltshire

193

Total

22,599

Note: This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Police: Firearms

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in each police force had received up-to-date training in the use of firearms on the most recent date for which figures are available. [46796]

Nick Herbert [holding answer 15 March 2011]: The number of fully trained police authorised firearms officers by force in England and Wales are published annually. The latest publication for 2008-09 can be found at:

http://tna.europarchive.org/20100419081706/http:// www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/Police-firearms-2008-09.html

Police: Surveillance

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 14 February 2011, Official Report, columns 519-20W, on police: investigations, (1) what procedural and interpretational advice and guidance the Office of Surveillance Commissioners has given regarding the type of organisations that should be subject to covert surveillance by undercover police officers; and if she will make a statement; [47036]

(2) if she will review her Department’s codes of practice in relation to the types of organisations which should be subject to undercover police operations; and if she will make a statement; [47037]

(3) when she expects HM Inspectorate of Constabulary to complete its review of operational accountability of undercover work by the National Public Order Intelligence Unit; and if she will make a statement. [47038]

17 Mar 2011 : Column 536W

Nick Herbert: The Office of Surveillance Commissioners (OSC) is an independent body established by the Police Act 1996 and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to keep under review the authorisation of certain covert techniques regulated by those Acts. The OSC does not issue general guidance. Any specific guidance it gives to a particular public authority is confidential between it and that public authority.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary expects to complete its review into the operational accountability of undercover work by the National Public Order Intelligence Unit within the next three to six months. The Home Office will consider what appropriate action to take, including the appropriateness of reviewing codes of practice, following the conclusion of the review.

Police: Training

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in each police force have current specialist traffic and vehicle training. [46793]

Nick Herbert [holding answer 15 March 2011]: This information is not collected centrally.

Police: Bureaucracy

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to reduce the amount of duplication in the forms police officers are required to complete when responding to incidents. [45510]

Nick Herbert: The Government are looking at reducing duplication in police forms as part of their work to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy in policing. The police service must also play its part in cutting duplication within police forces.

The Government have already scrapped the national reporting requirements for stop and account and reduced the reporting requirements for stop and search, which will save up to 800,000 man hours per year. We will continue to look at reducing duplication as part of our work to reduce bureaucracy in all areas of policing.

Refugees: Finance

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the effect of proposed reductions in refugee integration funding on (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory services for refugees provided by (i) other Government departments, (ii) non-departmental public bodies and (iii) local authorities. [47328]

Damian Green: Individuals granted refugee status have full entitlement to access public funds and services. The impact of the reduction in funding on statutory and non statutory services provided by other Government Departments, non-departmental public bodies and local authorities will therefore be minimal. UK Border Agency officials will be co-chairing a working group with the voluntary sector to identify practical cost neutral solutions to address the integration needs of refugees. The membership will include representatives from other Government Departments.

17 Mar 2011 : Column 537W

UK Border Agency: Sick Leave

Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days on average employees of the UK Border Agency have taken in sick leave in each year since its inception. [46522]

Damian Green: The rolling year average number of sick leave days per employee as at March 2010 was 9.16 days.

The rolling year average number of sick leave days per employee as at December 2010 was 7.97 days

17 Mar 2011 : Column 538W

Figures taken from the Home Office sick absence time series data for the Home Department.

Vandalism

Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of vandalism were reported in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997. [47792]

James Brokenshire: The available information relates to offences of criminal damage recorded by the police and is given in the following table.

Offences of criminal damage recorded by the police in England and Wales
Number of offences

1997 1998- 99 (1) 1999-20 00 2000/01 2001- 02

Avon and Somerset

20,396

20,605

20,519

22,479

26,990

Bedfordshire

8,025

7,893

8,048

7,892

8,191

British Transport police(3)

Cambridgeshire

9,250

11,925

12,110

13,197

13,972

Cheshire

11,205

11,596

12,627

13,078

16,546

Cleveland

11,274

10,681

10,812

10,684

13,446

Cumbria

8,047

8,405

8,943

8,922

10,120

Derbyshire

13,387

14,316

15,207

14,997

17,125

Devon and Cornwall

15,232

17,722

18,490

18,284

19,875

Dorset

8,245

8,303

8,408

9,419

10,766

Durham

10,518

11,122

10,654

10,375

13,018

Dyfed-Powys

4,497

4,497

4,417

4,571

4,949

Essex

18,845

18,834

21,766

24,673

26,990

Gloucestershire

6,158

6,570

7,990

9,087

9,264

Greater Manchester

68,100

67,052

75,201

77,154

84,631

Gwent

9,947

11,690

12,253

11,221

9,934

Hampshire

26,429

25,100

28,125

28,714

31,624

Hertfordshire

9,831

10,177

11,560

13,839

15,302

Humberside

20,177

21,486

20,739

20,910

22,839

Kent

24,047

23,049

24,806

27,947

28,708

Lancashire

26,767

21,360

22,776

25,445

31,925

Leicestershire

14,034

15,143

16,889

16,664

18,903

Lincolnshire

7,145

7,728

8,391

9,078

11,282

London, City Of

287

297

409

260

365

Merseyside

23,677

27,465

30,822

30,593

33,899

Metropolitan

140,516

136,870

151,590

144,231

147,803

Norfolk

9,782

10,393

10,978

11,481

13,065

Northamptonshire

11,595

11,771

11,736

11,448

12,961

Northumbria

35,314

31,634

30,436

29,775

34,027

North Wales

11,238

9,652

10,102

12,182

14,388

North Yorkshire

8,537

8,372

8,617

9,167

11,436

Nottinghamshire

28,165

23,953

23,692

23,187

25,684

South Wales

29,331

30,227

28,154

25,313

27,590

South Yorkshire

23,568

24,198

25,305

24,173

27,513

Staffordshire

16,940

15,668

18,442

21,655

25,385

Suffolk

7,835

7,898

9,547

10,150

12,095

Surrey

6,557

7,576

8,602

12,318

12,964

Sussex

23,945

23,828

26,361

27,219

27,375

Thames Valley

25,584

26,006

28,630

29,719

32,152

Warwickshire

6,362

6,888

7,439

7,290

8,008

West Mercia

14,965

15,346

17,410

16,817

22,739

West Midlands

49,120

50,407

61,422

57,459

61,010

West Yorkshire

46,446

49,239

48,106

49,568

59,262

Wiltshire

5,722

6,644

7,151

7,452

8,374

Total

877,042

879,586

945,682

960,087

1,064,495

Number of offences

2002- 03 (2) 2003- 04 2004- 05 2005- 06 2006- 07 2007- 08 2008- 09 2009- 10

Avon and Somerset

26,430

29,949

31,642

30,992

33,557

30,063

26,627

23,034

17 Mar 2011 : Column 539W

17 Mar 2011 : Column 540W

Bedfordshire

10,050

11,065

10,561

10,817

10,717

10,141

8,720

8,029

British Transport police(3)

11,353

12,948

12,772

12,660

13,444

10,461

8,974

7,606

Cambridgeshire

16,153

16,534

16,227

14,680

15,597

14,001

12,980

11,519

Cheshire

18,921

22,556

24,365

24,966

22,363

18,949

16,518

13,800

Cleveland

14,591

16,958

16,941

18,604

18,591

17,545

13,746

11,183

Cumbria

10,304

11,629

12,858

13,627

12,669

11,425

8,995

7,432

Derbyshire

17,789

18,932

17,991

19,025

20,140

17,894

16,642

14,635

Devon and Cornwall

26,883

30,116

31,021

31,274

32,908

28,982

25,982

21,932

Dorset

12,229

13,428

12,297

12,545

12,460

11,907

11,331

9,972

Durham

14,067

14,244

15,176

16,322

16,422

14,674

13,027

10,856

Dyfed-Powys

4,920

7,032

8,186

7,939

8,003

6,657

5,932

4,953

Essex

30,337

34,253

32,406

30,564

30,010

26,379

23,554

20,589

Gloucestershire

10,103

10,847

10,802

11,259

11,999

10,342

9,095

7,477

Greater Manchester

76,960

81,123

73,662

75,545

77,450

65,150

60,384

48,779

Gwent

13,126

13,681

13,494

12,875

13,659

12,524

12,191

11,428

Hampshire

34,736

43,557

42,210

42,352

45,362

38,927

35,409

28,609

Hertfordshire

17,988

19,887

20,762

20,986

20,713

17,374

14,999

12,824

Humberside

24,347

28,635

28,202

26,152

26,468

22,064

19,202

17,852

Kent

29,068

34,537

35,274

36,701

36,827

31,425

27,735

22,719

Lancashire

30,733

39,447

40,863

40,110

37,804

32,284

29,639

25,139

Leicestershire

19,210

19,480

18,955

18,302

19,418

18,642

16,997

15,019

Lincolnshire

13,694

15,176

14,934

14,069

14,528

13,345

12,243

11,070

London, City Of

366

319

311

284

310

234

275

263

Merseyside

37,455

39,966

41,838

42,869

41,080

30,773

25,787

23,461

Metropolitan

144,373

147,465

135,684

122,400

113,938

102,483

95,217

88,263

Norfolk

16,030

17,462

17,470

17,577

17,258

14,790

12,647

10,440

Northamptonshire

15,687

17,295

16,842

16,341

16,025

14,858

13,703

11,827

Northumbria

42,222

42,523

41,248

36,911

36,087

29,758

27,178

22,551

North Wales

17,079

17,036

15,107

14,436

14,841

12,938

11,808

10,223

North Yorkshire

13,168

14,732

13,573

12,723

12,509

11,023

10,764

8,707

Nottinghamshire

23,980

26,308

29,073

30,728

30,278

26,735

24,234

19,993

South Wales

30,935

28,519

27,558

28,794

28,550

27,671

26,762

22,719

South Yorkshire

29,861

30,933

35,384

40,293

39,507

35,467

30,408

24,850

Staffordshire

23,271

24,447

23,262

24,328

24,944

20,509

19,015

16,610

Suffolk

11,497

12,817

12,781

13,067

13,084

12,207

11,308

10,419

Surrey

13,669

16,571

17,271

16,968

17,501

15,961

14,650

13,047

Sussex

25,548

28,792

30,830

29,288

30,060

26,659

23,601

20,964

Thames Valley

33,693

37,320

37,338

37,356

40,273

35,931

34,104

30,300

Warwickshire

8,514

9,318

9,728

10,054

10,267

9,234

8,006

6,458

West Mercia

21,258

23,615

21,962

20,563

20,675

18,672

17,060

14,568

West Midlands

57,319

59,150

55,996

56,729

56,134

46,670

41,977

37,486

West Yorkshire

61,447

68,476

63,666

60,600

59,041

51,526

46,760

38,692

Wiltshire

9,246

9,446

9,020

9,674

11,569

10,929

10,179

8,423

Total

1,120,610

1,218,524

1,197,543

1,184,349

1,185,040

1,036,183

936,365

806,720

(1) The coverage was expanded and counting rules changed in 1998-99. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. (2) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in 2002-03. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. (3) Includes the British Transport police from 2002-03.

Vetting

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish (a) the minutes of meetings her Department has had with and (b) written submissions her Department has received from (i) the NSPCC, (ii) Barnardos, (iii) Sir Roger Singleton and (iv) the Children’s Commissioner during preparation of the Protection of Freedoms Bill. [46819]

Lynne Featherstone: A number of consultation meetings with interested parties have taken place during the Vetting and Barring Scheme and criminal records reviews and other aspects of the Protection of Freedoms Bill. We would not normally publish material submitted by third parties without their express consent to do so.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminal records checks have been received and processed by her Department in each year since 2005. [47371]

Lynne Featherstone: The figures for the number of criminal records checks that have been received and processed by the Criminal Records Bureau in each year since 2005 can be found in the following table:


Applications received Certificates despatched

2005

2,736,774

2,655,928

2006

3,183,035

3,143,109

2007

3,382,807

3,353,101

2008

3,810,670

3,701,295

17 Mar 2011 : Column 541W

2009

4,269,971

4,198,256

2010

4,219,395

4,307,690

The figures for despatched volumes may include carry- over from previous years, e.g. applications received in December 2009 may have been despatched in January 2010.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Committee

Budget Limits

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, on what date the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority expects to publish budget limits for 2011-12. [46885]

Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.

Letter from Scott Woolveridge, dated March 2011:

As acting Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the date the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority expects to publish budget limits for 2011-12.

IPSA will outline MPs’ budget limits for 2011-12 when it publishes the revised MPs’ Expenses Scheme on 25 March 2011.

Justice

Contact Orders

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many contact orders under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 issued to fathers in respect of their children were issued in response to the breach of an existing contact order in each year since 2000; [47358]

(2) how many contact orders under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 were issued to fathers in respect of their children in each year since 2000; [47359]

(3) how many (a) parents and (b) fathers applied to court in respect of (i) one breach and (ii) three or more breaches of a contact order issued under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 in each year since 2000; [47360]

(4) how many contact orders under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 were issued in response to the breach of an existing contact order in each year since 2000. [47361]

Mr Djanogly: Information about contact applications in respect of breaches of a contact order, contact orders issued in response to the breach of an existing contact order, or about to which party contact orders are issued is not held centrally. This information can be obtained only through the inspection of individual files at disproportionate cost.

However, information on the total number of applications for a contact order made by fathers in the county courts and High Court is available centrally, and figures for 2005 to 2009 are provided in the following table.

17 Mar 2011 : Column 542W

Applications for Section 8 Contact Orders in Children Act (Private Law) cases in the county courts and High Court of England and Wales, by applicant relationship to child, 2005 - 09
Applicant relationship to child 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Father

25,339

24,967

24,079

25,369

28,777

Other

7,997

8,210

8,187

8,761

9,852

Unknown

264

295

278

278

375

Total

33,600

33,472

32,544

34,408

39,004

Notes: 1. Data are taken from HM Court Service's FamilyMan system. 2. The figures reflect the number of applications made, counted by child. This means that where an application was made for contact with two children the case will be counted twice. 3. In the applicant relationship to child categories “father” may be an adoptive parent or a natural parent, and “other” includes any relationship (e.g. mother, aunt or uncle) and “unknown” reflects cases where no relationship was specified or where the relationship was unclear because there was more than one relationship specified for the case. 4. The figures exclude applications made in Family Proceedings Courts (FPCs). This is because, during the period considered, not all FPCs were using FamilyMan and information on applicant relationships to children was not available for all FPCs. In 2009 FPCs represented about 26% of private law contact order applications. 5. The figures also exclude section 8 contact order applications made in public law (child protection) cases. 6. The overall totals for each year may differ slightly from previously published figures as FamilyMan is a live system and the data used to produce these figures was a more recent extract than that used to produce the earlier published figures. This means that the figures will take into account changes made to data held on FamilyMan since previously published statistics was extracted.

Provisional statistics for private law applications in 2010 are due to be published in the October to December edition of the report Court Statistics Quarterly, which will be published on 31 March and available from the Ministry of Justice website at:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/courtstatisticsquarterly.htm