Gold
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps the Office of Fair Trading has taken to investigate practices of gold buying companies. [53694]
Mr Davey: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has recently taken enforcement action against a number of companies that offer to buy gold from consumers by post.
Following an OFT investigation, which concluded in February 2011, a number of companies signed undertakings to make changes to their business practices. The
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undertakings related to alleged breaches of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.
The OFT investigation raised concerns that the business practices of these companies were not sufficiently transparent and people were being locked into accepting the offer made for their gold. The OFT was particularly concerned with the practice of sending consumers a payment, which if not rejected and returned within restrictive time periods, meant their ‘silence' was taken as consent to the payment and their gold melted down. Gold buying companies are under a duty to trade fairly with consumers and should not seek to use unfair terms in their standard contracts with consumers. This enforcement action provided a clear signal to industry on acceptable trading practices in this area.
Graduates
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether information will be included in the Key Information Set for students on the number of students from each higher education institute who start their own business or become self-employed after leaving university. [53363]
Mr Willetts: This Government are committed to improving the information available to potential students to support them in making more informed choices on course and university. The Key Information Set (KIS) for each course will comprise the 16 items most requested by students, plus clear information on course costs. This will include information on: graduate salaries; percentage of graduates employed; and percentage in a full-time professional or managerial job.
It is not currently proposed to include statistics on students starting their own businesses or moving into self employment. The Higher Education Funding Council for England consultation document provides further information.
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2010/10_31/
Information on the percentage of graduates who are self employed is collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency through the Destination of Leavers of Higher Education Survey. Additionally, 2011/12 graduates will be asked whether they are setting up their own business.
Hallmarking
Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Birmingham Assay Office on his proposals for the future of hallmarks. [53627]
Mr Willetts: As part of the review of public bodies, the British Hallmarking Council was reviewed in August 2010 and I decided that it should be retained. The Birmingham Assay Office was consulted as part of this process. Hallmarking legislation is among the 21,000 regulations included in the Red Tape Challenge on which the Cabinet Office has invited views.
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Higher Education: Access
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the average household income in each socio-economic band used by his Department to monitor levels of access to higher education. [53125]
Mr Willetts: This Department has not published estimates of the average household income for each socio-economic group.
Evidence on participation in higher education (HE) by socio-economic status has been published in the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Performance indicators:
http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/view/2Q72/141/
and in the Department’s Official Release “Full-time young participation by Social Class in 2010 (FYPSEC)”:
http://stats.bis.gov.uk/UKSA/he/sa20100722.htm
However, neither publication includes estimates of median income for the specified social class groupings as income data cannot be sourced from the HESA dataset.
The socio-economic status of students recorded in these publications is derived from the HESA student record and is based on an applicant’s parental occupation (or the occupation of the person contributing the highest income to the household if the applicant is aged 21 years or over) and uses a simplified version of the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC). Socio-economic status data are only available for home (UK domiciled) applicants. The latest figures on young entrants in HE by socio-economic Status are shown in the following table.
| Young (1) UK-domiciled full-time undergraduate entrants by socio-economic classification, UK Higher Education Institutions, academic years: 2009/10 | |
| Socio-economic classification | 2009/10 |
| (1) Covers entrants aged under 21. (2) Covers students whose socio-economic classification was missing, ‘Never worked and long-term unemployed’ or not classified: not classified includes occupations which were inadequately described, not classifiable or unstated. Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest live, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record | |
Higher Education: Admissions
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of children (a) in receipt of and (b) not in receipt of free school meals went on to higher education in each local authority area in each year since 2001. [53820]
Mr Willetts:
The table showing the number and percentage of maintained school pupils aged 15 in each local education authority who progressed to higher
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education by age 19 in 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08, respectively, will be placed in the Libraries of the House. Figures are not available for earlier years.
These figures have been estimated using matched data from the National Pupil Database, the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and the Learning and Skills Council Individualised Learner Record. Matched higher education data are only available from 2005/06. Figures for 2008/09 will be available in the autumn of 2011.
Higher Education: Reading East
Mr Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of schools in Reading East constituency sent at least one pupil to the University of (a) Oxford and (b) Cambridge in each of the last 13 years. [53144]
Mr Willetts: Information has been supplied by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and is in the following table.
| Schools in Reading East with applicants accepted to full-time undergraduate courses at Oxford University or University of Cambridge via UCAS | ||||
| Oxford University | University of Cambridge | |||
| Year of entry | Number of schools with acceptances | Percentage of schools with acceptances | Number of schools with acceptances | Percentage of schools with acceptances |
| Notes: 1. Schools have been identified as those with a postcode in the Reading East parliamentary constituency. The figures cover schools classed by UCAS as comprehensive, grammar, independent and other secondary schools in England. Other kinds of centres have not contributed to this analysis. Only schools from which UCAS received applications in the cycle concerned have contributed to the proportion calculation. Figures do not account for students accepted to Oxford or Cambridge who applied directly, rather than via UCAS. 2. Detailed data on applications via secondary schools are only available from 2001. Data for earlier years have not been provided as the necessary reference data are not available. Source: UCAS | ||||
Intellectual Property
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the intellectual property review by Ian Hargreaves to be published. [53272]
Mr Davey: The Government expect to publish the report of Ian Hargreaves's Review of Intellectual Property and Growth shortly after the end of the election period on 5 May.
Music: Higher Education
Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department's Higher Education White Paper will include provision for funding for specialist music institutions. [53264]
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Mr Willetts: Colleges of music and conservatoires offer courses which are very popular and so we expect them to be in a strong position to attract fee income in future when most funding will follow the choices of students. Many of these institutions receive additional funding from the Funding Council to account for their small size or specialist nature, which are not recognised through the current mainstream funding formula. Whilst it is for the Funding Council to make decisions on grant allocations the Government will set out their priorities for continuing grant in the forthcoming higher education White Paper. It will be our priority that in putting the new funding system in place we do not damage in the process those institutions with a world class reputation for the arts and music.
Power Line Technology Devices
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints his Department has received in respect of power line technology devices in the last 12 months. [52883]
Mr Prisk: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not received any such complaints. Enforcement powers are delegated to the Office of Communication (Ofcom) where a radio spectrum protection or management issue occurs and it is they who deal with these complaints. Since July 2008 Ofcom has investigated a total of 219 reports of interference related to power line technology, of which only one is still awaiting resolution.
RBS and Lloyds TSB
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many companies have been declared insolvent as a result of insolvency procedures instigated by (a) Royal Bank of Scotland and (b) Lloyds TSB in each of the last six months. [52918]
Mr Davey: The available information is for company compulsory liquidations in England and Wales only. During the six months from July to December 2010 the number of cases where the insolvency was recorded as instigated by (a) RBS was 11 and by (b) Lloyds TSB was zero (that is, these companies were listed as being a petitioning creditor in the insolvency). These numbers are in the context of 2,277 new compulsory liquidations in total for the same period, and some 290 cases where the petitioner was unknown.
Figures for the last three months (January to March 2011) will not be available until after the headline official statistics have been published. The Quarter 1 2011 Statistical Release will be available from 6 May on the Insolvency Service website:
http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/otherinformation/statistics/insolvency-statistics.htm
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with (a) UK Financial Investments Ltd, (b) RBS and (c) Lloyds TSB on the use of insolvency practitioners with business customers. [52945]
Mr Davey:
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has not had
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discussions with UK Financial Investments Ltd., the Royal Bank of Scotland or Lloyds TSB on whether insolvency practitioners should be appointed in respect of business customers.
Regional Development Agencies: Assets
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Blackpool South (Mr Marsden) of 7 December 2010, Official Report, columns 245-46W, on regional development agencies: assets, what the original purchase price was of each asset owned by the regional development agencies in each (a) region and (b) local enterprise partnership area. [52721]
Mr Prisk: Information on the original purchase price for every regional development agency asset is not available and could only be provided, where it was not commercially sensitive, at disproportionate cost.
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which regional development agency assets in each (a) region, (b) local authority and (c) local enterprise partnership area are named in bids to the Regional Growth Fund. [52828]
Mr Prisk: The Regional Growth Fund application form did not ask for information on regional development agency assets.
Regional Growth Fund: Sheffield
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what schemes have been submitted to the regional growth fund from the Sheffield city region; and what the status is of each scheme. [52959]
Mr Prisk: 21 bids were received from Sheffield city region in Round 1 of the Regional Growth Fund. Of these, the bid from Doncaster borough council has been given a conditional offer of funding which is subject to the outcome of the due diligence process.
Research: Finance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much each (a) funding council and (b) research council paid to each university in each of the last 10 years. [53825]
Mr Willetts: Data from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) can be provided only from financial year 2005-06 and will be placed in the Libraries of the House. Earlier years' data could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The rates of funding are derived from the total HEFCE recurrent teaching grant for universities. Other sources of funding including non-HEFCE grants such as from the Training and Development Agency, Learning and Skills Council, National Health Service etc. and fee income are all excluded.
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To note, the figures include all payments made via HEFCE, including where they do so on behalf of other organisations. In particular, this includes:
All funding for the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF);
Funding allocations made to English HEIs by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC);
Allocations of student support administered by HEFCE on behalf of the Department, such as Access to Learning Funds and student bursaries.
The data are only available from the Research Councils for the period 2004-05 to 2008-09. Earlier years' data could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In this period the Research Councils provided £4,955,295,000 to higher education institutions (HEIs). A full breakdown by HEI, Research Council and year will also be placed in the Libraries of the House.
As higher education is a reserved matter, it is not possible to provide details of the funding provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Scottish Funding Council, or from the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland.
However, the publicly available HESA reports ‘Finances of Higher Education Institutions’ and ‘Resources of HE Institutions’ provide data on the income received by all UK institutions from Funding Councils and Research Councils for the last 10 years. Due to accounting methods, this will be marginally different to the payments made from Funding Councils and Research Councils to universities.
Science and Innovation Network
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the future of the Science and Innovation Network; and if he will make a statement. [53128]
Mr Willetts: The joint BIS/Foreign and Commonwealth Office Science and Innovation Network (SIN) will continue to play an important role in promoting and supporting UK science internationally. The two Departments will continue to fund SIN direct costs on a 50/50 basis with a flat cash budget. This positive outcome recognises the value of SIN in promoting UK prosperity and growth.
SIN is currently based in UK diplomatic missions in 25 countries worldwide. It influences science and innovation policies internationally, to the benefit of the UK through lobbying and the deployment of robust scientific evidence and informs UK policy making by the identification of international best practice. The Network works to bring the best of international science and innovation together with the best in the UK.
SIN works closely with UK Trade and Investment, Research Councils UK, universities and other key bodies in the UK science and innovation community in support of UK prosperity and growth. In order to keep pace with international trends SIN will extend its coverage to include strengthening science and innovation teams in Brazil and Russia and the creation of new teams in the middle east and Africa. At the same time the Government will maintain a strong SIN presence in the highest priority countries.
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Small Businesses: Finance
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on trends in (a) levels of lending and (b) the cost of finance to small and medium-sized enterprises since his appointment. [54058]
Mr Prisk: The Department collects quantitative data on lending and costs of finance to SMEs from the four major lenders. These data are made publicly available and analysed on a quarterly basis by the Bank of England, through its ‘Trends in Lending’ publication.
More information is available at:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/other/monetary/trendsinlending.htm
With regard to the cost of finance, the Bank of England also publishes information via its Credit Conditions Survey, the latest of which indicates that spreads over reference rates, and fees and commission have increased slightly for small businesses.
In order to cross-reference those quantitative data, the Department also carries out regular surveys to gauge the needs and concerns of small businesses and identify the barriers that prevent them from fulfilling their potential, including the access to and cost of finance. The results of the latest surveys—Annual Small Business Survey 2010 and Business Barometer February 2011—will shortly be available on the Department’s website.
StartUp Britain
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the organisers of the StartUp Britain campaign. [53119]
Mr Prisk: The Government supports Start Up Britain, a business-led campaign designed to celebrate, inspire and accelerate enterprise in the UK. The Government joined forces with big business and entrepreneurs to celebrate its launch on 28 March. Before the launch the organisers gave a presentation of their plans to the Cabinet and I met them once. On the day of the launch, both myself and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills met them again.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how he expects StartUp Britain to work with his Department to promote business start-ups in the UK. [53120]
Mr Prisk: The Start Up Britain campaign is an independent private-sector led initiative. The Government welcome this response to their ambition for an enterprise-led recovery, which complements the changes we are making to the way we deliver support to people who want to start and grow their businesses. BIS officials have arranged monthly meetings with the StartUp Britain organisers to ensure Government are well-sighted on their activities. In addition StartUp Britain is represented on a BIS working group looking at enterprise promotion.
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Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has estimated the average sum which a new business subscribing to StartUp Britain services will be required to pay in order to receive the full introductory discount offered. [53121]
Mr Prisk: The StartUp Britain campaign is an independent, private-sector led initiative which the Government wholeheartedly support. The organisers have advised that:
‘Over 50 private sector partners have been engaged in Start Up Britain, many of them offering discounts. While some offers require no purchase by the user (for example, free business cards or ad words), others require the user to buy something. For example, they might gain 10% off business insurance. The founders have not calculated the minimum or maximum a business would need to spend to save £1,500 and business people are encouraged to read and evaluate each offer on its own merits.’
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new startup businesses he expects to be established as a result of the information provided through the StartUp Britain website. [53333]
Mr Prisk: The StartUp Britain campaign is an independent, private-sector led initiative. Designed to celebrate, inspire and accelerate enterprise in the UK, it has the full backing of the Government. According to the organisers, the campaign, which was launched on 28 March, aims to reach 250,000 businesses through its activities in its first year, and they will be working on further detailed key performance indicators as part of their plans for 2012. The StartUp Britain website had 108,000 visitors in its first month.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what financial contribution his Department has made to the creation and maintenance of the StartUp Britain website since its establishment. [53334]
Mr Prisk: The StartUp Britain website is independently financed and free to access. The Department has made no financial contribution to the creation and maintenance of the website since its establishment.
Students: Fees and Charges
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether a foundation degree followed by a BA degree is classed as an end-on course; and whether such courses will be exempt from increases in tuition fees. [53704]
Mr Willetts: Yes, for the purposes of the Education (Student Support) Regulations an “end-on course” is a degree course taken immediately—that is to say without any break other than a vacation—after a foundation degree or other lower level qualification designated for support under those regulations. Students seeking top up qualifications in this way are treated as continuing their studies, and retain the support package and tuition charge arrangements that applied on their initial course.
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We will regulate to ensure that the new support and fee charging arrangements to be introduced from 2012/13 do not apply to students taking “end-on courses”. This will be subject to the conditions that the student keeps the same mode of study (principally whether the course is part-time or full-time) in the second course as he or she followed in the initial course and takes the second course immediately after the initial course has completed.
Students: Loans
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the level of fraud in applications for loans made to the Student Loans Company; and if he will make a statement. [53124]
Mr Willetts: The Student Loans Company (SLC) undertook a study of identity fraud during the financial year 2009-10. This estimated that 1.6% of applications had some element of fraud. The company subsequently introduced new income and identity fraud prevention and detection checks, using a commercial provider to deliver electronic income and identity validation services during the application cycle. This work is linked to checks currently undertaken with HM Revenue and Customs to enable enhanced verification of household income against tax payer returns.
The SLC and NHS Counter Fraud Service have both carried out fraud measurement exercises. The most recent estimates suggest that student finance related fraud, including in relation to NHS bursaries, costs £31 million a year.
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the proportion of successful applicants for student loans for tuition fees in each decile of earnings in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available. [53126]
Mr Willetts: Comprehensive income information is not available for all tuition fee loan borrowers as tuition fee loans are not means-tested. Income details are only held for applicants who have also applied for some form of means-tested support. In addition, income details are not collected from continuing students who have indicated that their income has not changed significantly since the previous year.
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the likely level of non-repayment of student loans taken out to fund university tuition fees at an average tuition fee of (a) £7,500, (b) £8,000 and (c) £9,000. [53127]
Mr Willetts: The level of repayment of student loans taken out to fund university tuition fees, as well as loan for living costs, will depend on many factors such as: length of course, distribution of average fee, tuition fee loan take-up, maintenance loan take-up, terms of office for fair access agreements and economic growth.
The main factors affecting (non-)repayment are the total debt on leaving higher education coupled with real earnings growth. Given these uncertainties, we estimate that the likely level of non-repayment of student loans
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will be around 30% of the total loan amount. The higher average loan amounts will have a slightly higher non-repayment percentage.
Supermarkets: Competition
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what powers he plans to provide to the proposed groceries code adjudicator; and if he will make a statement. [53029]
Mr Davey: The Groceries Code Adjudicator draft Bill, which will be published shortly, will set out the proposed powers for the groceries code adjudicator.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what process will be used for the appointment of the proposed groceries code adjudicator; and if he will make a statement. [53030]
Mr Davey: The proposed groceries code adjudicator will be recruited through fair and open competition in line with Government guidance and good practice.
Tattooing
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will consider the merits of the regulation of the online sale of DIY tattoo kits; and if he will make a statement. [52773]
Mr Davey: The sale of DIY tattoo kits is covered by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR). These place a general duty on all suppliers/producers of consumer goods to supply products that are safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use, which includes providing consumers with appropriate warnings and instructions for use (together with sell by dates, age related warnings and other relevant information in the language of the market). Local authorities as the UK market surveillance authorities enforce the GPSR and will be able to take action when they consider an absence of any of these renders a product unsafe, including online sales.
TrustMark
Mr Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings his Department has had with representatives of TrustMark in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [52855]
Mr Prisk: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Department has regular meetings with representatives of TrustMark.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Animal Welfare: Sustainable Farming
Mr Bain:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanism her Department has established to continue the work
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on animal health and welfare previously conducted by the regional sustainable food and farming strategy boards. [52899]
Mr Paice: As announced in my written ministerial statement on 26 April 2011, Official Report, columns 3-4WS, we are setting up a new Animal Health and Welfare Board for England to have responsibility for strategic animal health and welfare policy, and oversight of its delivery in relation to England. Groups within the new rural and farming network will, of course, be able to engage with Ministers on local animal health and welfare issues.
Biomass
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the forthcoming revision of the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol in relation to black carbon; whether she has made an assessment of the likely effect of any revision on the combustion of biomass in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [53788]
Mr Paice [holding answer 3 May 2011]: The forthcoming revision of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Gothenburg Protocol provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of reducing black carbon as a component of particulate matter (PM) for both health and climate reasons. The proposal for an emissions ceiling for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the revised protocol will help to deliver reductions in black carbon out to 2020 while further work is carried out to develop emission inventories, ambient air quality monitoring and improve our understanding of control techniques for black carbon.
To date, no assessment has been made of the likely effect of a revised protocol on the combustion of biomass in the UK. However, emissions from biomass combustion have the potential to adversely impact ambient air quality. Therefore, as announced in the Government's March 2011 document on the renewable heat incentive (RHI), emission limits for particulate matter (PM10) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) will be introduced in 2012 for biomass installations below 20MWth as eligibility criteria for RHI support. For further information see:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/What%20we%20do/UK%20energy%20supply/Energy%20mix/Renewable%20energy/policy/renewableheat/1387-renewable-heat-incentive.pdf
The UK continues to fully participate in Gothenburg Protocol revision negotiations with the aim of agreeing a revised protocol that will continue the overall downward trajectory of air pollutant emissions and bring further environmental benefits across the UNECE region.
Coastal Erosion: Kent
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much will be spent on Kent's coastal defences by the Environment Agency in each of the four years commencing 2011-12. [53669] [Official Report, 9 May 2011, Vol. 527, c. 5MC.]
Richard Benyon: Total flood defence grant in aid for sea defences in Kent in 2011-12 is £15,019.40. This includes both capital and revenue funding.
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Finance for schemes beyond 2011-12 will be determined by the reforms which will be announced in due course following our recent consultation on future funding of flood and coastal erosion risk management in England.
Departmental Manpower
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) actual and (b) full-time equivalent staff have left her Department and its executive agencies since 31 January 2011. [53086]
Richard Benyon [holding answer 28 April 2011]: 97 staff, 89 full-time equivalents, left DEFRA and its agencies between 31 January and 31 March 2011.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials in her Department have been appointed on a fixed-term contract for each job title and at each grade since 7 May 2010. [53087]
Richard Benyon [holding answer 28 April 2011]: The information provided in the following table covers the period 7 May 2010 to 31 March 2011 and is for the core Department plus agencies.
| Grade | Headcount | FTE |
Dogs: Tagging
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what her policy is on the introduction of compulsory microchipping for dogs; [51495]
(2) what her policy is on the permanent identification of dogs. [51496]
Mr Paice: A proposal for all dogs to be compulsorily microchipped was included in DEFRA's consultation on dangerous dog legislation. DEFRA received 1,875 responses on this issue, of which 84% were in favour and 16% opposed. We are currently working with groups such as the RSPCA to look at a range of issues raised in the consultation, including microchipping.
Elephants: Conservation
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on the adoption of an EU common position on the level of elephant protection provided by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. [53758]
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Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on the adoption of an EU common position on the level of elephant protection provided by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. [54262]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA officials are playing an active role in working with the European Commission and other member states to agree the strategy to be taken in preparing for, and negotiating at, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Standing Committee, due to be held in Geneva in August, where a range of elephant-related agenda items are expected.
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to discourage future legal ivory sales within the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species framework. [53759]
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to discourage future legal ivory sales within the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species framework. [54261]
Richard Benyon: Future ivory sales will only be legal if agreed under a decision making mechanism which, in 2010, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species agreed should be produced by 2013. The UK is working with its EU partners to develop a robust line to be taken in future discussions, as well as calling for an early start to the development of a precautionary mechanism. I hope that line can be agreed as soon as possible to signal the precautionary line that the EU intends to take.
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what reports she has received on the killing of elephants in Chad in March and April 2011; and what support her Department is providing through international organisations to reduce the level of poaching of elephants in Central and West Africa. [53760]
Richard Benyon: No official reports of the apparent killings have been received, but we are liaising with the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES) ‘Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants’ programme to assess the accuracy of the stories. The UK as a party to CITES supports its efforts to maintain or enhance countries' enforcement capabilities. In the second half of May, the UK will be participating in a CITES-organised rhino and elephant enforcement taskforce meeting which will exchange intelligence reports and methodologies and develop strategies to tackle the illegal trade in both animals across their ranges.
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to deter UK tourists from bringing illegal ivory souvenirs into the UK. [53761]
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to deter UK tourists from bringing illegal ivory souvenirs into the UK. [54260]
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Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to deter UK tourists from bringing illegal ivory souvenirs into the UK. [54068]
Richard Benyon: The Directgov website, as well as those for DEFRA and the UK Border Agency, provides advice to travellers on purchasing and importing souvenirs of endangered species. It includes details of items, such as elephant ivory, whose international trade and importation into the UK is prohibited. In addition displays have been placed at major UK airports to inform travellers of the legislative requirements concerning such imports.
EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement
Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the evidence presented by the European Commission on whether the Saharawi people were consulted on their wishes in relation to the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement. [50326]
Richard Benyon [holding answer 31 March 2011]: The European Commission has not presented DEFRA with any information regarding consultation with the Saharawi people on the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement. The Commission has forwarded information which the Moroccan authorities submitted to it on how the EU funds allocated under the Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Morocco have been used. DEFRA is still assessing this information to see how the population of the Western Sahara have benefited.
Food: Supermarkets
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to limit the amount of fresh produce discarded by supermarkets. [54056]
Richard Benyon: Government are working with food manufacturers and retailers via the Courtauld Commitment, a responsibility deal on waste prevention. This includes an ambitious target to reduce traditional grocery product and packaging waste in the supply chain by 5% by the end of 2012 against a 2009 baseline, which covers food that reaches stores but does not get sold.
Courtauld signatories are working with the Waste and Resources Action Programme to identify and implement ways of reducing this waste; we also encourage industry to work with charities such as FareShare to ensure that good food does not go to waste.
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Horse Passports
Mr Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will assess the likely compliance with EU requirements of a regulation stipulating that horse passports should be voluntary, save that horses presenting at an abattoir should have a document listing recent veterinary medicines administered. [49375]
Mr Paice: We have no plans to make such an assessment. The current EU regulation requires all horses to be issued with a passport.
National Environment White Paper
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason the publication of the (a) National Environment White Paper and (b) Water White Paper has been delayed; and if she will make a statement. [54295]
Richard Benyon: The National Ecosystems Assessment (NEA) will form a key part of the evidence base for the Natural Environment White Paper. The independent co-chairs of the NEA have, in agreement with all funders, decided that the NEA will be published in June. This will allow key stakeholders to be briefed on the study, for some additional analysis, and for further engagement with the devolved Administrations following their elections. The Natural Environment White Paper will therefore be published in June 2011, after the NEA, to allow for full inclusion of the evidence it provides.
With regard to the Water White Paper, we have been examining the issues raised in the Walker review of charging for household water and sewerage services to develop a workable policy to support households that face water affordability pressures. We launched a consultation on our proposals on 5 April 2011 and expect to publish the Water White Paper in the autumn, once we have considered the issues raised in the consultation.
Nature Conservation: EU Law
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what projects in the UK have received funding from the EU LIFE+ programme. [54268]
Richard Benyon: LIFE+ currently funds 18 projects in the UK, information on which is provided in the following table. Further details of these projects can be found in a database on the European Commission's LIFE website.
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Rivers: Lancashire
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the proportion of rivers in Lancashire that are free for use as thoroughfares for canoeists and other river users. [50974]
Richard Benyon: It is estimated that about 4.4% of rivers in Lancashire have formal access for canoeing. This information is the best of our knowledge from research carried out by the University of Brighton in 2009-10 on behalf of the Environment Agency. It does not distinguish between stretches of river which may or may not be navigable for canoeists.
Salmon: Farms
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what requirements her Department has put in place in respect of the frequency of reporting of levels of sea lice infestation by salmon farms. [52900]
Richard Benyon: Salmon farming is a devolved matter for the Scottish Government. As there is no saltwater farming of salmon in England, there are no requirements to monitor, or report, sea lice levels at such sites.
Sustainable Farming
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms exist for her Department to obtain independent advice about rural issues in the English regions following the winding up of the sustainable food and farming strategy boards. [52898]
Mr Paice: I recently announced our proposals for a network of new non-statutory groups representing rural interests, to give advice directly to Ministers on farming, food and rural issues. The groups will provide a direct line of communication to provide DEFRA Ministers with information and concerns from local rural and farming communities. We are calling for people from farming, food and rural affairs backgrounds to volunteer to be part of the local networks. Further information on the new network can be obtained from:
http://www.rdpenetwork.org.uk/news-and-publications/network-news/rural-and-farming-network
Sustainable Food and Farming Strategy
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements are in place for implementation of policies across the land-based sector following the abolition of the Sustainable Food and Farming Strategy. [52707]
Mr Paice: The new framework for delivery of DEFRA policies is set out in the Department's business plan. This includes the vision, priorities, actions and information strategy. The three key priority areas outlined in the plan are to:
Support British farming and encourage sustainable food production.
Enhance the environment and biodiversity to improve quality of life.
Support a strong and sustainable green economy, resilient to climate change.
Policies relating to the land-based sector will contribute to the implementation of all three priorities.
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Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings she held with the Sustainable Food and Farming Strategy regional chairman before taking the decision to abolish the Sustainable Food and Farming Strategy. [52708]
Mr Paice: The Sustainable Food and Farming Strategy Regional Groups were funded until the end of March this year. Their chairmen met with senior DEFRA officials in February to discuss how they could contribute to developing new arrangements, under a Big Society approach, for self-supporting local groups that will be able to give advice directly to Ministers on farming, food and rural issues.
Deputy Prime Minister
Accountability: Police
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to discuss the regulation of elections for directly-elected police and crime commissioners under the provisions of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill. [53232]
Mr Harper: My officials have been working closely with their counterparts at the Home Department on the provisions which will be required in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill and accompanying legislation to allow for the conduct and regulation of elections for directly-elected police and crime commissioners. This work is designed to ensure that a consistent approach is taken for the regulation and conduct of statutory elections across the UK.
Mayors
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to discuss the regulation of referendums for directly-elected mayors under the provisions of the Localism Bill. [53233]
Mr Harper: My officials are in regular contact with their counterparts at the Department for Communities and Local Government on the provisions which will be required in the Localism Bill and accompanying legislation to allow for the conduct and regulation of referendums for directly-elected mayors. This communication is designed to ensure that a consistent approach is taken for the regulation and conduct of statutory elections and referendums across the UK.
Cabinet Office
Charitable Donations
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2011, Official Report, columns 871-2W, on voluntary organisations, how his Department plans to measure the effectiveness of its initiative to increase levels of giving. [52503]
Mr Hurd:
Cabinet Office programmes aimed at increasing levels of giving are currently being developed, and consideration will be given on how to measure effectiveness
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of these programmes. The Cabinet Office will also continue to draw on independent analysis from external resources for information on trends in giving.
Charities: Kent
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many organisations have (a) applied for and (b) been awarded an allocation from the Transition Fund in (i) Chatham and Aylesford constituency, (ii) Medway constituency, (iii) Tonbridge and Malling constituency and (iv) Kent. [52412]
Mr Hurd: There were no applications to the Transition Fund from Chatham and Aylesford or Medway. Two applications were received from organisations in Tonbridge and Malling. Of these one organisation has already received an award and the other has received an offer. There were 24 applications from organisations in Kent. Of these, two of have been awarded grants and 11 have received an offer.
Departmental Stationery
Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of paper and office supplies used in 10 Downing street were from (a) renewable, (b) recycled or (c) sustainable sources in the latest period for which figures are available. [51705]
Mr Maude: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office, and the answer provided is therefore for the whole of the Cabinet Office.
In line with Cabinet Office policy, all paper purchased for use in multi-function devices and printers is 100% recycled. During the period January 2011 to March 2011, 15.3% of spend on all other office supplies purchased by the Cabinet Office, including pens, rulers and staplers, was defined as being ‘sustainable’. During the same period last year 14.15% of office supplies purchased by the Cabinet Office was defined as being ‘sustainable’.
Low Pay
Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) women and (b) men had earnings below the lower earnings limit in each of the last five years. [53842]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated April 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) women and (b) men had earnings below the lower earnings limit in each year of the last five years. (53842)
Levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for all employees on adult rates of pay, whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. ASHE methodology cannot be used to provide estimates of the numbers of employees whose earnings is less than a specific amount, but can be used to provide estimates of percentage of employees in that category. Estimates are for single jobs and not for total employment earnings.
The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
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I attach a table showing the percentage of female and male UK employees earning below the lower earnings limit for the years 2006-2010.
| Percentage of United Kingdom employee jobs (1) earning below the lower earnings limit | |||||||
| All employees | Full-time employees | Part-time employees | |||||
|
|
Lower earnings limit (£ per week) | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female |
| (1) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. As at April each year. Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics. | |||||||
Public Data Corporation
Mark Pawsey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects the proposed Public Data Corporation to be established; and if he will make a statement. [54252]
Mr Maude: We are continuing to work on proposals for a Public Data Corporation which achieve all the objectives which were initially set out on 12 January 2011 and then updated at Budget. Our intent remains to put in place a coherent data policy framework by autumn 2011. We are also considering the merits of machinery of government changes to facilitate the development of a Public Data Corporation (PDC) through a sponsoring department and the subsequent establishment of a PDC Shadow Board.
Mark Pawsey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which (a) Government organisations, (b) datasets and (c) licensing arrangements he expects to come within the remit of the proposed Public Data Corporation. [54253]
Mr Maude: There are many organisations in the public sector which hold and manage information. Not all organisations holding significant public sector information will be suitable for inclusion within the Public Data Corporation. Important considerations will be how and to what extent the information is made available to its customers (other parts of Government, businesses and citizens), and whether products and services form part of the organisation’s ‘public task’ or whether they are a by product in the organisation’s business model. Final decisions on inclusion of bodies and datasets will be taken in light of this work. Until decisions are taken it would be premature to announce which bodies may be involved.
While the majority of public sector information will be available under the Open Government License (OGL), there are some instances where this is not possible e.g. where third party intellectual property rights are present, or where charges are required to ensure the sustainability and quality of the data. Work over the coming months will focus on harmonising and simplifying licensing arrangements that can be used as a basis for licensing where the OGL is not appropriate.
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Mark Pawsey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the (a) remit and (b) activities will be of the proposed Public Data Corporation. [54254]
Mr Maude: This initiative is about bringing together some of our most valuable public sector information and the organisations that collect, hold and manage that information, in order to deliver multiple benefits to the public, business, the public purse, and Government.
The individual organisations that are taken within the Public Data Corporation will continue to carry out their current functions, eg collecting and maintaining data, producing information, providing value-added services. What the Public Data Corporation offers is the opportunity to create a centre of excellence for the collecting, holding and managing of different organisations' data. Other benefits include:
Adopting a more consistent approach towards access to and accessibility of public sector information;
creating more opportunities for citizens, social enterprises and businesses to use public sector data in new and innovative ways;
identifying how data Government already hold can be used more effectively to provide better and cheaper public services; and
creating more certainty and predictability—encouraging businesses to invest in and develop new and innovative products and applications based on data. It will also provide opportunities for private investment in the corporation, reinforcing and accelerating the development of these world class assets and their contribution to the knowledge economy.
Third Sector: Finance
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Office for Civil Society is taking to prevent any disproportionate negative effects on black and minority ethnic organisations in the selection of its strategic partners. [52982]
Mr Hurd: The Office for Civil Society’s (OCS’s) Strategic Partners are required to fully represent black and minority ethnic organisations.
Justice
First Tier Tax Tribunal
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases went to the first tier tax tribunal or its predecessor in each year from 2005 to 2010; and what the outcome of the tribunal process was in those cases. [52904]
Mr Djanogly: The First-tier Tax Chamber was created in April 2009. Prior to that date, tax appeals were heard by the VAT and Duties Tribunal, the Special Commissioners of Income Tax and the General Commissioners of Income Tax. The number of appeals received by the VAT and Duties Tribunal and the Special Commissioners of Income Tax from 2004-05 is in the following table:
| Tax appeal receipts | ||
| Financial year | VAT and duties | Special Commissioners of Income Tax |
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| Source: Annual Statistics for Tribunals Service (numbers rounded) | ||
No central data were collected by Government on the number of appeals dealt with by the General Commissioners of Income Tax. As part of the preparations for the implementation of the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber), data were collated and agreed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the Tribunals Service for the year 2006-07. During that year, it was estimated that 9,500 cases were heard before the General Commissioners. No other data are available for the years prior to April 2009.
Receipts by the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) since 2009 are given in the following table:
| First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) | |
| Financial year | Receipts |
| (1 )First three quarters’ data from quarterly statistics publication; fourth quarter is provisional pending quarter 4 publication | |
The tribunal’s database does not have the facility to extract the outcome of appeals. This information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost by checking individual records of all appeals.
Courts: Closures
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has carried out an equality impact assessment of the effect of proposed court closures on (a) women and (b) children under 16 years. [53763]
Mr Djanogly: Equality impact assessments were produced to accompany the consultation response papers on the provision of court services in each of the former HM Courts Service Areas. The response papers, impact assessments and equality impact assessments are available on the Ministry of Justice website at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/consultations-closed-with-response.htm
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of court closures on the time taken to (a) initiate and (b) complete in care proceedings in England and Wales. [53765]
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Mr Djanogly: The impact assessments accompanying the consultation response papers assume that court estate rationalisation does not impact on service delivery. As the volume of work is not expected to rise or fall as a result of estate rationalisation and there is sufficient capacity at recipient courts to undertake work from closing courts, it is not anticipated that timeliness of care proceedings will be significantly affected.
The majority of courts that will close are generally the smallest magistrates courts, which will have very low volumes, if any, of family business. HM Courts and Tribunals Service will carefully manage the transfer of workload and administration using the detailed implementation plans that are being developed for each court that is closed.
Crime
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) convictions, (b) cautions and (c) fixed penalty notices there have been in respect of people arrested for speeding offences in Suffolk (i) in total and (ii) on (A) the A143 and (B) the A14 in each year since 1997. [53458]
Mr Blunt: The number of persons found guilty at all courts for speeding offences in Suffolk police force area for the years 1997 to 2009 (latest available) is in table 1.
Cautions for motoring are not collated centrally.
Court proceedings data for 2010 will be available on 26 May 2011.
It is not possible to identify from data collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice those convictions or cautions which occurred in the A143 or A14. This information will only be held on individual court file records.
Arrests data are held by the Home Office who provided the following information:
Data on arrests are published in chapter one of the annual Home Office Statistical Bulletin Police Powers and Procedures. Arrests data collected are not broken down beyond offence groups such as “violence against the person” or “sexual offences” and specific offences such as speeding offences are unavailable.
Data on the number of Fixed Penalty notices issued for the offence of speeding in Suffolk police force area for the years 1997 to 2009 are in table 2.
It is not possible from data held by the Home Office to identify those fixed penalty notices that have arisen as a result of an arrest. Neither is it possible to identify those fixed penalty notices which occurred in the A143 or A14 area as this information is not held centrally, and will only be held on police file records.
| Table 1: Number of persons found guilty at all courts for speeding offences in Suffolk police force area, from 1997 to 2009 (1,2,3) | |||||||||||||
| Offence class 816 | |||||||||||||
|
|
1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |||||||||||||
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| Table 2 The number of Fixed Penalty notices issued for the offence of speeding in Suffolk police force area for the years 1997 to 2009 | |||||||||||||
|
|
1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Source: Police Personnel, Powers and Procedures, Home Office | |||||||||||||
Crime: Nature Conservation
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there were for offences under wildlife protection legislation in each criminal justice area in the most recent year for which figures are available. [53497]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for wildlife related offences, by police force area in England and Wales, 2009 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
Court proceedings data for 2010 are planned for publication on 26 May 2011.
| Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for wildlife related offences, by police force area 2009 (1,2,3) | ||||||
| Police force area | Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (4) | Protection of Badgers Act 1992 | Deer Act 1991 | Control of Trade in Endangered (Enforcement) Species Regulation 1997 | Conservation of Seals Act 1970 | Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 |
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| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure (hat the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Only those forces are shown where data have been reported. (4) Excludes offence “Protection of wild plants” as it forms part of a miscellaneous code which cannot be identified separately. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | ||||||
Departmental Buildings
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) name and (b) address is of each building owned by his Department; and what the estimated monetary value is of each such building. [53808]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice estate occupies around 2,140 properties as of September 2010, the most recent period for which we have verified data. This consists of freehold, leasehold premises and other holdings used under a memorandum of terms of occupancy. To disaggregate this figure and to give the name and address for each freehold property would incur disproportionate cost. However, this information will be updated and available on the Cabinet Office website in the near future.
The total number of properties occupied consists of:
135 prisons;
624 courts;
680 probation premises;
49 tribunal premises;
189 other administrative buildings;
approximately 270 residential premises (prison officer accommodation, judges lodgings, etc.); and
approximately 200 other properties (car parks, storage, etc).
The market value of assets is commercially confidential.
Departmental Work Experience
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what advice his Department provides to those wishing to (a) work as an intern, (b) undertake a work experience placement and (c) work as a volunteer in his Department. [52815]
Mr Djanogly: The Department does not currently run a scheme to offer work experience placement and internships to students so there is no published guidance available on this.
Advice and guidance for people wishing to volunteer within the field of justice is provided on DirectGov. This includes information on opportunities such as becoming a magistrate, supporting victims and witnesses of crime, and working with young offenders.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many students from (a) the UK and (b) Bassetlaw constituency have been offered internships in his Department since 8 May 2010. [53212]
Mr Djanogly: Five UK students were offered placements through the Cabinet Office Summer Development Programme in 2010. None of these were from Bassetlaw constituency. No other internships have been offered to students from (a) the UK and (b) Bassetlaw constituency since 8 May, 2010.