Voting Rights: Prisoners
Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will request the administration of the European Court of Human Rights to amend the factsheet of the European Court of Human Rights entitled Prisoners' Right to Vote published in February 2011 to include reference to (a) the outcome of the division on the motion on Voting by Prisoners of 10 February 2011, Votes and Proceedings, No. 115 and (b) the arguments addressed in the UK against granting prisoners the right to vote. [52475]
Mr Harper: Factsheets are compiled, by theme, by the Council of Europe's (CoE) Press Service on the European Court of Human Right's case law and pending cases. Their content is a matter for the CoE.
11 May 2011 : Column 1267W
The Information Note is available on the Committee of Ministers' website:
https://wcd.coe.int/wcd/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1753877 &Site=CM&BackColorInternet=C3C3C3&BackColor Intranet=EDB021&BackColorLogged=F5D383
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Committee
Members: Insurance
Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, (1) if he will urge the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to publish guidance on the general subject headings under which claims may be made by hon. Members for insurance premiums relating to staff employment litigation; [53609]
(2) to what extent the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will accept claims from hon. Members for reimbursement of expenditure incurred on insurance premiums relating to staff employment litigation; and what the maximum sum is that can be claimed for the purchase of such insurance. [53611]
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:
As acting Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking whether IPSA will publish guidance for MPs claiming reimbursement of premia for legal expenses insurance under the MPs' Expenses Scheme.
Legal Expenses Insurance (which may cover costs associated with staff employment litigation) is claimable from the Office Costs Expenditure budget. This budget is capped at £24,000 for London Area MPs and £21,500 for non-London Area MPs. All claims for such premia must meet the rules of the Scheme and the evidence requirements.
As MPs have discretion over claims for costs which meet the conditions of the Office Costs Expenditure budget, IPSA does not intend to provide further guidance to MPs on this matter.
Health
CJD: Disease Control
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on research into (a) prion decontamination and (b) variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease blood tests in each year for which figures are available. [54815]
Mr Simon Burns: Available figures for expenditure from the Department's central research and development budgets on research relating to prion decontamination and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) blood tests are shown in the following table.
| £ million | |||||
|
|
2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
11 May 2011 : Column 1268W
Heart Diseases
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much the NHS spent on (a) elective and (b) emergency admissions for acute myocardial infarction in (i) each primary care trust and (ii) England in each of the last three years for which data are available; [54946]
(2) how much the NHS spent on acute myocardial infarction in (a) each primary care trust and (b) England in each of the last three years for which data are available; [54947]
(3) what the repeat admission rate for acute myocardial infarction was in (a) each primary care trust and (b) England in each of the last three years for which data are available. [54948]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested is not held centrally.
Further information about acute myocardial infarction is available from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project at:
www.rcplondon.ac.uk/resources/myocardial-ischaemia-national-audit-project-minap
NHS Future Forum
John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what listening exercise events the NHS Future Forum plans to undertake before the end of the consultation; [54877]
(2) what listening exercise events the NHS Future Forum has held to date. [54878]
Mr Simon Burns: The NHS Future Forum is participating in a number of meetings and discussions throughout the listening period. Over 200 such opportunities have already been arranged over the two month period, involving a wide range of participants from across the national health service, local government, third sector and beyond. Host organisations for upcoming events will be publicising these as they feel most appropriate through their usual channels.
We will publish a weekly update on who Forum members have been hearing from, available through the Modernisation of Health and Care website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/healthandcare
Additionally, details of all the listening events held, including dates, location and audience, will be released alongside the NHS Future Forum's report.
Radiotherapy: Finance
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to section 6.12 of his Department's report on Improving outcomes: a strategy for cancer (1) which NHS hospital trusts have applied for additional investment for radiotherapy in 2011-12; [54764]
(2) what criteria he proposes for hospitals to be eligible for additional investment for radiotherapy; [54765]
(3) what estimate he has made of the proportion of additional investment for radiotherapy which will be available during the current financial year. [54767]
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Paul Burstow: “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer” sets out our commitment to expand radiotherapy capacity by investing over £150 million in additional funding over the next four years. This will support increased utilisation of existing equipment, establish new services to increase capacity in some areas and ensure that all high priority patients with a need for proton beam therapy treatment get access to it abroad.
This additional funding was included in the financial settlement for the spending review (SR) period 2011-12 to 2014-15 and will be included in primary care trust baseline allocations, alongside the existing funding for radiotherapy. Around 10%, of the additional funding across the SR period is due to be made available in 2011-12.
The “NHS Operating Framework 2011-12” states that the national health service is expected to implement the new cancer strategy and that commissioners should develop plans to ensure that local populations have appropriate access to radiotherapy treatment.
Suicide
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2011, Official Report, column 765W, on suicide, when he plans to publish his Department's suicide prevention strategy. [54768]
Paul Burstow: We are postponing the publication of the suicide prevention strategy to take into account changes made to the national health service modernisation programme, as a result of the Government's NHS listening exercise and the report from the NHS future forum.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Animals: Slaughterhouses
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of animals (a) slaughtered without stunning and (b) which suffered a mis-stunning in the last year for which figures are available. [54886]
Mr Paice: The most recent data on the slaughter of animals without prior stunning were published in March 2004 by the Meat Hygiene Service in its Animal Welfare Review. The data were collected through a survey of meat plants between 1 and 7 September 2003. The following table shows the number of animals killed over that period without prior stunning for the production of kosher and halal meat:
| Species | Not stunned |
11 May 2011 : Column 1270W
More recent data collected by the EU Dialrel project:
http://www.dialrel.eu/images/factsheet-assesment-practices.pdf
show that, of the UK abattoirs surveyed, 100% of the animals and birds slaughtered for the production of kosher meat were slaughtered without prior stunning. For halal meat, 25% of cattle and 7% of sheep were slaughtered without prior stunning. The Dialrel data also indicate that no poultry were slaughtered for halal production without stunning.
There are no data available on mis-stunning.
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of (a) advice officials have provided to Ministers in her Department and (b) information held by her Department on the granting of licences to volunteers to shoot badgers in areas affected by bovine tuberculosis; and if she will make a statement. [54665]
Mr Paice: It is not usual practice for officials' advice to Ministers to be published in the House Library.
The consultation document published in September 2010 was placed in the House Library and outlines the Government's proposal for a badger control policy, including the granting of culling licences.
I must emphasise that no decision has yet been taken on whether to permit badger culling. We received a large number of responses to our recently concluded consultation, which we are considering carefully. This is a difficult and sensitive issue and we need to get it right. We will announce our decision as part of a comprehensive and balanced TB eradication programme for England, as soon as possible.
Common Fisheries Policy
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions her Department has had on reform of the common fisheries policy. [54942]
Richard Benyon: As UK Fisheries Minister I, and my officials, have had discussions with a range of organisations and people about common fisheries policy (CFP) reform. These include the EU Commission and other members states at the Fisheries Council on 14 April. We have also met representatives of the fishing industry—both large scale and under 10 metre fleets, retailers, and non-government organisations.
We plan to have further discussions in pressing our case for radical reform of the CFP.
Countryside: Access
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many miles of public access network have been available in each of the last three years; and how many are forecast to be available in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14; and if she will make a statement. [54393]
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Richard Benyon: The management of public rights of way is the responsibility of local highway authorities in England. The Government do not gather annual figures on the public access network, but it is estimated that in England there are currently approximately 119,550 miles of public rights of way comprising: footpaths (91,250 miles); bridleways (22,250 miles); restricted byways (3750 miles); and byways open to all traffic (2,300 miles). Further public access in the countryside is available, for example under agri-environment schemes and permissive access granted by the landowner.
Departmental Manpower
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the most recent previous employment was of senior staff newly employed on fixed-term contracts in her Department since May 2010. [34637]
Richard Benyon: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has appointed two senior staff on fixed-term appointments since May 2010. Before joining DEFRA, the most recent employment of one was as a Director of Hyder Consulting and the other as Head of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Durham University.
Departmental Pensions
Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of her Department's budget she expects to be spent on staff pensions in each of the next five years. [54562]
Richard Benyon: The following table shows pension contributions for the core Department and its executive agencies, expressed as a percentage of DEFRA's total DEL budget for 2011-12 until 2014-15.
|
|
Percentage |
These figures are based on analysis undertaken for the spending review and, as such, are subject to variation based on the actual numbers and profile of staff that leave over that period. There are no figures available for 2015-16, as no DEL budget has been agreed beyond the current spending review period.
Departmental Plants
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since her appointment. [48424]
Richard Benyon:
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the period of May 2010 to February 2011 has incurred expenditure of £5,070 on indoor and outdoor plants. This includes four of our agencies, Animal Health, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Rural Payments Agency, the Food and Environment Research Agency and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries
11 May 2011 : Column 1272W
and Aquaculture Science and two non-departmental public bodies, Natural England and the Marine Management Organisation.
It should be noted that as part of our efficiency drive the provision of internal planting is being written out of the grounds maintenance contract.
Departmental Travel
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many first- class rail journeys were undertaken by staff in her Department between April 2010 and April 2011; and what the total cost was of such journeys. [53164]
Richard Benyon: The information is as follows:
|
|
Number | £ |
Of the total cost of the core DEFRA journeys, 81% of this spend was incurred during the first three months of the year with significant reductions in volume and cost of first class travel being made in the following nine months.
The data above are from the departments travel management supplier and do not include first-class journeys that may have been taken, paid for by their own resources and claimed by staff through the expenses system. In addition, the figures do not include expense claims by staff for upgrades to first-class. To identify and validate individual expenses transactions would incur disproportionate cost.
These include journeys undertaken in the fulfilment of non-government customer contracts, Animal Health—All these journeys occurred before 4 June 2010.
Most of these journeys were either reimbursed by the customer as part of a project or on other occasions were the lowest possible fare for that journey.
Of the total cost of the RPA journeys, 87% of this spend was incurred during the first three months of the year with significant reductions in volume and cost of first class travel being made in the following nine months.
For the first-class rail journeys undertaken by staff in the UK Co-ordinating Body between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011, full reimbursement of £10,608.59 for
11 May 2011 : Column 1273W
26 of these journeys was made by the European Commission. The cost of the remaining 11 journeys was £1,216.30. This spend was incurred during the first three months of the year and there was nil expenditure on first-class travel in the remaining nine months of the year.
Elephants: Ivory
Meg Munn: 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. [54924]
Richard Benyon: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) on 4 May 2011, Official Report, column 784W.
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what support her Department is providing through international organisations to reduce the level of poaching of elephants in central and west Africa. [54925]
Richard Benyon: The UK as a party to the convention on international trade in endangered species (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 task force meeting which will exchange intelligence reports and methodologies and develop strategies to tackle the illegal trade in both animals across their ranges.
Fisheries: East of England
Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the effects of cormorant predation on recreational and commercial fisheries in the east of England; and if she will make a statement. [41429]
Richard Benyon: There have been no recent scientific assessments of the effects of cormorant predation on recreational and commercial fisheries in the east of England. However, licences to shoot cormorants, typically as an aid to scaring, are issued on a case by case basis at sites where there is evidence of serious damage to fisheries or a risk of serious damage occurring. In the most recent licensing period for which statistics are available (September 2009 to April 2010), 44 such licences, permitting a total of 211 cormorants to be killed, were issued in the east of England.
I announced at the Angling and Fisheries Summit on the 25 January 2011 that the Government are to review the current licensing regime for cormorants. It is important to ensure the licensing regime delivers the conservation benefits needed, while also ensuring that where fish stocks are threatened swift action can be taken.
Forests
Mary Creagh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who was responsible for drafting the consultation document on the future of
11 May 2011 : Column 1274W
the public forest estate in England; and what contribution staff in
(a)
the Forestry Commission and
(b)
her Department made to the drafting. [54397]
Mr Paice [holding answer 9 May 2011]: The Forestry Commission and DEFRA provided advice and jointly drafted the consultation document. The Forestry Commission produced the design and layout of the final document.
Rabbits
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to ensure that her Department collects and publishes statistics on rabbit farming in a manner similar to statistics for other farmed species. [54535]
Mr Paice: Levels of rabbit production are too low to justify the collection and publication of statistics in a manner similar to other farmed species.
Seas and Oceans
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the seabed off the coastline of the UK has been mapped. [54849]
Richard Benyon: Approximately 10% of the UK continental shelf is mapped from survey data. The remaining 90% is derived from habitat modelling.
Trees: Diseases
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects on forests of diseases affecting pine trees; what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on such diseases; what steps she is taking to prevent their spread; and if she will make a statement. [54756]
Mr Paice: The most significant disease of pines in England is red band needle blight caused by a fungal pathogen. This disease was first reported in the 1950s, when it was rare, but the disease has become more widespread since the late 1990s. The Forestry Commission has carried out extensive forest surveys over the last 10 years and the disease is now found across the whole of Britain.
The Forestry Commission’s research programme includes annual disease surveys, increasing our understanding of the fungal biology to aid management decisions, tests on the susceptibility of alternative species, and studying the impact of changing forest management practices on the incidence and severity of the disease.
A full pest risk assessment has been undertaken. The disease is most damaging on Corsican and lodgepole pine, while the native Scots pine is moderately susceptible. The impact of the disease is to reduce tree growth rates, which can occasionally result in mortality.
There is a moratorium on planting Corsican pine on the public forest estate and the use of lodgepole pine is minimal. Future policy and research is directed by a Great Britain programme board that includes representation from the forest industry.
11 May 2011 : Column 1275W
Energy and Climate Change
Carbon Emissions
Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he expects the extension targets contained within Statutory Instrument No. 1958 (2010) concerning the Electricity and Gas Act (Carbon Emissions Reduction) Amendment Order 2010 will be met by the stated date; and if he will make a statement. [55291]
Gregory Barker: Yes, the statutory targets on suppliers enforced under this legislation were set to be challenging but achievable. In the most recent update on progress to December 2010, the scheme administrators Ofgem reported that suppliers had achieved 62% of the target of 293 million tonnes of lifetime carbon dioxide savings which suggests that they are on track to deliver 100% before December 2012.
Climate Change: Export Credit Guarantees
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has provided information to the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) on the effects on climate change of the businesses supported by the ECGD. [54367]
Gregory Barker: DECC has not provided information to ECGD on the effects on climate change of the business it has supported in the past. DECC is consulted when ECGD is asked to support new projects which have been categorised as having high potential environmental impacts (Category A) as defined in the OECD Recommendation on Common Approaches on the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits which regulates the basis upon which Export Credit Agencies address environmental, social and human rights impacts of projects.
Environment Protection
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent steps his Department has taken to support a transition towards a low carbon economy. [54905]
Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to creating the right framework for businesses to drive growth in the low-carbon economy.
The recent Plan for Growth set out a number of measures specifically designed to support the UK's transition to a low carbon economy. These include the introduction of a carbon price floor from April 2013 to encourage greater investment in low carbon power; funding of Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration plant from general taxation; supporting the infrastructure development needed to enable the transition through the Green Investment Bank; and promoting the development of new markets for green goods and services through measures such as the Green Deal, installation of smart meters, the Renewable Heat Incentive, Feed-in Tariffs, incentives to reduce the up-front costs of ultra-low emission vehicles and leveraging the Government's public procurement power to drive these markets.
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Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent steps his Department has taken with its international counterparts to support a transition to a low carbon global economy. [54906]
Gregory Barker: The Department engages in multiple energy and climate change fora, including bilateral and multilateral initiatives, in support of a move to a low carbon global economy.
Through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other informal dialogues, the Department engages in the negotiations on the key issues towards delivering an ambitious global agreement on climate change, essential in underpinning the transition to a global low carbon economy.
Other relevant work includes our involvement in the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) and the Clean Energy Ministerial.
As an example, on 6 and 7 April 2011 the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), attended the Clean Energy Ministerial in Abu Dhabi, a high-level forum to promote policies and programmes that advance clean energy technology and encourage the transition to a global clean energy economy. Participating governments account for more than 80% of global energy consumption and a similar percentage of the market for clean energy technologies.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what incentives his Department provides for businesses to adopt low carbon alternatives. [54908]
Gregory Barker: The following incentives are available for businesses seeking to adopt low carbon alternatives:
Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) provide financial support for small-scale, low-carbon electricity generation from eligible technologies.
Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs) provide businesses with 100% tax relief on qualifying energy-saving equipment in the same tax year as the purchase is made.
The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency scheme provides a mix of financial and reputational drivers to encourage large public and private sector organisations to improve their energy efficiency.
The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) announced in March, will also provide a financial incentive for businesses to install renewable heating such as biomass boilers, heat pumps and solar thermal panels, thereby reducing their dependence on fossil fuels.
In the future, the Green Deal (GD) will encourage businesses to make energy efficiency improvements financed through savings from energy bills.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage households to reduce their levels of carbon dioxide emissions. [54909]
Gregory Barker:
The Government are already encouraging households to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions through a range of current and proposed policies. The Community Energy Saving Programme
11 May 2011 : Column 1277W
(CESP) and recently extended Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT), both running to the end of 2012 have significant targets to reduce emissions.
This will all pave the way for the Green Deal, set out in the Energy Bill which is currently passing through the Commons. Under this innovative scheme, millions could enjoy warmer homes, save on their energy bills and reduce carbon emissions in the process.
The mass rollout of smart meters in homes from 2014 to 2019 will give consumers near real-time information on energy consumption to help them understand and reduce their energy use.
Furthermore, Feed-in Tariffs and the planned Renewable Heat Incentive in support of Microgeneration will support households to reduce their carbon footprint.
North Sea Oil
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will suspend the consideration of licence applications for deepwater drilling in UK waters until the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group publishes its final report; and if he will make a statement. [55164]
Charles Hendry: The Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group aims to identify and address cross industry issues with respect to well control and oil spill response in the UK in the light of information from the Macondo accident. Government are fully involved in and supports this work. There is nothing to suggest there is a case for suspending the consideration of licence applications for deepwater drilling in UK waters, or for suspending drilling operations, pending the results of this work, or of other relevant investigations or reviews.
We already have one of the most robust environmental and safety regimes in the world, and all new drilling operations are subject to detailed case by case scrutiny by my Department and the Health and Safety Executive. Nevertheless, we are not complacent and continue to look for improvements. Which is why we have launched an overall review of our regulatory regime which will report later this year.
Wales
Enterprise Zones
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the establishment of enterprise zones in Wales. [54365]
Mr David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), had initial discussions with the First Minister on the day of the Budget and has since written to him on two occasions setting out our commitment to work with the Welsh Assembly Government to establish enterprise zones in Wales.
Both the Secretary of State and I will continue to champion the creation of enterprise zones in Wales with the Welsh Assembly Government now the Welsh elections have concluded.
11 May 2011 : Column 1278W
Devolution Funding
John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made on the Government's commitment to undertake a process similar to the Calman Commission on devolution funding; and if she will make a statement. [54366]
Mrs Gillan: Following the ‘yes’ vote in the referendum on further powers, we have been giving careful thought to the scope and form of such a process. It is something that I intend to discuss as soon as possible with the First Minister now that the elections to the National Assembly have taken place.
Education
Departmental Conflict of Interests
Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the guidance on conflicts of interest issued by his Department to members of independent review panels. [54575]
Mr Gibb: As set out in the regulation policy statement provided to the Education Committee on 7 March 2011, regulations will prescribe how independent review panels are to be established and the procedures that they will follow. They will cover the constitution, training requirements and ensuring of members' impartiality. We will consult further on details of the regulations in due course. In addition to this, the Department will also include a section on independent review panels in revised exclusion guidance when appropriate.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education from which of his Department's budgets the funding for the 16-19 bursary and discretionary fund will be drawn. [54011]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 4 May 2011]: Funding for the 16-19 bursary (including the discretionary element) will be drawn from the budget for 16-19 financial support. In addition, as part of the budget discussions, the Department agreed a call on Treasury reserves for a minority of the funding to help with the new bursary scheme.
Education System
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received from hon. Members representing Welsh constituencies on his proposals to reform the education system in England. [54614]
Mr Gibb:
Since the start of the parliamentary year, the Department has received around a 100 letters from hon. Members representing Welsh constituencies. Just over half of the letters focused primarily on schools policy, and terms and conditions for the school workforce was the most common subject. Statutory requirements
11 May 2011 : Column 1279W
for school teachers' pay and conditions in maintained schools are set out in national policy and frameworks covering England and Wales.
Other letters asked for Ministers' comments or response to a constituent's concern about specific aspects of (devolved) education policy. In a small number of cases, constituents or hon. Members noted that policies would not apply in Wales, but were concerned about the implications for people who live near the border, or concerned that the policy for England might set a precedent which would then be followed in Wales and so asked for a UK Government response.
The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has not held formal meetings with any of the hon. Members representing Welsh constituencies since the start of the parliamentary year.
Hon. Members representing Welsh constituencies have asked 145 parliamentary questions and the hon. Members for Arfon (Hywel Williams) and Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan) were members of the Commons Education Bill Committee. Parliamentary questions and answers are available from Hansard, as are records of debate in the Bill Committee.
Education: Assessments
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was paid to examination boards by maintained schools in each of the last five years. [53285]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 28 April 2011]:The information is given in the following table.
|
|
Examination fees (£) |
11 May 2011 : Column 1280W
Further Education: Catering
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 26 April 2011, Official Report, column 285W, on further education: catering, whether he has received reports of any (a) further education and (b) sixth form colleges that do not have (i) kitchens and/or (ii) cafeterias. [54434]
Mr Gibb: During discussions with sixth form college and further education college principals we have been made aware that some do not have kitchens and/or cafeterias on all sites. Furthermore, many training providers would not have such facilities for their students.
GCE A-Level
Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of GCE A-level students were entered for GCE A-level (a) mathematics and (b) one or more foreign languages in (i) comprehensive schools, (ii) selective schools, (iii) independent schools and (iv) sixth form colleges in the latest period for which figures are available. [53182]
Mr Gibb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 April 2011, Official Report, column 786W. GCE A-level was based on "modern foreign languages". For consistency, the "foreign languages" part of this question has been answered on the same basis, which also reflects the data as published in the departmental Statistical First Releases (SFRs).
The information requested is shown in the following table:
| Number of GCE A-level students who were entered for | Percentage of GCE A-level students who were entered for | ||||
| School type | Number of students taking GCE A-levels | Mathematics | One or more foreign languages | Mathematics | One or more foreign languages |
| Notes: 1. Figures include ungraded, no award (absent/declined) and pending entries. 2. Students get counted once if they have done more than one A-level in any subject category. 3. Figures are derived from data collected for the 2010 Performance tables. | |||||
Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of A-level students were entered for at least three A-levels in (a) mathematics, (b) English literature, (c) further mathematics, (d) biological sciences, (e) physics, (f) chemistry, (g) geography, (h) history and (i) a modern foreign language in (i) comprehensive schools, (ii) selective schools, (iii) independent schools and (iv) sixth form colleges (A) nationally and (B) in each local education authority in the most recent period for which figures are available. [54486]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 9 May 2011]: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.
GCSE
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of children (a) in receipt of and (b) not in receipt of free school meals attained GCSE grade G or above in (i) English, (ii) mathematics, (iii) science, (iv) history, (v) geography and (vi) an ancient or modern language in each local authority in the last academic year for which figures are available. [53726]
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Mr Gibb: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.
Higher Education: Teachers
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many places there were at each higher education institution in England for initial teacher training in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; what his estimate is of the number of such places in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement. [54091]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 4 May 2011]: The numbers of mainstream initial teacher training places allocated to higher education institutions in England for each of the academic years 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 (as at 1 May 2011 and may be subject to minor change) are in the table.
|
|
2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 |
11 May 2011 : Column 1282W
11 May 2011 : Column 1283W
| Note: These figures exclude postgraduate places allocated to school-centred initial teacher training providers, employment-based programme and Teach First places. Source: Training and Development Agency for Schools | |||
Estimates for academic years 2012/13 and 2013/14 are not yet available.
Pupils: Dyslexia
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department provides to local education authorities for the purposes of assessing dyslexia in pupils and providing support. [54229]
Mr Gibb: Funding data specifically for the purposes of assessing dyslexia in pupils and providing support are not collected by the Department. However the available information on the planned net expenditure on the provision of education for pupils with special educational needs for 2010-11 was £5,477 billion.
School Leaving
Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of people who participated in the September Guarantee in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010. [54554]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 9 May 2011]:The Under-Secretary of State for Schools, my noble Friend Lord Hill of Oareford, wrote to all local authorities on 17 February to make clear that the process of offering 16 and 17-year-olds a suitable place in education or training by the end of September, which has been known as the 'September Guarantee', will continue. This will help to ensure that more young people have the opportunity to continue their education and training as we move towards full participation of 16 and 17-year-olds by 2015. A copy of this letter is available on the Department's website at:
www.education.gov.uk/offersofeducationandtraining
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Data from local authorities show that in 2009, 95.9% of 16-year-olds and 89.5% of 17-year-olds received an offer of a place in education or training. In 2010, 96.6% of 16-year-olds and 91.3% of 17-year-olds received an offer of a place.
Schools: Nurses
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate he has made of the number of full-time equivalent school nurses employed in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Walsall South constituency. [55008]
Mr Gibb: The information shown in the following table is the full-time equivalent numbers of school nursing staff in England, West Midlands Strategic Health Authority area and Walsall Teaching PCT as at 30 September 2010.
| Full- time equivalent | |||
|
|
England | West Midlands strategic health authority area | Walsall t eaching PCT |
| Notes: 1. The organisation within the Walsall South constituency with School nursing staff is Walsall Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT). 2. Full-time equivalent rounded to the nearest number—zero. 3. Data Quality: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care Non-Medical Workforce Census | |||
Sixth Form Colleges: Capital Investment
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2011, Official Report, columns 1048-9W, on sixth-form colleges: capital investment, which of the sixth-form colleges listed undertook capital works of a monetary value of more than £1 million in the last five years. [54383]
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Mr Gibb: Information held by the YPLA has recorded that 38 sixth-form colleges undertook capital works, the costs of which totalled more than £1 million over the last five years. The following list of the 38 colleges excludes those institutions that are no longer sixth-form colleges. In addition, some sixth form colleges will have undertaken capital works that did not require approval and for which the YPLA does not have information.
Sixth form colleges with projects with a cost of more than £1 million during period of April 2006 to March 2011
Alton College
Aquinas College
Ashton under Lyne Sixth Form College
Blackpool Sixth Form College
Bolton Sixth Form College
Cardinal Newman College
Carmel College
City of Stoke on Trent Sixth Form College
Coulsdon College
Farnborough Sixth Form College
Gateway College
Godalming College
Hartlepool Sixth Form College
Havering Sixth Form College
Huddersfield New College
Joseph Chamberlain College
Leyton Sixth Form College
Loreto College
Luton Sixth Form College
New College Pontefract
Notre Dame Sixth Form College
Portsmouth College
Queen Mary's College
Reigate College
Sir John Deane's College
Solihull Sixth Form College
St Brendan's Sixth Form College
St Charles Sixth Form College
St Dominic's Sixth Form College
St Mary's College, Blackburn
Stockton Sixth Form College
Strode's College
The College of Richard Collyer in Horsham
Thomas Rotherham College
Wilberforce College
Woodhouse College
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
Wyke College
Supplementary Schools
Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2011, Official Report, column 1234W, on the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Schools: finance, what discussions his Department has had on the decision to end funding for the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Schools in March 2011. [55063]
Mr Gibb: Decisions to end funding for the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Schools in March 2011 were made and communicated to the Centre under the previous Administration.
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The coalition Government have not had discussions about the decision to end this funding with any parties involved.
Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2011, Official Report, column 1234W, on the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Schools: finance, what assessment his Department has made of the cost-effectiveness of funding allocated to the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Schools in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [55064]
Mr Gibb: The Department's Internal Audit Unit has examined how the allocated funding was used by the National Resource Centre to ensure it was being spent for the purposes for which it was awarded. No issues were identified and no other evaluation of the use of this funding has taken place.
Teenage Pregnancy
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy; and if he will make a statement. [52696]
Sarah Teather: We have made clear the importance of local areas continuing to take action to reduce their teenage pregnancy rates, using the international evidence and the lessons from areas where teenage pregnancy rates have fallen fastest. This will make a vital contribution to their local strategies to reduce child poverty and health inequalities and to improve public health.
The Early Intervention Grant provides funding for teenage pregnancy and gives areas the flexibility to co-ordinate their efforts in a way that meets local need. These will be local decisions, but we are confident that areas will recognise the social and economic benefits of continuing to invest in work to reduce teenage pregnancies and improve outcomes for teenage parents and their children.
At a national level, we believe that it is vital that all children receive high-quality sex and relationships education (SRE), so they can make wise and informed choices. We will shortly be announcing the scope of an internal review of PSHE to determine how we can support schools to improve the quality of all PSHE teaching.
Later this year, we will be saying more about teenage pregnancy and sexual health, including improving young people's access and use of contraception, in our proposed Youth Policy Statement and Sexual Health Policy Document. Both these documents will be produced in consultation with stakeholders to ensure they are helpful to local areas and support commissioning of effective services.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department plans to respond to the Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group's final report, published on 14 December 2010. [52697]
Sarah Teather:
We are grateful to the Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group (TPIAG) for its final report. We will be considering the recommendations as
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we develop our Youth Policy Statement and Sexual Health Policy Document, which will be published later this year.
Treasury
Departmental Expenditure
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what expenditure (a) his Department and (b) each public body sponsored by his Department incurred on engaging external audit services in each of the last three years; and to which service providers such payments were made in each year. [43753]
Justine Greening: Details of HM Treasury's notional spending on audit services with the National Audit Office is shown in note 7 ‘Other administration costs’ in each year's Resource Accounts available from:
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
Excise Duties: Liquefied Natural Gas
David Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether industries sourcing liquid natural gas are liable for a different duty rate from industries sourcing other forms of gas. [54786]
Justine Greening: Natural gas is subject to fuel duty at a rate of 24.70 pence per kilogram when intended for use as a road fuel This duty rate applies to natural gas supplied for road use in compressed gaseous form or the denser liquefied form. Gas supplied for all other purposes is free of fuel duty. The import duty rate on all forms of gas is zero.
Natural Gas: Exports
David Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any tax incentives exist for the export of gas direct from source. [54793]
Justine Greening: There are no tax incentives in the UK oil and gas tax regime that incentivise the export of gas from the UK Continental Shelf over domestic consumption. Companies make decisions on whether to import or export gas based on commercial factors, such as transportation costs and local market prices.
Non-Domestic Rates
Caroline Nokes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the future level of charges on rates for business units that are not in use. [54823]
Mr Gauke: As with all taxes and reliefs HM Treasury keeps the application of business rates to empty property under review.
PAYE: Local Government
Mr Brine: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department plans to take steps to ensure that parish council staff are given adequate training prior to the commencement of registration of council employees under the PAYE system. [54838]
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Mr Gauke: HMRC produces a free basic PAYE tool for small employers which contains a calculator that will work out the tax due and includes the forms that the Parish council would need to run their payroll throughout the year and make annual returns. It will also allow the council to file any starter and leaver forms and their annual return on line. The tool is available to download from the Business Link website.
HMRC also offer free workshops at locations throughout the country covering all payroll topics. These are run by HMRC's UK wide network of specially trained Business Education and Support Teams and are designed for everyone especially for new employers.
HMRC has a team of advisers on the New Employer Helpline 08457 143 143 who have been specially briefed to deal with enquiries from Parish councils who need to operate PAYE for the first time.
HMRC's website also provides wide ranging guidance especially for new employers on operating PAYE and information on above and other help available including contact details.
I am aware representative bodies also provide help and guidance to councils and clerks who were not operating PAYE before.
Pensions
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the average value was of the rebate to an (a) employer and (b) employee of a private sector contracted-out defined benefit scheme in the latest period for which figures are available; [53069]
(2) if he will estimate the average effect on incomes of public sector employees of the end of contracting out for public sector pension schemes. [52978]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 28 April 2011]:The data held by Government on the contracting out status of members of defined benefit pension schemes are contained within the National Insurance and PAYE Service (NPS). This data do not differentiate between public and private sector employees and therefore do not provide an indication of the average rebate for each of these sectors.
The level of the contracted-out rebate is currently set at 1.6% for employees and 3.7% for employers. Following the Government Actuary's review of the level of the contracted out rebate, from April 2012 the level of the rebate will be set at 1.4% for employees and 3.4% for employers respectively.
Public Expenditure
Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to amend the Green Book so that national well-being is taken into account when evaluating Government policies and projects. [53889]
Danny Alexander
[holding answer 3 May 2011]:The Green Book is HM Treasury guidance for central Government on the appraisal and evaluation of all policies, programmes and projects. In addition to the Green Book itself which sets out the overall framework, there is already a range of supplementary guidance with more detail on how to assess the economic welfare or 'well-being' implications of particular types of policy
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impacts, eg “The Economic and Social Costs of Crime”, “Policy Appraisal and Health”, and “The Valuation of Ecosystem Services”.
This supplementary guidance is continually being expanded and updated to take account of the latest work and research from both within and outside of Government. HMT is currently working with other Government Departments on a number of pieces of new guidance or early stage discussion papers for release later this year. A discussion paper is planned on the potential use of subjective wellbeing measures in Social Cost Benefit Analysis.
Subjective well-being measures look at the effect that a non-market good (such as the environment) has on people's reported overall life satisfaction in order to determine the value of that good. More traditional methods ask people to directly state their willingness to pay for the good, or observe their behaviour in related markets.
These subjective well-being measures are different from measures of national wellbeing. Individual policies are not normally assessed in terms of their influence on national measures such as GDP or national wellbeing because of the difficulty of isolating the effect of one particular policy on such measures. Individual policies are, instead, normally assessed in terms of their ‘micro’ level costs and benefits or economic welfare effects. National measures may help form part of the wider debate.
Public Sector: Borrowing
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the public sector borrowing requirement. [54762]
Danny Alexander: The public sector finances first release published by the Office for National Statistics estimates that the first provisional outturn for public sector net borrowing in 2010-11 is £141.1 billion or 9.6% of GDP. This is £15 billion lower than 2009-10.
In March 2011 the independent Office for Budget Responsibility forecast public sector net borrowing to 2015-16. This forecast is available at:
http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2011
Renewables Obligation
Dr Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements he plans to put in place for the treatment of variable renewable obligation certificate prices when assessed against any overspend by the Department of Energy and Climate Change within the control framework for levy-funded spending. [54818]
Justine Greening: Guidance on how the control framework operates is available on both Treasury and Department for Energy and Climate Change websites. The links to both documents are as follows:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_controlframework_decc.htm
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy/mix/renewable/renewable.aspx
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Small Businesses
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the average monetary value to (a) businesses and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises of his decision to introduce a moratorium exempting micro-business and start-ups from new domestic regulation for three years with effect from 1 April 2011. [54604]
Mr Prisk: I have been asked to reply.
The Better Regulation Executive report (BRE), “Lightening the Load”, assessed the impact of regulation on the UK's smallest businesses and identified that new regulations take the micro-businesses (those with fewer than ten employees) a disproportionate amount of time to interpret and comply with—up to six times longer than a larger business. The moratorium will realise notable time/cost savings for businesses that could be better spent growing their business.
The report, “Lightening the Load”, can be found here:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/better-regulation/docs/l/10-1251-lightening-the-load-regulatory-impact-smallest-businesses
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of (a) businesses and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (i) nationally, (ii) in each region, (iii) in each local authority and (iv) in each parliamentary constituency expected to be affected by his decision to introduce a moratorium exempting micro-business and start-ups from new domestic regulation for three years with effect from 1 April 2011. [54605]
Mr Prisk: I have been asked to reply.
There are approximately 4.6 million micro-businesses (fewer than 10 employees) in the UK, representing a fifth of private sector turnover (21%), more than a third of private sector employment (34%) and almost 8 million jobs, who will benefit from this moratorium.
Breakdown of this figure by region/local authority/parliamentary constituency will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
There are also approximately 168,000 small businesses (10-49 employees) and 27,000 medium-sized businesses (50-249 employees) in the UK.
VAT: Insurance
Conor Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the maintenance of value added tax exemption for outsourced insurance-related services. [54781]
Mr Gauke: Discussions concerning an EU Commission Proposal that would modernise the VAT exemption for financial and insurance services including the issue of the VAT treatment of outsourcing in the insurance sector have taken place with many UK stakeholders for several years and are continuing.