Renewable Energy: Finance
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on steps to reduce the cost of capital for developing renewables. [58894]
Gregory Barker: DECC consistently promotes a market-based, predictable and stable regulatory regime at the EU level as a crucial means to help reduce cost of capital and incentivise the significant amounts of private sector investment in renewables which is necessary to achieve the EU’s 2020 targets.
Renewable Energy: Technology
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what support his Department is providing to the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan. [58892]
Gregory Barker: The Department takes an active part in the development of the EU's Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan. The UK has an interest in the whole range of European industrial initiatives launched or planned so far, as well as much of the activity under the European Energy Research Alliance. We have been developing a UK stakeholder network to promote and encourage SET Plan engagement. Through this network, UK interest groups have been, or are being, formed.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has made to the President of the European Commission on the proposal to allocate funding for research and development into renewable energy technologies from the next Multiannual Financial Framework. [58896]
Gregory Barker:
The UK Government supports a significant reprioritisation within the next Financial Perspective of the EU Budget to support the EU's long term priorities, including innovation, energy, and climate change. The Government's position paper on the
13 Jun 2011 : Column 584W
Commission's proposal for a Common Strategic Framework for EU research and innovation funding from 2014 argued that the Strategic Energy Technologies Plan should receive an increased share of a smaller EU Budget. However, DECC Ministers have made no separate representations to the President of the European Commission on this specific proposal.
Women and Equalities
Departmental Billing
Gordon Banks: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many invoices her Department received in respect of goods or services supplied by tier 1 suppliers between 1 May 2010 and 1 April 2011; and how many of those invoices were not paid within the period of time specified in the Government’s Fair Payment guidance. [55877]
Mrs May: Between 1 May 2010 and 1 April 2011, the Government Equalities Office did not receive any invoices from tier 1 suppliers.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what mechanism her Department has established to ensure its payments are passed through the supply chain to each tier in accordance with the last date for payment defined in the Government’s Fair Payment guidance. [55878]
Mrs May: The Office of Government Commerce’s guide to best “Fair payment” practices sets out fair payment processes for construction projects. The Government Equalities Office does not have any construction projects.
Wales
Departmental Procurement
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many contracts her Department holds with Crown Relocations; and what the (a) purpose and (b) monetary value of each such contract is; [58636]
(2) how many contracts her Department holds with Serco; and what the (a) purpose and (b) monetary value of each such contract is; [58652]
(3) how many contracts her Department holds with IBM; and what the (a) purpose and (b) monetary value of each such contract is. [58681]
Electoral Commission Committee
Electoral Register
Chris Ruane:
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 26 July 2010, Official Report, column 719W, on the electoral
13 Jun 2011 : Column 585W
register, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the merits of informing hon. Members of the key performance indicators for electoral registration offices for their constituency on an annual basis. [58449]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission writes to all hon. Members on publication of its annual assessment of the performance of electoral registration officers (EROs). This includes details of the performance framework and directs Members to information on its website, where they can review the individual performance of each local authority in Great Britain.
In addition to this, for the most recent assessment in April 2011, the Commission specifically wrote to hon. Members whose EROs have failed to meet at least one standard in each of the three years that the Commission has been reporting on performance.
The Commission is working closely with these EROs in order to improve their performance and has asked them to report again by the end of June 2011, providing evidence to show how they have now met the standard. The Commission will publish a further report into their performance in the summer.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 26 July 2010, Official Report, columns 719-20W, on the electoral register, what steps the Electoral Commission has taken to monitor the training and performance of electoral registration officers. [58451]
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Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission implemented a performance standards framework in 2008 which monitors the overall performance of electoral registration officers (EROs). One of these standards assesses the training undertaken by EROs.
The results of the annual assessment of both the training and performance of EROs can be found on the Electoral Commission's website. The Commission is working closely with EROs that have under-performed and has asked them to report again by the end of June 2011, providing evidence to show how they have now met the standard. The Commission will publish a further report into their performance in the summer.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many (a) written and (b) oral representations the Electoral Commission has received on electoral registration matters from hon. Members from (i) Labour, (ii) Conservative, (iii) Liberal Democrat, (iv) Plaid Cymru, (v) Northern Ireland political parties and (vi) other political parties in each of the last five years. [58557]
Mr Streeter: Electoral Commission records show that a number of representations, including oral and written parliamentary questions and letters, have been received from hon. Members on electoral registration matters. The figures for the past five full years are detailed in the following tables.
| Oral representations | ||||||
|
|
2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Total |
| Written representations | ||||||
|
|
2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Total |
Electoral Commission records show that no representations were received from Plaid Cymru or Northern Ireland political parties or other political parties on electoral registration matters in the last five years.
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Committee
Internet
Priti Patel: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2011, Official Report, columns 15-16W, on security certificate, who was the registered purchaser who received the renewal; on what date IPSA became aware that the certificate required renewal; and for what reasons it took IPSA and Calyx from 20 April 2010 to 5 May 2011 to renew the certificate. [57622]
Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
Letter from Scott Woolveridge, dated June 2011:
As acting Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2011, Official Report, columns 15-16W, on security certificate, who was the registered purchaser who received the renewal; on what date IPSA became aware that the certificate required renewal; and for what reasons it took IPSA and Calyx from 20 April 2010 to 5 May 2011 to renew the certificate.
Our managed services provider, Calyx, has advised us that the original registered purchaser was a member of IPSA’s implementation project team. The individual’s identity has not been passed to IPSA by Calyx as the certificate was, erroneously, purchased in the individual’s personal capacity and not as an asset belonging to IPSA. IPSA therefore does not have a record of who the individual was.
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IPSA became aware on Wednesday, 20 April 2011 that the certificate had expired. We escalated a call to Calyx on the same day and work to rectify the situation was commenced.
IPSA was advised that a verification telephone call would be received from the certificate authority on Tuesday, 3 May; the call was received on Wednesday, 4 May and the new certificate was released to Calyx on the same day. Downtime of the online expense system and installation of the certificate was planned and executed the following day, 5 May.
Taking the Easter Bank Holidays, the Royal Wedding and May Bank Holiday into account, six working days passed between discovering the certificate had expired and the new certificate being installed.
Priti Patel: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2011, Official Report, columns 15-16W, on security certificate, on what date the risk assessment was carried out and completed; and if IPSA will place in the Library a copy of the report on that risk assessment. [57623]
Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
Letter from Scott Woolveridge, dated June 2011:
As acting Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2011, Official Report, columns 15-16W, on security certificate, on what date the risk assessment was carried out and completed; and if the IPSA will place in the Library a copy of the report on that risk assessment. 57623
The risk assessment and review was carried out by Calyx security staff on 20 April to ensure that IPSA’s security measures were not compromised as a result of the expiration of the certificate. The conclusions, which were that the risk was deemed to be low and that security levels were not diminished, were communicated to IPSA by telephone. No written report exists to place in the Library.
Members: Complaints
Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if he will publish the dates on which each of the 40 complaints to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Compliance Officer about hon. and right hon. Members was made. [57707]
Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the compliance officer for IPSA, who is statutorily independent of IPSA’s executive branch. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Luke March, dated June 2011:
As the Compliance Officer for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for the dates on which each of the 40 complaints to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Compliance Officer about hon. and right hon. Members was made.
I have to date issued 38 notices of preliminary investigations. Of these preliminary investigations, five are the result of a public complaint. The dates on which these complaints were received are as follows: 2 December 2010, 20 December 2010, 21 December 2010, 16 January 2011 and 9 February 2011.
The 33 additional preliminary investigations resulted from work carried out by my office.
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Attorney-General
Human Trafficking: Children
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney-General how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) children identified as victims of trafficking have been (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted of an offence in each of the last five years; and what the most common offence was in each such year. [58952]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has no records to ascertain how many people identified as a trafficked victim have been prosecuted or convicted for criminal offences in each of the last five years.
The CPS records indicate the volume of offences, not defendants, prosecuted by the CPS under each Act and Section. The records do not distinguish between men, women or children or whether they might have been identified as a trafficked victim.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney-General how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been of cases involving allegations of trafficking of children in each of the last five years. [59074]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has no records to identify how many prosecutions and convictions there have been of cases involving allegations of trafficking children in each of the last five years.
The CPS records indicate the volume of offences, not defendants, prosecuted by the CPS under each Act and Section. The records do not distinguish between men, women or children who are the victims of trafficking in each case.
Prostitution: Arrests
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney-General how many people have been (a) arrested, (b) prosecuted and (c) convicted under the Policing and Crime Act 2009 for paying for sex with a prostitute who has been subjected to force in each year since its enactment. [58953]
The Solicitor-General: Section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 created a new offence under section 53A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 of paying for the sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force, threats or other form of coercion by a third party. This offence came into effect on 1 April 2010. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) records identify that 40 offences have been charged since its enactment. The CPS has no record of the number of arrests. The CPS case management system provides national data which relate only to the number of offences recorded in magistrates court and are not held by defendant or outcome.
Serious Fraud Office
Stephen Mosley: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases have been reported to the Serious Fraud Office since 1 June 2010; how many of those received an initial assessment within (a) one and (b) three months; and how many took more than three months for an initial assessment. [58531]
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The Solicitor-General: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) receives reports about suspected fraud and corruption from many different sources including other law enforcement agencies; Government Departments, directly from companies or their legal advisors; Members of Parliament and from members of the public.
95 reports were received between 1 June 2010 to date. 41 were not within the SFO's remit. The remaining 54 were examined in detail to consider whether a full investigation should be taken forward. Of these:
12 were assessed within one month
18 were assessed between one and three months
24 assessments have taken longer than three months
During the same period the SFO also received 1,797 e-mails and postal inquiries and 1,303 phone calls from members of the public concerning suspected fraud and corruption. 100% of these inquiries received a response within 20 days.
The SFO considers all reports carefully to ensure that they meet its published acceptance criteria. Where they do not, the SFO passes the reports to the most appropriate organisation to consider further or tells the person reporting the matter where they should go for help.
Transport
Aviation: Olympic Games 2012
Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider the merits of relaxing airspace restrictions for the London 2012 Olympics to take account of the requirements of private air fields, flight schools, leisure flight operators and other businesses which are within the exclusion zone. [54513]
Mrs Villiers: The aim of the planned temporary airspace restrictions is to enable aviation activities within the restricted zone to continue as far as possible, consistent with delivering our security objectives. The Government, along with the Civil Aviation Authority and NATS, are keen to work with those in the aviation community affected by the restrictions to ensure that the planned measures and their potential impacts are fully understood.
We will consider whether certain adaptations to the planned restrictions might be feasible and consistent with the overarching security considerations, before finalising the measures later this year.
Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who advised his Department on the terms of the exclusion zone for flights during the London 2012 Olympics. [54536]
Mrs Villiers: The proposed temporary airspace restrictions have been developed by the Government, based on work undertaken by the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Transport, with advice from the Civil Aviation Authority, NATS and others.
Bournemouth Airport
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he or his Department’s officials have to visit Bournemouth International airport in the next year. [59385]
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Mrs Villiers: Transport Ministers and officials have no current plans to visit Bournemouth International airport in the next year.
Bus Services: Middlesbrough
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department contributed to the operation of local bus services in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year from May 2005 to April 2010; and how much it expects to contribute in each year from May 2010 to April 2015. [56721]
Norman Baker: Bus operators running local registered bus services in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency have been eligible to claim Bus Service Operators Grant from May 2005 to April 2010. Data relating to the amount claimed by operators in this constituency and paid by the Department are not available.
The Department for Transport is providing £37.5 million for the Tees Valley Bus Network—a series of bus infrastructure improvements across the five Tees Valley authorities. Data relating to spend at a constituency level are not available.
Middlesbrough council can run subsidised tendered local bus services where commercial routes are not viable. From 2005-06 to 2010-11, the Department for Transport paid Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG) to Middlesbrough council for the provision of additional local bus services to rural communities. Allocations at a constituency level are not available, however RBSG allocations to Middlesbrough council were as follows:
2005-06: £18,437
2006-07: £18,889
2007-08: £19,341
2008-09: £19,828
2009-10: £20,350
2010-11: £20,872.
In line with the Government's drive to simplify local funding RBSG payments ended in 2010-11, with the funding transferred and included in the main Local Government Formula Grant administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government. As Formula Grant is an un-hypothecated block grant it is not possible to say how much Middlesbrough council receives or spends on a particular service, for example local tendered bus services.
Conwy Valley Railway Line
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess (a) the capacity of the Llanrwst passing loop on the Conwy Valley line and (b) the resource implications of increasing the capacity of the line. [58769]
Mrs Villiers: The operation of passenger rail services on the Conwy Valley line is a devolved matter for the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG).
The Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has not been asked by WAG to assess the capacity of the route.
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Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the maximum length of train is that can be held in the Llanrwst passing loop on the Conwy Valley line. [58770]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport does not have the information requested. Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail network, has details of the asset. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to his question.
David Higgins
Chief Executive
Network Rail
King’s Place
90 York Way
London
N1 9AG.
Departmental Manpower
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to publish monthly information on changes in the numbers of his Department's employees categorised by (a) seniority, (b) voluntary redundancy, (c) natural wastage and (d) involuntary redundancy. [57605]
Norman Baker: The central Department collects information regarding staff headcount categorised by seniority on behalf of the Department and its agencies every month. The Department will commence publication of this information on a monthly basis as soon as it is practicable.
East Coast Railway Line: Rolling Stock
Ms Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable he has set for the introduction of new electric and bi-mode intercity trains on the East Coast Main Line; and what plans he has for the future (a) continuity and (b) frequency of direct services to and from Doncaster on that line. [58186]
Mrs Villiers: The new electric and bi-mode intercity trains on the East Coast Main Line will be introduced from 2018. The future operating timetable of services to and from Doncaster will be finalised as part of the forthcoming Intercity East Coast franchise letting process, and the delivery of that timetable will be the responsibility of that franchisee.
Ms Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the 100 new electric and bi-mode intercity trains are to operate on the east coast main line. [58258]
Mrs Villiers: 45 of the new trains are to operate on the east coast main line each day.
Ms Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of new electric and bi-mode intercity trains on journey times between Doncaster and (a) London, (b) York, (c) Newcastle and (d) Edinburgh. [58259]
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Mrs Villiers: Based on a candidate timetable, the introduction of new electric and bi-mode intercity trains on journey times between Doncaster and destinations could potentially enable reductions of journey times to:
(a) London—around 10 minutes
(b) York—less than five minutes
(c) Newcastle—less than five minutes and
(d) Edinburgh—over 20 minutes.
The eventual timetable, journey times and stopping patterns following the introduction of the new trains will be the responsibility of the franchisee.
High Speed Two: Greatworth
Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total cost to the public purse was of the High Speed 2 roadshow at Greatworth. [59325]
Mr Philip Hammond: The cost for the Greatworth High Speed 2 roadshow venue was £220. The mobile exhibition vehicle is owned by HS2 Ltd. This cost does not reflect staff time attending the events which would be difficult to break down per venue.
London Gateway Port: Roads
Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effects of London Gateway port on road infrastructure in South Essex. [59350]
Mike Penning: The impact of the traffic generated by the London Gateway port development on the road infrastructure in South Essex has been assessed in line with the normal planning process and the appropriate planning conditions applied. That assessment included the consideration of a staged development of London Gateway.
M25: Repairs and Maintenance
Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse of the proposed improvements to junction 30 of the M25. [59349]
Mike Penning: The Secretary of State for Transport's statement, Investment in highways and local transport schemes, made clear that we will continue development work on options for M25 Junction 30 for potential construction in future spending review periods. There remains more work to be done to identify a solution for Junction 30 that is both affordable and cost effective and it would be premature to comment on the form that any scheme might take.
Public Transport
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the future frequency and availability of public transport on (a) Sundays and (b) public holidays. [55313]
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Norman Baker: On the railways, £220 million has been allocated for Control Period 4 (2009-14) for the seven day railway initiative to reduce disruption for passengers and freight users arising from engineering work at weekends and public holidays.
As regards buses, the majority of services outside London are provided on a commercial basis. Provision on Sundays and public holidays is a matter for each operator's commercial judgment. Where needs are not being met by these services, it is for each local authority to assess whether they should subsidise provision. Within London, bus services are a matter for Transport for London.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which official visits undertaken by his immediate predecessor involved the use of public transport. [55314]
Norman Baker: The Government are not accountable for the actions or decisions of their predecessor.
Railways: Electrification
Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the electrification of commuter railway lines into Cardiff; and if he will make a statement. [56876]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport is working with the Welsh Assembly Government to develop a business case for the electrification of the Cardiff Valley lines for consideration within the next rail investment control period beginning in 2014, and are engaged in discussions to that effect.
Railways: EU Action
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has made to the European Commission on the revision of the first railway package. [58868]
Mrs Villiers: Officials have participated in numerous working group meetings reviewing the draft directive under both the Belgian and the Hungarian EU presidencies. They have also had a number of informal meetings with the European Commission.
Railways: Snow and Ice
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice (a) his Department and (b) the Office of Rail Regulation offers to rail operators needing small quantities of salt during periods of high demand. [56120]
Norman Baker: The procurement and allocation of salt supplies to ensure the safe and effective operation of rail services is an operational matter for Network Rail and the train operators.
Railways: Theft
Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the monetary value of cables stolen from the (a) West Coast Main Line and (b) national rail network in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [58006]
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(2) how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted of an offence related to the theft of railway cables; what steps he is taking to ensure that those responsible for thefts of railway cables are apprehended; and if he will make a statement. [58008]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport does not have an assessment of the value of cables stolen. Metal theft is a crime which hits the railway particularly hard and causes levels of disruption out of all proportion to the value of the material stolen. That is why the British Transport police (BTP), as the national police force for the railway, is in the forefront of efforts to tackle the problem, working with Network Rail, the train operators, other police forces, the scrap metal industry and others with an interest.
Information relating to prosecutions and convictions relating to the theft of railway cables is not held by the Department for Transport but by the British Transport police, who can be contacted at:
British Transport Police
25 Camden Road
London
NW1 9LN.
parliament@btp.pnn.police.uk
Road Traffic Act 1988
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects his Department's working party on potential changes to section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to complete its report. [59375]
Mike Penning: We are setting up a working group to review Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and expect to complete the assessment by the end of this year.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider the merits of introducing incentives for local authorities to improve long-term (a) road safety and (b) value for money in repairs to roads damaged by potholes. [53065]
Norman Baker [holding answer 28 April 2011]: Local authorities have statutory duties related to road safety and highways maintenance under the Highways Act 1980, details of which can be found at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/contents
These authorities have their own democratic mandate, and local people are able to hold them to account if they do not deliver, which gives them strong incentives to improve their value for money, efficiency and quality of their services.
The Government's approach to local highway services is to encourage better local decision making and accountability, including through decentralising funding, removing “top-down” performance frameworks and supporting the provision of better public information.
13 Jun 2011 : Column 595W
The Department for Transport recently launched the Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme, backed with £6 million of government funding, to help local authorities make their road maintenance programmes as efficient and effective as possible.
Rolling Stock
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the reliability of (a) hybrid trains and (b) electric trains. [58262]
Mrs Villiers: In the recent appraisal of the Intercity Express Programme, the reliability of the two train types is expected to be similarly high. Both train types offer a substantial improvement in reliability when compared to the existing older stock, and the contractual structure of the IEP is designed to ensure that manufacturers and maintainers are heavily incentivised to provide a reliable service.
Transport: Volcanoes
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the effects on transportation of any future volcanic ash cloud. [59105]
Mrs Villiers: The Government's main priority is to ensure the safety of aircraft and air passengers. We are also working to improve agreed international procedures for mitigating the potential hazards caused by volcanic ash. Following the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in April 2010, the UK has taken a number of additional steps to minimise disruption to passengers and airlines.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has worked closely with manufacturers and airlines to develop a better shared understanding of the ability of aircraft and their engines to tolerate volcanic ash. The CAA has issued revised guidance that enables airlines to operate in the medium and high ash concentration zones, provided an acceptable safety case exists.
The Government are also supporting the provision of new radar cover in Iceland to obtain more accurate data in the event of a future eruption and also the establishment of a permanent civil contingency aircraft for use by the Met Office to conduct atmospheric testing.
The impact of the Grimsvotn eruption in May 2011 was significantly less than last year's Eyjafjallajokull eruption. However, a number of further steps have been taken to address the lessons learned. The Government have established a Volcanic Ash Observations Group under the chairmanship of Sir John Beddington to look at ways of improving the input data for the Met Office volcanic ash dispersion model. In addition, the CAA has established a Volcanic Ash Advisory Group to improve the process for establishing high concentration danger zones.
Communities and Local Government
Art Works: Morecambe
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding has been made available for public artwork in Morecambe under section 106 agreements in the latest period for which figures are available. [59233]
13 Jun 2011 : Column 596W
Robert Neill: This information is not collected centrally. Section 106 agreements are contracts between developers and local authorities to make development acceptable in planning terms. It is important that information about planning obligations is made available to the general public. The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) Order 2010 requires that a copy of any planning obligation is kept on the council's planning register, which is available to the public.
Community Housing
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what steps his Department is taking to support the community housing sector to deliver affordable housing; [58341]
(2) what steps he is taking to assist community-led housing schemes to gain access to development finance. [58346]
Grant Shapps: The Framework for the Affordable Homes Programme, jointly published by this Department and the Homes and Communities Agency, sets out a clear commitment to help community groups. The Homes and Communities Agency will ensure that the contract arrangements for community-led groups applying for funding for a single standalone project, and who have no existing stock to convert to affordable rent, are appropriate and proportionate to the risk involved. Funding has been held back to ensure that these bids can be accepted over the four-year process.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he plans to produce for local authorities on the ways in which community housing can meet local housing need. [58345]
Grant Shapps: The Government consider that local authorities, working with their communities, are best placed to determine how to meet the housing needs of their communities. The Government will be consulting on the draft National Planning Policy Framework in July which will contain policy to delivery national objectives, for example on housing. This will provide the flexibility for local planning authorities to decide how they want to meet local housing needs.
Council Tax Benefits: Fraud
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reason he proposes to prohibit the investigation by local authorities of council tax benefit fraud. [59330]
Robert Neill: As the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), confirmed in his written ministerial statement of 17 February 2011, Official Report, column 92WS, this Department will consult in due course on proposals for localising support for council tax in England. This will include arrangements for investigating fraud.
13 Jun 2011 : Column 597W
Empty Property
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of empty homes. [58946]
Andrew Stunell: We are taking a number of measures to bring empty homes back into use, ensuring that the right incentives and tools are in place for local authorities to work with property owners.
The ‘New Homes Bonus’ provides a strong financial incentive to local authorities to support the development of new housing, including bringing empty homes back into use. To help local councils and communities better identify the empty homes in their area and bring them back into use we have also launched the ‘Geographical Information System (GIS) Empty Homes Mapping Toolkit and the Empty Homes Knowledge Toolkit’.
In addition, the Department has allocated £100 million through the ‘Affordable Homes Programme’ to help get empty homes back into productive use. The Homes and Communities Agency are considering expressions of interest which will help to inform the allocation of funding.
Enterprise Zones
Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many expressions of interest in establishing an enterprise zone his Department has received from local enterprise partnerships to date. [58624]
Robert Neill: Budget announced that 11 local enterprise partnerships would be invited to come forward with proposals for enterprise zones.
At the same time, Government invited expressions of interest for a second wave of enterprise zones. This resulted in 29 local enterprise partnerships (and prospective local enterprise partnerships) expressing an interest.
Fire Services: West Midlands
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the potential effect on fire safety of reductions to fire and rescue services in the west midlands. [58221]
Robert Neill: Decisions on the provision of fire services are taken by individual fire and rescue authorities as part of their integrated risk management planning process, which assesses and mitigates risks to local communities.
No formal assessment of West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority's local decisions has been made by central Government.
I also refer the hon. Member to my letter of 6 December 2010 outlining how fire and rescue authorities can make sensible savings without impacting on the quality or breadth of services offered to their communities. The letter is available in the Library and on my Department's website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/fire/crsandfrsletter
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Government Procurement Card
Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) location and (b) holding body is of the archived records of Government Procurement Card expenditure by the (i) Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions, (ii) Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, (iii) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and (iv) department known as the Deputy Prime Minister's Office which was in existence in 2006-07. [59212]
Robert Neill: The archived records of Government Procurement Card expenditure for the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are stored by TNT, the Department's external records storage provider, in their storage facility in West Thurrock on behalf of the Department.
Concerning the Department known as the Deputy Prime Minister's Office which was in existence in 2006-07, these records are not held by the Department for Communities and Local Government (formerly known as the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) but are held by the Cabinet Office.
Homelessness
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average cost to the public purse of a successful homelessness application in the latest period for which figures are available. [57077]
Grant Shapps: Local authorities incur costs when providing statutory assistance to homeless households as a result of the need to administer applications and secure temporary accommodation. Net current expenditure on homelessness administration by local authorities in England totalled £205 million in 2009-10. On top of this local authorities incurred costs of £40 million providing temporary accommodation. (DCLG, local authority revenue expenditure and financing statistics)
In the same year 40,020 households were accepted as owed the main homelessness duty. At the end of March 2010, 51,310 households were in temporary accommodation. (DCLG, Live Tables 770 and 777)
However, these two sets of figures cannot be used to accurately calculate the average cost of homeless acceptances to local authorities because they are not directly comparable. For instance, some expenditure on homelessness administration will have been incurred as a result of providing non-statutory assistance to households at risk of homelessness.
Taxpayers also incur costs from statutory homelessness as a result of housing benefit expenditure on households living in temporary accommodation. Temporary accommodation is usually slightly more expensive in housing benefit terms than comparable private rented accommodation (reflecting higher management costs).
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However, not enough is known about the circumstances of households accepted as homeless or local market rental conditions to specify exactly how much more is spent on Housing Benefit as a result of statutory homelessness.
References:
DCLG, “Local authority revenue expenditure and financing statistics: 2009-10”,
http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/revenueexpenditure/revenue200910/localauthoritydata/
DCLG, “Live Tables on Homelessness”,
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/livetables/
Homes and Communities Agency: Apprentices
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the Homes and Communities Agency's removal of national targets for the delivery of apprenticeships on the numbers of apprenticeship places created through funding provided by the Agency; and if he will make statement; [58570]
(2) how many apprenticeship places were created through funding provided by the Homes and Communities Agency in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [58571]
Grant Shapps: While the Homes and Communities Agency does not have specific targets, all providers bidding for funding to the Agency's Affordable Homes programme are required to submit an Employment and Skills Statement. Encouraging providers to support delivery of new jobs in this way is in line with this Government's belief that delivery is best optimised by reducing bureaucratic burdens and top-down targets to free up local partners, the private and the voluntary sectors to drive growth and opportunity. As result of the Homes and Communities Agency's investment programme, around 2,700 apprenticeships were created or safeguarded in 2010-11. A break-down by year for 2009-10 is not available.
Housing: Construction
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of homes built in St Albans constituency were built on brownfield land in each of the last five years. [59190]
Robert Neill: Information on the proportion of homes built on all previously-developed land, the proportion on previously residential land and the proportion on all previously-developed land excluding land that was previously residential in St Albans is shown in the following table.
| Proportion of new dwellings on built-on, previously-developed and previously-residential land, St Albans | |||
|
|
All previously-developed | Previously-residential (1) | All previously developed land excluding previously residential |
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| (1) Includes development on gardens and after demolition of dwellings. Source: Land Use Change Statistics | |||
Information for local authorities is shown for four-year periods because of volatility in estimates for individual years.
Planning
Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department issues to planning officers on (a) the scope of their discretion in considering material and non-material changes in the use of their delegated powers and (b) the exercise of any discretion to designate a change material or non-material. [58273]
Robert Neill: The Department published guidance in October 2010 on material and non-material amendments to planning permission. This document is called ‘Greater Flexibility for Planning Permissions: Guidance’ and can be found on the Department's website:
www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/greaterflexibilityguidance
“there is no statutory definition of [a] ‘non-material’ [amendment]. This is because it is so dependent on the context of the overall scheme—what may be non-material in one context may be material in another.”
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to design a simpler and more flexible plan-making process for communities. [58290]
Robert Neill: Through proposals in the Localism Bill we are removing unnecessary central Government involvement in local plans, abolishing regional strategies and increasing the accountability of councils to the public. The remainder of this plan-making process is set out in secondary legislation, policy and guidance all of which will be simplified as the Bill makes its way through Parliament to introduce further flexibility for councils and local communities.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps (a) he and (b) his Department are taking to ensure that the experiences from the Neighbourhood Planning Front Runners initiative are used to inform future policy development. [58342]
Robert Neill: The Department has allocated at least one ‘link' officer to liaise closely with each of the 17 councils in the ‘first wave' of Neighbourhood Planning Front Runners. The insight gained by the link officers into the experiences of individual Front Runner projects will inform the development of regulations and guidance in respect of Neighbourhood Planning. We will issue a final report on the project in autumn 2012.
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Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he plans to issue to communities which wish to develop neighbourhood plans. [58343]
Robert Neill: We are working with the Neighbourhood Planning Front Runners and representative organisations on guidance that will help communities, local authorities and investors with neighbourhood planning.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what steps his Department is taking to provide support from property professionals to Neighbourhood Planning Front Runners; [58616]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Neighbourhood Planning Front Runners are able to gain access to appropriate expertise in the property profession. [58625]
Robert Neill: The Department has made available grants of £20,000 to each Neighbourhood Planning Front Runner. These grants may be spent in any way that the recipient council considers appropriate in connection with delivering its project and this may include procuring support from the property profession. In addition, the Department will shortly award grants totalling £3.2 million to four organisations to enable them to provide advice, guidance and other support to community groups and individuals wishing to engage with the planning system. That may include advice, guidance and other support derived from the property profession. We would encourage property professionals and others to engage positively with the Front Runner project by contacting the relevant councils.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken to communicate to investors the potential for (a) socially, (b) environmentally and (c) economically-sustainable development of community-led planning. [58626]
Robert Neill: The Government's “Plan for Growth” set out the actions we are taking to reform the planning system to ensure that it makes the right land available in the right place for development and that it will deliver commercial development, vital infrastructure and housing that the country needs.
We have worked closely with the business sector to ensure that our neighbourhood planning proposals provide the opportunities that investors need to work with communities to bring forward neighbourhood development plans and orders. We will continue to work with them to ensure that investors can take advantage of the benefits neighbourhood planning will present.
Planning Permission
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions the Planning Inspectorate has overturned a decision to refuse planning permission made by planning authorities in (a) Reading borough, (b) West Berkshire and (c) England in each of the last five years. [58991]
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Robert Neill: The following table shows the number of occasions the Planning Inspectorate has overturned a decision to refuse planning permission by planning authorities in Reading borough, West Berkshire and England as a whole.
| Occasions Planning Inspectorate has overturned a decision to refuse planning permission | |||
| Fiscal year | England | Reading | West Berkshire |
Private Rented Housing: Energy
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what evidence his Department has supplied to the Department for Energy and Climate Change on the potential effects on the private rented sector of the proposals in the Energy Bill for landlords and tenants. [58411]
Andrew Stunell: The Department for Communities and Local Government officials continue to work closely with Department for Energy and Climate Change colleagues on the Energy Bill and its potential effects on the private rented sector. Energy efficiency data from the English Housing Survey Headline Report 2009-10 have fed into this process and officials from both Departments have liaised on a piece of qualitative research considering domestic and non-domestic tenants' and landlords' reactions to the Energy Bill's Green Deal.
Shops: Planning
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effects of implementation of provisions in the Localism Bill on the ability of local communities to (a) secure sustainable and diverse high streets, (b) promote local influence on the range of shops and (c) provide local influence on the location of shops which are potentially harmful to that community. [59267]
Greg Clark: Under the provisions for neighbourhood planning within the Localism Bill, communities will be able to have a real say in the detailed planning of their area. Communities will be able to use neighbourhood plans to set policies for the development and use of land in their neighbourhoods, including setting out policies on retail provision within a neighbourhood area, subject to there being an appropriate fit with local and national policy. Within the constraints of the Use Classes Order, communities will be able to determine the uses to which new properties within high streets and elsewhere are put and to prevent certain changes of use for existing properties. Through the use of neighbourhood development orders, communities will be able to permit specified kinds of development in specified locations.
The Bill also contains provisions to increase take-up of small business rate relief; to ensure that a supplementary business rate levy can only be introduced following support of local firms via a referendum; and to give
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councils new powers to introduce local business rate discounts. The provisions have the potential to support local shops.
Tenancy Deposit Schemes
Mr Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department issues to the operators of each tenancy deposit protection scheme on the adjudication of disputes between tenants and landlords over tenancy deposits. [58533]
Grant Shapps: The three Tenancy Deposit Protection schemes are required to provide a free, impartial and evidence-based dispute resolution process in accordance with the legislation and the terms of our service concession agreement with them. We welcome the recently published guidance on the dispute resolution process which the three scheme providers produced to help landlords and tenants understand the process and to ensure consistency in adjudication decisions across the three schemes.
Mr Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department takes to monitor the performance of the free adjudication services operated by the three tenancy deposit protection schemes. [58534]
Grant Shapps: The three Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme providers are required to submit monthly reports on key performance indicators, which cover the dispute resolution process, under the terms of their Service Concession Agreements with my Department. In addition, the Department holds quarterly monitoring meetings with each of the scheme providers at which any performance issues can be discussed.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
British Nationals Abroad: Ransom
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the payment of ransoms abroad by British companies or nationals. [59268]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The Government have a long-standing policy of not making or facilitating substantive concessions to hostage-takers. We maintain this consistent policy because we believe that to make substantive concessions such as paying ransoms would reward the act of hostage-taking and encourage future kidnaps of British nationals. Although the payment of a ransom by a third party to a criminal gang is not illegal under UK law, the Government are firm that we do not, and will not, become involved in activity that could facilitate such a payment. Payment of a ransom to a United Nations designated terrorist group or individual would contravene the al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctions regime established by UN Security Resolution 1267 (1999).
Council of Ministers
Zac Goldsmith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at how many meetings of the Council of Ministers the UK has been
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represented by the
(a)
Permanent Representative and
(b)
Deputy Permanent Representative since May 2010. [58200]
Mr Lidington: Either the Secretary of State or myself has represented the UK at every Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and General Affairs Council (GAC) since May 2010, with one exception. The Permanent Representative represented the UK at the General Affairs Council (GAC) on 13 April 2011.
For information on UK representation at other Council of Ministers meetings, I refer my hon. Friend to the relevant Departments.
Diplomatic Service
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for the closure of British missions overseas. [53914]
Mr Lidington: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) on 11 May 2011, Official Report, columns 1165-68.
Export Controls
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the terms of reference are for the review of licences for the export of military equipment to the middle east and North Africa; who is undertaking the review; and when it will report. [57438]
Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has commissioned a review of Government policy and practice with regard to the export of equipment that might be used for internal repression, in particular crowd control goods. Although this review was originally commissioned in response to events in the middle east and north Africa, any conclusions will apply to our procedures for arms exports to all countries. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading this internal review in close consultation with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The Government will be reporting back on the review to Parliament. This will take place once the Secretary of Sate has fully considered the findings of the review.
Foreign Nationals: Prisoners
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what diplomatic assistance his Department is providing to the Home Department in negotiating prisoner transfer agreements with (a) Nigeria and (b) other countries in respect of foreign national prisoners. [59458]
Mr Jeremy Browne:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) works closely with the Ministry of Justice to raise the profile of prisoner transfer agreements, and facilitate their negotiation where possible through advocacy, lobbying and project support. This has included in the
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case of Nigeria FCO participation in bi-annual senior official meetings, most recently in Abuja in March 2011.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), to the hon. Member for Hendon (Mr Offord) on 1 March 2011, Official Report, column 410W. This sets out the Government's policy to extend or negotiate new prisoner transfer agreements with as many countries as possible, including Nigeria.
G4S
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many contracts his Department holds with G4S; and what the (a) purpose and (b) monetary value of each such contract is. [58667]
Mr Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently has 40 contracts globally with G4S companies, totalling approximately £32 million per annum. The largest two are for Afghan Security Services (£23 million) and UK Guarding (£4 million). Details of the remainder of the contracts which provide physical security to posts overseas are not kept centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Iraq and Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the involvement of Libyan nationals in military action against British forces in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan in the last 10 years. [56313]
Mr Hague: It is a matter of public record that Libyan nationals were involved in fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout the time of British military engagement the information available suggests that the relative ease of travel to Iraq in particular meant that Libyan nationals contributed to the foreign fighting contingent in the country. UK and international partners have worked together over the last 10 years to ensure that foreign fighters from Libya and elsewhere could not travel with ease to Iraq or Afghanistan to enter into military action against British forces.
Iraq: Iran
Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the use of loudspeakers on the psychological welfare of residents of Camp Ashraf; and if he will make a statement. [58005]
Alistair Burt: We are unable to assess the effect of the loudspeakers at Camp Ashraf on the residents. We have been told by the Iraqi Government that they are there to allow family members to communicate with relatives inside the camp. Based on consular visits to the camp, we agree they are loud and could be perceived to be oppressive at close quarters.
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We regularly discuss the situation of Camp Ashraf with our international partners and have repeatedly pressed the Government of Iraq to ensure the human rights of the residents of Camp Ashraf are respected.
Mauritania: Foreign Relations
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to meet his counterparts in Mauritania to discuss Anglo-Mauritanian relations. [58888]
Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has recently written to his Mauritanian counterpart and a number of official-level visits took place during 2010. We will continue our dialogue with Mauritania through ministerial contact and our ambassador in Rabat, who is accredited to Nouakchott.
Sri Lanka: Politics and Government
Mr Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement. [59149]
Alistair Burt: The number of reported disappearances has reduced significantly since the end of the military conflict in May 2009. However cases are still occurring. We are concerned that there has been little visible progress in investigating cases that took place before or after the war and the recent report by the UN Secretary General's Panel of Experts also recommends the Sri Lankan Government investigate and disclose the fate and location of persons reported as being forcibly disappeared. We regularly raise our concerns with the Sri Lankan Government, most recently when I met the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 31 March.
World Bank
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the conventions which apply to the nationalities of candidates for leading positions at (a) the World Bank and (b) the International Monetary Fund. [56309]
Mr Hague: At the G20 summit in Toronto last year, Leaders affirmed the commitment to open, transparent and merit-based selection of their heads and senior leadership of international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Justice
Prisoners
John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners are in custody who have more than (a) 10, (b) 50 and (c) 100 convictions. [58852]
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Mr Blunt: The following table shows the number of offenders serving an immediate custodial sentence at 30 June 2010 by number of previous convictions. These figures are a further breakdown of table A1.26 in “Offender Management Statistics Quarterly Bulletin—Annual Tables” which was published on 28 April 2011.
These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
| Number of offenders serving an immediate custodial sentence at 30 June 2010 by number of previous convictions | |
| Number of previous convictions | Number of offenders |
Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time between the date of commencement of a case and of a hearing in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal was in the latest period for which figures are available. [58491]
Mr Djanogly: The average time from the receipt to disposal of cases in the First-tier Tribunal—Special Educational Needs and Disability between November 2010 and May 2011 (the latest period for which figures are available) is: 18.33 weeks for cases dealt with at a hearing and 10.88 weeks for cases concluded overall(1).
The tribunal only deals with cases arising in England; the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales (SENTW) deals with appeals against the decisions of local authorities in Wales and is a devolved tribunal funded by the Welsh Assembly Government,
(1) The data are management information taken from HMCTS' database and the ‘overall’ concluded figure includes cases that were conceded, withdrawn and struck out before a hearing as well as those decided at a hearing.
Animal Experiments
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will review the application of exemptions from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for information provided by public authorities on the number and type of experiments on animals conducted in the UK. [59075]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) does not contain an exemption relating specifically to the number and type of experiments conducted on animals. However, it does contain a number of exemptions which may be used to withhold information where its release is not in the public interest. The FOIA also provides an exemption where disclosure is prohibited under other legislation. The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 prohibits the release of certain information about animal experimentation in prescribed circumstances.
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The FOIA will be subject to post-legislative scrutiny in late 2011. It will be for the parliamentary committee conducting post-legislative scrutiny to determine the issues it wishes to examine during this process.
Community Orders
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which private contractors on the National Offender Management Service Community Payback National Provider Framework have admitted body status within the Local Government Pension Scheme. [58476]
Mr Blunt: The pension scheme arrangements would be notified to the authority as part of the response to the Lot specific mini-competitions. Given that the mini-competitions have yet to take place, the precise terms relating to how admitted body status will be applied is not known at present.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many supervision orders were made in England and Wales with a condition of unpaid work plus one or more other condition in 2010. [58774]
Mr Blunt: There were 25,220 offenders starting Community Order supervision and 13,709 offenders starting Suspended Sentence Order supervision in 2010 with unpaid work plus at least one other requirement attached to the order.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the expected cost per offender per hour for the provision of unpaid work for the financial year 2012-13. [59157]
Mr Blunt: No estimate has been made of the expected costs for 2012-13.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is developing systems to break down current expenditure on a service by service basis, including unpaid work (also known as community payback). Once the information has been reviewed and validated we will then consider how best to use it to meet commitments under the Government's Transparency Agenda.
The NOMS Specification, Benchmarking and Costing (SBC) programme is creating specifications to be used in commissioning the services NOMS funds. This includes work to support benchmarking by estimating how much it should cost to deliver each service.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many sessional supervisors are employed to supervise unpaid work in each probation trust in England and Wales; and how many such supervisors he expects there to be in financial year 2012-13. [59160]
Mr Blunt:
Information is not collected specifically on the number of sessional supervisors employed to supervise unpaid work in each probation trust. Information is however collected on the overall number of staff employed
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to supervise unpaid work in each probation trust and the latest figures available at 31 December 2010 are provided in the following table.
It is not possible to forecast future staffing levels of those supervising unpaid work, as the responsibility for resourcing levels lies with the individual probation trusts. It is for them to take the necessary action at a local level to ensure they can deliver the required service within available resources.
| Number of staff employed to supervise unpaid work by probation trust at 31 December 2010 | |
| Probation t rust | Headcount |
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John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any probation trusts in England and Wales received remuneration from local authorities or private companies for the provision of unpaid work tasks in the latest year for which information is available. [59161]
Mr Blunt: Probation Trusts receive remuneration for the provision of unpaid work tasks, but the source is not centrally recorded. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is developing systems to collect current expenditure and income on a service by service basis, including unpaid work. The total value of third party income is forecast at £1.4 million for 2011-12.
The NOMS Specification, Benchmarking and Costing (SBC) programme is creating specifications to be used in commissioning the services NOMS funds. This includes work to support benchmarking by estimating how much it should cost to deliver each service.
Crown Relocations
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many contracts his Department holds with Crown Relocations; and what the (a) purpose and (b) monetary value of each such contract is. [58641]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: I can confirm that the Ministry of Justice does not hold any contracts with Crown Relocations.
Driving Offences
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions for driving while using a hand-held mobile phone there have been since the creation of that offence. [58938]
Mr Blunt: Defendants proceeded against at the magistrates courts for offences of using a hand held mobile phone while driving, in England and Wales, 2004 to 2010, can be viewed in the following table.
| Defendants proceeded against at the magistrates courts for offences of using a hand held mobile phone (1) while driving, England and Wales, 2004-10 (2,3) | |||||||
| Offence | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| (1) Statute: Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regulations 1986—R.110(1), R.110(2) and R.110(3). Introduced 1 December 2003. Offence description: R.110(1) use of a hand held mobile phone while driving; R.110(2) causing or permitting the use of a mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle R. 110(3) using a mobile phone while supervising the holder of a provisional driving licence to drive a motor vehicle on the road. (2) The figures given relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one 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. (3) 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. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |||||||
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G4S
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many contracts his Department holds with G4S; and what the (a) purpose and (b) monetary value of each such contract is. [58672]
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Mr Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice holds 10 contracts with G4S which cover prisons, prisoner escort custody services (PECS) and electronic monitoring. The monetary value for these contracts is provided in the following table.
| Contractor | Contract description | Total contact value (£ million) |
IBM
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many contracts his Department holds with IBM; and what the (a) purpose and (b) monetary value of each such contract is. [58684]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: I can confirm that the Ministry of Justice have one contract with IBM and it is for the supply and maintenance of software. The contract value is £6.8 million for a period of three years.
Insider Trading: Prosecutions
Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions for the offence of insider trading there were in each year since 1995; and what the penalty was for those convicted of such an offence in each such case. [58587]
Mr Blunt: Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for insider dealing, England and Wales 1995 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the tables as follows.
Court proceedings data for 2011 will be available in the spring of 2012.
| Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating to insider dealing, England and Wales 1995 to 2010 (1, 2) | |||||||||
| Offence description | Statute | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 (3) | 2001 | 2002 |
| Offence description | Statute | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 (4) | 2009 | 2010 |
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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 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) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (5) The number of defendants found guilty in a particular year may exceed the number proceeded against as the proceedings in the magistrates court took place in an earlier year and the defendants were found guilty at the Crown court in the following year; or the defendants were found guilty of a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | |||||||||
Offenders: Probation
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the average size is of offender groups supervised by the Probation Service in England and Wales for unpaid work; [59158]
(2) what estimate he has made of the expected size of offender groups supervised by the Probation Service in England and Wales for unpaid work for the financial year 2012-13. [59159]
Mr Blunt: Information collected by the National Offender Management Service suggests that the average size(1) of unpaid work groups for the period January to March 2011 was 6.1(2).
There is a national competition for community payback/unpaid work currently under way and the expected size of work groups will depend on assessments by the successful provider(s). Therefore no estimate has been made of the expected size of offender work groups in 2012-13. The actual size of work groups is determined by a number of factors including the type of work being undertaken, location and the risks posed by the offenders.
(1) The figure is the actual number of offenders worked (as opposed to the number who were instructed to attend the group).
(2) The figures used in the answer have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.