Postgraduate Education
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on plans to increase the number of universities offering PGCE courses in core subjects within the English Baccalaureate. [67871]
Mr Gibb: The Department for Education estimates the number of teacher training places (including those on Post Graduate Certificates in Education courses) needed for each subject. This includes consideration of the effects of changes such as the introduction of the English Baccalaureate qualification. The Training and Development Agency for schools (TDA) allocates these places to academic institutions and other providers of initial teacher training. The Department's current assessment is that there is enough capacity in the existing pool of universities who are accredited as initial teacher training providers to meet the requirement for teacher training places in all subjects, including those in the English Baccalaureate.
Postgraduate Education: Fees and Charges
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of universities which will charge £9,000 for PGCE courses in core subjects within the English Baccalaureate in 2012-13. [67872]
Mr Gibb: The Department has taken note of universities' intentions on tuition charges for undergraduate higher education, which were published by the Office for Fair Access on 12 July. The Department has not made a specific estimate of the number of universities which will charge £9,000 for PGCE courses in core subjects within the English Baccalaureate in 2012-13. The Department for Education is proposing bursaries of up to £20,000 in 2012/13 to encourage the best graduates into teaching and support them during their training. The most generous bursaries are in mathematics, science and modern languages, which are core English Baccalaureate subjects.
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Primary Education: Extracurricular Activities
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has plans to reduce the (a) staff training requirements and (b) administrative burdens associated with running a holiday play scheme under the Early Years Foundation Stage. [66147]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 14 July 2011]: On 6 July 2011, the Government launched a consultation on a revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which responded to recommendations made by Dame Clare Tickell in her review of EYFS which was published on 30 March 2011. The revised EYFS is intended to reduce burdens on all early years providers.
The consultation document maintains training requirements critical to safeguarding and welfare of children in settings including holiday play schemes. It is for managers to determine how much training they and their staff require and to make arrangements for it to be provided.
Public Service: Bolton
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the potential future cost to public services in Bolton borough of the change in his Department's funding for early intervention. [64852]
Sarah Teather: The Department does not make such estimates. Local authorities are responsible for early intervention and other public services in their areas. The Government have made available £2.2 billion in 2011-12 and £2.3 billion in 2012-13 in the Early Intervention Grant (EIG) to local authorities. Further information is available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/a0070357/early-intervention-grant-frequently-asked-questions/
The EIG is an un-ring-fenced and un-hypothecated funding stream that gives local authorities greater flexibility to target resources strategically and to intervene early to improve outcomes for children, young people and families. It is up to local authorities to judge how best to use this funding for their local communities, taking account of local need and evidence of what is most effective.
Schools: Standards
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which schools are switching to small examination boards in certain subjects. [67947]
Mr Gibb: This information is not collected centrally.
Schools: Vocational Guidance
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on the potential effects of allowing schools to determine whether or not to commission professional careers guidance. [61322]
Mr Gibb:
Proposals in the Education Bill place a clear duty on schools to secure access to independent and impartial careers guidance for pupils in years 9 to
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11. This includes information on the full range of 16-18 education and training options. Schools are free to determine how best to fulfil this duty, taking into account the needs of their pupils.
The subject of careers guidance has been raised in discussions with a number of interested parties including representatives from the careers sector, the Association of School and College Leaders and the Association of Colleges. In addition, a wide range of evidence has been submitted to inform the passage of the Education Bill through Parliament and careers guidance has been the focus of debates on clause 26 and clause 27.
Special Educational Needs
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the merits of developing commissioning guidance for head teachers on support for children with speech, language and communication needs. [64180]
Sarah Teather: The Department has made no such assessment. The special educational needs (SEN) and disability Green Paper, “Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability”, highlights the importance of joint local commissioning of services for disabled children and those with SEN, with local authorities taking a leading role involving other professionals, including head teachers. Consultation on the Green Paper finished on 30 June and we have invited bids for local areas to run pathfinders to test proposals in the Green Paper. We will consider responses to questions in the Green Paper on local collaboration, the emerging lessons from the pathfinders and the views of SEN organisations before setting out how we will encourage better commissioning for disabled children and those with SEN, including children with speech, language and communication needs.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the special educational needs Green Paper, paragraph 7, page 5, what the evidential basis is for the bias identified by his Department towards inclusion for children with special educational needs. [66768]
Sarah Teather: In developing the Green Paper many parents told us that they do not have a real choice of school, including many parents who want a special school for their child and feel frustrated by not being given their choice by the local authority. By preventing the unnecessary closure of special schools and encouraging the development of the special school sector, through special academies and free schools, the Government will improve parents' choice of school, whether that be for mainstream or special.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure (a) consistency of quality and (b) affordability of provision for children with (i) special educational needs and (ii) disabilities under his planned system of personal budgets. [66816]
Sarah Teather:
Our Green Paper, “Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability”, proposed that all families of children
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with the proposed “Education, Health and Care Plan” would be able to take up the offer of a personal budget by 2014. On 30 June, we invited bids from local authorities and their partners to become pathfinders. The pathfinders will test a range of proposals set out in the Green Paper, including the option of a personal budget. Pathfinders involved in testing personal budgets will be expected to explore the cost and impact of providing support in this way, so as to ensure that all children with special educational needs or who are disabled continue to receive high quality services, whether or not the family wishes to take up the offer of a personal budget.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the new Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice will include a child's right to a named and trained senior person in each school responsible for SEN. [66983]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 18 July 2011]: The current Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice sets out the role of the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO), who has day-to-day responsibility for the co-ordination of provision made for individual children with SEN and can provide advice to those children. Every local authority maintained mainstream school and every new mainstream academy, following the Academies Act 2010, must appoint a SENCO and that SENCO must be a qualified teacher. The current code points out that many schools find it effective for the SENCO to be a member of the senior leadership team.
In any revision of the code of practice following the SEN and disability Green Paper we will consider whether to say more about the support SENCOs can give to individual children as well as their colleagues in meeting those children's SEN.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration he has given to including in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice a (a) report for parents to challenge the special educational needs system and (b) complaints and appeals process. [67084]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 18 July 2011 ]: The Department has consulted on a special educational needs (SEN) and disability Green Paper, “Support and aspiration” which sets out wide-ranging proposals for reform. We aim to give parents more control over the support for their child and family. We are proposing that local authorities and other local services communicate a clear local offer for families to clarify what support is available and from whom; that parents have the option of a personal budget by 2014; parents have access to transparent information about the funding which supports their child's needs; parents have a clear choice of school; and that if local authorities and parents disagree, they always try mediation first, to resolve problems in a less adversarial way than having to take their case to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability).
Special Educational Needs: Dyslexia
Dr Julian Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on (a) diagnosis of and (b) educational support for children
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with dyslexia in each of the last five years; what information his Department holds on the number of children diagnosed with dyslexia in each of the last five years; what steps he has taken to ensure the accuracy of diagnoses of dyslexia; and if he will make a statement. [66352]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 19 July 2011]:Data are not collected centrally on spending on diagnosis and support for children with dyslexia or on the number of children with dyslexia. Data are collected on the number of children at School Action Plus under the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice or with statements of special educational needs with specific learning difficulty, which includes dyslexia. In January 2011 there were 78,135 such pupils; 11.1% of the total number of children at School Action Plus and with statements.
Schools and local authorities have statutory duties in respect of identifying and supporting children with special educational needs from within the funds available to them.
The Department is taking a range of specific measures to improve the identification of and support for children with dyslexia. These include:
making support available to every school for the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics—revising and strengthening the core criteria that define the key features of an effective systematic synthetic phonics programme to help schools in selecting an effective programme and making £3,000 of match funding available to all schools with Key Stage One pupils for phonics materials and training;
introducing a new phonics screening check for children in Year One; working with initial teacher training providers to ensure that all trainee primary teachers have the understanding and confidence to teach children to read using systematic synthetic phonics; funding teachers to take specialist dyslexia training courses approved by the British Dyslexia Association (some 3,200 teachers in the period 2009-11);
developing through the Training and Development Agency for Schools specialist resources for initial teacher training programmes including units on dyslexia to give trainees a grounding in recognising dyslexia and supporting pupils with dyslexia;
developing through the Training and Development Agency for Schools new advanced level online modules in dyslexia which will build on earlier programmes and further enhance teachers' knowledge, understanding and skills; and,
providing grant funding to the Dyslexia-Specific Learning Difficulty Trust in 2011-12 to raise awareness and support parents and schools.
Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has assessed the role of (a) vision control problems and (b) eye convergence difficulties in causing reading problems; and if he will make a statement. [66353]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 19 July 2011]:The Department has not conducted an assessment of the role of vision control problems and eye convergence problems in causing reading problems. If teachers suspect that a child may have eyesight difficulties they can discuss those with a child's parents or carers so that they can consider arranging for their child to be seen by an NHS professional such as an optician or general practitioner.
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Special Educational Needs: Finance
Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of providing individual pupil funding for children with special educational needs. [61743]
Sarah Teather: On 19 July we launched a consultation on reform to the school funding system, including funding for high needs pupils.
The Green Paper on special educational needs and disability, “Support and aspiration; A new approach to special educational needs and disability”, sets out how personal budgets could be used to enhance the control parents have over the support services they receive for their child. We are piloting the personal budget approach to ensure that local authorities properly understand how they and their partners should commission services to ensure all children can access high quality provision, whether or not their parents take up the option of a personal budget. The consultation period ran until 30 June 2011 and we will publish our plans later this year when we have considered the responses received.
Teachers
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department provides to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools on enterprise teaching. [67269]
Mr Gibb: The Department does not produce guidance on enterprise teaching. Enterprise education is part of the economic well-being strand of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Pupils are taught what it means to be enterprising; the nature of the world of work; about different types of businesses and how to manage their finances effectively.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is developing online resources for teachers that will enable them to set up school businesses and access support from local enterprise champions.
Teachers: Training
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the viability of higher education institutions of a move to school-based initial teacher training. [56883]
Mr Gibb [h olding answer 23 May 2011]:We have recently published our proposals for the reform of initial teacher training in the discussion document “Training our next generation of outstanding teachers”. These proposals are for discussion until 22 July, and we will publish our final policy in September. Our reforms do not signal the end of the involvement of higher education institutions in ITT, and the discussion document sets out the role we see for them in the future of training teachers. As we implement our reforms to ITT, the Training and Development Agency for Schools and the new Teaching Agency will continue to consider the viability of HEIs in implementing changes to the system.
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Northern Ireland
Departmental Air Travel
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what occasions he has flown on official business (a) by budget airline and (b) in economy class in the last 12 months. [67919]
Mr Paterson: In the past 12 months I have flown on official business by budget airline on seven occasions; four of which were in economy class.
I regularly travel to and from Belfast from the UK mainland. Travel plans can often change at the last minute, for example, to take account of requirements at Westminster. For this reason I normally travel premium economy which allows flights to be changed at no or minimal cost and is therefore most cost effective.
This contrasts with the travel arrangements under the previous administration when the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland routinely used a private jet for official journeys between London and Belfast. Under this Government, the Department no longer uses private jet hire for regular travel by the Secretary of State.
Culture, Media and Sport
British Board of Film Classification: Videos
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he expects to implement recommendation 4 of the Bailey Review relating to the exemption of music videos from statutory regulation by the British Board of Film Classification; and if he will make a statement. [67710]
Mr Vaizey: Work is under way, and a consultation will be published later this year.
Sky TV
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010. [67558]
John Penrose: The Department has not spent on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010.
Carbon Emissions
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the carbon dioxide emissions from his Department in (a) June 2010 and (b) June 2011. [66761]
John Penrose: This Department estimates that its carbon dioxide emissions were 220.89 tonnes in June 2010 and 204.61 tonnes in June 2011.
Conditions of Employment
Julian Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many meetings officials of his Department have had with the Department for
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Business, Innovation and Skills on the Government’s employment law review since May 2011. [67219]
John Penrose: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 21 June 2011, Official Report, column 165W.
Departmental Lost Property
Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what property has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in the last 12 months; and what the cost of replacement was. [66575]
John Penrose: In the last 12 months, two memory sticks and one BlackBerry have been lost, and one laptop stolen from this Department. The cost of replacing the lost property was £286.00. The stolen laptop has not been replaced.
Departmental Manpower
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) how many people have been (a) recruited to and (b) made redundant from (i) his Department and (ii) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible since May 2010; [66330]
(2) how much (a) his Department and (b) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible has spent on redundancies since May 2010. [66347]
John Penrose: Since May 2010, this Department has recruited six members of staff, all on fixed term contracts. In the final quarter of 2010-11 the Department ran a voluntary redundancy scheme for all staff under the new Civil Service Compensation Scheme and 44 members of staff have left as at 30 June 2011. The Department has spent £2,891,000 on redundancies since May 2010.
The Department does not hold this information for each arm's length body for which it is responsible and I have asked the chief executive of each one to write directly to my right hon. Friend. Copies of these letters will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
Departmental Photographs
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on ministerial photo shoots and videos since May 2010. [67821]
John Penrose [holding answer 19 July 2011]: The Department has spent approximately £1,058 on photo shoots and £2,095 on videos that included covering ministerial engagements and events since May 2010.
Departmental Procurement
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many procurement contracts his Department has awarded to small businesses since May 2010. [67245]
John Penrose: The Department has awarded 127 contracts to small and medium enterprises, since May 2010.
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Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department have been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since the website's inception. [67246]
John Penrose: All of the Department's procurement contracts that are eligible for advertisement have been placed on the Contracts Finder website:
http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
Departmental Redundancy
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on redundancy costs since May 2010. [67820]
John Penrose [holding answer 19 July 2011]: In the final quarter of 2010-11, the Department ran a voluntary redundancy scheme for all staff under the new Civil Service Compensation Scheme, and 44 members of staff have left as at 30 June 2011. The Department has spent £2,891,000 on redundancies since May 2010.
Business Regulation
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many regulations his Department has introduced (a) in the six months prior to 1 September 2010 and (b) in the six months after 1 September 2010 which it has determined do not impose costs on businesses. [65315]
John Penrose: Between 1 March and 1 September 2010, this Department did not introduce any regulations which do not impose costs on businesses.
In the six months after 1 September 2010, the Department introduced one statutory instrument, the Media Ownership (Radio and Cross-media) Order 2011, to remove the local cross media ownership rules the impact of introducing the regulation is net zero cost to business.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many regulations that impose costs on businesses his Department has (a) introduced and (b) removed since 1 September 2010; what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was; and what regulations have been excluded from the one-in one-out system because they address (i) emergencies and (ii) systemic financial risks since 1 September 2010. [65332]
John Penrose: Since 1 September 2010, the Department introduced three statutory instruments which impose costs on business:
1. The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011.
2. The Electronic Communications (Universal Service) (Amendment) Order 2011.
3. The Electronic Communications and Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 2011.
The equivalent annual direct impact on business is about £8 million. The annual benefit to business is £0.3 million, but is expected to bring additional non-monetised benefits which are substantially more than the costs.
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Since 1 September 2010, the Department has not removed any regulations which impose costs on businesses, nor excluded any regulations from the one-in one-out system because of emergencies or systemic financial risks.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many regulations that impose costs on businesses his Department (a) introduced and (b) removed in the six months prior to 1 September 2010; and what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was. [65349]
John Penrose: Between 1 March and 1 September 2010, the Department introduced one statutory instrument:
The Gambling Act 2005 (Operating Licence Conditions) (Amendment) Regulations 2010
which imposed a gross cost on business, but the net overall effect of the regulation was a benefit to business.
Within the same period, the Department did not remove any regulations which imposed costs on businesses.
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what process his Department follows for the production of regulatory guidance; and how many officials of his Department were involved in the production of such guidance on the last date for which figures are available. [67209]
John Penrose: The Department works with interested parties, often through formal public consultation and the preparation of an impact assessment, to ensure that guidance is clear, effective and does not impose unnecessary regulatory burdens. Where guidance is produced under statute, the Department follows the relevant statutory provisions. The Department does not hold information on the number of officials involved in the production of such guidance.
Departmental Responsibilities
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many meetings he has had with hon. Members of each political party since May 2010. [67171]
John Penrose: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), meets with members of all political parties on a regular basis. To advise on exact numbers of such meetings, would exceed the disproportionate cost limit. The Secretary of State also publishes a list of meetings with external organisations via the Department for Culture, Media and Sport website which can be found via the following link:
http://www.transparency.culture.gov.uk/category/other/meetings/
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will consider keeping data on the number of times (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have declined a request for a meeting from an hon. Member of each political party. [67194]
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John Penrose: The Department has no plans to record these data.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party was refused by (a) a Minister in his Department directly and (b) his Department on behalf of a Minister in November 2010. [67593]
John Penrose: The Department does not keep a record of meetings declined by its Ministers or departmental officials.
Departmental Training
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on training for Ministers since May 2010; and what training was provided. [67808]
John Penrose [holding answer 19 July 2011]: The Department has not made any expenditure on training for Ministers in the period since May 2010.
Lotteries: Charities
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has discussed with representatives of operators of charity lotteries their contribution to the big society initiative. [67030]
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has had discussions with charity lotteries on their potential contribution to enabling communities to provide services and functions under the big society initiative. [67304]
John Penrose: I have not had any specific discussions with operators of charity lotteries about the big society, but I recognise the valuable role that they play in generating income and raising awareness of the contribution of charities towards the big society.
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what steps his Department plans to take to support a more competitive environment for charity lotteries; [67031]
(2) if he will consult on the proposed review of monetary limits imposed upon charity lotteries by the Gambling Act 2005; and if he will make a statement. [67033]
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department has taken to support a more competitive environment for charity lotteries in the lottery market. [67305]
John Penrose: We are currently considering the recommendations of the Lord Hodgson report ‘Unshackling Good Neighbours’:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/unshackling-good-neighbours
to simplify the arrangements for charitable lotteries and raffles, although this does not relate to the monetary limits for different types of lottery. The monetary limits
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for society lotteries were last increased in 2009, when the proceeds per draw and maximum prize were doubled to the current £4 million and £400,000 limits, and we would certainly want to consider the impact of that change before proposing any further amendments.
Lotteries: Gambling
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will meet representatives from (a) the Lotteries Council, (b) the Hospice Lotteries Association and (c) the People's Postcode Lottery to discuss the review of monetary limits in the Gambling Act 2005. [67032]
John Penrose: I have recently received representations from the People's Postcode Lottery about the monetary limits in the Gambling Act. I would be happy to meet representatives from the Lotteries Council, the Hospice Lotteries Association and the People's Postcode Lottery to discuss this matter further.
Rural Areas
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether officials of his Department have had recent discussions with the Rural Communities Policy Unit in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. [67150]
John Penrose: Officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have frequent discussions with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Rural Policy Unit, the most recent of which was on 14 July 2011.
Sports: Females
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps the Government is taking to increase female participation in (a) individual and (b) team sports at (i) junior and (ii) senior age ranges. [67127]
Hugh Robertson: Sport England has strategic plans to deliver increased participation among women through the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) which encourages girls and women to participate in sports. In addition to core National Governing Bodies and National Partner funding, Sport England has invested £10 million in an active women initiative. This funding is aimed at helping women in disadvantaged communities and women caring for children under 16.
Tourism
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the economic state of the tourism sectors in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England; and what steps he plans to take to assist the tourism industry. [67113]
John Penrose: VisitEngland's United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS) shows the volume and value data for domestic overnight tourism across the nations of the UK in 2010, in the following table:
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| £ million | |||
| Destination | Trips | Nights | Expenditure |
The confirmed data for inbound tourism will be published by the Office for National Statistics by the end of July.
The 2011 figures up to the end of March for England and Great Britain are available at:
http://www.visitengland.org/Images/March%202011-%20Commentary%20of%20results_tcm30-26862.pdf
Scotland and Wales figures are not yet available, and Northern Ireland no longer participates in the survey.
VisitBritain commissioned a study last year, with each of the individual nations, examining the economic value of tourism. This is available at:
http://www.visitbritain.org/Images/Economic%20case%20for%20the%20Visitor%20Economy %20-%20Phase%202%20-%2026%20july%202010%20-%20FINAL_tcm29-14561.pdf
A £100 million overseas tourism marketing fund has been established for tourism promotion in key markets, as a joint public-private sector initiative. This marketing programme will aim to deliver an additional 4 million visitors to the UK and £2 billion in additional visitor spend over four years. The Government's plans for promoting the growth of the visitor economy are set out in detail in the paper, “Government Tourism Policy” published in March 2011, and available at
http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/7896.aspx
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with Welsh Ministers on (a) joint ventures and (b) other tourism promotion measures; and if he will make a statement. [67124]
John Penrose: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) and his Department's Ministers regularly meet Welsh Ministers to discuss a range of issues.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has established a new £100 million overseas tourism marketing fund which is a joint public-private sector initiative. The marketing programme, which is being led by VisitBritain, aims to deliver an additional 4 million visitors to the UK and £2 billion in additional visitor expenditure over the next four years. The whole of the UK, including Wales, will benefit from the marketing campaign.
The Government's other plans for promoting the growth of the UK's visitor economy are set out in the new Tourism Policy which was published in March 2011 and is available at:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/7896.aspx
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what funding he has allocated for the promotion of tourism in (a) Yorkshire and (b) England in 2011-12. [67288]
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John Penrose: The Department sponsors VisitBritain, which is charged with promoting Britain overseas, and VisitEngland, which is responsible for promoting England within the UK and to selected overseas markets. Total grant-in-aid in 2011-12 will be £36.642 million, with £26.98 million allocated to VisitBritain and £9.662 million allocated to VisitEngland. Funding is not apportioned by VisitBritain on a national or regional basis and it is not possible to disaggregate a specific England spend. Funding is not apportioned by VisitEngland on a regional or area-specific basis; it is not possible to disaggregate a specific Yorkshire spend, but the area is an important asset in the overall England offer and receives significant coverage in national marketing campaigns.
UK Film Council
Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much was (a) invested in and (b) received as revenue from each profitable film that was (i) wholly and (ii) partly funded by the UK Film Council in each of the last five years. [66728]
Mr Vaizey [holding answer 19 July 2011]:There were no films wholly funded by the UK Film Council (UKFC) in the last five years. There were 33 film production awards made by the UK Film Council where (a) the first production award was made between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2011, and (b) which has received recoupment income. The recoupment income for the period up to 31 March 2011, for each of these awards, is shown as follows. Additional recoupment is expected over a number of years.
| Film | Production award (£) | Recouped to March 2011 (£) | Percentage |
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Colombia: Mining
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his counterpart in Colombia on potential levels of population displacement in connection with the proposed development of the La Colosa gold mine in that country. [67474]
Mr Hague: We have not made representations to the Colombian Government on this specific development. I discussed the regulation and environmental impact of mining with the Colombian Foreign Minister on Wednesday 13 July and agreed to continue co-operation to help improve standards in this area.
The key concerns for non-governmental organisations and the Colombian media about the proposed development are over water use and environmental impacts of the operation rather than population displacement. Currently, the development is only in the exploration phase, and the Colombian Government will need to give further approval before mining operations can begin. This will be in line with the new Mining Code which the Colombian Government are currently developing. We will continue following the development of the code to ensure that environmental provisions are robust.
Conditions of Employment
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings officials of his Department have had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the Government's employment law review since May 2011. [67216]
Cyprus: Press Freedom
Mr Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Turkish Cypriot authorities regarding the recent shooting at the offices of the independent Africa newspaper in North Nicosia; and if he will make a statement. [66191]
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Mr Lidington: Officials from our high commission in Nicosia have raised their concern on this issue with a number of senior contacts within the Turkish Cypriot community. I was pleased to see that the alleged gunman was swiftly apprehended by the authorities in northern Cyprus and hope that the correct course of justice will now be followed.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Diplomatic Relations
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on diplomatic relations with Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement. [66489]
Mr Jeremy Browne: We enjoy good diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We have an active embassy in Kinshasa which engages regularly with the Government of DRC. The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), visited the DRC in July 2010 and has met the DRC Foreign Minister three times in the last 12 months.
We are a major bilateral donor to DRC. The Department for International Development has recently announced an increase in development funding to provide £790 million to the DRC over the next four years.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2011, Official Report, column 1029W, on departmental carbon emissions, whether the sources of low-carbon energy generation on its estate were manufactured in the UK. [67937]
Mr Lidington: In my answer of 4 July 2011, Official Report, column 1029W, I referred specifically to three sources of low-carbon energy generation on the FCO UK estate:
(i) Plans to install a tri-generation heat, cooling and power plant in our King Charles street headquarters
(ii) Solar hot water technology at our ICT building at Hanslope park
(iii) A biomass boiler at our Wilton park Executive agency
The tri-generation heat, cooling and power plant project at King Charles street is in the design phase. A decision has not yet been taken on which company will supply the engine for the plant.
The solar hot water technology at Hanslope park was manufactured in Germany.
The biomass boiler at Wilton park was manufactured in Austria.
Departmental Responsibilities
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party was refused by (a) a Minister in his Department directly and (b) his Department on behalf of a Minister in November 2010. [67579]
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Mr Lidington: Ministers and officials receive a large number of invitations and meeting requests from all sources. We do not have a system to record the occasions where requests are declined and we do not consider that such a system would be value for money or worthwhile.
Embassies: St David's Day
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British embassies held St David’s day celebrations in each of the last five years; and how many are planning celebrations for St David’s day 2012. [67778]
Mr Lidington: The information is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
Embassies are free to arrange events to celebrate St David’s day at their discretion. Many embassies also mark St David’s day by flying the Welsh flag, promoting Wales and St David’s day on their websites and attending events organised by local Welsh societies and the Welsh Government.
Eritrea: Religious Freedom
Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the extent of religious freedom in Eritrea; and what representations his Department has made to the Eritrean government on freedom of religion. [63477]
Mr Jeremy Browne: We are deeply concerned by the restrictions placed on religious freedoms in Eritrea, and the many reports of the detention and inhumane treatment of those belonging to a religion not officially sanctioned by the Eritrean Government. We are also worried by recent reports of an order for all members of the clergy aged under 30 to report for national service.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office raises human rights concerns, including religious freedoms, with the Eritrean Government at every appropriate opportunity, both with the Eritrean embassy in London and with the Government in Asmara. In June this year, Her Majesty's ambassador to Eritrea raised human rights concerns with President Isaias Afwerki. Earlier this month, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham) raised human rights, including religious freedom, with senior Eritrea Cabinet Minister Arefaine Berhe. Along with EU partners, the United Kingdom has highlighted to the Eritrean Government their human rights obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Eritrean Government state that the security threat stemming from Ethiopia's non-implementation of the ruling on the countries' shared border obliges Eritrea to suspend many freedoms. We recognise Eritrea's security concerns but firmly reject the notion that this justifies the current severe abuses of human rights.
India: Entry Clearances
Jane Ellison:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on the time
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taken to issue visas to UK nationals for visits to India. [67964]
Mr Jeremy Browne: We have raised our concerns about the impact of Indian immigration rules on British nationals, including those of Pakistani origin and those owning property in India, with the Indian authorities on a number of occasions. Our high commissioner in New Delhi raised a number of visa issues with the Indian Home Secretary in December 2010. In addition, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) raised these issues with the Indian high commissioner in February 2011.
Libya: Armed Conflict
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contingency arrangements are in place for the establishment of a new administration in Libya. [63860]
Alistair Burt: The UK considers the National Transitional Council (NTC) to be the legitimate governing authority in Libya. We welcome efforts made by the NTC to plan for the establishment of a transitional administration for the benefit of all the Libyan people. The NTC's “Road map for Libya” sets out their vision.
A UK-led International Stabilisation Response Team (ISRT) visited Libya in June, to look at how the international community could support the Libyan people in their transition to a peaceful and stable democratic state. The Libya Contact Group in Istanbul on 15 July set out plans for how a better, open and free Libya can be created, how post-Gaddafi stabilisation can be achieved and how the international community can support this Libyan-led process under the overall leadership of the UN. Stabilisation efforts must be owned and led by the Libyan people. We will continue to co-ordinate with our international partners in supporting the Libyan people to build a stable and peaceful society.
Oil: Production
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with other oil-producing countries to increase the production of oil. [65155]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has discussions on a range of issues with counterparts. The Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Lord Howell of Guildford, discussed oil markets and production during his visit to the Gulf region in May, which included Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
Somalia: Piracy
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the legal advice he received concerning the use of private security companies on UK commercial shipping off the horn of Africa. [R] [66271]
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Mike Penning: I have been asked to reply.
The legal issues surrounding the use of private security companies onboard UK commercial vessels are complex and advice is being sought in considering the Government’s policy on this issue. However, it is not Government policy to publish internal legal advice.
Sri Lanka
Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether (a) the British high commissioner and (b) official staff of the High Commission met the Secretary of State for Defence during his recent visit to Sri Lanka; [67623]
(2) whether his officials provided briefings or advice to the Secretary of State for Defence prior to his recent visit to Sri Lanka. [67642]
Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), on 19 July 2011, Official Report, column 869W.
UN Environment Programme
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on proposals to enhance the status of the UN Environment Programme within the UN. [67384]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The UK is committed to strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable development and enhancing the system of international environmental governance. We believe this will require an enhanced role for UNEP as part of a strong environmental pillar within the broader context of strengthening overall sustainable development governance. The UK is engaged in open discussion of broad reform options to make the current system more effective and efficient and will continue to play an active role in preparatory negotiations on this issue in the run up to Rio+20 next June where a major theme is ‘the institutional framework for sustainable development'.
Work and Pensions
Child Support Agency
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what sources of income the Child Support Agency classifies as protected earnings. [66769]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what sources of income the Child Support Agency classifies as protected earnings. [66769]
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Following contact with your office we clarified that the question refers to ‘protected income’, the element of the child maintenance formula which determines the amount of child maintenance liability, as opposed to ‘protected earnings’ which is the amount which cannot be taken from an employed non-resident parent's wages when he or she is subject to a Deduction from Earnings Order.
The types of income that are not taken into account in the child maintenance formula are detailed in child support regulations (Schedule 2 of the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations 1992). In summary these are:
Business expenses which are wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the day to day performance of employment duties;
Any compensation for personal injury and any payments from a trust fund set up for that purpose; Housing benefit; council tax benefit; disability living allowance (or a motability supplement); attendance allowance (or constant attendance allowance or exceptionally severe disablement allowance paid because of industrial injury or war injury); social fund payments; guardian's allowance and Christmas bonus. In addition to this payments made to compensate for the loss of a benefit are also disregarded in full; and
Certain benefits which are ignored in part, for the 1993- scheme £10 per week of war disablement pension, war widow's or war widower's pension or payments made to a parent under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is disregarded. Only a total of £20 a week in total can be disregarded from a combination of war pensions, charitable contributions and student income. This is consistent with the treatment of these pensions for means tested benefits, for which a weekly £10 disregard also applies. Certain supplementary allowances paid within the overall award of the War Disablement Pension are also not included as assessable income. These include a payment based on the need for attendance which is paid as part of a war disablement pension and “adult or child dependency allowance” within the War Disablement Pension. These are excluded from assessable income, provided that the allowance is paid directly to the parent.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Child Support Agency: Absent Parents
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what powers the Child Support Agency has to pursue self-employed absent parents (a) in and (b) outside the UK; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of such powers. [67604]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what powers the Child Support Agency has to pursue self-employed absent parents (a) in and (b) outside the UK; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of such powers. [67604]
The Commission has jurisdiction to make a maintenance calculation and collect child support maintenance only when the parent with care, the non-resident parent and the qualifying child are all habitually resident in the UK. Habitual residence is a legal concept which means more than simply ‘where you live'. A person can habitually reside in more than one country or in none. Habitual residence can continue during an absence from UK.
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The Commission retains the power to pursue a self-employed non-resident parent that lives in the UK; or who has moved overseas, for ongoing maintenance payments, but only where the non-resident parent in question is regarded as being habitually resident in the UK. The criteria for establishing jurisdiction when a non-resident parent leaves the UK is described at Section 44 of the Child Support Act 1991. There is no distinction made between an EU state and a non-EU state.
If the non-resident parent ceases to be habitually resident, the Commission can no longer seek ongoing maintenance. We can only enforce child maintenance arrears directly if the self-employed non-resident parent holds assets within the UK, such as savings or property, which would fall within the jurisdiction of the UK courts. Since 3 August 2009, the Commission has had the power to make deductions from current or savings accounts held within the UK without the consent of the non-resident parent.
The Commission may take action to prevent the non-resident parent disposing of his assets, from which the Commission could recover the arrears. The Commission may apply to the High Court (England and Wales) or the Court of Session (Scotland) If a non-resident parent has arrears of child support; and have disposed of, or is about to dispose of, assets with the intention of avoiding child support.
From 18 June 2011, the Commission will have some ability under the new European legislation EC 04/2009 to enforce certain arrears of maintenance that accrued while both parents were resident in the UK where the non-resident parent now resides in another jurisdiction within the European Union. It can also assist parents with care in the process of obtaining a court order for ongoing maintenance which can then be enforced via an application to the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) unit at the Office of the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee in England and Wales, and via an equivalent legal mechanism in Scotland. The new European legislation also allows the Commission to make enquiries about assets a non-resident parent may own in another EU member state for the purposes of enforcing child maintenance arrears owed in the UK.
The government recognises that it can be difficult to secure child maintenance in circumstances where the non-resident parent is self-employed and will not willingly accept financial responsibility for their child. Supporting their, children is something parents should manage for themselves and we are taking steps to support them in doing so. However, for the limited number of cases where this proves impossible, we have plans to introduce a new, more automated system for managing child maintenance cases which should make enforcement action quicker and more effective, including against the self-employed.
The Commission has not made any formal assessment of the full effectiveness of the powers that will be deployed to secure maintenance on the future scheme, as some of these are fairly new and others are yet to be commenced.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what powers the Child Support Agency has to verify the income of self-employed absent parents. [67605]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what powers the Child Support Agency has to verify the income of self-employed absent parents. [67605]
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Self-employed earnings are usually taken from the self-assessment return that is submitted to HM Revenue and Customs, or from a tax calculation notice. This is consistent with the policy that, in a similar manner as for employed earners, the basis of the child maintenance liability of a self-employed earner is their taxable earnings.
The Commission also has the power to request details of, and statements from, any accounts held by deposit takers in the name of the non-resident parent, including bank and building society accounts. If the requested information is not supplied, attempts will be made to obtain the information through phone calls, accountants, companies or partnerships with or for whom the non-resident parent works, a face-to-face interview, an inspector's visit, or a request to HM Revenue and Customs for self-assessment details where all other means to obtain the information have failed.
If a non-resident parent fails to provide this information they may have both a default maintenance decision (that sets a default level of child maintenance that they must pay) and a fine imposed. Any information obtained in relation to a non-compliant non-resident parent's finances through our information gathering powers can be used for enforcement purposes if necessary. If, at any stage, a parent with care believes that the Commission ought to make more enquiries, they can ask that it do so, although some evidence about the matter they feel needs investigating is often required.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Child Maintenance
Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission's Survey of Child Maintenance Options Outcomes, March 2011, if he will apply the same methodology as was used to estimate the number of effective family-based arrangements after contact between a parent and Options to estimate the number of cases in which users of Options neither applied to the Child Support Agency nor made effective family-based arrangements after contacting Options. [66413]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission's Survey of Child Maintenance Options Outcomes March 2011 if he will apply the same methodology as was used to estimate the number of effective family-based arrangements after contact between a parent and Options to estimate the number of cases in which users of Options neither applied to the Child Support Agency nor made effective family-based arrangements after contacting Options. [66413]
An estimated 143,000 (33 per cent) out of a total of 436,000 users of Child Maintenance Options up to end March 2011 had neither applied to the Child Support Agency nor made effective family-based arrangements after contacting the service.
These figures are taken from the Commission's Survey of Child Maintenance Options Outcomes March 2011. Full details of the survey are available on the Commission's website at:
http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/publications/research.html
I hope you find this answer helpful.
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Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) average cost per case and (b) total cost was of enforcement action used by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission by means of (i) deduction from earnings orders, (ii) deduction orders, (iii) liability orders, (iv) distress actions, (v) charging for payments orders (Scotland), (vi) charging orders (England and Wales), (vii) orders for sale (England and Wales), (viii) bill of inhibition (Scotland), (ix) committal and (x) recovery from a deceased's estate in the last 12 months. [66414]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average cost per case and (b) total amount spent was of enforcement action used by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission by means of (i) deduction from earnings orders (ii) deduction orders (iii) liability orders (iv) distress actions (v) charging for payments orders (Scotland) (vi) charging orders (England and Wales) (vii) orders for sale (England and Wales) (viii) bill of inhibition (Scotland) (ix) committal and (x) recovery from a deceased's estate in the last 12 months. [66414]
The average cost per case handled by the Commission's legal enforcement teams in the financial year to 31 March 2011 was £1,539. The total expenditure was £62,740,826. It is not possible to break this down over the requested categories, since costs are assigned to cost centres and cost types rather than specific activities. However it is possible, as shown in the table below, to provide this cost broken down by work area.
| Enforcement action | Cost (£) |
A further breakdown of the Commission enforcement activity can be found on page 24 of the Commission's Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). The latest version of the QSS is available in the House of Commons library or online at:
http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/publications/stats0311.html
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission's Survey of Child Maintenance Options Outcomes, March 2011, if he will apply the same methodology as was used to estimate the number of children benefiting from effective family-based maintenance arrangements after contact between a parent and Options to estimate the number of children in respect of whom users of Options chose after discussion with the Options Service to go to the Child Support Agency seeking to make child maintenance arrangements. [66415]
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Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission's Survey of Child Maintenance Options Outcomes March 2011 if he will apply the same methodology as was used to estimate the number of children benefiting from effective family-based maintenance arrangements after contact between a parent and Options to estimate the number of children in respect of whom users of Options chose after discussion with the Options Service to go to the Child Support Agency seeking to make child maintenance arrangements. [66415]
A total of 97,000 applications, covering 149,000 children, were made to the CSA following contact with Child Maintenance Options up to the end of March 2011.
These figures are taken from the Commission's Survey of Child Maintenance Options Outcomes March 2011. Full details of the survey are available on the Commission's website at:
http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/publications/research.html
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the statement on the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission website that Child Maintenance Options helps over 100,000 children to benefit from family-based maintenance, what analysis the Commission has undertaken on the causal impact of contact with the Options service as a determining factor in the maintenance arrangements parents subsequently make, including the type of arrangement compared to other factors which could have influenced their decision, including (a) the quality of relationship between the parents, (b) their emotions, attitudes and beliefs and (c) affordability. [66416]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the statement on the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission website that Child Maintenance Options helps over 100,000 children to benefit from family-based maintenance what analysis the Commission has undertaken on the causal impact of contact with the Options service as a determining factor in the maintenance arrangements parents subsequently make including the type of arrangement compared to other factors which could have influenced their decision including (a) the quality of relationship between the parents (b) their emotions attitudes and beliefs and (c) affordability. [66416]
The Commission has undertaken an evaluation of the Child Maintenance Options service to assess the extent to which parents made a child maintenance arrangement following contact with the helpline element of the service.
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It was not possible to use the standard method to measure the impact of the Options service, as a control group of non-users could not be identified. Instead, the research measured the “effect” of the service by comparing Jobcentre Plus callers with moderate to high use of the Options service with low users—the latter being a proxy for a standard non-user comparison group. (It was not possible to look at the “effect” of CM Options on non-Jobcentre Plus callers as too few of this group were low users of the service and therefore it was not possible to generate a credible comparison group). The two groups were matched on a wide range of factors known to predict maintenance outcomes, the only differences being the level of contact with Child Maintenance Options. Therefore any differences in outcomes between the two groups would be due to the level of interaction with the Child Maintenance Options service.
The research found that around 7% of parents referred from Jobcentre Plus who had a ‘moderate to high’ level of interaction with the service had a maintenance arrangement in place eight or nine months after contact with the service that they would otherwise not have had. The effect of the service is not minor considering the low intensity of intervention, with most parents having just one or two short telephone calls.
It is not easy to capture emotions, attitudes and beliefs in a quantitative study of this nature, however, we believe the large number of topic areas used in the matching process will have captured this as far as is possible. The report is available on the Commission's website at:
http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/publications/research.html
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) with reference to section 20 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008, what progress he has made in carrying out a pilot using deduction from earnings orders as the first means of collecting child maintenance; and whether a full programme of evaluation and impact assessment of such orders has been undertaken; [66417]
(2) what plans he has to implement section 20 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 to allow use of deduction from earnings orders as a basic method of collection of child maintenance. [66418]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Section 20 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 what progress he has made in carrying out a pilot using deduction from earnings orders as the first means of collecting child maintenance; and whether a full programme of evaluation and impact assessment of such orders has been undertaken. [66417]; and
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to implement section 20 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 to allow use of deduction from earnings orders as a basic method of collection of child maintenance. [66418]
The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.2) Regulations 2008 introduced Deduction from Earnings Orders (DEO) as a basic means of payment of child maintenance from
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27 October 2008. No piloting activity was undertaken prior to the introduction of the DEO as a standard method of payment.
Section 20 of the 2008 Act was commenced for the purposes of making regulations on 26 September 2008 and for all other purposes on 27 October 2008.
The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.2) Regulations 2008 were made consequent to the commencement of section 20 of the 2008 Act. The 2008 Regulations included DEO as a standard method of payment of child maintenance, alongside Direct Debits.
Provision is also made for a non-resident parent to make representations that there is a good reason why they should not pay via DEO. These must be considered by the Agency prior to the imposition of a DEO. The 2008 Regulations further provide that non-resident parents have a right to appeal to a court against the imposition of a DEO.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Child Support Agency classifies a war disablement pension as assessable income in calculating child maintenance liability. [66770]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Support Agency classifies a war disablement pension as assessable income in calculating child maintenance liability. [66770]
The treatment of War Disablement Pensions differs for child maintenance purposes between the two statutory schemes.
Under the 1993 child maintenance scheme the Commission includes a War Disablement Pension within a parent's assessable income as prescribed in child support law, which establishes that £10 of any War Disablement Pension is disregarded when calculating the assessable income of a parent. A non-resident parent that is in receipt of a War Disablement Pension will not be required to pay child maintenance if they have been assessed under the child support formula as having to pay £6.50 or less per week.
Under the 2003 child maintenance scheme, if the non-resident parent is in receipt of a War Disablement Pension the Commission applies the flat rate of £5, when determining the child maintenance calculation, as prescribed in child support law.
If a parent believes there are special circumstances that have not been captured within the standard maintenance calculation then they can apply for a variation. An application for a variation may be applied for on a number of different grounds by either the parent with care or the non-resident parent.
One of the grounds for a variation is where the non-resident parent has income which has not been taken into account within the standard child maintenance calculation. This may apply where the non-resident parent is at the flat-rate, including cases where this is as a result of them being in receipt of a War Disablement Pension. The parent with care may apply for a variation if they believe that the non-resident parent has an income of at least £100 a week which would otherwise be taken into account for the calculation of maintenance.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
20 July 2011 : Column 1069W
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many child maintenance agreements have been enforced by the Child Support Agency through deduction of earnings orders in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [66772]
(2) how many deduction of earnings orders administered by the Child Support Agency were made (a) at the request of the non-resident parent and (b) after legal proceedings in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [66773]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many child maintenance agreements have been enforced by the Child Support Agency through deduction of earnings orders in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [66772]; and
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many deduction of earnings orders administered by the Child Support Agency were made (a) at the request of the non-resident parent and (b) after legal proceedings in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [66773]
The number of active Deduction from Earnings Orders / Requests (DEO/R) and the number in which maintenance was received in the quarter are shown in the table below. A Deduction from Earnings Request (DER) is a request for maintenance where the non-resident parent is in the armed forces. Figures only include cases administered on the CS2 and CSCS computer and exclude cases administered off the main computer system.
The figures include cases where the preferred method of collection recorded on each case at the end of the quarter is DEO/R. Figures may therefore include cases where maintenance was requested and/or received by other methods during the quarter but where the method of collection was recorded as DEO/R at the end of the quarter. No management information exists on which DEO/Rs were enforced and which were set up at the request of the non resident parent.
| Quarter ending March each year | Maintenance requested | Maintenance received |
| Notes: 1. Figures rounded to nearest 100. 2. Figures exclude cases administered off system. | ||
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many deduction of earnings orders will be kept in place (a) during the migration of cases to the new child maintenance system and (b) until parents are able to make a private agreement; and if he will make a statement. [66774]
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Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many deduction of earnings orders will be kept in place (a) during the migration of cases to the new child maintenance system and (b) until parents are able to make a private agreement; and if he will make a statement. [66774]
The process underpinning the closure of cases on the existing statutory maintenance schemes, and the movement of those cases to either a family based arrangement or application to the future statutory scheme has yet to be finalised (this includes the status of any deduction from earnings orders currently in place).
The Government intends to draft Regulations and consult publicly on the details of the existing scheme case closure process later in the year.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Departmental Business Regulation
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many regulations his Department has introduced (a) in the six months prior to 1 September 2010 and (b) in the six months after 1 September 2010 which it has determined do not impose costs on businesses. [65309]
Chris Grayling: In the six months prior to 1 September 2010 the Department introduced 33 sets of regulations that did not impose costs on business; and 14 such sets of regulations in the six months after 1 September 2010.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many regulations that impose costs on businesses his Department has (a) introduced and (b) removed since 1 September 2010; what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was; and what regulations have been excluded from the one-in one-out system because they address (i) emergencies and (ii) systemic financial risks since 1 September 2010. [65326]
Chris Grayling: Since 1 September 2010 the Department has introduced one set of regulations that imposes costs on business and removed one such set of regulations. The net effect is a reduction of costs on business.
The Department has not excluded any regulations from the one-in one-out system because they address emergencies or systemic financial risks.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many regulations that impose costs on businesses his Department (a) introduced and (b) removed in the six months prior to 1 September 2010; and what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was. [65342]
Chris Grayling: In the six months prior to 1 September 2010 the Department introduced five sets of regulations that impose costs on business, and removed none. However, the Department also amended regulation to reduce costs to business; the net effect is a reduction of costs on business.
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Disability Living Allowance
Mrs Siân C. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the reliability of the assessment procedures to be used in his proposed reform of disability living allowance. [67958]
Maria Miller: The purpose of the assessment we are developing for personal independence payment is to assess entitlement for the benefit in a way that is objective, evidence-based, transparent and, importantly, consistent. We are still in the process of developing the details of the assessment and in May published an initial draft of proposals for the assessment criteria. We are currently carrying out an informal consultation on the criteria, to hear the views of disabled people and their organisations on how they will work and how they might be improved. We are also testing them, by carrying out around 1,000 sample assessments over the summer. The testing will help us to better understand the likely impact of the criteria. We intend to publish a second draft of the assessment criteria in the autumn, following consideration of the consultation findings and testing results.
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department issues on the backdating of disability living allowance claims; and whether any review of such guidelines is planned. [67959]
Maria Miller: There can be no entitlement to disability living allowance before a claim is made, or treated as made. A claim may be treated as made earlier in certain circumstances where a request has previously been made for a claim form, or the initial contact was defective as a claim to benefit. These exceptions are explained in published guidance.
There are no plans to review guidelines relating to how claims are backdated in DLA.
Remploy: Advertising
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons the board of Remploy did not undertake a consultation before advertising for a paid non-executive director; and if he will make a statement. [66491]
Maria Miller: No consultation is required to appoint a non-executive director to the board of Remploy. This is a ministerial appointment and is currently being advertised by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Remploy: Allowances
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish a list of expenses claimed by Remploy directors in the last financial year by (a) director and (b) type of expense; and what the cost of travel by senior managers at M1 grade and above was in that financial year. [65021]
Maria Miller: A detailed list of expenses claimed by Remploy directors on a quarterly basis from April 2009 is available on Remploy's website
http://www.remploy.co.uk/about-us/corporategovernance.ashx
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This shows that Remploy's eight directors spent £34,000 on expenses in the financial year to March 2011, a fall of £11,400 (25%) on the previous year.
The cost of travel by Remploy's 148 senior managers at M1 grade and above, including directors, was £1,120,000 for the financial year ending March 2011.
Remploy operates over 100 different locations and many business streams including a mobile sales task force—to ensure that these operate effectively employees are required to travel to customers, suppliers and the Remploy locations. Remploy continues to push web conferencing to avoid unnecessary travel and has benchmarked its arrangements with hotel providers. In addition no one in Remploy travels first class.
The Government believe all Departments, including non-departmental public bodies, need to show financial restraint in the current economic climate and scrutinise all spending to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.
Social Security Benefits
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from which locations welfare and employment benefits are (a) administered and (b) processed by his Department. [66797]
Chris Grayling: Jobcentre Plus has 740 offices that are open to the public, 75 main benefit delivery centres and 37 contact centres. Their locations can be found within the respective tables that have been drawn up for each. The administration and processing of welfare and unemployment benefits will be undertaken at each of the locations to varying degrees.
Location of all Jobcentres that are open to the public as of 20 July 2011.
Locations of Jobcentre Plus Main Benefit Delivery Centres as of 20 July 2011.
Locations of Jobcentre Plus Contact Centres as of 20 July 2011.
Locations of DWP Pension Centres and their Respective Functions as of 20 July 2011.
Locations of DWP Disability and Carers Units and their Respective Functions as of 20 July 2011.
The information in all of the tables above has been placed in the Library.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to address monopolies in agricultural markets. [66496]
Mr Davey: I have been asked to reply.
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Competition matters relating to agricultural markets fall to the Office of Fair Trading to investigate and address.
Agriculture: Pay
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on wage levels in farming communities. [66362]
Mr Paice: DEFRA Minsters have had no direct discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer concerning wage levels in farming communities. However, the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) run by the Office for National Statistics provides data on wage levels in agriculture and allows direct comparison with other sectors.
Agriculture: Young People
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to increase the number of young people pursuing a career in agriculture. [66104]
Mr Paice: DEFRA's first priority in its business plan is to help improve the competitiveness of British farming which will make it a more rewarding career prospect.
We support and encourage the activities of the Agri-Skills Forum
http://www.agriskillsforum.co.uk/
whose remit is to raise skill levels and improve the professionalism of the industry, making it more attractive to young people.
In addition we are working with both the industry and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help increase the uptake of apprenticeships by farmers to encourage young people into farming careers.
Animal Welfare: Charities
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings she has had with animal welfare charities since her appointment; and what matters were discussed at each such meeting. [63975]
Mr Paice: The Secretary of State and her ministerial team have had a number of meetings with animal welfare charities including the RSPCA, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Blue Cross Animal Hospital, Dogs Trust, Animal Defenders International, Captive Animals' Protection Society, Kennel Club and Born Free. These meetings have been part of a programme of stakeholder engagement to discuss a wide variety of current issues.
Animal Welfare: Slaughterhouses
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's policy is on the export via UK ports of live animals for slaughter and fattening. [66450]
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Mr Paice: The Government are committed to improving the welfare of animals. If animals are exported live, their transportation should be high quality and comply with welfare in transport rules.
The live export trade is a lawful trade. The Government cannot unilaterally ban the trade as it would contravene EU free trade rules. Nevertheless, we would prefer livestock to be slaughtered as close as practicable to their point of production; a trade in meat and meat products being preferable to the long distance transport of livestock to slaughter.
We will continue to ensure that the current rules on long journeys (e.g. rest periods, adequate access to water and feed) are properly enforced in this country.
We will be making our views clear in Brussels on the importance we attach to animal welfare. We will play a full part in updating of the European law on welfare in transport and will continue to work with welfare, industry and enforcement organisations to identify where improvements might be made.
Badgers
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the size of the badger population in each local authority area in England in each of the last five years. [66378]
Mr Paice: Based on national population surveys of badger social groups carried out in the 1980s and 1990s, there are estimated to be between 250,000 and 300,000 badgers in Great Britain. No data are available for individual local authority areas.
Biotechnology
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to promote innovation in the biotechnology sector for the purposes of enhancing food security. [66103]
Mr Paice: The Government invest about £400 million per annum on agriculture and food research, including up to £90 million over five years through the Technology Strategy Board's Sustainable Agriculture and Food Platform (co-funded by DEFRA and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council), which provides a key mechanism for driving industry-led innovation to stimulate the development of new technologies to support a competitive, environmentally sustainable farming and resilient food sector.
Government funders, industry and third sector bodies are working together through the Government's Chief Scientist Food Research Partnership and the Global Food Security programme to ensure that multi-disciplinary research is robust relevant and providing good value for money.
DEFRA is also funding collaborative research and development and innovation activities to promote a more sustainable, resilient and competitive food chain.
To strengthen agricultural research and innovation, the Government are actively building links and joint initiatives, for example through membership of the EU Joint Programming initiative which aims to maximise member state benefit from R&D funding, and the
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Global Research Alliance which aims to find ways of reducing greenhouse gas through international collaboration.
The Government also recognise that GM technology could deliver benefits providing it is used safely and responsibly, in particular as one of a range of tools to address the longer term challenges of global food security, climate change, and the need for more sustainable agricultural production.