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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 12 September 2011
Energy and Climate Change
Electromagnetic Fields: Health Hazards
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has evaluated on the effects on human health of residence near high-voltage power lines. [71573]
Charles Hendry: The Department of Health is responsible for the assessment of risks to human health and providing advice to Government Departments such as DECC. As such, DECC has not evaluated any research relating to human health of residence near high voltage power lines. The Department of Health is advised by the Health Protection Agency and both keep emerging science under review.
Energy: Prices
Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what consideration he has given to regulating energy prices; [71559]
(2) what recent discussions his Department has had with energy companies on energy prices; [71560]
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(3) what recent discussions his Department has had with Ofgem on energy prices; and if he will make a statement. [71561]
Charles Hendry: DECC Ministers and officials meet with Ofgem and energy suppliers on a regular basis to discuss market issues.
Consumers deserve the best possible deal, which means effective competition in the marketplace. We are cutting red tape for smaller suppliers to boost competition in retail markets, while Ofgem is tackling other barriers to effective competition (such as tariff complexity and low wholesale market liquidity) in its retail market review. While greater competition should put pressure on prices, consumers should also regularly evaluate the best deal on the market.
Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on the average unit cost of (a) natural gas and (b) electricity including all taxes, charged to electric arc steelmakers in (i) the UK, (ii) Holland, (iii) France, (iv) Spain and (v) Germany in the latest period for which figures are available. [71667]
Charles Hendry: DECC holds no information on energy costs to specific industries in the UK or Europe. However, DECC does collect energy price data for UK industry for different consumption sizebands and supplies this to Eurostat, the European Union's statistical agency.
Eurostat publishes industrial gas and electricity price data for all EU member states. Prices in the largest sizebands could be used as a proxy for electric arc steelmakers.
Prices detailed as follows include all taxes not refundable on purchase.
| Pence per kWh, July-December 2010 | ||
| Natural gas: Large consumers consuming 27,778-277,777 MWh per annum | Electricity: Extra large consumers: consuming 420,000 MWh per annum with a maximum demand of 50 MW | |
Energy: Private Rented Housing
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received from (a) Macmillan Cancer Support, (b) Citizens Advice, (c) Crisis and (d) the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health on minimum standards of energy efficiency for private rented homes; what response he gave in each case; and if he will make a statement. [R] [71170]
Gregory Barker: The Department received a representation from these organisations, among others, on 2 September, to which a written response will be given shortly.
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward amendments to the Energy Bill to make letting agents responsible for complying with the minimum standard of energy efficiency for private rented homes. [71015]
Gregory Barker: Existing provisions under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 will prevent letting agents from marketing private rented homes which do not meet the minimum standard of energy efficiency.
Therefore, an amendment to the Energy Bill is not necessary.
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward amendments to the Energy Bill to introduce a minimum standard of energy efficiency for private rented homes in 2016. [71016]
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Gregory Barker: We are committed to working with the sector to encourage uptake of the Green Deal well ahead of 2018. For this reason, I have been clear that I see 2018 as the 'finishing line' as opposed to the ‘starting line' for this policy. However, if we do not see the sector responding well ahead of this date we could reconsider the timing and introduce regulations earlier.
Energy: Tenants
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward amendments to the Energy Bill to ensure that tenants are protected from retaliatory eviction if they make requests of their landlords for energy efficiency improvements. [71014]
Gregory Barker: The Department has set up a working group involving a range of key stakeholders to explore the issue of retaliatory evictions in relation to the private rented sector provisions in the Energy Bill. This group will report to Ministers in DECC and the Department for Communities and Local Government in October 2011.
Feed-in Tariffs: Schools
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of (a) schools and (b) hospitals that have participated in the (i) feed-in tariff and (ii) renewable heat incentive since his appointment. [71178]
Gregory Barker: Ofgem provide information on the number of installations registered for the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme which started in April 2010. While this does not provide information in the form requested, it does show a total of 558 community installations accredited for FITs, which could include installations on schools and hospitals.
There have been no participants in the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme as it is not yet open for applications. Subject to state aid approval, the Government intends that the RHI will open for applications from the non-domestic sector on 30 September 2011.
Fuel Poverty: Private Sector
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he has (a) taken and (b) plans to take to alleviate fuel poverty in the private rented sector; what recent discussions he has had with (i) Ministers in HM Treasury and (ii) other ministerial colleagues on this issue; and if he will make a statement. [R] [71169]
Gregory Barker: Currently the Warm Front scheme in England provides support to private housing tenures, including the private rented sector. In addition, the carbon emissions reduction target, which was extended to December 2012, sets new requirements on suppliers to increase the proportion of benefits (energy efficiency measures like insulation) going to the most vulnerable low income, family, pensioner and disabled households.
From late 2012, through the Green Deal, the Government will help to improve the energy efficiency of all households, including those in fuel poverty in the private rented sector. The Green Deal will be supported by the energy
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company obligation (ECO). As well as driving carbon savings, the ECO will have a significant focus on providing ‘Affordable Warmth’ to support those with the lowest incomes and the most vulnerable, contributing to the Government's efforts to alleviate fuel poverty. We will be consulting shortly on eligibility for this element of the ECO, taking into account evidence on fuel poverty in different tenures, as part of our wider consultation.
Furthermore, provisions in the Energy Bill will further target the private rented sector by making it unlawful for landlords to rent out properties that do not reach a minimum standard energy efficiency from 2018. In addition, from 2016, all tenants should not be unreasonably refused consent from their landlords to make reasonable energy efficiency improvements.
We continue to engage across Government on this issue.
Green Deal Scheme: Housing
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward proposals to protect tenants from eviction for requesting (a) energy efficiency improvements and (b) to participate in the Green Deal; and if he will make a statement. [R] [71002]
Gregory Barker: The Department has set up a working group involving a range of key stakeholders to explore the issue of retaliatory evictions in relation to the private rented sector provisions in the Energy Bill. This group will report to Ministers in DECC and the Department for Communities and Local Government in October 2011.
Nuclear Reactors
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much the Office for Nuclear Regulation has spent on the generic design assessment of prospective new nuclear reactor designs since the inception of that process; and what proportion of the expenditure has been recovered from (a) the prospective reactor vendors and (b) the prospective applicant utilities. [71670]
Charles Hendry: The Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency publish the regulatory costs of the generic design assessment process in their regular quarterly reports, available on the generic design assessment website:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/newreactors/reports.htm
All of the regulatory costs incurred during the GDA process are recoverable from the GDA requesting parties (RPs). How the RPs further divide those costs is a matter for them.
The most recent report gives these for the period up to March 2011 as:
| £ million | |
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Vitol Group
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what (a) contacts and (b) meetings he has had with Vitol Group since May 2010. [70521]
Gregory Barker: A list of meetings between DECC Ministers and external organisations is published quarterly on the Department's website.
Wind Power: Yorkshire
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for how many on shore wind turbines planning permission has been (a) sought and (b) granted in (i) England, (ii) North Yorkshire and (iii) the City of York since 1996; and how many turbines have been constructed in that period. [71491]
Charles Hendry: DECC's Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD)(1) tracks the progress of renewable electricity projects from inception, through planning, construction and operational phases and is updated on a monthly basis. The REPD data(2) (August 2011) showing the number of onshore wind turbines that have been applied for, have been consented and that are operational in England, North Yorkshire and York since 1996 are set out in the following table:
| England | North Yorkshire | York District | |
| (1) http://restats.decc.gov.uk/cms/planning-database/ (2) Data include resubmitted applications but exclude many small-scale, micro-generation sites, typically of less than 50 kW installed capacity. (3) Data are comprised of planning applications that have been approved, refused or are currently under consideration. (4) Data are comprised of consented projects that are operational, under construction or awaiting construction. | |||
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Animal Welfare: Agriculture
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to improve the welfare of farmed animals since her appointment; and if she will make a statement. [70655]
Mr Paice: We have set up a new Animal Health and Welfare Board for England to have responsibility for strategic animal health and welfare policy, and oversight of its delivery in relation to England. Groups within the new rural and farming network will be able to engage with Ministers on local animal health and welfare issues.
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On 1 April we combined DEFRA's two key agencies for protecting animal health and welfare into a single body: the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency. This joined up approach will enhance our response to animal diseases and protecting the welfare of farmed animals.
We have implemented EU Council Directive 2007/43, which lays down minimum standards to protect the welfare of conventionally reared meat chickens. The implementing regulations set a maximum stocking density of 39 kg/m((2)), set training requirements for all keepers and require post mortem conditions and mortality rates to be assessed as an indicator of on-farm welfare.
For the first time, we have introduced a Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes which came into force in January 2011.
We are working with the UK industry to ensure that no hens will be in battery cages by January 2012.
We have issued proposals to ensure that farm inspections in future will be better targeted on those farms more likely to have welfare problems.
We have set up an expert group to advise on practical ways of delivering our commitment to ban beak trimming of laying hens in 2016.
The Farm Animal Welfare Committee continues to provide independent advice to DEFRA on animal welfare. In addition to funding a wide range of scientific research on animal welfare subjects, we also continue to commission ADAS to raise awareness of farmed animal welfare issues and provide guidance to farmers in order to promote good stockmanship and high standards of animal welfare on-farm, in transport and at slaughter through their awareness workshops.
We are currently considering the role CCTV can play in helping ensure slaughterhouse operators discharge their current and future supervision and monitoring obligations.
Animal Welfare: Convictions
Mr Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many convictions for offences of cruelty to animals there were in (a) Coventry, (b) the west midlands and (c) the UK in each year since 2000; and how many people were cautioned in each such year. [70370]
Mr Paice: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts, and the number of offenders cautioned for offences of cruelty to animals in west midlands police force area, and England and Wales for the years 2000 to 2010 (latest available) are listed in the following table.
Information available centrally only allows an area breakdown based on police force areas, so separate statistics are not available for Coventry.
Information for Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the Scottish Executive and Northern Ireland Office respectively.
Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring, 2012.
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| The number of defendants found guilty at all courts, and the number of offenders cautioned for offences of cruelty to animals (1) in west midlands police force area and England and Wales, 2000 - 10 (2,3) | |||||||||||
| Outcome/region | 2000 (4) | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 (5) | 2010 |
| (1) Includes the following statutes and corresponding offence descriptions: Cruelty to Animals—Protection of Animals Act 1911 Causing, permitting or failing to prevent unnecessary suffering-S5.4& 32(1) Animal Welfare Act 2006 (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Staffordshire police force were only able to supply a sample of data for magistrates courts proceedings covering one full week in each quarter for 2000. Estimates based on this sample are included in the figures as they are considered sufficiently robust at this high level of analysis. (5) Post publication revisions have been made to 2009 figures to account for the late receipt of a small number of court records. (6) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When an offender has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. (7) Includes west midlands police force area. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | |||||||||||
Animal Welfare: Diseases
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will assess the effect of foot diseases on levels of lameness in the lamb and sheep population. [70412]
Mr Paice: Lameness in sheep is a significant welfare concern. DEFRA has conducted a number of research projects on sheep welfare and the causes and control of foot rot.
In March this year, DEFRA’s expert committee on the welfare of farmed animals, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee, published an Opinion on lameness in sheep:
http://www.fawc.org.uk/pdf/sheep-lameness-opinion-110328.pdf
which includes the most up to date recommendations on the management of lameness in sheep, including specific conditions such as foot rot. We intend to raise the control and prevention of lameness to farmers through ADAS awareness workshops later this year.
The Welfare of sheep is protected by the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 (as amended). It is enforced by both the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency and local authorities.
DEFRA’s Code of Recommendations for livestock: Sheep contains specific guidance regarding the management of lameness, including the consideration to cull sheep promptly if they have chronic lameness which has failed to respond to appropriate treatment.
Animal Welfare: Gun Sports
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department holds on the number of (a) pheasants and (b) partridges which have been produced for sport shooting in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [70653]
Mr Paice: DEFRA does not hold annual statistics of such birds, but figures produced by the Farm Animal Welfare Council in 2008 estimated that there are 30 million to 35 million pheasants and 5 million to 10 million partridges released each year in Great Britain for sport shooting.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will bring forward proposals to ban the farming of birds for sport shooting; and if she will make a statement. [70656]
Mr Paice: The Government have no current plans to ban the farming of birds for sport shooting.
Gamebirds reared for sporting purposes continue to be protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which makes it an offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal as well as failing to provide for the welfare needs of an animal under the control of man. In addition, DEFRA introduced a code of practice for the welfare of gamebirds reared for sporting purposes, which was made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which provides gamebird rearers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their birds.
Animal Welfare: Slaughter Houses
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to improve animal welfare standards in abattoirs. [70167]
Mr Paice: We are committed to the maintenance of high standards of welfare at slaughter and do not condone any form of cruelty.
The Government are currently working through implementation of regulation 1099/2009, which comes into effect on 1 January 2013. This will include a review of the procedures food business operators will need to have in place, including the use of CCTV, to meet the new monitoring requirements introduced by the regulation.
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The regulation also introduces new requirements in relation to operator competence and the need for all slaughterhouses (above a minimum size) to have a dedicated animal welfare officer and we are working with the Sector Skills Council for the sector to develop accredited training packages and associated assessment procedures aimed at slaughterhouse staff. We are also considering what, if any, retraining existing slaughterhouse staff will be required to undertake before being given a certificate of competence under the new regulation. We have recently commenced a period of informal discussion with key stakeholder interests in advance of a formal consultation on the legislative changes that will take place in early 2012.
New penalties, sanctions and enforcement arrangements will also be required to underpin the new regulatory framework. Here we are considering extending the current criminal sanctions to include the use of improvement and stop notices to ensure immediate action is taken where welfare breaches are detected. We will also be reviewing the way we assess welfare risks to ensure enforcement and official veterinarian resources are targeted at those businesses or production systems judged to be the highest risk of welfare non compliance.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will bring forward proposals to increase the number of prosecutions in cases of causing unnecessary suffering and injury to animals at slaughterhouses; and if she will make a statement. [70654]
Mr Paice: Official veterinarians (OVs) of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) monitor and enforce the rules set out in the regulations on a daily basis in all licensed slaughterhouses (approved premises). The Government will not hesitate to take action against anyone failing to comply with the law and OVs will take immediate action to put right any problems they may find. This may include verbal or written advice or warnings and, when necessary, a referral for prosecution. If OVs see animals arriving at a slaughterhouse which show evidence of welfare problems arising on farm or during transport, they will report the incident to the appropriate enforcement body, which will take the necessary follow-up action.
On 1 September 2011, as announced in Parliament on 12 July 2011, Official Report, column 11WS, the prosecution function and prosecution team in DEFRA transferred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Following this change, the decision on whether to prosecute cases under the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 investigated by the FSA, will be taken by the CPS and any prosecution will be conducted by the CPS.
The Government encourage the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter. The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995, as amended, govern animal welfare at slaughter. The regulations are designed specifically to prevent cruelty or poor practice in slaughterhouses or other places such as farms, where animals are slaughtered or may have to be killed. They also set down specific requirements which must be complied with at all stages of the slaughter or killing process. The regulations make it an offence to cause any animal avoidable excitement, pain or suffering at any time between its arrival at a slaughterhouse and when it is killed.
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Animals: Electric Training Equipment
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received on the use of (a) containment fences and (b) other electronic training aids for animals. [70108]
Mr Paice: DEFRA has received a variety of correspondence from a range of interested parties on the broad issue of electronic training aids, and in some cases these refer to containment fences.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has had any discussions with her EU counterparts on the implementation of the Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Programme for England. [70228]
Mr Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), has not had the opportunity to discuss the Bovine TB Eradication Programme for England with EU Commissioners or her counterparts in other member states since its publication on 19 July. She met with Commissioner Dalli on 14 March to discuss bovine TB more generally and in particular the development and use of a cattle vaccine.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which body will be responsible for supervising, regulating and monitoring the licensing scheme for the badger culling scheme; what financial resources she plans to provide to such an oversight body; under what guidelines it will operate; and whether there will be a charge for licences. [70640]
Mr Paice: Natural England will assess applications, grant and monitor compliance with licences in line with the same principles as it applies to enforcing other wildlife licences. We are working with Natural England to determine the scope and scale of this operation and its associated costs, which would be met by DEFRA. We are currently consulting on draft guidance to Natural England, which sets out in detail how Natural England would exercise its function to issue licences.
In addition to Natural England monitoring compliance with licence conditions, DEFRA will also commission additional impartial monitoring as described in the consultation document.
At this stage, we do not envisage charging applicants for badger control licences.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the licensing scheme for badger culling will require participants to have similar team sizes and training as the teams of staff used in culling areas during the Random Badger Culling Trial. [70642]
Mr Paice:
Applicants would be required to meet the criteria set out in the draft Guidance to Natural England on which we are currently consulting. As part of this, applicants would be required to satisfy Natural England
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that they are able to deliver an effective cull in line with the proposed policy and have arrangements in place to achieve this. This may not be the same as the manpower deployed in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial as during the RBCT only cage-trapping and shooting was used, and culling was carried out over smaller areas of 100 km
(2).
As described in the consultation document, operators would be required to undertake badger-specific training to cover anatomical and behavioural characteristics of badgers and how these differ from those of other species, and demonstrate appropriate marksmanship competence.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations her Department has received expressing opposition to a cull of badgers; and if she will make a statement. [70652]
Mr Paice: A public consultation on a badger control policy was carried out at the end of 2010, the results of which are available at:
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/tb-control-measures/bovinetb-summary-responses-110719.pdf
We also receive correspondence from organisations and members of the public both expressing their opposition to and support for badger culling.
Common Agricultural Policy
Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding the UK will contribute to the Common Agricultural Policy in 2011-12. [70230]
Mr Paice: The UK contributes to the EU Budget as a whole and not to individual spending programmes within it and there is not, therefore, a specific UK contribution to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) expenditure. The UK's share of financing the 2011 EU Budget is currently estimated to be 12.48%, after taking account of the UK abatement. Spending, in Heading 2 (mostly CAP) of the EU Budget in 2011 is currently estimated at €56.379 billion. Agreement has not yet been reached on the 2012 EU Budget.
Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on reform of the common agricultural policy. [70231]
Mr Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), and I are in regular discussion with EU colleagues over the reform of the CAP, both in the margins of formal and informal meetings of the EU Agriculture Council and in targeted bilaterals. I recently met with Swedish and Danish counterparts, and will shortly be welcoming the Polish Agriculture Minister to London.
We are committed to working constructively with all EU partners to progress genuine and farsighted reform of the CAP. In a smaller overall budget, future CAP expenditure should tackle the key objectives of encouraging
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a competitive, sustainable EU agriculture sector able to rise to future challenges and opportunities, including feeding a global population and responding to climate change.
Dogs: Tagging
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representation she has received from local authorities on compulsory microchipping of dogs. [69693]
Mr Paice: 16 local authorities responded to the consultation last year on dangerous dogs legislation, all of which commented on compulsory microchipping of dogs.
Fines
Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) fines and (b) other penalties her Department has received from the European Commission as a result of having breached an EU directive in the last five years. [70054]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA (or any other UK Government Department) has never received a fine or any other penalty as a result of having breached an EU directive.
However, as a result primarily of late payments and perceived weaknesses in controls related to the administration by the Rural Payment Agency and other UK paying agencies of common agriculture policy schemes in the UK, a total of around £388 million has been disallowed (ie EU funding of scheme payments has been withheld) over the last five years from 1 September 2006.
Fisheries
Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent meetings (a) she and (b) her officials have had with their EU counterparts on reform of the common fisheries policy. [70226]
Richard Benyon: As UK Fisheries Minister I regularly meet my EU counterparts to discuss common fisheries policy (CFP) reform. The most recent meeting was the EU Fisheries Council on 19 July 2011.
My officials also meet their counterparts in other member states regularly to discuss reform of the CFP. Recent meetings include meetings of EU Directors-General for Fisheries as well as bi-laterals with individual EU member states.
Now that the EU Commission's proposals for reform of the CFP have been published the UK Government will continue to engage with our EU colleagues and others in pressing for genuinely radical reform.
Forests
Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress has been made by the working party on the future of public-owned forests. [70227]
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Mr Paice: We understand that the Independent Panel on Forestry continues to make good progress. Its public call for views closed on 31 July, to which it had more than 40,000 submissions. Panel members have also begun their programme of visits, enabling them to build up a thorough picture of the vast array of interests and uses of England's forests and woodlands to inform its work. We look forward to reading the panel's progress report, which is due in November, and its findings and advice when it finally reports next year. Latest news about the work of the panel is available on its website.
Government Procurement Card
John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) transaction date, (b) transaction amount and (c) supplier was of each transaction undertaken by the Rural Payments Agency using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10; and which of these transactions attracted level three or enhanced transaction entry. [70834]
Mr Paice: The Rural Payments Agency is unable to provide the information prior to March 2010. The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. None of the transactions attracted level three or enhanced transaction entry.
Livestock: Transport
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 July 2011, Official Report, column 721W, on transport: livestock, on how many occasions the vessel identified in the answer has used the port of Ramsgate to transport live farm animals during the last seven months; and if she will make a statement. [70417]
Mr Paice: In the last seven months, there have been 13 sailings of the vessel identified transporting live farm animals from Ramsgate port.
Meat
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the effect on human health of consumption of meat from animals raised by healthier methods. [70975]
Mr Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), has not had any recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), on this issue.
Pet Travel Scheme: Disease Control
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to prevent (a) echinococcus multilocularis and (b) other non-endemic parasites which pose a threat to public health from entering the UK when the revised Pet Travel Scheme comes into force on 1 January 2012. [70306]
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Mr Paice [holding answer 7 September 2011]: On tapeworm controls (Echinococcus Multilocularis), following representations made by the UK, the European Commission has come forward with a proposal that would enable us to retain tapeworm controls (applying the treatment one to five days before travel). We have decided that the evidence doesn't justify taxpayer funded maintenance of tick controls (although pet owners could choose to do so if they wish as part of wider animal welfare considerations) and we are working with veterinary and welfare organisations to ensure that those travelling with their pets are provided with the necessary advice.
Other non-endemic parasites posing a serious threat to public health (e.g. Leishmaniasis) are transmitted by insect vectors such as some species of sandfly which are not established in the UK. As such, there is negligible risk of the disease becoming established in the UK and there is no evidence to suggest we should introduce controls now.
Poultry: Animal Welfare
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with the European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office on ensuring that liquid egg is produced from enriched battery cages in the EU from 2012. [70215]
Mr Paice: No direct discussions have been held with the Commission's Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) as it deals with checking compliance with legislation that has already been implemented. We continue to press the EU Commission to act and act quickly to bring in additional enforcement measures to protect UK complaint producers. Simply relying on FVO Missions and infraction proceedings against non-compliant member states will not be enough to deal with the commercially negative impact that any non-compliance would cause.
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps the Egg Marketing Inspectorate plans to take to trace and report on the origin of imported eggs from enriched battery cages within the EU that do not comply with the provisions of EU directive 1999/74/EC from 2012; [70218]
(2) what discussions her Department has had with the Egg Marketing Inspectorate on the resources available to it for the purposes of monitoring the incidence of non-compliant eggs from enriched battery cages in the EU from 2012; [70219]
(3) what role the Egg Marketing Inspectorate will play in ensuring adherence to changes in cages for laying hens from 1 January 2012. [70246]
Mr Paice: The EMI has been absorbed into the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), which is now responsible for enforcement and checking compliance with EU (welfare and egg marketing) legislation. AHVLA is carrying out inspections of all laying hen premises in the UK to determine producers’ plans for 2012 and the level of conversion to date. We are working with officials in the AHVLA in developing a UK enforcement strategy.
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AHVLA, through its egg marketing inspectors, enforce and checks compliance with EU egg marketing legislation in England and Wales. Eggs from other member states are subject of free trade agreements and therefore cannot be specifically targeted but checks are made on imported eggs as part of AHVLA's normal compliance inspection regime. AHLVA is responsible for checking imports of shell eggs from third countries. This is done at the point of entry.
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with representatives of Trading Standards on steps to ensure that egg in liquid form is scrutinised by Trading Standards officers following the phasing out of the keeping of laying hens in conventional cages. [70245]
Mr Paice: Representatives of Trading Standards are assisting us with drawing up a UK enforcement strategy to cover UK egg production and imports from other member states. We will also be discussing our strategy with the industry and retailers.
Regional Veterinary Laboratory
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for the future of the Regional Veterinary Laboratory at Thirsk. [70888]
Mr Paice: The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) has carried out a review of its laboratory services work, how it is organised and where it is located. The review looked at how we can achieve the best value for money, while maintaining high standards of quality and safety in service provision. In coming up with its recommendations, the review considered the scientific, technical and logistical aspects of reorganising lab services.
AHVLA is in the process of obtaining approval for them from DEFRA. AHVLA intends to retain laboratory services workgroups at eight sites compared to 14 at present. The proposal recommended that laboratory service work at Thirsk will cease by the end of March 2012. Work from Thirsk would be transferred to the eight continuing workgroups.
These changes do not imply or rely on site closures to generate savings. Just because a site will no longer carry out lab testing, it does not mean that it is at risk of closure. AHVLA is planning a complete review of estates post merger and will identify which sites are the best ones for it to use for service delivery in the future. AHVLA will make an announcement on this at the end of October.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) laboratory tests and (b) post mortems are carried out (i) per week and (ii) annually in (A) the Thirsk Regional Veterinary Laboratory and (B) the Newcastle Regional Veterinary Laboratory. [70889]
Mr Paice:
Post-mortem examinations at the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency's (AHVLA) regional veterinary laboratories are usually conducted at the request of a private veterinary surgeon. He or she may choose to submit one or more carcass from an
12 Sep 2011 : Column 980W
incident of disease on a holding. It is not unusual for several poultry carcasses to be submitted, while for cattle, single carcasses are typical.
For the period from 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011, 141 carcasses were submitted to the Newcastle Regional Veterinary Laboratory. This is an average weekly throughput of approximately three carcasses. In the same period, 963 carcasses were submitted to the Thirsk Regional Veterinary Laboratory. This is an average weekly throughput of approximately 18 carcasses.
For the period from 1 August 2010 to 31 July 2011, 176,913 tests were conducted by the Newcastle Regional Veterinary Laboratory, an average of 3,402 per week. For the same period, 18,359 tests were conducted by the Thirsk Regional Veterinary Laboratory, an average of 353 per week.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) vets, (b) general laboratory staff and (c) trained bacteriology staff currently work at (i) the Thirsk Regional Veterinary Laboratory and (ii) the Newcastle Regional Veterinary Laboratory. [70890]
Mr Paice: There is currently one vet based in the Newcastle Regional Veterinary Laboratory. There are currently six vets based in the Thirsk Regional Veterinary Laboratory.
There were 24 lab staff in post on 1 September 2011 at Newcastle, of whom 22 are full-time and two are part-time. Of these, seven are trained bacteriology staff.
There were 14 lab staff in post on 1 September 2011 at Thirsk, of whom eight are full-time (one of whom is on fixed term appointment which ends on 6 December 2011) and six are part-time. Of these, eight are trained bacteriology staff.
Waste Disposal
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her decision to allow local authorities to undertake commercial waste collections free of VAT includes subcontractual work in which private waste disposal companies work on behalf of local authorities. [71065]
Mr Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
The issue is not one of competition law, but instead one of VAT law. As such, this was an operational matter and the decision was made by HMRC officials in response to a legal challenge against the taxation of local authority commercial waste collection services. Because of this, it was not possible to consult more widely.
The Environmental Services Association have made representations to HMRC and there is ongoing dialogue about the VAT treatment of commercial waste collection.
Water White Paper
George Hollingbery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date the Water White Paper will be published. [70992]
Richard Benyon: The Water White Paper will be published by December 2011.
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House of Commons Commission
Chapel of St Mary Undercroft
Mr Amess: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, which postholder authorises access to the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster; and what the criteria are for access to the Chapel for hon. Members accompanied by guests. [71029]
John Thurso: The postholder who authorises access to the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft is Black Rod in the House of Lords on behalf of the Lord Great Chamberlain, in conjunction with the Dean of Westminster.
The criteria for access to the Chapel are as follows:
As the Chapel is primarily a place of worship, services, rehearsals and other authorised events should not be disrupted by visitors. Similarly individuals who use the chapel for private prayer and contemplation should not be unduly disturbed by tours.
The number of visitors in a group should be consistent with the number of visitors (up to a maximum of six) who a Member, or full grey, red or green staff pass-holder, of either House may conduct on a private tour within the Palace of Westminster.
The size and number of visiting groups should be regulated in accordance with safety considerations to take account of the narrow access, layout of the chapel and lack of emergency exits (when the Chapel is not being used for an event).
Electric Vehicles
Mr Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent progress the House of Commons Commission has made in installing charging points for electric or hybrid cars. [71046]
John Thurso: The situation remains as it was in the answer to the right hon. Member for Warley (Mr Spellar), of 2 February 2011, Official Report, column 783W, when the Commission confirmed the installation of two charging points. The House authorities will continue to keep this under review.
Parliament: Police
Mr Amess: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, which postholder is responsible for setting criteria for the selection of police officers on duty in the Palace of Westminster. [71028]
John Thurso: Police officers are employees of the Metropolitan Police Service; the chief superintendent is responsible for setting the criteria for the selection of police officers on duty in the Palace of Westminster.
Pay
Hugh Bayley:
To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission how much the House of Commons
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Commission paid to each contractor contracted to provide services to the House in
(a)
2001-02,
(b)
2005-06 and
(c)
2010-11. [69745]
John Thurso: The House's financial systems are designed primarily to record the cost of particular services, activities and projects, rather than how these are delivered, and separately identifying payments to each of the House's many contractors for three financial years would involve disproportionate cost. We are introducing improvements to the system next year which will enable us to prepare more detailed reports in future and analyse costs in different ways, and we are planning to publish information on payments to suppliers over £25,000 later this year.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2011, Official Report, column 2W, on pay, how many full-time equivalent information and communications technology staff were employed by the House of Commons service immediately prior to the creation of the Parliamentary Information and Communications Technology department (PICT); how many are now employed by PICT; and how many of these were paid more in salaries, overtime and performance awards than a Back-Bench hon. Member in the latest year for which figures are available. [69746]
John Thurso: Prior to the creation of Parliamentary ICT (PICT) as a department of the House of Commons Service in January 2006 (in preparation for formal constitution as a joint department), parliamentary ICT services, and related management and administrative functions, were provided in a variety of ways across the departments and offices of both Houses, including by staff employed by the House of Commons to provide services to both Houses (for instance, the Parliamentary Communications Directorate and the Information Architecture Strategy Unit) and a number of programmes.
In January 2006, the shadow PICT department inherited responsibility for 161 permanent staff (including some part-timers and staff seconded from the House of Lords), and 48 vacant posts, making a total requirement of 209. Vacancies were initially filled by contractors.
As set out on PICT's 2010-11 annual report, 221 staff were employed by the department in core roles. In addition, there were 104 staff employed specifically on Parliament's portfolio of business-led programmes and projects. In both instances these numbers include staff in a range of management, administrative and other roles as well as those with technical qualifications and responsibilities. The majority of programme appointments are on a fixed term basis.
The salary of an hon. Member in 2010-11 was £65,738. Six PICT staff were paid more than this figure in 2010-11.
The House of Commons shares the core funding of PICT with the House of Lords on an 80/20 basis.
Roads
Mr Amess:
To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission which postholder was responsible
12 Sep 2011 : Column 983W
for the authorisation of works in Bridge street, Westminster; what the timetable is for completion; and what the expected cost to the public purse is of the works. [71026]
John Thurso: The works in Bridge street are part of a project to provide improved security around the Northern Estate. It is being implemented by Westminster city council with funding by both Houses of Parliament. The project was endorsed by the Joint Committee on Security, and follows similar work elsewhere in Whitehall. Business case approval was given by officials in accordance with established procedures. The cost for the whole project was capped at £5.7 million, and the current forecast is within this limit. Works in Bridge street are due to be completed by the end of this year; however, the contractor is examining ways to finish sooner than this.
Decisions on the authorisations of works are made under delegations given by the House of Commons Commission, and in line with criteria set by Member committees where appropriate. It is not the Commission's practice to publish names of individual staff who took particular decisions.
Prime Minister
Libya
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral statement of 5 September 2011, Official Report, columns 23-26, on Libya (1) how long he expects the lessons learned exercise in respect of the Libyan intervention led by Sir Peter Ricketts to take; and when he expects it to report; [71055]
(2) what the scope is expected to be of the lessons learned exercise in respect of the Libyan intervention led by Sir Peter Ricketts; and whether it will include an analysis of the adequacy of military equipment; [71058]
(3) when he expects the lessons learned exercise in respect of the Libyan intervention led by Sir Peter Ricketts to begin; and how much he expects the exercise to cost. [71061]
The Prime Minister:
As announced in the House on 5 September 2011, Official Report, columns 28-29, the National Security Adviser is leading a study into the lessons learnt about how the new central co-ordination mechanisms around the National Security Council have operated during the Libya crisis. The length of time it takes will obviously depend on when the military operations
12 Sep 2011 : Column 984W
end. Costs are expected to be met from within existing departmental resources. The House will be informed of the conclusions from the National Security Adviser's study.
Education
Advisory Centre for Education: Finance
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has provided to the Advisory Centre for Education in each of the last three years; and what plans he has to fund the centre in (a) 2011-12 and (b) future years. [69186]
Sarah Teather: From 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2011, the Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) received the following funding from the Department:
|
|
£ |
In 2011-12, the Department has extended the grant to ACE and allocated £219,843 over April to September 2011.
ACE took part in a competitive procurement exercise to award new contracts for online and telephone family support services. Unfortunately, ACE’s bid was not as strong as others and the Department was not able to award a contract to it. Nearly 40 organisations submitted expressions of interest for contracts to operate family support services and these were predominantly from charities. We are not able to fund all the organisations that submitted bids.
The Advisory Centre for Education will be able to apply for any future grants and contracts opportunities that are advertised by the Department if it feels it meets the relevant criteria.
Children in Care
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many care placements have been terminated by local authorities for those aged 16 in each of the last five years; and what the duration of their final placement was up to the date of its termination in each such case. [68227]
Tim Loughton: Information on the number of children aged 16 years who ceased to be looked after during the years ending 31 March 2006 to 2010 and the duration of their final placement is shown in the following table.
| Children aged 16 years who ceased to be looked after during the years ending 31 March by duration of final placement (1, 2, 3) , y ears ending 31 March 2006 - 10 , c overage: England | |||||
| Number | |||||
|
|
2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
12 Sep 2011 : Column 985W
12 Sep 2011 : Column 986W
| (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Only the last occasion on which a child ceased to be looked after in the year has been counted. (3) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements. (4) Figures not shown in order to protect confidentiality. Source: SSDA 903 | |||||
Children: Autism
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what training school staff receive on identifying signs of autism; and what requirements there are on such staff to work with local NHS services to refer children for assessment and diagnosis; [69642]
(2) whether the scholarship scheme for teachers and support staff will include scholarships on autism; and whether he plans to establish incentives for teachers and teaching assistants to undertake scholarships. [69713]
Sarah Teather: Decisions about in-service training for school staff are matters for schools, taken in light of the training needs of the schools. The Department has previously provided in-service training materials on autism and is currently funding the Autism Education Trust to develop a competency framework for staff working with children with autism and to provide training for some 5,000 staff.
The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) has provided units on autism within a comprehensive training pack for the providers of initial teacher training and induction. These are freely available. The TDA is currently developing materials for advanced-level continuous professional development, including materials on autism. The special educational needs (SEN) and disability Green Paper made a commitment to help local networks of schools to develop teachers with specialist skills and knowledge, including specialist autism skills, who can be deployed across local clusters of schools.
The SEN Code of Practice, which schools must take into account when they are providing for children with SEN, advises schools, with the informed consent of and involvement of the child's parents, to consult the school health service or the child's general practitioner about whether a medical condition may be contributing to the child's difficulties in school.
The National Scholarship Fund for Teachers is seeking applications from serving teachers by 30 September. We anticipate that around half of the estimated 600 scholarships in the first round will be awarded for qualifications in special educational needs, which could include studies in autism. In the Green Paper we announced that we would be launching an additional fund, open to the most able teaching assistants and other support staff, to enable them to build on their special educational needs support roles and develop their careers further. We will be working with the Training and Development Agency for Schools on the development of such scholarships.
Children: Daycare
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what assessment he has made of the effects of reductions in funding allocated by central Government on the provision of summer holiday child care activities in Coventry; [70807]
(2) what steps he plans to take to ensure that local authorities fulfil their obligations under the Childcare Act 2006 in respect of holiday child care; and if he will make a statement; [70808]
(3) whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of provision of child care places for (a) disabled children and (b) children over 12 years of age in each local authority area; and if he will make a statement. [70666]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 8 September 2011]: Local authorities have a duty (under section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006) to ensure that there is sufficient child care locally to meet the needs of working parents and particularly families with disabled children. We want to improve the way in which local authorities keep parents informed about what they are doing to deliver this duty. The Government announced in the “Families in the Foundation Years” statement, published in July 2011, the intention to bring forward proposals that local authorities should report annually on their section 6 sufficiency duty, and in particular how they are supporting families of children with disabilities to access child care, available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/early
Local authorities have told us that the requirement (under section 11 of the Childcare Act 2006) to publish nationally prescribed sufficiency assessments every three years is burdensome. The Government consider that a local annual report would be a more effective way of enabling parents to hold their local authority to account. The Government have therefore also decided to consult on bringing forward legislation to repeal the section 11 duty. This consultation will be published on the Department for Education’s website later in the autumn.
Although there is no specific funding allocated to local authorities for the provision of holiday child care, there is enough flexibility in the early intervention grant for local authorities to fund these requirements, if they consider there is sufficient demand.
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Children’s Centres
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of Sure Start children's centres provided full-time child care places in April (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010 and (d) 2011. [70251]
Sarah Teather: The Department for Education collects data on how many Sure Start Children's Centres provide full day care provision on site through the annual Childcare and Early Years Provider survey. The survey does not assess how many children's centres provide full day care at a separate site in partnership with a nearby child care provider. Data from the 2008 and 2009 surveys show:
|
|
Number of Sure Start Children's Centres providing full day care provision on site (1) | Proportion of children's centres providing full day care provision on site (2) (percentage) |
| (1) These figures are rounded to the nearest 100. The data are estimates; they are weighted and grossed up to the total number of active providers in England to ensure the figures are representative of providers throughout England. These grossed up figures are not exact and are subject to margins of error. (2) Percentages are rounded up to nearest whole number. The number of children's centres between the 2008 and 2009 surveys remained unchanged at around 2,900 centres. Therefore, the proportion of children's centres offering full day care remained stable. | ||
The 2010 Childcare and Early Years Provider survey will be published on 28 September 2011.
Children’s Centres: Tower Hamlets
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding he allocated to Sure Start children's centres in the London borough of Tower Hamlets in each year since 2005-06. [68680]
Sarah Teather: The funding allocated to the London borough of Tower Hamlets, as part of the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant, for Sure Start Children's Centres from 2005-06 to 2010-11 is shown in Table 1. From April 2011, funding for Sure Start Children's Centres is included within the Early Intervention Grant (EIG) and is set out in Table 2.
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.
| Table 1: Children's Centres and Sure Start local programmes allocations for London borough of Tower Hamlets | ||||
| £ | ||||
|
|
Children's centres revenue | Children's centres capital | SSLP revenue | Total |
12 Sep 2011 : Column 988W
| (1) Local authorities received a two year allocation for 2004-06. (2) The 2006-07 and 2007-08 capital allocations are for the wider Main Capital Block. The Block included funding for child care sustainability and extended schools as well as for Children's Centres in 2006-07 and 2007-08. From 2008-09 the block comprised funding for Children's Centres, early years provision, child care and integrated projects (those which support more than one policy objective). | ||||
| Table 2 : Early Intervention Grant for London borough of Tower Hamlets | ||
| £ | ||
|
|
Early Intervention Grant | Total |
Drugs: Misuse
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the compliance of drug addiction treatment for young people in secure estate and care homes with NHS guidelines. [69644]
Sarah Teather: The national specification for substance misuse available via
http://yjbpublications.justice.gov.uk/Scripts/prodView.asp? idproduct=443&eP
sets out the guidelines for young people in the secure estate. Compliance with the national specification was monitored by the Youth Justice Board up until March 2011 as part of their broader performance management arrangements. Responsibility for substance misuse services within the secure estate has now transferred to the Department for Health.
Looked after children placed in children's homes should have access to the full range of support for drug and alcohol misuse provided by the local young people's substance misuse services.
Young people's specialist substance misuse services are monitored through the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS). In 2009-10, 4% of young people accessing specialist drug and alcohol services were identified as looked after children. Information on performance, including speed of access to services, and successful completions is published annually by the NTA.
Health Services
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the same weight and accountability criteria are to apply to the (a) health and social care and (b) education elements of the proposed educational, health and care plan. [69569]
Sarah Teather: The reforms I have proposed to the special educational needs system in England include the proposal to introduce a new single education, health and care plan. The plan will be clear about who is responsible for which services, and will include a commitment from all parties across education, health and social care to provide their services.
12 Sep 2011 : Column 989W
The reforms will be tested by pathfinder areas. Local authorities, in close partnership with their local PCT clusters, have been invited to apply for pathfinder status. Pathfinders have been asked to test ways to ensure accountability across education, health and social care.
Pre-school Education
Mel Stride: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to increase the power of local authorities to provide tailored and flexible pre-school services to reflect local needs. [69411]
Sarah Teather: Through the Early Intervention Grant (EIG), local authorities have the freedom and flexibility to target resources strategically and to intervene early to improve outcomes for children, young people and families. The EIG enables the provision of pre-school services, such as children's centres, to be tailored to best meet the needs of local communities, taking account of evidence of what is most effective. The free entitlement for three and four-year-olds gives parents the offer of 15 hours of free early education for their child, which can be used flexibly.
Special Educational Needs
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to ensure all pupils with special educational needs who require specialist support have access to such support; and what plans he has for the funding of such support. [69841]
Sarah Teather: Schools and local authorities have duties to identify children with special educational needs (SEN) and arrange the provision a child's learning difficulties call for, including specialist provision where that is necessary to meet needs.
In February, the Department wrote to all local authorities in England saying that there would be no recoupment of funds for SEN support services for the 2011-12 financial year as a consequence of the increasing number of schools converting to academy status. Arrangements for future years are the subject of the wider review of school and academy funding.
Transport
Aviation
Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of changes proposed by the EU to flight time limitations. [71001]
Mrs Villiers: The European Aviation Safety Agency consulted on draft implementing rules on flight time limitations earlier this year. The Civil Aviation Authority considers that the proposed requirements have many positive aspects but it has indentified three issues which need to be addressed before we could accept the proposals. We have made these points in our response to the consultation. EASA is in the process of reviewing the responses to consultation and will be issuing an amended proposal in due course.
12 Sep 2011 : Column 990W
Bus Services
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the (a) number of passengers and (b) percentage change in bus usage in (i) York and (ii) England in the last five years. [71503]
Norman Baker: The latest information on bus statistics in Great Britain can be found on the Department website at the following address:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/series/buses/
The charts found at the following addresses indicate number of passenger journeys in England and in York over the past five years:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/bus0108
http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/bus0109
These indicate that the number of bus passenger journeys increased by 2% in York and by 13% in England (including London) between 2005-06 and 2009-10, the latest year for which we have annual statistics.
Bus Services: Theft
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to work with coach operators to reduce the level of theft on coaches. [70663]
Norman Baker [holding answer 8 September 2011]: Incidents of theft on coaches are a matter for the coach company and an operational matter for the relevant police force concerned. Any compensation arrangements in place for loss or damage to luggage during a journey are a matter for the coach operator.
Departmental Private Finance Initiative
Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the value of estimated tax receipts, calculated in accordance with the Green Book, in each public sector economic assessment of private finance initiative projects in procurement by his Department as of March 2011. [70922]
Norman Baker: When carrying out an appraisal of a project or policy, the Green Book sets out options that should be adjusted for material differences in tax. Differences in tax receipts between PFI and conventionally funded projects are considered as part of HM Treasury's Value for Money model which is run by the Department for each PFI project at the appraisal stage. The output of the model is one source of information that is used to inform the overall value for money assessment of the project.
For those projects in procurement in March 2011 the percentage by which the public sector comparator is uplifted to reflect the additional tax take that accrues to the Government from the private finance option is given as follows:
|
|
Percentage |
12 Sep 2011 : Column 991W
These figures are for outline business cases at the pre-market appraisal stage and therefore are not used to assess tax takes from specific PFI providers after contracts have been signed.
Internships
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) persons undertaking unpaid work experience, (b) unpaid interns and (c) other persons in unpaid positions were working in his Department as of 1 July 2011. [69517]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not currently collect data on people undertaking paid or unpaid work experience. However, as part of the civil service wide ‘Get Britain Working' programme, the Department has made a pledge to offer 1,000 work placements over the coming year. These will take place across all agencies and the central Department. Each placement will be two weeks in length and will be offered to jobseeker’s allowance customers aged 18 to 24. Eligible individuals will be those whose limited experience of work is acting as a barrier to employment. Although these placements will be unpaid in terms of departmental funds, candidates will still be in receipt of their benefits while in post. Any additional travel required as part of the candidate's placement (e.g. to and from the Business Skills Workshops) will be organised and paid for by the Department.
Driving: Offences
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to make it a driving offence for a motorist to interrupt the line of vehicles included in a funeral cortege; and if he will make a statement. [70273]
Mike Penning: We have no current plans for a new specific driving offence related to the interruption of a line of vehicles within a funeral cortege.
Existing offences, for example related to careless and inconsiderate driving, are relevant to so-called 'road rage' and other aggressive driving in the vicinity of funeral corteges. An additional specific offence would be unlikely to assist penalising the worst examples of poor driving behaviour.
We are progressing plans to enable the police to enforce against careless and inconsiderate driving more efficiently.
12 Sep 2011 : Column 992W
Driving: Standards
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will confirm the level of funding from the public purse for the 2011 Smarter Driving Programme. [68617]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport will provide up to £420,000 of funding in 2011-12 for this programme. Government funding will be matched by broadly equivalent funding paid by the businesses taking part in the programme.
East Coast Railway Line: Standards
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what delays to passenger rail services on the East Coast Main Line have been recorded in each of the last six months. [68967]
Norman Baker: For the whole of East Coast, delay minutes and public performance measure (PPM) for the past six rail periods requested were attributed as follows:
| 2011 | ||||
| Rail p eriods | East Coast delay minutes (period) | East Coast delay minutes (moving annual average) | East Coast PPM (period) (percentage) | East Coast PPM (MAA) (percentage) |
Great Western Railway
Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether he plans to introduce new rolling stock on the Great Western mainline west of Plymouth in the next four years; [70235]
(2) when he expects to announce whether the proposed fleet of future Intercity Express trains will terminate at Exeter or serve Cornwall. [70237]
Mrs Villiers: The Government are committed to a less prescriptive approach to the specification of rail franchises, with decisions such as rolling stock provision devolved primarily to franchise operators.
The current Great Western franchise will terminate in April 2013, and as part of the specification of the new franchise, we will consult on the level of services the new franchise should offer. This is likely to include opportunities for franchise bidders to deploy new trains.
Network Rail
Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the McNulty Rail Value for Money study of May 2011, whether he plans to retain the existing Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. [71188]
12 Sep 2011 : Column 993W
Mrs Villiers: The Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) is a rail industry agreement overseen by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). It would be for ATOC to propose any changes to the agreement for the Secretary of State's approval.
ATOC has indicated that it is considering bringing forward significant changes to the agreement. The Government will consider any such proposals carefully, bearing in mind all relevant matters including the recommendations of the rail value for money study.
Government are currently considering the recommendations of the rail value for money study, but no decisions have yet been taken.
Railways
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration has been given to providing funding for a railway line to link Reading with Norwich and Ipswich via Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge. [71176]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport has indicated to the promoters of the scheme that funding for reinstating the railway line between Bicester and Bletchley will be considered during the development of the High Level Output Specification which is due to be published in July 2012. The Specification will set out rail investment requirements for the period between 2014 and 2019. The scheme has the potential to link Reading with Bedford and Milton Keynes via Oxford.
Rescue Services
Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the number of jobs sponsored by his Department in an area was among the original criteria used to identify the best location for retention of maritime rescue co-ordination centres as part of the coastguard reform process. [70711]
Mike Penning: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency published a location matrix and impact assessment setting out the rationale for the proposed choice of sub-centres to support the consultation document published on 16 December. This can be found at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/8.location_impact_assessment_and_sub-centre_rationale_v3.pdf
This assessment identified a range of practical factors around collocation of other activities, security of tenure and reinstatement costs if a site were vacated that provided a basis for choices between locations.
Further investigation of the factors surrounding Milford Haven and Swansea revealed that, contrary to the original assessment, the reinstatement obligations at Swansea do not provide the strong financial grounds for retaining this site rather than Milford Haven. There are also no other practical or operational reasons to favour either location. In these circumstances, we have also taken into account the Department for Transport's substantial wider presence in Swansea with both the DVLA and our Shared Services Centre located there and we have concluded that it is more appropriate to retain the coastguard centre and coastguard jobs at Milford Haven.
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Thameslink: Rolling Stock
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department made of the effects on the (a) rolling stock leasing and (b) rolling stock maintenance market in the awarding of a preferred bidder for the Thameslink rolling stock contract. [R] [68718]
Mrs Villiers: The Thameslink rolling stock invitation to tender evaluation criteria and process for the selection of a preferred bidder did not include provisions relating to an assessment of the effects the selection of a preferred bidder would have on the rolling stock leasing and rolling stock maintenance markets.
However, when developing the invitation to tender structure the Department and its advisers considered the options for the financing and maintenance of the new Thameslink rolling stock.
The Department considered that the scale of the total capital funding requirement, circa £2 billion, was beyond the capacity of the existing UK rolling stock leasing organisations, i.e. the ROSCOs. Consequently the Department included requirements for financing which, while including the ROSCOs as a potential source of funds, allowed a wider funding group to participate in the Thameslink competition. Ultimately this may lead to a more competitive train leasing market in the UK through the introduction of new funders.
Margaret Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the existing (a) managerial and supervisory and (b) technical train maintenance staff employed by First Capital Connect he expects to be transferred to Siemens under the Thameslink Rolling Stock Project. [68849]
Mrs Villiers: Assuming a successful conclusions of contractual negotiations, it will be responsibility of the Thameslink train operator and Siemens to ensure that there are sufficient staff to enable the new and existing trains to be maintained and operated safely at all times.
Siemens will be required to co-operate with the Thameslink train operator during the period of new train introduction to achieve a managed transition of maintenance responsibility during this period.
Margaret Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 18 July 2011, Official Report, column 718W, on Thameslink railway line: rolling stock, what the reasons were for the time taken between his endorsement of the recommendation and the announcement of the preferred bidder for the Thameslink Rolling Stock Project. [69198]
Mrs Villiers: It is standard practice for a number of internal processes to be worked through before an announcement is made. This was a significant announcement that other Government Departments needed to be fully aware of before it was announced. Given the significance of this announcement it clearly would not have been appropriate to make it during the parliamentary Whitsun recess, which added further to the delay.
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Culture, Media and Sport
Broadband: Berkshire
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what criteria he considered pertinent when allocating funding to (a) Berkshire, (b) Oxfordshire and (c) Buckinghamshire for extending broadband to rural areas. [71177]
Mr Vaizey: The criteria used to determine the funding allocations for Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire were the same criteria used in the assessment of all other allocations. An explanatory note outlining the criteria used is available on the Broadband Delivery UK pages of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport website:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/BDUK-Data-Model-Expalantory-Notes.pdf
Departmental Private Finance Initiative
Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will publish the value of estimated tax receipts, calculated in accordance with the Green Book, in each public sector economic assessment of all private finance initiative projects in procurement by his Department as of March 2011. [70921]
John Penrose: This Department has no private finance initiative projects of its own, and therefore no tax receipts to be estimated.
Gambling
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to enforce the Government's proposals for changes to remote gambling laws following their implementation. [71121]
John Penrose: The proposed reforms will mean operators based overseas who wish to sell into the British market will require a Gambling Commission licence.
We are currently working with the Commission and other stakeholders on the detailed arrangements of the new regime and we expect to retain enforcement powers equivalent to those already in place under the Gambling Act 2005.
Sports
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of how the Department might contribute in the future development of the sport of indoor bowls. [70977]
Hugh Robertson: No formal assessment has been made by this Department. However, its arm's length body Sport England currently funds the Bowls Development Alliance (BDA) to increase participation in indoor bowls for the over 65s and to improve satisfaction levels throughout the sport. They also run two initiatives to introduce people to the sport and offer four weeks of free coaching to new participants: Have Mat Will Travel and Bowls4Free.
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Tourism: Yorkshire and the Humber
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much he allocated for tourism promotion in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 1996-97. [71471]
John Penrose: Yorkshire Forward has been the regional development agency (RDA) responsible for supporting tourism in Yorkshire and the Humber. Prior to 2003, the Yorkshire Tourist Board held this responsibility and figures held by region are not available centrally.
Yorkshire Forward has indicated that the following amounts were allocated for supporting tourism in the region from 2003 (obtained from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills):
|
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£ million |
VisitBritain and VisitEngland have additionally marketed Britain overseas and England within the UK and to selected overseas markets. This investment is not apportioned on a regional or area-specific basis and it is not possible to disaggregate a specific Yorkshire and Humber spend, but the area is an important asset in our overall offer and receives significant coverage in national marketing campaigns.
The hon. Member may wish to write to the chief executive of Yorkshire Forward to inquire if the regional development agency holds records for the period prior to 2003.
UK Film Council
Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which films received funding from the UK Film Council in the last five years; how much funding was awarded in each case; under what terms funding was provided in each case; and in what circumstances the UK Film Council did not require that funding to be repaid. [70318]
Mr Vaizey: All films that received funding from the UK Film Council (UKFC) over the past five years—and the amount of funding each film received—are published in the annual report and accounts, all of which have been formally laid in Parliament, and can be found using the link:
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/scripts/semaphore/official_documents/semaphoreserver.exe?SAVEDB=OPSI-Official_Documents&STYPE=simple&Method=simple&CMD= search.run&ORGANISE_CODED=%3A&B-TPDF& QUERY00=UKFC
or by visiting the UKFC website:
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/publications?page= 1&step=10&viewby=category&value=17010
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The general terms and conditions of this funding were published on the UKFC website as part of the guidelines. The specific terms under which individual films were funded are subject to commercial confidentiality as there were other funders and financiers involved. The funding for feature film development and production was provided as a recoupable grant and there were no circumstances in which the UKFC waived the right to be repaid.
The terms and conditions for the Film Fund can now be found on the BFI website at:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/about/funding/downloads/BFI-Film-Fund-Terms.pdf
Leader of the House
Business Committee
Mr Bone: To ask the Leader of the House when he expects to establish a House Business Committee. [71117]
Sir George Young: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave during oral questions on 8 September 2011, Official Report, column 546. As set out in the coalition agreement, the Government are committed to establishing a House Business Committee in 2013.