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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 8 November 2011
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Adam Werritty
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) he, (b) any Ministers and (c) officials of his Department have met (i) Mr Michael Hintze, (ii) Mr Tony Buckingham, (iii) Mr Michael Davis, (iv) Mr Poju Zabludowicz, (v) Jon Moulton and (vi) Stephen Crouch; and where any such meetings took place. [78657]
Mr Lidington: A full list of ministerial meetings with external organisations is published quarterly on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website at:
www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/transparency-and-data1/hospitality/
Records of meetings by officials are not held centrally and would be available only at disproportionate cost.
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) he, (b) officials of his Department and (c) special advisers in his Department have met Mr Adam Werritty on official business since May 2010; and how many such meetings took place (i) on his Department's premises and (ii) elsewhere. [78866]
Mr Lidington: The information requested is (a) no; (b) yes; (c) no, Our records show that three meetings took place at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Information on the number of meetings which may have taken place elsewhere, including overseas, is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Afghanistan: Females
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that women and women's organisations in Afghanistan are included in (a) discussions at the Bonn conference in December on the future of Afghanistan and (b) all ongoing discussions on the future of Afghanistan. [78549]
Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to my answers of 18 October 2011, Official Report, columns 892W and 893W.
Algeria: Christianity
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Algeria on the prohibition of any Christian activity from taking place outside of a state-recognised church building. [79024]
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Alistair Burt: We are aware that the Algerian authorities have closed some places of worship which had not been registered, including those of Christian groups, since new regulations governing religion in Algeria came into effect in May 2007. I discussed the situation with a delegation of Algerian Christians when I met them on 26 October. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed the importance of reform with the Algerian authorities during his recent visit, although he did not raise religious freedoms specifically.
The UK also raises the issue of human rights, including freedom of religion and belief, with the Government of Algeria through a variety of mechanisms including the EU-Algeria Association Agreement. Following a recent visit by Mr Stefan Füle, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood policy, the EU and Algerian Government have increased dialogue on these issues, by establishing a sub-committee on political dialogue, security and human rights. Freedom of religion, including for Christian groups, was discussed at the first meeting which was held last month.
British Overseas Territories
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government intends to publish its new strategy for the British Overseas Territories. [79397]
Mr Bellingham: The British Government plans to publish a White Paper on the Overseas Territories next year. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement given by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), on 14 September 2011, Official Report, column 48WS, setting out the main principles of the Government's strategy.
Freedom of Information Requests
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department has received in each month since May 2010; how many responses given in each such month disclosed (a) the full information requested, (b) part of the information requested, with some information withheld under exemptions in the Act and (c) none of the information requested; and in respect of how many requests received in each such month (i) (A) substantive and (B) holding responses were issued within 20 working days of the date of receipt, (ii) no substantive response was issued within 40 working days of the date of receipt and (iii) no substantive response has yet been issued. [78924]
Mr Lidington: The figures for the number of Freedom of Information requests received each month since May 2010 by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are as follows:
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Number |
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Three-monthly figures for whether information was disclosed in full, in part or not at all, and the timeliness of replies to requests are available on the Ministry of Justice website at
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/foi/implementation-editions.htm
Legal Opinion
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times his Department sought legal advice from external counsel in (a) 2007, (b) 2009, (c) 2010 and (d) the first six months of 2011. [78063]
Mr Lidington: Central records of this information are not maintained, and an accurate answer to this question cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. Officials who are involved in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's litigation cases and related matters are in constant contact with counsel.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times his Department's legal section provided legal advice to Ministers in (a) 2007, (b) 2009, (c) 2010 and (d) the first six months of 2011. [78078]
Mr Lidington: Advice from the Department's legal section is fully integrated into the decision-making process within the Department. No record is maintained of the number of times legal advice is provided to Ministers within that process, and the information requested could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department were working in its legal section in June 2011; and how many staff were working in the legal departments of his Department's agencies and non-departmental bodies. [78088]
Mr Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s legal department has approximately 70 staff working as legal advisers, support and information staff and maritime policy officers.
Neither the FCO Services Trading Fund nor the Wilton Park Executive Agency have their own legal departments.
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We do not hold data centrally on the individual roles performed by staff in our non-departmental public bodies and details could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
Lost Property
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has lost any (a) computers, (b) mobile telephones, (c) BlackBerrys and (d) other IT equipment since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [77357]
Mr Lidington: Official items lost, stolen or damaged are all recorded as “losses”. Information is only available for the period since August 2010 without incurring disproportionate cost. Information on the number of mobile telephones lost is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Since August 2010, 28 computers, including laptops (12 of these were in the UK and the other 16 were at one of our 260 posts overseas) and 37 BlackBerrys (15 of these were in the UK and the other 22 were at one of our 260 posts overseas) have been lost, stolen or damaged.
All Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) computers, including laptops, and BlackBerrys are encrypted and password protected; and all BlackBerrys that are registered as lost or stolen are blocked remotely, making it impossible for them to be used. The FCO implements security incident management procedures to ensure that the impacts of incidents are risk managed and investigations are undertaken to seek, where possible, to retrieve lost/stolen assets.
Secondary Legislation
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) statutory instruments, (b) Ministerial orders and (c) other pieces of secondary legislation were issued by his Department in (i) 1990, (ii) 1995, (iii) each year since 1999 and (iv) 2011 to date. [78110]
Mr Lidington: The number of statutory instruments in the relevant years are as follows:
1990: 37
1995: 26
1999: 28
2000: 36
2001: 37
2002: 26
2003: 17
2004: 35
2005: 24
2006: 18
2007: 21
2008: 13
2009: 30
2010: 11
2011 (to date): 23.
It is not possible to list the number of ministerial orders made in these years without incurring disproportionate cost, but the ministerial orders will be statutory instruments and will accordingly fall within
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the number given above for statutory instruments. We believe there were no pieces of secondary legislation issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the relevant years which were not statutory instruments.
Parliamentary Questions
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether draft answers to parliamentary questions prepared by officials in his Department are cleared by special advisers (a) before and (b) after the relevant Minister. [79567]
Mr Lidington: Ministerial clearance is always the final stage before a parliamentary question is answered.
European Union: Legislative Competence
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings Ministers in his Department have held as part of the Government's examination of the balance of the EU's existing competences since May 2010. [78766]
Mr Hague: I have held regular internal discussions with officials and my ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including the balance of the EU's existing competences.
Iran: Baha'i Faith
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the student campaign in Iran entitled “Can you solve this?” regarding the denial of education to members of the Baha'i faith. [79101]
Alistair Burt: I met with representatives from the Baha'i community in the UK to discuss this campaign and the wider issues of repression against the Baha'i minority in Iran on 15 September. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has so far received, and replied to, over 2000 emails expressing concern for the closure of the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education. The closure of the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education and arrest of members of its staff form part of a wider pattern of harassment of Baha'is in Iran, including the imprisonment of Baha'i leaders. We regularly raise these issues with the Iranian authorities, including when I met the Iranian chargé d'affaires in August this year. We will continue to press the Iranian Government to accord all their people the right to freedom of religion. With our EU partners, the UK has taken co-ordinated action to address Iran's human rights record, imposing travel bans and asset freezes on over 60 Iranians responsible for human rights violations, including Government Ministers and members of the judiciary.
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent information he has received on denial of education in Iran to individuals and groups other than members of the Baha'i faith. [79102]
Alistair Burt:
Access to higher education in Iran is noteworthy with roughly one in 20 Iranians in full-time university study, and over 60% of university attendants are female. This is to be commended, and every effort should be made by Iran to afford all citizens access to education
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without discrimination. Reports of discrimination, including on the basis of religion and ethnicity, are a serious concern which we have raised with the Iranian authorities.
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent information he has received of members of the Baha'i faith in Iran being prevented from studying; and if he will make a statement. [79103]
Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 27 October 2011, Official Report, column 305W.
Ministerial Meetings
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on meetings between the right hon. Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox) when Secretary of State for Defence, and representatives of the Government of (a) Israel, (b) Pakistan, (c) Afghanistan, (d) India, (e) the US, (f) Sri Lanka and (g) Egypt. [79015]
Alistair Burt: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings (a) he and (b) ministerial colleagues in his Department held with backbench hon. Members who are members of the Conservative party between Monday 17 October and Tuesday 25 October 2011. [78279]
Mr Hague: It has been the custom of successive Governments that Ministers meet hon. and right hon. Friends in the normal course of business.
Middle East: Armed Conflict
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2011, Official Report, column 534W, on prisoners, whether he has recently (a) raised concerns with and (b) issued statements to the Government of Israel in relation to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. [79217]
Alistair Burt: I discussed this matter during my visit in June with the Minister of Justice, indicating the UK's concerns about both the detention and the treatment of Palestinian prisoners, including children. The British ambassador to Tel Aviv most recently raised the issue on 26 October during his visit to the Israel Prison Service complex, at the invitation of the Public Security Minister, where there are around 4,500 security detainees. He raised concerns over visitation rights and the treatment of minors, particularly cuffing and shackling. In his discussions with the Public Security Minister, the ambassador stressed the importance the UK placed on Israel fulfilling its obligations under international law.
The Government of Israel has reaffirmed to us its commitment to treating prisoners in line with international human rights standards. The UK will continue to monitor
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the situation with regard to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and encourage the Government of Israel to meet its stated commitments.
Office of UK Permanent Representative to EU: Manpower
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK nationals were working (a) in UKREP in each of the last 20 years and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [78726]
Mr Bellingham [holding answer 7 November 2011]: There are currently approximately 130 Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff working in UKREP Brussels. This figure includes UK-based civil servants and staff employed locally. For operational and security reasons, we cannot provide a more detailed breakdown.
The number of staff has not changed significantly in the last three years.
Previous figures were compiled on a different basis and could be reconciled with the most recent figures only at disproportionate cost.
Sri Lanka
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions the British ambassador to Sri Lanka or his senior staff have met hon. Members in Sri Lanka in each month since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [78211]
Alistair Burt: Hon. Members visit our global network of posts frequently and we do not hold a central record of meetings. Our high commission in Sri Lanka confirms the following meetings:
A delegation from the UK Commonwealth Parliamentary Association that included the hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Mrs Grant); the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond); the hon. Member for Southend West (Mr Amess); the right hon. Member for Torfaen (Paul Murphy); and the hon. Member for East Lothian (Fiona O'Donnell).
The hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mark Field);
The hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell);
The hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann).
The right hon. Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox).
The hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard).
I also visited Sri Lanka on an official visit in February 2011.
Strategic Defence and Security Review
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it remains his policy that the implementation of the proposals in the Strategic Defence and Security Review will not result in strategic shrinkage. [79005]
Mr Lidington [holding answer 7 November 2011]: Yes.
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Yemen: Politics and Government
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the views of the general public in Yemen on the proposed Gulf Co-operation Council agreement on a political transition. [79378]
Alistair Burt: As in many parts of the Middle East and North Africa, Yemenis have been energised by popular protests starting in Tunisia which have pressed for democratic change. From late January 2011 we have witnessed the growth of widespread protest movements across Yemen. On the anti-Government side these have been largely made up of students, some politically affiliated, and civil society, and have received the support of the official opposition grouping JMP, and elements of the armed forces. At the same time we have also seen large pro-Government demonstrations in support of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The anti-Government protest movement across Yemen has made plain its principal demand, that President Saleh step down. The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) initiative meets this demand in its outline of a staged plan for a formal transfer of power leading to the formation of a National Unity Government and early presidential elections. The Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) supports the aims of the initiative and has already signed the GCC initiative, as have representatives of the ruling party (GPC). The protest movement, representative of large numbers of Yemen's students and civil society, is diverse and lacks a single voice. In meetings with its members British embassy officials have seen a range of views, some aligned with the JMP and its support of the GCC initiative, others not. A major theme is concern with accountability and justice for those suspected of human rights abuses and corruption.
The highly volatile security situation in Sana'a, the capital, and across Yemen constrains the ability of our embassy staff to travel widely in the country and interact freely with as many Yemenis as we would like. But our ambassador reports a continued desire for change among many Yemenis.
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the response of the general public in Yemen to UN Security Council Resolution 2014. [79379]
Alistair Burt: In meetings with the leaders of the official opposition and judging from public statements by leaders of the protest movements there is widespread support for the UN in maintaining, through its adoption of Resolution 2014, pressure on president Saleh and his government. The Yemeni regime has also welcomed the resolution and undertaken to respond positively to it. Tawakkol Karman, Nobel prize winner and civil right activist, referred to it as a “good start”. There is a sense among protestors that the UN can do more, but the resolution, with its clause on reviewing the situation after 30 days, sends a strong message to the Yemeni leadership and opposition of global concern about the deteriorating situation in Yemen and the urgent need for a political settlement. In particular it sends a clear message to President Saleh that he should sign the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative without delay.
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The general public, specifically those involved in anti-government protests and on the receiving end of lethal force by government security forces, should be encouraged by the resolution's clear condemnation of human rights abuses by all sides and the call for those responsible to be held accountable. Protestors from all camps are vocal on the issues of justice and accountability.
The will for concerted international action to urge president Saleh to follow through with his promises to transfer power is strong and growing. We are making clear our concern over the economic, humanitarian and security situation in Yemen. All our efforts are focused on achieving a peaceful political settlement. But ultimately that choice rests in Yemeni hands.
Wales
Adam Werrity
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether (a) she, (b) her Ministers and (c) officials of her Department have met (i) Mr Michael Hintze, (ii) Mr Tony Buckingham, (iii) Mr Michael Davis, (iv) Mr Poju Zabludowicz, (v) Mr Jon Moulton and (vi) Mr Stephen Crouch; and where any such meetings took place. [78662]
Mr David Jones: No such meetings have taken place.
Public Sector: Pay
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many officials in her Department received a pay rise other than by promotion in the last two years; and what the average increase was in each such year. [78532]
Mr David Jones: Staff on full-time equivalent earnings of under £21,000 a year are eligible for a pay increase of at least £250. Six staff in the Wales Office were eligible for these payments in both financial years, 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Eight staff on loan from the Welsh Government received progression payments to which they had a contractual entitlement in 2010-11. Two staff on loan from the Welsh Government (WG) received the progression payments in 2011-12. The average increase arising from progression payments for both years was around 4%. Nine staff on loan from the WG who were not eligible for a progression payment received a one-off pay uplift of £400 regardless of grade in 2010-11.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many officials in her Department received a bonus in each year since 2007. [78535]
Mr David Jones: Ministry of Justice staff working at the Wales Office are entitled to non-consolidated performance related pay for outstanding performance and, under the reward and recognition scheme, for additional work performed. All payments are non-pensionable lump sums. The total number of officials receiving these since 2007 is shown in the following table:
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| Financial year | Number of officials |
Security Vetting
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what level of security vetting is required for the post of (a) head of communications, (b) deputy head of communications and (c) head of press office in her Department; and if she will list each person who has held these posts since May 2010; [77920]
(2) what level of security vetting is required for (a) grade six and seven, or equivalent, press officers and (b) ministerial private secretaries in her Department; [77921]
(3) what level of security vetting is required for (a) special advisers and (b) ministerial-appointed policy advisers in her Department; and if she will list each person who has held these posts since May 2010; [77922]
(4) what company or Government service is used to undertake security vetting at (a) counter terrorist check, (b) security check and (c) developed vetting level in her Department. [77923]
Mrs Gillan: Information relating to security vetting is publicly available in the booklet entitled HMG Personnel Security Controls, which is available from the Cabinet Office website at
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/hmg-personnel-security-controls
This booklet describes the circumstances in which a post may require the holder to be the subject of national security vetting checks. It would not, however, be appropriate to confirm which specific posts within the Wales Office are the subject of vetting, as this could highlight who within the department has access to sensitive material and this could be used for targeting purposes.
Details of the Wales Office special adviser is available in the quarterly publication of the list of special advisers which is available in the Library of the House and can also be accessed on the Cabinet Office website at
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/special-adviser-data-releases
We do not have any other ministerial appointed policy advisers.
All vetting for the Wales Office is co-ordinated by the Ministry of Justice, which liaises with the Defence Vetting Agency to undertake the CTC, SC and DV checks.
Home Department
Animal Experiments
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of licence applications under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were (a) granted and (b) rejected in each of the last three years. [78306]
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Lynne Featherstone: Details of the number of licences granted and rejected under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for the last three years are shown in the following table.
A feature of the regulatory regime under the 1986 Act is the discussion that often takes place at an early stage
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between applicants (or prospective applicants) and the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Inspectorate. This means that proposals unlikely to meet the Act's stringent requirements are revised or withdrawn before formal refusal becomes necessary.
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Granted in 2008 | Refused in 2008 | Granted in 2009 | Refused in 2009 | Granted in 2010 | Refused in 2009 |
Animal Experiments: EU Law
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect the transposition of European directive 2010/63/EU will have on the extent of legislative restrictions on the use of (a) endangered species, (b) neuromuscular blocking agents, (c) dogs, cats and equids and (d) purpose breeding of quail and ferrets. [78251]
Lynne Featherstone: The use of (a) endangered species, (b) neuromuscular blocking agents, (c) dogs, cats and equids, and (d) the purpose breeding of quail and ferrets are all matters on which views were sought in the public consultation on the options for transposition of European directive 201/63/EU which closed on 5 September 2011.
We are now analysing the responses to the public consultation and will announce decisions on these and other matters covered by the public consultation in due course. We plan to publish a report on the public consultation by the end of 2011.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to articles 4 and 13 of European directive 2010/63/EU on animal experimentation, whether it is her policy to require (a) an alternative method or testing strategy not involving the use of live animals to be used whenever it is scientifically feasible and (b) an alternative method or testing strategy not involving the use of live animals to be used whenever it is scientifically feasible and if the method is recognised under Community legislation. [78307]
Lynne Featherstone: In the public consultation on the options for transposition of European directive 2010/63/EU we indicated our intention to transpose article 4, on the principle of replacement, reduction and refinement, and article 13, on the choice of methods, as they stand.
We are now considering the responses to the public consultation and will announce any further decisions on these issues in due course. We plan to publish a report on the public consultation by the end of 2011.
Animal Experiments: Primates
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas companies, designated as breeding and supply establishments to supply non-human primates to the UK for the purposes of scientific research, use wild populations of primates for breeding purposes. [78709]
Lynne Featherstone: Of the overseas breeding centres supplying animals to the UK during the past two years we understand that two use wild populations of non-human primates for breeding purposes. Both have policies for reducing dependence on wild-caught animals for future breeding stock, at least in relation to the animals likely to be bred and supplied to the United Kingdom.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas companies, designated as breeding and supply establishments to supply primates to the UK for the purposes of scientific research, wean infants from their mothers at six months or younger. [78710]
Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office has no jurisdiction or remit to designate or approve overseas breeding and supplying centres. The use of non-human primates from an overseas source in regulated procedures is authorised only when the centre in question has demonstrated that animals bred and supplied to licensees in the United Kingdom will have been weaned at more than six months of age, except in rare cases where infants have been either abandoned or orphaned.
Anti-Semitism
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of anti-Semitic attacks during Jewish high holy days in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011; and if she will make a statement. [R] [78675]
Andrew Stunell: I have been asked to reply.
Individual police forces collate and analyse intelligence on the number of anti-Semitic attacks, in order to inform local operational decisions and to provide adequate protection at times of demand. In addition, the Association of Chief Police Officers analyses this intelligence, to inform forces of any emerging challenges. Data on attacks on Jewish High Holy Days are not separately identified.
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to protect the Jewish community from anti-Semitic attacks; and if she will make a statement. [R] [78676]
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Andrew Stunell: I have been asked to reply.
Hate crime, including that targeting a person's religion, is an issue the Government take very seriously. We are working with the Association of Chief Police Officers and other partners to encourage the reporting of all hate crime and improve the response of the police and other criminal justice agencies to ensure better protection for victims.
The cross-Government working group on anti-Semitism and the police regularly meet representatives of the Jewish community to discuss the protection of the Jewish community against anti-Semitic attacks. The anti-Semitism working group and the cross-Government Hate Crime Strategy Board have a number of actions in train to tackle anti-Semitism, which are reassessed on a regular basis. These include funding the security needs of Jewish faith schools within the state school sector, challenging anti-Semitism in online media, improving the recording of all hate crime, including anti-Semitic hate crimes, and improving the training of hate crime prosecutors.
Asylum
David Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many legacy asylum cases have been settled in Ashton-under-Lyne constituency in each year since March 2007; how many such cases have resulted in the asylum seeker being (a) removed, (b) granted leave to remain and (c) granted discretionary leave to remain. [77395]
Damian Green: Information is not held in relation to the specific date on which individuals move to certain areas. We have therefore provided figures for the number of legacy asylum cases based on the applicant's last known address with postcodes in the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency. The total number of legacy cases in the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency is 130. Of those, 105 have resulted in the asylum seeker being granted leave to remain, five have resulted in the asylum seeker being granted discretionary leave to remain and five have resulted in the asylum seeker being removed.
Note:
Figures rounded to the nearest 5 (- = 0, * = 1 or 2). Figures may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. Figures were extracted on 26 October 2011.
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what equality impact assessment has been carried out in respect of the reforms proposed as part of the Asylum Improvement Project; and if she will make a statement. [78701]
Damian Green: The Asylum Improvement Project (AIP) spans a large number of pilots/projects. Equality impact assessments (now called policy equality statements) have been completed for AIP projects/pilots where appropriate. For example policy equality statements (PES) have been completed for:
i-Apply asylum support applications (online asylum support applications)
Experian checks on support applications
Electronic appeal bundles for asylum support appeals
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Where no PES has been completed, this may be for one of a variety of reasons:
one is currently being completed; the pilot/project has not involved the introduction of a new process or policy, or because the pilot/project may alter during its life, and by virtue of being a test of a new way of working, results are not yet known and therefore a decision cannot yet be taken on roll out and PES requirements.
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on measures to improve gender sensitivity in the asylum process; and if she will make a statement. [78702]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is working closely with a range of key corporate partners in developing improvements to the asylum system, with the ambition of running an asylum system which is truly gender sensitive. In particular, the agency recognises that women can face particular forms of persecution that are quite often different from those faced by men, and is committed to ensuring that women's claims for asylum are dealt with as fairly and sensitively as possible. The agency is looking to develop a system which caters for, and reflects, the needs of women.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed by the UK Border Agency's Case Assurance and Audit Unit to deal with casework. [79436]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency's Case Assurance and Audit Unit employs a total of 126.87 full-time equivalent staff.
Asylum: Employment
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have (a) applied for and (b) been granted the right to work after 12 months in each of the last five years. [79194]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency does not routinely collect statistics relating to the number of asylum applicants who are given permission to work. This is because an application for permission to work is not recorded as a separate case type on the agency's case information database. Any application of this nature is instead dealt with by the case owner as part of the application for asylum with the outcome being recorded within the case notes. To provide the complete set of data requested it would be necessary to look at each individual application for asylum that has exceeded the 12 month point in the last five years and record whether an application for permission to work has been made and if so granted. The cost of doing so would be disproportionate.
However, between mid-August and the end of November 2010 the agency did run an exercise to collate statistics on the number of asylum seekers who were granted permission to work. Those figures are as follows:
| Number of asylum seekers granted permission to work between 13 August and 24 November 2010 | |
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|
Number |
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These figures are based on management information and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics.
Charities
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what grants her Department made to charitable organisations in each of the last five years. [79080]
Damian Green: Although the Home Office and UK Border Agency have made grant payments to fund charitable organisations over the past five years, and may continue to do so in the future, it would not be possible to fully answer this question to the level of detail required without incurring disproportionate cost. Our systems record payments to not-for-profit organisations, which includes charities but also other philanthropic institutions and social enterprises. Hence, to do so would require investigating more than 300 not-for-profit recipients, identifying whether they make payments to charities as a lead partner.
As with all grant funding in the Home Office and agencies, grants paid to charities are monitored to ensure that recipients deliver the objectives of individual projects as well as contributing to the strategic aims of the Department.
The Criminal Records Bureau, Identity and Passport Service and the National Fraud Authority have not provided any funding to charities over the previous five years, and have not allocated any budget to fund charities over the spending review period.
Civil Disorder
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans her Department has to facilitate co-operation between police forces in the event that they are called to deal with widespread public disorder; and if she will make a statement. [78144]
Nick Herbert: The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 makes provision for the Home Secretary to issue a Strategic Policing Requirement to which all police and crime commissioners and chief constables will have regard. It will set out the policing capabilities that are expected to be delivered by police forces working together in order to tackle national threats such as terrorism, public disorder and civil unrest, organised crime and civil emergencies.
Police force co-operation and requests for mutual aid under section 24 of the Police Act 1996 are co-ordinated by the Association of Chief Police Officer's Police National Information Co-ordination Centre.
Crime: Rural Areas
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the level of crime in rural areas. [78750]
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James Brokenshire: In 2010-11, there were 593,146 offences recorded by the police in those forces deemed to be rural according to ‘A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods' guidance. This represents a fall of 4% over 2009-10. Further detail is provided in the table.
| Offences recorded in rural police force areas (1) | |||
| Offence group | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | % change |
| (1 )Forces deemed ‘most rural’ and ‘less rural’ according ‘A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods’ (ACORN). Forces are: Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Devon and Cornwall, Durham, Dyfed-Powys, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk. North Yorkshire, North Wales, Suffolk, West Mercia and Wiltshire. | |||
Criminal Records: Databases
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what fee she proposes will be payable for individual subscriptions to her planned online criminal records system. [79191]
Lynne Featherstone: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave during the Public Bill Committee, (Bill 146), sixteenth sitting, 10 May 2011, Official Report, column 643.
Consultants
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2011, Official Report, columns 957-8W, on departmental procurement, how many contracts involved the provision of consultancy services; how many contracts involved the employment of a consultant within her Department; whether any such consultants remained in employment on the latest date for which information is available; and if she will make a statement. [77719]
Damian Green: Pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2011, Official Report, column 958W, on departmental procurement, two contracts involved the provision of consultancy services. These contracts continue and consultants remain engaged.
The Department's commercial objectives require consultancy services to be commissioned in terms of defined output, not in terms of individuals assigned by the firms. Each consultancy requirement is scrutinised, to prove operational necessity and to ensure that the need cannot be met by permanent staff.
The Department has spent £28 million less in the first six months compared to the same period last year.
8 Nov 2011 : Column 173W
Freedom of Information Requests
Jon Trickett:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 her Department has received in each month since May 2010; how many responses given in each such month disclosed (a) the full information requested, (b) part of the information requested, with some information withheld under exemptions in the Act and (c) none of the information requested; and in respect of how many requests received in each such month (i) (A) substantive and (B) holding responses were issued within 20 working days
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of the date of receipt, (ii) no substantive response was issued within 40 working days of the date of receipt and (iii) no substantive response has yet been issued. [78915]
Damian Green: Information up to June 2011 is set out in the following tables. Information on Freedom of Information Act performance for Government Departments in the 3(rd) and 4(th) quarters of 2011 will be published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in late 2011 or early 2012. The most recent MoJ statistics are available at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/foi/index.htm
| Table 1: Freedom of information requests received by the Home Office, May 2010 to June 2011 | ||||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||
|
|
May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| 2011 | ||||||
|
|
January | February | March | April | May | June |
| Note: The columns do not sum because (a) in some cases both a holding and a substantive response may have been sent within 20 days and (b) in some cases a holding response may have been sent within 20 days but no substantive response was sent within 40 days. | ||||||
| Table 2: Freedom of information responses sent by the Home Office, May 2010 to June 2011 | ||||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||
|
|
May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| 2011 | ||||||
|
|
January | February | March | April | May | June |
| Note: The figures do not include cases where no information was held or where the cost limit was invoked. | ||||||
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in respect of how many responses to requests for information received by her Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the reason of (a) commercially sensitive information, (b) information not held, (c) information too costly to provide and (d) vexatious or repeated requests has been given in response since January 2010. [78916]
Damian Green: Information on Freedom of Information Act performance for Government Departments is published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The most recent MoJ statistics are available at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/foi/index.htm
Figures on requests refused because they relate to commercially sensitive information are published in the quarterly MoJ statistics, Statistics for the 3(rd) and 4(th) quarters will be published by MoJ in late 2011 or early 2012. Figures on requests which were not answered because to do so would exceed the cost limit, or because they were vexatious or repeat requests, are published in the annual MoJ statistics. The annual statistics for 2011 will be published in early 2012.
Jon Trickett:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Minister in her Department
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is responsible for determining whether exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 should apply to responses to requests for information under the Act; and which other Minister is responsible for making such determinations should the subject matter of the request fall within the Ministerial responsibilities of the Minister with lead responsibility. [78917]
Damian Green: The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires that a Minister must determine whether an exemption applies only in the case of the exemption under section 36 of the Act. Any Minister may determine that section 36 applies. The application of other exemptions in the Act is determined by officials.
Departmental Health Insurance
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department pays for private medical insurance for its officials; and what the cost of such payments was in the last year for which figures are available. [79143]
Damian Green [holding answer 7 November 2011]: No officials in the Home Office or its agencies (UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau) are provided with private health insurance as part of their employment package.
Lost Property
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has lost any (a) computers, (b) mobile phones, (c) BlackBerrys and (d) other IT equipment since May 2010; and if she will make a statement. [77338]
Damian Green: Following the Government's commitment to transparency, in April 2011 the Home Office published historical figures (between 2005-10) for ICT losses. In future the Home Office aims to publish these data annually.
These data can be found on the Home Office website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/transparency/lost-mobiles-laptops-media/lost-ict?view=Binary
Departmental Public Expenditure
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on new furnishings in the last year. [72936]
Nick Herbert: The Department's expenditure on furniture and fittings in 2010-11 was £4.251 million. Expenditure in 2009-10 was £3.14 million, and in 2008-09 it was £5.956 million. Breaking these figures down to costs for furniture alone could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Deportation: Children
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions control and restraint has been used on children as part of the enforced removal process in each of the last five years. [78711]
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Damian Green: Detainee custody officers (DCOs) must be certificated by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), to carry out their duties and to exercise powers, one of the conditions of which is that they have undergone training on restraint techniques approved by the National Offender Management Service. Officers receive refresher training every 12 months. Separate training is provided for those involved in the overseas escorting of children, using non-pain compliant techniques, Physical Control in Care (PCC).
Any use of restraint is a matter of last resort when all other avenues of persuasion have failed and there is no other option to effect the person's co-operation. Its use must be justified, proportionate and for the shortest possible period to achieve the objective. Officers must report in detail where it has been used.
Restraint on a child is only ever used where it is strictly necessary to prevent self-harm or to protect others and property. In very exceptional circumstances officers may be given authority to physically intervene to enforce a child's removal where, despite attempts to persuade them to comply, they refuse to do so. Interventions may start with guiding or shepherding, before PCC techniques are used.
Information on the number of occasions where DCOs physically intervened in the case of children is not available prior to 2008 and there are no occasions of such interventions in 2011.
Of the 1,124 enforced removals and notified voluntary departure of persons aged under 18 in 2008, there were five instances.
Of the 1,007 enforced removals and notified voluntary departure of persons aged under 18 in 2009, there were eight instances.
Of the 737 enforced removals and notified voluntary departure of persons aged under 18 in 2010, there was one instance.
All interventions occurred at the point of boarding an aircraft, other than one in 2009 in an immigration removal centre.
There have been no interventions at Cedars pre-departure accommodation.
The number of people aged under 18 removed as enforced removals and notified voluntary departures from the UK in 2008, 2009 and 2010 (2010 figures are provisional), are a subset of published information compiled under National Statistics protocols available on the Home Office Science, Research and Statistics web pages at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/
Data on the number of occasions where DCOs physically intervened in the case of children are based on management information, and are not subject to the detailed checks carried out for National Statistics. They are provisional and subject to change. A child is defined as a person aged under 18 years of age.
Deportation: Offenders
Dr Huppert:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the report by the Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency entitled, A thematic inspection of how the UK Border Agency
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manages foreign national prisoners, what steps she is taking to revise the risk assessment of ex-offenders contained in the Enforcement Instructions and Guidance. [78761]
Damian Green: Risk of harm to the public is an important consideration when deciding whether or not to detain under immigration powers a foreign national offender who is liable to deportation, but it is not the only consideration. There will be circumstances in which it will be legitimate to detain even where there is no identified risk of re-offending, for example where there is a significant risk of the individual absconding or where the individual's own lack of co-operation is a determinative factor preventing removal.
Risk assessments provided by the National Offender Management Service will always be taken into account, where they are available, when deciding whether or not to detain a foreign national offender under immigration powers. Where such assessments are not available (for example, where the person is not subject to monitoring by the Probation Service) managers will make a decision based on the specific facts of the case.
The UK Border Agency accept the need to ensure that detention is used appropriately and lawfully and have already put in place a package of measures to improve the quality of detention decisions and documentation. For example the detention review template and guidance have been revised to better support caseworkers in making evidence-based detention decisions and demonstrating progress since the last 28 day review. The UK Border Agency will also review the template and guidance for making the initial detention decision to ensure that all detention decisions are based on a sound consideration of the evidence.
Entry Clearances
Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the length of time required to process the legacy visa applications by the UK Border Agency. [79140]
Damian Green: In 2006 the Government committed to a review of all older unresolved asylum cases by summer 2011. This was achieved by March 2011. A total of 500,500 cases were reviewed as part of the programme.
As Jonathan Sedgwick, then Acting Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency, reported to the Home Affairs Committee on 12 September, 479,000 of the 500,500 cases in the legacy programme have been fully concluded. There are 18,000 cases that have received an initial decision but have barriers to full conclusion, which continue to be actively managed by a dedicated casework unit.
Legal Opinion
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials in her Department were working in its legal section in June 2011; and how many staff were working in the legal departments of her Department's agencies and non-departmental bodies. [78084]
8 Nov 2011 : Column 178W
Damian Green: 63 officials were working in the Legal Adviser's Branch of the Department on 9 June 2011 (the date when the June 2011 numbers were updated), which also provides most of the legal advice for the Department's agencies and some of its non-departmental bodies.
The Government Equalities Office, part of the Home Office since 1 April 2011, employs eight lawyers and one administrative officer. The number of staff working in the legal teams of the Department's agencies and non-departmental bodies is as follows:
The UK Border Agency Cash Forfeiture Team: 20
National Policing Improvement Agency: 10
The Equality and Human Rights Commission: 81
The Independent Safeguarding Authority: two
The Serious Organised Crime Agency: 61
The Independent Police Complaints Commission: 15.
Not all of the officials/staff mentioned above work full-time, and the figures include support staff as well as lawyers.
Public Sector Employee Bids
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps she is taking to put in place a right to provide for public sector workers to take over the running of services; and if she will make a statement; [74782]
(2) what steps her Department has taken to encourage the development of public service mutuals in its area of responsibility; and if she will make a statement. [74821]
(3) how many applications from employees to run services for which her Department is directly responsible she has received since May 2010; and if she will make a statement. [77604]
Nick Herbert: The Government have stated their commitment that every Department will put in place rights to provide for public sector workers to take over the running of services. The Localism Bill, currently going through Parliament, contains a proposed community right to challenge, which will enable local authority employees to express an interest in taking over the service they deliver.
The Government also want to give as many public sector workers as possible the right to mutualise. However, some areas of the public sector—including frontline policing—are exempt because of operational or security concerns.
Currently, on the authority of the chief constable and police authority, police forces may choose to outsource a variety of functions, including, but not limited to, human resources, finance, IT support, legal services, translation services, forensic and scientific testing services, vehicle maintenance and running emergency call centres.
We are exploring options for how rights could be extended to public sector workers within the police service, including working with other Government Departments to determine whether existing models such as pathfinder projects, work force engagement or employee-led spin-offs are appropriate.
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Riot Control Weapons
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy that in cases of public disorder, police forces deploy water cannon before baton rounds are deployed. [79184]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 7 November 2011]: The decision to deploy a particular less-lethal weapon is an operational decision for chief officers.
UK Border Agency
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria will be used to determine which of the UK Border Agency hubs will be closed in order to meet the target reduction from 70 to 25 as outlined in the agency's business plan. [78692]
Damian Green: Plans for consolidating our network of hubs are predicated on UK Border Agency, Home Office and wider Government objectives.
At the top of these objectives, the criteria used for determining the location of our future hubs are based on the need to “secure the border”, and “reduce costs and improve customer service”. Hub closures will be targeted and sequenced in locations where they can provide the greatest contribution to the delivery of these objectives.
UK Border Agency: Finance
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding will be available to the UK Border Agency's regional divisions of (a) London and the South East, (b) the Midlands and the East of England, (c) the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, (d) the North West, (e) Scotland and Northern Ireland and (f) Wales and South West in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2014-15. [78690]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is not in a position to confirm the funding for future years for its regional divisions, as the business planning process for 2012-13 is not scheduled to be completed until March 2012. Once completed, the agency will publish the business plan on its website, which will show its overall budget settlement. Figures for 2014-15 are expected to be available in March 2014.
UK Border Agency: Manpower
Nia Griffith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change there have been in the number of staff employed by the UK Border Agency in (a) London and the south-east, (b) midlands and the east of England, (c) north-east, Yorkshire and the
8 Nov 2011 : Column 180W
Humber,
(d)
north-west,
(e)
Scotland and Northern Ireland and
(f)
Wales and south-west since the comprehensive spending review in 2010. [78561]
Damian Green: Since the comprehensive spending review staff numbers in the named regions above have changed as shown in the following table:
| FTE (1) | ||
| Region | 31 March 2011 | 30 September 2011 |
| (1) Full-time equivalent actuals, excluding staff on unpaid maternity leave, career break, special leave, or loan to other Government Departments. (2) Some locations have been reattributed between these areas following Cabinet Office guidance. (3) European posting and international visa function based abroad. (4) Staff whose location was not recorded centrally. | ||
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are being used to implement job reductions in the UK Border Agency. [78691]
Damian Green: As part of the work force planning process directors must submit work force plans to deliver the services they are responsible for within allocated budgets. Where headcount reductions are necessary it is for directors to formulate proposals as to how they will be achieved.
Strategies for reduction in UK Border Agency include reorganisation and more efficient ways of working, a recruitment freeze and voluntary exit schemes. Where plans are likely to result in surplus staff who may be at risk of redundancy, directors are required to follow the process set out in the Home Office Restructuring, Redeployment and Redundancy Policy.
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK Border Agency officers were employed in each of the agency's regions in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2010 and (d) 2011. [78693]
Damian Green: The periods requested cover both the Border and Immigration Agency and the UK Border Agency as shown. The increase in staffing between 2008 and 2010 is the machinery of government transfer of border detection from HM Revenue and Customs and UK Visas from Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the UK Border Agency.
| Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) | UK Border Agency (UKBA) | |||
| Region | 31 March 2007 FTE (1) | 31 March 2008 FTE | 31 March 2010 FTE | 30 September 2011 FTE |
8 Nov 2011 : Column 181W
8 Nov 2011 : Column 182W
| (1 )Full-time equivalent actuals, excluding staff on unpaid maternity leave, career break, special leave, or loan to other Government Departments. (2) Some locations have been reattributed between these areas following Cabinet Office guidance. (3) The 2007-08 figures relate to European posting, the 2010-11 figures include the international visa function. (4) Staff whose location was not recorded centrally. | ||||
House of Commons Commission
Welsh Grand Committee: Wrexham
Jessica Morden: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the total cost was of holding the Welsh Grand Committee in Wrexham including staffing, accommodation and travel. [79145]
John Thurso: The cost to the House of holding the meeting of the Welsh Grand Committee in the Guildhall, Wrexham, on 20 October is estimated at £7,600. This figure includes sound recording and transmission, interpretation, accommodation, subsistence and travel, and a small amount of overtime. It does not include Members' travel costs, which fall to be reimbursed by IPSA, nor staff salary costs that would have been incurred anyway. It also includes costs of an earlier visit to Wrexham by staff to plan the arrangements for the meeting.
Treasury
Bank Services
Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding was allocated to the devolved Administration in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales under the provisions of the Dormant Bank Accounts Act 2008 in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009, (iii) 2010 and (iv) 2011. [77827]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 1 November 2011]: The first release of dormant accounts monies from the Reclaim Fund to the Big Lottery Fund was in August 2011. No funding was allocated to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland through the dormant accounts scheme before 2011.
So far £36.5 million has been released to the Big Lottery Fund. The Big Lottery Fund apportions dormant accounts in the following proportions:
England: 83.9%
Wales: 4.9%
Scotland: 8.4%
Northern Ireland: 2.8%.
This means that so far this year, approximately £3.06 million has been allocated to Scotland, £1.79 million has been allocated to Wales, and £1.02 million has been allocated to Northern Ireland.
Freedom of Information Requests
Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Minister in his Department is responsible for determining whether exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 should apply to responses to requests for information under the Act; and which other Minister is responsible for making such determinations should the subject matter of the request fall within the ministerial responsibilities of the Minister with lead responsibility. [78920]
Miss Chloe Smith: HM Treasury officials normally determine whether exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act (the FOI Act) apply to requests received by the Department.
The exception to this is exemptions under section 36 of the FOI Act (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs) which can only apply if it is the reasonable opinion of a ‘qualified person' that the exemption is engaged. In relation to information held by Government, the qualified person must be a Minister. The Economic Secretary, as HM Treasury's departmental Minister, handles section 36 cases. However, all HM Treasury Ministers are qualified persons for this purpose and should the Economic Secretary be unavailable, for example during recess, the decision will fall to the appropriate duty Minister.
Having obtained the opinion of the qualified person on whether or not an exemption under section 36 applies, HM Treasury officials then conduct a second test to determine whether the information should be released m the public interest or protected.
Growing Places Fund
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the announcement by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 18 September 2011, where the funding for the Growing Places Fund will come from. [76558]
Amber Rudd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the letter from his Department of 13 October 2011, reference 2/05396/2011, in response to the letter from the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye of 19 September 2011, reference AR/EOR/00483, on the Growing Places Fund, when he expects to announce further details of the scheme. [76896]
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Danny Alexander: The Departments for Communities and Local Government and Transport will together contribute £250 million towards the Growing Places Fund. The remaining £250 million will be made available from the reserve. DCLG and DFT are currently developing the detail of Government's proposals, including how money will be allocated and the mechanism by which the fund will operate. A prospectus setting out details was published yesterday.
HM Revenue and Customs: Disclosure of Information
Kate Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many requests to HM Revenue and Customs from (a) the police, (b) trading standards authorities and (c) the Serious Fraud Office for disclosure of information for criminal purposes made under the IDG60190 Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 standard procedure for disclosing any information for criminal purposes were refused in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [78747]
Mr Gauke: The information requested is as follows:
| Tax year | Police | Trading Standards | Serious Fraud Office |
This excludes any rejections made outside of the centralised team that deals with ATCSA requests, but the number of such requests made is minimal, as these will only made in exceptional circumstances.
Insolvency
Mr Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the likely effects on director behaviour in the event that fewer actions are taken by insolvency practitioners as a result of implementation of the proposed changes to conditional fee arrangements and after the event insurance in insolvency litigation; [79091]
(2) what estimate he has made of the effect on HM Revenue and Customs revenue of the proposed changes to conditional fee arrangements and after the event insurance in insolvency litigation in each of the next 10 years. [79092]
Mr Djanogly: I have been asked to reply.
An updated impact assessment was published alongside the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill which includes provisions on the proposed reform of no win no fee conditional fee agreements. Officials are continuing to discuss the likely impacts of these changes in relation to insolvency proceedings.
PAYE
Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which providers of payroll software his Department has met to discuss upgrading their products to supply real time PAYE information. [79362]
8 Nov 2011 : Column 184W
Mr Gauke: HMRC has been liaising with all payroll software developers registered with HMRC's Software Developers' Support Team since autumn 2010. HMRC has held a number of workshops for payroll software developers to discuss Real Time Information (RTI). These were attended by around 160 developers representing almost 120 software houses. In addition, HMRC officials have held regular meetings with the payroll software industry representative organisations.
A list of respondents to the latest consultation on RTI can be found in the Summary of Responses document published on 30 September 2011 on the HMRC website.
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has completed (a) repaying overpaid tax and (b) collecting underpaid tax as a result of miscalculations of tax liability by HM Revenue and Customs in the PAYE system. [79086]
Mr Gauke: The PAYE system collects tax on account of an individual's liability for the year using code numbers based on the information available at the start of the tax year. For those who move in and out of work, have fluctuating income, or have expenses and benefits, in- year PAYE deductions do not always equal the tax due. For this reason at the end of each tax year, HMRC checks that customers have paid the right amount of tax—usually around 85% of people have paid the right amount. This is part of the normal PAYE cycle of work and has happened each year since PAYE was introduced in 1944.
For the tax year 2010-11 HMRC have completed repaying those customers where they have received all the information from the employer or pension provider. HMRC are now working through the cases where the customer has underpaid and, as last year, where they have received all the information they will complete the process in time to adjust customers' 2012-13 tax codes.
Population: Infrastructure
Angie Bray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the additional cost to the public purse of providing public infrastructure to accommodate future population growth. [78475]
Danny Alexander: Investment in our infrastructure will be vital. The Government estimate some £200 billion of investment in our infrastructure between 2010-15 from both the public and private sector.
In considering planned investment the Government and private investors estimate the level of future demand, population growth being one of a number of factors. Population estimates are subject to change and the impact of an increasing population on our infrastructure need may also change.
Last year the Government published the National Infrastructure Plan setting out their vision and plan for infrastructure investment. The next iteration of the plan will be published later this year.
8 Nov 2011 : Column 185W
Taxation: Amusement Arcades
Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will meet representatives of the British Amusement Catering Trades Association to discuss (a) taxation and (b) the future of the amusements industry. [79419]
Miss Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.
VAT: Construction
Peter Aldous: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effect of a reduction in VAT on building repair and maintenance work on (a) economic growth, (b) levels of employment and (c) small and medium-sized enterprises. [78986]
Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 17 October 2011, Official Report, column 713W, and on 21 October 2011, Official Report, column 1201W, to the hon. Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson).
VAT: Hotels
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations his Department has received on reducing the rate of VAT for hotels in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics. [77435]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 31 October 2011]: I am aware of a number of trade campaigns to reduce the rate of VAT on the tourism and hospitality sectors, including the hotel sector. Generally, these advocate an immediate permanent cut in VAT because other EU member states have reduced rates of VAT for hospitality, and on the basis of some economic modelling. Therefore, they take no account of the significant benefit to the hotel industry of the holding the Olympics in London in 2012.
Businesses in the hotel sector also benefit from measures introduced under this Government. For example, the main rate of corporation tax has been cut from 28% to 26% and the small profits rate of corporation tax has been cut from 21% to 20%.
Welfare Tax Credits: Eligibility
Mr Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how his proposal that families will need to work 24 hours a week in order to claim tax credits from April 2012 will be implemented; and if he will make a statement. [79172]
Mr Gauke: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Jonathan Reynolds) on 13 October 2010, Official Report, column 481W.
8 Nov 2011 : Column 186W
Mr Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of families affected by his proposal to increase the hours threshold for tax credit entitlement to 24 hours a week; and what the average cost per family will be; [79173]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of families affected by his proposal to increase the hours threshold for tax credit entitlement to 24 hours a week by (a) region and (b) constituency. [79174]
Mr Gauke: No estimate has been made.
The increase in the hours rules for couples from 16 hours to 24 hours is part of a range of reforms to the tax credits system announced at the spending review.
Estimating the impact of an individual measure does not give a clear indication of the full impact on an individual household.
The Government published estimates of the distributional impact of the whole package of announced tax and benefit measures which can be found at:
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_annexb.pdf
Transport
Aviation: Alcoholic Drinks
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the blood alcohol limit for pilots is. [79018]
Mrs Villiers: The blood alcohol limit for pilots is set out in section 93 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003.
Aviation: EU Action
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what matters were discussed at the recent meeting of European Aviation Safety Agency's Advisory Group of National Authorities on 25 to 26 October 2011; and if she will make a statement. [79020]
Mrs Villiers: The meeting discussed issues relating to the regulation of commercial operations, such as sightseeing flights, which take off and land at the same airport, the requirements for the approval of third country operators and the draft rules for flight time limitations. The discussions will help inform the European Aviation Safety Agency's development of the rules in these areas.
Aviation: Security
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with airport operators on the extension of the trial of the swabbing of religious and cultural headgear to all airports in the UK. [78277]
Mrs Villiers: Officials engage with airport operators on a regular basis. However, the trial of alternative screening processes for headgear is a voluntary one so the decision on whether to participate is an operational matter for individual airports. Most major UK airports have decided to participate.
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Aviation: USA
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she plans to meet officials from the US (a) Federal Aviation Administration and (b) Department of Transportation. [79019]
Mrs Villiers: I have no plans to meet with officials from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Department of Transportation. However Department officials have regular contact with officials from these bodies.
Buses: Inspections
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to review regulations in respect of safety inspections under section 19 of the Transport Act 1985. [78295]
Norman Baker: There are no plans at this time to review regulations in respect of safety inspections under section 19 of the Transport Act 1985.
Cycling: Safety
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the use of trixi safety mirrors on the number of road accidents involving cyclists in London; [79459]
(2) what assessment her Department has made of the cost effectiveness of the use of trixi safety mirrors in (a) reducing accidents involving cyclists and (b) encouraging cycling. [79460]
Norman Baker: The Department has provided Transport for London (TfL) with a signs authorisation for the use of cycle safety mirrors (known as “trixi” mirrors) across the Mayor of London's Cycle Superhighway network. The Department has made no assessment of the cost effectiveness of these mirrors in reducing accidents involving cyclists and encouraging cycling in London or elsewhere, although it is aware that TfL is undertaking its own monitoring and will be interested in the outcome of that.
Electric Vehicles: Bedfordshire
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport where vehicle charging points will be located in central Bedfordshire; and when they will be installed. [78600]
Norman Baker [holding answer 7 November 2011]: The Plugged-In-Places project in the east of England is working with Central Bedfordshire council to initially install eight publicly-accessible charge points in central Bedfordshire. Site selection is ongoing, with charge points likely to be installed in car parks, among other places.
The project aims to install charge points across the wider east of England and is continuing to work with Central Bedfordshire council and other organisations to identify other potential charge point locations to expand the network further.
A number of private sector initiatives are now also installing recharging points in the UK, e.g. under Charge Master's POLAR scheme and Ecotricity's Electric Highway scheme, boosting growth in the national
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network further. These may also include sites in central Bedfordshire if suitable locations are identified by the private sector promoters.