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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 10 November 2011
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts: Taxation
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the introduction of a system of taxation to increase the competitiveness of the London art sales market. [78354]
Mr Vaizey [holding answer 3 November 2011]: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), regularly meets the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), to discuss cross-departmental issues, including the effect of tax measures on the cultural sector.
Broadband: Wales
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how he proposes that the recently announced £56.9 million for supporting the broadband network in Wales will be allocated. [78557]
Mr Vaizey: The Welsh Government will determine where to allocate the £56.9 million allocation for Wales as part of their current procurement to source suppliers to upgrade infrastructure in Wales. Broadband Delivery UK is supporting the Welsh Government to deliver the UK's broadband objectives in Wales; including how and where funding is provided.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Carbon Emissions
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will publish her plans to introduce mandatory carbon reporting for companies. [79355]
Mr Paice: I refer the hon. Member for Wakefield to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Dundee West (Jim McGovern) on 6 September 2011, Official Report, column 374W.
Hunting: Wild Boar
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to (a) introduce a closed season for the hunting of wild boar, (b) raise the minimum age of wild boar that can be culled to five months old, (c) introduce a legal minimum requirement for firearms in shooting wild boar and (d) reconsider the classification of wild boar as feral. [79449]
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Richard Benyon: DEFRA considers the wild boar living free in parts of England to be feral as they have all come from, or are descended from, farm stock. We have no plans to change the legal protection for feral wild boar in England. With regard to control of wild boar, best practice guides on shooting feral wild boar are available from the Deer Initiative.
Reservoirs: Safety
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to publish the revised guidance notes for reservoir safety pursuant to the Reservoirs Act 1975 and 1996 guidance; and if she will make a statement. [79487]
Richard Benyon: There are two key guidance documents for reservoirs engineers. The first is ‘A guide to the Reservoirs Act 1975’, published by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in 2000 with the support of the then Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, which is a guide to understanding the intent of the Act and approaches to managing reservoirs in compliance with the Act. The second is ‘Floods and Reservoir Safety, 3rd Edition’, published by the ICE in 1996. This provides technical guidance for reservoir engineers particularly with respect to their safety under flood loading.
A review of these guidance documents has been initiated and to that end the President of the ICE has been asked to lead a review of these documents and to include the Environment Agency on the review panel. The review will be carried out with the support of DEFRA. The ICE has agreed to this in principle.
The review of ‘A guide to the Reservoirs Act 1975’ will commence with an initial meeting on 17 November to discuss the work programme. The proposal is that the reviewed guidance on the amended legislation would be published by DEFRA in parallel with the making of the various legal instruments (Phase 1 is due to begin in October 2012).
The reviewed technical guidance should be based on currently available knowledge and be published by the ICE to a programme, and although the programme has yet to be agreed, completion is expected within two years. However, if the timescale of the introduction of the legal instruments slipped this publication would slip.
The review of ‘Floods and Reservoir Safety’ will be taking place over a longer timescale and no meetings have yet been scheduled.
Water Abstraction
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many rivers her Department assesses as at high risk of over-abstraction. [77235]
Richard Benyon: Under the water framework directive we classify our aquatic environment as water bodies: this includes rivers, estuaries, lakes and groundwaters etc. There are over 8,000 water bodies in England and Wales, of which there are over 5,800 river water bodies. Currently fewer than 300 of these are considered to be at high risk from abstraction pressures.
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However, as part of the implementation of the first round of River Basin Management Plans, the Environment Agency is undertaking investigations to confirm this assessment. Once these investigations are completed appropriate action will be planned to take place during the remainder of the first cycle or subsequent river basin planning cycles to tackle the issue, if appropriate.
Communities and Local Government
Growing Places Fund
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria his Department used to determine the indicative allocations of funding to local enterprise partnerships from the Government's Growing Places Fund. [80035]
Grant Shapps: We will be allocating funding to qualifying bodies which apply for the fund on a consistent basis, through a formulaic approach. The formula is based on two components: population and employed earnings. This is a relatively simple formula that accounts for the size of the local enterprise partnership, and provides a good proxy for economic activity. By combining the indicators we are able to provide a smoother distribution than using either of them independently.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what financial contribution his Department plans to make to the Growing Places Fund. [80038]
Grant Shapps: The £500 million Growing Places Fund comprises £125 million from the Department for Communities and Local Government, £125 million from the Department for Transport and £250 million from HM Treasury.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which bodies will be responsible for submitting final bids for funding from the Growing Places Fund; and if he will make a statement. [80039]
Grant Shapps: Local enterprise partnerships have been asked to apply to the Growing Places Fund. The Chair of the local enterprise partnership is asked to sign off the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire, which will set out the following:
their commitment to using the Growing Places Fund to generate economic activity in the short term by addressing immediate infrastructure and site constraints which promote the delivery of jobs and housing;
they have appropriate governance arrangements in place which will secure value for money in the use of the Fund; and
they have appropriate arrangements in place to deliver transparency in the use of the fund.
The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire must be returned to the Department for Communities and Local Government by 20 December 2011.
Housing
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to monitor housing needs in relation to the trends in population to 2050 projected by the Office for National Statistics. [79945]
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Andrew Stunell: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Angie Bray) on 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 22W.
Local Government: Eggs
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has issued guidelines to local authorities on their buying criteria to ensure eggs produced in conventional cages should not be used in any form. [78568]
Mr Paice: I have been asked to reply.
The greater proportion of food procured by local authorities is for schools. DEFRA is working with the Department for Education, the School Food Trust and the major local authority buying organisations, in particular those in the PRO 5 consortium, and others to embed the Government Buying Standards (GBS), as they are developed, into national procurement frameworks for food and catering services.
Mandatory GBS criteria currently bans the use of fresh (in-shell) eggs from conventional cage systems. If a cage system is used they should be enriched cages. In light of the forthcoming EU ban on conventional cages, we intend to extend this mandatory criteria to cover all liquid and powdered egg products, which are currently in voluntary best practice criteria.
The Government believe that their role is to set a credible and workable example for the wider public sector to follow, and it is this that the GBS is designed to deliver. All public bodies have a different set of requirements and the local people most closely connected with them, staff, patients, governors, will have different priorities, making them best placed to decide how to achieve the objectives we are aiming for.
Social Rented Housing: Planning Permission
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate his Department has made of the amount of land for which planning permission for housing development has been granted in each local authority area in England. [79320]
Andrew Stunell: The Department has not estimated the amount of land that is available with planning permission for housing development. The Department collects summary statistics on planning applications but these do not include information on land areas.
Women and Equalities
Bell Pottinger Group
John Mann: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether (a) Ministers, (b) officials in the Government Equalities Office and (c) her political advisers have met representatives of (i) Bell Pottinger Group or (ii) each of its subsidiaries in the last five years; on what dates any such meetings took place; and what was discussed. [80056]
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Lynne Featherstone: From 1 April 2011, the Government Equalities Office became part of the Home Office. Information relating to the Government Equalities Office will be included in the reply of the Minister for Immigration, the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green).
Hate Crime
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to tackle hate crime. [79674]
Lynne Featherstone: Tackling hate crime is an issue the Government take very seriously, and we are committed to doing more to support and protect victims. We are meeting the coalition commitment to improve the recording of such crimes and working with the police and other partners to encourage more victims to come forward. We are also working with the Government's Independent Advisory Group to develop an action plan on tackling all forms of hate crime.
Ministers: Equality
Mr Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether she has a policy on the proportion of Ministers who are (a) women and (b) state educated. [79786]
Lynne Featherstone: The Government are committed to achieving a fairer society in which every individual has the opportunity to progress as far as their talents will take them, not one in which people's chances are driven by where they come from, where they went to school or who their parents are. This includes making the very best use of diverse talent in political life. Our political institutions need a reasonable balance of people with different skills and experiences so that the decisions that are made truly represent the electorate. However, we do not believe that a policy defining the proportion of women or state school educated MPs and Peers who hold ministerial positions is the best way of achieving this.
The Equality Act 2010 includes positive action provisions that relate to the work of political parties. This includes extending the period that political parties can use women-only electoral shortlists until 2030. These provisions will also allow political parties to adopt broader shadowing and mentoring opportunities for women which are aimed at increasing their opportunities to enter political life.
Prime Minister
Euro Summit
Mr Cash: To ask the Prime Minister with reference to annex one of the joint statement on resolving the debt crisis, issued following the Euro summit of 26 October 2011, whether he participated in the deliberations on the proposed 10 means to improve the governance of the Euro area and on the creation of a Euro summit; and whether his consent was (a) sought and (b) given in each case. [79376]
The Prime Minister:
On 26 October the European Council met before the summit of Euro members to discuss the crisis in the eurozone. We saw and discussed
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a draft of the eurozone declaration which was released early the next day. The final version of the eurozone statement was agreed by eurozone countries.
Mr Cash: To ask the Prime Minister whether he plans to participate in the negotiations on (a) improving fiscal discipline and economic union in the Euro area and (b) treaty changes as announced in the Euro summit statement issued following the summit on 26 October 2011. [79377]
The Prime Minister: I will continue to attend European Council meetings where these issues will be discussed. No treaty changes can be made without unanimous agreement of the European Council.
Northern Ireland
Bell Pottinger Group
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) political advisers in his Department have met representatives of (i) Bell Pottinger Group or (ii) each of its subsidiaries in the last five years; on what dates any such meetings took place; and what was discussed. [80050]
Mr Paterson: In respect of parts (a) and (b) I refer the hon. Member to the quarterly publication of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external organisations, under the previous administration this was published as Ministers' meetings with outside interest groups. Details can be obtained on the Northern Ireland Office's departmental website.
My special adviser was a Director of Bell Pottinger Public Affairs, part of the Bell Pottinger Group, from March 2007 to December 2009. Since then he has had no formal meetings with representatives of the Bell Pottinger Group though he occasionally meets former colleagues in a social capacity. Any hospitality received is published quarterly and can be obtained on the Northern Ireland Office's departmental website.
The remaining information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Charities
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what grants his Department made to charitable organisations in each of the last five years. [79072]
Mr Paterson: The Department as it is now configured is not able to provide details of grants made to charitable organisations prior to the completion of devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010.
Since 12 April 2010, my Department has provided grants of £23,000 per annum for the Army Benevolent Fund and £62,000 per annum for the UDR Benevolent Fund.
In addition, contributions of £15,000 in 2010-11 and £10,000 in £2011-12 were paid jointly to Co-operation Ireland and Intercomm Belfast as a contribution towards the costs of the delivery of their Ambassadors for Change Programme.
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Wales
Parliamentary Questions
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether draft answers to parliamentary questions prepared by officials in her Department are cleared by special advisers (a) before and (b) after the relevant Minister. [79555]
Mr David Jones: Answers to parliamentary questions are drafted by officials and the Wales Office special adviser contributes to draft answers. Answers to parliamentary questions remain the responsibility of Ministers who always give the final clearance.
Written Questions
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many parliamentary questions for written answer on a named day by her Department were answered (a) on time, (b) five days late, (c) 10 days late, (d) 20 days late and (e) over 30 days late in each month since May 2010. [79553]
Mr David Jones: Since May 2010, the Wales Office has received 20 written questions for answer on a named day, all of which were answered on the named day.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many parliamentary questions for (a) ordinary written answer and (b) written answer on a named day by her Department have remained unanswered for a period of two months since May 2010. [79554]
Mr David Jones: Since May 2010, the Wales Office has received eight questions for ordinary written answer which have remained unanswered for a period of two months.
The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.
Transport
Biofuels: EU Law
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when she plans to publish guidelines on the biofuel carbon sustainability criteria in respect of the EU Renewable Energy Directive; [79745]
(2) how long she has estimated it will take industry to put in place the appropriate certification in its supply chain to implement Government guidelines on biofuel carbon sustainability as part of the implementation of the EU Renewable Energy Directive; [79746]
(3) whether she plans to extend her deadline for industry to meet the EU Renewable Energy Directive until after she has published the compliance criteria for biofuel carbon sustainability; [79747]
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(4) for how long she plans to run her Department's consultation on the guidelines for the biofuel carbon sustainability criteria; [79801]
(5) what steps her Department is taking to implement those parts of the EU Renewable Energy Directive for which she is responsible. [79802]
Norman Baker: A consultation on draft Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) guidance for fuel suppliers and verifiers covering biofuel carbon sustainability reporting was published on 7 November and will close on 4 December. It is proposed to publish the final guidance as soon as possible after the targeted consultation closes. The consultation can be found at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2011-31
The Department will be working closely with industry over the coming months to provide training and advice on the changes required by amendments to the RTFO scheme to implement the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
We also published our response to the consultation on implementing the transport elements of the RED on 7 November. The response can be found at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2011-05
I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 8WS, which explains that subject to the parliamentary process we hope to implement the RED in December 2011. This would be achieved through amending the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations Order 2007. I have no intention of delaying transposition and implementation.
The RED sets mandatory sustainability criteria for biofuels. The RED was published in 2009. The introduction of mandatory biofuel sustainability criteria was discussed between summer 2009 and spring 2010 at regular departmental stakeholder advisory group meetings, which included industry representatives. Those discussions and other meetings with various stakeholders helped formulate proposals which were the subject of a full public consultation between March and June this year.
The current RTFO has been in place since 2008, with voluntary reporting on carbon and sustainability. The RTFO administrator has worked closely with transport fuel suppliers as we prepare for the introduction of mandatory sustainability criteria including adapting the current RTFO Carbon and Sustainability reporting system and guidance to a “RED-Ready” standard in April 2011. Those companies that have taken the opportunity to report on a voluntary basis and to establish sustainable biofuel supply chains will be well placed to meet the requirements of an amended RTFO.
Driving: Diabetes
Mr Sanders:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance her Department plans to issue on the interpretation of the term severe hypoglycaemic event for the purposes of EU Directive 2009/112/EC and 2009/113/EC and reporting requirements under the DVLA driver licensing rules; whether this term will include severe hypoglycaemic events which occur during sleeping hours; whether the term will be interpreted to refer only to events occurring during waking hours in accordance with section 10.4 of the Annex to Directive 2009/112/EC; and what assessment she has made of the merits of
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clarifying the interpretation of the definition proposed for severe hypoglycaemia as being where the help of another person is required to specify that other persons' help is necessary for the treatment of hypoglycaemia. [R] [75310]
Mike Penning: Guidance on what constitutes both severe and recurrent hypoglycaemia is already available on the DVLA website and is also contained in the DVLA booklet “At a Glance Guide to the current Medical Standards of Fitness to Drive”. That is available to all health care professionals and can be downloaded from the DVLA's website. This guidance confirms that “Severe hypoglycaemia” means that the assistance of another person is necessary to treat the episode of hypoglycaemia.
The directive does not differentiate between hypoglycaemic attacks which occur whilst the driver is asleep or awake for group 1 (car and motorcycle) licensing. Section 10.4 of the annex says that a group 2 (bus or lorry) driver must be reassessed if any severe hypoglycaemic event occurs during waking hours. We have approached the EU to confirm the directive's intention for severe hypoglycaemia.
Metal Theft
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of the effects on rail and road travel of incidents caused by metal theft; and whether she has made any estimate of the costs of such incidents. [79416]
Norman Baker [holding answer 7 November 2011]:Some estimates of the costs of such incidents are available and are presented as follows:
In 2010-11, Network Rail incurred costs of £16.5 million in repairing damage from cable theft and in compensating operators for the delays arising from thefts. This represented an increase from £14.0 million in 2009-10 and £12.3 million in 2008-09. In addition to the direct costs on Network Rail, the Department has estimated that there was an economic cost to passengers and freight users of some £10 million during 2010-11.
There has also been significant number of cases of metal theft on the Highways Agency and local road networks but cost estimates of the effects are not available.
Piracy
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with Ministers in the Home Department on placing armed guards on UK flagged ships to guard against piracy; and if she will make a statement. [79059]
Mike Penning: There have been a number of discussions between my Department, the Home Office, and other Government Departments regarding the change in UK policy on the use of armed guards. This issue was discussed at meetings of the National Security Council. The discussions have covered complex legal and operational issues. The Prime Minister announced the change on 30 October and my Department is finalising the national guidance to ship owners which will be published later this month. A formal written ministerial statement will be placed before the House at this time.
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Road Accidents
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effect of reducing the frequency of MOT tests on the number of deaths and serious injuries on the roads. [79681]
Mike Penning: In April 2011 the Department for Transport published the results of independent research commissioned to examine how vehicle defects affect accident rates, and to consider the potential road safety impact of changing the frequency of the MOT.
Copies of the publication have been placed on the Library of the House.
Traffic Lights: Safety
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has any plans to permit the installation of trixi traffic light safety mirrors by local authorities without the requirement to seek express permission from her. [79962]
Norman Baker: Cycle safety mirrors (“trixi mirrors”) must currently be authorised by the Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), because they are not prescribed within the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 (TSRGD).
Trixi mirrors were authorised initially at certain sites as part of a trial on Transport for London Cycle Superhighway. To further assist monitoring of their effectiveness, the authorisation is being applied across the whole Cycle Superhighway Network.
The Department intends to update TSRGD following the publication in October of the traffic signs policy review 'Signing the Way':
http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/signing-the-way
Based on the outcome of the current trials, we will consider the suggestion my hon. Friend makes regarding trixi mirrors as part of this update, which is expected to conclude in 2014.
Energy and Climate Change
Carbon
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of black carbon on climate change; and if he will make a statement. [79975]
Gregory Barker: Research reported in the International Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report suggests a small, but significant, warming effect in the range of +0.09W/m(2) to +0.59W/m(2) ( )since 1750 from black carbon emitted into the atmosphere by fossil fuel, biofuel and biomass burning. There is also a small warming effect due to the deposition of black carbon on surface snow and ice, which the IPCC estimated to be about +0.1 W/m(2). By comparison, the total warming effect from long-lived greenhouse gases is estimated by the IPCC to be +2.64W/m(2).
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Analysis by the Met Office Hadley Centre, funded by DECC, suggests black carbon aerosol emissions have potentially the second largest warming influence on climate, after greenhouse gases.
Energy: British Overseas Territories
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what measures to promote (a) renewable energy and (b) energy efficiency he plans to include in his January 2012 submission on his Department's priorities for providing support to British Overseas Territories. [79978]
Gregory Barker: The Department is currently reviewing what support it can offer to our Overseas Territories and will be discussing this further during the Overseas Territories Consultative Council meeting at the end of November. DFID and the FCO are in the process commissioning work which will look at opportunities for addressing climate change by promoting low carbon climate resilient development in UK Overseas Territories which once completed next year will further inform where support can best be targeted.
Energy: Prices
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of households which will enter fuel poverty should average annual energy bills increase by (a) £100, (b) £200, (c) £300, (d) £400 and (e) £500. [80002]
Gregory Barker: No official estimates have been made of the impact on fuel poverty of increasing energy bills by the amounts specified. The latest published estimates show that there were around 4 million fuel poor households in England in 2009. DECC also publish fuel poverty projections for the following two years only. These indicate that the number of fuel poor households in England is likely to stay at around 4 million in 2010 before rising slightly to 4.1 million in 2011 as the recent energy price changes begin to impact on households.
Fuel Poverty
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from what date he expects that no person in the UK will be living in fuel poverty. [80001]
Gregory Barker: The coalition Government are committed to doing all that is reasonably practicable to end fuel poverty in England by 2016 and to helping people, especially low income vulnerable households, heat their homes more affordably.
Fuel Poverty: Greater London
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many households were living in fuel poverty in London in each year since 2000; [80141]
(2) how many households were living in fuel poverty in each London borough in each year since 2000. [80142]
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Gregory Barker: The following table shows the number of fuel-poor households in the English region of London in each year of the period for which data are available:
|
|
Number of households in fuel poverty in London (thousand) | Percentage of households in fuel poverty |
Further information can be found on this webpage:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/fuelpov_stats/fuelpov_stats.aspx
DECC has published sub-regional fuel poverty levels for 2006 and 2008 and the data are shown for local authorities in the English Region of London in the following table:
| London borough | Households in fuel poverty 2006 | Households in fuel poverty 2008 |
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Fuel Poverty: Pensioners
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people eligible for the state pension were living in fuel poverty in each of the last five years. [80016]
Gregory Barker: The following table shows the number of fuel-poor households in England containing someone aged 60 or over in each of the years 2005 to 2009 (the latest year for which this information is currently available).
|
|
Number of f uel poor households containing someone aged 60 or over in England (Thousand) |
Fuel poverty is measured in households rather than individuals.
Green Deal Scheme
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the carbon dioxide emission reductions which will be attributable to the Green Deal; and what contribution he expects this to make to meeting the UK's climate change targets. [79980]
Gregory Barker: An impact assessment soon to be published alongside our consultation proposals for Green Deal will include estimates of the emissions reductions attributable to the policy.
Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on measures to compensate those who have ordered a solar photovoltaic installation but cannot meet the deadlines set out in phase 1 of the comprehensive review of feed-in tariffs. [79893]
Gregory Barker: The consultation explains that the six-week period from publication date to 12 December (the reference date) will allow many prospective generators, particularly householders, who have made a financial, commitment to installing PV (for example, paying a deposit) to complete their installations and receive the current tariffs.
We recognise though that some prospective FITs generators who have incurred or committed expenditure may not be able to complete their installations and submit their applications for FITs before the proposed reference date. In forming the proposal, we have taken into account the possibility of hardship to persons in this situation. However, on balance, we consider that the proposed approach is reasonable, given a number of factors. These include the urgency of the concerns about the impact on the scheme's budget of continuing high levels of uptake at the current tariffs, including any rush of new installations triggered by the consultation. In addition, the proposed new tariffs are designed to provide a reasonable rate of return in line with those
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intended when the scheme was first introduced. The FITs scheme was never intended to provide windfall profits, paid for by energy consumers in general, and in the current climate we regard the returns expected for FIT generators under the proposed new tariffs to be reasonable. The Government do not intend to provide compensation for those who miss the deadline.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Adam Werritty
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his (a) private office and (b) special advisers have received email communications from Mr Adam Werritty since May 2010. [78280]
Mr Hague: No emails have been received by special advisers. One email was received by the Private Office which referred to a company that was already in touch with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and no further action was taken as a result.
Afghanistan: Politics and Government
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of (a) men and (b) women from his Department will attend the Bonn Conference in December; and what the level of seniority is of attendees in each category. [79001]
Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), will lead the UK delegation to the Bonn Conference in December. The full composition of the delegation has yet to be finalised, but we are working on a role for the Government's International Violence Against Women Champion at the Conference.
Legal Opinion: Costs
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of (a) internal and (b) external legal advice commissioned by his Department in the first six months of 2011. [78068]
Mr Lidington: As regards internal legal advice, the bulk of this is done by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Legal Advisers who are permanent members of the diplomatic service. It is not possible to quantify a precise figure for this aspect of the costs of internal legal advice. However, in addition, in relation to litigation and some other matters FCO instructs the Treasury Solicitor's Department. Fees paid to the Treasury Solicitor's Department for their professional fees in the first six months of 2011 totalled £373,740.
As regards external legal advice from external counsel, in litigation matters in the UK the FCO has expended £514,408 in Counsel's fees in the first six months of 2011. In relation to external legal advice in non-contentious matters (e.g. property and contractual matters) the FCO has paid a further £551,224 in the first six months of 2011.
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We do not hold a central record of expenditure on advice on other matters, including international litigation and legal advice obtained locally by our network of diplomatic posts. This information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
Written Questions
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many parliamentary questions for (a) ordinary written answer and (b) written answer on a named day by his Department have remained unanswered for a period of two months since May 2010. [79566]
Mr Lidington: No ordinary written answer, or written answer on a named day, has remained unanswered for a period of two months, that is, 60 sitting days.
Ethnic Groups: Treaties
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government plans to ratify International Labour Organisation Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples; and if he will make a statement. [79756]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The Government are fully committed to promoting and protecting human rights for all individuals, including indigenous people, without discrimination on any grounds. We continue to work overseas and through the UN to improve the situation of indigenous people around the world.
International Labour Organisation Convention 169 sets out a framework for how governments should act with regard to indigenous and tribal people within their own territories. To date the UK has not ratified the convention as we do not consider that the UK or its overseas territories have any indigenous people to whom it would apply. We are also of the view that the convention does not apply extra-territorially. For these reasons, we would not be able to give effect to the convention. However, I have asked officials to look again in detail at our position to reassure ourselves that it is the right one.
Sudan
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2011, Official Report, column 663W, on IRG, what the engagements were of the Under-Secretary of State during his visit to Sudan in July 2010. [79816]
Mr Bellingham: During my visit to Sudan from 25-27 July 2011, I met a number of Ministers from the Government of Sudan, some of whom are now in the Government of South Sudan. I also met senior Sudanese business people, INGO groups and staff serving in the British embassy and Department for International Development office in Khartoum. I also visited a Department for International Development funded centre for women's vocational training.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2011, Official Report, column 663W, on IRG, what travel advice his Department issued to UK citizens travelling to Sudan in July 2010. [79818]
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Mr Bellingham: We regularly update our travel advice to reflect the situation in Sudan and, now, South Sudan. In July 2010 we advised against all travel to the Red Sea State border with Eritrea; within 40 km of South Sudan's borders; and Darfur, including Nyala but excluding El Geneina and El Fasher. We also advised against all but essential travel to El Geneina and El Fasher in Darfur; Abyei in Southern Kordofan; all parts of south Sudan (including Juba); and areas west of the towns of an-Nahud and al-Fula in North Kordofan up to the Darfur border. The advice also made other recommendations, much as it does today, on the political, security, crime and travel situations, as well as other general topics. It was posted on the FCO travel advice website as is usual.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2011, Official Report, column 663W, on IRG, what the purpose was of the visit to Sudan by the Under-Secretary of State in July 2010. [79819]
Mr Bellingham: I visited Khartoum and Juba in July 2010 as part of the UK Government's leading role in supporting preparations for the South Sudan secession referendum that took place in January 2011. During this visit I also discussed trade and investment issues, Darfur and future peace and prosperity for the Sudanese people.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2011, Official Report, column 663W, on IRG, what the nature was of the Under-Secretary of State's conversation with Stephen Crouch when they met in Sudan in July 2010. [79820]
Mr Bellingham: I was approached by Mr Crouch at Juba airport where he briefly set out the commercial activity he was undertaking in South Sudan. This encounter was not pre-arranged and did not lead to or generate any formal follow up.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2011, Official Report, column 663W, on IRG, what the name is of each person who travelled with the Under-Secretary of State on his visit to Sudan in July 2010. [79821]
Mr Bellingham: On my visit to Sudan in July 2010 I was accompanied from London by my Private Secretary at the time, my Press Officer at the time and the UK Special Representative for Sudan, Michael Ryder. I was also accompanied by the ambassador to Sudan, Nick Kay and other officials from the British embassy while in Sudan.
Defence
Defence Equipment
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Blaydon of 21 October 2011, Official Report, column 1167W, on defence equipment, to which destinations in north-west Europe deliveries by special courier were made in 2010-11. [77528]
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Peter Luff: None. In 2010-11 all high priority requests for equipment to north-west Europe were undertaken using scheduled transport routes.
The answer I gave on 21 October 2011, Official Report, column 1167W, to the hon. Member for Blaydon (Mr Anderson) contained factual errors. It should have said:
An enabling arrangement is in place with City Sprint for the delivery of urgently required equipment such as aircraft components and medical stores anywhere in the UK. In 2010-11, 13,995 deliveries were tasked under this arrangement. These predominantly related to ongoing operations.
Defence Equipment: Gibraltar
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the monetary value was of each of the surplus vessels and items of equipment that have been sold by tender in Gibraltar; [79245]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2011, Official Report, columns 258-59W, on Defence equipment: Gibraltar, what the reserve price is of the surplus vessels and equipment for sale by tender in Gibraltar. [79246]
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Peter Luff: The process to sell surplus vessels and equipment in Gibraltar is still ongoing. The reserve price will be determined during the evaluation process.
Military Aircraft: Helicopters
Mr Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many helicopters have been damaged by brownout in the latest period for which figures are available. [76217]
Peter Luff: No helicopters have been damaged specifically by brownout, however brownout can cause pilots to lose their visual references, which may result in air safety incidents, leading to damage being caused.
The number of reported incidents (of varying degrees of damage) that may be attributable to brownout factors for each year since April 2009 is shown in the following table:
| Incidents and repair category | ||||||
|
|
Category 0 | Category 1 | Category 2 | Category 3 | Category 4 | Total |
Repair categories are defined as follows:
0 = No notable damage.
1 = The aircraft is repairable within the aircraft custodian's capabilities.
2 = The aircraft is repairable within a forward maintenance organisation capabilities.
3 = The aircraft is repairable on site but the work is considered to be beyond their forward maintenance organisation capability.
4 = The aircraft is repairable but it is considered to need special facilities or equipment not available on site.
Some of the incidents are under investigation through service inquiries, and the final repair category may change in these cases.
Navy
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Wyre Forest of 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 405W, on the Navy, whether any ships were reckoned under the heading Other equipment (Royal Navy) given in the answer; and if so, what the name is of each ship disposed of. [78700]
Peter Luff: The assets listed under the heading “Other Equipment” included equipment declared surplus from ships which remain in service.
The Royal Navy ships declared surplus in the financial year ending 31 March 2011 and included under the heading “Other Equipment (Royal Navy)” are provided in the following table:
|
|
Date of decision | Date decommissioned |
Disposal action is not yet complete for all the vessels listed.
In addition to those ships listed above, HMS Sceptre, HMS Superb, HMS Trafalgar and HMS Triumph have also been declared surplus. They will be kept in storage and disposed of through the submarine dismantling project in due course.
Education
Carers: Grandparents
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what provision his Department has made to support grandparents who are the primary carers of their grandchildren; whether any support is planned during the next two years; and if he will make a statement. [78673]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on family and friends care which came into force in April 2011.
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The guidance sets out the framework for the provision of support to family and friends carers and includes a requirement for local authorities to publicise the support and services available locally.
Children's Centres: Closures
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of closures of Sure Start children's centres since April 2010. [70252]
Sarah Teather: The Department has been consulting with local authorities about the number of Sure Start children's centres they have in their areas.
Special Advisers
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) whether Mr Dominic Cummings issued instructions to civil servants prior to his appointment as special adviser; [74543]
(2) whether Mr Dominic Cummings was involved in discussions concerning his Department's budget prior to his appointment as special adviser. [74545]
Tim Loughton: Civil servants only take instructions from Ministers (via Private Offices) and more senior civil servants.
Decisions on budget allocations are made by Ministers on the basis of advice from civil servants. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) considers a wide range of evidence and has discussions with a wide range of parties in coming to a view on funding priorities, and this has been the case both before and after the appointment of Mr Cummings as a special adviser.
Grandparents
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent (a) representations he has received from and (b) meetings he has had with the Grandparents' Association; what issues were discussed; and if he will make a statement. [78741]
Tim Loughton: This Department has had no recent representations from, or meetings with, the Grandparents’ Association.
Legal Opinion: Costs
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on (a) legal advice and (b) instructing counsel in (i) 2007, (ii) 2009, (iii) 2010 and (iv) the first six months of 2011; how many times (A) his Department was taken to court and (B) a decision taken by his Department was subject to a judicial review; and what the outcome was of each such (1) case and (2) review. [76398]
Tim Loughton:
Legal advice to the Department for Education and its predecessors, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and the Department for Education and Skills, is provided primarily by the Department's Legal Directorate. The cost, rounded to the nearest pound, of running Legal Directorate is set
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out in the following table. The Legal Directorate provided a shared service to the former Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills from June 2007 to November 2009, and the figures provided include these costs.
|
|
£ |
The Department does not keep a separate record of the amount spent instructing counsel each year, so extracting this information from the Department's central payment system could be done only at disproportionate cost.
The Department does not keep a single central record of the number of claims brought against it each year or the number of times a decision it has taken has been challenged by way of judicial review. The Department is aware of six judicial review cases which have been brought against the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) in the first six months of 2011. Of these applications, two have either been withdrawn or permission to seek judicial review has been refused, and four are proceeding. In the absence of central records, to provide any further information on claims brought and their outcomes could be done only at disproportionate cost.
School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme
Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has reviewed the administration of the fruit for schools scheme; and which organisation is responsible for the scheme's administration. [78541]
Sarah Teather: The school fruit and vegetable scheme falls under the remit of the Department of Health. The scheme is administered by NHS Supply Chain, under a service level agreement to the Department of Health, and is subject to regular review.
School Sports
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department plans to allocate to school sport in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [78419]
Tim Loughton: The Government have protected school funding at flat cash per pupil, before adding the new pupil premium. The pupil premium is totally in addition to this and will be worth £2.5 billion by 2014-15, to support the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. Funding for PE and sport is not ring-fenced within that and it is for schools to decide the appropriate amount to spend on what is an integral part of the rounded education that they should provide for all pupils.
On top of that, the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), announced transitional funding of £65 million to release secondary PE teachers for one day a week to work with local primary schools to embed the best practice from the previous PE and sport strategy and to
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promote more competitive sport. This funding is broken down by academic year as follows: 2011/12—£32.5 million; and 2012/13—£32.5 million.
The Department for Education has also agreed the following sport-related grants in 2011-12: Sport England Disability—£3.0 million; Sport England Volunteer Coaches and Leaders—£1.0 million; LOCOG Get Set—£1.5 million; and Youth Sport Trust Young Ambassadors—£0.75 million. No decisions have yet been made on grants for future years.
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the performance of the Youth Sport Trust in increasing participation in (a) general school sports and games activities, (b) intra-school sports competition and (c) inter-school sports competition in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [78420]
Tim Loughton: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has acknowledged the role of the Youth Sport Trust in advising successive Governments on physical education and school sport. He has also acknowledged that, with the support of the Youth Sport Trust, schools have been able to raise levels of participation in PE and sport in areas targeted by the previous Government. The Secretary of State for Education has thanked, publicly, Baroness Campbell and the staff of the Trust, as well as the schools themselves, for their hard work in this respect.
The Government recognises the good work that school sport partnerships and national bodies such as the Youth Sport Trust, Sport England, the Association for Physical Education, SportsCoach UK and many national governing bodies of sport, have done in supporting sport in schools. The Government are working with these bodies to promote more competitive sport in schools through the creation and roll out of the School Games.
Schools: Eggs
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has issued guidelines to schools on their buying criteria to ensure eggs produced in conventional cages should not be used in any form. [78570]
Mr Paice: I have been asked to reply.
The greater proportion of food procured by local authorities is for schools. DEFRA is working with the Department for Education, the School Food Trust and the major local authority buying organisations, in particular those in the PRO 5 consortium, and others to embed the Government Buying Standards (GBS), as they are developed, into national procurement frameworks for food and catering services.
Mandatory GBS criteria currently bans the use of fresh (in-shell) eggs from conventional cage systems. If a cage system is used they should be enriched cages. In light of the forthcoming EU ban on conventional cages, we intend to extend this mandatory criteria to cover all liquid and powdered egg products, which are currently in voluntary best practice criteria.
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The Government believe that their role is to set a credible and workable example for the wider public sector to follow, and it is this that the GBS is designed to deliver. All public bodies have a different set of requirements and the local people most closely connected with them, staff, patients, governors, will have different priorities, making them best placed to decide how to achieve the objectives we are aiming for.
Home Department
Animal Experiments: EU Law
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the potential effects of the transposition into UK law of the EU directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. [79826]
Lynne Featherstone: European directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes is to be implemented in United Kingdom legislation on 1 January 2013. A detailed assessment of the impact of its provisions is under way following the public consultation on options for transposition which closed on 5 September 2011.
We are now analysing the responses to the public consultation on the options for transposition and will publish a summary report by the end of 2011.
Cyber-Crime
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her assessment is of the adequacy of the priority given by the National Security Strategy to the threat posed to the UK by cyber-crime. [79782]
James Brokenshire: The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review prioritised the cyber-threat as one of the top four threats facing the UK (Tier 1). According to Dettica, in their report ‘The Cost of Cyber Crime’, cyber-crime alone costs the UK economy £27 billion a year. Because of the scale and complexity of this threat to our national security, combating cyber-crime will be an important part of the Government's forthcoming cyber-security strategy.
The Government have committed £650 million over the next four years to help protect the UK in cyber- space, including £63 million specifically to tackle computer-enabled crime.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the current measures in place to enable businesses to (a) report cyber-crime and (b) gain police assistance in cases of cyber-crime. [79822]
James Brokenshire:
£63 million has been allocated by the National Cyber Security Programme to strengthen the UK's response to cyber-crime, in addition to existing resources. The Action Fraud service currently takes crime and information reports of fraud from businesses and individuals and passes them to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) for action. The Action Fraud
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service will shortly be expanded to include financially-motivated cyber-crime types. Action Fraud will provide a single means for enabling businesses and individuals to report financially-motivated cyber-crime. We will also build on the expertise of the Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) and SOCA's e-crime unit to create a specialist cyber-crime unit within the National Crime Agency and to help mainstream capacity to tackle cyber issues across police forces.
Get Safe Online, a joint Government and industry initiative to raise awareness of internet safety, provides advice and guidance to help individuals and businesses to protect themselves online. Its website is:
www.getsafeonline.org
Dangerous Dogs
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the use of dogs in instances of (a) gang and (b) youth violence. [79445]
James Brokenshire: The Home Office has not made an assessment of the use of dogs in instances of gang and youth violence. However, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has made it a priority to look at the complex issue of dangerous dogs, including in relation to gangs, which we recognise is an increasingly important issue for the public. DEFRA are currently considering a package of measures to address this issue and will shortly announce a range of proposals.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her strategy on gang and youth violence will take account of the use of dogs in acts of violence. [79446]
James Brokenshire: As part of our strategy to reduce gang and youth violence, we are planning to introduce later this year gang injunctions for under 18s. Gang injunctions for over 18s are already in place and can be used to prohibit someone from being in charge of, or in a particular place with, a particular species of dog. We are also planning to introduce Criminal Behaviour Orders and Crime Prevention Injunctions which will apply to under 18s and could contain prohibitions and requirements which relate to antisocial or dangerous dogs. For example the court could order that a dog had to be kept muzzled in public, or that an owner had to attend dog training classes, if this was required to prevent future antisocial behaviour involving dogs.
Demonstrations: Costs
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's policy is on recovering policing costs from the organisers of demonstrations. [79921]
Nick Herbert: The police do not levy a charge for the policing of marches or protests. For any protests or marches which require a significant police presence, the police force is able to apply for a special grant to assist them with the costs of the operation, subject to the operation meeting certain criteria.
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Deportation: Children
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the use of control and restraint on children in pre-departure accommodation. [78791]
Damian Green: Detainee custody officers (DCOs) must be certificated by the Secretary of State for the Home Department 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).
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.
There have been no such interventions at Cedars pre-departure accommodation.
This information is based on management information, and is not subject to the detailed checks carried out for National Statistics. It is provisional and subject to change. A child is defined as a person aged under 18 years of age.
Driving Offences: Speed Limits
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces permit persons identified as having exceeded the speed limit to attend a driving safety course in lieu of penalty points; and if she will make a statement. [R] [78681]
Nick Herbert: All forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland except Wiltshire police currently provide some kind of speed awareness course. Wiltshire police are at an advanced stage of a procurement exercise for provision of a course. The offer of a course is a matter for police discretion.
Firearms: Licensing
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal firearms were confiscated in each of the last five years. [79946]
Nick Herbert: The information requested is not collected centrally by the Home Office.
Home Office Guidance
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to finalise proposals for a revision of Home Office circular 46/2004. [80143]
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Nick Herbert: The Police Negotiating Board has been discussing proposals for revised guidance on the issues covered in Home Office Circular 46/2004. We expect to conclude these discussions early next year.
Immigration
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average it takes to return documents to an individual who has been granted leave to remain. [79629]
Damian Green: Although the UK Border Agency records this information on the Case Information Database (CID) it would require a case by case search to retrieve the information. Given the volumes of cases involved this would exceed the cost threshold.
Offenders: Ex-servicemen
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many police areas people arrested for offences are routinely asked whether they have served in the armed forces; and whether in such cases they are directed to relevant welfare agencies. [79926]
Nick Herbert: The Home Office imposes no such requirements on police forces.
Passports: Fraud
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of passport fraud Passport Office staff have detected in each of the last five years. [79831]
Damian Green: The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) figures for passport frauds detected in each of the last of five years are shown in the following table. These figures include confirmed frauds, probable frauds and possible frauds.
|
|
IPS detected frauds total |
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Police
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police from Nottinghamshire are being seconded to London 2012 policing; and what steps will be taken to cover any gap in local policing. [80041]
Nick Herbert: While detailed planning continues and the final resource requirements will not be confirmed until early 2012, it is anticipated that a small number of Olympic venue forces, including Dorset, Surrey and the Metropolitan Police Service, are likely to require a level of additional support in the form of officers supplied under mutual aid arrangements.
Requests for mutual aid will be co-ordinated through the Association of Chief Police Officers, Police National Information and Co-ordination Centre (ACPO PNICC). It is expected that all non-venue forces across the UK, including Nottinghamshire Police, will be asked to supply resources to the national operation and PNICC will ensure that resource requests are proportionate to the relative size and capacity of the providing force.
Donor forces will be reimbursed in accordance with the prevailing mutual aid arrangements, which will allow the Chief Constable to choose to backfill abstracted officers, thereby mitigating any potential impact on local service delivery.
Police: Finance
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the value is of financial reserves held by each police authority. [78944]
Nick Herbert: This information is available on each police authority's website and on the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) website.
UK Border Agency: Manpower
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff will be employed by the (a) Cardiff Location Immigration Team (LIT), (b) South West LIT, (c) Gwent and North Wales LIT and (d) South West Wales LIT in each year between 2010 and 2015. [78562]
Damian Green: The following table sets out the available information for staffing in these teams. Forward planning for 2012-15 is not yet available at this level of detail.
| South West (LIT)s | 31 October 2010 (1) FTE (2) | 31 March 2011 FTE | 30 September 2011 FTE |
| (1) Work force is only recorded centrally under this name in the South West Region from December 2010. (2) Full-time equivalent actuals, excluding staff on unpaid maternity leave, career break, special leave, or loan to other Government Departments. (3) Bristol, Devon, and Dorset LITs. | |||
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Justice
Chief Coroner
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what account he has taken of the proportion of responses to his consultation on the Public Bodies Bill (a) for and (b) against including the Office of Chief Coroner in the Bill. [79832]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry is currently considering the responses to the consultation and the weight that should be given to these.
The Government intend to publish their response to the consultation by the end of the year.
Community Orders: Voluntary Organisations
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the charges made by the community payback teams to voluntary organisations in communities which benefit from the visits and the work carried out; and if he will make a statement. [79894]
Mr Blunt: At the present time probation trusts are responsible for the provision of community payback. A number of trusts do seek contributions from selected beneficiary organisations towards the costs of delivering the sentence. No assessment has been made of the impact of these charges. Future delivery of community payback will be subject to competition, which has commenced with London. The competition process will ensure that community payback will more effectively serve the needs of public and local communities.
Crimes of Violence: Sentencing
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy that when sentencing guidelines for assault state that an aggravating factor should be given for offences committed against those working in the public sector or providing a service to the public, this should include (a) retailers and (b) retail staff. [79881]
Mr Blunt: Sentencing guidelines are issued by the Sentencing Council, which is independent from Government. The Sentencing Council's guideline on assault offences includes an aggravating factor of the offence being committed against those working in the public sector or providing a service to the public. The Council intentionally worded this factor in such a way that the courts could interpret it widely. As a result, it would include retailers and retail staff in relevant cases.
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This aggravating factor applies to the following offences within the assault guideline:
Grievous bodily harm with intent
Grievous bodily harm
Actual bodily harm
Common assault.
Cyber-crime: Convictions
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of cyber- crimes perpetrated against businesses in each of the last three years. [79781]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the circumstances of each case. It is therefore not possible to identify from these centrally held data those proceedings arising from offences perpetrated against businesses in which a computer or network were used in the commissioning of the offence.
Parliamentary Questions
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 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. [79564]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: Special advisers in my Department do not routinely see draft answers before they are seen by Ministers, and they never interfere with answers once the relevant Minister has signed them.
Written Questions
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many parliamentary questions for written answer on a named day by his Department were answered (a) on time, (b) five days late, (c) 10 days late, (d) 20 days late and (e) over 30 days late in each month since May 2010. [79562]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The information requested is contained in the attached table. This table is accurate as of 8 November 2011.
The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments’ performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.
| Ministry of Justice: Parliamentary questions for answer on a named day | ||||||
|
|
On time | Up to five days late | Up to 10 days late | Up to 20 days late | Over 30 days late | Total |
10 Nov 2011 : Column 425W
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| Notes: 1. In this table, days means days on which the house of Commons was sitting. 2. The figures have been drawn from the Ministry of Justice parliamentary questions database, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. | ||||||
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many parliamentary questions for (a) ordinary written answer and (b) written answer on a named day by his Department have remained unanswered for a period of two months since May 2010. [79563]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: No parliamentary question asked of my Department has remained unanswered for a period of two months since May 2010.
The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments’ performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.
Disability Living Allowance: Appeals
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the length of time for an appeal to be heard in respect of a reduction in a claimant's disability living allowance. [79935]
Mr Djanogly: Appeals against decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions on an individual's entitlement to disability living allowance (DLA) are heard by the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support). The tribunal does not record the issue under appeal and, therefore, cannot isolate appeals made in respect of reductions in DLA.
The average length of time taken from receipt of a DLA appeal to the clearance or disposal of a case in September 2011 (the latest period for which statistics have been published) was 28.2 weeks. This figure includes cases that were decided by a tribunal hearing and those that were disposed of by other means (such as being withdrawn, superseded or struck out).
Prison Sentences
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress he has made on the review of the sentence of imprisonment for public protection; and if he will make a statement. [79807]
Mr Blunt: On 26 October the Government tabled amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill taking forward changes to sentencing for dangerous offenders. The Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence will be replaced with a new regime which will include the following measures:
Mandatory life sentences—a ‘two strikes’ policy so that a mandatory life sentence will be given to anyone convicted of a second very serious sexual or violent crime.
The extended determinate sentence (EDS)—dangerous offenders convicted of serious sexual and violent crimes will be imprisoned for at least two-thirds of their sentence. Offenders convicted of the most serious sexual and violent crimes in this category will not be released before the end of their sentence without Parole Board approval.
Offenders who complete an EDS must then serve extended licence periods where they will be closely monitored and returned to prison if necessary. The courts have the power to give up to an extra five years of licence for violent offenders and eight years for sexual offenders on top of their custodial term.
Prisoners: Per Capita Costs
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the average annual cost to the public purse was of a prison place in England and Wales for the latest year for which information is available; [79387]
(2) whether the calculation of the cost of a prison place in England and Wales includes expenditure on health, education and probation services. [79388]
Mr Blunt: The average annual overall cost of a prison place in England and Wales for financial year 2010-11 is £39,573 as published in the National Offender Management Service annual reports of 2010-11 under Management Information Addendum.
This is the latest period for which figures are available. Cost per prison place is overall resource expressed in terms of the Baseline Certified Normal Accommodation number of places. The overall cost also includes prison related overheads met centrally by NOMS. This includes some estimation.
The calculation for cost of a prison place is based on net expenditure related to prisons included in the annual accounts of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and does not include expenditure which is met by other Government Departments, such as expenditure on health and education. In prisons managed by the private sector, health and education costs are generally
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met by NOMS and so are included. Expenditure recharged to the Youth Justice Board in respect of young people is included.
Any expenditure met directly by the Youth Justice Board is not included.
Expenditure on probation services is not included, except where probation staff are seconded to prisons.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) provides both physical resources and staff to support educational activities and employment support for prisoners. Some employment support is delivered in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions. Training for prisoners is delivered mainly by Prison Service staff, while prisoners work or are engaged in various areas such as prison industries, catering, physical education, land based activities, industrial cleaning and laundries. Expenditure on services provided by NOMS is included.
Treasury
Arms Trade: North Africa
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what sums in loans (a) lent and (b) guaranteed by the Government to the former Government of Egypt for the purchase of UK arms the Government are now seeking repayment for; and what arms of what monetary value were bought in each case. [78364]
Mr Hoban: Egypt currently owes £93.1 million to the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD). This amount arose as a result of claims following defaults by obligors in Egypt in the 1970s and 1980s. The debt was rescheduled in 1986 and 1991 through Paris Club agreements, leading to 50% of the outstanding debt being written off. It is not possible to disaggregate from the current debt that part which relates to any specific original claim.
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer from which countries in North Africa and the Middle East, other than Egypt, the Government are now seeking the repayment of loans made by, or guaranteed by, the British Government for the purchase of UK arms prior to the Arab Spring. [78363]
Mr Hoban: Only Iraq and Iran in the Middle East and North Africa region (excluding Egypt) have outstanding debts to the UK Government, where the original claims relate to the purchase of defence equipment from UK exporters. For Iran these claims relate to export transactions prior to its revolution in 1979. For Iraq these claims relate to transactions over the 1970s and 1980s. Iraq received substantial debt relief and rescheduling of these claims in 2005 and it is not possible to disaggregate from the current debt that part which relates to any specific original claim.