Harrier Aircraft: Sales
Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the monetary value was of the sale of the (a) Harrier squadrons to the US Government and (b) spare parts of the Harrier fleet; [83240]
(2) to which departmental budget the revenue arising from the sale of the (a) Harrier squadrons and (b) Harriers' spare parts will be allocated. [83241]
Peter Luff [holding answer 25 November 2011]:As I announced in the House on 24 November 2011, Official Report, columns 485-86, the value of the sale of the final 72 Harrier aircraft frames and associated spare parts, which will be used as a major source of spares to support the US Marine Corps Harrier AV-8B fleet, is $180 million (around £110 million). The sale takes the total estimated receipts and savings to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to around £1 billion.
As agreed with HM Treasury as part of the spending review process, the revenue from the sale of Harrier assets will be retained by the MOD and reinvested by the Department in key priorities as part of the Defence budget, including the state of the art Carrier Varriant of the Joint Strike Fighter.
HMS Ark Royal
Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what defence-related restrictions he plans to apply when deciding whether or not to sell the Ark Royal to the Chinese Government; what information his Department holds on the benefit derived by the Chinese navy from its reverse-engineering of a previously purchased aircraft carrier; what assessment his Department has made of the purposes to which the Chinese Government intend to put the Ark Royal if their bid for the vessel is successful; and if he will make it his policy not to sell the Ark Royal to China. [83386]
Peter Luff [holding answer 29 November 2011]: There is no intention to sell HMS Ark Royal to the Chinese or any other Government. HMS Ark Royal is being disposed of by commercial tendering to the most appropriate bidder, either for use in a non-military capacity or for recycling. Work to evaluate a number of bids is under way but no decisions have yet been made.
Maritime Zones: British Overseas Territories
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements his Department has made to patrol the maritime zones of British Overseas Territories to monitor and deter illegal activities. [83149]
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Nick Harvey: The UK provides maritime assets for defence of its Overseas Territories as detailed in the following table. As part of their secondary duties, maritime assets will assist local authorities in monitoring and deterring illegal activity.
Military Aircraft
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fighter planes and bombers are available for use by the Royal Air Force. [83218]
Peter Luff: The number of combat aircraft in service with the RAF is shown in the following table:
| Aircraft type | In-service fleet numbers | Forward fleet |
In-service aircraft includes those undergoing planned depth maintenance but excludes those which are redundant, declared as surplus or awaiting disposal. The forward fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable or short-term unserviceable and can be recalled at short notice.
Military Aircraft: Helicopters
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Army, (b) RAF and (c) Navy helicopters are based in (i) the UK and (ii) Germany. [82967]
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Nick Harvey: The total number of Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy helicopters based in the United Kingdom and Germany, as at 31 October 2011, was as follows:
|
|
Total |
A proportion of these helicopters will be deployed outside of the UK and Germany on operations and exercises.
The figures provided are for all helicopters within the Department's in-service fleet including those held at front line units, in depth maintenance and repair, undergoing modification, trials aircraft and storage. Contractor owned fleets are not shown.
Military Decorations
Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to publish the review of the rules governing the awarding of medals. [83938]
Mr Robathan: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 9 November 2011, Official Report, column 368W, to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon).
Navy: Pitcairn Islands
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when a Royal Navy ship last visited Pitcairn Island (a) to patrol UK waters and (b) in any other capacity. [83148]
Nick Harvey: Due to the remoteness of the Pitcairn Islands, any Royal Navy ship visiting requires the support of a dedicated Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply ship. HMS Sutherland accompanied by RFA Bayleaf visited in September 2000.
Piracy
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects on his Department's at sea counter-piracy work of the proposed reductions in his Department's budget. [82319]
Nick Harvey:
Since 2008, the Ministry of Defence has contributed to EU, NATO and Combined Maritime Forces counter-piracy operations. The proposed reductions in budget have so far had limited impact on our at sea counter-piracy work. Operation Atalanta continues to be run from Northwood under UK command, and we contribute vessels to NATO's Operation Ocean Shield and provide the Deputy Operation Commander to the US-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). UK officials also play a leading role within the international Contact
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Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, which seeks to deliver a coherent international response to this difficult problem.
RAF Cottesmore and Kinloss
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Army and (b) civilian personnel will be stationed at (i) RAF Kinloss and (ii) RAF Cottesmore in each year between 2011 and 2015. [83355]
Mr Robathan: The Army announced a package of preliminary moves on 10 November which stated that some 930 service personnel and their families would move into Kinloss from summer 2012 and some 1,070 into Cottesmore between the summer of 2012 and 2013. At this time the civilian personnel requirements are still being worked through in terms of the numbers, specialisms and grades. There will be full trade union consultation as the situation becomes clearer.
Further work is currently ongoing into the future size and structure of the Army, and this is expected to provide the detail of the estate requirements for the remaining units returning from Germany. Until this work is complete, it is too early to say whether there will be other unit moves to these locations.
Yemen: Military Aid
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2011, Official Report, columns 34-5W, on Yemen, what the training is which is being provided to Yemeni officers in the UK. [83859]
Nick Harvey [holding answer 29 November 2011]: Yemeni officers are currently undertaking training on courses at the following establishments within the UK:
Royal College of Defence Studies: strategic development and training for senior officers.
Joint Services Command and Staff College: staff training for middle ranking officers.
Britannia Royal Naval College: Navy initial officer training.
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst: Army initial officer training.
Defence School of Languages: English language training.
Energy and Climate Change
Food Procurement
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible are taking to ensure that they meet the Government's buying standards for food and catering. [83786]
Gregory Barker: DECC receives its catering services through a contract procured by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
The Government Buying Standards for Food were not published at the time of the competition for DEFRA’s catering contract. However, it was made clear in the tendering specification that when established, and as amended from time to time, the successful caterer would be required to comply with the Government Buying
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Standards. This condition applies to the whole of the DEFRA contract and DEFRA is determined to ensure that the standards are met in full.
In relation to those DECC non-departmental public bodies that have contracts covering catering:
the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's (NDA) facilities management provider is responsible for the provision of catering through a contract with an external catering company. The NDA's Facilities Management contract was procured through a Government Procurement Service framework and meets the Government buying standards; and
60% of Coal Authority catering purchases meet the Government buying standards.
Procurement
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what procedures his Department has put in place to ensure value for money on purchases; and what savings have been realised through use of such procedures in the last year. [83644]
Gregory Barker: The Department has adopted a Procurement Code which states that the main objective of procurement is to obtain best value for money. Value for money is assessed on the basis of the whole life cost, which takes into account all aspects of cost of the contract over its duration. A key principle of the Procurement Code is that all procurement activity will be subject to the appropriate level of competition.
DECC also adheres to Cabinet Office policy and uses Government Procurement Service frameworks to minimise the need for separate procurements, align service requirements and consolidate expenditure across Government.
Specific savings realised through these procedures in the past year include a £250,000 per annum telephony saving.
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years. [84235]
Gregory Barker: The Department receives some services from other Departments under shared service arrangements. Aside from these arrangements, the department has not outsourced any services since it was created in 2008.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has requested an increase in the overall cap set by the control framework for his Department's levy-funded spending since the implementation of the framework. [84131]
Gregory Barker: The Department has not requested an increase in the overall cap set by the control framework as the cap was established at the 2010 spending review and covers the entire spending review period to 2014-15. Should other policies be classified as levies by the Office for National Statistics and fall within the control framework, the Department and HM Treasury will come to an agreement on how these are to be accommodated within the framework.
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Energy
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on what date he expects the annual energy statement for 2011 to be published. [84390]
Charles Hendry: The annual energy statement (AES) was published in the form of an oral statement in Parliament by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) on 23 November 2011, Official Report, columns 299-302.
For the full text of the AES please see:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/aes_2011/aes_2011.aspx
Energy: Conservation
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received on the British Standards Institution's draft document PAS 2030. [84450]
Gregory Barker: The British Standards Institution ran a consultation on the draft PAS 2030.
176 organisations and individuals responded, resulting in 660 detailed comments. Many of these will be reflected in a revised PAS 2030 which is due to be published at the end of January 2012.
Energy: Meters
Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in North West Durham constituency use prepayment meters to pay for their energy supplies. [84119]
Charles Hendry: Ofgem monitors and publishes information about gas and electricity prepayment customers (in its Monitoring Company Performance Quarterly Reports). The data are published for England, Scotland and Wales and not on a parliamentary constituency basis. In March 2011, the last period for which data have been published, the number of customers in England using prepayment meters was 2.3 million for gas and 3.2 million for electricity.
Transport
Departmental Press: Subscriptions
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade profession magazines in 2010-11. [75005]
Norman Baker: The central Department and six of its seven agencies spent £155,875 in 2010-11 on newspapers, periodicals and trade profession magazines. The Driving Standards Agency could provide the figure only at disproportionate cost.
In 2010-11 the central Department spent £59,450 and in 2011-12, to date, £12,217.
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Felixstowe Port
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will estimate the expected change in the levels of (a) road and (b) rail freight in Cambridgeshire as a result of the opening of the new deep water shipping terminal at Felixstowe. [83942]
Mike Penning: The Department does not make specific traffic estimates of this kind. However, the Department's A14 Study is looking generally at the contribution of freight to demand in the A14 corridor.
The Harbour Revision Order (HRO, SI 2007/3219 as amended) authorising the Felixstowe works, of which the berths recently opened constitute the first phase, has an associated set of planning obligations. These, based on transport assessment associated with the HRO, require certain travel management measures and financial contributions towards infrastructure improvements, some of which will be triggered by commencement of the second phase works. The aims of these obligations include to restrain HGV demand on the A14, particularly at peak times, and to encourage rail use.
High Speed 2 Railway Line
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) letters and (b) emails her Department has received on High Speed 2 in the last 12 months. [82957]
Justine Greening: Approximately 3,600 letters and 6,000 e-mails have been received since November 2010.
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will commission a full assessment of alternatives to the proposed High Speed 2 railway line. [82983]
Justine Greening: A full assessment of the strategic alternatives to HS2 was published alongside the recent consultation. The report is available at:
http://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/library/documents/strategic-alternatives
High Speed 2 Railway Line: Construction
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when her Department plans to announce the proposed works to be undertaken in Phase 1 of the Y network for High Speed 2; how such works will facilitate any proceeding works for Phase 2; and what works will facilitate any interim arrangements. [82901]
Justine Greening: I will make an announcement on the scheme in December and, should this be to proceed, the proposed alignment to be undertaken in Phase 1 of the Y network (London to West Midlands) would accommodate the anticipated alignment of Phase 2.
High Speed 2 Railway Line: Environment Protection
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she will publish an assessment of the environmental impact of the proposed High Speed 2 railway line on the countryside. [82980]
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Justine Greening: The recent high-speed rail consultation was accompanied by an appraisal of sustainability which assessed the potential impact the scheme might have on the environment. Should the scheme proceed, an environmental impact assessment would be undertaken to look at issues in greater detail and allow an environmental statement to be produced and consulted on.
High Speed 2 Railway Line: Finance
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when her Department will publish (a) its summary of the financial case for the proposed High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line, (b) the projected financial contribution to HS2 from sources outwith her Department and (c) the projected financial contribution to HS2 from her Department and the potential effect of that contribution on funding of the remainder of the railway network. [82982]
Justine Greening: Subject to the outcome of the public consultation, the business case for the Government's proposals on HS2, which includes the financial case, will continually evolve throughout the development of the scheme. Should the Government proceed with HS2, we would look to make available information on the financial implications of the project.
High-speed Trains
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she will publish full details of the technical basis for her Department's statement that operating 18 trains per hour, or more, is feasible on a high-speed rail line with train speeds upwards of 225 mph. [82981]
Justine Greening: The Transport Select Committee has published evidence provided by HS2 Ltd on the feasibility of operating 18 trains per hour on the proposed high-speed rail network. The evidence is available at question 9 of the following report:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmtran/1185/1185we39.htm
HS2 Ltd subsequently published the technical reports underpinning its feasibility assessment. The reports are available at:
http://www.hs2.org.uk/freedom-of-information/FOI11-312-77862
M180: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the roadworks to be completed and all carriageways open on the M180 motorway; and if she will make a statement. [83450]
Mike Penning: There are roadworks currently taking place on the M180 at junction 5. These works began on 31 October and are programmed to finish by 16 December 2011. These works, which consist of lighting cabling renewal, have a lane 2 closure in each direction for the duration of the works, 24 hours a day.
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Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what her Department's estimate is of the number of vehicles registered on or after 1 March 2001 that have been overcharged for vehicle excise duty by the DVLA because the records that the DVLA held about their carbon emissions were incorrect; [83451]
(2) how much has been repaid to motorists by the DVLA because they had been overcharged for vehicle excise duty due to incorrect information about the carbon emissions of their vehicle. [83452]
Mike Penning: The information requested in both questions is not recorded. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency carried out an exercise in April this year which identified 2,171 records where the emissions figure held was different from the manufacturer's data. After investigation it was found that while the emissions figure was incorrect it did not affect the rate of vehicle excise duty and no keepers had been over or under charged.
Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department has taken to encourage more people to buy environmentally-friendly cars. [83434]
Norman Baker [holding answer 29 November 2011]: The Department for Transport leads for the UK in negotiating efficiency standards for new cars and regulations through the EU. As a result of existing regulations new cars will on average be 40% more efficient in 2020 compared to 2008.
The Department is promoting uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles through the Plug-In Car Grant (PiCG), which provides a grant of 25% towards the cost of an eligible vehicle, up to a maximum of £5,000.
The Department also encourages people to choose lower CO2 cars through the successful car labelling scheme. The colour-coded fuel economy label for new cars is now displayed in over 90% of new car dealerships. A similar label scheme for used cars was introduced in 2009.
Roads: Fees and Charges
Mr David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the receipts from (a) congestion charges, (b) road tolls, (c) bridge tolls and (d) other forms of road charging in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [82939]
Mike Penning: No such estimate has been made. Most congestion charges and toils are private enterprises or run by local authorities. The Secretary of State for Transport is responsible only for the Dartford Crossing. In 2009-10 the gross revenues for the crossing were £71,780,737. This information, and the same for earlier years, is published in the crossing's accounts at:
www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4068.aspx
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Communities and Local Government
Council Tax: Second Homes
Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how councils will be able to measure accurately the number of second homes in their area after proposals to end the council tax discount for second homes come into place. [83879]
Robert Neill: In its consultation paper “Technical Reforms of Council Tax”, the Government recognise that if authorities choose, as the Government propose they might, not to offer a discount on second homes, it will become more difficult in practice to distinguish second homes from other dwellings; and ask respondents how authorities might then identify them. The consultation will close on 29 December, and the Government's response will be published as soon as possible thereafter.
High Rise Flats: Fire Extinguishers
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of retrofitting high-rise tower blocks with automatic fire suppression systems; and if he will make a statement. [83524]
Andrew Stunell: We have not made a formal assessment. However, it is the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser's view that it would not be economically viable or practical to fit sprinklers to all existing high-rise residential buildings.
It is a matter for individual housing owners and landlords to decide if automatic fire suppression is required as part of their fire safety strategy, based on their fire risk assessment.
Homelessness
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of homelessness acceptances there have been since 2009-10 where the end of an assured shorthold tenancy is the cause of homelessness. [83228]
Grant Shapps: Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected at local authority level, and a summary is published by the Department in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available both in the Library of the House and via the DCLG website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness/
Breakdowns are collected of the reasons for loss of last settled home and the data are published in the table at the following link.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1984198.xls
Included are the number of households owed the main homelessness duty for which an end of an assured shorthold tenancy was the reason for loss of last settled home.
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Local Government: Trade Union Officials
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to end full-time trade union officials being employed in local government paid for from the public purse. [83756]
Robert Neill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 25 October 2011, Official Report, column 126-127W, to my hon. Friend, the Member for Witham (Priti Patel).
Planning Permission
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what status existing planning policy (a) statements, (b) guidance and (c) circulars will have until the National Planning Policy Framework comes into force. [83330]
Greg Clark: Existing planning policy statements, guidance and circulars remain in place and continue to have the same status and effect under planning legislation until the National Planning Policy Framework comes into force. At that time the National Planning Policy Framework will replace existing planning policy documents. The proposed list of planning policy documents to be cancelled is set out at page 13, paragraph 38 of the National Planning Policy Framework consultation document, which can be found at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/draftframeworkconsultation
Questions 4(a) and 4(b) in the consultation asked what light-touch guidance should accompany the new framework, and what organisations are best placed to provide it. We are now reviewing responses to the consultation.
Regeneration: South West Region
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to support regeneration in (a) Swindon Borough and (b) the South West. [83389]
Grant Shapps: The Government are taking a new approach to regeneration and are working to give communities and local partners the powers, tools and information that they need to address local priorities for regeneration and growth. For example:
Swindon and Wiltshire are establishing a Local Enterprise Partnership which will bring together the private and public sectors to drive forward economic growth. The partnership will direct £6 million of funding that has been allocated to the Swindon and Wiltshire through the Growing Places Fund, which will support infrastructure and help to unlock economic development and housing.
Local Enterprise Partnerships have already been established in the West of England, Heart of the South West, Cornwall, and Dorset. Between them they have a provisional allocation of £42.4 million from the Growing Places fund.
Swindon is one of the first 16 areas to have established a Community Budget for families with multiple problems. They are using the new freedoms the approach gives them to redesign services across different service boundaries.
We are working with Swindon borough council to better utilise public assets to make savings, promote growth and help regenerate
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areas. The Swindon Capital Asset and Pathfinder Programme is run by the Local Government Association who are supporting a further 15 authorities, including Wiltshire, Devon, Somerset and Bournemouth.
Swindon borough council proposes to transfer their council housing stock to a Housing Association to access significant private investment funding to maintain the housing stock and support regeneration in neighbourhoods.
The Homes and Communities Agency is supporting the regeneration of Union Square in the town centre with more than £12 million from the Agency. The Agency has also recently completed a contract with GreenSquare group to invest £1.7 million in the delivery of 81 Affordable Rent and 13 Affordable Home Ownership units in Swindon. The Agency is in discussions with the Council about Wichelstowe, which has planning permission for 3,650 homes, along with associated retail, commercial and community buildings. This is part of a wider investment through the Affordable Homes Programme which has seen the Agency allocate £1.8 billion in the delivery of 80,000 new affordable homes across England.
Allocations under the Affordable Homes Programme for its South and South West operational area (which also includes Hampshire, Berkshire. Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight) will see the Agency invest more than £241 million, to deliver 12,721 new affordable homes by 2015.
49 sites have transferred from the South West Regional Development Agency to the Homes and Communities Agency, which will work with local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships, businesses and other partners to ensure that the best benefits are secured, whether these are jobs, homes or businesses.
The Regional Growth Fund has funded 13 bids in local areas across the South West creating and safeguarding an estimated 24,000 jobs. There are Enterprise Zones agreed in Bristol, Newquay and Gosport, that between them expect to create thousands of new jobs in the locality and will support regeneration in these areas.
Right to Buy Scheme
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has made to promote the take-up of the right to buy. [83348]
Grant Shapps: The Department will consult widely on the Government's proposal to increase right to buy discounts.
Subject to the outcome of the consultation, we will ensure that changes to the scheme are widely publicised.
Social Rented Housing: Armed Forces
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance the Government are giving to local authorities to ensure priority access for service and ex-service personnel for council accommodation. [83339]
Grant Shapps:
We will consult on a change to the law in England by regulation to ensure that those who have served in the armed forces and have urgent housing needs should receive ‘additional preference’ (i.e. high priority) in social housing allocation schemes. We will also consult on regulations which make sure that service personnel who have to move from base to base do not lose their qualification rights to social housing. At the same time we will issue draft statutory allocations guidance for consultation which will provide advice on implementation of these regulations. More generally it will provide clear guidance on the different ways in
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which proper provision can and should be made for current and former service personnel, including through the use of local preference criteria.
Ihave recently written to all hon. and right hon. Members to inform them of the actions that the Government are taking to ensure that current and ex-service personnel have the housing support they need and am placing a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
Mr David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many members of the armed forces were on social housing waiting lists in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland in each of the last five years; [83486]
(2) what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the Government's plans for additional preference in the allocation of social housing to members of the armed forces; [83487]
(3) which local authorities in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland give additional preference to (i) members of the armed forces and (ii) veterans when allocating social housing. [83488]
Grant Shapps: We do not hold information centrally on the number of armed forces personnel on social housing waiting lists in England, Wales or Scotland.
Currently, the legislation allows, but does not require, local housing authorities in England and Wales to frame their allocation scheme to give additional preference to applicants, including current and former members of the armed forces, who are in urgent housing need. There is no similar requirement in Scottish legislation. We do not collect information centrally on the number or identity of local housing authorities which take advantage of this flexibility.
The Housing Strategy published on 21 November included a commitment to consult on a change to the law which would require local housing authorities in England to provide for former service personnel with urgent housing needs to receive additional preference in their allocation scheme, so that they should always be at or near the top of waiting lists. Officials in my Department have discussed our proposals with their counterparts in the Welsh and Scottish Governments.
I have recently written to all hon. and right hon. Members to inform them of the actions that the Government are taking to ensure that current and ex-service personnel have the housing support they need and am placing a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
International Development
Food Procurement
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that the same standards of animal welfare for whole eggs apply to imported liquefied eggs procured by his Department. [83763]
Mr Duncan:
The Department for International Development's two UK office staff restaurants have
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operated under contract to Mitie Technical Facilities Management since December 2010 on a non-subsidised basis.
Mitie Catering has advised that it does not purchase liquid egg for either of the two DFID sites.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of food sourced by his Department was procured from UK food producers in the latest period for which figures are available. [83764]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development's two UK office staff restaurants have operated under contract to Mitie Technical Facilities Management since December 2010 on a non-subsidised basis.
Approximately 59% of the food purchased by Mitie Catering for DFID's London Headquarters has been procured from UK producers.
Approximately 68% of the food purchased by Mitie Catering for DFID's East Kilbride Headquarters has been procured from UK producers.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure that it meets the Government's buying standards for food and catering. [83765]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development's two UK office staff restaurants have operated under contract to Mitie Technical Facilities Management since December 2010 on a non-subsidised basis.
To ensure DFID's contract with Mitie Technical Facilities Management reflects the Government's commitment on UK buying standards on food, Mitie Catering must take full account of and abide by the DEFRA Public Sector Food Procurement Initiatives (PSFPI).
Haiti: Asylum
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will consider having discussions with the Government of the Dominican Republic on the financial assistance needed to deal with refugees from Haiti. [83602]
Mr Duncan: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) opened an office in the Dominican Republic in 2010 to provide assistance to refugees from Haiti and so is well placed to discuss this matter with the Government of the Dominican Republic. The UK's contribution to any necessary support would be from our core support to UNHCR (£118 million between 2011 and 2015).
International Assistance
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that the Millennium Development Goals will be met. [83388]
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Mr Duncan: The UK participated actively in the UN Millennium Development Goals Summit in September 2010, which agreed the document “Keeping the Promise—United to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals”. This set out a path towards meeting the MDGs, and the UK will remain at the forefront of international efforts to achieve the MDGs.
We have also taken significant steps to make British aid more focused and as effective as possible in order to maintain the momentum towards the MDGs. The bilateral aid review developed a set of results offers using British funds, underpinned by evidence and value for money, which will address each of the MDGs. At the same time the multilateral aid review examined the effectiveness of each of the international funds and organisations through which the UK also spends aid in order to tackle poverty.
Somalia: Politics and Government
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the representatives of the World Food Programme on the reliability of estimates of the number of (a) people affected and (b) famine zones in respect of the crisis in Somalia. [83636]
Mr Duncan: Latest surveys by the United Nations Food Security and Analysis Unit (FSNAU) show that the number of regions/population groups experiencing famine has fallen from six to three, and that four million people across Somalia will require humanitarian assistance until at least August 2012. FSNAU is the United Nations agency responsible for food security assessments undertaken inside Somalia. Staff from my Department are confident that the FSNAU's assessments are robust, but recognise that conflict and ongoing migration within and out of Somalia complicate the conduct of field surveys.
I have discussed the humanitarian situation in Somalia with the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) several times during the current crisis. She has never questioned FSNAU's estimates which WFP feeds into.
Somalia: Reconstruction
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent assessment is of the level of recovery in Somalia; and if he will make a statement. [83635]
Mr Duncan: According to latest surveys undertaken by the United Nations Food Security and Analysis Unit (FSNAU), famine conditions are now confined to three regions/population groups of south Somalia—down from six. While this represents an improvement, those areas no longer experiencing famine are still assessed to be in humanitarian emergency conditions, and FSNAU has warned that famine will re-emerge without relief aid. The provision of humanitarian aid, including that funded by the UK, has played a key role in the improved humanitarian context in Somalia.
FSNAU's assessments show that famine still persists among internally displaced people in Afgooye and Mogadishu and in Middle Shabelle region. But with continued support by the start of 2012 these regions/population groups should no longer experience famine. Some four million Somalis will remain in crisis until at least August 2012.
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Education
Child Protection
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how he plans to ensure that the revised statutory guidance, “Working Together to Safeguard Children”, will be appropriately enforced on all relevant partner agencies. [83113]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 28 November 2011]: The Government response to Professor Eileen Munro's review of child protection committed to revising “Working Together to Safeguard Children” by July 2012.
“Working Together to Safeguard Children” will provide guidance on how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The guidance will remain on a statutory footing and all relevant agencies must have regard to it.
Ofsted will continue to undertake universal inspections of local authority safeguarding services. We are also working with all relevant inspectorates to consider how inspections can examine the effectiveness of all local services, in line with Professor Munro's recommendation. This will help drive further improvement in the safeguarding of children and young people.
A multi-disciplinary Professional Advisory Group has been convened and is advising on proposed revisions to the statutory guidance. A full, formal consultation will commence on the revised “Working Together to Safeguard Children” from early 2012.
Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on improvements to the collection of data on child neglect by local authorities. [83529]
Tim Loughton: On 31 October 2011, the Government published “Safeguarding children in the reformed NHS: a co-produced work programme with Department of Health, Department for Education and other key stakeholders”. On the same day, the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Anne Milton), and I wrote to confirm our Departments' commitment to ensure robust arrangements for safeguarding children in the NHS of the future.
The Department has been working with the Department of Health and the wider sector to take forward Professor Munro's recommendation to have a revised suite of local and national performance information to drive improvements in children's safeguarding.
The Department for Education currently collects data annually from local authorities oh children who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan for physical, mental and sexual abuse or neglect. The draft child safeguarding data set published in Professor Munro's final report includes additional items that would give local authorities and central Government greater understanding of neglect and of other aspects of safeguarding children than is currently available through existing collections.
We will be consulting formally on the draft data set in the new year prior to announcing the content of the data set in May 2012. We will continue working with the Department of Health as the work develops.
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Food Procurement
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on food procurement in each year from 1997 to 2011. [80316]
Tim Loughton: The information requested is not held centrally and cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.
Departmental Publications
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) leaflets, (b) posters and (c) reports his Department has published since May 2010; how much each cost; and which company (i) published and (ii) designed each. [83002]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education central records do not distinguish between the categories of publication requested, and so to provide a comprehensive answer setting out total quantities, costs, and publishing and design companies for each would incur disproportionate cost. Records do show, however, that as part of our output we have produced 290 research reports and associated documents from May 2010 to date.
In order to reduce costs we adopt a policy of publishing “digital by default”, and we carry out design work using in-house expertise at no additional cost wherever practical. Where external support is required, we use our publishing delivery service contract with Prolog Communisis or publish through the Government's contract with TSO.
Local Safeguarding Children Boards
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure local safeguarding children boards will be (a) appropriately resourced and (b) able to secure improvement in partner agencies in local areas. [83112]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 28 November 2011]: Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) perform an important function in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of what is done by the local authority and by board partners individually and collectively to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and advise them on ways to improve.
LSCBs have a unique, system-wide role to play in helping and protecting children and young people and the Government believe that their role and impact should be strengthened. We are currently exploring how best to do that with a range of partners in the sector and with LSCBs themselves. Part of this work will be to consider LSCBs' capacity at the local level to perform their role effectively.
Youth Services: Expenditure
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the percentage change in each local authority's expenditure on youth services between 2009-10 and 2010-11. [82665]
Tim Loughton
[holding answer 24 November 2011]: Figures for actual spend by local authority in 2010-11 are not available until January 2012. Therefore the best
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estimate of the percentage change must be based on planned spend, for which figures are available for both years.
According to the figures provided by local authorities the change in planned expenditure for each local authority on youth services between 2009-10 and 2010-11 may be found in the following table.
| Planned spend on services for young people (1,2) | ||||
| All provision of activities for YP | ||||
|
|
|
2009-10 | 2010-11 | % change |
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| (1) Data are as reported by LAs in their s251 Budget returns. (2 )Total services for young people includes spend on universal services for young people (including youth work, positive activities, Connexions and information, advice and guidance), targeted services for young people (including youth work, positive activities and information, advice and guidance), substance misuse services (drugs, alcohol, and volatile substances), teenage pregnancy services, discretionary awards and student support. | ||||
Youth Services: Manpower
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many youth workers were employed in (a) England and (b) each local authority in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11. [82608]
Tim Loughton: The Department does not hold or collect information on the numbers of youth workers employed by local authorities. It is the responsibility of local authorities to determine, in the light of their assessment of local needs and circumstances, how best to configure their services and the workforce required to deliver them.
Deputy Prime Minister
Mass Media
Mr Bone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what account he took of parliamentary protocol in deciding to give interviews to the BBC and Sky News on the youth contract on 25 November 2011. [83948]
The Deputy Prime Minister: The details of the youth contract were released by the Department for Work and Pensions via a written ministerial statement on the morning of 25 November 2011, Official Report, columns 42-44WS.
Mr Bone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish details of the media interviews he carried out on 24 and 25 November 2011, including (a) to whom they were made, (b) the subject matter and (c) the time they were made. [83949]
The Deputy Prime Minister: On 24 November I carried out media interviews with the BBC, ITN and Sky with a strict embargo on broadcast until lunchtime on 25 November. I also carried out follow-up interviews on 25 November. The subject matters covered in these interviews were the economy, the Scarman lecture and youth unemployment.
Procurement
David Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what procedures his Office has put in place to ensure value for money on purchases; and what savings have been realised through use of such procedures in the last year. [83641]
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The Deputy Prime Minister: For the purposes of corporate administration and financial management, my Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 832W.
Departmental Publications
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) leaflets, (b) posters and (c) reports his Office has published since May 2010; how much each cost; and which company (i) published and (ii) designed each. [82991]
The Deputy Prime Minister: Between May 2010 and October 2011, my Office published 10 Command Papers and one House of Commons paper with The Stationery Office, (including one designed by the Central Office of Information) at a total cost of £27,583. A further three papers were published, two internally and one with the Central Office of Information, at a total cost of £13,472.
Cabinet Office
Public Sector: Computer Software
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department has considered encouraging public bodies and central Government Departments to use open source software; and how many such bodies have began using open source software since May 2010. [83484]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office recognises that in certain circumstances open source solutions present opportunities for improved value for money and can stimulate a more competitive IT marketplace.
Its position is to introduce a level playing field where both open source and proprietary software will be evaluated and the solution that offers best value for money, when the total cost of ownership has been calculated, will be selected. To assist Departments and bodies when evaluating open source solutions, the Cabinet Office has published an Open Source Procurement Toolkit, which is available at:
https://update.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/open-source-procurement-toolkit
As part of the Strategic Implementation Plan that followed the Government IT strategy, the Cabinet Office is collecting and will publish publishing metrics, including the total number of open source software solutions deployed by central Government Departments. These will be published in the ICT Strategy Progress update in March 2012.
Public Sector: West Midlands
Ian Austin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in the public sector in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Dudley Borough in each of the next three years. [84334]
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Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many people were employed in the public sector in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Dudley Borough in each of the next three years. (84334)
Public Sector employment statistics for local areas can be calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey.
The Office for National Statistics does not produce projections for information on the number of people employed in the public sector in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Dudley Borough in each of the next three years.
As an alternative Table 1 attached shows the number of persons employed in the public sector, resident in the West Midlands and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. The figures have been provided from the APS for the 12 month periods ending in January from 2009 to 2011, the latest period for which figures are available.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
| Table 1: Number of the resident population of West Midlands and Dudley employed in the public sector | ||
| Thousand | ||
| 12 months ending: | Level | Level |
| Note: Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality following. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. KEY C Statistical * Estimates are considered precise. ** Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** Estimates are considered acceptable. **** Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. Source: Annual Population Survey | ||