Youth Services: Per Capita Costs
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much each English local authority reported in the S251 financial returns as outturn expenditure on (a) youth work, (b) Connexions and (c) all provisions for young people per capita in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10. [82655]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 24 November 2011]: A copy of the tables showing outturn expenditure per capita for each local authority in England on (a) youth work, (b) Connexions and (c) all provision of activities for young people in 2008-09 and 2009-10 has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
There is significant variation between local authorities in the amounts shown under each category which may reflect different interpretations of the guidance on completing the returns. The Department has commissioned a full review of how the data are collected, what they are used for, and of quality assurance.
Work and Pensions
Child Maintenance
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how much money the Child Support Agency has received but not yet passed on to the parent with care; [84267]
(2) how long it takes the Child Support Agency to pass maintenance payments on to the parent with care. [84268]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Support Agency (CSA), the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the CSA is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (the Commission).
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You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much money the Child Support Agency has received but not yet passed on to the parent with care. [84267]; and
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long it takes the Child Support Agency to pass maintenance payments on to the parent with care. [84268]
The CSA holds money received from non-resident parents in a separate bank account maintained specifically for client funds. The balance of the client fund account is the amount received which has not yet been paid out to parents with care or the Secretary of State, as appropriate.
This amount is disclosed in the Client Funds Account published on the Commission's website here:
http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/pdf/CMEC-Client-Funds-Account-09-10.pdf
The last published accounts state that at 31 March 2010, the balance was £16.3 million. Of this balance, £8.0 million of receipts had not yet cleared into the account, and £8.3 million was in the process of being assigned and allocated before payment. The Client Funds Account for 2010/2011 will be published in the near future.
Payments are not made to the parent with care until such time as the receipt from the non-resident parent has cleared the banking system. Once the funds are cleared the payment is initiated by the method agreed with the parent with care. The CSA's preferred method is by direct credit to a bank account in the name of the parent with care.
In September 2011 96% of payments for cases on the CSCS system and 98% of payments on CS2 system were made within seven days.
The following table also shows in September 2011 the number of days it took to pass on maintenance payments to parents with care, split by CS2 and CSCS.
| Percentage of payments | ||
| Number of days | CSCS | CS2 |
| Notes: 1. There are currently two statutory child maintenance schemes in operation: the 1993 scheme (for cases initiated before 3 March 2003) administered on the CSCS and CS2 computer systems; and the 2003 (for cases commenced on or after 3 March 2003) administered on the CS2 computer system. 2. Figures do not include cases managed off-system. 3. Figures may not sum due to rounding. 4. These figures are calculated from the date in which the Commission received cleared funds from the non-resident parent to when the Commission sends payment to the parent with care. | ||
The majority of payments are made to parents within seven days of receiving cleared funds from the non-resident parent. This can be longer if insufficient information is provided by the payer to enable the CSA to allocate the receipt to the correct case (such as the case reference number or the non-resident parent's national insurance number) and consequently to allow the transaction to be processed. In this case, the money is kept in a holding account allowing for checks to take place to allocate the payment to a non-resident parent. Once the funds have been allocated then funds are typically paid out on the same day for cases on CS2 system or within one day for CSCS system.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
7 Dec 2011 : Column 357W
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Support Agency in collecting payments from a non-resident parent. [84602]
Maria Miller: The proportion of parents with a statutory maintenance liability paying child maintenance in September 2011 was 77.8%.
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, which is also responsible for the Child Support Agency, has improved its effectiveness in collecting payments from the non-resident parents over the past few years, but we recognise that much more needs to be done. More than three million children live in separated families, but only around 50% of those benefit from an effective maintenance arrangement. In addition the annual running costs of the statutory maintenance scheme is approximately £460 million, on average a cost of around 40p for each £1 of child maintenance collected or arranged, and this does not represent value for money to the taxpayer.
The Green Paper consultation document published in January—‘Strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility: the future of child maintenance’—outlines our assessment of some of the issues of the current system and sets out our plans for the radical reshaping of the child maintenance system. The Government's response to the consultation was published on 12 July.
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the suitability of the assessment criteria used by the Child Support Agency for child maintenance payments. [84603]
Maria Miller: There are currently two child support schemes, each with quite different rules. On the older of the two schemes, the information about our clients is so historic that almost 200,000 cases are assessed as needing to pay nothing. Around half of children living in separated families have no effective financial arrangement in place at all. All this means that many children are missing out.
This is why we want to reform the system and introduced our Green Paper, ‘Strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility: the future of child Maintenance’ published in January 2011, in which we confirmed plans to introduce a single new child maintenance scheme from 2012. This new scheme will make use of income data from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
On 1 December 2011 the Government launched a public consultation for views on the draft regulations for the future scheme. Further details can be found here:
http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/publications/consultations.html
Housing Benefit: Manpower
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will announce what will happen to staff currently administering housing benefit when it is replaced by universal credit. [85331]
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Chris Grayling: Universal credit is a national benefit. It will be delivered largely through an online service, with its core administration most efficiently run by a centralised system. As the DWP start to build the organisation to deliver universal credit, and we have yet to settle on the precise detail, and select the right people with the right capability it is likely some of those skills will exist within local authorities. We will therefore always look to include local authority staff in our thinking.
In relation to the longer-term delivery of universal credit, we will continue to work with colleagues in HM Revenue and Customs and local authorities to test new ways of working and impact ongoing delivery model design at both a national and local level. Our aim is to work collaboratively to enable the decision making process and deliver optimal value. This includes the decision making around any redundancies, for which we have small amount in our business case (whether they are in DWP, HMRC or local authorities). However, we will work to reduce the number of redundancies as far as possible, given the time available to us to plan and complete the transition to universal credit by 2017. I expect survey results to be available from local authorities by the end of the year and hope to be able to provide more details of the transition plan in the new year.
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time taken to assess claims for jobseeker's allowance was in the latest period for which figures are available. [83919]
Chris Grayling: Jobcentre Plus monitors the average time taken to process new claims via internal measurement indicators using an average actual clearance time (AACT) for jobseeker's allowance (JSA).
AACT measures the average number of working days we take to process new claims. It does not mean that all claims for that benefit should be processed within that time, as it is an average. We do expect some claims to take longer, particularly if the customer's circumstances are complex or there is a delay in the customer returning information required to enable us to process their claim.
AACT is calculated from our benefit processing system and is a result of taking all the claim volumes processed within any given month against the total number of days each claim has taken to process. The system conducts a simple division calculation using these data sets to provide us with the average actual clearance time (AACT).
For JSA, the start date is either the date the customer first contacted Jobcentre Plus or the customers first day of unemployment, whichever is the later. The end date is the date a formal decision is made on the claim and a notification is issued to the customer on entitlement.
The AACT performance for the latest available month, along with the year to date position is shown in the following table:
| Days | ||
|
|
October 2011 | Year to date |
| Source: Management Information System Programme (MISP) November 2011 | ||
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The data are collected from Management Information System Programme (MISP). MISP is the departmental performance management, data capture and reporting tool. The statistics presented here have not been subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes that are used for official statistics and as a result they should be used with a degree of caution.
Social Justice Directorate
Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of staff of his Department who will work in the Social Justice Directorate in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15. [85295]
Chris Grayling: The Strategy Group, which the Social Justice Directorate is part of, is operating a flexible resourcing approach. This means that the headcount across the Strategy Group will be regularly reviewed to ensure it is deployed against organisational priorities.
Social Security Benefits
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to reduce the number of people who are penalised for mistakes on their benefit applications. [85329]
Chris Grayling: There is no measure to penalise those who make mistakes on their benefit applications.
The Government have made provision in the Welfare Reform Bill, which is currently before Parliament, to introduce a civil penalty to deter individuals from negligent behaviour in future and increase their personal responsibility for keeping claims correct. In the long term we expect the number of penalties imposed to reduce as a result of encouraging a positive change in claimant behaviour.
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he will ensure that the expertise of local authority benefit fraud staff is not lost when the Single Fraud Investigation Service is established. [85328]
Chris Grayling: The new Single Fraud Investigation Service (SFIS) will be formed by consolidating the benefit and tax credit fraud investigation teams across DWP, local authorities and HMRC, which will enable them to undertake a single investigation for the first time. This will be a much better service and a much more efficient way of using investigative resources, and ensure the expertise that currently exists across all these areas is not lost.
We recently ran a consultation exercise with local authorities (LAs) to consider four options for local authority staff to become part of SFIS. Of the 285 responses received 76% of LAs agreed with our assessment that the option for local authority staff to remain employed by LAs, but operate under SFIS powers, policies, processes and priorities, was the most suitable option at this time. This will effectively bring local authority investigation staff into SFIS.
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Local authorities were informed of the decision to proceed with this option on 1 December. We will continue to work collaboratively with them to co-design an operational structure for SFIS from 2013.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Director of Public Prosecutions will be funded to carry out fraud work with the new Single Fraud Investigation Service. [85330]
Chris Grayling: The DWP has agreed that resources will be transferred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to undertake fraud prosecutions in the future, including those cases investigated by the Single Fraud Investigation Service.
The transfer of prosecution work from DWP to the CPS is currently in a transition phase, during which details are being worked out. A funding transfer is being discussed as part of that transition.
Universal Credit
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2011, Official Report, column 729W, on universal credit, what proportion of the funds allocated to the implementation of universal credit will be spent on (a) IT development, (b) programme management and (c) design of the universal credit system and processes in 2011-12. [82366]
Chris Grayling: The Department is currently forecasting to spend £105 million of the budget allocated to the implementation of universal credit in the financial year 2011-12. The majority will be spent on IT development with the balance on programme management and the design of the universal credit system and processes.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the budget allocated to implementation of universal credit will be spent for each purpose in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14, (c) 2014-15 and (d) 2015-16. [82389]
Chris Grayling: The 2010 spending review settlement included funding of £2 billion for the period 2011-12 to 2014-15. This is intended to meet all the costs of introducing universal credit, including any increases in benefit expenditure, additional benefit administration costs in the transition period, the costs of IT development and implementation, communications, staff training and programme management.
Expenditure for years beyond 2011-12 is indicative and subject to adjustments as plans for the programme develops.
International Development
Afghanistan
10. Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the priorities for development in Afghanistan. [85126]
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Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Afghanistan development programme, of which Britain is a strong supporter, continues to make progress. The IMF country programme has been restored. This is a renewed commitment to tackling corruption, improving governance and delivering services to ordinary Afghans.
14. Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the priorities for development in Afghanistan. [85131]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Afghanistan development programme, of which Britain is a strong supporter, continues to make progress. The IMF country programme has been restored. This is a renewed commitment to tackling corruption, improving governance and delivering services to ordinary Afghans.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency
11. Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking on funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency in 2012. [85127]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK supports the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to deliver essential services to nearly 5 million Palestinian refugees. We are currently considering further support for schools in Gaza.
Africa
12. Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of spending by his Department in Africa. [85128]
Mr O'Brien: Our Bilateral Aid Review (BAR), completed in March this year, assessed the effectiveness of our bilateral development spending including in Africa. We have published Operational Plans for our 19 African programmes which set out the results that we will deliver over the spending review period. These plans will be reviewed annually.
DFID's Management Board review on a quarterly basis the extent to which DFID’s interventions in Africa are on track; and we have an ongoing programme of evaluation in our country programmes. In addition to these processes I have also visited most of our offices in Africa at least once to help consider and assess their programmes.
Aid Effectiveness
13. Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on measuring the effectiveness of overseas aid. [85130]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: DFID is leading the international consensus on improving aid effectiveness. We have introduced rigorous independent evaluation of our efforts. Britain is driving change internationally, including through agreements at the Busan High Level Forum last week.
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Capita
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each contract. [84830]
Mr O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not awarded any centrally-let contracts to Capita since May 2010.
To provide information relating to contracts which may have been awarded to Capita by our delegated procurement officers based in overseas locations would incur disproportionate costs.
Conciliation Resources
Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has allocated to Conciliation Resources for their work in Abkhazia, Georgia in each financial year since 2008. [84843]
Mr O'Brien: Conciliation Resources have received funds for peace building work in the South Caucasus through the tri-departmental Conflict Pool (Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and Department for International Development) and through the Department for International Development's Governance and Transparency Fund for activities, some of which take place in Abkhazia, Georgia. Funding has been at the following levels since 2008:
2008-09: £363,801;
2009-10: £384,200;
2010-11: £429,172; and
in 2011-12, funding has been approved at £330,315.
The nature of this work, which is active across different regions, does not allow for a precise breakdown for the Abkhazia region only.
Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department plans to allocate to Conciliation Resources for work in Abkhazia, Georgia in 2012-13. [84844]
Mr O'Brien: Under the Department for International Development's Governance and Transparency Fund, Conciliation Resources receive funding for a project called ‘Increasing Government Accountability in Conflict Zones through Public Participation in Policymaking’. Some elements of this project take place in Abkhazia, Georgia. For 2012-13, £107,896 has been allocated to the Georgian-Abkhaz component of this project.
The nature of the project, which works across different regions, does not allow for a precise breakdown for the Abkhazia region only.
Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects have been undertaken by Conciliation Resources with funding from his Department in Abkhazia, Georgia since 2008. [84845]
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Mr O'Brien: Conciliation Resources have received funding through the Department for International Development's (DFID) Governance and Transparency fund since April 2008 for a project called ‘Increasing Government Accountability in Conflict Zones through Public Participation in Policymaking’. Some elements of this project take place in Abkhazia, Georgia.
Through the Conflict Pool, managed tri-departmentally between the Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and DFID, Conciliation Resources have received funds since 2008 for a project called ‘Building Confidence in Conflict Transformation: the Georgian-Abkhaz Context’. Some elements of this project take place in Abkhazia, Georgia.
These projects focus on building relations among people affected by conflict, and strengthening the ability of local people to resolve their conflict.
Developing Countries: Climate Change
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the International Climate Fund will be affected by the decision to adjust the the allocation of Official Development Assistance in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility's revised growth forecast. [85191]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The £2.9 billion allocation to the International Climate Fund will not be affected by the announcement in the autumn statement.
International Assistance
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with international aid organisations about the Multilateral Aid Review. [84872]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: I wrote last month to all 39 multilateral organisations where Department for International Development (DFID) continues to be part of core funding decisions, outlining priority areas for improvement. The letter also confirmed that to continue to inform robust decisions in DFID core aid funding to multilateral, DFID will update the multilateral aid review (MAR) for all 39 organisations in 2013, focusing on those particular areas for improvement.
DFID is in ongoing discussions with multilateral partners on areas for improvement, and to monitor progress.
Libya: Politics and Government
Mr Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to assist the development of democracy in Libya. [85129]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to support the Libyan Transitional Government to achieve the Libyan people's ambitions for a peaceful, democratic future. In consultation with the UN and other international partners, we are exploring options to encourage strong political participation in the transition process, in particular by women and youth groups.
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Sri Lanka: Internally Displaced People
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the government of Sri Lanka on land registration in the north and east of Sri Lanka. [85228]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: I have not had any recent discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka, but the High Commission in Colombo regularly urges the Government of Sri Lanka to resolve land disputes through a fair and accountable process. Land rights are challenging in most post-conflict situations involving internally displaced people or refugees. In Sri Lanka, the system of land distribution and multiple displacements of different groups and individuals over many years have resulted in many issues over land, including competing claims on the same land.
Treasury
Capita: Contracts
Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each contract. [84828]
Miss Chloe Smith: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt), on 4 July 2011, Official Report, column 1083W.
Child Benefit
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of the funding he has allocated to administering new arrangements for higher rate taxpayer families in receipt of child benefit will be allocated to new PAYE disclosure systems; [79735]
(2) by what means higher rate taxpayers with a child benefit recipient in their household will be able to disclose their circumstances if their only existing contact with HM Revenue and Customs is through PAYE; [79736]
(3) if he will estimate the number of higher rate taxpayers who will be required to declare a child benefit recipient in their household who (a) do not and (b) do complete a tax return; [79737]
(4) when he expects HM Revenue and Customs Real Time Information IT system to be capable of administering his proposals for taxation of higher rate taxpayer household child benefit recipients; and if he will make a statement. [79738]
Mr Gauke:
The preliminary indicative estimate for delivering the change to child benefit announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), on 4 October 2010 is £130 million over the four-year spending review period. This figure covers the changes required to existing IT systems and other administrative costs, such as staffing and communications. Of the 1.5 million higher rate taxpayers affected, HMRC estimate that approximately
7 Dec 2011 : Column 365W
700,000 currently complete a tax return and 800,000 do not currently complete a tax return. The policy will be administered through the tax system using existing systems and processes.
Defence: Procurement
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his announcements on procurement in the Autumn Statement constitute a third phase of the Growth Review; and whether the defence industry will be involved. [85211]
Danny Alexander: The procurement policy measures set out in the autumn statement were a product of phase two of the Growth Review. No decisions have been taken on the next phase of the Growth Review.
Emergencies
Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff work on the financial services workstream of the Capabilities programme; and what the staffing level was in each of the last 10 quarters. [79517]
Mr Hoban: Work on the financial services workstream of the National Resilience Capabilities programme is carried out by staff as part of a broader portfolio of work concerning finance sector resilience. It is not possible to provide a specific full-time equivalent figure for the Capabilities programme aspect of that work for this or previous years.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the lead Minister in his Department is for the financial services workstream of the Capabilities programme. [79518]
Mr Hoban: I am the lead Minister for the financial services workstream of the National Resilience Capabilities programme.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the budget was for the financial services workstream of the Capabilities programme in each year since 2005; and what the budget will be during the comprehensive spending review period. [79519]
Mr Hoban: Work on the financial services workstream of the National Resilience Capabilities programme has been carried out as part of a broader portfolio of work concerning finance sector resilience. A specific budgetary allocation has not been provided for this workstream.
Employment
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how many new jobs will need to be created to keep pace with population growth in each of the next 10 years. [84818]
Miss Chloe Smith: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) released the official forecast for UK whole economy employment to the first quarter of 2017 as part of the November 2011 “Economic and Fiscal Outlook”.
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The OBR expects UK population aged 16 and above to rise by 1.8 million, or around 3.5%, between the start of 2011 and the start of 2017.
Over the same period, total employment is forecast to increase at a similar pace (around 3.5%), from 29.2 million to 30.2 million.
As a result, the OBR forecasts that the 16+ employment rate (number of people in employment among those aged 16 and above) will remain broadly unchanged at around 58.5 over the period.
The Government are taking steps to support private sector job creation and reduce unemployment:
Reducing red tape and facilitating access to finance for small and medium sized enterprises through credit easing, helping businesses to grow and take on new workers;
Implementing reforms to help people find work including specific support for young people through the Youth Contract.
Enterprise Investment Scheme: Capital Gains Tax
Mr Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual cost of capital gains tax liabilities which are deferred by reinvesting the capital gains in the Enterprise Investment Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [84933]
Miss Chloe Smith: The capital gains tax deferral relief for 2009-10 and 2010-11 cost an average of £45 million a year.
EU Grants and Loans
Julian Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had on the availability of match funding for European Regional Development Fund grants. [84539]
Danny Alexander: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), has not had any formal discussions on the availability of match funding for European Regional Development Fund grants.
The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has lead responsibility for EU Structural Funds policy overall. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Funding.
Financial Services: Taxation
Hazel Blears: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total tax revenue raised from the financial services sector was in each year since 2008-09. [84901]
Mr Hoban: Tax receipts from the financial services sector are available for corporation tax, PAYE income tax and class 1 national insurance contributions (NICs), value added tax (VAT), bank payroll tax (BPT) and insurance premium tax (IPT).
Corporation tax net receipts for the financial services sector can be found in Table 11.1 A on the HMRC National Statistics website available at the following internet address. This table includes figures for the financial services sector for financial years from 2000-01. The sectors are defined by HMRC's summary trade classifications:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11-1a.pdf
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Total PAYE income tax and class 1 NICs received by HMRC in respect of employee and employer liabilities combined for the financial sector are shown in the accompanying table for 2008-09 to 2010-11.
For PAYE, the financial intermediation sector, defined by the Office for National Statistics' Standard Industrial Classification 2003, is used.
| Total receipts for PAYE income tax and class 1 NICs in respect of employee and employer liabilities combined from financial intermediation sector (2008-09 to 2010-11 years from May to April) | |
|
|
Receipts (£ billion) |
| Note: PAYE IT and NICs class 1 figures are slightly incomplete in that some late payments are omitted. These late payments represent about 1% of the total, and do so fairly consistently from year to year, so comparisons between years are not significantly affected. | |
The amount of Home VAT declared on traders' returns is published by trade group in table 2.3 of HMRCs latest VAT factsheet. This can be accessed at the following location on the internet:
https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=factvat
The above figures do not include estimates of irrecoverable input VAT borne by the financial sector, robust estimates of which are not currently available, but which are significantly larger than the VAT collected from the sector itself.
A bank payroll tax was levied on the bonuses awarded by banks and building societies in the financial year 2009-10 after 8 December 2009. The net yield raised by the bank payroll tax is estimated to be £2.3 billion, while gross receipts were £3.4 billion. An explanation of the methodology underlying the estimate of net yield can be found in the previous written answer given on 24 November 2010, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA337. In line with guidance from the Office for National Statistics, the yield from the bank payroll tax was allocated to the 2010-11 tax year, as this is the point at which the tax was passed into legislation.
IPT liabilities and receipts can be accessed at the following location on the internet:
https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullipt
Infrastructure
Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his criteria for prioritising infrastructure. [85344]
Danny Alexander: Paragraph 2.1 of the “National Infrastructure Plan 2011” sets out the criteria used for selecting the priority infrastructure projects on which the Government will focus efforts to ensure delivery.
The “National Infrastructure Plan 2011” is available on the HM Treasury website at the following link:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/national_infrastructure_plan2011.htm
Infrastructure: Finance
Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of funding for the National Infrastructure Plan has been allocated to infrastructure projects in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland, (c) England and (d) Wales. [84848]
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Danny Alexander: The National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) is relevant to investment in reserved areas of infrastructure in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Table 2.3 on page 49 of the Autumn Statement contains the full list of new infrastructure spending. This includes UK-wide projects such as mobile network coverage and urban broadband. In Scotland this also includes carriages for the Caledonian sleeper train.
The Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for planning and prioritising infrastructure investment in areas that are devolved. Where policy is devolved, as noted in Table 2.3 of the Autumn statement, the Administrations receive Barnett consequentials on comparable additional infrastructure spending of UK Departments in the normal way.
International Monetary Fund
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the UK has received as a return on funds made available to the International Monetary Fund in each of the last 10 years. [84880]
Mr Hoban: The interest paid to the UK on a portion of the quota subscription, known as the reserve tranche position (RTP), is calculated by the special drawing right (SDR) interest rate. SDR 700 million (£695 million) of the RTP is unremunerated, reflecting the element of the UK's quota that was made available to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before 1 April 1978 in gold. The UK does not receive any interest on this portion.
The SDR interest rate is based on a weighted average of representative interest rates on short-term debt in the money markets of the SDR basket currencies. The rates used by the IMF to pay interest are explained on the IMF's website:
http://www.imf.org/external/np/tre/sdr/burden/2011/022811.htm
The interest received on the UK's RTP in the last 10 years is set out in the following table. This information is published annually in the Exchange Equalisation Accounts.
|
|
Interest received on the UK's RTP (£) |
Planning: Expenditure
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate his Department has made of the financial costs of the planning system to the UK economy; and if he will make a statement. [84868]
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Miss Chloe Smith: Ministers have considered independent analyses and stakeholder views of costs associated with the planning system. In a report for the Department for Communities and Local Government, Professor Ball of the university of Reading suggested that the transaction costs of development control for major residential development alone may be up to £3 billion a year. The report is available online at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/507390/pdf/1436960.pdf
In very recent evidence to the DCLG Select Committee, Professor Ball advised that the actual costs are likely to be higher than this, which could push total transaction costs for residential development from £3 billion to over £4 billion. This does not include costs for commercial developments.
Public Expenditure: Infrastructure
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing additional public infrastructure at present standards for additional UK residents projected for 2033. [84819]
Danny Alexander: The independent Office for Budget Responsibility published its latest ‘Fiscal sustainability report’ in July 2011. This sets out long-term projections for the effect of demographic pressures on the public finances. The report is available at the following link:
http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/category/topics/long-term-sustainability/
Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Barnett consequential funding will be paid for investment in infrastructure projects. [85029]
Danny Alexander: As part of the autumn statement announcement, the devolved Administrations will receive additional Capital DEL funding to support Infrastructure investment over four years. Please see following table.
| £million | ||||
|
|
2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
Public Sector: Expenditure
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether public sector spending will be greater than tax receipts in each year to 2015. [84927]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 5 December 2011]: Public sector spending will be greater than current receipts in each year to 2015.
Public Sector: Pensions
Claire Perry:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of public sector workers of each gender (a) earning less than £15,000 per year who will see no increase in pension contribution rates and (b) earning between £15,000
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and £21,000 per year who will see their increase in pension contribution rates capped at 0.6 per cent. [75683]
Danny Alexander: I set out in my written ministerial statement to Parliament on 19 July 2011, Official Report, columns 92-94WS, that there should be no increase in employee pension contributions for those earning less that £15,000 and no more than a 1.5% increase in total by 2014-15 for those earning up to £21,000. This amounts to a 0.6% increase in 2012-13 on a pro-rata basis.
The following table shows the estimated gender distribution of public service workers earning on a full time equivalent basis (a) less than £15,000, and (b) between £15,000 and £21,000. The results are based on the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings published by the Office for National Statistics.
| Percentage | ||
|
|
Female | Male |
Stamp Duties: Westminster
Mr Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much stamp duty land tax has been paid in respect of properties purchased in One Hyde Park, London, in each quarter from 2009 to 2011. [84932]
Miss Chloe Smith: All information held by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is subject through legislation to a strict duty of confidentiality. Disclosure of information in relation to specific transactions as requested would breach this duty.
Tax Collection
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in cases where HM Revenue and Customs has issued incorrect tax codes to individuals, it (a) charges those individuals interest and (b) otherwise penalises them financially for not paying their tax bills on time; and if he will make a statement. [79393]
Mr Gauke: Most people pay the right amount of tax through the PAYE system. However, the PAYE tax code represents an estimate of liability, and in a minority of cases therefore, an adjustment is needed after the end of the year to ensure that people pay the right amount. In particular, tax codes will not always reflect changes in an individual's circumstances during the tax year. At the end of the tax year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) checks whether each individual has paid the correct amount of tax due.
The reconciliation process for 2010-11 commenced in July 2011. Where possible, HMRC will collect underpayments of less than £3,000 during 2012-13 by making an adjustment in the tax code so that the amount due is recovered from the taxpayer's salary over the course of the tax year. Where this is likely to cause
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financial difficulty, HMRC may be able to spread the payments over two or three years. No interest or penalties are charged in these cases.
Where the underpayment is £3,000 or over or cannot be collected by an adjustment in a future tax code, for example because the individual may no longer be in receipt of PAYE income, HMRC will ask for a voluntary payment. Interest will not be charged providing taxpayers engage with HMRC and agree to pay their underpayment. Where payment is not made voluntarily it is requested through Self Assessment where interest and penalties may be charged on payments made late.
People who face financial difficulty in paying tax underpaid will be treated sympathetically and should contact HMRC immediately. Further information and advice is available on the HMRC website at:
www.hmrc.gov.uk/p800/paye-tax-calcs.htm
Taxation: Nuclear Power
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the possible introduction of a tax on the revenue generated by nuclear power stations. [85388]
Miss Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers hold regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a wide range of issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.
Defence
Eurofighter Typhoon
Lorraine Fullbrook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of recent export campaigns for the Eurofighter Typhoon; and if he will make a statement. [80072]
Peter Luff: There remains strong interest in Typhoon. It has been selected by India to participate in the final phase of its medium multi-role combat aircraft competition. It is also competing in a number of other important markets, including Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, and Switzerland.
I expect an increase in interest in Typhoon following its highly successful air defence and ground attack roles in Libya, in which it consistently demonstrated exceptional levels of reliability, performance, accuracy, and overall cost-effectiveness.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding he has allocated to Blue Force Tracking and similar systems; and if he will make a statement. [72965]
Peter Luff: Combat Identification (CID) is not a simple task in the complex environments in which our armed forces operate. It is a holistic effort that involves tactics, training and techniques as well as investment in equipment. A large number of equipment projects contribute indirectly to improvements in our overall CID capability. However, specific capabilities include:
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The Bowman Tactical Communication System, with support funding of around £180 million until 2013. Future capability will be provided through the Land Environment Tactical CIS project at an approximate cost of £2.5 billion.
Helicopter and ground asset tracking systems for Afghanistan, at an annual cost of £3.5 million paid for from the Reserve.
Casualty Locating Beacon (CLB), procured under Urgent Operational Requirement timelines at a cost of £60 million.
Identification Friend or Foe (IFF), a system of transponders that are directly integrated into individual platforms enabling them to be identified within the battlefield environment. Funding has been allocated to develop a successor IFF system.
Small boat communications system (XERES), which provides a combat identification capability for which we have allocated around £400,000 of funding. The current capability will be replaced with a Bowman tactical communication system solution from 2014.
Where detailed costs have not been provided this is because the main investment decision has yet to be made and disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the menu is for soldiers serving in Afghanistan on Christmas day; and what the estimated cost is of each meal. [85035]
Mr Robathan: On Christmas day in Afghanistan, troops and support staff in locations where chefs are present and the security situation allows will be served a full English breakfast, traditional turkey lunch with trimmings, and a buffet supper. Other meal options will also be available for those with special dietary requirements.
The estimated cost of the troops' meals for the day is £5.50, however this is the cost of the raw ingredients only, and as such, it is difficult to break this down into the three meals. We estimate that the traditional turkey lunch costs approximately £2.75.
Armed Forces: Drugs
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what his Department's policy is on mandatory drug tests for (a) officials and (b) service personnel; [82970]
(2) how many members of his Department have been disciplined following a drug offence in the last 12 months. [83131]
Mr Robathan: The armed forces do not tolerate the taking of illegal drugs within their ranks, as it is incompatible with military service and reduces operational effectiveness. All service personnel are subject to random compulsory drug testing. Providing a positive result, indicating the presence of illegal substances, will almost certainly result in an administrative discharge. These measures are well known and are a condition of service.
For civil servants, random mandatory testing is carried out in respect of officials employed in safety critical posts, such as armed police officers or the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. In addition, where there is due cause to suspect an officer is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a test can be conducted. Failure is considered a major disciplinary offence and can result in dismissal.
There were fewer than 15 members of the armed forces convicted by courts-martial in the last 12 months for drugs related offences, such as possession or intent to supply illegal drugs, under service law. In addition
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there were some 104,600 compulsory drug tests conducted. There were in the region of 500 members of the armed forces whose test showed traces of illegal substances. Almost all have been, or can expect to be, administratively discharged. Retention will only be considered in very exceptional, and isolated, circumstances. Records indicate that no civil servant was disciplined for a drugs-related offence.
Armed Forces: Housing
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel returning from Germany he expects to be based within 40 miles of their families' living quarters. [84976]
Nick Harvey: It is too early to be specific, but I expect that the vast majority of service personnel will be based well within 40 miles of their living accommodation.
Tri-Service regulations state that service personnel are entitled to service family accommodation (SFA) at, or within a 10-mile radius, of their permanent duty station. In areas where there are pressures on SFA, this may be extended up to a 20-mile radius with the permission of their Service Command. In exceptional cases this distance can be further extended. In London, personnel are usually entitled to SFA within 90 minutes travel time using public transport. Exceptional arrangements can be made, for instance, for reasons of personal choice.
Some personnel relocated to Dalton Barracks, Abingdon, are being housed beyond the 20-mile radius. Single soldiers will move into barracks in Bicester and families will move predominantly to Arborfield. This is exceptional.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF personnel have been asked to vacate their service accommodation in advance of deployment to Afghanistan in the last year for which figures are available; [84979]
(2) how many (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF personnel have been asked to vacate their service accommodation in advance of deployment overseas in the last year for which figures are available. [84982]
Mr Robathan: No service families are asked to vacate their service family accommodation in advance of, or because of, an operational deployment, and therefore will remain in their homes during the deployment.
Unless posted to a new location after deployment personnel should expect to return to their single living accommodation after their deployment.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimate his Department has made of the (a) closest, (b) furthest and (c) average distance between barracks and service family accommodation at (i) Kinloss and (ii) Cottesmore barracks; [84988]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the (a) closest, (b) furthest and (c) average distance between service family accommodation and barracks. [84989]
Mr Robathan:
No estimate has been made. However, personnel are usually allocated Service Family Accommodation (SFA) at, or within, a ten mile radius of their permanent duty station, and this is the case at Kinloss and Cottesmore. In areas where there are pressures
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on SFA, this may be extended up to a twenty-mile radius with the permission of the appropriate service command and in exceptional cases, special dispensation may be granted to accommodate personnel beyond this limit.
Personnel may also request temporarily surplus SFA at other locations for reasons of personal choice.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list each army accommodation site in the UK. [84994]
Mr Robathan: The term ‘army accommodation site’ is not one used by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and therefore no such list is held.
However, Annex A of the Defence Estate Development Plan 2009 contains details of Army barracks and other MOD establishments in the UK and overseas. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria his Department uses to determine the maximum rent which is paid for accommodation for (a) civilian and (b) service staff. [85160]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 6 December 2011]: The majority of single living accommodation and some service family accommodation (SFA) is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and therefore no rent is paid to any other landlord. The majority of SFA in England and Wales is owned by Annington Homes Ltd and the MOD pays 42% of the agreed market rent. Where SFA and substitute service accommodation is rented from other providers, the MOD may pay up to the current market rent for the property.
Although civilian personnel are responsible for their own private accommodation, where they are temporarily transferred to a location outside of the reasonable daily travel of their main home, they may stay in temporary private accommodation. This accommodation is sourced through a specialist relocation contractor who will find accommodation that meets the Department's criteria. In areas which offer temporary accommodation at a premium levels, the set criteria is supplemented with guidance on maximum rental limits.
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the 20 most expensive substitute civilian staff accommodation properties rented out were in the last 12 months for which figures are available; what the postal district was of each such property; and how many occupants there were in each. [85161]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 6 December 2011]:The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not recognise the term ‘substitute civilian staff accommodation' and therefore the requested information is not held.
To make best use of temporarily surplus service accommodation, eligible civilian personnel may be allowed to occupy it on a non-entitled basis, but we do not fund substitute service accommodation for civilian use.
However, MOD civilian employees who are relocated to a location that is outside of reasonable travelling distance either as a result of a permanent or temporary
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posting are entitled to reimbursement of additional and reasonable costs incurred with occupying private temporary accommodation they are responsible for arranging.
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the 50 most expensive (a) substitute service family accommodation and (b) substitute service single accommodation properties rented out were in the last 12 months for which figures are available; what the postal district was of each such property; and how many occupants there were in each. [85162]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 6 December 2011]: Substitute service family accommodation (SSFA) and substitute service single accommodation (SSSA) properties may be rented to accommodate service families and single serving personnel respectively when no suitable Ministry of Defence accommodation is available to entitlement at or close to the duty station. Substitute accommodation is only used as a last resort.
The 50 most expensive SSFA properties rented in the last 12 months are shown in the following table.
| Postal district | Rent (£ pcm) |
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The 50 most expensive SSSA properties rented in the last 12 months are shown in the following table. More than one service person may occupy an SSSA property.
| Postal district | Number of occupants | Rent (£ pcm) |
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Capita
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each such contract. [84745]
Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded six contracts to Capita or its associated companies since May 2010, with a total value of just over £13 million. The six contracts cover provision of technical support, medical services, and communication and information systems. These contracts fall within the following value ranges:
| Contract value banding | Number of contracts |
This information was taken from the MOD's defence business service finance contracts database as at 1 December 2011.
Christmas: Expenditure
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies plan to spend on Christmas (i) cards, (ii) postage, (iii) parties and (iv) decorations in 2011; [84610]
(2) how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on Christmas (i) trees, (ii) decorations and (iii) parties in 2011. [84615]
Mr Robathan: This response covers the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and its agencies, but excludes trading funds which are outside the MOD's departmental boundary for financial reporting purposes.
The Chief of Defence Staff plans to spend this year £75 on Christmas cards, and £54 on postage. The Chief of the Defence Staff has an authorised one-off dispensation to purchase and send Christmas cards on behalf of the armed forces to his international opposite numbers at public expense.
There are no plans to spend any money for Christmas trees, decorations or parties at the MOD main building.
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The Department's rules on the use of public money rule out expenditure on Christmas trees, decorations and parties, with the exception of expenditure which is covered by the Family Welfare Grant. This grant supports activities that enhance the morale of families of service personnel who are enduring the stress of being separated from their loved ones serving in a dangerous operational theatre.
The Land Forces Top Level Budget has identified planned expenditure of £80 on Christmas trees, £1,000 on decorations, and £14,920 on parties. These will be funded from the Family Welfare Grant and are for the families of service personnel deployed on operations during the festive period. The majority of this expenditure will be for the families of units from 20 Armoured Brigade, currently serving in Afghanistan.
Procurement
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the Yellow Book costs to his Department following the redundancies announced by BAE Systems. [85019]
Peter Luff [holding answer 5 December 2011]:The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not yet entered into negotiations with BAE Systems about the potential liabilities to the MOD under the Yellow Book rules as a result of their recently announced rationalisation programme. Any figures discussed or agreed, however, would be commercial in confidence.
Consultants
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Upper Bann of 21 October 2011, Official Report, column 1167W, on consultants, how many contracts of more than £20,000 his Department has awarded to external consultants since July 2010; what the details of each such contract were; and how many such proposals required approval from the Efficiency and Reform Group. [76998]
Peter Luff: Between 1 August 2010 and 31 August 2011 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) placed 29 contracts for management consultancy valued at over £20,000, the combined value of which was £15.2 million. In accordance with the Efficiency Reform Group (ERG) approvals process, six of those contracts required ERG approval before being granted. During the financial year 2009-10, the MOD spent a total of £79 million on management consultancy, which fell to £26 million during the financial year 2010-11. These figures are inclusive of expenditure on contracts placed in previous years.
The details of the contracts and the ERG approvals sought in accordance with the agreed process are detailed in the following table:
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Please note: The data above do not include any contacts placed before 1 July 2010 or contracts which are awaiting ERG approval nor those contracts which are on hold.
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts his Department has awarded to management consultants (a) since the publication of the Strategic Defence and Security Review and (b) in 2010-11; and what the total value is of those contracts. [82135]
Peter Luff: Between 19 October 2010 and 31 October 2011, 72 contracts with a total value of £9.931 million were awarded to companies providing services to the Ministry of Defence under the Government Procurement Services definition of management consultancy. During the financial year (FY) 2010-11 the total number of contracts awarded was 159, with a total value of £23.308 million. During FY 2009-10, based on the data held centrally, the number of contracts awarded was 288, with a total value of £63.799 million.
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which management consultancies provided services to his Department during the last 12 months. [82136]
Peter Luff: Since 1 October 2010, the following firms have provided services to the Ministry of Defence, under the Government Procurement Services definition of management consultancy. This relates to contracts with a value over £20,000. We do not hold data centrally on contracts below £20,000 in value and this could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Hewitt Associates, Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow, LA International, Intercultures Ltd, Atkins Ltd, Harris Interactive Ltd, TMP(UK) Ltd, Cranfield University,
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Systems Consultants Services Ltd, Explosive Learning Solutions, PWC, Quatrosystem Ltd, Transcend, KPMG, Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP, Kenexa, LEK Consulting Ltd, Deloitte, Davitt Jones, Denton Wilde Sapte, Pinsent Masons, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Burges Salmon LLP, Simmons & Simmons.
Total spend on management consultancy in the financial year 2010-11 was £26 million, compared to £79 million for financial year 2009-10.
Parliamentary Written Questions
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months. [85064]
Mr Robathan: The information requested, broken down by each of the last six months, is as follows:
| Month (2011) | Number of written questions for answer on a named received | Number answered substantively within five working days | Percentage |
The Government are 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 Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.
Ex-servicemen: Employment
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much his Department has spent on Career Transition Partnership in each year since it was established; [84068]
(2) how much his Department has spent on the Employment Support Programme in each year since its creation; [84071]
(3) how much his Department spent on the full resettlement programme in each year since its creation. [84992]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 1 December 2011]: The following table provides information on the costs attributed to the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) since 1 April 1998. We do not maintain records of the costs for individual resettlement programmes, as this is a matter for the CTP.
| Financial year | Costs (£ million) |
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Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) in which sectors of the economy veterans find careers once they have left the armed forces; [84069]
(2) in which main sectors armed forces veterans have found careers through the (a) full resettlement service and (b) Employment Support programme since its creation. [84991]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 1 December 2011]: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 812W, to the hon. Member for West Ham (Lyn Brown).
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces veterans have been through the Employment Support programme in each year since its creation. [84990]
Mr Robathan: The following table provides information on the number of service leavers who have accessed the services of the Career Transition Partnership Employment Support programme for each financial year since 2005.
| Financial year | Number of early service leavers accessing CTP (1) |
| (1) All figures rounded to nearest 10. (2) Not yet available. | |
Geneva Convention
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 534W, on the Geneva Convention, how many in-service weapons have not had their legality reviewed under Article 36 in Amended Protocol 1 of the Geneva Convention. [79723]
Nick Harvey: There are more than 1,800 weapons and systems currently in the UK armed forces inventory which were brought into service before the obligation to legally review against Article 36 in Amended Protocol 1 came into force for the UK in 1999. The obligation is not retrospective. Since 1999 all weapons and equipment entering service have been subject to a formal legal weapons review in accordance with Article 36.
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Gurkha Resettlement Office
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former Gurkhas registered with the Gurkha Resettlement Office who have settled in the UK since 2009 are between the ages of (a) 30 and 39, (b) 40 and 49, (c) 50 and 59, (d) 60 and 69, (e) 70 and 79 and (f) 80 and 89; and how many widows have registered. [85221]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 6 December 2011]: The Ministry Of Defence does not monitor the age profile of former Gurkhas who have settled in the UK. The age profile of former Gurkhas registered with the Gurkha Settlement Office in Kathmandu between 5 October 2009 and 25 November 2011 is shown in the following table. The number of widows who have registered in the same period is 499.
| Ages | Number |
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Gurkhas have registered with the Gurkha Resettlement Office in Kathmandu since 2009. [85222]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 6 December 2011]:The number of former Gurkhas registered with the Gurkha Settlement Office in Kathmandu between 5 October 2009 and 25 November 2011 is 2,751.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which local authority areas Gurkha veterans and their dependents have settled since 2009; and how many have settled in each local authority area. [85223]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 6 December 2011]:This information is not recorded by the Ministry of Defence because there is no requirement to do so. However, we have estimates from Gurkha communities that the main concentrations of Gurkha veterans, excluding dependants, as at 14 June 2011 was as follows:
|
|
Number |
It is not known whether these Gurkha veterans settled in the UK under the 2004 or the 2009 immigration changes.