Veterinary Laboratories Agency
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many carcases of each species have been examined in each regional veterinary laboratory for endemic disease purposes in each year since 2005. [85618]
Mr Paice: A document showing details of carcases examined for surveillance will be placed in the Library of the House. The information included is from 2005 to the present.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what safeguards will be in place to prevent the spread of animal disease (a) over the distances which the samples will have to travel for testing purposes and (b) from the decoupling of the test from the post mortem examination following the restructuring of the Veterinary Laboratory Agency. [85620]
Mr Paice: The safeguards that are and will be in place to prevent the spread of animal disease are:
(a) Biological samples are currently sent around the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency laboratory network as a routine practice. Samples are sent via specialist couriers in compliance with the required packaging standards (The European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) and Carriage Regulations 2011), which are designed to prevent release of pathogens. The majority of samples are already sent to sites other than the post mortem site for processing.
(b) Decoupled tests—Some tests will remain at the site at which post-mortem examinations are being conducted. Otherwise, tests will be undertaken at the appropriate laboratory site depending on the tests required. These samples will be dispatched as above in (a).
Veterinary Laboratories Agency: North Yorkshire
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to which regional veterinary laboratory agency the samples from Thirsk and the surrounding areas will be taken for examination and testing following the restructuring of the regional veterinary laboratory service covering North Yorkshire. [85621]
Mr Paice:
The veterinary laboratory service is a national service, rather than a regional one, with specialist laboratories undertaking tests from all around England
20 Dec 2011 : Column 1109W
and Wales, e.g. polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests at Penrith and biochemistry tests at Shrewsbury. Until recently, a proportion of parasitology and bacteriology tests were undertaken locally, but now the majority of these tests will also be directed into specialist national laboratory centres.
A small number of tests will remain at the site at which post mortem examinations are being conducted. The remainder of tests required as a result of post mortems taking place on animals from Yorkshire will be undertaken at the appropriate specialist laboratory site depending on the tests required. Laboratories in Bury St Edmunds, Lasswade, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Penrith, Shrewsbury, Starcross, Sutton Bonington and Weybridge will carry out tests from around England and Wales.
Water Companies
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will direct water companies to factor into their long-term investment plans the upper and lower limits of population projections for 2050 made by the Office for National Statistics. [86818]
Richard Benyon: It is a statutory requirement for water companies to prepare and maintain water resources management plans, which include projections of current and future demands for water and how the companies aim to meet this demand over 25 years.
Water resources management plans take into account the most up-to-date information available on housing numbers and population forecasts. The plans present and consider both trend-based and policy-based population and household projections. They also ascertain differences and assess uncertainty in forecasts. The plans include any uncertainty associated with the forecasts in their assessment of target headroom (the buffer between supply and demand designed to cater for specified uncertainties) and an explanation of this allowance.
Culture, Media and Sport
Libraries: Pay
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) if he will review the salary payable to the chief executive officer of the British Library to reflect her acceptance of a paid non-executive role at Ofcom; [86863]
(2) if he will investigate the acceptance by the chief executive officer of the British Library of a paid non-executive post at Ofcom; whether acceptance of this post contravenes the provision of section 6 of the British Library’s staff handbook; and if he will make a statement. [86864]
Mr Vaizey: The appointment of non-executive members to the Ofcom board are made under a public appointment process which is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and takes into account fully an applicant’s existing commitments before deeming their suitability to take on additional roles. The British Library’s staff handbook and salary reviews are matters for the British Library, at arm’s length from Government.
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Olympic Games 2012: Contracts
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether companies bidding for contracts to supply goods or services to the organisers of the London 2012 Olympics are required to comply with each of the seven fundamental principles of Olympism; and if he will make a statement. [87453]
Hugh Robertson: Contracting for services and supply of goods to the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is a matter for LOCOG who adhere to their published Sustainable Sourcing Code. In its procurement process, LOCOG assesses tenders for value for money, which it defines on the basis of five broad areas—Quality/Delivery/Disposal; Commercial; Sustainability; Diversity and Inclusion; and Legal/Financial.
Bidders for Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) tenders are required to comply with ODA priority themes such as Equality and Inclusion, Sustainability and Health and Safety. These themes are built into our contracts and contractors are required to work towards our aims and aspirations in these areas as well as providing reporting data. Our suppliers are also required to follow similar procurement processes to our own, particularly in embodying transparency and equal treatment of all bidders.
The learning legacy website contains information on all of the ODA’s priority themes at:
http://learninglegacy.london2012.com/
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has made an assessment of the compliance of Dow Chemicals’ contract to supply the wrap on the London 2012 Olympics stadium with each of the seven fundamental principles of Olympism; and if he will make a statement. [87454]
Hugh Robertson: No such assessment has been made. Contracting for services and supply of goods to the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is a matter for LOCOG who adhere to their published Sustainable Sourcing Code. LOCOG entered into a competitive tendering process for the stadium wrap, and out of the companies that responded, Dow Chemical was able to produce the most sustainable wrap. This process has been independently verified by the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012. The International Olympic Committee appointed Dow Chemical as a global partner in 2010 and expects all their partners to meet their values.
Sports: Coventry
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the provision of community sport in Coventry. [87649]
Hugh Robertson:
Through Whole Sport Plans, Sport England is investing £450 million through 46 national governing bodies over the next four years. The governing bodies work closely with their network of community sports clubs to invest funding at a local level. Coventry
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South constituency has received a total of £7,532,714 lottery funding and £1,791,444 of Exchequer funding from Sport England since 1995.
In addition, the mass participation Olympic Legacy—Places People Play, will provide funding opportunities for community sports with £10 million for playing fields and £50 million for community sports facilities.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to protect playing fields in Coventry. [87650]
Hugh Robertson: Sport England is a statutory consultee on all planning applications affecting playing fields. Recent figures published by Sport England show that 94.5% of concluded planning applications affecting playing fields in 2009-10 resulted in improved or safeguarded sports provision. The figures can be found at:
http://www.sportengland.org/about_us/our_news/playing_field_safeguards.aspx
In addition, Sport England is investing £10 million into protecting and improving playing fields, as part of the London 2012 mass participation sporting legacy “Places People Play”. Sport England has also provided advice to Coventry city council in the preparation of a city-wide playing pitch strategy which will identify the current and future need for playing pitches in the city.
Communities and Local Government
Affordable Housing
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the desirability of changing the provision of equivalent value in the National Planning Policy Framework to instead calculate affordable housing provision as a proportion of both off-site and on-site housing. [87756]
Greg Clark: The draft National Planning Policy Framework asks local planning authorities, where they have identified that affordable housing is required, to set policies for meeting this need on site, unless off-site provision or a financial contribution of broadly equivalent value can be robustly justified. This reflects current policy to encourage on-site provision wherever practical. The consultation on the draft framework has closed and we are now considering all the responses.
Bail Accommodation and Support Service
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local authorities require planning consent for premises to be used for bail accommodation. [87780]
Robert Neill: The Welsh Assembly Government are responsible for planning matters in Wales.
In England, planning permission will be required if a new building is being built. Where a change of use of an existing building occurs planning permission may be required. This will depend on the particular circumstances of each case, including what the existing use is and the scale of any external physical works.
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Under the Use Classes Order in England, it is possible that bail accommodation could fall within the C2: Residential Institutions, C2A: Secure Residential Institutions, C3: Dwelling houses or be considered sui generis i.e. in a class of its own. It is for local planning authorities to determine which use class a particular use falls into and whether there has been a material change of use. They do so depending on the individual circumstances of each case.
Community Relations
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken on community cohesion and integration; and if he will make a statement. [87727]
Andrew Stunell: We are working closely with a number of Departments on issues of community cohesion and integration. The Government plan to publish a document setting out their approach to integration in due course. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), will make a statement to Parliament at this time.
Crime
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what steps he has taken to tackle hate crime since May 2010; what further steps he plans to take in each of the next two years; what recent representations he has received on this issue; and if he will make a statement; [R] [86684]
(2) what reports he has received of the level of hate crime in (a) Southend West constituency, (b) Essex and (c) nationally since January 2011; and if he will make a statement. [R] [86685]
Lynne Featherstone: I have been asked to reply.
Tackling hate crime is an issue the Government take very seriously, and we are committed to doing more to support and protect victims. We are meeting the coalition commitment to improve the recording of such crimes, and working with the police and other partners to encourage more victims to come forward. We are also working with the Government's Independent Advisory Group to develop a new action plan on tackling all forms of hate crime, which will set out the Government's priorities over the coming years.
Data on the level of reports of hate crime since January 2011 are currently not available. From 1 April this year, police forces started formally collecting data on hate crimes to meet the coalition commitment. These data will be published next year as official statistics, giving us a clear picture of local patterns and trends in hate crime and helping the police to target their resources more effectively.
As an interim measure, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) agreed to publish its own data. The latest figures published cover the calendar year 2010, and are broken down by police force area. The information is available on ACPO's True Vision website at:
http://www.report-it.org.uk/hate_crime_data1
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Departmental Civil Proceedings
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which organisations that have received funding from his Department have brought legal proceedings against his Department in the last five years; which such organisations were not successful in their actions; and whether his Department (a) applied and (b) was paid for costs in respect of such cases. [83882]
Robert Neill: All litigation cases against the Department are managed by the Treasury Solicitors Department under a service level agreement.
My Department does not hold a list of all legal proceedings in the last five years. The Department would have to pay the Treasury Solicitors Department to obtain this information.
Obtaining these data, matching the two sets of information, creating a qualitative analysis of success or failure of the cases, and establishing the costs associated with the proceedings, would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold by a wide margin.
Electronic Equipment
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South Staffordshire of 15 November 2011, how many (a) mobile telephones and (b) BlackBerry devices were issued to staff in the latest period for which figures are available; what the cost was of such devices; and what the cost was of the 735 such devices issued to staff on 1 May 2010. [82365]
Robert Neill: Currently 340 (a) mobile telephones and 552 (b) BlackBerry devices are on issue to staff within the Department. The actual cost of devices issued in a particular period could be disaggregated from the overall cost (cost of device, line rental and call charges) of mobile devices only at disproportionate cost. However, I am able to confirm that since 1 May 2010 until 11 November the Department has spent a total of £265,105 with our mobile phone and BlackBerry suppliers.
The number of mobile devices on issue within the Department has notionally increased because residual Government office and regional development agency staff have transferred into central DCLG and have also transferred their BlackBerry devices and mobile phones into the Department.
In a lean business environment the Department recognises the advantages in remote working that BlackBerry devices bring.
To drive down overall costs the Department has signed up to a centrally negotiated telephony agreement. The Department will now have greater certainty of telephony costs over the course of the central framework agreement as well greater flexibility with regard to contract length for each individual connection. The Department also has the opportunity to recoup a portion of total line rental spend from the supplier at the end of each financial year. The Department has used the collective bargaining power of the DCLG group to qualify for savings with suppliers.
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Housing
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) housing starts and (b) housing completions for (i) social rent, (ii) intermediate rent, (iii) low-cost home ownership, (iv) total affordable housing, (v) open market and (vi) total housing starts took place in each local authority area between (A) April and September and (B) October and March in each year since 1997. [83269]
Grant Shapps [holding answer 25 November 2011]: Affordable Housing Supply statistics can be found on my Department's website at the following link. These statistics are only collected annually:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/affordablehousingsupply/
House building statistics can be found on the Department's website at the following link. These statistics are collected on a quarterly basis:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/housebuilding
The Homes and Communities Agency's National Housing Statistics (which exclude some affordable housing that is delivered without Homes and Communities Agency grant funding) can be found on the following link. These statistics are available on a six-monthly basis dating back to 2009-10:
http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/statistics
The New Homes Bonus allocations also provide a valuable source of information on new housing and empty housing being brought back into use in each local authority area.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were (a) started and (b) completed in (i) England, (ii) each region and (iii) each local authority area for (A) social rent, (B) intermediate rent and (C) affordable home ownership in (1) each of the last five years and (2) April to September 2011. [83581]
Grant Shapps: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) today (PQ 83269).
Housing: Fire Extinguishers
Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2011, Official Report, column 143W, on housing: fire extinguishers (1) which US data were relied on extensively in the final regulatory impact assessment published on 13 December 2006; [87118]
(2) with reference to the “Building Research Establishment Report 204505: Effectiveness of sprinkles in residential premises—an evaluation of concealed and recessed pattern sprinkler products”, which data from other countries were viewed as not directly applicable or appropriate for the UK situation. [87119]
Andrew Stunell:
The details of the analysis carried out by the Building Research Establishment are set out fully in their reports. These are, as set out in my previous answers, readily available on the internet. The benefits
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associated with the installation of sprinklers were calculated by estimating of the number of deaths and injuries that might be avoided and of the associated reduction in property loss.
Statistics from the United States were used to derive the estimated reduction in property loss. While the literature review included data from the United States of America, New Zealand and Canada, the researchers decided that they could not be used to robustly derive the estimated reductions in death and injury. Instead, a correlation between fire size and casualties was used.
Owner Occupation
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of (a) current and (b) future rates of owner occupation among different social groups. [87284]
Andrew Stunell: The English Housing survey has published information on owner-occupation among different social groups in England for 2009-10. Information on a variety of social groups can be found in table 1.2 at the following web address:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1937410.xls
We do not forecast rates of owner occupation.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what assessment he has made of rates of owner occupation (a) nationally, (b) in each constituent part of the UK and (c) in each region; [87389]
(2) what assessment he has made of likely future trends in owner occupation (a) nationally and (b) in each constituent part of the UK. [87283]
Andrew Stunell: Owner occupation is given as part of the tenure split in the published live tables on dwelling stock which can be found at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/stockincludingvacants/livetables/
Live table 101 shows UK figures, with England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Island in tables 104, 105, 106 and 107 respectively. Live table 109 shows regional data for England.
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not forecast trends in owner occupation.
Planning Permission
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision he plans to make in the National Planning Policy Framework to ensure that added weight is given to applications for schemes which will house excluded and vulnerable groups. [87668]
Greg Clark: The draft National Planning Policy Framework asks local planning authorities to plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, market trends and the needs of different groups in the community. The consultation on the draft National Planning Policy Framework has closed and we are now considering all the responses.
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Public Houses: Co-operatives
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many co-operative pubs the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department with responsibility for community pubs has visited in his official capacity since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [86885]
Robert Neill [holding answer 15 December 2011]: Since taking on the role of Minister for Community Pubs, I have visited a number of community pubs in an official capacity. I have accepted invitations to visit two co-operative pubs next year: the George and Dragon at Hudswell, Yorkshire and the Fox and Hounds at Ennerdale, Cumbria.
The Government are supportive of community pubs, including co-operatives, as valuable social hubs. Through the Right to Bid provisions in the Localism Act 2011, we are making it easier for communities to take over and retain these, and other, valuable local assets. The Government also support the work of other organisations, such as the Plunkett Foundation and Pub is the Hub, involved in helping communities to, where appropriate, take over and run their local pubs.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to answer question 79358, on the supporting people scheme, tabled on 3 November 2011 for answer on 7 November 2011; and if he will make a statement. [87680]
Grant Shapps: Parliamentary question 79358 was answered on 19 December 2011, Official Report, column 1017W.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to answer question 83581, on homes, tabled on 23 November 2011 for answer on 25 November 2011. [87682]
Grant Shapps: Question 83581 was answered on 20 December.
Home Department
Animal Experiments
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when (a) each of the three centres in China and (b) the centre in Vietnam which provide non-human primates to UK designated user establishments (i) are due next to be reviewed and (ii) were last reviewed. [87110]
Lynne Featherstone:
Two centres in China are considered acceptable at present. One is currently under review; one was reviewed in September 2011 and is scheduled for review again in August 2013. The centre
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in Vietnam is also considered acceptable, it was last reviewed in October 2011 and the next planned review is in August 2013.
A further centre in China is no longer considered acceptable. No consignments from this source have ever been approved.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the findings were of the most recent reviews of the two Mauritian centres that have supplied animals to the UK for scientific procedures in the last two years. [87111]
Lynne Featherstone: Both Mauritian centres that have supplied animals to the United Kingdom for scientific procedures in the last two years were classified as acceptable. There were no issues identified that required active monitoring by the inspectorate prior to the next review.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how her Department plans to implement EU legislation on reducing the number of animals used in scientific research and replacing them with non-animal methods wherever possible. [87112]
Lynne Featherstone: The European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes provides an opportunity to update current United Kingdom legislation. It will help us promote the development of alternatives through effective legislation, through continuing support to the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) and in Europe through support for the Union Reference Laboratory.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much and what proportion of research funding was allocated to the development of alternatives to the use of non-human primates (NHP); and how much and what proportion of funding was allocated to research using NHPs in the latest period for which figures are available. [87225]
Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if she will impose a moratorium on the development and testing of vaccines against malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB on non-human primates; [87226]
(2) if she will impose a moratorium on the use of non-human primates (NHP) for the development of treatments of degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's due to differences in the brain structures between humans and NHPs. [87227]
Lynne Featherstone: I have no plans to do so.
Research using non-human primates is a small but currently vital part of work to protect and improve human lives. We cannot end such use without halting important areas of medical and scientific research.
Chris Williamson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licences under the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were granted
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for research on non-human primates (NHP) that included water deprivation as a permissible motivational tool in
(a)
2009 and
(b)
2010; to which species of NHP such licences related; and for what reasons such licences were granted. [87228]
Lynne Featherstone: Water restriction as a motivational tool was permitted on licences granted in 2009 and 2010 as in the following table:
|
|
Number of licences | Species | Purpose |
|
Physiological studies and advancement of biological science. |
|||
|
Physiological studies and advancement of biological science. |
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is a formal requirement for all institutions carrying out regulated procedures using non-human primates (NHP) to have in place formal confirmation from the supply centre that the NHP was not weaned at less than six months of age; and what the source is of any such requirement. [87230]
Lynne Featherstone: UK breeding and supplying establishments are expected to comply with the provisions of the “Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals in Designated Breeding and Supplying Establishments”. This code of practice states that:
“Young animals for issue must not be separated from the breeding group until a minimum of six months old, preferable eight months, unless there are good veterinary or husbandry reasons for weaning earlier (e.g. hand-reared triplets). Animals to be used as future breeding stock should not be weaned until a minimum of thirteen months of age.”
“Young animals must not be weaned at less than six months of age and 1kg in body weight, unless on veterinary advice e.g. mother is unable to rear baby. It is preferable not to wean before 12 months of age.”
The use of non-human primates from an overseas source in regulated procedures is authorised only when the centre in question has demonstrated that animals bred and supplied to licensees in the United Kingdom will have been weaned at more than eight months of age except where there is specific justification such as rare cases where infants have been either abandoned or orphaned.
Those seeking to acquire non-human primates from a non-designated establishment are required through a condition on their project licence or certificate to forward to the Home Office information pertaining to the life history of the animals which currently includes details of the youngest weaning age in the batch.
Chris Williamson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of non-human primates authorised to be used in
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regulated procedures in the last 12 months were weaned at under six months of age because they were abandoned or orphaned. [87231]
Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
Asylum
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers whose cases (a) are pending and (b) failed are accommodated in (i) Newport East and (ii) other dispersal areas; and what proportion of such asylum seekers are single men. [83953]
Damian Green [holding answer 30 November 2011]: The current number of work in progress asylum cases in the categories specified is as follows:
|
|
(a) Pending | Proportion of single males (1) (percentage) | (b) Failed | Proportion of single males (1) (percentage) |
| (1) Gender unknown cases not counted as male. (2) All figures quoted are management information which has been subject to internal quality checks. (3) Data relate to S4/S95 accommodated/dispersed cases only. (4) Postcodes are based on the applicants last known address. | ||||
Asylum: Reading West
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many legacy cases concern asylum seekers resident in Reading West constituency; and how many of these are not (a) awaiting prosecution, (b) awaiting removal and (c) subject to ongoing litigation. [87312]
Damian Green: A total of 35 legacy asylum seekers are resident in Reading West. Of these 10 do not meet the criteria under (a), (b) or (c) above. The data are sourced from a local management team and should be treated as provisional.
Babar Ahmad
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the case of Babar Ahmad; and if she will make a statement. [87393]
Damian Green: I have received a number of letters from Members of Parliament on behalf of constituents who have written to them about the case of Babar Ahmad. Mr Ahmad's extradition is stayed while his case is considered by the European Court of Human Rights.
Crime Prevention: Expenditure
Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding was provided to (a) each local authority and (b) each individual non-statutory sector representative as part of the Communities Against Guns, Gangs and Knives Fund in 2010-11. [80514]
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James Brokenshire [holding answer 15 November 2011]: The Communities Against Guns, Gangs, and Knives Fund is not awarded to local authorities. It is a fund that provides £4 million over two years, in grants of up to £10,000 a year, to voluntary and community sector organisations.
A list of these organisations, along with information on which local authority areas they will be working in and their allocated funding for 2010-11, can be found on the grant administrator's website:
http://www.grantsadmin.co.uk/documents/CAGGKY11to12ProjectList.pdf
Departmental Advertising Campaigns
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what public information advertising campaigns her Department ran in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2011-12; and what the cost was of each campaign. [87383]
Damian Green: The following table outlines Home Office and its agencies spend on public information advertising campaigns in 2008-09 and 2009-10, broken down by campaign area. All were carried out via the Central Office of Information. Final spend figures for 2011-12 cannot be provided at this point as the financial year is not yet complete.
|
|
Campaign | Cost (£) |
| (1) IPS Communications costs (and its predecessor the UK Passport Authority) were related to informing the public of passport fee increases and encouraging the public to get the applications in early to help distribute passport demand more evenly throughout the year. (2) Final figures not yet available. | ||
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Food Procurement
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on food purchased through its food and catering services in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [87000]
Damian Green: The requested information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
The Home Office does not directly contract for food supplies but procures catering services through wider facilities management or operating service contracts. Therefore it will not be possible to separate cost of food from catering services without incurring disproportionate cost.
Departmental Manpower
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were working in her Department on (a) 11 May 2010 and (b) 8 December 2011. [87342]
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Damian Green: Information on the number of employees working in the Home Office is published on a regular basis by the Office for National Statistics, as "paid civil servants".
This management information is produced and collated at the end of each month and, as such, figures are not yet available for 8 December 2011. The latest period for which information is available is as at 30 November 2011.
(a) The Home Department employed 31,513 paid civil servants on 11( )May 2010.
(b) The Home Department employed 26,642 paid civil servants on 30( )November 2011.
Parliamentary Written Questions
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parliamentary questions for written answer on a named day by her Department were answered (a) on time, (b) five days late, (c) 10 days late, (d) 20 days late and (e) over 30 days late in each month since May 2010. [79541]
Damian Green: The information requested is provided in the following table.
| Month | Named day PQs answered on time | 5 to 9 days late | 10 to 19 days late | 20 to 30 days late | Over 30 days late |
The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the session. Statistics relating to Government Departments' performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.
DNA
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA samples of people from each ethnic group were retained by the police in respect of people arrested but not subsequently convicted of any crime in the latest period for which figures are available. [87170]
James Brokenshire: This information is not held centrally.
Federation of Student Islamic Societies
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what correspondence her Department has had with the Federation of Student Islamic Societies on civil service recruitment events since 1 June 2011. [77954]
James Brokenshire: I am not aware of any correspondence being sent to the Federation of Student Islamic Societies on civil service recruitment events since 1 June 2011.
Firearms: Licensing
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has any plans to allow police forces to charge fees for firearms licences that reflect the cost of administering them. [87204]
Nick Herbert: The Government are currently considering information submitted by the police on the cost of issuing firearms certificates.
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Human Trafficking
Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings she has had with the Scottish Government to discuss a UK-wide approach to tackling (a) human trafficking and (b) child trafficking since May 2010. [86932]
Damian Green: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has not had meetings with the Scottish Government to discuss a UK-wide approach to tackling human trafficking, including child trafficking.
I chair the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, of which the Scottish Government are a standing member.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of illegal immigrants who may have entered the UK via the Eurostar route from Brussels via Lille during the six months ending November 2011; and if she will make a statement. [86555]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency closely monitors all trains from Lille at St Pancras, Ebbsfleet and Ashford and carries out more detailed checks where it is thought that passengers are attempting to evade controls. A significant number of passengers are also removed from the train at Lille in co-operation with Eurostar and the French authorities. As a result of these actions, around 300 passengers have been stopped at Lille and St Pancras between January to November 2011.
These data are based on management information and as such have not been quality assured. They are provisional and subject to change.
Immigration Controls
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of people who entered the UK at ports operating the pilot scheme of reduced checks at border control points during the pilot scheme. [81095]
Damian Green: There were 20.2 million passenger arrivals to the United Kingdom during the first quarter (January to March) of 2011 of which 2.4 million were non-EEA nationals, 11.2 million were British citizens and 6.5 million were from other EEA countries and Switzerland. These figures are numbers of journeys and include passengers in transit who do not pass through immigration controls.
Further information relating to the second quarter (April to June) of 2011 was published on 24 November 2011 in the Home Office Science publication, “Immigration Statistics July to September 2011” and the third quarter will be published on 23 February 2012. These data will be available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/
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Immigration Controls: Airports
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether passport controls were relaxed at (a) Teesport and (b) Teesside airport during the summer of 2011. [80764]
Damian Green: Risk-based controls under the level 2 pilot were not used at (a) Teesport and (b) Durham Tees Valley (Teesside) airport.
Immigration: Scotland
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she has held discussions with (a) the Secretary of State for Scotland, (b) Ministers in the Scottish Government and (c) representatives of Scottish police forces on the border access checks pilot introduced in summer 2011; and whether in each case those communications were (i) written and (ii) oral. [80506]
Damian Green [holding answer 14 November 2011]: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has not had any discussions or communicated written or orally with (a) the Secretary of State for Scotland, (b) Ministers in the Scottish Government and (c) representatives of Scottish police forces regarding the border access checks pilot introduced in summer 2011.
National Policing Improvement Agency: Finance
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding the National Policing Improvement Agency will receive in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement. [87107]
Nick Herbert: The NPIA's resource and capital funding in 2010-11 and 2011-12 is:
| £ million | ||
|
|
Resource DEL (1) | Capital DEL |
| (1) DEL—Departmental Expenditure Limit | ||
National Policing Improvement Agency: Manpower
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by the National Policing Improvement Agency in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement. [87106]
Nick Herbert: The National Policing Improvement Agency had 1,788 full-time equivalent staff as at 31 March 2011 and 1,583 full-time equivalent staff as at 30 November 2011.
Passports: Gender
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to review how gender is represented in passports; and if she will make a statement. [87357]
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Damian Green: “Advancing Transgender Equality—A Plan for Action” published by Home Office on 8 December 2011 set out our commitment to review how gender identification is represented in passport application forms and passports. We are engaging with international partners on the security and personal safety implications of gender displayed in the passport. This is part of the normal process of working with our partners to ensure that the British passport holder is able to travel freely, securely and without hindrance. Any changes to the UK passport would need to satisfy our rigorous security requirements. We will contact key stakeholders in the UK in the light of the outcome of our discussions with other countries and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
Police: Information
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on research commissioned by police forces in England and Wales on the effectiveness of police information notices. [87506]
Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office does not hold any information on research commissioned by police forces in England and Wales on the effectiveness of police information notices.
As part of our cross-departmental strategy on ending all types of violence against women and girls (Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls Action plan, published on 8 March 2011), which includes measures to tackle stalking, the Home Office launched a consultation in November 2011 which seeks views on how we can protect victims of stalking more effectively, including the use of police information notices.
Police: Recruitment
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has for future police recruitment. [81072]
Nick Herbert: Police forces in England and Wales are responsible for managing their recruitment and selection processes according to local needs and circumstances, in line with national guidance.
Serious and Organised Crime Agency: Finance
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding the Serious Organised Crime Agency will receive in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement. [87105]
Nick Herbert: The Serious Organised Crime Agency received £462,839 million from the Home Office in 2010-11, and is expected to receive £447,894 million in 2011-12.
SMU 100 Laser Device
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when she expects trials of the SMU 100 laser device by UK police forces to be held; and when those trials will be complete; [87143]
20 Dec 2011 : Column 1126W
(2) on what basis she plans to select the police forces that will trial the SMU 100 laser device; and how the results of those trials will be reported to Parliament; [87144]
(3) whether she plans to report the findings of trials on the use of the SMU 100 laser device to the Home Affairs Committee. [87145]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 19 December 2011]: The Home Office has no plans to trial the SMU 100 laser device for use by the police service.
Smuggling: Tobacco
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the expenditure incurred by her Department on salaries for full-time investigation staff allocated to the tackling tobacco smuggling strategy for staff (a) engaged in detection, (b) engaged in investigations, (c) working on intelligence matters and (d) in total in 2009-10. [83504]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency deployed an estimated 1,504 full-time equivalent staff to the tobacco strategy in 2009-10, assigned to detection and intelligence duties. Further and more detailed information is not available as the agency’s expenditure records are not broken down by specific functions and activities.
Investigation and the provision of legal advice in relation to tobacco smuggling remained the responsibility of HM Revenue and Customs.
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in the UK Border Agency were assigned to implementing the tackling tobacco smuggling strategy in 2009-10; and how many such staff were engaged in (a) detection, (b) intelligence gathering and analysis, (c) investigations and (d) the provision of legal advice. [83505]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency deployed an estimated 1,504 full-time equivalent staff to the tobacco strategy in 2009-10, assigned to detection and intelligence duties. Further and more detailed information on expenditure is not available. Investigation and the provision of legal advice in relation to tobacco smuggling remained the responsibility of HM Revenue and Customs.
Stalking: Harassment
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps she is taking to encourage victims of stalking and harassment to respond to her Department's consultation on stalking; [87549]
(2) what meetings are planned with victims of stalking and harassment as part of her Department's consultation on stalking; [87550]
(3) whether her Department plans to consult with perpetrators of stalking as part of its consultation on stalking. [87551]
Lynne Featherstone:
The Home Office launched a consultation on 14 November 2011 to seek views on how to protect victims of stalking more effectively. This
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is a public consultation, as well as specifically seeking the views of key partners and directly affected parties, and as such responses from victims and perpetrators of stalking will be welcomed. The consultation closes on 5 February.
The Home Office ran a series of regional road shows on stalking in November and December in Manchester, Durham, London and Avon and Somerset, to explore how partners can work together to better understand and tackle this important issue. Attendees included victims groups, individual victims and their relatives, as well as the police and Crown Prosecution Service. The events included interactive workshops on existing legislation and guidance, and discussions with experts on the effectiveness of current methods to tackle stalking and harassment. The road shows also gathered views to feed into the stalking consultation.
Justice
Brain: Injuries
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what research his Department has undertaken on the effects on offending of acquired brain injury in the last 18 months. [87360]
Mr Blunt: No research has been undertaken by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) on the effects on offending of acquired brain injury in the last 18 months.
Chief Coroner
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice by what date he expects to appoint the chief coroner. [87471]
Mr Djanogly: The Lord Chief Justice is responsible for appointing the chief coroner under schedule 8 to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. We are continuing to discuss the matter, including timescales, with the Lord Chief Justice.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with (a) his ministerial colleagues and (b) the senior judiciary on the appointment of a chief coroner. [87686]
Mr Djanogly: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), and I have discussed the appointment of a chief coroner with the Lord Chief Justice in recent weeks. We have not, however, had any discussions with ministerial colleagues on this issue.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) when he expects (a) to announce the appointment of a chief coroner and (b) the chief coroner to take up his or her post; [87688]
(2) when he plans to announce who will be appointed as a chief coroner. [87764]
Mr Djanogly: The Lord Chief Justice is responsible for appointing the chief coroner under schedule 8 to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. We are continuing to discuss this matter, including timescales, with the Lord Chief Justice.
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Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to meet bereavement organisations to discuss the appointment of a chief coroner; and when such meetings will take place. [87690]
Mr Djanogly: Ministry of Justice officials plan to meet bereavement organisations in the new year to discuss implementation of the coroner reforms in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. However, under schedule 8 to the Act, the appointment of the chief coroner is a matter for the Lord Chief Justice, following consultation with the Lord Chancellor.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he proposes that the chief coroner will be a High Court judge. [87767]
Mr Djanogly: Under Schedule 8 to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 the chief coroner must be either a High Court judge or a Circuit judge. Appointment of the chief coroner is, however, a matter for the Lord Chief Justice, following consultation with the Lord Chancellor.
Civil Justice Council
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under what categories of expenditure he expects the Civil Justice Council to make savings in 2011-12 relative to its budget in 2010-11. [87462]
Mr Djanogly: The Civil Justice Council has reduced its staff costs by moving to a joint secretariat with the Family Justice Council. Overall, this has resulted in two fewer posts, relative to 2010-11. The Civil Justice Council has reduced its non-staff running costs by 23% in 2011-12 when compared with 2010-11.
Criminal Injuries Compensation
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many awards the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has made showing the number of awards in bands of £25,000. [87598]
Mr Djanogly: Figures covering cases resolved in the period 14 June 2010 to 14 December 2011 are shown in the following table:
| Awards paid | |
| Band | Number |
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Food Procurement
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on food purchased through its food and catering services in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [86993]
Mr Djanogly: The amount spent by the Department on food purchased through its food and catering services during 2010-11 is given in the following table. From 2010, the Department has restricted catering for internal and external meetings, including in our arm's-length bodies.
The following restrictions apply to all departmental staff:
No lunches, tea or coffees can be ordered for any internal meeting.
For external meetings, catering procurement requires director-level sign-off and are only allowed in exceptional circumstances.
| 2010-11 | |
|
|
£000 |
| (1) MOJ HQ—Catering costs for external meetings (i.e. including visitors/attendees external to the organisation) and staff training courses. (2) HMCTS—In addition to catering costs for external meetings and staff training courses, the figures also include the cost of catering for judiciary and jurors. (3) NOMS—The cost of food is in respect of public sector prisons, and almost entirely relates to the cost of providing food to the prison population in England and Wales. It does not include any associated costs such as contracted catering services, staff and prisoner labour and training costs, the purchase of kitchen and servery facilities, utilities and other overheads. These figures also include a minor element for the cost of external meetings and staff training courses. | |
Departmental Manpower
Sadiq Khan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent staff were employed (a) in the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council, (b) as an Assessor for Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice, (c) on the Civil Justice Council, (d) on the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, (e) on the Criminal Cases Review Commission, (f) on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, (g) on the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee, (h) on the Crown Court Rule Committee, (i) on the Family Justice Council, (j) on the Family Procedure Rule Committee, (k) in the HM Inspectorate of Prisons, (l) in the HM Inspectorate of Probation, (m) on the Insolvency Rules Committee, (n) on the Judicial Appointments Commission, (o) as Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman, (p) in the Judicial Office, (q) on the Law Commission, (r) on the Legal Services Board, (s) on the Legal Services Commission, (t) in the National Offender Management Service, (u) in the
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Probation Service,
(v)
in the Court Funds Office,
(w)
in the Office of the Information Commissioner,
(x)
in the Office for Judicial Complaints,
(y)
as Legal Ombudsman,
(z)
in the Office of the Public Guardian, (aa) as an Official Solicitor and Public Trustee, (ab) on the Parole Board, (ac) as a Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, (ad) on the Sentencing Council, (ae) on the Tribunal procedure Committee, (af) as a Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses and (ag) on the Youth Justice Board on (i) 1 May 2010 and (ii) 1 November 2011. [82518]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The following table provides details of the numbers of full-time equivalent staff employed within the requested organisations:
| Civil servants | Public servants | |||
|
|
30 April 2010 | 31 August 2011 | 30 April 2010 | 31 August 2011 |
20 Dec 2011 : Column 1131W
| n/a = information for this date is not available because it is not held centrally. Where possible alternative data are provided as a footnote. (1) CCRC data are available for 31 March 2010. Total staff was 81. (2) For 30 April 2010 the Ministry holds only the numbers of CICA staff employed within the Ministry. The data for 31 August 2011 include CICA staff within the Scottish Government. However, on 31 March 2010, the total number of CICA staff (including those within the Scottish Government was 370). (3) JAC data are available for 31 March 2010. Total staff was 98. (4) The increase in Judicial Office staff was the result of a restructure exercise, where staff from MOJ HQ assigned to Judicial Office duties were transferred to the Judicial Office. (5) LSB data are available for 30 June 2010. Total staff was 32.6. (6) LSC data are available for 30 June 2010. Total staff was 1,437.9. (7) The change in staff numbers in NOMS also reflects a transfer of 1,200 NOMS HQ staff to MOJ HQ. (8) Probation Service data are available for 31 March 2010. Total staff was 20,440. (9) OIC data are available for 31 March 2010. Total staff was 313. (10) Includes chief ombudsman. Two ombudsman were recruited to vacancies in June 2010. (11) The OPG office is being relocated to Birmingham and in the transition period covering the move there is an overlap where staff have been recruited in Birmingham before staff in London are released. (12) Parole Board data are available for 31 March 2010. Total staff was 95. (13) YJB data are available for 31 March 2010. Total staff was 272. Note: Information is available for executive non-departmental public bodies (CCRC, CICA, JAC, LSC, LSB, Parole Board and YJB) as at 30 June 2010 and at 31 March 2011 as part of the transparency agenda and can be accessed at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/transparency-data/senior-civil-service-salaries-and-organograms.htm | ||||
Parliamentary Written Questions
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of questions for ordinary written answer received a substantive response within (a) 10, (b) 20, (c) 30 and (d) more than 30 sitting days in the 2010-12 session to date. [85932]
Mr Djanogly: In the current session from May 2010 to 9 December 2011 the Ministry of Justice answered 4,190 ordinary written questions. Of those, 4,158 (99.24%) were answered within 10 sitting days, 26 (0.62%) within 20 sitting days, five (0.12%) within 30 sitting days and one (0.02%) after more than 30 sitting days.
These figures have been drawn from MOJ's PQ database, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments’ performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.
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Domestic Violence: Crime Prevention
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many restraining orders have been made under section 12 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 following (a) sentence and (b) acquittal for any offence in each of the last five years; [87433]
(2) in how many cases a restraining order under section 12 of the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004 has been made following an application by a victim since September 2009. [87519]
Mr Blunt: On 30 September 2009, section 12 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 amended section 5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 to allow a restraining order to be granted following conviction for any offence and even where a defendant is acquitted.
The number of restraining orders issued under sections 5 (following conviction) and 5A (following acquittal) of the Protection from Harassment Act from 2006 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table. Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring of 2012.
Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include all the details of the circumstances associated with each case, beyond the description provided in the statute under which proceedings are brought. It is therefore not possible to separately identify those restraining orders issued as a result of an application by a victim from those issued under other circumstances.
| Restraining orders issued at all courts in England and Wales under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, in each year between 2006 and 2010 | |||||
| Disposal | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 (1) | 2009 | 2010 |
| n/a = Not applicable (1) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (2) On 30 September 2009, section 12 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 came into force. This provision amended section 5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. This amendment enables the court to impose a restraining order in a much wider range of circumstances than previously. Under these rules, restraining orders can be granted following conviction for any offence. (3) On 30 September 2009. section 12 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 came into force. This added an additional provision (section 5A), which allows a court to impose a restraining order on acquittal if it considers it necessary to protect a person from harassment by the defendant. Notes: 1. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services within the Ministry of Justice. | |||||
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Employment Tribunal Service
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases of (a) an unpaid employment tribunal award and (b) an unpaid ACAS settlement have been passed to High Court enforcement officers under the ACAS and Employment Tribunal Fast Track enforcement mechanism since its introduction; and in how many such cases the unpaid award or settlement was (i) fully, (ii) partially and (iii) not recovered. [86226]
Mr Djanogly: 2,072 unpaid employment tribunal awards and 210 unpaid ACAS settlements have been passed to High Court enforcement officers under the ACAS and Employment Tribunal Fast Track since its commencement on 6 April 2010.
The fast track is operated by the High Court Enforcement Officers Association and as such it is responsible for collation of performance data. The data requested are not segregated from other types of High Court enforcement and will require a specific collection exercise, which will be concluded by 31 January 2012. Thereafter I will write to you with the details.
Inquiries Act 2005
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the restriction order made by the Chairman of the Leveson Inquiry on 28 November 2011, if he will assess the effectiveness of the operation of section 19 of the Inquiries Act 2005. [85594]
Mr Djanogly: I have noted Lord Justice Leveson's ruling of 28 November 2011, but there are no plans to assess the effectiveness of section 19 of the Inquiries Act 2005. The Ministry of Justice conducted post-legislative scrutiny of the Inquiries Act 2005 in 2010 and the memorandum submitted to the Justice Select Committee in October 2010 concluded that the measures introduced by the Inquiries Act 2005 had achieved the objectives of the legislation and the Justice Select Committee did not request full post-legislative scrutiny of the Act.
Police: Hearing Impairment
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to promote deaf awareness among police officers and prison staff. [86934]
Mr Djanogly: As a Department, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is working to embed equality and diversity as a part of everyday business. As an employer the MOJ is committed to ensuring that our policies are fair and accessible to all, and as a provider of services, that this is done so in a way that meets the aims of the Public Sector Equality Duty (Equality Act, 2010).
Police officers are not the responsibility of the MOJ. The Home Office has advised that the Initial Police Learning Programme addresses the needs of individuals who have communication difficulties. Further training available includes guidance and information for officers dealing with people who are hearing impaired and who have hearing disabilities.
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In respect of prison staff, there is not a separate specific policy on deaf awareness; rather this is encompassed in wider considerations on disabilities more generally. These include Prison Service and agency instructions on ensuring equality of treatment for staff and on our duties as a public authority. We have also launched a disability staff support network and there is an Equalities Group intranet site containing a suite of information and guidance around equality and diversity that can be accessed by managers and staff in NOMS HQ and public sector prisons.
Through local monitoring, prison establishments and HQ groups must determine which interventions or adjustments are best suited to meet their particular needs in respect of staff and prisoners with disabilities. An example of this can be found at HMP Whatton, where there are staff who have been fully trained in British Sign Language (BSL) and so are able to assist prisoners who are deaf and able to sign.
Police: Information
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what research has been commissioned by his Department on the effectiveness of police information notices. [87520]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has not commissioned any research on this, as it is a matter for the Home Office.
Postcodes
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department uses postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail. [84176]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: Aside from postage purposes, the Ministry of Justice uses postcodes operationally to help identify suppliers on its finance systems. A thorough investigation into the uses of postcodes throughout the organisation would incur disproportionate costs, though it is possible that some teams within the organisation would also use them for similar, statistical or demographic purposes.
Prisons: Finance
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much he had budgeted for the adult prison estate at the start of 2011-12; and what the revised estimate was of expenditure in 2011-12 on 1 December 2011. [87366]
Mr Blunt: The resource budget allocations for the adult prison estate for private and public prisons in England and Wales at the start of April 2011 was £1,835.4 million. The revised estimated expenditure in December 2011 is £1,842.7 million.
Notes:
1. Establishments are categorised by their main role and where they have more than one role, they are placed in the category that represents the primary or dominant function of the prison. The overall establishment budgets represents all prisons where the majority use was as adult prison.
2. Allocated budgets may be subject to amendment during the financial year.
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Translation Services
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the (a) average and (b) maximum delay was in the provision of interpreters and translators in (i) courts and (ii) tribunals in November (A) 2010 and (B) 2011; [87361]
(2) how much his Department spent on the provision of language services in the 12 months before those services were outsourced; [87466]
(3) how many interpreters and translators were used by HM Courts and Tribunals Service in each month since October 2010; [87539]
(4) what representations he has received from professional bodies representing interpreters and translators on the transfer to Accredited Language Services of his Department's interpretation services; [87540]
(5) how many organisations tendered for his Department's interpretation service contract that was awarded to Accredited Language Services. [87541]
Mr Blunt: The information is as follows.
(1) Information on delay in the provision of language services is not collected. Under our new contract for language services we will in future be able to monitor whether assignments are delivered on time.
(2) The latest figure available is for the 2010-11 financial year, when costs were estimated to be in the region of £25.8 million.
(3) Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service does not record the number of interpreters and translators used in each month.
(4) The Ministry sought and received a range of views, both from individual interpreters and their various representative groups. We have also conducted meetings with a range of those groups, and invited stakeholders to submit their views directly to the project through a dedicated email address. My officials sought views on the specific proposals as they had emerged from the competitive dialogue process, which was undertaken between 30 March 2011 and 4 May 2011. We received a wide range of views in response. All of the responses received were carefully considered by the project team, and formed part of the advice submitted to me when making the decision whether to move to the Framework Agreement. The Ministry continues to receive, consider and respond to correspondence from interested parties and groups.
(5) 126 companies submitted an expression of interest. Of those, 67 submitted a completed pre-qualification questionnaire. 12 were invited to dialogue, six were invited to submit Outline Solutions, three were invited to submit detailed solutions and one (Applied Language Solutions) was invited to submit a final tender.
Witnesses
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many witnesses were called to give evidence in (a) magistrates courts and (b) Crown courts in each year from 1997 to 2010. [87699]
Mr Djanogly: Information about the total number of witnesses called to give evidence in the magistrates courts and Crown court is not held centrally, as it is not recorded by court staff electronically as part of their routine daily administrative duties.
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Health
Air Pollution
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the monetary value of benefits to public health for every pound spent on improving air quality. [81182]
Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) to the answer I gave him on 21 November 2011, Official Report, column 188W.
Alcoholic Drinks: Ex-servicemen
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the levels of alcohol abuse amongst military veterans. [87108]
Mr Simon Burns: The requested information is not collected centrally. However, according to Dr Nicola Fear, Dr Dan Wood and Professor Simon Wessely in their 2009 report 'Health and Social Outcomes and Health Experiences of UK Military Veterans' (Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health/The King's Centre for Military Health Research November 2009), alcohol problems feature among the most common mental health problems for ex-service personnel, along with depression and anxiety disorders. For serving and ex-service personnel, the prevalence of hazardous drinking is far higher than in the general population.
The Department is doing much to improve mental health outcomes for veterans, following the publication of my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison)’s report ‘Fighting Fit' in October 2010. The Department contributed £7.2 million to the implementation of the recommendations coming out of this report. One of the key features of the work completed to date is the launch of integrated veterans' mental health services in each of the 10 existing strategic health authority areas. These have a holistic focus on mental health, and contributing factors, including alcohol and substance abuse. They are up and running in the north and south-west, and roll-out will continue to the end of the current financial year.
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times stomach pumping was used in NHS hospitals for the treatment of excessive alcohol consumption since 1 January 2011; what proportion of patients so treated were under the age of 18; and how these figures compare to the equivalent time period in 2010. [87120]
Anne Milton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Alcoholic Drinks: Obesity
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) males and (b) females under the age of 18 have been treated for (i) alcohol-induced and (ii) obesity-induced illness in NHS hospitals (A) since 1 January 2011 and (B) in the equivalent period in 2010. [87121]
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Anne Milton: Provisional figures show that the estimated number of males under the age of 18 that have been treated for alcohol-induced illness in national health service hospitals since 1 January 2011 was 3,579 and in the equivalent period in 2010 (January 2010 - August 2010) was 3,859.
The estimated number of females under the age of 18 that have been treated for alcohol-induced illness in national health service hospitals since 1 January 2011 is 4,393 and in the equivalent period in 2010 (January 2010 - August 2010) was 4,746.
The estimated number of males under the age of 18 that have been treated for obesity-induced illness in
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national health service hospitals since 1 January 2001 is 193 and in the equivalent period in 2010 (January 2010 - August 2010) was 208.
The estimated number of females under the age of 18 that have been treated for obesity-induced illness in national health service hospitals since 1 January 2011 is 228 and in the equivalent period in 2010 (January 2010 - August 2010) was 258.
This is shown in the following table. The data in the table should not be described as a count of people, as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion.
| Count of alcohol-related admissions (1) and admissions (2) with a primary diagnosis (3) of Obesity, for people aged Under 18 (4) , by gender, for the period January 2010—August 2010 and January 2011—August 2011 (5) (Data from April-August 2011 are provisional) (6) —Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector | ||||||
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January-March 2010 | April-August 2010 | Total | January-March 2011 | April-August 2011 (Provisional) | Total |
| (1) Alcohol-related admissions. The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO), which uses 48 indicators for alcohol-related illnesses, determining the proportion of a wide range of diseases and injuries that can be partly attributed to alcohol as well as those that are, by definition, wholly attributable to alcohol. Further information on these proportions can be found at: http://www.nwph.net/nwpho/publications/AlcoholAttributableFractions.pdf The application of the NWPHO methodology has recently been updated and is now available directly from Hospital Episode Statistics. As such, information about episodes estimated to be alcohol related may be slightly different from previously published data. (2) Finished admission episodes. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (3) Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. ICD-10 codes used: E66: Obesity (4) Age The attributable fractions are not applicable to children under 16. Therefore figures for this age group relate only to wholly-attributable admissions, where the attributable fraction is one. (5) Provisional data: The data are provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, ie November from the (month nine) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected. (6) Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Note: Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care | ||||||