Excise Duties: Gaming Machines
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the economic effect of the introduction of Machine Game Duty on (a) seaside tourism and (b) city centres. [90921]
Miss Chloe Smith: The latest assessment of the impact of Machine Games Duty (MGD) on individuals and businesses is available in the Tax Information and Impacts Note published on 6 December 2011 together with draft legislation for MGD.
This publication can be found online at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/machine_games_duty.pdf
The detailed tax impact on, and within, specific gambling sectors will be estimated after MGD rates are set.
Sandra Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of Machine Gaming Duty on (a) jobs and (b) businesses in the amusement sector. [91243]
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Miss Chloe Smith: The latest assessment of the impact of Machine Games Duty (MGD) on individuals and businesses is available in the Tax Information and Impacts Note published on 6 December 2011 together with draft legislation for MGD.
This publication can be found online at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/machine_games_duty.pdf
The detailed tax impact on, and within, specific gambling sectors will be estimated after MGD rates are set.
Financial Services
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the quality of data published by banks on their lending activities to businesses in deprived areas; and if he will make a statement; [90738]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of households who do not have (a) a bank account, (b) a private pension, (c) home insurance and (d) life insurance (i) in total and (ii) resident in the poorest five per cent. of local authority wards; and if he will make a statement; [90740]
(3) what estimate has been made of the number of adults without access to a bank account in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement; [90741]
(4) if he will take steps to encourage (a) banks, (b) payday lenders, (c) insurance companies, (d) private pension fund providers and (e) other financial services businesses to publish their (i) lending, (ii) insurance and (iii) take-up by (A) postcode area and (B) local authority ward area; and if he will make a statement. [90744]
Mr Hoban: The following table from HM Treasury's “Statistical Release: Households without access to bank accounts 2008-2009”, shows the most up-to-date figures for the number of unbanked broken down by number of adults and households.
| Table 1: Unbanked (without access to transactional account) | ||||
| Households without transactional account—positively affirmed no account | Adults without access to transactional account—positively affirmed no account | |||
| Thousand | Percentage of total | Thousand | Percentage of total | |
Data from the Family Resources Survey indicates that in 2009-10, 36% of people aged 16 to 64 in Great Britain (14 million) were contributing to private pensions—38% of men and 34% of women.
In general, the Government do not require businesses to publish data relating to the geographical distribution of their customers.
Gift Aid
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider relaxing the requirement that in order to claim 25 per cent. Gift Aid, charities must write a letter to the donor on each occasion a donated item is sold. [90678]
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Miss Chloe Smith: Gift aid applies only to gifts of money. If a donor wishes to give something other than money, gift aid cannot be applied. However, at the suggestion of the charity sector, HM Revenue and Customs has allowed existing gift aid legislation to be applied to the proceeds of charity shop sales. To qualify for gift aid treatment, the charity and donor must agree that the charity is selling the goods as the donor's agent. The donor must be able to choose to keep the sale proceeds if they wish.
Accordingly, charities will write to the donor when they want to make a gift aid repayment claim that includes the proceeds of the sale of the item. If a charity has a number of items to sell on behalf of a donor, the charity need not write multiple letters but can wait until all the items have been sold before contacting the donor.
The charity must inform the donor of the amount raised by the sale so that the donor can make a decision as to whether to donate the proceeds and assure themselves that they have paid, or will pay, sufficient tax to cover the gift aid reclaimed by the charity. Without this information, the donor cannot be said to have made a valid donation for gift aid purposes.
Further information on how the scheme works is available online at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/gift_aid/rules/retail.htm
My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer keeps all taxes, and tax reliefs, under review along Budget timelines.
Income Tax
Mr Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of income tax revenue was derived from the (a) first, (b) second, (c) third and (d) fourth quartile of earners in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12. [91304]
Mr Gauke: Projected shares of income tax liabilities arising for individuals in the four quartiles of the distribution of income taxpayers by total income is provided in the following table. All additional and higher rate taxpayers are in the fourth quartile.
| Share of total tax liabilities (Percentage) | ||
| Taxpayer quartile by total income | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
These estimates are based on the 2007-08 Survey of Personal Incomes projected in line with the Office of Budget Responsibility’s budget 2011 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Further information on the distribution of taxpayer incomes and income tax liabilities is published in table 2.4 “Shares of total income (before and after tax) and income tax for percentile groups, 1999-00 to 2011-12”, available on the HMRC website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2-4.pdf
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Insurance: Floods
Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 19 December 2011, Official Report, columns 140-1WS, on flood risk management, what meetings (a) have taken place since 19 December 2011 and (b) are planned between officials and Ministers in his Department to discuss progress on ensuring the universal availability of flood insurance from July 2013. [91013]
Miss Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
The Government remain committed to making sure flood insurance remains widely available, and will continue to work with insurance companies to consider what additional measures might help safeguard the affordability of flood insurance for households. As part of this ongoing work the feasibility, value for money and deliverability of targeting funds to help those most in need will be considered, building on the analysis undertaken by the working groups established after last year's flood summit.
The Government continue to consider options over the winter months with the aim of making further announcements in the spring.
Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to review the budget allocated to the Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme. [91361]
Mr Gauke: There are no plans to review the budget allocated to the Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme at this stage.
Loans
Mr Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money was owed to the UK, and by which countries, in the last year for which figures are available. [90664]
Miss Chloe Smith: The information is as follows:
It is in our national interest that the Irish economy is successful and its banking system is stable. With this in mind, UK signed an agreement with Ireland for a bilateral loan of £3.2 billion. The first tranche of £403.37 million was disbursed on 14 October 2011.
In November 2008, following the Financial Services Authority's announcement that the UK branch of Landsbanki was in default, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) began payouts to UK depositors with Icesave. The FSCS made payments of
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approximately £4.5 billion to UK depositors in Icesave. As at 31 March 2011 these payments were made up of three different tranches:
£2.3 billion for deposit balances up to €20,887 (£16,872) which should have been paid by the Icelandic Depositors and Investor Guarantee Fund (DIGF);
£1.4 billion for deposit balances above £16,872 and below £50,000 which the FSCS is liable for.
£0.8 billion for deposit balances above £50,000 which HM Treasury is liable for.
Therefore the Iceland Depositors and Investor Guarantee Fund owes the UK approximately £2.3 billion. The Government expect this to be repaid in full.
As at 31 March 2011, the UK Government's official holdings of international reserves were approximately £53 billion, of which £35 billion were held in foreign currency assets. The majority of these holdings are in bonds issued or guaranteed by national Governments (eg the US, euro area countries and Japan).
Manufacturing Industries
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the effect of the outsourcing of services in the manufacturing sector on its assessed contribution to GDP in National Statistics over the last 30 years. [90932]
Miss Chloe Smith: The outsourcing of services previously undertaken by the manufacturing sector would have an impact on the composition of measured GDP. However, due to data constraints, no assessment of this impact has been made.
Any statistical impact would result from the movement of the output associated with these services from the manufacturing sector to the service sector. Holding all else constant this would result in a decline in the manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP and an increase in the service sector contribution. However, there would be no overall change to GDP itself.
Mortgages
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans his Department has for future regulation of buy-to-let mortgage loans. [90971]
Mr Hoban: The Government recognise the importance of the private rental sector to accommodate people’s housing needs. Buy-to-let properties, which currently represent around one third of the privately rented stock, make an important and valuable contribution.
The European Commission has proposed a directive on the regulation of residential mortgages. The Government believe that buy-to-let mortgages should be exempt from the directive.
While the Government continue to negotiate for an exemption for buy-to-let lending from the directive, we are working with industry and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to limit the impact of any potential future regulation on the buy-to-let market.
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Revenue and Customs: Industrial Disputes
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to ensure that members of the public are able to obtain assistance and advice on the deadline for online self-assessment returns in the event of industrial action by HM Revenue and Customs employees. [90733]
Mr Gauke: The Government consider that the planned potential industrial action on 31 January is unnecessary.
HMRC has well-established contingency plans in place and is doing everything possible to support customers on the self-assessment online filing deadline.
Revenue and Customs: Standards
David Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the policy of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is on charging penalties for late return if the delay is the fault of HMRC. [90585]
Mr Gauke: In any case where HMRC accepts that a taxpayer has a reasonable excuse for the late submission of a return, legislation allows for any late-return penalty to be removed. It is not possible to say that something always would, or would not, be a reasonable excuse because every case is considered on its own merits. However, if a taxpayer would have submitted a return on time but fails to so as a direct result of a failing or delay by HMRC, HMRC would accept that there is a reasonable excuse and cancel the penalty.
If HMRC do not agree that there is a reasonable excuse, the taxpayer can appeal to an independent tribunal.
Tax Evasion
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to reduce the incidence of tax evasion. [91033]
Mr Gauke: The Government are determined to tackle tax evasion of all kinds and ensure that the tax system operates fairly and efficiently for all. As part of the 2010 spending review settlement we announced that just over £900 million would be made available to HMRC to step-up their activity in tackling tax loss. For the four-year period from April 2011 HMRC will reinvest £917 million of the savings they make to maximise additional revenues, which will include putting extra resource into tackling both evasion and avoidance. This reinvestment will fund a range of measures which will enable HMRC to bring in around £7 billion each year in additional revenues by 2014-1 5.
Universal Credit: Self-employed
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to introduce minimum pay for self-employed workers when calculating tax credits in respect of the Government's plans for universal credit. [90541]
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Mr Gauke: The Government have no current plans to introduce minimum pay for self-employed workers when calculating tax credits in respect of their plans for universal credit.
Unpaid Taxes
Bill Esterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax was unpaid in each of the last three years; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of collecting all unpaid tax in each of the next three years. [91376]
Mr Gauke: The amounts of unpaid tax are shown in the HMRC Consolidated Accounts and Trust Statements for each of the last three years. These can be found on the HMRC website. The overall costs of collecting taxes are spread across a number of HMRC business units and it is not possible within the cost parameters to specify the amounts.
VAT
Albert Owen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment HM Revenue and Customs has made of the effect on small businesses of making online submission of VAT returns compulsory from April 2012. [91230]
Mr Gauke: HMRC ran a formal consultation exercise (from 8 August to 31( )October 2011) which asked for comments and volumetrics on how those customers might be impacted.
HMRC has published its response to the consultation on its website:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ ConsultationDocuments&propertyType=document&columns-1&id=HMCE_PROD1_031788
HMRC also published details of the help and support available to customers on the 'What's New' section of its website:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/news/index.htm
VAT: Fraud
Mr Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of VAT fraud within the EU emissions trading system in each year since 2008. [91305]
Mr Gauke: The total cost to the Exchequer of VAT fraud involving EU emission allowances was almost £300 million, all of which occurred in 2009. HMRC is relentlessly pursuing all those involved and the net loss to the Exchequer will be significantly lower. Anti-fraud legislation has since removed the scope for this type of VAT fraud to be perpetrated.
VAT: Repayments
Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many small and medium-sized businesses were rejected repayment agreements in respect of their VAT liability in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12 to date; [90526]
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(2) how many small and medium-sized businesses were granted repayment agreements in respect of their VAT liability in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12 to date. [90527]
Mr Gauke: The information is not available and could be researched only at disproportionate cost.
Working Tax Credit: Shrewsbury
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many households in Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency in receipt of working tax credit were working less than 24 hours per week in the latest period for which figures are available; [90542]
(2) how many households in Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency will no longer be entitled to tax credits following the introduction of changes to credits from April 2012. [90543]
Mr Gauke: In December 2011, there were around 200 couples with children in Shrewsbury and Atcham in receipt of working tax credit working fewer than 24 hours per week.
HMRC estimate around 1,700 households in Shrewsbury and Atcham will see their tax credit award reduced to zero following changes from April 2012, principally due to the removal of the second income threshold of child tax credit.
Cabinet Office
Big Society Capital
Mr Love: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much money Big Society Capital has raised from dormant accounts in banks, building societies and other financial institutions since its inception; what estimate he has made of the amounts that will be raised in each year to 2014-15; and if he will make a statement. [91287]
Mr Hurd: The Government have committed that the Big Society Bank will be established using every penny of dormant bank and building society money available for spending in England as identified in the Dormant Bank and Building Societies Act 2008.
The dormant accounts scheme is administered by Reclaim Fund Ltd which has begun to receive dormant account money from a number of banks and building societies since its establishment last year. Reclaim Fund Ltd will hold back a portion of this money to meet claims from customers, and release any surplus for spending on social purposes.
Reclaim Fund Ltd has so far released £47.6 million for spending on social purposes. This money will be apportioned between the four countries of the UK and the English portion will be transferred to Big Society Capital once it has been authorised by the FSA. Indications are that Reclaim Fund will release a total of around £60 million for social purposes by summer 2012. This will be followed by further releases determined by Reclaim Fund Ltd's independent board and based on the observed rate of reclaim of dormant accounts. The British Bankers'
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Association estimates that the total amount available in dormant accounts may be of the order of £320-400 million.
Charitable Donations
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to incentivise employers to offer payroll giving opportunities to their employees; and if he will make a statement. [91423]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office has been gathering views from Payroll Giving agencies (the charities that process employer donations) as well as existing online giving providers and key sector groups with a view to understand ways in which the Payroll Giving system might be improved.
The National Payroll Giving Excellence Awards were successfully re-launched in October 2011 at 11 Downing Street. This included the announcement of a new Platinum Quality Mark to recognise the very best employer payroll giving work.
The Cabinet Office is looking to work with large public and private sector employers with a view to generate behavioural insights into payroll giving based on their experience.
The Government are further co-ordinating their work on Payroll Giving. The inaugural Payroll Giving Working Group met in early November 2011 and pages have been created on the Civil Pages site for information exchange between Payroll Giving representatives from Government Departments and agencies.
EU Law
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department holds information on the EU regulations in its policy areas of responsibility which have not been implemented in (a) France and (b) Germany; on which dates those regulations became EU law; and if he will make a statement. [90690]
Mr Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr Prisk), who has responsibility for business and enterprise.
Families
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of children live with (a) married (first time marriage), (b) married (reconstituted), (c) divorced (living with father), (d) divorced (living with mother) and (e) separated families. [91542]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your request to ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of children live with (a) married (first time marriage), (b) married (reconstituted), (c) divorced (living with father), (d) divorced (living with mother) and (e) separated families (91542).
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The number and type of children in families in the UK can be estimated using the Labour Force Survey. Estimates are provided for dependent children which are those living with their parent(s) and either (a) aged under 16, or (b) aged 16 to 18 in full-time education, excluding children aged 16 to 18 who have a spouse, partner or child living in the household.
ONS normally publishes statistics about children by family type based on who is currently living in the household, and it is not straightforward to determine which adults in a family are birth parents of a particular child or whether married adults are in a first marriage or remarriage. In the table below, married couple families and cohabiting couple families include families where:
neither, one or both parents are birth parents; or
neither, one or both parents have been previously married.
| Dependent children by family type, UK 2011 | ||
| Family type | Estimate (thousand) | Percentage of children |
| Notes:1. Estimates do not sum exactly due to rounding. 2. “Other marital status” includes single (never married), married (separated), widowed, civil partner (separated) and surviving civil partner (partner having died). 3. Cohabiting couple families also include same-sex cohabiting couples. | ||
As with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many and what proportion of children live in more than one household; [91543]
(2) what estimate he has made of the effect of the number of children living in more than one household on the accuracy of national statistics concerning children. [91544]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking:
1. how many and what proportion of children live in more than one household (91543);
2. what estimate he has made of the effect of the number of children living in more than one household on the accuracy of national statistics concerning children (91544).
The Office for National Statistics does not routinely publish estimates of the number or proportion of children who live in more than one household. However, two sources, an article about children with a non-resident parent, and the 2001 census can provide some information. Two further sources will be able to provide such an estimate in the future; the 2011 census and the longitudinal survey Understanding Society.
A. Article ‘Children with a non-resident parent’
The article ‘Children with a non-resident parent’ published by ONS in Population Trends 140, see:
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www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/population-trends-rd/population-trends/no--140--summer-2010/index.html
estimated from survey data that 3.8 million, or 30 per cent, of dependent children in Great Britain had a birth parent not living in the household in 2009. This figure will be much higher than the number of children living in more than one household because it was estimated that over half of such children never stay overnight with their non-resident parent. Only 18 per cent of children with a non-resident parent were estimated to stay with them at least once a week, so the majority of children with a non-resident parent may be considered as living in one household. There is no agreed definition of how much time a child would need to spend staying in a second household for them to be considered as ‘living in more than one household’.
B. 2001 census
It is possible that a child may be enumerated twice in a census, where two parents living in separate households both complete a census form for the same child. Following the 2001 census, research using the Longitudinal Study (LS) showed that a very small proportion of LS members (0.38 per cent) had been enumerated more than once in the census. Of these, less than 5 per cent were children of separated or divorced parents who were enumerated as living with both parents, see:
http://celsius.lshtm.ac.uk/documents/LS10.pdf
p95-97.
Therefore the only way that children living in more than one household could affect the accuracy of national statistics concerning children is because population estimates for mid-2001 onwards are based on the 2001 census. However, it is very unlikely that any further double counting could have entered the population estimates between mid-2001 and mid-2010 through the components of birth or migration since 2001.
C. 2011 census
The 2011 census asked for all residents in England and Wales, including children, ‘do you stay at another address for more than 30 days a year?’. If the response was ‘yes’, the respondent was asked to provide the address and also asked about the type of second address, one listed response category being ‘another parent or guardian's address’. Analysing answers to these questions once 2011 census statistics are available will provide an insight to the number of children who live in more than one household.
ONS has developed robust methods to adjust for double counted children enumerated at both parents addresses from published 2011 census statistics so that children living in more than one household are only counted once. Therefore the impact on population estimates for children and on survey estimates relating to children is expected to be minimal from 2011 onwards.
D. Understanding Society
Information on shared parenting arrangements in Great Britain is being collected in ‘Understanding Society’, a longitudinal household panel survey, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and led by the Institute of Social and Economic Research, with the survey work delivered by the National Centre for Social Research, see:
www.understandingsociety.org.uk/
ONS is contributing to improvements in the wording of questions on shared parenting in the Family Networks and Child Maintenance modules for Wave 5 starting in 2013 to ensure that the number of children who are resident in more than household because their parents do not live together is estimated as well as possible. Therefore it is expected that information on children living in more than one household will be available from this data source in future. However this is not an ONS survey, so ONS is not able to comment on the statistics about children from this source.
Shift Work
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information his Department holds on the number of people who worked night shifts in each of the last 30 years. [90895]
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Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many workers worked night shifts in each of the last 30 years. [90895]
The available information is provided in the table. Estimates prior to 1992 are not available. The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and are not seasonally adjusted. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
| P eople working permanent night shifts, three months ending June, 1992 to 2011, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted | |
| Thousand | |
| Source: Labour Force Survey. | |
Social Impact Bonds
Mr Love: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much the Government has invested in social impact bonds in the latest year for which figures are available; what estimate he has made of the level of such investment in each succeeding year to 2014-15; and if he will make a statement. [91285]
Mr Hurd: The Government have not so far acted as an investor in social impact bonds, and have no plans to do so.
However, in September 2010 the Ministry of Justice launched the world's first social impact bond at Peterborough prison, targeting reduced rates of reoffending. Around £5 million of capital was raised from social investors and is being used to pay for services in the prison and outside in the community. Outcome-based payments to investors, linked to the success of the project in reducing reoffending, are capped at around £8 million and will be made by the Ministry of Justice and the Big Lottery Fund.
The Government are also supporting work on other social impact bonds. This includes four potential pilot projects targeting troubled families being developed
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at the local level with support from the Cabinet Office. The local authorities involved are Westminster city council, the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Leicestershire county council and Birmingham city council.
Third Sector
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to measure progress on the implementation of policies supporting the Big Society initiative; and if he will make a statement. [91387]
Mr Hurd: Departmental business plans set out clear priorities across Government, including what we are putting in place to support the growth of Big Society, and we continue to report publicly on progress against these priorities at:
http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/transparency/srp/
Within Cabinet Office this includes reporting progress on initiatives such as Community Organisers, Community First, National Citizen Service, and Big Society Capital.
In addition we are carrying out full evaluations of key Big Society programmes such as National Citizen Service to determine its effectiveness in creating a more engaged, cohesive and responsible society. Such evaluations will be fully published in due course at:
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Voluntary Work: Conditions of Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the recommendation of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations Commissioner on Big Society that the Employment Rights Act 1996 should be amended to extend employees right to take reasonable time off, with the permission of their employer, to serve a voluntary organisation; and if he will make a statement. [91422]
Mr Hurd: The Giving White Paper made clear that the Government fully support and encourage organisations making time available for employees to volunteer. The Government have also made their ambitions clear with their commitment to turn the civil service into a civic service, supporting civil society organisations. This will encourage civil servants to give time by providing them with opportunities to use their skills and using volunteering as a means of learning and professional development both in terms of gaining new skills and experiences and also better understanding of the impact of Government policies on the civil society sector.
Under Every Business Commits, we are also challenging businesses to take action on priorities including promoting employee well-being and engaging with communities, with Government committing in return to encourage enterprise and reduce red tape to create the best conditions for businesses to succeed.
Working Hours
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information his Department holds on the average number of hours worked by full-time workers in each socio-economic group in each of the last 30 years. [90896]
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Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for the average number of hours worked by full-time workers in each socio-economic group in each of the last 30 years. [90896]
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The table provides the information requested for the July to September quarter each year from 1992 onwards. Estimates prior to 1992 are not available. The National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification is an occupationally based classification. In 2001 the occupation classification used in the Labour Force Survey changed from SOC 1990 to SOC 2000. As a result it is not possible to provide consistent socio-economic occupation groups.
The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and are not seasonally adjusted. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
| Average number of weekly hours (1) worked by full-time (2) workers in each socio-economic group. Three months ending September, 1992 to 2011, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted | ||||||||
| Hours worked | ||||||||
| Employers and managers (lge est.) | Employers and managers (sml est.) | Prof workers (self-employed) | Prof workers (employees) | Intermediate non-manual workers | Junior non-manual workers | Personal service workers | Foreman and supervisors (manual) | |
| Hours worked | |||||||||
| Skilled manual workers | Semi skilled manual workers | Unskilled manual workers | Own account workers | Farmers (employers and managers) | Farmers (own account) | Agricultural workers | Members of armed forces | All socio-economic groups(3) | |
| Hours worked | ||||||||
| Higher managerial and professional | Lower managerial and professional | Intermediate occupations | Small employers and own account workers | Lower supervisory and technical | Semi-routine occupations | Routine occupations | All socio-economic groups(3) | |
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| (1) Main job only. (2) The full-time classification is based on the respondents' self-classification. (3) Includes those who did not state their socio-economic group. Note: The National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification is an occupationally based classification. In 2001 the occupation classification used in the Labour Force Survey changed from SOC 1990 to SOC 2000. As a result it is not possible to provide consistent socio-economic occupation groups. Source: Labour Force Survey |
Communities and Local Government
Christmas
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on (a) Christmas trees and (b) other Christmas decorations in 2011; and if he will make a statement. [91094]
Robert Neill: In 2011 the (a) Christmas tree and (b) other Christmas decorations were supplied at no cost to the Department.
I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 20 December 2010, Official Report, column 941W, on Scrooge and politically correct Grinches.
Council Housing: Repairs and Maintenance
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to provide funding to deal with the backlog of capital works needed to council housing; and what his policy is on the provision of such funding through rent rises. [89591]
Andrew Stunell: Last year, my Department allocated £1.6 billion over the current spending review period to 46 local authorities in England to help them address the backlog of council housing that has yet to meet the Decent Homes standard.
The number of non-decent local authority dwellings across England was 217,100 on 1 April 2011, a 26% decrease from 291,600 on 1 April 2010.
Rental income is another means by which local authorities can raise revenue for improvement work, but this is a matter for each individual authority to decide.
Council Tax: Sefton
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect on the income of Sefton borough council of proposed reform of council tax. [91321]
Robert Neill: The Government's assessments of the impact of the reforms of council tax, including those in the Local Government Finance Bill, are published at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/2053960.pdf
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/2053909.pdf
Electoral Register: Finance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has had discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister on the potential effects of funding reductions by his Department on budgets for voter registration. [91178]
Robert Neill: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from the Cabinet Office to discuss a range of matters.
EU Grants and Loans
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much money from the European regional development fund has been (a) contracted and (b) paid to projects in each region to date; [86452]
(2) how much funding from the European regional development fund remains to be allocated in each region. [86586]
Grant Shapps [holding answer 13 December 2011]:The Government are on target with the current European regional development fund programme. Funds must be spent by 2015 and we have already invested some two-thirds of the moneys at a point when we are two-thirds of the way through the duration of programme. All areas have meet their 2011 spend targets. Recent funding calls have attracted high levels of interest, which reinforces the fact that we are on track to spend the remainder of the programme on target.
I would note that the claims made by the hon. Member in his recent party political press release were wholly inaccurate. Indeed, under the last Administration, the European regional development fund was plagued by a legacy of poor administration, and the coalition Government have overhauled the management of these schemes that we have inherited.
We have ensured that the European Commission lifted an interruption on the programme which it had ordered. These steps will also protect taxpayers from the prospect of large 'financial corrections' being levied due to poor administration, as happened under the 2000-06 European regional development fund programme. The operation of the fund is governed by complex European regulations and comes with stringent penalties if those are not met. Our firm action is helping to reduce the size of the liabilities that we inherited from the 2000-06 programme, as well as ensuring better management of the 2007-13 programme that we have inherited, by bringing it in-house and tighter audit processes.
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To place the shocking mismanagement of the last Administration in context, as outlined in the answer of 12 October 2011, Official Report, column 448W, a total £101.3 million of funding was lost through financial corrections and unrecoverable amounts arising from irregularities from the European regional development fund 2000-06 programme throughout the period 2000-11. Such losses effectively mean less money to invest in regeneration and growth.
As noted in a recent departmental press notice, this Government inherited potential liabilities for European regional development fund projects between 2000 and 2006 estimated to be as high as £236 million, of which the Department has accepted that £38.1 million of this could not be recovered (this is included in the £101.3 million figure in the paragraph above).
At the end of December 2011, my Department has managed to reduce the remaining figure (£198 million) to a total of £67 million (a reduction of around £131 million) and is continuing to seek recovery of the remaining amount.
To ensure that we continue with tighter levels of control for the 2007-13 programme we have taken on independent auditors, Moore Stephens, to identify irregularities in existing claims to the European Commission; and we have overhauled the audit process to minimise errors in future claims.
As at 30 November 2011, the following sums from the current European regional development fund 2007-13 programme had been contracted for, and paid to each part of England:
| £ | ||
| Local area | Contracted | Paid to p rojects |
As at 30 November 2011, the remaining sums from the current programme are to be allocated are listed in the following table. Again, I would note that we are on track and on target, given the timetable of the programme.
| Local area | To be allocated (£) |
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As described in the written ministerial statement by the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my noble Friend, Baroness Hanham, of 3 February 2011, Official Report, House of Lords, column 86WS, local management committees, in which Local Enterprise Partnerships, local authorities and other local bodies are heavily involved, are charged with making decisions about where funding can best be used. European regional development fund officials are working alongside local partners in the individual fund programme areas to make sure that fund investment is taken up.
The Government are taking a number of steps to promote match funding. My Department has carried out an exercise to identity further potential sources of match funding across Government. Last month, Ministers from my Department and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills wrote to all the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the Local Management Committees which now oversee European regional development fund funding locally to remind them of the availability of match funds from within government through programmes such as the Manufacturing Advisory Service, Business Coaching for Growth and UK Trade International. We have set up innovative approaches to bring in more funding, for example through the regional growth fund and growing places fund.
As announced in November's national infrastructure plan, we have also taken the initiative of using the current programme to support actively the roll-out of super-fast broadband, and my Department has been liaising with Broadband UK and the pilot broadband projects.
EU Law
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the regulations his Department brought into force through (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) other means originated from proposals by the European Commission in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011. [88963]
Robert Neill: In 2010, the following measures originating in EU requirements were enacted by DCLG:
The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/1456).
In 2011, the following measures originating in EU requirements were enacted by DCLG:
Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations (SI 2011/2741)
Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (SI 2011/1824)
The Architects (Recognition of European Qualifications) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/2008)
The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/2452).
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The following provisions in the Localism Act 2011 are intended to ensure that EU regulations and directives are transposed into English law in the context of neighbourhood planning:
paragraph 2 of schedule 9 of the Localism Act 2011 inserted sections 61E9(8), 61K(b) and (c) into the 1990;
paragraph 5 of schedule 9 of the Localism Act 2011 inserted section 38A(6) into the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004; and
Schedule 10 of the Localism Act which inserted paragraph 8(2)(f) of new schedule 4B into the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which EU (a) directives, (b) regulations and (c) other legislation affecting his Department require transposition into UK law; and what estimate he has made of the cost to (i) the public purse and (ii) the private sector of such measures. [89687]
Robert Neill: The following EU legislation affecting this Department requires transposition into UK law:
The directive on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (85/337/EEC) (the EIA directive) and the directive on conservation of natural habitats of wild flora and fauna (92/43/EEC) (the habitats directive) require transposition in relation to proposals for neighbourhood development orders made under schedule 4B of the Town And Country Planning Act 1990 (inserted by schedule 10 of the Localism Act 2011). There is no cost to the public or private sector from implementation.
Articles 3(2) (b) to (d) of the birds directive (2009/147/EC) requires further transposition following infraction proceedings. DEFRA is the lead Department.
The energy performance of buildings directive (recast) (2010/31/EU) requires transposition by 9 July 2012 and must be progressively implemented from 9 January 2013. The total cost of implementation will be £4.1 million over a 30-year period. This cost falls almost exclusively on the public sector.
The Construction Products Regulation (EU No 305/2011) comes fully into force on 1 July 2013. Although the substantive provisions are directly effective and do not require transposition, some domestic implementing measures may be needed to ensure that the regulation applies compatibly with domestic law. There is no cost to the public or private sector from implementation.
The estimate of the cost of the cost of these measures is £4.1 million over a 30-year period.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department holds information on the EU regulations in its policy areas of responsibility which have not been implemented in (a) France and (b) Germany; on which dates those regulations became EU law; and if he will make a statement. [90692]
Robert Neill: The information requested is not held by Her Majesty's Government. Providing an answer would pose a disproportionate cost. However, this information is held on the European Commission's EUR-Lex website:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which EU regulations his Department has not implemented; on what date the regulations became EU law; and if he will make a statement. [90706]
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Robert Neill: All EU regulations for which my Department is responsible, and that are due, have been implemented.
European Regional Development Fund
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to ensure that regions of England access all funds available under the European regional development fund. [88537]
Grant Shapps: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Blackpool South (Mr Marsden) today, PQs 86452 and 86586.
Fire Services: East of England
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) revenue and (b) capital cost was of the Eastern Region Fire Control Centre in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire in each of the last three financial years; and if he will make a statement. [91007]
Robert Neill: The revenue costs for the East of England Regional Control Centre building in Waterbeach, Cambridge for 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 are shown in the table. No capital costs for the Regional Control Centre building were incurred in these three financial years.
In 2011 DCLG have reduced the facilities management costs for the buildings by 25% and utilities by 35%, and will look to make further savings where appropriate.
| Revenue (1,2) (£) | |
| (1) Revenue includes: Rent and Service Charges, Fixed Maintenance and Utilities. (2) Vat is included in payments made from 1 January 2011. | |
I note that page 8 of the National Audit Office report of 1 July 2011, HC 1272, on "The Failure of the FiReControl project", states:
"The Department's failure to manage the project as a whole has resulted in the creation of empty regional control centres. The nine regional control centres were purpose-built to house the new computerised equipment and were designed specifically for that purpose. The Department's decision to prioritise the procurement of the centres over the IT system at an early stage meant that the first centres were completed in June 2007, just three months after the IT contract had been awarded."
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for the disposal of the Eastern Region Fire Control Centre building in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire; and if he will make a statement. [91008]
Robert Neill: I am due to meet Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Authority shortly to discuss a number of issues including the future of the control centre building at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire.
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I note the observations of the National Audit Office report of 1 July 2011, HC 1272, on “The Failure of the FiReControl project”. It states:
“The FiReControl project was flawed from the outset because it did not have the support of those essential to its success—local Fire and Rescue Services. The Department rushed the start of the project, failing to follow proper procedures. Ineffective checks and balances during initiation and early stages meant the Department committed itself to the project on the basis of broad-brush and inaccurate estimates of costs and benefits and an unrealistic delivery timetable, and agreed an inadequate contract with its IT supplier. The Department under-appreciated the project's complexity, and then mismanaged the IT contractor's performance and delivery. The Department failed to provide the necessary leadership to make the project successful, over-relying on poorly managed consultants and failing to sort out early problems with delivery by the contractor. The Department took a firmer grip of the project from 2009 and terminated the contract in December 2010 to avoid even more money being wasted.” (National Audit Office press release, 1 July 2011).
Our aim is to achieve the best possible value for money for the taxpayer from the control centre buildings. Our preference is for fire and rescue authorities to use the buildings as they are purpose built for them. The decision as to whether fire and rescue services use the buildings is entirely a local matter and where local fire and rescue authorities decide this is not the best way forward for their communities, then DCLG will market the buildings more widely, including to other emergency services.
First-time Buyers
John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many first- time buyers have participated in the (a) FirstBuy Shared Equity and (b) New Build HomeBuy scheme since it was launched. [89166]
Grant Shapps: The FirstBuy shared equity scheme will help an estimated 10,500 aspiring home owners in England by 2013. The FirstBuy prospectus was published by the Homes and Communities Agency in April 2011 and allocations were announced in June following the bidding competition. The contracts were signed over the summer, with the first homes being available for sale from September 2011.
Official statistics on this scheme are published by the Homes and Communities Agency bi-annually in June and November for the preceding March and September respectively. Figures published in November 2011, reflecting that first month of sales and the initial opening of the scheme, show 44 sales to the end of September. This does not reflect the take-up of the scheme subsequently, and I would note that housebuilders have found significant interest from first-time buyers, reporting over 2,500 reservations following the signing of the contracts in the summer.
As an illustration, I note that Persimmon Homes' Trading Statement of 9 January remarked:
"Take up of the Government's FirstBuy Scheme has been encouraging."
In addition, Barratt Homes' Trading Statement, published on 12 January, stated:
"FirstBuy, the Government backed equity share product, will remain an important sales tool. We have made good progress in using our initial allocation of £24.9 million (1,400 units) and this success has been recognised by the Homes and Communities
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Agency through an additional award of £7.0 million (437 units). Shared equity remained an important selling tool throughout the period given the ongoing constraints on mortgage finance. Of these completions, 477 used the Government FirstBuy initiative."
Figures on the New Build Homebuy can be found at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/affordablehousing201011
Housing: Wiltshire
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the level of New Homes Bonus funding to be allocated to (a) Swindon and (b) Wiltshire in 2012-13. [90820]
Grant Shapps: The New Homes Bonus is paid to local authorities in recognition of net additions to their housing stock. It match funds the additional council tax raised using the national average in each band for new homes and long-term empty properties brought back into use, with a premium for affordable homes, for each of the following six years.
The New Homes Bonus provisional allocation for Swindon borough council totals £2,783,259. This includes the second Year 1 instalment of £1,451,214 and the first Year 2 instalment of £1,332,046. It also includes the first affordable homes premium of £98,700.
For Wiltshire council, the provisional bonus allocation totals £4,586,324 and includes the second Year 1 instalment of £1,841,402 and the first Year 2 instalment of £2,744,922. The affordable homes premium amounts to £257,600.
A full list of the provisional allocations has been placed in the Library of the House and is also available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingsupply/newhomesbonus
An announcement will be made shortly on the final allocation figures.
Local Government Finance: Kent
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding his Department has provided to Kent County Council in each year since 2005. [90536]
Robert Neill: The total grant funding allocated by the Department of Communities and Local Government to Kent county council is as follows:
| Kent | |
| £000 | |
The definition of central Government grant used here is the sum of:
formula grant (revenue support grant and redistributed non-domestic rates);
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specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance (i.e. revenue grants paid for council's core services) (awarded by DCLG only);
specific grants outside Aggregate External Finance (awarded by DCLG only);
Area Based Grant (from 2008-09); and
‘other grants’ provided by Departments.
These figures are taken from revenue outturn forms provided by authorities after the end of a financial year. It is not possible to disaggregate DCLG element of formula grant, Area Based Grant and other grants from grants from other Government Departments. Comparison across years may not be valid owing to changing local authority responsibilities and changes to funding methodology.
Local Government: Pensions
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what economic impact assessment his Department has carried out on the effect of the proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme in (a) Washington and Sunderland West constituency and (b) Sunderland local authority area. [91548]
Robert Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker), and the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt), on 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 23W.
Mobile Homes
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to review guidance issued by his Department on the management of mobile home parks. [91066]
Grant Shapps [holding answer 20 January 2012]:The Department for Communities and Local Government published model standards for all licensable residential mobile home sites in England in 2008. These are standards to which local authorities must have regard in setting conditions in licences they issue. Authorities having considered the standards are not obliged to adopt them.
The Government are also committed to reforming the mobile home sector and giving residents better rights and protection from unscrupulous site owners. I plan to publish a consultation document in the spring on a range of measures to improve the licensing regime which applies to park home and caravan sites and prevent the unacceptable practice of sale blocking by some site owners.
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers are available to local councils to deal with owners of mobile homes who breach the guidance on the number of homes permitted on a site. [91067]
Grant Shapps
[holding answer 20 January 2012]:Mobile home sites are required to be licensed under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 and use of land for stationing mobile homes on it requires planning permission under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. If the number of homes on a particular site exceeds the number permitted under the
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licence or under the planning permission the local authority can take enforcement action to rectify the breach, including by prosecution if necessary.
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to publish proposals for the regulation of park homes. [90648]
Grant Shapps: The Government are committed to reforming the park homes sector and giving residents better rights and protection from unscrupulous site owners. I plan to publish a consultation document this spring on a range of measures to improve the licensing regime which applies to park home and caravan sites and prevent the unacceptable practice of sale blocking by some site owners.
Non-domestic Rates: Sefton
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect on the income of Sefton borough council of his proposed changes to non-domestic rates. [91322]
Robert Neill: The Government's proposals will ensure a stable starting point, so that no local authority will be worse off as a result of its business rates base at the outset of the new system.
The impact of the Government's proposals will depend on a range of factors, including future business rates growth at the local level and the behavioural response to the changes. The proposals incorporate a range of protections to ensure councils can meet local needs, including a safety net for places in need of additional support, funded by a levy recovering a share of disproportionate gain.
These reforms will boost local firms and local jobs as councils are given more autonomy over their own financial circumstances, and rewarded for building stronger relationships with business to strengthen the local economy. They have the potential to increase the aggregate income from business rates, compared to the status quo, due to greater enterprise and economic growth.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Antarctic Treaty
Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure the enforcement of the Antarctic Treaty. [91413]
Mr Bellingham: The Antarctic Treaty provides for the designation of observers to carry out inspections to ensure the observance of the provision of the Treaty. The UK has regularly undertaken formal inspections in Antarctica, most recently in 2005-06. Reports of Antarctic Treaty Inspections can be viewed at:
http://www.ats.aq/e/ats_governance_listinspections.htm
Through the Royal Navy's ice patrol vessel, HMS Protector, and the British Antarctic Survey, the UK maintains an active and influential presence in Antarctica,
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including to ensure that the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty are implemented in the region. Any activities in the Antarctic by those with a relevant British connection require authorisation under the UK's Antarctic Act 1994 and post-visit reports are assessed to ensure full compliance with permit requirements.
Australia: Eagles
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise the effect of intensive logging on the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle population with the Government of Australia. [90595]
Alistair Burt: The British Government remain concerned about the continuing loss of biodiversity globally. We are committed to promoting sustainable forest management and reducing this loss of biodiversity.
The Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle has been listed as endangered in international, national and state legislation, however, this is an issue for the Australian federal and Tasmanian state governments.
On 13 January 2012, the Australian and Tasmanian governments and Forestry Tasmania signed a Conservation Agreement, as part of the Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement, to provide legally binding protection for an interim area of almost 430,000 hectares of forest where the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle nests.
Belarus: Freedom of Expression
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Belarus on freedom of expression in that country. [91072]
Mr Lidington: The Government have made a number of representations to the Belarusian authorities both in London and Minsk about the serious human rights situation in the country, including about freedom of expression. The most recent occasions were on 11 and 16 January. I have made numerous statements, for example condemning the fact that new legislation has made it all but impossible for Belarusian citizens to exercise their rights of freedom of expression and assembly, and underlining that the legislation is not in line with Belarus's obligations under international human rights law. I am deeply concerned about the constant harassment of journalists. In a recent EU statement in the OSCE, we and our EU partners urged the Belarusian authorities to stop this intimidation and to ensure that they can carry out their reporting activities in an unhindered way.
British Overseas Territories: Biodiversity
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he expects the Government's target to halt overall loss of biodiversity by 2020 to apply to the British Overseas Territories; and if he will make a statement. [90808]
Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
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As stated in my reply to the hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) on 21 November 2011, Official Report, column 194W, a new global biodiversity target was agreed at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya in October 2010 as part of the new Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-20. The Strategic Plan includes 20 headline targets for 2015 or 2020; these are called the "Aichi Targets". Both the Strategic Plan and the Aichi Targets apply to those Overseas Territories to which the Convention on Biological Diversity has been extended. These are the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
DEFRA has recently published a paper (“The Environment in the United Kingdom's Overseas Territories: UK Government and Civil Society Support”), available to view on the DEFRA website, describing the support available to the Overseas Territories on environmental issues, from the Department, its agencies and civil society. The paper contains 10 commitments that underpin three priority areas for action to support meeting our two environmental objectives for the Overseas Territories. More specifically one of the commitments in the paper is to continue implementing the UK Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy and to develop an implementation plan to facilitate and co-ordinate delivery of the strategy. Further to this, we are committed to continue to provide advice on the extension of our ratification of multi-lateral environment agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity to the Overseas Territories.
Burma: Political Prisoners
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the health of monk U Sandawbartha, known as U Gambira, recently released from prison in Burma. [91363]
Alistair Burt: We understand from contacts that the health of monk U Sandawbartha, known as U Gambira, has improved. Our embassy in Rangoon is in close contact with many Burmese civil society and democratic activists, including individuals recently released from prison.
Crown Dependencies
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms his Department has put in place to ensure that the contracts it awards relating to Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories go to British companies when there is no suitable local supplier. [90970]
Mr Bellingham: The Government are obliged under EU law to procure goods and services through transparent and fair competition with the successful supplier being selected on the basis of suitability and value for money.
Departmental Manpower
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department are solely responsible for Overseas Territory affairs; and what the (a) job title and (b) specific responsibilities are of each such official. [91041]
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Mr Bellingham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office employs more than 40 officials in London working solely on Overseas Territories affairs. They are led by the Director for the Overseas Territories (except those engaged on Gibraltar issues) who is supported by four Deputy Directors, six Section Heads and teams of Desk Officers providing thematic and territory-specific advice. Further staff are engaged on financial management and administrative support duties. The Overseas Territories are a priority area of work for the FCO in our Departmental Business Plan.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of full- time equivalent staff in his Department engaged in delivering (a) frontline and (b) corporate or back office services; and if he will make a statement. [91085]
Mr Bellingham: Of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) 4,500 UK based staff some 74% are engaged on frontline activity and 26% on corporate and back office services. Frontline staff include all diplomatic activity overseas plus trade and investment and consular services. It also includes all staff dealing primarily with foreign policy from the UK. The 'back office' (corporate function staff) includes finance, human resources, information technology, security and estate management staff.
The FCO also has nearly 8,700 locally engaged staff at overseas Posts of which around 34% are engaged on front line activity and 66% on 'back office' tasks. The back office function at Posts also supports significant numbers of staff from other Government Departments.
Diplomatic Service: Internships
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many unpaid or expenses-only interns there were employed by or based at UK (a) embassies and (b) consulates since May 2010. [91370]
Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not hold data centrally on the number of interns taken on by our embassies and consulates overseas. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Human Resources central guidance provided to FCO embassies and consulates on appointments for internships makes clear that these should be made in accordance with local law and also follow the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles of merit based, fair and open recruitment.
EU Law
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department holds information on the EU regulations in its policy areas of responsibility which have not been implemented in (a) France and (b) Germany; on which dates those regulations became EU law; and if he will make a statement. [90696]
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Mr Lidington: The information requested is not held by Her Majesty’s Government. Providing an answer would incur disproportionate cost. However, this information is held on the European Commission’s EUR-Lex website at:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which EU regulations his Department has not implemented; on what date the regulations became EU law; and if he will make a statement. [90711]
Mr Lidington: There are no outstanding EU regulations which my Department should implement, but has not done so.
European Court of Human Rights
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which (a) Departments, (b) Ministers and (c) other stakeholders are consulted prior to the preparation by his Department of observations made in respect of cases affecting UK citizens being heard by the European Court of Human Rights; and if he will make a statement. [90957]
Mr Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office legal advisers act as agents of the UK Government for applications made to the European Court of Human Rights. When applications against the UK are communicated to them they co-ordinate an appropriate response with the lead Government Department (which will depend on the subject matter), other interested Departments and external counsel. The lead Government Department may consult Ministers as necessary. It is not the Government's practice to submit observations on cases affecting UK citizens which are brought against other contracting states.
Ilois: Resettlement
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 85W, on Ilois: resettlement, what the costs to the public purse have been of defending actions brought by the Chagos Islanders since 1999 (a) in total and (b) in relation to (i) the 1999-2000 case, (ii) legal aid to the plaintiffs, (iii) staff costs of officials and legal advisers in his Department, (iv) relevant research carried out by the British diplomatic posts in (A) Mauritius and (B) Seychelles and (v) other relevant staff costs. [91070]
Alistair Burt: The cost of legal fees for (i), the 1999-2000 case, was £455,268.44.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff and staff in British diplomatic posts do not keep detailed timesheets of work on different tasks and it is not possible to estimate costs with respect to (iii), (iv) and (v).
I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Library of the House on part (ii) costs of legal aid, when further research has been done.
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Libya: Politics and Government
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on unrest around the town of Gharyan in Libya. [90616]
Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is aware of recent reports that a militia from the town of Gharyan clashed with members of a militia from the neighbouring town of Alasabah. Reporting of the incident remains unclear, however, we are aware of at least five deaths. Libyan Defence Minister Juwayli intervened and secured a ceasefire although the situation remains tense. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Nigeria: Politics and Government
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with his Nigerian counterpart the effect of unrest and industrial action on disadvantaged communities in that country. [91360]
Mr Bellingham: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs does not currently plan to discuss strike action in Nigeria with his counterpart.
The Nigerian Government's decision to remove the subsidy on fuel led to national strike action and protests from 9 January, with some regrettable loss of life. It was suspended on 16 January, following discussions between the Government and unions. President Jonathan made an accompanying statement about his Government's commitment to combating corruption in the petroleum industry and other areas of the Nigerian economy. We recognise the rationale of removing the fuel subsidy, when accompanied by fiscal transparency—so that Government spending can be invested in development programmes and infrastructure that benefits the Nigerian public. It is for the Nigerian Government to manage the effects of such policy decisions on all sections of society.