Females: Violence
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what mechanisms his Department has put in place to contact schools directly to inform them of inter-ministerial work on addressing violence against women and girls; by what direct mechanisms his Department inform schools about the Home Office teen abuse campaign work; and via what mechanisms his Department is directly contacting people workingwith young people in (a) care settings, (b) youth settings and (c) pupil referral units on addressing violence against women and girls; and if he will make a statement. [95546]
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Tim Loughton: The Department is highlighting the Home Office teen abuse campaign work via Twitter and Facebook as we often do with cross-governmental campaigns of interest to our followers. However the Department has also made a commitment to reduce burdens on schools, including pupil referral units. As a result we no longer routinely contact them directly. For care settings we have regular newsletters for the children's homes sector, Children in Care Councils and Independent Reviewing Officers providing an opportunity to inform them about addressing violence against women and girls. For youth settings, we are in close contact with organisations that work directly with young people. As the Minister responsible for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), I regularly communicate directly with children and young people through, for example, regular meetings with both looked-after children and care leavers.
Young People: Unemployment
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment and training who have the necessary skills to start an apprenticeship; and if he will make a statement. [94415]
Mr Hayes: There are no common or mandatory entry requirements for apprenticeships. Entry requirements are determined by the issuing authority and are set out in each apprenticeships framework. As they vary depending on the occupational role, level and industry sector, assessment of the required skills is made on an individual basis.
There is strong demand for apprenticeships and employers will rightly take the best candidate for their vacancy. To help young people develop wider employability skills and give them the chance to demonstrate to prospective employers their commitment to work and study to the standards required to complete an apprenticeship, the Government introduced Access to Apprenticeships. This new pathway complements wider programmes of support set out in the ‘Building Engagement, Building Futures: Our Strategy to Maximise the Participation of 16-24 Year Olds in Education, Training and Work’ which was published in December 2011.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Syria
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK is providing support to people in Syria protesting against the Syrian Government. [95024]
Alistair Burt: The Department for International Development is providing support to humanitarian agencies operating in Syria who are working to address the needs of tens of thousands of civilians affected by the ongoing violence.
£2 million of additional UK funding was announced by the Prime Minister at the UK/France summit on 17 February. This will help contribute towards providing
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life saving assistance, including emergency medical services and supplies; basic food rations sufficient for over 20,000 people; essential household items for up to 5,500 people; and access to safe drinking water for over 30,000 people through the restoration of damaged water and sanitation infrastructure.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Syria. [95025]
Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has repeatedly made clear his condemnation of the Syrian regime's use of violence and repression against its own people. President Assad and the Syrian regime must heed the call of the international community and allow a peaceful political transition to a more open political system. President Assad and those around him should be under no doubt that we will continue to support the Syrian people in their aspiration for a peaceful political transition in Syria.
On 17 February the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to back the Arab League's plan for a Syrian-led solution to the crisis. The resolution, which explicitly endorsed the Arab League Plan of 2 November as well as its decisions on 22 January and 12 February, was co-sponsored by 72 countries and supported by 137 members of the Assembly. It sent a clear signal of the international community's condemnation of the Syrian regime's actions and intention to hold to account those responsible for the ongoing atrocities. The message was unambiguous: the violence must stop immediately.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to visit Syria. [95026]
Alistair Burt: Neither the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), nor I have any current plans to visit Syria.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had any discussions with his counterpart in Syria on ending the violence in that country; and if he will make a statement. [95027]
Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), last discussed the situation in Syria with his counterpart, Syrian Foreign Minister Muallem on 27 April 2011. The Secretary of State called for an end to violence and for the Syrians to respond to the legitimate grievances of the Syrian people. The Secretary of State continues to make clear publically, most recently in a statement on 17 February 2012, that the violence in Syria must stop immediately.
FCO officials regularly raise the need for the violence to stop with the Syrian authorities in Damascus and with the Syrian ambassador in London.
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Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sanctions he has placed on Syria. [95028]
Alistair Burt: The British Government has led the way in introducing European Union measures against the Syrian regime, including against President Assad since May 2011. In 11 rounds of sanctions, the latest on 23 January, the EU has subjected a total of 108 individuals and 38 entities to asset freezes and travel bans. These are targeted against those supporting, or benefitting from, the regime, and those associated with them.
Other EU measures against Syria include: an arms embargo; a ban on the import of Syrian oil into the EU and any new investment in the Syria oil industry; a ban on EU investment/construction of new power stations in Syria and of member states offering long term, public or private, financial support for trade; and an embargo on exports of Syrian banknotes and coinage from the EU to the Central Bank of Syria.
With France and Germany, we are pushing for a further round of tough EU sanctions on Syria this month, which is aimed at increasing the economic and financial pressure on the Assad regime.
EU sanctions are designed to put pressure on President Assad and those around him to reject the use of violence and embrace genuine reform.
Cabinet Office
Deaths: Alcoholic Drinks
Ms Abbott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (1) alcohol-related deaths there were in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011 in each (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local authority area; [95550]
(2) alcohol-related deaths of people under the age of 18 years there were in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011 in each (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local authority area. [95551]
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 February 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking:
1. How many alcohol-related deaths there were in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011 in each (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local authority area. [95550]
2. How many alcohol-related deaths of people under the age of 18 years there were in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011 in each (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local authority area. [95551]
Alcohol-related deaths are reported consistently across the United Kingdom using an agreed National Statistics definition. Tables 1 and 2 provide the number of deaths with an alcohol-related underlying cause in the United Kingdom for each parliamentary constituency and local authority area, respectively, for 2010 (the latest year available). The National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths only includes those causes regarded as being most directly due to alcohol consumption, as shown in Box 1 below.
There were two deaths with an alcohol-related underlying cause in persons aged under 18 years in the United Kingdom in 2010. Due to the small number of deaths, we are not able to provide the names of the parliamentary constituencies or local authorities in which these persons were resident.
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A copy of Tables 1 and 2 has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Alcohol-related death figures for the UK, England and Wales, and Regions in England, for 1991 to 2010 are available on the ONS website at the following link:
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-29395
More detailed figures for Scotland are available from National Records of Scotland here:
www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/vital-events/deaths/alcohol-related/tables.html
Figures for Northern Ireland are published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and are available here:
www.nisra.gov.uk/archive/demography/publications/alcohol_deaths/Alcohol_Tables_10.xls
Public Sector: Redundancy
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the projected number of redundancies in the public sector to 2016-17; [94904]
(2) what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on pay in the civil service up to 2014-15. [95572]
Mr Maude: As has been the case under successive Administrations, the Government do not release details of internal meetings, so as not to impede Ministers' ability to hold free and frank discussions on matters of policy.
Deputy Prime Minister
Ministerial Air Travel
Mr Crausby: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what occasions he has taken flights within the UK on official business since August 2010; what class of travel he used; and who accompanied him on each such flight. [94799]
The Deputy Prime Minister: I, and any officials accompanying me on official business, travel making the most efficient and cost-effective arrangements. My travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel as set out in the Ministerial Code.
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Defence
Afghanistan: Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured fighting vehicles by type will be returned to the UK from Afghanistan; and what the cost to the public purse will be. [95357]
Nick Harvey: No decision has yet been taken as to whether those armoured fighting vehicles (including medium and heavy protected patrol vehicles and tactical support vehicles such as Mastiff, Husky, Ridgback, Wolfhound, Warthog and Buffalo) procured under the urgent operational requirements process (to meet specific threats in Afghanistan) will be retained or disposed of. If retained, no decision has yet been taken on type or number of vehicles (with the detailed planning the subject of future departmental annual planning rounds) and, if to be disposed of, the method of the disposal (which can include sales and gifting to the host nation) is unknown at this time. The cost to the public purse cannot be estimated until these decisions are taken.
With regards to those armoured fighting vehicles deployed in Afghanistan from the Army’s core equipment fleet (including the Warrior Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle, Trojan Armoured Engineer Vehicle, Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle, Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) and the Multiple Launch Rocket System), these vehicles will be returned to the UK although the cost of returning them and their subsequent refurbishment is still to be determined.
Afghanistan: Medals
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of personnel who have served on deployments to Afghanistan who will not qualify for the diamond jubilee medal. [95569]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 20 February 2012]: I have made no such assessment. Service personnel who deployed to Afghanistan are eligible to receive the operational service medal. The Queen’s diamond jubilee medal is a commemorative medal and is awarded to all members of the armed forces who have served for five years or more and were in service on 6 February 2012, regardless of whether they have undertaken an operational deployment.
Armed Forces: Dismissal
Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) officers and (b) soldiers were discharged as being temperamentally unsuited to service life from each of the three single services in each of the last 10 years. [95383]
Mr Robathan: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
The term “temperamentally unsuited to service life” is applied to those service personnel who, despite considerable efforts to resolve difficulties, cannot adapt to the basic but unique demands of service life, such as toleration of discipline, both self and military, close
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quarter living, and separation from family. Personnel who are judged by a psychiatrist to be temperamentally unsuited will be administratively discharged.
Administrative discharge from the armed forces can take place for a wide variety of reasons, and it is not possible to determine the number of officers and soldiers who were discharged as being temperamentally unsuited without undertaking a manual review of all administrative discharge records for the last 10 years.
Armed Forces: Mental Health Services
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the use of mindfulness-based techniques in the US for returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. [95063]
Mr Robathan: Mindfulness-based cognitive techniques have a range of forms and applications, including educational (in developing effective thinking processes) and medical (in treating some mental health conditions). Specifically, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is recognised by the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as effective for the treatment of mental health disorders such as recurrent depression.
In assessing the possible effectiveness of MBCT for UK military patients, we would certainly take into account the experience of other nations. In this context, in 2011, a new collaborative UK/US taskforce was set up to share best medical and rehabilitation practice, with four working groups being established to take this work forward. The second of these has a specific focus on mental health care issues, and comparison between the different techniques employed by the two countries will form an important part of its work.
Armed Forces: Training
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 79W, on armed forces: young people, if he will consider reviewing the guidelines governing the use of live weapons during phase one and phase two training. [95565]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 20 February 2012]: We are confident that the current policy on live weapons training and the safeguards in place to protect our personnel are robust and have no plans to review them. While it is clear that there are risks associated with the use of weapons in training, the handling and understanding of each individual of the responsibilities for weapon security and safety are vital elements of initial training.
Departmental Manpower
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civil servants his Department employed in (a) May 2005, (b) May 2010 and (c) December 2010. [91052]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 20 January 2012]:The information requested is as follows:
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| Full-time equivalent | |
| Number of civil servants | |
| Notes: 1. All totals have been rounded to the nearest 10 and show full-time equivalents. 2. Total includes personnel in MOD main top level budgets, trading funds, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and locally engaged civilians. 3. LEC data is updated quarterly. May 2005 total includes LEC numbers at April 2005. May 2010 total includes LEC numbers at April 2010. December 2010 total includes LEC numbers at October 2010. Source: DASA (Quad Service) | |
The Government have announced a reduction of about 32,000 full-time equivalent civilian posts by 2020. This planned reduction is based on the April 2010 total of 85,850 full-time equivalent employees and equates to some 38% of the civilian workforce.
Gurkhas: Pensions
Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former Gurkha soldiers are not in receipt of an Army pension. [95080]
Mr Robathan: The Ministry of Defence does not hold the current details of former Gurkhas, or any other soldiers, who do not have an Army pension. Serving Gurkhas are now part of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme and will qualify for pensions in the same way as all other armed forces personnel.
Ministry of Defence Police: Finance
Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on his decision to approve the PR11 options which resulted in a reduction in the budget of the Ministry of Defence police; and what assessment he has made of these representations. [95066]
Mr Robathan: As part of the consultation process on the PR11 options that relate to the Ministry of Defence police, I have met personally the chairman of the Defence Police Federation on a number of occasions to discuss changes to the Department's future requirement for civil policing services and capabilities. The views of the Defence Police Federation will be taken into account during the implementation of these changes.
Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the effect on the total number of officers of the proposal to reduce the Ministry of Defence police budget by up to 50 per cent. [95079]
Mr Robathan: Possible options to adjust our future requirement for Ministry of Defence police (MOD) services and capabilities are still being considered. Final decisions have not yet been taken about the future budget of the MOD police.
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Ministry of Defence Police: Manpower
Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department expects to reach a final decision on the future number of Ministry of Defence police officers at each Ministry of Defence site. [95078]
Mr Robathan: The final decision on the number of Ministry of Defence (MOD) police officers at each site will be made after consultation with the relevant staff associations about the implementation of changes to our future requirement for MOD police services and capabilities. We expect this consultation to take place during 2012.
MOD Abbey Wood
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many permissions have been applied for by individuals working at MOD Abbey Wood to move to work in the private defence sector in the last 18 months; and if he will make a statement. [87726]
Mr Robathan: This information is not held in the format requested. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 January 2012, Official Report, column 422W.
NATO
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts on the pooling of maritime patrol aircraft. [95362]
Nick Harvey: The pooling and sharing of maritime patrol aircraft is one of a number of projects within NATO’s wider Smart Defence Initiative which was considered at the recent meeting of NATO Defence Ministers. The UK is not currently planning to participate in this project.
Nuclear Weapons: Security
Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department is undertaking any review of arrangements for the security or protection of defence nuclear materials. [95071]
Peter Luff: Our nuclear security arrangements are kept under continual review and frequently tested. We do not comment on the detailed arrangements for the security or protection of defence nuclear materials.
RAF Staxton Wold
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the costs of the upgrade of the radar at Staxton Wold radar station; and who will meet the costs of the upgrade; [95418]
(2) what assessment he has made of the potential effect of any proposed wind farm developments on the operation of radar at Staxton Wold radar station; and if he will make a statement. [95424]
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Peter Luff: Trials carried out in 2004 and 2005 concluded that wind turbines in line of sight to radars have a significant impact on military operations.
All proposed wind turbine developments undergo detailed technical assessments. Any found to affect the radar at Staxton Wold would be objected to unless suitable mitigation measures were proposed by the developer.
The cost of any mitigation falls to the developers. The MOD assessed and agreed to the proposal made by developers in 2011 to fund the replacement of the existing T102 Air Defence radar at Staxton Wold with a TPS77, which performs significantly better in the presence of wind farms.
Royal Army Medical Corps: Dismissal
Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many medical officers in the Royal Army Medical Corps were discharged as being temperamentally unsuited to service life in each of the last 10 years. [95384]
Mr Robathan: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The term “temperamentally unsuited to service life” is applied to those service personnel who, despite considerable efforts to resolve difficulties, cannot adapt to the basic but unique demands of service life, such as toleration of discipline, both self and military, close quarter living, and separation from family.
Personnel who are judged by a psychiatrist to be temperamentally unsuited will be administratively discharged.
Administrative discharge from the armed forces can take place for a wide variety of reasons, and it is not possible to determine the number of officers and soldiers in the Royal Army Medical Corps who were discharged as being temperamentally unsuited without undertaking a manual review of all administrative discharge records for the last 10 years.
Royal Army Medical Corps: Manpower
Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many medical officers recruited into the Royal Army Medical Corps through the medical cadetship scheme left the armed forces before the end of their six years’ return of service in each of the last 10 years; [95392]
(2) what estimate he has made of the average length of service of medical officers in the Royal Army Medical Corps who were recruited through the medical cadetship scheme; and whether the average length of service of such medical officers has fallen or risen in the last five years. [95393]
Mr Robathan: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
It is not possible to determine the length of service for officers who were recruited through the medical cadetship scheme without undertaking a manual review of individual records for the last 10 years.
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Communities and Local Government
Coastal Communities Fund
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what methodology his Department used to determine the amount of funding for each constituent part of the UK in the Coastal Communities Fund. [95462]
Grant Shapps: The amount of money made available to each country, or part of a country, under the new Fund has been set at 50% of the gross revenues raised by the Crown Estate's marine activities in that area. For 2012, the funding is based on the Crown Estate's marine revenues in 2010-11 and will be distributed to each country as follows:
| £ million | ||
| 2010-11 | Total Crown Estate marine revenues | 50% of Crown Estate marine revenues |
The amount of money made available in future years will continue to be linked to the marine revenues generated by the Crown Estate; the size of the fund in 2013-14 will be based on 2011-12 receipts and we will announce the funding available for 2013-14 later this year.
Housing Associations
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures his Department has put in place to enable (a) local authorities and (b) tenants to hold housing associations to account. [94674]
Grant Shapps: As private providers of social housing, housing associations are regulated by the Social Housing Regulator against its standards framework.
As part of our reform of social housing regulation, we want to see more scrutiny of performance and the best place for this to be done is locally with social landlords challenged about performance and held to account by their tenants for the delivery of high quality, cost effective services.
To deliver this, we have directed the Social Housing Regulator to issue a revised Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard that requires landlords to offer tenants opportunities to get involved in the scrutiny of landlords' performance, and to influence housing related policies and priorities. As part of the standard, on which the regulator is currently consulting, landlords must also support the formation and activities of tenant panels, and provide timely and relevant performance information to support scrutiny, including publishing an annual report to tenants.
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To further support this local scrutiny role, we are funding the National Community Resource Centre to deliver residential training for tenants wishing to set up tenant panels, and I am challenging the housing association sector to follow the Government's lead in publishing details of expenditure of over £500, so that tenants can see how their rent is being spent.
Additionally, through the Localism Act 2011 we are ensuring that social housing regulation is focused on the economic performance of the sector and emphasising the primacy of the landlord and tenant relationship. From April 2013, democratically elected local councillors, MPs and designated tenant panels will have a formal role as the first port of call for resolving complaints. By giving tenant panels and local representatives the power to resolve complaints locally this will provide speedy and effective redress where tenants receive a poor service.
Housing Benefit
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received on the potential redundancy of local authority housing benefit staff upon implementation of universal credit. [94494]
Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
My Department’s governance structure for universal credit allows for discussions with all key stakeholders, including senior local authority representatives. My officials continue to work with colleagues in local authorities to assess the impacts of introducing universal credit, including the implications for their existing housing benefit services. This includes deciding the appropriate action to take as we further develop the delivery design and migration strategy for universal credit.
Housing: Planning Permission
Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his reforms of planning and housing targets, what assessment he has made of the level of additional autonomy given to councils in deciding the scale and nature of housing developments. [93982]
Greg Clark: Planning decisions need to be made by people who are democratically accountable and through genuine involvement of local people. That is why we intend to abolish the existing regional strategies outside London using powers contained in the Localism Act 2011.
Local plans will be examined by an independent inspector to assess whether they are sound. That will include whether they are justified and effective having regard to evidence of housing need, and if they have proper regard to national policy.
Our Housing Strategy, published in November, sets out a package of reforms to help provide the homes needed for communities.
Mortgages: Housing Benefit
Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of
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buy to let mortgage lenders who prohibit tenancies with housing benefit claimants in their lending terms and conditions; and if he will make a statement. [95146]
Andrew Stunell: We do not collect data on the number or proportion of buy to let mortgage lenders whose terms and conditions prohibit the letting of a property to a housing benefit claimant.
Buy to let has provided choice and affordable accommodation in the private rented sector, and makes an important contribution to meeting people's housing needs. Many new landlords have entered the market over recent years using buy to let mortgages, which now account for around 10% of all new gross mortgage lending.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will hold discussions with buy to let lenders to urge them to (a) remove any restrictions on housing benefit tenants and (b) change restrictions on lengths of tenancy to encourage longer tenancies; and if he will make a statement. [95147]
Andrew Stunell: While we are aware that some buy to let mortgage lenders prohibit the letting of properties to housing benefit claimants and restrict the lengths of tenancies, these are commercial decisions with which the Government would not seek to intervene.
We believe that the private rented sector is doing a good job in housing people on benefits, and currently estimate that around 30% of households in the sector are in receipt of housing benefit. We are working to ensure that the private rented sector continues to thrive and to offer affordability and choice to those seeking a home.
Non-domestic Rates: Parking
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the levying of full business rates on car parking spaces provided by retail businesses for customer use. [94500]
Robert Neill: Business rates are a tax on the rental value of non-domestic property. Any factor contributing to the value of non-domestic property is included in the assessment of the rateable value—this includes the availability of car parking either within the property or in the immediate locality
In this context, supermarkets with car parking spaces are likely to have a higher rateable value than one without—and therefore will pay higher business rates.
Parish Councils
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on making parish and town councils eligible for the (a) New Home Bonus and (b) Business Rate Retention Scheme. [95105]
Grant Shapps:
Following consultation, the New Homes Bonus final scheme design setting out the mechanism for payment allocations was published on 17 February 2011. Parish and town councils are not eligible for the New Homes Bonus and we currently have no plans to
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extend eligibility to these authorities. However, we expect receiving authorities (districts, counties and unitary authorities) to lead a discussion with communities, including parish and town councils about their priorities for investment.
The Government set out their proposals for business rates retention on 19 December 2011. These proposals will enable major precepting authorities to retain at least a proportion of business rates. There are no plans to enable parish and town councils to be eligible for such funding. They will continue to be funded through a precept on the council tax.
We have consulted on proposals to ensure that a meaningful proportion of the community infrastructure levy collected in an area is passed directly to parishes and town councils. Parishes would be free to spend their community infrastructure levy income on items which support development of their area. We are currently considering consultation responses.
Refuges: Females
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment his Department has made of the number of available places in women's refuges; and if he will make a statement. [93347]
Grant Shapps [holding answer 8 February 2012]: In November 2010, the Department published the research ‘Meeting the needs of households at risk of domestic violence in England' which mapped and reviewed the role of accommodation and support services for households at risk of domestic violence in England.
The research is available on the Department' s website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/domesticviolenceneeds
It shows that there were 445 accommodation based services specifically designed for households at risk of domestic violence in 2009 (88% of which were women's refuges). 4,035 household places were recorded in over 418 schemes.
The Government's approach to tackling domestic violence is set out in the “Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan”.
As part of this plan, the Home Office is providing £28 million of funding over the spending review period for specialist domestic and sexual violence services.
The Ministry of Justice is also using proceeds from the victim surcharge, of up to £3.5 million a year, to give existing rape crisis centres stable, long-term funding, and to establish new centres where there are gaps in provision.
Supporting People is the main funding source for the provision of refuge-based domestic violence services; the Department for Communities and Local Government has protected such funding and is providing £6.5 billion of funding for Supporting People over the spending review.
Rented Housing: Students
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what regulations protect students from landlords who do not adequately maintain their properties. [93913]
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Andrew Stunell: The current legislative framework contains robust safeguards for all private tenants, including students. Local authorities have extensive powers to take action against landlords letting poor quality accommodation. We are working closely with them to ensure that any barriers to them using those powers are lifted.
Local authorities have extensive powers under the Housing Act 2004 to help improve the management and condition of all privately rented properties. In addition to the mandatory licensing of certain high risk Houses in Multiple Occupation, local authorities have the discretion to extend licensing to smaller types of such houses without having to first seek approval from this Department.
Local authorities also have powers to assess the risks and hazards in privately rented properties using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. If a property is found to contain serious hazards, the local authority has a duty to take the most appropriate action. This system provides an important safety net, ensuring that homes are safe.
Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 107W, on alcoholic drinks: Scotland, what discussions she has had with Scottish Ministers on the pricing of alcohol and its effect on health. [95159]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 20 February 2012]:Home Office Ministers have not held discussions with Scottish Ministers on the pricing of alcohol and its impact on health.
Home Office officials have held discussions with the Scottish Government and the Scotland Office regarding current policy issues.
Cot Deaths
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment she has made of the number of police forces that have implemented the recommendations of the 2004 Kennedy Report into sudden unexpected death in infancy; [95097]
(2) if she will bring forward primary legislative proposals to implement the recommendations of the 2004 Kennedy Report into sudden unexpected death in infancy. [95096]
Nick Herbert [ h olding answer 20 February 2012]: The Kennedy Report does not call for the introduction of primary legislation and I have no plans to legislate in this area.
Implementation of the Kennedy Report recommendations is a matter for individual police forces.
Human Trafficking: Arrests
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made as a result of police operations against human trafficking in each year since 2004. [95127]
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Damian Green: Data on the number of arrests as a result of police operations against human trafficking are not collected centrally. Information about arrests is collected by offence category rather than individual offence.
Members: Correspondence
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice plans to respond to the letter of 7 December 2011 from the hon. Member for Weaver Vale on behalf of Mr Marc Sutton. [95840]
Damian Green: I replied to my hon. Friend on 21 February 2012.
Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees at Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre have been (a) investigated by the police, (b) given a police caution, (c) charged by the police with committing a criminal offence, (d) prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service and (e) convicted of a criminal offence in relation to suspected criminal offences committed by detainees. [89762]
Damian Green: The number of detainees held at Morton Hall on 30 September 2011, the latest date for which published data is available, was 321. Of these, 100 had been convicted of a criminal offence. The UK Border Agency does not routinely hold information on whether or not individuals have been investigated by the police, given a police caution or charged by the police with committing a criminal offence. Information on individuals prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service is not recorded centrally and would require examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
Olympic Games 2012: Policing
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the (a) police and (b) other security personnel of any nation other than the UK will be allowed to carry weapons in the UK during the London 2012 Olympics. [95121]
Nick Herbert: The Government remains committed to delivering a safe and secure Olympic games in 2012, and lead responsibility for this rests with the police who have substantial experience of dealing with public order and security at major events.
The rules governing the presence of foreign security and protection teams at the games are the same as at any time. Requests to carry weapons are referred to the police and Home Office for consideration.
Police: Vehicles
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will estimate the number of replacement (a) general fleet and (b) patrol cars by police force that were (i) UK-built and (ii) foreign-built in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [95100]
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Nick Herbert [holding answer 20 February 2012]: Records of replacement police cars that were, (i) UK-built and (ii) foreign-built in the last 12 months are not held centrally.
Speed Limits: Cameras
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2012, Official Report, column 149W, on speed limits: cameras, what testing is done on speed cameras during the type approval process to test their reliability through deeply tinted windows. [94764]
Nick Herbert: Type approval testing for speed measuring devices does not include tests on their use through glass. All speed measuring devices using laser or radar can be used through glass, including tinted glass, and any measurement they take will be accurate.
Security Vetting
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many records checks the Criminal Records Bureau has processed for people living in (a) St Helens South and Whiston constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England in each of the last five years; and how many such checks required the applicant to attend fingerprinting to prove their identity. [95458]
Lynne Featherstone: This information is not held in the format requested. In the last five years, the Criminal Records Bureau has processed over 19 million certificates. Of these, 24,136 fingerprint comparisons have been conducted. These details are broken down in the table for each of the last five years from April 2007 to present.
| Calendar year | Total issued | Enhanced | Standard | Fingerprints provided |
Treasury
Arms Trade
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which representatives from his Department have attended each of the UN Preparatory Committee meetings for the International Arms Trade Treaty; and which representatives from his Department will attend the meeting in February 2012. [88631]
Danny Alexander: Neither I nor any of my officials have attended, or currently plan to attend, any UN Preparatory Committee meetings for the International Arms Trade Treaty, as this is a matter for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Ministry of Defence.
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Child Benefit
Jim Fitzpatrick:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in (a) Poplar and Limehouse constituency, (b) Tower Hamlets and (c) the UK are in receipt of child benefit allowance for (i)
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one child, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four, (v) five or (vi) six children; and what proportion of household income such allowances represent. [92970]
Mr Gauke: The following table has the requested information:
| Number of families by number of children in family | ||||||
| Area | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| (1 )These figures are available from the 2010 National Statistics: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_benefit/chb-geog-aug10.xls | ||||||
These figures were compiled using August 2010 National Statistics dataset.
Information on the proportion of household income child benefit represents is not available.
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the Exchequer of lost revenue arising from tax planning following the withdrawal of child benefit from higher rate income taxpayers. [94971]
Mr Gauke: This information can be found on page 14 of the Spending Review 2010 Scorecard available at:
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_policycostings.pdf
The relevant paragraph is copied here for reference:
“The costing includes assumptions for two behavioural responses: for the first full year 2013-14 these have an effect of approximately £280 million per year to allow for possible tax planning and approximately £60 million per year for possible non-compliance that may not be detected by compliance checks that apply.”
Crown Estate Commissioners
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in which London boroughs the Crown Estate owns (a) land, (b) property and (c) both land and property; and what information his Department holds on each of these assets. [95389]
Miss Chloe Smith: The following table shows the London property held by the Crown Estate, as at 31 December 2011. The Crown Estate does not distinguish between land and property within its urban estate, nor between developed and undeveloped land.
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| (1) Areas have been rounded to the nearest 500m(2). (2) Properties which cannot be classified as being used as office, retail or industrial space. The types of ‘other’ usage includes: clubs, hotels, educational and medical centres car parks, leisure facilities, and palaces (for example, the Palace of Richmond). (3) These estates contain some residential properties. The Blackheath and Eltham estate has 130 residential tenancies. The Richmond and Sudbrook estate has 51 residential tenancies. | |||||||
This information (excluding the information on London boroughs) is also published in the “Schedule of The Crown Estate’s properties rights and interests December 2011”, available on the Crown Estate’s website at:
www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/206857/schedule_of_properties_rights_and_interests.pdf
HM Treasury is charged with general oversight of the Crown Estate’s business, including information about significant business developments and investment strategy, and does not hold information on individual properties.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the Crown Estate's role in promoting (a) the big society, (b) volunteering and (c) other community and social action programmes; and if he will make a statement. [95444]
Miss Chloe Smith: The Crown Estate is principally a commercial organisation. Under the Crown Estate Act 1961 it is tasked with maintaining and enhancing the value of the estate and the return obtained from it
‘but with due regard to the requirements of good management'.
The annual surplus income is paid to the Exchequer.
The Crown Estate can only promote volunteering and community and social action programmes that are linked in some way to the properties it manages. Examples include its Marine Stewardship programme and details on this and other such projects can be found in the Crown Estate's annual report. Copies are available in the House of Commons Library, or at
www.thecrownestate.co.uk/sustainability
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has considered allocating profits from the Crown Estate's marine assets directly to devolved Administrations to determine their own spending priorities. [95461]
Miss Chloe Smith: The Government have no plans to hypothecate Crown Estate marine asset profits to devolved Administrations.
Arch Cru
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give consideration to holding an investigation under section 14 of the Financial Services Markets Act 2000 into the suspension of pension funds of the 20,000 investors in the Arch Cru Investment Fund. [94902]
Mr Hoban: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 6 February 2012, Official Report, column 96W.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will meet representatives of the All Party Group on Arch Cru Investment to discuss investors' pensions. [94903]
Mr Hoban: I would be pleased to meet the All Party Group if there are new substantive points that were not discussed at the Westminster Hall debate of 19 October 2011.
Financial Services
Hazel Blears: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to encourage businesses in the financial services sector to develop in areas other than London and the South East. [86980]
Mr Hoban: Decisions about the location of financial services activity are commercial matters and are therefore not the responsibility of Government.
However, industry body TheCityUK estimates that two thirds of the 2 million UK financial and professional services employees are based outside of London. The North West of England, for instance, plays host to a large cluster of financial, accounting, legal and management consulting firms, which collectively represent 11% of the regional economy.
Manchester is at the heart of the financial services industry in the North West with over 90,000 people employed in the sector, making it the second largest financial centre in the UK.
PAYE: Fines
Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many complaints HM Revenue and Customs has received to date from (a) micro, (b) small, (c) medium and (d) large businesses relating to charges for late payment of PAYE in the tax year 2010-11; [94945]
(2) what the (a) total and (b) average monetary value was of fines issued to (i) micro, (ii) small, (iii) medium and (iv) large companies for late payment of PAYE in the tax years (A) 2007-08, (B) 2008-09, (C) 2009-10 and (D) 2010-11; [94946]
(3) how many (a) micro, (b) small, (c) medium and (d) large companies received fines for late payment of PAYE in the tax years (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09, (iii) 2009-10 and (iv) 2010-11. [94947]
Mr Gauke: The information is not available and could be researched only at disproportionate cost.
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Peacocks Group
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will meet the Chief Executive of Royal Bank of Scotland to discuss its decisions on Peacocks Group. [94973]
Mr Hoban: The Chancellor of the Exchequer meets senior members of UK banking institutions on a range of issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.
Revenue and Customs: Incentives
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid in bonuses to HM Revenue and Customs officials working on criminal investigations in (a) each of the last three years and (b) 2011-12 to date; and how much he expects to be paid in the next three years. [95542]
Mr Gauke: HMRC operates two bonus arrangements, which apply to staff across the Department:
Performance awards tied to the annual performance for delegated grades (AA—Grade 6) and senior civil servants; and
A recognition bonus scheme for delegated grades which recognises exceptional in year performance. This scheme is not open to members of the SCS.
(a) The total value of bonuses paid to those working in HMRC Criminal Investigation was;
For the financial year 2008-09—relating to performance in 2007-08 the value of bonuses paid in criminal investigation was £379,656.
For the financial year 2009-10—relating to performance in 2008-09 the value of bonuses paid in criminal investigation was £435,689.
For the financial year 2010-11—relating to performance in 2009-10 the value of bonuses paid in criminal investigation was £349,168.
(b) During the current financial year (2011-12) HMRC has paid performance awards to the value of £275,326 which relate to performance in 2010-11. The information relating to recognition bonuses paid in the current financial year will not be available until the end of this financial year.
For 2012-13 HMRC has a remit for a bonus pot of 0.47% of the AA-Grade 6 pay bill. The overall value of bonuses paid to those working in criminal investigation will be dependent upon the performance of individuals across the performance year. Beyond 2013 we cannot provide any forecasts due to the ongoing wider civil service reward reform work.
Revenue and Customs: Pay
John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the maximum value was of end of year non-consolidated performance-related payments paid to staff in the delegated grades within the Debt Management Office of HM Revenue and Customs in each year since 2005. [94809]
Mr Gauke: The following table gives details of the value of performance-related pay for staff in Debt Management offices in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
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| Performance related payments awarded to Debt Management staff | |||||
| £ | |||||
| Grade/financial year | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | Grade total |
Data relating years prior to 2007-08 is not available, and could be researched only at disproportionate cost.
Taxpayers
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to ensure taxpayers have access to information on how taxes are spent. [95004]
Danny Alexander: The vast majority of taxes are not hypothecated to specific expenditure and therefore making this connection is not possible.
The main sources of information on public spending are the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) National Statistics releases published by HM Treasury. All the recent releases are available on the Treasury website at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pespub_index.htm
These releases provide a range of breakdowns of spending in table format. For example, tables include spend by Government Department and spend by function of government (eg education, policing, defence). Additionally, as part of the Government's transparency agenda, a large amount of further data on public spending has been published. Each Department publishes details of all items of spending with a value of over £25,000 on their own website. HM Treasury has also published further detailed information from the Combined On-line Information System—COINS—underlying the PESA releases at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_coins_data.htm
http://data.gov.uk/dataset/coins
The COINS data also includes the full details of the underlying raw data used to produce the 2009-10 Whole of Government Accounts (WGA). The full audited WGA for 2009-10 are also available on the Treasury website:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_government_accounts.htm
VAT: Publications
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effects on the UK book trade of the reduced rate of VAT on e-books in France and Luxembourg. [95040]
Mr Gauke:
France and Luxembourg introduced a reduced rate of VAT for e-books on 1 January 2012.
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There has been no assessment on the impact of this on the UK book trade. However, under existing agreements with our EU partners the UK maintains a zero rate of VAT for books which is not available to other member states.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts: Economic Situation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the economic situation on the arts industry. [94652]
Mr Vaizey: This Department has not carried out a formal assessment on the effects of the current economic situation on the arts industry, however, Arts Council England is monitoring this and has a committed 10-year goal to help the arts sector to survive and continue to grow by increasing efficiency and innovation.
British Sky Broadcasting
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has any plans to bring forward legislative proposals to remove the retransmission fees paid by public service broadcasters to Sky. [94535]
Mr Vaizey: The question of ‘retransmission fees' paid by public service broadcasters to platforms such as BSkyB will be considered in the communications review Green Paper to be published early this year.
Broadband: Brighton and Hove
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the amount of public funding which would be required to bring ultra-fast broadband to the Brighton and Hove area; and if he will make a statement. [94717]
Mr Vaizey: The Department has not made any estimate of the amount of public funding required to bring ultra-fast broadband to the Brighton and Hove area.
I understand that the East Sussex local broadband project, which includes Brighton and Hove, is progressing well and that a draft plan will be submitted by the end of February as required. This area has indicative funding of £10.64 million allocated out of the £530 million to bring superfast broadband to 90% of the population and standard broadband to everyone else.
Broadcasting: Press
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with (a) Ofcom, (b) Press TV and (c) other bodies on the broadcasting licence for Press TV. [94695]
Mr Vaizey: None. Broadcast licensing is an operational matter for the independent regulator, Ofcom.
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Broadcasting: Welsh Language
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had on the inclusion of quotas for the broadcasting of Welsh language programmes in local digital television licences for stations planning to broadcast in Wales. [94663]
Mr Vaizey: The Government have consulted extensively on their proposals for local television and received a very small number of representations about Welsh language programming in response. The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), also attended a local TV summit in Newport in 2011 which included a discussion on Welsh language programming on local TV.
Instead of imposing specific quotas on local TV service providers, the Government are requiring that local television provides programming that meets the needs of the locality, increases the range of programmes about the locality and caters for the tastes and interests of people in that locality, so Welsh language content could fit this very well.
Ministerial Air Travel
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on what occasions he has taken flights within the UK on official business since August 2010; what class of travel he used; and who accompanied him on each such flight. [94800]
John Penrose: The following table shows the occasions the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), took flights within the UK on official business since August 2010 and if accompanied by a special adviser (SA) or private secretary (PS):
| Date | Flight | Accompanied |
All flights were economy class. Section 10 of the Ministerial Code provides guidance on travel for Ministers and makes clear that Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.
Social Media
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) how much his Department spent on maintaining its (a) Twitter feed, (b) YouTube channel and (c) Flickr channel in the latest period for which figures are available; [94649]
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(2) how many people his Department employed to maintain its social media and networking sites and at what cost in the latest period for which figures are available. [94650]
Mr Vaizey: This Department has no staff committed solely to maintaining social media and networking sites. The sites are supported as part of normal communications work with no more than 10% of a full-time employees’ time spent on this work. In May 2010, we spent £34.35 on a Flickr pro account (to store additional photos) which expires in May 2012.
Departmental Manpower
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time employees his Department had in each year since 1997. [94641]
John Penrose: The information requested from 1999 onwards, is set out in the following table.
Information prior to this date is not held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
| Full-time | Part-time | Total | |
Totals are full-time equivalents based on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) requirements and figures represent average staff-in-post across the whole year.
DCMS has recruited additional staff from other government Departments to deliver the London 2012 Olympics. These are short-term appointments and DCMS will downsize after the games.
These figures also reflect a machinery of Government change in 2011 which saw a number of digital economy staff transfer from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, to DCMS. We remain on track to deliver a 50% reduction in our administration budget by 2013-14.
Press Releases
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many press releases his Department issued in the last 12 months. [94640]
John Penrose: The Department issued 129 press releases in 2011, all of which are available on our website.
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Procurement: Capital Bonds
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what proportion of the total value of contracts issued or to be issued by his Department in 2011-12 have required successful organisations to put up a capital bond; and if he will make a statement; [94920]
(2) which contracts his Department has tendered or will tender in 2011-12 which require successful organisations to have a capital bond of more than £5 million; which contracts have not required such a bond; and if he will make a statement. [94939]
John Penrose: No contracts issued, or to be issued or tendered by this Department in 2011-12 have required successful organisations to put up a capital bond up to, or exceeding £5 million.
Digital Switchover Help Scheme
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure that groups of people who are eligible for assistance from the digital television Switchover Help Scheme receive that assistance. [95035]
Mr Vaizey: The Switchover Help Scheme directly contacts everyone eligible for help well in advance of switchover in their area to provide them with information about the scheme and the cost, if any, to the individual. It also carries out a widespread information campaign, including advertising on TV, radio, press and buses, a publicity campaign and through outreach activities with local authorities, third sector groups, and in the community, to try to ensure that everyone knows about the help available to eligible people.
Local Broadcasting: Radio
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the regulations are which govern the output of community local radio; and what plans he has to review such regulations. [95139]
Mr Vaizey: The statutory framework which sets out the licensing framework for community radio is set out in the Community Radio Order 2004, as amended by the Community Radio (Amendment) Order 2010. Full details of the licensing process and Ofcom's regulatory regime can be found at:
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-broadcast-licensing/community-radio/
The Department is conducting a number of workshops with the community radio sector throughout February to consider the case for changes to the current legislative frameworks. In addition, the future role of community radio will be a consideration in the forthcoming communications review.
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has any plans to review the limit of the broadcasting radius for community local radio; and if he will make a statement. [95140]
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Mr Vaizey: Ofcom is responsible for determining the coverage areas for community radio stations and consulted the sector on this issue in 2004. At this time we are not aware that Ofcom have any plans to review their current policy on the broadcasting radius for community radio stations.
Mobile Phones
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of the potential benefits to consumers of lower mobile data roaming charges in Europe; what his policy is on the European Commission’s proposal for regulation in this area; and if he will make a statement. [94712]
Mr Vaizey: The Department has made no specific assessment of the benefits to consumers of lower mobile data roaming charges in Europe, although we remain actively engaged with stakeholders on the matter. We are considering various proposals put forward on price caps for retail costs for mobile data roaming in the European Union. These include the initial Commission proposals; revised proposals from the European Parliament and advice submitted by the European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).
The principles that guide our negotiating position on both the wholesale and the retail price capping (and thus the margin between the two) for voice and data roaming, remain that we wish to see price caps set at values that will continue to reduce roaming costs for consumers but at the same time provide sufficient incentive for new players to enter the market, therefore providing a sustainable competitive market place.
Museums and Galleries
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many times (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department visited the (i) British museum, (ii) Natural History museum and (iii) Science museum in an official capacity in the last year. [94635]
Mr Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), visited the British museum twice and the Natural History museum once in the last year in an official capacity. As the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, I visited the British Museum eight times, and the Natural History museum and the Science museum once each in the last year in an official capacity.
S4C
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he plans to bring forward proposals relating to the management structure of S4C under the terms of the Public Bodies Act 2011. [94678]
Mr Vaizey: This Department opened a public consultation on 1 February on proposals to amend S4C's governance arrangements. The consultation is open until 4 May 2012 and the Government look forward to considering all responses. Progress on the reform of S4C governance after then will depend on the outcome of the consultation.
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Tourism
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what estimate he has made of the number of (a) UK and (b) overseas tourists who visited (i) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (ii) the London borough of Bexley in the last five years; [94713]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in the tourism industry in the London borough of Bexley in the last three years for which figures are available. [94714]
John Penrose: The Department does not record this specific information, but VisitEngland’s Great Britain Tourism Survey for 2008-10, reports that the London borough of Bexley attracted an average of 259,000 domestic visits annually, available at:
http://www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics/major-tourism-surveys/overnightvisitors/UKTS2010/LA_County_2006_2010.aspx
Details of visits are not collated at constituency level.
Through the International Passenger Survey, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) record the number of visits made by overseas residents to London in each of the last five years. The ONS do not provide this information by London borough or constituency but the data can be found at:
http://www.visitbritain.org/insightsandstatistics/inboundvisitorstatistics/regions/towns.aspx
It is also summarised in the following table.
| London | |
| Visits (Thousand) | |
In 2010, VisitBritain published a study by Deloitte about the economic contribution of the visitor economy. Within the study they provide the number of employees in the visitor economy by nation, the top 10 areas by volume of employees, and the top 50 districts with the highest share of employees by percentage. However, they do not provide this information for the London borough of Bexley. Full details can be found at:
http://www.visitbritain.org/Images/Economic%20 case%20for%20the%20Visitor%20Economy%20-%20Phase%202%20-%2026%20July%202010%20-%20FINAL_tcm29-14561.pdf
International Development
Overseas Aid: Animal Welfare
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to promote animal health in (a) Africa, (b) India and (c) South America. [94453]
Mr O'Brien:
The Department for International Development's (DFID) research programmes are developing new diagnostic tests, medications and vaccines
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to combat a range of animal diseases which can have major economic impacts in Africa and South Asia and are applicable both at regional and global level. For example,
(a) In collaboration with the UK Research Councils, DFID is already contributing to improved field control of animal trypanosomosis in Africa by using a new tool to aid accurate dosage of medication and improved diagnosis of parasites in goats and sheep in India.
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(b) DFID works closely with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to produce effective vaccines. More than 170,000 cattle have been vaccinated against East Coast Fever disease in Africa, while eight field pilot trials with improved Newcastle vaccine for poultry are under way in Africa and India.
DFID's programmes also support partnerships with local manufacturers and distributors in Africa and Asia to promote animal health and ensure wider uptake of animal vaccines in rural areas.