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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 22 February 2012
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Abu Qatada
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times he has met (a) his Jordanian counterpart, (b) officials in the Government of Jordan and (c) the Jordanian Ambassador or his representatives to discuss the case of Abu Qatada since May 2010. [94990]
Alistair Burt: We have had continuous dialogue with Jordanian counterparts on Qatada's case. Since the decision of 17 January by the European Court on Human Rights, the Prime Minister has spoken to King Abdullah on this issue, the Minister of Crime and Security at the Home Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (James Brokenshire), has visited Jordan and senior officials, including our ambassador in Amman, have discussed it with the Jordanian Prime Minister. Led by the Home Office, Government officials and Ministers both in the UK and Jordan, will continue to engage the Jordanian Prime Ministry and Ministry of Interior to resolve this case.
Africa
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to support security and anti-terrorism capacity in (a) Nigeria, (b) Kenya and (c) other parts of Africa. [95697]
Alistair Burt: Increases in terrorist attacks and outbreaks of sectarian violence have posed serious challenges over past months to the Nigerian Government. The UK has shared its expertise on counter-terrorism policy, doctrine and legal frameworks, and also provided assistance with specific capabilities such as managing the consequences of terrorist attacks. In all cases the co-operation has emphasised compliance with international human rights standards. The UK also supports programmes that aim to address some of the root causes of conflict and insecurity, such as poverty and unequal division of power and resources.
We are supporting Kenya to strengthen its border and maritime security capacity, and the Department for International Development is supporting security preparations in the run up to elections in the country.
We are also working across East Africa, with Kenya, Somalia and other countries in the region to build their capability to investigate, detain and prosecute terrorists in accordance with international human rights standards.
In other parts of Africa we prioritise our counter terrorism work where we judge the threat to the UK and its interests to be greatest. We base our work on the
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four workstreams outlined in the Government's Counter Terrorism Strategy (CONTEST):
Pursue, Prevent, Protect and Prepare.
Bahrain
Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with Mr John Yates about his appointment as police adviser to the Government of Bahrain. [96122]
Alistair Burt: John Yates was appointed directly by the Bahraini Government in December and is an employee of the Ministry of Interior. The British Government have had no involvement in his appointment.
Members of staff from the British embassy have met a wide range of interlocutors who are currently assisting the Bahraini Government with their reforms, including Mr Yates. There has been no ministerial contact with Mr Yates in connection with this appointment.
Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Bahrain about the appointment of Mr John Yates as adviser on policing to that Government. [96124]
Alistair Burt: I have had several discussions with the Bahraini Government about their plans to implement reforms following the publication of the Bahrain Independent commission of Inquiry report in late November. This has included the need to reform the police and security forces. I have had no direct conversations about Mr Yates’ appointment, which has been independent of the UK Government.
We welcome the steady progress the Government are making on implementing the Commission's recommendations, and welcome efforts to ensure that Bahrain's policing meets international standards and has at its centre a respect for human rights.
Diego Garcia: Aviation
Mr Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) owner/operator, (b) marks of nationality and registration, (c) flight number and date, (d) airport departed from, (e) destination, (f) number and names of crew and (g) number and names of passengers was of flights which landed on Diego Garcia between 6 and 12 March 2004. [92397]
Mr Bellingham: I will write to my hon. Friend about flights which landed on Diego Garcia between 6-12 March 2004 once full data have been assembled.
Festivals and Special Occasions: Scotland
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) embassies and (b) other posts held events to mark Burns night 2012. [93183]
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Mr Jeremy Browne: Many of our posts overseas mark Burns night, whether by holding their own event, helping other charities and organisations with their events, or by our senior staff attending events held by local societies.
Israel
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from his staff in (a) Israel and (b) Palestine on the health of Khader Adnan. [95919]
Alistair Burt: We receive regular reports from our embassy in Tel Aviv and the Consulate General in Jerusalem providing updates on the situation regarding Mr Khader Adnan.
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 20 February 2012, Official Report, column 530W.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Israel on Khader Adnan. [95920]
Alistair Burt: The condition of Mr Khader Adnan Mohammed Musa, currently on hunger strike while held in administrative detention by the Israeli authorities, remains of concern to the UK.
Our officials in Tel Aviv discussed the issue on 16 February with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressing our concerns, as well as with the office of the Israeli National Security Adviser and the Israeli Prison Service. We continue to urge the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law.
The UK supports the position of the EU, as set out in the statement by the spokesperson of the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and vice president of the Commission, on 17 February 2012:
“The high representative is following with great concern reports about the deteriorating health condition of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian held in administrative detention in Israel and who has been on hunger strike since mid-December.
The high representative requests the Government of Israel to do all it can to preserve the health of Mr. Adnan in its continuing handling of this case.
The high representative reiterates the EU's longstanding concern about the extensive use by Israel of administrative detention without formal charge. Detainees have the right to be informed about the charges underlying any detention and be subject to a fair trial.”
The UK is working closely with EU partners to consider further action as appropriate.
Journalism
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had at the UN on the safety of journalists abroad. [94660]
Mr Jeremy Browne:
The UN plays an important role in promoting the safety of journalists. This Government fully support their efforts as part of our wider commitment to supporting freedom of expression and engage with the UN's work wherever possible. A UK—inspired
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resolution in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inspired a meeting between UN agencies at UNESCO headquarters in September 2011 which produced a Draft Plan of Action for Agencies to improve the safety of journalists and combat impunity. This will be taken forward by UNESCO in March.
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the deaths of journalists abroad. [94662]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The safety of journalists is an important part of the ongoing human rights dialogue this Government have with our EU colleagues. Along with EU partners, we co-sponsor a resolution every two years at the UN General Assembly calling for better protection of human rights defenders, which often includes journalists. The last resolution was in November 2011. In support of EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, we regularly discuss with EU colleagues what action should be taken to ensure that violence against journalists is thoroughly investigated and those responsible brought to justice.
New Zealand
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government are providing assistance to the Government of New Zealand for the purposes of rebuilding in Christchurch following the earthquake in 2011. [95646]
Mr Jeremy Browne: Following the devastating Christchurch Earthquake in 2011 the British Government provided immediate disaster assistance.
We have no plans to give financial assistance directly to the Government of New Zealand for rebuilding Christchurch, and there has been no request from New Zealand for such assistance.
Nuclear Power: Trade Promotion
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was to his Department of participation in the January 2012 Civil Nuclear Export Showcase, organised by UK Trade and Investment; how many officials of his Department attended the event; what the outcome of the meeting was; and if he will make a statement. [94672]
Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr Prisk), on 20 February 2012, Official Report, column 559W.
Two officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office participated in the UK Civil Nuclear Energy Showcase and there was no charge for their attendance.
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Health
Clinical Physiologists: Regulation
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from the (a) Registration Council of Clinical Physiologists and (b) Health Professions Council on statutory regulation for clinical physiologists. [95705]
Anne Milton: We have received no representations from the Health Professions Council, although we are aware that in 2003, under the previous Administration, they did recommend this group for statutory regulation. The Department has received a number of representations from the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists on this issue.
There is an ongoing dialogue between the Registration Council of Clinical Physiologists and the Department about the case for statutory regulation of clinical physiologists, including how assured voluntary registration could provide a way to effectively assure appropriate standards of practice for this group.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) risk assessment and (b) cost-benefit analysis his Department carried out when considering whether (i) clinical physiologists and (ii) public health consultants should be statutorily regulated. [95708]
Anne Milton: No formal risk assessment and cost benefit, analysis have been carried out by the Department in considering whether clinical physiologists and non-medical public health specialists would be statutorily regulated.
The majority of public health specialists are already subject to statutory regulation by virtue of them being doctors or dentists. However, a small group come from a non-medical background and, therefore, are not subject to existing statutory regulation.
The decision to regulate these non-medical public health specialists is about ensuring that the existing, regulatory system covers all the professionals it was intended to cover, closing a small anomaly that has developed over time. This will provide consistent standards at a time when this group are becoming increasingly important leaders in local communities.
The Government do not consider a compelling case has yet been made for the statutory regulation of clinical physiologists. We are proposing to introduce a system of assured voluntary registration and we will assess whether this provides adequate assurance of the standards of practice for clinical physiologists.
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to encourage the use of e-mail in preference to printed correspondence for communications between his Department and hon. Members. [94855]
Mr Simon Burns:
The Department will want to consider this issue in the light of the views of right hon. and hon.
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Members and having taken account of previous and existing experiments of the use of e-mail in preference to printed correspondence.
Health
Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent comparative assessment he has made of health outcomes in the UK and other European countries. [95739]
Mr Simon Burns: In September 2011, departmental officials produced a summary briefing paper on international comparisons of health care outcomes using data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Health Organisation and the Commonwealth Fund. The international comparisons presented focused on broad measures of morbidity, mortality and patient experience as well as outcomes for specific medical conditions. This summary uses published data only.
This paper has been placed in the Library.
Health: Regulation
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence on potential risks to patient safety he took into account when taking the decision to regulate public health workers. [95707]
Anne Milton: The majority of public health consultants are already subject to statutory regulation by virtue of them being doctors or dentists. However, a small group come from a non-medical background and, therefore, are not subject to existing statutory regulation.
The decision to regulate these non-medical public health specialists is about ensuring that the existing regulatory system covers all the professionals it was intended to cover, closing a small anomaly that has developed over time. This will provide consistent standards at a time when this group of specialists are becoming increasingly important leaders in local communities.
Hepatitis: Ethnic Groups
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take as part of his proposals for NHS reform to improve the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C in South Asian communities. [96038]
Anne Milton: It is the responsibility of local national health service organisations to take appropriate steps to ensure satisfactory access to diagnosis and treatment for all patients infected with hepatitis C, including in South Asian communities. In future, the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for ensuring that services, including for the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C, are commissioned to ensure consistency of high quality provision across the country and to address inequalities in access.
The Department is currently grant-funding the Hepatitis C Trust to increase hepatitis C testing in partnership with local NHS organisations through community pharmacies and an outreach mobile information and testing service, including for South Asian communities.
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Hospitals: Food
Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost was of providing food per patient per day in (a) the NHS and (b) East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust in each year since 2004. [95923]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department collects data from national health service trusts for the average total daily cost for the provision of all meals and beverages fed to one patient per day. This cost relates to all meals and beverages provided to a patient in a day, not the cost of a single meal. The cost is inclusive of all pay and non-pay costs, including provisions, ward issues, disposables, equipment and its maintenance.
The data collected for the NHS and East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust for each year from 2004-05 to 2010-11 are shown in the following table.
| £ | ||
| Average cost of feeding one patient per day in England | Average cost of feeding one patient per day at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust | |
The information has been supplied by the NHS and has not been amended centrally. The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the provider organisation.
Incontinence
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the National Audit of Continence Care; and if he will make a statement; [95364]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of adherence to (a) Clinical Guideline 40 on urinary incontinence in women and (b) Clinical Guideline 97 on lower urinary tract symptoms in men; and if he will make a statement; [95365]
(3) what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the economy of (a) lower urinary tract symptoms and (b) incontinence. [95366]
Mr Simon Burns:
The National Audit of Continence Care was commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership on behalf of the Department as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP). The audit published a series of reports between 2005 and 2010, the latest report covering incontinence in people over the age of 18 as well as older people. The Department provided additional funding in 2011, for the pilot of an audit tool that enables participants to enter their information on patient cases and get a real-time mini report on the care provided. Care providers can implement local changes
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based on the results and re-audit at a later date to see if there has been any changes in the quality of care provided.
The Government are committed to extending the number of national clinical audits in NCAPOP to support clinicians across a much wider range of treatments and conditions.
There are National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for both faecal and urinary incontinence, which are supported by commissioning tools to support primary care trusts.
The NHS Operating Framework in England 2012-13 also ensures providers participation in relevant national clinical audits including continence. NICE clinical guidelines are based on a robust assessment of the available evidence and are developed through wide consultation with stakeholders. They represent best practice and should be taken into account by clinicians and commissioners in their decision-making.
The Department has not made a recent estimate of the cost of lower urinary tract symptoms and incontinence to the economy.
However, the NHS Outcomes Framework, published in December 2010, has “Enhancing quality of life for people with long-term conditions” as one of its outcome domains, which is relevant to a number of conditions including living with incontinence.
Kidneys: Transplant Surgery
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) women, (b) men and (c) children are currently waiting for a kidney transplant in the UK; and how many such people are from black and minority ethnic groups. [95174]
Anne Milton: The information requested is provided in the following tables.
| Number of people on the active transplant list for a kidney only transplant, as at 8 February 2012 , sex and ethnicity | ||||
| Ethnicity | ||||
| Sex | White | BME | Not reported | Total |
| Source: NHS Blood and Transplant | ||||
| Number of people on the active transplant list for a kidney only transplant, as at 8 February 2012 , ad ult/paediatric by ethnicity | ||||
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White | BME | Not reported | Total | |
| Source: NHS Blood and Transplant | ||||
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish (a) average waiting times and (b) success rates for the individual kidney transplant units listed by NHS Blood and Transplant. [95175]
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Anne Milton: The information has been placed in the Library of the House.
Locums: Costs
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has put in place any requirement that payments made to cover the costs of locums must be spent only on locums. [95706]
Mr Simon Burns: National health service trusts and foundation trusts are not provided with funding to meet the costs of paying for locums. Where they engage locums to cover absences within their workforce, they must meet the cost from within their own resources.
For general practitioners (GP) contractors operating under the national general medical services (GMS) contract, the arrangements governing the reimbursement of locum costs by primary care trusts (PCTs) are set out in the GMS statement of financial entitlement (SFE).
The SFE specifies a GP contractor can only claim for actual locum costs incurred after they have been incurred, and it is for the PCT to satisfy themselves on this point, and that the eligibility criteria have been met, prior to making any reimbursement payment.
Neurology
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent of any regional variation in NHS provision of neurology services; and if he will prepare and publish an outcomes strategy for neurology and appoint a national clinical director to oversee it. [95081]
Paul Burstow: We have made no assessment of the extent of any regional variations in the provision of neurology services. However, we recognise that there are still unacceptable local variations in the provision of neurological services, as highlighted by the recent National Audit Office report. We will be responding to the recommendations arising from the report, and subsequent Public Accounts Committee hearing in due course.
Responsibility for ensuring that locally commissioned services meet the needs of those living with neurological conditions is the responsibility of primary care trusts.
There is no plan to produce an outcome strategy specifically for neurological conditions. However, the long-term conditions (LTC) outcomes strategy, which will include neurological conditions, will not only look at how to prevent long-term conditions but also at how to delay their onset, and mitigate their effects once people do develop them. The strategy will take a ‘whole life’ view- of people with LTCs, and set out what local government, the national health service, communities and individuals can do to improve outcomes for people living with LTCs.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on clinical networks for neurological conditions for (a) cancer and (b) stroke in the last 12 months; and whether he has any plans to develop additional NHS-funded neurology networks. [95398]
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Paul Burstow: Information on departmental expenditure on clinical networks for neurological conditions, cancer and stroke is not collected centrally.
It is proposed that, in the future, commissioners will be supported by clinical networks advising on single areas of care and new ‘clinical senates’ in each area of the country will provide multi-professional advice on local commissioning plans.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to encourage collaborative commissioning for low-volume neurological conditions via the authorisation process for clinical commissioning groups. [95608]
Paul Burstow: The proposed reforms to commissioning, the greater focus on improving quality and joining services up more effectively, alongside a stronger collective voice for patients and the public will ensure the delivery of better, more seamless, services and improve patient and public experience.
Commissioning by clinical commissioning groups does not mean that individual groups will have to commission every service. They can commission collaboratively across larger populations if that makes sense for them.
Commissioners will be supported by clinical networks advising on single areas of care and new ‘clinical senates’ in each area of the country will provide multi-professional advice on local commissioning plans.
Neurological Commissioning Support (NCS), which has developed, with the support of a number of neurological charities, has been well received by existing commissioners.
NCS has produced a Quality Neurology audit and evaluation tool, which allows commissioners to receive a comprehensive evaluation of how an organisation fulfils all of the quality requirements specified in the NSF. They have also developed Neuronavigator, a tool to help commissioners to understand the complexity of support and services that need to be provided for people affected by a long-term neurological condition.
Palliative Care
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the NHS budget for palliative care (a) was in the last five years and (b) will be in each of the next three years. [95836]
Paul Burstow: Local primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for commissioning and funding local services, including those for palliative care. The Department does not collect information about national health service expenditure on palliative care centrally.
In 2010-11, the Department conducted a special exercise to monitor PCT spend on specialist palliative care, one aspect of palliative care services. This data, extrapolated to include those PCTs that did not reply to the survey, showed total investment in specialist palliative care of £410 million for all PCTs.
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients with terminal illnesses received palliative care in each of the last five years. [95874]
Paul Burstow: This information is not available.
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We know that approximately 470,000 people die in England each year(1). Not all of these will need palliative care. The independent Palliative Care Funding Review (PCFR) estimated in its final report, published in July 2011, that around 355,000 people require palliative care each year and that round 92,000 people per year have an unmet palliative care need.
The PCFR recognised that there is a paucity of data available on palliative care. The Department is working with the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network and through the work to take forward the PCFR to address this issue.
(1) Source—Office for National Statistics
Prostate Cancer: Health Services
Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve treatments for men with advanced prostate cancer who relapse after hormone therapy and chemotherapy. [96027]
Paul Burstow: In 2008, the National institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published the clinical guideline “Prostate cancer: diagnosis and treatment”. This sets out recommendations on the tests, treatment, care and support that men who have suspected or diagnosed prostate cancer should be offered, including those men who have relapsed after treatment. To ensure that these recommendations continue to reflect the latest available evidence, NICE is currently updating this guideline.
NICE is also currently appraising the use of abiraterone (Zytiga) for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen.
Suicide
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has carried out an evaluation of the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England published in 2002; if he will publish the findings of any such evaluation; and if he will make a statement. [95642]
Paul Burstow: The suicide rate in England has fallen fairly steadily since 2002 and is currently at a historically low level. There have been reductions in the suicide rate among groups highlighted by the 2002 strategy, especially young men, teenagers and prisoners. There has also been a reduction in in-patient suicide.
There is evidence of a strong link between the reform of safety aspects of mental health services and lower patient suicide rates. There is also evidence that suicide by overdose of co-proxamol has fallen since this drug was withdrawn from use.
From 2007 to 2011 the National Institute for Health Research funded a multi-centre programme of clinical and public health research to improve the management of self-harm, reduce the incidence of suicide and provide reliable data to evaluate the impact of the 2002 National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. Details can be found on the programme's website at:
www.epi.bris.ac.uk/suicide-prevention/
In developing a new all age suicide prevention strategy for England, the Government have built on the successes of the earlier strategy. One of the main developments is
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the greater prominence of measures to support families—those who are worried that someone is at risk and those who are coping with the aftermath of a suicide.
International Development
Africa
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to support security and anti-terrorism capacity in (a) Nigeria, (b) Kenya and (c) other parts of Africa. [95696]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK will use 30% of its official development assistance to support conflict-affected and fragile states by 2014-15. We will help to build strong, legitimate security institutions and to improve citizen safety and access to justice. We contribute to UK counter-terrorism objectives overseas by addressing longer term factors that can allow terrorist threats to develop.
In Nigeria we are strengthening early warning and conflict prevention systems to provide better police and justice services and help Nigeria respond to the evolving terrorist threat.
In Kenya we are improving police management and performance standards and supporting the election of the new Inspector General. We have supported reform of the Criminal Investigations Department and on more effective Kenyan border control.
Developing Countries: Educational Visits
Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects to announce his plans for the future of Global Schools Partnerships. [95713]
Mr O'Brien: The Global School Partnerships programme (GSP) will award final grants to schools in March 2012, but will continue to provide support and advice to schools that have been awarded grants until March 2013. The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to continuing support for school linking beyond the closure of GSP and is currently looking at how this can be done to ensure a high quality service to schools that also represents value for money for the UK taxpayer. DFID will be making further announcements about the continuation of school linking shortly and will ensure all schools partnered through GSP are fully informed about how this will impact on their partnership
Developing Countries: Employment
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the G20 Task Force on Employment. [95710]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development and the Department for Work and Pensions officials are in regular contact on the G20 agenda and development.
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The work of the G20 Task Force on Employment is at an early stage. It has been mandated to consider best policy and practice in meeting the challenges of youth employment, in order to feed into discussions of the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers. The UK will be engaging to encourage the group to focus on concrete, value-added outcomes.
India
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on social protection programmes in India for (a) children and (b) pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in each year since 2008; and what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of these programmes. [95711]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting the Government of India's national and state level maternal and child health programmes, which include a range of social protection measures. Total UK support for these programmes each year since 2008 is as follows:
| Spend (£ million) | |
These programmes are reviewed annually and are achieving significant results on mother and infant mortality. In 2011, DFID's investments helped over 230,000 women to give birth safely in a health facility with skilled assistance.
Libya
Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid he plans to provide to Libya in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013; and for what purposes. [95701]
Mr Duncan: As the Deputy Prime Minister announced in August 2011, up to £20 million of the Arab Partnership Fund will be allocated for Libya over 2012-15. This will be used to support political reform and inclusive, poverty-reducing economic growth. The Arab Partnership Fund is co-funded by the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Some funding will-also be available from the Middle East and North Africa Conflict Pool in 2012-13 to address Libya's stabilisation needs.
Scotland
Independence Referendum: Voting Entitlements
13. Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether Scottish and other UK voters registered in Kettering constituency and other parts of the UK outside Scotland will be entitled to vote in any future independence referendum in Scotland. [95274]
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Michael Moore: The Government launched a consultation on how to facilitate a legal, fair and decisive referendum on 10 January 2012.
Our consultation paper sets out the Government's view that the existing franchise for Scottish Parliament elections would be the most appropriate for a referendum on Scottish independence and seeks comments on this matter.
Under-occupancy Penalties
14. Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the effect of under-occupancy penalties on social tenants in Scotland. [95275]
David Mundell: Tenants in the social sector who live in a property that is too large for their needs can expect to face the same choices as those living in the private sector.
However, the changes do not necessarily mean that people will have to move, but they will have to make the same choices about affordability as those who are not relying on benefit.
Northern Ireland
Automatic Assisted Area Status
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings he has had with ministerial colleagues to discuss representations to the EU on the retention of automatic assisted area status for Northern Ireland. [94743]
Mr Paterson: The future of the assisted area status for Northern Ireland is a matter for the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, who has sought the views of Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive.
I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of issues affecting Northern Ireland including the question of assisted area status. The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), and I have had a number of meetings with the Northern Ireland Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment at which this issue was discussed.
Departmental Billing
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what proportion of his Department's invoices from its private sector suppliers were paid (a) within 14 days, (b) between 15 and 30 days, (c) between 31 and 60 days, (d) between 61 and 90 days and (e) more than 90 days after receipt in the last 12 months. [93437]
Mr Paterson: My Department, as a central Government Department, is required to publish its performance on the payment of supplier's invoices. It is not required to provide this information by sector and therefore cannot provide information specific to private sector suppliers.
The published prompt payment statistics can be viewed on the Department's website at the following link:
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http://www.nio.gov.uk/index/nio-publication/nio-pubs-search-results.htm?category=&keyword=payment&order=date
Departmental Procurement
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 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. [94913]
Mr Paterson: My Department has not issued, and has no plans to issue, contracts in 2011-12 which require successful organisations to put up a capital bond.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 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. [94930]
Mr Paterson: My Department has not tendered, and has no plans to tender, contracts in 2011-12 which require successful organisations to have a capital bond of more than £5 million. Contracts currently held do not include such a requirement.
Freedom of Information
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons his Department has not updated the recent releases section of its Freedom of Information webpage since March 2008. [94841]
Mr Paterson: I cannot answer for the period March 2008 to May 2010. The hon. Member should ask his own colleagues who were responsible for this period.
My Department has undergone a significant programme of change following the devolution of policing and justice functions in April 2010. Plans are in place to ensure regular publication of information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. It is intended that this process will commence with effect from the 2012-13 financial year, on a quarterly basis.
The NIO remains committed to fulfilling its statutory duties in relation to the Freedom of Information Act. During the period July to September 2011 (the latest period for which figures are published) 88% of all requests were responded to within 20 working days, rising to 96% with permitted extensions.
Home Department
Civil Disorder
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance she has issued to businesses on compensation for damage caused by riots. [95590]
Nick Herbert:
Immediately following the August 2011 disturbances, guidance containing a series of measures to support individuals, businesses and communities affected by the riots was publicised on the Directgov website as
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well as on police authorities' websites. Guidance specifically for businesses was made available on the Business Link website. The Department for Communities and Local Government also issued guidance on Government compensation and support schemes on its website. In addition, in a written ministerial statement on 11 August 2011,
Official Report,
columns 119-24WS, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, set out the help and advice that the Government could offer to affected businesses.
Identification Documents
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the options available to individuals who do not drive or wish to travel abroad to obtain identification documents. [94731]
Damian Green: The Government do not specifically issue documents for the purpose of supporting an identity claim. However, the driving licence and passport are commonly used as photographic identity in a variety of circumstances. For those people who do not have these documents there will be other ways of verifying identity. This can be through the use of registration on the electoral roll, employment and education history, life event certificates such as birth, adoption or marriage, together with evidence of interaction with Government agencies and financial institutions. The Government have no plans to introduce any documentation for the sole purpose of enabling an individual to verify his or her identity.
Olympic Games 2012: Immigration Controls
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she expects electronic border gates to be operational at all UK airports prior to the commencement of the London 2012 Olympics. [94832]
Damian Green: There are 63 ePassport gates located at nine airports (across 15 terminals) in the UK. These will continue to be available for the foreseeable future and I expect all those currently in place to be operational prior to the start of the Olympics. There are no plans to extend ePassport gates to all UK ports prior to the Olympics.
Olympic Games 2012: Policing
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces have (a) Olympic team training camps and (b) Olympic venues within their areas. [95589]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 21 February 2012]: Arrangements for training camps for the 2012 Games are largely a matter between the visiting teams and the owners of the facilities concerned. The list of camps will therefore change over the coming months as further facilities are booked. A list of camps, current as of 23 January 2012, will be placed in the Library and can be found at:
www.london2012.com/documents/venue-documents/pre-games-training-camps-agreements.pdf
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The following police forces have an official venue for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games based within their area: Dorset police, Essex police, Greater Manchester police, Hertfordshire police, Kent County Constabulary; Metropolitan Police Service, Northumbria police, South Wales police, Strathclyde police, Thames Valley police and West Midlands police. British Transport police have the national responsibility for the transport network.
Most other forces are expected to have some cultural or celebratory events taking place in their local area. In addition, the Torch Relay is expected to pass through the whole of the UK.
Olympic Games 2012: Security
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2012, Official Report, column 77W, on security: London 2012 Olympics, whether the plans which have been put in place include integration of existing security systems, including those belonging to the Metropolitan police, local authorities and Transport for London with new Olympic security systems; [95815]
(2) who has final responsibility for (a) venue and (b) perimeter security for the London 2012 Olympics; [95816]
(3) whether the exercises will address potential security, civil order and crushing problems near to the London 2012 Olympic sites as well as within the venues themselves. [95909]
James Brokenshire: Safety and security arrangements for the London 2012 Games are based on the established model for securing large sporting and public events.
The London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) are responsible for security at Games venues, including perimeter security, with the police and other agencies carrying forward their established roles for safety and security inside and outside venues, and in the wider community. All the parties involved in security attach the greatest importance to effective and comprehensive integration of systems. This has been a key focus of our assurance arrangements and on planning for areas around as well as within Olympic venues.
Roles and responsibilities between the key delivery partners are set out in the published Olympic Safety and Security Strategy and supporting Concept of Operations. Our programme of multi-agency testing and exercising will continue to cover a full range of issues around venues, their immediate environment and London and the UK as a whole, including crowd management and natural hazards, as well as crime, disorder and terrorist threats.
Sham Marriages Task Force
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of UK Border Agency staff are working with the Church of England on the Sham Marriages Task Force. [95150]
Damian Green:
The UK Border Agency established Local immigration teams (LITs) to work with local partners, including the police, community leaders, local
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authorities and other agencies in the enforcement of our immigration laws. LITs work closely with the Church of England to provide advice and support and to investigate and disrupt suspected sham marriages.
The work of each LIT reflects the needs of the individual communities that they serve and will vary depending on the location and facilities available. There are currently 48 LITs across the UK. The number of staff working with the Church of England on tackling sham marriage abuse changes in each LIT according to circumstances.
Terrorism
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has considered bringing forward legislative proposals to make it easier to charge potential terrorists in UK courts for offences committed abroad. [94988]
James Brokenshire: The Government's preferred approach to dealing with terrorists is to prosecute them or, in the case of foreign terrorists, to deport them. There are challenges in securing convictions of suspected overseas terrorist activity relating to the reliability and admissibility of evidence collected overseas. The police and prosecutors seek to overcome these challenges by, in particular, building relations with overseas partners. The UK's counter-terrorism legislation includes extra-territorial jurisdiction for key terrorism offences:
The Terrorism Act 2000, which contains the bulk of the UK's terrorism offences provides, extra territorial jurisdiction for acts of UK citizens abroad (and acts against UK citizens abroad) for a number of specified bombing and terrorist finance offences.
This was extended by the Crime (International Co-Operation) Act 2003 to further terrorist offences (weapons training, directing a terrorist organisation, possession, collection of information and inciting terrorism overseas) and various other offences with a terrorist connection (including murder, kidnapping, fraud and forgery).
The terrorism offences relating to encouragement and training in the Terrorism Act 2006 also have extra territorial jurisdiction.
As set out in the Government's published Counter-Terrorism Strategy (known as 'CONTEST'), improving terrorism prosecution rates further remains a priority.
We have recently carried out a public consultation on changes to the relevant police code of practice to allow post-charge questioning powers to be commenced. These powers will provide an extra investigative tool to allow suspects to be questioned after charge about the same offence. We also continue to consider the possible use of intercept as evidence under the oversight of the cross-party Ad Hoc Group of Privy Counsellors.
Culture, Media and Sport
Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what consideration he gave to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement as part of his Department's Communications Review Green Paper. [95742]
Mr Vaizey:
The final Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) text has been reviewed by government lawyers and the European Commission Legal Services
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who confirm that ACTA will not create new intellectual property rights, laws or criminal offences in the UK or EU. Implementing ACTA will provide EU and UK industry and creators with better protection in overseas markets, through the creation of common enforcement standards and practices and more effective international cooperation. ACTA will not be included in the Communications Review Green Paper.
Olympic Games 2012: Security
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 17 February 2012, Official Report, column 688W, on security resources at the Olympics, if he will clarify the work of his Department in integrating technological and human resources for the command, co-ordination and communication system for the Olympics; and what work is still to be undertaken. [95910]
Hugh Robertson: Government are one of five domains requiring effective command, coordination and communication (C3) at games-time, the others being games operations, safety and security, transport and city operations domains. The Department continues to work with these partners to integrate technological resources across domains so that all forms of classified information can be shared and exchanged in a timely manner. This will continue to be examined during the Olympics exercise programme.
The London 2012 Senior ICT Leaders Group (SILG), chaired by Jeremy Beeton, the Olympic Senior Risk Owner, has been recently set up to provide overall responsibility for identifying and escalating risks, gaps and issues to London 2012 from ICT, technology and information security.
Each domain is taking steps to train its staff for the games. In addition to providing practical experience through the Olympics exercise programme, the Department has developed and delivered an ongoing programme of training sessions to support this practical learning.
We have also developed guidance for temporary changes to people policies for the period immediately before and during the games. This is to ensure that Government meet their operational commitments while continuing to meet their obligations towards maintaining employee welfare and engagement.
Olympic Games 2012: Tickets
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what information the London 2012 Organising Committee has provided to him on the distribution of ticket prices for the London 2012 Olympics. [95734]
Hugh Robertson: Ticketing for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is a matter for the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), a private company operating independent of Government. LOCOG keeps the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport regularly updated on arrangements for the staging of the Games, including their ticketing strategy and overall plans for the distribution and pricing of tickets as published at:
http://www.tickets.london2012.com/olyticketprice1.html
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LOCOG has confirmed that tickets at events are distributed roughly equally between price categories.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many London 2012 Olympics tickets have been sold for (a) the closing ceremony and (b) the 100 metres men's finals night; and at what prices. [95735]
Hugh Robertson: Ticketing for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is a matter for the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), a private company operating independent of Government. Tickets for the Olympic Athletics session which includes the men's 100 metre final (as well as numerous other finals, semi-finals, quarter-finals and preliminary rounds in Athletics for both men women) are priced at £50; £125; £295; £420 and £725. Tickets for the Olympic closing ceremony are priced at £20.12; £150; £655; £995; and £1,500.
75% of the around 11 million tickets for the Games are being made available to the UK public through the UK application process, but it has always been clear that the number sold for different sessions will vary and will be lower than this at some sessions including prime events. LOCOG still has up to 4 million tickets left to sell. Around 1 million Olympic tickets, 1.5 million Olympic football tickets and 1.5 million Paralympic tickets will go on sale from April.
LOCOG will provide a comprehensive breakdown of tickets sold when it has a complete and accurate set of data and information, which will be when it has completed the final sales process.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of London 2012 Olympics athletics finals tickets (a) have been and (b) will be allocated to schools. [95736]
Hugh Robertson: Ticketing for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is a matter for the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), a private company operating independent of Government. LOCOG is funding 175,000 tickets through its Ticketshare scheme for eligible schools and colleges that applied by 16 December 2011 to join the Get Set Network, part of the official London 2012 education programme. The 175,000 tickets will include events at both Olympic and Paralympic Games and cover all 26 Olympic sports, including athletics. The tickets are being donated at no charge to schools, parents or taxpayers. LOCOG is allocating these tickets now, and schools will be informed about the tickets they have been given (for accompanying adults as well as young people) next month.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many tickets for the London 2012 Olympics have been sold at over £2,012; and to how many purchasers. [95737]
Hugh Robertson:
None. Ticketing for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is a matter for the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), a private company operating independent of Government. No single ticket has been sold at over £2,012. The most expensive tickets available through the UK application process are a small number of tickets for the Olympic
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opening ceremony at £2,012. Through higher-priced tickets like these, LOCOG has been able to sell 30% of Olympic tickets at £20 or less; and more than 50% of Paralympic tickets at £10 or less.
LOCOG will provide a comprehensive breakdown of tickets sold when it has a complete and accurate set of data and information, which will be when it has completed the final sales process. LOCOG still has up to 4 million tickets left to sell from April—around 1 million Olympic tickets, 1.5 million Olympic football tickets and 1.5 million Paralympic tickets.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Animal Welfare: Crime
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with (a) the Attorney-General and (b) others on prosecutions for animal welfare offences where evidence is obtained by undercover filming. [95731]
Mr Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not discussed such prosecutions with the Attorney-General or any other prosecutors.
DEFRA no longer has a prosecution function. It transferred to the Crown Prosecution Service on 1 September 2011, as announced in Parliament on 12 July 2011.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many areas were designated as areas of outstanding natural beauty by Natural England in each of the last 10 years; and if she will list each site. [95110]
Richard Benyon: None. The existing English Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty were designated between 1956 and 1995.
Education
Children: Employment
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has considered bringing forward legislative proposals to bring the law on employment of children as models into line with the regulations for employing children as actors; and if he will make a statement. [95196]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 20 February 2012]: The employment of children as models is covered by the same legislation as the employment of children as performers. It requires that the employer must first seek a licence from the local authority where the child lives. We intend to issue a consultation soon on proposals to revise this legislation to bring it up to date and ensure an appropriate framework is in place.
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Departmental E-mail
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will confirm (a) by what medium and (b) on what date his Department received guidance from the Cabinet Office stating that private e-mails were exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [95686]
Tim Loughton: I refer the hon. Member to the response given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, on 6 February 2012, Official Report, column 63W.
GCSE
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children would have obtained five GCSEs at grade A* to C including English and mathematics if GCSE equivalents were given the weightings which he proposes to apply from 2015 in each of the last five years. [95699]
Mr Gibb: The information requested for the 2011 results forms part of the Equalities Impact Assessment conducted by the Department on the impact of its reforms to Key Stage 4 Performance Tables. It will be published on the DfE website in the spring, alongside the final version of the list of qualifications which will be included in the 2014 Key Stage 4 Performance Tables.
We have no plans to produce this analysis for the 2007-10 results. To do so would incur disproportionate costs.
Pupils: Disadvantaged
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were eligible for the service pupil premium in each (a) region, (b) parliamentary constituency and (c) local authority area in 2011-12; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures for 2012-13. [95695]
Sarah Teather: The pupil premium was introduced in England in April 2011 and allocations have so far been made for the 2011-12 financial year only. Pupil premium funding is provided in respect of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM), children in care who have been continuously looked after for at least six months and children whose parents are serving in the armed forces.
In England there were 45,070 pupils on the January 2011 school census recorded as service children who have received the service premium to date. Tables providing a breakdown of the service premium by region, local authority and parliamentary constituency have been placed in the House Libraries. The full breakdown of the pupil premium for 2011-12 can be found on the following website;
http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/xls/p/pupil%20premium%202011%2012%20national%20local%20 authority%20and%20parliamentary%20constituency%20tables.xls
As with the pupil premium, the service premium allocations for 2012-13 will be based on pupil numbers as recorded in the January 2012 school census which are not yet available. The 2012-13 pupil premium has been
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estimated using pupil numbers from the January 2011 censuses. We do not therefore have any estimates on numbers of service children at regional, local authority or parliamentary constituency level. The 2012-13 pupil premium indicative allocation based on January 2011 numbers can be found on the following website;
http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/xls/p/pupil%20premium%202012-13%20national%20 local%20authority%20and%20parliamentary%20constituency %20tables.xls
Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which schools in South East Cornwall constituency have received funding from the pupil premium. [95700]
Sarah Teather: The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011 and allocations have so far been made for the 2011-12 financial year only. Pupil premium funding is provided in respect of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM), children in care who have been continuously looked after for at least six months and children whose parents are serving in the armed forces.
In the South East Cornwall constituency there were 1,750 pupils on the January 2011 school censuses recorded as known to be eligible for FSM or recorded as service children who have received the pupil premium to date. The total number of pupils eligible for the pupil premium in the South East Cornwall constituency may be higher, but it is not possible to identify the number of pupils in each parliamentary constituency recorded as being in care or recorded in the Alternative Provision census as, in both cases, the returns are provided at local authority level rather than at establishment level.
The following table provides a breakdown of the schools in receipt of the pupil premium in South East Cornwall:
| State-funded primary, secondary and special schools, and pupil referral units (1,2,3,4) : Allocation amounts for the deprivation pupil premium in 2011/12 (5,6) , South East Cornwall | |||
| Deprivation pupil premium | |||
| URN | Estab | School name (7) | Allocation for the deprivation pupil premium 2011/12 (8) |
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|
Sir Robert Geffery’s Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School |
|||
22 Feb 2012 : Column 823W
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. (4) Includes maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools and non-maintained special schools. (5) It is not possible to determine the number of parliamentary constituency pupils recorded on the Alternative Provision census or recorded as looked after children as they are both local authority returns, and not an establishment level return. Therefore, this figure will be lower then the corresponding figure on the local authority table. (6) The number of service children are not provided at school level due to data protection issues. (7) The numbers are based on the location of the school and not where the schools are funded. (8) Each FSM eligible pupil will attract £438 through the pupil premium. For pupils in maintained primary and secondary schools funding will be passed to schools via the local authorities. Academies will receive funding from the YPLA. For pupils in maintained special schools and PRU's funding will be allocated to local authorities to decide whether to pass on funding to the education setting or to hold back funding to manage centrally for the benefit of those pupils it has responsibility for. (9) Allocations for these schools are not included as they are either a maintained special school or PRU. The premium for these establishments is held with the local authority (please see the conditions of grant). (10) Less than five pupils or a percentage based on less than five pupils or an allocation amount based on less than five pupils. Source: School Census | |||
Teachers: Conditions of Employment
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely change in levels of health and safety risks arising from teachers working to the age of 68; and what changes he expects to be made to working practices as a result of teachers working to that age. [94849]
Mr Gibb: The Independent Public Service Pensions Commission (IPSPC) led by Lord Hutton addressed the consequences for public sector pensions arising from the fact that people are living longer, healthier lives. Evidence also shows that the number of people in work beyond the age of 65 is increasing, and the teaching profession is no different. The pension age for new teachers in the Teachers' Pension scheme is already 65 and following the implementation of the IPSPC's recommendations it will not rise to 68 until 2046. This increase in pension age is expected to reflect the long-term, gradual increase in healthy working lives and therefore the ability of teachers to carry on working to older ages than at present, without increasing health and safety risks or requiring changes to working practices.
The proposals do not mean that teachers must go on teaching until their state pension age. There will continue to be a range of options that help teachers to plan ahead for their retirement and to retire early with access to their pension benefits, including any additional pension benefits they have built up during their career in anticipation of retiring early.
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Teachers: Recruitment
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of newly-qualified teachers entering maintained schools in each county in England in each of the last five years. [95681]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is not available broken down by county.
Information on the number of newly qualified entrants entering service in publicly funded schools for England in the last five years for which figures are available is published in table C1c of the School Workforce in England (including pupil:teacher ratios and pupil:adult ratios), January 2010 (Provisional), Statistical First Release. The publication is available at the following web link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00196422/school-workforce-in-england-2010
2009-10 figures will be published on 23 February as an additional table in C1 of the 'School Workforce in England, November 2010 (Provisional)', Statistical First Release. The publication is available at the following web link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00196713/school-workforce-sfr
Third Sector
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department has taken to implement the principles of the Best Value Statutory Guidance in respect of (a) giving at least three months' notice to voluntary and community organisations and their service users when reducing or ending funding, (b) engaging with voluntary and community organisations and service users as early as possible before making a decision on the future of the service, any knock-on effects on assets used to provide this service and the wider impact on the local community and (c) making provision for voluntary and community organisations and service users to put forward options on how to reshape the service or project. [95790]
Sarah Teather: The Best Value Statutory Guidance is primarily aimed at local authorities, setting out clear expectations for councils who are considering changing funding to local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) groups and small businesses. However, the Department is committed to the principles in the renewed National Compact—the agreement which aims to ensure that Government and VCS organisations work effectively to achieve common goals and outcomes for the benefit of communities and citizens in England. Along with all other central Government Departments, we are also signed up to the fair standards set out at paragraph 5 of the Best Value Statutory Guidance.
The Department is adhering to these principles when taking forward commissioning and procurement activities through the VCS. For example, our current Grant Funding Agreement was developed in discussion with national VCS representative bodies in early 2011 and includes a clause which ensures that we will give at least three months' notice to VCS organisations when reducing or ending their funding. We also consulted at an early stage with key national partners from across the VCS to inform and shape the timetable and approach to managing
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our National Prospectus grant competition (launched in November 2010). As a condition of our National Prospectus grant funding, we also stipulated that all VCS organisations develop robust exit plans which includes setting out clear arrangements to inform their service users about the implications of DfE funding ending in March 2013.
We also established a new Strategic Partners Programme in April 2011 which provides a national platform for engaging with representative bodies of our major VCS organisations for children, young people and families, and the voice of service users is being captured through their day to day activities. Our Strategic Partners have been working closely with us to help build capacity and financial resilience across the VCS sector, enabling VCS organisations to become better equipped to compete for contracts to deliver public services. They have also played a major role in shaping the strategic priorities for the sector.
Only activities of national significance are being funded centrally by the Department. VCS organisations were invited to bid for funding in order to address national priorities identified and as such were able to put forward their own ideas for shaping the service while ensuring the best use of limited public funds.
University Technical Colleges
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent progress he has made in establishing university technical colleges that specialise in environmental sustainability and sustainable construction, advanced manufacturing, low-carbon technologies and green energy. [95844]
Mr Gibb: The creation of university technical colleges (UTCs) provides a real opportunity for universities and employers to establish new schools specialising in technical education to meet economic and skills needs. In many cases, these include environmental sustainability and green energy among other areas which are important to economic growth both locally and nationally.
For example, Daventry UTC which is currently in the pre-opening phase specialises in new technologies which includes environmental sustainability and sustainable construction. This is one of 17 UTC projects currently under development; we are committed to at least 24 UTCs being open before the end of the Parliament.
Young People's Learning Agency
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what objectives the Young People's Learning Agency has set relating to the promotion of gender equality. [94772]
Mr Gibb: In March 2011, the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) published its Single Equality scheme. That scheme included its four objectives for the period to 2012. Those objectives relate to the promotion of equality generally, including gender equality. The objectives are:
To recruit and retain an inclusive and diverse workforce which is appropriately developed to ensure each individual has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
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To make data available on academies' performance to support awareness and to help academies improve their performance with regard to inclusion, equality and diversity.
To have in place comprehensive and transparent equality analysis (EA) arrangements, which are integral to the business cycle and the governance structure. This will be a key aspect of monitoring proposals to inform decision making and ensure that those making decisions are mindful of the impact on inclusion, equality and diversity.
To improve the analysis and availability of data on the nine protected groups and their inclusion within YPLA funded activities; and to support the identification of gaps and challenge performance.
The publication can be found on the YPLA's website at the following link:
http://readingroom.ypla.gov.uk/ypla/ypla-Single_Equality_Scheme-ps-Apr11-v2.pdf
Youth Clubs
Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria his Department plans to use to determine the location of the youth centres under the Positive for Youth programme. [95656]
Tim Loughton: After the completion of the Myplace programme through which the Department is investing £240 million to develop 63 world class youth facilities in deprived neighbourhoods, there are no further plans for ring-fenced investment by central Government in facilities for young people.
The Positive for Youth policy statement makes clear that in the context of local partnership, local authorities have strategic responsibility for co-ordinating the overall local offer to young people. It is for local people to decide which activities and services for young people to fund or deliver in response to local needs and priorities.
Defence
Air Displays
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for RAF air shows in the UK in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013. [95636]
Nick Harvey: The programme for Royal Air Force air shows is decided on an annual basis.
The following shows have been scheduled in 2012:
RAF Cosford—17 June 2012
RAF Waddington—30 June to 1 July 2012
RAF Leuchars—15 September 2012
The long-term future of RAF air shows in 2013 and beyond is under review and as yet no decisions have been made.
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Armed Forces: Finance
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the Report by Lord Levene on Defence Reform, when he expects the Service Chiefs to have responsibility for budgetary decisions. [95689]
Nick Harvey: The conclusions and recommendations of Lord Levene's Defence Reform report are being implemented on a rolling basis. We aim for the new operating model as a whole—and in particular the new capability and finance model, which will also be subject to agreement with HM Treasury—to be implemented from April 2013, including the transfer of responsibilities for equipment and support requirements setting and budgets to the Commands. Some functions and transfers are taking place in 2012. There is a significant amount of further design and implementation work to do between now and April 2013 (and beyond), and transition to these arrangements will be informed by testing of processes and information systems during FY 2012-13. Further adjustments to the model will be made beyond April 2013, including refinement of the new capability and finance model.
Armed Forces: Germany
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2011, Official Report, columns 230-1, on armed forces: Germany, what estimate he has made of the saving which will accrue to his Department annually on (a) allowances, (b) education and (c) medical support as a result of British troops returning to the UK from Germany. [91014]
Nick Harvey: Detailed work into the financial savings to be made from the move of personnel from Germany to the UK is still ongoing. Once the rebasing is complete the Department currently expects to make savings in the region of £79 million, £95 million and £46 million on allowances, education and medical support respectively.
Armed Forces: Press Subscriptions
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which newspapers his Department provides for service personnel overseas. [95688]
Peter Luff: The following newspapers are, wherever practicable, available free of charge for service personnel deployed on operations overseas and in receipt of the Deployed Welfare Package:
Daily Express
Daily Mail
Daily Mirror
Daily Record
Daily Star
The Daily Telegraph
The Guardian
The Independent
The Sun
The Times
Daily Star Sunday
The Independent on Sunday
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The Mail on Sunday
The Observer
The People
The Mail on Sunday
Sunday Express
The Sun on Sunday (from 26 February 2012)
The Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Times
Service personnel in non-operational areas overseas such as Germany and Cyprus will have access to NAAFI shops, which have a wide range of similar newspapers on sale.
Defence
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current procedure is to alert civil authorities to an incoming missile threat. [95359]
Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence would use its own and other nations' technical means to identify an incoming missile threat. The threat would be interpreted by the Space Operations Coordination Centre at Air Command who would produce a warning. The warning would be passed through normal communication channels to the Cabinet Office, who in turn would organise any cross-Government response.
Helicopters: Rescue Services
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times search and rescue helicopters from RAF bases in Scotland have been involved in operations to rescue individuals from the sea off the coast of Scotland in each of the last five years. [93181]
Nick Harvey: The number of rescues from the sea off the coast of Scotland using helicopters based at RAF Lossiemouth in each of the last five years is shown in the following table:
| Maritime | Coast | |
| (1) Up to 30 November | ||
Maritime call-outs are those that occur more than three nautical miles from the coastline. Coastal figures include those incidents between the high tide line and a distance of three nautical miles from the coast and may occur in the sea, or on the land at the edge of the tide line. Maritime call-outs may occur several hundred miles out to sea and the information provided is for all call-outs at latitudes north of the border between England and Scotland.
Katrice Lee
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will allow the family of Katrice Lee access to the case notes to the investigation into her disappearance; and if he will make a statement. [95693]
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Peter Luff: The investigation into Katrice Lee's disappearance remains open and disclosure of the case files, even to a family member, could have a prejudicial effect on the investigation or any subsequent trial. The Ministry of Defence also has a duty to protect an individual's personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998 and disclosure of case documents could represent a breach of confidence where the information was provided for the purpose of a police investigation.
The Royal Military Police are currently reviewing the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Katrice Lee. It is standard police procedure to periodically review significant, unsolved cases, particularly as new techniques become available, and the family are being kept informed of developments through dedicated Family Liaison Officers. This is a sensitive and distressing case, particularly for the close family, and I would like to assure the hon. Member that the Royal Military Police are doing all they can to ensure that it has been investigated fully.
Military Bases: Chelsfield
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2011, Official Report, column 529W, on military bases: Chelsfield, what his Department's normal procedures are for marketing and advertising; [95924]
(2) how many organisations expressed an interest in purchasing the Chelsfield Ammunition Depot prior to its sale; and what their names are; [95925]
(3) what fee GVA Grimley levied for its services in the sale of the Chelsfield Ammunition Depot; [95931]
(4) how many officials of each grade were involved in the sale of the Chelsfield Ammunition Depot; [95932]
(5) for what reason clawback conditions were not included in the sale of the Chelsfield Ammunition Depot; [95933]
Peter Luff: Marketing and advertising is undertaken by the Ministry of Defence's agents GVA Grimley. Advertising is completed on a site by site basis and may include periodicals, journals, direct mailing and for sale boards.
For Chelsfield, 70 companies expressed an interest in the site and were sent a sales pack. 10 companies eventually made a bid for the site. The names of those companies cannot be made available as they are commercial-in-confidence.
GVA Grimley's fees were in accordance with their contracted rates, details of which are commercial in confidence.
Fewer than 10 officials were involved in the sale of the site.
Clawback is most beneficial where sites have significant development potential. At Chelsfield, this was not considered to be the case and as clawback can restrict the amount bid for a site upfront it was decided not to include conditions within the sale.
Nuclear Submarines
Alison Seabeck:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimate he has made of the cost of establishing new facilities for the arming of nuclear
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submarines due to
(a)
a change in Government policy after a referendum in Scotland and
(b)
a major incident which disables existing facilities; [90638]
(2) at how many sites nuclear submarines can be armed in addition to existing bases. [90639]
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely cost of relocating the facilities and functions of the Royal Armaments Depot at Coulport to another part of the UK. [91254]
Peter Luff [holding answer 19 January 2012]:The Government are clear that Scotland benefits from being part of the UK and that the UK benefits from having Scotland within it. The Government are not making plans for independence as we are confident that the people of Scotland will continue to support the Union in any referendum.
No detailed work has therefore been undertaken to estimate the cost of setting up new facilities for the arming of nuclear submarines or for relocating the Royal Armaments Naval Depot at Coulport to another part of the UK. It is clear from first principles, however, that the cost of relocating such families from Scotland would be extremely high.
Information regarding the number of sites at which nuclear submarines can be armed, in addition to existing bases, is being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
Energy and Climate Change
Electricity
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to paragraph 2.3.15, page 43 of Planning our electric future: a White Paper for secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity, whether his estimate of the effect of feed-in tariff contract for difference on bills is an annual figure or the sum saved by 2030. [95822]
Charles Hendry: The estimate presented in paragraph 2.3.15, suggesting that by 2030 FiT packages could mitigate the impact of rising bills by 6% (around £40), is an annual average saving in 2030 (in real 2009 prices).
Further details can be found in Table 33 of the accompanying impact assessment:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/policy-legislation/EMR/2180-emr-impact-assessment.pdf
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to Figure 7, page 42 of Planning our electric future: a White Paper for secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity, what methodology was used for the comparison of the impact of possible decarbonisation mechanisms on the cost of capital for each technology.[95825]
Charles Hendry: The cost of capital effects given by figure 7 of the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) White Paper were based on two sources of analysis:
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Quantitative analysis undertaken using a dynamic model of the GB electricity market, developed by Redpoint Energy, which simulates investment and generation behaviour. Sections 2 and 3 of the impact assessment (IA) accompanying the EMR White Paper provide further details on the model.
Qualitative, analysis by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA) on cost of capital effects. This was used to test the Redpoint figures, and to test a range of cost of capital figures in the model. The CEPA analysis, which was based on an alternative methodology taking into account the views of investors and how financing decision are made in the real world, led to results broadly consistent with the Redpoint figures. Further details of the analysis undertaken by CEPA and their approach is given in the CEPA Report that was published alongside the EMR IA.
The EMR White Paper IA and the CEPA Report can be found at the following weblinks:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/policy-legislation/EMR/2180-emr-impact-assessment.pdf
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/policy-legislation/EMR/2174-cepa-paper.pdf
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to paragraph 2.3.15, page 43 of Planning our electric future: a White Paper for secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity, what methodology was used for the assessment of the effect of feed-in tariff contract for difference on energy bills by 2030. [95826]
Charles Hendry: The estimate of the impact of FiT packages on domestic bills presented in paragraph 2.3.15 (and in Table 33 of the accompanying impact assessment) was based on the difference between an estimated household electricity bill in 2030 in the absence of the EMR policy (but including all other policies, including the renewables obligation and carbon price floor) and an estimated household electricity bill in 2030 in the presence of this policy.
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/policy-legislation/EMR/2180-emr-impact-assessment.pdf