Cabinet Office
Voluntary and Community Sector
7. Helen Goodman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the state of the community and voluntary sector in the North. [100943]
Mr Hurd: I have visited several areas in the North and received a large number of representations and the sector which does an incredibly important job in supporting communities in the North.
The North is more dependent on public sector income than the Midlands and the South, that is why the Cabinet Office provided over a third its Transition Fund money to the North. The North has also been allocated the same amount of community first money as the rest of the country put together.
Open Source Software
10. John Pugh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of Government policy on open source software and open standards; and if he will make a statement. [100946]
Mr Maude: We have always made clear that, where appropriate, Government will procure open source solutions.
Open source products are used in the delivery, of huge database programmes—such as the Indian Identity card scheme—at a greater scale and for much less cost than we have experienced in the past.
Gov.uk, the new platform for publishing in UK Government employs the same open source technologies.
It's being delivered for a fraction of the cost of previous Government web schemes.
Public Sector Procurement
12. Guto Bebb: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent progress he has made on opening up public sector procurement to small and medium-sized enterprises; [100948]
14. Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent progress he has made on opening up public sector procurement to small and medium-sized enterprises; [100950]
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15. Christopher Pincher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent progress he has made on opening up public sector procurement to small and medium-sized enterprises. [100951]
Mr Maude: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to questions six and nine at oral questions earlier today.
Population: Unitary Councils
John Stevenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many unitary authorities have populations (a) under 150,000, (b) between 150,000 and 250,000 and (c) over 250,000. [100838]
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 March 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many unitary authorities have populations (a) under 150,000, (b) 150,000 to 250,000 and (c) over 250,000 (100838).
Table 1 shows the number of unitary authorities in England and Wales whose estimated usually resident population in mid-2010 fell within the categories specified above. These are the latest available population estimates.
| Table 1: Counts of unitary authorities in England and Wales by population size, mid-2010 | |
| Population size | Count of unitary authorities |
| Source: Office for National Statistics | |
Unemployment
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) if he will estimate the level of female unemployment in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency; [101213]
(2) if he will estimate the level of ethnic minority unemployment in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency. [101214]
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 March 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking what is the level of female unemployment in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency; and the level of ethnic minority unemployment in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency (101213 and 101214).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. However, estimates of unemployment for the requested geography are not available.
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As an alternative, we have provided the number of females and ethnic minorities claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for the Ladywood constituency. The number of females claiming JSA IN February 2012 is 2,701 and the number of ethnic minorities claiming JSA in January 2012 is 6,145, the most recent dates for which figures are available.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
Voluntary Work
Simon Hart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2012, Official Report, columns 70-1W, on volunteering, how many of the 163,000 people volunteering for 35 hours a week or more are also claiming some form of benefit. [99881]
Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
The information requested is not available because volunteering is not routinely recorded for all benefit claimants.
However, the Department does hold information on the number of people who have volunteered for a “Get Britain Working Work Experience Placement” and the data can be found here:
http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/pwp/pwp_gbw_feb12.pdf
I have placed a copy of this document in the Library.
Justice
Claims Management Services
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to consult on the regulation of claims management companies. [101269]
Mr Djanogly: I plan to issue a public consultation in the summer on the conduct requirements which regulate claims management companies activities. A preliminary consultation and call for evidence has already been carried out with key industry stakeholders and the outcome of this will inform the full consultation. Any proposed changes to the requirements on claims management companies are subject to scrutiny by the Regulatory Policy Committee and approval by the Reducing Regulation Cabinet sub-Committee.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to ensure consumers are aware of the free alternative to using claims management companies. [101271]
Mr Djanogly:
Claims management companies are required to make explicit to prospective clients the right to seek further advice or to shop around, and if they give advice to clients, companies must also inform them of the existence of the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Claims Management Regulation Unit (“the Unit”) recognises the importance of making consumers aware that there is an alternative to using a paid representative to make a claim in relation to financial products and
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services and will take action against companies that breach these requirements. The Unit has produced specific guidance for consumers, setting out the wide range of self-help resources available from the Financial Ombudsman Service and consumer organisations.
Driving Offences: Mobile Phones
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions there have been for driving without due care and attention as a result of using a mobile telephone since 2011; and if he will make a statement. [100727]
Mr Blunt: The information requested on prosecutions for driving without due care and attention as a result of using a mobile telephone since 2011 will be available following the release of the annual court proceedings data for 2011, which are planned for publication on 24 May 2012.
Employment Tribunals Service
Ian Murray:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the jurisdictional complaints for the multiple claims accepted in employment tribunals were in the last five years; and how many multiple claims in the last five
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years consisted of actions against the same employer according to the different types of jurisdiction. [101129]
Mr Djanogly: Claims to employment tribunals may be classified into two broad categories: singles and multiples. Multiples claims are where two or more people bring claims, involving one or more jurisdiction(s), and usually against a single employer (but not necessarily so, for instance in transfer of undertaking cases). To be joined in a multiple, individual claims must arise out of the same or very similar circumstances. As a multiple, the component claims are processed, and judicially managed, together.
For the purposes of this answer, we have defined “multiple claims” as the individual component claims brought or handled within a multiple, and “multiple claim cases” as the combined groupings formed by the component claims.
The following table sets out, respectively for each of the last five complete financial years, and in relation only to multiple claims, the number of jurisdictional complaints accepted, broken down by jurisdictional type. The table also includes a breakdown of the number of multiples claims cases, i.e. the number of multiple claims consisting of actions against the same employer. The jurisdictional mix of such cases will be exactly the same as for multiple claims generally, given that they are exactly the same cohort of jurisdictional complaints.
| Multiple claims (1) accepted 2005-06 to 2010-11 | ||||||
| Financial year | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
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| (1) Multiples claims are where two or more people bring claims, involving one or more jurisdiction(s), and usually against a single employer (but not necessarily so, for instance in transfer of undertaking cases). To be joined in a multiple, individual claims must arise out of the same or very similar circumstances. As a multiple, the component claims are processed, and judicially managed, together. The terms ‘singles’ and ‘multiples’ are widely used and understood in the context of employment tribunal statistics. They are also defined in regular Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) publications. (2) Jurisdictional claims accepted for 2007-08, 2009-10 and 2010-11 include resubmitted multiple jurisdictional claims (3) The increase in 2007-08 and 2008-09 are due to an increase in claims relating to trade union membership. Source: ET Database |
Presumption of Death (Scotland) Act 1997
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what lessons he has learned from the Presumption of Death (Scotland) Act 1997; and if he will bring forward proposals to implement similar legislation for the rest of the UK. [99416]
Mr Djanogly: The Justice Select Committee recommended, in its report of 22 February 2012 on 'Presumption of Death', that the Ministry of Justice introduce legislation based on the Presumption of Death (Scotland) Act 1977 in order to extend to English and Welsh families the protection that is available to Scottish and, under the Presumption of Death Act (Northern Ireland) 2009, Northern Irish families. We are currently considering the Committee's report and hope to announce our initial conclusions in our response to it before the end of the current Session.
Prisons: Drugs
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners left prison with a drug addiction in the latest period for which figures are available. [100800]
Paul Burstow: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Health.
We do not hold these figures centrally. The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System will be introduced across all English prisons and young offender institutions from April 2012. This will record the number of individuals leaving prison while receiving either drug or alcohol treatment. It will not however, generate data on dependence among the entire population of offenders leaving prisons. This is because drug assessments are not routinely carried out on every prisoner prior to release.
Any prisoner can self refer for drug treatment at any point during an episode of imprisonment, including immediately prior to release. National clinical guidelines give clinicians information on how they can undertake pre-release assessment and treatments.
From April 2013, the National Health Service Commissioning Board (NHSCB) will be responsible for the commissioning of health services for those in custody. The NHSCB will undertake commissioning responsibilities for prison substance misuse services on behalf of Public Health England and will work closely with local substance misuse commissioners and clinical commissioning groups to maintain a local approach and optimise continuity of treatment.
Translation Services
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) with reference to section 1 of the Administrator's Monitoring Requirements of the framework agreement between his Department and Applied Language Solutions, how many performance management meetings between the administrator and the contractor have been held since the framework agreement went operational nationwide on 30 January 2012; and when the next meeting will be held; [101267]
(2) with reference to the provisional framework agreement between his Department and Applied Language Solutions that the contractor will provide management reports through the web-based portal, what management reports have been submitted to date containing information on (a) the breakdown of available interpreter numbers by region, language, tier and vetting status, (b) complaints received, upheld, timescale for resolution and outcome, per collaborative partner, (c) the number of new interpreters added per tier per region, (d) gaps in availability of languages per region, (e) report status on performance against collaborative partner key performance indicators, (f) telephone interpreting: monthly breakdown of number of calls, number of minutes, total price, per collaborative partner, (g) translation: monthly breakdown of number of single linguist tasks, number of second linguist proof reads, total price and discounts for translation memory, per collaborative partner, (h) transcription: monthly breakdown of number of tasks and total price, per collaborative partner and (i) British Sign Language/deaf blind: monthly breakdown of number of assignments, assignment costs, and travel costs, per collaborative partner; and if he will place those reports in the Library; [101268]
Mr Blunt: The information requested is as follows:
(1) Regular weekly and often twice weekly meetings are held between the administrator and the contractor. Since 30 January, eight meetings have been held and weekly meetings will continue to take place for the foreseeable future.
(2) The Ministry of Justice are receiving daily management information from the contractor concentrating on priority areas of interpreter availability and fulfilment of bookings. I have no plans to place these reports in the Library. On 20 March 2011, Official Report, column 672W, I confirmed that the Chief Statistician of the Ministry of Justice is considering what interpreter data can be published by the end of May 2012.
Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Pricing
Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the potential financial effects of introducing a minimum price for alcohol on (a) the UK beverage alcohol manufacturing industry, (b) the on-trade, (c) the off-trade and (d) the average consumer of alcohol; and if she will make a statement. [100553]
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James Brokenshire: The Government conduct impact assessments and public consultations prior to introducing any new alcohol legislation.
The Government will set out their wide range of action to tackle excessive alcohol consumption in their forthcoming alcohol strategy.
British Overseas Citizenship: Malaysia
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions (a) the Minister for Immigration and (b) officials in her Department have met representatives of the Malaysian Government to discuss Malaysian British overseas citizens; and on what dates. [95712]
Damian Green [holding answer 22 February 2012]:Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Cybercrime
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the status of Domain Name System Security Extensions and its impact on cybercrime. [100754]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 19 March 2012]: Domain Name System Security Extensions and related measures improve security and trust over the Domain Name System, a critical piece of the internet. In anticipation of the new generic Top Level Domains (such as __.london, and __.xxx ) and Internationalised Domain Names (for example, those in Cyrillic, Chinese or Arabic) shortly to be released by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Domain Name System Security Extensions will promote a safer internet and restrict the opportunity for cyber criminals to harm online user confidence.
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) is actively engaging with the UK internet service provider community to promote voluntary codes of conduct, encouraging industry to implement security measures to ensure our citizens are protected from the ongoing threat of cyber crime.
Deportation: Offenders
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in contesting deportation appeals by those convicted of criminal offences before the first-tier and upper tribunal of the Asylum and Immigration Chamber, for what reason and on how many occasions the UK Border Agency has disclosed evidence from police officers and field intelligence officers to judges that had not been considered as part of their criminal trials. [100771]
Damian Green:
There are no central records held on the number of occasions upon which evidence from police officers or field intelligence officers have been disclosed to judges. In order to answer this question, the
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UK Border Agency would need to analyse a large volume of paper and electronic records, which would incur a disproportionate cost.
Public protection is the primary consideration when presenting information at deportation cases. The UK Border Agency will provide all relevant evidence, including convictions and other information relevant to whether an individual's presence is conducive to the public good.
Immigration Controls
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has made of the balance of power in the employee/employer relationship when (a) people on a work permit/Tier 2 who lose their job also lose the visa that entitles them to reside in the UK and (b) a work permit/Tier 2 employee is obliged to work for the employer that recruits him or her and cannot move to another employer unless the UKBA agrees to the transfer. [100606]
Damian Green: Non European Economic Area (EEA) Nationals entering the UK to undertake employment are protected by UK employment law. They have the same employment rights as settled workers. If an individual loses a job under the Tier 2/work permit arrangements, their leave to remain in the UK is curtailed to give them 60 days to find alternative employment or make arrangements to leave the UK. Non EEA nationals entering the UK to undertake employment do so on the basis of taking a specific job with a specific sponsor.
Individuals can change employers but must obtain permission from the UK Border Agency before doing so. This is to ensure that the job has been offered to resident workers and is at the appropriate skill level and being paid the appropriate rate. This safeguards opportunities for resident workers as well as protecting non EEA workers from being underpaid. It is the UK Border Agency's duty to ensure that non EEA nationals entering the UK comply with their terms and conditions of stay and sponsors adhere to the obligations to which they have signed up. Where overseas workers and sponsors abuse the immigration rules the UK Border Agency will take appropriate compliance action.
Independent Police Complaints Commission
John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many current or former members of the police service serve on the Independent Police Complaints Commission; and in what capacity they serve. [99360]
Nick Herbert: The Independent Police Complaints Commission Chief Executive has written to the hon. Member with the information sought. A copy of the letter will be placed in the House Library.
Information Commissioner
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals her Department has made to an information tribunal contesting a decision notice of the Information Commissioner in the last 12 months. [100310]
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Damian Green: Since 14 March 2011 the Home Office has made three appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights). Two of these were in respect of the same information, which was the subject of two separate requests.
National Policing Improvement Agency: Public Appointments
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written statement of 15 December 2011, Official Report, columns 125-6WS, on National Policing Improvement Agency, who she expects to be the Chair and Chief Executive of the proposed new information technology company; and if she will make a statement. [100859]
Nick Herbert: The chair and chief executive will be appointed by the new owners once they take ownership of the police ICT company.
Police: Baton Rounds
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department issues to police forces on the deployment of baton rounds; and how any such deployment is authorised. [100598]
Nick Herbert: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 5 December 2011, Official Report, column 66W.
The police no longer use baton rounds. They were replaced in June 2005 when the Attenuating Energy Projectile was introduced into service. The Attenuating Energy Projectile is an impact round and performs very differently from baton rounds.
Use of the Attenuating Energy Projectile is regulated by the Home Office Code of Practice on the Police use of Firearms and Less Lethal Weapons (2003).
The Association of Chief Police Officers Manual of Guidance on the Management, Command and Deployment of Armed Officers (2011) provides operational context to the code of practice. Guidance on the use of the Attenuating Energy Projectile in public order situations is also provided by the Association of Chief Police Officers Manual of Guidance on Keeping the Peace (2010).
Both the code of practice and the Manual of Guidance on the Management, Command and Deployment of Armed Officers make it clear that deployment and use of the Attenuating Energy Projectile is an operational matter for the chief constable of the relevant force area to authorise.
Police: Private Sector
Mr Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether police contracts could be let to private sector companies with non-UK parent companies. [100611]
Damian Green: Police contracts could be let to a private sector company with a non-British parent company, provided that the company is able to satisfy the requirements of the European procurement regulations.
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Police: Public Finance
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the police commissioner roadshows organised by her Department to take place between January and March 2012. [94698]
Nick Herbert: The current estimated costs of the police and crime commissioner partner events are £85,000.
Private Investigators
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have second jobs as private investigators. [100989]
Nick Herbert: The requested information is not held centrally by the Home Office.
Sexual Offences: Registration
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the press notice issued by her Department on 5 March 2012, on tightening the law on sex offenders, when she intends to introduce the requirement for registered sex offenders to notify the police of all foreign travel. [101009]
James Brokenshire: We currently expect that the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Notification Requirements) (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 will come into force from summer 2012.
Suicide
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is provided to police officers investigating cases of suicide where the use of the internet may have been a factor in the suicide; and if she will make a statement. [99046]
Nick Herbert: It is the duty of the chief constable of each force to ensure that there is training and guidance on the practice that police officers should follow in the event of sudden deaths reportable to the coroner, including suicides.
The subject of suicide is mentioned on several occasions during the initial training for all police officers through various modules of their training about a range of issues including: missing persons, coroners' courts, domestic abuse and sudden death.
All forces will have local guidance as to how to deal with the investigation and handling of deaths and the bereaved (including suicides). Some forces also have supplementary local guidance or local protocols on sudden deaths and engagement by the police with coroners. No data is available about how many forces have such additional guidance.
The police are currently taking part in a number of Government-led cross-sector forums which seek to improve practice in the investigation of sudden deaths and in improving support to bereaved relatives.
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Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is provided to police officers on (a) the investigation of cases of suicide and (b) their contacts with families bereaved by suicide; and if she will make a statement. [99044]
Nick Herbert: It is the duty of the chief constable of each force to ensure that there is training and guidance on the practice that police officers should follow, in the event of sudden deaths reportable to the coroner, including suicides.
The subject of suicide is mentioned on several occasions during the initial training for all police officers through various modules of their training about a range of issues including: missing persons, coroners' courts, domestic abuse and sudden death.
All forces will have local guidance as to how to deal with the investigation and handling of deaths and the bereaved (including suicides). Some forces also have supplementary local guidance or local protocols on sudden deaths and engagement by the police with coroners. No data is available about how many forces have such additional guidance.
The police are currently taking part in a number of Government-led cross-sector forums which seek to improve practice in the investigation of sudden deaths and in improving support to bereaved relatives.
Police Response: Rural Areas
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time was for a police 999 response in rural areas in the latest period for which figures are available. [100448]
Nick Herbert: The requested information is not held centrally by the Home Office.
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Work Experience
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2011, Official Report, column 1107W, on departmental work experience, how many people (a) worked as an intern, (b) undertook a work experience placement and (c) worked as a volunteer in her Department in accordance with the hiring criteria set out in that answer in the last 12 months for which data are available; and how many such people were employed other than according to those criteria. [100733]
Damian Green: During the 12 months ending February 2012, 22 interns have worked in the Home Office and its agencies. Information on how many people undertook work experience placements or worked as a volunteer in the Home Office and its agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Women and Equalities
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Scotland
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what recent discussions her Department has had with the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the future of its offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow. [100196]
Mrs May: Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on a range of issues. Decisions on the locations of its offices are operational ones, are for the EHRC to make.