Universal Credit
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 65W, on universal credit, how much of the £2 billion allocated to the introduction of universal credit he estimates will be spent in 2012-13; and how much of that will be spent on (a) increases in benefit expenditure, (b) additional benefit administration costs in the transition period, (c) IT development and implementation, (d) communications, (e) staff training and (f) programme management. [101860]
Chris Grayling: It is estimated that a total of £332 million will be spent in 2012-13 on universal credit. This will be spent on IT development, programme management, implementation planning, communications and staff training in preparation for the launch of a universal credit pathfinder at the start of 2013-14. The initial breakdown of the total budget between these headings is still the subject of final discussions and is not yet available.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 65W, on universal credit, how much of the £105 million allocated to the introduction of universal credit which is to be spent in 2011-12 will be spent on (a) increases in benefit expenditure, (b) additional benefit administration costs in the transition period, (c) IT development and implementation, (d) communications, (e) staff training and (f) programme management. [101861]
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Chris Grayling: Of the £105 million allocated to the introduction of universal credit in 2011-12, we expect £79 million will have been spent on IT related development with the balance being spent on programme management and implementation planning, subject to finalisation of year end accounts.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to announce what role local authorities will play in delivering universal credit; and if he will make a statement. [102219]
Chris Grayling: The universal credit programme team are currently working with the Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association in order to develop proposals on how local authorities will fit into the delivery model for universal credit.
We will be able to describe the outcome over the next months.
Work Capability Assessment
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value is of payments made to Atos in respect of the Harrington changes to work capability assessments for employment and support allowance claims. [102105]
Chris Grayling: To date payments made to Atos for the changes to the work capability assessment for employment support allowance in order to implement the changes recommended by Professor Harrington are £3.58 million.
In the period April 2010 to March 2011 the total cost of running the Atos Medical Services contract was £112.8 million.
Defence
Afghanistan
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the US Secretary of Defence since his statement on American forces ending their combat role in 2013. [99679]
Mr Philip Hammond: I have regular and routine discussions with the US Defence Secretary on a range of issues. There is no substantive difference between the United States' approach in Afghanistan and our own. Both the US and the UK are committed to the strategy agreed at the Lisbon summit in 2010 and which NATO Defence Ministers reaffirmed on 2 February 2012.
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many supply and re-supply operations there have been to Afghanistan since (a) operations began and (b) January 2011; and what the cost of those operations was in each period. [101836]
Nick Harvey [holding answer 26 March 2012]: It will take time to compile the information held by the Ministry of Defence about the number of movements to transport supplies to and from Afghanistan.
I will write to the hon. Member once the information has been collated.
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Air Force: Languages
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF pilots have learnt foreign languages as part of the carrier programme. [101843]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 26 March 2012]: No RAF pilots have undergone a foreign language training course as part of the Carrier Enabled Power Projection programme.
Air Travel
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions he has taken flights to overseas countries on official business since August 2010; what class of travel was used on each such flight; and by whom he was accompanied on each such flight. [99394]
Mr Philip Hammond: Details of all Ministers' overseas visits, including the cost of flights and number of officials accompanying the Minister, are published every quarter on the Ministry of Defence website at:
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/FinancialReports/Expenses/MinistersHospitalityReceived.htm
The Secretary of State is accompanied by a Private Secretary, and a special adviser and officials if the business requires. Section 10 of the Ministerial Code provides guidance on travel for Ministers and makes clear that Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.
Aircraft Carriers
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of cats and traps on the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. [99133]
Peter Luff [holding answer 12 March 2012]: We are currently finalising the 2012-13 budget and balancing the equipment plan. As part of this process we are reviewing all programmes, including elements of the carrier strike programme, to validate costs and ensure risks are properly managed. The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), expects to announce the outcome of this process to Parliament at the earliest opportunity.
Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent examination he has made of the comparative cost of (a) fitting catapults and arrestor gear to one of the future carriers and (b) acquiring instead short take-off and vertical landing aircraft for use on either of the carriers; whether both carriers would be used in the fixed-wing strike aircraft role if vertical and/or short take-off and landing aircraft were acquired for the Fleet Air Arm; what assessment he has made of the potential effects this would have on the availability of a continuous fixed-wing carrier-strike capability; and if he will make a statement. [100397]
Peter Luff
[holding answer 26 March 2012]: We are currently finalising the 2012-13 budget and balancing the equipment plan. As part of this process we are
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reviewing all programmes, including elements of the carrier strike programme, to validate costs and ensure risks are properly managed. The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), will announce the outcome of this process at the earliest opportunity.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) cost and (b) time period of installation will be of installing catapult and arrestor gear on one Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier. [101175]
Peter Luff: I am withholding the information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.
We are currently finalising the 2012-13 budget and balancing the equipment plan. As part of this process we are reviewing all programmes, including elements of the carrier strike programme, to validate costs and ensure risks are properly managed. The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), expects to announce the outcome of this process to Parliament at the earliest opportunity.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) at the time of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, what the estimated cost was of installing catapult and arrestor gear on one Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier; [101176]
(2) whether it is his intention that the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers will be fitted with the US Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System. [101180]
Peter Luff: We are currently finalising the 2012-13 budget and balancing the Equipment plan. As part of this process we are reviewing all programmes, including elements of the carrier strike programme, to validate costs and ensure risks are properly managed. The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), expects to announce the outcome of this process to Parliament at the earliest opportunity.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what weight of jet is able to take off from the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. [101816]
Peter Luff: The UK co-operates closely with France on a number of collaborative programmes; but we are unable to comment on the technical specification of other nations’ capabilities.
Armed Forces
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what guidance he has issued to members of the armed forces on contact with hon. Members; [101115]
(2) what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had on the rules governing contact between hon. Members and members of the armed forces; [101116]
(3) whether his Department has changed the rules governing contact between hon. Members and members of the armed forces in the last 12 months. [101117]
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Mr Philip Hammond [holding answer 20 March 2012]: There have been no changes to the rules governing contact between hon. Members and members of the armed forces. A Defence Instruction and Notice (DIN) was published on 8 March 2012, sponsored by the Permanent Secretary, which brought together in one document the extant rules and authorisation procedures for Ministry of Defence employees having contact with parliamentarians. It also provided MOD employees conducting parliamentary business with a list of points of contact within the Department. A copy of the document has been placed in the Library of the House.
Armed Forces: Police
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the role of defence community police officers and the services they provide to members of the armed forces and their families. [101751]
Nick Harvey: We consulted last year on proposals to focus the Ministry of Defence police defence community police officers on the Army garrisons where the greatest benefit was derived from their presence. I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made today by the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, the right hon. Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), which includes proposals for further changes.
Armed Forces: Scotland
Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of UK armed forces are Scottish regiments. [101468]
Nick Harvey: Of the 141 Regular Regiments/Battalions in the British Army, nine draw their historical origin from Scotland. These are:
The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS)
The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 SCOTS)
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS)
The Highlanders, 4th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS)
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland (5 SCOTS)
1st Battalion Scots Guards
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
19th Regiment Royal Artillery (The Highland Gunners)
40th Regiment Royal Artillery (The Lowland Gunners).
Defence
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to achieve interim (a) missile defence capability and (b) alert capability of a missile attack. [95358]
Nick Harvey:
The UK has no indigenous ballistic missile defence capability. However, we are party to the decisions made at the NATO Lisbon summit in November 2010 and the NATO Ballistic Missile Defence Action Plan as approved by NATO Defence Ministers
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in June 2011. I anticipate that the implementation of NATO's Ballistic Missile Defence capability will be assessed at the forthcoming Chicago summit in May.
The ballistic missile early warning capability at RAF Fylingdales has been fully operational since 1963.
Falkland Islands
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the privatisation of search and rescue services in the Falkland Islands; and if he will make a statement; [102094]
(2) how many military helicopters will be stationed in the Falkland Islands following the privatisation of search and rescue services; and if he will make a statement; [102097]
(3) what consideration he has given to retaining military search and rescue capability in the Falkland Islands following the privatisation of search and rescue services; and if he will make a statement. [102098]
Nick Harvey: The current search and rescue helicopter service in the Falkland Islands is provided by the RAF using Sea King helicopters, which will go out of service no later than 31 March 2016. The Ministry of Defence is currently examining alternative means of supplying a search and rescue helicopter capability in the Falkland Islands from 2016 onwards. This project will consider all options to determine which would best deliver this capability, and no decisions have yet been made.
Intellectual Property
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has a role in intellectual property policy development. [101246]
Peter Luff: The overall policy lead for intellectual property is held by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills via the intellectual property office. The Ministry of Defence has an interest in copyright, registered and unregistered designs, trade marks and patents. We work closely with the intellectual property office in these areas.
Intelligence and Security Committee
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether members of the Intelligence and Security Committee are given full access by the US authorities to (a) the inner Operations area, (b) other parts of the Operations area and (c) other areas of NSA Menwith Hill. [101738]
Nick Harvey: The Intelligence and Security Committee does not comment on the details of its work programme. Where appropriate it publishes information on visits it has undertaken in its annual reports.
Fabian Hamilton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when members of (a) the Intelligence and Security Committee, (b) the Joint Intelligence Committee, (c) the Assessment Staff, (d) the Intelligence, Security and Resilience Group, (e) the Defence Intelligence Staff, (f) the Joint Intelligence Organisation, (g) the National Security Secretariat in
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the Cabinet Office,
(h)
Defence Intelligence in the Ministry of Defence and
(i)
the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism in the Home Office last visited NSA Menwith Hill; and what the (i) names of the visitors and (ii) dates of the visits were. [101739]
Nick Harvey: We do not comment on the work programme of the Intelligence and Security Committee. Where appropriate the Committee publishes information on visits it has undertaken in its annual reports.
We do not comment on the detailed day to day workings of members of intelligence organisations.
Iraq Conflict: Depleted Uranium
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pieces of Iraqi military equipment were destroyed using depleted uranium ammunition by coalition forces during the 2003 Iraq conflict; and how many of these (a) have been made inaccessible to civilians and (b) remain in urban areas. [101970]
Nick Harvey: There is no record of the quantity of Iraqi military equipment destroyed using depleted uranium (DU) ammunition by UK armed forces.
There is no requirement for and no central records are held of military equipment destroyed by UK armed forces beyond that for necessary operational analysis.
In the UK area of operations, the practice was for destroyed, broken down and abandoned equipment to be secured at the Al Basrah International and Shaibah airfields. Control of this equipment and of any that may remain elsewhere is the responsibility of the Government of Iraq. Details relating to other coalition forces are matters for them alone.
Our own reports and scientific consensus conclude DU intakes are only likely to be a concern for those in or on vehicles at the time they are struck by DU munitions or for those who enter immediately afterwards.
Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the F-35B joint strike fighter variant will be able to fire advanced medium range air-to-air missiles. [101916]
Peter Luff: All three joint strike fighter variant aircraft (F-35A, F-35B and F-35C) are capable of firing the AIM-120 advanced medium range air-to-air missile.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who attended the Joint Strike Fighter Executive Steering Board Meeting in Sydney on 15 March 2012; and what was discussed. [101992]
Peter Luff: Rear-Admiral H. H. Parker represented the Department at the recent Joint Strike Fighter Executive Steering Board (JSFESB) Meeting in Sydney, as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Carrier Enabled Power Projection. The JSFESB exercises executive level guidance and oversight of the JSF programme.
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Military Aircraft
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to lease additional C-17 aircraft to transport equipment from Afghanistan. [101696]
Peter Luff: There are no plans to lease additional C-17 aircraft to transport equipment from Afghanistan. As the Prime Minister announced in Parliament on 8 February 2012, Official Report, columns 300-01, the Ministry of Defence has purchased an eighth C-17 which is due to be delivered in July 2012, and will be able to transport equipment from Afghanistan as well as a wide range of other tasks.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions a foreign-requested aircraft has provided search and rescue assistance over UK territorial waters in the last five years; what role each aircraft played; and what the location of each incident was. [101744]
Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 November 2010, Official Report, column 224W.
From 23 November 2010 to 21 March 2012 there has been one occasion where a foreign aircraft was requested to provide search and rescue assistance over UK territorial waters. On 25 November 2011, a helicopter from the Republic of Ireland assisted with the medical rescue of a crewman from a fishing vessel 12 nautical miles East of Downpatrick in Northern Ireland. This aircraft was tasked as the condition of the casualty required use of the closest possible asset.
Military Bases
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost is of the relocation of Waterbeach Barracks to Kinloss. [101721]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 26 March 2012]: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 6 March 2012, Official Report, column 646W, to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert).
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the relocation of Waterbeach Barracks to Kinloss was brought forward. [101722]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 26 March 2012]: In the Defence Transformation announcement of 18 July 2011, the previous Secretary of State for Defence said that we would place Army units in Kinloss in around 2014-15, subject to further detailed planning. He also said that we planned to vacate and dispose of Waterbeach by 2014-15.
In November 2011, we announced that 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support) would move from Waterbeach to Kinloss in the summer of 2012 and, consistent with this, we anticipate this move will take place in July.
The RAF had always intended vacating Kinloss by 31 March 2013, thereby creating space for the Army. The summer 2012 timeline was governed by the need for Army personnel to access secondary education at the
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correct time and has also allowed the continuation of local schools and services in the area. The move has also been timed to fit around 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support) operational commitments and has the added benefit of allowing the Army to take advantage of the RAF's knowledge of the site and local issues, thereby helping the Army to integrate into the community.
Ministry of Defence Police
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Ministry of Defence Police are based at Colchester Garrison. [101359]
Mr Robathan: There are currently two Ministry of Defence Police constables, based at Colchester Garrison. This will reduce to one police constable from 1 April 2012. Essex police retain primacy for the Colchester Garrison area. In addition, there are two Royal Military Police elements present, comprising approximately 90 military police personnel.
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has considered reducing the number of Ministry of Defence police officers at HMNB Clyde. [101515]
Mr Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) keeps its security arrangements under close review at all times to ensure that these are appropriate, proportionate and are met as cost-effectively as possible.
There are no current plans to reduce the core MOD police role at Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde. The security of our nuclear establishments remains our highest priority and we would never contemplate changes that would place these in jeopardy.
Nuclear Power Stations: Safety
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role was played by the RAF Regiment radiation monitoring team in Japan following the accident at Fukushima in March 2011; and what the cost was of the deployment of this team. [101255]
Nick Harvey: A three-man RAF Regiment radiation monitoring team, along with a Ministry of Defence health physicist, deployed to the British embassy in Tokyo from 21 March to 21 April 2011. They conducted air and soil sampling around the embassy and local area and monitored equipment and vehicles for contamination to advise and reassure embassy staff. The team also devised plans to protect UK personnel working at the embassy in the event of a further release from Fukushima.
The team were tasked solely on a UK national basis to support British embassy staff and to assist with providing advice to British citizens in Japan.
The cost to the MOD was approximately £20,000.
RAF Menwith Hill
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who pays for the operation of the Menwith Hill shuttle bus that runs between NSA Menwith Hill and Harrogate. [101740]
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Nick Harvey: The shuttle bus that runs between Harrogate and RAF Menwith Hill is funded by the US authorities.
Somalia: Piracy
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many suspicious vessels UK armed forces have intercepted off the Somali coast in the last 12 months. [100531]
Nick Harvey: In the 12 months to 23 March 2011, there have been 13 incidents in which the Royal Navy has intercepted vessels suspected of being involved in piracy off the Horn of Africa.
Syria
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to work with the US Administration to resolve the situation in Syria. [102038]
Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence has regular engagement with our US counterparts on defence and security related issues, including ongoing events in Syria.
Taxis
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on taxis for (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants between August 2011 and January 2012. [101407]
Mr Robathan: The Defence Ministers spent £337 on taxis between 1 August 2011 and 31 January 2012.
Taxi fares reimbursed to civil servants are not recorded separately from fares incurred for travel by bus or on the underground.
Ministry of Defence staff may only use a taxi for official duty when there is a business benefit to the Department or when it saves money. A taxi is typically used where no other suitable form of public transport is available or where heavy baggage or equipment has to be carried.
Transport
Cycling: Safety
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will publish data on public perceptions of the safety of cycling in each local authority area. [102088]
Mike Penning: The Department for Transport sponsors a set of questions on the NatCen British Social Attitudes survey. This contains questions on people's confidence about cycling on the roads and whether they believe it is too dangerous for them to cycle on the roads.
In 2011, this survey achieved interviews with 3,311 adults in Great Britain. This response is not large enough to produce robust statistical estimates at a local authority level. However, national results are available in the report at
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/2011-british-social-attitudes-survey-attitudes-to-transport/bsa-2011-report.pdf
(pages 18-19) and in these tables
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/att0321.xls
27 Mar 2012 : Column 1057W
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/att0322.xls
Results for the English regions, Scotland and Wales are presented in the following table. The relatively small
27 Mar 2012 : Column 1058W
sample sizes for these results mean that many of the apparent differences are not statistically significant.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking to encourage non-London local authorities and the Highways Agency to identify and prioritise junctions where cycle safety improvements are most needed. [102089]
Mike Penning: We take the issue of cycle safety very seriously.
The Department for Transport collects data on all personal injury road accidents reported to the police. Data on all individual accidents in the years 2005-10 is available to download at
http://data.gov.uk/dataset/road-accidents-safety-data
Data for 2011 will be uploaded in late summer. These data are used widely by local authorities across Great Britain to target safety improvement work on the roads they manage. Departmental officials are also currently analysing the data to identify areas where high numbers of cycling accidents have occurred.
I, along with my colleague the Minister with responsibility for cycling, the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker), have recently written to all local highway authorities in England explaining what the Government are doing on cycling and cycle safety and also what action they could consider taking in their areas. Furthermore, the safety sub-group of the Cycling Stakeholder Forum, which brings together Government, cycling groups and local authority representatives has already started looking into the issue of road sharing.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make it her policy to keep Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority data services in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [102315]
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Mike Penning: All the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's data services are currently carried out within the UK and there are no plans to change this. Although users of this data can apply to access this data from abroad, no data storage would be allowed and access would only be permitted under a very strict control framework. One such case has recently been put forward and is being considered.
High Speed 2 Railway Line
Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the route options for the Y route of High Speed 2 proposed by HS2 Ltd will be published. [100512]
Justine Greening [holding answer 20 March 2012]:I expect to publish the advice from HS2 Ltd at the same time as announcing my initial preferred route and station options later this year.
Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effects on local businesses of the construction of HS2; and what estimate she has made of the number of such businesses likely to close as a result of HS2 construction. [100513]
Justine Greening [holding answer 20 March 2012]:We will seek to minimise the effects of construction works on continued trading by local businesses, wherever possible. Where business premises have to be wholly or partly acquired then the owners have a statutory right to compensation that will reflect their relocation costs and their interest in the property. As was set out in the documents accompanying my decision to proceed with HS2, the Government have already committed to a comprehensive code of construction practice. We will consult on the detail of this, during 2013.
Intellectual Property
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department has a role in intellectual property policy development. [102278]
Norman Baker: The Government's overall policy lead for intellectual property is held by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills via the Intellectual Property Office. My Department becomes involved in so far as intellectual property issues require collective ministerial consideration.
Large Goods Vehicles: Fees and Charges
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans her Department has for the revenue raised from charging foreign HGVs to use the UK road network. [101350]
Mike Penning: The proposed lorry road user charge is defined as a tax so, in common with all other taxes, revenue goes into the consolidated fund. Decisions on how revenue is allocated to Government Departments are made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, independently of how money is raised.
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As I set out to the House in my written statement of 25 January 2012, Official Report, columns 19-20WS, the Government will come forward with measures to offset, as far as possible, the additional user charges for UK hauliers through reductions in other taxes, duties or charges they currently face, or through appropriate spending measures.
Olympic Games 2012
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the possibility of increased congestion and delays at British airports before, during and immediately after the London 2012 Olympics; and if she will make a statement. [101775]
Mrs Villiers [holding answer 26 March 2012]: My Department has commissioned work to assess the likely demand for air travel during the Olympics period and the capacity of airports and airspace to accommodate this level of demand. Our expectation is that the projected level of additional demand can be accommodated providing the available airport and airspace capacity are carefully managed.
My Department has therefore been working with the the Civil Aviation Authority, the National Air Traffic Services, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the UK Border Force, other Government Departments, airports, airlines and other aviation providers to ensure that a wide range of measures is in place to achieve this. These include, among others, slot controls at 40 airports and airfields across southern England during the Olympics period, the creation of additional temporary controlled airspace, the construction of a temporary ‘games terminal’ at Heathrow and the deployment of additional Border Force staff at airports.
Railways: Fares
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if she will estimate the change in income from rail fares that would arise from changing the cap on fare increases from retail prices index (RPI) plus 3% to RPI minus 1%; [101935]
(2) if she will assess the financial effects on (a) the public purse, (b) train operating companies and (c) Network Rail of changing the cap on rail fare increases from retail prices index (RPI) plus 3% to RPI minus 1%. [101936]
Mrs Villiers: We have no current plans to estimate the revenue effects of such changes to the cap on regulated fares. As we set out in the Rail Command Paper, we are committed to tackling the £2.5 billion to £3.5 billion of inefficiencies in the rail system we inherited. Once those savings are realised and the improvement in the wider economic situation permits, we plan to reduce and then abolish above-inflation rises in average regulated fares.
Rescue Services
Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many leisure vessels have received assistance from each of the maritime rescue co-ordination centres in the last five years. [101742]
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Mike Penning: The following table provides the number of incidents that have involved leisure vessels over the last five calendar years by each maritime rescue co-ordination centre (MRCC). The Maritime and Coastguard Agency does not hold data in a format which specifically breaks down the number of leisure vessels involved in each incident.
| Leisure incidents (1) by MRCC, 2007-11 | |||||
| MRCC | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| (1) Leisure vessel incidents (including sail, motorboat, dinghy, rowing, vessel angling). Source: UKSAR Vision database (MCA). | |||||
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) training and (b) flying hours will be stipulated in the contract to provide search and rescue services. [102093]
Mike Penning: The future contract requires a total of 50 flying hours for Search and Rescue role flying training per month to be completed at each base.
The requirement includes the provision of training for normal and abnormal situations e.g. dunker training and simulator training.
Any training above 50 hours will be a cost for the contractor to meet. Or they will be able to seek a variation to the contract at a later date.
Traffic Penalty Tribunal
James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many staff the Traffic Penalty Tribunal employed on a (a) full-time equivalent and (b) headcount basis in the latest period for which figures are available; [101349]
(2) what correspondence her Department received on the Traffic Penalty Tribunal in each of the last five years. [101351]
Norman Baker: Information about staffing levels is not held by the Department for Transport. Information about the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) is available at:
http://www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk
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In the last five years, the Department has received a total of seven items of correspondence on the TPT, broken down as follows:
| Number | |
Cabinet Office
Business Appointments Advisory Committee
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he or his Department have provided any briefing or other guidance to witnesses other than Ministers appearing before the Select Committee on Public Administration in connection with its inquiry on the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments; and what the names and job titles are of the (a) witnesses and (b) officials responsible for the briefing. [102062]
Mr Maude: When requested, officials provided witnesses with copies of links to publicly available material.
Manpower
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff in his Department are responsible for cross-Whitehall policy on commissioning and procurement; and if he will make a statement. [98805]
Mr Maude: Since June 2010 the number of staff working in the central Efficiency and Reform Group has reduced by over 25%. The cost of running the Government Procurement Service this year is down by more than a quarter compared with 2010-11.
This Government are ensuring that we do more with fewer people: the Group, working across Whitehall, helped drive £3.75 billion of cash savings for the taxpayer last year and is on track to make another £5 billion of savings this year. Last year's savings included £357 million from centralising procurement and a further £295 million.
On 1 March 2012 there were around 49 full-time equivalents (FTE) in the central Efficiency and Reform Group working on procurement projects, including those relating to commissioning.
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people are employed in interim posts by the Department, or a non-ministerial department or arm's length body controlled by his Department through (a) Penna Consulting, (b) Reed Personnel Services and (c) Capita Resourcing Ltd (trading as Veredus); how many such people have been in post for over a year; and how many are full-time. [102106]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office, including its non-ministerial departments and arm's length bodies currently employs no interim staff contracted from these agencies. There are six temporary staff from Reed doing clerical work; three have been here longer than 12 months.
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Statistics
Paul Uppal: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2012, Official Report, column 56W, on Homes and Communities Agency: statistics, (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the UK Statistics Authority guidance on communicating notifications under section 16 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and any guidance on the practice of pre-releasing notifications; [102143]
(2) on what date the Board of the UK Statistics Authority took the decision under section 16 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 to write to the Minister of State for Housing and Local Government and to make a notification; and whether that decision was made at a formal meeting of the Board. [102144]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Sir Michael Scholar KCB, dated March 2012:
As Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your questions asking (i) for a copy of the UK Statistics Authority guidance on communicating notifications under section 16 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and any guidance on the practice of pre-releasing notifications [102143] and (ii) on what date the Board of the UK Statistics Authority took the decision under section 16 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 to write to the Minister of State for Housing and Local Government and to make a notification; and if that decision was made at a formal meeting of the Board [102144]
Section 16 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 sets out the requirements placed on the UK Statistics Authority (referred to as the 'Statistics Board' in the Act) in respect of the process for making notifications under that section. The Statistics Authority complies with these requirements in all cases, The Statistics Authority ensures that all notifications under this section are laid before Parliament as the Act requires. Once the notification has been laid, a copy is placed on the Authority's website. The Authority's notification to the Minister of State for Housing and Local Government in respect of statistics produced by the Homes and Communities Agency and the Tenant Services Authority was sent to the Minister on 6 December 2011, laid before the House on 7 December 2011, and published on the Authority's website on 8 December 2011.
As Chair of the UK Statistics Authority I took the decision, following discussions within the Authority, to make a notification to the Minister of State for Housing and Local Government under section 16 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 in respect of statistics produced by the Homes and Communities Agency and the Tenant Services Authority. This was reported to the Authority Board at its meeting on 16 December 2011.
Under section 16 of the Act, the Minister, as the appropriate authority, is required to provide the Statistics Authority with a statement as to whether he intends to make a request for such an assessment. No reply has yet been received.
Transport: Costs
Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of households in (i) England and (ii) each constituency in England which spent more than 10 per cent. of their income on transport costs in the latest period for which figures are available. [102050]
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Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of households in (i) England and (ii) each constituency in England which spent more than 10 per cent of their income on transport costs in the latest period for which figures are available. (102050)
The table provided shows the number and proportion of households in England whose expenditure on transport exceeded 10 percent of their disposable income in 2009-10, the latest period available. For comparison, two measures of expenditure on transport are used. The first covers all transport costs including the purchase of vehicles, vehicle running costs including fuel and servicing, plus rail/ bus, coach and airfares. The second measure of expenditure excludes vehicle purchases.
The disposable income estimates are taken from the ONS analysis ‘The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income’. This analysis is based on data from the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF), which is a sample survey covering approximately 5,000 households in the UK. The LCF has been used for this response because it collects both income and expenditure data.
Estimates by parliamentary constituency are not available due to small sample sizes.
The estimates provided, as with any involving sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
| Table 1: Households where expenditure on transport exceeds 10% of disposable income (1) , England, 2009-10 | |||
| Households where expenditure exceeds 10% of disposable income | |||
| Average weekly expenditure (£) | Percentage | Number of households (million) | |
| (1) Household disposable income is income from employment, occupational pensions, investments and other non-government sources, plus cash benefits, less direct taxes. Notes: 1. ‘All travel expenditure’ includes purchases of vehicles, spares and accessories, fuel, servicing and other motoring expenses, train, bus and coach tickets, air fares, taxis and other transport costs. 2. Analysis based on a sample of 4,321 households in England. Source: Effects of Taxes and Benefits and Living Costs and Food survey, Office for National Statistics | |||
Communities and Local Government
Affordable Housing: Birmingham
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been (a) begun and (b) completed in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency since May 2010. [102171]
Andrew Stunell:
Data are not available at constituency level. There were 658 starts and 1,342 completions of affordable homes in Birmingham City local authority between April 2010 and September 2011, the latest period for which data are available, as reported in the Homes and Communities Agency's six monthly National Housing Statistics. These statistics only cover affordable housing that is delivered through the Homes and Communities Agency's affordable housing programmes;
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affordable housing delivered outside these programmes is not included. Housing starts cover new build starts only while completions include both new build and acquisitions.
Total affordable completions, including those delivered outside the Homes and Communities Agency's programmes are published annually in the Department's Affordable Housing Supply statistics available on the Department's website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/affordablehousingsupply/livetables/
Community Relations
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department plans to take to evaluate the implementation of the measures contained in its document ‘Creating the Conditions for Integration’. [101850]
Andrew Stunell [holding answer 26 March 2012]: The written ministerial statement ‘Creating the Conditions for Integration' of 21 February 2012, Official Report, column 73WS, sets out the Government's approach to enabling and encouraging integration, including the role of exemplar projects. This policy document complements the Government's Social Mobility Strategy and Equality Strategy.
Specific projects in ‘Creating the Conditions' will be monitored and evaluated against each project's objectives. Integration is predominately a local issue which requires a local response, and therefore evaluation is a matter for local areas.
Fire Extinguishers: Schools
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the (a) costs and (b) benefits of installing fire sprinkler systems in new schools. [100994]
Andrew Stunell: We have no plans to carry out such an assessment. A cost benefit analysis tool was published by the then Department for Children, Schools and Families in 2007. This tool allows the costs and benefits of sprinklers to be fully considered for each school on an individual basis.
Fire Prevention: Free Schools
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what fire safety requirements apply to free schools where buildings are converted from other uses to educational use. [101076]
Andrew Stunell:
In most cases the conversion of a building for use as a school would be a material change of use under the Building Regulations 2010 and would require the building to be upgraded to meet the current Building Regulations fire safety standards. In any event, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to all non-domestic premises, including schools. Under these regulations, a responsible person (usually the employer, owner or occupier) must carry out a fire risk assessment of the premises and put in
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place suitable and sufficient fire safety precautions, and appropriate management and maintenance procedures. Guidance on the risk assessment process and range of measures it would be appropriate to consider to deliver compliance with the requirements of the Order in educational premises is available on the DCLG website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/fire/firesafetyrisk6
Housing: Energy
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2012, Official Report, columns 469-70W, on housing: energy, what steps his Department has taken to consult on the implementation of the recast of the energy performance of buildings directive and the requirement that all new buildings occupied and owned by public authorities after 31 December 2018 shall be nearly zero energy buildings; what his timetable is for submitting the UK's plans to the European Commission; and if he will make a statement. [102233]
Andrew Stunell: The Department published a consultation paper on the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in 2009(1). In accordance with article 9 of the directive, a national plan is being developed for increasing the number of nearly zero energy buildings. This plan will be submitted to the European Commission later this year.
(1) http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planninga ndbuilding/recastepbdconsultation
Housing: Rural Areas
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the adequacy of housing survey coverage in rural areas. [102064]
Andrew Stunell: The English Housing Survey is representative of all households in England. A random sample of addresses is selected covering the whole of England equally, irrespective of type of area.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new affordable rural homes in smaller settlements have been completed since 2008. [102103]
Andrew Stunell: Local authorities are asked to report on their Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix the number of affordable homes delivered in settlements with populations of 3,000 or less. The Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix data can be downloaded from the Department's website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/localauthorityhousing/dataforms/
During 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 there were nearly 12,000 affordable homes reported as being delivered in these smaller settlements.
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Shared Ownership Schemes
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received from housing associations on provision of credit to those seeking to purchase property under shared ownership schemes from lenders (a) wholly in the private sector and (b) wholly or partly publicly-owned; and what information his Department holds on the level of cash deposits requested by lenders granting mortgages for those participating in shared ownership schemes. [102063]
Grant Shapps: My Department is not aware of any recent representations from housing associations of the kind described.
Decisions concerning the pricing and availability of mortgages and loans, including loan-to-value ratios, remain commercial decisions for the boards of the individual banks and building societies.
There are currently over 20 lenders, both wholly in the private sector or partly publicly-owned, supporting shared ownership. The current average level of cash deposit requested by lenders is generally 10% of the share being purchased.
Social Rented Housing
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to minimise noise transference in newly built social housing. [102041]
Andrew Stunell: All new housing in England is required to provide reasonable resistance to sound from other parts of the same building and from adjacent buildings in accordance with part E (Resistance to the passage of sound) of the Building Regulations.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on the number of complaints received by local authorities on noise transference within social housing in each of the last five years. [102057]
Andrew Stunell: The information requested is not held centrally.
Temporary Accommodation: Rural Areas
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households in rural areas were living in temporary accommodation on the latest date for which information is available. [102104]
Andrew Stunell: The information requested is given in the following table, grouping local authority areas in line with the latest version of the local authority rural-urban classification.
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| Urban/rural classification category | Number of households in temporary accommodation at 31 December 2011 (1) | Number of local authorities |
| (1) Rounded to the nearest 10. Source: PIE returns from local authorities | ||
The six classification categories are defined as follows:
Major Urban: districts with either 100,000 people or 50% of their population in urban areas with a population of more than 750,000.
Large Urban: districts with either 50,000 people or 50% of their population in one of 17 urban areas with a population between 250,000 and 750,000.
Other Urban: districts with less than 26% of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns.
Significant Rural: districts with more than 26% of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns.
Rural-50: districts with at least 50% but less than 80% of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns.
Rural-80: districts with at least 80% of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns.
Further details of the classification are available on the DEFRA website at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/rural/what-is-rural/rural-urban-classification/
More generally, statistical releases on Statutory Homelessness are available both in the Library of the House and from the DCLG website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness/
The provision of affordable housing is vital to enable people to stay in their communities. That is why we have already announced that nearly 10% of the agreed bids outside London for the Affordable Homes Programme are for homes in communities with under 3,000 people
Under the Localism Act we are giving local authorities more freedom, so that they can quickly move people out of expensive temporary accommodation and into a suitable settled home, reducing costs on councils and housing waiting lists.
We recently announced additional funding of £70 million this year to tackle and prevent rough sleeping and prevent repossessions. This comes on top of the existing £400 million homelessness grant this Government have protected over the next four years.
Troubled Families Initiative: Peterborough
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many families will be included in his Department's Troubled Families initiative in the Peterborough City Council area in 2012-13; how much funding he expects to allocate for such purposes; and if he will make a statement. [101684]
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Robert Neill: The director general of the Troubled Families programme, Louise Casey, wrote to all relevant council chief executives in December 2011 giving an initial estimate of numbers of troubled families in their council area. For Peterborough city council, this figure was 450 families. Work to verify these numbers is currently under way. Information on what proportion of these families will be dealt with in each year of the programme is not currently available.
Payments to local authorities as part of the Troubled Families programme will be determined primarily on a payment-by-results basis. Further details on the arrangements for the programme, including funding and payment arrangements, success measures, and the definition of a troubled family which will underpin these arrangements, will be announced shortly.
Wind Power: Planning Permission
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the editorial in the British Medical Journal of 8 March 2012, concerning potential health effects of wind farms, whether he plans to propose changes to planning policy relating to wind turbines. [101457]
Charles Hendry: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
A number of independent peer reviewed research studies commissioned by DECC and its predecessor Departments have looked at the impacts of noise from wind farms and concluded that there is no evidence of direct health effects arising from infrasound or low frequency noise generated by wind turbines.
The Government review new evidence carefully to assess whether these conclusions remain valid. In our assessment the British Medical Journal editorial article of 8 March 2012 on wind turbine noise does not change the conclusion that appropriately sited wind turbines do not have a direct effect on public health.
On 23 June 2011, DECC published an independent report(1) on matters arising from the consideration of noise impacts when determining wind farm applications in England. This found that current guidance (ETSU -R- 97) is fit for purpose and recommended that further good practice guidance is developed to confirm, and where necessary, clarify the way it is implemented in practice in the planning process to ensure consistency. The Institute of Acoustics is producing this additional guidance.
(1 )Analysis of How Noise Impacts are Considered in the Determination of Wind Farm Planning Applications by Hayes McKenzie Partnership—June 2011
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/wind/onshore/comms_planning/noise/noise.aspx
Justice
Remand in Custody: Expenditure
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average daily cost of remanding a person in custody. [96160]
Mr Blunt: The cost of a prisoner on remand in custody is not separately calculated.
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The estimated average annual overall cost per prisoner in England and Wales for financial year 2010-11 is £37,000 (to nearest £1,000). These are the latest figures.
Average prisoner costs are calculated for each prison establishment and grouped by prison function on the basis of the major use of each prison. The calculations do not analyse costs by type of sentence or prisoner, and therefore, an average cost for a prisoner serving remand is not available.
The annual average cost per prisoner equates to an average cost per day of £102. This is across all prisoner types and lengths of custody. This does not represent the marginal cost (or saving) from spending one day more (or less) in prison, as most prison costs are fixed in the short-term. Nor should it be used to calculate the cost of a particular term in custody as costs are not necessarily incurred evenly across a period of custody.
A predominantly large number of remand sentences are served in local adult male prisons. The estimated average overall annual cost per prisoner in local adult male prisons for financial year 2010-11 is £35,000 (to nearest £1,000).
The calculation for cost per prisoner is based on net resource expenditure related to prisons included in the annual accounts of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) expressed in terms of the average prison population. This includes some estimation. Expenditure which is met by other Government Departments, such as expenditure on health and education, is not included. Expenditure recharged to the Youth Justice Board in respect of young people is included.
Full details of average cost per prisoner by prison function for financial year 2010-11 can be accessed from the Ministry of Justice website under Management Information Addendum at the following link:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/noms/annual-report-accounts-2010-11.htm
Bill of Rights
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the likelihood of the Commission on a Bill of Rights delivering on its terms of reference. [102155]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The Commission is independent of Government and will decide for itself how it organises its work in order to fulfil its terms of reference.
The Government look forward to receiving the Commission’s final report, with its assessment of all of the topics within its terms of reference, by end of this year.
Chief Coroner
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the cost of establishing an independent appeals process for decisions made by the newly appointed Chief Coroner. [101983]
Mr Djanogly: There are no proposals to establish an independent appeals process for decisions made by the Chief Coroner, therefore the Government have not undertaken work to estimate the cost of establishing such a process.
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Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to his removal of the power of the Chief Coroner under section 40 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, where responsibility lies for drawing general lessons from the conduct and findings of inquests. [101780]
Mr Djanogly: The Chief Coroner, once in post, will be responsible for drawing general lessons from the conduct of investigations and the findings of inquests. In particular, the Chief Coroner will be under a duty to produce an annual report on the coroner system to the Lord Chancellor which must include information about investigations lasting more than 12 months, a summary of matters reported by coroners to prevent future deaths and the responses to those reports, as well as any matters the Chief Coroner wishes to bring to the attention of the Lord Chancellor, and any matters the Lord Chancellor has asked the Chief Coroner to cover in the report.
Corruption: EU Action
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to EU Council Decision 2003/642/JHA, what assessment his Department has made of the likely benefits of applying the convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of members states of the European Union to Gibraltar. [101929]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The Government have not made any assessment of the likely benefits of applying the convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of member states of the European Union to Gibraltar.
Courts: Translation Services
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on translation and interpretation at (a) Peterborough Crown Court and (b) Peterborough Magistrates Court in each year since 2004; and if he will make a statement. [101384]
Mr Djanogly: The figures for Peterborough Combined Court are set out in the following table. Figures are provided for the year 2006-07 onwards. Data relating to the period before the creation of HM Courts Service in 2005-06 are not available. Expenditure for magistrates courts is not available centrally and could be made available only at disproportionate cost.
| Peterborough Combined (Crown) (£) | |
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court cases have been delayed in the last 12 months as a result of Applied Language Solutions not providing an interpreter. [101934]
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Mr Djanogly: The contract with Applied Language Solutions was introduced in criminal courts in the north west in December 2011 and was implemented across the rest of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service on 30 January 2012. No figures are available on the number of court cases delayed as result of problems with interpreters.
Criminal Records: EU Action
Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to implement a system of information sharing on sexual and serious offenders across EU borders. [100428]
James Brokenshire: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
Since 2006 an EU Council Decision has been in place to enable the sharing of criminal records data across the EU. This requires other member states to notify us when a British citizen is convicted in their jurisdiction. It also allows us to request information from other member states about their nationals who are subject to criminal proceedings here. This council decision will be replaced by a new framework decision in April this year and the going live of the European Criminal Records Information System. This will make responding to requests compulsory and also allow the secure electronic transfer of data between member states using common codes for offences and sanctions. We expect this to increase both the volume and efficiency of exchange.
The UK is keen to build upon this measure by encouraging our EU partners to adopt a more proactive approach to sharing information about serious sexual and violent offenders who might seek to travel across the EU and who pose a risk to the public. We have recently submitted a bid to the European Commission seeking funding to lead a project across a number of member states to assess the risk posed by sexual and violent offenders crossing internal EU borders. This aims to develop and share best practice across member states in managing this group of offenders both domestically and as they cross internal EU borders.
Departmental Expenditure
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much his Department spent on taxis for (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants between August 2011 and January 2012; [101414]
(2) how much his Department spent on (a) cut flowers and (b) pot plants between May 2010 and February 2012; [101430]
(3) how much his Department spent on complementary refreshments for (a) staff and (b) visitors in the latest period for which figures are available. [101444]
Mr Djanogly: The Department spent £460.29 on taxis for Ministers between August 2011 and January 2012. No central records are available for expenditure on taxis for civil servants.
The Department's policy on travel by taxi (or use of the Government car service) is that it is not an entitlement and, where possible, journeys should be made by public transport. Taxi fares may be reimbursed only where
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there is no other suitable form of public transport, or where heavy luggage has to be transported, or where the saving in officials' time is important. Where necessary, a standing arrangement may be made, say, for the conveyance of a large number of files from a court office to a separate court building.
The use of pot plants in the Department's buildings is very minimal. It is likely that some courts and prison buildings have pot plants in the reception area to give a welcoming atmosphere to visitors. For the Department's HQ estate, the expenditure on plants for this financial year is £14,000. The Department regularly reviews its policy on the use of pot plants to maximise value for money.
Our accounting systems do not record expenditure in sufficient details to allow us to extract cost of cut flowers and pot plants from other miscellaneous expenditure.
The Department does not hold central records for expenditure on complementary refreshments for staff and visitors separately. However, the following restrictions apply to all staff:
No lunches, tea or coffees can be ordered for any internal meeting (i.e. a meeting between MOJ staff). Water and jugs are freely available in most of our offices.
For all external meetings (i.e. a meeting between MOJ staff and external stakeholders), lunch, tea and coffee purchases require director-level sign-off and are only allowed in exceptional circumstances.
To provide information on Departmental expenditure on taxis for civil servants, cut flowers, pot plants and complementary refreshments for staff and visitors would involve disproportionate cost.
Employment Tribunals Service
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 29 February 2012, Official Report, columns 368-9W, on Employment Tribunals Service, how many of the 1,495 unpaid employment tribunal awards and ACAS settlements passed to High Court enforcement officers in financial year 2010-11 have been fully enforced; how many have been partially enforced; how many could not be enforced; and how many cases remain unresolved. [102099]
Mr Djanogly: Recently updated figures show that in financial year (FY) 2010-11, 1,499 employment tribunal and ACAS settlements were passed to High Court enforcement officers. Of those, 418 were paid in full; 49 were paid in part; 66 were paid by instalments; 49 are ongoing; 762 were unenforceable; and, 155 are currently being investigated further.
Of the 762 cases, the individual reasons for non enforcement are set out in the following table:
| Category | Cases |
| (1 )Writs are valid for a period of 12 months from issue | |
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Family Courts: Expert Evidence
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will consider the report commissioned by the Family Justice Council on Evaluating Expert Witness Psychological Reports; and if he will make a statement. [101465]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice will look carefully at the findings of this study. We accept that there is a need for reform of the use of expert witnesses in family proceedings. The Government published their response to the Family Justice Review on 6 February. This set out our intention to work with expert witness representative bodies and others to improve the quality of expert witness reports. We also intend to legislate to reduce over-reliance on expert witness reports in care proceedings.
Fines: EU Law
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to Article 4 of EU Council Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA, how many final decisions requiring a financial penalty to be paid by a natural or legal person the UK has (a) transmitted to and (b) received from other EU member states in each year since 2005; and how many such decisions were enforced. [101926]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The provisions of EU Council Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA of 24 February 2005 were implemented into England, Wales and Northern Ireland law in 2009, through the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. There was a minor amendment made through the Criminal Procedure Rules 2011. In Scotland the Order was made under powers conferred by sections 56 of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007, then implemented by the Mutual Recognition of Criminal Financial Penalties in the European Union (Scotland) Order (SSI 2009/342).
The first cases to be sent to and received from member states were in 2010.
| Number of cases transmitted to other EU member states | Number of cases received from other EU member states | Incoming cases paid in full | Number of incoming cases remitted | Incoming cases that are ongoing and being enforced | |
The difference in the overall numbers of incoming orders and the above will be those that where rejected and returned to the member states.
Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to encourage the accession of additional countries to the 1980 Hague Convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction. [101342]
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Mr Djanogly: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), is responsible for international child abduction cases between Contracting States to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and has the overall policy lead. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), is responsible for the decision on whether the UK should enter into treaty relations with new countries acceding to the 1980 Hague Convention. Officials from both Departments work together to encourage accession to the Convention by countries capable of operating the Convention effectively. In principle the UK supports the accession of such countries. Ministry of Justice officials participate in meetings in the UK and abroad to explain the legislative and procedural framework for effective operation of the Convention.
Legal Aid Scheme
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many law firms in the London Borough of Bexley received payments for legal aid work in each of the last five years; and what the total value of payments was in each year. [101704]
Mr Djanogly: Information on the total amount spent on providers in the London borough of Bexley for years other than the most recent year, 2010-11, is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The total value of payments to legal aid providers in the London borough of Bexley during 2010-11 was £6.5 million. The number of provider offices with legal aid contracts enabling them to undertake work in the London borough of Bexley in each of the last five years is outlined in the following table. One firm may operate from several offices therefore the number of offices may exceed the number of firms. The Legal Services Commission contracts with not-for-profit organisations as well as solicitor firms. The figures therefore include not-for-profit organisations.
| Number of offices | |
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that litigants in person will continue to be able to access justice following the reduction in face-to-face advice and assistance from Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service; [101819]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of reducing access to face-to-face advice and assistance from HMCTS on litigants in person; and whether this assessment took into account any increase in the number of litigants in person following the implementation of proposed reductions in legal aid; [101820]
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(3) what assessment he has made of the effect on court caseloads of the reduction in face-to-face advice and assistance from HMCTS. [101818]
Mr Djanogly: My written ministerial statement of 17 May 2011, Official Report, column 11WS, explained that Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service was exploring the potential to modernise the way in which it provided face to face services in the civil and family courts. As that statement made clear such exploration is in the context of the 2008 document “Framework for the provision of front office services in civil courts” and subject to local consultations.
Local consultations have recently taken place on potential changes to services and we are currently analysing the responses received. No changes have yet been made.
Any changes would be subject to regular review and this process would ensure that the impact of other planned policies, such as those in relation to legal aid, were properly considered at the appropriate time.
However, we would not expect changes to face to face services to have an effect on caseloads, and we expect any increase in litigants in person as result of planned legal aid changes to be offset by increases in mediation and reductions in cases coming to court.
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2012, Official Report, column 217W, on legal aid: fees and charges, in respect of how many cases the Legal Services Commission makes a profit on the basis of the rate of interest on the statutory charge; [102287]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2012, Official Report, column 217W, on legal aid: fees and charges, for what reason the rate of interest on statutory charges is fixed at eight per cent. [102288]
Mr Djanogly: The statutory charge is part of a larger and integrated system and costs cannot be isolated at case level. The rate of 8% simple interest is designed to encourage those who can raise private funds to repay their statutory charge, either through extending their mortgage, or lending from a reputable bank, to do so. Money recovered helps to keep legal aid on a sustainable footing, which reduces demand on the taxpayer.