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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 24 May 2012
Prime Minister
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr Winnick: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2012, Official Report, column 246W, on Rebekah Brooks, if he will provide the information requested in the question. [109271]
The Prime Minister: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave on 17 May 2012, Official Report, column 246W.
Scotland
Ministerial Meetings
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what dates (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) senior officials in his Department have met representatives of (i) the Institute for Public Policy Research, (ii) the Taxpayers' Alliance, (iii) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (iv) ResPublica, (v) the Centre for Social Justice and (vi) Policy Exchange; and if he will publish the minutes and agendas of these meetings. [108964]
David Mundell: There have been no such meetings with these organisations.
Wales
Ministerial Meetings
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what dates (a) she, (b) Ministers and (c) senior officials in her Department have met representatives of (i) the Institute for Public Policy Research, (ii) the Taxpayers' Alliance, (iii) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (iv) ResPublica, (v) the Centre for Social Justice and (vi) Policy Exchange; and if she will publish the minutes and agendas of these meetings. [108961]
Mrs Gillan: No such meetings have taken place.
Northern Ireland
EU Peace Programme
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the outcome was of his bid for future funding for the next round of the EU Peace Programme; and if he will make a statement. [108260]
Mr Paterson: Negotiations on a future PEACE IV funding programme will need to be taken forward in Brussels in the context of EU budget negotiations.
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Ministerial Meetings
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what dates (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) senior officials in his Department have met representatives of (i) the Institute for Public Policy Research, (ii) the Taxpayers' Alliance, (iii) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (iv) ResPublica, (v) the Centre for Social Justice and (vi) Policy Exchange; and if he will publish the minutes and agendas of these meetings. [108965]
Mr Paterson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the information published on the departmental website on meetings with external organisations. Information for senior officials other than the Director General is not held centrally.
Attorney-General
Complaints
Mr Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many complaints about the work of the Law Officers' Departments and their public bodies were received in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [108957]
The Attorney-General: The information on the number of formal complaints recorded centrally by the Law Officers' Departments is contained in the following table.
Department | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
As part of the Law Officers' superintendence role the Attorney-General's Office (AGO) also handles formal complaints about the Law Officers' Departments. In 2010 the AGO received 31 such complaints, a further 27 were received during 2011, and four have been received to date in 2012.
The AGO also receives a small number of complaints each year regarding its own work but currently keeps no central record.
Lost Property
Mr Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many items of equipment valued at £10,000 or more the Law Officers' Departments lost in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [108939]
Ministerial Meetings
Mr Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General on what dates (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) senior officials in the Law Officers' Departments have met representatives of (i) the Institute for Public Policy Research, (ii) the Taxpayers' Alliance, (iii) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (iv) ResPublica, (v) the Centre for Social Justice and (vi) Policy Exchange; and if he will publish the minutes and agendas of these meetings. [108979]
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The Attorney-General: I have met with the Centre for Social Justice once and Policy Exchange on two occasions. The Solicitor-General has met with representatives of Policy Exchange on one occasion. Agendas or minutes for these meetings are not available.
The Director of Public Prosecutions and the CPS' Director of Strategy and Policy have both held discussions with a representative from Policy Exchange to discuss research on the role of prosecutors being currently undertaken by Policy Exchange. No agendas or minutes have been kept by the CPS.
No member of the Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) has met representatives of the Institute for Public Policy Research, the Institute of Economic Affairs, ResPublica, the Centre for Social Justice or the Policy Exchange.
TSol organised and hosted Continuous Professional Development events at which the Taxpayers’ Alliance gave a presentation on public finances and efficiencies. These events were led by the then Corporate Services Director of TSol, and were primarily attended by finance staff from TSol and other Government Departments.
No senior officials from the Serious Fraud Office or HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate have met with representatives of any of the organisations listed since May 2010.
Women and Equalities
Correspondence
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many letters to Ministers in the Government Equalities Office were (a) not answered, (b) not answered within six months and (c) not answered within three months in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; how many such letters were from hon. Members; and if she will make a statement. [109441]
Lynne Featherstone: As of 1 April 2011, the Government Equalities Office has been part of the Home Office and is no longer a separate Government Department. The information requested will be provided by the Minister for Immigration in response to your question to the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
Transport
Airports: Thames Estuary
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have had with (i) ministerial colleagues, (ii) the Mayor of London, (iii) civil engineering companies, (iv) the National Air Traffic Control Service and (v) airline companies on a possible airport in the Thames estuary; and if she will make a statement. [106973]
Mrs Villiers:
Officials and Ministers at the Department for Transport have regular meetings with stakeholders at which a range of aviation issues are raised. The specific information requested is not readily available. It would incur disproportionate costs to compile list of all
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meetings between Ministers and officials in the Department and the individuals and organisations listed and to crosscheck the issues raised by stakeholders at those meetings.
Information on ministerial meetings with external organisations is published quarterly and can be found at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/ministerial-transparency/#meetings
The Government will publish a consultation on their draft aviation policy framework and a call for evidence on options for maintaining the UK's hub connectivity later this summer.
Carnforth Station
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has any plans to upgrade the platforms at Carnforth station. [109309]
Mrs Villiers: There are no current plans to upgrade the platforms at Carnforth station.
Dartford-Thurrock Crossing
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department spent on improving infrastructure at the Dartford crossing in each year since 31 March 2002. [108550]
Mike Penning: The Highways Agency produces an account for the Dartford crossing on an annual basis, which includes details of improvement expenditure. Copies of the accounts are available in the House of Commons Library and on the Highways Agency website—the latest covering the year ending 31 March 2011.
The annual account for the year ending 31 March 2012 is currently being prepared and should be available early in 2013.
Prior to 1 April 2003, expenditure would be shown in the annual accounts of the Concessionaire at that time, Dartford River Crossing Limited, which built the QEII Bridge and then operated the entire crossing from 1991. Copies of these accounts, if still available, may be obtained through Companies House.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the result of the consultation into the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's proposed closure of local offices to be published. [109020]
Mike Penning: The consultation on Transforming DVLA Services closed on 20 March 2012. The responses are currently being analysed. A summary of responses and an announcement of future plans will be published as soon as possible after the evaluation is complete.
Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will publish the feasibility study into the centralising of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's enforcement services in Swansea. [109021]
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Mike Penning: The feasibility of centralising enforcement services has been investigated as part of the ongoing work around transforming DVLA services. This information is not contained in a specific document. The impacts of the proposals are being analysed and will be published in an impact assessment, alongside the summary of responses to the recent consultation.
Driving Offences: Insurance
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department plans to take to reduce the number of people driving without insurance. [108983]
Mike Penning: The steps the Department is taking to reduce uninsured driving include:
(a) Enforcing action against offenders who keep a vehicle without insurance, known as the continuous insurance enforcement scheme (CIE). This has been enforced since last June;
(b) Tackling fraud by working with the insurance industry to allow them access to DVLA driver details on penalty points and disqualifications.
The Government are also concerned that the rising cost of insurance may tempt motorists to drive while uninsured and is working closely with the insurance industry on measures which will help reduce premiums. The Prime Minister held a summit with industry leaders in February and there was a follow up summit in May.
Driving: Eyesight
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to ensure drivers with visual problems report these to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. [108709]
Mike Penning: Information about the standard of vision for safe driving is included in the Highway Code and driver licensing forms and leaflets. Regular headline prompts about eyesight and driving appear on the driving related pages of DirectGov.
The law requires drivers to declare if eyesight problems are present. Failure to notify, or making a false declaration to DVLA, is an offence and can invalidate motor insurance.
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to publicise the risks involved in driving with poor eyesight. [108710]
Mike Penning: Information about the standard of vision for safe driving is included in the Highway Code and driver licensing forms and leaflets. Regular headline prompts about eyesight and driving appear on the driving related pages of DirectGov.
East Anglia Main Line
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment her Department has made of the potential economic benefits of improving rail links along the East Anglian mainline; [109527]
(2) what recent assessment her Department has made of progress in the upgrading of the East Anglian mainline railway into and out of London. [109781]
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Mrs Villiers: Studies by the former East of England Development Agency and others have estimated the potential economic benefits of improvements to the East Anglian mainline.
We will consider this route as part of our preparation for the High Level Output Specification (HLOS), setting out what we expect the rail industry to deliver in the period between 2014 and 2019 (CP5). This will take account of the needs of the railway as a whole, and our current fiscal position.
The HLOS will be published by end July 2012.
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding her Department provided for East Anglian mainline rail infrastructure in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011. [109594]
Mrs Villiers: This is an operational matter for Network Rail.
Motor Vehicles: Crime Prevention
Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) proportionality of extending anti-tampering measures to all powered two-wheeled vehicles. [109249]
Mike Penning: The Department's impact assessment could not find evidence to support anti-tampering measures on unrestricted motorcycles and on this basis the Government have opposed proposals to extend anti-tampering measures to unrestricted motorcycles.
However, a Commission sponsored study is underway which may provide evidence on the scale of tampering, its influence on accidents in the EU, and the effectiveness of new regulations. The Department will consider the results of this study when they are published.
Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many registered vehicle owners pay their vehicle road fund licence (a) six-monthly and (b) annually; and how much revenue is generated for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency by people paying the increased cost of six-monthly licences. [108613]
Mike Penning: The following table shows the volume of six and 12-month licences issued in financial year 2011-12:
6 month | 12 month | |
DVLA do not hold information on how much additional revenue was generated by people paying for six monthly licences.
Motor Vehicles: Insurance
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her Department's most recent estimate is of the number of cars without insurance. [108841]
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Mike Penning: The insurance industry estimate about 1.2 million vehicles are not insured. For comparison, the industry estimate in 2005 was 2 million.
Operation StepChange
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to her Department is of Operation StepChange; and what assessment she has made of its (a) effectiveness and (b) value for money. [109210]
Mrs Villiers: Operation StepChange is a cross-Whitehall initiative to change the way civil servants travel during the London 2012 games, to ensure the business of Government continues and reduce our impact on the transport network when it will be extremely busy.
During a trial week in February, the Department changed 71% of staff commuting trips, and reduced business trips by 36%. Research following the trial demonstrated it was effective at giving staff the opportunity to test out plans and new ways of working in advance, which will ensure productivity is maintained during the games.
In addition to a small amount of staff resource, there was a cost to the Department of £1,314.60 as part of research to evaluate the effectiveness of the trial. We have assessed that this represents value for money given the benefits of maintaining business continuity, relieving pressure on the transport network and supporting businesses in preparing for the games. By encouraging staff to work more flexibly we anticipate there will also be longer-term resilience and productivity benefits, and a reduction in business travel costs.
Parking
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has any plans to bring forward proposals to regulate the operations of private parking operators. [108837]
Norman Baker: From 1 October 2012 the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 will make it an offence in England and Wales for private parking companies to clamp or tow a vehicle without lawful authority.
From this date, private parking companies will rely on ticketing and will only be able to pursue motorists for an unpaid parking charge if they have the vehicle keeper's contact details. The DVLA will only provide these details to companies that are members of a Government Accredited Trade Association. To retain membership the company must abide by a code of practice and conduct itself professionally.
The Government works with the parking sector to regularly review the position, including the potential to strengthen it. To this end the British Parking Association is currently revising its code of practice (the Approved Operator Scheme). In addition to coincide with the introduction of the Protection of Freedoms Act, the Government has asked the industry to establish and fund a fully independent appeals service covering all tickets issued by private parking companies with access to DVLA data. The appeals body will be a free service to motorists.
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Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has any plans to review the operations of private parking operators; and when any such review will take place. [108838]
Norman Baker: We have already reviewed the operations of private parking operators, hence the legislation going through which will make it an offence in England and Wales for such companies to clamp or tow a vehicle without lawful authority. We reserve the right to make further changes if problems arise.
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department provides guidance to private parking operators on (a) signage, (b) conduct of operatives and (c) wording of penalties notices and letters. [108839]
Norman Baker: The Department does not issue guidance to private parking operators. Guidance is contained in the industry code of practice—the British Parking Association's Approved Operator Scheme.
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received on the enforcement by private parking operators of parking penalties on private land. [109061]
Norman Baker: The Department receives regular correspondence on parking issues and is aware of the concerns about the activities of some private parking companies. That is why it is taking action to ban wheel-clamping and vehicle removal without lawful authority in England and Wales, and is actively working with the parking sector to improve its regulation and establish an independent appeals service. The British Parking Association's Code of Practice includes guidance on parking charges.
Railways: Electrification
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration she has given to continuing rail electrification from Sheffield to Leeds for the purposes of improving resilience and flexibility for the rail network. [109141]
Mrs Villiers: Network Rail considered electrification between Sheffield and Leeds in its Network Route Utilisation Strategy: Electrification and Initial Industry Plan.
Railways: Standards
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will release the right time data for train service punctuality for each train operator on each franchise for each of the last 10 years. [107689]
Norman Baker
[holding answer 17 May 2012]:The Government has been working for some time with the Office of Rail Regulation and the rail industry, in line with commitments made in the Command Paper ‘Reforming our Railways: Putting the Customer First', on a range of measures to improve the availability of data about the railway, including the performance of rail services. We intend to make an announcement in
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due course about various ways in which we will be delivering more transparency about our railways than was the case under the previous Government.
Rescue Services: Northern Ireland
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with UK search and rescue on the creation of a permanent search and rescue helicopter base in Northern Ireland. [109326]
Mike Penning: DFT is procuring a UK wide search and rescue helicopter service. The UK SAR procurement has mandated the geographical location of only one UK base, at Lee on the Solent. The location of the remaining nine bases will be the subject of bids and subsequent evaluation, and any basing solution proposed by bidders must be able to be able to meet the key user requirements for the service.
Shipping
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will convene a working group to assess the monitoring and enforcement of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011. [109480]
Mike Penning: A review of the operation and effect of the regulations will be undertaken after five years in the usual way. To inform that review, I intend to convene a working group next year. I envisage the working group looking at the impact and the enforcement of the regulations in particular and it is possible that it could look into ways in which awareness of the regulations could be developed.
Transport: Exports
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to British Chambers of Commerce recommendations in the Exporting is Good for Britain and Transport Connections Support Trade report, if she will produce a comprehensive aviation strategy for the UK. [107715]
Mrs Villiers: We intend to consult in the summer on a draft sustainable framework for UK aviation. Alongside this we intend to publish a call for evidence on maintaining effective UK hub airport connectivity. The Government aim to adopt the final Aviation Policy Framework next spring.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to British Chambers of Commerce's Exporting is Good for Britain and Transport Connections Support Trade survey, if she will put in place incentives to use rail and sea transport considered important to British exporters. [107716]
Mike Penning: The Government are committed to maintaining a dynamic, sustainable transport system that supports UK economic growth and competitiveness.
The Department for Transport already provides incentives to encourage the transfer of freight from
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road to rail and water where the cost is higher than road and where there are environmental benefits to be gained.
Grants towards the operating costs of running rail and water freight services are provided through the Mode Shift Revenue Support and Waterborne Freight Grant schemes.
The Department has also endorsed the Freight Transport Association's Mode Shift Centre, which provides objective information to companies considering the use of rail or water transport for their operations.
Visual Impairment
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in how many road traffic accidents previously unreported visual problems have been found to be a contributing factor. [108711]
Mike Penning: The DFT publication “Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain: annual report 2010” shows the number and proportion of reported personal injury road accidents which had “Uncorrected, defective eyesight” recorded as a contributory factor, in Great Britain in 2010. The relevant statistics can be found using the following link:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/ras50001/
Note that contributory factors are reported only for injury road accidents where a police officer attended the scene and reported at least one contributory factor. These factors are largely subjective, reflecting the attending officer's opinion at the time of reporting. It is recognised that subsequent inquires could lead to the reporting officer changing their opinion.
Communities and Local Government
Complaints
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints about the work of his Department and each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies were received in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [108942]
Robert Neill: Data relating to complaints received are not held centrally in DCLG. The majority of complaints go directly to the relevant division or arm’s length body and there is no central reporting mechanism.
However, we can say that in 2010-11 the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman received 137 complaints relating to DCLG and its arm’s length bodies. Of these, they intervened in only one case, and did not formally investigate any. In 2009-10 the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman received 150 complaints and investigated one complaint, which was not upheld. Their figures for 2011-12 are not yet available.
Councillors: Disability
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people with disabilities were elected as councillors in each year since 2002. [108666]
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Andrew Stunell [holding answer 23 May 2012]: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect this information.
The most comprehensive snapshot of local authority councillors and equality information relating to disability is held by the Local Government Association which represents local authorities in England and Wales and has responsibility to support, promote and improve local government.
The data held by the Local Government Association are taken from the most recent National Census of Local Authority Councillors in England 2010 but does not provide a complete picture as it excludes parish councillors and does not represent a 100% response rate.
The Local Government Association website:
http://www.local.gov.uk/web/guest/local-government-intelligence/-/journal_content/56/10171/100325/ARTICLE-TEMPLATE
has analysis of data relating to local authority councillors from the 2010 Census including information relating to the number of councillors that reported that they had a long-term illness, health problem or disability that limited the daily activities or work they could do.
Diamond Jubilee 2012
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 1 May 2012, Official Report, columns 1425-6W, on the Diamond Jubilee 2012: religion, how his Department is facilitating A Year of Service; what funding or other support he has allocated to encourage groups from all faiths to participate; and if he will make a statement. [109590]
Andrew Stunell: My Department is facilitating A Year of Service by chairing and hosting both the Steering Group for the programme and a Reference Group including individuals from a wide range of faith communities who are working to promote the programme within their respective communities. The latter group allows communities to share experience and helps ensure strong multi faith involvement in volunteering activities.
My Department and the Cabinet Office have allocated funds totalling £65,000 for the central administration of the programme. We believe that faith communities are recognising the opportunities that A Year of Service offers and are rising to the challenge.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to respond to Question 108000 tabled by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East on 14 May 2012 for answer on 17 May 2012. [109363]
Robert Neill: Question 108000 was answered on 21 May 2012, Official Report, columns 393-94W.
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Home Department
Anti-slavery Day
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans her Department has to mark Anti-Slavery Day in October 2012. [109729]
Damian Green: The Government will announce their plans in due course.
Asylum: Democratic Republic of Congo
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the level of risk in returning failed asylum seekers to the Democratic Republic of Congo. [109218]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency's Country of Origin Information Service (COIS) monitors the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including the safety of removals. The DRC Country of Origin Information (COI) Report, which includes a section on returns, was published in March and can be found on the Home Office website at:
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/coi/
The DRC Operational Guidance Note (OGN) includes guidance to UK Border Agency case owners on returns. This was published in May and can be found also on the Home Office website at:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/csap/
The UK Border Agency's returns policy to the DRC is kept under constant review and decisions are taken in the light of prevailing circumstances. Returns are only enforced when it is safe to do so and when the Agency and the courts are satisfied that the individual has no international protection needs.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with her European counterparts on returning asylum seekers to the Democratic Republic of Congo. [109219]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency has had no discussions with European counterparts about returned failed asylum seekers to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, the Agency has sent a number of written questions on the subject to member states of the Intergovernmental Conference on migration, asylum and refugees, which includes 12 European states. A full fist of its member states can be found on the IGC website:
http://www.igc.ch/
Asylum: Young People
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will consider the proposal of the Immigration Law Practitioner's Association to establish regional expert age assessment centres made in its 2007 report When Is a Child Not a Child. [106407]
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Damian Green: Currently, age assessments are carried out by local authorities using a Merton-compliant process. The UK Border Agency's focus is on establishing whether the techniques and processes used for carrying out age assessments can be improved. The agency intends to address these issues before it considers the arrangements for the location of age assessments. In light of this the agency has no current plans to adopt the proposal from the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association.
British Nationality: Northern Ireland
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration she has given to using a local authority in Northern Ireland to provide the National Checking Service. [109221]
Damian Green: The Nationality Checking Service (NCS) is provided under the Local Government Act 2000 (“well being” powers). This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland, and therefore local authorities are unable to provide NCS there.
Burglary
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on measures to reduce numbers of burglaries in each of the last two years; and what plans she has for such spending in each of the next three years. [108501]
James Brokenshire: The majority of Home Office funding for crime reduction and policing is provided through the unring-fenced Police Main Grant. How this funding is used is decided by individual police authorities (and from November 2012 Police and Crime Commissioners) and their chief constables. It is therefore not possible to identify the amount spent specifically on reducing burglary in each of the last two years or the amount which will be spent on reducing burglary in each of the next three years.
In the past year, the Home Office has also provided crime reduction and policing funding to a range of partners, including the voluntary sector but it is not possible to identify the amounts specifically spent on measures to reduce burglaries.
In 2013-14, Police and Crime Commissioners will receive funding from the new Community Safety Fund (CSF). They will be able to use the CSF to commission services that help tackle drugs and crime including burglary in their force area. The level and allocations of the CSF in 2013-14 have yet to be decided.
Deportation: Sri Lanka
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to review the implications for her policy on deportations to Sri Lanka of the death of Easwarathasan Kietheeswaran; and if she will make a statement. [109299]
Damian Green: We do not comment on individual cases.
The UK Border Agency's returns policy to Sri Lanka is kept constantly under review and decisions are taken in the light of prevailing circumstances. Returns are
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only enforced when it is safe to do so and when the agency and the courts are satisfied that the individual has no international protection needs.
Detention Centres: Children
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made in ending the detention of unaccompanied children for immigration purposes. [109235]
Damian Green: Children who are unaccompanied are detained only in exceptional circumstances. At the border we may need to hold individuals while inquiries are made to decide whether they can be admitted to the country or until the next available return flight if they are refused entry. Those unaccompanied children who fall into this category may also need to be held until alternative accommodation is arranged, usually through Children's Services. Not being able to hold children would prevent us from fulfilling our legal duty of care by releasing unaccompanied children before social workers arrived to support them, placing them at greater risk. It could also weaken border security by allowing people into the country who have no right to be here. We are constantly looking at ways in which the time spent being held in this way can be reduced by improving decisions and the response times from other agencies. We are also seeking to identify improvements to the ways in which young people's ages are assessed.
Human Trafficking Ministerial Group
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what matters were discussed at the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking's latest meeting; and who attended the meeting. [109466]
Damian Green: The Group discussed human trafficking and the Olympics, its role as National Rapporteur and assessments of trends in human trafficking. A list of Members and attendees for this meeting is provided as follows:
Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group (IDMG) on Human Trafficking ministerial-level meeting attendees and non-attending Members ; 17 April 2012
Damian Green MP, Minister for Immigration (Chair)
Tim Loughton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families
Jeremy Browne MP, Minister of State, FCO
Crispin Blunt MP, Minister for Justice
Baroness Hanham MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities
David Jones MP, Wales Office
David Ford MLA, Northern Ireland Executive
Lynne Featherstone MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities and Criminal Information
Stephen O'Brien, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development(1)
Anne Milton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health(1)
Chris Grayling MP, Minister for Employment(1)
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Kenny MacAskill MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Scottish Executive(1)
David Mundell MP, Scotland Office(1)
Carl Sargeant AM, Welsh Assembly Government
Edward Gamier QC MP, Solicitor General(1)
(1) Indicates official level deputies present at the meeting.
Immigration: South East
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of the current level of immigration (1) on local public services in the South East; [109411]
(2) on social housing in London and the South East. [109412]
Damian Green:
No assessment has been made of the impacts of migration at the regional level. The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published an analysis of the impacts of migration on 10 January 2012. This covered UK labour market, public service and social impacts and was informed by research commissioned by the Committee from the London School of Economics on the impact of migration on
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access to housing and the housing market, and from Christian Dustmann and Tommaso Frattini on the impact of migration on the provision of UK public services. The MAC'S report and accompanying research are available on the Home Office website at:
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
The Home Office is currently undertaking research to build a picture of the local impacts of non-EEA migration to the UK. The resulting data will enable an assessment of the impact of migration on public services, such as social housing, at the regional level. The research will report in 2013.
Departmental Staff
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent employees have (a) left and (b) been recruited to her Department in the last two years. [108173]
Damian Green: The numbers of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees who have left and been recruited to the Home Office between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2012 are included in Table 1.
Table 1: Number of employees (FTE) who have (a) left or (b) been recruited to the Home Office (1 April 2010 to 31 March 2012) | ||||
(a) Number of Leavers (FTE) (1) | (b) Number of Recruits (FTE) (2) | |||
Financial year | Number of employees leaving the civil service | Number of employees transferring to Other Government | Number of new recruits to the civil service | Number of existing civil servants transferring into the Home Office |
(1) Leavers include employees leaving the civil service or those transferring to other Government Departments. (2) Recruits include employees new to the civil service or existing civil servants transferring in from other Government Departments. (3) 4,603 ex-HMRC customs and detection employees joined the Department as part of a machinery of government change on 1 April 2010. (4) 110 Payroll Services employees moved to Ministry of Justice as part of a machinery of government change on 1 April 2011. (5) 88 Government Equalities Office employees and 42 National Fraud Authority employees joined the Department as part of machinery of government changes on 1 April 2011. Extract Dates: 1. Data for 2010-11 (covering 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2012) extracted on 1 April 2011. 2. Data for 2011-12 (covering 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012) extracted on 1 April 2012. Methodology: Office for National Statistics standards for workforce reporting and include paid civil servants only. FTE figures are subject to rounding +/- 1. Source: Data View—the Department's source of Office for National Statistics (ONS) compliant corporate Human Resources data |
Ministerial Meetings
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what dates (a) she, (b) Ministers and (c) senior officials in her Department have met representatives of (i) the Institute for Public Policy Research, (ii) the Taxpayers' Alliance, (iii) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (iv) ResPublica, (v) the Centre for Social Justice and (vi) Policy Exchange; and if she will publish the minutes and agendas of these meetings. [108968]
Damian Green: Home Office Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of national and 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.
Information for meetings attended by senior officials is not collated centrally.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many publications have been issued by her Department since May 2010. [109823]
Damian Green: The Home Office has produced a total of 74 printed publications in the period April 2010 to April 2012.
Stalking: Risk Assessment
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been trained by her Department in the use of the stalking risk assessment tool; and if she will publish a list of people trained in the use of the stalking risk assessment tool for use by police and probation services. [108847]
Lynne Featherstone:
The stalking risk profile is a structured tool to assess the risks that victims of stalking
24 May 2012 : Column 795W
may face. The Government do not hold information on how many individuals have been trained in the use of this tool, which is a commercial product.
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on fees charged to police services who wish to contact an individual who has been trained in the stalking risk assessment tool. [108848]
Lynne Featherstone: It is for each police force to determine how its budget is spent.
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training her Department provides to individuals who wish to become competent in the delivery of the stalking risk assessment tool. [108849]
Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office does not provide training on any stalking risk assessment tool. We understand that the majority of police forces currently use the domestic abuse, stalking and honour based violence (DASH) model (2009), developed by the Association of Chief Police Officers and made available to all police services in England and Wales from March 2009. However, it is for individual police forces to decide which risk assessment models to use and what training their officers and staff receive.
Metal Theft
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make stolen metal an assigned matter for the UK Border Force. [107953]
Miss Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.
Border Force works closely with SOCA and police forces to help combat crime at the border. Where there is reason to suspect that goods for export may be stolen, Border Force officers can stop the goods leaving and refer the matter to the police for them to take any necessary further action.
UK Border Agency
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) budget and (b) outturn was of the UK Border Agency in respect of IT expenditure in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012. [108500]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency's operational IT costs, including those for Border Force, are set out in the following table. These costs do not include expenditure on IT related projects.
£ million | |||
Full year budget | Full year outturn | Full year variance | |
24 May 2012 : Column 796W
Work and Pensions
Atos Healthcare
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to begin the review of his Department's contract with Atos for the work capability assessment; and what aims his Department will have for that review. [109215]
Chris Grayling: The review of our contract with Atos is a continual process so that improvement and necessary change can be properly managed. The Department is currently looking at simplifying the management of the contract and to ensure continued fitness for purpose. The contract is due to expire in August 2015 and the Department plans to commence consideration of future requirements and strategy within the next 18 months.
Child Maintenance
Mr Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether gross or net income is used to calculate the amount of child maintenance payable. [108630]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether gross or net income is used to calculate the amount of child maintenance payable. [108630]
Under the 2003 child maintenance scheme, a parent's maintenance liability is based on a percentage of their net weekly income depending on the number of children a parent is liable to maintain. Deductions are made from their gross earnings to account for income tax, National Insurance Contributions and pension contributions and the resulting net weekly income is the basis for their child maintenance calculation.
Under the new scheme, to be launched later this year, maintenance calculations will be based on a non-resident parent's gross taxable income which has been supplied to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), usually via a Pay As You Earn (PAYE, for employed people) or self-assessment return (mainly for self-employed people and those with complex tax affairs). This will result in quicker calculations which are based on more reliable income information. Cases will be subject to an annual review to ensure calculations are kept up to date, using, where possible, income information for the non-resident parent's latest available tax-year.
The maintenance calculation will be based on taxable “earned income”, as this is the only income type which is included in both returns. Taxable earned income includes income from employment or from occupational or personal pension schemes.
For self-employed non-resident parents, it will be their total taxable profits. We did consider whether the maintenance calculation should be based on a broader definition of income which would capture all of the income types HMRC could provide. We decided against this because it would introduce differential treatment of non-resident parents: self-assessed taxpayers would have all of their taxable income brought to account; PAYE only taxpayers would not, because we would not necessarily have details of their income from savings and investment, property etc.
24 May 2012 : Column 797W
Parents with care, however, will be able to make an application for a Variation if they believe the non-resident parent has significant taxable “unearned income”, such as income from property, savings and investments. This includes dividends which legally are a type of investment income, being a return on a share holding rather than remuneration for work done.
Further details are available in the consultation on the calculation regulations for the new scheme, which closed in February please see:
http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/pdf/Maintenance-Calculation-Regulations-2012-Technical-Consultation.pdf
Disability Living Allowance: Airdrie
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total amount of disability living allowance payments was to residents in Airdrie and Shotts constituency in April 2012; and what estimate has been made of the amount to be paid in disability living allowance and personal independence payments in April 2013. [106896]
Maria Miller: Expenditure is not available at parliamentary constituency level by month, only for complete financial years. The most recent data available is 2010-11.
Disability living allowance expenditure in Airdrie and Shotts in 2010-11 was £30.3 million(1).
DWP does not produce forecasts of benefit expenditure below Great Britain level. Because new claims to personal independence payment for people living in Airdrie and Shotts constituency will only start to be taken from June 2013, and existing disability living allowance recipients will only begin to be reassessed from October 2013, there will be no personal independence payment expenditure in Airdrie and Shotts in April 2013.
Further benefit expenditure data by country, region, local authority and parliamentary constituency to 2010-11 can be found here:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php ?page=expenditure
(1) Source:
DWP Statistical and Accounting Data.
Employment and Support Allowance
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average wait was between a request for a reconsideration before appeal of an employment and support allowance eligibility decision and the completion of that reconsideration in the most recent period for which figures are available. [109214]
Chris Grayling: These statistics have not previously been published as official statistics. We will consider whether to include the statistics requested in part of an upcoming statistics release in line with the code of practice on official statistics.
Hunterston B Power Station
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Office for Nuclear Regulation last met (a) EDF Energy and (b) Balfour Beatty to discuss safety regulations at the Hunterston B nuclear power plant. [109404]
24 May 2012 : Column 798W
Chris Grayling: The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) carries out inspections in line with its planned inspection programme. The ONR site inspector visited Hunterston B on 21 May 2012 to undertake safety inspections and engage in discussions with EDF Energy. Prior to that, ONR inspections took place at Hunterston B on 19 to 22 March 2012. Inspections by ONR fire safety specialist inspectors have also taken place in the first quarter of 2012.
EDF Energy, as the nuclear site licence holder, is responsible for safety compliance at Hunterston B. EDF Energy is therefore the key contact for ONR in discussions relating to safety regulations. ONR has had no discussions with Balfour Beatty.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints the Office for Nuclear Regulation received in relation to safety at the Hunterston B nuclear power plant in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date. [109405]
Chris Grayling: The Office for Nuclear Regulation has received one complaint in relation to safety at the Hunterston B on 20 February 2012.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many safety investigations were carried out by the Office for Nuclear Regulation at Hunterston B nuclear power plant in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date. [109406]
Chris Grayling: The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) carries out site inspections in line with its planned inspection programme. While carrying out this planned inspection programme ONR will investigate safety issues when they are identified. These are known as reactive inspections. The number of planned and reactive inspections were:
2010: 24 planned inspections and seven reactive;
2011: 46 planned inspections and 16 reactive; and
2012: nine planned inspections and seven reactive.
Intellectual Property
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has a role in development of policy on intellectual property. [109360]
Chris Grayling: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to PQ 101249 on 27 March 2012, Official Report, column 1043W.
Job Creation
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time jobs equivalent to 24 working hours or fewer each week have been created in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland and (iii) each Scottish constituency in each month since May 2010. [109201]
Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
24 May 2012 : Column 799W
The information requested fails within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time jobs with the equivalent of 24 hours or less being worked each week have been created in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland and (iii) each Scottish constituency in each month since May 2010. (109201)
Estimates of new jobs created are not available. Information is available for net changes in level, which reflects both jobs lost and people who have been recruited into existing jobs that were vacant. Consequently this does not give any useful information regarding the actual level of new job creation.
National Employment Savings Trust Scheme
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the ban on transferring current pensions into the National Employment Savings Trust on the projected take-up of the scheme. [107906]
Steve Webb: NEST was established to support the introduction of automatic enrolment into workplace pensions by offering a simple, low-cost pension scheme to individuals on low to moderate earnings and employers that the existing pensions industry does not serve well.
Individuals join NEST through an employer choosing to use the scheme to fulfil their automatic enrolment duties. DWP currently estimates that between 2 and 5 million people will be members of NEST by the end of the implementation of automatic enrolment. Assumptions on the likely take up of automatic enrolment are reviewed on a regular basis, including the estimated membership of NEST.
The restrictions on transfers into and out of NEST are intended to ensure NEST is focussed on its target market; to minimise market turbulence during the implementation of the reforms; and to encourage continuity of savings among NEST members, who can continue to contribute to the scheme even when no longer employed. The Pensions Act 2008 requires the Secretary of State to review the effect of these restrictions in 2017.
In its recent inquiry into automatic enrolment in workplace pensions and NEST, the Work and Pensions Select Committee recommended that the Government remove transfer restrictions on NEST, if State Aid rules allow this. We continue to reflect on the points made by the Committee, alongside responses to our recent consultation on improving transfers and dealing with small pension pots across the pensions industry. That consultation closed on 23 March 2012 and we intend to publish a response in the summer.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates (1) are likely to opt in to the National Employment Savings Trust instead of choosing an independent pension service within (a) one year and (b) five years of its implementation; [108446]
(2) will be automatically covered by the National Employment Savings Trust within (a) one year and (b) five years of its implementation; [108447]
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(3) will enrol in the National Employment Savings Trust within (a) one year and (b) five years of its implementation. [108448]
Steve Webb: The information is not available in the format requested.
The latest published participation estimates are in the impact assessments accompanying the Pensions Act 2011—Annex B: Workplace Pension Reform
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pensions-bill-2011-ia-annexb.pdf, Annexe G
Around 9 to 10 million people are expected to be eligible for automatic enrolment into a workplace pension scheme. Of these, we estimate that between 4 and 6 million will be automatically enrolled in NEST and, after accounting for people who opt out, that this will result in 2 to 5 million people saving in the NEST scheme.
This includes around 0.5 million who were previously saving in existing forms of workplace pension scheme and 2 to 4 million newly saving in NEST. We estimate that between 1 and 2 million employees will opt-out from NEST.
The figures are presented as broad ranges because there is inherent uncertainty around the participation estimates.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has undertaken an impact assessment of the effect of the implementation of the National Employment Savings Trust on independent pension (a) providers and (b) advisers. [108669]
Steve Webb: A full competition assessment of the impact of reforms on the pensions industry is set out in the Workplace Pension Reform Regulations—Impact Assessment, Department for Work and Pensions, January 2010. Chapter 5: Impact on Pension Industry
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wpr-ia.pdf
The Department carried out research with pension providers and advisors in 2008 and 2011 to assess the likely impact of the workplace pension reforms and NEST on the industry:
Likely industry responses to the workplace pension reforms: Qualitative research with pension providers and intermediaries (2011)
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2011-2012/rrep753.pdf
Pensions industry responses to the workplace pension reforms: Qualitative research with pension providers and intermediaries (2008)
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2009-2010/rrep592.pdf
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) which pension providers were consulted as part of the review of the National Employment Savings Trust; [108882]
(2) whether any compulsory pension schemes in other countries were considered under the review of the National Employment Savings Trust; [108883]
(3) which (a) employers' groups, (b) trade associations and (c) business champions were consulted as part of the review of the National Employment Savings Trust. [108884]
24 May 2012 : Column 801W
Steve Webb: In June 2010, the coalition Government commissioned the independent "Making Automatic Enrolment Work" review to consider whether the automatic enrolment work reform package struck the right balance between costs, benefits and risk for individuals, for employers and for the tax payer, and whether the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) was necessary to support the successful delivery of automatic enrolment.
The review team's report (“Making automatic enrolment work: a review for the Department for Work and Pensions”—Cm 7954) was published in October 2010 and copies are available in the House Library.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will review the annual limit on contributions within the National Employment Savings Trust to encourage wider participation. [108885]
Steve Webb: The Pensions Act 2008 requires the Secretary of State to review the annual limit on contributions in 2017.
In October 2010, the coalition Government published the outcome of the independent "Making Automatic Enrolment Work" review. One of the recommendations made by the review was that the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) annual contributions limit be removed in 2017, once the reforms had been implemented.
In its recent inquiry into automatic enrolment in workplace pensions and NEST, the Work and Pensions Select Committee recommended that the Government remove the annual contribution limit if state aid rules allow this.
We continue to reflect on the points made by the Committee.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research his Department has undertaken on the effect of compulsory minimum contributions for micro-enterprises as part of the National Employment Savings Trust. [108886]
Steve Webb: The Department has undertaken a programme of research and analysis to inform the development of the workplace pension reforms. The following published reports look at the effects of compulsory minimum contributions on micro-employers:
Employers' attitudes and likely reactions to the workplace pension reforms, 2009:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2009-2010/rrep683.pdf
Understanding small employers responses to the reforms (2009):
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2009-2010/rrep617.pdf
Employers' attitudes and likely reactions to the workplace pension reforms 2007
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2007-2008/rrep546.pdf
Understanding employers' likely responses to the workplace pension reforms 2007: report of a qualitative study:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2007-2008/rrep547.pdf
Employer attitudes to personal accounts: Report of a quantitative survey (2006)
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep397.pdf
24 May 2012 : Column 802W
In October 2010 the coalition Government published the outcome of the independent "Making Automatic Enrolment Work" review. The review considered the impact of the reforms on smaller employers. Copies of the review team's report (“Making automatic enrolment work: a review for the Department for Work and Pensions”—Cm 7954) are available in the House Library.
Analysis of the impact of minimum employer contributions on micro employers is also contained in the impact assessments which accompanied the Workplace Pension Reform Regulations 2010
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wpr-ia.pdf
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pensions-bill-2011-ia-annexb.pdf
We remain committed to including micro-businesses within the automatic enrolment programme but in the light of current economic circumstances we have amended the employer staging profile to give micro businesses more time to prepare.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has assessed the potential effects of inflation on the likely level of pensions to be drawn under the National Employment Savings Trust. [109349]
Steve Webb: The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) is the responsibility of the trustee. Like any trustee, it will take into account a range of factors in determining its investment strategy.
NEST's statement of investment principles, states that its investment objective is to target investment returns in excess of inflation after all charges over the long-term.
http://www.nestpensions.org.uk/schemeweb/NestWeb/public/aboutUs/contents/principles.html
Levels of pensions that individuals draw from any qualifying defined contribution pension scheme will be dependent on a variety of factors such as the amount contributed, the length of time saved, the investment strategy and performance, whether an annuity or different product is purchased at retirement, and whether an annuity with inflation protection is chosen.
Personal Pensions
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to address the decline in the amounts saved in personal pensions in the last three years. [109223]
Steve Webb: Automatic enrolment into a workplace pension scheme, with a minimum employer contribution, is designed to address the problem of pensions undersaving and reverse the decline in scheme membership.
In addition, the Government have announced that we will reform the state pensions system to introduce a single tier pension for future pensioners.
These reforms will usher in a simpler and fairer system that reduces the need for means testing and better supports saving for retirement. We will provide further detail in a White Paper in the spring.
Saving in a personal pension outside the workplace is a voluntary endeavour on the part of individuals and the level of savings will reflect individual circumstances
24 May 2012 : Column 803W
and preferences. Government encourage pension saving (both in workplace and personal pensions) through the provision of tax relief on pension contributions, which provides an incentive to save.
Social Security Benefits
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will take steps to send benefit claimants a simple printed summary of their benefit entitlements, indicating how much they would lose as a result of the benefit cap; and if he will make a statement. [109217]
Chris Grayling: There are no plans to write to claimants with information about the possible financial impact for the household as their circumstances could change before the cap is implemented in April 2013.
An online calculator will shortly be made available for claimants to use to assess the potential impact of the cap, based on their current circumstances. Claimants will need to have details of their benefit award available to use the calculator effectively.
Details of benefit award are notified to a claimant when their claim is made and/or there has been a change in circumstances or rates. Claimants can also contact the Benefit Delivery Centre to obtain full details should they require them.
Social Security Benefits: Disability
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of registered wheelchair users who (a) are currently entitled to higher rate disability living allowance and (b) will be eligible for the higher rate of personal independence payments from April 2013. [109423]
Maria Miller: This information is not available as we do not collect details of DLA recipients who may be registered wheelchair users.
Social Security Benefits: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the number of claimants in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who will be affected by the benefits cap. [109224]
Chris Grayling: The information is not available for Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.
On 23 January 2012 the Department published an updated impact assessment for the household benefit cap, which estimated that in Great Britain 67,000 households would be affected by the cap, in the first year of its implementation (the financial year 2013-14). This assumes that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases the Department is working to support households through-this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the work programme to move as many into work as possible.
24 May 2012 : Column 804W
It is important to note that the estimates were produced before the additional easements announced on 1 February which included the exemption of households who were in receipt of the support component of employment and support allowance and a nine-month grace period for claimants who were in work for 52 weeks or more before the start of their claim. This means that these figures are subject to change.
Trade Unions
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many trade union representatives in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental bodies have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years. [107366]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions and its non-departmental public bodies collates information centrally on disciplinary cases but these data do not separately record cases involving TU representatives. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many meetings have taken place between (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental bodies and trade union representatives utilising paid facility time in each of the last five years to discuss (i) collective bargaining, (ii) redundancies, (iii) negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and (iv) other trade union and industrial relations duties; and what the dates and times were of each meeting. [107367]
Chris Grayling: I am unable to provide a full answer to your question as this information is not held centrally by my Department or non-departmental bodies with the exception of the Independent Living Fund whose information is as follows:
Meetings to discuss collective bargaining:
22 February 2007 at 2.00 pm
10 May 2007 at 10.30 am
18 June 2007 at 10.00 am
13 September 2007 at 10.00 am
31 January 2008 at 10.00 am
1 May 2008 at 10.30 am
8 October 2008 at 10.30 am
22 January 2009 at 11.00 am
5 March 2009 at 10.30 am
1 October 2009 at 10.30 am
5 November 2009 at 10.00 am
3 December 2009 at 10.00 am
11 February 2010 at 2.00 pm
7 April 2011 at 2.00 pm
25 May 2010 at2.00 pm
20 July 2010 at 2.00 pm
21 September 2010 at 2.00 pm
9 November 2010 at 10.00 am
16 November 2010 at 2.00 pm
10 March 2011 at 2.00 pm
5 May 2011 at 2.00 pm
22 September 2011 at 2.00 pm
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20 October 2011 at 2.00 pm
23 November 2011 at 11.00 am
21 December 2011 at 10.30 am
15 March 2012 at 10.45 am
Meetings to discuss redundancies:
8 November 2010 at 10.00 am-12.10 pm
6 December 2010 at 2.30 pm-4.10 pm
7 January 2011 at 10.30 am-12.55 pm
1 February 2011 at 1.30 pm-3.20 pm
26 April 2011 at 1.00 pm-2.00 pm
Meetings to discuss negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions:
19 September 2009 at 10.00 am
11 February 2010 at 10.00am
23 February 2010 at 1.00 pm
25 February 2010 at 12.00 pm
9 November 2010 at 10.00 am
11 November 2010 at 2.00 pm
11 July 2011 at 11.00 am
26 July 2011 at 11.30 am
Meetings to discuss other trade union and industrial relations duties:
No records held.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions trade union representatives from (a) his Department and (b) each of the non-departmental public bodies have utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter in each of the last five years. [107368]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions and its non-departmental public bodies do not hold this information centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Universal Credit
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of claimants he expects to use the online system for claiming universal credit. [109369]
Chris Grayling: We expect the proportion of claimants who use the online system, to be in line with published Cabinet Office guidelines of 80% from 2017 onwards. Initial take-up is expected to be lower and build towards the target.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people claiming benefits and who may be eligible to claim universal credit who do not have access to the internet in their homes. [109370]
Chris Grayling: DWP is working to develop data on home internet access that includes all access channels; however we do not currently hold this information.
24 May 2012 : Column 806W
Visual Impairment
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many registered blind people are employed by his Department. [109422]
Chris Grayling: The Department does not hold information on how many of its employees are registered blind.
The Department can confirm that there are 61 employees registered as users of JAWS software (see note). All of these employees are either blind or have a significant visual impairment.
Out of those employees who have chosen to indicate their disability status to the Department, 6.5% have declared that they are disabled.
Note:
JAWS software—JAWS (Job Access With Speech), is a screen reader suitable for visually impaired people. JAWS reads the contents of the screen, either as speech output or via a refreshable Braille display it works with most standard software applications such as Windows based programs and can be customised via its own scripting language to provide a bespoke solution for individuals.
Work Capability Assessment
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to commence the gold standard review of the (a) new mental health descriptors and (b) new fluctuating conditions descriptors in the work capability assessment. [109216]
Chris Grayling: We have been working to develop proposals for the evidence-based review since the publication of Professor Harrington's second independent review of the WCA.
Departmental officials have been considering the best way to evaluate the proposed descriptors, and have been and continue to discuss these with the charities.
Our aim is to carry out the evidence-based review for both the mental, intellectual and cognitive descriptors and the fluctuating conditions descriptors which have been proposed by the charities at the same time.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Carbon Emissions
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's total level of carbon emissions was between (a) 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011 and (b) 2 April 2011 and 1 April 2012. [108565]
Mr Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) carbon emissions in the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011, from sources within the scope of the Greener Government Commitments (GGC), were 19,542 tCO2.
The FCO's carbon emissions in the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012, from sources within the scope of the GGC, were 17,039 tC02, a 13% decrease.
24 May 2012 : Column 807W
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department introduced to reduce its carbon emissions in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [108566]
Mr Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) implemented the following carbon reduction measures in:
Converted some Hanslope Park boilers to run off zero carbon non-food crop bio-fuel
Activated power-saving settings on desk tops
Reduced office heating temperature by two degrees Centigrade
Decommissioned two energy inefficient pre-fabricated buildings
Installed voltage regulation equipment at Hanslope Park and in the Old Admiralty Building
Replaced some official cars with hybrid electric cars
Purchased aerodynamic trailers for the lorry fleet
Conducted a staff energy awareness/switch off campaign
Installed voltage regulation equipment in King Charles Street Head Quarters
Converted most remaining Hanslope Park boilers to run off bio-fuel
Installed variable speed drives/inverters in our King Charles Street building
Insulated plant pipe-work in our King Charles Street building
Conducted a staff energy awareness/switch off campaign
Installed further voltage regulation equipment in King Charles Street
Installed further variable speed drives/invertors in King Charles Street
Installed more energy efficient lighting in King Charles Street and at Hanslope Park
Ethiopia
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has set any benchmarks to assess the Ethiopian Government's respect for human rights (a) in the Gambella region and (b) under its villagisation programme. [108397]
Mr Bellingham: The UK takes allegations of human rights abuses extremely seriously. The UK has led multi-agency missions, independent from the Ethiopian Government, to Gambella and the Somalia region, two of the four regions affected by the villagisation programme. The missions found no evidence of systematic or widespread human rights abuses. We have raised concerns with the Government of Ethiopia that resettlement has been poorly planned, and that destination sites often do not have facilities such as schools and health centres in place before people move. While we have not set any formal benchmarks, the UK will continue to monitor closely the situation in Gambella and other regions affected by the villagisation programme and will use a common methodology for these assessments. We will also maintain our ongoing dialogue with the Ethiopian Government over the implementation of the commune programme.
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Gibraltar: Spain
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on delays for cross border travel between Spain and Gibraltar in recent days; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for such delays. [109416]
Mr Lidington: We are concerned by the disruption to cross border travel between Spain and Gibraltar which is the result of detailed scrutiny by the Spanish authorities of vehicles leaving Gibraltar. We are aware that there have been delays of up to three hours for those crossing the border. We continue to receive daily updates from the Governor of Gibraltar's Office and are discussing the situation with the Spanish Government. It is in the interests of communities on both sides of the border that the border functions efficiently.
Israel
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to extend the UK's labelling guidelines to all produce from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. [108724]
Mr Paice: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The DEFRA labelling guidelines to which the hon. Member refers do already apply to all imports into the United Kingdom of fresh produce, food and drink originating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions has he had with Israeli authorities on the arrest and detention of Palestinian children. [109040]
Alistair Burt: We welcomed Israel's decision of 4 October 2011 to raise the age of legal majority for Palestinian children in the Israeli military justice system, a step we had advocated. I raised the implementation of this decision with the Israeli ambassador to London on 23 February.
We continue to call on the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law, including in their policies on detention and the treatment of Palestinian prisoners. We also continue to lobby the Israeli authorities for further improvements, including a reduction in the number of arrests that occur at night, an end to shackling and the introduction of audio-visual recording of interrogations.
We discuss Israel's policies on arrest and detention regularly, most recently in the past month with the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs, National Security Council, Israeli Prison Service and office of the Co-ordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will support the position of Defence for Children International on the detention of Palestinian children by Israel. [109041]
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Alistair Burt: The British Government support the valuable work done by Defence for Children International in highlighting the issues of detention of Palestinian children. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been pleased to provided funding for the work of Defence for Children International in the recent past.
We have also funded a report by leading UK and international lawyers on child detainees, including how far Israeli military law complies with international standards in respect of child detentions. Together with several stakeholders, Defence for Children International is co-operating in the production of the report, which is expected imminently.
Lost Property
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many items of equipment valued at £10,000 or more his Department lost in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [108928]
Mr Lidington: I refer the hon. Member to my response of 22 March 2012, Official Report, column 793W.
Departmental Staff
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many full-time equivalent employees his Department employed in May 2010; and how many it employed in the latest period for which figures are available; [108154]
(2) how many full-time equivalent employees have (a) left and (b) been recruited to his Department in the last two years. [108170]
Mr Bellingham: In May 2010 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) had around 5,000 UK based staff. Since then nearly 500 staff have joined the Department and over 900 have left, reducing overall strength to just under 4,600, a reduction of over 400. It is not possible to give more precise figures as the basis on which we report staff numbers has changed since 2010.
Since 2010 the FCO has complied with the civil service recruitment freeze, among other things, sourcing staff from other Government Departments.
Ministerial Meetings
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what dates (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) senior officials in his Department have met representatives of (i) the Institute for Public Policy Research, (ii) the Taxpayers' Alliance, (iii) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (iv) ResPublica, (v) the Centre for Social Justice and (vi) Policy Exchange; and if he will publish the minutes and agendas of these meetings. [108970]
Mr Lidington: As part of HM Government's commitment to transparency, each Government Department publishes on a quarterly basis information on hospitality, gifts, meeting and overseas travel for Ministers', Special Advisers' and the Permanent Under-Secretary. Information for Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) meetings can be found at:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/transparency-and-data1/hospitality/
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Records of all meetings attended by the FCO's senior officials both in the UK and in our network of diplomatic posts overseas are not held centrally and cannot be searched without incurring disproportionate cost.
Redundancy
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his Department's employees have been made redundant in the last two years. [108068]
Mr Bellingham: In the last two years one employee has been made redundant. A total of 221 staff have left the Foreign and Commonwealth Office under various voluntary exit schemes launched within the last two financial years.
Education
Academies: Primary Education
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what school performance criteria over how many years are taken into account when deciding whether an official in his Department initiates contact with a primary school to discuss possible conversion to academy status; [108802]
(2) in how many cases his Department has (a) initiated contact with primary schools regarding possible conversion to academy status and (b) recommended a solution other than academy status following such an approach. [108803]
Mr Gibb: The Department analyses a range of performance information, including national curriculum test results from at least the last five years and Ofsted inspection reports, to identify primary schools that are underperforming. Discussions with local authorities provide further local intelligence about the performance and capacity of primary schools in the area.
Departmental officials have initiated conversations with primary schools that have been identified in this way. In most cases, contact is made via the local authority and they remain involved in conversations to agree the most appropriate route to academy status to secure improvement at the school.
When an academy solution is agreed for a primary school, the name of the school will be added to the Department's published list of sponsored academies in development. This is available on the Department's website at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/academies/b00208569/open-academies/sponsored-academies
Children's Commissioner for England
Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Office of the Children's Commissioner's objective to promote awareness of the views and interests of children in England; [109132]
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(2) on what basis John Dunford was selected to conduct a review of the work of the Office of the Children's Commissioner; [109133]
(3) how much John Dunford was paid to conduct a review of the work of the Office of the Children's Commissioner; [109134]
(4) whether Ministers in his Department have had any recent meetings with the Office of the Children's Commissioner; [109139]
(5) what the total cost was of John Dunford's review of the work of the Office of the Children's Commissioner. [109267]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 23 May 2012]: John Dunford was chosen to lead the independent review of the Children's Commissioner due to his extensive leadership experience within education and children's services (including 12 years as General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders). At the same time, his limited association with the children's rights sector meant he was able to approach the task without any preconceptions about its outcome. He was paid just under £26,000 to complete the review, including expenses. The total cost of the review was just over £38,000.
In his report, John Dunford recognised that the Children's Commissioner had had a significant impact on the lives of some children and young people, but that overall the impact had been disappointing. He attributed this in part to the limitations of the existing legislation. That is why the Government has set out its intention to legislate to reform the Office of the Children's Commissioner, along the lines that John Dunford recommended.
The Children's Commissioner met the Secretary of State for Education for an ad hoc meeting in November 2011. In addition, I meet the Children's Commissioner approximately every six months for a general stock take. The Commissioner meets other Ministers from DFE (and across Government) in connection with specific investigations and inquiries that the Commissioner is undertaking. For example, in the last six months, she has met: the Minister for Schools, the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Mr Gibb), to discuss the Commissioner's inquiry into school exclusions; and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton), to discuss the inquiry into child sexual exploitation by groups and gangs.
First Aid: Curriculum
Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the merits of making the teaching of emergency life support skills a formal part of the national curriculum. [107006]
Mr Gibb: The non-statutory programmes of study for Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education currently include provision for the teaching of emergency life support skills.
As part of the current PSHE education review we are considering whether any non-statutory elements of the subject should become a statutory requirement within the basic curriculum, as sex education is now. We intend to publish the review outcomes later this year.
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We do not however believe that emergency life support skills should be formally prescribed in the national curriculum.
The national curriculum should only specify the core content of key subjects, leaving teachers greater flexibility to use their professional judgment to decide the wider school curricula that best meet the needs of their pupils.
Literacy
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve the accuracy of the grammar, punctuation and spelling of schoolchildren. [107029]
Mr Gibb: The Government are taking a number of steps to improve the accuracy of grammar, punctuation and spelling. Mastering these basic skills is a vital part of all pupils' education.
A new Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test at Key Stage 2 will be introduced in 2013. The new test will place an increased focus on this area and encourage good teaching. We are also recognising the importance of grammar, punctuation and spelling across subjects by reintroducing specific marks in GCSEs with a significant proportion of written assessment.
In addition, strengthening the approach to these essential skills will be a priority within the new National Curriculum, which we expect to consult on before the summer.