Employment
Hugh Bayley:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many full-time equivalent civil service posts there were (a) on the latest date for which figures are available (b) in 2010, (c) in 1997 and (d) in 1992 in (i) the area currently covered by the City of York plus the
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DEFRA central science laboratory at Sand Hutton and (ii) the area currently covered by York Central constituency. [111416]
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 June 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many full-time equivalent civil servant posts there were (a) at the latest date for which figures are available (b) 2010, (c) in 1997 and (d) in 1992 in (i) the area currently covered by the City of York plus the DEFRA central science laboratory at Sand Hutton (ii) the area currently covered by York Central constituency (111416).
The Annual Civil Service Employment Survey has been carried out by ONS since 2006. Prior to this the survey was called the Mandate Collection and was carried out by Cabinet Office. Therefore the data provided is for the latest year available, 2011, and 2010.
The data are provided for York plus the DEFRA agency at Sand Hutton and are shown at Annex A. These data are not available by parliamentary constituency.
The survey reference points for the data are 31 March for both 2010 and 2011.
The data for York plus Sand Hutton are shown at Annex A.
| Civil service employment in York plus DEFRA agency at Sand Hutton(1) | ||
| Permanent employees (full-time equivalent) | ||
| 2010(2) | 2011(2) | |
| (1) The Annual Civil Service Employment Survey uses post code to derive location and assign to a NUTS3 region. The figures provided are for the NUTS region York plus the former Central Science Laboratory (CSL), now Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). (2) Survey reference date 31 March. Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10, and numbers less than five are represented by ‘—’. Source: Annual Civil Service Employment Survey | ||
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 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 and (ii) Birmingham, Hall Green constituency in each month since May 2010. [111445]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls 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 equivalent to 24 working hours or fewer each week have been created in (i) the UK and (ii) Birmingham, Hall Green constituency in each month since May 2010. (111445)
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.
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Government Departments: Procurement
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he has taken to improve the process of Government procurement. [109409]
Mr Maude [holding answer 24 May 2012]: The programme of procurement reform we have initiated is unprecedented and has already yielded billions of pounds in savings for the taxpayer, including through tighter controls.
A reformed Government Procurement Service is leading the way in letting cross Government deals which standardise requirements and leverage Government's buying power to full effect.
We have introduced a new LEAN sourcing process for central Government which aims to reduce procurement time scales by at least 40%. I have mandated that all Departments, should procure all but the most complex goods and services within 120 days using more open competitions so that new and different types of suppliers and business models can flourish. We have also removed various obstacles in the process itself such as unnecessary or over burdensome pre-qualification questionnaires.
Details of all our procurement reform can be found on the Cabinet Office website at:
http://procurement.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
Health Insurance
Gordon Henderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff working in his Department are entitled to private health care as part of their remuneration package. [111113]
Mr Maude: The Civil Service Management Code precludes the provision of private health care from reward packages for staff.
Leonard Cheshire Disability
Gordon Banks: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when (a) he and (b) Ministers from his Department last met representatives from Leonard Cheshire Disability. [111636]
Mr Maude: As part of my Department's transparency programme, details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on the Cabinet Office website at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-meetings-external-organisations-october-december-2011
Office for Civil Society
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answer of 17 October 2011, Official Report, column 725W, on the Office for Civil Society: manpower, how many staff were working for the Office for Civil Society in May (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and if he will make a statement. [109472]
Mr Hurd: On 30 April 2010, there were 54 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff working on civil society projects in the Office of the Third Sector.
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The Office for Civil Society (OCS) was created in June 2010 as part of the Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG).
In May 2011, OCS had an agreed headcount of 92 FTE. In May 2012, OCS has an agreed headcount of 88 FTE.
Third Sector
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many meetings his Department has had with the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss the role of charitable and voluntary organisations in the delivery of the Work Programme since June 2011. [110739]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office is in frequent discussion with the Department for Work and Pensions at ministerial and official level.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what indicators his Department is using to measure the success of the Big Society programme; and if he will make a statement. [111711]
Mr Hurd: Departmental Business Plans set out clear priorities across Government. Within the Cabinet Office, this includes what we are putting in place to support the growth of big society, reporting progress on initiatives such as Community Organisers, Community First, National Citizen Service, and Big Society Capital at:
http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/business-plan/1/79
We continue to report publicly on progress against these priorities.
In addition we have carried out an evaluation of a key big society programme, the National Citizen Service, to determine its effectiveness in creating a more engaged, cohesive and responsible society. The results have been published and are available at:
www.natcen.ac.uk/study/national-citizen-service-evaluation
Voluntary Organisations
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate his Department has made of the economic value of training in voluntary youth organisations in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) nationally in the latest period for which figures are available. [111573]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office has made no such estimate.
However we understand that voluntary organisations provide an excellent level of training to both their staff and volunteers. The opportunity for young people to engage in volunteering is particularly valuable during this current economic climate as it allows young people to boost the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to find permanent paid employment. The Cabinet Office recognises these benefits and in 2011 launched the National Citizenship Service to encourage young people to volunteer in their communities.
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Voluntary Work
Dr Phillip Lee: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to reduce the administrative burdens of volunteering. [110009]
Mr Hurd: One of the priorities of the coalition is making it easier to volunteer.
We are working to implement the recommendations made by the Civil Society Red Tape Task Force in its May 2011 report "Unshackling Good Neighbours" as a recently published "One Year On" report shows.
The Cabinet Office has also launched the Red Tape Challenge Civil Society theme to identify remaining burdens. The Red Tape Challenge can be accessed at
www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/home/index/
Voluntary Work: Young People
Mr Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has considered expanding the National Citizen Service to include year 10 students. [110613]
Mr Hurd: The vision for National Citizen Service is that it is a 'rite of passage' for young people, to mark the transition to adulthood.
There are currently no plans to offer the programme to year 10.
Working Hours
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what average number of hours was worked per week by people employed in (a) the UK and (b) Birmingham, Hall Green constituency in May (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012. [110937]
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 June 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the average number of hours worked per week by people employed in (a) the UK and (b) Birmingham, Hall Green constituency was in May (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012. (110937)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics on Average Hours Worked for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Estimates for the UK have been provided from this source for consistency. However, these UK estimates will differ from those in the National Labour Market Statistics Bulletin which are produced from the Labour Force Survey.
The table gives the mean actual number of hours worked per worker per week for the geographies requested for the 12 month APS periods ending September 2010 and September 2011, the latest period for which figures are available. Data for 2012 are currently not available.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
| Mean hours worked per worker per week in the United Kingdom and Birmingham Hall Green constituency | ||
| 12 months ending | ||
| September 2010 | September 2011 | |
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Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) men and (b) women from each ethnic group in each age group (i) started and (ii) completed an apprenticeship, by duration of apprenticeship, in each of the last six years. [111031]
Mr Hayes [holding answer 13 June 2012]: I am placing in the Libraries of the House data that show apprenticeship starts and achievements by gender, ethnicity and age between 2005/06 and 2010/11, the latest full year for which final data are available.
I have also made data available that show apprenticeship achievements by duration between 2009/10 and 2010/11. These are the latest years for which data on both unadjusted and adjusted measures of length of stay are available.
Care should be taken when interpreting and comparing the length of apprenticeships across years as it does not account for the change in the mix of apprenticeship levels and frameworks. For example, if a greater proportion of apprenticeship achievements were by frameworks of a typically shorter length, this would bring down the overall length despite no change in the length of a particular framework. Therefore a better comparison is at Sector Subject Area, which addresses some of these issues. I have also placed data in the Libraries of the House that show the average length of stay of apprenticeship achievements by Sector Subject Area and level.
Prior attainment can affect the length of time it takes to complete an apprenticeship because it may take less time to acquire a particular skill. There are, therefore, two measures of duration. The adjusted measure is intended to exclude those apprentices with some prior attainment, as they are unlikely to be fully funded. It does not account for breaks in courses or transfers onto other courses, which could also affect the length of time taken to complete an apprenticeship. We hold more confidence that the adjusted measure is a more accurate reflection of the average apprenticeship length.
Additionally, the average length of an apprenticeship programme does not necessarily reflect the guided learning hours or the actual length of time in learning. For these reasons the average length should be seen as contributory information to any broader assessment of the apprenticeship experience and quality.
Although diversity issues are wider than apprenticeships, apprenticeships are an important route into many sectors and the Government are keen that apprentices reflect the diversity of the population.
The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) recently undertook a series of diversity pilots that looked at encouraging diversity within apprenticeships. Pilots have finished and a final report is due to be published later this month.
Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have has also met with the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, the TUC and NAS to
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ensure that people from all ethnic backgrounds are able to access apprenticeships and are supported throughout the apprenticeship.
Information on the number of apprenticeship starts and achievements is published in a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 29 March 2012:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statistical firstrelease/sfr_current
Breakdowns by gender, age, ethnicity and length of stay are published in Supplementary Tables at the following links:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirst release/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary _tables/
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_other_statistics/
Apprentices: Medicine
Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support is available through the National Apprenticeship Service for people wishing to work in clinical research. [111021]
Mr Hayes: A number of apprenticeship frameworks cover aspects of clinical research; namely Laboratory and Science Technicians (Intermediate and Advanced levels) issued by SEMTA (Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies) and Life Science (Higher) issued by Cogent. The National Apprenticeship Service provides funding towards the costs of delivering these frameworks, as well as working with the sector, employers and potential apprentices to promote their take up.
Apprentices: West Midlands
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprentice starts there were by 16 to 18 year-olds in (a) Birmingham, Hall Green constituency and (b) the West Midlands in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012. [111408]
Mr Hayes: Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship programme starts aged under 19 in (a) Birmingham, Hall Green parliamentary constituency, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England for academic years 2009/10 to 2010/11, the latest full years for which final data are available.
| Table 1: Apprenticeship Programme Starts by learners aged under 19 by geography, 2009/10 to 2010/11 | ||
| Full Year | ||
| 2009/10 | 2010/11 | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 except for the England totals which are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Age is based on age at the start of the programme. The figures include a small number of under 16-year-olds. 3. Geography is based upon the home postcode of the learner. The England totals include some postcodes which are not known. Geographic information is based on boundaries of regions as of May 2010. Source: Individualised Learner Record | ||
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Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR and supplementary tables were published on 29 March 2012:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/
Arms Trade
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the priority markets will be for the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation in 2012-13. [111508]
Mr Prisk: The UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation 2012-13 list of priority markets is:
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Europe/NATO/EU (as a collective market)
India
Indonesia
Japan
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Libya
Malaysia
Qatar
Oman
South Korea
Thailand
Turkey
UAE
USA
Atos
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when each contract between his Department and Atos was most recently (a) agreed, (b) renewed and (c) extended. [111185]
Norman Lamb: Central records indicate that no payments have been made to Atos in the current financial year. Accordingly the Department has no existing contracts with Atos.
Business: Finance
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the barriers to young innovative firms obtaining equity finance. [110983]
Mr Prisk:
The Department regularly assesses the barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) raising equity finance by monitoring investment statistics and research produced by external organisations such as the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, European Venture Capital Association and National Endowment for Science, Technology and the
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Arts. We recognise that access to finance is critical for businesses to survive and grow and that small and medium-sized companies face particular challenges.
In 2009, the Department published research undertaken by SQW Consulting which explored the existence and size of the equity gap affecting SMEs (‘The Supply of Equity Finance to SMEs: Revisiting the Equity Gap’). This research found the equity gap stretched for funding amounts of £250,000 to at least £2 million (with some putting the ceiling at £5 million) for the majority of SMEs seeking equity finance. However, in the case of sectors requiring complex research and development or large capital expenditure, the gap may extend up to £15 million.
The Department has also undertaken a number of public consultations, including ‘Financing a private sector recovery’, which asks about conditions affecting SMEs raising equity finance.
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many Enterprise Capital Funds had been set up by May 2012. [110984]
Mr Prisk: By May 2012, 11 Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF) had been set up. Since the ECF programme was launched in 2006, over £130 million has been invested in more than 120 small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs).
A new £40 million ECF was announced in April to invest in UK cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service companies. Government will commit up to £25 million, with the remainder coming from the private sector.
The Government has committed a further £200 million to ECFs over this spending review period to April 2015, providing more than £300 million of venture capital investment for early stage innovative SMEs with the highest growth potential.
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to raise awareness of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee to (a) small and medium-sized enterprises and (b) others. [110990]
Mr Prisk: The Government has actively promoted the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme (EFG) as part of the ‘Business in You’ campaign launched by the Prime Minister in January 2012. We are working alongside the private sector, local enterprise partnerships, and business support organisations to raise awareness of the range of Government support available to small and medium-size enterprises.
Information about EFG is easily accessible on the BIS website and on the websites of the major high street banks, who are committed to support EFG as part of the Business Finance Taskforce commitments.
Commercial Agents: EU Law
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what legislative protection is currently in place to ensure the payment of commercial agents by firms. [106976]
Norman Lamb:
Part III of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/3053) deals with the remuneration of the commercial agent. It
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makes provision for the date on which commission becomes due. The parties cannot contract out of these provisions. Therefore, if the principal fails to make the due payment, the commercial agent may be able to bring a claim against the principal. These regulations have their origin in EU legislation, namely the EU Council Directive 86/653/EEC on the co-ordination of the laws of the member states relating to self-employed commercial agents. These regulations have been amended twice since then (in 1993—S.I. 1993/3173 and in 1998—S.I. 1998/2868).
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has had discussions with the European Commission on the provisions in EU Council Directive 86/653/EEC relating to pay, when paid clauses in commercial contracts. [106977]
Norman Lamb: This Department has had no such discussions with the European Commission, and has no plans to do so.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations his Department has received on possible changes to EU Council Directive 86/653/EEC to the EU Directive 3053 to ban the use of pay, when paid clauses. [106978]
Norman Lamb: This Department has received no such representations.
Complaints
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 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. [108940]
Norman Lamb: Formal complaints against the Department are published in the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's Annual Report.
Information regarding the Department's non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service, Companies House, the National Measurement Office, the Intellectual Property Office, UK Space Agency, Ordnance Survey, Met Office, Land Registry and the Skills Funding Agency and they will respond to the hon. Member directly.
Letter from Geoff Russell, dated 13 June 2012:
Thank you for your question asking the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints about the work of his Department and each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies were received in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Please be advised of the following figures in respect to complaints received by the Skills Funding Agency:
1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 a total of 45 complaints about the SFA
1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 a total of 28 complaints about the SFA.
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Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 22 May 2012:
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question asking 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.
Complaints made to The Insolvency Service about its work were 269 in 2010/11 and 330 in 2011/12.
Letter from David Williams, dated 22 May 2012:
Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills asking 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. 108940
The UK Space Agency became an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on 1 April 2011 and no complaints have been received regarding the work of his Agency during the financial year 2011/12.
Letter from Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB, dated 18 May 2012:
As Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, I have been asked to contact you in response to your parliamentary question asking the Secretary of State of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 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.
The total number of complaints received by Ordnance Survey in this time period was:
(a) 2010-11: 594 complaints
(b) 2011-12: 789 complaints
These figures are published in our Annual Reports.
These figures reflect correspondence of many types, including cases which raise issues about the currency and depiction of specific map features of interest to particular individuals, and those which reflect misunderstandings about the nature and scope of Ordnance Survey mapping, as well as complaints about the performance of Ordnance Survey.
Letter from Tim Moss, dated 18 May 2012:
I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 17 May 2012, UIN 108940 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
In 2010/11 Companies House received 24,971 complaints about its work, 11,995 of which were found to be justified after investigation. In 2011/12 the number of complaints was 18,025. 5,700 of these were found to be justified after investigation.
A very substantial number of complaints in 2010/11 were received following the implementation of the new Companies Act. These reduced in 2011/12 as customers became familiar with the Act and Companies House made upgrades to its guidance and services.
Letter from Peter Mason, dated 23 May 2012:
I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (NMO) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 17 May 2012, asking the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills about the number of complaints about the work of his Department and its agencies.
NMO received one complaint about its work during 2010-11 which fell to be considered under our formal procedures; this complaint was subsequently resolved.
No complaints under the NMO's formal procedures were received in 2011-12.
Letter from John Alty, dated 24 May 2012:
I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 17th May 2012, to the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
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The number of complaints received by the IPO are as follows:
a) Total for 2010-11 (Apr-Mar) = 118
(55 Formal, 63 informal)
b) Total for 2011-12 (Apr-Mar) = 88
(42 Formal, 46 informal)
Letter from John Hirst, dated 22 May 2012:
I am replying on behalf of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 17 May 2012, UIN 108940 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Met Office encourages and records a considerable amount of feedback from the public ranging from helpful comments about how we could improve our services to genuine complaints. We also monitor feedback of various kinds through the press and other media, such as followers on twitter, including some on forecasts not actually made
by the Met Office.
All feedback is evaluated and where possible responded to. It is difficult to be precise about the number of genuine complaints made, without going back and analysing all feedback received. However, in 2010-11 and 2011-12 we recorded a total of 2,882 and 3,550 items of feedback respectively.
I hope this helps.
Letter from Annette Davies-Govett, dated 21 May 2012:
I write on behalf of Land Registry in response to your Parliamentary Question 108940 tabled on 17 May 2012 which asked the following:
To ask the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 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.
The information regarding the number of complaints received by Land Registry during the specified periods is set out below. For comparative purposes the total number of applications received during each period has also been included. As you can see, the
number of complaints received represents significantly less than 1% of applications received overall.
| Year | Complaints received | Volume of applications (million) |
I hope that you find this information useful.
Conditions of Employment
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department had with Adrian Beecroft as part of his review into employment law. [110732]
Norman Lamb: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has not met Adrian Beecroft.
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), met Adrian Beecroft on 20 July 2011 in his role as the then Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs in advance of writing to him on 29 July 2011 to commission the report. My right hon. Friend also attended another meeting with Mr Beecroft on 11 October 2011.
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Exports: Bahrain
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who the end-user is of the goods licensed for export in the fourth quarter of 2011 to Bahrain and described as equipment employing cryptography and cryptographic software. [111345]
Mr Prisk: All export licence applications for strategic goods are assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Export Control Organisation within this Department against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. A licence will not be issued where to do so would contravene the criteria.
The publicly available information on licensing decisions published in the annual and quarterly reports on strategic export controls, available to view at
https://www.exportcontroldb.bis.gov.uk/eng/fox
does not include information on specific end-users. This is because in principle the disclosure of such information would threaten to contravene expectations of confidentiality and the protection of commercial interests in the licensing process. With that in mind, I am however prepared to inform you in this case that the stated end-users were a commercial airline and a provider of public mobile telephony services.
Departmental Staff
Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people employed by his Department are based in London. [111339]
Norman Lamb: The following table shows how many people employed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) are based in London. Figures include all staff on BIS payroll as at 30 May 2012.
| Number | |
Manufacturing Industries: Training
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to improve manufacturing skills in London through (a) apprenticeships and (b) higher education courses. [111525]
Mr Hayes: Manufacturing skills are high on this Department's agenda. On apprenticeships, final data for the 2010/11 academic year show that there were 2,330 apprenticeship starts in London in the engineering and manufacturing technologies sector subject area, up by 45.1% on 2009/10. The National Apprenticeship Service is working with employers to further promote and prioritise expansion in this sector, and in London overall.
On higher education courses, universities are autonomous bodies and make their own decisions about the courses they provide to meet the changing needs of their students. We do not hold specific data on manufacturing skills in London. We have asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England to continue to prioritise strategically
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important subjects such as engineering and manufacturing and vulnerable subjects (SIVS) when allocating the teaching grant.
New Businesses
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how his Department (a) monitors and (b) regulates the support from (A) the Business Enterprise Fund and (B) other publicly-funded organisations for start-up businesses in England. [110797]
Mr Prisk: The information is as follows:
(a) The Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) is: (a) monitored in its use of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee through oversight by Capital for Enterprise Ltd (CfEL) (which includes audit and enhanced audit); (b) regulated by the Companies Act as a company limited by guarantee (as Bradford Enterprise Agency Ltd). BEF is also signed up to the Community Development Finance Association (CDFA) Code of Practice a voluntary code used by the Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) sector.
(b) Other CDFIs are: (a) monitored by CfEL in relation to their use of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee or any funding agreements which were previously held with a Regional Development Agency (b) regulated by the legislation which is relevant to their structure. The vast majority are signed up to the CDFA Code of Practice. The Government's new Start Up loans scheme will also be monitored by CfEL.
Overseas Trade: Gabon
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to post UK Trade and Industry staff to Libreville in Gabon; and what proposals he has to support companies and organisations that wish to do business in Gabon. [110893]
Mr Prisk: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has no plans to post staff in Gabon. We have recently reviewed UKTI's presence across the globe in order to ensure we have the appropriate coverage within existing resources. In that review we concluded not to extend services in Gabon. UK Trade and Investment has staff in 96 markets which account for 98% of world GDP. Gabon is covered by the British high commission in Cameroon. Political support from the Head of Mission in Yaoundé in respect of lobbying for a particular contract or business with interests in Gabon is available. UKTI also provides very basic information on Gabon and other markets in which we do not have personnel via the relevant country pages of the UKTI website. Support for UK-based companies interested in Gabon is also available from private sector business multipliers.
Retail Trade
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to help support the retail sector. [111489]
Mr Prisk:
The Government are actively working to help all retailers. Retail is vitally important to local and national economies. This was why it was chosen to be one of the first sectors to be the subject of a growth review, and was the first theme chosen for the Red Tape
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Challenge. These initiatives identified a number of barriers to successful retail performance and growth, which the Government is addressing.
As a result the Government have committed to extending small business rate relief and announced that 160 regulations impacting on retailers or their customers will be scrapped or simplified. We are also conducting a review of employment law.
In March, the Government's formal response to the recommendations made by Mary Portas in her report, “An Independent Review into the Future of our High Streets”, was published by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Following a competition launched by the Minister for Housing and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), 12 towns across the country have now been selected as 'Portas Pilots', benefiting from a share of £1 million to help turn around their high streets and road-test the collaborative, local ‘Town Team’ approach recommended by Mary Portas.
Students: Loans
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effects on education provision for people aged 16 to 24 of the introduction of 24+ Advanced Learning Loans. [111792]
Mr Hayes: The introduction of 24+ Advanced Learning Loans will not affect the funding available for Further Education for those aged under 24, or for adults of any age accessing provision at Level 2 or below. Government grant funding for Further Education is being focused on young people, those with low skills and those seeking work.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effects on the public finances of the introduction of 24+ Advanced Learning Loans in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15. [111795]
Mr Hayes: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will publish a Regulatory Impact Assessment of 24+ Advanced Learning Loans following clearance by the Regulatory Reform Cabinet Committee. This will include an assessment of the costs and benefits of introducing loans.
British Summertime
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress he has made in conducting his proposed study to review the scope, quality and robustness of the available evidence on changing the clocks by one hour. [111504]
Norman Lamb: David Simmonds Consultancy has carried out their initial research on this study and are now seeking information from relevant Government Departments and interested parties. All information will be collated in a report which is expected to be with the Department in July 2012.
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Communities and Local Government
Conferences
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by (a) his Department and (b) the Homes and Communities Agency on accreditation for conferences in 2011. [110389]
Robert Neill: Neither the Department for Communities and Local Government nor the Homes and Communities Agency routinely identify accreditation costs, for either attending external conferences or in running any ourselves.
Debts Written Off
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much bad debt was written off by his Department in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [110221]
Robert Neill: The amount written off by the Department for 2010-11 is contained within the published annual report and accounts.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/about/howwework/corporatereports/reportsaccounts/annualreports/#
The Department's 2011-12 accounts have yet to be finalised and will be published in due course.
The vast majority of the Department's programme bad debt write-offs relate to the European regional development fund 2000-06 scheme that the Government has inherited from the last Administration.
Disclosure of Information
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on the updating of published data in line with the Government's transparency agenda in each month since September 2011. [110713]
Robert Neill: The Department has not spent any money on external goods and services in relation to publishing information online since September 2011.
Online publication, together with strengthened financial controls, has helped save taxpayers' money, as illustrated by the three-quarters reduction in Government Procurement Card expenditure since we published every item of spending online.
Empty Property
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) empty homes and (b) homes which had been empty for more than six months there were in each region in each of the last five years. [110410]
Andrew Stunell: Data on empty homes can be found in the Department for Communities and Local Government live tables on dwelling stock. Live table 615 shows empty homes by Government region for all vacant and long-term vacant homes:
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http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/stockincludingvacants/livetables/
The number of long term empty homes is down by just over 21,500 since 2010, the biggest year on year decrease since 2004.
First-time Buyers
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many first-time buyers have (a) registered an interest in, (b) applied for and (c) bought on the Government's FirstBuy scheme. [110402]
Grant Shapps: The Homes and Communities Agency, via its network of local HomeBuy agents, responds to around 11,000 inquiries a month regarding FirstBuy and shared ownership. Over 8,000 applications have been received for the FirstBuy scheme with over 6,000 reservations being placed by eligible applicants.
The FirstBuy prospectus was published by the Homes and Communities Agency in April 2011 and allocations were announced in June following the bidding competition. The contracts were signed over the summer, with the first homes being available for sale from September 2011.
Official statistics published by the Homes and Communities Agency on 12 June show that there were 2,994 sales to the end of March 2012, illustrating how the scheme is on course and on target.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many lenders are participating in the Government's FirstBuy scheme. [110403]
Grant Shapps: There are currently 21 lenders offering mortgages on FirstBuy, ensuring coverage of 69% of the mortgage market. The Homes and Communities Agency are also in discussions with a number of small lenders about participating.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many loans from the Government's FirstBuy scheme have been repaid on resale of the property with the Government's share being reinvested in more affordable housing. [110404]
Grant Shapps: The FirstBuy scheme will help around 10,500 first time buyers by March 2013. House builders have reported over 6,000 reservations since the scheme opened in September 2011.
There have been no FirstBuy equity loan redemptions since the scheme opened in September 2011 but we would not expect there to be at this stage. Under the terms of the scheme the Government will benefit from any equity uplift in the value of the property and any receipts will be reinvested to deliver more affordable homes.
As a comparison, there have only been 157 redemptions (105 as a result of full sales and 52 as a result of either partial or full “staircasing”) under the previous Administration's HomeBuy Direct scheme which was launched in September 2008.
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Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households in each parliamentary constituency have participated in the FirstBuy scheme to date. [110419]
Grant Shapps: The FirstBuy equity loan scheme will help an estimated 10,500 aspiring home owners in England by March 2013.
The FirstBuy prospectus was published by the Homes and Communities Agency in April 2011 and allocations were announced in June following the bidding competition. The contracts were signed over the summer, with the first homes being available for sale from September 2011.
Official statistics published by the Homes and Communities Agency on 12 June show that there were 2,994 sales to the end of March 2012, illustrating how the scheme is on course and on target.
Housebuilders have found significant interest from first time buyers, reporting so far over 8,000 applications, and over 6,000 reservations by eligible applicants.
We do not hold data on sales at constituency level.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the average age of an unassisted first-time buyer in England. [110423]
Grant Shapps: There are a number of different measures by different commentators. The Council of Mortgage Lenders' most recent estimate of the average age of unassisted first time buyers can be found through this link:
http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/publications/newsandviews/104/390
We recognise the particular challenges faced by first time buyers and are providing a range of options intended to help them and others into home ownership. These include:
the NewBuy Guarantee Scheme, which provides prospective buyers with access to higher loan to value mortgages on new build properties;
FirstBuy, that helps first time buyers who are struggling to get onto the property ladder due to the need for larger deposits; and
Extending the Right to Buy discount to give more tenants the chance to own their home.
Through our measures many more first time buyers are able to buy their own home, with mortgage interest payments for new borrowers at their lowest levels for 14 years. And mortgages for first time buyers are much more affordable, with first time buyers spending just 12.5% on mortgages compared to 19.6% spent in 2008.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on promotional material for the Government's NewBuy Guarantee scheme. [110433]
Grant Shapps: The Department for Communities and Local Government, and Government as a whole, has spent nothing on promotional material supporting the industry-led NewBuy Guarantee scheme. NewBuy is being promoted by house builders and mortgage lenders.
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Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has made an estimate of the average deposit required of a first-time buyer. [110441]
Grant Shapps: The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that the average first time buyer deposit is over £26,000, based on the median advance and the median percentage advance for homes purchased by first time buyers in 2011.
We recognise the particular challenges faced by first time buyers and are providing a range of options intended to help them and others into home ownership. These include:
the NewBuy Guarantee scheme, which provides prospective buyers with access to higher loan to value mortgages on new build properties;
FirstBuy, that helps first time buyers who are struggling to get onto the property ladder due to the need for larger deposits and,
Extending the Right to Buy discounts to give more tenants the chance to own their home.
Through our measures many more first time buyers are able to buy their own home, with mortgage interest payments for new borrowers at their lowest levels for 14 years. And mortgages for first time buyers are much more affordable, with first time buyers spending just 12.5% on mortgages compared to 19.6% spent in 2008.
Homelessness
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to introduce a national telephone helpline for No Second Night Out nationwide. [110429]
Grant Shapps: On 15 December 2011 I announced my intention to ensure that a national No Second Night Out telephone line would be in place by Christmas 2012.
The reporting line will be, for the first time, a single national line covering England with an objective of improving systems for dealing with rough sleeping. It will contribute to tackling rough sleeping and single homelessness through identification, accountability and challenge to local authorities and their partners in addressing rough sleeping. Members of the public will be equipped to bring rough sleepers to the attention of an appropriate authority, to be empowered to understand the local response mechanisms and to receive timely feedback on action taken and the outcome of their report.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the ministerial working group on homelessness has discussed the rise in homelessness and rough sleeping since May 2010. [110461]
Grant Shapps: Homelessness is half the average rate that it was under the previous administration and remains lower than in 28 of the last 30 years.
The coalition Government are committed to tackling homelessness. We are investing £400 million in homelessness prevention over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15). On top of that we provided an additional £70 million last year to help local agencies prevent and tackle homelessness.
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The aim of the working group is to prevent and tackle homelessness and improve the lives of those who do become homeless. By bringing the relevant Government Departments together, we are addressing the multi-faceted issues that contribute to homelessness.
Housing
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what capital projects the Homes and Communities Agency will have in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15; and what he proposes the budget for each will be in each such year. [110381]
Grant Shapps: Ministers set the overall strategic vision for the Homes and Communities Agency and its role and activities, and its operating and financial framework, and agree its overall budgets and delivery programmes at a high level through approving its corporate plan each year. Translating high level delivery programmes into individual capital projects, and determining the annual budget for each individual project, is largely an operational issue for the Homes and Communities Agency.
The agency has published extensive information on its planned capital allocations for 2012-13 to 2014-15, across most of its programmes, on its public website. These are
planned allocations which can be subject to change.
Information for the following programmes may be found at the following web addresses. In most cases the information is displayed by area and reflects differing periods over the spending review period rather than being on the basis of on an annual profile. Where annual profiles are provided future years (2013-14, and 2014-15) are indicative and maybe subject to change.
Affordable Homes Programme allocations published:
http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/affordable-homes
Planned allocations for 2012-15 made during 2008-11 under the former National Affordable Housing Programme were published at the time.
Homelessness Change Programme allocations published:
http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/sites/default/files/our-work/homelessness-change-programme-allocations-191011.csv
http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/sites/default/files/homelessness_change_additional_allocations_to_2015.csv
Traveller Pitch Funding allocations published:
http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/sites/default/files/our-work/tpf_allocations_january2012.csv
Empty Homes allocations published:
http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/sites/default/files/our-work/eh-2012-15-providers.csv
Clusters of empty homes was announced on 29 May, a breakdown is available on the at the following website:
http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/clusters-of-empty-homes
FirstBuy and Mortgage Rescue are not organised on a capital projects basis. Further these are demand led programmes and therefore allocations are not provided in advance of applications by individuals.
The assessment process for Get Britain Building continues, but shortlisted and reserve schemes have
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been announced and final decisions are expected shortly. Details of the short/reserved lists, as at the end of May, can be found on the following website:
http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/get-britain-building
Details of Decent Homes and Large Scale Voluntary Transfer gap funding can be found at the following link:
http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/existing-stock
For the Homes and Communities Agency land-based delivery programme, for the Property and Regeneration sub-programme, I am placing a copy of this information in the Library of the House. For the Economic Assets sub-programme (for sites which transferred to the Homes and Communities Agency from the former regional development agencies in 2011) the assessment process is still ongoing and no decisions have yet been made on planned or indicative allocations.
For the Kickstart and Accelerated Land Delivery programmes, I am also placing a copy of this information in the Library of the House.
Housing Benefit
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the increase to the housing benefit bill as a result of the Government's Affordable Rent model. [110437]
Grant Shapps: The impact on housing benefit of the affordable rent model was assessed in the “Impact Assessment for Affordable Rent”, available on the Department's website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/rentimpactassessment
Under the new Affordable Homes programme 2011-15, offers exceeded expectations, meaning we now expect to provide up to 170,000 affordable homes, including commitments, by 2015, compared with the 150,000 originally estimated - for no more capital grant. The major innovation of the Affordable Homes programme was the introduction of Affordable Rent. This allows housing providers to lever in a greater proportion of private finance by increasing rents to up to 80% of the market level, meaning that more people are able to benefit from a sub market rent for every pound of taxpayers' capital investment. Around £19.5 billion is being invested in much needed affordable housing. The Government is investing £4.5 billion to deliver up to 170,000 new affordable homes from 2011-15 and the total funding contributed by providers to deliver these properties is around £15 billion.
Because we have been able to provide more homes with the original budget than we anticipated at the time of the original impact assessment, there will be some further impact on the housing benefit bill. DCLG therefore agreed to cover the anticipated £56 million increase in housing benefit costs associated with this increase.
Housing: Construction
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many homes were built on public sector land released for house building (a) between May 1997 and April 2010 and (b) since May 2010; [110394]
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(2) how many hectares of public sector land were released for house building (a) between May 1997 and April 2010 and (b) since May 2010. [110395]
Grant Shapps: Information about the number of homes built and hectares of land released for house building between May 1997 and April 2010 is not held centrally.
As part of this Government's public land programme, and for the first time, major land holding Government Departments have published disposal strategies, setting out their plans to bring forward land for development and deliver growth. We have also put in place mechanisms to, monitor delivery of the programme, including scrutiny by Cabinet Committee. I refer the hon. Member to the report published on 7 May 2012, ‘Accelerating the release of surplus public sector land—progress report one year on’, which says more about progress to date. As the programme goes forward we will continue to report on progress.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) with reference to the Housing Minister's announcement of February 2011 of Government plans to accelerate the release of public sector land to deliver up to 100,000 homes, (a) how many hectares of land have been released, (b) what the estimate is of the number of homes that could be built on that land and (c) how many homes have been built on land so released; [110397]
(2) how many jobs have been supported as a result of the Government's plans to accelerate the release of public land; [110398]
(3) how many hectares of land have been identified in each region under his Department's Public Land Initiative; [110422]
(4) which Government Departments (a) have and (b) have not published their land disposal strategies. [110396]
Grant Shapps: I refer the hon. Member to the report published on 7 May 2012, ‘Accelerating the release of surplus public sector land—progress report one year on’. This describes the progress we have made in the past year to accelerate the release of surplus public land and is available in the Library of the House.
As the report sets out we have identified land with capacity for around 102,430 homes, which amounts to the release of over 7,700 ha of public land across the country. The release of this land over the spending review period could support as many as 25,000 jobs.
Sites will be released to the market over the spending review period. Release dates will vary, in part due to the type of site and what preparatory works are needed to make it ready for sale. Development will then be subject to the local planning process and local authorities will want to work with local people and developers to meet housing needs.
The Homes and Communities Agency and four major landholding Government Departments—Defence, Transport, Health and Environment, and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs—have published their land release strategies, setting out details of their land with capacity for housing that they intend to release over this
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spending review period. We are also working with smaller public landholders to maximise the release of their surplus land for housing.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many bids have been received for the Government's Build Now, Pay Later scheme; and how many have been successful; [110399]
(2) how many hectares of public sector land have been released under the Government's Build Now, Pay Later scheme since May 2010; and how many homes have been built as a result. [110400]
Grant Shapps: Build Now, Pay Later is not a scheme that we are seeking bids for. To get development moving and new homes built Departments have committed to release as much land as possible on Build Now, Pay Later terms, where there is market demand and where it represents value for money and is affordable. More detail including examples of where it has already been used are set out in ‘Accelerating the release of surplus public sector land-progress report one year on’ (May 2012), which is available in the Library of the House.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2012, Official Report, column 246W, on housing: construction, whether the figures of £100,000 and £150,000 accorded to the National Self Build Association include the site cost. [110408]
Grant Shapps: The figures were drawn from the National Self Build Association report ‘An Action Plan to promote the growth of self build housing’, which states that
“the vast majority of self builders spend between £100,000 and £150,000 on the construction of their home (plus the site cost).”
For example, Fairgrove Homes are currently selling plots in Nottinghamshire to self builders for £40,000 and will build a good sized three bed home for a further £90,000. And at Ashley Vale in Bristol the community built their homes for less than £150,000 each, including land and all building costs.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average density of new dwellings was in each (a) region and (b) local authority area in each year since 2010. [110436]
Andrew Stunell: Information on the average density of new dwellings in each Government region for 2010 and in each local authority for 2007-10, the latest information available, can be found in Tables P231 and P232 of the Department's Land Use Change Statistics at
http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planningbuilding/planningstatistics/livetables/landusechange/
The density of new housing at local authority level is only published as multi-year averages as it can be highly volatile at more frequent intervals.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new (a) affordable homes and (b) homes for social rent were built in each (i) region and (ii) local authority area in each year since 1997. [110439]
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Andrew Stunell: Estimates of the number of affordable and social rented homes delivered in each local authority area are published on the Department's website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/affordablehousingsupply/livetables/
New affordable housing can be delivered through new build and acquisitions, although the majority (88%) of the additional supply in 2010-11 was through new build.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what assessment he has made of the number of jobs supported to date in construction and related industries by increasing demand for newly-built homes as a result of his Department's NewBuy scheme; [110443]
(2) what assessment he has made of the likely future increase in housing supply in the future as a result of the Government's NewBuy Guarantee Scheme. [110448]
Grant Shapps: The Government are committed to reviewing the NewBuy Guarantee scheme in 2014. This review will include an assessment of the number of additional homes built and jobs supported by the scheme.
The Home Builders Federation has estimated that at least 25,000 additional new homes will be built in total as a direct result of NewBuy. This number of new homes would support up to 50,000 additional jobs.
Housing: Older People
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) when the industry-led guidance on housing for older people will be published; [110877]
(2) what discussions he has had with housing and care providers to deliver the New Deal for Older People's Housing; [110878]
(3) what recent steps he has taken to implement the New Deal for Older People's Housing. [110879]
Grant Shapps: Since the publication of the New Deal for Older People's Housing in the Housing Strategy (November 2011), the Department has published the Lifetime Neighbourhoods report (December 2011) to share good practice and enable local partners to create age-friendly, inclusive neighbourhoods. The Department also published the national evaluation of the handyperson programme in January 2012. In addition, FirstStop has published several independent reports funded by the Department: the evaluation of FirstStop by Cambridge university, value for money case studies of two local FirstStop partner services, and helping older people choose the right home for them: an introduction to the costs and benefits of providing advice and support.
The National Planning Policy Framework, published in March 2012, sets out that local planning authorities should plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, market trends and the needs of different groups in the community, such as older people.
Ministers from the Department for Communities and Local Government have not had any recent discussions with housing and care providers to deliver the New
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Deal for Older People's Housing. However, senior officials within the Department's Homelessness and Support Division regularly meet with housing and care providers to discuss older people's housing.
The industry-led guidance on housing for older people is not for Government to publish. We understand from the industry group developing the guidance that they plan to publish it this summer.
Local Government Services
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to support council staff who want to make in-house bids under the community right to challenge draft statutory guidance. [111050]
Andrew Stunell: The Localism Act 2011 lists the following as relevant bodies—those eligible to submit an expression of interest to run services on behalf of a relevant authority:
(a) a voluntary or community body;
(b) a body of persons or a trust which is established for charitable purposes only;
(c) in relation to a relevant authority, two or more employees of that authority; or
(d) such other person or body as may be specified by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), by regulations.
Draft statutory guidance gives further explanation of provisions in the Localism Act and associated regulations. It does not alter provisions in the Act which set out the circumstances in which employees may take advantage of the right.
There has been some confusion as to the intention of paragraph 9.5 of the draft statutory guidance. For the avoidance of doubt, we intend to remove this paragraph when the final version is published on commencement of the legislation.
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the compatibility of draft statutory guidance on the community right to challenge with the duty of best value. [111051]
Andrew Stunell: The purpose of the draft statutory guidance on the community right to challenge is simply to provide further explanation of provisions in the Localism Act 2011 and associated regulations. It does not seek to change any aspect of the duty of best value, and it is acknowledged in section 6 of the guidance that authorities will need to comply with this duty.
There has been some confusion as to the intention of paragraph 9.5 of the draft statutory guidance. For the avoidance of doubt, we intend to remove this paragraph when the final version is published on commencement of the legislation.
Local Government: Assets
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he intends to publish guidance for local authorities on assets of community value. [110902]
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Andrew Stunell: My Department intends to publish non-statutory guidance in the form of an Advice Note to local authorities on the assets of community value legislation.
As part of the development of the regulations DCLG officials have been providing partners in the local authority sector, including the Local Government Association, with a series of update notes to help them prepare for the commencement of the new scheme.
The notes have given the sector practical information on what the regulations will include and given them an opportunity to ask questions around implementation issues. We issued a substantive version of the note to the sector on 21 April, and are taking into account their feedback which will be reflected in the final version.
We intend to publish the Advice Note prior to the Statutory Instruments commencing as a way of helping local authorities prepare for implementation of the scheme.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many people have been rejected for loans provided through the Government's NewBuy Guarantee scheme; [110390]
(2) how many people have applied for loans provided through the Government's NewBuy Guarantee Scheme; [110450]
(3) how many people have been accepted for loans provided through the Government's NewBuy Guarantee Scheme; [110451]
(4) how many people have been rejected for loans provided through the Government's NewBuy Guarantee Scheme. [110452]
Grant Shapps: The Government will collect data on offers and completions under the NewBuy Guarantee scheme as these will define the extent of its liability. The Government will not be collecting data on applications for loans.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what checks are in place to ensure that a property purchased through the Government's NewBuy Guarantee scheme is the applicant's main home and not a second home or buy-to-let investment; [110391]
(2) what checks are in place to ensure that successful applicants to the Government's NewBuy Guarantee scheme are UK citizens, or have indefinite leave to remain in the UK. [110392]
Grant Shapps: Those accessing mortgages under the NewBuy Guarantee scheme are required to confirm to the mortgage lender at point of application:
that the property being purchased is the applicant's main home and not a second home or a buy-to-let investment; and
either that they are a UK citizen or that they have indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
It is a legal requirement for applicants to provide lenders with this information honestly and accurately.
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Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been built as a result of the Government's NewBuy Guarantee scheme. [110393]
Grant Shapps: The Government are committed to reviewing the NewBuy Guarantee scheme in 2014. This review will include Government's assessment of the number of additional homes built as a result of the scheme.
The Home Builders Federation estimates there will be at least 25,000 additional new homes built as a direct result of NewBuy.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) lenders and (b) housebuilders have signed up to the Government's NewBuy scheme; how many are not members of the Home Builders Federation; and what targets have been set for the number to sign up by the end of 2012. [110444]
Grant Shapps: As of 13 June 2012 five lenders (Barclays, Halifax, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander) and 13 builders (Barratt, Bellway, Berkeley, Bloor, Bovis, CALA, Crest Nicholson, Fairview, Linden, Morris, Persimmon, Redrow, and Taylor Wimpey) were operational—which is to say able to conduct business transactions—under the NewBuy Guarantee scheme, ensuring coverage of 73% of the mortgage market. One of those builders is not a member of the Home Builders Federation.
No targets have been set regarding the number of builders participating in the scheme, though Government are working with partners to promote take-up.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average percentage deposit is for mortgages offered under the Government's NewBuy Guarantee Scheme. [110446]
Grant Shapps: All mortgages eligible under the NewBuy Guarantee scheme will require a deposit of between 5% and 10%.
Government's assessment of the average percentage deposit under the scheme will be included in its review after two years.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the potential financial risk to the Exchequer of the security provided by Government to loans provided under its NewBuy Guarantee scheme. [110447]
Grant Shapps: I refer the hon. Member to the financial minute which was laid before the House on 19 March, which explains the arrangements in detail.
Private Rented Housing
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans his Department has to improve protections for tenants in the private rented sector. [110462]
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Andrew Stunell: The current legislative framework already provides strong protections for tenants in the private rented sector while ensuring that the burdens on landlords are not such as to inhibit much needed growth in supply. Local authorities have extensive powers to take action against landlords letting poor quality or badly managed properties through the Housing Act 2004. We are encouraging local authorities to make more effective use of their existing powers to tackle criminal landlords, as outlined in my Department's press notice of 30 April 2012 on “beds in sheds”.
The Housing Act 2004 also provides for protection of tenants' deposits. In common with all businesses, landlords, and their agents, are also subject to consumer protection legislation and health and safety regulations. Finally, the Housing Act 1988 endorsed well established protections against unlawful eviction and excessive rents. The Government do not have plans to add to this range of protections.
Right to Buy Scheme
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on promotional material for the Right to Buy scheme since May 2010. [110432]
Grant Shapps: I am committed to ensuring tenants have full information about the Right to Buy so they can make an informed decision as to whether it is the right choice for them, especially since the reinvigoration of Right to Buy in April 2012 increased the maximum discount to £75,000.
Since May 2010 we have spent £106,761.96, excluding VAT, on materials to inform eligible tenants about their rights to the right to buy scheme. These include Right to Buy application forms and booklets for tenants, posters and other materials for local authorities to use to inform tenants about the new discounts, and advertisements in social housing newsletters about the changes. It also includes the new Right to Buy page on Facebook and Google adwords directing tenants to the Direct.Gov content on Right to Buy which has been viewed around 170,000 times and from which the Right to Buy booklet and forms have been downloaded several thousand times.
To place this targeted spending in context, the Department under the last Administration spent £6.3 million just on TV, radio and press advertising in 2008-09 and £4.4 million in 2009-10.
Sports: Clubs
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether sport club supporters' groups will be eligible for funding from the right to bid fund. [110901]
Andrew Stunell: It is our intention for the Community Right to Bid to support the continuing use of recreational and sport facilities, and to empower local voluntary and community groups. We are in the process of agreeing the eligibility criteria for community groups wishing to access funding to use the Right to Bid. Further details will be available when the support programme is launched later this year.
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Justice
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps will be taken to assess offenders' alcohol problems and addictions prior to the introduction of compulsory sobriety schemes; [111638]
(2) what guidance will be given to courts in cases of offences where the offender has significant alcohol addiction problems when imposing a sentence of compulsory sobriety. [111639]
Mr Blunt: The new alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirement for community orders imposed under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 was introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The provisions of the 2012 Act make clear that a court can only impose an alcohol abstinence requirement if it is satisfied that the offender is not dependent on alcohol.
Child: Maintenance
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that HM Courts and Tribunal Service hears appeals relating to the Child Support Agency as quickly as possible. [111579]
Mr Djanogly: Appeals against decisions relating to the Child Support Agency are heard by the First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS).
In order to ensure equal access to justice for appellants across the range of appeals heard by the Tribunal, a ‘first in, first out’ policy operates across all appeals to ensure that the oldest cases are listed first.
Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is working hard to increase the capacity of the SSCS Tribunal and reduce waiting times. It has implemented a range of measures which include recruiting more judges and medical panel members; increasing administrative resources; securing additional hearing venues; increasing the number of cases listed in each Tribunal session; running double shifts in its largest processing centre; running Saturday sittings in some of the busiest venues; and setting up a customer contact centre to deal with telephone inquiries.
All of this is having a positive effect. The total number of disposals has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 380.000 in 2010-11 and the tribunal expects to dispose of around 435,000 appeals in 2011-12, with the capacity for half a million disposals in 2012-13. Disposals outstripped receipts for the 12 months between January 2011 and December 2011, and the number of cases waiting to be heard reduced by over 44,000 between April and December 2011. The average waiting time has stabilised nationally, and is beginning to fall across many venues.
Claims Management Services
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will consider introducing proposals to bring claims management firms within the remit of the statutory Legal Ombudsman. [109670]
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Mr Djanogly: The Legal Ombudsman is currently preparing a business case proposing that consumer/client complaints about claims management companies should fall within its remit. Upon receipt of that business case, I will consider whether or not the provisions in the Legal Services Act 2007 to extend that Act's complaints handling regime to claims management companies should be commenced.
Closed Material Procedures
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which Government Department made the decision to use a closed material procedure on each occasion on which that procedure has been used in each of the last 10 years. [111063]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: Closed Material Procedures (CMPs) are available in a number of different contexts, including 14 different contexts in legislation referred to in written evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights on the Justice and Security Green Paper (and published by that Committee). How CMPs are initiated depends on the type of proceedings concerned, and it is not always the decision of the Department. In some cases, such as the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), the decision to refer a case to a closed procedure lies with the Secretary of State (in the case of SIAC, the Home Secretary). In other cases, such as TPIM proceedings, CMPs are automatically available. In contexts such as Employment Tribunal proceedings the relevant Secretary of State applies to the court. In other cases, including some Norwich Pharmacal claims and some judicial reviews, there is no provision for CMPs in legislation, but CMPs have been held either at the order of the court (though that is no longer possible in civil damages cases following the Supreme Court judgment in Al Rawi and Others in July 2011), or with the consent of parties to proceedings.
CMPs have been used in cases involving a number of Government Departments, including the Home Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Northern Ireland Office. Figures are not held centrally on which Departments are involved in specific types of litigation, and this includes litigation involving Closed Material Procedures.
Community Orders
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average cost of supervising an individual under the proposed intensive community punishment order. [111294]
Mr Blunt: ‘The Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences’ consultation proposes to develop an Intensive Community Punishment Order for offenders who deserve a significant level of punishment, but who are better dealt with in the community to maintain ties with work and family. As set out in the impact assessment, the consultation asks respondents for their views on how ICPO could work and MOJ will assess the impacts when the final proposal is developed.
The impact assessment that MOJ published alongside the consultation can be found on the following webpage:
https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/effective-community-services-1
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Contempt of Court: Sentencing
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people have received custodial sentences after being found guilty of contempt of court in (a) magistrates courts and (b) Crown courts in the latest period for which figures are available; [109990]
(2) how many people have been convicted of contempt of court in the last five years; [111072]
(3) how many people have been prosecuted for contempt of court in the last five years. [111073]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty and committed to immediate custody under sections 8 and 14 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 at the Crown court in England and Wales, from 2007 to 2011 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
A finding of guilt for contempt of court may result from an incident occurring during an ongoing trial for another offence. Data available from the Crown court on convictions and committals to custody for contempt of court given in the table are on a principal offence basis. This is where the heaviest penalty that was imposed was for contempt of court.
Information about contempt of court at the magistrates courts is included in a miscellaneous group of offences that cannot be separately analysed.
| Number of defendants found guilty and committed to custody at the Crown court under sections 8 and 14 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, England and Wales, 2007 to 2011(1,2) | ||
| Found guilty | Immediate custody | |
| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | ||
Court Orders: Compensation
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure that compensation orders are related to the disposable income of perpetrators. [111637]
Mr Djanogly: In cases involving death, injury, loss or damage, the courts are required to consider making a compensation order, and to give reasons if no such order is made. Magistrates courts can order compensation up to a maximum of £5,000 per offence but there is no financial limit in the Crown court. Courts are however required to have regard to the financial means of the offender when deciding whether to make a compensation order and when deciding on its amount.
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In order to assess the defendant's financial means courts will review a means form when it is supplied by the defendant. In cases where the defendant does not attend court or no means information has been supplied the sentencing guidelines say the court can assume a relevant weekly income of £350 for the defendant and set financial penalties, including compensation orders, based on that amount.
Courts: Fines
Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were given court fines in each of the last four years; and how many of those fines were paid in full. [111292]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice collects and publishes data on the sentence given for the principal offence each offender is charged with. Table 1 shows the number of offenders sentenced to a fine for their principal offence between 2008 and 2011, we do not collect centrally data on offenders who received a fine for a secondary offence. Prior to April 2011 HMCTS did not record, at a national level, the time taken to collect financial penalties and so cannot say how many were paid in full prior to this date. Table 2 shows the number of accounts opened since April 2011 and closed by the end of December 2011, the latest data available. This includes fines paid in full and any which have been legally or administratively cancelled, we are unable to separate these without manually inspecting each account which would incur disproportionate costs. Last year (2011) HMCTS collected £277 million in financial penalties compared to £251 million in 2008 and 2009, a 10% increase.
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HMCTS has achieved this by focusing on early compliance with financial impositions by using a number of methods such as use of telephone and text message reminders to defaulters, intelligence tracing tools, increased use of enforcement sanctions like deduction from benefit orders and attachment of earnings and targeted payment blitzes on specific groups of defaulters. There are a number of other initiatives being developed to further improve the collection of financial penalties.
Financial penalties include amounts for fines, costs, prosecution costs, legal aid. victim surcharge, compensation and unpaid fixed penalties and penalty notices for disorder that are registered as fines for enforcement. Accounts still open include fines that are being collected by instalments, those with deductions from benefit and those which have been given time to pay.
| Table 1: Offenders sentenced to a fine 2008 to 2011(1) | |
| Total | |
| (1) Data taken from Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly Update to December 2011. Notes: 1. Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. 2. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. | |
| Table 2: Financial Impositions in England and Wales | ||||
| Total Imposed in Period (£) | Total Collected in Period(1) (£) | Accounts Opened in Period | Accounts Opened and Closed in Period(2) | |
| (1) Total collected includes payments made against fines imposed prior to April 2011. (2) Accounts closed will include those paid in full and any legally or administratively cancelled. (3) Rounded to nearest £ million. (4) Rounded to nearest thousand. | ||||
Crimes of Violence
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the evidence to support the hypothesis that viewing violent videos or films could have been a factor in cases in the criminal justice system. [109283]
Mr Vaizey [holding answer 12 June 2012]: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The Government keep abreast of the academic research on this subject, but when viewed as a whole, there is no persuasive evidence of a causal link between violent material in films and videos and violent behaviour in real life.
However, we believe it is important to ensure that children are not exposed to inappropriate material and that is why there is a classification system in place—operated by the British Board of Film Classification.
Domestic Violence
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many men were reconvicted of domestic violence offences within (a) one year and (b) two years of completing a domestic violence-related programme administered by the probation service in England and Wales in each year since 2005. [110806]
Mr Blunt: Domestic violence is not recorded as a specific offence type and as a result we are currently not able to identify how many men who have completed domestic violence programmes administered by probation trusts, have been re-convicted of domestic violence related offences.
Human Trafficking
Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what training his Department provides to enable its staff to recognise victims of human trafficking. [111753]
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Mr Blunt: Prison and probation staff receive core training in assessing and managing offenders' risk of harm, in order to develop a plan to manage offenders' risk of harm. In developing a risk management plan, offender managers (probation) and offender supervisors (prisons) need to use all available information about offenders, in order to, amongst other things, identify individuals who might be at risk from those offenders, including victims of human trafficking.
Offenders convicted of the most serious sexual and violent offences fall to be managed under the statutory Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). Within MAPPA, the police, probation and Prison Services are required to work together to manage the risks presented by eligible offenders. Thus, for MAPPA-managed offenders, local police who have intelligence and information that offenders are engaged in, or might be engaged in, human trafficking, would feed such intelligence and information into risk management plans, in order to protect known and potential victims.
Assistance is available from the UK Human Trafficking Centre which provides tactical advice via a 24/7 helpline and can deliver bespoke training material on request.
Awareness of human trafficking may be raised amongst prison and probation by means of training and guidance produced by the Home Office.
Oakwood Prison
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) when he expects HMP Oakwood to reach full operating capacity; [111060]
(2) how many prisoners he expects to be held in HMP Oakwood in each week until December 2012; [111061]
(3) how many prisoners have been held in HMP Oakwood in each week since its opening. [111062]
Mr Blunt: HMP Oakwood's certified normal accommodation is 1,605 places and it is expected to be fully operational by 2 November 2012. The forecast build up of operational capacity at HMP Oakwood is set out in the following table:
| Date (Friday) | Estimated available capacity |
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It is expected that all of these places will be available to hold prisoners, although actual usage will depend on regional population pressures and the operation population management needs of NOMS.
The following table shows the number of prisoners held in HMP Oakwood in each week since its opening.
| Date (Friday) | HMP Oakwood's population |
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible error with data entry and processing.