Asylum
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK Border Agency legacy cases were completed in each of the last five years. [111613]
Damian Green: As reported to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 3 May 2012, the Case Assurance and Audit Unit concluded the asylum legacy cases of 12,600 people in the preceding 12 months.
Prior to April 2011 legacy asylum cases were concluded by the Case Resolution Directorate. Annual conclusion figures are not recorded.
Driving Under Influence
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers have been convicted for (a) drink driving and (b) driving under the influence of illegal drugs in each of the last five years. [112123]
Mr Blunt: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for ‘driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs’ in England and Wales from 2007 to 2011 can be viewed in the following table:
Drugs: Misuse
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the UK's recent signing of a declaration on drug policy with Russia, Sweden, Italy and the US signals a change in UK drugs policy on HIV-related harm reduction; and if she will make a statement. [112040]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 18 June 2012]: The recent signing of a declaration on drug policy with Russia, Sweden, Italy and the US does not signal a change in UK drugs policy.
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Heathrow Airport: Official Visits
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department have arrived or departed from the Windsor Suite at Heathrow Airport. [108644]
Damian Green: Details of travel arrangements for Home Office Ministers are not released for security reasons.
Illegal Immigrants
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK Border Agency overstayers her Department estimates are in the UK. [112590]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency does not hold the information requested. It is not possible to estimate accurately the number of overstayers in the UK as some deliberately evade immigration control in order to remain in the country illegally.
The e-Borders system enables checks to be made on individuals arriving or exiting the country, and is on schedule to be screening 95% of all passengers by December 2014. The Government is committed to ensuring that the number of UK ports undertaking exit checks is increased so that travel histories are recorded for an increasing number of passengers.
The UK Border Agency has established local immigration teams across the UK to gather intelligence, tackle illegal working, and track down and detain immigration offenders. The focus of those teams includes the prevention and disruption of illegal activity and the arrest and removal of offenders.
Immigration
Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were detained for further questioning by the UK Border Agency at UK borders on 10 May (a) 2011 and (b) 2012. [112550]
Damian Green: The data requested is not published by the Home Office. However, data on the number of those who are refused entry is published quarterly.
For Quarter 2 (April to June 2011) there were 4,237 refusals. The statistics for Quarter 2 of 2012 are planned to be published in August 2012. These can be accessed via the following link:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department of the UK Border Agency applications that were refused a right to remain, what proportion her Department estimates left the UK in the last year for which figures are available. [112591]
Damian Green: The Home Office publishes immigration statistics on a quarterly and annual basis, copies of which can be found in the Library of the House. The latest published statistics on asylum and non-asylum removals can also be found at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q1-2012/
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The data requested is not held in a format compatible with National Statistics protocols, or produced as part of the UK Border Agency's standard reports.
Immigration Controls
Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 77W, on immigration controls, which airport terminals are equipped with e-Gate technology; and how many additional terminals will be so equipped before the end of 2012. [112625]
Damian Green [holding answer 18 June 2012]: There are currently 63 e-Gates at 15 of the UK's major air terminals: Birmingham Terminal 1, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick North and South, Heathrow Terminals 1, 3, 4 and 5, Luton, Manchester Terminals 1 and 2, and Stansted.
There are currently no delivery projects under way to equip additional terminals with e-Gates before the end of 2012.
Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to control immigration. [112710]
Damian Green [holding answer 19 June 2012]:Since 2010, we have reviewed all immigration routes to the UK and have put policies in place which will control abuse, ensure that the system is more efficient, and reduce numbers of non-EEA migrants to sustainable levels. As a result of these policies we anticipate that net migration will be in the tens of thousands by 2015.
Specifically, we have limited the numbers of non-EEA economic migrants and raised the minimum skills levels that they need to access jobs in the UK.
We have imposed tight controls on colleges and international students to ensure that they are genuine.
At the same time we have introduced a new route for students who have developed world class innovative ideas and want to stay to develop their business in Britain.
To attract the brightest and best to the UK, we have introduced a route for those of exceptional talent.
We have tightened access to settlement in the UK so as to break the link between temporary work and staying here permanently.
More recently, we announced important changes to reform the family route to ensure that family relationships are genuine, that migrants can integrate into British society and can support themselves financially. And our reforms will ensure that criminals cannot avoid deportation by claiming a right to family life.
These reforms have been underpinned by evidence and analysis produced by the independent Migration Advisory Committee.
We now have a selective migration system which controls who can come to, and stay, in the UK, for the benefit of Britain, not just for the benefit of migrants. It ensures that the brightest and best migrants can come, tackles abuse and as a result will reduce net migration and restore confidence in the immigration system.
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Industrial Disputes
Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which staff of other Government Departments and from other sections of her Department were recruited to fill the posts left vacant by staff in her Department who were on strike on 10 May 2012. [112539]
Damian Green: No staff were recruited for this work. The contingency pool is composed of Home Office staff (Home Office HQ, UK Border Agency, Border Force and Identity and Passport Service). Additional support was provided by the Ministry of Defence Police, Serious Organised Crime Agency and police officers currently seconded to the UK Border Agency.
In Home Office HQ, the Identity and Passport Service, the Criminal Records Bureau and in areas of UK Border Agency work not covered by the centrally co-ordinated re-deployment exercise managers made local arrangements where necessary to ensure that the essential work of the Department continued. Details of these local arrangements are not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of providing cover for staff in her Department who were on strike on 10 May 2012. [112540]
Damian Green: Staff at various grades were employed to cover the work of junior immigration grades in the industrial action on 10 May 2012. These staff, apart from Ministry of Defence staff, were already employed by the Home Office so there was no additional salary cost.
In addition staff who were on strike had their pay deducted accordingly.
Offences against Children: British Nationals Abroad
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces have investigated allegations of child sexual abuse overseas by British sex offenders in the last five years. [112807]
Nick Herbert: This information is not held centrally.
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has any plans to increase the resources to police forces to undertake international investigations into child sexual abuse by Britons abroad. [112808]
Nick Herbert: Police funding is allocated to each police authority via the Police Allocation Formula (PAF). It is a matter for individual police authorities/police and crime commissioners to determine how the funding is allocated to priorities in their local area.
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms are in place to allow police forces to share good practice in the investigation of child sexual abuse abroad by British sex offenders. [112809]
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Nick Herbert: UK law enforcement agencies work closely with their counterparts in other countries, predominately through Interpol. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is dedicated to tackling offenders who cross geographical borders and plays a key role in sharing relevant information to ensure child sexual abuse perpetrated by British offenders is investigated as appropriate.
The UK is a dedicated member of the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), which brings together law enforcement agencies including the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Europol, UAE Ministry of Interior and Interpol. The VGT delivers innovative crime prevention and crime reduction initiatives to deter and prevent individuals from committing child abuse, across the world.
Joint working through such relationships enables law enforcement agencies to share information with countries in respect of British offenders who may seek to travel to abuse or exploit children.
Public Sector: Pay
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) highest, (b) median, (c) median full-time equivalent and (d) lowest full-time equivalent salary was paid by (i) her Department and (ii) its associated public bodies in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13. [111030]
Damian Green: The table provides figures for the highest, median full-time equivalent and lowest full-time equivalent salaries paid in the Home Office and the Executive agencies (the United Kingdom Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service, Criminal Records Bureau and, additionally in 2011-12, the National Fraud Authority) and Home Office non-departmental public bodies. The figures are in line with Cabinet Office guidance on calculating Hutton review pay multiples.
Banded amounts are provided to ensure a level of anonymity consistent with other published data on salaries.
We have not supplied figures for the median, as this information is not in line with the Hutton Review of Fair Pay Guidance and to provide these figures would incur disproportionate costs. We are also unable to provide figures for 2012-13 as this information is not yet available.
| 2010-11: Total remuneration includes consolidated basic pay and pay-related allowances | |||
| Highest salary band (£000) | Median full-time equivalent salary (£) | Lowest full-time equivalent salary (£) | |
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| (1) Excludes employees who appear to have a lower salary because of a period of half pay or nil pay during 2010-11, due to sickness absence. | |||
| 2011-12: Total remuneration includes consolidated basic pay and pay-related allowances | |||
| Highest salary band (£000) | Median full-time equivalent salary (£) | Lowest full-time equivalent salary (£) | |
Police
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether she is taking steps to reduce the number of police vehicles attending incidents containing only one officer each; [112319]
(2) whether her Department issues guidance to police authorities on the number of officers to be carried in each police vehicle; [112404]
(3) what steps her Department is taking to reduce instances of a large number of police responding to the same incident. [112405]
Nick Herbert: Decisions on the deployment of police resources are an operational matter for individual chief constables working with their police authorities/elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
Police: Employment Tribunals Service
Philip Davies:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been taken to an employment tribunal by police staff in each of the
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last three years; and how many of these cases were determined in favour of the claimant. [111932]
Nick Herbert: This information is not held centrally by the Home Office.
Police: Essex
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will discuss with the Chief Constable of Essex Police measures to improve efficiency in the use of police helicopters through (a) reducing the number of such helicopters and (b) sharing the use of such helicopters over police authority borders; and if she will make a statement. [112028]
Nick Herbert: A new collaboratively organised National Police Air Service (NPAS) will save the police service £15 million per year by reducing the numbers of aircraft and bases while providing a more consistent air support service.
The principle of a national service has been endorsed by all chief constables and the Government are making the Police (Collaboration: Specified Function) Order 2012 to ensure that there is a collaboration agreement in place for air support to which all police forces and policing bodies must be parties. The Order has been approved in draft by both Houses of Parliament.
I understand that, in line with NPAS proposals, the Essex police air support unit is already shared with Kent police and contributes to the provision of police air support across Essex, Kent, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
Police: Pensions
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the document entitled Police Pension Scheme and New Police Pension Scheme in England and Wales, Actuarial Review as at 31 March 2008—Valuation data and demographic assumptions, prepared by the Government Actuary's Department. [112533]
Nick Herbert: I will place a copy of Police Pension Scheme and New Police Pension Scheme in England and Wales, Actuarial Review as at 31 March 2008, Valuation data and demographic assumptions, prepared by the Government Actuary's Department, in the Library of the House.
Regulation
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regulations her Department repealed between 1 February 2012 and 31 May 2012; and what estimate she has made of the saving to those affected in each case. [112933]
Damian Green: The Home Office revoked eight sets of regulations between 1 February 2012 and 31 May 2012. The details are set out in the table.
These regulations were not of a kind designed to result in quantifiable savings to the public purse.
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Restraint Techniques: Pregnant Women
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether control and restraint against pregnant women during attempts to forcibly remove them from the UK to ensure their compliance is permitted. [112756]
Damian Green: A pregnant female cannot be removed from the UK after 28 weeks of pregnancy, unless there is specialist medical clearance.
Control and restraint on pregnant women to assist their removal from the UK is permitted. Approval has to be provided by a director in the UK Border Agency.
Every case of planned use of force is subject to an individual risk assessment. The risk assessment would take into account the fact that the female is pregnant.
Sovereignty: Scotland
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for the (1) Home Department what correspondence (a) she, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in her Department have had with the Scottish Government on the consequences of Scotland leaving the UK; and if she will place such correspondence in the Library; [112137]
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(2) what correspondence (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have had with the Scottish Government on the consequences of Scotland leaving the UK; [112635]
Damian Green [holding answer 18 June 2012]: The Home Office has had no such correspondence on the consequences of Scotland leaving the United Kingdom.
Cabinet Office
Community Development
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much funding the (a) Community First and (b) Community Organisers programmes received from (i) his Department and (ii) the Big Lottery Fund in 2011-12; how much will they receive in 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [108998]
Mr Hurd: As the National Partner for Community First, Community Development Foundation received £13,274,661 in the financial year 2011-12. The budget allocation for the 2012-13 year is £24,278,000, including the budget for match funding.
As the National Partner for the Community Organisers programme, Locality received £4,207,676 in the financial year 2011-12. The budget allocation for the 2012-13 year is £6,061,065.
The Community First and Community Organisers programmes have not received any funding from the Big Lottery Fund.
Deaths
Ms Abbott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many child deaths due to malnutrition there have been in each (a) socio-economic, (b) ethnic and (c) gender group in each of the last 10 years; [112913]
(2) how many maternal deaths there have been in each (a) socio-economic, (b) ethnic and (c) age group in each of the last 10 years; [112915]
(3) how many deaths caused by cancer there have been in each (a) socio-economic, (b) ethnic and (c) age group in each of the last 10 years. [112916]
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 questions asking:
1. How many child deaths due to malnutrition there have been in each (a) socio-economic, (b) ethnic and (c) gender group in each of the last 10 years [112913];
2. How many maternal deaths there have been in each (a) socio-economic, (b) ethnic and (c) age group in each of the last 10 years [112915]; and
3. How many deaths caused by cancer there have been in each (a) socio-economic, (b) ethnic and (c) age group in each of the last 10 years [112916].
ONS does not routinely publish mortality statistics by National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC), so figures for malnutrition deaths and maternal deaths by NS-SEC are not readily available. However figures for deaths from cancer for males in 2001-03 were published in an article in Health Statistics Quarterly 38, which is available on the ONS website:
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http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/hsq/health-statistics-quarterly/no--38--summer-2008/index.html
Comparable figures for female cancer deaths were published in Health Statistics Quarterly 44:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/hsq/health-statistics-quarterly/no--44--winter-2009/index.html
Information on the ethnicity of the deceased is not collected at death registration, so it is not possible to provide mortality statistics broken down by ethnic group.
Table 1 provides the number of deaths of children aged under 16 years where (a) the underlying cause was malnutrition and (b) malnutrition or effects of hunger were mentioned on the death certificate, either as the underlying cause or as a contributory factor, by sex, in England and Wales between 2001 and 2010 (the latest year available).
Mortality data is coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). There are a wide range of conditions that are coded as malnutrition under ICD 10 rules. In addition, children who die and have malnutrition recorded on their death certificate may have a serious underlying condition, such as cystic fibrosis. Such conditions can affect the child's ability to digest and absorb food, leading to malnutrition. In these cases, malnutrition will be recorded on the death certificate as a condition that has contributed to the death, but it will not be the underlying cause. Therefore two sets of figures have been provided: the first showing deaths where one of these conditions was the underlying cause of death, and the second where the condition was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, either as the underlying cause or as a contributory factor.
Table 2 provides the number of deaths where the underlying cause was related to pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium, by five-year age group, for England and Wales between 2001 and 2010 (the latest year available).
Until recently, the Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE) carried our maternal and perinatal mortality surveillance, commissioned by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA). The ‘Saving Mothers Lives’ reports look at both (a) direct maternal deaths (conditions that could only occur in relation to pregnancy) and (b) indirect maternal deaths (with an underlying medical of psychiatric cause aggravated by pregnancy). The figures provided in this answer differ from those in the CMACE report, due to differences in the definitions used. Although the CMACE project has now ended, the last report for deaths in 2006-2008 is available to download from the following link:
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http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02847.x/abstract
Table 3 provides the number of deaths where the underlying cause was malignant neoplasms (cancer), by five-year age group, for England and Wales between 2001 and 2010 (the latest year available).
The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age and cause are published annually and are available here:
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-27475
| Table 1. Number of deaths related to malnutrition, children under 16 years, England and Wales, 2001-10(1,2) | ||||
| Deaths (children under 16) | ||||
| Underlying cause | Any mention | |||
| Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | |
| (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Deaths were included where malnutrition was (a) the underlying cause of death: ICD 10 codes E40-E46 (malnutrition), or (b) mentioned anywhere on the death certificate—either as the underlying cause or as a contributory factor: ICD 10 codes E40-E46 (malnutrition) or T73.0 (Effects of hunger). Figures for underlying cause and any mention should not be combined to produce an overall total, as data showing any mention already includes the underlying cause data. (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year and include deaths of non-residents. | ||||
| Table 2. Number of maternal deaths, by age group, England and Wales, 2001-10(1,2) | ||||||||||
| Deaths (females) | ||||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
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20 Jun 2012 : Column 1072W
| (1) Underlying cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes O00 to O95 and O98 to O99 (Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium—excluding deaths occurring more than 42 days after deliver). (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year and include deaths of non-residents. | ||||||||||
| Table 3. Number of deaths where the underlying cause was cancer, by age group, England and Wales 2001-10(1,2) | ||||||||||
| Deaths | ||||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| (1) Underlying cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00 to C97 (Malignant Neoplasms) (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year and include deaths of non-residents. | ||||||||||
Electronic Warfare
Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he plans to provide information to the public on the threat to national security posed by electromagnetic pulses. [112060]
Mr Maude [holding answer 18 June 2012]: I refer my hon. Friend to the Government's reply to the House of Commons Defence Committee, and to the evidence given by Government Ministers and officials to the Committee, during its inquiry into “Developing Threats: Electro-Magnetic Pulses (EMP)” (HC1552).
As called for in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, a National Space Security Policy (NSSP), to coherently address all aspects of space security, will be published later this year.
Empty Property: Birmingham
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the amount of available office space in empty Government buildings in (a) Birmingham, Ladywood constituency and (b) the Birmingham City Council area; and what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues and local authorities on making this space available to start-up businesses and entrepreneurs. [112134]
Mr Maude: There is currently 12,811 square metres of vacant space in 15 buildings occupied by central Government Departments and their agencies in the Birmingham City council area, of which 8,263 square metres is in the Birmingham Ladywood constituency. Some has been vacant since 2006.
The Cabinet Office has worked with other Government Departments to make 1,965 square metres of this space available to business start-ups and an additional 1,477 square metres is under offer to prospective tenants. The rest of the space either:
has short unexpired lease term—2,253 square metres
is a very small part of a larger building—626 square metres
is earmarked for re-occupation by other government departments, disposal, marketing or handback—4,694 square metres
requires substantial investment to bring it up to the standard of a useable office or conversion into an office—1,796 square metres
Public Sector: Pay
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 26 April 2012, Official Report, column 1057W, on Government Departments: pay, for what reason the chief executive of the Student Loans Company was not included in the 2011 data release; whether all people paid off payroll will be included in the 2012 list; when he expects to publish the 2012 list; what policy guidance has been given to Departments in relation to publishing high pay; whether Departments are required to include payments to individuals paid off payroll in their list; and whether the 2012 list will include non-maintained schools and the NHS. [112261]
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Mr Maude [holding answer 18 June 2012]: The 2010 and 2011 lists included all employees on-payroll working in central Government Departments and their agencies and non-departmental public bodies.
The 2012 list will be published on the same basis later this summer and guidance to parent Departments will be provided accordingly.
The Government is committed to tackling all forms of tax avoidance. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury recently undertook and published a review:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/tax_pay_appointees_review.htm
which introduced a number of measures to ensure that public sector employers are able to assure themselves that the staff they engage are meeting their tax obligations. At the same time, Departments published on their own websites (linked to data.gov.uk) information on the individuals that they engage off-payroll (as at 31 January 2012) where the annual cost was £58,200 or more.
Infrastructure
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much he has allocated for the Transforming Local Infrastructure Programme; how much the Big Lottery Fund has set aside for similar programmes; and if he will make a statement. [109425]
Mr Hurd [holding answer 24 May 2012]: The Transforming Local Infrastructure programme has invested £30 million in 74 local infrastructure partnerships across England. Following the announcement:
http://bigblog.org.uk/2012/02/02/government-invests-30-million-to-modernise-local-charity-support-services
I wrote to Members to highlight this investment and partnerships which had received funding.
Big Lottery Fund (BIG) is planning additional investment for voluntary organisations.
Leonard Cheshire Disability
Gordon Banks: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he last had discussions with Leonard Cheshire Disability on (a) capital investment programmes and (b) outstanding disputes with suppliers and sub-contractors. [112495]
Mr Maude [holding answer 18 June 2012]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 June 2012, Official Report, column 582W.
Mutual Societies
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of full-time equivalent staff who will transfer from his Department, its non-departmental public bodies and executive agency's workforce to a mutual in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [110203]
Mr Maude:
This Government are committed to giving public sector workers the right to deliver public services as mutuals and has put in place a mutuals information service and a mutuals support programme. The Government's commitment to mutualisation is relatively
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new, and the process of spinning out takes time. During the last financial year MyCSP and its workforce spun out from central Government. Spinning out is largely a staff led process so we have made no estimate of the number of staff who will transfer in the future.
Public Services
Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which Government Departments have implemented the proposal in his Department's Open Public Services White Paper that important data about public services, user satisfaction and the performance of all providers from all sectors is available to the public; and if he will make a statement. [112448]
Mr Maude [holding answer 18 June 2012]: In correspondence to Cabinet colleagues the Prime Minister set out a number of transparency commitments for each Department to follow. The strong delivery against those commitments has ensured a wide ranging publication of data, resulting in greater accountability of government and better public service information for citizens.
Work on the agenda continues at pace and each Government Department will soon publish an Open Data Strategy which will outline unique departmental data releases over the next two years. Within each strategy Departments will also detail what data they will be releasing that relate to user experience and customer feedback about services they or their arm's length bodies provide.
Recruitment
Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 489W, on recruitment, to what extent his Department and its non-departmental public bodies and Executive agencies used name-blank CVs or the blind sift function on the Civil Service Resourcing e-recruitment system to recruit staff in the last year; [110960]
(2) to what extent 10 Downing street used name-blank CVs or the blind sift function on the Civil Service Resourcing e-recruitment system to recruit staff in the last year. [110955]
Mr Maude: Recruitment processes differ between Civil Service Departments and it is not mandated that Departments use the Civil Service e-recruitment system. Neither No 10 Downing street nor the Cabinet Office (or any of its non-departmental public bodies) currently use the Civil Service Resourcing (CSR) e-recruitment system to recruit their staff. We are currently considering whether and when to adopt the full Civil Service Resourcing e-recruitment system.
Self-employed: Ayrshire
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people are registered as self-employed in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. [112937]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
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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 how many people are registered as self-employed in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. (112937)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
In the period October 2010 to September 2011 the number of people who were self-employed in the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency, from the APS, was 5,000 (figure rounded to the nearest thousand).
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
Energy and Climate Change
Coryton Oil Refinery
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the letter from the Minister of State for Energy of 11 June 2012, on Coryton Refinery, on what date administrators made representations to the Government regarding possible state aid. [112565]
Charles Hendry [holding answer 18 June 2012]: The administrators of Coryton Oil Refinery made a formal representation to the Department on 15 May 2012 in respect of the provision of government assistance for one option relating to Coryton Oil Refinery. We understand that this was one of a range options the administrators were considering at the time. These representations are necessarily commercially confidential.
Energy: Prices
Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister of 11 April 2012 on energy bills, when he plans to make an assessment of the effect of commitments by energy suppliers to help their customers identify best tariff options. [112382]
Charles Hendry: DECC is discussing the details of the implementation of the agreement that the Deputy Prime Minister reached with energy suppliers, including how best to measure the impact of the commitments.
Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) with reference to the announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister of 11 April on energy bills, whether the annual communication from energy suppliers to help their customers identify the new best tariff options will quote pounds saved depending on payment method and tariff based on the customer's actual usage over a 12-month period where appropriate; [112383]
(2) whether the second communication each year from energy suppliers for the most vulnerable customers assisted by the Warm Home Discount helping them on to the best tariff for them will quote
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pounds saved depending on payment method and tariff based on the customer's actual usage over a 12-month period where appropriate. [112384]
Charles Hendry: DECC is discussing the details of the implementation of the agreement that the Deputy Prime Minister reached with energy suppliers. The agreement does not specify the detail of the agreed annual communication to help customers identify the best tariff option for them. Ofgem are also considering a number of proposals relating to information on energy bills as part of their retail market reforms.
Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister of 11 April 2012 on energy bills, whether he has agreed a definition with energy suppliers of what constitutes a best tariff. [112385]
Charles Hendry: DECC is discussing the details of the implementation of the agreement that the Deputy Prime Minister reached with energy suppliers. The use of the term ‘best tariff’ rather than cheapest tariff recognises that while wanting the best possible deal, consumers may have different preferences, (for example around payment method, fixed, variable or capped rate or green tariffs) which may mean their preferred tariff is not the cheapest.
Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister of 11 April 2012 on energy bills, when he will make an assessment of energy suppliers' implementation of commitments to help customers identify the best tariff options. [112386]
Charles Hendry: DECC is discussing the details of the implementation of the agreement that the Deputy Prime Minister reached with energy suppliers, including the agreements relating to helping customers identify best tariff options.
Fuel Poverty
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce levels of fuel poverty. [112886]
Gregory Barker: The Warm Front scheme provides low income vulnerable households, living in energy inefficient properties, with a range of energy efficient heating and insulation measures, helping some of the most vulnerable households to have a warmer, healthier and more energy efficient home. The scheme is a key part of our policies aimed at tackling fuel poverty and has assisted over 2.3 million vulnerable households, across England, since its inception in June 2000. Warm Front remains open to new applications and has a budget of £100 million for 2012-13.
Through the Warm Home Discount scheme, worth £1.1 billion between 2011 and 2015, we expect to assist 2 million low income vulnerable households per year. In 2011-12 this included well over 660,000 of the poorest pensioners who received a Core Group discount of £120. In 2012-13 this will increase to around 1 million pensioners who will receive a Core Group discount of £130 mostly without having to claim, a significant benefit
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for a group which may struggle to claim. Suppliers are also required to assist other groups of low income and vulnerable households.
We recently published the consultation response regarding the new Green Deal and energy company obligation (ECO), which will be our flagship policy for improving the energy efficiency of the nation's housing stock. Due to launch in October 2012, ECO will run alongside the Green Deal and will have twin objectives to help reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty. ECO requires energy suppliers to help households access more expensive insulation measures such as solid wall and hard to treat cavity wall insulation through the Green Deal and to provide measures to low income and vulnerable households to help reduce the costs of staying warm and healthy. Through ECO around £540 million will be spent annually by suppliers to assist low income households and low income areas.
Fuel Poverty: Brighton
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of fuel poverty in Brighton, Kemptown constituency. [112908]
Gregory Barker: The coalition Government is committed to tackling fuel poverty and supporting vulnerable consumers to heat their homes at an affordable cost.
We continue to fund the Warm Front scheme, providing low income vulnerable households, living in energy inefficient properties, with a range of energy efficient heating and insulation measures. Since 2005, Warm Front has assisted 2,041 households in the Brighton, Kemptown constituency(1). Since the start of the scheme in June 2000 the scheme has assisted 2.3 million households across England.
In winter 2011-12, the warm home discount scheme provided energy supplier funded discounts to well over 660,000 of the poorest pensioners across Great Britain with a Core Group discount of £120 off their electricity bills. Nearly 600,000 of these customers will have received the discount without having to claim as a result of data matching between Government and energy suppliers. This is a significant benefit for a group which may struggle to claim. Other low income vulnerable households may also be assisted through the scheme. Overall we expect 2 million low income vulnerable households a year to be assisted through the warm home discount scheme.
In addition, the Government provides pensioner households with winter fuel payments to help with additional heating costs during the winter. Cold weather payments are also made to low income and vulnerable households where there is an average temperature of 0°C or below for seven consecutive days. These payments have been permanently increased to £25 per week and in winter 2011-12 over 5 million cold weather payments were paid in Great Britain worth an estimated £129 million.
(1) This information is only available post 2005.
Green Deal Scheme
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which energy companies have indicated to him that they will be part of the Green Deal charge mechanism by (a) October 2012 and (b) January 2013. [112877]
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Gregory Barker: All licensed electricity suppliers, regardless of their market share, will be obliged to establish, by 1 October 2012, a central charge database to facilitate the collection and remittance of Green Deal payments.
All electricity suppliers with more than 250,000 customers will be obliged to validate Green Deal plans from 14 January 2013 in advance of plans being signed from 28 January 2013, and collect and remit Green Deal payments from 1 March 2013. Electricity suppliers with less than 250,000 customers can choose to take part in the Green Deal charge mechanism by acceding to the Green Deal Arrangements Agreement (GDAA). The drafting of this agreement is currently being finalised and the GDAA will come into operation in due course. Smaller electricity suppliers will only be in a position to indicate whether they will take part in the Green Deal charge mechanism when this agreement is finalised.
Renewable Energy
Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the likely cost of producing a unit of each form of renewable energy in (a) 2012, (b) 2015 and (b) 2020. [111630]
Charles Hendry: DECC has published information related to capital costs and installation costs of various renewable electricity generation technologies—a report by Arup for DECC on the generation costs and deployment potential of renewable technologies in the UK:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/ro-banding/3237-cons-ro-banding-arup-report.pdf
and the renewables obligation (RO) banding review consultation document, which can be downloaded from our website at
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/cons_ro_review/cons_ro_review.aspx
DECC has updated estimates for the underlying costs of solar PV as part of the Government response to Phase 2A comprehensive review of feed in tariffs, which can be found at:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/meeting-energy-demand/renewable-energy/5381-solar-pv-cost-update.pdf
The following table replicates information that can be found in the above reports(1), and shows central estimates for selected technologies for projects starting in 2011(2) and 2017 using a 10% discount rate.
Further estimates for other technologies can be found in the cited reports.
(1) Please note that while the update of solar PV report did not include levelised cost calculations, the underlying published data has been used to calculated a solar PV levelised cost presented in the above table.
(2) Please note “project start” indicates the start of pre-development work (including consent) for the project prior to final investment decision and commissioning.
| Table 1: Central levelised cost estimates for selected electricity generation technologies | ||
| Projects starting in 2011, £/MWh | Projects starting in 2017, £/MWh | |
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| (1) The Solar PV figure is for projects starting in 2012 Note: Please note all data is in £2010 prices. Source: Arup/EY (2011), PB (2012). | ||
It should be noted that the estimates of levelised costs for different types of electricity generation are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU emissions trading scheme allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, discount rate and other drivers and this means that there is significant uncertainty around these estimates. It is perhaps more appropriate to consider a range of cost estimates as pipeline projects show a large range around these central values (set out in more detail in the above reports).
Updated levelised costs for renewable electricity will be published in the Government response to the RO banding review consultation.
The cost of renewable heat is sensitive to many variables. The load factor, building type, size, geology and counterfactual fuel type all impact on the cost. A full account of DECC’s data can be found in the NERA/AEA report at this link:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/consultations/rhi/1_20100129161148_e_@@_designoftherenewableheat incentivenerareport.pdf
The table in Annex A outlines the levelised cost per MWh of heat for technologies expected to be installed under Phase I of the renewable heat incentive (RHI). The total resource cost is the additional price paid by society for each unit of renewable heat. DECC is currently updating cost estimates for renewable heat, which are expected to be published in autumn.
Central estimates of the £/MWh production costs for 1st generation crop-derived biofuels are given in the following table. These cost estimates are subject to considerable uncertainty, most notably assumptions around future agricultural commodity prices.
| £/MWh central estimates of biofuel production costs, 2010 prices | ||
| bioethanol | biodiesel | |
Warm Front Scheme
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department recommends that contractors use a particular type of cavity wall insulation when undertaking work under the Warm Front scheme. [112460]
Gregory Barker:
The Warm Front scheme does not recommend any particular type of cavity wall insulation. The choice of cavity wall insulation method and material is for installers based on their assessment of needs in specific dwellings. Under the scheme, all cavity wall
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installations must be carried out in accordance with the standards set under the British Board of Agreement or the BSI Licence.
Wind Power
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish the minutes of the Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Task Force meetings of 8 and 15 May 2012. [111377]
Charles Hendry: The minutes of 8 May 2012 meeting of the Cost Reduction task force will be published by the end of June 2012. There were no minutes for the meeting on the 15 May 2012, as this was not a full meeting of the task force, its purpose was to work on the outline structure and drafting of the task force report.
Minutes of the task force meetings can be found via this link:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/wind/offshore/owcrtf/meeting_docs/meetingdocs.aspx
The Offshore Wind Cost Reduction task force launched its report on the 13 June 2012, a copy of the report can be found at:
http://www.bwea.com/pdf/publications/Offshore_Task_Force_Report.pdf
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish the final report of the Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Task Force. [111378]
Charles Hendry: The Offshore Wind Cost Reduction task force published its report on the 13 June 2012 at RenewableUK Global Offshore Wind Conference. A copy of the report can be found at:
http://www.bwea.com/pdf/publications/Offshore_Task_Force_Report.pdf
Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the amount of time onshore and offshore wind turbines were not operational in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [111769]
Charles Hendry: Data are not available on the operational hours of onshore and offshore wind turbines and therefore it is not possible to estimate the time that the turbines were not in operation in the last 12 months. Provisional estimates of load factors for onshore and offshore wind in 2011 are 27.4% and 36.7% respectively.
The Government's main mechanism for incentivising large-scale renewable electricity is the renewables obligation (RO) which provides support for eligible generation. Generators receive renewables obligation certificates (ROCs) for every megawatt hour (MWh) of eligible renewable electricity they generate. Less efficient turbines will therefore receive a lower level of support.
Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the promotion of wind power on the certainty of income for conventional generators. [111790]
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Charles Hendry: Electricity market despatch modelling suggests that as more wind power comes on to the system, average wholesale prices will decline slightly, due to there being more low short-run marginal cost plant (i.e. wind) on the system. For example, research by Redpoint consultants for DECC in 2009(1 )examined a low renewable electricity scenario (reaching around 16% in 2020) and a high scenario (reaching around 29% in 2020). They found that average wholesale prices from 2011 to 2030 were 4% lower in the high renewable scenario than in the low. The average wholesale price that flexible conventional generators receive is likely to be higher than the overall market average as they will run more at periods of higher prices.
The Government is taking powers to introduce a capacity market which will be able to ensure that sufficient capacity is available to meet demand. Conventional generators would receive a relatively stable capacity payment instead of just relying on uncertain and volatile prices from an energy only market. This would help to increase certainty of income for conventional generators.
On 17 March the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced plans to publish a new gas generation strategy in the autumn of 2012 to ensure investment in this sector comes forward, alongside the required generation in low carbon technologies. This was confirmed in the Budget on 21 March. The strategy will focus on the role of gas in the electricity market, and its aim is to attract investment in gas generation by overcoming any barriers, ensure energy security, meet the UK's carbon reduction targets, and make the best use of the nation's natural resources.
(1) Redpoint, 2009, Implementation of the EU 2020 Renewables Target in the UK Electricity Sector: RO Reform, available at:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/what%20we%20do/uk%20energy%20supply/energy%20mix/renewable%20energy/
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renewable%20energy%20strategy/1_20090715120542_e_ @@_redpointimplementationoftheeu2020renewables targetintheukelectricitysectorroreform.pdf
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of wind energy infrastructure manufactured in Britain. [112725]
Charles Hendry: DECC has not carried out an assessment of the proportion of wind energy infrastructure that is manufactured in Britain.
However, over the 2011-12 financial year industry announcements totalled £6.9 billion confirmed and planned investments in the UK renewables sector (including onshore and offshore wind) with the potential to support over 20,800 UK jobs.
Wind Power: Capital Investment
Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the likely returns on onshore wind farm investment in each of the next five years. [111767]
Charles Hendry: The average rate of return required for investment in onshore wind farms, assumed in the analysis for the renewables obligation banding review, is 9.6%. The actual return on investment for individual wind farms will depend on many factors including their specific location, costs, the amount of and price received for the electricity they generate, and the level of subsidy.
Our assumption is based on Arup's report which can be found on our website at:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/ro-banding/3237-cons-ro-banding-arup-report.pdf
and a report by Oxera for the Committee on Climate Change which can be found at:
http://hmccc.s3.amazonaws.com/Renewables%20Review/Oxera%20low%20carbon%20discount%20rates%20180411.pdf