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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 28 June 2012
Women and Equalities
Same-sex Civil Marriages
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the potential effect of European human rights legislation on any UK legislation on same-sex civil marriages. [114071]
Lynne Featherstone: If a couple love each other and want to commit to a life together, we believe that they should have the option of getting married. That is why we have consulted on enabling same-sex couples to have a civil marriage ceremony.
As would be expected, we continue to consider all relevant court judgments, including those from Europe. This is alongside our consideration of the responses we have received to the consultation—and I am grateful to everyone who sent in their views. We will be publishing the Government's response by the end of the year.
Children: Day Care
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the importance of childcare for women. [114069]
Lynne Featherstone: I have regular discussions with my ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including child care.
Last week, the Prime Minister launched a commission on child care to look at how to reduce the costs to working families and the burdens on child care providers.
This commission, which will report in the autumn, will draw widely on expertise and evidence from within this country and abroad.
Human Trafficking Ministerial Group
Mr Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many times she has attended the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Trafficking in the last 18 months. [114209]
Lynne Featherstone: The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has not attended.
Prime Minister
Members: Correspondence
Mr Baron: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to respond to the (a) letter of 30 March 2012 and (b) email of 16 May 2012 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay regarding a constituent Mr M. Allison. [114136]
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The Prime Minister: A reply has been sent.
Communities and Local Government
Families: Disadvantaged
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many troubled families co-ordinators there are. [114288]
Robert Neill: On 11 June 2012 we announced that all 152 upper tier local authorities in England have agreed to run the Troubled Families programme in their area. In signing up to the programme, authorities have committed to appoint a Troubled Families Co-ordinator to run the programme locally and inform it nationally. So far 116 local authorities have confirmed that a Troubled Families Co-ordinator has been appointed in their area. Other authorities have a named lead officer who has been driving work on the programme locally while they proceed with recruitment of a co-ordinator.
Planning Permission
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in which areas the Planning Inspectorate plans to issue model policies for adoption in local plans. [113888]
Robert Neill: National planning policy is the responsibility of the Department for Communities and Local Government. Paragraph 15 of the National Planning Policy Framework states that local plans should be based upon and reflect the presumption in favour of sustainable development, with clear policies that will guide how the presumption should be applied locally. It creates an expectation that all plans subject to examination should reflect the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
The Planning Inspectorate has published model wording to assist local authorities in their plan making to reflect the presumption in favour of sustainable development and so meet the expectation in the framework. The Planning Inspectorate considers that the model wording, if incorporated into a draft local plan submitted for examination, is an appropriate way of meeting this expectation alongside any other aspects of a plan that may need to reflect the approach of the presumption:
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/planning/planningsystem/localplans#Presume
The Planning Inspectorate does not have any plans to issue other model wording.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much funding for (a) the arts, (b) heritage, (c) active leisure and (d) museums his Department allocated to (i) England, (ii) the west midlands and (iii) each local authority area in the west midlands from 2010 to 2012. [113724]
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Mr Vaizey: The Department provides grant-in-aid funding to public bodies that help deliver our strategic aims and objectives for the arts, heritage, community sport and museums. The grant in aid allocated to these bodies can be found in the Department's annual reports, and in funding allocation letters, which can be found at the following links:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/Annual_ Report_and_Accounts_2010_11.pdf
http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/9020.aspx
Arts Council England has provided details of arts and museum funding distributed in England and the west midlands. Museum funding data are not recorded by local authority area.
| Arts funding | ||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
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| Renaissance Museum Programme funding | ||
| £ million | ||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
We do not hold data for funding allocated to ‘active leisure’; however, Sport England allocates Exchequer funding to community sport. Full details of the funds awarded by region and local authority, from 2010 to 2012, can be found at the following link:
http://www.sportengland.org/funding/local_spending_data.aspx
English Heritage has provided a breakdown of grant offers they have made in England and the west midlands. These figures are not broken down by local authority area.
| £ million | ||
| West midlands(1) | England | |
| (1)Amounts exclude offers made under the English Heritage National Heritage Protection Commissions Programme. | ||
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many e-mails he received to his official government email address in each month since May 2010. [113746]
John Penrose: The number of e-mails received by the Secretary of State’s three official Government addresses is set out in the following table:
| Secretary of State's Office | Jeremy Hunt—Office | Jeremy Hunt—Diary | Total | |
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Flags: British Overseas Territories
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport for what reasons the flags of British Overseas Territories were not displayed in Parliament Square and Horse Guards Parade during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Trooping of the Colour. [113771]
John Penrose: We had hoped to be able to fly the flags of the Overseas Territories (OT) at this summer's ceremonial events, but the first manufacturers of the bespoke ceremonial flagpoles and flags delivered products which were unusable, or which required specialist repair before they could be used. The repairs and replacements are currently being undertaken and we expect to be able to fly the OT flags at future ceremonial events.
Mental Health
John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to promote good mental health and well-being in his Department. [114616]
John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has guidance for staff on managing and supporting mental health in the workplace, as well as an Employee Assistance Programme provider offering confidential advice on a range of health and other issues. In addition, the Department held a ‘Well-being at Work’ week earlier this year, which included a presentation from the Civil Service Benevolent Fund (now the Charity for the Civil Service) focusing on raising awareness of mental health issues in the workplace.
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the (a) make, (b) model and (c) network provider was of each mobile telephone device he has been officially issued with in chronological order since May 2010. [113735]
John Penrose: Since May 2010, the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has been officially issued with one mobile phone device, a Blackberry 8250, which is both data and phone enabled. The network provider for this mobile phone device is O2, which is the network provider for all departmental mobile devices.
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many (a) telephone calls and (b) text messages he received to mobile telephone devices officially issued to him in each month since May 2010. [113742]
John Penrose: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has been officially issued with a BlackBerry that is both data and phone enabled, but, in line with most phone bills, the Department does not hold a record of calls and text messages received.
4G Spectrum
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he expects the 4G spectrum auction to be held; and if he will make a statement. [114257]
Mr Vaizey: This is a matter for Ofcom, the independent regulator. Ofcom remain on schedule for the UK auction process to start by the end of 2012. This is compatible with the spectrum becoming available to allow successful bidders to start rolling out 4G services in these bands in 2013.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when Ofcom expects to determine the application it has received for re-use of existing 2G spectrum for 4G services; and what timetable the European Commission has set for such decisions. [114328]
Mr Vaizey:
This is a matter for Ofcom, the independent regulator. Ofcom's consultation closed on 8 May 2012 and the responses raised a number of detailed issues that Ofcom is considering. Ofcom is working to reach a decision on these matters as soon as it reasonably can. The EU Radio Spectrum Policy Programme decision requires member states to carry out the authorisation process (for, among others, liberalisation of the 1,800 MHz spectrum) by 31 December 2012 without prejudice to the existing deployment of services, and under conditions
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that allow consumers easy access to wireless broadband services. However, this does not mean that the authorisation process must result in the 1,800 MHz spectrum being made available for 4G use by the end of 2012.
Press Officers
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much has been claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its arm’s-length bodies since May 2010. [114000]
John Penrose: Reimbursed expenses paid to press officers by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport between May 2010 and the end of May 2012 were £617.70. These payments were made in connection with travel and subsistence costs, but we are unable to analyse in more detail without incurring disproportionate costs.
The Department's agency (The Royal Parks Agency) has paid £117.42 in reimbursable expenses to its press officers since May 2010.
The Department does not hold this information for its arm’s length bodies. Accordingly, I have asked their chief executives to write directly to the hon. Member with this information.
A copy of the letters will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Rebekah Brooks
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport from how many different telephone numbers he has received text messages from Rebekah Brooks since May 2010. [R] [113733]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: All available relevant text messages on my phone were submitted as part of my evidence to the Leveson inquiry. There were no text messages from Rebekah Brooks within this evidence.
Regulation
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what regulations his Department introduced between 1 February and 31 May 2012; and at what cost to the public purse. [114095]
John Penrose: The following statutory instruments sponsored by the Department have been made between 1 February 2012 and 31 May 2012:
The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 (Directions to OFCOM) Order 2012
The Local Digital Television Programme Services Order 2012
The Gambling (Operating Licence and Single-Machine Permit Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2012
The Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2012
The Safety of Sports Grounds (Designation) Order 2012
The Digital Economy Act 2010 (Appointed Day No.2) Order 2012
The Public Lending Right Scheme 1982 (Commencement of Variations) Order 2012
The cost to the Department in making these statutory instruments essentially consists of staff time, but is not measured in the way the hon. Gentleman requests.
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Treasury
EU Customs Information System
Mr Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has (a) made of and (b) published on the effectiveness of the EU Customs Information System. [114154]
Mr Gauke: The UK has not carried out or published its own assessment of the effectiveness of the Customs Information System.
Mr Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) people and (b) UK nationals have had their data added to the EU Customs Information System by the UK authorities in each of the last five years; and on how many occasions the UK has been found liable for damage caused to a person through the use of the Customs Information System pursuant to Article 8(2) of EU Council Decision 2009/917/JHA in the last year for which figures are available. [114329]
Mr Gauke: HMRC has not entered any data on (a) people or (b) UK nationals to the Customs Information System database as operated under EU Council Decision 2009/917/JHA over the last five years. There have been no occasions when the UK has been liable for damage caused to a person through the use of the Customs Information System.
Finance Act 2008
Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much revenue HM Revenue and Customs estimates will be raised in 2012-13 due to the provision of section 58 of the Finance Act 2008; [113895]
(2) what effect he estimates the bankruptcy of individuals required to pay tax retrospectively under section 58 of the Finance Act 2008 will have on HM Revenue and Customs revenues. [113894]
Mr Gauke: UK residents are taxable on their worldwide income wherever it arises, including situations where it arises by way of foreign partnerships. Section 58 of Finance Act 2008 was enacted to help put that beyond doubt and in so doing, made clear that a wholly artificial tax avoidance scheme involving a foreign partnership comprised of foreign trustees did not work. The total tax at stake in respect of this scheme is estimated to be £230 million.
Gift Aid
Steve Brine: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will undertake an assessment of the level of public awareness of Gift Aid declaration forms. [113898]
Miss Chloe Smith: The public awareness of Gift Aid, and of tax relief for charitable giving, have been the subject of research studies published by HMRC, including:
‘Charitable Giving by Wealthy People’, April 2007
‘Gift Aid donor research: Exploring options for reforming higher-rate relief’, December 2009
‘Key Barriers to the Adoptions of Gift Aid’, March 2008
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All of these studies are available online at:
Steve Brine: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the amount of funding that charities are unable to reclaim in Gift Aid due to the requirements relating to individual declaration forms. [113899]
Miss Chloe Smith: No estimate is available because HMRC does not collect information on all of the donations where charities cannot claim Gift Aid.
Infrastructure
Mr MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress his Department has made on securing public and private investments for the funding of the projects in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011, by project; and what the (a) funding source, (b) funding amount secured, (c) total funding amount required and (d) potential Barnett consequential to be paid to Scotland is for each such project. [114285]
Danny Alexander: The National Infrastructure Plan 2011 identified a substantial pipeline of planned investment in UK infrastructure over the next decade and beyond. The infrastructure pipeline includes over 500 projects and programmes worth over £250 billion. Almost two thirds of the expected investment to 2015 will be privately funded and the remainder will be either partially or fully publicly funded. The Barnett formula will be applied in the usual way to public funding.
At the autumn statement 2011 the Government announced £6.3 billion of capital spending and since the 2010 spending review the UK Government has provided more than £700 million of additional capital funding to the Scottish Government for it to spend according to its own priorities.
Members: Correspondence
Mr Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the (a) letter of 28 April 2012 and (b) email of 14 May 2012 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay regarding a constituent Ms Burchell. [114135]
Mr Gauke: I have replied to my hon. Friend.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) publications and (b) consultation documents have been issued by his Department since May 2010. [114170]
Miss Chloe Smith: All Treasury publications are available on the Treasury website:
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
and can be accessed from the website relevant section.
A full list of consultations is available online at:
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/consult_fullindex.htm
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VAT
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to Table 6 of Annex B—Table of Impact for Individual Measures of the HM Revenue and Customs consultation document, “VAT: Addressing borderline anomalies”, published in the 2012 Budget, what financial support and relief he is making available to those businesses and charities which own listed buildings which are not listed places of worship and who will be required to pay VAT on alterations to their buildings that may be affected each year. [114264]
Mr Gauke: The vast majority of businesses with listed buildings already pay VAT on any approved alterations and so are unaffected by this measure.
In relation to charities, I refer my hon. Friend to my response of 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 728W.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agricultural Wages Board
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to publish the impact assessment in respect of the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board. [111963]
Mr Paice: An impact assessment in respect of abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board will be published as part of the necessary legislative process, the timing of which is still to be determined.
Gangmasters Licensing Authority
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when she plans that her consultation on the future of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority will begin; [113811]
(2) pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 24 May 2012, Official Report, column 83WS, on Gangmasters Licensing Authority (Red Tape Challenge), when she proposes that the changes to the Gangmasters Licensing Authority will be implemented; and what (a) impact assessment she undertook and (b) discussions she had with (i) the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, (ii) trades unions, (iii) farming representatives and (iv) gangmaster representatives before the announcement. [113812]
Mr Paice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in response to questions he asked on 21 June 2012, Official Report, column 1120W.
In respect of issues not covered in the earlier answer, changes to the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) will be implemented over the next 12 months subject to the outcome of public consultation. The GLA was considered under the Red Tape Challenge's Employment Theme led by Ministers at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills who were closely involved in deliberations. The Red Tape Challenge invited evidence on the future of the GLA from all interested parties, who will also be able to contribute to public consultation on our detailed proposals.
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Livestock: Transport
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what recent discussions she has had with (a) the EU Commission and (b) her EU ministerial counterparts on the rules surrounding the transport of livestock; [114235]
(2) what recent discussions she had with (a) the European Commission and (b) her EU counterparts on the rules on the transport of livestock. [114570]
Mr Paice: I have met informally with Commissioner Dalli to discuss, among other issues, the subject of the Commission's report on the impact of the welfare in transport legislation. In addition, DEFRA officials have also played a full part in the Council working party (involving all member states) responsible for drawing up the draft Council conclusions on the transport report, which were agreed at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting on 21 June.
At this meeting, I introduced a note for the minutes of the meeting which made it clear that while the UK Government could agree with the EU Commission that enforcement of the existing legislation should be the number one priority, we were, nevertheless, disappointed that the Commission was not adopting the European Food Safety Authority's recommendation to reduce the maximum journey time for horses going to slaughter to 12 hours. I also underlined our concern that more should be done to protect infant livestock, such as calves, during long journeys.
Justice
Debts Written Off
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 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. [110212]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The amount written off by the Department for 2010-11 is contained within the published annual report and accounts:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/corporate-reports/MoJ/moj-annual-report-accounts-2010-11.pdf
The Department's 2011-12 year-end position is not yet finalised. The annual report and accounts, due to be published in July 2012, will contain details of the amounts written off during 2011-12.
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Early Guilty Plea Scheme
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1156W, on the early guilty plea scheme, what additional credits will be applied to sentences which are handed down after a defendant has pleaded guilty under the scheme; and what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the size of the prison population. [113630]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The early guilty plea scheme is an initiative of the Senior Presiding Judge aimed at identifying earlier, and dealing more swiftly with, those cases where a defendant is likely to plead guilty.
There is no additional credit given to defendants pleading guilty under the scheme. Any sentence credit offered for an early plea is in line with current sentencing guidance. In view of this, no assessment of its effects on the size of the prison population was undertaken.
Employment Tribunals Service
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunals were on matters related to holiday pay in each year since 2007. [114106]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice publishes Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) work load statistics annually and quarterly. Those statistics include data on employment tribunal claims receipts (i.e. the volume of actions brought by individual claimants) and a further break down of jurisdictional complaints receipts (i.e. the component causes of action, by jurisdictional type, brought under the claims submitted) each quarter and each financial year.
Under legislation to implement the working time directive, employment tribunals have jurisdiction to hear complaints from a worker that their employer has failed to allow them to take (or to pay them for) statutory annual leave entitlement. Complaints under this jurisdiction are often referred to as ‘holiday pay' claims.
A significant proportion of the holiday pay (and total) complaints received since 2007 has come from claims resubmitted approximately on a quarterly basis by a cohort of individual claimants as part of an ongoing collective dispute in the airline industry. These employment tribunal complaints (managed together as ‘multiples' at the London South Employment Tribunal Office) are currently stayed, pending the outcome of appellate proceedings before the Supreme Court.
The following table shows the total number of complaints received under the holiday pay jurisdiction for each complete financial year since 2006-07.
| Claims and complaints received by employment tribunals in financial years since 2006-07 | ||||||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
| Note: Figures for 2006-07 are management information. Source: HMCTS Annual Statistics, published by the Ministry of Justice (*Data on holiday pay complaints are drawn from the HMCTS employment tribunal database, which is the source of all associated official statistics). | ||||||
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Prison Officers
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers failed their fitness tests by age group in the last five years. [114277]
Mr Blunt: The number of prison officers who failed the fitness test from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2012 is shown in the following table:
| Age group | Number of failures |
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the age profile is of prison officers across the prison estate. [114282]
Mr Blunt: Information on the age profile of prison officers and prison custody officers on the latest available date, split into 10-year bands, is contained in the following table. The information covers both public and private sector Prison Service establishments in England and Wales.
| Prison officers/prison custody officers in Prison Service of England and Wales—As at 30 April 2012 | ||
| Age group | Headcount | Percentage of total |
Procurement
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many contracts issued by his Department were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in 2011-12; what proportion that figure represents of all contracts let; and what the monetary value was of such contracts. [113961]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The number of contracts awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in 2011-12 by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ); what proportion that figure represents of all contracts let; and what the monetary value was of such contracts is as shown in the following table.
| Period | No of contracts awarded to SMEs | Proportion of SME contracts represented as a proportion of all contracts let (%) | Monetary value of contracts awarded to SMEs (£) |
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Reoffenders
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders released on licence following a life sentence have committed (a) murder and (b) other offences in each of the last five years. [113382]
Mr Blunt: Comprehensive data on offenders' further offending who have been released on licence following a life sentence in each of the last five years are not held centrally in a readily accessible electronic format. To obtain these data would exceed cost limits.
The following table provides data on the number of convictions for murder in the last five years where the individual convicted of murder was on life licence.
| Convictions for murder where individual convicted was on life sentence | |
| Number | |
There are data from published proven reoffending statistics for England and Wales for life sentenced prisoners. These statistics are published on a quarterly basis and the latest bulletin, which was published on 26 April 2012 on the Ministry of Justice website, is at the following address:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending
These data show that of the 84 life sentenced prisoners released from prison in the 12 months ending June 2010 three of them reoffended in a 12 month follow up period.
The breakdown of the re-offences for these three reoffenders were:
Burglary (household)
Drug offences
Summary motoring offences
Squatting
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether he plans to bring forward proposals to extend the provisions relating to squatting in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 to all commercial premises; [113014]
(2) if he will consider bringing forward proposals to create an offence of intentional trespass for vehicles in national parks; [113015]
(3) when he plans that the provisions relating to squatting in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 will be brought into force; [113016]
(4) whether he has issued guidance to police forces on the enforcement of the provisions relating to squatting in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. [113017]
Mr Blunt:
We are aiming to commence section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (offence of squatting in a residential building) later this year. We are working with the Home Office
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and the police to develop guidance on enforcing the offence. We have no plans to extend the provision to non-residential buildings or land at this stage, but will keep the situation under review.
Young Offenders
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) male and (b) female offenders aged 10 to 18 years entered custody with a substance misuse problem in each year since 2005. [113949]
Mr Blunt: The information required to answer the question is not readily available. The Youth Justice Board is currently collating the data it holds on substance misuse and the custodial population and I will write to the hon. Member when it is available. A copy of that letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Energy and Climate Change
Electricity: Meters
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate any consequential cost of the early roll-out of smart meters resulting from (a) suppliers running additional systems to communicate with early meters, (b) the replacement and upgrade of existing smart meters and (c) consumers not being able to switch suppliers because they have an early smart meter. [114015]
Charles Hendry: DECC published two updated smart meter impact assessments in April 2012. The impact assessments consider the potential for higher costs in early roll-out stages and reflect these through the addition of cost allowances. The impact assessments also take account of the potential benefits from earlier deployments, such as providing consumers the early opportunity to receive smart meters and save energy, as well as pre-empting unnecessary stranding of assets where existing meters need replacement. Overall, the impact assessments estimate that net present value is not likely to vary significantly with different volumes of early installations.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of installation failures on the overall cost of the smart meter roll-out. [114022]
Charles Hendry: DECC published two updated smart meter impact assessments (IAs) in April 2012. The IAs estimate that, on average, the cost of a dual fuel installation will be £69 per premise. This estimate accounts for those instances where a number of visits will be required before a successful installation is achieved.
Energy: Prices
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the number of consumers switching energy providers following the launch of his Department's Check, Switch, Insulate and Save campaign. [114280]
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Charles Hendry: Ofgem is responsible for collecting data on switching.
The average number of customers who switched from one supplier to another during each quarter of 2011 (latest data to be published) is shown in the following table:
| 2011 | Electricity | Gas |
The Check, Switch and Insulate to Save campaign was launched in October 2011, but between July and December 2011 five of the large energy suppliers suspended their doorstep sales activities, which is likely to have had a significant negative impact on switching levels.
Green Deal Scheme
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the potential cost to small and medium-sized enterprises of the legal advice that will be necessary to comply with the Green Deal Arrangements Agreement. [114281]
Gregory Barker: We do not have estimates but have sought to minimise the potential cost to small and medium-sized enterprises of any legal advice that may be necessary to comply with the Green Deal Arrangements Agreement (GDAA) by keeping the GDAA as concise and clear as possible. The length of the current draft of the GDAA, at 96 pages, compares favourably with the length of other industry codes such as the Master Registration Agreement (234 pages), the Balancing and Settlement Code (859 pages) or the Distribution Connection and Use of System Agreement (474 pages).
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish his proposals for the Green Deal Launch cash-back scheme. [114478]
Gregory Barker: We expect to provide further details on the Green Deal cash-back scheme in September.
Procurement
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many contracts issued by his Department were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in 2011-12; what proportion that figure represents of all contracts let; and what the monetary value was of such contracts. [113965]
Gregory Barker:
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) does not hold complete information on the number of contracts awarded to small and medium sized entities in 2011-12. The amount of expenditure incurred with small and medium-sized entities in 2011-12 and the total level of procurement spend by the Department and its non-departmental public bodies will be published before the summer recess in DECC's departmental accounts. This information
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is available on a quarterly basis in DECC's Quarterly Data Summaries, which can be found at the following link:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/EN/searchresults.aspx?q=qds
A number of actions are in train to improve the identification of contracts and expenditure with small and medium-sized entities, including the use of a spend analysis tool developed by the Government Procurement Service (Bravo Solutions). This tool links departmental spend to suppliers with Dunn and Bradstreet data to identify small and medium-sized enterprises.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many publications his Department has issued since May 2010; and what the title was of each (a) publication and (b) consultation document issued by his Department since May 2010. [114178]
Gregory Barker: Since May 2010, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has issued 765 publications. A list of publication and related consultation titles will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Home Department
Antisocial Behaviour
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals following the publication of her Department's White Paper entitled, “Putting Victims First: More Effective Responses to Anti-Social Behaviour”. [113902]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 26 June 2012]:We will set out plans to bring forward legislation on more effective powers to tackle antisocial behaviour, including plans for pre-legislative scrutiny, in due course.
Asylum: EU Countries
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were transferred to another EU member state under the Dublin Regulation in each year since that regulation came into force; and if she will make a statement. [114221]
Damian Green: The information requested is shown in the following table:
| Transferred from UK(1) | |
| (1) This figure represents all transfers under the Dublin Regulation, as such it includes people who have not claimed asylum in the UK, however these applicants would have claimed asylum in another member state. The figures are based on management information data that are not quality assured under National Statistics protocols. The figures do not constitute part of National Statistics and should be treated as provisional. | |
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Community Safety Accreditation Schemes
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans she has to introduce greater transparency and accountability to the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme; [113906]
(2) how her Department is monitoring the use of (a) fixed penalty notices and (b) penalty notices for disorder by accredited organisations under the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme; and whether police forces should be monitoring these data. [113905]
Nick Herbert: The Home Office is working with forces to increase transparency at a local level by ensuring information about use of the scheme is available and accessible. The introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners in November will provide another level of local accountability and ownership, ensuring that these localised partnerships continue to reflect and respond to local concerns and community safety issues.
It is for chief officers in each force to agree management and monitoring arrangements of the use of fixed penalty notices and penalty notices for disorder issued under the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme.
Guidance is provided by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Databases: Telecommunications
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when her Department's Communications Capabilities Development Programme was established; and how many of the staff involved in that programme previously worked on the (a) Interception Modernisation Programme and (b) Mastering the Internet Programme. [112853]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 19 June 2012]: The Communications Capabilities Development Programme was established in April 2011. 60% of the current programme staff also worked on the Interception Modernisation Programme.
Mastering The Internet is part of GCHQ's corporate technical investment programme and is designed to help GCHQ to keep pace with developments in internet-base communications technology in support of its intelligence and security mission.
GCHQ does not comment on numbers of staff involved in its operations.
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances the authorities of other countries would be able to request access to data stored under the proposed Communications Capabilities Development Programme; and if she will publish a list of the countries which would be entitled to request such access. [113903]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 26 June 2012]:Any country is able to request assistance from the Secretary of State for the Home Department in obtaining evidence located within the UK, including communications data. Such requests are considered under the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003.
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Public authorities in the United Kingdom can also receive direct requests for assistance in obtaining communications data from their counterparts in other countries. On receipt of such requests the United Kingdom public authority may consider seeking the acquisition and disclosure of the requested data under the provisions of the chapter II part I of the Regulations of Investigatory 2000. The United Kingdom public authority must be satisfied that the request complies with United Kingdom human rights legislation.
Demonstrations
Louise Mensch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department has issued to police forces on the enforcement of section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 in each of the last 12 months. [113678]
Nick Herbert: The Home Office has issued no guidance to police officers on the enforcement of section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 in the last 12 months.
Louise Mensch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made in each police authority area under section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 in each of the last 12 months. [113679]
Nick Herbert: The information requested is not available centrally. The Home Office's arrests database cannot separately identify arrests made under section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.
Detention Centres: Pregnant Women
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is her policy that pregnant women are always allowed to keep their hand-held maternity records (maternity notes) when they enter immigration detention. [114270]
Damian Green: Pregnant women who have been issued with hand-held records or a medical book while in the community are permitted to retain these on entering immigration detention. While detained, such records are maintained by the immigration removal centre's healthcare department to ensure continuity of care.
Essex Police Authority
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received from (a) members of the public and (b) hon. Members on Essex Police Authority; and if she will make a statement. [113806]
Nick Herbert: None, except those from the hon. Member himself.
Illegal Immigrants: Frontex
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal migrants travelling to the UK have been intercepted by Frontex in each year since it was established; and if she will make a statement. [114093]
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Damian Green: The role of Frontex is to support the border management authorities of states through the coordination of operational activities. There is no distinction made between the numbers of migrants intercepted by officials of the host state as opposed to those intercepted by guest officers from other states taking part in a Frontex-coordinated operation. Undocumented migrants may be questioned about the route they have taken, facilitators used and their ultimate destination. Information gathered remains the property of the state hosting the Frontex operation and it is therefore not possible to estimate how many of those intercepted would have travelled to the UK.
Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Ministry of Defence Police have worked at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Manchester, (d) Liverpool, (e) Doncaster, (f) Glasgow, (g) Newcastle, (h) Southend, (i) Bristol, (j) Stansted, (k) Southampton, (l) Leeds/Bradford, (m) Luton, (n) Edinburgh, (o) East Midlands, (p) Birmingham and (q) Bournemouth airport since May 2010. [113320]
Damian Green [holding answer 25 June 2012]: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border, Her Majesty's Government cannot provide details of the number of staff deployed at specific ports or at specific times.
For the total number of Ministry of Defence Police deployed, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 653W.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many Ministry of Defence Police have been seconded to work for the UK Border Agency (a) in each (i) week and (ii) month and (b) in total since May 2010; [113321]
(2) how many Ministry of Defence Police have been seconded to work for the UK Border Force (a) in each (i) week and (ii) month and (b) in total since May 2010. [113322]
Damian Green [holding answer 25 June 2012]: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border, Her Majesty's Government cannot provide details of the number of staff deployed at specific ports or at specific times.
For the total number of Ministry of Defence Police deployed, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 653W.
Passports
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of people have a UK passport. [114279]
Damian Green: The number of British citizens currently holding a valid passport issued in the United Kingdom is estimated at 48.5 million. This equates to 77% of the population.
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Regional Pay
Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to introduce regional pay since 20 March 2012; and if she will make a statement. [111542]
Damian Green: I refer my hon. Friend to the debate on regional pay on 20 June 2012, Official Report, columns 937-86.
Police
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the physical capacity of a person aged 60 to carry out the job of a police officer. [113298]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 25 June 2012]: The Winsor Review concluded that an average person should be able to pass the recommended fitness test until their sixties. The Government is now carefully considering these recommendations.
Police and Crime Commissioners
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what budget she has set for advertising (a) elections to the posts of Police and Crime Commissioner and (b) details of the method of election for police and crime commissioners. [113251]
Nick Herbert: £3 million has been set aside for raising awareness about the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in November.
The Home Office will not spend anything on the methods of election for PCCs. The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act gives the Electoral Commission a statutory duty to raise awareness of these elections, including how to vote in them, as it currently does for all UK elections. The Home Office is working closely with the Commission on this but does not fund this activity.
Police: Complaints
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many complaints were recorded against the police service in (a) Essex, (b) Southend and (c) England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; what the rate of complaints per 1,000 of population was in each such year; and if she will make a statement; [113803]
(2) what complaints against Essex police authority have been upheld in each year since 2010; what (a) response was made and (b) steps were taken by Essex police authority to implement such recommendations; and if she will make a statement; [113804]
(3) what written (a) advice and (b) guidance (i) her Department and (ii) Essex police authority provides to members of the public wishing to make a complaint about Essex police authority; if she will place in the Library a copy of each such document; and if she will make a statement. [113805]
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Nick Herbert: Since 2004 the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has been responsible for the annual publication of statistics relating to complaints against the police service in England and Wales and these reports are available on the IPCC website. Information on complaints against Essex police authority is not held by the Home Office and is a matter for Essex police authority. Guidance and advice on how to complain about Essex police authority is also a matter for Essex police authority.
Police: Health
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legal advice she has received regarding the dismissal of police officers with a physical disability after failing to complete the annual fitness test, as proposed in Tom Winsor's Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff Remuneration and Conditions. [113774]
Nick Herbert: Tom Winsor's recommendation for the introduction of annual fitness tests for officers has been referred to the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales for consideration. The Home Secretary will give careful consideration to the advice offered by the board on this matter and to the relevant duties under the Equality Act 2010 before taking any final decision.
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice she has received regarding the potential effects of the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 on proposals to introduce an annual fitness test for police officers. [113775]
Nick Herbert: The recommendation on fitness testing is included in the policy equality statement in Tom Winsor's Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff Remuneration and Conditions—Final Report, published on 15 March. In the report Tom Winsor states that, in his view, the test is justifiable because it is job related and does not have a detrimental effect on people on the grounds of age or sex.
This recommendation has been referred to the police negotiating machinery for consideration.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), will consider carefully the potential equality impact of any recommendations around annual fitness tests for officers in line with her legal responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2010.
Police: Information and Communications Technology
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) capital and (b) resource cost of establishing the police ICT company has been since 2010. [113250]
Nick Herbert: The costs associated with establishing the Police ICT Company are being examined. The company will be delivered within existing, reducing, funding allocations and projected costs will be subject to official scrutiny through a full business case.
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Police: Pay
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the annual pay freeze for police officers to be lifted. [113076]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 21 June 2012]: Police officers' pay was increased on 1 September 2010, when the Government honoured the final increase of the three-year pay deal agreed in 2008. The Government's policy is to freeze the pay of public sector workers earning over £21,000 for two years. We expect this to apply to police officers, subject to any recommendations from the Police Negotiating Board.
Police: Pensions
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress she has made on police pension reform; and if she will make a statement. [112989]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 21 June 2012]: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), wrote to the Police Negotiating Board on 27 March 2012 to consult on a proposal for the long-term reform of police officer pensions. Both sides were asked to consider the proposal and respond by 22 June 2012 and we are now considering those responses.
Police: Training
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers from England and Wales have trained at the European Police College in each year since 2006; and what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of such training in each such year. [114105]
Nick Herbert: The figures for police officers from England and Wales trained at the European Police College are as follows:
| Number | |
| 2006 | 72 |
| 2007 | 101 |
| 2008 | 105 |
| 2009 | 100 |
| 2010 | 83 |
| 2011 | 63 |
| 2012 | 38 |
We cannot provide figures in relation to estimated cost to the public as these data are not held centrally.
Police: Vehicles
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of operational police vehicles which are fitted with satellite navigation systems provided by the relevant police authority; what proportion this represents of the total operational fleet; and if she will make a statement. [113641]
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Nick Herbert: This information is not held centrally.
Prisoners: Repatriation
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to work with the European Court of Human Rights to develop the criteria by which verifiable guarantees from foreign countries that potential deportees will not be tortured are accepted. [113534]
James Brokenshire: The European Court of Human Rights has made clear in its judgment in the case of Othman (Abu Qatada) v. UK that it is not for the Court to rule upon the propriety of seeking assurances nor for them to assess the long-term consequences of doing so. Their only task is to examine whether the assurances are sufficient to remove any real risk of ill-treatment. In doing so, the Court set out in that judgment a list of factors it will have regard to. We are therefore continuing to work with foreign partners, such as Jordan, to ensure that adequate assurances are provided.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what publications have been issued by her Department since May 2010. [114169]
Damian Green: The following lists the printed publications produced by the Home Office and its agencies during the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12, and April to May 2012.
Teenage abuse and rape prevention campaigns (leaflets, business cards etc)—Amends
Annual Border Controls Report
Home Office printed publications April to May 2012
Section 182 Statutory Guidance
Authority To Carry Scheme—document, annexes, web PDF’s etc.
Code of Practice (NI) Stop and Search Powers
IPCC—corruption in police
Police and Criminal Evidence Acts—Codes C, G and H
DBS—leaflets.
Defence
Armed Forces
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made in developing its policy on Future Force 2020; and if he will make a statement. [113715]
Nick Harvey: Progress towards Future Force 2020 is being made according to the goals set out in the 2010 strategic defence and security review and the subsequent announcement of 18 July 2011, Official Report, column 643, by the then Secretary of State for Defence, the right hon. Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox).
As the Secretary of State for Defence, the right hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said in his statement of 14 May 2012, Official Report, column 261, bringing the Defence budget into balance
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is a major milestone on the path to Future Force 2020. The House will be updated on further progress as appropriate.
Armed Forces: Recruitment
Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of each branch of HM Armed Forces were recruited in each of the constituent parts of the UK in the latest period for which figures are available. [113439]
Mr Robathan: The tables provide the figures from FY 2011-12 detailing the number of entrants from recruitment centres in each of the constituent parts of the UK. However, this does not provide a comprehensive picture of where these individuals originate from geographically, as they may not always apply to join the services through their nearest career office or may choose other means by which to apply.
Figures given do not give a representative picture of actual recruitment performance for specific trades such as infantry.
In the tables the following abbreviations are used:
AFCO—Armed Forces Careers Office
ACIO—Army Career Information Office
CIO—Career Information Office
OCLC—Officer Career Liaison Office
ACA—Army Careers Adviser
| 1. Naval Officer Entrants FY 2011-12 | |
| Number | |
| 2. Naval Other Rank Entrants FY 2011-12 | |
| Number | |
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| 3. Army Officer Entrants FY 2011-12 | |
| AFCO and UOTC | Number |
| 4. Army Other Rank Entrants FY 2011-12 | |
| AFCO and ACIO | Number |
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