Pigs: Animal Welfare
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with retailers on the potential effect of the EU partial stalls ban to be introduced in 2013. [114231]
Mr Paice: Recognising the importance of compliance with the upcoming partial sow stalls ban, I recently met with leading representatives from the pig meat supply chain (including the British Retail Consortium), to discuss the UK's position. The discussion was fruitful with retail, processing and trade representatives stating their intention to source pig meat only from compliant systems of production. There are plans for a follow-up meeting with wider groups of stakeholders, including retailers, in the autumn to discuss progress made and next steps.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many EU member states she estimates will not comply with the European partial stalls ban to be introduced in 2013. [114571]
Mr Paice: At the June Agriculture Council meeting, the Commission announced that overall 18 member states had said that they would be fully compliant by the sow stall ban deadline of 1 January 2013, including the UK pig industry's main competitors.
Those member states estimating full compliance are Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Malta, Romania, Slovakia and Spain. Sweden, Luxembourg and the UK have already banned sow stalls.
Of the nine member states remaining, most are anticipating levels of compliance in excess of 90%.
Pollution: Rockall
Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department is responsible for pollution clearance around the island of Rockall. [114320]
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Richard Benyon: The Scottish Government are responsible for the management of Scottish inshore and offshore waters, other than for reserved functions. Action to prevent marine pollution remains a responsibility of the UK Government, and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, as an Executive agency of the Department for Transport, has overall responsibility for the monitoring and implementation of counter-pollution measures within the United Kingdom Pollution Control Zone. Rockall sits within this zone.
Poultry: Pest Control
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many licences were granted for the control of brent geese in the latest period for which figures are available; how many birds were culled; and in what locations. [112216]
Richard Benyon: A summary of licences issued for the management of brent geese issued by Natural England in 2011 is given in the following table:
| County | Licences granted | Licensed to be shot | Reported shot |
| (1) Not all end-of-licence returns have yet been received. | |||
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what control measures for the eradication of the ruddy duck her Department has put in place; how much she estimates such eradication will cost; and what steps she has taken to ensure that ruddy ducks which migrate to the UK from other countries will be culled. [112217]
Richard Benyon: The ruddy duck is a North American species introduced into the UK in the 1940s. It has bred very successfully here and has spread to mainland Europe, where it has bred and hybridised with the globally threatened white-headed duck, endangering its survival as a distinct species.
The UK Ruddy Duck Eradication Programme is targeted at protecting the white-headed duck. The programme began in 2005 and ran until March 2011 at a cost of £3.3 million, approximately half of which was provided by EU LIFE-Nature funding, with the remainder funded by DEFRA.
The programme was delivered by the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) and DEFRA has continued to fund Fera to undertake ongoing work on eradication. Funding amounted to £200,000 in the 2011-12 financial year and for this financial year £150,000 has been allocated.
During the course of the programme and the ongoing work, Fera has made regular reports that provide information on the progress of the eradication programme and which are available on its website. Population levels
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are regularly estimated and there are now approximately 60 individuals remaining in the UK from an estimated 4,400 at the start of the programme.
Ruddy ducks migrating to the UK will be culled as part of the ongoing work and DEFRA is working with colleagues in other European countries through the Bern convention to collaborate on eradication of the population from the Western Palearctic. An action plan to achieve this can be viewed on the Bern convention website.
Seas and Oceans: Biodiversity
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what agreements were reached on the conservation of marine biodiversity in the high seas at the UN Rio+20 conference on Sustainable Development. [114200]
Richard Benyon: Rio+20 reaffirmed the importance of the conservation and sustainable use of marine diversity. On areas beyond national jurisdiction, the declaration recognised the need for a new Implementing Agreement (IA) before the end of 2014. The Government will continue to press for this IA to include marine protected areas in locations beyond national jurisdiction.
Sheep
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assistance her Department is providing to farmers to help tackle sheep lameness. [114233]
Mr Paice: I certainly recognise that lameness in sheep is a significant welfare issue. Over a number of years ADAS, on behalf of DEFRA, has provided comprehensive welfare advice through a variety of media to producers and private veterinary surgeons on the control and prevention of lameness in sheep, most recently in its 2011 advisory programme for farmers. The Sheep Welfare Code contains specific recommendations on the management of lameness and practical measures to help prevent or treat the condition can be found on the DEFRA website in the 2003 publication “Lameness in Sheep”.
I also fully support the work of the Food Animal Initiative and National Sheep Association in their “Stamp out Lameness” campaign which aims to raise awareness in the farming industry of one of the most significant welfare issues in sheep. It also aims to promote a proven, yet practical ‘five-step' lameness reduction plan which has been shown to cut lameness by up to half in the first year.
Shellfish: Dredging
Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the environmental effect of dredging cockle beds. [115071]
Richard Benyon:
DEFRA has made no assessment of the environmental impact of cockle dredging. Cockle fisheries in England occur in the inshore area (predominantly between zero and six nautical miles), and as such their management is the responsibility of
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the inshore fisheries and conservation authorities, who have a duty to ensure fisheries are managed in such a way that they do not adversely impact on the marine environment.
Water Supply
Robert Halfon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate
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she has made of the volume of water leaking from pipes in each region in each of the last five years. [114118]
Richard Benyon: Ofwat, the economic regulator of water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, has collected the following information on the volume of water leaked from pipes in each water company area:
| 1 megalitre (M/l) = 1 million litres | |||||
| Total leakage (Ml/day) | |||||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
Water Supply: Complaints
Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in how many and what proportion of consumer complaints the independent Consumer Council for Water declined to intervene in the latest period for which figures are available; and for what reasons in each such case. [114284]
Richard Benyon [holding answer 28 June 2012]: In 2011-12, the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) received a total of 11,338 complaints about water companies, and dealt with 11,323 (99.87%) of them. Fifteen of those cases (0.13%) fell entirely outside of CCWater's statutory powers to help resolve complaints. The reasons for this were:
five complaints concerned legal issues;
four were about damage claims; and
six related to non-water industry bodies.
In those cases where CCWater was unable to help, staff gave advice to the customer on alternative avenues of assistance.
Justice
Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes
Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the Salvation Army’s efforts in running the Government’s scheme to protect victims of human trafficking. [114865]
Mr Blunt: We will review the first year’s operation of the contract, which was implemented on 1 July 2011, later this year.
Magistrates: Nottinghamshire
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many magistrates there were in Nottinghamshire (a) on the most recent date for which figures are available and (b) in each year between 2008 and 2011. [114892]
Mr Djanogly: Judicial Office figures for the number of magistrates in Nottinghamshire for the requested years are as follows:
| Magistrates | |
| Number | |
The fall in the number of magistrates recruited in Nottinghamshire reflects the national picture. This is due to the reduced workload in the magistrates courts. The Nottinghamshire Advisory Committee has recommended seven candidates for appointment as magistrates. The appointment submission is currently in progress and waiting for approval by the Lord Chancellor
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and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), in concurrence with the senior presiding judge.
Parole Board
Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 681W, on sentencing, what other indicators the Parole Board considers in ascertaining whether a prisoner's risks have been reduced; and what instructions are given to the Parole Board regarding such indicators when they are used in lieu of offending behaviour programmes. [114793]
Mr Blunt: The Parole Board is an independent body which has the power to direct release of indeterminate sentence prisoners if it is satisfied that their detention is no longer necessary for the protection of the public.
The only extant guidance to the Parole Board provided by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), are the “Secretary of State Directions” issued pursuant to Section 239(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The Court of Appeal in the case of R (Girling) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 1779 has ruled that these Directions can be regarded only as guidance in respect of cases where the Parole Board has the power to direct release. The Directions set out all the factors the Secretary of State considers the Parole Board should take into account when considering whether to direct release. These Directions were intended to apply to all cases, including those where the prisoner may not have completed offending behaviour programmes (OBPs). Copies of the Directions have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
As explained in my answer of 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 681W, the independent Parole Board's assessment of a prisoner's suitability for release is based upon areas of risk, rather than whether or not specific OBPs have been completed. A prisoner may address his or her risk in a variety of ways and is not limited to participation in group-based intervention programmes. The Parole Board will look at a range of indicators that a prisoner's risks have been reduced, including addressing the area of risk by completing an alternative OBP, engaging with one-to-one work, education and training, non-accredited courses, work, specialist support and resettlement or demonstrating a sustained period of stable behaviour.
Prisoners: e-mail
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2012, Official
2 July 2012 : Column 460W Report,
column 179W, on prisoners: e-mail, how many contacts were made in each prison in each of the last three years. [114790]
Mr Blunt: I believe the hon. Member is referring to my response of 16 May 2012, Official Report, column 179W, rather than 6 May. As I stated in that response it is not possible to provide the number of contacts each prisoner has received through the Emailaprisoner.com scheme as such information is not held centrally. To provide such information would require the collection of data from each prison and this could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
Probation
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many individuals managed under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements regime usually domiciled in the prison estate in (a) Peterborough, (b) Cambridgeshire and (c) areas outside Peterborough and Cambridgeshire have been resident for any period of time in the bail hostel in Peterborough in each quarter since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [114635]
Mr Blunt: There are a number of reasons why an individual offender may be placed, on release from custody, in an approved premises in a different probation area from the one in which he resided prior to his custodial sentence. Some probation areas have no approved premises. Approved premises that are adjacent to a school or nursery exclude child sex offenders. In other cases, it is necessary to place an offender away from the area in which his victim resides; indeed, an offender will often have an exclusion zone as part of his licence conditions, in order to protect the victim.
Data identifying the probation areas from which cases are referred to approved premises have been collected centrally only since April 2008. The data collected cover the referral of any offender from another area to the approved premises in question and do not identify whether the offender is managed under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). However, as places in approved premises are primarily for high risk of harm offenders on release from custody, in order to protect the public, it is likely that many of the offenders referred to an approved premises from another area will be managed under MAPPA.
The available data are set out in the following table. It shows total admissions into Peterborough approved premises for each full quarter since April 2008, counting Cambridgeshire and out-of-area cases separately. These include short-term admissions such as releases on temporary licence.
| Admissions to Peterborough approved premises by quarter | ||||||||
| April to June | July to September | October to December | January to March | |||||
| From Cambridgeshire | From other areas | From Cambridgeshire | From other areas | From Cambridgeshire | From other areas | From Cambridgeshire | From other areas | |
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Social Security Benefits: Appeals
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2012, Official Report, columns 620-1W, on social security benefits: appeals, what steps he is taking to ensure that the average waiting time at appeal hearing venues in Coventry is no longer than the national average. [114808]
Mr Djanogly: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has implemented a number of measures to bring down the average waiting time for an appeal hearing in Coventry. Additional venue capacity was brought into use in December 2011 and HMCTS is working to identify further suitable venues. Work is also under way to reassess the area which is served by the Coventry venue, to examine whether certain appeals which would currently be heard at the Coventry venue can be heard in other nearby HMCTS estate.
This is in addition to the measures being implemented nationally to increase the capacity of the SSCS Tribunal and reduce waiting times, which include recruiting more judges and medical panel members; increasing administrative resources; increasing the number of cases listed in each tribunal session; running double shifts in its largest processing centre; setting up a customer contact centre to deal with telephone inquiries and the review and continuous improvement of business processes.
These measures are having a positive effect. The total number of disposals has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 433,600 in 2011-12, with the capacity for half a million disposals in 2012-13. Disposals outstripped receipts for the 14 months between January 2011 and February 2012, and the number of cases waiting to be heard fell by 25% in 2011-12. Waiting times are stabilising nationally and HMCTS is working as a matter of priority to reduce them further, in particular in areas where they remain longer than we would wish.
Solicitors
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a list of the solicitors that have been struck off in the last two years. [114608]
Mr Djanogly: The regulation and discipline of solicitors is a matter for the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the regulatory arm of the Law Society and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Neither organisation publishes a list of the names of solicitors struck off the solicitors' roll therefore I am unable to provide a copy for the Library.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal does publish the number of solicitors that have been struck off in its Annual Reports. Figures for 2009-10 and 2010-11 show that a total of 163 solicitors were struck off the roll during that period. It also publishes its decisions on its website. The Solicitors Regulation Authority publishes a list of the 50 most-recently published regulatory decisions on its website. It will provide members of the public with the most complete, up-to-date information about an individual's or firm's regulatory record upon request. It also provides a search engine on its website, that allows members of the public to search an individual's or a firm's regulatory record.
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Victim Support Schemes
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) when he expects to announce policy measures arising from his Department’s consultation “Getting it right for victims and witnesses”; how many responses were received to the consultation; and how many of those responses related to the proposals for police and crime commissioners to commission services for victims; [114641]
(2) if he will publish all responses received to questions 4 to 7, on the commissioning of services for victims, in his Department’s consultation “Getting it right for victims and witnesses”; and how many respondents to (a) the consultation and (b) question 5 of the consultation (i) agreed and (ii) disagreed with the proposal to make police and crime commissioners responsible for the commissioning of victim support services at a local level. [114642]
Mr Blunt: The Government response to the consultation “Getting it right for victims and witnesses” was published on 2 July. It contains the information sought. We were determined to be open and clear about the views put to us, and about whether the majority of respondents agreed or disagreed with a particular proposal, and that is what we have done.
We have no plans to publish the individual responses on questions 4 to 7.
Young Offenders: Bolton
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young adult offenders aged 18 to 20 years from the metropolitan borough of Bolton have been held in (a) young offender institutions, (b) local prisons, (c) women's prisons and (d) other parts of the secure estate in each month since May 2009. [113901]
Mr Blunt: All young offenders serving sentences of DYOI are held in appropriately designated young offender institution (YOI) accommodation within the prison estate. The majority of this accommodation is in dedicated YOIs, although some establishments in the estate have a dual designation (designated both as a prison and a YOI) and hold both adult prisoners and young offenders.
The following table shows the number of offenders aged 18 to 20 years old from the metropolitan borough of Bolton on a set day in each month where data are available since May 2009. The data have only been recorded centrally since May 2009 and from September 2010 are available on a bi-monthly basis.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Information on offenders' residences is provided by offenders on reception into prison and recorded on a central IT system. Addresses can include a home address, an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or next of kin address and these figures are provided in the table.
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If no address is given, an offender's committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident. These figures are also included in the table.
2 July 2012 : Column 464W
No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3% of all offenders; these figures are excluded from the table.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |||||||||
| Prisoners originating from Bolton held in: | May | Sep | Nov | Jan | Mar | May | Jul | Sep | Nov | Jan | Mar | May |
Young Offenders: Offences against Children
Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children aged (a) under 16 and (b) between 16 and 18 have been convicted of a sexual offence against a child in (i) the smallest area for which figures are available and (ii) England. [114877]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants aged 10 to 15 and 16 to 18 found guilty at all courts for sexual offences against a child, by police force area in England, for 2011, can be viewed in the following table.
| Defendants aged 10 to 15 and 16 to 18 found guilty at all courts for ‘Sexual offences against a child’(1), by police force area, England, 2011(2, 3) | ||
| Force | 10 to 15 | 16 to 18 |
| (1) Offences include: Sexual assault on male/female aged under 13, rape or attempted rape against a male/female aged under 16, sexual activity involving a child, familial sexual offences, abuse of children through prostitution and pornography, abuse of a position of trust, sexual grooming, taking, making or possessing indecent photographs of children. (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services: Ministry of Justice. | ||
Young Offenders: Oldham
Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many juvenile offenders from the Metropolitan borough of Oldham have been held in a (a) secure children's home, (b) secure training centre and (c) young offender institution in each month since May 2005. [114366]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the number of young people attached to the Oldham Youth Offending Team (YOT) who have been held in a (a) secure children's home, (b) secure training centre and (c) under-18 young offender institution in each month since May 2005 to April 2012.
These data have been provided by the Youth Justice Board (YJB). The YJB holds data at the YOT area level, not at the local authority level. YOT area data may cover more than one local authority area. Oldham YOT is the same geographic area as the Metropolitan borough of Oldham.
This is based upon monthly population snapshot data. Therefore one young person who is held more than one month in custody will be shown in more than one month in the table.
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The data from April 2011 onwards are provisional and will be finalised when the 2011-12 Youth Justice Statistics are published in 2013.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.
| Table 1: Number of young people (aged 10-17) in custody attached to the Oldham Youth Offending Team (YOT) by establishment type in each month since May 2005 | |||
| Secure children's homes | Secure training centres | Young offender institutions | |
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| Notes: 1. The data come from the Youth Justice Board's Secure Accommodation Clearing House System (SACHS). 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time. 3. The YJB does not hold data at local authority level. However, it does hold data down to Youth Offending Team area, some of which cover more than one local authority area. Oldham YOT is the same geographic area as the Metropolitan borough of Oldham. 4. The table shows the number of young people aged under 18 attached to the Oldham Youth Offending Team who have been held in a (a) secure children's home, (b) secure training centre and (c) young offender institution in each month since May 2005, either on remand or sentenced. 5. This is based upon monthly snapshot data. Therefore one young person who is serving more than one month in custody may be shown in more than one month in the table. 6. Please note, data from April 2011 onwards are provisional. Data from April 2011 onwards will be finalised when the 2011-12 Annual Youth Justice Statistics are published in 2013 and data from April 2012 will be finalised in 2014. | |||
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Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young adult offenders aged 18 to 20 from the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham have been held in a (a) young offender institutions, (b) local prisons, (c) women's prisons and (d) other parts of the secure estate in each month since May 2009. [114367]
Mr Blunt:
All young offenders serving sentences of DYOI are held in appropriately designated young offender institution (YOI) accommodation within the prison
2 July 2012 : Column 468W
estate. The majority of this accommodation is in dedicated YOIs, although some establishments in the estate have a dual designation (designated both as a prison and a YOI) and hold both adult prisoners and young offenders.
The following table shows the number of young adult offenders aged 18 to 20 years old from the metropolitan borough of Oldham on a set day in each month where data are available since May 2009. The data have only been recorded centrally since May 2009 and from September 2010 are available on a bi-monthly basis.
| Location | May 2009 | Sept 2010 | Nov 2010 | Jan 2011 | March 2011 | May 2011 | July 2011 | Sept 2011 | Nov 2011 | Jan 2012 | March 2012 | May 2012 |
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Information on offenders’ residences is provided by offenders on reception into prison and recorded on a central IT system. Addresses can include a home address, an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or next of kin address and these figures are provided in the table above.
If no address is given, an offender’s committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident. These figures are also included in the table above. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3% of all offenders, these figures are excluded from the table above.
Defence
British Indian Ocean Territory
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials from his Department are stationed in the British Indian Ocean Territory. [114360]
Mr Gerald Howarth: There are around 40 members of the armed forces based in British Indian Ocean Territory; there are no civilian officials.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the future of the British Indian Ocean Territory. [114361]
Mr Gerald Howarth: The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has not had any recent discussions on the future of the British Indian Ocean Territory, but he and other Defence Ministers have regular discussions with their US counterparts about a range of subjects which are of interest to both our mutual defence and security interests.
Energy
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether his Department switched its (a) gas or (b) electricity supplier in any of the last 10 years; [113464]
(2) which energy supplier supplies his Department with (a) gas and (b) electricity. [113481]
Peter Luff: In mainland UK, the Ministry of Defence competes its requirements for gas and electricity supply in mainland UK every three to four years.
Current mainland UK suppliers are:
Corona Energy (gas supply—all sites)
EDF Energy (electricity supply—medium and large sites)
British Gas Business (electricity supply—small sites).
Current Northern Ireland suppliers are:
Firmus Energy and Phoenix Natural Gas (gas supply)
Viridian Energy (electricity supply).
Overseas locations are subject to local supply arrangements.
European Fighter Aircraft
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what aspects of the P1EA upgrade for the Eurofighter have been integrated into the aircraft; how many aircraft have received such upgrades; if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of each upgrade; and when all such upgrades will achieve release-to-service status. [113136]
Peter Luff: Although the technical work on integration is well advanced, no aspects of the Phase one enhancement P1EA upgrades have yet been integrated into RAF Typhoons. The date by which the upgrades will be introduced into service with the RAF is under review. The cost of this upgrade is interwoven within the Future Capability Programme 1 which includes costs for the follow-on P1EB upgrade. The cost of this combined upgrade to the UK as published in Major Projects Report 2011, including risk and cost of capital, is £458 million.
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Government Procurement Card
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many procurement card holders in his Department were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12; [113345]
(2) on which dates his Department has published Government procurement card spending over £500 since May 2010. [113363]
Peter Luff: The information on the detailed breakdown of the nature of employment of Government procurement card (GPC) holders is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. GPC cards are only issued to Crown Servants or contractors who are required to make purchases on behalf of the Department where this offers an efficient way of purchasing.
The dates on which the Ministry of Defence has published GPC spending over £500 since May 2010 are as follows:
Spend during March 2012 was published on 7 June 2012.
Spend during February 2012 was published on 30 April 2012.
Spend during January 2012 was published on 3 April 2012.
Spend during December 2011 was published on 29 February 2012.
Spend during November 2011 was published on 31 January 2012.
Spend during October 2011 was published on 23 December 2011.
Spend during the period April 2011 to September 2011 was published on 31 October 2011.
Spend during the period April 2010 to March 2011 was published on 3 May 2012.
Nuclear Submarines
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his oral contribution of 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 614, on nuclear powered submarines, when a planning application will be submitted for refurbishment of the Rolls-Royce Raynesway site; when construction is expected to commence; and when the new facilities are expected to open. [113877]
Peter Luff: Planning permission for the regeneration of the Raynesway site was granted by Derby city council in February 2010 (planning permission number 11/09/01360).
The first construction contract is planned to be let by Rolls-Royce towards the end of this year, with work starting in early 2013.
The first part of the facility is planned to start operating in summer 2016, with the remainder planned to start operating in 2021.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his oral contribution of 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 614, on nuclear powered submarines, how many submarine reactor cores will be built by Rolls-Royce by 2023; and how many such cases will be of the (a) PWR2 and (b) PWR3 design. [113878]
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Peter Luff: In the period up to 2023, the recently announced contract with Rolls-Royce is planned to deliver one pressurised water reactor (PWR) 2 reactor core and one PWR3 reactor core. The PWR3 core will not be manufactured until after the Successor Main Gate decision in 2016.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department owns the nuclear reactor core facility at the Rolls-Royce power engineering site in Raynesway, Derby; and what the asset value of that facility is. [113879]
Peter Luff: The existing facilities and machinery are owned by Rolls-Royce except for equipment that has been provided as Government Funded Equipment. The Ministry of Defence does not therefore hold the asset value of the facilities.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he intends to issue individual contracts for the construction of reactor cores for future submarines. [113880]
Peter Luff: The procurement strategy for reactor cores for later boats, after Successor Boat One, has not yet been decided and will not be decided until after the Successor Main Gate decision in 2016.
Nuclear Submarines: Fires
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the risk that vacuum cleaners used on nuclear submarines may start a fire. [113751]
Peter Luff: All equipment fitted or carried onboard Royal Navy submarines, including vacuum cleaners, is assessed before it enters service to determine the fire risk it presents. When risks are identified, all practicable measures are taken to reduce their severity before a further assessment is made to ensure any remaining risk is tolerable; this assessment is kept under periodic review. Once in-service, equipment undergoes periodic maintenance, in accordance with defined procedures, to ensure that it continues to function safely and correctly.
During major overhaul periods, fire safety becomes the responsibility of the relevant contractor, who is required to provide appropriate fire safety arrangements. This includes conducting assessments of the risks presented by the activities to be undertaken and the equipment to be used.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has commissioned a review of fire safety on submarines following the recent fire aboard the submarine USS Miami. [113752]
Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence has a strict regime to manage fire safety on submarines. This includes the routine assessment of all fire incidents on board Royal Navy ships and submarines, as well as those fire incidents reported by foreign navies. The recent fire on board the USS Miami will be assessed in accordance with these processes, with lessons being identified and taken forward as appropriate.
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Parliamentary Armed Forces Scheme
Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2012, on the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, what (a) letters, (b) e-mails and (c) other correspondence the Minister of State for the Armed Forces received directly on the subject from (i) former members of the armed forces and (ii) other members of the public since May 2010. [113842]
Nick Harvey [holding answer 27 June 2012]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 June 2012, Official Report, columns 1043-44W.
The Ministry of Defence holds no records of letters, e-mails or other correspondence received directly by Ministers from former members of the armed forces or other members of the public, on the subject of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, since May 2010.
I am, however, in regular contact with Sir Neil Thorne, chairman of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, in relation to the management of the scheme itself.
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Procurement
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total (a) number and (b) value of contracts issued by (i) his Department and (ii) bodies for which he is responsible which were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises was in the latest period for which figures are available. [111183]
Peter Luff: Ministry of Defence spend with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been reported in the Cabinet Office report “Making Government business more accessible to SMEs—One Year on”, which is available at:
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/making-government-business-more-accessible-smes-one-year
The approximate number and value of new contracts placed with SMEs, for the latest period available are given in the following table:
| Number | Value (£ million) | Latest period for which figures are available | |
International Development
Argentina
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what discussions he has had with the US government on its decision on 24 April 2012 to oppose a loan to Argentina from the Inter-American Development Bank; [114203]
(2) whether the UK representative at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) opposed the proposed loan to Argentina from the IADB on 24 April 2012; and if he will make a statement. [114205]
Mr Duncan: There were no loans for Argentina tabled for approval or discussed by the IADB board on 24 April 2012. A loan however was discussed on 21 June. The UK representative at the Inter-American Development did not support this loan. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), has not had discussions with the US Government on loans to Argentina.
Bangladesh
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what his policy is on support for open-pit coal mining in Bangladesh; [114514]
(2) what representations his Department has received on open-pit coal mining in Bangladesh. [114518]
Mr Duncan: The decision to allow open-pit mining in Bangladesh is for the Government of Bangladesh to make.
DFID received representations from NGOs in London last year, at official level focussing particularly on the Phulbari mine. As far as we are aware, this is the only representation that we received.
Bilateral Aid
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department's bilateral aid will be delivered through the private sector in each year between 2010 and 2015. [114505]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: DFID does not have the information available to be able to calculate the proportion of bilateral aid that will be delivered through the private sector between 2010 and 2015. Spending decisions are decentralised within the organisation and the amount of aid spent through the private sector is the result of a large number of specific project decisions that are based on achieving the highest value for money.
Developing Countries: Biofuels
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the EU Development Council meeting of 14 May 2012, what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on biofuels and their effect on (a) developing countries and (b) world food prices. [114512]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: Biofuels were not on the agenda at the EU Development Council meeting on 14 May. Some EU Development Ministers mentioned biofuels as an example of ensuring policy coherence in their intervention when discussing other issues under the wider EU development agenda.
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I have not had formal discussions on biofuels with my European counterparts. My Department is working closely with other UK Government Departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Transport to address key concerns related to the impact of biofuels on food prices and on developing countries. These concerns have been also addressed in the DECC ‘UK Bioenergy Strategy' published in April.
Developing Countries: Family Planning
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what criteria he will use to judge the success of the Family Planning Summit in July. [114509]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: Success will ultimately be judged in 2020 when we can assess whether millions more women in the world's poorest countries have access to family planning.
On the day of the summit, we will judge success by whether we put family planning back on the international development agenda as a life-saving intervention.
Developing Countries: Females
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the forthcoming Family Planning Summit will address the circumstances of women living in conflict situations in developing countries; and what his priorities are for the Summit. [114507]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Family Planning summit will focus on women and girls in the world's poorest 69 countries including many that are fragile and conflict states.
The summit is aiming to halve the current number of women and girls in the world's poorest countries who wish to avoid pregnancy but are not using modern contraception. It will support the right of girls and women to decide whether, when and how many children to have. It will mobilize global policy, financing, commodity and service delivery commitments to support the rights of an additional 120 million women and girls in the world's poorest countries to use contraceptive information, services and supplies, without coercion or discrimination, by 2020.
Developing Countries: Malnutrition
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he plans to take to ensure that the outcomes of the 2012 G8 Summit lead to the implementation of an effective strategy to tackle malnutrition and stunting. [114130]
Mr O'Brien: The UK is firmly committed to taking forward the important agreements which were made at the 2012 G8 Camp David summit to tackle malnutrition and stunting. These agreements include:
actively supporting the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement;
improving tracking and disbursements for nutrition across sectors; and
supporting the accelerated release, adoption and consumption of bio-fortified crop varieties.
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The UK plans to take forward a number of these G8 commitments on malnutrition and stunting through a major event on hunger which is scheduled to take place during the Olympics. The UK will also continue to play a leading role in the Scaling Up Nutrition movement, recognising that SUN is the most promising mechanism for delivering international resources to the critical '1000 day window' of opportunity. Since 2010 the UK has more than doubled resources for tackling under-nutrition and made a commitment to reach 20 million pregnant women and children under five with nutrition interventions by 2015.
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the UK last made a contribution to the Global Fund; and what the value of such a contribution was. [113951]
Mr O'Brien: The UK Government brought forward a payment of £127.8 million into November 2011, so that all approved grants under the fund's 10th round of applications (round 10) could be signed.
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution the Government plans to make to the Global Fund. [113952]
Mr O'Brien: Since 2008 the UK Government have contributed some £638 million to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), confirmed to the International Development Committee on 17 April this year that the UK would be providing a further £128 million in each of 2012, 2013 and 2014.
The Secretary of State also indicated that he is prepared to make a significant increase in the UK contribution in 2013 and 2014, in addition to this £128 million per year, subject to successful progress with reforms that are under way within the fund and in the way it does business with implementing countries.
Overseas Aid
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what criteria his Department uses to determine the appropriateness of private, public and other delivery mechanisms for official development assistance to different programmes. [114503]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: Since January 2011, all DFID Department decisions to spend aid money are based on a detailed business case. DFID's business case is based on HM Treasury's 'five case' model. Each business case sets out and appraises the different options and mechanisms to deliver the development outcome being sought. The five interdependent cases assess the strategic, value for money, financial, commercial and management elements of each aid programme. All DFID business cases are published on our external website.
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department's budget will be allocated to wealth creation in each year between 2012 and 2015. [114504]
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Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development's Annual Report and Accounts contain planned allocations by sector for future years. Currently DFID's planned Wealth Creation allocations as a proportion of total budget (excluding conflict pool) are at least:
| Percentage | |
A copy of DFID's latest Annual Report and Accounts is available from the DFID website at this link:
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/Annual-report/
Pages 189 and 191 detail the planned future year allocations by sector.
Please note that the above proportions are subject to change via DFID's results and resources planning cycle.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what consultation documents have been released by his Department since May 2010. [114167]
Mr Duncan: DFID has issued 12 consultations documents since May 2010:
Innovation and economic growth in poor countries—2 June to 5 July 2010;
Public consultation on the design of the new Poverty Impact Fund—29 July to 22 September 2010;
Choice for women: Every pregnancy wanted, every birth safe—27 July to 20 October 2010;
Malaria: Breaking the cycle—2 August to 26 October 2010;
Microfinance (re-named SIMBA: Skills and innovation for micro banking in Africa)—2 August to 9 October 2010;
Humanitarian Emergency Response Review—10 November to 5 January 2011;
Trade white paper—5 November to 14 January 2011;
Reforming CDC Group plc—5 November to 31 January 2011;
Match Funding Scheme—12 January to 25 February 2011;
UK implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption—4 October to 18 October 2011;
The Girls Education Challenge—14 October to 25 November 2011; and
Global resilience action programme—27 March to 20 May 2012.
Telephone Services
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many private sector call centre staff were used by his Department in each of the last three financial years; and at what cost to the public purse. [114459]
UN Women
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he plans to continue funding for UN Women after 2015. [114508]
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Mr Andrew Mitchell: In 2011 when UN Women was established, the Department for International Development, pledged funding via core support of £10 million for years 2011-12 and 2012-13, with a further indicative £10 million per year for the following two years based on reform against the four priorities set out in the Multi-lateral Aid Review (MAR).
We will continue to fund UN Women up till 2015, based on their ability to perform, but beyond that no decision has been taken as is the case for all UN Agencies that we support. This continued support reiterates the view that DFID has of the important role UN Women play globally on gender mainstreaming.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Bahrain
Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to raise allegations of torture and repression of opposition supporters with the authorities in Bahrain. [114337]
Alistair Burt: The UK regularly raises human rights concerns with the Government of Bahrain, including the importance of investigating any allegations of torture and ensuring those responsible are brought to justice. The UK formally raised this issue, and encouraged Bahrain to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, during Bahrain's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in May 2012.
I visited Bahrain on 11 June 2012 and raised our concerns about the human rights situation with a wide range of representatives from the Bahraini Government, as well as opposition parties and representatives from civil society.
Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason the UK has not signed the joint statement on the human rights situation in Bahrain submitted at the 20th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on 27 June 2012 in Geneva. [114878]
Alistair Burt: The UK did not sign up to the joint statement as we did not consider it appropriate at this stage to raise Bahrain under agenda item 4. A number of other countries, including the US and other EU member states, agreed with our assessment and also did not sign the statement.
We agree with much of the substance of the Swiss-led statement and our overall objective remains to support improvements in Bahrain's human rights records. However, we do not believe that the situation in Bahrain is comparable with the situation in the other countries raised under this item such as Syria.
Progress has been made in a number of areas relating to human rights. The Bahrain Government have established a Special Investigations Unit to investigate allegations of torture and mistreatment, amended the penal code to ensure greater accountability for officials connected with torture charges, and introduced a police code of conduct imposing strict rules on the use of force.
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But clearly much more needs to be done and the UK, as a long standing ally, is supporting Bahrain on their path of reform.