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Nuclear Power Stations
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date an inspection was (i) planned and (ii) carried out at each of the UK's nuclear power stations. [116832]
Chris Grayling: The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) carries out site inspections in line with its planned inspection programme. The number of planned and conducted inspections are available only for the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and for the first quarter of 2012-13, and are shown in the following table:
| Site | Financial year | Inspections | |
| Planned | Conducted(1) | ||
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| (1 )Includes reactive inspections. (2) Decommissioning site. (3) Defueling site. (4) Operating site. | |||
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints his Department has received in relation to safety at each of the UK's nuclear power stations in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date. [116833]
Chris Grayling: The Office for Nuclear Regulation handles complaints about safety at the UK's nuclear power stations. The number of complaints received by ONR from external sources about safety at each of the UK's nuclear power stations in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date are set out in the following table:
| Number of complaints | |
| (1) Relating to two sites. | |
Pension Credit
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in receipt of state pension credit. [116673]
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Steve Webb: Statistics on pension credit are available from 100% data and are published on the Department's website at:
http://83.244.183.180/100pc/pc/tabtool_pc.html
Guidance for users is available at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
Pensioners
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the pensioner prices index was in each year since 1997. [117163]
Steve Webb: The pensioner prices index for each year since 1997 is as follows:
| Index (January 1987 = 100) | Change (percentage) | |
| Source: Office for National Statistics, RPI One-person pensioner households index—All Items. | ||
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of pensioners had a net annual income of (a) up to £5,200, (b) £5,200 to £10,400, (c) £10,400 to £20,800, (d) £20,800 to £40,000, (e) £40,000 to £80,000 and (f) over £80,000 in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK in the latest year for which figures are available. [117164]
Steve Webb: Estimates on pensioner incomes are published annually in the Pensioners' Incomes Series available at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=pensioners_income_arc#PI_Latest
The latest year of data which are available are for 2010-11. For the table, three years of data (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11) have been combined, as single-year estimates for Scotland are subject to volatility.
Table 1 shows the proportion of pensioners in each income band for Scotland and the UK, both before and after housing costs.
| Table 1: Proportion (percentage) of pensioners in each income band in Scotland and the UK, before and after housing costs | ||||
| Before housing costs | After housing costs | |||
| Income band | Scotland | United Kingdom | Scotland | United Kingdom |
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| Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Pensioners' Incomes (PI) Series data sourced from the 2010-11 Family Resources Survey (FRS). 2. The Pensioners' Incomes Series analysis is for pensioner units, which are defined as either single pensioners (people over state pension age) or pensioner couples (married or cohabiting pensioners where one or more are over state pension age). 3. Prior to 6 April 2010, women reached the state pension age at 60. From 6 April 2010, the qualifying age for women has been gradually increasing. The changes do not affect the state pension age for men, currently 65. 4. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 5. Figures have been presented on a before housing costs and an after housing costs basis. For before housing costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for after housing costs they are. 6. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 7. The reference period for PI figures is the financial year. 8. Proportions of pensioners have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 9. Figures may not sum due to rounding. 10. Three survey years (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11) have been combined because single year estimates are not considered to be sufficiently reliable. Single year estimates are possible for the United Kingdom; however three-year averages have been supplied so the estimates for Scotland and the United Kingdom are comparable. 11. The preferred income measure for pensioners is after housing costs. Around three quarters of pensioners own their own homes and so have to pay out minimal housing costs from their disposable income compared to the current working age population who typically have to cover mortgage or rental housing costs. Considering pensioners’ incomes compared to others after deducting housing costs allows for more meaningful comparisons of income between working age people and pensioners, and between pensioners overtime. | ||||
Personal Independence Payment
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) on what basis the assumption was made in the case studies provided by his Department in the personal independence payment consultation that blind people would face lower mobility and daily living costs after they have lived with sight loss for longer; [110903]
(2) for what reason support dogs were included in the mobility component of the personal independence payment criteria but orientation aids were not. [110904]
Maria Miller: The Government believes that support in personal independence payment should be targeted at those people who are most affected by their impairments. The proposed assessment criteria for personal independence payment have not yet been finalised but will focus on an individual’s ability to carry out key everyday activities, considering the support they need from aids and appliances and other people to do so. The greatest priority in the assessment will go to those people who are least able to carry out the activities and need the most support. We believe that such an approach allows us to reflect and differentiate between the barriers and extra costs faced by disabled people.
No assumption has been made that blind people will automatically face reduced costs or barriers after they have lived with sight loss for a period of time. However,
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we are aware that many individuals, with a range of different impairments, do adapt to their situations and develop coping strategies that enable them to manage daily activities either unaided or with less support, reducing the barriers and costs they face. The approach taken under personal independence payment will be to assess the needs of the individual not their condition.
Support dogs were specifically included in the second draft of the assessment criteria as we recognise that individuals who have support dogs face particular barriers and costs.
The work to develop the assessment criteria is still ongoing. On 30 April, we completed a 15-week formal consultation. We received around 1,000 responses to this, including a joint response from the visual impairment sector. We are considering all of these comments very carefully as we evaluate what further improvements need to be made to the assessment. If we need to make more changes to ensure it fairly reflects the needs of individuals, we will do so.
We intend to publish a response to the consultation alongside a revised draft of the assessment criteria later in the year, once our considerations are complete.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long he expects the reassessment to take of personal independence payment benefit entitlement for those receiving disability living allowance. [117322]
Maria Miller: All DLA recipients will have been invited to claim PIP by March 2016. We have recently concluded our consultation on the detailed design of PIP, including our plans for reassessing existing DLA recipients, and we will be publishing our response later this year.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria his Department used to select organisations bidding for health and disability assessment services contracts. [117323]
Maria Miller: The information requested by the hon. Member is available on the Contracts Finder website at the following links under “documents” then “Instruction to Bidders”:
http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en¬iceid=530395&fs=true
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of reassessing the personal independence payment benefit entitlement for all those receiving disability living allowance; [117324]
(2) what estimate he has made of the savings to the public purse that will result from the reassessment of personal independence payment benefit entitlement for all those receiving disability living allowance. [117328]
Maria Miller: The Department's estimates of the costs and benefits of PIP are available in the impact assessment published in May 2012, accessible at the following link:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dla-reform-wr2011-ia.pdf
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Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to ensure people undergoing reassessment of personal independence payment benefit entitlement are able to appeal against the findings of reassessments carried out by private organisations on behalf of the Government. [117325]
Maria Miller: Decisions on entitlement to personal independence payment will be made by decision makers within the Department for Work and Pensions. Their decisions will be based on information from a range of sources, including evidence from the claimant, the health care professionals who work with them and advice from the assessment provider. If a claimant wishes to dispute a decision on benefit entitlement, they will be able to ask for a reconsideration of the original decision. Reconsideration will be a mandatory process. If, following a reconsideration of the original decision, the claimant still thinks the decision is incorrect they will be able to appeal to an independent tribunal.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received from (a) organisations and (b) individuals on the reassessment of personal independence payment benefit entitlement for all those receiving disability living allowance. [117326]
Maria Miller: The Department has received a wide range of representations from individuals and organisations, both in meetings and in writing. We have conducted a range of consultations on the detail of personal independence payment, the last two of which closed on 30 April and 30 June respectively. We intend to respond to those consultations later this year.
In addition to formal consultation my officials and I regularly meet with stakeholders, including those organisations who are providing invaluable contributions as members of the Personal Independence Payment Implementation Development Group. Members of the group have written to the Department about reassessment proposals, as have more senior members of their organisations. Their comments will be considered alongside others raised as part of the wider public consultation.
The introduction of personal independence payment (PIP) is also being supported by a comprehensive programme of user-centred design involving disabled people (including current disability living allowance claimants) and representative organisations.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the value of current contracts for health and disability assessment services (a) in Scotland, North East England, North West England and the Isle of Man, (b) in Wales and Central England, (c) in London and South England, (d) in Northern Ireland and (e) nationally. [117330]
Chris Grayling:
The Department for Work and Pensions re-awarded Atos Origin IT Services Ltd, trading as Atos Healthcare, a new contract to provide Medical Services on behalf of the Department from 1 September 2005. The total cost of these services amounts to approximately £100 million per annum. This figure not only covers the total number of assessments undertaken across all benefits, but also costs relating to written and
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verbal medical advice, fixed overheads, administrative costs, investment in new technology and other service improvements.
The above contract covers England, Scotland, Wales but not Northern Ireland which has its own separate contract.
The DWP pays nothing to Atos Healthcare for the provision of Medical Services in Northern Ireland.
The overall total cost for the seven-year term of the Medical Services Contract between the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency (NISSA) and Atos Healthcare is £82 million.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information will be used from existing disability living allowance files when contacting claimants to invite them to apply for personal independence payments. [117950]
Maria Miller: Disability living allowance claimants, who are in the age range 16 to 64 when personal independence payment is introduced (8 April 2013), will be contacted between October 2013 and March 2016 about reassessment. The contact letter will explain next steps and what the claimant needs to do if they wish to make a claim to personal independence payment. In order to ensure that the correct people are contacted, we will take the age, name, address and national insurance number of the claimant and any alternative format requirements from the DLA computer system.
If the DLA computer system holds details of an appointee, then this will be the person who will be contacted.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 July 2012, Official Report, column 635W, on publications, how much his Department has spent on (a) circulars, (b) consultation documents and (c) publications since May 2010. [117828]
Chris Grayling: This information is not held centrally by the Department and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Social Security Benefits
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will provide a ready reckoner to show how much the benefits award of households will be affected by the cap before implementation of the total household benefit cap policy. [118126]
Chris Grayling: An online calculator is available to use at:
www.direct.gov.uk/benefitcap
This will enable households to get an estimate of how much lower their housing benefit could be if the amount of benefit they get is more than the cap limits.
Rosie Cooper:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the amount of benefits recovered via the Compensation Recovery Unit in the last financial year for which figures are available; and what assessment it
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has made of the potential effect on the future amount of such benefits recovered of the proposal to increase the small claims limit for personal injury to £5,000. [118322]
Chris Grayling: The DWP compensation recovery unit (CRU) recovered the sum of £138,699,764.14 in benefits in the financial year 2011-12.
The work undertaken with DWP and analytical division has not identified any significant change of compensation recovery in relation to the number of compensation claims we are forecasting to receive in the compensation recovery unit.
Social Security Benefits: Armed Forces
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many (a) spouses and (b) and civil partners of serving members of each branch of HM armed forces applied for (i) jobseeker's allowance, (ii) employment and support allowance subsequent to returning to the UK after accompanying their spouse or partner on an overseas posting in each of the last two years; and how many had their application refused due to insufficient accrual of national insurance contributions; [116971]
(2) how many (a) spouses and (b) civil partners of serving members of each branch of HM armed forces are in receipt of (i) jobseeker's allowance, (ii) employment and support allowance, (iii) incapacity benefit and (iv) income support; [116972]
(3) how many applications were made by serving armed forces personnel or their spouses or civil partners for a discretionary exception to the rules regarding the accrual of national insurance contributions as they relate to the awarding of jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many such applications were granted. [116973]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.
In April 2010, the Department introduced an award of Class 1 national insurance credits for service spouses and civil partners to cover periods in which they were accompanying a member of the armed forces posted overseas. The credits, which have been in effect since April 2010, will help protect the eligibility of service spouses and civil partners to a basic state pension and contribution-based working-age benefits from 1 January 2012.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many spouses or civil partners of service personnel in each branch of the armed forces whose partner is serving in Afghanistan applied for a crisis or other loan from the Social Fund in each of the last two years. [116974]
Steve Webb: The Department does not collect data on the number of Social Fund applicants, where the partner is a serving member of the armed forces.
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Social Security Benefits: Bexley
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) the London Borough of Bexley have had their benefit withdrawn for refusing to work since May 2010. [115574]
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Chris Grayling: Statistics on how many people in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) Bexley local authority who have had their benefit withdrawn for refusing to work since May 2010 are only available for Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claimants, which are shown in the following table.
| Number of JSA claimants in (a) the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) Bexley local authority who have had a sanction applied for refusing employment: 1 May 2010 to 31 January 2012 | |
| Area | Number of JSA claimants |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Refusal of employment is a varied length sanction. 3. Varied Length Sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for leaving employment voluntarily without just cause, refusing employment without good cause, or losing employment through misconduct. The actual period in each case is at the discretion of the Adjudication Officer who makes the decision. 4. Geographies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. Boundaries are as at the reference date. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. | |
Statistics on how many people in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) Bexley local authority have had their benefit withdrawn for refusing to work since May 2010 for non JSA claimants are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Social Security Benefits: Kilmarnock
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency had their benefit suspended for failure to attend (a) a job interview and (b) Jobcentre Plus appointments in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [116295]
Chris Grayling: Statistics on how many people had their benefit suspended for failing to attend a job interview in each of the last five years are not available.
Statistics on how many people had their benefit suspended for failing to attend Jobcentre Plus appointments in each of the last five years are only available for jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) claimants, which are shown in the following table.
| Number of JSA claimants in Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency who have had a sanction applied for failing to attend a Jobcentre Plus appointment in the years 2007 to 2011 | |
| Number of JSA claimants | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Claimants may appear in the table more than once if they have had a sanction applied in more than one year 3. Failing to attend a Jobcentre Plus appointment is classified as one of the following; Failure to attend place on training scheme/emp prog, Failure to attend Advisory Interview (post April 2010), Failure to attend Back to Work Session and Failure to attend Advisory interview/FTP signed declaration. 4. Sanctions for Failure to Attend Back to Work Sessions have been applied since April 2009. Prior to April 2010, a Failure to Attend Advisory Interview attracted an entitlement decision. Since then, it has attracted a fixed length sanction of between one and two weeks. 5. Entitlement Decisions: These are questions on which entitlement to JSA depends. For example, if there is doubt around whether the jobseeker's agreement (JSAg) is suitable, whether they are actively looking for work or making themselves available for work. In most cases payment of JSA will be suspended by benefit processing until the doubt is resolved. 6. Fixed Length Sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for refusal, without good cause, to attend an employment programme or carry out a jobseeker's direction. Payment of benefit continues in full pending the Adjudication Officer's decision on a sanction question. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. | |
Statistics on how many people had their benefit suspended for failing to attend Jobcentre Plus appointments in each of the last five years for non JSA claimants are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Social Security Benefits: Payments
Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with (a) banks and (b) other financial institutions on the move to monthly payments of benefit into an account. [117970]
Chris Grayling: We have had discussions with a wide range of banks and representative trade bodies including the British Bankers Association. We have also had discussions with other financial service providers, including credit unions and suppliers of prepaid cards and mobile banking applications. Our discussions have focused on making sure there is an adequate range of provision for claimants to have a choice as to the type of account they will need to transition successfully to monthly payments, taking into account pre-existing capability, and any budgeting support needs.
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Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of benefit claimants currently without bank accounts. [117971]
Chris Grayling: Latest available information suggests that approximately 4.7 million people of working age have their DWP benefits paid directly into a transactional bank account, 740,000 are paid into a Post Office card account, and 102,000 currently receive all their payments by cheque. This may be because they do not have an account, or because they are unwilling to have their money paid into an account. No estimate has been made of the number of benefit claimants currently without bank accounts.
Social Security Benefits: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun have had their benefit withdrawn for refusing to work since May 2010. [116293]
Chris Grayling: Statistics on how many people in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun have had their benefit withdrawn for refusing to work since May 2010 are only available for jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) claimants, which are shown in the following table.
| Number of JSA claimants in (a) Scotland Jobcentre Plus Group (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency who have had a sanction applied for refusing employment: 1 May 2010-31 January 2012 | |
| Area | Number of JSA claimants |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Refusal of employment is a varied length sanction 3. Varied Length Sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for leaving employment voluntarily without just cause, refusing employment without good cause, or losing employment through misconduct. The actual period in each case is at the discretion of the Adjudication Officer who makes the decision. 4. Jobcentre Plus Group: Formerly known as Jobcentre Plus Regions. Jobcentre Plus Groups were updated to reflect changes to the hierarchical structure of Jobcentre Plus implemented on 5 April 2011 from 11 regions to seven groups. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. | |
Statistics on how many people in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun have had their benefit withdrawn for refusing to work since May 2010 for non- JSA claimants are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Staff
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in his Department were in the Civil Service redeployment pool on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these had been in the redeployment pool for more than six months at that date. [116788]
Chris Grayling: The civil service does not have a redeployment pool, but does offer a career transition service aimed at surplus staff to Departments. DWP SCS surplus employees had access to this service which provided support and assistance with their redeployment activities to December 2011.
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DWP has run its own redeployment and support unit (RSU) since April 2011 for DWP surplus employees of all grades from AA to G6. On the 30 June 2012 the number of surplus employees in the RSU was 113 people with 82 (73%) that have been surplus for more than six months.
State Retirement Pensions
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department's Green Paper, A State Pension for the 21st Century, when he expects to publish a White Paper on the same subject. [116696]
Steve Webb: At Budget 2012, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), confirmed that we will reform the state pension system to introduce a simpler, single tier state pension for future pensioners to better support saving for retirement. The Budget also confirmed that the Government will introduce a mechanism so that future changes in state pension age take changes in longevity into account.
As I have confirmed in a written statement to the House on 12 July 2012, Official Report, columns 64-65WS, given the scale, complexity and importance of these two significant reforms we are still working on the details to ensure we get them right. Therefore, we will set out further detail on both the single tier reform and state pension age review mechanism in a white paper in the autumn.
Universal Credit
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2012, Official Report, columns 281-2W, on universal credit, when he last met (a) the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and (b) Scottish Ministers to discuss (i) welfare reform and (ii) the introduction of universal credit. [117198]
Chris Grayling: The information available, pursuant to my answer of 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 281W, is as follows:
On 14 March 2012, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), met Nicola Sturgeon MSP, the Scottish Government's Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy. On 25 April 2012, the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate (Steve Webb), also met Nicola Sturgeon MSP.
On 11 July 2012, my noble Friend Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform, met Nicola Sturgeon MSP as well as Kenny MacAskill MSP, the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Justice There is also regular communication and dialogue about universal credit and the Government’s wider welfare reforms between the Department's officials and both their counterparts in the Scottish Government and officers in the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities COSLA. This includes monthly meetings between officers of all three organisations. The most recent of these was on 27 June 2012.
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The Department's universal credit programme director met with the then President of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in November 2011.
Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the suitability of basic bank accounts for the budgeting needs of recipients of universal credit; [117968]
(2) what financial products have been considered to assist recipients of universal credit to adjust to monthly payments and budgeting; [117969]
(3) what assessment he has made of the likely level of availability of basic bank accounts for recipients of universal credit. [117982]
Chris Grayling: We are working with a range of banking and financial product providers to make financial services accessible and supportive to potential universal credit recipients across the income spectrum; particularly to low-income households who may have been excluded in the past.
Basic bank account are very widely available and will support the budgeting needs of many universal credit claimants, as they can receive money from multiple sources, including wages as well as benefits, and have the necessary transactional capabilities necessary for paying rent and household bills by direct debit or standing order.
We recognise that some claimants will need additional help to adapt successfully to monthly payments. This may take the form of budgeting advice and skills development, but may also include enhanced financial products with additional budgeting functions, such as ‘jam jar’ accounts.
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department plans to monitor the payment of universal credit for joint claimants in male/female couples into (a) joint accounts, (b) accounts belonging to the woman and (c) accounts belonging to the man. [118265]
Chris Grayling: Universal credit will be paid as a single monthly payment and it will be for the couple to decide whose account universal credit is paid into or whether it should be paid into a joint account. It is for them to decide how to manage their finances in a way that best meets their needs. However if a joint claim couple can not agree an account into which their universal credit should be paid the Secretary of State may nominate one. The Department will not be monitoring the payment of universal credit into individual or joint accounts.
Work Capability Assessment: Recordings
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2012, Official Report, column 930W, on work capability assessment: recordings, what the terms of reference are for the assessment of the effectiveness of and demand for recordings of work capability assessments; and how he plans to assess the success or failure of the arrangements. [118190]
Chris Grayling:
We are currently monitoring uptake of the service and have asked Atos Healthcare to try and accommodate requests for audio recording where a claimant makes a request in advance of their assessment,
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this is being monitored on a weekly basis. We are also developing criteria as previously indicated so that we may evaluate the success of this approach, which will take into account factors such as value for money and the value it adds to the work capability assessment process.
Working Conditions
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2012, Official Report, column 531W, on working conditions, what the results were of each of the investigations conducted by the Health and Safety Executive into excessive heat in the workplace. [117841]
Chris Grayling: Information on the results of each of the investigations conducted by the Health and Safety Executive into excessive heat in the workplace can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2012, Official Report, column 531W, on working conditions, for what reasons the number of Health and Safety investigations into excessive heat in the workplace decreased between 2007-08 and 2010-11. [117842]
Chris Grayling: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is committed to investigating incidents involving serious injury and ill health or where there are serious breaches of the law. HSE select incidents for investigation using its published Incident Selection Criteria, and the number of incidents investigated involving excessive heat will vary from year-to-year.
Transport
Biofuels
Sir Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the (a) growth and (b) employment potential of the production of sustainable biofuels in the UK. [118364]
Norman Baker: “Advanced Biofuels: The Potential for a UK Industry, NNFCC 11-011” was published in November 2011. The study, commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Transport (DFT), estimated that strong development of advanced biofuels could create up to 6,000 full-time construction jobs and over 2,000 permanent jobs supplying and operating the plants by 2020.
The potential for future growth in the supply of sustainable biofuels and its effect on UK employment directly and indirectly will continue to be considered in future decisions on what additional measures will be required to ensure that the UK delivers the requirements of the renewable energy and fuel quality directives in the period 2014 to 2020.
Charities
Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to which registered charities her Department has made payments in the last three years; and what sums over what period have been paid in each case. [118153]
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Norman Baker: I regret that the requested information is not available other than at disproportionate cost, as DFT's accounting systems do not indicate which payments are made to registered charities as part of the delivery of the Department's objectives.
Cycling: Safety
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisers in her Department have attended each of the cycle safety stakeholder forums since their creation; and when the forums will next meet. [118414]
Mike Penning: The Cycle Safety Stakeholder Group is a sub-group of the Cycling Stakeholder Forum. Issues of significance raised at the Cycle Safety Stakeholder Group are promulgated to the Cycling Stakeholder Forum. Ministers have been present at all three meetings of the Cycling Stakeholder Forum. The safety sub-group met on 6 March 2012, 19 March 2012 and 15 May 2012. The DfT was represented at official level at all three meetings. The next Cycle Safety Stakeholder Group is due to meet in November 2012.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans her Department has to produce a strategy for cycle safety. [118415]
Mike Penning: The Government's approach to road safety is set out in the White Paper: “Strategic Framework for Road Safety”, and this sets out our approach to continuing to reduce casualties on Britain's roads. We are currently working with stakeholders through both the Cycling Stakeholder Forum and Cycle Safety Stakeholder Forum; and the Safety Forum is currently working on a list of ideas and actions to propose to Ministers.
Driving: Diabetes
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is taking to publicise the changes to the standards for drivers with diabetes mellitus in applying for a licence to drive lorries and buses. [118047]
Mike Penning: Information about the changes to medical standards for drivers with diabetes mellitus has been provided to diabetes interest groups, the press, road haulage and passenger transport industries and featured on both the DVLA and DirectGov websites. Detailed information was also provided to relevant health care professionals so that they could advise patients on changes to the medical standards for driving.
Government Car and Despatch Agency
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date the Government Car and Despatch Agency will lose its agency status. [118416]
Mike Penning: The Government Car and Despatch Agency will lose agency status on the 1 October this year.
3 Sep 2012 : Column 184W
Heathrow Airport
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2012, Official Report, column 491W, on Heathrow Airport, how many of the (a) terminating and (b) transfer passengers arrived at Heathrow from (i) short-haul and (ii) long-haul routes. [118308]
Mrs Villiers: The estimated number of terminating and transfer passengers arriving from short and long haul routes at Heathrow in 2011 is given in the following table.
| Estimated number of arriving passengers | ||
| million | ||
| Terminating | Transfer | |
Local Transport Boards
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether local transport boards will be subject to requests made under the (a) Freedom of Information Act 2000 and (b) Environmental Information Regulations. [118408]
Norman Baker: Local Transport Bodies, as proposed in the Department's consultation on the devolution of major local transport schemes, may take a variety of different forms. Local authorities will play a key role as members of local transport bodies, and, as local authorities are public bodies, they are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. In addition, we have made it very clear in our consultation that we expect local transport bodies to operate with a high level of transparency and adhere to the local government Transparency Code.
Longbridge Station
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations her Department has received from (a) Birmingham city council, (b) Centro, (c) Network Rail and (d) London Midland on improvements to and renovation of Longbridge Station since May 2010. [118210]
Mrs Villiers: The Department has no record of any such representations since May 2010.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she intends to answer the letter sent to her by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 8 June 2012 with regard to Mr G Hession. [118259]
Norman Baker: The Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), replied on the 26 July 2012.
3 Sep 2012 : Column 185W
Motor Vehicles: Insurance
Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the merits of separating the annual insurance check from the annual vehicle tax process. [118034]
Mike Penning: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is planning to issue a public consultation on the proposal to separate the annual insurance check from the annual vehicle tax process. An initial impact assessment has been prepared and will accompany the consultation.
Official Cars
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what security checks are proposed for (a) drivers and (b) other staff from companies bidding for the contract to provide Ministerial car travel as part of the additional services to the Government Car Service. [118409]
Mike Penning: The Department for Transport is currently working with the Government Procurement Service to establish a framework contract for the provision of a top up service for the Government Car Service which Departments can then choose to utilise. As part of the procurement process, providers have to ensure that all drivers and other staff supporting the contract are vetted to counter-terrorism check (CTC) level.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answers of 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 46W, 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 640W and 2 July 2012, Official Report, columns 443-44W, on publications, how much her Department has spent on (a) publications and (b) consultation documents since May 2010. [117910]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has issued 139 new consultation documents since May 2010. In relation to costs, the only data that are readily available from the central Department is in relation to (a) printed publications and (b) consultations where printing costs can be separately identified. The amount spent since May 2010 is £359,000. However, I regret to say that further information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The information provided relates to the central Department and its seven Executive agencies.
Railways: Capital Investment
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the oral statement of 16 July 2012, Official Report, columns 687-90, on rail investment, which bodies will be able to apply for support under the £900 million smaller schemes category; what the (a) timescale and (b) methods are for making such applications; and if she will make a statement. [118254]
Mrs Villiers:
The High Level Output Specification (HLOS) published on 16 July set out the strategic outputs for the period 2014 to 2019 sought by Government.
3 Sep 2012 : Column 186W
It is now for the rail industry to determine how best to deliver these outcomes, overseen by the Office of Rail Regulation. The rail industry is expected to respond with a Strategic Plan in January 2013 setting out the schemes it believes are required to meet the outputs set out in the HLOS statement.
Railways: South West
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to her Department's publication, Unlocking Growth in Cities, what powers over rail planning and delivery she plans to give to Bristol and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership. [118407]
Mrs Villiers: The West of England Partnership of unitary authorities has expressed interest in taking on further responsibilities for rail as part of the Government's decentralisation agenda. We will be considering this in the autumn.
Rescue Services: Liverpool
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the coastguard station at Liverpool to close. [118458]
Mike Penning: The modernisation plan for Her Majesty's Coastguard was announced on 22 November 2011, Official Report, columns 161-64. This announcement outlined that Liverpool MRCC would close by the end of financial year 2014-15.
Roadworks
Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of the likely effect on standards and quality of works of the revocation of the Street Works (Qualifications of Supervisors and Operatives) (England) Regulations 2009. [118287]
Norman Baker: Proposals to revoke regulations relating to Street Works qualifications were the subject of a recent consultation, which may be viewed on the Department for Transport website at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2012-05/
Published alongside the consultation documentation was an impact assessment which considered a consequential drop in standards of reinstatement and safety at sites very unlikely. My view is that, given the statutory codes of practice regulating safety and reinstatement standards, it is unnecessary to also regulate how individuals choose to equip themselves to meet those standards.
Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what steps she plans to take to safeguard works once approval of permit schemes is devolved to local authorities; [118313]
(2) what assessment she has made of the effect of inconsistency between permit schemes on the risks to safety and quality of works through inadvertent non-compliance; and what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the level of risk of removing the need for her to approve such permit schemes. [118314]
3 Sep 2012 : Column 187W
Norman Baker: A recent consultation on permit schemes (Department for Transport website at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2012-02/) outlined my proposals for local authorities to operate permit schemes or vary existing schemes made under the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA.2004), which are operated under the Traffic Management Permit Scheme (England) Regulations 2007 ("the Regulations"). As permit schemes are operated by local authorities I do not consider that there will be any change to the safeguarding of works.
There are now a number of authorities operating permit schemes, including those in London, Kent and Northamptonshire, which have now been in place long enough to have undertaken an assessment after 12 months. These schemes differ in their operation, but evidence shows they are delivering promising improvements to the effective use of the road network. Schemes are designed to be appropriate to local needs and I have therefore made no assessment of the effect of inconsistency between schemes.
The consultation documents included a draft impact assessment and respondents were asked to supply views and evidence about the effect of removing the need for permit schemes to be centrally approved. Responses to the consultation are currently being analysed and considered and I plan to publish the Department's response by the end of the year.
Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Railway Line
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking to ensure electrification of the rail line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton. [118105]
Mrs Villiers: The rail industry did not propose electrification of the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton line for delivery in the 2014-19 period and it was not included in the High Level Output Specification (HLOS) published in July. If the rail industry is able to demonstrate a business case for electrification, it could be considered for inclusion in a future HLOS.
Thameslink Railway Line
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Siemens will be deemed to be in default on the Thameslink Rolling Stock contract if it does not sign commercial close by a certain date; and whether any such date has been set. [118145]
Mrs Villiers: The Department expects to conclude negotiations and to award the Thameslink Rolling Stock contract early this autumn. Both the Department and Siemens are working to conclude the deal as quickly as possible. As the contract has not yet been awarded, there is no legal obligation of which Siemens would be in default if it does not sign by a certain date.
Chris Williamson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether a time limit has been set between
3 Sep 2012 : Column 188W
awarding of preferred bidder status and financial close for the Thameslink contract. [118146]
Mrs Villiers: The Department expects to conclude negotiations and to award the Thameslink Rolling Stock early this autumn.
Transport: Health
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department of the recommendations of the British Medical Association report entitled Healthy transport = Healthy lives. [118102]
Norman Baker: I welcome the British Medical Association's report which makes the case for closer integration between transport and health policy. The Department for Transport works with the Department of Health and local authorities to ensure transport policies help deliver health and wellbeing goals wherever possible. Our £600 million Local Sustainable Transport Fund is supporting improvements across the country for public transport users, cyclists and pedestrians, with almost all of the approved packages including measures to increase active travel. We are also working with the National Institute of Clinical Excellence and others to support local authorities in aligning transport and health policies in advance of the devolution of public health responsibilities in 2013. In this context, I wrote to the British Medical Association on 2 August to outline our current work and offer assistance in disseminating their conclusions to local authorities.
West Coast Railway Line
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the expected timetable is for the awarding of the Inter-City West Coast franchise. [118117]
Mrs Villiers: Bids for the new West Coast franchise due to start in December 2012 were received in May 2012 and were thoroughly evaluated. The Department for Transport announced the award of the new franchise to First West Coast Limited on 15 August 2012.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she plans to take to ensure that on-train catering facilities are maintained at an acceptable level under arrangements for the new Inter-City West Coast franchise. [118118]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport announced the award of the new franchise to First West Coast Limited on 15 August 2012.
The new contract requires the new franchisee to make available either or both of:
(a) an on board shop or fixed catering facility; and/or
(b) a trolley-based catering facility
in respect of at least 95% of passenger services, with effect from the end of 2014.
3 Sep 2012 : Column 189W
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 3 September 2012
Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drink banning orders on (a) application and (b) conviction were issued in (i) England and Wales, (ii) Nottinghamshire and (iii) Ashfield constituency in each of the last three years. [117327]
Lynne Featherstone: In England and Wales there were the following drinking banning orders issued.
| Number on application | Number on conviction | |
In Nottinghamshire there were the following drinking banning orders issued.
| Number on application | Number on conviction | |
| Source: HM Courts Service (latest published figures available end of May 2012) | ||
Figures for the individual constituency area of Ashfield are not held centrally.
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to reduce the number of cases of underage binge drinking in the UK. [117761]
Lynne Featherstone: The Alcohol Strategy published in March 2012 outlines the action that the Government are taking to address underage binge drinking including support to parents and young people about the dangers of alcohol. This also includes doubling the maximum fine for the offence of persistently selling alcohol to children to £20,000 and increasing the punitive period of closure that can be imposed on a premises from 48 to 336 hours (two weeks).
3 Sep 2012 : Column 190W
Animal Experiments: EU Law
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason she has changed her interpretation of EU Directive 2010/63/EU in respect of the use of stray and feral animals in experiments; and what consultation she undertook on this change. [117691]
Lynne Featherstone: European directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes is to be implemented in the United Kingdom through a revision of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) from 1 January 2013.
Interpretation of the provisions of the directive has been an ongoing process informed by legal advice, responses to the public consultation on options for transposition of the directive held in 2011, and discussions with the bioscience sector, animal welfare and protection groups, funding bodies, training bodies and practitioners under ASPA and the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Inspectorate.
The position with respect to stray animals has changed since I last responded to the House on this matter in my written answer to the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin) on 21 June 2012, Official Report, columns 1111-12W.
After further consideration, I am now satisfied that I am not required to transpose the discretion contained in Article 11 to permit the use of stray animals. I have therefore concluded that it is possible to prohibit the use of stray animals of domestic species, without any exemptions, under the revised ASPA. This is now reflected in the draft regulations published in July 2012.
The draft regulations also prohibit the use of feral animals of domestic species, but include specific exemptions for essential studies relating to either the health or welfare of the animals or a serious threat to the environment or to human or animal health and where the purpose can only be achieved by using feral animals. I believe these exemptions are necessary for the rare occasions on which the use of feral animals may be justified. Any exemption will be strictly controlled through the relevant project authorisation to ensure only feral animals are used.
Antisocial Behaviour
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) individual support orders, (b) intervention orders and (c) designated public place orders were issued in (i) England and Wales, (ii) Nottinghamshire and (iii) Ashfield constituency in each of the last five years. [117329]
Lynne Featherstone: The figures requested for the last three years were provided in answer to the hon. Member’s previous questions, 114851 and 114785, 5 July 2012, Official Report, columns 777-78W. The figures for the preceding two years, 2007 and 2008, are as follows.
In 2007, 50 Individual Support Orders (ISOs) were attached to antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at magistrates courts in England and Wales, none of which were issued in Nottinghamshire. In 2008, 41 ISOs were attached to antisocial behaviour orders
3 Sep 2012 : Column 191W
issued at magistrates courts in England and Wales, none of which were issued in Nottinghamshire. Centrally held data on ISOs are not collated below police force area level.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) did not collect data on Intervention Orders (IOs) attached to ASBOs until 1 October 2007. No IOs were reported to MOJ as having been issued in England and Wales between 1 October 2007 and 31 December 2007. Two IOs were reported as having been issued in 2008, neither of which was issued in Nottinghamshire.
133 Designated Public Place Orders (DPPOs) were granted in England and Wales in 2007, including seven in Nottinghamshire and none in Ashfield. 89 DPPOs were granted in England and Wales in 2008, including three in Nottinghamshire and none in Ashfield.
Biometrics
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the use of IRIS scanners; what estimate she has made of the total cost of this technology, including its removal; and if she will make a statement [118141]
Damian Green: A decision has been taken to decommission the Iris Recognition Immigration System (IRIS). IRIS was the first biometrically enabled automated border control system installed in the UK and has now been operating for nearly seven years. IRIS provided significant benefits to our border operation but we are now establishing our longer-term business needs for our automated clearance systems. Although IRIS is very secure as a biometric and relatively quick to capture and verify, it is not widely used in travel documentation or within other related services.
In total, we have spent £4.9 million in capital and by September 2012 will have spent £5.6 million in resource costs on IRIS, which includes all decommissioning costs.
Borders: Personal Records
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to extend the proposed authority to carry scheme from aviation to maritime and rail entry points. [118139]
Lynne Featherstone: International aviation remains a target for terrorist attack, as demonstrated by the foiled bomb plot in May 2012. The Security and Travel Bans Authority to Carry Scheme 2012 applies to air passenger carriers. However the Government is not complacent; we understand that international rail and maritime services are not immune from terrorist attack and, in principle, plan to extend future authority to carry arrangements to those services.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects a fully automated authority to carry scheme to be in place; and what estimate she has made of the costs of a fully automated scheme. [118140]
Damian Green: We are currently undertaking the design phase to deliver the technical capability for an automated scheme, with implementation due in 2013. The scheme will then be rolled out to carriers.
3 Sep 2012 : Column 192W
Currently our best estimate of the cost of implementing the automated system, which was included in the final Impact Assessment of the Implementation of an Authority-to-Carry Scheme under section 124 of Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 published in February 2012, is £37 million over a 10-year implementation period.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost has been of the e-Borders programme to date. [118142]
Damian Green: Between 1 April 2007 and 30 June 2012, the e-Borders Programme cost £409 million.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the providers are of the e-Borders programme. [118143]
Damian Green: The e-Borders Programme has a number of suppliers: Fincore, Fujitsu, IBM and Serco.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to secure a long-term provider or providers for the e-Borders programme beyond 2014. [118144]
Damian Green: The Border Systems procurement project within e-Borders has been established to acquire a new service provider to take responsibility for the maintenance and future development of the e-Borders applications. The procurement exercise, which will be EU advertised, will be initiated in the autumn.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to extend authority to carry to include crime and immigration; and when she expects this to take place. [118147]
Damian Green: The Government plans to extend authority to carry arrangements to individuals who would be refused entrance to the UK on serious crime or immigration grounds. This will be subject to the implementation of automated messaging between e-Borders and carriers' systems which can support the operation of authority to carry in respect of a significantly larger number of individuals than those subject to refusal of entry on security grounds. We are currently undertaking the design phase to deliver the technical capability for an automated scheme, with implementation due to begin in 2013.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department from how many annual passenger movements passenger name record data are collected. [118148]
Damian Green: We are currently collecting passenger name record data from 15.8 million annualised passenger movements. This figure is management information.
British Nationals Abroad
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many of the Britons arrested and charged abroad between April 2011 and March 2012 for the rape and sexual abuse of minors under the age of 18 had previously received a foreign travel order; [118352]
3 Sep 2012 : Column 193W
(2) how many of the Britons arrested and charged between April 2011 and March 2012 for the rape and sexual abuse of minors under the age of 18 were on the Violent and Sex Offenders Register at the time the offences took place; [118356]
(3) how many Britons arrested and charged abroad between April 2011 and March 2012 for the rape and sexual abuse of minors under the age of 18 had previously been reported missing by the UK police. [118370]
Lynne Featherstone: The statistical data requested are not held centrally.
Brodie Clark
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payment the former head of the UK Border Force, Brodie Clark, received on leaving his post. [117876]
Damian Green [holding answer 17 July 2012]: This information was provided in both the UK Border Agency and the Home Office accounts, which were laid before Parliament on 12 July 2012.
The 2011-12 UKBA Annual Report and Accounts are available from the Vote Office (HC344).
Charities
Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which registered charities her Department has made payments in the last three years; and what sums over what period have been paid in each case. [118152]
Damian Green: The Home Office has made payments to registered charities in the last three years. However, it is not possible to answer this question without incurring disproportionate cost.
Payments to registered charities are monitored to ensure that recipients deliver the objectives of individual projects as well as contribute to the strategic aims of the Department.
Close Protection UK
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the ability of Close Protection UK to meet financial obligations related to contracts awarded to it by her Department. [118229]
Damian Green: The Home Office and its executive agencies do not hold any contracts with Close Protection UK.
Crime
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of any differences in levels of criminality between (a) men and (b) women; and what assessment she has made of the reasons for any difference between the two figures. [118353]
3 Sep 2012 : Column 194W
Nick Herbert: The Home Office has previously published research that, among other issues, examined differences in levels of offending between men and women.
A Home Office report (published in 2012) on the amount of youth crime estimated that 85% of police recorded crime in 2009-10 committed by young people aged 10 to 17 was committed by young men:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk
Earlier studies by the Home Office have produced similar findings. For example, a survey of offending among the general public conducted by the Home Office between 2003-06 (the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey) found higher rates of self-reported offending among males than females:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk
The Home Office has not made any assessment specifically of the reasons for different levels of criminality between men and women.
Entry Clearances
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her strategy is to ensure that people who are refused extensions to their visas leave the UK. [118079]
Damian Green: We have always been clear that those with no right to be in the UK should leave the country voluntarily. Where we have evidence that they have failed to do so we will take steps to enforce their removal.
This summer we launched a UK-wide operation to remove overstayers and we have already seen over 2,000 individuals removed since the campaign started. Employers caught taking on foreign nationals without permission to work can be fined up to £10,000 per offender.
We are undertaking a procurement to contract with a provider who will deal with migration refusal cases. Under the contract, all individuals refused an extension of their leave will be contacted to alert them to the requirement to leave the UK. Where individuals with no leave have not left or do not leave the UK voluntarily, the team will deal with barriers to removal such as obtaining travel documentation and will pass cases to local immigration teams to enforce removal.
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to resolve the cases of individuals reported by Sir John Vine who may or may not have left the UK after visa extensions have been refused. [118080]
Damian Green: All the cases identified by Mr John Vine have been refused leave to remain in the UK. They are expected to leave the UK. We will appoint a contractor in September to contact all the people concerned and establish their plans for leaving if they have not already done so. These contacts will be complete by April 2013.
Entry Clearances: Shipping
Jim Fitzpatrick:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Tier 2 of the points-based system applies to non-EEA seafarers seeking admission to the UK to work on vessels where the tour
3 Sep 2012 : Column 195W
of duty does not leave UK territorial waters; what recent assessment her Department has made of the effects of the changes to the qualification levels to Tier 2 effective from 1 July 2012 on the application of the points-based system in these circumstances; and if she will make a statement. [118015]
Damian Green: Non-EEA seafarers who wish to work on vessels which do not leave British waters need to obtain permission to work through Tier 2 of the Points-Based System.
In April 2011 we increased the skills requirement for Tier 2 of the Points Based System from NQF 3 to NQF 4. We have subsequently, in June this year, raised the requirement to NQF6 for the majority of Tier 2 roles—the exceptions being jobs on the Shortage Occupation List, which currently does not include any seafaring occupations, and certain creative roles. Therefore, unless non-EEA seafarers are intending to take up roles skilled to NQF 6 or above, they are not eligible to come to the UK under Tier 2.
The Migration Advisory Committee considered whether ships' officers should be added to the Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List as part of its review of that list published in September 2011. It concluded that this occupation should not be added to the List. The impact of the Tier 2 limit for 2012-13, including the impacts on specific occupations of raising the skills threshold for Tier 2 to NQF6, was assessed by the Migration Advisory Committee in its report published in February 2012. The MAC's reports are available at:
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/workingwithus/indbodies/mac/reports-publications/
Extradition
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to provide the results of the exercise carried out by her Department to estimate the average cost to the public purse of the processes arising from extradition requests under parts 1 and 2 of the Extradition Act 2003. [118417]
Damian Green: The exercise to which the hon. Member refers is continuing. The results will be published in due course.
G4S
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to review her Department's contracts with G4S. [118137]
Damian Green: The Home Office regularly reviews all contracts with G4S on a quarterly basis at Executive Oversight Board meetings, which are attended by senior executives from G4S and senior officials from the Home Office.
Gender Recognition
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a progress report on each of the proposed actions set out in the Government's transgender equality plan for action. [117084]
3 Sep 2012 : Column 196W
Lynne Featherstone: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 July 2012, Official Report, column 469W.
Health Education
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse was of her Department's public awareness campaigns to reduce the level of (a) alcohol abuse, (b) drug abuse and (c) domestic violence in each of the last five years. [117952]
Damian Green: The following table summarises Home Office spend on public awareness campaigns on alcohol, drugs and domestic violence in each of the last five years. The figures relate to the cost of television, cinema, radio, print, posters and online media, and exclude VAT, production costs and agency fees.
| £ | |||
| Alcohol | Drugs | Domestic violence/abuse | |
Human Trafficking
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's estimate is of the number of people trafficked into the UK in each of the last 10 years by nationality and region; and if she will make a statement. [118418]
Damian Green: Victims of human trafficking are identified through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The NRM started on 1 April 2009 and data are only available from this date onwards. NRM data do not reflect all instances of human trafficking, only those where the individual was referred to the NRM (and, in the case of adults, where they have consented to be referred to the NRM). All published NRM data, including the number of trafficked victims by nationality, is available on the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) portion of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) website:
http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/national-referral-mechanism/statistics
I have placed copies of the NRM statistical reports covering the period 1 April 2009 to 31 December 2011 in the Library of the House.
Immigration
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the length of time taken to process applications for (a) indefinite leave to remain and (b) British citizenship (i) in Greater London and (ii) nationally. [118251]
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Damian Green: The data requested are not held in a format compatible with National Statistics protocols, or produced as part of the UK Border Agency's standard reports.
However, data relating to the number of decisions made within service standards for the financial year
3 Sep 2012 : Column 198W
2011-12 are provided in the following tables and available from the UK Border Agency website at:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/percentage-of-migration/
| Quarterly data—Migration service standards | ||||||
| New cases decided in 2010-11 | ||||||
| Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | |||||
| Percentage of applications decided within service standard | Number of applications decided within service standard | Total number of applications decided | Percentage of applications decided within service standard | Number of applications decided within service standard | Total number of applications decided | |
| New cases decided in 2010-11 | ||||||
| Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | |||||
| Percentage of applications decided within service standard | Number of applications decided within service standard | Total number of applications decided | Percentage of applications decided within service standard | Number of applications decided within service standard | Total number of applications decided | |
| New cases decided in 2010-11 | |||
| Full year | |||
| Percentage of applications decided within service standard | Number of applications decided within service standard | Total number of applications decided | |