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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 7 September 2012
Defence
AWE Aldermaston
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether any (a) radioactive materials, (b) explosives and (c) hazardous chemicals were present in the building at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in which a fire occurred on 12 April 2012; [118706]
(2) how many (a) firefighting personnel and (b) fire appliances attended the incident at the Atomic Weapons Establishment on 12 April 2012; [118707]
(3) what the cause was of the fire at the Atomic Weapons Establishment on 12 April 2012 attended by the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service; in which facility the incident occurred; what the extent was of any damage caused; and if he will make a statement. [118708]
Mr Robathan: The fire at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston on 12 April 2012 was caused by the ignition of bearing grease within the ventilation extraction system of an AWE manufacturing facility. The resulting damage was localised to the fan itself. A total of 17 fire fighting personnel and three fire appliances attended the incident.
There were no radioactive materials or explosives present in the building where the fire occurred. Hazardous material was present in the building, but not in the part where the fire occurred. At no point was there any risk to the health of staff or the public.
Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre. [119543]
Mr Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the then Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff), on 12 July 2012, Official Report, columns 41-42WS, in which he updated the House on the plan for Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the value of the Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre. [119544]
Mr Robathan: We do not routinely assess the current market value of our estate because the estimated receipts will depend on market conditions and other factors at the time of sale. Where pre-sale valuations have been obtained, these are regarded as commercially confidential and are thus not released ahead of the sale in case they influence the market.
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Olympic Games 2012: Security
Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many weapons were used to defend the London 2012 Olympics from the air; what their locations were; and which areas in Greater London were undefended. [119180]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 5 September 2012]:The Home Office, through the police, had lead responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of the Olympic Games. The Ministry of Defence supported them and other civil and Olympic authorities, in a number of areas.
The air security of the entire United Kingdom including Greater London and its approaches is protected at all times by a multi-layered approach, including Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft based at RAF Coningsby and RAF Leuchars. The additional air security measures put in place for the Olympics built on those arrangements, to provide a flexible and proportionate response to protect the Olympic sites alongside Greater London and the rest of the United Kingdom.
The Olympic Air Security Plan included civil airspace restrictions around the Olympic sites, additional Typhoon aircraft at RAF Northolt and helicopters carrying RAF Regiment snipers based on HMS Ocean moored at Greenwich and at Ilford TA Centre. In the London area, Ground-Based Air Defence Rapier were also deployed to Barn Hill, William Girling Reservoir, Blackheath, and Oxleas Meadows, supplemented by High Velocity Missile systems deployed at the Fred Wigg Tower and Lexington Building.
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what criteria he used to make the decision to disband the second battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers; [119149]
(2) what representations he has received on his Department's proposal to disband the second battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. [119150]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 5 September 2012]:Against a backdrop of needing to remove five battalions from the infantry order of battle as part of the wider Army 2020 structure, a number of criteria were applied by the Army which were: maintaining a regimental system which is largely regionally aligned; demographic sustainability of regiments according to projected regional supply of recruits; proportionality of outcome, with no cap badge deletions and no regiment losing more than one battalion in a re-organisation; balancing the whole infantry structure to maintain variety of roles and parity of opportunity of experience for officers and soldiers; taking account of previous decisions on mergers and deletions; historical manning performance; and ensuring a solution that the Army would see as fair and equitable.
Based on demographic data available from the Office for National Statistics for the age cohort across the UK from which infantry recruits are drawn and historical trends in terms of the percentage of that cohort likely to join the Army, an assessment was made of which regiments were likely to be the least sustainable in the future if
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they retained their current structure. This work also included a comparison of each regiment's historical outflow so the likely recruiting requirement could be determined.
The analysis showed that those regiments likely to be the least sustainable in future were the Royal Regiment of Scotland (predicted to be 1.75 battalions short), The Yorkshire Regiment (predicted to be 0.8 battalions short), The Mercian Regiment (predicted to be 0.56 battalions short) and the Royal Welsh Regiment (predicted to be 0.55 battalions short). It was therefore decided to remove one battalion from each of those regiments.
After the removal of four battalions, the method for predicting future sustainability became less statistically discerning. Therefore, to determine the fifth battalion to be removed from the order of battle, application of criteria that went wider than demographics was required. Historical manning performance and the need to maintain equity of opportunity meant that the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (a two battalion regiment with average historical under-manning of 13.3% since the previous reorganisation of the infantry in 2007) was the next appropriate regiment from which to withdraw a battalion.
The analysis showed that after the withdrawal of five battalions from across the infantry, future manning should be sustainable with sufficient recruits predicted to fill the necessary posts.
To date, the Department has received around 35 representations from Members of Parliament, members of the public and one borough council in relation to the decision to withdraw The 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Trident
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on long lead orders for Trident replacement submarines and nuclear weapons since May 2010. [118385]
Mr Philip Hammond: To date, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has spent £17.033 million on long lead items for the successor submarines. This spend is associated with the development of the Pressurised Water Reactor 3 plant to be used in the submarines.
The MOD has not spent any money on long lead items for nuclear weapons. The Strategic Defence and Security Review determined that a replacement warhead would not be required until the 2030s. Therefore the decision to refurbish or replace the existing warhead will not be required until the next Parliament.
Unmanned Air Vehicles
Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals not classified as insurgents were killed by UK operated UAVs in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011. [118630]
Mr Robathan:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave as Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans on 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 52W, to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) and to the answer given by the previous Minister for the Armed Forces, the hon. Member for North
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Devon (Nick Harvey), on 26 June 2012,
Official Report
, column 187W, to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green (Mr Godsiff).
Warships
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ships of each type are deployed on operations or exercises. [119539]
Mr Robathan: As of 4 September 2012, the number of ships of each type deployed on operations or exercise is shown in the following tables:
| Ships on operations | |
| Type of ship | Number |
| Ships on exercise | |
| Type of ship | Number |
This information will change on a constant basis as ships move through their operational, training and maintenance cycles to meet operational requirements.
Prime Minister
Ministerial Policy Advisers
Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister how many special advisers in post as at 17 July 2012 were (a) women and (b) from ethnic minorities. [118920]
The Prime Minister: An updated list of special advisers, and their pay bands, is published quarterly. This is available on the Cabinet Office website:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/special-adviser-data-releases
Details of special advisers' ethnicity are not held centrally.
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Transport
A3: Hampshire
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2012, Official Report, column 488W, on A3: Hampshire, what progress the Highways Agency has made in sending out the outcome of its investigations at all important areas with first priority locations on the A3 in East Hampshire to the relevant local authorities, as required by the noise action plans, during summer 2012. [119919]
Stephen Hammond: The Highways Agency will be sending out the reports containing the outcomes of their investigations of each important area with first priority locations on the A3 in East Hampshire to the relevant local authorities between 14 and 28 September 2012.
Airports
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the capacity to which each UK airport is operating; and if he will make a statement. [119996]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department for Transport's latest assessments of airport capacity are included in ‘UK Aviation Forecasts 2011’.
These assume that no new runways are built in the UK but, where there is no explicit planning prohibition, airports develop as necessary to utilise their current potential runway capacity.
Details of the capacity assumptions used are available in Table 2.6 of the published report, available on the Department for Transport's website.
Correspondence
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average time taken was by his Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters the time taken to send a response was longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months in that period. [118657]
Norman Baker: The average time taken by the Department for Transport to respond to 12,404 items of correspondence received from hon. Members and Peers in the 12 months since the 30 August 2011 was 19.6 working days.
The proportions of responses taking longer than one month are as follows:
(a) longer than one month—31% of responses
(b) longer than six weeks—12.5% of responses
(c) longer than two months—8.5% of responses
(d) longer than three months—3% of responses
(e) longer than six months—0.4% of responses.
The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members' and Peers' correspondence. The report for 2011 was published on 15 March 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS.
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Licensing
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what permits and licences his Department and its public bodies issue to businesses. [118812]
Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport (DFT) and its executive agencies issue a wide range of licences to businesses. These are central to delivering the Government's transport priorities and services.
There is no central list of permits and licences issued, but a table has been placed in the Libraries of the House of such examples we have gathered information from across DFT and its agencies. However, this should not be considered an exhaustive list.
Two independent regulators, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) also issue permissions and approvals.
Motorcycles: Young People
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason he plans to place restrictions on the types of motorcycles which may be ridden by 17 to 20 year olds but not on the types of cars they may drive; and if he will make a statement. [119891]
Stephen Hammond: Member states are currently governed by the Second Directive on Driving Licences, adopted in 1991. In essence, this provided for mutual recognition of driving licences between EU states, the harmonisation of the licence categories and harmonisation of driving test standards. The Third Directive on Driving Licences (2006/126/EC) was adopted in 2006 and comes fully into effect on 19 January 2013. Its provisions have been transposed into law through the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 and laid before Parliament on 30 March 2012.
The Third Directive makes further change to achieve greater harmonisation across the EU within a specified timeframe. The main changes impact on definitions of vehicle categories (including motorcycles) and sub-categories, the rules on the duration of the validity of a licence, minimum standards for driving examiners and attempts to ensure that no one can at any one time possess more than one licence issued by an EU state.
It introduces new categories for motorcycles which will apply from 19 January 2013. There are new categories for mopeds, and small, medium and unlimited size motorbikes—Categories AM, A1, A2 and A respectively. Under the provisions a rider can progress from a smaller to a larger bike:
Through stages (“staged access”) for example at age 17 with entitlement to Category A1 gaining two years experience and then applying for Category A2), gaining a further two years experience at Category A2 and then applying for Category A (unrestricted access to any size bike).
Through “direct access”—that is waiting until they meet the minimum age for a specific category. Through this route, direct access to Category A riders must be at least age 24.
Or a combination of both.
The changes in the minimum age for motorcycle categories are shown in the following table.
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Railways: Wales
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of the potential cost of electrifying the North Wales Main Line from Chester to Holyhead; [119969]
(2) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Welsh Government about electrification of the North Wales Main Line from Chester to Holyhead. [119970]
Mr Simon Burns: Recent discussions with the Welsh Government have focused on the electrification of routes in South Wales. The rail industry did not propose electrification of the North Wales Main Line from Chester to Holyhead for delivery in the 2014-19 period and it was not included in the High Level Output Specification (HLOS) published in July. If studies by the industry into the costs and benefits of electrifying this route demonstrate a strong business case, it could be considered for inclusion in a future HLOS.
Scotland
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date he last had a bilateral meeting with the Secretary of State for Scotland; and what matters were discussed. [119621]
Norman Baker: The Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Scotland meet regularly to discuss a range of topics.
Tyres
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to make it his policy to make the minimum depth for tread on tyres 3 mm. [119776]
Stephen Hammond: I have no plans to change the UK minimum tyre tread depth. The current level of 1.6 mm for car tyres aligns with the harmonised minimum requirements under EU legislation (directive 89/459/EC).
Education
Human Papilloma Virus: Vaccination
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many girls received the HPV vaccine in schools in each of the last five years; and whether he plans to take steps to increase the uptake of the vaccine. [119371]
Dr Poulter: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Health.
The human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination programme began in September 2008, and has been undertaken for girls aged 12 to 13 every year since. Vaccinations have also been undertaken as part of routine and catch-up programmes, with some girls receiving vaccine under more than one programme or in more than one setting.
Due to the method of data collection, it is not possible to provide the exact number of girls who received HPV vaccine in schools for each year. However, data such as are available are provided as follows.
Under the routine programme, four primary care trusts (PCTs) in the academic year 2008-09 and two PCTs in each of the academic years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 offered vaccine through a general practitioner (GP) based programme. The vast majority of girls receive HPV immunisation in school (Table 1). These data exclude any HPV vaccines received late, through mop-up programmes, as these could have been given through a schools based programme, by GPs or both.
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Between September 2008 and July 2011 a catch-up vaccination programme for older girls 13 years of age up to 18 years of age, offered vaccine in schools, GP practices and community clinics. In 2008-09 more than
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60% of PCTs offered vaccine through GP practices to the oldest catch-up cohort, 17 to 18 years of age, as many would not have been attending school
| Table 1: Routine cohort, School year 8 girls aged 12 to 13 years | ||||
| Academic year | Total number of girls in routine cohort | Girls receiving at least one dose | Girls receiving at least two doses | Girls received all three doses |
| (1) Provisional data, the number of doses of HPV vaccine delivered through schools based programmes evaluated at the end of each academic year. | ||||
| Table 2: HPV vaccine delivery settings for catch-up programme in England up to 2009-10 | |||||||||
| Total number of doses administered by location type | |||||||||
| In schools/ colleges | In GP practices | In health centres/ community clinics | In other | ||||||
| Cohort | Age | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
Data on HPV vaccination are published for each academic year and are available on the Department's website. Copies of these have been placed in the Library.
The latest data from June 2012 show that 82.6% of girls in school year 8 in England received the full three doses of the HPV vaccine. This is one of the highest coverage rates in the world. The Department continues to encourage the NHS to maintain the upward trend in vaccine coverage.
Science: Higher Education
Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students who received free school meals went on to study science and engineering courses at university in the latest period for which figures are available. [112440]
Mr Willetts: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
An estimated 14,380 English maintained schools pupils, who received free school meals at age 15 in 2005/06, entered higher education by age 19 in 2009/10. Of these, it is estimated that 5,480 were studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. This includes those studying more than one main subject where this includes a STEM subject.
Scotland
Correspondence
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the average time taken was by his Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters the time taken to send a response was longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months in that period. [118662]
David Mundell: All letters received by Ministers in the Scotland Office are dealt with appropriately. The average time taken by the Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and peers in the last 12 months was 10 working days. The proportion of letters for which the time taken to send a response was longer than one month or more is set out in the following table:
| Correspondence answered after: | Proportion (percentage) |
| Note: These figures are noncumulative. | |
The Cabinet Office publishes a report to Parliament on an annual basis on the performance of Departments in replying to Members' correspondence. The report for 2011 was published on 15 March 2012, Official Report, columns 30-33WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Bangladesh
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what official communication his Department has had with representatives of the Bangladesh Government on the Muslim Rohingya in the last six months. [118695]
Alistair Burt:
The High Commission in Dhaka raises the Rohingya issue regularly with senior interlocutors in the Bangladesh Government. The high commissioner, Robert Gibson, wrote to the Bangladesh Prime Minister's Office about this issue on 15 August. The Secretary of
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State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), also raised this issue during a meeting with the Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, on 28 July, and the former Secretary of State for the Department for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), raised it in a meeting with her on 12 August.
We have also raised the issue of Rohingya refugees with the Government of Bangladesh as part of a recent EU démarche.
The Secretary of State issued a statement on 13 August, which expressed deep concern at the ongoing violence in Rakhine State in Burma. It called on all parties to act with restraint, and urged the authorities and community leaders to open discussions to end the violence and protect all members of the local population.
Burma
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the findings of the report by Human Rights Watch, The Government Could Have Stopped This: Sectarian Violence and Ensuing Abuses in Burma's Arakan State; and if he will make a statement. [118644]
Mr Swire: We are familiar with the detailed, thorough and informative report by Human Rights Watch, entitled ‘The Government Could Have Stopped This: Sectarian Violence and Ensuing Abuses in Burma's Arakan State’. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials met a representative from Human Rights Watch on 21 August to discuss the content of the report.
We continue to draw on credible reporting from a range of sources to support our own assessment of the troubling and complex situation in Rakhine State. An official from the British embassy in Rangoon visited the state as part of a government-organised tour for the diplomatic corps on 31 July-1 August. I refer the right hon. Member to my answer given today to PQ 118697.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the state of bilateral relations with Burma; and if he will make a statement. [118693]
Mr Swire: Given the significant political reform taking place in Burma, our policy has shifted from isolation, to cautious engagement. This is because we believe that the goal of achieving lasting change in Burma stands more chance of being realised if we and the international community engage with all parties in Burma to help embed reform.
We have not forgotten the many other issues that remain unresolved in Burma. As well as the ongoing ethnic conflicts, a significant number of political detainees remain in prison and legislative reform in a number of areas is necessary and pressing. We believe that should President Thein Sein accept the Prime Minister's invitation to visit to the UK, it will be a valuable opportunity to continue the Prime Minister's dialogue with the President and to stress the need to resolve the many issues outstanding.
Sadiq Khan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what official communication his Department has had with
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representatives of the Burmese government on the Muslim Rohingya in the last six months. [118694]
Mr Swire: Following the recent outbreak of violence, the then Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne), issued a statement on 10 June which expressed our deep concern about the situation and urged all groups to open a dialogue to end the violence. On 12 June our ambassador met Burmese President Thein Sein and urged him to make every effort to resolve the situation peacefully. We have continued to raise our concerns with senior members of the Burmese Government at every opportunity.
On 1 August, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Director for Asia Pacific met the Burmese ambassador to discuss the situation, and again repeated our concerns, including the need to resolve the issue of nationality.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Burmese officials during his recent visit to Rangoon on the Muslim Rohingya. [118696]
Mr Swire: On 16 January 2012, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, issued a written ministerial statement to update the House regarding his visit to Burma on 5-6 January,Official Report, columns 27-28WS.
During the visit the Secretary of State raised with the Foreign Minister the discrimination suffered by the Rohingya community, who have been denied citizenship and access to basic services and rights.
The Secretary of State also met a range of representatives from ethnic communities, including the Kachin, Rohingya, Shan, Rakhine, Chin, Mon, Karen and Karenni to hear more about their concerns and aspirations.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to prevent the persecution of Muslim Rohingya in Burma. [118697]
Mr Swire: We have repeatedly called for the Burmese Government to take measures to put an end to the recent inter-communal violence in Rakhine State, to allow unhindered humanitarian access to the areas affected and a resumption of humanitarian work provided by the international community upon which many hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are dependent, to resolve the issue of nationality and to grant the full respect for human rights to all the people of Burma, notably the Rohingya.
Since the statement of 10 June, in which the then Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne), expressed our deep concern about the hostilities in Rakhine state, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in Rangoon and in London have raised our concerns with senior members of the Burmese Government and with our international partners. Ministers also discussed the issues affecting the Rohingya with the Bangladeshi Prime Minster during their meetings in late July following
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reports that refugees fleeing the violence were being turned away when attempting to cross the border from Burma into Bangladesh.
In a statement released on 13 August, following the visit to Burma of the UN Special Rapporteur for Burma, Mr Tomas Quintana, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), highlighted our concerns and stated that the UK stood ready to assist the Government of Burma in its efforts to develop Rakhine state as Burma continues on its path to democracy.
In the wake of the Secretary of State's statement, the Government of Burma announced that it would establish an independent Investigative Commission to probe the violence in Rakhine. The Burmese Government also released a number of UN and NGO staff detained in connection with the violence. In a statement released on 20 August, we welcomed this development, but made clear that for the Commission to be credible, it needed to involve a consultative process with all of the affected communities, including the Rohingya.
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to urge the government of Burma to recognise the citizenship of Rohingya people whose families have lived in Burma for generations. [119088]
Mr Swire: For many years the British Government have been a strong supporter of those in Burma pursuing democracy and respect for human rights. We have consistently called for discrimination against the Rohingya to end and for their rights to be recognised.
The United Kingdom has long been one of the most active and vocal members of the international community in raising these concerns with the Burmese authorities. We have also continued to raise the issue in international institutions such as the UN Human Rights Council where, in March of this year, we strongly supported a resolution which made clear to the Burmese Government the urgent need to resolve the issue of nationality for the Rohingya community.
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to urge the Government of Burma to allow unhindered access for the UN and international humanitarian aid agencies and human rights organisations to all areas of Arakan State to assess the situation and monitor the distribution of humanitarian aid on the basis of need and without discrimination. [119089]
Mr Swire: Through both our bilateral relations and through international forums, such as the United Nations, we have called repeatedly for the Burmese Government to take measures to put an end to the recent inter-communal violence in Rakhine (Arakan) State and to allow unhindered humanitarian access to the areas affected.
The UK has long provided humanitarian assistance to Rohingya communities in both Burma's Rakhine State and Bangladesh through core support to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department and United Nations agencies, as well as to all communities across Rakhine State through our major investments in health, education and livelihoods.
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Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Burma on the situation in Arakan State. [119090]
Mr Swire: Ministers continue to raise their concerns about the lack of respect for human rights in Burma at every opportunity, most recently during the Prime Minister's visit to Burma in April, which included the need to release all remaining political prisoners and to establish a credible process of reconciliation with all ethnic groups in Burma. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in Rangoon and in London have raised our concerns with senior members of the Burmese Government, and with our international partners.
Ministers have also issued three separate public statements on the situation in Rakhine (Arakan) State since the violence began in June.
Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effects on community organisations of the reduction in funding for the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council. [118844]
Mr Swire: I welcome the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council's (CYEC) work in providing Commonwealth focussed advice, training, and educational materials to young people and youth organisations, as well as organising exchanges between youth groups in the UK and in other Commonwealth countries.
The British Council have had to review their relationships with partners, including CYEC. In the last two years, they have been in dialogue with CYEC about making their relationship more strategic and sustainable. CYEC continues to be a valued partner for the British Council, and there remain opportunities for CYEC to work with the British Council in the future.
The British Council are fully committed to working with partners to develop and secure educational and other opportunities for young people, including in the Commonwealth, and this is at the heart of the British Council's strategy for their work in education and society.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to monitor the human rights and safety of failed asylum seekers returning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [118889]
Mr Swire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to monitor the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We are aware of reports of allegations that failed asylum seekers from the DRC have been subject to mistreatment on return, but the FCO and the Home Office have found no reliable evidence to substantiate these allegations. Should the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or UKBA receive any specific allegations that a returnee has experienced harm or ill-treatment after being returned to the DRC from the UK, these allegations would be investigated in partnership with UKBA.
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Diplomatic Service
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the introduction of its Diplomatic Excellence Programme. [119654]
Mr Lidington: Our framework for measuring diplomatic excellence combines both internal and external assessment to reach a score which is reported annually. Our approach has been validated by the Office for National Statistics and endorsed by the Cabinet Office.
Our benchmark score for 2011-12 has been assessed externally as 6.8/10 and the panel perceived we were second to France on the ‘best Diplomatic service in the world' ranking. Our aim is to achieve at least 7/10 by end FY 2012-13 and to be the best diplomatic service in the world by 2015.
Embassies
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has with foreign embassies and high commissions in the UK of (a) member countries of the Commonwealth and EU and (b) other countries on the importance of assisting hon. Members with relevant constituent enquiries. [119086]
Mark Simmonds: Ministers and officials have regular discussions with foreign Heads of Mission on a range of issues, including working with the UK Parliament and hon. Members.
Ethiopia
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to help authorities in Ethiopia to ensure a stable transfer of power with an improvement in human rights conditions and democratic accountability following the death of President Meles Zenawi. [119314]
Mark Simmonds: Promoting democratic governance and human rights in Ethiopia will continue to be a key HMG objective. We will seek to support a peaceful transition and look forward to working with Acting Prime Minister Hailemariam. We will pursue an open and honest dialogue on human rights with him and his government.
European Commission
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the timetable for the publication of the shortlist of the Government's nomination for EU Commissioner from June 2014. [119471]
Mr Lidington: Established practice is that there is no publication of a shortlist of nominees for British European Commissioners.
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European Court of Human Rights
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that the UK will not make any discretionary payment to the European Court of Human Rights to assist that court to clear its backlog of cases; and if he will make a statement. [119701]
Mr Lidington: We have taken no decision on whether to make a contribution to the Council of Europe Secretary-General's Special Fund for the European Court of Human Rights. A decision will not be taken before October 2012.
European Economic and Social Committee
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how UK members of the Economic and Social Committee are nominated for appointment. [119335]
Mr Lidington: The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) includes representatives from across society from three distinct groups. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is responsible for Group 1 (employees) and Group 2 (employers) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is responsible for UK nominations to Group 3 (other interests).
The nomination process in the FCO invites applicants to submit written bids for a position. The FCO assesses these bids against the following criteria:
(1) Relevant knowledge and experience;
(2) Ability to contribute effectively to the work of the EESC;
(3) Ability to be effectively representative as a member of the UK Delegation (for both the UK and respective sector);
(4) Current or recent engagement in their field.
The FCO then identifies the most suitable candidate for nomination on that basis. The decision is then put forward for ministerial approval.
European Union
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the names are of the contributors to his Department's review of the balance of EU competencies. [119705]
Mr Lidington: As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), announced to the House on 12 July 2012, Official Report, column 469, unless there is a good reason to the contrary, we expect to make all evidence submitted publicly available. Guidance is still being finalised and the details will be announced this autumn.
Gambia
Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from campaign groups on the case of Gambian national, Brigadier General O. B. Mbye. [118574]
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Mark Simmonds: We have not received any representation from campaign groups regarding the specific case of Brigadier-General Mbye, although we have received representations about the death penalty in The Gambia, and the recent executions.
We have followed General Mbye's case closely since his arrest and trial for treason, at which he was found guilty and handed the death penalty. The British Government has made representations to the Government of The Gambia, both in London and Banjul, on behalf of Brigadier-General Mbye and against the death penalty.
Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking following the announcement that people sentenced to death in The Gambia will be executed in September; and if he will make a statement. [118575]
Mark Simmonds: Following President Jammeh's pledge to execute all death-row prisoners in The Gambia, our high commissioner in Banjul immediately raised his concerns with the then-Gambian Foreign Minister. On hearing of the execution of nine prisoners, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), issued a statement expressing the British Government's concern, and calling for a halt to any further executions. Our high commissioner in Banjul has made representations to senior members of the Gambian Government to convey the strength of our concerns, including on behalf of the EU. Senior officials in London also made our position clear to the Gambian high commissioner in London. We will continue to apply appropriate pressure on the Government of The Gambia to help prevent further executions.
India
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to his Indian counterpart on the abolition of the death penalty; and what discussions he has had with his Commonwealth counterparts on the death penalty in India. [118887]
Mr Swire: It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments to oppose the death penalty, in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We regularly make our position clear to the Government of India, both bilaterally and through the European Union, and urge them to introduce a formal moratorium.
In 2011, the then Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne), raised the death penalty with the then Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao in June and with Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur in July. Mr Browne wrote to the Indian High Commissioner twice, most recently in November 2011. This year, he raised the Government's concerns regarding the case of Balwant Singh Rajoana when he met the Indian High Commissioner on 28 March. In addition, at the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of India, we urged India to maintain its de facto moratorium on the death penalty.
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We have not discussed the issue of the death penalty in India with Commonwealth partners. However, we have regularly raised the issue of the death penalty in Commonwealth institutions, most recently when the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised the issue at the Commonwealth People's Forum at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth in October 2011.
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to increase exports to India. [118893]
Mr Swire: Increasing UK exports to India is a priority for both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and UK Trade & Industry (UKTI). Both Prime Ministers agreed in 2010 to double bilateral trade within five years. Ministers take every opportunity to engage with their Indian counterparts both in support of UK firms and to lobby on wider issues of market access. Ministers hosted senior Indian CEOs following the Global Investment Conference in London in July and both the FCO and UKTI support the UK/India CEO Forum which will report with recommendations directly to the two Prime Ministers.
We are allocating greater resources to India, opening new missions in the most dynamic states to make the most of the opportunities on offer and, in collaboration with UKTI, providing direct assistance to companies seeking to operate there. We support the negotiation of an ambitious Free Trade Agreement between the EU and India which will further reduce barriers to trade. Bilateral investment is also strong, with India investing more in the UK than in the rest of Europe combined.
Joseph Kony
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on efforts to arrest Joseph Kony. [118959]
Mark Simmonds: A new Regional Strategy on the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) was presented to the UN Security Council on 29 June. This strategy includes support for the implementation of an African Union Regional Task Force composed of troops from the four LRA affected countries. While we understand that there are technical challenges to implementation, Britain has urged the full deployment of troops across the region as soon as possible. The Ugandan army destroyed the base of a key general of the LRA in the Central African Republic on 24 August, and oversaw the surrender of senior commander Caesar Acellam in May 2012, demonstrating that progress is being made in reducing the capacity of the LRA and ultimately bringing Kony and other senior LRA members to justice.
Mexico
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to his Department's Torture and Mistreatment Reporting Guidance, whether he has received reports on allegations of torture from his staff in Mexico. [118351]
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Mr Swire: It would not be appropriate to provide information about specific reports received from Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff under the Torture and Mistreatment Reporting Guidance.
Human rights form an important part of our work in Mexico, and our embassy in Mexico City is paying close attention to the question of torture. Our embassy is in regular contact with a number of non-governmental organisations including Peace Brigades International, Human Rights Watch, The Mexican Commission for the Defence and Protection of Human Rights, and the Mexico City Human Rights Commission, from which it receives reports and updates on human rights cases.
Middle East
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in the Israeli government on permitting Palestinians living in Jerusalem to vote in Palestinian elections. [118778]
Alistair Burt: We welcome the news that there are to be local elections held in the West Bank on 20 October.
This Government look to all parties to facilitate elections in the areas under their control and to help ensure a free and fair electoral process. We have not recently raised the specific issue of voting rights of Palestinians living in Jerusalem with the Government of Israel. Local Palestinian elections are not held in East Jerusalem, as they are seen as too contentious and a final status issue.
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to continue the UK's support for human rights non-governmental organisations in the Middle East. [118794]
Alistair Burt: Support for human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is a vital element of our effort to promote and protect universal human rights in the Middle East. We provide support through a variety of funding sources, including the Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund, the Conflict Pool and country programmes led by the Department for International Development. Our £110 million Arab Partnership Fund, launched last year, has also increased our investment in supporting the people of the region to build more open and accountable societies, with greater respect for the rule of law and human rights.
Examples of our support include funding for B'Tselem, an Israeli NGO that uses deterrence, accountability and public awareness to improve human rights in the West Bank and the Gaza strip. In Jordan we work with the Adaleh Center to combat torture and to improve the application of international fair trial standards. In Syria, we are providing urgent training and equipment to human rights activists, including cameras, video recorders and forensic equipment. Britain has already trained more than 60 Syrian human rights activists to collect information to support criminal investigations. We are also working with Saferworld, a UK NGO, to promote women's political participation within the broader context of promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in Egypt, Libya and Yemen.
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The UK places great value on the important role played by human rights NGOs and as well as providing support, we seek to regularly consult them. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has a Human Rights Advisory Group, which includes the heads of several UK based human rights NGOs as well as human rights legal practitioners and convenes every six months.
Nepal
Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consider including in his Department's online travel advice information about the number of unsolved missing tourist cases in Nepal. [119453]
Mr Swire: On 30 July 2012 in response to my hon. Friend's letter of 9 July, we updated the Nepal travel advice webpage to include statistics on missing trekkers. The advice now reads:
“Since 2003, four British nationals and eight other foreign nationals who had been trekking alone were reported missing”.
Our travel advice also advises visitors to avoid trekking alone and to use a reputable local guide.
Scotland
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date he last had a bilateral meeting with the Secretary of State for Scotland; and what matters were discussed. [119618]
Mr Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues. The content of those discussions is confidential.
South Sudan
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on progress in establishing camps in Sudan to temporarily accommodate South Sudanese people until they can migrate to South Sudan. [118954]
Mr Duncan: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for International Development.
We have had no reports of the Sudanese Government establishing camps in Sudan to temporarily accommodate South Sudanese. A recent report following a comprehensive interagency assessment has recorded 40,000 South Sudanese currently living in temporary settlements in Khartoum. The majority of these people are waiting to return to South Sudan. The UK is supporting the talks in Addis Ababa and urging both governments to reach an agreement on citizenship rights.
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on South Sudan’s efforts to receive South Sudanese migrants from Sudan. [118955]
Mr Duncan: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for International Development.
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The British embassy in Juba receives regular reporting from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). So far, in 2012 roughly 113,000 South Sudanese have returned to South Sudan. Recent efforts to support this return include a barge movement, organised by humanitarian agencies, for around 2,700 people from Upper Nile State (where most returnees arrive in South Sudan) to Juba.
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the progress of a pipeline between South Sudan and Kenya. [118958]
Mark Simmonds: A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Governments of South Sudan and Kenya on 2 March on developing a transport corridor between South Sudan and the Kenyan port of Lamu, including a possible oil pipeline. We have received no recent updates on this proposal.
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received regarding the import of foreign weapons into South Sudan and their sources and distribution. [118961]
Mark Simmonds: The Small Arms Report provides regular public reporting on the small arms distribution in South Sudan. Their latest report is available online at:
www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/pdfs/facts-figures/weapons-tracing-desk/HSBA-Tracing-Desk-Bentiu.pdf
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on civilian casualties in South Sudan since 2010. [118962]
Mark Simmonds: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs records the cumulative number of deaths reported during conflict incidents in South Sudan as 1,303 so far in 2012 and over 3,406 in 2011.
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the ability of South Sudan to export oil independently of Sudan. [118966]
Mark Simmonds: Existing infrastructure means that pipelines to Port Sudan are the only current means of exporting oil from South Sudan. We welcome the provisional agreement reached between Sudan and South Sudan on 4 August on resumption of oil exports and associated financial arrangements, and encourage them to implement this as part of the settlement of all outstanding disputes between the two countries. South Sudan is also continuing to explore options for new pipelines, which would allow it to export its oil through neighbouring countries.
Sudan
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the status of the appeals to release the lawyers, Mohammed Abdullah Al Duma, Gibril Hamid Hassabu, Rehab Assadiq Sharif and Rashida Al Ansari in Darfur. [118956]
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Mark Simmonds: Sudanese security forces arrested the four lawyers, who are members of the Darfur Bar Association, on 1 July 2012. This occurred after they attended a press conference held for the human rights activist Dr. Bushra Gamar. Officials at the British embassy in Khartoum raised these cases with the Government of Sudan, in addition to the cases of other detained persons and the need to respect freedom of expression and human rights. The four lawyers were released after four days in detention.
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the treatment of citizens arrested during protests against the National Congress Party in Sudan. [118957]
Mark Simmonds: As was made clear by my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), to Sudanese Foreign Minister Karti when they met on 14 July, we are particularly concerned at the continued detention of individuals involved in peaceful protest and the treatment of those detained. Although many citizens were released quickly and reportedly without ill treatment, we are deeply concerned at some reports of mental and physical ill treatment, including allegations of torture, and individuals being intimidated into handing over e-mail and social media passwords so that their activities could be monitored. We continue to encourage the Government in Sudan to release all peaceful protestors, to respect freedom of expression and to put in place a process of political reform that will address the needs and views of all its people.
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the treatment of Sudanese asylum seekers in Sudan. [118960]
Mark Simmonds: We do not have any specific reports on the treatment of Sudanese asylum seekers in Sudan.
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the number of South Sudanese living in Sudan. [118963]
Mr Duncan: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for International Development.
According to the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Humanitarian Aid Commission, there are approximately 220,000 South Sudanese remaining in Sudan. The previous figure used, based on the 2009 census, was 500,000.
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on Sudan's support for the Lord's Resistance Army in Kenya. [118964]
Mark Simmonds: The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) originated in Uganda but now operates in small groups in remote parts of South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. We have never received reports of the LRA operating in Kenya. We have no information to suggest that Sudan is currently providing support to the LRA.
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Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the treatment of local journalists and foreign reporters in Sudan. [118965]
Mark Simmonds: As my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), made clear in his statement of 26 June, we are concerned at growing levels of censorship and restrictions on the media in Sudan, including the banning or confiscation of editions of several newspapers and the detention of a number of journalists since protests began in June 2012. We continue to urge the Government to respect the right of the Sudanese people to freedom of expression.
Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to the government of Sudan about (a) women's rights activist Nahid Gabralla who was arrested by the Sudanese National Intelligence Security Service on 3 July 2012 and who is being held at Omdurman Women's Prison and (b) other human rights campaigners detained in Sudanese prisons. [119016]
Mark Simmonds: We were very concerned about the case of Nahid Gabralla following her detention in Khartoum on 3 July. My hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), expressed his deep concern over Nahid's case when he met Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti, in the margins of the African Union Summit on 14 July. Officials at the British embassy in Khartoum also raised their concerns over the case, and the detention of other peaceful protestors, with Presidential Assistant Abdrahman Sadiq al-Mahdi and in other contacts with Government. Nahid Gabralla has now been released, as have a number of other protestors and campaigners, but we are concerned that a number still remain in detention.
United Arab Emirates
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has held with the Government of the United Arab Emirates on the issue of UK citizens involved in financial crime since May 2010. [118719]
Alistair Burt: I am in frequent contact with my Emirati counterpart, including at the UK-United Arab Emirates (UAE) taskforce at which we regularly raise consular matters. We have also set up a Consular Cooperation Committee under that taskforce to discuss these matters at official level. At the last meeting of that Committee, in May 2012, financial crimes were discussed. Separately, we recognise that the criminalisation of debt may act as a deterrent to doing business in UAE. Our travel advice makes clear the very strict rules surrounding debt in the UAE. Embassy officials have also raised the issue with the local authorities.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on UK citizens who have been imprisoned as a result of charges relating to bounced cheques in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since May 2010; and whether he has made representations to the government of UAE on this matter. [118720]
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Alistair Burt: I receive regular reports from our embassies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai about problems faced by UK citizens in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and UK citizens who have been imprisoned there. I meet my counterpart from the UAE regularly and discuss a wide range of issues with him, including Consular matters. As part of the UK-UAE taskforce my officials have established a Consular Co-operation Committee to discuss these matters in more detail. At the last meeting of this Committee, financial crimes were discussed. We recognise that the criminalisation of debt may act as a deterrent to doing business in the UAE, and our travel advice makes it clear that the authorities take this issue very seriously.
Northern Ireland
Correspondence
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average time taken was by her Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters the time taken to send a response was longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months in that period. [118663]
Mrs Villiers: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members' and Peers' correspondence. The report for 2011 was published on 15 March 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS.
Parades
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will establish an immediate inquiry into the decisions made by the Parades Commission in respect of parades in Northern Ireland on 12 July 2012 and the violence ensuing from such parades. [118179]
Mrs Villiers: I have no plans to establish an inquiry into the Northern Ireland Parades Commission's decisions. The Parades Commission is the legally constituted body for determining parades in Northern Ireland and anyone breaching its determinations can expect to face the full force of the law.
Work and Pensions
Members: Correspondence
Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will ensure the letter dated 28 August 2012 concerning a late constituent from the hon. Member for Walsall North is read by him and that the reply will also come from himself. [119508]
Mr Hoban: I can confirm that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), will reply in person.
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Pensions
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of people in work not saving for a pension in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England. [120000]
Steve Webb: The information is not available in the format requested.
What is available can be found in Table 8.4 of the 2010/11 Family Resources Survey at the following address.
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/frs/2010_11/frs_2010_11_report.pdf
This shows that for England in 2010/11 half of employees (50 per cent) were not saving in a pension scheme. The corresponding figure for the East Midlands was 54 per cent.
Universal Credit
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what circumstances will trigger the automatic payment of the housing element of universal credit direct to a private sector landlord instead of to a tenant. [118937]
Steve Webb: As part of the transition to Universal Credit, claimants will receive the single monthly payment which will contain an element payable for rent.
We recognise that some claimants may need additional help to budget, particularly during the transitional period. As a first step, claimants will be offered budgeting support products and services. Where it is evident that a claimant cannot manage a single monthly payment effectively an alternative payment arrangement will be considered. This could include the payment of housing costs direct to the landlord.
The Direct Payment Demonstration projects have been set up to help inform the development of the criteria for determining when it would be appropriate to make a payment direct to a landlord therefore the detailed process is still being developed.
Wales
Correspondence
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the average time taken by his Department was to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters the time taken to send a response was longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months in that period. [118664]
Mr David Jones: From 1 September 2011 to 1 September 2012, the Wales Office received 62 letters from MPs and Peers and the average time taken to reply was 13 days:
(a) longer than one month: 0%
(b) six weeks : 1.61 % (i.e. one letter)
(c) two months: 0%
(d) three months: 0%
(e) six months: 0%.
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The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members' and Peers' correspondence. The report for 2011 was published on 15 March 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS.
International Development
Acid Attacks
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether she has had recent discussions with her international counterparts on the monitoring and prevention of acid attacks. [118866]
Mr Duncan: On a visit to Pakistan in March 2012, the Secretary of State publically reiterated the UK Government's commitment to ending acid violence and to working to empower and protect women and girls in Pakistan and other countries where this kind of violence exists.
DFID currently funds Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), a UK-based specialist international non-governmental organisation that has been tackling acid violence in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Uganda, Nepal and Cambodia for almost 10 years. This funding includes support for monitoring and prevention of acid attacks. The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Mr O'Brien) and I, both underlined UK support for ASTI's work when we visited Acid Survivors Foundation Bangladesh in 2011.
Burma
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that humanitarian assistance is provided to refugees and internally displaced peoples along the Bangladesh-Burma border. [118690]
Mr Duncan: The UK Government has repeatedly called for the Government of Burma to allow unhindered humanitarian access to all of the areas affected. Humanitarian agencies, including those receiving core funding from the United Kingdom, are now able to provide aid to some of the affected areas, in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence - but this falls short of what is needed. In August the then Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) met with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and raised directly with her our concerns about the level of access being allowed to humanitarian non-governmental organisations supporting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. We continue to monitor the situation and humanitarian response on both sides of the border closely.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department is providing to refugees internally displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [118671]
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Mr Duncan: Conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has displaced approximately 500,000 people since the start of the year. 2012 has seen a significant deterioration in DRC’s humanitarian situation, with large numbers of people forced to flee their homes and livelihoods, brutal attacks on civilians by a number of armed groups, and serious cholera and measles epidemics among displaced populations.
The UK has been providing significant support to those who have had to leave their homes as a result of violence, ensuring that displaced people have access to safe water, shelter, healthcare and protection from further attacks. Our support reaches 2.1 million people in DRC each year with emergency assistance. The UK is the largest donor to the Rapid Response to the Movement of Populations mechanism which—by the end of July—had reached more than 368,000 newly displaced people with emergency assistance.
We remain extremely concerned by the situation facing the population of eastern Congo, and are working closely with the United Nations and non-governmental organisations to ensure vulnerable people are reached quickly and effectively with essential lifesaving assistance.
Overseas Aid
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of her Department's funded projects started in the last five years have subsequently been cancelled before completion. [119927]
Mr Duncan: Information about projects which have been cancelled before completion is available for individual projects. However, this information is not recorded in the Department's management information system and could only be collected at disproportionate cost. I have asked officials to advise how this might be done in future.
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of her Department's funded projects started in the last five years (a) have been delivered later than originally scheduled and (b) are estimated to be delivered later than originally scheduled. [119928]
Mr Duncan: Information on projects delivered, or estimated to be delivered, later than originally scheduled is available for individual projects. However, this information is not recorded in the Department's management information system and could only be collected at disproportionate cost. I have asked officials to advise how this might be done in future.
Remittances
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will estimate the average cost of using a money transfer company to send a remittance payment. [118976]
Mr Duncan:
The Department for International Development relies on the World Bank for data on international remittance costs. The World Bank coordinates international action to meet the commitment made by G8 countries in 2009 to reduce the average cost of
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sending and receiving remittances by 5 percentage points to 5.0% by 2014. International remittance costs are monitored by the World Bank through the Remittance Prices Worldwide database http://remittanceprices.worldbank.org/.
The database is updated every six months. Latest available data for the period January-March 2012 showed that the average total cost of sending remittances from the UK was 7.93%, compared to a global average of 9.12%.
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of how much money was sent abroad in remittance payments in each month in (a) 2011 and (b) the first half of 2012. [118987]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development relies on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for data on UK transfers. The ONS does not publish separate estimates for remittances as they are not considered to be of sufficient quality. Instead, estimates for remittances are combined with estimates for net transfers from UK charities, defined in the UK Balance of Payments (the Pink Book) as ‘other payments by households’.
Data for ‘other payments by households’ are only available on an annual basis. The 2012 Edition of the Pink Book published in July estimated ‘other payments by households’ at £5.74 billion in 2011:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bop/united-kingdom-balance-of-payments/2012/index.html
Culture, Media and Sport
Broadband
Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the potential role of 4G/LTE mobile broadband in assisting the UK to meet EU broadband 2020 targets. [119001]
Mr Vaizey: It is the view of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that 4G mobile technologies will play a role in delivering broadband coverage beyond the edge of the fixed infrastructure. It is one of a suite of technologies that will be required to deliver broadband, as it is not feasible to provide fixed internet connections at broadband speeds in all cases to every household.
Broadband: Hartlepool
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will bring forward proposals to improve broadband (a) connectivity and (b) speed for Elwick village in Hartlepool constituency; and if she will make a statement. [119763]
Mr Vaizey:
The Government has made available £530 million in the current spending round to stimulate private investment in superfast broadband in locations where the commercial investment case is weak. Hartlepool is covered by the Durham local broadband plan. The
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plan has been approved by the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics Media and Sport, and the project has been allocated £9.88 million. Durham county council is the lead authority and is currently preparing to run a procurement exercise to appoint a supplier to upgrade the communications infrastructure in areas eligible for public support. The hon. Member may, therefore, wish to contact the county council about the coverage areas included in its local broadband plan.
Broadband: Rural Areas
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps she plans to take to ensure high-speed broadband coverage is extended to rural areas after local call-off contracts are awarded to suppliers as part of the BDUK Broadband Procurement Framework agreements. [119731]
Mr Vaizey: The call-off contracts awarded by local authorities under the BDUK Broadband Framework will be focused on delivery of superfast broadband to areas where public intervention is required to stimulate further private investment; these are predominately rural locations.
Correspondence
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the average time taken was by her Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters the time taken to send a response was longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months in that period. [118661]
Hugh Robertson: In the last 12 months, the Department has responded to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the following departmental timescales:
18% in 48 hours, and,
64% in 10 working days.
Due to the way in which we record correspondence we are unable to provide the remaining figures in the exact format you have requested; however, we can advise that (a) 10% of the letters received were sent out in over 20 working days, (b) 4% in over 30 working days, (c) 2% in over 40 working days, (d) 1% in over 50 working days and (e) no letters took over 100 working days to respond to.
The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members' and Peers' correspondence. The report for 2011 was published on 15 March 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS.
Digital Broadcasting: Radio
Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to improve coverage of digital radio in (a) England, (b) the South East and (c) Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency. [118936]
Mr Vaizey:
Ofcom are leading a review of future DAB coverage, as part of the joint Government industry Digital Radio Action Plan. Earlier this year, Ofcom
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published a consultation setting out the parameters for future DAB coverage planning and how infrastructure needs to change to match current FM level. The consultation can be found at:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/radio/coverage/dab-coverage/?utm_source=updates8tutm_medium =email&utm_campaign=dab-coverage-report
In June 2012 Government, multiplex operators and the BBC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on local DAB funding for radio switchover. The MOU set out the process for up to £21 million of investment in local DAB infrastructure over the next five years. In addition, the MOU will facilitate the launching of five new local multiplexes, including across North East Wales.
Gambling
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether she intends to accept the recommendations of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in its Report on The Gambling Act 2005: A bet worth taking? (First Report of Session 2012-13, HC 421), that legislation on gambling should be liberalised and that decisions on gambling establishments be devolved to local authorities. [119052]
Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is grateful to the Committee for the report. DCMS is currently considering its recommendations and will respond in due course.
Licensing
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what permits and licences her Department and its public bodies issue to businesses. [118817]
Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not directly issue any permits or licences to businesses. When a licence or permit is required in relation to an area of the Department's policy then this would be the responsibility of its arm’s length bodies. Accordingly, as this information is not held centrally, I have asked the chief executive of the Department's arm's length bodies to write directly to the hon. Member with this information.
A copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
London Airports
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent estimate she has made of the percentage of passengers arriving at (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick airport who go on to visit parts of mainland UK other than Greater London; and if she will make a statement. [119995]
Hugh Robertson:
The Department has made no recent estimate. Data relating to travel behaviour of inbound visitors are collated by the Office for National Statistics, via the International Passenger Survey (IPS). The IPS records how many overseas visitors went to different
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parts of the UK during their visit, at the following link; however this information is not airport specific:
http://www.visitbritain.org/insightsandstatistics/inboundvisitorstatistics/regions/index.aspx
In 2011, the IPS estimates that 50.4% of total visits to the UK took place outside of London.
Olympic Games 2012: Ministers
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many tickets were made available for use or allocation by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for the opening ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics; and if she will make a statement. [119875]
Hugh Robertson: In the autumn, the Government will publish a full list of whom it allocated Olympic and Paralympic tickets to, the cost to Government of those tickets and reasons for allocation. This will include recipients of tickets to all ceremonies.
One North West
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what funding (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have given to One North West. [119684]
Hugh Robertson: One North West has not received any funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport or its agency The Royal Parks.
Public Sector: Telephone Services
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will discuss with Ofcom steps to protect low income consumers from high charges for calls to public sector helplines using 08 telephone numbers. [118839]
Mr Vaizey: This is an operational issue for the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom).
Ofcom's General Condition 14 requires communications providers to adopt Codes of Practice relating to their domestic and small business customers in relation to (i) information about pricing and services and (ii) display of prices for non-geographic and premium rate numbers.
In terms of 0800 numbers, Ofcom's numbering plan requires that communications providers route calls to a pre-call announcement stating that the call is chargeable.
In 2007, 03 numbers were introduced as a lower cost alternative to chargeable 08 numbers like 0870. Calls to 03 numbers cost the same as calls to geographic numbers (starting 01 or 02), and are included as part of any inclusive call minutes or discount schemes in the same way as geographic calls. Revenue sharing—where the dialled party can receive a share of what the consumer pays to make a call—is not permitted on calls to 03 numbers.
Radio Frequencies
Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when Ofcom intends to announce its decision on the liberalisation of the 1800 MHz band. [118999]
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Mr Vaizey: On 21 August 2012 Ofcom announced that it had approved an application by the mobile phone operator Everything Everywhere (EE) to use its existing 1800 MHz spectrum to deliver 4G services (LTE and WiMAX). In parallel with this decision, Ofcom issued varied licences to EE which authorise 4G services from 11 September 2012. This means that EE can launch 4G services using its 1800 MHz spectrum at any point from that date, although the precise timing of any launch is a commercial decision for Everything Everywhere.
Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when she proposes that spectrum currently used for 2G and 3G services will be made available for 4G. [119000]
Mr Vaizey: The European Commission's Radio Spectrum Committee Decision 2009/766/EC, as amended by Decision 2011/251/EC, requires all EU member states to designate and make available the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum bands for 4G services by 31 December 2011. Since there is no legal impediment to either the 900 MHz or 1800 MHz bands being authorised for 4G services, this requirement has been met by the UK.
The UK is also required, under European Commission Decision 243/2012/EU, subject to market demand, to complete an authorisation process to liberalise the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum bands for LTE and WiMAX use by the end of this year.
To date only Everything Everywhere has sought a variation to its licence to allow it to deploy 4G services in this spectrum. This application was granted by Ofcom on 21 August 2012. Should Ofcom receive variation requests for the remaining licences in the 1800 MHz and 900 MHz bands, demonstrating market demand for such variations, Ofcom will consult on variation of those licences as required by the relevant legislation.
Telephone Services: Fees and Charges
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) service charges and (b) access charges for non-geographic telephone numbers are advertised to consumers by telecommunications operators. [119893]
Mr Vaizey: This is an operational issue for the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Currently, under General Condition 14, Ofcom requires communications providers to publish transparent pricing information for non-geographic calls, including in their advertising and promotional material. Providers must also ensure that those charges are given the same prominence as other call charge information.
However, Ofcom recognises that the current system around non-geographic numbers does not work for consumers, with confusion around call pricing and concerns about revenue sharing. Therefore it is proposing to simplify the number ranges. The main proposals are:
Freephone: (080 and 116 numbers) to be free from all telephones, landline and mobile;
Revenue sharing ranges: (084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers—where a portion of the retail charge is passed back to the receiver of the call) are to have a common simplified structure.
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Under the new proposals, calls subject to revenue sharing will be “unbundled” so that consumers will know exactly how much is paid to their phone provider (the access charge) and how much is passed on to other companies (the service charge).
Given the complexity of the changes there will need to be at least 18 months, transition time, which will start when the proposals are finalised by the end of this year.
War Memorials
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what funding her Department has allocated to the maintenance of war memorials in each of the next three years; and what steps it has taken to ensure that war memorials are maintained to a high standard. [118768]
Mr Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport provides funding to ensure war memorials are maintained and conserved to a high standard through the Department's own Memorial Grant Scheme and schemes provided by its sponsored bodies including English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Imperial War Museum.
The DCMS Memorial Grant Scheme makes grants towards the VAT incurred by charities and faith groups in the construction, repair and maintenance of public memorial structures, including war memorials. The funding allocated to this scheme is:
| Financial year | £ |
English Heritage expects to allocate £100,000 per year for the next three years for the repair of freestanding war memorials and also anticipates providing funding to War Memorials Trust over the same period to support its ongoing conservation programme, which provides advice on maintenance and care to owners and custodians of war memorials.
English Heritage is also working in partnership with local authorities, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and local groups on the Heritage Crime Programme, which aims to protect vulnerable buildings and sites, including war memorials. It has also worked jointly with the War Memorial Trust and other partners to publish free guidance leaflets to promote a high standard of maintenance of war memorials.
The Heritage Lottery Fund has launched a new initiative to encourage applications to the DCMS Memorial Grant Scheme for projects related to the centenaries of the first world war. It has also convened a War Memorials Action Group to review the issues around the protection and restoration of war memorials.
Home Department
Asylum: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on the monitoring of the human rights of failed asylum seekers returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [118888]
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Mr Harper: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
The UK Border Agency and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) do not routinely monitor the treatment of individual failed asylum seekers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) once they are returned from the UK. However, the FCO follows the human rights situation in the DRC and informs UK Border Agency officials of any concerns about the human rights of returnees.
Asylum: Deportation
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many flights deporting failed asylum seekers had (a) more staff than deportees, (b) twice as many staff as deportees, (c) three times as many staff as deportees and (d) more than three times as many staff as deportees on board in each year since 2008. [118675]
Mr Harper: The UK Border Agency's charter flights carry those individuals who have no lawful basis of stay in the United Kingdom. This includes, but is not limited to, failed asylum applicants.
The following table shows how many flights had (a) more staff than returnees, (b) between twice and three times as many staff as returnees and (c) more than three times as many staff as returnees for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 (to date). Staff referred to are those employed by both the UK Border Agency and its external contractors.
It is rare for charter flights to see an exact ratio of twice or three times as many staff as returnees and, as such, the reply is structured to allow for the data to be viewed more clearly.
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
Each charter returnee is individually risk assessed to determine how many personnel are required and these risk assessments are based on a returnee's medical and behavioural history. As such the number of personnel required for each returnee can vary and this is reflected in the data provided.
Please note that all figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information. They are therefore provisional and subject to change.
Borders: Personal Records
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress her Department has made on its e-Borders programme. [119432]
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Mr Harper: The Border Technology Programme brings together e-Borders, Border Systems Procurement and Border Automation. The programme is currently tracking around 55% of inbound and 60% of outbound passenger and crew movements; this equates to approximately 129 million passenger movements a year on over 3,400 routes. The UK Border Agency met the public commitment of receiving data for 100% of aviation routes starting outside the EEA for passengers and crew by April 2012. The UK Border Agency is extending collection of advance passenger information (API) data to maritime and rail routes as part of its efforts to maximise data collection and new capability has been added to the system that will enable the processing of API received from all types of transport.
Border Systems Procurement was set up in September 2011 in order to undertake the necessary procurement(s) for a new service provider for the support and maintenance of the existing Semaphore and Warnings Index applications. The Border Automation work is to develop the strategy and high level business and technical requirements for automated Border Solutions including e-Gates, targeting systems and detection. Border Technology provides critical capability to a range of stakeholders including the Home Office, the UK Border Agency, the police and other agencies.