Roads: Accidents
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to address the growth in road casualties in the most recent quarter. [122340]
Stephen Hammond: In the most recent reported quarter (January to March 2012) there were 420 people killed in reported road accidents, 6% less than the first quarter of 2011. Overall estimated total number of casualties fell by 2% despite numbers of killed or seriously injured casualties rising by 3%.
Since the publication of the “Strategic Framework for Road Safety” in May 2011, the Department has taken a number of the steps to reduce the number of road casualties, as envisaged in the framework. They include steps on all three of the thematic chapters of the framework.
Firstly on ‘improving road safety together’, the road safety comparison site, road safety observatory, speed limit assessment tool and a revised speed limit circular are all well advanced and on track for completion during the next few months.
Secondly on ‘education’, we have already made changes to the driving tests and changes to the educational scheme for drink drive offenders are progressing towards implementation.
Thirdly on ‘targeted enforcement and sanctions’, we have consulted about the introduction of fixed penalty notices for careless driving and increased penalty fines. The bill containing enabling legislation to create a new specific drug driving offence is being considered in the House of Lords.
The Department will continue with implementation of these and other measures as set out in the strategic framework. Updates on this can be viewed here:
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/strategic-framework-for-road-safety/action-plan-update.pdf
Roads: Barnsley
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents occurred due to (a) motorists and (b) cyclists failing to stop at red traffic lights in Barnsley Central constituency in the last two years for which figures are available. [122429]
Stephen Hammond: The data on factors contributing to road accidents are not broken down below regional level since the number of accidents can often be small and therefore it may be possible to identify the individuals involved in an accident.
However, the numbers of personal injury road accidents in the Yorkshire and the Humber region where “disobeyed automatic traffic signal” was a contributory factor for (a) motor vehicles and (b) cyclists in the years 2010 and 2011 are as follows:
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Motor vehicles | Cyclists | |
Roads: EU Action
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on negotiations on the EU Roadworthiness Package. [122671]
Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), will be attending an initial debate at the European Council on 29 October. Consideration of any announcement will be made after this meeting.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what process is in place for approving the Highways Agency's strategic plan; and what process is in place to ensure that new schemes are included in the strategic plan. [122848]
Stephen Hammond: The current Highways Agency’s Strategic Plan sets out its vision and goals for the years 2010 to 2015. Details of the HA's activities, business context, budgets, performance measures, and major schemes, are included in its annual Business Plan, which is approved by the Secretary of State. The 2012-13 Business Plan sets out major road schemes in the approved programme—including those announced at the 29 November 2011 Autumn Statement, Official Report, columns 799-810—and notes that the agency will announce construction dates on schemes in future years on an annual basis as part of the departmental and HA planning process.
The Department for Transport is currently working on a long-term strategy for the strategic road network. The strategy will define the high-level process and key mechanisms for identifying long-term investment needs and priorities for the network. The Department's aim is to begin consultation on the strategy before the end of the year.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which level of officials at the Highways Agency can approve spending on roads; and at what seniority investments (a) under £100,000, (b) between £100,000 and £1 million, (c) between £1 and £10 million, (d) between £10 and £50 million, (e) between £50 and £100 million and (f) over £100 million can be made. [122849]
Stephen Hammond: The Highways Agency has the following grading structure in its organisation:
Grade | Description |
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The two main types of spend on roads are major projects, such as road widening, and maintenance, including renewals and enhancements. In general, projects valued at over £20 million are delivered by the Major Projects teams in the Highways Agency.
For financial approval for Major Projects, the letting of any contract will need approval from The Chief Executive (Grade SCS3). The Chief Executive/SCS3 will also need to approve any price increases in projects.
For financial approval for Maintenance, including renewals and enhancements, the award of work can be approved by the following:
£0 to £0.5 million: PB7
£0.5 million to £5 million: PB8
£5 million to £20 million: SCS 2
£20 million and over: SCS3.
In addition to these financial controls all procurements are approved by a holder of procurement delegations. For all contracts over £10,000 this contractual approval would be exercised within the Procurement Division, limits vary by category of spend but generally allow approval within the Procurement management group responsible. For the largest contracts, the delegations would be exercised by the Procurement Director.
Roads: Safety
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road safety officers have been employed in the last two years. [122339]
Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport does not collect information about how many road safety officers are employed. Local authorities have a statutory obligation to provide road safety, but decisions about whether to employ road safety officers are a matter for local authorities to determine.
Transport: Exhaust Emissions
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the recommendation by the Committee on Climate Change to include international aviation and shipping emissions in carbon budgets. [122840]
Norman Baker: The Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), has regular discussions with his Cabinet colleagues on a variety of issues, and will continue to engage closely with them before any decision is taken on this matter. Department for Transport officials are in regular contact with their opposite numbers in other Government Departments on this issue, as well as with the Committee on Climate Change, ahead of the statutory deadline set out in the Climate Change Act (2008) of the end of 2012.
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West Coast Railway Line
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the projected (a) cost and (b) revenue will be to his Department by using Directly Operated Rail to operate the West Coast Main Line in each of the next three years. [122813]
Mr Simon Burns: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), on 15 October 2012, Official Report, column 7WS, that the Department for Transport is commencing negotiations with Virgin Rail Group.
West Coast Railway Line: Franchises
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether a procurement risk model was developed by his Department for the intercity west coast franchise competition; [122307]
(2) what testing his Department carried out to ensure the viability and efficacy of the (a) evaluation model, (b) financial evaluation model and (c) risk evaluation model for the west coast mainline franchise; who carried out such tests; when they took place; and what the findings were; [122318]
(3) how the risk assessment model for the west coast mainline franchise competition was designed; and who designed it; [122319]
(4) how the financial evaluation model for the west coast mainline franchise competition was designed; and who designed it; [122320]
(5) what the grade was of the official who signed off the evaluation model for the west coast mainline franchise for use; which Minister signed off its use; and on what dates; [122321]
(6) how the evaluation model for the west coast mainline franchise competition was designed; and who designed it. [122322]
Mr Simon Burns: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State on 15 October 2012, Official Report, columns 46-47 and the terms of reference of the Laidlaw Inquiry which have been laid in the Library of the House. The Inquiry will look into the Department's handling of the competition for the InterCity West Coast franchise and lessons to be learned. It will provide initial findings to the Secretary of State by the end of October and a final report by the end of November.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) qualifications and (b) training was of each official of his Department who worked in the intercity west coast franchise procurement team; and how this assisted them in carrying out their role. [122308]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department for Transport does not hold a centralised registry containing this information.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what meetings were held at board level to consider the progress of the intercity west coast franchise competition; [122310]
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(2) at how many meetings his Department's board considered the intercity west coast franchise competition before it was launched; and what the date was of each such meeting; [122311]
(3) what formal role the board of his Department had in supervising the procurement process in respect of the intercity west coast franchise competition. [122312]
Mr Simon Burns: The departmental board was not responsible for approving the award of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition. The Department's governance procedures for major contract awards did not require the board to be consulted.
Under the Department's governance arrangements, responsibility for approval of funding decisions, value for money and commercial strategy for the InterCity West Coast franchise was delegated to the board's Investment and Commercial Committee, a formal sub-committee of the board. This committee considered the franchise competition a number of times during 2011 and 2012.
The Laidlaw Inquiry will look at the roles and responsibilities of different advisory and decision making parties, within the Department (including the board Investment and Commercial Committee), and externally, in relation to the significant technical flaws that have been discovered. The Inquiry will look at how well these parties performed their roles, and what can be learned from this about the appropriate structure for governance and assurance of major contract awards.
I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State on 15 October 2012, Official Report, columns 46-47 and the terms of reference of the Laidlaw Inquiry which have been laid in the Library of the House.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what dates bid evaluation clarification meetings were held during the intercity west coast franchise competition; and who requested each such meeting. [122313]
Mr Simon Burns: Bid evaluation clarification meetings were held with each of the four bidders for the InterCity West Coast franchise competition. These meetings took place on the 8, 11, 12 and 13 June 2012. The meetings were requested by the Department.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bid evaluation clarification meetings were held with each of the bidders in respect of the intercity west coast franchise. [122314]
Mr Simon Burns: Bid evaluation clarification meetings were held with each of the four bidders for the InterCity West Coast franchise competition. These meetings took place on the 8, 11, 12 and 13 June 2012.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the tender evaluation guidance document was prepared and issued prior to the receipt of the bids for the inter-city west coast franchise. [122315]
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Mr Simon Burns: Tender evaluation guidance was made available on 20 January 2012 to all bidders in advance of the deadline for submitting their respective proposals. The Department for Transport published the guidance for the InterCity West Coast franchise on its website, where this guidance can be obtained by any interested party.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members there were of the tender evaluation team in respect of the inter-city west coast franchise; and what the grade was of each team member. [122316]
Mr Simon Burns: The tenders for the InterCity West Coast franchise competition were evaluated by 10 directly employed DfT officials. Their grades were as follows:
five pay band 6;
four pay band 7; and
one senior civil servant pay band 1.
The DfT also used three contracted reviewers to evaluate the tenders.
In addition there were 14 employees of Atkins who undertook evaluation of the West Coast bids.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he developed a risk mitigation plan for the collapse of the procurement process in respect of the inter-city west coast franchise competition. [122317]
Mr Simon Burns: As a matter of course during all franchise competitions, and in order to satisfy the Secretary of State's obligation under section 30 of the Railways Act 1993, contingency plans are in place to ensure that there is continuity in the provision of railway passenger services.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether his Department is considering making a legal claim against the professional indemnity insurance of any of the external consultants involved in the West Coast Mainline franchise competition; [122323]
(2) whether his Department is considering taking legal action against any of its external consultants in respect of the West Coast Mainline franchise competition; [122324]
(3) whether his Department is considering making complaints to any professional body in respect of the professional services received from any external consultants in relation to the West Coast Mainline franchise. [122329]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department has not taken any decisions in relation to these issues.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what external firms of consultants were contracted or retained and used by his Department in respect of (a) franchising policy design, (b) writing the invitation to tender, (c) providing financial, risk or evaluation modelling, (d) advising his Department on bids, (e) advising the bidders on the process, (f) evaluating bids, (g) anonymising bids, (h) checking the evaluation of bids, (i) checking the pre-qualification assessments and (j) awarding the franchise in respect of the West Coast Mainline franchise. [122325]
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Mr Simon Burns: In respect of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition, WS Atkins were involved in:
(b) Writing the Invitation To Tender
(d) Advising the Department on bids
(f) Evaluating bids
(b) Writing the Invitation To Tender
(j) Awarding the franchise
and Faithful and Gould were involved in:
(a) Franchising policy design
No other external firms of consultants were contracted or retained and used by the Department in relation to this work.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what fixed fee his Department paid to WS Atkins in respect of work relating to the West Coast Mainline franchise; and how that fee was decided upon. [122326]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department for Transport paid WS Atkins a fixed fee of £490,810 for their work on the InterCity West Coast franchise competition. This fee was decided through a competitive procurement process.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what fixed fee his Department paid to Eversheds LLP in respect of work relating to the West Coast Mainline franchise; and how that fee was decided upon. [122327]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department for Transport paid Eversheds LLP a fixed fee of £439,000 for their work on the Intercity West Coast franchise competition. This fee was decided through a competitive procurement process.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive the reports from the two investigations he has established following the cancellation of the West Coast Mainline franchise process. [122598]
Mr Simon Burns: I refer my right hon. Friend to the statement made by the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), on 15 October 2012, Official Report, columns 46-47, and the terms of reference of the Laidlaw Inquiry and the Brown Review which have been laid in the Library of the House.
The Laidlaw Inquiry will provide initial findings to the Secretary of State by the end of October and a final report by the end of November. The Brown Review will report by the end of December 2012.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which consultancies have worked or are working on revenue forecasts on both the West Coast Franchise bid and on High Speed 2, either for High Speed 2 Ltd or his Department. [122599]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department for Transport was provided with advice on revenue forecasts for the cancelled West Coast Main Line franchise procurement by WS Atkins plc.
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The bulk of the analytical work to support HS2 is carried out by HS2 Ltd which is a non-departmental public body, and separate from the Department for Transport. To advise on the rail demand forecasts prepared for the Economic Case for HS2 published in January 2012, and subsequently updated in August 2012, HS2 Ltd contracted the following two consortia:
1. MVA Consultancy (lead partner) and Mott MacDonald Group Ltd
2. WS Atkins plc (lead partner) and Arup Group Ltd
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will investigate which passenger numbers that have been erroneously used for the West Coast Mainline franchise bid affect the business case for HS2. [122720]
Mr Simon Burns: The issues which have led to the cancellation of the Intercity West Coast franchise competition are completely unrelated to any work done on HS2. The Department has a well-established approach to passenger forecasting which is subject to a range of sensitivity tests, and we are confident that the modelling that has been undertaken in relation to HS2 is fit for purpose.
Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when he was first made aware of the issues with the tendering process for the West Coast Mainline franchise; [122721]
(2) who made the decision to make public the details of the issues with the West Coast Mainline franchise at 12.01 am. [122722]
Mr Simon Burns: Shortly before the Cabinet reshuffle on 4 September 2012, officials informed the then Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), that their preparations for the legal challenge brought by Virgin Trains Limited had raised a potential technical concern about one aspect of the franchise process. The advice at the time was that there was no evidence that the issue would have made any difference to the outcome of the franchise competition. The Secretary of State immediately ordered officials to conduct further detailed examinations to reassure her that the process and decision arrived at remained robust.
Following his appointment as Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), also asked officials to provide reassurances to him on the process given the ongoing legal challenge. Officials provided these reassurances and advised that they were looking into the process and decision, in line with the request of the previous Secretary of State. The potential area of concern in relation to the process was raised at this time, but again reassurances were provided that there was no evidence that this would have made any difference to the outcome.
Increasingly detailed examinations carried out in line with the requests of Ministers and in anticipation of litigation revealed additional concerns with the way the competition had been implemented. This examination work was carried out by officials and was latterly aided by external advisors PwC, who started work on this project on 24 September.
On 2 October, following completion of these detailed examinations, officials delivered their final opinion to
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the Secretary of State that the technical flaws were so significant that the competition would have to be cancelled and restarted. The Secretary of State then took the final decision to cancel the competition and acted immediately to make this fact known by informing the bidders concerned as soon as he feasibly could, during the evening of 2 October, and making the decision public at 00.01 hours on 3 October once all the bidders had been informed.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the civil servants who have been suspended pending inquiries into the West Coast Main Line franchise made contributions to any aspect of his Department's HS2 project. [122809]
Mr Simon Burns: Three officials involved in the West Coast franchise competition have been suspended by the permanent secretary. I can provide no further details about the suspensions while the full facts are established. The development of HS2 is led by a separate team within the Department, and the bulk of the analytical work to support HS2 is carried out by HS2 Ltd which is an ‘arm’s-length’ organisation, and separate from the Department for Transport. The analysis carried out by HS2 Ltd is also subject to rigorous independent quality assurance.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the grade and role was of each official of his Department involved in (a) implementing the new franchising policy, (b) writing the franchise invitation to tender, (c) establishing the specifications for the tender, (d) anonymising each bid, (e) liaising with each bidder, (f) evaluating each bid, (g) risk assessing each bid and (h) drawing up recommendations to Ministers as to who to award the franchise to for the intercity West Coast franchise tender; and how many such officials were involved in each such area. [123112]
Mr Simon Burns: The implementation of franchising policy in the Department is led by the Rail Franchising Policy Division. As of 17 October, this team was comprised of 21 officials, broken down by grade as follows:
one senior civil servant at SCS payband 1;
11 officials at DFT payband 7;
seven officials at DFT payband 6; and
two at DFT payband 4.
These officials are supported at various stages by officials from Rail Commercial, Rail Analysis, Refranchising Programme Office, Procurement, Legal and other members of the senior civil service.
The remaining tasks listed in the question were delivered through the West Coast Project Team, which comprised of 12 officials, and is broken down by grade as follows:
eight at DFT payband 7;
three at DFT payband 6; and
one at DFT payband 5.
These officials were similarly supported at various stages by other officials from across the Department.
Maria Eagle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role WS Atkins carried out on behalf of his Department in respect of (a) devising the changes to the rail franchising policy detailed in the White Paper,
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“Reforming our Railways: Putting the Customer First”,
(b)
devising the invitation to tender for the InterCity West Coast Franchise,
(c)
advising the Department on financial modelling for that franchise,
(d)
advising the Department on evaluation methodology for that franchise,
(e)
advising the Department on risk assessment for that franchise and
(f)
advising the Department on the development of a risk mitigation plan for that franchise. [123172]
Mr Simon Burns: With regards to (a) devising changes to the rail franchising policy:
WS Atkins contributed to some of the reports for the independent McNulty Rail Value for Money Study. In particular, WS Atkins were involved in reports on asset, supply chain, programme and innovation management. Beyond this, there was no other direct input from WS Atkins in formulating the command paper.
With regards to the other activities listed in the question, WS Atkins provided technical services in support of all of these activities.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role Eversheds LLP carried out on behalf of his Department in respect of (a) devising the changes to the rail franchising policy detailed in the White Paper, “Reforming our Railways: Putting the Customer First”, (b) devising the invitation to tender for the InterCity West Coast Franchise, (c) advising the Department on financial modelling for that franchise, (d) advising the Department on evaluation methodology for that franchise, (e) advising the Department on risk assessment for that franchise and (f) advising the Department on the development of a risk mitigation plan for that franchise. [123173]
Mr Simon Burns: With respect to the InterCity West Coast franchise competition, Eversheds LLP were involved in providing legal services in relation to:
(b) devising the invitation to tender for the InterCity West Coast franchise; and
(d) advising the Department on evaluation methodology for that franchise.
They were not involved in any of the other areas of work mentioned.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the (a) Secretary of State for Transport, (b) Minister of State (Rail) and (c) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Rail) attended meetings to discuss the Intercity West Coast franchise, the design and progress of the competition, evaluation of the bids and award of that franchise (i) before and (ii) after the award of that franchise on 15 August 2012; and what the dates were of those meetings. [123174]
Mr Simon Burns: Details of meetings that Ministers have with external stakeholders are published regularly by the Cabinet Office and can be accessed by the following link:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/ministerial-transparency/
Ministers regularly meet with officials on matters of departmental business which would include rail franchising. However, the process for awarding franchises means that after approving the invitation to tender, Ministers
19 Oct 2012 : Column 536W
are at arm’s length from the process and are not advised of the outcome until the point at which a winner has been identified and the franchise can be awarded.
Treasury
Air Passenger Duty
Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what research his Department has conducted to assess the impact of air passenger duty on the economy; [122360]
(2) if he will consider the All Party Parliamentary Group on Aviation's inquiry into Aviation policy and air passenger duty and the recommendation that the wider effect of air passenger duty on the UK economy be reviewed. [122684]
Sajid Javid: The Government undertook an extensive consultation on air passenger duty last year. The consultation gathered views and evidence from stakeholders, which included views on the impact of APD. Over 500 responses were received from a wide range of stakeholders. The Government published their response to the consultation, including a summary of views received, on 6 December 2011.
The Government have noted the recommendations of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Aviation inquiry. Given that we recently completed a comprehensive consultation on the subject, we have no plans for further review. However, we will continue to monitor the situation.
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what studies have been conducted to assess the effect of the costs of air passenger duty on the UK economy; what assessment has been made of the effect of air passenger duty rates being higher than equivalent taxes in other countries on the UK economy; and if he will make a statement; [122412]
(2) if he will follow-up the Government's 2011 review of the banding of air passenger duty with a review into the wider economic effect of the tax; and if he will make a statement. [122413]
Sajid Javid: The 2011 air passenger duty (APD) consultation gathered extensive views and evidence from stakeholders, which included views on the impact of APD. Over 500 responses were received from a wide range of stakeholders. The Government published their response to the consultation, including a summary of views received, on 6 December 2011.
Given that we recently completed a comprehensive consultation on the subject, we have no plans for further review. However, we will continue to monitor the situation.
Mr Donohoe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many hon. Members have made representations to his Department to request an economic review of air passenger duty since June 2012. [122837]
Sajid Javid:
Treasury Ministers routinely receive a large number of representations from hon. Members on their own behalf and on behalf of their constituents.
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Our records are not broken down to allow the number specifically requesting an economic review of air passenger duty (APD) to be determined.
The Government undertook an extensive consultation on air passenger duty (APD) last year. In view of this, the Government have no plans for further review at the present time.
Apprentices
Mike Crockart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many apprentices working in his Department are (a) paid and (b) completing a qualification as part of the apprenticeship; [123083]
(2) how many (a) paid apprentices and (b) paid interns are employed in his Department. [123084]
Sajid Javid: HM Treasury is actively supporting the Government apprentice scheme. Our 2012 apprentice recruitment campaign resulted in five new recruits all of whom are paid.
Apprentices will be studying an NVQ in Business and Administration during their first 12 months. This will be supported by an apprentice training provider, on the job training and a range of learning and development offerings available in house and via Civil Service Learning.
There are no paid interns currently working at HM Treasury. The Department has previously participated in the Civil Service Summer Diversity Internship Programme.
Bank Notes
Mr Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he had had with the Bank of England regarding the relative number of notes in circulation for £5, £10, £20 and £50. [123380]
Sajid Javid: The Chancellor of the Exchequer regularly meets with the Governor of the Bank of England to discuss a wide range of issues.
The issue of bank notes is the responsibility of the Bank of England. The Bank of England works with the cash-handling industry and financial institutions to ensure there are enough notes of the right denominational mix in circulation to meet public demand.
Capital Investment: Northampton
Mr Binley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the letter from the hon. Member for Northampton South on commuted sums for river maintenance, if he will consider the evidence now available for missing final accounts with a view to replacement of the funding granted under the New Towns Act 1965 for the expansion of Northampton. [122346]
Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Redevelopment in Northampton in the 1970s required provision by Anglian Water Authority of water, sewerage and flood defence infrastructure. Costs were recharged to the Development Corporation with a commuted sum
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to cover future maintenance. The Environment Agency has no evidence that any commuted sum paid was specifically allocated for future river maintenance.
Funding has been provided to maintain an appropriate flood defence standard in Northampton. The Independent Review of the 1998 floods concluded that flood defence standards were appropriate, but were exceeded by the severity of the flood. Investment in defence improvements in 2000 provided Northampton with one of the best standards of fluvial defence in the country. An independent review commissioned by the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee has confirmed that all maintenance and other work to sustain this standard remains in place. Flood risk assets in Northampton are inspected annually and all are assessed to be in good condition.
Child Trust Fund
Damian Hinds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of Child Trust Fund accounts from the first full year of the programme that have received additional deposits; [122575]
(2) what proportion of parents of Child Trust Fund holders have switched account provider at lease once; [122576]
(3) what proportion of parents whose children have a Child Trust Fund Stakeholder account (a) opted for a Stakeholder account and (b) were assigned a Stakeholder account as a default option; [122577]
(4) what proportion of recipients of (a) a £250 Child Trust Fund and (b) a £500 Child Trust Fund have taken out (i) an interest-bearing account, (ii) an equities account and (iii) a stakeholder account. [122578]
Sajid Javid: No estimate has been made of the proportion of Child Trust Funds (CTFs), opened within the first year of the account, that received contributions in addition to Government payments. HM Revenue and Customs does not hold information about the transfer of accounts between CTF providers.
Details of the number of stakeholder CTFs opened by parents, and the number of these accounts opened by HM Revenue and Customs on a Revenue Allocated Account basis, can be found in Table 2 at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ctf/dda-2011.pdf
This table also contains details of the number of each type of CTF account (stakeholder, shares and cash). In the tables, accounts receiving additional payment awards are those into which the Government has paid £500. The data in this table cover accounts opened before 5 April 2011.
Corporation Tax
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of lowering the 20 per cent small profits rate tax band to (a) 19, (b) 18, (c) 17, (d) 16 and (e) 15 per cent. [122416]
Mr Gauke: HMRC publish National Statistics which show illustrative tax changes and their associated costs in Table 1.6 of the Tax expenditures and ready reckoners release.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/menu.htm
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Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) budgeted and (b) actual cost was of the Equitable Life payment scheme in each year of its operation to date. [122433]
Sajid Javid: The Treasury published the administration costs of the Equitable Life Payment scheme in its most recent accounts. These can be downloaded from:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/hmt_annual_report_2012.pdf
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many estates of deceased policyholders have been sent compensation by the Equitable Life payment scheme; what proportion of all eligible estates that represents; and what proportion of those who received compensation have paid that compensation into their bank accounts; [122434]
(2) how many policyholders are yet to receive communication from the Equitable Life payment scheme due to the administrators being unable to verify their address; [122437]
(3) how many individual policyholders are yet to receive compensation payments from the Equitable Life payment scheme. [122438]
Sajid Javid: The Scheme published a detailed progress report in July this year, a copy of which can be found at:
http://equitablelifepaymentscheme.independent.gov.uk/pressfaq/news.htm
The Scheme will publish a further report in early 2013.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many errors have been reported in payments made by the Equitable Life payment scheme. [122435]
Sajid Javid: The Scheme reported in July this year that it receives very low levels of query and complaint following payment, with less than 0.25% of eligible policyholders having made a complaint to the Scheme. A copy of this progress report is available from:
http://equitablelifepaymentscheme.independent.gov.uk/pressfaq/news.htm
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many policyholders will not receive compensation from the Equitable Life payment scheme because they have experienced a relative gain. [122436]
Sajid Javid: Annex F in the report by the Independent Commission on Equitable Life Payments contains a breakdown of those policyholders not due a payment from the Scheme. A copy of their report can be downloaded from:
http://equitablelifepaymentscheme.independent.gov.uk/docs/pdfs/final_icelp.pdf
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individual policyholders in Scotland have yet to receive payments from the Equitable Life payment scheme, by parliamentary constituency. [123767]
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Sajid Javid: The scheme does not hold a breakdown of payments made or to be made by constituency.
Free Zones
Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the cost to the public purse is of (a) direct government expenditure and (b) estimated loss of revenue of the free ports in (i) Liverpool, (ii) Southampton, (iii) Tilbury and (iv) Sheerness. [124036]
Mr Gauke: For part (a) of the question, the information requested is not available. In respect of part (b) there should be no loss to Government revenue as goods removed from free zones are subject to the same duties as goods directly imported.
A free zone brought together a number of customs reliefs and procedures in to a geographical location. The lapsing of the statutory instruments that set up free zones has not removed the customs reliefs, which local operators continue to use within the port areas.
George Anson
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what costs have been incurred by HM Revenue and Customs in contesting the case of the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs v. George Anson. [122861]
Mr Gauke: The general rule in the appeal courts is that the losing party risks having to pay the other side's costs. HMRC won this case in the Upper Tribunal which made an order requiring HMRC's costs to be paid by the taxpayer. The case has been appealed to the Court of Appeal. The costs position will be finalised once the result of the appeal is known.
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what costs have been recovered from Ernst and Young after the decision in the case of the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs v. George Anson. [122862]
Mr Gauke: The Upper Tribunal has made an Order for HMRC to recover costs from the taxpayer, not the taxpayer's representatives.
Green Deal Scheme
Chris Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will introduce stamp duty and provisions for council tax rebates for purchasers making energy-efficiency improvements to their home to encourage homeowners and landlords to make energy efficiency improvements under the Green Deal programme; [123128]
(2) if he will introduce fiscal and economic incentives to encourage homeowners and landlords to make energy efficiency improvements under the Green Deal programme. [123130]
Sajid Javid:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the 2011 autumn statement £200 million of additional capital to encourage early uptake of the Green Deal. DECC announced, in September 2012, the first £12 million of
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this funding will be allocated to seven cities across England to help pilot the Green Deal in their regions.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reduce VAT to five per cent on A rated boilers, A and B rated windows and passive flue gas technologies installed by Green Deal-accredited installers to encourage homeowners and landlords to make energy efficiency improvements under the Green Deal programme. [123129]
Sajid Javid: The Government have no plans to introduce a reduced VAT rate for the installation of windows, boilers or passive flue gas technologies.
The Chancellor announced in the autumn statement of 29 November 2011, Official Report, columns 799-810, £200 million additional capital to encourage early uptake of the Green Deal. DECC announced, in September 2012, the first £12 million of this funding will be allocated to seven cities across England to help pilot the Green Deal in their regions.
Income Tax: National Insurance Contributions
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to introduce plans to integrate the operation of income tax and national insurance contributions. [122417]
Mr Gauke: Since Budget 2011, the Government have engaged extensively with stakeholders to develop options for operational integration of Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions. As many stakeholders have recognised, this is a complex issue with potentially significant implications for employers' payroll operations. The Government will provide an update on this work later in the autumn. As we have already made clear, this is a long-term reform on which the Government will proceed carefully.
Income Tax: Rates and Rating
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of lowering the 40 per cent income tax band to (a) 30, (b) 38, (c) 37, (d) 36, (e) 35, (f) 34, (g) 33, (h) 32, (i) 31 and (j) 30 per cent. [122414]
Mr Gauke: The Exchequer costs of lowering the higher rate of income tax can be approximated from Table 1.6 ‘Direct effects of illustrative tax changes’, available on the HM Revenue and Custom's website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-6.pdf
Where appropriate, costs include estimates of the direct behavioural responses from marginal rate changes. For very large rate changes these responses are more uncertain.
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of lowering the 20 per cent income tax band to (a) 19, (b) 18, (c) 17, (d) 16 and (e) 15 per cent. [122415]
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Mr Gauke: The Exchequer costs of lowering the basic rate of income tax can be approximated from Table 1.6 “Direct effects of illustrative tax changes”, available on the HM Revenue and Custom's website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-6.pdf
Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been paid out under the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to provide for approved alterations to listed places of worship since the March 2012 Budget. [122685]
Mr Vaizey I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Approved alterations came within the scope of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on 1 October 2012. No claims have yet been paid out against this criteria.
Minimum Wage: Underpayments
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of reasons for the increase in the number of under-payments of the National Minimum Wage. [122331]
Mr Gauke: HMRC is commissioned to provide enforcement services by BIS. While other research bodies may do so, HMRC do not make any formal statistical based assessments of the level of total underpayments of NMW.
Poverty: Children
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of the withdrawal of child benefit from the fourth and any subsequent children in a single household on levels of child poverty in those households in each of the next four financial years. [122976]
Mr Gauke: The Government publish their assessment of the distributional impact of policy decisions at fiscal events. In doing so, the Government have taken unprecedented steps to increase transparency and enable the effective scrutiny of policy making. This analysis was most recently published at Budget 2012 in the main Budget document (annex B).
The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission will assess the Government's progress in reducing child poverty and improving life chances.
Private Rented Housing: Energy
Chris Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend and increase the Landlord's Energy Saving Allowance to encourage early improvements to the private rented sector before the introduction of the minimum energy efficiency standard in 2018. [123127]
Sajid Javid:
The Government are considering the ways in which the market has made use of the Landlord's Energy Saving Allowance, which is scheduled to come
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to an end in 2015. As with all tax policy, any announcements about the Landlord's Energy Savings Allowance will be made at Budget.
Public Expenditure
Steve McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the UK's budget deficit was in each financial year from 2008 to date; and what the estimated budget deficit for each subsequent year up to 2016 will be. [122841]
Sajid Javid: The Public Sector Net Borrowing (PSNB) outturn figures for 2008-09 to 2011-12 are set out in the monthly Public Sector Finance (PSF) bulletin, which is published by the Office for National Statistics.
The Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) March 2012 Economic and Fiscal outlook sets out the forecast numbers for PSNB for 2012-13 to 2016-17. These numbers are set out in the following table.
Public sector net borrowing | ||
Percentage of GDP | ||
Year | PSNB | |
(1) PSNB excluding the effects of the Royal Mail transfers. |
The OBR will publish an updated forecast alongside the autumn statement on 5 December 2012.
Research
Chris Kelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what external policy research his Department has commissioned in each of the last six years; from which organisation each such piece of research was commissioned; and what the cost of each such piece of research was. [123185]
Sajid Javid: Details of external policy research are not separately recorded in our accounting system. To attempt to extract these data would take us into the disproportionate cost threshold for answering parliamentary questions.
Revenue and Customs: Correspondence
Mrs Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has a target time for HM Revenue and Customs to reply to correspondence from hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [122513]
Mr Gauke:
HMRC has a target to deal with 80% of ministerial correspondence within 15 working days of receipt. HMRC have been running a project to improve
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performance since January 2012. At the time of writing, the current performance for cases received in September is 80%.
Departmental Staff
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many current and former personnel from (a) Deloitte, (b) KPMG, (c) Ernst and Young and (d) PwC are working for his Department and its associated public bodies. [122866]
Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer the former Economic Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), gave on 14 September 2011, Official Report, column 1187W.
There are fewer than five individuals working on secondment from the listed organisations at the present time. We are not able to provide details of permanent employees who may have worked previously for the listed firms as this information is not held in a central database and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in receipt of the basic state pension and residing in (a) Australia, (b) Canada and (c) New Zealand paid income tax in the UK in each of the last five years. [122257]
Mr Gauke: The information requested is not available.
Tax Allowances: Health Insurance
Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to introduce a tax deduction for those who take out health insurance. [122570]
Mr Gauke: There are currently no plans to introduce a tax deduction for those who take out health insurance.
Tax Avoidance
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will appoint a committee to investigate the role of KPMG in designing and marketing aggressive tax avoidance schemes; [122851]
(2) if he will appoint a committee to investigate the role of PwC in designing and marketing aggressive tax avoidance schemes; [122852]
(3) if he will appoint a committee to investigate the role of Ernst and Young in designing and marketing aggressive tax avoidance schemes; [122853]
(4) if he will appoint a committee to investigate the role of Deloitte in designing and marketing aggressive tax avoidance schemes; [122854]
(5) if he will appoint a committee to investigate the role of Robson Rhodes in designing and marketing aggressive tax avoidance schemes. [122863]
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Mr Gauke: HMRC is currently considering the outcome of a consultation which has a range of options to improve the information available to the public about tax avoidance schemes and their promoters. The consultation closed on 15 October and the Government are considering their response to this.
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent organisations located in tax havens from acquiring private finance initiative contracts. [122855]
Mr Gauke: The Government seek to ensure that the UK tax system is competitive for all companies and that the UK is an attractive place to do business, while retaining strong protection against tax avoidance. Those considerations apply to all contractors in capital projects, whether they involve private finance in their delivery or not.
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward legislative proposals under which companies avoiding UK taxes would not be eligible to receive any public grants and subsidies. [122856]
Mr Gauke: The Government are committed to ensuring that firms that procure Government contracts pay a fair amount of tax. HM Revenue and Customs and the Cabinet Office have been tasked to work together on a practical approach to this and further detail will be set out later this year.
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what costs have been incurred by HM Revenue and Customs in contesting the case of Vardy Properties v. the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs; [122857]
(2) what costs have been recovered from Deloitte after the decision in the case of Vardy Properties v. the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. [122858]
Mr Gauke: The First-Tier Tribunal very recently dismissed the appeal made by Vardy Properties in relation to its liability to SDLT. Vardy Properties may seek permission to appeal the Tribunal's decision and is still in time to do so. Under the rules of the First-Tier Tribunal, the respective parties generally bear their own costs. However, the Tribunal may make a costs order where the case has been allocated as a complex case and the taxpayer party does not request to be excluded from the resultant costs regime.
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what costs have been incurred by HM Revenue and Customs in contesting the cases of Howard Peter Schofield v. the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. [122864]
Mr Gauke: The general rule in the appeal courts is that the losing party risks having to pay the other side's costs. HMRC won this case in both the Upper Tribunal and the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal made an order requiring the taxpayer to pay HMRC's costs in relation to the Court of Appeal and Upper Tribunal proceedings.
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Taxation: Combined Heat and Power
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to encourage refineries to generate their own electricity using combined heat and power once levy exemption certificates are removed and carbon price support rates introduced in 2013. [122872]
Gregory Barker: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
All but two of the UK's refineries already operate large CHP schemes, although there is potential to increase their capacity, increasing the quantity of electricity they export to the grid.
Regarding support for fossil fuel fired combined heat and power following the withdrawal of levy exemption certificates in April 2013, I refer the Member to the answers I gave the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Phil Wilson), on 15 October 2012, Official Report, column 130W.
In respect of carbon price support rates, Budget 2012 confirmed that CHP would be exempt from carbon price support costs in respect of heat output. This ensures CHP is not disadvantaged relative to other forms of electricity generation from fossil fuels.
Training
Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what media or public speaking training Ministers in his Department have received since May 2010. [122073]
Sajid Javid: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the former Economic Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), on 20 October 2010, Official Report, column 808W. No Treasury Ministers have received formal media or public speaking training in the intervening period.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Apprentices
Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many apprentices working in his Department are (a) paid and (b) completing a qualification as part of the apprenticeship. [123085]
Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not run official apprenticeship schemes. However, the FCO does participate in government-wide schemes similar in nature to apprenticeships, such as the finance trainee scheme, under which 11 trainees are studying for nationally-recognised accountancy qualifications over a period of around 3-4 years. We also participate in the Civil Service Human Resources Fast Stream scheme, which places trainees in government departments for two 18-month placements whilst they undertake their Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development qualifications. The FCO has committed to taking two trainees under this scheme for 2012.
FCO Services, the FCO's Trading Fund, which provides essential support services to the FCO and other Government Departments, does run an official
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apprenticeship scheme. New apprentices are taken on each September and the programme lasts three years. FCO Services currently has 40 paid apprentices who are completing a qualification as part of their apprenticeship.
Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) paid apprentices and (b) paid interns are employed in his Department. [123086]
Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not run official apprenticeship schemes. FCO Services, the FCO's Trading Fund, which provides essential support services to the FCO and other Government Departments, does run an official apprenticeship scheme and currently has 40 paid apprentices who are completing a qualification as part of their apprenticeship.
The FCO does employ a number of paid interns. In 2012, we significantly expanded our work experience opportunities, offering over 70 internship placements through a range of advertised work experience schemes.
Bahrain
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will (a) condemn the convictions and prison sentences given to nine medics for their role in demonstrations in Bahrain in 2011 and (b) press his Bahraini counterpart for their immediate release. [122261]
Alistair Burt: On hearing that the Court of Cassation upheld the convictions and sentences against nine medical personnel for their involvement in the unrest, we published a statement expressing our disappointment. While we welcomed the move last December to drop all charges related to freedom of expression, we have concerns about the disproportionate length of some of the sentences imposed and the conduct of some of the hearings. We are also mindful that the five medics in detention are currently on hunger strike. We urge the authorities to ensure that they have access to all the medical care they need.
As portrayed by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) events at the Salmaniya Medical Complex during the unrest were controversial, complex and, as the differing narratives suggest, very unclear. The BICI concluded that, with respect to some of the medical personnel, their actions were in contravention of the Bahrain Code of Medical Ethics, for example the discrimination of treatment for certain patients. This should not, however, necessarily result in criminal charges unless such professional misconduct has broken any common laws.
Bernard Arnault
Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria were applied in bestowing a KBE on Bernard Arnault. [122898]
Mark Simmonds:
The criteria for considering nominations that the FCO uses in all its honours committees are achievement and service to the United Kingdom. The decision to recommend an award is based on merit
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in order to reward excellence in achievement and service and these would have been the criteria used in the consideration of the award for Bernard Arnault. Due to the confidential nature of the honours process, we do not comment on why or how a decision to recommend any particular individual for an honour is made.
Bumi PLC
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received on Bumi PLC. [123847]
Mr Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and other FCO Ministers have received no representations in relation to Bumi PLC.
Burma
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the findings of the Chin Human Rights Organization's report entitled “Threats to Our Existence: Persecution of Ethnic Chin Christians in Burma”, published in September 2012. [122255]
Mr Swire: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials, accompanied by colleagues from the Department for International Development, met a delegation from the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO) during their visit to UK in September. They read with great interest the full and comprehensive report produced by the CHRO and are considering its recommendations.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Chin State following the ceasefire agreed between the Burmese Army and the Chin National Front. [122499]
Mr Swire: Officials from the British Embassy Rangoon regularly meet representatives from Chin political parties to discuss their concerns. We have also taken careful note of the findings of the Chin Human Rights Organization's report, ‘Threats to Our Existence', and are considering its recommendations.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Burma regarding the continuing military presence in Chin State; and what steps he is taking to urge the Burmese government to reduce troop numbers in Chin State and all ethnic ceasefire areas. [122500]
Mr Swire: Resolving Burma's long-running ethnic conflicts is vital to long-term stability and prosperity in Burma. We continue to highlight the importance of this issue in all our discussions with the Burmese government. We welcome the Burmese authorities' attempts to build trust with ethnic groups including signing cease-tire agreements with 10 ethnic groups. We are now urging the government to take the next steps towards a process of national political dialogue.
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Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Burmese counterpart on revising Burma's National Registration Card so that it no longer identifies the bearer's religion and ethnicity. [122501]
Mr Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised the issue of the 1982 Citizenship Law with the Burmese Foreign Minister during their meeting in New York in September. Our Ambassador also raised the issue of citizenship with the Borders Minister in September.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Burmese counterparts on Burma's refusal to allow ethnic Rohingya to be included in the 2014 Census. [122537]
Mr Swire: Our Ambassador in Rangoon discussed the importance of including all those living in Burma within the census with the Borders Minister in September. We will continue to raise these issues with both the Burmese authorities and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which is working with the Burmese government on the census planning.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings he has held with UK representatives of the ethnic Rohingya of Burma since violence began in Arakan State in June 2012. [122538]
Mr Swire: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials met representatives of the Rohingya on 5 July and again on 21 August 2012. FCO officials are in close and regular contact with the UK representatives of the Rohingya community and are kept up to date with their concerns.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the Burmese government to sign and ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. [122540]
Mr Swire: As a long term supporter of those promoting the protection of human rights in Burma, our Embassy in Rangoon will continue to encourage the Burmese government to meet its obligations under existing treaties. We continue to urge the Burmese government to ensure its domestic law complies with international human rights norms and that it ratifies human rights treaties including International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that reports of violations of religious freedom in Chin State and throughout Burma are included in the UN General Assembly's 2012 Resolution on Burma. [122541]
Mr Swire:
During the upcoming UN General Assembly 3rd Committee (human rights) discussion of Burma, we will press for a UN resolution which highlights our
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concerns in a number of pressing areas, including the need to find long term solutions to issues affecting Burma's ethnic groups, including religious freedom.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Burmese counterpart regarding violations of freedom of religion or belief in Burma, including Chin State. [122542]
Mr Swire: The protection of and support for human rights in Burma remains central to the UK's policy towards Burma. While recognising the progress in Burma over the last 18 months, Ministers and officials continue to raise our concerns over reports of human rights abuses at every opportunity.
Most recently at the Friends of Burma meeting at the UN General Assembly in September, I raised our concerns over the violence in Rakhine and Kachin States.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to encourage the Burmese government to issue a formal invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion and Belief to visit Burma, including Chin State, to conduct an independent investigation into reports of violations of religious freedom in Burma. [122543]
Mr Swire: We are encouraging the Burmese government to issue a formal invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion and Belief to visit Burma.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy and other political parties in Burma regarding violations of religious freedom in Chin State and other areas. [122544]
Mr Swire: We continue to raise the importance of ensuring that the human rights of all those living in Burma are protected in discussions with the Burmese government, the National League for Democracy and other political parties. Our Ambassador in Rangoon raised these issues with Aung San Suu Kyi during a meeting with her on 11 October.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the potential role of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Burma in violating the right to freedom of religion for religious minorities. [122545]
Mr Swire: We have taken careful note of the findings of the Chin Human Rights Organisation's report, ‘Threats to Our Existence', including the allegations made against the Ministry of Religious Affairs. We are considering the report's recommendations. Ministers and officials continue to raise our concerns about religious freedom with the Burmese government at every opportunity.
Alex Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Burma regarding reports that the Border Areas National Races Youth Development Training Schools are run by the military
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and that youth from Chin Christian backgrounds are forbidden from practising Christianity and forced to convert to Buddhism. [122546]
Mr Swire: We have taken careful note of the findings of the Chin Human Rights Organisation's report, ‘Threats to Our Existence', including the allegations surrounding the Border Areas National Races Youth Development Training Schools. In discussions with the Burmese government the UK continues to condemn all instances where individuals face persecution or discrimination because of their faith or beliefs, wherever they happen and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Burma regarding reports of orders for the destruction of large Christian crosses in Chin State; and what his policy is on ensuring that Chin Christians have full freedom of religion in accordance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [122547]
Mr Swire: Reports of religious and ethnic intolerance continuing in Burma remain of deep concern, not only in Chin, but also in Kachin and Rakhine States. In discussions with the Burmese government we continue to condemn all instances where individuals face .persecution or discrimination because of their faith or beliefs, wherever they happen and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned. Ministers and officials continue to raise our concerns with the Burmese government over reports of human rights abuses, including religious intolerance, at every opportunity.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times British Embassy officials in Burma have visited Chin State in the last year; and whether he proposes that such officials should seek regular access to Chin State. [122548]
Mr Swire: Officials from our Embassy in Rangoon visited Chin State in March of this year. A further visit is planned for early 2013.
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of crimes against humanity being committed by the Burmese government against Burmese people. [122621]
Mr Swire: The promotion of the rule of law and protection of human rights are central to our relationship with Burma. As the largest aid donor to Burma, we are in regular contact with ethnic groups and Non Governmental Organisations, and remained concerned about reported human rights, abuses particularly in ethnic areas.
We strongly supported a UN resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in March which called on the Burmese government to take urgent measures to end the targeting of civilians in military operations, and prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence.
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During the upcoming UN General Assembly 3(rd) Committee (Human rights) discussion of Burma due to take place in November we will again press for a UN resolution which highlights again these concerns.
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of which Na Sa Ka bases in Arakan State are being used to detain ethnic Rohingya. [122622]
Mr Swire: We are aware of unverified reports of Rohingya being detained in Na Sa Ka bases in Rakhine (Arakan) State.
At the UN General Assembly in September 2012, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pressed the Burmese government to seek a long term solution to the issues affecting Burma's ethnic groups, including the Rohingya.
Our Ambassador in Rangoon visited Rakhine State in early October. This was the first independent diplomatic mission to the area since the violence erupted in June. The Ambassador met community leaders and saw some of the worst affected areas for himself, including the state capital Sittwe, which was the scene of some of the worst violence during the recent unrest. The UK is providing humanitarian support through core contributions to UN and EU and has stressed the importance of ensuring the aid does not support or lead to the permanent displacement of Rohingya communities.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to support the International Labour Organisation's efforts to work with the Burmese Government to eradicate all forms of forced labour by 2015. [122903]
Mr Swire: We remain concerned by reports of forced labour in Burma, including in Rakhine State.
We regularly raise forced labour issues in UN Resolutions. We work closely with, and commend, the efforts of International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Burma. We also welcome the efforts of the Burmese government and its commitment to eradicate forced labour by 2015. We will be closely following the implementation of this commitment.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Burmese government on plans to move from the current ceasefire talks to substantive national political dialogue and address the key issues of self-determination for ethnic nationalities within a federal constitutional framework. [122904]
Mr Swire: We are actively supporting the reconciliation process. In June the Prime Minister announced the allocation of an additional £5 million during Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to the UK for immediate peace-building activities. Our Embassy in Rangoon also hosted a visit of UK experts in July with experience of trust-building and peace-building between communities in Northern Ireland. We intend to continue to draw on UK expertise in this area to support the continuation of the reconciliation process.
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Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the involvement of the Burmese Department of Education and Training in violating the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. [122905]
Mr Swire: We have taken careful note of the findings of the Chin Human Rights Organisation's report, ‘Threats to Our Existence’, including the allegations of the involvement of the Burmese Department of Education and Training in violating the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. Ministers and officials continue to raise our concerns with the Burmese government over reports of human rights abuses, including religious intolerance, at every opportunity.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to encourage the Burmese government to ensure the teaching of ethnic minority languages is included in the national curriculum. [122906]
Mr Swire: We continue to assist the Burmese government and ethnic groups in efforts to turn the numerous initial ceasefire agreements into lasting political settlements. We are also exploring ways in which the UK can support Burma's educational structures.
Officials from our embassy in Rangoon have also raised the issue of including ethnic minority languages in the national curriculum with Burmese Ministers.
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Bangladeshi government on closure of the border between Burma and Bangladesh. [123118]
Alistair Burt: Border trade between Bangladesh and Burma resumed on 28-August, following meetings between respective border security officials. The crossing had previously been closed since 8 June following the onset of sectarian violence in the north Rakhine State in Burma.
The British Government are in regular contact with the Government of Bangladesh about the humanitarian situation in the Bangladesh-Burma border area. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)—during a meeting with the Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, on 28 July—raised the issue of Bangladesh's international obligation to accept refugees and offer emergency medical support to those attempting to cross into Bangladesh to flee the violence in north Rakhine State, Burma. The then Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), also discussed the humanitarian situation in the southeast of the country with Prime Minister Hasina on 12 August.
The British high commission in Dhaka, along with EU partners, has regular conversations with senior interlocutors in the Government of Bangladesh to stress the importance that essential aid agency programmes in south-eastern Bangladesh are able to continue.
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Business: Human Rights
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to publish the Government's strategy on business and human rights; and what plans he has to publicise it. [122926]
Mr Lidington: The Government's draft strategy on business and human rights is currently going through a final round of consultation across Whitehall and we hope to publish it in the near future.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the recommendation of the European Group of National Human Rights Institutions, whether he plans to undertake a national baseline study and gap analysis with reference to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. [122927]
Mr Lidington: The Government congratulate the European Group of National Human Rights Institutions on their recent successful conference in Berlin. The Government envisage that their strategy on business and human rights will include analysis of the current UK baseline situation across the three pillars of the Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consider the work of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority as part of the Government's strategy on business and human rights. [122928]
Mr Lidington: In its work towards a Government strategy on business and human rights, the Government have given consideration to current UK legislation surrounding the protection of human rights, including the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 which had the objective of preventing the exploitation of workers in a specific sector of UK domestic business activity.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to require companies to map supply chains as part of the Government's strategy on business and human rights. [122929]
Mr Lidington: The UN Guiding Principles emphasised the importance of supply chains as an area of potential human rights vulnerability. The Government are working to ensure that the UK strategy on business and human rights gives similar weight to supply chain issues as do the Guiding Principles, including questions of business due diligence regarding human rights risks.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has put in place to monitor implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. [122930]
Mr Lidington:
The Government's work is currently focused on finalising and launching the Government strategy on business and human rights which is, in effect, our interpretation in the UK context of the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights. We
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are actively giving consideration to how to monitor implementation as we move forward and believe this an essential part of the process.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what engagement his Department has had with the financial sector in drafting the Government's strategy on business and human rights. [122931]
Mr Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have had contact with a wide range of non-governmental organisations, academic institutions and multinational companies and smaller and medium enterprises, including from the financial sector, as part of their engagement strategy during the formulation of the draft Government strategy on business and human rights.
European Parliament
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on support for attempts to petition the EU over stopping sittings of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. [122836]
Mr Lidington: The UK Government's position on the site of the European Parliament is well known from the Coalition programme for government. The UK Government are committed to reducing cost and waste in the European Union, and believe that a single seat for the European Parliament, in Brussels, would save money and make it more efficient.
Research
Chris Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what external policy research his Department has commissioned in each of the last six years; from which organisation each such piece of research was commissioned; and what the cost of each such piece of research was. [123193]
Mr Lidington: Research in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is primarily undertaken by our in-house Research Analysts. In line with its commitment to open policy making, the FCO also commissions some external research from a range of organisations and businesses in the UK and through our Posts overseas. This is funded from devolved Departmental and Post budgets. As potentially relevant data are not held centrally, a full list of commissions for the last six years could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Sri Lanka
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made or instructed to be made to prevent the use of torture on those Tamil asylum seekers deported from the UK; and if he will make a statement. [121929]
Alistair Burt:
The UK takes its international responsibilities seriously and complies fully with all of its international obligations under the 1951 UN Convention
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Relating to the Status of Refugees, the UN Convention Against Torture and the European Convention on Human Rights. Returns are only enforced if it is safe to do so and the UK Border Agency is satisfied that the individual has no international protection needs. All decisions have the right of appeal, where they are evaluated by the independent Tribunal Service for Immigration and Asylum. The European Court of Human Rights has endorsed our policy that not all Tamil asylum seekers are in need of international protection. The UK regularly raises the issue of torture with the Sri Lanka Government. No formal instructions have been given to raise torture in the context of returns, as the UK deems Sri Lanka a safe country to return to. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued guidance for staff on reporting information or concerns about torture or mistreatment worldwide. This is to ensure that our institutional response to torture and mistreatment is as strong as it can be. Contact details for the British High Commission in Colombo are provided to charter flight returnees upon arrival and advised to call if they require any assistance.
St Helena
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times a Minister from his Department has visited St Helena in each of the last five years. [122121]
Mark Simmonds: There have been no ministerial visits from my Department to St Helena in the last five years. St Helena is one of the world's most remote islands and is currently only accessible by sea. Travelling there is a costly and very lengthy process; a round trip takes approximately three weeks. The completion of the new airport in early 2016 will enable easier access to the Island, which Ministers will be keen to take advantage of.
Territorial Waters
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the future of Rockall in the event of secession. [122879]
(2) what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the future of British territorial waters in the event of secession. [122880]
Mr Lidington: I have not discussed the future of British territorial waters or the Island of Rockall with any Scottish Government representative, and nor have my Ministerial or Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials.
The Government's position is clear: the Government are not making plans for independence as we are confident that people in Scotland will continue to support the United Kingdom in the proposed referendum. Scotland is stronger as part of the UK and the UK is stronger with Scotland in it.
Turks and Caicos Islands
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on the installation of the Coastal Radar Project system in the Turks and Caicos; and if he will make a statement. [122120]
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Mark Simmonds: The Costal Radar system in the Turks and Caicos Islands began operation at the beginning of August. The Governor officially opened the facility on 26 September.
The radar system will strengthen the Turks and Caicos Islands' ability to combat illegal migration and crime, help in search and rescue, and thus contribute to improving regional security and safety.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the forthcoming elections in the Turks and Caicos Islands; and if he will make a statement. [122122]
Mark Simmonds: The Governor's Office in the Turks and Caicos Islands published a progress report on 18 September entitled “Implementing Reforms and Preparing for Elections”, which is available online at
http://uk.sitestat.com/fcoweb/ukingov/s?was.tci.resources.en.news.2012.september.milestones.p.pdf. milestones1.pdf&ns_type=pdf&ns_url=http://turksandcaicosislands.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/2012/milestones1.pdf
This report summarises the good progress that has been made by the Elections Office and the Governor's Office with the preparations for the elections which are due to be held on 9 November.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department plans to take to help ensure a free and fair election in the Turks and Caicos Islands. [122124]
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Mark Simmonds: The interim government in the Turks and Caicos Islands, led by the Governor, is driving forward preparations for free and fair elections on 9 November. A report from the Governor's Office, which is available online at
http://turksandcaicosislands.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=811876582
summarises the good progress that has been made to date.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has funded a number of projects to support this. These include:
The appointment in March of the chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators as Elections Adviser to the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. The Adviser is working closely with government officials to ensure that election preparations are carried out in good time for elections to take place in November.
Visits by delegations from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, the latest of which look place in July and was led by my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy), to assist political parties in the preparation and implementation of the new Political Activities Ordinance.
An observer mission, including UK and regional monitors, which has been organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (UK), at the invitation of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government.
A contribution towards equipment and IT for the issuance of cards confirming the Belongership status of voters.
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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 19 October 2012
Culture, Media and Sport
Anniversaries
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which anniversaries her Department has begun planning commemorations for in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015. [122483]
Mr Vaizey: On 11 October 2012 the Prime Minister announced a series of measures to commemorate the centenary of the first world war. The Government's preparations will include national commemorations for key events, including the outbreak of the war on 4 August 2014.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans her Department has for a national commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the First World War. [122378]
Mr Vaizey: On 11 October 2012 the Prime Minister announced a series of measures to commemorate the centenary of the first world war. Working with key partners including the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Imperial War Museum and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Government's preparations will include national commemorations for key events such as the outbreak of the war on 4 August 2014, the first day of the battle of the Somme on 1 July 2016 and Armistice Day 11 November 2018. The centenary will also provide the foundations upon which to build an enduring cultural and educational legacy. A new Centenary Education Programme, with more than £5 million of new Government funding, will include the opportunity for pupils and teachers from every state secondary school to research the people who served in the great war. Also, the Centenary Partnership Programme will promote a series of community-based initiatives, and a further £5 million will be made available to support the Transforming Imperial War Museum London project.
Apprentices
Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) how many (a) paid apprentices and (b) paid interns are employed in her Department; [123074]
(2) how many apprentices working in her Department are (a) paid and (b) completing a qualification as part of the apprenticeship. [123073]
Hugh Robertson: There are currently no paid apprentices or interns working within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
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Artworks
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on items of art from May 2010 to the latest month for which figures are available. [123123]
Mr Vaizey: The Department has spent £239,888 on items of art since May 2010. This amount is broken down as follows:
£ | |
Arts
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the average percentage change in the productivity of the (a) creative industries and (b) tourism industry in each month since May 2010. [122442]
Mr Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) considers the economic impact of the tourism and creative industries sectors in terms of output and employment, but we do not calculate productivity measures (for either labour or capital). The Office for National Statistics Tourism Satellite Account estimates output and employment for tourism and the DCMS' creative industries economic estimates calculate output and employment for the creative industries. The latest publications of which can be found at the following links:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/tourism/tourism-satellite-account/2009---the-economic-importance-of-tourism/index.html
http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/8682.aspx
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what progress she has made on improving the productivity of the (a) tourism industry, (b) creative industries and (c) leisure industries. [122443]
Mr Vaizey: With regard to tourism, we are delivering major new international and domestic campaigns on the back of the Olympic and Paralympic games, improving the local tourism structure and making it more self-sustaining, cutting regulation and red tape, a key concern for small businesses in the industry. We are improving the visitor journey by working with colleagues in the UK Border Agency and Department for Transport to improve visa processes and the transport infrastructure.
The Creative Industries Council, jointly chaired by Secretaries of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, was established to look at barriers to growth in the creative industries. Working groups within the council have produced specific reports on access to finance and skills. The Council has welcomed both reports and the recommendations are being taken forward by Government and industry. In addition, in Budget
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2012 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the introduction of three new tax reliefs for high end TV, video games and animation, building on the success of the film tax relief.
The Live Music Act 2012, which came into force on 1 October 2012, removed regulatory burdens and costs from hundreds of pubs, clubs, and workplaces making it easier to stage live music. The Act also removes the need for licences for unamplified music in other locations, helping performing musicians get started. In addition, we will shortly be announcing further measures to remove bureaucracy from cultural and sporting activities following a recent consultation, which will boost productivity in the leisure and creative sectors more widely.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the effect on local communities of art displayed in public places. [122479]
Mr Vaizey: The Department has made no such assessment.
Arts Council England
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much Arts Council England has set aside for redundancy payments in respect of its proposed restructuring; what proportion of that sum the organisation plans to spend on redundancy payments to employees in each English region; and if she will make a statement. [122464]
Mr Vaizey: We are seeking to reduce administrative costs across a range of public bodies. It is for each individual public body to deliver their administrative budget reduction targets in a way that is affordable and delivers value for money. However, the Department is contributing £3.4 million to Arts Council England's restructuring costs. The Arts Council has budgeted for £5.5 million in redundancy payments as part of its organisational review. The Arts Council is currently in formal consultation with staff and unions and nothing is final until the consultation ends later this month. Until this process has been completed, the Arts Council is unable to provide a breakdown of anticipated redundancy costs on a regional basis.
Arts: Education
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much her Department has spent on arts bursary awards for people aged under 25 since May 2010. [123114]
Mr Vaizey: The Department has given £500,000 to the Jerwood Bursaries scheme.
Departmental Assets
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the 10 most valuable (a) movable and (b) immovable assets owned by her Department are. [122474]
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Hugh Robertson: The 10 most valuable (a) movable and (b) immovable assets owned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) are as follows:
The 10 most valuable movable assets owned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are works of art within the Government Art Collection.
It is not possible to give an accurate estimate of the value of the Government Art Collection, which has no current market valuation. The current monetary value of a work of art can be accurately assessed only at the time of purchase or sale or by professional valuation. In the former case, the collection is not actively traded; in the latter, it would not be justified expenditure of public funds to have the whole collection valued professionally.
The freehold of Blythe House at Olympia, London W14, is owned by the Department. This was valued in the Department's 2010-11 accounts at a depreciated replacement cost of £18,400,000 (valuation date 31 March 2009). Blythe House is not carried on the Department's balance sheet as the risks and rewards of ownership are considered to lie with the three museums occupying the building for storage. Each of these museums discloses the value of their share in their balance sheet.
The nine next most valuable immovable assets are managed by the Department's agency, The Royal Parks, and are as follows:
£ | |