Disclosure of Information
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what protection his Department provides to whistleblowers. [128505]
Dr Poulter: The Department is committed to achieving the highest possible standards of service and ethical standards in public life.
The Department's whistleblowing policy covers handling concerns raised by staff against any breach of the Civil Service Code and concerns raised with the Department about external organisations or individuals involved in the conduct of our business.
A copy of the Department's most recent whistleblowing policy document: ‘Whistleblowing Policy and Process’ (Published: May 2009 Updated: September 2010), has already been placed in the Library.
Health Services: South West
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 7 November 2012, Official Report, column 250WH, on regional pay (NHS), when (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department were first made aware of the south-west consortium; and how they responded. [128498]
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Dr Poulter: Officials and Ministers in the Department first became aware of the South West Consortium when the Health Service Journal broke the story on 25 May 2012. Under reforms suggested by the previous Government, all employers, including those in the South West, have the freedom to determine the terms and conditions, including pay, of the staff they employ. The current Government supports the use of national terms and conditions for national health service staff. Agenda For Change must remain fit for purpose in the best intent of protecting NHS jobs and looking after patients.
Hip Replacements
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hip replacements were performed in England and Wales on people aged (a) 20 to 30, (b) 31 to 40 and (c) over 50 years old in the last five years. [128500]
Anna Soubry: The information is shown in the following table:
| Finished consultant episodes with a main or. secondary operative procedure of hip replacement by age groups 20 to 30, 31 to 40 and over 50 for the years 2007-08 to 2011-12. Activity in English NHS hospitals and English commissioned activity in the independent sector | |||
| Age groups | |||
| 20 to 30 | 31 to 40 | Over 50 | |
| Note: A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre | |||
Obesity
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on purchasing ambulance stretchers for obese patients in each of the last five years; and how much the NHS has spent on (a) purchasing specialist equipment in hospital wards for obese patients, (b) making adjustments to ambulance vehicles and (c) buying new ambulances for obese patients in each year since 1997. [128419]
Dr Poulter: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given on 2 July 2012, Official Report, column 524W.
Pancreatic Cancer
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to record statistics related to pancreatic cancer referral for suspected cancer and waiting times for treatment separately from other upper gastro-intestinal cancers. [127383]
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Anna Soubry: The Department has no plans to identify separately patients with pancreatic cancer in the statistics on waiting times for suspected and diagnosed cancer patients.
The publication of these statistics is managed in line with the United Kingdom Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Official Statistics. An assessment of the quality of the data used to create these statistics and the risk of patient disclosure was carried out prior to finalising the current format. This assessment concluded that due to potential for error in clinical coding within the patient records and small numbers of patients in some areas there was a risk of misrepresentation or disclosure of patient identities if all tumour types were published separately.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce the number of times a patient with pancreatic cancer needs to see their GP before being diagnosed. [127384]
Anna Soubry: We are working to ensure that all patients with symptoms of suspected cancer, including pancreatic cancer, can be referred appropriately after seeing a general practitioner (GP). To achieve this we have provided more than £450 million over the spending review period to improve GP access to key diagnostic tests; support campaigns to raise public awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer and to encourage people to visit their GP when they have persistent symptoms; to support GPs in making decisions to refer; and to pay for more treatment and testing in secondary care.
We know that some types of cancer can be difficult diagnose, often because their symptoms are shared with more common, benign conditions. In January, we are planning to pilot a general symptom awareness campaign that will be relevant to a range of cancers, including pancreatic cancer. The campaign will encourage people with relevant symptoms to go to their GP and we will be working with primary care in the pilot sites to agree appropriate referral pathways.
Pay
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees in his Department are paid in excess of (a) £80,000 and (b) £100,000. [128941]
Dr Poulter: As at 16 November 2012, 98 civil servants in the Department have a salary in excess of £80,000. Of these, 38 have salaries in excess of £100,000.
The data refers to the basic salary paid to civil servants and does not include allowances, bonuses or overtime payments. The data includes part time civil servants whose pro rata salary is in excess of £80,000.
Prescriptions
Dr Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost of dispensing, excluding the cost of the drugs, by (a) pharmacies and (b) GP practices. [129028]
Norman Lamb:
The funding agreement for 2011-12, for community pharmacies in England to provide essential and advanced services under the community pharmacy
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contractual framework (CPCF) totalled £2.526 billion. The CPCF and the funding agreement both recognise that pharmacy contractors are expected to provide a wider range of services than just dispensing and the agreement is delivered through a combination of fees and allowances and retained medicines margin.
Identifiable dispensing funding provided to general practitioner (GP) practices in England in 2011-12 comprised £162.4 million of fees paid to GPs for dispensing and personally administering prescription items, and £5.3 million in respect of the Dispensing Services Quality Scheme for dispensing GPs.
Both these answers exclude the cost of the drugs provided as part of dispensing services.
South London Healthcare NHS Trust
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the draft report of the Special Administrator to the South London Healthcare Trust published on 29 October 2012, what variables were included in the resource distribution formula used to calculate the projected funding allocations for clinical commissioning groups. [129024]
Dr Poulter: The Trust Special Administrator's report to the South London Healthcare Trust is based on locally made assumptions for projected funding allocations for commissioning groups.
The actual allocation of resources to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) is a matter for the NHS Commissioning Board. As set out in the mandate to the board, the Government expects the principle of ensuring equal access for equal need to be at the heart of the board's approach to allocating budgets.
The methodology used to determine the 2013-14 CCG allocations will be announced by the board alongside the 2013-14 allocations by the end of the year.
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what budget his Department has provided for funding for staffing, consultancy, consultation and other costs for the South London Healthcare Trust Special Administrator in 2012-13. [129039]
Anna Soubry: Expenditure for this administration is expected to be small compared to the cost savings and service quality improvements that are expected to follow in the future. At the time the regime was enacted in July, the trust was spending around £l million per week more than it had. This means that vital resources are being diverted away from other parts of the national health service, the size of the financial challenge is significant. In 2011-12, the trust incurred the largest financial deficit across all NHS providers nationally, at over £65 million. Since its formation in 2009, the trust has generated a total financial deficit of £154 million and is forecast to have an accumulated deficit of £207 million by the end of March 2013.
The budget the Department has identified for the Trust Special Administrator (TSA) to operate the regime for unsustainable NHS providers for South London Healthcare NHS Trust is £4 million.
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Home Department
Asylum: Finance
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applicants received support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [128015]
Mr Harper: During the second quarter of 2012 there were 1,067 grants of support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The total number receiving support under section 4 as at the end of second quarter of 2012 was 2,360.
The number of grants of asylum support under section 4 and the total number supported under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are published on a quarterly basis. Latest figures are available in Table as.18.q of the release 'Immigration Statistics, April to June 2012' which is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science website:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q2-2012/
Asylum: North Korea
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were received from North Koreans in each year since 2008; and how many such applications were (a) granted and (b) refused. [128379]
Mr Harper [holding answer 13 November 2012]:The following table shows the number of asylum applications from North Koreans in each year since 2008, and of those, the number of grants and refusals.
| North Korea: Asylum applications received, granted and refused | |||
| Year of application | Applications received from main applicants | Granted asylum, HP or DL(1, 2) | Refused asylum, HP or DL(1, 2) |
| (1 )The year of outcome is not necessarily the same as the year of application. (2 )Excludes decisions outstanding. Key: HP = Humanitarian Protection DL = Discretionary Leave Note: These figures are based on the outcome analysis of asylum applications, as at May 2011. | |||
The outcome analysis of asylum applications are published on an annual basis.
Latest figures are available in Table as.06 of the release ‘Immigration Statistics, April to June 2012’ which is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science website:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q2-2012/
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Deportation: Democratic Republic of Congo
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has taken steps to monitor the treatment of failed asylum seekers who have been returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after they have passed through immigration control in the DRC. [128228]
Mr Harper: The UK Border Agency does not routinely monitor the treatment of failed asylum seekers who return to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They are, by definition, foreign nationals who have been found as a matter of law not to need the UK's protection and it would be inconsistent with that finding for the UK to assume an ongoing responsibility for them when they return to the DRC.
Entry Clearances
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 989W, on embassies, which countries are processed through Manila; and how many applications were dealt with for each country in the last year for which figures are available. [126384]
Mr Harper: The countries processed through Manila and the number of applications dealt with for each country in the last year from July 2011 to June 2012 are listed in the following table:
| Number | |
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visas for applicants for exceptional talent were issued in each of the last two years. [127787]
Mr Harper: The new tier 1 (Exceptional talent) category opened on 9 August 2011.
The information requested is given in the following table:
| Table be.04.q: Entry clearance visas issued by category: Tier 1 —Exceptional Talent | ||||||
| 2011 | 2012 | |||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | |
| Source: Table be.04.q, Immigration Statistics April—June 2012, Home Office | ||||||
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Highly skilled individuals who are eligible for other categories may also apply for those.
Data relating to visas granted by category are published in table ‘be.04.q’ of the Home Office statistical release ‘Immigration Statistics’, available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science website:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q2-2012/
Human Trafficking
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the UK Border Agency has considered making data available on the number of known or suspected cases of human trafficking identified at UK borders. [128543]
Mr Harper: The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) holds responsibility for the central UK wide retention and collation of information in relation to trafficking and it currently makes some data available publicly.
Potential victims of trafficking are referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which is the UK's multi-agency framework to help to identify and support victims. A breakdown of UK Border Agency (UKBA) and Border Force referrals is published on the SOCA website. This currently cannot be split between UKBA and Border Force.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of frontline UK Border Agency staff are trained to identify suspected cases of human trafficking. [128545]
Mr Harper: Two e-learning human trafficking training packages have been developed for UK Border Agency and Border Force staff. Both of these are mandatory for all frontline officers and help staff identify those who might have been trafficked and understand the steps that should be taken to safeguard possible victims.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the role of the e-Borders programme in tackling human trafficking. [128546]
Mr Harper: The e-Borders programme is a fully operational system which is currently tracking around 55% of inbound and 60% of outbound passenger and crew movements; this equates to approximately 138 million passenger movements a year on over 4,200 routes, including all aviation routes starting outside the EEA.
The e-Borders programme is enabling us to collect travel data from carriers about passengers intending to travel to or from the UK. Analysis of the data enables us to identify and target in advance those people known to pose a threat, including human traffickers.
Immigrants: Detainees
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were detained under the detained fast track process in the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [128699]
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Mr Harper [holding answer 20 November 2012]: 2,118 principal applicants were accepted onto the Fast Track process in 2011.
The number of applicants accepted onto the fast track process is published on ah annual basis. The latest figures are available in Tables as.11 and as.12 of the release ‘Immigration Statistics, April to June 2012’ which is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science website:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q2-2012/
Immigration Controls
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken to process a request to reconsider a decision made on an application for indefinite leave to remain was in each of the last five years. [127456]
Mr Harper: Where an individual is refused indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom a right of appeal is triggered. For this reason the UK Border Agency (UKBA) does not routinely reconsider cases. As reconsideration is not identified as a specific case type on UKBA databases, the requested statistical data are not available.
Immigration: Somalia
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizens of Somalia have been (a) granted and (b) denied entry to the UK in each of the last five years. [128392]
Mr Harper: The following table provides the total number of Somali nationals given (a) leave to enter the UK and (b) initially refused entry to the UK from 2007 to 2011.
| Passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom and initially refused entry by nationality: Somalia | ||
| Total admissions (Number of journeys) | Total initial refusals at port | |
| Note: Statistics on passengers given leave to enter are rounded to the nearest 5 and may include the same individuals more than once if they visited the UK on multiple occasions in the period. Source: Tables ad.03 and be.08 'Immigration Statistics April to June 2012' | ||
Data on passengers given leave to enter the UK and persons initially refused entry to the UK by nationality are published in tables 'ad.03' and 'be.08' respectively of the quarterly Home Office statistical release 'Immigration Statistics', available from the Library of the House and Home Office's Science, Research and Statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/
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Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer the letter sent to the Minister of Immigration by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 2 October 2012 with regard to Mr Waqar Aziz. [128539]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member about this case on 16 November 2012.
National Wildlife Crime Unit
Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans she has for the future of the National Wildlife Crime Unit after March 2013; [128622]
(2) what plans she has for the funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit after March 2013. [128569]
Mr Jeremy Browne: Decisions on Government funding and plans for the future of the National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2013 will be taken by Ministers later this year.
Offences against Children
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will consider extending inquiries into child abuse to cover abuse of children within religious organisations. [127710]
Mr Jeremy Browne: Although we do not rule out taking further steps this needs to be balanced against the need to let the police and others involved in current inquiries to get on with the task of establishing the facts and, in the case of police investigations, seeing whether there are any criminal charges that need to be brought. We do not want any further inquiries or investigations to get in the way of that vital work.
If anyone has any information about abuse, past or present, then they should report it to their local police force so that it can be properly investigated.
Prostitution
Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were charged with soliciting in 2011; and what penalties were imposed on them. [128113]
Jeremy Wright: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts during 2011 for offences of soliciting, together with the type of sentence received at all courts in England and Wales can be viewed in the following table.
The maximum sentence available for ‘Soliciting another for the purpose of obtaining their sexual services as a prostitute in a street or public place’ under S.51A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 is a fine up to level 3 on the standard scale (£1,000).
Charging data are not collated centrally and therefore proceedings data have been provided in lieu.
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UK Border Agency
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps she has taken to ensure that applicants to the UK Border Agency are given correct advice. [126811]
Mr Harper [holding answer 6 November 2012]: The UK Border Agency strives to ensure that the information provided to applicants is correct and up to date.
The UK Border Agency website gives standardised information on all the services which the Agency provides and this is regularly updated to ensure that the latest guidance is available.
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the value of compensation paid by the UK Border Agency to applicants following incorrect advice given to applicants in each of the last three years. [126930]
Mr Harper [holding answer 6 November 2012]: The information is not held in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Written Questions
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many written parliamentary questions to her Department received a substantive answer (a) within five working days, (b) between six and 10 working days and (c) after more than 10 working days in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [127273]
Mr Harper: In the period between 1 November 2011 and 31 October 2012 the Home Office gave substantive answers to (a) 1,476 parliamentary questions (PQs) within five working days, (b) 1,206 PQs between six and 10 working days and (c) 844 PQs after more than 10 working days.
The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current Session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session are available on the Parliament website as follows:
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf
International Development
Bangladesh
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 6 November 2012, Official Report, column 601W, on Bangladesh, if she will publish a copy of each random audit undertaken on joint recipients. [128797]
Mr Duncan: Parts of the 70 audits for sub-grants are commercially sensitive. While it would be disproportionate cost to provide redacted copies of all of the reports, I will deposit a cross section of 10 redacted reports in the Library in due course.
Developing Countries: Land
Heather Wheeler: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions officials in her Department have had with the World Bank Group on the need to review their policies for the governance and transparency of any investments involving or enabling agricultural large-scale land acquisitions. [128455]
Mr Duncan: Officials from my Department meet frequently with the World Bank Group on a range of issues. The Government recognises the need for good governance and transparency in investments involving large-scale land acquisitions. We continue to. discuss with non-government organisations how investments can protect the legitimate rights of local people and not to undermine local food security.
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When done well, commercial investments in agriculture have the potential to be transformational, but it is vital that the rights and interests of the people living on the land are taken into account.
Developing Countries: Primary Education
Debbie Abrahams:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the global primary school
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completion rates were under Millennium Development Goal 2 in each year since 2000. [129094]
Lynne Featherstone: The following table, sourced from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, shows the latest year for which these data are available (2010). The indicator for the global primary school completion rate is defined as: gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education.
| Percentage | ||||||||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
Fiji
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding her Department has allocated to Fiji in each of the last five years. [128400]
Mr Duncan: DFID does not have a bilateral programme with Fiji. The UK does however provide assistance through our attributable contributions to multilateral development organisations and global programmes that benefit a number of countries. Information on the amount of UK aid provided to Fiji for each of the last five years can be found in table 14.5 of Statistics on International Development (SID):
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications1/sid2012/Table14.5-Pacific.xls
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to promote good governance in Fiji. [128402]
Mr Duncan: DFID does not have a bilateral programme with Fiji. DFID does however provide support to Fiji through three multi-country programmes funded under DFID's Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF), a one-off fund created to help citizens hold their Governments to account. These programmes aim to increase government accountability, improve standards of governance and transparency, and strengthen budget-making processes.
Pay
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many employees in her Department are paid in excess of (a) £80,000 and (b) £100,000. [128942]
Mr Duncan: The following table gives the number of employees in DFID with a full-time equivalent salary of (a) between £80,000 and £100,000 and (b) over £100,000.
| Salary range | Number of employees |
Somaliland
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding her Department provided to Somaliland in 2011-12. [128391]
Justine Greening: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not compile formal aid expenditure statistics broken down at sub-national level. UK bilateral aid expenditure (in thousands) to Somalia (including Somaliland) for 2011-12 was £101,483.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials of her Department are currently stationed in Somaliland. [128393]
Justine Greening: The Department for International Development does not publish the numbers of staff in each country where we operate, as this may represent a security risk, especially to our staff serving in hostile environments or fragile states.
Justice
Corruption
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress the Government has made on appointing a new anti-corruption champion. [128070]
Jeremy Wright: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 166W. The Minister without Portfolio, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), is the international anti-corruption champion.
Criminal Injuries Compensation
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time taken to process criminal injury compensation claims is; what the target time for processing such claims is; and when he expects that claim reference X/12/304992 will be determined. [128017]
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Mrs Grant: The average time taken to first decision was 8.2 months, as at the end of October. To ensure the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority's application of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is as robust as possible all applicants can ask for a review of their case if they are unhappy with the decision. The average time to review decision was 4.8 months, as at the end of October. If the applicant remains unhappy after the review they can appeal to the first-tier tribunal.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority do not have a specific target for the time taken to process individual claims, because of the wide variety of cases they deal with. They do, however, monitor the average time taken to first and review decisions and have a performance range which they aim to achieve. This is between 7.5 and 8.5 months to first decision and between five and six months to review decision. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority are resolving more cases, more quickly than ever before. Since 2007 the average time to decide a case has nearly halved.
Please contact the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority directly if you wish to discuss an individual case as Ministers cannot intervene in cases.
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) if he will place in the Library a draft of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme Hardship Fund before the end of November 2012; [129029]
(2) when he plans to make a statement setting out the details of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme Hardship Fund. [129030]
Mrs Grant: Yes I will place in the Library a draft of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme Hardship Fund before the end of November 2012. I will issue a written ministerial statement in the House setting out the details of the Hardship Fund by the end of the month.
Dementia
Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to support the Prime Minister's dementia challenge and the work of each of the challenge groups; what resources he has committed and timescales he has set for this work; and if he will make a statement. [129044]
Jeremy Wright: For driving improvements in health and care—July's White Paper on social care "Caring for our future: reforming care and support" sets out the Government's aim to clarify the responsibility for providing social care to prisoners. My officials are working with the Department of Health to develop, with stakeholders, a new framework for provision of care in prisons. This will include prisoners with dementia. For offenders in the community, service entitlements for health and social care provision are in place as part of mainstream services. Probation staff are able to support offenders to access these services.
On creating dementia friendly communities that understand how to help—The Ministry of Justice recently consulted on a range of measures aiming to make the Office of the Public Guardian's (OPG) services as simple, speedy and accessible as possible. This includes making Lasting and Enduring Powers of Attorney, which are
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an important part of planning ahead for any future loss of mental capacity, and supervision of court-appointed deputies. The OPG is also contributing to the efforts of the financial services industry to make the sector more dementia friendly, focusing on enabling high street bank and building society staff to recognise and understand Enduring and Lasting Powers of Attorney and court-appointed deputies. In prisons, work is already under way to improve staff awareness and capacity. NOMS has published specific guidance to staff on dementia, and is working to identify examples of good practice.
For better research—A number of UK prisons are taking part in independent international research which is under way to identify treatment challenges and prisoners with dementia.
Fines
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many fines were levied in each of the following value bands (a) up to £100, (b) £101 to £500, (c) £501 to £1,000, (d) £1,001 to £2,500, (e) £2,501 to £5,000 and (f) more than £5,000; [125643]
(2) what the average value of fine levied in each of the last five years was; [125644]
(3) what the total value of fines levied by the courts in England and Wales was in each of the last five years. [125645]
Jeremy Wright: The number of defendants sentenced to a fine and the value bands of the fine levied at all courts in England and Wales in 2011 can be viewed in Table 1.
The average value of fines levied and the total value of fines levied at all courts in England and Wales from 2007 to 2011 can be viewed in the Table 2.
| Table 1: Defendants sentenced to a fine, the value bands of the fine levied at all courts in England and Wales, 2011(1,2) | |
| Defendants fined | |
| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |
| Table 2: The total number of fine levied, the average value of fines levied and the total value of fines levied, at all courts in England and Wales, 2007-11(1,2) | |||
| Total number of fine levied | Average value of fines (£) | Total value of fines (£) | |
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| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |||
Legal Aid Scheme
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what form of identification is required to access legal aid. [128975]
Jeremy Wright: Generally, in order to access legal aid, evidence of identity for the purpose of assessing the applicant's means is required, subject to limited exceptions. Evidence will usually include items such as wage slips, state benefit notification letters, bank and building society statements, trading accounts and tax returns (for self employed individuals) and tenancy agreements.
There are certain criminal legal aid cases where for practical reasons it may not be possible to obtain documents prior to assessing eligibility. In these cases assurance checks are undertaken retrospectively.
Magistrates' Courts: West Yorkshire
Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were commenced in the magistrates courts in the West Yorkshire police area in (a) 2004 and (b) 2008. [128534]
Jeremy Wright: The number of proceedings for criminal offences in the magistrates courts in the West Yorkshire police force area in 2004 was 103,855. The figure for 2008 was 75,148.
Pay
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employees in his Department are paid in excess of (a) £80,000 and (b) £100,000. [128939]
Jeremy Wright: As of 30 September 2012, there were 318 officials within the Ministry of Justice and its agencies (including the National Offender Management Service, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and Office of the Public Guardian) earning a full-time equivalent salary in excess of £80,000 per annum. Of these 318 officials, 68 were earning a full-time equivalent salary in excess of £100,000 per annum.
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Sentencing: EU Nationals
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many nationals of (a) the Republic of Ireland and (b) other EU countries excluding the UK were sentenced to imprisonment following conviction for a crime in the UK in each year since 1999. [124748]
Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the specific circumstances of each case.
It is therefore not possible to identify from this centrally held information the nationality of offenders given a custodial sentence following a conviction.
The following table provides data taken from the Ministry of Justice Prisons Reception Database, and shows the number of immediate custodial sentenced receptions into prison establishments in England and Wales, from 2003 to 2011, for the requested nationalities.
| Immediate custodial sentenced receptions into prison establishments by nationality status, England and Wales | ||
| Republic of Ireland | EU countries(2) | |
| n/a = Not available. (1) Following the introduction and phased roll-out of a new case management system for prisons (prison-NOMIS) from May 2009, data collection issues emerged that affected the supply of data for statistical purposes. * not available. (2) Composition of European Union countries as at October 2012. Figures exclude UK. (3) Provisional pending the outcome of data quality work. Data Sources and Quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | ||
Sick Leave
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many days on average staff of his Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months. [125660]
Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice's ill health absence data for the period requested are currently unavailable because of technical difficulties. Once these difficulties are rectified, which should be within the next few weeks, I shall write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of the letter in the House of Commons Library.
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Young Offenders
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people entered the youth justice system for the first time in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012. [127057]
Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the number of juveniles (persons aged under 18) that entered the criminal justice system for the first time in 2011 and 2012.
| Number of juvenile first time entrants to the criminal justice system(1) in England and Wales, 12 months ending March 2011 to 12 months ending March 2012 | |
| Numbers of offenders | |
| (1) Offenders recorded on the police national computer (PNC) by an English or Welsh police force as having received their first conviction, caution, reprimand or warning. Offences resulting in penalty notices for disorder are not counted as first offences. Source: Police National Computer, Ministry of Justice | |
These figures are taken from the data in Table 7.2 in ‘Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly Update to March 2012’ which was published on 13 September 2012. The full report can be found at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/criminal-justice-stats/criminal-justice-stats-march-2012.pdf
Scotland
Unemployment
9. Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent assessment he has made of unemployment in Scotland. [128896]
David Mundell: The UK Government works to help individuals find long-term meaningful employment. It is of great concern that the latest Scottish figures show an increase in unemployment while it is falling in the rest of the UK. This is why Scotland's two governments need to work together for the benefit of Scotland.
Voluntary Sector
10. Mary Macleod: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of the voluntary sector in Scotland. [128897]
David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), and I meet regularly with representatives from Scotland’s voluntary sector to discuss a range of issues.
Overseas Students
14. Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with universities in Scotland on the effects of the Government’s immigration policy on overseas student numbers. [128902]
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David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), and I meet regularly with representatives from Scotland’s universities to discuss a range of issues.
Transport
Employment Agencies
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the use of offshore employment companies in the supply of public sector workers in his Department and its associated public bodies. [128737]
Norman Baker: The Department's policy is to only use employment companies which are part of the Government Procurement Service Framework. There are no offshore companies on this list.
High Speed 2 Railway Line
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ask HS2 Ltd to publish feedback received by letter, email and telephone in local community fora; and if he will review the process for holding such fora. [129025]
Mr Simon Burns: HS2 Ltd set up community forums along the London-Birmingham high speed rail line of route to provide an opportunity for local representatives to raise issues of importance to them and to review information updates on the project. The forums are meetings held on a bi-monthly cycle and are chaired by a local participant wherever practicable. HS2 Ltd keep the way the forums run under constant review.
HS2 Ltd do not intend to publish individual items of correspondence from local community forums, but all agendas and minutes of the forums are made publicly available at:
http://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/forums/community-forums
Feedback from community forums will inform HS2's design work, which will in turn be presented for public consultation in the draft Environmental Statement, providing the public with a chance to comment on whether they feel their comments have been taken into account.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to ensure that the processes being followed on High Speed 2 comply with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention. [129026]
Mr Simon Burns: I recognise the requirements set out in the Aarhus Convention and how they apply to HS2. The Department and HS2 Ltd have actively considered these requirements as part of their work programme.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish all the reports prepared for his Department by Arup on options for a high speed railway in the last five years. [129027]
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Mr Simon Burns: Reports from contractors on route options for HS2 are routinely published on the Department's website once they have been considered and approved by the Secretary of State. They are available at the following address:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/topics/high-speed-rail
Some older reports have been archived and are available at:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Roads: Accidents
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many collisions involving cars and HGVs on roads with speed limits of 60mph involved a car overtaking a HGV and colliding with an oncoming vehicle in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the severity of such crashes; [128571]
(2) if he will estimate how many crashes there have been between cars and HGVs on roads with a speed limit of 60mph in the last five years. [128615]
Stephen Hammond: Information is provided in the following table on the reported number of personal injury accidents on single carriageway roads with 60 mph speed limits which involved at least one car and one HGV across each of the last five years.
| Reported number of personal injury accidents on single carriageway roads with 60 mph speed limits involving cars/HGVs: 2007-11 | ||
| Number of accidents | ||
| Number of collisions involving at least one car and one HGV | All collisions involving all vehicles | |
| Source: STATS19 Police Data, Department for Transport | ||
Information on the reported number of personal injury accidents in 2011 on single carriageway roads with 60 mph speed limits which involved at least one car overtaking any moving vehicle is provided in the following table. The table also includes information on the number of people killed or seriously injured as a result of these collisions.
| Reported number of personal injury accidents and subsequent casualties on single carriageway roads with 60 mph limits involving at least one car overtaking a moving vehicle: Great Britain 2011 | |||
| Number of accidents/casualties | |||
| Total number of collisions | Number of casualties killed | Number of casualties seriously injured | |
| Source: STATS19 Police Data, Department for Transport | |||
Information about what type of vehicle was overtaken is not collected so it is impossible to state how many of these collisions involved a car overtaking an HGV. In addition, it is not possible to determine whether the resulting collision was with an oncoming vehicle.
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Severn River Crossing: Tolls
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport at what level the tolls for use of the Severn bridges will be set from January 2013. [128944]
Stephen Hammond: The tolls on the Severn Crossings are amended each year in accordance with the rules set out in the Severn Bridges Act 1992. Every year the tolls are calculated from the September Retail Prices Index figure and then rounded to the nearest 10p. The toll levels from 1 January 2013 will be:
Category 1: Cars and motor caravans—£6.20 (£6.00 in 2012)
Category 2: Small goods vehicles and small buses—£12.40 (£12.10 in 2012)
Category 3: Heavy goods vehicles and buses—£18.60 (£18.10 in 2012)
The tolls levels will be confirmed in an Order made by the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), in December.
Treasury
Child Benefit
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2012, Official Report, column 784W, on child benefit, for what reason the number of child benefit claims under EC Regulations is not available; and if he will make a statement. [128591]
Mr Gauke: Information about the total number of child benefit claims received under the EC Regulations is not available because there is no business need to collect that data. HM Revenue and Customs does keep a record of child benefit claims made under the EC Regulations which are successful and this information is used for monitoring purposes and identifying cases for an annual review of entitlement.
ICT
Mr Streeter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will instruct his Department to instal a digital display outside his Department's Whitehall building showing the current (a) level of public debt, (b) relevant annual interest payment and (c) the annual budget deficit. [128170]
Sajid Javid: There is no intention to instal a digital display outside the HM Treasury building on Horse Guards Road. However, the Budget Red Book clearly displays the level of debt and the deficit and that the Government has cut the deficit in the past two years.
PAYE
Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the preparedness of employers who (a) employ more than 5,000 employees and (b) employ fewer than 5,000 employees for the planned introduction of PAYE Real Time Information in April 2013; and if he will make a statement. [129092]
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Mr Gauke: HMRC has 1,148 very large employer schemes with over 5,000 employees. Over the past few months each of these schemes has been contacted either by their HMRC customer relationship manager or by their payroll software provider or bureau to ensure readiness for reporting PAYE in real time and agree individual start dates.
40 of the very large schemes have already joined RTI in stage 1 or 2 of the pilot and another 248 are scheduled to join in stage 3 which started on 6 November and runs until the end of March 2013.
HMRC tracks RTI awareness and preparedness, of employers with fewer than 5,000 employees, via a two-monthly RTI awareness survey.
The findings from this awareness work suggest that RTI awareness and preparedness is on track.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many providers of payroll software have (a) made representations to his Department about PAYE Real Time Information and (b) been recognised by his Department as providers of software for PAYE Real Time Information. [129102]
Mr Gauke: HMRC actively consulted on RTI with employers, the payroll industry and software providers and will continue to do so.
HMRC are aware of around 270 software developers actively developing an RTI solution.
HMRC offers PAYE software developers a form of accreditation called PAYE Recognition. Products that pass PAYE Recognition are listed on HMRC's website. 40 software developers have requested HMRC recognition for RTI enabled products to date and 31 developers have completed the process.
Software developers are not required to seek PAYE Recognition and HMRC do not suggest that a non-recognised product is in any way inferior. It is a commercial decision for a software developer to seek recognition from HMRC. HMRC recognition provides assurance to the customer that the commercial products recognised by HMRC, and listed on their website, have successfully demonstrated the ability to:
file a valid RTI return, and
retrieve national insurance number verifications online.
Products that provide a level of payroll functionality also have to satisfy a range of general payroll tests.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of employees served by PAYE systems provided by suppliers who are not registered by HM Revenue and Customs for Real Time Information; and if he will make a statement. [129103]
Mr Gauke: HMRC estimate that approximately two thirds of employees and pensioners PAYE information is submitted using software produced by developers who have not yet joined the RTI pilot. This represents approximately 26 million employments. This figure will reduce as more software developers join the pilot.
All PAYE software developers registered with HMRC receive regular updates, support and guidance on RTI changes and access to the RTI test services.
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Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason he has required normal working hours be collected with PAYE Real Time Information; what the specification is of the information employers should provide on such data; whether such data will be used for a purpose related to universal credit; and if he will make a statement. [129101]
Mr Gauke: The hours worked reported under Real Time Information will be used for tax credit compliance activity and from April 2014 HMRC will use RTI as part of the process for renewing tax credits claims.
Employers will be required to report how many hours their employee is normally expected to work in a week. If the hours vary from week to week they will be expected to indicate what they consider is the employee's normal number of paid hours. The hours worked will be reported in four different bands:
A—Up to 15.99 hours
B—16 to 29.99 hours
C—30 hours or more
D—Other eg occupational pensioners
The Department for Work and Pensions do not currently envisage using hours worked data for calculating universal credit (UC).
Pensions
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the (a) benefits and (b) disadvantages of people in ill health who choose to (i) use pension income drawdown and (ii) purchase an annuity; [128642]
(2) what consideration he has given to altering the rules on pensions income drawdown for people in ill health who are unlikely to reach average age. [128643]
Sajid Javid: The Government has taken action to ensure the rules on pensions income drawdown provide individuals with flexibility to make arrangements that suit their circumstances and preferences, for example by removing the requirement for individuals aged 75 and over to purchase an annuity from 2011-12. As with all areas of the tax system, we keep these rules under review.
People approaching retirement do not need to purchase an annuity from their existing pension provider and can shop around on the open market. Shopping around and exercising the right to take an 'open market option' can significantly increase an individual's retirement income. This might include considering alternative types of annuity, including 'enhanced' or 'impaired' annuities which can take account of an individual's health and/or lifestyle. The choice between different annuity types will depend on the individual policyholder's preferences.
Staff
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of turnover is for officials in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [129032]
Sajid Javid: The annualised turnover rate for HM Treasury between April 2012 to September 2012 (excluding the transfer of the Performance and Reform Unit to the Cabinet Office) was 22%. This compares with 25% during the same period in 2011 (excluding the transfer of staff on the formation of Office of Budget Responsibility).