South London Healthcare NHS Trust
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken to ensure that the work of the Trust Special Administrator for South London Healthcare NHS Trust takes place with appropriate scrutiny, oversight and authority. [130821]
Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State has issued statutory guidance for Trust Special Administrators (TSAs) appointed to national health service trusts in England, to which they must have regard in carrying out their duties under Chapter 5A of the NHS Act 2006. A copy of the guidance, entitled “Statutory Guidance for Trust Special Administrators appointed to NHS Trusts”, has been placed in the Library and is available at:
www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/07/statutory-guidance-tsa/
It is the Secretary of State who will take the final decision about the action to be taken in relation to South London Healthcare NHS Trust, following receipt of the final report from the TSA.
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Thalidomide
Mr Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2012, Official Report, columns 309-10W to the hon. Member for North Cornwall, on thalidomide, when he plans to make an announcement on the future funding of thalidomide survivors. [130630]
Norman Lamb: An announcement on future funding for thalidomide survivors will be made shortly.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Animals: Exports
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of trends in the (a) distance travelled and (b) time taken to travel by live animals exported from the UK in the last five years; [131368]
(2) whether he has made an estimate of the (a) average and (b) longest time taken on travel and transportation for live animals exported from the UK in the latest period for which figures are available. [131369]
Mr Heath: There has been no assessment of time travelled or distance. The EU legislation lays down the maximum journey time limits and the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency checks returned journey logs to ensure that these journey time limits have been observed. If not, it will take proportionate enforcement action against the transporter.
Ash Dieback Disease
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the findings of the Forestry Commission survey of conditions in ash woodlands to be published. [130067]
Mr Heath: The Forestry Commission published information on the health of ash trees in Great Britain on 31 October 2012. This was information that had been summarised from the results from a total of 6,896 one-hectare squares surveyed between November 2009 and October 2012 in the National Forest inventory field survey programme.
Findings from the Rapid Survey to determine if Chalara fraxinea was present in the wider environment have been published on the Forestry Commission website in map format. This map shows the general location of confirmed infected sites. Although the Rapid Survey was concluded on 7 November 2012, the map is being updated on a regular basis as new information becomes available.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the potential cost of vaccinating all calves for tuberculosis. [130778]
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Mr Heath: We are not currently able to estimate the potential cost of vaccinating all calves for tuberculosis as a vaccine is not available for use in the field. However, we remain committed to developing affordable and usable vaccines and are investing significantly in this work.
How and where cattle vaccine is deployed will be an important consideration, bearing in mind that vaccination should be used alongside other measures to maximise its effectiveness. Vaccinating all cattle or all calves throughout England may not therefore be the most efficient use of vaccination.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if he will estimate the potential cost of testing cows for tuberculosis before culling them; and if he will make a statement; [130779]
(2) if his Department will consider developing a policy to ensure that healthy cows are not killed for being at risk of having tuberculosis. [130780]
Mr Heath: In 2009-10 the TB cattle testing programme in England cost the Government around £30 million. Nearly all of the cattle slaughtered for TB control reasons have reacted positively to a fully validated diagnostic test. In some circumstances cattle identified as being at higher risk will be slaughtered with the owner's agreement.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what estimate his Department has made of the potential cost of trapping and testing badgers for tuberculosis; [130781]
(2) if he will consider developing a policy to ensure that only infected badgers are killed in the process of controlling tuberculosis in badgers. [130782]
Mr Heath: The cost of cage-trapping and testing badgers for tuberculosis has not been estimated. However, the cost of cage-trapping and vaccinating badgers is estimated to be £2,250 per sq km per year. The cost of cage-trapping and shooting badgers is estimated to be £2,500 per sq km per year. These costs are set out in the impact assessment available online at:
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/documents/bovine-tb-impact-assessment.pdf
Ideally, a culling strategy would be selective, i.e. culling only infected badgers, or badgers in a sett where bovine TB has been detected. However, this requires a diagnostic test that is sensitive enough to detect reliably a high proportion of infected animals. Any infected badgers that were not detected, and therefore were left behind, could pose an increase in disease risk through perturbation. There is no diagnostic test yet available that is both sufficiently sensitive and practical for use in the field. Therefore a policy of selective culling cannot currently be pursued.
DEFRA is continuing to fund research and development of diagnostic tests for TB in badgers, including tests for individual animals and those that could be used on a whole sett basis.
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Cats
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of abandoned cats being dealt with by animal welfare charities; and what plans he has to tackle irresponsible cat breeding. [130275]
Mr Heath: There has been a reported rise in the number of abandoned cats, which may be due in part to the economic situation. The Government urge anyone who is considering acquiring a cat to understand fully what it involves and what it costs. We also advise owners to neuter their cats if they are not seriously considering breeding from it. Lastly, all owners and keepers of cats must provide for the welfare needs of their animals, as required by the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Livestock: Animal Welfare
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy that concentrated animal feeding operations should not be permitted in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [130950]
Mr Heath: The UK's animal welfare and environmental standards are among the highest in the world and apply equally to all livestock farms, regardless of scale.
DEFRA recognises that the UK should seek to produce more food to meet growing demand, deliver consumer choice and be competitive on domestic, EU and global markets.
All methods of production can support this at any scale as long as those welfare and environmental standards are met.
Livestock: Transport
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will instruct Animal Health to permit the RSPCA to inspect all vehicles passing through UK ports; and if he will make a statement. [130535]
Mr Heath: The RSPCA has no statutory powers to undertake inspections under the welfare in transport legislation. In relation to those transporters being inspected, AHVLA inspectors cannot insist that RSPCA inspectors take part in this inspection activity, whether at UK ports or at any other place of rest or transfer.
Meat: Imports
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what statistics he holds and what checks are made on imports from the EU of (a) all mechanically stripped meat and (b) Baader meat; and if he will make a statement. [130335]
Mr Heath: Import statistics do not separately identify either mechanically separated meat, desinewed meat or ‘Baader' meat from other types of boneless meat.
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With regard to checks on imports from the EU, the UK Government cannot routinely detain items moving in ‘free circulation' within the European single market, as this contravenes the principles of the single market. The Food Standards Agency continues to work closely with industry to identify potentially mislabelled material.
Plastics: Packaging
Mark Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many responses he received from (a) the plastics manufacturing industry (b) environmental organisations and (c) other stakeholders to the consultation on the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2012; [129052]
(2) what representations he has received from the plastics manufacturing industry in respect of the consultation on the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2012; [129050]
(3) what meetings he held with representatives of the plastics manufacturing industry on the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2012. [129051]
Richard Benyon: The consultation on higher packaging recovery and recycling targets for 2013-17 ran from 16 December 2011 until 10 February 2012. During this period DEFRA officials held 15 different meetings with groups of interested parties, including representatives of the plastics manufacturing industry.
The consultation attracted three formal responses from plastic manufacturers (Nampak, RPC, BPI). There were three responses from trade associations representing the plastic manufacturing sector (BPF, PAFA, Plastics 2020).
There were two responses from trade associations representing the wider plastic sector (Recoup, BPF Recycling Group) and six from plastic reprocessors (Closed Loop, Revalue Tech, Axion Polymers, PlasRecycle, SGL Fibers).
87 responses were received from stakeholders representing the other materials included in the consultation (paper, glass, aluminium, steel and wood), local authorities, trade associations, packaging compliance schemes and reprocessors. There were no responses from environmental NGOs.
After the decision on targets was announced in this year's Budget in March, the Department received a number of letters and other correspondence from representatives of the plastics manufacturing industry regarding the regulations. Officials also spoke at the BPF Recycling Seminar “Achieving Plastics Recycling Targets” on 11 October.
The Under-Secretary of State, my noble Friend Lord de Mauley, met representatives of the British Plastics Federation, the Packaging and Film Association and PlasticsEurope on 8 November to discuss the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2012.
Following this meeting, officials met the British Plastics Federation, the Packaging and Film Association and PlasticsEurope on 13 November.
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Waste Management
Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials of his Department worked under the Head of Waste in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date. [128988]
Richard Benyon: The following table gives the number of employees who worked in core DEFRA's waste programme on the dates shown in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
| Headcount | Full-time equivalent (FTE) | |
Zoos: Animal Welfare
Mr Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps he plans to take to protect the welfare of animals in zoos that host concerts, fireworks displays, festivals or similar events following the publication of the revised Standards of Modern Zoo Practice; [129200]
(2) whether the zoo inspection process allows inspectors to recommend a maximum number of visitors allowed at each zoo; [129201]
(3) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the system of licensing and inspection of zoos in protecting the welfare of animals in zoos that host concerts, fireworks displays, festivals or similar events; [129202]
(4) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 in protecting the welfare of animals when zoos and safari parks host concerts, fireworks displays, festivals and corporate events. [129203]
Mr Heath: Good animal welfare standards are achieved in the vast majority of zoos, in accordance with the requirements of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. The Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice set out the overarching standards against which zoos are regularly inspected. These require that animals are kept in suitable accommodation that allows them to express their most normal behaviour. The animals must also receive proper health care and protection from fear and distress. The Zoo Licensing Act does not contain specific provisions which require zoo operators to restrict visitor numbers.
Responsibility for the licensing, inspection and oversight of the day-to-day operation of zoos rests with local authorities. The Act provides local authorities with powers to ensure that zoos comply with the terms of their licences, should the need arise.
While any negative impact these events may have on animal welfare is to be deplored, the Government believe that sufficient powers and procedures are already in place to ensure good welfare standards and that a detailed separate assessment of their impacts would be disproportionate.
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All animals kept in captivity are also subject to protection under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. This Act imposes a broad duty of care on anyone responsible for an animal to take reasonable steps to ensure that the animal's needs are met.
Work and Pensions
Comet Group
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to assist people in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK who lose their jobs as a result of the closure of Comet shops. [130979]
Mr Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), through Jobcentre Plus, offers a free at the point of contact Rapid Response Service (RRS) that aims to minimise the impact of redundancies by supporting people back into work and helping them navigate their way through the benefit system.
Jobcentre Plus is working in partnership with Comet's appointed administrators, Deloitte, to provide support to employees affected by the store closures.
In Scotland, Jobcentre Plus operates in conjunction with Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE), a Scottish Government initiative. PACE is a framework for a consistent and co-ordinated public sector response to dealing with companies in difficulty, including redundancy. The key aim of PACE is to help people who have been made redundant into alternative employment or training as quickly as possible. PACE is working in partnership with Deloitte to provide support to Comet employees affected by the store closures. In Glasgow North West constituency, Glasgow and Scotland this support has commenced through local engagement with Comet by phone and in person. PACE guides have also been made available to employees and one-to-one support will also be offered.
The DWP National Employer Service Team (NEST) are working with both Deloitte and Comet to provide a co-ordinated national approach to ensure that the work force receives support to enable to them to find new jobs.
Jobcentre Plus RRS teams will make contact with local stores as they are announced for closure to discuss providing support at a local level, within the constraints of the store closure process.
For larger sites at Clevedon, Hull, Skelmersdale and Harlow, NEST will facilitate local links between Jobcentre Plus and Comet to agree any face-to-face arrangements, either on site or at an agreed location, to talk to employees directly about the help and support available.
In addition to this NEST are providing affected employees with:
A DWP RRS Employee Factsheet, to be issued along with redundancy notice, directing employees to available support; and
Job focused products explaining job search techniques, CV preparation, online recruitment and Universal Jobmatch.
Deloitte and Comet have also agreed their own package of support which includes:
A dedicated employee helpline;
An employee help sheet, explaining the administration process;
An established relationship with 35 national retailers and facilitating connection with employees; and
A Comet network on LinkedIn with jobs feed.
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Council Tax Benefits
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged under 65 are in receipt of passported and non-passported council tax benefit in each local authority area. [131348]
Steve Webb: The requested information will be placed in the Library.
Disability Living Allowance
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households affected by the benefit cap where at least one member is in receipt of disability living allowance. [131169]
Mr Hoban: All households who receive disability living allowance are exempt from the benefit cap.
Employment and Support Allowance
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people in receipt of employment and support allowance died in each calendar year since 2010. [128973]
Mr Hoban: The Department has published ad hoc statistics on Incapacity Benefits: Deaths of recipients on 9 July 2012. This covers ESA figures for 2010-11 (latest figures available) and can be found at:
http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/index.php?page=adhoc_analysis_2012_q3
Epilepsy
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with epilepsy his Department has helped into employment since May 2010. [130084]
Esther McVey: Between 1 May 2010 and 30 June 2012, 1,480 individuals in Great Britain were helped by the Access to Work programme and whose reported primary medical condition was epilepsy.(1)
Between 1 June 2011 and 31 July 2012, 20 individuals in receipt of employment and support allowance/incapacity benefit, whose reported primary medical condition was epilepsy, achieved a job outcome as part of the Work programme.(2)
Primary health condition is recorded only for employment and support allowance/incapacity benefit claimants. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. Medical condition is based on evidence provided and this in itself does not confer entitlement to employment support allowance/incapacity benefit.
Figures are not available for those on the Work programme in receipt of jobseeker's allowance (JSA). Disabling conditions for individuals on JSA are taken from the Labour Market System (LMS) database. Epilepsy is not one of the self-reported conditions recorded on LMS.
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Sources:
(1) Access to Work database. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
(2) DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate (IGS). Figures are cumulative and are rounded to the nearest 10.
Future Jobs Fund
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what evidence on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness was taken into consideration when the decision was made to discontinue the Future Jobs Fund. [131147]
Mr Hoban: At up to £6,500 per person, the Future Jobs Fund was five times more expensive than some other elements of the previous Government's Young Person's Guarantee. The fund did not ensure sustainable employment for young people; it created short-term jobs; and the grants did not include any incentives to move people into permanent posts. Reducing the scope of the programme saved up to £290 million to help the Government tackle the unprecedented £156 billion deficit.
Hyperactivity
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department have had with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder disability organisations with regard to personalised independence payment. [131483]
Esther McVey: Throughout the development of personal independence payment we have engaged and consulted with a wide range of disability organisations. This engagement has included one informal and three formal consultations.
As part of our engagement we have met with groups representing the interests of children and young people such as Every Disabled Child Matters.
Incapacity Benefit
Katy Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people who were on incapacity
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benefit and were previously in receipt of invalidity benefit have been transferred to contributions-based employment and support allowance; [130627]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who were on incapacity benefit and were previously in receipt of invalidity benefit who will be transferred to contributions-based employment and support allowance by April 2014; [130628]
(3) what assessment he has made of the effect that the payment of income tax on employment and support allowance will have on the incomes of people who have been transferred to that benefit from incapacity benefit and who had previously been in receipt of invalidity benefit. [130629]
Mr Hoban: The Department recently released official statistics on the outcomes of claimants undergoing the incapacity benefits reassessment (IBR) process. The publication can be found at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php? page=esa_ibr
Information on the number of claimants going through IBR who were previously transferred to incapacity benefit from invalidity benefit has not been provided as it would be available only at a disproportionate cost to the Department.
Jobseeker's Allowance
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2011, Official Report, columns 1015-16W, on jobseeker's allowance, what the (a) jobseeker's allowance claimant count, (b) jobseeker's allowance claimant count for people aged 16 to 24 years old, (c) average weekly jobseeker's allowance payment and (d) average weekly jobseeker's allowance payments to claimants aged 16 to 24 years old was in 2011-12; and what his Department projects such figures to be in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15. [130941]
Mr Hoban: The information requested can be found in the following table:
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
| Sources: 1. 2011-12: DWP statistical data and NOMIS official labour market statistics. 2. 2012-13 onwards: OBR claimant count forecasts published at the March 2012 Budget, combined with DWP projections of caseloads and average amounts by age of claimant, underpinning the OBR's March 2012 fiscal forecasts. | ||||
Pension Funds
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the research paper from the Financial Services Authority entitled Conflicts of Interest between Asset Managers and their Customers, published in November 2012, what steps he is taking to ensure that research funding attributed by asset managers to pension scheme funds is not being used to cross-subsidise research for other clients. [130709]
Sajid Javid: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.
This is a matter for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day-to-day operations are independent of
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Government control and influence. This question has been passed on to the FSA, which will reply to the hon. Gentleman directly by letter, A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.
Personal Independence Payment
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will provide an information service for people preparing to apply for personal independence payments. [130976]
Esther McVey: There will be a range of support available for those applying for personal independence payment. This will include online information at gov.uk, information leaflets and support from a helpline.
We recognise the key role of disability organisations and continue to work to build awareness. We will provide them with information and signposting advice to help them support their customers.
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Poverty
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in work and in poverty in (a) Wirral South constituency, (b) Wirral, (c) Merseyside, (d) the north west and (e) the UK in each of the last five years. [130942]
Mr Hoban: Estimates of the number of working age adults in work and the number of working age adults in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI measures poverty both before housing costs (BHC) and after housing costs (AHC).
The requested information cannot be provided for (a) Wirral south (b) Wirral or (c) Merseyside as data are not available below regional level. The requested information can be provided for the north west and for the UK.
| Number of working age individuals with at least one adult in the family in work falling below 60% of net equivalised median income, before housing costs (BHC) and after housing costs (AHC), 2006-07 to 2010-11, for the UK and the north west region | ||
| Millions | ||
| Number in low income and in work BHC | Number in low income and in work AHC | |
| Notes: These statistics are based on households below average income (HBAI) data sourced from the 2009-10 Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 2. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 3. Figures have been presented on a before housing cost and an after housing cost basis. For before housing costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for after housing costs they are. 4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 5. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year. 6. Three survey years have been combined to produce regional estimates because single year estimates are not considered to be sufficiently reliable. 7. Numbers of working-age adults have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand working-age adults. Source: HBAI 2004-05 to 2010-11. | ||
Social Security Benefits
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) non-UK nationals and (b) all other nationals received benefits in excess of the total benefit cap introduced in 2012 in each financial year since 1997-98; and what the total cost of such benefits was in each year. [130578]
Mr Hoban: This information is not available. Please note that the benefit cap will be introduced in April 2013.
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who will be affected by the proposed benefits cap have never worked in the UK. [130579]
Mr Hoban: This information is not available.
Ms Buck:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the reason is for the difference between the Government's impact assessment, which states that 56,000 households will be affected by the household
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benefit cap, and the actual number of 89,000 households contacted by his Department and advised that they may be affected. [131344]
Mr Hoban: The 89,000 households is the total number of households contacted by mail out at three different points in time. In April 2012 initial contact was made with those who would be potentially impacted by the benefit cap in April 2013. This comprised 63,000 households. The exercise was repeated in July 2012 and again in September 2012. Only additional households who were not identified in the initial exercise were then included in this total.
Over time households have changes of circumstances that result in changes to benefit payments, thus a larger number of contacted households reflects these changes. It does not indicate an increase in the number of potentially capped households.
The reason that the number of 89,000 contacted is different from the 56,000 estimated in the impact assessment is that it is a cumulative figure and therefore is not comparable to the 56,000, which is a snapshot of the number potentially impacted at one point in time. Figures underpinning the impact assessment include adjustments for certain exemptions, such as the grace period for employment, that the direct mail was not able to incorporate.
Social Security Benefits: Polygamy
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what benefits can currently be claimed by individuals in polygamous marriages; and what the total cost of each benefit to people in such relationships has been in each financial year since 1997. [130571]
Mr Hoban: Claimants in polygamous marriages can claim income-related benefits such as income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance and pension credit. In these cases the household is awarded the couple rate for the husband and first wife plus an additional sum for each subsequent wife. These benefits are payable only for wives residing in Great Britain.
Housing benefit and council tax benefit entitlement for polygamous families is limited to those living in one property. There are no special rules for a husband to claim housing benefit for more than one property if his wives live separately.
Contributory benefits make no provision for polygamous marriages. A member of a polygamous marriage can claim a contributory or income-related benefit in their own right where they satisfy the relevant conditions of entitlement.
Information regarding the cost and number of polygamous households is not available.
Work Capability Assessment
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) Jobcentre Plus area have failed to attend a work capability assessment (WCA) appointment arranged by Atos Healthcare and subsequently had benefits stopped since the introduction of the WCA; and what the median length of time is that such people have been on incapacity benefits. [130575]
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Mr Hoban: The information required is not available.
Work Programme
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) with reference to the invitation to tender, whether it is still his policy that five per cent is the appropriate level for year 1 non-intervention performance on the Work programme for (a) JSA 18 to 24, (b) JSA 25 and over and (c) ESA flow; and if he will make a statement; [131166]
(2) whether he now assesses the appropriate levels for year 2 non-intervention performance on the Work programme to be (a) 30 per cent for JSA 18 to 24, (b) 25 per cent for JSA 25 and over and (c) 15 per cent for ESA flow, as set out in the invitation to tender; and if he will make a statement. [131170]
Mr Hoban: We are considering these issues. Performance has built up more slowly than our initial assumptions suggested; this is because participants are building towards job outcomes through multiple periods of shorter term employment. Providers are also taking longer than expected to track and claim outcomes. Our aspiration for the total levels of outcomes to be achieved by providers remains the same.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incentive payments his Department has made to Work programme providers since June 2011. [131168]
Mr Hoban: The Youth Contract, including wage incentives, went live on April 2012. From this point any young person attached to the Work programme could be placed into work with a wage incentive being offered to the employer.
From late July 2012, in selected ‘youth unemployment hotspots', wage incentives became available via Jobcentre Plus to employ eligible 18 to 24-year-olds. In most cases the wage incentives element of the Youth Contract are paid after a young person has been in work continuously for 26 weeks.
Following the collection and quality assurance of these data, the first set of Official Statistics on the wage incentive should be available from early 2013.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to publish the key performance measures, as defined in the Work programme invitation to tender, alongside future releases of Work programme performance data; and when he next plans to publish such data. [131171]
Mr Hoban: We have committed to publishing outcome statistics on a six monthly basis; the next publication will be on 28 May 2013. The key performance measure can be found in the invitation to tender.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the reasons why his Department's expectation, set out in the Work programme invitation to tender, that providers will significantly exceed the minimum levels there specified has not been fulfilled. [131213]
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Mr Hoban: Performance has built up more slowly than our initial assumptions suggested; this is because participants are building towards job outcomes through multiple periods of shorter term employment. Providers are also taking longer than expected to track and claim outcomes. Our aspiration for the total levels of outcomes to be achieved by providers remains the same.
Education
Open Access Scheme: Sutton Trust
16. Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has made an assessment of the Sutton Trust's Open Access scheme to democratise entry to independent schools; and if he will make a statement. [130886]
Michael Gove: The Sutton Trust is a brilliant organisation. The aims of Open Access are admirable. But our focus must be on transforming all state schools. Through the expansion of the Academies programme and the introduction of free schools, we are increasing the number of good school places—many of them in disadvantaged areas.
Dedicated Schools Grant
17. George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect on small primary schools of his Department's recent funding reform of the dedicated schools grant. [130887]
Mr Laws: The current school funding system is unfair and out of date. It has resulted in similar schools across the country receiving vastly different levels of funding. We want a system which targets funding to pupils on a fair and transparent basis, regardless of where they go to school. This means that the majority of funding will be based on the needs of pupils and not the size or circumstances of schools.
We recognise that small schools often play an important role in local communities and, as we implement our funding reforms, we will ensure that the viability of good, small schools is not compromised.
Early Years Education
19. Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how he plans to improve the quality of early years education. [130890]
Elizabeth Truss: We will soon announce plans to improve the quality of early years education in response to Cathy Nutbrown.
I am clear that the No. 1 factor is recruiting and retaining high-quality staff.
All evidence suggests this is what makes an impact on children's development.
Enterprise and Business Skills
21. Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to encourage enterprise and business skills through teaching in schools; and if he will make a statement. [130892]
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Matthew Hancock: Many schools already engage brilliantly with local enterprise, with students working with, and even setting up, their own business. From September 2013 the new 16 to 19 study programmes and funding reforms will encourage schools to offer all students work-related learning including enterprise projects or work experience. But there is more to do to encourage businesses to engage with local schools and colleges, and we are determined to do it.
Anti-smoking Initiatives
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment his Department has made of anti-smoking initiatives in schools. [130889]
Elizabeth Truss: The Government do not assess anti-smoking initiatives in schools.
Pupils are taught about the effect of tobacco on health as part of the National Curriculum for Science. In addition, teachers can cover the facts about, and consequences of, smoking in non-statutory Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education.
Child Protection
Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for child protection; and if he will make a statement. [130891]
Mr Timpson: Despite well-intentioned reforms over the years, the current child protection system is not working as well as it could or should be. That is why we are currently undertaking a major reform of child protection based on the widely welcomed Munro Review. We are reducing central prescription on social workers so they can focus more on the needs of the individual child, investing in social work reform so we have the best professionals working with our most vulnerable children and are strengthening local safeguarding children boards and inspection regimes so that we can hold local agencies to account.
Vocational Education
Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for vocational education; and if he will make a statement. [130893]
Matthew Hancock: This Government commissioned, and have been implementing, Professor Wolf’s ground-breaking review of vocational education. We have already announced major changes to vocational qualifications and their teaching in schools and colleges. The expansion of apprenticeships and technical education is well under way and last week I announced plans for a new traineeship programme. Our reform programme will benefit almost half of young people and transform the quality and status of vocational education.
Children: Day Care
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2012, Official Report, column 762W, on children: day care, whether there is a minimum staff:child ratio for children with special educational needs attending formal child care. [130048]
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Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 27 November 2012]: All registered child care providers are required to abide by minimum staff:child ratios. The ratios vary depending on the age of the children, the type of provider and the qualifications of carers, but they apply equally to children with special needs as they do to all other children. However, the law also requires that providers deploy their staff in a way that caters for the needs of all children in their care and ensures their safety. They must also promote equality of opportunity for children in their care, including support for children with special educational needs or disabilities.
Children: Nutrition
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to promote to children the importance of eating breakfast. [130400]
Elizabeth Truss: I understand the importance of children having a healthy breakfast. However, neither this Department nor schools have any influence or control over the food children and their parents choose to eat at home or outside of the school day. Many schools provide breakfast clubs, which parents and pupils can choose to use if they wish.
Health Education
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to (a) improve awareness of the importance of healthy eating in schools and (b) provide more cookery lessons dedicated to healthy eating. [130562]
Elizabeth Truss: The Government believe that it is very important that children and young people learn about the importance of eating healthily and acquire the knowledge that will equip them to prepare healthy meals.
Although teaching about healthy eating does not form part of the compulsory curriculum, schools play an important role in supporting the health and well-being of children and young people. Often this is done through personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education at primary and secondary schools, where, for example, pupils learn about how a balanced diet and making choices for being healthy contribute to their personal well-being. In order to help schools plan health and well-being improvements for their pupils and to select activities which will help, we have developed the Healthy Schools toolkit, which is available at:
http://tinyurl.com/healthyschoolskit
Food technology, within which healthy eating can also be taught, is part of the design and technology curriculum, which is—and will remain—a compulsory national curriculum subject in maintained primary schools. We are currently considering what should be covered within design and technology in the new national curriculum and will make an announcement in due course. Secondary schools are able to choose whether to offer food technology or the study of textiles.
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Home Education
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what financial support his Department provides to local authorities to support parents who wish to home-school their children. [127529]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 8 November 2012]: Parents who home-educate their children have always taken on the full responsibility for their education. The Department does not provide local authorities with financial support for home-educated children except where a child has special educational needs. Where local authorities provide significant support to a home-educated child with special educational needs, they can claim funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will commission a study into the benefits of home-schooling, including an assessment of experiences of home-schooling in (a) Europe and (b) the US. [127530]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 8 November 2012]: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has no plans to commission a study into the benefits of home education.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on home-schooling. [127531]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 8 November 2012]: The Department for Education has received correspondence on home education from home educating parents and children, local authorities, and members of the public.
Outdoor Education
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that secondary school leaders and senior managers recognise the value of, and support the provision of, high-quality fieldwork in (a) geography, (b) science and (c) other practical subjects. [129494]
Elizabeth Truss: The Government recognise the positive contribution that fieldwork can make to the study of geography, science and other practical subjects. However, it is for individual schools to determine how they should use such experiences to enhance the teaching of these subjects.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that the professional development of future school leaders and senior managers through the National College for School Leadership includes training to support the teaching of high-quality fieldwork in (a) geography, (b) science and (c) other practical subjects. [129495]
Mr Laws:
The Department does not set the detailed content of professional development courses. In the case of leadership development, content is determined
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by the national college in consultation with high performing school leaders and with reference to evidence on effective school leadership practice.
The national college's leadership development provision is now delivered through a modular curriculum. The aim of the modules is to ensure that leaders have the skills and knowledge to lead a broad and balanced curriculum that responds to pupil needs and national priorities, to constantly improve the quality of teaching and to ensure a safe and orderly environment. The modules include significant content and activities on curriculum leadership and relevant aspects of health and safety (including safeguarding, risk assessment and risk registers). In addition to its leadership development provision, the college is working with teaching schools and their alliances to support high-quality initial teacher training and continuous professional development for school staff.
Primary Education: School Meals
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many primary schools in England and Wales provide optional breakfasts for pupils. [130622]
Elizabeth Truss: Since April 2011, former Standards Fund allocations for extended services have been mainstreamed into the dedicated schools grant, which is the main funding route for all maintained schools. Schools have freedom and flexibility across all their budgets and can decide what, if any, extended services such as breakfast clubs they wish to provide.
The Department does not collect information on the number of schools which choose to operate a breakfast club.
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how he plans to improve the system of per pupil funding for schools in England. [130884]
Mr Laws: The current system for funding schools is unfair and out of date. In March the Secretary of State announced our intention to introduce a new national funding formula which would redistribute funding on a fair, transparent and pupil-led basis.
It is important that we reform the system at a pace that is manageable for schools and so our intention is to simplify the local funding system from 2013-14 before introducing a national funding formula during the next spending review period.
Science: Education
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent steps his Department has taken to promote the teaching of science in schools. [130385]
Elizabeth Truss:
Science education is at the heart of the Government's key education reforms. The review of the National Curriculum aims to ensure that the new primary and secondary curricula will focus on the essential knowledge that pupils need to be taught in science. Details of the draft new primary science programmes of study were published in June 2012 and a formal consultation on both the new primary and secondary science curriculum
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content will take place in early 2013. The Department is also currently consulting on a new suite of world-class qualifications replacing GCSEs in core academic subjects, to be called English Baccalaureate Certificates (EBCs). The first teaching of EBCs in science, mathematics and English will be in 2015, with the first exams taken in 2017. The inclusion of science GCSEs in the English Baccalaureate will also help improve take-up of these important subjects.
The Department is continuing to support programmes that aim to promote better science teaching in schools. The national network of science learning centres provides science teachers and technicians with access to high- quality professional development opportunities. The Stimulating Physics Network, delivered by the Institute of Physics, aims to support better physics teaching in schools so that more pupils, particularly girls, consider studying physics at A level. The Triple Science Support Programme provides advice and support to those schools that are not currently offering GCSE triple science or that have very few pupils taking studying all three sciences.
The Department is taking action to recruit more specialist science teachers. This includes attracting the best graduates into science teaching through bursaries of up to £20,000. The Department has also teamed up with the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Chemistry to offer £20,000 scholarships to the most gifted aspiring physics and chemistry teachers.
Surveys
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department plans to publish the results of its recent survey of conditions and staff attitudes. [130849]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education is participating in the 2012 Cabinet Office People Survey, which will provide an engagement index score for the Department. In line with Cabinet Office guidelines, the results will be published on the external departmental website by 31 January 2013. In addition, the Cabinet Office will publish the results on its own website
www.data.gov.uk
Teachers: Standards
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how he plans to reward good teachers and remove bad teachers from the classroom. [130888]
Mr Laws: The Government have made it easier for schools to tackle underperformance with new appraisal and capacity arrangements. I have also asked the School Teachers' Review Body to make recommendations on how teachers pay could be more effectively linked to performance.
Tees Valley
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect on the Tees Valley's sub-regional labour market of the proposed closure of his Department's regional offices. [130489]
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Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 26 November 2012]: While the Department will leave the Mowden Hall site in Darlington, it has committed to retaining an office in the North East. We are exploring options for where this will be located and will consider the implications on labour markets as part of that process.
Justice
Community Orders
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to his Department was of community sentences for those aged (a) under 18 and (b) over 18 in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [130566]
Jeremy Wright: The information is as follows.
(a) Local authorities have a statutory duty to deliver youth justice services through youth offending teams (YOTs). The Ministry of Justice contributes to these costs by funding the Youth Justice Board, which makes youth justice grants to YOTs. This contribution represents around a third of YOT costs. The Ministry of Justice's contribution to the youth justice grant over the last four years is:
| £ million | |
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This funding covers all youth justice costs of which the delivery of community sentences is part. YOTs do not record the specific cost of community sentences within their reporting to the Youth Justice Board, so this information is not available centrally.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) spent almost £4 million on Attendance Centres, which can be a requirement of a community or suspended sentence order. These costs cover those aged under 18 years and adults.
(b) In 2011-12 the fully apportioned spend through Probation Trust budgets on Community Orders or Suspended Sentence Orders for those aged 18 years and over was £437 million. In addition, NOMS spent £47 million on electronic monitoring of curfew requirements.
This excludes central NOMS overheads and costs to other Government Departments, such as drug, alcohol and mental health treatment.
These data have been supplied by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). 2011-12 is the first year for which the spend through Probation Trust budgets can be broken down to provide a cost for Community Orders or Suspended Sentence Orders.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people sentenced to community payback in each of the last four years were aged (a) under 18, (b) 18 to 30, (c) 30 to 45 and (d) over 60. [130695]
Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the number of unpaid work requirements commenced under Community Orders, Suspended Sentence Orders and Youth Rehabilitation Orders from 2008 to 2011 (latest full year available).
| Number of unpaid work requirements commenced under Community Orders, Suspended Sentence Orders and Youth Rehabilitation Orders(1), by age, 2008 to 2011, England and Wales | ||||
| Age | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| (1 )The Youth Rehabilitation Order was introduced in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and implemented on 30 November 2009. Data were collected from 2010 onwards. | ||||
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.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people who have been placed on the community payback scheme have not completed their scheme in each year since the inception of the scheme, by probation trust. [130696]
Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the number of unpaid work requirements terminated without successful completion under community orders, suspended sentence orders and youth rehabilitation orders by probation trusts from 2005 to 2011 (latest full year available). Requirements may be terminated without reaching their successful completion due to a variety of reasons, including failure to comply with conditions, further offences being committed, or for other more ‘neutral’ reasons such as a change in the offender's circumstances or the death of the offender.
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.
| Number of unpaid work requirements terminated without successful completion under community orders, suspended sentence orders and youth rehabilitation orders(1), by probation trust, 2005 to 2011, England and Wales | |||||||
| 2005(2) | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
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| (1) The Youth Rehabilitation Order was introduced in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and implemented on 30 November 2009. Data were collected from 2010 onwards. (2) These orders were introduced for offences committed after 4 April 2005. | |||||||
Criminal Injuries Compensation: Northern Ireland
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will list the meetings where he discussed with the Northern Ireland Justice Minister the recent reforms to the Criminal Compensation Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [130994]
Mrs Grant: Ministers have not met the Northern Ireland Justice Minister about the recent reforms to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. However, there has been correspondence with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland regarding reforms to the scheme.
The then Secretary of State for Justice first wrote in January 2012, at the time that the consultation document “Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses” was published, to set out the Government's proposals for reform. He wrote again in May 2012, once the consultation responses had been considered, setting out the Government's plans for reforms to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 and the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Scheme 2012.
Drugs: Misuse
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 125W, on drugs: misuse, if he will take steps to define universally the term drug dealer in (a) his Department and (b) its associated public bodies; and if he will make a statement. [131221]
Jeremy Wright: There are no plans for the Ministry of Justice or its arm's length bodies to provide a universal definition for the term ‘drug dealer’. While there is not a statutory definition, there is a common understanding of what constitutes drug dealing, informed by the offences in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and associated legislation. As drug dealing is considered to be a form of drug supply, I consider that the statutory provisions in place are adequate.
Grants
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what grant giving programmes are operated by (a) his Department and (b) the bodies for which he is responsible; and which such programmes award grants in Scotland. [129148]
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Mrs Grant: During the financial year 2011-12, the following grant giving programmes were operated by the Ministry of Justice and other bodies for which the Secretary of State for Justice is responsible. Where these programmes award grants which affect Scotland, this has been noted.
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Prisoners: Repatriation
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of how many other EU member states are ready to implement the EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement; and by what date each member state not ready to do so expects to complete its preparations to implement the agreement. [130707]
Jeremy Wright: We are aware that 11 member states other than the UK have already implemented the EU PTA. The remaining member states are expected to implement by 2014. Further information is available on the Council of the European Union's website.
Prisons: Drugs
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the level of illegal drug use in prisons; and what steps he has taken to reduce this figure. [130784]
Jeremy Wright: Estimating the extent of a covert activity such as drug use in prisons is by nature very difficult. One measure is the proportion of prisoners testing positive under the random mandatory drug testing programme. In 2011-12, 7% of prisoners tested were positive, down from 24.4% in 1996-97.
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NOMS has a comprehensive range of measures to tackle drugs. These include drug detection dogs, procedures to tackle visitors who seek to smuggle drugs and phones into prisons, and mobile phone detection technology. NOMS is also increasing the number of drug free wings in prisons, rolling out a networked IT intelligence system and providing prisons with short-range mobile phone blockers which will help prisons prevent prisoners using mobile phones, which is often associated with drug supply.
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many searches for narcotics among the prison population resulted in finds of (a) heroin and (b) needles used for drug taking in each of the last 10 years; and how many people serving a custodial sentence tested positive for heroin use in each such year. [130788]
Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the number of seizures of heroin in prisons across England and Wales for the period 1 January to 31 December in each year requested.
| Seizures | |
The following table shows the number of needles found used for drug taking in prisons across England and Wales for the period 1 January to 31 December in each year requested.
| Authentic needles | Improvised needles | |
The following table shows the number of positive tests for opiates in prison across England and Wales for the period 1 January to 31 December in each year requested. It is important to note that the number of tests does not equal the number of prisoners tested positive as some prisoners may be tested more than once.
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NOMS tests for opiates abuse include heroin within all opiates. It is not possible to disaggregate the figure to identify heroin alone.
| Number of positive opiates tests | |
All figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.
Prisons: Drugs and Alcoholic Drinks
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners addicted to (a) heroin and (b) alcohol in each prison; [130633]
(2) how many people serving a custodial sentence died of an overdose of heroin while in prison in each of the last 10 years; [130786]
(3) how many people serving a custodial sentence participated in (a) maintenance-based and (b) abstinence-based drug treatment programmes in each of the last 10 years. [130787]
Anna Soubry: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Health.
No recent estimate has been made by the Department on the number of prisoners addicted to heroin or alcohol as a nationwide total or by prison. However, further analysis of data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners in England and Wales carried out for the Department in 1997 showed that, in the year before prison, 29% of male remand prisoners and 21% of male sentenced prisoners reported heroin use. The ONS data showed 41% of female remand prisoners and 26% of female sentenced prisoners reported heroin use.
ONS data also showed that in the 12 months before coming into prison, 30% of male sentenced prisoners and 30% of male remand prisoners reported alcohol dependency. For female prisoners, 20% of sentenced prisoners and 19% of female remand prisoners reported alcohol dependency. Alcohol dependency was measured by ONS as a score of 16 or more on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test.
Data are not collected by the Department about the number of people serving custodial sentences who died from a heroin overdose while in prison.
Data are available on the number of clinical interventions for opioid dependence since 2001 in prisons and are shown in the following table. It is only possible to
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disaggregate maintenance prescriptions from detoxifications since 2007-08 and caution should be shown when using these data because they refer to the total number of clinical interventions, not the number of prisoners receiving these treatments. Individual prisoners may receive more than one clinical intervention in any given year.
| Number of clinical interventions for opioid (heroin) dependence among prisoners in England between 2001-02 and 2011-12: Maintenance-based prescription and abstinence-based detoxification programmes, male and female all ages | |||
| Total number of in-year maintenance prescriptions | Total number of individual in-year detoxification treatments provided | Aggregate number of In-year clinical drug interventions | |
| Source: National Offender Management Service | |||
Public Expenditure
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding from the Treasury Reserve his Department received in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12. [131285]
Jeremy Wright: The Department received funding of £193.4 million in 2010-11 and £286.0 million in 2011-12 from the Treasury Reserve.
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Reoffenders
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of people given (a) community and (b) custodial sentences reoffended in each of the last four years by police force area. [130694]
Jeremy Wright: This question has been answered using the Ministry of Justice's published proven reoffending statistics for England and Wales, broken down further by police force area. These statistics are published on a quarterly basis and the latest bulletin, for the period January to December 2010, was published on 25 October 2012.
The tables show the number of adult offenders in England and Wales who were released from custody or commenced a court order, by police force area, in each year from 2007 to 2010; and the proportion that committed a proven reoffence within a one-year follow-up period (i.e. the one year proven re-offending rate).
Please note that 2010 is the latest full calendar year for which data are available.
A proven reoffence is defined as any offence committed in a one-year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one- year follow-up. Following this one-year period, a further six-month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.
Proven reoffending rates by sentence type should not be compared to assess their effectiveness as there is no control for known differences in offender characteristics.
Please note that proven reoffending statistics are available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending
| Number of adult offenders in England and Wales who were released from custody or commenced a court order, by police force area, in each year from 2007 to 2010; and the proportion that committed a proven re-offence within a one year follow-up period | ||||||
| 2007 | 2008 | |||||
| Police Force Area(1) | No. of offenders in cohort(2) | No. of re-offenders | Proportion of offenders who re-offend (%) | No. of offenders in cohort(2) | No. of re-offenders | Proportion of offenders who re-offend (%) |
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