Sickness Absence
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the average number of working days lost was per person in (a) her Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years. [133148]
Maria Miller: The average number of working days lost per person in the Government Equalities Office (GEO) in each of the last four years is set out in the following table. The GEO was established in October 2007, and therefore annual figures for 2007-08 are not available.
| Average working days lost | |
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agricultural Wages Board
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the respondents to his Department's recent consultation on the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) were (a) in favour, (b) opposed to and (c) neutral on the abolition of the AWB. [133091]
Mr Heath: The Government will publish the details of the responses to the consultation on the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales, Agricultural Wages Committees and Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committee shortly.
Animals: Exports
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage hauliers, traders and farmers to comply with his Department's policy to give preference to seeing meat (or germ plasm) exported rather than live animals. [131354]
Mr Heath: DEFRA's policy remains that we would prefer to see an export trade in meat and germ plasm rather than one in live animals. But it cannot ban the transport of livestock going to slaughter.
DEFRA continues to work with industry to promote meat and germ plasm exports. There has been significant progress made towards the shared goals as set out in our action plan ‘Driving Export Growth in the Farming, Food and Drink Sector’, published in January 2012. As part of the action plan, DEFRA aims to make exporting easier by overhauling export health certification for animal products, to improve service quality and reduce costs for businesses.
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Cats
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward legislative proposals in respect of the breeding of cats. [130265]
Mr Heath: There are no proposals to bring forward legislation to regulate the breeding of cats.
Common Agricultural Policy
Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2012, Official Report, column 303W, on the common agricultural policy, what are the proposed amendments in relation to the active farmer test which are expected to reduce implementation burdens. [133538]
Mr Heath: The European Commission's active farmer test included an income check which would require that paying agencies collect and thoroughly examine each applicant's financial records to establish whether direct payment receipts amounted to more than 5% of total income from non-agricultural activities. This income test would be prohibitively expensive and administratively complex to implement, without providing any discernable benefit to farming or the EU budget.
This Government, working closely with like-minded member states, have successfully negotiated the removal of the requirement for an income check from the presidency text. Although not yet finalised, this is good progress towards simplifying the European Commission's proposals. We will continue to work hard to secure further much-needed reductions in unnecessary bureaucracy across the whole of the common agricultural policy reform package.
Environment Protection: Publicity
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons the information, advice and links on greener living for individuals were not transferred from the directgov website to the new gov.uk website; if he will make it his policy to (a) post such information on the gov.uk website and (b) include advice on making greener food and drink choices as part of this; how he plans to ensure any such information can be found easily by members of the public; what other steps he is taking to encourage greener living; and if he will make a statement. [131001]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA has collaborated with the GOV.UK team in the Cabinet Office on the development of the new GOV.UK website. Decisions on what information did and did not transfer over from Directgov were made jointly.
A strong focus of the GOV.UK site is to present very clearly the information which Government must publish, specifically on people's legal rights and obligations. As a general rule, where Directgov had “advisory” content that was not based on law or regulation, this did not transfer over to GOV.UK. The GOV.UK site does not aim to duplicate this kind of information which people
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would be more likely to get from non-Government sources. This was supported by extensive research that the GOV.UK team carried out into people's usage of Directgov and the web in general. Visits to this kind of information on Directgov was shown to be very low. All these considerations applied in the case of the ‘Greener Living’ advice on Directgov.
Customer testing was carried out by the Government Digital Service as a key part of the process of developing the single government website. It highlighted that people are confused by the sheer volume of Government information. They simply want Government to tell them what they have to do as clearly as possible, not to offer general advice where this is not an obligation and where there are other, independent sources of information they can turn to.
DEFRA continues to work closely with a range of non-governmental organisations, civil society and businesses to continue to develop and highlight greener living choices. We do this through a range of ongoing research projects exploring, for example, new business models relating to sustainable consumption. We also fund WRAP to promote reuse and recycling of materials and encourage the reduction of waste.
To ensure we continue to communicate with the public on how to support green living principles we will use social media channels such as the DEFRA Facebook and Twitter accounts as platforms for sharing ideas and stimulating conversation.
Floods: Insurance
Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to deliver a new agreement on flood insurance when the Statement of Principles finishes in 2013. [133280]
Richard Benyon: We remain committed to ongoing discussions with the Association of British Insurers, on behalf of their members, and others about what replaces the Statement of Principles agreement. There are a range of options on the table and we need a lasting solution that ensures affordable insurance bills for those at flood risk but does not place unsustainable costs on wider policyholders and the taxpayer.
Tackling flood risk remains the most effective way of keeping insurance terms affordable in the long-term. It was announced in the autumn statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82, that an extra £120 million will be spent over the next two years (April 2013-March 2015) to accelerate around 50 flood defence projects. This combined with increasing levels of external co-funding means that over the current spending period, more will be spent on flood and coastal risk management than ever before.
Floods: Somerset
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency and other bodies able to affect water levels about their priorities for and responsibilities to farmers who have lost productive land as a result of summer flood water in the Somerset Levels and Moors. [133090]
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Richard Benyon: I met with the Minister of State, Home Department, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne), the Environment Agency, Somerset Drainage Boards, some farmers and other local people affected by the flooding on 8 November 2012.
The Environment Agency and the Somerset Drainage Boards Consortium have been working with the community to review the flooding events and, in the light of that, they are looking in detail at how flood water could be better distributed around the moors to reduce damage in future.
The Environment Agency and the Drainage Boards are considering the cost and benefits of a number of potential options and will be reporting progress to a working group in January 2013.
Food: Government Departments
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on developing Government Buying Standards for food to date. [133138]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA spent approximately £85,000 in terms of staff resources developing the Food and Catering Services Government Buying Standard (GBS) published in September 2011 and taking initial steps towards embedding this in contracts. In addition, since then there has been further work done to add a requirement to support procurement of sustainable palm oil, which involved a small additional amount of staff time. It drew on a research project on UK palm oil consumption— “Mapping & Understanding the UK Palm Oil Supply Chain and Analysis of Policy Options” commissioned to inform action on palm oil overall, which cost £56,800. An additional amount of staff resource has also been spent in procuring and publishing reports in relation to schools and hospitals to support embedding of this standard in those sectors, and in supporting the use of GBS generally within central Government.
Guide Dogs
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to widen the scope of legislation to protect assistance dogs and make an offence of an attack on an assistance dog, treating it as an attack on a person. [131135]
Mr Heath: DEFRA has proposed a package of measures aimed at tackling irresponsible dog ownership and reducing the number of dog attacks generally, including attacks on assistance dogs. DEFRA has also been working closely with the Home Office to ensure that their new measures to deal with antisocial behaviour will also include such behaviour where it involves dogs. The DEFRA proposals were subject to recent public consultation and we are finalising the analysis of the 27,000 or so responses before making an announcement on a way forward shortly.
Official Hospitality
Andrew Gwynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent for hospitality purposes on (a)
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Champagne,
(b)
wines,
(c)
spirits,
(d)
soft drinks,
(e)
flowers,
(f)
laundry,
(g)
porterage,
(h)
china,
(i)
cutlery and
(j)
venue hire since May 2010. [132877]
Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA does not record expenditure in relation to hospitality under the headings requested. The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and time.
Pay
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials in his Department in each of the last two years. [132864]
Richard Benyon: The total amount paid to core DEFRA staff in non-consolidated performance payments for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 financial years is shown in the following table:
| £ | ||
| Financial year | In year amount | End year amount |
Rivers: Repairs and Maintenance
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Environment Agency has spent on maintenance of water courses in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [132243]
Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency has assessed that the following amounts were allocated to the maintenance of water courses in each of the last five years:
| Maintenance of watercourses | |
| £ million | |
Senior Civil Servants
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of senior civil servants have left (a) his Department and (b) each of the public bodies for which he is responsible since May 2010; what the rate of turnover of senior civil servants has been in (i) his Department and (ii) each such body since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [132173]
Richard Benyon: Between 1 May 2010 and 30 November 2012, 72 senior civil servants (SCS) have left core DEFRA and its executive agencies. This represents 42% of SCS in post on 30 April 2010.
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The annualised rate of turnover of SCS during this period was 18%. Turnover is calculated from the number of leavers and the average staff in post over the period. It takes no account of whether staff were replaced or whether posts were abolished.
A breakdown by core DEFRA and each of the agencies is shown in the following table:
| Number of leavers | Leavers as proportion of SCS in post on 30 April 2010 (%) | Annualised turnover (%) | |
Staff
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) veterinary officers and veterinary inspectors, (b) animal health officers and (c) dairy hygiene inspectors were employed by his Department in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [132078]
Richard Benyon: The following tables are a snapshot of employment at 31 March 2011 and 31 March 2012:
| 31 March 2011 | ||
| Title | Sum of full-time equivalent | Sum of headcount |
| 31 March 2012 | ||
| Title | Sum of full-time equivalent | Sum of headcount |
There were 11 inspectors employed in 2010-11 and 12 inspectors employed in 2011-12 by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) who were trained to do dairy hygiene inspections as part of the cross-compliance requirements. These inspectors also undertook other inspections as well as dairy hygiene ones as part of their duties.
Whales: Conservation
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps he is taking to curtail international whaling; [133208]
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(2) what his objectives are in respect of international whaling. [133209]
Richard Benyon: The UK Government strongly oppose all types of whaling other than some limited whaling by indigenous people to meet defined subsistence needs. Our key objective is to ensure that the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling is maintained. I attended this year's IWC meeting in July to demonstrate our further aim to improve the conservation and welfare of whales and our support for the moratorium. We will continue to support proposals which bring all whaling under IWC control and an end to so called ‘scientific’ whaling.
I can assure you that the Government will continue to make our opposition to whaling known at every appropriate opportunity.
Northern Ireland
Civil Disorder
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the recent violence in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement. [133554]
Mike Penning: Recent days have witnessed attacks on police and property, and threats made to elected politicians in Northern Ireland. This Government fully support the PSNI in its efforts to tackle this threat and make communities safer, and both my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I will continue to work closely with the Chief Constable and the Minister of Justice.
There can be no excuse or justification for this thuggish and lawless behaviour. It is anti-democratic and anti-British.
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether (a) attacks on the houses of public representatives and (b) threats to public representatives in Northern Ireland are categorised by the Government as a policing issue or a matter of national security. [133555]
Mike Penning: Any attack or threat made against a public representative, irrespective of its classification, is wrong and must be condemned in the strongest possible way. The PSNI works very hard to protect all communities from any threat of attack or violence. They continue to have the unfaltering support of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers), and me.
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the involvement of Loyalist paramilitaries in the recent violence in Northern Ireland. [133556]
Mike Penning:
My right hon. Friend Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I continue to monitor the situation in Northern Ireland closely and have been in regular contact with the Chief Constable. The Police Service of Northern Ireland believes that individuals
13 Dec 2012 : Column 471W
associated with members of loyalist paramilitary organisations locally have been involved in acts of violence.
The police continue to gather evidence around the recent disorder and will be working to bring all those who participated in violence to justice.
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the level of resources provided by the UK Government to enable the Police Service of Northern Ireland to deal with threats to national security. [133557]
Mike Penning: PSNI received an additional £200 million funding from this Government to tackle the threat. It is clear that this money has been essential to drive down the threat and ensure that PSNI has the resources that it needs to protect the people of Northern Ireland.
This Government has made clear that it will stand by Northern Ireland and this is reflected in the exceptional funding provided.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Embassies
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) unpaid and (b) expense-only internships there have been in British Embassies and High Commissions in the last 12 months. [133382]
Alistair Burt: All internship and work experience programmes run at British Diplomatic Missions overseas are arranged locally. We do not hold records of these centrally. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) guidance makes clear that appointments should be made in accordance with local law and the generality of local practice, but should also follow the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much UK embassies abroad have spent on hospitality in the last 12 months. [133448]
Mr Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) undertakes a wide range of activities to establish and maintain contacts throughout its network of over 260 overseas posts. This includes meetings and events hosted for political and business delegations (including those in support of UK Trade and Industry) to promote British interests overseas.
For the period December 2011 to November 2012 inclusive, FCO expenditure on hospitality undertaken at our posts was £6,413,269. Any such spending is undertaken for business reasons, and expenditure on hospitality is kept under rigorous scrutiny to ensure value for money and effectiveness and is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money.
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Flowers
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on (a) cut flowers and (b) pot plants since May 2010. [132638]
Mr Lidington: In relation to the period between May 2010 and March 2012, I refer the hon. Member my answer of 26 March 2012, Official Report, column 978W.
An additional expenditure of £12,401 was made from March 2012-November 2012 on cut flowers, much of which resulted from Jubilee and Olympic related events.
Government Hospitality—a section within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Protocol Department—provides corporate hospitality services for the whole of Government, at Lancaster House, the FCO Fine Rooms, 1 Carlton Gardens and 10 Downing street, among other venues. It is used both for Government business hospitality and commercial hire to fee paying private clients. It hosts over 200 events each year. Government Hospitality provides semi-permanent plant displays in public areas, decorative arrangements for weekly display and individual table arrangements for lunches and dinners. Fresh flowers are only used when it is appropriate and necessary. Decisions are made on an event-by-event basis and costs are carefully monitored to ensure value for money. Much of this expenditure is reimbursed by revenues generated by the events.
There is no direct cost to the FCO for pot plants as this is included in the fixed-price element of a contract with our supplier and included in the figures given.
Macedonia
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of Macedonia's application for accession to the EU. [133249]
Mr Lidington: The UK is a firm supporter of Macedonia's bid to join the EU, once it meets all the necessary criteria. We welcomed the European Commission's latest progress report in October 2012, including its fourth successive recommendation that the EU open accession negotiations with Macedonia. We welcome the progress Macedonia has made on its reform efforts under the High Level Accession Dialogue and urge the Macedonian Government to continue with these reforms.
On 11 December 2012, the EU General Affairs Council sent a clear signal on Macedonia's EU path and concluded that it will revisit the decision whether to open accession negotiations under the next presidency, on the basis of a report by the European Commission in spring. This report will take into account further progress on the High Level Accession Dialogue, as well as steps taken to promote Good Neighbourly Relations and steps taken to seek a solution to the name issue dispute with Greece. We urge both sides to engage constructively to find a solution to the name issue as soon as possible. We look forward to discussing the possible opening of accession negotiations in the first half of next year.
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Official Hospitality
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent for hospitality purposes on (a) Champagne, (b) wines, (c) spirits, (d) soft drinks, (e) flowers, (f) laundry, (g) porterage, (h) china, (i) cutlery and (j) venue hire since May 2010. [132882]
Mr Lidington: This information is not held centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office undertakes a wide range of activities to establish and maintain contacts throughout its network of over 250 overseas posts as well as diplomatic activity in the UK to promote and defend British interests. Any such spending is undertaken for business reasons, and expenditure on business hospitality is kept under rigorous scrutiny to ensure value for money and effectiveness and is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money.
Sickness Absence
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2012, Official Report, column 814W, on sick leave, what assessment he has made of the difference in the proportion of working days lost due to ill health between officers at A1 grade and at SCS grade; and what assessment he has made of the use of mindfulness-based therapies in reducing the proportion of working days lost in his Department. [132703]
Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) takes a more rigorous approach to monitoring and reporting sick absence. The overall average sick absence rate (average working days lost—AWDL) for all grades was 4.3 days as at 31 March 2012. This is below the civil service wide average of 7.6 days, putting the Department sixth out of 29 Departments surveyed. The total number of sick days and AWDL across the FCO are both down year-on-year.
No formal assessment has been made of the difference in the proportion of working days lost due to ill health between officers at A1 grade and at senior civil service (SCS) grade. SCS figures compare favourably to Al (junior administrative staff) figures. However these figures are distorted because of a few instances of long term sick absence which have dramatically affected the statistics and in the context of—falling numbers in the grade as a result of natural reduction over the same period.
The FCO has many measures in place to tackle sick absence, supporting both officers and their managers. All long-term absences are actively managed and our health and welfare team, along with occupational health and disability support teams.
The FCO offers staff access to a Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) under a DEFRA-sponsored cross-government framework.
Turks and Caicos Islands
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to visit the Turks and Caicos Islands. [124812]
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Mark Simmonds: I visited the Turks and Caicos Islands from 26 to 28 November, my first visit to the Territory as the responsible Minister. I met with Premier Rufus Ewing. the Cabinet, the Leader of the Opposition, and House of Assembly Members. I also met with a range of religious, civic and businesses figures.
Vietnam
Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made any representations to the Government of Vietnam regarding the possible closure of the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre. [133499]
Mr Swire: The British embassy in Hanoi is aware of the threat of closure of the rescue centre. Our Chargé d’Affaires, in the ambassador's absence, joined 10 other ambassadors in writing to the Prime Minister of Vietnam, on 12 October, to express our concerns. The same group of ambassadors wrote to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural development in 2009 to voice serious concerns about bear farming in Vietnam.
The British ambassador together with approximately 30 of his staff and their families, visited the centre on 20 October to show their support for the work being done by Animals Asia to care for the 104 Moon and Sun Bears currently at the centre.
Treasury
Accounting Standards
Steve Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Financial Stability Report published by the Bank of England in November 2012, what recent assessment he has made of accounting standards which allow the overvaluing of bank assets; and if he will review his current policy on the use of such accounting standards by UK banks. [132263]
Greg Clark [holding answer 10 December 2012]: The Financial Stability Report (FSR) is published twice a year under the guidance of the interim Financial Policy Committee which brings together senior officials from the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority. The FSR covers the Committee's assessment of the outlook for the stability and resilience of the financial sector at the time of preparation of the Report, and the policy actions it advises to reduce and mitigate risks to stability.
HMT is responsible for the overall institutional structure of financial regulation and the legislation which governs it and has no operational responsibility for the activities of the FSA and the Bank.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) leads on accounting policy which is in the process of being revised internationally.
Business: Loans
Steve Rotheram:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in (a) Liverpool, (b) Manchester, (c) Newcastle, (d) Sheffield, (e) Leeds, (f) Sunderland, (g) Bristol, (h) Birmingham, (i) Southampton, (j) Brighton, (k) Canterbury and (l) Chelmsford have
13 Dec 2012 : Column 475W
received funding from the Funding for Lending scheme to date; and how much he estimates each will receive in 2013. [133073]
Greg Clark [holding answer 11 December 2012]: The Funding for Lending Scheme is aimed at boosting bank lending to households and businesses in aggregate across the UK. The Bank of England is publishing net lending data for each institution that has signed up to the scheme. Between July and September this year banks participating in the Funding for Lending Scheme have increased their net lending by £0.5 billion.
Child Benefit
Steve McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the likely average financial effect for those families who will be affected by the high income child benefit charge scheduled to take effect in 2013. [133099]
Mr Gauke: The estimated impact for the high income child benefit charge on individuals and households was published in the Tax Information and Impact Note at Budget 2012.
www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/tiin-0620.pdf
Corporation Tax: Football
Mr Sutcliffe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) for what reasons football clubs are allowed to defer corporation tax payment; [133046]
(2) how much tax revenue the Exchequer has foregone due to football and rugby clubs going into administration in the last two years. [133047]
Mr Gauke: HMRC treats football clubs as it would any other business. HMRC recognises that viable businesses may sometimes face temporary difficulties which make it impossible to do so, and provided appropriate conditions are met, it will allow customers more time to pay their tax. Each customer will have unique set of circumstances and every case is considered on its own merits.
Each insolvency event is different and the amounts of debt involved vary considerably so it is not possible to calculate how much money HMRC has lost as a result of rugby or football club administrations in the last two years. Clubs that have gone into administration may then enter a Compulsory Voluntary Arrangement and/or liquidation, both of which can take many years to achieve a final return to creditors. It is only once all insolvency procedures have concluded that the tax foregone is known.
Corporation Tax: Northern Ireland
Ms Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when he expects to make a decision on the report of the Ministerial Working Group on the devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement; [133437]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the potential devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland. [133480]
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Mr Gauke: The Joint Ministerial Working Group on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy considered a number of issues relating to the potential devolution of corporation tax powers.
These include the design of a potential devolved tax regime; the impacts on the economy and business; and the potential costs to the block grant from a reduction in the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland.
The group has reported its findings on these issues to the Prime Minister. A decision on this report will be made in due course.
European Banking Authority
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the British nominees to the European Banking Authority are. [132919]
Greg Clark [holding answer 10 December 2012]: Andrew Bailey is the UK member of the European Banking Authority's board of supervisors. He is also a member of the authority's management board.
Pensions: Tax Allowances
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of taxpayers that would be eligible for an annual pension tax relief allowance of (a) £35,000, (b) £30,000 and (c) £25,000. [133260]
Sajid Javid: Available information to accompany the Chancellor's autumn statement announcement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82, that from 2014-15 tax relief will be limited to the first £40,000 of an individual's annual pension contributions can be found in the accompanying Tax Impact and Information Note published on 11 December 2012, and available at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tiin/2012/tiin1046-1048.htm
Taxation
Mr Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Autumn Statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82, what elements comprise the additional £7 billion in tax due which is to be collected; over what period of time the additional yield will be collected; and how much of that yield he expects to collect in each year. [133547]
Mr Gauke: Reinvestment of £917 million into HMRC was announced in the 2010 spending review and covers this spending review period. It will bring in additional revenues of £4 billion this year, £5 billion in 2013-14, and £7 billion in 2014-15.
In 2014-15 we expect this re-investment to bring in around £4 billion from evasion among small businesses; £1 billion from tax avoidance and evasion among large business and wealthy individuals; £1 billion for tackling organised crime; and around £1 billion of extra debt HMRC collected. This is separate from the new investment into further tackling avoidance and evasion announced on 5 December that HMRC expects to bring in an additional £2 billion in 2014-15.
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Taxation: Football
Andrew Bingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue the Exchequer received from Premier League Football Clubs in the last year for which figures are available. [132971]
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of sums owed to the Exchequer by football clubs in the Premier League at the end of (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12; [133175]
(2) how much tax was paid to HM Revenue and Customs by Premier League football clubs in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12; [133176]
(3) how much in total Premier League football clubs owe HM Revenue and Customs. [133790]
Mr Gauke: HMRC is under a strict, statutory, duty of confidentiality and cannot comment on the tax affairs of individual businesses.
UK Membership of EU
Mr Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the net cost of UK membership of the EU in (a) the present Parliament and (b) the last Parliament. [132923]
Greg Clark [holding answer 10 December 2012]: Figures for the UK's net contribution to the EU over the period 2005-06 to 2011-12 were published in Table 3c (page 17) of ‘European Union Finances 2012’ (Cm 8405), a copy of which can be found in the House Library, and also available online at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/eu_finances_2012.pdf
Forecasts of contributions to the EU were published by the OBR on 5 December 2012. This can be found in table 2.19 of ‘Economic and Fiscal Outlook Supplementary Tables’ at:
http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-december-2012/
Welfare Tax Credits
Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to paragraph 1.169 of the Autumn Statement, what the estimated cost is of changing the information technology to allow debt from an individual's old tax credit award to be recovered through their current tax credit award. [133156]
Sajid Javid: HMRC is not able to disclose this information since it is commercially sensitive.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices: Ethnic Groups
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to increase the number of apprentices from an ethnic minority background. [133442]
13 Dec 2012 : Column 478W
Matthew Hancock: I am keen to increase diversity within apprenticeships because I am clear that apprenticeships provide a great opportunity for people from all backgrounds to develop valuable knowledge and skills. Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year show that 9.8% of people starting an apprenticeship described themselves as having a black, Asian or minority ethnic background but there is an opportunity to make apprenticeships a more attractive option for those who have not yet engaged with the programme.
The National Apprenticeship Service recently published an evaluation of 16 Diversity in Apprenticeships Pilots which explored local initiatives to increase the accessibility of apprenticeships. One pilot based in Oldham, Leicester and Bradford focused on encouraging more young people from black, Asian and other minority groups to become apprentices. The National Apprenticeship Service is currently exploring ways to implement key lessons from the pilots. The evaluation can be found on the National Apprenticeship Service website:
http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Partners/Policy/Diversity-Pilots.aspx
The National Apprenticeship Service has recently commissioned research to explore apprenticeships and engagement with people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Apprentices: Worcestershire
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships have been created in (a) Worcestershire and (b) Redditch since the start of the Government apprenticeship scheme. [133275]
Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts in Worcestershire local education authority and Redditch parliamentary constituency are published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR):
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/87E140BF-810D-4C48-A5C1-9C8B84B46117/0/October2012_Apprenticeship_Starts.xls
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/
The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
Conditions of Employment
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of civil servants in his Department have requested (a) part-time, (b) job-share or (c) other flexible working arrangements in each of the last five years; and how many such requests were granted. [132742]
Jo Swinson [holding answer 10 December 2012]:The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was created on Friday 5 June 2009 from the merger of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) which ceased to exist from that date.
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Records are not held centrally for the predecessor Departments, or within BIS, about requests made to work flexibly or to change working hours or arrangements. However the 2011 People Survey results showed that 59% of employees feel they
“achieve a good balance between their work life and their private life”.
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which of the educational exceptions contained in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 are applicable to educational uses of digital images of designs. [133315]
Jo Swinson: The exceptions in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 only relate to copyright works. If a design is also protected by copyright, then the key exceptions applicable to educational uses of digital images for such works are those contained in sections: 29 (research and private study); 30 (criticism and review); and 32 (things done for purposes of instruction or examination). Separate provisions relating to the use of designs in teaching can be found in the Registered Designs Act 1949.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment on the potential effects of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 on educational establishments and educators (a) generally and (b) who teach design and design history. [133316]
Jo Swinson: The Government have no plans to assess the potential effects on educational establishments and educators and those who teach design and design history but will consult on transitional provisions.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the proposed repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 will be subject to the Government's one-in, one-out policy. [133317]
Jo Swinson: This measure is not subject to the Government's One-In One-Out policy as it brings UK legislation into scope with EU legislation. All EU regulation is out of scope of "One-In One-Out".
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Debts: Advisory Services
Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had on developing a debt management plan protocol; and when such a protocol is likely to be implemented. [133054]
Jo Swinson: On 21 November I met with the group from all sides of this industry that have been working with officials on a voluntary code strong enough to take standards in the industry over those required by the Office of Fair Trading. Any protocol that results from this work should be seen as a first step in the process to improve the landscape for consumers in the consumer credit environment.
Further Education: Inspections
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether it is a requirement for education provision for adults to be inspected as part of an inspection of a further education college. [133136]
Matthew Hancock: As part of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, it is a requirement for the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) to inspect the whole further education provision of a further education college. This includes provision for 14 to 16, 16 to 18 and 19+ learners where applicable. Ofsted inspects further education colleges to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the provision of education and training in meeting the needs of its learners as a whole.
Graduates: Employment
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students who had attended universities in Birmingham have gone on to find work within one year of leaving their respective institutions in each of the last five academic years. [133095]
Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects data on the destinations of graduates six months after qualifying through the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey. The proportions of UK and other EU first degree graduates in work six months after leaving Higher Education Institutions in Birmingham in the academic years 2006/07 to 2010/11 are shown in the following table.
| Full-time first degree graduates(1) employed(2) six months after leaving, UK Higher Education Institutions, academic years 2006/07 to 2010/11 | |||||
| Proportion in work (percentage) | |||||
| Higher Education Institution | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 |
| (1) Covers first degree graduates domiciled in the UK and other EU countries prior to their course. (2) Covers graduates employed in full-time, part-time and voluntary work. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Survey | |||||
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Higher Education: Finance
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding the Higher Education Funding Council allocated for capital investment (a) in total at all universities in England, (b) per individual university in London and (c) per individual university in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [132084]
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Mr Willetts: The following table contains the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) capital allocations including the teaching capital investment fund (TCIF) and the research capital investment fund (RCIF) by English institution in each of the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13, and includes the totals allocated in each of those years to all English higher education institutions.
| Capital investment split by individual HEI | |||
| Financial year | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
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The following table contains the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) capital allocations that include the teaching capital investment fund (TCIF) and the research capital investment fund (RCIF) to Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in London in each of the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
| Capital investment at London HEIs | |||
| Financial year | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
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HEFCE is also responsible for administering the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, through which £220 million of research capital has so far been allocated to 14 projects over the period 2012-15. Higher education institutes across the UK also benefit from research capital provided as part of grant and programme funding from the research councils.
Manufacturing Industries
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many bids were received to round one of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative. [133562]
Michael Fallon: 32 bids were received in Round One of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative with a total funding ask of over £90 million.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what date successful bidders to round one of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative will receive the funds. [133563]
Michael Fallon: We expect that the Round One projects which have already successfully completed due diligence will begin drawing down their funding by the end of this month. The remainder can expect to receive their funding next year as soon as they have satisfied the due diligence requirements.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) benchmarks and (b) targets he has set for completion of due diligence by successful bidders to round one of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative. [133564]
Michael Fallon: The due diligence process is being managed by Finance Birmingham on behalf of Birmingham city council, who are the accountable authority. Due diligence has been completed or is in progress for the majority of successful Round One projects. In those instances where successful applicants have yet to provide their agreement for due diligence to begin, Finance Birmingham have given them until the end of this month to sign the necessary documentation or risk losing their funding allocation.
Sunday Trading
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what recent research his Department (a) has conducted and (b) plans to conduct on the likely effect on shops of under 3,000 square feet of changes to the Sunday Trading Act 1994; and if he will make a statement; [131604]
(2) what assessment he has made of the rights of shop workers who have a conscientious objection to working on a Sunday; and if he will make a statement; [131605]
(3) what representations he has received on Sunday trading from (a) trades unions, (b) retail organisations and (c) other groups since September 2012; and if he will make a statement; [131606]
(4) what plans he has to produce a post-legislative report on the operation of the Sunday Trading (London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) Act 2012; and if he will make a statement. [131607]
Jo Swinson: The Government have consistently stated that the relaxation of Sunday trading regulations during the Olympic period was a temporary measure and that there are no plans permanently to relax these restrictions. If the Government should ever decide to look at a permanent relaxation of these regulations then a full impact assessment, including the impact on small shops, would be carried out.
In terms of gathering evidence about the effects of the temporary relaxation, I refer to the answer given by the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), to the hon. Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson), on 11 September 2012, Official Report, column 215W. In the first half of the deregulatory period during the Olympics most of the large retailers who responded to the Department's request for information reported increases in sales compared to Sundays before deregulation, although one reported no change. The increases varied from small to significant. In the second half of the period during the Paralympics a few large retailers reported a small increase in sales.
The ONS made an analysis of small retailers in Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Portsmouth and Liverpool who reported their sales during the deregulatory period (the Office for National Statistics will be publishing this analysis shortly). The five towns and cities were chosen as large urban areas without significant Olympic events. In summary, changes in sales over the period comparing August with June 2012 varied by size of small retailer with the larger ones reporting increased sales while smaller ones saw decreased sales:
Retailers with turnover between £500,000 and £1 million reported an increase in revenue of 0.4%.
Retailers with turnover between £250,000 and £500,000 reported a decrease in revenue of 5.8%.
The very smallest retailers with annual turnover of less than £250,000 reported an average fall in revenue of 2%.
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The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received 91 representations on Sunday trading since September 2012. I regret that further information is not available in the form requested and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.