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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 10 January 2013
International Development
Developing Countries: Malnutrition
Sir Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department plans to take to reduce childhood (a) stunting and (b) wasting. [135079]
Lynne Featherstone: The coalition Government have committed to reach 20 million pregnant women and children under the age of five over the period 2010-15 through nutrition related programmes. For example, in Bangladesh, the UK is reaching 243,000 adolescent girls, 103,500 pregnant women and 225,000 children under the age of five by combining interventions to tackle extreme poverty with measures to tackle stunting. In addition, tackling undernutrition in young children and their mothers is a key part of the UK's response to humanitarian emergencies.
The Prime Minister recently confirmed that the UK will continue to lead the battle against hunger in 2013, with a food and nutrition event a few days before the G8 summit.
Developing Countries: Renewable Energy
Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to support and encourage the use of renewable energy sources in developing countries. [135085]
Lynne Featherstone: The Department for International Development (DFID) is encouraging developing countries to adopt renewable energy sources through a combination of financial and policy support.
Financial support is delivered primarily through the International Climate Fund (ICF). The ICF was established in 2011 to deliver on the UK's commitment to build resilience and capacity in developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This was reiterated by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), in Doha in December 2012. For example, with ICF support, the multilateral Climate Investment Funds are helping 48 developing countries to pilot low-emission and climate-resilient development, including through the development of renewable energy sources.
Our policy support focuses on helping countries to accelerate their transition to cleaner forms of energy and creating the enabling conditions for private sector investment. For example through the Low Emissions Development Strategies (LEDS) initiative we are helping countries to plan for, and attract investment in, low carbon infrastructure, including renewable energy. The UK is also a supporter of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, launched by the UN Secretary-General.
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This reflects the increasing global recognition of the need to expand energy access to poor people, while also increasing the use of renewable energy.
Employment Agencies
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total spending on recruitment agencies by her Department was in each month from July to December 2012. [135231]
Mr Duncan: During July to December 2012 the total cost of recruitment agencies used by DFID, in each month, was:
| 2012 | |
| Month | Recruitment agency spend (£) |
| (1) Not all spending has as yet been processed for December. | |
This figure represents the total paid to recruitment agencies. These payments were for the services of temporary staff and included both payments to the individual and a fee to the recruitment agency. It is not possible to disaggregate this figure.
Independent Commission for Aid Impact
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact. [135934]
Justine Greening: In 2013, a review of Independent Commission Aid Impact will take place as mandated by the Cabinet Office as part of its Triennial Review programme for all non-departmental public bodies.
Procurement
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the monetary value was of contracts awarded by her Department to (a) management consultancies and (b) IT companies in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement. [135175]
Mr Duncan: DFID awarded contracts worth £675,000 for administrative consultancy in financial year 2011-12, down from £1.4 million in 2010-11. This reduction in spending was due to the Department's implementation of central Government controls on spending from May 2010 onwards.
DFID awarded one contract to an IT company in 2011-12. This was awarded to Midland HR for work on DFID's human resources processes and systems upgrade. The total value of the contract was £600,000. No contracts were awarded to IT companies in 2010-11.
This information relates to contracts awarded by DFID's corporate procurement team. To provide information from our overseas offices or on low value contracts (under £103,000) would incur a disproportionate cost.
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Redundancy
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many civil service posts have been made redundant by her Department in each year since 1999; and what the cost of redundancies has been in each such year. [135497]
Mr Duncan: When a civil servant role ends, employees are given the opportunity for redeployment before a paid exit is considered. Voluntary exits are also used to mitigate the number of redundancies.
The following table shows the number of staff whose paid early exit was approved by DFID under the provisions of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS). Data for years prior to 2002-03 are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Number of departures | Cost (£ million) | |
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many posts have been declared redundant by each of her Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1999; and what has been the cost of those redundancies. [135498]
Mr Duncan: There have been no redundancies in DFID’s non-departmental public bodies since 1999.
Redundancy Pay
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total amount of redundancy pay paid to civil servants in her Department was in each month from July to December 2012. [135229]
Mr Duncan: When a civil service role ends, employees are given the opportunity for redeployment before a paid exit is considered. Voluntary exits are also used to mitigate the number of redundancies.
The total amount of redundancy pay paid to DFID employees in each month from July to December 2012 is detailed in the following table. These costs include compensation paid for voluntary exit, voluntary redundancy and compulsory redundancy.
| Cost (£) | |
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Temporary Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what amount her Department spent on interim staff as defined by the National Audit Office in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement. [135176]
Mr Duncan: DFID records the total cost of contingent labour, which for 2010-11 was £1,363,023 and for 2011-12 was £1,196,234. Contingent labour, as defined by the Cabinet Office, includes “agency (clerical and admin), interim manager and specialist contractors”.
The details can be found on DFID's website :
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/Workforce-Management-Information/
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many temporary staff have been recruited in her Department in each month from July to December 2012. [135230]
Mr Duncan: The number of temporary staff (defined by the Office for National Statistics as staff who have a fixed term contract of 12 months or less or are employed on a casual basis) recruited by DFID in each month from July to December 2012 is shown in the following table:
| 2012 | |
| Month | Number of temp staff recruited |
UNICEF
Sir Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of aid funding provided by her Department is given to UNICEF. [135292]
Mr Duncan: In the financial year 2011-12 the UK Government provided £189 million to UNICEF. This was made up of £40 million in voluntary core funding to UNICEF while the remainder was for specific projects and programmes. This represented 2.4% of the aid budget for the Department for International Development.
UNICEF was evaluated as very good value for money in the DFID Multilateral Aid review.
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Wales
Employment Agencies
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the total spending on recruitment agencies by his Department was in each month from July to December 2012. [135246]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office has spent the following amounts on recruitment agency fees over each of the following months:
| £ | |
Food Banks
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the name and location of each food bank he has visited since May 2010. [136219]
Mr David Jones: Details of all meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis on the Wales Office website.
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of food banks established in Wales in each of the last five years. [136287]
Mr David Jones: The Government do not collate or hold numbers of food banks established in Wales in each of the last five years.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), through Jobcentre Plus, operates a simple signposting process to food banks in Wales and across Great Britain. This builds on the Jobcentre Plus standard practice of holding, locally, the details of organisations that may be able to help claimants with concerns that are outside the remit of the DWP. Jobcentre Plus will only signpost claimants to food banks if there is no help available through DWP.
Olympic Games 2012
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which events at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were attended by each Minister in his Department using tickets or passes for which they did not pay personally; and what the cost was of attending each such event for members of the public who used comparable seats or had comparable access. [135650]
Mr David Jones: The Government pledged to publish these details following the Olympic and Paralympic games and will do so shortly.
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Procurement
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the monetary value was of contracts awarded by his Department to (a) management consultancies and (b) IT companies in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [135186]
Stephen Crabb: In 2010-11, the Wales Office awarded a management consultancy contract in the amount of £6,870.85.
During financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12, the Wales Office awarded a contract for IT Hosting and Support for our website at a value of £6,936 per annum.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many civil servants in his Department regularly deal with procurement services. [135734]
Redundancy
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many civil service posts have been made redundant by his Department in each year since 1999; and what the cost of redundancies has been in each such year. [135503]
Stephen Crabb: There have been no redundancies since the establishment of the Wales Office in 1999.
Redundancy Pay
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the total amount of redundancy pay paid to civil servants in his Department was in each month from July to December 2012. [135244]
Temporary Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what amount his Department spent on interim staff as defined by the National Audit Office in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [135187]
Stephen Crabb: The amount spent on interim staff in the financial year 2010-11 was £5,913.90. In the financial year 2011-12, the amount spent was £30,298.06. These figures comprise agency-provided staff salaries, agency fees, and VAT.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many temporary staff have been recruited in his Department in each month from July to December 2012. [135245]
Stephen Crabb: Two temporary members of staff have been recruited during this time; one in November and one in December 2012.
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Transport
Bus Services: Concessions
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many recipients of the free bus pass there were in each income decile; and what the cost to the public purse was for each such decile in the latest period for which figures are available. [135190]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not have the information to be able to present concessionary pass uptake in each income decile. However, the following tables from the National Travel Survey (NTS) show pass uptake and concessionary bus boardings made by six income groups:
| Table 1—Take-up of older person's concessionary travel pass by household income: England, 2008-10 | |
| Household income: | Take-up rate (%) |
| Table 2—Average number of bus boardings using an older person's concessionary pass by household income: England, 2008-10 | |
| Household income | Bus boardings per pass holder per year |
| Note 1—Figures are based on data from three NTS survey years combined (2008, 2009 and 2010). Note 2—These figures do not take into consideration the concessionary travel changes which took place in April 2010 and all individuals 60+ have been included in the eligibility base for all years. | |
Local authorities must reimburse bus operators such that the operator is left no better and no worse off for taking part in the concessionary travel scheme. The calculation of the reimbursement amount due does not consider the household income of each concessionary passholder who boards a bus. Therefore, it is not possible to break down spend on concessionary travel into income deciles. In 2011/12 the average reimbursement cost per concessionary journey was 84 pence.
Driving Under Influence
Mrs Moon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has given consideration to including questions on alcohol consumption and the drink driving limit in
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the driving theory test; and if he will make a statement. [135637]
Stephen Hammond: The driving theory test already contains questions about the effects of alcohol and drugs on a person's ability to drive. The test does not contain questions about the legal drink driving limits as the Highway Code advises drivers not to drink any alcohol when planning to drive.
Equality
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of staff in his Department have received training in equality and diversity and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in the last three years. [135353]
Norman Baker: The proportion of staff in the Department for Transport and its six executive agencies who have received training in equality and diversity and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in the last three years is 66%.
Procurement
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the monetary value was of contracts awarded by his Department to (a) management consultancies and (b) IT companies in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [135182]
Norman Baker: The monetary value of contracts awarded by the central Department and its agencies for management consultancies and IT companies in 2010-11 and 2011-12 is as follows:
| Apr 10 to Mar 11 | April 11 to Mar 12 | |
The reason for the large increase in IT companies spend is due to two large refreshed contracts being procured by the Highways Agency, including one for £57m which is on a seven year cycle.
Redundancy
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Civil Service posts have been made redundant by his Department in each year since 1999; and what the cost of redundancies has been in each such year. [135489]
Norman Baker: The number of Civil Service posts made redundant by the central Department in each year since 1999 is not fully available. The table below details the redundancies and associated costs which have been made since 2006/7 which are the first available data held by the Department.
| Redundant posts/cost | 2006/7 | 2007/8 | 2008/9 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | |
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Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many posts have been declared redundant by each of his Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1999; and what the cost of those redundancies has been. [135490]
Norman Baker:
The number of posts declared redundant by each of the Department for Transport's executive
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agencies and non-departmental public bodies are set out in the following table. The Department is unable to supply full details before 2006 except at disproportionate cost.
| Redundant posts / Cost | 2006/7 | 2007/8 | 2008/9 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | |
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Sickness Absence
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2012, Official Report, column 149W, on sick leave, if he will make an assessment of the contribution mindfulness-based practice can make to reducing work place stress and staff absences in his Department. [136197]
Norman Baker: We have no plans to make an assessment of the contribution mindfulness-based practice can make to reducing work place stress and staff absences in the Department.
Defence
AirTanker
Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was paid to AirTanker under the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft contract to provide air-to-air refuelling flights for RAF aircraft using buddy tanks in the last financial year. [136015]
Dr Murrison: The RAF has no requirement for Voyager to undertake air-to-air refuelling using “buddy tanks”. There have been no payments to AirTanker this year for air-to-air refuelling.
Armed Forces
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration his Department has given to providing the Adaptable Force, as set out under the Army 2020 reforms, with access to communication and survey suites for training purposes; and if he will make a statement. [135414]
Dr Murrison: The Adaptable Force, as envisaged under Army 2020, will deliver a diverse set of capabilities from both the Regular Army and Reservists. The capabilities and their training requirements are currently being developed. However, these will be appropriate to the role and readiness criteria required from theAdaptable Force.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) lieutenants, (b) sub-lieutenants, (c) midshipmen, (d) officer cadets, (e) chief petty officers, (f) petty officers, (g) leading rates and (h) able rates are serving in the Royal Navy; and how many naval personnel of each rank are on each pay scale level. [136248]
Mr Francois: The information requested will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) captains, (b) lieutenants, (c) 2nd lieutenants, (d) warrant officers, (e) staff sergeants, (f) sergeants, (g) corporals, (h) lance corporals and (i) privates are serving in the British Army (i) in total and (ii) serving in Afghanistan; and how many army personnel of each rank are on each pay scale level (A) in total and (B) in Afghanistan. [136249]
Mr Francois: The information relating to the total number of Army personnel at the specified rank and in each pay scale will be placed in the Library of the House.
Although the number of military posts established in Afghanistan has been reduced to 9,000, the precise number of personnel in Afghanistan fluctuates on a daily basis for a variety of reasons. This will include mid-tour rest and recuperation, temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces, visits and a range of other factors. We do not, therefore, publish actual figures for personnel deployed.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) flight lieutenants, (b) pilot officers, (c) flying officers, (d) chief technicians, (e) sergeants, (f) corporals, (g) junior technicians, (h) senior aircraftmen and (i) aircraftmen are serving in the Royal Air Force (i) in total and (ii) serving in Afghanistan; and how many air force personnel of each rank are on each pay scale level (A) in total and (B) in Afghanistan. [136250]
Mr Francois: A copy of the information requested for total RAF personnel numbers will be placed in the Library of the House.
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Although the number of military posts established in Afghanistan has been reduced to 9,000, the precise number of personnel in Afghanistan fluctuates on a daily basis for a variety of reasons. This will include mid-tour rest and recuperation, temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces, visits and a range of other factors. We do not, therefore, publish actual figures for personnel deployed.
Armed Forces: Disciplinary Proceedings
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of HM armed forces sentenced for detention at the Military Corrective Training Centre were (a) returned to their units to continue their sentence and (b) dismissed from the service in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [136293]
Mr Francois: The Military Corrective Training Centre is a tri-service detention facility, not a prison, under Army command for armed forces personnel and, occasionally, civilians who are subject to service law. It holds male and female detainees who have been sentenced at summary hearing by their commanding officer or at court martial for a period of detention of between 14 days and two years. The centre is also capable of holding persons in safe custody on remand or pending their discharge to serve a period of imprisonment in a civil prison.
The numbers of individuals returned to their units or discharged over the last five years are provided in the following table:
| Discharge | Returned to unit | |
| Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. | ||
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on returning to their units members of HM armed forces sentenced for detention at the Military Corrective Training Centre; and if he will make a statement. [136294]
Mr Francois: There is no specified policy on returning armed forces personnel who serve a period of detention at the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) to their units. Each individual is dealt with on a case by case basis. In general however, those personnel who are being retained in service on completion of their sentence will be returned to their own unit but in cases where the nature of the offence or some other factor makes this inappropriate, they will be sent to another unit. For those personnel who are not being retained, either because they are to be dismissed as part of their sentence, or their Commanding Officer has been given authority to administratively discharge them, they will be discharged as soon as practicable on completion of their sentence. That may be directly from MCTC or if there are outstanding administrative matters at their unit, they may be returned there to be discharged.
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Armed Forces: Redundancy
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people from the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force have been given redundancy notice within one year of their immediate pension point since May 2010. [134663]
Mr Francois [holding answer 20 December 2012]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), on 4 July 2012, Official Report, column 679W, to the hon. Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell). Because of the complexity of pensions calculations, the exact number of non-applicant service personnel who fall into this category would require a manual analysis of the records of those selected for redundancy, which could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost. However we now estimate that for tranches 1 and 2 the figure is below 70, rather than the previously estimated 80.
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many members of HM armed forces sentenced for detention at the Military Corrective Training Centre have been selected for compulsory redundancy (a) while undergoing their sentence and (b) while having been returned to their unit to continue their sentence in the last 12 months; [136291]
(2) what guidance his Department gives to those selecting armed forces personnel for compulsory redundancy on references in service records to having served a sentence at the Military Corrective Training Centre; and if he will make a statement. [136292]
Mr Francois: Departmental records indicate that no service person undergoing sentence at the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) was selected for compulsory redundancy while undergoing sentence in the last 12 months. Service personnel are not returned to their unit before completion of their sentence so none were selected for redundancy in this category either.
The guidance given to the single services when selecting personnel for redundancy was that discipline records could form a part of the selection process for redundancy. References to having served a sentence at the MCTC would not, in themselves, determine a redundancy selection decision.
Employment Agencies
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total spending on recruitment agencies by his Department was in each month from July to December 2012. [135207]
Mr Francois:
External recruitment to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for grades below the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is carried out by Defence Business Services Civilian HR. Where external recruitment for SCS posts is required, recruitment agencies may be asked to carry out an initial search for suitable candidates. In the months in question, the MOD spent the following amounts on
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recruitment agency fees as well as the associated costs for advertising and assessment in connection with SCS level recruitment:
| £ | |
All figures are inclusive of VAT.
HMS Vigilant
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what representations he has received from the Welsh Government in respect of his Department's assessment of the casualty rate in West Wales consequent on any Trident-related accident in Milford Haven; [136317]
(2) what assessment he has made of the casualty rates in West Wales consequent on any Trident-related accident in Milford Haven. [136318]
Mr Francois: I am not aware of any assessment having been made by the Ministry of Defence of the potential effect on casualty rates in West Wales consequent on any Trident-related accident in Milford Haven nor of any representation having been received from the Welsh Government in respect of such an assessment.
Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes there have been to the originally planned methods of mid-air refuelling the F35-B; and if he will make a statement. [136133]
Dr Murrison: There have been no changes in the method of mid-air refuelling planned for use by the UK on the F35-B. The F35-B is fitted with an integral air-to-air refuelling probe and will conduct airborne refuelling in the same way as existing UK combat aircraft from suitably equipped air refuelling aircraft.
Lost Property
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the total value of loss was from (a) COD Donnington, (b) COD Bicester, (c) HMNB Clyde, (d) HMNB Portsmouth, (e) ACIO Colchester and (f) HMNB Devonport in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement; [135296]
(2) what the total value was of items classified as trivial losses at (a) COD Donnington, (b) COD Bicester, (c) HMNB Clyde, (d) HMNB Portsmouth, (e) ACIO Colchester and (f) HMNB Devonport in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement. [135298]
Dr Murrison: This information is not held centrally and will take time to collate. A letter will be sent to the hon. Member as soon as this task has been completed.
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Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 619W, on Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency, what the investigation responsibilities of the Royal Military Police are; and if he will make a statement. [135957]
Mr Francois: The service police (the Royal Military Police in respect of the Army, the Royal Navy Police and the Royal Air Force Police) are responsible for conducting independent and effective investigations in order to establish the facts surrounding an allegation and determine if a service offence has been committed. Service offences include criminal or non-criminal conduct offences, as outlined in the Armed Forces Act 2006.
If the service police believe there is sufficient evidence to charge a person with a service offence, they must refer the case to a commanding officer or, for more serious matters, the independent Service Prosecuting Authority. It is their role to determine what charges, if any, should be brought
Olympic Games 2012
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which events at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were attended by each Minister in his Department using tickets or passes for which they did not pay personally; and what the cost was of attending each such event for members of the public who used comparable seats or had comparable access. [135654]
Mr Francois: The Government pledged to publish these details following the Olympic and Paralympic Games and will do so shortly.
Procurement
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the monetary value was of contracts awarded by his Department to (a) management consultancies and (b) IT companies in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [135163]
Dr Murrison: The monetary value of Ministry of Defence (MOD) consultancy contracts awarded since April 2010 is shown in the following table. Contracts awarded by MOD agencies and trading funds are included in this figure, but contracts awarded under the Framework Agreement for Technical Support and those classified by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation as principal service providers are excluded; these contracts are not defined as consultancy services.
The monetary value of contracts awarded to IT companies in a given financial year could be provided only at disproportionate cost. MOD central contract records do not distinguish between IT and telecommunications services.
| Value of consultancy contracts awarded | |
| Financial year | Value of consultancy contracts awarded (£ million) |
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Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many procurement officers are currently employed by his Department; [135687]
(2) how many civil servants in his Department regularly deal with procurement services; [135688]
(3) how many procurement officers in his Department have relevant procurement qualifications. [135689]
Dr Murrison: Ministry of Defence (MOD) procurement activity ranges from the purchase of low value consumable items through to complex equipment acquisition and support. Information on the number of military and civilian personnel in the MOD that are involved in some form of procurement activity is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The MOD currently has around 1,200 staff in the commercial function whose specific role is to manage negotiations and contracts with suppliers, although this is undertaken as part of wider multidisciplinary teams that include other specialists in areas such as project management, engineering, finance and logistics.
Commercial staff must demonstrate the necessary levels of functional competence and experience to be licensed and receive a formal commercial delegation. In addition, the MOD is running a commercial skills programme to supplement this with externally recognised, formal qualifications. Some 47% of MOD commercial staff currently hold qualifications at various professional levels of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. This figure is anticipated to rise to 60% by April 2013 and to around 75% by 2015.
Redundancy
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many civil service posts have been made redundant by his Department in each year since 1999; and what has been the cost of redundancies in each such year; [135464]
(2) how many posts have been declared redundant by each of his Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1999; and what has been the cost of those redundancies in each such year. [135465]
Mr Francois: The Ministry of Defence does not make posts or positions redundant. The number of civil servants made redundant in the MOD, including those from executive agencies, since 1999 is set out in the following table:
| Headcount | |||
| Compulsory/voluntary redundancy | |||
| Financial year | MOD Main | Trading Funds | Total |
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| (1) Denotes 0 or numbers of 1 to 5 which have been rounded to 0. Notes: 1. Headcount is a measure of the size of the work force that counts all people equally regardless of their hours of work. 2. The figures above relate to permanent and casual MOD Main and Trading Fund personnel only. Excluded are all Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and locally engaged civilian (LEC) personnel. 3.Where rounding has been used, totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not equal the sums of their rounded parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in ‘5’ have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. | |||
When a civil service role ends this does not necessarily result in the offer of a paid exit. The individual occupying the post will normally be redeployed to another role.
The costs for all forms of exit over the whole period in question are not available in the form requested. The costs against the relevant compensation schemes for the last three years, covering both service and civilian personnel (including those from executive agencies), are published in the Departmental Annual Report and Accounts as follows:
| £ million | |||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
Staff of non-departmental public bodies are not directly employed by the MOD and the information requested is not held centrally.
Redundancy Pay
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total amount of redundancy pay paid to civil servants in his Department was in each month from July to December 2012. [135205]
Mr Francois: The arrangements governing the payment of compensation to the vast majority of Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servants are laid down in the rules of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. Such compensation is paid to those who leave on voluntary exit and on redundancy, whether voluntary or compulsory. The MOD's aim is, so far as possible, to make workforce reductions on a voluntary basis and to use compulsory redundancy only where voluntary means fail. During the months of July to November 2012, a total of 2,212 civil servants left the MOD with compensation payments under the current early release scheme. The total monthly costs of compensation are shown in the following table.
| Compensation | |
| £ million | |
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The figures for December 2012 are not yet available.
Temporary Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what amount his Department spent on interim staff as defined by the National Audit Office in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [135164]
Mr Francois: The following figures include the salary payments to civilian casual employees who are temporarily recruited under civil service recruitment procedures and contracted payments for civilian manpower substitutes who are temporarily appointed through recruitment agencies.
| £ | ||
| Financial year | Amount spent on civilian casual staff | Amount spent on contracted civilian manpower substitutes (inc VAT) |
The 2009-10 figure for manpower substitution is higher because new contracts were let in 2008, 2009 and 2010 so that a greater variety of manpower could be recruited via contract rather than by local arrangements in order to reduce costs.
Scotland
Olympic Games 2012
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which events at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were attended by each Minister in his Department using tickets or passes for which they did not pay personally; and what the cost was of attending each such event for members of the public who used comparable seats or had comparable access. [135647]
David Mundell: The Government pledged to publish these details following the Olympic and Paralympic Games and will do so shortly.
Overseas Trade
Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on steps to promote the export of Scottish produce overseas. [135700]
David Mundell: This Government are committed to supporting UK business and products, including from Scotland, around the world. The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), is in regular and frequent contact with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), on matters relating to the promotion of Scottish exports.
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In order to focus specifically on support for Scottish exports, the Secretary of State also appointed Brian Wilson to undertake a review, involving BIS and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), of the support provided by the UK and Scottish Governments for Scottish exporters.
Redundancy
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many civil service posts have been made redundant by his Department in each year since 1999; and what the cost of redundancies has been in each such year. [135491]
David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly and consequently has incurred no costs in respect of redundancies during this period. All staff that join the office do so on an assignment, secondment or loan agreement from other Government bodies but principally from the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice.
Northern Ireland
Olympic Games 2012
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which events at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were attended by each Minister in her Department using tickets or passes for which they did not pay personally; and what the cost was of attending each such event for members of the public who used comparable seats or had comparable access. [135646]
Mrs Villiers: The Government pledged to publish these details following the Olympic and Paralympic Games and will do so shortly.
Procurement
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the monetary value was of contracts awarded by her Department to (a) management consultancies and (b) IT companies in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement. [135179]
Mike Penning: The monetary value of contracts awarded by my Department to management consultants was as follows:
2010-11: Nil
2011-12: £12,196 (excluding VAT)
My Department did not award any contracts to IT companies in 2010-11 or 2011-12.
Health
Care Homes
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the availability of residential care home places in (a) Birmingham, (b) the west midlands and (c) England. [135055]
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Norman Lamb: We are informed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that it does not hold information on the number of residential care home places, as this does not relate to the information it collects as part of its registration activity.
The CQC registers care and nursing homes under the regulated activity “accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care”. The CQC registers all homes against this regulated activity, but will place a condition on registration if a home does not provide nursing care.
As such, the CQC refers to care homes that are registered to provide nursing care—these are “care homes with nursing”, and those that are not—these are “care homes without nursing”. In practice, if a care home is not registered to provide nursing care, the service is likely to be residential. However, some services that are registered to provide nursing care may also provide residential accommodation.
The following table shows the total numbers of registered places in care homes in Birmingham, the west midlands and England.
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| Area | Total registered care home places | Places in homes not registered to provide nursing care |
| Source: CQC database, 5 December 2012 | ||
Employment Agencies
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total spending on recruitment agencies by his Department was in each month from July to December 2012. [135225]
Dr Poulter: The following table sets out information from the Department's central procurement system on core departmental spend on recruitment agencies from July to December 2012.
| 2012 | |||||||
| Supplier name | July | August | September | October | November | December | Grand total |
The following table sets out information on Connecting for Health spend on recruitment agencies from July to December 2012.
| 2012 | |||||||
| Supplier name | July | August | September | October | November | December | Grand total |
Health: Children
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of trends in children's life satisfaction in each year since 1997; [135907]
(2) what assessment he has made of the reasons for recent trends in life satisfaction for girls aged 11 to 15. [135908]
Dr Poulter: The Department contributes to the World Health Organisation Health Behaviour of School aged Children Study which provides three sets of data on life satisfaction from 2001-02 to 2009-10. Data on children's life satisfaction are not available prior to 2001. The prevalence of high life satisfaction scores (those reporting six or more on a scale of 1-10) has been high in each wave: 85% in 2001-02; 85% in 2005-06; and 83% in 2009-10.
The prevalence of high life satisfaction scores among boys was 86.6% in 2001-02 and 88.4% in 2009-10. Among girls, high life satisfaction was 80% in 2001-02 and 82% in 2009-10. There has been little change in the
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prevalence of high life satisfaction scores in young people from 2001-02 to 2009-10. The prevalence of high life satisfaction scores is higher for boys than girls at ages 11, 13 and 15 and at each survey time point.
Life satisfaction is relatively new concept and a complex issue; there are many factors that influence it and there is a two-way relationship between drivers of life satisfaction and outcomes of life satisfaction. Government are currently funding research to help further understand trends in life satisfaction.
Hospitals: Waiting Lists
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for an operation in (a) Liverpool, (b) the North West and (c) England was in each of the last five years. [136295]
Anna Soubry: The information is shown in the following table:
| Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times | ||||||
| Average (median) time waited (in weeks) for patients that started admitted treatment during the month (admitted adjusted RTT pathways) | ||||||
| October each year | ||||||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Note: October waiting times are extracted from monthly series, for comparison with latest. Admitted pathways are those completed in the month. Source: Department of Health Referral to Treatment Waiting times return. Data have been collected since August 2007, with adjusted admitted pathways from March 2008. | ||||||
NHS Commissioning Board
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) with reference to the review by the NHS Commissioning Board into its approach to allocations, if he will publish the terms of reference of the review; who will be consulted as part of the review; and if he will publish the review when it is completed; [135774]
(2) with reference to the review by the NHS Commissioning Board into its approach to allocations, which allocations will be included in the review; and what the amounts being allocated are in each case. [135775]
Anna Soubry: The NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) is responsible for the scope and governance of its review into its approach to allocations. The NHS CB advises that plans are at an early stage for scoping the review and detailing its approach. Terms of reference, consultation, engagement and publication plans are still under consideration.
NHS: Pay
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effect on health trusts and their ability to employ staff of the introduction of regional pay; and if he will make a statement. [136255]
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Dr Poulter: The Government announced in the autumn statement last year that there should be no new centrally determined local pay rates or zones.
Nurses
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses were employed in (a) England and (b) Liverpool primary care trust in each of the last four years. [136296]
Dr Poulter: The annual workforce census, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows the number of staff employed by the national health service in England at 30 September each year. The latest available data are for September 2011. The numbers of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in England and Liverpool primary care trust from 2008 to 2011 are shown in the following table. Qualified nurses are not identified separately.
| NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in England, the North West Strategic Health Authority area and each specified organisation as at 30 September each year | |||||
| Full-time equivalent | |||||
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | ||
| Notes:1. As a consequence of TCS (Transforming Community Services), in 2011 the provider arm of Liverpool PCT (5NL) merged into Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust (RY1). 2. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. 3. Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census. | |||||
Nurses: Greater London
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many registered nurses there were at each acute hospital trust in London in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [136331]
Dr Poulter: The following table shows the numbers of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed by each acute trust in the London strategic health authority (SHA) area as at 30 September in each of the specified years.
| NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in Acute Trusts in the London Strategic Health Authority area by organisation as at 30 September each specified year | ||
| Full time equivalent | ||
| 2010 | 2011 | |
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