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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 17 January 2013
Work and Pensions
Deloitte
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department paid to Deloitte for consultancy services in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [135987]
Mr Hoban: The amount paid by the Department for Work and Pensions to Deloitte for consultancy services in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 was:
(a) 2010: £9,197,088
(b) 2011: £2,209,580
(c) 2012: £318,726
Design Council: Pensions
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements for the administration of the Design Council Pensions Scheme have been put in place and monitored by his Department. [137712]
Steve Webb: Responsibility for the administration of pension schemes lies with either the trustee of trust-based schemes or the provider of contract-based schemes.
The Department is responsible for the legislation and regulatory framework governing the operation of workplace pension schemes. This regulatory framework exists to make sure schemes are run properly and are compliant with legislation.
The responsible regulatory authorities are:
The Pensions Regulator, which has powers to regulate the way that company pension schemes are run, and to investigate pension fraud and badly run schemes; and
The Financial Services Authority, which regulates the financial services industry in the UK and can take action against firms if they fail to meet the required standards.
The framework also sets in place bodies that can assist individuals. These are:
The Pensions Advisory Service, which is an independent non-profit organisation that provides free information, advice and guidance about pensions;
The pensions ombudsman, which investigates and decides complaints and disputes about the way that pension schemes are run; and
The Pension Tracing Service, which helps individuals track down lost or frozen pension schemes.
Employment and Support Allowance
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to propose changes to a student's entitlement to employment and support allowance if they have to leave their course because they are diagnosed with (a) cancer and (b) another serious illness. [137362]
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Mr Hoban: There are circumstances when certain vulnerable students can access benefits. These include students who are long-term sick and in receipt of disability living allowance (DLA), those who are disabled and some lone parents (subject to the age of their youngest child). Students are eligible for income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) if they are entitled to DLA.
There are no plans to change the eligibility criteria for students to claim ESA.
Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how often on average people with (a) Parkinson's and (b) all progressive conditions are reassessed for their eligibility for employment and support allowance. [137792]
Mr Hoban: For all new employment and support allowance (ESA) claims with Parkinson's disease recorded as the main health condition where there was an initial work capability assessment (WCA) and a first repeat WCA, the average duration between the decision-maker's decision at the initial WCA and the first repeat WCA was 472 days.
The data include all claims with repeat decisions taken on them up to May 2012 (the latest data available).
Data on the health conditions recorded are based on the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases, 2010 (ICD10):
http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/
Due to the large number of health conditions described by ICD10 it would be possible to identify those considered “progressive” only at excessive cost to the Department.
Government Procurement Card
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) staff and (b) special advisers in his Department have use of a Government Procurement Card. [137260]
Mr Hoban: Government Procurement Cards (GPC) are held by staff across DWP to make low value purchases. Currently there are 545 GPCs in issue to DWP staff. Special advisers do not hold GPCs.
Housing Benefit
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the potential saving to the Exchequer following the introduction of house size criteria as a condition for receipt of housing benefit. [137590]
Steve Webb: Estimates of the savings to the Exchequer of the size criteria measure are available in the impact assessment:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf
Housing Benefit: Scotland
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the amount of housing benefit payments paid in each local authority area in Scotland has been in the last five years. [137591]
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Mr Hoban: Housing benefit expenditure from 2005-06 to 2011-12 by local authority is on the table entitled “Tables showing benefit expenditure by country, region and local authority from 2000/01 to 2011/12” which can be accessed at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure
Note:
The breakdown of HB and CTB expenditure is based on a combination of statistical data and local authority subsidy returns.
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in Scotland who will be affected by the introduction of house size criteria as a condition for receipt of housing benefit. [137592]
Steve Webb: Estimates of numbers affected by the size criteria measure at national and regional level are available in the impact assessment:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid in housing benefit in Scotland in the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the amount of such payments in the next two financial years. [137593]
Mr Hoban: Outturn and forecasts of housing benefit expenditure by country is on the table entitled “Medium term forecast for all DWP benefits” in the housing benefit tab, which can be accessed at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure
Note:
The breakdown of HB and CTB expenditure is based on a combination of statistical data and local authority subsidy returns.
Part-time Employment
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of staff in his Department work part-time. [137024]
Mr Hoban: As at 30 November 2012 (the latest data available) 39% of employees in the Department for Work and Pensions were working part-time.
Pay
Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the effects of wage increases on consumer spending power and the economy. [136592]
Sajid Javid: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts. The OBR published a forecast for pre-tax labour income (that includes wages), and also household disposable income on 5 December 2012 in their Economic and fiscal outlook.
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The OBR forecast that real household disposable income will grow in each year from 2013 to 2017. Pre-tax labour income is forecast to make the largest contribution to real household disposable income growth in each of those years.
Consumption by households accounts for around two-thirds of expenditure in the UK, so movements in consumption have an important impact on gross domestic product and the economy.
Press: Subscriptions
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on newspapers and periodicals in 2011-12. [137280]
Mr Hoban: Information on the amount spent on newspapers and periodicals in 2011-12 is as follows, and, for reasons of comparison, the amount for financial year 2010-11 is also given.
| £ | ||
| Financial year | Newspaper/magazine spend | Periodical spend |
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2012, Official Report, column 307W, on subscriptions, how much his Department has spent on subscriptions since May 2010. [137287]
Mr Hoban: The information is as follows:
| £ | ||
| Date range | Newspaper/magazine spend | Periodical spend |
Redundancy
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 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. [135485]
Mr Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions was created in 2001, therefore I am not able to provide the information requested for years prior to this, and the information requested is not held in Departmental records for the years 2001 to 2004.
In the following table I have reproduced the information requested, since 2004, which includes compensation paid through the use of voluntary exit schemes, voluntary redundancy and compulsory redundancy.
In all cases, prior to a civil service role ending, employees are given the opportunity for redeployment before a paid exit is considered.
| Exits | Cost (£ million) | |
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| (1) Please note that the costs of exits in 2011-12 are currently being reconciled and may change slightly. | ||
Rented Housing: Greater London
Mr Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much each London borough spent on (a) housing benefit, (b) rent rebates to local authority tenants and (c) rent allowances to tenants of other landlords in each year between 2005-06 and 2011-12. [137776]
Mr Hoban: Housing benefit, rent rebates and rent allowances expenditure from 2005-06 to 2011-12 by local authority is on the table entitled “Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit expenditure by Local Authority from 1996-97 to 2011-12” which can be accessed at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure
Notes:
1. Published rent rebate expenditure figures consist of Housing Revenue Account Rent Rebate and Other Rent Rebate. For England and Wales, Other Rent Rebate is made up primarily of Non-HRA Temporary Accommodation cases.
2. The breakdown of HB and CTB expenditure is based on a combination of statistical data and local authority subsidy returns.
Social Security Benefits
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to tackle benefit tourism. [137333]
Mr Hoban: We have a legal duty to provide support to people who come to this country, in line with our national and international obligations. However we have strict rules to ensure that people who come here cannot take inappropriate advantage of our benefit system. We believe that migrant workers who have contributed to the economy and paid their dues should be protected, but free movement should not mean unrestricted access to benefits for economically inactive migrants.
Contributory benefits, such as contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance, are payable to anyone who satisfies the contribution and other conditions for the benefit, regardless of nationality.
However, all migrants must satisfy the Habitual Residence Test before they are eligible to claim means tested benefits. The test has two elements: a legal right to reside and an objective assessment of factual habitual residence. Economically inactive EEA nationals and their family members cannot claim income-related benefits. People coming from outside the European Economic Area are subject to immigration control and they generally have an immigration status that allows no recourse to public funds and so would not be eligible for income-related benefits.
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My Department hosted a ministerial conference in London last year at which a number of other EU member states expressed their concerns about economically inactive migrants abusing free movement rights to get access to benefits. We are now working with member states to agree a set of principles for sustainable social security coordination in the future.
Social Security Benefits: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of the workforce in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency will be affected by the proposed 1% benefits uprating. [137376]
Steve Webb: The Department estimates that of working-age households around 500,000 in-work households in Scotland will be affected by the Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill.
This represents around 30% of all in-work households in Scotland. Of these households around 200,000 are receiving child benefit but not tax credits.
There are around 300,000 working-age households in Scotland where no one is in work who will be affected. This represents around 62% of all out-of-work working-age households in Scotland.
It is not possible to provide an answer for part (b) as there is not sufficient sample size to break the data down to a constituency level.
Notes:
1. This estimate has been calculated using the Department's Policy Simulation Model and is modelled on a consistent basis with the estimates published in the impact assessment of 8 January 2013, which covered the impacts of the uprating changes in 2014-15 and 2015-16 covered by the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill.
2. Child benefit will be increased by 1% for two years from April 2014, when the three year freeze announced at the June 2010 Budget comes to an end.
3. An in-work household is defined as one where at least one member is working one or more hours.
4. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 1% or 100,000.
Temporary Employment
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many temporary staff have been recruited in his Department in each month from July to December 2012. [135212]
Mr Hoban: DWP has not recruited any temporary staff in this period.
Unemployment: Tower Hamlets
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has assessed the number of people (a) in each ward and (b) of each ethnicity who have been unemployed in Tower Hamlets for (i) six, (ii) 12 and (iii) 24 months. [136617]
Mr Hoban: Information on ILO unemployment is not available at this level of detail. Corresponding information on claimant unemployment is in the tables.
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| Claimant unemployment in Tower Hamlets by duration of claim and ward, November 2012 | |||
| Ward | Claiming for six months or more | Claiming for 12 months or more | Claiming for 24 months or more |
| Claimant unemployment in Tower Hamlets by duration of claim and ethnicity, October 2012 | |||
| Ethnicity | Claiming for six months or more | Claiming for 12 months or more | Claiming for 24 months or more |
| Notes: 1. The total estimates in each table are not the same because they relate to different time periods, reflecting the latest data available in each case. 2. Estimates cover all claimants over the specified duration. For example, the total claiming for six months or more includes all those claiming for 12 months or more, which in turn includes all those claiming for 24 months or more. 3. Estimates are rounded to the nearest five claimants, so may not sum to totals. Source: Claimant count, Nomis | |||
Unemployment: Young People
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to promote the use of TheFutureYou.org.uk and other online support networks to address youth unemployment in the UK. [136691]
Mr Hoban: While we would not take specific action to promote the use of individual external websites, our strategy for supporting young people into work is increasingly helped by the use of online tools and digital media.
Jobcentre Plus advisers are now using a variety of methods to keep in touch with claimants, including e-mail and text messaging. Young claimants can use the Department's online job matching service—Universal Jobmatch which enables them to build a CV which then matches them to jobs. This service speeds up the job search process and it is also free for employers to advertise their jobs.
Jobcentre Plus also uses social media to promote jobs to young people. It promotes specific jobs and information about the Youth Contract via Twitter and is currently testing the use of Facebook to do the same in 10 local areas.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of incentive payments under the Youth Contract has been paid out to employers to date. [137633]
Mr Hoban: The Youth Contract, including wage incentives, went live on April 2012 and in most cases wage incentives are paid after a young person has been in work continuously for 26 weeks. Following the collection and quality assurance of this data, I expect the first set of Official Statistics on the wage incentive to be available in the early part of 2013. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.
Work Capability Assessment
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work capability assessments were successfully appealed in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, (b) Tower Hamlets, (c) London and (d) the UK as a proportion of the total number of assessments carried out in 2011-12. [136697]
Mr Hoban:
Data on outcomes of assessments for employment and support allowance (ESA) are not available for the Bethnal Green and Bow parliamentary constituency.
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The following table shows the number and proportion of successful appeals (initial decision overturned) heard on fit for work decisions at the initial work capability
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assessment. The table covers employment and support allowance claims starting between January 2011 and August 2011 (the latest information available).
| Fit for work decisions overturned on appeal as a proportion of all work capability assessments in Tower Hamlets, London and the UK | |||
| Area | Initial decision overturned at Tribunal Service | All initial work capability assessments | Overturns as a proportion of all initial assessments (%) |
| Notes: 1. The statistics are likely to alter over time due to outstanding appeals for ESA claims made in this period. Appeals against incapacity reassessment outcomes are not included. 2. The table includes appeals on initial fit for work decisions only. Appeals made against work related activity group decisions or following repeat assessments or incapacity benefit reassessment decisions have not been included here as they are not yet available. 3. The data presented above come from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions, functional assessment data from Atos Healthcare and appeals data from the Tribunals Service. 4. All numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100. | |||
Work Programme
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many prime contractors will not be receiving in full the outcome fee from June under the terms of their Work programme contract; and if he will make a statement. [137789]
Mr Hoban: The Work programme funding model is linked to the achievement of individual job outcomes rather than the allocation of a single fee for outcomes achieved. Providers can only claim a job outcome payment after a participant has been in a job for three or six months, they can then claim sustainment payments every four weeks if a participant stays in work longer.
The fee structure for the Work programme is available on the DWP website via this link:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/the-work-programme.pdf
Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices: Catering
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract with the provider for the Asian Culinary Excellence initiative. [136669]
Matthew Hancock [holding answer 14 January 2013]:A copy of the relevant investment funding agreement between the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and People 1st will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Export Credit Guarantees
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what date he expects funds to be made available to firms from the monies announced in the autumn statement 2012 to provide loans for small firms to access growing export markets overseas through UK Export Finance; and what milestones, timescales, deadlines and targets he has set in relation to that process. [137815]
Michael Fallon: As announced in the autumn statement, 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82, funds will be available from 1 April 2013 for a three-year period under the Direct Lending Scheme to be administered by UK Export Finance.
UK Export Finance is working with the British Bankers' Association to put in place arrangements to enable exporters to access the scheme with a view to it being operational as soon as possible after 1 April.
The scheme is intended to fund export contracts involving export loans with a value of up to £50 million and is therefore for smaller and medium-sized transactions rather than being particularly targeted at SMEs. The uptake of funding under the scheme will depend upon UK exporters winning export contracts for which their buyers require loan financing for periods of two years or longer where financing from commercial sources is unavailable.
Government Procurement Card
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) staff and (b) special advisers in his Department have use of a Government Procurement Card. [137270]
Jo Swinson: The number of core BIS staff holding a Government Procurement Card is 186. The special advisers do not hold Government Procurement Cards.
ICT: Graduates
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many computer science students graduated from UK universities in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010 and (d) 2011. [137604]
Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on qualifiers from UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Information on the number of postgraduate and undergraduate students qualifying from Computer Science subjects at UK HEIs for the academic years 2008/09 to 2011/12 is provided in the table.
Information for the 2012/13 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2014.
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| Qualifiers(1) from Computer Science(2) by level of study, UK Higher Education Institutions, academic years 2008/09 to 2011/12 | ||||
| Level of study | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 |
| (1) Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. (2) Subject information is shown as Full Person Equivalents (FPEs) in the table. FPEs are derived by splitting student instances between the different subjects that make up their course aim. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record | ||||
Imports: Israel
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that products produced by Israeli settlers in Occupied Palestinian Territories are correctly labelled as being from that source. [137631]
Jo Swinson: There is no mandatory requirement for goods produced in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to be labelled as such. We have no plans to introduce such a requirement.
Where specific EU legislation in the food sectors requires the country of origin to be indicated the Government believes that, for example, “Produce of The West Bank” is a lawful description of the origin of such goods. The west bank is a recognised geographical area within the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
So far as food and drink of Occupied Palestinian Territories origin imported into the UK is concerned, DEFRA has issued voluntary technical advice for the benefit of those importers and retailers who believe that their customers wish to distinguish between products of Israeli settlement provenance and those which originate from Palestinian growers.
More generally the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 ban traders in all sectors from using misleading commercial practices which are likely to distort a transactional decision of the average consumer. This includes statements about the geographical or commercial origin of products.
As with other elements of goods, the Government encourages consumers who are interested in a particular property of goods, including their origin, to ask the seller. If they are not happy with the reply, then they can shop elsewhere. If they suspect that the reply is not truthful, then they can take the matter up with their local authority Trading Standards Officers who enforce the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
Local Enterprise Partnerships: Liverpool
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many projects have been funded by the Liverpool City Region local enterprise partnership to date; and how much has been paid to each project in funding. [137801]
Michael Fallon: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold this information.
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The Liverpool City Region local enterprise partnership is responsible for its own day to day decisions, and for what funding it provides and to whom. More information can be found on the LEP's website:
http://www.liverpoollep.org/
Press: Subscriptions
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on newspapers and periodicals in 2011-12. [137281]
Jo Swinson: The financial data held within BIS do not separately identify the amount spent on newspapers and periodicals and such costs are included among all publication costs.
In the financial year April 2011 to March 2012 the amount of expenditure against all publications is £294,500.00. This figure includes a range of publications, including newspapers and periodicals.
The Department does publish details of all individual spend transactions as part of its obligations under transparency. These details are openly available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-skills/series/bis-spending-totals
Procurement
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 6 November 2012, Official Report, column 596W, on procurement, what proportion of suppliers to his Department and its agencies are signed up to the Prompt Payment Code. [137816]
Michael Fallon: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills paid 95.5% of its suppliers within five working days during the last quarter of 2012 (October to December) and actively encourages and promotes the Prompt Payment Code to its suppliers. In addition, I recently wrote to all FTSE 350 companies asking them to become signatories of the code.
Information on the number of suppliers who are signatories to the code is not held centrally within the Department or its Executive agencies and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how often his Department produces a staff magazine. [137318]
Jo Swinson: BIS does not produce a staff magazine; we use our intranet as the key internal channel for disseminating information. This conforms with the digital by default policy, which applies to all new Government publications.
Temporary Employment
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff are currently employed on a temporary basis by his Department and its agencies; and how many of those staff are agency workers. [137817]
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Jo Swinson: There are currently 241 staff employed on temporary basis in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (including UK Trade and Investment—UKTI). Of these, 132 are agency staff. These figures exclude consultants.
Temporary workers are employed to cover short-term projects or provide specialist expertise not generally available in the Department. In UKTI, temporary workers are mostly people with deep expertise not easily found within the civil service, e.g. country, sector or marketing expertise.
I have asked chief executives of the executive agencies to respond directly to the hon. Member.
Letter from Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB, dated 16 January 2013:
As Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, I have been asked to reply to you in response to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills “how many staff are currently employed on a temporary basis by his Department and its agencies; and how many of those staff are agency workers”?
Ordnance Survey currently employs 80 staff on a temporary basis. Of these 80 staff, 78 are engaged through an agency and 2 are Civil Servants on Fixed Term Appointments. Agency staff are used to cover short term workload fluctuations, which arise either through customer requirements or seasonal or system introductions that affect levels of data processing. They may also be used to backfill extended absence cover, such as maternity leave or secondments to projects for permanent employees.
Ordnance Survey also uses contingency workers to provide skills and expertise in specific areas, via third-party service contracts. An additional 96 such workers are currently being used by Ordnance Survey.
I hope this information is of use.
Letter from Kim Thorneywork, dated 16 January 2013:
Thank you for your question in asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff are currently employed on a temporary basis by his Department and its agencies; and how many of those staff are agency workers.
Please be advised that the Skills Funding Agency currently employs 92 contingent workers on a temporary basis and 8 inward secondees. All 92 contingent workers are sourced and invoiced through an agency.
Letter from Tim Moss, dated 16 January 2013:
I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 14 January 2013, to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, UIN 137817.
Companies House currently has five members of staff employed on a temporary basis; all are agency workers.
Letter from John Hirst, dated 16 January 2013:
I am replying on behalf of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 14 January 2013, UIN 137817 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
There are currently 85 people employed on a temporary basis at the Met Office, including 59 agency workers.
I hope this helps.
Letter from Peter Mason, dated 15 January 2013:
I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (NMO) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 14 January 2013, asking the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills about the number of temporary staff currently employed by his Department and its agencies, and how many of them are agency workers.
There are three individuals currently working in the Agency on a temporary basis. All three individuals are agency workers supplied under the Government Procurement Service National Framework Agreement for the Supply of Non-medical, Non-clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff.
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Letter from Richard Judge, dated 16 January 2013:
The Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question how many staff are currently employed on a temporary basis by his Department and its agencies; and how many of those staff are agency workers.
The Insolvency Service currently employs 140 individuals on a temporary basis, of which one is a secondee, 27 are specialist contractors and 112 are agency workers.
Letter from David Parker, dated 15 January 2013:
Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff are currently employed on a temporary basis by his Department and its agencies; and how many of those staff are agency workers. (137817)
The UK Space Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and has one member of staff on a temporary contract along with two agency workers from Adecco.
Letter from Malcolm Dawson, dated 15 January 2013:
I write on behalf of Land Registry in response to your Parliamentary Question 137817 tabled on 14 January 2013 which asked the following:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff are currently employed on a temporary basis by his Department and its agencies; and how many of those staff are agency workers.
I can confirm that Land Registry currently has two members of staff on loan from other Government Departments and two agency staff, making a total of four.
I hope you find this information useful.
Letter from Sean Dennehey, dated 16 January 2013:
I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 14 January 2013, to the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is an executive agency of BIS. On 1 January 2013 the IPO had 65 temporary workers, 37 of whom were agency workers.
Health
Cancer
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which Ministers from his Department have met representatives of (a) Varian Medical Systems, (b) Elekta and (c) Accuray between May 2012 and January 2013. [137327]
Dr Poulter: The previous Minister of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns), visited Varian Medical Systems' and Elekta Ltd's UK sites in Crawley on 12 July 2012.
Cancer: Drugs
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have received tamoxifen as a chemo-preventative measure through the Cancer Drugs Fund in each of the last three years. [137232]
Norman Lamb:
Latest information from strategic health authorities (SHAs) indicates that no patients have received tamoxifen through the Cancer Drugs Fund (from April 2011 to the end of November 2012) or the interim cancer drugs funding arrangements in 2010-11 (from
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October 2010 to the end of February 2011). A breakdown of patient numbers by SHA by drug for March 2011 is not available.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent steps he has taken to ensure that every child and adult with myalgic encephalomyelitis receive suitable and appropriate treatment for their condition; [137185]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the 2007 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) and the Medical Research Council sponsored trial into CFS/ME conducted in February 2011. [137186]
Norman Lamb: We have not assessed the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) clinical guidelines on chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). NICE regularly reviews its guidance to ensure that it remains up to date and takes into account any new evidence that may influence its recommendations, and when new evidence comes to light, NICE can consider revising its published recommendations.
We have made no assessment of the Medical Research Council sponsored PACE trial: A Randomised Controlled Trial of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), graded exercise therapy (GET), adaptive pacing and specialist medical care for the chronic fatigue syndrome. However, we understand that the trial demonstrated that CBT and GET were moderately effective out-patient treatments when added to specialist medical care, as compared with adaptive pacing therapy or specialist medical care alone, and that all four treatments tested were safe. The findings of the trial have been published and NICE has processes to ensure that as new evidence becomes available, its advice can be reviewed.
Clinicians are responsible, within their area of competence, for diagnosing medical conditions, advising patients on the treatment options available and providing care that takes into account their patients' preferences. In doing so, they are expected to take account of evidence-based guidance from NICE and authoritative advice from other relevant bodies.
Long-term conditions is one of the Secretary of State for Health's priority areas and this was reflected in the prominence with which it featured in the mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board. Following the publication of the mandate we are working with the NHS Commissioning Board to agree the best way to improve care for people with long-term conditions including those with CFS/ME.
Drugs: Babies
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many infants were readmitted to hospital with neo-natal withdrawal symptoms attributable to maternal use of illicit or therapeutic drugs following being discharged from hospital in each of the last five years. [137181]
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Norman Lamb: Data on the number of infants readmitted to hospital with neo-natal withdrawal symptoms attributable to maternal use of illicit or therapeutic drugs following being discharged from hospital are not centrally collected.
Drugs: Licensing
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration his Department has given to allowing the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency or any other similar public body to act as an applicant for a licence for new indications of existing drugs outside their patent protection periods. [137233]
Norman Lamb: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for approval of new medicines including amendments to approved indications. The MHRA is not constituted to conduct or commission clinical trials and other studies required to evaluate the safety, quality and efficacy of medicines. As it is responsible for review and approval of the results of these studies, a role as the applicant for licences for new or existing drugs would conflict with its impartiality as regulator.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is responsible for providing independent, evidence-based guidance for the national health service on clinical and cost effectiveness. There would be a clear conflict of interest for NICE to have a role as an applicant for a marketing authorisation for new indications of existing drugs, and we have no plans to allow it to do so.
Drugs: Misuse
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department has allocated for drug addiction services in (a) the London borough of Enfield, (b) London and (c) England in each of the last five years. [137449]
Norman Lamb: Central funding for adult drug treatment services has been provided to primary care trusts through the adult pooled treatment budget (PTB).
Adult PTB allocations to the London borough of Enfield, London and England in each of the last five years are set out in the following table:
| £ | |||
| Enfield | London | National | |
Government Procurement Card
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) staff and (b) special advisers in his Department have use of a Government Procurement Card. [137264]
Dr Poulter: There are currently 262 Government Procurement Cards in use in the Department. None of these have been assigned to a special adviser.
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Health Services
Mrs Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the NHS Commissioning Board will take to finalise the service specifications for (a) specialised neuromuscular services and (b) other specialised services following the conclusion of the consultation process. [137803]
Norman Lamb: It is the Government's intention that from April 2013 the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) will directly commission specialised services. These services have been prescribed in a set of regulations. Each service will be supported by a service specification developed by specialised clinicians, expert patients and public health representatives. The NHS CB has also developed a manual that provides detailed information on the scope of services to be commissioned.
A range of national commissioning “products”, including a draft service specification for neurosciences: neurology D4c, which includes neuromuscular services, have been developed and are currently subject to a period of consultation, which closes on 25 January 2013. A report on the consultation is due to be published in early March.
Responses to the consultation will be carefully analysed before the NHS CB formally adopts the final service specifications for inclusion in contracts with providers from 2013-14.
Health Services: Greater London
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health care assistants there were at each acute hospital trust in London in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [137710]
Dr Poulter: The information is not available in the format requested. The numbers of health care assistants employed by each acute hospital trust in London as at 30 September 2010 and 30 September 2011 are shown in the following table:
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| Notes: 1. Health care assistants are defined as those staff coded H1 in the Non-Medical Workforce Census Occupation Code manual. HCAs are those staff who are trained, or under training, in the various competencies related to their job. 2. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. 3. London SHA area totals include primary care trusts (PCTs), ambulance trusts and mental health trusts. 4. As a consequence of TCS (Transforming Community Services) the former provider arm of some PCTs may have transferred into local acute trusts. This can be seen in the large increase in staff numbers at Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust for example. 5. 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 | ||
Press: Subscriptions
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on newspapers and periodicals in 2011-12. [137284]
Dr Poulter: The Department spent £131,101 on newspapers and periodicals in 2011-12 (April 2011 to March 2012). This shows a 3.8% reduction on the 2010-11 figure of £136,223, and 47.4% reduction on the 2009-10 figure of £249,152.
The Department's Knowledge Centre is responsible for central provision of library services—including newspapers, periodicals and trade publications. The figures above do not include expenditure on items for retention by individual divisions, responsibility for which was decentralised in April 2010. Details on this expenditure are not available.
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Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2012, Official Report, column 263W, on press subscriptions, how much his Department has spent on subscriptions since May 2010. [137298]
Dr Poulter: The amount spent on subscriptions since May 2010 is £262,015. This figure includes journal subscriptions for the 2013 calendar year, but not 2010 as these were paid prior to May 2010. This shows a 66.3% reduction on the figures for the previous 33 month period (August 2007 to April 2010) of £776,420.
The Department's Knowledge Centre is responsible for central provision of library services—including newspapers, periodicals and trade publications. The figures above do not include expenditure on items for retention by individual divisions, responsibility for which was decentralised in April 2010. Details on this expenditure are not available.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often his Department produces a staff magazine. [137313]
Dr Poulter: The Department used to publish a monthly (10 issues per annum) printed staff magazine called ‘Link’. However the contract came to a natural end and a decision was taken (based on efficiency savings and our green commitment) to withdraw the magazine. The last issue was published March 2011. Since then we have developed a ‘pilot' interactive online staff magazine (published on the intranet), full of features and articles capturing the work of staff across the Department and its priorities. The first issue was published in December 2012. If the magazine evaluates well with staff, the intention is to produce it bi-monthly, six issues per year.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Air Pollution
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what additional steps his Department takes to monitor emissions from appliances manufactured by companies in receipt of Government grants; and if he will make a statement. [136914]
Richard Benyon: The steps that DEFRA requires for appliance exemption under the Clean Air Act 1993 are the same for all solid fuel appliances, regardless of whether the respective manufacturer is in receipt of any Government funds. Under this Act, local authorities are responsible for the designation and supervision of smoke control areas. DEFRA manages a type-approval exemption process for the approval of appliances for use in smoke control areas. This process assesses appliances' smoke emissions based on criteria published on DEFRA's smoke control website at:
http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/
An appliance using an authorised fuel in a smoke control area does not require exemption. Details of authorised fuels are also on DEFRA's smoke control website.
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Equality
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of staff in his Department have received training in equality and diversity and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in each of the last three years. [134811]
Richard Benyon: The information requested is not recorded centrally and can be gathered only at disproportionate cost.
Food: Waste Disposal
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to introduce a ban on food waste in landfill; and if he will make a statement. [136436]
Richard Benyon: Our long-term vision is that no food waste should go to landfill. We have committed to reviewing the case for restrictions on sending particular materials to landfill over the course of this Parliament, including looking specifically at wood, textiles and biodegradable waste. Before bringing forward proposals on restricting any materials, the Government needs to be content that restrictions are the best value way of moving material up the waste hierarchy and that the costs to businesses and the public sector are affordable.
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress he has made on the consultation on limiting biodegradable waste landfill, as set out in the Waste review; and if he will make a statement. [136437]
Richard Benyon: We have committed to reviewing the case for restrictions on sending particular materials to landfill over the course of this Parliament, including looking specifically at wood, textiles and biodegradable waste. We have just completed a Call for Evidence on wood waste, fulfilling the first part of this commitment. This is now being analysed, with a view to making a summary of responses publicly available.
Fracking
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on the potential effect of fracking rig installations in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. [136780]
Richard Benyon: No discussions have taken place recently regarding the potential effect of fracking rig installations in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Applications for permits for exploration or exploitation activities in such areas would be subject to the existing planning and environmental controls.
Meat: Exports
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the timetable for the review of the moratorium of exports of desinewed meat; and if he will make a statement. [137174]
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Norman Lamb: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Health.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, has worked closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on behalf of the United Kingdom Government in explaining to the European Commission (EC) the full impact of its decision that desinewed meat (DSM) can no longer be produced from ruminant bones and that DSM made from poultry or pork bones should be labelled as mechanically separated meat. DSM from poultry or pork can still be produced and exported but must be correctly labelled.
The FSA has also made it clear to the Commission that the UK expects working group discussions on this matter to reopen without delay after the publication of the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the production of non-ruminant mechanically separated meat, which is expected at the end of March 2013. The FSA continues to pursue this matter with the EC, making the case for the UK interpretation, and has submitted scientific evidence to EFSA to inform the development of the scientific opinion.
Olympic Games 2012
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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. [135638]
Richard Benyon: The Government pledged to publish these details following the Olympic and Paralympic Games and will do so shortly.
Reservoirs: Greater London
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Thames Water regarding a revised plan for a new reservoir. [136649]
Richard Benyon: There have been no recent discussions with Thames Water regarding a revised plan for a new reservoir.
Thames Water will consult on its new draft water resources management plan in the spring of 2013. This will set out how it proposes to manage water resources to ensure a sustainable water supply and demand balance over a period of at least 25 years from April 2015.
Ritual Slaughter
Sir James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on the slaughter of farm animals for Qurbani/Udhia purposes under the provisions of the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing Regulations 2012. [R] [136916]
Mr Heath:
The slaughter of farm animals for Qurbani/Udhia purposes is currently regulated under the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 (WASK). It will in future be regulated by Council Regulation (EC) 1099/2009 on the protection of animals
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at the time of killing and stricter national rules introduced by individual member states. The regulations for enforcing this law and introducing national rules in England have been consulted on but have not yet been laid before Parliament for approval.
WASK permits slaughter by a religious method, including Muslim slaughter for Qurbani/Udhia, to be carried out in a licensed slaughterhouse which is under official veterinary supervision. It must be carried out by a licensed Muslim slaughterman by the Muslim method for the food of Muslims.
It is illegal to slaughter animals or birds without stunning, including slaughter for Qurbani/Udhia in any other place, even for private domestic consumption.
Social Enterprises
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on plans to introduce social enterprise zones; and if he will make a statement. [137427]
Richard Benyon: Neither I nor my ministerial colleagues have had discussions with the Minister for the Cabinet Office regarding social enterprise zones.
Waste: Exports
Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of residual solid waste have been exported in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [135720]
Richard Benyon [holding answer 7 January 2013]:The export of untreated municipal waste for disposal is prohibited.
For exports of refuse-derived fuel for energy recovery, the following data are available for the United Kingdom:
| Tonnes | |
Data for 2012 have not yet been finalised, but based on provisional estimates they are expected to show a substantial increase in exports of refuse-derived fuel from 2011.
Over the past two years UK competent authorities have received an increasing number of applications from waste companies wanting to export wastes for energy recovery, including refuse-derived fuel. The move to divert municipal waste from landfill and increases in landfill tax mean that it can now be more economic for companies to export this material than to send it to landfill.
As with other types of waste, refuse-derived fuel is a commodity that can legitimately be exported, as long as this is in accordance with the requirements of the EU Waste Shipments Regulation.
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Home Department
Asylum: Housing
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse was of accommodation for asylum seekers in the last three years for which figures are available. [136650]
Mr Harper: The UK Border Agency has paid the following amounts for accommodating asylum seekers in last the three years:
| £ million | |
These costs include expenditure on supporting failed asylum seekers as well as unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASCs) and former UASCs where local authorities retain some responsibilities beyond the age of 18. The figures include some non-accommodation costs which are included in accommodation costs charged to the agency. It is not possible to disaggregate such expenditure without incurring disproportionate costs.
Other Government Departments and local authorities also make a contribution to accommodation costs for some categories of asylum seekers. The UK Border Agency does not hold sufficient information to make a reliable estimate of these costs.
Crime: Disability
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many disability hate crimes have been recorded in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [137625]
Mr Jeremy Browne: Hate crime data have only been collected by the Home Office since 2011-12. In 2011-12, there were 1,744 disability-related hate crimes in England and Wales.
More detailed information on hate crime can be found in the most recent statistical publication on hate crime at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hate-crimes-1112/
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has collected data on the number of disability hate crimes recorded by police since 2009 and this information can be found at:
http://www.report-it.org.uk/hate_crime_data1
These figures are not directly comparable to the figures collected by the Home Office. However, they show the number of disability-related hate crimes recorded in England and Wales (excluding Northern Ireland) to be 1,211 in 2009, 1,512 in 2010 and 1,877 in 2011. The data for 2011 include hate crimes recorded by the British Transport police.
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Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions have been held between the UK Border Agency and London Metropolitan University on monitoring procedures for international students; and when she will publish the outcome of any such discussions. [136572]
Mr Harper [holding answer 14 January 2013]: Officials from the UK Border Agency met with London Metropolitan University on 26 November 2012 to discuss monitoring procedures for international students. There have been several discussions since 26 November on a wider range of issues.
The UK Border Agency does not publish the outcome of discussions it has with sponsors about their sponsorship obligations.
Ibrahim Magag
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Ibrahim Magag was given (a) the right to stay in the UK and (b) British citizenship. [136931]
James Brokenshire: As is set out in the statement to the House by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), on 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 161, Magag is a Somali-born British national. The Government do not routinely comment on individual cases and having considered the circumstances of this case it would not be appropriate for me to comment further.
Members: Correspondence
Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 11 April 2012 from the hon. Member for North East Somerset on behalf of a constituent James Caldwell; and if she will investigate the reasons for the time taken to address the case. [137379]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 15 January 2013]: The reply to the letter has been issued today. Mr Caldwell will receive a full explanation for the delay and an apology.
National Wildlife Crime Unit
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the National Wildlife Crime Unit; and if she will make a statement. [137533]
Mr Jeremy Browne: Every six months the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) produces a tactical assessment of progress against each of its priority work areas. The tactical assessment is considered jointly by the Home Office, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and other members of the UK Wildlife Crime Tasking and Co-ordinating Group.
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Police: Dogs
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost of kennelling dangerous or stray dogs to the (a) Metropolitan police, (b) Greater Manchester police and (c) other police forces. [137189]
Damian Green: While the Government provide core police funding, spending decisions are made locally by the chief constables and police and crime commissioners. Data on each police and crime commissioner's expenditure, including the cost of kennelling dangerous or stray dogs, are therefore not collected centrally.
Press: Subscriptions
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2012, Official Report, column 38W, on press subscriptions, how much her Department has spent on subscriptions since May 2010. [137289]
James Brokenshire: For the period from June 2010 to September 2012, the Home Department spent £107,902 on subscriptions.
Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often her Department produces a staff magazine. [137310]
James Brokenshire: The Home Office staff magazine is produced bi-monthly with six issues in each calendar year.
The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) staff magazine is produced bi-monthly with six issues a year and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) staff magazine is produced monthly.
The UK Border Agency and Border Force each have a monthly online-only staff magazine (e-zine).
Riot (Damages) Act 1886
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 502W, on the Riot Damages Act 1886, whether the planned independent review into the Riot Damages Act will involve public consultation. [137020]
Damian Green: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 502W. The outcomes of the independent review will be used to shape any future public consultation on possible changes to the legislation.
UK Border Agency
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the UK Border Agency's Performance and Compliance Unit. [135422]
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Mr Harper: The Performance and Compliance Unit was created in spring 2012 to play a crucial role in the UK Border Agency's Transformation programme.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has asked the independent chief inspector to report on its establishment, and make recommendations on whether any operational or process changes are required to strengthen its set up.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department has also asked that the independent chief inspector conduct a further review once the Performance and Compliance unit is fully operational.
The independent chief inspector's report will be presented to Parliament later this year.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the UK Border Agency in processing asylum cases. [135425]
Mr Harper: The UK Border Agency publishes annual asylum performance against 15 key performance measures. The statistics cover the financial year 2011-12, except for the Work in Progress (WiP) figure which is calculated from June 2011 to June 2012.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/further-key-data/
The statistics show a system which is stabilising, with the majority of measures showing increases in performance, or remaining the same, including:
Asylum cases in WiP (down from 37,903 in financial year (FY) 2010-11, to 37,381 in FY 2011-12)
Asylum cases concluded within 12 months (up from 56% in FY 2010-11, to 63% in FY 2011-12)
Asylum cases concluded within 36 months (up from 63% in FY 2010-11, to 70% in FY 2011-12)
Asylum cases removed within 12 months (up from 19% in FY 2010-11, to 22% in FY 2011-12)
Asylum decision quality (up from 88% in FY 2010-11, to 89% in FY 2011-12)
Asylum Unit Cost (down from £15,415 in FY 2010-11, to £15,215 in FY 2011-12)
Prime Minister
Tax Evasion
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Prime Minister what measures to tackle tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance he expects to bring forward for discussion during the UK's presidency of the G8. [137795]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 9 January 2013, Official Report, column 20WS and to the letter I placed in both Libraries of the House.
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House of Commons Commission
Apprentices
10. Robert Halfon: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many apprentices are employed by the House of Commons Service; and what estimate he has made of the number of apprentices employed by the House's major suppliers. [137531]
John Thurso: Since the answer I gave to the hon. Member's written question on this subject in September, there have been two developments. The Catering Service is establishing apprenticeships as part of the business improvement programme that it is currently implementing. The Parliamentary Estates Directorate is also considering options for a new apprenticeship scheme.
Defence
Afghanistan
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times (a) Hellfire precision guided missiles and (b) laser guided bombs employed by the UK Reaper remotely piloted air system have fallen outside their given circular error probability since operations commenced in Afghanistan. [133762]
Mr Dunne [holding answer 17 December 2012]:The Reaper remotely piloted air system (RPAS) currently employs two types of munitions, the GBU-12 laser guided bomb and the Hellfire AGM114 precision guided missile. Both are highly accurate munitions, and every effort is made to ensure the risk of civilian casualties is minimised. I am withholding further information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of those attacked and either killed or wounded in a Green on Blue attack in Afghanistan had not been issued with a side arm to date. [137241]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 15 January 2013]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 869. All deployed personnel are issued with a personal weapon. The mix of weapons carried on a daily basis is decided by commanders on the ground, reflecting the tasks to be undertaken. I am withholding any further information as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) male and (b) female armed forces personnel have been deployed in each deployment to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [137346]
Mr Robathan:
This information is not held in the format requested. However, the gender split of all those military personnel who are recorded as entering Afghanistan
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has been recorded centrally since April 2007. The figures detailed cover all those military personnel who were recorded entering Afghanistan for a period of more than one day during a particular calendar year. These figures are not a breakdown of the headcount of personnel actually located in Afghanistan at any one time.
The total number of military personnel recorded as entering Afghanistan, rounded to the nearest 10 by gender for the period 1 April 2007 until 1 December 2012 is as follows:
| Calendar year | Female military personnel | Male military personnel |
Armed Forces: Cadets
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what proportion of Army Cadet Force detachments are connected to (a) independent schools and (b) state schools; [137704]
(2) how much funding was provided by his Department to support the Army Cadet Force detachments in (a) independent and (b) state schools in the last year for which figures are available. [137705]
Mr Francois: There are 181 Army Cadet Force (ACF) detachments connected to schools and colleges in the UK. Current records indicate that 178 are connected to state schools and colleges and three are connected to independent schools, equating to around 11% of the total ACFs in the UK.
Information relating to the amount of funding made available is not held in the format requested.
Aviation
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many air miles were accumulated by each Minister in his Department in 2012; how such air miles were used; and whether such air miles were donated to charity. [137084]
Mr Francois: Ministerial use of air miles is conducted in accordance with the guidance set out in the ministerial code. Any air miles accrued by the Department in respect of Ministers' and officials' travel are used by the Department towards the cost of official travel.
Data Protection
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions each Minister in his Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available. [137120]
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Mr Francois: This information is not held. Ministers handle official information in accordance with Government guidance.
Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft
Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what sum is payable to the future strategic tanker aircraft consortium in order to access air-to-air refuelling rights for aircraft that chose to use buddy tanks. [137640]
Mr Dunne: Under the future strategic tanker aircraft contract, Air Tanker will increasingly meet all of the RAF's air-to-air refuelling needs.
The RAF has no requirement to undertake air-to-air refuelling using the “buddy-buddy” concept and hence no liability would arise.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department has received on (a) delays and (b) the risk of delays to the future strategic tanker aircraft programme since May 2010. [137747]
Mr Dunne: The future strategic tanker aircraft project, known in service as the Voyager, is on schedule to achieve its in-service date (ISD) of May 2014.
Risks are routinely monitored and mitigated. Risks to the introduction of air-to-air refuelling and to the delivery of specific aircraft are being successfully addressed and the ISD remains on track.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials of his Department have had on (i) delays and (ii) risks of delays to the future strategic tanker aircraft programme since May 2010. [137748]
Mr Dunne: The future strategic tanker aircraft project, known in service as the Voyager, is on schedule to achieve its in-service date of May 2014. The aircraft was granted a military release to service in the air transport role in April 2012 and while some technical issues on the air-to-air refuelling system have needed further work, tests have proved successful and the aircraft is expected to start air-to-air refuelling later this year. The original schedule for the Voyager project included margin to allow for resolution of such issues and hence the in-service-date of May 2014 is not currently at risk.
The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and Ministers have been personally engaged in ensuring satisfactory progress on this key programme, which is governed at the official level through a quarterly joint board with industry, informed by subordinate forums to manage the various elements of the programme on a more frequent basis.
Government Procurement Card
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) staff and (b) special advisers in his Department have use of a Government Procurement Card. [137266][Official Report, 13 February 2013, Vol. 558 c. 7MC.]
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Mr Francois: Currently, 11,614 Government Procurement Cards (GPC) are in issue with the Ministry of Defence. This is a reduction of over 25% compared to the figure of 16,009 GPC cards in issue in 2009. Not all cards are issued individually to staff on a one to one basis. The special advisers have not been issued with a GPC.
Guided Weapons
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his meeting with his French counterpart in November 2012, when he expects to meet his French counterpart to discuss the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy); and what his estimate is of the likely delay before any new guided missile can be deployed. [137721]
Mr Dunne: The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), communicates regularly with the French Defence Minister on a range of issues. The In-Service date of the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy) will be confirmed later this year.
Major Projects Review Board
Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current status is of the Major Projects Review Board. [137404]
Mr Dunne: The Major Projects Review Board was established in June 2011 to ensure that the most significant Ministry of Defence projects keep to the cost and time parameters agreed by the Department's Investment Approvals Committee and HM Treasury at the major investment decision point. The board continues to meet on a regular basis.
Mali
Mr Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when contingency planning began for potential deployment in support of French forces in Mali in (a) his Department and (b) Permanent Joint Headquarters. [137698]
Mr Robathan: The Ministry of Defence, including Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood, began contingency planning for potential UK deployments in support of French forces in Mali on 11 January 2012.
Ministerial authority for detailed planning and subsequent execution was granted on 12 January.
Military Aircraft
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the out-of-service dates for the VC10 and TriStar aircraft; [137749]
(2) what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials of his Department have had on the bringing forward the out-of-service dates for the VC10 and TriStar aircraft since May 2010. [137750]
Mr Dunne:
The out-of-service dates for the VC10 and TriStar fleets were reviewed and adjusted during the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review and subsequent planning round and annual budget cycle processes. The
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planned out-of-service date for the VC10 is September 2013 and the out-of-service date for the TriStars is March 2014.
The Ministry of Defence formally assessed the operational capability requirement in its annual capability audits conducted in 2011 and 2012, and it is routinely monitored by the capability planning group responsible for the VC10, TriStar and Voyager aircraft fleets. These adjustments were made as part of routine planning activity to align them to our evolving requirements and the build-up of replacement capability. Ministers received advice on these issues from officials throughout this period.
Property
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the value of the sites currently earmarked by his Department for sale in each region of the UK. [137222]
Mr Francois: Details of any pre-sale valuations obtained cannot be released as to do so could prejudice commercial interests.