Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Crown Prosecution Service spent on training for its lawyers to identify and prosecute disability hate crime in each of the last five years. [151874]
The Attorney-General: Stopping hate crime and bringing perpetrators to justice is a priority for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS has recorded the following spending on direct costs for prosecuting disability hate crime training during the past four financial years. Expenditure on training for disability hate crime in 2008-09 has not been recorded.
2009-10: £20,948
2010-11: £1,450
2011-12: £2,340
2012-13: £2,419.
In addition to this the CPS spent £3,000 in 2011-12 and £3,000 in 2012-13 on conferences for CPS hate crime co-ordinators, which included coverage of disability hate crime.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what training Crown Prosecution Service lawyers have received on identifying and prosecuting disability hate crime. [151875]
The Attorney-General: Stopping hate crime and bringing perpetrators to justice is a priority for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The CPS has an online e-learning course titled “Prosecuting Hate Crime”. The course includes the legal guidance on disability hate crime and the identification of such offences, as well as covering more broadly the policies and guidance on the prosecution of all types of hate crime. The course has been undertaken by 2,999 employees since its launch in March/April 2010.
In December 2011 and November 2012, national conferences were held for the CPS's Hate Crime Co-ordinators. The first focused exclusively on disability hate crime and the second covered the use of special measures, disability hate crime case handling and accurate recording. The co-ordinators were required to cascade the information from the conferences to lawyers in their local areas.
Local Scrutiny and Involvement Panels (LSIPs) are made up of community representatives and staff. They scrutinise closed hate crime cases in order to provide feedback to enable the CPS (and thus its lawyers) to
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improve prosecutions in these cases. The mechanism for disseminating the feedback and any related training is determined at local level.
A range of different training courses on hate crime, including the identification and prosecution of disability hate crime, has also been locally delivered to lawyers within CPS Areas and CPS Direct, according to local training needs. Some of these courses have been accredited for the purpose of continuing professional development.
Criminal Proceedings
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions the Crown Prosecution Service has failed to comply with orders made by the court at a plea and case management hearing or any subsequent hearing regarding service of evidence in each of the last five years. [152152]
The Attorney-General: The CPS implemented changes to the Case Management System (CMS) to enable CPS staff from April 2012 to report on data in relation to managing Judges' directions and applications in respect of finalised cases. The following table sets out the number of judges’ orders recorded in the Crown Court for orders concerning the service of evidence.
| April 2012 to March 2013 | |||||
| Total directions | Directions complied with | Directions complied with timeously | Directions complied with out of time | Directions not complied with | |
No central record of judges' orders was maintained prior to April 2012. Therefore obtaining information for periods prior to that time would involve consulting individual case files and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many times a defendant has been released because a judge has refused to extend the custody time limit in each of the last five years. [152153]
The Attorney-General: A defendant in custody awaiting trial must be released on bail where a court determines that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or the police have not prepared the case with the necessary diligence and expedition. A defendant must also normally be released where the court is unable to list the case for trial within the statutory time limit. Such releases are always reviewed in conjunction with the police to ensure the safety of anyone affected.
The CPS does not maintain a central record for all cases where a defendant was released due to a refusal to extend the custody time limit. Such information cannot reasonably be obtained locally or nationally other than by undertaking a manual exercise of reviewing individual file records which would incur a disproportionate cost.
The CPS has maintained a central record for the last two years for cases where the CPS was primarily responsible for a judge's refusal to extend a custody time limit. The following table shows, in each of the last two years, the number of defendants released on bail or retained in custody for other reasons:
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| Bailed | Not bailed | Total | |
Crown Prosecution Service
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General whether he intends there to be any compulsory redundancies within the Crown Prosecution Service in the next three years. [151876]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service has a range of measures designed to avoid compulsory redundancy and has not made any posts redundant compulsory since 1999. It will continue to use these approaches to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible over the next three years.
Crown Prosecution Service: Logica
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General (1) what alternative procurement strategies were considered by the Crown Prosecution Service prior to its decision to lease laptops from Logica; and for what reasons these alternatives were rejected; [152441]
(2) what the cost has been to the Crown Prosecution Service of providing its staff with (a) Logica laptops and (b) associated software, accessories and maintenance; and if he will make a statement; [152442]
(3) how many laptops have been provided to Crown Prosecution Service staff under its contract with Logica to date. [152443]
The Attorney-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) awarded a 10-year public finance initiative (PFI) contract to CGI (formerly Logica) on 31 December 2001 for the provision of full IT services as a managed service. The contract encompasses the supply of infrastructure as well as desktop and mobile IT equipment. The original contract included a provision to extend for up to five years.
In 2008-09 the ICT Services ‘Beyond 2012 Project’ was established to evaluate and set out the financial and non-financial evaluation of the procurement options, and followed a rigorous CPS internal governance review and approval process.
In 2009 the CPS board approved the business case and decision to extend the IT managed service contract from 2009 to 2015 based on a full appraisal and assessment of the procurement options available, including alternative providers.
The option to extend the CGI contract until 31 March 2015 was approved on the basis that it was most closely aligned to the delivery of the Department's strategic objectives, and delivered substantial savings between 2012 and 2015 that were unlikely to be achieved from a re-procurement while presenting the lowest risk to business critical service continuity.
The provision of mobile IT equipment and associated software, security maintenance and support was an integral part of the PFI offer.
The following table represents the annual costs of providing the laptop service to Crown Prosecution Service staff. The cost of the first 100 laptops is part of
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a general fixed charge and is not separately distinguishable. The costs represent the variable balance charged for the remaining number and include the associated software, accessories and maintenance.
| Financial year | Yearly cost excluding VAT (£) |
The average number of laptops provided to staff by the Crown Prosecution Service under the CGI contract for each year is as follows:
| Financial year | Average |
In February 2012, the Crown Prosecution Service introduced tablet devices for use by advocates and other operational lawyers to support the presentation of cases in court:
| Financial year | Average |
As of March 2013, 4,439 had been deployed.
The yearly support cost (excluding VAT) for the tablet service is as follows and includes associated software, accessories and maintenance costs:
2011-12: £74,231
2012-13: £1,376,389.
To facilitate the bulk purchase of tablets the CPS paid a commissioning charge per tablet which for 4,700 tablets was £4,066,722 (excluding VAT).
Domestic Violence: Prosecutions
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General if he will publish a breakdown by Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) business area of (a) domestic violence-flagged cases referred to the CPS for a charging decision, (b) decisions to take no further action on domestic violence-flagged cases and (c) the conviction rate for domestic violence-flagged cases in each of the last five years. [151878]
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The Attorney-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the numbers of domestic violence-flagged cases in its case management system and associated management information system.
The CPS defines domestic violence as any threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between those who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. Family members include mother, father, son, daughter, sister, and grandparents, whether directly related, in-laws or step family. The data are accurate only to the extent that the flag has been correctly applied.
The following tables show, in each of the last five years for each CPS business area, (a) the number of domestic violence flagged cases referred to the CPS for a pre-charge decision, (b) the number of these pre-charge decisions in which the CPS decided to take no further action and (c) the conviction rate of defendants prosecuted for domestic violence.
| (a) Total pre-charge decisions | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (b) Total no further action | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
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| (c) Conviction rate | |||||
| Percentage | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
Evidence
Emily Thornberry:
To ask the Attorney-General how many times the Crown Prosecution Service served an application to adduce bad character pursuant to section 101 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 or hearsay
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evidence pursuant to sections 114 or 116 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 where such applications failed to comply with the time limits as set out in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2011 in each of the last five years. [151869]
The Attorney-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of times a CPS prosecutor has served a bad character or hearsay evidence application. To provide this information would require a manual search of files which would incur a disproportionate cost.
Offences against Children: Prosecutions
Ann Coffey: To ask the Attorney-General what the success rate of the Crown Prosecution Service has been in prosecuting child sexual abuse cases since January 2013; and if he will make a statement. [151903]
The Attorney-General: The CPS maintains a central record of the number of finalised defendant prosecutions who were prosecuted under charges relating to sexual offences. The CPS also identifies all cases involving a victim under 18 years of age. The following table sets out the number of prosecutions for sexual offences where the victim was under 18 years of age since January 2013:
| 2013 | ||||||||
| January | February | March | 3 month total | |||||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
This definition includes crimes perpetrated by both adults and under 18s.
Prosecutions
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases the Crown Prosecution Service dropped at the pre-charging stage in each of the last seven years. [151870]
The Attorney-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the numbers of suspects referred to prosecutors for a pre-charge decision since statutory charging was fully rolled out across England and Wales in April 2006.
The following table shows, in each of the last seven years for which figures are available, the number of cases in which the CPS decided to take no further action at the pre-charge decision stage.
| No further action (NFA) | Percentage NFA | Total pre-charge decisions | |
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many Crown Prosecution Service prosecutions in (a) magistrates courts and (b) Crown Courts there were in each of the last eight years. [152154]
The Attorney-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of defendants who were prosecuted in magistrates courts and in the Crown court.
The figures in the following tables represent the numbers of defendants prosecuted together with the outcome of proceedings prosecuted by the CPS, in each of the last eight years. Outcomes are divided into convictions, including guilty pleas as well as convictions after trial, and unsuccessful outcomes, comprising all other outcomes.
| (a) Magistrates courts | |||||
| Convictions | Unsuccessful | Total | |||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | ||
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| (b) Crown court | |||||
| Convictions | Unsuccessful | Total | |||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | ||
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of Crown Prosecution Service cases were conducted paperlessly in the last 12 months. [152155]
The Attorney-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not keep statistics on the proportion of cases that have been conducted from receipt to disposal without the use of paper. To obtain and collate this information would incur a disproportionate cost.
Over the last 12 months, the CPS has made substantial progress with its Transformation Through Technology (T3) Programme, which is designed to transform the work of the service by moving case preparation, progression and presentation away from paper to digital, using existing technology.
Most police forces are now transferring over 90% of all case files electronically to the CPS with paper only by exception. All magistrates courts are now able to receive digital case files from the CPS, and almost 4,500 tablet devices have been deployed to CPS staff: prosecutors are increasingly using them to present cases in court instead of paper files.
Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 10 April 2013, Official Report, column 1138W, on Crown Prosecution Service, how many advocates are prosecuting cases in court for the Crown Prosecution Service. [152275]
The Attorney-General: According to Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) records, as at 17 April 2013, the CPS employs 2,539 advocates who regularly undertake regular advocacy in court. In addition, the CPS employs 591 lawyers in management, specialist and legal trainee positions who might undertake advocacy occasionally although not as their primary function.
In addition to the in-house advocates identified above, throughout 2012-13 the CPS paid fees to 3,627 individual self-employed advocates.
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Rape: Prosecutions
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General whether the Crown Prosecution Service records the number of occasions on which it has dropped a rape case wholly or partly because the complainant has received therapy since the alleged attack. [151871]
The Attorney-General: The Crown Prosecution Service does not maintain a central record of the number of rape prosecutions dropped because the complainant has received therapy since the alleged attack. Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by a manual exercise at disproportionate cost.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General if he will publish a breakdown by Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) business area of (a) rape-flagged cases referred to the CPS for a charging decision, (b) decisions to take no further action on rape-flagged cases and (c) the conviction rate for rape cases in each of the last five years. [151879]
The Attorney-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the numbers of cases flagged as rape in its case management system and associated management information system.
The CPS defines rape as any offence from the following list:
Section 1 Sexual Offences Act 1956;
Section 5 Sexual Offences Act 1956;
Section 1 Sexual Offences Act 2003;
Section 5 Sexual Offences Act 2003;
Section 30(3) Sexual Offences Act 2003;
An attempt to commit any of the above offences under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981;
Incitement or conspiracy to commit any of the above offences.
It is not possible to disaggregate figures to show separately the volume and outcome of proceedings for each individual offence on this list. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence. The data are accurate only to the extent that the flag has been correctly applied.
The following tables show, in each of the last five years for each CPS business area, (a) the number of rape-flagged cases referred to the CPS for a pre-charge decision, (b) the number of these pre-charge decisions in which the CPS decided to take no further action, and (c) the conviction rate of defendants flagged as rape.
| (a) Total pre-charge decisions | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
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| (b) Total no further action | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (c) Conviction rate | |||||
| Percentage | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
Rape: Victim Support Schemes
Jim Shannon: To ask the Attorney-General what steps he is taking to provide support for victims of rape through the justice system. [152144]
The Attorney-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) takes all allegations of rape seriously. Supporting victims of rape through the criminal justice process is vital to successful prosecutions. The CPS works closely with the police and voluntary sector agencies to ensure that specialist support is provided to victims early on and then at all stages throughout the court process.
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Sentencing
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions Crown Prosecution Service prosecutors requested an uplift in sentencing under section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 in each of the last five years. [151872]
The Attorney-General: The CPS does not maintain a central record of the number of occasions that CPS prosecutors requested an uplift in sentencing under section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This information could be obtained only by consulting individual files which would incur a disproportionate cost.
Serious Fraud Office
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2013, Official Report, column 747W on Serious Fraud Office; what the (a) value and (b) source of the gifts received by the Serious Fraud Office is; and if he will provide the value of the gifts received since 2009-10 and the identities of the companies who gave them. [151906]
The Attorney-General: A table containing the information requested has been placed in the Library of the House(1).
(1) The data provided in the table also relate to data provided in the answer of 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 631W, which contained the following typographical errors. The value of the third largest entry in 2009-10 was £75 rather than £70. The five highest value entries for 2011-12 were £200, £120, £104, £95 and £71. The total value of gifts and hospitality in 2011-12 has been recalculated due to these errors and equals £1,183.
Culture, Media and Sport
Apprentices
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many apprentices are currently employed by her Department; and how many such apprentices are aged (a) under 19, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30, (d) 31 to 60 and (e) over 60. [152614]
Hugh Robertson: The Department does not currently employ any apprentices, but is committed to the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme, which opened on 15 April 2013. It expects to employ some apprentices, selected through that scheme, from September 2013 onwards.
Gaming Machines
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) whether the Government plan to bring forward further legislative proposals to control the spread of adult gaming centres; [152503]
(2) what restrictions there are on the number of adult gaming centres allowed in a designated area. [152504]
Hugh Robertson: Councils have powers under the Gambling Act 2005 to license adult gaming centres and address problems by individual premises. In addition, councils have a range of planning powers to protect local amenity; for example, the London borough of Barking and Dagenham has been consulting on an Article 4 Direction and associated supplementary planning guidance to address the proliferation of betting shops in the local area.
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Performing Arts
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received on the capacity of (a) Festival for Stars Talent Search UK Ltd and (b) other such organisations to provide promised prizes, contracts and appearances; and if she will make a statement. [151925]
Jo Swinson: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
This Department has received one recent piece of correspondence concerning Festival for Stars Talent Search UK Ltd and a predecessor business. I have received no representations relating to other such organisations.
Consumer protection legislation provides consumers with additional rights which they are able to exert when contracts are breached, if necessary through the small claims court. Legislation also provides for enforcement action in respect of criminal offences where services are marketed or described in a misleading or deceptive way.
I understand that the Staffordshire and Blackpool Trading Standards Services have already been contacted on the matter. Any consumers with concerns about business behaviour or evidence of deceptiveness should bring the matter to the attention of their local authority trading standards service.
Justice
Animal Welfare: Sentencing
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will undertake a general review of sentencing for crimes of promoting and organising animal fighting; and if he will make a statement. [151717]
Mr Heath: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Organised animal fights are prohibited by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The maximum penalty is a fine of £20,000 and/or six months’ imprisonment. Sections 85-87 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 provide powers to remove the maximum limits of penalties imposed on offenders by magistrates courts. However these sections have not yet been commenced.
Expert Evidence
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure that expert witnesses can access medical records in the event of an interview with a prisoner under the auspices of a legal visit; and if he will make a statement. [151414]
Norman Lamb: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Health.
An expert witness may access an offender's national health service medical record in England, with the explicit consent of the offender. Where an offender does not consent to access of his or her medical records by an expert witness, and also where the record holder does not support disclosure of the record in the public interest, an expert witness can access the record provided a court order authorises this.
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Treasury
Banks: Finance
Mr Lilley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which measures his Department has introduced since 2008 to require UK-based banks to hold additional capital. [151258]
Greg Clark: The Government support the implementation of the Basel international standards. Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) 4 improves both the quantity and quality of regulatory capital banks are required to hold. CRD 4 also provides supervisors with a range of discretionary tools for increasing firms' capital requirements.
The Banking Reform Bill will from 2019 require ring-fenced retail banks to hold an additional equity capital buffer above and beyond the new international standards. Ring-fenced banks and UK-headquartered global banking groups will also be required to hold a minimum amount of loss-absorbing bail-in debt.
In addition, the Government have created the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) at the Bank of England, charged with identifying, monitoring and taking action to remove or reduce systemic risks to the stability of the financial system. Among the FPC's powers will be the power to vary capital requirements in certain circumstances.
Capital Gains Tax
John Stevenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue accrued from capital gains tax on private rented residential properties in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [151256]
Mr Gauke: The information requested is not available.
Child Benefit
Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the cost of means-testing household income to determine eligibility for child benefit. [151188]
Mr Gauke: The Government considered a number of different options relating to child benefit, including how any change should be delivered. Looking at household income would mean finding out the incomes of everyone in each of the 8 million households getting child benefit. This would effectively introduce a new means test. Our approach means that HMRC only had to contact around 15% of those families.
Cleveland Fire Brigade: Mutual Societies
Jenny Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what funding his Department has allocated to support the project of mutualisation of Cleveland Fire Service. [151910]
Danny Alexander: HM Treasury has allocated funding to departmental programmes such as the Cabinet Office Mutuals Support Programme, which supports emerging and established public service mutuals. These Departments are responsible for deciding how these funds are spent within their agreed delegations.
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Departmental Expenditure Limits
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what amount (a) in today's prices and (b) as a percentage Departmental Resource DEL budgets (excluding depreciation) have been adjusted for (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15 as a result of the policy announced in the Autumn Statement 2011 that public sector pay awards would average one per cent for each of the two years following the end of the pay freeze. [151310]
Danny Alexander: This information is in the public domain. For convenience, I advise the following links.
The reduction in departmental budgets as a result of this measure was set out in a written ministerial statement on 8 December 2011 and can be found at the following link:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm111208/wmstext/111208m0001.htm
The most recent GDP deflators can be found on the Treasury website:
http://hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_gdp_fig.htm
The latest departmental control totals can be found in table 2.4 of the Budget 2012 document:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget2013.htm
Income Tax
Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the effects of decreasing the 40% income tax threshold in Budget 2013 on those households affected. [151269]
Mr Gauke: By April 2014, the personal allowance will have risen by £3,525 since 2010—an increase of 54%. Together these increases will benefit 25 million individuals, and take 2.7 million low income individuals out of income tax by April 2014.
To make this reform affordable, the Government have focused much of the benefit of the increases in the personal allowance on those with low and middle incomes. The higher rate threshold has been reduced to help achieve this.
Higher rate taxpayers have also benefited from increases in the personal allowance—a typical higher rate taxpayer will have gained by £224 in real terms in 2014-15.
Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many additional households will be brought into the 40% income tax band in 2015 as a result of the reductions in thresholds made since 2010. [151270]
Mr Gauke: By April 2014, the personal allowance will have risen by £3,525 since 2010—an increase of 54%. Together these increases will benefit 25 million individuals, and take 2.7 million low income individuals out of income tax by April 2014.
To make this reform affordable, the Government have focused much of the benefit of the increases in the personal allowance on those with low and middle incomes. The higher rate threshold has been reduced to help achieve this.
HMRC estimates that there will be an additional 2.2 million individuals brought into the 40% income tax band in 2015 as a result of the reductions in thresholds made since 2010, and 1.4 million of these individuals will have been brought into the 40% income tax band as a
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result of decisions made by this Government alone. Around three-quarters of these individuals remain better off as a result of the significant increases in the personal allowance made by this Government.
Inheritance Tax
John Stevenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of revenue foregone owing to inheritance tax exemptions in each of the last five financial years; [151259]
(2) how much revenue was raised from inheritance tax in each of the last five financial years. [151260]
Mr Gauke: Revenue foregone owing to major inheritance tax exemptions is published at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures/table1-5.pdf
Similar information for more minor exemptions is published at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures/table-b1.pdf
Revenue foregone for previous years is not available for the exemptions covered in these tables. However the amount of inheritance tax exemptions set against assets for the last five financial years, for estates above the inheritance tax threshold, is published at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/inheritance/table12-2.pdf
Revenue foregone due to exemptions for charities is given at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/charity/table10-2.pdf
Revenue raised from inheritance tax in the each of the last five years where information is available is published at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/inheritance/table12-1.pdf
John Stevenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many taxable estates there were in 2011-12; [151545]
(2) how many estates were worth over £1 million in 2011-12. [151546]
Mr Gauke: The number of estates paying IHT on death in 2011-12 is published in Table 1.4 available from the HMRC website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/taxpayers/table1-4.pdf
The numbers of estates worth over £1 million left on death in 2009-10 are in the published National Statistics Table 12.3 available from the HMRC website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/inheritance/table12-3.pdf
Data for 2011-12 will be published in the publication schedule which is available from the HMRC website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/updates.htm
Pamela Nash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much revenue his Department collected in inheritance tax by (a) postcode, (b) region and (c) parliamentary constituency in each year since 2007-08; [152680]
(2) how much income was foregone by his Department in inheritance tax relief for holdings in (a) unincorporated partnerships, (b) owner-occupier farmland, (c) shares in qualifying unquoted companies and (d) bequests of landlord interests in let farmland for (i) Wales, (ii) Scotland, (iii) England, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [152681]
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Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to her question of 18 April 2013, Official Report, column 250. There are no figures available on the amount of IHT revenue collected at postcode or parliamentary constituency level. However, information on the number of taxpayers at parliamentary constituency level is published in HM Revenue and Customs' official statistics. The most recent figures, for 2009-10, are available at the following address:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/inheritance/table12-12.pdf
The information requested on income foregone in inheritance tax relief is not available. However, the estimated cost of relief for agricultural property in general is published at the following address:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures/table1-5.pdf
The amount of inheritance tax exemptions set against assets for the last five financial years, for estates above the inheritance tax threshold, is published at the following address:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/inheritance/table12-2.pdf
M4
Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on funding an M4 relief road. [152225]
Danny Alexander: Roads policy is devolved to the Welsh Government but the UK Government recognise the strategic importance of the M4 and so are discussing options for funding improvements with the Welsh Government.
Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the funding of an M4 relief road. [152226]
Danny Alexander: I regularly meet the Welsh Finance Minister to discuss matters that are relevant to Wales. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.
Minimum Wage: Apprentices
Pamela Nash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many breaches of the apprentice rate of the national minimum wage were recorded in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales in each year since May 2010; [151779]
(2) how many breaches of the national minimum wage were recorded for each rate in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) the UK in each year since May 2010; [151803]
(3) how many breaches of the apprentice rate of the national minimum wage were recorded in each year since records began up to the most recent records available in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales; [152405]
(4) how many breaches of the national minimum wage for each rate were recorded in each year since records began up to the most recent records available in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales. [152406]
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Mr Gauke: HMRC does not record the outcome of its minimum wage investigations by reference to the national minimum wage rates The total number of instances of non-compliance with NMW from 2009 is in the following table:
| Financial year | England | Wales | Scotland | UK |
| (1)( )1 May 2010 to 31 March 2011 | ||||
Mobile Phones
Jenny Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which company holds the largest contract to provide mobile telephony services to HM Revenue and Customs; how much was paid under the contract in the last year for which figures are available; how many individual services are covered by the contract; when the contract was awarded; when the contract will next be renewed; and for how long. [151713]
Mr Gauke: The contract for mobile telephony services is provided through the ASPIRE Framework with Capgemini as the prime contractor. Capgemini subcontracts this work to Vodafone, as follows:
| Annual spend April 2012 to March 2013 (£) | |
The contract with Vodafone started on 18 December 2010 and is due to expire on 17 December 2014. HMRC will decide the appropriate contract length according to its requirements and market dynamics.
Non-domestic Rates: Appeals
Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress his Department has made in reducing the number of outstanding business rates appeals with the Valuation Office Agency. [151799]
Mr Gauke: Around 293,000 appeals made against the 2010 rating list were resolved by the end of December 2012. While appeals continue to be received, the number of outstanding 2010 rating appeals fell by 21% between 2011-12 Quarter 3 and 2012-13 Quarter 3. The VOA has prioritised the clearance of appeals by improving efficiency, diverting resources from other work areas, and recruiting additional frontline staff.
Private Finance Initiative
Pamela Nash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which private finance initiative projects have been refinanced in each year since May 2010; what the value is of each such project; what the refinancing gain has been in each such case; and how much any such gain the relevant Government body received through a (a) lump sum and (b) reduction in the unitary charge. [152409]
22 Apr 2013 : Column 675W
Danny Alexander: PFI projects are managed by departments, local authorities and NHS trusts as well as devolved Administrations. Those procuring authorities do not need to inform the Treasury if projects are refinanced. Therefore the Treasury does not carry this information.
The Treasury is not aware of any projects being refinanced since May 2010. This is likely to reflect the increased cost of private finance since the financial crisis and therefore the limited opportunity to refinance on more favourable terms.
You may be interested to know that in April 2012 the Treasury revised the standard refinancing gain sharing provisions for new projects so that in the event of a debt refinancing, 90% of the gain is retained by the public sector—so should the opportunity of refinancings arise in future the public sector will be the main beneficiary.
Revenue and Customs
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days of work were carried out by officials in HM Revenue and Customs on average in each of the last five years; and what the total salary cost was of officials in each year. [151118]
Mr Gauke: Calculating the actual number of days worked each year by officials would incur a disproportionate cost.
The last five years of audited information, reporting the total of wages and salary costs and the average number of whole-time equivalent staff in post for HMRC is as follows:
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials were recruited by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years. [151119]
Mr Gauke: The information is as follows:
| Number | |
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in HM Revenue and Customs had (a) fewer than five days, (b) six to 10 days, (c) 11 to 15 days, (d) 16 to 20 days, (e) 21 to 25 days, (f) 26 to 50 days, (g) 51 to 75 days, (h) 76 to 100 days, (i) 101 to 150 days, (j) 151 to 200 days, (k) more than 201 days, (l) more than three months, (m) more than six months and (n) more than one year of paid sick leave (i) consecutively and (ii) in total in each of the last five years. [151121]
22 Apr 2013 : Column 676W
Mr Gauke: The information is as follows:
| Total sickness absence days taken in each year | ||||
| Number of officials | ||||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| Total period of sickness absence | ||||
| Number of officials | ||||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
The information relating to consecutive absences is not held in the format requested. Each time an official has more than one absence reason in a consecutive period they are counted separately and there is no way of providing reliable data on consecutive absences without incurring disproportionate cost.
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in HM Revenue and Customs qualified for privilege days in the last year for which figures are available; and what the cost to the public purse was of the use of such privilege days in that year. [151122]
Mr Gauke: The number of staff qualifying for privilege days at 31 March 2012 was 74,983.
All staff have a contractual entitlement to 2.5 privilege days per year.
The total cost of these privilege days in any given year could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is because the cost calculation is dependent upon individual terms and conditions as well as whether rotas/shifts include privilege day working.
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in HM Revenue and Customs left that body due to (a) resignation, (b) retirement, (c) redundancy, (d) transferral to another public sector post and (e) another reason in each of the last five years. [151123]
Mr Gauke: The information is as follows:
| Leaving reason | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
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Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what allowances and subsidies in addition to salary were available to officials in HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years; and what the monetary value was of such payments and allowances in each such year. [151144]
Mr Gauke: An answer can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid to officials in HM Revenue and Customs in bonuses and other payments in addition to salary in each of the last five years; how many officials received such payments; and what the monetary value was of the 20 largest payments made in each year. [151145]
Mr Gauke: HMRC operates two non-consolidated award arrangements:
Performance awards tied to the annual performance for delegated grades (AA—Grade 6) and senior civil servants; and
A recognition bonus scheme for delegated grades which recognises exceptional in year performance. This scheme is not open to members of the SCS.
| Value of awards | Number of awards | |
| Value of top 20 non-consolidated awards | |||||
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |