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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 13 May 2013
Attorney-General
Arrest Warrants
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many suspects the Crown Prosecution Service has successfully applied to have returned to the UK under a European arrest warrant in each of the last five years; and with what offence each suspect was charged. [154126]
Mr Harper: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
The European arrest warrant (EAW) scheme is managed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA); although policy oversight is the responsibility of Home Office Ministers. I would refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement of 16 April 2013, Official Report, columns 28-29WS, which informed the House of an error SOCA has identified in the capture and reporting of information on the number of outgoing EAW (part 3) requests that have been executed since 2009-10. HM chief inspector of constabulary (HMCIC) has been asked to review SOCA data and will report back in mid May.
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) with what external (a) organisations and (b) individuals her Department has engaged as part of the Scotland Analysis Programme; and what was discussed at such consultations; [154811]
(2) how many officials in her Department have been allocated to work on the Scotland Analysis Programme; and at what cost to the public purse; [154812]
(3) what meetings she and officials in her Department have had with the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West as part of the Scotland Analysis Programme; and what was discussed at those meetings; [154813]
(4) what work her Department has commissioned from external consultants in relation to work on the Scotland Analysis Programme; which consultants were used; and at what cost to the public purse. [154814]
Mike Penning: Work on the Scotland Analysis programme is being carried out across Government by policy experts in relevant areas. There is a small team in the Treasury co-ordinating the programme.
The Northern Ireland Office has not engaged with any external organisations or individuals as part of the Scotland Analysis programme, nor have Northern Ireland Office staff been allocated to work on the Scotland
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Analysis programme. Neither I, nor my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, nor officials from the Northern Ireland Office have had meetings with the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling) as part of the Scotland Analysis programme and the Northern Ireland Office has not commissioned any work from external consultants in relation to the programme.
Wales
Buildings
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the total running costs were for each building used, owned or rented in central London by his Department in each of the last three financial years. [154235]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office owns one building in central London; the running costs for the building are set out in the following table:
| Financial year | Total running costs (£) |
G4S
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the current level of expenditure by his Department is on contracts with G4S; and how much was spent by his Department on contracts with G4S in each year since 2008. [154562]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office uses the services of G4S but has no direct contract with the contractor. As a small Government Department we use the buying power of larger Government Departments to procure services—in this case the Ministry of Justice.
Through the Ministry of Justice contract with G4S, which began in April 2012, the Wales Office paid G4S £765.80 in financial year 2012-13.
Higher Education: Research
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had regarding research and development funding for universities in Wales. [153994]
Mr David Jones: My ministerial team and I have regular and ongoing discussions with Welsh vice-chancellors and the Minister of State for Universities and Science. I also took the opportunity during a recent visit to South East Asia to highlight opportunities for Welsh higher education institutions with Ministers at the South-East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation conference in Vietnam and academics in Hong Kong.
My recent visit to Swansea University, and meetings with senior academics there, highlighted the great contribution that UK Government funding is making to the higher education sector in Wales.
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Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps his Department is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures. [154542]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office does not directly procure services but uses the buying power of larger Government Departments, such as the Ministry of Justice, who have issued guidance on implementation and implications of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 to all staff.
Publications
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on subscriptions to academic journals published by (a) Reed-Elsevier, (b) Wiley-Blackwell, (c) Springer and (d) any other academic publisher in each of the last five years. [154504]
Stephen Crabb: Nil. The Wales Office has not in the last five years subscribed to any academic publications.
Scotland
Scottish Business Board
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Scottish Business Board last met; and if he will place the papers from the meeting in the Library. [154049]
Michael Moore: The Scottish Business Board last met on Monday 25 March 2013. I have arranged for a copy of the relevant papers and the minutes of the meeting to be placed in the Library.
Home Department
Asylum: Finance
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much Sodexo distributed through the Azure card in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and how much was allocated to Sodexo for the administration of the Azure card scheme in each such year. [154203]
Mr Harper: In 2011-12, the Department distributed £6.3 million to failed asylum seekers through the Azure card. Equivalent audited figures for 2012-13 will be available once the UK Border Agency's annual resource accounts for 2012-13 are published later this year.
The Department is unable to disclose information about payments under the terms of this contract on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the (a) potential merits and (b) practicability of permitting the use of Azure cards for bus travel. [154204]
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Mr Harper: No detailed assessment has been made. Azure card holders are accommodated within reasonable walking distance of shops where they can use their card to buy food and other essential items. Bus tickets or taxis are provided for other essential journeys, for example medical appointments.
British Nationality
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on children born before 1 July 2006 being permitted to acquire UK citizenship on the basis of their father's UK nationality, where the father is not married to the child's mother, and the mother is not a UK national, but residing in the UK. [154173]
Mr Harper: If the child was born in the UK he or she will be a British citizen if the mother was settled in the UK at the time of the birth.
Children born overseas to unmarried British fathers before 1 July 2006 were unable to acquire citizenship by descent from their father. However, the Home Office will register such people as British citizens if an application is made before their 18th birthday.
Further guidance can be found at chapter 9 paragraph 9.9 of the nationality guidance available on the Home Office website:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/nationalityinstructions/nichapter9/
Confiscation Orders
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asset confiscation orders have been made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since 2008; what the value was of assets subject to such orders; and what amount of assets were confiscated in each such year. [154830]
Mr Jeremy Browne: Management information from the Joint Asset Recovery Database relating to confiscation orders made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is as follows:
| Number of confiscation orders made | Value of confiscation orders made (£ million) | Gross value of confiscation orders enforced (£ million) | |
Crimes against Property
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people of each age group were (a) arrested and (b) given antisocial behaviour orders on charges of vandalism and damage to property in each of the last five years. [154016]
Mr Jeremy Browne:
Arrests data for England and Wales are collected by the Home Office on the basis of aggregated age and offence groupings, and are published
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on an annual basis in the National Statistics series ‘Police Powers and Procedures’. Data currently available cover the period up to the financial year 2011-12 and are included in the latest internet-only release, which is available in the Library of the House and from the following link via:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-powers-and-procedures-in-england-and-wales-201112
Available data relate to the number of persons arrested for the criminal damage offence grouping, and are given in the following table.
Data on antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOS) are collected by the Ministry of Justice. Data showing the number of ASBOs issued and breached in each year, broken down by Criminal Justice System area and court centre area, can be accessed via the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-social-behaviour-order-statistics-england-and-wales-2011-2
Antisocial behaviour (ASB) can encompass a very wide range of behaviours. The specific nature of and circumstances surrounding the ASB which resulted in an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) being issued is recorded in individual case files held by courts.
However, due to their size and complexity, not all the details contained within these files are reported to the Ministry of Justice as part of the ASBO data collection. The Ministry of Justice report, therefore, that it is not possible to ascertain the specific reasons for an ASBO being issued except through examination of individual courts files, which could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
| Number of persons arrested for criminal damage offences, by age group, England and Wales 2007-08 to 2011-12 | |||||
| Age group | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
Crimes of Violence
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of assault with intent to rob are recorded daily in each region of the UK. [154290]
Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson dated May 2013
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking the Secretary of State for the Home Department for the number of reported assaults with intent to rob recorded daily in each region of the UK. [154290]
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Information is not centrally available specifically for incidents of assaults with intent to rob. However, the offence of robbery is defined as 'an offence in which force or the threat of force is used either during or immediately prior to a theft or attempted theft' and would include the incidents that you have requested figures for. It will also include incidents where no actual assault took place, for example where the victim was threatened with assault.
The latest published figures for the 2012 calendar year show that 67,462 robberies were recorded
by police forces in England and Wales. It is possible to equate this to a crude daily average of 185 per day. The table below shows the number of robberies and the equivalent number per day recorded in each region in England and Wales.
| Region | Number of robbery offences 1 January to 31 December 2012 | Crude daily average |
These data are available in the 'Police force area data tables—Crime in England and Wales, year ending December 2012' available here:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-300972
Crime statistics published by the ONS cover England and Wales only. Crime data for Scotland are published at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice and data for
Northern Ireland are published at:
http://www.psni.police.uk/index/updates/updates_statistics/update_crime_statistics.htm.
Human Trafficking
Mr Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes there will be to the National Referral Mechanism for human trafficking victims after the UK Border Agency is abolished. [154260]
Mr Harper: There will be no change to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for human trafficking victims now that the operational functions of the former UK Border Agency have transferred into the core Home Office. UK Visas and Immigration and Immigration Enforcement will be Competent Authorities alongside the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) and their staff will consider referrals on potential victims of trafficking just as they did in the former UK Border Agency. To enhance this process the Home Office is piloting an NRM Hub which will provide a centre of expertise in making NRM decisions.
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Human Trafficking Ministerial Group
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Ministers attended meetings of the Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking between January 2011 and April 2013. [154671]
Mr Harper: The table shows which Ministers attended meetings of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group in the period specified.
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|
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families | |
|
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities and Criminal Information |
Human Trafficking: Lichfield
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of people subject to human trafficking in (a) Lichfield constituency and (b) the smallest area including Lichfield constituency for which data are available. [154361]
Mr Harper: Data on identified victims of human trafficking are not collected at constituency level.
The location where a victim is identified may not be the same as where the exploitation occurred. In 2012 one potential victim of trafficking was referred to the National Referral Mechanism by local authorities in Staffordshire.
The UK Human Trafficking Centre publishes quarterly statistical data from the National Referral Mechanism on its website:
http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/national-referral-mechanism/statistics
Immigration: Married People
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to paragraph 18 (b) of Appendix FM-SE (Family members—specified evidence to the UK Border Agency's Immigration Rules) whether the on-target earnings an applicant's spouse is expected to earn by way of commission in a job that will start within three months of arrival will be taken into account to meet the financial requirement. [154042]
Mr Harper: Under the Immigration Rules in Appendix FM-SE earnings an applicant's spouse may earn by way of commission in a job that will start within three months of arrival in the UK cannot be counted under the financial requirement in a spouse visa application.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 28 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Mohammed Butt and Mrs Raheela Kavsar. [154474]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 9 May 2013.
Sir Gerald Kaufman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when she intends to reply to the letter to the Minister for Immigration dated
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15 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Muhammad Tausif; [154479]
(2) when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 18 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr S. Ahmed; [154480]
(3) when she intends to reply to the letter to the Minister for Immigration dated 18 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms A. Rose; [154481]
(4) when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 4 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr K. Jobanputra. [154483]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 7 May 2013.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 25 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Francisca Blandisva Matiza. [154484]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 7 May 2013.
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects that the hon. Member for Warley will receive a reply to his letter of 8 February 2013 to the UK Border Agency regarding the case of Baljinder Singh Bhatia. [154634]
Mr Harper: A Home Office senior manager wrote to the right hon. Member on 9 May 2013.
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects that the hon. Member for Warley will receive a reply to his letter of 19 March 2013 to the UK Border Agency regarding the case of Mr Anthony Anderson. [154635]
Mr Harper: The Home Office replied to the right hon. Member on 9 May 2013.
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects that the hon. Member for Warley will receive a reply to his letter of 14 February 2013 to the UK Border Agency regarding the case of Mr Hardip Singh. [154636]
Mr Harper: The Home Office replied to the right hon. Member on 9 May 2013.
UK Border Agency
Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to his letter to the chief executive, UK Border Agency of 21 March 2013 on behalf of a constituent, CTS ref B8512/13. [153948]
Mr Harper: The Home Office replied to the hon. Member on 10 May 2013.
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Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to his letter to the chief executive of the UK Border Agency of 28 March 2013 on behalf of a constituent, ref H1162268. [154820]
Mr Harper: The interim director general of UK Visas and Immigration will write to the hon. Member separately about this case.
Prime Minister
Scotland
Pete Wishart: To ask the Prime Minister (1) with which external (a) organisations and (b) individuals he has engaged as part of the Scotland Analysis Programme; and what was discussed at such consultations; [154798]
(2) how many members of his staff have been allocated to work on the Scotland Analysis Programme; and at what cost to the public purse; [154799]
(3) what meetings he and members of his staff have had with the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West as part of the Scotland Analysis Programme; and what was discussed at those meetings; [154800]
(4) what work he has commissioned from external consultants in relation to work on the Scotland Analysis Programme; which consultants were used; and at what cost to the public purse. [154801]
The Prime Minister: Work on the Scotland Analysis Programme is being carried out across Government by policy experts in relevant areas. A small team in HM Treasury is co-ordinating the programme. The cost of carrying out the work is being funded from existing departmental budgets in the normal way. Details of my meetings with external organisations can be found on the Cabinet Office website. My Office has not commissioned work from any external consultants.
Transport
Aircraft: Air Conditioning
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with representatives of trades unions regarding aircraft cabin air contamination. [154423]
Mr Simon Burns: There have been no recent discussions with trades unions about aircraft cabin air.
Enfield
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding (a) his Department and (b) each of the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible has allocated to the London Borough of Enfield in each of the last five years. [154520]
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Norman Baker: In each of the last five years the following payments have been made by the Department for Transport to the London Borough of Enfield:
| £ million | |||||
| 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | |
The Department does not give highways maintenance or integrated transport block funding to London Boroughs. The Department's non-departmental public bodies do not fund local authorities.
The Department does provide funding to Transport for London (TfL), which in turn allocates funding to London Boroughs, as part of TfL's Local Implementation Plan Fund, to invest in projects that support the Mayor's Transport Strategy.
High Speed 2 Railway Line
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when officials of his Department were first informed of the 40 per cent underestimate by HS2 of the cost of planned works at Euston Station. [154009]
Mr Simon Burns: Officials at the Department were informed in December 2012 that HS2 Ltd were considering an alternative scheme for Euston station that could be delivered more efficiently with less disruption than the consulted scheme.
The Department will shortly be publishing a draft Environmental Statement, and an associated consultation on a limited number of design changes, including Euston station. The Secretary of State for Transport is keen to understand stakeholders' views through this consultation, prior to making a final decision on the contents of the Hybrid Bill in November this year.
Motor Vehicles: Testing
Sir Robert Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Government's position was on the removal of the exemption of mobile cranes from undergoing roadworthiness testing in recent discussions at the EU Council of Ministers when negotiating a Council position on the Commission's proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers and repealing Directive 2009/40/EC. [154376]
Stephen Hammond: The UK has made no specific representations related to the scope of roadworthiness tests in respect of mobile cranes during the negotiations of the Council of Ministers position on the European Commission's proposals.
Network Rail
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether Network Rail is permitted to submit bids to operate rail passenger services; [154461]
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(2) whether Network Rail's current licences allow it to submit bids to operate rail passenger services; and what changes are needed to the licensing process that would be required to permit Network Rail to submit such bids. [154462]
Mr Simon Burns: With minor exceptions (for example the Royal Train and track maintenance vehicles), Network Rail Infrastructure Limited (the network operator) is prohibited under its licence from having interests in train operations or engaging in activities outside network management except in so far as the ORR consents. Network Rail would also need to comply with EU law requirements for independence between the infrastructure manager and train operators, for example, in relation to the infrastructure manager's charging functions and its role in allocating capacity.
These considerations do not prevent Network Rail from co-operating closely with train operators to generate efficiencies, as for example with the Wessex alliance with South West Trains. They would however make it difficult for Network Rail to bid for a franchise given the way it is currently constituted.
Polyisobutene
Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with the International Maritime Organisation regarding the classification of polyisobutene. [154100]
Stephen Hammond: Officials have had initial, informal discussions with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretariat on the classification of polyisobutylene (PIB) following the recent incidents on the South Coast. Investigations are ongoing and once the reasons for the incidents are established, we will if appropriate formally approach the IMO to review the carriage requirements for polyisobutylene.
Rail Franchise Advisory Panel
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what input the Rail Franchise Advisory Panel will have on the content of contracts to be tendered by his Department for rail passenger services on the (a) East Coast Main, (b) Essex Thameside and (c) Thameslink lines. [154465]
Mr Simon Burns: In line with their terms of reference, published March 2013, which can be found on the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/170571/rail-franchise-advisory-panel-tor.pdf
the advisory panel will perform an advisory and assurance role supporting both the Secretary of State and Franchising Director as the franchising programme progresses. The advisory panel will not be making decisions in relation to-franchise awards or the content of contracts.
Railways
Mr Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the value of conversion of former coal transportation lines to passenger transportation lines. [154093]
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Mr Simon Burns: The Department has not made any assessment of the value of the conversion of any former colliery line to a passenger line. It would be for the local transport authority to consider whether using former colliery lines for this purpose is the best way to meet local transport needs.
Railways: Franchises
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the deadline is for completing negotiations with the incumbent franchisee for an extended rail passenger service contract on the (a) Essex Thameside, (b) Thameslink, (c) Inter City West Coast, (d) Great Western, (e) Greater Anglia, (f) Northern, (g) London Midland, (h) East Midlands and (i) South Eastern line; and what the (i) projected cost and (ii) cost to date is of the negotiations in each instance. [154404]
Mr Simon Burns: All negotiations need to be completed ahead of the end of the franchises, which are currently:
(a) 26 May 2013 for c2c (Essex Thameside);
(b) 1 April 2014 for First Capital Connect (Thameslink);
(c) 9 November 2014 for Virgin Trains (Intercity West Coast);
(d) 13 October 2013 for First Great Western (Great Western);
(e) 20 July 2014 for Greater Anglia (Greater Anglia);
(f) 1 April 2014 for Northern (Northern);
(g) 20 September 2015 for London Midland (London Midland);
(h) 1 April 2015 for East Midlands Trains (East Midlands); and
(i) 12 October 2014 for South Eastern (South Eastern).
The cost to the Department of resourcing the negotiations in each instance is not expected to exceed £1 million. The costs to the Department of resourcing the negotiations as of the end of March 2013 were:
(a) £146,000 for c2c (Essex Thameside);
(b) £0 for First Capital Connect (Thameslink);
(c) £0 for Virgin Trains (InterCity West Coast);
(d) £124,000 for First Great Western (Great Western);
(e) £0 for Greater Anglia (Greater Anglia);
(f) £0 for Northern (Northern);
(g) £0 for London Midland (London Midland);
(h) £0 for East Midlands Trains (East Midlands); and
(i) £0 for South Eastern (South Eastern).
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to protect the existing (a) collective bargaining rights and (b) contracts of employment for staff during negotiations with the incumbent franchisee for an extended rail passenger service contract on the (i) Essex Thameside, (ii) Thameslink, (iii) Inter City West Coast, (iv) Great Western, (v) Greater Anglia, (vi) Northern, (vii) London Midland, (viii) East Midlands and (ix) South Eastern line; and if he will make a statement. [154405]
Mr Simon Burns:
Terms and conditions of employment are a matter for the incumbent franchise operators, as employers. The move from existing franchise agreements to directly awarded contracts for an extended term will not, in and of itself, affect employees' rights or contracts of employment, nor will this involve a transfer of staff to a new employer. If negotiations with any incumbent operator were not to succeed, Directly Operated Railways
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may need to step in and operate services—if this were to happen there would be a TUPE transfer of employees on their current terms and conditions. Franchise agreements also contain “last 12 months” restrictions on changes to staff terms and conditions or staff numbers in the final year of a franchise without the Secretary of State's consent.
Railways: Veterans
Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of extending the use of the HM Forces Railcard to all veterans of the UK Armed Forces. [153918]
Norman Baker: The Department incurs no direct costs from the HM Forces Railcard and therefore no estimate has been made of the costs associated with an extension to include ex-service personnel. The HM Forces Railcard is a concession granted by the Association of Train Operating Companies (TOCs). Eligibility for the Railcard is governed by a contract between the Train Operating Companies and the Ministry of Defence, and any extension of the eligibility criteria to include former service personnel would require the full consent of the TOCs.
Rescue Services: Belfast
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Maritime Recue Co-ordination Centre, Belfast was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in April 2013. [154283]
Stephen Hammond: Belfast Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed at below risk assessed levels in April 2013 on 48 occasions out of 60 shifts.
These situations are mitigated by ‘MRCC pairing’ where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of Belfast MRCC mutual support is available through a fixed link from Stornoway MRCC and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland, Aberdeen, Liverpool or Holyhead.
Rescue Services: Stornoway
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Stornoway was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in April 2013. [154205]
Stephen Hammond: Stornoway Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed at below risk assessed levels in April 2013 on seven occasions out of 60 shifts.
These situations are mitigated by ‘MRCC pairing’ where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of Stornoway MRCC mutual support is available through a fixed link from Belfast MRCC and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland or Aberdeen.
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Roads: Bassetlaw
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities there have been as a result of road traffic accidents involving (a) motorcyclists, (b) cyclists and (c) pedestrians in Bassetlaw constituency in the last five years. [154154]
Stephen Hammond: In the last five years in Bassetlaw constituency there have been the following numbers of fatalities in road traffic accidents:
| Number of fatalities in accidents involving | |||
| Motorcyclists | Cyclists | Pedestrians | |
| Note: Uses constituency boundary as at 2010. | |||
Data for 2012 will be available in June 2013.
Shipping
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of seafarer (a) ratings and (b) officers working on vessels currently registered under the flags of category 1 members of the Red Ensign Group are (i) UK, (ii) EU and (iii) non-EEA nationals. [154401]
Stephen Hammond: Information on the proportion of seafarer ratings and officers working on vessels registered on the flags of the category 1 members of the Red Ensign Group (REG) other than the UK (Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man), is not held by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Records may be maintained separately by the individual category 1 administrations.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency does however maintain a record of certificates of competency that it issues to (a) UK nationals, (b) EU nationals, (c) Red Ensign Group nationals and (d) non EU nationals. This information is provided in the table below detailing the number of certificates of competency issued to personnel working on board all types of vessels including deck, engine, yachts, tugs and inshore craft during 2011 and 2012.
| Number of certificates issued | ||
| Seafarer nationality | 2011 | 2012 |
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Shipping: Conditions of Employment
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether vessels registered with members of the Red Ensign Group are considered to be registered under the UK flag for the purposes of applying the obligations of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006; and if he will make a statement; [154398]
(2) when he expects to extend the provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention on (a) minimum age, (b) recruitment and placement services, (c) seafarers' employment agreements, (d) wages, (e) entitlement to leave, (f) repatriation, (g) seafarer compensation for ship's loss or foundering, (h) crew accommodation, (i) food and catering, (j) medical care, (k) shipowners' liability, (l) health and safety and (m) flag state and port state survey and certification to all members of the Red Ensign Group. [154400]
Stephen Hammond: No. Red Ensign Group Registers are separate from the UK register, and will have their own legislation implementing the MLC. When the United Kingdom is ready to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), ratification will be extended to those REG Administrations of either Category 1 or Category 2 which the UK is satisfied are compliant with the convention.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention on (a) minimum age, (b) recruitment and placement services, (c) seafarers' employment agreements, (d) wages, (e) entitlement to leave, (f) repatriation, (g) seafarer compensation for ship's loss or foundering, (h) crew accommodation, (i) food and catering, (j) medical care, (k) shipowners' liability, (l) health and safety and (m) flag state and port state survey and certification to come into effect in the UK. [154399]
Stephen Hammond: I expect the UK regulations implementing (a) to (l) to come into force on 20 August 2013, and the regulations implementing flag state and port state responsibilities to come into force by the end of July.
Shipping: Registration
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Maritime and Coastguard Agency last audited the shipping register operated by each member of the Red Ensign group; what the outcome was in each instance; and when the next such audit is scheduled. [154402]
Stephen Hammond: The following table provides the dates of the last monitoring visits of the Red Ensign Group shipping registers by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and the year of the next scheduled visit:
| REG Administration | Last visit dates | Next scheduled visit |
13 May 2013 : Column 19W
Information relating to the outcomes of these monitoring visits is commercial in confidence.
Thameslink Railway Line
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the likely timescale for the re-tendering of the Thameslink Rolling Stock Programme; and if he will make a statement. [153969]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department intends to award the contract for Thameslink Rolling Stock under the existing procurement shortly.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reasons are for the time taken to agree the signing of the Thameslink contract; and if he will make a statement. [153970]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department intends to award the contract for Thameslink Rolling Stock shortly. Transactions of this size necessarily include a significant volume of both project and finance documentation. The Department is working with Siemens and Cross London Trains to finalise these arrangements.
Tonnage Tax
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the qualifying vessels for the tonnage tax scheme were registered under flags of members of the Red Ensign Group in each year since 2001-02. [154403]
Stephen Hammond: The tonnage tax scheme makes no direct requirement as to the country of registration of qualifying vessels. The identity of tonnage tax groups is tax confidential, and that confidentiality could be compromised by giving a breakdown by flag of the numbers of qualifying vessels in any year.
Transport Direct
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with Atos (a) making transportdirect.info more accessible for smartphones and (b) creating smartphone apps to access transportdirect.info. [154078]
Norman Baker:
The Design, Build and Operate contract for the provision of Transport Direct by a consortium led by Atos expires at the end of 2013. I am currently considering the appropriate arrangements that should
13 May 2013 : Column 20W
be put in place to provide the travelling public with high quality door-to-door information in the future. In the meantime it would not be in the public interest to commit any significant spend on new functionality until the service has migrated to the future arrangements.
Access to services directly from smartphones or via smartphone applications will be considered as part of the future service provision.
Transport: Livestock
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1072W, on transport: livestock, what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the compatibility of port authorities being unable to utilise their discretion to refuse the export of live animals through their ports and Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 2009. [154202]
Stephen Hammond: I have had no such discussions. It is clear that trade in live animals is lawful provided that animal welfare regulations are complied with, and it is appropriate that ports should accept all lawful traffic which they are equipped to handle, without discrimination.
Energy and Climate Change
Energy
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to improve the meeting of energy efficiency targets by energy companies. [154594]
Gregory Barker: Legal targets such as the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) are fundamentally a matter for the obliged energy companies. However, my Department is taking a number of steps to facilitate delivery, including:
Ensuring that our Energy Saving Advice Service (ESAS) provides support to the companies in finding and verifying the eligibility of low income and vulnerable households under the ECO Affordable Warmth target. ESAS has provided over 8,000 verified leads to obligated suppliers for Affordable Warmth since the start of this year;
Establishing a brokerage platform to provide a way for energy companies to purchase ECO cost-effective delivery and minimise overheads. To date, over £100 million of activity has been traded this way;
Investing £13 million to facilitate partnerships between energy companies and the Core Cities pilot programmes.
The Department continues to engage very closely with the companies to look at all ways in which it can provide assistance.
Energy Company Obligation
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what amount has been allocated through the Energy Company Obligation brokerage system to date. [154704]
Gregory Barker:
Brokerage is a market based mechanism that allows obligated energy companies to buy compliance against their energy company obligation targets from
13 May 2013 : Column 21W
green deal providers. The Government have no role in allocating, buying or selling contracts. The volumes of ECO traded every two weeks through brokerage can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/eco-brokerage-results
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what amount has been spent on the energy company obligation to date. [154705]
Gregory Barker: The energy company obligation places a carbon reduction target on the largest energy suppliers. How energy companies choose to deliver these targets is a commercial matter for them. DECC has not spent anything on delivery of the obligation to date.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the energy company obligation, how many referrals have been made to suppliers to receive a minimum package of assistance in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland. [154773]
Gregory Barker: The energy company obligation covers England, Scotland and Wales only.
The Government-funded Energy Saving Advice Service refers consumers who live in England and Wales to the obligated energy suppliers for a minimum package of assistance under the affordable warmth obligation, following an eligibility check with the Department for Work and Pensions. As at 10 May 2013, 9,128 referrals had been made to the obligated suppliers since the service launched in January of this year.
The Scottish Government have made separate arrangements with the Energy Saving Trust (Scotland) to provide a referral service and the UK Government do not hold those data.
Energy: Housing
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the comparative average annual energy costs of (a) off-grid households and (b) households connected to the mains gas grid in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12. [154742]
Gregory Barker: DECC does not hold data on average annual energy consumption and types of fuel use for off-grid households, and as such does not produce data on the energy costs of these households. Data from fuel components of the RETAIL PRICE INDEX show that the prices of gas, electricity, heating oil and coal and smokeless fuels were as follows between 2009 and 2012:
| Gas | Electricity | Heating oil | Coal and smokeless fuels | |
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These data are shown in the form of an index, where costs in 2005 are set to 100, and all other years are shown relative to that year.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of properties connected to the gas distribution network in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012 were deemed to be households in fuel poverty. [154770]
Gregory Barker: The most recent fuel poverty figures available are for the year 2010. The proportion of households connected to the gas grid who were in fuel poverty in 2009 and 2010 is shown as follows for England.
| Proportion of households in this group that are in fuel poverty (percentage) | |
Fuel poverty figures for 2011 will be available on 16 May 2013.
These figures are based on the 10% measure of fuel poverty ie households are deemed to be in fuel poverty if they need to spend more than 10% of their income on fuel in order to achieve an adequate level of warmth.
Fuel Poverty
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of (a) off-gas grid households and (b) on-grid households were fuel poor in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Scotland, (iv) Wales and (v) Northern Ireland in the most recent period for which figures are available. [154779]
Gregory Barker: The proportion of off-grid and on-grid households that were fuel poor are shown in the following table for the most recent year that figures are available for each country.
| Percentage | ||
| Off-grid households | On-grid households | |
These figures are based on the current 10% definition of fuel poverty, whereby households are deemed to be in fuel poverty if they need to spend more than 10% of their income on fuel to maintain an adequate level of warmth. However, the data are not perfectly comparable due to differences in the way that fuel poverty is measured in each of the countries. This, along with the fact that data for Northern Ireland are not available at present, means that providing a figure for the UK is not possible.
Green Deal Scheme
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many Green Deal providers have (a) applied to the Green Deal Finance Company, (b) been successful in their applications and (c) awarded the finance obtained through those applications to customers to date; [154702]
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(2) when the first Green Deal finance package was paid out by the Green Deal Finance Company to a Green Deal provider; [154703]
(3) what total amount has been transferred from the Green Deal Finance Company to Green Deal providers to date. [154706]
Gregory Barker: The Green Deal Finance Company is a private company, and its engagement with providers is a commercial matter for them. DECC will be publishing statistics on the status of Green Deal plans and assessments in June.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Green Deal assessments have been undertaken for off gas grid properties since the launch of the Green Deal. [154774]
Gregory Barker: The number of Green Deal assessments is published on a monthly basis in the domestic Green Deal statistics monthly report. The number of Green Deal assessments up to the end of April 2013 will be published on 14 May at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/series/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics
DECC have not to date published any more detailed breakdowns on assessments such as those undertaken for off gas grid properties. DECC will publish a more detailed quarterly statistical report in June based on assessments between January and March.
Publications
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on subscriptions to academic journals published by (a) Reed-Elsevier, (b) Wiley-Blackwell, (c) Springer and (d) any other academic publisher in each of the last five years. [154493]
Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not record this information centrally and it would be available only at disproportionate cost.
Renewable Energy
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received regarding incentives for the purchase of renewable energy from independent generators after the renewables obligation ends. [154427]
Gregory Barker: Ministers and officials have held many meetings with a wide range of independent generators, suppliers and other stakeholders covering route-to-market issues including incentives for the purchase of renewable energy from independent generators after the end of the renewables obligation. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change met with the Independent Renewable Energy Generators Group to discuss route to market issues. Officials have also held workshops, each attended by over 100 industry representatives, at which a range of views have been put forward.
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In such meetings, and during our call for evidence last year, we heard concerns that some independent generators are currently finding it more difficult to secure long-term contracts (power purchase agreements) to sell their power on viable terms, and concerns that this situation may persist as we move to the Contract for Difference support mechanism.
The Government's view is that Contracts for Difference (CfDs) will open up new opportunities for independent generation developers and will support the development of a more competitive market for power purchase agreements. The Government have working closely with industry to smooth the transition to the new regime, and have included powers in the Energy Bill to give it the flexibility to act to improve the route to market for independents if it becomes necessary. The Government have also considering whether there is a case for further action to ensure that the market, including independent generators, is ready for the CfD.
Warm Home Discount Scheme
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households have received the discount through the warm house discount scheme in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013 to date. [154775]
Gregory Barker: The Warm Home Discount operates in financial years and we cannot report figures by calendar year.
In 2011-12, a total of 936,043 electricity bill discounts of £120 were paid under the Warm Home Discount (701,746 to the Core Group and 234,297 to the Broader Group).
Final figures for 2012-13 will be confirmed in the Ofgem annual report published in October 2013. We expect a total of around 1.52 million discounts of £130 to have been paid (1.16 million to the Core Group and 360,000 to the Broader Group).
International Development
Consultants
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's spending on private contractors was paid in bonuses to (a) the company concerned and (b) individual consultants. [153975]
Justine Greening: DFID does not pay bonuses through its centrally-let contracts. DFID is not aware of bonuses being paid to any companies or any individual consultant. To investigate this question further would incur additional resource and would not be cost-effective.
Developing Countries: Health Services
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the cultural barriers indigenous peoples and other minority groups face in accessing health services; and what steps her Department is taking to address such barriers. [154643]
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Justine Greening: Simply making good quality health services available will not ensure that the right services are used by the right people at the right time. Wider barriers also limit access to and utilisation of health care, especially social and cultural factors such as low and unequal status of women and girls, child marriage, lack of or inappropriate information, lack of community/social support for specific forms of health care, and harmful traditional practices. This is especially the case for minority groups, including indigenous populations. Understanding health-related behaviours and wider social practices and norms is a critical step towards empowering people to use health services and make healthy choices. Our health programmes aim to help countries develop and implement purposeful policies that target specific, underserved groups, improve the overall efficiency of the health system, and meet the needs of all people in society.
DFID will shortly publish a position paper outlining its current approach to health systems strengthening and reaching the poorest. The paper will be available on the website later in 2013.
Enfield
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding (a) her Department and (b) each non-departmental public body for which she is responsible has allocated to the London borough of Enfield local authority in each of the last five years. [154518]
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria on that organisation's funding. [154764]
Lynne Featherstone: In this replenishment year for the Global Fund, Ministers and officials from DFID have been in regular contact with Global Fund staff and other stakeholders about current and future funding needs.
International Assistance
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the UK plans to propose to address health inequalities faced by marginalised groups in the framework that will replace the Millennium Development Goals. [154794]
Lynne Featherstone: Health inequalities, and inequitable health service access, result in inefficient use of health resources and failure to improve health outcomes for poor people. The UK is working with others across the world in the context of discussions around the new global framework that will replace the current Millennium Development Goals to consider how marginalised and underserved groups can be reached with adequate health services. These discussions are ongoing.
13 May 2013 : Column 26W
Latin America
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding her Department provided to each country in Latin America in each of the last five years. [154254]
Mr Duncan: Department for International Development (DFID) expenditure, broken down by recipient countries, is published in the “Statistics on International Development” annual publication, which is available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statistics-on-international-development
Details of DFID expenditure in Latin American countries for the last five financial years can be found in: Table 14.2: Total DFID Expenditure and GPEX by Recipient Country (Americas) 2007/08 - 2011/12, under the column headed “Total DFID Bilateral Programme”. This table is also available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/table-14-2-total-dfid-expenditure-and-gpex-by-recipient-country-americas-2007-08-2011-12--2
Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether she intends to attend the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health. [153953]
Justine Greening: Ministerial diaries in November are yet to be finalised, and this important event will be considered along with others for attendance.
Treasury
Disclosure of Information
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which Minister in his Department is responsible for overseeing his Department's whistleblowing policy; [154044]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to protect whistleblowers; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's whistleblowing policy. [154048]
Sajid Javid: In accordance with the Civil Service Code and the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, the Treasury has two nominated officers for investigating staff concerns: (i) a non-executive board member of the Treasury Board and Chair of the Treasury Group Audit Committee; and (ii) its Head of Internal Audit. Ultimately, the Treasury's Permanent Secretary is responsible for the Department's whistleblowing policy. The Treasury's policy on whistleblowing is available to all its staff via its internal website. The information requested will be deposited in the Library of the House.
Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to address the concerns raised by the National Audit Office about the Equitable Life payment scheme. [154741]
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Sajid Javid: The NAO report provides some very useful guidance to the payment scheme. HMT and National Savings and Investments will be implementing its recommendations in full.
Railways: Scotland
Margaret Curran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made on the upgrade of the Caledonian Sleeper Service. [153929]
Danny Alexander: As announced in the 2011 autumn statement, the UK Government made £50 million of funding available for improvements in the Caledonian Sleeper service, subject to matched co-funding from the Scottish Government. Funds have already been drawn down by the Scottish Government. The UK Government are continuing to monitor the delivery of the overall investment programme.
Revenue and Customs
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff have been made redundant by HM Revenue and Customs in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [154826]
Mr Gauke: From 1 April 2012 to 9 May 2013, 30 staff, have left HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) under voluntary redundancy schemes.
HMRC is committed to minimising redundancies and avoiding compulsory redundancies if it possibly can. No one in HMRC has been made compulsorily redundant against their wishes. However, two people have left, agreeing to do so under compulsory redundancy terms.
Mr Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 has been used by HM Revenue and Customs to (a) look at websites used by individual taxpayers, (b) identify where a mobile telephone call was made or received and (c) establish the date and time of emails, texts or telephone calls in each year since 2000; and on how many occasions such action led to prosecution. [154841]
Mr Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) acquires communications data to support investigations into a broad range of financial frauds perpetrated by serious, organised criminal groups, including the smuggling and diversion of excise goods, indirect tax fraud (including multi trader intra-community VAT fraud), money laundering and the illegal import and export of strategic goods.
HMRC does not keep statistics in the format requested. Part 1 chapter 2 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (which deals with Communications Data) did not become law until 2004. HMRC was formed in 2005 and so cannot provide figures prior to 2005.
The Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data Codes of Practice (section 71 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) require the Department—as a relevant public authority—to keep a record of the following items for inspection by the Interception of Communications Commissioner's Office (paragraph 6.5):
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number of applications submitted to a designated person for a decision to obtain communications data which were rejected after due consideration;
number of notices requiring disclosure of communications data within the meaning of each subsection of section 21(4) of the Act or any combinations of data;
number of authorisations for conduct to acquire communications data within the meaning of each subsection of section 21(4) of the Act or any combinations of data;
number of times an urgent notice is given orally, or an urgent authorisation granted orally, requiring disclosure of communications data within the meaning of each subsection of section 21(4) of the Act or any combination of data.
Since 2005 HMRC has requested the following items of Communications Data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000:
(a) 296 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
(b) 1,235 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
(c) 8,275 (section 21 (4)(c)—subscriber data)
(a) 263 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
(b) 743 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
(c) 6,287 (section 21 (4)(c)—subscriber data)
(a) 518 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
(b) 940 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
(c) 8,222 (section 21(4)(c)—subscriber data)
(a) 1,328 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
(b) 1,167 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
(c) 8,506 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
(a) 1,778 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
(b) 669 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
(c) 8,722 (section 21(4)(c)—subscriber data)
(a) 1,789 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
(b) 376 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
(c) 9,471 (section 21 (4)(c)—subscriber data)
(a) 2,784 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
(b) 92 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
(c)11,952 (section 21 (4)(c)—subscriber data)
(a) 3,013 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
(b) 89 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data).
(c) 11,812 (Section 21 (4)(c) - subscriber data)
(a) 1,345 (section 21 (4)(a)—traffic data)
(b) 12 (section 21 (4)(b)—service use data)
(c) 5,577 (section 21 (4)(c)—subscriber data)
It is not possible to reconcile communications data requests to individual prosecutions. These figures relate to individuals investigated by the Department (either in the UK or abroad) and for all designated purposes (for example, strategic exports, excise smuggling and diversion and indirect tax fraud) not solely investigations into individual tax payers. The figures will also include intelligence operations which may not have led to prosecutions. The figures up to 2009 also include communications data requests relating to drugs operations which HMRC undertook on behalf of the UKBA.
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Staff
Frank Dobson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which advisers to his Department (a) work for banks, (b) are seconded from banks and (c) were previously working for banks. [154008]
Sajid Javid: HM Treasury have no employees or contractors currently working for banks and we have identified three secondees from banks who have worked here in the last five years. Data on (c) are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
HM Treasury does from time to time take secondments from the Bank of England. There have been four since April 2010.
Taxation: Business
Mr Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many settlements of tax disputes have been reached between HM Revenue and Customs and corporations in each of the last 10 years; and what the total value of such settlements was in each such year. [154843]
Mr Gauke: HMRC carries out numerous inquiries each year into returns made by corporations but its management information systems do not allow it to identify separately the results of settled disputes and those from more straightforward inquiries.
HMRC publishes overall figures for additional revenue. In 2011-12 the additional revenue from HMRC compliance activity was £16.7 billion which is more than double the amount in 2005. Of the 2011-12 total, £6.9 billion came from large businesses.
Mr Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of tax was owed by each of the four unnamed companies who agreed settlements with HM Revenue and Customers collectively worth £4.5 billion before those agreements were reached. [154844]
Mr Gauke: I am not privy to the details of the tax affairs of individual companies and HMRC is constrained from disclosing such information because of its legal obligation to protect taxpayer confidentiality.
However the agreements referred to were reviewed by Sir Andrew Park on behalf of the National Audit Office.
That review endorsed all of the agreements that were reached concluding that all the settlements were reasonable and at least one may have been better than reasonable.
VAT: Sixth Form Colleges
Mr Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will exempt sixth form colleges from VAT on goods and services. [154034]
Mr Gauke: There are no plans to allow sixth form colleges to waive VAT on purchases. They are required to pay VAT on their purchases, in common with everyone else. The basic funding principle for sixth form colleges is that these VAT costs are taken into account as part of the up-front funding allocation.
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Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Snow and Ice
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reason was for the time taken by his Department to announce assistance for farmers affected by recent severe weather conditions; and if he will make a statement. [155011]
Mr Heath: DEFRA provided an immediate programme of assistance to farmers who have had to cope with the effects of the horrendous spring weather. This was set out in my written ministerial statement on 18 April 2013, Official Report, column 34WS.
Floods: Insurance
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken in respect of flood insurance. [154201]
Richard Benyon: Constructive discussions continue between Government and the Association of British Insurers and others about the future of flood insurance. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and I have also met regularly with ministerial colleagues from the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and other Departments over the last 12 months to discuss this subject. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of such meetings.
We need a solution that ensures the availability and affordability of flood insurance for those at flood risk but does not place unsustainable costs on wider policyholders and the taxpayer. A range of options are on the table and no final decisions have been taken.
I will endeavour to provide a further public update at the earliest appropriate opportunity.
Livestock: Exports
Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the potential for harm to those animals exported live. [154287]
Mr Heath: I have made no recent assessment in relation to the potential for harm to those animals exported live. As I made clear in my contribution to the debate in the House on live exports on 13 December 2012, Official Report, column 528, the Government is of the view that if the legal requirements laid down in the EU welfare and transport legislation are observed, there is a satisfactory level of protection for the animals being transported. I am also confident that the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency ensures that these strict legal requirements are adequately enforced in GB.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 2 April 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr B O'Malley. [154476]
13 May 2013 : Column 31W
Richard Benyon: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs replied to the right hon. Member on 9 May.
Recycling
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that individuals with prior convictions for environmental offences are not granted recycling permits. [153916]
Richard Benyon: Legislation and Government guidance provide that the Environment Agency may consider the competence of operators to operate a facility in accordance with their permit at any time. In assessing operator competence, the Environment Agency may refuse the grant of a permit where the applicant or another relevant person has been convicted of relevant offences. The Environment Agency will take into account a number of factors in assessing whether to refuse a permit, such as the nature of the offence and the likelihood of reoffending.
Operator competence is also assessed throughout the lifetime of the permit. This includes factors such as the need to serve enforcement or suspension notices or conviction for further relevant offences. The Environment Agency may revoke a permit where it is satisfied that the operator is no longer a suitable person to hold the permit.
Refrigeration
Mr Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on proposals for a ban on the use of HFC refrigerants in new centralised supermarket refrigeration systems from 2020. [153973]
Richard Benyon: We would carefully consider proposals for bans on the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in applications on a case by case basis. Such measures would need to take account of the availability and technical feasibility of alternatives, as well as the financial and environmental costs and benefits of replacing HFC refrigerants across the range of systems concerned.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Burma
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of refugees who have left Burma as a result of the recent violence against the Muslim community in that country. [154837]
Mr Swire:
On 19 April the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that since June last year 27,800 people—the majority of them believed to be from Rakhine state—have made the dangerous journey across the Bay of Bengal to various countries in the region. However, the total number of refugees that have left Burma because of the recent violence is difficult to calculate
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given the clandestine nature of that kind of migration and the fact that many of them do not leave for one reason alone.
Cambodia
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Cambodia. [153936]
Mr Swire: Our embassy in Phnom Penh provides regular updates on the human rights situation in Cambodia. Our assessment is that the Cambodian Government are making progress in some areas such as women's health and land registration. However, the situation needs to be improved in respect of land disputes, freedom of expression, rule of law and corruption. Human rights is one of the key priorities of our embassy's work in Cambodia. We raise these issues frequently with the Cambodian Government, both bilaterally and through the EU, and will continue to do so. In particular, we strongly support the work of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) established in 2006 to deliver justice to the millions of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime and to hold to account its surviving most senior and responsible perpetrators. In the last financial year we made contributions totalling £2 million to help the court continue in its work.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to his Cambodian counterpart on (a) land grabs, (b) human rights, (c) independence of the judiciary and (d) freedom of expression in that country. [153937]
Mr Swire: Our ambassador to Phnom Penh has raised our concerns on each of these issues, both bilaterally and with our international partners with senior Ministers in Phnom Penh, including with Prime Minister Hun Sen. The UK remains committed to supporting the promotion and protection of human rights in Cambodia. In particular, we strongly support the work of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) established in 2006 to deliver justice to the millions of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime and to hold to account its surviving most senior and responsible perpetrators. In the last financial year we made contributions totalling £2 million to help the court continue in its work.
China
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the policy of the Chinese government towards practitioners of Falun Gong; what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Falun Gong movement in the UK; and what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterparts regarding the treatment of practitioners of Falun Gong in that country. [154032]
Mr Swire:
We are aware of the allegations contained in the Kilgour-Matas report regarding Falun Gong practitioners and forced organ removal. We are also
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aware that the UN Committee against Torture recommended in 2008 that the Chinese authorities conduct an independent investigation of the claims that some Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to torture and forced organ removal.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials met with David Kilgour and organisations representing Falun Gong practitioners on 29 April 2013 to listen to their concerns.
We have serious concerns about reports of torture and mistreatment of detainees in China, including Falun Gong practitioners. We most recently highlighted our concerns in the FCO's 2012 Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy, which was published on 15 April 2013 and can be found at:
www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk
Criminal justice reform and rule of law, including torture prevention and treatment of detainees, has been a consistent focus of our human rights engagement with the Chinese authorities. We will continue to raise these concerns with the Chinese Government bilaterally and alongside international partners.