Insolvency Service
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many L1 examiners at each location are employed by the Insolvency Service; and how many such examiners (a) were employed at each location before implementation of restructuring under the Delivery Strategy and (b) will be employed at each location after that restructuring is complete. [155093]
Jo Swinson: On 1 April 2012 and 1 May 2013 respectively there were 195 and 129 L1 examiners employed by The Insolvency Service at the following locations:
| 1 April 2012 | 1 May 2013 | |
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In December 2012 some 52 L1 examiners were declared surplus. A number chose to voluntarily leave The Insolvency Service under an exit scheme or have found other employment. The Insolvency Service is currently assisting those remaining in seeking alternative employment.
The reduction in L1 examiners is as a result of overcapacity, caused by falling debtor petition bankruptcy numbers, and not due to any delivery strategy.
The number of L1 examiners needed in the future will be kept under review in light of fluctuations in case input numbers and any efficiency gains resulting from future process reviews.
Minimum Wage
Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) if he will take steps to implement the Low Pay Commission's recommendation in its 2013 report to publish on gov.uk effective, clear and accessible guidance on all aspects of the minimum wage; [154958]
(2) with reference to the answer of 25 February 2012, Official Report, column 291W, on entertainers, if he will implement the Low Pay Commission's recommendation to provide sector-specific guidance on the national minimum wage for the entertainment sector. [154906]
Jo Swinson: We are taking a number of steps to publish clear guidance regarding national minimum wage legislation and to make it more accessible.
The first step was to transfer key messages from Directgov and Business Link to Gov.uk.
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The next step is to publish detailed guidance and examples of specific areas of national minimum wage legislation. The most recent guidance to be published is the Worker Checklist, which helps both employers and individuals to understand the characteristics of a worker and therefore, the situations where the national minimum wage should be paid:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-minimum-wage-worker-checklist
We will continue to work with the Government Digital Service to publish further detailed guidance, including entertainment sector specific case studies. These will appear on Gov.uk in due course.
Pay
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance his Department issues on the actions that would result in the suspension or removal of a bonus payment to an official in his Department; what the process is for clawing back such bonuses; and on how many occasions this has happened in each of the last five years. [154990]
Jo Swinson: An element of the BIS overall pay award for staff below the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is allocated to non-consolidated, non-pensionable pay related to performance. There are two types of award:
1. In-year awards that recognise strong performance in particularly demanding tasks or situations.
2. Annual performance awards, that reward staff based on their annual performance rating. These are non-consolidated, non-pensionable pay awards, used to drive high performance and have to be earned each year against pre-determined targets and do not add to future pay bills. The payments made for both types of award are entirely related to staff performance.
Performance awards for the SCS are part of the pay system across the whole Senior Civil Service, and are used to reward high performance sustained throughout the year, based on judgments and about how well an individual has performed relative to their peers.
The performance related pay scheme is designed to help drive high performance and support better public service delivery. Performance awards are non-consolidated and non-pensionable and do not add to future paybill costs.
There are no contractual entitlements to any Performance Awards in BIS. All of the awards are paid after the work that they recognise has been completed. Therefore the Department does not issue any guidance on what actions would result in the suspension or removal of an award, and there are no processes for clawing awards back.
Prisons: Education
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what educational courses are offered to prisoners; and what the running cost is for each such course. [154397]
Matthew Hancock: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel), on 13 May 2013, Official Report, column 84W.
These offenders were funded via the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) budget.
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There is no set running cost for courses. Funding for the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service phase 4 follows similar principles, rules and evidence requirements to those for the Skills Funding Agency's main adult learning budget. Each learning aim has a published rate per learner, with 20% of funding generated when the learner achieves the learning aim, and the remaining funding split into monthly payments based on the number of months between the learning start date and the planned end date.
Public Houses
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to better regulate public houses and breweries. [154102]
Jo Swinson: The Government seek to support a healthy, thriving and diverse pubs sector. We have launched a consultation on establishing a statutory Code of Practice and an independent Adjudicator to enforce the Code, to govern the relationship between pub companies and their tenants. We welcome evidence about the impact such proposals would have on the pubs industry.
The consultation and associated short online questionnaire closes on 14 June 2013, and can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pub-companies-and-tenants-consultation
This consultation forms part of the Government's wider work to support the pubs sector, including abolishing the beer duty escalator and cutting beer duty this year.
Public Sector: Procurement
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities in the Scottish Government regarding public procurement. [154429]
Jo Swinson: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has had no recent discussions with the Scottish Government about public procurement.
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 22 April 2013, Official Report, column 719W, on public sector: procurement, what discussions he has had with the European Commission regarding the proposed changes. [154604]
Jo Swinson: Cabinet Office is the lead Department for policy matters relating to Government efficiency, transparency and accountability. This includes leading on this Government's active involvement in negotiations with the European Commission on the EU procurement rules in their entirety.
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 22 April 2013, Official Report, column 719W, on public sector: procurement, when he expects his Department to generate a policy on the proposed changes. [154605]
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Jo Swinson: The timing of the delivery of any departmental policy in relation to the new EU procurement rules is dependent not only on the finalisation of the revised directives, but also the approach taken to and timing of the transposition of the revised directives into UK law.
The new EU procurement rules are still in negotiation.
Cabinet Office is the lead department for policy matters relating to Government efficiency, transparency and accountability. This includes leading on this Government's active involvement in negotiations with the European Commission on the EU procurement rules in their entirety.
Cabinet Office will also lead on UK transposition. The transposition period and activities will include the generation of cross-government and departmental policies on this and other changes in readiness for the as yet to be determined UK implementation date.
Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures; and what guidance he has given to his Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies on implementation of that Act. [154523]
Jo Swinson: The Department ensures that Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Notes (PPN) are circulated to the Department's Partner Organisations and to UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) who provide Strategic Procurement services to the Department.
A PPN on the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 was issued by Cabinet Office in December 2012 ahead of the 31 January implementation date.
Through UK SBS, the Department is aligned with the Act's requirements with consideration being given in the pre-procurement phase to economic, environmental and social benefits and the resultant procurement approach being designed accordingly.
Publications
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 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. [154487]
Jo Swinson: The Department has not made any payments to (a) Reed-Elsevier, (b) Wiley-Blackwell, or (c) Springer during each of the last five years. In addition, the Department does not hold a central record of spend on subscriptions to academic journals.
Risk Management
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what progress his Department has made towards the launch of the critical resources dashboard; [154468]
(2) when the critical resources dashboard will be launched. [154469]
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Michael Fallon: The development of a pilot critical resources dashboard is being led by the Environment Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network (ESKTN). A prototype site is available at:
www.resourcedashboard.co.uk
The ESKTN has been working to develop the site and gather further data, working with other partners including the British Geological survey and the Waste and Resources Action programme. The ESKTN expect to make further announcements about the launch of the dashboard by the summer.
Sussex University
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funds from his Department have been received by the University of Sussex in each of the last five years; and to what use such funds have been put. [155107]
Mr Willetts: Section 65(1) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 makes the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) responsible for administering the funds made available by the Secretary of State to HE institutions. The following table shows the funding which HEFCE has allocated to the university of Sussex for the period requested. The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 requires that these funds be used for the purposes of teaching, research and associated activities.
| Academic year | Funding (£ million) |
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) if he will review the regulatory and accountability regime of the University of Sussex; [155108]
(2) if he will conduct a financial and academic audit of the University of Sussex. [155109]
Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is responsible for administering the funds made available by the Secretary of State to HE institutions. HEFCE agrees a Financial Memorandum with all the institutions it funds which sets out the regulatory and accountability framework. Under this framework, HEFCE monitor financial and accountability information from institutions on an annual basis and carry out assurance visits to institutions on a five-yearly cyclical basis. HEFCE last carried out an assurance visit to the university of Sussex in October 2008. HEFCE also acts as principal regulator of HE institutions which, like Sussex, are exempt charities under the Charities Act 2011.
UK Trade and Investment
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) if he will consider privatising UK Trade and Investment; [154255]
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(2) what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about privatising UK Trade and Investment. [154256]
Michael Fallon: The Government have no current plans to consider the privatisation of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).
Where there is alignment with its longer term strategy needs, UKTI is taking the opportunity to bring in private sector personnel expertise. It is also outsourcing the delivery of certain services to the private sector by the use of incentivised contracts.
This is done in those areas where UKTI lacks existing strength and where it is considered that private sector expertise is more beneficial to UKTI's customers.
There have been no discussions between the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), about privatising UK Trade and Investment.
Urenco
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the revenue to be accrued to the Government through the sale of its shares in Urenco. [155102]
Michael Fallon: The Government do not estimate expected proceeds from individual asset sales. To do so would prejudice the Government's commercial position in ongoing and future sale processes. In assessing any potential sale a priority for the Government, alongside ensuring the protection of our security and non-proliferation interests, will be to achieve value for money for the British taxpayer.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the sale of the Government's shares in Urenco to be completed. [155103]
Michael Fallon: The timing of any proposed sale has not yet been determined and will be conditional on a number of factors, including further discussions with our Urenco partners. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Cabinet Office
Civil Servants: Pay
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he will next meet representatives of the PCS Union to discuss pay and conditions for civil servants. [154425]
Mr Maude: I meet regularly with representatives of trade unions to discuss a range of issues.
As part of my Department's transparency programme, details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on the Cabinet Office website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office/series/ministers-transparency-publications
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Distributive Trade
Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were employed in the (a) retail sector, (b) e-commerce and online retail sector and (c) wholesale and distribution sector on (i) 1 March 2010 and (ii) 1 March 2013. [154435]
Mr Hurd: 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 recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office the number of people employed in the (a) retail sector, (b) e-commerce and online retail sector and (c) wholesale and distribution sector on (i) 1 March 2010 and (ii) 1 March 2013 [154435]
In answering queries relating to employment by industry, ONS provide Workforce Jobs (WFJ) estimates. This is the preferred measure of jobs by industry, and is the sum of employee jobs (EJ), self-employment jobs (SEJ), government-supported trainees (GST) and Her Majesty's Forces (HMF).
To compare monthly data, seasonally adjusted data is most suitable; however WFJ is only available on a seasonally adjusted basis at industry Section level. The WFJ estimates for March 2012 and December 2012 for Section G; ‘Wholesale & retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles’ are as follows:
| Number (thousand) | |
Estimates for March 2013 are yet to be published.
ONS does produce a more detailed industry breakdown for seasonally adjusted data, but just for employee jobs (EJ); as shown in the table below. Employee Jobs account for approximately 92% of Workforce Jobs in Section G.
| Employee jobs | |||
| Thousand (seasonally adjusted) | |||
| Wholesale, retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | |
Jobs estimates for e-commerce and online retail are not produced by ONS.
G4S
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 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. [154547]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office has no current expenditure with G4S.
As part of my Department's transparency programme, it has been Cabinet Office policy since January 2011 to publish details of all contracts with a value of £10,000 or more on Contracts Finder:
www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
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In addition, Cabinet Office expenditure over £25,000, is published at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-spend-data
Inflation
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will ask the Office for National Statistics to provide a list of all known official uses of (a) the retail price index measure of inflation, (b) the consumer price index measure of inflation and (c) any alternative measure of inflation. [155048]
Mr Hurd: 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, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question concerning the known official uses of the retail prices index (RPI), consumer prices index (CPI) and any alternative measure of inflation. (155048)
The uses have been described in an article ‘How ONS consumer price statistics are used’:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/cpi/consumer-price-indices/july-2011/how-ons-consumer-price-statistics-are-used.pdf
The article adds more detail to the following summary.
Both CPI and RPI are used as macroeconomic indicators of inflation particularly by Her Majesty's Treasury to inform decisions on economic policy and to monitor the effectiveness of policy. A range of government departments also use both measures to monitor how prices for specific goods and services compare with general levels of inflation and to remove the effect of price changes when forming policy.
The RPI is used to uprate the redemption values of index-linked gilt-edged securities and national savings certificates.
The CPI is used:
as the basis of the government's inflation target.
to deflate ONS retail sales estimates and relevant components of the national accounts, such as household final consumption expenditure, to constant prices so that the effects of price change are removed from the series.
in the uprating of state pensions (alongside the average weekly earnings index), public service pensions and most state benefits.
Two new official measures of inflation - CPIH and RPIJ - were introduced in March. CPIH is a new measure of consumer price inflation that includes owner occupiers' housing costs. These are the costs associated with owning, maintaining and living in one's own home. RPIJ is an improved variant of the Retail Prices Index which is calculated using formulae that meet international standards. ONS currently classifies these new series as experimental statistics and they are being assessed by the assessment team of the UK Statistics Authority to determine whether they should be awarded National Statistics status. Since they have only recently been introduced, there are unlikely to be many official uses as yet.
There is, additionally, a family of indices behind the headline measures that is used for a variety of official purposes. For example, CPIY is the CPI excluding price changes which are directly due to changes in indirect taxation. This is used, for example by HM Treasury, to assess inflation at times when the headline CPI is directly influenced by Government-driven changes to taxes and duty.
The CPI is also the UK's official measure of inflation provided for the purposes of the European Union. In that context it is referred to as the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP). HICPs provide the official measure of consumer price inflation in the euro-zone for the purposes of monetary policy in the euro area and assessing inflation convergence as required under the Maastricht criteria.
These are the official uses known to ONS.
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Internet: Barrow in Furness
John Woodcock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of households in Barrow and Furness constituency which do not have access to the internet. [155089]
Mr Hurd: 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, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate has been made of the number of households in the Barrow and Furness constituency which do not have access to the Internet. (155089)
Estimates of household internet access are published on an annual basis by the Office for National Statistics and are also available on our website. These estimates are derived from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey. It is not possible from this survey, due to its small sample size, to produce accurate estimates of household internet access at a lower level of geography than region.
The latest available estimate (in respect of 2012) of the number of households in the North West without access to the internet is 0.7 million.
Ministerial Policy Advisers: Vetting
Mr Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many current Government special advisers have been subject to (a) all forms of personnel security control, (b) a counter terrorism check, (c) a security check and (d) developed vetting; [155094]
(2) how many times the Security Vetting Appeals Panel has met since May 2010; [155177]
(3) how many special advisers have used the appeals process to challenge an adverse vetting decision since May 2010. [155182]
Mr Maude: As was the practice under the previous Administration, each Government Department is responsible for determining its personnel security controls and any related vetting requirements, in line with the HMG Security Policy Framework. Information on the framework is available via:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmg-personnel-security-controls
Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not normally disclosed. Information about individual security clearances is not held centrally.
Population
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many residents of each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales were born in Northern Ireland. [154296]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
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Letter from Glen Watson, dated May 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many residents of each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales were born in Northern Ireland. (154296)
A file containing an extract from 2011 Census Table KS204EW, which provides the information you requested for Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies in England and Wales, will be stored in the Library of the House.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of the residents of each constituency in England and Wales were born in (a) England and (b) Wales. [154796]
Mr Hurd: 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, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the residents of each constituency in England and Wales were born in (i) England and (ii) Wales. 154796.
A file containing an extract from 2011 Census Table KS204EW which provides the information you have requested for Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies in England and Wales, will be stored in the Library of the House.
Public Administration Select Committee Reports
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) when the Government intends to publish its response to the Public Administration Select Committee's sixth report of Session 2012-13 on the report, Special advisers in the thick of it; [155052]
(2) when the Government intends to publish its response to the Public Administration Select Committee's third report of session 2012-13 on Business appointment rules. [155053]
Mr Maude: The Government welcomes the Committee's reports on these two important issues and will respond as soon as possible.
Public Sector: Civil Proceedings
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answers of 5 March 2013, Official Report, columns 973-74W, on written questions: Government responses, and 10 September 2012, Official Report, column 120W, on public sector: civil proceedings, when he expects to provide a full update. [154064]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office does not currently receive or hold information on the number of legal claims between public sector organisations, or their costs.
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My officials have looked into this matter and I am satisfied that there are sufficient measures in place to ensure that public sector organisations with legally separate identities make the greatest possible use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. My officials do not believe that further investigation will yield greater savings in this area.
There are three core measures that require or encourage public sector organisations to use mediation or arbitration, where possible, before resorting to court proceedings:
The Dispute Resolution Commitment (DRC) 2011 updates and replaces the Alternative Dispute Resolution Pledge 2001 and covers all Government Departments and agencies.
The Local Authority DRC, soon to be launched, will promote the proportionate management and early resolution of local government disputes.
The Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review expects parties to consider ADR procedures. It is supported by current Government proposals to reform Judicial Review and develop a simpler, quicker and more proportionate justice system.
Collectively, the work undertaken by the Government to ensure greater public sector use of ADR methods has saved taxpayers an estimated £360 million over the last decade.
Unemployment
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what comparative assessment he has made of differences in unemployment levels between (a) white, (b) mixed race, (c) Indian, (d) Pakistani, (e) Bangladeshi, (f) Chinese and (g) black ethnic groups. [154617]
Mr Hurd: 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, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what comparative assessment has been made of the differences in unemployment levels between (a) white, (b) mixed race, (c) Indian, (d) Pakistani, (e) Bangladeshi, (f) Chinese and (g) black ethnic groups. 154617
The tables provided show the latest available estimates regarding the information requested. Estimates of unemployment by ethnic group are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Indications of the quality of the estimates provided are given in the tables.
Estimates of unemployment by ethnic group are published quarterly in a supplementary table to the Labour Market Statistical Bulletin (Table A09), last published in February 2013 via the following link:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/february-2013/table-a09.xls
The estimates provided in this answer contain some small revisions that were not available for the table published in February 2013.
| Unemployment of people aged 16 and over by ethnic group, each quarter, 2012, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted | ||||||||||
| Total(1) | White(2) | Mixed | Indian | Pakistani | ||||||
| Level (thousand) | Rate(4) (%) | Level (thousand) | Rate(4) (%) | Level (thousand) | Rate(4) (%) | Level (thousand) | Rate(4) (%) | Level (thousand) | Rate(4) (%) | |
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| Bangladeshi | Chinese | Black/African/Caribbean | Other(3) | |||||
| Level (thousand) | Rate(4) (%) | Level (thousand) | Rate(4) (%) | Level (thousand) | Rate(4) (%) | Level (thousand) | Rate(4) (%) | |
| (1) Total includes people who have not stated their ethnic group. (2) 'White' also includes respondents in England, Wales and Scotland identifying themselves as 'White-Gypsy or Irish Traveller' and respondents in Scotland identifying themselves as 'White-Polish'. (3) Includes respondents in Northern Ireland identifying themselves as 'Irish Traveller'; respondents in all UK countries identifying themselves as 'Arab' and any other ethnic group not elsewhere classified. (4) Unemployment level as a percentage of the economically active population. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV = 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Labour Force Survey | ||||||||
Communities and Local Government
Homelessness
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households are currently homeless in each region. [153998]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 13 May 2013]: As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, columns 32-33WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region.
The latest available local authority figures for the numbers of households accepted as homeless under homelessness legislation and numbers of households in temporary accommodation, from which regional estimates can be calculated, can be found in Live Table 784a at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness
We have invested £470 million over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15) through local authorities and voluntary organisations to help prevent homelessness.
Homelessness is around half the average rate it was under the last Administration, and remains lower than in 27 of the last 30 years.
Homelessness: Bassetlaw
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in Bassetlaw constituency were homeless in the latest period for which figures are available. [154167]
Mr Prisk: The following table shows both the (i) number of homelessness acceptances of households and (ii) the number of households in temporary accommodation for the local authority Bassetlaw for the most recent period for which figures are available.
| Number of households accepted(1) as owed a main homelessness duty during the quarter October to December 2012 | Number of households in temporary accommodation(2), as at 31 December 2012 | |
| (1) Households eligible under homelessness legislation, found to be unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category, and consequently owed a main homelessness duty. (2) Households who have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty, those pending inquiries or review, and those who were found to be intentionally homeless but are being accommodated for a reasonable period by the LA. Source: DCLG P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly) | ||
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The Bassetlaw constituency falls wholly within the area of Bassetlaw district council, which also includes part of the Newark constituency. Figures are given for Bassetlaw district council, the lowest geographical level for which the Department collects them.
We have invested £470 million over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15) through local authorities and voluntary organisations to help prevent homelessness.
Across England, homelessness is around half the average rate it was under the last Administration, and remains lower than in 27 of the last 30 years.
Housing
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households are currently (a) in private rented housing, (b) in social rented housing and (c) homeless. [153999]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 13 May 2013]: The latest data from the English Housing Survey indicates that in 2011-12 there were 3.8 million (3,843,000) households in private rented housing and also 3.8 million (3,808,000) households in social rented housing.
According to the latest data collected from local authorities, there were 53,130 homeless households in temporary accommodation (statutory homelessness) as at 31 December 2012, and 2,309 rough sleepers in autumn 2012.
Homelessness is around half the average level it was under the last Administration. Homelessness acceptances remain lower than in 27 of the last 30 years.
Housing: Disability
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many houses in each local authority have been adapted or constructed for accessibility to individuals with spinal cord injuries. [154873]
Mr Prisk: The Department for Communities and Local Government funds the Disabled Facilities Grant which is administered by local authorities in England and provides adaptations to the homes of disabled people to help them to live as independently as possible in their own home. In 2011-12 the grant provided adaptations for around 40,000 households, but data on adaptations provided specifically to individuals with spinal cord injuries are not collected.
The Department secured £725 million for the grant in the 2010 spending review for the period 2011-12 to 2014-15 and over the last two years the Government has invested a further £60 million in the Disabled Facilities Grant, bringing the total grant in 2011-12 to £200 million and in 2012-13 to £220 million.
Housing: Finance
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total amount of capital spend was on housing in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011 and (e) 2012; and what he expects it to be in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014 and (iii) 2015. [153997]
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Mr Prisk [holding answer 13 May 2013]: Total capital expenditure on housing by local authorities in England in the years from 2008-09 to 2012-13 was as follows:
| £ million | |
These data are as reported by all local authorities in England on the annual Capital Outturn Return and Capital Estimates Return. Forecast estimates for 2013-14 onwards are not yet available.
However, to place this answer in context, I note that the last Administration's spending plan would have involved cuts to the overall DCLG budget. DCLG and local government were not protected budgets under the last Administration's plans (HM Treasury, Pre-Budget Report 2009, p.8) and the last Administration was planning spending cuts of £52 billion by 2014-15, with £14 billion of cuts falling in 2011-12 (HM Treasury, Spending Review 2010, October 2010, p.78).
I also observe that the last Prime Minister remarked in April 2010 that:
“housing is essentially a private sector activity … I don't see a need for us to continue with such a big renovation programme.”
(BBC Newsnight, 30 April 2010).
By contrast, the coalition Government's Affordable Homes Programme is levering in £19.5 billion of public and private investment from 2011 to 2015, thanks to innovations like Affordable Rent.
Social Rented Housing: Business
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken to remove the barriers to social tenants running a business from home. [155186]
Mr Prisk: The Government are committed to removing the barriers that prevent social tenants running businesses from their homes. To this end, in November 2010 I wrote, together with my right hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), to social landlords urging them to ensure that tenants are provided with encouragement, help and advice on how to work from home. A copy of this has been placed in the Library of the House.
At our encouragement, the Chartered Institute of Housing produced a guide for social landlords on the matter, including advice on how to develop an organisational policy, how to promote to tenants the potential opportunities that exist to run a business from home and how to support them with the information they need. The guide can be found at:
http://www.cih.org/publication-free/display/vpathDCR//templatedata/cih/publication-free/data/Running_a_business_from_home
Travellers: Finance
Philip Davies:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Homes and Communities Agency has spent on provision
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of services and facilities for Travellers in each of the last three years; and how much the Homes and Communities Agency intends to spend on such provision in each of the next three years. [154396]
Mr Foster: The Homes and Communities Agency has provided funding to local authorities and other registered providers to support the construction and refurbishment of authorised Traveller pitches. The funding provided in each of the last three years (2010-11 to 2012-13) and the funding forecast for 2013-14 and 2014-15 is set out in the following table. Government spending in 2015-16 is subject to the current spending review.
| Programme | Year | Funding (£) |
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Pay
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of new and enhanced contracts awarded to agricultural workers in the last 12 months. [154200]
Mr Heath: DEFRA does not collect data on the number of contracts awarded to agricultural workers.
However, for the purposes of the impact assessment on abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board, DEFRA assumed that 5% of the permanent agricultural labour force were issued new contracts each year, and all temporary workers. Temporary workers represent around one third of the agricultural workforce.
Agriculture: Subsidies
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that payments to farmers under the single farm payment scheme are made on time. [154101]
Mr Heath: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) published a five-year plan in February 2012, designed to build stability and improve performance during the remaining part of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS). The RPA business plan for 2012-13 was published in June 2012, setting new, more stretching performance indicators for every area of operations including, for example, speed and accuracy of payments, levels of customer satisfaction and financial controls.
The RPA achieved its end of March SPS payment target more than five weeks ahead of schedule, exceeding both of its domestic performance targets this year, and achieving the benchmark set by the EU (to pay more than 95.238% of the scheme fund value by the end of June) a full four months early. Farmer satisfaction levels
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are the highest ever recorded and the RPA has just delivered the most successful payment record in the agency's history, getting vital funds out to farmers sooner than ever before.
Ash Dieback Disease
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department is funding into an antidote for ash dieback disease. [155111]
Mr Heath: The process to evaluate the possible usefulness against Chalara of various chemical treatments submitted by a number of producers is covered in the Chalara Management Plan, published on 26 March. Based on scientific advice and other European countries' experience of Chalara we are advised against expecting to find a treatment that can be widely applied to protect woodland or treat an infected wood or forest. However, in some circumstances treatments may have a role in protecting individual trees or groups of trees, or reducing production of spores, level of damage and rate of spread.
Out of a total of more than 80 products that were suggested to DEFRA and the Forestry Commission as possible treatments for ash dieback, 14 will be tested in the laboratory at the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera). Some of these products along with two others, potassium phosphite and urea, will be tested in field studies using potted ash trees. The purpose of these studies is to investigate how effective the products are at preventing infestation by this disease.
The shortlist of products includes examples of the fungicide groups that are considered most likely to be effective and, where possible, products with a single active ingredient have been preferred to mixtures for the purpose of the laboratory screen.
Further details of the actual products and how they were selected are available on the Fera website:
http://www.fera.defra.gov.uk/plants/plantHealth/pestsDiseases/chalaraInfo.cfm
Floods: Insurance
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 15 April 2013, Official Report, column 73W, on floods: insurance, if he will make it his policy to require providers of flood insurance to take account of flood prevention measures put in place by local authorities when calculating premiums and the terms on which continuing cover will be offered. [154719]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA, with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and others, has established a common methodology for reporting the impact of property-level protection measures in reducing potential flood damages. A template and guidance has been published which will help insurers incorporate that information into their risk assessment and pricing decisions. This information is available on the Environment Agency's website.
Constructive discussions continue between Government and the ABI and others about the future of flood insurance. Issues such as affordability and pricing are part of these discussions. However it would not be
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appropriate to provide details of discussions while they are ongoing. I will endeavour to provide a public update at the earliest appropriate opportunity.
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 15 April 2013, Official Report, column 73W, on floods: insurance, what steps he is taking to ensure that insurance premiums and terms of cover take account of all relevant flood mitigation measures not just recently-installed, property-level measures. [154720]
Richard Benyon: Insurance companies each take different approaches to assessing flood risk and on how they incorporate information about flood mitigation into their risk assessment and pricing decisions.
Constructive discussions continue between the Government and the Association of British Insurers and others about the future of flood insurance. Issues such as affordability and pricing are part of these discussions. However it would not be appropriate to provide details of discussions while they are ongoing. I will endeavour to provide a public update at the earliest appropriate opportunity.
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will undertake (a) an audit of the flood prevention measures implemented by local authorities in each of the last five years and (b) an analysis of the relationship between such expenditure and the cover offered and premiums charged to householders occupying premises at historic risk of flooding. [154721]
Richard Benyon: Flood risk management in England is managed by a range of bodies, including the Environment Agency, local authorities and internal drainage boards, as set out under the terms of the 2010 Flood and Water Management Act.
The Environment Agency holds information on the flood prevention measures implemented by all risk management organisations involved in flood and coastal erosion risk management.
However, it would be difficult to determine the relationship between such expenditure and pricing decisions by insurers because:
the level of insurance premiums and excesses are affected by a range of factors making it difficult to separate out the part that reflects flood risk. For example, a policy will take account of other risks such as fire and subsidence and will also take into account the size of the property; and
it is very difficult to collect specific information of this type on a national scale. Both the insurance companies and the public regard personal financial matters as confidential.
Taxpayers' money is best spent on reducing flood risk in the first place.
Flour: Additives
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when he plans to announce the Government's decision on the outcome of its consultation on the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998; [154470]
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(2) what assessment he has made of benefits to (a) the milling industry and (b) other businesses of the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998; [154471]
(3) whether the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 will be affected by the Government's Red Tape Challenge. [154472]
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the effect on public health if fortification of bread and flour with key nutrients were no longer mandatory; [154452]
(2) what assessment he has made of the potential effect on low income groups if fortification of bread and flour with key nutrients is no longer mandatory; [154453]
(3) what assessment he has made of whether to revoke the Bread and Flour Regulations as part of the Government's Red Tape Challenge; [154456]
(4) what assessment he has made of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition's report on the nutritional implications of repealing the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998; [154743]
(5) when the Government plan to announce their decision on the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 consultation; [154744]
(6) what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the milling industry and costs to other businesses of revocation of the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998; [154746]
(7) what assessment he has made of the potential effect on business certainty if the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 are to be revoked in England but remain in place elsewhere in the UK; [154747]
(8) what assessment he has made of the regulatory burden on business if the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 are to be revoked. [154748]
Mr Heath: DEFRA is currently coordinating a review of the national rules relating to bread and flour as they apply to England. It has held a public consultation seeking views on possible deregulatory options which closed on 13 March 2013. We are currently analysing the 47 responses received in conjunction with the Department of Health. The Government are committed to ensuring that any policy decision on the removal of mandatory fortification will take into account an assessment of the health impacts, the impact on industry, the implications for other parts of the United Kingdom, and the interests of consumers. The Government intend to announce their decision before the summer recess.
Forest Enterprise England
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff are employed by Forest Enterprise England in Cumbria; and what proportion of such staff are paid (a) at and (b) above the relevant level of the living wage. [155090]
Mr Heath: Forest Enterprise England currently employs 39 people in full and part-time positions who are based at locations in Cumbria. They are all paid above the Living Wage Foundation's living wage of £7.45 per hour.
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Horsemeat
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to audits carried out in Canada and Mexico by the European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office between 2010 and 2013, which found evidence of shortcomings in North American systems for preventing horsemeat contaminated with banned substances entering the food chain, whether he plans to take steps to reduce import of horsemeat from North America. [154040]
Mr Heath: Products of animal origin (POAO), including meat, which are imported from third countries must have been produced to standards at least equivalent to those in the European Union (EU). POAO imported from third countries must:
come from an approved country;
come from a country with an approved residue plan;
come from an approved establishment/plant;
be accompanied by appropriate animal and public health certification;
enter the EU through a Border Inspection Post (BIP) where checks are carried out to ensure that import conditions have been met.
The European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) is responsible for carrying out inspections in the third countries from which POAO is imported. Particular account is taken of:
an exporting country's disease status and the health status of livestock and other domestic animals;
its rules on prevention and control of diseases, including its rules on its imports from other countries;
the use of veterinary medicinal products, including rules on their prohibition or authorisation; and
the organisation of the competent veterinary authorities and inspection services.
Horsemeat imported from Mexico has been subject to EU wide safeguard measures since 2006. Every consignment entering the EU has to be tested for residues of veterinary substances at the BIP. Following the most recent FVO audits in Mexico, the Commission services asked the Mexican authorities to submit an action plan in response to the recommendations made in the audit report. An action plan has now been provided and is being considered by the Commission and the FVO.
Consignments of horsemeat from Canada are also inspected and sampled at the EU border. There was a positive case in a consignment from Canada in July 2012 indicating the presence of Clembuterol and Phenylbutazone. Following this unfavourable result consignments of horsemeat from Canada have been subjected to reinforced checks. No further positive results have since been found.
Should there be an outbreak of disease or other circumstances likely to present a risk to human or animal health, EU legislation allows member states to take appropriate safeguard action, which may include a ban on imports of POAO from all or parts of that country. Any such action would need to be endorsed by the European Commission and it is likely that a common EU position would be quickly adopted.
There is no record of any horsemeat being imported into the UK from any third countries during 2012 and January to April 2013.
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There are no plans to introduce a unilateral ban on imports of horsemeat from Canada and Mexico. DEFRA will continue to work with the Food Standards Agency to monitor the situation and will act if it is in the public interest to do so.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the written ministerial statement of 15 April 2013, Official Report, columns 13-15WS, on horsemeat fraud, when he expects to announce the timing and details of the strategic review of the horsemeat fraud incident and its implications for the food chain and regulatory framework. [154750]
Mr Heath: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will announce the timing and details of the strategic review of the horsemeat fraud incident shortly.
Defence
Afghanistan
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost has been of the recall and changes made to equipment sent to Afghanistan under the auspices of Purple Gate; and if he will make a statement. [154565]
Mr Dunne [holding answer 13 May 2013]:Specific cost data for equipment uniquely used in Afghanistan, transported to the UK, upgraded and returned back to Afghanistan are not held.
Armed Forces: Malaria
Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) on what scientific evidence his Department relies in prescribing mefloquine hydrochloride as first-line malaria chemoprophylaxis for troops deploying to or exercising in sub-Saharan Africa; [154568]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the United States reserving mefloquine for third or fourth-line chemoprophylaxis only; and if he will make a statement. [154569]
Mr Francois [holding answer 13 May 2013]: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) malaria prevention policy is closely aligned to United Kingdom national advice, is kept under continual review and includes the consideration of all various drugs used for chemoprophylaxis.
Mefloquine is a licensed and extremely effective drug at preventing malaria; it is used by the military in many (but not all) parts of the world where British troops deploy. There is currently no evidence that United Kingdom service personnel are at a particular increased risk from adverse drug events related to mefloquine use for chemoprophylaxis. If compelling evidence is produced from the body of global scientific evidence regarding the use of mefloquine then it is likely that the UK licence would be reviewed and advice from the Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention (ACMP) would change.
The UK ACMP, whose membership comprises national experts on the subject (including the MOD's Defence Consultant Adviser in Communicable Diseases), advises
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on the key elements with respect to choice of drugs for anti-malaria chemoprophylaxis. The ACMP, which was established by the Health Protection Agency, now known as Public Health England, is the authoritative source of guidance in the United Kingdom.
The Ministry of Defence does not hold information regarding United States policy on this matter.
Armed Forces: Railways
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the annual cost to the public purse is of the HM Forces Railcard; [154082]
(2) how many individuals have received an HM Forces Railcard to date. [154083]
Mr Francois: The HM Forces Railcard scheme is essentially self-funding with no direct cost to the public purse. The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) is reimbursed quarterly for railcards received by the Ministry of Defence and the cost is then recovered from individuals when the railcards are sold. Care is taken to avoid excessive stocks being held.
The railcard is available to both serving personnel and their spouses. It is valid for 12 months. Although information on the volume of sales is held centrally, and is provided in the following table, it does not distinguish between renewals and first purchases. It is therefore not possible to determine the number of individuals involved.
| HM forces railcard sales 2009 to date | |
| Sales | |
| (1) January 2013 to end April 2013. | |
Defence Support Group
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many agency workers are employed at each Defence Support Group site; what the security vetting level is of each such worker; and if he will make a statement. [154564]
Mr Dunne [holding answer 13 May 2013]:The number of agency workers currently employed at each Defence Support Group site is shown in the following table:
| Location | Agency total |
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All agency personnel have a basic security level check, which is the level required of the majority of the Defence Support Group's work force. A number of higher level security level checks are required of agency personnel depending on which equipment platforms they are working.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Defence Support Group sites have the capacity to service and maintain nuclear biological chemical clean air supply in military vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [154566]
Mr Dunne [holding answer 13 May 2013]:The Defence Support Group currently has the capacity to undertake the servicing and maintenance of nuclear, biological and chemical air supply units at both Bovington and Donnington sites and carries out inspections and testing of units at the Ashchurch site.
G4S
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 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. [154549]
Mr Dunne: The current level of expenditure in financial year 2013-14—i.e. from 1 April 2013—with G4S and its associated companies is £307,000 as at 12 May 2013. Expenditure for each year from 2008-09 to 2012-13 is shown in the following table:
| £ million | |||||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
The UK Hydrographic Office and the Defence Support Group have not committed any expenditure with G4S and its associated companies since 2008.
HMS Tireless
Paul Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 15 April 2013, Official Report, column 59, on HMS Tireless, what the duration of the leak was in hours and minutes; what the volume of the lost coolant was; whether the reactor closed down or tripped as soon as the leak occurred; whether such a leak automatically closes down or trips the reactor in this class of submarine; whether the leak has been investigated to ascertain if the reactor was in operation for any length of time before the leak was discovered; when a radiological analysis of the leaked coolant was carried out or estimated; what the radiological inventory of the leaked coolant was; what clean-up action was required inside the submarine as a result of
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the leak; whether any radioactively contaminated solids or liquids were off-loaded at Devonport; and whether any of the leaked radioactively contaminated coolant was discharged to sea. [154050]
Mr Dunne [holding answer 13 May 2013]: The duration from the initial report of the problem to the cessation of the leak was approximately 192 hours, throughout which normal radiological monitoring of the reactor compartment was conducted.
Although the extremely sensitive radioactivity monitors indicated that elevated levels of airborne radioactivity had been detected, the coolant leak was not sufficient to produce a measurable quantity of liquid or affect the normal operation of the reactor, which was in operation throughout.
On return to Devonport the reactor compartment was surveyed and a small amount of dry surface radioactive contamination was detected in the vicinity of the leak. The area was cleaned, following standard nuclear procedures, after which no further surface contamination was detected.
No liquids associated with the leak were offloaded at Devonport or discharged at sea, and solid wastes arising from the cleaning and subsequent repair work have been removed in accordance with normal waste disposal procedures.
I am withholding the information regarding the details of the radiological inventory as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many defence procurement contracts have used social value clauses from the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 since implementation of that Act; and what the estimated value of these contracts has been; [154112]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures; and what guidance he has given to his Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies on implementation of that Act. [154528]
Mr Dunne: Current Ministry of Defence (MOD) guidance sets out that sustainability, which includes social, environmental and economic impacts, should be considered at all stages of the acquisition cycle. This guidance will be updated specifically to reflect the requirements of the Public Services Social Value Act 2012, although it should be noted that a significant number of MOD contracts fall under the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 and are therefore outside the scope of the Act.
To provide details of which contracts may include social value clauses would require individually checking with each MOD project team and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Research
Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the level is of his Department's research budget; and if he will make a statement. [155137]
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Mr Dunne: The budget for the centralised Ministry of Defence Science and Technology Programme under the Department's chief scientific adviser for 2013-14 is £410 million, rounded to the nearest £5 million.
Energy and Climate Change
Buildings
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total running costs were for each building used, owned or rented in central London by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three financial years. [154243]
Gregory Barker: Please see as follows for the reply from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in relation to central London buildings used, owned or rented by the Department and its agencies.
Please note the figures incorporate rent, rates, insurance (where applicable), core facilities management (service) charges and utilities (including electricity, gas and water).
| DECC HQ—Occupation of 55 Whitehall with effect from July 2011. An area of one floor in 1 Victoria Street (HQ for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) with effect from August 2012 | |||
| £ | |||
| 3 Whitehall Place | 55 Whitehall | 1 Victoria Street | |
| (1) March 2013 gas bill as yet not received. | |||
| Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)—Moved from 65 Buckingham Gate to Eland House in September 2011 | ||
| £ | ||
| 65 Buckingham Gate | Eland House | |
| The Committee for Climate Change (CCC)—Moved from Manning House to 7 Holbein Place after year 2010-11 | ||
| £ | ||
| Manning House | 7 Holbein Place | |
Energy Company Obligation: Rural Areas
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been spent by energy companies on the rural safeguard sub-obligation delivering their carbon saving communities obligation to rural low income houses to date; and how many (a) oil-fired and (b) LPG-fired boilers have been replaced under the Affordable Warmth Scheme of the Energy Company Obligation to date. [153907]
Gregory Barker:
We will be publishing information relating to ECO measures which have been delivered and notified to Ofgem in an Official Statistics release in June. However, these data will not be able to distinguish
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between oil-fired and LPG-fired boilers. For further information about measures available under ECO please see:
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/ECO/Info-for-suppliers/Documents1/Energy%20Companies%20Obligation%20ECO%20-%20List%20of%20Measures%20and%20Additional%20 Information.pdf
Energy: Prices
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to make energy bills more easily understood. [155085]
Gregory Barker: Ofgem's Retail Market Review final proposals include mandating that prompts to consider energy options and essential tariff information are provided in prominent and noticeable positions on bills, and introducing industry consistency where appropriate. It also proposes new rules designed to increase consumers’ awareness of alternative tariffs and to help compare tariffs.
The Government have introduced clauses into the Energy Bill so that they can act to implement these important reforms in the event that Ofgem's proposals are frustrated or unduly delayed.
Enfield
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 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 local authority in each of the last five years. [154513]
Gregory Barker: Most expenditure by the Department is for the benefit of the country as a whole and cannot be related to specific local authorities. A small number of schemes are allocated to particular localities and under an interest-free loan scheme for public sector organisations the London borough of Enfield has received £300,000 in 2010-11 and £4,415,000 in 2012-13.
No non-departmental public body expenditure has been allocated specifically to the London borough of Enfield.
Fuel Poverty
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 14 March 2013, Official Report, column 471, on fuel poverty, what evidential basis he used to state that fuel poverty increased between 1997 and 2010. [155059]
Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), did not state that fuel poverty increased between 1997 and 2010. As shown by official statistics, under the previous Administration fuel poverty rose from 1.2 million to 3.5 million households in England in the period 2004-10 and from 2 million to 4.75 million households in the UK over the same period.
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G4S
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 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. [154551]
Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not hold any contracts with G4S and therefore has not incurred any expenditure.
Green Deal Scheme
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many staff from the Behavioural Insights Team have advised his Department on consumer take-up of the Green Deal to date; [155104]
(2) what progress the Behavioural Insights Team has made in advising his Department on how to encourage consumer take-up of the Green Deal. [155105]
Gregory Barker: The Behavioural Insights Team, the Green Deal Team and DECC's Customer Insight Team have collaborated on a range of projects over the past two years, and findings have been used to inform development of the Green Deal programme and consumer take-up.
Pay
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff in his Department received bonuses in excess of (a) £1,420, (b) £2,000, (c) £5,000, (d) £10,000, (e) £20,000 and (f) £50,000 in 2012-13. [154930]
Gregory Barker: The number of Department of Energy and Climate Change staff who in 2012-13 received a non-consolidated performance related award above the specified thresholds are shown as follows:
129 staff received a non-consolidated performance related award in excess of £1,420
Of these, 99 staff received non-consolidated performance related awards in excess of £2,000
Of these, 23 workers received non-consolidated performance related awards in excess of £5,000 and
Six of these received a non-consolidated performance related award in excess of £10,000 and
No staff received a non-consolidated performance related award in excess of £20,000.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many officials in his Department received bonuses in 2012-13. [154934]
Gregory Barker: A total of 911 officials received in-year and end-of-year non-consolidated performance related awards for 2012-13 from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Priti Patel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what guidance his Department issues on the actions that would result in the suspension or removal of a bonus payment to an official in his
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Department; what the process is for clawing back such bonuses; and on how many occasions this has happened in each of the last five years. [154996]
Gregory Barker: DECC's performance management policy, in line with most of the public sector, do not provide a contractual right to a bonus payment. The Department's performance management policy sets out a right for staff to be properly and fairly assessed against established performance criteria.
Discretionary bonus payments form part of DECC's performance management policy. The Department has not issued specific guidance on the actions that would result in the suspension or removal of a bonus payment that has been paid to a member of staff. We would look to use other HR policies to deal with any issues that may call into question whether or not a bonus payment should have been paid.
There have been no instances in the last five years of bonuses being “clawed back” by the Department.
Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures; and what guidance he has given to his Department's Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies on implementation of that Act. [154531]
Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), has taken the following steps to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012:
The Cabinet Office has circulated across Government a Procurement Policy note which has been circulated to all procurement staff to make them aware of the Public Services Act 2012.
The Department takes part in across government discussions with the Procurement Knowledge Network spreading awareness and discussion of implementation of the Act with staff.
The Department's procurement and legal team have discussed the Public Services Act 2012 and implications for policy teams.
The Department's Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies follow guidance from the Cabinet Office regarding implementation of the Public Services Act.
Renewable Energy
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether (a) fuel cells and (b) hydrogen are being considered as suitable for a feed-in tariff by April 2014. [155106]
Gregory Barker: The GB feed-in tariff scheme supports five technologies, wind, solar, hydro, anaerobic digestion and micro-CHP. Of these, micro-CHP can be fuelled by fuel cells or hydrogen.
We recently completed the first comprehensive review of the FITs scheme, as part of this consultation we considered whether to extend support to other forms of technology. We received no significant evidence of a need to extend the scope of the scheme and therefore announced in July 2012 our intension to continue to
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support the above five technologies. Further details are available in the Government response document:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tariffs-for-non-pv-technologies-comprehensive-review-phase-2b
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his reply to question 37 at the sitting of 15 January 2013 of the Public Bill Committee on the Energy Bill, when he plans to publish the consultation paper on a community energy strategy. [155183]
Michael Fallon: Later this year, we will publish a Community Energy Strategy. To inform the strategy, we will publish a Call for Evidence this spring, seeking responses from a wide range of organisations and individuals.
Community energy is on the rise in the UK, reconnecting communities to the energy they use, community projects and initiatives focused on reducing, managing, generating or purchasing energy.
Wind Power
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many planning applications for onshore wind farms were (a) approved and (b) rejected in 2012. [154935]
Gregory Barker: According to the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), 215 onshore wind projects were consented over the whole of the UK from January to December 2012:
https://restats.decc.gov.uk/app/reporting/decc/monthlyextract
Over this same period, the number of projects that were refused planning consent was 115.
For completeness, the right hon. Lady may also wish to know that there were a further 84 applications for onshore wind projects that were withdrawn from the planning system during this period.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much onshore wind capacity (a) received planning approval and (b) was rejected in 2012. [154936]
Gregory Barker: According to the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), 1892.97 megawatts installed capacity of onshore wind was consented over the whole of the UK from January to December 2012:
https://restats.decc.gov.uk/app/reporting/decc/monthlyextract
Over this same period, 829.73 megawatts installed capacity of onshore wind was refused planning consent.
For completeness, the right hon. Lady may also wish to know that applications for a further 320.88 megawatts installed capacity of onshore wind were withdrawn from the planning system.
Winter Fuel Payments
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has had discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions on measures to enable payment of winter fuel allowance earlier for off-grid customers. [154776]
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Gregory Barker: DECC and the Department for Work and Pensions work closely together on a range of issues. This particular issue has been considered on a number of occasions, including at a recent roundtable discussion on off gas issues chaired by the Minister of State for Energy.
Health
Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the needs of patients of all ages and from across the UK are provided for in the composition of the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. [155081]
Dr Poulter: The future role of the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation will be to provide advice to both NHS England on allocations to clinical commissioning groups and the Department on ring-fenced public health grants for local authorities, facilitated by a secretariat that is based in NHS England.
The membership of the committee and its subgroups is now being reviewed by NHS England to develop proposals that ensure that it continues to have the right expertise for its important work, including the right mix of academics, clinicians, national health service managers, local authority managers, and representatives of patients and service users. The membership will be agreed between NHS England and the Department.