Fire Services
Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total cost to his Department is of the consultation on fire brigade mutualisation. [160248]
Brandon Lewis: I have made no assessment of costs to my Department on the pre-consultation on fire mutuals as this was undertaken within the normal course of business.
Homelessness
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was allocated to each local authority in homelessness prevention grant or its predecessor in each of the last five years; and how much has been allocated to each local authority in 2013-14. [159944]
Mr Prisk: A spreadsheet has been placed in the Library of the House showing the amount allocated to each English local authority in homelessness prevention grant or its predecessor in each of the last five years, and also in 2013-14.
The homelessness prevention grant totals provided are the baseline figures and exclude funding that has previously been rolled into the grant to cover under-occupancy and tenancy fraud.
As of 2013-14 the homelessness prevention grant has been rolled into the Business Rate Retention scheme.
We have increased funding from £51 million in 2009-10 to £80 million in 2013-14.
At the beginning of this Parliament we established a Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness to tackle the complex drivers of homelessness. The Group has published two reports so far, ‘Vision to end rough sleeping’, and ‘Making every contact count’, which are available via the Department's website at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/vision-to-end-rough-sleeping--2
www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-every-contact-count-a-joint-approach-to-preventing-homelessness
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We have since made common sense changes to the rules to enable local authorities to help families quickly into settled homes in the private rented sector and we are tackling affordability by increasing supply of affordable and market rent housing.
We have invested £470 million over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15) to help local authorities and the voluntary sector prevent and tackle homelessness, rough sleeping and repossessions. We have also increased the Discretionary Housing Payments pot to around £350 million over the spending period to help families and those in vulnerable situations with the transition of welfare reform changes.
We supported the Mayor of London to develop the No Second Night Out scheme to ensure nobody new spends a second night sleeping rough on London's streets. The principles are being rolled out across the country backed by a new £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund.
We have also supported the voluntary sector to develop a new service—Street Link—which offers a hand-up, rather than a handout. Street Link provides a central point of contact that anyone who wants to get help for rough sleepers across England can call. The national telephone line (0300 500 0914) was launched last year.
On 6 June I announced a new Bed and Breakfast Working Group which will work closely with local authorities to help them reduce the number of families in bed and breakfast accommodation. We invited the 15 local authorities with the highest number of families in bed and breakfasts to bid for a share of £1.8 million to help them find innovative and sustainable solutions to the problem.
Housing: Construction
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate his Department has made of the number of new affordable homes built in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Cumbria in each of the last 10 years. [160043]
Mr Prisk: Statistics on additional affordable housing provided in each local authority area in England are published in the Department's live tables 1006, 1007 and 1008, which are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
These figures include both newly built housing and acquisitions.
Following the abolition of regional government by the coalition, DCLG no longer publishes statistics at a regional level and does not believe that regions provide a coherent or meaningful framework for assessing public policy. Instead, our published statistics relate, where relevant, to other local geographies which are more aligned with public policy.
Housing: Wales
Stephen Doughty:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to his contribution of 14 May 2013, Official Report, column 604, for what reasons he stated that red tape in Wales would add £13,000 to the cost of building a new home compared to England; if he will provide an analysis of the regulatory costs contributing to that figure; what
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representations he has received on the outcome of the Callow Mount Sprinkler Retrofit Project; and if he will meet Ann Jones AM to discuss the provisions of the Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011. [159562]
Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the comprehensive reply from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to Ann Jones AM on the cumulative burden of regulation on the housing market in Wales.
A copy of the letter is available in the Library of the House and online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulation-on-the-housing-market-in-wales--2
On the broader issue of fire sprinklers, I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 May 2013, Official Report, column 376W, and the review in 2005. The Callow Mount Sprinkler Retrofit Project provides a potentially useful case study on specific issue of high-rise buildings.
Local Press
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of all the evidence he has compiled relating to the effect of local authority publications on local newspapers. [155466]
Brandon Lewis [holding answer 16 May 2013]: The Impact Assessment for the 2011 Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity, together with the recent consultation paper on Protecting the Independent Press from Unfair Competition and the Government's response to that consultation, all available on the Department's website, draw together evidence relating to the effect of local authority publications on local independent newspapers.
Planning Permission
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in which local planning authorities in England were more than 20 per cent of major decisions overturned at appeal in the last two years. [159995]
Nick Boles: Statistics on appeals are published annually by the Planning Inspectorate. Figures are shown by local authority but do not distinguish decision types. Statistics for 2011-12 and 2012-13 are available in Table 6.1 at the following links:
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/pins/statistics_eng/stats_report_final_2011_2012.xls
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/pins/statistics_eng/annual_2012_13.xls
Statistics on decisions by type and local planning authority are published by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Statistics for the years ending December 2011 and December 2012 are available in Table 132 at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-applications-in-england-october-to-december-2011
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-planning-application-statistics
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Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in which local planning authorities in England were 30 per cent or fewer of major decisions made on time in the last two years. [159996]
Nick Boles: The latest published statistics showing the percentages of major decisions made on time by local planning authorities are for the year ending December 2012 (Planning Application statistics Table 132). This is available from the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-planning-application-statistics
Published statistics for the previous year, showing the percentage of major decisions made on time by local planning authorities for the year ending December 2011 (Planning Application statistics Table 132), are available from the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-applications-in-england-october-to-december-2011
Public Houses: Scotland
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his answer of 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1129, on public houses: Scotland, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to implement the powers of Part 9, section 179 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 in the rest of the UK. [158338]
Mr Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
Section 179 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 requires new applicants for alcohol licences to provide a disabled access and facilities statement. The Government have no plans to implement this measure in England and Wales.
Regional Planning and Development: Worcestershire
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has yet received the South Worcestershire Development Plan; and when he expects the independent examination of this plan to have been completed. [159837]
Nick Boles: The South Worcestershire Local Plan was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination on 28 May 2013. The appointed inspector has not yet agreed the examination timetable so we are unable to estimate when the examination will conclude.
The average time taken by the Planning Inspectorate to examine submitted plans to the issue of a final report is around six to seven months, subject to no fundamental issues being identified by the inspector.
Right to Buy Scheme: Swindon
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authority properties in Swindon Borough have been purchased through the right-to-buy scheme in each of the last five years. [159394]
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Mr Prisk: There were 73 sales through the right-to- buy scheme in Swindon in the four years between 2009-10 and 2012-13. Figures at a local authority level are only currently available back to 2009-10.
It should be noted that these are sales from local authorities and do not include sales of social housing stock through preserved right to buy made by registered providers (such as housing associations).
Right to buy sales have trebled in Swindon since the new discounts were introduced, but there is more to do to inform tenants of their new rights and help them up the ladder of home ownership.
Local authority sales through the right to buy scheme are available at local authority level and can be found in Tables 691 (quarterly data) and 685 (annual data) here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government under what criteria his Department allocates available formula grant to upper tier authorities to fund highways maintenance. [159466]
Brandon Lewis: Formula grant is an unhypothecated block grant. It is therefore not possible to state how much is provided for any particular service. Details of formula grant methodology are available at:
http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1213/basicguid.pdf
From April 2013 councils no longer receive formula grant. They are now funded for services by central Government principally through Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates. The business rate retention incentive is a watershed in council financing as it sets them free to grow their income by building up new business rates revenue by supporting new firms and jobs.
Urban Areas: Regeneration
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will reallocate unspent funds from the Portas pilots to other town teams. [159494]
Mr Prisk: No, the Government gave 24 Portas pilots a share of £2.3 million in 2012 to spend as and when they saw fit to best improve their high streets.
Each plan to rejuvenate a high street will be different, therefore the way, speed and manner that local teams spend money will be different. These are long-term projects, and teams are taking a strategic approach that is consciously trying not to spend all the funding awarded at once.
Pilots up and down the country are working together successfully and achieving results, from Rotherham helping local businesses expand and develop, to Loughborough bringing students and local residents into town with a loyalty scheme. But this is just the start, which is why I established the Future High Streets Forum, made up of leading figures from retail, property, business, academics, third sector, civil society and Government, to drive forward ideas and policies to help high streets adapt and compete.
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Wind Power: Planning Permission
Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the decision-making process is for decisions to approve onshore wind farms of (a) under and (b) over 50 MW capacity in both England and Wales. [159613]
Mr Prisk: Planning applications for onshore wind farms of 50 MW capacity and below in England and Wales are made to the relevant local planning authority. Applications for development consent for wind farms over 50 MW capacity in England and Wales are determined under the provisions of the Planning Act 2008 and submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. Following a public examination, recommendations are made to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who takes the decision on whether consent for the project should be granted.
Applications for consent for projects over 50MW in England and Wales which were made under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 continue to be determined under that regime. In those cases, the Department of Energy and Climate Change process the application and the decision is taken by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Where a relevant local authority objects to an application, a mandatory public inquiry is held and an inspector provides the written report and recommendation to the Secretary of State.
Cabinet Office
Charity Commission
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to clarify and reinforce the objectives of the Charity Commission. [160491]
Mr Hurd: We are considering the recommendations in the recently published Public Administration Select Committee report, The Role of the Charity Commission and “public benefit”: Post-legislative scrutiny of the Charities Act 2006. In a time of limited resources it is important that the Charity Commission prioritises its core regulatory functions—in particular investigation of the abuse of charity.
Community Development
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 1175W, on community organisers, what estimate he has made of the number of senior community organisers to be appointed in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement. [159800]
Mr Hurd: 311 senior community organisers have been recruited as of the end of April 2013.
An additional 170 senior community organisers will be recruited in 2013-14 and an additional 68 will be recruited in 2014-15
Every senior community organiser is able to apply for a match-funded £15,000 start-up grant to continue their work after completing their training year. As of the end of April 2013, 54 people have secured match funding and are currently working as a qualified community organiser.
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Conditions of Employment: Scotland
Margaret Curran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in Scotland have been employed on zero hours contracts in each year since May 2010. [160289]
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 June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in Scotland have been employed on zero hours contracts in each year since May 2010 (160289).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles labour market statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS), following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. Estimates of the number of zero hour contracts are not available from this source. Estimates of the number of people on zero-hours contracts are available from the Labour Force Survey, but due to sample size are not available for areas smaller than the UK.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and Claimant Count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
Death: Drugs
Julie Elliott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many drug-related deaths there were in (a) the north east, (b) Sunderland local authority area and (c) Sunderland Central constituency in 2012. [160158]
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 June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many drug-related deaths there were in (a) the North East, (b) Sunderland Local Authority and (c) Sunderland Central Constituency in 2012. (160158)
Table 1 provides the number of deaths where the underlying cause was drug-related poisoning for persons in the North East region, Sunderland local authority and Sunderland Central parliamentary constituency in 2011 (the latest year available).
The number of drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales from 1993 to 2011 are available on the ONS website;
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health3/deaths-related-to-drug-poisoning/2011/stb-deaths-related-to-drug-poisoning-2011.html
| Table 1: Number of deaths where the underlying cause of death was drug-related poisoning; north east region, Sunderland local authority and Sunderland Central parliamentary constituency, deaths registered in 2011(1, 2, 3) | |
| Area | Deaths |
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| (1) Cause of death related to drug poisoning was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10) codes shown in Box 1 below. (2) Figures exclude deaths of non-residents. (3) Figures are based on boundaries as at May 2013. (4) Figures are based on deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in 2011. Due to the length of time it takes to hold an inquest, it can take months for a drug-related death to be registered. Additional information on registration delays for drug-related deaths can be found in the annual statistical bulletin: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health3/deaths-related-to-drug-poisoning/index.html | |
Foreign Nationals: Commonwealth
Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many Commonwealth citizens, who are not UK passport holders, reside in each of the country's 650 parliamentary constituencies; and if he will make a statement; [160125]
(2) how many Commonwealth citizens who are not UK passport holders reside in the UK. [160126]
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 June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on how many Commonwealth citizens, who are not UK passport holders, reside in each of the country's 650 parliamentary constituencies (160125) and the UK (160126).
The 2011 Census did not collect information about citizenship although passports held and countries of birth were collected.
The table provides the usual numbers of residents at the time of the 2011 Census who were born in a non-UK Commonwealth country and who held a non-UK passport, by parliamentary constituency in England and Wales. This information is not currently available for the whole of the UK, but can be made available as a commissioned output early in 2014.
As the table is quite large, it will be stored in the Library of the House.
Honours: Scotland
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the name is of each individual nominated by the Scottish Government to the Honours Committee since May 2007. [158302]
Mr Maude:
Information about honours nominees is held in confidence. Nominees do not choose to be nominated and the Government consider it would be
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unfair to individuals who are not aware of their nomination if their names were to be made public. The names of recipients are in the public domain.
Job Creation: Cumbria
Tim Farron: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs created in Cumbria in each of the last five years. [160045]
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 June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs created in Cumbria in each of the last five years. (160045)
Information regarding the number of jobs created is not available. As an alternative, estimates relating to the net changes in the number of people employed have been provided. The ONS compiles Labour Market Statistics for areas below the UK following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions using the Annual Population Survey (APS).
The table shows the number and net change of people employed in Cumbria. These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period January 2012 to December 2012, the latest period available, and the 12 month periods ending in December in each year since 2008.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
| Table 1: The net change in number of people employed in Cumbria | ||
| Thousand | ||
| 12 months ending December each year: | Number of people employed aged 16 and over | Net change in employment(1) (+/-) |
| (1) The net change is calculated on unrounded figures. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. 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 Source: Annual Population Survey | ||
Office for National Statistics
Richard Fuller: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of the ease of use and ease of access to data for users of the Office for National Statistics' website. [160144]
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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 June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of the ease of use and ease of access to data for users of the Office for National Statistics' website (160144).
ONS is monitoring and assessing user feedback on its website on a regular and on-going basis. Current feedback suggests users would like to see further improvements to ease use and access to data. ONS has established a programme of improvements to the website (the Improving Dissemination Programme). Recent improvements to the website include:
the introduction of “Theme” landing pages. An easy entry route into our statistics via short stories, infographics, and interactive content, these dynamic pages are proving engaging and popular with users;
the introduction of ‘all releases' pages have created a static link to product pages which are automatically updated as new content is released. This enables users to bookmark a single page that holds all editions of a particular release;
enhancements to “search” facilities, including the boosting of relevancy of newer content and the addition of a synonym index to aid findability.
ONS is bringing new digital skills into the organisation to improve the quality of the website. As part of the programme, a User Insight Team will collate user feedback and feed this into development plans. A broad range of users of the site will be involved in all significant developments.
The ONS will continue to report to the UK Statistics Authority on future developments and improvements.
Open Government Partnership
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he intends to publish the Open Government Partnership Action Plan. [159861]
Mr Hurd: Our first National Action Plan was published in 2011. A first draft of the UK's second OGP (Open Government Partnership) National Action Plan is due to be published shortly. There will then be a period of consultation and wider participative engagement. The final OGP UK National Action Plan will be published by end October 2013.
Shipping: Pay
Katy Clark: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department compiles data on rates of pay for seafarer ratings working in the UK maritime sector. [159898]
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 June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking whether his Department compiles data on rates of pay for seafarer ratings working in the UK maritime sector. (159898)
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom, Weekly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence.
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ASHE does not cover the armed forces. The closest Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2010 unit group to seafarer rating for which earnings information is available in ASHE is ‘Marine and waterways transport operatives’. The following table shows the median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees working in this occupation unit group in the UK in April 2012.
| Median gross weekly earnings for full-time employee jobs(1) in the ‘marine and waterways transport operatives’ occupation, UK, April 2012 | |
| Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2010 unit group | Median gross weekly earnings (£) |
| (1) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. Guide to quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220. Key: CV <= 5% * CV > 5% and <= 10% ** CV > 10% and <= 20% | |
Social Action Fund
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 964W, on social action fund, how many organisations benefited from the change in criteria for the Social Action Fund; and if he will make a statement. [158797]
Mr Hurd [holding answer 10 June 2013]: It is not possible to judge how many additional organisations applied to the Social Action Fund as a result of the expanded criteria. However, all applicants were assessed under the expanded criteria and two organisations benefiting from the expansion were awarded a grant. These were Big Society Network and City Year.
Third Sector
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what funding his Department has allocated for the Big Society Awards in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 and what funding has been allocated for this purpose in 2013-14; which organisations organise and deliver the awards; and if he will make a statement. [158433]
Mr Hurd [holding answer 6 June 2013]: In 2010-11 and 2011-12 the Big Society Awards were delivered in-house by Cabinet Office staff. In addition to staff costs, the Cabinet Office allocated £2,014 to delivering the awards in 2010-11 and £8,700 in 2011-12. In addition, the Young Foundation hosted a reception for the awards in 2011-12.
In 2012-13, £3,643 was allocated to spend internally on the award, in addition to staff costs. In addition £350,000 was allocated to Big Society Network to support the Cabinet Office on the awards. Big Society Network was asked to design and develop the website:
www.bigsocietyawards.org
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to raise the profile of the awards and to increase the number of awards announced, as well as to promote social action more widely and to support and accelerate social entrepreneurs and social innovators to deliver big society solutions.
For 2013-14 the spend for the Big Society Awards is projected to be £152,145. £2,145 is allocated to spend internally in addition to staff costs, and £150,000 is allocated to the Society Network Foundation, the charitable arm of the Big Society Network.
Young People: Voluntary Work
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how much the National Citizen Service has cost in each year since its inception; [159108]
(2) how many participants in the National Citizen Service are eligible for free school meals; [159109]
(3) how many 16 and 17-year-olds participating in the National Citizen Service are resident in wards in the top 20 index of multiple deprivation; [159110]
(4) what proportion of participants in the National Citizen Service are of each ethnic group. [159111]
Mr Hurd: The NatCen interim evaluation of National Citizen Service pilots reported that the 2011 programme cost Government £14.2 million to deliver. The evaluation of the 2012 programme and Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts will be published shortly.
The findings of the NatCen interim evaluation of National Citizen Service 2011 pilots show that those from poorer socio-economic backgrounds were well represented in NCS, with 23% of participants on free school meals. This is above the national average of 14% of 16-year-olds on free school meals.
The 2011 evaluation showed that around 28% of participants were non-white, compared to 18% of the general population. 12% of participants declared that they were black, 11% Asian, and 5% mixed. 2% of participants were not of the aforementioned groups, or did not declare their ethnicity.
Data pertaining to areas of NCS participation in relation to the index of multiple deprivation are not held by the Cabinet Office.
Accountancy
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants from the Cabinet Office are currently seconded to any of the four largest accountancy firms; and what the (a) job title and (b) pay grade is of each such secondee. [160084]
Mr Maude: Cabinet Office does not have any staff on secondment to the four largest accountancy firms.
Transport
Air Accidents Investigation Branch
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what recent representations he has received from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch; [159826]
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(2) what recent representations he has received on the working of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch; and if he will make a statement. [159827]
Mr Simon Burns: The AAIB has only received representations from the hon. Member about the workings of the AAIB. No further representations have been received.
Airports
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to increase the use of airports outside south-east England. [159803]
Mr Simon Burns: The Government recognise the important role that airports across the UK play in providing domestic and international connections and the vital contribution they can make to the growth of regional economies. Airports outside the south-east of England also have an important role in helping to accommodate wider forecast growth in demand for aviation in the UK, which could help take some pressure off London's main airports.
The Aviation Policy Framework, published on 22 March 2013, supports making the best use airports outside the south-east of England, subject to the appropriate management of local environmental impacts. We will continue to work with the aviation industry and other stakeholders to support airports outside the south-east, including seeking to encourage hew routes and improving airport surface access provision. The Government have also established the independent Airports Commission to assess how the UK should maintain its position as Europe's most important aviation hub. The Commission's remit from Government requires it to maintain a UK-wide perspective, taking appropriate account of the national, regional and local implications of any proposals.
Aviation: Noise
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking alongside the aviation industry to develop a comprehensive nationwide approach to noise compensation. [159805]
Mr Simon Burns: The Government issued their Aviation Policy Framework (APF) in March 2013, which sets out their high level strategy for aviation. The APF includes a chapter on noise and other local environmental impacts, which contains policy on noise insulation and compensation.
Bus Services: Concessions
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the future costs to travel concession authorities of reimbursement to bus operators under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme in each of the next five years. [159463]
Norman Baker: The estimated future costs to Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) for reimbursement to bus operators for the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) for older and disabled people are:
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| Estimated expenditure by TCAs on the ENCTS only for the next 5 years | ||
| (£ millions at current prices) | ||
| Low | High | |
The figures are derived from two Impact Assessments published in 2010:
(1) The Impact Assessment included in the Explanatory Memorandum to Travel Concessions (Eligibility) (England) Order 2010 No. 459, which estimated the impact of increasing the age of eligibility for the Scheme
(2) Impact Assessment No. D1T00023, which estimated the impact of revising the Department's Reimbursement Guidance.
The figures do not estimate future TCA spend on enhancements to the statutory scheme for older and disabled people, which TCAs can offer at their discretion and will also require reimbursement to be paid to bus operators.
Bus Services: Fares
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to ensure that operators of registered bus services should be required under their licensing conditions to supply the relevant local transport authorities with full details of the fares applicable to each service to enable those authorities to publicise comprehensive information on services and fares. [159490]
Norman Baker: The Government has no plans to use the licensing regime to require bus operators to supply local transport authorities with full details of the fares applicable on each service. However, I am encouraging operators and local authorities to work together in partnership and to exchange information about fares and services as part of this process. It is in the interest of both parties that this should happen.
Bus Services: Young People
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with (a) the bus industry and (b) his ministerial colleagues on how to provide young people with more consistent and affordable bus fares. [159488]
Norman Baker: Improving local transport for young people is key to unlocking access to education, training and employment, and I continue to work with the bus industry and other key stakeholders to promote positive change.
In the past year I have met with the industry on a number of occasions, including at January's Bus Partnership Forum, where I encouraged bus operators to improve their offer to young people. I have also met with the Minister for Education and colleagues in the Cabinet Office to highlight the importance of the issue.
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made in its efforts to encourage the bus industry to offer travel discounts to all people aged 18 and under. [159491]
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Norman Baker: Affordable and accessible transport is important for enabling young people to make progress in education, training and employment. I have challenged the bus industry to improve their offer to young people, and I am pleased that progress is already being made.
Over 90% of the bus industry is now represented on the BUSFORUS web portal, and upcoming developments will bring together fares information with real-time data, providing a significant step-change in the accessibility of travel information aimed at young people.
By working in partnership local authorities and bus operators hold the key to unlock access to local transport for young people, and I remain committed to working with the industry to improve things further.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider bringing forward legislative proposals to introduce concessionary bus travel for 16 to 24 year-olds not in employment, education or training. [159497]
Norman Baker: Improving the local transport offer for young people, unlocking their access to education, training and employment, is a key priority. I am supportive of the new industry led web portal, BusforUs, which aims to improve access to bus information for young people, and welcome bus operator initiatives to help job-seekers find work. In March, for example, Stagecoach launched “Back on Board”, the UK's first long-term nationwide discounted bus travel scheme for jobseekers—providing a 50 percent discount on single and return fares. I would welcome more of such initiatives from the industry.
The Government currently has no immediate plans to legislate for a young person's concession.
Channel Tunnel Railway Line
Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport according to what criteria in relation to distance from the track a school was deemed to be subject to planning blight and in need of special assistance during the process of planning for and construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail link. [159294]
Mr Simon Burns: There was no specific distance criteria used for a school regarding planning blight under the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) scheme. For the CTRL scheme route published in 1993, and approved by Government and safeguarded in 1994, properties located inside the safeguarded areas were ones where land take was needed for construction purposes, including any mitigation works. Properties outside the CTRL safeguarded area were not needed to be acquired. The mitigation works built into the construction of CTRL enabled their present uses to continue. Schools were considered as sensitive receptors in the Environmental Statement and mitigation was identified to address any significant effects.
Cycleways
Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to vary the degree of separation between cycle lanes and motor vehicle lanes according to the speed limit applied in an area. [160189]
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Stephen Hammond: Local highway authorities are responsible for the design of their networks, including cycle facilities such as cycle lanes and crossings. The Department provides comprehensive good practice guidance on road design to help them in this, for example, in “Local Transport Note 2/08; Cycle infrastructure Design”.
Directly Operated Railways
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what other wholly owned subsidiaries have been established by Directly Operated Railways in addition to GW Railway Ltd. [160250]
Mr Simon Burns: Directly Operated Railways currently owns four subsidiary companies.
All of these companies were incorporated on 7 February 2003 by the Strategic Rail Authority under different names. They were subsequently transferred to the Department following the abolition of the SRA in 2006. They were transferred from the Department to DOR on the dates shown. The names in brackets indicate the name of the company when it was transferred from the Department to DOR.
East Coast Main Line Company Ltd—13 July 2009 (Abbey Rail Ltd)
West Coast Main Line Company Ltd—26 September 2012 (Broadway Rail Ltd)
Essex Thameside Ltd—14 February2013—(Orchard Rail Ltd)
GW Railway Ltd—4 June 2013—(Strutton Rail Ltd).
The companies exist as part of the contingency arrangements that the Department has in place to ensure that the Secretary of State can fulfil his obligations as Operator of Last Resort under section 30 of the Railways Act 1993.
Apart from ECML Co Ltd none of them are operational at present.
Driving: Licensing
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider introducing a phased reduction in driving licence fees for drivers in the years immediately prior to their 70th birthday. [159941]
Stephen Hammond: The fee structure for driving licences is kept under constant review, with all changes to statutory fees subject to public consultation. There are no plans to introduce a charging system using an age-based sliding scale. Previous consultations on fee strategy have not shown any demand for such a scheme.
High Speed 2 Railway Line
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what working assumptions his Department has used on the level of expected financial contribution from local authorities on the proposed route of High Speed 2; [159865]
(2) what estimate he has made of the extra costs to be borne by local authorities along the proposed High Speed 2 route; and if he will make a statement. [159867]
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Mr Simon Burns: It is our expectation that, due to the scale and nature of the project, High Speed 2 will be largely funded by central Government. However, where there are parties who would benefit directly from the opportunities and the development that HS2 would generate—including local authorities—it is fair and right that they consider supporting the project financially.
The Department has no specific figure in mind for the level of financial contribution from local authorities to support High Speed 2. In specific regard to Manchester Airport station, we have made clear that our support for adding this to the scheme is dependent on a significant local funding contribution.
Network Rail
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the distribution of spending in Network Rail control periods (a) three and (b) four between (i) regional rail, (ii) long distance rail services and (iii) rail services in London and the South East. [159464]
Mr Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), has made no such assessment. Network Rail advises that it does not break down its sub-Great Britain expenditure information according to passenger service sectors, as its costs align to geographical regions rather than to types of train service.
Railways: Blackpool
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reasons Network Rail has given (a) him and (b) officials in his Department for its refusal of the application from Virgin Trains to provide direct train services between Blackpool and London. [159959]
Mr Simon Burns: Network Rail has said that the introduction of the new direct London Euston to Blackpool North service would have a detrimental impact on performance on current services operating on the west coast main line route.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations (a) he and (b) officials in his Department made to Network Rail prior to its refusal of Virgin Trains’ proposal to provide a new direct line service between Blackpool and London. [159960]
Mr Simon Burns: Members of the Virgin Trains team have been in regular contact with Network Rail with regard to introduction of proposed new service to Blackpool North. The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), called Sir David Higgins, chief executive of Network Rail to understand Network Rail’s position on its decision not to offer the timetable slots for the proposed new service to Blackpool North which was planned to commence in the December 2013 timetable. I understand Virgin Trains plans to appeal against Network Rail’s decision to the Office of Rail Regulation which is the independent decision maker for these matters.
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Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions officials in his Department held with Network Rail about Virgin Trains' proposal to provide a direct train line service between Blackpool and London prior to the refusal of that application. [159961]
Mr Simon Burns: Members of the Virgin Trains team have been in regular contact with Network Rail with regard to introduction of proposed new direct London Euston service to Blackpool North. Officials in DFT were informed by a member of the Network Rail team of the date that Virgin Trains was to be advised of the outcome of its application for additional rights to operate the additional services to Blackpool North. Virgin Trains subsequently advised of Network Rail's refusal to offer the timetable slots to allow the proposed service to commence in December 2013.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what modelling his Department produced in assessing Virgin Trains' proposals to operate direct rail services between London Euston and Blackpool North from December 2013. [160180]
Mr Simon Burns: Virgin Trains provided details of its estimate for revenue and costs in relation to the proposed Blackpool North service which was planned to commence in December 2013. This was reviewed by DFT officials and independently reviewed.
Railways: Disability
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the number of rail carriages which are currently not compliant with rail vehicle accessibility requirements; and what plans he has to ensure compliance with such requirements by 2020. [159461]
Norman Baker: Over 7,600 passenger rail vehicles in public transport service have been built, or fully refurbished, to modern access standards. This is from a national fleet of approximately 17,000 vehicles, and includes 50% of trains.
Details are available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-rail-vehicles-built-or-refurbished-to-modern-accessibility-standards
In addition, all older vehicles have received some access improvements over time, even if they do not yet fully meet all the requirements.
It is for the rail industry to ensure that vehicles are accessible by 2020. Since 2007, the Department has been setting out, for owners and operators, what work remains to be completed, following consultation with our disability advisors.
Railways: Electrification
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role energy network operators will play in carrying out works for future rail electrification; and what the estimated cost will be to those operators. [159706]
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Mr Simon Burns: Network Rail is a private sector company limited by guarantee. In the first instance, the role of the energy network operators and the efficient costs of future rail electrification are issues for Network Rail to consider as it develops its delivery plan for the period April 2014 to March 2019. Network Rail advises that the role of the energy network operators is to provide secure, economic and reliable power supplies to meet the company's power upgrade programme.
Roads: Accidents
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities in accidents involving young drivers there were in (a) England and (b) Swindon in each of the last five years. [159414]
Stephen Hammond: The number of fatalities in road traffic accidents involving at least one young driver (aged between 16 and 24) of a motorised vehicle in (a) England and (b) Swindon borough council between 2007 and 2011 can be found in the following table.
| England | Swindon borough council | |
Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to reduce casualties of pedestrians and cyclists as a result of road traffic accidents. [160190]
Stephen Hammond: Initiatives to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety include 20 mph zones, countdown crossings, Bikeability training, £107 million of additional investment in cycling infrastructure over the last year, including £35 million to tackle dangerous junctions for cyclists.
The European New Car Assessment Programme is increasing the rate at which collision avoidance technologies are brought to market and autonomous emergency braking systems capable of reacting to pedestrians and cyclists are under development.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) from which funding streams his Department funds highways maintenance expenditure by local authorities; [159465]
(2) under what criteira his Department allocates available grants to upper tier authorities to fund highways maintenance; [159467]
(3) whether his Department has reviewed the formula for allocating the road maintenance block grant since 1 January 2010. [159510]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport provides funding to local authorities in England (outside London) through the highways maintenance transport capital block grant.
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Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding, allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant for maintaining their local highways. Neither revenue nor capital highways maintenance block funding is ring-fenced and it is for local highway authorities to decide upon their spending priorities across the whole range of services that they provide.
The Department has also funded highways maintenance projects in Portsmouth, Birmingham, Sheffield, Isle of Wight and the London Borough of Hounslow through the Private Finance Initiative. In addition the Department has also funded specific larger maintenance schemes costing more than £5 million from its local major funding programme.
The Highways Maintenance Capital Block Grant is allocated to highway authorities in England (outside London) using a formula. An explanatory note setting out this is available from the Department for Transport website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-transport-capital-block-funding
In 2010, the Department for Transport ran a consultation on the integrated transport and highways maintenance local transport capital funding blocks. Following this it was agreed that we would phase out the weighting for road condition from the maintenance formula.
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The Department for Transport is now undertaking a further review of the Highways Maintenance Block Grant formula and the Terms of Reference for this work is available on the Department for Transport's website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-transport-capital-block-funding
Rolling Stock: Procurement
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) new carriages and (b) cascaded carriages have been bought by (i) Northern Rail, (ii) London Midland, (iii) Transpennine Express and (iv) rail franchises that provide commuter services in London and the south east since 2004. [159462]
Mr Simon Burns: As a rule train operating companies (TOCs) do not buy their own rolling stock. The bodies that own the majority of the rolling stock used on Britain's railways are known as rolling stock owning companies (ROSCOs). ROSCOs lease their rolling stock to TOCs.
The following table lists by TOC the number of:
New rolling stock ordered since 2004 (based on date of order, not delivery of vehicles);
Cascaded vehicles since 2007, which coincides with the start of the high level output specification (HLOS 1) interventions.
| Franchise | Franchise dates | New carriages ordered since 2004 | Cascaded carriages since 2007 |
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| Notes: (1) Figures are based on date of order, not delivery of vehicle. (2) Figures do not include London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL) services. (3) FGW have 369 I.E.P carriages on order for use on Inter City services. | |||
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to meet representatives of the Derby Bombardier workforce to discuss the Thameslink and Crossrail rolling stock contracts. [159591]
Mr McLoughlin: I held a meeting last week with the new chairman of Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd, as part of a regular dialogue with the rolling stock manufacturing companies. That dialogue will continue and I will be happy to meet work force representatives at an appropriate point.
Thameslink Railway Line
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has considered alternative options as a result of the time taken to reach financial close for the Thameslink rolling stock contract. [159305]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department expects to announce the award of the Thameslink rolling stock contract shortly and therefore it is not assessing alternative options.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of additional costs to the public purse arising from the fact that financial close for the Thameslink rolling stock contract was not reached by the scheduled date of spring 2010; [159306]
(2) what additional costs his Department has incurred as a consequence of the failure to reach financial close for the Thameslink rolling stock contract by the scheduled date of spring 2010. [159312]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department decided to extend the timetable for delivering the overall Thameslink programme by three years from 2015 to 2018 during the 2010 spending review, because the original timetable for delivering the second phase of the infrastructure project was not realistic. The Department announced the preferred bidder for the rolling stock contract on 16 June 2011.
The Department records the costs of delivering the overall programme in terms of staff costs and support from external advisers. Staff costs are not separately recorded against different components of the programme. The Department does record the total expenditure on external advisers on the rolling stock contract. Within this total cost figure, the Department is not able to distinguish between external adviser costs that would have been incurred irrespective of the date of financial close and costs that might be related to the time taken to reach financial close. Total costs for external advisers up to end September 2011 were provided pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2012, Official Report, column 167W. Costs incurred between October 2011 and March 2013 are provided in the following table:
| Adviser | Costs incurred October 2011 to March 2013 (£ million) |
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the time taken in reaching financial close for the Thameslink rolling stock contract will be taken into consideration when assessing the bid from Siemens for the Crossrail rolling stock contract. [159307]
Stephen Hammond: The Crossrail Rolling Stock and Depot procurement is a live procurement being run by Crossrail Ltd. Once submitted the bids for the contract will be assessed in accordance with the published evaluation criteria, a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made on the effect on the franchising process of the time taken to reach financial close for the Thameslink rolling stock contract. [159308]
Mr Simon Burns: The time taken to reach financial close for the Thameslink rolling stock contract is not expected to alter the franchising process for the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise set out in the Prior Information Notice (PIN) for the rail refranchising programme, which was published on 26 March 2013.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an assessment of the effect on passenger comfort owing to overcrowding arising from the time taken to reach financial close for the Thameslink rolling stock contract. [159309]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department continues to aim for delivery of the 24 trains per hour service for Thameslink by December 2018, in accordance with the plan announced in 2010. Therefore the time taken to reach financial close is not expected to have any additional effect on passenger comfort.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Siemens has agreed to pay compensation to the Government for the time taken to reach financial close for the Thameslink rolling stock contract. [159310]
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Mr Simon Burns: The Department continues to aim for delivery of the 24 trains per hour service for Thameslink by December 2018, in accordance with the plan announced in 2010. Therefore the time taken to reach financial close is not expected to affect the planned delivery of benefits from the Thameslink programme. The Department has not asked any party involved in the Thameslink rolling stock procurement to pay compensation for the time taken to reach financial close.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional costs Siemens has incurred through the time taken to reach financial close for the Thameslink rolling stock contract. [159311]
Mr Simon Burns: This is a commercial matter for Siemens and not the Department.
Traffic Lights
Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to promote the use of cycle-specific traffic lights. [160191]
Stephen Hammond: Provision of cycling measures, including traffic lights, is for local traffic authorities. The Government are committed to improving cycling safety and have provided extra funding through the Cycling Safety Fund for local authorities to tackle the most dangerous junctions on their networks.
DFT officials are working closely with Transport for London on a project trialling a range of new measures, including low-level signals for cyclists. We are also working with Cambridgeshire county council, who are trialling the use of cycle filter signals.
New ideas need to be properly tested to identify any potential problems, and establish what the benefits are likely to be. Subject to the results of the trials, we will consider approving trials at a limited number of sites on public roads.
Transport: Finance
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has made an assessment of the economic impact of proposed changes to the allocation formula for the integrated transport block. [159415]
Norman Baker: In relation to integrated transport block funding the Department does not specify which schemes should be implemented where. That is for local transport authorities to do. The Department cannot therefore make an assessment of the economic impact of proposed changes to the allocation formula.
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the value for money implications of proposed changes to the allocation formula for the integrated transport block. [159416]
Norman Baker:
The Department for Transport keeps under review the value for money of the types of schemes which are traditionally funded by integrated transport block funding. It does not, however, specify
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which schemes should be implemented where or at what cost as it is for local transport authorities to ensure that they achieve value for money in the use of their individual grant allocations.
The Department cannot therefore make a realistic differentiation, in value for money terms, between the current arrangements and those in the proposed changes. It does however have confidence that integrated transport block as a whole provides high to very high value for money.
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding the Government planned to provide to integrated transport authorities and passenger transport executives in the 2010 Spending Review; and how that funding changed as a result of announcements made in each Budget and Autumn Statement since. [159417]
Norman Baker: Following the 2010 Spending Review, the Department set out the funding it planned to provide for local transport on the Department's website. Additional monies set out in the subsequent Autumn Statements have also been published on the Department's website. Information relating to local transport funding allocations can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-transport-capital-block-funding
This does not include funding available via competitive bidding rounds such as the Local Sustainable Transport Fund or Local Authority Major Schemes, nor monies paid to Passenger Transport Executives as part of their status as co-signatories to rail franchises.
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has made a cumulative assessment of the distributional regional effects of (a) changes to funding formula for significant funding blocks and (b) competitive funding awards. [159475]
Norman Baker: Since the 2010 Spending Review no changes have been made to the formula used to distribute integrated transport block funding. The Department has recently consulted on a range of options for changing the formula used to distribute integrated transport block funding. The consultation contained estimated figures (for local transport authorities) for each option, however no specific regional assessment has been made. It should be noted that these estimates were based on current funding levels and datasets that are both likely to change before any new formula is implemented.
The only change to highways maintenance block funding has been the phasing out of the weighting for road condition. This was removed completely in the 2013/14 allocations.
The Department has made no assessment of the distributional regional effects for competitive funding awards.
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has made an assessment of the redistributive effects of the options for changing the formula for the integrated transport block between metropolitan areas and shire counties. [159476]
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Norman Baker: The Department recently consulted on a range of options for changing the formula used to distribute integrated transport block funding. The consultation contained estimated figures for each option. It should be noted that these were based on current funding levels and datasets that are likely to change before any new formula is implemented.
The Department is considering the responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.
Travel: Concessions
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the proportion of the reimbursement costs relating to the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme which are funded from local revenue sources. [159492]
Norman Baker: Since April 2011 all funding for the statutory concession has been provided through the Department for Communities and Local Government's formula grant. Travel concession authorities (TCAs) are required to reimburse bus operators so that the operators are “no better and no worse off” as a result of carrying concessionaires, whether this is for the statutory English National Concessionary Travel Scheme or for additional local concessions that TCAs provide at their discretion to enhance their schemes.
In 2012-13, of the 89 TCAs outside London, 87 offered some form of enhancement to the statutory English National Concessionary Travel Scheme for older and disabled people, 28 TCAs offered concessions to young people and four TCAs offered concessions to unemployed people. Such enhancements are funded from local resources which could include formula grant and council tax receipts.
The Department for Transport carries out regular surveys of TCAs, and the most recently published information about their spending on concessionary travel is published in Tables BUS0812a and BUS0812b at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus08-concessionary-travel
West Coast Railway Line
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the punctuality and performance on the West Coast Main Line in 2012. [160179]
Norman Baker: The Public Performance Measure (PPM) for the long distance sector, which includes the West Coast Main Line, has deteriorated and is worse than its end-of-year target for 2012-13. There is now a real likelihood that Network Rail will not achieve the England and Wales targets for PPM or cancellations and significant lateness that it was funded to deliver at the end of control period 4 (CP4). The Office of Rail Regulation has specified a sliding-scale penalty should the company not achieve its commitments to the long distance passenger sector by the end of March 2014. I am encouraging both Network Rail and Virgin to up their game.
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Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines his officials have issued for the basis of growth in additional services on the West Coast Main Line from 2014 to 2016. [160181]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department works closely with the rail industry to secure improvements to services on the whole rail network which includes the busy West Coast Main Line. For the period 2014 to 2016 these improvements include the procurement of 80 new train carriages for use by the London Midland and First Transpennine Express franchises which will provide significant additional capacity on the West Coast Main Line and associated railway. The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), has indicated he would like to see the introduction of the new direct services between London Euston and Blackpool North and Shrewsbury. I hope the rail industry will work together constructively to operate these new services in due course as the services will clearly benefit passengers. I will continue to monitor progress on this matter.
Work and Pensions
Apprentices
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many apprentices are currently employed by his Department; and how many such apprentices are aged (a) under 19, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30, (d) 31 to 59 and (e) more than 60 years old. [159806]
Mr Hoban: There are currently 208 apprentices employed in DWP. All apprentices are aged between 18 and 24 but, as there is no requirement to capture information in the required format, we are not able to provide a further breakdown without incurring disproportionate cost.
Child Care Vouchers
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effects of measures to support working families with the costs of child care announced in Budget 2013 on levels of (a) relative and (b) absolute child poverty. [159580]
Steve Webb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to question 149975 of 10 April 2013, Official Report, column 1175W.
Child Maintenance
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2013, Official Report, columns 660-1W, on children: maintenance, for what reason, in the circumstances envisaged in the answer, where the parent with care is within the statutory maintenance service due to an abusive non-resident parent having withheld Direct Pay payments of child maintenance in order to control or financially abuse the parent with care, a child maintenance collection fee of 4% will be levied on the parent with care. [159612]
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Steve Webb: Parents with care who have been victims of domestic violence will be fast-tracked through the Gateway conversation and will be exempt from the application fee. The very substantial collection fee of 20%, payable by the non-resident parent if the case moves into the collection service, will act as a strong behavioural incentive to pay by Direct Pay. The parent with care in this case will not pay any fees at all for using the Child Maintenance Service.
Child maintenance cases can last for many years and circumstances can change over that time. So where a case does go into the collection service, it is essential that both parents have an ongoing incentive to move out of it where they no longer need to use it. The collection fees payable by both parents provide this incentive.
However, we recognise the strength of feeling around the parent with care collection fee, and for that reason, we recently announced that this would be reduced from 7% to just 4%, the lowest we believe this can be while still maintaining a viable incentive. This means the collection fee payable by the non-resident parent will be five times that payable by the parent with care.
Child Poverty
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the results of the consultation on measuring child poverty. [160257]
Esther McVey: The consultation on better measures of child poverty produced a large number of interesting contributions which the Government are continuing to analyse. It remains clear that the current income-based measures of child poverty do not capture the reality of poverty in the UK today.
The complexity of the issue means that we need to take time to ensure we have the best option for measuring child poverty, so that we can ensure we properly tackle the causes. We will publish our response as soon as we can.
Housing Benefit
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent in housing benefit for residents of (a) houses in multiple occupation, (b) the private rented sector, (c) local authority housing and (d) other social housing in the last year for which figures are available; and what the average cost per person was in each such case in each of the last 10 years. [159766]
Steve Webb: Housing benefit expenditure over the last 10 years for the private rented sector, rent rebate (covering local authority housing and temporary accommodation) and registered social landlords is published in the document entitled “Tables showing Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit expenditure by Local Authority from 1996/97 to 2011/12” (specifically, within the table entitled “Table 2: Housing Benefit Expenditure by Region and Tenure”), which can be accessed at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure
Average cost per person of housing benefit since November 2008 is published in the document entitled “Summary Statistics of Housing Benefit and Council
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Tax Benefit claimants” (specifically, within the table entitled “Housing Benefit recipients average weekly award by tenure: November 2008-February 2013”), available at:
http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbctb
Average cost per person of housing benefit prior to November 2008 is available at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/index.php?page=hbctb_arc
Information on expenditure and average cost per person for residents of houses in multiple occupation is not available.
Note:
The breakdown of HB expenditure is based on a combination of statistical data and local authority subsidy returns. 2011/12 expenditure is currently based on initial subsidy returns (final audited returns will be analysed and published later this summer).
Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been allocated to each local authority in discretionary housing payment in each of the last five years; and how much has been allocated to each local authority in 2013-14. [159945]
Steve Webb: Each year the Department publishes a circular announcing the amount of Government contribution towards discretionary housing payments which has been allocated to each local authority.
I am arranging for copies of the following circulars to be placed in the library:
| Circular | Details |
Mr Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was allocated in discretionary housing payments; and what amounts were actually paid out to tenants in each local authority in Scotland in the most recent year for which figures are available. [159983]
Steve Webb: The following table details how much the Department made available to each local authority towards discretionary housing payments in 2012-13, and the actual amount that each authority paid out.
| £ | ||
| Authority | Government contribution towards discretionary housing payments | Total discretionary housing payments awarded |
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Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether adult children who are in the armed forces but who continue to live with parents during periods of leave, will be treated as continuing to live at home for the purposes of applying the size criteria when they are deployed on operations. [160292]
Steve Webb: Adult children who are in the armed forces, and who usually reside with parents will be treated as living at home when deployed on operations, for the purposes of the removal of the spare room subsidy.
Adult children who are in the armed forces but who usually live in barracks and only live at home during periods of leave are not treated as occupying their parents' home during periods of deployment.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the guidance published to local authorities on 25 March 2013, for the purposes of the spare room subsidy, what constitutes living with parents when applied to adult children who are in the armed forces but who continue to live with parents when not deployed on operations. [160294]
Steve Webb: With reference to the guidance published to local authorities on 25 March, adult children who are in the armed forces but whose usual sole residence is with their parents will be treated as living at home, for the purposes of the removal of the spare room subsidy.
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Jobseeker’s Allowance: Lone Parents
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons figures on lone parents receiving jobseeker’s allowance have not yet been published; and when he expects such figures to be released. [159744]
Mr Hoban: On 15 May 2013, statistics on the number of lone parents receiving jobseeker’s allowance was released at:
http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/jsa/lone_parents/index.php?page=jsalp
Due to a data supply problem, these statistics were not updated on 12 June 2013. The Department is working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue and further updates will be issued at:
www.gov.uk
and in the ‘Welfare and Benefits’ community at:
http://www.statsusernet.org.uk/Home/
Means-tested Benefits
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of pensioners claimed means-tested benefits in each of the last three years. [159743]
Steve Webb: National Statistics estimates of the proportion of pensioners in receipt of income-related benefits can be found in chapter 3, table 3.4 of the Pensioners’ Incomes Series report 2010-11, available on the DWP website at:
http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd6/2010_11/pi_series_1011.pdf
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of pensioners in receipt of the single-tier pension who will claim means-tested benefits. [159745]
Steve Webb: Estimates of the interaction between the singe-tier pension and means-tested benefits are presented in the impact assessment accompanying the Pensions Bill 2013, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/197841/single-tier-ia-april-2013.pdf
Estimates of the proportion of single-tier pensioners who will be eligible for means-tested benefits are presented in chapter 4, and chapter 7 discusses assumptions on the extent to which those who are eligible will claim benefits.
Pensioners: Poverty
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects of the proposed single-tier pension on pensioner poverty. [159741]
Steve Webb: DWP does not project future pensioner poverty levels and we have not made a specific assessment of the effect that single-tier would have on poverty, but it will deliver a simple flat-rate state pension set above the basic level of means-tested support. Single-tier could help to alleviate poverty for those poor pensioners who would otherwise not have claimed a means-tested top-up.
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Chart 4.1 of the single-tier impact assessment also shows that eligibility for guarantee credit among the single-tier population is projected to fall due to the introduction of single-tier.
Pensions
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received on the funding of pensions from national insurance revenue following the abolition of contracting out. [159501]
Steve Webb: The abolition of contracting out will result in additional national insurance revenue for the Exchequer. However, the abolition of contracting out impacts those working today, not the pensioners of today. If the national insurance revenues were used to fund a more generous state pension this would mean a transfer of resources from the working-age population to the pensioner population, which is not what this reform is seeking to do.
Around £3.7 billion of the increase in national insurance revenue is from employer national insurance contributions from the public sector and so is in effect a transfer within the public sector. Public sector employers will have to absorb the burden, as is always the case with tax changes. Any spending review in the next Parliament will, of course, take the £3.7 billion cost into account.
None of the additional employee and private sector employer national insurance contributions will be used for net revenue-raising. The higher employer national insurance contributions will help cover the costs of the Dilnot social care reforms for the duration of the next Parliament. The £1.5 billion public sector employee national insurance contributions revenue will fund the employment allowance as announced in Budget 2013.
The estimates of the amount of additional national insurance contributions associated with the abolition of contracting out from the point of implementation of the single-tier pension are taken from the Pensions Bill impact assessment: “The single-tier pension: a simple foundation for saving”, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/197841/single-tier-ia-april-2013.pdf
Remploy
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Remploy workers have been made redundant to date; and how many of them have found work. [160291]
Esther McVey: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply to the previous question number 159343, raised by the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), on 13 June 2013, Official Report, column 421W.
Social Security Benefits: Lone Parents
Alex Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of lone parents affected by the benefit cap who are in receipt of income support; what investigation he has made of explaining the apparent discrepancy between the requirement for lone parents to work only when their youngest child reaches five and the requirement for individuals to work in order to avoid the benefit cap
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regardless of the age of their youngest child; and if he will make a statement. [160251]
Mr Hoban: We estimate around 26,000 lone parent households to be affected by the benefit cap, of which around 70% are in receipt of income support.
This figure is consistent with the ad hoc statistics release of the number of households we estimate to be affected by the benefit cap published in April 2013, which can be found here:
http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2013/Ben_Cap_Updated_Estimate.pdf
The benefit cap does not place any additional conditionality on specific groups to move into work. It is primarily designed to strengthen work incentives and create fairness between those in work and those out of it. Moving into work is one way in which claimants affected by the cap might decide to improve their financial situation. Where work is not a realistic option claimants could respond in a number of different ways including renegotiating rents or moving to more affordable accommodation.