Figures for 2012-13 will be published later this year.
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to review gun licence fees. [160165]
Damian Green: Firearm licensing fees are under review by the Home Office. We are currently in discussion with the national policing lead on firearms, stakeholders and HM Treasury.
Illegal Immigrants: Employment
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many businesses in (a) Gillingham and Rainham constituency and (b) Medway have been fined for employing illegal foreign national workers in each year since 2008. [159773]
Mr Harper: The information requested is in the following table. The figures are based on the number of civil penalties served at visited business addresses. Information is not available broken down into the Medway area or by constituency; data are available by regional split and therefore figures for London and south-east region have been provided as well as for the postal areas of ME4, 5, 7 and 8.
Since the start of the civil penalty regime on 29 February 2008 up to 31 May 2013 the Civil Penalty Compliance Team has issued 80 penalties after initial consideration, on businesses visited in the postal areas of ME4, 5, 7 and 8, totalling £695,000.
| Number of initial decision penalties issued in ME4,5,7 and 8 | Number of initial decision penalties issued in London and south-east region | |
Please note penalties issued at the initial decision stage may be reduced, cancelled, increased or reissued.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 7 May 2013 from the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr P. Chakawata; [160039]
(2) when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 7 May 2013 from the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms F.M. Ismail. [160040]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 13 June 2013.
Social Security Benefits: Mothers
Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department takes to ensure that commercial organisations distributing information about available benefits to new and expecting mothers do not use data gathered about mothers and their children for other purposes. [159470]
Mrs Grant: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
The Data Protection Act establishes a framework of rights and duties which are designed to safeguard personal data. This framework balances the legitimate needs of
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organisations to collect and use personal data for business and other purposes against the rights of individuals to respect for privacy of their personal details.
The second data protection principle in schedule I of the DPA states that personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified purposes, and shall not be further processed in a manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes. Personal data should not be used for broader purposes without the consent of the individual concerned.
Compliance with the DPA is regulated by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The ICO has issued comprehensive guidance on the application of the Act which can be viewed at:
http://www.ico.org.uk/
UK Border Agency
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were employed by the UK Border Agency in each year of its establishment. [160077]
Mr Harper: The following figures are as published in the yearly Annual Report and Accounts:
| Average FTE | |
| (1) The published figures in the 2011-12 Annual Report and Accounts included an estimated 350 full-time equivalent persons working on behalf of the agency but directly employed by Border Force. | |
The following figures have not been published in this years Annual report as yet and are subject to finalisation.
| Average FTE | |
All figures are the average FTE (full-time equivalent) of staff employed that year and include UK Border Agency staff, excluding Border Force.
Full-time equivalent means that part timers are counted by the proportion of full-time hours they work, so that a part timer working half the time of an equivalent full timer would count as 0.5 FTE.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Business: Loans
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what targets he has set for increased funding for small and medium-sized enterprises through the establishment of a Business Bank. [159966]
Michael Fallon: In March this year, the Government published a document, "Building the Business Bank", setting out progress on establishing a British Business Bank. In this, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), made clear that the Business Bank's success will be measured against its ability to:
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Raise the overall amount of finance provided to viable but underserved small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized businesses;
Increase the diversity of suppliers and products in the SME and mid-sized finance market;
Improve effectiveness, raise awareness and increase use of Government's business finance support and advice services;
Achieve the above while generating an appropriate return on the bank's capital dedicated to commercial or near-commercial schemes and maximising the impact of those schemes which involve the provision of subsidy.
These targets will be refined and quantified in the course of this year.
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013
Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he intends to publish delegated legislation to implement section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. [160341]
Mr Hoban: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
The Commencement Order to bring section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 into effect will be laid during the summer parliamentary recess.
A short consultation on draft regulations creating an exception to section 69 in respect of pregnant workers and new/breastfeeding mothers ends on 20 June. The Health and Safety Executive will then consider any responses to the consultation and take into account any issues arising, with a view to the regulations being laid together with a Consequential Amendments Order tidying up existing legislation in the light of the enactment of section 69. It is proposed that the regulations and order will come into effect on 1 October 2013, the date on which it is anticipated section 69 will also come into effect.
Grants
Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether a company's (a) history of tax avoidance and (b) compliance with the national minimum wage is taken into account when awarding grants from his Department. [160096]
Jo Swinson: The majority of BIS funding is allocated by our partner organisations to universities, research institutes, colleges and other training providers as well as students, according to the quality and volume of the services they provide or their means and circumstances.
BIS also awards some grants itself, including the Regional Growth Fund grants, Grants for Business Investment, and grants to the three National Academies. When BIS awards grants, the Department will carry out checks on each applicant or organisation's suitability. The extent of these checks will depend on the materiality of the grant, but if the applicant were publicly known to be engaged in criminal activity, such as evading the national minimum wage requirements, then we would normally expect this to disqualify the applicant from receiving BIS grants. BIS has no access to ongoing investigations into national minimum wage non- compliance, however, as these are confidential.
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The Department has a strict policy of discouraging tax avoidance in its own payments to staff, and the tax arrangements of employees of BIS and its partners are reviewed regularly. The Department cannot enforce such controls over independent bodies that we fund. BIS grants are not normally a taxable supply, so the tax history of a body is not a key issue in determining eligibility. It is also not usually a reasonable grant requirement to require a recipient to divulge its full payroll or tax records. For these reasons, it is unlikely that legal tax avoidance would have an impact on an organisation's eligibility for BIS grants.
Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what new development grants his Department makes available to small and medium-sized enterprises. [160097]
Michael Fallon: The full range of publicly backed sources of finance, from Government grants through to investment types of finance available, can be found at:
www.gov.uk/business-finance-support-finder
The BIS guide ‘SME access to finance schemes: measures to support small and medium-sized enterprise growth’ details the main forms of public support available to businesses and can be found at:
www.gov.uk/bis/financeguide
A number of individual grant schemes are also available via the Regional Growth Fund. This supports projects and programmes that are using private sector investment to create economic growth and sustainable employment. Further information can be found at:
www.gov.uk/regional-growth-fund-a-guide-for-small-and-medium-enterprises-smes
The Government support research and development in small and medium-sized businesses through a range of measures, including the programmes delivered by the Technology Strategy Board and R&D tax credits.
The Technology Strategy Board is the Government's prime channel for supporting business-led technology innovation. It delivers a range of grant-based programmes in support of businesses, including SMEs, undertaking research and development including Collaborative R&D, SMART and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. The Technology Strategy Board also provides opportunities for innovative businesses of all sizes through the growing network of Catapult centres. Further details can be found at:
www.innovateuk.org
R&D tax credits are the single largest Government support for business investment in R&D. In the year ending March 2011 claims totalled £1.1 billion on expenditure of £10.9 billion. The rate of tax relief available through the SME R&D tax credit was raised to 225% from April 2012, making it among the most competitive regimes in the world, which is likely to further incentivise companies to invest in R&D.
In addition, we have taken a number of further actions which will increase support for business R&D including: the introduction of an Innovation Vouchers programme, increased investment in the Small Business Research Initiative, and the new UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, which will secure over £1 billion
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support for the development of new research facilities and partnerships between universities, businesses and charities.
Higher Education: Females
Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of those who accepted a university place to study (a) engineering, (b) technology, (c) mathematics and computer science, (d) architecture and (e) physical sciences in 2011-12 were female. [160560]
Mr Willetts: The proportion of UCAS-accepted applicants to UK HEIs that are female by subject of study in the academic year 2011/12 is provided in the table. The answer is based on UCAS data and as such will be limited to those accepted through UCAS to its member institutions. Accepted applicants of all ages from all domiciles are included.
| JACS subject group | Percentage of accepted applicants that are female |
| Note: Subjects are allocated to subject groups using the Joint Academic Classification of Subjects (JACS). Source: UCAS | |
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Local Enterprise Partnerships: Rural Areas
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the role of local enterprise partnerships in rural areas; and if he will make a statement. [160439]
Michael Fallon: The Government do not carry out formal assessments of the effectiveness of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) in either urban or rural areas. As partnerships of business and civic leaders, local enterprise partnerships are first and foremost accountable to their local community and local businesses.
Manufacturing Industries
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to support manufacturing industry in the UK. [160195]
Michael Fallon: We are supporting UK manufacturing industries by encouraging innovation and technology commercialisation, exports and business investment; and by improving skills, building UK supply chains and promoting manufacturing's image.
In collaboration with industry, we are developing sector strategies to give business the confidence to invest and grow.
£1.5 billion has been committed to support sector strategies including £1 billion for the Aerospace Technology Institute with matched funding from industry; £1 billion to the Business Bank; £600 million to develop the "eight great technologies"; a further £350 million to the Regional Growth Fund; £250 million to support the most energy intensive industries and an additional £120 million in the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative.
Public Sector: Procurement
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that companies involved in blacklisting of workers are banned from tendering for public sector contracts. [160038]
Jo Swinson: Blacklisting is an appalling practice and that is why we brought in the Blacklists Regulations in 2010 to make certain that it is illegal. Any business, whether it works on public contracts or not, should comply with the law of the land. We expect them not to break data protection law, trade union law or the Blacklists Regulations when planning or undertaking work for the public sector or anywhere else.
Since the Opposition debate on blacklisting on 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 330, no evidence has been presented to the Government to show that blacklisting of trade unionists is ongoing. There have been a lot of accusations, but we have not yet received any evidence that blacklisting continues. We continue to urge anyone who has such information to get in touch with the appropriate authorities.
Similarly I am not aware of any evidence that the Blacklists Regulations are not doing their job.
In line with well-established policy, when they came into force in 2010, the Blacklists Regulations were not retrospective and were not intended to be. Where it has
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been proven that construction companies have previously used the Consulting Association blacklist, they need to ensure that employees and investors can have confidence in their current practices.
More generally, public sector procurers are required to comply with EU treaty principles of openness, transparency and non-discrimination when awarding public contracts. In addition, contracts over certain thresholds (around £4.3 million for works contracts) are subject to detailed rules set out in EU directives and implemented by the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, which set out in detail how the contract must be conducted.
Under EU procurement rules, public procurers must also exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts when they have been convicted of certain offences including conspiracy, corruption, bribery and fraud.
Where a supplier or other interested party finds an instance of what they believe to be poor procurement practice, they can raise it with the Cabinet Office's Mystery Shopper Service.
Full details of the scheme can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mystery-shopper-scope-and-remit
The Scottish Affairs Select Committee is continuing its own investigation into blacklisting and the Government will be looking carefully at their final report as well as any other evidence submitted. Where there is evidence that blacklisting is currently being used in any sector of the economy, the appropriate authorities will be asked to carry out a full and thorough investigation.
We are also aware that there are some ongoing cases currently before the courts, and we will be interested to see the outcome of these.
Shipping: Pay
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department last conducted a study of rates of pay for seafarer ratings working in the UK maritime sector; what its findings were; and if he will take steps to regularly undertake and publish the results of such a study. [160119]
Jo Swinson: There is not a specific survey of seafarers’ rates of pay carried out by the Government.
However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) carries out the annual survey of hours and earnings (ASHE)—a comprehensive survey on earnings of employees across the economy. The latest figures from ASHE show that the median gross weekly pay for full-time marine and waterways transport operatives was £583.5 in April 2012.
There is no information available on seafarer ratings.
Because ASHE is based on HMRC records from UK PAYE/tax records it may not provide a full picture on seafarer's earnings.
The Government have no plans to undertake a specific study of the rates of pay of seafare ratings.
Young People: Employment
Tim Farron:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of young people who have
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moved away from rural areas to urban areas in search of long-term employment in
(a)
England and
(b)
Cumbria in each year since 2008. [160429]
Jo Swinson: We have made no such estimate.
Attorney-General
Conditions of Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) the Law Officers' Departments and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [160761]
Crown Prosecution Service
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of Crown Prosecution Service cases charged at police stations were rejected or downgraded prior to the listing hearing in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013. [159333]
The Solicitor-General: The police can charge some minor offences without referral to a prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision. The following table shows the number of prosecutions that were charged by the police during the period in question:
| Police charged cases | |
Upon receipt of a police charged case, prosecutors will assess the evidential material provided in accordance with the guidance set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. CPS prosecutors are proactive in identifying and rectifying evidential deficiencies or bringing to an early conclusion those cases that are deficient but cannot be strengthened by further investigation or where the public interest clearly does not require a prosecution.
The following table sets out the number of police charged cases that were subsequently discontinued by the CPS.
| 2012 | 2013 (January to May) | |
|
Proportion of Police charged cases discontinued (Percentage). |
The responsibility for continuing with proceedings lies with the CPS. If after reviewing a case fully in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors the CPS prosecutor believes that the proceedings should not continue, the case will be terminated at the earliest possible opportunity.
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No central record is kept of the number of cases discontinued prior to a hearing being listed; however, in 2012, 30,478 of the 47,049 cases that needed to be discontinued were done so at either the first or second hearing. For January to May 2013, the figure is 12,058. This represents almost two thirds of the terminated cases charged by the police.
No central record is maintained of cases that are ‘downgraded’. However, the CPS has the option to deal with a police charged case by way of an out-of-court disposal in place of a prosecution in court if it is an appropriate response to the offender and/or the seriousness and consequence of the offending. In 2012, 2,940 cases were discontinued in favour of an out-of-court disposal and 704 cases from January to May 2013.
Treasury
Business: Loans
Dr McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with banks and other financial institutions about making additional finance available to small and medium-sized enterprises. [160102]
Greg Clark: Ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises can access the finance they need in order to grow is vital to continued economic recovery across the UK.
Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with banks to discuss access to finance for small and medium- sized enterprises. However, as was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury's practice to provide details of all such representations.
Illegal Immigrants: Employment
Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Northern Ireland have received fines or other penalties for employing illegal labour in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [159957]
Mr Harper: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
The information requested is in the following table. The figures are based on the number of civil penalties served following visits to business addresses in Northern Ireland.
The Civil Penalty Compliance Team has issued 41 civil penalties from 1 June 2010 to 31 May 2013, totalling £335,000.
| As at 1 June to 31 May each year: | Number of initial decision penalties issued in Northern Ireland |
Please note penalties issued at the initial decision stage may be reduced, cancelled, increased or reissued.
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Revenue and Customs: St Helens
Mr Woodward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of how many jobs will be lost if the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs' enquiry centre in St Helens goes ahead; [160498]
(2) what information his Department holds on the number of visitors to HM Revenue and Customs' enquiry centre in St Helens in each of the last five years. [160499]
Mr Gauke: On 14 March 2013, HM Revenue and Customs announced a public consultation on a proposed new service for supporting customers who need extra help with getting their taxes and entitlements right. Earlier this month the Department started a five-month pilot of the new service in the north east of England.
If HMRC does decide to introduce the new service across the entire inquiry centre network then it would replace the current arrangements between February and May 2014.
Because HMRC has yet to make a decision on this issue, it cannot comment on the situation of the five staff working in the inquiry centre in St Helens. The number of visitors to the HMRC inquiry centre in St Helens for each of the last five financial years is:
| Number | |
Royal Bank of Scotland
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he or his officials first discussed with Sir Philip Hampton the desire for a target sale date for some or all of the Government's shareholding in the Royal Bank of Scotland by the end of 2014. [160558]
Sajid Javid: UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) continues to be responsible for managing the Government's shareholdings in RBS and Lloyds on a commercial and arm's length basis, and for developing and executing a strategy for disposing of the investment in an orderly and active way.
The Government have consistently said there is no target price for the sale of the Government's shareholding in RBS and no timetable—including the general election.
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether the decision to change the Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland was independently determined without consultation with him or his officials; [160582]
(2) on what date he or officials or Ministers of his Department first discussed the possibility of changing the Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with (a) UK Financial Investment Ltd, (b) Sir Philip Hampton and (c) other members of the Board of RBS. [160581]
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Sajid Javid: Mr Hester's departure was a matter for Mr Hester and the board of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The Chancellor of the Exchequer was consulted on this decision, as was UK Financial Investments (UKFI) Ltd.
Tax Evasion: Fuels
Dr McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the loss of revenue as a result of fuel laundering activities in the Republic of Ireland. [160100]
Sajid Javid: No assessment has been made of the loss of revenue as a result of fuel laundering activities in the Republic or Ireland. However, tax gap figures published in the document at the following link give estimates of revenue lost to illicit fuel on the GB mainland, and the non-UK duty paid market share in Northern Ireland, which includes both legitimate cross-border shopping and illicit fuel.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps/mtg-2012.pdf
Welfare Tax Credits
Mr Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much is spent annually on (a) working tax credits and (b) child tax credits in each region of the UK. [160256]
Sajid Javid: The following table gives entitlement figures for working and child tax credits from finalised 2011-12 awards data. Note that the figures do not add up exactly due to being rounded to the nearest pound.
| £ million | |||
| Entitlement to CTC | Entitlement to WTC | Total entitlement | |
I also refer the right hon. Member to the written answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel), on 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1155W, PQ 153455. This contained an estimate of total tax credits expenditure, split by working and child tax credit, for the years 2008-09 to 2012-13.
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Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that HM Revenue and Customs improves its performance in reducing tax credit error and fraud. [160552]
Sajid Javid: Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is building on its strategic approach to tackle tax credit error and fraud by improving the way it identifies claimants who have failed to notify changes. It includes using real-time information on earnings to tackle income risks and, as part of the autumn statement, to introduce checks on child care claims and confirmation that a child is still in qualifying training or education. Work is also under way to explore whether the private sector can help HMRC to increase the number of checks it makes on tax credit claims. From April 2013, HMRC also introduced sanctions which stop payments of working tax credits where claimants have been fraudulent.
The latest estimates for 2011-12, published on 7 June 2013, show that HMRC has reduced the overall levels of tax credits error and fraud to 7.3%, from 8.1% in 2010-11—the lowest since tax credits were introduced in 2003.
Wales
Devolution
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to publish the draft Wales Bill announced in the Queen's Speech. [160443]
Mr David Jones: The Wales Office intends to publish the draft Wales Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny later this year.
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many officials in his Department have been tasked with analysing the implications of the recommendations of the first report of the Commission on Devolution in Wales. [160444]
Mr David Jones: The Wales Office is working with a number of other Government Departments, particularly HM Treasury, in analysing the recommendations made by the Commission on Devolution in Wales. Eight Wales Office officials have been involved in this work (to varying degrees) since the Commission published its report.
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Government Bills
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether his Department has published a summary of measures in the Queen's Speech that will have an effect on Wales. [160450]
Mr David Jones: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the written ministerial statement I made to the House on 9 May 2013, Official Report, column 12WS.
Official Cars
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many journeys he and his Ministers have undertaken in his Department's ministerial car in each of the last six months. [160653]
Mr David Jones: This information is not held centrally.
Politics and Government
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in his Department have had with Cabinet Ministers in the Welsh Government in the last six months. [160447]
Mr David Jones: Wales Office Ministers have regular meetings with their counterparts in the Welsh Government. Officials frequently accompany Ministers to these meetings.
Public Expenditure
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the Welsh block grant ahead of the Spending Review. [160432]
Mr David Jones: I have frequent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other Cabinet colleagues on matters that influence the size of the Welsh block grant.
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changes have been made to the the Welsh block grant in each year of the current Parliament in both real and absolute terms. [160433]
Mr David Jones: The following table shows the changes to the Welsh Government's block grant. The Welsh Government's block grant has increased or is planned to increase each year from 2011-12.
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | Overall change | |
|
Total departmental expenditure limit, net of depreciation and impairments (£ million) | ||||||
Social Networking
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all Twitter accounts for which his officials (a) have had or (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating. [160445]
Mr David Jones: Two—@walesoffice and @swyddfa cymru.
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Education
Academies
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department expects to announce the calculation of the return funds to local authorities following the 2012-13 top slicing for academies; and when local authorities will receive that payment. [160214]
Mr Laws: The refunds to local authorities for the Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant (LACSEG) in respect of 2012-13 financial year were paid by 31 May 2013.
Children: Diabetes
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what support his Department provides to schools in caring for pupils with type-1 diabetes. [160352]
Mr Timpson: The Department for Education provides guidance on managing medicines in schools, which addresses a range of conditions, including diabetes. The guidance is designed to prevent medical conditions from hampering children's educational attainment or preventing them from participating fully in school life. We expect schools to: understand children's needs; work closely with parents and carers; and have clear procedures set out in their health care plan, with which staff are familiar and comfortable.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on requiring schools to provide support for pupils with type-1 diabetes; and if he will make a statement. [160354]
Mr Timpson: Ministers have met with colleagues from the Department of Health and, following representations made to both Departments, are aware of the concerns that have been raised by charities such as Diabetes UK about the level of support provided to pupils with type-1 diabetes. Diabetes provision was also debated at the report stage of the Children and Families Bill.
We continue to work alongside the Department of Health and have committed to publishing revised managing medicines guidance for schools later this year. This will update advice provided to schools to help them ensure that pupils with complex health conditions such as diabetes are able to participate in school life and fulfil their potential in education.
Free School Meals
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when changes to the criteria to receive free school lunches were last made. [160345]
Mr Laws:
An Order(1) came into force on 29 April 2013 extending eligibility for free school meals to children who are in receipt, or whose parents are in receipt, of universal credit, for the duration of the universal credit pathfinder. Pathfinder claims are only open to single adults with no dependent children, but this change
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ensures that any children who subsequently join the household of claimants will be eligible for free school meals. This interim measure does not pre-judge which children will be entitled to free school meals when universal credit is rolled out more widely.
(1) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/650/introduction/made
Free School Meals: Secondary Education
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students in secondary schools receive free lunches. [160344]
Mr Laws: Information on free school meal eligibility is published in table 3b of the Statistical First Release ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012’.(1)
Schools and local councils can also provide free lunches to children not eligible for free school meals if they wish, or to subsidise school meal prices for certain groups of children. These are approaches already taken in some schools and local councils. The Department does not collect information on this additional provision.
Information for January 2013 will be published on 20 June 2013 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/series/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers
(1 )https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/167510/sfr10-2012nt.xls.xls
Free Schools: Devon
Mr Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what assessment he has made of the need for the Route 39 Free School in Torridge; [159809]
(2) for what reasons he approved the Route 39 Free School in Torridge; and what assessment he made of the level of support for such a school prior to granting an approval. [159810]
Mr Timpson: The Route 39 Academy will provide parents with more choices for their child's education and will help drive up standards through both the provision of high quality education and the competition it will bring. In addition, all five of the nearest secondary schools performed below the national average in 2012.
Each application to open a free school is scrutinised rigorously and the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), approves only those proposals that meet strict criteria. The application to set up the Route 39 Academy, which was supported by over 500 families, met these criteria and demonstrated that there was sufficient demand for a relatively small secondary school to serve families living in the local rural community.
Mr Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what assessment he has made of the cost of the Route 39 Free School; [159878]
(2) what assessment he has made of the (a) capital costs and (b) costs of adapting interim accommodation of the Route 39 Free School in Torridge. [159880]
Mr Timpson:
We are satisfied that the Route 39 Academy will offer good value for money. Details of the capital funding—including site acquisition, renovation and construction costs—for free schools are made public
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when contracts are finalised and the cost is no longer commercially sensitive. The costs for the Route 39 Academy will be published on the Department's website in due course.
Mr Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of the Route 39 Free School on existing schools in the area. [159879]
Mr Timpson: Evidence shows that where choice exists, competitive pressures brought about by the creation of high-quality new schools can improve the quality of other schools in the local area.
GCSE
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to his answer of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 124W, on education, what the GCSE performance was of (a) students in London eligible for free school meals, (b) students outside London eligible for free school meals, (c) students in London not eligible for free school meals and (d) students outside London not eligible for free school meals in each of the five years up to and including the start of the London Challenge. [160035]
Mr Laws: The data requested on free school meal eligibility in the five years up to and including the start of London Challenge are not available.
London Challenge started in 2003. Figures for the years 2001/02 and 2002/03 could only be provided at a disproportionate cost. Figures for the years prior to 2001/02 are not available because pupil-level data has only been collected in the School Census since the 2001/02 academic year.
Sixth Form Colleges: VAT
Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make representations to HM Treasury in support of proposals to introduce a VAT refund scheme for sixth form colleges that mirrors the scheme
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currently in place for school sixth forms, academies and free schools; and if he will make a statement. [160145]
Mr Laws: The Government aim to ensure that all educational institutions receive fair support in relation to funding and keep these issues under close review.
Northern Ireland
Community Relations Council
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with the Community Relations Council since September 2012. [159994]
Mrs Villiers: I visited the Community Relations Council on 18 April 2013. During this visit I met the Chief Executive and Chairman of the Council and received a briefing on their work and heard their views on the challenges of building cohesion in Northern Ireland. I also had the opportunity to meet representatives from some of the projects which are funded by the Council.
Disciplinary Proceedings
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff were suspended from her Department and its associated public bodies on full pay in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and what costs were incurred as a result of such suspensions. [160422]
Mike Penning: No staff were suspended from my Department on full pay during 2010-11, 2011-12 or 2012-13 and, therefore, no costs were incurred.
My Department has two executive non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and one advisory non-departmental public body—the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. As such bodies are independent of Government, the hon. Member may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters—contact details are set out in the following table:
| ALB | Status | Contact details |
Foreign Investment in UK
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings she has planned with attendees to the G8 summit on encouraging inward investment to Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement. [160342]
Mrs Villiers: When the Prime Minister announced that Lough Erne would be the venue for the G8 summit he described Northern Ireland as:
“a great place for business, a great place for investment, a place with an incredibly educated and trained work force, ready to work for international businesses”.
At the summit both he and I took the opportunity to reinforce that message with the visiting delegations.
The economic package launched by the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on 14 June announced that we will build on the summit by delivering a major G8 branded Investment Conference in Northern Ireland in October. The Prime Minister has undertaken to attend this conference to champion investment in Northern Ireland.
GCSE
Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations she has made to the Northern Ireland Assembly to ensure that the GCSE examination is protected and viewed consistently across the UK. [160107]
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Mrs Villiers: Education is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive and the format of the GCSE exam in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Minister for Education.
I have not discussed GCSEs with the Secretary of State for Education but have highlighted with him the general value of close working relationships with the Northern Ireland Executive on education matters.
Justice
Bribery Act 2010
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful prosecutions there have been under the Bribery Act 2010 since that act came into force. [159868]
Damian Green: There have been three successful and no unsuccessful prosecutions under the Bribery Act 2010 since the act came into force in July 2011.
Commercial Court
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were dealt with by the commercial courts in England and Wales in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [158177]
Mrs Grant: Data are not collated on how many cases are dealt with by the commercial court. There are a number of ways a claim can be dealt with including settlement, default judgment, summary judgment, strikeout and trial. There were 1,060 claims issued in the commercial court in 2010 and 1,331 issued in 2011. Data for claims issued in 2012 are due to be published in Court Statistics Quarterly on 20 June 2013.
Courts: Shropshire
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department from the proposed centralisation of motoring courts in the area that includes Shropshire. [159332]
Mrs Grant: The proposal to create single traffic courts in each police area is designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the courts by ensuring that summary motoring cases are dealt with proportionately and rapidly. The Department is working with the judiciary on taking forward this proposal. There has been no assessment of potential savings.
Homicide
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what assessment he has made of public confidence in the rule of law of the present test of materiality used in partial defences to murder; [158841]
(2) what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the test of materiality used in partial defences to murder; and what steps he has taken to ensure that that test is sufficiently robust; [158902]
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(3) what assessment he has made of whether the law relating to the defence of diminished responsibility to murder is sufficiently clear; [158903]
(4) if he will take steps to ensure that the defence of diminished responsibility to murder may only be used in cases where the associated medical condition has a clear and significant effect on the accused; [158904]
(5) what research his Department has conducted into the possibility of making diminished responsibility pleas the subject of the length of sentencing rather than conviction. [159094]
Damian Green: The partial defence of diminished responsibility was reformed in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 to accommodate more modern ideas of psychiatry and abnormality of mental functioning which reduces the capacity to understand situations and control actions. The revised defence is based on the concept of a ‘recognised medical condition’. The Law Commission, who recommended the reforms, and the then Government conducted extensive public consultation to inform these changes to the law, which were then subject to the full scrutiny of Parliament. There are no plans to review the law in this area.
Human Trafficking
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in May 2013; in which (i) region, (ii) local authority area and (iii) parliamentary constituency each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [160055]
Mrs Grant: In May 2013 there were 60 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. In the interests of victim safety only the region in which the victim was encountered is provided, and not the local authority or parliamentary constituency. Details are provided as follows:
| Nationality | Gender | Region | Agency type |
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Legal Aid Scheme
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the likely effects of reforms to legal aid on Welsh language services. [159686]
Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including the £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
Where providers supply services in Wales, they will be contractually obligated to provide services in Welsh in accordance with the Welsh Language Act 1993, as currently. No change is proposed in this respect.
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Prisoners' Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that recent changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges measures are fully enacted in prisons; [159601]
(2) how the expectation for prisoners to work towards their own rehabilitation is measured by prison staff. [159603]
Jeremy Wright: On 30 April 2013, we announced significant changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme which will come into effect on 1 November 2013. The focus of the IEP scheme will change so that not only are adult prisoners (18 or over) expected to behave well, but they will also be expected to actively work towards their own rehabilitation and, to reach the highest level of the scheme, demonstrate both an active commitment to their own rehabilitation and provide help or support to other prisoners and/or prison staff.
Detail of how the scheme will operate is currently being developed and this will include guidance to prison staff on assessing prisoner's engagement with rehabilitation. A new Prison Service Instruction will be issued in due course which, as with all national policies, will require prisons to comply with the new requirements.
Prisons: Allotments
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisons have working allotments on site. [159608]
Jeremy Wright: Central data are not available to confirm how many prisons may have working allotments on site. This information could be obtained only by a manual check with individual prisons, which would incur disproportionate cost.
However, there are 75 public sector prisons in England and Wales that have horticultural facilities, including polytunnels, glasshouses, and gardens that produce vegetables for prison kitchens.
Prisons: Employment
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many working positions in (a) cooking, (b) serving meals, (c) prison maintenance and (d) cleaning there are in each prison in the UK. [159599]
Jeremy Wright: Data on the number of these working positions available at each prison are not currently collected centrally and could be obtained only by a manual check with individual prisons, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Where work is available, all convicted prisoners are required to work in accordance with the Prison Rules. We know that substantial numbers of prisoners do work on these essential support tasks within prisons in England and Wales. Further data collection and analysis will be carried out ahead of the forthcoming competition for a range of prison works, maintenance and facilities management services which was announced earlier this month.
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Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to rule 31 of the prison rules, what the procedure is for dealing with convicted prisoners who refuse to work at any point during their sentence. [159696]
Jeremy Wright: Prison rule 31 requires convicted prisoners to work as directed. The changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme announced on 30 April 2013 will require prisoners to work towards their own rehabilitation by actively engaging in the prison regime. If they do not, they will not gain additional privileges. Where work is available, convicted prisoners will be required to take part.
When a prisoner refuses to work the reason will be identified and appropriate action taken. Where no valid reason for a refusal was given, this would initially involve a warning of the consequences. Continued refusal would be a breach of prison rules and result in a disciplinary adjudication hearing. A range of punishments are provided under the prison rules, from withdrawal of a range of privileges up to cellular confinement.
Prisons: Procurement
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish a detailed breakdown of the cost of all services in each prison in the UK. [159598]
Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Services (NOMS) publishes prison unit costs in summary form for each prison as an Addendum alongside its Annual Report and Accounts. We do not intend or plan to publish a detailed analysis of each prison unit costs.
The published information for each prison unit costs for financial year 2011-12 is available on the Department's website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-2011-12
We plan to publish similar summary information for financial year 2012-13 on the MOJ website in October alongside the Management Information Addendum.
Copies of all previous Annual Reports and Accounts are also placed in the House Library.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of the budget of each prison in the UK is spent on procuring external services. [159606]
Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service central accounting system does not separately record expenditure on procuring external services for each public sector and private prison in England and Wales. To interrogate such cost details from each prison would incur disproportionate costs.
Budgets allocated to each establishment will be determined by various factors, including prison category, size, or age, and the type of regime. They do not separately identify individual elements of expenditure on procuring external services. These costs will be absorbed as part of local resource expenditure.
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Defence
Afghanistan
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the success of Afghan-led security operations in Helmand Province. [160438]
Mr Robathan: The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are now in control of security throughout the country—all provinces, all cities, all borders—and for all of Afghanistan's 27 million citizens. The ANSF continue to make good progress and the UK military footprint is reducing in line with security transition.
Task Force Helmand has directly supported only three of the last 150 Afghan uniformed police operations and all of the estimated 1,000 police patrols each week are conducted alone, without ISAF support. In total, ISAF troops have represented just 7% of the total deployed on recent Afghan National Army kandak and brigade level operations in Helmand. Our main role now, in line with security transition, is the vital one of training, assisting and advising the ANSF as they take the lead for security.
While the ANSF assume this lead, violence levels within central Helmand appear lower than at the same point in the fighting season last year.
Armed Forces: Food
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the cost for food on Christmas day was for each member of the armed forces stationed in the UK; [159969]
(2) what the full meal Christmas Day (a) breakfast, (b) lunch and (c) dinner menu was for soldiers based in the UK in 2012. [160033]
Mr Dunne: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether vegan options are given at every meal for soldiers stationed in the UK. [159971]
Mr Dunne: Across armed forces sites in the UK, catering support is delivered by a number of Soft Facilities Management service providers. As part of this service they are contractually required to provide meal options which reflect cultural, religious and personal diversity, if requested.
Vegan meals are not available as a standard item but if an individual identifies the need for vegan meals to be provided then this will be accommodated by the service provider.
Armed Forces: Health Services
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what targets are in place to ensure that his Department's personnel are treated within 10 weeks by NHS trusts. [156621]
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Mr Francois [holding answer 21 May 2013]: NHS England has an 18 week target for treatment of non-military and military patients.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's personnel have not been treated within 10 weeks for (a) urgent and (b) non-urgent care by NHS trusts. [156622]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 21 May 2013]: NHS England has an 18 week target for treatment of non-military and military personnel.
Information held by the Defence Medical Services (DMS) indicates that during 2011-12, approximately 80% of armed forces personnel were treated within the 10 week timeframe.
In line with the revised NHS Commissioning Strategy, NHS England will now provide the DMS with performance statistics on a six week basis.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are in place to ensure his Department's personnel are treated within 10 weeks by NHS trusts if commissioned by his Department. [156636]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 21 May 2013]: NHS England has an 18 week target for non-military and military patients. The Defence Medical Services (DMS) monitored Ministry of Defence Hospital Units contracts commissioned with the NHS very closely. Each MOD Hospital Unit provided monthly statistics to the DMS on key activities, including waiting lists and the referral to treatment timeframe. These data were verified, validated and agreed between the Trust and the DMS. In addition, review meetings were undertaken by Trusts and the DMS, which increased to monthly Special Measures Contract Review meetings when required.
In line with the revised NHS Commissioning Strategy, NHS England will now provide the DMS with performance statistics every six weeks. The DMS will attend regular partnership meetings with NHS England to discuss activity and associated performance related to secondary health care commissioning.
Armed Forces: Injuries
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to improve the support given to injured service personnel. [160063]
Mr Francois: Our injured personnel make huge sacrifices in service of their country and it is only right that we do all we can to help them in their recovery.
I am therefore delighted that the Defence Recovery Capability, supported by charities such as Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion, has now achieved full operating capability, which I formally declared at an event at Wellington Barracks on 11 June 2013. All injured and wounded personnel who come under the Defence Recovery Capability will receive a personalised recovery plan covering all aspects of their recovery including medical care, welfare, housing, re-skilling, education, work placements, and employment issues
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and opportunities. I also laid a written ministerial statement in the House on 11 June 2013,
Official Report
, columns 3-4WS, which gives further details.
Army Families Federation
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Army Families Federation with regards to the number of enquiries that body has received from foreign and Commonwealth soldiers since January 2013; and if he will make a statement. [159978]
Mr Francois: Army officials speak regularly with the Army Families Federation (AFF) across a range of issues, but have no central record of discussing the number of inquiries AFF have received from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since January 2013.
AWE Aldermaston
Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the write-off costs are as a result of cancelling Project Hydrus at the Atomic Weapons Establishment. [159715]
Mr Dunne: In the annual report and accounts 2010-11 the Ministry of Defence provided advance notice of the potential write-off of up to £120 million incurred on Project Hydrus prior to its termination.
The hydrodynamics testing capability will now be delivered through the joint UK and France programme, Project Teutates.
The exact amount to be written off will be finalised as Project Teutates matures.
Corps of Army Music
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the authorised establishment is of the Corps of Army Music; and how many posts were unfilled as at 31 March 2013. [160207]
Mr Francois: The authorised establishment of the Corps of Army Music is 799 and the number of unfilled posts at 31 March 2013 was 89.
Cybercrime
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals have been employed within his Department to work on cyber security issues since May 2010. [160293]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 17 June 2013]: We regard cyber security as the responsibility of all personnel within the Ministry of Defence, and we are incorporating it into the way we conduct operations and business. Since the Government have set out our cyber security strategy, we have also increased the numbers of specialists in the Department employed on cyber security. This information is being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
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France
Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the Project Teutates Technology Development Centre at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston; what the (a) total project costs and (b) projects costs incurred by the Government for Project Teutates has been in each year since 2010; and what he estimates such costs will be in each year to 2015. [159714]
Mr Dunne: The approved cost for the construction of the Technology Development Centre is £48.7 million. The breakdown for each year since 2010 is given in the following table:
| Financial year | Costs at outturn prices (£ million) |
| (1)Planned expenditure | |
I am withholding wider Project Teutates costs because disclosure would be likely to prejudice commercial interests and would impact on the formulation of Government policy.
G8: County Fermanagh
Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel have been made available to provide security for the G8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. [160105]
Mr Robathan: The Ministry of Defence is not providing any armed security for the G8, as this is the responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
HMS Tireless
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether any radioactive emissions were vented to the atmosphere following the recent reactor coolant leak of HMS Tireless; where such releases were emitted; when they took place; and what quantities of radioactivity was released; [159821]
(2) where and when the reactor of HMS Tireless was shut down following its recent reactor coolant leak; [159822]
(3) with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Moray of 1 March 2013, Official Report, column 718W, on HMS Tireless, what the expected duration and cost of repairs to HMS Tireless is; and whether a decision has yet been made as to whether the submarine will remain in service following the recent reactor coolant leak. [159823]
Mr Dunne:
The reactor in HMS Tireless was shut down on her return to Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport to allow investigations to be carried out and repair plans to be developed. Laboratory tests confirmed that the level of airborne radioactivity in the reactor compartment was well within the normal permitted
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limits for discharges to the environment. Following regulatory approval, normal alongside reactor compartment ventilation was resumed.
Repairs to HMS Tireless have now been completed and she will return to operational service in due course. It is too early to confirm what the final cost of the repairs will be.
Intelligence Services
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people engaged in defence intelligence speak (a) Chinese, (b) Japanese, (c) Vietnamese, (d) Taiwanese and (e) Korean. [159932]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 17 June 2013]:Details of language skills declared by personnel in defence intelligence are set out in the following table:
| Language | Number of employees with a speaking ability |
| (1) Data not held | |
Languages
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials in his Department speak (a) Chinese, (b) Japanese, (c) Vietnamese, (d) Taiwanese and (e) Korean. [159935]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 17 June 2013]:The following table sets out the numbers of civilian officials in the Ministry of Defence who have chosen to record a level of speaking ability in Chinese, Japanese or Korean.
| Language | Number of officials with a speaking ability |
Information on speaking ability in Vietnamese and Taiwanese is not held.
Military Bands
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether he has any plans to reduce the number of military bands; and if he will make a statement; [160208]
(2) how many military bands there were in (a) 1997 and (b) 2010. [160209]
Mr Francois: There are currently no plans to reduce the number of Royal Marines and Royal Air Force military bands. The number of army bands is currently under review as part of the Future Music 2020 re-organisation programme, although no decision has yet been made.
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The number of military bands in the Regular forces in 1997 and 2010 is presented in the following table:
| 1997 | 2010 | |
Navy
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research his Department is carrying out into underwater security in order to assist maritime operations. [160134]
Mr Dunne: The Defence Science and Technology (S&T) Programme funds a range of research activities relevant to underwater security, including anti-submarine warfare, sea mine countermeasures and military data gathering of geospatial information.
Property
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) location and (b) value is of any property his Department owns in Scotland. [160277]
Mr Robathan: A copy of a list showing the location of Ministry of Defence owned property in Scotland has been placed in the Library of the House.
Details of any valuations obtained can not be released as to do so could influence the market.
Territorial Army: Northern Ireland
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether members of the Territorial Army in Northern Ireland are eligible to be recruited to UK Special Forces. [159940]
Mr Robathan [holding answer 17 June 2013]: Members of the Territorial Army in Northern Ireland are eligible for recruitment to UK Special Forces.
Unmanned Air Vehicles
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of the five incidents of strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles which resulted in civilian casualties that were recorded by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in 2012 were carried out by the UK. [159703]
Mr Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Minister for the Armed Forces (Sir Nick Harvey) on 26 June 2012, Official Report, column 187W, to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green (Mr Godsiff), and to the answer I gave on 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 52W, to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas).