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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 25 June 2013
Scotland
Termination of Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions (a) a compromise agreement, (b) a confidentiality clause and (c) judicial mediation was used when an employee of his Department left their employment in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [160913]
David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff are assigned to the office on a secondment type arrangement from other Government bodies, principally the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, which remain the employers.
Wales
Fracking
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effect on Wales of Government policies on shale gas extraction. [161284]
Stephen Crabb: Shale gas may have the potential to provide the UK, and Wales, with greater energy security and economic benefits but exploration of its potential is still at a very early stage.
We have made clear that any future shale gas production would have to meet stringent safety and environmental standards and would require consultation with local communities before approval could be given. It is important to have a diverse mix of energy sources to ensure our future energy security. It is hoped that shale gas will be able to help provide a contribution in this respect, alongside other energy generation sources that are currently being developed in Wales.
House of Commons Commission
Written Questions
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, (1) how many written parliamentary questions were tabled on each of the last 100 sitting days, [161209]
(2) how many written parliamentary questions were tabled on average on each sitting day in each of the last five parliamentary years. [161210]
John Thurso: A table showing the number of questions tabled on each of the last 100 sitting days has been deposited in the Library of the House.
The number of written parliamentary questions per sitting day in each of the last five parliamentary sessions was as follows:
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| Parliamentary session | Sitting days | WPQs tabled | Number of WPQs tabled per sitting day |
Information is not readily available to disaggregate questions tabled on sitting and non-sitting days over the period.
Justice
Prisoners: Older People
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health to ensure that older inmates are given adequate support to meet their health requirements whilst in UK prisons. [161433]
Norman Lamb: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Health.
Improving offender health outcomes for prisoners of all ages is a cross-Government objective, with regular discussions and information sharing taking place between Health and Justice Departments at ministerial and senior official levels.
The Health and Social Care Act 2012 confers a legal duty on NHS England to commission prison health services. NHS England is required to promote the NHS Constitution and deliver the Government's November 2012 Mandate. The Secretary of State holds NHS England to account, measuring performance against the NHS Outcomes Framework.
The Framework identifies the following priority areas, applicable to older prisoners, where we expect particular progress to be made: improving standards of care and treatment, especially for older people and at the end of people's lives; the diagnosis, treatment and care of people with dementia; supporting people with multiple long-term physical and mental health conditions, and preventing premature deaths from the biggest killers such as heart disease and cancer.
Social Security Benefits: Appeals
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of appeals to the Tribunals Service regarding (a) disability living allowance, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) income support, (d) jobseeker’s allowance and (e) tax credits were successful in (i) each quarter in 2012 and (ii) the latest period for which figures are available from appellants in (A) Coventry, (B) the west midlands and (C) England. [158922]
Mrs Grant:
The following table shows the proportion of appeals regarding (a) disability living allowance, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) income support,
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(d)
jobseeker’s allowance and
(e)
tax credits which were decided in favour of the appellant in (A) Coventry (B) the west midlands and (C) Great Britain in each quarter in 2012 (the latest period for which figures are available).
It has not been possible in the time available to separate the data for England alone; therefore I have provided the figures for Great Britain. I will write to the right hon. Member with the figures for England as soon as these are available and place a copy in the Library of the House.
| Percentage of appeals decided in favour of the appellant in each quarter of 2012 | |||||
| 2012 | |||||
| Appeal type | January to March | April to June | July to September | October to December | |
| (1) West Midlands includes appeals heard at Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Kidderminster, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton, Solihull, Stoke, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Worcester venues. Notes: 1. The above data are taken from management information in line with published statistics. 2. The very small number of tax credit appeals at Coventry venues (10 in January to March 2012 and none in July to September 2012) means that the percentage appears as 0 in some instances. Similarly, due to the small number of appeals, a single case can make a significant difference to the percentages. | |||||
Travel
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible claimed reimbursement for travel subsistence expenses in each of the last five years; what the total cost was of such claims; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest subsistence claims in each such year. [155413]
Mrs Grant:
Information on the number of officials who have claimed reimbursement for travel subsistence expenses, and the monetary value of the 20 highest subsistence claims for the last five years is not held
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centrally. To obtain this information would require a manual inspection of each expense claim form from the last five years which would incur disproportionate cost.
In line with Government's objective to increase transparency, the Department publishes a wide range of information on departmental spending, including expenditure on travel and subsistence. This can be accessed via the Ministry of Justice annual report and accounts.
Expenditure on travel and subsistence as shown in the annual report and accounts for the last five years can be accessed via the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/16225/moj-annual-report-accounts-2011-12.pdf.pdf1
The tables on page 107 and 108 under the headings of ‘travel, subsistence and hospitality’ and ‘travel and subsistence’ provide a breakdown on spend for MOJ Core, Executive agencies and NDPBs.
Expenditure on travel and subsistence for MOJ’s NDPBs was only included in the accounts from 2011-12 onwards in line with the requirement for Government Department accounts to be produced under the clear line of sight initiative. Information on travel and subsistence costs for NDPBs prior to 2011-12 is not held centrally and would incur disproportionate cost to provide.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162225/moj-annual-report-accounts-2011-12.pdf.pdf1
The tables on page 133 and 134 under the heading ‘travel and subsistence’ provide a breakdown on spend for the Core Department and the consolidated figure for the Department as a whole.
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1011/hc01/0194/0194.pdf
The tables on page 97 and 98 under the heading ‘travel and subsistence’ provide a breakdown on spend for the Core Department and the consolidated figure for the Department as a whole.
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm76/7600/7600.pdf
The tables on page 92 and 93 under the heading ‘travel, subsistence and hospitality’ provide a breakdown on spend for the Core Department and the consolidated figure for the Department as a whole.
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm76/7600/7600.pdf
The tables on page 108 and 109 under the heading ‘travel, subsistence and hospitality’ provide a breakdown on spend for the Core Department and the consolidated figure for the Department as a whole.
Unpaid Fines: Greater London
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total value of court fines and confiscation orders (a) paid and (b) remaining unpaid was in London in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14 to date; and if he will make a statement. [156464]
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Mrs Grant: Nationally in 2011-12 a total of £279 million was collected against fines and related impositions. This figure is £20 million higher than collected in 2009-10. In 2010-11 this figure was £282 million which was a record high. In the same period, HM Courts and Tribunals Service was the lead enforcement agency for 5,543 confiscation orders, of which 4,471 were satisfied, which represents an 81% success rate.
The value of financial impositions and confiscation orders paid and outstanding in London is set out in the following table:
Of the £416,739,412 outstanding in relation to confiscation orders, about a half is money that cannot be collected. The sum of money that cannot be collected comprises of around £29.3 million (7%) which relates to individuals who are deceased, deported or who cannot be located; around £36.6 million (8.7%) that relates to orders which are being appealed and cannot be enforced while under appeal; and about £74 million (17.7%) that relates to orders where following the conclusion of financial forensic investigations the assets have been assessed as hidden. Nearly £97 million (23.2%) is interest which has accrued on confiscation orders which are outside the agreed payment terms.
We recognise that more must be done to tackle this outstanding debt. We are taking a tough approach to fine-dodgers and improving the rate of collection as an absolute priority. The Ministry of Justice is working closely with the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and others to improve enforcement. We are taking every action to tackle outstanding debt through targeted fine blitzes, by making more deductions from offenders' earnings or benefits and through seizing and selling their goods.
Criminals go to extraordinary lengths to hide the proceeds of their crimes by transferring funds abroad and disguising it with friends and family, but we are succeeding in recovering more money every year. The Serious Fraud Office and the CPS work hard to enforce
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the small number of high value confiscation orders which remain outstanding. They are building better relationships with overseas authorities to help track down hidden assets and are working closely to continue to recover as much money as possible.
Crucially, an outstanding order stops the criminal from using the proceeds of crime for personal gain or further criminal activity. If they ever surface they will be seized.
HMCTS is also looking to work with an external provider to help reduce the cost of collection and to increase the payment of fines and confiscation orders it is responsible for. This will bring the necessary investment and technology HM Courts and Tribunals Service needs to achieve its aspirations for compliance and enforcement services in the future.
Work Capability Assessment: Appeals
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people successfully appealed against a work capability assessment decision in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) South Lanarkshire in 2011-12. [156976]
Mrs Grant: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) (decisions in which the work capability assessment (WCA) is a key factor) rather than appeals against WCA decisions themselves.
The SSCS Tribunal covers Great Britain but not Northern Ireland, which has its own Appeals Service. The tribunal venue in Hamilton serves appellants living in South Lanarkshire as well as other nearby locations.
A combination of reasons can lead to a decision being overturned on appeal. For example a hearing may generate additional evidence, in particular oral evidence, provided by the appellant at the hearing.
HMCTS and DWP are working closely together to improve the process for decision making and appeals. As the hon. Member is aware, in July 2012, working with the Tribunal’s judiciary, HMCTS introduced a revised decision notice in the SSCS Tribunal to provide feedback on reasons for overturned DWP decisions.
In April 2013 DWP introduced mandatory reconsideration for universal credit and personal independence payment, which will be extended to all other DWP administered benefits and child maintenance cases from October 2013. The mandatory reconsideration process results in a linear, escalating process for claimants wishing to dispute decisions. The decision maker will contact the claimant to provide an explanation of the decision under dispute and encourage the claimant to provide any additional information or evidence that may change the decision. This will ensure DWP has an opportunity to resolve disputes at an early stage.
The following tables show the number and proportion of ESA appeals, where WCA was a factor, separated into those in which the tribunal found in favour of the appellant, and those in favour of the DWP, between April 2011 to March 2012 in (a) Great Britain, (b) Scotland, and (c) Hamilton tribunal venue.
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| Employment and support allowance appeals where work capability assessment was a factor—Great Britain | |||||
| Decisions in favour of the appellant | Decisions in favour of DWP | ||||
| Cleared at hearing(1) | No. | % | No. | % | |
| Employment and support allowance appeals where work capability assessment was a factor—Scotland | |||||
| Decisions in favour of the appellant | Decisions in favour of DWP | ||||
| Cleared at hearing(1) | No. | % | No. | % | |
| Employment and support allowance appeals where work capability assessment was a factor—Hamilton tribunal venue | |||||
| Decisions in favour of the appellant | Decisions in favour of DWP | ||||
| Cleared at hearing(1) | No. | % | No. | % | |
| (1) These are cases that were disposed of at a hearing. The total number of cases cleared at hearing includes some cases that were withdrawn and on which no decision was made. These figures therefore are not the sum total of decisions in favour and decisions upheld. Note: Data are taken from management information. | |||||
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Arable Farming
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what estimate his Department has made of the average size of an arable farm in England in each of the last 10 years; [160965]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the average income of an arable farmer in England in each of the last 10 years. [160966]
Mr Heath: Estimates of Farm Business Income for cereal farms and general cropping farms in England are displayed in the following tables alongside average farm sizes.
| Table 1: Incomes and areas of cereal farms in England, 2003-04 to 2012-13 | |||
| Farm business income | |||
| At current prices (£) | In real terms (at 2012-13 prices) (£) | Area (ha) | |
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| (1) Farm type classification changed from 'standard gross margins' (SGM) typology to standard outputs (SO) typology. (2) Provisional forecast made in January 2013. Note: Farms shown here are restricted to those with a Standard Output of at least €25,000 (from 2009-10) or Standard Labour Requirement of at least 0.5 (2009-10 and before). Sources: Incomes: Farm Business Survey Area: June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture | |||
| Table 2: Incomes and areas of general cropping farms in England, 2003-04 to 2012-13 | |||
| Farm business income | |||
| At current prices (£) | In real terms (at 2012-13 prices) (£) | Area (ha) | |
| (1) Farm type classification changed from 'standard gross margins' (SGM) typology to standard outputs (SO) typology. (2) Provisional forecast made in January 2013. Note: Farms shown here are restricted to those with a Standard Output of at least €25,000 (from 2009-10) or Standard Labour Requirement of at least 0.5 (2009-10 and before). Sources: Area: June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture Incomes: Farm Business Survey | |||
For sole traders and partnerships, Farm Business Income represents the financial return to all unpaid labour (farmers and spouses, non-principal partners and directors and their spouses and family workers) and on all their capital invested in the farm business, including land and buildings. For corporate businesses it represents the financial return on the shareholders capital invested in the farm business. Single farm payment and other subsidies are included. The estimate represents specialist dairy farms, although some income shown above will come from non-dairy enterprises on the farm business. Incomes received by dairy farmers from sources external to the farm business are not included. Prior to 2008-09, directors' remuneration was not deducted in the calculation of Farm Business Income.
Gangmasters Licensing Authority
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will give consideration to expanding the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to include (a) courier firms and (b) other smaller industries to ensure they are given their full employment rights and are protected against the use of bogus self-employment contracts. [160496]
Mr Heath: The Government has no plans to extend the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) to additional sectors.
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Licensing can be an appropriate response to particular problems in particular sectors, but that does not mean it is appropriate in all cases. The GLA is currently implementing changes enabling it to enforce protections for vulnerable workers in agriculture and food processing. This is being implemented through better targeting of seriously non-compliant and criminal operators whilst reducing burdens on compliant businesses.
Hill Farming
Tim Farron:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what
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estimate his Department has made of the average size of a farm in English uplands in each of the last 10 years; [160964]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the average income of an uplands farmer in England in each of the last 10 years. [160967]
Mr Heath: An estimate of Farm Business Income for upland farms in England is displayed in the following tables alongside average farm size.
| Table 1: Incomes and areas of upland farms in England, 2003-04 to 2012-13 | |||
| Farm business income | |||
| At current prices (£) | In real terms (at 2012-13 prices) (£) | Area (ha) | |
| (1) Farm type classification changed from 'standard gross margins' (SGM) typology to standard outputs (SO) typology. (2) Provisional forecast made in January 2013. Note: Upland farms are defined as being mainly in Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDA). Farms shown here are restricted to those with a Standard Output of at least €25,000 (from 2009-10) or Standard Labour Requirement of at least 0.5 (2009-10 and before). Sources: Incomes: Farm Business Survey Area: June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture | |||
For sole traders and partnerships, Farm Business Income represents the financial return to all unpaid labour (farmers and spouses, non-principal partners and directors and their spouses and family workers) and on all their capital invested in the farm business, including land and buildings. For corporate businesses it represents the financial return on the shareholders capital invested in the farm business. Single farm payment and other subsidies are included. The estimate represents specialist dairy farms, although some income shown above will come from non-dairy enterprises on the farm business. Incomes received by dairy farmers from sources external to the farm business are not included. Prior to 2008-09, directors' remuneration was not deducted in the calculation of Farm Business Income.
Defence
Armed Forces: Uniforms
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what involvement his Department has had with the VIRTUS combat body armour project; and if he will make a statement. [161419]
Mr Dunne: VIRTUS is a Ministry of Defence (MOD) project that will deliver an integrated physical protection and load carriage system for personnel operating in close combat roles across the armed forces. It will provide scalable protection for the head, torso and extremities. The project is currently in its assessment phase, with the main investment decision planned for late 2014. The MOD has hosted two events in 2013, in February and June, to explain the requirement in detail to those companies that had expressed an interest in participating in the project.
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to protect vehicles from blast attacks, particularly those that target the sides of vehicles. [161420]
Mr Dunne: The armed forces employ a layered approach to the protection of its vehicles in order to counter a range of threats including blasts. Physical protection includes armour as one of these layers. Physical protective measures are supplemented by layers that aim to reduce the likelihood of blast attacks occurring in the first place. These include the use of well developed tactics, techniques and procedures and the effective use of intelligence.
Army: Redundancy
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what army redundancies have taken place in each region since May 2010. [161137]
Mr Francois: The following table shows the number of Regular Army and Gurkha redundancies by region between 1 May 2010 and 1 May 2013. Location data are based on where personnel were stationed when they left service.
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A number of personnel were made redundant on 11 June 2013; however, validated location data for these personnel will not be available until August 2013. Figures do not include those who have been notified of their redundancy in Tranche 3 of the Army redundancy scheme, of which applicants will leave the Army on or before 17 December 2013 and non-applicants on or before 17 June 2014.
| Region | Number of redundancies |
| Note: Totals have been rounded in line with Defence Statistics rounding policy and may not therefore represent the sum of their parts. Source: Defence Statistics (Army) | |
British Forces Broadcasting Service
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role the British Forces Broadcasting Service currently plays in civilian life; and whether he expects this role to change in the next five years. [161409]
Mr Francois: The British Forces Broadcasting Service is provided by the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), which is both a private company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It offers a range of services to entertain and inform the UK armed forces. Following a competition, SSVC was awarded a 10-year contract by the Ministry of Defence to deliver audio and audio visual services commencing in April 2013 to Defence personnel and dependents at locations in the UK and overseas. Decisions on other broadcast services that SSVC might offer that could be received by the general public are primarily a matter for SSVC's board of trustees.
Reserve Forces
John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of reservists in the (a) Territorial Army, (b) Royal Navy Reserves, (c) Royal Air Force Reserves and (d) Royal Marine Reserves for each of the next five years. [161051]
Mr Francois: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 635W, to the hon. Members for Plymouth, Moor View (Alison Seabeck), and for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson).
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John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the proportion of businesses willing to allow employees to take time off to undertake Reservist duties. [161116]
Mr Francois: As part of the consultation following the publication in November 2012 of the Green Paper on Future Reserves, we received responses from a wide range of employers and employer organisations. These are being considered as part of the Future Reserves 2020 White Paper which we intend to publish soon.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Antibiotics
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he had on antibiotic resistance at the G8 Science Ministers meeting on 12 June 2013. [161150]
Mr Willetts: There were substantive discussions on antibiotic resistance at the G8 Science Ministers meeting. After reviewing the evidence on the increase in antibiotic resistance we concluded that antimicrobial resistance is a serious global problem affecting humans, animals and the environment that has to be addressed by a wide ranging programme of work. Governments and the scientific community have an important role to play, at both a national and international level, in improving practice in all sectors and stimulating research. The main areas for action are set out in the ministerial statement at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/g8-science-ministers-statement
Apprentices: Kingston Upon Hull
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many apprentice (a) starts and (b) completions there were in Hull during each of the last four years for which information is available; and in what categories these apprenticeship starts and completions were; [161594]
(2) how many apprenticeship (a) starts and (b) completions in Hull in the last four years were (i) advertised and (ii) taken up by each age group. [161595]
Mr Willetts: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts and achievements by local education authority (including Kingston upon Hull local education authority) and sector subject area (SSA) are published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR):
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/DBB6E907-BC1A-416C-B6B8-99BEC4D5EFA5/0/March2013_ApprenticeshipStartsbySectorSubjectAreaLevelAge.xls
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/C7E2EC14-58AF-43D2-93DF-221C23C2122E/0/March2013_Apprenticeships_SSA_Geography_Achievements.xls
Information on the number of apprenticeship starts and achievements by local education authority and age are published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR):
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/EAD8024F-3019-4D5C-A6EC-B6241B089862/0/March2013_ApprenticeshipStartsbyGeographyLevelAge.xls
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9A549B61-8099-4660-8667-0B5ABF6011F8/0/March2013_ApprenticeshipAchievementsGeographyLevelAge.xls
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Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship vacancies posted on the National Apprenticeship Service Apprenticeship Vacancies online system located in Kingston upon Hull between December 2008 (the date the apprenticeship vacancy on-line system first went live) and May 2013 (as at end of May 2013). All apprenticeship vacancy adverts posted on the website are open to individuals of all ages; therefore an age breakdown is not presented.
| Table 1: Apprenticeship vacancies posted in Kingston upon Hull, 2008/09 (December 2008 to July 2009) to 2012/13 (August 2012 to May 2013) | |||||
| 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13(1) | |
| (1) August 2012 to May 2013 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Geographic information is based on the location of the Apprenticeship vacancy. 3. Employers registered on the Apprenticeship Vacancies system can advertise a vacancy directly on the system or direct candidates to their own website and information is captured in both cases. Information is not captured for vacancies made available by employers who are not registered so therefore these figures may not provide a comprehensive picture of all Apprenticeship vacancies within an area. 4. Apprenticeship vacancies data are updated on a monthly basis and published by the Data Service on the fourth day of each calendar month at the following link Source: National Apprenticeship Service Apprenticeship Vacancy Reports (as at end of May 2013) | |||||
Online reports from Apprenticeship Vacancies are updated on a monthly basis and published by the Data Service on at the following link:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/fe_data_library/Apprenticeships/
Apprentices: West Midlands
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships started in (a) Warwick District, (b) Warwickshire and (c) the West Midlands in each of the last five years. [161750]
Mr Willetts: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR):
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/69EFC69B-C189-46C4-93C4-6B161D744073/0/March2013_Apprenticeship Starts.xls
Flood Control
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department has made available in grants to businesses developing new flood protection technologies in each of the last three years; and in which part of the country businesses in receipt of such grants were based. [161327]
Mr Willetts: The Technology Strategy Board is the Government’s prime channel for supporting business-led technology innovation and delivers a range of programmes in support of businesses undertaking research and development.
The Technology Strategy Board has supported a number of projects in the area of flood protection technologies in the last three years with grant funding offered to businesses totalling over £571,000. The split by year and region is as follows:
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| Region | Grant funding (£) | |
Higher Education: Admissions
Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps he has taken to encourage people from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter higher education. [161395]
Mr Willetts: The Government has been very clear about the importance of widening participation and improving fair access in higher education—all those with the ability should have access to higher education, irrespective of family income.
Under our student finance reforms no eligible student pays up front for their first degree. Loans are only repaid once graduates have jobs and are earning over £21,000.
Our Student Finance and College Tour is running again this year with recent graduates providing students and their parents with the information about the student finance available to them.
The Government is establishing a new framework, with increased responsibility placed on universities to widen participation. This includes arrangements for new annual access agreements. Universities plan to spend over £670 million in 2016/17 on measures to widen participation through their access agreements.
To make sure that we are doing everything possible to widen participation and promote fair access BIS Ministers asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) to develop a shared strategy for access and student success which will include advice to ensure we achieve the maximum impact from spending by Government, HEFCE and institutions. HEFCE and OFFA are due to deliver the strategy in autumn 2013. An interim report was published on 8 March 2013.
Higher Education: Barnsley
Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people from Barnsley East constituency went on to university in academic year (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13. [161068]
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Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The numbers of entrants to UK HEIs who were domiciled in Barnsley East constituency prior to their course have been provided in the table for the academic years 2010/11 and 2011/12.
Information for the 2012/13 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2014.
| Entrants(1) to UK HEIs domiciled to Barnsley East(2) prior to their course academic years 2010/11 to 2011/12 | |
| Barnsley East constituency | |
| (1) Covers all students in their first year of study. (2) Parliamentary constituency is derived from the student's postcode. Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded to the nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record | |
In reference to my previous answer to the hon. Member for Barnsley East on 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 519W, it was necessary to provide statistics excluding the Open University and using the 1 December snapshot of student numbers rather than the final published totals. This is because a time series had been requested covering years prior to a change to the standard reported population (SPR) of students.
Figures in the table are not comparable with the figures provided in May 2012, The snapshot numbers tend to be lower than the SRP statistics published by HESA which capture the full range of start dates across the academic year. If we had provided estimates consistent with the numbers in my previous answer they would have been 735 for 2010/11 and 625 for 2011/12.
Postgraduate Education
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of ease of access to postgraduate education for students from low-income backgrounds. [161278]
Mr Willetts: Linked to the National Student Survey (NSS), the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has commissioned a survey to understand from final-year undergraduates what their post-graduation plans are, and what would motivate them to pursue or deter them from postgraduate study—‘The Intentions After Graduation Survey’ (IAGS). HEFCE will be able to analyse IAGS responses by many established measures, including socio-economic background. A report of the results of the 2013 IAGS will be published in the autumn.
BIS has also asked HEFCE and the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) to develop a national strategy for access and student success in higher education An interim report can be found at the following link:
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/newsarchive/2013/name,78843,en.html
HEFCE will continue to gather evidence on the role and nature of postgraduate provision, and the potential impact of higher education funding changes on graduate choices, as part of its monitoring of the overall effect of these reforms.
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Science: Finance
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the relationship between funding science and securing future economic growth. [161504]
Mr Willetts: Science is crucial for long-term economic growth. In December 2011 BIS published the Innovation and Research Strategy for Growth, accompanied by an economics paper that provided a detailed assessment of the impact of science and innovation on the UK economy.
Investment in science drives sustainable economic growth through its contribution to productivity and international competitiveness. Studies have found a strong, positive relationship between investment in Research and Development (R&D) and productivity growth. The broad consensus typically indicates a rate of return from R&D of between 20% and 50%.
The position is kept under close review, and all proposed science investments by BIS are, as a matter of course, subject to an assessment of their expected future economic impact.
Science: Wales
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with his Welsh counterpart regarding plans for the new Menai Science Park, Bangor. [161569]
Mr Willetts: The Government believes that science and research parks can be important to both local and national competitiveness by supporting commercialisation of research and development. Government can play its part by removing key barriers to development, for example by addressing restrictive planning laws, ensuring a modern infrastructure, supporting the supply of highly skilled workers and addressing barriers to capital. Actions on these issues were summarised in our Innovation and Research Strategy for Growth.
To date, no discussions have taken place between the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and his Welsh counterpart regarding plans for the new Menai Science Park, Bangor.
Students: Loans
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the Government's policy is on the privatisation of student loans. [160709]
Mr Willetts: The Government is committed to reducing public sector net debt, managing financial risks and achieving value for money for the tax payer. In the 2010 Budget, the Government announced its intention to continue with the Student Debt Sale Programme of ICR loans as part of a wider programme of asset commercialisation. This work is still ongoing.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions his officials have had on the potential privatisation of student loans. [160710]
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Mr Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is continuing to explore options to sell the income contingent repayment (ICR) student loan books as part of the Government's wider programme of asset commercialisation.
Our plans to sell the earlier mortgage style loans were announced in March 2013.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions his officials have had on lifting the cap on interest rates for student loans. [160711]
Mr Willetts: The Government received proposals in 2011 from its advisers that the cap on interest rates on student loans should be removed as part of a possible sale of the loan book. The Government rejected these proposals.
Transport
Bridges: River Thames
Mr Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish his Department's health impact assessment for the new lower Thames crossing proposed option C. [161143]
Stephen Hammond: The Department has not completed specific health impact assessments for the potential options for a new lower Thames crossing. It has however appraised a wide range of potential impacts—for example, in relation to air quality—of locating a new crossing at different locations.
These assessments are included in the final review report and supporting documentation published on 21 May 2013 at the launch of the Department's consultation on options for a new crossing. They are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/options-for-a-new-lower-thames-crossing
Once a decision is made on location, a future scheme for a new lower Thames crossing would be subject to a detailed environmental impact assessment as part of the statutory planning process.
Invalid Vehicles
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Road Traffic Act 1988 to increase the weight limit of Class 3 wheelchairs from 150kg to 200kg. [161072]
Norman Baker: There are no plans to increase the unladen weight limit of Class 3 wheelchairs from 150kgs to 200kgs.
I announced on 1 March 2012 [Official Report, Column 44WS] that the maximum unladen weight of Class 2 powered wheelchairs should be increased to 150 kgs. I have asked my officials to look at how best the Use of Invalid Carriages on Highways Regulations 1988 can be amended to reflect this, and I will make an announcement shortly.
The primary legislation governing the use of invalid carriages is the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, not the Road Traffic Act 1988.
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Public Expenditure
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the equality impact of his Department's spending reductions since 2010; whether this assessment has been used to inform his planning ahead of the 2013 comprehensive spending review and with what result; what plans he has to publish the equality impact assessments undertaken by his Department as a result of the upcoming comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement. [161183]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport considers equality issues in exercising its functions, including at Spending Reviews, both to comply with equality legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities will affect different people. This consideration will be published in due course.
Public Transport: Tickets
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation cards were issued in England between April 2006 and March 2013; and how many passenger trips were made during that period by people receiving (a) concessionary and (b) non-concessionary cards. [160942]
Norman Baker: The Department does not hold any information in relation to Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation (ITSO) cards issued by bus operators for use with commercial products.
In 2006/07 and 2007/08 the statutory minimum concession in England for older and disabled people provided free off-peak bus travel within the card holder's local authority area. Local authorities could issue cards of their own design and there was no legal requirement for a card to be an ITSO smartcard. The Department does not hold information about the number of ITSO cards that were issued in relation to the statutory concession at that time.
In 2008 the statutory minimum was extended to England-wide travel and it became a legal requirement that local authorities should issue cards of a specific design. The legislation includes a requirement that each card should be an ITSO smartcard and that the expiry date of a card should be no greater than 5 years from the date of issue.
Since 2008 around 22 million ITSO smartcards have been issued in relation to the statutory scheme. This figure is greater than the estimated 10 million valid ITSO cards in circulation at 31 March 2013, as the majority of ITSO cards issued in 2008 will have expired and been reissued at least once. In relation to these ITSO cards only, we estimate that around 1 billion concessionary journeys were made each year in 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13 - the relevant published table is BUS0821 which can be found at
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus08-concessionary-travel
The Department does not hold this information prior to 2010/11.
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Railways: Electrification
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects construction work to commence on electrification of the North Transpennine rail route. [161617]
Mr Simon Burns: Construction commences later this year with bridge reconstruction works between Manchester and Stalybridge.
Rescue Services: Belfast
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date the risk-assessed staffing level at MRCC Belfast was last altered. [161628]
Stephen Hammond: The risk assessed staffing level for MRCC Belfast was last altered on 11 March 2013.
Social Enterprises
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of his Department's suppliers are social enterprises. [161325]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not currently maintain a record of Social Enterprises in our supply chain.
We do maintain a copy of the Charities Commission database and use this to classify suppliers who are registered charities but this does not unfortunately identify Social Enterprises.
Termination of Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions (a) a compromise agreement, (b) a confidentiality clause and (c) judicial mediation was used when an employee of (i) his Department and (ii) the public bodies for which he is responsible left their employment in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [160914]
Norman Baker: The following table provides a breakdown as requested in the financial years 2010, 2011 and 2012. A further breakdown to individual bodies has not been provided to protect the confidentiality of the individuals involved. This is in line with the Data Protection Act.
West Coast Railway Line
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of capacity on the West Coast Main Line. [161494]
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Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not undertake assessments of capacity on individual routes; however, it is well known that the west coast main line is one of the busiest routes on the network.
Allocation of capacity on the west coast main line is a matter for the operators that use the route, Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation.
Home Department
Apprentices
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many apprentices are employed by her Department; and how many of those are aged (a) under 19, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30, (d) 31 to 59 and (e) over 60. [161162]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 24 June 2013]: The Home Department's apprenticeship scheme has been in operation since 2008 and the Department currently has seven apprentices recruited externally through this route. All the apprentices are aged 25 or under, but to provide a further breakdown would breach the Department's obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 not to disclose, to a third party, personal information about another person.
Apprenticeships are also available to existing staff through Learning and Development provision. Agreement for staff to complete an apprenticeship qualification is controlled locally, and therefore no central data is available.
Asylum
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken for a decision on asylum was for (a) male and (b) female applicants in each of the last 10 years. [159915]
Mr Harper: The information you have requested is shown in the table. Data prior to 2007 is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Asylum application average processing times, 2007-12 | ||||
| Days | ||||
| Male | Female | Unclassified | Overall | |
| Notes: 1. All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols. 2. Figures relate to first time main applicants only. 3. Figures relate to asylum applications made between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2012. 4. Processing time based on mean average number of calendar days between application and first case outcome date. 5. Unclassified relate to cases where the sex of the applicant is not recorded. | ||||
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time taken to process settlement applications made by asylum seekers was between 1 October and 31 December 2012. [161010]
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Mr Harper [holding answer 24 June 2013]: Of the 57 settlement applications that were received and decided between 1 October and 31 December 2012, the average length for an application to be decided was 17 calendar days.
Notes:
1. The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.
2. Figures relate to asylum main applicants.
3. Figures relate to applications made for settlement, by individuals that have made an application for asylum.
4. Processing time is based on the average number of calendar days between application raised (received) and despatch date.
Bedfordshire Police
Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget of Bedfordshire Police was in each year since 2010. [161382]
Damian Green [holding answer 24 June 2013]: The Home Office does not hold details of the full budget for Bedfordshire police as this includes funding from other sources such as the use of reserves and from charging for additional services.
The allocations of Police Main Grant provided by the Home Office to Bedfordshire Police were £42.6 million in 2010-11, £43.9 million in 2011-12 and £40.8 million in 2012-13. In 2013-14, the aggregate amount of grants provided to Bedfordshire police by the Home Office is £69.9 million (which includes £25.4 million in formula grant funding which in previous years had been paid to the police by the Department for Communities and Local Government but from 2013-14 onwards is being paid by the Home Office).
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the cost-effectiveness of Bedfordshire Police. [161693]
Damian Green: It is locally elected police and crime commissioners (PCCs) who are responsible for the delivery of an effective and efficient police service within the force area, including an assessment of use of resources. It is also the responsibility of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) which is charged in statute with inspecting the efficiency and effectiveness of all police forces in England and Wales.
Billing
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the potential financial benefits that could be achieved by paying suppliers early in return for rebates. [160961]
James Brokenshire
[holding answer 24 June 2013]: The Home Office and its Agencies have signed up to the Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) prompt payment code and BS7890, the British standard for payment. Since June 2010, the contractual terms and conditions of payment require the Home Office to pay supplier's invoices within five days of accepting relevant goods and services, or from receiving a compliant invoice.
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Because of the Home Office's application of prompt payment policies, no assessment of potential financial benefit has been made.
Crime
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the monetary value of (a) drug trafficking, (b) human trafficking, (c) money laundering and (d) tax avoidance in the (i) world economy, (ii) European economy and (iii) UK economy in the last year for which figures are available. [160822]
Mr Harper: The latest assessments for which figures are available are set out as follows:
(a) The Home Office has not undertaken an estimate of the cost of drug trafficking to the world, European and UK economies. The most recent available Home Office estimate of the social and economic cost of Class A drug use in England and Wales was undertaken by the last Government and was £15.4 billion per year and £4 billion to £6.6 billion for the size of the UK illicit drug market (both based on the reference year 2003-04).
(b) The Home Office has not undertaken an estimate of the cost of human trafficking to the world, European and UK economies. The most recent available Home Office estimate of the social and economic cost of human trafficking for sexual exploitation in the UK was undertaken by the last Government and was up to £1 billion per year and £275 million for the size of the UK human trafficking for sexual exploitation market (2003).
(c) The Home Office has not undertaken an estimate of the cost of money laundering to the world, European and UK economies. The most recent estimate is a HM Treasury assessment undertaken by the last Government in 2007 which estimated that in the UK the most serious forms of organised crime alone generate an illicit turnover of some £15 billion per year; and that money laundering through the regulated sector was about £10 billion per year.
(d) The Government does make an estimate of the size of the UK tax gap each year, which includes an assessment of the level of avoidance. The latest figures published as official statistics are for 2010-11 and can be found at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps/mtg-2012.pdf
The Government keeps these estimates under review.
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the most recent annual average level of serious and acquisitive crime per 1,000 population in each police force in England and Wales is. [161695]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Offences recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2012 | ||
| Rate per 1,000 population | ||
| Police force area | Serious crime(1) | Acquisitive crime(2) |
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| ‘—’ = Not applicable due to the small resident population. (1) Includes the offence groups of violence against the person and sexual offences. (2) Includes the offence groups of robbery, burglary, offences against vehicles and other theft. | ||
Drugs: Crime
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests for drugs offences there have been in each police force area in each of the last five years. [161692]
Damian Green: Data on arrests for notifiable offences in England and Wales are collected by the Home Office and published on an annual basis in the National Statistics series 'Police Powers and Procedures'. The latest release, relating to the years up to and including 2011-12, is available in the Library of the House and online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-powers-and-procedures-in-england-and-wales-201112
The number of arrests for drug offences in the years 2007-08 to 2011-12 are shown in the following table. Data for 2012-13 are expected to be published in the spring of 2014.
| Persons arrested for notifiable drug offences by police force area: England and Wales, 2007-08 to 2011-12 | |||||
| Number | |||||
| Police force area | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
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