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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 26 June 2013
House of Commons Commission
Defence Select Committee
Michael Dugher: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, which specialist advisers to the Defence Select Committee have been issued a photo parliamentary pass. [161391]
John Thurso: As at 20 June 2013, the current specialist advisers to the Defence Committee are as follows:
Paul Beaver
Professor Michael Clarke
Christopher Donnelly
Dr John Louth
Major General Mungo Melvin
Rear Admiral Christopher Snow
Air Marshal Philip Sturley
All the above specialist advisers have been issued with parliamentary passes, which are not valid beyond 2015.
Details of specialist advisers from previous parliamentary sessions are published annually in the Sessional Return.
Energy and Climate Change Select Committee
Michael Dugher: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, which specialist advisers to the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee have been issued a photo parliamentary pass. [161392]
John Thurso: As at 20 June 2013, the current specialist advisers to the Energy and Climate Change Committee were as follows:
Professor Derek Bunn
Dr Robert Gross
Marc Ozawa
Dr Anthony White
As at 20 June 2013, none of the above named had a parliamentary pass.
Details of specialist advisers from previous parliamentary sessions are published annually in the Sessional Return.
Select Committees
Michael Dugher: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, which specialist advisers to select committees have declared relevant financial interests in the subject matter for which the committee they advise is responsible; and what those declarations were. [161389]
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John Thurso: Before any Committee decides on their appointment, potential specialist advisers to Select Committees are required to declare their interests, financial or otherwise, in the area of the inquiry for which they are appointed. Financial interests may include employment, shareholdings, research contracts or consultancies, or similar arrangements. It is open to a Committee to decide that the interests so declared are incompatible with the person being appointed as an adviser for that inquiry. Specialist advisers are also asked to update their declared interests at the start of a new session or on reappointment.
The appointment of specialist advisers, their interests, and any subsequent changes, are recorded in the formal minutes of each Committee. Formal minutes are published regularly on Committee websites.
Committees are also advised to include the interests of advisers in reports, in a footnote, at the point where the Committee refers to the advisers who have assisted with that inquiry.
Michael Dugher: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the name is of each person who acts in an official capacity as a specialist adviser to a select committee. [161390]
John Thurso: A record of the work of Select Committees during each parliamentary session is recorded in the Sessional Return. The return for each Committee lists the name of each person who has acted in an official capacity as a specialist adviser to a Select Committee during that session.
The Sessional Return for 2012-13 period is currently being prepared, and publication is expected in mid-July 2013.
The Sessional Returns for previous sessions are available on the parliamentary website:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmsesret.htm#
The names of specialist advisers, and any interests that they declare, are also recorded in each Committee's formal minutes, which are published regularly on the Committee website.
Transport
Air Routes: USA
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to creating route development funds to assist in the creation of additional air routes between the US and (a) the north east of England and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber. [161762]
Mr Simon Burns: The state aid rules have been tightened in recent years and limit the ability of Government or regional bodies to support air services. The state aid rules may allow for funding of air services within the European Union, as well as for some airline costs such as marketing services. However they do not permit the funding of airlines' operating costs for long-haul air services.
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Cycling
Mr Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what change there was in the number of miles cycled in 2012 compared with 2011; and what assessment he has made on whether any increase was the result of more people taking up cycling or extra trips by existing cyclists. [R] [161862]
Norman Baker: A time series of distance travelled in Great Britain per person per year by bicycle for 1995-2011 from the National Travel Survey (NTS) can be found in table NTS0305 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts03-modal-comparisons
NTS data for 2012 are not yet available, but are scheduled for publication on 30 July 2013.
NTS measures of cycling are known to be volatile year-to-year because of the relatively small number of regular cyclists in the NTS sample. In 2011, 2% of all trips were made by bicycle, and the volatility reflects the difficulty in measuring this relatively uncommon mode of transport. Therefore, while long-term trends are likely to be informative, year-to-year movements in NTS estimates of cycling trips or cycling distance should be interpreted with caution.
Scotland
European Arrest Warrants
8. Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with legal authorities in Scotland on European arrest warrants. [160891]
13. Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with legal authorities in Scotland on European arrest warrants. [160896]
David Mundell: The Government are currently reviewing a range of European law and order measures, which includes European arrest warrants.
Energy Bill
9. Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with energy generators in Scotland on the Energy Bill. [160892]
Michael Moore: I hold regular discussions with energy generators in Scotland about a range of issues, including the important changes being delivered under the new Energy Bill.
Living Standards
10. Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of recent trends in living standards in Scotland. [160893]
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11. Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of recent trends in living standards in Scotland. [160894]
David Mundell: In tough economic times the Government are working hard to secure a fairer society and a strong economy to succeed in the global race. Measures we have taken forward which particularly benefit Scotland include the fuel duty increases and lifting 224,000 people out of income tax.
Economic Performance
12. Mr McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the economy in Scotland. [160895]
Michael Moore: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Mr Roy).
Common Agricultural Policy
14. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had on the potential effects of the most recent proposals for reform of the common agricultural policy on Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [160897]
Michael Moore: Last week I had extensive discussions with the Scottish farming industry at the Royal Highland Show. I am in regular discussions with DEFRA Ministers on implications of CAP reforms for Scotland.
Superfast Broadband
15. Mr Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the delivery of superfast broadband to the Highlands and Islands. [160898]
David Mundell: The Government have made £100 million available to the Scottish Government to deliver rural broadband projects in Scotland. It is the responsibility of the Scottish Government to deliver on this and we are closely monitoring the roll-out of these projects.
Wales
Devolution
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he plans to announce the Government's response to the Commission on Devolution in Wales Part 1 Report; and what the reason is for the time taken to respond. [161567]
Mr David Jones: The Commission on Devolution in Wales made 33 recommendations that have required detailed analysis within Government. Following our autumn statement, we have made good, positive progress in our assessment of the recommendations and we expect to make an announcement in the very near future.
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Legal Aid Scheme
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has held with ministerial colleagues on the effect on Wales of planned changes to legal aid. [161652]
Mr David Jones: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 466W, to the hon. Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden).
Home Department
Police: Recruitment
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of charging for a certificate of knowledge on police recruitment from (a) black and ethnic minority communities and (b) deprived neighbourhoods. [161139]
Damian Green: No specific assessment has been made of the effect of charging for a certificate of knowledge on police recruitment from (a) black and ethnic minority communities and (b) deprived neighbourhoods.
Communities and Local Government
Fire Services
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on proposals to make police and crime commissioners responsible for fire service provision. [161745]
Brandon Lewis: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from other Departments to discuss a range of matters.
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with (a) representatives of private sector fire industry firms and (b) the European Commission on the compliance with European state aid regulations of the use by fire brigades of public resources to promote risk management community interest companies which seek private sector contracts. [161746]
Brandon Lewis: I have had no discussions with representatives of private sector fire industry firms or with the European Commission on this issue.
Flood Control
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much of the Coalfield Regeneration Fund has been used to assist companies developing new flood protection technologies; and in which coalfield regions such funding has been allocated. [161289]
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Mr Prisk: Our partners in the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and Coalfields Growth and Enterprise Funds, inform us that none of their funding has been used to assist companies developing new flood protection technologies. Funding decisions are a matter for these local bodies, rather than Ministers.
Housing: Construction
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much Government-owned land has been released (a) in total and (b) by each Government department for housing in the last six months. [R] [161131]
Mr Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 1 February 2013, Official Report, columns 975-76W. The following table gives the housing capacity of the land released under the public sector land programme as at 31 March 2013. This is the latest data available.
| Housing capacity released to 31 March 2013 | |
| (1) This includes small landholding Departments such as MOJ, HO, and DCMS and other public corporations. | |
This represents almost half of our ambition to release land capable of delivering up to 100,000 homes by April 2015.
Local Government: North East
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers he plans to devolve to the proposed North East Combined Authority from 1 April 2014 to enable it to promote better transport, skills and economic development. [161551]
Brandon Lewis: The Government's response to the Heseltine report welcomed the intention of the seven local authorities of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership to form a combined authority. It is for those councils to include, in their proposals, the powers they would want that combined authority to have. Having regard to those proposals, and following consultation, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), may, if he is satisfied the proposals meet the statutory criteria for combined authorities, and if Parliament approves, make an Order establishing the combined authority and specifying its powers.
Urban Areas: Regeneration
Chris Ruane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Portas Review on the future of high streets, published in December 2011, what progress has been made on
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bringing forward legislative proposals to allow landlords to become high street investors by contributing to their local business improvement district. [161625]
Mr Prisk: Business improvement districts are an important tool for growth and this is already recognised by landlords who are voluntarily contributing to individual projects. In our response to the Portas Review we committed to explore with industry experts how a formal property owner business improvement district scheme may be delivered, within the provisions of the Business Rate Supplement Act 2009. Further to that work in England we are aiming to issue a consultation paper on how a scheme may work shortly. Any legislation implementing a formal property owner business improvement district scheme will be subject to that consultation.
Attorney-General
Alternatives to Prosecution
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many indictable-only offences were disposed of by the Crown Prosecution Service by a final warning in 2012-13 and in each of the preceding seven years by offence category. [161442]
The Solicitor-General: It is not possible to identify pre-charge requests where a final warning was recommended following an admission of guilt to an indictable only offence without reviewing individual files at disproportionate cost. Pre-charge requests cannot be split by offence categories as these categories are only allocated at the end of a prosecution case.
Crown Prosecution Service
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions decisions of the Crown Prosecution Service have been challenged via judicial review in each of the last five years; and how many such challenges were successful. [159757]
The Solicitor-General: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has maintained centrally recorded data on the number of judicial reviews for the last two years. The total number of finalised judicial reviews recorded was 102 in 2011-12 and 110 in 2012-13. No central record has been kept of the number of reviews for earlier years and such information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
The data include judicial reviews where the CPS was the applicant as well as those where the CPS was the respondent. It is not possible to show only specific challenges made against the CPS because this information is not held centrally.
Police Cautions
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many indictable-only offences were disposed of by the Crown Prosecution Service by a (a) formal caution and (b) conditional caution in 2012-13 and in each of the preceding seven years by offence category. [161441]
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The Solicitor-General: The CPS will only recommend a formal caution or conditional caution for an indictable only offence in exceptional circumstances where the prosecutor has concluded that the public interest does not require the immediate prosecution of the offender. Such a decision will take into account the particular circumstances of the offence or the offender and could involve considerations such as whether a prosecution is likely to have an adverse effect on the victim's physical or mental health.
The number of indictable only defendant prosecutions that were disposed of by way of either a formal caution or conditional caution is set out in a table which has been deposited in the Library of the House.
Training
Priti Patel: To ask the Attorney-General how many officials in (a) the Law Officers' Departments and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which they are responsible enrolled in publicly-funded training courses in each of the last five years; what the total cost has been of such courses; and what the monetary value was of the 10 highest training course fees in each such year. [155421]
The Solicitor-General: Tables containing the information requested have been placed in the Library of the House.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Coastal Areas
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much was allocated to seaside towns by each regional development agency in each year for which information is available. [161540]
Michael Fallon: This information is not available.
Community Interest Companies
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many community interest companies were created in 2012. [161610]
Michael Fallon: Companies House has confirmed that 2,087 community interest companies were created in 2012.
Companies: Ownership
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the adequacy of resources available to Companies House to enable it to compile and administer the register of beneficial ownership of UK companies which is to be created following the commitment by the Prime Minister at the G8 summit at Lough Erne; when he expects the first such register to be completed; and what public access to the register he expects to be available. [161510]
Michael Fallon:
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will publish a discussion paper on corporate transparency before September 2013. This will invite views on the implementation of a central registry of
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information on companies' beneficial ownership, including whether there will be public access to this information and how the registry will be maintained by Companies House. This will allow us to establish the resource implications for Companies House. We plan to introduce reforms before the end of this Parliament.
Credit
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure greater transparency in the consumer credit market; and if he will bring forward proposals to mandate all lenders to show the total cost of credit. [160372]
Jo Swinson: The Government have taken a number of steps, working with industry, to ensure greater transparency in the consumer credit market. Some of the measures include:
credit card issuers providing customers with annual statements. These give customers a clear view of how they have managed their credit card over the previous 12 months, setting out costs and charges;
annual bank statements for personal current accounts which show customers how much their current account has cost them over the year and help them decide whether they are getting a good deal from their bank;
introduction by the major banks of balance alerts which are sent to a customer when their current account balance is low, and in some cases when they are about to go into their unarranged overdraft, so they can take action to avoid charges; and
the midata programme, where we are working with industry representatives including banks and credit card providers to give those consumers requesting it safe and ready access to their own transactions data in electronically readable and editable format to help inform their future decisions.
The Consumer Credit Directive was implemented in the UK in 2011 and made changes to the advertising of credit with the intention of making it more intelligible for consumers, including with regard to the total cost of credit.
The directive requires that where an advertisement includes an interest rate or any amount relating to the cost of the credit, then a representative example of the credit on offer must also be included in the advertisement.
The representative example includes comprehensive information including: a representative APR, the total amount of credit (i.e. the credit limit), any charges as part of the total cost of credit, the cash price (when linked to the supply of good or services) and the total amount payable.
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to promote access to credit in the retail market. [160373]
Jo Swinson: The Government want to help low income consumers to access reliable, affordable credit. To that end, the Government have committed to a further investment of up to £38 million to April 2015 to support participating credit unions to provide financial services, including affordable credit, for up to 1 million more consumers in a way that will enable credit unions to modernise expand and become financially sustainable.
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Cabinet Office
Agriculture: Barnsley
Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in Barnsley East constituency are employed in the agriculture sector. [161557]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking how many people in Barnsley East constituency are employed in the agriculture sector [161557].
Annual employment statistics are available from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). Due to the ONS policy on statistical rounding and disclosure for BRES, employment values are rounded to the nearest 100. As such, the number of people in Barnsley East constituency employed in the agriculture sector is less than 50 and therefore rounds to zero.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
Community Development
Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Big Society community organisers have been trained to date. [161286]
Mr Hurd: As at the end of April, 1,168 community organisers have been trained, including 311 senior community organisers.
Death
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the mortality rates were for working age (a) men and (b) women (i) nationally, (ii) in each constituent part of the UK and (iii) in each region in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [161811]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the mortality rates were for working age (a) men and (b) women (i) nationally and (ii) in each constituent part of the UK and each region in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement (161811)
Table 1 provides age-standardised mortality rates for males and females aged 16 to 64 years in the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and regions of England, for deaths registered between 2002 and 2011 (the latest year available). A copy of Table 1 has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
The number of deaths registered in England and Wales, by sex, age group and underlying cause of death are available on the ONS website:
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/mortality-statistics--deaths-registered-in-england-and-wales--series-dr-/index.html
Mortality data for Scotland are available from National Records of Scotland:
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www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/vital-events/deaths/index.html
Mortality data for Northern Ireland are available from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency:
www.nisra.gov.uk/demography/default.asp14.htm
Employment: Norfolk
Simon Wright: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate his Department has made of the net change in the number of people employed in (a) Norfolk and (b) Norwich South constituency in each of the last five years. [161810]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking what estimate his department has made of the net change in the number of people employed in (a) Norfolk and (b) Norwich South in each of the last five years. (161810)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. However, estimates of the net change in employment for the requested periods in Norwich South constituency are not available, due to small sample sizes.
The table shows the number and net change of people employed in Norfolk. These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period January 2012 to December 2012, the latest period available, and the 12 month periods ending in December in each year since 2008.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
| Table 1: Net change in the number of people employed in Norfolk | ||
| Thousand | ||
| 12 months ending December: | Number of people employed aged 16 and over | Net change in employment(1) (+/-) |
| (1) The net change is calculated on unrounded figures. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality following. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV = 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey | ||
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Government Departments: Procurement
Stephen Phillips: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of the performance of his Department's efforts to open up Government procurement to British small and medium-sized enterprises. [161359]
Miss Chloe Smith: It is this Government's aspiration that, by the end of this Parliament, 25% of direct and indirect Government procurement by value should go to SMEs. Spend with SMEs across Government has steadily increased since 2010 as a result of the steps we have taken. We have required all Departments to put in place plans to ensure that their spend with small companies continues to increase.
The Cabinet Office will be publishing a further report on progress shortly.
The Government are also providing industry with visibility of up to £79 billion of potential procurement opportunities across 18 sectors by publishing pipelines of future demand, meaning that British firms of all sizes will be in a good position to gear up in order to deliver Government's needs.
Honours: Scotland
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to his answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 514W, on honours: Scotland, what the name is of each person nominated to the Honours Committee since May 2007 who has subsequently received an honour. [161520]
Mr Maude: These nominations will have originated from a number of sources, such as the Scottish Government itself, the voluntary and private sectors and from members of the public. All nominations received for people living and working in Scotland are sent, in the first instance, to the Scottish Government. A list of the successful candidates submitted by the Scottish Government to the Cabinet Office for consideration by the independent Honours Committees since May 2007 will be placed in the Library of the House.
Life Expectancy
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the life expectancy at birth was for (a) men and (b) women (i) nationally, (ii) in each constituent part of the UK and (iii) in each region in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [161812]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Secretary of State for Health what the life expectancy at birth is for (a) men and (b) women (i) nationally and (ii) in each constituent part of the UK and each region in each of the last 10 years. (161812)
Life expectancy figures are calculated as three year rolling averages. Table 1 provides the period life expectancy at birth for males and females in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, English Regions and the UK for the period 1999-2001 to 2008-2010
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{the latest figures available). A copy of Table 1 has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Period life expectancies at birth for males and females for the UK, each constituent part of the UK arid each region, for rolling three-year periods from 1991-1993 onwards are published on the National Statistics website at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health4/life-expec-at-birth-age-65/index.html
Ovarian Cancer
Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in the UK have ovarian cancer; what the age group is of such people; and what their life expectancy is. [161831]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the UK have ovarian cancer; what the age group is of such people; and what their life expectancy is [161831].
The Office for National Statistics maintains the national cancer registry for England. Cancer statistics published by ONS are therefore for England only. Figures for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are available from the Cancer Registries representing those countries.
The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2011.
Table 1 provides the number of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer in women in England, by five year age group for the year 2011. Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of women diagnosed with cancer, because one person may be diagnosed with more than one cancer.
Estimates of life expectancy for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are not available. ONS publishes one and five-year cancer net survival estimates for England, for 21 common cancers. Ovarian cancer is one of these common cancers. Table 2 provides one and five-year net survival estimates for those women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2006-2010.
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The latest published figures on cancer incidence in England are available on the National Statistics website at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-statistics-registrations--england--series-mb1-/index.html
The latest published figures on cancer survival in England are available on the National Statistics website at:
http://www:ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/cancer-unit/cancer-survival/index.html
| Table 1: Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer(1) by 5-year age group, England, 2011(2, 3) | |
| Age group | Registrations |
| (1) Cancer of the ovary is coded as C56 according to the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (2) Cancer incidence figures are based on newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year. (3 )Based on boundaries as of May 2013. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) | |
| Table 2: One-year and five-year net survival (percentage)(1), with 95% confidence intervals (CI)(2), for women (15-99 years)(3) diagnosed with ovarian cancer(4) during 2006-2010: England | |||||||
| One-year survival | Five-year survival | ||||||
| Age group | Number of patients | Percentage | 95% | CI | Percentage | 95% | CI |
| (1) Net survival is an estimate of the probability of survival for the given time after diagnosis of the cancer, assuming that no other cause of death occurs. (2) A 95% confidence interval is a measure of the uncertainty around an estimate. It provides a range around the estimated value within which we have a 95% level of confidence that the true value for the population is likely to fall. (3) All women (aged 15-99 years) in England who were diagnosed during 2006-2010 with ovarian cancer as an invasive, primary, malignant neoplasm were eligible for analysis. Ineligible patients were those whose tumour was benign (not malignant) or in situ (malignant but not invasive) or of uncertain behaviour (uncertain whether benign or malignant), or for which the organ of origin was unknown. (4) Ovarian cancer is coded as C56 in the international Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Source: Office for National Statistics and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. | |||||||
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Prostate Cancer
Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many people have been diagnosed with prostate cancer in each year from 2007 to 2012; [161827]
(2) what the age group of those diagnosed with prostate cancer was in each year since 2007. [161828]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking the Secretary of State for Health (a) how many people have been diagnosed with prostate cancer in each year from 2007 to 2012 [161827]; and (b) what the age group of those diagnosed with prostate cancer was in each year since 2007 [161828].
The Office, for National Statistics maintains, the national cancer registry for England. Cancer statistics published by ONS are therefore for England only. Figures for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are available from the Cancer. Registries representing those countries.
The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2011.
Table 1 provides the number of newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer in men in England, by five year age group for each of the years 2007 to 2011.
Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer, because a man may be diagnosed with more than one primary prostate cancer over time, although this is rare.
The latest published figures on cancer incidence in England are available on the National Statistics website at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-statistics-registrations--england--series-mb1-/index.html
| Table 1: Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer(1) by 5-year age group, England, 2007-2011(2,3) | |||||
| Registrations | |||||
| Year | |||||
| Age group | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
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| (1) Cancer of the prostate is coded as C61 according to the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10) (2) Cancer incidence figures are based on newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year. (3) Based on boundaries as of May 2013. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) | |||||
Unemployment: Coastal Areas
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the unemployment rate was in each of the principal seaside towns in each of the last 30 years. [161846]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking what the unemployment rate was in each of the principal seaside towns in each of the last 30 years (161846).
Although not a standard ONS geography, the concept of principal seaside towns in Great Britain was covered in the report “The Seaside Economy”, by Beatty and Fothergill (Sheffield Hallam University, June 2003 (updated June 2010)) and has been referred to in parliamentary debate and used for other parliamentary questions on a number of occasions since. There is no equivalent definition of seaside towns for Northern Ireland.
Estimates of unemployment are not produced for the principal seaside towns in Great Britain. Instead we have provided estimates relating to the local authorities associated with each of these towns using model based estimates of unemployment for the 12 month periods ending in December for 2004 to 2012. Estimates are not available for earlier periods from this source.
These figures, along with a wide range of other labour market data for parliamentary constituencies and local authorities, are also published on the Office for National Statistics' Nomis website:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
| Table 1: Unemployment rate(1) in principal seaside towns | ||||||||||
| Percentage | ||||||||||
| 12 months ending December | ||||||||||
| Principal seaside town | Local authority | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
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| (1) Number of unemployed divided by the number of economically active. Source: Model based estimates of unemployment | ||||||||||
Defence
Afghanistan
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what equipment he proposes will (a) remain at Lashkar Gah, (b) be moved to Camp Bastion and (c) be returned to the UK; [160994]
(2) when the last service person stationed in Lashkar Gah will leave. [160995]
Mr Robathan: Future base reductions will be carried out in line with UK withdrawal plans. As part of these plans the UK base in Lashkar Gar is due to be closed in 2014.
Equipment and material will only be redeployed from Afghanistan once operational commanders are content that it is no longer required. In some cases we will not redeploy material because it is beyond economic repair or does not represent good value for money to return it to the UK. If we decide not to redeploy an item we have several options for disposal; these include sale, scrap and gifting.
Freedom of Information
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to reply to the Freedom of Information request from the hon. Member for Bridgend, reference MM/JH/29/04/2013 dated 29 April 2013. [161329]
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Mr Dunne: A response was sent to the hon. Member on 26 June 2013.
Energy and Climate Change
Energy Companies Obligation
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2013, Official Report, column 155W, on the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO), if he will take steps to collect data on the number of (a) oil-fired boilers and (b) LPG-fired boilers installed under the ECO scheme. [161317]
Gregory Barker: We will be publishing information relating to ECO measures which have been delivered and notified to Ofgem in an Official Statistics release on 27 June. However, these data will not be able to distinguish between oil-fired and LPG-fired boilers. For further information about measures available under ECO please see:
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/ ECO/Info-for-suppliers/Documents1/Energy%20Companies%20Obligation%20ECO%20-%20List%20of%20Measures%20and%20Additional%20 Information.pdf
Energy: Prices
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the average annual energy bill for (a) dual fuel and (b) non-dual fuel for customers paying (i) standard credit, (ii) direct debit and (iii) pre-payment in each region. [161932]
Michael Fallon: DECC does not publish estimates of energy bills for dual fuel and non-dual fuel customers. However, it does produce estimates of annual gas and standard electricity bills for customers paying by standard credit, direct debit and pre-payment meter in various towns and cities in the UK (representing the regions). These can be found in table 2.2.3 (standard electricity) and 2.3.3 (gas) of the Quarterly Energy Prices (QEP) publication:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics
These bills are based on an assumed level of consumption of 3,300 kWh of standard electricity and 18,000 kWh of gas per year. Dual fuel discounts vary considerably between suppliers.
Public Expenditure
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 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. [161177]
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Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change considers equality issues in exercising its functions, including in setting priorities within its budget, in order to comply with equality legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities will affect specific groups in society.
DECC provided HM Treasury with an equalities assessment of its main areas of expenditure, as well as some additional areas of spending that have particular equalities impacts, both before and during the spending round process.
DECC's overall spending round submission was informed by its own equality assessments and by the SR equalities assessment commissioned by HMT.
This Government have been clear that formal Equality Impact Assessment documents are not required in order to ensure compliance with the legal responsibility to consider equality impacts.
The assessment of equalities feeds in to both spending round decisions and future decisions by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The outcome of the spending round will be published today.
Termination of Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 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. [160905]
Gregory Barker: Our records show that 11 compromise agreements and two judicial mediations were concluded in the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2013. As the numbers by year are too small to report this represents the total number of agreements and judicial mediations across the Department of Energy and Climate Change and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPB's).
Typically all agreements will include a confidentiality clause preventing disclosure of the terms of the settlement to anyone other than the employee or former employees immediate family, professional adviser or as otherwise required by law.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Belarus
Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage the development of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Belarus. [161321]
Mr Lidington:
The UK works with international partners, and multilateral organisations, including the UN, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the Council of Europe, as well as with Belarusian civil society and relevant parts of the Government, to promote reform in Belarus. The UK remains a strong supporter of the EU's policy of critical engagement with Belarus, including restrictive measures. On 15 October 2012 the EU's Foreign Affairs Council
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extended sanctions to a year. We welcomed the UN Human Rights Council's 13 June extension of the mandate of a Special Rapporteur on Belarus. We continue to urge the Government of Belarus to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur. I met Belarus human rights defenders on 5 June and stressed UK opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances. In my statement following the meeting, I urged Belarus to introduce a moratorium on executions immediately, and release and rehabilitate all political prisoners.
Billing
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the savings it could achieve by paying its suppliers early in return for rebates. [161054]
Mr Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office adheres to the Government's prompt payment code and aims to pays its suppliers within 10 working days as stated on our website. Our standard payment terms remain at 30 days. We have not undertaken any specific exercise to evaluate savings to be made from making payments earlier than 10 days.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospects for long-term stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement. [160999]
Mr Lidington: This Government believe that the strongest way to ensure the long-term stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina is through membership of the EU and NATO. Our assessment is that there has not been any substantive progress toward this goal this year. Current political crises in the Federation and in Mostar and continuing ethnic tensions show that stability is not yet entrenched. We will continue to encourage Bosnia and Herzegovina's political leaders to make the reforms needed for progress towards the EU and NATO, and in so doing help ensure the long-term stability of the country.
Burma
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the treatment by the Burmese army of ethnic minority peoples in that country. [161347]
Mr Swire: We note the involvement of senior Burmese military in the most recent talks between the Kachin Independence Organisation and the Burmese Government in May, the outcomes of which I welcomed in a statement on 6 June.
However, we are very concerned by reports from a number of sources, including from the UN Special Rapporteur for Burma, Tomas Quintana in February 2013, which have set out incidents of forced labour, rape and sexual violence, arbitrary detention and other human rights violations by the Burmese military. Many of these abuses have been reported in ethnic areas, including in Kachin, Shan and Karen states.
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We continue to raise our concerns about human rights, particularly in ethnic areas, on a regular basis in meetings with senior Burmese Ministers. We appointed a Defence Attaché to Burma in February 2013 to build relationships with the Burmese military. The Chief of Defence Staff visited Burma from 2-4 June, where he met with Burma's President, Commander in Chief, lead negotiators in the peace process and ethnic leaders. He emphasised to them the importance of professionalising the Burmese military and pursuing a sustainable peace process in Burma's ethnic areas. The focus of our defence engagement in Burma will be on adherence to the core principles of democratic accountability and human rights. We want to see a Burmese army that protects and respects, and is in turn respected by, the Burmese people.
Colombia
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 485W, on Colombia, what response he has received from the Colombian Attorney General; if he will place a copy of this response in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [161328]
Mr Swire: We are expecting a reply to our letter of 11 June shortly. We will also place a copy in the Library of the House.
Human Trafficking
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether awareness-raising seminars on human trafficking are organised for his Department's staff prior to posting abroad. [161024]
Mr Swire: Staff of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) do not receive awareness-raising seminars on human trafficking prior to posting abroad. The activities that the FCO undertakes to combat trafficking overseas are political lobbying and intervention and reintegration projects, as mandated through the Government strategy. As such, there is little front-line contact of staff with potential victims, particularly in a first responder role overseas.
Human trafficking training is mandatory for all Home Office Immigration and Visas staff who manage and process applications under this system. This helps them to identify those who might have been trafficked and understand the steps that should be taken to safeguard possible victims. In addition, seminars and conferences are arranged with local partners in countries where there is a known threat.
Sexual Offences
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how he plans to measure the success of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative up to the planned review of this issue by the G8 in 2015. [161073]
Mark Simmonds:
The FCO team, together with other UK Government Departments is developing a G8 implementation plan. This identifies who is responsible for the various commitments made in the April G8
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Declaration. The FCO will monitor the progress of this plan on a regular basis with DFID, the MOD and the UN. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), will continue to report on progress in respect of G8 implementation to his Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative Steering Board, which includes senior representatives from NGOs and civil society.
We will continue to monitor the impact of the ongoing political campaign on PSVI as well as our practical action. This will involve an assessment of the extent to which it has encouraged greater national and international commitment and action. An example of a successful outcome was the signing of a Joint Communique between the UN and the Government of Somalia on action on sexual violence at the London conference in May. The UK's work with the Federal Government of Somalia in its preparations helped provide the foundations for the Federal Government of Somalia to work with the UN on sexual violence in the future.
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department's funding for the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative will be made available; and how that funding will be delivered. [161074]
Mark Simmonds: Since preventing sexual violence in conflict is critical to addressing long term conflict reduction and peace building, funds are currently allocated to the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative from geographical Conflict Pool programmes.
On 11 April, at the launch of the G8 Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), also announced £5 million, over three years, of FCO funding to support grassroots and human rights projects on sexual violence in conflict, and wider projects to tackle violence against women and girls. This will be provided through the Human Rights and Democracy programme, the FCO's dedicated source of funding for human rights projects overseas. The open bidding round for these funds will be announced in July on the FCO's website. Funding will be allocated to high quality proposals in line with the bidding criteria. We expect that the majority of projects will be implemented by local or international civil society organisations, overseen by UK Embassies and High Commissions.
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has to discuss the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative at the UN General Assembly Ministerial Week. [161075]
Mark Simmonds: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), intends to host a high level side event during the UN General Assembly Ministerial Week, the purpose of which is to take the political campaign on preventing sexual violence in conflict to a wider UN audience and press for more concerted action . We hope as many countries as possible will join us in endorsing a high level statement of action.
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Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that projects specifically for children receive funding from the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative. [161076]
Mark Simmonds: The Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) recognises that sexual violence in conflict not only affects women, but also men and children. Our work reflects this and aims to support all survivors of sexual violence. For example, the UK team of experts includes experts in investigating and prosecuting sexual crimes committed against children, providing psychosocial assistance and medical treatment to child survivors and multi-disciplinary gender-based violence and child protection responses.
On 11 April, at the launch of the G8 Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), announced £5 million (over three years) of FCO funding to support grassroots and human rights projects on sexual violence in conflict. Funding will be allocated to high quality proposals. All organisations and NGOs who are eligible can bid for funds, including those working directly in support of children affected by sexual violence in conflict.
The G8 Declaration contains a number of commitments specific to children, including the deployment of Child Protection Advisers within appropriate UN and other peacekeeping operations to ensure that children are protected in conflict situations: assisting conflict-affected countries to ensure that their national security sector and justice reform programmes are child centred; and support for the mandate of the UN Secretary General's Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict. At the launch of the Declaration the Foreign Secretary announced £150,000 funding to the Office of the UN Secretary General's Special Representative on Children in Armed Conflict. These measures, alongside the broader provisions of the Declaration, reflect a clear determination to address the issue of sexual violence committed against Children in conflict.