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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 2 July 2013
Communities and Local Government
Conditions of Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [160763]
Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies had no staff retained on zero-hour contracts in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
In 2012-13 the Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies had no staff retained on zero-hour contracts and the core Department had two.
One of these was Sir Ken Knight, chief fire and rescue adviser. He moved on to a zero-hour contract on 1 November 2012. This was a short-term arrangement so that the Department still had access to professional advice until a new appointment had been made, and to enable Sir Ken Knight to complete the efficiencies review of the fire and rescues in England.
Sir Ken's replacement, Peter Holland, started in the Department on 28 January 2013, and Sir Ken worked on the handover of role and on the efficiencies review until his departure on 21 June 2013.
The other member of staff was a short-term, fixed appointment who was retained on a zero-hour contract for 30-days over a period of three months to take lead responsibility for finalising and sign off the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation accounts following closure. The arrangement ended on 31 May 2013.
Electronic Commerce
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department's policy is on mitigating the effects of e-commerce on UK high street retailers. [162841]
Mr Prisk: Electronic and mobile commerce is changing consumer preferences on how and where they shop. This is changing the nature of retail, and thereby the nature of the high street. However it is not a matter of internet versus high street; it is both a challenge, and an opportunity. The high street can offer so much more: a bustling centre to a community, where people can gather for cultural, entertainment and social activities, as well as shopping, eating, and evening activities.
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It is vital that high streets and the retailers who trade there develop their own strategies to adapt to the massive structural changes that they face. Many small businesses and independent retailers are trading very successfully online, and many have grown as a result of trading this way. We should recognise that changing technologies have benefited consumers, in the form of greater choice, more convenience and competitive prices. This should be welcomed rather than something to be denigrated.
This Government have acted to close down the VAT loophole that some online retailers in the Channel Islands were using unfairly to compete against UK-based businesses.
This continues to be an evolving area, and one in which the role of government is as an enabler. The UK has some of the most competitive and innovative retailers in the world, and it is right that they are free to deliver what customers want. Retailers who are not responsive to that will struggle.
The Association of Town and City Management is leading a £1 million, two-year programme of work funded by DCLG to support and develop high streets and town centres, providing support on business planning, offering advice and developing 'how to' guides. The programme is designed to develop high streets fit for the 21st century, and will look at how communities can plan to meet their changing needs.
The Future High Streets Forum brings together leaders from retail, property, business, academies, voluntary sector, civil society and Government to better understand the competition town centres across the country face, and to drive forward new ideas and policies to help the high street compete and adapt. Groups within the forum will look at detailed and practical work in areas such as consolidating research on high street trends.
Housing Act 2004
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the rate of prosecution for failure to comply with a notice issued under section 35 of the Housing Act 2004. [162405]
Mr Prisk: An assessment of the rate of prosecutions has not been made. Local authorities have extensive powers to tackle poor property conditions in their area, including being able to prosecute landlords who fail to repair properties that are in a hazardous condition. We encourage local authorities to use those powers where appropriate. Prosecution is generally a last resort undertaken where the landlord has failed to comply with an improvement notice or prohibition order and is not necessarily a good indication of the scale or effectiveness of enforcement action.
Out of Town Shopping Centres: Planning Permission
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many requests for planning permission for out-of-town retail developments within 10 miles of Portas pilot towns his Department has received in each of the last three years. [162737]
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Mr Prisk [holding answer 1 July 2013]:The vast majority of planning applications are made to local planning authorities. The Department does not therefore hold the detailed information requested. The official statistics collected include information on total planning permissions granted by local planning authorities but these are not disaggregated by location.
Retail Trade: Debts
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of current levels of property indebtedness in the high street retail sector. [162736]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 1 July 2013]:We do not collect these data.
The findings from the Distressed Retail Property Taskforce are expected in the autumn. This should provide valuable insights into the key challenges associated with high street property. Government will be looking at these findings to inform ongoing work.
Urban Areas: Regeneration
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for how long the Future High Streets Forum is expected to run. [162149]
Mr Prisk: As agreed at its first meeting, the forum will meet approximately every three months up to April 2015.
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how his Department intends to promote the work and recommendations of the Future High Streets Forum. [162167]
Mr Prisk: All minutes and papers related to the forum are published on the departmental website. The forum will work together to promote its work and recommendations, and ensure that it is successful in driving forward new ideas and solutions.
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects the Future High Streets Forum's practical toolkit to be published. [162168]
Mr Prisk: The Future High Streets Forum was established in March 2013, and brings together leaders across retail, property and business to better understand the competition faced by town centres across the country and drive forward new ideas and policies. The forum has established three task and finish groups, one of which has committed to creating a compelling vision of what the town centre and high street of the future will look like, supported by templates (previously referred to as a toolkit) that can be used by individual towns to develop their local visions.
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the cost of the Future High Streets Forum. [162169]
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Mr Prisk: The Future High Streets Forum was established in March 2013 and brings together leaders across retail, property and business to better understand the competition faced by town centres across the country and drive forward new ideas and policies. All members are giving their time unpaid. There are therefore no costs currently associated with the forum.
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria were used to decide the membership of the Future High Streets Forum. [162172]
Mr Prisk: The Future High Streets Forum was established in March 2013 and brings together leaders across retail, property and business to better understand the competition faced by town centres across the country and drive forward new ideas and policies. It is co-chaired by me and Alliance Boots executive Alex Gourlay. The membership reflects individual expertise as well as seeking to achieve a balanced representation across retail, property, business, academics, voluntary sector, civil society and government.
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the membership of the task and finish groups of the Future High Streets Forum will be. [162232]
Mr Prisk: The Future High Streets Forum has established three task and finish groups, with membership at their first meetings as follows:
Task and Finish Group 1, looking at supporting local leadership: the Association of Town and City Management, British BIDs, Business in the Community, the Co-operative, Costa Coffee at Whitbread, the Federation of Small Businesses, Gloucester (GFirst) Local Enterprise Partnership, the Local Government Association, the National Market Traders Federation, the National Skills Academy for Retail, Post Office Ltd.
Task and Finish Group 2, looking at barriers and enablers to success: the Association of Convenience Stores, the Association of Market Towns, the Association of Town and City Management, Boots, the British Council of Shopping Centres, the British Independent Retailers Association, the British Property Federation, Dartford Council, Enterprise Nation, John Lewis Partnership, Live Unlimited, Locality, the National Association of British Market Authorities, Stanhope plc.
Task and Finish Group 3, looking at research and the future of the high street: the Association of Town and City Management, the British Retail Consortium, Colliers International, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department of Communities and Local Government, Portas Agency, Southampton University, Tesco, Vodafone.
The chairman of each task and finish group may change the membership as required to respond to changing priorities in the future.
Wind Power: Planning Permission
Mr Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 6 June 2013, Official Report, columns 113-5WS, on onshore wind (local planning), if he will expedite the publication of the planning guidelines referred to in that statement. [162261]
Mr Prisk:
We will publish the new practice guidance shortly. Notwithstanding, we have already written to local authorities and the Planning Inspectorate to draw
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their attention to the new approach outlined in the written ministerial statement of 6 June 2013,
Official Report
, columns 113-5WS, to assist them in their consideration of current and future planning applications.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Common Fisheries Policy
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the UK fishing industry has received from (a) the Government and (b) the Common Fisheries Policy in the last 10 years. [160690]
Richard Benyon: Since 1 January 2000 the UK fishing industry has benefited from financial assistance from two European Union funding schemes that have been set up to support the delivery of the Common Fisheries Policy, and associated matched funding from central Government and other public bodies such as local authorities.
In the UK, many elements of fisheries management are devolved and therefore funded by devolved Administrations.
The table outlines how much funding the English(1) fishing industry has received.
(1) The information provided is limited to England as full data for the UK are not held centrally as both FIFG (Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance) and the EFF (European Fisheries Fund) are devolved schemes in the UK.
| £ million | ||||
| Scheme | European Union Funding | Central Government funding (DEFRA) | Other public funding (e.g. local authorities) | Total |
| (1) The Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance Scheme—covered the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2006 and was succeeded by the European Fisheries Fund. (2) The European Fisheries Fund—covering the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 and will be succeeded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. | ||||
MITIE Group
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008. [162464]
Richard Benyon: There is no record of any contract or spend with MITIE by core DEFRA during this period.
Mobile Phones
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to his Department. [162686]
Richard Benyon:
Core DEFRA has a contract with Vodafone under the Government procurement services
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framework arrangement RM526/L1 for Mobile Solutions II and a contract with Orange Personal Communications Ltd.
Vodafone is the main provider for mobile phone and data services to core DEFRA. Orange provides these services where the Vodafone coverage is weak.
The current contract arrangements are in place until 30 March 2015 for Vodaphone and 16 January 2014 for Orange.
Sea Level: Poole
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the expected long-term sea level rise in Poole Bay; and if he will make a statement. [162250]
Richard Benyon: The UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) provide the current assessment of long-term sea level rise. Although the recent measured rise in sea level has been about 1.5 mm each year we estimate that by the end of this century it will be rising by 10 mm each year. By 2060 we expect sea levels to be at least 200 mm higher and probably over 400 mm higher, than they were in 1990. Sea levels could be over 700 mm higher by 2100.
Shoreline Management Plans (SMP) provide a large-scale assessment of the physical risks associated with coastal processes and present a long-term policy framework to reduce these risks. The SMP covering Poole Bay concluded that most of the developed coastline should continue to be defended, although some defences may need to be moved or altered. It also recognised the uncertainty about how some areas, in particular around Poole harbour mouth, will evolve.
Water Supply
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure the UK's future water supplies are protected. [162220]
Richard Benyon: There are a range of controls in place in the UK to prevent contamination of water resources.
The Water Bill, introduced into the House of Commons on 27 June, will help to reduce the risks and pressures placed on our water supplies by encouraging new companies to enter the water sector. These new companies: might offer new water sources or innovative ways for dealing with waste water; will make it easier for water companies to trade water with each other, increasing flexibility in the system particularly during periods of drought; and will make it easier for owners of small-scale water storage who have excess capacity to sell water into the water supply market.
The Bill also places a new duty on the Secretary of State, the Welsh Ministers and Ofwat to work to improve resilience. This may include promoting long-term planning and appropriate investment and the full range of appropriate measures to manage water resources and to secure effectual drainage; for example, relevant activities to reduce consumer demand and to ensure the effective management of water resources both within the network and in the wider water environment.
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Furthermore water companies have a statutory duty to maintain adequate supplies of wholesome water and are currently consulting on their new long-term water resources management plans for the period 2015-40. All of this will help to ensure that the UK's future water supplies are protected.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Rehabilitation
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to maximise the number of patients offered alcohol-related treatment or referral to a support service. [162839]
Anna Soubry: Public Health England (PHE) is the new executive agency of the Department of Health with the role of supporting local authorities responsible for public health. Provision of alcohol treatment is the responsibility of local authorities, which commission interventions to meet assessed local needs.
PHE will support local authorities through its work programme which includes a range of actions such as:
implementation of the alcohol health check in line with guidance;
significant expansion of identification and brief advice for alcohol problems across the health (particularly in primary care) and social care and criminal justice sectors;
promoting effective models of hospital-based alcohol services, working in liaison with specialist community treatment services;
increased involvement of primary care in providing alcohol interventions; and
improving the targeting and accessibility of specialist alcohol treatment services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance (including using primary care as access point for entry into treatment, or providing treatment interventions).
Billing
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque. [162634]
Dr Poulter: The Department does not routinely collect data on the cost of processing invoices for payment.
All invoices received by the Department are paid electronically. This has been the case since August 2006. No cheque payments have been made since that date.
Cancer
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will work with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations to issue a UK-wide campaign on the signs and symptoms of cancer. [162603]
Anna Soubry: There are no plans for a United Kingdom-wide signs and symptoms campaign on cancer. Public Health England works closely with the devolved Administrations to ensure consistency of messaging on campaigns.
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Cancer: Drugs
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what information his Department holds on plans to introduce a value-based pricing system for medicines currently funded by the Cancer Drugs Fund; [162362]
(2) if he will estimate the saving to the NHS of introducing a value-based pricing system for medicines currently funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund; [162363]
(3) what representations he has received regarding the transition arrangements for medicines currently funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund, when the fund ceases operation in 2014. [162364]
Norman Lamb: Value-based pricing will focus primarily on new medicines; therefore no estimate of any savings relating to medicines currently funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund has been made.
It is possible that a small number of existing drugs could be assessed under value-based pricing. However, we expect any such cases to be exceptional, and it is not our intention routinely to re-assess under value-based pricing treatments already appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
We have received a number of representations from hon. Members, noble Lords, members of the public, patient groups and the pharmaceutical industry with regard to the future of the fund.
Childbirth
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies were born in each consultant-led and midwife-led maternity unit in England in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13. [162497]
Dr Poulter: This information is not collected in the format requested. Information regarding maternity deliveries by type of hospital ward for each hospital trust in England for 2010-11 and 2011-12 is set out in tables which have been placed in the Library.
David Nicholson
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health of which pension scheme Sir David Nicholson is a member in respect of his employment by the NHS. [162791]
Dr Poulter: Sir David Nicholson is a member of the premium scheme within the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Death: Social Class
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of social class on the likely incidence of death due to (a) cancer, (b) heart disease and (c) other causes. [162765]
Anna Soubry:
The 2010 strategic review of health inequalities in England “(Fair Society, Healthy Lives)” led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot observed a social gradient in health—the lower the person's social position,
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the worse his or her health. There is a clear social gradient in the incidence of both cancer and circulatory disease (heart disease and stroke), and in other diseases. Cancer represents around half of all deaths in the under 75s. Cardio-vascular disease is the largest single cause of long-term ill health and disability. The burden of disease falls disproportionately on people living in deprived conditions.
The call to action to reduce avoidable premature mortality in the under 75s “(Living Well for Longer, 2013)” aims to reduce avoidable mortality in the five big killer diseases across the social gradient, to match the best in Europe.. These diseases are cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory and liver disease. The call to action confirms this social gradient in each of these major causes of premature death. For example, more than twice as many people from the poorest backgrounds die of circulatory disease as those from the most affluent backgrounds.
This call to action is a priority for the new health system and builds on current work such as the National Cancer Equality Initiative, which makes it clear that tackling health inequality is essential to improving outcomes and achieving cancer survival rates that match the best performing countries in the world; and the NHS and public health outcomes frameworks. Working in partnership across the system, we will improve access to healthcare and treatment and tackle unhealthy lifestyles—such as smoking, obesity and physical inactivity, which also show a social gradient—while addressing the social determinants of health across Government.
The 2012 Health and Social Care Act introduced the first ever, statutory health inequalities duties. The duties on NHS England and clinical commissioning groups include consideration of the need to reduce inequalities in both access to health services and the outcomes achieved and will make tackling health inequalities central to the functioning of the national health service.
Epilepsy: Pregnant Women
Mr Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of pregnant women between the ages of 18 to 54 taking anti-epileptic drugs received information and counselling about contraception and conception in 2012. [162170]
Anna Soubry: This information is not held centrally.
Clinicians are responsible for meeting the individual health care needs of their patients, and would be expected to provide high-quality contraception and conception advice to patients with epilepsy as part of their programme of care.
Mr Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the advice on training given to prescribing physicians under the quality and outcomes framework on the effect of anti-epileptic medications during pregnancy. [162171]
Norman Lamb: The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produce guidance which sits alongside the quality and outcomes framework on the prescribing of anti-epileptic drugs during pregnancy. NHS England has advised that it would expect clinicians to follow NICE guidance. The guidance can be found at:
http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG137
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In addition, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists runs a training programme for clinicians which includes modules on prescribing anti-epileptic medicine during pregnancy.
General Practitioners
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that documents and pamphlets which are available from GP surgeries and health centres are clear and easy to read. [162596]
Dr Poulter: As independent contractors, it is for general practitioner (GP) practices to ensure any information they produce for their patients is in a format which is clear and easy to read.
The contracts under which GPs provide national health service primary medical services require practices to comply with all relevant legislation, including the requirements in the Equality Act 2010 regarding the provision of information in an accessible format in certain circumstances.
If a patient has difficulty in accessing any documents provided by the practice they may raise the matter with the practice informally or formally through the NHS complaints process.
Health
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many companies are signed up to the calorie reduction pledge in the Responsibility Deal. [163025]
Anna Soubry: Thirty-four companies are currently signed up as partners to the Responsibility Deal calorie reduction pledge. We are seeking further sign up to the pledge from across all sectors of the food industry, in particular businesses providing food in out-of-home settings.
Signatories to the calorie reduction pledge can be found at:
https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/pledges/pledge/?pI=23
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what budget has been allocated for the delivery of the public health responsibility deal. [163026]
Anna Soubry: In 2013-14 the Department has allocated funding of up to £200,000 to cover costs relating to the central running of the Public Health Responsibility Deal.
Implementation of the responsibility deal pledges will be carried out by partner organisations and the costs of doing this will be incurred by these organisations.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on achieving the calorie reduction pledge in the responsibility deal; and if he will make a statement. [163027]
Anna Soubry: The responsibility deal calorie reduction pledge enables business to contribute to our challenge to the nation, issued as part of the “Call to action on obesity in England” in 2011, to reduce total calorie consumption by 5 billion calories a day.
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In total, 34 companies have made commitments so far under the pledge and are taking steps such as product and menu reformulation, reviewing portion sizes, education and information initiatives, and actions to shift the marketing mix towards lower calorie options. It is not possible to measure the exact contribution of business's actions to changes in consumers' calorie consumption.
Departmental Ministers and officials are currently engaged in discussions with food producers, retailers and others to help ensure the largest number of companies make credible commitments against the pledge.
Details of companies' annual updates on how they are helping to deliver the calorie reduction pledge are available at:
https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/pledges/pledge/?pI=23
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff are employed for the delivery of the public health responsibility deal. [163028]
Anna Soubry: The responsibility deal is supported by a central programme team which consists of four full-time equivalent members of staff employed to support its delivery.
The networks receive support from the obesity and food, alcohol, health at work and physical activity policy teams as required.
Hospitals: Mergers
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS hospitals (a) are considering mergers and (b) have merged since the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. [162143]
Anna Soubry: The information is not held by the Department centrally.
The NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA) has advised that it is working with 14 national health service trusts on some form of organisational transaction (potentially a merger or acquisition). These organisations are:
North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust
South London Healthcare NHS Trust
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust
Northwest London Hospitals NHS Trust
Ealing Hospitals NHS Trust
Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust
West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust
Bedford Hospital NHS Trust
Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust
Wye Valley NHS Trust
Weston Area Health NHS Trust
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust
The NHS TDA has confirmed that no NHS trust mergers have taken place since the organisation became fully operational on 1 April 2013.
Monitor has advised me that it is aware of four foundation trusts (FTs) that are formally engaged with regulatory authorities on a merger or have made a submission to Monitor.
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The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch NHS FT and Poole NHS FT
Medway NHS FT with Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
Kings College Hospital NHS FT and Princess Royal Hospital (part of South London NHS Trust)
Human Tissue Act 2004
Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce extraterritorial jurisdiction to the Human Tissue Act 2004. [162255]
Anna Soubry: We have no current plans to bring forward such proposals.
Legal Costs
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on external lawyers' fees in the last year for which figures are available. [162517]
Dr Poulter: Information held by the Department for the financial year 2012-13 shows the Department spent £3,536,934 on external lawyers.
Medical Detection Dogs
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the role of medical detection dogs; and if he will make a statement. [162840]
Norman Lamb: Although there is interest in the concept of using dogs for medical detection purposes, there is not yet an established level of evidence to support the systematic application of their use within the national health service at this time.
Mobile Phones
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to his Department. [162688]
Dr Poulter: The Department's mobile telephones and mobile data services are provided by Vodaphone through our contract with our current information, communication and technology service providers, Computer Sciences Corporation.
NHS England
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether Barbara Hakin's appointment as interim chief operating officer and deputy chief executive of NHS England in March 2013 (a) required and (b) received ministerial approval. [162787]
Dr Poulter: The appointment of Barbara Hakin as interim chief operating officer and deputy chief executive of NHS England in March 2013 did not require ministerial approval.
Charlotte Leslie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the roles of interim chief operating
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officer and deputy chief executive of NHS England were subject to the required processes in respect of
(a)
advertising and
(b)
interviewing. [162847]
Dr Poulter: Appointments to the roles of chief operating officer and deputy chief executive are the responsibility of NHS England. NHS England advises that the interim appointment in March 2013 of Barbara Hakin to the post of chief operating officer and deputy chief executive was in line with its policy on making interim appointments. This does not require external advertising or interview where a suitable internal candidate has been identified.
NHS: Managers
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues to the NHS on avoiding conflicts of interest in making managerial appointments. [162788]
Dr Poulter: National health service organisations have robust arrangements for addressing possible conflicts of interest in making managerial appointments based on long-standing guidance issued by the Department.
In 1994, revised in 2002 and 2004, the ‘Code of Conduct for NHS Boards’ required that board directors declare any
“personal or business interest which may influence, or may be perceived to influence, their judgement”
“when a conflict of interest is established, the board director should...play no part in the relevant discussion or decision”.
In 2002, the ‘Code of Conduct for NHS managers’ for inclusion in employment contracts included the principle that NHS managers
“be honest and act with integrity”
and that they uphold the best interests of the public and patients/clients in decision making and that decisions are not improperly influenced by gifts or inducements.
In 2003, ‘Governing the NHS: A guide for NHS Boards’ required that board members register personal financial interests.
Obesity
Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, (b) the British Medical Association and (c) NHS trusts on the quality and outcome framework indicators on obesity. [162145]
Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not discussed the introduction of new obesity indicators into the Quality and Outcomes Framework with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the British Medical Association or NHS trusts. This is because NICE is responsible for managing the independent process for developing and reviewing the evidence base for the Quality and Outcomes Framework clinical and public health related indicators. NICE'S independent advisory committee recommends new indicators or changes to existing indicators.
NHS Employers then negotiate with the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association on which of the published indicators should be applied nationally and what the financial value and payment
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thresholds for those indicators should be. NHS Employers negotiates on behalf of NHS England and the devolved Administrations.
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has (a) carried out and (b) commissioned studies on a link between school sports participation and lowered obesity levels and physical inactivity. [162153]
Anna Soubry: The Department funds the Change4Life sports club programme in schools. The programme is independently evaluated by Canterbury and Christchurch University—sport, physical education and activity research centre. The evaluation reported that the Change4Life clubs effectively target and engage the least active children (those not achieving the UK Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity guidelines). The programme impacts on physical activity levels of young people. In the first year of the programme the numbers of non-sporty young people now choosing to take part in sport each week increased by 166%.
The Department has not carried out or commissioned any studies specifically looking at a link between school sports participation and obesity.
Patients
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps have been taken to deliver the NHS mandate objective of making rapid progress in the measuring of, and action upon, the patient experience. [162319]
Dr Poulter: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 25 June 2013, Official Report, columns 212-13W.
Tobacco: Packaging
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to announce the outcome of his consultation on plain packaging for tobacco products. [162764]
Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Richard Burden) on 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 181W.
Attorney-General
MITIE Group
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officer’s Departments spend on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008. [162457]
The Solicitor-General: The information requested is contained in the following table.
| £ | ||||
| TSol | AGO | HMCPSI | CPS | |
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The Serious Fraud Office has not incurred any expenditure with the MITIE group during this period.
Private Prosecutions
Simon Hart: To ask the Attorney-General (1) how many private prosecutions were brought in England and Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available; [157869]
(2) how many private prosecutions were brought in England and Wales by the RSPCA in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many such prosecutions (a) led to guilty pleas or convictions after trial, (b) resulted in an absolute discharge and (c) resulted in a conditional discharge. [157870]
Jeremy Wright: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
Further to my hon. Friend's letter of 23 May officials in the Ministry of Justice are currently establishing what, if any, information is held centrally which identifies the prosecuting authority in each case.
I will write to my hon. Friend when this work is complete.
Serco
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officer’s Departments currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008. [162928]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has spent £4,703 with Serco group companies since 2008-09. During this time Serco has supplied facilities management services including waste removal and minor works. Current expenditure is approximately £1,000 per annum. The following table summarises total expenditure with Serco group companies for each financial year since 2008-09.
| £ | |
The Treasury Solicitor's Department records show only one payment made to Serco Ltd during this period, which was for £50 in 2008-09.
The remaining Law Officer's Departments have not incurred any expenditure with Serco Ltd since 2008.
House of Commons Commission
Security
Mr Hollobone:
To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many
2 July 2013 : Column 550W
security passes allowing entry to the parliamentary estate are in existence
(a)
in total,
(b)
for hon. Members' staff,
(c)
for House of Commons staff and
(d)
of other types. [161954]
John Thurso: The following security passes allowing entry to the parliamentary estate were on issue on 25 June 2013:
(a) Total: 14,655
(b) For hon. Members’ staff: 1,789
(c) For House of Commons staff: See below
(d) Other types: 10,873.
The number of passes on issue to House of Commons staff cannot easily be identified from pass office records as they cannot necessarily be readily distinguished from other parliamentary staff and contractors with the same category of pass. However at 30 April the headcount of House of Commons staff was 2,017.
Treasury
Air Passenger Duty
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount was collected in (a) class A, (b) class B, (c) class C and (d) class D air passenger duty in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13. [162498]
Sajid Javid: The published statistics on air passenger duty (APD), including the total amount of tax collected by year, are available online here:
https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutyBulletins.aspx
A breakdown of total receipts by APD distance band is not available.
Billing
Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque. [162641]
Sajid Javid: The average cost of processing an invoice for Treasury Group in 2011-12 was £6.28. Of the 8,595 invoices processed in this period 98.8% were paid electronically with the remaining 1.2% paid by cheque.
These are the latest figures available.
Charities: Investment
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the accounts of common investment funds are publicly available. [162065]
Sajid Javid: The accounts of a common investment fund are made available by the appointed investment fund manager of the fund.
Employee Ownership
Mr Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the speech by the Deputy Prime Minister on 27 March 2013, when a consultation will begin on incentives to support employee ownership. [162245]
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Mr Gauke: A consultation on the Government's proposals for supporting the indirectly employee-owned sector will be published before summer recess.
Financial Services
Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on progress on the redress scheme for businesses that were mis-sold interest rate swaps and other similar products; [163041]
(2) what discussions he has had with senior management at (a) Barclays Bank, (b) HSBC Bank, (c) RBS Group and (d) Lloyds Banking Group on their progress in providing offers of redress to businesses that were mis-sold interest rate hedging products within the redress scheme announced by the Financial Conduct Authority. [163015]
Greg Clark: Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority and all the major banks to discuss the redress scheme for businesses that were mis-sold interest rate hedging products. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury's practice to provide details of all such discussions.
Ministerial Duties
Mr Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes have been made to the responsibilities of the Economic Secretary to the Treasury since 4 September 2012. [162846]
Sajid Javid: The responsibilities of HM Treasury Ministers are available on the Department's website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-treasury
Overseas Aid
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the UK's official development assistance (ODA) budget in 2015-16 is new previously non-ODA attributable spending. [162561]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 1 July 2013]: UK ODA will rise from £11,727 million in 2014-15 to £12,220 million in 2015-16. New ODA spending in 2015-16 is therefore £493 million.
Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland
Ms Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the statement of 27 June 2013 on investing in Britain's future, what total Barnett consequentials will be awarded to Northern Ireland as a result. [162915]
Danny Alexander: The Northern Ireland Executive capital settlement for 2015-16 was set out in the Chancellor's spending round statement on 26 June 2013, Official Report, columns 303-15. Where projects announced in investing in Britain's future involve spending commitments in 2015-16, the Northern Ireland Executive will have received the Barnett consequential as part of this settlement in the normal way.
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Where projects also involve spending beyond 2015-16, the Northern Ireland Executive will benefit from Barnett consequentials as part of their capital settlement at future spending reviews.
Public Finance
George Galloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects his policies will begin to reduce Government debt and see a resumption of average growth in the economy. [162229]
Sajid Javid: As set out in OBR's March 2013 forecast, GDP is expected to grow by 0.6% in 2013, 1.8% in 2014, 2.3% in 2015, 2.7% in 2016, and 2.8% in 2017. Public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP is forecast to fall in 2017-18. The Government continue to meet the fiscal mandate to achieve cyclically adjusted current balance by the end of five-year rolling horizon.
Public Sector Debt
Sir Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of servicing public sector net debt was in each of the last 10 years. [162793]
Sajid Javid: Historical data on public sector debt interest and central Government debt interest are set out on the supplementary table of the latest public sector finances statistical bulletin, available on the Office for National Statistics website at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/psa/public-sector-finances---supplementary-table/may-2013/index.html
Figures can be found on variable JW2R and NMFX in the following table:
| £ billion | ||
| Public sector debt interest JW2R | Central Government debt interest NMFX | |
Revenue and Customs: Correspondence
Dr Huppert: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of items of unopened post at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC); and what recent assessment he has made of the ability of HMRC to deal with queries and correspondence in a timely manner. [162903]
Mr Gauke: HMRC performance targets for handling correspondence are published in HMRC's business plan. They are:
Answering 80% of all correspondence in 15 working days and 95% in 40 working days.
In 2012-13, HMRC answered 85% of all correspondence in 15 working days and 97.1% in 40 working days.
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HMRC periodically publishes performance statistics, including:
the number and proportion of post items (including letters) to HMRC from customers which remained unanswered at the end of each quarter at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/bus-plan-qds.htm
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-plan-indicators
HMRC plans to publish quarter 1 results for 2013-14 in August 2013.
HMRC's target is to open post received within 24 hours, currently opening 96% on the day of receipt with the remaining 4% opened the next day. HMRC is meeting that target and there are no backlogs in post rooms.
Revenue and Customs: Rhyl
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on the closure of Rhyl tax office. [162905]
Mr Gauke: No decision has been made regarding the closure of the Rhyl office. The future of HM Revenue and Custom's inquiry centres will be decided after the pilot in the north-east concludes.
HMRC will evaluate all of the information gathered from the pilot together with the feedback from the public consultation and plans to announce its decision on the way forward in January 2014.
Shares
Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to bring forward proposals to make bearer shares illegal. [161514]
Jo Swinson: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
This Department will publish a discussion paper on corporate transparency before September 2013. This will review the use of bearer shares by UK companies.
This will help the UK meet the collective G8 commitment to prevent the misuse of certain shareholding structures which may obstruct transparency, such as bearer shares.
Tax Avoidance
Naomi Long: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government plan to bring about increased transparency in taxation, particularly in Crown Dependencies, during the UK's G8 presidency. [162713]
Mr Gauke:
The Government work very closely with the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories on an ongoing basis, including as part of the G8 process over recent months. They have all agreed to automatically exchange information with the UK and others and therefore play an active role in the emerging new global standard for the automatic exchange of tax information. They have also committed to join the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters as rapidly as possible. Finally, on 18 June the Crown Dependencies all published action plans setting out concrete steps to tackle misuse of companies
2 July 2013 : Column 554W
and legal arrangements The Government will continue to pursue greater transparency in taxation in all relevant international fora.
Welfare State: Wales
Mrs Siân C. James: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a cumulative impact assessment of the effect on welfare changes since 2010 in Wales. [162260]
Sajid Javid: This Government have taken unprecedented steps to increase transparency and enable effective scrutiny of their policy-making. They have gone further in this regard than previous Governments by publishing regular distributional analysis of the impact of their reforms.
This Government do not publish cumulative analysis of welfare changes split by region. The latest estimates of the distributional impact of tax credit and benefits changes since 2010 were published at spending round 2013 and can be found on HM Treasury's website.
Home Department
Animal Experiments
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding her Department has provided for the development of reduction, refinement and replacement alternatives to the use of animals in scientific procedures in each year between 2009 and 2012; how much of that funding has been provided to the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research; and if she will make a statement. [162216]
James Brokenshire: The Home Office make payments of £250,000 per annum to the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research.
A significant part of the resource in the Home Office animals in science regulation unit is working towards the development of reduction, refinement and replacement alternatives (the 3Rs) to the use of animals in scientific procedures. Home Office inspectors do this as part of their inspection role and when assessing applications for project licences. Policy staff, in association with colleagues in other Government Departments, are actively taking forward the coalition commitment published in 2010 to work towards reducing the use of animals in research which involves promoting all 3Rs. It is not possible to quantify the value of this resource but we believe it is significant.
Bullying
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish draft guidance on bullying for the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Bill by 31 August 2013. [162206]
Mr Jeremy Browne [holding answer 1 July 2013]: We will be publishing guidance on all the new powers set out in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill. The guidance on the new injunction to prevent nuisance and annoyance will include how it could be used to deal with bullying. We expect to publish draft guidance before the Bill reaches Report stage in the House of Commons.
2 July 2013 : Column 555W
Common Travel Area
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Government of the Irish Republic and (b) the Northern Ireland Executive on the common travel area. [162552]
Mr Harper: Home Office officials are in regular contact with Irish Government officials taking forward joint work on the common travel area, which is underpinned and driven by the programme of work in the joint ministerial statement signed by the then UK Minister for Immigration Damian Green MP and the Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter TD, in Dublin on 20 December 2011. The Northern Ireland Executive has been briefed on this.
Conditions of Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) her Department and (b) the Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement. [160771]
James Brokenshire: The Home Office, its agencies and non-departmental bodies do not retain any staff on zero-hour contracts.
Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed by her Department on zero-hour contracts. [161407]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 24 June 2013]: The Home Office does not retain any staff on zero-hour contracts.
Counter-terrorism
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support her Department has given to universities to help implement the Prevent strategy; and what steps she has taken to monitor implementation. [161592]
Mr Willetts: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
As set out in the Prevent strategy (2011), BIS leads in the delivery of Prevent in higher education and further education. We support universities and colleges to implement and embed the strategy in a number of ways.
We have appointed 10 regional co-ordinators to provide guidance and support to institutions for all issues relating to Prevent. This includes managing the risks associated with external speakers and room booking procedures. They offer training for all staff to raise awareness of Prevent and promote engagement by working up light- touch action plans with institutions. Co-ordinators provide regular reports on how implementation of the strategy is progressing in the sector.
A BIS-funded Safe Campus Communities website was produced by Universities UK (UUK) as a resource for the sector to bring together available guidance and offer case studies of best practice. It includes a forum
2 July 2013 : Column 556W
encouraging knowledge sharing. In addition, UUK will be publishing guidance for universities on external speakers this summer.
BIS funds the National Union of Students (NUS) to support students' unions in understanding their responsibilities in relation to Prevent and charities legislation. This includes guidance on speaker and room bookings, training for incoming sabbatical officers and staff, issuing information and advice to students' unions, and running or contributing to a number of trainings and events for students' unions and the wider sector.
Universities and students’ unions are also given advice and support by the Charities Commission on meeting their responsibilities as charities in relation to ensuring that their activities and funds are not for the purposes of furthering terrorism or extremism.
Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Serious Organised Crime Agency has (a) compiled a report and (b) given a report to the Leveson inquiry concerning illegal information gathering by private detectives at the behest of a range of clients. [162230]
James Brokenshire: The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) produced a confidential report in 2008 entitled “Private Investigators: The Rogue Element of the Private Investigation Industry and Others Unlawfully Trading in Personal Data”. The report was made available, in confidence, to the Leveson inquiry in March 2012 by SOCA. A redacted version of that report was produced for public information in July 2012 and is available on the SOCA website.
Cybercrime
Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the economy of cybercrime in 2011-12. [161872]
James Brokenshire: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 10 January 2013, Official Report, column 418W.
Drugs: Crime
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug offences relating to class A substances have been reported in (a) Harlow and (b) Essex since 2001; and what proportion of national offences relating to class A substances such figures represent. [162891]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The information requested is not available centrally. The police recorded crime data collected by the Home Office contain the number of drug offences recorded but it is not possible to identify the class of the drug involved.
Entry Clearances
Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she made of the effectiveness of the visa system in helping to increase tourism and business from (a) China, (b) India and (c) other priority markets. [161924]
2 July 2013 : Column 557W
Mr Harper: We operate a highly effective visa system for all categories, including in China, India and our priority markets—for example, in 2012 we processed 95% of tourist visit visa and 96% of business visit visa applications within 15 days, and visa applicants can apply for our priority visa service (three to five days) in over 50 countries. We continue to review and develop the products available.
In April 2013 in China we launched a new VIP mobile biometric enrolment and passport pass back service for premium customers; in May 2013 we launched a new same-day super priority visa service in Delhi, which we have subsequently expanded to Mumbai and Chennai. We will assess the impact of these new premium products during 2013.
2 July 2013 : Column 558W
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of applications for student visas were dismissed in each of the last five years. [162218]
Mr Harper: The latest published figures for outcomes of visa applications (including refusals) for study (excluding student visitors), in each of the last five years appear in the following table:
| Visa applications and resolution, for study (excluding student visitors(1)), main applicants and dependants, 2008-12 | |||||||
| Applications | Resolved | Issued | Percentage | Refused | Percentage | Withdrawn/ lapsed | |
| (1 )Student visitors are allowed to come to the UK for six months (or 11 months if they will be studying an English Language course) and cannot extend their stay. Source: Table be_01_q. ‘Immigration Statistics’, January to March 2013 | |||||||
The latest Home Office immigration statistics, including those for entry clearance visas, are published in the release Immigration Statistics January to March 2013, which is available from the Library of the House and on the Department's website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
Eurojust
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on when the European Commission first published a draft regulation on reforming the structure of Eurojust; what progress has been made with negotiations on the draft regulation; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the draft regulation. [162300]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 1 July 2013]: The Commission has yet to publish its new proposal to reform Eurojust. It is expected to be published soon, after which negotiations will commence. Upon publication it will be deposited with the Scrutiny Committees under cover of an explanatory memorandum in the usual way. The proposal will trigger an opt-in decision, on which it is anticipated that debates will take place in both Houses.
Extradition: USA
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people were extradited from the US to the UK in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013 to date; and how many such people were US nationals; [162740]
(2) how many people were extradited from the UK to the US in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013 to date; and how many such people were UK nationals. [162741]
Mr Harper: In 2012 four people were extradited from the US to the UK. None of these people were US nationals. In 2013 (up to 26 June) four people were extradited from the US to the UK. One person was a US national.
For the purposes of this question, the extradition figures apply to England and Wales and Northern Ireland only. Scotland deals with its own extradition cases.
In 2012, 20 people were extradited from the UK to the US, 12 of these people were UK nationals. In 2013 (up to 26 June) seven people were extradited from the UK to the US. Three of these people were UK nationals.
For the purposes of this question, the extradition figures apply to England and Wales and Northern Ireland only. Scotland deals with its own extradition cases.
Fraud
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of fraud are reported to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau annually. [160919]
James Brokenshire: The numbers of cases of fraud reported to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau are published by the Office for National Statistics. The reports are available at:
www.ons.gov.uk
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many confirmed cases of fraud have been reported to Action Fraud in the last 12 months. [160921]
James Brokenshire: In the last 12 months, 148,150 reports of fraud have been made to Action Fraud. This figure includes confirmed and attempted frauds and cannot be broken down further.
2 July 2013 : Column 559W
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many scam emails have been reported to Action Fraud in the last 12 months. [160922]
James Brokenshire: In the last 12 months, 41,875 scam emails have been reported to Action Fraud.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of fraud reported to Action Fraud have led to successful prosecutions to date. [160924]
James Brokenshire: Information on prosecutions which have resulted from reports made to Action Fraud cannot be extracted from the total number of reported fraud cases.
Greenwich University
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Greenwich university had a Prevent strategy agreed with her Department; and whether it had a dedicated police liaison officer to assist with its implementation. [161587]
Mr Willetts: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Greenwich university has, like other institutions, been in close contact over the past few years with its local police Prevent engagement officer and is working with the BIS higher education co-ordinator for London to look at its policies and procedures and to mitigate and manage the risks of extremism on its campus.
Hezbollah
Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has considered proscribing Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organisation. [161875]
James Brokenshire: The UK proscribed Hezbollah’s external security organisation in 2001. In 2008 the proscription was extended to include the whole of Hezbollah’s military apparatus, namely the Jihad Council and all the units reporting to it.
It is Government policy not to comment on whether or not a group is under consideration for proscription.
Human Trafficking
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the number of victims of trafficking who have been compelled to take part in criminal activities in each year since 2010. [162140]
Mr Harper: Seventy-four individuals referred to the national referral mechanism between 2010 and 2012 have received a positive conclusive grounds decision where criminality is listed as the exploitation sub type.
The figures broken down by year are:
2010: five;
2011: 33;
2012: 36.
2 July 2013 : Column 560W
Illegal Immigrants: Employment
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many businesses in Northern Ireland have received fines or other penalties for employing illegal labour in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [161921]
Mr Harper: The information requested is in the following table. The figures are based on the number of civil penalties served following visits to business addresses in Northern Ireland.
The civil penalty compliance team has issued 41 civil penalties from 1 June 2010 to 31 May 2013, totalling £335,000.
| As at 1 June to 31 May each year | Penalties issued in Northern Ireland |
| Note: The figures provided are sourced from a Home Office management information system which is not quality assured under National Statistics protocols and is subject to change due to internal data quality checking. Figures provided from this source do not constitute part of National Statistics and should be treated as provisional. | |
Please note the figures are for penalties issued at the initial decision stage which may be reduced, cancelled, increased or reissued at the objection or appeal stage.
Immigrants: English Language
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2013, Official Report, column 804W, on conditions of employment: English language, if she will make it her policy to require all immigrants to the UK to speak English in the workplace. [162795]
Mr Harper: The immigration rules contain provisions which require migrants applying to come to the UK to work under the points-based system to have an appropriate level of English, generally at B1 level of the common European framework of reference for languages which is a level at which individuals can be expected to deal with daily routine matters within the workplace. Pre-entry English requirements also apply to certain other immigration categories which confer permission to work, for example those coming as partners and spouses of British citizens and people settled here.
These measures aim to ensure that migrants with a route to permanent residence in the UK are able to speak English and integrate into UK society, but behaviour within the workplace is a matter for individual employers.
Immigration
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of co-operation between authorities in the Irish Republic and the UK to counter illegal immigration. [162549]
Mr Harper:
The UK and Ireland's relationship is unique and long-standing; there is excellent Government and operational level co-operation to prevent those
2 July 2013 : Column 561W
seeking to abuse the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangement from doing so by strengthening the external CTA border, while preserving the right of free movement within it for those who are lawfully present.
Immigration Controls
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what border checks are conducted those who leave the UK. [162422]
Mr Harper: Home Office Immigration Enforcement regularly conducts manual embarkation checks on passengers on an intelligence-led basis, targeting routes that are known to be used by immigration offenders.
This ensures that immigration offenders are prevented from returning to the UK for a defined period.
More generally, the use of advance passenger information supports our ability to undertake effective exit checks as passengers leave the UK.
Immigration: Married People
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Government are taking to reduce the arrangement of marriages primarily for immigration purposes. [162070]
Mr Harper: The Government recognise the risk that sham marriages, arranged primarily for immigration purposes, pose to our immigration system and their links to wider criminality, such as fraud and benefit abuse. We are working closely with our partners across Government and with local registration services and the Anglican Church, to identify and tackle sham marriages at the earliest point.
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence the Government have collected on the number of marriages arranged primarily for immigration purposes. [162071]
Mr Harper: Under section 24 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 registrars are required to report to the Home Office any persons they have reasonable grounds to suspect are entering into a marriage arranged primarily for immigration purposes. Section 24 reports are investigated and, where appropriate, action is taken. We received 384 section 24 reports in 2007; 344 in 2008; 561 in 2009; 934 in 2010; 1,741 in 2011; and 1,891 in 2012.
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refusals of (a) entry to and (b) residence in the UK were made in each of the last five years on the basis of a sham marriage. [162072]
Mr Harper: Information regarding the number of foreign nationals refused entry to and residence in the UK on the basis of sham marriage is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people with a spousal visa have not been given leave to remain at the end of their probationary period in each year since 2008. [162743]
2 July 2013 : Column 562W
Mr Harper [holding answer 1 July 2013]: Information on how many individuals with a spousal visa were refused leave to remain at the end of their probationary period is not aggregated in national reporting systems. This information could only be obtained by a disproportionately expensive manual case-by-case search to collate the data.
Immigration: Northern Ireland
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed by her Department in Northern Ireland to counter illegal immigration and enforce immigration law. [162550]
Mr Harper: The Home Office had 131.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) paid staff working in Northern Ireland as of 25 June 2013. The following table is broken down by directorate level.
| Directorate | FTE |
Full-time equivalent means that part-timers are counted by the proportion of full-time hours they work, so that a part-timer working half the time of an equivalent full-timer would count as 0.5 FTE.
Independent Police Complaints Commission
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the oral statement and contributions of 24 June 2013, Official Report, columns 25-37, on undercover policing, by what date she expects to have finalised the resource implications for the IPCC in relation to the duties outlined in the statement; and what those duties will be. [162238]
Damian Green: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has received a referral from the Metropolitan police of the allegations made of the deployment of undercover officers against the Lawrence family and of the withholding of that deployment from the Macpherson inquiry. It is for the IPCC to decide the appropriate mode of investigation for that complaint and, if it decides to investigate itself, the appropriate resource necessary to carry out an investigation.
Members: Correspondence
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Warley can expect to receive a reply from her Department to his letter of 18 February 2013 regarding the case of Mr Eugene Komeny. [161816]
Mr Harper: The Home Office wrote to the right hon. Member on 25 June 2013.
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Warley can expect to receive a reply from her Department to his letter of 13 March 2013 to the UK Border Agency regarding the case of Mrs Sukhvinder Kaun. [161817]
Mr Harper: The Home Office wrote to the right hon. Member on 26 June 2013.
2 July 2013 : Column 563W
Misuse of Drugs Ministerial Group
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2013, Official Report, columns 384-5W, on mis-use of drugs ministerial group, if she will publish the (a) attendees, (b) minutes of the previous meetings and (c) schedule for any future meetings of the inter-ministerial group on drugs. [162349]
Mr Jeremy Browne [holding answer 1 July 2013]: As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to publish details of such meetings.
MITIE Group
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008. [162467]
James Brokenshire: The Home Department's expenditure on contracts with MITIE since financial year 2008-09 is detailed in the following table:
| Financial year | Spend with MITIE (£) |
Mobile Phones
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to her Department. [162689]
James Brokenshire: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 29 October 2012, Official Report, column 73W.
National Retail Crime Steering Group
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Retail Crime Strategy Group (a) has met since May 2010, (b) last met and (c) next plans to meet. [161356]
Mr Jeremy Browne: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Cabinet Office website.
Passports
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had to ensure that the passport system is robustly enforced. [161906]
Mr Harper:
Her Majesty's Passport Office is responsible for the UK passport application and issuing process and provides a gold standard approach recognised nationally and internationally for its security and robustness. HM Passport Office works closely with departmental colleagues and with law enforcement agencies in the
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UK, and with EU partners and other international colleagues through the International Civil Aviation Organisation to ensure that the highest standards of security are applied to the British passport and that UK citizens are able to travel overseas without undue hindrance.
Passport holders benefit from a high quality of service. This is subject to public reporting of key performance indicators and supported by customer service intelligence carried out to monitor and improve delivery of passport services. The performance of HM Passport Office is set out in its annual report and accounts which will be submitted to Parliament in accordance with section 7 of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appointment slots are available each week at Hull passport office; and what the average waiting time for an appointment is (a) at Hull passport office and (b) nationally. [162258]
Mr Harper: In the financial year 2013-14 to date, the average number of interview appointments available in the Hull interview office has been 23 per week. Following a review of our service provision we have recently increased the number of appointments to 39 per week.
Her Majesty's Passport Office has two larger offices in Leeds and Sheffield where appointments are available within the average waiting time nationally which is 8.5 days. The Hull office is a smaller local facility open part-time for those who do not need an appointment within this timescale. The average waiting time in the Hull office to date in 2013-14 has been 24 days.
Pay
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what bonuses are being proposed for senior officials in her Department. [162420]
James Brokenshire: In line with Cabinet Office guidance, up to 25% of senior officials are eligible to be considered for a bonus for their performance in the 2012-13 performance year. As in previous years, the Department intends to exercise restraint in the awarding of bonus payments to these staff.
Personation
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of identity theft occurred in each of the last three years. [162150]
Mr Jeremy Browne: Information on the number of identity theft cases occurring each year is not held centrally. Identity theft is not a specific criminal offence. It is an enabler of other crimes, such as fraud, and the criminal law contains a range of provisions to tackle this type of crime, such as the offences in the Fraud Act 2006.
Police and Crime Commissioners
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department takes to ensure that Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) comply with their legal responsibilities to publish financial information and disclose details of their own interests and allowances; and whether her Department has any plans to publish a list of non-compliant PCCs. [161688]
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Damian Green [holding answer 25 June 2013]: The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011 require Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to publish information specified by the Home Secretary, including a register of interests, budgets and decisions of significant public interest. This is a legal obligation which is ultimately enforceable by the courts.
The Act also introduced a police and crime panel in every police area to scrutinise the actions and decisions of the PCC. The panel has the power to question the commissioner and report publicly on the commissioner's performance of his or her statutory duties. This ensures that the local electorate is able to hold the commissioner to account at the ballot box.
Police: Intelligence Services
Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many different police intelligence services are currently in operation in England and Wales; and how many such forces automatically share intelligence with other police forces via a central computer system. [162537]
Damian Green: In England and Wales each of the 43 geographic police forces, plus the British Transport police, the Ministry of Defence police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency including the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre operate police intelligence services. All such forces and law enforcement agencies manage and share intelligence on national databases, having regard to the code of practice on the management of police information, as appropriate.
Police: Recruitment
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what data are collected on recruitment of police (a) from ethnic minorities and (b) based on (i) gender and (ii) ability to speak the Welsh language. [162831]
Damian Green: The Home Office collects figures for the number of police officers (full-time equivalent) recruited as a police standard direct recruit, those previously a special constable, by police force area, and all minority ethnic and gender groups. These data appear in the attached table for the latest available financial year, 2011-12.
Data on police recruitment based on the ability to speak the Welsh language are not collected by the Home Office.
| Number of police officers recruited as a police standard direct recruit and police—previously special constable, by police force area, all minority ethnic and gender, 2011-12(1, 2, 3,4, 5) | |||
| All minority ethnic | Male | Female | |
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| (1) This table contains full-time equivalent (FTE) figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Police standard direct recruit includes special constables joining as a police officer and are recorded under this category if they have not been a special constable for a year or more. (3) Police—previously special constables includes special constables joining as a police officer if they have been a special constable within the last year. Includes special constables joining from another force as a police officer. This only applies to new officers, not to officers rejoining or transferring. (4) Source—Home Office via Annual Data Requirement (ADR 521). These figures are not regularly published and should be treated as provisional. (5) Figures for police officer joiners, for 2011-12, by police force area, rank and gender (including transfers) are published each year in Table 5 of 'Police Service Strength, England and Wales' (to be retitled 'Police Workforce, England and Wales'). | |||