Empty Property
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the number of unoccupied residential properties in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) the UK. [163331]
Mr Foster: Annual statistics on total numbers of vacant dwellings and those vacant longer than six months in each local authority district in England are published in the Department's live table 615, which is available at the following link.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
4 July 2013 : Column 766W
Data for Brigg and Goole constituency are not collected centrally. The constituency falls within the local authorities of North Lincolnshire and East Riding of Yorkshire.
As set out in the written ministerial statement on 18 September 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS, the Department no longer publishes statistics at a regional level. Figures for the rest of the United Kingdom are a matter for each devolved Administration.
The number of long-term empty homes in England has fallen by nearly 20,000 between 2011 and 2012 and by over 40,800 since 2010.
Families: Disadvantaged
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to have completed working with the 120,000 troubled families he has identified. [162443]
Brandon Lewis: The current troubled families programme aims to turn around the lives of 120,000 troubled families by the end of the current Parliament in May 2015. The programme is on track: as of March 2013, 152 upper-tier councils in England have already identified more than half (66,000) of their families, and more than 35,000 of the 120,000 troubled families are already being worked with.
Fire Services
Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many positions are available for the redeployment of fire and rescue service workers who no longer meet the physical standards for operational roles in (a) Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service and (b) the UK. [162895]
Brandon Lewis: The Department does not keep data on the level or nature of vacancies in fire and rescue authorities. Fitness standards are an operational matter for individual fire and rescue authorities.
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prevent a mutual organisation running fire and rescue services facing competition from the private sector at a later stage; [163081]
(2) what assessment he has made of the legislative changes that will be required to prevent any mutual organisation running fire and rescue services being subject to open competition in the future. [163082]
Brandon Lewis [holding answer 3 July 2013]:I refer the hon. Member to my speech in the Adjournment debate of 13 May 2013, Official Report, columns 470-76, in which I laid out the Government's position on supporting locally-led mutuals in the fire and rescue service, and that we are not opening the door to wholesale privatisation.
Housing: Construction
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advice he has given to the Planning Inspectorate on judging whether local authority assessments of future housing requirements comply with the National Planning Policy Framework. [162450]
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Nick Boles: The Strategic Housing Market Assessment Practice Guidance August 2007, remains in place pending the outcome of the Government's review and can still be used to identify future housing requirements where relevant to the National Planning Policy Framework. We plan to publish guidance on assessing future housing need in the summer.
In addition, Ministers meet with the Planning Inspectorate from time to time to discuss matters in relation to planning to ensure a consistent approach is being taken.
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advice he has given to local authorities on providing evidence that housing development sites can be considered viable or deliverable. [162452]
Nick Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that local planning authorities should identify a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years worth of housing against their housing requirement, and also identify a supply of specific, developable sites or broad locations for growth, for years six to 10 and, where possible, for years 11 to 15. The Framework defines what is meant by “deliverable” and “developable” in footnotes 11 and 12 on page 12 of the document.
The Framework also sets out policies on viability, and says that the sites and scale of development identified in a local plan should not be subject to such a scale of obligations and policy burdens that their ability to be developed viably is threatened. In addition, as set out in the Budget, the Government will publish significantly reduced planning guidance by summer 2013, which will include guidance on viability.
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will publish guidance on when local planning authorities can refuse applications for major housing development that predetermine decisions to be made in local plans; and if he will make a statement. [162453]
Nick Boles: The existing guidance on prematurity, set out in the “Planning System: General Principles”, is included in the review of government planning practice guidance.
Public Expenditure
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 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. [161174]
Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government 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.
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We provided HM Treasury with an equalities assessment of our 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.
DCLG's overall spending round submission was informed by its own equality assessments and by the spending review equalities assessment commissioned by HM Treasury.
The Government have been clear that producing formal equality impact assessment documents is not required in order to ensure compliance with the legal responsibility to consider equality impacts.
The assessment of equalities feeds into both spending round decisions and future decisions by DCLG. The outcome of the spending round was published on 26 June 2013.
Right to Buy Scheme
Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Pudsey of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 1221, on right-to-buy scheme, which local authorities have refused his Department's offer to help promote the Right to Buy. [160529]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 18 June 2013]:After the important measures announced at Budget, I wrote to all stock-owning local authorities, offering support to inform tenants of their Right to Buy. This includes delivering Right to Buy tenant roadshows in partnership with them in the local area.
To date, Right to Buy events have been held in Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth, Croydon, Basildon, Milton Keynes, Bournemouth, Doncaster and Swindon. Others, following initial contact, such as Brighton and Hove, Cannock Chase, Crawley, Enfield, Harlow, Havering, Kingston upon Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Norwich, Sheffield, Southampton, Southwark and Wigan, have declined to organise such events. I would urge them, together with like minded authorities to rethink and ensure that their tenants are well informed. Should they change their minds, we stand ready to help organise.
I visited the excellent Basildon roadshow, and have seen at first-hand the value tenants place on receiving advice and help to explore home ownership further. I would encourage all stock-owning local authorities to consider the needs of their tenants and work with my Department to help inform tenants about the Right to Buy.
Urban Areas: Regeneration
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress he has made following the Portas Review into high streets towards introducing an explicit presumption in favour of town centre development in the wording of the National Planning Policy Framework. [162367]
Mr Prisk:
As explained in the Government's response to the Portas Review the National Planning Policy Framework asks local councils to recognise town centres as the hearts of their communities and pursue policies
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to support their viability and vitality. It sets out clearly that local councils should require new town centre uses to be located in existing town centres out of preference. Only if there are no suitable and viable town centre locations for new town centre uses should consideration be given to siting such development outside of town centres. In considering proposals for town centre uses that can only be located outside of existing town centres, i.e. where there are no suitable and viable sites in town centres, our policy requires that the proposal is not granted permission where it would have a likely significant adverse impact on existing town centres.
Vacancies
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14. [162664]
Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not keep a central record of job vacancies as responsibility for recruitment lies with individual line managers.
Since October 2011 the Department's headcount has fallen by 416 full-time equivalent staff to the end of May 2013. The Department operates a limit on headcount, currently 1,760 full-time equivalent staff, and any recruitment will be constrained by that limit going forward.
The Department's major programme of restructuring has reduced headcount by 37% on a like-for-like basis with the October 2010 baseline position.
Based on current estimates (which reflect accounting consequences from machinery of government changes), the DCLG Group is reducing its annual running costs by 41% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15. This equates to net savings of at least £532 million over this spending review period and includes savings of around £420 million from the closure of the Government offices for the regions.
Vending Machines
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many vending machines in his Department's premises contain snack foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value. [163204]
Brandon Lewis: We do not centrally hold information on our local offices which we share with other agencies, where the facilities management is run by other partners.
Notwithstanding, as is common practice in work places across the country, I can confirm that we have one vending machine in each of our core departmental offices in Victoria and Bristol which serve confectionary/snacks.
We do not intend to adopt a nanny state approach by removing them: Our catering supplier provides healthy eating options in our canteen, including fresh and seasonal produce. This Government believe in choice in public services.
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I would observe that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister signed a facilities management contract in 2004 which required that there ‘must be top-selling brands' of chocolate in the vending machine for the First Secretary of State.
Ministers in this Administration would regard that as over-specification.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Business: Loans
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many members of staff currently working in his Department on the interim business bank have been recruited externally from the private sector. [163360]
Michael Fallon: The team working on the business bank project in the Department consists of civil servants and staff recruited externally from the private sector. Five secondees have been brought in from the private sector to work on the project; a number of the Department's staff working on the project also have relevant private sector experience.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications his Department has received for funds under his Department's Investment Programme as part of the business bank proposals announced on 10 April 2013; and what the total aggregate monetary value is of the applications for funds received to date under the Investment Programme. [163361]
Michael Fallon: As at 1 July the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was in receipt of 58 preliminary expressions of interest from a wide variety of lenders. These are being assessed by the Investment Programme team prior to applicants being invited to submit Formal Proposals. A number of applicants that have submitted Expressions of Interest have already been asked to submit a Formal Proposal and to date one formal proposal seeking funding of £50 million has been received. The early interest received is encouraging and the Investment Programme remains open to new applications.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what date he plans to announce successful bidders under the Investment Programme. [163362]
Michael Fallon: I expect to announce the first successful bidders under the Investment Programme in the autumn.
Business: Security
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who the members of his Department's Security Standards Working Group are; and what support is offered to small businesses to participate. [163391]
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Mr Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is running a call for evidence on organisational standards for cyber security, and eventually the selection of a preferred standard for organisational cyber security.
Industry stakeholders—among others—have expressed an interest in the call for evidence. These industry stakeholders are collaborating to run a security standards working group workshop to consider their response to BIS's call for evidence.
An official will be attending the event to observe; but the group is not led by Government.
Derby Economic Response Taskforce
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much was spent on the Derby Economic Response Taskforce between July 2011 and August 2012; what assessment he has made of the Taskforce's achievements; and if he will make a statement. [161960]
Michael Fallon: During the lifespan of the Derby Economic Response Task Force the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills incurred only minimal costs, to cover the chair's expenses.
At the Task Force's conclusion (16 July 2012), partners agreed that it had played a valuable role in bringing people together to meet the shared challenge of mitigating the impact of potential job losses. As a direct result of the Task Force's work, a £40 million Regional Growth Fund Round 2 award was made to help strengthen supply chain and innovation capacity within the local economy, diversification into new markets and for creating new business opportunities.
I have no plans to make a further statement.
English Language: Education
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 26 June 2013, Official Report, column 315, on the Spending Review, what additional resources his Department plans to provide for the delivery of ESOL provision for jobseekers in receipt of benefit. [163319]
Matthew Hancock: We are considering how to deliver the additional English language provision for jobseekers announced in the Spending Review, with details to be announced in due course. The resource implications for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will be addressed as the approach is finalised. The implementation of the conditionality package will not impact on existing levels of provision.
EU Grants and Loans: Liverpool
Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria he applied in determining the allocation of EU funding for Liverpool city region in the period 2014 to 2020; and if he will make a statement. [163370]
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Michael Fallon: On 26 March the Government announced that for 2014-20 England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would each receive an equal 5% reduction in relation to their overall European regional development fund (ERDF) and European social fund (ESF) allocation for 2007-13.
In England, the allocations of ERDF and ESF for 2013 set the baseline for allocations for the 2014-20 funding period.
All transition regions, including Merseyside, will receive an equal c.20% uplift based on their UK spending commitment against the EU budget for 2013. Halton is in the Cheshire NUTS 2 region. Cheshire is designated as a ‘more developed' category and will receive a c.5% uplift based on its UK spending commitment against the EU budget for 2013.
4.3% of England's overall budget for ERDF and ESF was reserved by Government. This will fund a part contribution towards programme administration costs and also a contribution towards a service to support prisoners from prison and into paid employment upon their release.
Allocations on the basis of NUTS 2 geographies were then converted to LEP areas on the basis of population statistics. Liverpool city region will receive its share of the Cheshire allocation based on the population for Halton and 100% of the Merseyside allocation.
Allocations were then converted to LEP area on the basis of population statistics.
Further Education: Overseas Students
Mr Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take in response to the findings of his Department's research report, Evaluation of the value of Tier 4 international students to FE colleges and the UK economy, published in April 2013. [163261]
Matthew Hancock: The purpose of the research was to establish the extent of international student recruitment in publicly funded further education colleges and to assess the value of these students to further education colleges and the UK economy.
The findings will be used as appropriate in relation to future international activity in the FE sector.
Green Investment Bank
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons the borrowing powers of the Green Investment Bank in 2015-16 have been limited to borrowing from Government rather than from capital markets. [163184]
Michael Fallon: The Government have made clear their plans to give the Green Investment Bank (GIB) scope to borrow from the capital markets once targets have been met on reducing public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP. We will continue to keep this matter under review. Giving the GIB scope to borrow up to £500 million of its £800 million funding for 2015/16 from HM Treasury's National Loans Fund is a sensible step to take in advance of reaching that point, giving the Bank the opportunity to demonstrate it can make a profit operating with funds borrowed on commercial terms.
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Industrial Disputes: Military Bases
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what reports he has received on (a) the state of industrial relations between ISS contractors and trades unions at certain RAF stations and (b) recent industrial actions by trades union members following the collapse of pay talks with ISS; if he will intervene to encourage talks to resolve the situation; and if he will make a statement. [163365]
Jo Swinson: We have not received any reports on the state of industrial relations between ISS contractors and trade unions. The Government consider that the resolution of disputes is a matter for the parties involved. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the specific details of this case.
The Government believe that strikes should be a last resort and that it is better to resolve disputes through dialogue wherever possible. The independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) stands ready to assist the parties in reaching an agreement, where they both accept its involvement.
New Businesses: Young People
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses created as a result of funding from the start-up loan scheme are in each parliamentary constituency. [162821]
Michael Fallon: The Department does not hold constituency data for the start-up loans programme and does not require the Start-Up Loans Company to provide disaggregated data at this level.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many recipients of funding from the start-up loan scheme have been (a) female and (b) male. [162822]
Michael Fallon: At 1 July 2013 the current split is 64% male, 34% female by volume.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what comparative assessment he has made of sectoral growth as a result of funding from the start-up loan scheme. [162823]
Michael Fallon: The first loan made under the start-up loans programme was drawn down in September 2012. As such, it is too early to make a valid assessment of growth impacts by sector. At 31 March 2013 the spread was as follows (subject to final audit):
| Percentage | |
4 July 2013 : Column 774W
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what comparative assessment he has made of regional allocation of funding from the start-up loan scheme. [162824]
Michael Fallon: Funding for the start-up loans programme is not allocated on a regional basis, but is distributed according to demand. The current spread of funding is:
| Percentage | |
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average age of recipients of funding from the start-up loan scheme is. [162825]
Michael Fallon: The Start-Up Loans Company reports that the average age of loan recipients is 25.5 years.
Oil: Canada
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential value to UK businesses working to support the development of the Canadian oil sands. [163328]
Michael Fallon:
Canada has the world's third largest proven crude oil reserves, with 97% of Canada's proven oil reserves found in Alberta's oil sands; only about 16% of these 169.3 billion barrels is currently under development. The monetary value of these reserves is
4 July 2013 : Column 775W
subject to prevailing market rates. So far there has been no assessment on the accessible value from the oil sands for UK business.
Since 2008 12 UK companies have opened offices in Alberta following their accessing of UKTI market services, and are supplying goods and services to the oil sands industry including in recruitment, cabling, waste recovery, software, imaging and project management. We also maintain close and regular dialogue with major UK investors in the Canadian oil and gas sector, including with BP, Shell and Amec.
Serco
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008. [162927]
Jo Swinson: Since 2008 the Department has spent the following amounts with Serco Ltd:
| £ | |
Sky Lanterns: Sales
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration he has given to reviewing the availability for sale of Chinese lanterns. [163333]
Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has responsibility for consumer product safety issues. Evidence suggests that the risk to consumers by the sale of sky lanterns is extremely low, and as such we do not see the need to restrict their availability. However, following the incident at Smethwick recycling plant over the weekend, BIS continues to liaise closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Communities and Local Government on the wider issues attributed to the release of sky lanterns.
Students: Loans
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the announcement in spending round 2013, Cm 8639, that the resource accounting budget for higher education student loans will increase to £4.4 billion in 2015-16. [162984]
Mr Willetts: The BIS student loan resource accounting budget (RAB) falls outside the Office for National Statistics definition of PSCB (public sector current budget). The student loan resource accounting budget is used to ensure control over the long-term costs of the student loan book, but does not directly impact the fiscal aggregates.
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The resource accounting budget for FY2015-16 of £4.4 billion is not directly comparable with the FY2014-15 baseline figure of £2.9 billion set in 2010, because of changes since 2010 including the following:
macroeconomic conditions, which have increased the RAB charge to around 35%;
increases to repayments thresholds since 2010;
the introduction of further education loans since 2010.
The total outlay on student loans will increase between FY2014-15 and FY2015-16 as a result of a higher proportion of students being eligible for higher fee loans. Decisions have not yet been taken on rates of tuition and maintenance loans in academic year 2015/16.
Vending Machines
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many vending machines in his Department's premises contain snack foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value. [163206]
Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has five vending machines installed on its premises. The machines stock a variety of confectionery and soft drinks.
A selection of healthier snack options such as fresh fruit can be purchased in BIS staff restaurants and coffee bars throughout the day.
BIS also has a choice of healthy food items on its weekly restaurant menus and has a traffic light system detailing nutritional information about each dish:
Red—this dish is either high in dairy products and or deep fried
Amber—this dish contains dairy products or has been shallow fried
Green—this dish is healthy and has been cooked using minimal oil, char grilled or oven roasted
Salt is not available on the dining tables.
Vocational Training
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what estimate his Department has made of how many young people aged between 18 and 24 will enrol on a traineeship in the academic year 2013-14; [163317]
(2) how much funding from its apprenticeship and adult skills budget he expects his Department to allocate for the delivery of traineeships in the academic year 2013-14. [163318]
Matthew Hancock: Traineeships for 19 to 24-year-olds will be funded from the overall Adult Skills Budget, not from the estimated funding amount within the Adult Skills Budget to support adult apprentices.
It is our intention that traineeships will be a demand-led programme therefore the number of places funded will reflect the number of employers and education and training providers who choose to offer a place and the number of eligible young people who wish to take one.
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Defence
Armed Forces
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many members of the armed forces re-entered civilian life after less than four years of service in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; [162365]
(2) how many members of the armed forces re-entering civilian life after less than four years of service possessed five A*-C grades at GCSE in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [162366]
Mr Francois [holding answer 2 July 2013]: The number of personnel leaving the armed forces after less than four years in service is shown in the following table:
| Number of personnel | |
The number of personnel leaving the armed forces after less than four years in service and who have recorded that they possess five A*-C grades at GCSE is shown in the following table:
| Number of personnel | |
There is no mandatory requirement for service personnel to record their qualifications, and therefore these figures are the best available, but not fully validated. We are aware of cases in which personnel have recorded A levels but not GCSEs (a pre-requisite to A levels) but these are not captured in the tables.
The armed forces provide exceptional through-life education and training opportunities, and for some of those who may not have been academically successful, offer an entirely new approach to learning, providing transferable skills useful within their service career and in the wider world.
All numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest 20 in order to prevent systematic bias.
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on armed forces personnel working as contractors to steward RAF graduation events; and if he will make a statement. [163366]
Mr Francois: Personnel wishing to seek external off-duty employment, during service, are required to seek approval from their commanding officer. There is no specific policy covering graduation events.
Billing
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 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. [162630]
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Mr Francois: The number of individual invoices paid electronically or by cheque is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The proportion of total payments made electronically and by cheque during financial year 2012-13 was 99.41% and 0.59 % respectively.
Information regarding the average cost to pay an invoice is currently being collated as part of a pan-Government benchmarking exercise. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as it is available.
Falkland Islands
Mr Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse was of producing the study of deaths among Falklands veterans published by Defence Statistics on 14 May 2012; and of the 25,948 UK armed forces personnel identified in that study as having received the South Atlantic medal, how many received that medal (a) with and (b) without distinguishing rosette. [163264]
Mr Francois: The cost of producing the study of deaths among Falklands veterans was some £15,800. These costs were associated with identifying and flagging the cohort on the NHS Information Centre database and providing regular updates on the current circumstances of those individuals. The Ministry of Defence staff costs were covered by core funding. With regard to the awarding of medals, of the 25,948 issued 25,190 personnel received the medal with rosette and 758 without it.
Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British (a) civilian and (b) service personnel are involved in the F-35 pilot and maintainer training at Eglin US Air Force Base. [163259]
Mr Robathan: There are currently 16 British service personnel and no British civilian personnel involved in F-35 pilot and maintainer training at Eglin US Air Force Base.
Military Aircraft
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the value of the (a) Typhoon, (b) Hawk, (c) Tornado, (d) Hercules, (e) Globemaster, (f) Tucano, (g) Sentry, (h) Shadow and (i) King Air aircraft fleets. [162997]
Dr Murrison: The current value of each aircraft fleet is shown in the following table. The values quoted reflect the net book value (NBV) of the fleet, which is calculated by adding the cost of any major upgrades to the original capital cost of each asset and deducting depreciation to reflect the decrease in value of an asset over time. The values quoted bear no relation to the replacement costs of the assets and capabilities, nor can they be used to calculate an accurate cost per aircraft.
| Aircraft | Total NBV(£ million) |
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| (1) The figure for Shadow comprises the NBV plus assets in the course of construction yet to be formally transferred onto the Fixed Asset Register and the sixth aircraft, which is due for delivery at the end of July 2013. (2 )The King Air 200 aircraft is not owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It is operated under a lease arrangement and is not therefore recorded as an asset on the MOD balance sheet. No NBV is available. | |
Military Bases: West Sussex
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which units are currently stationed at the army base on Thorney Island, West Sussex. [163270]
Mr Francois: The Major Units currently based at Baker Barracks, Thorney Island are 12 Regiment Royal Artillery and 47 Regiment Royal Artillery.
Additional units hosted at Thorney Island include HQ Thorney Island Station, the Dental Centre Thorney Island, and the Medical Centre Thorney Island.
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current and anticipated future uses of the runways at the army base at Thorney Island, West Sussex are. [163271]
Mr Francois: The Ministry of Defence has no current or planned use for the runways at Thorney Island although there is some low level use of the airfield by civilian flying clubs.
Military Decorations: World War II
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average time taken to process an application for the Arctic Star is; and if he will make a statement. [162897]
Mr Francois: In the awarding of new medals I am advised that the usual time scale, from the announcement to the design and production of the medal, would be approximately one year. Given the age of the veterans, the Ministry of Defence has managed to reduce the time scale to just three months.
Due to the high number of applications, currently 4,262 from surviving veterans, 1,991 from widows and 8,933 from next of kin, 15,186 in total, priority is being given to veterans due to their age. The current processing time for living veterans is two months. Next of kin applications will start being assessed in September.
Nuclear Accident Response Organisation
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at which locations Ministry of Defence Nuclear Accident Response Organisation teams are based. [162994]
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Dr Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) maintains a national Nuclear Accident Response Organisation (NARO) to respond to incidents or emergencies, including any arising through terrorist acts, involving a range of Defence assets.
The MOD NARO is made up of specialists, subject matter experts and capabilities that are drawn from across the MOD and its agencies including, where appropriate, components based at Defence nuclear sites, which would be used in response to any nuclear incident or emergency.
Nuclear Weapons
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2013, Official Report, column 790W, on nuclear weapons, (a) what nuclear emergency response capability is available at HM Naval Base Clyde and (b) what arrangements there are to deploy nuclear emergency experts from HM Naval Base Clyde to advise civil emergency responders in the event of an accident involving a nuclear weapon in Scotland or the north of England. [162995]
Dr Murrison: Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde operates a Nuclear Emergency Response Organisation, which consists of a command structure and the response forces available to respond to a nuclear emergency at the base.
HMNB Clyde provides a team to support nuclear weapon emergency arrangements across the UK. This team is on constant notice to move and includes specialist nuclear weapon technicians to assist the civil emergency services. It has the capability to establish control at an emergency site, recover any UK Defence nuclear material, undertake decontamination, provide advice on the protection of the public and ensure effective site recovery.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) at which defence nuclear sites local liaison committees have been established to allow engagement with local stakeholders; which of these committees include representatives from independent non-government and non-industry groups; which of these committees allow members of the public to attend and observe meetings; and which of these committees publish minutes of meetings on a publicly accessible website; [163000]
(2) if he will place in the Library copies of the terms of reference and standing orders of each local liaison committee representing a defence nuclear site. [163001]
Dr Murrison: Defence nuclear sites with a Local Liaison Committee (LLC) are as follows:
Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde;
HMNB Devonport—Devonport Royal Dockyard;
The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE);
Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment (NRTE);
Rolls-Royce Marine Power Operations, Derby;
Rosyth Royal Dockyard; and
BAE Systems Marine, Barrow.
There is no prescribed structure for an LLC. Each LLC comprises representatives from the local community but, given the diverse roles of the defence related nuclear licensed sites, the type of representation varies between them, and is a matter for the individual site licensee.
4 July 2013 : Column 781W
The HMNB Devonport and Vulcan NRTE LLCs are open for members of the public to observe.
The following LLCs publish minutes of their meetings online at the following addresses:
http://www.babcockinternational.com/about-us/responsibilities/community/devonport-royal-dockyard/devonport-local-liaison-committee/
The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)
http://www.awe.co.uk/aboutus/Local_Liaison_Committee_b1478.html
Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment (NRTE)
http://www.dounreaystakeholdergroup.org/documents/
Terms of reference of each LLC will be placed in the Library of the House.
Radioactive Waste: Fife
Mr Gordon Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will instruct action to begin the clean-up work at Dalgety Bay beach immediately; [163070]
(2) if he will provide funding for the remedial action plan clean-up of Dalgety Bay beach; [163071]
(3) if he will continue the monitoring of Dalgety Bay radiation until the clean-up work is completed; [163072]
(4) if he will direct the Scottish Environment Protection Agency not to designate Dalgety Bay as radiation-contaminated. [163073]
Dr Murrison: As the regulator it is for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to decide if designation is appropriate at Dalgety Bay. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is considering the findings of SEPA's appropriate person report, and will comment in due course. We will continue to monitor the beach without prejudice in accordance with our agreed position.
Serco
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008. [162932][Official Report, 8 October 2013, Vol. 568, c. 1-2MC.]
Dr Murrison: Expenditure on Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts with Serco is shown in the following table:
| Financial year | Expenditure (£ million) |
These figures include expenditure by MOD Trading Funds, but do not include payments which may have been made on behalf of other Government Departments by the MOD's executive non-departmental public bodies (which lie outside the MOD's accounting boundary), locally by the Department, through third parties such as prime contractors or other Government Departments and in relation to collaborative projects where the payments
4 July 2013 : Column 782W
are made through international procurement agencies or overseas Governments. Payments made by Government Procurement Card are also not included.
Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award:
www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
In addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000.
Home Department
British Nationality
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications to have a child's birth registered under section 3(1), section 3(2) or section 3(5) of the British Nationality Act 1981, where the child concerned was the illegitimate child of a British citizen father, have been (a) approved and (b) refused since April 2008. [163074]
Mr Harper [holding answer 3 July 2013]: The Home Office does not record the requested data. Obtaining the information would incur disproportionate costs.
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the procedure is for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre paying for costs of recovery of evidence from internet service providers when investigating cases of online child abuse. [163316]
James Brokenshire: Much of the evidence in online child abuse cases will derive from communications data. Communications service providers may be required to disclose communications data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. Any costs incurred by them in complying with these obligations may be recovered, with the majority recovered from law enforcement agencies, based on their use of communications data.
Community Policing
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of policing reforms on community policing. [161425]
Damian Green: Much of our reform to policing has been targeted specifically on improving local policing. We have swept away central targets and red tape to free up more officers to work on the frontline. Police and crime commissioners, regular beat meetings, and the publication of street-level crime and antisocial behaviour data and crime outcomes information on police.uk are making policing more transparent, accountable and accessible to local communities.
These reforms are working: recorded crime has fallen by more than 10% during this Government and the 2011-12 Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that just under two thirds of adults thought that the police in their area were doing a good or excellent job.
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Correspondence
Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if it is her policy that hon. Members have presumed consent when meeting representatives on behalf of their constituents and their relatives concerning visit visas and immigration and nationality matters; and if she will make a statement; [162848]
(2) if she will clarify the policy of her Department in response to representations from hon. Members on behalf of their constituents; and if she will make a statement; [162849]
(3) whether it is now the policy of her Department to refuse to provide information to hon. Members who make representations on behalf of their constituents; [162850]
(4) if she will clarify the use by her Department of the Data Protection Act 1998 as justification for refusing to provide a substantive reply to representations from hon. Members. [162851]
Mr Harper [holding answer 2 July 2013]: Disclosure of information to MPs is governed by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).
MPs can access information about the Home Office's policy in relation to the release of information to MPs on its website at:
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/informationformps/
This information details the circumstances under which a full or a limited third party response will be issued to MPs.
Crime: Databases
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) arrests, (b) deportations and (c) investigations have been made as a result of the allegations database since it came into operation. [162773]
Mr Harper: Since 30 September 2012, when the Allegations Management System (AMS) was introduced, allegations have resulted in 2,695 investigations with visits by Immigration Enforcement officers, 1,840 arrests and 660 removals. This figure includes deportations and administrative removals.
The arrest and visits data are taken from the National Offenders Database (NOD) and the removals information is from the Case Information Database (CID). The data cover the period up to the end of May 2013.
Notes:
1. All figures quoted are management information which has been subject to internal quality checks. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.
2. The numerical information contained within has been rounded to the nearest five.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many allegations the allegations database has received since it came into operation. [162774]
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Mr Harper: The allegations database came into operation on 30 September 2012. From this date until 30 June 2013 it had received 48,660 allegations. The allegations data is taken from the Allegation Management System (AMS).
Notes:
1. All figures quoted are management information which has been subject to internal quality checks. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.
2. The numerical information contained within has been rounded to the nearest five.
Devolution
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library any concordats which her Department or the public bodies for which she is responsible have with the devolved Administrations. [163153]
James Brokenshire: The Memoranda of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements, agreed in September 2012, set out the principles which underlie the relationship between the UK Government and the devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These documents are available in the House Libraries.
The Home Office is currently discussing a concordat with the Welsh Government and with the Scottish Government. Once agreed they will be published online through the Cabinet Office website and copies placed in the House Libraries.
Each public body is responsible for any concordat it has agreed with counterparts in the devolved Administrations, and for providing information on them. This information is not retained centrally.
Domestic Violence: Hampshire
Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the terms of reference are for the reducing bureaucracy pilots in respect of domestic violence complaints in the county of Hampshire; [162964]
(2) what methodology her Department used to inform the reducing bureaucracy pilots in respect of domestic violence complaints in Hampshire; [162965]
(3) what evaluation she has made of Phase 1 of the reducing bureaucracy pilots on domestic violence in Hampshire. [162966]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The pilot was set up under the then joint Association of Chief Police Officers/Home Office Reducing Bureaucracy Programme Board, chaired by Chief Constable Chris Sims, and is currently transferring to the College of Policing. The aim of the pilot was to develop a proportionate and risk based approach to responding to reports of domestic abuse.
Development of Phase 1 of the pilot was informed by published academic research and consultation with academic experts in the study of domestic violence.
The evaluation of Phase 1 of the pilot consisted of a process evaluation to understand how the pilot affected the process of risk identification and management. Issues arising from Phase 1 are now informing the development of the next phase of the pilot.
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Drugs: Crime
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of trends of those who take legal highs moving on to take illegal drugs; and if she will make a statement. [162922]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The Government have not made an estimate of trends in the number of individuals who take new psychoactive substances (NPS), or so-called “legal highs”, moving on to take illegal drugs.
The Government take the issue of NPS use very seriously and are leading the global effort to tackle the threat they pose. Although sometimes referred to as “legal highs”, NPS cannot be assumed to be safe and often contain a mixture of substances including controlled drugs.
We are working with the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to develop our evidence base and with wider partners to target these drugs on all fronts. The NPS Action Plan, which provides the framework for Government activity, sets out how we aim to reduce demand by raising awareness of the harms associated with NPS; make it difficult to obtain and supply NPS that pose risks to health; and ensure that statutory services are able to effectively provide treatment and recovery.
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the annual cost to her Department of policing illegal highs; and if she will make a statement. [162924]
Damian Green: The Home Office has not made an estimate of the annual cost of policing illegal highs.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Mr Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of students with a Tier 4 visa approving study in a (a) university, (b) further education college and (c) private college (i) enrolled in the institution, (ii) remained until the end of the course and (iii) returned to their home country in the last three years. [163222]
Mr Harper: We do not hold data in a form which allows us to answer the questions posed.
On an individual sponsor basis, the Home Office can manually match and reconcile data to identify students that have enrolled at an institution and remained until the end of the course. However, providing data for all Tier 4 Sponsors covering over 300,000 Confirmations of Acceptance to Study (CAS) annually would require a large scale and disproportionately costly data reconciliation process.
Similarly, reconciling data on all Tier 4 students that have returned to their home country would also require a large-scale reconciliation process.
The Home Office can readily provide data on CAS issued by sponsors; CAS used by applicants; successful visa applicants; and on sponsor reporting of non-attendance.
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Mr Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of Tier 4 visa applications to study in a (a) university, (b) further education college and (c) private college were refused by the UK Border Agency in each of the last three years. [163223]
Mr Harper: There were 74,365, 39,728 and 19,506 decisions to refuse Tier 4-General Student visa applications (for main applicants) in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. This represented 23%, 15%, and 10% of decisions in this category each year.
Corresponding information is not available for individual educational sectors.
The latest Home Office immigration statistics, including those for entry clearance visas, are published in the release Immigration Statistics January-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
Hizb-ut-Tahrir
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Hizb-ut-Tahrir is active on UK university campuses; and what assessment she has made of the level of any such activity. [161583]
James Brokenshire: As outlined in the Prevent Strategy 2011 we believe there is unambiguous evidence to indicate that some extremist organisations, including Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT), target specific universities and colleges (notably those with a large number of Muslim students) with the objective of influencing and recruiting students to support their agenda. We are aware of a small number of universities in the UK where HuT have an influence.
We keep the threat of extremism on university campuses under review, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills works with universities and Student Unions to ensure they are aware of the risks and are given support, advice and guidance to help them manage these. The recently appointed Prevent regional co-ordinators for Further and Higher Educational institutions are identifying pockets of extremist ideology in universities, and helping to equip institutions and student groups to challenge those ideas.
Immigration Controls
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, columns 908-9W, on immigration controls, for what reason the number of visits exceeded the number of applications in 15 out of the 24 months in the figures given. [162455]
Mr Harper: Home Office officials may visit a sponsor for a number of reasons or on one or more occasion. They may visit before or after a licence is granted, or as part of a scheduled review of a sponsor's licence. Sponsors may also request a visit.
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Immigration: Appeals
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what proportion of immigration appeal cases her Department withdrew its decision on the day of the hearing in each of the last three years. [163356]
Mr Harper: A complete set of data for all appeal types is not held centrally and the information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Immigration: Married People
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have had their spousal visa cancelled in each year since 2008. [162744]
Mr Harper: In answering this question we have taken “cancelled” to mean spousal visas that were granted and subsequently the applicants' leave was curtailed.
| Table 1: Curtailed spousal applications, despatched between January 2008 and March 2013 | |
| Decisions despatched | Spouse/partner curtailed |
| Notes: 1. The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols. 2. Figures relate to main applicants only. 3. Data relate to curtailments dispatched between 1 January 2008 and 31 March 2013. 4. Data relate to sponsor visas and applications curtailed. 5. Curtailment data relate to both spouse and partner applications. These data cannot be disaggregated to show spouse applications only. | |
Recruitment
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which newspapers the post of (a) Director of Immigration and Visas and (b) Director of Enforcement has been advertised; and what the cost has been of such advertising. [162419]
Mr Harper: This question is answered on the basis that the director of immigration and visas refers to the director general, UK visas and immigration and the director of enforcement refers to the director general, immigration enforcement.
We expect to advertise the role of director general, immigration enforcement on the external market shortly. The advertising strategy has not been finalised. The role of director general, UK visas and immigration will be advertised later in the year.
Salvation Army
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost of the Salvation Army's Trafficking Support Scheme will be in 2013-14; and what the cost of this scheme was in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [162894]
4 July 2013 : Column 788W
Mr Harper: For 2013-14, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice have allocated £3 million to fund the Salvation Army adult victim care contract in England and Wales.
The cost of the contract in 2011-12 was £2 million and, in 2012-13, was £3 million.
The Home Office and the Ministry of Justice keep the funding position under review.
Serco
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008. [162939]
James Brokenshire: For the last full financial year, 2012-13, the Home Department's total expenditure on contracts with Serco was £109.1 million.
The Home Department's expenditure on contracts with Serco since financial year 2008-09 is detailed in the following table. Spend figures for the current financial year 2013-14 are not yet available.
| Financial year | Expenditure (£ million) |
UK Border Agency
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget of the UK Border Agency was in each year of its establishment. [160075]
Mr Harper: The Budgets for the UK Border Agency for the financial years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 are detailed in the Annual Reports that can be found on the Home Office website via the following link
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/annual-reports-accounts/
The details of the UK Border Agency budget for 2012-13 will be published shortly.
Connaught Asset Management
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations HM Revenue and Customs plans to make into the Connaught Income Series 1 Fund over alleged fraudulent activity; and what investigations her Department has already made on this matter. [162990]
Mr Gauke: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is legally prohibited from discussing the tax affairs of identifiable businesses.
Section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 imposes a duty of confidentiality upon officers of HMRC which means they are unable to disclose information which relates to functions of HMRC. This includes any specific action taken in response to information provided.
4 July 2013 : Column 789W
Culture, Media and Sport
Broadband
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of local authorities' capacity to match-fund the further £250 million in funding for superfast broadband which has been proposed for 2015. [163643]
Mr Vaizey: Local authorities and the devolved Administrations have allocated over £700 million of funding from local funds and the European regional development fund for the current rural broadband projects, reflecting the priority that these bodies give to implementation of superfast broadband. The Government are confident that they will continue to recognise the benefits of investing in broadband delivery.
Digital Broadcasting: North Yorkshire
Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she has taken to improve the digital television signal for residents of (a) North Yorkshire and (b) Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency. [162248]
Mr Vaizey: Ofcom estimates that 98.5% of UK households have access to 17 channels including public service broadcasting (PSB) services on the digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform, and just under 90% of households are also able to receive these and additional DTT channels. Around 1.5% of UK households cannot easily receive DTT services with less than 0.5% not able to receive DTT services at all. However, DTT, cable and satellite digital television services together cover practically 100% of UK households, so that in all but the most exceptional of cases, everyone should be able to get digital television by one means or another. As well as subscription services, digital satellite TV offers non-subscription reception options for a one-off equipment and installation cost, but with no on-going monthly payments. There are no plans to require broadcasters to improve the DTT coverage levels agreed for digital television switchover in 2006.
The current DTT coverage figures for North Yorkshire and the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency are set out in the table.
| Percentage | ||
| Area | DTT Services 3 PSB Multiplexes (access to 17 channels including PSB channel) | DTT Services All 6 National Multiplexes (access to all channels on DTT) |
Coverage is dependent on viewers having suitable rooftop aerials that are directed to the most technically appropriate transmitter for the specific address, and also depends on there being no significant localised obstructions such as trees or tall buildings within (or near) the path between the viewer's aerial and the transmitter. Viewers can check which transmitter serves their own location with Digital UK on 08456 50 50 50 or at
www.digitaluk.co.uk/coveragechecker
4 July 2013 : Column 790W
Glastonbury Festival
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the financial effects of the Glastonbury music festival on the (a) local and (b) national economy. [163101]
Mr Vaizey: The Glastonbury music festival is a great example of the strength and diversity of the UK's live music industry. While we produce economic estimates on the value of the creative industries to the UK economy, including the music industry, we do not do so for specific music festivals.
Internet: Children
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the minutes of and list the attendees at the recent internet and child safety summit held by her Department. [163314]
Mr Vaizey: Attendees at the internet summit on 18 June are listed as follows. While no formal minutes were taken, a number of actions were agreed. These were: all attendees signing a ‘zero tolerance' pledge in relation to child abuse images online; a new proactive role for the IWF and CEOP; additional funding from a number of internet service providers to support this new proactive role; the adoption of ‘splash pages' by all relevant organisations by the end of June, and; for all attendees to report to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport within one month on the opportunities for greater use of technology to support the new proactive approach in removing child abuse images.
Maria Miller MP, Secretary of State, DCMS
Damian Green MP, Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice, Home Office
Edward Timpson MP, Minister for Children and Families, DFE
Claire Perry MP, Prime Minister's adviser on the sexualisation and commercialisation of children
Internet Watch Foundation
CEOP
Yahoo
Microsoft
British Telecommunications
British Sky Broadcasting
Virgin Media
Talk Talk
Vodafone
O2/Telefonica Europe
Everything Everywhere
Three UK
Music: Festivals and Special Occasions
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make an assessment of the benefits to the economy of the music festival industry. [163102]
4 July 2013 : Column 791W
Mr Vaizey: The UK's creative industries and tourism are among the sectors with the greatest potential to drive economic growth. While we produce economic estimates on the value of the creative industries to the UK economy, including the music industry, we do not do so for the music festival industry.
Public Lending Right
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she plans to take to prevent infringement of intellectual property rights resulting from the lending of e-books and audio books by public libraries; and whether she plans to commence the provisions in the Digital Economy Act 2010 that extend public lending right to e-books and audio books. [162505]
Mr Vaizey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 458W.
Public Libraries
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with (a) other government departments and (b) non-governmental bodies on strengthening the role of libraries in (i) promoting digital and other forms of literacy and (ii) providing access to public computers in (A) areas of serious deprivation and (B) other areas, and otherwise furthering national policy. [162378]
Mr Vaizey [holding answer 1 July 2013]: I recently had discussions with the Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd) and I am due to meet Ministers in the Cabinet Office, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government on the Government digital agenda in the provision of the library services. In addition, Arts Council England (ACE) as an arms-length body of Government has identified four priorities to sustain and develop a 21st century public library service including making the most of digital technology and creative media. While many public library services run by the local authorities across England already promote digital literacy and provision of access to computers and the internet, the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) in partnership with ACE and The Reading Agency, launched the Universal Offers initiative in January 2013 which included the Universal Digital Offer that defined the minimum a public library authority should provide and what customers should expect from their public library. This includes free access to the internet for every customer for a minimum period of time and staff trained to help customers access digital information. This initiative is being rolled out across public libraries in England during 2013.
S4C
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the percentage change is in her Department's funding for S4C over the next two years. [154784]
4 July 2013 : Column 792W
Mr Vaizey: The following table sets out S4C's allocation for the financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15 and the percentage change between those years.
| £ million | |||
| Total funding | From DCMS | From BBC | |
| (1) +3.4%. | |||
Serco
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008. [162931]
Maria Miller: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has incurred no expenditure with Serco from 2008 to the present, nor does the Department have any current contracts with Serco.
Staff
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months. [162611]
Mr Vaizey: The information is as follows:
(a) Recruitment agency fees are contained within the invoices submitted by the agency, the rate of charge will vary depending on the individual candidate’s pay rates but this charge is not separately identified on the invoice hence the Department is unable to separate agency charges from the overall payment to the agency for each candidate.
(b) The Department paid outplacement fees for displaced or redundant staff of £63,000 in October 2012.
(c) The amount the Department spent on staff training and development in total in the last 12 months is set out in the table:
| Cost (£) | |
Telecommunications
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she plans to publish a White Paper on a draft Communications Bill. [159102]
4 July 2013 : Column 793W
Mr Vaizey: The Government have been working closely with industry and others to see how we can improve our digital infrastructure and ensure proper protections are put in place for consumers. We will be taking action where necessary, and will set out our strategy and vision for the sector shortly.
Training
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many officials in (a) her Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which she is 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. [155424]
Mr Vaizey: DCMS does not hold central data for the number of delegates attending training courses—attendance is authorised and responsibility devolved to line managers to ensure individuals are getting the training and learning they need to do their jobs and develop their competences. The monetary value for the total cost of courses and the 10 highest training course fees in each year are detailed as follows.
DCMS does not hold data for its public bodies.
Total cost of courses: £102,866.
Monetary value of 10 highest training course fees in the year:
1. £30,000
2. £12,500
3. £9,500
4. £6,500
5. £4,850
6. £4,386
7. £3,756
8. £3,215
9. £1,611
10. £1,611
Total cost of courses: £110,102.
Monetary value of 10 highest training course fees in the year:
1. £12,500
2. £10,966.80
3. £10,800
4. £9,125
5. £9,012
6. £5,760
7. £5,400
4 July 2013 : Column 794W
8. £1,290.60
9. £636
10. £500
Total cost of courses: £324,698.
Monetary value of 10 highest training course fees in the year:
1. £13,500
2. £11,162
3. £10,950
4. £10,950
5. £10,950
6. £9,204
7. £7,578
8. £7,507
9. £7,123.20
10. £6,765
Total cost of courses: £525,068.
Monetary value of 10 highest training course fees in the year:
1. £21,936
2. £17,450
3. £15,170
3. £12,097
4. £12,000
5. £11,979
6. £10,500
7. £10,500
8. £10,089
9. £9,100
10. £8,828
We do not hold records for this period.
Travel
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on ministerial travel by (a) Government Car Service, (b) private hire vehicles, (c) taxis, (d) rail, (e) aviation and (f) other means in each year of the current Parliament. [157542]
Mr Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport spend on car services for ministerial travel through the Government Car Service, is set out in the table. Details of the costs for 2012-13 will be published in the normal way later this year. The Department spend on other forms of ministerial travel is also included in the following table:
| £ | |||||
| Ministerial cars through GCS | Taxis | Other cars | T and S/Overseas (including rail and flight travel) | Totals | |
4 July 2013 : Column 795W
Vending Machines
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many vending machines in her Department's premises contain snack foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value. [163208]
Mr Vaizey: The supply and maintenance of vending machines on the Department's premises is provided under the private finance initiative contract for the building for HMRC. The Department does not hold this information.
Health
ABP Food Group
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what inquiries his Department has made into (a) the beneficial ownership of the network of companies associated with the ABP Food Group and their relationship with Larry Goodman, (b) the frauds he is known to have committed and (c) the investigations into fraudulent mis-labelling of meat in Northern Ireland. [163379]
Anna Soubry: We understand from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that after consideration of all emerging evidence, the beneficial ownership of the network of companies associated with the ABP Food Group and their relationship with Larry Goodman was not deemed to fall under the scope of the FSA investigations.
It was not within the remit of the FSA investigations to consider any other alleged frauds involving Larry Goodman that have been investigated in the past.
The FSA led a number of investigations into the contamination of beef products with horse and pig DNA. Inquiries were made by local authorities into ABP owned businesses as part of these investigations and there was no evidence to suggest that there were any illegal activities to pursue.
The FSA is aware of one investigation being conducted by a local authority in Northern Ireland which involves the fraudulent mis-labelling of meat. This is a live investigation being conducted under police warrant, and the FSA cannot provide any further information at this point so as not to prejudice that investigation and any potential legal action that may flow from it. There is no association between this investigation and the ABP Food Group or Larry Goodman.
Accident and Emergency Departments
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of (a) consultants, (b) registrars and (c) nurse practitioners working in accident and emergency departments in England in each of the last 10 years. [163216]
Dr Poulter:
The annual NHS workforce census published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows the number of consultants and registrars working in accident and emergency departments in England at 30 September each year. The numbers working in accident and emergency departments in England in each of the
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last 10 years are shown in the following table. We are unable to identify nurse practitioners who work specifically within accident and emergency departments as they are not separately identified in the annual census.
| Hospital and Community Health Services: medical staff in the accident and emergency specialty group: England at 30 September each year | ||
| Full-time equivalents | ||
| Consultant | Registrar group | |
| Note: Data quality The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes impact on figures already published, this is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Medical and Dental | ||
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of doctors choosing to specialise in emergency medicine following their (a) Foundation Year 1 and (b) Foundation Year 2 in each of the last 10 years. [163217]
Dr Poulter: The breakdown of the number of Foundation Year 2 doctors who chose to specialise in emergency medicine is not available centrally.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of national training posts for emergency medicine were unfilled in each of the last five years. [163218]
Dr Poulter: The following information provided by Health Education England shows the Emergency Medicine ST4 training and vacancy numbers from 2011-13.
| Total number of posts | Total number of vacancies | |
| Source: Health Education England | ||
It should be noted that information for years 2009 and 2010 is not held centrally due to the national recruitment system being implemented in 2011.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of unfilled posts in accident and emergency departments in each hospital trust in England in each of the last five years. [163219]
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Dr Poulter: The information in the following tables is taken from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) Vacancies Survey March 2010 and March 2009. The surveys focus on vacancies within NHS hospital and community health services. This information has not been collected and held centrally since March 2010.
HSCIC can provide vacancy data by strategic health authority (SHA) area and organisation for consultants with an accident and emergency specialty. Data provided are for consultants, as specialty data within the vacancy collection were gathered for consultants only. The figures quoted are the numbers of vacancies which employers were actively trying to fill as at 31 March in each year. Top line data relating to each SHA area are publicly available on the HSCIC website.
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| Accident and Emergency vacancies | 2010 | 2009 |
| Source: HSCIC Vacancies Survey 2010 and 2009 | ||