School Milk
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he is considering adopting a cap-based solution to the nursery milk scheme. [163674]
Dr Poulter: The Department is analysing evidence and responses received to the Next Steps for Nursery Milk consultation. A decision about the future operation of the nursery milk scheme will be made after full consideration is given to the evidence, responses and other relevant information.
Home Department
Glastonbury Festival
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new psychoactive substances were identified by her Department's forensic early warning system at the Glastonbury festival in (a) 2013, (b) 2012 and (c) 2011. [163612]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The Home Office Forensic Early Warning System (FEWS) identified 13 different new psychoactive substances, most in more than one sample, at the Glastonbury festival in 2011. Of these, nine are currently controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Together with the Advisory Council we continue to develop the evidence on these, and other so called ‘legal highs', as they are identified by FEWS, taking legislative action when the evidence base supports it.
There was no Glastonbury festival in 2012. FEWS attended the 2013 Glastonbury festival which ended last week. The results from the samples analysed at the 2013 festival are not yet available.
Human Trafficking
Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding her Department allocated in 2012-13 and has allocated in 2014-15 for (a) research into the prevention of human trafficking and (b) rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking. [160493]
Mr Harper: No Home Office funding for research into the prevention of human trafficking in 2012-13 was allocated.
Funding for research projects is considered as required.
The Home Office has granted £44,266, in total, to the Refugee Council and The Children's Society for a joint bid to undertake a scoping review of the practical care arrangements for trafficked children. This will add value to our understanding of the issues affecting the lives of this vulnerable group of young people and will be useful in shaping future policy and enhancing practice in this area.
In 2012-13, the Home Office paid £1.5 million to the Ministry of Justice, to fund the victim care contract for adult victims of trafficking in England and Wales.
The victim care contract will be retendered for 2014-15 and the funding position will be kept under review.
Budgets for research and rehabilitation in 2014-15 have not yet been agreed.
Property
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) location and (b) value is of any property her Department owns in Scotland. [160282]
Mr Harper: The Home Department owns one property in Scotland: Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre, Strathaven, Lanarkshire ML10 6RF. This property was valued in March 2011 at £4.6 million.
International Development
Devolution
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will place in the Library any concordats which her Department or the public body for which she is responsible have with the devolved Administrations. [163154]
Mr Duncan: DFID does not have any concordats with counterparts in the devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
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Dominican Republic
Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid the Government provided (a) directly and (b) via multilateral agencies to support judicial and penal reform in the Dominican Republic in each of the last five years. [163668]
Mr Duncan: There has been no bilateral funding provided to multilateral agencies supporting judicial and penal reform in the Dominican Republic in the last five years. The FCO has provided some support to the judicial and penal systems from their own budget.
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Justice
Burglary
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of people convicted of burglary offences were given custodial sentences in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [161484]
Jeremy Wright: The number of offenders found guilty, sentenced and sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for burglary offences, with immediate custody rate (the proportion of offenders sentenced who are sentenced to immediate custody), in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2012, can be viewed in the table.
| Offenders found guilty, sentenced and sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for burglary offences, with immediate custody rate, England and Wales, 2008-12(1,2) | |||||
| Outcome | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The proportion of offenders sentenced who are sentenced to immediate custody. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | |||||
Legal Aid Scheme
David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was paid in legal aid fees to (a) Mr Mohammed Tayyab Khan and (b) Mr Dean Kershaw; and what the total amount paid in legal aid fees was arising from the case of Crown v Ali and Others held at Stafford Crown Court between May and September 2011. [158565]
Jeremy Wright: The information is not readily available. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as the information has been collated by the Legal Aid Agency.
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what (a) proportion and (b) amount of his Department's criminal legal aid budget was allocated to high value cases in each of the last three years; [161085]
(2) if he will place in the Library a breakdown of how his Department's criminal legal aid budget has been spent in each of the last three years; [161124]
(3) what amount his Department spent in each of the last three years on legal cases involving bank fraud. [161086]
Jeremy Wright: At £2 billion a year we have one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world and must ensure we get best value for every penny of taxpayers' money spent. We have recently finished consulting on a number of proposals to reform legal aid and are now carefully examining all the responses.
Very High Cost Cases are defined by the Legal Aid Agency as those cases in which a legal aid representation order has been granted on or after 3 October 2011 and, if the case were to proceed to trial, would likely last more than 60 days. There is no separate budget within the overall legal aid forecast for such cases, and as such the information requested is not held.
A breakdown of spending on both civil and criminal legal aid is contained in the Legal Services Commission (now Legal Aid Agency) Annual Report. Each year the Ministry of Justice lays this Annual Report in Parliament ahead of publication, meaning it is available to all Members. The 2012-13 Legal Services Commission Annual Report was laid in Parliament on 25 June.
Information on the amount of legal aid spending in cases involving bank fraud is not available. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) funds legal services within broad categories of law, such as public law and immigration and asylum. Legal aid spending on bank fraud cannot be disaggregated from other spending on fraud matters. The amount spent on fraud matters in each of the last three years was:
| Fraud matters costs (£ million) | |
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| Notes: 1. The above costs include VAT and disbursements. 2. These include crime lower claims, crime higher—Litigator Graduated Fee Scheme, Advocate Graduated Fee Scheme and Very High Cost Case bills paid, as well as the costs paid by Her Majesty's' Courts and Tribunals Services on Crown Court cases. 3. They exclude costs paid by the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court, House of Lords and Senior Courts Costs Office. |
Legal Aid Scheme: Travellers
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much funding the Legal Services Commission has provided for Travellers to provide representation at (a) planning inquiries and (b) court cases on planning in each of the last five years; [160151]
(2) how much funding has been provided to Travellers under the exceptional funding scheme relating to planning issues in each of the last five years; [160149]
(3) how much funding has been provided through the Legal Services Commission to the Community Law Partnership for the provision of legal advice for Travellers on planning in each of the last five years. [160153]
Jeremy Wright: The Legal Aid Agency (former Legal Services Commission) is unable to say how much funding has been provided for Travellers under the exceptional funding scheme or for representation at planning inquiries and court cases on planning, because it does not hold information to indicate whether clients in such cases belong to particular ethnic groups.
The Community Law Partnership is contracted with the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) to provide face-to-face and telephone advice. In face-to-face advice, the LAA does not record travellers separately. In telephone advice, it is not possible to distinguish the costs relating to planning from other costs associated with housing matters.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether Travellers (a) facing planning enforcement cases and (b) applying for retrospective planning permission, are eligible for legal aid; and what his policy is on using money from the public purse to assist Travellers in challenging planning enforcement decisions of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. [160152]
Jeremy Wright: Under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, civil legal aid is not generally available for planning matters—including retrospective planning permission. Where an individual faces eviction from their home (including the land on which the home is located) legal aid is generally available (subject to means and merits) in relation to that matter. However, where the individual is a trespasser, legal aid is not available in relation to eviction.
Legal Aid Scheme: Wales
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the cost was of legal aid in North Wales in each of the last five years; [156694]
(2) how many legal firms have participated in the legal aid system in each of the last five years; [156696]
(3) how many people qualified for legal aid in North Wales in each of the last five years. [156697]
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Jeremy Wright: The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) holds information in relation to the total cost of legal and number of acts of assistance provided in North Wales (as defined by LAA procurement area boundaries) and the number of legal aid offices in England and Wales for each of the past five financial years.
The information requested is detailed in the tables:
| Legal aid in North Wales | |||||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
| Number of offices in England and Wales | |||||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
The costs include VAT and disbursements such as expenses, third party costs, and costs paid by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Services (HMCTS) on crown court cases.
The information does not include costs paid by the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court, House of Lords, and Senior Court Costs Office. Solicitor advocates are treated as Barristers and costs paid to them are not included as part of the firm.
The LAA does not record the number of people who qualified for legal aid. Instead it records the number of ‘acts of assistance'. One individual may receive a number of separate acts of assistance, and one act of assistance can help more than one person.
A solicitor office may hold both a civil and a criminal contract and the aggregate of civil and criminal offices does not reflect the total number of providers.
Legal Costs
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much his Department spent on (a) external legal advice from Queen's Counsel and (b) other external legal advice (i) between 7 May 2010 and 4 September 2012 and (ii) since 4 September 2012; [154137]
(2) what the 20 highest amounts paid for external legal advice by his Department were in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; to whom such payments were made; and for what reasons such legal advice was sought; [154138]
(3) how much his Department spent on external legal advice (a) between 7 May 2010 and 4 September 2012 and (b) since 4 September 2012; [154139]
(4) what the highest day rate paid for external legal advice by his Department was since 7 May 2010; [154140]
(5) what the 20 highest amounts paid for external legal advice by his Department were in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; to whom such sums were paid; and for what reasons the legal advice was sought. [158633]
Jeremy Wright:
The information I am providing covers external legal spend by the Ministry of Justice and its Executive Agencies (Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals
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Service, and the National Offender Management Service). It does not cover spend on external legal advice by the Department's arm’s length bodies.
In answering the questions I have assumed that external legal spend in this context means spend on legal advice given to the Department other than by the Ministry of Justice Legal Directorate or the Treasury Solicitor's Department. The Treasury Solicitor's Department conducts the majority of the litigation for the Department and therefore the majority of spend on litigation is not reflected in the following figures.
The information I can provide is:
Breakdown of external legal spend by counsel and other suppliers for 2012-13 FY:
| Supplier | Spend (£) |
Counsel here means all counsel and not just Queen's Counsel. This is because the supplier information on our accounts systems does not always specify if a particular barrister is a Queen's Counsel or not, and because in some cases the Chambers rather than the individual barrister is recorded. The figure only includes Counsel instructed directly by the Department rather than through the Treasury Solicitor's Department. Please refer to the information supplied in relation to Q.3 for the total external spend for the 2012-13 FY.
It is not possible to provide this information for other financial years because the way in which the Department recorded legal spend in previous years did not breakdown the data in this manner. To ascertain the breakdown for previous financial years would incur disproportionate cost as it would require examining a substantial number of financial records spanning several years.
The accounts systems and the manner in which the Department is invoiced for external legal advice means that it is not possible to identify the 20 highest amounts paid for advice, by whom, and for what reason the advice was sought in each of the years requested. Additionally, the information is recorded by supplier and not by matter. The only way to identify some of this information would be to examine and cross-reference a substantial number of individual invoices spanning several years. This would incur disproportionate cost for the Department and I am therefore unable to answer this question. Furthermore, to provide details on why advice was sought from external legal suppliers could raise issues of legal privilege.
Total external legal spend by the Ministry of Justice, HMCTS and NOMS by financial year:
| Financial year | Total external legal spend (£) |
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As with Q.2 above, the accounts systems and the manner in which the Department is invoiced for external legal advice means that it is not possible to identify the highest day rate paid between 7 May 2010 and 4 September 2012, and from 4 September 2012 onward. The only way this information might be available would be to examine a substantial number of individual invoices spanning several years. This would incur disproportionate cost for the Department and I am therefore unable to answer this question.
Prison Service
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison staff were dismissed for conducting inappropriate relationships with prisoners in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [159428]
Jeremy Wright: The definition of an inappropriate relationship is any relationship with prisoners, ex prisoners, partners, immediate family or close associates involved in criminal activities if not formally declared to the governor or head of NOMS unit as a potential ‘Conflict of Interest'. The information setting out how many prison staff were dismissed solely for having an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner(s)(1) is set out in the table:
| Number | |
It should be noted that all corrupt activity contains an element of inappropriate relationships with prisoners, and is usually a precursor to such activity and so numbers will be greater for those who were dismissed for having been involved in an inappropriate relationship and which also contained another element of corruption, such as the conveying of mobile phones which would be an offence under the Offender Management Act.
Corruption in the Prison Service is not acceptable and will be sought out and prevented. This Government are committed to ensuring that the agencies remain free from corruption and that those who do commit illegal acts are dealt with swiftly and reported to the prosecuting authorities.
(1) The information provided has been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
Prisoner Escapes
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prisoners who escaped during transit in the last five years are still to be recaptured; and of what offence each escapee had been convicted; [154387]
(2) how many escapes there were during prisoner transit in each of the last five years. [154388]
Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the number of escapes that have occurred while prisoners are in transit between 2007-08 and 2011-12, the most recent
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period for which data are available. The table includes escorts conducted by contractors under the Prison Escort and Custody Services contract and HM Prison Service staff.
All prisoners who escaped in transit between 2007-08 and 2011-12 have subsequently been recaptured.
The total number of escapes from custody has been falling since 1995 when central records began, despite an increasing prison population. The majority of escorts take place without incident; escapes involving outside assistance, particularly armed assistance, are extremely rare.
| Table 1: Number of prisoners escaping while in transit, by financial year, between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2012 | |
| Number of escapes | |
| Note: These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. | |
The Ministry of Justice is currently taking action to reduce the risk of escape further, particularly the risk of escape from escort. However, this risk remains low with only one escape from escort contractors for every 72,510 prisoners passing through Prisoner Escort Custody Services custody.
Prisons: Corruption
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what training is expected of employees in HM Prison Service in dealing with corruption (a) on commencing their employment and (b) on an ongoing basis as part of continuing professional development. [159443]
Jeremy Wright: Corruption in the Prison Service is not acceptable and will be sought out and prevented. This Government are committed to ensuring that the agencies remain free from corruption and that those who do commit illegal acts are dealt with swiftly and reported to the prosecuting authorities.
Corruption ‘prevention’ activity and the raising of awareness amongst staff remains at the heart of the NOMS corruption prevention strategy. (a) All new officers and operational support grades receive training in (1) Expected Standards of Behaviour and (2) Conditioning, Manipulation and Corruption Prevention awareness. (b) For all new and current staff within an establishment training is conducted on an ongoing basis and is promoted at a local, regional and national level. During 2011 a new DVD/training package covering conditioning and manipulation and the risks of engaging inappropriate relationships was rolled out to all public sector prisons. In April 2012 it was rolled out to contracted prisons.
Prisons: Employment
Priti Patel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2013, Official Report, column 22W, on prisons: employment, what
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proportion of prisoners who have participated in the One3One programme have entered into
(a)
full-time and
(b)
part-time employment upon release from prison in the last 12 months. [162357]
Jeremy Wright: This information is not held by the Department. The work in prison policy ensures that prisoners are employed purposefully when in prison and we believe there are advantages in work in prison in preparing prisoners for employment following release. The Government's plans for new resettlement prisons will help ex-offenders back into employment after release by providing rehabilitative services in prison and a tailored package of supervision and support in the community.
Figures for 2011-12 show that 26.6 % of prisoners were released from prison into employment, as published in the National Offender Management Service Annual Report 2011/12: Management Information Addendum(1). The figures for 2012-13 are scheduled for publication on 25 July. In addition, from March 2012 all prisoners eligible for jobseeker’s allowance and who have claimed in advance of, or in the 13 weeks following release, have been mandated onto the DWP work programme.
(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment _data/file/163292/noms-annual-report-2011-12-addendum.pdf.pdf
RSPCA
Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much legal aid the RSPCA claimed in (a) the five years prior to 2010 and (b) in each year since. [161614]
Jeremy Wright: The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has not provided any legal aid funding to the RSPCA in the period in question.
Prime Minister
Ian Livingston
Ann McKechin: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what (a) assessment and (b) recommendations the Adviser on Ministers' Interests has made on the scale of shareholdings in British Telecom held by Ian Livingston; [163414]
(2) what (a) oral and (b) written discussions he has had with the Independent Adviser on Minister's Interests on the appointment of Ian Livingston as Minister for Trade. [163401]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) on 4 July 2013, Official Report, column 733W.
Kazakhstan
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Prime Minister what human rights issues were raised during his visit to Kazakhstan; and if he will make a statement. [163520]
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The Prime Minister: The UK has a range of interests in Kazakhstan covering prosperity, security and values, and is looking to secure a step-change in its bilateral relations. The Strategic Partnership that I signed during my visit sets out important areas of mutual interest, including the promotion of democracy and human rights, and provides a structure to make progress.
We have a strong record of funding human rights projects and raising issues of concern with the Kazakh Government, and I discussed these issues with the President.
Pakistan
Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister what matters in respect of Pakistan's continued possession of nuclear weapons he discussed with his Pakistani counterpart during his recent visit to Pakistan. [163634]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made in the House on Afghanistan and EU Council on 2 July 2013, Official Report, columns 751-53, where I set out my discussions with Prime Minister Sharif of Pakistan.
Scotland
Public Expenditure
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he received from the Scottish Government on the spending review. [163067]
Michael Moore: Scotland Office Ministers have received no representations from the Scottish Government on the spending review.
Transport
Aviation: Greater London
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether the funding announced in the 2013 Spending Round to improve air links to London will be available to all regional airports; [163345]
(2) whether the funding announced in the 2013 Spending Round to improve air links to London will be used to restore links that no longer operate; [163347]
(3) what proportion of matched funding must be provided as a condition of accessing the funding announced to improve air links to London; [163348]
(4) what criteria he will use to assess bids by regional airports for funding announced in the 2013 Spending Round to improve air links to London. [163349]
Mr Simon Burns: The importance of regional air connectivity to London airports is recognised in the Aviation Policy Framework (APF), which confirms that the Government would be inclined to support proposals by devolved and regional bodies to establish Public Service Obligations (PSOs) that comply with the specific conditions within EU law (Regulation 1008/2008), where necessary to protect services between other UK airports and London.
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The APF states that regional bodies (e.g. devolved Administrations, local authorities and local enterprise partnerships (LEPs)) will continue to be responsible for developing the business, financial and legal cases required by—the regulation on PSOs, and for demonstrating the importance of particular air services to the economic development of areas of the UK. Where the case for a PSO has been made the Government will agree, subject to periodic review, the appropriate level of support we will provide alongside regional support.
Cycling: Training
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding has been allocated to Bikeability cycle training as a result of decisions announced in spending round 2013, Cm 8639. [163536]
Norman Baker: The Department needs time to determine the implications of the recent Spending Round and will set out more details in due course. However we are working to ensure the best result possible.
Driving Offences: Speed Limits
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speeding offences have been committed in (a) Barnsley Central constituency and (b) South Yorkshire in each year since 2010. [163673]
Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold this information. South Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership, which includes the police, are responsible for the collection of this data.
Driving: Licensing
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the Green Paper on graduated licensing for young drivers as announced in March 2013. [163193]
Stephen Hammond: We intend to publish the Green Paper later in the year.
Freight
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent research he has conducted into the volumes of freight moved (a) to and (b) from container ports in the UK by (i) road and (ii) rail in each of the last 10 years. [163703]
Stephen Hammond: We have not undertaken such research and the information requested is not held centrally.
However, as part of its long-term planning process, Network Rail recently published a draft Freight Market Study for consultation. This is available at
www.networkrail.co.uk/improvements/planning-policies-and-plans/long-term-planning-process/market-studies/freight/
It gives an indication of the growth in ports and domestic intermodal container traffic carried by rail from 1998-2011.
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to increase multi-modal freight capacity in the UK port sector. [163704]
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Stephen Hammond: The ports sector has, through commercial investment in co-operation with Network Rail and other transport providers, ensured that major ports are generally well equipped to make good use of rail and coastal shipping where these are viable alternatives to road transport.
The Government continues to encourage rail freight at ports, and coastal shipping, through appropriate incentives.
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with Network Rail regarding freight capacity at UK ports. [163705]
Mr Simon Burns: This is an operational matter for Network Rail in collaboration with the port authorities and the freight train operating companies. Network Rail and the freight operators work closely with the ports to provide appropriate and adequate rail connectivity.
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of (a) passenger and (b) freight services shifted from road to rail in each year since 1993-94. [163706]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not have information on modal shifts.
However, the statistics published in table TSGB0101 at the following link show the proportion of passenger kilometres by mode of transport since 1952:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/tsgb01-modal-comparisons
Table TSGB0401 at the following link shows domestic freight transport by mode since 1953:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/tsgb04-freight
High Speed 2 Railway Line
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what amount HS2 Ltd and his Department have spent on outside bodies promoting High Speed 2, by contractor company. [R] [163083]
Mr Simon Burns: HS2 Ltd and the Department have used two contractors in promoting HS2:
Westbourne Communications Ltd—£80,304.00
Tomboy Films UK Ltd—£86,043.60
Westbourne Communications Ltd—£23,952.00
In addition to the figures above, HS2 Ltd currently have two staff from Westbourne on secondment, specifically working on the promotion of HS2. Costs for these secondments paid to Westbourne to end June are £84,480 and fall to HS2 Ltd's communications professional services budget.
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will instruct High Speed 2 Ltd to carry out a feasibility study of Option 8 at Euston station; [163712]
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(2) when he became aware that High Speed 2 Ltd has not carried out a feasibility study of Option 8 at Euston station. [163713]
Mr Simon Burns: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport was advised in December 2012 that a revised design, originally termed Option 8, was being progressed by HS2 Ltd for Euston station that would deliver the required functionality with less disruption and at a lower cost. The Department for Transport is currently consulting on a range of design refinements for Phase 1 of HS2, including the design of Euston station. Once the consultation closes on 11 July, the Government will then fully consider the responses before deciding on whether to proceed with the proposed revision to the design of Euston station.
Network Rail
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will bring forward legislative proposals to enable Network Rail to be considered a public body for the purposes of auditing by the National Audit Office; [163618]
(2) if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that Network Rail is audited by the National Audit Office; and if he will make a statement; [163619]
(3) what plans his Department has to make Network Rail subject to scrutiny by the National Audit Office; and if he will make a statement. [163620]
Mr Simon Burns: Network Rail is a private sector company limited by guarantee, as determined by the Office for National Statistics in line with internationally accepted standards. The company's activities are governed by the regulatory regime provided by the Railways Act 1993 as amended.
It is right that the National Audit Office and Parliament should hold the Department for Transport to account for the way that public money is used to secure public services.
However, we see no benefit in duplicating, through the National Audit Office, the Network Rail scrutiny and oversight responsibilities that Parliament has vested in the independent Office of Rail Regulation through legislation.
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to improve the level of public scrutiny on the performance of Network Rail. [163621]
Mr Simon Burns: The independent Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has a wide range of powers for scrutinising and enforcing Network Rail's performance of its obligations. The Department for Transport is working closely with ORR to improve the quality, transparency and availability of information about both Network Rail and train operators' performance and efficiency, so as to bear down on industry performance and costs and give rail users the tools to hold the industry to account.
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Railways: Freight
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the effect that the introduction of Network Rail's new track access charges for freight operating companies will have on annual rail freight volumes from and to UK ports; [163701]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect that Network Rail's introduction of track access charges for freight operating companies will have on annual volumes of freight carried by (a) rail and (b) road. [163702]
Mr Simon Burns: The framework for Network Rail's track access charges is established by the independent rail regulator, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), having regard to the Government's objectives for the continuing development of a competitive, efficient and dynamic private sector rail freight industry. Within that framework, the level of the charges is a matter for Network Rail. It is for both bodies to assess the impact of their proposals, on the basis of consultation with the industry and wider interests.
Shipping
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has conducted into (a) training and (b) employment incentives for domestic seafarers that currently apply in other EU countries. [163986]
Stephen Hammond: No specific research was carried out. However, in 2011 the Department commissioned an independent review of the economic requirement for trained seafarers in the UK. Its final report is on the Government website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3540/economic-requirement-report.pdf
and includes comparisons of the training regimes in the United Kingdom, Holland and Denmark.
Tonnage Tax
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the core training commitment is for each company group elected to the Tonnage Tax scheme in 2013-14 to date; how many officer training places this converts to; and whether any company groups intend to observe the scheme's voluntary link to provide training for UK ratings. [163984]
Stephen Hammond: The tonnage tax training requirement is monitored on the basis of training commitment years, which run from October to September, rather than on a financial year basis. Figures for the 2013-14 training commitment year are not yet available. The identity of tonnage tax companies and groups is tax confidential, and I am therefore unable to provide information in respect of individual companies and groups.
Approved core training commitments for the 2012-13 training commitment year are for around 600 new first year officer trainees. Additionally, company groups are required to provide second and third year training for trainees taken on during the previous two years when
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they were in the tonnage tax. The cumulative training commitment for 2012-13 is therefore around 1,800 officer trainees. The tonnage tax scheme imposes no numeric requirement in relation to UK ratings' training, but training has so far been provided for around 20 ratings to officer conversion trainees in 2012-13.
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has conducted into tonnage tax levels that currently apply in other EU countries. [163987]
Stephen Hammond: No specific research has been carried out. However, the Government are aware of the tax rates which operate in comparable tonnage tax schemes in other EU countries.
Travel
Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials in his Department (a) are working on cycling and active travel issues and (b) are projected to be so working in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16. [163069]
Norman Baker: Currently, 9.9 full-time equivalent officials are allocated to roles directly related to cycling and active travel. However, many other officials are involved in cycling and active travel in the Department in related policy areas and in specialist disciplines.
No changes in staff levels are currently planned in 2014-15 and 2015-16. However, the Department regularly reviews its resource allocation through corporate planning to align resources with our business plan objectives.
Treasury
Banks: Foreign Workers
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many jobs in banks with a full or majority stake held by the Government have been outsourced overseas since 2008; [163288]
(2) what the policy of UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) is on the practice of overseas outsourcing of jobs by those financial institutions in which UKFI has a stake. [163310]
Sajid Javid: The Government's shareholdings in Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are managed on a commercial and arm's length basis by UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI).
UKFI's role is to manage the stakes and not to manage the banks.
Decisions on staffing are operational decisions and are for the banks themselves. The Government are therefore unable to comment on this matter.
Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when the Government plans to publish the response to the consultation on Alcohol Fraud: legislative measures to tackle existing and emerging threats to the UK alcohol duty regime; [163337]
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(2) what legislative proposals the Government plans to bring forward to tackle alcohol duty fraud; [163338]
(3) if he will publish each response received to the consultation on Alcohol Fraud: legislative measures to tackle existing and emerging threats to the UK alcohol duty regime. [163339]
Sajid Javid: The Government intends to publish a summary of the responses received to the 2012 consultation on alcohol fraud, and announce what action it intends to take to address fraud, in the near future.
Fracking
Mark Menzies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that any community benefit revenue that is derived from shale gas is apportioned to people living in the immediate vicinity of well sites. [162967]
Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The industry trade body UK Onshore Operators Group (UKOOG) published a Community Engagement Charter on 27 June setting out their commitments on engagement with communities that host shale gas developments.
This also sets their proposals on how communities will benefit directly from developments in their areas and commits to provide a share of proceeds at production stage of 1% of revenues. Further, as part of this commitment they have stated that approximately two thirds of this benefit will be allocated to the local community; the rest will be allocated at county level.
UKOOG will provide further detail on fund allocation later in the year and will be working with interested parties and councils over the course of the next few months to finalise plans.
Mark Menzies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is his policy to provide a gold standard of regulation on shale gas operations before any potential move to the extraction phase. [162968]
Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The UK has a strong regulatory system which provides a comprehensive and fit for purpose regime for shale gas exploration, but we want continuously to improve it. The Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil works closely with the regulators and industry to ensure that the regulatory system applied to potential shale gas production is as streamlined as possible, while remaining robust enough to safeguard public safety and protect the environment.
Minimum Wage
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many unannounced minimum wage inspections were carried out by HM Revenue and Customs on companies located in (a) Newcastle Upon Tyne North constituency, (b) the North East and (c) England in each of the last five years; [163197]
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(2) how many notices of minimum wage underpayments were issued by HM Revenue and Customs to companies located in (a) Newcastle Upon Tyne North constituency, (b) the North East and (c) England in each of the last five years; and how many such companies (i) paid within 14 days, (ii) paid within 28 days and (iii) took their case to appeal; [163199]
(3) how many complaints regarding minimum wage non-compliance were received by HM Revenue and Customs regarding companies located in (a) Newcastle Upon Tyne North constituency, (b) the North East and (c) England in each of the last five years; and what proportion of these complaints resulted in prosecutions. [163200]
Mr Gauke: HMRC does not keep statistics related to the number of unannounced inspections carried out.
HMRC does not keep statistics at constituency level and, since April 2011, no longer captures complaints or the outcomes of its investigations by reference to government regions or country.
As a consequence of the way in which contact information for employers is recorded, HMRC is not able to produce exact statistics relating to companies located in England.
The data in the table relate to notice of underpayments by compliance teams based in England. Please note that Notices of Underpayment were not introduced until April 2009.
| Financial year | Notice of Underpayment issued | Paid within 14 days | Appeals received |
HMRC does not record the timescale in which the employer pays arrears to workers. HMRC does, however, record where an employer is entitled to pay a reduced penalty charge by paying arrears to workers and the reduced penalty charge to HMRC within 14 days.
The data in the following table relate to complaint cases allocated to compliance teams based in England for the period requested.
| Financial year | Complaint cases | Prosecutions |
Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many allegations of non-compliance with national minimum wage legislation in (a) total, (b) each region of the UK and (c) the London borough of Harrow were received by HM Revenue and Customs in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [163390]
Mr Gauke:
HMRC does not keep statistics at constituency level and since April 2011 does not collate information relating to complaints about non-payment of the minimum wage by government region. I refer the
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hon. Member to my answer of 4 February 2013,
Official Report
, column 18W, for the total number of complaints received in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The total number of complaints received in 2012-13 was 1,408. The table provides a breakdown by region for 2010-11.
| Government region | Number of complaints |
New Enterprise Allowance: Barnsley
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of businesses in Barnsley Central constituency who will receive the £2,000 enterprise allowance. [163675]
Mr Gauke: Constituency level estimates of those likely to benefit from the employment allowance are not available. In total, up to 1.25 million employers will benefit from the allowance, with over 90% of this benefit going to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward a stamp duty rebate for homes participating in the Green Deal. [163185]
Sajid Javid: Following the Chancellor's announcement of £200 million additional capital to encourage uptake of Green Deal in 2011 autumn statement, the Government are using £125 million of this to fund a generous Cashback scheme to be claimed by those who take up Green Deal from January 2013.
Other uses of the additional capital include £12 million of funding that has been allocated to seven cities across England to help pilot Green Deal in their regions.
The Government do not have any plans to introduce a SDLT relief for homes participating in the Green Deal.
However stamp duty land tax policy, like that of all taxes, is kept under review through the normal Budget process.
Ulster Bank
Ms Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his Department's staff at each level have been transferred to Belfast to work on issues related to the operation of Ulster Bank. [162560]
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Sajid Javid [holding answer 1 July 2013]: The Government's shareholdings are managed on an arm's length, commercial basis by UK Financial Investments. It would not be appropriate for the Treasury staff to be involved in RBS' or Ulster Bank's operational issues.
Ulster Bank remains an important part of core RBS and a major lender in Northern Ireland. It is in the UK's interest that Ireland has a successful economy and a stable banking system.
Work and Pensions
Atos Healthcare
Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Atos assessment centres there are in the UK; and how many have disabled parking facilities. [163682]
Esther McVey: Atos undertakes work capability assessments (WCAs) and, in some parts of the UK, personal independence payment (PIP) assessments on behalf of the Department. For WCAs, there are 123 permanent Atos assessment centre locations and 68 have disabled parking facilities.
Atos' delivery model for PIP assessments is different to that for WCAs as it utilises the premises of supply chain partners already established in the health care sector such as private physiotherapy practices and hospitals. Atos are contractually required to provide accommodation for face-to-face consultations which meets the Department's standards including access to suitable parking. Atos has up to 189 sites which it can currently use and will make more sites available as volumes of PIP assessments rise.
Children: Poverty
Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of children in the UK living in poverty; and what steps the Government are taking to substantially reduce child poverty in the near future. [163710]
Esther McVey: The Child Poverty Act 2010 sets four income-based UK-wide targets to be met by 2020. The targets are based on the proportion of children living in households with relative low income, combined low income and material deprivation, absolute low income and persistent poverty (all before housing costs have been taken into account). Estimates of these are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised') for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
UK figures for relative and absolute low income and combined low income and material deprivation for 2011/12 and persistent poverty for 2005-08 can be found in the latest HBAI publication, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/households-below-average-income-hbai-199495-to-201112
Relevant figures can be found in Table 4.1tr (on page 102) for the latest relative low income figures, table 4.2tr (on page 103) for the latest absolute low income figures and table 4.5tr (on page 106) for the latest combined
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low income and material deprivation figures. The latest persistent poverty estimates can be found in table 7.1 tr (on page 248).
The evidence consistently shows that the best routes out of poverty are through parents being in work and through a child's educational achievement which can stop a poor child becoming a poor adult.
We are introducing the universal credit which will reduce child poverty through making work pay and providing an effective route out of poverty. Universal credit will improve work incentives by allowing individuals to keep more of their income as they move into work, and by introducing a smoother and more transparent reduction of benefits when they increase their earnings. Universal credit will also reduce child poverty by re-focusing of entitlements on lower income in-work households and having a simpler system that should lead to a considerable increase in the take-up compared to the current complex system of benefits and tax credits.
We are also firmly committed to giving poor children the best opportunities in life to help break the poverty cycle so they do not go on to become poor adults. Targeting education as a route out of poverty, we are investing £2.5 billion in the pupil premium to raise educational attainment of poor children, as well as 260,000 disadvantaged two-year-olds receiving 15 hours a week of free early years education.
We want to develop better measures of child poverty which include but go beyond income to provide a more accurate picture of the reality of child poverty and drive the right action. Our consultation on how best to measure child poverty closed on 15 February. The complexity of the issue means that we need to take time to ensure we have the best option for measuring child poverty, so that we can ensure we properly tackle the causes. We will publish our response as soon as we can.
Employment and Support Allowance
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how often people with (a) rheumatoid arthritis, (b) cystic fibrosis and (c) multiple sclerosis were reassessed for employment and support allowance. [163611]
Mr Hoban: Claimants with these health conditions do not have pre-determined intervals for reassessment.
Everyone who claims employment and support allowance (ESA) will undergo periodic work capability assessments (WCAs) to ascertain whether they still meet the conditions for the benefit. This is because entitlement to ESA is based on an individual's functional ability rather than the condition itself. Individuals with lifetime impairments may be able to adapt to those conditions and take up some work. So it is important we can provide them with the right support to get back to work when it is appropriate.
A claimant for whom a return to work is considered unlikely within two years will be reassessed after two years. This is because, even for claimants who are unlikely to see an improvement in their health and who are unlikely to sufficiently adapt to their condition, it is important that we do not write them off completely. However, this reassessment will not necessarily involve a face-to-face assessment—where possible, the Department may make a decision using paper-based evidence.
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The WCA is an assessment of someone's functional capability, not just their condition. A disability or health condition will affect different people in different ways therefore it is important to treat people as individuals and assess their capability for work, rather than labelling them because of their condition.
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people assessed by ESA50 without a face-to-face interview were placed into the (a) support group and (b) work-related activity group in each month from 1 July 2012. [163613]
Mr Hoban: This information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many and what proportion of employment and support allowance claimants in the work-related activity group are in employment 12 to 18 months after their claim; [163677]
(2) how many and what proportion of employment and support allowance claimants found fit for work are in employment 12 to 18 months after their claim; [163678]
(3) how many and what proportion of jobseeker's allowance claimants are in employment 12 to 18 months after their claim. [163680]
Mr Hoban: Detailed information on the long term destinations of employment and support allowance (ESA) and jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of employment and support allowance claimants found fit for work flow on to jobseeker's allowance. [163679]
Mr Hoban: It is not currently possible to provide information on the number of people found fit for work moving from employment support allowance (ESA) to jobseeker's allowance (JSA) and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.
Industrial Health and Safety
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has made to the European Union Employment Commissioner on the Commission's current review of health and safety policy; and if he will make a statement. [163405]
Mr Hoban: The Commission plans to review the entire suite of occupational health and safety Directives by 2015. Member states must submit by December 2013 reports on how they have practically implemented these directives. HSE is currently preparing the UK's report. The Government will continue to argue through the review that EU legislation should be risk based and proportionate, and that burdens on business should be reduced where possible, without reducing necessary protections.
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Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research his Department has commissioned since May 2010 on making workplaces safer; and if he will make a statement. [163407]
Mr Hoban: HSE has a statutory duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to conduct research and publish the results. Since 2010 the focus of current research is devoted to occupational health, mainly in the area of long latency health risks. Other research covers major hazard and specialised industries and economic and statistical research. Further details can be found on the HSE website at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/content/science-plan-2012-15.pdf
The annual science report to the HSE Board examines how HSE uses, publishes and evaluates its commissioned research. Further details can be found on the HSE website at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/meetings/hseboard/2013/300113/pjanb1308.pdf
Industrial Health and Safety: Construction
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many fatal accidents occurred in the construction sector in the last year for which figures are available; and how many of the people who were killed were (a) self-employed, (b) employed by firms with fewer than 10 employees and (c) employed by firms with fewer than 50 employees. [163614]
Mr Hoban: The figures for fatal accidents within the construction sector are provided in Table 1, by employment status, including (a) the self-employed. These represent the latest annual figures as published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on 3 July 2013.
The figures are not available broken down by (b) employed by firms with fewer than 10 employees and (c) employed by firms with fewer than 50 employees as, due to the often complex employment structures and the transient nature of construction work, HSE is not able to routinely record information on the precise size of these firms.
| Table 1: Fatal injuries to workers in the construction industry(1) as reported to all enforcing authorities 2012-13(2) | |
| Great Britain | Number |
| (1) Statistics are identified by Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC2007) Section F—Construction. (2) Provisional. (3) The term ‘worker' covers employees and self-employed combined. | |
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on exemptions to the new jobseeker's allowance seven-day waiting rule; and if he will make a statement. [163291]
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Mr Hoban: Detailed policies on this measure are yet to be decided. However current rules exempt claimants from serving waiting days where they have returned to jobseeker's allowance within 12 weeks of the end of a previous claim to jobseeker's allowance or a previous claim to another benefit, for example employment and support allowance. Young people who receive jobseeker's allowance under severe hardship provisions are also exempt. It is likely that these exemptions will be carried forward to the new, extended seven-day waiting rule.
Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department plans to issue to staff in Jobcentre Plus on advice they can give to unemployed people who are in financial difficulties and are in the seven-day waiting period for jobseeker's allowance on assistance they can access. [163715]
Mr Hoban: Subject to parliamentary approval, any changes to the waiting day period will be supported through appropriate guidance being issued to Department for Work and Pensions staff.
Occupational Health
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to reduce occupational ill-health. [163406]
Esther McVey: Fitness for work: the Government response to ‘Health at work—an independent review of sickness absence' was published in January 2013. It outlined a range of measures to support people with ill-health to remain in and return to work including a new health and work assessment and advisory service which will make occupational health expertise more widely available to GPs, and those employees and employers who need it most.
Social Security Benefits
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effect of changes to working-age benefits on household income. [163170]
Mr Hoban: The Department regularly produces assessments and analysis of the impacts of new policies, which can be found at the Department's website, and keeps these up to date if impacts change.
The Government regularly produce analysis of the cumulative impact of all coalition changes, including working-age benefits, on households across the income distribution. This information is published at every Budget and other major fiscal events, in the interests of transparency. The most recent update was published with the spending round 2013 on 26 June.
The publication of cumulative impacts is a coalition initiative and was not produced by the previous Administration.
Vacancies: Internet
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many vacancies have been posted in Universal Jobmatch since its inception, by occupation. [155472]
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Mr Hoban: The number of new job vacancies, by occupation, posted in Universal Jobmatch between its inception on 19 November 2012 and 30 April 2013 is detailed in the following table.
| Employer sector | Job vacancies |
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Work Capability Assessment
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with (a) rheumatoid arthritis, (b) cystic fibrosis and (c) multiple sclerosis have undergone multiple work capability assessments since its introduction. [163676]
Mr Hoban: The Department regularly publishes official statistics on employment and support allowance (ESA) and the work capability assessment (WCA). The latest publication was released in April 2013 and can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employment-and-support-allowance-work-capability-assessment-april-2013
Table 6 in the spreadsheet accompanying the publication breaks down how claimants are allocated to the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG). This shows that 54% of claimants entering the WRAG after the initial WCA on their claim, did so based on the points awarded at the WCA. The remainder entered the WRAG for reasons other than points awarded at the WCA, these reasons are explained in the publication.
In response to the first question above, table 1 provides information on the number of claimants who were awarded the WRAG based on points scored at the initial WCA and who were subsequently awarded fewer points at the second WCA on the same claim. Claimants who were awarded the WRAG at the second WCA based on a reason other than points scored have been excluded.
| Table 1: Number of claimants in the WRAG at the initial WCA who were awarded the WRAG at the second WCA but received points. All new ESA claims starting between October 2008 and August 2012 | |
| Health condition | Claimants awarded fewer points at second WCA |
| ‘—' Denotes nil or negligible | |
Table 2 provides the requested data for the remaining questions above.
| Table 2: Comparison of outcomes of the initial and second WCA on the same claim. All new ESA claims starting between October 2008 and August 2012 | |||
| Health condition | Claimants in WRAG after initial WCA who were then found Fit for Work at second WCA on the same claim | Claimants in Support Group after initial WCA who then entered the WRAG at second WCA on the same claim | Claimants having two or more WCAs on the same claim |
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| Source: The data presented above come from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions, functional assessment data from Atos Healthcare. | |||
All figures relate to claims starting between October 2008 and August 2012, who have completed at least two WCAs on the same claim. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Work Capability Assessment: Appeals
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the cost to his Department of appeals against the work capability assessment in 2012-13. [153945]
Mr Hoban [holding answer 13 May 2013]:For the financial year 2012-13, the costs of appeals related to work capability assessment are as follows:
| £ | |
The unit cost for an ESA appeal is £61.53 and for an IB appeal is £83.77. The overall unit cost is £69.59.
We are introducing a new mandatory reconsideration process to ensure that claimants receive an explanation of a disputed decision and complete a full re-examination of the decision, while allowing claimants to provide additional evidence and information that they think
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may change the decision. We hope this process will reduce the number of appeals and, as a result, the cost of such appeals to the Department.
Work Programme
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how the market shift mechanism will operate in Work programme contract package areas where all prime providers have fallen short of the minimum performance standard; and if he will make a statement; [163273]
(2) in which Work programme contract package areas market shift will be taking place as a result of providers' underperformance. [163278]
Mr Hoban [holding answer 4 July 2013]:The market share shift mechanism will operate in all contract package areas where there is a gap of three percentage points or more between the higher and lower performing prime providers, provided the higher performer has achieved the required standards in assurance reviews and has achieved accreditation in the Merlin Standard for supply chain management. The mechanism will apply whether or not minimum performance levels have been achieved. This will ensure that there is continued competition to drive up overall performance.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the criteria are for a Work programme provider to be eligible for market share shift. [163681]
Mr Hoban: To be eligible to receive additional referrals the better performing prime provider in a contract package area must have achieved a job outcome rate three percentage points or more higher than the lower performing prime provider in year 2 of the programme, ending March 2013. They must also have achieved a satisfactory rating in their most recent assurance review and in the most recent Merlin Standard assessment of their supply chain management. Assessments of performance and decisions on market share shifts will be applied separately (and only) to the three main payment groups—JSA claimants aged 18-24 , JSA claimants aged 25 and over, and new ESA claimants.