Work Programme

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received post-Work Programme support in June 2013. [164014]

8 July 2013 : Column 65W

Mr Hoban: The number of claimants who received post-Work Programme support in June 2013 would be based on data the Department plans to release as official statistics. We are therefore unable to provide estimates without compromising the integrity of the statistical release.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to improve job outcomes for employment and support allowance claimants referred to the Work programme; and if he will make a statement. [164111]

Mr Hoban: In April the Department launched the Best Practice Group formed to help organisations delivering the Work programme to find the best ways to help tens of thousands of former incapacity benefit claimants and people claiming ESA overcome issues which are stopping them from getting a job.

The Best Practice Group will develop a framework so they can all benefit from as much expertise as possible. The group is chaired independently by Andrew Sells, who has extensive experience in finance and business and is a trustee at Policy Exchange.

All providers are required to have plans setting out how they will drive up performance for the ESA client group.

Work Programme: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Warrington have participated in the Work programme since its inception; and how many such participants have found (a) part-time and (b) full-time jobs through that programme. [164013]

Mr Hoban: Statistics on how many people in Warrington have participated in the Work programme since its inception can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/series/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool#benefit-caseloads

Information on how many participants have found part-time and full-time employment through the Work programme is not available.

Energy and Climate Change

Electric Cables

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what criteria National Grid would use to determine whether new electricity transmission projects would be constructed overground or underground. [163651]

Michael Fallon: National Grid published its approach to designing and routeing of new electricity transmission lines (including undergrounding) in September 2011, following a consultation process which began in December 2010. Using this published process, National Grid has committed to placing greater emphasis on mitigating the visual impact of its infrastructure as part of its planning applications. The publication is available at:

http://www.nationalgrid.com/NR/rdonlyres/E9F96A2A-C987-403F-AE7D-BDA07821F2C8/55465/OurApproach.pdf

8 July 2013 : Column 66W

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average cost is of installing electricity transmission cables (a) overground via pylons and (b) underground; and if he will make a statement. [163653]

Michael Fallon: In 2011, National Grid commissioned an independent study to give more clarity on the practicality, whole life costs and impacts of undergrounding and subsea cabling as alternatives to overhead lines. The electricity transmission costing study, prepared by technical experts and overseen and endorsed by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, was published in January 2012 (with an update in April 2012). It contains estimated cost ranges for overhead lines and underground technologies. The study is available at:

http://www.theiet.org/factfiles/transmission-report.cfm

The study found that overhead lines were the cheapest transmission technology for any given route length or circuit capacity, with the lifetime cost estimates varying between £2.2 million and £4.2 million per kilometre. Underground technologies had lifetime cost estimates varying between £10.2 million and £31.8 million per kilometre.

Electric Cables: Carmarthenshire

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what representations he has received from the Welsh Government on the intention of Western Powers Distribution to construct electricity pylons between TAN 8 area G in north Carmarthenshire and the national grid located in South Carmarthenshire. [163654]

Michael Fallon: I have regular discussions with the Welsh Government across a range of energy matters but have received no specific representations on this proposed connection project.

Energy Company Obligation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what volume of the energy company obligation market has been secured through the brokerage auction to date. [163779]

Gregory Barker: To date, approximately £156 million of activity has been traded via ECO brokerage, in contracts ranging from three to 12 months duration. The volumes of ECO traded every two weeks through brokerage can be found at

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/eco-brokerage-results

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average subsidy is that a household with installations completed has received under the carbon emissions reduction obligation element of the energy company obligation. [163785]

Gregory Barker: As robust information becomes available to us over time, we will be able to report on the cost and the total number of measures delivered by obligation, and from this it will be possible to calculate the average costs per measure. However, we will not have the information to disseminate this by measure type.

8 July 2013 : Column 67W

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish a revised impact assessment of the energy company obligation. [163786]

Gregory Barker: The Department currently has no plans to publish a revised full Impact Assessment for the energy company obligation.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what successor scheme the Government plan to introduce when the energy company obligation ends in March 2015. [163787]

Gregory Barker: The Department is currently considering the policy design of the obligation beyond March 2015, and will consult on proposals in due course.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many of the energy companies that are legally obligated to deliver the energy company obligation are not providing (a) Green Deal assessments and (b) Green Deal packages. [163843]

Gregory Barker: Under the energy company obligation (ECO) framework, while energy suppliers frequently use a Green Deal assessment as the starting point for measures installed under ECO, it is not a requirement for them to do this nor are they required to become Green Deal providers. Currently four of the seven obligated suppliers are registered as providers. Those suppliers that operate as providers have options around who they work with as assessors and some have established their own registered assessor or installer organisations. A full list of assessor organisations can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures/getting-an-assessment

Fuel Poverty

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) written, (b) e-mail and (c) telephone representations he has received on (i) his plans to alleviate fuel poverty in the private rented sector, (ii) the operation of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 and (iii) the disconnection of (A) gas and (B) electricity supplies in each month since May 2010; how many such representations were from (1) individuals and (2) organisations; if he will place in the Library copies of responses sent to such representations; and if he will make a statement. [163570]

Gregory Barker: For the purpose of answering this question, various searches of the departmental correspondence system have been conducted. In relation to fuel poverty in the private rented sector and the operation of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000, it has been possible to search the records on correspondence with DECC Ministers with the case title “fuel poverty”. In the period since May 2010, 574 items of written correspondence were given this case title, including 199 e-mails. Of these, 283 were from hon. Members, 207 from members of the public and 65 from other stakeholders. There were also 13 written invitations to Ministers to attend events. Six items of correspondence were transferred to other Government

8 July 2013 : Column 68W

Departments. Providing copies of the departmental replies to these items of correspondence would entail disproportionate cost.

An initial search of the correspondence system relating to “disconnections” of electricity and/or gas has not yielded reliable results. A more detailed subject search would entail disproportionate cost.

Records are not kept of individual telephone inquiries to the Secretary of State. Standard procedure is to advise members of the public to put their inquiries in writing.

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many hon. Members wrote to his Department on behalf of constituents about (a) steps taken to alleviate fuel poverty in the private rented sector, (b) the operation of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 and (c) the disconnection of (i) gas and (ii) electricity supplies in the last 12 months; what the average time taken to reply was; if he will place in the Library a copy of each such reply; and if he will make a statement. [163594]

Gregory Barker: For the purpose of answering this question, various searches of the departmental correspondence system have been conducted. In relation to fuel poverty in the private rented sector and the operation of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000, it has been possible to search the records on correspondence with DECC Ministers with the case title “fuel poverty”. In the period since May 2010, 283 letters from hon. Members were given this case title. Providing the average time taken to reply to these letters would entail disproportionate cost. Providing copies of each reply would also entail disproportionate cost. An initial search of the correspondence system relating to “disconnections” of electricity and/or gas has not yielded reliable results. A more detailed subject search would entail disproportionate cost.

Gas Fired Power Stations

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number of projects and (b) total capacity of gas-fired power stations which (i) are under construction, (ii) have received planning permission, (iii) have applied for planning permission and (iv) are at the pre-application stage of the planning process. [163253]

Michael Fallon: The information requested is as follows:

(i) There is currently one gas-fired power station under construction: Carrington Power Station 880MW (Carrington Power Ltd, owned by ESB).

(ii) Applications received at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) prior to 1 March 2010 are administered under the provisions of section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. There is currently over 14 GW of gas plant with consent in England and Wales and two plants awaiting consent under s.36 of the Electricity Act totalling just over 2 GW. Further details of the individual projects are available on our website:

https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/EIP/pages/recent.htm

(iii) From 1 March 2010, the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) became responsible for processing new planning applications under the Planning Act 2008. To date the Planning Inspectorate has accepted two applications from developers of gas-fired power stations totalling nearly 1 GW of capacity.

8 July 2013 : Column 69W

(iv) A number of other gas generation projects are at the pre-acceptance stage. Further details of the individual projects are detailed on the PINS website:

http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/

Applications for consent to construct power stations in Scotland are for the Scottish Government to determine.

Power Stations

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many mothballed power stations there are in Great Britain; [163240]

(2) what estimate his Department has made of the generating capacity of those power stations that have been mothballed in each of the last 20 years. [163241]

Michael Fallon: The Government are aware of three power stations (Keadby, Teesside, and Roosecote) that are mothballed or similarly unavailable to generate this winter. These power stations had a total generating capacity of 2.8 GW.

In addition to these power stations that are currently fully mothballed, there are also a number of power stations where some units are mothballed.

Education

Education: Finance

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the value of the education services grant will be in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16. [163970]

Mr Laws: In 2014-15, £1.03 billion will be transferred from local government revenue funding for the education services grant.

The 2013 spending round confirmed that the Department will make savings of around £200 million to the education services grant in 2015-16. We will consult in the autumn on how to implement those savings.

8 July 2013 : Column 70W

Free School Meals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 599, on free school meals, what assessment he has made of how many and what proportion of families with children in receipt of free school meals are living in poverty. [163645]

Mr Laws: If relative income poverty is used as the measure of child poverty, around 200,000 families with children who receive free school meals are in relative income poverty. This is about 32% of all families with children who receive free school meals.

The remaining families are in the bottom 40% of the income distribution and are likely to be only just above the poverty line. Moreover, receipt of free school meals is an in-kind benefit which is considered as income in poverty measurements, so many of them would be in relative income poverty if they did not receive free school meals. Finally, the majority of these families are unemployed lone parents whom the evidence shows are a group at high risk of poverty.

For these reasons, the Government do not believe that relative income in isolation is the best measure of the number of children in poverty. We are committed to developing new measures of child poverty and are considering the results of a consultation on this.

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) England received free school meals in each year since 1995-96. [163929]

Mr Laws: Information on the number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in the requested areas for 2002 to 2013 is shown in the following tables. Comparable data for earlier years are not available.

Further information on the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals as at January 2013 is published in the Statistical First Release 'Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2013'.(1)

(1 )https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013

Maintained nursery, state-funded primary, state-funded secondary, state-funded special schools and pupil referral units(1, 2, 3, 4): Number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals, January each year, York local authority, North Yorkshire local authority, Yorkshire and the Humber region and England
York local authority area
 Maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools(1, 2)State-funded secondary schools(1, 3)Special schools(4)
 Number on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals

2002

13,201

1,460

11.1

9,205

852

9.3

276

84

30.4

2003

12,879

1,332

10.3

9,486

775

8.2

245

64

26.1

2004

12,843

1,380

10.7

9,555

817

8.6

221

51

23.1

2005

12,785

1,333

10.4

9,385

781

8.3

187

37

19.8

2006

12,621

1,338

10.6

9,266

821

8.9

178

44

24.7

2007

12,385

1,288

10.4

9,162

800

8.7

166

42

25.3

2008

12,175

1,203

9.9

8,873

760

8.6

150

37

24.7

2009

12,069

1,236

10.2

8,744

779

8.9

143

38

26.6

2010

12,170

1,339

11.0

8,743

796

9.1

133

30

22.6

2011

12,274

1,468

12.0

8,693

806

9.3

119

27

22.7

8 July 2013 : Column 71W

8 July 2013 : Column 72W

2012

12,523

1,541

12.3

8,523

812

9.5

124

36

29.0

2013

12,829

1,521

11.9

8,381

786

9.4

144

35

24.3

 Pupil referral units(5)Maintained nursery, state-funded primary(1, 2),state-funded secondary(1, 3, )special schools(4) and pupil referral units(5)
 Number on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals

2002

22,682

2,396

10.6

2003

22,610

2,171

9.6

2004

22,619

2,248

9.9

2005

22,357

2,151

9.6

2006

22,065

2,203

10.0

2007

21,713

2,130

9.8

2008

21,198

2,000

9.4

2009

20,956

2,053

9.8

2010

125

39

31.2

21,171

2,204

10.4

2011

149

54

36.2

21,235

2,355

11.1

2012

146

61

41.8

21,316

2,450

11.5

2013

168

61

36.3

21,522

2,403

11.2

North Yorkshire local authority area
 Maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools(1, 2)State-funded secondary schools(1, 3)Special schools(4)
 Number on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals

2002

45,410

4,014

8.8

35,650

2,354

6.6

498

119

23.9

2003

44,751

3,889

8.7

36,139

2,294

6.3

713

116

16.3

2004

43,885

3,897

8.9

36,429

2,439

6.7

683

108

15.8

2005

43,076

3,615

8.4

36,317

2,402

6.6

696

108

15.5

2006

42,223

3,442

8.2

36,022

2,367

6.6

669

114

17.0

2007

41,524

3,461

8.3

35,457

2,363

6.7

658

111

16.9

2008

41,083

3,379

8.2

34,902

2,352

6.7

646

108

16.7

2009

40,658

3,477

8.6

34,393

2,358

6.9

639

107

16.7

2010

40,323

4,122

10.2

33,922

2,617

7.7

617

122

19.8

2011

40,377

4,191

10.4

33,411

2,609

7.8

613

137

22.3

2012

40,541

4,165

10.3

32,857

2,688

8.2

623

150

24.1

2013

41,320

4,125

10.0

31,931

2,611

8.2

613

156

25.4

 Pupil referral units(5)Maintained nursery, state-funded primary(1, 2),state-funded secondary(1,3), special schools(4) and pupil referral units(5)
 Number on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals

2002

81,558

6,487

8.0

2003

81,603

6,299

7.7

2004

80,997

6,444

8.0

2005

80,089

6,125

7.6

2006

78,914

5,923

7.5

2007

77,639

5,935

7.6

8 July 2013 : Column 73W

8 July 2013 : Column 74W

2008

76,631

5,839

7.6

2009

75,690

5,942

7.9

2010

66

10

15.2

74,928

6,871

9.2

2011

46

3

6.5

74,447

6,940

9.3

2012

31

4

12.9

74,052

7,007

9.5

2013

51

8

15.7

73,915

6,900

9.3

Yorkshire and the Humber
 Maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools(1, 2)State-funded secondary schools(1, 3)Special schools(4)
 Number on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals

2002

431,015

84,905

19.7

312,420

53,930

17.3

6,585

2,765

42.0

2003

424,145

80,955

19.1

316,080

53,165

16.8

7,060

2,715

38.5

2004

415,765

79,770

19.2

317,955

51,805

16.3

6,845

2,625

38.4

2005

410,570

75,900

18.5

315,715

50,885

16.1

6,650

2,410

36.2

2006

404,205

69,430

17.2

313,890

48,460

15.4

6,615

2,230

33.7

2007

398,295

68,345

17.2

309,795

46,500

15.0

6,535

2,145

32.8

2008

394,575

67,270

17.0

304,190

45,540

15.0

6,570

2,100

32.0

2009

393,310

69,205

17.6

298,370

45,085

15.1

6,510

2,190

33.6

2010

394,640

76,030

19.3

294,380

47,180

16.0

6,365

2,185

34.3

2011

397,300

78,345

19.7

290,395

47,240

16.3

6,270

2,290

36.5

2012

404,420

81,690

20.2

286,325

47,525

16.6

6,405

2,480

38.7

2013

415,315

84,635

20.4

280,670

48,045

17.1

6,590

2,620

39.8

 Pupil referral units(5)Maintained nursery, state-funded primary(1, 2), state-funded secondary(1, 3), special schools(4) and pupil referral units(5)
 Number on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals

2002

750,020

141,600

18.9

2003

747,280

136,835

18.3

2004

740,570

134,200

18.1

2005

732,935

129,190

17.6

2006

724,715

120,120

16.6

2007

714,630

116,985

16.4

2008

705,335

114,910

16.3

2009

698,190

116,480

16.7

2010

1,195

445

37.8

696,580

125,835

18.0

2011

1,355

480

35.4

695,290

128,356

18.5

2012

1,140

545

48.0

698,285

132,245

18.9

2013

1,125

530

47.3

703,695

135,830

19.3

England
 Maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools(1, 2)State-funded secondary schools(1, 3)Special schools(4)
 Number on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals

2002

4,064,895

741,495

18.2

2,953,655

469,760

15.9

77,785

30,305

39.0

2003

4,023,395

719,425

17.9

2,992,635

463,600

15.5

84,240

30,615

36.3

2004

3,977,530

730,420

18.4

3,010,100

464,425

15.4

81,825

30,245

37.0

2005

3,939,755

708,245

18.0

2,993,920

453,390

15.1

80,240

27,955

34.8

8 July 2013 : Column 75W

8 July 2013 : Column 76W

2006

3,899,450

664,980

17.1

2,985,905

439,125

14.7

79,310

26,690

33.7

2007

3,860,420

654,290

16.9

2,955,210

425,110

14.4

78,760

26,290

33.4

2008

3,837,680

637,170

16.6

2,913,725

413,365

14.2

78,265

25,705

32.8

2009

3,825,475

652,305

17.1

2,883,245

417,970

14.5

78,030

26,245

33.6

2010

3,838,680

711,405

18.5

2,864,345

441,145

15.4

78,335

27,325

34.9

2011

3,873,175

743,255

19.2

2,837,825

450,275

15.9

79,030

28,830

36.5

2012

3,947,650

760,910

19.3

2,809,815

449,485

16.0

80,505

30,170

37.5

2013

4,045,835

776,445

19.2

2,779,190

452,600

16.3

82,555

31,655

38.3

 Pupil referral units(5)Maintained nursery, state-funded primary(1,2, )state-funded secondary(1, 3, )special schools(4) and pupil referral units(5)
 Number on roll(6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school mealsNumber on rol(l6, 7)Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(6, 7)Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals

2002

7,096,340

1,241,560

17.5

2003

7,100,265

1,213,635

17.1

2004

7,069,450

1,225,090

17.3

2005

7,013,915

1,189,590

17.0

2006

6,964,660

1,130,790

16.2

2007

6,894,390

1,105,690

16.0

2008

6,829,670

1,076,240

15.8

2009

6,786,750

1,096,525

16.2

2010

15,140

5,050

33.3

6,796,500

1,184,920

17.4

2011

13,725

4,745

34.6

6,803,755

1,227,110

18.0

2012

13,235

4,855

36.7

6,851,205

1,245,420

18.2

2013

12,640

5,070

40.1

6,920,220

1,265,770

18.3

— = Not available. Note: National and regional totals have been rounded to the nearest 5. (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes all primary academies, including free schools. (3) Includes city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. (4) Includes maintained special schools, special academies and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. (5) Comparable information for pupil referral units is not available prior to 2010 (when the collection became pupil-level). (6) Includes sole and dual (main) registrations. In pupil referral units also includes pupils registered with other providers and further education colleges. (7) Includes pupils who have full-time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part-time attendance and are aged between 5 and 15 (age as at 31 August). Source: School Census.

Free Schools

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the (a) location, (b) value and (c) date of transfer of each site transferred from local authorities to free schools is; what the (i) location and (ii) value of any further such sites under consideration is; what the future freehold ownership of all the sites in question is; and if he will make a statement. [163281]

Mr Timpson: Tables listing the location and dates of all sites that have been transferred from local authorities to free school trusts on a freehold or leasehold basis will be placed in the House Library. This information is already in the public domain. The list includes all sites which are, or will become, the permanent premises for free schools. It is for the relevant local authorities to decide if they wish to disclose the value of those sites.

It is possible that local authority sites may come into consideration for some of the free schools that were approved in May 2013. The future freehold ownership of local authority sites is a matter of negotiation between local authorities and the Department on a case-by-case basis.

Priority School Building Programme

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which schools in each parliamentary constituency in England will receive funding under the Priority School Building Programme in the next three years. [163583]

Mr Laws: The Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) is being delivered centrally by the Education Funding Agency (EFA). The schools within the programme do not receive funding directly as the EFA will enter directly into the contracts to rebuild the schools.

A list of the schools, arranged by parliamentary constituency, will be placed in the House Library.

8 July 2013 : Column 77W

Runaway Children

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many local authorities had a dedicated service to support young runaway children in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12; [163408]

(2) how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by local authorities to provide direct support to young runaway children in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12. [163409]

Mr Timpson: The Government do not hold information centrally on the number of local authorities that have a dedicated service to support young runaway children. Nor do we hold information centrally on the number of staff employed by local authorities to provide direct support to young runaway children.

On 25 June 2013 the Government launched a consultation on revised statutory guidance for local authorities on children who run away or go missing from home or care. This guidance sets out what local authorities should do to reduce the incidence of children running away, what should happen when a child runs away and what should happen when the child is found.

Schools: Finance

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much money that was transferred to free and academy schools and subsequently classed as underspend in Budget 2013 has yet to be paid back to his Department; and how much money transferred to free and academy schools remains unaccounted for in total. [164005]

Mr Laws: Free schools and academies, like local authority maintained schools, can save some of their funding for use later in the academic year and in future years. From 2012-13, we are consolidating the accounts of academies and free schools into those of the Department for Education. Any funding that these schools retain and carry forward is not treated as expenditure in the departmental group accounts.

Academies and free schools are responsible for ensuring that they spend their funding in the most effective way in order to improve the educational outcomes of their pupils.

Full details of the final figures will be included in the Department’s accounts for 2012-13, which will be laid in the coming months.

Young People: Surveys

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the data in table 6.3.3 in the Youth Cohort Study and Longitudinal Study of Young People in England: The Activities and Experiences of 19 Year Olds: England 2010, if he will supply a breakdown of those data by (a) Government office region or other geographic segmentation, (b) ethnicity, (c) free school meal eligibility and (d) parental occupational category. [163091]

Matthew Hancock: The information requested has been placed in the House Library.

8 July 2013 : Column 78W

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the data in tables 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 2.1.1, 2.1.4 and A.1.1 in the Youth Cohort Study and Longitudinal Study of Young People in England: The Activities and Experiences of 19 Year Olds: England 2010, if he will supply a breakdown of those data by Government office region or any other geographic segmentation. [163092]

Matthew Hancock: The information requested has been placed in the House Library.

Estimates of qualification levels held by young people by Government office region (GOR) and local authority using matched administrative data are included in tables 15a to 21b of the Statistical First Release “Attainment by young people in England measured using matched administrative data: by age 19 in 2012”, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/attainment-by-young-people-in-england-measured-using-matched-administrative-data-by-age-19-in-2012

Estimates of participation in higher education (HE) using administrative data are available by GOR, local authority and parliamentary constituency level, available at:

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/wp/ourresearch/polar/polar3data/

Treasury

Commodity Markets

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the introduction of ex-ante position limits for agricultural futures and options markets. [163850]

Greg Clark: The Government have given careful consideration to the effective methods of regulation and supervision of commodity derivatives, including agricultural futures and options. The Government support a position management regime based on strong supervision, market monitoring and a comprehensive suite of tools deployed by market operators (including the power to set position limits for market participants) to ensure the orderly functioning of those markets.

Fraud

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many alleged Ponzi schemes his Department is currently investigating. [162993]

Greg Clark: Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it does not have investigative or prosecuting powers of its own.

The Serious Fraud Office and the police are responsible for assessing and investigating allegations of fraud such as ponzi schemes.

Infrastructure

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to Investing in Britain's Future, Cm 8669, published June 2013, how much will be spent on infrastructure development in each region of the UK. [163775]

8 July 2013 : Column 79W

Danny Alexander: A regional breakdown of infrastructure projects can be found on page 12 of Investing in Britain's Future.

National Savings Certificates

John Hemming: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will instruct National Savings and Investments to make National Savings index-linked savings certificates permanently available to savers with immediate effect. [163689]

Sajid Javid: National Savings and Investments (NS&I) purpose is to provide cost-effective debt financing to the Government by issuing and selling retail savings and investment products to the public.

In meeting this objective NS&I follow a policy balancing the interests of their customers, the taxpayer and the stability of the wider financial services market. In line with this remit, NS&I do not anticipate new sales of Index Linked Savings Certificates this year.

Non-domestic Rates

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Barnsley, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) England have qualified for the increased levels of small business rate relief since 2010. [163961]

Brandon Lewis: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Details of the number of businesses in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and England that were benefiting from the small business rate relief scheme as at 31 December 2010 are shown in the following table.

 Number of businesses paying the lower multiplier and receiving a discountNumber of businesses paying the lower multiplier and not receiving a discountNumber of businesses benefiting from the relief scheme as at 31 December 2010

South Yorkshire

11,446

695

12,141

Of which:

   

Barnsley

2,121

98

2,219

Doncaster

2,647

136

2,783

Rotherham

2,275

136

2,411

Sheffield

4,403

325

4,728

Total England

459,934

49,918

509,852

Data as at 31 December 2012 were collected earlier this year and are currently being validated and will be published in the autumn. Data are collected at billing authority level; we do not collect data at constituency level.

Thanks to the temporary extension of small business rate relief until April 2014, we estimate that approximately half a million businesses in England are benefiting, with approximately a third of a million paying no rates at all. The Localism Act 2011 has also made it easier for eligible small firms to claim their small business rate relief.

8 July 2013 : Column 80W

Payments: Regulation

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to his Department's consultation on “Opening up UK payments”. [163297]

Mr Gauke: The consultation on “Opening up UK payments” closed on 25 June 2013. HM Treasury is reviewing the consultation responses and developing legislation to create a new payments regulator. The legislation will be brought forward via Government amendment to the Banking Reform Bill. The Government will issue their formal response to this timetable.

Public Sector: Redundancy

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of those who were unemployed having been made redundant by public sector bodies were women in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [162724]

Danny Alexander [holding answer 3 July 2013]: This information is not held centrally.

Revenue and Customs

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were employed on 31 March 2013 in each area of HM Revenue and Customs activity; and how many staff he expects to be employed on 31 March in each year between 2014 and 2016 as a result of the Spending Review 2013 statement. [164027]

Mr Gauke: The Headcount (HC) and full time equivalent (FTE) for HMRC staff as at 31 March 2013 is shown in the following table.

Line of BusinessHCFTE

Benefits and Credits

6,000

5,156.71

Business Tax

3,739

3,409.72

Enforcement and Compliance

29,575

26,601

Personal Tax

28,217

24,443.8

Corporate Services

5,211

4,865.07

HMRC Total

72,742

64,476.4

HMRC is expecting its staffing level to reduce to 52,000 FTEs by the end of March 2016. However, it is not yet in a position to break this down by Line of Business.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what level of savings has been made in each year from 2010-11 in each area of HM Revenue and Customs; and what level of savings he expects to be made in each year between 2013-14 and 2015-16 following Spending Review 2013. [164028]

Mr Gauke: HMRC's efficiency savings plans are set to achieve cost reductions while maintaining or improving performance (e.g. in the core activity of raising revenue). This ensures that the public get value for money.

Details of HMRC's actual savings achieved and savings targets between 2010-11 and 2015-16 are as follows:

8 July 2013 : Column 81W

8 July 2013 : Column 82W

£ million
 In year savings made
 ActualTarget(1)
 2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-16

Total savings made/forecast

312

296

249

178

243

166

       

Benefits and Credits

(2)18

15

14

6

3

3

Business Tax

(2)14

11

8

13

10

6

Enforcement and Compliance

(2)85

73

71

46

39

44

Personal Tax

(2)26

23

49

67

80

57

Corporate Support (including IT and Estates)

(2)169

145

76

41

81

23

Other sustainable efficiency savings in centrally held budgets

29

31

5

30

33

(1) Exact breakdown still to be confirmed by business planning process. (2) Estimates constructed to put them on the same basis as SR'10 and SR'13 figures. Note: Gross of reinvestment programme.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Mr McFadden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the Government taking over the assets of the non-core division of the Royal Bank of Scotland; [162714]


(2) if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the Government buying out the remaining private shareholders of the Royal Bank of Scotland; [162715]

(3) if he will publish details of any (a) analysis and (b) costings done by his Department on splitting the Royal Bank of Scotland into a good bank and a bad bank; [162716]

(4) what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of splitting Royal Bank of Scotland into a good bank and a bad bank. [162717]

Mr Gauke: The Government will urgently investigate the case for taking the bad assets out of RBS and setting up a bad bank. This review will be conducted by the Treasury with external professional support. It will look at a broad range of RBS's assets, but particularly assets in Ulster Bank and UK commercial real estate.

The Government are not prepared to put more taxpayer capital into RBS as part of this process.

A decision will be taken on whether to establish a bad bank following the review, which will assess whether it would support the British economy; be in the interests of taxpayers; and accelerate the return to private ownership.

Mr McFadden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish any assessments undertaken by his Department of the potential effects on EU state aid of splitting Royal Bank of Scotland into a good bank and a bad bank. [162718]

Greg Clark: The Government are aware that creating a bad bank could have state aid implications. These will be considered as part of the bad bank review.

Royal Sussex County Hospital

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long he expects it will take him to release funding for redeveloping the Royal Sussex County hospital following full acceptance by the Trust Development Authority of the case for the redevelopment put forward by Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement. [162818]

Danny Alexander: The outline business case for the development at the Royal Sussex County hospital is currently being reviewed by the Government. As part of this review, the trust has been asked to provide additional information to demonstrate the scheme's affordability, which the trust is currently preparing. Once the trust has submitted this, and it has been approved by the Trust Development Authority, the Government will be able to complete their review.

If the outline business case is approved, the trust will then be expected to produce a full business case for final approval.

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all Twitter accounts for which officials of his Department (a) have had and (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating. [163560]

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury officials have had and currently have responsibility for monitoring and updating one official Treasury Twitter account, @hmtreasury.

Ulster Bank

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what recent discussions he has held with the Northern Ireland Finance Minister regarding the recently announced job losses at Ulster Bank; [163765]

(2) whether his Department's ongoing review of Ulster Bank will address the (a) company's redundancy plans and (b) retention of services in rural areas; [163771]

(3) what recent discussions he has held with RBS regarding staffing levels in Ulster Bank. [163778]

Mr Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what discussions he has held with his counterpart in the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland on proposed redundancies in the Ulster Bank group; [164063]

8 July 2013 : Column 83W

(2) what representations he has received on Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank and their respective role in the economy of Northern Ireland. [164064]

Mr Gauke: The Treasury has frequent discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on a wide range of issues of mutual interest.

The Government's shareholdings are managed on an arm's length, commercial basis by UK Financial Investments (UKFI).

Decisions on redundancies and on services in rural areas are commercial decisions for Ulster Bank. UKFI's role is to manage the investments, not to manage the banks' operational and commercial decisions.

The Government will urgently review the case for transferring assets—including Ulster Bank assets—out of RBS and into a bad bank. We are reviewing whether setting up a bad bank in this way would be in the interests of the economy, including the Northern Irish economy, and in the interests of British taxpayers, including those in Northern Ireland. This work will begin immediately and will report in the autumn.

We are not suggesting changes to whole RBS entities, such as Ulster Bank, which is so vital to lending in Northern Ireland. Ulster Bank remains an important part of core RBS. And it is in the UK's national interest that Northern Ireland has a successful economy and a stable banking system.

Vending Machines

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many vending machines in his Department's premises contain snack foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value. [163851]

Mr Gauke: There are six snack vending machines in 1 Horse Guards Road.

These machines provide a range of snacks and cold drinks which include items such as dried fruits, cereal bars and rice cakes. Nutritional information is detailed on the packaging of individual items.

Culture, Media and Sport

Members: Correspondence

Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the right hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency will receive a reply to the letter dated 17 April 2013 in relation to the BBC Panorama documentary on North Korea. [157610]

Mr Vaizey: DCMS officials have contacted the MP’s office, and have now obtained a copy of the letter, which did not come through to the Department when it was originally sent. A reply was sent on 5 July.

Press: Regulation

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 803W, on press: regulation,

8 July 2013 : Column 84W

for what reasons the Government will not submit to the Privy Council the cross-party Royal Charter on press regulation. [160538]

Mr Vaizey [holding answer 18 June 2013]: Prior to 30 April, the Government were supporting the progression through Parliament of other elements of the cross-party agreement of 18 March, via both the Crime and Courts Bill and the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if she will publish details of the technical amendments that she has been discussing with the Scottish Government to the Royal Charter to ensure it is operable in Scotland; which of those such amendments are still to be agreed; which of those amendments it is anticipated will not be agreed by the time the Privy Council is due to meet in July 2013; and for what reasons any such amendments will not be agreed by such time; [164019]

(2) when she expects to conclude discussions with the Scottish Government on the technical amendments to the cross-party Royal Charter, which was debated in the House on 18 March 2013; [164021]

(3) whether she expects to conclude discussions with the Scottish Government on the amendments to the cross-party Royal Charter, which was debated in the House on 18 March 2013, by the time the Privy Council is due to meet in July 2013. [164020]

Mr Vaizey: I refer to the written ministerial statement, made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), on 4 July.

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list all Twitter accounts for which officials of her Department (a) have had and (b) currently have responsibility for (i) monitoring and (ii) updating. [163547]

Mr Vaizey: The information is as follows:

(a) DCMS updates and monitors one twitter account, @DCMS.

(b) The Department previously ran two other London 2012-related accounts, @2012govuk and @2012govpress. These accounts are now the responsibility of the Cabinet Office.

Youth Work

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding her Department allocated for youth work in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement. [164076]

Mr Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which includes the Government Equalities Office, does not hold data in such a way that the amount specifically spent on youth work can be extracted.

8 July 2013 : Column 85W

Health

Accident and Emergency Departments

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time in accident and emergency was in (a) Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust area and (b) England in each of the last four (i) quarters and (ii) years. [163960]

Dr Poulter: Information showing the average waiting time in accident and emergency (A&E) in Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and England for the last four years that final annual data are available is shown in the following table. 2012-13 Quarter 4 data are not available. 2012-13 Quarters 1 to 3 are provisional data and shown in the following table.

Mean and median waiting time (minutes) to departure(1) at A&E in Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and England, 2008-09 to 2011-12 and the first three quarters of 2012-13 (provisional)(2): Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector
 Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation TrustEngland
 MeanMedianMeanMedian

2008-09

127.7

117

135.2

115

2009-10

129.2

123

133.4

120

2010-11

137.3

127

144.8

128

2011-12

140.1

131

137.0

123

2012-13 Q1

139.1

131

135.9

123

2012-13 Q2

136.1

126

133.7

122

2012-13 Q3

145.2

136

142.0

129

(1) The mean and median time (minutes) between the patient's arrival and their departure from A&E. (2)The data are provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, i.e. November from the (month 9) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients (a) in total and (b) in each NHS trust in England waited for more than (i) four, (ii) eight, (iii) 12 and (iv) 16 hours in accident and emergency departments in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement; [164121]

(2) how many patients in (a) total and (b) in each NHS trust in London accident and emergency departments waited for more than (i) four, (ii) eight, (iii) 12 and (iv) 16 hours in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [164122]

Dr Poulter: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

The NHS Information Centre's Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data have been used to show the number of accident and emergency (A&E) attendances in 2010-11 and 2011-12 where patients waited more than four, eight, 12 and 16 hours. Full year HES data are not yet available for 2012-13. Therefore, information collected

8 July 2013 : Column 86W

by NHS England for 2012-13 has been used to show the number of patients waiting more than four hours in A&E.

However, this data set does not break down the number of patients waiting more than four hours into the categories requested.