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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 16 July 2013

House of Commons Commission

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much has been spent by the House Service (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed in the House Service for this purpose. [165715]

John Thurso: The Diversity and Inclusion Team was set up as a separate entity in April 2011. Since then, its staff numbers and costs have been:

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Before 2011-12, diversity and inclusion work was embedded in the Learning and Development Team and costs are not separately identifiable. The rise from 2011-12 to 2012-13 represents increased responsibilities of the team, including the transfer of work from other areas in the House Service.

Attorney-General

Accountancy

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officers' Departments spent on contracts with (a) Deloitte, (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (c) KPMG and (d) Ernst and Young in each year since 2008. [164941]

The Solicitor-General: The information requested is contained in the following tables.

Confiscation Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what estimate has been made of the amount of money subject to Crown Prosecution Service confiscation orders that is located overseas; and what estimate has been made of the amount held in jurisdictions (a) inside and (b) outside the EU. [165426]

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The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is unable to provide an estimate of the amount of money subject to all CPS confiscation orders that is located overseas. However, on 7 January 2013, the CPS asked its prosecutors to estimate the percentage of identified assets that were located overseas in cases for which the CPS had the lead enforcement role.

In respect of the cases for which Area CPS had the lead enforcement role, it was estimated that 10% of the cases included identified overseas assets with an estimated value of almost £12 million.

In respect of the more complex and higher value cases, including those in respect of organised criminals, dealt with by the Proceeds of Crime Unit based in the Organised Crime Division of the CPS, it was estimated that 18% of the cases included identified overseas assets with an estimated value of almost £74 million.

From approximately April 2012, the Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD) has included the capability of inputting details of where an overseas asset is located. The JARD is used by the CPS, financial investigators and Her Majesty's Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) for recording information regarding asset recovery orders. When a confiscation order is made the financial investigator enters the details of the order onto the JARD.

In respect of all confiscation orders obtained by the CPS from 1 April 2012 to 11 July 2013, the total estimated value of identified overseas assets recorded on JARD is over £142 million, of which £31,154,725 is located within the EU and an estimated £111,604,508 is located in jurisdictions outside the EU.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much is owed to the Crown Prosecution Service in outstanding confiscation orders worth more than £50,000. [165428]

The Solicitor-General: Confiscation orders are not owed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Payment is made to Her Majesty's Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). The HMCTS has the responsibility for the enforcement of all domestic confiscation orders. The Crown Prosecution Service will assist in the enforcement process when it can add value by managing restraint orders, seeking the appointment of private sector enforcement receivers in respect of UK based assets and/or by requesting mutual legal assistance from overseas jurisdictions in respect of assets located abroad. When the prosecutor can no longer provide additional value, the lead enforcement role reverts to the HMCTS.

The amount due in respect of confiscation orders worth more than £50,000 for which the CPS currently has the enforcement lead is set out in the following table.

In the five years commencing 1 April 2008, approximately £497.8 million has been enforced by the CPS and the HMCTS in respect of confiscation orders obtained by the CPS.

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Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many outstanding confiscation orders owed to the Crown Prosecution Service worth more than £50,000 are older than (a) one year, (b) two years, (c) three years, (d) four years and (e) five years. [165429]

The Solicitor-General: Confiscation orders are not owed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Payment is made to Her Majesty's Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). The HMCTS has the responsibility for the enforcement of all domestic confiscation orders. The Crown Prosecution Service will assist in the enforcement process when it can add value by managing restraint orders, seeking the appointment of private sector enforcement receivers in respect of UK based assets and/or by requesting mutual legal assistance from overseas jurisdictions in respect of assets located abroad. When the prosecutor can no longer provide additional value, the lead enforcement role reverts to the HMCTS.

The number of outstanding confiscation orders for which the CPS currently has the lead worth more than £50,000 and are older than (a) one year, (b) two years, (c) three years, (d) four years and (e) five years are set out in the following table.

Crown Prosecution Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney-General what wasted costs were ordered against the Crown Prosecution Service in each geographical area and for what reason such costs were awarded in each of the last three years. [165396]

The Solicitor-General: There are a range of costs orders that can be made against the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). These include costs orders under Section 19 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, where an order may be made that one party pay the costs of the other party to criminal proceedings. Such an order may be made when the court is satisfied that the costs in question have been incurred by party A as a result of “an unnecessary or improper act or omission by or on behalf of” party B.

Costs can also be ordered under section 19A of the same Act where an order may be made against a legal representative that she/he pay “wasted costs”. Wasted costs are costs incurred as a result of improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission on the part of any representative or the employee of any representative.

Furthermore, costs can be ordered under Section 19B of the same Act against third parties to pay the costs incurred by any other party to the proceedings.

Finally, in civil proceedings, such as restraint proceedings when dealing with matters under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, inter-parties costs orders can be made which follow the event, namely that costs are awarded against the losing party.

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The CPS does not retain central records of the cost awards orders made against the Department. The CPS does maintain records of the overall value of costs payments made but does not distinguish between the various types of costs order listed above. To ascertain the types and value of individual costs awards made against over the last three years would require a review of each case and this would incur disproportionate cost.

The value of payments made in respect of costs awards ordered against the CPS in each geographical area for the last three years are shown in the following table. These figures do not include cost awards against the CPS for non-geographic casework divisions.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Crown Prosecution Service spent on exit packages worth in excess of £100,000 since May 2010. [165432]

The Solicitor-General: Since May 2010 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has spent £10.4 million on 87 exit packages worth in excess of £100,000. The following table presents the numbers of exit packages and their total value by year:

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service Annual Report 2012-13, what the circumstances were and what actions were taken with respect to the 26 instances of unauthorised information disclosure by staff of the Crown Prosecution Service. [165435]

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The Solicitor-General: Some 22 of the unauthorised disclosures involved the inadvertent disclosure of information, for example, witness addresses, to a third party during criminal proceedings. Such information should have been redacted during the case preparation.

The remaining four unauthorised disclosures involved the inadvertent disclosure of personal data of CPS staff to other staff members.

Remedial action is taken on a case-by-case basis and consisted of the following:

(a) Attempts to recover the information made and inform the individual's concerned, if applicable to do so;

(b) Reporting to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), where appropriate, and in accordance with their Data Security Breach Notification Requirements;

(c) Further training and awareness delivered to staff where necessary.

Northcote House

Mr Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials in the Law Officers' Departments used the facilities at Northcote House, Sunningdale Park, Berkshire in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [164803]

The Solicitor-General: Serious Fraud Office (SFO) records show that 19 officials attended a staff away day at Sunningdale in 2011-12. Other SFO staff may on occasion have attended Northcote House to contribute to National School of Government sessions, but this information is not recorded centrally.

While officials of remaining Law Officers' Departments may have attended National School for Government courses during 2010-11 and 2011-12, no information is held to show how many of these officials used the facilities at Northcote House.

There is no record of the Law Officers having used these facilities during the specified years.

Serious Fraud Office

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Serious Fraud Office has paid to Slaughter and May for the work on the defence of the damages claim brought against it by the Tchenguiz brothers to date. [165040]

The Solicitor-General: The Serious Fraud Office will put into the public domain the total amount spent on fees paid to its external providers, including legal advisers, at the conclusion of the case.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Serious Fraud Office spent on external advocacy in (a) 2012-13 and (b) each of the seven preceding years. [165041]

The Solicitor-General: The total spent by the Serious Fraud Office on external counsel for each of the last eight financial years is in the table. This information is available in the SFO annual accounts.

The Serious Fraud Office does not routinely distinguish between external advocacy and other services provided by external counsel when recording legal expenditure and it is therefore not possible to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

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Victim Personal Statement Scheme

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of cases brought to court included a victim personal statement in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [165761]

The Attorney-General: The victim personal statement (VPS) scheme gives victims an opportunity to describe the wider effects of a crime upon them, express their concerns and indicate whether or not they require any support. Making a VPS is entirely optional and a victim can make more than one VPS. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a record of the number of cases where a victim opted to make a VPS. This information could only be obtained by examining individual files at disproportionate cost.

Northern Ireland

Accountancy

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much her Department spent on contracts with (a) Deloitte, (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (c) KPMG and (d) Ernst and Young in each year since 2008. [164959]

Mrs Villiers: Because of the devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010, my Department does not hold figures for the periods prior to 2010; attempting to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Since then, the amounts spent by my Department on contracts with the specified bodies were as follows:

(a) 2012-13: £51,347 (excluding VAT);

(b) Nil;

(c) 2011-12: £12,196 (excluding VAT); 2012-13: £20,553 (excluding VAT);

(d) Nil.

Parades

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps she is taking to ensure that the right to parade is guaranteed in a future Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement. [165296]

Mike Penning: It remains clear that there is currently no consensus on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, including on the content of any Bill, despite the substantial efforts made in the years since the Belfast Agreement. The Government stand ready to take action as required to implement any locally-agreed solution.

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Wales

Accountancy

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on contracts with (a) Deloitte, (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (c) KPMG and (d) Ernst and Young in each year since 2008. [164964]

Stephen Crabb: Nothing.

Grant Thornton

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department has spent on contracts with Grant Thornton in each year since 2008. [165701]

Stephen Crabb: Nothing.

Military Bases

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he has visited units of the armed forces based in Wales in an official capacity. [164987]

Stephen Crabb: Wales Office Ministers meet regularly with armed forces personnel based in Wales. Most recently, the Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd West (Mr Jones), and my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Baroness Randerson, attended the Armed Forces Day event in Cardiff on 29 June to celebrate the valuable contribution our forces make.

The Wales Office website is frequently updated with information about Ministers' engagements. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are also published as part of the Wales Office quarterly transparency returns.

Northcote House

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department used the facilities at Northcote House, Sunningdale Park, Berkshire in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [164831]

Stephen Crabb: Wales Office Ministers have not used the facilities at Northcote House in the last three financial years. The Wales Office does not hold data on officials' use of the facilities.

Revenue and Customs

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) whether he plans to meet with Welsh Government Ministers to discuss the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs enquiry centres in Wales; [165253]

(2) when he last met the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss the closure of HM Revenue and Customs enquiry centres in Wales. [165271]

Mr David Jones: My Department is in close communication with HM Treasury regarding the proposals from HM Revenue and Customs to introduce a new service to support customers. I have written to the First

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Minister confirming that no decision has been taken on the future of the HMRC's inquiry centres in Wales. An announcement on the future of individual inquiry centres will be made in early 2014.

Scotland

Accountancy

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on contracts with (a) Deloitte, (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (c) KPMG and (d) Ernst and Young in each year since 2008. [164961]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has had no contracts with (a) Deloitte, (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (c) KPMG and (d) Ernst and Young in each year since 2008.

Apprentices

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what strategies he has to create apprenticeships in his Department; and what plans he has to promote such strategies. [165898]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly so it cannot create apprenticeships. However, as the majority of staff join on an assignment arrangement, principally from the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, the office has the opportunity to fill administrative positions through the apprenticeship schemes offered by these parent employers, as and when vacancies arise.

Grant Thornton

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has spent on contracts with Grant Thornton in each year since 2008. [165698]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has had no contracts with Grant Thornton since 2008.

Northcote House

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department used the facilities at Northcote House, Sunningdale Park, Berkshire in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [164828]

David Mundell: No Ministers or officials in the Scotland Office have used the facilities at Northcote House, Sunningdale Park, Berkshire in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Redundancy

Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officials in his Department resident in Scotland have been made redundant through compulsory redundancy schemes since May 2010; and how much this has cost his Department. [165558]

David Mundell: No officials in the Scotland Office have been made redundant through compulsory redundancy schemes since May 2010.

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Royal Mail

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last had (a) oral and (b) written communication with the Scottish Government on the proposed privatisation of Royal Mail. [165573]

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), and I have not had any oral and written communications with the Scottish Government on the proposed privatisation of Royal Mail specifically, but we maintain regular contact with Scottish Government Ministers on a range of business issues of relevance to Scotland.

Energy and Climate Change

Arctic

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make it his policy to support the creation of a global sanctuary in the Arctic off limits to new oil and gas exploitation and industrial fishing and covering the area of international waters around the North Pole beyond Arctic states' exclusive economic zones; and if he will make a statement. [165641]

Michael Fallon: The Government are pressing for a new Implementing Agreement under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea for the regulation of the protection of marine biodiversity in areas beyond National Jurisdiction. In the event that this becomes a reality, the Government will work with the Arctic Council, Arctic states and the UN to establish whether there is a scientific basis for an internationally recognised marine protected area in the Arctic.

Electricity: Prices

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the number of households which will be paying higher electricity bills by 2020 as a result of the Government's climate change policies. [165265]

Michael Fallon: The Government's recent assessment of the impacts of energy and climate change policies on consumer energy bills⁽¹⁾ finds that electricity prices are likely to increase to 2020, with or without policies, as a result of rising wholesale energy and network costs. Although the costs of policies to support low carbon investment, improve energy efficiency and provide support for vulnerable households will also increase, these costs are expected to be more than offset by the reductions in energy consumption and exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices that policies are delivering.

Overall we estimate that, in 2020, electricity bills will be on average 11% (£72) lower than they would be in the absence of policies.

^{(1 )}https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-impacts -of-energy-and-climate-change-policies-on-energy-prices-and-bills

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David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of electricity costs in 2020 which will be due to the Government's climate change policies. [165266]

Michael Fallon: The Government have recently published their assessment of the impacts of energy and climate change policies on consumer energy bills⁽¹⁾. The analysis in the report shows that policies are estimated to account for around 23% (£46/MWh) of average household electricity prices in 2020 (2012 prices, excluding VAT).

This figure only represents the cost of climate change and energy policies and does not reflect savings from policies that reduce energy consumption and consumer bills. Including the impacts of policies, electricity bills are estimated to be on average 11% (£72) lower in 2020 with policies than they would be if these policies had never been introduced.

Taking household bills as a whole (gas and electricity) policies are estimated to account for around 14% of energy bills in 2020. However due to policies such as regulations on boiler efficiencies and household appliances, and on improving insulation such as the Green Deal, overall bills are estimated to be 11% (£166) lower on average than they would be in the absence of policies.

^{(1 )}https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-impacts -of-energy-and-climate-change-policies-on-energy-prices-and-bills

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the change in electricity prices that can be attributed to the Government's climate change policies. [165267]

Michael Fallon: Between 2010 and 2012 household electricity prices increased by 10% in real terms. DECC estimates that energy and climate change policies account for around 35% of this increase in prices, with increases in wholesale costs, network costs, and other supplier costs and margins accounting for around 65% of the remaining increase.

It should be noted that the majority of policy costs fall on electricity, rather than gas, and figures on cost do not reflect savings from policies that reduce energy consumption and consumer bills.

Considering household energy bills as a whole (gas and electricity), the Government's recently published assessment of the impacts of energy and climate change policies on consumer energy bills⁽¹⁾ found that policy costs accounted for 15% of the overall increase in household dual fuel bills between 2010 and 2012. It also shows that once energy efficiency savings are accounted for, average household energy bills are estimated to be 5% (£65) lower in 2013 than they would have been if these climate change and energy policies have never been introduced.

^{(1 )}https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-impacts -of-energy-and-climate-change-policies-on-energy-prices-and-bills

Energy Company Obligation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many companies that

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secured a contract for the delivery of the energy company obligation via the brokerage system have subsequently gone into administration. [165581]

Gregory Barker: If a Green Deal provider trading on brokerage goes into administration, it has the duty to notify the Government Procurement Service, which runs the auction platform. To date GPS has informed DECC of one company going into administration.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of bids for energy company obligation lots have met the reserve price to date. [165582]

Gregory Barker: On the energy companies obligation (ECO) brokerage trading platform, as with any auction system, a large number of bids may often be submitted on a lot before it sells, or fails to sell. That is the nature of an auction system.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons his Department has not provided energy companies with the postcodes which will qualify for the rural element of the Energy Company Obligation: Carbon Saving Community Obligation. [165750]

Gregory Barker: Obligated energy suppliers are able to enter postcodes into a look up tool run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and cross check if these areas fall within published list of eligible areas entitled “Energy Company Obligation Carbon Saving Community Obligation: Rural and Low Income Areas”. Suppliers can also use the look up tool to check if an eligible area is classified as rural.

Fracking

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether companies seeking licences to undertake hydraulic fracturing for shale gas recovery will have to obtain a separate licence for a new process if they intend to use uranium-based shape charges to fracture the rock. [164352]

Michael Fallon: Explosives are not used to generate hydraulic fractures. Small shaped charges are routinely used in oil and gas operations, conventional and unconventional, to perforate casings, and create a short passage in the rock to permit the passage of fluids. Neither we nor HSE are aware of any use or proposed use of uranium in that context. All proposals for activity including the use of new or novel techniques are carefully considered as part of the normal process of regulatory scrutiny of oil and gas operations.

Grant Thornton

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has spent on contracts with Grant Thornton in each year since 2008. [165690]

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change made payments to Grant Thornton in the years 2010-11 (£18,000) and 2012-13 (£66,000).

We did not make any payments made to this organisation in 2008-09, 2009-10 or 2011-12.

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Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the cost to energy suppliers of changing their IT and billing systems to collect Green Deal payments. [165671]

Gregory Barker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 November 2011, Official Report, column 314W.

Natural Gas: Storage

Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the level of investment required to build a two billion cubic metre gas storage facility. [164537]

Michael Fallon: Figures published on gas storage developers' websites suggest that the capital costs for salt cavern storage equate to around £1 billion per billion cubic metre and £0.7 billion per billion cubic metre for storage in a depleted hydrocarbon field. On this basis the investment required for 2 billion cubic metre of storage is likely to be in the region of £1.5 billion to £2 billion.

Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what estimate he has made of the number of construction related jobs created by the building of a two billion cubic metre gas storage facility; [164542]

(2) what estimate he has made of the number of full-time permanent jobs required to support the running of a 2 billion cubic metre gas storage facility. [164545]

Michael Fallon: We have not made any such assessment.

Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what assessment he has made of the benefit to consumers that will be provided by an additional 2 billion cubic metre gas storage facility; [164548]

(2) what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the consumer of an additional 2 billion cubic metre UK gas storage facility. [165006]

Michael Fallon: DECC is currently reviewing the need for intervention in the gas market, including the costs and benefits to consumers of measures which would increase gas storage capacity. We intend to publish the outcome of this review shortly.

Power Stations

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to encourage both gas and coal mothballed plants to fire up to provide reserve capacity. [165568]

Michael Fallon: Ofgem is consulting on whether to enable National Grid to develop new services to balance the electricity system in middle of the decade.

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These services could involve currently mothballed gas and coal plants coming back online to provide reserve capacity. Plants coming back online will need to be compliant with relevant environmental legislation.

The decision on whether to proceed with these extended balancing services is for Ofgem, but the Government support its proposals, and have liaised with Ofgem and National Grid on their development.

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to provide incentives to currently mothballed plants to bring capacity on-stream if needed; and how much such incentives would cost. [165571]

Michael Fallon: Ofgem is consulting on whether to enable National Grid to develop new services, including providing incentives for mothballed plants to come back on-stream, to balance the electricity system in middle of the decade.

The decision on whether to proceed with these extended balancing services is for Ofgem, but the Government support its proposals, and have liaised with Ofgem and National Grid on their development.

The cost of the measures on which Ofgem are consulting would depend on the amount of additional balancing services that may be needed. Ofgem has specified that any procurement by National Grid must be economic and efficient and the products must represent value for money to electricity consumers.

If they were taken forward we expect the additional cost of the proposed mid-decade services would be very low in comparison to the existing cost of balancing the system—almost certainly extra pence rather than pounds.

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether bringing on reserve capacity from mothballed plants will involve a derogation of the EU Large Combustion Plants Directive. [165670]

Michael Fallon: No. The Government intend full compliance with the Large Combustion Plant Directive which aims to reduce emissions of harmful oxides of sulphur and nitrogen and particulate matter from large combustion plants, including power stations.

Wind Power

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the level of subsidy per MWh to be given from the public purse to offshore wind power generation by 2020. [164573]

Michael Fallon [holding answer 11 July 2013]: Offshore wind generating stations above 5 MW (and those below 5 MW in Northern Ireland) are eligible for support through the Renewables Obligation (RO) in the form of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs). The following table sets out the ROC rates to 31 March 2017 when the scheme will close to new generation:

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These rates are grandfathered at the time of accreditation and are received for the full 20 years of support under the RO. For the purposes of Government financial planning, the long-term value of a ROC is the buyout price plus 10%. This is roughly £46 per ROC in 2013-14 prices.

The following table sets out the recently published draft Contract for Difference strike prices for offshore wind:

More details can be found in Appendix A Levy Control Framework: Draft Strike Prices:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209276/EMR_Spending_Review_Announcement_-_FINAL_PDF.pdf

The feed-in tariff scheme supports wind farms below 5 MW with a fixed tariff per kilowatt hour of energy generated. Tariffs are available on Ofgem's web page at the following locations:

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/fits/ad/Pages/ad.aspx

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/fits/tariff-tables/Pages/index.aspx

Youth Work

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding his Department allocated for youth work in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [164078]

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change's expenditure was £20,000 in 2010-11 with no further subsequent expenditure identified.

Justice

Conditions of Employment

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [160773]

Mrs Grant: The number of staff on zero-hour contracts in the Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice HQ, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, National Offender Management Service and the Office of the Public Guardian) is set out in the following table.

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The Ministry of Justice's executive non-departmental public bodies did not have any staff retained on zero-hour contracts.

The use of zero-hour contracts enables greater flexibility where work is irregular, thereby making more efficient use of resources to meet demand.

They are only paid for the hours they work.

Cybercrime

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will consider changing the sentencing guidelines for cases of (a) cyber-bullying and (b) online instances of threats and intimidation to ensure that those found guilty of such offences are subject to custodial sentences; and if he will make a statement. [164904]

Mrs Grant: Sentencing Guidelines are a matter for the Sentencing Council, which is independent of Government. There are currently no Sentencing Guidelines available for cases of cyber-bullying or online threats and intimidation. Custodial sentences are available for offences under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (up to five years); and the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and Communications Act 2003 (up to six months respectively).

Dangerous Driving: Sentencing

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the Sentencing Council on sentencing guidelines for death by dangerous driving cases. [164533]

Mrs Grant: In February, the Secretary of State for Justice wrote to the Sentencing Council to ask them to review the guideline for death by driving offences. The council intend to hold a public consultation on driving offences in the autumn of 2014.

Domestic Violence

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of violent offences are not categorised as cases of domestic violence for monitoring purposes. [165420]

The Solicitor-General: I have been asked to reply.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a record of the number of defendants prosecuted in twelve principal offence categories. The principal offence indicates the most serious offence a defendant is charged with at the time of finalisation. Four principal offence categories have been identified as comprising ‘violent offences’: homicide, offences against the person, robbery and sexual offences.

The CPS also keeps a central record, via the application of a case monitoring flag, of the number of defendants prosecuted where the offence(s) concerned domestic violence. It follows that defendants not flagged are not categorised as cases of domestic violence.

The following table sets out proportion of prosecutions for offence categories of homicide, offences against the person, robbery and sexual offences in each of the last three years, which were not identified and flagged as involving domestic violence.

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Exhumation

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what his policy is on issuing exhumation licences for the removal of bodies or human remains from former burial grounds owned by, or once owned or operated by, hospitals, local Methodist groups and other private landowners; [164415]

(2) what his policy is on requiring prior consent from the owner of burial rights when an application to exhume has not been made by that person; [164417]

(3) what plans he has to clarify information provided by his Department to the public about exhumation licences. [164420]

Mrs Grant: Where development work such as the construction of new buildings is to take place, the exhumation of human remains from former burial grounds, whether public or private, is governed by the Disused Burial Grounds Act 1884 and the Disused Burial Grounds (Amendment) Act 1981. Where such development is not to take place, we consider applications to remove individual remains from burial grounds, including those owned or formerly owned or operated by hospitals, local Methodist groups or other private landowners, on the same basis as other single exhumation applications— that is, under section 25 of the Burial Act 1857.

Applicants for a licence to remove a single set of buried remains must either provide the signed consent of the person who owns the right of burial in the grave or plot, or explain why consent is unavailable (for example when the owner has died and the rights have not yet been transferred to the heirs). The licence does not override the civil rights of the grave owner, and therefore a licence is only issued against the grave owner's wishes in the most exceptional circumstances.

The Ministry of Justice's exhumation application forms include guidance which we keep under review. Officials are always available to provide guidance on individual queries.

Family Courts: Rhyl

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people are employed at Rhyl family court. [163977]

Mrs Grant: Staff based at the Rhyl county court administer both civil and family cases. The total number of staff employed at the Rhyl county court at the end of May 2013 was 16 (14.51 full-time equivalent staff).

Feltham Young Offender Institution

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many days Feltham Young Offenders Institution was without a governor in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [165534]

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Jeremy Wright: HMYOI Feltham was not without a governor during 2010, 2011 and 2012. On 1 March 2013 the governor moved to a new post and there was a gap of 30 days before the next governor took up post on 1 April 2013. During the 30 day period the deputy governor was in charge of the prison as acting governor.

Legal Aid Scheme

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the reforms to legal aid proposed in his Department's consultation, “Transforming Legal Aid: Delivering a more credible and efficient system” on (a) individuals in immigration detention who are (i) making an application for immigration bail and (ii) filing a case of unlawful detention, (b) women who are victims of domestic violence who have not resided in the UK for more than 12 months and (c) victims of human trafficking who have not resided in the UK for more than 12 months. [156907]

Jeremy Wright: As part of our consultation “Transforming Legal aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” we have published an impact assessment which is available at:

https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-legal-aid

The consultation proposes measures aimed at reducing the cost of legal aid, which at around £2 billion a year is one of the most expensive systems of its type in the world, and ensuring that the legal aid system commands the confidence of the public.

One of the proposals is that applicants for civil legal aid would need to be lawfully resident in the UK, Crown dependencies or British overseas territories at the time they apply and for at least a 12 months continuous period in the past. We have proposed exceptions for asylum seekers and members of Her Majesty's UK armed forces and their immediate families.

Immigrants, including victims of trafficking and domestic violence, would be excepted from the residence test in cases where they were seeking to claim asylum.

People who did not meet the residence test would be entitled to apply for exceptional funding under the power set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

We are currently consulting on this proposal and are keen to hear views on the potential impacts of our proposed approach before we reach our final decision.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the income distribution of legal aid recipients in each year since 2002. [159469]

Jeremy Wright: The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) does not hold this information because it does not make routine assessments of all legal aid recipients.

For criminal legal aid, people who were interviewed by the police at the station would automatically receive legal aid. A similar approach was adopted in the magistrates courts between 2001 and 2006 when means testing of defendants was reinstated in 2006. Since 2006, some people continue to be passported to legal aid without an assessment of their means, while at the Crown court means testing was only introduced in 2010.

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For civil legal aid, the majority of legal aid recipients are subject to passported assessment i.e. they receive automatic eligibility as recipients of benefits. The Legal Aid Agency therefore do not hold routine data on income distributions.

Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system consultation”. This included a proposed model of a financial eligibility threshold whereby any defendant with a disposable household income of £37,500 or more would, in most instances, be ineligible for legal aid in the Crown court.

The proposed threshold is approximately twice the national average annual disposable household income of £18,000. We believe this is not an unreasonable level at which to expect people to pay for their own defence.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether UK citizens returning to the UK after working abroad for a year or more will be affected by the restriction he proposes for access to legal aid to people who have been resident in the UK for the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [162844]

Jeremy Wright: At around £2 billion a year we have one of the most expensive legal aid systems of its type in the world. At a time of major financial challenges, the legal sector cannot be immune from the Government's commitment to getting best value for every penny of taxpayers' money spend.

The consultation paper, ‘Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system’, contains a range of measures aimed at reducing the cost and improving the public credibility of the legal aid scheme, including the proposal that those allocated civil legal aid should have a strong connection to the UK.

Under the proposed residence test set out in the consultation paper, applicants for civil legal aid would need to be lawfully resident in the UK, Crown dependencies or British overseas territories at the time they apply for civil legal aid and for at least a 12 months continuous period in the past.

The 12-month period of lawful residence could be immediately prior to the application for civil legal aid or could have taken place at any point in the past. Therefore those who have previously lawfully resided within the UK, Crown dependencies or British overseas territories for 12 months would immediately satisfy this limb of the test on their return.

We are now carefully considering the consultation responses in relation to this proposal.

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people (a) under the age of 18, (b) aged between 18 and 24 and (c) aged over 25 years old were in receipt of legal aid for each category of justiciable matter in the latest year for which figures are available; what proportion of all recipients of legal aid this represented; what the cost to the public purse of providing such aid was; and what estimate he has made of such figures if the proposals contained in his Department's “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more creditable and efficient system” consultation were fully implemented. [163376]

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Jeremy Wright: We have one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world. We have been clear we must ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer. Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This put forward a range of proposals intended to reduce the cost of legal aid by £220 million and improve its credibility with the public who pay for it. We are carefully considering all the points raised during the consultation process.

In the last financial year, 2012/13, the age segmentation for the recipients of legal aid is described in table 1, as follows:

We do not hold the information on what this breakdown may be post the legal aid transformation consultation proposals. The decision to grant legal aid is dependent on a number of factors including the merits of an individual case and the client's means. This makes forecasting by age category difficult. However, we have published an equalities impact assessment which considers the impact of the proposals on different groups of legal aid users. This has been published on the Ministry of Justice website.

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effect that residency tests for civil legal aid will have on (a) victims of human trafficking, (b) victims of domestic violence and (c) babies under 12 months old. [163731]

Jeremy Wright: As part of our consultation “Transforming legal aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” we have published an impact assessment which is available at:

https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-legal-aid

The residence test proposal on which we consulted would mean that applicants for civil legal aid would need to be lawfully resident in the UK, Crown Dependencies or British Overseas Territories at the time they apply for civil legal aid and for at least a 12 months continuous period in the past. In the consultation paper, we proposed exceptions for asylum seekers and members of Her Majesty's UK armed forces and their immediate families.

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Under the proposal, where victims of trafficking or domestic violence were claiming asylum they would still be eligible for legal aid.

We are carefully considering all responses to the consultation, including on the issue of the effect the proposal would have on children under the age of 12 months.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2013, Official Report, column 644W, on prisoners: foreign nationals, with which other high volume countries he is pursuing agreements, and in each case what specific progress he has made; and by what year he expects compulsory prisoner transfer agreements be operational; [164268]

(2) how many foreign-national offenders were in UK prisons in (a) May 2010 and (b) July 2013; and what steps he is taking to negotiate compulsory prisoner transfer agreements with the countries from which those offenders came. [164321]

Jeremy Wright: The number of foreign nationals in prison in England and Wales was 10,725 as at 31 March 2013 (latest available data) and 11,153 as at 31 May 2010.

14 EU countries have now implemented the EU prisoner transfer arrangement and we are now starting to see prisoners transferred. Outside Europe we are targeting those countries with the highest population of foreign national offenders in the prison system for compulsory prisoner transfer agreements and this approach is starting to see results. We have recently signed a compulsory PTA with Albania and are making good progress towards concluding a compulsory transfer agreement with Nigeria. We continue to pursue voluntary arrangements with countries where compulsory transfers are not yet possible.

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) which prisons have a labour board to assign work to prisoners; [159600]

(2) which prisons require prisoners to apply and interview for employment whilst in prison; [159602]

(3) what proportion of prisoners are participating in work schemes under rule 31 of the prison rules. [159697]

Jeremy Wright: Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 03/2012 ‘Activity Allocation’ sets out the mandatory operational requirements for allocating prisoners to the range of activities in prisons, including work. Central data are not available to confirm how many prisons operate labour/selection boards, or operate an application and interview process, and could be obtained only by a manual check with individual prisons, which would incur disproportionate cost. The PSI and the related service specification for activity allocation require all prisons to operate an efficient process for managing the allocation process so as to ensure the effective and efficient use of all regime activities available to prisoners, but does not stipulate how this is to be delivered.

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Prison Rule 31 covers all work undertaken by prisoners. Our latest published figures show number of prisoners working in industrial activity in public sector prisons increased from around 8,600 in 2010-11 to around 9,000 in 2011-12. We are due to publish updated figures shortly. These figures do not include the substantial numbers of prisoners who work within prisons on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning and they exclude prisoners working productively in privately operated prisons. In addition, prisoners are also engaged in purposeful activities such as learning and skills, offending behaviour programmes as well as dealing with substance misuse.

Figures are published in the NOMS Annual Report Management Information Addendum:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/163292/noms-annual-report-201 l-12-addendum.pdf.pdf

Public Expenditure

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis and (b) pot plants and cut flowers at the Petty France office in each of the last three years. [165810]

Mrs Grant: Our accounting systems do not record expenditure in sufficient detail to allow us to extract the cost of pot plants and cut flowers from other miscellaneous expenditure.

The presence of pot plants and cut flowers in the Department's buildings is very minimal.

The Secretary of State has recently launched a review of departmental discretionary spend which includes expenditure on indoor and outdoor plants.

To provide information on departmental expenditure on taxis for civil servants, would involve disproportionate cost.

The Department's policy on travel by taxi (or use of the Government Car Service) is that it is not an entitlement and, where possible, journeys should be made by public transport. Taxi fares may be reimbursed only where there is no other suitable form of public transport, or where heavy luggage has to be transported, or where the saving in officials' time is important. Where necessary, a standing arrangement may be made, say, for the conveyance of a large number of files from a court office to a separate court building.

Violent and Sex Offender Register

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of people on the Violent and Sex Offender Register (a) are currently in prison, (b) have been to prison in the last year and (c) have never been to prison. [161273]

Mr Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

Information on registered sex offenders is held on the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) database, a UK-wide system which is used to store and share information and intelligence on individuals.

Data from ViSOR show that there are a total of 64,484 registered sex offenders in the UK.

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The number of registered sex offenders recorded on ViSOR as currently being in prison (including those detained in hospital) is 15,065. This represents 23.4% of the total number of registered sex offenders on the system.

The number of registered sex offenders recorded on ViSOR as being in prison (including those detained in hospital) at any point between the period of 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 is 19,619. This represents 30.4% of the total number of registered sex offenders on the system.

Offenders receiving a non-custodial sentence or accepting a caution for a Schedule 3 offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 are also subject to the notification requirements. The number of registered sex offenders who do not have a custody record or prison status (including those detained in hospital) recorded on ViSOR is 17,758. This represents 27.5% of the total number of registered sex offenders on the system.

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of the population in each probation area are on the Violent and Sex Offender Register. [161275]

Mr Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

Information on registered sex offenders is held on the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) database, a UK-wide system which is used to store and share information and intelligence on individuals.

The number of registered sex offenders currently recorded on ViSOR, broken down by probation area in England and Wales is in the table. These figures include all persons subject to notification requirements, regardless of whether they are in custody, on licence, or in the community. These figures do not include Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Information on proportions in relation to probation areas is not held centrally.

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Violent and Sex Offender Register: Witham

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which people on the Violent and Sex Offender Register currently reside in Witham constituency. [161276]

Mr Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

Information on registered sex offenders is held on the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) database, a UK-wide system which is used to store and share information and intelligence on individuals.

The number of registered sex offenders currently managed by Essex police is 1,280. This includes all persons subject to notification requirements, regardless of whether they are in custody, on licence, or in the community. A further breakdown of this information is not held centrally.

Communities and Local Government

Aerials: Planning Permission

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) with reference to the Joint Paper with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, “Mobile Connectivity in England”, published in May 2013, what consideration he has given to increasing the capacity on existing sites for up to five antenna systems; [164450]

(2) what consideration he has given to enabling permitted development without prior approval for face-mounted antennas irrespective of the height of the building; [164451]

(3) what consideration he has given to increasing the right to upgrade as permitted development without prior approval to relate to both existing and new sites once they have received planning permission. [164452]

Nick Boles: In developing the proposals set out in the consultation document ‘Mobile Connectivity in England’, published on 3 May 2013, my Department worked with the mobile operators and local government representatives to identify opportunities to streamline the planning process and speed up the deployment of mobile broadband. The proposals we consulted on maximise the use of existing sites and encourage the sharing of infrastructure

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to minimise the need for new ground-based masts. The consultation closed on 14 June, and we are currently considering the responses received. We will publish the Government's response to the consultation in due course.

Affordable Housing: Rural Areas

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in what circumstances speculative market homes will be permitted on rural exception sites. [165569]

Nick Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework sets out, under the definition of rural exception sites, that small numbers of market homes may be allowed at the local authority's discretion, for example where essential to enable the delivery of affordable units without grant funding.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department has taken to increase the availability and supply of affordable housing in rural areas. [165730]

Mr Prisk: Nearly 10% of the funding for the Affordable Homes Programme (2011-12 to 2014-15) outside London has been allocated to rural communities of fewer than 3,000 households.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out, for the first time in national policy, that rural exception sites can allow for a small number of market homes where it is essential to enable the delivery of affordable units without grant funding.

The Government support community-led projects such as community land trusts, which have played an important role in ensuring that communities can deliver the housing development, often in rural areas. £25 million has been set aside from the Affordable Homes Programme for such projects.

To help provide both rural and urban housing this Government are championing initiatives such as our Affordable Housing Programme, Home on the Farm schemes, the Community Right to Build, the Rent to Build fund, Firstbuy, Newbuy, Neighbourhood Planning, the New Homes Bonus, a comprehensive empty homes programme, and reforms to change of use to get redundant agricultural buildings back into productive use.

Empty Property

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) bungalows, (b) one bedroom houses, (c) two bedroom houses and (d) three bedroom houses are listed as vacant by each registered social landlord and local authority in England and Wales. [165141]

Mr Prisk: DCLG publish information on the number of vacant local authority and private register provider (housing association) properties annually. The latest information is on my Department's website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49764/20130111_Live_table_615.xls

However, information about the number of bedrooms these properties contain is not collected centrally.

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Fires: Warehouses

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of fires each year in plastic recycling warehouses. [164287]

Brandon Lewis: Records of fires attended by fire and rescue authorities do not distinguish different types of recycling facilities.

The total numbers of fires attended at recycling plants in England since the introduction of the new fire and rescue incident recording system are as follows:

Fire fighters did an excellent job getting the Smethwick blaze under control and the cause will be thoroughly investigated by West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority.

All fires, no matter the size, can cause loss of life, but in the last decade there has been a 40% reduction in incidents as a whole.

Land: Valuation

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who sets the value that a housing association is able to offer to the owner of agricultural land; and how that value is calculated. [165681]

Nick Boles: The Government do not prescribe the rate at which housing associations should purchase land. The decision would be for individual housing associations to make, in negotiation with the landowner.

Local Government Services

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to Annex F of his Department's publication, Calculation of 2013-14 Formula Funding, what assessment he has made of the services that are (a) more expensive to provide in rural areas, (b) cheaper to provide in rural areas, (c) more expensive to provide in densely-populated areas and (c) cheaper to provide in densely-populated areas. [165538]

Brandon Lewis: Following consideration of representations from outside experts and representative bodies, and with a broad cross section of the sector through consultation, we have accepted that it is appropriate to apply judgemental sparsity top-ups to a number of the Relative Needs Formulae as set out in the Formula Funding document approved as part of this year's Local Government Finance settlement. These changes give a lower reduction of per capita funding for predominantly rural authorities than for predominantly urban authorities in every authority class compared with last year's settlement.

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Rents: Arrears

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated cost is of rent arrears accrued by each local authority registered social landlord in England and Wales in (a) April, (b) May and (c) June 2013. [165144]

Mr Prisk: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 9 July 2013, Official Report, column 194W.

Social Rented Housing

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many property sales have taken place each month since January 2013 for each registered social landlord (RSL) in England and Wales; and what the average discount given to house buyers from RSLs is in (a) January, (b) February, (c) March, (d) April, (e) May and (f) June 2013. [165146]

Mr Prisk: The latest data available are annual data for 2011-12.

The Homes and Communities Agency publish figures by private registered providers (housing associations), which can be found under tab ‘SDR12_Stock_Movement’ in the “full data spreadsheet” at the following link:

http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/news/statistical-data-return

England figures for total private registered provider sales are available on the Department's website in Table 678 here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/199070/Table_678.xls

The figures show there were 6,583 sales of private registered provider stock in England in 2011-12.

Figures for the average discount given are not available by individual private registered provider. Information on the average discount per dwelling for registered providers is available on the Department's website in Table 682 here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/199779/Table_682.xls

These figures show the average discount per dwelling in England in 2011-12 was £28,410 (31% of the market value).

Housing is a devolved matter in Wales and the Welsh Government publish information on social housing sales. The latest release can be found at the following link:

http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/headlines/housing2012/120612/?lang=en

There were 386 sales by private registered providers in Wales in 2011-12.

Social Rented Housing: Waiting Lists

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what analysis he has made of waiting lists for (a) one bedroom houses, (b) two bedroom houses, (c) three bedroom houses and (d) bungalows for each registered social landlord and local authority in England and Wales since January 2013. [165735]

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Mr Prisk: The number of households on local authority waiting lists by size of property for each local authority district in England in 2011-12 is published in the statistical dataset accompanying the Department's Local Authority Housing Statistics release, which is available at the following link.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-housing-statistics-data-returns-for-2011-to-2012

2011-12 is the most recent year for which data is available.

Local authorities sometimes maintain a common waiting list with the Private Registered Providers (housing associations or registered social landlords) in their district. However, no information is available where a Private Registered Provider maintains a separate waiting list to the local authority.

The Department does not hold any information on social housing waiting lists in Wales.

Urban Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which towns and local authorities have published their neighbourhood plans for local high streets. [165256]

Mr Prisk: This information is not collected centrally. However, our informal monitoring of local planning authority websites tells us that as of the beginning of July, over 580 communities have taken up the right to prepare a neighbourhood plan or a neighbourhood development order and more are joining them each week. Three neighbourhood plans have been supported at a referendum, a further 10 have been submitted for independent examination and 23 communities are currently carrying out pre-submission consultation on their neighbourhood plan or neighbourhood development order. Almost two thirds of the neighbourhood plans or orders that have been published include specific measure to support employment or retail uses.

Home Department

Asylum: Pregnant Women

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will review the guidance relating to procedures for accommodating pregnant women who seek asylum in the UK. [164449]

Mr Harper [holding answer 10 July 2013]:The Home Office's policies relating to pregnant asylum seekers were revised in August 2012, following widespread consultation. The report by the Refugee Council and Maternity Action drew conclusions from a sample of cases that were largely dealt with before those revised policies came into effect.

The policies are none the less kept under continuous review and the recommendations of the report are being considered by the Home Office and the Department of Health. Some of the recommendations are covered by work that is already ongoing.

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Crime Prevention

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers are currently working on Operation Nitrate; and whether her Department has provided Operation Nitrate with additional funding. [158220]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 6 June 2013]: NITRA is a database of terrorist-related media seized during counter-terrorism investigations. No additional funding has been provided. It was created and is managed as part of normal Metropolitan Police Specialist Operations business and is administered by two officers, who also carry out other duties in addition to this role.

Detention Centres: Children

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were subject to detention in adult immigration removal centres in each of the last three years. [165628]

Mr Harper: There were 418 children who initially entered detention at immigration removal centres (IRCs) in 2010, 85 in 2011 and 97 in 2012. These figures exclude those children who entered at short term holding facilities and pre departure accommodation.

Since the new family returns process was rolled out fully in August 2011, children (under-18s) may be held in IRCs only as part of family groups stopped at the border while inquiries are made to determine whether they may be safely admitted or, on rare occasions, in criminal cases. In these circumstances, families are held together in the specially designed family unit at Tinsley House.

It is not the policy to detain unaccompanied children. Occasionally, information may subsequently emerge to show that an individual who has been detained as an adult is under 18. In those cases, individuals are released as soon as suitable arrangements can be made for their care.

The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of people detained in the UK within Immigration Statistics. The data on people entering detention are readily available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: January to March 2013, table dt_01 from the Gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

Published figures on people held are those detained in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, including short-term holding facilities and pre- departure accommodation in addition to immigration removal centres but excluding those in police cells, Prison Service establishments, short term holding rooms at ports and airports (for less than 24 hours), and those recorded as detained under both criminal and immigration powers and their dependants.

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the recent detention of children in Campsfield House adult immigration removal centre; and if she will make a statement. [165633]

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Mr Harper: Individuals who were initially detained as adults but later assessed to be under 18 appear in the regularly published statistics for Children in Detention.

There will always be a small number of individuals who appear in the published statistics for children either entering or leaving detention for an immigration removal centre (IRC) other than Tinsley House IRC.

These exceptional instances should only relate to “age dispute” cases. This was the situation for both of the recent cases at Campsfield House IRC.

Driving under Influence: Drugs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to ensure roadside drug screening devices for a range of substances are Type Approved in time for use by police when the drug-driving legislation comes into force in summer 2014; and if she will make a statement. [165509]

Mr Jeremy Browne: On 9 July, the Department for Transport launched the consultation on the Government's proposals for the controlled drugs and corresponding limits to specify in regulations for the new drug-driving offence. We will issue shortly the specification for a roadside device which sets out the requirements such a device will have to meet, and invites manufacturers to submit for approval any devices they may have which they consider might meet the requirements. Field trials and the necessary laboratory testing of the devices will then follow, with a view to having any successful devices approved as close as practicable to the implementation of the new drug-driving offence.