House of Commons Commission

Conditions of Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many House of Commons staff were on zero-hour contracts in each of the last 10 years. [166643]

John Thurso: In the last 10 years the House Service has engaged casual workers in a number of areas, generally under arrangements where no specific hours of work are guaranteed. These staff receive many of the same benefits as other members of House staff, such as 28 days annual leave a year (accrued based on each hour that they work) and sick absence pay. They are also entitled to join the staff pension scheme from their first day and are automatically enrolled into it if they are contracted for a year or more.

The numbers of casual staff on our books in each year were:

Most of the increase in recent years is due to the growth of services such as visitor reception and guided tours. These are areas with variable workloads and in which the use of casual staff is normal practice.

The Commission aims to follow best practice as an employer. The House Service's terms of engagement for casual/zero-hour staff compare well with those used in external organisations and include pension entitlement, annual leave and sick pay. Following a discussion by the Commission in the summer, we are now moving to offer full employment contracts with minimum guaranteed hours where possible, and where that is what the individual wants.

The figures in the table represent the total number of people on the books as casual staff at some point during each year. The number at any particular time is lower; for example, as at 30 April 2013, 155 people were contracted to work for an unspecified number of hours.

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Business, Innovation and Skills

Apprentices: Birmingham

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized businesses in (a) Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency and (b) Birmingham employ apprentices. [167358]

Matthew Hancock: Information is not available on the number of businesses employing apprentices by size.

Table 1 shows the number of employer workplaces in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency and Birmingham that employed apprentices in the 2011/12 academic year.

Apprentices: South Yorkshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many apprenticeships funded by the Skills Funding Agency in 2013 will be based in (a) Sheffield, (b) Rotherham, (c) Barnsley and (d) Doncaster; [167489]

(2) who will provide the apprenticeships funded by the Skills Funding Agency in 2013 in (a) Sheffield, (b) Doncaster, (c) Barnsley and (d) Rotherham. [167490]

Matthew Hancock: The locations and sectors where apprenticeships are available are determined by employers offering apprenticeships and recruiting apprentices. Provisional data for the first three months of the 2013/14 academic year (August 2013 to October 2013) will be published in the January 2014 Statistical First Release (SFR).

The numbers of Government-funded apprenticeships by geography for previous academic years are published in a supplementary table to the SFR:

http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/69EFC69B-C189-46C4-93C4-6B161D744073/0/June2013_Apprenticeship_Starts.xls

The providers of Government-funded apprenticeships within each local authority for previous academic years are published in a supplementary table to the SFR:

http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/4027FBE2-EA08-4040-8A39-828C06648A3D/0/Januarv2013_ Participation_ by_Provider_Funding_Stream_Learner_and_Learning_Characteristics 201112.xls

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Credit: Interest Rates

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy to collect information on the number of payday loans taken out in each (a) local authority area, (b) region and (c) nation within the UK. [166632]

Jo Swinson: The Government do not collect information on the number of payday loans in each local authority area, region or nation within the UK. The Office of Fair Trading recently estimated the total number of new payday loans issued in the UK in 2011/12 to be between 7.4 and 8.2 million.

The Government have announced that from 1 April 2014 responsibility for the consumer credit regime will transfer to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will have more access to information from firms, including those authorised to provide payday loans, through their more comprehensive reporting requirements. In particular, authorised firms will be required to report annually on their activities. It is for this independent regulator to determine what particular information to collect on payday loans.

Digital Technology

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding his Department is making available for digital inclusion (a) directly and (b) through partner bodies. [167629]

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not run any digital inclusion programmes. Rather, we fund programmes run by other organisations in order to maximise the impact and achieve best value for money.

BIS is funding a £32 million, four-year programme through UK online centres specifically to help more people develop the skills needed to use a computer and to get online safely and securely. This programme is running through to March 2014 and, over this period, has helped over 1,250,000 people to use a computer and the internet.

UK online centres are located in the top 10% most deprived community wards in England and attract hard- to-reach adults (aged 19 to 100+) from the lowest socio-economic groups, many of whom do not traditionally engage in informal learning.

BIS is working alongside other Departments to support the Government Digital Service Digital Inclusion Team and has agreed to provide £100,000 per year over the next two years to support the cross-Government activity in this area.

Finally, the £210 million annual budget which BIS funds for Community Learning has been protected to

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enable access to learning for those most disadvantaged, including older learners and those on low incomes. In 2011/12 academic year, there were 108,260 Community Learning enrolments in Information and Communication Technology. This accounts for 10.4% of all Community Learning enrolments in the 2011/12 academic year.

ICT: Israel

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Israel about Israel's high-tech sector. [166842]

Mr Willetts: Following my visit to Israel on 29-31 October 2011, I co-chaired the UK-Israel High Tech council meeting with Avi Hasson, Israel's Chief Scientist. The meeting was held in London in March 2012 and provided an opportunity for senior figures in the high-tech sector from both countries to give strategic guidance to the efforts to build the high-tech partnership and share best practice. The next meeting is due in April 2014. In addition the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend Lord Green, visited Israel in March this year and met the UK-Israel Tech Hub at the British embassy.

In recent months the Department has had the following interactions with the Government of Israel:

I met Daniel Taub, Israeli ambassador to the UK, on 18 June 2013; and

Nick Baird, UK Trade and Investment's Chief Executive, visited Israel in May 2013 where he participated in a round table discussion with four Israeli tech companies who have successfully collaborated with UK business counterparts. He also met Prof. Stanley Fischer, the then Governor of the Bank of Israel.

Royal Mail: Theft

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what procedures are in place to deal with complaints against the theft of post in the Post Office. [167202]

Jo Swinson: Post Office Ltd is responsible for operational matters concerning the Post Office network. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Technology and Innovation Centres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the (a) location and (b) cost is of each technology strategy board's catapult centre. [167530]

Mr Willetts: The locations and costs to date for the seven catapult centres are in the following table:

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Transport

Aviation: Greater London

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of likely changes in the number of A350s and Dreamliners flying into London airports in the next 10 years. [167311]

Mr Simon Burns: In 2014 the Department's aviation forecasting model predicts that there will be 12,000 A350s and Dreamliners arriving and departing at London airports. By 2024 it is predicted that this number will have risen to 105,000 departures and arrivals.

British Transport Police

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money the British Transport Police has spent on legal proceedings in each of the last 10 years. [167156]

Mr Simon Burns: The amount the British Transport Police (BTP) has spent on legal proceedings in each of the last eight financial years is set out as follows. Information prior to 2005-06 can be retrieved only at disproportionate cost.

These figures include costs incurred by the BTP and the British Transport Police Authority for all criminal, civil and tribunal legal proceedings, but excludes estates and property legal costs.

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to tackle discrimination within the British Transport Police; and if he will make a statement. [167157]

Mr Simon Burns: The British Transport Police Authority is committed to embedding equality, diversity and human rights responsibilities throughout the Force. The British Transport Police's Equality and Diversity Objectives 2013-16 are framed around the three strategic themes of operational delivery, people and culture, and organisational processes. This approach ensures that the Force is responding to the needs of the railway infrastructure, the communities it serves, and its employees.

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the British Transport Police has recovered from the courts in order to cover its costs in each of the last 10 years. [167158]

Mr Simon Burns: The British Transport Police can provide this information only at disproportionate cost.

Bus Partnership Forum

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the minutes of the most recent Bus Partnership Forum. [166834]

Norman Baker: I have placed minutes of the Bus Partnership Forum, which took place on 15 July 2013, in the House of Commons Library.

Bus Services

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with bus operating companies on audio-visual next stop and final destination announcement systems. [166835]

Norman Baker: Although there have been no recent meetings with bus operators to discuss audio-visual announcement systems specifically, in June 2012 I chaired a summit on how best to improve door to door journeys for disabled people which was attended by bus industry stakeholders. Pursuant to this, on 13 December 2012, I published an 'Accessibility Action Plan' which seeks to address the challenges in making public transport more accessible and which includes an action to develop costings on audio-visual technical options for buses and identify a way forward.

In addition, on 23rd May 2011, I wrote to bus operators to encourage them to work in partnership with their local authorities to see if the uptake of audio-visual announcement systems can be increased on a voluntary basis.

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which bus operating companies he has met representatives of (a) between May 2010 and July 2012 and (b) since July 2012. [166836]

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Norman Baker: The Secretary of State and his predecessors have met with a wide range of figures involved in the provision of bus services, most notably through meetings with the Confederation of Passenger Transport which represents a great many bus operating companies, both small and large.

As Minister with responsibility for bus policy, I have held frequent meetings with bus operators as well as other stakeholder representatives. Below is a table of meetings I have had with individual operators since 2010:

In addition, I hold a Bus Partnership forum on a six monthly basis, which is attended by all the major bus operators.

Bus Services: Concessions

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with the Welsh Government in the last six months on the cross-border use of concessionary bus passes; and if he will make a statement. [167527]

Norman Baker: There have been no discussions in the last six months between the Department for Transport and the Welsh Government about cross-border use of concessionary bus passes. Although the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 contains a power to allow, through future regulations, for mutual recognition of bus passes across the UK, there are no plans to introduce mutual recognition of concessionary bus passes between England and Wales or any other part of the UK.

Local authorities in England neighbouring the Welsh border have powers to offer cross-border concessionary bus travel as a local enhancement to the current statutory minimum.

Bus Services: North East

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will estimate the number of people who (a) qualify for and (b) have claimed a disabled

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persons bus pass in (i) Houghton and Sunderland South constituency, (ii) Sunderland and (iii) the North East; [167099]

(2) what estimate he has made of the number of people who (a) qualify for and (b) have claimed an OAP bus pass in (i) Houghton and Sunderland South constituency, (ii) Sunderland and (iii) the North East in each of the last three years; [167361]

(3) if he will estimate the number of people who (a) qualify for and (b) have claimed a young person's bus pass in (i) Houghton and Sunderland South constituency, (ii) Sunderland and (iii) the North East. [167369]

Norman Baker: We estimate that in 2011/12, the latest year for which data is available, the number of eligible older people, and the number of disabled and older persons’ bus passes in circulation in north east England was as follows:

The totals for the North East include the Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Northumberland, Redcar and Cleveland, and Tyne and Wear, but they exclude Durham and Stockton-on-Tees, for which data is not available.

We do not hold data for Sunderland or the Houghton and Sunderland South constituency, and nor do we have an estimate of the number of eligible disabled people who do not claim the statutory concession in any area of England.

The relevant published tables are BUS0820 and BUS0890 which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus08-concessionary-travel

Travel concessions for young people are provided by some TCAs on a discretionary basis, and we do not hold estimates of the number of concessionary passes in circulation in any area of England.

East Coast Railway Line

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding agreed between the British Transport Police (BTP) and the companies operating the East Coast Main Line was for BTP staff on the franchise in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-04. [166798]

Mr Simon Burns: The charges for police services are set by the British Transport Police Authority. The authority is unable to provide the information requested as charges are calculated at an operator level, not at a route level.

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The total costs to the franchise for the police services provided by the BTP in each of the years was (a) £5.536 million, (b) £5.608 million, (c) £5.468 million, (d) £5.468 million, and for the current year is £4.752 million.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what payments have been made by (a) High Speed 2 Ltd and (b) his Department in respect of High Speed 2 since March 2010 to (i) Atkins, (ii) Bechtel, (iii) Carillion, (iv) CH2MHill and (v) Parsons Brinckerhoff. [167281]

Mr Simon Burns: Details of payments made since March 2010 on behalf of HS2 Ltd are shown in the following table:

Details of payments made since March 2010 on behalf of the Department for Transport are shown in the following table:

Kemble-Swindon Railway Line

Mr Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will instruct Network Rail to include enlarging the Victorian culvert under the railway at Minety as part of the work associated with the redoubling of the Swindon to Kemble line. [167198]

Mr Simon Burns: Network Rail is sympathetic to the concerns of local residents, and intends to work with Wiltshire county council in finding a solution to the drainage issues that will alleviate anxieties. However, at present it does not have any plans or funding to increase the capacity of Network Rail's culvert at Minety. The scope of the railway enhancement does not therefore include enhancement to the said culvert.

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Railways: Fares

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of trends in the level of passenger rail fares on living standards in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK; and what discussions he has had on the issue with the Minister for Transport and Veterans in the Scottish Government. [167596]

Norman Baker: The Department has not made such an assessment of the effect of trends in the level of passenger fares on living standards. The policy on the majority of rail fares in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government.

Our Fares and Ticketing Review has looked at a wide range of options to address passenger concerns about fares and ticketing in a financially sustainable way, and we will be publishing the results of the Review shortly.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many questions answered by his Department included fewer than four pages of statistics in the Official Report for the last month. [166714]

Norman Baker: During the period from 10 June to 17 July 2013, 36 questions answered by the Department included fewer than four pages of statistics.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to ensure that all answers provided by his Department containing tables of statistical data which would not require more than four pages in the Official Report are published in full rather than by reference to a hyperlink. [166739]

Norman Baker: The Office of the Leader of the House provides guidance to all Departments on the practice of answering Parliamentary Questions by reference to Government websites.

The guidance advises that the answer should give the Member the factual information requested (including supplying paper copies of the website pages), with an additional line in the answer indicating that the information is already made readily available.

The full Guide is available on the Cabinet Office website at http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work. A copy of the guidance relating to referring to websites has already been placed in the Library and the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons intends to review the Guide to Parliamentary Work later this year.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Common Fisheries Policy

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fishermen in the UK will benefit from the proposed reforms to the common fisheries policy. [162441]

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Richard Benyon: All UK fishermen will benefit from the reforms to the common fisheries policy (CFP). In addition to the ban on the wasteful practice of discarding fish, we have secured a legally binding target to set fishing levels more sustainably. This will increase biomass in the sea, resulting in improved fishing yields. This has the potential to have a huge positive impact, not just on stock levels and the marine ecosystem, but on the bottom line for UK fishing businesses.

UK fishermen will also benefit from improved fisheries management with a move away from the one size fits all approach under the current CFP. The regionalisation process that we secured allows decisions to be made closer to the fishery, with fishermen playing an important role to develop more effective management measures from the bottom up, through advisory councils.

Greyhounds

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain in monitoring and recording (a) welfare standards in that industry and (b) the number of greyhounds put down for economic reasons. [167661]

Mr Heath: The greyhound regulations are due to be reviewed in 2015 and this review will look at how effective they and the enforcement agencies (including the Greyhound Board of Great Britain) have been in maintaining good welfare standards.

Hill Farming

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of stocking levels on the uplands following reform of the common agricultural policy; and if he will make a statement. [167208]

Mr Heath: I shall be issuing a consultation document on the implementation of CAP reform in England in the near future. This will set out plans for providing support for upland farmers, and invite views from stakeholders, including in respect of the potential impact on stocking levels in the uplands.

Insecticides

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place to (a) restrict the sale of chlorpyrifos and (b) record to whom sales are made; and if he will make a statement. [166594]

Mr Heath: Chlorpyrifos products are authorised for use only by professionals. This means they can only be lawfully used by those who are trained and competent for their job. In certain situations the user will need to hold a certificate of competence.

From November 2015 all professional users will be required to hold a certificate demonstrating that they have been trained. It will also be a requirement that persons may not purchase professional products unless that product is to be used by someone holding a training certificate.

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The law requires that distributors, amongst others, keep records of plant protection products placed on the market.

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what damage was caused to the River Kennet by the recent chlorpyrifos poisoning; and what assessment he has made of the amount of the chemical involved in this incident. [166595]

Mr Heath: The Environment Agency's investigations have shown that many macro-invertebrates—that is those which are visible to the eye without the aid of a microscope—have been killed but there have been no reports of any fish deaths. The Environment Agency traced the effects of the pollution between Marlborough and Hungerford with macro-invertebrates being affected for this 15 km stretch. The Environment Agency did not detect any more effects downstream of Hungerford.

In 2003, a small amount of a Chlorpyrifos-based pesticide entered the watercourse in a similar incident on the River Wey at Bordon. To date the Environment Agency has been unable to identify the source of the River Kennet incident but comparison with the Bordon incident indicates that only a small quantity of pesticide may have caused it. If the pesticide had been in higher concentrations the Environment Agency would have expected a fish kill.

Investigations are still ongoing. The Environment Agency is working with local groups to support the fish population.

Sheepmeat

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to review the operation of the UK specification on lamb sales. [167211]

Mr Heath: Sheep carcase classification is not compulsory in the UK, but most abattoirs grade their carcases based on the EUROP classification grid. We are considering the operation of these arrangements with industry stakeholders.

Slaughterhouses: Cattle

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle were slaughtered in England for reasons of (a) lameness, (b) infertility and (c) mastitis in each year since 2003. [167504]

Mr Heath: These data are not collected or collated by Government.

Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 in improving welfare standards for racing greyhounds in the industry; [167785]

(2) what plans the Government have to discuss a review of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 with the Greyhound Board of Great Britain; and if he will make a statement. [167786]

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Mr Heath: The Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations are due to be reviewed in 2015 and this will look at how effective they and the enforcement agencies have been in maintaining good welfare standards. We will consult key stakeholders, including the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, as part of the review.

Welsh Language

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has a current Welsh language scheme; when that scheme was adopted; and whether it has been reviewed since May 2011. [166087]

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA's Welsh language scheme was agreed by the Welsh Language Board on 31 October 2002. It has not since been reviewed.

Work and Pensions

Accidents: Compensation

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he had made of the reasons for the recent fall in the number of people receiving rewards for work-related injuries and diseases. [167251]

Mr Hoban: No assessment has been made as this is not the responsibility of the DWP.

Child Maintenance

Mr Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how much is owed to parents with care in (a) North West Norfolk constituency and (b) Norfolk in Child Support Agency claims by non-resident parents who have moved abroad; [167186]

(2) how much is owed to parents in (a) North West Norfolk constituency and (b) Norfolk in Child Support Agency claims. [167187]

Steve Webb: The following table shows, as of March 2013, how much is owed in child maintenance arrears to parents with care in Norfolk and North West Norfolk constituency overall and the value of arrears owed to these parents by non-resident parents who are based abroad.

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Citizens Advice Bureaux

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Citizens Advice Bureaux on the number of people using their services in (a) Paisley and Renfrewshire North, (b) Renfrewshire, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK. [167768]

Mr Hoban: This Department publishes, on a quarterly basis, details of meetings between our Ministers and external organisations. Information up to 31 March 2013 can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/series/dwp-meetings-with-external-organisations

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), has not met the Citizens Advice Bureaux during the period 1 April to date.

Cold Weather Payments

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received a cold weather payment in (a) February 2013 and (b) March 2013 in (i) the Bishopton weather station area, (ii) Scotland and (iii) the UK. [167203]

Steve Webb: The following table gives the estimated volume of recipients of cold weather payments in February and March 2013 in the area covered by the Bishopton weather station, Scotland and Great Britain.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Birmingham, Hall Green constituency have been affected by the under-occupancy penalty; and how many such people are disabled. [167492]

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Steve Webb: Statistics regarding the impacts of the removal of the spare room subsidy are not available at a local authority level.

Estimated numbers of people affected in Great Britain (including by region), and estimated numbers of affected disabled people in Great Britain, are available in the equality impact assessment at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/174973/eia-social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011.pdf.pdf

Jobseeker's Allowance

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jewish people have been denied jobseeker's allowance on the basis of their observance of Saturday as the Sabbath and therefore not being available to work. [167207]

Mr Hoban: None.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Birmingham

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimants in Birmingham, Hall Green constituency were temporarily barred from claiming the allowance on a monthly basis in the last year for which figures are available; and what the average duration of the temporary bar was. [167493]

Mr Hoban: Statistics on the number of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants who have been sanctioned in (a) each local authority area and (b) each parliamentary constituency in each month from April 2000 to May 2012 have been placed in the Library.

Information on the average length of sanction is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter to him, dated 28 May 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms M. Gallagher. [167676]

Mr Hoban: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), replied to the right hon. Member on 4 July 2013.

Social Networking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 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. [163562]

Mr Hoban: Over time the number of DWP and Jobcentre Plus Twitter accounts have increased organically as we have tried to improve communications with our service users.

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DWP does not hold a list of all Twitter accounts that officials have had responsibility for monitoring and updating in the past. A list of Twitter accounts currently operated by DWP can be found at:

https://twitter.com/DWPdigital/lists

a copy of which will be placed in the Library. These listings are provided so that citizens, employers and partners can easily find the Twitter accounts operated by DWP or can check whether an account is genuine.

We are currently working on a new social media strategy to continue to improve our communications, which may see the consolidation of some of these Twitter accounts.

Home Department

Crime

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints about online harassment, threats of violence and intimidation were made to the police (a) in the 12 months to June 2013 and (b) in July and August 2013; and how many arrests were made in connection with such activity (i) in the 12 months to June 2013 and (ii) in July and August 2013. [167101]

Mr Jeremy Browne: The information requested is not available from either the police recorded crime statistics or the arrests data collected by the Home Office.

Crime: Rural Areas

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to tackle rural crime in (a) Redditch constituency and (b) across the UK. [167127]

Mr Jeremy Browne: The Government recognise that rural communities are vulnerable to certain crimes. The election of Police and Crime Commissioners has given rural communities a stronger voice in determining local policing priorities. We are also giving the public more street-level information about crime on a monthly basis so they have the information they need to hold local forces to account.

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the economy of Worcestershire of rural crime in the last year. [167128]

Mr Jeremy Browne: The Home Office has not made any assessment of the cost of rural crime to the economy of Worcestershire.

Demonstrations

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department gives to police forces on the definition of a static demonstration; and whether there is any limit to the number of people who can participate in such a demonstration. [167356]

Damian Green: Guidance on the management of static demonstrations (referred to as a “public assembly” in section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986) is an operational matter for the police. Section 14 of the

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Public Order Act enables the police to apply conditions to a static demonstration, including the maximum numbers of participants.

Female Genital Mutilation

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions for (a) carrying out female genital mutilation (FGM) in the UK and (b) transporting women or girls abroad for the purposes of FGM have been secured in each year since the passage of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. [167377]

Mr Jeremy Browne: There have been no prosecutions under the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Act 2003 in England and Wales. There may be a number of barriers to prosecution, including pressure from the family or wider community to remain silent. Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines on handling cases of FGM were published by the Home Office in February 2011 and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published guidance for prosecutors in September 2011. In November 2012, the Director of Public Prosecutions published a CPS action plan on improving prosecutions for FGM.

Due to the hidden nature of the crime it is difficult to quantify how many women and girls have been taken abroad for the purposes of FGM. The Foundation for Women's Health Research and Development (FORWARD) charity published a study, based on 2001 census data, which suggested that over 20,000 girls under the age of 15 could be at high risk of FGM in England and Wales every year.

Lasers: Safety

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects her Department's project to consider risks to public safety caused by hand-held lasers to aircraft and being led by the Public Safety Directorate/Public Order Unit to report its findings; and if she will make a statement. [167206]

Damian Green: I have asked my officials to consider this matter in conjunction with the Department for Transport and advise on the nature and scale of the risk, the current response and whether measures should be taken to deter malicious activity and reduce any risks to public safety. This review will be completed before the end of the year.

Police: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications have been (a) made and (b) granted under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 for the civil use of drones for the purposes of communication interception and covert surveillance; what assessment she has made of the extent to which drones are used in police intelligence work; what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current regulatory framework for the civil use of drones; and if she will make a statement. [167159]

Damian Green: Use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) likely to obtain private information covertly would need to be authorised under the Regulation of Investigatory

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Powers Act 2000. Any authorisation would be on the basis that the deployment was both necessary for a human rights purpose such as the prevention or detection of crime or in the interests of national security, and was proportionate. The Home Office does not normally receive notifications of police authorisations. Statistics on the authorisation of covert surveillance are published in the annual report of the independent Chief Surveillance Commissioner, but are not broken down to the extent identified in the question. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 July 2013,

Official Report

, column 912W, to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson), which stated that police deployment of UAVs was an operational matter for individual police forces within regulations set by the Civil Aviation Authority and that numbers in use are not collected centrally.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to ensure that all answers provided by her Department containing tables of statistical data which would not require more than four pages in the Official Report are published in full rather than by reference to a hyperlink. [166732]

Mr Harper: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons provides guidance to all Departments on the practice of answering parliamentary questions by reference to Government websites.

The guidance advises that the answer should give the hon. Member the factual information requested (including supplying paper copies of the website pages), with an additional line in the answer indicating that the information is already made readily available.

The full Guide is available on the Cabinet Office website at:

http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work

A copy of the guidance relating to referring to websites has already been placed in the Library and the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons intends to review the Guide to Parliamentary Work later this year.

Cabinet Office

Billing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many creditors to his Department owed more than £10,000 remained unpaid for more than (a) 30 days, (b) 45 days, (c) 60 days, (d) 75 days and (e) more than 90 days in each of the last three years. [166367]

Miss Chloe Smith: The information requested is not held centrally. However, in 2012-13 the Cabinet Office paid 99% of invoices within 30 days, 94.5% within 10 days and 79% within five days.

Charities: Shops

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and (b) the Cabinet Secretary for Finance,

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Employment and Sustainable Growth in the Scottish Government on strategies to benefit the charity shop industry; [167586]

(2) what assessment he has made of the performance of charity shops in generating charitable income. [167594]

Mr Hurd: In line with the practice of previous Administrations, details of such discussions are not normally disclosed.

According to the Charity Retail Association, last year charity shops raised over £220 million for their parent charities in the UK. As well as raising significant funds for good causes, charity shops raise awareness of their parent charity and encourage the sustainable re-use of goods.

Digital Technology

Helen Goodman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what funding his Department is making available for digital inclusion (a) directly and (b) through partner bodies. [167628]

Mr Hurd: We are setting up a cross-Government team to lead and co-ordinate the Government's work on digital inclusion. The team will work closely with existing partners in this space such as Go ON UK.

Government Departments: Assets

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which assets the Government intend to sell by the end of financial year 2014-15; and if he will make a statement [165645]

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.

The Government are committed to ensuring the effective and efficient management of publicly owned assets, including assessing options for disposal. Where there is no longer a strong policy reason for continued public ownership or where there is potential for an asset to operate more sensibly and efficiently in the private sector, the Government will continue to look into the potential sale of public sector assets.

Plastic Bags

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what work his Department's Behavioural Insights Team (a) has undertaken and (b) plans to undertake on reducing public plastic bag usage. [167238]

Mr Hurd: The Behavioural Insights Team has not undertaken, nor does it currently have plans to undertake, work on reducing public plastic bag usage.

Third Sector

Guy Opperman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent steps he has taken to promote the social investment market in the (a) North East and (b) UK; and if he will make a statement. [167479]

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Mr Hurd: This Government are committed to promoting the growth of the social investment market across the UK through ground-breaking initiatives such as Big Society Capital, the Social Outcomes Fund, and the Social Incubator Fund. Through the £10 million Social Incubator Fund, Social Incubator North is supporting budding social entrepreneurs in the North of England with tailored packages of investment and business support. In addition, Big Society Capital is seeking to create specific regional funds to support social investment around the country, for example it is partnering with Northern Rock Foundation to start a fund serving the North East.

Deputy Prime Minister

Trident

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister to what use he will put the Trident Alternatives Report; for what reason the report excluded consideration of the (a) costs and (b) utility of a two-submarine Trident force; how many Civil Servant man-hours were expended upon this report; and at what attributable cost to the public purse. [167090]

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.

The report on the Trident Alternatives Review, which the Government published on 16 July, is intended to inform public debate on this important topic. The review examined the option and costs of an interim procurement of two Successor submarines to supplement the reducing fleet of Vanguard-class submarines during the transition to a different system in 2040. The review did not examine a long-term fleet of two Successor submarines because such a force would be unable to sustain back-to-back patrols over an extended period of time, unlike a three- boat fleet. Neither the hours nor costs of the review are centrally recorded; these could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reason the Trident Alternatives Report took 30 months to prepare; for what reason it was published so near to the summer recess of the House; and if he will make a statement. [167091]

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.

The review was conducted over the course of two years and involved an extensive and highly-classified analysis of policy, intelligence, scientific, capability and cost issues. It is the most comprehensive examination ever conducted by British officials of non-continuous postures. The review thoroughly tested the effectiveness of a wide range of future nuclear cruise missile systems and explored in depth the time scales associated with developing cruise missile warhead designs and the challenges involved in transitioning from the current Trident system to any alternative system. It reported to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the second half of June this year. Officials then worked intensively to de-classify and to produce a report so that it could be made available to Parliament before the summer recess.

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Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many questions answered by his Office included fewer than four pages of statistics in the Official Report for the last month; [166700]

(2) if he will make it his policy to ensure that all answers provided by his Office containing tables of statistical data which would not require more than four pages in the Official Report are published in full rather than by reference to a hyperlink. [166725]

The Deputy Prime Minister: Information on length or size of answers is not held centrally.

Tables longer than four pages are routinely placed in the Library of the House. Hyperlinks are often given when information is already in the public domain.

Justice

Bail: Sentencing

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2013, Official Report,

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columns 471-2W, on prisoners, how many female offenders were given immediate custodial sentences for failing to surrender to bail in

(a)

2011 and

(b)

2012. [166787]

Jeremy Wright: The number of female offenders sentenced to immediate custody for failing to surrender to bail, along with custody rate, in England and Wales, in each year, from 2008 to 2012, can be viewed in the table.

Failing to attend court on time (when subject to bail) is an offence. The maximum sentence in a magistrates court is three months imprisonment and/or a level 5 fine (maximum £5,000) and 12 months imprisonment in the Crown Court. In addition to imposing punishment for this offence, courts will be less likely to grant bail to a defendant who has absconded in the past.

This Government are committed to seeing fewer women offending and reoffending.

Some female offenders need to go to prison, but we must ensure they get the right support to stop them returning to crime. That is why we are changing the law so for the first time all prisoners will receive at least 12 months tailored, through-the-gate supervision on release. We are also ensuring that the courts have credible and robust sentence options at their disposal.

European Convention on Human Rights

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much has been spent on legal aid claims for (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful cases brought against the UK under the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights since 1998; [166309]

(2) how much was spent on legal aid in each case brought against the UK under the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights since 1998. [166411]

Jeremy Wright: Legal aid in England and Wales is administered by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). The LAA does not fund cases brought against the United Kingdom in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Lincoln Prison

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much notice staff at HM Prison Lincoln have received regarding expected redundancies in 2013. [166487]

Jeremy Wright: There are no plans to make any Prison Service staff in HMP Lincoln redundant in 2013. Some members of staff have, however, accepted offers under a voluntary early departure scheme (VEDS). Under civil service compensation arrangements, staff offered VEDS are given three months’ notice.

Prisoners

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the likely prison population in (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016 and (d) 2017. [166029]

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice produces annual projections of the prison population in England and Wales, most recently in November 2012. These project the prison population under three different scenarios based on the impact of three different receipts and sentencing trends and is available from the following web page:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/prison-probation/prison-pop-projections/prison-pop-projections-2012-18.pdf

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We are committed to always having enough places to manage those sentenced to custody by the courts and have contingency plans in place to manage any unanticipated population growth.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many foreign nationals of each nationality there are in prisons in England and Wales; [166067]

(2) how many foreign nationals of each nationality there are in prisons in London; and of what crimes each such prisoner has been convicted; [166068]

(3) of what crimes those foreign nationals in prisons in England and Wales were convicted. [166070]

Jeremy Wright: Information on the number of foreign nationals in prisons in England and Wales by nationality is published routinely in the ‘Offender Management Statistics Quarterly bulletin' and can be found in Table 1.6 of the prison population tables via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-jan-mar-2013

Table 1 as follows shows the number of foreign nationals in London prisons by nationality. These figures include those on remand, those serving sentences, and immigration detainees.

Table 2 as follows shows the number of foreign national prisoners serving an immediate custodial sentence in London prisons, broken down by offence group.

Table 3 as follows shows the number of foreign national prisoners serving an immediate custodial sentence in prisons in England and Wales, broken down by offence group.

These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

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Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offences were committed by offenders serving a prison sentence in an open prison in the latest period for which figures are available; what the offence was in each case; and in which open prison each such offender was serving. [166424]

Jeremy Wright: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer to parliamentary question 165409 on 29 August 2013, Official Report, column l032W.

Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he has taken to monitor outputs of the G4S contract relating to sexual assault referral centres in West Mercia. [167138]

Anna Soubry: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Health.

NHS England is responsible for commissioning sexual assault services. NHS England awarded the contract to G4S to operate the Glade Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Worcestershire following a competitive tendering process and is responsible for monitoring G4S's performance against the contract.

NHS England has established the West Midlands Sexual Assault Referral Centre Board, to oversee performance of sexual assault referral centres across the region.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many answers to parliamentary questions involving tables of statistics fewer than four pages in length were (a) printed in full and (b) provided via a web link to a website in the last year; [165473]

(2) what guidance his Department follows in determining whether, when answers to Parliamentary Questions which include statistics, those statistics are (a) provided in full, (b) provided via a web link to a website and (c) placed in the Library; [165492]

(3) how many questions answered by his Department included fewer than four pages of statistics in the Official Report for the last month; [166709]

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(4) if he will make it his policy to ensure that all answers provided by his Department containing tables of statistical data which would not require more than four pages in the Official Report are published in full rather than by reference to a hyperlink. [166734]

Mrs Grant: The Department does not record this information at the level of detail required and it would incur disproportionate costs to do so. This would require a manual trawl of each individual PQ response to identify if statistical tables were provided in full, via a web link or included fewer than four pages of statistics in the Official Report.

The Office of the Leader of the House provides guidance to all Departments on the practice of answering parliamentary questions by reference to Government websites.

The guidance advises that the answer should give the Member the factual information requested (including supplying paper copies of the website pages), with an additional line in the answer indicating that the information is already made readily available.

The full Guide is available on the Cabinet Office website at:

http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work

A copy of the guidance relating to referring to websites has already been placed in the Library and the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons intends to review the Guide to Parliamentary Work later this year.

If the information is not in the public domain, a table will be provided. For larger tables that cannot be published in Hansard, these will be placed in the House Library.

The Department responds to PQs in line with the guidance.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to answer question 158124, tabled on 3 June 2013, for ordinary written answer on 5 June 2013. [162039]

Jeremy Wright: I understand that you have now received a response to your parliamentary question and I apologise for the delay.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to answer question 163024, tabled on 27 June 2013 for answer on 2 July 2013. [164717]

Mrs Grant: I understand that you have now received a response to your parliamentary question and I apologise for the delay.

Health

Cancer

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) with which suppliers NHS England has contracts to treat cancer patients with gamma knife radiosurgery; when such contracts were negotiated; and which other suppliers were considered at the time of negotiation; [166416]

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(2) how many NHS patients each NHS England accredited supplier of gamma knife radiosurgery is contracted to treat annually. [166417]

Anna Soubry: Information concerning the existing contracts to provide gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery; the time when the contracts were negotiated; and the patient caseload for those centres has been provided by NHS England, and placed in the following table.

All contracts have been reviewed on an annual basis in line with the requirements set out in the national health service standard contract.

The Sheffield service treats the greatest volume of patients in England and receives referrals from across the country. When the Nova Healthcare contract was negotiated, consideration was given to the presence of both the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Service and the Thornbury Radiosurgery Centre. There was no need to consider additional providers as the contracted volumes have been relatively stable and both providers have capacity to deal with the work load. In London, there was also no need to consider additional providers as the contracted volumes have been relatively stable and both providers have capacity to deal with the work load. NHS England has advised that additional, contracts run the risk of diluting clinical expertise at existing providers.

Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting time from referral for (a) imaging treatment, (b) endoscopy treatment and (c) radiotherapy treatment for NHS cancer patients is in (i) Bolton, (ii) Greater Manchester and (iii) England. [166466]

Anna Soubry: Data are not collected centrally on the waiting time from referral for imaging treatment, endoscopy treatment and radiotherapy treatment.

There are two national standards relating to the referral of patients for cancer treatment. There is the standard that 85% of patients should begin first treatment within 62 days of urgent general practitioner (GP) referral and the standard that 90% of patients should begin treatment within 62 days of referral from an NHS Cancer Screening Service.

For radiotherapy, there is also a national standard that for second or subsequent treatment 94% of patients should be treated within 31 days for radiotherapy.

The most recent performance data against these standards for Bolton Primary Care Trust (PCT) and England are set out in the following table. Data for Greater Manchester are not available as data are not collected by region.

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Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) for what reasons NHS England has stopped the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery treating brain cancer patients with gamma knife radiosurgery; [166480]

(2) for what reasons brain cancer patients and patients who have benign, vascular and functional neuro disease who were treated at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery up to 31 March 2013 are required to transfer their treatment to another hospital by NHS England; [166830]

(3) for what reason NHS England stopped funding patients for gamma knife treatment at the National Hospital for Neurology and neurosurgery at University College London Hospital but will fund such treatment at private hospitals in London. [166898]

Anna Soubry: As of 1 April, NHS England is now responsible for commissioning radiotherapy services, including stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), which gamma knife provides, and it is currently undertaking a review of the capacity requirements for this treatment at a national level.

Prior to 1 April 2013, Commissioners for London (London specialised commissioning group) had historically commissioned pathways for patients who require SRS treatment at one of the two accredited centres for this service in London, which are the BUPA Cromwell Hospital and St Bartholomew's Hospital. NHS England understands that occasionally primary care trusts may have commissioned SRS treatment from other non-accredited providers, such as the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, but the full extent of this activity is not known.

Until those capacity requirements are clear, NHS England has said it would be inappropriate to encourage new market entrants to provide this service as it cannot be clear what the potential consequential impacts on service quality, sustainability (financial and clinical) and potential unintended changes to patient pathways will be.

Until the review is complete no substantive changes will be made to the current provision. This is to help ensure that a coherent national strategy is established which will deliver a service, offering clinically safe and sustainable high quality specialist services for national health service patients on a national basis.