Culture, Media and Sport

Buildings

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what refurbishments to her Department's buildings have been carried out in the last 24 months; and at what cost. [168799]

Hugh Robertson: The Department has not carried out any refurbishments in the past 24 months.

Cycling

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what input her Department provided to the Department for Transport's response to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling report, Get Britain Cycling. [168384]

Hugh Robertson: DCMS works with the Department for Transport on cycling policy. DCMS gave evidence at the APPG enquiry and contributed to the DFT response.

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Press: Subscriptions

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which newspapers, periodicals and trade profession publications her private ministerial office subscribes to on a (a) daily, (b) weekly, (c) monthly and (d) quarterly basis. [168695]

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport's private office subscribes to a daily Monday-to-Friday newspaper delivery service.

This comprises: (a)The Times, FinancialTimes, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, The Sun and (b) a weekly delivery of The Spectator. It holds no other subscriptions.

Satellite Broadcasting

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what subscriptions her Department has for premium satellite television channels; and what the cost of each such subscription was in the most recent year for which figures are available. [168641]

Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not subscribe to any premium satellite television channels.

Security

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many departmental identity cards or passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff in her Department since May 2010. [168606]

Hugh Robertson: In April 2013, the Department moved into 100 Parliament Street, to share accommodation with HMRC. Security passes for 100 Parliament Street are issued by HMRC. The Department did not retain the records of lost passes for its previously occupied buildings.

Energy and Climate Change

Christmas Cards

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his private ministerial office spent on sending Christmas cards in 2012. [168679]

Gregory Barker: The ministerial office did not spend any money on sending Christmas cards in 2012.

Electricity Generation

Dr Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much was paid in constraint payments by National Grid in each year from 2009; and what proportion of such payments were received by (a) windfarms and (b) gas-fired power stations. [168205]

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Michael Fallon: Total constraint payments for generators of all types since 2009 are as follows:

The Department does not hold data on the breakdown of constraint payments for each type of technology. National Grid has advised that details of most individual constraint payments to generators are published at:

www.elexon.co.uk#

and

www.bmreports.com

and some aggregated data, including an explanation of constraint payments made to wind generation, are published in its “Monthly Balancing Services Summary”, available at:

www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/Balancing/Summary

Energy: Scotland

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the annual amount paid in constraint payments in Scotland for energy is from (a) wind, (b) coal, (c) gas and (d) nuclear in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [168308]

Michael Fallon: The Department does not hold data on the breakdown of constraint payments for each type of technology. Constraint payments are made by National Grid through competitive market arrangements in order to help ensure the secure operation of the electricity system. National Grid has advised that details of most individual constraint payments to generators are published at www.elexon.co.uk and www.bmreports.com, and some aggregated data, including an explanation of constraint payments made to wind generation, are published in its Monthly Balancing Services Summary, available at:

www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/Balancing/Summary

Fracking

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that homes near shale gas extraction sites will not be subject to increased household insurance premiums. [167115]

Michael Fallon: On the basis of the information available to Government, there is no reason to expect that exploration activities will have any adverse effect on the insurance premiums of the properties located within the vicinity of exploration activities.

There has been no evidence of any such effect in the UK to date, in over half a century of oil and gas exploration and production. Gas and oil produced from shale rock through hydraulic fracturing should be broadly similar to the existing gas and oil production in terms of the impacts on health, local amenity, traffic movements

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and so on. The activities will be subject to the same robust safety and environmental regime, supplemented by new controls against the risk of earthquakes.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) the environment, (b) house prices and (c) the quality of life of fracking. [167215]

Michael Fallon: The Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering's report “Shale Gas Extraction in the UK: a review of hydraulic fracturing”, published in June 2012 concluded that environmental (and health and safety) risks associated with hydraulic fracturing could be managed effectively in the UK “as long as operational best practices are implemented and enforced through regulation”.

The Government are currently reviewing the impacts of energy infrastructure, including shale gas extraction; on the environment and rural economy. This includes effects on air quality, biodiversity, greenhouse gases, health, land use, local environment quality, waste and water. As part of the review, the Government have commissioned research comparing the effects which different types of energy infrastructure may have on house prices. The results of this analysis will be published once completed later this year.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans have been put forward by applicant companies seeking licences to operate hydraulic fracturing platforms for gas for the long term management, decontamination or disposal of radioactively contaminated scale on pipes and storage tanks used for fracked gases. [167230]

Michael Fallon: There are well established commercial arrangements in place, developed initially for the offshore oil and gas sector, where such equipment can be descaled, put back into service or recycled.

Fracking: North Yorkshire

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what representations he has received and what discussions he has had with regard to fracking in North Yorkshire. [167213]

Michael Fallon: No specific representations or discussions have been had regarding hydraulic fracturing in North Yorkshire. All meetings between external organisations and Ministers at the Department of Energy and Climate Change are published quarterly on the Gov.UK website (under Transparency and Freedom of Information) at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications? departments%5B%5D=department-of-energy-climate-change&publication_type=transparenct-data

Ministers' Private Offices

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many full-time equivalent staff of each Civil Service grade are currently employed in the private office of each Minister in his Department; and what the pay band of each such member of staff is. [168717]

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Gregory Barker: A breakdown of private office staff, and their respective grades, can be found on the HM Government website:

http://reference.data.gov.uk/gov-structure/organogram/?dept=decc&post=l

Renewable Energy

Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department pays in subsidy for each unit of energy produced by each form of renewable energy. [168057]

Michael Fallon: The Government support large-scale renewable electricity generation through the Renewables Obligation (RO) and small-scale generation through the feed-in tariff scheme (FIT). Support for renewable heat generation is available through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The rate of subsidy for renewable electricity per megawatt hour (MWh) supported through the Renewables Obligation is estimated to be the value of the Levy Exemption Certificate (around £5/MWh) plus the relevant RO band multiplied by the value of a Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC—worth around £45 in 2012-13 prices). Ofgem issues ROCs to electricity generators in relation to the amount of eligible renewable electricity that they generate. The current ROC bands for each technology supported by the RO are published on DECC's website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211292/ro_banding_levels_2013_17.pdf

The generation and export tariffs relevant to the FITs scheme are published on Ofgem's website at the following location and are shown in pence per kilowatt hour:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/feed-tariff-fit-scheme/tariff-tables

Tariff payments are made by FIT licensees (electricity suppliers) direct to the FITs generators.

The tariffs levels applicable to the renewable heat technologies supported under the RHI scheme are available on Ofgem's website at the following location and are shown in pence per kilowatt hour of heat generated (kWhth):

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/renewable-heat-incentive-rhi/tariffs-and-payments

Tariff payments are made by Ofgem directly to scheme participants.

Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many tonnes of carbon dioxide his Department estimates were displaced by renewable electricity generation in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales in 2012 for which figures are available. [168307]

Michael Fallon: The amount of carbon dioxide displaced by renewable electricity generation can be calculated as the amount of renewable electricity generation multiplied by the carbon dioxide emissions intensity for electricity supplied by all fossil fuels. While renewable generation figures are available for each country, the emissions intensity figure is only available at UK level, so this figure is used in the calculations for all countries. These figures are given for the UK, England, Scotland and Wales in 2012 in the following table.

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Sellafield

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2013, Official Report, column 419W, on Sellafield, how many employees of Nuclear Management Partners have received bonuses for their work in decommissioning the Sellafield nuclear plant in each of the last three years. [168404]

Michael Fallon: For each of the years in question, the net full-time equivalent number of NMP Executive Secondees included in the total bonus payments (pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2013, Official Report, column 419W) was 19.

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2013, Official Report, column 419W, on Sellafield, what the highest single bonus received by an employee of Nuclear Management Partners was for their work in decommissioning the Sellafield nuclear plant in the last three years. [168405]

Michael Fallon: NMP is a private company.

NMP publishes its accounts, which include information on remuneration service costs and the maximum individual cost, in line with the reporting requirements set out in the Companies Act 2006.

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2013, Official Report, column 419W, on Sellafield, what performance criteria must be met before an employee of Nuclear Management Partners receives a bonus for their work in decommissioning the Sellafield nuclear plant. [168406]

Michael Fallon: The Sellafield Ltd performance incentive plan, which is open to all staff, is based upon achieving targets for the business that are agreed between the company and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) on an annual basis. The performance incentive plan is structured to recognise the accomplishments of the company as well as those of the individual.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Business: Billing

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for consultation or call for evidence on proposals to introduce a fine for late payment. [168395]

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Michael Fallon: The Government carried out a consultation on late payment last year prior to transposing an EU directive on late payment into UK law. UK legislation gives companies a statutory right to charge interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, and collect administration charges for late payment.

We are looking at additional legislative and non-legislative options to tackle ongoing late payment problems, ensure companies are aware of their existing statutory rights, and encourage take-up of those rights. If we assess that further legislative measures are likely to be effective and proportionate, we will consult on these in a timely way.

Business: Government Assistance

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether investigations have been carried out by officials in his Department into allegations that coaches working on the GrowthAccelerator programme are paying the fees of clients. [168183]

Michael Fallon [holding answer 9 September 2013]:The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) takes any allegation of malpractice very seriously. When this allegation was raised in an article in The Sunday Times on 28 July, officials asked Grant Thornton (who are responsible for delivering the GrowthAccelerator programme) to investigate.

They assured officials that they had found no evidence to suggest that coaches were paying clients fees. There are a range of safeguards in place, including the fact that it is the client's choice, supported by their Growth Manager and an objective matching process, to decide which coach they want support from. To date, BIS has not received any evidence of malpractice. If evidence is brought forward then I will investigate further.

Business: Regulation

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions and on what dates the business taskforce on EU regulation has met since May 2010. [168394]

Michael Fallon: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced the creation of the business taskforce on EU regulation at the end of June 2013. The taskforce has met five times so far on 11 July, 19 July, 12 August, 2 September, and 11 September 2013.

Company Accounts

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will set a deadline for those companies which have received letters from Companies House regarding disclosure of overseas subsidiaries who have not yet filed this information to bring their records up-to-date. [168398]

Michael Fallon: Companies House has written to each company which has not yet brought its record up to date, and asked that they do so before the end of September.

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Data Protection

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will assess the effect of data protection legislation on the ability of hon. Members to act on their constituents' behalf with regards to complaints to business and service providers. [168142]

Mrs Grant: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

The Data Protection Act (DPA) does not prevent Members of Parliament acting on behalf of their constituents regarding complaints to business and service providers. The DPA ensures that the handling of personal data, including disclosing it to third parties, is conducted in a lawful and proportionate manner, with appropriate safeguards in place. Given the principles-based nature of the legislation it is for organisations to decide in the context of their own operations how to apply the Act's requirements, within the limit of the law and available guidance.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) provides extensive guidance on data protection for both organisations and the public, which can be accessed on its website:

www.ico.gov.uk

Exports

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the change in the seasonally-adjusted level of non-EU exports since May 2013. [168365]

Michael Fallon: Estimates of the value of non-EU exports (goods only) since May 2013 are shown in the following table, taken from Table 2 in the ONS UK Trade July 2013 bulletin, released on 6 September 2013.

Trade statistics for any one month can be erratic. For that reason, ONS recommend to compare the latest three months against the preceding three months and the same three months of 2012. On this basis, the change in the seasonally adjusted value of non-EU exports (goods only) are (as shown in Table 2 of UK Trade July 2013):

11 Sep 2013 : Column 741W

Graduates: Income

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of additional life time earnings of graduates. [168417]

Mr Willetts: There have been several studies of this over recent years, some commissioned by BIS and its predecessors, some commissioned by other organisations. Whilst they differ in terms of methodology, time periods covered and some of the underlying assumptions, they all use a broadly similar approach, and taken together they point to there being a substantial lifetime earnings premium for graduates due to having their degree. Looking across the studies our conclusion is that over the course of a working life the average graduate earns comfortably over £100,000 more in today's valuation, net of tax, than someone with two or more A-levels who does not go to university.

The most recent research was published in the BIS research series in August 2013. The estimate of the lifetime graduate earnings premium was higher than previous estimates: £250,000 for women and £165,000 for men (see:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/university-degrees-impact-on-lifecycle-of-earnings

This graduate premium is an average and it will vary across individuals, subjects and institutions—however, the evidence shows that people still tend to be financially better off with a degree than without.

Industry

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to table 4.1 of his Department's document Industrial Strategy: UK sector analysis, published in September 2012, for which sectors the Government (a) have developed and (b) plan to develop a strategic partnership. [168396]

Michael Fallon: This year as part of the Industrial Strategy Government and business have jointly developed and published sector strategies for Aerospace, Automotive, Agritech, Information Economy, Professional and Business Services, Education, Construction, Offshore Wind, Civil Nuclear, and Oil and Gas. In December 2012 a one year on update to the Life Sciences strategy was published.

In June 2013 an industry-led sector strategy for electronics was published, and a new strategy from the Defence Growth Partnership was launched on 9 September. A chemicals strategy will be published this autumn.

Beyond this, the Government provide support for all sectors of the economy ranging from light-touch engagement to fully co-ordinated sector partnerships.

Literacy

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what strategy the Government has to improve adult literacy in (a) deprived areas and (b) Devonport to ensure that people in such areas are better prepared for employment. [168024]

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Matthew Hancock: It is the Government's priority to ensure that all adults throughout England have the basic skills they need to find and sustain employment. In “Skills for Sustainable Growth” (2010) the Government set out that they will fully fund learning for adults to improve their English (and maths skills). In “Rigour and Responsiveness in Skills” (April 2013) we affirmed that we will maintain entitlements to fully funded English (and maths) provision that supports progression to the standard of a good GCSE (A*-C) for all adult learners.

To ensure that individuals are developing the right level of literacy skills needed for employment, we are embedding effective literacy provision within our major skills interventions. Our recently developed Traineeships programme for young people puts English and maths at its core, alongside work preparation and work experience. We have also increased the expectations for English within apprenticeships. From 2014/15 all intermediate apprentices will be required to work towards achieving a level 2 in English, ensuring that all apprentices have literacy skills and qualifications that are widely recognised and valued by employers and others.

As a further commitment to this agenda, the Government are taking steps to improve standards within the further education system. From the academic year 2013/14; grants of £9000 will be offered to graduates teaching English to encourage them to teach in further education colleges. These bursaries will help us recruit the brightest and best teachers so we can improve standards and provide people with the basic skills they need for a rewarding career.

Through community learning, we also support courses aimed at improving literacy for families and individuals who are most disadvantaged and furthest from learning.

Final data for the 2011/12 academic year show that there were 2,080 adult (19+) learners participating on a Skills for Life English course in Plymouth Sutton and Devonport parliamentary constituency, up by 13.9% on 2010/11.

New Businesses: Government Assistance

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications have been made in total under the Start-Up Loans scheme to date; how many such applications (a) have been successful, (b) are currently being assessed, (c) have been rejected and (d) have drawn down funds; and what the breakdown is in each category by (i) gender of applicant, (ii) age of applicant, (iii) region and (iv) Start-Up Loans delivery partner. [168397]

Michael Fallon: 34,874 people have formally registered an interest in Start-Up Loans and 7,628 loan offers have been made. Since decline data have been collected (May 2013), 368 loans have been formally declined. A further 1,831 applicants have withdrawn their application. 2,929 applications are currently being assessed.

Full personal information is verified and submitted by partners at point of loan drawdown. Data on gender, age and location are not currently available for declined applications. However, data are available for the 6,501 loans drawn to date, distributed as follows:

36% Female; 64% Male;

38% 18 to 24 years; 62% 25+ years; and

11 Sep 2013 : Column 743W

43% BAME (self-report data).

By region, these are split:

By delivery partner, these are split:

11 Sep 2013 : Column 744W

New Businesses: North Yorkshire

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) monetary value of loans to be given to entrepreneurs in (i) Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency and (ii) North Yorkshire as a result of the Start-Up Loans scheme. [168886]

Michael Fallon: The Start-Up Loans Company is only able to provide information at district level. 124 loans have been drawn down in North Yorkshire worth £705,174, distributed as follows:

Women and Equalities

Billing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many creditors of her Department owed more than £10,000 which remained unpaid after (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. [166897]

Mrs Grant: The number of invoices over the value of £10,000 paid on behalf of the Government Equalities Offices and that were more than 30 days after invoice date in each of the last two years is set out in the following table.

The Government Equalities Office used financial systems provided by the Home Office from 1 April 2011 until 31 March 2013 when it moved on to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's systems. This information is not available for earlier periods when the Government Equalities Office received financial services from the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Female Genital Mutilation

Helen Goodman: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the practice of female genital mutilation in the UK. [168233]

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Mrs Grant: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an unacceptable form of abuse and violence against girls and women, and this Government are absolutely committed to preventing and tackling FGM.

The Ministers for Women and Equalities attend the Home Office Inter-Ministerial Group on Violence Against Women and Girls and are committed to supporting the Governments Action Plan to End Violence Against Women and Girls. The Government Equalities Office (GEO) was represented at the Home Office Ministerial Roundtable on FGM on 18 July, hosted by Jeremy Browne, Minister for Crime Prevention. GEO also attends quarterly cross-government policy officials meetings on FGM.

I held a roundtable meeting on International Women's Day 2013 with members of the women's sector to discuss violence against women and girls, including FGM.

Communities and Local Government

Empty Property

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty homes have been brought back into use under the New Homes Bonus in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England to date. [168373]

Mr Prisk: The New Homes Bonus rewards the creation of new homes including long-term empty homes that are brought back into use within each local authority area. The net number of empty homes brought back into use for the three years since the bonus was introduced is:

for Barnsley: 249;

for South Yorkshire (consisting of Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Rotherham authorities): 944; and

for England: 55,702.

Health

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on the proportion of funding transferred from the Department of Health to his Department for purposes of improving public health which is being spent on (a) leisure provision, (b) housing, (c) anti-social behaviour and (d) improving the environment. [168112]

Brandon Lewis: The Department of Communities and Local Government does not hold this information. The ring-fenced Public Health Grant is transferred from the Department of Health to local authorities and the allocation covers both services mandated through regulation and all other services that local authorities may wish to commission locally. It is left for local authorities to decide what proportion of spending should be devoted to different services.

Homelessness

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeless (a) children and (b) adults are in temporary accommodation in each local authority area in the West Midlands. [160238]

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Mr Prisk: Information from the Department's statistics shows the total number of households in temporary accommodation, the number of these households that contain children or expected children and the total number of children in temporary accommodation for each local authority in the West Midlands as at 31 March 2013. I am arranging for a table to be placed in the Library of the House.

From 9 November 2012, local authorities have new powers under the Localism Act to use good-quality private rented sector accommodation to end the main homelessness duty. Families no longer need to be parked in temporary accommodation while they wait for social housing to become available.

At the same time, we have also put in place extra protection for the most vulnerable. The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012 will help prevent the use of temporary accommodation which is long distances from the families’ previous home and community.

For households already in temporary accommodation the local authority has a duty (under section 193 of the Housing Act) to find that family settled accommodation. Local authorities should continue to work with these households to discuss alternative housing options as they become available.

We are investing £470 million in homelessness prevention over four years (2011/12 - 2014/15) to help local authorities and voluntary sector partners prevent homelessness and we are continuing to support local authorities to raise their game with an additional £1.7 million over two years (2012/13 - 2013/14), for a new Gold Standard support and training scheme across the country to deliver the best possible service to those that are at risk of homelessness.

Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of his Department's jobs have been relocated from London to each region of the UK in each of the last 10 years. [168008]

Brandon Lewis: There has been no substantive transfer of jobs since the Department was established in 2006, although Human Resources transactional services were transferred from London to Liverpool in 2010.

Comparative figures on staffing transfers are not centrally held, due to machinery of government changes since 2006 and the general restructuring of the Department.

Education

Conditions of Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff (a) directly employed and (b) indirectly employed through other companies by his Department were employed on zero-hours contracts in each of the last 10 years. [168276]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department does not currently employ any staff on zero-hours contracts and it did not do so in any of the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 or 2012-13. No records are held prior to this.

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Email

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will place in the Library a copy of all internal briefings prepared for Ministers on the use of private email accounts for the purpose of conducting official Government business in response to parliamentary questions tabled by the hon. Member for West Bromwich East in the (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14 parliamentary sessions. [168368]

Elizabeth Truss: Briefing notes accompanying parliamentary questions are confidential to the Ministers of the day and will not be placed in the Library.

GCSE: English Language

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration he has given to the effect of Ofqual's decision to remove the speaking and listening assessment from GCSE English and GCSE English Language on the attainment of (a) pupils with special educational needs, (b) pupils with speech, language and communication needs, (c) pupils with dyslexia and (d) children considered to be from more deprived backgrounds. [168312]

Elizabeth Truss: The assessment of speaking and listening has not been removed from GCSE English and English Language. Students' speaking and listening skills will be reported separately on the GCSE certificate alongside the GCSE grade, giving a more detailed picture of students' achievements than under the previous arrangements.

Ofqual has published an equality impact assessment of this change, which can be viewed at:

http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/files/2013-04-25-equality-analysis-changes-to-gcse-english.pdf

A copy of this document has been placed in the House Library.

Government Procurement Card

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to reduce the number of staff in his private ministerial office who hold a Government Procurement Card. [168369]

Elizabeth Truss: Three members of staff in the ministerial private office of the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), hold a Government Procurement Card. The Department strictly adheres to the Cabinet Office's guidance governing the use of Government Procurement Cards which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/219671/pan-gp-card-policy.pdf

The Department has significantly reduced the number of Government Procurement Cards held, from 112 in 2009-10, to 70 in 2012-13.

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Ministers: Training

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what training his Department provides for newly-appointed Ministers; and whether he has attended any such training sessions since his appointment. [168367]

Elizabeth Truss: Newly appointed Ministers receive briefing on the Ministerial Code and about handling of Parliamentary Business. Ministers' offices also arrange for Ministers to be briefed on their individual policy areas and provided with additional guidance or briefing on request.

Public Appointments

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on how many occasions his Department has been granted an (a) extension and (b) exemption to a ministerial appointment to a public body in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice since May 2010. [168370]

Elizabeth Truss: Since May 2010 the Department has, within its public bodies, (a) extended the term of office of 15 public appointees and (b) agreed one exemption.

Schools: Finance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools financial value standard declarations have been received from schools in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England in the last financial year. [168374]

Mr Laws: The schools financial value standard (SFVS) was introduced to local authority maintained schools in the academic year from September 2011. The SFVS does not apply to academies and free schools; however all these schools are welcome to use any of the material associated with the standard, if they find it useful.

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) analysed local authorities' dedicated schools grant assurance statements for the period April 2012 to March 2013 to ensure that the SFVS process fits within the existing assurance framework so that it operates efficiently and coherently for both local authorities and the EFA.

The first collation of data was from September 2011 to 31 March 2012, applicable only for those schools that did not achieve the financial management standard in schools (FMSiS) before. All the remaining schools were required to submit their SFVS forms by 31 March 2013, with an annual review thereafter.

The area of the former South Yorkshire metropolitan council includes Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield local authorities:

70 SFVS declarations have been received from schools in Barnsley;

92 SFVS declarations have been received from schools in Doncaster;

116 SFVS declarations have been received from schools in Rotherham; and

144 SFVS declarations have been received from schools in Sheffield.

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A total of 422 SFVS declarations have been received from the area of the former South Yorkshire metropolitan council.

18,567 SFVS declarations have been received from schools in England.

Schools: Uniforms

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the (a) provision of school uniform grants and (b) cost of school uniform. [168366]

Mr Laws: It is for the governing body to decide whether there should be a school uniform. The Department has issued guidance¹ to all schools on the need to consider the cost and availability of school uniforms.

Local authorities and academies have discretion within their budgets to provide school clothing grants or offer other help with the cost of school clothing in cases of financial hardship. The Department does not collect data on school uniform costs.

¹ School Uniform: A Guide for Head Teachers, Governing Bodies, Academy Trusts, Free Schools and Local Authorities (2012), available at

http://education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/schoolethos/b0014144/schooluniform

Social Workers

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the latest (a) vacancy and (b) turnover rates for social workers in England is in each (i) local authority and (ii) region. [168335]

Mr Timpson: The Department does not currently hold this information. We have plans in place to collect the relevant data from autumn 2013 and will make them available from March 2014.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

British Council

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps UK Trade and Investment takes to ensure there is no conflict of interest between the British Council's role in assessing and advising on applications for support for educational businesses and its role as a provider of such services. [167837]

Mr Willetts: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The British Council does not have a role in assessing UK companies applying for support to participate in UKTI-supported activities and events. All companies are subject to standard UKTI eligibility criteria.

UKTI and BIS have set up the Education UK Unit to help UK educational organisations and businesses access high value opportunities overseas. The unit will work closely with a broad set of stakeholders and, where there is any potential for conflict of interest, will take particular care to act even-handedly between different providers, public or private, large or small.

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Chemical Weapons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which (a) Minister and (b) officials from his Department met the Director-General for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on 23 August 2013; what matters were discussed at that meeting; and what decisions were taken. [168289]

Alistair Burt: Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü (Director General for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) visited the UK on 23 August 2013 for a private engagement at the University of Surrey. No Ministers or officials met with Ambassador Üzümcü during this visit. The UK has regular engagement with Ambassador Üzümcü to discuss issues related to the chemical weapons convention and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. I last met with Ambassador Üzümcü on 9 April 2013 at the Chemical Weapons Convention 3^rd Review Conference in The Hague.

Israel

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has received from (a) UK and (b) other journalists working in Israel regarding delays by the Israeli Government in issuing press card renewals. [168107]

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received several representations from one British journalist about delays in the renewal of his press card by the Israeli authorities. We have received no other representations.

Middle East

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide an estimate of the number of inhabitants of the Gaza strip killed by Israeli bombardments of white phosphorus, with a separate estimate of the number of civilians killed. [168085]

Alistair Burt: We have received no reports of the use of white phosphorus by the Israeli Defence Force in Gaza since Operation Cast Lead in 2009. We have not made an estimate of the number of Palestinians killed by the use of white phosphorus in the Gaza strip.

Nobel Prize: Ceremonies

Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of UK participation at the Nobel Prize Ceremony 2013. [168017]

The Deputy Prime Minister: I attended the Nobel Prize Ceremony on 10 December 2012 on behalf of the UK Government. The costs of this trip have already been published as part of the regularly quarterly release of information about the Deputy Prime Minister's overseas travel, available at the following link:

http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations-october-to-december-2012

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Shaker Aamer

Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress he has made in securing the release of Shaker Aamer; and if he will make a statement. [168084]

Alistair Burt: Mr Aamer's case remains a high priority for the British Government. We continue to make clear to our US counterparts that we want him released and returned to the UK as a matter of urgency. The Prime Minister raised his case with President Obama at the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland in June. He later wrote to President Obama reaffirming the importance the UK places on Mr Aamer's release and return. I made representations to the US Secretary of State on two separate occasions in May. We are confident that the US Government understand the seriousness of our request.

Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his Department's jobs have been relocated from London to each region of the UK in each of the last 10 years. [168014]

Alistair Burt: The FCO is committed to locating staff outside London where this makes business sense. Over the last 10 years, as part of the Lyons review, we have moved staff from London to both Northgate House in Milton Keynes and Hanslope Park, Hanslope. To confirm how many individual positions have moved from London to the Southeast over the last 10 years would incur disproportionate costs. However, the following tables set out the location of FCO-only staff in March 2008 and March 2013:

These figures are for the FCO only. They do not include the FCO Agencies, which are FCO Services and Wilton Park. In addition to these numbers, a majority of the 880 FCO Services staff are outside London working at Hanslope Park or overseas.

Syria

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he (a) raised with his Syrian counterpart and (b) made representations to the Syrian Government that Syria should join the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons since May 2010. [168287]

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Alistair Burt: I called for Syria to join the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) without delay at the third CWC Review Conference on 9 April 2013. We have not directly raised with our Syrian counterpart, nor made representations to the Syrian Government, pressing them to join the Chemical Weapons Convention since May 2010.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he (a) raised with his Russian counterpart and (b) made representations to the Russian Government on the importance of pressing Syria to join the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons since May 2010. [168288]

Alistair Burt: I addressed all parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including Russia, at the third CWC Review Conference on 9 April 2013. In my statement I urged all states to not ignore the situation in Syria, and called on Syria to join the CWC without delay. We have also used our bilateral contacts with Russia to raise the importance of Syria joining the CWC.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he (a) raised with his Chinese counterpart and (b) made representations to the Chinese Government on pressing Syria to join the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons since 2010. [168290]

Alistair Burt: I addressed all parties to the chemical weapons convention (CWC)—including China—at the 3rd CWC Review Conference on 9 April 2013. In my statement I urged all states to not ignore the situation in Syria, and called on Syria to join the CWC without delay. We have also used our bilateral contacts with China to raise with them the importance of Syria joining the CWC.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he (a) raised with his Iranian counterpart and (b) made representations to the Iranian Government on pressing Syria to join the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons since 2010. [168291]

Alistair Burt: I addressed all parties to the chemical weapons convention (CWC)—including Iran—at the 3rd CWC Review Conference on 9 April 2013. In my statement I urged all states to not ignore the situation in Syria, and called on Syria to join the CWC without delay.

Western Sahara

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the EU consulted the local Saharawi population before drawing up the new protocol to the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement. [168099]

Alistair Burt: The new Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) with the Kingdom of Morocco was negotiated by the European Commission on behalf of the European Union. The FPA between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco has not yet been agreed. 1 expect

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the European Commission to publish proposals in the near future. Those proposals will be considered by both the Council and the European Parliament prior to adoption.

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2012, Official Report, column 104W, on Western Sahara, whether Morocco has yet produced the evidence referred to. [168110]

Alistair Burt: The Moroccan Economic and Social Council (ESC) has published reports this year which provide information on Moroccan investment in the region which includes Western Sahara. The reports can be found at

http://www.ces.ma/Pages/modele-de-developpement-regional-pour-les-provinces-du-Sud.aspx

Justice

Civil Proceedings

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effect on equality of arms in the legal system (a) following the implementation of the Jackson reforms and the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and (b) of the proposed increase to the small claims limit. [166843]

Jeremy Wright: In July last year the Government published an impact assessment of the Jackson reforms contained in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The Government will review the effect of the reforms, which generally came into effect on 1 April 2013, within three to five years of implementation.

An impact assessment on the potential effects of the proposal to increase the “small claims limit” for personal injury claims was published with the consultation paper “Reducing the number and costs of whiplash claims”. A revised impact assessment will be published alongside the Government's response to the consultation later this year.

Confiscation Orders

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the value was of orders enforced under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each of the last five years. [168298]

Mrs Grant: The amount recovered from confiscation orders, under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002), is recorded in the following table.

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Crown Courts

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the average length of time was between a crime being committed and the trial being completed at Leicester Crown court in each of the last five years; [167168]

(2) how many Crown court trials have been adjourned in each of the last five years due to no judge being available, in each court; [167394]

(3) what the average length of time between a crime being committed and the trial at the Crown court being completed is in each court in each of the last five years. [167415]

Mrs Grant: The number of trial hearings which are considered ineffective due to “judge/magistrates availability” is published by court as part of the National Statistics publication “Court Statistics Quarterly”.

We are overhauling the Criminal Justice System to make the court process swifter and more efficient and recently launched our “CJS Strategy and Action Plan” which includes steps to address the number of cracked and ineffective trials including increasing digital working and improved case management of files.

The proportion of trials which are ineffective at the Crown court has remained stable between 2007 and 2012 at around 13%. The proportion of effective trials has increased since Q4 2010 (44%) to Q1 2013 (51%).

See Table 1 for the number of ineffective trial hearings due to “judge availability”, Crown Court, England and Wales, 2008-12.

The average length of time taken from offence to completion for cases in the Crown court is published quarterly by court as part of the National Statistics' publication “Court Statistics Quarterly”.

Published timeliness totals relate to all case outcomes (e.g. those acquitted as well as found guilty)—it is not possible to discern the timeliness of trial only Crown court cases from these data.

See Table 2 for the average (mean) time from offence to completion in weeks, Crown court cases, by Crown court, England and Wales, January 2011 to March 2013.

All breakdowns provided can also be found as part of the transparency files on the Justice website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/207806/court-stats-q1-main-tables.xls

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