Accountancy

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent on accountants in each year since 2010. [168595]

Justine Greening: On fully qualified accountants working in finance roles, DFID spent £1.3 million in 2011-12, £1.4 million in 2012-13 and £1.6 million in 2013-14.

Afghanistan

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) which official in her Department has overall responsibility for delivering her Department's projects in Afghanistan; and who held that position in 2011-12; [169244]

(2) with reference to the answer of 4 February 2013, Official Report, columns 823-4W, on Afghanistan, if she will name the Deputy Director referred to in that answer. [169525]

Justine Greening: It is a convention that individual civil servants are not named in response to answers to parliamentary questions.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer of 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 35W, on Afghanistan, whether the consultant's report has been seen by a Minister from her Department. [169524]

Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 35W.

Africa

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effect of UK aid to Africa in the last five years. [169211]

Justine Greening: The DFID Results Framework is a set of common indicators against which we report achievements of UK aid spend across all our focus countries. DFID publishes a summary of these development results in our annual report. Since 2010, for example, in Africa UK aid has:

Provided 4.4 million people with insecticide treated bed nets in DRC

Helped 204,000 individuals become more food secure through the Productive Safety Nets Programme in Ethiopia

Provided assistance to 11.3 million people to vote in the 2012 Ghana elections

Provided 130,000 people with sustainable .access to clean drinking water and an improved sanitation facility in Malawi

Supported 50,000 safe births and 20,000 pregnant women to receive malaria treatment in Mozambique

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Helped over 7 million people gain access to formal financial services in Nigeria

Supported the issuing of 2.45 million land titles (over 50% to women) in Rwanda

Supported 520,000 children in primary education in South Sudan

Helped over 160,000 rural men and women to raise their incomes in Tanzania

Supported 260,000 women to use modern contraception in Uganda.

Air Travel

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many individual domestic air flights were undertaken within Great Britain by representatives of (a) her Department and (b) its associated public body in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what the cost to the public purse of each such flight was. [168773]

Mr Duncan: The number and cost of domestic journeys undertaken by individuals in DFID and the Independent Commission for Aid Impact in 2012-13 are set out as follows:

(a) Individuals in DFID undertook 2200 individual journeys at a total cost of £243,186

(b) Individuals in the Independent Commission for Aid Impact undertook one journey at a total cost of £102.

A breakdown of these journeys into separate flights would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many invoices were processed by her Department in the last financial year for which figures are available. [169351]

Mr Duncan: DFID processed 42,284 invoices during the 2012-13 financial year. This amount includes all aid programme payments including grants and does not include expense claims and similar payments reimbursed to DFID staff.

Buildings

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what refurbishments to her Department's buildings have been carried out in the last 24 months; and at what cost. [168806]

Mr Duncan: Within the last 24 months, DFID has undertaken the following refurbishments at its UK headquarters offices:

22 Whitehall, London: Refurbishment of whole building prior to taking up occupation in January 2013. Works costs including project management were £2,986,162. The relocation to this building will result in savings of rent and rates of £62.5 million by 2020.

Abercrombie House, East Kilbride, Scotland: Three refurbishments have been carried out within separate parts of this building in the last two years, at a total cost of £146,880.

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Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the expenditure on office refurbishment by (a) her Department and (b) her Department's non-departmental public body in each year since 2010-11. [169452]

Mr Duncan: The refurbishment of 22-26 Whitehall was carried out prior to us taking up occupation at the start of 2013. The move allowed DFID to significantly reduce London estates costs by £62.5 million by 2020, and is cited in the HM Government report “State of the Estate Report 2012” as a positive example of estate rationalisation in action. Minor refurbishments have been carried out in our East Kilbride office to meet changing demands and to create a more, modern working environment.

Our non-departmental public body, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, has not incurred any expenditure on office refurbishment.

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the number of office relocations made by staff of (a) her Department and (b) her Department's non-departmental public body (i) within the original building and (ii) to other buildings in each year since 2009-10; what the cost of (A) removals and (B) refurbishments related to such moves has been; and on how many occasions offices refurbished by her Department in that period have been used by her Department's staff for less than four years before a further move. [169466]

Mr Duncan: DFID has made only one office relocation over this period, the move of our London headquarters from 1 Palace Street into premises at 22-26 Whitehall, SW1. The cost of the building refurbishment was £2,986,162 and the cost of removals was £39,997. This relocation was proposed by the Government Property Unit in accordance with Government policy on the rationalisation of estate, reducing costs by £62.5 million by 2020 and meeting the Government space standard of 10 sq m per person. DFID has not relocated from any offices less than four years from refurbishing that area.

Our non-departmental public body, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, has not relocated office since its launch in May 2011.

Carbon Emissions

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent by her Department on offsetting costs for energy-related carbon dioxide in the last year for which figures are available. [169509]

Mr Duncan: DFID will be offsetting energy related carbon emissions for 2012-13 at the next available Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) e-auction in November 2013. Our total carbon from energy for 2012-13 was 11,813 tonnes so based on current carbon prices will cost £8,033.

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Christmas Cards

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her private ministerial office spent on sending Christmas cards in 2012. [168684]

Mr Duncan: The Secretary of State’s private office did not spend any money sending Christmas cards in 2012.

Developing Countries: Females

Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure that the role of women in civil society is given prominence in the successor to the millennium development goals. [169570]

Justine Greening: The UK has placed securing a better future for girls and women at the heart of its development assistance and will continue to do so.

The UK strongly supports the recommendations of the High Level Panel (HLP) report for a standalone post-2015 goal on gender equality and girls' and women's empowerment as well as mainstreaming throughout, including the target to eliminate discrimination against women in political, economic, and public life.

Developing Countries: Tuberculosis

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the number of women and girls that die from tuberculosis annually. [168457]

Lynne Featherstone: Tuberculosis is one of the main causes of death in women worldwide. Out of an estimated of 1.4 million global deaths from tuberculosis, there were approximately 500,000 deaths among women in 2011.This includes 200,000 HIV-associated deaths from tuberculosis among women. The total number of deaths among children was estimated at 64,000 in 2011. We do not have childhood data disaggregated by gender.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what comparative assessment she has made of the return on investments in (a) funding and treating tuberculosis and (b) other health interventions. [168458]

Lynne Featherstone: The diversity in our portfolio makes it difficult to produce a comparable assessment of the rates of returns of health programmes. DFID has not made a comparative assessment of the return on investments from the funding provided to treat tuberculosis and the support provided to other health interventions.

Egypt

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Egypt. [169031]

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Mr Duncan: The humanitarian situation is worsening in Egypt as the number of Syrian refugees continues to rise. With an increase of 10,000 Syrian refugees in the last month, there are now 117,470 Syrian refugees, either registered or known to be awaiting registration in Egypt.

DFID officials are in discussions with the UN and NGOs to assess the current needs of Syrian refugees in Egypt to see how best we can provide support to them.

Equality

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what steps she is taking to ensure that gender equality is at the heart of her Department's agenda post-2015; [169285]

(2) what steps her Department is taking to ensure that women's equality and empowerment is part of her Department's agenda after 2015; [169218]

Justine Greening: The UK has been clear in its advocacy for a standalone post-2015 goal on gender equality and girls' and women's empowerment as well as mainstreaming these issues through the goals and targets in the framework to be agreed by the UN.

We are working with others across the international community, including civil society, to ensure this is achieved.

India

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the technical assistance her Department plans to provide to India after 2015 will comprise support for measures to promote equality for women and girls in that country. [169613]

Justine Greening: Our new development partnership with India after 2015 will continue to focus on empowerment of women and girls through our technical assistance and private sector programmes.

Ministers' Private Offices

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many full-time equivalent staff of each civil service grade are currently employed in the private office of each Minister in her Department; and what the pay band of each such member of staff is. [168722]

Mr Duncan: The full-time equivalent staff headcount for each Minister’s office is:

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DFID does not include any data that could be personally attributed to an individual in breach of data protection. DFID policy is not to provide any information where the target group is five or fewer, so as to safeguard individual personal data.

Montserrat

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations her Department has made to the government of Montserrat in relation to the draft Conservation and Environmental Management Bill. [168932]

Mr Duncan: Environmental management and conservation is a key component of the Strategic Growth Plan for Montserrat. As part of that plan, DFID has helped the Government of Montserrat create an appropriate legal and institutional framework for environmental management. The Conservation and Environmental Management Bill has been finalised for submission to Montserrat's Cabinet and Legislative Assembly in October 2013. DFID will provide further technical support for work on environmental and climate change management under this framework if necessary.

Overseas Aid

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure aid funding reaches where it is needed. [169209]

Justine Greening: To deliver Government development priorities, the Bilateral Aid Review focused UK aid in countries and regions based on development need and expected effectiveness. The allocation of aid to multilateral organisations following the Multilateral Aid Review took account of how multilateral organisations target their aid spending on countries with high levels of need and impact.

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to improve the efficiency of aid spending. [169210]

Mr Duncan: DFID already has robust systems in place to deliver efficiency of aid spending. We are determined to ensure that every pound we spend has maximum impact on reducing poverty. DFID regularly reviews its strategy to provide assurance that we are investing where development need is highest and that our interventions and their delivery maximise the impact of every pound spent.

Press: Subscriptions

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 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. [168703]

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Mr Duncan: The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), private office does not subscribe to any newspapers, periodicals or trade profession publications.

Public Relations

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department and its associated public bodies spent on (a) external public relations consultants and (b) public affairs consultants, in each of the past three years; and for what purposes such consultants were engaged. [168666]

Justine Greening: In each of the past three years, DFID's central communications division spent nothing on either (a) external public relations consultants or (b) public affairs consultants.

Publications

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list (a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to her Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by her Department in each year since 2010. [168789]

Mr Duncan: DFID does not hold information centrally on this subject. Each of the country programmes and central divisions would be responsible for commissioning any external reports.

Printing

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent in each of the last three years on hard copy printing of documents for external audiences. [168630]

Mr Duncan: DFID's policy is to distribute documents digitally. DFID's financial system does not separately identify expenditure on hard copy printing of documents for external audiences. It is not possible to disaggregate exactly the requested information.

Satellite Broadcasting

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 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. [168648]

Mr Duncan: DFID has no premium satellite television subscriptions.

Security

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many departmental identity cards or passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff in her Department since May 2010. [168613]

Mr Duncan: The information requested is as follows:

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May to December 2010: 22 lost, one stolen

2011: 40 lost, three stolen

2012: 34 lost, four stolen

2013 to date: 31 lost, one stolen.

Standards

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the reasons are for the time taken to publish her Department's Quarterly Data Summary for the second quarter of 2012-13 and the third quarter of 2012-13. [168824]

Mr Duncan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided today by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), to this same parliamentary question:

“The quarter 2 and quarter 3 quarterly data summary (QDS) returns of all 17 departments participating in the QDS process were delayed owing to the development of the Cabinet Office's Government interrogating spending tool (GIST). The GIST was developed in response to recommendations made in Dr. Martin Read's independent report entitled ‘Practical Steps to Improve Management Information in Government’. Before the last general election no such comparable data was published at all that allows the public to access a breakdown of Government expenditure through the Gov. UK website. It makes the process of accessing and analysing complex QDS and OSCAR data easier and quicker, and for these reasons was seen to justify a short delay in publishing QDS data.”

Syria

Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how much financial assistance announced by her Department for in-country support for Syria has left the UK in the last 12 months; how much has reached Syria; and how much is still in her Department's locations in (a) the UK and (b) Turkey; [168409]

(2) how much her Department has allocated to in-country support for Syria in each of the last two financial years. [168410]

Mr Duncan: The UK has pledged £500 million in humanitarian and development support in response to the crisis in Syria and the region since February 2012. A total figure of £306 million has been allocated to humanitarian partners who are using this to deliver assistance to those affected by the Syria crisis. £141 million is being spent in Syria and £165 million in neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.

The remaining £194 million from the £500 million is in the process of being allocated to Syria and its neighbouring countries. Agreements are in the process of being finalised.

Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of comments of Erika Feller, Assistant High Commissioner at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, that rape is the primary reason for families to leave Syria; what provisions the Government is making for survivors of sexual violence in Syria in receipt of UK aid; and if she will make a statement. [168450]

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Justine Greening: Over 75% of Syrian refugees receiving humanitarian assistance in neighbouring countries are women and children, many of whom have experienced significant trauma, and who are at on-going risk of abuse. The UK is supporting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, including funding the International Rescue Committee to deliver gender-based violence prevention activities to benefit 6,000 women and girls; and UNICEF to provide psychosocial and child protection services to 15,000 vulnerable children and their caregivers.

Televisions

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many flat screen televisions have been purchased by her Department in the last 24 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of such purchases. [168756]

Mr Duncan: DFID has purchased three flat screen TVs in the last two years, at a total cost of £2,983.97. The greater proportion of this went towards one large screen in communal space as part of the refurbishment of the new building.

Trillium Group

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent on contracts with Trillium Group in each year since 2008. [169259]

Justine Greening: DFID does not list Trillium Group as a supplier and has not entered into any contracts with it.

Communities and Local Government

Accountancy

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on accountants in each year since 2010. [168587]

Brandon Lewis: The information is not readily available in the, form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Affordable Housing

Dame Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been built in the last 12 months in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Lewisham. [169139]

Mr Prisk: Statistics on house building completions by tenure in each local authority are published in the Department's live tables 253 (annual) and 253a (quarterly), which are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building

Taken together, the housing association and local authority tenures provide estimates of total social housing completions, but these figures mostly understate total

8 Oct 2013 : Column 130W

affordable supply. This is because the house building figures are categorised by the type of developer rather than the intended final tenure, leading to under recording of affordable housing, and a corresponding over recording of private enterprise figures.

More comprehensive statistics on affordable housing completions funded by the Homes and Communities Agency and the Greater London Authority since 2009-10 by tenure are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/affordable-housing-starts-and-completions-funded-by-the-hca-and-the-gla-2012-to-2013

These statistics include both newly built housing and acquisitions but exclude delivery of affordable housing not funded by the Homes and Communities Agency and Greater London Authority programmes that are reported in local authority returns to the Department. A fuller picture of all affordable housing completions is published in the Department's live tables 1000, 1006, 1007 and 1008, which are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply

Affordable Housing: North Yorkshire

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total level of Government investment in affordable housing in North Yorkshire will be throughout the current Parliament. [168923]

Brandon Lewis: The Government's affordable housing programmes are due to deliver £67.5 million of public investment between 2010-11 and 2014-15 across the local authority areas in North Yorkshire.

Notwithstanding, this figure under estimates the additional private investment which will be levered in through the Government's schemes. To place this in context, in the current spending review period, the Government is investing £4.5 billion of public investment across England, which will lever in a further £15 billion of private investment into affordable housing.

Billing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of undisputed invoices to his Department were paid within five days in each of the last 24 months. [167746]

Brandon Lewis [holding answer 5 September 2013]: In 2010, a new challenging target was introduced for the Department to aim for 80% of invoices to be paid within five days of receipt; previously, the target was 80% to be paid within 10 days.

The following table illustrates the monthly performance over the last 12 months against this target. While the precise figures will fluctuate from month to month, our performance has consistently improved over the last three years since the introduction of the new tougher target, rising from 75.7% in 2010-11, to 79.3% in 2011-12, to 81.9% in 2012-13.

I would thus observe that the record of the Department in paying invoices promptly is far better than that of the last Administration.

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Buildings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many square metres of office space his Department (a) owns and (b) rents in London; and what the value is of that property. [169416]

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not own any office space in London. Details of the office space it rents are given as follows:

As the Department does not own the property, we do not have a current valuation of the building. The Department is scheduled to relocate to 2 Marsham street with the Home Office next year, delivering annual savings of around £9 million for DCLG and around £24 million for the Government.

Children: Homelessness

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many children were homeless in (a) Birkenhead constituency, (b) the metropolitan borough of Wirral,

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(c)

the Liverpool city region and

(d)

the UK in the latest period for which figures are available; [169148]

(2) what steps he is taking to address child homelessness in (a) Birkenhead constituency, (b) the metropolitan borough of wirral and (c) the Liverpool city region. [169149]

Mr Prisk: The available information is set out in the following table.

Separate figures are not collected for parliamentary constituencies, but the Birkenhead constituency lies within the metropolitan borough of Wirral, for which figures are given in the table.

Totals for the United Kingdom have not been given in the table, because figures for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for the relevant devolved administration. Further information on homelessness statistics for these areas is given on pages 16 and 17 of the “Statutory Homelessness: April to June Quarter 2013 England” statistical release, which is available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-homelessness-in-england-april-to-june-2013

The law is clear—no child should be without a roof over their head. Any child, under 18, who becomes homeless and without anyone to look after them is a child in need. They must be housed by a local authority and supported by children's services. Where a child is homeless because their parents are homeless then that family is protected by the homelessness legislation and must be housed under the homelessness legislation. When a family is unable to care for a child under 18 then that child must be taken into care.

We want children to be able to stay with their families in secure and settled homes and we want to help local authorities support these families before they reach crisis point. We are investing £470 million in homelessness prevention over four years of the spending review period—funding going to all local authorities and the voluntary sector. We are continuing to support local authorities to

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raise their game with an additional £1.7 million over two years (2012-13 to 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.

We have also worked closely with leading voluntary sector organisations and local authorities to develop and promote a positive youth accommodation pathway for those who cannot stay within the family network or are leaving care. The pathway approach offers tailored accommodation options and a supportive transition into adulthood, helping young people to avoid the crisis of homelessness.

Child Poverty

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect of his Department's policies on child poverty in (a) Birkenhead constituency, (b) the metropolitan borough of Wirral and (c) the Liverpool city region. [169147]

Brandon Lewis: In common with all Government Departments, DCLG carries out and publishes impact assessments when formulating policy. Impact assessments are published at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government

Under the Child Poverty Act 2010, each local authority is required to do a needs assessment of child poverty in its areas, and working with partners, introduce a local strategy to tackle the local problems.

Christmas Cards

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his private ministerial office spent on sending Christmas cards in 2012. [168676]

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer by my hon. Friend, the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst, of 20 December 2010, Official Report, Column 941W.

That answer outlines that whereas the last Administration was spending £2,855 a year on departmental cards, Ministers in this Government have spent nothing; instead, we have produced in-house and sent an electronic Christmas card each year.

Notwithstanding, that answer also outlines this Government's support for celebrating Christmas and marking the importance of the birth of Christ. By contrast, as outlined in the answer of 10 December 2007, Official Report, column 116W, to my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), the last Administration otherwise did nothing to support the public celebration of Christmas. Since I do not have access to papers of the last Administration, I am unable to ascertain whether this was because Labour Ministers were (a) Scrooges or (b) Grinches.

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Council Housing

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans his Department has to increase the supply of one and two bedroom local authority properties. [168440]

Mr Prisk: Under the new self-financing system introduced in 2012, local authority landlords keep all the rental income from the properties they own and make their own decisions about how they re-invest this in existing and new homes. In making those decisions, we expect local authorities to consider the objectively assessed need for market and affordable homes of different sizes, including smaller homes, in their area.

Alongside councils' own house building programmes, the Government's affordable homes programme provides funding for new affordable homes across the country through a competitive process. The assessment of bids takes account of the extent to which bids meet local identified needs, including the need for smaller homes.

Council Tax

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of the time taken by the Valuation Office Agency to allocate council tax bandings to new properties; and if he will make a statement. [168073]

Brandon Lewis [holding answer 9 September 2013]: Information from operational systems shows that in the 2012-13 financial year, the Valuation Office Agency took an average of 11 days to update the England and Wales council tax valuation lists with new or revised council tax bandings. A breakdown of time taken to allocate new council tax properties is not currently available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the monetary benefit to the average household of the freeze in council tax in the current Parliament in (a) Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency, (b) North Yorkshire and (c) England. [168924]

Brandon Lewis: We estimate that the council tax freeze could save a Band D householder in England up to £1,100 over the lifetime of this Parliament. We have made no estimate of savings for areas covering individual local authorities or MPs' constituencies.

I would note that Band D council tax bills in the Harrogate borough council area rose by 137% (+£898) from 1997-98 to 2010-11. By contrast, over the last three years, they have risen by only 0.1% (+£1), a significant cut in real terms thanks to this Government's council tax freeze.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of properties in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England are graded at Band E for the purposes of council tax. [169023]

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Brandon Lewis: In October 2012, Ashfield borough council reported that 2.2% of all domestic dwellings in their area were categorised as Band E for the purpose of council tax. In Nottinghamshire (including the City of Nottingham unitary authority) the figure was 5.0% and the figure for England as a whole was 9.4%. Data are not collected at constituency level.

As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, columns 32-33WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region. The local authority figures used to calculate the figures above, and from which regional figures can be calculated, can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/136026/2012_Local_Authority_ level_data_2.xls

Data on dwellings by council tax band are as reported to the Department for Communities and Local Government by all billing authorities in England on the annual Council Tax Base return.

Empty Property: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the number of unoccupied residential properties in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) the East Midlands. [169021]

Mr Prisk: Data for Ashfield constituency are not collected centrally. The constituency falls within the local authority districts of Ashfield and Broxtowe.

Data on vacant dwellings by tenure and district can be found in live table 615 which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants

This table brings together figures on vacant dwellings in England drawn from several separately published sources.

Housing Benefit: North West

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make an assessment of the availability of affordable one bedroom homes for single person households to downsize into in (a) Birkenhead constituency, (b) the metropolitan borough of Wirral and (c) the Liverpool city region. [168416]

Mr Prisk: DCLG publishes information on the number of one bedroom properties and the total number of vacant properties owned by local authorities annually. The latest information is on my Department's website:

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

The Homes and Communities Agency publishes statistics by local authority district on the number of one bedroom properties and the total number of vacant properties owned by private registered providers. The information for 2012-13 can be found in the full data spreadsheet accompanying the statistical data release published by the agency:

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

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Data by constituency are not collected.

The number of properties available for letting will vary throughout the year.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what estimate he has made of the number of social houses in the UK which have rooms of less than 50 square feet and which are currently classed as bedrooms; [169358]

(2) what estimate he has made of the number of social houses in the UK which have rooms between 50 and 70 square feet and which are currently classed as bedrooms. [169376]

Brandon Lewis: This information is not collected centrally.

Housing: Construction

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer from the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich on 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 12, on house building, what the evidential basis was for the statement that there will be at least 400,000 additional homes as a direct result of the New Homes Bonus. [169167]

Mr Prisk [holding answer 13 September 2013]: The New Homes Bonus rewards the delivery of new housing supply, including getting long-term empty properties back into productive use.

As announced in the written statement of 1 February 2013, Official Report, columns 63-64WS, to date, the scheme has rewarded the creation of over 400,000 new homes and over 50,000 long-term empty homes being brought back into use.

The underlying data are derived from council tax base forms collected from local authorities, and is based on valuations by the independent Valuation Office Agency. The affordable housing premium is measured using separate affordable supply and Traveller caravan count data.

Housing: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) the East Midlands have been built as a result of the New Homes Bonus to date. [169022]

Brandon Lewis: Data for Ashfield constituency are not collected centrally. The constituency falls within the local authority districts of Ashfield and Broxtowe.

Following the abolition of regional government by the coalition, DCLG no longer publishes statistics at a regional level and does not believe that regions provide a coherent or meaningful framework for assessing public policy. Instead, our published statistics relate, where relevant, to other sub-national geographies which are more aligned with public policy.

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The New Homes Bonus is paid to authorities in respect of increases they deliver in their effective housing stock. Nationally, £1.3 billion has been allocated, recognising over 400,000 additions to stock and over 55,000 empty properties brought back into use. For the three years of the bonus the figures requested are set out in the following table:

Local Government

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) audit and (b) inspection of local government in each year since 2010. [168865]

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government made estimates of audit and inspection costs related to the work of the Audit Commission as part of the impact assessment for the Local Audit and Accountability Bill, available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-audit-and-accountability-bill-local-audit-impact-assessment

This Government have taken a series of steps to scale back unnecessary local government inspection and ineffective audit regimes. The abolition of the Audit Commission and the setting up of the new audit regime is estimated to deliver net savings of £1.2 billion of taxpayers' money over a 10-year period.

Local Government Finance

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to announce allocations of the housing and council Tax benefit administration grant for 2015-16. [168364]

Brandon Lewis: DCLG aims to keep the timeline regarding the announcement of the council tax support administrative subsidy for 2015-16 allocation in line with the announcement of DWP's housing benefit administrative subsidy. This would mean local authorities would be notified in September 2014 of both funding streams—six months before the start of the 2015-16 financial year.

Local Government: Procurement

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that more local authorities use Contracts Finder. [168873]

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Brandon Lewis: All local authority contract opportunities should be open and transparent to allow a wide range of suppliers to bid for business. In May, Lord Young recommended that all contract opportunities should be located in one place, using Contracts Finder as a single platform. We are currently consulting on this proposal, alongside a package of further reforms to open up public sector procurement to small and medium businesses. The consultation can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/making-public-sector-procurement-more-accessible-to-smes

The ‘Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency’, issued in September 2011, recommended that all copies of contracts and tenders to businesses and to the voluntary community and social enterprise' sector were published. In December 2012 we carried out a public consultation on updating the code and making it mandatory in order to ensure greater accountability. We will publish the Government's response shortly.

Ministers' Private Offices

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 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. [168713]

Brandon Lewis: As the hon. Member will be aware from his time as a Special Adviser in the (then) Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, ministerial private offices are a key link in handling ministerial correspondence, organising the ministerial diaries, supporting Ministers on external engagements and' visits, conveying Ministers' views to officials and overseeing the provision of advice to Ministers, handling communications and policy discussions with other Government Departments, and providing Ministers with general information and views from their Departments.

There are 29 full-time staff working in DCLG private offices, broken down as follows:

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I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 42W, which outlined how we cut the administrative costs of private offices by 31% compared to the last Administration and which noted that the cost of ministerial private offices represent just 0.5% of the Department's overall running costs.

Non-domestic Rates

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the total (a) number of businesses benefiting from small business rate relief and (b) value of support offered under small business rate relief relates to businesses (i) in the retail sector and (ii) occupying a retail unit. [168917]

Brandon Lewis [holding answer 12 September 2013]: We estimate that approximately half a million businesses in England are benefiting from the small business rate relief scheme. As the Government have currently doubled the level of small business rate relief, we estimate that approximately a third of a million ratepayers are currently paying no rates at all.

For the year 2013-14, local authorities have estimated they will grant small business rate relief to the value of £900 million. The value of small business rate relief granted has almost trebled under this Government. Data were collected on the annual national non-domestic rates (NNDR1) forecast return completed by all billing authorities in England.

Data are collected at billing authority level; we do not collect data by type of business or the premises they occupy.

Private Rented Housing

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what steps he is taking to raise awareness of private tenants' rights in case of landlord bankruptcy; [169229]

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(2) what steps he is taking to improve protections for private tenants in the case of eviction due to landlord bankruptcy. [169232]

Mr Prisk: The Tenants Protection Act 2010: which came into effect on 1 October 2010, gives rights to private tenants who have to leave their home because it is getting repossessed by their landlord's mortgage lender.

The Act enables tenants to be heard at repossession hearings and gives courts the powers to delay repossession by up to two months. This ensures that tenants have sufficient time to move and have the same rights of notice as other private tenants. The Act also requires the mortgage lender to send a notice to tenants when they are applying to enforce the possession.

To inform mortgage lenders, landlords and tenants of their rights and responsibilities under the Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010, my Department has published guidance which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5933/1729687.pdf

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many private landlords were declared bankrupt in each of the last five years. [169230]

Mr Prisk: We do not hold this information. While the Individual Insolvency Register holds information on individuals who have been made bankrupt, it does not include details of whether or not they had been acting as private landlords at the time.

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions he has held with private tenants' organisations regarding eviction due to landlord bankruptcy. [169231]

Brandon Lewis: Information on all meetings held by DCLG Ministers with external organisations are published every quarter on the Government's website at

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/series/dclg-ministerial-data

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will rank each English local authority by the percentage change in the proportion of housing stock made up of private housing for rent between 2001 and 2011. [169281]

Brandon Lewis: Historical data on privately rented dwelling stock are estimated for England but not districts and can be found in live table 104 which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants

Private Rented Housing: Rents

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of how many household rents in the private rented sector fell below the average rent within each local authority area in the UK in each year since 2010-11. [169140]

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Mr Prisk: We have made no such estimate. However the Valuation Office Agency publishes some indicative estimates of private rent levels by local authority. These are available online, respectively for 2011-12 and 2012-13, and can be found at:

www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/statisticalReleases/120531_PrivateResidentialRentalMarketStatistics.html

and

http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/statisticalReleases/130530_PrivateRentalMarket.html

Procurement

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department makes of the (a) payment of minimum wage, (b) payment of living wage and (c) use of zero- hours contracts when tendering for public procurement contracts. [169314]

Brandon Lewis: The minimum wage is a legal obligation, which we would expect all contractors to follow as a matter of course.

In relation to the living wage, I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 April 2013, Official Report, column 221W.

The use of zero-hour contracts is a matter for individual contractors; however, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has announced a consultation on the issues surrounding zero-hours contracts to ensure fairness for all employees.

Public Houses

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to support community pubs. [167698]

Brandon Lewis: My Department is taking the following steps to support community pubs:

The Assets of Community Value Regulations implementing the community right to bid provisions of the Localism Act 2011 are giving communities a fairer chance to bid to take over local assets of community value, including pubs.

Research by the Campaign for Real Ale shows that 100 pubs are now listed as assets of community value.

A £19 million support programme to help eligible community organisations to take on the community ownership and management of assets that are important to them, including pubs, is in place.

We also provide funding for business partners, such as Pub is the Hub and the Plunkett Foundation, to expand their work in helping communities to bring their pubs into community ownership and to diversify or innovate their provision of services.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that to deliver the social, recreational and cultural facilities that communities need, planning policies and decisions should provide for the use of such facilities, including pubs, and guard against their unnecessary loss.

The Localism Act helps make small business rate relief automatic, and we have doubled small business rate relief from October 2010 to March 2014.

In addition, the Government has not only scrapped the last Administration's plans for a 10% rise in cider duties (the so-called cider tax). At Budget 2013 we cut beer duty, amounting to a pint of average strength beer being reduced by lp, and scrapped the

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beer escalator which would have further increased beer duty by 3p this year. This move has been warmly welcomed across the pub and brewing industry.

Pubs have also benefited from action the Government has taken to reduce red tape affecting the pub sector. For example, we have provided greater flexibility on weights and measures, allowing beer and wine to be sold in different sizes than was previously allowed by regulations, and have made it easier for pubs to play live music.

Public Libraries: Conditions of Employment

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many library staff employed by local authorities in England were employed on a zero-hours contract in each of the last five years for which records are available. [168972]

Brandon Lewis: This information is not centrally held.

Publishing

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent in each of the last three years on hard copy printing of documents for external audiences. [168623]

Brandon Lewis: In “50 ways to save”—my Department's guide to local councils on practical ways to make sensible savings—we recommended that councils can cut printing costs, by stopping the production of unnecessary glossy brochures and publishing more documents online.

The following table shows how we have delivered significant savings by introducing this in our own Department, saving almost £4 million a year since 2010.

The Department now produces most publications digitally by default. I would note that Parliament continues to require some documents to be hard copy printed for the benefit of hon. Members. A small number of publications may be hard copy printed for disability or access/exclusion reasons.

Rented Housing: Electrical Safety

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 18 July 2013, Official Report, column 908W, on rented housing: electrical safety, what progress he has made with the review of licensing; what action he intends to take as a result of this review; and if he will make a statement. [169622]

Stephen Williams: Following a parliamentary debate on 3 July 2013, Official Report, columns 297-303WH, on the issue of selective licensing, my Department contacted all English local housing authorities and requested

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information on their experience of licensing, whether selective or voluntary, of private rented housing in their area, including information on the type of conditions that are typically attached to such licenses. The purpose of gathering this information was to help to inform any update of the current guidance for local authorities on selective licensing.

The closing date for responses was 30 September. My officials will now consider all responses received. A summary of responses to the information gathering exercise will be made available in due course.

Social Rented Housing

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) if he will rank each English local authority by the percentage change in the proportion of housing stock made up of social housing for rent between 1986 and the most recent year for which figures are available; [169279]

(2) if he will rank each English local authority by the actual change in the number of units of social housing for rent between 1986 and the most recent year for which figures are available. [169280]

Brandon Lewis: The Department does not hold a complete set of figures at local authority district level to fully answer these questions. The information published by the Department can provide social housing stock as a proportion of total housing stock from 2009 and numbers of social housing stock from 1997.

These data are available from the Department's statistical tables at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants

Private registered provider (housing association) stock can be found in live table 115, local authority-owned stock can be found in live table 116. These can be summed to provide an estimate of social housing stock. Total housing stock can be found in live table 100.

Standards

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the reasons are for the time taken to publish his Department's Quarterly Data Summary for the second quarter of 2012-13 and the third quarter of 2012-13. [168816]

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), to PQ 168815.

Telephone Services

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of his Department's services and executive agencies require the use of premium rate telephone numbers. [167487]

Brandon Lewis: My Department and its agencies do not require the use of premium rate telephone numbers.

I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 142W, on our use of low-cost 030 numbers.

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Televisions

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many flat- screen televisions have been purchased by his Department in the last 24 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of such purchases. [168748]

Brandon Lewis: The Department has not purchased any flat screen televisions in the last 24 months.

To place this in context, the Department in the last Parliament under the previous Administration spent £22,527 on four flat-screen televisions, equivalent to £5,632 per television (as outlined in the answers of 1 September 2009, Official Report, column 1832W and 16 December 2009, Official Report, column 1265W.

Travel

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many individual domestic air flights were undertaken within Great Britain by representatives of (a) his Department and (b) its associated public bodies in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what the cost to the public purse of each such flight was. [168766]

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on travel for departmental officials in each of the last five years. [169009]

Brandon Lewis: The respective information that is centrally held has been placed in the Library of the House.

On total travel, the central Department spent £1.3 million in 2012-13, compared to £1.5 million in 2009-10.

The Department spent £55,895 on air travel (including international flights) in 2012-13 compared to £94,683 in 2009-10. This equates to a 41% reduction since 2009-10.

Reflecting our responsibilities for local government, housing, planning and communities, the work of the Department involves staff travelling to different parts of the country; domestic flights for longer journeys can avoid the need for paying for staff to stay in a hotel overnight. Work relating to the European Union and the Council of Europe in particular also necessitates overseas travel.

The Department has reduced its travel spend since May 2010 through greater use of video conferencing, the introduction of controls around the booking of rail travels and above threshold hotel bookings and the appointment of a small business to electronically book travel at cheaper rates.

In 2011-12, the Department accepted responsibility for some new functions outside of London, including oversight of the European Regional Development Fund following the abolition of the regional development agencies and residual functions following the closure of the Government offices for the regions. As these business functions relate to work in areas outside of London, this has therefore increased our domestic and overseas travel spend compared to 2010-11. However, this is more than offset by the very significant savings to taxpayers of the abolition of these regional bodies.

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Travellers: Caravan Sites

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the cost to local authorities of clearing up unauthorised Traveller encampments; and if he will make a statement. [169198]

Brandon Lewis: This information is not collected centrally. However, the Government are concerned about the cost and disruption that can be caused by unauthorised Traveller encampments. That is why on 9 August 2013 we sent all council leaders updated guidance, reminding them to act swiftly and setting out the strong powers councils and landowners have to remove illegal and unauthorised sites on both public and private land. This includes guidance on councils' recently strengthened temporary stop notices powers.

Trillium Group

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on contracts with Trillium Group in each year since 2008. [169250]

Brandon Lewis: My Department has no direct spend with Trillium Group.

Treasury

Accountancy

Michael Dugher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has spent on accountants in each year since 2010. [168600]

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Nicky Morgan: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Bank Services

Richard Fuller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent banks from using money in a credit card account to settle that account in advance of the due date without the permission of the customer. [169487]

Sajid Javid: Banks have a legal right of set-off. This means that a bank may recover a debt owed by a customer on one account from sums held in another account.

The Lending Code and the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Banking Conduct of Business Sourcebook (BCOBS) provides industry guidance that sets out the way banks and building societies should treat their customers when using the right of set-off.

Billing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 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. [166382]

Sajid Javid: The following table shows the number of invoices paid valued at more than £10,000 and the number that took more than 30 days to pay, in each year since 1 November 2008:

Invoices over £10,000 represented 17% of all invoices in 2008-09 (1 November 2008 to 31 March 2009 only), 21% in 2009-10 and 2010-11, 20% in 2011-12 and 18% in 2012-13. Details of the Department's payment performance against the Government's policy of paying all undisputed invoices within five days is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-group-payment-performance

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many invoices were processed by his Department in the last financial year for which figures are available. [169355]

Sajid Javid: The Financial Operations department processes invoices on behalf of HM Treasury and its arm’s-lengths bodies. The following table provides details of the amount of invoices processed during 2012-13.

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Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of families with children aged under five which would be eligible for the tax-free childcare scheme under the proposals published for consultation on 5 August 2013. [169624]

Sajid Javid: The Government estimate that when fully implemented the new tax-free childcare scheme announced at Budget 2013 will be available to up to 2.5 million families with children under 12.

Further information on the numbers of families (including those with children under five) who will be eligible for the new scheme for tax-free child care will not be available until the consultation launched on 5 August is complete and the policy details have been fully defined.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what employers he has met to discuss the proposed shift from childcare vouchers to the tax-free childcare scheme. [169625]

Sajid Javid: As part of the consultation on tax-free childcare, HM Treasury officials have met with a wide range of stakeholders including parent and family groups, representatives from the child care and voucher industries, employer representative bodies, members of the payroll and HR industries, and individual employers. They will continue to do so throughout the consultation period.

Co-operative Bank

Mr Ward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to monitor the proposed recapitalisation of the Co-operative Bank. [168461]

Sajid Javid [holding answer 12 September 2013]: Both the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are monitoring the Co-op Bank closely throughout the process of its current liability management exercise. The PRA is working to ensure that the firm is put on a sound financial footing and the FCA is working to ensure that consumers are afforded an appropriate degree of protection.

HM Treasury engages with these regulatory authorities on all relevant aspects of their regulatory activity, in accordance with their published approach to fulfilling their regulatory responsibilities.

Co-operative Group

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he plans to investigate the Financial Conduct Authority's role in allowing a false market in securities issued by the Co-operative Group or the Co-operative Bank; [167597]

(2) whether he plans to conduct an inquiry into the actions of the regulators in allowing a false market in securities issued by the Co-operative Group or the Co-operative Bank; [167598]

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(3) whether the Co-operative Group or the Co-operative Bank or their directors will be investigated for allowing a false market in securities issued by either company. [167599]

Sajid Javid: The FCA is responsible for ensuring an appropriate degree of protection for consumers of financial services. This includes consideration of whether a firm has allowed the creation of a false market in securities. This question has been passed to FCA, who will reply to the hon. Gentleman directly by letter. A copy of the letter will be laid in the Library of the House. The Treasury has no current plans for an inquiry into the regulators' role in respect of this issue.

Disposable Income: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average disposable income was in each constituency in Wales in each of the last 60 months. [169235]

Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2013:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average disposable income was in each constituency in Wales in each the last 60 months. (169235).

Table 1 shows the average net weekly equivalised household income for all parliamentary constituencies in Wales, before housing costs, for the financial year 2007/08. These are the only figures which are available at this level of geography over the last 60 months, and are derived from the small area income estimates published by ONS. Between 2001/02 and 2007/08 small area income estimates were produced on a triennial basis.

The income figures are equivalised to account for different household sizes and compositions, and so give a more consistent indication of households' material standard of living. ONS does not currently produce monthly household income data.

At present, the future production of small area income and poverty statistics is subject to a public consultation

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/get-involved/consultations/consultations/statistical-products-2013/index.html

Subject to the outcome of this consultation, the next planned estimates will be for the period 2011/12 and will include data from the 2011 Census.

The small area income estimates, as with any involving sample surveys, are subject to margins of error. Similarly, the parliamentary constituency level estimates derived from these data are also subject to margins of error.

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Income Tax

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the income tax paid in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13 by people in the highest one per cent income bracket; and what proportion this represented of total UK income tax paid in those years; [167873]

(2) what estimate he has made of the total amount of income tax paid in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13 by people with an income of more than £1,000,000; how many people had a taxable income of more than £1,000,000 in each of those years; and what proportion this represented of total UK income tax paid in those years. [167874]

Mr Gauke: The share of income tax paid by highest income taxpayers in 2013-14 will be higher than at the start of this Parliament.

This year the top 0.1% of taxpayers (income above £690,000) are forecast to contribute more to income tax than at any point this millennium (14.1%). The top 1%

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of taxpayers (earning over £160,000) are expected to pay more than a quarter (29.8%) of the income tax bill in 2013-14.

Those with the highest incomes are forecast to contribute more to income tax this year than under any year of the previous Government.