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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Prime Minister

Hillsborough Independent Panel

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Prime Minister how many briefings he has received on the investigations into the Hillsborough disaster since 12 September 2012. [170893]

The Prime Minister: I am regularly updated on progress of investigations into the Hillsborough disaster.

Sri Lanka

Ian Austin: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to raise the issue of human rights in Sri Lanka at the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka. [171050]

The Prime Minister: As I have made clear in previous answers in the House, I will raise the human rights situation in Sri Lanka when I attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Government are concerned about the lack of progress on freedom of expression and religion, judicial independence, post-conflict reconciliation and accountability.

Northern Ireland

Disclosure of Information

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence regarding the release of documents relating to Northern Ireland held at Swadlincote under the 30-year rule. [170839]

Mrs Villiers: I have not had discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence, regarding whether documents held at Swadlincote should be released under the 30 year rule.

Treasury

Currencies

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the use of (a) bitcoins and (b) other virtual currencies; and what assessment he has made of the potential risks in terms of laundering when such currencies are used; [169651]

(2) what guidance his Department provides to banks and businesses on the use of bitcoins. [169652]

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury has not made an assessment of the use of virtual currencies and the money laundering risks posed by the use of such currencies.

HM Treasury does not provide guidance to banks and businesses on the use of bitcoins.

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Financial Services: Somalia

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take following Barclays' decision to cease providing money transfer services to Somalia to ensure there are robust measures against suspected money laundering between the UK and Somalia. [170418]

Sajid Javid: The Government are committed to supporting a healthy and legitimate remittance sector, and ensuring that UK citizens are able to continue to remit funds safely to family abroad. A written ministerial statement was laid on 10 October outlining the range of actions we are taking to ensure that the UK's remittance sector is compliant and that there is robust supervision of money transmitters for anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism obligations.

National Insurance Contributions

Mr Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people earning less than £10,000 each year paid National Insurance contributions; and what the total value of such contributions was in the latest year for which figures are available. [170571]

Mr Gauke: In 2011-12 there were around 2.27 million employees who had annual earnings below £10,000 but above the NICs primary threshold of £7,225. However, there were a further 3.73 million employees who, although they had annual earnings below £7,225, still had a NICs liability.

This is due to the fact that NICs liabilities are calculated separately each time someone is paid and not on an annual basis, and it is therefore possible for someone to have annual earnings less than the annual £7,225 threshold, but still have a NICs liability if they were paid above the weekly or monthly threshold in any one week or month. The combined NIC liabilities of the 6.00 million employees totalled £1.02 billion.

Taxation: Germany

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many mutual assistance in recovery of debt demands have been made by the German tax authorities against UK tax residents in the last five years. [170383]

Mr Gauke: HMRC has no legal authority to disclose this information without the permission of the German tax authorities, who are the data owners. HMRC does not currently have their permission to disclose such data.

Defence

Afghanistan

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many legal professionals in his Department provide advice to personnel operating drones in Afghanistan. [R] [169712]

Mr Francois: It is not possible to put an exact figure on the number of legal professionals providing advice to personnel operating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS),

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including the Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), as legal advice is not purely limited to their deployment to Afghanistan.

Prior to an operational deployment all UK armed forces personnel receive a detailed legal briefing as part of their comprehensive pre-deployment training. In addition, RAF personnel operating aircraft, including Reaper, receive detailed legal advice from legal professionals during their training. While deployed on operations additional legal advice can be sought through channels reaching back to the UK.

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Blaydon, of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 5W, on Afghanistan, for what reasons his Department is not participating in the review of criteria required to establish positive identification and determination of status undertaken by international forces in Afghanistan, following the UN Mission in Afghanistan's 2012 report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. [R] [170281]

Mr Francois: The UK meets the requirements to seek to protect civilians under International Humanitarian Law. UK policy includes robust criteria on establishing positive identification and requires commanders to do everything feasible to verify that the target is a military objective. The UK Targeting Directive and Rules of Engagement for Operation Herrick, which are approved by Ministers, provide clear direction for commanders on this policy, which is constantly reviewed in light of changing circumstances and advances in technology. An additional review in response to the UN Mission in Afghanistan's report is therefore not necessary.

Armed Forces: Absence without Leave

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of serving personnel who went absent without leave as a result of bullying and abuse in the armed forces in a) 2010, b) 2011, c) 2012 and d) 2013 to date. [169914]

Anna Soubry: This information is not held in the format requested. The information readily available on armed forces personnel who have been absent without leave (AWOL) in the last four years, broken down by service is detailed in the following table.

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The figures have been rounded to the nearest five or 10. The number of incidences of reported AWOL may include the same individual more than once.

Armed Forces: Employment

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what career transition support is available to personnel leaving the armed forces; and if he will list the specific courses and training available to such personnel. [170548]

Anna Soubry: All service leavers are entitled to some form of resettlement assistance to enable a successful transition into civilian life. This assistance includes a suite of training and employment support from the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), a partnering arrangement between the Ministry of Defence and Right Management Limited, part of the Manpower Group. Training is also available for those who have left the armed forces, where training vacancies exist, for up to two years post-discharge.

The opportunities provided by the CTP include employment fairs, career transition workshops and vocational training courses. These courses, which may last between one and six weeks, cover the full breadth of industry, and number in hundreds. Comprehensive information about all of the job-related training courses and workshops offered by the CTP can be searched or downloaded from:

https://www.ctp.org.uk/

Courses are constantly updated to reflect new qualifications and employment market trends.

Armed Forces: Rangers Football Club

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will condemn the sectarian behaviour of some British soldiers at an Armed Forces day at Ibrox Park on 28 September 2013; [170271]

(2) what disciplinary measures have been taken against British soldiers who took part in sectarian behaviour at Ibrox Park on 28 September 2013; [170272]

(3) who authorised the appearance of British soldiers at an Armed Forces day at Ibrox Park on Saturday 28 September 2013; [170274]

(4) when he was first made aware of the sectarian behaviour of some British soldiers at an Armed Forces day at Ibrox Park on Saturday 28 September 2013. [170275]

Mr Francois: The alleged sectarian activity by British service personnel who attended the match at Ibrox Park on 28 September 2013 is currently being investigated by Police Scotland. The service authorities, where appropriate, are also investigating the behaviour of their personnel who were at the match. This is the appropriate way for these allegations to be dealt with.

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Sectarian behaviour, of any nature, is unacceptable, and is a breach of the armed forces values and standards. Any personnel found to have fallen short of these values and standards will be dealt with appropriately.

Service personnel were authorised to attend the match (following an invitation from the Rangers Charity Foundation) by the service commanders in Scotland.

Bullying

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the level of absence of civilian staff of his Department attributable to bullying and abuse in the workplace. [169915]

Anna Soubry: This information is not held in the format requested. However, it is Ministry of Defence policy that all civilian personnel, regardless of grade, have a right to be treated with dignity and respect. All civilian personnel also have a responsibility to ensure that the working environment is free from all forms of bullying and harassment and that the dignity of others is respected.

Joint Service Publication 763 sets out the Department's policy on the complaints procedure relating to bullying and harassment, for civilian personnel who feel they have been subject to such behaviour. Complaints of bullying and harassment are taken seriously and are investigated.

The Department is committed to the health and well-being of employees. We have policies in place setting out how the organisation fulfils its legal obligations, the responsibilities of different functions, details of specialists and the range of services available to help employees maintain health and well-being.

The Department recognises that well-being and performance are linked and that improving employees' health and well-being will ultimately lead to improved employee and organisational performance. We encourage staff to use the Employee Well-being Service, a helpline which provides support to civilian staff who experience personal or work-related problems.

Carbon Emissions

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on the Government Carbon Offsetting Framework in the latest year for which figures are available. [169890]

Anna Soubry: The amount spent on the Government Carbon Offsetting Framework for financial year 2012-13 was £11,611.

Energy

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what amount his Department expects to save annually as a result of its £55 million investment in energy saving measures. [169910]

Anna Soubry: The amount invested and the savings made through the Energy Spend to Save Programme are shown in the following table:

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The Department expects to continue to save some £70 million annually as a result of this investment.

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual cost of the green electricity supply to sites used by his Department in the UK and Germany was in each of the last five years. [169911]

Anna Soubry: Electricity supplies to Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites in Great Britain are now 100% green under a Government Procurement Service initiative. This is cost neutral to the Department as the premium for a green electricity supply is equivalent to the Climate Change Levy rate for electricity.

A supply of green electricity is not available in Northern Ireland.

Approximately 75-80% of electricity supplied to MOD bases in Germany is from renewable energy sources under the German Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG) Act. This is not separately contracted for but comes as part of the supply provided by German electricity suppliers.

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what amount his Department plans to spend under each cost heading on energy saving projects over the next 10 years. [169912]

Anna Soubry: It is currently too early to say how much the Ministry of Defence plans to spend on energy saving projects over the next 10 years.

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what return on investment his Department receives from the £54.2 million it has spent on energy saving measures to date. [169969]

Anna Soubry: The Department's investment of £54.2 million on energy saving measures is expected to provide a return of some £39 million per annum.

Gulf States

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 14W, on Gulf States, whether Royal Air Force support to the US in the Gulf includes intelligence provision and analysis for the purposes of drone strikes. [R] [169714]

Mr Robathan: It does not.

Historical Enquiries Team

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on declassifying and transferring historical files relating to Northern Ireland held at Swadlincote to the National Archive under the 30-year rule. [170840]

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Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) policy for the capture, management and final disposal, including transfer to the National Archives, of the MOD's records is detailed in Joint Service Publication 441—Defence Records Management Policy and Procedures. A copy of JSP 441 has been placed in the Library of the House. JSP 441 can also be found on the Gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jsp-441-defence-records-management-policy-and-procedures--2

All files relating to Northern Ireland held at Swadlincote will be assessed by the MOD and National Archives officials for sensitivity and historic value. Those files deemed worthy of permanent preservation will be selected for transfer to the National Archives.

Libya

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2013, Official Report, column 882W, what the rank and role of UK exchange officers who contributed unmanned aerial vehicle operations in Libya in 2011 was. [R] [170280]

Mr Francois: The UK exchange officers were three RAF officers at Flight Lieutenant rank. Their role was to act as pilots for remotely piloted air systems.

This corrects the response given by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), to my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti) on 31 January 2013, Official Report, column 882W.

Lighting

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what amount his Department spent on energy efficient lighting in each of the last five years. [169913]

Anna Soubry: The amount spent on energy efficient lighting since financial year 2011-12 is shown in the following table:

Data prior to financial year 2011-12 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from Raytheon regarding a Maritime Patrol version of the Sentinel R.1 aircraft. [170413]

Mr Dunne: As part of an invitation to industry to provide ideas to inform our Air Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Optimisation Study, representatives of Raytheon have held discussions with officials from the Ministry of Defence. These have included the possibility of modifying the radar on Sentinel to provide a maritime surface search capability, though this would not constitute a full maritime patrol aircraft capability.

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Military Bases: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of providing (a) accommodation and (b) IT infrastructure, (c) mandated disabled access requirements and (d) other appropriate facilities for HQ 4th Infantry Brigade and HQ North East (AF Bde HQ) at (i) Imphal Barracks in York and (ii) Catterick Garrison. [170403]

Mr Dunne: As the Secretary of State for Defence announced on 5 March 2013, Official Report, columns 845-60, the current Headquarters (HQ) 15 (North East) Brigade and HQ 4th (Mechanized) Brigade will merge in Catterick to form the Adaptable Force Brigade Headquarters in the north-east. The new establishment will be called Headquarters 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East. It is currently too early to estimate the costs involved in providing appropriate facilities for HQ 4th Infantry Brigade and HQ North East (AF Bde HQ) at Catterick Garrison. There are no plans to locate HQ 4^th Infantry Brigade and HQ North East (AF Bde HQ) at Imphal Barracks.

Performance Appraisal

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13. [170467]

Anna Soubry: As an equal opportunities employer the Ministry of Defence is committed to meet its obligations under the legislation. However, the information requested on the proportion of disabled personnel receiving each level of performance rating is not available in the format requested. The proportion of staff receiving each level of performance rating for 2012-13 is set out in the following table:

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many staff were made redundant from non-departmental public bodies accountable to his Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many redundancy payments were made in lieu of notice; [170347]

(2) how many staff in his Department were made redundant in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many such staff received payments in lieu of notice. [170365]

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Anna Soubry: The following table details the number of officials who left the Ministry of Defence through voluntary release and redundancy or under the terms of the Voluntary Early Release Scheme (VERS) in the last four financial years (FY). A small number of these officials received compensation in lieu of notice (CILON) payments, and the numbers of staff involved are included in the table. Data on non-departmental public bodies' payroll

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arrangements are not held centrally. A full breakdown of the reasons for staff leaving is given in the Quarterly Civilian Personnel Report (QCPR) which can be found at:

www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/personnel/civilian/quarterly-civilian-personnel-report

Sustainable Development

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department saves each year through meeting its Greening Government targets by March 2015. [169970]

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence does not separately record how much it saves by achieving its Greening Government targets.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the final unmanned aerial vehicle MQ-9 Reapers will be delivered to the UK; how many Reapers will be sent to Afghanistan; and when such a transfer will take place. [170412]

Mr Dunne: Five additional Reaper aircraft were ordered in 2010 as part of the investment required to double the UK Reaper remotely piloted aircraft capability.

Equipment delivery is ongoing, with the first three new Reaper aircraft nearing completion of acceptance testing. The remaining two new Reaper aircraft are planned to begin and complete final acceptance testing over the next two months. Once the new aircraft have completed acceptance testing, they will be moved to Afghanistan. The availability of UK assets in support of current operations in Afghanistan is operationally sensitive; consequently, I will not provide specific details as to do so would prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Northern Ireland

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has any plans to use unmanned aerial vehicles over Northern Ireland. [R] [169711]

Mr Francois: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave on 25 February 2013, Official Report, column 36W, where we stated that the Ministry of Defence has no plans for the operational use of any unmanned air systems in the UK.

Warships: Procurement

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the defence industry on procuring a littoral combat ship for future use by the Royal Navy. [169944]

Mr Dunne: The Littoral Combat Ship is a US programme which the UK has no involvement in, so no discussions with industry have taken place.

The nearest Royal Navy equivalent, in terms of breadth of capability, would be the Type 26 Global Combat Ship programme, which offers a multi-role platform able to operate in both littoral and open ocean environments. This programme is currently in its Assessment Phase, and the main investment decision is expected to be made around the middle of the decade, when we expect to take the design forward to manufacture.

Home Department

Antisocial Behaviour: Greater Manchester

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of anti-social behaviour by people in Manchester have been reported in each year since 1997. [170226]

Norman Baker: The number of antisocial behaviour incidents recorded by Greater Manchester police between 2007-08 and 2012-13 (the period for which data arecurrently available) can be viewed in the table. These data were published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 18 July 2013 in their police force area data tables. There are no data held centrally prior to 2007-08.

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Asylum

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 9 February 2011, Official Report, column 335W, on asylum, how many immigrants claimed asylum following detection and being served papers as immigration offenders in each year for which figures are available; how many of those were granted asylum; how many of those were refused permission to remain in the UK and asked to leave the UK; and how many left the UK in each year. [164789]

Mr Harper: In answering this question we have interpreted illegal immigrants as individuals who have been served papers as immigration offenders, prior to claiming asylum.

The information requested is shown in the following table:

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been made against the Commercial and Operational Managers Procuring Asylum Support Services project to date, under each of its key performance criteria areas and in each region in which it operates. [167095]

Mr Harper: The Home Office does not hold the information centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.

Asylum: Finance

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the ability of households in receipt of support under section 4 of the Asylum Act 1999 to access a landline telephone. [170489]

Mr Harper: The accommodation provided to failed asylum seekers under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is not equipped with landline telephones.

Capita

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by which criteria payments to Capita are performance-related for her Department's procurement contracts. [170578]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 14 October 2013]: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Detainees: Overseas Students

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals

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detained under immigration powers, in each quarter since January 2009 entered the UK through Tier 4 of the Points Based System. [154071]

Mr Harper: The data held on the number of foreign nationals detained under immigration powers who entered the UK through Tier 4, are not held in a format which would enable us to easily collate and report. To obtain these data would involve the examination of individual records, at a disproportionate cost.

Driving under Influence: Drugs

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of (a) purchasing and (b) deploying the Home Office-approved handheld device for use at a police station to enforce the law relating to drug driving is. [169961]

Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold this information. Once manufactured and type approved, decisions on the purchase and deployment of station-based devices is an operational decision for chief officers, in consultation with drug testing device manufacturers, as they will know what best meets their individual force needs.

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Entry Clearances

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average it has taken the UK Border Agency to process visa applications in each of the last five years. [168899]

Mr Harper: We currently split our customer service standards into two categories, 'settlement' and 'non-settlement'.

The 'settlement' category includes applications:

to enter the UK to join or accompany a spouse or civil partner; and

from children to enter the UK to join or accompany a parent that is settled in the UK.

The ‘non-settlement’ category includes applications to enter the UK:

as a visitor (including as a tourist, to visit family, to conduct business, as a short-term student);

as a highly skilled migrant under PBS Tier 1;

a skilled worker under PBS Tier 2;

a student under PBS Tier 4;

a temporary worker under PBS Tier 5 (including Youth Mobility); and

in all other non-settlement categories (including EEA Family Permits, UK Ancestry, Returning Residents, Transit).

The average processing times for these two categories of applications for the last five years are:

We have service standards for processing UK visa applications. Our standards say that we will process:

90% of non-settlement applications within three weeks, 98% within six weeks and 100% within 12 weeks of the application date; and

95% of settlement applications within 12 weeks of the application date and 100% within 24 weeks of the application date.

We define one week as five working days. The figures for average processing times are given in working days. The processing time starts when the biometric data is given by the applicant, and ends when a decision has been made and is ready for collection by the applicant or has been dispatched to the applicant.

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to reduce the cost of a UK visa to bring it into line with the cost of a Schengen visa. [169029]

Mr Harper: We review the cost of UK visas annually and set fees that strike a balance between the cost of processing an application, the importance of attracting certain groups of migrants to the UK in line with wider Government objectives, and the value of a successful application to the migrant.

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Liverpool and (c) England have been granted work permits since May 2010. [170510]

Mr Harper [holding answer 14 October 2013]: We do not hold statistical information broken down by constituency.

Tier 2 of the points-based system replaced the work permit arrangements for non-EEA migrants in November 2008.

The Home Office publishes immigration statistics quarterly including statistics for Tier 2 of the points-based system. You can find these at the following website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/user-guide-to-home-office-immigration-statistics--9

Since 2008, we have issued work permits to UK-based employers who require them to employ Bulgarian and Romanian workers only.

Entry Clearances: Married People

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what developments there have been on the proposal to introduce the minimum

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income requirement for UK residents with non-EU spouses since the postponement of its implementation. [168563]

Mr Harper: A minimum income threshold for sponsoring a spouse or partner and dependent children of non-European Economic Area nationality to settle in the UK under the family Immigration Rules was announced on 11 June 2012 and implemented, as planned, on 9 July 2012. Since 5 July 2013 High Court judgment in MM and Others, against which the Home Office is appealing, applications have been put on hold where grounds relating to the income threshold would be the sole basis for refusal. They will remain on hold until the legal challenge has been finally determined by the courts.

Firearms: Seized Articles

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal firearms were seized upon arrival in the UK in each of the last three years. [166334]

Mr Harper: In 2012-13, 462 illegal firearms were seized. This figure does not include imitation firearms seized.

The mis-recording of some firearms as offensive weapons in 2010-11 and 2011-12 means data for this time period are not of sufficient quality to be reliable, therefore this has not been provided.

Data caveats:

The figures quoted are management information which are subject to internal quality checks and may be subject to change.

Hillsborough Independent Panel

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish the list held by her Department of individuals and organisations that failed to comply with information requests by the Hillsborough Independent Panel; and what steps is she is taking to ensure all information requested by (a) the IPCC and (b) the Jon Stoddart investigations, is released. [170088]

Damian Green [holding answer 10 October 2013]: The Hillsborough Independent Panel was independent of Government. Its report, published on 12 September 2012, made clear that two organisations failed to comply with requests for information by the Hillsborough Independent Panel and the details of these organisations are set out in Appendix 2 of the Panel's report. All Government material was made available to the Panel in full and unredacted form. I know that Bishop James Jones would be happy to meet the hon. Member to discuss this issue in more detail and I would hope that the hon. Member will take up that invitation.

I am satisfied that the Independent Police Complaints Commission and Operation Resolve (Jon Stoddart investigation) have sufficient powers at their disposal to access any relevant information which is related to the Hillsborough disaster.

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assurances she has received on whether all evidence presented to the Independent

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Police Complaints Commission from

(a)

South Yorkshire Police and

(b)

Norman Bettison relating to the Hillsborough disaster is complete. [170395]

Damian Green [holding answer 14 October 2013]: We currently believe that the evidence provided by South Yorkshire police and Norman Bettison has been given in good faith and therefore represents all the evidence that has been found so far. South Yorkshire police is under an ongoing duty to continue its searches and alert the Independent Police Complaints Commission to any further material found.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the ceremonial uniform worn by HM chief inspector of constabulary; and if she will make a statement. [170251]

Damian Green [holding answer 14 October 2013]: HM chief inspector of constabulary Tom Winsor's uniform has incurred no costs to the public purse.

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received on HM chief inspector of constabulary's decision to wear ceremonial uniform at public engagements; and if she will make a statement. [170321]

Damian Green [holding answer 10 October 2013]: The post of HM chief inspector of constabulary has a ceremonial uniform associated with the appointment. This is not a police uniform. It is for the chief inspector to decide the public engagements at which he wears the uniform to which he is entitled.

Immigration

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests to exercise her discretion in granting leave to remain on compassionate grounds she has received since May 2010; and how many individuals have been granted exceptional leave to remain as a result. [170227]

Mr Harper: 48,511 applications for leave to remain outside the rules on compassionate grounds were received between 1 May 2010 and 30 September 2013, of which 15,692 have been granted leave to remain on that basis. Exceptional leave to remain was abolished on 1 April 2003.

Immigration: Appeals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list the five countries whose citizens have the highest allowed appeals rate with the percentage of allowed appeals for each country; and if she will break down that percentage by gender of the applicant. [168164]

Mr Harper [holding answer 9 September 2013]: The requested figures are shown in the following tables:

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In addition, the following tables provide the highest volume nationalities and their respective allowed rates for the same period.

Immigration: Public Consultation

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many responses her Department's recent consultation on health care for migrants received; and how many such responses were from practitioners and managers in the NHS or related bodies. [168955]

Mr Harper: The Home Office has recently concluded a public consultation on measures to better regulate migrant access to the NHS and is now considering carefully the responses received. A consultation report, which will be published shortly, will include statistical information on the profile of respondents, including the total number of responses received and the number of responses from the health sector.

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Fraudulent Marriage

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of suspicious marriages taking place she received under Section 24 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 to date. [167016]

Mr Harper [holding answer 2 September 2013]: Section 24 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 places a duty on registrars to notify the Home Office if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that a marriage is one of convenience. Submission of a Section 24 report does not indicate that an offence has been committed; rather it reflects the suspicions of the Registrar. The following table shows the number of Section 24 reports received in each of the last three full years for which we have data.

Members: Correspondence

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to the letters sent to her on 19 July, 9 August, 29 August and 9 September 2013 by the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling regarding the care of Ms Rene Chung. [169650]

Mr Harper [holding answer 9 September 2013]: The Secretary of State for the Home Department wrote to the right hon. Member on 18 September 2013.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 2 September 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr I Abu. [170629]

Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 8 October 2013.

Narendra Modi

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to reinstate the ban on Gujarat's Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, entering the UK. [169730]

Mr Harper: It is the general policy of the Home Office not to disclose, to a third party personal information about another person's immigration status unless there is a substantial public interest in doing so. This is because the Home Office has obligations in law to protect this information. Any visa application from Mr Modi would be considered in accordance with the Immigration Rules.

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Offences against Children

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if she will place in the Library her Department's full Independent Review of all information received by her Department about organised child sex abuse from 1979 to 1999; and if she will make a statement; [167861]

(2) if she will place in the Library all internal (a) emails and (b) correspondence sent and received from (i) her, (ii) her private office and (iii) the permanent secretary concerning her Department's independent review of all Home Office files received about organised child sex abuse from 1979 to 1999. [167977]

Damian Green [holding answer 6 September 2013]:Through the publication of the terms of reference and the executive summaries of both the interim and final report the permanent secretary of the Home Office has made available all the relevant findings and recommendations from this review.

The permanent secretary has accepted all the recommendations from the independent reviewer and the Department has implemented all of them.

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the (a) number of false accusations of child sex offences made each year and (b) amount of police time consequently not spent pursuing genuine cases. [169974]

Damian Green: The Home Office police recorded crime data do not record this information.

Passports: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport applications were made by residents in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in respect of people (a) under the age of 16 years and (b) over the age of 16 years in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [166872]

Mr Harper [holding answer 2 September 2013]: Her Majesty's Passport Office issued 32,324 passports in the period 2008 to 2012 to applicants whose delivery address postcode matched the postcodes for the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. The breakdown is in the following table:

Police

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of the Association of Chief Police Officers are (a) subject to misconduct inquiries and (b) on long-term sick leave. [169757]

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Damian Green: The Home Office does not collect data on the number of members of the Association of Chief Police Officers subject to misconduct inquiries.

There were no members of the Association of Chief Police Officers on long-term certified sickness absence as at 31 March 2013 (most recent data).

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there are in each of the 43 forces as of 1 September 2013; and how many such officers (a) have been arrested in their career, (b) are currently subject to misconduct inquiries and (c) are on long-term sick leave. [169758]

Damian Green: Data on the number of police officers in each of the 43 police force areas, as at 31 March 2013 (most recent data), are provided in the table.

The Home Office does not collect data on the number of officers who have been arrested during their career or those that are currently subject to misconduct inquiries.

The table also includes data on the number of police officers on long-term certified sickness absence by police force area, as at 31 March 2013 (most recent data).

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the total cost of mutual aid provided to the Police Service of Northern Ireland by (a) her Department and (b) other police forces for the policing of the G8 Summit in June 2013. [170093]

Damian Green [holding answer 10 October 2013]: The Home Office has not yet received deployment claims from all forces in England and Wales that provided mutual aid for the 2013 G8 summit. However, we estimate these will total approximately £9.7 million. Costs relating to the training of English and Welsh police officers in advance of this deployment total £2.9 million.

Mutual aid costs for the 2013 G8 summit relating to Police Scotland, the British Transport Police and the Ministry of Defence Police are not held by the Department.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with (a) ACPO and (b) police and crime

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commissioners on ongoing mutual aid to the Police Service of Northern Ireland by other police forces. [170094]

Damian Green [holding answer 10 October 2013]: The Home Office, with the support of the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Office and Scottish Government have initiated a review of mutual aid arrangements across the UK including to Northern Ireland. Key stakeholders including police and crime commissioners and chief officers are being consulted.

Police: Dismissal

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made on the implementation of the register of dismissed police officers; and when such a register will be published. [170332]

Damian Green [holding answer 10 October 2013]: The College of Policing is leading work on the development of a national register of officers struck off from the police. This includes considering exactly what form a register should take and how best to publish it. We will provide more information about the timing of publication for the register later this year.

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were made redundant from non-departmental public bodies accountable to her Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many redundancy payments were made in lieu of notice. [170353]

James Brokenshire: Home Office non-departmental public bodies have made 290 staff redundant in the last three years, of which 168 received payments in lieu of notice. The number of staff broken down by year is as follows:

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in her Department were made redundant in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many such staff received payments in lieu of notice. [170371]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has made 56 staff compulsorily redundant in the last three years, of these 14 were paid compensation in lieu of notice. The number of staff broken down by year is as follows:

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Suicide: Wrexham

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of suicide have occurred in Wrexham in the last five years for which records are available. [171016]

Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

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

Letter from Caron Walker, dated October 2013:

In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of suicide have occurred in Wrexham in the last five years for which records are available. [171016]

Table 1 provides the number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, for people aged 15 and over, in Wrexham Unitary Authority, for deaths registered between 2008 and 2012 (the latest year available).

The Office for National Statistics routinely report suicide statistics based on when a death was registered, rather than when it occurred. As suicides are certified by a coroner following an inquest, there can be a considerable delay between when a death is registered and when it occurred.

Figures for suicides in the United Kingdom, England, Wales and regions of England are published annually on the ONS website and are available from 1981 onwards. The latest statistical bulletin also includes analysis of the impact of registration delays on UK suicide statistics:

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health4/suicides-in-the-united-kingdom/index.html

Xiu Xing Wang

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Xiu Xing Wang, Home Office reference W1089389 will expect to receive consideration of his submissions of 8 April 2011 and 1 October 2012. [167774]

Mr Harper: I wrote to the hon. Member on 17 September 2013 about this case.

Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if she will ensure that any reports into allegations of sexual assault at Yarl's

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Wood immigration removal centre that have previously been or will in the future be produced by Serco are made available to the public; [170514]

(2) if her Department will investigate allegations of sexual assault at Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre; [170515]

(3) what procedures are in place to (a) ensure women detained for immigration purposes are protected from sexual assault and harassment and (b) facilitate immigration detainees to report incidences of sexual assault and harassment on the immigration detention estate; [170516]

(4) what assessment she has made of the suitability of detaining women for immigration purposes following the allegations of sexual assault at Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre. [170517]

Mr Harper: Detention plays a key role in the maintenance of an effective immigration control. We are committed to ensuring that ail detained persons are held safely and that they are treated with dignity and respect. This applies equally to women and men. The allegations relating to Yarl's Wood do not alter that position.

Bedfordshire police are investigating the allegations that have been made and Home Office Immigration Enforcement is offering full assistance to that investigation. Detainee custody officers working in immigration removal centres (IRC) undergo thorough security checks and complete extensive training before they are certificated to work with detainees. There are strict rules governing interaction with detainees. Any member of staff who contravenes any of the rules governing interaction, whether inside or outside centres, will face disciplinary action, which may lead to dismissal. The use of CCTV cameras in the majority of public areas in IRCs and in all vans used for escorting detainees provides an additional safeguard.

A formal complaints system operates in all IRCs and all detainees are advised how to complain. Detainees may complain in confidence to members of the Independent Monitoring Board appointed at each centre. In addition, detainees have access to mobile phones and the internet and are therefore able to contact the police direct to report an allegation of sexual assault or harassment.

All serious misconduct allegations are passed by the Professional Standards Unit of the Home Office to the appropriate authorities, such as the police or other oversight bodies, where appropriate. The police will take forward their own investigations separately to but in parallel with Home Office internal inquiries. Detainees who are not satisfied with the way in which their complaint has been handled may ask for it to be reviewed by the independent prisons and probation ombudsman.

Reports relating to allegations made by individuals contain personal information and are not published in order to comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Scotland

Dover House

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland with reference to the answer of 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 774W, on Dover House, when he expects the costs to be reported in the Cabinet Office annual accounts. [170964]

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Mr Alistair Carmichael: The Cabinet Office's annual accounts are laid before Parliament before the summer recess immediately following the end of the year to which they relate.

Performance Appraisal

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13. [170462]

Mr Alistair Carmichael: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff that join the Office do so on an assignment, secondment or loan agreement from other Government bodies, but principally from the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice.

The Scotland Office is not responsible for end of year performance payments and does not hold information centrally on these matters.

Attorney-General

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Attorney-General with reference to the recent decision by the Dutch Supreme Court to hold the Dutch Government to account for the actions of its peacekeepers at Srebrenica, what assessment he has made of the implications of that decision for the participation of members of HM Forces deployed in support of UN missions. [170765]

The Solicitor-General: By long-standing convention, observed by successive administrations and embodied in the Ministerial Code, the fact that the Law Officers may or may not have advised or have been requested to advise on a particular issue, and the content of any advice, is not disclosed outside Government.

Courts: Clothing

Mr Hollobone: To ask the Attorney-General what the policy of the Crown Prosecution Service is on the wearing of face coverings in court by (a) defendants, (b) counsel, (c) judges and (d) jurors. [170891]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service has no policy in this area. Decisions as to whether or not face coverings should be worn in court are matters for magistrates or judges who are in the best position to regulate proceedings in their own court. Detailed guidance is set out in Chapter 3 of The Equal Treatment Bench Book (2007) issued by the Judicial Studies Board.

Performance Appraisal

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by the Law Officers' Departments received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13. [170472]

The Solicitor-General: In 2012-13, 21.8% of all SFO staff received 'outstanding' in their performance rating, 76.7% received 'effective' and 1.5% received either 'improvement required' or 'unsatisfactory'. The SFO is

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a small organisation, and to preserve staff confidentiality the proportion of disabled staff receiving each level has not been provided.

TSol, AGO and HMCPSI staff are measured against four levels of assessment:

A—Highly Successful

B—Successful

C—Improvement Needed

D—Poor Performance

Of those staff who have declared themselves as disabled, 23.4% received a performance rating of ‘A’ in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13. 60% received a rating of ‘B’, 8.5% received a rating of ‘C’ and 0% received a ‘D’ rating. Final ratings have yet to be received for 8.1% of those who have declared themselves as disabled.

The comparative figures for other staff are 29% received a rating of ‘A’, 64% received a rating of ‘B’ 1% received a rating of ‘C’ and 0.1% received a rating of ‘D’. Final ratings have yet to be received by 5.9% of these staff.

The performance assessment ratings achieved in 2012/13 by (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by the Crown Prosecution Service are shown in the following table.

Unfortunately, data relating to disabled and all other staff are not fully available centrally and to collate a more complete data set would be at disproportionate cost. These issues are now resolved on the upgraded 2013-14 system which means all staff will have a performance and development rating in the future.

Social Services

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General with what proportion of local government social services departments the Crown Prosecution Service has protocol agreements for the disclosure of third-party evidence. [170387]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not keep central records as to the number of local protocols it has in place with local authority social service departments over the disclosure of third party material.

On a national level, however, the CPS is taking forward work to update and refresh the third party protocol signed in 2003 on the exchange of information in the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases. This is due to be published shortly.

Witnesses

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General (1) what proportion of prosecution witnesses attended court (a) one time and (b) at all in each year since 2007; [170388]

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(2) what proportion of prosecution witnesses in each Crown Prosecution Service area attended court (a) on time and (b) at all in each year since 2007. [170389]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain data which shows the number of witnesses who attended court on time or on only one occasion. This information could only be obtained by examining all of the files prosecuted by the CPS for contested proceedings, which would incur disproportionate cost.

The CPS does collect some limited data showing the number of prosecution witnesses who were required to, and attended court, in proceedings where a not guilty plea has been recorded on the case record held in the CPS Case Management System. In each year since 2007 to present the number and proportion of witnesses recorded as attending nationally are:

Similar data, prepared for the 13 areas of the CPS, are contained in a table which has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Culture, Media and Sport

Broadcasting: Internet

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding her

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Department makes available for community internet television broadcasting. [170242]

Mr Vaizey: DCMS does not provide any funding for community internet television broadcasting.

Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if, following the last State Opening of Parliament where the flagpoles of Parliament Square stood empty as Her Majesty passed, her Department will liaise with the Earl Marshal and Palace of Westminster authorities to ensure that this does not occur in the future. [170793]

Mrs Grant: The ceremonial arrangements for the State Opening of Parliament are a matter for the Palace of Westminster and the Earl Marshal. It would be for both the Palace of Westminster and the Earl Marshal to make a recommendation to this Department to have flags flown in Parliament Square for the State Opening of Parliament.

Performance Appraisal

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by her Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13. [170468]

Mrs Grant: The following table sets out the percentage of employees, within each performance category, who have declared a disability, and the percentage of all other staff in each performance category for the 2012-13 reporting year. The percentage of all other staff includes staff who have either explicitly declared that they do not have a disability, have chosen the ‘prefer not to say’ option, or have not responded to the question at all.

Tourism: India

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to encourage tourism from India to the UK. [170733]

Mrs Grant: Through VisitBritain, we have created the UK's biggest ever international tourism campaign, the GREAT campaign, to take advantage of Britain's increased international profile following the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Government have committed £30 million to continue the campaign in 2013-14 of which £2.7 million will be specifically targeted at encouraging tourism from India.

World War II: Medals

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to ensure that women who worked in munitions factories in World War Two receive official individual recognition. [170106]

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as this falls into my area of responsibility.

The Government fully appreciate the valiant efforts of all men and women who worked in factories producing vital equipment for the armed forces. Their work made a real contribution to winning the second world war.

BIS has looked in detail at the possibility of formal recognition of the enormous contribution made by those who manufactured munitions during the War. It was concluded that, given the lack of records and the consequent difficulties in verifying any entitlement, it would not be practical to find a way to recognise the

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contributions of individual workers, but we continue to discuss with the All Party Parliamentary Group what could be done to mark their contribution collectively.