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Housing Benefit: Wales

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received from local authorities in Wales about the effect of welfare reform on housing. [171826]

Steve Webb: The Department has received and responded to a number of representations from local authorities in Wales. Also, the Welsh Local Government Association is a member of the Local Authority Association Steering Group that regularly discusses a range of issues with the Department, including welfare reform.

Mobile Phones

Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many smartphone apps his Department has launched. [171601]

Mike Penning: The Department for Work and Pensions did have one smartphone app; however, this is no longer in operation as it was superseded by the introduction of Universal Jobmatch, which is a job search facility now available on:

www.gov.uk

New Enterprise Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to monitor the sustainment of self-employed businesses established with support from the new enterprise allowance; and if he will make a statement. [171774]

Esther McVey: The Department does not track the sustainment of businesses established with the support of the new enterprise allowance. However, as an indication of sustainment, the Department has produced analysis showing that 78% of people who started drawing the new enterprise allowance remained off benefit continuously for 12 months.

Source:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225167/NEA_benefit_status_ad-hoc_v3.pdf

Personal Independence Payment

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to allocate specific weighting in the assessment for the daily living component of the personal independence payment where a person with mental health problems needs monitoring at night rather than help managing a specific activity. [171535]

Mike Penning: There is no intention to change the PIP assessment to allocate specific weighting for monitoring a person with mental health problems at night.

Although PIP activities are not subdivided into daytime and night-time periods, relevant activities already contain descriptors relating to supervision and claimants with mental health conditions who might otherwise require night-time supervision would be considered in the relevant activity areas.

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Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Mr David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with trade unions on the transferring of benefit fraud officers from local authorities to the new single fraud investigation service. [171667]

Esther McVey: No decision has been made on the transfer of benefit fraud officers into DWP but the possibility of staff transferring has been raised with DWP's departmental trade union. We are in regular communication with the local government bodies.

Mr David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of staff who will be transferred from local authorities to his Department when the single fraud investigation service is established. [171779]

Esther McVey: At the current time the establishment of a single fraud service within DWP is a recommendation and we are now working closely with HR and legal colleagues to establish the full staffing impacts. The single fraud investigation service business case includes an assumption on potential transfers if transfer of undertakings (protection of employment) regulations (TUPE) were deemed to apply. This volume was simply an assumption and should not be seen as a target or limit. If we proceed on the basis that TUPE will apply, the actual numbers in scope for transfer would become clearer when formal discussions with each individual local authority begin.

Mr David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the establishment of the single fraud investigation service on the ability of local authorities to investigate benefit fraud. [171787]

Esther McVey: The establishment of a single fraud service within DWP is currently a recommendation. Throughout the piloting phase we have been working closely with local authorities and their governing bodies to understand how best this can be achieved, without impacting on the local authorities' ability to tackle fraud in their area.

Mr David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what evaluation he has made of the pilot programmes of the benefit of transferring staff from local authorities to the single fraud investigation service. [171820]

Esther McVey: Four single fraud investigation service pilots went live at the beginning of this year and a fifth commenced in April. These pilots have helped to inform not only the model for the proposed future organisation but also processes and procedures.

Social Security Benefits: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of people in receipt of benefits in the (a) Metropolitan Borough of Tameside and (b) Metropolitan Borough of Stockport who have been affected following the introduction of the benefit cap. [171227]

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Esther McVey: Official statistics on how many households in each local authority have had their benefits reduced since the introduction of the benefit cap are not currently available.

The release of local data will be dependent on reviewing the data quality closer to the release date but it is anticipated that regional and local authority level data will be published on 5 December.

Estimates of the number of households that might be affected by the benefit cap, by local authority have previously been placed in the House of Commons Library. They can be found at:

http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2013-0676/Local_Authority_breakdown_of_those_affected_by_the_ benefit_cap_final.doc

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to collect information by (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area on the number of claimants who have been allocated a prognosis of being unable to work for two years or more. [171481]

Mike Penning: The Department does hold information on outcomes of initial functional assessments for ESA new claims, broken down by prognosis and month of result date, for the work related activity group. A breakdown by local authority is possible although the numbers would be relatively small. This information is not readily available at parliamentary constituency level and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Telephone Services

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will carry out an equality impact assessment on the effects of the use of 0845 numbers within his Department. [171640]

Esther McVey: The Department fully considers the needs of claimants and the likely effects of its policies and processes before decisions are taken and implemented. With regards to 0845 telephone numbers, we will offer to call a customer back, if asked, or if concerns are raised over the cost of the call. The Department also provides access to telephones for customer use, on request and at the Department's expense, in a large number of Jobcentre Plus offices where customers needing assistance can progress a benefit enquiry or pursue job applications. Where appropriate, the Department also encourages its customers to use online facilities as an alternative to calling its services.

Universal Credit

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the number of people of pensionable age with a partner under pensionable age who will be eligible to pay the under- occupancy supplement on the introduction of universal credit. [171173]

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Esther McVey: Couples where one member is under the qualifying age for pension credit, and who are in receipt of pension credit prior to the transition to universal credit, will not be affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy.

Work Experience: Industrial Health and Safety

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with which individuals and bodies his Department consulted prior to the publication of the statement “Ministers to end work experience health and safety confusion” on the gov.uk website on 21 June 2013. [171606]

Mike Penning: The statement issued on 21 June announced the publication of revised guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on managing health and safety for young workers, including those on work experience.

This guidance was published following consultation with a range of education sector stakeholders, including the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), the Association of Colleges (AOC), the Association of Education and Learning Providers (AELP), Ofsted, and college consortiums.

It was also tested with a range of employer representative groups, including the CBI, the Engineering Employers Federation, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Forum for Private Business, the Institute of Directors, the British Chambers of Commerce and sectoral trade bodies. The BIS/Cabinet Office Red Tape Challenge team and HM Treasury also participated in this work.

The statement was agreed jointly between HSE, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. It supported the Government's wider commitment to ensuring more and better-quality work placements in response to the Wolf Report on vocational education reform.

Treasury

Bank Services

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to consumers of establishing minimum standards for basic bank accounts. [171336]

Sajid Javid: The Government are committed to improving access to financial services for individuals.

The Government noted the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards recommendation that the major banks should come to a voluntary agreement on minimum standards for basic bank accounts.

The Government are taking forward discussions with the banking sector and will provide further detail in due course.

Buildings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many square metres of office space his Department (a) owns and (b) rents in London; and what the value is of that property. [169428]

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Nicky Morgan: HM Treasury, together with three other Government Departments, occupies 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1, which is leased under a PFI arrangement. HM Treasury occupies a net internal area of approximately 6,690.3 square metres. The net book value can be found in Note 11 to the Resource Accounts within HM Treasury's Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13.

Mr Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the expenditure on office refurbishment by (a) his Department and (b) his Department's non-departmental public bodies in each year since 2010-11. [169454]

Nicky Morgan: Office refurbishment expenditure by the Treasury over the last three years has focused on supporting increased occupancy of 1 Horse Guards Road. There has been no refurbishment expenditure by the Department's non-departmental public body.

Mr Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the number of office relocations made by staff of (a) his Department and (b) his Department's non-departmental public bodies (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 his Department in that period have been used by his Department's staff for less than four years before a further move. [169468]

Nicky Morgan: The information required is captured for the whole of 1 Horse Guards Road building, and costs are not attributed to individual Government Departments occupying the building.

Financial Services: Pay

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the cost to the public purse of the legal challenge brought by his Department against the proposal to limit bonuses paid to those in the financial sector; which legal firms have been engaged in respect of this case; what their daily rate is for (a) solicitors and (b) barristers; and if he will make a weekly report to Parliament on the ongoing costs of this case. [170638]

Sajid Javid: The Government launched a legal challenge to the bonus cap and related provisions in the EU capital requirements directive 4, and capital requirements regulation in September 2013. Costs are expected to be in line with the information presented in the House of Commons EU Scrutiny Committee report (HC671) “Subsidiarity—monitoring by national parliaments: challenging a measure before the EU Court of Justice”, in September 2013.

Income Tax

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward legislative proposals to exempt people subject to transitional arrangements between incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance from income tax due on such payments. [171612]

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Mr Gauke: The Government currently have no plans to introduce a tax exemption for individuals on transitional arrangements between incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance.

As with all aspects of the tax system, the Government keep the taxation of benefits under review, and any decisions on changes will be taken as part of the annual Budget process in the context of the wider public finances.

Infrastructure

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the 30 public private partnership infrastructure projects have received their funding under the UK Guarantees temporary lending programme. [171780]

Danny Alexander: Following the announcement of the temporary lending programme long-term debt sources for well-structured PPP infrastructure projects have begun to re-emerge.

The announcement by the Government signalled their willingness to see PPP projects go ahead using departmental capital budgets if necessary. This policy reassured the market that the Government were willing to act. A significant number of PPP projects reached financial close, including 12 PFI projects, without the need for Government lending.

Peel Holdings

Mr Denham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what grants and loans have been made by his Department and the bodies for which it is responsible to projects in which Peel Holdings is a significant beneficiary in each of the last five years. [170991]

Mr Gauke: No grants or loans have been made directly by the Treasury to projects in which Peel Holdings is a significant beneficiary.

Personal Injury: Insurance

Mr Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the Financial Conduct Authority has made of the (a) selling of personal accident insurance policies and (b) the charging of fees by employment agencies to temporary workers. [171306]

Sajid Javid: The Financial Conduct Authority will respond separately to the question from the hon. Member.

Premium Bonds

Damian Hinds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2012, Official Report, column 511W, on premium bonds, what assessment he has made of premium bond purchase patterns and the extent to which they are used as a vehicle for regular savings. [171323]

Sajid Javid: In 2012-13 NS&I sold £6.6 billion worth of premium bonds. NS&I offer a vehicle for regular premium bond savings in the form of a monthly standing order facility, with a minimum purchase value of £50. There are currently around 132,000 transactions of this type a month, with an average value of £137. This accounts for around 3.3% of the value and 20.0% of the volume of monthly premium bond sale transactions.

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Personal Injury: Insurance

Mr Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken against employment agencies selling personal accident insurance policies to employees paid at or near the national minimum wage since May 2010. [171307]

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

The selling of personal accident insurance policies is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority.

The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 prohibit employment agencies and employment businesses from making work-finding services to temporary workers conditional upon the purchase of additional services. The Conduct Regulations also provide that temporary workers can withdraw from additional services. The Pay and Work Rights Helpline (0800 917 2368) is the first point of contact for complaints about breaches of the Conduct Regulations.

The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) has investigated complaints relating to personal accident insurance policies being sold to temporary workers and sought remedial action as appropriate. EAS would consider prosecuting the agency or employment business if they continued to breach the regulations that apply; however, no such case has arisen to date.

Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register

Bob Stewart: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on the use of languages other than English on electoral registration forms. [171319]

Greg Clark: Electoral administrators in Wales are required to provide registration services in Welsh on an equal basis to English. Other than this, there is no requirement on local authorities to provide registration forms in other languages. However, electoral registration officers are required to maintain a complete register of all eligible electors, including non-English speakers, and are encouraged to assist electors to register where possible. Each local authority will use its discretion in allocating resources according to the needs of their area; the Government do not plan to change this policy.

Mr McKenzie: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps his Department is taking to encourage greater electoral register enrolment. [171321]

Greg Clark: The Government will use data-matching to confirm the majority of electors on the register and ensure they are automatically enrolled during the transition to individual electoral registration. Trialling of this approach through the confirmation dry run yielded better than anticipated results, highlighting that using a combination of national and local data could lead to an overall average match rate of 85%. In addition, the Government are making registration simpler by enabling online registration, and in June we announced £4.2 million-worth of measures to maximise voter registration ahead of the transition to individual electoral registration.

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Cabinet Office

Average Earnings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what was the median gross weekly earnings for employees in each constituency between April 2006 and the latest year for which data are available. [171810]

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

Letter from Joe Grice, 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 Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what was the median gross weekly earnings for employees in each constituency between April 2006 and the latest year for which data is available. (171810).

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Weekly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence.

The tables show estimates of median gross weekly earnings in each UK parliamentary constituency from 2006 to 2012, the latest period for which results are available. Figures are provided separately for all employees and full-time employees. A copy of the tables has been placed in the Library of the House.

Computers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the level of computer ownership among (a) the general population and (b) the unemployed. [171768]

Mr Hurd: 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 to ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the level of computer ownership among (a) the general population and (b) the unemployed (171768).

In 2011, the most recent year for which figures are available, 86 per cent of adults (aged 16 and over) in the UK lived in households which had a computer. 90 per cent of households where the oldest member was under 65 owned a computer. This equates to 93 per cent of adults in these households with a computer. By comparison, in the same year, 88 per cent of unemployed people in the UK lived in households with a computer.

These estimates are produced from the UK's EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data, which are based on General Lifestyle Survey, an annual survey of approximately 8,000 households.

These estimates, as with any involving sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the number of people in part-time work who are seeking full-time employment in each parliamentary constituency. [171812]

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Mr Hurd: 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 (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for the number of people in part-time work who are seeking full-time employment in each parliamentary constituency. (171812)

Employment statistics for local areas are calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Unfortunately, due to small sample sizes, the requested estimates are not available for parliamentary constituencies.

While not available for parliamentary constituencies, information is available for the UK in Table 3 of the latest Labour Market Statistical Bulletin at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/october-2013/statistical-bulletin.html

and for each of the regions and countries of Great Britain in Table 3 of each region's Headline Indicators reference tables in the latest Regional Labour Market Statistical Bulletin at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-labour/regional-labour-market-statistics/october-2013/stb-regional-labour-market-october2013.html

National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:

http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Part-time Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many part time workers are working less than 24 hours a week in each parliamentary constituency in the UK. [171765]

Mr Hurd: 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 Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many part time workers are working less than 24 hours a week in each parliamentary constituency in the UK. (171765).

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of information on hours and earnings in the United Kingdom. The ASHE is used to produce estimates in respect of employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. It is not possible to estimate the number of workers who work less than 24 hours per week, though it is possible to estimate the corresponding proportion of employee jobs.

The table shows estimates of the proportion of employee jobs in each parliamentary constituency in which the employee worked less than 24 hours in total. These figures relate to April 2012, the latest period for which results are available. A copy of the table has been placed in the Library of the House.

Pay

Mr Bain: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will estimate how many (a) men and (b) women in (i) full-time employment, (ii) part-time employment and (iii) self-employment in each parliamentary constituency earned less than the rate defined by the Living Wage Foundation as a living wage in (A) 2012 and (B) 2013 to date. [171543]

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Mr Hurd: 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 Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate how many (a) men and (b) women in (i) full-time employment, (ii) part-time employment and (iii) self-employment in each parliamentary constituency earned less than the rate defined by the Living Wage Foundation as a living wage in (A) 2012 and (B) 2013 to date. (171543).

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. The ASHE does not collect information about self-employed workers. Hourly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. It is not possible to estimate the number of people with earnings below specified thresholds, though it is possible to estimate the corresponding proportion of employee jobs.

In April 2012, the latest period for which results are available, the Living Wage rates suggested by the Living Wage Foundation were £8.30 for employees who worked in London and £7.20 for employees who did not work in London. The table shows estimates of the proportion of employee jobs with hourly earnings below the living wage proposed by the Living Wage foundation for each parliamentary constituency in the UK. A copy of the table will be placed in the Library of the House.

Perinatal Mortality

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish the mortality rates for (a) pre-term, (b) term and (c) infants by (i) local health authority and (ii) clinical commissioning group in each of the last 10 years. [171619]

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

Letter from Joe Grice, 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 if the Secretary of State for Health will publish mortality statistics for (a) pre-term, (b) term and (c) infants by (i) local health authority and (ii) clinical commissioning group in each of the last 10 years. [171619].

Table 1 provides the infant mortality rates for babies born pre-term and term by NHS area team and NHS regional team in England, and health boards in Wales for the years 2006 to 2011 (the only years available). Due to the small numbers and known quality issues sub-nationally figures have not been provided by clinical commissioning group. For further information see:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/child-health/quality-of-ethnicity-and-gestation-data-subnationally-for-births-and-infant-deaths-in-england-and-wales/2005-08/stb.html

Table 2 provides figures for infant mortality by clinical commissioning group, NHS area team and NHS regional team in England, and health boards in Wales for the same period (2006 to 2011).

These figures have been extracted from a dataset that links birth registration data to NHS birth notifications data and death registration data, which allows reporting of information about births and infant mortality by gestation. Therefore, these figures will not match other infant mortality rates published by ONS. Data are not available prior to 2006.

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A copy of the tables has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Figures for gestation-specific infant mortality in England and Wales are published annually on the ONS website at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/child-health/gestation-specific-infant-mortality-in-england-and-wales/index.html

Figures for infant mortality in England and Wales based solely on registration data are published annually on the ONS website at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/child-mortality-statistics-childhood-infant-and-perinatal/index.html

Business, Innovation and Skills

Apprentices

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships were

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started and not completed in the last 12 months by area of employment. [171160]

Matthew Hancock: For the 2012-13 academic year based on provisional data, of the 495,100 apprenticeship starts, 12,590 or 2.5% achieved within the same academic year. The vast majority of starts (482,500 or 97.5%) were not completed within 2012-13 as they are yet to complete or dropped out.

The following table shows the provisional number of apprenticeship starts in 2012-13. It shows, of those starts, the number and percentage that achieved within the same academic year, split by sector subject area.

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department (a) has commissioned and (b) is aware of into the financial implications for single-parent families of having children in apprenticeships rather than school or college. [171161]

Matthew Hancock: The Department has not commissioned and is not aware of any research looking into the financial implications for single-parent families of having children in apprenticeships rather than school or college.

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of apprentices receiving only the national minimum wage while doing an apprenticeship and (b) the ages of those apprentices. [171171]

Matthew Hancock: On 4 October the Government published the 2012 Apprenticeship pay survey. This found that the median rate of gross hourly pay received by apprentices in England was £6.09. By age group, median gross hourly pay was £3.00 for under 19-year-olds, £5.37 for 19 to 24-year-olds, and £7.15 for those aged 25 or more.

In terms of the proportion of people earning at or below the national minimum wage we do not have estimates for the number of apprentices earning at or below the national minimum wage.

The survey provides an estimate of 29% of respondents in England earning below the applicable national minimum wage rates based on their hours and pay. Those underpaid were more likely to be aged 24 or under (40%), and in their second or third year of apprenticeship (42% and 39% respectively).

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many invoices were processed by his Department in the last financial year which figures are available. [171194]

Jo Swinson: Departmental finance records show that 61,951 invoices were paid during financial year 2012-13. For information, 94.8% of these invoices were paid within five working days.

Copyright: Internet

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effect on illegal file-sharing of draft regulations introducing a private copying exception which includes cloud storage. [171858]

Jo Swinson: The Government's impact assessment on this exception, approved by the independent Regulatory Policy Committee, is available online:

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/consult-ia-bis1055.pdf

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The Government's policy, as set out in Modernising Copyright in December 2012, is to allow an individual to make personal copies only from copies, such as books music and films, which they already own. For example, it will allow an individual legally to copy a CD they had already bought, in order to listen to it on their iPod. Sharing of copies will not be allowed in any form, including online file-sharing. Illegal file-sharing will remain illegal, and no increase in illegal file-sharing is expected as a result of this policy.

By legalising private copying, which most consumers consider to be reasonable, the Government hope to encourage respect for the copyright system, supporting broader efforts to fight copyright piracy.

Credit: Interest Rates

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy to place restrictions on the advertising of payday loans. [171602]

Jo Swinson: This Government are concerned about the way in which payday lenders advertise and market their loans to consumers.

That is why BIS commissioned Ipsos MORI to undertake research into the impact of payday advertising on consumer behaviour. The findings of this research published on 3 October 2013 showed that consumers believe adverts are targeted at the most vulnerable.

The Government strongly welcome the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) consultation, published on 3 October 2013, which proposes specific restrictions on the content of payday lending adverts. These new measures will apply to all electronic communication from 1 April 2014 and to all adverts from 1 July 2014.

Under the FCA's proposals all high-cost short-term credit loan adverts will be required to carry a risk warning and a signpost to debt advice.

From April next year, the FCA will also be able to ban features of products and this includes the power to ban misleading financial promotions.

Employment Tribunals Service

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the risk of vexatious employment tribunal claims on the employment intentions of small businesses. [171339]

Jo Swinson: The Department has considered the issue of vexatious employment tribunal claims as part of the Resolving Workplace Disputes consultation published in 2011. As a result of this work, we have brought forward a number of measures designed to tackle weak or vexatious claims. This includes amendments to the deposit order regime to give employment judges greater flexibility when requiring parties to pay a deposit in order to proceed with weak elements of a case.

From 29 July this year, Government have introduced a requirement for claimants to pay a fee to bring an employment tribunal case. Fees will help claimants consider whether alternative forms of dispute resolution,

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such as the free conciliation service provided by ACAS, would be more appropriate for resolving their workplace disputes. Also, from April 2014, prospective claimants will need to contact ACAS and consider early conciliation before they are able to proceed to an employment tribunal. Both measures should help to discourage individuals from bringing weak or vexatious claims.

Higher Education: Admissions

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his answer of 10 July 2013, Official Report, column 335W, on higher education: admissions, if he will show those figures to one decimal place. [171116]

Mr Willetts: The figures given in the earlier answer are estimates from matched data. Records are matched from the Department for Education National Pupil Database, the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and the Skills Funding Agency Individualised Learner Record. Participation rates are always rounded to the nearest integer to allow for a small margin of error that arises as a result of the matching procedure deployed. Rounding to one decimal place may not be robust and could be misleading.

Further details of the data and matching process are available in Annex A and Annex D of the Widening Participation in Higher Education statistical release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/widening-participation-in-higher-education-2013

Higher Education: Student Numbers

Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answers of 14 October 2013, Official Report, columns 560-64W, on students, how many English-domiciled undergraduates were studying (a) full-time and (b) part-time at (i) English and (ii) UK higher education institutions in each year since 2001. [171544]

Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes information on students at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). Information on the number of full and part-time undergraduate enrolments is provided in the table.

Information for the 2012/13 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2014.

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Mobile Phones

Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many smartphone apps his Department has launched. [171585]

Jo Swinson: The Department has not launched any smartphone apps.

National Minimum Wage Enforcement Unit

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which (a) regulatory powers and (b) job titles have transferred from the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to the National Minimum Wage Enforcement Unit within HM Revenue and Customs. [171221]

Jo Swinson: No regulatory powers will be transferred to HM Revenue and Customs. The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate staff who will move will be enforcing the national minimum wage regulations in the recruitment sector.

An announcement on the future enforcement arrangements will be made when they have been finalised.

Personal Injury: Insurance

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the practice of employers automatically enrolling employees in personal accident insurance policies where the fee will be deducted from the employee's pay; whether he has made any assessment of the practice of employment agencies selling personal accident insurance to temporary workers; and if he will make a statement. [171314]

Jo Swinson: The practice of employers automatically enrolling employees in personal accident insurance policies is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not made an assessment of employment agencies selling such policies to temporary workers.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has investigated the selling of personal accident insurance policies by employment agencies to temporary workers, and the charging of fees to those workers, particularly where the workers are paid at or near the national minimum wage. [171315]

21 Oct 2013 : Column 46W

Jo Swinson: The selling of personal accident insurance policies is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority.

The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 prohibit employment agencies and employment businesses from making work-finding services to temporary workers conditional upon the purchase of additional services. The Conduct Regulations also provide that temporary workers can withdraw from additional services. The Pay and Work Rights Helpline (0800 917 2368) is the first point of contact for complaints about breaches of the Conduct Regulations.

The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) has investigated complaints relating to personal accident insurance policies being sold to temporary workers and sought remedial action as appropriate. EAS would consider prosecuting the agency or employment business if they continued to breach the regulations that apply; however, no such case has arisen to date.

Post Offices

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the viability of (a) the future of the post office network and (b) the future of Post Offices as community hubs in rural areas following the privatisation of parts of the Royal Mail. [171653]

Jo Swinson: Progress with Post Office Ltd's Network and Crown Transformation Programmes is strengthening the viability and sustainability of the post office network which is at its most stable size in over 20 years.

A long-term commercial and legally binding agreement between Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd ensures the continued supply of mails and parcels services through every branch of the post office network. This agreement is not affected by the privatisation of Royal Mail. Furthermore the Government are committed to maintaining a national network of at least 11,500 branches which is compliant with the access criteria set in 2007, which include a requirement that 95% of the rural population are within three miles of their nearest post office outlet.

Royal Mail

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from the Minister for Finance in the Northern Ireland Executive on the privatisation of Royal Mail. [171207]

Michael Fallon: I have not received any representation from the Minister of Finance in the Northern Ireland Executive regarding the sale of Royal Mail.

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment in the Northern Ireland Executive on the privatisation of Royal Mail. [171208]

Michael Fallon: I have not received any representation from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment in the Northern Ireland Executive regarding the sale of Royal Mail.

21 Oct 2013 : Column 47W

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many expressions of interest were made in the share offer for the sale of Royal Mail, by constituency. [171283]

Michael Fallon: The Government do not hold this information.

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which firms were instructed to perform valuations of the Royal Mail property portfolio prior to its privatisation; and whether a competitive bidding process preceded their appointment. [171713]

Michael Fallon: BNP Paribas Real Estate carry out a valuation of a sample of the Royal Mail property estate each year in accordance with the guidelines as set out by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. BNP Paribas Real Estate won a competitive tender contract for this appointment in 2010.

The three high value central London development sites at Mount Pleasant, Nine Elms and Paddington were separately and independently valued by Jones Lang LaSalle.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to refund interest lost to retail investors who applied for but did not receive Royal Mail shares. [171781]

Michael Fallon: The position on the refund of application moneys was set out in the terms and conditions of the Direct Retail Offer (included in the prospectus and provided with the summary prospectus). As set out in the terms and conditions of the Direct Retail Offer, refunds will be made without interest.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on maintaining the privatised Royal Mail as a body subject to Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests. [171782]

Michael Fallon: Royal Mail was within the scope of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 because it fell within the definition of a publicly owned body set out in section 6 of that Act. Royal Mail no longer falls within this definition as it is not “wholly owned by the Crown”. The company is, therefore, now outside the scope of the FOI Act.

Royal Mail has the same status as other bodies providing services to the public that were privatised in the past, e.g. BT and the water/energy companies.

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what advice his Department has received on the value of Royal Mail's surplus property holdings from banks or financial institutions involved in the privatisation of Royal Mail. [171799]

Michael Fallon: Royal Mail regularly conducts independent valuations of its property portfolio and the overall property portfolio value is disclosed in Royal Mail's audited annual report and accounts. The details of the surplus property were highlighted in the prospectus and equity research analysts will have taken account of Royal Mail's surplus property holdings in their research

21 Oct 2013 : Column 48W

reports. In light of this, the Department did not commission additional specific advice on the value of Royal Mail's surplus property holdings from banks or financial institutions.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information has been supplied by the Government following the allocation of shares to those who applied for shares in Royal Mail (a) online and (b) by post. [171821]

Michael Fallon: The expected timetable for providing information to applicants in the direct retail offer was set out in the Prospectus. Share Account Statements in respect of ordinary shares were emailed by the Government's Receiving Agent on 15 October to those who submitted an online application and elected to receive their statement this way. Share Account Statements and Share Certificates were posted by the Government's Receiving Agent on 17 October to those who applied by post, or applied online and requested a share certificate. The share allocation policy is also available on the dedicated share offer website:

www.gov.uk/royalmailshares

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what date he expects funds to be returned to those who applied for Royal Mail shares but were unsuccessful or did not receive their full allocation; and what process he has established for this process. [171822]

Michael Fallon: The position on the refund of application moneys was set out in the terms and conditions of the direct retail offer (included in the Prospectus and provided with the Summary Prospectus) which stated that any such cheques will be posted or bank refund instructions will be made by no later than 21 October 2013.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what has been the total value of interest accrued to date by the Government from funds deposited from shares in Royal Mail by investors which was not used for the purchase of shares; and if he will make a statement. [171823]

Michael Fallon: The interest accrued by 17 October was approximately £77,000.

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date those applying for shares in Royal Mail (a) by post and (b) online were informed whether their application was successful. [171824]

Michael Fallon: The timetable for informing applicants in the direct retail offer of the outcome of their application was set out in the Prospectus. Share Account Statements, Share Certificates and refund cheques were posted on 17 October for those who applied by post or applied online and requested a share certificate. Share Account Statements were emailed and bank instructions for refunds to debit cards were issued on 15 October to those who submitted online applications and elected to receive their statement this way.

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Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the total amount of funds received by the Government on applications for Royal Mail shares option applications had closed and before shares were allocated was; and in what account these funds were held. [171825]

Michael Fallon: The retail offer was approximately seven times oversubscribed with demand for shares worth approximately £3.9 billion:

Approximately 65% of that demand came through the intermediaries offer, i.e. these funds were not held by Government but by the intermediaries participating in the offer.

Application funds received from applicants in the direct retail offer were held on Government's behalf in a low interest bank account. As a number of applicants applied by cheque not all cheques had cleared and funds received by the time the offer closed.

UK Trade & Investment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what UK Trade & Investment's annual budget to support its offices and programmes abroad is; and if he will publish details of which programmes and markets such funds are spent on. [171292]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is a joint Government Department of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO). UKTI draws upon the FCO in order to operate abroad. The total expenditure attributed to UKTI for its overseas operations was £173 million in 2012-13 and £190 million in 2011-12. This figure is available in UKTI's annual report and accounts.

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc1314/hc00/0024/0024.pdf

The UKTI operational elements of overseas programme spend is incorporated within the FCO Mission's local budgets. These data are reported on a Programme and Objective basis as per HM Treasury reporting requirements.

These figures represent UK and overseas spending and are not easily disaggregated.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210136/HC_32_v0_2.pdf

Understanding Animal Research

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding his Department has provided to the organisation Understanding Animal Research in each year between 2009 and 2013; and if he will make a statement. [171213]

Mr Willetts: Understanding Animal Research (UAR) was established in January 2009 and is a not-for-profit organisation funded by its members including medical research charities, university departments, learned societies, research councils, pharmaceutical companies and other organisations in the UK that carry out or fund animal research.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) provided the following funding to UAR between 2009 and 2013:

2009: £38,124.80

2010: £1,292.

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BIS funds the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), both of which are members of UAR and pay an annual subscription, as shown in the following table:

Additionally, in 2013 MRC contributed £63,000, and BBSRC £850, towards a public dialogue on transparency and openness in animal research commissioned by UAR.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Badgers

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of changes in the UK badger population in the last 12 months. [171367]

George Eustice: We have an ongoing project to estimate the size of badger social groups in different regions of England and Wales. This will report in summer 2014.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the evidence base on which badger population estimates have been made in (a) the two pilot cull sites and (b) other sites where his Department is monitoring badger numbers. [170847]

George Eustice: The hair trapping element of the methodology to obtain badger population estimates in the two pilot areas was repeated in August 2013 with some improvements, prior to the culls commencing. This methodology is available at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/files/population-badger-pilot-areas.pdf

and I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.

Population estimates derived from the 2013 hair trapping will be included in a report which will published after the end of the pilot culls.

The national badger sett survey results are being peer reviewed and prepared for publication. The national badger population estimate is still in progress and will be published later in 2014.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the basis on which his Department or its agencies have estimated the population of badgers in (a) the two pilot cull sites and (b) other sites where badger numbers are monitored by his Department. [171224]

George Eustice: The methodology used for setting the original minimum and maximum numbers in February 2013 consisted of two elements, sett survey and hair trapping fieldwork, both carried out in autumn 2012. The methodology is published on the DEFRA website at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/files/population-badger-pilot-areas.pdf

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The current population estimates are based on additional hair trapping fieldwork carried collected from the pilot areas immediately before the cull began. This was conducted using the same methodology as in 2013 but with some small improvements based on lessons learnt in 2012 and approved by the Independent Expert Panel.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the recorded badger population was in his Department's Woodchester Park project in (a) October 2012, (b) April 2013 and (c) October 2013. [171240]

George Eustice [holding answer 17 October 2013]: Population estimates for Woodchester are not available for the time periods requested. Population estimates are calculated by catching the animals, marking them and then subsequently recapturing them, in order to calculate probability of capture for a given time period. Robust population estimates for the current year, 2013, can only be made once trapping in 2014 is complete.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has sought the advice of the chief scientist on the scientific basis of extending the length of the badger cull. [171356]

George Eustice: DEFRA's chief scientific adviser has been consulted on this matter.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of data collection and analysis of badger numbers in the cull areas to date. [171370]

George Eustice: The updated estimates of the badger population in the two pilot areas are based on the best available information and have been independently reviewed and audited.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to amend the monitoring protocols of the Independent Expert Panel on the badger culling pilots. [171371]

George Eustice: There are no plans to amend the monitoring protocols for controlled shooting agreed with the Independent Expert Panel.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his contribution of 10 October 2013, Official Report, column 282, on Bovine Tuberculosis, if he will publish the evidence which shows a significant reduction in badger numbers compared to this time last year. [171448]

George Eustice: The methodology used for setting the original minimum and maximum numbers in February 2013 consisted of two elements, sett survey and hair trapping fieldwork, both carried out in autumn 2012. The methodology is published on the DEFRA website at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/files/population-badger-pilot-areas.pdf

21 Oct 2013 : Column 52W

The current population estimates are based on additional hair trapping fieldwork collected from the pilot areas immediately before the cull began. This was conducted using the same methodology as in 2013 but with some small improvements based on lessons learnt in 2012 and approved by the Independent Expert Panel.

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the costs relating to the independent panel to monitor the badger cull; and how such costs will be funded following the recent extension granted in Somerset. [171200]

George Eustice: The roles of the independent panel of experts include the oversight of the development of robust monitoring protocols.

On completion of the pilot culls, these will extend to advising Ministers about the robustness of the data collection and analysis conducted by the research teams, as well as identifying the factors that may have influenced the results obtained.

The budget for the panel covers their time and expenses for undertaking this role. These costs will be finalised after the conclusion of the pilots when the panel has completed its work.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason the number of badgers in the Somerset cull area was (a) underestimated in 2012 and (b) overestimated in 2013. [171358]

George Eustice: All wildlife population estimates have some degree of uncertainty around them. The estimates made in February 2013 were based on fieldwork carried out in autumn 2012 and were the best estimates available at that time for the badger population in 2012. Further hair trapping fieldwork was carried out immediately prior to the commencement of the culls earlier this year which allowed more up to date estimates to be made, based on the best available information, of the badger population in 2013.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will postpone the decision to adjust the target badger cull numbers and extend the length of the Somerset cull until after he has received the report of the Independent Expert Panel. [171362]

George Eustice: On 11 October Natural England confirmed that a three week extension to culling operations had been granted in Somerset to maximise the disease control benefits already achieved. Culling recommenced in the pilot area that same evening.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to adjust the criteria on which the Independent Expert Panel will assess the success of the Somerset cull. [171363]

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George Eustice: There are no plans to amend the monitoring protocols for controlled shooting agreed with the Independent Expert Panel.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what account he took of the conclusions drawn from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and the Report of the Independent Scientific Group on Bovine TB in his decision to extend the length of the Somerset cull; [171364]

(2) if he will list in full the scientists, scientific bodies and other organisations he consulted before making changes to the length of the Somerset badger cull and the number of badgers to be culled. [171369]

George Eustice: As the designated licensing authority, it is for Natural England to consider and grant applications for badger control licences, having regard to the relevant guidance given by the Secretary of State. In reaching this decision, Natural England considered advice to the Secretary of State given by DEFRA's chief veterinary officer and chief scientific adviser. A copy of this advice has been placed in the Library of the House with parliamentary question UIN 171355, also from the Member for Ogmore.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has consulted the Independent Expert Panel on the effect of extending the length of the Somerset badger cull and changes to estimates of badger numbers on their ability to determine the safety, humaneness and effectiveness of the badger cull. [171365]

George Eustice: No. Neither the extension nor the revised estimate of badger populations affect the panel's ability to determine the safety, humaneness and effectiveness of the pilot culls.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason his Department's estimate of the badger population in the Somerset cull area was incorrect; and if he will publish a revised estimate and the evidence on which it is based. [171366]

George Eustice: All wildlife population estimates have some degree of uncertainty around them. The estimates made in February 2013 were based on fieldwork carried out in autumn 2012 and were the best estimates available at that time of the badger population in 2012. Further hair trapping fieldwork was carried out immediately prior to the commencement of the culls earlier this year which allowed more up to date estimates to be made, based on the best available information, of the badger population in 2013.

Based on the most up to date information available, our best estimate of the badger population in Somerset is 1,450 badgers.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he had with the chair or any members of the Independent Expert Panel to discuss the extension of the Somerset badger cull in advance of taking the decision to extend it. [171368]

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George Eustice: The Independent Expert Panel was consulted on matters within its remit, which is to oversee the design and analysis of the data collection on the humaneness, effectiveness and safety of the badger control pilots.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how his Department intends to compare the effectiveness of the free-shooting and cage-and-shoot methods in the Somerset badger cull following the decision to adopt the cage-and-shoot method in the Somerset cull. [171372]

George Eustice: Both controlled shooting and cage trapping and shooting remain available methods in the three-week extension authorised in West Somerset. The Independent Expert Panel will evaluate the data collected as part of the monitoring of the effectiveness of controlled shooting during the pilots.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the (a) estimates of badger numbers used for planning purposes and (b) latest estimates of badger numbers in the (i) Somerset and (ii) Gloucester cull areas. [171359]

George Eustice: Prior to the culls commencing, the best available information on the badger population of the pilot areas were the estimates published in February 2013.

Based on the most up to date information available, our best estimate of the badger population is 1,450 badgers in Somerset and 2,350 badgers in Gloucestershire.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of changes to the perturbation effect of the Somerset and Gloucester badger culls as a result of extending them in length; and if his Department will carry out additional monitoring to assess such changes. [171361]

George Eustice: As set out in “The Government's policy on Bovine TB and badger control in England”, the incidence of TB in cattle will be monitored in the pilot areas over the course of the four-year culling period. This monitoring will continue following the completion of culling. It is too early to make an assessment of the extent of the perturbation effect.

Common Agricultural Policy

Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department holds on the transitional arrangements to implement the reformed Common Agricultural Policy on agri-environmental payments in each other EU member state; and for each such member state how payments to farmers whose agri-environment agreements end between now and the date the new policies are due to be implemented will be affected. [171498]

George Eustice: DEFRA does not hold information on the implementation of agri-environmental payments in other EU member states.

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Farms

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many regulations his Department has abolished since the setting up of the Macdonald review of farm regulation. [171127]

George Eustice: The Farming Regulation Task Force, set up in July 2010, focused on reforming the delivery of agricultural regulations rather than reviewing and, where possible, abolishing them.

However, as a result of initiatives such as the Red Tape Challenge my Department has abolished 195 regulations since July 2010, of which around 7% are connected with farming activities.

Food: Low Incomes

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) by what date he expects his Department's investigation of food poverty and food banks to conclude; and if he will publish any subsequent report; [171638]

(2) how many officials in his Department are currently working on its investigation into food poverty and food banks. [171639]

George Eustice: The Department is not conducting an investigation into food poverty and food banks. DEFRA has commissioned research to review existing evidence on the landscape of food aid provision and access in the UK.

The work comprises a short research project assessing evidence already publicly available on the provision of food aid in the UK, and is being carried out by a team of research contractors led by the university of Warwick. A number of departmental officials have been involved in managing the research project since it was commissioned.

This work will be made available in due course.

Greyhound Board of Great Britain

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the role of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain in monitoring and recording (a) welfare standards within greyhound racing and (b) the number of greyhounds put to sleep for economic reasons. [171964]

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath) gave to the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick) on 3 September 2013, Official Report, column 333W.

Horses: Animal Welfare

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the findings of the recent report by a group of animal welfare charities entitled “Left on the Verge: The approaching equine crisis in England and Wales”; and what steps he plans to take further to safeguard horse welfare. [171795]

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George Eustice: DEFRA Ministers and officials have met a number of stakeholders to discuss issues raised by the report, including local authorities and the NFU. We have explained the relevant law in this area, including the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Animals Act 1971 and the Horse Passports Regulation 2009 and advised that the issue is best resolved at a local level through partnership working. We understand that some local authorities (eg Hampshire and Wakefield) have adopted a partnership approach with police, landowners and animal welfare organisations to try and tackle problems in their own areas. The new antisocial behaviour measures in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill 2013 will also assist the authorities to take action against irresponsible horse owners.

Livestock: Transport

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to ascertain whether live calves exported to other EU member states are unloaded after 18 hours of travel and given at least 24 hours rest, food and liquid as required by Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport; and if he will make a statement. [171565]

George Eustice: Under this legislation, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) is required to validate applications for journey logs made by transporters wishing to export livestock (including calves) from Great Britain. These set out the estimated journey times and rest periods anticipated by the transporter. The AHVLA will not validate a journey log unless the expected journey complies with the terms of this EU legislation. Once the journey is complete, the transporter is required to return the completed journey log to the AHVLA. If after their return, the AHVLA determines that a non-compliance has occurred, it will take the appropriate regulatory action against the transporter involved. Further details on the AHVLA's regulatory policy in relation to the welfare during transport legislation can be found here:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/publication/advice-wato-enforcement/

Personal Injury: Insurance

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Gangmasters' Licensing Authority has investigated or taken enforcement action against employment agencies selling personal accident insurance policies and charging of fees particularly to those paid at or near the national minimum wage. [171308]

George Eustice: The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) has found several employment agencies in the regulated sector which charge workers for personal accident insurance cover. Where payment of fees for this cover would take a worker's pay below the level of the national minimum wage the GLA will take the necessary compliance action, including where appropriate, revoking a gangmaster licence.

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Slaughterhouses: EU Action

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will discuss with his counterparts in other EU member states possible amendments of EU legislation to require farm animals to be slaughtered near to the farm of rearing; and if he will make a statement. [171564]

George Eustice: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath) gave to the hon. Member for Belfast East (Naomi Long) on 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 452W.

Church Commissioners

Credit Unions

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent steps the Church of England has taken to promote credit unions. [171951]

Sir Tony Baldry: International Credit Union day was on 17 October. The Church of England supported this with a number of initiatives, a total of 41 bishops from 30 dioceses were actively involved, and over 50 credit unions across the country were involved.

The Church is also exploring a number of other plans to offer support, including:

offering space within churches for credit unions to operate;

dioceses and churches opening corporate accounts; and

clergy information days and sign-up events to raise awareness about credit unions among church leaders and parishioners.

The Church has developed a long-term plan to support the credit union movement; the first task is to link parish churches to local credit unions to offer support where any is available. The second is to set up an Archbishop’s task force to work with the credit union movement and local banking sector to produce credible alternatives which offer financially responsible products and services. The third is the plan to found the Churches Credit Union. The intention is to offer the benefits of credit union membership to clergy, ministers, trustees and those employed by the Church.

Food Banks

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, how many food banks are currently supported by the Church of England. [171912]

Sir Tony Baldry: The Trussell Trust is the largest provider of food banks across the country with over 400 operational food banks. Of these the Church of England’s parishes are closely involved in running and supporting 100 food banks across the country. In addition many churches operate their own food banks which operate at a local level providing support for people within the local community.

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The Church Urban Fund “Hungry No More” surveyed 466 Church of England clergy and found that four in five of their churches were supporting a food bank in one or more ways:

75% of churches surveyed collect food for food banks;

38% of churches surveyed provide volunteers;

21% of churches surveyed help to manage a food bank; and

21% of churches surveyed distribute food vouchers.

The majority of these activities have been running for less than two years, indicating the rapid growth of the food bank network. The Church of England is considering how it can rebalance church-based activity away from emergency crisis support and towards long-term work that tackles the underlying problems. The Church in partnership with Oxfam and the Child Poverty Action Group is conducting joint research to examine the underlying reasons for the rapid growth in the use of food banks and recommend changes in policy and practice that would help to reduce the use of food banks in the longer term.

Home Department

Animal Experiments

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the increase in the number of Old World monkeys used in animal experimentation during 2012; what steps she is taking to reduce the number of Old World primates used in animal experimentation in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [170634]

James Brokenshire: Cats, dogs, non-human primates and horses are given special protection under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and may be used only if no other species is suitable or it is not practicable to obtain animals of any other species that are suitable for the purposes of the relevant programme of work.

Research using non-human primates is a small, but currently vital, part of work to protect and improve human lives. A great number of non-human primates are used for the safety assessment of novel pharmaceuticals in cases where they are the most appropriate and scientifically justified species. They are also used in basic research to better understand how the brain works. In fact, 2011 figures were unusually low, so the apparent increase in 2012 is largely a reflection of that.

The number of animals likely to be used in any given year is dependent on many factors, including investment in research and development, strategic decisions by funding bodies, global economic trends and scientific innovation. Although progress is being made with alternative methods, increased funding of scientific research has the potential to increase both animal and non-animal work. The increased animal use in recent years reflects new research trends, increased investment, and changes in regulatory requirements and does not mean that efforts to advance the replacement, refinement and reduction (3Rs) are failing.

In 2010, the Government made a commitment to work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research in “Coalition: our programme for Government”. The coalition commitment is not concerned with just baseline

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numbers, but encompasses the 3Rs more broadly, putting them at the heart of a science led approach. We will publish a delivery plan this autumn that will set out how the Government are supporting and encouraging these advances and the programmes and policies through which Government will continue to deliver its commitment. The consequence will be accelerated take-up of the 3Rs—both domestically and internationally—set on the tenets of good science, good animal welfare and good for the UK and economic growth.

Anti-slavery Day

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what each Minister in her Department will be doing to acknowledge Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October 2013; and if she will make a statement. [171037]

James Brokenshire: The Government are committed to tackling human trafficking and recognise the significance of Anti-Slavery Day.

Home Office Ministers are involved in a number of events and activities to raise awareness on or around Anti-Slavery Day, including:

a speech by the Secretary of State at the Anti-Trafficking Media Awards ceremony;

the launch of a new business protocol designed to tackle trafficking across employment and labour supply chains, with the Gangmasters Licensing Authority;

attendance at the PM-chaired Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking; and

publication on 18 October of the second report of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on human trafficking.

Edward Snowden

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she was consulted by the Director General of the Security Services before his recent statement on the publication of stolen classified material; and if she will make a statement on her assessment of the impact of the actions of Mr E Snowden. [171450]

James Brokenshire: The Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Director General of the Security Service meet regularly to discuss a range of security matters.

The theft of this material is causing real and serious damage to national security. Like the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for the Home Department agrees with the Director General of the Security Service's recent comment that it:

“causes enormous damage to make public the reach and limit of GCHQ's capabilities. Such information hands the advantage to the terrorists.”

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) with reference to Joint Action 96/698/JHA, with which business organisations the Government and their agencies have memoranda of understanding; [170782]

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(2) whether the Government intend to maintain and periodically review the memoranda of understanding required by Joint Action 96/698/JHA irrespective of the UK's participation in the Joint Action; [170783]

(3) when the Government last reviewed the effectiveness of the memoranda of understanding required by Joint Action 96/698/JHA; and what manpower this took. [170784]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 14 October 2013]: The Government have 12 memoranda of understanding that fall within the programme envisaged by Article 1 of Joint Action 96/698/JHA.

Five of these memoranda of understanding were concluded after the adoption of this Joint Action. For reasons of commercial confidentiality the Government cannot disclose the names of the individual business organisations with which these agreements have been concluded.

The Government intend to maintain and periodically review these memoranda of understanding irrespective of the UK's participation in Joint Action 96/698/JHA within existing manpower limits.

Firearms: Licensing

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost to a police force for the licensing of a firearm will be when the new e-commerce fees system is operational. [171412]

Damian Green [holding answer 18 October 2013]: The e-commerce system will improve the efficiency of the licensing process by reducing the processing time for police. The exact costs to police forces will depend on the number of people who use the e-commerce system. There is work ongoing to identify what the costs will be.

Hillsborough Independent Panel

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to ensure that retired police officers comply with interview requests from the Independent Police Complaints Commission in relation to the ongoing Hillsborough investigation. [170573]

Mrs May [holding answer 14 October 2013]: Emergency legislation last year introduced a power for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to compel those serving with the police to attend interviews as witnesses. This power did not extend to members of the public (including retired officers) although the Government committed to keeping that issue under review. Given the nature and seriousness of the IPCC's investigations into Hillsborough, and following my announcement on police integrity in February 2013, we would expect all retired police officers to assist the IPCC's investigations willingly.

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which individuals and companies have not yet complied with information requests from the Hillsborough Independent Panel; and how many individuals and organisations have submitted evidence to the Independent Police Complaints Commission Hillsborough investigation but have not yet supplied information to the Hillsborough Independent Panel. [170574]

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Mrs May [holding answer 14 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’s 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 discussions she has had with Bishop James Jones over the failure of the former Assistant Chief Constable of West Midlands Police Mervyn Jones to comply with an information request from the Hillsborough Independent Panel. [170579]

Mrs May [holding answer 14 October 2013]: The Hillsborough Independent Panel ceased to exist on 30 September 2012. Since then the Home Office has provided whatever assistance it can to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation; issues from this point onward are a matter for the investigation team. The IPCC is in the process of gathering all relevant information over and above that provided to the panel and passed to the IPCC.

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support her Department is offering the IPCC Hillsborough investigation team who discover that evidence submitted to them has been (a) altered, (b) deleted and (c) edited. [170582]

Mrs May [holding answer 14 October 2013]: I have committed to ensuring that the Independent Police Complaints Commission has the powers and resources necessary to ensure that it can carry out its important work in relation to the Hillsborough investigation; new powers and additional resources have already been made available.

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the investigations led by (a) the Independent Police Complaints Commission and (b) Jon Stoddart into the Hillsborough disaster have cost since they were established. [170592]

Mrs May [holding answer 14 October 2013]: Up until the end of September 2013, the costs of Hillsborough disaster investigations are:

(a) Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation:

Total resource: £3.33 million. This includes £581,000 from 2012-13.

Total capital: £3.02 million. This includes £309,000 from 2012-13.

(b) Police-led investigation:

Total resource: £1.8 million. This includes £195,000 from 2012-13.

Total capital: £162,000. This cost was incurred during 2012-13.

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Human Trafficking: Scotland

Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the First Minister of Scotland on human trafficking in that country. [171395]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 18 October 2013]: The UK Government work closely with the Scottish Government to tackle human trafficking. The Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice sits on the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group (IDMG) on human trafficking which provides direction and oversight on the UK’s efforts to tackle human trafficking.

UK and Scottish officials work closely to ensure there is a shared understanding of the scale of the problem and the nature of the threat to shape the UK response accordingly.

Knives: Crime

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of police stop and search powers in tackling knife crime. [170925]

Norman Baker: There has been no formal Home Office assessment made of the effectiveness or otherwise of police stop and search powers in tackling knife crime. Stop and search can be an important tool in the fight against crime, particularly knife crime. It is of course essential that stop and search powers are used effectively, fairly and with support from local communities. The Government is currently analysing responses to the consultation on stop and search powers and intends to issue a full response before the end of the year.

Legal Professional Privilege

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to ensure that legal professional privilege is always respected by the (a) Security Service, (b) Secret Intelligence Service, (c) Government Communications Headquarters and (d) other Government Departments and agencies. [171501]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 18 October 2013]: Law enforcement and security and intelligence agencies employ intrusive powers with due regard to the rights of the individuals affected.

The agencies operate a number of enhanced safeguards to protect legal privilege. Details of safeguards are set out in the relevant Codes of Practice, issued under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and ratified by Parliament.

The operation of these safeguards is subject to robust oversight by the Interception Commissioner, the Surveillance Commissioners and the Intelligence Services Commissioner. Where a person believes his or her rights have been breached by the agencies, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal offers an independent route of redress.

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Mobile Phones

Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many smartphone apps her Department has launched. [171596]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has released one smartphone app called “UK Passport Reader”. This app is available for download on Android phones and uses Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, available on more recent models, to read and display non-sensitive data held on the passport.

Offenders: Criminal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who has access to the criminal records of those people given a new identity for their own protection on their release from prison; and whether police forces have access to (a) DNA, (b) fingerprint and (c) other relevant records from their previous identity. [167897]

James Brokenshire: In those rare cases where a person with a criminal record is provided with a new identity, special arrangements are made on the Police National Computer (PNC) to ensure that those within the criminal justice system are provided with appropriate information and that the public and the individual are protected. All relevant records biometric or otherwise are included.

Suspicious Activity Reports

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suspicious activity reports were (a) filed by each of the different obligated entities and (b) submitted to law enforcement authorities in each year from 2008 to 2012. [171633]

James Brokenshire: The UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) publishes an annual report on the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regime. The most recent report is available on the National Crime Agency website at:

http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk

All SARs are made available to law enforcement authorities via the money web system.

The following table details the number of SARs made from each sector. Any further breakdown would be a breach of the confidentiality of the reporters.

The year runs from October to September.

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