Advertising: The Guardian
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much her Department spent on advertising with (a)The Guardian newspaper, (b)The Guardian website and (c)The Guardian Media Group in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13. [171555]
22 Oct 2013 : Column 104W
Tourism
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the likely benefits to tourism in Northern Ireland as a result of the 2013 World Police and Fire Games. [171673]
Mrs Villiers: The World Police and Fire Games 2013 was the biggest sporting event to be hosted in Northern Ireland with almost 7,000 athletes and technical support staff from 67 countries registering for the games. They were hailed as the friendliest and best games ever by Mike Graham WPFG Federation President. This was a great achievement for Northern Ireland and I attended some of the events as did the former Minister of State.
I am advised that the Northern Ireland Department for Culture Arts and Leisure will produce a full games evaluation report by 2014, but I understand that at least 10,000 visitors came to Northern Ireland as a result of the games directly benefiting the economy.
The World Police and Fire Games in Belfast were discussed at the plenary meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee at No. 10 Downing street on 16 October, which was chaired by the Prime Minister at which the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales and the territorial Secretaries of State were present. The Prime Minister commented on how successful the games had been.
Work and Pensions
Child: Maintenance
Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of (a) availability, (b) capacity and (c) effectiveness of provision available for parents bursary family-based arrangements for child maintenance from 2014. [172023]
Steve Webb: Family-based arrangements are supported through two main programmes.
First, the Help and Support for Separated Families (HSSF) initiative aims to encourage and support parents to work together across the range of issues parents face when separating, including child maintenance:
the HSSF web app, Sorting out Separation, provides diagnosis, information and signposting to relevant support services online;
we have provided training to a range of intermediaries in the public, voluntary and community sectors with existing telephone helplines to add emphasis on parents working together. This training is currently being cascaded through these organisations; and
we are currently in the process of testing and evaluating interventions through £10 million investment in the Innovation Fund. The aim is to identify what interventions are effective in helping parents to work together. We are in the very early stages of delivery, with formal evaluation due to report in 2014.
Second, with a more specific focus on child maintenance, the Child Maintenance Options service provides free, impartial information, guidance and support to help parents to make effective family-based arrangements.
22 Oct 2013 : Column 105W
The service is available by telephone, web app (which includes a Live Chat service and e-mail) and face to face.
Since its launch in 2008, Child Maintenance Options has handled over one million telephone calls and received over 1.8 million unique visitors to its website. It is estimated that 149,000 children were benefiting from an effective family-based arrangement put in place following contact with the Child Maintenance Options service.
We expect that the 2012 statutory scheme will be open to all new applicants by the end of this year. The Child Maintenance Options service will provide the Gateway to the 2012 scheme and encourage parents to consider a family-based arrangement, before applying to the 2012 scheme.
Children: Poverty
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were classed as living in poverty in each constituency of the UK in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate he has made of the number of such children in each of the next three years. [171770]
Esther McVey: This information is not available.
The Child Poverty Act 2010 sets four income-based UK-wide targets to be met by 2020. The targets are based on the proportion of children living in households with relative low income, combined low income and material deprivation, absolute low income and persistent poverty (all before housing costs have been taken into account). Estimates of these are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
Information at constituency level is not available as the sample size of this survey is not sufficient to provide robust estimates. The lowest geography at which poverty estimates are reported is regional level.
Three-year averages are used to report statistics by region, as single-year estimates are subject to volatility. The latest figures for relative and absolute low income at regional level covering the last 10 years (up until 2009-10 to 2011-12) and latest figures for combined low income and material deprivation can be found in the latest HBAI publication, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/households-below-average-income-hbai-199495-to-201112
Relevant figures can be found in Table 4.6db (on page 1.15) for the latest relative low income and combined low income and material deprivation proportions, Table 4.17ts (on page 136) for relative low income for the last 10 years and Table 4.23ts (on page 142) for absolute low income for the last 10 years.
The Government have not produced forecasts of the number of children living in income poverty for the next three years. The number of children in poverty is dependent on a number of factors which cannot be reliably predicted, including the median income.
Income matters but considering this in isolation fails to properly reflect the reality of child poverty in the UK today. We want to develop better measures of child
22 Oct 2013 : Column 106W
poverty which include income but provide a more accurate picture of the reality of child poverty. Our consultation on how best to measure child poverty closed on 15 February. A large volume of responses was received and all of these are being read and analysed to ensure that all important points are captured and used to help Ministers decide on the next steps.
Data Protection
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people's records have been mislaid by his Department in the course of moving documents between storage offices since 1990. [171878]
Esther McVey: The Department takes its responsibilities to protect personal data extremely seriously.
The Department informs the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) of serious incidents involving personal data that arise, and publishes details of such cases in the annual resource accounts.
One incident arose in September 2011, where a package intended for storage archives was delivered to an incorrect address, but subsequently recovered.
As a precaution, all the 150 individuals whose data was contained in the package were informed and given advice about protecting their information. The incident was also reported in the relevant annual resource accounts.
Aside from that incident there have been no other serious incidents involving the movement of documents between storage offices that have been reported to the ICO since 1990.
Less serious incidents involving personal data that arise are managed locally, and the details of these are not collated centrally. To provide these would incur disproportionate cost.
Employment and Support Allowance
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance with a prognosis of over 12 months were referred to the work programme up to June 2013; and how many of such people secured a job outcome. [172020]
Esther McVey: During the designated period the number of ESA Work Programme referrals was 70,190. The number of job outcomes was 620.
The majority of these people will not have had their full two years on the programme by June 2013 so the number of job outcomes will be expected to increase.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library details of the (a) most common illnesses and disabilities and (b) length of prognosis of people in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance who have been referred to the Work Programme since it began. [172029]
Esther McVey: Details on most common illnesses and disabilities and length of prognosis of people in receipt of employment and support allowance who have been referred to the Work Programme since it began will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
22 Oct 2013 : Column 107W
Employment Schemes
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding his Department makes available to support jobseekers; and which of those funding schemes involve the transfer of money to (a) private and (b) public sector organisations. [171333]
Esther McVey: Funding is made available by the Department for Work and Pensions to support jobseekers from the employment programme funding allocated through the Main Estimate (£842.445 million for 2013-14). Employment programme funding is made available through the following schemes:
| Employment programmes | |
Support to jobseekers is also provided through funding of the Jobcentre network and internally delivered services and through European Social Fund provision contracts
with both public and private sector.
Further details of suppliers for employment-related support services are available at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/erss-preferred-suppliers.pdf
Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for St Helens South and Whiston (Mr Woodward), Official Report, column 237W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, if he will make it his policy to collect data on the number of people who will be affected by changes in housing benefit as a result of the under-occupancy penalty, by parliamentary constituency. [171347]
22 Oct 2013 : Column 108W
Esther McVey: The Department will release data as to the number of claimants currently in receipt of a deduction in housing benefit due to the removal of the spare room subsidy by local authority.
The figures are currently undergoing quality assurance and will be released in accordance with official statistics guidelines.
As constituencies form parts of a local authority it is not possible to provide data at this level.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudon (Cathy Jamieson) of 13 September 2013, Official Report, columns 922-3W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, if he will make it his policy to collect data on the number of armed forces veterans who will be affected by the under-occupancy penalty. [171348]
Esther McVey: Data in relation to previous employment is not gathered by local authorities as it is not required to assess housing benefit entitlement.
Jobseeker's Allowance
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department's press release of 14 October 2013, entitled jobseekers to start signing new claimant commitment; on what date the regulations under which the claimant commitment was implemented were commenced. [172057]
Esther McVey: The claimant commitment acts as the jobseekers agreement for the purposes of section 7 of the Jobseekers Act 1995 and associated regulations. No new regulations have needed to be introduced to support implementation.
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseekers' allowance claimants in (a) Inverness, (b) Rugby and (c) Hammersmith have been required to sign a claimant commitment since 14 October 2013. [172058]
Esther McVey: We do not have this information at this early stage. Official statistics on claimants and outcomes will be published according to standard DWP protocols which meet the required standards of the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice.
Lip-reading
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to increase awareness of the needs of people who lip-read among providers of public services for which his Department is responsible. [171609]
Esther McVey:
The Department takes steps to ensure that its staff are fully equipped to deal effectively with the needs of a diverse customer base. All DWP staff undertake diversity and equality learning to raise awareness and help them understand issues faced by disabled customers and claimants, including those who are deaf or hearing impaired. Jobcentre Plus Advisers and disability employment advisers also receive additional training on disability to enable them to provide the right support to
22 Oct 2013 : Column 109W
individual customers and claimants. This is supplemented by guidance which includes advice on making reasonable adjustments for disabled people, including deaf people who lip-read, to ensure they have full access to services.
Long-term Unemployed People
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of jobseeker's allowance claimants have been out of work for more than (a) 24, (b) 36 and (c) 48 months. [171429]
Esther McVey: Information on number and proportion of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants who have been out of work for more than 24, 36 or 48 months is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Statistics on the number and proportion of JSA claimants who have been claiming the benefit for more than 104, 156 and 208 weeks can be found at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
Guidance for users can be found at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the contribution of the Minister for Employment on 14 October 2013, Official Report, column 426, on long-term unemployed, what criteria he will use to select which individuals returning from the Work Programme in April 2014 will be referred to each of the three possible destinations. [171841]
Esther McVey: Referral to one of the three intensive modes of support available through Help to Work for claimants returning from the Work programme will depend on claimants' need as determined by a Jobcentre Plus adviser. Evidence gathered from the Support for Very Long Term Unemployed Trailblazer will be used to formulate adviser guidance and further details will be announced closer to implementation.
Pay
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the median wage in real terms of those people in (a) work or self-employment, (b) employed for 35 hours or more per week, (c) part-time employment and (d) self-employment in each (i) local authority area and (ii) parliamentary constituency in each year since 2008. [171562]
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 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 Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the median wage in real terms of those people in (a) work or self-employment, (b) employed for 35 hours or more per week, (c) part-time employment and (d) self-employment in each (i) local authority area and (ii) parliamentary constituency in each year since 2008. (171562).
22 Oct 2013 : Column 110W
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. ASHE does not cover the self-employed: It is not possible at this time to produce estimates in respect of employees who work 35 hours or more per week, but it is possible to provide estimates for all full-time employees.
Tables show estimates of median gross weekly earnings in each UK parliamentary constituency and local authority area from 2008 to 2012, the latest period for which results are available. Figures are provided for full-time employees, part-time employees and all employees and are given separately in cash terms and in 2012 prices. A copy of the tables will be placed in the Library of the House.
Separated People: Finance
Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many separating and separated parents have been assisted so far in each project in receipt of funding from the Help and Support for Separated Families Innovation Fund; what the gender of such parents was; and what outcomes were achieved by each such project; [172008]
(2) what assessment he has made of the progress of projects established by voluntary and third-sector organisations following the award of £6.5 million from his Department's Help and Support for Separated Families Innovation Fund in April 2013; [172009]
(3) when he will publish an evaluation of the first round of funding for projects established under the Help and Support for Separated Families Innovation Fund in April 2013. [172013]
Steve Webb: One of the main objectives of the Innovation Fund is to learn what works in helping separated parents to work together in the best interests of their children. Robust evaluation is, therefore, critical and we have set aside funding to ensure this is carried out effectively. At present, all of the projects commissioned in the first round are in the early stages of implementation, with some not yet working with clients. Although we have started to monitor outcomes where projects have begun working with clients, and we have found some very positive case studies, we do not expect to have robust evidence until next year, after which we will publish formal evaluation results. This evaluation will include the number and gender of parents assisted by the projects.
Social Fund
Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the level of repayment was for (a) crisis loans and (b) budgeting loans in each of the four years to March 2013. [171862]
Steve Webb: Table 1 gives the level of recovery for crisis loans and budgeting loans in each of the four financial years to March 2013.
| Table 1: Recoveries for (a) crisis loans and (b) budgeting loans: 2009-10 to 2012-13 | ||
| £ million | ||
| Crisis Loans | Budgeting Loans | |
22 Oct 2013 : Column 111W
| Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, these amounts do not include recoveries from applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System. 2. All figures have been rounded to the nearest £100,000. | ||
Social Security Benefits: Disqualification
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the number of sanctions issued by an adviser in Jobcentre Plus is included in his or her staff appraisal; and if he will make a statement. [172021]
Esther McVey: Our staff are appraised against objectives. Numerical targets for sanctions are not set, as sanctions should be applied appropriately. The appraisal will cover whether sanctions are being applied appropriately using management information and observation.
Training: Disability
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will include residential training provision for the disabled in the Disability Employment Strategy Report due to be published in November 2013; and if he will make a statement; [171898]
(2) when he intends to publish his response to the Independent Advisory Panel Report on Residential Training Provision, published in July 2013; and if he will make a statement. [171928]
Mike Penning: We are still considering the Independent Advisory Panel's recommendations for future Residential Training provision as part of the employment strategy for disabled people and those with health conditions. The strategy will be published before the end of the year, and will include residential training provision. We will respond to the Independent Advisory Panel's recommendations following publication of the strategy.
Unemployed People
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of levels of (a) functional literacy and (b) computer literacy amongst the unemployed. [171769]
Esther McVey: Findings from the Skills for Life Survey 2011 (the most recent survey conducted) show that of those who were unemployed and looking for work 78% had reached level 11 or above in literacy. Of this group 43% had reached level 2.
In relation to ICT literacy, the survey shows 47% of the unemployed had entry level 3 or above for the word processing component of the ICT assessment and 66% had entry level 3 or above for the e-mail part.
22 Oct 2013 : Column 112W
The full Skills for Life publication can be found using the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/36000/12-p168-2011-skills-for-life-survey.pdf
1 The Skills for Life survey defines “functional literacy” as level 1 or above.
Unemployed People: Kilmarnock
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on refunding the cost of travel by jobseekers in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency between July 2013 and September 2013. [171476]
Esther McVey: The cost of refunding travel expenses to jobseekers in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency between July 2013 and September 2013 is £10,316.74
This cost includes the refunding of jobseekers' travel expenses to job centres and other travel expenses, for example, travel to job interviews, training courses etc.
Universal Credit
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2013, Official Report, columns 197-8W, on universal credit: Kilmarnock, if he will make it his policy to establish the numbers of claimants in each parliamentary constituency who will receive universal credit, but do not currently have a bank account. [171478]
Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr Hoban), on 2 September 2013, Official Report, column 251W, to the hon. Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery).
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2013, Official Report, columns 197-8W, on universal credit: Kilmarnock, what progress he has made in providing support to working age claimants who currently have no bank accounts to ensure that they have access to suitable financial products and money advice before migrating to universal credit. [171479]
Esther McVey: Since the launch of universal credit in April we have worked closely with the relevant jobcentres and local authorities to ensure that money advice and budgeting support is available to all new claimants.
We have also been working with a number of banks and other providers to support those claimants who do not have bank account to access suitable financial products.
We will continue to monitor progress and learn from the early phases of universal credit to ensure that all claimants who need budgeting support have access to it.
Mr Bain:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate how many people in each parliamentary constituency will be affected by changes in universal credit payments on and after its introduction as each increase in the personal income
22 Oct 2013 : Column 113W
tax allowance planned by the Government takes effect thereafter; and what the average change per month in universal credit payments would be for any such people in each constituency. [171539]
Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the expenditure to date on IT for Universal Credit which will be categorised as nugatory in addition to sums already published; and if he will make a statement. [172019]
Esther McVey: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to him on 4 September 2013, Official Report, column 373-4W, by the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr Hoban).
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to page 34 of his Department's green paper entitled 21st Century Welfare published in July 2010, what recent assessment he has made of whether universal credit constitutes a major IT project. [172059]
Esther McVey: Universal credit is and remains a major business transformation programme which incorporates IT investment.
Education
Bookstart Scheme
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many books were delivered by Bookstart in each constituency of the UK in each year of the scheme's existence. [171808]
Mr Timpson: Information on the number of books delivered by Bookstart in each constituency in each year of the scheme's existence is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding was allocated to Bookstart by his Department in each year of its existence. [171809]
Mr Timpson: The following table sets out funding allocated to Booktrust for book gifting by the Department by financial year from 2009/10 to 2014/15. This includes funding for Bookstart.
| Financial year | Grant funding allocation (£ million) |
Data on funding allocations prior to 2009 are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
22 Oct 2013 : Column 114W
Food Banks
Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of schools make referrals to food banks. [171660]
Mr Laws: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Free Schools
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what basis funding is made available to newly-opened free schools in relation to actual and projected numbers of pupils. [171759]
Mr Timpson: All free schools are funded on the basis of equivalence with other academy and maintained schools, using the appropriate local school formula for pre-16 students and the national 16-19 funding formula for those over 16.
While free schools are building up their pupil numbers they are funded on the basis of estimates for the number of pupils they anticipate will attend the school. These are subject to an annual pupil number adjustment exercise which reconciles the estimated pupil numbers to the actual pupil number data collected through the school census. Funding is then adjusted in the following year through a deduction in funding for those schools where the estimate was greater than the actual pupil numbers or an addition where the estimate was less than the actual pupil numbers. Once the free school has recruited to all of its year groups it receives funding on a lagged basis using the most recent October school census return.
New schools also receive a post-opening grant while building up their pupil numbers to reflect that they have certain fixed costs, such as that of the senior management team, which are not fully covered by their per pupil funding.
Details of how this grant is allocated can be found in the guides on the Department's website:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/freeschools/b00222077/pre-opening/revenue
National College for Teaching and Leadership
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what appraisal he has made of the performance of the Chief Executive of the National College for Teaching and Leadership. [171577]
Mr Laws: All members of the senior civil service (SCS) have their performance assessed by their line manager in line with the SCS performance management system. This includes ensuring that performance assessment takes account of feedback from Ministers, as well as other stakeholders.
Under Charlie Taylor's leadership:
1. The quality of teacher trainees is better than ever;
2. There are now 375 teaching schools and we are on target to have 500 by 2015;
3. NCTL has developed the Early Years Teacher Standards and from September 2014 2,000 trainees will begin their training to become the first-generation of Early Years teachers;
4. We have expanded the number of scholarships and bursaries available and increased some awards to £25,000, giving more top graduates the opportunity to become teachers.
22 Oct 2013 : Column 115W
Pupils: Disadvantaged
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what procedures are in place to ensure pupil premium payments follow students who move schools during an academic year. [171760]
Mr Laws: Pupil premium allocations are based on the January school census. The Department pays pupil premium funding to local authorities through a dedicated grant which they are then required to pass directly to schools. We do not adjust allocations during the year as this would make the system very complex and bureaucratic to administer.
Local authorities do, however, have some flexibility in allocating the premium for eligible looked after children. They can decide whether to make allocations to schools on a termly basis in order to reflect the pupil's particular circumstances: for example, if the child moves to another school, leaves schools or enters year 12, during the financial year.
If a pupil is excluded from school, then the funding for that pupil including any pupil premium funding is allocated to their new school.
Schools: Sandwell
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will place copies of the Property Data Survey Programme results for schools in the Sandwell local authority area in the library. [172003]
Mr Laws: In line with one of the recommendations of the Sebastian James Review of Education Capital, the Department for Education has been gathering information on the condition of the school estate through the Property Data Survey Programme. This process is not yet complete.
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will visit schools in the Sandwell local authority area. [172005]
Mr Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, has no current plans to visit schools in Sandwell. The Secretary of State offered to visit schools in Sandwell, however, the local authority preferred to send representatives to London to meet at the Department for Education. The Secretary of State agreed to this and the meeting took place.
Schools: Separated People
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what measures he is taking to ensure schools maintain positive relationships with both parents of a child when the parents are separated. [171943]
Mr Timpson: We are taking a number of measures to help parents work together to resolve disputes about their children's care, following family breakdown. In particular, we are improving the information, advice and support available to parents outside the court process, to help them reach agreements which meet their children's needs. Throughout the dispute resolution process, parents will be encouraged to agree a parenting plan setting out how they intend to care for their child, post-separation. This will include issues relating to the child's education.
22 Oct 2013 : Column 116W
The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005 require head teachers to provide an annual written report on pupils' educational achievements for every registered pupil at their school and to make arrangements for the parent to discuss its contents with the pupil's teacher, if they so wish. These regulations apply whether parents live together or apart. Parents are also legally entitled to view, or request a copy of, their child's educational record; and schools must provide parents with access to it within 15 school days of a request.
Schools: Vocational Guidance
Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to encourage schools to teach pupils about entrepreneurship and starting a business. [171844]
Mr Timpson: It is becoming increasingly important for young people to understand about entrepreneurship and starting a business. Schools now have greater freedom to design their careers provision according to the needs of their pupils. They are also best placed to decide how to incorporate teaching of issues such as entrepreneurship across their wider curriculum. By slimming down the National Curriculum we have given schools more scope to introduce topics such as these in ways which are innovative and address specific local needs.
The Department for Education's reforms to 16-19 provision, underpinned by audit and accountability measures, also set clear expectations on schools and colleges to expand the provision of work experience for this age group. Alongside work experience, new EFA funding flexibilities are designed to encourage schools and colleges to increase their engagement with employers—providing an opportunity to promote enterprise and entrepreneurial skills as part of students' non-qualification activities to enhance further their career prospects.
Transport
A417 and A419
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what comparative assessment he has made of (a) delays and (b) congestion at the A417/A419 Air Balloon roundabout and roundabouts with similar traffic levels elsewhere in the country. [171913]
Mr Goodwill: The Highways Agency has not undertaken any specific comparative assessment of delays and congestion at the A417/A419 Air Balloon junction with other locations because this junction is unique. It has a steep gradient with significant constraints and accommodates variable traffic flow characteristics. This means a comparison with other junctions would have little value. The Highways Agency does however have a process to compare and prioritise locations on the strategic road network through an assessment of benefits and costs. Any improvement scheme will be judged on this basis.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will produce a cost-benefit analysis of the options to alleviate congestion problems on the A417/A419 Air Balloon roundabout. [171914]
22 Oct 2013 : Column 117W
Mr Goodwill: The Highways Agency is liaising closely with Gloucester county council and recognises the need to address the traffic congestion problems at and on the approaches to the Air Balloon roundabout. An A417 Cowley to Brockworth Bypass Improvement Scheme, which avoided the need for trunk road traffic to pass through the Air Balloon roundabout has been developed with a cost benefit analysis. However, the major scheme could not be taken forward because of the £250 million scheme cost. The Agency is now in the process of investigating outline options for a scheme to improve the junction in the short term without prejudicing any consideration of a longer term major improvement. This work is currently scheduled to be completed by the end of this financial year. When an agreed solution has been identified a full cost-benefit analysis will be undertaken and funding will be prioritised against other schemes nationally.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated current design capacity is of the A417/A419 Air Balloon roundabout. [171915]
Mr Goodwill: The Highways Agency has not calculated a figure for the current design capacity of the A417/A419 Air Balloon roundabout but it does recognise that the roundabout operates at or beyond capacity at certain times, contributing to the delays on this section of network. The Agency is working closely with Gloucester county council and is in the process of investigating outline options for a scheme to improve the junction capacity in the short term without prejudicing any consideration of a longer term major improvement. This study is planned to be completed by the end of the financial year.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average (a) weekday and (b) weekend delay time is for the A317/A319 Air Balloon roundabout during peak hours. [171921]
Mr Goodwill: The Highways Agency working closely with Gloucester county council is in the process of investigating outline options for a short term scheme to improve the junction. This work includes measuring delay times specifically at the roundabout. The Agency will be able to report this figure when the study completes at the end of the financial year.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Highways Agency has taken to deal with congestion centred on the Air Balloon roundabout on the A419 and A417; and whether any further such action is planned. [171922]
Mr Goodwill:
The Highways Agency recognises the need to improve this section of the A417 in order to reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents. Traffic management measures recently introduced include real time monitoring for incident detection and a specific severe weather management plan for the area. The agency is now in the process of developing outline options for a scheme to improve the junction in the short-term without prejudicing any consideration of a longer term major improvement. This work is currently scheduled to be completed by the end of this financial
22 Oct 2013 : Column 118W
year. When an agreed solution has been identified a full cost-benefit analysis will be undertaken and funding will be prioritised against other schemes nationally.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) lowest and (b) highest daily traffic flow through the A417/A419 Air Balloon roundabout has been in the last six months. [171923]
Mr Goodwill: The highest daily flow figure recorded through the A417 roundabout in the last six months as calculated by traffic approaching from all three arms was 50,200 vehicles on Friday 19 July 2013. The lowest figure was 32,700 vehicles on Saturday 18 May 2013.
Aviation: Fuels
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether the current regulation for minimal fuel carry for commercial aircraft is satisfactory. [171623]
Mr Goodwill: All EU airlines are required to comply with the fuel requirements set out in an EU regulation commonly known as EU-OPS, which are in place to ensure that airlines operate with sufficient fuel at all times.
The minimum fuel requirements detailed in EU-OPS state that the commander of a flight must upload sufficient fuel to reach the intended destination, fly a ‘go-around’, hold for 30 minutes, divert to a designated alternate airport, and have an additional emergency reserve equivalent to 10% of the original amount uploaded.
This policy has recently been subject to extensive consultation with aviation stakeholders and has been reconfirmed in revised EU regulations adopted last year, which the UK fully supports.
British Transport Police
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British Transport police officers there were in post in each of the last five years. [172064]
Stephen Hammond: The number of officers in post in each of the last five years, as at 30 September for. each year is set out in the following table.
| Officer headcount | |
High Speed 2
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of preparing and drafting the proposed Hybrid Bill for Phase 1 of High Speed 2. [171342]
Mr Goodwill:
We estimate that the Department for Transport will incur £1.7 million in direct staffing and legal consultancy costs for the preparation of the Hybrid
22 Oct 2013 : Column 119W
Bill for Phase One from the beginning of this financial year up to the end of this year when we aim to introduce the Bill to Parliament. The actual drafting of the Hybrid Bill is conducted by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel which is based in the Cabinet Office.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any businesses have indicated to his Department that they plan to relocate from London to Birmingham as a result of the planned High Speed 2 project. [171343]
Mr Goodwill: Neither the Department nor HS2 Ltd are aware of any businesses which have indicated that they plan to relocate from London to Birmingham. However, as the HS2 scheme is not expected to receive Royal Assent before 2015 and the railway to become operational in 2026, we would not expect businesses to be discussing relocation plans with us at this early stage.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many requests made pursuant to (a) the Freedom of Information Act 2000, (b) the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and (c) Data Subject Access Requests contained in the Data Protection Act 1998 have been submitted to (i) his Department and (ii) HS2 Ltd since 1 January 2010 concerning the High Speed 2 rail project. [171453]
22 Oct 2013 : Column 120W
Mr Goodwill: Since 1 January 2010, the Department for Transport has handled 172 requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) and 95 requests under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) concerning the High Speed 2 rail project.
In accordance with its retention policy, the Department only keeps detailed records about Data Subject Access Requests for one year after the date of the last correspondence about the request. Since August 2012 the Department has handled four requests from individuals in connection with the project.
Since 1 January 2010, HS2 Ltd has received 852 FOI and EIR requests. HS2 Ltd is unable to give the split between FOI and EIR requests as it does not differentiate between them in its case handling system. It has received 36 Data Subject Access Requests.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which consultancy firms have been paid in excess of £100,000 and (a) are being used and (b) have been used on the High Speed 2 rail project since 1 January 2011; and what their remit is in each such case. [171454]
Mr Goodwill: The information requested is presented in the following table:
22 Oct 2013 : Column 121W
22 Oct 2013 : Column 122W
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the number of businesses likely to close as a result of the construction of High Speed 2. [171456]
Mr Goodwill: An assessment of the impact on businesses of Phase 1 of High Speed 2 has been made and will be reported in volume 3 of the Environmental Statement, which will be published at deposit of the Phase 1 bill. The Department recognises the importance of displaced businesses being able to relocate to new premises and is exploring how they can be provided with support to facilitate this process.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding he expects to raise from local authorities who will benefit from High Speed 2. [171457]
Mr Goodwill:
The delivery of high speed rail must deliver good value for the taxpayer. While we accept that the majority of the scheme will be funded by
22 Oct 2013 : Column 123W
central Government, we have consistently said that we expect third parties which will benefit directly and significantly from the project, including local authorities and businesses, to consider contributing financially.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish the report commissioned by HS2 Ltd from the companies Sinclair Knight Merz and Jacobs into the High Speed 2 modelling framework. [171458]
Mr Goodwill: The report commissioned by HS2 Ltd from the companies Sinclair Knight Merz and Jacobs will be published shortly alongside an update of the economic case for HS2.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department will provide illustrative timetables that set out planned services for the West Coast Main Line following completion of High Speed 2. [171459]
Mr Goodwill: We intend to make the most of the additional capacity that HS2 will create in order to maximise the benefits from the new railway. Railway timetables are always evolving to meet demands for services, and at this stage in the project it is too early to make detailed commitments about how the rail network will operate after HS2 Phase One opens in 2026, or after Phase Two opens in 2033. However, illustrative scenarios have been prepared by HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to show how HS2 will improve commuter and regional services.
High Speed 2
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many individuals have been engaged by HS2 Ltd in the last 12 months via personal service companies. [171455]
Mr Goodwill: In the 12 months to 16 October 2013, HS2 Ltd engaged 48 people who are paid through personal service companies. Eight of the 48 people have either left the company or have transferred onto payroll. A further 12 will have left or transferred by 31 December. We are currently carrying out an assurance process to ensure that all of these people are compliant with their tax and national insurance obligations.
Invalid Vehicles: Accidents
Dame Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents on roads involving motorised mobility scooters have been recorded in the last five years for which records are available. [171610]
Mr Goodwill: The Department does not hold comprehensive data on personal injury road accidents involving motorised mobility scooters. Data on this issue were first collected (on a non-mandatory basis) in 2012, with 12 out of 51 police forces in Great Britain supplying data. Across these forces, there were 84 reported personal injury road accidents involving mobility scooters. The data for earlier years are not available.
The Department is working to obtain data on this issue from all forces by 2015.
22 Oct 2013 : Column 124W
Mobile Phones
Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many smartphone apps his Department has launched. [171599]
Stephen Hammond: The smartphone apps launched by the Department and its agencies are shown in the following table:
Railway Stations: Chelmsford
Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to build a new railway station at Beaulieu Park, Chelmsford; and if he will make a statement. [171801]
Stephen Hammond: As part of the major housing scheme at Beaulieu Park, the developer has committed to providing a new railway station. The Department is working with Chelmsford city council, Network Rail and the rail operator to help the developer progress this proposal.
The Greater Anglia Direct Award will include a requirement for the operator to co-operate in facilitating the construction and operation of the proposed station.
Railways: Chelmsford
Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to build a (a) loop and (b) third rail from Beaulieu Park to Witham; and if he will make a statement. [171803]
Stephen Hammond: Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan for Control Period 5 (2014 to 2019) includes a plan for capacity improvement on the Great Eastern Main Line. The proposed scope of works includes the provision of turnback facilities in the Chelmsford area. We await details from Network Rail about where and how these turnback facilities will be provided.
Railways: Ipswich
Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in replacing the overhead electrification cables on the line from London Liverpool Street to Ipswich; and what the cost of the project has been to date. [171800]
Stephen Hammond:
The overhead lines along the route from Liverpool Street to Ipswich are subject to regular renewal and maintenance by Network Rail to keep them in a suitable condition for the services using
22 Oct 2013 : Column 125W
them. A specific project is under way to renew the overhead lines from Liverpool Street to Chelmsford. Completion is scheduled for March 2018 and the anticipated final cost is approximately £270 million.
In addition, the route will also benefit from works as part of the Great Eastern Mainline Capacity Improvement work at Bow Junction.
Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made in upgrading the track from London Liverpool Street to Ipswich; and what the cost of that project has been to date. [171802]
Stephen Hammond: The track from London Liverpool Street to Ipswich is managed by Network Rail. They maintain and renew track according to its condition and the requirements of the services using it. There is no specific project to upgrade the track from London Liverpool Street to Ipswich. Renewal and maintenance work is carried out as part of Network Rail's day to day management of the network.
Railways: Wales
Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with Welsh Ministers and representatives on securing an hourly train service between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth. [172076]
Stephen Hammond: Under the Welsh rail devolution arrangements, the Welsh Government are responsible for the management of this route within the Arriva Trains Wales franchise. Therefore there have been no discussions between the Welsh Government and DFT Ministers on this issue.
Roads: Safety
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many road safety auditors there were in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Scotland in each of the last three years; [172015]
(2) how many certificates of competence in road safety audit have been issued by the Highways Agency in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Scotland since December 2011. [172016]
Mr Goodwill: There is no central list of the number of road safety auditors operating in the United Kingdom and, as such it is not possible to answer the question fully. The best indicator is the current register of members and fellows (including honorary) of the Society of Road Safety Auditors (SoRSA). The total membership is presently 296. There are likely to be many active auditors who are not registered with SoRSA as there is no formal requirement to do so. The IHE (Institute of Highway Engineers) also keep a list of registered Road Safety Audits, this includes the details of 30 practicing road safety auditors, these individuals may or may not be a member of SoRSA.
The Highways Agency produced Interim Advice Note (IAN) 152/11 in December 2011 in response to the European Directive 2008/96/EC. This document set out the intention of the Highways Agency to ensure that
22 Oct 2013 : Column 126W
road safety audit teams undertaking road safety audits on any Highways Agency roads (rather than just the Trans-European Road Network (TERN) requirement of the directive) contained at least one member holding a Certificate of Competency. The devolved Administrations have produced their own variations of IAN 152/11 covering the road network they are responsible for, however in respect of the Certificate of Competency process these documents follow the procedure set out in the Highways Agency IAN 152/11.
The Highways Agency does not issue certificates directly. Instead there are currently two Highways Agency accepted routes to attaining the certificate—the Training Course Route currently overseen by TMS Consultancy and the Portfolio of Evidence Route which is overseen by SoRSA. The devolved Administrations have agreed that the Highways Agency retain responsibility for the acceptance of Certificate of Competency assessment and certification processes proposed by professional organisations on their behalf.
To date 178 individuals have been issued with certificates through one of the two available routes with at least 10 applications pending. It is likely that this number will increase in advance of the requirements of IAN 152/11 coming into force in December 2013.
Transport: Schools
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he measures the distance children travel to school in rural areas. [171959]
Stephen Hammond: The National Travel Survey collects data on children travelling to school. Average distance travelled to/from school by children living in rural areas is published in table NTS9908 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts99-travel-by-region-and-area-type-of-residence
The relevant section of the table is re-produced as follows:
| Average trip length of trips to and from school1 by rural residents: Great Britain, 2011-122 | ||
| Miles | ||
| Area type of residence: | Aged 5-10 years | Ages 11-16 years |
| 1 Trips of under 50 miles only. 2 Two survey years combined, eg 2011 and 2012. 3 A rural area is defined in the NTS as a non-urban area or an urban area with less than 3,000 population. Source: National Travel Survey | ||
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average distance travelled to school by (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) all other pupils for whom data is available was for the last three years of recorded data. [171960]
Stephen Hammond: Average distance travelled to/from school by primary and secondary school children is published in table NTS0613 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts06-age-gender-and-modal-breakdown
22 Oct 2013 : Column 127W
The relevant section of the table is reproduced as follows:
| Average trip length to and from school1 per child per year: Great Britain, 2010 to 2012 | |||
| Average trip length (miles) | |||
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| 1. Education trips of under 50 miles only. Source: National Travel Survey. | |||
Justice
Crime: Victims
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will publish the next Victims' Code. [172017]
Mr Vara: We intend to publish the new Victims' Code very shortly.
Dogs
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions there have been for dog control offences under the Town and Police Clauses Act 1847 in each year for which statistics are available since 2008. [170862]
George Eustice: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to control of dogs under the Town and Police Clauses Act 1847, England and Wales, 2008 to 2012, can be viewed in the following table:
| Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to control of dogs1 under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, England and Wales, 2008-122,3 | |||||
| 20084 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| 1 Includes offences relating to dogs under s28(2) to (4) of the Act. 2 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 4 Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |||||
Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many appeals from Bradford relating to employment and support allowance have been logged with the Tribunals Service in the last 12 months. [171140]
Mr Vara:
The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against
22 Oct 2013 : Column 128W
Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits, including employment and support allowance (ESA).
The number of appeals against ESA decisions allocated to the Bradford hearing venue, Phoenix House, between April 2012 and March 2013 was 4,575. For the period April to June 2013 (the latest period for which figures are available) the number of appeals against ESA decisions at Phoenix House in Bradford was 1,339. Figures provided are for Phoenix House which hears appeals from Bradford and the surrounding area.
Food Banks
Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of probation offices make referrals to food banks. [171659]
Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not collected centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what support her Department provides to women who have been trafficked in order to assist their rehabilitation into civil society. [171885]
Mr Vara: Women identified as potential victims of human trafficking and referred to the National Referral Mechanism—the Government's formal identification process—are entitled to receive support under a contract which has been operated by the Salvation Army since July 2011. The contract supports both female and male victims and is jointly-funded by the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office. In 2012-13 £3 million was provided to the Salvation Army to run the contract.
Based on the victim's individual needs, the Salvation Army will ensure they are provided with the appropriate services to aid their recovery from the trauma of being trafficked. The Salvation Army has a wide and diverse supply chain of 12 sub-contractors who support victims in the most appropriate environment and tailor support according to need. This includes the provision of safe and secure accommodation, providing access to legal advice and preparing individuals for work through arranging access to training courses and mentoring.
Victims are entitled to support under the contract for a minimum of 45 days or until they have received a ‘Conclusive Grounds' decision to confirm they are a victim of trafficking. At this point the Salvation Army will work to support all victims to ensure an appropriate exit from the contract and into other support services or the safe return to their home country.
Magistrates
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) if he will review the retirement age for magistrates; [171721]
(2) what assessment he has made of the cost to the public purse of raising the retirement age of magistrates to 75. [171663]
22 Oct 2013 : Column 129W
Mr Vara: Ministers and the senior judiciary periodically review the judicial retirement age, magistrates included. There are no plans at present to separately review the retirement age for magistrates, which is set at 70 by section 13 of the Courts Act 2003.
The Government have not undertaken an assessment of the potential cost that would be incurred if the retirement age of magistrates were to be raised above 70. There is no plan to do so at this time.
Ministers’ Private Offices
Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent staff of each Civil Service grade are currently employed in the private office of each Minister in his Department; and what the pay band of each such member of staff is. [168723]
Mr Vara: The following table outlines the current staffing structure for ministerial offices at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) HQ. Details include those staff working directly to Ministers and based in each of their private offices. It does not include details of special advisers, staff in parliamentary branch, the shared ministerial support and correspondence teams or the office of the Permanent Secretary.
Payband details provided for Senior Civil Service Pay Band 1 staff show the minimum and maximum pay awards for London based SCS staff from April 2013, and exclude any specialist or private office allowances or enhancements.
Payband details for staff between Bands A and F show the minimum and maximum pay awards as agreed in the MOJ pay settlement in August 2010 for staff in Pay Range 1. Pay details for any National Offender Management Service (NOMS) staff listed are taken from the April 2012 NOMS pay settlement. All figures shown relate to inner London based staff and exclude any specialist or private office allowances or enhancements.
| Rt. Hon. Chris Grayling MP, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice | |||
| Grade | FTE | Pay band (£) | |
| Rt. Hon. Lord McNally, Minister of State | |||
| Grade | FTE | Pay band (£) | |
|
Includes 1.0 FTE fast streamer and 1.0 FTE who also provides support for the right hon. Damian Green | |||
| Jeremy Wright MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Minister for Prisons and Rehabilitation | |||
| Grade | FTE | Pay band (£) | |
22 Oct 2013 : Column 130W
|
Includes 1.0 FTE Band 7 (Band A equivalent) as support from National Offender Management Service. | |||
| Shailesh Vara MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Minister for the Courts and Legal Aid | |||
| Grade | FTE | Pay band (£) | |
Mobile Phones
Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many smartphone apps his Department has launched. [171598]
Mr Vara: The Ministry of Justice has to date launched no smartphone apps. This is in line with Government policy concerning the provision of digital services to citizens as outlined in the Government Service Design Manual
https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/making-software/standalone-apps.html
This states that native smartphone apps are currently rarely justified. The Government's guidance is that digital services should use responsive web design to optimise the user experience across a wide range of devices. Accordingly, all Ministry of Justice digital services are now being designed in this way.
Prison Service
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned changes in the number of prison officers employed in the public sector on (a) prison safety and (b) rehabilitation programmes within public sector prisons. [171390]
Jeremy Wright:
The changes in the number of Prison Officers in public sector prisons is being introduced as part of the Benchmark Project which will deliver efficiencies
22 Oct 2013 : Column 131W
by reducing headcount without comprising security, decency and safety in prisons. Key to the latter is the provision of regimes which help reduce the risk of prisoners reoffending on release. The rigorous process of applying and implementing benchmarks ensure that changes are carefully risk-assessed and managed. Senior managers in the National Offender Management Service are monitoring closely the introduction of the changes.
Prisoners
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have completed their minimum sentence tariff but are still imprisoned in (a) HMP Altcourse, (b) HMP Walton and (c) all prisons in England. [171882]
Jeremy Wright: Prison is the right place for serious and dangerous offenders and the Parole Board will only release prisoners serving indeterminate sentences when they consider it is safe to do so. Many prisoners serving indeterminate sentences remain in prison beyond their minimum term, and some are never released. This Government have introduced a tough new regime for dangerous offenders which will see more of them given life sentences and others spending long periods in prison and being supervised for long periods after their release.
The number of prisoners who remain in prison having served their minimum term in HMP Altcourse, HMP Walton and all prisons in England is given in the following table:
| Indeterminate sentenced prisoners in custody beyond tariff by establishment, June 2013, England | |
| Total | |
| Note: Data Sources and Quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. | |
Prisons: Crimes of Violence
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps he plans to take to ensure that prison officers are protected from attacks; [170178]
(2) how many prison officers were attacked in each of the last three years; how many such attacks resulted in (a) minor injuries, (b) severe injuries and (c) fatalities; and what the average length of sentence handed down to perpetrators of such attacks was. [170179]
Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the Prison Officers Association (POA) are jointly committed to a zero tolerance approach to assaults on staff, visitors and prisoners.
NOMS takes the issue of assaults on prison staff very seriously. It currently has systems in place to deal with perpetrators quickly and robustly, with serious incidents referred to the police for prosecution. It is working with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that prisoners who assault staff are charged and punished appropriately.
22 Oct 2013 : Column 132W
NOMS is committed to exploring options to continue to improve how violence is tackled in prisons to keep both staff and prisoners safe. It is currently reviewing the policy and practice of the management of violence.
The MOJ incident reporting system does not capture data in the form requested. Information held is on prisoners involved in assault incidents. Where a prison officer is the victim of an assault incident figures can be provided only for the number of incidents.
The number of prisoner on officer assault incidents is provided in Table 3.8 of the Safety in Custody assault statistics. This can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225114/safety-custody-assaults-mar-13.xls
The number of prisoner on officer assault incidents where a minor or serious injury or fatality was reported to have occurred in the last three years is provided in the following table. The injury may have occurred to any person involved in the assault and not necessarily a prison officer.
NOMS does not record the sentence of the courts for assailants in prison.
| Number of prisoner on officer assault incidents reporting minor injuries, major injuries or fatalities by calendar year | |||
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
Probation
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the implications of the relationship between the proposed National Probation Service and community rehabilitation companies for continuity of supervision for offenders across risk categories. [171380]
Jeremy Wright: Protecting the public is our top priority. Under our reforms, management of the offenders who pose the highest risk of serious harm, or who have committed the most serious offences, will be the responsibility of the National Probation Service (NPS), and management of medium and low risk offenders will be the responsibility of the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs).
Both the NPS and CRCs will have to have effective risk management procedures in place, and appropriately competent and trained staff. They will be expected to work closely together. To reflect the dynamic nature of risk, we have designed a system where any case managed by a CRC must be referred to the NPS if there are indications that the risk of serious harm may have escalated to high. If the NPS judges that the risk of serious harm has escalated to high, it will take over responsibility for that case.
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department has received any representations from the judiciary on its proposed probation reforms. [171381]
22 Oct 2013 : Column 133W
Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice received almost 600 formal responses to the consultation document 'Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders'. This included responses from the Justices' Clerks Society, Magistrates' Association, the Council of HM Circuit Judges, and local criminal justice boards.
As we continue to develop the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms, Ministers and officials are engaged on an ongoing basis with representatives of the judiciary and courts, in order to inform the final design of the new system.
Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what supervision requirements are currently available to the courts in England and Wales; and whether it will be a condition of future probation contracts that private contractors should provide an equivalent supervision service. [171382]
Jeremy Wright: Courts have the power to impose a supervision requirement as part of a community order or suspended sentence order. This involves the offender attending appointments with the responsible officer for the order or another person determined by the responsible officer.
The Offender Rehabilitation Bill, currently before Parliament, proposes to repeal the supervision requirement and also the current activity requirement, and replace them both with a single rehabilitation activity requirement. Under the new requirement, offenders must comply with any instructions given by their responsible officer to attend appointments, participate in activities, or both. The effect of this is to allow the probation provider who is the responsible officer, rather than the court, to decide the exact details of what appointments or activities the offender should take part in.
Providers will need to meet national standards set by the Secretary of State for the management of offenders and will have to evidence in their bids how they would deliver high quality rehabilitation support. Successful bidders will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts.
Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what requirements bidders for probation work will need to meet in respect of provision of supervision for men convicted of domestic violence-related offences. [171383]
Jeremy Wright: Under our reforms, offenders who are deemed to pose a high risk of serious harm to the public, or who are convicted of the most serious offences, will be managed by the National Probation Service (NPS). Medium and low risk offenders will be managed by Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). We will retain the skills and expertise of existing probation professionals as we transition into the new system, with current Probation Trust staff transferring either into the NPS or the CRCs.
The Secretary of State will continue to issue national standards for the management of offenders, and the Government will place contractual requirements on CRCs in relation to the management of offenders, to ensure that the risk of serious harm posed by all offenders is effectively managed. Providers bidding to run CRCs will need to demonstrate in their bids how they would
22 Oct 2013 : Column 134W
deliver high quality rehabilitative support to offenders, and they will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts. Bidders will also need to demonstrate how they will maintain a workforce with appropriate levels of competence and training to deliver these services.
In addition to supervision and activities designed to rehabilitate the offender, a court order can require an offender to attend an accredited programme designed specifically for offenders convicted of domestic violence related offences. The Government will continue to set standards for the delivery of these programmes.
Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether all future providers of probation services will be required to attend those local multi-agency meetings which consider the needs of (a) female offenders, (b) female victims of domestic abuse and (c) male perpetrators of domestic violence; [171643]
(2) if he will make it his policy that all future providers of probation services will be required to attend local violence against women and girls forums; [171763]
(3) what the minimum standards for the supervision of female offenders will be in his probation on tender documents. [171857]
Jeremy Wright: Providers will need to meet national standards set by the Secretary of State for the management of offenders and will have to evidence in their bids how they would deliver gender-specific rehabilitation support specific to the needs of female offenders. Successful bidders will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts.
There are many different local partnership working arrangements in which the NPS and CRCs might engage, which contribute to the management of offenders, the reduction of reoffending and the protection of the public. They will be required to agree a protocol between them in relation to participation in these partnerships, and we will place appropriate contractual requirements on CRCs in relation to engagement in some specific partnership working arrangements.