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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Treasury

Energy

Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what costs were incurred by his Department's estate in respect of (a) gas and (b) electricity supply in the 2012-13 financial year. [172797]

Nicky Morgan: Departmental energy costs can be found in Treasury's annual report and accounts 2012-13, a copy of which has been deposited in the Library.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer if all alcohol duty were frozen in 2014; [172154]

(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of a freeze in alcohol duty in 2014 on consumption of (a) wine, (b) beer, (c) spirits and (d) cider; [172155]

(3) what estimate he has made on the cost to the Exchequer of scrapping the alcohol duty escalator and increasing the level of alcohol duty by inflation in the 2014 financial year. [172165]

Nicky Morgan: Budget 2013 cancelled the beer duty escalator so beer duty will rise by inflation only in 2014-15. Duties on wine, spirits and cider will rise by 2% above inflation in 2014-15. An indication of the effect on revenue and consumption of a 1% increase in duty in 2014-15 on all alcoholic drinks is presented in the following tables, taken from HMRC’s published ready reckoners.

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Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has accrued to the Exchequer through vehicle excise duty in each of the last five years. [172861]

Nicky Morgan: Out-turn figures for vehicle excise duty are published bi-annually in the autumn statement and Budget report:

Financial Conduct Authority

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what specific targets his Department has put in place for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); how these targets are measured; what other steps his Department has put in place to monitor the FCA's performance; and if he will make a statement. [172331]

Sajid Javid: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is operationally independent from Government and carries out is functions within the framework of statutory objectives and duties agreed by Parliament.

In view of its independence the Treasury does not specify non-statutory operational targets for the FCA.

Under the Financial Services Act 2012 (“the Act”) the FCA is required to prepare an annual report on its performance against its statutory objectives.

The Act also makes the FCA subject to National Audit Office audit with the associated ability of the NAO to launch VFM studies of the FCA.

The Treasury has powers to appoint an independent person to conduct a review of the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the FCA has used its resources in discharging its functions.

High Speed 2

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to which department's capital departmental expenditure limit expenditure on High Speed 2 will be attributed. [172697]

Danny Alexander: The Government allocated an overall funding envelope for High Speed 2 of £42.6 billion for construction costs (£21.4 billion for Phase 1 and £21.2 billion

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for Phase 2) and £7.5 billion for rolling stock, in 2011 prices. The spending round 2013 also allocated a budget for High Speed 2 up until 2021. This sits within the Department for Transport's departmental expenditure limit.

Married Tax Allowance

Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Wales and (b) each other region of the UK will receive married tax allowance. [171932]

Mr Gauke: The estimated number of people that stand to gain from the married couples' transferable allowance in each region/country of the UK in 2015-16 is presented in the following table:

These estimates are derived from the 2011-12 Family Resources Survey projected forward to 2015-16 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2013 economic and fiscal outlook.

Performance Appraisal

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13. [170454]

Nicky Morgan: The following table gives the proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed in the Treasury by each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13.

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Public Expenditure

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what Barnett consequentials for which projects have been paid to (a) Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland in each year since 2010; what such payments are currently under discussion; and what amount of such payments has been agreed to be paid in each year to 2020. [172517]

Danny Alexander: The following table sets out capital Barnett consequentials resulting from policy decisions taken by the UK Government since the 2010 spending round.

In addition capital allocations for 2015-16 were set out at spending round 2013. Any further Barnett consequentials, including allocations for years beyond 2015-16, will be announced in due course.

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Stamp Duty Land Tax

Bob Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on levying stamp duty on the sale of properties under £2 million. [172789]

Mr Gauke: The Government levy stamp duty land tax on properties below £2 million at the following rates:

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VAT: Charities

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total value of VAT for sales of the Justice Collective's Christmas 2012 charity single. [171318]

Mr Gauke: No specific estimate has been made by HMRC of the total value of VAT for sales of the Justice Collective's Christmas 2012 charity single. However, following discussions with the distributor, the Government have proposed a grant of £61,735 to LCVS (Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services) as a result of its commitment to effectively waive VAT on sales of the Justice Collective's Christmas 2012 charity single.

Home Department

Animal Experiments

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to repeal section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in order to open animal experiments to the same level of accountability as that which government and other public bodies are already subject. [R] [172585]

James Brokenshire: We are presently reviewing section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA).

Central to our work on openness and transparency is the review we are undertaking of section 24 which provides for the protection of confidential information provided in connection with our regulatory activities under ASPA. A breach of section 24 can result in criminal sanctions. The requirements of section 24 are now out of step with our policy on openness and transparency and with the approach taken in other legislation, such as the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The solution we develop must improve the overall transparency surrounding research using animals while protecting personal identities and intellectual property and commercial competitiveness.

Arrest Warrants

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many European arrest warrants the UK (a) issued and (b) received in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2013 to date. [169072]

Mr Harper [holding answer 13 September 2013]: I have been informed by the National Crime Agency (NCA) that 271 European arrest warrants (EAWs) were issued and 6,290 EAWs were received by the UK in 2012.

From 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2013, the NCA issued 47 and received 1,513 EAWs.

Data from April 2013 onwards are in the process of being validated.

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Crime: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of thefts from motor vehicles committed in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency and (b) Cumbria were cleared up by police in each of the last three years; [172364]

(2) what proportion of sexual offences committed in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency and (b) Cumbria were cleared up by police in each of the last three years; [172365]

(3) what proportion of violent offences committed in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency and (b) Cumbria were cleared up by police in each of the last three years. [172366]

Norman Baker [holding answer 25 October 2013]: The detection rates for the offences requested are shown for each of the last three years in the Cumbria Police force area in the following table. These include those offences that were detected by means of a charge/summons, caution, fixed penalty notice, offences taken into consideration (TIC), or a non-sanction detection.

The data are not available at a lower geographical level than this, and so data for the Barrow and Furness constituency cannot be obtained.

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of burglaries in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency and (b) Cumbria were cleared up by police in each of the last three years. [172623]

Norman Baker [holding answer 28 October 2013]: The detection rates for burglaries are shown for each of the last three years in the Cumbria police force area in the following table. These include those offences that were detected by means of a charge/summons, caution, fixed penalty notice, offences taken into consideration (TIC), or a non-sanction detection.

The data are not available at a lower geographical level than this, and so data for the Barrow and Furness constituency cannot be obtained.

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Entry Clearances: Foreign Workers

Sir James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Tier 5 visas have been issued to people previously in receipt of Tier 5 visas in each of the last three years; and which organisation issued each certificate of sponsorship. [172403]

Mr Harper [holding answer 25 October 2013]: The information you have requested is not available in the format requested and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

However, as part of its commitment to transparency, the Home Office publishes immigration statistics annually and quarterly on both Tier 5 visas issued and extensions.

You may find the quarterly Home Office Immigration Statistics April to June 2013 helpful, and in particular the before entry table ‘be 04 q’ and extensions table ‘ex 01 q’, which can be found at the following website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2013/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2013#work-1

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the cost to the public purse has been of compliance with Council Decision 2003/170/JHA in each of the last five years; [171702]

(2) how many times UK liaison officers have (a) provided and (b) received information pursuant to Council Decision 2003/170/JHA in each of the last five years; [171703]

(3) how many times UK authorities, including the Government but not including liaison officers, have (a) provided and (b) received information pursuant to Council Decision 2003/170/JHA in each of the last five years; [171704]

(4) how many times UK liaison officers have (a) provided and (b) received assistance pursuant to Article 4(2) of Council Decision 2003/170/JHA in each of the last five years; [171705]

(5) whether Council Decision 2003/170/JHA, as amended, gave rise to the introduction of any legislative proposals; and what such changes were; [171706]

(6) whether the Government will seek to continue the co-operation established by Council Decision 2003/170/JHA, as amended, if the UK ceases to be bound by that Council Decision pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; what operational and legislative measures would be needed to continue this co-operation; and what assessment she has made of whether this co-operation will continue to be possible. [171683]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 21 October 2013]:The UK Government have co-operated with international partners on serious and organised crime for many years and will continue to do so both through the newly formed National Crime Agency (NCA) and other UK authorities. Joint working and law enforcement co-operation occurs on a regular basis between UK officers, government officials and our partners from other member states and third countries. Council Decision 2003/170/JHA as amended

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by Council Decision 2006/560/JHA formalised this cooperation. Council Decision 2003/170/JHA did not give rise to any legislative proposals.

As the UK has opted out of this measure, it is important to note that on 1 December 2014, the UK will have the power to change operational practices if required. At the moment, the Government are content with the arrangements in place and have no plans to do so.

Details of the number of times information and assistance was exchanged by Liaison Officers and UK authority under the measure in the last five years is not held centrally. As of July 2013 (the last time this data was collated), neither the NCA (nor its predecessor the Serious Organised Crime Agency) and HM Revenue and Customs have neither received, nor made, any requests under this measure. There have been no costs to UK public funds over the last five years for complying with this Council Decision.

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many searches authorities of other EU member states have carried out on the UK's fingerprint database in each of the last five years under Article 9 of Council Decision 2008/615/JHA; how many of these searches resulted in a match; in how many of these cases the UK provided the relevant foreign authority with further information following a match; and what action the relevant foreign authority took in each case on the basis of finding such a match or receiving such further information; [172045]

(2) how many searches of UK vehicle registration data authorities other EU member states have carried out in each of the last five years under Article 12 of Council Decision 2008/615/JHA; how many of those searches resulted in a match; and what action the relevant foreign authority took in each such case on the basis of finding such a match; [172043]

(3) how many searches UK authorities have carried out on the fingerprint databases of other EU member states in each of the last five years under Article 9 of Council Decision 2008/615/JHA; how many of those searches resulted in a match; in how many of those cases the UK received further information from the relevant foreign authority following a match; and what action UK authorities took in each case on the basis of finding such a match or receiving further information; [172044]

(4) how many searches of vehicle registration data of another EU member state UK authorities have carried out in each of the last five years under Article 12 of Council Decision 2008/615/JHA; how many of those searches resulted in a match; and what action UK authorities took in each such case on the basis of finding such a match; [172046]

(5) how many times the UK has (a) received information from and (b) provided information to other EU member states as a result of Articles 13 and 14 of Council Decision 2008/615/JHA in each of the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the role such information played in preventing crime and disorder in each case; [172047]

(6) how many searches authorities of other EU member states have carried out on the UK's DNA database under (a) Article 3 and (b) Article 4 of

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Council Decision 2008/615/JHA in each of the last five years; how many of those searches resulted in a match; in how many of those cases the UK provided the relevant foreign authority with further information following such a match; and what action the relevant foreign authority took in each case on the basis of finding such a match or receiving further information; [172048]

(7) how many times UK authorities have collected a DNA sample and supplied it to another EU member state due to a request under Article 7 of Council Decision 2008/615/JHA; in how many cases the person whose DNA was being obtained was a British national; and what action the relevant foreign authority took in each case using the sample provided; [172049]

(8) how many times UK authorities have obtained a DNA sample from another EU member state using the provisions of Article 7 of Council Decision 2008/615/ JHA in each of the last five years; and what action UK authorities took in each case using the sample provided; [172052]

(9) how many searches UK authorities have carried out on the DNA databases of other EU member states under (a) Article 3 and (b) Article 4 of the Council Decision 2008/615/JHA in each of the last five years; how many of those searches resulted in a match; in how many of these cases the UK received further information from the relevant foreign authority following a match; and what action the UK authorities took in each case on the basis of finding a match or receiving further information. [172056]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 22 October 2013]:The UK has not implemented Articles 3, 4, 7n, 9e or 12 of Council Decision 2008/615/JHA and no information has been exchanged as a result. The UK has implemented Article 13 and 14 administratively but no requests for information have been received.

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in how many cases UK authorities have co-operated with the authorities of another EU member state owing to the provisions of Article 9(2) of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA, as amended in each of the last five years; what the substance and outcome of such co-operation was in each case; whether the Government intend to maintain such co-operation unchanged if the UK ceases to be bound by this Framework Decision pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; how such co- operation would be maintained; and what assessment she has made of whether this would be at least as efficacious as UK participation in the Framework Decision; [172113]

(2) what requirements of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA the UK (a) has and (b) has not implemented. [172114]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 23 October 2013]: Information is not held centrally on the number of cases arising from the provisions in Article 9(2). The UK does not need to rely on Article 9(2) of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA (as amended) to co-operate with member states in deciding where

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prosecution should take place where the offence under investigation falls within the jurisdiction of more than one member state.

Existing UK law goes further than the requirements of Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA (as amended) in most respects. The UK takes extra territorial jurisdiction for the majority of terrorism offences required by the Framework Decision, with the exception of encouragement and training offences in the Terrorism Act 2006.

As the UK has opted out of this measure, the UK will not be required to legislate in regards to the Framework Decision. It is important to note that on 1 December 2014 the UK will have the power to change legislation on this matter in our Parliament. At the moment, the Government has no intention to bring forward any new proposals or change current UK law or practice.

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in how many cases in each of the last five years the UK has co-operated with other EU member states owing to Article 7(2) of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA; what the substance and outcome of such co-operation was in each case; whether the Government intends to maintain such co-operation unchanged if the UK ceases to be bound by this Framework Decision pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; how such co-operation would be maintained; and what assessment she has made of the whether this would be at least as efficacious as UK participation in the Framework Decision; [172283]

(2) which requirements of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA are implemented by the UK; [172285]

(3) whether the Government intend to retain without change existing provisions of UK law and practice required by Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA, if the UK ceases to be bound by that Framework Decision pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties. [172287]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 24 October 2013]:Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA sets minimum penalties for certain offences related to organised crime. All requirements of the Framework Decision have been met through existing domestic law.

Where conflicts of jurisdiction arise it is open to UK prosecutors to resolve the matter with their EU counterparts directly or refer the matter to Eurojust, the EU's judicial cooperation Agency. We hold no information centrally on how often conflicts falling within the scope of Article 7(2) have arisen and how they have been resolved. We assess that there will be no drop in the effectiveness of resolving such conflicts through not being bound by this measure.

As the UK has opted out of this measure, on 1 December 2014 the UK will have the power to change legislation on this matter in our Parliament.

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which requirements of Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA are implemented by the UK; [172284]

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(2) whether the Government intend to retain without change existing provisions of UK law and practice required by Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA, if the UK ceases to be bound by that Framework Decision pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; [172286]

(3) what new provisions of law or practice the UK would need to introduce if it remained bound by Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA after 1 December 2014. [172288]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 24 October 2013]: The UK meets all the requirements of the Framework Decision through existing domestic law. We have no specific criminal offences of publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising crimes of genocide; crimes against humanity; war crimes; and crimes against peace when carried out in a manner likely to incite to violence or hatred (as referred to in Article 1 (1) (c) and (d) of the Framework Decision). Any conduct that seeks to incite violence or hatred however is likely to amount to an offence under existing incitement to hatred legislation in the UK.

As the UK has opted out of this measure, there is no likelihood that the UK will need to legislate further around Article 1. It is important to note that on 1 December 2014 the UK will have the power to change legislation on this matter in our Parliament. At the moment, there is currently no intention to change provisions of UK law.

Firearms: Licensing

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearms license applications have been rejected on the grounds of a history of (a) domestic violence, (b) violent conduct and (c) drug or alcohol abuse in each of the last five years; if she will investigate trends of such refusals; and if she will publish the results of such an investigation in the Library. [172735]

Damian Green: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 22 October 2013, Official Report, column 92W. There are no plans to investigate trends of such refusals.

Hilal Abdul-Razzaq Ali al-Jedda

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Hilal Abdul-Razzaq Ali al-Jedda; and if she will make a statement. [172321]

Mr Harper [holding answer 25 October 2013]: I was disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision of 9 October 2013. We are now considering the judgment and our next steps in the case carefully. It would be inappropriate to make any further statement at this stage.

Human Trafficking: Victims

Naomi Long: To ask the secretary of State for the Home Department how many residence permits have been granted to persons conclusively recognised as

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victims of trafficking by the National Referral Mechanism in

(a)

the UK and

(b)

Northern Ireland in each year since its implementation; and how many of those permits were issued due to the victim’s personal circumstances. [166857]

Mr Harper: The information requested can be found in Table 1 which shows the number of individuals who were conclusively found to be victims of trafficking and who were granted some form of leave. This includes grants of asylum, humanitarian protection and discretionary leave.

Immigration: Public Consultation

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many responses her Department's recent consultation on immigration and private rented housing received; and how many such responses were from people who are currently acting as landlords. [168954]

Mr Harper: The Home Office has recently concluded a public consultation on requiring landlords to check the immigration status of new private tenants. The consultation report includes statistical information on the profile of respondents, including the total number of responses received and the percentage of responses from landlords. The report can be found on the www.gov.uk website at this location:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/249616/Consultation_Response.pdf

Modern Day Slavery Bill (Draft)

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has for pre-legislative scrutiny of her Department's proposed Modern Day Slavery Bill. [172332]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 25 October 2013]: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has announced her intention to publish a draft Bill in December. Arrangements for pre-legislative scrutiny are in train and will be confirmed in due course.

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Sexual Offences

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets, key performance indicators and command objectives the Metropolitan police has with regards to (a) rape and (b) sexual offences; whether those targets differed between 2011-12 and 2012-13; and how the Metropolitan Police performed against these in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13. [172357]

Damian Green: The Secretary of State has not set targets for the Metropolitan police on rape or sexual offences. This Government have removed centrally imposed targets on the police and replaced them with one clear objective—to cut crime. Policing priorities in London are set by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), through the Police and Crime Plan, and it is MOPAC's responsibility to hold the Metropolitan police to account for delivery against the priorities set out in the plan.

Attorney-General

Charities Act 2006

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Attorney-General what reports the Law Officers' Departments have laid before each House of Parliament pursuant to section 70(9) of the Charities Act 2006 in 2012-13. [172928]

The Solicitor-General: None.

Corruption: Public Service

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Attorney-General how many people have been prosecuted for (a) bribery of foreign public officials and (b) failure to prevent such bribery since July 2011. [172662]

The Solicitor-General: The Serious Fraud Office has started proceedings against 14 individuals for bribery of foreign officials since July 2011. All of these relate to pre-Bribery Act offences.

There have been no prosecutions for failing to prevent bribery of foreign officials in this period.

Fraud: Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many fraud cases have been (a) referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision, (b) subject to a decision by the CPS to take no further action, (c) subject to a CPS decision to be cautioned, (d) prosecuted, (e) prosecuted successfully and (f) prosecuted successfully where the defendant contested the charge in each of the last five years. [172355]

The Solicitor-General: CPS prosecutions are categorised according to 12 principal offence categories. These categorises are assigned at the end of a prosecution to indicate the most serious offence with which a defendant is charged at the time of finalisation. Details for prosecutions where the principal offence category was Fraud and Forgery are as follows:

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As the principal offence category is assigned to the electronic record at the end of the prosecution case, it is not possible to provide information for the number of Fraud and Forgery categorised cases referred to the CPS for a charging decision or the outcome of those charging decisions.

Human Trafficking: Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many human trafficking-flagged cases have been (a) referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision, (b) subject to a decision by the CPS to take no further action, (c) subject to a CPS decision to be cautioned, (d) prosecuted, (e) prosecuted successfully and (f) prosecuted successfully where the defendant contested the charge in each of the last five years. [172354]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the numbers of cases involving human trafficking by way of a database monitoring flag applied to the electronic case record. Collection of this information commenced from 1 April 2010.

The following table shows the number of human trafficking flagged cases referred to the CPS for a pre-charge decision (PCD) and the number of suspects where a decision to charge, take no further action or to issue an out of court disposal, including a caution, was made:

The following table sets out the number of human trafficking flagged prosecutions and their outcomes for the periods since flagging began:

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Police: Surveillance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Attorney-General what the policy of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is on seeking prosecution of police officers accused of crimes whilst working undercover; whether the CPS is taking steps to examine whether there is adequate evidence to charge Bob Lambert in relation to actions undertaken whilst operating undercover for the Metropolitan Police; and if he will make a statement. [172846]

The Solicitor-General: Where it is suspected that police officers have committed crimes while working undercover, the police, or the Independent Police Complaints Commission, will carry out a full investigation. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will review any cases referred to it by the police in accordance with the two- stage test that is set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Where there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and a prosecution is required in the public interest, such cases will be prosecuted.

As a matter of general policy, the CPS will neither confirm nor deny whether an individual is or was an undercover officer. The CPS works closely with officers conducting investigations into the conduct of undercover officers.

Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the findings were of the Director of Public Prosecutions' inquiry into falling referrals for charge in case of rape, domestic violence and child abuse; if he will place those findings in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [172356]

The Solicitor-General: Improving the approach to violence against women and girls prosecutions continues to be a key priority for the Crown Prosecution Service. (CPS). The CPS Annual Violence Against Women and Girls Crime Report for 2012-13:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/docs/cps_vawg_report_2013.pdf

outlines that three out of four prosecutions for violence against women and girls now result in a conviction and that conviction rates for domestic violence and rape are at their highest recorded levels. The report also outlines falls in the numbers of flagged cases of domestic violence, rape and child abuse referred from the police to the CPS for a charging decision.

On 26 September 2013, the Director of Public Prosecutions met with representatives from the Home Office, National Policing leads for rape and domestic violence and other interested parties to consider the possible reasons for the reduction in the referral rate. The following six actions were agreed at the meeting:

1. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to share the Terms of Reference of its inspection into the effectiveness of the police response to domestic violence and abuse across England and Wales, and to ensure close liaison with the CPS and the Attorney-General's Office (AGO). The findings from the inspection are due to report by April 2014.

2. That the Home Office, CPS and AGO liaise closely with the Ministry of Justice on its work to review the use of out of court disposals in the context of violence against women and girls cases; and that the Home Office and the National Policing lead

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for domestic violence to build an evidence base on any police use of out of court disposals and community resolutions for violence against women and girls.

3. That the CPS investigates further the proportion of violence against women and girls cases being charged across police force areas.

4. That the Home Office provide information about the provision of Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and their contribution to successful criminal justice outcomes.

5. That the CPS and the National Policing lead for rape convene a joint-National Scrutiny Panel to further investigate the fall in the number of rape cases referred. The findings will be published at the earliest opportunity.

6. That the CPS and Home Office work with National Policing leads and Police and Crime Commissioners to continue to raise awareness about violence against women and girls and provide further guidance on domestic violence cases where the victim has indicated that they are not willing to support the prosecution.

Serious Fraud Office

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2013, Official Report, column 440W, on Serious Fraud Office, which closed investigations of the Serious Fraud Office were authorised by (a) Richard Alderman, (b) Phillippa Williamson and (c) the Tactical Tasking and Coordination Group. [171494]

The Solicitor-General: Of the 58 cases accepted for investigation between 2008 and 2012, four of those accepted for investigation by Richard Alderman are now closed; 21 of those accepted by Phillippa Williamson are now closed; eight of those accepted by the Tactical Tasking and Coordination Group are now closed. A further 25 cases remain open.

Of those cases which were tried, those relating to D J Litt; Steele, Shephard and Pattinson; and Kallakis and Williams were accepted by Phillippa Williamson. A further case, relating to Amec plc, which resulted in a civil recovery order, was also accepted by Phillippa Williamson.

It would not be appropriate to give further details about other cases. This is to protect the investigatory process, and to avoid any prejudice to current or future investigations.

Communities and Local Government

Bellwin Scheme

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications for Bellwin Scheme funding have been rejected by his Department since May 2010; and who made each unsuccessful application. [172733]

Brandon Lewis: No formal applications for Bellwin Scheme funding have been rejected since May 2010.

Empty Property: Shops

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to bring empty retail premises back into use; and what funding his Department has provided for this purpose since May 2010. [172727]

29 Oct 2013 : Column 401W

Brandon Lewis: We have cut small business rates and given councils a financial incentive to support high streets. Changes to planning rules mean that it is now easier to change the use of buildings. Consultation closed earlier this month on further relaxations of planning rules to make it easier to bring empty and underused buildings back to life, revitalising high streets and providing much-needed homes. We have also confirmed our intention to amend the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations to make it easier to bring vacant shops and other town centre units back into use without becoming liable for the levy. These changes will help town centre landlords make better use of their empty properties, get more start-up businesses set up in the high street, and see a third of a million small businesses paying no rates at all.

In addition, the Government have provided communities across the country with a multi-million pound package of support so they can try new ideas to drive their local economy. Beyond the Portas Pilots and Town Team Partners, who shared over £5.6 million, the Government have invested £10 million through the High Street Innovation Fund in the 100 areas with the highest empty property rates and those affected by the riots, and £1 million of High Street Renewal Awards. This is alongside more than £115 million of Government funding to boost enterprise and initiate business start ups.

The Government have also committed £235 million of direct funding, to help local authorities, housing associations and community groups tackle the most problematic empty properties, which would not otherwise come back into use. The last funding round had a particular emphasis on refurbishing former commercial and high street properties.

We are working with an industry-led taskforce to explore distressed commercial property and its causes. This is due to publish its report soon. Finally, we established the Future High Streets Forum which is advising the Government how better use could be made of existing buildings, including with pop up shops.

Fire Services: Pensions

Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average cost to individual members of implementation of his proposed changes to the Firefighters' Pension Scheme. [172725]

Brandon Lewis: No estimate has been made of the average costs or benefits to individual members of implementation of the proposed changes to the firefighters' pension schemes, which will vary significantly according to their circumstances. Over half of all firefighters will see no change in their retirement age and a greater proportion of firefighters are being protected from the change in normal pension age than in any other large public sector work force.

The Government have published a pension calculator to allow firefighters to work out their pension changes. The calculator can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firefighters-pension-scheme-reforms-pension-scheme-calculator

29 Oct 2013 : Column 402W

Housing: Construction

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what assessment he has made of the effect on house building of his plans to transfer £400 million of New Homes Bonus funding to local enterprise partnerships; [171735]

(2) whether the £400 million which is being transferred from local authorities' New Homes Bonus funds into local enterprise partnerships budgets will be counted as local authority budget cuts. [171736]

Kris Hopkins: The proposal for local authorities to pool a proportion of their New Homes Bonus in 2015-16 was the subject of a technical consultation carried out between July and September this year. That consultation set out our expectation that authorities would receive the New Homes Bonus they had earned, and that pooling would be local. We are currently considering the responses to the consultation and will announce a way forward in due course.

Government support and investment in housing is having an effect. Housing supply is now at its highest since 2008, with 334,000 new homes built over the last three years. In the most recent quarter, housing starts are up by 33% on last year.

Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households have used the provisions of the Mortgage Repossessions (Protections of Tenants) Act 2010 since its implementation. [172495]

Kris Hopkins: The published impact assessment supporting the legislation estimated that between 5,000 and 20,000 tenants would be protected from short notice eviction between 2010 and 2020. The impact assessment is available from the Library of the House.

Her Majesty's Courts Service do not collect data on the number of court hearings under the Mortgage Repossessions (Protections of Tenants) Act 2010. Most tenants will have benefited from the legislation without attending court.

Second Homes: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of second homes in the (a) Barrow-in-Furness and (b) South Lakeland council areas. [172973]

Brandon Lewis: In October 2012 Barrow-in-Furness council reported there were 370 dwellings registered as second homes for council tax purposes. At the same time, 3,824 dwellings in South Lakeland were registered as second homes.

The data are from a snapshot taken each year and are as recorded by each local authority in the Council Tax Base returns submitted annually to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Information for October 2013 will be published on the

www.gov.uk

website in November 2013.

29 Oct 2013 : Column 403W

Business, Innovation and Skills

Arms Trade: Egypt

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2013, Official Report, column 667W, on Egypt, if he will publish (a) summary descriptions of the goods that may be transferred and (b) information regarding any limits placed on the end users within Egypt for each extant open export and trade licences for transfers of controlled goods to Egypt. [172394]

Michael Fallon: Annual report summary descriptions for all extant licences will be placed in the Libraries of the House. There may be duplication with some annual report summaries, as the information has been downloaded from extant licences on a live system and then merged as much as possible to reduce the length of this response.

No open licences have had their coverage reduced as a result of the suspension mechanism being introduced. Open licences of concern have been suspended outright.

Business: Regulation

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress he has made on implementing the recommendations of Cut the Red Tape: Report from the Business Taskforce. [172837]

Michael Fallon: The Business Taskforce presented its report to Cabinet on 15 October. The Prime Minister hosted a meeting on 25 October in Brussels with Commission President Barroso and a group of other EU leaders, at which taskforce members presented their report. The European Council explicitly welcomed the steps taken by member states to identify excessively burdensome legislation, and agreed on the need for further substantial efforts to reduce the burden of EU regulation. It will return to this subject at its meeting in June. The Government will continue to press the EU to implement the recommendations in the taskforce report and to move faster to reform the way it regulates.

Conditions of Employment

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has received a timescale from the Head of the Office for National Statistics as to when a new regular estimate of zero-hours contracts will be published; and when statistics under this estimate will be available. [172459]

Jo Swinson: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has opened a consultation on its planned collection of zero-hours contract statistics from employers on its website on 23 October 2013. This consultation will close on 12 November 2013. In the consultation document, the ONS states that full-scale data collection on zero- hours contracts will commence on its selected employer survey in February 2014, if an earlier pilot study proves successful.

Early results from this February data collection will be presented in March 2013.

The consultation can be viewed at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/get-involved/consultations/consultations/zero-hours-consultation/index.html

29 Oct 2013 : Column 404W

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has made to the head of the Office for National Statistics on the production of statistics so that the scale and efect of the use of zero-hours contracts in the (a) health and care sectors, (b) retail sector, (c) hospitality sector and (d) construction sector can be studied and considered. [172463]

Jo Swinson: On 16 October 2013 the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), wrote to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) making clear his concern about the lack of reliable statistics available on zero-hours contracts. He asked the ONS, working with officials from other Government Departments, to:

consider ONS and other non-ONS sources of statistics on zero hours contracts, commenting on their strengths and weaknesses so that a clear and comprehensive picture of the available statistical information in this area is made public, and

determine how the different estimates (e.g. from ONS outputs from the Labour Force Survey and the forthcoming ONS business survey) are described, and that the differences between the statistics are clearly explained, including information on margins of error around the statistics.

The ONS has launched a public consultation about the collection on zero-hours contracts statistics on an existing employer survey. The consultation asks respondents to comment on what data on zero-hours contracts they would find useful, including industry breakdowns. The consultation closes on 12 November 2013.

BIS has yet to decide how it will respond to the consultation, but is likely to request that ONS provides statistics on zero-hours contracts by broad industry level.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will request that the head of the Office for National Statistics produces (a) regional, (b) local and (c) parliamentary constituency statistics for zero-hours contracts. [172465]

Jo Swinson: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has opened a consultation on its planned collection of zero-hours contract statistics from employers on its website on 23 October 2013. This consultation will close on 12 November 2013. In the consultation document, the ONS asks about the type of categories that the statistics could be usefully presented for.

The consultation can be viewed at

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/get-involved/consultations/consultations/zero-hours-consultation/index.html

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has yet to decide how it will respond to the consultation, but is likely to request that ONS provides statistics on zero-hours contracts at the country level.

It is unlikely to request that ONS produce statistics on zero-hours contracts at the regional, local authority or parliamentary constituency level, as the cost of such collection would be prohibitive relative to any added value they would provide when considering the policy issues.

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Higher Education: Costs

Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his answers of 10 October 2013, Official Report, columns 364-6W and 18 October 2013, Official Report, column 876W, if he will estimate the average annual cost in 2014-15 of a (a) full-time two year degree taught at a further education college, (b) full-time two year degree taught at an English higher education institution (HEI), (c) full-time three year degree taught at an English HEI and (d) four year degree taught at an English HEI. [172969]

Mr Willetts: Estimates of the average annual cost in 2014-15 are not available at the level of detail requested. The answer provided on 10 October 2013 made use of several existing estimates for typical undergraduates which cannot be readily adjusted for specific subsets of students.

Green Investment Bank

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with officials from the Green Investment Bank on that bank's ability to borrow. [172657]

Michael Fallon: The Department remains in close consultation with the Green Investment Bank about its funding needs including the bank's ability to borrow. Ministers and officials discussed these matters with the bank in the context of the recent spending review decision to allocate an additional £800 million to the bank for the 2015-16 period with scope to borrow up to £500 million of that allocation from the National Loans Fund.

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with officials from the Green Investment Bank on EU state aid restrictions. [172658]

Michael Fallon: BIS officials work closely with the Green Investment Bank and discuss a range of matters, including possible amendments to the bank's state aid approval. A renewed approval will be required for the bank to operate beyond October 2016 and before then the UK must also obtain further Commission approval for the additional funds it proposes to allocate to the bank for the 2015-16 period. The UK must also obtain further Commission approvals if it wishes to include additional sectors within the bank's approved remit.

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with EU officials on state aid restrictions on the Green Investment Bank. [172659]

Michael Fallon: Officials have now begun discussing with the European Commission possible amendments to the GIB state approval including the UK's proposal to allocate a further £800 million of funding to the bank for the 2015-16 period in addition to the £3 billion of state funding the Commission has already approved.

29 Oct 2013 : Column 406W

Overseas Trade: Asia

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the level of (a) exports and (b) imports between the UK and its top 20 trading partners in Asia was in each of the last five years by sector. [172924]

Michael Fallon: The information will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Overseas Trade: China

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the level of (a) exports and (b) imports between the UK and China was in each of the last five years by sector. [172923]

Michael Fallon: Figures on UK trade in goods with China since 2008, broken down by commodity traded, are in Table 1 as follows. The data are sourced from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Overseas Trade Statistics database and are publicly available on the UK Trade Info website:

www.uktradeinfo.com

Data by sector (industry) are not available as bilateral trade in goods statistics are only published in terms of commodities.

2011 and 2012 data on UK trade in services with China, by type of service, are given in Table 2, taken from the latest (2013) ONS ‘Pink Book’ publication. Data for 2008-2010 are available from Tables 9.10 and 9.11 of previous editions of the Pink Book which can be downloaded from the link below:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bop/united-kingdom-balance-of-payments/index.html

29 Oct 2013 : Column 407W

Post Office

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what value of Government contracts has been won by Post Office Ltd in the last two years. [172350]

29 Oct 2013 : Column 408W

Jo Swinson: Beyond the information published on the relevant Government and public sector contract finder websites, details of bids and tenders for contracts submitted for by Post Office Ltd and other bidders are commercially confidential between the contracting and bidding parties and are not subject to external scrutiny other than in exceptional circumstances.

More widely, the Government support Post Office Ltd's ambition to become a Front Office for Government, noting that the company has won every Government contract it has bid for in the last two years.

Post Office: Northern Ireland

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many government contracts won by Post Office Ltd in the last 10 years have been awarded in Northern Ireland. [172348]

Jo Swinson: Securing and retaining contracts to provide services on behalf of central and local government, is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, chief executive of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on the income of post offices in Northern Ireland of recent measures to modernise the network. [172349]

Jo Swinson: In 2010, the Government committed to provide £1.34 billion to 2015 to both maintain the Post Office network, and to provide for the modernisation of up to 6,000 branches under the Network Transformation programme, which rolled out nationally in October 2012.

At the end of September 2013, the subpostmasters and operators of 1,870 post offices had signed contracts to convert their branches to new operating models under the Network Transformation programme. Sixty five of these branches are in Northern Ireland.

Subpostmasters converting under Network Transformation benefit from investment into their branches and transitional payments. Customers are benefitting from much longer opening hours, and improved branches. Research shows that converted branches are seeing an average increase of 10% in post office customers, and 12% in retail sales.