Public Records: Northern Ireland

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2013, Official Report, column 483W, how many files held at Swadlincote his Department has made available to (a) the Historical Enquiries Team and (d) the Da Silva Review. [173698]

Mr Francois [holding answer 4 November 2013]: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I can confirm that files held at Swadlincote have been, and will continue to be, considered on a case by case basis for relevance in connection with investigations by the Historical Enquiries Team and other investigatory bodies. A number of files

6 Nov 2013 : Column 203W

were recalled in response to a request for evidence from Sir Desmond De Silva in connection with his Review, and relevant information from these files was provided.

Reserve Forces

Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the £1.8 billion allocated for the improvement of reserve forces has been spent. [174084]

Mr Philip Hammond [holding answer 5 November 2013]: The £1.8 billion budget for the Future Reserves programme is the planned spend over the life of the programme, to financial year (FY) 2021-22, and includes funding for items such as additional recruiting, training and spending on infrastructure and new equipment; it also includes provision for paid leave and pension entitlements, from 2015, for reservists. Across financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14 so far we have spent around 10% of the budget. The actual spend will increase across the life of the programme as the number of serving reservists grows.

Shipping

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any jobs will be lost as a result of the decision to sell the two charter vessels procured under the Strategic Sealift Service private finance initiative. [173614]

Mr Dunne: The movement of cargo by sea is primarily provided through the private finance initiative (PFI) strategic sealift service. The review of the Ministry of Defence's strategic sealift requirement in autumn 2011, concluded that better value for money would be achieved if the number of vessels contracted as part of this PFI was reduced from six to four. This reduction became effective on 27 April 2012.

Under the PFI agreement all six vessels are owned and operated by Foreland Shipping. Any reduction in manpower that may result from the decision to reduce the number of vessels is a matter for Foreland Shipping.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what preparatory work is being undertaken in anticipation of the next Strategic Defence and Security Review; and if he will make a statement. [173503]

Mr Philip Hammond: Responsibility for the next Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) lies with the Cabinet Office. The Government's priority remains implementing the important decisions made in 2010, but early preparatory work has begun across Whitehall for the next SDSR. As part of this, the Ministry of Defence is undertaking a programme of research and activity to examine how the future strategic context has changed since 2010, to examine policy options in response and to test the continued validity of Future Force 2020. This work is designed to build an evidence base that will support decision-making in 2015, and is being closely co-ordinated with other Government Departments, international partners and external experts.

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Type 26 Frigates

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what unmanned aerial system capability the Type 26 will have; [173654]

(2) when the main components which make the Type 26 were agreed; who agreed them; and if he will make a statement. [173655]

Mr Dunne: The Type 26 Global Combat Ship programme comprises a joint BAE Systems and Ministry of Defence team. It is currently in its assessment phase evaluating the capability, availability and support options, as is the standard practice with equipment projects. The final design, equipment fit and build programme will not be set until the main investment decision has been taken, expected to be around the middle of this decade.

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what function the Type 26 will perform (a) strategically and (b) operationally; [173656]

(2) what littoral capability the Type 26 will have. [173657]

Mr Dunne: The Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2010 decided to merge the two classes of Future Surface Combatant, previously known as the C1 and the C2 variants, into the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (GCS).

The Type 26 GCS programme combines the advantages of both variants to offer a specialist, anti-submarine capable frigate along with a general purpose frigate based on the same hull design. The T26 GCS will deliver a multi-role platform, designed for joint and multinational operations across the full spectrum of warfare, including complex combat operations, maritime security operations such as counter piracy, as well as humanitarian and disaster relief work around the world and will be able to operate in both littoral and open ocean environments. The T26 GCS programme is currently in its assessment phase, with the main investment decision expected around the middle of this decade.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his contribution of 10 October 2013, Official Report, column 282W, on bovine tuberculosis, what evidential basis he used to state that there has been a reduction in badger numbers in areas other than those where the cull is taking place. [172385]

George Eustice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was referring to the pilot areas in Gloucestershire and Somerset in his answer to the hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George).

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information has been provided to his Department by staff of

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Woodchester Park in respect of changes in the badger population at that establishment and its associated facilities. [173388]

George Eustice [holding answer 1 November 2013]:Data was provided in 2011 and is available online at

http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu& Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=12021

During the 24 years of study (1982 to 2007), the resident adult badger population at Woodchester Park exhibited a rapid increase in growth, followed by a period of some stability and a subsequent decline in numbers.

Further interim information from 2009-13 was provided in summary form in early October 2013. The information shows the number of animals caught were198 in 2009, 166 in 2010, 149 in 2011 and 150 in 2012. A value for 2013 could not be provided as trapping has not finished this year. The figures provided are crude indices of annual abundance but they are not population estimates.

No population estimates have been made as part of the Badger Vaccination Deployment Project.

Charities Act 2006

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what reports his Department has laid before each House of Parliament pursuant to section 70(9) of the Charities Act 2006 in 2012-13. [172937]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA has not laid any reports before each House of Parliament pursuant to section 70(9) of the Charities Act 2006 in 2012-13.

Energy and Climate Change

Nuclear Reactors

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential use of thorium in nuclear reactors. [174219]

Michael Fallon: DECC is aware of the potential of thorium as a nuclear fuel and thorium fuel cycles fall within the scope of the Department's analysis of future nuclear scenarios.

The UK is actively involved in thorium cycle research through organisations such as the National Nuclear Laboratory and the UK Research Councils' Energy programme. It has drawn on the expertise of these to model nuclear scenarios that include the use of thorium. These are not exhaustive, but a current overview is presented in the document “Nuclear Energy Research and Development Roadmap: Future Pathways”, which is available from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuclear-energy-research-and-development-roadmap-future-pathways

Amongst its conclusions are the expectations thorium reactors would be subject to the same fuelling limitations in roll-out as fast reactors, in which the rate of commissioning is constrained by the rate of production of start-up fuel from the existing reactor fleet.

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Thorium fuels are also likely to differ from, uranium fuels in their waste characteristics, including their radiological properties and the amounts of heat they generate. These waste characteristics will vary with the type of reactor in which thorium fuels are used and individual systems may offer significant advantages or barriers to the waste's management and final disposal. Further analysis and fuel cycle modelling will be necessary to understand the implications on waste management and disposal of using thorium fuels.

Energy Supply

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of public support of the consumer cost of decarbonisation of the UK's energy supplies. [174294]

Gregory Barker: The Department has made no specific assessment of public support for the consumer cost of decarbonisation of the UK's energy supplies.

The Department regularly monitors public attitudes in relation to key policies. Full results are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-attitudes-tracking-survey

Floods

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on the substations in England and Wales identified as having significant likelihood of river and tidal flooding. [173900]

Gregory Barker: The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, has met with the Minister for Government Policy, my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Mr Letwin) to assess the resilience of the energy sector, including substations, to a range of risks, including river and coastal flooding.

Officials from DECC are working with officials from other Government Departments, including DEFRA and the Environment Agency, to undertake a review of the resilience of energy assets, including key substations, to a coastal flooding event on the east coast. The review will identify if any critical energy assets which are vulnerable to coastal flooding and, where necessary, consider appropriate measures to ensure that such assets are adequately protected.

Fuel Poverty

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what projection his Department has made of the change in the number of people living in fuel poverty in the UK over the next 12 months. [174142]

Gregory Barker: DECC has recently announced the intention to adopt the new Low Income High Costs (LIHC) indicator to measure fuel poverty in England, based on the recommendations from Professor Hills' independent review.

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The number of households in fuel poverty in England is projected to remain at a similar level in 2012 before increasing marginally in 2013. The aggregate gap is projected to increase from £1 billion in 2011, to £1.2 billion in 2013. Details are provided in the following table:

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of privately rented households were in fuel poverty in the latest period for which figures are available. [174189]

Gregory Barker: DECC has recently announced the intention to adopt the new Low Income High Costs (LIHC) indicator to measure fuel poverty, based on the recommendations from Professor Hills' independent review. Under this new proposed measure, there were around 782,000 households from the private rented sector living in fuel poverty in 2011. This represents 21% of all private rented households.

Green Deal Scheme

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of progress made by the UK towards achieving the Gone Green energy demand scenario. [174144]

Gregory Barker: The Gone Green scenario is an electricity demand scenario produced by National Grid, not a Government target. Therefore the Government has not made an assessment of achievement against this scenario. The Government's latest assessment of performance against UK emissions reduction targets was published in September 2013 in DECC's Updated Energy and Emissions projections ,see:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2013

Projections of electricity demand under current firm and funded policies are also available in Annex C of the report:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/254828/Annex-c-final-energy-demand-2013.xls

Natural Gas: Storage

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what assessment he has made of the net consumer welfare for supported gas storage under the (a) stressed scenario and (b) Gone Green scenario using hurdle rates of (i) 13 per cent and (ii) 8 per cent: [174145]

(2) what assessment he has made of the effect on energy intensive users of supported gas storage as identified by Redpoint's report on the impact of gas market interventions on energy security; [174213]

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(3) what the cost to the public purse was of the impact of gas market interventions on energy security commissioned by his Department; [174214]

(4) what assessment he has made of gas prices paid by consumers with supported storage identified by Redpoint in its report to his Department, published on 9 July 2013. [174215]

Michael Fallon: We published the consultant's report, commissioned to analyse the costs and benefits of three potential interventions, on September 4, at the time Government's decision not to take any of these interventions forward was announced.

The report includes an assessment of the impacts of each of the interventions, under the (a) stressed scenario and (b) Gone Green scenario using hurdle rates of (i) 13% and (ii) 8% for consumer welfare, as well as that for suppliers and storage operators. The assessment of the impacts on consumer welfare includes the impact on the retail cost of gas. However, no further assessment was made of the second order impacts on the public purse, or on the distribution of these impacts between particular consumers. The modelled impacts are summarised on pages eight and nine of the report, which is available to download from the URL below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gas-security-policy-assessment

Staff

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many full-time equivalent staff of his Department have been working on (a) new nuclear and (b) energy efficiency in each of the last five years; and how much working time he has spent on each such matter in the last 12 months. [173406]

Michael Fallon: The information is as follows:

Ministers, including the Secretary of State, have worked with stakeholders on this area as a priority.

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Sunningdale Park

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how often his Department has used Sunningdale Park for Civil Service events since May 2010; what the nature of each such event was; and what the cost of each such event was. [174399]

Gregory Barker: The Department cannot access this information directly from our accounting system, and providing it would incur disproportionate cost.

Cabinet Office

European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many visits the Permanent Secretary and the four next most senior civil servants in his Department made to the European Commission in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement; [173776]

(2) how many visits Ministers from his Department made to either the European Commission or the European Parliament in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [173756]

Mr Maude: Details of visits made by Ministers in my Department are published on a quarterly basis at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations-april-to-june-2013

Details of visits made by civil servants at director general level and above are published on a quarterly basis at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-permanent-secretaries-meetings-with-external-organisations-2013

Government Departments: Autism

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which Government departments include autism awareness in their (a) equality and diversity training and (b) single equality schemes. [173707]

Mr Maude: Civil service learning provides an introduction to diversity and equality. Managers also have access to disability awareness training. Further details of training offered by Departments are not held centrally. Departments are individually accountable for setting and publishing equality objectives. This information is not held centrally.

Job Creation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new jobs created have gone to (a) UK and (b) non-UK citizens in the last three years. [174512]

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

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Letter form Glen Watson, dated November 2013:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business Innovations and Skills how many new jobs created have gone to (a) UK and (b) non-UK citizens in the last three years. 174512

Information regarding jobs created is not available. As an alternative, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of people in employment and the net annual change. The LFS collects information on the nationality of respondents and this has been used to measure UK and non-UK citizens. Estimates for the last three years on this basis are in the table.

Estimates of employment by nationality are published each quarter as part of the Labour Market Statistical Bulletin, found via the following link:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/index.html

Open Government Partnership

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of organising and hosting the Open Government Partnership summit in London on 31 October and 1 November 2013; which countries were invited to attend; which accepted and which declined; if he will publish all contributions from all participants on his departmental website without redaction; which hon. Members were invited to participate; what steps he plans to make to advertise the public availability of material from the summit; and what provision was made for access to the summit for members of the general public. [173554]

Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office budgeted £1.6 million to cover the costs of organising and hosting the Open Government Partnership summit. Final total costs will be published in due course.

94 Governments and observer delegations were invited to attend the OGP summit, including all members of the Open Government Partnership. A list of invitations and acceptances will shortly be available on the OGP website:

http://www.opengovpartnership.org

An open invitation was sent to Members of the House, and I invited all my Cabinet colleagues, as well as various Ministers and senior officials. Cabinet Office spoke to the Clerk of the PASC to draw the attention of Members of the Committee to the summit. Members of the public had the opportunity to register their interest in attending via the OGP website.

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Material from the summit—published without redaction (other than for copyright purposes)—including videos of some content, is available on the OGP website:

http://www.opengovpartnership.org/

The Guardian Public Leaders Network page:

http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/series/open-government-london-2013

and YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/OpenGovPart

The material has been publicised using social media and online.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many cases have been referred to the Parliamentary Ombudsman in each of the last five years. [173930]

Mr Maude: Information about the number of cases that have been referred to the Independent Parliamentary Ombudsman in each of the last five years is included in the Ombudsman's annual reports to Parliament. Copies of annual reports are available in the Libraries of the House, and are also available on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's website at:

http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/about-us/publications/annual-reports

Unemployment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were unemployed in (a) May 2010 and (b) the most recent period for which figures are available. [174422]

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2013:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people were unemployed in (a) May 2010 and (b) the most recent period for which figures are available. 174422

Estimates of unemployment are derived from the ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS). Since the LFS is a three-monthly survey, the reference period April to June 2010 has been used to provide May 2010 estimates. The most recent period for which figures are available is the three-month period June to August 2013.

Estimates of unemployment are published monthly as part of the Labour Market Statistical Bulletin, found via the following link:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/index.html

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Communities and Local Government

Distressed Retail Property Task Force

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects the distressed retail property taskforce to make its final recommendations; and if he will make a statement. [173814]

Brandon Lewis: The taskforce expect to publish their report by the end of November. The Government look forward to considering its recommendations.

EU Institutions

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many visits Ministers from his Department made to either the European Commission or the European Parliament in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [173757]

Brandon Lewis: The information is as follows:

2010-11;

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the Noble Lady, Baroness Hanham attended an ‘Informal Meeting of the Ministers in charge of Cohesion Policy’ in Liege.

2011-12 and (c) 2012-13;

There have been no ministerial visits to the European Commission or European Parliament.

Housing: Derelict Land

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the proportion of future housing demand that can be met by building on brownfield sites. [174110]

Nick Boles [holding answer 5 November 2013]:My Department will be publishing our latest analysis of the National Land Use Database in due course.

Recreation Spaces: Greater London

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the criteria are for designation of a local green space; and which body or local authority has responsibility for deciding such designations in respect of (a) Hyde Park, (b) Kensington Gardens, (c) the Regent's Park, (d) Battersea Park, (e) the Green Park, (f) St James's Park, (g) Richmond Park and (h) Primrose Hill. [174168]

Nick Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework set outs in paragraphs 76 and 77 criteria for designating a local green space. There will also be planning practice guidance available via the new online resource. The designation is for use in local and neighbourhood plans and therefore in London, irrespective of the green area concerned, the body responsible for deciding designations will normally be the relevant London borough (or London boroughs where the area concerned involves more than one local planning authority). Where a

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neighbourhood plan is in preparation a designation would be brought forward by the qualifying body preparing the plan.

The local green space designation is essentially a local planning policy, and is not connected to the ownership or management of the land as such.

UK Membership of EU

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make an assessment of the costs and benefits of a decision for the UK to leave the EU in his Department's area of responsibility; and if he will make a statement. [173736]

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East (Emma Reynolds), on 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 709W.

The Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Urban Areas

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the Grimsey review into town centres; and if he will make a statement. [173804]

Brandon Lewis: The “Grimsey Review—An Alternative Future for the High Street” was an independent piece of work which was commissioned and led by Bill Grimsey.

The Grimsey review is one of many reports published, and we welcome all contributions to the debate on the future of high streets.

The Government recognise the important role that high streets and town centres play in today's society and have delivered a series of initiatives to revitalise them. This includes changes to business rates, parking guidance, planning and funding for over 350 town teams of which 27 were also Portas pilots.

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which organisations, panels, working groups, task forces and partnerships have been established by his Department with a brief to (a) regenerate town centres, high streets and markets and (b) provide support for the retail sector; and what the membership and terms of reference of such bodies are. [173841]

Brandon Lewis: The Working Group on Retail Markets was established in 2009, in response to the DCLG Select Committee report on Traditional Retail Markets. It covers issues involving retail markets in England. Current membership includes representatives from a wide range of markets organisations including National Association of British Market Authorities (which represents a number of local authority run markets and private market operators), the National Market Traders Federation, social enterprise markets, the Local Government Association and a number of Government Departments whose policies impact on markets. A copy of the membership and original terms of reference has been placed in the Library of the House.

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The Future High Streets Forum was established in March 2013 to provide joint business and government leadership to better enable our high streets and town centres to adapt and compete in the face of changing consumer and social trends. Its Terms of Reference and membership can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/policy-advisory-groups/future-high-streets-forum

The Department for Communities and Local Government has not established any groups focused solely on providing support for the retail sector. Broader policy and support for the retail sector is led by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston) of 9 July 2013, Official Report, column 193W, on land use: agriculture, what assessment he has made of the potential risk of conflict between planning applications for onshore wind infrastructure and those parts of the National Planning Policy Framework which underline the recognition of the character and beauty of the countryside. [173911]

Kris Hopkins: The National Planning Policy Framework provides strong protections for the natural environment and underlines that planning decisions should recognise the character and beauty of the countryside. The Framework is also clear that local planning authorities should design their policies to ensure that adverse impacts of renewable energy developments are addressed satisfactorily, including cumulative landscape and visual impacts. To help ensure planning decisions reflect the environmental balance in the Framework, we issued new planning practice guidance for renewable and low carbon energy in July.

Treasury

Banks

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent assessment is of the future of Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Ulster Banks; and if he will make a statement. [173978]

Sajid Javid [holding answer 5 November 2013]: I refer the hon. Member to the Chancellor's written statement of 1 November 2013, Official Report, columns 61-62WS, and the Treasury publication “RBS and the case for a bad bank: the Government's Review”.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rbs-bad-bank-review-published

Banks: Fees and Charges

Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to curb excessive bank fees. [174170]

Sajid Javid: The Government are clear that consumers must be able to easily access clear and transparent information about bank charges; have a reasonable

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opportunity to manage their account and control whether or not they incur charges. As a result, the Government have taken the following action:

An agreement in November 2011 with the major current account providers to enable customers to control their account and to take action to avoid bank charges. Under the agreement all customers have the option to receive text alerts where their balance falls below a certain level, with four million customers signed up by January 2013.

On 1 April 2014, responsibility for consumer credit regulation will move from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A new, more robust regulatory system will help to deliver a well-functioning market for consumer credit.

The Government have also acted to secure the introduction of a new seven-day switching service that launched in September, as recommended by the Independent Commission on Banking. This puts the pressure squarely back on the banks to offer a fair deal to their customers or risk losing them to a competitor.

Convention on the Protection of the European Communities Financial Interests

Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish his Department's analysis of the costs and benefits of opting out of Council Act 26, July 1995 drawing up the Convention on the protection of the European Communities financial interests; and if she will make a statement. [173799]

Nicky Morgan: Council Act 26, July 1995 drawing up the Convention on the protection of the European Communities financial interests is one of the measures

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subject to the UK's 2014 opt-out decision. The Convention established a common definition of fraud affecting EU expenditure and revenue, and sets out principles for co-operation and jurisdiction in the field of protecting the financial interests of the EU. As set out in Command Paper 8671, it is not one of the 35 measures within the scope of that decision that the Government intend to seek to rejoin.

The Government have committed to providing Parliament with an Impact assessment on the final list of measures that the UK will apply to rejoin. This will be done in good time ahead of the second vote on this matter and contain all relevant information.

Corporation Tax

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to Table 11.6 of the corporation tax statistics published by HM Revenue and Customs on 30 August 2013, what aggregate sums were paid and how many companies were making payment in each band of £10,000 between £10,000 and £49,999 for each year. [173561]

Mr Gauke: Figures for the number of companies and the amount of corporation tax payable after set-offs are published in Table 11.6 of the HMRC corporation tax national statistics. The table classifies companies by amount of tax payable.

A breakdown of the number of companies paying between £10,000 and £49,999, and the aggregate amount of tax paid by these companies, is given in the following table. This is a breakdown of Table 11.6 from the latest version of the corporation tax statistics, as published on 31 October 2013. The table covers company accounting periods ending in the financial years 2007-08 to 2011-12.

Credit

Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to curb excessive default fees and charges across all credit products. [174169]

Sajid Javid: On 1 April 2014, responsibility for consumer credit regulation will transfer from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The FCA will require firms to treat their customers fairly and has proposed specific new rules to ensure firms lend responsibly, including checking whether borrowers can afford to repay loans sustainably and treating customers in financial difficulties appropriately. The FCA has a broad suite of powers to enforce breaches of its rules.

The FCA has recently committed that it will consider carrying out a thematic review of market practice in relation to fees and charges, once regulatory responsibility for consumer credit has transferred to the FCA.

Financial Conduct Authority

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met senior representatives from the Financial Conduct Authority; what subjects he discussed with them; and if he will make a statement. [173980]

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Sajid Javid [holding answer 5 November 2013]: Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues.

As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Infrastructure

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has spent on administering the UK Guarantees scheme to date. [173491]

Danny Alexander [holding answer 1 November 2013]: The costs incurred in administering the scheme to date amount to a total of £103,829. The sum was used for legal services associated with the setting up of the scheme and the creation of necessary legal documentation.

Any costs incurred through the signing of guarantees for projects, including legal services or technical advice procured by HM Treasury, will be borne by the issuer of the guaranteed debt in accordance with market practice.

Inheritance Tax

Bob Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the current system of inheritance tax. [174135]

Mr Gauke: All tax policy is kept under review and any changes are considered as part of the Budget process.

As announced on 11 February 2013, legislation will be included in Finance Bill 2014 to freeze the inheritance tax threshold (or nil-rate band) until 2017-18 at £325,000. This supersedes any previous announcements on the level of the threshold.

Interest Rate Swap Transactions

Mr Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority about the exclusion of embedded interest rate swaps from its redress scheme. [173883]

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with, and receive representations from, a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Minimum Wage: Chelmsford

Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) prosecutions and (b) cautions there have been for not paying the minimum wage in Chelmsford constituency since the introduction of the minimum wage. [173810]

Mr Gauke: The Government take the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC reviews every complaint that is referred to it, investigating the complaint and, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where we identify a high risk of non-payment of NMW.

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HMRC has never issued cautions for not paying the minimum wage. Where arrears due to non-payment of the minimum wage are identified, a formal notice of underpayment is sent to the employer.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answers that I provided the right hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy) on 8 October 2013, Official Report, columns 152-155W. With the agreement of the Department for Business HMRC started considering prosecution for minimum wage offences from May 2006. HMRC does not keep statistics at constituency level. The following table contains details of the number of criminal prosecutions since that date, by location and the financial year in which the prosecution took place.

Minimum Wage: Lancashire

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in (a) Ribble Valley constituency and (b) Lancashire have been reported for paying less than the minimum wage in the last five years; and how many of those were prosecuted. [174217]

Mr Gauke: The Government take the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC reviews every complaint that is referred to them, investigating the complaint and, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where we identify a high risk of non-payment of NMW.

HMRC has never reported businesses for not paying the minimum wage, because where arrears due to non-payment of the minimum wage are identified, a formal notice of underpayment is sent to the employer. HMRC does not capture complaints or the outcomes of its investigations by reference to Government regions or country. Its management information relates to the work of teams who are multi-located. Additionally, because it resources to risk, work relating to a specific geographical area is not always done by the NMW team based in that area.

I refer the hon. Member to my answers to the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) on 23 April 2013, Official Report, column 815W, for the number of non-compliant employers in the UK for the period requested, and to the right hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy), 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 152W with regard to prosecutions.

National Insurance Contributions

Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of employers with a liability to pay secondary class 1 national insurance contributions; and if he will make a statement. [173626]

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Mr Gauke [holding answer 4 November 2013]:It is estimated that over 1.3 million employers are liable to pay national insurance contributions (NICs) at the secondary class 1 threshold.

Estimates are based on a sample of an employer's end of year returns for employees. The latest available year is 2010-11.

From April 2014, every business, charity and Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) will be entitled to an annual “Employment Allowance” of £2,000 to reduce their liability for class 1 NICs.

The allowance aims to reduce the barriers faced by small businesses, charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs which wish to grow by supporting them with the costs of employment. Up to 1.25 million employers will benefit, with over 90% of the benefit going to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. As a result 450,000 small employers will no longer pay class 1 secondary NICs in 2014-15.

Further Information about the scheme is published and available on:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-insurance-contributions-bill

Sovereignty: Scotland

Dame Angela Watkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the Scottish Government's proposal for a currency union with the rest of the UK in the event of Scottish independence. [173484]

Danny Alexander: The only way to keep the pound as it is now is for Scotland to stay in the UK. No one should assume that an independent Scotland should continue to use the pound.

It is highly unlikely that a currency union would be in the best interests of either an independent Scotland or the continuing UK.

As the euro area has shown, currency unions require members pulling together in strong political and fiscal union, not pulling apart. Those who propose independence want to break the UK's successful political and fiscal union.

An independent Scotland and the UK would have different and diverging economies and a one-size fits all monetary policy may not be desirable for either country. An oil price shock would have very different effects in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK.

If there was any sign that a currency union lacked credibility, the financial markets would lose confidence in both members and borrowing costs would increase amid speculation of a break.

UK Asset Resolution

Ann Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many cases UK Asset Resolution has appointed LPA receivers to manage retail properties as a result of mortgage defaults by (a) number, (b) location, (c) value of properties and (d) current market value of such properties in each of the last five years. [173803]

Sajid Javid: UK Asset Resolution Limited (UKAR) is the holding company established to facilitate the orderly management of the closed mortgage books of

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both Bradford and Bingley (B&B) and Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM) at arm's length from Government on commercial principles. The Government's interest in UKAR is managed by UK Financial Investments.

UKAR will only appoint a Law of Property Act (LPA) receiver where a buy to let landlord is in arrears and has been unable to come to an acceptable and fair arrangement to recover the position. LPA's, once appointed, are engaged to act in the best interest of the customer and determine a fair sell or hold strategy independently from UKAR. Where tenants are in a property with a valid agreement, the term of the tenancy will be honoured. In cases where the mortgage can be returned to performing, receivership can be terminated and the property returned to the management of the borrower.

The data requested in (a) and (b) are set out in table 1 following. UKAR does not hold data on (c) and (d) in the requested format.

VAT

Ann Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many applications for refunds for what value of VAT under the tax-free shopping retail export scheme have been made in each of the last five years; [173800]

(2) what the nationality of claimants under the tax-free shopping retail export scheme has been in each of the last five years; [173801]

(3) what estimate he has made of the value to the UK economy of the tax-free shopping retail scheme in each of the last five years. [173802]

Mr Gauke: The information requested is not available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

EU Institutions

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visits Ministers from his Department made to either the European Commission or the European Parliament in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [173763]

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Mr Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers meet regularly with officials and members of European institutions at one-to-one meetings and in the margins of other events throughout the world.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and I attend meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and the General Affairs Council (GAC) respectively in Luxembourg and in Brussels and have met European Commissioners and Members of the European Parliament in the margins of these meetings and bilaterally on a number of occasions.

EU Reform

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) the President of the European Commission, (b) the President of the European Council and (c) EU heads of government about reform of the EU. [173668]

Mr Lidington: The Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and I have regular discussions on reform of the European Union with our counterparts from EU countries, and within the European Commission, including at meetings of the European Council and the Council of Ministers.

European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visits the Permanent Secretary and the four next most senior civil servants in his Department made to the European Commission in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [173783]

Mr Lidington: The Permanent Under Secretary (PUS) and the four Directors General (DG) in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have made several visits to Brussels since 2010.

They have met a number of Commissioners and Commission officials during their visits, both bilaterally and in the margins of wider EU meetings. The number of visits to Brussels are as follows:

India

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Government of India on violence against Christians and their property. [173667]

Mr Swire: The Indian Government have a range of policies and programmes to support religious minorities.

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However, incidents of discrimination and violence against minority communities in India, including Christians, do still occur.

I raised issues affecting minority communities in India when I met the Indian Minister for Minorities, Mr K Rahman Khan, on 17 June. During my last visit to India on 21 and 22 March I discussed human rights and the treatment of minority communities with Indian human rights organisations. Our British high commissioner in Delhi also raised issues affecting minority communities when he met the Indian Minister for Minorities on 7 March.

Officials at the British high commission in New Delhi maintain a regular dialogue with civil society organisations working on religious freedom across India.

The UK will continue to engage the Indian Government on this important issue.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to prevent the persecution of Christians in Orissa State in India. [173677]

Mr Swire: The Indian Government have a range of policies and programmes to support religious minorities. However, incidents of discrimination and violence against minority communities in India, including Christians, do still occur.

I raised issues affecting minority communities in India when I met the Indian Minister for Minorities, Mr K Rahman Khan, on 17 June. During my last visit to India on 21 and 22 March I discussed human rights and the treatment of minority communities with Indian human rights organisations. Our British high commissioner in Delhi also raised issues affecting minority communities when he met the Indian Minister for Minorities on 7 March.

Officials at the British high commission in New Delhi maintain a regular dialogue with civil society organisations working on religious freedom across India.

The UK will continue to engage the Indian Government on this important issue.

Pitcairn Islands

Sir Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to announce a decision on the Marine Conservation Zone application by the Pitcairn Islands Council; and if he will make a statement. [173825]

Mark Simmonds: Work is currently underway to assess the economic and other impacts of establishing a no-take Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Pitcairn's waters. We shall need to consider carefully all the relevant factors, including the costs of such an initiative, particularly of effective enforcement, as these may be substantial. The Government are committed to working with the Pitcairn Islands Government and others to ensure the appropriate and sustainable management of Pitcairn's marine environment.

Sir Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received (a) for and (b) against the creation of

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the Marine Conservation Zone proposed by the Pitcairn Islands Council; and if he will make a statement. [173826]

Mark Simmonds: In January 2012, a joint proposal to designate a no-take Marine Protected Area (MPA) within Pitcairn's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), was submitted to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by the Pitcairn Island Council and the Pew Environment Group. The Government are currently assessing the economic and other impacts of establishing a no-take MPA in Pitcaim's waters. We are committed to working with the Pitcairn Islands Government to ensure appropriate and sustainable management of Pitcairn's marine environment.

Sudan

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on whether the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei has at present the capacity to carry out a disarmament programme in the Abyei area of Sudan. [173590]

Mark Simmonds: Along with other members of the UN Security Council, we have endorsed the African Union Peace and Security Council's call for Abyei to be a weapons-free zone as stipulated in the 2011 agreement on temporary arrangements for the administration and security of Abyei. We have called on the Government's of Sudan and South Sudan to take all necessary steps to ensure that Abyei is effectively demilitarised, including through disarmament programmes. The United Nation's Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) is mandated to work with communities and the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee to ensure full compliance by all parties. The UK is committed to supporting UNISFA's efforts to fulfil its mandate including through our most recent annual contribution of £12 million to the mission's budget.

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will endorse the recent African Union Peace and Security Council call for implementation of a disarmament programme in the Abyei area of Sudan. [173591]

Mark Simmonds: Along with other members of the UN Security Council, we have endorsed the African Union Peace and Security Council's call for Abyei to be a weapons-free zone as stipulated in the 2011 agreement on temporary arrangements for the administration and security of Abyei. We have called on the Government's of Sudan and South Sudan to take all necessary steps to ensure that Abyei is effectively demilitarised, including through disarmament programmes. The United Nation's Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) is mandated to work with communities and the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee to ensure full compliance by all parties. The UK is committed to supporting UNISFA's efforts to fulfil its mandate including through our most recent annual contribution of £12 million to the mission's budget.

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the UK will offer support to ensure that a disarmament programme in the Abyei area of Sudan is implemented. [173592]

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Mark Simmonds: Along with other members of the UN Security Council, we have endorsed the African Union Peace and Security Council's call for Abyei to be a weapons-free zone as stipulated in the 2011 agreement on temporary arrangements for the administration and security of Abyei. We have called on the Government's of Sudan and South Sudan to take all necessary steps to ensure that Abyei is effectively demilitarised, including through disarmament programmes. The United Nation's Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) is mandated to work with communities and the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee to ensure full compliance by all parties. The UK is committed to supporting UNISFA's efforts to fulfil its mandate including through our most recent annual contribution of £12 million to the mission's budget.

Telephone Tapping

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on reports of interception of telephone and other messages in Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK. [173662]

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and UK Ministers speak regularly to their US counterparts on global issues.

It is the long standing policy of successive Governments not to comment on matters of intelligence.

For further information, I refer to the statement made by the Secretary of State to the House on 10 June 2013, Official Report, columns 31-49.

UK Membership of EU

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of the costs and benefits of a decision for the UK to leave the EU in his Department's area of responsibility; and if he will make a statement. [173742]

Mr Lidington: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East (Emma Reynolds) on 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 709W. The Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the resumption of direct flights between the UK and Yemen. [173944]

Hugh Robertson: Officials from the Department for Transport visited Yemen earlier this year to discuss aviation security. The outcome of this visit was a report, shared with the Yemenis, which set out a range of measures that would need to be considered as part of steps towards resumption of direct flights. Once those measures have been enacted, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)

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will speak to the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin).

Education

Academies

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools with academy status have requested an amendment to their funding agreement to enable them to employ teachers without qualified teacher status. [173563]

Mr Timpson: The Education Funding Agency has received 24 requests from schools with academy status to amend their funding agreement to enable them to employ teachers without qualified teacher status.

A revised funding agreement for new academies has been in operation since November 2012, which allows the employment of teachers without qualified teacher status.

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education under what circumstances his Department would review the funding agreements of academies and free schools. [174225]

Mr Timpson: Once signed, a funding agreement for an academy or free school can be amended only with the consent of both the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) and the academy trust. The academy trust may apply to the Secretary of State for Education to change its funding agreement, for example to change the age range or to enlarge the academy's premises. In certain circumstances the Secretary of State may also encourage academy trusts to amend their funding agreements.

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the names of every (a) academy chain, (b) individual academy school, (c) free school chain and (d) individual free school that is currently being investigated by the Education Funding Agency for financial irregularities. [174227]

Mr Timpson: The Department will not publish details of on-going investigations as this would prejudice the outcome of those investigations. However, the Education Funding Agency publishes reports into all investigations it undertakes and will do so in due course for any current investigations.

Al-Madinah School

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) when officials in his Department were first made aware that the Al-Madinah Free School (a) had appointed staff without appropriate qualifications and experience, (b) had operated without a designated Principal in the summer of 2012, (c) was not meeting safeguarding requirements, (d) had not identified which of its pupils had special educational needs, (e) was delivering an unacceptably poor standard of education and (f) was delivering teaching of unacceptable quality; [174208]

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(2) when he was first made aware that the Al-Madinah Free School (a) had appointed staff without appropriate qualifications and experience, (b) had operated without a designated principal in the summer of 2012, (c) was not meeting safeguarding requirements, (d) had not identified which of its pupils had special educational needs, (e) was delivering an unacceptably poor standard of education and (f) was delivering teaching of unacceptable quality. [174226]

Mr Timpson: The Department for Education was first contacted about problems at the school in July 2013. The Department began a wide ranging investigation and, as a result, we requested Ofsted to bring forward its planned inspection. This took place on 1 and 2 October. Department for Education (DfE) officials attended the Ofsted feedback meeting on the evening of 2 October and notified Ministers on 3 October that the school had failed on all aspects of the inspection.

Lord Nash wrote to the Chair of the Al-Madinah Trust on 8 October setting out a series of requirements that the Trust must meet or risk termination of its funding agreement. The Trust made its final response to Lord Nash on 1 November and we are now giving careful consideration to the evidence the Trust has provided. The Al-Madinah school notified Department officials of the resignation of the former principal on 6 August 2013, during the school holidays. The Trust confirmed to Department officials on 18 September that it had appointed an interim principal.

Education: Young People

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of 17 year-olds are participating in education or training in the 2012-13 academic year under the terms of the Education and Skills Act 2008. [173824]

Matthew Hancock: Under the terms of the Education and Skills Act 2008 young people in England are required to continue in education or training; this can be through:

1. full-time study at a school, college, or with a training provider;

2. full-time work, self-employment or volunteering (all over 20 hours per week) combined with part-time education or training; or

3. an apprenticeship.

We do not currently publish statistics that are fully aligned to these categories. We are examining how data collection could be improved to provide an estimate of this group.

EU Institutions

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many visits Ministers from his Department made to either the European Commission or the European Parliament in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [173760]

Matthew Hancock: There have been no visits by Ministers from the Department for Education to the European Commission or the European Parliament in 2010-11, 2011-12 or 2012-13. Education is primarily a matter for member states, so time is better spent improving standards here.

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European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many visits the Permanent Secretary and the four next most senior civil servants in his Department made to the European Commission in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [173780]

Matthew Hancock: There have been no visits to the European Commission by the permanent secretary or directors general in the Department for Education in 2010-11, 2011-12 or 2012-13. Education is primarily a matter for member states, so time is better spent improving standards here.

Free Schools

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the 16-19 free schools that are operating in the 2012-13 academic year; how many (i) 16 and (ii) 17 year-olds have enrolled in each such school; and for how many students each school has been funded by the Education Funding Agency. [173822]

Mr Timpson: The London Academy of Excellence, which opened in September 2012, was the only 16-19 free school operating in the 2012/13 academic year. In 2012/13, 192 16-year olds and three 17-year olds were enrolled at the school.

The terms of the school's Funding Agreement stipulate that the school will be funded on the basis of its pupil estimates for the first two years of its operation. In each year where pupil estimates have been used, an adjustment to funding is applied in the following year to reflect any variation from the estimate that is greater or lower than 2.5% from actual pupil numbers. The Education Funding Agency funded for 220 students in the academic year 2012/13 and so will make an adjustment to the 2013/14 figure in accordance with the Funding Agreement.

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings of the Education Funding Agency investigation into Kings Science Academy, Bradford, whether he has any plans to alter the system of regulation of free schools. [173852]

Mr Timpson: The Department has already re-written the Academies Financial Handbook to provide a much sharper and clearer financial accountability system. The accountability system for academy trusts is even more robust than it is for maintained schools.

Free Schools: Bedfordshire

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether any (a) expenses, (b) allowances or (c) other payment from the public purse, excluding the project development grant, were received by the Barnfield Federation for handling the free school application for the former Fernwood Pre-Prep School in Bedfordshire. [174006]

Mr Timpson: The Trust did not receive any other payments apart from the Project Development Grant of £25,000 which covers all costs including expenses and allowances.

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Free Schools: Lancashire

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received from parents on the establishment of free schools in Lancashire. [173666]

Mr Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), receives many representations from parents about proposals to open new free schools. Recent representations about free schools in Lancashire have been from a range of interested parties, in relation to the proposal to establish the Burnley high school, which is due to open in September 2014.

GCSE

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department made of the potential effect on children of lower academic abilities, prior to the introduction of the Government's new policy on early entry. [174045]

Elizabeth Truss: Evidence published by the Department for Education in 2011 showed that, statistically, pupils who enter early do worse than pupils who do not, even when taking prior attainment into account. A report by Ofsted corroborated many of these concerns, raising issues with the impact of early entry on students.

Examination results published in summer 2013 showed that schools have continued to enter pupils early for GCSEs and other qualifications, and are doing so in increasingly large numbers. This practice is increasing, despite the compelling evidence that it is not in pupils' best interests. The Government believe that it is right to take swift action in these circumstances, rather than to allow another year 11 cohort to be let down.

The Department's announcement on early entry, and both reports, can be accessed at the following web address:

www.gov.uk/government/news/changes-to-early-entry-at-gcse

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to his announcement of 30 October 2013 on the use of GCSE results in school performance tables, whether (a) RAISEonline and (b) other data sets will use a student's best result for their data collation purposes. [174229]

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), announced that, with effect from 29 September 2013, only a student's first entry to a GCSE examination will count in their school's performance tables.

This means that attainment indicators produced for the 2014 performance tables, due to be published in January 2015, will count the first entry to GCSEs in the subjects included in the English Baccalaureate. These indicators will also be used in other departmental data sets and RAISEonline.

Kings Science Academy

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) whether an internal review of Kings Science Academy, Bradford made a recommendation

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that the school's finances should be referred to the police for investigation; [173616]

(2) whether financial irregularities at Kings Science Academy, Bradford have been referred to the police for investigation; [173617]

(3) whether he has received a report from the police concerning financial irregularities at Kings Science Academy, Bradford. [173618]

Mr Timpson: The only report to recommend taking findings to the police was the Department for Education's investigation. The Department referred the case to Action Fraud on 25 April. The Department also contacted West Yorkshire police who confirmed that the correct action was to refer to Action Fraud.

The Department contacted Action Fraud on 5 September and in response Action Fraud stated that the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau had assessed the case but determined that there was not enough information to progress the case further.

Action Fraud subsequently notified the Department on 1 November that they made a mistake in classifying the information provided. The error has been rectified by Action Fraud and West Yorkshire police have confirmed they are investigating. Action Fraud has apologised to the Department for this error.

Languages: Qualifications

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students have chosen to take a modern foreign language at (a) GCSE, (b) AS level and (c) A2 level in (i) Ribble Valley constituency and (ii) Lancashire since 2010. [174216]

Mr Laws: The requested information for GCSE and A-levels has been provided in the following tables. AS-level figures can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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Ofsted

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will instruct Ofsted to provide the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley with the information he has requested about significant incident notifications. [173641]

Mr Laws: Ofsted is a separate independent non-ministerial Government Department.

The separation between the two Departments is intended to protect the independence of Ofsted's role as inspector and regulator.

HM Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, will write to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response will be placed in the House Library.

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many notifications of significant incidents have been provided to Ofsted to date; what the date of each such incident was; whether a serious case review was performed of each such incident; what the age range of the child concerned in each such incident was; and on what date Ofsted was notified of the serious case review of each such incident. [173709]

Mr Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, will write to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response will be placed in the House Library.

Recruitment

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many new staff his Department has employed under (a) fixed-term contracts and (b) short-term contracts since May 2010. [174457]

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Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has employed 203 new staff under fixed-term contracts since May 2010. This figure includes short-term appointments, which are not recorded separately.

Teachers: Training

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many applications and enrolments there were for initial teacher training programmes in maths and physics in respect of (a) School Direct and (b) HE providers in 2013-14. [174101]

Mr Laws: The latest data on School Direct applications¹ show that there were 5,820 mathematics applications and 1,150 physics applications at English providers.

Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) data² show that 2,480 mathematics and 660 physics applications were made in 2013. This includes higher education providers as well as school-centred initial teacher training consortia.

Other initial teacher training routes are available but records via these routes are not held centrally. The final position for 2013/14 enrolments and entrants will be published in the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) census on 26 November. That data will include not just the numbers recruited by GTTR and School Direct, but also the small number of providers who do not use GTTR to recruit and also projections of late, in-year starters.

¹http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/school%20direct%20managennent%20information%209% 20september%202013.pdf

²http://www.gttr.ac.uk/documents/stats/2013_gttr_ applicant_figures_October_to_august_exceptional_ england.pdf

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a comparative assessment of (a) the initial teacher training numbers allocated by mode and subject to School Direct and other providers for admission in 2013-14 and (b) the targets identified by National College of Teaching and Leadership, indicating the proportion of over/under allocations against target in each category. [174106]

Mr Laws: Every year, the Department for Education calculates a broad estimate of the number of trainees needed in each subject. This estimate is set in the context of longer-term recruitment patterns and anticipated future need over a number of years.

Based on the estimated number of places needed, the National College for Teaching and Leadership allocates teacher training places to accredited initial teacher training (ITT) providers and, from last year, to schools involved in the School Direct scheme (which have to be partnered with an accredited ITT provider).

This year, as we do every year, we have allocated ITT places above the estimated number of trainees required. This helps us to ensure we train enough teachers, taking account of the likely level of recruitment in each subject. It is important to note that the allocation number is not a target and should not be regarded as one. If it is not reached, that does not mean that there will be a shortage in trainees.

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The full details of the 2013/14 targets for ITT can be found in the School Direct Management Information published on 9 September.

The full details of the 2013/14 allocations for ITT can be found in the Initial teacher training allocations for academic year 2013 to 2014: final, published on 13 August.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Arms Trade: India

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the value is of defence contracts with India for products made in Northern Ireland. [173676]

Michael Fallon: The value of defence export sales to India in 2012 provided by UK defence companies to UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) is estimated at £89 million. UKTI DSO does not hold information on what proportion of these sales involved products made in Northern Ireland.

Counterfeit Manufacturing: Clothing

Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will meet the UK Fashion and Textile Association and the British Bridal Suppliers Association to discuss the problem of counterfeit bridalwear being imported into the UK. [173615]

Jo Swinson: The Minister with responsibility for Intellectual Property, my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Viscount Younger of Leckie), would be pleased to meet the associations. His office can be contacted at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to take this forward.

Cybercrime: Crime Prevention

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress he has made on promoting UK cyber exports. [173505]

Michael Fallon: In May of this year (2013) UK Trade and Investment's (UKTI) Defence and Security Organisation (DSO) published a cyber security exports strategy. This strategy sets out a number of actions which UKTI is actively pursuing, in conjunction with several other Government Departments, to assist UK industry to export cyber security capability.

Implementation of the strategy is under way both in day-to-day assistance provided to UK industry by UKTI and through the Cyber Growth Partnership which the Minister for Universities and Science, my right hon. Friend the Member for Havant (Mr Willetts), co-chairs along with the CEO of BT Group. The Cyber Growth Partnership is currently overseeing work to prioritise target markets for cyber security exports and is developing joint action plans between Government and industry to assist exports into these markets.

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Electrical Safety

Mr Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if his Department will issue clearer guidance to the manufacturers of electrical appliances on the point at which they should undertake a product recall. [174131]

Michael Fallon: When to undertake a product recall is a matter for both the manufacturer and Local Authority Trading Standards Services. Existing product safety legislation places clear requirements on manufacturers and distributors to inform the relevant Trading Standards Service if unsafe products have been made available to consumers and then to explain the action being undertaken by the manufacturer and distributors to address the problem. Trading Standards also have powers to impose actions should they consider those of the manufacturer to be inadequate. Each case is treated on an individual basis and there is a range of possible actions that can be taken. Recall is a last resort, and the appropriate solution is very much dependent on the particular circumstances. Further guidance would not be able to replace the assessment of individual circumstance. There is also a risk that it may interfere with the very clear message that the responsibility for the product is the manufacturer who is liable to civil damages should the product cause injury or damage to property.

Mr Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions his Department has held with stakeholders to discuss how to reduce deaths and injuries caused by electrical appliances which are the subject of a recall. [174134]

Michael Fallon: The Department participates in a committee organised by AMDEA (Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances), the trade association representing the manufacturers of home laundry, fridge-freezers and refrigerators. The committee reviews incidents, in particular those related to fire, and lessons that can be learned from them. The Committee includes officials from my Department, London Fire Brigade's Fire Investigation Team and Community Safety Team, Kent Fire Brigade and representatives from manufacturing industry. Discussions have included feedback on the experience of running recalls, which is the responsibility of the manufacturer.

EU Institutions

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many visits Ministers from his Department made to either the European Commission or the European Parliament in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [173754]

Jo Swinson: Information about Ministers' overseas travel is now published quarterly and can be accessed via the following link.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012

This Government are committed to being transparent and accountable. As set out in the Ministerial Code, Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost effective travel arrangements.

6 Nov 2013 : Column 234W

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the possible financial implications of opting out of each of the police and criminal justice measures in the third pillar of the EU treaties; and if he will make a statement. [173629]

Jo Swinson: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), announced to Parliament that the Government intended to exercise the UK's opt-out under the Lisbon treaty and seek to rejoin a package of 35 police and criminal justice measures which are in the UK's national interest, on 9 July 2013 Official Report, columns 177-80. Following debates and votes in both Houses of Parliament the Prime Minister wrote to the President of the Council of Ministers on 24 July to provide formal notification that the Government have decided to exercise their right, provided for by article 10(4) of protocol 36 to the treaties, to opt out of all pre-Lisbon police and criminal justice measures.

The Secretary of State for the Home Department has committed to providing Parliament with an impact assessment on the final list of measures that the UK will apply to rejoin. This will be done in good time ahead of the second vote on this matter and contain all relevant information.