High Speed 2
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire of 30 October 2013, Official Report, column 490W, on High Speed 2 railway line, whether the update referred to in the answer will include the full test of the Major Projects Authority Report on High Speed 2; and if he will bring forward the publication date of that update. [175164]
Mr Maude: In line with the Government's transparency policy the next Annual Report on major projects will be published in May 2014. It will include an overview of the Government Major Projects Portfolio, including data from the second quarter of the 2013-14 financial year. Departments will publish detailed information on each of their projects including RAG ratings, financial information and schedules. Project Assurance Reports are not included in the Annual Report.
Job Creation
Julie Hilling: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new jobs created in the period from (a) May 2010 to April 2011 and (b) May 2011 to April 2012 lasted for more than 12 months. [175173]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated November 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your how many new jobs created in the period from (a) May 2010 to April 2011 and (b) May 2011 to April 2012 lasted for more than 12 months. 175173
Information regarding the number of jobs created is not available. As an alternative, ONS usually provides estimates relating to the net change in the number of people in employment are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Unfortunately the requested
12 Nov 2013 : Column 579W
information on duration of employment is not available from the LFS Questions on the LFS focus on the length of time employed with current employer and not how long any previous or current job did or is expected to last.
Qualifications
Mrs Moon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people employed by (a) his Department, (b) the Office of the Prime Minister, (c) the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and (d) the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons hold a (i) bachelor's, (ii) master's and (iii) PhD-level degree in computer science; and if he will make a statement. [175382]
Mr Maude: This information is not held centrally.
Statistics
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of public statistics. [175241]
Mr Hurd: Responsibility for independently assessing and monitoring the quality of official statistics lies with the UK Statistics Authority.
Cabinet Office Ministers meet the chair of the UK Statistics Authority and the national statistician regularly to discuss statistical matters.
Youth Work
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will estimate the annual change in (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment in professional youth work since 2010. [167531]
Mr Hurd: Further to my answer of 17 October 2013, Official Report, column 865W, my Department took over responsibility for youth policy in July 2013. I have commissioned a review of the quality and quantity of existing youth provision and will update the House further once it concludes.
International Development
Argentina
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the UK plans to vote against further World Bank loans to Argentina (a) in December 2013 and (b) for the foreseeable future. [174625]
Justine Greening: Earlier in the year, I instructed the UK's representatives at the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank to vote against all new proposals for financial support to the Government of the Republic of Argentina presented by these institutions, while reserving the right to support proposals that can demonstrate exceptional benefits to the poorest people of Argentina. I have not changed my position on this.
Developing Countries: Job Creation
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects her Department funds to support job and employment creation (a) generally, (b) for young people and (c) for women. [174722]
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Justine Greening: DFID undertakes projects to generate economic opportunities for poor people in all countries where we work. One example is DFID's support to the Katalyst project in Bangladesh, which has worked with 900,000 farmers and rural small businesses.
Examples of projects specifically benefitting youth and women include giving education-deprived youth in South Sudan practical livelihood skills and in Somalia providing market-oriented skills training and small grants to 2,500 small and medium enterprises run by women.
Procurement
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's top 20 contractors, by value, were on projects in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2012-13. [174724]
Justine Greening: DFID's top 20 contractors by value for financial year 2010-11 and 2012-13 are listed as follows.
ABT Associates Inc.
Adam Smith International
BMB Mott MacDonald
British Council
Cambridge Education
Coffey International Development Ltd
Crown Agents
GRM International
Health Partners International
HLSP Ltd
HTSPE Ltd
IMC Worldwide Ltd
KPMG
London School of Economics and Political Science
Malaria Consortium
NRI Ltd
Options Consultancy Svs
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Society for Family Health
Trademark East Africa
ABT Associates Inc.
Adam Smith International Ltd
ATOS Consulting Ltd
BMB Mott MacDonald
British Council
Cambridge Education Ltd
Coffey International Development Ltd
Crown Agents Govts and Admin
GRM International Ltd
Health Partners International
HLSP Ltd
HTSPE Ltd
London School of Economics and Political Science
Malaria Consortium
Marie Stopes International
Maxwell Stamp plc
Options Consultancy Services Ltd
Oxford Policy Management
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Voluntary Service Overseas
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Energy and Climate Change
Energy Company Obligation
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost to energy companies of the energy company obligation since 1 January 2013. [174806]
Gregory Barker: On 21 October, the Department published hard figures on the cost energy companies have been incurring in delivering the energy company obligation (ECO). These figures suggest that the cost to companies of delivering the obligation so far are in line with the central scenario in the DECC impact assessment for ECO of around £1.3 billion per annum.
This publication is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-company-obligation-eco-delivery-costs
Energy: Prices
Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the cost of (a) decarbonisation of the UK’s energy supplies and (b) consumer bills as a result. [174329]
Gregory Barker: The Climate Change Act 2008 requires that UK territorial emissions are reduced by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050. The cost and benefit of meeting this were set out in the accompanying impact assessment.
The prices and bills impact report, published in March 2013, provides the estimated impact of current and firmly planned policies on energy prices and bills to 2030 and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/172923/130326_-_Price_and_Bill_Impacts_Report_Final.pdf
Environment Protection: Taxation
Dr Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what targets his Department has been set by the Prime Minister for savings on the cost of average dual fuel energy bills following the conclusion of the review of green levies. [174802]
Michael Fallon: This Government are committed to ensuring consumers have the lowest possible bills. Further details of the outcome and scope of the review of the green levies will be announced at the time of the autumn statement.
Fuel Poverty: North East
Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people in the North East were living in fuel poverty in each of the last three years. [175223]
Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty is measured at household level. The following table shows the number of households in fuel poverty, in the North East of England, over the last three years for which data are published.
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| Households in the North East of England | ||
| Number of fuel poor households (thousand) | Proportion of households that are fuel poor (percentage) | |
In July the Government announced their intention to adopt the new low income high costs (LIHC) indicator of fuel poverty, based on the recommendations from Professor Hills's independent review. The above figures are based on this LIHC measure of fuel poverty.
Under the LIHC indicator a household is considered fuel poor if they have above average fuel costs, and were they to spend that amount on fuel, they would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line.
The latest year of available data is 2011, and it is anticipated that figures for 2012 will be published in summer 2014. Tables are published as DECC statistics at the link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trends-in-fuel-poverty-england-2003-to-2011
Office for Nuclear Regulation
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with the Office for Nuclear Regulation on its programme of stakeholder engagement; and whether (a) any Ministers or officials of his Department and (b) officials from other bodies responsible for aspects of nuclear regulation have been invited to attend such stakeholder meetings since the stakeholder forum was inaugurated. [175052]
Michael Fallon: Discussions between the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) regarding the ONR's stakeholder engagement activities take place in the context of specific projects. DECC Ministers and officials are regularly invited to attend the annual ONR CEO conference. I have asked ONR to respond to the hon. Gentleman on other invitees to its events.
Plutonium
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the prospective use of plutonium currently stockpiled at Sellafield in MOX fuel in the planned EPR reactor at Hinkley. [175294]
Michael Fallon: The Government's policy on plutonium management was set out in our consultation response of December 2011. It is the Government's preferred option that currently stored plutonium should be converted into MOX fuel and utilised in the next generation of nuclear reactors, yet to be built. This is a long-term aim. Actual use of MOX in Hinkley or any other new-build reactors would need to be subject to commercial negotiations with the operators concerned.
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Wales
Magistrates Courts
Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice regarding the proposed closure of the Neath Port Talbot magistrates court; and if he will make a statement. [174703]
Mr David Jones: I have regular discussions with the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on a range of matters affecting Wales.
A consultation on the proposed closure of the Neath magistrates court opened on 26 September 2013 and closed on 7 November 2013. The responses to this consultation will now be fully considered before any decision is taken.
Communities and Local Government
Absenteeism
Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the rates of staff (a) absence and (b) sickness absence in his Department in each of the past five years were; and what the departmental targets were in each case. [168731]
Brandon Lewis: The average working days lost due to sickness in the last five years is shown in the following table.
For the 12-month period ending March 2013, the Department's absence rate was 6.3 average working days lost per member of staff. This is lower than the civil service average of 7.7 days, the public services sector average of 8.7 days and private sector average of 7.2 days in organisations of an equivalent size to the Department (1,000 to 4,999 employees—figures from the October 2013 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development annual absence management survey).
The Department does not set annual targets but compares absence rates to those in the civil service, wider public and the private sector.
| Year ending | Average working days lost |
Ialso refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 April 2013, Official Report, column 222W, on the steps we are taking to reduce such absence.
I would observe that when the hon. Member was a special adviser in the predecessor to this Department (then the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions), the average working days lost were 7.0 in 2001 rising to 7.7 in 2002.
12 Nov 2013 : Column 584W
Emergencies: Planning
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what support and guidance is provided by his Department to local communities in drawing up emergency resilience plans. [175283]
Brandon Lewis: The 38 local resilience forums in England are responsible for the production of the local community risk register and associated plans. The resilience and emergencies division in my Department supports resilience planning by acting as the interface between national and local level in emergency planning and response. The division works closely with the civil contingencies secretariat in the Cabinet Office and other Government Departments with leads for aspects of resilience policy to provide guidance to local resilience forums in England.
Fire Services: South West
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the annual budget is of each fire and rescue brigade in the South West. [174748]
Brandon Lewis: The setting of annual budgets is a local matter for each fire and rescue authority. However my Department does publish expenditure and financing information for all local authorities, including for fire and rescue authorities, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2013-to-2014-individual-local-authority-data
Housing: Construction
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were started on (a) brownfield and (b) greenfield sites in each year from 2002 to 2012. [175247]
Kris Hopkins: Statistics on the proportion of new dwellings on previously developed land in England for each year to 2010 are published in the Department's live table P211 which is available at the following link.
http://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-land-use-change-statistics
Housing: Greater London
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will list the total number of new dwellings completed by (a) councils, (b) housing associations and (c) private sector for each year since 2008-09 in each London borough. [175266]
Kris Hopkins: Statistics on house building completions by tenure in each London borough are published in the Department's live tables 253 (annual) and 253a (quarterly), which are available at the following link:
http://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building
Taken together, the housing association and local authority tenures provide estimates of total social housing completions, but these figures mostly understate total affordable supply. This is because the house building figures are categorised by the type of developer rather
12 Nov 2013 : Column 585W
than the intended final tenure, leading to under recording of affordable housing, and a corresponding over recording of private enterprise figures.
More comprehensive statistics on affordable housing completions funded by the Homes and Communities Agency and the Greater London Authority since 2009-10 by tenure are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/affordable-housing-starts-and-completions-funded-by-the-hca-and-the-gla-2012-to-2013
These statistics include both newly built housing and acquisitions, but exclude delivery of affordable housing not funded by the Homes and Communities Agency and Greater London Authority programmes that are reported in local authority returns to the Department. A fuller picture of all affordable housing completions is published in the Department's live tables 1000, 1006, 1007 and 1008, which are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
Non-domestic Rates
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of total business rates revenues was collected from businesses with a rateable value between (a) £6,001 and £12,000 and (b) 12,001 and £18,000. [175176]
Brandon Lewis: This information is not held centrally.
Whilst the Valuation Office Agency holds information on the rateable value of individual hereditaments, bills and rate relief are administered by local billing authorities.
Parking: Fees and Charges
Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities impose the highest car parking charges in towns and cities in the UK. [175236]
Brandon Lewis: We do not hold the information in the form requested.
We have been consulting on a proposed revision to the local government transparency code which will increase the amount of available information and open data on car park charging practices, and so allow the press and public to hold councils to account and make comparisons on car park charging.
Peel Holdings
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what grants and loans have been made by his Department and the bodies for which it is responsible to projects in which Peel Holdings is a significant beneficiary in each of the last five years.[170992]
Brandon Lewis: The European regional development fund north west operational programme 2007-13 has directly contracted with Peel Holdings approving a grant of £1,506,379 to West Float land remediation project.
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The project has remediated 11ha (27.2 acres) of contaminated, derelict and vacant land situated in West Float, Birkenhead, part of the Wirral Docklands regional development site.
Peel Holdings has not been an applicant or significant beneficiary of any other project funded through the European regional development fund north west operational programme during the last five years.
Public Sector Relocation Independent Review
Mr Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much Sir Michael Lyons was paid in total in salary, fees and related expenses for the Lyons Review in 2004. [175271]
Nicky Morgan: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.
No Government-related reviews into public sector relocation by Sir Michael Lyons were published in either 2007 or 2013. For the 2004 review into public sector relocation, Sir Michael Lyons received remuneration of £40,000 excluding VAT, and expenses of £6,000.
Redundancy
Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff were made redundant from non-departmental public bodies accountable to his Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many redundancy payments were made in lieu of notice. [170345]
Brandon Lewis: DCLG is on track to deliver administrative savings of £231 million over the spending period due to the reform of its arm's length bodies. These savings are related to staff and budget reductions and additionally arm's length bodies adopting a more commercial approach. Since April 2011 the Department has reduced its overall number from 16 to eight due to closure or reform.
As a result of closure and reform, a number of the staff received payments in lieu of notice that were agreed in exceptional circumstances for a variety of reasons including the inability of staff to serve contractual notice periods and the absence of work for them to do,
It is unacceptable and irregular to me, taxpayers, and the National Audit Office for arm's length bodies to award payments in lieu of notice to themselves without proper agreement where the need for payment could have been avoided.
A report was recently published by the Department following an investigation by the cross-departmental internal audit services into the use of public funds by Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation following its closure in October 2012.
A copy of this report can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-of-an-investigation-into-the-use-of-public-funds-by-thurrock-thames-gateway-corporation
The Department's Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies have provided the following information in respect of payments in lieu of notice:
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12 Nov 2013 : Column 588W
| Agencies | ||||||
| Non-departmentpublic bodies | Number of redundancies | Number of payments in lieu of notice | ||||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| 1 Figures include those for the Infrastructure Planning Commission | ||||||
| Current non-departmental public bodies | ||||||
| Non-department public bodies | Number of redundancies | Number of payments in lieu of notice | ||||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| 1 Figures include those for the Tenant Services Authority in 2012-13 | ||||||
| Closed/reformed non-departmental public bodies | ||||||
| Non-department public bodies | Number of redundancies | Number of payments in lieu of notice | ||||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| 1 Figures for these bodies are taken from each organisation's published accounts. Figures for any additional payments in lieu of notice were not recorded separately in the accounts and cannot now be identified. | ||||||
Work and Pensions
Child Benefit
Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has taken steps to make parents aware that, following recent changes to child benefits, if they elect not to receive that benefit, they could lose their future national insurance carer's credit. [174320]
Sajid Javid: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie), on 18 January 2013, Official Report, column 985W, on ‘National Insurance Credits’.
Child Maintenance
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish an update on his Department's plans to develop and test an arrears segmentation approach in respect of child maintenance arrears combining a client's willingness and ability to pay with other available data sources, and using the client's history of paying in order to test different communications messages and the effect it has on payment behaviour. [175123]
Steve Webb: We are currently testing different communication interventions and the effect they have on payment behaviour. These interventions are looking at clients' willingness and ability to pay.
Trialling began in April 2013, and this will conclude in April 2014. If appropriate, we will publish findings from our segmentation approach, successful interventions and lessons learned.
Cold Weather Payments: Wales
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will publish (a) the recorded average temperatures used for the calculation of cold weather payments at the weather station at Mona, Ynys Môn, for each week of the last five years and (b) the average temperature at Bethesda, Arfon, for each week of the last five years; [175127]
(2) what assessment he has made of the difference in recorded temperatures between the weather station at Mona, Ynys Môn and Bethesda in Arfon constituency in relation to the cold weather payment. [175128]
Steve Webb: We are unable to provide all of the data for the last five years due to disproportional costs. However, following are the recorded average temperature readings for the cold weather payment scheme for the year 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 for the weather station at Mona.
| 2011-12 | |
| Period | Average temperature (degrees) |
12 Nov 2013 : Column 589W
| 2012 to 13 | |
| Period | Average Temperature (Degrees) |
| 2013-14 | |
| Period | Average temperature (degrees) |
The Met Office does not have a weather station located in Bethesda, Arfon to provide comparable data.
Disability Living Allowance
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time between an application for disability living allowance and the award. [174661]
Mike Penning: There is an ongoing focus on improving the service provided to customers and active management of disability living allowance claims. This is alongside the roll-out of the personal independence payment (PIP) from 1 April 2013.
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Disability living allowance delivery and processes are regularly reviewed and improvement initiated across the customer journey.
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people receiving disability living allowance will be reassessed for that allowance between October and December 2013 in each postcode highlighted in his Department's Quick Guide to Personal Independence Payments, updated on 28 October 2013. [174709]
Mike Penning: National estimates for the number of reassessments we expect to be carried out each quarter are quoted in the 'Personal Independence Payment—Reassessments and Impacts' briefing note, which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180964/pip-reassessments-and-impacts.pdf
This document has not been updated yet, following the decision to use a controlled roll-out of reassessment to certain postcodes on 28 October, as we plan to update it following the autumn statement. However, we estimate that the postcodes included in the Department's Quick Guide to PIP will account for a quarter of the estimated reassessment volumes.
Employment Schemes
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on universal jobs match in 2012-13. [175274]
Esther McVey: Universal jobmatch makes it easier and quicker for claimants to jobsearch, and get back to work. Jobcentre Plus advisers are able to review a universal jobmatch account (with permission from the claimant) and look at the claimant's CV and application history. As a result, advisers can give a tailored high- quality support service to claimants who agree to give them access, helping claimants to optimise their CVs and identify any skills gaps.
Universal jobmatch provides employers with an enhanced online recruitment service, automatically matching employers' jobs to suitable jobseekers and ranking the results based on how closely jobseekers match the search requirements described by the company. This helps speed up the whole recruitment process.
Employers have the facility to set up and manage their own online accounts, at a time to suit them, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The cost of universal jobmatch from September 2012 to September 2013 to the Department is as follows:
The DWP spending to date for universal jobmatch in the financial year April 2012 to March 2013 was £9.34 million (this is a mixture of staff and information systems/information technology costs).
The ongoing estimated full year annual cost of universal jobmatch is £5.7 million (excluding estimates for future inflation). This cost includes future payments to Monster.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to control the quality of the universal jobs match service. [175275]
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Esther McVey: The service performance for universal jobmatch is regularly monitored by a dedicated team within DWP, supported by MI as part of the service delivery arrangements.
DWP has also commissioned further insight work which will provide future recommendations to improve the service as part of a continuous improvement process.
DWP and the providers (Monster) have an agreed request for change process and there have been many enhancements made to the service since go live and further enhancements to be made in the near future. That will improve the customer experience for all users.
Employment Schemes: Disability
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research his Department has commissioned or undertaken into employment support programmes in other countries for people with ill-health. [175280]
Esther McVey: The Department has commissioned a review of international research evidence of what works to help disabled people and people with health conditions into employment. The report will be published shortly alongside the health and disability employment strategy.
In 2012, the Department published a report reviewing evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to help employees with common health conditions stay in work or return to work from sickness absence. A copy of the report, DWP Research Report 812, is available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quantifying-the-effectiveness-of-interventions-for-people-with-common-health-conditions-in-enabling-them-to-stay-in-or-return-to-work-rr812
Jobcentre Plus
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average caseload of a Jobcentre Plus advisor was in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011 and (e) 2012. [175276]
Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mesothelioma
Mr Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on compensation for people with mesothelioma. [901037]
Mike Penning: I, as Minister for Disabled People, met with representatives of the all-party parliamentary group on occupational safety and health on 15 October 2013 and with representatives of the Asbestos Victims Support Group on 5 November 2013 to discuss the Mesothelioma Bill currently before Parliament. The Mesothelioma Bill relates to people who contracted mesothelioma due to negligent exposure to asbestos at work and they are unable to trace their employer or employers' liability insurer.
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In addition, the Asbestos Victims Support Group has shared its campaign literature encouraging the Minister to review the level of tariff payments for mesothelioma sufferers resulting from the Bill.
In relation to mesothelioma cases in which there is an identified employer or insurer, the Government published their consultation paper “Reforming Mesothelioma Claims” on 24 July 2013. Proposals seek to ensure that compensation is paid fairly and quickly, where necessary.
The consultation closed on 2 October 2013 with 105 responses received by the Ministry of Justice from a wide range of interested parties, including mesothelioma victims groups, claimant lawyers and the insurance industry. The Ministry of Justice is carefully considering those contributions and plans to publish the response to the consultation by the end of the year.
Personal Independence Payment
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who were in receipt of disability living allowance have been re-assessed for personal independence payment since 8 April 2013; and what percentage of the forecast figure this is. [174596]
Mike Penning: Reassessment of existing DLA claimants began on 28 October 2013 in Wales, 2 west and east midlands and East Anglia.
As reassessment only began on 28 October 2013 the figures requested are not yet available.
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether financial or other penalties will be imposed on those companies contracted to carry out the assessment process for the personal independence payment as a result of the delay to the national roll-out. [174602]
Mike Penning: We have announced that changes to the roll-out of personal independence payment (PIP) are because we are introducing PIP in a controlled manner, learning lessons from the live environment to ensure we get this right. This approach is in line with the way we have been introducing all our other programmes of change. New claims to PIP began in April in a controlled start area and were extended nationally across Great Britain in June.
We continue to take new claims to PIP across Great Britain and on 28 October 2013 we started the natural reassessment phase with both Atos and Capita, inviting some existing DLA recipients living in Wales, west midlands, east midlands and East Anglia to claim PIP.
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of disability living allowance living in areas other than Wales, the midlands and East Anglia received notification that they would be reassessed for personal independence payment before the announcement of the delay to the national roll-out. [174642]
Mike Penning:
Every disability living allowance (DLA) claimant received some general information about personal independence payment (PIP) in their annual uprating letters during February and March. This letter made it
12 Nov 2013 : Column 593W
clear to DLA claimants that they did not need to contact the Department about PIP, that DWP would contact them again about claiming PIP, but ensured that they were made aware of the plans to introduce the new benefit and how they might be affected.
In addition, approximately 14,400 letters have been issued to claimants approaching their 16th birthday. These letters tell the parent/guardian that the young person will need to claim PIP at 16 and that DWP will write to them to explain how to do this. It makes it clear that PIP cannot be claimed until 16 and that we will make sure DLA payments continue while we decide if they are entitled to PIP.
During the initial phase of natural reassessment, any child receiving DLA in Wales, west midlands, east midlands and East Anglia (approximately 23% of the case load) will receive an invitation to claim PIP soon after their 16th birthday. Children receiving DLA outside of those areas of scope will receive a letter and DLA claim pack to either renew their DLA or review their entitlement.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the costs of assessing transport to personal independence payment assessment centres are borne by Atos under its contractor or paid separately by his Department. [174788]
Mike Penning: Personal independence payment (PIP) assessment providers are required to pay claimants' travelling expenses in line with guidance issued by the Department. These costs are not passed through to the Department directly.
The Department pays an output fee per assessment and the assessment providers were required to offer output fees which reflected all of their costs when they bid for the contracts at the tender stage.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what circumstances those attending personal independence payment centres have their transport costs paid. [174789]
Mike Penning: Where it is necessary for a claimant to travel to a face-to-face consultation, they are able to claim travel expenses for themselves and a companion or carer, or young children who would otherwise be left unattended.
Payments are made for public transport fares, travel by private motor vehicle and in some circumstances, where prior approval has been given by the assessment provider, taxi fares. Payments relating to other costs related to the journey such as parking, tolls or congestion charges can also be met.
The assessment providers are required to reimburse these expenses within 14 calendar days of the claim.
Personal Independence Payment: South East
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many present adult claimants of disability living allowance live within the catchment of each personal independence payment consultation centre serving south and east England; and what the longest journey in miles is to each such centre. [174783]
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Mike Penning: The Department does not hold data on the current number of adult claimants of disability living allowance broken down by the personal independence payment (PIP) consultation centres provided by Atos Healthcare—the assessment provider in Lot 3 (London and Southern England). DWP has set a clear requirement that claimants travel no more than 90 minutes (single journey) by public transport, to their consultation—this figure is an absolute maximum and for most claimants their journey will be less than this.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which of the 21 personal independence payment consultation centres serving south and east England are not wheelchair-accessible. [174785]
Mike Penning: All sites must be compliant with the Equality Act 2010, with suitable ground floor accommodation available.
Personal Independence Payment: Stirling
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when young people in Stirling constituency who are currently in receipt of disability living allowance will be re-assessed for personal independence payment. [174597]
Mike Penning: Reassessment of existing DLA claimants started in a limited geographic area from 28 October. Further details of where and when reassessment activity will commence will be taken and published in due course in line with legislative requirements.
Personal Independence Payment: Terminal Illnesses
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the timescale is for decisions for people with terminal illnesses who apply for personal independence payments under the special rules procedures. [174644]
Mike Penning: Although personal independence payment is a new benefit, and the Department does not have a target for completion of claims whilst processes are bedding in, we deal urgently with special rules claims for terminally ill claimants.
Personal Independence Payment: Young People
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people currently in receipt of disability living allowance will be re-assessed for the personal independence payment in the three months from 7 October 2013 in the postcode areas highlighted in the Quick Guide to Personal Independence Payments, updated on 28 October 2013. [174708]
Mike Penning: National estimates for the number of reassessments we expect to be carried out each quarter are quoted in the 'Personal Independence Payment—Reassessments and Impacts' briefing note, which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180964/pip-reassessments-and-impacts.pdf
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This document has not been updated yet, following the decision to use a controlled area of reassessment to certain postcodes on 28 October, as we plan to update it following the autumn statement. However, we estimate that around 8,500 DLA recipients reach age 16 in each three-month period across Great Britain (34,000 each year). We also estimate that the postcodes included in the Department's Quick Guide to PIP will account for a quarter of the estimated reassessment volumes.
Refuges: Females
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of the extension of the single accommodation rate to people aged up to 35 years old on the ability of women fleeing domestic violence to move on from a refuge; and if he will make a statement. [175234]
Steve Webb: Extending the shared accommodation rate to single people aged up to 35 encourages people claiming benefits to make the same choices about their accommodation as people not claiming benefits, many of whom share.
The shared accommodation rate does not apply to claimants with dependent children or those living in social and third sector supported housing.
In most areas outside inner London, around 30% of shared accommodation is affordable within LHA rates, so there is no reason people should be left without somewhere to live.
For people who require further support, we are providing £180 million in locally administered discretionary housing payments this year.
The Department has commissioned a major independent review of the changes to local housing allowance. The final report is due to be published next year.
Sickness Absence
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many working days were lost owing to (a) anxiety, (b) depression and (c) stress in each year for which data are available. [175061]
Mike Penning: Data are not captured at a sufficiently detailed level to determine the number of working days lost each year due to: (a) anxiety; (b) depression; and (c) stress.
We acknowledge, however, that employment rates for people with depression, anxiety and other common mental health problems are relatively low. This is why the Government are exploring new integrated approaches across the mental health and employment system.
Social Security Benefits
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken between a decision to award a benefit and the start of payments. [174662]
Esther McVey:
There is an ongoing focus on the service provided to customers, for all benefits streams. This includes the time taken from the date of claim to
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award of benefit, and through to payment. Benefit delivery processes are regularly reviewed and improvement initiated as appropriate.
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time is between an application for (a) disability living allowance and (b) personal independence payment and the setting of a date for an assessment. [174663]
Mike Penning: DLA is a self-assessed benefit and does not have a formal assessment process as PIP does, and only a proportion of DLA new claims are referred for a medical examination. The average clearance time for a new DLA claim under normal rules is 31.6 days.
PIP introduced an assessment undertaken by assessment providers and although limited data have started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high-quality standards at the earliest opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on personal independence payment from spring 2014.
In order to manage the gap between personal independence payment go-live and the first release of official statistics in spring 2014, we are assessing whether we can release some management information. If the quality assurance of this management information shows that it is sufficiently robust and reliable then we aim to publish it via an ad-hoc statistical release.
Universal Credit
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what period he chaired the Senior Sponsorship Group responsible for the oversight of the universal credit programme. [175273]
Esther McVey: I can confirm that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), chaired the Senior Sponsorship Group (SSG) from May 2011 to October 2012. He continues to chair the Universal Credit Ministerial Oversight Group, which superseded the SSG.
Universal Credit: Hammersmith and Fulham
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department records the nationality of new claimants of universal credit in Hammersmith and Fulham; and if his Department will publish all data it records on the nationality of such claimants. [174963]
Esther McVey: Universal credit is at present only available to British citizens and, therefore, no data are held regarding the nationality of universal credit claimants.
Vaccination: Compensation
Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the operation of the Government’s vaccine damage payment scheme; and if he will publish the results of that assessment. [174679]
Mike Penning: There has been no recent assessment of the vaccine damage payment scheme.
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Business, Innovation and Skills
Bank Services: Fees and Charges
Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the amount consumers spend on bank fees and charges. [175051]
Jo Swinson: On 25 January 2013, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) published a review of the personal current account market in the UK. This included the OFTs analysis of the amount consumers spend on bank fees and charges, and how these had changed since the OFT's market study of the personal current account market in 2008.
The key findings from the OFT's review was that there has been a significant reduction in the level of overdraft charges overall. The OFT estimates that there have been consumer savings of between £388 million and £928 million since the OFT carried out its market study in 2008. During this period, unarranged overdraft revenues fell substantially, and despite increased revenues from arranged overdrafts and debit interest, there is still a substantial saving for consumers.
The OFT review of the personal current account market found that there has been a substantial reduction in unarranged overdraft charges since 2007. Total revenue to personal current account providers from arranged and unarranged lending has fallen by £507 million overall (in 2011 prices).
The OFT’s full review of the personal current account market can be found at:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/financial_products/OFT1005rev
Of particular interest will be chapter 5, including figures 5.6 and 5.8.
EU External Trade: USA
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether a Cabinet sub-committee has been established to co-ordinate the Government's approach to the proposed transatlantic trade and investment partnership. [174753]
Michael Fallon: Along with other EU trade negotiations, TTIP falls within the remit of the European Affairs Committee. No new sub-committee has been established to deal solely with the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP).
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanisms for co-ordinating the UK's approach to the proposed transatlantic trade and investment partnership have been put in place within Government. [174756]
Michael Fallon:
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is the lead Department within Government for all EU trade deals. We work closely with other Government Departments, including the Cabinet Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Officials leading the UK work on transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) meet regularly with the relevant Ministers, including the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), my noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade and Investment (Lord Green of
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Hurstpierpoint), and the Minister without Portfolio, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke).
The Prime Minister's adviser on EU and global issues (outgoing Ivan Rogers, incoming Tom Scholar) chairs a regular strategy meeting of senior level officials from all relevant Departments, and BIS also convenes regular working level meetings. Where cross-Government policy clearance is required, TTIP work falls under the remit of the European Affairs Committee of Cabinet.
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration his Department has given to investor-state dispute settlement, as detailed within the transatlantic trade and investment pact. [175251]
Michael Fallon: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has commissioned academic research into the impact of investor-state dispute settlement within the context of wider investment protection treaties. This research is intended to inform the UK position with regard to the upcoming investment treaties being negotiated by the EU.
The research commissioned included a framework to analyse the costs and benefits of investment protection treaties as a whole, and use of the framework to assess the inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement provisions within the proposed EU agreements with China and the US (the transatlantic trade and investment partnership). A copy of this research will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) when (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials from his Department last met with the EU negotiating team for the transatlantic trade and investment pact; and whether they discussed investor-state disputes settlement and its potential effect on the national health service; [175252]
(2) whether he has raised the issue of exemption for the national health service with regard to the transatlantic trade and investment pact, as referred to in the European Commission's impact assessment on the future of EU/US trade relations. [175253]
Michael Fallon: The Government have not sought to exclude health services from the scope of the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) negotiations. We have consistently pushed for an ambitious and broad agreement with all issues on the table.
Officials from the Department met with the EU chief negotiator on the TTIP in London on 31 October. The concerns that have been raised about the potential impact of the TTIP on the NHS were discussed, as well as the investor-state disputes settlement.
The UK has already undertaken some long-standing multilateral level commitments through the general agreement on trade in services (GATS, 1995) on health services, and our position during the TTIP negotiations will be to go no further than our existing obligations.
The TTIP will not affect the policy that it is for NHS commissioners to take decisions on the competitive tendering of services, in the best interests of their patients, consistent with the NHS procurement, patient choice and competition regulations.
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Exports
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 2 September 2013, Official Report, columns 130-31W, on arms trade: exports, and subsequent correspondence, what estimate he has made of the relative sizes of the (a) market share of the exporter of the licence Mindspeed and its UK subsidiary, Picochip, (b) expected addressable market for the combined entity of these companies until 2016, (c) value of the standard individual export licence (permanent) for equipment employing cryptography and software for equipment employing cryptography to Israel and (d) total combined value of the UK's annual exports to Israel. [175208]
Michael Fallon: We have made no estimate of the market share or expected addressable market for Mindspeed Technologies UK Ltd or any subsidiaries of that company. The maximum potential value of the exports authorised under the licence in question, which was granted in February 2013, is £7.8 billion. Statistics published by the Office for National Statistics show that in 2012 the value of UK exports of goods and services to Israel was £2.4 billion.
Furniture: Intellectual Property
Mr Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the level of intellectual property infringement in the UK furniture industry; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to create a criminal offence of deliberate registered design infringement. [174895]
Mr Willetts: The Government are aware that infringement of intellectual property rights can be a significant problem for many UK businesses, and for the furniture industry this particularly relates to designs law. In the Government's designs consultation, published in July 2012, many respondents highlighted the problems they faced with infringement of their design rights, and sought changes in the law to provide better deterrents. Although this consultation covered a range of areas, responses specific to the furniture industry were also received. The annual cost of design infringement has been estimated by Anti-Copying in Design and NESTA at £775 million, but it has not been possible to break those figures down by industry sector.
The Intellectual Property Bill, which is currently awaiting Second Reading in this House, introduces a number of measures to assist businesses in the UK. This includes the introduction of a criminal sanction for the intentional copying of registered designs. It is hoped that this measure will act as a deterrent for those seeking to profit from others' designs.
Green Investment Bank
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish the current salaries paid to (a) each board member and (b) the 10 highest paid senior executives of the Green Investment Bank (GIB); and if he will provide details of (i) how the salaries were benchmarked before being agreed and (ii) what bonus options were included in each contract for GIB senior executives. [175074]
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Michael Fallon: Full details of the remuneration packages for Green Investment Bank (GIB) board members and the company's senior management team, including details of pensions, long-term incentive plans (LTIP) and other benefits, are set out in the company's annual report. This was published in June 2013 and can be found on the company's website at:
http://www.greeninvestmentbank.com/who-we-are/governance/annual-report.html
The relevant data are provided in the report of the Remuneration Committee, which also includes an explanation of the principles and policies that underpin the company's approach to remuneration. These recognise the company's unique position as a publicly owned enterprise charged with investing Government money. The report explains that GIB's board obtained advice from Pricewaterhouse Coopers on development of the company's LTIP scheme and advice from specialist recruitment consultants Odgers Berndtson on levels of remuneration, including advice on the position at comparable businesses. The report also notes that the senior management team are not eligible for awards under the annual incentive plan. Updated salary information is published on GIB's website every six months. Under the company's articles of association, all decisions relating to the remuneration of the directors, including that of the chief executive officer, require the prior consent of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), as shareholder.
Health
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effect of (a) working very long hours, (b) temporary working contracts, (c) caring for the elderly and disabled and (d) personal debt on wellbeing in the UK. [175191]
Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated November 2013:
As Director-General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills asking what assessment he has made of the potential effect of (a) working very long hours, (b) temporary working contracts, (c) caring for the elderly and disabled and (d) personal debt on wellbeing in the UK. (175191).
We are unable to provide specific information regarding each of the above categories, however, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published a report in May 2013 entitled 'Measuring National Well-being—What matters most to Personal Well-being?' This report examines factors which are related to individuals' well-being.
Self-reported health had the strongest association with all the measures of personal well-being, the second strongest association was employment status and the third was relationship status. People's sense of choice and contentment with their current situation also seem to be related to their levels of personal well-being. For example, it is not just about having a job that matters to personal well-being, but also being content with that job. Permanent employees who wanted a different or additional job had lower levels of life satisfaction, feelings that things were
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worthwhile, ratings of happiness and increased levels of anxiety on average than those that didn't want a different or additional job. Also, those who are economically inactive and in caring roles but would rather be in paid work have lower personal well-being than people who are working and content with their jobs. The report can be accessed from the following weblink:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/what-matters-most-to-personal-well-being-in-the-uk-/art-what-matters-most-to-personal-well-being-in-the-uk-.html
In addition, the ONS published a report in June 2013 entitled 'Measuring National Well-being—Self reported financial situation, 2013'. This has information on individuals' feelings about their household financial situation and how this relates to their well-being, but not specifically about personal debt. The report and reference tables are available from the following weblink:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/measuring-national-well-being--self-reported-financial-situation--2013/art-self-reported-financial-situation--2013.html
Insolvency
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the statutory powers available to an insolvency practitioner, as an officer of the court, to compel the disclosure of relevant documents by all parties involved in an administration process; and the investigatory powers available to insolvency practitioners to locate relevant documents where possession of said documents are denied by individual parties. [175158]
Jo Swinson: An administrator already has the power to request information relating to the affairs of the company from all parties involved in an administration process and those same parties have a duty to provide information and co-operate with the administrator.
In addition the court can request that any person who has in their possession property, books, papers or records to which the company is entitled, provide them to the administrator.
I have not been informed of any cases where an administrator has been unable to recover documents that are required to progress an administration.
Students: Loans
Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress his Department has made on the creation and implementation of Shariah-compliant student loans for those potential students who cannot make use of the traditional loan system as a result of their religious convictions; and when he expects such a system to be fully operable. [174636]
Mr Willetts: This Department has been working with Islamic banks and Shariah experts to determine whether an alternative finance system of student loans is possible.
We have identified a number of approaches and will be launching a consultation on an alternative finance product shortly as announced by the Prime Minister during his Eid al-Adha reception speech.
The timing of the implementation of an alternative finance system will depend on when parliamentary time can be secured for the necessary legislation.
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Education
CAFCASS
Mr Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve the overall performance of Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. [175243]
Mr Timpson: I monitor the performance of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) through quarterly performance meetings with its chair and chief executive. Performance has been improving steadily over recent years, for example 99.8% of live cases nationally now have an allocated guardian, up from 93.1% in 2009/10. CAFCASS is also meeting all its key performance indicators (KPI).
It is important to maintain the drive towards improvement, and I have recently introduced a fifth KPI, which will monitor the percentage of public law care cases where CAFCASS is cited as the main reason for an adjournment.
CAFCASS is also inspected by Ofsted, which currently inspects local service areas against a national standard. Ofsted will soon be launching a new national inspection framework for CAFCASS.
Mr Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many complaints have been lodged against the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in each of the last 10 years in (a) the UK, (b) East Anglia and (c) South Suffolk constituency. [175244]
Mr Timpson: The following table sets out the numbers of complaints lodged against the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) in the relevant areas. The national figures are for England (CAFCASS does not cover Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland).
| National | East Anglia | Suffolk | |
This information is taken from the CAFCASS national case management system. This is a live system and figures are subject to change as updates are made. The data in the table include both public and private law cases.
The data are collated at local area team level. Figures for East Anglia are based on the Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire area teams. Figures for Suffolk are based on the Suffolk area team whose boundaries are broadly comparable with those of the Suffolk constituency area.
The figures show a rising trend in complaints. This reflects the much higher volume of cases being handled together with two other factors—the increased advertising
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of the complaints service and improvements in the way complaints are recorded and the service is delivered.
The information requested is only available from 2005/06.
Mr Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many cases the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service has dealt with in each of the last 10 years in (a) the UK, (b) East Anglia and (c) South Suffolk constituency. [175245]
Mr Timpson: The following table sets out the numbers of cases completed and closed by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) in the relevant areas.
| National | East Anglia | Suffolk | |
This information is taken from the CAFCASS national case management system. This is a live system and figures are subject to change as updates are made. The data in the table include both public and private law cases.
The data are collated at local area team level. Figures for East Anglia are based on the Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire area teams. Figures for Suffolk are based on the Suffolk area team whose boundaries are broadly comparable to those of the Suffolk constituency area.
Children: Day Care
Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) pursuant to the answer of 2 September 2013, Official Report, column 64W, on children: day care, how many of the most disadvantaged 20 per cent of two-year-olds are accessing a free childcare place; and how many such places are available for this group; [174475]
(2) what assessment he has made of the types of childcare provider offering places to disadvantaged two-year-olds; and how many childminders are offering such places. [174355]
Elizabeth Truss: The entitlement to an early learning place for the most disadvantaged 20% of two-year-olds came into force on 1 September. Figures extrapolated from the most recent local authority estimates suggest that by October 2013 around 92,000 children were already in funded places. This equates to 70% of the 130,000 eligible children of the new entitlement, which is great progress.
Formal data on the number of two-year-olds in funded places will be gathered through the early years and schools censuses which will take place in January 2014 and be published in summer 2014. Data on the number
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of children accessing places at different types of provider are not yet available, but will also be collected through the censuses.
Children: Hyperactivity
Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to introduce mandatory screening for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for all pupils who receive two fixed-term exclusions from school; and if he will provide specialist psychiatric, paediatric or healthcare support to all such pupils who are diagnosed with ADHD. [175204]
Mr Timpson: There are no plans to introduce automatic screening for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as schools need the flexibility to determine when to assess, based on knowledge of their pupils and close working with other agencies and pupils' families.
Improving early identification of, and support for, pupils' special educational needs (SEN) is a key aim of the Government's Children and Families Bill. The revised SEN code of practice, which is currently being consulted on, emphasises the importance of schools identifying the underlying causes of behaviour issues, whether or not these require special educational provision. The importance of early assessment of need is also emphasised in the statutory guidance on exclusion, with head teachers being expected to consider the use of multi-agency assessment for pupils who demonstrate persistent disruptive behaviour.
Specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) work with partner agencies, including local authorities and schools, to ensure the best possible outcome for children and young people with ADHD. Additionally, the children and young people's project for the improving access to psychological therapies (CYPIAPT) programme is working to improve access to CAMHS, deliver positive and measurable outcomes and increase the choice and availability of evidence based treatments. This includes support therapies such as parent training, which is recommended in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines as first-line treatment for mild and moderate ADHD, and systemic family practice, which supports conduct problems in older teenagers.
Class Sizes
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were taught in class sizes of greater than 30 in each year since 2010. [174428]
Mr Laws: Information on class sizes, including the percentage of children in classes of greater than 30, was published in tables 6a and 6c of the publication ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2013’, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013
The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 limits the size of infant classes only to 30 pupils per school teacher. Additional children may be admitted in exceptional circumstances, for example, looked-after children or children of UK service personnel. This Government are providing capital funding to ensure
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that there is not a shortfall in primary places. By the end of the current spending review period, the Department will have made more than £5 billion in basic need funding available which, at a national level, is enough for the efficient creation of pupil places needed by 2015-16. This will significantly reduce the pressure on infant classes.
Free School Meals
Mr Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of school children between the ages of five and 16 years old are eligible for free school meals in (a) the UK, (b) East Anglia and (c) South Suffolk constituency. [175261]
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Mr Laws: Free school meal information for pupils in England, East Anglia and South Suffolk constituency for January 2013 is shown in the following tables. This includes pupils who have full-time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or have part-time attendance and are aged between five and 15, where age is calculated as at 31 August 2012.
The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals in the rest of the UK is the responsibility of the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and the Department for Education, Northern Ireland.
| Maintained nursery, state-funded primary, state-funded secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units1, 2, 3, 4, 5: number of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals, January 2013, England, East Anglia and South Suffolk constituency | ||||||
| Maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools1, 2 | State-funded secondary schools1, 3 | Special schools4 | ||||
| LA code | Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals6, 7 | Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals | Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals6, 7 | Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals | Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals6, 7 | Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals |
| Pupil referral units5 | Total | |||
| LA code | Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals6, 7 | Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals | Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals6, 7 | Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals |
| 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2 Includes all primary academies, including free schools. 3 Includes city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. 4 Excludes general hospital schools. Includes special academies and free schools. 5 Includes pupils in Alternative Provision academies and free schools. 6 Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. Includes boarders. In pupil referral units also includes pupils registered with other providers and further education colleges. 7 Pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals who have full-time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part-time attendance and are aged between five and 15. 8 East Anglia includes Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Peterborough and Suffolk local authorities. Note: Total figures have been rounded to the nearest five to prevent disclosure of small numbers (e.g. when used in conjunction with data held elsewhere) therefore totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts. Source: School Census. | ||||
Free Schools
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the process is for closing a free school. [174952]
Mr Timpson: A free school is legally an academy. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove)’s powers to intervene in an underperforming academy or a free school are specified in the funding agreement between the Secretary of State and the academy trust. Closing a school would involve terminating the funding agreement between the Secretary of State and the academy trust, without contracting with another party to run the school. Free school and academy funding agreements are published on the Department for Education's website as a matter of course once the school has opened.
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education where the powers his Department has to direct that the management of a free school be removed or replaced are set out. [175175]
Mr Timpson: A free school is legally an academy. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove)’s, powers to intervene in an academy or a free school are specified in the funding agreement between the Secretary of State and the academy trust. Free school and academy funding agreements are published on the Department for Education's website as a matter of course, once the school has opened.
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/
Headteachers
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average pay for a headteacher was in (a) academy and (b) other schools in the most recent period for which figures are available. [174513]
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Mr Laws: Data on average pay of leadership teachers by type of school are available in the publication ‘School workforce in England: November 2012’, Table 9b, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2012
Primary Education: Standards
Mr Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of primary schools have been rated (a) outstanding, (b) good, (c) satisfactory and (d) inadequate by Ofsted in (i) the UK, (ii) East Anglia and (iii) South Suffolk constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available. [175246]
Mr Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. I have asked Sir Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, to write to the hon. Member. A copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
Schools: Finance
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2013, Official Report, column 1114W, on free money, how much was returned to his Department after (a) opening of free schools, (b) opening of new sixth forms and (c) opening of all other new institutions within the schools sector following the failure to recruit predicted numbers in the year groups affected in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13. [173886]
Mr Timpson: A total value of £239,176 will be returned to the Department from new free schools which did not recruit the predicted pupil numbers in 2012/13. No repayment was due for 2011/12.
In respect of new academy school sixth forms in 2011/12 and 2012/13 the sums for recovery are £1,421,569 and £762,726 respectively. These are due to the Department in the following academic year.
Any other new institutions opening in the maintained sector are subject to local authority funding arrangements, which are not reported in detail to the Department. This will also involve the return of funding to local authorities.
Schools: Health
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what instructions his Department has given to Ofsted inspectors in respect of the inspection of wellbeing in schools since 2010. [175028]
Mr Laws: The current school inspection framework reflects the statutory reporting requirements set out in section 5 of the Education Act 2005, as amended by the Education Act 2011.
In judging a school, inspectors make four key judgements, reflecting the areas on which the chief inspector must report. These are pupil achievement; the quality of teaching; effectiveness of leadership and management; and the behaviour and safety of pupils. Within the leadership assessment, inspectors consider how well the school helps pupils to prepare for life in modern democratic Britain and a global society, as well as the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements at the school. In assessing
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the overall effectiveness of the school, inspectors also report on the provision for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and on the development of pupils physical well-being.