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Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Wales

NATO Summit 2014: Newport

12. Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the benefits to Wales arising from the Government’s hosting of the 2014 NATO summit at Newport. [901104]

Mr David Jones: I am delighted that we will be hosting the NATO summit in Newport next autumn. It is a fantastic opportunity to showcase Wales on a global stage.

Scotland

Common Agricultural Policy

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on reform of the common agricultural policy. [175387]

David Mundell: There have been no recent discussions with the First Minister on CAP reform. I hold regular discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment in the Scottish Government who has lead portfolio responsibility for CAP reform.

EU Law

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland to which EU Directives within his Department's areas of responsibility the Government have formally opted into in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive was signed; and if he will make a statement. [175500]

David Mundell: Details of all EU directives that the UK has opted into pursuant to protocol 21 to the treaties on the functioning of the European Union since May 2010 are listed on the Government's JHA opt-in web page. The website can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206297/2JHA_opt-in_webpage_update—data_v0l.pdf

In the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington)’s written ministerial statement of 20 January 2011, Official Report, columns 51-52WS, the Government committed to a number of measures to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny of JHA measures, in particular to make written statements to Parliament on each opt-in decision and to set aside Government time for debates in both Houses in circumstances where there is particularly strong parliamentary interest in an opt-in decision.

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Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what EU Directives within his Department's areas of responsibility have come into force without the need for an opt-in decision in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive came into force; and if he will make a statement. [175521]

David Mundell: Details of all EU legislation, including full details of all EU directives that have come into force since May 2010, can be found on the Commission's website:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/RECH_legislation.do

The Government's position is that the UK's Justice and Home Affairs opt-in applies to all measures adopted pursuant to title V of part three of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union, as set out in protocol 21 to the treaty on the functioning of the European Union. It follows that the opt-in does not apply to measures adopted that are not pursuant to title V of part three of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to his Department; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation. [175658]

David Mundell: No employees have been seconded by the private sector to the Scotland Office.

Northern Ireland

Qualifications

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people employed by her Department hold a (a) bachelor's, (b) master's and (c) PhD-level degree in computer science; and if she will make a statement. [175375]

Mr Robathan: This information is not held centrally by my Department. To obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.

Home Department

Asylum

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum applicants have remained in the UK in each of the last three years. [167294]

Mr Harper: We do not hold this information in the format requested. Failed asylum applicants do not always inform the Home Office prior to leaving the United Kingdom and so it is not possible to quantify the number that have left the UK without being removed.

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Badgers: Animal Welfare

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports have been received by police of alleged illegal gassing of badgers in each of the last five years; and what (a) investigations and (b) prosecutions have arisen from such reports. [171017]

Damian Green [holding answer 15 October 2013]: The Home Office does not collate this information centrally.

Bicycles: Theft

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many bicycles have been reported stolen in each year between 2003 and 2013;

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and if she will introduce a national microchipping scheme to assist the return of stolen bicycles to their owners. [175478]

Norman Baker: Data on police recorded crime are published by the Office for National Statistics on a quarterly basis. Police recorded crime figures on bicycle thefts for financial years 2002-03 to 2012-13 are provided in the following table.

There are a number of commercial property marking systems available for use by members of the public which use a variety of different marking systems including microchips. Most police forces recommend recording any unique identification numbers and marking property or taking photographs of property that cannot be marked easily or without damage.

The Government has no plans to introduce a national microchipping scheme.

British Nationality

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for citizenship were concluded (a) within six months, (b) between six and nine months, (c) between nine and 12 months and (d) after more than 12 months, in each of the last three years. [175314]

Mr Harper: The information requested is shown in the following table:

Community Orders

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she had made of the implementation of the community resolution scheme in combating crime in local communities; and if she will make a statement. [R] [172163]

Norman Baker: As announced by the Justice Secretary on 29 September, the Coalition Government intends shortly to carry out a review of all out of court disposals. This review will include community resolutions and will seek views on the impact all out of court disposals have on cutting crime.

Council of Europe Convention On Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. [175917]

Norman Baker [holding answer 18 November 2013]: I refer the Right Honourable Member to the reply given on 12 November 2013, Official Report, column 541W.

Domestic Violence

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of the reorganisation of services for victims of domestic abuse and violence on the quality of provision for victims. [175727]

Norman Baker: Decisions on how to fund services for victims of domestic violence are best addressed at a local level based on the needs of local communities. Local authorities have to make some tough spending decisions, but I strongly encourage councils to bear in mind the needs of vulnerable individuals when deciding their budget priorities.

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The Home Office recently hosted two events to highlight the importance of commissioning services for victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Drugs: Misuse

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when (a) she and (b) Ministers discussed the control of new psychoactive substances with (i) Ministers from other EU member states and (ii) European Commissioners in the last 12 months. [175628]

Norman Baker [holding answer 19 June 2013]:Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:

http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on psychoactive substances; [175758]

(2) what discussions she has had with the devolved Administrations to proscribe psychoactive substances. [175759]

Norman Baker: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:

http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office

Energy

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made on improving the energy efficiency of her Department. [175995]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office published its 2012-13 sustainability report in October 2013. This provides details of what the Department, and its arm’s length bodies, are doing to improve energy efficiency.

The report can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainability-report-2012-2013

Entry Clearances

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many landlords have contacted the UK Border Agency regarding tenants with visa irregularities in each of the last five years. [174212]

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Mr Harper [holding answer 6 November 2013]: While it is not uncommon to receive questions, concerns and indeed allegations the Home Office does not collect specific information on the number of landlords contacting the Home Office regarding tenants with an uncertain immigration status.

The Immigration Bill before Parliament makes provision for landlords to be required to check on the immigration status of tenants.

Landlords with a tenant in-situ who subsequently find that the tenant is illegally here will be able to report the matter to the Home Office and this information would be collected to secure a statutory excuse from a future penalty for these landlords.

Female Genital Mutilation

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland of 11 September 2013, Official Report, column 744W, on female genital mutilation, when the Home Office Inter-Ministerial Group on Violence against Women and Girls has met since May 2010; and which (a) Government Ministers and (b) civil servants attended each such meeting. [175426]

Norman Baker [holding answer 18 November 2013]:The Violence Against Women and Girls Inter-Ministerial Group is chaired by the Secretary of State for the Home Department and meets quarterly. Since May 2010 the group has met on the following dates:

For attendance details, I refer the hon. Member to the answer the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne) gave to the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy) on 3 June 2013, Official Report, columns 920-21W.

Foreign Travel Orders

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign travel orders have been issued in each of the last six years. [175669]

Norman Baker [holding answer 18 November 2013]: The number of foreign travel orders issued in England and Wales is published annually in the Ministry of Justice's Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements Annual Report. The most recent report was published on 31 October 2013. Figures for the last six years are as follows:

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The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders and this Government is committed to ensuring that the system is as robust as it can be. That is why in October we tabled amendments to the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill which reform the civil orders that can be imposed on sex offenders and those who pose a risk.

Human Trafficking

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been collected under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 from those convicted of human trafficking in each of the last three years; and how much of this sum has been paid to victims of trafficking by way of compensation. [161039]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 24 June 2013]: The value of confiscation orders enforced against those convicted for human trafficking offences in England and Wales in each of the last three years, as recorded on the Joint Asset Recovery Database, is as follows:

These figures relate to all money collected in 2010-13 regardless of when the order was made and so include confiscation orders linked to human trafficking made prior to 2010.

A human trafficker may, as an alternative, be charged and prosecuted for a different offence, such as prostitution or money laundering, which could incur a confiscation order and is not reflected in the information above.

The proportion of funds paid to victims of trafficking by way of compensation is not held centrally.

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been received under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 from those convicted of human trafficking in the last three years; and how much has been paid out to the victims of human trafficking by way of compensation. [161236]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 25 June 2013]: The value of confiscation orders enforced against those convicted for human trafficking offences in England and Wales in each of the last three years, as recorded on the Joint Asset Recovery Database, is as follows:

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These figures relate to all money collected in 2010-13 regardless of when the order was made and so include confiscation orders linked to human trafficking made prior to 2010.

A human trafficker may, as an alternative, be charged and prosecuted for a different offence, such as prostitution or money laundering, which could incur a confiscation order and is not reflected in the information above.

The proportion of funds paid to victims of trafficking by way of compensation is not held centrally.

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been gathered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 from those convicted of human trafficking in each of the last three years; and how much has been paid out in compensation to victims of trafficking. [161270]

James Brokenshire: The value of confiscation orders enforced against those convicted for human trafficking offences in England and Wales in each of the last three years, as recorded on the Joint Asset Recovery Database, is as follows:

These figures relate to all money collected in 2010-13 regardless of when the order was made and so include confiscation orders linked to human trafficking made prior to 2010.

A human trafficker may, as an alternative, be charged and prosecuted for a different offence, such as prostitution or money laundering, which could incur a confiscation order and is not reflected in the information above.

The proportion off funds paid to victims of trafficking by way of compensation is not held centrally.

Immigration

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she intends to take following the decision of 7 November 2013 of Mr Justice Mostyn in the case of AB v. the Home Secretary. [175740]

Mr Harper [holding answer 18 November 2013]: The matter has been referred by Mr Justice Mostyn to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney-General and we await the outcome of their consideration.

The service provider G4S is conducting an investigation.

Immigration: Applications

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the case of the hon. Member for Monmouth's constituent Mrs Natalia Korchagina, reference number K16886001. [174331]

Mr Harper: I wrote to my hon. Friend separately on this individual case on 18 November 2013.

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Kings Science Academy

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau decided in April 2013 not to take any further action in investigating financial irregularities at the Kings Science Academy in Bradford; and for what reasons it has now decided to take further actions to investigate those reported irregularities. [174482]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 7 November 2013]: The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) assesses reports it receives from Action Fraud and other organisations and makes a decision on whether to disseminate crime packages to law enforcement agencies. It is not an investigative body itself. In the Kings Science Academy case, the report was passed from Action Fraud to the NFIB for assessment in the usual way. However, an administrative error led to the report being categorised as an information report, rather than a crime report, before it was sent to the NFIB for assessment. This error lead to a delay in the report being disseminated to West Yorkshire police who are currently undertaking an investigation.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 1 October 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Miss Majula Jaiteh. [175798]

Mr Harper: My noble Friend Lord Taylor of Holbeach Minister for Criminal Information, replied on my behalf on 18 November 2013.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 30 September 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Fowsya Ahmed Haji. [175800]

Mr Harper: The Director General of Border Force, Sir Charles Montgomery, wrote to the right hon. Member on 14 November 2013.

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to the Minister of State for Immigration dated 30 September 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr M Zaman. [175801]

Mr Harper: My noble Friend, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, Minister for Criminal Information, replied on my behalf on 18 November 2013.

Police: Firearms

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the cost to the police of gun licences. [175923]

Norman Baker [holding answer 18 November 2013]:The former Association of Chief Police Officers has previously assessed the cost of gun licences. They estimated

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that the cost to the taxpayer was £17.2 million in the year 2009-10. We are working with police and shooting organisations to consider licensing fees in the long term. It is important that we achieve a balance between an efficient system and fair fee level.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to provide a substantive answer to questions 174377, 174379 and 174381, tabled on 4 November for named day answer on 8 November 2013. [175901]

Norman Baker [holding answer 18 November 2013]:I provided a substantive answer to these questions on 12 November 2013.

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre

Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports she has received on the sexual abuse of women at Yarl's Wood detention centre; and if she will make a statement. [175852]

Mr Harper: Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) completed an unannounced visit to Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre in June and found the centre to be safe. Following allegations of abuse, the inspectors returned to the centre and conducted more than 50 confidential interviews about safety and treatment by staff with detainees they randomly selected. Their published report states that they found no evidence that a wider culture of victimisation or systematic abuse had developed.

Bedfordshire police are investigating the allegations made by an individual and the Home Office is offering full assistance to that investigation.

Transport

Bus Lanes

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to oppose the creation of non-contra flow 24-hour bus lanes where there is no 24-hour bus service. [175700]

Mr Goodwill: Decisions on bus lane operating hours are rightly taken by the local highway authority, using their knowledge of local factors such as bus timetable frequency and patterns of traffic congestion.

Electric Vehicles

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make the subsidy for electric and hybrid electric vehicles conditional upon vehicle manufacturers installing noise generating devices known as acoustic vehicle alerting systems on such vehicles. [175334]

Mr Goodwill: Negotiations at a European level regarding the mandatory fitment of artificial noise generators to electric and hybrid electric vehicles are still ongoing, we do not at this stage envisage making the eligibility of plug-in grants for low carbon cars and vans dependent

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on noise alerts. However we invite all those with an interest to feed into our recently launched call for evidence, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/measures-to-support-uptake-of-ultra-low-emission-vehicles-from-2015-to-2020

through which we will be looking at how the current consumer incentive will develop in the period 2015-20.

Motor Vehicles: Repairs and Maintenance

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has commissioned or reviewed into the impact of potholes and poor road surfaces on vehicle maintenance costs. [175697]

Mr Goodwill: The Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme, which the Department for Transport is sponsoring, was launched in April 2011. One of the initiatives undertaken by the programme was a pothole review which looked at potholes not only from an engineering perspective but the impact of long-term maintenance strategies, decision-making arrangements, the processes of reporting, prioritising and repairing potholes, guidance and wider operational arrangements. The pothole review report was published in April 2012 and the report can be found at the following weblink:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/potholes-review-prevention-and-a-better-cure

In addition a follow up report was published on 11 July 2013 which highlights progress being made and how the recommendations from the 2012 report are now starting to be embedded by the sector. This can be found at the following weblink:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/hmep/docs/potholesreview0913final-01.pdf

The Department for Transport has just commissioned a project to assess the costs and benefits of highways maintenance expenditure. It is expected the project will help local highway authorities demonstrate the value for money and efficiency of investment in highway maintenance, as well as obtaining wider understanding of the relationship between road condition and economic benefits such as disruption, increased user costs and vehicle wear and tear.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department will consider increasing the frequency of resurfacing trunk roads in order to reduce the need for reactive maintenance such as filling potholes. [175698]

Mr Goodwill: The Highways Agency has a comprehensive road inspection and maintenance programme to maintain safe roads and to reduce the potential for potholes and other surface defects. As part of their maintenance plan, in order to minimise disruption to the road users and maximise service life of road surfaces, all surfacing proposals are examined thoroughly to yield optimum service life based on whole life cost principles and affordability.

However, the Government recognise the need for continued investment in the strategic road network. In the 2013 spending round, a significant investment for

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roads was announced, with more than £4 billion allocated to the Highways Agency to enable them to resurface the vast majority of the national network by 2020-21.

House of Commons Commission

Staff

Mr Frank Field: To ask the right hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, how many people the House of Commons (a) directly employs and (b) employs via an agency; how many people in each category earn above the London living wage; and if he will make a statement. [175358]

John Thurso: The London living wage was increased from £8.55 per hour to £8.80 per hour on 4 November 2013. As at 30 September 2013 (the last date for which data are available), there were 1,761 members of staff directly employed by the House of Commons Commission all of whom earn more than the new London living wage.

In addition, there are typically some 30 agency staff engaged across the House. 10 of those earn above the new London living wage already, and the remainder received rises to at least the new level on 18 November 2013. The House has applied for accreditation as a Living Wage Employer and in future all agency staff will be paid the London living wage.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Middle East

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to promote freedom of religion and religious plurality in the Middle East. [175681]

Hugh Robertson: The Government are committed to supporting the fundamental human right to freedom of religion or belief. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the basis of our position. We support this right in the Middle East by: raising concerns with Government interlocutors; building international consensus around freedom of religion or belief; supporting practical projects on community dialogue; and engaging with civil society and faith groups.

In September 2013 at the UN General Assembly my right hon. and noble Friend, Baroness Warsi, convened a group of Foreign Ministers and officials from international organisations. This was the second in a series of meetings to discuss international efforts to fight against violence in the name of religion, and to promote freedom of religion and belief for all. We intend this as an ongoing initiative to build greater political will to tackle this issue in the countries where it matters most.

Against a backdrop of deep and difficult challenges facing minority communities, the Government are working hard to support the building of societies in the Middle East and North Africa which respect human rights, the rule of law, and the equality and opportunity of all

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citizens. To this end, we support long-term political and economic reform in the region through the Arab Partnership, which includes a £110 million fund over 2011-15.

Defence

Defence Equipment and Support

Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many meetings he has had with representatives of employees working at Defence Equipment and Support to discuss the proposals in the Defence Reform Bill. [175873]

Mr Dunne: The reform of Defence acquisition has been discussed at meetings between Ministers and trade union representatives of Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) staff, most recently at a meeting with the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), in September 2013. Senior DE&S officials also hold regular meetings with the trade unions at which defence acquisition reform is discussed.

Defence: Procurement

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessments have been made of the effect of defence procurement privatisation on the support and services currently provided to (a) the armed forces and (b) front-line troops. [175768]

Mr Dunne: The purpose of defence acquisition reform is to improve how defence equipment is procured and supported for our armed forces and the front line. The materiel strategy programme is currently in the assessment phase and is considering two options, DE&S+ and a Government owned contractor operated model. The ability of each option to deliver an improved acquisition and support organisation is a critical factor in that decision.

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether companies within consortia bidding for defence procurement contracts considered high risk, due to previous failings with public sector contracts, will be excluded from bidding. [175769]

Mr Dunne: All procurements are managed in accordance with the Government's Strategic Supplier Risk Management Policy.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the possible risks to UK intellectual property rights of the privatisation of defence procurement. [175776]

Mr Dunne: Protection of intellectual property is a critical consideration in the reform of defence acquisition. The legislation contained in the Defence Reform Bill and the draft contract between the Ministry of Defence and any Government owned contractor operated (GOCO) provider will provide sufficient protection for intellectual property should the GOCO option be selected.

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Trident Submarines

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list each of the contracts currently placed by his Department to develop a replacement for the Trident nuclear submarine which is covered by commercial confidentiality restrictions on disclosure of contract details. [175095]

Mr Dunne: There is a standard Defence Condition (DEFCON 521) on the disclosure of information that is mandated for all Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts. This condition places duties of confidentiality on both parties to the contract, but makes clear that the MOD is required to comply with its statutory duties. When requests are received for contract details, decisions on their disclosure are made on a case by case basis, taking account of the commercial sensitivity, as well as other applicable exemptions and exceptions.

The list of contracts to develop the replacement for the Trident nuclear submarine will take time to prepare. I will write, to the extent possible, while not breaching commercial confidentiality or national security considerations, to the hon. Member with this information.

Women and Equalities

Domestic Violence

Helen Jones: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what evidence her Department holds on the effect of recent changes in the levels of voluntary sector grants made by local authorities on women's refuges and services for victims of domestic violence. [175291]

Norman Baker [holding answer 12 November 2013]:I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

Decisions about provision of local services for victims of domestic violence are a local matter and it is the responsibility of individual local authorities to identify any gaps in service provision and put appropriate solutions in place. I strongly encourage local authorities to bear in mind the needs of vulnerable individuals when deciding their budget priorities. The Home Office recently hosted two events to highlight the importance of commissioning services for victims of domestic and sexual violence.

EU Law

Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities to which EU directives within the Government Equalities Office's areas of responsibility the Government have formally opted into in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive was signed; and if she will make a statement. [175494]

Mrs Grant: Details of all EU directives that the UK has opted into pursuant to protocol 21 to the treaties on the functioning of the European Union since May 2010 are listed on the Government's JHA opt-in web page. The website can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206297/2_JHA_opt-in_webpage_update_-_data_v0_1.pdf

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In the Minister for Europe, the right hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington)’s written ministerial statement of 20 January 2011, Official Report, columns 51-52WS, the Government committed to a number of measures to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny of JHA measures, in particular to make written statements to Parliament on each opt-in decision and to set aside Government time for debates in both Houses in circumstances where there is particularly strong parliamentary interest in an opt-in decision.

Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what EU Directives within the Government Equalities Office's areas of responsibility have come into force without the need for an opt-in decision in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive came into force; and if she will make a statement. [175515]

Mrs Grant: Details of all EU legislation, including full details of all EU directives that have come into force since May 2010, can be found on the Commission's website:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/RECH_legislation.do

The Government's position is that the UK's Justice and Home Affairs opt-in applies to all measures adopted pursuant to Title V of part three of the treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as set out in protocol 21 to the treaty on the functioning of the European Union. It follows that the opt-in does not apply to measures adopted that are not pursuant to Title V of part three of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union.

Work and Pensions

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur for housing on the under-occupancy penalty. [175842]

Esther McVey: Government Ministers have expressed concerns about factual inaccuracies in the interim report and press statement.

I understand the final report will be published in March 2014, after which the UK Government will provide an appropriate, formal commentary on its contents.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the under-occupancy penalty on social cohesion. [175885]

Esther McVey: Prior to implementation of the removal of the spare room subsidy we produced impact and equality impact assessments of the policy. It is, however, very difficult to determine behavioural effects in advance of policy roll-out.

We are, therefore, undertaking an independent evaluation over two years in a range of geographical locations across Great Britain. It will include research on supply issues, rural areas, social networks and vulnerable individuals.

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Unemployment: Disability

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the rate of worklessness for disabled people was in (a) April 2010 and (b) the most recent date for which data are available. [176017]

Esther McVey: At Q2 (April to June) 2010, 54.3% of working age disabled people were either unemployed or economically inactive. At Q4 (September to December) 2012, 53.2% of working age disabled people were either unemployed or economically inactive.

Culture, Media and Sport

Credit: Interest Rates

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she plans to introduce restrictions on advertising by payday loan companies similar to those on the advertising of tobacco. [175810]

Sajid Javid: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will take on regulatory powers in relation to payday loan companies' advertising in April, including the power to ban misleading financial promotions. The Government strongly welcome the FCA's proposals, published on 3 October, to require that all payday loan adverts carry a risk warning and signpost to debt advice.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) also has powers over payday lenders' adverts. If an advert is potentially misleading or socially irresponsible, the ASA can ban it—as it has done with two payday lenders' adverts in the past six months.

EU Law

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to which EU Directives within her Department's areas of responsibility the Government have formally opted into in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive was signed; and if she will make a statement. [175488]

Mrs Grant: Details of all EU Directives that the UK has opted into pursuant to Protocol 21 to the Treaties on the Functioning of the European Union since May 2010 are listed on the Government's JHA opt-in web page.

The website can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206297/2_JHA_opt-in_webpage_update_-_data_v0_l.pdf

In the written ministerial statement by the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), on 20 January 2011, Official Report, columns 51-52WS, the Government committed to a number of measures to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny of JHA measures, in particular to make written statements to Parliament on each opt-in decision and to set aside Government time for debates in both Houses in circumstances where there is particularly strong parliamentary interest in an opt-in decision.

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Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what EU Directives within her Department's areas of responsibility have come into force without the need for an opt-in decision in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive came into force; and if she will make a statement. [175509]

Mrs Grant: Details of all EU legislation, including full details of all EU Directives that have come into force since May 2010, can be found on the Commission's website:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/RECH_legislation.do

The Government's position is that the UK's Justice and Home Affairs opt-in applies to all measures adopted pursuant to Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as set out in Protocol 21 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It follows that the opt-in does not apply to measures adopted that are not pursuant to Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to her Department; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation. [175646]

Mrs Grant: DCMS does not have any employees who are on secondment from the private sector.

Sports: Injuries

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will discuss with officials of association football, rugby union and rugby league making it a requirement that players receiving head injuries must be withdrawn from play as a precautionary measure; and if she will make a statement. [175678]

Mrs Grant: DCMS takes player safety seriously in all sports. It is a matter for National Governing Bodies, as the designated authorities with responsibility to regulate their sport, and I would expect each NGB to make player safety their highest priority. The Sport England NGB Whole Sport Plan Standard Terms and Conditions in respect of statutory compliance include all relevant health and safety laws.

Leader of the House

Energy

Ian Swales: To ask the Leader of the House what progress he has made on improving the energy efficiency of his Department. [175975]

Mr Lansley: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. Our answer will be included in the response by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, shortly.

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Education

Vocational Training

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department has allocated to traineeships in 2013-14; and from which departmental funding streams such funding will be delivered. [175907]

Matthew Hancock: There is not a defined budget for traineeships, because as he should know, we fund per pupil on the basis of their choices, not in some Stalinist predict and provide dystopia.

Communities and Local Government

Fracking

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy that the approval by a mineral planning authority of an application for a fracking rig installation is dependent on the consent of the lowest local authority planning level. [175726]

Nick Boles: Responsibility for determining planning applications lies with the local planning authority. In a two-tier area, the local planning authority for minerals is the county council. District councils must be consulted over any planning application. We have no plans to change this long-standing division of responsibility between district and county councils.

Homelessness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were homeless in (a) May 2010 and (b) the latest period for which figures are available. [174431]

Kris Hopkins: To assist the hon. Member and to place the figures in context, I have tabled as follows statistics for the last 10 years.

I would note that homelessness is lower now than in 27 of the last 30 years. This Government have retained a strong homelessness safety net protected in law, supported by £470 million in the current spending review period to prevent and tackle homelessness, rough sleeping and repossessions.

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We have also made some common sense changes to the rules under the Localism Act 2011 to enable local authorities to help households move more quickly into a settled home. This means households will no longer need to be placed in temporary accommodation while they wait for social housing to become available.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of people who have used the Government's Help to Buy scheme in (a) Dorset and (b) England to date. [175346]

Kris Hopkins: The Help to Buy equity loan scheme is a demand led scheme, which we anticipate will help up to 74,000 households into home ownership with investment of over £3.7 billion over the next three years. The scheme is proving extremely popular and in the first six months alone has helped over 15,000 households reserve a newly built home.

Publication of Help to Buy: equity loan sales data are governed by the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Official Statistics. My Department will be publishing data on sales in accordance with the code of practice on 21 November.

The Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme is overseen by HM Treasury. On 11 November, the Government announced that 2,384 applications had been accepted in the first month of the scheme.

Parking

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will publish his advice to local authorities on the need for adequate parking and the desirability of free parking or low parking charges in towns and cities; and if he will make a statement. [175696]

Brandon Lewis: The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local authorities should seek to improve the quality of parking in town centres, that they should set appropriate parking charges that do not undermine the vitality of town centres, and that parking enforcement should be proportionate. We have recently published draft guidance on the Framework in beta stressing the important role appropriate parking facilities can play in rejuvenating shops, high streets and town centres and making clear planning rules should not be used to tax drivers. We are currently considering the comments received on the guidance.

The Government want to make it easier for people to park easily and cheaply, and to encourage the spread of best practice on supporting town centres and we have announced that we intend to bring forward proposals for consultation.

Justice

EU Law

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice to which EU Directives within his Department's areas of responsibility the Government have formally opted

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into in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive was signed; and if he will make a statement. [175498]

Mr Vara: Details of all EU directives that the UK has opted into pursuant to protocol 21 to the treaties on the functioning of the European Union since May 2010 are listed on the Government's JHA opt-in web page. The website can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206297/2_JHA_opt-in_webpage_update_-_data_v()_1.pdr

In the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington)’s written ministerial statement of 20 January 2011, Official Report, columns 51-52WS, the Government committed to a number of measures to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny of JHA measures, in particular to make written statements to Parliament on each opt-in decision and to set aside Government time for debates in both Houses in circumstances where there is particularly strong parliamentary interest in an opt-in decision.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 7 October 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr R Hamilton. [175799]

Mr Vara: I have replied to the right hon. Member on 18 October 2013.

Prisoners: ICT

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners of each age group and gender who cannot use (a) a computer and (b) the internet; and how such figures change according to (i) sentence left to serve and (ii) prison category. [175429]

Jeremy Wright: No such estimate has been made.

The Virtual Campus, a secure web-based interactive learning tool, is available in 95 prisons and has 30,000 registered users. Our 30 Prisons ICT Academies offer specialist IT skills training in building and maintaining computer networks and using Microsoft Office applications.

My hon. Friend will be aware from my answer to a previous question he asked (165443, on 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 79W) that the training provided in IT skills takes place in a controlled environment and with very restricted access to the internet.

The Government are committed to improving education in prison and we are working with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Skills Funding Agency to develop prisoner learning.

Prisoners: Sexual Offences

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners convicted of sexual offences have been released from prison without having received treatment for their offending behaviour in each of the last three years. [175589]

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Jeremy Wright: In addition to those offenders who receive specific-accredited programmes aimed at tackling sex offending, there are those who also receive other interventions to tackle their offending behaviour as part of their rehabilitation. These data are not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Information is collected on the number of offenders who start and complete accredited sex offender treatment programmes. Figures for programme starts and completions are published in the Accredited Programmes Annual Bulletin 2012/13.

Prisons: Closures

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much capital investment there has been in (a) HMP Askham Grange and (b) HMP East Sutton Park since 2010. [175815]

Jeremy Wright: The information is as follows:

(a) Since 2010 there has been no major capital investment for HMP Askham Grange.

(b) Since 2010 £0.8 million has been spent on essential major capital investment on a water main replacement for HMP East Sutton Park.

This covers centrally funded capital expenditure only. Figures are rounded.

Probation: Essex

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many times the Chief Executive of Essex Probation has met hon. Members since 2012; when and for what purpose such meetings took place; where each such meeting took place; what the duration of each meeting was; and if he will make a statement; [174526]

(2) what progress Essex Probation Trust has made on the Integrated Offender Management project; how much has been spent by Essex Probation Trust on this project to date; and if he will make a statement; [174533]

(3) if he will place in the Library a record of Essex Probation's government procurement card transactions indicating the (a) date, (b) merchant and (c) amount of each such transaction in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [174536]

(4) how many members of the public have attended each meeting of the Essex Probation Board in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and if he will make a statement; [174537]

(5) if he will place in the Library a copy of the response to each request to Essex Probation made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which was agreed to and answered in (a) full and (b) part since October 2012; and if he will make a statement. [174538]

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not collected centrally and could not be obtained within the time scale. I will write to my hon. Friend in due course.

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many (a) men and (b) women in each age group on probation in the Essex Probation Trust area subsequently reoffended in 2010; [174534]

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(2) what the 10 most frequently committed offences by (a) men and (b) women on probation within Essex Probation Trust were in 2010; and if he will make a statement. [174535]

Jeremy Wright: Reoffending rates for adult offenders sentenced to a community order remain stubbornly high and more needs to be done to address this.

The Ministry of Justice produces and publishes proven reoffending data for offenders starting a court order over a 12-month period, and reoffending for these offenders is based on a 12-month follow-up period. Table 1 presents, by age band, the number of male and female adults (aged 18 or over) who commenced a court order supervised by Essex Probation Trust in the 12 months from January to December 2010. Also presented is the number that reoffended in the one year follow-up period, and proven reoffending rates (i.e. the proportion of the offenders who reoffended in a one year follow-up period).

Table 2 presents, by age band, the 10 most frequent proven re-offences committed by male and female adult offenders within 12 months of starting a court order supervised by Essex Probation Trust in the 12 months from January to December 2010.

Proven reoffending is defined as any offence committed in a one-year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up period and a further six-month waiting period to allow cases to progress through the courts.

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Sentencing: West Yorkshire

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether a breach of an order made under the post sentence assessment trial being run by West Yorkshire Probation in partnership with West Yorkshire Courts Service is dealt with in the same way as a breach of other current orders; [175548]

(2) whether the post sentence assessment trial being run by West Yorkshire Probation in partnership with West Yorkshire Courts Service applies to suspended custodial sentences; [175549]

(3) what the cost to the public purse is of the post sentence assessment trial being run by West Yorkshire Probation in partnership with West Yorkshire Courts Service; [175550]

(4) whether pre-sentence reports are being prepared in relevant cases during the post sentence assessment trial being run by West Yorkshire Probation in partnership with West Yorkshire Courts Service; [175551]

(5) how the effectiveness of the post-sentence assessment trial being run by West Yorkshire Probation in partnership with West Yorkshire Courts Service will be assessed. [175552]

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Jeremy Wright: Post-sentence assessment (PSA) is the operating model introduced by the West Yorkshire Probation Trust and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) on 1 January 2012.

The trust continues to prepare pre-sentence reports at the request of the court. Where an offender receives a community order or a suspended sentence order, the court imposes a generic activity requirement, the specific content of which is then determined by the probation officer through the PSA process.

The aim of this process is to shape the detailed requirements of the sentence so as to promote compliance and reduce reoffending.

Where an offender breaches the terms of the order, the steps to be taken are set out in legislation and must be undertaken in all cases.

PSA is funded as part of the core work of the trust. It was adopted as a more cost-effective operating model and has helped the trust and the local criminal justice service to improve efficiency.

An evaluation by the research team at the West Yorkshire Probation Trust found that PSA has delivered efficiency savings, reduced the number of breaches and court adjournments, streamlined court reporting and brought about a closer match between the proposals made to courts and the sentences passed.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case. [175002]

Mr Vara: The information held centrally for the public use of (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 telephone numbers (i) operated and (ii) sponsored by the Ministry of Justice are as follows:

(a) 0845 numbers—33

(b) 0844 numbers—2

(c) 0843 numbers—0

There are no central records for the number of calls that each number has received within the last 12 months. Discussions with our service providers indicate that the work required for the retrieval and collation of information can be obtained only at significantly disproportionate time and cost.

There are eight alternative national rate numbers available.

The Department's approach is not to use 084 or 087 for non-geographic numbers and instead, wherever possible, to assign 0300 numbers, for which the tariff is similar to calling an 01 or 02 (geographic) number, whether the caller is using a fixed line or a mobile phone. The Department currently uses forty-one 0300 numbers, and is in the process of changing more 0845 numbers to 0300. No public-facing premium rate (09) numbers are used by the Department.

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Television: Licensing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions have been brought against individuals under the provisions of subsection (8) of section 366 of the Communications Act 2003 in each year since that section has been in force. [175408]

Jeremy Wright: Data on prosecutions under section 366 of the Communications Act 2003 cannot be analysed separately from other summary offences under that Act prior to 2009 because of central data recording issues.

The number of defendants proceeded against for offences under section 366 of the Communications Act, England and Wales, from 2009 to 2012 (the latest available) can be viewed in the table:

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many warrants have been (a) applied for and (b) granted under the provisions of section 366 of the Communications Act 2003 to enforce TV licensing in each year since that section came into force. [175411]

Mr Vara: HMCTS does not collate this information centrally. Warrants of entry are issued by magistrates courts and each magistrates court that issues warrants maintains the data associated with it in a manual log. Courts are required to hold warrants issued for a period of three years. Only manual checks at every magistrates court could answer this request, and even then only for the last three years. This would incur disproportionate cost.

Youth Custody

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost per day is of accommodation for a young person in a (a) young offender institution, (b) secure training centre and (c) secure children's home. [174148]

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Jeremy Wright: We are currently spending too much on youth custody for poor outcomes. Earlier this year we consulted on our vision for transforming youth custody. This will tackle high costs and help equip young offenders with the necessary skills, qualifications and self-discipline that they need to access education, training and employment opportunities upon release. We will shortly be announcing our response to the Transforming Youth Custody consultation.

Table 1 shows the average cost of a place per day in a (a) Secure Training Centre, (b) Secure Children's Home and (c) under-18 Young Offender Institution in each of the last five financial years.

The rise in the cost of STC places is in line with inflation, in accordance with the contracts for these institutions signed between 1997 and 2003.

Cabinet Office

Community Development

Mr Syms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people are able to get more involved in helping their local communities; and if he will make a statement. [175353]

Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office is taking a range of action to encourage people to get involved in their communities. Some examples of our work are listed as follows.

Our Community First and Community Organisers programmes empower people to take action on community issues. Volunteer Community First Panels have already funded £14 million of projects in over 600 communities and this has been matched with £48.5 million of in-kind donations—including 2.4 million volunteering hours.

The National Citizen Service has supported 31,500 young people to take action in their communities this summer alone. In 2012 over 460,000 hours of social

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action were completed by participants. Cabinet Office has just launched a £2 million fund for social action programmes to support vulnerable and disengaged young people. Altogether, we have committed £40 million through the Centre for Social Action to encourage people to create positive change in their communities.

We continue to make it easier for people to get involved in their communities by implementing the recommendations of Lord Hodgson's ‘Unshackling Good Neighbours' review; and by supporting the transition to new ownership of Do-It, a national database of volunteering opportunities.

Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many households were classed as having never worked in (a) April 2010 and (b) the most recent date for which data are available. [176015]

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 the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many households were classed as having never worked in (a) April 2010 and (b) the most recent date for which data are available. 176015

Estimates have been provided from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) household datasets. They show the estimated number of households which never worked for the UK in April to June in 2010 was 351,000 and 297,000 in April to June in 2013.

It was not possible to provide a single month estimate for April as the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a quarterly survey with household datasets produced for the April-June and October-December quarters only.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many children were living in workless households in (a) April 2010 and (b) the most recent date for which data are available. [176112]

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 the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many children were living in workless households in (a) April 2010 and (b) the most recent date for which data are available. 176112

Estimates have been provided from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) household datasets. They show the estimated number of children living in workless households for the UK in April to June in 2010 was 1.900,000 and 1.600,000 in 2013.

It was not possible to provide a single month estimate for April as the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a quarterly survey with household datasets produced for the April-June and October-December quarters only.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

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Employment: Poole

Mr Syms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change there has been in the number of people in employment in Poole constituency from 2010 to November 2013. [176248]

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 (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what change there has been in the number of people in employment in Poole constituency from 2010 to November 2013. (176248)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.

The table shows the number and net change of people employed in Poole Parliamentary Constituency. These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period July 2012 to June 2013, the latest period available, and theM2 month periods ending in June in each year since 2010.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.

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

http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Government Departments: Cost Effectiveness

Mr Syms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress the Efficiency and Reform Group is making in delivering the Government's savings target in 2013-14. [175350]

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Mr Maude: I was pleased to announce that the Efficiency and Reform Group supported Departments to deliver savings of £5.4 billion for the first six months of this year. This saving excludes fraud, error and debt, but is a 73% increase on savings delivered over the same period for 2012-13 and I am extremely proud of the hard work officials across Whitehall have undertaken to achieve this success.

Further information on this is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-savings-reach-54-billion-at-mid-year-point

www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-savings-in-2013-to-2014

Wherever possible, savings generated are in respect of a 2009-10 baseline and represent the impact of actions taken across a number of areas to deliver cash releasing savings and prevent wasteful project spend.

Government Departments: Disclosure of Information

Mr Syms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to promote openness and transparency in Government; and if he will make a statement. [175349]

Mr Maude: A few weeks ago, the UK hosted this year's Open Government Partnership (OGP) summit. At the summit we published an updated OGP UK National Action Plan (NAP). This action plan includes a range of commitments and is available online here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/open-government-partnership-uk-national-action-plan-2013

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Our transparency and open data agenda is focused on getting quality open data out of government and into the public's hands and bringing the power of open data to a wider audience.

Our successes to date include making available over 12,000 datasets through data.gov.uk and identifying unpublished datasets for consideration of release. We are world leaders in the field of transparency but know there is more to do. We are currently considering the recommendations made in the OGP Independent Reporting Mechanism report, which is available here:

www.opengovpartnership.org/independent-reporting-mechanism

Prostate Cancer

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many men in each recorded age group die from prostate cancer each year. [176111]

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 recent question asking how many men in each recorded age group die from prostate cancer in each year. (176111)

Table 1 provides the number of deaths in each five year age group where prostate cancer was the underlying cause of death, in England and Wales, for deaths registered between 2003 and 2012 (the latest year available).

The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age and underlying cause (including cancer), are published annually on the ONS website at:

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-27475