Ranby

Reading

Rochester

Rye Hill

Stocken

Swaleside

Swinfen Hall

The Mount

The Verne

Wakefield

Wealstun

Werrington

Wetherby

Whitemoor

Winchester

Wolds

Woodhill

Wormwood Scrubs

Establishments attended by NTRG—January to September 2013

Aylesbury

Camp Hill

Cardiff

Channings Wood

Coldingley

Cookham Wood

Deerbolt

Dorchester

Dovegate

Elmley

Everthorpe

Featherstone

Feltham

Full Sutton

Garth

Gartree

Glen Parva

Guys Marsh

Haverigg

Hewell

Highdown

Highpoint

Hindley

Holme House

Hull

Isis

Lancaster Farms

Leeds

Leicester

Lewes

Lincoln

Lindholme

Littlehey

Liverpool

Long Lartin

Lowdham Grange

Moorland

Morton Hall

Northumberland

Nottingham

25 Nov 2013 : Column 94W

Onley

Parc

Pentonville

Peterborough

Preston

Ranby

Risley

Rye Hill

Stafford

Stocken

Stoke Heath

Styal

Swaleside

Swinfen Hall

Wandsworth

Wayland

Wealstun

Werrington

Wetherby

Winchester

Wolds

Woodhill

Wymott

Offenders: Deportation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals were deported after having served a custodial sentence in England and Wales in each year since 1997. [176210]

Mr Harper: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

The Home Office seeks to deport from the UK foreign national offenders who meet the following criteria:

A court recommendation.

For non-EEA nationals—a custodial sentence of 12 months or more either in one sentence or as an aggregate of two or three sentences over a period of five years, or a custodial sentence of any length for a drug offence (other than possession).

For EEA nationals—a custodial sentence of 12 months or more for an offence involving drugs, violent or sexual crimes or a custodial sentence of 24 months or more for other offences.

The following table sets out the number of foreign national offenders removed or deported from the UK in each year of the last five years. Please note that data prior to 2007 are not considered sufficiently reliable.

The table includes foreign national offenders who do not meet the criteria set out above and are removed from the UK under Section 10(1) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Section 10(1) relates to the removal of individuals unlawfully in the UK.

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Offenders: Housing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many halfway houses are currently in operation; and how much has been spent on such institutions in the last 10 years. [175955]

Jeremy Wright: The term “halfway house” is not one which is used in the prison or probation context. Where an offender is released from prison on licence, they must seek the approval of their supervising officer for the place they wish to reside, unless they are required, as a condition of licence, to reside at a specified address, such as an approved premises. A supervising officer may approve, following risk assessment as appropriate, private rented accommodation for a dwelling. Such properties are not funded centrally. The only properties which the Ministry of Justice funds centrally are approved premises (of which there are 100 in England and Wales) and properties operated under the Bail Accommodation and Support Service contract with Stonham, part of Home Group.

Prisoners: Rastafarianism

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the special meal which Rastafarian prisoners will be provided with for Ethiopian Christmas will consist of. [175753]

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service is responsible for setting food policy for all prison establishments in England and Wales.

Specific arrangements for religious festivals are made locally by prisons. Guidance is included in three Prison Service Instructions - 51/2011 (Faith and Pastoral Care for Prisoners, currently being revised to include information on Quakerism and Rastafari), 44/2010 (Catering Meals for Prisoners) and 33/2013 (Religious festival dates for 2014), copies of which are in the House Library. Rastafarian prisoners and some Orthodox prisoners celebrate Christmas on 7 January. On this date, prisoners will have access to a published menu and be able to pre-select a meal of their choice. Any decision to include a meal option specifically to mark this day will be taken locally.

Young Offender Institutions

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average daily cost is of food (a) for breakfast, (b) for lunch, (c) for dinner and (d) in total for each juvenile in a young offenders institution. [160350]

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is responsible for setting food policy for all prison establishments in England and Wales. This policy requires prisoners to be provided with three meals a day. Meals must be safe to eat, offer prisoners variety and meet the nutritional, religious and medical needs of all. Currently each prison decides what meals are made available on a day-to-day basis against a specification of requirement set out in Prison Service Instruction 44/2012 Catering Meals for Prisoners. The actual average national daily meal cost across all public sector prisons (including young offender institutions and IRCs) for fiscal year ending March 2013 was £2.20. Based on the new food contract agreed in October 2012 which is set to achieve significant food spend savings of

25 Nov 2013 : Column 96W

11% over the term of the contract, NOMS has been able to reduce food budgets in prisons to £1.96 per prisoner per day for 2013-14.

While the amount spent on prisoner food within public sector prisons is available, NOMS does not require each establishment to provide a breakdown of individual meal costs per prisoner per day and is therefore not able to provide this information for different segments of the prison population. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Young Offenders

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average number is of young offenders dealt with annually by each youth offending team in England. [177159]

Jeremy Wright: Youth offending teams (YOTs) are the statutory multi-agency bodies who deliver youth justice on the ground. There are 158 YOTs in England and Wales, which sit within, and are accountable to, local authorities. YOTs work with a range of different services from prevention to enforcement. Youth offending teams play a key role in diverting young people away from crime.

The table shows the average number of young people per YOT who received a disposal in each year between 2009-10 to 2011-12, in England and Wales. The Youth Justice Board does not collect data on the average number of young people who have been in contact with a YOT in each of the above years. Therefore the data relate only to those who have received a disposal and may not be representative of the full number of young people in contact with a YOT.

Figures are provided against the backdrop of numbers of first-time entrants falling from 62,555 to 36,677 and numbers of young people (under 18) in custody falling from an average of 2,418 to 1,963 during the same period.

These data have been provided by the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales and are provided for each financial year. Data are only available from 2009-10 to 2011-12. Data on the number of young people receiving disposals in 2012-13 will be published in the 2012-13 Youth Justice Statistics in January 2014.

Transport

Bus Services: South West

Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department has made available for Better Bus areas in (a) Dorset and (b) the South West. [176066]

Stephen Hammond: The Department has not provided any funding for Better Bus areas in Dorset. In October 2013, the Department announced a new Better Bus area in the South West. The West of England Better

25 Nov 2013 : Column 97W

Bus area, centred around Bath and Bristol, was awarded total funding worth £1.3 million between 2013 and 2017.

In 2012, the Department provided the following funding through the earlier Better Bus area scheme to local authorities in the South West:

Crossrail Line

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to announce the preferred bidder for the Crossrail rolling stock contract. [177152]

Stephen Hammond: Crossrail Ltd is currently evaluating the three bids that were returned for the Crossrail rolling stock and depot contract in August this year. This process is due to be complete and the contract awarded to the winning bidder by mid-2014. I will make a written ministerial statement once the procurement process is complete.

The goal of the Crossrail rolling stock procurement is to secure the right train at the right price for both fare payers and taxpayers.

Cycling: Accidents

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what resources his Department has allocated to reducing the number of cyclists being killed on the roads. [176265]

Mr Goodwill: The safety of all cyclists is important to the Government. That's why we have invested more in cycling than previous Government. The Department will have spent £278 million directly on cycling in the five years 2010-11 to 2014-15. For example, the Department

25 Nov 2013 : Column 98W

has allocated £35 million for cycle safety projects at junctions. In addition £535 million has been invested through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) on projects involving cycling. This funding has gone to support cycle infrastructure and training to improve conditions and safety for cyclists.

The Government, through the reduction of bureaucracy and supporting changes in regulations, have made it easier for local authorities to implement 20 mph zones, “Trixi” mirrors and highway measures to support cycle safety. In addition we are working with local authorities and Transport for London on trialling innovative schemes to improve cycle safety at junctions, as well as supporting the European Union to improve lorry design standards.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what level of detail his Department holds information on the causes of fatal cycle incidents. [176267]

Mr Goodwill: Statistical data on reported road traffic accidents do not include information about who or what caused the accident. This information would only be known following a detailed accident investigation.

However, a police officer may choose between one and six different factors that they felt contributed to the accident. The contributory factors reflect the reporting officer's opinion at the time of reporting and are not necessarily the result of extensive investigation. Moreover it is recognised that subsequent enquires could lead to the reporting officer changing their opinion. It is important to note where some factors may have contributed to an accident it may be difficult for a police officer attending the scene after the accident has occurred to identify these factors.

The Department has published tables on contributory factors together with other statistics on reported road casualties in Great Britain at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/road-accidents-and-safety-statistics

The 10 most commonly occurring contributory factors for fatal accidents involving at least one pedal cyclist are given in the following table:

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cycling fatalities were determined to have been caused by (a) an HGV, (b) a bus, (c) a car and (d) an error by the cyclist in the last five years. [176268]

Mr Goodwill: The Department does not collect information explicitly on who or what caused road traffic accidents nor does it attribute any blame to drivers or riders for accidents.

25 Nov 2013 : Column 99W

The Department collects information on contributory factors in accidents which are aimed at providing insight into why and how road accidents occur. The contributory factors reflect the reporting officer's opinion at the time of reporting and are not necessarily the result of extensive investigation. Moreover it is recognised that subsequent inquires could lead to the reporting officer changing their opinion. It is important to note where some factors may have contributed to a cause of an accident it may be difficult for a police officer attending the scene after the accident has occurred to identify these factors.

The following table shows the number of contributory factors attributed to pedal cyclists who were killed in a reported road accident for 2008-12. Only contributory factors which imply rider error are included:

25 Nov 2013 : Column 100W

The Department also collects details of the number of pedal cyclists killed in accidents with different combinations of vehicles. The following table shows the number of pedal cycle fatalities in accidents involving (a) HGVs (b) buses and (c) cars, Great Britain; 2008-12:

East Coast Railway Line

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) public consultation and (b) consultation with passengers and passenger representative bodies his Department has undertaken on the privatisation of the East Coast Mainline rail service. [176114]

Stephen Hammond: A public consultation seeking views on the minimum requirements the Government should set for the specification for the InterCity East Coast franchise was held between June and September 2012. The responses to this consultation are being used to inform the franchise proposition. A consultation was also held in 2010.

A summary of the responses to the 2012 consultation “InterCity East Coast Consultation Summary Report” is available on the Rail Franchising part of the Department's pages on the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/rail-franchising#group_2936

This document will be updated to set out the specification in relation to the consultation and published as a ‘Stakeholder Briefing Document' with the invitation to tender which is planned for February 2014.

The Department is engaging with Passenger Focus to enable passenger views to be considered in developing the Intercity East Coast franchise proposition and to further develop passenger consultation in future franchise competition.

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the premium profile of the new InterCity East Coast franchise will be comparable with current arrangements on that line. [177079]

Stephen Hammond: It is not possible to confirm the premium profile of the future East Coast franchise until the detailed specification is finalised and the franchise is awarded.

Energy

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress he has made in improving the energy efficiency of his Department. [176151]

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport has introduced a number of measures across its organisations to improve energy efficiency. These include:

25 Nov 2013 : Column 101W

An overarching Operations Sustainability Strategy which enables the identification, management and delivery of energy efficiency measures;

Driving Standards Agency and the core Department developing and implementing Carbon Trust endorsed organisation specific Carbon Management Plans;

Rationalisation of offices to maximise the efficient and effective use of office space;

Relocation of staff to more appropriate sites where functions have diminished or changed;

Partial closing of buildings during low occupancy periods (i.e. Christmas, New Year);

Optimising Building Management Systems to minimise the use of heating and cooling;

Installation of Automated Meter Reading (AMR) equipment;

Installation of boiler optimisation controls to improve boiler efficiency;

Installation of voltage optimisation equipment at large administrative buildings to reduce electricity consumption;

Lighting improvement programmes (including the installation of LED lights where appropriate and Passive Infrared (PIR) controls);

Optimisation of IT servers;

Improvements to building insulation;

Updating desktop IT with more efficient models;

Rationalisation of peripheral IT equipment such as printers and faxes with the introduction of Multi-Functional Devices (MFDs);

Installation of renewable energy sources such as wind turbines, air source heat pumps and photovoltaic cells where appropriate and cost-effective.

The Department for Transport is committed to achieving all its sustainability targets and improving energy efficiency is seen as a key element in attaining that goal. At the end of the 2012-13 financial year, the Department for Transport had achieved a 19.5% reduction in Greenhouse gas emissions against the 2009-10 baseline. This performance level puts us on track to exceed the Greening Government commitments greenhouse gas emissions target (25% reduction) by the 31 March 2015 deadline.

First Great Western

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what level of revenue support will be given to First Great Western in the 23 month period of the recent franchise extension. [175940]

Stephen Hammond: Under the terms of the new franchise award signed with First Great Western, there is no revenue support mechanism. First Great Western is taking full revenue risk.

Folkestone Harbour Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of Folkestone Harbour Railway Ltd's proposals to operate tram-trains on the Folkestone Harbour branch line; and if he will withhold permission for closure of the line until proposals for continued rail use have been fully considered. [176991]

Stephen Hammond: The public consultation on Network Rail's proposal to close the Folkestone Harbour branch line and Folkestone Harbour station is open until 28 February 2014. The purpose of this consultation is

25 Nov 2013 : Column 102W

to ensure that all parties, including Folkestone Harbour Railway Ltd, have the opportunity to put forward their views and any alternative proposals. The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), will not make any decision on the next stage of the closure process until he has had an opportunity to assess all the responses to that consultation.

Fuel Cells: Hydrogen

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to help make hydrogen fuel cells a more viable part of the transport mix. [176107]

Mr Goodwill: The Departments for Transport, for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) all actively participate in the joint industry-Government UKH2Mobility project, which was launched in January 2012. The project completed the evaluation phase and published a report in February 2013, and has since been working to develop a potential business plan for the roll-out of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and the associated refuelling infrastructure in the UK from 2015.

The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), working with BIS, DECC and the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), has invested in excess of £41 million into fuel cell and hydrogen technologies since 2009. In this financial year 2013-14 the TSB plans to invest £4.5 million to further support fuel cell manufacturing and the supply chain and £5 million into technologies specifically enabling the market for hydrogen. Fuel cells and hydrogen technologies are a part of the TSB's Energy Strategy and further investments are anticipated during the current spending review period to continue to support UK companies developing products for this growing global market.

In addition hydrogen fuel cell electric cars are eligible under the existing Plug-in Car Grant Scheme, administered by OLEV, which offers motorists a grant of 25% towards the cost of the vehicle, up to a maximum of £5,000.

Fuels

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage drivers and vehicle owners to use greener fuels. [176975]

Mr Goodwill: The Government are committed to ensuring that the transport sector plays a full part in delivering the emissions reductions needed to meet our Climate Change Act and other environmental targets.

The measures we are taking to deliver this include:

providing over £400 million of support during this Parliament for the development and uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, as set out in the ‘Driving the future today’ strategy, published in September. We have also this month launched a call for evidence to inform the development of the further £500 million package of support for ultra-low emission vehicles that the Government have announced for the period 2015-2020.

supporting the use of sustainable biofuels in transport through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

putting £11 million into a Low Carbon Truck Trial, which is supporting over 300 low carbon heavy goods vehicles—most using natural gas—and the associated refuelling infrastructure.

25 Nov 2013 : Column 103W

providing funding through the Green Bus Fund and new £7.5 million Clean Bus Technology Fund to allow bus operators and local councils to make the switch to greener and quieter buses, including hybrid, electric and biomethane gas buses.

evaluating the potential of hydrogen use for transport in the UK via the UKH2Mobility project, a joint Government and industry initiative.

Gillingham (Dorset) Station

Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve Gillingham (Dorset) railway station. [176232]

Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State for Transport currently has no plans for improvements to this station. Gillingham (Dorset) station is operated and managed by South West Trains, which is best placed to advise of its future plans for any developments at that location.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what effect the implementation of High Speed 2 will have on rail services from Wolverhampton to London. [176325]

Mr Goodwill: The Department's aim is that all towns or cities which currently have a direct service to London will retain broadly comparable or better services once HS2 is completed.

It is not appropriate to specify the exact timetable for train services that are planned to operate in 2026 when HS2 Phase 1 services begin. The detailed timetable development will take place nearer the time and will consider operational considerations as well as the forecast passenger demand for services.

As highlighted in the Strategic Case, published on 29 October, in partnership with the railway industry, we intend to announce, shortly, a transparent and participatory process to consider long-term issues, opportunities and options for rail services on HS2 corridors. This will consider how these services can support the delivery of economic growth on a sustainable basis.

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) location, (b) length and (c) estimated cost is of each tunnel proposed for the London to Birmingham leg of High Speed 2. [176919]

Mr Goodwill: There are 13 tunnel locations along the London to west-midlands leg of High Speed 2. These total over 52 kilometres in length and at second quarter 2011 prices are estimated to cost £3,488 million. The detail of these are:

25 Nov 2013 : Column 104W

Highways Agency

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 29 October 2013, Official Report, column 48WS on the Highways Agency, how the expected efficiency savings of £2.6 billion were calculated from (a) major capital schemes, (b) capital maintenance and renewals and (c) resource maintenance and operations. [175947]

Mr Goodwill: The estimated savings quoted in the written ministerial statement were arrived at through internal Highways Agency analysis, based on a range of sources. These are detailed in the published roads reform impact assessment, available online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-the-highways-agency-into-a-government-owned-company

Over the first 10 years following reform, the central estimates for savings on different funding lines are:

13% on renewals work (9% on the overall maintenance budget when resurfacing is included);

14% on major schemes and other non-maintenance investment; and

13% on the annual resource budget, excluding private finance initiative service payments.

By 2021, once the reforms have taken full effect, the Government estimate savings of approximately 15% per annum across all the above funding lines.

The estimated benefits of £2.6 billion over 10 years quoted in the written ministerial statement were calculated from the low-end estimate in the impact assessment of £260 million average annual savings, in 2013-14 prices.

Morecambe-Lancaster Railway Line

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for electrification of the Morecambe to Lancaster train line. [177115]

Stephen Hammond: The route between Morecambe and Lancaster was not put forward by the rail industry as a priority for electrification and it is not included in the electrification programme for the 2014-19 period. Network Rail is currently updating the industry electrification strategy which will inform future Government decisions on further investment in electrification.

25 Nov 2013 : Column 105W

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effects on small businesses of suspending the trainer booking facility for motorcycle training schools identified as having cancelled 20 per cent or more of their tests booked within seven working days. [176327]

Mr Goodwill: The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) reviewed its booking arrangements for motorcycle tests in response to the Transport Select Committee’s report ‘The New European Motorcycle Test’ of March 2010. The agency created an online booking system (OBS) to ensure that test slot allocation is fair to all who wish to book motorcycle test appointments.

Prior to the introduction of OBS, a minority of businesses were booking, and then cancelling at short notice, a disproportionate number of motorcycle test slots. This prevented smaller training bodies from booking test appointments to suit their business needs and from utilising appointments made available at short notice. It also proved inefficient for DSA as test slots were not utilised.

Motorcycle tests are predominantly booked by approved training bodies (motorcycle rider training schools) on behalf of their pupils. OBS allocates training bodies a proportion of available motorcycle test slots based on the number of tests they have previously booked. Trainers who cancel 20% or more of their total test bookings within seven working days of the test date are contacted by DSA to discuss the reasons for the cancellations and are offered advice to better manage their test bookings.

Trainers who continually fail to abide by the guidelines are kept fully informed of the potential consequences of their actions. Although their access to the trainer booking facility may be suspended, they are able to continue to book tests on line for named candidates.

Since the introduction of monitoring the number of businesses who trigger has greatly reduced.

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to improve the availability of module one and module two practical motorcycle tests. [176328]

Mr Goodwill: DSA's customer service target is to have practical motorcycle tests available to candidates within six weeks of their date of booking; DSA currently provides module one tests in 2.1 weeks and module two tests in 2.2 weeks.

In June 2013, acting on responses and feedback from motorcycle trainers, DSA announced module 2 (on road) motorcycle tests would be offered from an additional eight test centres. DSA has also introduced significant improvements to the online booking service used by trainers. This enables trainers to manage their test bookings more effectively, and thereby improve the utilisation of the available test slots.

25 Nov 2013 : Column 106W

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motorcycle tests were completed in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012. [176329]

Mr Goodwill: The number of motorcycle tests completed in each year was as follows:

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to reform the governance arrangement of Network Rail. [177077]

Stephen Hammond: The Government are committed to Network Rail being properly accountable. Network Rail is a not-for-dividend private sector company limited by guarantee. Its board is accountable to 45 members, drawn from the public, who are responsible for monitoring the company's standards of corporate governance, with the Secretary of State as a special member. Network Rail has reformed its corporate governance to become more accountable to passengers and freight customers. This includes reducing the number of members, evolving their selection criteria, enhancing their powers and links to the non-executive directors, and appointing a public interest director to articulate the interests of taxpayers during board discussions.

Office of Rail Regulation

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to expand the remit of the Office of Rail Regulation. [177078]

Stephen Hammond: As part of our reforms of the strategic road network, we are currently examining whether to give the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) a new role in assessing and advising on the overall cost efficiency of roads delivery. This is similar to the benchmarking activity already carried out by ORR for the rail sector, and a high degree of synergy appears to exist with ORR's existing functions. This could involve changing the statutory remit of ORR, as well as providing additional funds to cover roads-related work. Further details are available in the ‘Action for Roads’ Command Paper and in our recent consultation document on ‘Transforming the Highways Agency into a Government-Owned Company’:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/action-for-roads-a-network-for-the-21st-century

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-the-highways-agency-into-a-government-owned-company

There are no plans to change the rail remit of ORR.

25 Nov 2013 : Column 107W

Oxford-Hereford Railway Line

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the changes in the (a) frequency, (b) reliability and (c) punctuality of train services on the North Cotswold Line since the redoubling of sections of that line. [176264]

Stephen Hammond: The doubling of the north Cotswold line has delivered six additional services and has reduced journey times by up to 10 minutes. The moving annual average public performance measure has improved by 2% to 85% with 91% reached in May and June of this year.

Pedestrian Crossings

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of time allocated to pedestrians to cross roads at pelican crossings; and if he will make a statement. [177150]

Mr Goodwill: The Department has not made any recent assessment of pelican crossing timings. It is up to local authorities to ensure their pedestrian crossings provide everyone with enough time to cross the road safely. The Department provides advice on calculating timings for crossings in guidance.

The Department recommends that where a crossing may be used by a large number of older people or those with mobility issues, for example outside residential care homes, this should be taken into account when setting timings.

Railways

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the UK's rail network is covered by a good 3G and 4G signal. [177009]

Stephen Hammond: Good coverage on the railway will only occur where mobile network operators have rolled out 3G and 4G adjacent to the railway itself; the Department for Transport does not hold information on what this level of coverage is.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail franchises do not currently provide wi-fi on board. [177010]

Stephen Hammond: We are aware that a number of train operators do provide wi-fi, primarily those operating long distance train services.

In the majority of franchises, the provision of wi-fi is a commercial matter for the individual train operators. Those without a commitment within their Franchise Agreement to provide wi-fi are however under no obligation to inform the Department as to whether they provide this service or not. However, it is an aim of the Department to see more wi-fi facilities made available on new rolling stock, such as Thameslink and Intercity Express programme in the future.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy that future rail franchises include mandatory targets for (a) mobile telephone and (b) Wi-Fi coverage across both standard and first class. [177011]

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Stephen Hammond: Mobile phone and wi-fi coverage was not specified when letting existing rail franchises, with the exception of the current Inter City West Coast contract. However, a number of train operators contract to do so, primarily those operating long distance train services.

Government franchising policy published earlier this year encourages franchise operators to provide services appropriate to the markets that they serve.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made on ensuring seamless connectivity on major transport links, as outlined in the Command Paper, Reforming Our Railways: Putting the Customer First, Cm 8313. [177012]

Stephen Hammond: Improving mobile communications along major rail corridors is an important priority for the Government's growth agenda.

The rail industry has agreed to work together to deliver seamless voice and data mobile services to passengers on board trains along the major rail corridors—by improving line-side mast coverage and installing on-board equipment to overcome the loss of signal penetration within carriages.

Railways: Conditions of Employment

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has given guidance on terms and conditions, including TUPE, to staff who may be transferred from the Cauldwell Walk train maintenance depot in Bedford. [176250]

Stephen Hammond: It is the responsibility of the train operator to communicate changes to terms and conditions to its staff. Any changes would be carried out in accordance with prevailing employment law, including, where appropriate, TUPE regulations.

Railways: Fares

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2013, Official Report, column 456W, on railways: fares, what the percentage increase in fares was for each of the train operating companies in each of the last three years. [176416]

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold information for annual fare increases by train operators. For regulated fares, the average permitted increases were as follows:

Train operators are not required to advise the Department of increases to unregulated fares. The Association of Train Operating Companies has published figures for annual increases for all fares (regulated and unregulated) across the network, as follows:

25 Nov 2013 : Column 109W

Railways: North West

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of the Todmorden curve. [176020]

Stephen Hammond: Network Rail is currently constructing the Todmorden West curve, with practical completion due by May 2014. Discussions are in hand regarding the introduction in December 2014 of a train service from Manchester to Burnley and Blackburn via Todmorden, to be funded by Lancashire county council.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the Thameslink rolling stock contract on existing train maintenance work at Cauldwell Walk depot in Bedford. [176251]

Stephen Hammond: Trains procured under the Thameslink Rolling Stock Contract will be maintained in Hornsey (north London) and Three Bridges (Sussex). It is for train operators to determine how and where other rolling stock fleets are maintained.

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of potential changes to train maintenance work at Cauldwell Walk depot in Bedford in the next five years arising from the Thameslink rolling stock contract and new franchise agreements. [176252]

Stephen Hammond: Trains procured under the Thameslink rolling stock contract will be maintained in Hornsey (north London) and Three Bridges (Sussex). Use of other rolling stock, depots and stabling sites to deliver services under the Thameslink Southern and Great Northern franchise is a matter for bidders to determine. Bids are expected to be received at the end of the year with contract award in 2014.

Railways: West Midlands

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what money has been set aside for electrification of rail lines in (a) Shrewsbury and (b) the West Midlands. [177039]

Stephen Hammond: No money has been set aside for electrification of rail lines in Shrewsbury. In the West Midlands, the Government's rail investment strategy for the 2014-19 period includes electrification of the routes between Walsall and Rugeley, Barnt Green and Bromsgrove, Coventry and Nuneaton and Coventry and Leamington Spa. The development of designs and cost estimates for these electrification schemes is currently being progressed by Network Rail.

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Roads: Accidents

Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many deaths have occurred in road accidents in (a) Dorset and (b) England in each year since 2000. [176068]

Mr Goodwill: The following table shows the number of deaths occurring in reported road accidents in each year since 2000 in (a) Dorset and (b) England:

Data for the year 2013 will be available in June 2014.

Roads: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what plans he has to visit Shrewsbury to assess the need for the completion of the North West Relief Road in the area; [176344]

(2) what discussions he has had with Shropshire Council on plans to complete the North West Relief Road; [176345]

(3) what effect the corporatisation of the Highways Agency will have on plans to complete the North West Relief Road around Shrewsbury; [176346]

(4) what assessment he has made of the effect that completing the North West Relief Road will have on the local economy in Shrewsbury; [176347]

(5) what assessment he has made of the effect that completing the North West Relief Road will have on traffic in Shrewsbury town centre; [176348]

(6) what assessment he has made of the case for the North West Relief Road being included in Government investment into roads for 2014; [176349]

(7) what discussions he has had with local businesses on plans to complete the North West Relief Road; [176350]

(8) what assessment he has had made of the effect of the publication of the Government's new command paper, Action for Roads, on the completion of the North West Relief Road; [176351]

(9) what funds his Department has set aside for road building and maintenance in Shrewsbury for 2014-15. [176357]

Mr Goodwill: The Shrewsbury North West Relief Road would be a local road scheme for which Shropshire county council is responsible. As this is not a Highways Agency scheme it is not affected by any future plans for

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the agency. Shropshire county council and the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership are responsible for planning this scheme and for bidding for any funding for it from the Local Growth Fund in 2014.

The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), met the hon. Member, Shropshire county council and local business representatives on 15 October 2013, when the delegation outlined the scheme. The Secretary of State has subsequently written to the hon. Member setting out how local schemes such as the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road will be funded in the future via the Local Growth Fund.

As this is a local scheme the Department for Transport has made no assessment of this scheme.

In 2014-15, the Government are allocating £792 million to local highway authorities for highways maintenance through the Highways Maintenance Block and £450 million for small-scale transport projects through the Integrated Transport (IT) block. From these funding streams Shropshire council will receive £13.2 million, including the top-up announced in the 2012 autumn statement for highways maintenance and £2.385 million for small- scale transport projects.

Both IT Block and Highways Maintenance Block are allocated according to a needs-based formula and are not ring-fenced, allowing local authorities to spend their allocations according to their own priorities. It is therefore for Shropshire council to decide how it allocates its resources and which road improvement projects to support.

Tonnage Tax

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what payments in lieu of training have been received from shipping companies that qualified for the tonnage tax scheme in each year since 2001-02; and what proportion of shipping companies that qualified for the tonnage tax scheme have made such payments in each such year. [176054]

Stephen Hammond: The information is not available in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average payment in lieu of training made by a shipping company participating in the tonnage tax scheme was in 2011-12. [176055]

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold information on the number of PILOT payments made by each company in a particular financial year.

Travel

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost of travel within the UK was for his Department in each year since 2010; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence. [177170]

Stephen Hammond: The information is as follows:

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Cabinet Office

Analgesics: Death

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what changes there have been in the number of deaths resulting from the use of paracetamol and co-proxamol in each of the last five years. [177090]

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 the Minister for the Cabinet Office what changes there have been in the number of deaths resulting from the use of paracetamol and co-proxamol in each of the last five years. (177090)

The following table provides the number of drug-related deaths associated with paracetamol (not from a compound formulation) and co-proxamol (paracetamol and dextropropoxyphene) in England and Wales, for deaths registered between 2008 and 2012 (the latest year available).

It is important to note that up to 30% of these deaths had more than one substance mentioned on the death certificate, and it is not possible to tell which drug was primarily responsible for the death. Also for around 10% of drug related deaths no information is provided on the death certificate about which substances were involved. More information on how to interpret data on drug-related deaths can be found in the following bulletin.

The number of deaths related to drug poisoning registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age, cause and the specific substance involved are published annually on the National Statistics website. The latest Statistical Bulletin on deaths from drug-related poisoning was published in August 2012 at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health3/deaths-related-to-drug-poisoning/index.html

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Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

George Galloway: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department has contacted Google on stopping advertisements for unofficial websites which seek to encourage customers to pay them for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency services. [176522]

Mr Hurd: The Government Digital Service is aware of this issue and is working to address it.

Employment: Portsmouth

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change there has been in the number of people in employment in Portsmouth South constituency since 2010. [176824]

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 Portsmouth South constituency since 2010. (176824)

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 Portsmouth South Parliamentary Constituency. These estimates

25 Nov 2013 : Column 114W

are compiled from APS interviews held during the period July 2009 to June 2010 and the latest period available July 2012 to June 2013.

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

Energy

Ian Swales: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress he has made on improving the energy efficiency of his Department. [176047]

Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office has made good progress on improving its energy efficiency, cutting carbon emissions and energy consumption since 2009-10. Updated figures will be published in the Greening Government report next month.

Join In Charity

Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what objectives for public funding allocated to Join In have been agreed; what progress is being made to meet these objectives; and if he will make a statement; [177164]

(2) how much funding the charity Join In has received from his Department in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14 to date; how much funding it will receive in 2014-15; for what purpose such funding was allocated; and if he will make a statement. [177166]

Mr Hurd: Join In was set up in 2012 as part of the Government's ambition to build on the volunteering legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. Join In has a number of key objectives focusing around the recruitment and retention of volunteers, and particularly 2012 volunteers.

It receives funding from the Cabinet Office on a September- to-September cycle. For the 2012 campaign it received £2.2 million and achieved its objective of supporting 6,000 events which attracted 30,000 new volunteers. For 2013 it received £2.1 million and exceeded its objective of supporting 10,000 events and attracting

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100,000 new volunteers. An evaluation has been completed and an overview will shortly be available at

www.joininuk.org

Join In will receive an additional £1.75 million between September 2013 and September 2014 to further embed the legacy of the games, with a particular focus on community sport. Funding following September 2014 will be dependent on performance.

Ministers' Private Offices

Dr McCrea: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his policy is on Government Ministers hiring further political employees in their private offices at public expense. [176906]

Mr Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the recent Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) report ‘Accountability and Responsiveness in the Senior Civil Service' which found that UK Ministers are under supported in comparison with those in other Westminster-derived systems overseas such as Australia and Canada.

In response to this the Government announced our plans to allow Ministers to establish extended ministerial offices to support the effective development of policy and the delivery of priorities. Copies of the IPPR report and the related ‘Civil Service Reform Plan: One Year On' are in the Library of the House.

As is made clear in legislation, the only political employees working in Departments will continue to be special advisers. Special adviser appointments to extended ministerial offices will continue to be made in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. As now, all such appointments will require the approval of the Prime Minister.

A copy of guidance issued to Departments on extended ministerial offices can be found in the Library of the House.

Public Inquiries

Mr Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what the (a) highest, (b) lowest and (c) average cost to the public purse was of a public inquiry held in the last 30 years; and if he will make a statement; [176878]

(2) how many public inquiries there have been in each of the last 30 years; and if he will make a statement; [176879]

(3) on what date each public inquiry report in the last 30 years was published; and if he will make a statement; [176880]

(4) what the average length of time taken was for a public inquiry between 1983 and 2012; what the (a) longest and (b) shortest such inquiry has been; and if he will make a statement. [176881]

Mr Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by the then Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform (Chloe Smith) on 2 November 2012, Official Report, column 434W providing detail of public inquiries conducted within the last 10 years. The information for the last 30 years is not held centrally

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Social Enterprises

Toby Perkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to develop specific business support for those wishing to set up social enterprises. [176738]

Jo Swinson: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

We recognise the economic contribution of social enterprises alongside their important role in helping to tackle long-standing social issues. The majority of our business support schemes are applicable to social enterprises as well as to other forms of enterprise.

This Department has established the world's first legal form for social enterprises, Community Interest Companies, which are legally bound to use their profits and assets for public good.

The Government recently consulted on a new tax incentive to encourage private investment in social enterprise and the intention is to introduce the relief in 2014. HM Treasury is working with this Department on the design of the relief, the policy and drafting of the legislation.

Social enterprise may find the following schemes of particular help:

The £20 million Investment Readiness Programme provides support to social ventures; this includes a £10 million social incubator fund which specifically targets social incubators and helps them provide support to early stage social ventures.

Community development finance institutions (CDFIs) are a prominent vehicle for providing finance and support to social enterprises through Regional Growth Funds.

Community investment tax relief (CITR) encourages investment in disadvantaged communities where many social enterprises operate. This is an HMT scheme administered by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. To date CITR has raised around £100 million of investment into the sector.

Start-up loans support feasible business ideas to equip enterprising individuals with the tools needed to make their businesses a success.

Statistics

Mr Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the statistics that the UK is required to produce under EU law; and if he will list the directive or regulation that requires each such set of statistics to be produced. [177048]

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

Letter from Jill Matheson, dated 22 November 2013:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office to list the statistics that the UK is required to produce under EU law; and to list the directive or regulation that requires each such set of statistics to be produced. (177048)

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, publishes a 'Statistical Requirements Compendium', its annual reference document that summarises key information about the production of European official statistics. The compendium includes information about the statistics required to be produced under EU law and the directive or regulation that requires their production by member states. The 2013 edition is available here:

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-RA-13-004/EN/KS-RA-13-004-EN.PDF

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Mr Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which statistics are currently being discussed as perhaps no longer being required under EU law. [177050]

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

Letter from Jil Matheson, dated 22 November 2013:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office which statistics are currently being discussed as perhaps no longer being required under EU law. (177050)

There are currently no dossiers under consideration by the EU Council Working Party on Statistics that might result in member states no longer having to provide data for the production of a set of European official statistics.

Mr Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will ask the National Statistician to publish a list of National Statistics data series that are published for (a) England and (b) Scotland in order to facilitate comparisons between England and Scotland. [177051]

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

Letter from Jil Matheson, dated 22 November 2013:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office if I will publish a list of National Statistics data series that are published for (a) England and (b) Scotland in order to facilitate comparisons between England and Scotland. (177051)

The UK Statistics Authority annually publishes a list of statistics which are at the time of publication designated as National Statistics. That list specifies the geographical basis for each National Statistic i.e. whether its coverage extends to a single nation, England and Wales, Great Britain or the United Kingdom. I have arranged for the production of a version of the latest list including only statistics whose coverage is stated to be England or Scotland. A copy of that list has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

I am also arranging the production of another list which will specify those statistics, whose coverage is stated to be England and Wales, Great Britain or the United Kingdom, that include a breakdown by nation. I shall write to you once that list is available and also place a copy in the House of Commons Library.

The UK Statistics Authority has recognised a need to improve the information that users have about the comparability of statistics across the four nations of the United Kingdom. It recently published its Monitoring Report 'Official Statistics in the context of the referendum on Scottish independence'

http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/monitoring/monitoring-reports/monitoring-report-6-2013---official-statistics-in-the-context-of-the-referendum-on-scottish-independence.pdf

Moreover, the Office for National Statistics is planning to publish a compendium of statistics for the constituent countries of the UK, for those statistics where comparable data exist or can be easily derived. The compendium will be accompanied by a report of some work recently completed on the annotation of relevant official statistics with an assessment of comparability.

Unemployment: Vale of Clwyd

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of the workforce were classed as long-term unemployed in Vale of Clwyd constituency in (a) May 2010 and (b) the most recent recent period for which data are available. [176808]

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

Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2013:

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of the workforce were classed as long-term unemployed in Vale of Clwyd constituency in (a) May 2010 and (b) the most recent period for which data is available. (176808)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. However, estimates on duration of unemployment for Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency are not available due to small sample sizes.

As an alternative, we have provided the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for more than 12 months in Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency, for May 2010 and October 2013, the latest period available. The estimates of the number of people in the workforce have been taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The workforce has been defined as all those who are economically active, that is either employed or unemployed.

Table 1 shows the number of people in Vale of Clwyd claiming JSA for over 12 months as a percentage of people who were economically active from estimates compiled from APS interviews held during the period January to December 2010 and January to December 2012.

The counts of people claiming JSA are those who are claiming benefits for unemployment related purposes. At a UK level the total number of JSA claimants is around two thirds of the total unemployment level.

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

Housing: Construction

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) with reference to the comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister on 22 November 2012 to the National House-Building Council relating to garden cities and new towns, what progress the Government have made in creating more certainty for the delivery of large-scale housing projects; [176365]

(2) what progress the Government have made in offering incentives to local communities for large-scale housing projects; [176366]

(3) further to the comments made by the Prime Minister on 19 March 2012 to the Institute of Civil Engineering relating to garden cities and new towns, what the outcome was of the consultation he announced. [176367]

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Kris Hopkins [holding answer 21 November 2013]: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

As promised in the coalition agreement, this Government have scrapped top-down Whitehall planning, included ending the last Government's failed so-called eco-towns programme, which built nothing but resentment. Instead, this Government are committed to working with local communities to build more homes and promote sustainable development.

To date, our large sites programme has provided total investment now of over £82.7 million of recoverable capital funding and nearly £6 million of capacity funding to bring forward up to 69,000 new homes.

We are supporting local ambitions for locally-led new communities that incorporate high-quality and design standards, including garden city principles. We have provided support for the development of new communities such as:

Cranbrook near Exeter, where we have invested over £20 million to create up to 6,300 homes and 1,500 jobs;

Wokingham, where we have invested over £25 million to enable the development of up to 2,500 new homes and a Science and Innovation Park;

Sherford, where our investment of over £32 million will accelerate up to 5,500 homes and approximately 5,000 new jobs;

Ebbsfleet, where DCLG, DFT and the Highways Agency worked in close collaboration with local authorities and developers to find solutions to transport issues at eastern Quarry, helping to bring forward a site with wider potential for up to 22,000 homes.

In February this year we published a prospectus inviting bids for a further £474 million of recoverable investment for 2013-2015 through our Local Infrastructure Fund:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-infrastructure-fund-prospectus

Over 50 bids were registered and 14 sites were shortlisted for potential investment following detailed due diligence, which is currently ongoing.

For 2015-16 an additional £102 million of investment is available. We will launch a prospectus inviting further bids for this funding in the spring.

Work and Pensions

Carer’s Allowance

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of raising the carer's allowance earnings limit to (a) £101 and (b) £105. [176333]

Mike Penning: Robust data are not available to estimate the cost to the Exchequer of raising the carer's allowance earnings limit to (a) £101 and (b) £105.

Discrimination

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many complaints of discrimination related to pregnancy or maternity have been lodged against employees of his Department or its executive agencies by (a) current employees and (b) prospective employees in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints resulted in disciplinary action; [176581]

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(2) how many complaints of age discrimination or harassment have been lodged against employees of his Department or its executive agencies by (a) employees and (b) other individuals in each of the last five years; and how many of those complaints resulted in disciplinary action; [176615]

(3) how many complaints of racial discrimination or harassment have been lodged against employees of his Department or its executive agencies by (a) employees and (b) other individuals in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints resulted in disciplinary action; [176632]

(4) how many complaints of sexual discrimination or harassment have been lodged against employees of his Department or its executive agencies by (a) employees and (b) other individuals in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints resulted in disciplinary action; [176685]

(5) how many complaints of disability discrimination or harassment have been lodged against employees of his Department or its executive agencies by (a) employees and (b) other individuals in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints resulted in disciplinary action; [176702]

(6) how many complaints of homophobic or transphobic discrimination or harassment have been lodged against employees of his Department or its executive agencies by (a) employees and (b) other individuals in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints resulted in disciplinary action. [176719]

Mike Penning: The Department personnel computer system does not hold the information you have requested. While information may be held at local management level, accessing it would require a manual trawl of clerically held records. To provide this information would therefore incur disproportionate costs.

Employment

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what definition his Department uses for the term job outcome. [177006]

Esther McVey: The term job outcome (used on the Work programme) relates to a job outcome fee which is paid after the job start date; and a customer has been in employment and off benefit each week; and there has been an either continuous or cumulative individual period of employment (job outcome payment trigger point) as detailed in the Specification for each Customer Group.

Full requirements relating to job outcomes are detailed in the Work programme provider guidance, which can be found through the following link:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wp-pg-chapter-15.pdf