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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 28 November 2013

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Burma

Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the use by the Burmese army of human shields in Shan State, Burma on 13 October 2013. [177173]

Mr Swire: We are aware of these reports, but are not in a position to verify the specific allegation of the use of human shields by the Burmese army in Shan State. We continue to closely monitor the peace process and allegations of human rights abuses in conflict states in Burma. We remain positive that further peace talks in the coming months will lead to a nationwide ceasefire and inclusive political dialogue that takes account of international human rights standards.

Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent meetings the British ambassador to Burma has had with family members of Burmese political prisoners who remain in jail. [177177]

Mr Swire: British embassy officials are in contact with the lawyers of a number of political prisoners. We meet regularly with civil society organisations including the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma to discuss developments. We have also provided English language and human rights training to a number of released prisoners and are in regular contact with the Remaining Political Prisoners Scrutiny Committee.

We welcomed the release of a further 69 political prisoners on 15 November, which represents another step towards fulfilling President Thein Sein's commitment, made during his visit to London in July, to release all political prisoners by the end of the year.

I continue to raise the issue of political prisoners, and did so most recently with Minister for the President's Office, Tin Naing Thein, on 22 November, and again made clear that we did not want to see new arrests or political activists re-arrested.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funding his Department provides to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. [177190]

Mr Swire: The British Government do not directly fund the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (Burma). UN Special Rapporteurs are funded from the UN regular budget, of which the UK contribution is 5.17%.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of British or international companies or individuals giving strategic or public relations advice to the Government of Burma. [177192]

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Mr Swire: We are aware of a number of British and international companies and individuals who are providing advice to the Government of Burma, across a range of subjects. We encourage the Government of Burma to draw on reputable international expertise where it can add value to the issues that they are tackling.

Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government have taken to obtain the immediate and unconditional release of Bauk Ja and other remaining political prisoners in Burma. [177285]

Mr Swire: Daw Bauk Ja is still detained with court proceedings ongoing. We continue to follow her case closely: British officials from the embassy in Rangoon raised Daw Bauk Ja's case with senior members of the Burmese Government in August. We also remain in touch with local Burmese organisations that support her and the many other political prisoners that remain detained.

I raised the issue of political prisoners with Minister for the President's Office, Tin Naing Thein, on 22 November and made clear our concern about the political prisoners who are still detained in Burma.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings he has held with Burmese ethnic political and civil society leaders in the last year. [177323]

Mr Swire: Four British Ministers have visited Burma in the last year. I visited in December 2012 and the Minister of State, Department for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr Duncan), visited in June 2013. During our respective visits, my hon. Friend and I met a wide range of leading Burmese political, religious and civil society leaders to discuss Burma's human rights situation and reform agenda. The British ambassador and embassy officials also meet regularly with ethnic and civil society leaders, in Rangoon, Naypyitaw, in the ethnic states, and in Thailand.

In London, I engaged with a range of Burmese ethnic and civil society representatives at a briefing event in March 2013. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development officials regularly meet representatives of Burma's ethnic and civil society groups, both those based in the UK and those visiting from Burma, such as the visit of the ‘88 Generation' of former political prisoners in June.

Ministerial colleagues, including the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and I, have met key Burmese political figures in the UK including: President Thein Sein; Ministers in the President's Office Aung Min and Soe Thane; and opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi.

Kenya

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from the British High Commission in Kenya about the proposed ban on khat in that country; and whether he has received representations from the Kenyan Government on that matter. [177445]

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Mark Simmonds: The British high commission Nairobi has reported Kenyan concerns within Kenya about the economic and social impact of the proposed reclassification of khat as a class C drug. We have discussed the rationale behind the proposed ban with the Kenyan Government on a number of occasions; on 17 September 2013 the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed the matter with his Kenyan counterpart, Amina Mohamed. Most recently on 20 November the Head of Africa East and West department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office met the Kenyan Parliamentary Select Committee on khat in London,

Ministers' Private Offices

Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he (a) has appointed or (b) intends to appoint an enlarged ministerial office. [177516]

Hugh Robertson: The implications of the change on recruitment to Private Offices are currently being considered.

Somalia and Somaliland

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of a reduction in remittances on security in Somalia and Somaliland. [177438]

Mark Simmonds: The Government remain determined to help facilitate a resolution to the challenges facing the Somali remittance corridor following the decision by Barclays Bank to withdraw services from a number of money service businesses. The Government are in the process of establishing an Action Group on Cross Border Remittances. One of the working groups of the Action Group will be mandated to develop a safe corridor pilot to ensure the continued flow of remittances to Somalia through secure, legitimate and accessible channels. This working group will consider, among other things, the impact that changes in the money service business sector might have on Somalia's wider stability and economic development. In the meantime, there are still a number of legal channels for remittances to flow through, as outlined in the Factsheet issued by the Foreign Office on 17 October, a copy of which will be deposited in the House of Commons Library.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not assessed what the effect would be of a reduction in remittances on security in Somalia and Somaliland. Any such assessment would be hard to substantiate given the lack of economic data available. However, there is no evidence at present to suggest that remittances to Somalia have reduced, or are likely to do so significantly in the near future. Nor is there any evidence that the security situation has changed as a result of money service businesses in the Somali corridor losing their bank accounts.

Venezuela

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Venezuelan counterpart on peace and democracy in that country and the need for free and fair mayoral elections in December 2013. [177576]

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Mr Swire: The UK urges all parties in Venezuela to work together to reduce tension and promote political reconciliation, particularly around the municipal elections on 8 December. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), wrote to the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua on 18 November to express our hope that the UK and Venezuela can work to further our existing areas of bilateral cooperation. I also wrote to my counterpart and offered to discuss our relationship in more detail. Our ambassador in Caracas has had a number of discussions with Government representatives and others about the electoral process and the importance of building bridges between all parts of Venezuelan society.

Scotland

Flexible Working

Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officials in his Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level. [177403]

David Mundell: Two Scotland Office officials below director level make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme. The Scotland Office has no officials above director level.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of his Department's civil servants have been seconded to (a) the private sector and (b) trades unions in each year since 2010. [177723]

David Mundell: No Scotland Office officials have been seconded to (a) the private sector and (b) trades unions since 2010.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many secondees from (a) trades unions and (b) the voluntary sector have worked in his Department since 2010. [177746]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has not had any secondees from either the trade unions or the voluntary sector since 2010.

Northern Ireland

Air Passenger Duty

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps she is taking to review air passenger duty in order to maintain competition for both investors in and visitors to Northern Ireland. [176974]

Mrs Villiers: The impact of Air Passenger Duty (APD) on Northern Ireland was carefully considered in 2011 and in recognition of Northern Ireland's unique

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circumstances, the Chancellor agreed to the Executive's request for the devolution of APD Bands B, C and D for all direct long-haul flights departing from Northern Ireland airports.

The Executive did not request the devolution of APD for short-haul flights in Band A nor has this been raised with me subsequently by any Executive Minister. If a request for the devolution of Band A APD did come forward from the Executive, the Chancellor and I would, of course, consider it.

The devolution of short-haul APD Band A flights would, as a result of the Azores judgment, entail a corresponding reduction in the block grant which the Minister for Finance and Personnel has estimated could be up to £90 million.

Flexible Working

Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials in her Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level. [177402]

Mrs Villiers: In my Department, two officials below director level make use of compressed hours arrangements.

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No members of the senior civil service have sought to make use of such arrangements.

Marriage

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 979W, on marriage, if she will raise the matter of equal marriage with the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister and take steps to encourage them to introduce same-sex marriages in Northern Ireland. [177458]

Mrs Villiers: The constitutional arrangements in place mean that extending equal marriage to Northern Ireland is a decision for the Northern Ireland institutions to take.

Travel

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of travel within the UK was for her 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. [177171]

Mrs Villiers: The details requested for travel within the UK are shown in the following table:

The costs relating to 2012-13 were greater than in previous years as a result of the very successful Jubilee visit to Northern Ireland, and the hosting of the G8 summit in Fermanagh. Post-2010-11, the Department generated significant savings by ending all former rental agreements for accommodation in London although, as a natural consequence, hotel and subsistence costs increased.

In addition, on coming to office, the Government ended the practice of former Secretaries of State, including the previous Labour Government, of using a private jet for routine travel between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This has saved considerable sums of money for the taxpayer, and helped the Department play its part in bringing under control the spiralling costs of Government we inherited.

Work and Pensions

Flexible Working

Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in his Department take advantage of compressed hours arrangements as part of the civil service flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level. [177580]

Mike Penning: Within DWP compressed hours refers to a contractual arrangement between the Department and its full-time employees. This arrangement means that the employee works their standard contractual hours over fewer days than normal.

A total of 3,042 employees, all of whom are below director level have such an arrangement recorded on the Department's personnel computer. No officials above director level have such an arrangement recorded.

DWP employees are generally able to work ‘flexi time'. This means that, within limits and at times set to meet business need, employees may work longer hours than normal and use the excess hours to take ‘flexi leave'. Such informal, non-contractual, irregular occurrences are not recorded on the Department's personnel computer.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jobcentre Plus offices (a) are and (b) are not wheelchair accessible. [177759]

Esther McVey: The Department does not keep any specific record of Jobcentre Plus sites which are or are not accessible by customers in wheelchairs. I can, however, confirm that as part of the formal planning and design of Jobcentre Plus offices, due consideration is given to the provisions of access for our customers with a wide range of disabilities, including those in wheelchairs. This involves both planning and building warrant approval, on the basis of compliance with both the Building Regulations and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, subsequently the Equalities Act 2010. All our sites fully

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comply with legislation. Where full physical access to any of our buildings cannot be achieved by all our customers, the Department makes alternative arrangements to make our services available, such as offering a home visit.

Personal Independence Payment

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to improve the personal independence payment (PIP) application system; and if he will compensate PIP claimants who have received unacceptable levels of service. [177579]

Mike Penning: The different stages that need to happen before we can make a decision on a claim for PIP can be viewed by accessing the PIP Claimant Journey, which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pip-claim-process-overview-the-claimant-journey

The length of time it takes to deal with a claim depends on how long each stage actually takes for individuals.

As PIP is a new benefit we are looking closely at how long the claimant journey is taking against original estimates. We are working with operational colleagues and providers to ensure that all the steps in the process are as smooth as they can be. We continue to look at our processes to ensure that satisfactory arrangements are in place to assess a person's entitlement to PIP.

Any delays experienced in the new claims process will not affect the date from which claimants are paid—all successful claims will be paid from the date the claim was initially made or the date the qualifying period is met, whichever is the later.

As for the administration of all benefits, a claimant is free to complain about the service they have received from the Department for Work and Pensions. A complaint may result in a special payment if the claimant has experienced unfair treatment or suffered financially. More information on how claimants can complain about their claim to PIP is available on the Government website:

https://www.gov.uk/complain-disability

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) for what reasons he does not plan to implement the EU's Youth Guarantee in the UK; [177680]

(2) what funding is available from the EU for implementing the Youth Guarantee in the UK; [177681]

(3) what his policy is on the EU's Youth Guarantee. [177682]

Esther McVey: The European Commission is encouraging member states to use the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) to implement the Youth Guarantee, but this remains a non-binding EU recommendation. Although we support the aims of the Youth Guarantee and agree with much of the supporting guidance, we do not believe a four month guarantee is right for the UK, since over 80% of 18 to 24-year-olds flow off of jobseeker’s allowance within six months. We will instead be using

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the YEI money in England on other interventions designed to tackle youth unemployment and to complement the Government's substantial existing investment.

House of Commons Commission

Pay

Mr Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to his answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 916W, on staff, when the London Living Wage will be paid to all agency staff. [177443]

John Thurso: The Chair of the Commission and the House Service take the London Living Wage (LLW) very seriously. All current House staff are paid at least the LLW and all agency staff supplied to the House are paid at least the LLW.

Contractors with dedicated staff who are based on the estate are paying those staff at least the LLW, with a small number of exceptions which are being addressed. Good progress is being made towards ensuring that other contractors that provide services to the House are, in relation to our contracts, paying their staff at least the LLW (or the Living Wage if based outside London).

Travel Office

James Wharton: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much the House of Commons Travel Office has paid in carbon offsetting in each of the last five years. [176740]

John Thurso: The House of Commons Commission decided in 2006 that the House should make payments to offset carbon emissions from air travel paid by the House and booked using the Parliamentary Travel Office. The sums paid via the Government's offsets scheme in respect of travel in the past five years were:

The House is participating in a carbon offsets auction that is due to take place shortly for travel in recent years.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Additives: EU Action

Mr Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what submissions his Department made to the European Chemical Agency's (ECA) consultation on the use of azodicarbonimide; and what further steps his Department plans to take in respect of the ECA's consultation. [176273]

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Dan Rogerson: The UK REACH Competent Authority in the Health and Safety Executive responded to the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA) public consultation on whether to recommend that azodicarbonamide (ADCA) should be prioritised for inclusion in Annex XIV of REACH (substances subject to authorisation). The UK proposed not to prioritise ADCA until we can be confident that authorisation is an appropriate and proportionate measure to take.

The UK will continue to argue its position when ECHA's member state committee again considers the proposed recommendation in December. ECHA's prioritisation has no legal effect but is a recommendation to the European Commission, which in turn has to consider whether to bring forward a legislative proposal. Any proposal has to be voted by member states.

Bovine Tuberculosis

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how far the UK is from developing a safe oral vaccine for bovine tuberculosis in cattle. [177702]

George Eustice: Preliminary studies have been undertaken on an oral vaccine for bovine tuberculosis in cattle; but our priority is in delivering field trials for the injectable cattle vaccine and associated test to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA). We hope that the successful outcome of these field trials will lead to the granting of a licence for the vaccine and international validation of the DIVA and to their deployment as another tool to tackle this dreadful disease.

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what remuneration is available to farmers who train to become lay badger vaccinators for each badger they vaccinate. [177703]

George Eustice: Lay badger vaccinators are not paid for each badger they vaccinate.

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether farmers can access his Department's start-up grants funding for people who want to train as a lay badger vaccinator. [177704]

George Eustice: I refer my hon. Friend to the Government's recent response to the EFRA Committee on this very point:

To date, there has been very limited interest in this training course from farmers. Farmers who want to vaccinate badgers and are members of a voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisation such as a Wildlife Trust can apply to train as lay vaccinators and receive the current grant. They will, of course, benefit indirectly from the subsidy in cases where they are willing to allow VCS organisations to vaccinate badgers on their holding.

Unless and until there is evidence of strong demand for training from farmers, the Government do not believe that providing a general subsidy to train farmers as lay vaccinators that would need be notified as an agricultural state aid would provide good value for money.

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Bovine Tuberculosis: Lancashire

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there are any (a) reported and (b) confirmed cases of bovine tuberculosis in the Lune Valley. [177701]

George Eustice: A cluster of bovine TB breakdowns has been identified on cattle farms in the Lune Valley of North Lancashire. The first case was detected at the end of last year near Kirkby Lonsdale. In line with DEFRA's new policy for the low TB risk areas of England, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) instigated a programme of enhanced TB testing of all cattle herds situated within a 3 km radius of the index infected farm. The additional targeted TB testing has revealed a small number of additional infected herds in the area and the 3 km cattle testing zone has been widened as a result across North Lancashire and south Cumbria. At the end of July, a total of five “confirmed” TB breakdowns had been identified in this cluster, including the original case. Epidemiological investigations by AHVLA into the origin of these TB breakdowns are continuing.

Deer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of muntjac deer in England and Wales in each of the last five years; and what steps he is taking to stop their spread and increase in numbers. [176945]

George Eustice: The Government monitor deer distributions and not numbers per se, and for that reason in the last five years there have been no estimates of the number of muntjac in England and Wales. What we do know is that muntjac continue to expand their range.

Currently the Government's main focus is on reducing muntjac impacts on designated woodlands in England. The Deer Initiative and the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency's National Wildlife Management Centre (recently transferred from the Food and Environment Research Agency) have done some modelling for Natural England on future trends. Beyond such woodlands, primary responsibility for wild deer management lies with individual landowners, and it is for them to decide whether to take action. The Government assist those affected by or wishing to manage deer by the provision of advice and guidance from Natural England and the Deer Initiative.

Dogs: Imports

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many puppies arrived in the UK in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 under the Balai Directive 92/65/EEC. [177266]

George Eustice: This question could be answered only at disproportionate cost.

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Flexible Working

Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials in his Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level. [177395]

Dan Rogerson: 53 people within core DEFRA are recorded as having a compressed or condensed working pattern; none of these are at Director level or above.

Informal arrangements for working compressed hours through the Flexible Working Hours Scheme are not recorded centrally; it would be of disproportionate cost to provide this information.

Flood Control

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many extra properties will be protected from flooding in (a) Northumberland, (b) the North East and (c) the UK as a result of the funding secured in the 2013 spending round. [177410]

Dan Rogerson: We have made a long-term commitment to record levels of capital investment in flood defences between 2015-16 and 2020-21. At least 300,000 households will benefit from this investment.

At this stage I cannot say how many of these will be in Northumberland and the North East. A programme of new projects starting after April 2015 will be agreed with Regional Flood Defence Committees by autumn 2014.

Fly-grazing: North East

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of fly grazing in the North East and the consequent effect on the environment and local residents. [177574]

George Eustice: DEFRA is aware of the issues relating to the problems of fly grazing, but no specific assessment has been made on the extent of the problem in the North East. There is a range of existing legislation that can be used to deal with the issues, including the Animals Act 1971 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006. In addition, because fly grazing is a form of anti-social behaviour, existing anti-social behaviour legislation and forthcoming measures in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill may be used to tackle it.

Food: Low Incomes

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2013, Official Report, column 55W on food: low incomes, when he expects to publish the findings of its research project on the landscape of food aid provision and access in the UK. [177567]

George Eustice: DEFRA has commissioned research to review publicly available evidence on the landscape of food aid provision and access in the UK.

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All Government-funded research projects are required to go through the necessary review and quality assurance processes prior to publication. Once this process is complete, the conclusions of this work will be made available on the Government's website.

Marine Conservation Zones

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans his Department has for the introduction of reference areas which were included in its December 2012 consultation on marine conservation zones. [177289]

George Eustice: Reference areas were not included in the December 2012 consultation following advice from the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies, which included a recommendation to review the approach to these areas. This review is expected to start in 2014.

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department plans to make recommendations for management measures at marine conservation zone sites. [177290]

George Eustice: Management measures for each of the 27 marine conservation zones (MCZs) will be drawn up and put in place by relevant public authorities. DEFRA and delivery partners are working together to ensure that the management measures that are to be put in place will provide effective protection for designated sites.

Any management measures that are required for MCZs will be applied on a case-by-case basis. Management measures will be implemented at sites most at risk of damage first, regulating only those activities which have a detrimental impact on the features. In cases where there is a high risk to designated features being damaged, emergency measures may be put in place to ensure the protection of vulnerable habitats and species.

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what protection his Department plans to afford to mobile species within the development of the network of marine conservation zone sites. [177293]

George Eustice: Sectoral measures (such as fisheries management, by-catch mitigation measures and protected species licensing) are likely to be the most effective tools in conserving widely dispersed and mobile species. However, Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) for such species would be considered if there is clear evidence that the conservation of a highly mobile species would benefit from site-based protection measures in English waters. The need for MCZs for seabirds will be considered when work to develop Special Protection Areas for birds under the EU Wild Birds Directive has been completed. The mobile species Smelt and Black Bream are included within the first tranches of MCZ designations.

Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what environmental issues his Department plans to discuss at the Joint Ministerial Council on the Overseas Territories; and if he will discuss an implementation plan for the Overseas Territories biodiversity strategy at that Council. [177297]

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George Eustice: The Joint Ministerial Council will have a non-plenary session dedicated to environment issues. The purpose of the session is to provide an opportunity for Overseas Territory Government officials to have in-depth discussions with corresponding UK experts. Should there be any queries relating to the implementation of the Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy, DEFRA officials will be on hand to answer these.

Staff

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what proportion of employees in his Department are (a) female and (b) male, by each Civil Service pay grade; [176588]

(2) what proportion of employees in his Department is (a) white British and (b) black, Asian and from other minority ethnic groups, by each Civil Service pay grade; [176640]

(3) what proportion of employees in his Department have a physical or learning disability, by each Civil Service pay grade. [176658]

Dan Rogerson: The proportion of female and male employees in core DEFRA by each Civil Service Grade as of 31 March 2013 was:

The data provided as follows only cover employees who have declared their status.

The proportion of declared White, and Black, Asian and other minority ethnic employees (BAME) out of the total number of employees who declared their ethnicity in core DEFRA by Civil Service Grade as of 31 March 2013 was:

We do not analyse data across ethnic and nationality lines together so are not able to show data white British as requested.

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The proportion of declared disabled employees out of the total number of employees who declared their status in core DEFRA by Civil Service Grade as of 31 March 2013 was:

Business, Innovation and Skills

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2013, Official Report, column 964W, on Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, if he will publish the report on his Department's review of Acas's scenario planning work for the implementation of early conciliation. [177568]

Jo Swinson: The internal audit referred to in my answer of 21 October 2013, Official Report, column 964W, is a report prepared for Acas internal management processes. To make such a document public might prejudice any future audit process because staff being audited may be inclined to be less open about issues with auditors. It will not therefore be published.

Acas is happy to convene a meeting with the hon. Gentleman to discuss its plans for implementing Early Conciliation with the if this would be helpful.

Flexible Working

Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials in his Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the civil service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level. [177387]

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not hold this information centrally. To collect this information from within the Department, and to analyse it, would incur a disproportionate cost.

We offer a number of different types of working patterns under our flexible working policies, including compressed hours, annualised hours, home working, term-time working, part-time working, job sharing, and flexitime.

Decisions on the availability of compressed hours are taken within each business unit as the managers on the ground are best placed to judge the demands of the workload and the contribution of the individual. It is the workload and business demands that determine what working patterns can be accommodated.

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Older People: Crime Prevention

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will implement the recommendations of Age Cymru's Scams and Swindles campaign. [177591]

Jo Swinson: The Government are aware of the seriousness of the issues raised by the Age Cymru campaign. As was discussed during the recent Westminster Hall debate, we have put a number of measures in place to address the criminal behaviour behind these postal, internet and doorstep scams. This included a round-table meeting on 25 November, chaired by my noble friend Baroness Randerson, which brought together organisations from across Wales, including enforcement and consumer protection agencies, Royal Mail, BT and Ofcom, to discuss how we can work together to reduce older people's exposure to such scams.

More broadly, the National Trading Standards Board has set up the National Scams Hub (NSH) which is hosted by East Sussex Trading Standards Service. The NSH is working with partners including Action Fraud, the Royal Mail and the Metropolitan police to identify and to support the victims of mass marketing fraud. Once identified, the NSH works with the victim's local Trading Standards service, local police forces and other agencies to provide support which addresses the victim's behaviour. The home authority reports to the NSH at four and 26 weeks on the result of the intervention.

Alongside this, the Consumer Protection Partnership, which brings together the Government-funded consumer organisations, has identified mass marketing scams as an area where there is significant consumer detriment and, therefore, an issue for priority action. As part of that, the Citizens Advice Service and the Trading Standards Institute launched a scam awareness campaign in May this year, which I endorsed, to raise awareness and to help empower consumers to take firm action against scams.

The Government also provide for advice on scams through various agencies—particularly through the Citizens Advice Service, which provides clear and practical guidance to consumers through its Consumer Advice Helpline which can be contacted on 08454 040506 (08454 040505 for Welsh speakers) or via its website:

www.adviceguide.org.uk

Overseas Trade: Females

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) guidance his Department issues and (b) targets his Department has set UK Trade and Investment on promoting women in trade delegations and exporting. [177700]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment has not been set specific targets relating to the issue of promoting women in trade delegations and exporting more widely.

Privatisation

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the value for money of the recent sales of (a) the Royal Mail and (b) mortgage-style student loans. [177677]

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Michael Fallon: The Royal Mail share sale objectives included a requirement for the sale to represent overall value for money for the tax payer. This objective was taken into consideration in all decisions relating to the Initial Public Offering in October. The National Audit Office has announced that it will be conducting a value for money examination of the privatisation of Royal Mail plc to be published in spring 2014.

The successful bid for the mortgage-style student loans from Erudio Student Loans was judged to represent the best available value for money option following a competitive process involving around 40 interested parties and 10 serious bids. The price paid is also in excess of the estimated value of the loans to the Government had they retained them.

Respiratory System: Diseases

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Novartis to encourage it to maintain respiratory research in the UK. [177575]

Mr Willetts: Ministers and officials in the Government have regular contact with Novartis and other pharmaceutical investors and discussions cover a range of policy issues.

I met senior representatives from Novartis on 30 October to discuss the potential changes to its research operations in the UK, which are currently under consultation. Novartis has noted that the proposed changes are a result of a global review of its research activities.

The Department remains in close contact with Novartis regarding the impact of these proposed changes.

Shipbuilding: Industry

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what UK firms have won shipbuilding contracts as a result of trade missions since January 2011. [177219]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) does not have the details of all the contracts won as a result of trade missions since January 2011; our records show that in this period UK firms supported by UKTI have won orders in excess of £230 million for marine equipment and systems.

Students: Loans

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many outstanding mortgage-style student loans were held by the Student Loans Company in each month since January 1999; [177675]

(2) what the (a) number and (b) value was of mortgage-style student loans held by the Student Loans Company in each month since January 1999 that were (i) repaid in full, (ii) being repaid in accordance with their terms, (iii) below the repayment threshold, (iv) not being repaid in accordance with their terms and (v) were written off. [177676]

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Mr Willetts: The Student Loans Company (SLC) publishes statistics on student loans and repayments. Information on the monthly status of these loans since 1999 is not readily available and cannot be compiled, except at disproportionate cost.

Statistics on student loan outlay and repayments relating to mortgage-style loans are published by the SLC each year in Table 1 (Repayments, Deferrals and Arrears) and Table 2 (number of Borrowers) of the Statistical First Release “Student Loans for Higher Education in England”. The figures are published on the SLC website:

http://www.slc.co.uk/statistics/national-statistics.aspx

Supermarkets: Sales Promotions

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of adherence to the Government's Pricing Practices Guide by supermarkets. [177216]

Jo Swinson: The Pricing Practices Guide provides guidance for business on compliance with the consumer protection from unfair trading regulations 2008 which outlaw, among other things, price indications which are likely to mislead the average consumer.

Adherence to guidance and to the provisions of the regulations is the responsibility of the supermarkets and is monitored by the enforcement authorities, local authority Trading Standards officers and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The OFT and the Trading Standards Service monitor practices by supermarkets, including compliance with the Pricing Practices Guide and the OFT's specific Principles on Food Pricing Display and Promotional Practices agreed with eight supermarkets last year. The Principles were a result of the OFT's assessment of practices in the sector. Where Trading Standards officers conclude that a business is not complying with the regulations, they have a range of enforcement options which they can bring to bear.

Tax Havens: Africa

Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with financial institutions on advice offered to investors in Africa on the use of tax havens. [177258]

Michael Fallon: No such discussions have taken place.

Communities and Local Government

Fire Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 649W, on fire services, how many (a) full-time and (b) retained firefighters there were in each of the last 10 years. [177456]

Brandon Lewis: The following figures refer to England only. Any further figures would be a matter for the relevant devolved Administration.

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The numbers of whole time and retained duty system firefighters in England since 2002 are shown in the table. Also included are the incident attended in these periods. Over this period overall firefighter strength has reduced by 5.9% while the number of incidents has almost halved (-46%).

Local Plans

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the resources available to the Planning Inspectorate for the consideration of local development plans. [177383]

Nick Boles: The Planning Inspectorate has an ongoing process of reviewing the level of resources it requires to examine local plans, and as part of this it monitors the expected date for the submission of plans for examination. It carries out these ongoing assessments with a view to closely matching the number of trained inspectors and other staff to anticipated workload. Current information suggests an ongoing requirement of about 25 full-time equivalent inspectors. The Planning Inspectorate is currently recruiting additional inspectors on fixed term contracts to ensure it can satisfy forecast demand, and help local councils finalise their up-to-date local plans to shape where development should and should not go.

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning inspectors are engaged in the consideration of local development plans. [177384]

Nick Boles: Inspectors appointed by the Planning Inspectorate are currently examining 80 local plans. These plans include core strategies, comprehensive local plans, area action plans, minerals plans and other more focused development plan documents. A total of 44 inspectors (some of whom are part-time) are working on these examinations, 23 are conducting more than one examination concurrently. For example, some inspectors are examining more than one plan within a particular local authority or are dealing with plans in different local authority areas.

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Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local development plans are currently under consideration by the Planning Inspectorate. [177385]

Nick Boles: There are currently 80 local development plans under examination by the Planning Inspectorate.

Non-domestic Rates: Appeals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average length of time taken for business rate appeals to be listed for a hearing by the Valuation Tribunal was; and how many such cases are outstanding. [175146]

Brandon Lewis [holding answer 12 November 2013]: As was the case under the last Administration, business rates appeals are listed in accordance with the Valuation Office Agency's programming protocols for dealing with appeals. The Valuation Tribunal Service lists for hearing those business rate appeals that have not been settled by the target date set by the Valuation Office Agency; this is the point when the negotiation period between the ratepayer and the Valuation Office Agency should end.

The Valuation Tribunal does not hold information allowing it to identify the amount of rateable value of the claims in outstanding appeals.

To assist public scrutiny, I have placed in the Library of the House a table for the number of rating list appeals in each year since 2001. It shows how the numbers of appeals rise and fall according to the revaluation cycle. Appeals can be made years after a revaluation has occurred. Businesses can submit appeals against the 2010 rating list up to 31 March 2017, and appeals continue to be submitted.

I would observe that:

These are appeals against a revaluation that was carried out under the Labour Government. As of 13 November 2013, we have carried forward 140,100 appeals which have reached the Valuation Tribunal. To place this in context, 10 years ago in 2003 (i.e. at a similar stage in the revaluation cycle), the Labour Government were carrying forward 412,600 appeals. There were 1,735,000 hereditaments in total on the 2010 Rating List. The business rates system allows multiple appeals to be made against the same property over several years. The numbers are likely to include a proportion of appeals that relate to multiple entries on the same property.

The postponement of the 2015 rates revaluation has allowed the Valuation Office Agency to allocate more resources to clearing appeals. The Agency cleared 24% more appeals than in the previous year (224,000 in England in 2012-13, up from 181,000 in 2011-12). The number of outstanding rating appeals has fallen in six successive quarters.

Of course, many appeals are resolved by the Valuation Office Agency. I would note that over 565,000 appeals in England have been resolved by the Valuation Office Agency and/or the Valuation Tribunal Service since 1 April 2010. The number of outstanding appeals is falling all the time and has dropped by 37% over the last 12 months.

Three quarters of all appeals to the 2010 list which have been decided to date have resulted in no change to the rateable value.

For those appeals against the 2010 list with a Valuation Office Agency target date in the first quarter of 2013-14, I note that 87% of programmed appeals were first listed to a hearing date which fell within 24 weeks of the target date; 9.3% of programmed appeals were first

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listed to a hearing date which fell between 24 to 36 weeks of the target date; 2.3% of programmed appeals were first listed to a hearing date which fell between 36 to 48 weeks of the target date; 1.5% of programmed appeals were awaiting a hearing date. The Valuation Office Agency prioritises hardship cases, seeking a swift resolution or working with the Valuation Tribunal to facilitate an early listing.

Notwithstanding the extra resources being allocated to tackle the backlog thanks to the postponement of the 2015 revaluation, this Government want to improve transparency in the valuation system, including improving the system for challenging rateable values. We are currently considering how best to do this, and will consult as appropriate.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many business rate appeals are currently awaiting a decision from the Valuation Tribunal; and what estimate he has made of the combined rateable value of those claims. [175636]

Brandon Lewis [holding answer 18 November 2013]: As was the case under the last Administration, business rates appeals are listed in accordance with the Valuation Office Agency's programming protocols for dealing with appeals. The Valuation Tribunal Service lists for hearing those business rate appeals that have not been settled by the target date set by the Valuation Office Agency; this is the point when the negotiation period between the ratepayer and the Valuation Office Agency should end.

The Valuation Tribunal does not hold information allowing it to identify the amount of rateable value of the claims in outstanding appeals.

To assist public scrutiny, I have placed in the Library of the House a table for the number of rating list appeals in each year since 2001. It shows how the numbers of appeals rise and fall according to the revaluation cycle. Appeals can be made years after a revaluation has occurred. Businesses can submit appeals against the 2010 rating list up to 31 March 2017, and appeals continue to be submitted.

I would observe that:

These are appeals against a revaluation that was carried out under the Labour Government. As of 13 November 2013, we have carried forward 140,100 appeals which have reached the Valuation Tribunal. To place this in context, 10 years ago in 2003 (i.e. at a similar stage in the revaluation cycle), the Labour Government were carrying forward 412,600 appeals. There were 1,735,000 hereditaments in total on the 2010 Rating List. The business rates system allows multiple appeals to be made against the same property over several years. The numbers are likely to include a proportion of appeals that relate to multiple entries on the same property.

The postponement of the 2015 rates revaluation has allowed the Valuation Office Agency to allocate more resources to clearing appeals. The agency cleared 24% more appeals than in the previous year (224,000 in England in 2012-13, up from 181,000 in 2011-12). The number of outstanding rating appeals has fallen in six successive quarters.

Of course, many appeals are resolved by the Valuation Office Agency. I would note that over 565,000 appeals in England have been resolved by the Valuation Office Agency and/or the Valuation Tribunal Service since 1 April 2010. The number of outstanding appeals is falling all the time and has dropped by 37% over the last 12 months.

28 Nov 2013 : Column 389W

Three quarters of all appeals to the 2010 list which have been decided to date have resulted in no change to the rateable value.

For those appeals against the 2010 list with a Valuation Office Agency target date in the first quarter of 2013-14, I note that 87% of programmed appeals were first listed to a hearing date which fell within 24 weeks of the target date; 9.3% of programmed appeals were first listed to a hearing date which fell between 24 and 36 weeks of the target date; 2.3% of programmed appeals were first listed to a hearing date which fell between 36 and 48 weeks of the target date; 1.5% of programmed appeals were awaiting a hearing date. The Valuation Office Agency prioritises hardship cases, seeking a swift resolution or working with the Valuation Tribunal to facilitate an early listing.

Notwithstanding the extra resources being allocated to tackle the backlog thanks to the postponement of the 2015 revaluation, this Government want to improve transparency in the valuation system, including improving the system for challenging rateable values. We are currently considering how best to do this, and will consult as appropriate.

Non-domestic Rates: Parking

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that small retailers and large superstores are subject to the same business rate regime in relation to any parking spaces by their shops. [177182]

Brandon Lewis: Business rates are a tax on the rental value of non-domestic property. Any factor contributing to the rental value of non-domestic property is included in the assessment of the rateable value. This includes the availability of car parking either within the property or in the immediate locality. In this context, supermarkets with car parking spaces are likely to have a higher rateable value than ones without—and therefore will pay higher business rates.

Rented Housing

Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of households were living in (a) social housing and (b) private rented housing in each region of England in the most recent year for which data are available. [177854]

Kris Hopkins: As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region.

Social Rented Housing

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) evictions and (b) eviction proceedings have taken place in England and Wales in (i) April, (ii) May, (iii) June, (iv) July, (v) August and (vi) September 2013 since the introduction of the spare room subsidy. [176304]

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Kris Hopkins: The latest mortgage and landlord possession statistics can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257007/mortgage-landlord-possession-bulletin-q3-2013.pdf

I observe the latest bulletin states:

“An analysis was carried out looking at the effects of the benefit cap on eviction claims. It compared the number of eviction claims in the four local authorities where the benefit cap was initially rolled out to the number of claims in the rest of the country... The analysis showed that the number of claims fell in three out of four of those authorities, in accordance with the national pattern, showing that the benefit cap had no visible effect on eviction claims in that quarter” (Ministry of Justice, Mortgage and landlord possession statistics quarterly, July to September 2013, November 2013).

The bulletin notes there is a slight trend in recent years for the number of actions to change in line with the number of people living in rented accommodation.

That said, figures for the number of landlord possession claims leading to orders so far in 2013 are not substantially different from 2012.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of families moving into properties vacated as a result of the abolition of the under-occupancy penalty since April 2013; and if he will make a statement. [177679]

Kris Hopkins: The Department does not hold this information.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to answer parliamentary questions 175145 and 175146, tabled by the hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) on 7 November 2013. [177570]

Brandon Lewis: Parliamentary question 175146 has been answered today. Question 175145 will be answered shortly; we have been liaising with the Valuation Office Agency to obtain previously unpublished data.

Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register: Northern Ireland

Dr McCrea: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he last met the relevant Northern Ireland Executive Minister to discuss individual electoral registration within Northern Ireland. [176895]

The Deputy Prime Minister: I have had no such meetings with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr Betts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many officials in his Department, and at what grades, are employed to provide direct support to his special advisers; [177503]

(2) how many special advisers, and at what grades, are employed to provide support to him. [177504]

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The Deputy Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to him by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), today.

Public Expenditure

Dr McCrea: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what change there has been in the overall cost of his Office since he took office. [176894]

The Deputy Prime Minister: The Deputy Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. Costs are published each year in the Cabinet Office's Annual Report and Accounts which are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts

Home Department

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many joint investigative teams including the UK have been set up owing to Article 5 of the EU-USA mutual legal assistance agreement in each of the last five years; what the aims, activities, participants and achievements of each of these teams were; whether the UK would seek to engage with such teams if the UK ceases to be bound by that agreement pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; what legislative and operational measures would need to be established by the UK to facilitate such engagement; and what assessment she has made of the feasibility of such engagement; [172739]

(2) what the cost to the public purse has been of UK participation in the EU-USA mutual legal assistance agreement in each of the last five years; [172760]

(3) what changes to the UK-US mutual legal assistance agreement have been required by the EU-US mutual legal assistance agreement; and in how many cases each of these changes has had a significant effect on mutual legal assistance between the UK and US in each of the last five years; [172761]

(4) whether the Government intend to retain unchanged existing provisions of the UK-US mutual legal assistance agreement required by the EU-US mutual legal assistance agreement if the UK ceases to be bound by that latter agreement pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; and what her assessment is of whether the US will agree to such retention or will agree to necessary changes. [172762]

James Brokenshire: Article 5 of the EU-US mutual legal assistance (MLA) agreement has been transposed into the UK-US MLA treaty as article 16 ter. No joint investigation teams involving the UK have been set up owing to article 5 of the EU-USA mutual legal assistance agreement or article 16 ter of the UK-US MLA treaty. Article 16 ter will remain in force when the UK ceases to the bound by the EU-US MLA agreement, unless the UK and US agree otherwise.

28 Nov 2013 : Column 392W

Information on the cost of UK participation in the EU-US mutual legal assistance agreement is not held centrally.

Amendments to the UK-US MLA treaty as required by the EU-US MLA agreement are provided in the Instrument and Exchange of Notes dated 16 December 2004, available online at:

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm76/7613/7613.pdf

These amendments were intended to supplement, not replace, bilateral arrangements.

The amended bilateral treaty came into force on 1 February 2010. No records are held on the number of cases in which these amendments had a significant effect. The bilateral UK-US MLA treaty (as amended by the Instrument) will continue to be in force unless, or until, the UK and US agree to amend the bilateral treaty.

As the Home Secretary said to Parliament on 9 July 2013, as a point of principle, the UK's international relations in policing and criminal justice are first and foremost a matter for Her Majesty's Government. As the UK has opted out of this measure, it is important to note that on 1 December 2014, the UK will be able to agree the terms of our MLA arrangements bilaterally with the US. In the meantime, the Government will retain unchanged existing UK law and practice and will maintain co-operation with the USA with a UK liaison prosecutor and a US legal attaché in Washington and London, respectively.

European Public Prosecutor's Office

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the personal details of UK citizens, whether they be suspects, victims or witnesses, are not handed by Eurojust to the office of the European Public Prosecutor. [177379]

James Brokenshire: The coalition agreement is clear that the UK will not participate in any European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). The UK has also not opted in to the European Commission's parallel proposal to reform Eurojust. One of the Government's considerations in taking that decision was to ensure that we have clarity about the relationship between Eurojust and the EPPO, including any exchange of personal data between the organisations. The Government have undertaken to review their decision on participation in a reformed Eurojust, in consultation with Parliament, at the point the new regulation is adopted. The future direction of the EPPO is currently unclear pending a decision by the Commission on whether to maintain, amend or withdraw the proposal following the yellow card issued by national Parliaments challenging the proposal on the grounds of subsidiarity.

Flexible Working

Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials in her Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the civil service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level. [177398]

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James Brokenshire: The number of officials in the Home Department making use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the civil service's flexible working hours scheme as at 31 October 2013 is (a) fewer than five at director level and (b) 1,044 below director level. All such arrangements are subject to business and operational need.

Human Trafficking

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many meetings of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking there have been since it was set up; [177037]

(2) what assessment she has made of the working of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking. [177076]

James Brokenshire: Since the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group (IDMG) was refocused in May 2010, the group has met eight times:

17 October 2013 (ad-hoc meeting chaired by the Prime Minister)

9 September 2013

17 June 2013

11 March 2013

17 September 2012

17 April 2012

11 October 2011

17 February 2011.

The IDMG published its second report on 18 October. The report updated on the actions from the initial IDMG report published in October 2012 which highlighted three areas where the UK recognised the need to strengthen its approach: data collection, raising awareness with front-line professionals, and co-ordination of prevention activities. A Joint Strategic Group (JSG) was set up and tasked to consider these areas in more detail. The JSG set up six multi-agency sub-groups to consider the issues, identify the problems and gaps and generate recommendations. The chair of the JSG is now a member of the IDMG establishing a clear and effective line of communication between the Government and civil society organisations.

Progress has been made in all three areas and the report can be read in full here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/251487/9794-TSO-HMG_Human_Trafficking.pdf

The Government keep the effectiveness of the IDMG under review.

Identity and Passport Service

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of rebranding the Identity and Passport Service to Her Majesty's Passport Office will be. [156615]

Mr Harper [holding answer 21 May 2013]: Her Majesty's Passport Office undertook rebranding in line with all Government Departments and agencies following the new HM Government Corporate Identity requirements, which are designed to provide a cohesive, cost-effective and consistent approach to Government branding.

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In line with the rebranding Her Majesty's Passport Office took the opportunity to change its name from “Identity and Passport Office”. The cost of this was £78,600.

Kings Science Academy

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education the hon. Member for Crewe and Norwich (Mr Timpson) of 22 November 2013, Official Report, columns 1089-90W, on Kings Science Academy, if she will publish all telephone conversations between Action Fraud and the Department for Education in relation to the investigation into Kings Science Academy, Bradford. [177762]

James Brokenshire: When Action Fraud takes a report, the victim or the person reporting is asked to provide as much information as possible concerning the alleged suspect, the victim, how the incident took place, details of any other organisations that the fraud may have been reported to and any transaction or bank account information that is known to the reporter. Thus the contents of reports and phone calls are confidential. However, the person who made the report can be provided with a copy of the report which Action Fraud submitted to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau on request.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date and by what means Action Fraud first informed her Department that the police were taking no further action in relation to Kings Science Academy in Bradford. [177767]

James Brokenshire: It would be for the police to decide whether to take further action. Such decisions are not routinely reported to Ministers.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions Action Fraud had with the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau on the case of the Kings Science Academy, Bradford prior to informing her Department that no police action would be taken. [177769]

James Brokenshire: On 1 November a discussion took place between the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) and the National Fraud Authority (NFA) when the report was identified to establish what had occurred. The NFA subsequently listened to the recording of the call alongside the report and confirmed to the NFIB that an administrative error had led to the report being classified as an information report and not a crime report. Decisions on how to proceed with individual cases are operational matters for the police.

Offenders: Deportation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2013, Official Report, column 422W, on offenders: deportation, what the nationalities were of the offenders who either received or were considered for a conditional caution to facilitate their removal from the UK. [177339]

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Mr Harper: Since my answer on 29 October 2013, Official Report, column 422W, additional conditional cautions with foreign national offender conditions have been administered. The current figures are as follows:

It is not possible to provide the nationalities of those considered for conditional cautions but not issued with them because they are not currently recorded. The nationalities of the offenders who have been issued with a conditional caution are as follows: Albania, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Georgia, India, Iran, Libya, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan and Trinidad and Tobago.

Organised Crime

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment his Department has made of the annual cost to the economy of organised (a) crime and (b) food crime. [177488]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 27 November 2013]: On 7 October 2013 the Government published the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy, which sets out a new national response to serious and organised crime, and estimates that the social and economic costs of organised crime in this country are at least £24 billion a year. This assessment is drawn from the Home Office study “Understanding Organised Crime: Estimating the scale and the social and economic costs” (also published 7 October 2013).

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are working together in order to explore different ways of detecting food fraud and, where possible, to assess costs. FSA and DEFRA are working on improved intelligence flows and information sharing to help anticipate food fraud.

Passports

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports are returned to HM Passport Office each year owing to errors in content. [177638]

Mr Harper: Her Majesty's Passport Office does not collect this information centrally and to provide this information would be at disproportionate cost.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2013, Official Report, column 862W, on secondment, what her estimate was of the cost of collecting data on the number of private sector secondees to her Department. [177692]

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James Brokenshire: Pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2013, Official Report, column 862W, the estimated cost of collecting data on the number of private sector employees currently seconded to the Home Office would be in excess of £1,800. This exceeds the cost threshold for answering parliamentary questions of £850.

UK Border Agency

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many allegations were made and recorded by the UK Border Agency's allegations database for each month in 2013. [176119]

Mr Harper: The Intelligence Management System (IMS) intake statistics for 2013 are set out in the following table. It should be noted that intake covers all types of incoming information and not solely allegations made by the public.

All figures quoted are management information which has been subject to internal quality checks. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Cabinet Office

Drugs: Death

John Woodcock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths have been recorded where substance abuse was a contributing factor in (a) England, (b) North West England and (c) Cumbria in each of the last five years. [177693]

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 to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking how many deaths have been recorded where substance abuse was a contributing factor in (a) England, (b) North West England and (c) Cumbria in each of the last five years. (177693)

The tables provide the number of deaths where the underlying cause was related to drug misuse for (a) England, (b) the North West region and (c) the county of Cumbria, for deaths registered from 2008 to 2012 (the latest year available).

The numbers of drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales from 1993 to 2012 are available on the ONS website:

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

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Electronic Government: Misrepresentation

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to discourage members of the public from using websites that charge for services that are currently provided free by the Government. [177471]

Mr Hurd: The Government Digital Service is working with Departments to get a clearer view of the scale of this problem. In cases where there is belief that a website operator is acting in a clearly misleading way, Government will act to curtail their activities via organisations such as the Advertising Standards Agency, Office of Fair Trading, Information Commissioner's Office and search providers.

In the year since the launch of Gov.uk in October 2012 it had received 429 million visits. It was recently ranked as the 46^th most visited website in the UK.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr Betts: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total cost of (a) special advisers to the Deputy Prime Minister and (b) officials providing support to those special advisers was in the last year for which data are available; and how much of that cost was (i) salaries, (ii) on-costs, (iii) accommodation costs, (iv) office costs and (v) other costs. [177502]

Mr Maude: Information on special adviser numbers and pay bands can be found at:

28 Nov 2013 : Column 398W

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs-october-2013

My departmental organogram is available at:

http://data.gov.uk/organogram/cabinet-office

Further information about the costs of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts

Ministers’ Private Offices

Mr Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) whether he (a) has appointed or (b) intends to appoint an enlarged ministerial office; [177508]

(2) what ministerial guidance is being prepared on enlarged ministerial offices (EMOs); what external academic bodies or think tanks have submitted drafts of such guidance or related draft guidance to his Department; and when any such guidance on EMOs will be published. [177573]

Mr Maude: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 25 November 2013, Official Report, column 115W, to the hon. Member for South Antrim (Dr McCrea).

This guidance develops the policy on Extended Ministerial Offices outlined in the Government's 'One Year On' report on Civil Service Reform in June of this year. The EMO policy reflects the conclusions of the recent Institute of Public Policy Research (IRRP) Report ‘Accountability and responsiveness in the senior civil service'. That report found that UK Ministers are under supported in comparison with other countries, even those with Westminster-derived systems such as Australia and Canada. The Institute for Government has also argued for more powerful ministerial offices.

The Government will provide an update on the introduction of Extended Ministerial Offices in their next report on progress against the Civil Service Reform Plan.

Education

Children: Mental Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what assessment he has made of the use of mindfulness in schools to reduce stress and absenteeism; [179113]

(2) what assessment he has made of the use of mindfulness in schools to improve attention spans of children; [179114]

(3) what assessment he has made of the use of mindfulness in schools in developing lifelong healthy mental health habits; [179115]

(4) what assessment he has made of the use of mindfulness in schools in (a) improving behaviour and (b) increasing educational attainment. [179116]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has not conducted any assessment of the use of mindfulness in schools. Individual head teachers can decide whether they wish to adopt approaches relating to mindfulness.

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Educational Exchanges

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Development on potential benefits of schools in the UK being paired with schools in developing countries. [177639]

Elizabeth Truss: Both the Department for Education and the Department for International Development recognise the benefits of schools linking to stimulate meaningful collaboration across cultures. The British Council and the Department for International Development jointly fund the Connecting Classrooms global education programme which offers British schools partnerships with their international counterparts, including schools in developing countries. The Department for Education is represented on its Supervisory Board.

In addition, the Department for Education has an input to the Department for International Development's Global Learning Programme (GLP), launched on 20 November by the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), and has a representative on the Programme's Advisory Board. The GLP focuses on developing pupils' knowledge and understanding of global challenges such as poverty, inequality and sustainability.

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of school pupils in the UK who took part in a foreign exchange programme in each of the last five years. [177640]

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education has made no such estimate. The Department for Education does not collect data on numbers of pupils taking part in foreign exchange programmes. It is up to individual schools to decide whether to participate in exchanges.

Free Schools

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to comply with the Information Commissioner's decision notice of 18 November 2013 in relation to completed free school applications. [177646]

Michael Gove: We will respond to the Information Commissioner's Office decision notice within the statutory time scales set out in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Kings Science Academy

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2013, Official Report, column 1090W, on Kings Science Academy, by what method his Department supplied the evidence of possible fraud to Action Fraud. [177587]

Michael Gove: Officials at the Department for Education reported the case to Action Fraud's national call centre on 25 April by telephone. All the information requested by Action Fraud was provided.

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Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) with reference to the investigation into Kings Science Academy, Bradford, on what dates (a) his Department requested an update from Action Fraud on what steps had been taken following the Department's referral of the matter to Action Fraud in April 2013 and (b) he or Ministers of his Department were informed that no further action was being taken by police; [177765]

(2) what disciplinary sanctions he has considered using in relation to the leadership of the Kings Science Academy in response to the findings of his Department's investigation into the Academy's finances; [177768]

(3) whether he or Ministers in his Department authorised the decision to report the findings of the report into Kings Science Academy by telephone call rather than in writing to Action Fraud. [177763]

Michael Gove: Officials at the Department for Education reported the case to Action Fraud's national call centre on 25 April. An additional telephone call was made to West Yorkshire Police's Economic Crime Unit, who confirmed that this was the correct way to report fraud and that no further action was required.

Following the Department's referral to Action Fraud on 25 April, an update was requested on 5 September. Action Fraud subsequently notified the Department on 1 November that the information provided had been wrongly classified as an information report rather than a crime report. This error has been rectified by Action Fraud and West Yorkshire police have confirmed they are now investigating. Action Fraud has apologised to the Department for this error.

I issued a warning notice to the trust on 17 May. The warning notice is available on the Department's website at:

http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/k/kings%20science%20academy%20warning%20notice.pdf

The warning notice makes clear my requirements, and the possible repercussions.

Languages: Education

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the effect of school children studying Latin or ancient Greek on their aptitude for English or other European languages. [177635]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education is aware of research evidence that suggests a link between the study of Latin and more effective learning of other languages. We are aware of no specific evidence with regard to ancient Greek.

Modern English contains a substantial proportion of words derived from Latin and ancient Greek. Study of Latin equips pupils to learn a related modern language, such as French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese or Romanian.

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to encourage school children to learn foreign languages. [177636]

Elizabeth Truss: The English Baccalaureate is already encouraging more young people to take a language at GCSE level. The number of pupils at the end of key

28 Nov 2013 : Column 401W

stage 4 (ages 14 to 16) in England entered for a modern foreign language GCSE increased by over 20% from 2012 to 2013.

We have made study of a foreign language compulsory at key stage 2 (ages seven to 11) as part of the new national curriculum, which comes into force from September 2014. Schools will be able to teach any modern or ancient foreign language.

Ministers' Private Offices

Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he (a) has appointed or (b) intends to appoint an enlarged ministerial office. [177513]

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the hon. Member to the Minister for the Cabinet Office's answer of 28 November 2013.

Overseas Students: EU Nationals

Mr Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of students coming to study in the UK from (a) Romania and (b) Bulgaria in (i) each of the last five years and (ii) each of the next five years. [177671]

Mr Laws: No estimate has been made of the number of students coming to study in England from Romania and Bulgaria.