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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

UK-Israeli Co-operation: International Development

16. Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UK-Israeli co-operation on international development. [901384]

Hugh Robertson: We work with Israel in international bodies such as the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation. The Department for International Development does not have any joint international development projects with Israel, but would consider any proposals made by Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, MASHAV.

Palestinian Child Detainees: Israel

19. Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of Israeli treatment of Palestinian child detainees. [901387]

Hugh Robertson: We continue to have serious concerns about Israel’s treatment of Palestinian child detainees, despite some progress. The UK highlighted this issue at Israel’s Universal Periodic Review session at the UN Human Rights Council on 29 October.

Gaza

20. Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the blockade of Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force on (a) the Gazan economy and (b) children in Gaza. [901388]

Hugh Robertson: Israeli restrictions, combined with the closure of the smuggling tunnels from Egypt, are severely affecting Gaza’s economy and the living conditions for ordinary people, including children. We have called on Israel to open up legal trade for Gaza.

EU Enlargement

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which states, or parts thereof, have (a) applied for and (b) achieved member state status of the European Union under (i) Article 48 and (ii) Article 49 of the treaty on European Union, or equivalent earlier treaty provision. [179342]

Mr Lidington: Of the 22 countries that have joined the six founding states as full EU members, all joined under article 49 of the treaty on European Union or equivalent earlier treaty provision. There are currently five recognised candidate countries (Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey), all of whom are applying for member status under article 49. Article 48

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of the treaty on European Union, or equivalent earlier treaty provision, has never been used to expand the membership of the European economic community or EU.

Foreign Relations

Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will commission a comparative study on the relationship between (a) Ceuta and Melilla with Spain and (b) Gibraltar and the UK, and of how the UK might raise at EU level the issue of legal problems arising from Spain's relationship with Ceuta and Melilla. [179446]

Mr Lidington: We continually monitor EU and international issues which may be relevant for safeguarding Gibraltar. Ceuta and Melilla both border Morocco but are constitutionally part of Spanish metropolitan territory. The status of the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla is, like the status of Gibraltar as a British Overseas Territory, the result of a distinct set of historical circumstances. At present, we do not have plans to commission a comparative study covering Ceuta and Melilla.

Iraq

Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2013, Official Report, column 6W, on Iraq, what reports his Department received on links between Hamid Jafar, Crescent Petroleum International and the former Iraqi Government led by Saddam Hussein between 1992 and 2010; and if he will make a statement. [179258]

Hugh Robertson: The information requested is not held centrally and is therefore available only at disproportionate cost.

Israel

Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Israel on the prevention of terrorism in that country. [179121]

Hugh Robertson: We have regular discussions with the Israeli authorities on counter-terrorism issues, including an official UK-Israel counter-terrorism dialogue, held most recently in July 2013.

Mike Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the Prawer plan in the Negev region of Israel. [179390]

Hugh Robertson: Our ambassador to Tel Aviv has discussed our concerns over the Prawer-Begin Bill with Israeli Ministers and parliamentarians, while our embassy is in regular contact with Bedouin leaders and activists as well as independent experts. We also raised our concerns during Israel's Universal Periodic Review session at the UN Human Rights Council on 29 October.

Mike Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Israeli Government regarding the implementation of the recommendations

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in the report on Children in Military Custody, published in June 2012 with funding from his Department. [179440]

Hugh Robertson: Officials from the British embassy in Tel Aviv have frequent discussions with the Israeli authorities on this issue, most recently with the Israeli Ministry of Justice on 21 November.

Kashmir

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the construction of a wall along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir; and whether he has made representations to the Indian Government on this matter. [179447]

Mr Swire: We are aware of recent media reports on the construction of a wall along the Line of Control. We have not made any representations to the Indian Government on this matter. UK officials in our high commissions in Delhi and Islamabad regularly discuss the situation in Kashmir with both Governments. We welcome the fact that the Prime Ministers of Pakistan and India met in New York in September and the commitment they made to maintain a ceasefire on the Line of Control in Kashmir. The long-standing position of successive British Governments on Kashmir has been that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, which takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Leader of the House

Written Questions

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Leader of the House what efforts he is making to find efficiencies in and reduce the costs of answering written parliamentary questions. [179348]

Mr Lansley: The Government are working closely with authorities in the House of Commons on the development of a new questions and answers system which will enable both Houses of Parliament and all answering bodies to distribute questions for written answer and their associated answers securely and electronically to Members and straight to web publication on Parliament's website. The project will reduce the cost of processing and publishing questions and answers and improve access to them for Members and the public through dedicated web-pages for written answers.

In addition, we expect to deliver significant costs savings across Government Departments, particularly in relation to stationery and delivery services.

Home Department

Domestic Violence: Barrow in Furness

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of domestic violence there have been in Barrow and Furness constituency in each of the last five years; and how many of those reports have led to a conviction. [177758]

Norman Baker [holding answer 28 November 2013]: The Home Office collects statistics on the number of

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incidents that the police deal with which are flagged as being related to domestic abuse. These data are collected at the police force area level, therefore the requested information for Barrow and Furness is not available. Data in the table are given for Cumbria police, who have responsibility for policing Barrow and Furness.

It should be noted that not all incidents that are flagged as domestic abuse by the police will subsequently be recorded as crimes. Furthermore, information on the number of recorded crimes which are related to domestic violence is not available. For the purposes of conviction, the figures (which are held by the Ministry of Justice) are the counts of crime under the appropriate offence classifications (e.g. Actual Bodily Harm, Grievous Bodily Harm) and convictions of such offences which arose from domestic violence incidents are therefore not separately identifiable.

Drugs: Misuse

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she or Ministers in her Department next expect to discuss the control of new psychoactive substances with (a) ministerial colleagues from other EU member states and (b) European Commissioners. [177757]

Norman Baker [holding answer 28 November 2013]: The control of new psychoactive substances will be discussed at official level at the Horizontal Drugs Group on 9 and 10 December. This will be followed by the European Council Justice and Home Affairs Council at ministerial level in early 2014. Details of all ministerial meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the gov.uk website:

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

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department of the 143 suspected victims of trafficking referred to the National Referral Mechanism by her Department and Border Force staff between April and June 2013, how many had arrived in the UK on a document with a visa. [177625]

Mr Harper: Of the 143 suspected victims of trafficking referred to the National Referral Mechanism between April and June 2013:

37 suspected victims entered on a passport with the appropriate visa;

105 were illegal entries; and

one case was an EEA national holding a passport.

Interpol

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial contribution the UK has made to Interpol in each of the last 10 years. [179215]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 2 December 2013]: The following table sets out the contribution the UK has made to Interpol in each of the last 10 years.

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The National Crime Agency (NCA) now hosts the UK National Central Bureau (NCB) for Interpol and is responsible for these payments. The UKNCB was previously hosted by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and, prior to 2006, the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS).

Knives: Crime

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to reduce knife crime. [179308]

Norman Baker [holding answer 2 December 2013]: Police recorded crime data show knife crime fell by 12% in the year up to June 2013.

The Government has created a new offence in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 for those who carry a knife in a public place or in a school, and go on to threaten and cause an immediate risk of serious physical harm to another person.

The Government is also considering whether further changes need to be made to the sentencing framework for knife possession as part of the knife sentencing review. Any changes will be brought forward in due course.

We continue to enable and support local areas to tackle gang and youth violence, including knife crime, through the Ending Gang and Youth Violence Programme.

Ministers' Private Offices

Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she (a) has appointed or (b) intends to appoint an enlarged ministerial office. [177518]

James Brokenshire: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 28 November 2013, Official Report, column 398W.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many of her Department's civil servants have been seconded to (a) the private sector and (b) trade unions in each year since 2010; [177718]

(2) how many secondees from (a) trade unions and (b) the voluntary sector have worked in her Department since 2010. [177741]

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James Brokenshire: The Home Office has seconded fewer than five staff to the private sector since 2010. Providing a further breakdown would breach the Department's obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 not to disclose to a third party personal information about another person. The Home Office has not seconded staff to trade unions since 2010.

The Home Office has seconded 993 staff since 2010. As we do not centrally record details of individual employers, establishing the number of staff who have been seconded from a trade union or the voluntary sector, could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Vetting

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the average wait is for a DBS check (a) in each region, (b) in each police force area and (c) nationally; and how many and what proportion of applicants waited more than (i) two months and (ii) three months for a DBS or CRB check in the last five years; [174685]

(2) what the average waiting time is for taxi drivers to receive disclosure and barring service checks; and how many and what proportion of applicants who work as taxi drivers have to wait more than (a) two and (b) three months (i) in each region, (ii) in each police force area and (iii) nationally for such checks. [174842]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 8 and 11 November 2013]: The disclosure and barring service (DBS) has provided the requested information, and I will place the comprehensive statistical tables in the House Library for your reference.

House of Commons Commission

Written Questions

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (John Thurso) representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the House of Commons Commission is taking to reduce the costs incurred in publishing answers to written parliamentary questions. [179438]

John Thurso: In June 2012, the House of Commons Commission agreed to a package of changes to printing, publishing and purchasing arrangements for written answers. Written answers will cease to be printed in daily Hansard from 2014-15. In addition, the Finance and Services Committee agreed, in September 2013, that written answers would not be printed in bound volumes of Hansard from the end of the 2013-14 Session.

A new questions and answers system is being developed which will enable both Houses of Parliament and all answering bodies to distribute questions for written answer and their associated answers securely and electronically to Members and straight to web publication on Parliament's website. The project will reduce the cost of processing and publishing questions and answers and improve access to them for Members and the public through dedicated web-pages for written answers. Demonstrations for Members and their staff will take place early in the new year.

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Taken together, these changes are expected to deliver savings in the House of Commons of £578,000 in 2014-15 and £772,000 of recurring savings in subsequent years.

Wales

Winter Fuel Payments

Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which wards in each county borough in Wales received winter fuel payments in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013; and if he will make a statement. [179351]

Stephen Crabb: The information requested is not available by county borough, however information on the number of winter fuel payments recipients is available by local authority area in Wales for (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

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Attorney-General

Banks: Pay

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Attorney-General how many officials in the Law Officers' departments have worked, or are currently working, on the legal challenge lodged with the European Court of Justice on 25 September 2013 on new EU rules on pay in the banking sector. [179557]

The Solicitor-General: At present, six lawyers or officials in the Government Legal Service have—in addition to numerous other responsibilities—been involved directly in working on EU legal challenges lodged by the UK and related to pay in the banking sector.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Air Pollution: Bristol

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of levels of air pollution in Bristol against threshold limits. [179397]

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Dan Rogerson: The UK's annual assessment of compliance with EU air quality standards for 2012 was published on 30 September this year. This report states that, in 2012, the Bristol urban area was compliant with all relevant EU air quality standards except the annual average limit value for nitrogen dioxide and the long- term objective for ozone.

The report can be found at:

http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index

I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.

Canal and River Trust

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will review clause 12 of the Water Bill to ensure that powers granted to Ofwat to vary or terminate future water sales agreement on the application of a water company do not negatively affect the Canal and River Trust. [179098]

Dan Rogerson: Officials are in dialogue with the Canal and River Trust about this issue and I am meeting with the trust soon. We do not believe that clause 12 will negatively affect the Canal and River Trust and we are working with the trust to ensure that this is the case.

Common Agricultural Policy

Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to his Department's publication “A Vision for the Common Agricultural Policy”, published in December 2005, if his Department will produce an updated estimate of the financial cost of the common agricultural policy for each British citizen or typical family in terms of (a) the net cost to British taxpayers, (b) the cost to consumers as a result of higher food prices and (c) the total cost per person or per family. [179389]

George Eustice: “A Vision for the Common Agricultural Policy” was published in 2005 and reported OECD estimates of the EU wide costs of CAP and associated trade policy at

“around €100 billion a year; approximately €50 billion in consumer costs as a result of higher food prices, and approximately €50 billion taxpayer costs. This is an average cost to an EU family of four of around €950 a year.”

The latest available OECD provisional estimates of the EU wide costs of CAP and associated trade policy for 2012 are around €95 billion with approximately €79 billion in taxpayer costs, and approximately €16 billion in consumer costs.

Discrimination

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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. [176605]

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Dan Rogerson: There have been no formal complaints of age discrimination or harassment lodged against DEFRA or its Executive agencies by an employee or other individuals in the last five years.

The Rural Payments Agency has had no complaints formally lodged since October 2012 but to answer for the period prior to this date would be of disproportionate cost.

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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. [176622]

Dan Rogerson: There have been no formal complaints of racial discrimination or harassment lodged against employees of DEFRA and its Executive agencies by current employees or other individuals in the last five years.

The Rural Payments Agency has had no complaints formally lodged since October 2012 but to answer for the period prior to this date would-be of disproportionate cost.

Fly-grazing

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of fly-grazing in (a) England, (b) Hampshire and (c) Portsmouth South constituency. [179425]

George Eustice: No specific assessment has been made by Government on the extent of horse welfare problems in specific parts of the country. However, the most recent estimates by welfare organisations suggest that there may be 2,500 horses being fly-grazed in England. A range of existing legislation can be used to deal with fly-grazing including the Animals Act 1971 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006. In addition, because fly-grazing is a form of antisocial behaviour, existing antisocial behaviour legislation and forthcoming measures in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill may be used to tackle it. We consider the practical answer lies in tackling local issues through effective use of existing and forthcoming legislation together with sharing best practice and joined-up working by interested parties.

Food: Waste

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department has had with its European counterparts on the European year against food waste in 2014. [179393]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA has had no discussions with other EU member states specifically on the European year against food waste in 2014. However, we have been working closely with the European Commission and other member states with regard to the communication on sustainable food, in which food waste is a key issue. We expect the communication on sustainable food to be published in spring 2014.

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Poultry: Animal Welfare

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what welfare regulations his Department has put in place for people keeping chickens in domestic environments. [179146]

George Eustice: All keepers of domestic poultry must comply with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations 2007.

Transport

Goring and Streatley Station

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what date he expects to announce a decision on the installation of lifts for disabled passengers at Goring and Streatley stations. [179399]

Stephen Hammond: I have already asked the electrification programme to deliver footbridge and lift works at this station to make it accessible for disabled passengers. In parallel I have also asked Network Rail to nominate the station for funding through the Access for All programme.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work on the diversion of overhead electric lines in connection with High Speed 2 to commence. [179394]

Mr Goodwill: Major works associated with High Speed 2, including the diversion of overhead power lines related to either domestic supplies or railway services, are dependent on the Royal Assent of the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill, introduced to Parliament on 25 November 2013.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what works on High Speed 2 are planned to commence before the passage of the hybrid Bill through Parliament is complete. [179401]

Mr Goodwill: Section 1 of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 allows that the Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, incur expenditure in preparation for a high-speed railway transport network, including:

(a) on pre-construction activity (such as surveying and design);

(b) in acquiring property; and

(c) in providing compensation in respect of property likely to be affected.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2013, Official Report, column 306W, on High Speed 2 railway line (1) what organisation paid for the service advertised by HS2 Ltd as a free bus service provided to help people travel to and from the event on 30 November 2013 (a) from Annesley Woodhouse, Badger Box to Bilborough college and (b) from Strelley, Main Street to Bilborough college to attend the High Speed 2 consultation event on the route from West Midlands to Manchester, Leeds and elsewhere; and what the cost of this service was; [179524]

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(2) for which meetings or community meetings along both phase 1 and phase 2 of the route of High Speed 2 free bus services were offered to attendees. [179559]

Mr Goodwill: The bus service to Bilborough college was provided by HS2 Ltd at the request of the local community to enable members of the public to attend a public information event on the phase 2 route consultation. These events are part of the public consultation process and are designed to allow the public to find out more about the proposed route in their area and encourage them to respond to the consultation.

The cost of the shuttle was £200.

HS2 Ltd has not offered free transport to attendees of meetings or community fora along phase 1 or phase 2 of the HS2 route.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many properties are wholly or partially within the proposed HS2 voluntary purchase zone in the constituencies of (a) Chesham and Amersham, (b) Beaconsfield, (c) Aylesbury and (d) Buckingham. [179568]

Mr Goodwill: The information requested is in the following table. Please note that the voluntary purchase zone is now referred to as the rural support zone in the Property Compensation Consultation 2013. For this question, the boundary for the rural support zone is based on the maps published for the consultation.

M18

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons several lanes were closed on the M18 motorway between junctions 6 and 7 and junctions 4 and 5 on 17 November 2013 when no work was being carried out. [179147]

Mr Goodwill: Resurfacing works were carried out on the southbound carriageway of the M18 between junctions 7 and 6 from 8 pm on Friday 15 November to 3.20 am

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on Monday 20 November 2013. To ensure the works could be carried out safely, traffic was restricted to the hard shoulder. At times, there were periods when work was temporarily halted to allow for the delivery of materials, for concrete to harden, and surfacing materials to cool and set sufficiently to permit vehicles to run on it.

Works to replace the central reserve safety barrier on the M18 between junctions 4 and 5 commenced on 4 November 2013.

Works are carried out during daylight hours from Mondays to Saturdays, with occasional night time working when required, in line with the terms of the contract between the Highways Agency and its contractor. The works are expected to be completed by 22 December 2013.

Railways: Standards

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 978W, on railways: standards, on which dates (a) he and (b) officials from his Department met representatives of the Office of Rail Regulation to discuss the lowering of punctuality targets on the East Coast and West Coast main lines. [179495]

Stephen Hammond: Ministers and Department for Transport officials meet regularly with representatives of the Office of Rail Regulation to discuss a variety of topics. No meetings were held specifically on the issue of changes to proposed punctuality targets on the East Coast and West Coast main lines, but this was discussed during the course of a number of meetings with ORR in the run-up to the publication of its final determination.

Public performance measure (PPM) and cancellation and significant lateness (CaSL) are both punctuality targets. The new CaSL targets for the long distances services on the East Coast and West Coast main lines have been toughened and are more stretching than their corresponding reduced PPM target. This will mean that passengers taking longer journeys will benefit from fewer cancelled or significantly late services.

Roads: Yorkshire and the Humber

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the economic effect on (a) Haltemprice and Howden constituency, (b) East Riding of Yorkshire and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber following the completion of the planned road improvements in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2014. [179445]

Mr Goodwill: No estimate has been made of the economic effect of road improvements on either Haltemprice and Howden constituency, or East Riding of Yorkshire. However, on 12 November 2013 the Department published an assessment of the impact of roads investment taking place in England in 2014. This assessment includes an estimate of economic benefits in Yorkshire and the Humber, which are estimated to be £1.7 billion.

Full details of this assessment are available from the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nearly-10000-jobs-supported-by-road-investment-in-2014

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Treasury

Banks: Loans

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2013, Official Report, column 360W, on business: loans, what new requirements he plans to place on UK Financial Investments in light of the report by Mr Lawrence Tomlinson, “Banks' lending practices: treatment of businesses in distress”. [177839]

Sajid Javid: As the hon. Gentleman is aware the Government's shareholdings in Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are managed on a commercial and arm's length basis by UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI). UKFI's role is to manage the shares and not to manage the banks.

Dr Tomlinson published his report in a private capacity-it is not a Government report. The Government are unable to comment on the veracity of the allegations. Nevertheless these are serious allegations. We understand RBS is investigating them; it is important that its investigation is concluded thoroughly and promptly.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has considered the reports published by Sir Andrew Large into lending practices at RBS and, separately, by Dr Lawrence Tomlinson into banks' treatment of customers in financial difficulty.

Accordingly, the FCA has agreed with RBS that an independent skilled person will be appointed in accordance with the FCA's power under section 166 of FSMA to review the allegations in the reports against RBS's practices within an agreed time scale.

If the findings from the review reveal issues which come within the FCA's remit, the FCA will consider further regulatory measures.

Banks: Pay

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in his Department have worked, or are currently working, on the legal challenge lodged with the European Court of Justice on 25 September 2013 on new EU rules on pay in the banking sector. [179558]

Sajid Javid: Work on the legal challenge has been undertaken by officials dealing with all the Treasury’s work (such as transposition work) following adoption of the CRD4 directive, and no additional staff have been assigned to work on the legal challenge.

Child Benefit

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in (a) the UK and (b) each region have been fined for failing to comply with the high-income child benefit tax charge since it was introduced. [177684]

Mr Gauke [holding answer 28 November 2013]:No taxpayers have yet received a penalty for failing to comply with the high-income child benefit charge since its introduction.

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Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to simplify interaction between tax free childcare and universal credit. [177780]

Nicky Morgan [holding answer 29 November 2013]:The Government want to ensure that people can switch between universal credit and tax-free child care with minimal complexity. The Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs are working with stakeholders and the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure there is a smooth transition between the two schemes.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he takes to ensure claimants do not erroneously claim help with childcare costs through both tax free childcare and universal credit. [177781]

Nicky Morgan [holding answer 29 November 2013]: As set out in the tax-free childcare consultation, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) plans to undertake a range of validation checks to confirm parents' eligibility to claim tax-free childcare both on initial registration and at subsequent points. This validation will include checks with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that parents in receipt of universal credit are not able to claim tax-free childcare support.

More details of HMRC's compliance approach will be included in the Government tax-free childcare consultation response document which will be published in due course.

Simon Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the potential reduction in the cost to his Department's tax-free childcare scheme from restricting eligibility for that scheme to parents earning less than (a) £100,000, (b) £90,000, (c) £80,000, (d) £75,000, (e) £70,000, (f) £65,000 and (g) £60,000 per year; [179269]

(2) what estimate he has made of the potential reduction in the cost of his Department's proposed tax-free childcare scheme from restricting that scheme to providing support for up to two children. [179270]

Nicky Morgan: The information requested is not available.

Information on the new scheme for tax-free childcare will not be available until the consultation launched on 5 August is complete and the policy details have been fully defined. The Government response to the consultation will be published in due course.

Community Amateur Sports Clubs Scheme

Graham Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many sports clubs in (a) Hyndburn constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) England will be affected by the recent changes to the Community Amateur Sports Clubs qualifying rates. [177794]

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many sports clubs in (a) Portsmouth South constituency and (b) Hampshire will be affected by the recent changes to the Community Amateur Sports Clubs qualifying rates. [179531]

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Nicky Morgan: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) expects all clubs that are registered as Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) will be able to continue to qualify as a CASC as a result of the changes announced on 26 November 2013, if they wish. However, some clubs may need to reorganise their activities if they wish to retain CASC status.

The Government hope more clubs will consider becoming eligible, and applying for, CASC status as a result of the changes.

HMRC does not collect information about sports clubs by reference to regions of the UK.

Employment

Mr David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of job growth was in (a) Haltemprice and Howden constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) England in 2013; and what estimate he has made of such growth in each of the next three years. [179442]

Nicky Morgan: Since this Government came into power employment has increased by over a million and is now at its highest ever level—29.95 million. This is 381,000 above its pre-recession peak.

Latest available figures show that in the year to June 2013, compared with the previous 12 months employment in the Haltemprice and Howden constituency increased by 5.6%. In the three months to September 2013 employment in Yorkshire and the Humber increased by 2.1% on the year and in England by 1.1%. In March 2013 the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast UK employment over the next three years to grow by an average of 170,000 each year.

Public Expenditure

Mr Denham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate total public spending per head of population in each English region in the last 12 months. [177820]

Nicky Morgan: The information requested is available on the HM Treasury website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/country-and-regional-analysis-2013

Revenue and Customs: Newry

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many assessment visits (a) he and (b) senior officials in his Department have made to the HM Revenue and Customs office in Newry. [177642]

Mr Gauke [holding answer 28 November 2013]: No Treasury Ministers or HMRC senior officials have made assessment visits to Newry offices. Any visits that have been made have been to visit staff during their normal course of business.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the effects on the state guarantee of deposits held by (a) individuals and (b) businesses in the UK if Scotland were to become an independent country. [177632]

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Danny Alexander: As the Scotland analysis paper, ‘Financial Services and Banking’, makes clear, an independent Scotland would require its own deposit compensation scheme under European law. It would not be possible to share the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme—the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). On leaving the UK, the population of UK firms would therefore need to be split between the new Scottish deposit guarantee scheme and the UK’s FSCS.

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the economic benefits to the north-west of England of Scotland remaining part of the UK. [179272]

Nicky Morgan: The UK Government's ‘Scotland Analysis paper: Macroeconomic and Fiscal Performance’ looked at the extent of trade between Scotland and the rest of the UK, including the north-west of England. The paper found that the rest of the UK benefits from large levels of trade with Scotland, with the rest of the UK exporting £59 billion of goods and services to Scotland in 2012. The introduction of an international border between Scotland and the north-west would be expected to reduce these trade links.

Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Belfast

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding her Department has allocated to Belfast's Super Connected City strategy; and what assessment she has made of that strategy. [179498]

Mr Vaizey: In May Belfast requested up to £13.46 million as part of its revised Super Connected City plan, which aims to bring the benefits of faster and better broadband to small businesses, wireless coverage to the city centre and inside public buildings. DCMS supports this exciting vision for the city. The strategy was approved in June and a conditional funding letter was issued in November. As with all Super Connected City plans, funding is being made available on condition of delivery by the 2015 deadline. DCMS continues to work closely with the city council on the development of its projects as it moves from design to implementation.

Coventry City Football Club

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will meet representatives of the Football League to discuss its recent decision to allow Coventry City FC to play at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium. [166588]

Mrs Grant: I meet regularly with the Football League to discuss a range of issues. I also met with the hon. Gentleman, and the right hon. Member for Coventry North East (Mr Ainsworth), to hear about the situation faced by Coventry FC, and have raised its specific concerns with the Football League in writing, including the application of its own criteria and regulations in regards to Coventry City FC.

I will let the hon. Member know as soon as I receive an answer.

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Culture

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent meetings she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the Cultural Plan. [179622]

Mr Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Ministers hold regular meetings with Ministers from the Department for Education to discuss a range of issues.

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance her Department plans to provide to help local radio stations to switch to DAB. [177861]

Mr Vaizey: Government recognise the importance of local commercial radio stations to the communities they serve and are committed to reserving part of the FM spectrum as a platform for local and community radio stations, for as long as it is needed. My officials are also working with Ofcom to consider the potential options for smaller local stations to migrate to digital in the lead up to and after a future switchover. We are encouraged by the recent research Ofcom has carried out on software enabling small-scale DAB transmissions, which has been successfully trialled in Brighton.

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will meet representatives of small commercial FM radio stations to discuss the impact of the digital radio switchover and Government support for this sector before her Department's announcement, scheduled for 16 December 2013, on the switchover. [179490]

Mr Vaizey: During the Adjournment debate about Mix 96 and digital radio switchover on 28 November I agreed to meet a delegation of hon. Members representing small commercial FM radio stations to discuss digital radio.

Telecommunications: Hearing Impairment

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on voluntary funding of video relay services. [176127]

Mr Vaizey: As Minister for communications, I met with the former Minister for the disabled, my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral West (Esther McVey), in May 2013 as part of our wider departmental discussions around the digital inclusion agenda. We discussed the accessibility of telecommunication services, in particular relay services in the UK for disabled and older people and how we can support the work that the UK Council on Deafness (UKCoD) and its Deaf Access to Communications (DAC) committee has been doing with stakeholders on video relay services (VRS) in the UK—this work includes considering voluntary funding solutions for VRS. I will be meeting with UKCoD's DAC committee to discuss the findings of its work on 27 November.

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Ministers have also written to more than 80 businesses with public facing customer service functions to encourage them to have an accessible contact strategy in place that uses a mix of e-mail, SMS, text, and video relay services to facilitate engagement with their disabled customers.

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps she has taken to encourage business and industry to buy video relay services. [176128]

Mr Vaizey: I, along with the former Minister for the Disabled, my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral West (Esther McVey), wrote in May this year, to over 80 FTSE companies with public facing customer service functions to highlight the need for them to have accessible contact strategies that use a mix of email, SMS, text, and video relay services (VRS) to facilitate engagement with their disabled customers.

So far BT, BSKYB, Lloyds TSB, Halifax, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays Bank plc have all launched VRS schemes for their customers at the minimal cost of £10,000 to £20,000 each, with the Post Office soon to launch a scheme for its customers as well.

I will continue to press for more action in this area.

UK City of Culture: Londonderry

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to attend events in Londonderry as part of the UK City of Culture 2013 in that city. [179433]

Mr Vaizey: In my role as Minister for culture, communications and the creative industries, I was on an official visit to Londonderry last week. DCMS officials have also visited Londonderry during its year as UK City of Culture.

Wales

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department provides services to people resident in Wales or usually resident in Wales. [166100]

Mrs Grant: My Department provides no services direct to people resident in Wales or usually resident in Wales.

Electoral Commission Committee

Electoral Registration Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2013, Official Report, columns 131-3W, on electoral register, in which local authorities electoral registration officers did not meet performance standard 3 on house-to-house calls for non-registration in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013 to date. [179542]

Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that its performance standard 3 aims to ensure that electoral registration officers (EROs) make the necessary house-to-house enquiries to ensure that all eligible residents are registered, in line with their legal duty to maintain

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the electoral registers. It is particularly important that in preparation for the transition to individual electoral registration (IER), EROs do all they can now to ensure that their registers are as accurate and complete as possible by taking all available steps—including carrying out house-to-house enquiries and using available local data to identify and target potential electors and to verify and validate data held on the electoral register—before the transition to IER begins.

The EROs of the following local authorities did not meet performance standard 3 in 2012:

Arun

Braintree

Broxbourne

Castle Point

East Devon

East Dorset

East Hampshire

East Hertfordshire

East Lindsey

Eastbourne

Great Yarmouth

Gwynedd

Lancaster

Merthyr Tydfil

Mid Devon

Mid Sussex

North Devon

North Hertfordshire

North Warwickshire

Powys

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

South Oxfordshire

Taunton Deane

Torbay

Torridge

Uttlesford

Vale of White Horse

West Devon

West Oxfordshire

West Somerset

The 2013 annual canvass is still being carried out and will be completed with publication of the revised register by 17 February 2014 in England and by 10 March 2014 in Scotland and Wales. The Commission required all EROs to report on their performance prior to the start of the canvass, to confirm that arrangements were in place for the necessary house-to-house enquiries to be carried out, and has intervened where issues were identified and recommended improvements to be made before the completion of the canvass. In March 2014, the Commission will make a final assessment of performance for 2013, including an assessment of performance against performance standard 3, and will report on its conclusions.

Justice

Freedom of Information Act 2000

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to extend the provisions of the Act to all groups in receipt of public funding. [176822]

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Mr Vara: We continue to review the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and we will consider the inclusion of other bodies in receipt of public funds where appropriate to do so.

In our response to the Justice Select Committee's post-legislative scrutiny of the Act, we accepted the Committee's recommendation that contracts provide a more practical basis for applying FOI to outsourced services than designation under the Act. We will provide a revised code of practice to be issued under section 45 of the Act. This will promote openness by all contractors, including through the use and enforcement of contractual transparency provisions to encourage still greater openness.

Copies of the response to post-legislative scrutiny can be found in the House Library and at the following web address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/217298/gov-resp-justice-comm-foi-act.pdf

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the trafficking victim support scheme operated by the Salvation Army in October 2013; in which (i) region, (ii) country and (iii) parliamentary constituency each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each person to the scheme. [179233]

Damian Green: In October 2013 there were 161 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. In the interests of victim safety, only the region in which the victim was encountered is provided, and not the county or parliamentary constituency. Details are provided as follows.

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