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Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Transport

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what service level targets his Department has set for the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency. [179661]

Mr Goodwill: The service level targets that have been set for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency can be found on pages 11 to 13 of the DVLA's Business Plan for 2013-14. The business plan is available online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/dvla-business-plan-2013-to-14

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Independent Monitoring Commission

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consideration she has given to the re-introduction of the Independent Monitoring Commission; and if she will make a statement. [179356]

Mrs Villiers: I consider the Independent Monitoring Commission's remit to be complete.

The Independent Monitoring Commission was established under an agreement by the then UK and Irish Governments in 2004 to deal with a very specific set of circumstances that pertained at that time, but no longer exist. The Independent Monitoring Commission and the UK and Irish Governments agreed in 2011 that there was no longer a role for the Commission to play in Northern Ireland.

Police

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps she is taking to consult the Retired Police Officers' Association of Northern Ireland to discuss dealing with the past; and if she will make a statement. [179359]

Mrs Villiers: I welcome the Retired Police Officers' Association of Northern Ireland's recent engagement with the All-Party Talks. They have an important contribution to make to this debate. I am happy to meet the association to discuss the past, should they so wish.

Women and Equalities

Guide Dogs

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps her Department is taking to ensure that business owners comply with the Equality Act 2010 in respect of guide dog and hearing dog owners. [179517]

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Mrs Grant: Service providers and employers with obligations and duties under the Equality Act 2010 are responsible for ensuring they comply with the legislation. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission has produced guidance for service providers on the duty to make reasonable adjustments and assistance dogs, which can be found at this link:

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/service-providers-guidance/the-duty-to-make-reasonable-adjustments-to-remove-barriers-for-disabled-people/

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities if she will review the effects of the Equality Act 2010 on owners of guide dogs and hearing dogs. [179518]

Mrs Grant: The Government are committed to reviewing the Equality Act 2010 within five years of its introduction as part of the Post Implementation Review. The review will assess whether the Act is working as intended.

Culture, Media and Sport

Equality Act 2010

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce on-the-spot fines for individuals, businesses and organisations that do not comply with the Equality Act 2010. [179435]

Mrs Grant: The Government has no plans to introduce on-the-spot fines for those who do not comply with the Equality Act 2010. Parliament's view in enacting this legislation was that the courts are best placed to consider cases of alleged disability discrimination.

Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive were consulted about provisions in the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill which apply specifically to Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement. [179357]

Mrs Grant: Nelson McCausland, the Minister for Social Development in the Northern Ireland Executive was consulted about provisions in the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill which apply specifically to Northern Ireland.

National Lottery: Olympic Games 2012

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects the first receipts from the sale of Olympic assets to be returned to the (a) Big Lottery Fund , (b) Heritage Lottery fund, (c) other lottery distributers; and if she will make a statement. [157271]

Mrs Grant: The first receipts from the sale of Olympic assets will be those arising on completion of the sale of the Olympic Village in 2014. Funds will be returned initially to the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund (OLDF). Subject to affirmative resolution in both Houses the

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OLDF will be closed in 2014 and the returned funds transferred to the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF).

Optical Fibres

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what length of fibre optic cable was laid in (a) Haltemprice and Howden constituency, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire, (c) England and (d) the UK in each of the last three years. [179605]

Mr Vaizey: Ofcom reported the following figures, in its infrastructure update, about the availability of next generation broadband in East Riding of Yorkshire, England and the UK. Figures for the Haltemprice and Howden constituency were not reported by Ofcom.

Broadband Delivery UK allocated £5,570,000 to the East Riding project, which signed its contract with suppliers in September 2013 and is currently in the detailed planning phase in advance of the rollout which is due to commence in 2014.

UK City of Culture

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many visits she has made to each of the four cities which bid to be UK City of Culture in 2017. [179280]

Mr Vaizey: I visited Dundee and Hull and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport visited Leicester and Swansea Bay between the announcement of the shortlist and the final decision on UK City of Culture 2017. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport then visited Hull on the day it was announced as UK City of Culture 2017.

UK City of Culture: Londonderry

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on the legacy of Londonderry being UK City of Culture 2013 for that city and for Northern Ireland. [179278]

Mr Vaizey: The legacy from UK City of Culture 2013 is a matter for Derry-Londonderry and the Northern Ireland authorities. I discussed the legacy with cultural leaders in Derry-Londonderry during my recent visit to the city and noted that the Northern Ireland Executive had set out its legacy plan to build on the success of UK City of Culture 2013 when I met the Northern Ireland Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure. I welcome the £2 million given, by the Northern Ireland Government.

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Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funds her Department contributed to (a) marketing and (b) staging of events relating to Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013. [179279]

Mr Vaizey: Funding for UK City of Culture 2013 events is a matter for Derry-Londonderry. However, in recognition of the fact that Derry-Londonderry is the first UK City of Culture, DCMS made a grant of £25,000 to support the Celtronic Festival earlier this year, and has offered a further grant of £75,000 to help cover the costs of other UK City of Culture events.

Treasury

Children: Day Care

Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will estimate how many households with children (a) will and (b) will not benefit from his Department's proposed childcare tax relief and uplift in universal credit to aid childcare costs in 2015 and 2016; how many such households contain (i) one adult in work, (ii) one adult not in work, (iii) two adults not in work and (iv) one adult in work and one not in work; and how many children will be affected in each such category; [179285]

(2) if he will make an assessment of the effects on the female employment rate of his Department's proposed childcare tax relief and uplift in universal credit to aid childcare costs in 2015 and 2016. [179304]

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.

Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of his Department's proposed childcare tax relief and uplift in universal credit to aid childcare costs in 2015 and 2016 on (a) relative and (b) absolute levels of child poverty in those years. [179286]

Nicky Morgan: The Government do not forecast the number of children in poverty. The Government is working to develop better measures of child poverty which include, but go beyond, income to provide a more accurate picture of the reality of child poverty.

Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an estimate of the distribution across each income decile of those households which (a) will and (b) will not benefit from his Department's proposed childcare tax relief and uplift in universal credit to aid childcare costs in 2015 and 2016. [179287]

Nicky Morgan: The Government will publish a full impact assessment, setting out the effects of tax free childcare on households, in due course.

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This Government have been the first to publish distributional analysis of all its measures in the ‘Impact on Households’ annex, at each Budget and autumn statement since June Budget 2010.

Income Tax

Guy Opperman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the lowest paid no longer pay income tax as a result of changes to taxation introduced since May 2010 in (a) the UK, (b) the North East and (c) Northumberland. [179301]

Mr Gauke: The cumulative effect of the Government's increases in the personal allowance for those aged under 65 years (born after 5 April 1948 from 2013-14 tax year) since 2010-11 will take 2.7 million people out of the income tax system by April 2014. 110,000 of them are in the north-east region.

These estimates are based on the 2010-11 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2014-15 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2013 economic and fiscal outlook.

Estimates at the unitary authority/ local authority level are not published.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people employed since (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 in (i) Haltemprice and Howden constituency, (ii) East Riding of Yorkshire and (iii) England have paid less tax as a result of changes in the personal allowance. [179443]

Mr Gauke: The Government increased the personal allowance for those aged under 65 years between 2010-11 and 2013-14 as shown in table 1:

By April 2013, the Government's increases in the personal allowance for those aged under 65 years (born after 5 April 1948 since 2013-14 tax year) since 2010-11 had benefited 2.02 million people in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, 21.1 million in England and 25.4 million in the UK. Most of them have benefited in all of these years.

These estimates are based on the 2010-11 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2013-14 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2013 economic and fiscal outlook.

Reliable estimates are not available at the parliamentary constituency or unitary authority level due to greater uncertainties in making projections for smaller geographical areas.

Natural Capital Committee

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions he has met Dieter Helm in his capacity as Chair of the Natural Capital Committee since May 2010. [179627]

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Nicky Morgan: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue the Crown Estate receives for each (a) sea bed-fixed wind turbine and (b) floating wind turbine. [179211]

Nicky Morgan: Income received by the Crown Estate for offshore wind farms is not based on the number of turbines deployed. Instead, its income is based on either a fee per unit of electricity generated by the wind farm or a small percentage of the developer's revenue from power sales from the scheme. The exact mechanism varies depending on which Crown Estate leasing round the wind farm falls within.

The Crown Estate currently receives no income from floating wind turbines because none have been constructed in UK waters.

Home Department

Crime

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the oral evidence of Dr Rodger Patrick to the Public Administration Select Committee on 19 November 2013, HC 760, Q 2-5, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of the alleged practices of cuffing, nodding, skewing and stitching by the police to reduce the levels of recorded crime; and if she will make a statement. [177651]

Damian Green [holding answer 29 November 2013]:When it came to power in 2010, this Government moved the publication of crime statistics to the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) to ensure independence and encourage greater trust in the figures. Since then, ONS has recognised that the-system for recording crime in England and Wales by the police is one of the best in the world, according to international standards.

This is further supported by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. Its 2012 report on the integrity of police crime recording found that the majority of forces were performing well against the National Crime Recording Standard.

We are continuing to improve the quality of crime recording and build trust in national statistics. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary has an important role to ensure that this is achieved.

Crime is falling according to both police recorded crime and the Crime Survey for England and Wales. From the year to the end of June 2013 by 5% (according to Police Recorded Crime) and by 7% (according to the Crime Survey England and Wales).

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Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessments she has made of the main root causes of crime; [179460]

(2) what assessments she has made of links between criminality and (a) household poverty, (b) educational attainment, (c) unemployment, (d) family environment and (e) area deprivation. [179461]

Norman Baker [holding answer 3 December 2013]:There are many drivers of crime and criminality, from harmful use of alcohol and illegal drugs, to the family and other social factors that help shape an individual's propensity to commit crime, to opportunities provided by poorly secured homes and vehicles and also the activities of organised crime groups. There is no simple link between any of these factors and overall crime in a particular area. However, there is strong evidence that effective, targeted policing can reduce crime locally.

That is why we have removed top-down targets on the police, and introduced police and crime commissioners to ensure forces focus on the issues that matter to local people.

The Home Office continues to lead national action to reshape our approach to alcohol, reduce illicit and harmful drug use and introduce more effective powers to nip anti-social behaviour in the bud. The National Crime Agency is also now operational and is leading, supporting and co-ordinating the law enforcement response to serious and organised crime including organised crime, cyber and economic crime, child sexual exploitation, and organised crime at, and crossing, our borders.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 17 October 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr K Bello. [179545]

Damian Green: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 3 December 2013.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will collate data on the number of (a) secondees from her Department to the private and voluntary sectors and trades unions; and (b) secondees to her Department from the private and voluntary sectors and trades unions. [177822]

James Brokenshire: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 3 December 2013, Official Report, columns 597-98W.

Defence

Afghanistan

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2013, Official Report, column 633W, on Afghanistan, what advances in technology have triggered reviews of UK policy on establishing positive identification and determination of status in the last two years. [R] [179530]

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Mr Dunne: Regular reviews of the UK Targeting Directive and Rules of Engagement are carried out as the Afghanistan campaign has continued to evolve. Reviews within the past two years have not determined any specific advances in technology that require changes to UK policy on establishing positive identification and determination of a target's status. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Armed Forces, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), on 15 October 2013, Official Report, column 633W, in which he states:

“The UK meets the requirements to seek to protect civilians under International Humanitarian Law. UK policy includes robust criteria on establishing positive identification and requires commanders to do everything feasible to verify that the target is a military objective”.

Air Force: Females

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many female recruits to the RAF in each of the countries of the UK have received compensation for injuries suffered whilst participating in marching drills. [179501]

Anna Soubry: Three female RAF recruits have received common law damages for injuries suffered while participating in marching drills: all are from England. Similar information on payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Arms Trade

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to his Department of the Export Support Team was in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and whether these costs have been reimbursed by the UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation. [179246]

Mr Dunne: The cost of the Export Support Team to the Ministry of Defence was £1,571,378 in financial year (FY) 2010-11, £1,743,436 in FY 2011-12 and £1,599,488 in FY 2012-13.

All of the above costs have been reimbursed by UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation.

Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of expenditure on his Department's procurement contracts valued in excess of £5 million was placed with small and medium-sized enterprises based in each government office region in each of the last three years. [179606]

Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has not routinely produced regional expenditure statistics since 2008. It is not possible accurately to provide the proportion of expenditure of defence procurement contracts valued in excess of £5 million placed with small and medium-sized enterprises across all Government office regions without incurring disproportionate cost.

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ICT

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed within centralised IT departments or teams in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [179164]

Anna Soubry: It is estimated that there are some 1,625 civilian staff employed in IT roles in the Ministry of Defence. However these personnel are deployed throughout the Department rather than in specialised teams. It should also be noted that this figure may not fully capture the extent of IT skills held within the Department, as they are also relevant to roles in related professions such as engineering and project management.

National Security

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the undertaking given in the National Security Through Technology White Paper Cm 8278, paragraph 117, what steps he has taken to pursue arrangements that give his Department's supplier base greater insight into the threats and problems faced by the armed services. [179196]

Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) maintains a regular dialogue with our suppliers on the key issues facing the armed forces and the wider MOD through the Defence Suppliers' Forum and its associated working groups, which includes the Research and Development Group. Alongside this, we organise regular industry briefings to ensure suppliers have an effective understanding of the requirements of the armed forces.

The Centre for Defence Enterprise continues to provide in depth briefing to potential suppliers and two major events have been held recently in London, on 27 November 2013 concerning cyber defence and on 3 December 2013 on materials science and armour.

The specific MOD Science and Technology requirements and investment opportunities have been explained at the annual Supplier Networking events led by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), most recently in June 2013 where more than 400 suppliers attended, and published at:

https://www.dstl.gov.uk/suppliernetworkingday1

The MOD uses other supplier events to outline these requirements, most recently at Defence Procurement Research Technology and Exportability in Bristol on 20 November 2013.

Dstl works with the Technology Strategy Board's Knowledge Transfer Networks to communicate challenges and threats to the wider supplier base to stimulate their development of solutions. Dstl signed a Strategic Relationship Charter with Research Councils UK (RCUK) in January 2013 and Dstl staff are embedded in most of the Research Councils to bring greater mutual visibility to the different strands of academia and defence.

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the undertaking given in the National Security Through Technology White Paper Cm 8278, paragraph 116, whether he now publishes annually (a) his defence and security priority themes and (b) the supporting strategies for defence and security science and technology. [179197]

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Mr Dunne: The National Security Through Technology White Paper (Cm 8278) set out six critical outcomes for defence, security, science and technology. These remain our overall priority.

The Ministry of Defence publishes its Science and Technology requirements on the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) website at:

https://www.dstl.gov.uk/whatwedo

Further details of the science and technology requirements and the investment opportunities are presented at the annual supplier networking events led by DSTL, most recently in June 2013, where more than 400 suppliers attended. The content of the June 2013 event can be found at:

https://www.dstl.gov.uk/suppliernetworkingday1

Counter-terrorism priorities were published in the Contest strategy in 2011. Delivery against these priorities, which includes science and technology, is published annually in the Contest annual report to Parliament at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/contest

Pay Television

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether offices of (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies have access to Sky Sports or an equivalent premium sports television service; and what the cost to the public purse is in each case. [176427]

Anna Soubry: The total cost in the last 12 months of Sky subscriptions for offices across the Ministry of Defence and its executive agencies that include a paid-for sports component is £2,923.20; it is not possible to isolate the specific cost of the sports component in this figure. This cost represents one subscription held by a unit within joint forces command to support one of their tasks in monitoring open source information from global 24 hour news feeds.

Travel

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of travel within the UK was for his Department in each year since 2010; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence. [176832]

Anna Soubry: This information is not held in the format requested as the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not routinely distinguish between UK and overseas travel when accounting for the associated expenditure. I can, however, provide information on expenditure in the UK on hire cars and hotel accommodation arranged through the applicable central contract. This is set out, by financial year (FY) in the following table.

The MOD does not hire helicopters

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To give context, these figures relate to approximately 230,000 military and civilian personnel in 2012-13.

We are, under our transformational programmes, encouraging and facilitating the adoption of working practices that reduce the need to travel (such as audio and video conferencing) and have achieved a reduction of some 20% in overall travel and subsistence costs since FY 2009-10. Staff who need to travel must do so in a way that is the most economical in both cost and official time.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what support his Department provides to programmes currently being undertaken by the unmanned aerial systems industry for the development of civil use of unmanned aerial or maritime systems. [R] [179507]

Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence, through the Unmanned Air Systems Capability Development Centre (UASCDC), has no mandate to carry out supporting activities with civil Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) developers or operators when the applications have no defence outcomes.

Attorney-General

BAE Systems

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2013, Official Report, column 707W, on Serious Fraud Office, whether the Director of the Serious Fraud Office has reached a decision on publication of the review carried out by Peter Mason CBE of how documents related to the BAE Systems case were sent by the Serious Fraud Office to the wrong location. [179296]

The Solicitor-General: Peter Mason CBE has completed his report into this matter and made three recommendations to the Director. These are that there should be:

Continuing ownership of the data in a concluded case by designated operational staff.

Re-drafting of the responsibilities of the SFO's Senior Information Risk Owner.

Raising of the profile of data handling as a key risk in the SFO's business.

These recommendations are being implemented and Mr Mason will be invited back to the SFO in the new year to evaluate progress.

Mr Mason found no evidence that the incorrect dispatch of material was malicious.

It is not possible to publish the rest of the report as it contains personal data and operational information about the Serious Fraud Office.

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Civil Proceedings

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General in how many civil claims against the Government the Attorney-General's Office is a respondent in (a) 2013 to date and (b) the five preceding years. [179305]

The Solicitor-General: Under section 17(3) of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 the Attorney-General may be nominated as a respondent to any action brought against Government where it might not be clear which is the relevant Department. The Attorney-General is also the nominal respondent in most cases brought against the Security Agencies. Litigants in person will also often make the Attorney-General respondent to a wide variety of claims whether they fall within his areas of responsibility or not. Furthermore, the Attorney-General is a necessary party to any charity proceedings, to ensure that the beneficial interest of the charity (or of charity generally) is properly represented. No central record is kept of the number of claims.

CPS Direct

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions police forces in England and Wales contacted CPS Direct in (a) 2012-13 and (b) each of the five preceding years. [179298]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of requests from the police for a charging decision, which were made to and answered by CPS Direct, via a telephone based system. For each valid call received a decision is made on the day to charge, not to charge or agree an action plan with the police to secure further essential information or evidence.

The figures in the following table represent the number of calls answered in 2012-13, and in each of the five preceding years:

Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General (1) how many Serious Fraud Office investigations were triggered by companies self-reporting in (a) 2013 to date and (b) each of the five preceding years; [179291]

(2) how many Serious Fraud Office investigations were triggered by whistleblowers in (a) 2013 to date and (b) each of the five preceding years. [179295]

The Solicitor-General: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) receives a range of information and intelligence about alleged criminal actions from diverse sources. Decisions to investigate are made on the basis of all relevant

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material. It is not always possible or appropriate to suggest that a particular case was triggered by a single report.

Further, given the small number and seriousness of cases investigated by SFO, it would not be desirable to provide further breakdown of this data because of the need to protect individuals and the risk of prejudicing investigations.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General (1) whether the Serious Fraud Office is considering or has already begun an investigation into allegations that a number of UK-based financial institutions have engaged in the manipulation of foreign exchange markets; [179292]

(2) whether the Director of the Serious Fraud Office has reached a decision on investigating alleged fraud against the National Health Service in the pharmaceutical sector; [179293]

(3) whether the Director of the Serious Fraud Office has reached a decision on investigating alleged rigging of fuel prices by fuel companies based in the UK. [179294]

The Solicitor-General: The Criminal Justice Act (1987) sets out that the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) may investigate any suspected offence which appears to him on reasonable grounds to involve serious or complex fraud. The Director may also institute and have the conduct of any criminal proceedings which appear to him to relate to such fraud.

Section 2(a) of the Criminal Justice Act, which came into force in 2008, provides that the investigative powers of the Director are also exercisable for the purpose of enabling him to determine whether to start an investigation in a case where it appears to him that conduct to which this section applies may have taken place.

While I accept the public interest in knowing whether or not a particular matter is being investigated, there is also a public interest in protecting the ability of the SFO to instigate those investigations without prejudice and interference. It is for this reason that it is often not possible to confirm whether a particular matter is being investigated formally by the office, or to describe any pre-investigatory activity.

In each of these cases, I can confirm that the SFO is aware of the issues that have been raised, but it is not possible to provide a running commentary on what stage of consideration or activity they have reached.

ICT

Mrs Moon: To ask the Attorney-General how many people are employed within centralised IT departments or teams in the Law Officers' Departments; and if he will make a statement. [179160]

The Solicitor-General: There are 31 people working within the Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) IT department offering support to TSol and HMCPSI staff, nine of whom are civil servants and 22 of whom are working onsite as contractors who work at TSol as part of an agreed co-sourced delivery model.

The Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) IT support is also provided partially by third parties and partially by

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permanent staff. There are six members of staff working in the centralised IT team. In addition to this the SFO has an IT support contract with Capita.

Attorney-General's Office—The AGO has a contract with Capita Secure Information Solutions for IT support and has no staff employed in a centralised IT department.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has a contract with CGI for IT services. This provides the vast majority of IT support to all CPS offices and is off-site. In addition there are 47 full-time CPS staff who work in some capacity on IT support roles.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what analysis his Department has undertaken of a link between artificial insemination of cattle and the spread of bovine tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement. [179240]

George Eustice: We are aware of the debate among some veterinarians on this matter. While the evidence does not provide a definitive answer, it is important to note that TB has been eradicated from Scotland and many other countries despite the use of Artificial Insemination (AI). It is also important to note that bovine TB was already endemic throughout GB well before the widespread adoption of AI in the1950s.

Cattle

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason his Department refused a licence for the transfer of two cattle from Stepney Urban Farm to Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk in October 2013. [174241]

George Eustice: The British Cattle Movement Service received a phone call from Stepney Urban Farm on 29 October requesting a licence to move two cattle to the Hillside Sanctuary. This was refused on 30 October, because cattle which do not comply with the cattle identification regulations are not allowed to move between holdings and may only move alive to a disposal centre. Only cattle with valid cattle passports may be moved between holdings.

The cattle identification and tracing rules exist to underpin food safety and animal disease controls. For example, all calves must be registered with the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) within 27 days of birth, with the full details of the farm on which they are born, their dam’s (mother) identification, and their breed, sex and date of birth. On receipt of these details, the BCMS issues a cattle passport, which allows the animal to be freely moved and traded. These rules ensure the traceability of beef from farm to fork and were part of the package of measures introduced in response to the BSE crisis in order to lift the ban on exports of British beef in 2006.

Passports cannot be issued for cattle which do not comply with the cattle identification regulations because they pose a risk to the food chain and increase the risks of animal disease outbreaks. Those animals may be

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allowed to live on the farm on which they are found, but they may not move from holding to holding, be traded, nor go into the food chain.

Discrimination

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints of discrimination related to pregnancy or maternity have been lodged against employees of his Department or its executive agencies by (a) current employees and (b) prospective employees in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints resulted in disciplinary action. [176571]

Dan Rogerson: There have been five or fewer formal complaints related to pregnancy or maternity discrimination lodged against employees of core DEFRA and its Executive agencies in the last five years. The case(s) are ongoing; it is therefore not possible to state whether they may result in disciplinary action.

There have been no formal complaints relating to pregnancy or maternity discrimination lodged against core DEFRA and its Executive agencies in the last five years by prospective employees.

Data for the Rural Payments Agency prior to October 2012 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints of disability discrimination or harassment have been lodged against employees of his Department or its executive agencies by (a) employees and (b) other individuals in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints resulted in disciplinary action. [176692]

Dan Rogerson: There were five or fewer formal complaints of disability discrimination or harassment lodged against employees of DEFRA and its Executive agencies by current employees in the last five years. No complaint resulted in disciplinary action.

There were no formal complaints of disability discrimination or harassment lodged against employees of DEFRA and its Executive agencies by other individuals in the last five years.

Data for the Rural Payments Agency prior to October 2012 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Nature Conservation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department provides to conservation projects that aim to prevent a further decline in the (a) Asian elephant population, (b) African elephant population, (c) Asian rhinoceros population and (d) African rhinoceros population. [179178]

George Eustice: The Government have funded a wide range of projects around the world through its Darwin Initiative grants scheme, spending on which has totalled over £99 million since 1993. Through these projects, the Darwin Initiative has provided a significant contribution, both directly or indirectly, to elephant and rhino conservation.

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In addition, DEFRA has contributed almost £300,000 in the last two years (2011 and 2012) towards specific action to protect elephants and rhinos, as set out in the following table. Decisions on funding for 2013-14 will be taken shortly.

The London conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, which the Prime Minister will host in February 2014, will focus on how to galvanise stronger international action to protect these and other endangered species.

Nitrogen Dioxide

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent notifications he has received from the European Commission in respect of infraction actions for breaches of nitrogen dioxide limit values. [173013]

Dan Rogerson: We have not received any notification of the Commission starting infraction proceedings against the UK for breach of the nitrogen dioxide limit values in the ambient air quality directive.

Pets: Sales

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if his Department will take steps to enforce the Pet Advertising Advisory Group's minimum standards for advertising animals for sale online. [179282]

George Eustice: DEFRA supports the Pet Advertising Advisory Group's (PAAG) minimum standards on internet advertising of pet animals, and we hope they are adopted by as many advertisers as possible. My noble Friend Lord de Mauley, who is responsible for this area of work, has met a number of advertisers and impressed upon them the need to keep to the standards. The Government will continue to work with PAAG to monitor progress on this matter.

Work and Pensions

Credit Rating

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have received representations from individuals or organisations on the use of credit checks by companies in the recruitment process. [179599]

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Mike Penning: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, nor his office, nor officials in his Department have been officially approached by individuals or organisations on the use of credit checks by companies in the recruitment process.

Credit checks are not part of the Department's recruitment process.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to review what further guidance or legislation is needed to regulate the use of credit checks as part of the recruitment process by individual employers. [179601]

Esther McVey: DWP is not responsible for the guidance for or monitoring of credit checks by employers. Consumer credit regulation is transferring from the Office of Fair trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.

Employers wishing to advertise jobs using the DWP online self-service job posting and matching service, Universal Jobmatch, must accept the Terms and Conditions for its use before a job can be posted onto the service. In accepting these Terms and Conditions, the employer agrees not to advertise jobs that include any screening requirement or criterion in connection with a job posting where such a requirement or criterion is not an actual and legal requirement of the posted job.

An example of where such checks might be relevant may be found within the banking and financial services sector, which does request credit checks as part of the recruitment and selection process as they require applicants to have a clear credit history for these roles.

Employment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with the Secretary of State for Education on preparing school children for future employment. [179602]

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Esther McVey: Jobcentre Plus advisers can bring a wealth of experience on local labour markets to add to the statutory provision of careers guidance by schools. Consequently, we are exploring with the Department for Education how we can deepen links between Jobcentre Plus and schools, particularly how we can facilitate bringing schools and local businesses together to support pupils in their decisions, about further education, training and the world of work.

Employment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what his Department plans to spend its funding allocation from the European Union Youth Employment Initiative. [179603]

Esther McVey: The Youth Employment Initiative will be implemented with other European Structural and Investment Funds as part of the European Growth Programme for England in 2014-20. The Government has asked Local Enterprise Partnerships which cover areas in England eligible for the Youth Employment Initiative to identify in their European Structural and Investment Fund strategies how this money will be used to tackle youth unemployment alongside existing Government provision.

Industrial Accidents

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have died over the last 10 years owing to workplace accidents in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England. [179658]

Mike Penning: The following table sets out relevant data on fatalities reported to the Health and Safety Executive. Data are not available by parliamentary constituency; the closest measure is for the Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (MBC) area.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of 18 to 24 year olds flowed off jobseeker's allowance within (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) nine months and (d) 12 months in each of the last five years. [179660]

Esther McVey: The information requested on the number of 18 to 24-year-olds, jobseeker's allowance off flows by duration can be found at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Social Security Benefits

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the amount of social security payments spent on repaying interest on credit. [179522]

Steve Webb: The Department for Work and Pensions does not record or have a breakdown of the amount of social security payments spent on repaying interest on credit.

Unemployment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much EU funding has been awarded to his Department in each year since May

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2010; and how much such funding was specifically for tackling

(a)

youth unemployment and

(b)

long-term unemployment. [179604]

Esther McVey: The Department for Work and Pensions is the Managing Authority for the 2007-13 European Social Fund programme in England. It allocates most of the European Social Fund money for England to other bodies, such as the Skills Funding Agency, which commission activities from providers.

The total allocation of European Social Fund money to England in each year since 2010 is:

The European Social Fund supports a wide range of employment and training activities under the seven year programme which was agreed with the European Commission in 2007. The programme does not earmark funding specifically for tackling youth unemployment or long-term unemployment. However activities to tackle youth unemployment and long-term unemployment are supported within Priority 1 of the programme on 'Extending employment opportunities', along with a range of other activities to help people at a disadvantage in the labour market.

Universal Credit

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with experts and charities working with victims of domestic abuse regarding alternative payment arrangements for universal credit; and what safeguards he intends to put in place for those victims of domestic abuse who do not feel able to request a split payment. [179201]

Esther McVey: The UC programme has developed alternative payment arrangements in conjunction with a wide variety of experts and stakeholders. We are continuing to work with stakeholders to look at ways to support victims of domestic violence who do not feel able to inform DWP of their situation.

Currently, alternative payment arrangements can be requested by: the claimant, their representative or their caseworker.

Winter Fuel Payments

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions at what level winter fuel payments were set in each category in each of the last five financial years. [179659]

Steve Webb: The information requested is in the table.

The Government remain committed to protecting key support for older people for the life of this Parliament,

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in line with coalition agreement. We therefore retained the winter fuel payment amounts as budgeted for by the previous Government.

Energy and Climate Change

Coal

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department plans to take to exploit available UK coal reserves. [179268]

Michael Fallon: Coal is a flexible and reliable source of generation that Government expects will continue to play an important role over the coming years during the transition to a low-carbon economy. In the longer term, the development of cost-competitive carbon capture and storage (CCS) should ensure coal can continue as part of a decarbonised electricity sector.

The Government have put in place a comprehensive programme of measures to bring forward a cost competitive CCS industry including a £1 billion commercialisation programme, £125 million for research and development and reform to the electricity market.

Underground coal gasification is in its infancy, but I am keen that we create the right regulatory environment for the sector.

Energy Prices

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what comparative assessment he has made of the differences in energy prices between the regions of the UK and the reasons for those differences. [179500]

Gregory Barker: The DECC publication Quarterly Energy Prices contains tables showing the. average unit costs and energy bills by region. The tables are available at the following link (see table 2.2.3 for electricity and table 2.3.3 for gas):

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics

These tables assume an annual consumption of 18,000 kWh for gas and 3,300 kWh for electricity. The latest data is for 2012 and provisional estimates for 2013 will be published on 19 December 2013.

Network costs, which account for around 20% of a dual fuel bill, include the cost of building, maintaining and operating the local gas pipes and electricity wires and the high pressure gas and high voltage transmission

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networks which deliver energy directly to your home. Suppliers are charged for this service and pass on the costs to the consumer. The cost of this varies according to region, therefore the costs to the consumer will depend upon the area in which they live.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of current energy prices on people over 65. [179609]

Gregory Barker: The latest data available show that households over 65 spent on average £21.80 per household, per week on energy bills in 2011, which is similar to the average amount spent across all households. However the average proportion of household expenditure on energy bills was higher for households over 65, at 6.5%, than across all households, at 4.6%. These figures include expenditure on electricity, gas and other household fuels, but exclude expenditure on petrol and diesel. They are based on data from the Living Costs and Food Survey, which is run by the Office for National Statistics.

This Government have a number of policies to help those over 65 with their energy bills including the Warm Home Discount Scheme, through which well over a million of the poorest pensioners will receive £135 off their electricity bill, winter fuel payments and cold weather payments and energy efficiency policies such as the energy company obligation. In addition, the Government have recently announced proposals that will be worth £50 on average to British households, helping to reduce the impact of energy company price rises.

Fracking

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps the Government are taking to ensure that the health and well-being of people living near fracking sites is not adversely affected by that practice. [179657]

Michael Fallon: The Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering's report "Shale Gas Extraction in the UK: a review of hydraulic fracturing", published in June 2012 concluded that environmental (and health and safety) risks associated with hydraulic fracturing could be managed effectively in the UK

“as long as operational best practices are implemented and enforced through regulation”.

In October this year, Public Health England also published an independent report into the public health impacts of shale gas extraction. The report confirms that the potential risks to public health from exposure to emissions associated with the shale gas extraction process are low if operations are properly run and regulated.

The Government have made clear that, wherever hydraulic fracturing is conducted, it must be done in a safe and environmentally sound way. There are regulations in place to ensure on-site safety, prevent water contamination, and mitigate air pollution and seismic activity. In addition, all onshore oil and gas projects, including shale gas, are subject to scrutiny through the planning system, which addresses impacts on local residents.

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Green Deal Scheme

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to ensure the portability of Green Deal assessments. [179244]

Gregory Barker: Green Deal Advice Reports (GDARs), which result from a Green Deal assessment, can be accessed by any provider, so long as that provider has the permission of the improver (eg the homeowner). The Green Deal Code of Practice states that providers must be prepared to use an existing GDAR for the purpose of developing a quote, unless for example, material changes have been made to the property since the original assessment was carried out. We have written to providers to remind them of this provision.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will place in the Library a copy of the information his Department has shared with the Ground Sources Heat Pump Association relating to data arising from the metering programme of heat pumps installed under the Renewable Heat Premium Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [179600]

Gregory Barker: DECC officials have given presentations showing examples of preliminary data to the Ground-Source Heat Pump Association on a number of occasions to generate interest in the programme and receive feedback on the approach we are taking. A copy of one of the presentations is available online at:

http://www.gshp.org.uk/Conference2012/RHPP.pdf

Being a presentation, it needs explanation and the medium makes it unsuitable for the Library of the House. DECC officials will be happy to talk the member through this material as we have offered previously. No other written material showing preliminary data from the RHPP metering programme has been shared with the Ground-Source Heat Pump Association.

It remains our intention to publish a short report showing examples of the data collected in the RHPP metering programme before we lay the domestic RHI Regulations in Parliament early in the new year, The laying of the regulations will provide an opportunity to debate the data in the report in Parliament so I will be making a statement on the issues at that time.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the effect that the Warm Home Discount scheme has had on (a) keeping older people warmer and safer during the winter months, (b) reducing levels of fuel poverty across the UK and (c) reducing excess winter deaths. [179629]

Gregory Barker: An initial impact assessment, which covered the issues raised, was undertaken before the Warm Home Discount scheme was introduced. This includes a range of relevant information to this question. It can be found at:

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www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42590/957-ia-warm-home-discount-scheme.pdf

In terms of keeping older people warmer and safer during winter and reducing excess winter deaths, the health benefits were not quantified in the impact assessment as there was no robust methodology. The impact assessment did, however, make assumptions based on a qualitative discussion about the likely health impacts of providing support through energy bills to those vulnerable to fuel poverty. For example, it highlighted that there is strong evidence that inadequate levels of heating and fuel poverty are linked, in particular, to respiratory problems in children and an increased risk of mortality in older adults. Low temperatures create conditions which increase the likelihood of cardiovascular events, resulting in poor physical health and in some cases death, particularly for older people. Since the Warm Home Discount enables recipients to afford adequate warmth more easily, the scheme can be assumed to improve health outcomes.

In terms of the impact of the scheme on levels of fuel poverty, it is always difficult, under any approach to measuring this, to estimate the fuel poverty impact of an individual policy. This is because fuel poverty levels are a function of changing incomes, energy prices, and energy efficiency standards.

The Government have decided to adopt a new definition of fuel poverty—the low income high costs indicator—and will publish a new strategy on fuel poverty in 2014. The original impact assessment presented estimates for the impact of the scheme using the previous definition of fuel poverty. Details can be found in the document linked to above.

Health

Care Homes

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities are aware of their legal duties on choice of accommodation and charging for residential accommodation; if he will issue guidance to local authorities highlighting their legal obligations and setting a usual cost for purchasing care that has due regard to the actual cost of providing care locally; and if he will make a statement; [179157]

(2) if he will issue updated guidance on choice of accommodation and charging for residential

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accommodation in advance of any change in the number of adults in residential care who will pay a top-up once the capped costs reforms take effect from April 2016; and if he will make a statement. [179158]

Norman Lamb: Guidance on the use of third party top up fees for local authority funded social care placements is clearly set out in Local Authority Circular LAC(2004)20. This includes guidance on the National Assistance Act 1948 (Choice of Accommodation) Directions 1992 and the National Assistance (Residential Accommodation (Additional Payments and Assessment of Resources) (Amendment) (England)) Regulations 2001. The guidance makes clear that when local authorities make placements In a care home that, within reason, individuals should be able to exercise choice over where they live. Where that accommodation is more expensive than a local authority would usually expect to pay, it sets out the responsibilities of local authorities. In particular that they:

must never encourage or otherwise imply that care home providers can or should seek further contributions from individuals in order to meet assessed needs;

must assure themselves that residents or third parties will have the resources to continue to make the required top-up payments; and

that they remain liable to pay the full costs of the accommodation should either the resident or third party fail to pay the required amount.

Following the passage of the Care Bill, updated guidance will be issued to local authorities. We anticipate consulting on this in the spring.

Family Nurse Partnership Programme: Greater London

Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2013, Official Report, column 711W, on Family Nurse Partnership Programme, how many first-time mothers under the age of (a) 16, (b) 18 and (c) 20 there were in each London borough in the latest period for which figures are available. [179194]

Dr Poulter: Information available on the number of first time mothers that were under the age of 16, 18 and 20 years old in each London borough is shown in the following table. The information provided is by local authority of residence within London and the data refer to babies delivered in English national health service hospitals only.

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HIV Infection

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to raise the issue of HIV prevention with his European counterparts; and if he will make a statement. [179208]

Jane Ellison: The Department is working with the European Commission (EC) and member states in developing and updating the EC's Communication “Combating HIV/AIDS in the European Union and neighbouring countries 2009-2013” and accompanying action plan. HIV prevention is one of the six themes included in the action plan.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the specific hurdles are that were described by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in its statement on 19 September 2013 regarding the recent science paper Mitochondrial replacement, evolution, and the clinic; and what assessment he has made of the validity of the conclusion in that paper to monitor fertility and health outcomes through to sexual maturity among the macaques already born after maternal spindle transfer. [179191]

Jane Ellison: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the hurdles referred to are outlined in section 3, Further Research, of the March 2013 report of the expert panel, co-ordinated by the authority, on the safety and efficacy of mitochondrial donation techniques. The report can be found on the HFEA's website at:

www.hfea.gov.uk/docs/Mito-Annex_VIII-science_review_update.pdf

The Government and the HFEA will have regard to the views of the expert panel in respect of any follow up studies on macaques. Paragraph 2.28 of the March 2013 report outlines the panel's views on using the macaque model.

The Government intend to assess the situation further following consultation on the draft regulations to enable mitochondrial donation techniques to be used in treatment in the United Kingdom.

Mental Illness: Employment

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many and what proportion of adults on the Care Programme Approach who were receiving secondary mental health services were in employment in (a) England (b) each mental health trust, (c) each primary care trust, (d) each clinical commissioning group and (e) each local authority area in each of the last five years; [179181]

(2) how many and what proportion of adults receiving secondary mental health services were in employment in (a) England, (b) each mental health trust, (c) each primary care trust, (d) each clinical commissioning group and (e) each local authority area in each of the last five years. [179182]

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Norman Lamb: Information is available for the proportion of adults receiving secondary mental health services on the care programme approach (CPA) in employment, and for those receiving secondary mental health services in employment by mental health trust, NHS Commissioner and local authority area. Data at clinical commissioning group level is not available.

The most recently published annual data available from the Health and Social Care Information Centre is for 2012/13. This information has been placed in the Library.

The title of the documents are as follows:

NHS: Temporary Employment

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on (a) locums, (b) agency nurses and (c) other temporary workers in the NHS (i) in England, (ii) in each hospital trust, (iii) by each community health service and (iv) in each mental health trust in each of the last five years. [179183]

Dr Poulter: We do not collect data on how much has been spent on non NHS staff (agency etc.) in the categories requested. Tables for 2008-09 to 2011-12^{1, 2} which show spending by NHS trusts on non NHS staff which categorises nurses, midwives, health visitors and others have been placed in the Library. As part of our efforts to reduce the burden of data requested from NHS trusts, this information is no longer collected.

¹ The data held by the Department cannot be disaggregated to show expenditure specifically in respect of locums or agency nurses. The figures provided under the category of “Agency Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Staff” include staff costs of midwives and health visiting staff. The figures provided under the category of total non NHS staff costs do not include locums, except where the payment is to an employment agency. This includes spending with NHS Professionals.

² NHS Foundation Trusts are included in the data in the years before and, where appropriate, the part of the year in which they achieved foundation status.

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Pupils: Bullying

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential negative health effects of homophobic bullying in schools; and if he will make a statement. [179210]

Norman Lamb: There have been no formal discussions between the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Education on the potential negative health effects of homophobic bullying in schools.

The Government do not want any young person to go to school dreading the treatment they will get. It is never acceptable for a child to be bullied, victimised or harmed in any way. It can have a devastating effect on self-esteem, health and learning outcomes.

All schools, including academies, should have a behaviour policy. This should contain measures to prevent all forms of bullying, including bullying based on prejudice against any particular groups, on the grounds of, for example, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. Schools are free to develop their own anti-bullying measures and are held to account by Ofsted for their effectiveness in managing pupil behaviour. The Department for Education's advice includes signposts to organisations, such as Stonewall, EACH and School's Out, where schools can access specialist information and advice on dealing with issues such as homophobic bullying.

Justice

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Witham of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 923W, on alcoholic drinks: young people, how many people were convicted of buying alcohol on behalf of a minor in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013 to date. [179631]

Jeremy Wright: 11 offenders were found guilty at all courts of buying alcohol on behalf of a minor in England and Wales, in 2012 (the latest available).

Information on court proceedings in 2013 is planned for publication in spring 2014.

Charitable Donations

Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to encourage employees to make tax-free donations direct from their salaries. [179645]

Mr Vara: The Ministry of Justice (including its agencies) has systems in place that allow all employees to donate via payroll giving through the 'Give As You Earn Scheme' in which they can choose to set up a charity account or direct donation. Information on the 'Give as you Earn Scheme' is available on our internal intranet.

The Ministry of Justice supports the Government's commitment to raise awareness and we will take action on promoting payroll giving more regularly to employees in 2014.

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Magistrates Courts: Wales

Mr Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what estimate he has made of the cost of moving Neath and Port Talbot magistrates' courts into the local county court (a) in total and (b) by category of expenditure; [177656]

(2) what estimate he has made of the transition cost of merging Neath, Port Talbot and Swansea magistrates' courts in (a) the first year and (b) subsequent years; [177657]

(3) what the operating costs of Neath and Port Talbot Magistrates' Court are each year (a) in total, (b) for staffing, (c) for property, (d) for utilities and (e) for other categories; [177658]

(4) what estimate he has made of potential savings in annual operating costs from a merger of Neath, Port Talbot and Swansea magistrates' courts (a) in total and (b) by category of expenditure; [177659]

(5) what the net present value is of the potential savings from the proposed merger of Neath, Port Talbot and Swansea magistrates' courts (a) in total and (b) by category of expenditure. [177660]

Mr Vara: The information is as follows:

(1) There is no estimate of the cost of moving Neath magistrates court into the local county court.

(2) The impact assessment published alongside the consultation set out that, in present value terms, the estimate of the transition costs are £231,000 in the first year only.

(3) During 2012-13 approximately (a) £620,000 (b) £310,000 (c) £50,000 in fixed costs (business rates and service charges) (d) £20,000 (e) £240,000 was spent operating Neath magistrates court.

(4) The ongoing economic benefits total £110,000 per year (excluding optimism bias) from lower operating facility costs ie utilities, cleaning, waste disposal, security and maintenance. This consists annually of (a) £0 in staff savings (all staff are expected to transfer) (b) £50,000 in savings on fixed costs (business rates and service charges); £5,000 in utilities savings; and £55,000 in other savings (security, cleaning, etc.). All figures exclude optimism bias.

(5) The impact assessment published alongside the consultation paper set out that the best estimated NPV is £1.27 million from benefits of £1.75 million and economic costs of £483,000. All figures include optimism bias. Over the five year appraisal horizon, the benefits consist of £1.11 million in maintenance savings; £400,000 in operating cost savings; £150,000 for the value of the court; £90,000 from the regeneration benefits to the town. All figures in NPV terms and include optimism bias.