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Written Answers to Questions

Monday 9 December 2013

Business, Innovation and Skills

Company Liquidations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the reasons for the rise in company liquidations from the first to the second quarter of 2013. [177916]

Jo Swinson: We pay close attention to movements in the numbers of company liquidations. The increase between the first and second quarters of 2013 is not unusual. Historically figures have fluctuated quarter on quarter due to a range of factors such as holiday periods and creditor activity. The second quarter figures for 2013 are broadly in line with the last two quarters of 2012, and are down on the same period in 2012. Importantly, liquidations have been steadily falling since 2011 and the most recent figures for the third quarter continue that trend.

Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 960W, on Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, if he will publish the Government response to the call for evidence concerning the ratification of the Cape Town Convention as soon as possible. [178599]

Michael Fallon: A response to the call for evidence on ratification of the Cape Town Convention and Protocol as it relates to aircraft was published on 6 December 2013 and can be viewed from the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-convention-on-international-interests-in-mobile-equipment-and-protocol-thereto-on-matters-specific-to-aircraft-equipment

Hewlett-Packard

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will meet Hewlett Packard to discuss the recently announced redundancies; and if he will make a statement. [178571]

Michael Fallon: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, at both ministerial and official level, has regular meetings with Hewlett Packard (HP) and is currently in contact to establish the details of its proposed workforce changes. HP is in the process of consulting the trade unions and employee representatives on potential reductions in early 2014. The company has stated an intention to minimise redundancies by re-skilling, redeployment and helping staff to obtain alternative employment. Jobcentre Plus (JCP) is currently seeking

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clarification on the sites and skills profiles of those likely to be affected. Once this is known, JCP and local partners are ready to work closely with the company to ensure a full programme of support and advice is available.

Higher Education: Inspections

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education has carried out unannounced inspections of universities in the last three years. [178648]

Mr Willetts: The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is an independent body contracted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to review and report on providers of higher education. The Government have no direct responsibility for the QAA and consequently this is not information that we hold.

Higher Education: Private Sector

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will retrospectively publish his Department's projections for enrolments among students studying for higher learning qualifications at private colleges in academic year (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [177938]

Mr Willetts: We made no estimate of the number of students expected to enrol on HND and HNC courses at private providers in 2011-12 or 2012-13.

Mining

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the level of financial transparency in UK public companies operating in the extractive industries. [178573]

Jo Swinson: The coalition Government strongly believe that transparency in the extractives sector is essential to ensure that those living in resource-rich countries see the benefits from the extraction of their natural resources.

This is why the Government supported the EU in bringing forward regulations to require large extractive companies to report the payments they make to the Governments of all the countries in which they operate. Following the G8 summit in Lough Erne, the UK is committed to implementing these requirements early.

In addition the Government have made the commitment to report under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. As EITI Champion I am keen for the UK to drive forward its implementation. The Multi Stakeholder Group has been set up and is working towards achieving candidacy status.

New Businesses: Hampshire

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many start-up loans have been granted to businesses in (a) Portsmouth South constituency and (b) Hampshire in the last five years. [177930]

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Matthew Hancock: Start-up loan data are not collected by constituency.

Since the launch of the start-up loan scheme in September 2012, 26 loans with a value of £177,921 have been made in Portsmouth and 121 loans with a value of £825,923 have been made in Hampshire.

New Businesses: Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many start-up loans have been granted to businesses in (a) Mid Sussex constituency and (b) West Sussex in the last five years. [178278]

Matthew Hancock: Start-up loan data are not collected by constituency.

Since the launch of the Start-up loan scheme in September 2012, 10 loans with a value of £88,400 have been made in Mid Sussex and 120 loans with a value of £841,719 have been made in West Sussex.

Ordnance Survey

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what obligations Ordnance Survey has to conduct health checks on its employees; and if he will make a statement. [178078]

Michael Fallon: As Ordnance Survey has no manufacturing or shift workers, there are no longer any legal obligations to carry out health checks on any of its employees.

Post Offices

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Cabinet Office about increasing the range of Government services provided through the Post Office network. [178607]

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office are in regular and close contact about a range of opportunities.

Post Office Ltd, with its network of over 11,500 branches, is well placed to become a provider of front office services for Government, helping citizens interact with Government either face-to-face or online.

While public services must be competitively tendered, Post Office Ltd has shown that it can very effectively bid for and win new work. It has won every Government contract it has bid for in the last two years in highly competitive tendering processes.

In particular, in 2012 it successfully bid for the competitively-tendered DVLA framework contract for Front Office Counter Services (FOCS). This contract runs to 2020 and is available to other Government Departments. For example HM Passport Office recently moved its services with Post Office Ltd onto FOCS. Officials are in contact with the Cabinet Office to ensure that Departments are fully aware of the opportunities this framework contract offers.

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Furthermore, Post Office Ltd was recently one of the successful bidders for the Cabinet Office's online identity assurance contract, ensuring that Post Office Ltd can play a role in the delivery of modern, online Government services.

Russia

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he was accompanied by any hon. Members on his visit to Russia in November 2013. [178230]

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) was not accompanied by any hon. Members during his visit to Russia in November 2013.

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he discussed the cases of (a) the Arctic 30, (b) Sergei Magnitsky, (c) Vasily Alexanyan and (d) Mikhail Khodorkovsky on his visit to Russia in November 2013; with whom any such discussions took place; and if he will make a statement. [178231]

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), raised with First Deputy Prime Minister Shuvalov the importance of fair and proportionate treatment of the Greenpeace detainees. While the Secretary of State did not raise specific cases, his visit included a meeting with representatives of civil society groups to discuss human rights in Russia.

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who he met on his visit to Russia in November 2013. [178232]

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), visited Russia from 11-12 November 2013 for the annual bilateral trade talks between the UK and Russia. He was accompanied by a British business delegation of over 30 companies. During the visit he met First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvatov, Alexander Lebedev, Sergei Mitrokhin the leader of the liberal opposition party Yabloko, and Alexey Sorokin, the CEO of the World Cup 2018 Local Organising Committee. He also met a wide range of Russian Government officials and Russian business leaders and representatives of civil society groups.

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he discussed (a) rule of law, (b) human rights, (c) legal nihilism and (d) corruption during his visit in Russia in November 2013; with whom such discussions took place; and if he will make a statement. [178233]

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), raised with First Deputy Prime Minister Shuvalov a number of aspects of the business and investment climate in Russia, including the

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rule of law, which currently deter some UK businesses from operating in Russia. He also met representatives of several civil society groups to discuss human rights in Russia.

Students: Loans

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what effect an increase of the RAB charge of (a) one percentage point, (b) two percentage points and (c) five percentage points will have on the public sector finances in each of the five years from 2016-17; [178061]

(2) if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of an increase in the RAB charge by (a) one, (b) two and (c) five percentage points on public sector finances in each of the five years from 2016-17. [178098]

Mr Willetts: Estimates for the impact of RAB charge changes from 2016-17 are highly dependent on the future growth of earnings, and forecasts of spending for years beyond FY 2015-16 have not yet been made.

However, the impact of 1% pt increase in the RAB charge on loans issued in 2014-15 would be around £100 million. The impact of 2% pts increase in the RAB charge on loans issued in 2014-15 would be around £200 million. The impact of 5% pts increase in the RAB charge on loans issued in 2014-15 would be around £500 million.

Any change to the RAB charge will impact the net expenditure and balance sheet position in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills annual accounts, but does not impact the current deficit or Public Sector Net Debt.

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the difference is between his most recent estimate of the level of non-repayment of student loans and any such estimate made in March 2011. [178062]

Mr Willetts: In March 2011 we estimated that around 30% of the value of post-2012 loans would not be repaid. We currently estimate that around 35%-40% of the value of these student loans will not be repaid, a change of 5%-10%. This is largely due to an increase in the value of the £21,000 repayment threshold relating to forecast earnings.

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of (a) total student loan debt, (b) non-repayment of student loan debt, (c) his Department's DEL provision against non-repayment of student loan debt, (d) his Department's AME provision against non-repayment of student loan debt and (e) his Department's balance sheet impairments against non-repayment of student loan debt in each year for which figures are available. [178097]

Mr Willetts: The amount of student loan debt outstanding at 31 March 2013 was £45,745 million (31 March 2012, £39,530 million). This was held at a value of £30,696 million (31 March 2012, £28,069 million) in the BIS annual report and accounts (question a).

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The amount of non-repayment of student loan debt held in the BIS accounts is consistent with the DEL provision in the Department's budget. The write-off relating to the expected non-repayment of student loans is recognised annually in budgets and reported in the annual report and accounts. In 2012-13, £2,380 million (2011-12, £1,187 million) was reported as the future cost which cannot be recovered due to their income not reaching the income threshold, the death of the student and other causes (questions b-d).

The total write-off impairment for the repayment of student loan debt held on the Department's balance sheet at 31 March 2013 was £6,892 million (31 March 2012, £4,400 million) (question e).

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what provision in what year against future DEL or AME budgets the Exchequer requires his Department to make against the non-repayment of student loans. [178279]

Mr Willetts: The write-off relating to the expected non-repayment of student loans is recognised annually in budgets and reported in the annual report and accounts in accordance with government financial reporting standards. In 2012-13, £2,380 million (2011-12, £1,187 million) was reported as the future cost which cannot be recovered due to their income not reaching the income threshold, the death of the student and other causes.

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to sell the remainder of the student loan book before May 2015. [178634]

Mr Willetts: On 25 November 2013 Government announced the completion of the sale of the remaining publicly owned Mortgage Style student loans.

As stated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the autumn statement on 5 December 2013, the Government have appointed financial advisers to prepare for sale of the pre-Browne Income Contingent Repayment student loan book. The pre-Browne book will be disposed of in a number of tranches over a period of years, with a first sale intended to occur by the end of financial year 2015/16.

Visits Abroad

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy to place on his Department's website notice of any ministerial visits to foreign countries to better allow non-governmental organisations to make representations about human rights abuses in those countries in advance of the visit. [178234]

Michael Fallon: No. Details of forthcoming overseas ministerial visits are classified as restricted information and as such cannot be published.

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Prime Minister

China

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will discuss with representatives of the Chinese Government the UK and China’s priorities for the Human Rights Council during his forthcoming visit to China; [177754]

(2) if he will discuss climate change and global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with representatives of the Chinese Government during his forthcoming visit to China; [177755]

(3) if he will discuss (a) the abolition of the death penalty, (b) freedom of expression and (c) freedom of religion or belief with representatives of the Chinese Government during his forthcoming visit to China. [177756]

The Prime Minister: The Government are committed to engagement with China on a full range of subjects as part of a broad and mature relationship. Nothing was off limits in my conversations in China and I raised climate change and human rights issues and agreed a new round of the UK-China human rights dialogue in early 2014.

Poverty

Chris Ruane: To ask the Prime Minister how many times the word “poverty” has been mentioned in No. 10 Downing street’s parliamentary answers in Session (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [178399]

The Prime Minister: My parliamentary answers are a matter of public record and can be found in the Official Report. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Shaker Aamer

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he had with President Obama at the G8 summit in summer 2013 about the release of Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo Bay; and if he will make a statement. [178708]

The Prime Minister: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Jane Ellison) on 19 June 2013, Official Report, column 901.

Attorney-General

Animals Act 1971

Damian Hinds: To ask the Attorney-General how many convictions have been obtained under the Animals Act 1971 for (a) offences relating to horses and (b) all other offences in each year since 2003. [177918]

The Solicitor-General: The Animals Act 1971 is an Act to make provision with respect to civil liability for damage done by animals and the protection of livestock from dogs. Proceedings brought under the provisions of the Act are non-criminal and are not conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

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Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2013, Official Report, column 426W, on Crown Prosecution Service, how many of the CPS's decisions to take no further action that were subject to a review were not fully upheld by the reviewing prosecutor; and in how many such cases was the suspect then charged. [178221]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service has overturned the decision of the prosecutor in 57 instances where a review has been requested in relation to a decision not to bring proceedings. Charges have been recommended in each of those instances.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2013, Official Report, column 426W, on Crown Prosecution Service, how many of the CPS's decisions to discontinue post-charge that were subject to a review were not upheld by the reviewing prosecutor. [178222]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service has overturned the decision of the prosecutor in 15 instances where a review has been requested in relation to a decision to discontinue proceedings following charge.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2013, Official Report, column 138W, on Crown Prosecution Service, if he will place in the Library anonymised reports from the Parliamentary Ombudsman that were critical of the Crown Prosecution Service. [179730]

The Attorney-General: Any decision to publish the reports would be the responsibility of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Electronic Surveillance

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General if he will make representations to the Law Commission on a review of the legal framework of how the Government gather intelligence from electronic communications. [179668]

The Attorney-General: The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament recently considered the legal framework which governs GCHQ's access to the content of communications following GCHQ's alleged access to such under the US PRISM programme. It concluded that GCHQ had not circumvented or attempted to circumvent UK law. However, the Intelligence and Security Committee did announce its intention to review whether the current statutory framework, which governs security and intelligence agencies' access to the content of private communications, remains adequate. The Interception of Communications Commissioner is also intending to report his findings on these issues when he publishes his annual report early next year. In light of this ongoing work, I have no plans to make representations to the Law Commission for them to review the legal framework.

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Female Genital Mutilation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases of female genital mutilation are currently being considered for criminal charges by the Crown Prosecution Service. [179670]

The Attorney-General: The Crown Prosecution Service is currently considering six cases of female genital mutilation to advise the police on lines of inquiry and charging advice.

GCHQ

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions he has been briefed on the legal framework for the intelligence gathering activities of GCHQ since 2010. [179669]

The Attorney-General: I have on occasion been briefed on aspects of the legal framework for the intelligence gathering activities of GCHQ since 2010. We do not keep any central record of how often this has occurred.

Highways Act 1980

Damian Hinds: To ask the Attorney-General how many convictions have been obtained under the Highways Act 1980 for (a) offences relating to horses and (b) all other offences in each year since 2003. [177917]

The Solicitor-General: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts, rather than the number of convictions obtained, since April 2004. A single defendant may be prosecuted for multiple offences.

Offences relating to animals are prosecuted by way of Section 155 of the Highways Act 1980 (animals straying or lying on the highway). The following table shows the number of these offences and all other offences under the Highways Act 1980, charged and reaching a first hearing, in each of the last nine years.

“Animals” as defined by the Act are horses (including ponies, asses or mules), cattle, sheep, goats or swine. It is not possible to disaggregate these figures to show separately the number of Highways Act offences relating solely to horses. To obtain this information would require a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files to be undertaken at a disproportionate cost.

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Poverty

Chris Ruane: To ask the Attorney-General how many times the word “poverty” has been mentioned in the Law Officers' Departments' parliamentary answers in Session (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [178383]

The Solicitor-General: None.

Energy and Climate Change

Boilers: West Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who the installer organisations approved to install new oil boilers in West Sussex under the Green Deal and energy company obligation schemes are. [178277]

Gregory Barker: An approved list of Green Deal installers can be found by following the link. Green Deal assessors and providers can also be found on the same website.

http://gdorb.decc.gov.uk/find-a-green-deal-supplier/advanced?clear=true&DECC=true

As of 4 December 2013 there were nine companies indicating that they operate in West Sussex who are registered to install oil-fired condensing boilers.

There is not a separate list of approved energy company obligation installers but many Green Deal installers also carry out installation work under the energy company obligation scheme.

Consumers can also call the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234 and they will provide the names of three local suppliers.

Carbon Monoxide: Poisoning

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of whether current arrangements for information provision by energy suppliers are sufficient to ensure that their customers are aware of the dangers arising from carbon monoxide. [179652]

Michael Fallon: Through the Gas Suppliers Standard Licence Condition 29, Ofgem, the independent regulator for the gas and electricity markets, requires suppliers annually to inform domestic customers of:

the safe use of gas appliances and other gas fittings;

the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning;

the benefits of fitting an audible carbon monoxide alarm that complies with a relevant British or European safety standard;

the benefits of gas safety checks; and

where to seek advice if gas appliances are condemned as a result of a gas safety check.

In 2011, the All Party Parliamentary Gas Safety Group published a report recommending that “Ofgem should regularly review and evaluate the effectiveness of the requirement for gas retailers to raise awareness of carbon monoxide”. Following this, Ofgem has contacted all suppliers to ask them what they do to monitor the effectiveness of their communications with customers regarding carbon monoxide. Having received responses

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to this question Ofgem plans to discuss the matter further with suppliers during bilateral social obligations meetings which are scheduled in the new year.

Gas distributors are also obligated to raise awareness of carbon monoxide safety as part of the price control.

Ofgem is currently undertaking a review of the Priority Services Register (PSR)—a range of free services that suppliers and distributors are obliged to offer to their most vulnerable customers—to examine whether the services offered remain relevant and whether they are targeted at the appropriate customers. These services include free gas safety checks.

Board Membership

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many of his Department's (a) executive and (b) non-executive board members are (i) men and (ii) women. [178114]

Gregory Barker: Currently, four men and two women sit on the executive board; and two men and one woman are non-executive board members.

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many of his Department's (a) executive and (b) non-executive board members are identified as (i) white British and (ii) of black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups. [178134]

Gregory Barker: The Department monitors the ethnic diversity of boards but racial or ethnic identity is not self-evident and is sensitive personal data. Given the small numbers involved we could not disclose the results of our monitoring without infringing the rights of the individuals concerned.

In his most recent annual report (2012-13) the Government Lead Non-Executive, Lord Browne, accepted that “the numbers of non-executives with minority ethnic backgrounds remains disappointingly low” but reiterated his commitment to improving their representation on departmental boards. This is a commitment I share.

The Department is committed to ensuring that it reflects the diversity of the public which we serve at all levels.

Electric Cables

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost to his Department to date has been of the application by SP Manweb plc for a necessary wayleave to retain an installed 132kV electric line at land at the Heath Business and Technical Park, Runcorn, Cheshire. [178079]

Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey) does not maintain a record of the costs incurred by his Department to process individual necessary wayleave applications.

Electricity Interconnectors

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the amount of electricity that passed through

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interconnections from

(a)

England to Scotland and

(b)

Scotland to England in each month since January 2010. [179693]

Michael Fallon [holding answer 5 December 2013]: The amount of electricity that has passed through the interconnectors between England and Scotland in each month since January 2010 is shown in the table. The 2012 figures will be published in the December 2013 edition of Energy Trends at 9:30 am on 1 December 2013 and will be available on the DECC statistics webpage:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-trends

Energy: Prices

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received from energy intensive manufacturing companies in the UK on high energy prices. [178080]

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey) and other DECC Ministers regularly receive representations from energy intensive manufacturing companies and representative bodies on a broad range of issues including energy prices. Details of whom DECC Ministers meet is published online as part of the Government’s commitment to transparency. These can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/edward-daveys-meetings-with-external-organisations-april-to-june-2013

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greg-barkers-meetings-with-external-organisations-april-to-june-2013

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/michael-fallons-meetings-with-external-organisations-april-to-june-2013

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/baroness-vermas-meetings-with-external-organisations-april-to-june-2013

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change at which meetings with the big six energy companies he asked them to not increase or to lower prices that were being charged to their customers in the last six months. [178105]

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Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey) has not held any meeting where he has asked energy companies to lower or not to increase their prices.

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his oral statement on 2 December 2013, Official Report, column 634, on energy bills, on what dates the meetings were held at which he raised the issue of profits and prices with the big six energy companies. [178310]

Michael Fallon: Given the number of meetings the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey) has had with the big six energy companies since taking up post, the information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Energy: VAT

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral contribution of 2 December 2013, Official Report, column 632, on energy bills, what the evidential basis was for his assertion that abolishing VAT on household energy bills would be illegal. [178102]

Gregory Barker: Value added tax (VAT) is a tax paid on goods and services bought in the European Union. The reduced VAT rate of 5% that applies to gas and electricity in the UK is the lowest permissible under the EU VAT directive.

Fracking

Mr O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps the Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil is currently taking to encourage drilling to determine the amount of recoverable onshore and offshore shale gas in (a) the UK and (b) Bowland Shale in Lancashire. [178608]

Michael Fallon: Seven thousand three hundred square miles of Great Britain are currently under licence, including significant areas likely to contain shale. We expect substantial developer interest in the 14th licence round, planned for next year.

We have done the following to encourage shale gas exploration and development:

In the autumn statement, the Chancellor announced support to encourage investment in onshore oil and gas, including shale gas, by halving the tax rate on early profits.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published planning guidance that clarifies the interaction of the planning process with the environmental and safety consenting regimes. This should accelerate the planning process.

The Environment Agency (EA) has announced it will streamline and simplify the regulation of exploratory activity, while maintaining environmental protection.

The Government have welcomed a package of community benefits brought forward by industry. These will include £100,000 for communities near each hydraulically fractured exploratory well, and 1% of revenues from every production site.

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Geothermal Power

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the Deep Geothermal Review Study conducted by Atkins for his Department, published in October 2013, when he expects to publish plans to implement the report's recommendation for a deep geothermal energy demonstrator project. [178311]

Gregory Barker: I shall shortly be writing to the Renewable Energy Association (REA) and to the chair of the REA Deep Geothermal Group setting out the conclusions that the Government have drawn from the Atkins report. I shall also write to my hon. Friend.

Internet

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether access to any websites or domains is blocked from computers in his Department; and if he will publish a list of all such websites and domains to which access is prohibited. [178502]

Gregory Barker: The Department uses a commercial appliance which blocks specific website requests. The commercial supplier of the appliance provides a database of many thousands of websites, categorised according to the sort of information each provides. The Department has identified which categories to block, and requests for websites falling into that category will be denied. The database is updated every night by the supplier, a service for which the Department pays a subscription.

Extracting a complete list of banned websites would be potentially misleading, as new websites are added or recategorised on a daily basis, making any list obsolete as soon as it is produced.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish his Department's official report on the blowout on the Elgin platforms in March 2012. [179732]

Michael Fallon: The HSE led joint HSE/DECC investigation into the loss of well control and blowout on the Elgin installation that occurred in March 2012 is ongoing. The investigation is still in the evidence gathering phase with DECC and HSE officials scheduled to obtain further witness evidence into early 2014.

Upon conclusion of the investigation, separate reports for the consideration of criminal proceedings regarding this incident will be passed to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). These reports will detail the potential contraventions of both offshore health and safety and offshore environmental regulations and permits that occurred as a result of the blowout.

The necessary constraints of the investigation restrict the sharing of lessons in the short term but at an appropriate time in the future, lessons learned will be shared with the wider industry through the appropriate industry forums.

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Power Failures

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likelihood of power cuts due to a shortage of energy supplies in the coming winter. [178104]

Michael Fallon: The Statutory Security of Supply Report was published on 31 October 2013 which looked in detail at the capacity of the electricity system to meet the reasonable demands of consumers both this winter and in the longer term.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the likely interest in the Renewable Heat Incentive for domestic properties will be when it is launched in spring 2014; and what estimate he has made of the consequent cost to the Exchequer. [177827]

Gregory Barker: On Wednesday 4 December, DECC published a number of Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) documents, including an update on the budget management of the Domestic RHI. In that document we state that, at the tariff levels in place when the scheme launches, we believe that the scheme could see an increase from current levels of renewable heat deployment to approximately 35,000 installations in 2014-15 and 57,000 installations in 2015-16. This is a significant increase on current levels of deployment, but it is important to note that this is the sort of scale of deployment that the budget can support rather than a specific target for deployment. The actual number of installations supported will depend significantly on the balance between technologies and the size of installations.

If tariff levels reduce as a result of deployment meeting a degression trigger (demand for the scheme was very high or technology costs were lower than we anticipated), we would be able to support an even larger number of installations.

The total cost of the domestic scheme is estimated to be £44.8 million in 2014-15 and £80.1 million the following year. This includes funding for payments to those who have already acted in line with the Government's announcements since July 2009, a metering and monitoring

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scheme to help improve the performance of technologies, as well as payments for new installations to which the above numbers of installations refer.

Home Department

Administration of Justice: EU Action

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will apply to the European Court of Justice for a judicial review of the European Commission's proposals to create a European Public Prosecutor's Office and associated reforms to Eurojust on the grounds that they infringe the principle of subsidiarity. [178106]

James Brokenshire: By issuing a subsidiarity "yellow card" against the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), national Parliaments have sent a clear signal to the Commission that the proposal is in breach of the principle of subsidiarity.

The Commission's decision to "maintain" the proposal in response to the serious concerns raised by national Parliaments is unwelcome.

The principle of subsidiarity has important significance within the treaties and the associated role of national Parliaments in the subsidiarity control mechanism must be respected. All national Parliaments that issued Reasoned Opinions against the EPPO will wish to consider their response to the Commission.

The Government do not rule out any available options at this time.

Association of Chief Police Officers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what level of public funds has been allocated to the Association of Chief Police Officers in each of the last five years. [178417]

Damian Green: The information requested is shown in the following table:

These figures are actual payments made for each respective year and function shown, and supersede those published in previous PQs.

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9 Dec 2013 : Column 18W

Domestic Violence

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when she expects domestic violence protection orders and the domestic violence disclosure scheme to become fully operational nationwide; [179339]

(2) whether her Department has set any targets related to reducing domestic violence through the nationwide expansion of Clare's Law. [179365]

Norman Baker: On 25 November 2013, we announced our intention to extend both Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS, also known as Clare's Law) across all of England and Wales from March 2014. This follows the successful conclusion of two pilots to test these provisions.

There are no plans to set any arbitrary targets related to reducing domestic violence and abuse through the national extension of the DVDS. The DVDS forms part of the Government's commitment to identify new ways of protecting victims and preventing tragic incidents from happening. Findings from the DVDS pilot indicate that this scheme is a useful way of providing individuals with information to help them to make a more informed choice about their relationship.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives.

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department's counting rules include a separate category of crime for (a) human trafficking and (b) other forms of modern slavery. [177993]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office Counting Rules for crime (HOCR) has a separate category for crimes of human trafficking for sexual exploitation. Other crimes relating to trafficking and modern slavery are not separately categorised within the HOCR but are included within other offence classifications.

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent consultation she has had with the devolved administrations on the prevention of human trafficking. [179653]

James Brokenshire: Ministers from the devolved Administrations are members of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on human trafficking which I chair. This group meets regularly to provide the strategic coordination and oversight of efforts to tackle this horrendous crime.

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We are also engaged with the devolved Administrations in the development of the forthcoming Modern Slavery Bill.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2013, Official Report, column 476W, whether the Independent Police Complaints Commission will investigate cases involving the (a) Ministry of Defence Police, (b) Civil Nuclear Constabulary and (c) British Transport Police following its expansion. [178348]

Damian Green: The organisations refer cases to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which then decides what form of investigation, if any, to carry out. It will continue to do so.

Internet: Privacy

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment she has made of the potential risks of illegal adult content and child abuse associated with the use of TOR; [179704]

(2) what assessment her Department has made of the use of TOR on the internet. [179705]

Damian Green: The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), now a Command of the National Crime Agency (NCA), published its threat assessment “Threat Assessment of Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse” on 2 July 2013. The assessment made clear that the use of the hidden internet remains a key threat and that use of it by UK offenders as a method of sharing illegal images of children had most likely increased.

The NCA is committed to disrupting those who seek to sexually abuse children, and create, possess and share these images through any means and through the hidden internet. The Government are committed to this and to take further action, Britain and the US have joined up to target child abuse online through a new UK-US taskforce to work with industry to counter online child sexual exploitation.

Kings Science Academy

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2013, Official Report, column 531W, on Kings Science Academy, when she expects the review to be completed. [178209]

James Brokenshire: The review is expected to be completed by the end of February 2014 when a copy will be placed in the Library.

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2013, Official Report, column 301W, on Kings Science Academy, for what reason the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau did not request further information from the Department for Education when Action Fraud reported to the Department for Education that there was not enough information to progress the case further on 5 September 2013. [179494]

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James Brokenshire [holding answer 3 December 2013]: The contact from the Department for Education on the 5 September 2013 was directly to the National Fraud Authority's action fraud team who checked the status of the case on the system and responded directly to the question asked by the Department. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau were not involved in this correspondence and at this point no review had taken place.

Offences against Children: Internet

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to reduce the number of people downloading child abuse images; and if she will make a statement. [178223]

Damian Green: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 26 November 2013, Official Report, columns 178-79W.

Pay

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the median gross pay is of staff in her Department and its Executive agencies in each pay band who are identified as (a) white British and (b) of black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups; [178178]

(2) what the median gross pay of (a) men and (b) women is in each pay band in her Department. [178196]

James Brokenshire: The median gross pay of (a) men and (b) women in each pay band in the Home Office (core Department and Executive agencies) as at 31 March 2013 is shown in Table 1.

The median gross pay of (a) white employees and (b) minority ethnic employees in each pay band in the Home Office (core Department and Executive agencies) as at 31 March 2013 is shown in Table 2.

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Police Custody: Mental Illness

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to reduce the numbers of people with mental health problems taken into police custody under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983. [179274]

Damian Green: It is not acceptable for people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, who are not being investigated for a crime, to be taken into police custody-other than in genuinely exceptional circumstances, such as the person's behaviour presenting an unmanageably high risk of harm to health care patients or staff.

In 2012-13, 8,004 detentions made under section 136 resulted in the police taking the individual to a police station-that amounts to 36% of all section 136 detentions¹.

The lack of a health based place of safety is not an acceptable reason for police custody to be used. In England it is the responsibility of NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups to ensure that a sufficient number of health based places of safety appropriately staffed, are provided in the area for which they are responsible. In Wales the Welsh Government have responsibility for health commissioning.

In May this year the Secretary of State for the Home Department announced a number of measures aimed at reducing the numbers of people detained under section 136 being taken into police custody, including:

a review of the operation of Sections 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act will get under way this financial year-to

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ensure that the legislative framework supports getting the right support for people at the right time;

two new health based places of safety to open in January in Scarborough and York-North Yorkshire is the only police force area in England where there are currently no health based places of safety to take people detained under section 136; and,

the Department of Health funding nine police forces to pilot mental health street triage schemes, which involve police officers and health professionals working together on the ground, with a key aim of using that expertise to reduce the number of section 136 detentions necessary.

The Home Department is also signing up to the Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat, an agreement between a wide range of national agencies including NHS England and the police, which includes principles and actions that I expect will lead to many fewer people detained under section 136 being taken into police custody.

In particular, the concordat challenges local partners to provide the services necessary to meet the needs of those suffering mental health crises locally.

¹ In-patients formally detained in hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1983 and patients subject to Supervised Community Treatment Annual Figures, England 2012-13-published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, October 2013.

Police: Disciplinary Proceedings

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many serving police officers are currently suspended from duty in each constabulary. [178419]

Damian Green: The following table contains data on the number of police officers suspended for more than 28 calendar days as at 31 March 2013 (ie the most recent data), for each police force area.

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Police: Information

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what discussions she has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers on the operation of police information notices (PINS); and whether she plans to review guidance on the operation of PINS; [178418]

(2) pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2013, Official Report, column 532W, on police: information, what guidance she has issued on the repeat issuing of police information notices to the same person on the basis of similar allegations. [178444]

Damian Green: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 12 November 2013, Official Report, column 546W.

Recruitment

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of staff recruited to her Department since 5 May 2010 were (a) men and (b) women. [178158]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has recruited 2,177 staff since 5 May 2010—52.37% were male and 47.63% were female.

Sexual Offences

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition her Department uses for cases of historic sexual violence. [178002]

Norman Baker: The Office for National Statistics uses the following categories, for the purposes of better understanding current trends in reporting of sexual offences: cases reported to the police that occurred more than 20 years ago; those between one and 20 years ago; and those within the previous year.

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However, we are clear that when an alleged offence took place should have no bearing on the CJS response. All victims of rape and sexual violence should be treated with dignity, and, all investigations conducted thoroughly and professionally, regardless of when the alleged offence took place.

Sexual Offences: Greater London

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the oral evidence of James Patrick to the Public Administration Select Committee, 19 November 2013, HC 760, Q7, what assessment she has made of the allegation that the Metropolitan Police had effectively been under-recording rape and serious sexual offences by between 22 per cent and 25 per cent; and if she will make a statement. [177655]

Norman Baker [holding answer 29 November 2013]: We want to ensure that all victims of rape and sexual violence are treated with dignity, and that police investigations are conducted thoroughly and professionally. Any officer suspected of falsifying crime figures should be investigated and punished if found guilty.

The Government is encouraged that the most recent crime statistics showed an increase in the number of rape and sexual violence cases reported to the police, indicating that more victims are having the confidence to come forward and report these crimes. In addition, the ‘no crime' rate for rape has fallen from 12.6% in 2009-10 to 9.6% in 2012-13.

The ‘no crime' rate for the Metropolitan police for rape has fallen from 12.9% in 2009-10 to 12.0% in 2012-13.

As part of their work to ensure the quality of police crime recording and service delivery to victims, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary is inspecting forces to ensure standards are being met, including on the recording of rape, and will publish a national thematic report next autumn.

Tickets: Touting

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources her Department has allocated to policing the illegal use of ticket bots, as proscribed under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. [179373]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 2 December 2013]: Cyber crime is a serious threat to the UK and this Government have taken action to tackle it. The Government have so far committed £63 million of funding from the National Cyber Security Programme to build law enforcement capabilities to tackle all forms of cyber crime and to support crime prevention work.

The decision as to how policing teams are resourced, deployed and the duties those officers undertake is an operational matter for chief constables, in association with their police and crime commissioner. The National Crime Agency will lead operations on organised crime, which includes cyber and economic crime.

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Women and Equalities

Board Membership

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities (1) what steps she is taking to incentivise an increase in the number of women on executive boards of national governing bodies; [179681]

(2) what consideration she has given to establishing a minimum quota of women on the board of a national governing body as a pre-application criterion for funding from her Department or its executive agencies. [179682]

Mrs Grant: The Government are committed to achieving equality in sport and, in return for public funding, we expect sports' National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to achieve a target of at least 25% of women on their Boards by 2017. UK Sport and Sport England continue to work with sports' NGBs to help them understand the value of a more diverse Board in terms of gender balance and broader diversity considerations.

Culture, Media and Sport

Advertising Standards Authority

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the practice of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of consulting only one designated expert when assessing claims of medical efficacy in advertising and marketing material; and if she will request the ASA to adopt a robust peer-reviewed assessment process for such claims in line with the assessments made by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and other public bodies. [177959]

Mr Vaizey: No such assessment has been made. Advertising in the UK is controlled through a system of co-regulation and self-regulation, administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). This regulatory system is independent of Government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising.

Specific legal requirements, administered by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), apply to the advertising of medicines.

Broadband

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of people with access to superfast broadband in 2015. [178424]

Mr Vaizey: DCMS estimates that superfast broadband will have been made available to approximately 88% of premises in 2015.

Broadband: Scotland

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding his Department provides for the provision of broadband other than superfast broadband in rural areas in Scotland. [178447]

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Mr Vaizey: The Government have made available £100.8m of funding from the DCMS rural broadband programme to support broadband delivery in Scotland. This will support universal availability of standard broadband as well as extending superfast broadband coverage within Scotland. The funding is allocated through two projects, one for the Highlands and Islands, and one for the rest of Scotland. Both projects are in the design and planning stages.

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what recent progress she has made in rolling out broadband to (a) towns and (b) villages in (i) Scotland and (ii) Airdrie and Shotts constituency; [178448]

(2) what discussions she had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer ahead of the Autumn Statement on the allocation of funds for superfast broadband roll-out in the UK; [178449]

(3) what assessment she has made of the effect of reaching her target of universal broadband coverage by 2015 on the availability of video relay services for British Sign Language users in rural areas in Scotland; [178450]

(4) whether the (a) Rural Community Broadband Fund and (b) Broadband Delivery UK superfast broadband fund may be used to fund broadband networks based on wireless as well as wired technologies in Scotland. [178456]

Mr Vaizey: The UK Government allocated £100.8 million to the Scottish Government to support improved broadband coverage in Scotland and the Scottish Government have lead responsibility for their own schemes and delivery of projects in Scotland with support from BDUK. The Rural Community Broadband Fund applies in England only.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not made any assessment of its broadband targets on the availability of video relay services for British Sign Language users in Scotland. The Scottish Government have responsibility for the delivery of broadband projects with funding from DCMS within Scotland and for promoting the benefits of these projects to consumers. Projects with funding from Broadband Delivery UK do not require use of any specific technologies to deliver the required broadband speeds.

Ofcom have said Standard broadband has been available from virtually every telephone exchange in the UK for a number of years, although the ability to receive a service at a given property is dependent on the length and quality of the telephone line.

DCMS has confirmed with HM Treasury that it will aim to reach 95% superfast broadband coverage by 2017 using the £250 million announced in spending round 2013, assuming local match funding. The Treasury has also announced a further £10 million to support market testing of alternative approaches for the final 5% of premises.

Charitable Donations

Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to encourage its employees to make tax-free donations direct from their salaries. [179636]

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Mrs Grant: Following a wide consultation over the summer, the Government are looking to create improved webpages that will provide an online presence for donors, to encourage donations. DCMS will be committing to this programme.

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what analysis she has made of the effect of a lack of DAB coverage on local radio stations; and when she intends to roll-out increased DAB transmitters to ensure that local stations receive the same coverage as national stations. [179462]

Mr Vaizey: As part of the joint Government-Industry Digital Radio Action Plan, Ofcom has led a review of the future of DAB coverage. Ofcom published a consultation setting out the parameters for future DAB coverage planning and how infrastructure needs to change to match current FM level, the consultation can be found at:

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/radio/coverage/dab-coverage/?utm_source=updates&utm_ medium= email&utm_campaign=dab-coverage-report

We intend to provide an update on our plans for digital radio at the end of the year.

Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the proportion of listeners to radio stations operating with a licence in the UK who listen through digital platforms; what comparative assessment she has made of the scale of coverage of national radio stations on digital and FM platforms; and what proportion of listeners are able to access local DAB radio services. [179745]

Mr Vaizey: This type of data are collected and published quarterly by RAJAR Ltd (Radio Joint Audience Research). According to the latest RAJAR figures (Q3 2013), the proportion of commercial radio listeners that had listened through a digital platform was 49%.

As part of the Digital Radio Action Plan, the Government asked Ofcom to report annually on the availability and take-up of digital radio services. Ofcom published the fourth progress report in September 2013 and it contains the following information on DAB and FM coverage.

For comparison, figures for FM coverage are in the following table. These are not directly comparable to the DAB coverage figures, mainly because although it is

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possible to receive FM reception (albeit poor quality) with low signal strength, DAB reception is either good or completely absent.

Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to make a decision on the digital radio switchover. [179757]

Mr Vaizey: We intend to provide an update on our plans for digital radio shortly. The Government have been clear that the consumer must be at the heart of any decisions made.

Board Membership

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of her Department's (a) executive and (b) non-executive board members are (i) men and (ii) women. [178111]

Mrs Grant: The following table shows the number of (a) executive and (b) non-executive board members who are (i) men and (ii) women.

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of her Department's (a) executive and (b) non-executive board members are identified as (i) white British and (ii) of black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups. [178131]

Mrs Grant: The following table shows the number of (a) executive and (b) non-executive board members who are identified as (i) white British and (ii) of black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups

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Completion of these data is non-mandatory for staff.

Football

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what meetings her Department has had with (a) the FA, (b) EUFA and (c) FIFA in the last three years to discuss issues of governance and corruption in football. [178323]

Mrs Grant: DCMS Ministers and officials have regular meetings with the national and international football authorities to discuss a range of issues including governance and the need to improve the management of the sport.

Internet: Competition

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if her Department will review the price levels set for BT's regulated businesses to ensure that they do not affect the ability of other telecommunications providers to roll out internet coverage in semi-urban and rural areas. [178074]

Mr Vaizey: Ofcom is responsible for telecommunications market regulation, including price regulation where appropriate. Openreach, the part of the BT Group which owns the network infrastructure, is required by Ofcom to offer access to infrastructure to BT and other communications providers on non-discriminatory terms. Where price regulation is in place, the price that BT is allowed to charge for access is either set by Ofcom or required to be cost-oriented. Ofcom regularly reviews markets and prices to ensure competition. Communications providers also have the option of rolling out their own networks to provide services. The Government have taken steps to make rollout of networks easier and more cost-effective including streamlining planning rules and allowing the deployment of new overhead lines.

Mobile Phones: Fees and Charges

Mr Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what assessment she has made of the proposed increase in spectrum annual licence fees on consumer prices and investment in mobile coverage provided by UK mobile network operators; [179706]

(2) what assessment she has made of whether Ofcom's assessment of the annual licence fee consultation adequately considered the effect of the licence fee on consumer prices and mobile coverage. [179707]

Mr Vaizey: The Government directed Ofcom in December 2010 to revise the fees paid for licences to use spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands following the auction of licences to use the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands so as to reflect full market value. The statutory instrument making this direction was accompanied by an impact assessment which is available at

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/3024/impacts

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That auction was held earlier this year with the licences granted on 1 March. On 10 October 2013 Ofcom published its proposals for revising these spectrum licence fees; the consultation closes on 16 January 2014.

Pay

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the median gross pay of (a) men and (b) women is in each pay band in her Department. [178189]

Mrs Grant: DCMS already publishes information on the gender pay gap in each pay band and it can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-gender-pay-gap-data

Recruitment

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of staff recruited to her Department since 5 May 2010 were (a) men and (b) women. [178151]

Mrs Grant: The proportion of staff recruited to the Department since 5 May 2010 who were (a) men and (b) women is disclosed in the following table:

For the period 5 May 2010 to 31 October 2012, a number of civil servants were recruited on loan from other Government Departments and on fixed term contracts to work on the 2012 Olympic Games.

Sports: Females

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 644W, on sports: females, what specific targets her Department set for each individual national governing body on increasing participation rates among women; [179740]

(2) whether Sport England will review funding for national governing bodies in 2015 based on progress made by them towards meeting their targets on increasing participation rates among women; [179741]

(3) what assessment she has made of each national governing body's progress on meeting their targets on increasing participation rates among women; [179742]

Mrs Grant: Sport England's 2013-17 Whole Sport Plan investment in the national governing bodies of sport (NGBs) is focused on increasing overall participation with an emphasis on young people and disabled people. Sport England rigorously reviews the performance of each NGB every six months. Each NGB is subject to a robust performance management regime. This includes a ‘payment for results’ approach that focuses on delivering the participation increases agreed in their Whole Sport Plans. NGBs receiving Sport England investment have ambitious targets to increase participation in their sport and these would not be achievable without the engagement of women. Currently 6.8 million women play sport

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regularly which is an increase of 530,000 since 2005. Targets set are for overall participation levels for men and women combined; there are no separate women specific targets.

Television: Advertising

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2013, Official Report, column 1086W, on television: advertising, what assessment she has made of the effect on children of the increase in the number of advertisements watched on average. [178017]

Mr Vaizey: No such assessment has been made. Section 5 of the BCAP Code (the UK code of broadcast advertising) focuses specifically on advertising to children, and complements the general code provisions that advertisements must not mislead, harm, or cause serious or widespread offence. The Government recognise the importance of maintaining an effective, proportionate regulatory framework to protect children; as such, advertisements for alcohol, or foods high in fat, salt and sugar, for example, are banned in advertisements around programmes aimed at (or likely to appeal to) children.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Committee

Freedom of Information

Simon Hart: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many freedom of information requests have been received by the IPSA in the last 12 months from (a) members of the public, (b) journalists and (c) others. [177024]

Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.

Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated November 2013:

As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about Freedom of Information requests made to IPSA.

IPSA has a statutory duty under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to respond to requests for information and does so in line with the principle, as set out by the Information Commissioner's Office, that requests for information should be considered without reference to the identity of the requester or the reasons behind the request.

In the last 12 months IPSA has received 271 Freedom of Information requests. We are not in a position to know whether the requesters would classify themselves as members of the public, journalists or others.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the Independent Expert Panel examining the badger culls to report. [178058]

George Eustice: The Independent Expert Panel is expected to report in the new year.

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Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 714W, on bovine tuberculosis, for what reasons 155 badger carcasses were examined rather than the figure of 240 provided in response to freedom of information requests; and how the 155 badgers were selected for post-mortem. [178204]

George Eustice: Monitoring of humaneness was carried out in line with the protocol approved by the Independent Expert Panel, which planned for up to 120 post-mortems of badgers shot with rifles, and up to 120 post-mortems of badgers shot with shotguns. The small number of post-mortems of badgers shot with shotguns reflects industry’s decision to use mainly rifles.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 714W, on bovine tuberculosis, if he will put mechanisms in place to assess whether the badgers submitted by cull companies for DNA collection by the Independent Panel overseeing the pilots (a) were shot, (b) were shot when already dead and (c) died from causes other than shooting; and if he will make a statement. [178205]

George Eustice: A random sample of the badgers culled in the pilots were subject to post-mortem examination, in which any cause of death other than shooting would have been identified.

Those badger carcases that were not subject to post-mortem examination were disposed of in accordance with animal by-products legislation.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 714W, on bovine tuberculosis, when he expects the results of post-mortems and tests that have been carried out to be available. [178206]

George Eustice: The results of the post-mortems and tests will be considered by the Independent Expert Panel and their report into the safety, effectiveness and humaneness of controlled shooting is expected in the new year.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 714W, on bovine tuberculosis, how many of the 155 badgers subjected to post-mortem examination as part of the assessment of the humaneness of controlled shooting were (a) free shot and (b) cage trapped. [178207]

George Eustice: The purpose of the monitoring during the pilots was to assess the effectiveness, safety and humaneness of controlled shooting, not cage trapping and shooting. All of the badgers subjected to post mortem had therefore been killed by controlled shooting.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 714W, on bovine tuberculosis, how many of the badger carcasses submitted by cull companies for DNA

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collection by the Independent Panel overseeing the pilots have been examined to ascertain cause of death in addition to those subjected to post-mortems as part of the assessment of the humaneness of controlled shooting; how many of those examined were confirmed to have been killed by gunshot; and what causes of death were attributed to any remainder. [178208]

George Eustice: A random sample of the badgers culled in the pilots was subject to post mortem examination, in which any cause of death other than shooting would have been identified. Further information can be found at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/files/badger-cull-iep-monitor-humane-shooting20130307.pdf

Those badger carcases that were not subject to post mortem examination were disposed of in accordance with animal by-products legislation.