10 Dec 2013 : Column 115W
Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 10 December 2013
Scotland
Directors
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of his Department's (a) executive and (b) non-executive board members are (i) men and (ii) women. [178122]
David Mundell: The Joint Management Board of the Scotland Office and the Office of the Advocate General comprises (a) seven male and one female executive members, and (b) two male non-executive members.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 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. [178142]
David Mundell: All members of the Joint Management Board of the Scotland Office and the Office of the Advocate General are identified as white British.
Poverty
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many times the word ‘poverty' has been mentioned in his Department's parliamentary answers in Session (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [178400]
David Mundell: My Department's answers to parliamentary questions are a matter of public record and can be found in the Official Report.
Recruitment
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of staff recruited to his Department since 5 May 2010 are (a) men and (b) women. [178162]
David Mundell: The gender breakdown of staff recruited to join the Scotland Office since 5 May 2010 was 49% men and 51% women.
Electoral Commission Committee
Local Government: Elections
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authorities in each English region and constituent part of the UK failed to meet performance standard 3 on house-to-house enquiries in 2012. [178568]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission refers the hon. Gentleman to its earlier reply of 29 November 2013, Official Report, columns 451-54W, in which it outlined the number of authorities that did not meet the performance standard in 2012.
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Church Commissioners
Qualifications
Mrs Moon: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, how many people employed by the Church Commissioners hold a (a) bachelor's, (b) master's and (c) PhD-level degree in computer science; and if he will make a statement. [175361]
Sir Tony Baldry: The Church Commissioners do keep information about the staff’s educational backgrounds; however, this information is recorded individually on their personal files. To gather the information requested would incur disproportionate costs.
Culture, Media and Sport
Pay
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 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. [178171]
Mrs Grant: The following table shows the gross pay of staff in the Department in each pay band who are identified as (a) white British and (b) of black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups.
| Median Salary (£) | |||
| Grade | Civil Service Equivalent Grade | White British | Ethnic Minority Groups |
| 1 Not disclosed. | |||
Completion of this data is non-mandatory for staff. As such these figures may not be fully representative of workforce diversity.
We do not hold, centrally, data for our executive agencies.
UK Space Agency
Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with the UK Space Agency on the use of existing or emerging technology to improve the UK's communications infrastructure. [178618]
Mr Vaizey: Department for Culture, Media and Sport officials have regular discussions with the UK Space Agency on a range of issues including the use of satellite technology as part of the UK's communications infrastructure and spectrum issues.
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Northern Ireland
Board Membership
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of her Department's (a) executive and (b) non-executive board members are (i) men and (ii) women. [178121]
Mrs Villiers: My current departmental board is made up of ten executive members and one non-executive member. Of the ten executive members eight are male and the remaining two are female. The one non-executive member is female.
Recruitment
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of staff recruited to her Department since 5 May 2010 are (a) men and (b) women. [178161]
Mrs Villiers: It is not possible to provide this information without incurring disproportionate cost. However, based on information available for November 2013, I can confirm that the composition of staff in the Northern Ireland Office is 48% male and 52% female.
Wales
Board Membership
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of his Department's (a) executive and (b) non-executive board members are (i) men and (ii) women. [178125]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office Management Committee consists of four executive and two non-executive members. The gender split of the members is shown in the following table:
| Member | Total | Male | Female |
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 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. [178145]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office Management Committee consists of four executive and two non-executive members. All executive members of the Management Committee are identified as white British. The Department does not hold information on the ethnic background of the non-executive members of its Management Committee.
Floods: Clwyd
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what discussions Ministers in his Department have had over the past year with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in relation to the flooding of St Asaph and Rhuddlan in the Vale of Clwyd; [178037]
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(2) what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on ensuring adequate insurance arrangements are available for properties at risk of flooding. [178067]
Stephen Crabb: I have had a number of discussions with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in relation to flooding and the provision of flood insurance to high flood-risk properties. Through the Water Bill we will introduce an industry-backed system to guarantee affordable flood insurance for people in high risk areas.
In Wales, flood defences are the responsibility of the Welsh Government, and we have provided them with the resources to make investments in Wales to help ensure communities can protect their homes and possessions from the risk of flooding.
Internet
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 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. [178514]
Stephen Crabb: All Wales Office staff are expected to comply with departmental rules regulating the use of office computers, including internet use.
The Wales Office uses the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) IT system, which prevents users gaining access to inappropriate websites by using specialist blocking software. Based on the use of keywords, the system blocks access to websites which contain offensive, racist or defamatory material; gambling or betting sites; websites that may circumvent information security rules such as web-based e-mail; and sites that may affect the efficiency of the network.
As the content filtering software is dynamic and the websites which are being blocked are constantly changing, there is no list of websites to which access is prohibited.
The MOJ IT system also blocks access to the following domains:
*@anonymousspeech.com
*@australiansubscribers.com
*@clickandtick.co.uk
*@coffee-and-croissants.co.uk
*@engine.insight-vision.net
*@mk2.netatlantic.com
*@newsletter.savesafely.co.uk
*@shoppingdelights.co.uk
Pay
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the median gross pay is of staff in his Department in each pay band who are identified as (a) white British and (b) of black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups. [178183]
Stephen Crabb: In accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines, the Wales Office does not disclose information relating to five or fewer members of staff. Median gross pay, by pay band and ethnicity, for those categories which include six or more Wales Office staff, is shown in the following table:
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| Pay band | White British (£) | Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups (£) | Undeclared (£) |
| Note: Information provided as at 31 March 2013 | |||
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the median gross pay of (a) men and (b) women is in each pay band in his Department. [178201]
Stephen Crabb: In accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines, the Wales Office does not disclose information relating to five or fewer members of staff. Median gross pay, by pay band and gender, for those categories which include six or more Wales Office staff, is shown in the following table:
| £ | ||
| Pay band | Men | Women |
| Note: Information provided as at 31 March 2013. | ||
Information on the remuneration of Wales Office staff in the senior civil service is already in the public domain.
Poverty
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times the word ‘poverty' has been mentioned in his Department's parliamentary answers in Session (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [178403]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office's answers to parliamentary questions are a matter of public record and can be found in the Official Report.
Recruitment
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of staff recruited to his Department since 5 May 2010 are (a) men and (b) women. [178165]
Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office recruited 41 staff through open and fair competition and on merit from 5 May 2010 to 31 March 2013. The gender split of the staff recruited is shown in the following table:
| Staff recruited between 5 May 2010 to 31 March 2013 | ||
| Total | Proportion (%) | |
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Unemployment
Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the annual rate of economic inactivity in Wales (a) including and (b) excluding students was in each of the last 10 years. [178365]
Mr David Jones: The number of people economically inactive in Wales has never been lower. The rates of economic inactivity in Wales (a) including and (b) excluding students at year ending 30 June in each of the past 10 years is detailed as follows:
| (a) Including students | (b) Excluding students | |
| Note: Year ending 31 December. | ||
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Bovine Tuberculosis
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how independent monitoring of the humaneness of the pilot badger culls was maintained during the period of extended culling after the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency observation teams had been stood down. [178702]
George Eustice: The purpose of the structured programme of observations and post mortems during the six week period was to gather data on controlled shooting. The purpose of this work was to assimilate a robust evidence base that will inform conclusions about the humaneness of controlled shooting prepared for consideration by the Independent Expert Panel. This programme of data gathering was completed as planned.
Natural England also carried out monitoring of cage trapping and shooting and controlled shooting to ensure compliance with licence conditions and the Best Practice Guidance, which includes specific requirements regarding humaneness. If Natural England monitors had concerns about humane shooting practices, and decided that further investigation was needed, a post mortem capability to provide investigatory back-up was available during the extension periods. This capability was also available to police if they needed to pursue an investigation relating to possible cases of wildlife crime.
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he had with the Chair of the Independent Expert Panel on granting extensions of the pilot badger culls before the panel had reported on the efficiency, humaneness and safety of the pilot culls. [178703]
George Eustice:
The view of the Chair of the Independent Expert Panel was only sought about the need to continue gathering data for the purposes of assessing humaneness
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and efficacy during the extension period. The panel's role is primarily to advise on the monitoring protocols and to carry out a scientific review of the results of the monitoring. The terms of reference of the panel did not extend to advising on the implementation of the pilot culls, and the Chair was not consulted about the need for the extensions for the purposes of disease control.
A structured programme of observations and post mortems to gather data on controlled shooting was implemented during the six week period of the pilots as planned. Careful consideration was given as to whether there was a need to extend this evidence gathering into the extension periods. We concluded, with advice from the Chair that there were no advantages in continuing the humaneness monitoring for a longer period for the purposes of gathering data. An extension beyond the required 60 field observations and the associated 120 post-mortems for rifle shooting would have added little to the robustness of the planned study.
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what discussions he had with the chief veterinary officer before extending the pilot badger culls in 2013; [178704]
(2) what scientific evidence and advice he received before the decision to approve extensions to the pilot badger culls in 2013. [178705]
George Eustice: I would like to refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 18 October 2013, Official Report, column 889W.
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what methods his Department uses for testing for the presence of Mycobacterium bovis in badger carcasses; and what assessment he has made of the accuracy of such methods. [178706]
George Eustice: Badger carcases are tested for M. bovis by post-mortem examination of the carcase for TB lesions, and by culturing tissue for the presence of the bacterium. When subjected to a more detailed post-mortem protocol (ie more samples from each carcase were cultured) the Randomised Badger Culling Trial found on average one-third of badgers in proactively culled areas to be infected with bTB.
Drinking Water: Standards
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the top 10 locations in the UK for poor drinking water quality. [178488]
Dan Rogerson: The quality of drinking water in the UK is published each year by the independent drinking water regulators for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Together the reports from these regulators describe the quality all of the public and private water supplies in the UK in terms of the testing that is carried out by water suppliers (public supplies) and local authorities (private supplies). The regulators also publish details of the action taken to require a particular water supply to be improved whenever testing has shown that it is not wholesome or fails to comply with one or more of the standards set down in the EU Drinking Water Directive. The latest reports published by the drinking water regulators can be found on the following websites:
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The Drinking Water Inspectorate
www.dwi.gov.uk
The Drinking Water Inspectorate Northern Ireland
http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/water-home/drinking_water.htm
The Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland
http://www.dwqr.org.uk/
Justice
Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU)
Mr Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the impact of the EU's Fundamental Charter of Fundamental Rights on (a) British law and (b) immigration cases; and if he will make a statement. [176023]
Mr Vara: The Government provided an analysis of the UK court's application of the Charter to the European Scrutiny Committee as part of correspondence on the European Commission's 2012 annual report on the application of the Charter. The analysis included relevant immigration cases.
The analysis confirms the Government's position that the Charter of Fundamental Rights does not create new rights or obligations, that it only applies when the UK is implementing EU law, and that the rights in the Charter must be interpreted in line with their original source.
The impact of the Charter in the UK is an important issue which the Government will keep under review, including as part of the Balance of Competences review.
Courts: Interpreters
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the actual and targeted performance of the court interpreter contract has been in each month since that contract started. [178807]
Mr Vara: I have listed below the links to the online published statistics on the use of Language Services in Courts and Tribunals and also the link to Contracts Finder to view the contract document for the Capita-TI contract which includes Key Performance Indicators:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-use-of-language-services-in-courts-and-tribunals
https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en¬iceid=264052&fs=true
Board Membership
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 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. [178140]
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Mr Vara: The Department does not monitor the composition of boards separately from its general monitoring of the representation of different ethnic groups in ethnic composition.
The Department is committed to ensuring that it reflects the diversity of the public which we serve at all levels.
European Convention on Human Rights
Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations the UK has made to the European Court of Justice on the opinion of the European Commission on the proposed accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights. [178250]
Mr Vara: The draft Accession Agreement between the EU and the Council of Europe has been referred by the European Commission to the European Court of Justice for its opinion on the agreement's compatibility with the EU Treaties.
As the Secretary of State for Justice wrote to the European Scrutiny Committee on 4 November, reported in the Committee's 23rd Report of Session 2013-14
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmeuleg/83-xxi/8302.htm
the matter is now subject to litigation so I am unable to comment on the content of the UK's observations to the Court.
Family Courts: Rhyl
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 18 July 2013, Official Report, column 818W, on family courts: Rhyl, whether it remains his intention to relocate work from Rhyl to Prestatyn during or after April 2014. [178490]
Mr Vara: As announced in the written ministerial statement of 18 October 2012, Official Report, column 36WS, Rhyl county court will be closed no earlier than April 2014. HMCTS is continuing to evaluate options for relocating work from Rhyl county court, which includes transferring it to Prestatyn.
Judiciary
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2013, Official Report, column 1058W, on judiciary, which offences and judicial posts are regarded as incompatible. [178819]
Mr Vara: Each matter is considered on a case by case basis, however the rules governing judicial discipline have recently been amended to include a list of circumstances which may result in immediate removal from office. These include, among others, criminal convictions for: dishonesty, theft, deception, sexual and violent offences. The full list of circumstances which may be considered under this summary process can be found at Rule 30 of the Judicial Conduct (Judicial and other officer holder) Rules 2013. This summary procedure also applies in the rules governing tribunals and magistrates.
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Pay
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the median gross pay is of staff in his 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; [178180]
(2) what the median gross pay of (a) men and (b) women is in each pay band in his Department. [178198]
Mr Vara: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) supports leading by example on equal pay transparency. We regularly publish information on how we are performing on equality and prior to the pan Government pay freeze have annually published equal pay reports. Equal pay was also a factor within the work undertaken in NOMS on Fair and Sustainable grades.
The gender split across MOJ and NOMS is roughly equal, although the demographic varies according to business area—with more women employed in HMCTS (Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) and more men employed in NOMS. We are conscious of our gender pay gap and have been working to reduce this. Our trends are moving in the right direction despite the pay freeze.
Published core MOJ equal pay reporting does not include median pay data and the cost of providing this information would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold. Published data do however include a breakdown of the mean pay gap by pay band for men and women and for white and Black and Minority Ethnic Grouping (BME) employees.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equal-pay-audit-for-the-core-moj-201112
Further reports have not been published following the pay freeze.
The MOJ reviews its policy and practices regularly to ensure that equality is embedded proportionately in procurement, commissioning and contract management. We are looking at improving core MOJ equal pay reporting in respect of median data and how to incorporate equal pay data in joint diversity reporting with NOMS in 2014. We are also looking at what we can do to promote the Think, Act, Report initiative to the private and voluntary sector employers with whom we work in the justice sector.
Personal Injury: Compensation
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether regulatory bodies have found any evidence of referral fees for personal injury claims being described as marketing fees in response to the ban on such fees; [178353]
(2) what enforcement action has been taken to date to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on payment and receipt of referral fees for personal injury claims. [178354]
Mr Vara: Four approved regulators are responsible for ensuring compliance and enforcement of the ban on referral fees in personal injury cases, which came into effect on 1 April 2013 in England and Wales.
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The Claims Management Regulator (CMR) has found evidence of some claims management companies (CMCs) adapting business models to provide marketing services. The CMR has taken steps to identify non-compliance with the ban, which has involved visits to over 800 CMCs, and detailed analysis of their business models. If any breaches are identified, the CMR will investigate and take appropriate enforcement action.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has also visited a number of firms to assess suspected breaches of the ban and investigations have been launched into firms that may be in breach. The SRA has also written to around 900 firms with a majority personal injury caseload to remind them of their duty to comply with the ban. While no enforcement action has yet been taken, the SRA works closely with firms to ensure compliance.
The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bar Standards Board have not found any evidence of referral fees being described as marketing fees and no enforcement action has yet been taken.
Government action has already seen the number of claims firms operating drop by more than 1,000 since a peak of 3,400 in 2011 to 2,250 now. The number of CMCs operating in the personal injury claims sector has fallen by around 40% since the implementation of the ban and wider reforms to civil litigation.
Prison Service
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent employees there were in the Prison Service in May (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 to date; and how many his Department expects there to be in May (i) 2014 and (ii) 2015. [179330]
Jeremy Wright: Information on the staff employed within Prison Service establishments as at most recent date, as well as at 31 May each year since 2010, is contained in the following table.
| Table 1: Number of full-time equivalent staff in post in Prison Service in England and Wales, broken down by sector, as at 31 May, 2010-13 and as at 30 September 2013 | |||
| Date | Public sector Prison Service | Private sector Prison Service | Total Prison Service |
| Notes: 1. Figures do not include staff working in National Offender Management Services Headquarters (NOMS HQ) or regional services. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 in line with the department’s policy for presenting staffing data. The data are only accurate to this level because late updating of data within HR systems means that the unrounded figures recorded for a specific date have a margin of error around them. Totals are formed from unrounded parts prior to rounding. For this reason, rounded totals may not equal the sum of their rounded parts. 3. Information on private sector prisons has been provided by individual contractors. | |||
Information on projected staff numbers is only available for the public sector and is presented in the following table. The figures again refer only to those staff employed within establishments and do not include NOMS HQ or regional services. Projections are presented for 31 March 2014 and 2015 as these are the dates for which information has been signed-off and submitted through the Civil Service Human Resources return to Cabinet Office.
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| Table 2: Projections of Number of full-time equivalent staff in post in Public Sector Prison Service in England and Wales, as at 31 March, 2014-15 | |
| Date | Public sector Prison Service |
| Notes: 1. The projections are based on output from the NOMS Workforce model and are rounded to the nearest 100. Staffing demand is based on workforce plans and includes planned reductions as a result of competition benchmarking where this is known. 2. Anticipated future prison closures are included in the modelling, as well as the transfer of HMP Northumberland to the private sector (c. 600 staff). 3. Figures do not account for future impacts of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme. 4. Figures for Private Sector Prisons are not available. | |
Probation
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what research his Department has conducted into commissioning probation services from the private sector using payment by results; and whether that research concluded that this would (a) be more cost-effective and (b) lower current levels of reoffending. [179505]
Jeremy Wright: Under our Transforming Rehabilitation proposals, payment by results will offer a strong incentive to providers to focus on reducing reoffending.
We are currently piloting a number of different approaches to payment by results across Government. Of particular value in terms of learning for the Rehabilitation programme are the pilots in Peterborough and Doncaster. Both pilots involve the delivery of through the gate rehabilitation. According to interim reconviction data, these pilots are having a positive effect and show a marked fall in reoffending:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/254186/annex-a-payment-by-results-oct13.pdf
Final results for the first pilot cohorts will be available in 2014.
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps he is taking to ensure the accountability and effectiveness of private contractors working for the Probation Service; [179649]
(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that the Probation Service is fit for purpose in (a) Huddersfield and (b) the rest of the UK; [179650]
(3) what steps he is taking to ensure that community sentences are effectively supervised. [179662]
Jeremy Wright: Private contractors working to deliver services on behalf of the Probation Service are currently held to account through regular contract review meetings. At these meetings, performance, quality assurance and financial issues are examined and monitored. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation, which reports to the Secretary of State for Justice, also inspects services delivered by probation providers. This includes those services provided by, and on behalf of, West Yorkshire Probation Trust.
Under our ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’ reforms we will transform the way in which offenders are managed in the community in order to bring down reoffending rates. All providers of rehabilitation services will be regulated and held to account through a combination of independent inspection, audit and commercial account management by the National Offender Management
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Service (NOMS). This process will cover all services provided to offenders, including supervision of community sentences.
Squatting
Sir Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse has been of the costs of hearings related to the case of a constituent of the hon. Member for Workington, Gary Tomlinson, in relation to illegal occupancy of a flat belonging to him. [178085]
Mr Vara: We believe Mr Tomlinson was party or interested party to a number of different court actions in different courts. Identifying all relevant records would involve analysing data from over 170 different courts to see if records for a Gary Tomlinson exist, then reviewing each case individually to check whether it was possible to identify if the record was relevant to the Gary Tomlinson referred to in the hon. Gentleman’s question. Separately held records on fee remissions would then need to be reviewed to check whether any of the fees paid in relation to those actions were remitted. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Young Offenders
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the success of the pilot schemes to limit the use of strip searches in young offender institutions. [178582]
Jeremy Wright: The Government recognise that searches can be necessary to ensure the safety and security of young people in custody.
We have recently extended the pilot that has been running in selected under-18 young offender institutions (YOIs) where full searches are only conducted on the basis of risk rather than as a matter of routine.
The pilot is being subjected to a monthly analysis. We will consider the overall analysis in the new year.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices
Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many apprenticeships were completed in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) the East Midlands and (d) Corby constituency in each of the last three years; and for how long any such apprenticeships lasted; [178881]
(2) how many apprentices failed to complete their training in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) the East Midlands, (d) the East of England and (e) Corby constituency in each of the last three years; [178882]
(3) how many apprentices have completed training in Corby constituency and East Northamptonshire in (a) agriculture, horticulture and animal care, (b) arts, media and publishing, (c) business, administration and law, (d) construction, planning and the built environment, (e) education and training, (f) engineering and manufacturing technologies, (g) health, public services and care, (h) information and communication and technology, (i) leisure, travel and tourism and (j) retail and commercial enterprise in each of the last three years. [178883]
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Matthew Hancock: Information on apprenticeship achievements by geography are published in Supplementary Tables to a Statistical First Release:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/60297A67-6111-4D21-B0C1-0FF90B108012/0/June2013_Apprenticeship_Achievements_revised.xls
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/fe_data_library/Apprenticeships/
Information on Apprenticeship Success Rates by geography is published in a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release; this information is not published by parliamentary constituency:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/ECCEB3F8-65F5-45B5-85F3-36877F3E3D00/0/January2013_ApprenticeshipSuccessRates.xls
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/fe_data_library/Apprenticeships/
Information on Apprenticeship Achievements by Sector Subject Area and parliamentary constituency are published in a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/C7E2EC14-58AF-43D2-93DF-221C23C2122E/0/June2013 _Apprenticeships_SSA_Geography_Achievements_revised.xls
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/fe_data_library/Apprenticeships/
The Department does not collect further education information relating to the devolved administrations.
Company Accounts
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to his Department's publication, Transparency and Trust, enhancing the transparency of UK company ownership and increasing trust in UK business, published in July 2013, what steps he is taking to ensure that his Department's proposed record of beneficial company ownership requires sufficient information to ensure individuals are identifiable. [178239]
Jo Swinson: The Transparency and Trust discussion paper sought views on a range of questions relating to implementation of the central registry of company beneficial ownership information, including the information to be provided to and available on it. We are carefully considering the responses received to the discussion paper and will respond fully in early 2014.
Board Membership
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many of his Department's (a) executive and (b) non-executive board members are (i) men and (ii) women. [178107]
Jo Swinson: The Department has five male and four female executive board members, and three male and two female non-executive board members. In his most recent annual report (2012-13) the Government's lead non-executive, the noble Lord, Lord Browne of Madingley, noted that whereas
“FTSE100 companies only have 12.5 per cent of board members who are women, more than 36 per cent of government non-executives are women.”
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BIS is committed to ensuring that it reflects the diversity of the public which we serve at all levels. Although completion of declaration data is voluntary, BIS has recently embarked on a campaign to encourage more individuals to record this data. This includes hosting declaration days in our two main offices which are actively supported by Martin Donnelly, the Department's permanent secretary, and Sir John O'Reilly, director general for knowledge and innovation and our equality and diversity champion. BIS is also in the process of developing a new Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Diversity Action Plan which will be launched in 2014.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 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. [178127]
Jo Swinson: The Department monitors the ethnic diversity of its executive board members 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. BIS does not currently hold declaration data on its non-executives, but we intend to review this in the future.
In his most recent annual report (2012-13) the Government's lead non-executive, the noble Lord Browne of Madingley, 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.
BIS is committed to ensuring that it reflects the diversity of the public which we serve at all levels. Although completion of declaration data is voluntary, BIS has recently embarked on a campaign to encourage more individuals to record this data. This includes hosting declaration days in our two main offices which are actively supported by Martin Donnelly, the Department's permanent secretary, and Sir John O'Reilly, director general for knowledge and innovation and our equality and diversity champion. BIS is also in the process of developing a new Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Diversity Action Plan which will be launched in 2014.
Hibu
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from the shareholders of Hibu following allegations of misconduct by the board of the company; and if he will make a statement. [178270]
Jo Swinson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has received some correspondence from MPs writing on behalf of Hibu shareholders. Concerns were expressed about the restructuring of the company and the alleged misconduct of its directors. It was suggested that the use of my right hon. Friend’s investigatory powers under the Companies Act and prosecution action may be appropriate.
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My right hon. Friend met with several MPs on 27 November to discuss these concerns. He made clear that potential misconduct of the directors would be investigated and appropriate enforcement action considered should the company enter administration.
Hibu was placed in administration on 27 November 2013. The company's administrators have to report within six months to my right hon. Friend on the directors' conduct. He will then consider if disqualification action is appropriate and any potential criminality will be referred to the relevant prosecuting authority.
Higher Education: Admissions
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the total annual cost to the public purse per student of the new student places announced in the Autumn Statement 2013. [178845]
Mr Willetts: We have assumed that, compared to existing students, the additional entrants may be more likely to receive a maintenance grant and more likely to attract a higher RAB charge. On this basis, the average total public cost in 2014-15, for additional full-time English undergraduate entrants that are eligible for and take up both maintenance and fee loans, is estimated to be around £9,000 per year.
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether (a) core and margin and (b) other mechanisms for allocating student numbers will apply to (i) new student places announced in the Autumn Statement 2013 and (ii) other future student recruitment. [178846]
Mr Willetts: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced, in his autumn statement of 5 December, that the Government will provide an additional 30,000 student places in 2014-15 and remove all student number controls in 2015-16 for institutions funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). This will allow all those with the ability and desire to go to university to do so. It will also allow popular institutions to grow. We asked HEFCE to introduce new flexibilities into the allocation of student places in 2013-14 and to consider how those could be increased in future years. We will set out the detail of how we will extend these for 2014-15, in the usual way, in our forthcoming grant letter to the Council.
Annual Leave
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what statutory entitlements land-based workers have to (a) paid annual leave and (b) compensatory rest periods; and when each piece of legislation granting such entitlements came into force. [178212]
Jo Swinson: The relevant statutory entitlements for land-based workers are as follows:
(a) (i) Land-based workers are entitled to four weeks' paid annual leave each leave year under the Working Time Regulations 1998, which came into force on 1 October 1998.
(ii) In addition, for any leave year beginning on or after 1 April 2009, land-based workers are entitled to an additional 1.6 weeks' paid annual leave under the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2007, which came into force on 1 October 2007. This additional
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entitlement does not apply to land workers to whom the Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Act 1949 applies (as defined in the Act), as that Act had effect from 1 July 1999.
(iii) Total statutory entitlement for land-based workers is capped at 28 days.
(b) The Working Time Regulations 1998 came into force on 1 October 1998. This entitles land-based workers to compensatory rest where their employers take advantage of exceptions from the default statutory rules about daily rest, weekly rest, rest breaks and (where applicable) night work; workers' entitlement is generally to an equivalent period of rest to what they have been deprived of, but in exceptional cases employers are able to make alternative arrangements to safeguard workers' health and safety.
Pay
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the median gross pay is of staff in his 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. [178167]
Jo Swinson: At present only 198 out of a total of 3,378 employees in BIS are shown as having declared their ethnic background on the new online HR system. This includes 15 employees that have declared they are from an ‘Asian’ background, 23 staff from a ‘Black’ background, nine employees from a ‘Mixed’ background, and 151 employees from a ‘White’ background. Three members of staff have responded but have preferred ‘not to say’. When broken down by grade and ethnic background, the numbers will be so low that they will not provide meaningful comparison.
Although BIS does not mandate the completion of diversity data, we have recently begun a high profile campaign to increase the number of diversity declarations in the Department, coincidental with the introduction of our new online HR System.
I have approached the chief executives of the Department's executive agencies (Insolvency Service, Companies House, National Measurement Office, Intellectual Property Office, UK Space Agency, Ordnance Survey, Met Office, Land Registry and the Skills Funding Agency) and they will respond to the hon. Member directly.
Letter from Catherine Mealing-Jones, dated 5 December 2013:
Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to ask what the median gross pay is of staff in his 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.
The UK Space Agency was formed on 1st April 2011. Due to the fact that the Agency consists of less than 60 staff of whom less than 5 are of black, Asian or another minority ethnic group, extrapolating the information as requested would identify specific individuals. Therefore, this response details the gross median pay across the UK Agency as a whole.
AO median gross pay £20,017
EO median gross pay £21,579
HEO median gross pay £25,152
SEO median gross pay £31,204
Grade 7 median gross pay £48,169
Grade 6 median gross pay £58,416
SCS median gross pay £58,809.
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Letter from Ed Lester, dated 4 December 2013:
I write on behalf of Land Registry in response to Parliamentary Question 178167 tabled on 3 December 2013 which asked the following:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the median gross pay is of staff in his 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.
The table gives the details required.
| Grade | Grade median (£) | White (£) | BME (£) |
I hope that you find this information useful.
Letter from Tim Moss, dated 6 December 2013:
I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 3 December 2013, UIN 178167 to the Secretary of State For Business, Innovation and Skills.
The median gross pay of staff in Companies House in each pay band is as follows:
| Pay Band | Median Gross Pay—White British (£) | Median Gross Pay—All Other Ethnic Backgrounds (£) |
The pay levels of Companies House's Senior Civil Service Staff are detailed in its Annual Report, which can be found at:
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/corporateDocuments/annualReport2012_13.shtml
As almost all personnel in Companies House have achieved the maximum of their pay band, the gross median pay is the same for all staff regardless of their ethnic background.
Letter from John Alty, dated 5 December 2013:
I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 03 December 2013, to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Intellectual Property Office is an Executive Agency and Trading Fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The information provided reflects the data provided by people on a voluntary basis. The “not known” category captures people who have not declared their ethnicity.
| Pay Band | White (£) | BAOME (£) | Not known (£) |
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Letter from John Hirst, dated 5 December 2013:
I am replying on behalf of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Questions tabled on 3 December 2013, UIN 178167 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Met Office does not operate a reward system based on pay bands. Rather it has a role based system where each role has a defined purpose, accountabilities and required professional skills. For the purpose of answering this question, these roles have been grouped together in bands that are broadly comparable to Civil Service grades. The information requested, based on these bandings and ethnicity information declared by staff, is given in the following table:
| Grade | Declared ethnicity | Median pay (£) |
I hope this helps.
Letter from Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB, dated 5 December 2013:
As Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, I have been asked to respond to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, “what the median gross pay is of staff in his 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.”
The answer is that Ordnance Survey holds insufficient data to provide any reliable statistical comparison of median gross pay between white and other ethnic categories on a grade by grade basis.
Ordnance Survey has just completed an Equal Pay audit and no justifiable evidence of lower pay in the non-white ethnic groups has been found. In 2008, Ordnance Survey introduced a short scale pay progression system in order to eradicate inequalities in pay.
I hope this information is helpful.
Letter from Peter Mason, dated 10 December 2013:
I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (NMO), an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 3 December 2013 asking what the median gross pay is of staff in offices of BIS and its executive agencies in each pay band who are identified by their ethnicity.
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Because of the small size of the Agency (current headcount 78) and the number of different pay grades (7), I am advised that providing information on median gross pay in each pay band by ethnicity could make it possible to identify the pay of individual staff members, in contravention of the Data Protection Act. I regret, therefore, that we are unable to provide this information.
Letter from Barbara Spicer, dated 4 December 2013:
Thank you for your question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the median gross pay is of staff in his 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. (178167)
Please see table for detail on median salaries for the Skills Funding Agency by grade and ethnicity groupings.
| Grade | White (£) | Black and Minority Ethnic (£) | Not Stated (£) |
Letter from Dr Richard Judge, dated 10 December 2013:
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question, what the median gross pay is of staff in his 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. My response relates to the Insolvency Service, an Executive Agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The tables show the current median gross pay per Insolvency Service pay band and individual pay range for all employees and also the breakdown of employees who have and have not declared their ethnicity on our HR database—split into Black and Minority Ethnicity (BME) and white employees, along with those that are not known.
| Median by Band | ||||||
| £ | ||||||
| INSS A (AA/AO) | INSS B (E/HEO) | INSS C (SEO) | INSS D (G6/7) | INSS L1 (E/HEO) | SCS | |
| Median by Grade | |||
| Grade | BME (£) | Not Known (£) | White British (£) |
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| 1 Insolvency Service L pay band and grades are qualified Insolvency Examiners. | |||
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the median gross pay of (a) men and (b) women is in each pay band in his Department. [178185]
Jo Swinson: This information is contained in the Statistical Bulletin Tables (Table 32) of the 2013 Civil Service Statistics. This is available on the following page on the Office for National Statistics website:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-319802
Recruitment
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of staff recruited to his Department since 5 May 2010 were (a) men and (b) women. [178147]
Jo Swinson: The following table shows the proportion of men and women externally recruited to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills each financial year since 1 April 2010 to 31 August 2013.
| Percentage | ||
| Male | Female | |
Royal Mail
Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which companies or groups bought the three largest amounts of shares at Royal Mail's recent privatisation; what value of shares was bought by such companies or groups; and what the value of that shareholding was four hours after the initial flotation. [178073]
Michael Fallon: All investors in Royal Mail—whether individuals or institutions—have a legitimate expectation of privacy and it would not be appropriate to disclose the list of new shareholders allocated shares at IPO and the holdings.
The top three shareholders allocated shares at IPO were considered well-informed, longer-term investors and 85% of the shares allocated to institutions were
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allocated to shareholders of similar status. The highest number of shares received by a single institution through the IPO was less than 2% of the overall number of shares in the company.
Skilled Workers
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the impact of levels of skills used in the workplace on wage progression. [178265]
Matthew Hancock: The Employer Skills Survey for 2011 provides information on the skill levels of the UK work force and the extent to which employers report that their workers have the skills required to do their job. The report is published at the following link, but it provides no evidence on the link with wage progression.
http://www.ukces.org.uk/assets/ukces/docs/publications/ukces-employer-skills-survey-11.pdf
Pursuant to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 26 November 2013, Official Report, columns 214-15W, information on the mean hourly wage of full-time employees aged 19-59/64 by level of highest qualification held in England (based on the Labour Force Survey) is published in a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release. This table is published at the following link:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/F117C12B-B33D-4C5F-A273-F119E0F4E68A/0/LFS_supplementary_Mean_Hourly_Wage_April13.xls
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/fe_data_library/labour_force_survey
BIS Research Paper numbers 45 and 53 provide the Department's latest estimates of the wage returns to higher qualifications and to intermediate and low-level vocational qualifications respectively. These reports are published at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-qualifications-returns-and-benefits
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/r/11-1282-returns-intermediate-and-low-level-vocational-qualifications
For example, BIS Research Paper 45 shows that individuals with an advanced apprenticeship earn around 22% more in employment than similar individuals with Level 2 qualifications. Those with an intermediate apprenticeship earn 12% more in employment than similar individuals with Level 1 or other Level 2 qualifications.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to assist employers and trades unions to improve levels of workplace skills. [178268]
Matthew Hancock: Creating apprenticeships is a top priority for this Department. In 2013-14, we have allocated £1.566 billion. Most recent figures show there are currently 858,900 on our apprenticeships programmes.
In 2012, this Department launched the Employer Ownership Pilots aimed at inviting employers to come together to develop new skills approaches across their sector or local areas bringing together work experience, apprenticeships and training opportunities for their workers. A budget of £340 million has been allocated.
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This Department supports unionlearn, the training arm of the TUC. In 2013-14, unionlearn is supporting 44 learning projects with individual trade unions aimed at encouraging members to engage in learning ranging from basic skills through to level 3 and into higher education. A budget of £13.2 million for the period April 2014 to March 2015 has been allocated.
Skills Funding Agency
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) if he plans further staff reductions in the Skills Funding Agency; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such reductions on the Agency; [178613]
(2) if he will undertake an equality impact assessment of the effects a reduction in staff in the Skills Funding Agency would have on the services currently provided; [178615]
(3) if he will undertake an equality impact assessment of restructuring and staff reductions in the Skills Funding Agency. [178616]
Matthew Hancock: The chief executive of Skills Funding Agency (SFA) is responsible for managing the work of the agency within budget. It is important that the agency can operate efficiently and effectively in its role of ensuring that public funding for adult education and training is allocated to further education colleges, training providers and local authorities. This reflects the Government's ongoing commitment to give the further education sector freedom to deliver the education and skills provision needed within their local areas and has resulted in further changes being made to the structure and staffing of the agency.
The chief executive of SFA is responsible for all matters concerning the staffing and operations of the SFA. I have therefore asked Barbara Spicer, the interim chief executive, to reply to the hon. Member direct and a copy of her letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Students: Finance
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether students taking up the new places in higher education announced in the Autumn Statement 2013 will attract student maintenance support on the same basis as other English students in higher education. [178847]
Mr Willetts: All eligible students attending full-time courses in the 2014-15 academic year will be able to apply for the full-time maintenance support package. Decisions on the student support package for 2015-16 will be made and announced in the new year in line with the usual timetable.
Students: Loans
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the new higher education student places announced in the Autumn Statement 2013 will attract fee loan support on the same basis as all other English students. [178849]
Mr Willetts:
All eligible students undertaking full-time courses in the 2014-15 academic year will be able to apply for fee loans to meet the costs of their tuition.
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Decisions on the student support package for 2015-16 will be made and announced in the new year in line with the usual timetable.
UK Space Agency
Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to promote the work of the UK Space Agency. [178637]
Mr Willetts: The UK Space Agency is an executive agency of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The Communications team in the UK Space Agency and the BIS Press Office team work together closely to convey the work of the UK Space Agency in the media and to the general public in order to achieve the outcomes centred on economic growth set out in the Civil Space Strategy. This will be particularly important as Britain's first European Space Agency astronaut, Tim Peake, prepares for his flight to the International Space Station in 2015 which will provide an excellent platform for a campaign to promote the UK space programme including education and outreach.
Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to assist local authorities to reduce anti-social behaviour resulting from excess consumption of alcohol bought at off-licenses; and if he will make a statement. [178712]
Norman Baker: The Government has introduced a range of measures to help tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder. It has radically reformed the Licensing Act 2003 to rebalance it in favour of local communities. Key measures implemented in 2012 include the new early morning alcohol restriction orders and the late night levy powers. These allow local authorities to restrict the sale of alcohol at night, including off-licence sales, and to allow local authorities to require premises selling alcohol late at night to contribute to the costs of policing the late night economy. Other recent reforms have increased local powers and made it easier to review, close down or impose conditions on problem premises. The Government will legislate by April 2014 to tackle the worst excesses of heavily discounted alcohol by banning sales below the level of duty plus VAT. Through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, currently before Parliament, the Government aims to simplify and increase the flexibility of tools and powers available to local communities to tackle antisocial behaviour.
Entry Clearances: Shipping
Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) after what period of time a commercial ship is required to depart a port following the embarkation of any new foreign crew who undertake paid employment but who entered the UK without a visa; [178762]
(2) what visa requirements apply to foreign seafarers entering the UK prior to embarkation on a ship. [178763]
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Mr Harper: Seamen who are nationals or citizens of countries or territories listed in Appendix 1 of the Immigration Rules normally require visas to enter the UK if they are under contract to join a ship due to leave British waters, unless they hold a seaman's identity document issued in line with the International Labour Organisation Convention No. 108. Seamen from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) seeking entry to the UK to join a ship that will remain wholly or largely in UK waters require permission to work unless the ship is carrying out mainland cabotage in accordance with European Council regulation 3577/92/EC.
There is no specific time limit for ships to leave the UK following embarkation of any new non-EEA crew but such crew members must leave the UK on the ship in question within a reasonable period of time depending on the circumstances of the ship and leave to enter for the purpose of joining a ship can be granted for up to six months.
Human Trafficking
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the success of the human trafficking free phone number 0800 783 2589 since it was launched in June 2011; and how widely that number is publicised. [177995]
James Brokenshire: The Metropolitan police free phone number is used for reporting trafficking concerns to the specialist human trafficking unit. At the time of launch the number was publicised through a non-governmental organisation developed poster campaign aimed at target communities and partner agencies where potential victims or those who support them might see the number. It is also available on a range of websites.
No formal assessment has been made of the Metropolitan police hotline. However, since its launch in 2011 it has received 133 calls reporting trafficking suspicions or seeking anti-trafficking advice.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children under 18 years have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as being trafficked for (a) domestic servitude and (b) other forms of exploitation since the NRM came into operation. [177997]
James Brokenshire: Between 1 April 2009 and 3 December 2013 there were 1,190 minors referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Of these, 105 were recorded as cases of domestic servitude. There were 1,085 child referrals recorded as other types of exploitation.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether National Referral Mechanism (NRM) statistics are adjusted to reflect circumstances in which a victim of trafficking is initially given a negative NRM decision but then receives a subsequent decision that they are conclusively a victim of trafficking either in a court of law or as a result of a competent authority settling before a judicial review. [177998]
James Brokenshire: The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) captures amendments to trafficking decision outcomes. Quarterly NRM statistics reflect the status of a person's case at the time of publication.
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Immigration Controls
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people detained by the Border Force in each of the last five years have absconded from bail. [177565]
Mr Harper: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Immigration Controls: Aviation
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK Border Force personnel were assigned to and given specific training for meeting passengers arriving into the UK assessed as high-risk on scheduled flights in 2012-13. [179580]
Mr Harper [holding answer 3 December 2013]: All Border Force operational staff have the training required to meet passengers arriving into the UK assessed as high-risk on both scheduled and unscheduled flights. If the risk assessment determines that arrest or restraint may be required, suitably qualified arrest trained officers will meet the flight.
Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
Mr Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the length of passport control delays at Heathrow airport. [177858]
Mr Harper: Since July 2012 Heathrow Border Force has continually exceeded the set service level agreement it has with Heathrow Airport Ltd, which is to process 95% of European economic area (EEA) passengers within 25 minutes, and 95% non-EEA passengers within 45 minutes.
During October 2013, it processed 100% of EEA passengers and 99.73% of non-EEA passengers within these service standards.
Passports: Malta
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has made to (a) her Maltese counterpart and (b) the European Commission on the decision by the Maltese Government to offer Maltese passports for sale to non-EU citizens. [177176]
Mr Harper: The Government are clear that EU citizens who benefit from the right to free movement must adhere to the responsibilities this brings with it. The Government do not tolerate the abuse of free movement rights and are working at a domestic level and with other member states to tackle such abuse.
Surveillance
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has awarded costs to individuals found to have been victims of unlawful surveillance in the last five years. [178092]
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James Brokenshire [holding answer 9 December 2013]: Making a complaint to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal is free of charge, although the Tribunal does not meet any legal fees incurred, such as where complainants have instructed a solicitor or legal advisor. However, under section 67(7) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, the Tribunal has the power to make any such award of compensation or other order as it considers fit.
No compensation has been awarded in the period 2009 to 2013. Compensation was last awarded in 2008 when £2,500 in compensation was awarded to a complainant (reference IPT/06/31/CH). Information on that complaint can be found on the IPT website.
Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures currently in force and which have already been renewed once will expire in January 2014. [178575]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 9 December 2013]: The number of Terrorism Prevention and Investigatory Measures (TPIM) notices in force was last reported to Parliament in the last quarterly statement on 12 September 2013. The next reporting period ended on 30 November and will be reported to Parliament shortly.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to promote women's rights in Afghanistan. [178359]
Hugh Robertson: The UK has been forthright in its promotion of the full participation of women in all aspects of Afghan society, which is fundamental to securing a stable and prosperous future Afghanistan. We regularly raise the protection and promotion of women's rights with the Afghan Government and wider Afghan authorities. During her visit to Afghanistan early last month, the Senior Minister of State, my right hon. and noble Friend, the Baroness Warsi, underlined the importance of upholding historic gains in all areas since 2001, including human rights, education and health, with Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr Ershad Ahmadi, and other Government representatives. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development also stressed the importance of this issue with President Karzai during her visit to Afghanistan at the end of last month. We will continue to raise women's rights at all levels.
The three-year review of delivery of the UK National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security (2010-2013) was laid in Parliament in November and includes details of the activities undertaken by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence to support Afghan women over the last three years. The Secretary of State for International Development has also recently announced a new £7.5 million programme to support women's political participation at the provincial level and a new £3 million programme to help eliminate violence against women and girls in Afghanistan.
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Afzal Amin
Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Afzal Amin is employed as a special adviser in his Department. [178736]
Hugh Robertson: Mr Afzal Amin is not employed as a special adviser in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Ascension Island
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the baseline assessment is for Ascension Island fisheries against which trends and sustainability of stocks of target and by-catch species are measured. [178685]
Mark Simmonds: Fisheries management is a devolved issue and as such is the responsibility of the Ascension Island Government. Commercial fishing has been licensed since 2010 on a trial basis with no available baseline assessments. The Ascension Island Government are reviewing the future management of their fisheries with a view to introducing a new standards and research capacity to assure the sustainable management and protection of fish stocks. All existing licences expire at the end of 2013 and no new licences will be issued until a new regime has been put in place.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total number of fish of each species, caught in Ascension Island's fisheries and landed was in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 to date. [178686]
Mark Simmonds: Fisheries management is a devolved issue and as such is the responsibility of the Ascension Island Government. A pilot commercial fishery was set up in October 2010. Data from before this period are unavailable. The following figures are in metric tons.
| Metric tons | |
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