Occupational Pensions

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that companies who have fewer than 50 workers in the UK but a larger workforce abroad are not classed as a small business for the purposes of the automatic pension enrolment programme. [180741]

Steve Webb: The process for fixing staging dates for automatic enrolment is set out in legislation. Staging dates are determined by the number of workers in the PAYE scheme on 1 April 2012. Each employer's staging date was set using the latest information available to the regulator as at 1 April 2012.

There may be discrepancies between some employers' international size and the size of their UK PAYE scheme at 1 April 2012. The Pensions Regulator's must apply the law on staging dates consistently to all employers irrespective of size. Ministers and the regulator have no discretion to change staging dates.

Pension Annuities

Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps (a) the Pensions Advisory Service and (b) his Department have taken to promote awareness of the alternatives to pension annuities. [180904]

Steve Webb: The information is as follows:

(a) TPAS has promoted awareness of alternatives to pension annuities via:

Information provided in response to queries from individuals. TPAS advisers discuss all the options available and the implications of these decisions.

Speaking to the adviser and provider community about open market options (which will include discussion of alternatives).

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The TPAS website—which contains information about choices when drawing down pension income and individuals are encouraged to contact the organisation to discuss the issue in more detail; and

Contributing to cross-organisational work codes of practice regarding retirement choice.

(b) DWP has promoted awareness of alternative to annuities via:

Regulations that require all money purchase schemes to write to their members as they approach retirement age and provide them with information about their retirement choices. This information is known as a ‘wake up pack’ and must include a leaflet that sets out all options; providers can use the Money Advice Service (MAS) leaflet "Pensions: Your Time to Choose" or an equivalent wording.

Promoting a clear 'three step customer journey' within the above literature—step 2 is about considering what type of income best suits the particular circumstances of the individual—annuity or other option, and if an annuity, what shape of annuity; and

Ensuring outputs from the Open Market Option Review Group, which DWP chairs, reflect the three step journey. Examples are: the ABI Code of Conduct on Retirement Choices; the MAS leaflet; and the Pension Regulator's Guidance to Trustees.

Post Office Card Account

Mr Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) on what basis the contract for the Post Office card account will be tendered if a new contract is continued into 2015; and if he will make a statement; [180411]

(2) what steps he is taking to ensure the continuation of the Post Office card account once the contract for the provision of that account expires in March 2015. [180629]

Mike Penning: DWP is in discussion with Post Office Ltd, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Treasury, about the future for the Post Office card account. The details of these discussions remain confidential for commercial reasons. The contract does include the option to extend for up to two years from March 2015.

Poverty

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what definition his Department uses for (a) poverty and (b) relative low income. [180802]

Esther McVey: The Government use a range of measures to quantify poverty. Relative low income is one measure, and is used in the Households Below Average Income National Statistics publication. Someone is in relative low income if they are in a household that receives less than 60% of the median equivalised net household income (‘average income’). Other main measures of poverty presented in the Households Below Average Income National Statistics publication include:

Absolute low income—where someone lives in a household that receives less than 60% of the average household income in 2010-11 adjusted for inflation;

Combined low income and material deprivation for children—where a child is in material deprivation and lives in a household where income is less than 70% of the average household income;

Persistent poverty—where someone lives in a household where income is less than 60% of average household income for at least three out of the last four years;

Material deprivation for pensioners; and

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Some variations of relative and absolute low income—where someone lives in a household that receives less than 50% or 70% of the average household income. These measures are supplementary to the 60% measure.

Relative low income, absolute low income, persistent poverty, and variations of relative and absolute low income are measured both before housing costs and after housing costs. Housing costs include; rent (gross of housing benefit); water rates, community water charges and council water charges; mortgage interest payments; structural insurance premiums (for owner occupiers); ground rent and service charges.

The Child Poverty Act 2010 sets four income-based UK-wide targets to be met by 2020. The targets are based on the proportion of children living in households with relative low income, combined low income and material deprivation, absolute low income and persistent poverty (all before housing costs have been taken into account) as outlined above.

We want to develop better measures of child poverty which include, but go beyond, income to provide a more accurate picture of the reality of child poverty and drive the right action. The Government have consulted on how best to measure child poverty. The complexity of the issue means that we need to take time to ensure we have the best measure of child poverty. We will publish our response as soon as we can.

Social Security Benefits

Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what steps his Department takes to ensure that people who are entitled to claim advances of benefits are made aware that they may do so; [180726]

(2) who is eligible to claim advances in benefits; and under what circumstances such advances may be claimed. [180727]

Esther McVey: Short-term benefit advances and universal credit advances are available to support claimants to meet day to day expenses, normally whilst the claimant is waiting for their first benefit payment. To be offered an advance there must be a likelihood that benefit will be paid and the claimant must be in financial need (defined as a serious risk of damage to the health or safety of the claimant or a member of his family). These advances are not a specific benefit or a separate scheme like the Social Fund and the process reflects this. Where the claimant tells us they are in financial need then DWP staff will consider an advance where appropriate. This will most commonly happen at the new claims stage when DWP staff are discussing with the claimant what will happen next. In universal credit this discussion can include budgeting advice.

A budgeting advance is an advance of benefit that may be available to universal credit claimants on low income who have been claiming universal credit, or a qualifying legacy benefit, continuously for six months or more in order to meet an intermittent need or expense. This could include buying essential items like furniture. Where the expense is linked to obtaining or retaining employment, such as paying up-front childcare costs, the six month qualifying period may be waived. Information about claiming Budgeting Advances is available with other budgeting advice on the DWP universal credit website and the GOV.UK website and from DWP staff.

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Claimants on the Work programme who require help starting work are told about the availability of budgeting advances to support their entry into work as part of the work service provision.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will commission research on the number of benefits claimants sanctioned and the use of food banks; and what assessment he has made of trends in the number of benefits claimants sanctioned over the last three years. [180927]

Esther McVey: Trends in the number of benefit claimants sanctioned over the last three years are publicly available and set out at

JSA sanctions prior to October 2012 (Old Regime decisions) are available at:

http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/sanction/sanction/LIVE/tabtool.html

JSA New Regime and all ESA sanctions decisions are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255568/sanctions-nov2013-update-2.xls

Income Support lone parent regime sanctions are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/income-support-lone-parent-regime-figures-on-sanctions-and-work-focused-interviews--2

The Department is not currently undertaking any research on the use of food banks. We have a rigorous process for identifying what research to undertake, and projects and the research methodology to be used are agreed following detailed consideration of our information needs, to ensure resources are appropriately focussed, and we achieve value for money. Future research will be considered alongside all other departmental priorities.

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his written statement of 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 65-6WS, on universal credit, what budget he has allocated to the new digital service for universal credit. [180772]

Esther McVey: Costs for the future development of the digital service remain subject to on-going commercial discussions.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on the existing universal credit pathfinder sites. [180773]

Esther McVey: The most recent estimate of the cost of existing universal credit pathfinder sites is set out in the NAO report Universal Credit: Early progress, HC 621, published on 5 September 2013.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the freezing of universal credit work allowances will save. [180774]

Esther McVey: Disregards in existing income based benefits are generally not uprated year on year. The £5 earnings disregard in Income Support has been at this level for at least 25 years. In universal credit, new work

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allowances will improve financial work incentives for many people. For example, in 2018-19, the work allowance for a single person over 25, without children, is projected to be £25.60 per week as compared to the current JSA disregard of £5 per week (2013-14 prices).

The work allowance rates will be fixed for the first three years, to uprate them by 1% for those three years would lead to an additional cost in the region of £300 million in 2018-19 (2013-14 prices).

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people his Department employed directly from the Work programme in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013 to date. [180855]

Mike Penning: The Department follows civil service recruitment policy, recruiting individuals into equivalent grades. Although the Department keeps information on all recruits, statistics on the numbers of people recruited directly from the Work programme are not collected.

Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the proportion of people on the Work programme who possess the basic computer literacy skills necessary to use Jobmatch; what support is available for those on the Work Programme who are required to use Universal Jobmatch but do not possess the computer skills to do so, and how such information is used by providers or Jobcentres to ensure skills gaps are addressed. [181708]

Esther McVey: The Department does not assess the computer literacy skills of people referred to the Work programme. The Work programme offers tailored support to all participants and providers look at individuals' specific skill needs when helping them gain employment.

Women and Equalities

Ministers

Ian Lucas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how much was spent on ministerial salaries in the last year for which figures are available. [180100]

Mrs Grant: The total spend on ministerial salaries for the financial year 2012-13 is included in the DCMS Annual Report and Accounts which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-13

Culture, Media and Sport

Arts Council England

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what capital grants were made by Arts Council England for culture-based projects in each region in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 to date. [180430]

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Mr Vaizey: The Department does not hold the information requested. Arts Council England (ACE) makes its funding decisions independently of Government. ACE publishes information on capital grants awarded for culture based projects at:

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-for-funding/capital/

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-for-funding/capital/small-capital-grants/successful-applicants/

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-for-funding/capital/large-capital-grants/successful-applicants/

Cinema Advertising

Mr Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will end the statutory requirement for the British Board of Film Classification to clear cinema advertisements. [180926]

Mr Vaizey: The Government have announced previously that it will end the requirement for the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to clear cinema advertising. We are considering the most efficient way to implement the change and will announce next steps shortly.

Football

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make an assessment of the value of bringing forward legislative proposals to allow the reintroduction of standing areas for English football club stadiums. [180467]

Mrs Grant: The Government currently believe that the requirement for football clubs in the Premier League and Championship to have all-seater stadia is the best way to ensure the safety, security and comfort of spectators at football grounds in England and Wales. The football authorities, police and those responsible for safety support this policy. While the Government do not therefore consider that a compelling case has been made to change the policy, it recognises the importance of continuing to engage in an informed and constructive debate about the issue.

Ministers’ Salaries

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent on ministerial salaries in the last year for which figures are available. [180094]

Mrs Grant: The total spend on ministerial salaries for the financial year 2012-13, is included in the DCMS Annual Report and Accounts which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-13

National Lottery: Grants

Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the total level of national lottery grants awarded through the Big Lottery Fund and other disbursement streams in each parliamentary constituency to local groups in the year to 1 October 2013. [180869]

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Mrs Grant: Details for national lottery grants awarded by the Big Lottery Fund and the other lottery distributing bodies can be found on the Department's lottery grants database. The database is searchable by constituency at

http://www.lottery.culture.gov.uk/AdvancedSearch.aspx

and uses information on lottery grants supplied by the lottery distributors.

Public Footpaths: Coastal Areas

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what assessment her Department has made of the time frame for full completion of the national coastal footpath around England; [179053]

(2) how much her Department has budgeted for the introduction of a national coastal footpath around England. [179054]

Dan Rogerson: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 November 2013, Official Report, column 277W.

Tennis: Young People

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to promote tennis participation to people between the ages of 16 and 25; and if she will make a statement. [180587]

Mrs Grant: Sport England has committed £17.4 million over the next four years to get more people playing tennis regularly, with a specific focus on encouraging 16 to 25-year-olds to play more. This includes £1.5 million to the Lawn Tennis Association for 2013-14 to raise participation levels for this age group, through new programmes designed specifically to appeal to young people. In addition, Sport England is investing in tennis through colleges and universities and offering more informal opportunities in community settings such as park courts to make it easier for 16 to 25-year-olds to take up tennis.

William Hill

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish a list of all paper and electronic correspondence between (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisers in her Department and Andrew Lyman, head of Public Affairs at William Hill plc in the last three years. [180850]

Mrs Grant: Subject to determining what information is held by the Department within the timetable allowed by the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and whether that information is eligible for disclosure, the Department will look to publish a list of any eligible correspondence in the Libraries of both Houses.

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Treasury

Aviation: Passengers

Steve Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effects of the Commissioners' Directions on passenger information on the UK's general aviation sector. [180571]

Nicky Morgan: The Commissioners' Directions, which were made under the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) 1979, s35 and 64(1) on 21 May 2013, set out the requirement for reporting passenger information in advance. The Directions replaced the previous Directions, which had been in place since 2001.

Since then a review of the 2013 Directions has taken place and this has identified some operational difficulties with the advance notification time scales. Border Force and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are working closely with the General Aviation Sector to develop revised time scales as soon as possible. Once there is an agreed proposal HMRC and Border Force will consult widely and will welcome any views at that time.

While these discussions are under way the time limits specified in these Directions will not be rigorously enforced and existing arrangements for scheduled airlines and shipping traffic remain as before these Commissioners' Directions were published.

Christmas Cards

Michael Dugher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his private ministerial office spent on sending Christmas cards in 2012. [168689]

Nicky Morgan: The private ministerial office of the Chancellor of the Exchequer spent £456.00 on Christmas cards in 2012, an average cost of 18p a card.

This compares to a spend of 92p per card under the previous Administration.

Fuel Excise Duties

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend the excise payment security system to independent petrol stations; what assessment he has made of the effect on such petrol stations of failing to apply the scheme to them; and if he will make a statement. [180517]

Nicky Morgan: The excise payment security system (EPSS) allows compliant taxpayers approved for deferment of excise duties to do so without the need to provide security, such as a bank guarantee.

EPSS does not apply to or exclude particular sectors. Approval is granted based on compliance history and financial viability. The criteria against which applications are assessed are explained in Frequently Asked Questions published on the HMRC website:

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channels PortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageExcise_ ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD1_026818&propertyType =document

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Financial Services

Mr Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of households who were involved in buying mortgage-backed securities in the UK between 2001 and 2008; and how much compensation those households have received for being sold bad loans to date. [180918]

Sajid Javid: The Government have not made any estimates of households involved in buying mortgage backed securities between 2001 and 2008.

Interest Rate Swap Transactions

Ian Swales: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of progress of redress arrangements for businesses subject to interest rate swap mis-selling. [180424]

Sajid Javid: The Government are continuing to monitor closely the progress of redress arrangements for businesses subject to interest rate swap mis-selling.

The Financial Conduct Authority has now published each bank's projections for when they expect to finish the review process. Banks expect to finish the review by June 2014, with a number of banks likely to finish before this date. The Government will continue to track progress against these projections closely.

Loan: Republic of Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the UK's loan to the Irish Republic will be repaid in full. [180785]

Nicky Morgan: The UK agreed in 2010 to provide a bilateral loan to Ireland of £3.2 billion as part of an international financial assistance package of €67.5 billion. The loan was disbursed in eight tranches of £403.37 million each.

Each tranche has a maturity of 7.5 years from the date of disbursement. The final tranche was disbursed on 26 September 2013 and the final principal repayment of the loan is due on 26 March 2021.

In accordance with the Loans to Ireland Act 2010, HM Treasury reports to Parliament every six months including information on principal and interest payments.

Northern Rock Asset Management

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received about the Northern Rock Asset Management Group; and if he will make a statement. [180770]

Sajid Javid: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has not received any recent representations on Northern Rock Asset Management Group.

Pension Annuities

Mr Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of alternatives to pension annuities. [180902]

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Mr Gauke: When people have saved hard for a pension, it is right that they should get the best out of their savings at retirement.

In addition to ongoing work on the annuities market, the Government have increased opportunities to save and has given people more freedom with their retirement plans by removing both the default retirement age and the effective requirement to purchase an annuity by age 75. Individuals are permitted to take 25% of their accumulated pension saving as a tax-free lump sum before securing an income with the remaining savings. The Government have also reformed the capped drawdown rules and raised the annual limit from 100% to 120% of the value of an equivalent annuity. This will help raise the retirement incomes of individuals in drawdown arrangements who may have recently experienced reductions in drawdown income due to current conditions.

Mr Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the take-up of (a) flexible drawdown pensions and (b) capped drawdown pensions. [180903]

Mr Gauke: In the financial year 2011-12 1,593 payments were made from pension funds under flexible drawdown arrangements. HMRC does not hold information for the financial year 2012-13, and does not collect data on take up of capped drawdown arrangements.

Fuels Laundering

Dr McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate HM Revenue and Customs has made of loss of revenue as a result of fuel laundering in Northern Ireland in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [179840]

Nicky Morgan: No assessment has been made of the loss of revenue purely as a result of fuel laundering activities in Northern Ireland. However, tax gap figures published in the document at the following link give estimates of revenue lost to illicit fuel on the GB mainland, and the non-UK duty paid market share in Northern Ireland, which includes both legitimate cross border shopping and illicit fuel.

Additionally, as highlighted in this report HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) analysts have, for the first time, developed a methodology that, tentatively, splits out the legitimate cross border shopping element and estimates the market share for all illicit diesel in Northern Ireland at 12% to 13% in 2011-12.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps/mtg-2013.pdf

HMRC fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. HMRC has also recently concluded the evaluation of a possible new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.

Social Security Benefits

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether maternity and paternity pay will be included in the cap on welfare spending announced in the Autumn Statement 2013. [180088]

19 Dec 2013 : Column 768W

Nicky Morgan: As set out in the autumn statement 2013, the welfare cap will apply to all benefits, with the exception of the state pension and jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) and its passported housing benefit (HB).

The welfare cap is not a line-by-line cap. The Government will be held to account for total welfare spending. Changes in individual spending lines will not automatically require policy action in those policy areas.

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which benefits (a) will and (b) will not be included in the welfare cap. [180218]

Nicky Morgan: Autumn statement 2013 confirmed that the welfare cap will apply to all social security and personal tax credits expenditure for the UK, with exclusions for the basic and additional state pension and the most cyclical elements of welfare spending: jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) and JSA-passported housing benefit expenditure.

Taxation: Metals

Chris Kelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the likely change in tax receipts in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16, due to the (i) ban on cash payment for non-precious metal contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and (ii) reform of the scrap metal industry through the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 compared to tax receipts in 2012-13. [178717]

Nicky Morgan: The legislative changes contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing, and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 were prompted by escalating thefts of scrap metal. As some of the changes have only just come into effect it is too early to say what impact they are having on tax receipts.

Chris Kelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the value of cash transactions within the scrap metal industry that avoided direct and indirect taxes due to evasive record keeping in the latest year for which figures are available. [178744]

Nicky Morgan: There are no estimates of the value or the tax lost specifically due to cash transactions within the scrap metal industry.

HMRC published its latest available estimates of tax losses in “Measuring Tax Gaps 2013”

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps/mtg-2013.pdf

The publication includes an overall estimate of evasion for 2011-12.

Tonnage Tax

Karl Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the (a) strategic and (b) commercial links to the UK that (i) owners and (ii) managers of vessels applying for inclusion in the tonnage tax scheme are required to demonstrate in order to qualify for that scheme. [180594]

Nicky Morgan: Strategic management and commercial management of vessels within tonnage tax are assessed by reference to a range of factors which are described in

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detail in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published Tonnage Tax Manual, specifically at paragraphs 03800 to 03840.

Karl Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the (a) strategic and (b) commercial links to the UK that (i) owners and (ii) managers of vessels that have qualified for the tonnage tax scheme have demonstrated in each year that the scheme has been in operation. [180595]

Nicky Morgan: The UK Tonnage Tax regime is applied only to operators of qualifying vessels.

Whether the strategic and commercial management test is met in relation to vessels operated is one of the aspects covered by the pre-Tonnage Tax election clearance procedure described in full in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published Tonnage Tax Manual, specifically at paragraphs 02010 to 02070.

Company Tonnage Tax returns are subject to annual risk assessment, one of whose aspects is whether the strategic and commercial management test continues to be met.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Afghanistan

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will create a country-specific plan for supporting human rights defenders in Afghanistan including a gender analysis and with particular reference to the challenges faced by women human rights defenders. [180750]

Hugh Robertson: International support to human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, is most effective when co-ordinated through multilateral institutions such as the EU and in particular the UN. These bodies have the expertise and resources to fulfil this important role in country. The UK's approach is to work with and through these institutions to support national efforts. We therefore believe that a UK action plan in isolation would risk duplicating established mechanisms and strategies, and would add little additional value to our existing work to support human rights defenders in Afghanistan.

This existing work recognises the particular challenges faced by women and those working on women's issues, in line with the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders.

Bangladesh

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department made to the Bangladesh authorities about the death sentence passed on Abdul Quader Mollah (a) before and (b) after his execution. [180742]

Hugh Robertson: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 17 December 2013, Official Report, column 563W.

19 Dec 2013 : Column 770W

Central Africa

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the stage of peace talks in the Great Lakes region of Africa. [180875]

Mark Simmonds: We welcome the conclusion of the peace talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the M23. The Kampala Peace Talks were concluded on 12 December with declarations signed by both the DRC and M23.

I commend the engagement of the Ugandan mediators in facilitating the conclusion as well as the sustained efforts of the Government of the DRC and the Group of Special Envoys for the Great Lakes who all helped to shepherd this process to a successful conclusion.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in the Great Lakes region peace talks in the last six months. [180876]

Mark Simmonds: Intensive diplomatic efforts, including by myself and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with regional leaders, Foreign Ministers and the UN over the past six months, have resulted both in the M23's announcement on 5 November 2013 that it would cease its military action and the conclusion of the Kampala Talks on 12 December 2013 by the singing of declarations by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and M23.

Central African Republic

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what specialist training or experience representatives of his Department working (a) on the ground in or near the Central African Republic and (b) in the UK to help tackle the current problems in that country have in conflict resolution in respect of sectarian and religious differences. [180882]

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials working on Central African Republic (CAR) policy have a range of conflict resolution experience including the impact of sectarian and religious differences. The FCO has the support of specialist conflict advisers from various UK departments both in the region and through the tri-departmental Stabilisation Unit which has access to experts in a range of areas, including conflict resolution in respect of sectarian and religious differences. The FCO does not have an embassy in CAR, but covers the country from Yaounde, Cameroon.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the extent to which UN representatives dealing with the conflict in the Central Africa Republic have (a) specialist training and (b) experience in conflict resolution in respect of sectarian and religious differences. [180885]

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Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have detailed information on UN officials working on the Central African Republic (CAR). However, we understand the UN Office in CAR—BINUCA—is staffed with political, human rights, and protection advisers. In addition, the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) has taken on a strong role on CAR in 2013 due to the insecure environment in which BINUCA has had to operate, and is able to draw on mediation and conflict-resolution experts. The UK is providing US$ 11 million support to DPA from 2011 to 2014.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the Government has made to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on that country signing the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement. [180877]

Mark Simmonds: On 12 December I spoke to DRC President Kabila, and I have spoken regularly to the DRC Foreign Minister and also to the Chair of the Elections Commission to remind them of their obligations under the Peace Security and Cooperation Framework (PSCF). Senior Foreign and Commonwealth officials in Kinshasa have regular dialogues the DRC Government, in all relevant departments, about the need to make progress under the PSCF. In my statement on the conclusion of the Kampala Talks, I highlighted that the focus should now move swiftly to implementation of the PSCF. This remains the best hope for building sustainable peace and prosperity in eastern DRC.

Guatemala

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) the Government of Guatemala and (b) his EU counterparts on the provisions on human rights and the rule of law in the EU trade deal with Guatemala; and what his strategy is for supporting human rights and the rule of law in Guatemala. [180763]

Mr Swire: I have discussed the EU-Central America Association Agreement (EU-CA AA) with the Government of Guatemala on several occasions over the past year. We are committed to supporting the rule of law and the protection of human rights, which are crucial for Guatemala's democratic, social and economic development.

The British embassy in Guatemala City works closely with UN and EU officials to monitor the overall human rights situation in Guatemala. Embassy officials contributed to a joint EU human rights strategy in which enhancing protection mechanisms for human rights defenders, contributing to the reduction of social conflicts, and strengthening the justice system feature as priority actions.

In addition, the British embassy in Guatemala City regularly engages with the government, private sector International Labour Organisation representatives, and trade unionists to discuss ILO 87, a core convention for the EU-CA AA.

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Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Guatemalan Government in support of a free, fair and transparent process for the upcoming elections for the senior judiciary in that country; and what discussions he has had on international observers for those elections. [180778]

Mr Swire: There have been no ministerial representations made to the Government of Guatemala on the judicial elections scheduled for 2014.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Guatemalan Government on the trial of General Rios Montt and international standards on amnesties; and what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU regarding due process in that trial. [180779]

Mr Swire: There have been no ministerial representations to the Government of Guatemala on the trial of Efrain Rios Montt. However, the UK recognises the historical significance of this case and has worked closely with EU member states in Brussels and in Guatemala City to monitor its progress. UK representatives also joined EU colleagues in observing trial proceedings and have engaged in discussions with prosecution lawyers. In April, prior to the initial conviction, the spokesperson of the EU High Representative issued a statement on behalf of member states reiterating our willingness to assist Guatemalan national efforts to combat impunity and emphasising the need for trials to be independent, impartial and fair. Following the announcement that the trial will resume in 2015, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will continue to monitor the case and will consider a joint EU response to any future developments.

Occupied Territories

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of damage caused to Palestinian olive trees by Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. [180685]

Hugh Robertson: We have not made any recent assessment of the damage caused to Palestinian olive trees by Israeli settlers. However, according to information from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of 9 December 2013 OCHA has recorded the damage or destruction of over 10,510 olive trees or saplings in the context of settler-related incidents.

Palestinians

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is towards Palestinian membership of the International Olive Council. [180687]

Hugh Robertson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 420W.

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Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Israeli Government regarding the blockade of Gaza; and if he will make a statement. [R] [180769]

Hugh Robertson: Officials from our embassy in Tel Aviv raised the issue of easing of restrictions on 15 December with the Head of the Civil Coordination Department of the Israeli Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories Office (COGAT), and on 3 December with Head of COGAT's International Division.

Religious Freedom

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department will review the effectiveness of its strategy on tackling abuse of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (a) in jurisdictions where there is persecution of Christians and (b) in all other jurisdictions where such abuse is taking place. [180884]

Mr Lidington: The promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief is a human rights priority for this Government and we keep our strategy for tackling it under constant review. We will continue to do so including through our new expert advisory group on freedom of religion or belief, which we will establish under the Senior Minister of State, my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi in the new year.

We believe that there is a need for a stronger international response to the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities around the world. For this reason Baroness Warsi will be convening a major conference on this issue in early 2014.

Sri Lanka

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the Prime Minister's statement at CHOGM in Colombo in November 2013 that, if the Government of Sri Lanka do not complete investigations into alleged war crimes in that country by March 2014, he plans to call for an independent international inquiry, what estimate he has made of how quickly after March such an inquiry would (a) commence and (b) conclude. [180810]

Mr Swire: During his meeting with President Rajapaksa, the Prime Minister called for the Sri Lankan Government to hold a credible, independent, and transparent investigation into allegations of war crimes. If such a process has not begun properly by March 2014, we will use our place on the UN Human Rights Council to call for an international investigation. It remains too early to make a judgment on the precise details and timings of any international investigation.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Bisphenol A

Mr Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many manufacturers of the chemical Bisphenol A are based in the UK. [180691]

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Michael Fallon: There is no manufacturing of Bisphenol A in the UK.

Mr Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what volume of the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) the UK has produced over the last six years; what proportion of global production this constitutes; and what proportion of the total UK production of BPA is used in the food and drinks packaging industry (a) globally and (b) within the UK. [180692]

Michael Fallon: There is no production of Bisphenol A in the UK.

Business: Regulation

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to reduce the pressure of regulation on small businesses. [180478]

Michael Fallon: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has already started to reduce the pressure of regulation on small businesses by giving them the flexibility to determine the most appropriate set of accounting rules for them, along with flexibility in how they submit their company reports through regulatory changes to audit rules; extending the qualifying period of unfair dismissal to two years; introducing a new employment status of employee shareholder; withdrawing the extension of the right to request time to train to businesses with fewer than 250 employees, saving businesses around £390 per year and by launching an on-line tool called 'Employing Staff for the first time'.

More generally, this Government have taken specific and concrete steps to reduce the regulatory burdens placed on business by exempting micro businesses and start-ups from new regulations introduced across Government. From 1 April 2014 this will be extended to include small businesses (with up to 50 employees), through the introduction of the Small and Micro Business Assessment (SaMBA). We have also introduced the One-In, One-Out rule, so that if a Department wants to introduce a new regulation which generates costs for business, they must first identify a corresponding cut in regulation elsewhere with the same value. In January 2013 this was increased to a more demanding One-In, Two-Out rule. Departments now need to find £2 of savings for every £1 cost they introduce. To date, as set out in the 7th Statement of New Regulation published on 17 December 2013, we have cut the costs of domestic regulation by £1.19 billion.

The Government have committed themselves to scrapping or improving at least 3,000 regulations that affect business through the Red Tape Challenge—the cross-Whitehall programme to review the existing stock of regulation.

Almost 2,000 regulations have already been identified for reform, and over 800 changes have been implemented to date, saving businesses over £300 million per year, with further savings not yet quantified.

Since the Red Tape Challenge was launched in April 2011 BIS has been involved in more themes than any other Government Department, leading on seven and contributing to a further two. BIS has reviewed over 1,000 regulations and will be improving or scrapping over 60% of them.

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Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the red tape challenge. [180479]

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills regularly discusses the red tape challenge with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), at the Reducing Regulation Cabinet Sub-Committee (RRC), which he chairs.

The Government are making good progress with the red tape challenge target to identify, by end 2013, 3,000 regulations to scrap or reform. Almost 800 changes have already been implemented and are already saving businesses around £300 million per year, plus other further savings not yet quantified.

Day to day responsibility for the red tape challenge is shared between me as the Minister of State for Business and Energy, and the Minister for Government Policy, my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Mr Letwin), whom I meet regularly to receive updates from officials and discuss progress on implementation.

The full list of red tape challenge reforms and their associated cost saving for business will be published in early 2014 to Parliament and the general public.

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure small businesses can receive assured advice on regulation. [180530]

Michael Fallon: This Government are committed to ensuring regulatory enforcement supports small businesses to comply and grow. One way regulators can do this is by providing assured advice which is given on the basis that, where it is followed, the regulator will treat the business as compliant. This safeguards against inconsistency and provides businesses with confidence to invest in compliance.

To encourage those undertaking regulatory functions to provide assured advice wherever possible this Department has strengthened the statutory Regulators' Code to make clear that regulators should provide advice and guidance that is focused on assisting those they regulate to understand and meet their responsibilities. The revised Code also provides that, in responding to requests for advice, a regulator's primary concern should be to provide the advice necessary to support compliance, and to ensure that the advice can be relied on. The revised Code was published in draft in July 2013 and it will be laid in Parliament in the new year with a view to the provisions coming into force in April 2014.

In addition, eligible businesses can join the statutory primary authority scheme pursuant to Part 2 of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008. Under this scheme primary authorities have a statutory function of giving advice and guidance to business about a wide range of regulatory functions exercised by local authorities. A local authority cannot then take enforcement action which is inconsistent with that advice and guidance.

The primary authority scheme was recently extended by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 so that members of trade associations and franchisees are now eligible to form primary authority partnerships.

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This opens up the benefits of the scheme to the 48% of small businesses which rely on advice from trade associations to help them comply with regulation, and almost 37,000 franchise outlets

. We also intend to lay a statutory instrument in the new year to extend the primary authority scheme even further so that it covers fire safety regulations.

¹ Business Perception Survey 2012

http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/better-regulation/docs/b/12-p145-business-perceptions-survey-2012-report.pdf

Companies: Registration

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information companies will have to submit to the new registry of beneficial company ownership. [180706]

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published the Transparency and Trust discussion paper in July 2013. In it, we sought views on a range of questions relating to implementation of the central registry of company beneficial ownership information, including the information that companies would be required to submit. We are carefully considering the responses received to the discussion paper and will respond fully in early 2014.

Copyright: Design

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an estimate of the cost to the design sector of each month before the commencement of section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. [180801]

Mr Willetts: The evidence received during the recent Call for Evidence will help to shape the consultation on the date of the repeal and any necessary transitional provisions, which will be launched in due course. This will include consideration of the costs and benefits of the transitional options.

The Call for Evidence on the timing of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which would be implemented by virtue of section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, closed on 27 November 2013.

Energy: Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) whether he expects compensation for UK energy-intensive industries affected by the carbon floor price to be considered by the European Commission under the current state aid guidelines or the forthcoming revised state aid guidelines; and what assessment he has made of how the new guidelines would affect the prospect of state aid approval being granted; [180707]

(2) what obstacles remain to securing state aid approval from the European Commission for compensation for UK energy-intensive industries affected by the carbon floor price; and what assessment he has made of the probability of state aid approval being refused; [180709]

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(3) what contingency plans he has to protect UK energy-intensive industries in the event of the European Commission refusing to grant state aid approval for compensation for the carbon floor price. [180710]

Michael Fallon: The European Commission are using the existing energy and environmental state aid guidelines to consider the UK Government's state aid case for compensating Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs) for the cost of the carbon price floor.

The revision to these state aid guidelines were formally released by the European Commission for consultation on 18 December 2013. The UK Government will respond to the Commission in due course.

We have had extensive engagement with the European Commission on the state aid case and are awaiting a response from the Commission on our recent submission. Dependent on their response we expect to submit our formal notification early in the new year.

Exports: Government Assistance

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of small businesses in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Hendon constituency UKTI has helped to start exporting. [180569]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) supported 31,880 individual businesses in the 2012-13 financial year, 70% of which had less than 50 employees. Breakdowns of the data at either the regional or constituency level are not available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

For further detail on UKTI's Performance and Impact Monitoring Survey (PIMS) please see the UKTI website:

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/aboutukti/ourperformance/performanceimpactandmonitoringsurvey/quarterlysurveys.html

Exports: Medway

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises in Medway local authority area started exporting to a new market for the first time as a direct result of the work of UK Trade and Investment South East in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years. [180820]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) supported 31,880 individual firms in the 2012-13 financial year, 5,530 of which were new to exporting.

UKTI does not track the number of supported firms that started exporting to a new market for the first time. Instead, our performance and impact monitoring surveys measure additional sales and the business benefits derived as a result of the support provided. The UKTI Annual Report and Accounts (Annex C) provides a short overview to PIMS:

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/item/534440.html

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New Businesses: Wiltshire

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many start-up loans have been granted to businesses in (a) Swindon and (b) Wiltshire in the last five years. [181765]

Matthew Hancock: Since the launch of the start-up loan scheme in September 2012, eight loans with a value of £50,900 have been made in Swindon and 23 loans with a value of £128,350 have been made in Wiltshire.

Retail Trade

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what assessment he has made of how his Department’s retail strategy will benefit retailers in Hendon constituency; [180480]

(2) what steps his Department is taking to support the retail industry. [180481]

Michael Fallon: Actions included in the BIS Retail Strategy, published in October 2013, address barriers to growth for all retailers, including those in Hendon, and help them prepare for the future.

The Government recognise that retailers are experiencing difficult times, which is why the recent autumn statement of 5 December 2013, Official Report, columns 1101-13, announced the biggest business rates support package for 20 years including:

for all businesses the RPI increase in business rates capped at 2% in 2014-15;

extending the doubling of the small business rate relief for a further year to 31 March 2015. 540,000 small businesses benefit;

a business rates discount of £1,000 for smaller retail premises for two years, benefiting around 300,000 shops, pubs and restaurants;

a 50% discount for 18 months, for new occupants of vacant shops;

relaxing the small business rate relief criteria to remove the disincentive for the smallest businesses to take on second properties to support small business growth;

allowing ratepayers to insist that their billing authority lets them to pay their bills over 12 instalments, in time for payment of 2014-15 bills; and

consultation on increasing the transparency of the valuation system, and providing more information to businesses to improve confidence in the system—BIS helped to support the design of this measure.

We have also been working with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the town centre support package which was launched on 6 December 2013. As well as the announcement on business rates, the package is a mixture of support on parking and planning:

banning CCTV for parking;

allowing residents/firms to review parking policies;

a freeze on parking penalty charges;

a review of business improvement districts;

consultations on new permitted development rights;

making it easier to implement local development orders;

guidance on retail land reviews;

consultation to tackle aggressive parking policies, which harm high streets;

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a call for evidence on red tape; and

a competition for digital technology on high streets in January.

This work builds on a range of other measures this Government has taken to help high streets:

£2.3 million to support the 27 portas pilots;

£10 million from the High Street Innovation Fund to support 100 towns with high vacancy rates and those affected by the riot;

£500,000 loan fund for new business improvement districts; and

Funded 350 town teams across the country.

In addition, retailers including those in Hendon are entitled to the full range of business support services that BIS provide. “Small business: GREAT ambition”, published on 7 December 2014, is our commitment to making it easier for ambitious small businesses to grow. It responds to feedback from small businesses about how the Government can help at different points in their growth journey.

The publication coincided with Small Business Saturday, which the Government were pleased to support. Small Business Saturday was an opportunity for everyone to celebrate small local firms. On the day, I visited a number of independent shops in my constituency and I am aware that many of my ministerial colleagues did the same.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings and discussions took place between (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department and (i) the Financial Conduct Authority, (ii) the Prudential Regulation Authority and (iii) the Serious Fraud Office on Mr Lawrence Tomlinson's report on RBS ahead of its publication. [180531]

Matthew Hancock: Departmental officials forwarded Lawrence Tomlinson's full and unredacted report to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 23 October 2013, and to the Prudential Regulation Authority on 30 October 2013. The Department also authorised the FCA to pass the report to the Serious Fraud Office after receiving Mr Tomlinson's permission to do so on 30 October 2013. Officials in the Department discussed the report with the FCA to ensure that the context within which it had been prepared was understood.

Science: Finance

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the science budget will continue to be ring-fenced after 2015. [180797]

Mr Willetts: The Government have continued to state their support for science despite the tough financial situation with the science ringfence and the commitment to an increased long term capital budget to 2021.

Current budgets for post 2015 are not yet set. They will be decided in the next Spending Review after the general election.

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Students: Fees and Charges

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many first year undergraduates have paid annual tuition fees of (a) less than £2,000, (b) between £2,000 and £3,000, (c) between £3,000 and £4,000, (d) between £4,000 and £5,000, (e) between £5,000 and £6,000, (f) between £6,000 and £7,000, (g) between £7,000 and £8,000 and (h) between £8,000 and £9,000 in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14. [180892]

Mr Willetts: The information is not yet available. From the academic year 2012/13, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) started to capture information on the tuition fees charged to new students. This includes the “gross fee” charged before any financial support from the institution such as waivers are taken into account, and the “net fee” charged after adjustments have been made for financial support provided by their institution. This is the first year this information has been collected and analysts at HESA are assessing this data for quality and completeness.

Students: Loans

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects of the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast of average earnings of growth on his Department's estimate of the Resource Accounting and Budgeting charge. [180893]

Mr Willetts: We continue to review our estimate of the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge in light of new earnings data and other factors. Our current estimate of the RAB charge for post-2012 loans is around 40%.

Timesharing: Fees and Charges

Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress is being made on persuading timeshare companies to remove the in perpetuity clause on management fees from current contracts with ageing people. [181706]

Jo Swinson: The Department has asked the Office of Fair Trading to take a look at these long-term agreements and it hopes to report back to us early next year. In the Government's view, an “in perpetuity” clause cannot be enforced on a beneficiary of a deceased person's estate if they do not accept a bequeathed contract.

The Timeshare Association (TATOC) reports that timeshare companies in the UK are willing to engage with them and with timeshare owners, with a view to setting conditions under which timeshare owners might exit from their contracts, for example for reasons of age or ill health. The representative body for the timeshare industry, the Resort Development Organisation (RDO), has assured the Department that the trend in the industry is away from very long-term contracts, with consumers preferring only to commit to timeshare products for shorter periods. It too has been working with its members to establish rules and practices whereby timeshare owners who meet certain conditions can leave their contracts or convert them into other products which do not carry ongoing liabilities.

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Trading Standards

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the total number of trading standards officers in each year since 2010. [180910]

Jo Swinson: Neither the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills nor the Department for Communities and Local Government produces data on the total number of trading standards officers. Local authorities are responsible for determining local trading standards activity, including the number of officers in post.

William Hill

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings he has had with Andrew Lyman, head of Public Affairs at William Hill plc, in the last three years; on what date any such meetings were held; and what the purpose of those meetings was in each instance. [180849]

Jo Swinson: Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the gov.uk internet site and details are available via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-skills/series/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012

Cabinet Office

Breast Cancer

Mr Leech: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the age-standardised incidence rate for breast cancer is; how many diagnoses of breast cancer there were in (a) England, (b) each of the 15 Public Health England regional centres, (c) each primary care trust area and (d) each parliamentary constituency in each year since 2000. [180689]

Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Carol Walker, dated December 2013:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question.

What the age-standardised incidence rate for breast cancer is; how many diagnoses of breast cancer there were in (a) England, (b) each of the 15 Public Health England regional centres, (c) each primary care trust area and (d) each parliamentary constituency in each year since 2000. [180689]

Table 1 provides number of newly diagnosed cases and the age-standardised incidence rate for female breast cancer in England for each year from 2000 to 2011 (the latest year available).

Table 2 provides the number of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer (incidence) by Public Health England centres for each year from 2000 to 2011 (the latest year available). A copy of Table 2 has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Table 3 provides the number of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer (incidence) by primary care organisations for each year from 2000 to 2011 (the latest year available). Primary care organisations were abolished on the 1st April 2013 and replaced by clinical commissioning groups. A copy of Table 3 has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

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To also supply the number of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer for each parliamentary constituency for each year from 2000 to 2011 could only be done at disproportionate cost.

A copy of tables 2 & 3 will be placed in the Library of the House.

The latest published figures on cancer incidence in England are available on the National Statistics website at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-302299

Cybercrime: Crime Prevention

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) when the extra £210 million announced by his Department on 12 December 2013 was assigned to the cyber security budget; and from where it has been allocated; [180931]

(2) what the budget for cyber security is for each Department in each year of the current spending round; [180932]

(3) what recent assessment he has made of future funding need of the cyber security programme; and if he will publish that assessment. [180933]

Mr Maude: The additional £210 million funding to the National Cyber Security Programme was announced in the spending review 2013 in June. The budget for the remaining years of the programme is £210 million in both 2014-15 and 2015-16. This money has yet to be allocated to Departments, who are required to submit business cases to support their proposals each year. It is important to retain flexibility, to keep decisions on funding agile in response to a fast moving technological and threat landscape.

Funding for cyber beyond 2015-16 will be decided in subsequent spending reviews.

Employment: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people are employed in (a) Swindon North constituency and (b) Swindon in (i) commerce, (ii) manufacturing, (iii) the service sector and (iv) the financial sector. [181107]

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Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated December 2013:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people are employed in (a) Swindon North constituency and (b) Swindon in (i) commerce, (ii) manufacturing, (iii) the service sector and (iv) the financial sector. [181107]

Annual employment statistics are available from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). Table 1 below contains estimates of the number employed by broad industry group for Swindon North constituency and Swindon Local Authority District in 2012, the most recent year that figures are available.

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The table includes totals of the number employed in the service sector and those employed in businesses considered to be part of industries involved in commerce. Although there is no standard definition of commerce used by the Office for National Statistics, in this table commerce is taken to be the service sector with public administration, education, health and arts, entertainment and recreation removed. This is intended to reflect businesses that are involved in the activity of buying and selling, The table also shows the number employed in the manufacturing and the financial & insurance sectors.

National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:

http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Pay: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change there has been in median gross pay in Swindon since 2007. [181108]

Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated December 2013:

On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there has been in median gross pay in Swindon since 2007. (181108)

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Weekly levels of earnings, estimated from ASHE, are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. Figures relate to employee jobs, which are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed.

The following table shows estimates of median gross weekly earnings for employees in Swindon Unitary Authority from 2007 to 2013, the latest period for which results are available. These figures show that there was an increase of 1.6 per cent for all employees and an increase of 8.7 per cent for full-time employees in median gross weekly earnings between April 2007 and April 2013.

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Public Sector: Fraud

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the Counter Fraud Checking Service will come into operation. [180930]

Mr Maude: The CFCS was transferred from the National Fraud Authority to the Cabinet Office in line with the written ministerial statement laid by the Home Secretary on 2 December 2013, Official Report, column 36WS. We are running a set of pilots, between Government and the private sector, to identify the full benefits of an operational service.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people his Department employed directly from the Work programme in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013 to date. [180851]

Mr Maude: Since 1 April 2011, the Cabinet Office has provided 29 work experience placements under the Work programme.