Driving Tests
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the annual cost of running the driving theory test under his Department's contract with Pearson Driving Assessments Ltd is; and what estimate he has made of the annual cost of running that test under the contract with Learn Direct from September 2016. [181392]
Stephen Hammond: The annual cost of running the Driving Theory Test under the contract with Pearson Driving Assessments in 2012-13 was £31.46 million. As a result of new contract arrangements, net costs per test will fall from September 2014 and again from September 2016. The cost of running the Driving Theory Test from September 2016 with learndirect is largely dependent on the future volume of tests but DVSA estimates the annual cost will be between £21 million and £25 million.
Helicopters
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Authority on the weight of flight recorder equipment and the effect it would have on helicopter performance if universally equipped on the UK helicopter fleet. [181619]
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Mr Goodwill: There have not been any discussions on this subject with the Civil Aviation Authority. The weight of flight recorder equipment varies depending on its complexity. Any increase in equipment required to be carried on a helicopter will have some effect on performance, but the effect will vary relative to the size of the aircraft.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Authority on the likely cost of equipping flight recorder equipment in all public sector helicopter fleets across the UK. [181620]
Mr Goodwill: There have not been any discussions on this subject with the Civil Aviation Authority and the likely cost would be dependent on the level of equipment required. The introduction of any new requirement would require a full impact assessment to be carried out which would include an assessment of the likely costs.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2013, Official Report, column 324W, how many (a) deaths and (b) injuries were caused in the 169 helicopter accidents in the past 10 years where no flight recorder was present; and how many (i) deaths and (ii) injuries were caused in helicopter accidents in the last 10 years where flight recorder equipment was present. [181621]
Mr Goodwill: The figures provided on 12 December were incorrect due to a classification error in the original dataset, which has since been rectified. I can now confirm that in the past 10 years there have been 171 accidents in the UK involving helicopters. In 160 of these accidents no flight data recorder was fitted or required to be fitted to the aircraft.
Of the 11 accidents with flight recorders present, there were 27 fatalities and four injuries. Of the 160 accidents without flight recorders present, there were 49 fatalities and 95 injuries.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) or other European Ministers on implications of EASA's forthcoming rule making programme for the regulation of flight recorder equipment in helicopters across European states. [181622]
Mr Goodwill: The European Aviation Safety Agency's rule making programme is discussed regularly by the agency's management board, which includes representatives from all member states, including the UK. The current programme includes the enhancement of the technical requirements for flight recorders.
The programme does not currently include any extension to the type of helicopters which are required to carry flight recorders.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with helicopter manufacturers and commercial operators in the UK on the potential for voluntary initiatives to ensure the presence of flight recorder equipment on all helicopters. [181623]
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Mr Goodwill: There have been no discussions between the Department and helicopter manufacturers and commercial operators on the potential for voluntary initiatives to ensure the presence of flight recorder equipment on all helicopters. Any decision to voluntarily fit such equipment is a matter for individual operators.
High Speed 2 Railway Line
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will direct HS2 Ltd to undertake a primary study of the comparative effects of the proposed High Speed 2 route and the Alternative Tunnel Proposal developed by Peter Brett Associates on the landscape, biodiversity, geomorphology and archaeology of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and if he will make a statement. [181249]
Mr Goodwill: An assessment has been made of the tunnel options put forward from the community, specifically the alternative proposed by Peter Brett Associates, and this assessment takes account of the environmental, technical and economic costs and benefits. These factors are then balanced against one another to determine the preferred outcome. This work has determined that the Proposed Scheme as put forward in the hybrid Bill is the correct option.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the potential difference in cost of High Speed 2 (a) land and property compensation and (b) all other types of compensation from the Chilterns Alternative Tunnel proposal developed by Peter Brett Associates; and if he will make a statement. [181250]
Mr Goodwill: The assessment of longer tunnel options that HS2 Ltd has undertaken takes account of the cost of building tunnels, property compensation costs and the proposed additional environmental mitigation. As a result, the proposed scheme remains the preferred option.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if HS2 Ltd will provide detailed information relating to the calculation of the additional costs required to develop the full High Speed 2 rail tunnel option in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and if he will make a statement. [181251]
Mr Goodwill: Summary headline costs of tunnel works, other civil works, rail systems and property/land have been made available as part of on-going dialogue with local groups. While HS2 Ltd do have the detailed information relating to the calculation of additional costs, they will not be released as they may undermine our negotiating position when the contracts for construction are put to tender.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the Alternative Tunnel Proposal report that was published on 2 December 2013; and if he will make a statement. [181252]
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Mr Goodwill: No discussions have taken place with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the Alternative Tunnel proposal published on 2 December.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the current High Speed 2 budget has been allocated to (a) land acquisition, (b) land and property compensation and (c) all other types of compensation; and if he will make a statement. [181253]
Mr Goodwill: There is no specific sum of money set aside exclusively for property compensation and property purchase schemes associated with HS2.
A consultation on discretionary support for residential property owners affected by the Phase One route of HS2 closed on 4 December 2013. The Government expect to announce their decision by the summer of 2014. The result of the consultation will be one of the influences on the final cost of compensation for Phase One. It is therefore not possible to say at this stage how much land and compensation for HS2 will cost, but a figure of around £1.6 billion for Phase One has been assumed.
Property and compensation payments both form a call on the HS2 Property capital budget, which is £100 million for 2013-14 and £150 million for 2014-15.
Other types of compensation for Phase 1 primarily comprise of compensation to Train Operating Companies for disruption caused by HS2 works. An indicative figure of around £440 million has been assumed but this will be kept under review as the detailed design and construction work planning matures.
On Phase Two, Government are currently consulting on the line of route which once a decision has been made, will help to determine the indicative costs for property compensation and acquisition and other types of compensation.
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the effects of the second phase of High Speed 2 on (a) East Lancashire and (b) Hyndburn constituency. [181430]
Mr Goodwill: High speed trains on the western leg would be able to run onto the classic network to serve destinations such as Preston, Lancaster and further north. Analysis of regional benefits carried out by KPMG shows that while all regions benefit, the city regions in the Midlands and the North do particularly well. This contradicts suggestions that London will benefit from HS2 at the expense of the North. KPMG results for Preston, Fylde and Wyre show that HS2 will lead to an annual increase in future economic output worth between £179 million and £141 million.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pages of the environmental statement on High Speed 2 were omitted from USB sticks; and how many such sticks were distributed with information missing. [181445]
Mr Goodwill:
As a result of a production error with the USB memory sticks, some material from the technical appendices contained in Volume 5 of the Environmental Statement was omitted. This section includes technical
9 Jan 2014 : Column 306W
details that are ancillary to the main content of the ES and are not normally included in documents of this kind. The omitted information largely consisted of images of maps and other minor data omissions—the substance of which are replicated elsewhere in the document. In total, this amounted to 877 pages which represents a small fraction of the 48,000 page document.
Upon identifying the errors, immediate steps were taken to rectify them and provide local authorities, parish councils and libraries with replacements for the 167 memory sticks that were distributed to them. Replacements were also provided for the two memory sticks formally deposited to Parliament and 388 sticks made available to Members and Lords by the House authorities.
Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what feasibility studies he has (a) recently commissioned and (b) is considering commissioning for extensions to the planned HS2 network. [181462]
Mr Goodwill: We announced in November of last year that the Department is undertaking a study in collaboration with the Scottish Government to identify the broad options available to make further capacity and journey time improvements between northern England and Scotland, including how to cut journeys from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London to three hours or less. There are no other such studies planned or commissioned.
Midland Main Railway Line
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department plans to announce the procurement of new high speed electric rolling stock for the upgraded Midland Mainline. [181555]
Stephen Hammond: No decisions have been taken regarding the procurement of electric rolling stock for the Midland Main Line. The matter will be largely for the train operator. An announcement on this will be made in due course.
Motorways: Accidents
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road users have been killed or seriously injured between (a) junction 10 and junction 13 of the M1 motorway, (b) junctions 19 and 20 on the M4 motorway, (c) junctions 15 and 17 on the M5 motorway, (d) junctions 4 and 5 and junctions 8 and 10a on the M6 motorway and (e) junctions 3a and 7 on the M42 motorway in each of the last five years. [181582]
Mr Goodwill: I have asked Highways Agency officials to compile the information, which will be placed in the Library of the House as soon as possible. I will also send a copy of the information to the hon. Member.
Northern Rail
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an assessment of the potential benefits to the public purse of Directly Operated Railways operating Northern Rail services if it is not possible to agree a new contract with the incumbent operator. [181459]
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Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State has a statutory duty under the Railways Act 1993 (as amended) to maintain the running of rail passenger services. If he is unable to secure a new contract for an operator for such services, including those currently operated by Northern Rail, Directly Operated Railways could fulfil this requirement.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of the future government funding requirements in the event that responsibility for Northern Rail services is devolved; [181514]
(2) what the split in funding will be between central government and local authorities in the event that responsibility for Northern Rail services is devolved. [181515]
Stephen Hammond: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 January 2014, Official Report, columns 122-3W, to the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell).
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an assessment of potential benefits to the public purse of Directly Operated Railways operating Northern Rail services in the event that it is not possible to agree a new contract with the incumbent operator. [181986]
Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State has a statutory duty under the Railways Act 1993 (as amended) to maintain the running of rail passenger services. If he is unable to secure a new contract for an operator for such services, including those currently operated by Northern Rail, Directly Operated Railways could fulfil this requirement.
Parking: Fees and Charges
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints have been made about the issuing of private parking tickets in the last year; how many have been upheld; and how many companies have been barred from access to the DVLA data base. [181480]
Stephen Hammond: Records show that the DVLA received 58 complaints about the practices of private parking companies in 2013.
Complaints against the DVLA do not constitute appeals against the parking charges being pursued. Therefore, the DVLA does not hold information about the number of complaints that have been upheld.
27 companies were suspended from requesting vehicle keeper details from the DVLA in 2013, of these 20 were private parking companies.
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many companies were suspended from receiving vehicle keeper data in 2013. [181497]
Stephen Hammond: 27 companies were suspended from receiving vehicle keeper data from the DVLA in 2013.
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Pedestrian Crossings
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department plans to review the current guidance on pedestrian crossings and the amount of time given to pedestrians to cross the road. [181370]
Mr Goodwill: The Department's guidance on designing pedestrian crossings, including setting timings, is given in Local Transport Note 1/95: The Assessment of Pedestrian Crossings, Local Transport Note 2/95: The Design of Pedestrian Crossings, and Traffic Advisory Leaflet 5/05: Pedestrian Facilities at Signal-controlled Junctions.
The Department recommends that where a crossing may be used by a large number of older people or those with mobility issues, for example outside residential care homes, this should be taken into account when setting timings.
The Department is currently undertaking a review of traffic signing legislation, including the Zebra, Pelican and Puffin Pedestrian Crossings Regulations and General Directions. Once this is concluded, the Department will consider the need to update guidance to reflect these changes.
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the overall benefits to local councils of upgrading pedestrian crossings to a puffin standard that detects pedestrians and can accommodate much lower walking speeds with minimal impact on vehicle traffic. [181558]
Mr Goodwill: Decisions on what type of crossing to provide are for local traffic authorities, taking into account local factors such as road layout, traffic speed and volume, and pedestrian flow.
The Department gives advice on assessing and designing pedestrian crossings in two Local Transport Notes (LTNs), LTN 1/95: The Assessment of Pedestrian Crossings and LTN 2/95: The Design of Pedestrian Crossings. These are available to download from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-transport-notes
Specific guidance on designing puffin crossings is provided in a joint DFT/CSS publication, the Puffin Good Practice Guide. This is available to download from:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120606202951/http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/puffin-crossings
Initial research was commissioned by the then Department of Transport (DOT) in 1992 to develop the puffin pedestrian crossing concept. This focused on two experimental sites and concluded that the results justified the extension of the experiment to a further 50 sites. The report is available to download from:
http://www.trl.co.uk/online_store/reports_publications/trl_reports/cat_road_user_safety/report_the_puffin_pedestrian_ crossing_experience_with_the_first_experimental_sites.htm
Further research commissioned by the DFT showed that Pelican crossings converted to Puffin crossings showed an average reduction in accidents of 17%. The report is available to download from:
www.trl.co.uk/online_store/reports_publications/trl_reports/cat_traffic_engineering/report_puffin_pedestrian_crossing_ accident_study.htm
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Railways: Fares
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the Government's proposal to regulate longer distance rail tickets on a single leg basis cost. [181580]
Stephen Hammond: No decision has been made on whether to regulate longer distance rail tickets on a single leg basis. A trial of single leg tickets on an inter-city route due to take place in 2015 will help determine the feasibility and cost of making a permanent change across the rail network.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the Government's pilot to sell longer distance rail tickets on a single leg basis cost. [181581]
Stephen Hammond: The Fares and Ticketing Review, published in October 2013, included plans to trial single leg tickets on an inter-city route to enable Government to consider the feasibility of making this approach permanent and extending it network-wide when it is affordable to do so. The amount to be paid for the trial will be determined through our negotiations with train operators.
Rescue Services
Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has received an analysis from Bristow on the cost and viability of maintaining search and rescue services at RMB Chivenor to date. [182102]
Stephen Hammond: The Department did not consider the cost of maintaining search and rescue services at RMB Chivenor as the base did not feature in Bristow Helicopters' final tender. It did, however, challenge the viability of all bidders' basing solutions throughout the competitive dialogue process, taking into consideration the Department's coverage requirement and affordability criteria. Bristow Helicopters' proposal to operate helicopters from Cardiff St Athan Airport as part of its final tender fully met the Department's bid criteria.
Rolling Stock
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultants have been used to provide advice on train leasing arrangements in the last five years; and what conflicts of interest they declared. [181922]
Stephen Hammond: In the last five years, the following companies have provided consultancy advice on train leasing arrangements:
Freshfields;
PWC;
Steer Davies Gleave;
Booz & Company;
Leigh Fisher;
Arup/lnterfleet;
Willis;
Eversheds;
Burges Salmon; and
Halcrow/TRL.
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Three conflicts of interest were notified, two by Interfleet and one by Burges Salmon. In each case the Department was satisfied that appropriate protection was in place.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who will own the rolling stock provided for (a) the Intercity Express programme, (b) the Thameslink Rolling Stock project and (c) Crossrail. [181924]
Stephen Hammond: The rolling stock for the Intercity Express Programme will be owned by Agility Trains. The new Thameslink rolling stock fleet will be owned by Cross London Trains Ltd and the rolling stock for Crossrail will be owned by Transport for London.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultancy costs his Department has incurred in the last five years in respect of advice on train leasing arrangements. [181931]
Stephen Hammond: Train leasing arrangements are generally a matter for train operating companies and rolling stock leasing companies.
Where the Department has employed consultants to assist it during rolling stock projects, those companies provide advice on a number of areas, which may include train leasing arrangements. It has not, therefore, been possible to break consultancy costs down to such a specific area of work.
Virgin Trains
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the profits made by Virgin West Coast since the introduction of the management contract in December 2012. [181516]
Stephen Hammond: West Coast Trains Limited, operating as Virgin Trains, publish their audited accounts through Companies House. This will detail profits made.
Virgin Trains’ company number is 3007940.
West Coast Railway Line
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what fees have been paid to Virgin West Coast by the Government since the introduction of the management contract in December 2012. [181990]
Stephen Hammond: Virgin West Coast retains 1% of revenue as per the contracted terms. This is the “fee” as agreed in the management contract.
For the relevant 16-week period ending 31 March 2013 within the financial year 2012-13 (ending 31 March 2013), Virgin West Coast Trains’ "fee" for the provision of the Franchise Services totalled £2,860,000.
In the same period, the Government received £24,313,000 as a premium payment from Virgin West Coast.
Cleared, audited accounts are not yet available for the tax year 2013-14.
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Home Department
Asylum: Deportation
Mr Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers were returned successfully to (a) China and (b) Iran in the last three years for which data are available. [181351]
Mr Harper: The following table provides the number of asylum cases removed or departing voluntarily from the UK in each year from 2010 to 2012.
| Asylum removals and voluntary departures to China and Iran, 2010 to 20121, 2, 3 | |||
| Country of destination | Total asylum enforced removals | Total asylum voluntary departures | |
| 1 Destination as recorded on source database; all nationals returned to China and Iran. 2 Removals are recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. 3 Recorded on the system as having claimed asylum at some point. | |||
It is not possible within these figures to say at what stage in the asylum process individuals have reached at the time of their removal, including whether their claim has failed at that point, as those departing voluntarily can do so at any stage without necessarily notifying the Home Office.
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics July-September 2013 is available from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
and will be placed in the Library of the House.
Information for 2013 will be available from 27 February 2014.
Asylum: Sri Lanka
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers from Sri Lanka who claimed in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011 and (e) 2012 have not yet received an initial decision; and if she will make a statement. [181049]
Mr Harper [holding answer 6 January 2014]: The numbers of Sri Lankan nationals who applied for asylum in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and have not received an initial decision on their application are 27, 21, 25, 123 and 422 respectively.
The Home Office publishes information on the outcome of asylum applications by year of application in Table as_06 of the release Immigration Statistics (Asylum data tables Volume 1).
A copy of the latest release Immigration Statistics July to September 2013, which includes these data as at May 2013, is available from the Library of the House and the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2013
Data for 2013 will be available from 28 August 2014.
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We aim to take initial decisions as quickly as possible. In 2012-13, 78% of initial decisions on all cases were taken within six months.
There are cases where an initial decision will necessarily take longer than six months. This is due to circumstances for which the Home Office is not responsible including the time required to await expert medical reports or where there are issues relating to national security.
Counter-terrorism
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2013, Official Report, column 316W, on counter-terrorism, which local authorities submitted evaluations of projects undertaken under the Prevent Agenda to the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism in each of the last three years. [181944]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 6 January 2014]:The following local authorities have submitted evaluations of Prevent projects to the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT) to date as follows:
2011-12: Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Brent, Derby, Ealing, Hackney, Lewisham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Wandsworth,
2012-13: Birmingham, Derby, Ealing, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow, Lewisham, Leicester, Manchester, Newham, Stoke-on-Trent, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Wandsworth, and
2013-14: Derby, Hammersmith and Fulham, Newham and Wandsworth.
In addition, all areas receiving Prevent funding are subject to a formal performance management process which takes place every six months, against a monitoring framework that assesses the performance of each local authority priority area. This gives us a systematic overview of all funded projects, enabling us to track milestones, outputs and outcomes.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 385W, on counter-terrorism, how much funding each local authority received in each year of the Prevent agenda. [182041]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 6 January 2014]: This information is not publicly available.
Crime Prevention
Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work her Department is undertaking to improve the policing of minority communities and the confidence that these communities have in their local constabulary. [181687]
Damian Green: Improved diversity in policing is absolutely necessary to cut crime in a modern, diverse society, while building the trust and confidence of local communities. Diversity is more than ever an important part of operational effectiveness.
The Government have said that police forces must do more to ensure that they reflect the communities they serve. The College of Policing is engaged in a major
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programme of work looking at recruitment, retention and progression of black and minority ethnic officers. As part of that the college will be looking at ways of ensuring the police can make more use of the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010.
The college is also engaged in work to refresh the National Diversity Strategy and the Local Policing Strategy for the police in England and Wales to ensure that all police officers and staff can meet the needs of diverse communities.
Forms
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forms have been standardised; and what the take up of standardised forms by police forces in England and Wales has been. [181509]
Damian Green: Police forces are operationally independent and generally free to determine which forms they use and how they use them. Police contact with the public is primarily through 999 and 101 services and through social media platforms.
Where a case results in a prosecution, all forces use standardised Manual of Guidance Forms (MG forms) in the case file preparation.
Homicide
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many domestic violence related homicides there were in each police force area in England and Wales in each of the last three years. [181632]
Norman Baker: The available information is given in the table and is taken from the Home Office Homicide Index.
Data are based on the number of homicides where the victim's relationship to the principal suspect was partner or ex-partner.
| Table A: Offences currently recorded as domestic violence related homicide1,2 by police force area, 2009-10 to 2011-12, England and Wales | |||
| Numbers of victims | |||
| Police force area | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
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| 1 As at 1 November 2012; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. 2 Offences where the victim's relationship to principal suspect is spouse (including civil partner), cohabiting partner, boyfriend/girlfriend, ex-spouse/ex-cohabiting partner/ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, adulterous relationship, lover's spouse or emotional rival are shown. Source: Homicide Index, Home Office | |||
Human Trafficking
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many victims of trafficking for (a) labour exploitation and (b) domestic servitude were referred to the National Referral Mechanism by each first responder in each of the last three years. [181070]
James Brokenshire: The following tables set out the number of victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for domestic servitude and labour exploitation, broken down by first responder for each year from 2010 to 17 December 2013.
Data reflect the organisation responsible for referring the potential victim. This may not be the same as the organisation that originally identified the potential victim. The NRM is a live system that changes as new victims are identified or types of exploitation are disclosed. This means that the latest data may not match published statistics.
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| 2010 | |
| Domestic servitude: First responders | |
| Number | |
| Labour exploitation: First responders | |
| Number | |
| 2011 | |
| Domestic servitude: First responders | |
| Number | |
| Labour exploitation: First responders | |
| Number | |
9 Jan 2014 : Column 316W
| 2012 | |
| Domestic servitude: First responders | |
| Number | |
| Labour exploitation: First responders | |
| Number | |
| 2013: Until 17 December 2013 | |
| Domestic servitude: First responders | |
| Number | |
| Labour exploitation: First responders | |
| Number | |
9 Jan 2014 : Column 317W
Human Trafficking: Children
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2013, Official Report, column 541W, on human trafficking: children, how many referrals to the National Referral Mechanism have been made by the eight PORT officers who have been trained to interview children in the last year. [181160]
Mr Harper: The Criminal Casework Prisons, Operations and Removals Team (PORT) do not hold local records on child referrals made to the National Referral Mechanism(NRM).
Statistics on NRM child referrals are published on the National Crime Agency (NCA) website, and can be found using the following link.
http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/search-results? searchword=NRM%20statistics&searchphrase=all
Immigration Controls
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to tighten UK Border Force procedures to prevent criminal activity in regards to gangmasters and smuggling. [180971]
Mr Harper: Border Force seizes significant amounts of drugs, cash and weapons at the border, disrupting organised criminal activity and preventing terrorism. This capability is further enhanced by the newly formed National Crime Agency's Border Policing Command, with which Border Force closely co-operates.
The formation of a national command centre and regional command centres over the last 12 months have enhanced Border Force's command and control structure in terms of oversight of all border risks and deployment of resources to counter that risk. This targeted, intelligence led approach enables Border Force to deploy resource flexibly on the basis of analysis of risk.
With regards to gangmasters, the draft modern slavery legislation will consolidate existing human trafficking and slavery offences to make the options available to law enforcement, when investigating and pursuing trafficking related charges, administratively simpler and operationally clearer. The legislation also sets out to increase the maximum sentence for human trafficking to life imprisonment, to ensure that modern-day slave drivers face the full force of the law. There are plans to introduce an anti-slavery commissioner to galvanize efforts in the UK to challenge modern slavery by working with government and law-enforcement agencies to realise
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more investigations, prosecutions and convictions of human traffickers. The legislation also proposes the introduction of ‘slavery and trafficking prevention orders' and ‘slavery and trafficking risk orders' to restrict movements or impose other prohibitions on convicted or suspected traffickers to reduce the risk they pose. This will also create a new requirement for ‘first responders' to report all suspected cases of human trafficking to the national referral mechanism (NRM). This will improve our understanding of the nature and scale of this crime and help improve our response.
Immigration Controls: Aviation
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 November 2013, Official Report, column 545W, how many passengers arriving by general aviation who were assessed as high-risk by the UK Border Force between April and August 2013 were (a) met by Border Force personnel in accordance with the compliance obligations summarised in the National Audit Office publication, The Border Force: Securing the Border, published in August 2013 and (b) not met by Border Force personnel. [179579]
Mr Harper [holding answer 3 December 2013]: It is Home Office policy not to release operationally sensitive information at passenger level.
At flight level, Border Force risk assess 100% of flights notified to us and seek to deploy to all high priority flights. Between April and August 2013 Border Force met 98% of high priority flights.
Kings Science Academy
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2013, Official Report, column 531W, on Kings Science Academy, when she expects to write to the hon. Member for Cardiff West with the details of the review undertaken by Action Fraud. [181273]
James Brokenshire: The review of current audit processes is expected to be completed by the end of February 2014. A copy will be placed in the House Library.
Members: Correspondence
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letters of 30 October and 17 December 2013 from the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on the implications of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 for legitimate businesses. [181435]
Norman Baker: I answered these letters today, 9th January 2014, and am sorry for the delay.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 25 November 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms E. Miller. [181603]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 6 January 2014.
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Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 26 November 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Asif Khan Uriakhel. [181604]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 7 January 2014.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 26 November 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Miss Elfreda James. [181605]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 6 January 2014.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 25 November 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Tariq Razzaq. [181606]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 7 January 2014.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 25 November 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Mohammed Shar Nooh. [181607]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 6 January 2014.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 25 November 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr A. W. Tewolide. [181608]
Mr Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 7 January 2014.
Police: Hospitals
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were transferred to hospital in (a) Hyndburn constituency and (b) England and Wales in each of the last five years. [181584]
Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold this information centrally.
Proof of Identity
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her Department's policy to return identity documents to applicants once they have been received and verified, instead of retaining those documents for the duration of an application process. [180823]
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Mr Harper: The Home Office retains identity documents for the duration of the application process so that, where a migrant is refused leave to remain in the United Kingdom and becomes liable to removal, they can be removed if they choose not to leave voluntarily. Having the means to identify a person and to confirm their nationality is a crucial tool in enforcing removal.
Some local authorities already offer a checking service on behalf of the Home Office for citizenship and settlement applications where documents are verified, copied and returned to applicants. The Home Office has also successfully implemented a process to return documents on tier 2 intra company transfer (ICT) applications where the risk of individuals being refused and absconding is low. We will continue to consider ways in which we can build on this to improve the system for customers, including reducing the documentation we retain in this manner.
Shoplifting: Cumbria
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of shoplifting occurred in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency and (b) Cumbria in each of the last five years. [181612]
Norman Baker: The Home Office collects statistics on the number of shoplifting incidents recorded by police at police force area level. The requested information is therefore not available for the Barrow and Furness constituency specifically but the table attached gives the published data for the wider Cumbria police force area of which it is a part.
| Table 1: Number of shoplifting1 incidents recorded by the police, for Cumbria police force area, 2008-09 to 2012-13 | |||||
| Police force area | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
| 1 Taken from ‘Recorded crime data at police force area level (including pivot table) from 2002-03’ published by ONS and available online: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/period-ending-march-2013---supplementary-tables/rft-recorded-crime-data-at-police-force-area-level--including-pivot-table--from-2002-03.xls Source: Police recorded crime, Home Office | |||||
Deputy Prime Minister
Employment Schemes: Young People
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the criteria were for the distribution of youth contract funding; and for what reasons no such funding was allocated to rural districts. [181463]
Greg Clark: The funding was part of the City Deals programme and required cities to come forward with well-designed and innovative solutions to boost youth employment.
The City Deals programme is now being extended to all areas of England—including rural areas—through the negotiation of local growth deals with every local enterprise partnership.
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Culture, Media and Sport
Advertising Standards Authority
David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make an assessment of the desirability of the present practice of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in consulting only one designated expert when assessing claims of medical efficacy in advertising and marketing material; and if she will encourage the ASA to adopt a robust peer-reviewed assessment process for such claims in line with the assessments made by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and other public bodies. [181502]
Mr Vaizey: There are no plans to make such an assessment. Advertising in the UK is controlled through a system of co-regulation and self-regulation, administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The advertising regulatory system is independent of Government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising.
Athletics
Dame Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she last met the Chairman of UK Athletics to discuss the forthcoming UK Athletics Championships. [181396]
Mrs Grant: I am due to meet the Chairman of UK Athletics in early February to discuss the 2017 IAAF World Athletic Championship which the Government are supporting, and other matters of mutual interest including the British Athletic Championships.
Museums and Galleries
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the criteria are to receive core funding from the Department as a national museum. [181561]
Mr Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), set out the criteria for the national museums sponsored by DCMS to receive funding when she wrote to inform them of the outcome of the 2013 spending round:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-bodies-settlement-letters-spending-review-2013
Within the settlements for the national museums, the Secretary of State expects their world-class collections and front-line services to be protected; that free entry to the permanent collections will continue to be available and public access will be protected; that they will continue to work in partnership with other museums in the UK; that they will continue to strengthen the financial resilience of the sector, building on the work they have already embarked on to develop philanthropy in the sector, and adding further impetus to organisations' efforts to increase their share of ‘earned income'; that they will support international cultural exchange and build relationships which help develop the culture sector in this country and assist export promotion in that sector; and that
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they will work with DCMS and other museums to find a more efficient solution for central London museum storage, conservation and research facilities.
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications were made to become a Renaissance Major Partner Museum in 2011-12; and how many such applications were successful. [181562]
Mr Vaizey: Arts Council England received 30 applications to the Renaissance Major Grants Programme for the period 2012-15, one of which was found to be ineligible before assessment. 16 applications were successful and are currently Major Partner Museums. Details about the Programme and the Major Partner Museums are published on the Arts Council England website:
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/our-investment/funding-programmes/renaissance/renaissance-major-grants-programme/renaissance-major-partner-museums/
Cabinet Office
Government Departments: Empty Property
Mr Umunna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what premises are available under the Space for Growth scheme; when each such premises became available to businesses; and how many applications have been received from businesses for work space under the Space for Growth scheme to date; [163358]
(2) how many workstations are currently (a) available and (b) being used by businesses at each office location available under the Space for Growth scheme. [163359]
Mr Hurd: Since the general election the Cabinet Office has helped Departments dispose of over 1,000 unused and under-used properties, saving the taxpayer £620 million last year alone. When it has not been possible to dispose of properties we have sought to ensure that the space is made available to entrepreneurs, rent and rates free. There are currently around 1,600 workstation places available in 56 different buildings around the country. Information on the exact usage of each building is not held centrally.
Ministers: Domestic Visits
Mr Winnick: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps are taken to ensure that ministerial visits to constituencies are conducted separately from party political activity. [181625]
Mr Maude: As was the case under previous Administrations the Ministerial Code provides guidance on ministerial visits.
New Businesses: Buildings
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2013, Official Report, column 79W, on business, (1) how many entrepreneurs have made use of the 1,600 workstation spaces made available through the Space for Growth initiative; [177698]
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(2) what the definition of a workstation space is; and where such workstation spaces are located. [177699]
Mr Hurd: The information on entrepreneurs is not held centrally. We know, however, that over 300 individuals have registered on the booking portal. A marketing campaign has started recently and is attracting interest from a variety of organisations. Cabinet Office officials are in active discussions with several social enterprises and charities, which are keen to use the Government's surplus space.
The definition of a workstation space is an area of 12 sq m that allows for a desk space with facilities such as a toilet and eating area. Workstations are located in 54 different locations around England, including central London.
Public Sector: Procurement
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposed EU directive on public procurement 2011/0438 (COD). [181437]
Mr Hurd: The Government worked actively with the European Commission, other member states and the European Parliament on this directive. The outcome is an improvement on existing public procurement rules.
Shops
Hilary Benn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of (a) betting shops and (b) payday loan shops that have opened in each of the last three years in England. [181565]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding what estimate has been made of the number of (a) betting shops and (b) payday loan shops that have opened in each of the last three years in England.[181565]
Data showing how many individual shops have opened are not available. The data shown below are the counts of "births" of new businesses (enterprises.)
Data on the number of business births are published annually in the ONS release on Business Demography at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bus-register/business-demography/index.html
The latest data available are for 2012. Data for 2013 will be available during November/December 2014.
Data for betting shops alone are not available but are shown as part of Standard Industrial classification (SIC) 92000—Gambling and betting activities.
This class includes:
Sale of lottery tickets
Operation (exploitation) of coin-operated gambling machines
Operation (exploitation) of coin-operated games
Operation of virtual gambling websites
Bookmaking and other betting operations
Off-track betting
Operation of casinos, including floating casinos.
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Data for just payday loans shops are not available but are shown as part of SIC 64921—Credit granting by non-deposit-taking finance houses and other specialist consumer credit grantors.
This class includes:
Activities of non-deposit taking finance houses
Activities of hire purchase and loan companies not in the UK banking sector
Activities of check traders
Activities of money lenders
Pawn broking where the primary activity is in lending money
Activities of building societies' personal finance subsidiaries.
Other consumer credit granting where the main business is the direct financing (other than finance leasing) of instalment credit sales mainly to persons, together with farm, industrial and building plant equipment to uncorporated businesses.
The table below shows the number of businesses that have opened in SIC 92000 (Gambling and betting activities) and SIC 64921 (Credit granting by non-deposit taking finance houses and other specialist consumer credit grantors) in England for the years 2010 to 2012. The data are taken from the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR) and show the number of new businesses that have registered for VAT and/or PAYE. These numbers do not include very small businesses, typically those below the threshold for VAT and PAYE. Data are rounded to protect confidentiality.
| Count of businesses that have opened in SIC 92000 (Gambling and betting activities) and SIC 64921 (Credit granting by non-deposit taking finance houses and other specialist consumer credit grantors) in England for the years 2010-12 | |||
| SIC | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
Universal Credit
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) if he will publish the guidance his Department gave to the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the development of the universal credit IT systems; [181235]
(2) what involvement his Department had in the decision to use agile methods of project management in the development of the universal credit IT system; and what assessment he has made of the suitability of such methods for that system; [181238]
(3) what involvement the Government Digital Service currently has in the development of the universal credit IT system. [181239]
Mr Maude: Universal credit is one of the Government's 25 ‘exemplar' public services which are being delivered through a digital by default approach. The Cabinet Office's Government Digital Service supports and advises the seven other departments delivering these ‘exemplar' services. Details are available on
www.gov.uk/transformation
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), asked the Government Digital Service (GDS) to work with DWP colleagues to help explore a digital strategic solution for universal credit. For further details, I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
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(Mr Hurd), gave to the right hon. Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms) on 16 December 2013,
Official Report
, column 458W.
The National Audit Office report “Universal Credit: early progress” recognises at paragraph 3.6 that the DWP decided to use an ‘agile’ method of programme management in late 2010.
Cabinet Office guidance on digital services is publicly available at:
www.gov.uk/service-manual
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
India
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on prisoners remaining imprisoned after completing their sentences in the Punjab and Haryana regions. [181541]
Mr Swire: British officials discussed this issue with state authorities in Punjab and Haryana in December 2013. We are also aware of the protest hunger strike of Bhai Gurbakhash Singh and continue to monitor the general human rights situation in India. This includes maintaining a dialogue with Indian officials about minority rights issues in India, including with regards to the Sikh community. Minority rights were also discussed at the EU-India human rights dialogue on 27 November 2013.
North Korea
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the US, China and South Korea about human rights abuses in North Korea. [181144]
Mr Swire: The Prime Minister discussed a range of issues, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), with President Park Geun-hye of The Republic of Korea (ROK) during her State Visit in November 2013. In the joint statement they issued following their meeting they affirmed deep concern about the human rights situation in the DPRK and expressed their support for the UN Commission of Inquiry.
I also met the UN Commission of Inquiry in October 2013 to discuss DPRK human rights violations and demonstrate UK support for the work of the Commission. The next Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights annual report will be published in April. The DPRK will remain a country of concern.
DPRK human rights were also the subject of a multilateral discussion during the G8 FM meeting in the UK. The G8 Ministers' statement expressed concerns over the systematic and widespread human rights violations in the DPRK, highlighted the importance of improving inter-Korean relations and emphasised the need to address humanitarian issues including abductions and family reunions. They emphasized that the DPRK must address these issues and co-operate fully with all relevant UN mechanisms.
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South Africa
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations his Department has made to the government of South Africa on the crash of Cessna ZS-KOX on 9 September 2004. [181470]
Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office takes the death of any British national overseas very seriously. The crash of Cessna ZS-KOX was a tragedy. We have repeatedly raised the importance of concerns about the South African maintenance company with the South African authorities. Our high commissioner and other senior staff continue to follow this up with the South Africans, working closely with Canadian and Australian counterparts. Most recently the deputy high commissioner met the South African Civil Aviation Authority on 18 November 2013.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Rural Community Broadband Fund
12. Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the role of the Rural Community Broadband Fund in enabling the hardest-to-reach areas to gain access to superfast broadband. [901868]
Dan Rogerson: The Rural Community Broadband Fund is targeted in the 10% hard to reach areas which would not otherwise receive superfast broadband under the Government's £530 million rural broadband programme. To date, five projects have been approved under the Fund, of which two have been contracted and a further 24 are in advanced development. The Fund could lead to projects providing superfast broadband to up to 35,000 business and residential premises in England.
Flood Protection Schemes
13. Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many flood protection schemes have been implemented following receipt of partnership funding. [901869]
Dan Rogerson: This Government's new flood and coastal erosion risk management partnership funding approach started to make a real impact on funding allocations in 2013-14. Of the 507 schemes receiving DEFRA funding in 2013-14, about a quarter (143) have secured external contributions. Early indications suggest that up to 25% more schemes will go ahead than if costs were met by DEFRA alone. Particular examples include the Morpeth Flood Alleviation Scheme and the Parrett Estuary.
Flooding
14. Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of properties protected from flooding during the recent tidal surge. [901871]
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Dan Rogerson: We estimate that to date a combined total of over 1 million properties have been protected from flooding during the flood events in December and early January. In particular, flood defences protected around 800,000 properties from the tidal surge experienced on the east coast in early December.
EU Discards Ban
15. Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in securing an EU discards ban. [R] [901872]
George Eustice: The UK secured an EU wide landing obligation as part of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy, which came into force on 1 January 2014. The landing obligation in pelagic fisheries comes into force in January 2015 with a landing obligation in other fisheries beginning in 2016.
Preparatory work has begun, and we are talking to the fishing industry and other stakeholders about how we can best implement these changes in practice.
Agriculture: Bureaucracy
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the scope for cutting red tape in the farming industry. [901870]
George Eustice: I am committed to freeing farmers from red tape to help them seize economic opportunities. Over the next five years we will reduce costs to all businesses by at least £1 billion.
We are reducing paperwork burdens and making guidance clearer and simpler. Farmers who play by the rules receive fewer inspections. For example, 740 members of the Environment Agency's Pig and Poultry scheme are inspected once every three years rather than annually.
I expect to make an announcement shortly on further opportunities for cutting red tape as a result of the agriculture Red Tape Challenge.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's latest evaluation is of the badger cull pilots. [901862]
George Eustice: We are waiting for the Independent Expert Panel to report their findings. We will consider all the information these pilots have generated and decide on next steps in due course.
It is clear that should additional areas be culled this year, preparatory work needs to be started now. Natural England is today publishing information and guidance on an expression of interest process as a first step in the preparations needed.
Food Poverty
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to publish the research commissioned by his Department into food aid provision and access. [901860]
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George Eustice: DEFRA has commissioned research to review publically available evidence on food aid provision in the UK.
All Government-funded research projects are required to go through review and quality assurance processes prior to publication. Once this process is complete, the conclusions of this work will be made available on the Government's website.
Trapping
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what progress his Department has made in implementing the findings of its 2010 study on the extent of the use of snares; [181393]
(2) whether his Department plans to consult on proposals to regulate or ban the use of snares. [181394]
George Eustice: We are currently considering the findings of the 2010 report on the extent of use and humaneness of snares in England and Wales and Ministers expect to meet stakeholders shortly. No consultation is planned.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Basic Skills
Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to support the delivery of basic skills provision in response to the findings of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Skills Outlook 2013, published in November 2013. [181390]
Matthew Hancock: It is the Government's priority to ensure that all adults throughout England have the basic literacy and numeracy skills which are important for finding and sustaining employment and also help to create other positive outcomes, such as improved well-being and health.
Our reforms to further education (FE), alongside our reforms to school-age education, will improve the quality of the teaching work force, reward the best providers and ensure learners are stretched to achieve the best they can.
In August 2013 we introduced a £15 million bursary scheme to encourage high-calibre graduates with relevant degrees to train as specialist teachers of maths or English, or to support students with special educational needs (SEN).
From 2013-14 we have funded FE Centres of Excellence in Teaching and Training to deliver English and maths initial teacher training and continuous professional development programmes. These up-skill existing literacy and numeracy teachers to teach to GCSE level, identify innovative and best practice in teaching English and maths to post-16 students, and assess the level of SEN teaching and knowledge across the sector.
From 2015 the new English and maths GCSEs will have a closer focus on essential skills like spelling, grammar and problem solving. We hope that in time, these will replace other qualifications as the single, gold-standard Level 2 in all settings across the whole of FE.
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All intermediate apprentices will be required to work towards achieving a Level 2 in English and maths from 2014/15. All young people undertaking a traineeship will be required to study English and maths unless they have already achieved a Level 2.
In the autumn statement we announced that we will be piloting a requirement that young people aged 18-21 without a Level 2 qualification in English and maths undertake training to improve these vital skills from the very outset of a claim for jobseeker's allowance.
We will continue analysing the OECD International Survey of Adult Skills and identify where further action is necessary.
Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations his Department has received from colleges and other providers on (a) funding data not being reconciled by the Skills Funding Agency's systems and (b) resulting delays in payment to private providers. [181391]
Matthew Hancock: The Skills Funding Agency is moving to a new data collection system that underpins a more streamlined and less complex funding system. The system will remove the need for thousands of different funding values for each course and qualification, replace old and complex funding formulas with a single cash figure and replace the different funding systems with a single one.
There have been some issues for colleges and other providers in calculating funding due to them where their own internal management information systems have not been able to report accurately their management position. BIS and the Agency have been working with representatives from the sector to develop the new system.
The Agency has continued to pay all providers and colleges on time. The Agency is not aware of any late payments being made by the Agency to private training providers.
Billing
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the right of consumers to receive bills by post. [181475]
Jenny Willott: The Government believe that consumers should have the choice of receiving their bills and statements through the post, and this option is widely available.
Where suppliers offer a choice of billing options customers who access their bills electronically will often receive a discount for doing so, and the Government would not want to prevent businesses from sharing such efficiency savings with their customers.
Conditions of Employment: Religion
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which the rights of Christians to religious freedom are safeguarded by employers who require Sunday working. [182250]
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Jenny Willott: Legal protection for employees from direct and indirect discrimination as well as from harassment or victimisation because of religion and belief, is provided by the Equality Act 2010.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) —the UK body with the statutory remit to protect, enforce and promote equality—has issued a targeted guide for employers which can be accessed on their website at:
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/your-rights/religion-and-belief/
This good practice guide aims to help employers understand how to recognise and manage expressions of religion or belief in the workplace and includes examples of requests that employees may make and how employers might deal with them.
The EHRC has also published ‘Shared understandings a new EHRC strategy to strengthen understanding of religion or belief in public life'. Part of this work will seek to assess whether there is currently sufficient protection for people with a religious or other belief.
Beyond this, individuals are free to contract on which ever terms suit them and their employer including agreeing working days.
National Careers Service
Mr Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress has been made to date on the Government's commitment for 50 per cent of the National Careers Service workforce to hold a relevant qualification at Qualifications and Credit Framework level 6 by 2015; and what assessment he has made of the likelihood that the target will be met. [181583]
Matthew Hancock: The National Careers Service was launched in April 2012. At the time 9% of careers advisers in the National Careers Service work force held a relevant Level 6 or above qualification and 7% were working towards a Level 6 qualification.
In the most recent annual survey carried out by the Skills Funding Agency in January 2013 16.5% of careers advisers held a relevant Level 6 or above qualification and 13% were working towards a Level 6 qualification. These figures indicate that by the end of March 2014 around 30% of careers advisers will hold a relevant level 6 qualification.
We are making good progress towards our aspiration of 50% of careers advisers qualified to Level 6.
Attorney-General
Domestic Violence
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Attorney-General what advice has been given to the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales when considering whether to charge an alleged perpetrator following domestic abuse complaints. [181631]
The Solicitor-General:
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has published comprehensive legal guidance on domestic violence and an accompanying policy document.
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They advise prosecutors of the factors they should consider when deciding whether to charge someone who is alleged to have committed domestic abuse. In addition, the CPS has agreed a joint evidential checklist for domestic violence cases with the Association of Chief Police Officers to support closer joint working and case-building. The evidential checklist was first issued in November 2012 and was re-issued in November 2013 through a joint letter from the new Director of Public Prosecutions and the new National Policing lead.
International Development
Developing Countries: Female Genital Mutilation
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to tackle female genital mutilation overseas. [181560]
Lynne Featherstone: The UK is playing a key role in supporting efforts to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) worldwide by investing the largest single donor commitment ever into this issue. We also aim to galvanise unprecedented political commitment and funding for this neglected issue.
DFID has launched a programme towards ending FGM in Africa and beyond. This is a comprehensive programme, with a budget of up to £35 million over five years, which will combine targeted action with communities with support for legislative and policy change, and effective implementation of laws and policies, in 17 countries. It will support a robust international research component to build the global evidence base on the most effective strategies to end FGM. It will also support a movement within countries and globally to raise awareness and understanding of FGM and build support for efforts to end the practice, through social change communications. This programme aims to see a reduction of cutting by 30% in 10 countries over five years and has a vision to see an end to the practice in one generation.
Redundancy
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total cost of redundancy has been for staff of her Department since June 2010. [181590]
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Justine Greening: The total cost of redundancies made by the DFID since June 2010 has been £7.7 million.